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Sauteed Swiss Chard with Griddled Paprika Chicken
This recipe tastes best if you use freshly picked chard , it gets slightly bitter the longer you leave it before cooking .
Serves 2
• 1 large bunch of chard
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Knob butter
• 3 cloves garlic , chopped
• 1 / 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 chicken breast
• 1 tsp paprika
• Pinch salt
Roughly chop the chard , trimming away the tough ends of the stalk .
Slice the chicken breasts into thin slices . Sprinkle the slices with the paprika .
Heat a griddle pan and add a tablespoon of the oil . Add the chicken slices and griddle for a few minutes on each side .
Heat a frying pan with 1 tbsp vegetable oil and the knob of butter . Add the garlic and chilli . Turn the heat down and stir in the chard . Allow to cook for a few minutes until just tender .
Place the chard on warm plates and top with the slices of chicken .
Summer Fruit Jam
I made this last year as I didn ’ t have sufficient of any one fruit to make jam .
Makes about 5x 500g jars
• 2kg summer fruits , strawberries , raspberries , cherries and gooseberries
• Juice 1 lemon
• 1 x13g sachet pectin
• 2kg sugar
Wash and prepare the fruit : hull the strawberries and raspberries , top and tail
Strawberry and Gooseberry Fool Layer
A wonderful way to serve these two summer fruits .
Serves 4
• 200g gooseberries , washed and topped and tailed
• 2 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 1tbsp honey
• 150ml double cream
• 1 level tbsp icing sugar
• 150ml creme fraiche
• 8 large strawberries
• 4 small ones for decoration
Put the gooseberries in a saucepan with the sugar , honey and a couple tablespoons of water . Stew for about 10 minutes or until tender . Mash the fruit down with a fork or potato masher . Leave to cool .
Whisk the cream and icing sugar together until stiff . Fold in the creme fraiche and the cooled gooseberries . Slice the strawberries lengthways and place a couple of slices in the base of 4 wineglasses .
Add a spoonful of the gooseberry fool , then a layer of sliced strawberries . Continue like this finish with a little fool and small strawberry on top . Chill for an hour before serving .
the gooseberries , remove the cherry stones . Put all the fruit in a large pan and add the lemon juice .
Heat the fruit to simmering and cook for a few minutes . Sprinkle over the pectin and add the sugar . Stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved .
Bring to the boil and continue to boil for 4 minutes then test for setting point . I tend to use the flake method or cold saucer . When a setting point is reached leave for 5 minutes then stir and ladle into sterile jars and seal well .
Cherry Clafoutis
This is one of my favourite puddings , for special occasions I soak the cherries in a little brandy or Kirsch .
Serves 4-6
• 400g cherries , washed and de- stone
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 100g plain flour
• 50g icing sugar
• 3 eggs , beaten
• 30g melted butter
• 300ml milk
• Icing sugar for dusting
Place the cherries in a saucepan and sprinkle over the sugar and water . Bring to the boil and then simmer for 3 minutes . Leave to cool .
Preheat the oven to 220C / gas mark 7 and butter an oven proof dish . Sieve the flour and icing sugar together in a bowl .
Add the eggs , butter and milk to the flour and whisk well for about 3 minutes the batter should look covered in little bubbles .
Pour a thin layer about 2cm deep into the prepared dish . Bake for Bout 7 minutes until the batter is just set but not golden .
Remove the cherries from the syrup and place in the set batter spreading them evenly over the surface .
Stir the cherry juice into the rest of the batter and pour over the cherries . Cook for about 40 minutes , turn the heat down to 200C / gas mark 6 after 10 minutes .
When the clafoutis is well risen and golden brown , remove from the oven and dust thickly with icing sugar whilst it is still hot .
Serve warm with cream .