The UCD Student Cookbook 2013 by Advantage Point

UCD Health Promotion Committee

UCD Student Cookbook

This cookbook is dedicated to our former colleague Ros McFeely (Student Adviser) without whose dedication and tireless work, the UCD Healthy Eating Competition and Cookbook would never have been in existence. We wish her a happy and fulfilling retirement.

Introduction UCD Health Promotion Committee has been promoting the Healthy Cooking Competition and UCD Cookbook for the past six years in line with their mandate to encourage healthy lifestyles in UCD. This year we have chosen some of the best recipes from those six years and compiled them to create the UCD Cookbook for 2013. We chose recipes with simple, healthy ingredients that require minimal preparation and can be cooked using minimal equipment. This edition also includes some tips for maintaining a healthy diet. Once again the generous sponsorship of this publication by UCD Commercial, Residential & Hospitality Services is much appreciated.

Happy Cooking! Jacqueline Levine Student Adviser UCD Quinn School of Business Mary J Murphy Lecturer UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems

Contents

Healthy Eating Advice 4 Recipes

Soups

• Three Bean Soup • Minestrone Soup • Vegetable Soup • Chunky Winter Broth

Vegetarian Dishes 22 • Lucy’s Chickpea Curry • Sweet Potato, Carrot and Lentil Curry • Linguini with Broccoli and Red Peppers • Courgette and Carrot Chilli

Fish Dishes

Meat Dishes

• Tricolour Salmon

• Spaghetti Carbonara

• Pea and Prawn Curry in-a-Hurry

• Bleakley’s Burritos

• Fried Sea Bass with Stir Fried Vegetables

• Pork Stir Fry

• Smoked Mackerel with a Lemony Lentil Salad

• Green Thai Chicken Curry

Snacks/ Lunches

• Toasted Smoked Salmon Baguette

Sweet Dishes

• Flapjacks

• Cajun Chicken Wraps

• Old-Fashioned Apple Crumble

• Very Quick Cheese Snack

• Blueberry Yoghurt Brulee

• Frittatas

• Strawberry Mess

Healthy Eating Advice Having good nutrition is important to achieve and maintain good energy levels and for optimum health and wellbeing. Healthy eating is about getting the right amount of nutrients, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals from our diet on a day to day basis. Therefore what we choose to eat and drink on a day to day basis is important. Foods can be divided into different groups that provide us with similar nutrients. It is important to eat from the various food groups on a day to day basis. Establishing a pattern of healthy eating is the best way to ensure that we take in the nutrients to optimize health and wellbeing and to protect our bodies from poor nutrition related conditions such as heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and obesity. The recommended intake of portions from the various foods groups is outlined in the Food Pyramid produced by The Department of Health and The Health Service Executive. The leaflet containing the Food Pyramid and more interesting details on healthy eating can be downloaded free from www.healthpromotion.ie Are you selecting the accurate no of portions from the various food groups? Are you selecting too many portions from one particular group and not enough from another?

Top Shelf foods are high in fat, sugar and salt, are not essential for health and taken in excess can be harmful.

Fats and oils are essential, but only in small amounts. The foods and drinks on the bottom 3 shelves of the Food Pyramid are essential for good health.

Two key recommendation for healthy eating. Limit foods and drinks from the top shelf of the food pyramid. This is the most important healthy eating guideline, as these are high in fat, sugar and salt. Prepare and cook your meals using fresh ingredients. Ready meals and take-aways tend to be high in fat and salt and should not be eaten regularly. Hopefully this cookbook will give you some ideas to prepare your own tasty meals!

Understanding the Food Pyramid Maximum

Choose any

Soups

Three Bean Soup Ingredients

Method

2 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil over a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes until soft but not browned.

1 large onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes 2 sticks celery, finely chopped 1 tsp dried thyme 1 x 400g can kidney beans

While the stock and vegetables are simmering, drain and rinse the cans of beans.

1 x 400g can cannellini beans

Add the beans to the stock and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes until the beans are hot through.

1 x 400g can chickpeas

Stir in the parsley and season to taste.

1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley

Reproduced with kind permission of Cooks Academy, Dun Laoghaire

Add the tomatoes, celery, carrots, thyme and stock. Stir well, cover and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serves 6

Minestrone Soup Ingredients

Method

4 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil and butter in a large pot.

30g butter 3 large onions, sliced thinly

Add the sliced onion and fry on medium heat until translucent but not brown.

4-5 carrots, diced small

Add bacon, stir to mix and cook for 3-5 minutes.

2 sticks celery, sliced fairly thinly 3 smoked back rashers (optional) cut into strips 150g pasta, orzo, small farfalle or fusilli OR long grain rice 1 x tin of butter beans (or cannellini if you can get them) Â˝ small head of savoy cabbage, shredded thinly (or cavolo nero)

Add the chopped carrot, cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Add celery, cook for 3 minutes, stir a couple of times. Add cabbage, stir to mix and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tin of tomatoes and the hot stock and stir, adding in the rind of the parmesan if using.

1 x tin of cherry tomatoes (plum will do) 2 ltrs/3 pts of chicken stock (or plain water) heated 50g fresh grated parmesan (and the rind if possible)

Reproduced with kind permission of Cooks Academy, Dun Laoghaire

Vegetable Soup Ingredients

Method

1 tsp vegetable oil

Wash, peel and dice carrots, turnips and parsnips. Wash and chop leaks, chop onion and slice mushrooms. Skin and chop tomatoes.

50g flour 150ml/ ¼ pint milk Salt and pepper 2 chicken/vegetable stock cubes dissolved in 1 ¾ pints of water 3 carrots 1 turnip 1 parsnip 1-2 leeks 1 onion 8 mushrooms 3 tomatoes/ 1 tin of tomatoes

Note: Preparation time about 15 minutes. Allow 45 minutes cooking time. Laura O’Shea. Arts. 2nd prize in soup category UCD Healthy Cooking Competition 2010

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry onion and mushrooms. Add carrots, turnips, parsnips and leeks and fry gently. Stir in the flour to absorb fat, gradually stir in the milk. Add stock and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cover saucepan and simmer gently for about 45 minutes.

Chunky Winter Broth Ingredients

Method

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

Tip the canned tomatoes into a saucepan along with the stock, bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and throw in the carrots. Gently simmer the soup until the carrots are cooked, about 15 minutes.

3 Â˝ pints vegetable stock 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 2 x 420g cans of mixed beans, drained and rinsed 175g spinach 1 tbsp roasted red pepper pesto

Stir in the pulses and spinach and heat until the spinach has wilted. Spoon in the pesto and gently mix into the soup. Serve with some crusty bread.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1470/ allinone-chunky-winter-broth

Fish Dishes

Tricolour Salmon Ingredients

Method

4 small slices of salmon (about 300g)

Peel the carrots and onions and then wash them, wash the celery and parsley.

600g of carrots

Grate the carrots, onions and celery and do the same with the parsley.

600g of celery 600g of onions A tuft of parsley 100ml of extra virgin olive oil 100ml of white wine Salt and black pepper One small baguette Note: This dish can be eaten warm, but the taste is better if you wait about 20 minutes to cool down before serving it. Alessio Di Luca, Ph.D student. Finalist in UCD Healthy Cooking Competition 2009

Put a bit of grated parsley and all of the grated carrots, onions and celery in the hot olive oil in a large frying pan and cook until brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Meantime put a bit of salt and pepper on the slices of salmon. When the vegetables are cooked, place the four slices of salmon in the frying pan ensuring that the salmon is sitting on the veg and also covered by them. Add the remaining part of grated parsley. Add white wine and cover the frying pan with a lid; cook for about 20 minutes (until the salmon is cooked) at low temperature. Serve the salmon with one or two slices of toasted baguette per person.

Pea & Prawn

Curry-in-a-Hurry Ingredients

Method

400g frozen prawns

Finely chop onions and garlic and stir-fry in oil until just about cooked.

1 red onion 2 cloves garlic 200g mushrooms 200g frozen peas 1/3 jar Thai green curry paste 1 can reduced fat coconut milk 330g whole grain brown rice Â˝ tsp hot chilli powder or more if you like it fiery! Âź tsp cumin Handful salted peanuts (optional) Note: This is a tasty healthy dinner containing carbohydrates (rice), protein (prawns), vegetables and fat (coconut milk). Reduced-fat coconut milk ensures the dish isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too calorific. Prawns provide an alternative to the common student diet of minced meat and chicken. Michelle Ryan, Law and French. Finalist in UCD Healthy Cooking Competition 2009

Add the green curry paste and spices and keep frying for just under a minute. Add the frozen prawns and chopped mushrooms; cook until prawns are defrosted. Add the coconut milk followed by the peas and allow to simmer gently. Meantime cook the rice according to packet instructions. Serve the curry on a bed of rice, tossing in the peanuts at the last minute, if using.

Fried Sea Bass with Stir fried Vegetables Ingredients

Method

1 sea bass fillet (approx. 200g)

Spray oil on a hot non-stick pan. Place sea bass in pan, skin side down. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over sea bass and season with lemon pepper seasoning and soy sauce. Place lid on pan and leave to cook for approx. 2 minutes.

25g white cabbage, cut into strips ½ carrot 1 tomato 100g broccoli ½ onion 1 garlic clove 5ml (1tsp) olive oil ½ a lemon Soy sauce Lemon pepper/lemon and pepper Seasoning Hot water from kettle www.rte.ie/lifestyle/food recipes/2011/0922/413-fried-sea-basswith-stir-fry-vegetables

Spray oil onto the hot wok to be used for cooking the stir fry vegetables. Add sliced carrots, white cabbage, chopped broccoli, sliced onion, and finally sliced garlic to your wok. Pour in a small drop of water when vegetables start sticking to the wok. Place lid on and leave to cook. After two minutes turn over sea bass and leave to cook for a further minute. After one minute add sliced tomato and a splash of water. Turn off hob and leave to steam for a further minute. Dish up vegetables and serve with the sea bass and tomatoes.

Smoked Mackerel

with a Lemony Lentil Salad

Ingredients

Method

4 fillets of smoked mackerel skinned

Prepare vegetables.

1 large aubergine, cut into cubes 1 onion, finely chopped 10 cherry tomatoes halved 1 large carrot, finely diced 2 tbsp olive oil 1 chopped red pepper 2 x 400g tins of lentils, with their juice 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced Grated zest and juice of Â˝ lemon 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 4 slices of whole-wheat seeded bread toasted

Heat the oil over a large pan. Cut aubergine into wedges and season with a little salt and pepper. Heat a pan until smoking hot, then add the aubergine and cook until starting to soften. Add the onions, garlic, carrot, red pepper lemon zest and juice to the pan and then sweat and stir for 5 minutes. Add the tinned lentils, parsley and tomatoes. Season to taste with salt, black pepper and a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Flake in the mackerel fillets, warm through and serve with the whole-wheat seeded bread.

Salt, black pepper and sugar.

Fionnghaile Nixon, Medicine. Winner of the fish category, UCD Healthy Cooking Competition 2010

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Fionnghaile comments: as students we need to eat brain food; the oily fish in this dish is a perfect pre exam lift as it boosts the functioning of our brain cells. It is full of veggies, pulses and whole grains filling you up and getting your five a day!

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Meat Dishes

Spaghetti Carbonara Ingredients

Method

200g spaghetti (or linguine, tagliatelle or fettuccine)

Put water on to boil.

1 tbsp olive oil mixed with a small knob of butter 2 cloves garlic ½ - 1 tsp dried chilli flakes 4 hickory smoked rashers, cut into cubes 2 eggs 50-70g parmesan cheese Notes on chillies – usually the smaller the chilli the hotter it is. If you want less spice use larger chillies and remove the seeds. Fresh chillies can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or can be frozen in plastic containers.

Grate parmesan finely, crush or chop garlic and cut rashers. When water is boiling add one dessertspoon of salt, bring to the boil again and put pasta into boiling water and simmer for approx. 12 minutes. Add rashers and chillies (add the garlic a few minutes later so it doesn’t burn) to a frying pan heated with oil and butter and fry gently over a low to medium heat, ensuring that the garlic doesn’t burn. This will take approximately 10 minutes while the pasta is cooking. Once cooked remove from the heat and set aside. Crack two eggs in preparation for adding to the pasta. When pasta is cooked, drain it and return to pan. While it is still hot, drizzle with olive oil to coat it and remove from heat. Immediately add the two eggs and quickly mix with a fork.

Reproduced with kind permission of Cooks Academy, Dun Laoghaire

Next add the parmesan and quickly mix through until creamy. Before serving, add the fried ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Bleakley’s Burritos Ingredients

Method

500g minced beef

Sauté onion and garlic in the oil.

1 green bell pepper, sliced

Add the mince and brown.

1 onion finely chopped Handful fresh/dried coriander 2 cloves garlic, chopped

Add the chilli/chilli powder and cumin and mix well. Add the beans with their sauce.

1 tub sour cream

Add half the coriander.

¾ Birds eye chopped chilli/chilli powder (amount depends on how hot you want it!)

Heat the tortillas (microwave/pan/oven).

3 tomatoes, sliced

Add the cheese, followed by some sour cream, sliced tomatoes, lettuce and some coriander. Wrap the mix in the tortilla and enjoy!

½ bag of lettuce 1 tin kidney beans

Spoon the meat onto the tortillas.

Grated cheese 6/8 flour tortillas Salt and pepper 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp cumin

Seth Bleakley – winner of the UCD Healthy Cooking Competition 2007

Pork Stir-Fry Ingredients

Method

454g pork pieces

Cut pork into thin slices.

1 carrot

Cut onions into thin slices and chop garlic.

1 clove garlic 2 dessertspoons soy sauce 1 onion 2 tsps corn flour 6 mushrooms 1 dessertspoon oil 1 pepper 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in Âź pint/ 150mls of boiling water For the Egg fried Rice Olive oil 1 egg Rice

Slice mushrooms and cut carrot and pepper into thin strips. Mix the chicken stock with the soy sauce. Blend in the corn flour and mix to a smooth paste. Heat the oil in a large frying pan/wok. Add the pork and fry until well browned. Add the onion and carrot to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and pepper to pork mixture and continue frying for 2-3 minutes. Pour the stock mixture into the pan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve immediately with fried rice. Instructions for fried rice Boil the rice.

Reproduced with kind permission of Cooks Academy, Dun Laoghaire

Beat an egg in a cup. Fry a little oil. Place egg on plate and chop finely. Add the cooked rice to the frying pan. Mix in the chopped egg. Stir until well heated.

Green Thai Chicken Curry Ingredients

Method

500g Chicken Breast, diced 2 peppers

Marinade the chicken pieces in green curry paste and lime juice.

100g Soya sprouts (optional)

Cook the Basmati Rice.

1 tbsp. Green Thai curry paste 1 clove garlic

Chop the garlic, ginger and chilli into very small pieces. SautĂŠ in a wok with peanut oil (olive oil is also acceptable).

A little bit of fresh ginger

Add onions and cook until they turn colour.

1 fresh chilli (deseed for milder taste) Juice of 1 lime 1 can of coconut milk 1 onion 200g Basmati Rice

Add the marinated chicken pieces and cook for about 30 minutes. Add the diced pepper followed by the coconut milk. Simmer on a low heat until the chicken is cooked through. Season and add more green curry paste if you prefer it spicier.

David Wozar, BComm Intl. (Erasmus). UCD Healthy Cooking Competition Finalist 2011

Vegetarian Dishes

Lucyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chickpea Curry Ingredients

Method

1 tin of chickpeas (400g), drained

Heat a little oil in a flat bottomed saucepan (one with a lid).

1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g) 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 red pepper, diced

Fry the onion and garlic over a low heat until the onion goes slightly opaque and soft.

1 green pepper, diced

Add the peppers and fry for another 5 minutes.

1 large onion, diced

Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and heat through.

1 tbsp tomato puree 2 tbsp curry paste (as hot/mild as you like) 300g wholegrain rice

Lucy Chadwick. Winner of UCD Healthy Cooking Competition 2008

Add the chickpeas, tomato puree and curry paste. Heat until it bubbles, stirring well. When it bubbles reduce heat to very low, put lid on and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Cook whole meal rice as per instructions (usually 20 minutes). Serve!

Sweet Potato, Carrot & Lentil Curry Ingredients

Method

1 large onion

Heat the oil.

2 sweet potatoes (chopped)

Sweat the chopped onion and garlic in the oil without burning.

½ cup red lentils 1 carrot (chopped) 1 clove garlic (chopped) 1 cup of Quinoa 1 small tin coconut milk 2 low salt vegetable salt cubes

Turn down the heat and add curry powder, cumin and garam masala and cook for a few minutes – don’t burn. Add potato, carrot, lentils, stock cubes and water to pot and bring to boil. Turn down and simmer.

1 heaped tsp cumin

After 15 minutes, add the coconut milk and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

1 heaped tsp garam masala

Meantime cook the Quinoa by boiling for 15 minutes.

1 dessert spoon curry powder Sunflower oil

Serve the curry with the Quinoa.

Pepper to season 1 litre water (just enough to cover vegetables) Jennifer O’Dea Human Nutrition. Joint 1st Place in UCD Health Cooking Competition 2009

Note: This is a real energy boosting meal as quinoa is a protein that the body finds easy to breakdown and the vegetables are full of essential vitamins and minerals. It has the added advantage of being cholesterol free and low in salt.

Linguini

with Broccoli and Red Peppers Ingredients

Method

350g linguini pasta

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until ad dente; drain.

455g fresh broccoli chopped 45mls extra virgin olive oil 15g butter 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 20g grated parmesan cheese 1g garlic salt

Steam broccoli with 2 tablespoons water in microwave for 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 minutes. In 10-inch skillet, heat olive oil and butter over low heat. Stir in garlic (more or less to suit your taste) and red pepper slices; sautĂŠ gently. Drain Broccoli and add to skillet. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt and sautĂŠ broccoli and peppers until soft. Toss vegetable mixture with hot pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Sophie Cooney. Food Science. UCD Healthy Cooking Competition 2009

Note: This dish is nutritious along with being healthy, colourful and tasty. The linguini is filling and a good source of carbohydrates. The vegetables offer vitamins and minerals including iron and calcium. It can also be altered to suit personal taste and made low-fat by including low-fat versions of butter and oil.

Courgette & Carrot Chilli Ingredients

Method

1 large onion

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan.

1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp freshly ground cumin

Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes or until soft but not browned.

1 tsp freshly ground coriander

Add the spices and the garlic and stir for 1 -2 minutes.

2 tsp chilli powder 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 courgettes, diced 6 carrots, diced 2 tins tomatoes 1 tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed 1 tbsp brown sugar Salt and pepper Basmati rice to serve Note: For added indulgence, serve with guacamole and sour cream.

Elaine Lavery. Business and Law. Ist Prize overall and 1st in Vegetarian category. UCD Healthy Cooking Competition

Add the courgettes and carrots, stirring briefly. Add the tinned tomatoes and add a splash of water to make a wet consistency. Cover the pan and bring the contents to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are just al dente (you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want them to overcook). Add the beans, sugar and seasoning to taste. Give a final good mix and serve over fluffy basmati rice.

Snacks Lunches

Toasted Smoked Salmon Baguette Ingredients

Method

150g smoked salmon

Cut each baguette in two, then halve lengthways.

2 baguettes

Grill the baguettes on both sides until light brown.

250g low fat cream cheese 2 spring onions Â˝ cucumber â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thinly sliced Juice of 1 lemon Cracked black peppercorns

Ronan McGovern UCD Healthy Eating Competition 2007

Chop the spring onions finely and mix into the cream cheese. Layer the salmon along the bottom half of each piece of baguette. Sprinkle the cracked black pepper on the layer of salmon and sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Layer the cucumber on top. Spread the cream cheese mix generously on the top half of each piece of baguette and place on the bottom halves to complete the sandwich.

Cajun Chicken Wraps Ingredients

Method

4 flour tortillas

Toss the chicken in the Cajun spice. Drizzle some oil over the chicken and cook in a pre-heated oven (180Ë&#x161;C) for 20 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the heat and allow it to rest for 5 minutes, lightly wrapped in tinfoil.

4 chicken breasts 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper Lettuce 3 tomatoes, sliced into rings

Cut each breast diagonally into slices as thick or as thin as you prefer. Wrap up the chicken, lettuce and tomato in the tortilla and serve.

Reproduced with kind permission of Cooks Academy, Dun Laoghaire

Very Quick Cheese Snack Ingredients

Method

2 slices of brown lightly buttered

Spread some mustard on the buttered bread.

Dijon-wholegrain mustard

Place the tomato on top and sprinkle with black pepper.

3 x3 cm wide slices of cheese per slice of bread

Place the cheese slices on top.

1 tomato per slice of bread

Put in the microwave or under the grill for 1 minute or until the cheese has melted.

Ground black pepper

Enjoy!

www.beyondbakedbeans.com

Frittatas Ingredients

Method

For each frittata

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add your choice of flavouring and beat well to combine.

2 free-range eggs Knob of butter and a drop of oil for frying For the cheese frittata 25g Emmental, grated (or any other cheese of your liking) For the chilli frittata 1 long red chilli, deseeded and sliced Âź tsp ground ginger Âź tsp ground coriander

Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-based frying fan. Once the pan is hot, pour in the egg mixture, swirling quickly to coat the base of the pan in a thin layer. Cook the frittata for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat, then lift the edge of the frittata with a spatula to check it is set and golden-brown underneath; the top of the frittata should be just set but still a little gooey. To serve, slide the frittata out of the pan onto a plate and fold one half of the frittata over the other. Repeat the process with different flavourings to make more frittatas as needed.

For the green frittata 200g watercress, baby spinach or rocket, finely chopped 1 spring onion, finely sliced For the ham frittata 50g ham chopped Nigella Express, BBC 2 www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ frittataparty_87270

Omelettes and Frittatas make for a very satisfying lunch. The difference really is that an Omelette will fold around its filling while the added ingredients will be mixed into the egg to create a frittata. Omelettes are served straight from the pan while frittatas are often served at room temperature making them perfect for brunches or larger groups. The BBC website (www.bbc.co.uk/food) features several omelette and frittata recipes to brighten up your eggs and give you a really nutritious lunch. We have reproduced one of Nigella Lawsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Frittata recipes here as she offers a number of variations to try out.

Sweet Dishes

Easy to make and very economical

Flapjacks Ingredients

Method

12 tbsps Porridge oats

Mix all the ingredients together in a large saucepan and press into a greased baking tray. Bake in oven at 180Ë&#x161;C until golden brown (about 25 minutes).

2 tbsps Brown Sugar 4 tbsps melted margarine 2 tbsps Golden Syrup Note: For a change add some pumpkin seeds, chopped dried apricots and/or sultanas to the mix.

Cut into squares while still warm and leave in tin until quite cool. Store in an air-tight tin.

Recipe adapted from Avoca Tea Time

Old-fashioned Apple Crumble

Ingredients

Method

3-4 medium to large Bramley or other cooking apples (about 900g)

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/Gas 6.

¼ tsp ground cinnamon (optional) A small chunk of butter (optional) For the crumble topping 175g plain flour 110g butter at fridge temperature 50g unrefined caster sugar

Published by Fiona Beckett (Beyondbakedbeans.com) 2010 Note: To make a slightly fancier crumble add a handful of raisins to the apples and replace 25g of the flour with 50g finely chopped walnuts.

You will need a medium-sized baking dish. Peel, quarter and cut out the core from the apples and slice them thickly into a large saucepan, sprinkle with 3 tbsp of the sugar, add the cinnamon and 3 tbsp water. Cover the pan, place over a low heat and cook for about 12-15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the apple pieces are soft. Check for sweetness, adding a little extra sugar if you feel they need it but they should be quite tart. You can also beat in a little butter for extra richness. Tip the apples into a medium sized shallow ovenproof dish and leave them to cool. Measure the flour into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and tip into the flour. Keep cutting until you can’t get the pieces of butter any smaller then rub the butter and flour together with the tips of your fingers, lifting it up and letting if fall back again into the bowl, until the mixture is the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and carry on rubbing for another minute. (You can also make a crumble topping in seconds with a food processor if you’ve got one). Spread the crumble mixture evenly over the cooled apple mixture, making sure you cover the whole surface; then bake for about 30-40 minutes, till the crumble is brown and the fruit juices are bubbling along the sides of the dish. Serve with cream, vanilla ice cream or custard. Other fruits that work well in crumbles include rhubarb, apricots and plums (stone them first). Packets of frozen fruit like mixed berries are also good – mix them with apple to make them go further.

“

Fiona writes that “the secret of a really good apple crumble is cooking the fruit before you top it with the crumble mixture. It takes a bit longer but it makes it possible to get your fruit soft and your topping nice and crunchy. It’s also worth using Bramley apples (or an equivalent cooking apple) which are much juicier and fluffier than eating apples”. She says it takes about 15 minutes to cook the apples, 45 minutes to cool them and about 30-40 minutes baking time.

“

3-4 tbsp unrefined caster sugar

Blueberry Yoghurt Brulee Ingredients

Method

200g fresh or frozen blueberries

Place the blueberries and honey in a small pan and heat gently until the juices of the blueberries begin to run and the fruit softens slightly.

2 tsp honey 250g Greek yoghurt 4 tsp dark muscovado sugar

Remove from the heat and spoon into four glass bowls or ramekins. Allow to cool.

Reproduced with kind permission of Cooks Academy, Dun Laoghaire

Spoon the yoghurt into the dishes and sprinkle over the muscovado sugar. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

Strawberry Mess Ingredients

Method

Punnet of Strawberries

Roughly mash half of the strawberries and then slice the rest. Divide between 4 small bowls. Top with a couple of broken meringue nests and scoops of pink ice cream.

Meringue nests Pink ice cream Recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2004. www.bbcgoodfood.com/ recipes/3124/strawberry-mess