Food & Drink section.qxp_Layout 1 20/01/2022 16:23 Page 20
MENDIP TIMES
St. Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romance!
With KATY BEAUCHAMP
For some, romance will be in the air; but everyone can celebrate St. Valentine’s Day by cooking and sharing some lovely dishes with friends and family.
SOMERSET CIDER MUSSELS
Mussels are a great sharing dish, they are cheap (£3 per kilo of the finest ones) and taste lovely served with some delicious bread to mop up the juices.
Who says the French are the only romantics – these mussels are cooked with love in Somerset cider!
INGREDIENTS (serves 2 as a main meal or four as a sharing plate) 1 kilo mussels 4 chopped shallots 20gm butter 1 crushed garlic clove 150mls cider 100mls double cream Salt and pepper To serve Chopped chives Bread
METHOD If any of the mussels are open before they are cooked, give them a tap on the counter and they should shut (discard any that don’t). Fry the shallots in the butter for a few minutes, then add garlic and salt and pepper, give it a stir, tip in the mussels and pour in the cider and cook on a high heat for 5-7 minutes, (until the mussels have opened). Turn the heat off and stir in the cream. Tip in to a shallow dish and sprinkle over the chives and serve with some lovely bread!
FOOD & DRINK
BROCCOLI AND CHEESE “FALAFELS” An authentic taste of the Middle East – with a twist!
These aren’t authentic falafel as they don’t contain chickpeas - but they do taste delicious and share some of those aromatic Middle Eastern flavours! METHOD Cook the broccoli until tender, blitz with a handheld blender or in a food processor whilst hot and add the remaining ingredients. It needs to be like a stiff dough consistency. If you are using stuffing mix you may need to add some more boiling water. With wet hands, shape the mixture into 15 walnut-sized balls. Place them on a baking tray lined with foil and bake at 160°C for 25mins. Serve warm in the split pitta bread, spoon in some dip, and add salad. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
(for 15 balls, three per serving) 300g broccoli 100g herby breadcrumbs (or a packet of stuffing mix) 10g grated Parmesan Juice and zest of 1 lemon Small bunch of coriander finely chopped I tsp each dried cumin, coriander, and garlic To serve Pitta bread Salad Garlic and onion readymade dip
CHOCOLATE ORANGE SHORTBREAD HEARTS
This recipe makes 20 biscuits. They are delicious plain, but I decorated mine with pink butter icing, white chocolate, sprinkles and nuts. Just do what you fancy!
Share these biscuits with the people you love
PAGE 20 • MENDIP TIMES • FEBRUARY 2022
METHOD Mix everything together, adding the orange juice last, as you may not need it all. You should have a stiff but pliable dough. Roll out the dough and cut out whatever shape biscuits you want. Bake at 160°C for 25 mins, then leave to cool completely before you decorate them.
INGREDIENTS 140g butter 70g icing sugar I heaped tablespoon cocoa powder 200g plain flour Zest and juice of one orange
