Food & Dink
Cooking...
with Mrs Simkins
English Monkey During the lockdowns, comforting cheesy snacks on toast have enjoyed a bit of a revival: for some of us, they never went out of style! If you’re fond of cheesy things on toast, who can resist English monkey? Dating back a couple of hundred years, this thrifty relative of Welsh rarebit helps eke out the cheese and goes further than the classic rarebit mix. Store leftover monkey topping in the fridge: it keeps fresh for several days. This version contains far fewer breadcrumbs than recipes from years ago (too many make the monkey stodgy) plus extra seasoning borrowed from the classic rarebit. Tips Make sure the bread for the crumbs is 2-3 days old and on the dry side. Tear the bread into small pieces and whiz in a food processor so they are as fine as possible for a nice smooth finished mixture. The cheese should be extra mature for the fullest flavour. Season with a generous hand.
Top with a little extra grated cheese and a sprinkle of Cayenne before popping under the grill. Enough for 6-8 slices of toast Small knob of butter 200-250ml milk 50g breadcrumbs (see Tips) 125g extra mature Cheddar cheese, grated 1 medium-large egg, beaten ¼ teaspoon dry mustard, freshly ground black, ground white and cayenne pepper Shake of Worcester sauce to taste 6-8 pieces of bread Extra butter for spreading Melt the butter, in a heavy
bottomed milk pan. Add 200m milk and the crumbs and warm through over a low heat, stirring until you get a smooth consistency. You may need to add more milk. Add the cheese a little at a time, stirring until melted. Once melted, stir in the beaten egg gradually and season with mustard, pepper and Worcester sauce.
Mum’s Kitchen... Baked Portobello Mushrooms This is a very easy to prepare starter, and serves four people. Ingredients 4 large Portobello mushrooms, stalks removed Olive oil 150g Boursin Bunch of chives, finely chopped Finely grated zest of one lemon 55g (2oz) fresh white breadcrumbs 8 slices of pancetta
Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes with the heat low, until thick and bubbling, Toast the bread, cool slightly and let the steam escape before buttering thinly, taking the butter right to the edges. Pour or spread over the toast. Top with extra grated cheese and pop under the grill until bubbling. Reviving Leftover Monkey Heat through any refrigerated leftovers with a little extra milk stirred in and pour over the toast as before. Alternatively, spread directly on the toast straight from the fridge. Try also spreading over toasted crumpets and topping with extra cheese and a red pickled jalapeno before popping back under the grill. Utterly delicious! Check out Mrs Simkins’ website for more recipes MrsSimkins.co.uk twitter.com/MrsSimkinsCooks email: info@MrsSimkins.co.uk
with Diana Holman
Method Preheat the oven to 220c/180 fan. Place mushrooms skin side down in a roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix together Boursin, chives, lemon zest and breadcrumbs and season lightly. Divide the mixture between the four mushrooms and bake for around 20 minutes or until tender. Grill the pancetta until crisp. Divide the mushrooms between four plates, top with pancetta, and serve with green salad. 37
