I've been shopping at Aldi again, picking up some great deals on spring produce and making them into an amazing four course dinner for you.
The Soup Course
Let's start with some delicious Celery Soup, I found this lovely recipe for dairy-free Cream of Celery Soup on Pinterest, it comes from the very talented Erren's Kitchen and uses potato as a thickener.
A very simple four ingredient Smoked Mackerel Pate is whizzed up quickly in the food processor and is very moreish. I've served it with large slices of toast but it would be ideal on cocktail oatcakes or thin slices of french bread at a more refined dinner party.
The Main Course (Entree)
Pot Roasted Scotch Beef with Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and Spring Greens. The beef was cooked in the Slow Cooker doused with a bottle of dark beer and enough stock to cover three-quarters of the meat, then cooked on low for 8-10 hours. Once cooked, I reduced the cooking liquor by half , by boiling it on the stove to make an intense and delicious gravy.
Dessert
Okay, so pears are hardly 'spring' produce but I couldn't resist these pears, they looked so good and when I peeled and quartered them to make the Pear Upside Down Cake, they were indeed perfect and perfectly ripe. I'll be posting the recipe for the cake very soon, it comes from the latest book Hummingbird Bakery - Life is Sweet which I'll also be reviewing.
Aldi Shopping List
Celery - 65p
Maris Piper Potatoes - 2.5kg - £1.89
Smoked Mackerel Fillets - £1.59
Silverside Scotch Beef Joint - £8.10
Spring Greens - 59p
'Specially Selected' Yorkshire Puddings - 99p
'Best in Season' Pears - £1.29
Many thanks to Aldi for providing me with vouchers to purchase the ingredients for these recipes. I was not paid and all opinions are my own.
Oh my, the pear upside down cake sounds divine x
ReplyDeleteHee hee, look out for it on the blog soon Charlene.
DeleteI haven't had celery soup in years and now I'm really keen to have a bowlful again - I remember liking it, but I'd just forgotten about it. And the pear upside down cake looks fab.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten about it too Choclette. It was really good.
DeleteWhenever I get a chance to stock up on celery I love to make celery soup!
ReplyDeleteI love celery, have you every grown it Heidi? I did once a long time ago, it wasn't to difficult to grow.
DeleteI am alone in my love of cooked celery here in this house. I cannot even get away with disguising celery soup with stilton and white port.... Now I want some celery soup. This looks absolutely delicious.
ReplyDeleteoh shame Anita-Clare, I'm lucky that we all like celery.
DeleteSounds like a great four course meal, especially that pear cake.
ReplyDeleteThanks Caroline, more on the pear cake coming soon.
DeleteThe pear upside down cake looks amazing! x
ReplyDeleteThanks Sisley.
DeleteThat pear cake looks wonderful Janice! I don't use Aldi very often, purely because Lidl is closer and pretty good too.
ReplyDeletewhat a great meal. I love the cake - so pretty! although am definitely inspired by the soup - healthy as well as delicious
ReplyDeleteThat cake looks delicious! There's an Aldi opposite my daughter's dance class, so I often nip in for some fruit & veg while she's dancing - they have a fabulous selection.
ReplyDeleteOh yum, the cake looks fabulous as does the soup. Going to have to try both of those
ReplyDelete