Frequently Used Recipes

Shortcrust Pastry

225g/8oz plain flour

150g/5oz butter, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

 (for savoury pastry)

or 25g/1oz caster sugar (for sweet pastry)

1-2 egg yolks

Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the salt or caster sugar, then mix to a dough with the egg yokes and a little cold water if necessary.  Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured work surface and use to line a deep 28cm/11 inch loose-bottomed flan tin.

To bake blind, cover the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans (either ceramic ones or any raw dried beans, which you can reuse for baking blind).  Remove the beans and greaseproof paper and return the pastry case to the oven for 5-10 minutes, until very lightly coloured.

After removing the beans and paper you could brush the partly cooked pastry with lightly beaten egg white before returning it to the oven.  This helps to form a seal and keeps the pastry crisp when you add the filling.


Onion Gravy
1 tbsp oil
250g onions, thinly sliced
few thyme sprigs
1 tsp butter
1 tsp light brown sugar
2 tsp flour
300ml stock

Heat the oil  in a pan in stir in the onions, thyme and some seasoning.  Cover and cook gently for 20 mins until the onions are softened butnot coloured.
Remove the lid, turn up the heat, add the butter and sugar, then let the onions carmelise to a dark golden brown, stirring often.  Remove the thyme sprigs and set aside.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Remove from the heat and gradually add the stock until the gravy is as thick as you wish it to be, make sure to cook it for a further minute to make sure the starch is cooked out of the flour.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as appropriate.