Almond Brittle Cake

Mushroom and Spinach Pancakes

Rillettes of Salmon

Rachel Allen is one of my very favorite cooks. Her meals are straight forward, delicious and remind me of home.  Here are three of her spring recipes from Kerrygold.  I'm seriously thinking of making the brittle cake for Easter, the pancake, which was yesterday's lunch, was so delicious it will be today's lunch as well.  It doesn't hurt that it takes five minutes to make. Scrumptious.

Rachel Allen is promoting Kerrygold’s naturally softer block butter. For more information, recipes and tips from Rachel, visit www.facebook.com/KerrygoldUK

AlmondBrittle Cake

Caloriesper serving: 623     Fat per serving:35.5g

Serves 12

Ingredients
·        150g (5oz) Kerrygoldblock butter, now softer
·        175g (6oz) caster sugar
·        3 large eggs, beaten
·        150g (5oz) self-raisingflour
·        1 tsp baking powder
·        75g (3oz) groundalmonds
·        2 tsp milk

        Almond Brittle

·        vegetable oil, for greasing
·        100g (4oz) granulated sugar
·        100g (4oz) wholealmonds (unskinned)

AlmondButter Icing       
 225g (8oz) Kerrygold block butter, 
 450g (1lb) icingsugar 
 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

2x 18cm (7 inch) deep sandwich tins or cake tins        

Method
1.    Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan oven 170°C, Gas Mark 5.Grease the cake tins with a little Kerrygold butter and line the bases withbaking paper or greaseproof paper.

2.    Beat the Kerrygold butter and sugar together until lightand creamy, then gradually add the eggs, beating well between eachaddition. Sieve the flour and baking powder together, then add to thecreamed mixture with the ground almonds. Stir in the milk.

3.    Divide equally between the prepared tins. Bake for 22-25minutes.

4.    Whilethe cakes are cooking, make the almond brittle. First, grease a baking sheetwith a little vegetable oil. Next, combinethe sugar and almonds in a heavy saucepan. Put over a medium-low heat until thesugar turns caramel colour, carefully rotating the pan until the almonds arecovered – this will only take a few minutes. Very carefully pour the mixtureonto the baking sheet. Cool. (TAKE GREAT CARE when making caramel and NEVERtouch it – it reaches an extremely high temperature. Keep a watchful eye on thepan as you make it – don’t just leave it to cook).

5.    Remove the cakes from the oven and cool in the tins fora few minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

6.    To make the icing, beat the Kerrygold butter until soft,then gradually beat in the icing sugar, using a hand-held electric mixer. Beatin the vanilla extract. Chop half the cooled almond brittle finely and stir itinto the icing.

7.    Toassemble, spilt each cake in half. Spreadwith butter icing, then sandwich the two cakes together with more icing. Spreadthe rest of the icing around the top and sides of the cake.

8.    Break off some shards of almond brittle and arrange ontop of the cake. Coarsely chop the rest and sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Tip:Usewhole unskinned hazelnuts instead of almonds for the brittle.

Spinach and Mushroom Pancakes

Caloriesper serving: 355     Fat per serving:16.5g

Serves 4

Pancake Batter
·        15g (1/2oz) Kerrygoldblock butter, now softer
·        150g (5oz) plainflour
·        pinch of salt
·        200ml (7fl oz) milk
·        2 eggs
·        2 tablespoons water

Filling
·        25g (1oz) Kerrygold block butter, nowsofter
·        1 onion, finely chopped
·        400g (14oz) baby spinach
·        225g (8oz) mushrooms, sliced
·        100ml (4fl oz) single cream
·        1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley
·        squeeze of lemon juice
·        salt and freshly ground pepper
·        chopped fresh chives, to garnish (optional)

Method

1.   For the pancakebatter, melt the Kerrygold butter over a low heat. Put the flour, salt, milk,eggs and water into a mixing bowl and beat together with a hand whisk to make asmooth batter. Whisk in the melted Kerrygold butter and leave to rest for 20-30minutes.

2.   For the filling, melt the Kerrygold butterin a heavy saucepan until it foams. Add the onion, then cover and sweatover a gentle heat for 5-10 minutes, until soft but not coloured.

3.   Meanwhile, cook thespinach in a tiny amount of water in a large lidded saucepan, until the leaveswilt (about 3-4 minutes). Drain, then squeeze out the excess liquid with theback of a spoon.

4.   Add the mushrooms to the onion and cook fora few more minutes, then stir in the cream, parsley and spinach. Season withlemon juice, salt and pepper.

5.   Cook ladlefuls of thepancake batter in a non-stick frying pan until set on the surface. Turn over tocook the other side. Use to make 4 large or 8 small pancakes.

6.   Lay the pancakes onwarm plates and spoon the filling in the middle. Serve, sprinkled with choppedchives.

Tip: Use thefilling as a sauce for pasta - simply stir it though your favourite cookedpasta shapes.

Rillettes of Fresh and Smoked Salmon with Melba Toastand Cucumber Pickle

Calories perserving (without toast): 198    Fat perserving: 14.7g

Serves 6

 

Ingredients

75g (3oz) Kerrygold block butter, now softer
200g (7oz) smoked wild or organic Irish salmon
1 tsp water
200g (7oz) skinless fresh salmon fillet
Freshly ground pepper and nutmeg
Lemon juice, to taste
6 slices medium-cut white bread from a large slicedloaf

Method
1.   Melt 15g (1/2oz) Kerrygold butter in a saucepan. Addthe smoked salmon and 1 tsp of water. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, or untilit no longer looks opaque. Cool and refrigerate until cold.

2.   At the same time, put the fresh salmon fillet into asaucepan and cover with water. Heat until almost boiling, then turn off theheat and let the salmon poach in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove, cool andrefrigerate until cold.

3.   When cold, use two forks to shred both the fresh andsmoked salmon – you are aiming for a coarse, slightly stringy texture.
4.   Beat the remaining Kerrygold butter in a bowl, thenadd the salmon and mix together, still using a fork (do not use a foodprocessor). Season with pepper and nutmeg. Taste and add lemon juice asnecessary. Cover and chill.

5.   Just before serving, make the Melba toast. Toast thebread on both sides. Cut the crusts off immediately and then split in half tocreate very thin slices. Scrape off any soft crumb, cut into triangles and putback under the grill, untoasted side up for a few seconds until the edges curlup. Serve with the rillettes.

Tip: Salmon rillettes will keep perfectly in therefrigerator for 5-6 days provided they are sealed with clarified butter. Tomake clarified butter, melt 75g (3oz) Kerrygold butter gently in a saucepan.Allow it to stand for a few minutes, and then skim off the crusty white layerof salt particles from the top. Underneath this crust there is clear liquidbutter, which is the clarified butter. The milky liquid at the bottom can bediscarded or used in a white sauce. Pack the salmon rillettes into individual potsor a larger pottery terrine and level the surface. Carefully pour the clarifiedbutter over the top. Chill to form a sealed layer.

Cucumber Pickle
Caloriesper serving: 35       Fat per serving: 0
Serves 6

Ingredients
·        1 cucumber, thinly sliced (unpeeled)
·        1 small onion, thinly sliced
·        25g (1oz) caster sugar
·        1 tsp salt
·        200ml (7fl oz) cider vinegar

Method 
1.   Combine the cucumber and onion sliced in a bowl (not ametal one). Add the sugar, salt and vinegar. 
2.   Place in a tightly covered container in the refrigeratorand leave for at least 4-5 hours or overnight before using. 

Tip: Keeps well for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Additional Recipe Tips

·        SalmonRillettes on Sour Dough: Toast or char-grill a slice of sour dough bread, spread with somerillette mixture. Top with a few tiny rocket leaves and some chive or wildgarlic flowers.

·        Salmon Rilettes on CucumberSlices: Cut two cucumbers into 5mm (1/4 inch) slices. Spoon a blob of the rillettesmixture on top of each cucumber slice. Garnish with sprigs of chervil,chives or wild garlic flowers. Arrange 3 on a plate with a little salad inthe centre or serve as a canap