Quiche Of The Day

As summer approaches (yes it is really coming!) it's time for salads and light meals. So the new menu at The Old Red Lion, Litchborough now contains "Quiche of the Day" which will always be a vegetarian choice, perfect for National Vegetarian Week.
Fresh from the oven here's todays choice - Tomato,Courgette,Basil and Mozzerella

Tomato, Courgette, Basil & Mozzerella Quiche

This is a photo of yesterdays choice - Broccoli, Pesto, Cashew & Goats Cheese

Broccoli, Pesto, Cashew & Goats Cheese Quiche

So what's your favourite flavour?
 Please feel free to share your favourites in the comments box below

Halloumi Burger Served In Homemade Pitta Bread

Still embracing National Vegetarian Week, todays suggestion would be ideal for entertaining your vegetarian guests at a summer bbq maybe? I am not a vegetarian but I  LOVE these burgers!
 We originally chose to serve them in a bun but, after feedback on the new menu launch night, had the brainwave of serving in homemade pittas so the taste wasn't so "claggy".
Already a success at The Old Red Lion and very easy to make, so go on, give them a try. Recipe below the picture.

Homemade Halloumi Burger served in Homemade Pitta with Skin on Chips, Coleslaw & Salad

Ingredients
2x400g chickpeas, drained
2Tsp Ground Cumin
1Tsp Ground Coriander
2Green Chillies
2Garlic Cloves
1/2 Bunch Spring Onions
1Tsp Salt
2Tbsp Flour
1Packet Halloumi, Diced

Method
Whizz all ingredients apart from the cheese in a processor then transfer to a bowl. Add the halloumi, mix, and form 6 burgers.
Either cook for a few minutes in a frying pan or under the grill.

I'm entering this recipe in a blog link party this week on a great blog I have discovered, Michelles Tasty Creations. Join me through this link to see what other creative recipes fellow bloggers have been trying this week.

National Vegetarian Week - May 20th - 26th

In todays society it is important to consider many different food types when designing menus in eating establishments. It's amazing how many people now inquire about gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan options for meals.
 Here at The Old Red Lion, Litchborough we are always happy to discuss alternative options to the menu with customers and try to include a variety of vegetarian meals on our menu.
 As we enter "National Vegetarian Week" I thought I would share with you some of the meat free options on our current menu.

Todays dish is Vegetable Tagine with Toasted Almond Couscous.
A "Tagine" is traditionally a Moroccan dish and would be described as a slow cooked, sweet and spicy stew.
I got this recipe originally from the BBC Good Food website and the dish is proving to be very popular already on the new menu.
We even managed to find some lovely, white, mini tagine dishes which matched our plates perfectly!!
We love good presentation for all our dishes!

There are some lovely ingredients found in this dish including dried apricots and chick peas. It's also a very healthy meal if you are watching your weight at the moment!

When reading the recipe, one of the ingredients is Harissa paste which I had never heard of before. We found a jar in Waitrose to begin with but it's very easy to make your own version. You can find a recipe HERE .
It certainly does give the stew a very distinctive unique taste.

The great thing with the mini tagine dish is that the stew forms a great shape which remains in place when the lid is removed!!

Have a go at the recipe yourself or, if you fancy being treated, pop by the Old Red Lion and let us do the cooking for you!

Successful Summer Menu Launch

For the past few weeks at The Old Red Lion, Litchborough we have been discussing new dishes for the summer menu.
 It's lovely to be involved in the planning, and exciting to think something you have designed will be eaten and enjoyed by others.
So after weeks of planning it all came together on Tuesday night with a handful of invited customers. We finally launched our summer menu and asked our guests for constructive feedback.
The evening started very calmly as you see from the photo below.
This is Toby demonstrating his skills on the hob.

Toby, Chef At The Old red Lion

As the evening got underway it was very busy in the kitchen.
We did a lot of Mushroom Pate starter served with our own homemade seeded loaf and red onion chutney.
Quite a lot of feedback on this one from not enough bread to too much pate. Nothing major which was great.

Mushroom Pate, Homemade Seeded Loaf And Red Onion Chutney

Meatball starter with warm cheesy dip was also very popular. No negative comments at all on this one, a firm favourite it seemed.

Meatballs And Warm Cheesy Dip

A very popular choice was our crab burger, mini fries and sweet chilli dipping sauce.
My favourite item on the menu I must confess. Very proud of the concept that we achieved here. The crab burger is homemade (secret recipe!) and works very well with my homemade lemon and poppy seed rolls. I think this one will do well in future!

Homemade Crab Burger in Lemon And Poppy Seed Bun with Mini Fries And Sweet Chilli Dip

On to our main courses and Toby worked very hard on the presentation of his fillet of beef filled with a slightly spiced parsnip filling, served with horseradish mash and bean bundles. Beautiful fillet produced by Radmore Farm!

Stuffed Beef Fillet With Horseradish Mash And Bean Bundles

Next came the confit duck wrapped in parma ham and served with our "straw" potatoes and carrot and bean bundles.

Confit Duck Wrapped In parma Ham Served With Mini Fries, Carrot & Bean Bundles

Belly Pork seems to be very much in fashion at the moment in many restaurants so we have included in our menu this tasty slow cooked belly pork filled with a spicy paste and served on chorizo mash and topped with julienne vegetables.

Slow Cooked Belly Pork served on Choritzo Mash and Topped With Julienne Vegetables

It was a hard night and we served about 40 staff ,family, friends and loyal customers with 2 courses each, AND we lived to tell the tale!!!

The new menu is now in full swing and if you fancy trying any of these dishes why not pop along to The Old Red Lion, Litchborough and we'll be happy to cook for you.