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.

Smoked Salmon, Caramelised Red Onion and Cream Cheese Starter

The Old Red Lion in Litchborough is due to play host for it's 2nd wedding later this year and is, at present, discussing menu options with the bride and groom.
 The couple have already been for Sunday lunch to see what our roasts are like and last weekend viewed our marquee, which had been erected outside for a christening. Tomorrow they have arranged to sample some starters and desserts that will be on offer for their big day. In preparation for this I was asked to put together some starter ideas featuring smoked salmon.
 On Wednesday I put together 3 options with this one below being my favourite by far.

First I made a shortcrust pastry tart case.
The pastry was rolled and placed in a fluted tart tin, onto which I put baking beans, to weigh it down, whilst cooking. This is known as 'Blind Baking'.

Baking Blind

Once the pastry is cooked the beans can be removed and the pastry case left to cool.

Baked tart case

Whilst the pastry cooked I chopped some red onion and placed in a saucepan with brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of honey and cooked til the liquid has reduced down and a caramelised mixture had formed.

Making the caramelised  red onion

Leaving that to cool I piped some cream cheese, mixed with some paprika, around the inside edge of the cooled tart case.

Piping the cream cheese

When my caramelised red onion had cooled I spooned it into the center of my tart case.

Place the red onion chutney in the center

I got a long strip of smoked salmon and rolled it round to look like a rose and positioned on top of the red onion mix.

Smoked salmon,red onion and cream cheese starter

Simple, but very effective, I served on a square plate with some lemon.

Smoked salmon,red onion and cream cheese starter

The combination of flavours and textures tasted lovely.

It will be interesting to find out how well it will be received tomorrow at the tasting.

Sticky Buns - Bread Challenge No.15

So a month ago I set myself a challenge of completing 15 or more different bread recipes with the finishing date set at 11th April and hey, guess what, that's today!!
My former employer used to despair of me as I wasnt as organised as him and his wife and I remember him one day saying to me "you always deliver but it always at the 11th hour". To me so long as I deliver what does it matter that it's at the 11th hour? So that's what I'm doing today, delivering to you challenge number 15 at the 11th hour!!!!!
It's been a great challenge. I wouldnt say I'm a master at bread making but I have a much better understanding now of :
How yeast works,
Why it's important that the fluid added to the dry ingredients is lukewarm,
Allowing time for the dough to rise
Punching the risen dough to disperse the air
And, especially, use some decent strong flour and not a cheaper version!!!!

I'm sure I learnt much more but they are my main things and now I'm delighted to share with you my final challenge of Sticky Buns, the recipe of which came from  The Great British Bake Off cookbook. I am dieting at the moment so had to resist temptation of eating a whole bun but the litttle bite I had was delicious.
So here goes, the final bread challenge recipe.
Ingredients:
200ml Milk
75g Butter
500g Strong white Bread Flour
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Caster Sugar
1 Egg
1x 7g Sachet fast Action Yeast
For The Filling:
50g Butter
75g Light Brown Muscavado Sugar
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
For The Topping:
100g butter, softened
75g Light Brown Muscavado Sugar
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
100g Walnut Pieces

Method:
Heat the milk and butter in a pan until the butter just melts, then remove from the heat to cool until lukewarm.
Mix the flour,salt,sugar and yeast in a bowl. Beat the egg into the milk/butter mixture then add to the dry ingredients and mix together to form a soft, but not sticky, dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10minutes until very smooth and pliable. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour to rise.

Punch down the dough then turn out onto a lightly floured work top and roll out to a rectangle about 24x48cm. Brush the melted butter over the dough. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Staring from one long edge, lightly roll up the dough like a swiss roll, then, using a sharp knife, cut across into 12 slices. (If you're wondering why I only have 6, I did half the recipe quantity to resist temptation of eating them all!!)

Slightly flatten each one gently with your palm.

For the topping, beat the butter,sugar and maple syrup until thoroughly combined. Spread the mixture evenly over the base of a greased baking tray. Scatter over the nuts and gently press in. Arrange the buns cut side up in the tin spaced evenly apart. Cover and leave til doubled in size.

Uncover and bake in a pre heated oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 or until buns are golden brown and the caramel topping is bubbling around the sides. Leave for a couple of minutes (no longer) then carefully remove each one from the tray, and turn over and cool on a wire rack. Best eaten warm

So there you go the final Bread Challenge. Thanks for joining me. The next challenge is being carefully considered. Stay tuned!!

Breadsticks - Bread Challenge No. 14

Well here we go, it's the penultimate challenge and one I was determined to attempt before the end as it was different, though the process was basically the same as making a loaf. So glad I did as they taste lovely and worked well with our salad tea this evening!!!
Not much else to say!

Ingredients:
350g/12oz Strong Bread Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Sachet Fast Action Yeast
200ml/7floz Lukewarm Water
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Method:
Put the flour,salt, yeast and oil in a bowl, Make a well and add the water and mix to form a dough. Knead well for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Leave in a bowl covered with clingfilm in a warm place for about an hour til risen.
When risen, punch down on the dough and transfer to the work surface. Knead for a couple of minutes then roll out into a rectangle. Cut into strips and roll and stretch each strip and place on a greased baking tray. Cover and leave again to double in size.
Bake for 10-15 mins at 200C