Food for Fireworks…
Make your kitchen a fantastic and vibrant place this Bonfire Night weekend. We have compiled a selection of recipes to make for your Bonfire and Firework Display.
Whichever Bonfire Night recipes you choose, remember, remember… to ensure they’re gloriously comforting and deliciously indulgent. Amazing Food for Fireworks…
Braised featherblade beef
Prepare yourself for a posh, braised steak. It tastes so good that guests will think you’ve been slaving away for hours.
Ingredients
- 1kg/2lb 2oz feather blade steak, trimmed and cut into 250g/10oz pieces
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 bannana shallots or 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 celery sticks, trimmed, sliced
- 2 carrots, thickly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 250ml/10fl oz red wine
- 500ml/17fl oz beef stock
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp English mustard
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 3.
- Season the beef on both sides with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan. Fry the steak pieces over a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each sides, or until browned. Transfer the beef pieces to a casserole dish. (You may need to do this in batches.)
- Return the frying pan to the hob and reduce the heat. Add the remaining oil and gently fry the shallots, celery and carrots for 6-8 minutes or until golden-brown and softened. Stir in the garlic, cook for a further minute and add the mixture to the casserole.
- Deglaze the pan with wine and allow to bubble for a few seconds, stirring constantly and pour over the meat and vegetables. Stir the stock and the tomato purée. Strip the thyme leaves from the stalks and scatter into the pan, add the bay leaf and mustard and stir until well combined. Bring to the boil and remove the dish from the heat.
- Cover the surface of meat and liquid carefully with a piece of greaseproof paper. Place a lid on top and cook in the oven for 3-3½ hours or until the beef is very tender. Skim any fat away from the surface that appears during cooking.
- Transfer the meat to a plate. Strain the cooking liquor and vegetables through a sieve into a large non-stick frying pan. Press the vegetables with the bottom of a ladle to extract a rich purée and stir into the cooking liquor. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce is well reduced, thick and glossy. Add the beef to the liquid and heat through for 3-4 minutes, spooning over the sauce to glaze. Serve with some green vegetables and mashed potatoes.
For more recipes like this one, please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/casserole
Traditional Yorkshire Parkin
Another fabulous traditional Bonfire night food is the Yorkshire Parkin is a cake traditionally made of oatmeal and black treacle and eaten mainly around the Bonfire Night season.
It is believed to originated in northern England. and it is often associated with Yorkshire but no one knows its precise origins.
The Cake is very much widespread and popular in other local UK Regions. Parkin is generally moist and can be sometimes sticky.
Ingredients:
- 110g soft butter
- 110g soft dark brown sugar
- 55g black treacle
- 200g golden syrup
- 225g medium oatmeal
- 110g self-rising flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- 1 tbsp milk
- Pinch of salt
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 140C/120C fan/Gas Mark 1. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm square cake tin. In a pan, over a gentle heat, melt the butter, sugar, treacle and golden syrup. Don’t allow the mixture to get too hot or bubble.
- When they have melted together remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl sift the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre. Gradually add the melted butter mixture and fold together.
- Pour in the beaten eggs and milk and combine. Pour into your baking tin. Bake for 1 – 1/2 hours, however, keep an eye on it as Parkin can easily become dry and over baked.
- Remove from the oven and leave in the tin for 20 minutes. Tip onto a cake rack and leave to cool completely.
- Store the Parkin in a cake tin and wrapped in greaseproof paper. You must keep it in a tin for a minimum of 1 day and up to a week before you cut it.
- Leaving it to develop will give it a moist and sticky texture, as well as making the flavour richer and deeper.
For more recipes like this one, please see http://bonfirenighttraditions.co.uk/food/
Baked apples
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 4 apples (1 per person)
- 4 tsp demerara sugar (1 per person)
- 4 tbsp dried fruit (sultanas, raisins or anything else you fancy)
- 1 tsp cinnamon (or mixed spice)
Method
- Preheat oven 175’C/350’F/Gas mark 4
- Scoop out the core from the top of the apple, leaving a well – do not cut all the way through
- Score the skin around the centre of the apple, to stop the skin bursting as it cooks
- Stuff each apple with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of dried fruit
- Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon or mixed spice
- Bake in preheated oven for 15-30 minutes, until sugar begins to caramelize and apples are soft
- Serve with ice cream, custard or enjoy simply as they are
For more recipes like this one, please see http://www.netmums.com/halloween-and-bonfire-night/bonfire-night-food
