In The Restaurant @ The Mill it’s about fine dining, but chef Ben loves to rustle up some of the old-fashioned, hearty recipes that people often yearn for when it’s cold, wet and windy outside… So curl up for a rustic lunch with restaurant owners Ben and Hilary – it’s their day off and they are in the mood to indulge and try out author Janice Horton’s Haggis Bake and my own Heavenly Crepes!
Well, what better winter warmer could you possibly ask for? And this is a lady who lives in the wilds of bonnie Scotland and really appreciates food that warms from the inside out…
Janice Horton lives a cottage on the side of a hillside in Scotland. Previously traditionally published and now writing as an Indie, Janice writes contemporary fiction with humour and heart.
Look out for her Amazon Kindle bestselling ebooks ‘Bagpipes and Bullshot’ and ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and her voodoo romance series of novellas.
Janice has also written a guide for authors ‘How To Party Online’. She is a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association and Associate Editor of the innovative Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine.
Janice is a regular blogger and you’ll also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Haggis Bake
You will need:
One large haggis (I’m using a traditional Macsween of Edinburgh haggis).
1kg lean Scottish steak mince.
One large onion.
Two tbsp plain flour.
Tin of chopped tomatoes.
One and a half pints of beef stock ( I used OXO cubes x 3)
Potatoes (peel as many as you think you will need to cover a large shallow oven dish) then slice lengthways into medium thick slices and part boil.
Method:
Brown the minced beef in a large pan with the chopped onion. Add the flour. Stir and cook until the flour is absorbed. Add the tinned chopped tomatoes and the beef stock. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cover.
Cook the haggis by following the instructions on the wrapper. For this recipe I used the microwave method. Chop up the cooked haggis and add to the minced beef and gravy. Stir and add boiling water if more liquid is required. The oats in the haggis will absorb a lot of the liquid and you should allow for this. You probably won’t want to season the mixture as the haggis is well seasoned.
In a separate pan, parboil the sliced potatoes for about 5 minutes. You want them half-cooked and still firm. Drain in a colander. Transfer the beef mince and haggis mixture to a large shallow oven dish and arrange the slices of potato on top.
Brush with melted butter and pop into a moderately hot oven. This would be the middle shelf of the roasting oven for an range cooker or 190 degrees/ gas mark 5 for a conventional oven. Bake until bubbling and golden brown for approx 30-40 minutes. Serves 8-10 generously. Enjoy with seasonal vegetables like ‘neeps’ and carrots.
Website/Blog: www.janicehortonwriter.co.uk
Twitter @JaniceHorton
www.facebook.com/
And next:
Heavenly Crepes!
Serves: 4 people – make them the day before and keep in the fridge
Crepe batter:
4oz. plain flour
Pinch of salt
Grated rind of half a lemon
1 egg
1/2 pint milk
1/2oz. butter, melted
Butter for frying
For orange butter sauce:
5-6 white sugar cubes (very important)
3oz. butter
2oz. caster sugar
2 large oranges
1 tbsp. juice of an orange
1 tbsp. cointreau
1 tbsps. brandy
Sift the flour and the salt; mix in the grated lemon rind. Add the egg and beat into a smooth batter. Add the milk and melted butter, beating well. Heat a small knob of butter in a 7″ frying pan until hot, pour off any surplus into a small dish. Pour in enough batter to cover the pan thinly and cook until golden brown. Turn using a palette knife, and brown the other side.
As the crepes are ready stack them on a large plate. Leave to cool, then wrap in cling film and place in the fridge.
To make the orange buttery sauce, rub the sugar cubes over the skin of the washed orange until each cube has absorbed the oil in the skin. Crush the cubes in a pestle and mortar. Beat the butter until soft, add the crushed sugar cubes and add in the caster sugar. Beat until soft and creamy, then add in the orange juice and Cointreau. Mix well, cover and pop into the fridge.
To assemble the dish (same, or next day): take one crepe and place a little of the orange butter sauce in the middle, fold into four and repeat, arranging the crepes in a shallow ovenproof dish. Melt the remaining orange butter in a small pan and pour over the crepes. Put the dish in the oven for about 20-30 minutes 180ºc, turn down the temperature a little if the edges start to over-crisp. At the table, place the dish on a warming dish (the sort with tea lights), pour the brandy into a tablespoon or serving spoon and heat the bowl of the spoon with a long-stemmed match or lighter. Pour over the crepes in the dish and ignite the brandy. Serve at once. Delicious served one crepe per person, with a scoop of good quality, vanilla ice cream.
Good food and wine, pleasant company … what more could you ask from a restaurant? But what Hilary finds is that as she looks around it isn’t just celebrations that bring people together around a dinner table. Sometimes it’s the need to get away to talk and sometimes she notices tears, or troubled sighs as she busily flits from table to table. Each couple have their own story to tell and some guests are frequent visitors so in a way, their story plays out in front of her. A young couple who meet, celebrate their engagement and then wedding, and then there’s a baby on the way. But in between there is a tragedy that impacts upon this young couple … it’s all in The Restaurant @ The Mill.
This is a good book to curl up with in front of the fire. If you love peeking into other people’s lives then you will be surprised to find that no matter how different their backgrounds, ages or professions – everyone has their our own problems to contend with, they are just all very different!
The Winter Warmer
recipe booklet will be free to download on
2 February 2014
– so don’t forget to pop back!