With Easter just a few days away our general obsession with chocolate is allowed a very public airing. At Salamander we don’t want to buck the trend and be the party poopers, so we have gone all out to satisfy your desire to incorporate a little more chocolate into the diet with a couple of wonderful chocolate recipes. Firstly a fabulous twist on the classic Hot Cross Bun replaces the fruit in the bun with nibbles of dark chocolate – it really is a spectacular success. If you can use Green & Black’s Maya Gold chocolate it works really well with the spices in the bun.
What’s your favourite way to be indulgent? Whether you’re reading this from work or home, chances are you’d enjoy a break from your usual routine – and Salamander is about to give you the perfect excuse.
This 29th of February, what better reason to treat yourself than the extra Leap Year day? It’s a once-in-four-years chance to claim back some time for you – so why not take this opportunity to get into the kitchen, tune the radio to your favourite station and cook up some delicious baked treats for yourself and your loved ones. And when it comes to home baking, there aren’t many things more indulgent than a mouth-wateringly gooey chocolate cake.
A quick and really easy to make version of Beef Stroganoff
Serves 4
600g rump steak
2 red onions
350g chestnut mushrooms
300ml sour cream
4 tsp mustard (you can use wholegrain or Dijon according to preference)
Trim the steak of any fat and then slice it across the grain into long thin strips. Toss the strips in two teaspoons of seasoned flour.
Cut the onions in half and then slice thinly. Slice the mushrooms.
Heat a knob of butter and some vegetable oil in a pan, add the onion and fry for about eight minutes until softened.
Add the meat and quickly stir fry it until it is browned all over. Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until softened. Season with salt and pepper. At this point you can leave it in a very low oven (or in the simmering oven of an Aga) to let the meat rest whilst you get on with anything else that has to be done.
When you are nearly ready to serve add the mustard and sour cream and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring to make a creamy sauce.
Serve with rice and a green salad or other green vegetables.
Put the oatmeal on to a baking tray and either toast in the oven (200C/400F/Gas Mark 6) or under the grill until it is a golden brown colour.
Whip the double cream until it forms soft peaks then add the honey and whisky. Reserve a small amount of the oatmeal for scattering on the top later, fold the rest into the cream mixture and then fold in the liquidised raspberries.
Put the mixture into a bowl or individual serving dishes then spoon the remaining raspberries and reserved oatmeal on to the top.
For a slightly less rich version you could use half cream and half yoghurt in which case whip the cream first and then stir in the yoghurt. You can also vary it using any soft fruit but raspberries give it a traditional Scottish feel.
450g ripe pears, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
1tbsp muscovado sugar
2 mangoes, peeled, stoned and cut into chunks
1 piece of stem ginger, finely chopped
For the topping:
175g plain flour
85g butter
85g muscovado sugar
85g pecans put into a plastic bag and bashed with a rolling pin in order to chop them up.
Heat the oven to 180C/160F/gas mark 4. Then put the pears in a pan with the sugar and 4tbsp water. Cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until the pears are just tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the mango chunks and the chopped ginger. Spoon the mixture into a shallow 1.75 litre baking dish and leave whilst you make the topping. To do this rub the butter into the flour until it is like breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar and the chopped pecans. Sprinkle this mixture over the fruit, then bake in the oven for 30 minutes until browned.
Delicious, especially with cream or vanilla ice cream.
With Easter just a few days away our general obsession with chocolate is allowed a very public airing. At Salamander we don’t want to buck the trend and be the party poopers, so we have gone all out to satisfy your desire to incorporate a little more chocolate into the diet with a couple of wonderful chocolate recipes. Firstly a fabulous twist on the classic Hot Cross Bun replaces the fruit in the bun with nibbles of dark chocolate – it really is a spectacular success. If you can use Green & Black’s Maya Gold chocolate it works really well with the spices in the bun.