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Home Cooking
Rachel Allen
Bestselling TV cook Rachel Allen feeds her family and yours with a collection of easy and delicious recipes that everyone will love, plus handy kitchen tips and tricks to make your life easier.In this, her sixth cookbook, Rachel shows how easy it is to feed your family great food, every day. From school run to bedtime, Rachel has suggestions that even the fussiest eater will love. Treat your loved-ones to nourishing, delicious food with this indispensable, inspirational recipe collection full of wise words, clever hints and tips and, above all, Rachel's irresistible recipes.CHAPTER BREAKDOWN– Breakfast & Brunch– Lunch– Sunday Lunch– Supper– Snacks and treats– Baby Food– Desserts– Sweets– Basics– Plus handy sections explaining meal planning, home freezing, healthy eating and much more!
RACHEL ALLEN
Home Cooking
Contents
Cover (#u28fe0de7-8a9b-5da4-8bc4-f571e3330666)
Title Page (#ulink_3ebf91b4-9835-518b-bcc2-69dfc037fc49)
Introduction (#u13551a04-957b-59ce-af05-80eee8d94547)
Breakfast (#u3f06234e-2f39-510e-b6ba-f060354ab839)
Lunch (#u91352493-ba8c-5605-b44a-285d20fee2bc)
Sunday lunch (#litres_trial_promo)
Suppers (#litres_trial_promo)
Dessert (#litres_trial_promo)
Snacks, treats and sweet (#litres_trial_promo)
Boby purées (#litres_trial_promo)
Basics (#litres_trial_promo)
Index (#litres_trial_promo)
Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Introduction (#ulink_389c3a68-ee95-59b5-924c-3feb96da2e93)
Home cooking is not about recreating fancy restaurant meals — although that is obviously great fun too — it’s more a way of life. It’s about food that anyone can achieve for friends and family, and taking great pleasure in the preparation as much as in the sharing, and of course the eating! The value of cooking at home goes beyond merely having control over your ingredients (though this is profoundly important for health, wellbeing, and your wallet …), it’s also about gathering your loved ones together to share and enjoy the most fundamental part of life; it’s about teaching your children how to appreciate a home-cooked meal and showing them how much fun cooking can be; it’s about slowing down the busy pace of your life when you can, but also knowing that when there isn’t much time you can still put a loving meal on the table, made by you.
Home cooking is also about the joy of learning old skills and kitchen crafts such as making home-made sweets. It’s about feeling proud as a parent when making by hand your child’s very first foods. It’s about the wonderful kitchen smells and sounds and flavours that you just can’t get any other way.
In this book, you’ll not only find recipes for many occasions from breakfasts to dinners, you’ll also find trusted kitchen tips, such as home freezing, which not only saves time, but money too. You’ll also find hints on menu planning and how to encourage healthy eating habits.
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy every meal together, that you eat well, that you take a moment to appreciate one another’s company around the table, and above all, have fun cooking at home!
Rachel X
p.s. The oven temperatures in this book are for a conventional oven, but if I am using a fan oven, then I usually reduce the temperature by 10 per cent.
Breakfast (#ulink_c3f8993b-c95c-5057-9b3c-ce6efae86c6c)
Homemade yoghurt
MAKES ABOUT 425ML (15FL OZ) · VEGETARIAN
Making your own yoghurt is very satisfying as well as being a good way to encourage children to eat it, as they can add their own flavours. It is crucial to use sugar-free yoghurt for the recipe to work. It is also important that the milk and yoghurt mixture stays in a warm, draught-free place like an airing cupboard or beside an Aga or radiator. Pouring into a flask will also help if you have one.Remember to keep 1 teaspoon of the yoghurt back to make the next batch!
1 litre (1¾ pints) whole milk
25g (1oz) skimmed milk powder
1 tsp natural probiotic yoghurt
1 Pour the milk into a large, heavy-based or cast-iron saucepan on a gentle heat. As the milk is beginning to warm up, add the milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Heat the milk until it reads 90°C (194°F) on a cooking thermometer (if judging by eye, the milk will be sweet smelling and just coming to the boil — steaming heavily and frothing around the edges).
2 Remove from the heat and leave to stand for about 15 minutes to cool until it reads 40°C (104°F) on the thermometer (or the milk has stopped steaming and feels just tepid when you dip your finger in and leave it there for a few seconds).
3 Stir in the yoghurt and cover with a double layer of foil. Wrap with a tea towel and leave in a warm place (or in a flask) until the mixture thickens, which will take 4–5 hours. Remove the towel, transfer to a bowl, cover and place in the fridge to cool overnight.
Variations
Apple and sweet geranium yoghurt: Cook 600g (1⅓lb) (about 2) peeled, cored and roughly chopped cooking apples with 50g (2oz) caster or granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of water and 2 sweet geranium (or mint) leaves for 6–8 minutes until soft. Leave to cool completely and remove the leaves before stirring into the set yoghurt.
Raspberry yoghurt: Make a raspberry coulis (see page 337) and stir into or drizzle over the yoghurt to serve.
Orange curd yoghurt: Ripple a spoonful of orange curd (see page 336) through the yoghurt.
Natural yoghurt with fresh fruits: Serve the yoghurt with one of the fresh fruit salads on page 14.
Natural yoghurt with poached fruits: Serve the yoghurt with some poached fruits (dried or fresh, see pages 44 and 212) or chop them up and stir them into the yoghurt.
Porridge
SERVES 2 · VEGETARIAN
My dad always used to make us eat porridge before going to school, and now I appreciate why. Oats are a great slow-release carbohydrate and so porridge makes a good, hearty breakfast. It can be slightly sinful, depending on what you serve it with, but if you choose healthy toppings it’s a lot more healthy and nutritious than many breakfast cereals.
100g (3½oz) porridge oats
Pinch of salt (optional)
225ml (8fl oz) milk (optional)
1 Place the oats in a medium saucepan, add a pinch of salt (if you wish) and pour over 500ml (18fl oz) water, or a mixture of water and milk.
2 Cook on a low—medium heat, stirring regularly, for 7–10 minutes or until the oats are tender and the porridge creamy and thick. (Feel free to add more liquid if you prefer a thinner consistency.)
3 Serve in warm bowls and make more interesting with one of the tasty additions suggested below.
Additions
* Sweeten with soft brown sugar, honey or maple or golden syrup.
* Add a dash of cream or milk, or drizzle over a little natural yoghurt.
* Try adding dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, apricots or prunes before cooking the oats.
* Top your porridge with your favourite nuts or seeds for a crunchier texture.
* Try flavouring your porridge with added ground cinnamon, cardamom or nutmeg, either during or after cooking.
* For a serious weekend brunch for grown-ups, you could even go so far as to add a splash of whiskey and cream over your porridge … now that is pure indulgence.
Rachel’s tip
If using pinhead oatmeal, it needs to be soaked overnight in water and then cooked as above, but it may take about 20 minutes.
Crunchy granola
MAKES ABOUT 1.5KG (3LB 5OZ) · VEGETARIAN
A bowl of granola, bursting with different textures and flavours, is a fantastic way to start the day. Serve it either with milk or natural yoghurt and feel free to mix and match the ingredients; you could use rye or barley flakes instead of some of the oat flakes, for instance, or add chocolate chips or dried cranberries. Whatever takes your fancy.
125g (4½oz) butter
150ml (5fl oz) honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
500g (1lb 2oz) rolled oats
50g (2oz) pecan nuts, roughly chopped
150g (5oz) hazelnuts, roughly chopped
75g (3oz) pumpkin seeds
75g (3oz) sunflower seeds
50g (2oz) golden linseeds
100g (3½oz) desiccated coconut
300g (11oz) mixed dried fruit, such as dates, figs, apricots, raisins or sultanas, the larger fruit chopped
1 Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3.
2 Place the butter, honey and vanilla extract in a small saucepan on a low heat and gently melt together. Mix the oats, nuts, seeds and desiccated coconut together in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter and honey mixture and stir really well to ensure all the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
3 Divide the mixture between two large baking trays and spread in an even layer. Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes, tossing every 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays, stirring every now and then. (If you transfer it into a deep bowl at this stage, while it is still warm, it will go soggy.)
4 Once completely cool, transfer to a large bowl and stir in your choice of dried fruits. Pour into an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to two months.
Fresh fruit salads
EACH RECIPE SERVES 2 · VEGETARIAN
There’s nothing like a fresh fruit salad to make you feel healthy and invigorated. Eat for breakfast or serve as a starter, simple snack or dessert, either on its own or with natural yoghurt (see page 10 for making your own). First make the fruit juice dressing, then mix with your choice of fruit salad.
Fruit juice dressing
1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp caster sugar or runny honey
2 tbsp finely chopped mint (optional)
Mix the orange juice and lemon juice together in a bowl and stir in the sugar or honey to dissolve. Pour this over your choice of fruit salad below (adding finely chopped mint, if you wish). Stir to combine and serve immediately.
Pink grapefruit and pomegranate
2 pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented Seeds from ½ pomegranate
Mix the pink grapefruit segments and pomegranate seeds together. Stir in the dressing (see above) and serve.
Grape, melon and grapefruit
110g (4oz) seedless red or green grapes (or a mixture), halved
250g (9oz) peeled and deseeded melon, diced
1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented
1 tbsp very finely chopped celery (optional)
Mix the red or green grapes with the melon, grapefruit and celery (if using). Stir in the dressing (see left) and serve.
Tropical fruit mix
1 large orange, peeled and segmented
200g (7oz) peeled and stoned mango, roughly chopped
