Eating through the Six nations #3: Ireland vs Scotland (Bacon n Cabbage and Cock-a-leekie soup)

I was supposed to put this post up yesterday, as that was when the game was played, but it was the 27th, which meant it was the day to post my Daring Baker stuff. So here it is :)

There are a lot of differing opinions as to what is the true traditional Irish dish. Some say lamb stew, more say its bacon and cabbage. Either are yummy dishes in my opinion :) Bacon and cabbage is much less work.


Bacon and Cabbage 
Bacon
Cabbage
Potatoes
 

 So all you do is put the bacon in a large pot and cover with water.

Bring the water to a boil, then dump out the water (this removes a lot of the salt in the bacon), re top-up with water and boil until the bacon is cooked. Meanwhile, slice up the cabbage and give it a good rinse

When the bacon is nearly done (after about 1.5 hrs on the second boil), add the cabbage and cook it right in with the bacon. The cabbage takes on the porky-salty-yummy flavour. Plus its more cost-efficient than boiling a second pot. 

Slice up the bacon, mash the potatoes you cooked at the same time (in a different pot), drizzle a little parsley sauce over it and enjoy!

VERDICT: Nom-nom-nom! Pretty yummy component for the Irish portion of this post!


Now for the Scottish:


Cock-a-Leekie Soup (From Traditional Scottish Recipes)

3lb chicken
3 slices streaky bacon
1lb stewing beef
2lb leeks
1 large onion (I had two small ones)
5 fluid ounces Scotch whiskey
4 pints water
1 tbsp dried tarragon (I used a few springs of fresh tarragon as I couldn't find dried anywhere)
salt and pepper

Mix the whiskey, tarragon and sugar in the water (hmmm ... no sugar listed in ingredients, so I left it out). Chop up the bacon and place the chicken, bacon and beef in a large bowl and pour over the whiskey marinade. Leave to soak overnight. Place the entire mixture in a large soup pot. Chop up the leeks (reserving one) and onion and add to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for two hours, removing any scum as required. Remove the chicken from the pot, remove skin and bones. Chop the meat into small pieces and return to the pot. Cut up the beef, if required. Add the last chopped leek and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

VERDICT: Never again. Sugar may have made a difference, but there was a strong whiskey taste that I am not a fan of. There was no alcohol left after the long boiling time, so no worry of getting tipsy, but it tasted like a lump of whiskey with the texture of chicken. So not such a fan of this traditional Scottish dish. But that's ok, at least I tried it :)

Result: Ireland 21 - Scotland 18

So, what was one dish you tried but won't be attempting again?


Peace,

Jenn x

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake

I love pasta bake. You can put loads of veggies, mix a whole bunch of flavours, its totally easy and it freezes well. And I have yet to meet anyone that doesn't like them, which makes it a good dish for company.

I made one tonight and decided to share it with you. This is the version I most frequently make. I'm not a huge fan of broccoli, but I like it in this so I put a whole bunch in and leave out other veggies. But its also good with zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, asparagus - pretty much any vegetables you and your family like.


Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake
Serves 7

1 onion
large head of broccoli
4 chicken breasts
2 tins of cream soup (I used Weight Watchers chicken soup and Erin low fat cream of mushroom soup)
2 cups pasta (I used whole wheat fusili)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Put a pot of water on to boil and add the pasta. Cook until its al dente.
Get everything together

Chop up the broccoli, onion and chicken

Add the onion and chicken to a pan and cook until the chicken is no longer pink. 

Once the chicken is done, throw in the broccoli 

Continue to cook until the broccoli starts to soften, maybe 3-5 minutes. We still want the broccoli to have a bit of crunch.

Add the broccoli/chicken/onion mixture to the pasta. 

 Throw the tins of soup on top and mix together. Put in a dish, top with cheese and bake until bubbling and the cheese is melted.

Serve with a side salad and enjoy with pleasure :)

I know it doesn't look like much but its really tasty. I made one dish for us to have tonight and froze another dish (without the cheese on top) that will serve 2 as well as two individual dishes. So that made a good few meals for little effort and not a lot of money. And its pretty healthy too so that's important.


Do you have any cheap, easy, go-to meals?




Peace,


Jenn x

Beef Bourguignon (finally!)

Sorry for the delay in posting about this, but I promised it would eventually show up.

So I said it before, but I'll say it again - I used Julia Child's recipe which I found here. It was explained best here and after reading it over and over and over (its a little involved), I gave it a go. 

I have never tried it before so wasn't sure exactly how it was supposed to taste, but it came out pretty awesome. It was a lot of work and the ingredients weren't cheap, but it was worth doing.

I didn't take pictures at the beginning of the process as I had started boiling the pork while I was drying the beef, so I was pretty much covered in raw meat and didn't much fancy touching my camera, so please excuse the lack of opening photos.

Beef Bourguignon (a la Julia Child)

One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

18 to 24 white onions, small (I used shallots because not one of the shops in town had baby onions)

3 1/2 tablespoons butter

Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Remove from the dish and add to the lardons.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat but leave the veggies in.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Quick side note: the 3 cups of wine isn't a full bottle. There's just enough left for a taste:

taste of red wine + me = not so bothered it took 3 hours for beef bourguignon to cook :)

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet. Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly. Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms. Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, separate the meat and veg from the sauce

Distribute the cooked onions

and mushrooms

on top of the meat mixture.


Skim fat off sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. (I didn't need to simmer the sauce to reduce it. It was already beautifully thick after cooking the meat for about 2 hours)

If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.
Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.


Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated
with parsley.

 We had it with mashed potatoes and man, it was good. I'll tell you though, it was waaaaay nicer the following day. This made about 6 meals, so we were having repeat servings which was totally awesome. Like most beef dishes, it seriously improves with age.

Have you ever tried beef bourguignon?

Peace,

Jenn x

Eating through the Six Nations #2: Ireland vs France (Leek and Potato Soup, Beef Bourguignon)

Today was going to be a tough test, for both my cooking skills and the Irish team. For the last few years, the French rugby team has been very strong and a huge challenge for the boys in green to overcome. Really though, if you compare, Ireland has a meagre population of around 4 million, while France is in excess of 62 million. That this little island can even compete with a country that has more than 15x the amount of people to make their rugby team from is impressive. But whatever the stats, today was going to be a difficult game. France were the defending Grand Slam champions too, so it would have been really nice to unseat them. I was a little tense leading up to the game and made sure all the windows were closed as I didn't want to scare my neighbours when I screeched and jumped around during the game as I am prone to do.

To take some of the pressure off I decided to make Beef Bourguignon a la Julia Child. I do not recommend that you try this recipe if you are looking for a way to wind down. Unless this sort of recipe is therapeutic for you.

But first the Irish recipe. So the potato is the quintessential Irish ingredient, right? Potato and leek soup is pretty popular here and something I really enjoy personally. Its really easy too.

Leek and Potato Soup (adapted from Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cookery Course)

25g butter
225g potatoes, peeled and diced
55g onions, finely diced
175g white parts of the leeks, sliced
salt and pepper
425ml chicken stock

Melt the butter in a heavy pot. When it foams, add the potatoes, onions and leeks, turning them to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cover and sweat for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft but not coloured. Add the stock, bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are just cooked.

Liquidise until smooth and adjust seasoning to taste. You can add milk or cream if you like but I didn't feel it needed it.

Yummy!!!

The soup was delicious! I haven't tried to make potato and leek from scratch before as I'm not a fan of having butter or oil in my soups but I will be making this one again. It was really, really good. It would be great on a chilly, rainy day with a slice of brown bread. And it came together very quickly, start to finish in about 30 minutes.

The main course did not go so quickly. I started around 2:30 and we ate at 7:30. It was a lot of work.

I read Julie and Julia over Christmas and I really enjoyed it. I haven't seen the movie and had never heard of Julia Child (gasp!) but the way Julie Powell writes and how she found a satisfaction cooking Julia's recipes that she couldn't find in life just spoke to me. And I of course loved all the food talk :) The one recipe that really stayed with me was the beef bourguignon. It sounded like a pain in the butt, but was apparently delicious and worth the effort. Once I googled it, there were lots of references to Julia Child's recipe, and I felt like a real dunce for not having heard of her. Ha ha. 

The recipe out of the book was a little hard to follow, so I keep looking for others who made it that may have a smoother description of the recipe. I found one here that looked good and easier to follow. I must have read it at least 8 times (seriously!) to make sure I could organize myself.

It came out really tasty. The meat was fall-apart tender and the sauce turned into a rich beefy-winey-bacony-gravy. The onions were browned in butter and oil before being simmered in stock. They were gorgeous. It was a really tasty dinner, but to be honest I doubt I'll make it again. For the amount of time it took (and to be honest, I'd rather drink the wine than simmer beef in it) and the cost of it (about €35), I'll stick with my Irish stew. That being said, it was tasty and I'm glad I did it.

There's something going on with my uploader so I can't show you any more pictures. I'll give it another go tomorrow.

Result: France 25 - Ireland 22

Hmm ... maybe I wasn't more impressed with the beef bourguignon because France won ... ah no. Its a great recipe. If you have 3lb of stew meat and a bottle of red wine going begging give it a go. Do it for Julia :)

So tell me: are you a fan of Julia Child?


Peace,

Jenn x

Adventurous cooking (for me)

I had intended to make something to mark the Chinese New Year, I really did. Especially as Chinese food is so good. And so easy to make. And I never do. So after seeing a really interesting post about Xiao Long Bao (which I'd never heard of or tried and haven't a clue as to how to pronounce) over on Not Quite Nigella's blog I thought that would be a neat thing to try. Then she came back a few days later going step by step through the recipe I'd picked out to try myself! Talk about convenience!

If you don't know, Xiao Long Bao is a steamed soup dumpling. The recipe I followed used both pork and shrimp along with ginger, salt, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, pepper and I threw in some diced water chestnuts for some crunch. Even if you don't go to the trouble of making these delicious little bundles, that would be a fantastic marinade for pork.

You can find the recipe over at Steamy Kitchen and between there and NQN it is definitely do-able. The dipping sauce is the glowing star though. A wanted to have it on ice cream!

Seriously tho, these were completely delicious. I sat back in awe unable to believe I made them. They take a bit of work and I'm sure I did them wrong (very little soup, which sounds like the characteristic mark of these dumplings) but they still tasted amazing. I'll definitely attempt these again.

Did you celebrate the Year of the Rabbit? If yes, how?


Peace,

Jenn x

Soy and Ginger Salmon

One thing I love about living at the south west corner of Ireland is the abundance of beautiful, fresh fish that practically flops from the sea to me. I really enjoy fish and would have it for dinner 2-3 times per week and the difference in the quality of fish living this close to the ocean is very obvious. There is a wonderful fish shop here in Tralee, Quinlan's, that I have been visiting a good bit since moving here. Everything is very, very fresh and they are extremely helpful and friendly. I also love that there are various seafood cook books around the store so you can walk in, look for ideas in the books while waiting for the catch to come in or the line up to decrease. Its great. And it doesn't smell very fish-y either which is evidence that they run an extremely clean shop and have a high turn over. They've also won the BIM (Irish Sea Fisheries Board) 'Seafood Specialist of the Year' for 2011, which is an award given to the best places to eat and buy seafood, so you know they're good.

While I will eat pretty much any type of fish, salmon is my hands down favorite. Its so healthy and has a natural richness that is just fabulous. I have a really simple recipe that is honestly the nicest way I've ever had salmon. Nothing I've had in restaurants is as tasty as this combination. Its also really easy :)

Soy and Ginger Salmon (by Jenn)

Serves 2

2 salmon fillets or salmon steaks
good thumb sized piece of ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce

Get everything together.

That is the biggest bottle of soy sauce I could find. And it cost €2. I miss Costco :'(

 You can use more or less ginger to suit your taste. I used this chunk.

Grate the ginger over the salmon. I prefer to grate instead of mince as grating releases more of the yummy ginger-y juices.

Top it with the soy sauce

Flip the fillets so they skin side up. If you have time, leave the salmon in the marinade overnight. If not, pop it in a 200C oven for 20 minutes or until its cooked to your liking. Flip the fish over with about 5 minutes left to lightly crisp the top of the salmon.

It is really delicious. Served warm is fantastic, but its nearly nicer cold with a salad. Either way, this is a really wonderful way to enjoy salmon.

Do you have a favorite fish recipe?

Peace,

Jenn x

Yorkshire Puddings!

Growing up, my grandmother made the biggest Yorkshire puddings I'd ever seen. My mom was baffled for years, trying to re-create them but without luck. She tried a lot of different tricks but could never seem to get them to come out like my grandmother's. It was very sad. I was disappointed. Was I destined to only have lovely Yorkshire puddings a few times a year when we went to visit Calgary? Boo!

My first job was working for a restaurant and catering company. On my first day when I was getting a tour through the kitchen I looked into one of the ovens and saw Yorkshire puddings. Massive. Huge. Crunchy. Gorgeous. Even bigger and better-looking than my grandmothers! I was determined that I would learn how to make some fantastic Yorkshire puddings and that my mother would never make a failed batch again. Or at least I'd be able to make them well so we could have them.

They are super easy, but there are a few little idiosyncrasies to keep in mind. The main one is temperature. Its important that nothing is cold. I put my milk in the microwave for a minute to take the chill off it. If the eggs are straight out of the fridge I put them in a bowl of lukewarm water. The oven has to be hot before you put them in and unless they have risen so much they are touching the upper element (which has happened to me), do not open the oven door before they are done or they will fall. Make sure you leave them in until they are completely brown, otherwise they will fall.

Sound ok?

Here we go.

Its easy to remember the ratio. Think of how many Yorkshire puddings you want to end up with. Divide that number by 2 to get the number of eggs you'll need. Divide the number of eggs you'll need by 4 and you'll get the amount of milk & flour. Make sense?

Maybe it will be clearer after this. Or maybe it won't. I'll show you how to make a half dozen anyway and you can adjust from there.

Yorkshire Puddings 
Makes 6

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
pinch salt

So get all your stuff together. Put the eggs in lukewarm water if they are straight out of fridge.

Beat eggs and milk together. Sift in the flour and pinch of salt. Beat like mad.

 Looks like pancake batter

After its very well whipped, pour into well-greased cupcake pan. Fill those puppies right up.

Put the tray into an oven pre-heated to 175F and leave for 35-40 minutes. Take them out when they are well browned.

Enjoy with a delicious roast beef dinner!

Mmmmmm!! Yum!

Do you like Yorkshire puddings?

Peace,

Jenn x

A yummy side

Despite living in the land of the spud, I am not a fan of potatoes. I like sleeping in, sunshine and red wine. I should have emigrated to Italy :)

I think maybe my lack of fondness for the famous root comes from living alone for so many years. When cooking for one, they are more of a hassle than rice or cous cous, which now that I think of it, really doesn't make much sense. They are more perishable than other starches, so maybe that's why.

Uh ... what point was I trying to make? Oh yeah - potatoes.

So I'm now buying potatoes in smaller quantities and trying to come up with more creative ways of preparing them. This is one way I've been using lately and I really enjoy it. Its in no way original, but its quick, easy and uses 3 ingredients.

1. Potatoes (you don't have to skin them, just give them a good scrub)
2. Olive oil
3. Seasoning salt. Or any type of flavouring you prefer.

We're making wedges!

So give the spuds a really good scrub. Peel if you prefer, but there is a lot of goodness in those peels so if you can handle it, leave them on. Slice the spuds any way you like, just try to have a consistent thickness so they all cook the same. Put them in a cooking pan or tray.

Drizzle with olive oil and shake on your seasoning.

Couldn't find any Lawry's seasoning salt, so I am using the Schwartz stuff. I have to remember to bring a Costco size back with me next time I'm home :)

Toss to evenly coat all the pieces of potato.

Put in an oven at 200F for 30-40 mins, tossing midway.

Oh these are s.f.g. (so-freaking-good)!!! Take them out sooner if you prefer them a bit softer. I like a good crunch.

Enjoy!


So do you like potatoes? How do you prepare them?


Peace,

Jenn x

I see a pattern develping ...

I got to spend last Christmas in Ireland with A and his parents. I love his parents to bits and was glad to have the opportunity to spend such a special time of year with him and his folks. And his mother loves to cook and play hostess. I mean really loves. As in - for Christmas dinner she prepared a 12lb turkey, a half ham and a side of spiced beef in addition to the quazillion ways she prepared potatoes and the vegetable garden.

And did I mention it was only the 4 of us for dinner?

Needless to say there was plenty of food leftover. She said she was going to just toss out the turkey. And I balked. Turkey is one of my favorites and there are so many great ways to use the leftovers! Hot turkey sandwiches (my brother's go-to), turkey soup, turkey a-la-king, cold turkey sandwiches ... mmm ... My preference is to make turkey pies. So I said to V, 'Gimme the turkey and I'll make you turkey pies! You can stick em in the freezer and have dinners for ages'. She was delighted and handed over the bird. She and A fought over the pies (A's dad isn't a fan, so more for V) and I was really glad they both enjoyed them so much.

As I've mentioned, I spent Christmas in Calgary this year. When I got back, V had the leftover turkey waiting. She wants more pies.

I see a pattern developing ... :)

But I was delighted to oblige. So I made the pastry and set to work on the filling. If you like turkey pies and don't have a recipe, try this one. Its been a staple in my family for as long as I can remember and its super good. You can modify it as you like to suit your tastes. I added a jalapeno to it because I had it to use up and I like giving things a bit of a kick.

Turkey Pies (modified from my Nana's recipe)

1/4 cup each of chopped onion, carrot and celeriac
1 minced jalapeno
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper
2 cups of chicken broth
1/3 cup each of cream and milk (or half n half if that's available where you are)
3-4 cups diced turkey
2 tsp worch worcke worces Lea & Perrins (you know what I mean)
1/2 cup frozen peas

So get everything together. I doubled the recipe because I had 9 (!) cups of diced turkey and I like my pies meaty. I've also left out the suggested tsp of salt as I find it can sometimes be too salty and having over-salted turkey pie filling is heart-breaking! You can always add salt at the end and it won't impact the process at all.

Melt the butter in a pot and add the onion, carrots, celeriac and jalapeno. Stir until coated.

I know it doesn't seem like much butter (the original recipe called for 4 tbsp instead of the 1 I used) but its enough to make a roux and it didn't affect the taste.

Cook until the onions are soft, being careful that they don't brown.

Add the flour and pepper and stir well. Gradually add chicken broth, stirring constantly (do this slowly. You don't want it to clump!) Add the cream and milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until the mixture is thickened. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Get your pastry all ready ...

... and fill

Cover em all with a top layer of pastry and either wrap well and freeze or bake at 425 for 10 minutes then turn down to 350 and bake for a further 15-20 mins.

Yummy and a half!! I can't even describe how good these are. A wants me to tell his mom we threw out the turkey by accident so he doesn't have to share! I can't say I blame him ... may need to have turkey dinner before next Christmas just for some more pies :)

So what do you do with leftover turkey?

Peace,

Jenn x

Worth the effort

So there's this thing that I've observed here in Ireland that is different from home. Now it doesn't apply to everyone, but there has been more than one household that exhibits this trait. They don't like to use leftovers. Now as the girl who makes a pot of veg soup and has it for lunch for the bones of a week, I think this is madness and a horrible waste of food, money and the time put into its preparation.

This was evidenced last year on Christmas Day when there was ~6 lbs of cooked turkey that was destined for the garbage. Crazy, eh? I think the next day of hot turkey sandwiches or turkey soup is much nicer than the turkey dinner itself. I'm a lefty so I think I do everything backwards :) But I couldn't see all that perfectly delicious turkey go to waste. I'll describe in tomorrow's post what happened, but first I need to tell you about another recipe.

I needed pastry. And I wanted to make a nice, flaky pastry. I didn't have a go-to recipe for that so I started pouring through my books, and I came across a recipe titled Flaky Pastry in this one. It looked fairly labour intensive but I figured I'd give it a go. And man, am I glad I did! Even though I didn't blind bake it, the bottom crust was still nice and crispy and the top did that 'crack' and pieces went flying when it was cut. This recipe is getting written into my little recipe book :)

Flaky Pastry (from Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cookery Course)

350g strong white flour
pinch of salt
225g butter
125ml cold water

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Divide the butter into four equal parts. Rub one part of this into the flour and mix to a firm dough with the cold water. Cover with clingfilm and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes.

Roll out into a strip and dot tiny pieces of a second portion of butter on two thirds of the pastry

Fold in three, being careful to align the edges.

Roll out. Fold in three again, cover and leave to rest in fridge for 15-20 minutes. Roll out as before, repeat process with the third quarter of butter. Fold, roll, fold, rest. Repeat with the last portion of butter, fold, roll, fold, cover and leave in fridge until ready to use.

I know it seems like a heck of a lot of butter (ok, doesn't seem to be a lot, it IS a lot) but produces a beautiful dough. Even after the first butter-fold-roll-fold it felt like a beautiful dough. It was very, very easy to work with and was a fantastic finished pastry. I think as its so buttery, you could use if for sweet dishes but adding some icing sugar along with the flour to produce a sweeter dough. Or use as is with a very sweet filling.

So easy to roll out and shape to put into ramekins!

If you don't have a flaky pastry recipe in your repertoire, I recommend trying this one. Its worth the effort. I made a double batch and froze the extra. I'll post about it in future to let you know how it froze.

I'll show you what I did with it tomorrow :)

Peace,

Jenn x