You can use Fair Trade products for ingredients highlighted in green (from Fairtrade shops e.g. Hadeel or One World Shop)
Fr Alex's Recipes
Savoury
Goat's cheese, pear and walnut tartines
INGREDIENTS
Method
STEP 1
Heat a griddle pan. Cut the pears into quarters or eighths, brush with the oil and season.
Cook for a few mins until charred on all sides, then drizzle with the honey.
STEP 2
Meanwhile, toast the bread.
Spread with the goat’s cheese and top with the sticky pears, chives and walnuts.
Drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and serve with some dressed salad leaves.
- 4 small pears
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 slices good-quality bread (we used a seeded sourdough), sliced
- 200g log soft goat's cheese
- small handful chives, chopped
- 50g walnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp good-quality balsamic vinegar
- salad leaves, to serve
Sweet
Rhubarb and custard blondies
Ingredients
- 225g salted butter (or unsalted with a pinch of salt), plus extra for the tin
- 200g light brown soft sugar
- 100g caster sugar
- 150g plain flour
- 50g custard powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 medium eggs
- 250g white chocolate chips or white chocolate finely chopped
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the rhubarb & custard swirl
- 200g rhubarb (frozen, or canned and drained is fine)
- 75g caster sugar
- pink or red food colouring (optional)
- 4 tbsp ready-made custard (from a carton is fine, or made up from powder)
METHOD
STEP 1
For the rhubarb & custard swirl, put the rhubarb and sugar in a wide pan with 2 tbsp water (omit the water if using canned rhubarb). Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently for about 10 mins, until the rhubarb breaks down and turns jammy. Add a few drops of food colouring if you want a pink rhubarb swirl, but the flavour will still be great if you’re using green-tinged rhubarb. Leave to cool.
STEP 2
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the butter and both sugars into a pan and put over a low heat. Melt together until smooth and shiny, then remove from the heat, and leave to cool for 10 mins while you sieve the flour, custard powder and baking powder in a bowl. Butter a 20 x 30cm baking tin and line with baking parchment.
STEP 3
Beat the eggs into the cooled sugar and butter mixture, then fold in the dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter. Stir in 150g of the chocolate chips and the vanilla. Pour into the brownie tin, then use a teaspoon to swirl rhubarb compote on top of the batter. Add dollops of the custard, then swirl a skewer or cocktail stick through the compote to create a marbled pattern.
STEP 4
Bake for 35-40 mins until set and the edges are coming away from the sides of the tin, then leave in the tin to cool. Melt the remaining 100g chocolate in short blasts in the microwave or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the blondie in a zig-zag pattern. Cut into squares to serve. Will keep for three days in an airtight container, or freeze the squares individually.
Cocktail
Bloody Mary
Ingredients
- large handful of ice
- 100ml vodka
- 500ml tomato juice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, plus 2 slices to serve
- few shakes Worcestershire sauce
- few shakes Tabasco (smoked Tabasco is nice)
- pinch celery salt
- pinch black pepper
- 2 celery sticks to serve
METHOD
STEP 1
Place the ice in a large jug. Measure the vodka, tomato juice and lemon juice and pour it straight onto the ice.
STEP 2
Add 3 shakes of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco (or more if you like it very spicy) and a pinch of celery salt and pepper. Stir until the outside of the jug feels cold, then strain the cocktail into 2 tall glasses.
STEP 3
Top up with fresh ice, add a celery stick and lemon slice to both glasses and enjoy.