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Tuesday, 08 March 2011 13:55

...but we saved Crespolini for today

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Crespolini 

...and they are on our Spring Recipe pages. 

Crespolini

(Italian Spinach and Ricotta stuffed, vegetarian pancakes)

Make up a batch of pancakes, either plain or Buckwheat, using the pancake batter recipe

For the filling:

  • 500g/1lb ( raw weight) of spinach leaves
  • 500g/ 1lb Ricotta cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Steam the spinach until tender (microwaving in a cling filmed container works very well for spinach, don’t add water)

Drain any excess liquid from the spinach and add the Ricotta cheese, salt and pepper to taste, mix well.

Divide the mixture between the cooked pancakes and roll up. Place the pancakes in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.

For the Béchamel sauce

  • 600ml/1.5 pints milk
  • 1 onion
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cloves
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 50g/2oz butter
  • 50g/2oz plain flour
  • Pinch grated nutmeg (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 100g/4oz Parmesan Cheese

(for those of you in a real hurry, forget the onion, cloves, bay leaf and peppercorns and just go ahead making the sauce with the butter, flour and milk)

Impale the onion with the cloves and place in a saucepan with the bay leaves, peppercorns and milk.

Bring to a simmer and then leave to stand

Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour, cook over a low heat for a couple of minutes

Strain the milk into the flour and butter and stir well (a whisk is best to avoid lumps)

Cook for a few minutes and add the grated nutmeg if using.

Pour the sauce over the pancakes and sprinkle over the Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven 190C/380C Gas 4 for 30 – 40 minutes, or microwave, and grill the top.

Tuesday, 08 March 2011 13:07

Pancakes

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Flippin' good pancakes for breakfast this morning. We ate them simply with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinling of suger. Pancake batter recipe here.

Monday, 07 March 2011 23:47

Pancake Party

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banana fritters  buckwheat pancakes  pancakes with lemon

We have made every kind of pancake there is - banana fritters for breakfast, buckwheat with smoked salmon and creme fraiche for lunch and lemon and sugar for tea. Each more delicious than the last, and easy with it.

Saturday, 05 March 2011 11:41

Food Porn

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I hardly dare write the words because I know I am going to be inundated with spam - but as I was one of those children that liked spam fritters at school it'll probably be ok. 

The Papers are getting fed up. Enough about Food they say. And of course at suffolkfoodie we agree - let's move on from the 'kitchen as lab' trend and just make sure your children are able make a half-decent sandwich.

italian sandwiches
Friday, 04 March 2011 11:19

Looking for Mothers Day lunch?

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Yes, so am I. Tell us where yours is and we'll tell everyone else to come to it.

Thursday, 03 March 2011 11:08

Focus on Food at Thurston

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More of a focus on health and safety, we did vegetarian and made baked 'falafel' (no oil, no salt) with cous cous, orange, kidney bean and sweetcorn salad. Made me want to go for a Macdonalds. What happened to school kitchens - and chocolate crunch with pink sauce? We weren't obese in those days...

Sarah chopping      thurston

Wednesday, 02 March 2011 00:24

Brains, Toast and the Offal Truth

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It may not be the only reason I became vegetarian, but lodged somewhere in the back of my memory is the image of a smooth spongy material spread on a well-done piece of buttered toast. It was truly offal – though I see from brief search on the internet such delicacies are not entirely confined to the past.

My memory has stopped short of storing the flavour of it, but I do remember eating brains on toast when I was a kid in the 60’s. I also remember pig’s trotters, brawn, kidneys, fish roes and liver - evidence enough that we didn’t have a lot of money, and that we used every possible bit of the animals that were killed to feed us.

Perhaps we were less fussy then, but I remember fighting with my two brothers at every meal to finish whatever was put in front of us. Seconds! Thirds! Whoever wolfed down the first helpings would get their hands on the next. Oxtail stew, sheep’s hearts anyone? I think our mother drew the line at tripe and black pudding (we lived in London after all), but she put her mind to the best presentation of the least palatable stuff available at the local butchers.

There was plenty of it, and it was cheaper. Of course we had beef stew on rarer days, but there was cod, haddock, sprats, and a plentiful supply of cheese, bread and digestive biscuits. Then, every Sunday, a roast with all the trimmings. At Christmas, the (gravy) boat was pushed out with pork, beef, and of course turkey. But during the year no-one turned their noses up at less glamorous fare. Nor, as my memory assures me, slimy grey sheep’s brains boiled first, then fried in butter, liberated from their membranous sheath and thickly spread on toast.

Tuesday, 01 March 2011 11:21

Mais Oui! Les Croque Monsieur...

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...made by some young suffolkfoodies - thanks for the picture Arianne and Dominique - I'm coming to your house for tea!

croque monsieur

Sunday, 27 February 2011 21:24

All is well in Eriswell

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This is a pretty village right in the middle of USA - land Mildenhall and Lakenheath, with a Native American buried in the churchyard and a pub that sells chili!

Eriswell village         the pub

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