UK Travels and Hurri-cooking -- Lentil Tart, Cheesy Polenta & Roasted Squash, Whatchagot Soup

                                       

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We spent a month in  various parts of the UK, from Steyning in the south of West Sussex to the Orkney Islands far beyond the "mainland" of northeast Scotland.  Absolutely fabulous time seeing old friends and family and even older stone-age monuments.  The Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar were erected between 3100BC and 2000BC (probably older than  Stonehenge). 

The Standing Stones of Stenness, Orkney

We also got to meet the new 16th Lord Home and his lovely family as well as Home/Hume clansmen and women from around the world at the Clan Home Gathering in the Scottish B0rders, where I cooked Tortillas de Español for the 20 of us staying at four nights at Wedderburn Castle, one of the Home ancestral castles/stately homes.  My Hulme bunch are descended from the Homes of Wedderburn.

We were over there when the Queen passed away and King Charles III was sworn in, and watched -- in real time but not in person -- the funeral processions of Queen Elizabeth while in the Black Country around Birmingham.   Two of my clan friends spent hours in line to view HRH lying in State at Windsor.   

Then everyone here decided to throw us a Welcome Home -- Hurricane Party as a welcome home!   

Lincolnshire Slaw
When we visited Sally's childhood friend Fiona and her husband Toby in the tiny village of North Cockringham, Lincolnshire, they had a tree full of hard green pears and another of apples.  One afternoon we decided to try to make a fruit-not-cabbage slaw to accompany that night's dinner.  This was the result:

1 large hard green Pear
1 large firm-ripe eating Apple -- Fuji, Gala, etc.
1 medium Carrot

1/4 cup Sultanas or Raisins, or even currents

1/4 cup Walnut pieces
1/4 cup Mayo or Bleu Cheese Dressing
1-2 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
A few cracks of Black Pepper

Use the large side of your box grater and shred the apple, pear and carrot.  Don't bother to peel them (lots of nutrients in the peels), just wash well before cutting.  Toss the shredded fruit, nuts and sultanas together.  Fold in the mayo and the malt vinegar and chill before serving. Add pepper as desired.

Hurri-cooking

With a generator  (no mains electric), using my electric skillet and soup pot, and a rice cooker -- no oven, stove, toaster, microwave, food processor or Ninjatm Airfryer (they draw too much power and bog down the generator).  

Lentil Tart with Rice-Crunch Pastry

This one comes to us from our friends Joan & Mick who live in Canterbury House in Hampden-in-Arden near Birmingham.  She made hers a bit smaller and deeper.  I used a standard 9" diameter fluted tart pan with its floating bottom, and added half a can of chickpeas to the cooked, cooled filling.   Hot or room temperature, this is delicious!

For the Pastry
6oz AP Flour

1 tsp Salt

2 oz Ground Rice (long grain rice spun in a coffee grinder to sugar-grain course-ness

4 oz softened Butter -- room temp or slightly melted, with 
1 Tbsp warm Water

Combine the ground rice, flour and salt.  Cut in the butter and stir to make a warm dough.  Pat the dough out and press it -- evenly -- into the bottom and side of the tart pan.  Chill in the fridge while you cook and cool the filling.

For the Filling

1 Onion diced small
6 oz Lentils  -- I used green lentils
2 cups Water or Milk or 1 each
1+ tsp Chile Powder or Paprika
Optional -- other spices to taste

1 Egg + 1 white, beaten

4 oz Cheese, divided -- Sharp Cheddar is best

Combine the onion, lentils, spices and liquid,  and cook at least 30 minutes until the lentils are mushy, being careful not to burn them.  In hurricane conditions I used my electric skillet for this and added water as needed.  Drain and remove to a bowl, adding additional species as desired.  Mash but don't puree the mixture, you want texture here. Fold in the chickpeas the chickpeas.

Assembly & Cooking
Spoon the filling into the crust and top with half the cheese.   When nearly done, top with some additional spice and the remainder of the cheese and finish baking.  

Cool for 15 minutes or so before removing from the baking tin and slicing.

Rice Cooker Cheesy Polenta with Butternut Squash
No more standing at the stove and stirring!  This was as big of a revelation to me as the baked risotto I wrote about last month!

1 cup dry Polenta

4 cups Water

2 Tbsp Butter -- I used Oliviotm
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup Mixed Mozzarella and Provolone
1 Butternut Squash

Tex-Mex spices to taste

In your rice cooker combine the polenta, water and butter, and set it to cooking.  While that's happening, peel the squash, cut into 3/4" thick rounds and grill with your chosen spices until tender.  Fold the cheese into the hot cooked polenta.  Serve the squash rounds on a bed of polenta.

Sweet 'n' Sour Whatchagot Soup

I cooked this up the afternoon that Hurricane Ian arrived.  We had a hot meal while the storm raged outside.  Difference here was I added a good shot of Lime juice to the finished soup, just before serving.  It gave the result a nice sweet 'n' soup kick.  Potato, black beans, corn, carrot, onion, sweet potato,  unsalted cashews, bell pepper, tomato and spices were the major players in this version.