The last meeting of the year, as always, is at Francoise McCredie. For the 4th year running Gillian has introduced us to some of her recipes using Rosemary, Mint and Coriander. We tried them all.
After the cookery lesson we had our tea. As usual we had plenty of cakes to choose from, all very delicious.
The following are Gillian's suggestions, using Rosemary, Mint and Coriander:
Aromatic Rosemary Infusion
Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves, or 2 tsp. dried
6-8 oz water
Instructions
If you are using fresh rosemary leaves, chop them to release more surface area
Place the chopped rosemary leaves into a tea ball and put into your favorite mug
Boil water and pour into the mug
Cover the tea so you don't lose the essential oils. Steep 7-10 minutes.
Rosemary Butter Pasta
2 teaspoons crushed garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
6 tablespoons butter, cubed (3 oz)
1 beef stock cube
500 g fettuccine
1 cup parmesan cheese fresh grated
Place garlic and rosemary in small saucepan with butter.
Cook over low heat, stirring often until butter has melted. Add stock cube to mixture and stir until dissolved.
Cook pasta until tender but still firm to bite.
Drain pasta reserving some of the liquid. Add butter sauce to pasta, stirring well, gradually adding reserved liquid until a creamy sauce forms.
Serve with parmesan cheese.
Pear and Rosemary Upside Down Cake
Serves 8
Ingredients:
150g butter, softened
150g golden caster sugar
3/4 tsp rosemary needles. very finely chopped
150g flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
For the Topping:
5 tbsp butter
100g light soft brown sugar
Needles from 2 sprigs of rosemary
2 - 3 pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
Heat the oven to 170C. (190c non fan.) To make the topping, smear the butter over the base of a 21 cm cake tin. Sprinkle over the sugar and rosemary and arrange the pear slices on top.
To make the sponge, beat the butter, sugar and finely chopped rosemary together until very soft, pale and well aerated. Mix the flour and baking powder together with a generous pinch of salt. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the sugar and butter mix, adding 1 tbsp of the dry ingredients with each addition, then gently fold in the remaining flour mixture. Take care not to overwork the mixture. Spoon the batter over the pears and spread evenly.
Bake for about 50 minutes until the sponge is well risen and springy to the touch. It should be a deep rich brown.
Run a knife around the edges to make sure the cake will come away from the tin, then invert onto a large plate. Serve hot or warm with cream.
Fresh Coriander Chutney
1 cup firmly packed coriander
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 small onion
2 fresh green chilies, seeds removed
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon garam masala (available in Asian markets)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor with 1 tablespoon of water and puree to a smooth paste, adding more water if the chutney is too thick.
Mint Infused Vodka
2 cups vodka
1 cup fresh mint leaves (any variety will work)
1 mason jar
Add all ingredients to a mason jar with a tight lid and shake. Allow to steep in a dark place for 5 full days. Shake once a day.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer and put in the bottles you'd like to store or gift in.
Mint Salsa Verde
2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
1⁄2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves,
1 tablespoon salt-packed capers, soaked, rinsed, drained,
1⁄4 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
4-6 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained and finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
In a food processor combine the mint, parsley, capers, chile flakes, anchovies, garlic and mustard. Slowly drizzle in the oil until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
Recipes: Gillian Duffy
Photos: Ellie Bos
