Leiths Recipes

Recipe of the month

Honeyed goat's cheese salad

This recipe is taken from Leiths Simple Cookery Bible

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil

110g lardons

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 crottin

4 teaspoons runny honey

2 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced

mixed salad leaves

.

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy based frying pan. Cook the lardons so that they are golden brown. Add the balsamic vinegar and the rest of the oil to the pan and delglaze. Leave in the pan but off the heat.

2. Cut the crottin in ½ horizontally and drizzle the honey over the cut sides. Pre heat the grill.

3. Wash and dry the salad and break into bite size pieces.

4. Put the crottin cut side up on a baking sheet and put under the grill until golden brown and beginning to bubble.

5. Reheat the dressing and lardons, add the tomatoes and pour over the salad leaves and toss.

6. Arrange the salad leaves, bacon, tomatoes and dressing on 4 plates and the crottin on top.

Serve with crusty bread.

Top

Recipe of the week

Florentines

This recipe is taken from Leiths Baking Bible

Makes 20

Ingredients

55g/2oz butter

55g/2oz caster sugar

2 level teaspoons clear honey

55g/2oz plain flour

45g/1 ½ oz chopped mixed peel

45g/1 ½ oz glacé cherries, finely chopped

45g/1 ½ oz blanched almonds, finely chopped

85g/3oz plain chocolate, melted

.

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment.
  1. Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  1. Stir in the flour, then the peel, cherries and almonds.
  1. Drop teaspoons of the mixtures on to the baking sheets, leaving plenty of room for them to spread. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until pale brown. Leave on the sheets for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  1. Spread the bottom of the biscuits with a thin layer of chocolate. It is best that the chocolate is tempered so it will dry quickly. Place in the refrigerator to set, then spread another thicker layer on to the first. Allow almost to set then scrape a fork across the chocolate to make the characteristic wavy pattern. Allow to set completely.