Salmon Wellington Traditional beef Wellington is a series of parcels – beef wrapped in mushroom, wrapped in crêpe, wrapped in pastry – and the method can easily be adapted to other proteins, especially salmon which looks very pretty with its orange flesh contrasting against the golden pastry. When making salmon Wellington there’s no need to […]
Seafood Pot Pies I love pot pies as there’s no pastry base to fiddle around blind baking, just a flaky golden pastry lid. You can bake them in a ramekin, ovenproof bowl or soufflé dish and fill them with virtually anything you like so, with a roll of Carême sour cream shortcrust pastry in the […]
Mushroom & Cheese Pies Thanks to chef Simon Sandall who rattled off this suggestion on the spur of the moment when we were making beef Wellington together and wondering what to do with leftover mushroom duxelles and pastry off-cuts. You could always make the duxelles specifically for these pies and whip up a larger batch […]
Shortcrust Cookies I hate wasting pastry offcuts, so when I make a tart or pie I use the remaining pastry for these tasty little shortcrust cookies (see the video below for another of my favourite pastry tricks). Unlike puff pastry, shortcrust can be rerolled without ill effect, so all of it can be used. If […]
Potato, Smoked Eel & Fontina Tart This deliciously versatile potato & fontina tart can be vegetarian, but potatoes and smoked fish are such natural partners that I sometimes add smoked eel. Hot-smoked rainbow trout also works; either way use about 300g flesh if using seafood. If Fontina’s not available, use any mild washed rind cheese, […]
Tarte Tatin Tarte Tatin is one of those classics that I didn’t attempt for a long time for fear it would be too tricky. Turns out it’s super quick and easy, especially if you use a good ready-made shortcrust pastry like Carême. It’s named after the Tatin sisters, Caroline and Stéphanie, who served it at […]
Simple Party Sausage Rolls When I was a kid, Mum often had homemade sausage rolls waiting for us as an after school snack. She’d pop them in the oven when she left to pick us up from school and they’d be hot and golden brown ready for us to devour when we arrived home. This […]
Spicy Lamb Sausage Rolls The spicy lamb sausage rolls at the Uraidla Bakery in the Adelaide Hills are the best sausage rolls I’ve ever tasted and this is my attempt to recreate them. I love Carême’s wholemeal spelt pastry for this recipe, but use any good butter puff. If using Carême (which is already the […]
Bacon & Egg Pie Bacon and egg pie is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner and, as it’s great served at room temperature, it makes ideal picnic fare. Best of all, the ingredients will be on hand in a well-stocked fridge. I was introduced to this pie by my friend Janni Kyritsis who makes his […]
Apple & Almond Pies These simple apple and almond pies looks impressive because of the plaited pastry (a trick I learnt years ago from an Australian Women’s Weekly cookbook), but are quick and easy and can be assembled up to a day ahead. Butter puff pastry makes a big difference to the flavour and mouth-feel; […]
