Serve up a treat this Mother’s Day with these tasty recipes

This is the day when she gets to relax, put her feet up and be pampered.

So we’ve compiled this selection of delicious recipes to let you spoil Mum this Sunday!

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Pea, Beetroot, Roasted Red Pepper and Goats’ Cheese Tart

Serves 4

Preparation time — 10 minutes

Cooking time — 30 minutes

You’ll need:

• Plain flour for dusting
• 500g ready-made puff pastry
• 1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
• 100g peas, shelled (335g unshelled)
• 100g ready-cooked red peppers in oil, drained
• 100g goats’ cheese, crumbled
• 100g cooked beetroot, cut into chunks
• Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 400°F.

Lightly dust a work surface with the flour and roll out the puff pastry until it’s 4mm thick.

Cut out 4 discs with an 11.5cm round pastry cutter and then with a sharp small knife, lightly score around the pastry discs 1cm away from the edge, but don’t cut all the way through.

Then, brush the pastry discs with the beaten egg, lay the pastry discs onto a non-stick baking tray and place in the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Then remove the inner part with a small knife.

While you are waiting for the pastry to cook, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, cook the peas for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water for another minute, drain and set aside.

Cut the peppers into thick slices and then place into a medium-sized bowl with the peas, goats’ cheese, beetroot and parsley.

In a small bowl, mix together the extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then add 2 tablespoons to the vegetables and goats’ cheese, season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Place the pastry discs on 4 plates and fill with the vegetables and goats’ cheese, drizzle the rest of the dressing around the plates and serve.

For a healthier version of this dish, serve the tart topping on a chunk of crunchy, toasted wholemeal loaf to reduce the fat and saturated fat levels, making it a better choice for the health conscious.

You’ll find more recipes like this at www.lovebeetroot.co.uk

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Delicious Strawberry and Vanilla Cheesecake with a Warm Fresh Strawberry Compote

Serves 6-8

A WARM, sweet, strawberry compote is the perfect match for this creamy vanilla cheesecake recipe.

Preparation time — 20 minutes, plus 1 hour to set

You’ll need:

• 200g digestive biscuits, crushed
• 100g melted butter
• 400g cream cheese
• 100g icing sugar
• 500g double cream, whipped
• 1 vanilla pod, split
• 300g strawberries, cut into halves

For the compote:

• 100g strawberries, chopped
• 25g sugar

Line a 9-inch springform cake tin with greaseproof paper. Mix the biscuits and melted butter together, and pat into the base of the cake tin. Place in the fridge to set.

Beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar, then fold in the whipped cream and the vanilla pod seeds.

Spread a spoonful of the cream cheese on the base, and then place the strawberries round the sides, using the cream cheese as a base, standing with the cut side facing out.

Fill in with the rest of the cream-cheese mix, and level off the top. Place in the fridge to set.

For the compote, put the chopped strawberries and sugar in a pan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and the strawberries have broken down.

To serve, cut into slices and serve with the warm compote.

Courtesy of www.berryworld.com

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Slow-Cooked Shoulder of Lamb with Rosemary-Scented Shallots

Serves 6

Preparation time — 30 minutes

Cooking time — 4-5 hours
You’ll need:

• 1 boneless shoulder of lamb
• 1 head of garlic
• ½ bunch of rosemary
• 2 peeled carrots
• 50ml olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 400g whole round peeled shallots
• 20g tomato puree
• Pinch of flour
• 1 litre of chicken stock

Ask your butcher to take out the bone of the shoulder, but give it to you to use in the pan when roasting the shoulder to help make the gravy.

Go over the joint and remove any large fat deposits or unsightly skin.

Stab the joint several times over with the tip of a small sharp knife and insert one half clove of garlic per incision.

Also stick in a little sprig of rosemary per incision to enhance the flavour.

Place the shoulder on the lamb bones with the 2 carrots cut just in half, drizzle over the olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper.

Place in the oven at 160°C for 4-5 hours, covering with a sheet of foil for the first 3 hours.

With one hour to go, throw in the peeled shallots and remove the foil.

When the lamb and the shallots are cooked, remove everything from the tray and allow to rest somewhere warm.

Add the tomato puree and flour to the cooking tray and place back on the stove to cook slightly. Then add the stock and bring to the boil.

Strain through a very fine sieve into a clean pan and bring back to the boil. Season if required.

Carve the lamb onto a warm serving dish, place the shallots around and put the gravy in to a sauce boat.

Serve with green vegetables and some potatoes.

This recipe is courtesy of www.UKshallot.com

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Poached Salmon with Quick Caesar Salad

Serves 2

Preparation time — 10 minutes

Cooking time — 15 minutes

You’ll need:

• 300g (2 on average) fresh salmon fillets
• 20g (approx 5) anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tbspns low-fat mayonnaise
• 3 tbspns semi-skimmed milk
• 25g Parmesan cheese
• 1 whole Romaine heart, leaves separated and roughly torn

Poach the salmon in boiling water for 10-12 minutes, remove and cool slightly before breaking into large flakes.

Mix together the anchovies, garlic, mayonnaise, milk and half the Parmesan, finely grated.

Toss the Romaine leaves in the Caesar dressing.

Top it all with the salmon flakes, then shave the remaining Parmesan over everything, scatter over the salmon and serve.

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Blueberry Almond Tart

Serves 6

Preparation time — 20 mins

Cooking time — 40 mins

You’ll need:

• 175g blueberries
• 150g caster sugar
• 212g shortcrust pastry
• 110g ground almonds
• 50g butter, softened
• 3 free-range eggs, beaten
• Few drops each vanilla and almond essence
• 15g flaked almonds, toasted
• Sifted icing sugar

Place the fruit in a small pan with 50g of the sugar and warm through until the juices begin to rest. Remove from the heat and cool.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly-floured surface large enough to line an 18cm loose-bottomed flan tin.

Ease the pastry gently into the corners without stretching and trim the edges. Chill until required.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the rest of the sugar, the almonds, butter, eggs and flavourings until soft and well blended.

Spoon the fruit into the pastry case, spread over the topping and flatten.

Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is set and light golden.

Serve warm or cold topped with the flaked almonds and a shake of sifted icing sugar.

Courtesy of www.berryworld.com

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