Hello August! I hope you are all well? Did you enjoy making July’s recipes? I hope you did.
This month I have got three amazing recipes for you all. All my recipes are made with ingredients that are perfectly in season in August and can be easily grown by your own loving hands.
My first recipe is my crispy bacon, broccoli and cauliflower cheese bake. Broccoli and cauliflower are my seasonal ingredients in this recipe and are perfect in my cheesy bacon bake. This recipe is wonderful with the added enhancement of crispy bacon and it is perfect for August served with mashed potato or new potatoes and buttered kale.
My second recipe is my blueberry and blackberry cobbler. Blueberries and blackberries are the seasonal ingredients in this recipe and they work so well together. This cobbler is great served with ice cream or cream for those late summer days or custard if the weather isn’t very summery.
My third recipe this month is my sweet chilli jam. I know I have made this before for you but this is a different, new and improved recipe and perfect to make now as chillies are the seasonal ingredient in this recipe and we have so many in our garden to use. This sweet chilli jam is perfect to make now and keep for Christmas. If you can wait that long that is.
I hope you all love my recipes and enjoy making them. See you all in September! I can’t quite believe I am saying that!
Crispy Bacon, Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese Bake
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 head broccoli-cut into florets
1 head cauliflower-cut into florets
40g butter
40g plain flour
400ml milk-warmed
250g grated strong cheddar-save 50g to sprinkle
1 tsp dijon mustard
10 slices cooked bacon-cut into bite sized pieces
Black pepper to taste
1 large tbsp chives-chopped
Method
To begin, place the broccoli and cauliflower florets in a large saucepan of salted water and cook until just tender. Drain and set aside. Fry the bacon until it is just crispy and place on a plate with a piece of kitchen roll to soak up all the juices. Set aside. Preheat your oven to gas mark 5/170c fan.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook the roux out for 30 seconds, then whisk in the warmed milk, a small amount at a time. Once you have a totally smooth sauce, stir in the dijon mustard, 1 tbsp chives, season well with black pepper and stir well. In intervals add the 200g of grated cheddar and gently cook until completely melted then take off the heat.
Add the crispy bacon, then gently fold through the cheese sauce. Place the broccoli and cauliflower in a large baking dish and pour over the cheese sauce, being sure to cover all the broccoli and cauliflower. Sprinkle over the 50g grated cheddar and 1 tbsp chopped chives. Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned and the cheese is bubbling. Serve with mashed potato, new potatoes and buttered kale, or your choice of veg, for a truly delicious dinner.
Blueberry and Blackberry Cobbler
Serves 6
Ingredients
200g fresh blueberries
200g fresh blackberries
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 free range eggs
100g golden caster sugar
100g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tbsp melted butter
Method
To make this unbelievably delicious cobbler, preheat your oven to gas mark 4/160c fan. Lightly grease an 8inch/20cm baking tin with butter. Add the blueberries and blackberries to the tin and sprinkle over the 1 tbsp golden caster sugar and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Toss to combine.
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon, then make a well in the centre. Add the eggs and stir until combined. Spread the batter over the top of the berries covering as many of them as you can, then pour the melted butter over the top.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly brown and bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving as it will be piping hot. Serve with your choice of custard, cream or ice cream or why not all three!
Sweet Chilli Jam
Makes 3 large jars
Ingredients
150g long red chilli-mostly deseeded and quartered
150g red bell pepper-cut into same sized pieces as chillies
1kg jam sugar
600ml apple cider vinegar
Method
To make this delicious sweet chilli jam, place the chillies and red pepper into a food processor and blitz to finely sliced pieces. Place the jam sugar and vinegar into a large preserving pan and heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Place the chillies and pepper into the preserving pan and bring to a rolling boil. Leave for 10 minutes then turn off the heat and leave for 20 minutes in the preserving pan to settle. You can give it a stir before you put it into jars.
Using a jam funnel, gently ladle into sterilised jars and seal. Leave to completely set. This is amazing in a cheese toastie or simply with a chunk of cheddar or your favourite cheese. I would advise making it 1 month before you want to use it as it gets better with age. This will last for 1 year being stored in a cool dark place and lasts in the fridge for 1 month after opening.
Shopping list for all 3 recipes
Check your cupboards first as you may have a lot of these already
1 head broccoli
1 head cauliflower
250g block unsalted butter
140g plain flour
Ground cinnamon
400ml milk
250g strong cheddar
Dijon mustard
10 slices-1 pack unsmoked back bacon
Fresh chives
200g fresh blueberries
200g fresh blackberries
150g caster sugar
1 small lemon
2 free range eggs
150g long red chillies
150g red bell pepper
1kg jam sugar
600ml apple cider vinegar
