Turkey & Bacon Meatloaf with Pickled Blueberries

I wanted to pickle some blueberries. It was initially nothing to do with the meal I was going to cook but having looked in the freezer to defrost something. I saw some turkey escalopes. Now I guessed that they would work beautifully together and I was right. I know that normally you would use turkey mince to make meatloaf, but my mind was now set on meatloaf. So, with the turkey being lean, I pulled out some streaky bacon to add to the turkey to keep it moist. Turkey and bacon meatloaf with pickled blueberries. Lovely!!

The recipe for the meatloaf is a nice easy one and slices really well. Perfect for a cheap and easy midweek meal. Served with a potato apple salad.

Ingredients:

500g turkey escalopes, cut into chunks
120g streaky bacon rashers, chopped
2 slices brown bread, soaked in 2 tbsp. milk
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp. tomato ketchup
1 tsp. English mustard
1 egg
25g parsley.

Set the oven to 200 C.Put all of the above ingredients (apart from 1 tbsp. ketchup) and blend to a thick paste. Grease then line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper and put the meatloaf mix in, patting it level. Spread the remaining tbsp. ketchup on the top.

Put in the oven for approx. 45 minutes and then remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a board. Slice thickly.

For the pickled blueberries:

225g blueberries
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 star anise
1 stick cinnamon
1 bay leaf

Put the vinegar, water, sugar and spices into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then put the blueberries into a bowl and add the vinegar & spices. Leave to cool and then pop in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours. When the time is up, strain the blueberries and put the pickling liquid back onto the heat. Boil to reduce by half and then pour back over the blueberries. Leave to cool before serving.

For the potato apple salad:

Boil about 8-10 new potatoes in their skins until tender. Leave to cool before removing the skin and chopping. Put into a bowl and add 3 chopped spring onions (scallions), 1 small apple, chopped finely. Add 2 tbsp. salad cream and 4 tbsp. mayonnaise and mix through. Season with salt and pepper.

I served these all together with some garlic puree (recipe here), and Spanish padron chillies. But you can serve the meatloaf with anything you like! Enjoy!

Mandarin 'Caviar'

A while back I made a dessert for guests and for dessert I had made a mandarin & white chocolate cheesecake. I wanted an impressive topping, and not being much of an artist I needed something that worked for me.

This mandarin 'caviar' is a nice little touch to desserts and any fruit juice can be used. In this one I used freshly squeezed mandarin juice (in fact the juice from a tin of fruit works too!)

For this recipe you need to locate a pipette (chemist) or a squeezy bottle with a small tip or even a syringe.

Mandarin Caviar

Ingredients:

2-3 cups vegetable oil
3 cups juice
4 teaspoons powdered gelatine
3 tbsp. cold water
sugar (to taste) or a squeezy bottle with a small tip or even a syringe.

Method:

Put the vegetable oil into a jug and put in the fridge over night or in the freezer for half an hour.

Mix the gelatine with the 3 tbsp. cold water to dissolve. Put the juice and sugar into a small saucepan and heat till boiling. Boil the juice, reducing the quantity by about half. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. You want the caviar balls to 'pop' with flavour so it needs to be concentrated and strong/sweet flavoured. Add the juice to the gelatine and leave to get to room temperature.

Remove the oil from the fridge or freezer and with the pipette, squeeze small droplets on the surface of the juice into the cold oil. Little balls of caviar will settle down into the bottom of the jug. You may need to stop halfway to re chill the oil. When you have used up all the juice, strain the balls into a sieve and put into an air tight container and chill.

Don't wash the oil off it can crush the balls and you can't taste it anyway. These keep in the fridge for a 7-10 days.

Ham, Swede & Sweet Potato Cakes with a Poached Egg

There are some mornings that I wonder whether summer is actually coming at all. I know its only the end of May, but this time last year was full sun, sitting on blankets in the garden. This year you will be out for 5 minutes enjoying then weather and it starts raining.

So this morning, before The Bloke left for work, I cooked him a warm and comforting breakfast. He loves ham and eggs and I am continually finding new ways to serve them. This morning I came up with this: Ham, Swede & Sweet Potato Cakes with a Poached Egg.

Ingredients:      (Serves 2)

1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped
1/3 swede, peeled and chopped
20g butter
2 slices good ham, chopped
2 eggs
little oil
paprika
few chives, for garnish


Method:

Cook the swede and sweet potato in boiling water for 15 minutes, until soft. Drain and mash with a little butter in a bowl. Add the ham and season with a little salt & pepper.

Add a dash of olive oil and a little butter to a frying pan and fry two patties of the mix (if you have a chefs ring do use it as it makes a neater circle. Cook both sides and put one on each plate. Keep warm in the oven while you poach the eggs.

Boil a large pan of water and add a capful of vinegar. While the water is on a medium boil, add the eggs (gently) and cook for approx. 2 minutes or until the whites look set. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the water and gently sit on kitchen paper for a few seconds to drain excess water.

Mix a little olive oil with 1/4 tsp. paprika. Chop the chives.

To serve. Put the egg on top of the potato cake and drizzle with the paprika oil. Top with chives and serve with toast or griddled bread. Enjoy!!