Recipes contributed by Alan Vaughan from Shipley - Friday 12th Dec - TopicsExpress

Recipes contributed by Alan Vaughan from Shipley - Friday 12th Dec 2014 Chicken Liver Parfait Ingredients 300 g butter Rapeseed oil 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped 2 cloves garlic finely diced 400g chicken livers fresh sage leaves 100ml brandy sea salt freshly ground black pepper 1 pinch nutmeg Method Preheat the oven to 110ºC Put half the butter in an ovenproof saucepan and pop it in the oven to slowly melt until its separated - this will take about 10 minutes. Strain the yellow clarified butter into a separate bowl and set aside to cool. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a frying pan. Slowly fry the shallots and garlic for 10 minutes, until soft and tender, then remove to a plate. Wipe the pan clean with some kitchen roll, turn up the heat then throw in the livers and most of the sage. Cook the livers for a couple of minutes on each side, until lightly coloured but still a little pink in the middle - if you overcook them they will lose their smooth texture and become grainy. Pour in the brandy and simmer for a minute or so, then take the livers off the heat and tip them into a food processor with the cooked shallots and garlic. Blitz until you have a smooth purée. Add the rest of the softened butter and continue to blitz, then season well and add the nutmeg. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the remaining sage leaves over the parfait, then spoon over the clarified butter. Leave the parfait to set in the fridge for 1 hour. Serve with warm buttered toast or on small round crostini. Turkey Potjie (One pot South African recipe for leftover turkey) Ingredients 750g shredded cooked turkey 4-5 sweet potatoes peeled and cut in large chunks 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon chilli jam 2 teaspoons garam masala 1cm knob of ginger peeled and grated 4 garlic cloves crushed 2 bay leaves pinch of ground turmeric 1 tablespoon oil 2 onions chopped 800g chopped peeled tomatoes Cup of chicken stock Method Dry fry the herbs and spices for a moment then add a splash of oil and lightly fry the onions, then add the chopped tomatoes and half the chicken stock. Add sweet potatoes and turkey, bring to a slow simmer and cook for an hour with a tight lid until the potatoes are soft. The sweet potato will help thicken the sauce. Add more stock if needed. Serve with plain rice or cous cous Note.. For a creamier finish to the Potjie you can replace half the stock with coconut milk. Traditional Greek Baklava 150g walnuts 150g pistachios 2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cloves 200g butter, melted 12 sheets of filo pastry 300g sugar 100ml Local honey 1 cinnamon stick 2 strips of orange zest Method Preheat the oven to 170C Place all the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan with 300ml of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Let it bubble away, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by a third then leave to cool. Blitz the nuts in a food processor until coarse, then tip into a bowl and stir through the cinnamon and cloves. Lightly grease a 40 x 25cm shallow tin with the melted butter. Gently unfold the filo and cover with a damp tea towel to stop it cracking. Layer sheets of filo in the tin and brush each layer with melted butter. After 4 layers, scatter over half the nut mixture; repeat with 4 layers of filo, then the rest of the nuts. Top with the last 4 layers of filo, then generously butter the top. Cut into squares with a sharp knife Bake on the middle shelf of the oven on a hot baking sheet for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, reducing the temperature to 160C if the baklava looks as though it is browning too quickly. Remove the baklava from the oven and spoon half the cooled syrup over the top. Leave for 5 minutes then spoon over the remaining syrup. Allow the baklava to cool before removing the individual pieces from the dish with a cake slice or palette knife.