French Onion Tarts, Orange and Ginger Marinated Lamb, and Iles Flottantes

Wonderful thin herb cheese pastry filled with a classic onion and olive mixture.

Make these in two Yorkshire pudding tins – each tin will make four individual tarts. If making a large tart, bake the pastry blind first.

What do I need?
For the Herb and Cheese Pastry
175g (6oz) plain flour
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
75g (3oz) butter, cut into small pieces
950g (2oz) Parmesan, grated
1 large egg, beaten

For the filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g (4oz) Gruyére cheese, grated
1 large handful parsley, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs
300ml (½ pint) double cream
Salt and black pepper
12 black stoned olives, halved

What do I do?
First make the pastry. Measure the flour, mustard, thyme and butter into the processor or a bowl, process or rub in by hand until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the Parmesan and the beaten egg and mix again just as long as it takes for the ingredients to come together. Chill for 30 minutes wrapped in cling film.

Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion on high heat for a few minutes. Cover and transfer to simmering oven for about 20 minutes to cook until soft. Return to high heat and add the garlic.

Roll the pastry thinly on a lightly floured work surface and using an 11.5cm (4¾ inch) cutter, cut out eight discs. Use these to line two Yorkshire pudding trays. Chill if time allows.

Divide the cold onion between the tartlet cases, top with the grated cheese and roughly chopped parsley.

Beat the eggs and add the double cream and seasoning. Carefully pour the egg and cream mixture into the tartlets, top each with a few halved olives.

Bake on the floor of the roasting oven for 15-20 minutes, turning around half way through the cooking time, until set and pale golden.

Serve warm as a first course or a light lunch with salad.

Orange and Ginger Marinated Lamb
(Serves 4)

A smart special occasion recipe. The sauce can be made ahead once the meat has been marinated. The marinade is used for the sauce. Each rack usually has seven chops.

What do I need?
Marinade
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp runny honey
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
300ml (½ pint) orange juice
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 dessertspoon cornflour
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 racks of lamb, fully trimmed

What do I do?
Measure the marinade ingredients into a measuring jug and blend together.

Arrange the racks in a dish, pour the marinade over and turn the racks in it so all of it is coated. Leave to marinade for 12-24 hours if time allows, in the fridge.

Carefully lift the rack from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. Keep the marinade but discard the rosemary.

Pre-heat a frying pan over a high heat, add a little oil and brown the fat side of the lamb rack very quickly until golden brown.

Lay the racks on non-stick paper in a large roasting tin and slide onto top set of runners in roasting oven for 10-15 minutes. Roast for 15-20 minutes for well-done lamb.

Rest for about 5-10 minutes in a warm place before carving - this will give pink lamb depending on the thickness.

To make the sauce, measure the cornflour into a bowl and blend in a tablespoon of the marinade, mixing to a paste.

Heat the rest of the marinade in a small pan and when boiling stir a little into the cornflour mixture. Pour this into the saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until thickened. Season, add any juices from the roast lamb and add balsamic vinegar.

Once rested slice the lamb between the chops giving 3 chops per person and decorate with fresh rosemary and orange wedges.

Prepare ahead
Marinate the lamb up to two days ahead.

Brown the lamb up to 24 hours ahead.

Not suitable for freezing.

Conventional oven
Slide into pre-heated oven 220°C/200°F/Gas 7 for about 10-15 minutes.

Iles Flottantes

Such an ideal recipe for the Aga as the meringues are poached in the simmering oven. Serve with a red fruit salad – the colours look magnificent – or simply on its own.

What do I need?
3 eggs, separated
150g (6oz) caster sugar
600ml (1 pint) milk
50g (2oz) caster sugar (for the custard)
Half tsp vanilla extract
1 heaped tsp cornflour

What do I do?
Grease a shallow 9-10” ovenproof dish with butter. The dish must have a large surface area to accommodate all the meringues.

Whisk the egg whites at full speed in an electric mixer or with an electric hand whisk until stiff. Gradually add all the sugar a teaspoon at a time still whisking on maximum speed until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Bring the milk to the boil on the simmering plate.

In a separate bowl mix the egg yolks, with the 50g of caster sugar, the vanilla and cornflour. Using a balloon whisk pour on the boiling milk very slowly and whisk all the time.

Return the custard to the simmering plate, heat and cook gently until the froth disappears and the custard is lightly thickened. Pour the custard into the prepared dish.

Using 2 tablespoons make oval shapes from the raw meringue mixture and arrange these on top of the custard – the mixture should make about 10 meringues.

Transfer the dish to the simmering oven and bake for 15-20 minutes (may be a little longer if you have a converted Aga). Bake until the meringues are set and no longer sticky when lightly pressed with the finger, the custard will be quite runny still.

Conventional oven
Bake the dish in a pre-heated oven 160°C/ 325°F/ Gas 3 for about 20 minutes until the meringues are set and no longer sticky.