[Recipe] Brie wrapped in prosciutto & brioche

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brie-brioche

Ingredients

375g strong white bread flour
50g caster sugar
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
75ml milk
3 large eggs, plus 2 beaten eggs for glazing
185g unsalted butter, softened

250g round brie
8 slices prosciutto

Method

Mix the flour, 1 tsp salt, caster sugar, yeast, milk and eggs together in a mixer using the dough attachment for 5 mins until the dough is smooth. Add the butter and mix for a further 4 mins on medium speed. Scrape the dough bowl and mix again for 1 min. Place the dough in a container, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 6 hrs before using.

Wrap the Brie in the prosciutto and set aside.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 25cm circle. Place the wrapped Brie in the middle of the circle and fold the edges in neatly. Put the parcel onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment and brush with beaten egg. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins, then brush again with beaten egg and chill for a further 30 mins. Leave to rise for 1 hr at room temperature. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then bake for 22 mins. Serve warm.

TIP – Serve warm but not too hot, so the cheese isn’t too runny.

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[Recipe] Ham hock and mustard terrine

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hamhockterrine

Ingredients

2 small ham hocks, approx 1kg/2lb 4oz each
sunflower oil, for greasing
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
small handful parsley, chopped
handful of sweet gherkins and silverskin onions
1 sheet gelatine

FOR THE STOCK

500ml cider
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
6 thyme sprigs
6 whole peppercorns

Serves 8

Prep 30 mins
Cook 3 hrs 30 mins
Plus chilling

Method

Put the ham hocks in a large pan with the stock ingredients. Cover with cold water. Set pan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cook for 21⁄2-3 hrs or until the meat falls from the bone. Leave to cool in the pan.
Grease a 1-litre terrine mould or loaf tin with the oil, then line with cling film. Remove the hocks, then strain the stock through a fine sieve into a pan. Set aside.
Shred the ham, leaving some large chunks, removing as much fat and sinew as possible. In a large bowl, mix the ham with the mustard and parsley. Press the mixture into the prepared terrine, putting a layer of gherkins and onions in the middle.
Bring the reserved stock back to a rapid boil and reduce by half. You should have about 600ml/1pt liquid remaining. Remove from the heat. Meanwhile, soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 mins to soften. Remove from the water, then squeeze out any excess liquid. Add the gelatine to the hot stock and stir well.
Pour enough of the stock over the ham to just cover. Tap terrine firmly on a hard surface to knock out air pockets, then cover with cling film. Chill for 3-4 hrs or overnight. To serve, remove from the mould and carve into chunky slices. Serve with capers and toast.

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The nerve of some people :(

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shrill
Ben wanted to take his bike to nursery this morning. This is actually useful because it – generally – means that it’s easier to get him out of the house and get him to nursery in a timely fashion. I say usually because last time he faffed around so much that we missed the bus. Today, to avoid this, I left the house early. We ended up at the bus stop with about 10 minutes to kill so, instead of letting him ride up and down the sidewalk, I took him into the Tesco express car park because it would be easier to keep an eye on him and there would be less risk of him hurting himself.

As he’s riding along in circles at the far end of the car park, being a good boy and having fun, some yummy mummy drives up in a Land Rover that she obviously can’t park. I moved Ben out of the way when I saw her trying to park but apparently that wasn’t enough for the busybody woman because she made a detour to tell me that “it’s a bit of a bad idea, letting him ride in a busy car park, don’t you think?” and looking at me like I’m some sort of moron for letting him do it. Idiot woman. I was so gobsmacked by the cheek of it that I couldn’t even come up with anything to say.

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50 activities every child should do before they become teenagers

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How many did you grow up doing?

More than four in five adults say their children spend less time playing outside than they did at their age, according to research by the UK’s National Trust. So, in an effort to entice youngsters away from their TV screens, the charity asked children to name their favourite outdoor activities.

The initiative followed a study that found if children do not form a connection with the great outdoors before they are 12, they are far less likely to later in life.

ADVENTURER

1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish with a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers (a game played using the seeds of horse-chestnut trees)

DISCOVERER

11. Go on a really long bike ride
12. Make a trail with sticks
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Play in the snow
16. Make a daisy chain
17. Set up a snail race
18. Create some wild art
19. Play Pooh sticks (A game played in Winnie the Pooh, where you drop a stick off the upstream side of a bridge to see whose comes out first downstream)
20. Jump over waves

RANGER

21. Pick blackberries growing in the wild
22. Explore inside a tree
23. Visit a farm
24. Go on a walk barefoot
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Go star gazing
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Explore a cave
30. Hold a scary beast

TRACKER

31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a falling leaf
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what’s in a pond
36. Make a home for a wild animal
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night

EXPLORER

41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go swimming in the sea
43. Build a raft
44. Go bird watching
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try rock climbing
47. Cook on a campfire
48. Learn to ride a horse
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river

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