Lorraine Pascale's recipes for Composed in the Kitchen - Episode 5

Throughout January Scala Radio is offering tips and advice on how to stay healthy and happy in 2021. And a good place to start with a healthy regime is surely the food we eat.

Lorraine Pascale's Dulce and banana traybake

For the sticky topping

50g/2oz butter, plus extra for greasing

50g/2oz soft light brown sugar

For the sponge

150g/5½oz butter

175g/6oz soft light brown sugar

4 medium free-range eggs

½ vanilla pod, seeds only (or a couple of drops of vanilla extract)

100g/3½oz self-raising flour

75g/2½oz plain wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp treacle

handful pecan nuts (optional)

pinch salt

2-3 firm bananas

1 tbsp calvados (optional)

softly whipped cream or ice cream, to serve

Method

1.Grease and line a 20cm/8in square tin with baking parchment and grease again. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. First make the sticky topping. Place the butter and soft light brown sugar in a small pan over a medium heat. Once the butter is melted, turn up the heat and let the mixture bubble away for a few minutes, until it begins to thicken slightly. Stir it frequently so it does not catch on the bottom.

3. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the lined tin and tip the tin back and forth to spread it out evenly. The mixture will eventually solidify in the tin so make sure to spread it out now.

4. Next, tip the pecans (if using) onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for five minutes. Set aside to cool.

5. Now make the sponge mixture. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl (or food mixer) until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at time, beating hard between each addition. Split the vanilla pod open, scrape the seeds out into the mixture (or add the vanilla extract). Then fold in both flours, the baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, treacle and salt and set aside.

6. Slice the bananas into 5mm/¼in thick pieces. Arrange them in a single layer in the bottom of the tin. I line them up so they are nice and straight but of course it is fine to do them in any old order too. Pack them all in tight so they don’t move around once the cake mix goes over. Then drizzle over the calvados (if using).

7. Roughly chop the pecans and stir them through the cake mix. Now, carefully dollop the cake mix over the bananas and gently spread it out with the back of a spoon or palate knife, levelling the top. Pop it into the oven for about 45 minutes.

8. After 35 minutes, remove the cake from the oven and insert a metal skewer or the blade of a small knife right into the centre (but not touching the bottom. It should come out completely clean. If there is some cakey gooeyness left on it just pop it back in the oven for another five minutes or so.

9. Once the cake is cooked remove it from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. Then put a large flat plate over the top of the tin and holding the tin and the plate, flip the whole lot over so that the tin is now upside down. Gently remove the tin and carefully peel off the baking parchment.

10. Cut into squares and serve warm or cold with your choice of crème anglaise, softly whipped cream or ice cream.

Lorraine Pascale's Slow roast leg of lamb with chardonnay, rosemary, sage and bay

Ingredients

½ leg of lamb (the thick fillet end) with bone in (about 1Kg/2lb 4oz)

salt and pepper

2 red onions

8 garlic cloves

4 rosemary sprigs

4 sage leaves

2 bay leaves

400ml/14fl oz white wine

couple squidges of honey

1kg/2lb 4oz potatoes, peeled and cut for roasties

olive oil, for drizzling

300g/11oz frozen peas

Method

1. Remove the lamb from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking (to bring it to room temperature). Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and make sure the shelves are set to fit a casserole pot and roasting tray in.

2. Place the lamb in a big casserole pot and season it really well with salt and pepper. Cut the onions into quarters, keeping the root intact, peel off the skin and throw them in with the (unpeeled) garlic cloves, rosemary sprigs, sage and bay leaves. Pour in the white wine and drizzle the honey over.

3. Put the lid on and place the whole thing in the oven, leaving it for about four hours. Set a timer for 2 hours 30 minutes as that’s when you need to add the potatoes.

4. When the timer goes, toss the potatoes in a roasting tin with a good drizzle of oil and leave them to sit. (They won’t go brown with the oil on.)

5. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, drizzle a bit more oil on them if they have sucked it all up and place them in the oven for the remaining hour and a half. Give them a toss about every so often.

6. Finally, 10 minutes before the meat is ready, throw the peas into the lamb cooking juices.

7. Once everything is cooked remove them from the oven. The meat should be falling off the bone and the potatoes crisp and golden brown. There is no need to rest the meat after this long cooking time, so simply dish up and serve.

Lorraine Pascale's Aussie olive damper bread

Ingredients

450g/1lb self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

3 sprigs rosemary, leaves only, roughly chopped

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

75g/3oz pitted green or black olives, roughly chopped

To serve

fruity olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and put a baking tray in to warm up.

2. Put the flour in a large bowl, with the rosemary, salt, oil and 225ml/8fl oz water. Mix everything well until the dough starts to come together in a ball. Then get your hands in and squidge all the dry bits in, using the bread like a cloth to gather the bits all up.

3. Dust a clean board or work surface with a little flour and place the dough down. Squish it into a flattish round, put the olives in the centre and squash them down a bit, bringing the edges of the dough towards the centre, so that the olives are covered. Then flip the dough over and knead the olives in.

4. At this point, the dough may be quite wet with olives flying all over the shop, but just keep pushing the rogue olives back into the dough. If everything is too wet, just add a small handful of flour to dough. Shape it into a 20cm/8in round and place on the warmed baking tray.

5. Rub a little flour onto the handle of a wooden spoon. Then, holding the handle horizontal to the bread, press down onto the loaf making an indent almost to the bottom of the tray.

6. Turn handle so that it is at a 90 degree angle to the first line and push down again to make a cross. Do this two more times so your bread looks like a kind of clock face of eight triangular portions.

7. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. This is wonderful served warm with some fruity olive oil and balsamic.

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