Month: July 2018

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

Easy Lemon Verbena Ice Cream recipe

My Lemon Verbena Ice Cream is a great way of showcasing the unique taste of this herb.  In addition to the taste of lemon, it also has additional subtle notes of ginger which make it an excellent flavouring for ice cream.     As lemon verbena may be hard to source, I have also included the option in the recipe of using grated lemon zest as an alternative flavouring.  This will make an excellent ice-cream but the taste will be different.

About Lemon Verbena

Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora) is a small shrub, native to western South America.  It was was brought to Europe by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 17th century.  Its leaves have a strong lemon scent with other flavour notes, in particular ginger.  They can be used to produce flavoured oil and  herbal tea.  Lemon verbena can be used to bring a lemon flavour to savoury meat and fish dishes and marinades.  It can also be used in sweet dishes such as puddings, cakes, sorbets and, of course, Lemon Verbena Ice Cream.

Grow your own herbs

Adding fresh herbs to a dish is such a  quick and  easy way of transforming it into something special.  Once you get to know the different flavours, there is endless potential for experimentation.   You will get to know which herbs you prefer, which go well with each other and which ones enhance particular dishes.

I am a great advocate for growing your own herbs.     They take up little space and can be grown in pots on a window ledge or balcony if you do not have a garden.  Most of them are also very easy to grow.   If you grow your own, you will have access to a much wider range of flavours as, unfortunately, it is hard to find more unusual herbs in the supermarkets.

If you want to grow your own herbs, including lemon verbena, there are a number of specialist herb nurseries, which will provide herbs by mail order, including  Herbal Haven where I bought a number of my more unusual herbs.

Other home-made ice cream recipes

I am a great home-made ice cream enthusiast. I make it in the summer, of course, but am happy to eat it in winter too! There are some brilliant, shop-bought ice creams available but it is so easy to make your own. I like to experiment with flavours and some of my other ice cream recipes are listed below.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Other lemon flavoured recipes

I love the taste of lemon in both sweet and savoury recipes and, in addition to lemon verbena, I also use fresh lemons a lot. One of my favourite preserve recipes is my easy Lemon Curd. It brings a hit of zesty fresh lemon to lots of other dishes such as my Lemon Curd Ice Cream or my Lemon Pavlova.

Lemon is a great baking ingredient and I use it in lots of my cake and biscuit (cookie) recipes. My Lemon Biscuits (Cookies) are quick, easy and delicious. I combine lemon with elderflower in my Lemon Sponge Cake with Edible Flowers and in my Elderflower and Lemon cupcakes. My St Clement’s Cake has a double hit of citrus as it includes both oranges and lemons!

In savoury dishes, lemon is a great flavour partner to chicken. I make a classic Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme and also a Morroccan-inspired stew of Lemon Chicken with Olives.

Easy Lemon Verbena Ice Cream recipe

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Lemon verbena ice cream, lemon verbena ice-cream

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: for 6 people 1x
  • Category: Ice-cream
  • Cuisine: English
Print Recipe

Description

This ice cream showcases the subtle herbal flavour of lemon verbena which has additional notes of ginger in addition to lemon.   As it may be hard to source lemon verbena, I have included an alternative using lemon zest.  This is a good, but different, ice-cream.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 85 g caster sugar
  • 425 ml double cream
  • 2 tablespoons of very finely chopped fresh lemon verbena leaves (or the grated zest of one unwaxed lemon)

Instructions

  1. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl until the mixture looks paler and resembles a mousse.
  2. Put the cream and chopped fresh lemon verbena leaves (or grated lemon zest) in a saucepan and heat gently. Do not allow to boil – it will be the right temperature when you are just about able to bear to dip a finger in it!
  3. Remove the saucepan containing the cream and lemon verbena (or grated lemon zest) from the heat.  At this stage you can strain the cream to remove all the pieces of lemon verbena leaf (or grated lemon zest).  I generally don’t strain the chopped herbs out as I like them distributed through the ice-cream but I know some people prefer a totally smooth ice-cream with just the flavour.  If you are going to leave the pieces in the ice-cream, you need to make sure that the leaves are very finely chopped – no one wants huge fragments of leaf in their pudding!
  4. Pour the infused cream into the bowl containing the egg yolks and sugar, whisking all the time.
  5. Transfer the combined mixture into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water or, ideally a double-boiler, as you need to reheat it very gently.
  6. The mixture will gradually thicken until it looks like a custard (which is what it is).  Stir regularly to make sure it does not stick while it is thickening.
  7. Remove the thick custard from the heat and transfer into a bowl.  Allow to cool to room temperature and then transfer to the fridge to become thoroughly chilled.
  8. When you are ready to make the ice cream, transfer to your ice cream maker and use according to your machine’s instructions.  If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can place the mixture in a freezer-proof container, put in the freezer for several hours until half-frozen.  Whisk the mixture and then return to the container and replace in the freezer until totally frozen.

Notes

Although the preparation time and cook time totals 20 minutes you will need to allow additional time for the ice cream mixture to become completely cold before you freeze it.

You can make this ice cream either using lemon verbena or the zest of a lemon.  Both will taste lemony (and very good!) but the taste will be different – a subtle soft herbal lemon flavour with hints of ginger – if you are using lemon verbena.  If you can get hold of it, it is really worth a try!

Keywords: lemon, lemon verbena, ice cream, lemon verbena ice cream, lemon verbena ice-cream

Link up your recipe of the week

Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

Lavender Scones
Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

This Honey Cream Tea, made with Lavender Scones, is a variation on the traditional English Cream Tea which uses plain or fruited scones sandwiched with jam and cream.

I first tasted a Honey Cream Tea many years ago when visiting Quince Honey Farm in Devon.   Understandably, given the primary product of the farm, they served scones sandwiched with cream and honey, rather than the traditional jam.   When I decided to write a recipe for Lavender Scones, it occurred to me that a honey and cream filling would go very well with their floral flavour – and so it proved!  If you have lavender-scented honey, so much the better.

Print

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Lavender Scones, Honey Cream Tea

Honey Cream Tea with Lavender Scones

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 15 scones 1x
  • Category: Scones
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English
Print Recipe

Description

This Honey Cream Tea is made with lavender-flavoured scones sandwiched together with honey and whipped cream.  It is a variation on a traditional English Cream Tea, which combines plain or fruited scones with jam and cream.

Lavender Scones
Honey Cream Tea

Ingredients

Scale
  • 350 g self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 85 g butter
  • 25 g caster sugar
  • 4 fresh lavender buds (or 2 tablespoons of culinary lavender)
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 ml milk
  • A small pot of good quality (ideally locally-sourced) honey
  • 300 ml double cream (whipped)
Lavender scones
Lavender scones

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Put the flour and baking powder in a large bowl.  Cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour.  Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  3. Add the sugar to the flour and butter mixture.
  4. Detach the small flowers from the lavender stalks and add them to the mixture.
  5. Lightly beat the eggs and add them and the milk to the mixture.
  6. Use your hands to very gently combine the mixture so that it forms a soft dough.
  7. Press the dough out onto a floured surface.  It needs to be about 1cm thick.  Use a round cutter to cut out dough shapes and place them on a greased baking sheet.
  8. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the scones have risen and are a light golden colour.
  9. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.
  10. When they are cool, split them in half and sandwich together with honey and whipped cream.
Lavender scones, honey cream tea
Lavender scones

Keywords: lavender, scones, lavender scones, honey cream tea

Love this recipe?  You may like these too!

Lavender Sugar and Rose Geranium Sugar

Lavender Ice Cream

 

 

 

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Red Cabbage Coleslaw is a really simple and easy recipe which can be put together in a few minutes.  Coleslaw is a salad made with raw vegetables, usually including cabbage, mixed with mayonnaise.

I make all kinds of coleslaw but I particularly like this recipe which uses red cabbage, carrot, radish and apple as you get a bowl full of bright bold colours. The combination of colours means that the coleslaw looks very attractive. It is great as part of a cold buffet or at a lunch party.   It also seems to appeal to children as it looks pretty – and the mayonnaise turns pink – and the apple adds a bit of natural sweetness.  I have found it a good way to get them to eat a wider range of vegetables.    Although the mayonnaise may not be that healthy there is not too much of it in this recipe and it really does bring together the taste of the different vegetables. I tend to use shop-bought, reduced fat mayonnaise for this recipe.

It is really beneficial from a healthy-eating point of view to eat food that is raw. It is high in fibre and vitamins and minerals are retained. Different colours typically denote the presence of different vitamins and minerals in food. Therefore, a really easy way to eat more healthily is to eat foods with a range of natural colours (“eating the rainbow”).

Red Slaw
Other easy salads

I love salads and eat them all the year around – not just in summer. If you like this Red Cabbage Coleslaw recipe, you might also like some of my other salad recipes.

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: for 6 people 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: English
Print Recipe

Description

This colourful Red Cabbage Coleslaw, made with red onion, red cabbage, carrot, radish and apple, looks pretty and is a great way to eat lots of healthy vegetables.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 red onion
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Half a red cabbage
  • 5 large carrots
  • 5 radishes
  • 1 apple
  • 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

Instructions

  1. Slice your red onion thinly.   Place the slices in a ceramic dish together with the juice of half a lemon.   Leave for at least half an hour.   The lemon juice will make the raw onion taste milder but still retain its fresh crunchiness!
  2. Prepare the other vegetables.  Thinly slice the red cabbage.  Grate the carrots.  Cut the radishes into thin disks.
  3. Put the prepared vegetables, together with the marinated onion, into a large bowl.
  4. Cut the apple into small pieces, omitting the core, and add it to the bowl of vegetables.
  5. Add the mayonnaise to the bowl and stir to lightly cover the other ingredients.

Keywords: slaw, coleslaw, red cabbage, onion, carrot, red slaw

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage

Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage

My Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage is a great summer tart which can be served either hot or cold.   I came up with the idea for this recipe as an alternative to the Caramelised Onion Tart that is a regular family supper.   I wanted to do something that had a similar sweetness but which was also a bit different.

The resulting tart uses butternut squash, which is slow-cooked to enhance its natural sweetness, and then gives it a bit of extra zing with the addition of chilli and sage.  Both are good companions to squash – the chilli cuts through the sweetness and the sage gives it a savoury depth of flavour. Don’t be alarmed by the chilli.  The amount involved is relatively small but really does pep up the tart.  My children have varying views on chilli  (ranging from “Carolina Reaper for breakfast, please” to  “Yeeeuch”) but they all like this tart.

I like to serve this tart with my Red Slaw – to keep the bright colour thing going!   They taste good together – the fresh crunchiness of the slaw goes well with the sweet-savoury tart – and they also look pretty!

What you need to know about this recipe

  • I generally make my own pastry. I was a late learner when it came to pastry and for years used ready-made versions. However, a few years ago I decided I had to get to grips with pastry-making and discovered how easy it is. So, if you have the time to make your own pastry, it is really worth doing as the taste will be much better than anything you can buy in the shops. However, if you don’t have the time or inclination, you can make this recipe using ready-made pastry and it will still taste pretty good.
  • Whether you are making your own pastry or using ready-made, it is really important to bake the empty pastry case in the oven for 15 minutes before you add the filling (step 7). This sets the pastry and means that it is properly cooked so it will be crisp and delicious rather than soft and soggy.
  • Cooking the onions and cubed squash on a low heat for 30 minutes until they become caramelised (step 5) is a crucial part of this recipe. You need them to be soft in texture and with the rich sweetness that comes from slow cooking.
  • If you don’t like chilli, you can leave it out. However, it is fairly mild and does give a good balance to the sweetness of the caramelised squash and onions.
  • I add sage as I think it goes particularly well with butternut squash. I think fresh sage is preferable. However, if you do not have it to hand, you can use dried sage. If you do not have any sage, or do not like it, you can substitute other herbs. I think thyme, oregano and rosemary would all be good in this recipe.

Other butternut squash and pumpkin recipes

If you like the earthy sweetness of butternut squash and pumpkin, you might like some of my other recipes.

Other quiche and tart recipes

Savoury tarts and quiches are a fantastic, cook-ahead simple supper or lunch. They are easy to make and are great either hot or at room temperature. They can also be easily divided into portions if you are feeding a large number of people. Easily transportable, they also make a good addition to lunch-boxes or basis for a picnic. Here are some of my favourites.

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Recipe for Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Butternut tart

Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 55
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 8
  • Category: Tart
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English
Print Recipe

Description

In this tart, the sweetness of butternut squash is tempered by the heat of chilli and the aromatic sage.  The bright yellow squash also makes it look very attractive.   The tart can be eaten either hot or cold, which makes it great for picnics or cold buffets.

 

Ingredients

Scale

For the pastry:

  • 275 g (10 oz) plain flour
  • 125 g (4 oz) fat (I use a mix of half butter and half Trex as I think this makes the lightest pastry)
  • Salt
  • A little water

For the filling:

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 2 onions
  • 50 g (2 oz) butter and 1 tablespoon oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Half a fresh red chilli (you can add more or less depending on how much you like chilli)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 3–4 fresh sage leaves (or a teaspoon of dried sage)
  • 100 ml (4 fl oz) double cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 75 g (3 oz) strong cheddar cheese (grated)

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Make the pastry. Put the flour in a bowl.  Add the fat and combine –  either by “rubbing in” by hand or processing – until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a little cold water (2-3 tbsp) and shape the mixture into a dough.
  3. Peel and chop the onions. Peel and chop the butternut squash into small cubes.
  4. Heat the butter and oil in your frying pan.   It helps if the pan is good quality with a thick bottom as this will disseminate the heat evenly and prevent burning.
  5. Add the chopped onions and cubed butternut squash to the pan, season with salt and pepper,  and cook at a very low heat for about 30 minutes.  Keep an eye on them to make sure they are not burning and stir occasionally.  They will be done when the onions and squash cubes are soft and, when tasted, are sweet.
  6. Finely chop the chilli, garlic cloves and the sage leaves and add to the onion and squash mixture.  Set the mixture aside to cool slightly.
  7. Roll out your pastry and use it to line your quiche or flan dish.   Bake for 20 minutes in the oven to allow the pastry to “set”.  This will stop the filling making it soggy.
  8. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the cream, and beat until combined.  Finely grate the cheddar cheese and add to the mixture.
  9. Now place the onion and squash mixture in your pastry case.  Pour the egg mixture over it.
  10. Place your quiche or flan dish in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
  11. The tart can be eaten hot, room temperature or cold.

Keywords: butternut squash, chilli, sage, tart

Gooseberry Jam

Gooseberry Jam
Gooseberries

Gooseberry Jam

Home-made Gooseberry Jam is a real treat.  It is tangy and fruity and has a good balance of sweet and sour, unlike some shop-bought jams which are too sugary.

I love gooseberries and appreciate their tangy sourness.  Green gooseberries are available from early June onwards and can be used to make a range of sweet and savoury dishes, tempered by the right amount of sugar.   Red or yellow dessert gooseberries, which can be eaten with no preparation,  become available later in the season.   My parents used to grow dessert gooseberries and I have happy memories of sitting under a tree in the garden as a child, reading a book – “Doctor Doolittle”, I think – with a big bowl of freshly-picked gooseberries beside me.

Gooseberries have fallen out of favour in recent years and can be hard to source.   I grow gooseberries in my garden but, if you don’t have the room or inclination to grow your own, you can find them in some supermarkets or independent greengrocers from early June onwards when they are in season.   They are also often available at “pick-your-own” farms.    The green culinary gooseberries are generally easier to source than the dessert gooseberries.   The season is very short so make the most of it!

Gooseberries lend themselves to a range of sweet dishes – tarts, crumbles, fools and  ice-cream and are fantastic in preserves and chutneys.  They are also a traditional accompaniment to some savoury dishes and, due to their tartness, go well with fatty meats such as pork or duck or oily fish such as mackerel.

Print

clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Home-made Gooseberry Jam

Gooseberry Jam

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 25
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 2 jam-jars 1x
  • Category: Jam
  • Cuisine: English
Print Recipe

Description

Sweet and tangy home-made gooseberry jam is fantastic on crusty bread or as an ingredient in cakes or puddings.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 500 g gooseberries
  • 500 g jam sugar
  • Juice of half a lemon

Instructions

  1. Put gooseberries, lemon juice and 200 ml water in a heavy saucepan
  2. Heat gently to simmering point and then cook for around 10 minutes until fruit is soft.
  3. Add the sugar and continue to heat gently until it is dissolved.
  4. Turn up the heat and boil rapidly for a further 10-15 minutes.  The jam will change to a dark pink colour as it cooks.
  5. You can judge the setting point by putting a saucer in your freezer before making the jam.  Spoon some of the jam onto the cold saucer and leave to cool.  If the surface of the jam crinkles when you push it with your finger, it is ready.  If not, continue boiling and try again after a few more minutes.
  6. Sterilise your jar.
  7. Pour the jam into sterilised jars.  It will keep for about 6 months.   Keep in the fridge once opened.

 

Notes

There are various ways of sterilising jars.  I think the easiest is to wash in soapy water and then put in an oven at 120 C for 15 minutes.

Keywords: gooseberry, jam

Gooseberries
Gooseberry Jam

You may also like…

Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

Strawberry Jam
Strawberry and Rose Geranium Jam

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam

Rhubarb and Vanilla Jam

Gooseberry and Elderflower Sorbet

Gooseberry Sorbet
Gooseberry and Elderflower Sorbet