The Village Kitchen

Recipies for sausage and kidney hotpot and curd-cream-gateau with mandarins

4 sheep's kidneys

4 large sausages

125g/4 oz bacon

3 small onions or 3 sticks of celery

125g/4 oz mushrooms

225g/8 oz carrots

25g/1 oz butter

15g/ half oz flour

300ml / half pint stock

1 teaspoon tomato puree

1 tablespoon sherry

Salt and pepper

1 small packet of frozen peas

1. Remove skin from kidneys, cut them into four pieces and cut out core.

2. Skin the sausages and make each into 2 or 3 small balls.

3. De-rind the bacon and cut into strips.

4. Peel and chop the onions or celery. Wipe and slice the mushrooms. Scrub carrots and cut into short, very thin strips.

5. Melt butter in pan and fry bacon a little. Add kidneys and sausages and fry them quickly until lightly browned. Lift out of fat on to a plate.

6. Add onions and mushrooms to pan. Reduce heat and cook slowly for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. Stir flour into pan and let it cook for one minute.

8. Stir in stock, tomato puree and sherry and bring to simmering point, stirring as it thickens.

9. Add carrots, bacon, kidney and sausage balls.

10. Cover pan with a well fitting lid and simmer gently for 1/2 and hour. 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, add frozen peas.

Could be made in an electric frying pan

1 egg

1 tablespoon warm water

75 g sugar

vanilla essence

100 g flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

500 g mandarin slices (tin)

2 packets gelatine

12 tablespoons mandarin juice

500 g curd

200 g sugar

500 ml whipping cream

1. Mix water with egg and beat to a frothy consistency.

2. Add sugar and vanilla essence to a creamy consistency.

3. Sieve flour and baking powder on top and carefully mix under the egg creme (don't stir). Fill in a greased gateau tin (26 cm) and bake at 175-200 oC for 20-25 minutes.

4. Separate mandarin slices from juice.

5. Mix gelatine with 6 tablespoons of mandarin juice and let it soak for 10 minutes.

6. Mix curd with 6 tablespoons of mandarin juice and sugar.

7. Beat sugar and vanilla essence.

8. Heat up the gelatine and mix together with the mandarin slices (leave 12 slices aside for decoration).

9. Fill 3 tablespoons of the mixture into a piping bag.

10. Add the rest of the cream to the baked gateau base and let it rest at a cool place until gateau creme is firm.

11. Decorate with creme in the piping bag and the 12 mandarin slices.