Cooking with Paula McIntyre

Recipe
Lemon shortcake
200g soft butter
150g castor sugar
2 egg yolks
150g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
50g ground almonds
Zest of 2 lemons
4 tablespoons lemon curd
Beat the sugar and butter until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the egg yolks, flour, baking powder, almonds and lemon zest ( keep the lemon juice for the syllabub)
Wrap in cling and chill for an hour.
Set oven to 180oc.
Line a baking tin with parchment paper.
Coarsely grate half the mixture into the tin and press around evenly.
Spread over the curd.
Top with the remaining grated mixture and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and firm. Cool in the tin for about 20 minutes before cutting into squares.
Lemon Syllabub
Juice of 2 lemons
50g castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
250ml double cream
100ml yoghurt
Simmer the lemon juice with the sugar until the sugar dissolves. Cool.
Whip the cream and fold in the lemon mixture. Fold in the yoghurt and vanilla.
Spoon or pipe into glasses and serve with the biscuits.
A few raspberries could be added on top.

Recipe
Grilled leg of lamb with wild garlic and almond pesto
4 x 175g lamb leg steaks
1teaspoon fennel seeds
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon castor sugar
1 teaspoon seasalt
1 tablespoon oil
Grind the fennel seeds as finely as possible and mix in with the oregano, sugar and oil. Rub all over the lamb and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Remove from fridge half an hour before cooking.
Wild garlic and almond pesto
35g wild garlic leaves, washed in cold water, patted dry in kitchen paper and shredded
35g flaked toasted almonds
75ml olive oil
Zest 1 lemon ( keep the juice for the skordalia)
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend well and check seasoning.
Carrot Skordalia
4 medium carrots – preferably local, scrubbed and cut in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon seasalt
Juice 1 lemon
50ml good olive oil
Take a sheet of parchment paper and place carrots on top. Drizzle over the tablespoon of oil and scatter over the salt. Gather into a parcel and bake in a 180oc oven until tender – about 40 minutes.
Chop the carrots and blend with the lemon juice and oil and any cooking juices. Add a little water to loosen up if required. Check seasoning.
To Cook Lamb
Heat a large grill pan until smoking hot and add the lamb. Cook for 3 minutes then flip over and cook for a couple of minutes on the other side. Spoon some of the pesto over the top of each steak and allow to rest.
Serve with the skordalia.

Recipe
Biscuit base
200g chocolate oaty biscuits, crushed
65g melted butter
Mix together and press into a pie tin up the sides a bit and chill.
100g chopped dates
50ml PX sherry
Mix, cover and leave overnight.
150g chopped dark chocolate
150g chopped milk chocolate
150ml double cream
25ml banoffee toffee
25g butter
Place the chocolates in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream, butter and toffee in a pan until bubbling, pour over the chocolate and stir until melted. Add the dates and mix well. Pour into the biscuit base and smooth off. Chill for a few hours to set but take out of fridge at least an hour before serving.
250ml double cream whipped
25g dark chocolate
Pipe the cream over the top and finely grate the chocolate all over.

Recipe
Coconut Rice Pudding
100g pudding rice
450ml coconut milk – 1 tin
150ml whipping cream
25g honey
25g castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Rinse the rice pudding for a minute in a sieve under cold running water.
Place the pudding rice in a pan with the coconut milk, cream, honey, sugar and vanilla and gently simmer for about half an hour or until rice is cooked through.
Poached and caramelized pineapple
1 pineapple
350ml pineapple juice
25g brown sugar
Peel the pineapple and remove the “eyes”. Quarter, remove the core and cut the pineapple into 3cm slices. Place in the pineapple juice and gently simmer until the pineapple is just done. Remove pineapple and add the sugar to the liquid. Boil until thick and syrupy and return the pineapple to the liquid and mix well.
Candied puffed rice
50g castor sugar
2 teaspoons water
30g rice crispies
10g desiccated coconut
Heat the sugar and water over high heat in a pan until the sugar turns to a golden caramel liquid – don’t stir. Remove from heat and mix in the crispies and coconut. Turn onto a sheet of parchment and cool.
Spoon the rice pudding into bowls, top with some pineapple ( any leftover will keep in the fridge for a week) and scatter over some of the candied puffed rice.

Recipe
Lemon Crunch Pie with blueberries
Base
200g oaty or digestive biscuits
75g butter
Crush the biscuits to a fine crumb either in a food processor or place in a bag and bash with a rolling pin. Melt the butter and mix with the crumbs. Line a 20cm springform cake tin or 6 individual tins, with parchment paper. Press the biscuit mixture into the tin and press down. Chill in the fridge.
Filling
Zest and juice 2 lemons
150ml condensed milk
300 ml double cream, whipped
Fold the condensed milk, lime zest and juice into the cream. Spoon onto the base and allow to chill in the fridge for a few hours.
Blueberry compote
250g frozen blueberries
35g honey
Mix in a pan and cook for 5 minutes. Cool.
250ml whipped cream ( optional)
Remove the tin from the pudding and spoon the blueberries on top.
Pipe the cream on top and serve.