Cooking with Paula McIntyre

Pastry
225g plain flour
100g chopped cold butter
Pinch salt
1 egg
Rub the flour and butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in the salt. Mix in the egg to dough, wrap in cling and chill.
Filling
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Oil for brushing
25g butter
1 large leek, split, washed and chopped
25g plain flour
150ml chicken stock
1 tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Brush the chicken with oil and cook on a hot grill pan for about 4 minutes each side or until cooked through. Allow to rest.
Heat the butter in a pan and add the leeks. Cook until wilted down and mix in the flour well. Add the stock and mix to a stiff smooth sauce. Add the cream and mustard and check seasoning. Add any resting juices from the chicken and then cool and chill. Chop the chicken and mix into the sauce.
To assemble
1 egg yolk.
Divide the pastry in half and roll to fit a buttered pie dish. Trim off the edges and keep in cling.
Line with foil and fill with baking beans. Chill for an hour then bake in a 180oc oven for 12 minutes. Remove beans and foil and bake for another 5 minutes. Fill with the chicken mixture. Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the chicken mixture. Crimp the edges and brush with egg yolk. Roll out the ends of pastry and make leaves. Place on pie and cover with more egg yolk. Bake in a 180oc oven for 30 minutes.
Broccoli with pickled shallot
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
25ml white wine or cider vinegar
25ml water
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Salt to taste
350g tenderstem broccoli
1 tablespoon oil
Place the vinegar, water, sugar, turmeric and mustard seeds in a pan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Check seasoning and pour over the shallots. Leave for an hour to pickle.
Blanch the broccoli in salted boiling water for a minute and then drain, place on kitchen paper and top with kitchen paper.
Heat the oil in a frying pan until smoking add the broccoli. Cook for a couple of minutes then add the shallots ( not the liquid) and warm through.

Buttermilk breadrolls
450g bread flour
7g dried yeast
190ml buttermilk
60ml local rapeseed oil
1 heaped tablespoon castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Egg yolk for brushing

Stir yeast and 35ml of lukewarm water in a large bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Warm the buttermilk to blood temperature gently and add to the yeast mixture with the oil and sugar. Mix in the flour and baking powder to a soft dough and transfer to a floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes and place in a clean bowl rubbed with oil.
Cover with cling or a damp tea towel and leave at room temperature for an hour. Knock back and divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll into balls and place on baking trays lined with baking paper - don’t have them too close together as they’ll rise. Leave for 30 minutes. Set oven to 200°c. Brush rolls with egg yolk and then bake for about 20 minutes or until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Cook on a wire rack.
500g rump steak
1 tablespoon oil for rubbing
Seasalt
Freshly ground black pepper
150g mayonnaise
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped gherkin
200g raclette slices or thin slices of cheddar
Rub the oil all over the rump and season with salt. Heat a pan until smoking and seal on both sides for two minutes. Lower the heat and cook to desired temperature. Season with pepper and rest for 5 minutes and slice thinly.
Mix the mayonnaise with the mustard and gherkins
Split the rolls and spread the mayo on to the surface.Arrange the beef over the top and then cheese. Bake in a 180oc oven until cheese has melted – about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Caramel pecan pancakes
3 large eggs
1 dessertspoon golden syrup
200ml buttermilk
300g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
50ml bannoffee toffee
75g chopped pecans
Oil for cooking
Whisk the eggs, syrup and buttermilk in a bowl.
Sift in the flour and baking soda. Whisk to a thick batter.
Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Wipe a medium hot pan with oil and add a tablespoon of batter – don’t over crowd the pan. Drizzle some of the bannoffee toffee and add a sprinkle of pecan nuts on the surface. Spread over some more pancake batter to enclose the nuts and sauce. When bubbles appear, flip over and cook on the other side for a couple of minutes to cook through. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Rum candied bananas
50g butter
50g soft brown sugar
50ml rum
Pinch cinnamon
4 bananas, peeled and chopped
Heat the butter and sugar in a large pan and spread to fill the surface. Add the rum and toss for a minute. Flame carefully with the rum, add the cinnamon and serve with the pancakes.

Rhubarb compote
100g castor sugar
250g rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Splash of gin ( optional)
Cook the sugar and orange zest and juice until the sugar has dissolved over medium heat.
Add the rhubarb, cover with parchment and simmer gently until just cooked – really only a couple of minutes.Turn off and cool.
Pastry
225g plain flour
100g butter
60g icing sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Rub the flour, butter and sugar together until the mixture resembles fine crumbs ( do this in a food processor if you wish). Mix the egg and the yolk and add to make a dough.
Wrap in cling and chill for an hour.
Strawberry jam
Lightly butter 2 tartlet tins and set oven to 180oc.
Roll the pastry out until thin and cut out rounds to fit in the hole.
Chop half the rhubarb and mix with an equal amount of jam. Spoon into the pastry and bake for 15 minutes. Cool and remove from tins.
Serve with a dollop of the cream.
Coconut custard cream
225 ml milk
2 egg yolks
75 g caster sugar
10 g plain flour, sieved
10g cornflour
Simmer the milk. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and flour and then pour over milk. Whisk well and return to pan over low heat. Stir constantly until custard is thick. Pour into a bowl and cover surface with cling, cool and chill.
25g desiccated coconut
250ml double cream
Spread the coconut onto a baking tray lined with parchment and cook in a 180oc oven for about 5 minutes or until golden. Cool.
Whip the cream, fold in the cold custard and coconut.

Recipe
Pickled mustard seeds
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Place the seeds in a small bowl and cover with vinegar. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 2 days before using
4 x 175g boneless shoulder chops
1 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon smoked seasalt ( or regular seasalt)
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
15g butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
200ml chicken stock
2 teaspoons pickled mustard seeds
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Mix the oil with the salt, maple syrup and vinegar and rub all over the chops. Cover and chill overnight.
Heat a large pan until smoking hot and add the chops. Cook for 2 minutes each side then lower the heat and cook through gently. Remove from pan and set aside, covered in foil. Add the butter and shallots to the pan and cook until golden. Add the stock and reduce by half. Whisk in the mustard and then add the pickled mustard seeds. Add resting juices from pork and the chives and warm through. Check the seasoning. Slice the pork and spoon over the sauce.
Cider Cabbage
1 sweetheart cabbage
1 tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper
20g butter
150ml dry local cider
Cut the cabbage in quarters through the root.
Heat the oil in a large pan until smoking hot. Add the cabbage wedges. Cook until golden brown on both sides and add the butter. Turn to coat in the butter. Season with salt and pepper and add the cider. Cover with a lid, lower the heat slightly and cook for about 8 minutes or until cooked through. Boil to reduce any excess liquid. Serve with the pork and some mash.