In Good Taste: Extra layers
Bread and butter pudding
We were driving home the other day listening to the dulcet tones of Alison Holst on afternoon radio. Her voice alone is so comforting, almost a lullaby, as she reads out the list of ingredients for a simple meatloaf. “When was the last time we ate meatloaf?” we cry. Oh, ages ago. Well, we had another one this week and they really do go down a treat.
I like the fact that you can tart them up if you want to, simply by lining the loaf tin with rashers of bacon, allowing each rasher to cover the bottom and come up both sides. Any overhang will be folded on top and this will become the piece de resistance when it emerges from the oven all crisp and golden. You could also spread a layer of grilled mushrooms or roasted capsicums along the middle of the meatloaf, which looks good when sliced, and of course the simplest meatloaf can be quite beautiful when served with creamy mashed potatoes, hot minted peas and freshly made coleslaw.
Any meatloaf that happens to be left over is great on a sandwich the next day. It almost feels like a meal-in-one, or you can serve it with a salad, a bap and some chutney as in a sort of ploughman’s. With a glass of cold beer, this is real man’s food I realise; yet secretly enjoyed just as much by women.
Meatloaf
700g minced lean beef
1 onion, grated
1 large carrot, grated
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
5 weetbix, crushed
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup of milk
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
3 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 rashers of bacon
Line a loaf tin with the rashers of bacon as described above. Mix together all the other ingredients (hands are best) and season well. Pack into the bacon-lined tin and fold over the bacon to partially cover the top. Bake in a pre-heated 180°C oven for about an hour, or until the juices run clear when you pierce the loaf with a sharp knife. The bacon on top should be nice and crispy and the meatloaf looking deliciously golden brown. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes or so before turning out onto a board and slicing to serve.
Bread and butter pudding is another winter favourite that is easy to whip up, and economical too. If you want more than the old traditional pudding then you can easily add interest to the look and taste by using alternatives to the normal white bread, which many of us don’t actually eat these days. Croissants, stale baguette sliced on the diagonal, brioche, panettone, and thick-sliced fruit bread can all be used to great success. Slice, spread with butter and use as the recipe states, but use a little less sugar if you use a particularly sweet type of bread. The BEST B&B pudding is the one made in a buttered ovenproof dish, which is then placed in a water bath and cooked at a slower temperature. Very little extra work for such great results. You will be rewarded with velvety smooth custard, which makes the dessert taste lighter.
Now, in true Famous Five-style, this pudding MUST be served with lashings of thick cream, ice cream or custard (or all three) and is best served warm rather than hot. So gather your friends, light the fire, open the wine and eat hearty.
Bread and Butter Pudding
Half a loaf of Vogel’s Fruit Toast
Butter
4 eggs
1 pint of milk (600ml)
1 pint of cream (600ml)
2 teaspoons of good vanilla
½ cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of sugar extra for sprinkling
Juice and zest of half an orange
Spread the fruit toast with butter. Go on. Be generous! The pedants out there will want to cut the crusts off at this stage; however I like the way those bits get all crispy and chewy, so it’s up to you.
Cut each slice into four triangles and stack them in a buttered baking dish so that the pointy bits are pointing upwards. Mix the other ingredients together in a bowl (except extra sugar) and pour carefully over the bread. Set aside for an hour. Fill a roasting dish with hot water and place the baking dish inside. The water should come half way up the side. Sprinkle any exposed peaks of bread with the extra sugar and place into a pre-heated 160°C oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until it comes out clean when tested with a knife blade. Remove from the roasting dish and allow it to cool before serving.
Fiona Feasey
