by Graham Brown
It was fantastic to see so many people from the church family and community at the Community Lunch on 20th September at Burnham Baptist Church. We fed a three course meal to about 50 people on the day and the leftovers went to others in the church family, so ended up feeding around 60 people all told and some chickens!
This was our second lunch and we are learning and growing each time. I’d like to thank all those who help prepare, set-up, serve, host and clean up on the day. You made this a special time for all the guests. A number of you have asked me for the recipes I used (it's unusual for me to use a recipe) and I’ve added these below.
Our next planned Community Lunch event is going to be a Christmas lunch on 20th December. This will be a ticketed event as we’ve had quite a bit of interest already from the wider community. So book it in your diaries and keep an eye out for the notices.
Recipes
Winter Squash Soup (serves 6-8)
Ingredients
1 large squash
Olive Oil
1 large Onion
2 sticks Celery
2 large Carrot
1 Parsnip
1-2 tspn Ground Cumin
1-2 tspn Ground Coriander
1 ltr Vegetable Stock (made with 4 stock cubes)
Salt, sugar & pepper to taste
Preparation
1. Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds. Place on a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Bake for 30 minutes until soft. Leave to cool.
2. Roughly chop all the other vegetables.
3. In a large saucepan or stock pot fry the onions until soft.
4. Add all the other cut vegetables and fry for another 5 minutes
5. Scoop the flesh out of the squash (discarding the skin) and add to the vegetables. Add the Cumin and coriander and cook for another minute or two.
6. Pour the stock into the pan, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
7. Taste and season with salt, sugar and pepper as needed.
8. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool before blitzing to a smooth consistency. If this is too thick at this stage add additional water.
9. Warm through and serve with crusty bread
Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Rosemary and Ginger (serves 4)
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs
Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
3 sprigs of rosemary, 1 finely chopped the others whole
40g fresh ginger, peeled & grated
1-2 cinnamon sticks
175g dried apricots, halved
2 tablespoons runny honey
400g tin chopped tomatoes
Salt & Pepper
Preparation
1. In a large pan brown the chicken thighs, remove and set aside on a plate for later.
2. In the same pan fry the onion, chopped rosemary and ginger until the onion softens
3. Stir in the halved rosemary sprigs, cinnamon sticks and browned chicken, cook for a minute or two.
4. Stir in the apricots, honey and tomatoes. Add a little water if needed to just cover the chicken thighs. Bring to the boil then simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with rice, yoghurt and a side salad
Aubergine Tagine with Coriander and mint (serves 4)
Ingredients
Olive Oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 tsp coriander seeds
1-2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp sugar
3 Aubergine, cut into 3cm cubes
2x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
Salt, pepper
1 bunch fresh mint, finely chopped
Preparation
1. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and fry the onions and garlic until the onions are soft
2. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and fry for a minute or two until the give off a nutty aroma
3. Toss in the aubergine, mixing well with the onions et. And cook for a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, cover the pan and simmer gently for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add half the mint and cook for a further 5 minutes
6. Sprinkle the remaining mint over the tagine and serve with rice, yoghurt and a side salad
Lemon Posset (serves 6)
Ingredients
600ml double cream
200g golden caster sugar
zest 3 lemons, plus 75ml juice
Preparation
1. Put the cream in a big saucepan with the sugar and gently heat, stirring, until the sugar has melted. Bring to a simmer and bubble for 1 min.
2. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice.
3. Divide between 6 glasses, cool to room temperature, then carefully cover and chill for at least 3 hrs, or up to 24 hrs.
4. Serve with a piece of shortbread
Comments