How to Make Damson Gin

It's September and in England there is a slight chill in the morning air that can only mean one thing, autumn is coming! Autumn is one of my favourite times of year. In America, it means Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Halloween festivities and Thanksgiving. In England, it means knitwear, Bonfire Night and some fantastic seasonal food. Coming into season in September are figs, beetroot, apples and damsons - to name a few.

Before moving to England, I had never tried a damson in my life. I don't think I'd even heard of one. So for those of you who don't know about damsons, they are a small fruit similar to a plum. I actually thought they were a type of plum but have since discovered they are a member of the rose family. They have a juicy texture similar to a plum but are slightly tarter. Damsons are typically not eaten raw but instead are used in chutneys, jams and a variety of desserts. However, my favourite use for damsons is in gin!

I tried damson gin for the first time last year from a batch made from Luke's aunt's damson tree and loved it. Imagine my joy when I discovered in our new house we have not one but two damson trees in the back garden. A few weeks ago we were overwhelmed with damsons from our tree, so we used the opportunity to make several bottles of damson gin. It was such fun that I decided to share the recipe, so that you too can take part in this quintessentially English tradition!

I'm so excited to try our homemade damson gin! It should be perfect in time for the holiday season. A small glass of damson gin goes perfect with a cheese, especially a nice mature cheddar.

Q: Have you ever made any treats using damsons? 

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Erin x

Curry - the nation's favourite dish

If I were to ask you to name some quintessentially English dishes, I don't think curry would be the first thing to spring to mind. Fish and chips? Yes. Yorkshire puddings? Yes. Curry? No. But today English cuisine is influenced with flavours and ingredients from all corners of the world thanks to the Empire. A long history of conquering and immigration have brought new dishes to the English table.

 

Going out for a curry nowadays is pretty much as English as going to the chippy on a Friday night. They even say that Balti (a type of curry) originated in Birmingham. Ask any Englishman his favourite curry house and he will most likely be able to name it without thinking. The English are also fiercely loyal to their curry house. In Worcester, Luke and I had Pete's Indian. In Milton Keynes we have Bekash, which technically is in Stony Stratford, but we would never dream of going anywhere else for our curry cravings.



Source

I was first introduced to the glory that is curry in England while visiting Luke at his university house in Rusholme, Manchester. In Rusholme there is a street known as 'Curry Mile' because it is dominated by curry houses, as well as Asian fashion shops, grocers, and Shisha bars. In fact it is thought to be the largest concentration of South Asian restaurants outside the Indian subcontinent. On a hot summer's night with the neon lights, exotic smells, and green grocers spilling out onto the pavements being on 'Curry Mile' is like being abroad.

While I love curry, I've never been able to make an Indian curry at home, trust me I've tried. Sure you can buy a jar of  Sharwood's Tikka Masala cooking sauce at the super market but it will taste nothing like a curry from the Indian restaurant AND even less like a proper curry. Enter Mira. Mira works with me and like so many British citizens comes from Indian ancestry. Her parents moved over from Uganda years before Mira was born. (Did you know they have a lot of Indian immigrants in Uganda, I didn't!)

Besides making me laugh on a regular basis with stories about her family (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but instead of Greek insert Indian), she has also taught me a lot about Indian culture, which I find fascinating. And the most important part of any culture is, in my opinion, the food! She's brought in lots of delicious treats to try from pau bhaji  (a thick potato-based curry on top of a toasted roll or pau) to thepla (a pancake filled with spices).

I've been begging Mira to teach me how to cook a curry for months and finally she sat down and wrote it all out for me which I am now going to share with you. Now curry is a sweeping statement as there are so many different types of dishes with different flavours. Most of them however have the same basic ingredients and you add different things depending on your taste to make them a Madras, for example.

Ingredients:

 

• 1 tsp. Turmeric Powder
• 2 tsps. Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp. Chilli Powder
• 1-2 tsps. Mustard Seeds
• 1-2 tsps. Cumin Seeds
• Garlic
• Onions
• Fresh or Tinned Tomatoes
• Oil
• Fresh coriander (Optional)
• Lemon (Optional)
• Your vegetables and meat if you so desire (Many Indians are vegetarians but lamb/chicken curries are also popular. Just don't use beef!)

 

 Instructions 

 

1. Heat up oil in a pan.
2. Add mustard seeds.
3. When they have popped, add the cumin seeds. Other things can be added here like cardamom sticks, cloves, fresh basil, bay leaves, etc. Be careful it doesn't burn though because this cooks really quickly.
4. Add the onions and crushed garlic. (Ginger can be added her too if you like it)
5. When they have browned add your masala which consists of coriander powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder to taste (about a teaspoon, you can always add more later). Other spices like garam masala can be added here too - but Mira's family doesn't use it.
6. If you feel it is sticking or gone a bit too dry or is burning then add a little water.
7. Make sure you cook out the masala on a lowish heat, the oil will start bubbling out a little and when you stir you will see it changes consistency. The more you cook it, the stronger the taste but don't burn it.
8. Add in your vegetables and meat. If you're using potatoes of any kind it's good to parboil them otherwise they remain hard.
9. When these are nearly cooked, add in chopped or tinned tomatoes and let it cook out.
10. Here's your chance to put it right. If you feel it needs anything else like extra salt or lemon if it's too spicy or needs a kick.
11. If you want more sauce, depending on how tomatoey you make it then just add hot water and let it cook out. The sauce will thicken.
12. Sprinkle fresh coriander on top and serve.

Q: So what do you think of this recipe? Are you going to try it? Send in photos of your curry creation to quintessentiallyenglish16@gmail.com! 

Erin x

Recipe: Tarte au citron

Q: What could be greater after a dinner of spaghetti carbornara (Luke's and my staple dinner in France) than a tarte au citron?
A: Absolutely nothing.

Luke and I weren't feeling quite satisfied after dinner last night so Luke suggested we bake ourselves a little treat in the form of a tarte au citron. Neither of us had ever attempted this before, but how hard could it be? After finding a recipe online we found that in truth it was very simple. All you really need are some basic ingredients like flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and of course lemons.

The two things that make this recipe hard are the prep work (which isn't substantial but still zesting three lemons doesn't happen in 2 seconds) and waiting the 20-30 minutes after it's in the oven to eat it. It seriously smells so good! Luke and I had a lot of fun with this recipe and a great time making it together. It probably didn't turn out perfect, but it didn't matter to us in the slightest, the flavour was phenomenal!

Our yummy tarte!

Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy

Tarte au Citron

 

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 150 g (5oz) plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 100 g (3 1/2oz) unsalted butter
• 50 g (1 1/4oz) caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• Few drops of vanilla extract*

 *Luke and I didn't have vanilla extract and it tasted fine just the same

For the filling:

• 3 medium eggs
• 100 g (3 1/2oz) caster sugar
• 142ml carton double cream (that's heavy whipping cream)
• Finely zested rind and juice of 3 lemons
• 23 cm (9 in) fluted pie tin

Optional: Icing (Powder) sugar for dusting.

Method:

1. To make the pastry: Tip the flour and salt into a bowl, and add the butter, cut into chunks. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and then add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix to bind the ingredients together.
2. Tip the dough out onto a floured worktop and knead it very lightly to give a smooth surface, then roll it out and use it to line the pie tin. Chill the pastry case for at least 15 minutes. Set the oven to 190 C. Bake the pastry roughly 15 minutes, or until light golden. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 180 C.
3. To make the filling: Beat the eggs, then add sugar, cream, lemon rind, and juice, and mix well. Pour mixture into the pastry case, filling it almost to the top.
4. Bake the tart in the centre of the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the edges of the filling have set and it is just slightly wobbly in the centre. Remove from the oven, slide the pie tin on to a wire rack and leave the tart to cool in the tin for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely. Chill the tart well, and dust it with icing sugar just before serving.  
   

Erin x

Find the original recipe at Women's Weekly Recipes