The Star newspaper’s Angela Day cookery column is 50 years old. To mark the occasion, we cook up some nostalgic recipes from the past five decades. Remember the classic prawn cocktail?
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PRAWN COCKTAIL
CHICKEN HAWAIIAN
MINCE WELLINGTON
SPINACH AND MUSHROOM QUICHE
CREME CARAMEL
PRAWN COCKTAIL
Serves 4
1 avocado pear
1 small Mediterranean cucumber
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
300g cooked peeled prawn tails
iceberg lettuce
Sauce
125ml good-quality mayonnaise
45ml tomato sauce
10ml Worcestershire sauce
a few drops of Tabasco sauce
15ml lemon juice
15ml sherry
50ml cream
lemon for serving
Peel and dice the avocado. Dice the cucumber and combine with the avocado, spring onion and prawns.
Pour over the sauce and toss to combine. Serve on a bed of lettuce with slices of lemon.
SAUCE: Combine all the ingredients and mix well.
* Alternatively you can put filling in avocado halves. Combine cucumber, spring onions and prawns and mix with the sauce. Spoon into each avocado half and serve on a bed of lettuce.
CHICKEN HAWAIIAN
Serves 4
1 chicken cut into portions
60ml soy sauce
125ml white wine
45ml lemon juice
5ml chopped garlic
10ml curry powder
3ml ground ginger
black pepper
30ml chopped thyme
30ml olive oil
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
400g tin of pineapple pieces, drained and juice reserved
Put the chicken portions into a ziplock bag.
Combine the soy sauce, white wine, lemon juice, garlic, curry powder, ginger and a good grinding of black pepper. Pour over the chicken and add the thyme.
Seal and refrigerate for a few hours.
Heat the oil and fry the onions until soft and starting to caramelise. Remove and set aside. Add the chicken portions and brown.
Return the onions to the pot with the peppers. Add the marinade and the reserved pineapple juice.
Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove the lid, add the pineapple pieces and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Serve with rice.
MINCE WELLINGTON
Serves 6-8
30ml olive oil
1 onion, chopped
10ml chopped garlic
500g beef mince
500g pork sausages, skin removed
250ml fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg
45ml tomato sauce
15ml Worcestershire sauce
15ml chopped sage
15ml chopped thyme
45ml chopped parsley
salt and black pepper
100g chicken liver pate
2 rolls of puff pastry
egg glaze
Heat olive oil and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Set aside to cool.
Combine the mince, sausages, breadcrumbs, egg, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and chopped herbs and season well. Mix until thoroughly combined. Form the mixture into a roll, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about an hour.
Roll out a piece of pastry on a floured surface. Remove the cling film and place the mince roll on the pastry. Spread the pâté over the mince.
Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash. Roll out the other roll of pastry and place it over the mince roll. Press the edges together.
Trim the pastry. Brush the roll with egg wash and decorate with strips of pastry. Bake at 200°C for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
Remove and cool slightly. Serve hot or cold.
* If you can afford beef fillet, season it well and brown over a high heat in a pan. Cool completely, spread with pâté and enclose it with pastry as described above.
SPINACH AND MUSHROOM QUICHE
Serves 6-8
1 packet of shortcrust pastry
50g butter
1 onion, chopped
5ml chopped garlic
250g sliced mushrooms
200g spinach, cooked and chopped
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg
4 eggs, beaten
250ml cream
salt and pepper
100g cheddar cheese, grated
100g blue cheese, crumbled
45ml chopped parsley
Roll out the pastry and line a 23cm pie plate with it. Bake blind, covering pastry with a piece of baking paper weighed down with dried beans. Bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes.
Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes until the base dries out a bit.
In the meantime, heat the butter and fry the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes. Add the spinach and fry for a few minutes.
Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Beat the eggs and cream and season.
Sprinkle the cheddar over the base of the pastry. Add the mushroom and spinach mixture. Dot with blue cheese.
Pour over the cream mixture and sprinkle with parsley.
Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes until set. Remove and serve warm.
CREME CARAMEL
Makes 4-6
180ml castor sugar
80ml boiling water
385g tin of condensed milk
250ml full cream milk
4 egg yolks
5ml vanilla essence
strawberries to serve
Combine the castor sugar and boiling water in a small saucepan and heat gently without stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn up the heat and boil until the mixture turns golden brown. Remove and quickly divide the mixture between 6 ramekins.
Swirl to coat the base and sides of each ramekin.
Combine the condensed milk, milk, egg yolks and vanilla essence and mix well with a whisk.
Divide the mixture between the ramekins.
Place the ramekins in a roasting tin. Pour enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dishes.
Bake at 160°C for 30-40 minutes or until just set but still a little wobbly in the centre.
Remove and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Dip the base of each ramekin in hot water and run a knife around the custard.
Turn each onto a serving plate and serve with strawberries.
The Star