Devon Holiday Inspiration

This holiday recipe is a take on traditional Christmas favourite only with an indulgent layer of custard and crumble. Mince pies with custard & crumble   Easy to make 25 mins prep time Makes 12 pies 20 mins cook time Ingredients Required 180g of plain flour 125g of butter (unsalted) X3 tablespoons of caster sugar X1 large egg 180g – 200g mincemeat 120g of custard Cooking Tips Heat your oven to around 180°c – 200°c, place a baking tray in the oven and leave to warm up. Take your 125g of butter and cut up into small pieces and place in a bowl, before sifting the flour on top and adding a pinch of salt. Rub the mixture together on your hands – stop when the consistency resembles breadcrumbs. Now stir in the x2 tablespoons of sugar. Take half a cup (85g) of the mixture and set it aside (forms part of the crumble topping) Separate the yolk and egg whites and place them into two separate bowls. Now beat the egg yolk with a fork before adding it to the main pastry mixture. need this together and roll into a ball. Sprinkle flour over a smooth work surface and the pastry, before rolling the pastry flat (5-7 mm / the thickness of an iphone) Now take a pastry cutter (ideally 8cm diameter) and cut / re-roll until you have 12 rounds. (Don’t have a pastry cutter? Use the base of a bottle of wine & cut around it with a knife). Take your 12 pastry disks and gently push them into a standard 12 cup bun tin and then add one teaspoon of custard and a small ball of mince meat on top. (Try to avoid over loading the cups with mince meat). Take the final tablespoon of sugar and add to the 1/2 cup of batter you previously set aside (re: point 5). Pinch this together to make crumble like clumps, before adding this on top of your mince meat. Place your tray in the oven for 15 mins, once cooked leave to cool. If you are planning this dish several days in advance be sure to store them in an airtight storage container and consume within 2 days of cooking.

Our first holiday cooking guide of spring 2017 is possibly our easiest to date, all you will require is a microwave & 8 readily available ingredients. The latest instalment in our series of holiday cooking guides is very caravan friendly & adaptable. Tomato risotto recipe Easy to make 5 mins prep time Serves 4 people 20 mins cook time Ingredients Required 250g of risotto rice 200ml of vegetable stock 500ml of carton passata (tomato sauce) 500g of cherry tomatoes x1 onion (finely chopped) x4 rashers of bacon (optional) 100g of mozzarella (drained & cut into chunks) Parmesan cheese (for grating) Chopped basil (to garnish) Cooking Instructions Place the risotto rice, onion & half the butter into a microwavable bowl, cover & cook on a high heat for 3 mins. Stir in the vegetable stock & passata. Continue to cook (this time uncovered) for another 10 minutes. Stir the bowls contents, before adding in the cherry tomatoes & mozzarella. Microwave for another 8 minutes (until the rice is soft). If you fancy adding bacon, fry up 4 rations & chop into small pieces. (alternatively buy lardons) Leave the bowl to cool down for a few minutes before stirring in the other half of the butter. Stir in some chopped basil & grated parmesan before serving to your lucky guests.

Spring is the time for getting fit and adopting a healthier lifestyle. Our latest holiday cooking guide is a Thai inspired, super simple and delicious prawn and ginger noodle recipe. Thai Prawn & Ginger Noodles Easy to make 10 mins prep time Serves 2 people 15 mins cook time Ingredients required… 100g of rice noodles A thumb size chunk of ginger (shredded) A handful of sugar snaps A handful of chopped basil A handful of chopped coriander Two handfuls of bean spouts 200g of king prawns (raw & shelled) x2 cloves of garlic x1 red pepper (thinly sliced) x1 tablespoon of sunflower oil x1 small orange 2 tablespoons of red curry paste x1 teaspoon of fish sauce x1 teaspoon of brown sugar Preparation Instructions… Boil a large pan of water and put in the noodles, before covering and setting aside to soak for 10 minutes. Curry sauce: Take the zest and juice of the orange and stir in fish sauce, sugar, 3 tablespoons of water and curry paste. Heat a large wok (or pan) and add half the ginger and all the garlic – cook for 1 minute before adding in the red pepper (cook for a further 2 minutes). Now add the beansprouts, sugar snaps, curry sauce, beansprouts and prawns – cook until all the prawns are pink. Now drain your noodles before adding them to the pan along with the remaining ginger and basil and coriander. Mix well and serve. Enjoy!

Looking for a delicious yet quick & easy family dinner ? – this super-simple pasta bake recipe should do the trick. Sausage & Bacon Pasta Bake Recipe   Easy to make 20 mins prep time Serves 4-6 people 40 mins cook time Ingredients Required We’ve used fusilli pasta, but we understand when your on holiday you need to be flexible with ingredients. Try penne or farfalle pastas as alternatives to fusilli pasta – just avoid spaghetti / linguini. 400g of sausages 400g of smoked bacon 400g of pasta (fresh or dried) 1 medium onion (sliced) 1 stick of celery (chopped) 1 tsp of Dijon mustard 300g of parmesan /or/ cheddar Salt & pepper Mixed herbs (a pinch) Oil for frying Cooking Tips Brown the sausages gently in a pan on a medium heat (using oil or butter). Remove sausages & add in bacon & fry until it starts to brown off too. Remove bacon from pan & add onions to the pan to sweat. Turn on your oven to heat up at 180*C. Now return the sausage & bacon to the pan, add in the mustard & mix well  – set aside. Now add the pasta to boiling water + a splash of olive oil. Pasta cooking tip: You’ll want to undercook the pasta because it will be going in the oven for 40 mins after boiling, so if the cooking instructions say ‘boil for 12 mins’ we would recommend knocking off around 30% (i.e. cook for 8 mins). Once your pasta is cooked mix in some parmesan, sausage & bacon before pouring into a baking tray. Now cover the top layer of the tray with a light layer of cheese before adding the bake to the oven for 40 minutes. Serve with a green salad. Ladram Bay Supermarket By now you’re probably wanting to try this recipe for yourself? For those staying with us you’ll be able to find all the ingredients used in this recipe at the Ladram Bay Supermarket

For our first holiday cooking guide of 2016 we thought we would keep it simple, healthy and most importantly shareable. The latest instalment in our series of holiday cooking guides is all of these, think of it as the thinking man’s omelette with an Italian twist. Easy Frittata Recipe Easy to make 20 mins prep time Serves 4 people 40 mins cook time Ingredients Required 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil 1 leek or a bunch of spring onion 85g of macaroni or fusilli 85g of sweetcorn 85g of frozen peas 1 red pepper (deseeded) 2-3 eggs (depending on size) 150ml of semi-skimmed milk 1 tablespoon of thyme 50g of cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan Cooking Tips To ensure your frittata is fluffy, beat and salt the eggs JUST prior to cooking. If you mix the eggs and the salt before you start cooking and allow them to sit around the eggs will be watery (not good). Use a timer because there is nothing worse than an undercooked (runny) or overcooked (rubbery) frittata. Preparation Instructions Turn your oven on and let it heat up fully before using it, this will minimise the chance of undercooking. Turn the oven up to 190 (fan) or 170 (gas). Grease your baking dish with olive oil. Bring a large pan of water to the boil (adding a sprinkle of sea-salt) and cook the pasta for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes add the vegetables to the pan and continue boiling for another 2 minutes, or until the veg begins to soften. The sign of food softening is when you stab it with a sharp knife and the food slides off. Drain the pan and then pour the contents onto your baking dish ensuring the food is mixed evenly. Beat the 2-3 eggs together and add a pinch of salt. Now add the milk and thyme. Mix the two cheeses together and add 75% of it to the egg / milk mixture. Pour the mixture into the baking dish, stirring very gently. Now sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 35-40 mins until the top of the dish is golden. Once removed from the oven leave to cool for several minutes before serving with a green salad. Ladram Bay Supermarket By now you’re probably wanting to try this recipe for yourself? For those staying with us you’ll be able to find all the ingredients used in this recipe at the Ladram Bay supermarket.

In recent years pollock has been touted by the Marine Conversation Society as a sustainable alternative to cod. Sainsbury’s tried a marketing ploy designed to give it some gallic flare through renaming it ‘colin’ – the French word for hake. At Ladram our anglers know it as pollock and they are often in ready supply off our pebbled beach. So, if you are fortunate enough to land a pollock and are thinking ‘what comes next?’ this tasty recipe should help you out. Lemon & Parsley Pollock Recipe BBQ or grill 15 mins cooking time Serves 4 people    Sustainable seafood Ingredients for the marinade 1 lemon Knob of butter Small handful of parsley 12 small vine tomatoes Ingredients 2 pollock / 4 pollock fillets (1 per person) Salad Boiled potatoes Preparation Instructions Place fillets in a bowl and add squeezed lemon and chop parsley  – leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes. Take 2 sheets of tin foil and turn up edges to avoid any juice spilling. Lay 2 fillets on each sheet, add the vine tomatoes and any left over juice and then place a small knob of butter on each fillet. Carefully wrap up tin foil to create a sealed parcel that can be placed onto the grill or barbecue. Place the 2 tin foil parcels onto a pre-heated grill or barbecue and leave to cook for 15 mins. Once cooked carefully remove parcels from grill and leave for several minutes to allow the foil to cool. Serve fish and vine tomatoes with boiled potatoes and green salad.    

When on holiday, creating a Bolognese early into your trip is a prudent move. This dish is filling, uses few utensils, is healthy, can be quickly reheated and portion sizes are easily scalable. Ladram have put together a super simple spaghetti Bolognese recipe to get you started. Simple Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe   1 hour cooking time  Serves 4  Vegetarian adaptable    Simple to make  Ingredients 400g minced beef (V. use Quorn) 1 onion (diced) 2 garlic cloves (chopped) 100g carrot (grated) 2 x tins chopped tomatoes (400g) 400ml stock (x1 stock cube) 400g dried spaghetti 2 tbsp olive oil Salt & pepper Parmesan (grated) Preparation Instructions Over a medium heat place a large saucepan. Add a tbsp of olive oil, (once hot) add beef, salt & pepper. Cook the mince until it browns before removing from heat and setting aside in a bowl. Add another tablespoon of oil to the same pan (medium heat), add onions, salt & pepper – fry for about 5 mins until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins before adding the grated carrot and mince into the pan. Add all the tomatoes (stir well), add stock and bring pan to a simmer before reducing the temperature. Simmer for 45 mins until the sauce has reduced. When ready to cook the spaghetti, bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook to the packet’s instructions. Once cooked, drain and add spaghetti to the pan with the Bolognese. Mix well before serving. Add grated Parmesan.  

At Ladram we’re big fans of mackerel. It’s sustainable, easily caught, high in omega-3’s, simple to cook and most importantly extremely tasty. For the anglers staying at Ladram who get lucky, this recipe is for you. BBQ or grill 10 mins cooking time Simple to make   40 mins prep time Ingredients for the marinade 1 lime (juice of) Ginger, 1 cm cube (grated) 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 garlic (crushed) 2 tbsp honey Ingredients 2-3 mackerel (120g – 140g each) Salad Bread Preparation Instructions Mix up marinade ingredients and pour over your mackerel, leave for 30 mins in refrigerator. Pre-heat grill / BBQ. Cook mackerel on each side for 5 minutes or until the skin begins to crisp. Serve straight to the plates, accompanied with salad and bread. Image via Sarah Joy via Flickr