Nine recipe ideas to celebrate VE Day from caterer Searcys
By Ian Smith
Published 8th May 2020, 07:00 BST
note-0 Plans for marches and street parties to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day may have been postponed but chefs at Searcys have come up with some simple recipes to mark the occasion at home.
Searcys has come up with ideas ranging from allotment salad, and corned beef & piccalilli sandwiches to milk and toffee pudding.
Here are nine of its recipes or visit www.searcys.co.uk to find out more
1. Corned beef and piccalilli sandwich
VE Day Corned Beef and Piccalilli Sandwich Serves – 4
Prep time – 10 minutes
Cooking time – 5 minutes Ingredients:
8 slices wholemeal bread
120 gm Hellman’s mayonnaise
160 gm corned beef - sliced
120 gm mustard piccalilli
80 gm mixed leaf - washed
Searcys seasoning
Method:
Layout wholemeal bread in a rectangle of 8 slices on a chopping board (2 rows of 4).
Spread the mayonnaise over bottom slices of bread.
Lightly season with the Searcys seasoning.
Lay 40 gm sliced corned beef on to the mayonnaised slice of wholemeal bread.
Top with corned beef and 20 gm of mixed salad leaf.
Spread 30 gm of the mustard piccalilli to other slices of bread and ensure you cover to the covers.
Sandwich the two slices of bread together and push together carefully.
Store wrapped in clingfilm and refrigerated or use at once.
To Serve
Cut in half diagonally. Photo: Searcys
Allotment salad – makes 4 portions
Prep time – 20 minutes Ingredients:
150g fresh peas – podded, reserve 4 x pods of peas for garnish
1 x Little Gem lettuce
150g heritage carrot
150g cucumber
1 bunch breakfast radishes
150g purple radishes
150g watermelon radishes
20g wild fennel
30g Dijon mustard
100ml virgin rape seed oil
20ml cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Thinly shave carrots, cucumber, watermelon and purple radishes.
Remove outer leaves of breakfast radishes and stand in cold water.
Prepare and wash the gem lettuce cutting into small pieces.
For the dressing; place Dijon mustard and cider vinegar in blender and slowly add rapeseed
oil until emulsified, season to taste..
Arrange vegetables in bowl, finish with a large spoon of dressing, the picked wild fennel,
unzipped pea pods and serve. Photo: Searcys
Hot-cross buns Makes 6 -8 buns Prep time – 10 minutes Proving time -40 minutes Cooking time – 15 minutes INGREDIENTS 500g – strong flour
½ tsp – salt
2 tsp – mixed spice
50g – golden caster sugar
50g – unsalted butter
225g – mixed dried fruit
1 x 7g – sachet dried yeast
2 – large free-range eggs, whisked
200ml – whole milk
For the crosses 60g – plain flour
To glaze – honey
Method: Add flour salt, mixed spice and sugar to a bowl and stir.
Rub in the butter with your fingertips.
Stir in the dried fruit, sprinkle over the yeast and mix in.
Warm the milk slightly and mix with the whisked eggs.
Add this mixture to the flour and fruit and combine well until it becomes a loose dough.
Break the dough into 6 – 8 even-sized pieces and place on a lightly floured surface.
Mould them into individual buns and place them on a lined baking tray well apart from each other.
Allow the buns to prove for 30 – 40 minutes until they have grown by about 50%.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
To make the crosses mix the flour with a little water to make a paste and add to a piping bag.
Once the buns have risen, carefully pipe the mix to make a cross on each bun.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until risen and golden, remove to a wire rack to cool.
Once the buns have slightly cooled, brush with honey and allow them to cool completely. Photo: Searcys