St George's Day recipes

To celebrate St George's Day, we've chosen seven of the best and most quintessentially English recipes for you to enjoy with the family. From shepherd's pie to bread and butter pudding, we bring you a selection of classic and delicious treats to help feed your national pride.

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Savoury recipes

Homemade baked beans

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 225g haricot beans
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 500ml passata
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• A dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Dried chilli flakes/Tabasco sauce (to taste)
• A pinch of thyme

Method

1. Soak the beans as directed and cook until just done (about 2 hours, but will depend on age of beans). Drain and put to one side.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and fry until soft.
3. Add the passata, tomatoes, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chilli and thyme. Bring to boil and add beans. Cook for about 15 minutes.

Lancashire hotpot

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 750g lean beef cubes
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 50g plain flour (seasoned with salt and pepper)
• 2 onions 
• 500g potatoes (sliced)
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 carrot 
• 100g swede 
• 30ml dry sherry
• ½ tsp mustard
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 3 bay leaves
• ½ tsp rosemary 
• 1 tsp thyme 
• 350ml beef stock
• 15g butter mixed with 1 clove chopped garlic

Method

1. Coat the beef with the seasoned flour.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the beef until light brown.
3. Layer the beef and vegetables (except the potato slices) in an ovenproof dish. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add in the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, mustard and nutmeg. Cover with the potato slices and then pour in the stock and sherry.
5. Spread with garlic butter and sprinkle with ground pepper. Heat oven to 160°C, then cover hotpot and cook for 3 hours. 
6. Serve with pickled red cabbage.

Shepherd's pie

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 450g lamb mince
• 1 onion
• Gravy granules (e.g. Bisto)
• 4-5 large white potatoes
• Cheese
• Butter

Method

1. Chop and soften the onion in a frying pan.
2. Add the mince and cook until brown, then drain the fat out of the pan and stir in the gravy granules to taste (the more gravy granules you add, the richer it will taste).
3. Peel and chop the potatoes and then boil. Once soft, drain and mash the potatoes with plenty of butter. Grate the cheese and add to the mashed potatoes.
4. In an ovenproof dish, put the mince in the bottom and then put cheesy mash on top and spread out evenly. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until it has warmed through and starts to bubble at the edges. 

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Sweet recipes

Bakewell tart

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 125g unsalted butter
• 90g golden caster sugar
• 250g plain flour
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)

For the filling

• 150g caster sugar
• 150g soft margarine
• 3 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp almond essence
• 1 cup of milk
• Strawberry jam
• 50g grated marzipan

Method

Pastry

1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Rub in the butter using the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add the lightly beaten egg a little at a time to bring it together into a smooth dough. It should leave the bowl clean, not sticky. If it's too wet, add more flour. Knead for roughly two minutes.
3. Wrap in cling film and then rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Once rested, roll out the pastry until it's slightly bigger than the dish/container you're using.
5. Carefully line the dish with the pastry ensuring there are no gaps. Overlap the edges by about an inch as the pastry will 'shrink' when it is cooked.
6. Blind-bake the pastry for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Frangipane filling

1. Cream together the margarine and sugar using a spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat into the mixture, adding a tablespoon of flour before the last egg to stop the mixture from separating.
3. Mix the almond essence with the milk and beat in to the mixture. Using a metal spoon, fold in the remaining flour.

Putting it all together

1. Mix a few tablespoons of jam in a small bowl until it loosens and then put a small amount into each pastry case, covering the entire base.
2. Add the grated marzipan on top of the jam. Spoon in the frangipane filling ensuring no jam or marzipan is visible and taking care not to mix the jam or marzipan into the filling.
3. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 35 minutes or until the sponge is firm and bounces back when pressed. 

Bread and butter pudding

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of bread (sliced)
• ¾ pint milk
• 170g sultanas/raisins
• Butter
• 3 eggs
• Sugar (to sprinkle)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp orange zest

Method

1. Remove the bread crusts and cut slices into 4 small rectangular pieces.
2. Spread the butter on each piece then layer into an oven-proof dish, scattering the sugar and sultanas over each layer.
3. Beat the eggs and milk together then pour over the pudding. You may need less, depending on the thickness of your bread.
4. Add the orange zest and cinnamon then refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour before cooking.
5. Heat the oven to 180°C and cook for approximately 45 minutes, or until the top has browned and the mixture set. Serve with Cornish clotted cream or ice cream. 

Cream scones

Makes 12 scones

Ingredients

• 200g self-raising flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 50g caster sugar
• 200-250ml double cream

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Sift together flour and salt and stir in the sugar.
2. Using a fork, stir in 200ml of cream until the mixture clumps together in even-sized lumps. If the mixture is too dry, stir in the remaining cream and mix thoroughly.
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead four or five times. Roll mix out to 2cm thick, cut into 5cm circles with a floured cutter and put on a lightly floured baking tray.
4. Knead any offcuts gently back together and repeat rolling/cutting.
5. Bake for 6-8 minutes until well risen and browned and cool on a wire tray. Serve with butter or jam and clotted cream.  

Eton mess

Serves as many as you wish

Ingredients

• Meringues
• Double cream
• Strawberries

Method

1. Whip up the double cream until stiff.
2. Break up the meringues and stir into the cream.
3. Add washed and hulled strawberries or any soft fruit. Can be decorated with blackberries or raspberries. Or you can make a coulis of blackberries to add a bit of colour contrast. 

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