The Village Kitchen

Recipies for Cold Stuffed Tomatoes, Water Cress and Grapefruit Salad and Little Swans

4 to 6 tomatoes depending upon size

1 tin of sardines in oil

2 hard-boiled eggs

50g / 2 oz butter, softened

1 teaspoon made mustard

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Seasoning to taste

1. Stand tomatoes, stalk end down, cut a lid from rounded end, which is uppermost, remove pulp, sprinkle lightly with salt and invert on a plate to drain.

2. Drain sardines; remove tails and backbones and mash.

3. Remove yolks from eggs and work into softened butter. Add mustard, parsley, sardines and chopped egg whites. Season to taste.

4. Fill mix into tomato shells and replace lids at an angle

Serve very cold with green salad.

25g/1 oz lightly roasted hazelnuts

1 bunch of watercress

1 small lettuce

1 large grapefruit

1. Roast hazelnuts by placing them in a shallow tin in a moderate oven (Gas 4, 350 degreesF, 180 degreesC) for 10 minutes. Alternatively place under grill, turning them often. Then rub the skins from the nuts and chop coarsely.

2. Wash watercress and lettuce and dry well.

3. Peel grapefruit and remove membrane and pips, working over a bowl to retain the juice. Chop flesh into bowl.

4. Break lettuce and watercress into small pieces. Toss it with the grapefruit and put into a salad bowl.

5. Sprinkle hazelnuts over the top.

250 ml water

50 g butter

150 g plain flour

25 g corn flour

4-5 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons white gelatine

3 tablespoons water

500 ml single double cream

25 g sugar

a few drops vanillin essence

icing sugar

1. Put water and butter in a saucepan and bring to boil. Put aside.

2. Stir in flour and corn flour mix and work into a smooth dumpling, heat dumpling up for a further minute whilst continue to stir.

3. Transfer hot dumpling into a bowl and add eggs until the dough is very shiny and drops slowly from the spoon. Add baking powder to the cold dough.

4. Grease and flour a baking tray. Place heaps of dough (size of an oversized walnut) on the tray. Save approx 2 tablespoons of dough.

5. Bake for 30 minutes at 200-225 degrees C (don't open oven door in the first 20 minutes as pastries may collapse). Cut a top from each pastry immediately after baking.

6. Put the remaining dough in a piping bag and draw as many number 2's as you have pastries on a greased and floured baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes at 20-225 degrees C.

1. Mix gelatine and water, leave 10 minutes to swell. Whilst stiring heat up until dissolved. Put aside until cooled down.

2. Beat cream until almost stiff, add gelatine and continue to beat cream until stiff.

3. Add sugar and vanillin essence, fill the pastries with the cream. Break the bottom part of a 2 and stick the remaining part into the cream (neck and head of swan). Break a top into 2 halves and stick into cream (wings). Finally stick the bottom part of the 2 into the cream (tail). Sprinkle with icing sugar.