This is a real spring time pudding, nice and light with a tangy flavour – yum!

What you need

For the sponge
1 lemon
1 lime
120g or 4oz of self raising flour (ideally from Laxey flour mill)
3 eggs (Gellings are always good)
50g of Isle of Man Creamery butter, soft
110g of caster sugar
Icing Sugar

For the filling
1 carton 284ml of Isle of Man Creameries double cream
4 table spoons of a good quality lemon curd

Extra – a damp cloth

What to do
Set your oven to 200C/gas mark 6
Take a thin shallow baking tray approx 24cm x 34cm, 1.5cm deep and lightly grease and line this with a baking sheet
Grate the zest from the lime and the lemons
Combine the zest, butter, flour, eggs and caster sugar in a bowl and whisk together to a smooth mixture
Add the mixture to the tin and smooth over to make an even surface
Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes or until the sponge is a light and golden brown
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes

Now the next stage can be a little tricky but don’t let that put you off!

Get another piece of baking sheet that is bigger than the sponge
Lay it flat on a table and sprinkle over the icing sugar
Then carefully turn out the sponge on to the sheet, peeling off the original baking sheet piece
Gourmet Shark Tip: Cover with the damp cloth for 5-10 minutes (this will make it easier to roll later!)
Remove the damp cloth and roll up the sponge in the paper and leave this until the sponge has completely cooled
Whilst the sponge is cooling whisk your cream until thick and then fold in the lemon curd
Unwrap the sponge and add the filling, then re roll again without the baking sheet
Dust the with more icing sugar and garnish with some of the lemon and lime zest

Delicious and tangy with the smoothness of the cream. mmmmm

Give it a go!

I am a bit of a novice when it come to bread making, but when it works the results are fantastic, and well worth the effort!

This is sweet bread recipe with a bug dollop of chocolate spread in the middle, its mighty satisfying to make and equally satisfying to eat. So here goes! This make two large loafs.

What you need
650g of strong white flour (ideally from Laxey flour mill)
2 teaspoons of salt
4 tablespoons of sugar
15 grams of Isle of Man Creameries unsalted butter
1 7gram sachet of dry yeast
400ml of warm water
2 large tablespoons of Cadbury Milk Chocolate spread

What to do
Preheat your oven to 230C
In a warm bowl mix in your flour, salt, sugar and yeast and gently rub in the butter
Add the warm water and mix this in to the dough
Knead the dough for 10 minutes
Divide the mixture into two
Gently pull each piece of dough apart and place a large dollup of the Cadbury spread and drop this in the centre of the dough, then gently fold the dough around so the choccy is in the middle
Add the dough to two greased loaf tins and cover for 30 minutes (or until it has doubled in size), either with a tea towel or cling film
Remove the covering and place in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes

Gourmet Shark Tip To check the bread is cooked, turn it out of the tin gently and tap its bottom and side. If it sounds hollow, the bread is done!

This is ideally served warm with a cup of coffee or tea plonked in the middle of the table with plenty of great conversation amongst friends or family!

When you think of traditional Manx recipes and cooking you will probably have Manx Bonnag in your top three, with possibly Spuds and herring and Queenies?

I am not sure if this is that true to tradition, but is was given to me by a good friend Carol Leece of Onchan and it sure tastes good to me!

What you need
1/3 of a cup of sugar
2 cups of self raising flour
1 cup of dried fruit – sultanas are good
1 cup of sour milk
1 and 1/4 cups of margarine

What to do
Heat your oven to 190C/375F or gas mark 5
Add the flour, sugar and fruit to a bowl
Then mix in the sour milk and finally the margarine
Mix this well with a wooden spoon until everything is all mixed in
Lightly grease a 2lb loaf tin
Pour the mixture into the tin and place in the oven on the middle shelf
Bake for approx 55 minutes

Gourmet Shark Tip: If your not sure if the Bonnag has cooked or not gently put a knife of skewer in the centre, if it come out clean its cooked.

Set aside to cool and then gently remove from the tin.

Bonnag can be served plain or with butter. I enjoy it best with a nice cup of sweet tea – thanks Carol!

Something a little different and very rich and tasty. You will have to ask your butcher for Marrowbone as they never normally sell it at your local supermarket.

What you need
Marrowbone
5 Carrots
2 small Onions
1/4 of a medium sized Turnip
4 to 5 Potatoes
1 large cup of lentils
Salt and pepper to season

What to do
Boil the kettle and once boiled pour this into a large saucpan until its baout 3/4 full
Add the Marrowbone and the lentils
Boil this up on the hop until a gentle simmer
Whilst the pan is boiling away, prepare the rest of your vegetables
Once the vegetables are are chopped up into nice small pieces add them all to the pan and stir well
Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper
Turn the heat right down to a very gentle simmer and leave this for approx 1 to 1 and half hours, stirring occasionally
Taste and season more if required
Done

Gourmet Shark Tip: For best results leave the soup overnight for flavours to come to together and the soup to thicken more.

Delicious with fresh Manx bread and butter and makes a very fulfilling and tasty lunchtime snack that will keep you going for the rest of the day

On these cold winter days it’s always nice to enjoy a warm and comforting bowl of soup. As the weather has been that bad recently I have tried out a few new ones. I picked up some local mushrooms from Greeba Farm and it all came together really well and packed full of flavour.

Serves 4- 6 depending on how large your bowls are!

What you need

1 large pack of Greeba Farm Mushrooms
2 large knobs of butter
1 finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 good pinch of salt
1 pint of chicken stock
1 good pinch of black pepper
1/3 cup of brandy
2 cups of double cream
Crusty Rolls and lashings of butter

What to do

Whizz up the the mushrooms till they are all coarsley chopped (in a food processor or by hand if your the patient type!)

In a large warm pan melt the butter and then add the onions, garlic and lightly cook until the flavour are released
Then add the mushrooms thyme and gently cook over a moderate heat for 10- 12 minutes, or until the moisture has come out of the mushrooms
Season with salt and pepper, then add the chicken stock
Let this simmer for around 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally
Finally add the cream and stir well until this has all warmed through.

Gourmet Shark Tip
10 minutes before serving turn your oven on high till its warm and then add the crusty rolls to warm through for 5 minutes.

Serve with warm crusty rolls or bread and lots of butter! Delicious.

Lamb is my favourite of all the meats and Rosemary is one of my favourite herbs (well one that I can talk about anyway!) The combination of these flavours come together to make a really mouth watering treat. Manx Lamb is really good quality, tender and packed full of flavour, so why not give it a go.

Serves 2

Gourmet Shark Tip: Prepare the lamb chops and the marinade 24 hours before serving. Or if your in a rush at least 4 hours

What you need
6 lamb chops

For the marinade
2 table spoons of chopped fresh rosemary
8 chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or lime juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon or lime zest
2 peeled garlic cloves
a glug of olive oil or vegetable oil
a good pinch of salt and pepper

What to do

Whizz all the above ingredients together or mash them all up using a mortar and pestel until its nice paste
In a large plastic bag or bowl, mix the lamb chops with the marinade and either seal or cover. Then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours up to 24 hours

Gourmet Shark Tip: Before you cook the lamb, remove it from the fridge and leave it to site for half an hour before cooking

Get a frying pan or griddle pan and get this really really hot, the hotter the better.

Place lamb chops on the griddle pan and fry these for about 4-5 minutes each side or till they are to your required doneness (I like it a little pink in the middle, but not underdone.)

Serve with potatoes of your choice and seasonal vegetables, I used roasted parsnip, roasted potatoes and some Kurly Kale. Make this a regular dish!

It doesn’t get much simpler than cooking sausages and mashing up some spuds with a tasty gravy, tastes damm good and the gravy just makes it. Loveeeely!

What you need

For the mash

4 large Potatoes

knob of Butter

For the sausages and onion gravy

8 pork Sausages (I like Ratcliffes in Castletown)

2tbsp Olive oil

2 large Onions, sliced

200ml good beef stock

Rosemary for garnish

What to do

For the mashed potatoes: boil the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water until they just become soft – about 20 minutes

Drain and mash with a potato masher until smooth, add butter and a pinch of salt to taste

For the sausages and onion gravy, heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and add the sausages, fry them until golden brown or cook in an oven on 180 degrees or gas mark 4  for 20 mins

Meanwhile, in a  saucepan, heat the remaining oil, tip in the onions and cook over a low heat until caramelised nicely

Then add the beef stock and cook down until its reduced by roughly half

Plate up the mash and place sausages on top

Pour over the onion gravy and garnish with a little fresh Rosemary

Om nom nom!

A nice winter warming soup to enjoy sitting in front of the fire on a cold winter Manx day. And with added dumplings to satisfy you even more – pure comfort food at its best!

What you need

For the fire
Some matches
Kindling sticks
Logs

For the soup
2 skinless chicken breasts or 6 good thighs
1 pint of water
1/4 of a cup of good chicken stock
1 chopped onion
2 chopped celery
1/3 of a small chopped chillie
2 chopped carrots
2 chopped celery
1 small clove of chopped garlic
Chopped parsley to garnish (dried or fresh)

For the dumplings
6 large eggs
4 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil

What to do:
Get the fire roaring!
First up, chop up your chicken, de-bone if using the thighs and cook these in a little oil in your large pot on your hob
After 4-5 minutes of cooking the chicken add the onion, carrot, celery, chillie and garlic. Stir well
After about two minutes add the water and chicken stock and mix all together
Bring this to a gentle boil

Whilst boiling you can crack on with the simple but tasty dumplings

In a bowl, beat the 6 large eggs
The gradually stir in the flour and a little bit of the salt

Gourmet Shark Tip: You are looking to form a firm but sticky dough, so add the flour a little by little each time

Set the dumpling mixture aside and check the soup, trying some of the veg. I personally don’t like the vegetables to soft, but you don’t want them hard either

When you are happy with your soup, get a teaspoon of the dough and form into a round ball about the size of a small lime

Gently plop the dumplings in to the soup and cook these until they float to the top

Serve up in a dish a bowl and garnish with the parsley.

Snuggles in a bowl, yum!

If you love those cookies that M&S make that are all soft an yummy in the middle then you will love these – they rock, but aren’t rock if you know what I mean!

Makes approx 48 cookies, but you can adjust quantities accordingly. Go on, your worth it!

What you need
2 1/2 cups of oats, porridge oats or dare I say it Ready Brek!
2 cups of self raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
12oz or 340 grams of semi sweet or milk chocolate coarsley chopped
1 1/2 cups of coarsley chopped walnuts

What to do

Blend you oats up in food blender, its better to do it in batches rather than all at once. You want to get the oats to a fine powder.
Combine the oats, , flour, baking powder, baking soda, slay and mix well.
By hand or with an electric whisk, whisk the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy like a butter cream.
Then blend in the eggs, vanilla nd the dry ingredients. When well mixed, add the walnuts and chocolate.
Leave to chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat your oven to 375F or 200C.

With a tablespoon, form the mixture into golf ball size balls and place on your tray or cookie sheet with at least 2inches apart.

Gourmet Shark Tip: No need to grease your tray hear yessir, they wont stick!

Bake in the oven for approx 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Remove from oven and set aside on a baking rack to cool.

Once they have cooled, get the kettle on, get your soaps on Sky plus, turn up the heating and sit back and let the soft, squidgy cookie centre send you to heaven and back! And then have another!

Makes 12

What you need:

For the filling:
Mincemeat
Brandy

For the Pastry:
8oz self raising flour
2 oz of lard
2oz margarine (Stork)
1 oz of sugar
Teaspoon salt
Cold water
Milk
1 egg (just to seal and glaze the pasty)

To begin, pre heat oven to 180 degrees.

For the mincemeat:
Soak the mincemeat with some brandy or rum (to taste), give it a good glug, after all it is Christmas! Leave to sit for a few hours or overnight if you you wish.

For the pastry:

Add the flour in to bowl with salt
Add the margarine and lard
Gently rub this together so it all mixes in to like a crumble mixture, you want the pastry to be nice and short.
Add sugar and mix in well
Then gently dribble small quantities of water a bit at a time until you get a consistency were the mixture just comes together but isn’t too dry.

How to prepare the pastry:

On a floured surface, roll out two thirds of the dough and cut out 12 rounds using a 2-½ inch fluted cutter. Rub a small amount of butter around each of the tins and then use the pastry to line the tin. Fill with mincemeat.

Re-roll remaining pastry and trimmings and cut out another 12 circles using a 2 in cutter. Dampen edges of circle and place on pies. Seal edges, brush tops with beaten egg and cook for 20 minutes.

Once the pies are just turning a nice golden colour, remove from the over and set a side. When cooled sprinkle with icing sugar.

If you want to make some brandy butter, I use Linda Qualtrough’s fool proof and simple recipe. It goes along the lines of:
1 large tablespoon margarine
A dash of milk
Then add about half to 3/4 of a pack of icing sugar, followed by the brandy to taste. You can add more icing sugar, and booze depending on how you like it!

Gourmet Shark Tip: While the pies are still warm, plate some up and add the brandy butter to gently melt over the top! Delicious!