Serve up a fresh taste of the good old days

RETRO foods create a feeling of nostalgia that transport us back to happier times. They make us feel something special when we eat them.

It should, therefore, come as no surprise as we enter an age of what could be austerity that demand for retro food is on the increase once again as we all hanker for something which reminds us of happier times.

A classic retro food is Cadbury Wispa which hit the shops in 1983, disappeared in 2003 and, following a massive multimedia campaign, was introduced again in 2007.

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Twenty million bars sold in a matter of weeks. M&S even launched a budget 75p jam sandwich last year.

Anthony Flinn, one of Leeds best-known chefs, says:

"The most popular dishes in my restaurant Piazza by Anthony in the Corn Exchange at the moment are all very retro – hearty dishes like mixed grill, lamb cutlets and stew and dumplings.

"These are simple traditional meals made from classic ingredients."

Likewise, there is a revival of interest in cooking classic British dishes which, like old friends, we want to look up to see if we still get along.

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These recipes are simple but need to be made carefully. They can be thrifty and make good use of ingredients.

The recipe for lemon meringue pie, for example, uses egg yolks in the lemon filling and egg whites to make the meringue.

Some retro dishes can stand the test of time – unchanged. Others benefit from a "tweak" to bring their ingredients up to date or to make them quicker to prepare.

Prawn cocktail with lemongrass and chilli

There is something enduring about prawn cocktail. It makes a quick to prepare, light fresh first course.

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With a lick of rich coral pink sauce offset by a green of salad it is a classic beauty. The traditional flavours can be tweaked by adding fragrant South-East Asian flavours such as lemongrass and fresh chilli.

Serves 4

2 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tsp tomato pure, 1 stick of lemon grass, mild red chilli, 1 tsp Thai fish sauce, 2 tsp fresh lime juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper, 120g cooked prawns, small bag of salad leaves

Mix the mayonnaise with the tomato pure in a small bowl. Peel the outer layer from the lemon grass and finely chop 2cm its bulbous base end. Remove seeds from chilli, with a teaspoon, and chop finely.

Add lemongrass and chilli to the mayonnaise and tomato puree.

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Stir in the fish sauce, fresh lime juice and season to taste with a little salt and pepper. Stir prawns into the sauce. Arrange salad leaves on four plates and place a spoonful of prawns on each.

Noisettes of lamb with mint and onion sauce

Noisettes were all the rage in the 1970s and 1980s. I have made this recipe with local best end of neck of lamb. It's an impressive dish which can be made in a flash.

Serves 4

For the onion and mint sauce: 1 large onion, finely chopped, 20g slightly salted butter, 1 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp water, 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint, salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chops: 4 best end of lamb chops or noisettes, salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 tbsp chopped mint, 1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

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To prepare the sauce; sweat the onion in the oil, butter and water until soft.

Remove from the heat and add mint. Liquidise and season to taste. Keep warm until needed.

This sauce can be made in advance and frozen.

Prepare the lamb chops or noisettes by seasoning with salt, pepper and chopped mint.

Heat the oil in a shallow pan and quickly brown the lamb on both sides. Transfer the lamb to the oven and cook for about 15 minutes.

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The lamb should remain pink inside. Serve with a spoon of thick onion and mint sauce.

Serve with seasonal vegetables such as miniature turnips or roast parsnips batons.

Quick lemon meringue pies

Lemon puddings such as lemon souffl, lemon cheesecake and lemon posset were all the rage when I first learnt to cook in the 1980s.

The best was lemon meringue pie with its sugar frosted meringue top;

smooth, sharp tasting lemon filling and crisp pastry

base.

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Its only disadvantage was it took an age to make from scratch.

In the recipe below I have kept the elements of the pie but speeded up the process

by using ready-made filo pastry to make delicate individual pies.

Makes 8 individual pies

For the filling: 30gcornflour, 290mlmilk, 30gcaster sugar, 2 egg yolk, grated rind and juice of a lemon

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For the meringue: 2 egg whites, 110gcaster sugar, extra caster sugar for sprinkling

For the cases: 8 sheets filo pastry, 40gmelted butter

Preheat oven 190C/375F. Cut each sheet of filo pastry into quarters and

brush lightly with melted butter.

Lightly butter a jam tart tin, place one piece of filo pastry buttered side up into 8 jam tart mould. Take another piece of filo pastry and place on top of the first but offset slightly.

Repeat with two more pieces of filo pastry. Place in the fridge until ready to fill.

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In a small saucepan, mix the corn flour with a tablespoon of milk.

Heat the remaining milk to simmering point and stir into the corn flour base. Bring to the boil and stir well. Add the sugar. Allow to cool slightly then beat in the two egg yolks, lemon rind and juice.

Quickly whisk eggs whites until stiff. Add a tablespoon caster sugar and whisk again until the meringue is very stiff. Fold in the remaining sugar.

Remove the filo pastry cases from the fridge and place in the oven for

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three minutes. This will crisp the base of the pastry cases.

Remove from the oven and place two teaspoons of lemon custard in each case.

Cover generously with meringue. Sprinkle a little extra caster sugar over the meringue.

Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes or until the meringue is a pale biscuit colour.

Support the base of the pies with a palate knife when removing from the

tart tins.

Joan Ransley is a member of the Guild of Food Writers

www.joanransley.co.uk

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