Beswick Easter Food

At Church, we often have a Jewish Passover meal together the day before Maundy Thursday. I have never cooked it, but members of the Congregation do in traditional Jewish style, as Jesus would have eaten.  

It includes roast lamb, eggs, herbs, beetroot, bread, wine. 

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns!

If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons.
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns!

Thus goes the old  English Children's Sing-song Rhyme.

Hot cross buns are spiced dried fruit buns, finished off with a Cross on top. These are traditionally eaten on Good Friday in England to commemorate The Crucifixion. The buns are usually spiced with cinnamon.  

The hot cross buns that are baked locally are so good that I have never ever cooked them.  I buy them. They are eaten with butter or jam. 

As Catholics, we do not eat Meat on Good Friday. So, what do the Beswicks have? As children, Frank and I would have a Cheese and Onion pie baked by our mum. She could get a meal out of very few ingredients. I continued this tradition for my family. 

Now our family has extended, I cook a fish stew and a cheese and onion pie, served after 3.00 pm service. This year I might do a fish pie. 

Fish Pie  serves 4 -6 

Ingredients 

1 pack of fish pie mix containing salmon, smoked fish and cod .Approx 1.5 lbs

1 pack of prawns / shrimps 

1 pint of cheese sauce seasoned to taste

2lbs mashed potatoes 

melted butter

....................................................

Method 

1.

Make or buy your cheese sauce. Warm it on the stove and add the fish at the end of making the sauce. Make sure the fish is coated in warm sauce. Place this mixture in an ovenproof dish 

2.

Make or buy your mashed potatoes and spoon this on to the fish mixture. Level it out and put some melted butter on top 

3 

Cook in the oven 190C/Gas 5./ 325 F  for approx 25 

Roast Lamb ,  veggies and "all the trimmings" ...roast potatoes veg and gravy 

Mini egg cheesecake 

Apple shortbread and ice cream of your choice 

Roast leg of Lamb 

1 large leg of lamb  is cooked for approx 2.5 hours with a syrup glaze with chopped fresh rosemary from my neighbours garden and apricots smashed down and mixed in . Season to taste and brush this over the lamb  This is then poured over the lamb . Place the lamb in foil and roast  on 350F , 175C 

Mum always made this on Easter Sunday and I do too. It is very easy . The apple flavours rise and soften and flavour the short cake. It contains no liquid. 

Apple short cake 

Ingredients 

4 large cooking apples, peeled and sliced 

10 ounces of plain flour 

8 ounces of soft butter

4 ozs of confectioners sugar 

Method

1. Prepare the apples. and place in an oven-proof dish.

2  Place the flour, soft butter and sugar in the mixer and blend them together until they form a ball of dough.

3 Get a food bag and spoon the dough into it. Flatten it out inside the bag. Cut the bag and carefully lay the dough on top of the apples.  Cover with a lid or foil 

4. Cook on approx 180C /375F  for approx 40 minutes or until cooked. 

5. Serve with ice cream of choice. 

Thank you so much to you all. I never thought that my food pages would be as popular as they are. But I get so much positivity from readers. Big Brother Frank Beswick and I have a lovely, kind, delightful family and celebrations are always accompanied by food. 

I hope these dishes are of interest.