It’s not surprising I’ve decided to post this recipe today. Here in Melbourne we’re in the middle of a heatwave. It’s 38o outside now and the same is predicted for the next couple of days. So the idea of a bowl of nice cold ice cream is very appealing…….
As far as I can work out Mum must have found this recipe in an English magazine on one of her trips to the UK. It doesn’t look very appetizing, but I suspect if you love rhubarb it would taste really good. It certainly would be a good way to use up rhubarb if like my father you grow a good crop each year. As it’s English you’ll need to covert the fresh rhubarb to 1.25kg, the water to 150ml and the caster sugar to 250g.
This roulade looks delicious, but it’s definitely a recipe that you need to take your time with, especially the rolling. While you can make it a couple of hours before guests arrive, unfortunately it’s not something you can make well ahead of time. It’s worth the effort though.
Meatballs and pasta are a great combination and this is one of those recipes you can prepare beforehand. With a cooking time of only around 40 minutes you can put in the oven when the family or friends are almost ready to eat.
I must confess that I’ve never been a fan of no bake cheesecakes, but I do like the idea of this one with the chocolate swirl on top and maybe an extra layer of whipped cream. As it’s an old 1960s recipe you’ll need to covert the butter to 125g-185g and the cream cheese to 250g.
I make rum balls, apricot balls, shortbread and a few other sweet treats each Christmas. I haven’t tried these, but I think I’d probably change the mixed peel for mixed fruit if I did. I’m not a fan of mixed peel and I think the other fruit would be nicer.
Back when I was a kid roast chicken was the highlight of our Christmas lunch. Unlike now we rarely had chicken, as they didn’t come prepared and packaged ready to cook and eat – Mum had to do that. The idea of turkey for Christmas lunch came along a deal later and I think the first one I cooked was probably in the late 70s and like this one had a forcemeat stuffing.
If your family groans at the idea of heavy plum pudding after a large Christmas lunch, this might work for you. It’s easy to prepare, you can use any fruit that you like, you can make it alcoholic or non-alcoholic and prepare it in advance. Served with ice cream, custard or cream it’s a great alternative.
How Christmas puddings have changed over the years. Mum always made her pudding, in a ceramic bowl at least two months before Christmas, soaking the fruit and using suet. Yesterday I made mine, barely three weeks before and to make it gluten free used gluten free breadcrumbs. But there’s also nothing nicer, on a hot Australian Christmas Day than a ice cream pudding. The added bonus is that it’s gluten free and if as suggested in this recipe you use chocolate ice cream it even looks like the old traditional version.
You might have to go to a specialty pasta store to get these large shells, I don’t think they’re readily available at my local supermarket, but it would probably be worth the trouble. Smaller noodles would work, but the large ones look terrific and set the dish above the average pasta bake.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 