Last week I offered up Battenberg Cake, which involved all sort of complicated maneuvers to produce. This week I'm talking about posset, which has a total of three ingredients.
Local mural of the way things used to be |
Kennedy's
serves two kinds of meals. At lunch they
offer a carvery meal. If you're not
familiar with this, it's kind of an all-you-can-eat thing at a reasonable price,
with a choice of two roasts (lamb and beef), fish, chicken, pasta, two veg, and
of course, potatoes, all served cafeteria style. There is a brown gravy that goes with
everything. It's a very popular
option: when we were there for lunch,
there were elderly people (older than us, that is), families with young
children, guys in nice suits, and one fellow who I swear worked in the boiler
room, who the waitress treated like a regular.
Dinner is
another matter. The chef there knows
what he's doing (or maybe it's a she—I didn't ask). The menu is not so exotic as to scare off the
local patrons, but everything was carefully executed, well plated, and
delicious. And the dessert was
posset. I'd heard the name before, but I
had no idea what it would turn out to be—a tart-sweet lemon custard or pudding
that was a delightful end for a meal.
LEMON
POSSET
3 cups
heavy cream
1¼ cups
granulated sugar
Juice of 3
lemons
(Grated
rind of lemon for garnish, if you want)
In a
saucepan, combine the cream and sugar.
Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring
constantly (keep an eye on it so it won't boil over). Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the
lemon juice slowly (so it won't curdle), stirring constantly. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes, then stir
again. Divide the posset into ramekins
or custard cups or pretty glasses or whatever you want. Cover and chill until set, anywhere from two
hours to overnight if you want to make it ahead.
Since I didn't have martini glasses, I used what I had. The servings may look small, but it's intense stuff. |
If you want
to get fancy, you can take the grated peel, mix it with a little sugar, and
sprinkle over top of the possets.
And that's
it! Told you it was easy, didn't I?
Now this is something i could make!
ReplyDeleteYum! I might just make that for guests tonight.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to visit Ireland, the way you describe it Sheila!
ReplyDeleteWhat a simple yet elegant recipe. I could see this as the perfect end to a summer seafood meal, served with a few shortbread cookies or biscotti; and I happily second Lucy/Roberta's appreciation of your Irish trip notes; a pleasure to read. (Love that mural ~ the way things used to be...)
ReplyDeleteHave a delicious weekend,
~ Cleo
Hey Shiela... a new series, HOW EXCITING! and indeed, Irish cooking has gotten some terrific publicity recently. The fresh local produce is getting a facelift far beyond potatoes.
ReplyDeleteI keep looking at the recipe and wanting to add egg yolks to make a custard... hmm, going to need to file this away, cut the recipe in half (or fourths even) for just 2 servings and see what happens. i always seem to have a half cup or so of heavy cream left over from something.
Dave, who used to be Year on the Grill
Sheila, how easy and pretty, especially served in all the unique glasses on a silver tray. Yum.
ReplyDeleteAvery/Daryl
Three cups of heavy cream? Wow! That's some rich stuff. But I bet it's delicious. I love your presentation in different glasses. Very chic!
ReplyDelete~ Krista