Dame Margaret's classic corned beef

If she isn't already a Dame, she should be! Margaret Fulton's corned beef recipe - from her classic 1970s slow cooker cookbook - reigns supreme. While I've posted a corned beef recipe before, I couldn't resist giving this version a whirl and it was delicious. Here's what went in the pot:

- a halved onion studded with three cloves in each half;

- a chopped carrot;

- half a cup of white wine vinegar;

- a generous teaspoon of brown sugar;

- a handful of whole black peppercorns;

- three bay leaves; and

- a one kilogram piece of premium (lean) beef. 

I then poured in water until it just covered the beef and set the cooker on low before zipping off to work. The cooker can stay on low for 8-10 hours. Easy!

I served the flavoursome slices of rosy corned beef with steamed lengths of carrot and peas and beans, along with creamy, melt-in-the-mouth potato bake and a blue cheese Maille mustard sauce. This one is definitely staying on the menu! Enjoy!

Lemon Meringue Pudding

I was suprised by how well this recipe turned out. If you are a fan of lemon meringue pies, it's worth giving it a go. It doesn't have the same thick pastry base as a traditioal pie but the flavour is just as good. I found it slightly too sweet as I enjoy a tart flavour with these sorts of desserts. If you want a tangier flavour, I would increase the amount of lemon juice to 1 cup and reduce the sugar in the filling down to 3/4 cup. There is already a lot of sugar in the meringue topping.

Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
11/4 cups sugar, plus 2 teaspoons extra
1/3 cup cornflour
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
4 egg yolks
1 egg
30g butter

Meringue

4 eggwhites
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour

Grease the inside of the slow cooker with butter. Mix the breadcrumbs and 2 teaspoons of sugar and sprinkle over the base and 5cm up the sides of the cooker. Mix the cornflour with about 1/2 cup of cold water to a smooth paste and set aside. Place the lemon juice, lemon rind and 1 1/4 cups of sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the cornflour pase, stirring until thickened, then cook for a further minute, still stirring. Remove from heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Whisk in the egg yolks and egg, then the butter. Spoon mixture over the breadcrumb base in the cooker. Turn the cooker seting to low.

To make the meringue, beat eggwhites until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar and cornflour and beat until stiff peaks form once more. Spoon over the lemon filling and spread out evenly, making sure it reaches right out to the sides and is slightly lower in the centre.

Place the lid on the cooker and cook for 2 hours on low.

If you have a butane torch you can brown the top but I found that it turned brown anyway.

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