Ruth Pretty's Most Loved Mother's Day Recipes
Over the years people have travelled from far and wide to spend time at Ruth Pretty's Springfield Kitchen in Te Horo. Not just for the food, but for the feeling it came with, something generous, comforting, and made to be shared.
Certain recipes became part of that story. Made thousands of times, remembered, requested, and enjoyed by people who loved them.
In recognition of Mother's Day (the busiest season for Ruth's Springfield kitchen!) we wanted to share some of Ruth's most-loved recipes with you, in the hope they might continue to be made, shared with mums, and enjoyed together in kitchens far beyond Te Horo.
Te Horo Cheese Gems
- 140g (1 cup) flour
- 140g (1 cup) self raising flour
- 1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- large pinch of cayenne pepper
- 240g (2 cups) coarsely grated tasty cheese
- 250ml-315ml (1- 1 + 1/4 cups) homogenised milk
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- butter to serve
Into a sieve placed over a large bowl place both flours, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper and sieve together into bowl. Add cheese and mix well to combine.
Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients and add egg and 250ml (1 cup) of the milk. Gently mix until just combined and mixture is neither dry nor sloppy. Add extra milk only if mixture appears dry.
Divide mixture evenly into prepared loaf forms, place into preheated oven and cook for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on top.
Remove from oven and cool completely.
To serve: Remove loaves from mini loaf tin forms and cut in half lengthwise. Place into a preheated flat toasted sandwich maker or panini machine and toast on both sides until crispy. Serve hot with a curling of butter.
Springfield Sausage Rolls with Springfield Pear Chutney
For the Sausage Rolls
Preheat oven to 210°C. Lightly grease one or two low-sided baking trays.
Place a small frypan on stove top over a medium heat. When hot, smear frypan with olive oil, add onion and cook without browning until soft. Cool.
Place sausage meat, tomato sauce, parsley, Tabasco, salt and pepper in a bowl, add onion and mix thoroughly.
Lay out pastry sheets on a lightly floured bench and cut 2 whole sheets into halves. You will now have 5 rectangles of pastry.
Divide the sausage meat mixture into five.
Using cold wet hands, place one portion of sausage mixture following the long edge of a pastry rectangle into a thick sausage about 3 cm in diameter. Repeat for the other four pastry rectangles.
Roll up to enclose sausage meat in pastry, moistening one edge to ensure pastry edges stick together.
Cut into even pieces 3cm long and place on prepared oven trays. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight. Alternatively freeze until required.
Remove from refrigerator and, with a small, sharp knife, make a slash on each sausage roll and brush with egg glaze.
Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately, or cool and reheat before serving.
To make the chutney, simmer all of the chutney ingredients for 1½ - 2 hours until thick.
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 50g (1/4) onion, finely chopped
- 500g pork sausage meat
- 2 tablespoons bottled or tinned tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley leaves
- 2-3 drops Tabasco sauce
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 400g (2 ½ sheets) pre-rolled, all butter, puff pastry, defrosted
- 1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)
- 1kg pears
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- Fresh ginger
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup raisins
- Cinnamon, salt
- 1½ cups malt vinegar
Preheat oven to 210°C. Lightly grease one or two low-sided baking trays.
Place a small frypan on stove top over a medium heat. When hot, smear frypan with olive oil, add onion and cook without browning until soft. Cool.
Place sausage meat, tomato sauce, parsley, Tabasco, salt and pepper in a bowl, add onion and mix thoroughly.
Lay out pastry sheets on a lightly floured bench and cut 2 whole sheets into halves. You will now have 5 rectangles of pastry.
Divide the sausage meat mixture into five.
Using cold wet hands, place one portion of sausage mixture following the long edge of a pastry rectangle into a thick sausage about 3 cm in diameter. Repeat for the other four pastry rectangles.
Roll up to enclose sausage meat in pastry, moistening one edge to ensure pastry edges stick together.
Cut into even pieces 3cm long and place on prepared oven trays. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight. Alternatively freeze until required.
Remove from refrigerator and, with a small, sharp knife, make a slash on each sausage roll and brush with egg glaze.
Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately, or cool and reheat before serving.
To make the chutney, simmer all of the chutney ingredients for 1½ - 2 hours until thick.
Gingerbread Kisses with Salted Caramel
For the Ginger Kisses
- 140g flour
- 100g brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
- ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 180g golden syrup
- 115g butter, roughly diced
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 125ml milk
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 375g cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon finely grated zest of one lemon
- 30ml lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
- 375g icing sugar, sifted
- 75g caster sugar
- 35g unsalted butter, diced
- 150ml cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Preheat oven to 150°C. Lightly grease 2 trays of little cheesecake moulds with baking spray.
Into a large bowl sift flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a small saucepan set over a low heat place golden syrup and butter and melt. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
To the dry ingredients add the golden syrup mixture followed by egg and milk. Quickly combine ingredients well using a whisk (this is a very wet mix). As soon as possible pour into prepared tins, aiming to fill 20 moulds (not 24!)
Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until metal skewer comes out clean. When cooked leave in tin to cool completely before turning out.
To make the Cream Cheese Frosting, in a medium sized bowl beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add lemon juice and zest and combine well. Add icing sugar and beat until combined and frosting is smooth.
To make the salted caramel, place sugar into small heavy-based saucepan set over a low heat. As it cooks brush down sides of saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Do not stir the sugar at any stage. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to the boil. Cook without stirring until syrup begins to brown. As it cooks move saucepan from side to side to move sugar around so it colours evenly.
Once a light caramel has formed, reduce heat to medium, add butter and half of the cream. Be very careful, as the mixture will bubble up. Stir continuously to encourage caramel lumps to dissolve and to prevent burning. Once incorporated add remaining cream.
Reduce heat to a simmer and steadily simmer until reduced by 25% or mixture measures 165ml. Caramel will be thick. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and salt and stir to combine.
Set aside and cool to lukewarm and then proceed. Alternatively refrigerate until required but bring back to room temperature before using.
To assemble your kisses, slice each cake horizontally and thickly spread top of cake base with Cream Cheese Frosting. Onto Cream Cheese Frosting place the top halves. Thickly frost top of cakes with Salted Caramel. Top with Ginger Crunch.