Try out this lush chicken curry pie and firecracker cauliflower fit for a beer garden near you

When it comes to top tier pub grub and a deep-fried side, nothing beats a good pie and battered cauliflower.

As more and more people descend on beer gardens which officially reopened yesterday, it’s no surprise they’re not just looking for some delicious drinks, but are hungry for tasty food, too.

With some chefs getting back in the kitchen for the first time in a while, Hayley Wilkes, owner of The WEECook Kitchen in Barry, near Carnoustie, has been working away throughout the pandemic, providing a range of meals and takeaway options for her customers.

Providing two mouth-watering recipes, Hayley has shared her popular firecracker cauliflower and has also revealed how to make one of her famous pies.

If that doesn’t get your tastebuds tingling I don’t know what will.

Firecracker cauliflower

(Serves 2-4 depending on portion sizes)

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
• Rapeseed oil, for frying
• Salt and pepper, to season
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1-2 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• Handful of toasted sesame seeds
• 1 bunch of coriander, chopped
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• 1 spring onion, sliced spring onion

Method

1. Roast the cauliflower florets in a pre-heated oven at 180°C with a little oil and salt and pepper. Cook for around 15-20 minutes until just tender.
2. Set the eggs and cornflour aside in two separate bowls and set to the side.
3. To make the sauce, in a saucepan on a medium heat, melt the brown sugar with a tablespoon of each of the other ingredients including the tomato ketchup, dark and light soy sauce and sriracha chilli sauce. Add the garlic at this point, but just use one teaspoon of garlic puree.
4. Once the sauce is warm, reduce it until it thickens slightly then take it off the medium heat. Set to the side.
5.  Heat up your deep fat fryer or pan of oil to shallow fry the cauliflower florets.
6. Before you place the cauliflower in the hot oil, roll the florets in the egg and then in the cornflour to create a coating. This will form a skin on the cauliflower which will be able to soak up the sauce when it is added. Fry the cauliflower until golden.
7. Gently heat the sticky sauce in its pan and transfer the fried cauliflower into the sauce and coat generously.
8. Serve with a fresh cucumber or radish salad and garnish with spring onion, chilli, toasted sesame seeds and coriander

Chicken Bhuna curry pie

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

• 4 roast chicken breasts (cooked), cut into pieces
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp madras curry powder
• ½ tbsp garlic puree
• ½ tbsp ginger puree
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tins of chopped tinned tomatoes
• ½ tbsp garam masala
• 325g sheet of Puff pastry (you can purchase this ready to use in the supermarket)
• A small bowl of cold water (to close the pastry to the pie cases)
• Rapeseed oil, for frying
• Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 pie shells (you can get these from your local butcher, or The WEE Cook)
• Puff pastry

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.
2. Sweat onions, garlic and ginger in a pan over a medium heat until soft.
3. Add the curry powder, sugar, salt and pepper and fry for 5-6 mins until the spices release all their flavour.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and cook until reduced and thick. Check seasoning and add garam masala to finish. Allow curry sauce to cool before using in pies.
5. To make the pies mix some of the sauce with the chicken (until it is fully coated) and generously fill a pie shell with the chicken and sauce filling.
6. Cut the lids out of puff pastry using round cutters of the perimeter of a small cereal bowl and lightly dampen with cold water to help glue onto the pie shells.
7. Crimp the edges of the pie lids onto the pie shells.
8. Separate the egg yolk into a bowl and add a teaspoon of water and use a pastry brush to glaze the pie all over.
9. Score the pastry lightly with a pattern of your choice and then place on a baking tray in the oven for 14-20 minutes until the pie is cooked and golden brown.
10. Serve on its own, with chips or some homemade spiced onion. Perfect before, with or after a few pints of beer in your newly opened local.

For more in this series…

PUB QUIZ: Test your knowledge of Tayside and Fife’s drinks scene

Cheers for the Beers: The Spotify soundtrack to your summer by Scottish DJ HomeAlone