Mother’s Day Menu Ideas

I think we can all agree that Mother’s Day is an incredibly special day worldwide. It’s our opportunity to show how much we love and appreciate the amazing women in our lives. If you’re celebrating & struggling for ideas about how to express your gratitude this Mother’s Day, no need to panic. In this blog, we’ll introduce you to some fantastic Mother’s Day recipes that everyone is sure to love. After all, nothing says thank you like homemade cooking.

So, what are some good Mother’s Day menu ideas? In our opinion, the best Mother’s Day recipes are those that are unusual and fairly easy to make. What better way to create the ‘wow’ factor this Mother’s Day than by cooking a mouth-watering veggie lasagne for all the family or try baking this elegant rhubarb and elderflower cake for everyone to enjoy! 

Read on to find out how to make these perfect Mother’s Day meals, all of which can be cooked in whichever Aga cooker you have at home.

MOTHER’S DAY RECIPES YOU CAN MAKE IN AN AGA COOKER

Vegetable Tartlets 

Looking for something simple yet sophisticated to make for starters this Mother’s Day? Why not try these appetising puff pastry vegetable tartlets?

[Serves 4]

Ingredients:

• 1 x 500g of ready-made puff pastry
• Plain flour, for dusting
• 4 teaspoons of pesto
• 1 handful of mixed, ripe cherry tomatoes
• 8 asparagus spears
• 4 baby courgettes
• 2-3 jarred roasted peppers
• ½ bunch of fresh basil
• Olive oil
• 8 black olives, (optional)
• 1 x 100g ball of mozzarella
• 20g Parmesan cheese, (optional)

Method: 

1. Cut the pastry block in half before wrapping the remaining half to save for later.
2. Dust some flour onto a clean work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pastry into a square, measuring 26cm x 26cm. Cut into 4 equal squares.
3. Place the pastry squares onto a baking tray. (Remember to leave a space between each pastry!)
4. Using the back of a spoon, spread the centre of each square with pesto. (Top tip – try not to spread the pesto onto the edges)
5. Squash the tomatoes into a large mixing bowl before snapping the asparagus spears into 3cm pieces. (Tip – keep the lovely pointy tips and a little of the stalk, but discard the end 3cm!)
6. Using a peeler, carefully shred the courgettes into ribbons. Tear the roasted peppers into strips and add to the bowl.
7. Pick your basil leaves and place the large ones in the mixing bowl. (Remember to reserve some pretty basil leaves for later!)
8. Mix the vegetables together in the bowl, adding a splash of oil. Pile a little of the mixture on each pesto-smeared tart and top with two olives (optional).
9. Break up the mozzarella and place little bits on top of each tart – this will make it gooey like a pizza. Grate over some Parmesan (optional).
10. Bake the tartlets for 15 to 20 minutes in the roasting oven of your Aga cooker. You want the pastry to look golden and the cheese to be bubbly.
11. Once the tarts are ready, allow them to cool before sprinkling with the reserved basil leaves.

Leek & Greens Lasagne 

Give mum a break from cooking this Mother’s Day by making an impressive family-sized cheesy leek lasagne.

[Serves 4]

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp of olive oil, plus extra for the tin
• 50g of butter
• 1 bay leaf
• Rosemary sprig, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 3 leeks, cleaned and rough green ends discarded, 1 finely sliced and 2 cut into medium slices
• 40g of plain flour
• 500ml of milk
• Fresh nutmeg, for grating
• 100g cheddar, grated
• 30g parmesan, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ green chilli, sliced
• 400g mixed green leaves (kale, chard and spinach roughly chopped)
• 100ml dry white wine
• 100g of walnuts
• 280g jar of preserved artichoke hearts in oil, drained
• 100g of ricotta
• 6 dried lasagne sheets

Method:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil with the butter over the simmering plate of your Aga cooker. Add the bay leaf, rosemary and finely sliced leek. Season with salt and cook for a few minutes until the leek has softened.
2. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute more until the roux smells nutty. Take off the heat, slowly pour in the milk and whisk out any lumps.
3. Return to the heat and whisk slowly until thick and smooth, roughly 5 minutes. Season well with grated nutmeg, then add 3/4 of the cheddar and parmesan, cooking until they are melted. Set aside for later.
4. In another pan, heat 2 tbsp oil over a medium heat and fry the garlic and chilli for a couple of minutes until aromatic. Add the rest of the leeks, season and fry until softened, add the mixed greens and season a little more.
5. Cook and stir until the greens have wilted, roughly 4 minutes. Then pour in the white wine and cook until it evaporates.
6. Oil a medium roasting tin (about 20cm square) and tip half the greens into the tin. Dot half of the walnuts over the top and nestle in a third of the artichoke hearts. Sprinkle over half of the ricotta. Remove the bay leaf from the leek bechamel and pour over a third of it. Top with three lasagne sheets to cover everything.
7. Repeat the process, then cover the top layer of lasagne sheets with the remaining bechamel, artichokes and scatter the leftover cheese.
8. Bake in the roasting oven of your Aga cooker for 30-40 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving with fresh salad.

THE PERFECT MOTHER’S DAY CAKE RECIPE

Rhubarb & Elderflower Cake 

Finally, if you’re looking for something sweet to bake this Mothering Sunday, why not try this stunning rhubarb and elderflower cake?

[Serves 8-10]

Ingredients:

For the roasted rhubarb:

• 400g trimmed rhubarb, cut into 4-5 cm slices
• 110g caster sugar
• ½ lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 tbsp elderflower cordial

For the cake:

• 115g of unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for the tins
• 95g whole, skin-on almonds (could also use blanched or ground almonds)
• 200g of golden caster sugar
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 eggs, 2 whole and 1 white only
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp of elderflower cordial, plus extra for brushing
• 100g of plain flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• ½ tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 130g of full-fat natural yogurt
• Elderflowers, rinsed and patted dry to garnish (or rose, lilac, geranium or peony petals)

For the elderflower cream:

• 300ml of double cream
• 2 tbsp of elderflower cordial
• 100g of full-fat natural yogurt

Method:

1. Butter the sides of two 20cm round cake tins and line the bases with baking paper.
2. To roast the rhubarb, line a high-sided baking tray with baking parchment, add the rhubarb, then top with sugar, lemon juice, zest and cordial. Cover it with foil and cook in the roasting oven of your Aga cooker for 25 minutes until soft. Strain the rhubarb from the poaching liquor and save the syrup.
3. Tip the almonds into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until ground but still retaining texture.
4. Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or use an electric hand whisk) and cream it on medium speed for 2 mins. Then, using a rubber spatula, scrape down the butter from the sides of the bowl. Tip in the sugar and lemon zest. Turn up the mixer speed slightly and continue whisking for 5 mins until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer speed down slightly, then add the eggs, egg white, vanilla extract, cordial and mix together.
5. Combine the flour, almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Scrape the butter mixture down from the sides of the stand mixer bowl, turn the mixer to low speed, (so it’s still stirring) then spoon in the flour and almond mixture in four batches, alternating with spoonfuls of the yogurt, and finishing with a batch of the flour and almond mixture. Mix until almost combined – you don’t want any streaks remaining! Then add half the roasted rhubarb and 1 tbsp of its syrup to the batter and fold it in by hand.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the cake tins and bake in your baking oven for around 25-30 minutes. If you don’t have a baking oven, try baking it on the floor of the roasting oven. (Top tip – poke a skewer into the cake until it comes out clean!) Remove the cakes from the oven and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack before carefully removing them from the tins.
7. For the filling, whip the cream to soft peaks in a bowl. Then fold in three-quarters of the remaining roasted rhubarb, along with the elderflower cordial and yogurt.
8. Final touches – put one of the cakes flat-side down on a cake stand, prick it all over with a skewer and use a pastry brush to brush the cake with a little elderflower cordial. Spoon on half the cream mixture before (carefully) placing the remaining cake on top. Once again, brush the cake with cordial. Now for the fun part – spoon the cream mixture across the cake and drizzle over some of the poaching syrup.
9. The final step is to top the cake with the remaining rhubarb and garnish with elderflowers or seasonal flowers. (This is your chance to impress mum with your outstanding creative skills!)

RECONDITIONED AGA COOKERS AT RANGE EXCHANGE

Now that you’ve got some perfect recipes ready for Mother’s Day, why not check out Range Exchanges’ quality showroom-standard reconditioned Aga cookers. Our stunning Aga cookers are a perfect gift for all mums who love to cook. Take a look at our traditional oil or gas models, or New Gen models like Dual Control and Total Control.

Take a look at our extensive range online today, or get in touch with our friendly team for more information.