Thai seabass

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 fillets of seabass

1 large garlic clove, crushed

1 small piece of ginger, minced

1 chilli, finely chopped

a handful of coriander, chopped

1/3 block of creamed coconut

tea spoon of thai curry paste

handful of sliced mushroooms

5 sliced spring onions

1/3 bag of spinach

salt and pepper

rice, to serve

• Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
• Fry the mushrooms, garlic, chilli, ginger and spring onions in a little oil until the mushrooms are soft
• Add the spinach and thai curry paste to the frying pan and continue to cook on a low heat until the spinach has wilted
• Add the creamed coconut and approx 100ml of hot water from the kettle. Gently stir until the coconut has broken down. You may need to add a little more water. Taste the sauce and season if it needs it.
• In an oven proof dish pour in the sauce and then top with the seabass fillets. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper.
• Place in the hot oven for 20 minutes. Check that the fish is cooked (it should be) and serve with rice. Scatter with the chopped coriander just before serving.

Goats cheese, leek and walnut tart

We're not big fans of goats cheese but we were given some for free so thought we'd better find a way to use it up. This was surprisingly nice and was very quick and easy to make. Don't forget the onion chutney on the side as it really complemented the other flavours.

Ingredients serves 2:

2 small goats cheese, each cut into three rounds

2 medium leeks, finely chopped

a handful of walnuts, roughly chopped

puff pastry

butter and olive oil

salt and pepper

onion chutney

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees
• Lay a piece of baking parchment on an oven proof tray
• Cut the puff pastry into whatever shape and size you want it (we had a small rectangle per person). Lay it on the baking parchment and score a line around the edges, without cutting right through the pastry. Place in the hot oven for around 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, fry the diced leeks in a little butter and olive oil until softened (at least 10 minutes). Season the leeks with salt and pepper.
• Remove the pastry from the oven, and spread the leek mixture out on top. Scatter with the chopped walnuts and then place the goats cheese circles on top.
• Season again with black pepper before baking in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, until the goats cheese is bubbling and golden.
• Serve with a green salad and caremelised onion chutney.

Turbot in a crab and champagne sauce

Ingredients:

2 turbot fillets or steaks

cooked crab meat

2 shallots, peeled and quartered

1 clove of garlic, crushed

100ml champagne

50ml double cream

flat leaf parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

olive oil

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
• In an oven proof dish, place the shallots and garlic and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes or so.
• Lay the turbot fillets over the roasted shallots and garlic and pour over the champagne. Roast for 10 minutes.
• Scatter the crab over the turbot and pour over the cream. Season with salt and pepper and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
• Once cooked, scatter with fresh parsley and serve with potatoes and a green veg. (Note: the turbot may take longer to cok than 20 minutes - it depends on how thick your fillets or steaks are).

Apple and blueberry tart

Ingredients (serves 2):

puff pastry (1/2 a pack)

1 large apple, thinly sliced, using a mandolin if possible

1/2 punnet blueberries

1 tea sp golden caster sugar

1 tbl sp honey

butter

vanilla ice cream, to serve

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees
• Line an oven tray with baking parchment and dot with a little butter
• Lay the puff pastry on the buttered baking parchment and score a line about 1cm from the edge, without cutting right through the pastry
• Drizzle the honey on top of the pastry and then layer the apple sliced on top
• Sprinkle the sugar on top of the apple layers and then scatter the blueberries on top
• Dot the top with small pieces of butter before placing in the hot oven. Allow to bake for 20 minutes or so until the pastry is puffed around the edges and golden.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream

Warm chicken, squash and pesto salad

Use left over chicken from a roast dinner for this.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 small squash or two sweet potatoes

cooked chicken

mixed salad leaves

2 tbl sp pesto (fresh pesto is best for this)

1 sprig of rosemary

small bunch of thyme

1 clove of garlic

olive oil

- Peel the squash and dice into chunks. Place in a roasting dish with the herbs, whole garlic clove and a splash of olive oil. Roast in a pre heated oven for about an hour.

- Mix the cooked chicken with the pesto so it's evenly coated and add it to the roasting pan with the squash for the last 5 minutes of cooking time to heat through.

- Serve the warm chicken and squash on mixed salad leaves and garnish with some shaved parmesan if you like.

Cheese, ham and olive loaf

We've adapted this from a recipe we cut out of a magazine ages ago. We think it may have been Sainsburys.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

100ml good quality olive oil

250g self raising flour

125ml white wine

150g cooked cubed ham

150g grated cheese (gruyere, cheddar and parmesan are nice)

100g sliced pitted green olives

pinch of salt and pepper

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees and line a loaf tin with baking paper or grease it with butter
• Mix the white wine and eggs together until frothy
• Add the olive oil, flour and seasoning and stir well
• Finally add the dry ingredients and make sure everything is mixed thoroughly
• Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the hot oven for 1 hour until it has risen slightly and the top is slightly browned
• Allow to cool before slicing
• Serve with salad and chutney

Other nice additions to the loaf are spring onions and sun dried tomatoes.

Onion and cheese tarts with walnuts

Ingredients:

8 shallots

pinch of sugar

knob of butter

puff pastry

blue cheese (we used roquefort)

walnuts

salad

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees
• Peel and halve the shallots and cook in butter for around 10 minutes until soft, adding the sugar after about 5 minutes
• Line the individual dips of a muffin/yorkshire pudding tray with baking paper. Cut it into circles beforehand so that each circle is around twice the size of each circle of the tin
• Spoon the onion mixture onto each circle of baking paper, pressing down so that it fills the dip
• Cut the puff pastry into circles a little wider than the tray circles
• Carefully place the pastry over each mound of onion mixture, tucking the edges in so that none of the onion mixture is visible. Make sure that the pastry is tucked inside the baking paper layer
• Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes until the pastry is risen slightly and crisp
• Very carefully invert the tarts onto warm plates. Top with slivers of blue cheese and scatter with walnuts
• Serve with a green salad dressed with balsamic vinegar

Wedding food

It's only 4 months until we get married now! We're very excited and need to decide on food and wine choices soon.

The venue is Belle Epoque in Knutsford, Cheshire and is the perfect setting for a winter wedding. We've opted to have the ceremony and reception in one venue. We want candles, log fires, elegant Christmas decorations (no tinsel!) and preferably a bit of snow (please please snow). There's a roof terrace which will be lit with storm lanterns and fairy lights.

We're planning on offering champagne or mulled wine on arrival before the ceremony. This will be followed by canapes (we need to pick 4 from the list below) and then a main course of 'tasting of lamb' which consists of... Individual Shepherd’s Pies, Cutlet of Lamb and Confit of Lamb shoulder served with Savoy Cabbage, French Beans and Confit of Garlic.

Dessert will be sticky toffee pudding if I get my way, with coffee, port or brandy, and either chocolate truffles or mini mince pies.

We've not decided on the evening buffet yet but we do want a tower of chocolate and cinnamon doughnuts if possible (damn Krispy Kreme for not being able to deliver).

Then honeymooning (is that a word?) in the Lake District followed by Mexico. CANT WAIT!

Canape options:

Downstairs room next to the bar and dance floor where canapes will be served:

Upstairs room for wedding breakfast with roof terrace through French windows at the back:

Exterior:

http://www.thebelleepoque.com/

Seafood mixed grill

Bream, salmon, tiger prawns, squid and scallops, served with salad, crusty bread and garlic and parsley mayonnaise. And a bottle of Chablis. Mmmmm

Nasi Goreng

We use cooked rice for this - either cooked ourselves and then cooled or one of those microwave pouches of cooked rice. You could use whatever veg takes your fancy in this. We tend to use either strips of lean pork or chicken and prawns in ours.

Ingredients (serves 2):

cooked rice

2-3 chicken thighs, diced

handful of prawns

1 onion, chopped

1 large clove of garlic, chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

1 chilli, chopped

1cm piece ginger, minced

1 green pepper, chopped (optional)

1 courgette, chopped (optional)

6 mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 tea sp curry powder

1/4 tea sp ground coriander

1/4 tea sp ground cumin

sesame oil

soy sauce

1 egg

• In a little sesame oil fry the onion, garlic, mushrooms and peppers for a couple of minutes, then add the chilli, ginger and spring onions.
• Brown the chicken pieces in a separate pan and then add them to the veg. At this stage you can also add the curry powder, coriander and cumin.
• Continue to fry the chicken and vegetables for another couple of minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
• At this stage add the prawns, peas and a splash of soy sauce.
• Beat the egg and make a plain omellette. Cut it into strips and set it aside.
• Add the cooked rice to the chicken and veg and season to taste and then add another splash of sesame oil. Stir everything well and make sure the rice is hot.
• Garnish with the omelette strips and serve.

Scallops and prawns with Mojo sauce

Searching for Mojo sauce on the web brings up loads of different recipe variations, with suggestions that it originates from Cuba, The Canary islands and Mexico amongst other places.

I have no idea how authentic ours is but it tastes good!

Ingredients:
Approx 75ml olive oil
Juice of half a lime
1 large garlic clove, crushed
½ tea sp cumin
A small bunch of parsley, chopped
Splash of tequila (optional)
Splash of chilli sauce (or add a pinch of dried chilli)

Serve with grilled meat or fish

• Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl before heating through gently in a saucepan for 5 minutes or so.
• Serve in a separate mini bowl per person so that it can be dipped in or poured over food as preferred.

Chocolate Martini

This is a great alternative to dessert :-)

Measurements are approximate but should produce a couple of glasses...

50ml vodka (preferably vanilla vodka)

50ml creme de cacao

50ml Bayleys (optional)

1 mug of hot chocolate (optional)

lots of ice

• If you want a proper chocolate martini simply shake the vodka and creme de cacao in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Strain into a martini glass and enjoy.
• If you want a slightly less potent version you can do the following... prepare the hot chocolate as you would usually but don't add sugar and don't make it too thick.
• Allow the hot chocolate to cool slightly and then pour into the cocktail shaker with the vodka, creme de cacao and baileys. Add plenty of ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a glass and serve.

Bruschetta

Ingredients:

baguette or ciabatta

4 tomatoes, diced

2 spring onions, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, 1 minced and the other peeled and cut in half

basil leaves - approx 10, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
• In a bowl mix together the tomatoes, spring onions, minced garlic and basil. Season and add a good glug of good quality olive oil. Put to one side for 15 minutes or so.
• Slice the bread and bake in the hot oven for a couple of minutes.
• Remove the bread slices from the oven and rub the halved garlic pieces on each slice. Drizzle with a little olive oil and top each slice with a spoonful of the tomato mixture. Cook in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the edges of the bread are starting to crisp.
• Arrange the bruschetta on a plate and drizzle with a little more olive oil to serve.

Duck and Chianti lasagne

We've adapted this from a book called The Complete Cookbook, written/edited (we think!) by Weldon Owen. We've made it a few times now and improved on it slightly each time.

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 duck legs

6 rashers of pancetta

pack of mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, diced

2 leeks, sliced

1 carrot, diced

3 celery sticks, diced

4 large tomatoes, diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

tbl sp chopped fresh rosemary

tea sp chopped fresh/dried oregano (optional)

tea sp chopped fresh sage (optional)

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of allspice

tin of chopped tomatoes

1/3 bottle of chianti

bechemel sauce

mix of cheddar and parmesan, grated

fresh or dried lasagne sheets

salt and pepper

olive oil

• Cook the duck legs in a pre heated oven until cooked through. We tend to do this the night before. Remove the skin and shred the duck meat. Set the meat aside in the fridge until needed. Save the excess liquid fat for roast potatoes.
• In a little olive oil cook the pancetta, onion, leek, celery and carrot until the pancetta is starting to crisp. Then add the mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook until the mushrooms have softened.
• Now add the fresh tomatoes, herbs, and other seasonings before adding the wine. Let it bubble for a couple of minutes on a high heat and then turn the heat down low and add the chopped tomatoes.
• After another 10 minutes or so add the reserved duck meat and leave to simmer on a low heat for at least an hour. After an hour taste it and adjust the seasoning.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees and start to asemble the lasagne. We find that this works best with a sprinkling of grated cheese between each duck ragu/lasagne sheet layer, but with the bechemel sauce only going on the very top, before being sprinkled with extra cheese.
• Cook for approx 35-40 minutes if you're using dried lasagne sheets and 20-25 minutes if you're using fresh lasagne sheets.

Fillet steak Diane

This is one of our favourite sauces for steak. It makes plenty of sauce for 2 people...

75ml Champagne cognac or other brandy

200ml chicken or beef stock

1 tbl sp Dijon mustard

100ml double cream

chestnut and portobello mushrooms, sliced

• Cook your mushrooms and steaks in a pan until the steaks are cooked how you like them. Remove the steaks from the pan, loosely cover with foil and allow them to rest.
• Add the brandy to the pan and allow to flame. Add the stock and mustard and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes or so until reduced by almost half.
• Add the cream and season to taste.
• To serve, pour the sauce over the fillet steaks. Garlicky dauphinoise potatoes and green veg are good on the side.

Jambalaya

Ingredients: serves 3-4

250g long grain rice

1 red pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

3 celery sticks, chopped

1 onion, chopped

pack of mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

8 tomatoes, diced

3 chicken thighs, diced

3 cooking chorizo sausages, diced

small cooked prawns

1/2 tea sp of paprika

splash of Worcester sauce

bay leaf

approx 400ml chicken stock

black pepper

olive oil

hot chilli sauce, to serve

• In a large non stick pan fry the chicken thighs in a little olive oil until browned. Add the chorizo and cook for another minute. Remove the chicken and chorizo from the pan and set aside.
• Add the onion, garlic, peppers and celery to the pan and cook until starting to soften. Then add the mushrooms and continue to fry for a minute or two.
• Add the chicken and chorizo back into the pan, followed by the paprika, Worcester sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaf and some black pepper.
• Add the rice and stir well and then pour over the stock. Leave to cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently until the rice is tender.
• Add the cooked prawns and stir through a couple of minutes before serving.
• Serve with a hot chilli sauce on the side for people to add according to taste.

Spicy prawn and noodle fritters

Ingredients: (makes about 12)

2 handfuls of small cooked prawns

1 sheet of medium egg noodles

4 spring onions

2 medium eggs

1 small chilli

1 tbl sp sesame oil

1 tbl spoon veg oil

1 tea sp of plain flour

• Cook the egg noodles according to packet instructions, drain and roughly chop.
• Roughly chop the prawns and spring onions and add to the noodles.
• Finely dice the chilli and add to the prawns/noodles/onions, along with the sesame oil and eggs.
• Mix everything well. It should have quite a thick consistency. If it looks too wet, add a little flour.
• Heat the veg oil in a non stick frying pan or pancake pan.
• Place spoonfulls of the mixture in the hot oil and allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Turn over and cook on the other side until golden.
• Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

A very nice steak

Mmmmmm steak! We like rib-eye and t-bone steaks the best. These were monsters... cooked to medium rare on a griddle pan and served with garlic mushrooms, slow roasted tomatoes, onion rings and home made chips.

Hake with clams, mussels and chorizo

Crispy fried potatoes as a side dish...

We make variations of this dish all the time. The chorizo, tomatoes, wine and lemon are always present though. We usually add some chopped parsley at the end but didn't have any on this occasion.

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 hake fillets

a handful of fresh mussels

a handful of fresh clams

2 cooking chorizo sausages, sliced

3 large tomatoes, diced

2 handfuls of mushrooms, sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 a lemon

1/2 glass of white wine

a glug of good quality olive oil

parsley, chopped (optional)

potatoes or crusty bread, to serve

• In a large frying pan (preferably one with a lid) fry the garlic and mushrooms in olive oil for a couple of minutes before adding the chorizo.
• After 5 minutes add the diced tomatoes and the white wine, simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Turn the heat down a little. Place the hake fillets on top of the chorizo/tomato mixture, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over. Put the lid on (if you have one) and let the fish steam for a few minutes.
• Add the shellfish and allow to cook/steam for another 3-4 minutes or so, until the shells have opened.
• Scatter with parsley, adjust seasoning and serve.

Mushroom lasagne

It looks like a bit of a dogs dinner but tasted very good.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 with salad):

1 white onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 pack of chestnut musrooms, sliced

4 portobello mushrooms, sliced

a good handful of dried mixed mushrooms

5 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bag or 4 large handfuls of spinach

1 pack of fresh lasagne sheets

1 glass of dry white wine

50ml marsala

1 small tub of double cream

parmesan

olive oil and butter

salt and pepper

• Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees
• Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes to soften
• Meanwhile, fry the onion and garlic in a little oil and butter until softened
• Slice the chestnut and portobello mushrooms and add them to the pan with the softened dried mushrooms
• Add the wine, marsala and a table spoon of the dried mushroom soaking liquid and allow to simmer for 7-8 minutes or so
• Add the cream, spinach and thyme and season well with salt and pepper, allow to simmer for another couple of minutes
• This bit is easier with two people... fill a large saucepan or bowl with very hot water and blanche the lasagne sheets in it for 1 minute each. In an over proof lasagne dish, layer the pre-soaked lasagne sheets and spoon in the mushroom filling between each layer
• Sprinkle grated parmesan between each layer as you go and add extra parmesan on the top layer
• Cover with foil and put in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the top is golden

Caesar salad

This is our version. We've not added anchovy fillets here but you could.

Ingredients (serves 2):
A couple of handfuls of cos and romaine lettuce
1 cooked chicken breast, diced
2 rashers of smoked bacon
4 quails eggs
croutons
caeser dressing (bought or homemade)
shaved parmesan

• Mix the sliced cooked chicken with the lettuce leaves
• Grill the bacon and cut it into bite sized pieces before adding to the salad
• Meanwhile, cook the quails eggs in boiling water for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for one minute
• Remove the eggs from the water. Peel them carefully and slice them in half
• Add the halved quails eggs, croutons, parmesan and dressing to the salad
• Eat whilst the bacon and quails eggs are still warm
  

Chunky chilli

We adapt our chilli recipe all of the time. Sometimes we add red wine, sometimes beer, sometimes chocolate, sometimes minced beef, sometimes chunky steak… you get the picture.

This is one version we made recently which was particularly tasty with a perfect level of heat. The chillies we used on this occasion were very hot so we only needed two small ones. You can always add extra cayenne/paprika/dried chilli if necessary once you’ve tasted the sauce.

As with many slow cook dishes, this is best made the day before you want to eat it and reheated to serve.

We prefer to eat chilli with plain rice but we sometimes have it with salad, nachos, grated cheddar and guacamole. Leftovers are best on a jacket potato for lunch or on a chilli dog (the latter is especially good on returning home from the pub).

Ingredients (serves 6):

Approx 800g diced chuck steak/stewing beef
1 white onion, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pack of mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, finely diced (optional)
2 hot birds eye chillies, finely diced
2 pointed peppers, diced
3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 can of mixed chilli beans
A good glug of beer (we used half a bottle of bud)
2 squares of dark chocolate (preferably chilli chocolate)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes

A handful of chopped coriander
A pinch of cayenne
A pinch of paprika
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

· In a large, deep non-stick pan fry the onions in a little olive oil until they start to soften
· Add the garlic, chilli, peppers, carrot and mushrooms and fry for 10 minutes or so
· In a separate pan, fry the chunks of beef (cut them into smaller chunks if they’re particularly big)
· Once the beef is browned, add it to the diced veg
· Add the diced tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, cayenne, paprika, beer, chocolate, half of the coriander and stir well. Season with salt and pepper
· Put the lid on the pan if it has one and allow to simmer on a low heat for an hour. Stir it occasionally
· After an hour add the can of mixed chilli beans and leave to simmer for another hour. Add the remaining coriander and serve.

Rack of lamb with braised summer vegetables

Marinaded and ready for the grill:

Oh my god this is gorgeous!!!! I think we’ll be making this throughout the summer it’s THAT good.

We saw a very similar recipe in (we think) Sainsbury’s magazine and adapted it slightly. You don’t want to exclude the anchovies (even if you’re not keen on them) as they melt into nothingness but impart a really nice flavour in to the broth.

Ingredients (serves 2):
Rack of lamb (6 or 7 cutlets)
1 leek, diced
6 shallots, peeled and halved
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 anchovies, chopped
1 little gem lettuce, cut into quarters
½ cup of peas
250ml chicken stock
50ml white wine
Small knob of butter
1 tbl sp olive oil

Marinade for lamb:
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 tbl sp white wine vinegar
1 tbl sp good quality olive oil
A small handful of mint leaves chopped

Plus new potatoes, to serve

• In a frying pan, fry the diced leek and halved shallots in the butter and oil until they start to soften.
• Then add the mushrooms and anchovies and cook until the anchovies dissolve.
• Add the stock and wine and turn the heat down to a low simmer. Allow to cook for 10-12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pre-heat the grill to high. Prepare the marinade for the lamb by mixing the sugar, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar and chopped mint in a bowl.
• Place the rack of lamb on a grill tray and pour over the marinade.
• Grill the lamb until cooked to your liking, approx 10 minutes should be plenty for lamb which is cooked on the outside and slightly pink in the middle.
• Remove the lamb from the grill, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Add the peas and gem lettuce quarters to the broth and turn the heat up a little until the lettuce has wilted slightly and the peas are cooked. Carve the rack of lamb into cutlets.
• Pour the veg and broth into deep bowls and place the lamb cutlets on top.
• We had this with new potatoes which was perfect.
  

Cheese, onion and potato pie

Basically a pimped up cheese and onion pasty.

Ingredients: serves 3-4 with accompaniments
1 large onion, diced
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
A couple of large handfuls of grated cheese (whatever you have available, we used cheddar and a little parmesan)
1 large tbl sp of soft cheese
Leaves from 3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
½ glass of white wine
1 pack of puff pastry
1 egg
Olive oil
Knob of butter
Salt and pepper

• Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees.
• Take the puff pastry out of the fridge so that it comes to room temperature.
• Melt the butter in a large non-stick frying pan and add a little olive oil.
• Add the diced onion and allow to cook for 5 minutes until soft.
• Add the diced potato and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring often so the potatoes don’t stick.
• Add the wine, thyme and bay leaf and allow to simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated.
• Check that the potato chunks are tender, if not, continue to cook for another few minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf and pour the potato/onion mixture into a large bowl. Add the grated cheese and soft cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir everything well.
• Line an oven tray with greased baking parchment.
• Cut the puff pastry in half (or use circles if you prefer a circular pie) and place one half on the baking parchment.
• Tip the cheesy potato and onion mixture on top of the pastry and use a spoon to spread it out evenly. Leave a 1cm gap around the edge.
• Lay the other half of the pastry on top, and pinch the edges to seal the two layers. Score a couple of lines across the top of the pie to allow steam to escape and egg wash the top and edges if you like.
• Cook in the pre heated oven for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown.
• We had ours with a pile of pea shoots but it would be good with any salad or green veg to counter balance the carb overload.

Summer fish pie

It's not really summer yet but it seemed like an appropriate name for this dish. It's a deviation from our regular fish pie recipe which we make the usual way by poaching the fish and making a roux before adding the poaching liquor etc etc. We always use some smoked fish in our regular fish pie and although delicious it can be time consuming to make, and a bit too “heavy” in Spring/Summer.

So we decided to experiment with a more summery, all-in-one approach making it more acceptable for week night cooking. The result was a very tasty, but lighter fish pie … and mum, if you’re reading this, yes we did save you some!

Ingredients (serves 3-4):
1 large fillet of cod, cut into large chunks
1 pack of small prawns
1 tin of white crab meat (or equivalent quantity of fresh cooked crab meat if possible)
Approx 4-5 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 white onion, peeled and finely diced
A large handful of mushrooms, sliced
½ bag of spinach, roughly chopped
½ bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup of frozen petit pois
½ tub of crème fraiche
½ glass of white wine
A generous sprinkling of grated parmesan (or cheddar), we used quite a lot
Salt and pepper
Olive oil and butter

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
• Put a large pan of salted water on the hob to boil. Add the potato chunks and cook until completely tender. Mash in the usual way, adding milk/butter etc as you like.
• Meanwhile, fry the diced onion in a large non-stick frying pan until soft. Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Whilst you’re cooking the onions and mushrooms, get your fish pie dish ready. We use a square dish which is about 10cm deep. There’s no need to pre-cook the crab, prawns or peas so spread them evenly across the bottom of the dish.
• Once the mushrooms/onions are soft add the cod chunks and white wine into your frying pan and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Then add the crème fraiche, parsley and spinach and stir everything carefully, trying not to break the cod chunks up too much.
• Carefully spoon this mixture into your fish pie dish, on top of the peas, crab and prawns. You can stir everything again if you like but it’s not necessary.
• Sprinkle ½ of your grated parmesan on top of the fish and add a little black pepper.
• Add a layer of mashed potato to the top of the fish pie, using a fork to spread it out evenly.
• Sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top of the fish pie before baking in the oven for around 40 minutes

Chinese beef noodle soup

This was very easy and quick to make...

Ingredients (serves 2):

800ml beef stock

1 fillet steak, finely sliced

splash of sesame oil

splash of chinese cooking wine

splash of soy sauce

1 pinch of chinese 5 spice

1 chilli, de-seeded and diced

1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced

1 thumb nail sized piece of ginger, minced

1 star anise

3 spring onions, sliced

6 mushrooms, sliced

pack of ready cooked noodles

1 chinese leaf, finely diced

• Fry the mushrooms, garlic, spring onions, chilli and ginger in a little sesame oil
• Add the stock, star anise, chinese 5 spice, cooking wine and soy sauce. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so
• Add the sliced beef and noodles and cook for a couple of minutes until the steak has poached
• Add the chinese leaf and allow to simmer for another minute or two
• Remove the star anise and serve in warm bowls

Lancashire hotpot

I hadn't had a hot pot since primary school and I was a little worried that ours would be as horrible as I remember the school version being. Luckily ours tasted very nice.

We used diced mutton from Alternative Meats.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

500g diced mutton

1 large white onion, finely sliced into half moons

2-3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into slices

2 carrots, finely chopped (optional)

2 celery sticks, finely chopped (optional)

handful of mushrooms, sliced (optional)

300g lamb stock

1 bay leaf

butter and olive oil

salt and pepper

• Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees.
• Brown the mutton in a little olive oil in batches, then set aside.
• Fry the sliced onions in the same pan as you browned the mutton. Once the onions have started to soften, add the carrot, celery and mushrooms and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the mutton back into the pan with the veg and add the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place a layer of potato slices on the bottom of a deep casserole dish, spoon the mutton and veg on top of the potatoes.
• Add a final layer of sliced potatoes on the top.
• Pour over the stock so that it comes at least half way up the sides of the casserole dish.
• Dot the top layer of potatoes with a little butter and season the top layer with salt and pepper.
• Cover the dish with a lid or a layer of tin foil and place in the oven for 2-2.5 hours.
• Then remove the lid/foil and continue to cook for another 20 minutes to brown the potatoes.
• You could serve this with extra veg or go for carb overload and serve it with big chunks of crusty bread to mop up all the juices.

Rhubarb for breakfast

This was the first time we've had rhubarb this year. We stewed it in the usual way with a spoonful of sugar, until it was completely soft. We had it for breakfast with mini pancakes and creme fraiche.

Spaghetti carbonara

I think we make a pretty damn good carbonara - if I do say so myself! A traditional carbonara doesn't include cream but we find that a small amount helps to loosen the sauce a little.

Ingredients (serves 2 greedy people):

spaghetti

a handful of mushrooms, sliced (optional)

6 rashers of Italian smoked pancetta, diced

1 small white onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 egg yolks

grated parmesan (about 3 table spoons)

1-2 tbl sp of double cream (optional)

black pepper and salt

olive oil

• Cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions in plenty of boiling salted water
• Saute the onion, garlic and pancetta in a little oil until the onion is soft and the pancetta is starting to crisp
• Add the mushrooms if using and continue to cook for 5 minutes
• Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together the parmesan, egg yolks and cream, if using. Season with black pepper.
• When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and set aside.
• Take the pan that the mushrooms/pancetta etc is in off the heat and stir in the sauce. Place the pan back on a low heat and add the drained spaghetti.
• Stir well for a couple of minutes so that the sauce coats the spaghetti completely, and then serve. Add more black pepper and grated parmesan to taste.

Stuffed Peppers

These are a favourite of ours in the spring/summer, particularly as a side dish for a bbq. We usually add red onion but chose celery instead this time, simply because we had lots of it. Either would be good.

The finished peppers look a little burned because we had a mini emergency which meant they got left in the oven for longer than they should have!

Ingredients for 2 stuffed peppers:

2 red peppers, cut in half and de-seeded

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 sticks of celery (or 1 red onion) diced

2 rosemary sprigs, chopped

1/2 block of feta, broken into chunks

3 tomatoes, cut into chunks

black pepper

100ml extra virgin olive oil

• Pre-heat the oven to around 170 degrees
• In a bowl mix together the garlic, celery/onion, rosemary, feta and tomatoes. Pour over around two thirds of the olive oil and leave to marinade for 30 minutes.
• When the oven is hot and the stuffing has marinaded for a while, place the pepper halves in a roasting dish. Fill the halves with the stuffing mixture.
• Drizzle over the rest of the olive oil and season with black pepper.
• Roast in the pre-heated oven for 50 minutes or so. Turn the heat down a little if they start to look too browned.
• We like these with lamb chops, new potatoes, rocket salad or crusty bread
  

Beef in black bean sauce

Not a great photo i'm afraid - it smelled so good that we couldn't wait to start eating. I'm not that keen on coriander usually but it was quite nice in this. It's also very easy... 5 minutes of chopping and then 5 minutes of cooking and it's ready.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 large steak (we used sirloin), cut into strips

1 chilli, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1cm ginger, minced

1 green pepper, sliced

5 spring onions, sliced

1 handful of chinese cabbage, shredded (optional)

3 tbl sp black bean sauce

2 tbl sp chinese cooking wine

2 tbl sp soy sauce

1 tbl sp sesame oil or veg oil

1/2 tea sp sugar

juice of 1/2 a lime

coriander, finely chopped

noodles (we used garlic & coriander ready cooked noodles)

• Prepare all of the veg in advance and then fry the pepper, spring onions, garlic, chilli and ginger in the oil for a couple of minutes.
• Add the strips of beef and fry for a minute or two.
• Add the shredded cabbage, lime juice, sugar, soy, chinese cooking wine and black bean sauce. Stir well and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
• Meanwhile cook your noodles (or buy the straight to wok version for ease), and then add them to the pan.
• Stir everything well again before adding the coriander and then serving in warm bowls.

Spring risotto

This was a really tasty risotto... plenty of green veg and loads of cheese :-)

Ingredients (serves 2):

a cup full of arborio rice

veg stock (around 300ml)

white wine (around 250ml)

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 mushrooms, sliced

4 spring onions, sliced

1 leek, finely diced

a handful of spring greens, sliced

1/4 cup of peas

8 spears of asparagus, thinly sliced lengthways

1 tbl sp cream cheese

50g grated parmesan

olive oil and butter

salt and pepper

• Fry the garlic, leek, mushrooms and spring onions for 5 minutes or so in a little butter and olive oil.
• Add the rice and stir through thoroughly.
• Add the wine and stock in alternate measures, waiting until the liquid has almost evaporated until you add more. Stir frequently.
• After about 15 minutes, or when most of the liquid has evaporated, taste the rice to check how long it has left until it is just tender.
• When you get to this stage add the spring greens, peas and asparagus and stir through. Continue to cook for another few minutes.
• Add the cream cheese, parmesan and black pepper to taste. You may not want to add salt due to the stock and parmesan being salty themselves.
• Serve immediately.

Lamb curry

We rarely follow a recipe for curries and instead prefer to bung in what we fancy or have to hand. Although not authentic in the slightest, they always taste good.

Ingredients (serves 2):

500g diced lamb (we prefer slow cook cuts of lamb in a curry)

4 large tomatoes, diced

8 mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, diced

1 chilli, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1cm piece ginger, minced

seeds from 4 cardomom pods

1/2 tea sp garam masala

1/2 tea sp masala curry powder

1/2 tea sp turmeric

1/4 tea sp ground cumin

olive oil

rice, to serve

small bunch of chopped coriander, to serve (optional)

• The easiest (and tastiest) method we find is to chop the meat into bite sized chunks and place in a bowl with the garlic, ginger, chilli, cardomom, garam masala, cumin, curry powder and tumeric. Add a large glug of olive oil, stir everything well and leave to marinade for an hour or so.
• When the meat has marinaded for a while, fry the onion in oil in a non stick pan.
• When the onion has softened remove them from the pan and set aside.
• Add the marinaded lamb and cook until browned.
• Add the sliced mushrooms and then the onion back into the pan
• Add the diced tomatoes and a little hot water. Start with 150ml but you may want to add a little more later.
• Season with salt and pepper and leave on a low heat to simmer for at least an hour, stirring often and adding a little hot water (or stock) if you think it needs it.
• Serve with rice and some chopped coriander if you like.

Clams and bacon with wine and parsley

Ingredients:

1 handful of clams per person

2 rashers of streaky bacon per person, chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled

parsley, chopped

olive oil

white wine (a big glug)

juice of half a lemon

• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan
• Add the whole garlic clove and bacon and cook for 5 minutes
• Add the clams and wine and leave to simmer for 3 minutes or so
• Add the parsley and lemon juice and cook for another minute
• Discard the garlic before serving either on salad as we did, or with crusty bread or spaghetti

Chicken and pesto tortelloni soup

This was a really fresh tasting soup and was very quick to make.

Ingredients:

1 pack of tortelloni (we used walnut and gorgonzola)

1 sml courgette, diced

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

a handful of chopped mixed greens

a handful of cooked chicken, shredded

800ml chicken or veg stock

1 tea spoon of pesto

shaved parmesan, to serve

• Fry the diced courgette in a little olive oil in a deep pan
• Once the courgette is soft, add the stock and allow to simmer
• After 5 minutes or so, add the peas and mixed greens, allow to simmer for 1 minute
• Add the filled pasta, pesto, chicken and parsley and simmer for 3-5 minutes or so, until the tortelloni floats to the surface
• Serve in deep bowls and scatter with shaved parmesan

Mediterranean Fish Soup

Ingredients: serves 2

a couple of shallots or a white onion

2 celery sticks

1 carrot

2 cloves of garlic

3 tomatoes

sml bunch of parsley, chopped

a bay leaf

a pinch of saffron

600ml fish or veg stock

a selection of fish and shellfish (we used a monkfish tail, mussels, clams and prawns)

• Dice the onion/celery/carrot/garlic and fry in a little oil until softened.
• Dice the tomatoes and add to the veg. Saute for 5 minutes or so.
• Add the stock, saffron and bay leaf and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Cut the monkfish into bite sized pieces and wipe/de-beard the shell fish.
• Add the fish and shellfish to the soup, put a lid on the pan, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Discard any shellfish that haven't opened.
• Serve with crusty bread.

Venison sausages braised in red wine

This is the latest dish we've made using the sausages from Alternative Meats. It was based loosely on a Delia recipe and it was really, really good!

Ingredients:
Pack of venison sausages
1 sml pack of diced pancetta/lardons
1 large glass of red wine
150ml beef stock
1 tbl sp redcurrant jelly
Fresh thyme leaves
Bay leaf
1 handful of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
6 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
Black pepper
Olive oil

• Heat a splash of olive oil in a deep, non-stick pan. Brown the sausages in the oil and then remove them from the pan and set aside.
• Fry the shallots, garlic, celery and pancetta until browned. Return the sausages to the pan.
• Add the stock, wine and herbs. Turn the heat down to a low simmer, cover with a lid and leave to cook for about an hour.
• After an hour, add the redcurrant jelly and some black pepper. Remove the lid and allow it to simmer for a further 30 minutes.
• We served ours with mashed potato and braised red cabbage.

Cheese and onion bread pudding

This is a savoury version of bread and butter pudding. We’ve seen it done in various ways but didn’t follow a recipe and just made up the quantities as we went along, according to what we thought it needed.

You could use whatever cheese you have to hand. It would also be very nice with some chopped ham or mushrooms added between the layers of bread.

Ingredients:
6-8 small slices of bread (we used tiger bread)
2 large eggs
Milk (approx 50ml)
1 tbl sp crème fraiche (optional)
Parmesan, gruyere and cheddar, grated (a handful of each)
5-6 spring onions, sliced
A handful of chopped spinach
Pepper
Butter

• Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees.
• Butter the oven dish you are using to bake it in.
• Beat the eggs with the milk and the creme fraiche (if using). Season with black pepper and add about 1/3 of the cheese. Stir well.
• Layer half of the slices of bread on the bottom of the baking dish so that each slice slightly overlaps the next one.
• Scatter the chopped spring onions and spinach on top of the layer of bread, followed by about 1/3 of the grated cheese.
• Layer the remaining slices of bread on top, again ensuring that they overlap slightly.
• Pour over the beaten egg/milk/cheese mixture, making sure that you evenly distribute it across the slices of bread.
• Scatter the remaining cheese on top before baking it in the oven for approx 30 minutes.
• We served it with a plain green salad.