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.