Category: Cooking

Potato and Tomato Tortilla

1kg new potatoes, Jersey Royals scraped or washed, cut into small cubes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large bunch spring onions, chopped

120g cherry tomatoes, halved

6 eggs

3 tbsp milk

2 tbsp fresh parsley

salt and ground black pepper

Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender. Drain and set aside. Preheat grill to medium. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the spring onion and fry until just soft. Add the potatoes and fry for about 3-4 mins, until coated with oil and hot. Smooth the top and scatter over the tomatoes. Beat the eggs together then add the milk, parsley and S & P in a bowl, then pour over the potato mixture. Cook over a low heat for about 10 – 15 mins, until tortilla looks fairly set. Place the frying pan under the hot grill and cook until the top is brown and set. Leave to cool before sliding out onto a chopping board, Cut into wedges and serve.

This month 2 easy Veggie recipes.

Wild Mushroom Tartlets

375g block of all butter puff pastry

25g butter

300g pack mixed wild mushrooms, wiped clean, [don’t wash]

50g parmesan, finely grated

Handful of chopped parsley

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 egg beaten

1 small ciabatta roll, blitzed to crumbs

100g pitted green olives, finely chopped

Roll the pastry on a floured surface and cut out 4 cir-cles about 15cm in dia. leave to chill on a lined baking tray in the fridge for about 15 – 20 mins. Heat the oven to 180C Fan. Heat a large frying pan add the butter and gently fry the mushrooms for about 5 mins until all liquid has left the pan, [don’t burn the butter]. Re-move from the heat, season, add half the parmesan and the garlic. Score a 1cm border around each tartlet and divide the mixture between them. Mix the crumbs, olives and the remainder of the parmesan, sprinkle over the mushrooms. Brush the edge of each tartlet with beaten egg, then bake for about 20 mins until puffed and golden. Serve with buttered baby new pota-toes and green peas.

Re-roll the pastry into a rectangle, sprinkle with more parmesan and black pepper. Fold in half and re-roll. Cut into stripes twist a few times and bake alongside the mushroom tarts

Leek, Ricotta & Gruyere Tart

500g pack all butter shortcrust pastry

Butter

2 large leeks, thinly sliced

250 ricotta

100ml double cream

2 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp chopped tarragon

100g gruyere cheese grated

Heat the oven 180C fan. Butter a 23cm loose base tart tin. Roll the pastry, line the tin, prick the base and blind bake on a baking sheet for about 10 mins. Re-move the parchment and beans and cook for a further 5 mins until golden in colour. Reduce oven to 160C. Melt the butter in a large pan and gentle cook the leeks for about 10 mins until softened. Beat together the ricotta, cream, eggs, tarragon, salt, black pepper. Stir in the leeks and the grated cheese [leave enough cheese to scatter over the top]

Pour the mixture into the tart case and scatter the re-maining cheese over the top. Bake for about 25 – 30 mins until set. Leave to cool and remove from tin. Serve warm

Special Chocolate Easter Cake [no cooking]

100g butter, plus a little extra fo greasing

150g bar of dark chocolate with nuts, broken into pieces

2 tbsp golden syrup

50g hazelnuts, halved

5g pine nuts

175g soft almond amaretti biscuits, broken into chunky pieces

100g dried soft figs, chopped

300g Belgian chocolate sauce [M & S] 2 tbsp Amaretto or Disaronno Liqueur Mini chocolate eggs and cocoa powder to decorate

Soak the figs in the Liqueur and set aside for about 30mins. Dry roast the nuts in a small pan until toasty brown, set aside. Butter and line the base and sides of a loaf tin [ 19 x 9.5 x 5cm ] with baking paper or cling film. In a basin set over a pan of simmering water, melt the butter, chocolate and syrup. Stir to combine and set aside. Combine the melted chocolate mix, nuts, biscuits and figs together, and spoon into the tin, packing down firmly at the base, smoothing the top. place in the fridge to set for about 2 – 3 hours. Turn out onto a flat cake plate or board. Drizzle over the chocolate sauce so it trickles down the sides. Decorate with the chocolate eggs and a sifting of cocoa powder. Use any left over choc sauce with a slice of the cake

Hazelnut Cake with Mascarpone and Frangelico Cream

140g butter

200g caster sugar

6 eggs, separated

2 tbsp flour, sieved

200g ricotta

200g coarsely ground hazelnuts

3 tsp lemon zest

Glaze:- 8 tbsp apricot jam

50g dark chocolate, grated

Hazelnuts to decorate

To serve – 250g mascarpone

2 tbsp clear honey

Tbsp of frangelico [optional, but tastes better with it]

Pe-heat oven to 180C. Grease a 23cm shallow cake tin. In a large bowl beat together the butter and half of the sugar. Gradually add the egg yolks and con-tinue to beat until light and fluffy. Fold in the sieved flour. In a separate bowl, beat the ricotta with a fork, then add the hazelnuts and lemon zest. Add this to the flour mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the remainder of the sugar. Fold into the ricotta mixture very care-fully. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 35 – 45 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool, remove and place on a plate. Put the jam and 2 tbsp of water in a small saucepan over a low heat and stir until you get a smooth, fairly runny consistency. Brush the top of the cake and leave to cool. Sprinkle with the choco-late and scatter with some whole hazelnuts. Mix the mascarpone, clear honey and frangelico together in a small dish. Slice the cake, serve with the cream and enjoy.

Apple and Lemon Samosas

2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Zest of one lemon

50g caster sugar

1 tsp ground mixed spice

50g sultanas

4 sheets of filo pastry

25g melted butter

Heat oven 180C. Place the apples, lemon zest, sug-ar, mixed spice and sultanas in a saucepan with 2 tbsp of water and cook for about 6 mins until apples are soft, stir during cooking. Tip into a shallow dish to cool. Cut the sheets of filo into thirds lengthways, brush lightly with the melted butter. Place a spoon-ful of apple filling at the top of each strip and fold over and over to form triangular parcels. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 – 20 mins until crisp and golden. Serve with ice cream or double cream.

Fish Pie with Lemon and Herb Mash

Approx 1kg maris piper potatoes

60g unsalted butter

350ml semi skimmed milk

1 lemon zested

2 tbsp dill, finley chopped

1 tbsp flat leafed parsley chopped

3 med leaks, thinley sliced

3 med carrots, quartered and chopped

60g plain flour

200ml double cream

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp chives, chopped

750g mix of fish [haddock, cod, salmon] cut into bit sized pieces

250g peeled king prawns

4 eggs, hard boiled and quartered

Preheat oven 1600C fan. Boil the potatoes, mash with an extra knob of butter and 50ml of the milk. Stir in the lemon zest, dill and parsley, season to taste, Set aside. In a separate small pan par boil the carrots, drain and set aside. In another pan, on a lower heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for about 2 mins to make a paste. Gradually stir in the remaining milk and cream to make a thick white sauce, season. Stir in the mustard and chives. Don’t let the sauce catch in the pan. In a medium pie dish, mix the fish, prawns, carrots and leeks, top with the egg quatrers, pour over the white sauce. Top with the mash. Dot with knobs of butter and bake for about 30 mins until golden

A good hearty meal on it’s own, or with crusty bread and a glass of white wine.

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pie with Cheesy Pastry Crust.

Alternative for the filling. Use any leftover turkey, pork and ham.

Pastry

325g plain flour

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

180g cold butter

50g good strong mature cheddar, finely grated

1 large egg beaten

Filling

2tbsp olive oil

25g butter

800g chicken breasts, diced

200g streaky bacon or pancetta, sliced

2 carrots chopped

1 onion chopped

100g small button mushrooms

2 tbsp plain flour

500ml dry cider or dry white wine

300ml chicken stock [oxo cube]

200ml double cream

2tbsp wholegrain mustard

2tbsp thyme leaves

1 egg beaten

Preheat oven to 180C Pastry. Add the flour and bicarb together in a large bowl. Coarsely grate the butter over the flour and mix until crumbly. Stir in the cheddar. Add the egg and then enough water to form a dough, {not too wet] Form into a ball, wrap in Clingfilm and chill for about 30 mins.

In a large pan heat the oil and butter, add the chicken and bacon and fry until browned. Remove and set aside. Add the vegetable’s and fry until lightly col-oured. Stir in the flour and return the chicken and bacon to the pan. Add the button mushrooms. Pour in the cider/wine and stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 20 mins, until veg is just tender. Add the cream mustard and thyme, season to taste. Mix well. Spoon the mixture into a large pie dish and leave to cool a little. Roll out the pastry to about 6mm thick. Brush the edges of the pie dish with a little water and lay the pastry on top, pressing the edges down to seal. Trim any excess pastry from around to dish, re-roll, and cut into carrot shapes. Place on the pastry top and brush with the beaten egg. Slice a hole in the centre. Bake in the oven for 30 – 35 mins until golden brown. Serve with green veg.

If using leftover meat, brown the veg then add the meat before the flour. Continue as per recipe.