Smoked Bacon, Sundried Tomato & Lettuce (BLT) Quiche

A classic flavour combination of the BLT sandwich made into a quiche. Very simple ingredients and easy recipe for a meal for the whole family. You can, of course, make the pastry, if you like. I sometimes do, but when I need a quick meal - I buy ready made. There is nothing wrong with buying ready made pastry!!

We had a large slice each with potato wedges and a huge mixed salad. Lovely!

Ingredients:

10 rashers smoked bacon
1/2 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g sun blush tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 little gem lettuce, chopped
pack ready made shortcrust pastry
handful cheddar cheese, grated
3 eggs
100ml milk
50ml double cream
a little grated parmesan

Method:

Slice or snip with scissors, 10 rashers of bacon into a frying pan with a scant teaspoon of oil. Fry with the chopped onion and garlic until the onion translucent and the bacon crisp. Add the chopped sun blush tomatoes and chopped lettuce. Stir through and turn off the heat. Leave to cool.

Roll the pastry out to fill a greased spring form oven dish and line neatly with the pastry. You can blind bake at this stage, but I personally don't. Put a handful of grated cheddar in the bottom (I find this stops the pastry going soggy from the onion & bacon filling) and then add the cooled bacon mix.

Whisk the eggs with the milk and cream and season with a little salt & pepper. Pour the egg mix over the bacon and top with some grated parmesan.

Pop onto a baking sheet and cook for about 30 minutes (depending on the deepness of the dish).

Enjoy hot or cold!

Perfect BBQ Beef Short Ribs

This is a dish to look forward to on a Sunday. I say this because to be able to eat it the best way possible (and remove most of the fat too!) is to cook them initially on Saturday. Slowly, for a whole nine hours.

You can use a slow cooker or a casserole dish - up to you, but keep it low and long. Then you separate the meat and the juices and refrigerate. The fat that rendered out of the meat will rise to the top of the liquid and you can simply remove it.

The next day is easier, you make the bbq sauce (ingredients you generally have in the cupboard), smother it over the ribs and pop them back in the oven for an hour to heat through. Believe me, its worth it.

Ingredients:

4 beef short ribs
1 bottle Corona beer (or similar)
salt & pepper

Put the meat into the pot with salt and pepper. Pour in the beer and cover. If its a slow cooker I would cook on high for 3 hours and low for another 6. For a casserole I would put the oven on at 100 C, cover the pan tightly and cook for 8 hours.

Then leave to cool before putting the beef in one dish and the liquid in a straight tub (this is so the fat comes off the top easily. Refrigerate both.

The next day, take the meat out of the fridge to get to room temperate. For the sauce, after removing the fat, you will have a wonderful concentrated beef jelly. Pop into a wide pan and turn the heat to high until bubbling. Add about 80g-100g tomato ketchup, 1 tbsp. malt vinegar, 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp. golden sugar and 1 tbsp. English mustard. Stir well and let it bubble and reduce. Taste to check for flavour - many people like bbq sauces sweeter or stronger.. I added a spray of liquid smoke which I bought ages ago and adds a lovely smoky flavour.

When the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon, paste it generously over the beef. Pop into the oven at 100 C for about 40 minutes. And its ready.

Serve with just about anything! Chips, potatoes, rice, potato salad... Or just by itself. Its melt in the mouth delicious. 


Note: If you can get hold of a bottle of liquid smoke - I'd recommend it for ANY barbecue!

Three Easy Chinese Snacks

Sometimes I don't want the usual Chinese chow mein that I love so much. I want the starters. Especially on a Friday night watching a movie. Here are three ones for you to try:  Easy prawn toasts, duck and hoisin lettuce cups and pork and prawn balls with a sweet chilli dip. All quite easy too. The pork and prawn balls are a basic sui mai (dim sum) but without any fiddly dough wrappers. Still steamed and still delicious. Just quicker!

First the Prawn Toast

Ingredients:

200g raw king prawns
1 cm. piece ginger
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. cornflour
1 tbsp. soy sauce
4 pieces bread (I used granary, but up to you)
(approx.) 4 tbsp. sesame seeds

Mix the prawns, ginger, garlic, cornflour and soy sauce in a food processor until a paste. Spread evenly on the bread and cut the bread into quarters. Put the sesame seeds on a plate and dip the bread, prawn side down into the sesame seeds.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and when hot, add the toasts sesame seed side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes until golden and turn over to cook the other side. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot!

 

Then, the Prawn and Pork Balls

Ingredients:

300g minced pork
200g raw king prawns
1 inch piece ginger, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 spring onions
1 tbsp. rice wine (sake)
1 tbsp. cornflour
1 tsp. sesame oil
salt & pepper
cocktail sticks
sweet chilli sauce
greaseproof paper, cut into 1 cm squares

Mix all of the ingredients in a food processor until well combined. Roll into balls (about1 inch) and put on a small piece of greaseproof paper in a steamer. Insert the cocktail stick, cover and steam for about 6-8 minutes, until firm. Serve with chilli sauce.


Finally, some Hoisin Duck and lettuce cups.

Ingredients:

1 Peking duck leg (recipe here)
4 spring onions, chopped
4 tbsp. hoisin sauce
little gem lettuce leaves.

Simply shred the duck meat and stir in the spring onions and hoisin sauce. Pile into lettuce cups and serve.


Note: The duck leg can be cooked the day before and shredded. The rest of the recipes all together take about half an hour to prepare and cook. The food processor really helps!

Pappardelle with Butternut Sauce, Pine Nuts Rocket & Parman (V)

Having been a vegetarian years ago (for quite a few years, I may add) I am a huge fan of vegetarian food. The Bloke? Somewhat less so. On the nights when I want vegetarian - I have to make it good, so I can show him how good vegetarian food is! You don't always need meat.

Pappardelle pasta is similar to tagliatelle, but the strips are wider and just call out for an umptious sauce that clings to it. Butternut squash, flavoured with garlic and sage is a classic. Here I have pared it with peppery rocket with a rocket salad. Simple, but looks and tastes great.

This is a simple enough recipe with few ingredients that tastes out of this world. If you can get hold of some fresh sage, it really is lovely in this dish - but dried will do - just use half the amount stated.

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, peeled
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsps. fresh sage, chopped
1 tbsp. oil
200ml chicken stock (cube is fine)
100 ml double cream
salt & pepper, to taste
75g rocket
50g pine nuts
200g pappardelle pasta
parmesan shavings

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 clove garlic, crushed

Method:

Chop the butternut squash into cubes. Heat 1 tbsp. oil and fry the sage and garlic in a large pan for a couple of minutes and then add the squash. Stir well and cook for a few minutes before adding the stock and covering the pan with a lid. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 mins.

The squash should be very soft at this stage so leave the lid off and let the last of the stock reduce. Then put the squash into a large jug with 100ml cream, salt and pepper. Blend with a stick blender until smooth and put back into the pan to simmer gently.

Make up the salad dressing by mixing the oil, vinegar, sugar and garlic. Set to one side.

Cook the pasta to cooking instructions and drain. Add half of the rocket to the sauce, along with the pine nuts. Stir through. Pour enough sauce over the pasta to coat well (there may be too much, so save the extra sauce for another time). Toss well.

Dress the other half of the rocket with a few teaspoons of the dressing and put a pile of rocket in the middle of the plate. Put the pasta around the salad. Sprinkle the parmesan shavings over the top and serve. Delicious!

Spicy Peruvian Poussin with Chimichurri Vegetables

This is a typical Sunday night meal at 'Chez Jules'. Food you can scoff whilst watching a movie may sound a little slobbish...but you know? I don't care. This is what we do and this is what we eat.

Two poussins and many, many ideas led to me literally asking The Bloke...what cuisine?? He thought for a moment and then decided on Peruvian. Okay - not a problem. So the poussins (little chickens) were given a good Peruvian spiced butter under the skin. The veg had its own Chimichurri sauce to be tossed in and the potatoes were simply cut smaller than usual and roasted. The parsley, I have to say, I am lucky enough to have loads of in the garden so it was a relatively easy Chimichurri sauce for the green beans and asparagus tips.

And the dipping sauce? A chilli sauce I made earlier that day. And it was ALL worth it. Wow.

Ingredients

For the poussins:

2 poussins
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chilli powder
1/4 tsp. each salt & pepper
25g butter, softened

Use a pair of scissors to cut through the backbone of the poussins. Press flat and then gently put your fingertips under the skin on the breasts (from the leg end - not the wing end). Gently, without breaking the skin, pull the skin away from the breast to create a good pocket for the spicy butter. Put both birds on a baking tray to one side.

Mix the spices and butter together and put 2/3 of it under the skins pockets you have made on both. Rub the remainder over the birds, including the legs. Cook at 200 C for 30 mins, or until cooked through (cut though a little piece of the leg - it should be perfect).

For the Chimichurri veg:

25g flat leaf parsley
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. dried oregano
pinch chilli flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt & pepper

3/4 cup olive oil
Veg of choice

Put all of the ingredients apart from the oil and veg, into a food processor and blend until a paste. Add the oil in two or three lots to emulsify. Steam any greens you like and toss in some of the sauce. I used green beans and asparagus but you choose!

For the Chilli Sauce I used this recipe here and blended well with a stick blender to create a smooth sauce.... But instead of my usual chipotles I used a some different chillies that I had picked up from Borough Market in London (see photo below). You can use any dried chilles you like - just follow the recipe and boil the dried chillies that you like.

To serve, just put the chili sauce in a ramekin, the remainder of the Chimichurri in another, the birds on a wooden board and lots of napkins! Enjoy!

Rustic Sausage and Apple Loaf

This is a variation on the old Sausage Plait I used to make occasionally. I decided this time to add some apple to the pork mix. It’s a lovely recipe with loads of flavour, which you can either have hot with chips and a salad, or chilled with pickles. Or sliced with a picnic. Delicious either way!

 

Ingredients:

400g sausage meat

1 tbsp. oil

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 small eating apple, chopped finely

1 heaped tbsp. tomato ketchup

1 tbsp. English Mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Salt & pepper

320g ready rolled puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

 

Method:

Set the oven to 190 C. Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry with the apple in the oil on a medium heat until the onion soft. Put into a large bowl and cool. When cooled, add the sausages, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and season with salt & pepper.

Take the pastry and place on a board in front of you, on a piece of greaseproof paper (most pastry  comes with some already with it).  Pile the sausage meat mixture lengthways down the centre, leaving a 1.5 inch frame.

Lift the shorter ends over the pastry and brush the top with beaten egg. Then lift the sides up and over the length of the pastry and pinch together, using a little egg if needed. Seal the loaf as much as you can – although you probably will get some seepage of juices sneaking out! Don’t worry, it won’t hurt the dish.

Lift the loaf gently with the greaseproof paper and gently invert it onto a greased baking sheet, so that the seam is at the bottom. Decorate the top with a sharp knife and brush with more egg.

Cook for about 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

 

 

 

Chinese Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

I don't suppose chicken and sweetcorn soup is particularly only a Chinese soup - but here in London, if that's what you want - you'd head to a Chinese restaurant. Thick, comforting, with tender chicken and a lovely sweetness from the corn.

This recipe is pretty much as you would get it from a Chinese takeaway or restaurant - and its ever so easy. You can use any leftover cooked chicken you have; from a roast dinner maybe? Its also cheap as this recipe only uses one chicken breast and serves up to 6 people. The soup takes about 20 minutes to make and is delicious!

Ingredients:             (Serves 4-6)

1 large chicken breast, poached and sliced
400g can creamed corn
400g sweetcorn niblets
1 litre chicken stock (2 cubes & water)
2 tbsp. cornflour
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 eggs, beaten


Method:

Make up the stock with the cubes and boiling water and put into a saucepan with the creamed corn, corn niblets and a little pepper (there should be plenty of salt from the stock cubes but taste at the end and you may want to add some). Bring to the boil and then cook for 10 minutes on a medium heat.

Mix the cornflour with a splash of water and mix until liquid. Add to the pan and stir well to combine. Add the chicken to the soup and then add the eggs by stirring the soup in a circular motion with one hand (with a wooden spoon!) - and slowly pouring in the beaten egg in with the other. You want it to form 'ribbons'. The soup will thicken up beautifully.

Finish by adding the sesame oil and the spring onions. Stir through and serve. Delicious!

Aubergine Wrapped Spicy Chicken

This recipe came from the idea of a Turkish Chicken Beyti which is minced chicken wrapped in flatbreads and cooked in a sauce. Here I have omitted the bread, spiced up the chicken and wrapped it in griddled aubergine slices, before coating in a thick tomato and aubergine sauce.

Absolutely delicious served with zucchini couscous and very filling too!

Ingredients:

2 aubergines
a little oil
3 chicken breasts, roughly chopped
1-2 green chillies
2 cloves garlic
100g grated cheese

For the sauce:

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. paprika
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup water
400g tin tomatoes
salt & pepper

Method:

Slice the aubergines lengthwise. You want the biggest slices for rolling so choose about 12 total slices from the middle of the vegetables. The rest of the aubergine is going in the sauce so no waste.

Brush the aubergine slices with oil and griddle until softened - leave to cool on some kitchen paper. Griddle the leftover offcuts of aubergine and leave to one side. Put the chicken, chillies and garlic into a food processor and process until minced. To assemble the rolls, lay one softened aubergine slice in front of you on a board, with the wider bit towards you. Sprinkle with cheese and take a bit of the minced chicken and place on the wider end. Roll up and secure with a cocktail stick. Put into a roasting tray and continue until all rolled up.

Pop in the oven at 190 C for about 15 minutes, while you make the sauce.

Put the onion and garlic into a small saucepan and cook in a little oil for 5 minutes until softened. Add the paprika and tomato paste and stir in. Add the water and bring to the boil. Add the tomatoes and seasoning and cook for 10 minutes until thickened. Add the cooked leftover aubergine and take off the heat. Use a stick blender to blitz the sauce until smooth. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Take the chicken rolls out of the oven and gently remove the cocktail sticks. Pour the sauce over and around the rolls and pop back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Serve with rice or couscous.

Note: for the zucchini couscous, make up some couscous to pack instructions and add one grated courgette and half a small chopped red onion. Re-heat and serve.

Beef Rendang with Garlic Greens

We were watching TV last night and someone mentioned Malaysia. Now, The Bloke used to live in the Far East as an expat and also has done a fair bit of travelling in that area. I knew when he looked at me - that he wanted Malaysian for dinner. I told him.. "you just have to ask". So he did. "Beef Rendang, please".

So tonight, instead of the planned faggots (a favourite of mine) - we are having a flavourful Malaysian curry that is called Beef Rendang. If you haven't tried it yet, I urge you to give it a go. It truly has a flavour of its own.

Rendang can be from Indonesia or Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore. They all have their own ways of cooking it. I'm an Irish lass in London. And this is how I cook it. One of the things is the Malaysian way of adding the 'kerisik' which is the toasted and pounded coconut.

Ingredients:      (Serves 2-3)

For the paste:

5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 inch piece ginger, peeled
1 small onion
6 red birds eye chillies (seeds in if brave - I did!)
1 tsp. turmeric

The rest:

1 tbsp. oil
700g beef, cubed (make your choice - I used a very marbled sirloin)
6 kaffir lime leaves
1 stick lemongrass, bashed with a saucepan
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 tsp. sugar (palm sugar if you have it)
400ml coconut milk
120g desiccated coconut


Method:

Make the paste by putting all of the paste ingredients into a blender and blitzing. Put the oil into a heavy based pan and heat. Add the paste and cook slowly for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to cook. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, lime leaves and lemongrass. Stir.

Add 200ml of water, in 50ml at a time, letting the water cook down and evaporate each time. The sauce should reduce to be dry at this stage. Then add the beef and cook until its brown. Add the sugar and then a little of the coconut milk. Cook on a medium heat, adding more coconut milk when it becomes dry. (only add a little at a time). You may not need all of the coconut milk. Its a bit of a labour of love as you stand with it, its worth it - trust me!

For the kerisik, put the desiccated coconut into a dry frying pan and cook until browning. Put into a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder (you can miss out the grinding if you don't have the pestle and mortar).

The oil from the coconut milk in the curry will separate, so tip the pan so one side and spoon off some of the oil and discard. Now add a little water (a splash) and cook on a gentle heat. You want the curry to be thick and rich, with just a little sauce coating the meat. I add about half of the toasted coconut at this stage, as it makes a good body to the sauce.

Remove the lemongrass, star anise and cinnamon from the curry and serve the delicious rendang on a plate with steamed rice. Top the curry with more toasted coconut and add a wedge of lime.

Garlic Greens.

You can use any greens you like for this, but I had some brussel flowers, so I simply stir fried them for 5 minutes and then added loads of thinly sliced garlic and stir fried until the garlic was crisp. Heaven!

Sausage Cheesy Bean Casserole

This is a great way to make one pack of sausages serve 6-8 people. Its a delicious casserole with loads of flavour too. The sausage meat is mixed with Paxo stuffing (see note at bottom of page) and stuffed with a chunk of mozzarella - baked and then put into a tomato, pepper and baked bean casserole.

A cheap and cheerful dish that kids will love as much as the adults; its a proper comfort food too!

Ingredients:     (Serves 6-8)

400g pork sausage meat
80g dried Paxo stuffing (made up with water & cooled)
100g block (cooking) mozzarella, cubed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chilli flakes
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
400g tin tomatoes
200g baked beans
1 tbsp. tomato puree (paste)
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper


Method:

Set the oven to 220 C. Mix the sausage meat with the Paxo stuffing, garlic powder, chilli flakes and a little salt & pepper until combined. Take a small piece and roll in your hands. Flatten  and put a piece of cubed mozzarella in the centre. Seal the ball and roll well to seal. Place on a baking tray and continue until you have all your meatballs made up. Bake at 220 C for 10 minutes.

In a large casserole dish, fry the onion, garlic and peppers until soft. Add the puree, tomatoes, beans and bay leaves. Cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until thickened and bubbling.

Gently add the meatballs (its okay if some of the cheese has oozed). Spoon over the sauce to cover the meatballs and cook on a medium heat for about 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Serve with buttered crusty bread, creamy mash or boiled potatoes and enjoy!!

Note: Paxo stuffing is a typically British product. To make yourself - its just dried breadcrumbs, mixed with chopped sage, onion powder and water.

Rosemary Roasted Cauliflower & Smoked Bacon Soup

Three flavours that really hit the mark for me are rosemary, cauliflower and bacon. And I can think of so many ways to eat them, but it is still 'Soup Saturday'. Actually in all honesty, its Sunday, but yesterday I was far too busy being lazy to make soup. I woke up this morning and actually felt that I was missing something - it was guilt from not making soup the day before!

So I grabbed the cauliflower that has been sitting in the fridge for about a week and decided on a creamy soup with bits of bacon running thought it. I went into the garden to get some rosemary - and it has snowed in London. Quickly shutting the back door I set about making the soup. That'll warm us up!

Ingredients:         (Serves 4)

10 rashers smoked streaky bacon
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
3 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp. oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 litre vegetable stock (cube is fine)
150ml double cream
1 spring onion, sliced

Method:

Pop the oven on to heat at 180 C. Spread the cauliflower over a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tbsp. oil and sprinkle over the rosemary. Put in the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes.

Grill the bacon, dabbing at the fat as you occasionally turn it over, to make it nice and crispy. Break or slice into pieces and leave to one side.

In a large saucepan, gently fry the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the roasted cauliflower, bay leaves and stock and leave to cook on a low/medium heat for about 15 minutes. Then remove the bay leaves, take off the heat and use a hand blender to blitz the soup until its smooth.

Put the soup back on the heat and add the cream. Warm though and add some black pepper and the bacon.

Serve in a large bowl topped with some more bacon, spring onions and a dash of black pepper. Delicious! 

Ostrich Steak with Blueberry Sauce

I am so happy that more stores seems to be selling the less common meats like ostrich. Its such a healthy meat as it contains hardly any fat, is rich in iron and low in cholesterol.  And on top of that it has a lovely buttery aroma while its cooking and tastes delicious.

It works well simply pan fried, like a beef steak and goes with many different sauces. Here I happened to have a bag of frozen blueberries that were delivered in error, so I thought I'd make a sauce with them.

Ingredients:                (Serves 2)

2 ostrich steaks
1 small shallot, chopped finely
2 tbsp. oil
200g frozen blueberries, defrosted
250ml red wine
2 tbsp. honey
15g butter
salt & pepper

Method:

For the sauce, gently fry the shallot in half the oil. When the onion is soft, add the red wine with a quarter of a cup of water and bring to a boil. Let boil and reduce until you have about half of the amount of liquid left and its slightly thickened.

Add the blueberries and honey and turn to a simmer, with the lid half on. Leave to cook for a further 15 minutes. Stir in the butter and taste for seasoning.

Brush some oil on the ostrich steaks and season with a little salt & pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the steaks for about 2 minutes each side (you can have them a little rare if you like). Then let them rest on a board, under some foil for 2 minutes.

Serve the ostrich sliced with some creamy mashed potatoes, garlic spinach and lashings of blueberry sauce. Lovely!

Steak with Rocket & Asparagus Pasta Salad

This is a nice quick meal, perfect for after work. You can add anything you like to pasta salad and I try so many different flavours. Here I put in peppery rocket with blanched asparagus, pine nuts and a caesar dressing. Simplicity in itself. And a delicious pan fried steak simply seasoned with salt and pepper. It tastes so good sometimes just let the flavours speak for themselves.

Ingredients:

2 fillet steaks (or sirloin if you prefer)
200g pasta
100g asparagus tips
70g fresh rocket
1/2 red pepper, diced
30g pine nuts
70ml caesar salad dressing

Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente, about 15 minutes. Drain and put into a bowl with the red pepper. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch lengths and steam for 2 minutes. Refresh under cold water to keep its colour bright and fresh. Add to the pasta. Add the rocket & pine nuts and stir through. Then dress the salad with the caesar dressing. Season if needed with salt & pepper.

Lightly brush the steaks with a little oil and season with salt & pepper. Pan fry to your liking and slice. Place over the pasta as serve!

Easy Cream of Tomato Soup

Winter has definitely arrived and its cold in London. It still seems to be Soup Saturday (I have no idea when this started but I'm not bored with it yet - or had to make the same soup twice!). This Saturday, tomato soup. There are so many ways to make this, from roasting tomatoes, to using tinned. Here I done a mixture of both.

Ingredients:

1 onion, peeled & chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled & chopped
1 small carrot, peeled & chopped
1 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. tomato puree
400g tin tomatoes
800ml vegetable stock (cube is fine)
3 large tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar
50 ml double cream

Method:

In a saucepan, fry the vegetables in the oil gently for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add the tomato puree and stir in. Now add the tinned tomatoes, stock and large tomatoes and bring to the boil. Pop on the lid and turn the heat to a simmer and leave to cook for about 20 minutes.

Spoon out the tomatoes and remove the skins. Put the tomatoes back in and blitz the soup with a hand blender, until smooth. Put back on a gentle heat and season to taste with the salt, sugar and pepper. Finally stir through the cream and heat through. Serve and enjoy! 

Note: If you have a green stalk with the tomatoes, add it to the soup as its cooking and remove it just before blending. It has so much flavour (see picture below).

 

 

Cabbage and Bacon Soup

I would definitely put this soup under 'Irish Soup'. Cabbage and bacon are the flavours of Ireland to me and here it is simply made as a filling, tasty rustic soup. Simple ingredients you often have already in the fridge and quick to make, its a perfectly weekend lunch when the weather has a nip in the air.

Ingredients:

12 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
40g butter
1 litre chicken or veg stock (cube is fine)
1/2 small savoy cabbage, chopped
salt & pepper

Method:

Grill the bacon until crisp and set to one side. Melt the butter in a large pan and add the potatoes, onion and garlic. Get a piece of greaseproof paper and make a cartouche - cut the paper a bit larger than the diameter of the pan and screw it into a ball under the tap. Shake off excess water and place over the vegetables, like a blanket. Pop on the lid over the top and cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes.

Take off the lid and discard the greaseproof paper. Stir the veg and add the stock. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Take off the heat and use a hand blender to blitz to a smooth, creamy soup. Now put back on the heat and add the cabbage. Leave to cook on medium/low heat for about 7 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender and add the bacon, ripped into pieces.

Check for seasoning, I added pepper but you may not need salt because of the bacon.  Serve with bread and butter and enjoy!

Raspberry & White Chocolate Trifasu

Being the stickler for tradition that I am, every Christmas I always make a trifle. It goes back to being a child and watching my late father make one. It was his contribution to Christmas and a lovely memory. I decided for the first time in years to make something different so came up with a cross between a trifle and a tiramisu.

It not only turned out beautifully but was considerably quicker to put together. Delicious!

Ingredients:

12 sponge fingers
10 cl raspberry liqueur
80ml cherry juice
300g raspberries
250g double cream
250g ready made custard
3 tbsp. icing sugar, sieved
50g white chocolate

Method:

Whip the cream until stiff and stir in the custard and icing sugar. Set to one side. Chop half of the chocolate and 'flake' the rest with a sharp knife or potato peeler.

Pour the juice and liqueur into a bowl and dip the sponger fingers in quickly. You don't want to let the fingers soak in the liquid too much or become saturated.

Place half the sponge fingers into a serving dish and top with half of the raspberries and then the chopped chocolate. Then a layer custard cream. Then more sponge, the rest of the raspberries and then the custard cream - ending with the chocolate shavings. Refrigerate for 3 hours to set. and then serve!

Spaghetti with Pork & Butternut Squash Bolognese

Sometimes I love a good old 'spag bol'. Its not only the ultimate comfort food but also is a nice change during the Christmas period where you end up eating roast dinners for a week.

Last night I knew what I wanted and I was happy that the bolognese took about 10 minutes to put together. Then I left it to happily simmer while I relaxed and the flavours melded into a delicious light but meaty bolognese. Later on, The Bloke cooked the spaghetti and it was ready. Pretty easy, huh?

Ingredients:          (Serves 4)

500g pork mince
1 onion, peeled & chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
200g butternut squash, finely diced
1 small glass white wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp. tomato puree (paste)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
salt & pepper
400g spaghetti
parmesan to serve

Method:

Dry fry the pork mince in a saucepan (it usually has enough fat in it so doesn't need extra oil). When the meat is beginning to brown, add the onion, garlic and squash. Stir and cook on a medium high heat to cook the onions and mince. Then a small glass of white wine and cook on high until liquid mostly evaporated. Then add the tomatoes, herbs and seasoning. Stir, cover and put on a very low simmer for about 45-50 minutes. (It can be ready in 20 but it tastes better the longer it cooks).

Cook the spaghetti to pack instructions and serve with the bolognese. A good grating of parmesan is always nice too.

Note: Rather than spending excess on parmesan - give Grana Padano a try. Its less that half the price and tastes nearly exactly the same.