Christmas Clementine Brandy Butter

A Merry Christmas to ya! Here's a little quick one to add just a smidge more Christmas spirit to your pud... Beautiful Brandy Butter. Brandy first came to England in the 17th century, where it was instantly adored, and not just by those who drank it. Governments saw it as a profitable source of revenue through customs duty and Cornish fishing ports saw it as prime cargo to smuggle. Throughout the country brandy butter became a well loved compliment to the Christmas pud and mince pies and is also fab served melting atop of other hot puddings. This recipe isn't especially heavy on the brandy so if you like a bigger kick, sacrifice the Clementine juice for more booze.

Ingredients
4 oz soft butter
3 tablespoons unrefined icing sugar
1 or 2 tablespoons of brandy
The finely grated zest and about 1 tablespoon of the juice of a Clementine
The zest of an orange and a lemon, finely grated
Method
Beat all the ingredients together thoroughly in a large bowl until pale and fluffy (with a lekkie hand whisk if you have one). It'll take a while to come together, but stick with it, it will.

Roasted chicken, pumpkin and red onion salad with sun-blush tomatoes, crumbled pecans & black sesame seeds

Ah the joy of left overs. This isn't quite a recipe, but more an amalgamation. A coming together of odds and sods from yesterdays roast and store cupboard staples. The leaf is what Tesco call "Bistro salad", then there's left over roast chicken, pumpkin and red onion, a few sun blush tomatoes, toasted pecans, black sesame seeds a spot of olive oil and some drips of balsamic vinegar. Very yummy indeed :).

Chorizo & Cherry tomato pasta

Fridge is kinda full of nothing.. Got some slices of Chorizo lurking in there though.. And a few almost overripe tomatoes hanging around.. Time for some superhero-stylee transformation. Tonight these 2 mild mannered malingerers have become something rather special. No need for a radioactive spider nor telephone box. Consider this recipe the super hero dressing chamber, where your spicy sausage is catapulted to super-sausage greatness. Without even a hint of spandex in sight (disappointingly)!

Ingredients
Half a red onion, finely sliced
1 dessert spoonful of olive oil
A little knob of butter
10 skinny slices of Chorizo, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
Half a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
A handful of Cherry tomatoes, halved (or 1 large tomato, chunked)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pasta (enough to quench your appetite)
Finely grated cheddar
Method
Get the pasta on in a big pan of water over a medium heat and cook according to the instructions on the pack. About half way through (if you're boiling dried pasta) chuck in a frozen spinach brick.
Meanwhile, sweat your onion in the oil, butter and a pinch of salt over a medium high heat, until just starting to brown (3-4 mins). Chuck in the Chorizo and fry until brown at the edges and turning crispy (3-4 mins). Turn the heat down slightly and add in the garlic, dried herbs and tomatoes. Fry for a further 4 mins. Season to taste. 
Drain and plate the pasta and spinach, grate a bit of cheddar over the top and cover in the chorizo and cherry tomato sauce.
Feeds 1. Prep time 3 mins. Cooking time 12 mins.

Feel better soon soup

This is a wonderful soup if you're feeling a touch under the weather. Jam-packed full of immune boosting ingredients, you'll be hard pressed to find yourself an easier and more healthful 1 pot meal. If you have a few shreds of chicken lying around chuck that in here too; a diced red chili and a few crushed peanuts would also be very happy additions.

Ingredients
400ml Chicken stock
Half an onion, finely sliced
A small clove of garlic, crushed
A half inch knob of ginger, grated
2 small carrots, peeled and sliced really thin
2 nests of brown rice noodles
A hand full of (frozen) sweetcorn 
A handful of (frozen) peas
A handful of (frozen) bean sprouts
A tablespoon of sesame oil
The juice and zest of half a lime
A tablespoon of soy sauce
A good handful of coriander, roughly chopped
A few snips of chives
A teaspoon of sesame seeds (I used the black ones)
A little bit of pickled ginger, if ya fancy
Method
Heat the stock in a large pan and bring up to a gentle simmer. Add in the onion, garlic, ginger, carrots (Use the veg peeler to create really thin slices), oil and soy. Allow to simmer for 5 mins, or until the carrot is just tender. Prep the noodles according to the instructions on the pack, chuck the frozen veg into the pan, and add in the noodles when they're ready. Bring back to the boil and add in the lime, herbs, seeds and top with a pinch of pickled ginger and a slice of lime. Serve immediately.
Prep time 5 mins. Cooking time 10 mins. Serves 2.

Kidney bean is king.. salad

I don't know about you, but I always do the same thing with beans. Which is chuck 'em into a sauce (i.e. chilli and baked). I'm not sure why, because, thinking about it, they are properly versatile. In fact...they just might be THE perfect receptacle! Protein, vitamin and fibre rich with a subtle flavour and pleasant texture, I think more should be done with the bean. And that's any bean. Especially the beans lurking at the back of your cupboard. They are destined for greatness, you just didn't know it until now. So, here's a little recipe to turn the humble bean into a rock star in the blink of an eye, a la X factor.  

Ingredients
1 can of red kidney beans (or other beans of choice) cooked in the microwave according to the instructions.
Half a red onion, finely sliced
Juice of half a lime
A handful of Cherry tomatoes, halved
A handful of Walnuts, roughly chopped
Left over boiled potatoes (if you have any), cubed
Small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt & black pepper to taste
Method
Put the sliced onion in a small bowl and squeeze over the lime juice, add a little salt and leave for 5mins.
Then chuck everything in together and toss it about a bit. Stand back and admire the ease. Get fork. Consume.
Prep time 5 mins. Cooking time 2 mins. Feeds 1. 

Double choc coconut spelt muffins

Need a little smackerel of something sweet? A weekday teatime treat? Well alright, here you are then. These super quick (and quite delicious!) muffins are the perfect answer. This recipe only makes 6, but if you want a full dozen just double up.

Ingredients
1 egg
Sugar equal in weight to the egg
Soft Butter, equal in weight to the sugar 
White Spelt flour, equal in weight to the butter
2 tablespoons of dessicated coconut
Half a teaspoon of baking powder
2 teaspoons of good quality cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
75g of chocolate, roughly chopped
A pinch of salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 175oC (fan). 
Weigh your egg. You'll need the same weight as the egg, of butter, sugar and flour. 
Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl with a wooden spoon, until well combined and pale. Add in the egg and beat. Add in the remaining ingredients except the chocolate and salt, and mix to combine. Divide between 6 muffin cases. Sprinkle over each batter filed case, some chocolate chunks and a couple grains of salt. Bake in a preheated oven for about 15 mins, or until the top is firm and springy and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.  


Makes 6 muffins. Prep time 5 mins. Cooking time 15 mins.

Review of Roast, Borough market

After a beverage at the Old Thameside Inn, which is a lovely pub btw, we trundled over to Roast, above borough market. I was so looking forward to eating here, and couldn't believe our luck when they had a table available.  It was heaving. This was a Friday night in central London after all. We had to sit in the bar area, but as it turns out, it’s really not so different to the restaurant area. There are just some people standing around, at the bar and what not, and the chairs are lower and not so good for anyone who has back issues! Anyway, we were in. Piano music was drifting across the bar and the hum of people who had been drinking fancy cocktails was gradually rising. 

Roast markets itself as classical British food using brilliant British ingredients. And it absolutely is those things. The ingredients were the highest quality and were cooked perfectly in a traditional manner. We sat down to the fried duck egg and duck livers with smoked black pudding and baked Dorset crab with Berkswell cheese to start, and followed those with slow braised pig’s cheeks with parsnip mash and roast Yorkshire Grouse with Damson jelly, game chips and gravy. All of which were good, but seemed to lack the little jet of excitement and seasoning! That is apart from the crab, which was particularly salty.

The great seller for Roast is the view, so try and make it for lunch if you’re going to visit. So you can watch the hoards of people bustle through the market place below. The ambiance is also fantastic. The service however is mediocre and the real sticking point for me was the lack of interest on the plate and the simplicity for the price they’re charging. For the amount charged I would expect a little more going on, a little something exciting. For 2 courses, for 2 people, without any drinks or sides, came to about £100. But judging by the number of people they couldn’t seem to seat on time, I’m sure they will not be missing my custom, not even a bit.

Roast

The Floral Hall

Stoney Street

London SE11 1TL

Tel for reservations 0845 034 7300

Roasted chicken breast stuffed with herbs, garlic & mushrooms

When the parental unit comes back bright and early from a country walk laden with a glut of field mushrooms, you know it's going to be a good day. Mushrooms for brekkie along side local free range double yolkers, bacon, home grown tommies and lashings of ketchup! Mushrooms on spelt bread toast for lunch. And mushroom risotto; no soup; no...stuffed into chicken breasts. O yes! Happy Happy Happy. 

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (skin on if poss)

250g chestnut mushrooms

1 large clove of garlic

1 small onion, finely chopped

30g butter

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

salt & pepper

dribble of olive oil

Method

First make a herb butter. Melt half the butter in a frying pan with a little olive oil to stop the butter burning. Add in the onion and cook slowly over a medium heat until softened. Add in the garlic, sage and rosemary and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Increase the heat slightly and add in the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Allow this to cook for about 3 minutes or until the mushrooms are just tender. There should be little liquid left at this point. Set aside to cool and then mix with the remaining butter and fresh thyme. Taste and season if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 180oc (fan), 200oc (conventional), GM6. Cut a pocket into the chicken breast, as deep as possible, without breaching the other side. Fill this pocket with as much of the mushroom mixture as it'll hold. You may want to secure the sides together with a cocktail stick once full. Place on a baking tray and rub the tops with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 25 mins or until cooked through. Then remove from the oven and allow to rest covered for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 2. 15 mins prep. 30 mins cooking time.

Pics from walks in Somersetshire this weekend

I couldn't resist putting a few of these photos up. Somerest is gorgeous all year round but especially on an Autumnal morning. These pics show Wayford Woods and the surrounding area.

Chilli Con Carne with Chilli Cheddar Dumplings

This is my absolute favourite time of year. The time for hats, scarves and that heavy winter coat has come. Seeing your breath in the morning. Listening to the leaves crackle under foot and drinking a little too much mulled cider/wine/whatever! Venturing out into the darkest of frost-bitten evenings to see the world set aflame with the whizz-bang-pops of gunpowder and returning to the comforting glow and warmth of the inside world. Evenings at this time of year surely must be filled with foods that are delicious and heavy. Comfort food. And chilli is a prime example.

Ingredients
Chilli Con Carne
500g stewing beef, cut into inch-ish chunks
2 tins of plum tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
50g of Chorizo, diced
1 red chilli (or 1 - 2 teaspoons of dried chilli flakes)
1 heaped teaspoon of paprika
1 heaped teaspoon of cumin
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 bell pepper, preferably red, cut into chunks
1 beef stock cube
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of Veg oil
Salt and pepper
Garnish with a sliced spring onion and some grated cheddar
Chilli cheese Cornbread dumplings
2 oz fine corn meal (the yellow stuff)
1 oz white spelt flour (or white wheat flour if you're so inclined)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 egg
2 fl oz of milk
2 tsp of plain yoghurt
1 small red (very hot!) chilli, diced
50g of grated cheddar


Method
Chilli - Start by frying off the onion in a little veg oil and salt until translucent over a medium heat in a heavy bottom saucepan or casserole dish (something suitable for hob and oven cooking). The salt will draw out the moisture out of the onion and help it cook a bit quicker. Throw in the chorizo, paprika and cumin and fry for a further couple of minutes. Turn up the heat and add the beef. Brown stirring often to ensure it doesn't catch on the bottom. Remove from the heat and add in the remaining ingredients. Stir well and return to the heat. When it has come back to the boil, cover with a lid (tin foil will work too) and place in a preheated oven at 170oC for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Dumplings - Just before the 2 hour mark, prep the cornbread mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Remove the chilli pot from the oven and take off the lid. Blob the cornbread mixture around the edge of the pot, replace the lid and return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Like a cake when the cornbread is done it will be dry and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and serve immediately garnished with some spring onion, grated cheese and a smidge more chilli if you can handle it!

Curry Spiced Pumpkin chips

Last week I bought a pumpkin and discovered when I got it home that I don't know what to do with a pumpkin! So, it waited. I plotted, made up my mind and changed my mind. And in the end it became a pan fried pasta topper, a sumptuous savoury soup and this, (by far the winner) chips!

Ingredients
A medium pumpkin, deseeded, peeled and cut into long chips
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of cardamon seeds (you'll need to bash the pods a bit to get the seeds out)
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of ground tumeric
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of dried garlic flakes (or 1 fresh clove, crushed)
2 teaspoons of rock salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper corns
A good glug of olive or sunflower oil
Method
Start preheating the oven to 175oC.
Toast the spice seeds in a hot dry pan. They'll only need a couple of minutes once the pan is hot and keep moving them around so that they don't burn. Remove from the heat when the fragrance is resonating from the pan. Then bash them using a pestle and mortar along with the salt, pepper, tumeric, garlic (a food processor will do the job too). 
Arrange the pumpkin on a large baking tray and drizzle over about 4 tablespoons of oil and then the spice mix. Toss to ensure everything is well coated. Bake for 30 mins. Serve hot.


Prep time 10 mins. Cooking time 30 mins. Serves 2 on its lonesome, 4 as a side dish.

Food for thought: The Ham Sandwich

Here follows a little snippet of something I read today by Andy Hodgson.

Make yourself a meal. Something easy. OK, so you haven't got the time or the necessary ingredients. A sandwich then, at least. Can you do a sandwich? Everyone can do a sandwich. Good. Go on. Any kind of sandwich. A ham sandwich, maybe. Obviously not if you're Jewish or Muslim. Have you done it? OK. Put it on a plate. Now, contemplate your sandwich. You know what's in it? Ham, and bread, right, and maybe some margarine and mayonnaise?
Wrong.
What you've got on your plate is water, salt, modified potato starch, dextrose, gelatine, carboxymethylcellulose, paprika extract, tri- and poly-phosphates, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium ascorbate, and spice extracts. And that's just the ham, 'packaged in a protective atmosphere for freshness', if you're lucky.
You ever think of converting?
What is all this shit? Do you know? Are you interested? You're eating it every day. Have you ever even thought about it? No, probably not. It's like everything else. No one thinks about anything until that Thing comes up and hits them in the face with a piece of 2" x 4".
I have been trying to explain this to my social worker and my psychiatrist: a ham sandwich is not merely ham and bread.

Beef in black bean sauce

Feeling a little bit uninspired this evening. So jar sauce it is. But a little extra effort tarts it up a shed load. Add in a diced red onion, thinly sliced red pepper, a handful of curly kale and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds. Dinner, (courtesy of Sharwoods), done.

Victoria Sponge

The classic British teatime treat. If us Brits were to be represented by a baked good, this would be it. Perhaps a little plain, possibly even pedestrian, but smart in it's simplicity, truly iconic and packing a punch in sheer awe inspiring delightfulness. 

The secret lies in the simplicity: listen to the eggs, they are wise, do what they tell you! I am in search of cake recipes without wheat that are as good as the ones with it. I cant tolerate wheat. I mean my insides cant, not that it just fecks me off. Well, actually it does. It's in everything good! Anyway, the flour I used here was 4/5 corn flour & 1/5 ground almonds. Thus, it's entirely gluten free. Happy days. And the result is light, moist and beautiful (even if I do say so myself), though a touch delicate, so take extra care when your slicing. 


This is the only time I'll advocate dusting a cake (or anything else for that matter) with icing sugar. I usually feel that, a load of sugar has already gone into the cake batter, and that bit extra on top really doesn't do anything for the flavour. So if I must dust, my weapon of choice is cocoa powder (make sure it's a good one, like Green & Black's). Not only does it bring an extra element of flavour, but it's a much better camouflage for any imperfections! However, the Victoria Sponge is somewhat of a legend and who am I to argue with tradition. So this rare beauty gets its icing sugar veil. 


Ingredients
2 Eggs (weigh them in their shells).
Butter, equal in weight to the eggs.
Flour, equal in weight to the butter.
Sugar, equal in wieght to the flour.
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon of baking powder.
At least 150ml of whipping cream, whipped!
A generous tablespoon or 2 (or 3!) of Jam.
1 or 2 teaspoons of Icing sugar, the natural golden variety is splendid.


Method
Preheat the oven to 180oC/350F/gas mark 4.
Beat the butter until soft and add in the sugar. Beat vigorously until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs in, one by one, mixing as constantly as you can. 
Add in the vanilla. Mix. 
Sift in the flour and fold to combine.
At this point if the mixture drops easily off a spoon, then it's perfecto. However, if it stubbornly sticks to the spoon add a tablespoon of milk (or cream, or water will even do the trick) to loosen the mixture just a little.
Pour the batter into a cake tin, from as low as you can so that as little air is knocked in the process as possible.
Smooth the top of the mixture, so that it's spread evenly in the tin.
Bake for 25-30 mins, (or until the toothpick test comes out clean).
Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, cut the cake in half along it's midriff. Fill with your jam of choice (raspberry is the traditional option) and heaps of softly whipped cream. Give the top a dusting of icing sugar, and sit the cake atop a doily, if you like, for just a little bit of kitchy charm.
Present to your family/friends/colleagues with massive smug grin :). 

Spot of Cheese on toast

Well, actually I suppose it's just a little bit more than cheese on toast... It's grilled ham, goat's cheese, tomato, walnuts, fresh coriander & thyme on a toasted wheat-free pitta bread. Usually I'd be against any sort of supermarket-bought wheat-free bread, (because it's actually tasteless, hard & disgusting - akin to a mouthful of sand one might say) but Pitta is ok. It can be really REALLY dry, but if you give it a quick, but thorough, run under the tap before you grill it, it'll give it just enough moisture to gain some distance from hot cardboard. Make sure you grill both sides a bit before putting anything on top, otherwise it'll be soggy.

Why is it called a "Conference" pear?

I'll tell you why.. it all begins waay back at a Victorian nursery called Rivers of Sawbridgeworth. Bred out of a belgian cooking pear, the Leon le Clare de Laval. The first orchard was planted in 1895, in Kent. Mr River's was so pleased with his creation that he exhibited it at the International Pear Conference (yes indeed) in Chiswick (obviously!). Here, it was awarded the only 1st class certificate and so, the judges requested it be named in honour of the occasion, and so it was.

Roasted Gammon with peas, mashed potatoes & caramelised onions and apples

I wouldn't normally buy gammon or know what to do with it really. In fact, I wasn't entirely sure what it was (aside from Pork). So I did a touch of research and the BBC tells me that it is meat from the hind legs of the pig, which is cured in the same manner as bacon and that once cooked may be deemed Ham, and that (the cooking) it seems is the only difference.
The rule for cooking a hunk of ham, neigh Gammon, like this is to give it 30 mins for each 500g and then 30 mins more, plus a little resting time once it's out of the oven. 
I never cook peas as such, just warm them by submerging them in freshly boiled water from the kettle, draining and then repeating once more. I find it's really easy to overcook them, so this way that risk is never run and they're little beauts every time. Course it does depend on which peas you purchase. Older ones will need a bit of cooking, but if you've got Petit Pois in your freezer, this is ideal. If you'd prefer a proper smooth gravy, then just mash the contents of the roasting pan with a fork, (after removing the ham - that'd be fairly difficult to mash I'd imagine) add in a cup of veg stock and reduce by half over a medium heat on the stove top, or get the Bisto out!

Ingredients
1 kg piece of (unsmoked) Gammon
300g potatoes per person, washed well & cut into inch chunks
30g (ish) butter 
A splash of milk (probably about 10ml, any variety will do)
1/2 a cup of peas per person
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 red onion, top n tailed, peeled & quartered
1 small glass of red wine
1/2 glass of good apple juice
1 sprig of Rosemary
2 cloves
salt and pepper


Method
Preheat the oven to 190oC. Put the apple, onion, garlic, wine, juice & rosemary in a roasting dish. 
Score into the rind and fat on the top of the ham about half way through & stud with the cloves. Rest the gammon on top of the roasting dishes contents. Sprinkle over a little salt & cover loosely with tin foil. Place in the preheated oven for 1 hour. When this is up, remove the tin foil and cook for a further 30 mins. Remove from the oven entirely and allow to rest for at least 15 mins. 
At the point of foil removal, start cooking the spuds in a big pan of water, (with a lid on) over a medium high heat. These will take about 15 mins depending on the potatoes you use. Check "done-ness" by poking a knife into one, if it goes in there easily, and drops off when you lift it up, its looking good. 
Once done, drain and mash with the butter and milk. Replace the lid if you're still waiting for the gammon. Cook the peas by boiling, microwaving or submergence as above. 
After allowing the ham to rest, slice into skinny strips. Pile high atop the mash and peas and allow a couple spoonfuls each of the pan juices.


 Pre time 15 mins. Cooking time 1 hr & 30 mins. 1 kg of ham will easily serve at least 4.

Risotto Milanese with Butternut squash & Goat's cheese

Risotto is a bit of a winter wonder. Gloriously comforting and flavourful and can be the base for pretty much anything or the whole main show. The title isn't entirely accurate as Risotto Milanese usually has saffron in it, but I didnt have any..Doh! So if you have it, put in a pinch (after the wine time). 

Ingredients
1 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
100g butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
ground black pepper
Arborio rice (about 75g per person)
A small glass of dry White Wine
400 ml (ish) Chicken or Veg Stock
25g Parmasan, finely grated
Butternut squash, peeled, deseeded & cut into inch-ish chunks
Method
Put the squash in the oven at 190oC and cook for about an hour or until bronzed and squashable (see what I did there?!). About half an hour in, start on the risotto.
Heat the stock in a saucepan over a medium heat.
Sweat the onion in a little butter and the oil over a medium heat, until translucent. Add in the garlic. Stir. Allow the garlic to colour a little before adding in the rice. Let this fry for a couple of minutes and absorb the oils in the pan.  
Add in the wine. Allow this to boil off completely, stirring regularly. Then start adding in the stock, about half a cup at a time. Allow the liquid to boil off almost completely before adding in the next half cupful, stirring regularly. 
When the rice is soft, but still with a bit of bite, remove from the heat and sprinkle over the cheese and remaining butter. Cover with a lid and allow it to sit undisturbed for 5 mins. 
Remove the squash from the oven. 
Chuck in some ground black pepper in with the rice, stir and plate up. Top with leaf, the squash, some crumbled soft goats cheese and the seeds of the squash (these will need washing and toasting under a hot grill - careful though, they will burn quick). 


Serves 2. Prep time 10 mins. Cooking time 1 hour. 

Broccoli, spinach & Stilton soup with walnuts & toasty Rye bread

Got a sad, down trodden, dry, discoloured bit of broccoli sitting in your fridge? Almost bin-worthy but not quite? Do not despair! This IS the way to see it off in style.

Ingredients (for 1 bowl)

Half a head of broccoli

1 brick of frozen spinach

10g Stilton plus a little extra to garnish

Ground Black pepper

A few tablespoons of stock or cooking water

A small knob of butter

4 or 5 walnuts, crumbled

Method

Cut the broccoli into florets and slice the stem. Chuck into a pan of salted boiling water, with the frozen spinach and cover with a lid. Boil for about 5 mins over a medium heat, until the broccoli is soft (the broccoli should be just a little bit overcooked, so it will break up easily and form a lovely smooth soup). 

Place the cooked broccoli and spinach in a blender with 3 or 4 tablespoons of stock or the veg water. Add the butter and Stilton and blend well. Add a little more liquid if it seems too thick. Pour into a bowl and serve immediately alongside slices of toast, garnished with the crumbled walnuts and a little more Stilton.

Prep time 5 mins. Cooking time 5 mins.

Speedy Roast Garlic and Lime chicken with sweet potatoes

This is sooo flipping tasty and much quicker than cooking a chicken in the normal way. If you cut the chicken down it's back bone with some sharp kitchen scissors and flatten the bird out on the roasting tray as much as possible, and slash it at its thickest parts (ie across the breast and thighs) it'll cook in a flash (wel, a bit quicker). Mine weighed just under one and a half kilos, which Delia recommends cooking for about an hour an a half and then rest for a half hour, whereas, using the slashing technique my chuck was done after an hour and I rested it for about 20 mins. Plus these incisions create pockets which your flavourings can be stuffed into (Garlic and butter here). 

Ingredients
A chicken
A large sweet potato, peeled and cut into hefty chunks
A red onion, top n tailed and halved
1 Lime, quartered
2 small cloves of garlic, bruised & sliced
A large knob of butter
Olive oil
Salt


Method
Preheat the oven to 190oC.
Prep the sweet spuds & onion and place on a large roasting tray.
Remove the butchers string from the chicken (if there is any) and cut the chicken at the thickest parts of it's breast and thighs, about an inch deep and on the opposite side, cut from top to tail following the line of the backbone. Place on a large roasting tray and using the heel of your palm, flatten the bird out as much as possible. Squeeze the Lime sections over the bird and place under the carcass. (I would've used a lemon, but I didn't have one). The steam emanating from these during cooking will give a subtle citrus accent to the meat. Stuff the cuts in the breast and thigh with a little butter and a slice or two of garlic. Drizzle the trays contents with olive oil and then season with salt.
Place in a preheated oven for 1 hour (a bigger bird may need a little longer). Once this time is up, remove the tray from the oven and allow the bird to rest for 20-30 mins (longer is fine) before serving. 

Fancy fruit with yoghurt, speedy berry compote, pistachio nuts, black sesame seeds and coconut

Not really a recipe, just a lot of fruit thrown together and a super simple berry compote chucked over the top. But it looked pretty, so I thought I'd put it up (and my mum, can rest safe in the knowledge that I get some vitamins).

In here, you will find...
1 pear, 2 plums, half an orange, a generous blob of plain Greek yoghurt, berry compote (a hand full of frozen berries, cooked for about a minute, in 20 sec bursts in the microwave from frozen, then mashed with a fork and a squish of honey), chopped raw pistachio nuts, black sesame seeds and a little sprinkle of dessicated coconut. Not a bad breakfast really.

Black pudding (and possibly sausage) pasta

This one is not a looker, but for tastiness its a 5 star.


Ingredients
1 onion, diced
100g of black pudding, cut into chunks or 2 sausages per person or both
1 small courgette, cut into chunks
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tin of plum tomatoes
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
Dried herbs such as Thyme, Sage, half a teaspoon of each (or 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs)
Half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and paprika
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan to serve


Method
Sweat the onions in a large pan over a medium heat for around 5 mins. Add in the black pudding and sausages. Allow the sausages to colour before adding in the courgette and garlic. Fry for a further 3 mins, to allow the garlic to release its fragrance. Then add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and spices. Stir, breaking up the plum tomatoes as you go. Allow to simmer for 10 mins. Serve hot over freshly cooked pasta.

Milk chocolate & Macadamia nut chunk soft-baked spelt cookies

These are the cookies of my dreams! Yes, my dreams are filled with sugar. If you like big, fat, soft, chewy, sticky, sweet cookies, (like you get in the supermarket or at Subway), get these in your oven, fast. The knack of producing the soft, chewy-ness is in the baking time, so make sure that you don't over bake, by checking them every minute or so after the 7 minute mark has passed.

Ingredients


125g Spelt flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
85g butter, melted
100g soft brown sugar
50g castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
100g cooking milk choc
50g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped


Method 


Preheat the oven to 170oC.
Mix together the butter and sugars & add the
vanilla and egg. Mix.
Stir in the flour, bicarb & salt. 
Finally, add in the choc & nuts and mix.
Drop the mixture in teaspoon sized, roughly round blobs, onto a baking sheet covered in baking paper. Leaving a good gap between each one, as they'll spread out a good couple of inches either way during cooking.
Bake for 10-15 mins.

These little beauties are especially good served warm, with a glass of milk and will keep well for about a week in an airtight container (if they last that long).


Makes about 14 cookies. 
Prep time 20 mins
Cooking time 10-15 mins 

Nigel Slater's Pumpkin pan fry

Anticlimax, I believe is the correct description. Looked good, but tasted so meh! I think I ruined it by grilling the bread crumbs so that they were crispy. Had they had some softness, it would have probably have been a lot more edible. I adapted the recipe from Nigel Slater, (Pumpkin Pan fry). I cant fault the man for his food passion and ingenuity for making the most of leftovers and I must admit I usually do love love love Mr Slater's recipes, but this one just didn't do it for me. I just cant really get my head around bread crumbs as a meal. I'm trying to be open minded and I really want to like it, but I cant, I'm sorry Nigel. But, hey, you cant win them all. It's like tripe, I really want to like it, but then there's the texture and that weird taste that congers images of cow-pats. Anyway, I digress, (and if you're not peckish now, see a doctor, I suspect there may be something wrong with you!), to conclude, not a winner, but here's the recipe, just in case you're curious.

Ingredients
300g Butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into inch-ish chunks
1 red onion, top and tailed and cut into quarters
Olive oil
4 rashers of streaky bacon
A handful of fresh thyme leaves
2 small garlic cloves, squashed
A knob of butter
Half a Rye loaf, blitzed in a food processor to course crumbs
A handful of pine nuts, toasted
A few cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt & pepper


Method
Place the squash, onion & garlic in a roasting tin, drizzle over olive oil, season and roast in a preheated oven at 180oC for about 30 mins, or until the squash is softened and brown around the edges. Set aside.
Fry the bacon with the butter in a large pan over a medium-high heat until crispy. 
Finely chop the roasted garlic and add this to the pan. Stir. 
Add in the bread crumbs, pine nuts, roasted veg and tomatoes and fry until the tomatoes have relaxed (and by that I mean, they are starting to release their skins) and the bread crumbs have absorbed all the cooking juices. 
Sprinkle in the fresh thyme and serve immediately.
Serves 2. Prep time 10 mins. Cooking time 45 mins. Tasty rating 2*.