Super Summer Spud Salad with home-made mayo

Oh boy, do I love a bit of alliteration! Not only a super summer spud salad but also simple too. The magic here is in the Mayo. If you've never made it before, do it! Because it is way better than the jarred stuff, but it does contain raw yolks so be careful if your preggers, delicate or v young and make sure the eggs you use are as fresh as poss. Oh, and make sure you do it in a big enough bowl. I did not. It did not end well (half my kitchen is covered in it)!  
Ingredients
cold leftover boiled Potatoes, cut into chunks and seasoned with salt and pepper.
a few Rocket leaves, washed
1 large tomato, cut into chunks
1 spring onion, finely sliced
a good hand full of mint, chives and parsley, finely chopped
For the Mayo...                                                                 
2 egg yolks
250ml of sunflower (or other mild) oil
Juice of 1 lemon (and zest if you like)
2 heaped teaspoons (at least) of Dijon mustard


Method
Salad: Chuck the salad ingredients into a bowl and toss. Done.
Mayo: In a roomy bowl, whisk together the mustard, lemon juice and egg yolks. Slowly add the oil (you may require a glamorous assistant for this bit and if not, well done you, you are strong like ox) while whisking continuously. By the time all the oil is added the  mayonnaise should be thick and glossy. Taste and add more lemon and mustard if you like. Add some blobs to your salad and munch.


The Mayo will keep in the fridge for 2 days. This makes quite a large quantity (around 300ml) and unless you're a bit of a Mayo fiend like me, you may want to make only a half quantity. 

Lazy Sunday Bacon and potato Frittata

 Ingredients
4 small left over boiled new potatoes, sliced
4 eggs, beaten
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 spring onion, sliced
3 rashers of bacon, chopped
A knob of butter for frying
50g (approx) of cheddar, grated
Salt and pepper
To serve: rocket, basil, chives and parsley.


Method
Fry off the bacon bits in the butter over a 
medium-high heat 'til crispy
Add in the onions, potatoes and tomatoes
and fry for a further 5 mins, to allow the spuds
to absorb the bacon juices and bronze a little.
Add the beaten eggs to the pan and allow to 
stand on the heat for around 5 mins (small
 air pits should be forming) then put the whole
thing under a hot grill until the top becomes just
firm. Scatter with the grated cheese and allow it to melt before turning out onto a plate and slicing into quarters. Serve with a herb-heavy salad of Rocket, basil, chives and parsley.

Simon Hopkinson's Chocolate pot with ginger

This recipe is adapted from Mr Hopkinson's BBC show The good cook. It is beautiful. Try it! Best to make it the day before as waiting for them to chill seems like an eternity. I adapted it a little to what I had in the cupboard: using more cream rather than milk, a dribble of vanilla essence rather than a pod, castor sugar rather than icing sugar and I left out the ground ginger. Oh and I only cooked it for half an hour, but as he said your waiting for the crust to form: so when you see it, whip the pots out. I also changed the method a little bit. So if you'd like to peruse his recipe, check out the link above. Below is my shortened, slightly lazier version which will make 2 delightfully rich and smooth desserts.

Ingredients

• 125ml/4fl oz double cream
• half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 70g/2oz dark chocolate broken into chunks
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of castor sugar
• 1 chunk of preserved stem ginger, finely chopped 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.
2. Beat together the egg yolk & sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add the vanilla essence and cream and mix.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave and when completely liquid add the chocolate to the egg mixture, whisk quickly to blend to a gorgeous dark emulsion.
4. Place the chopped ginger into the bottom of the ramekins. Top with the chocolate mixture. Place the ramekins into a deep roasting tin and pour in enough hot water to come up to at least two-thirds up the side of the pots. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until a crust forms on the top and it feels slightly springy to the touch.
5. Remove the pots from the oven, allow to cool a little before extracting the pots from their water bath. Chill in the fridge for as long as you can bear (ideally at least six hours, one hour minimum) before serving.