Rocket pesto (serves 6) This is a lovely rocket pesto that involves a few added ideas, which gives a result of a really nice balance of texture and flavour. 500g of spaghetti 50g rocket A big handful of basil 50g of unsalted pistachios toasted in a dry pan till browned 50g of pine nuts toasted in a dry pan till browned 3 garlic cloves peeled 100mls olive oil 75g of grated parmesan cheese 1 lemon juiced and zested Get a pot of salted boiling water. Blend the rocket, basil, half the pistachios, half the pine nuts, garlic and lemon zest. Add the lemon juice, a splash of water and then slowly incorporate the olive oil while still blending until you end up with a paste. If you don't have a blender you can chop the dry ingredients, use a pestle motor to bash them into a paste before whisking through the wet ingredients (don t forget to season the paste before you move on). Next, wrap the other half of the toasted nuts in a tea-towel and bash them until you get thick crumbs. Add your spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes until cooked. Use a pair of tongs to transfer the spaghetti to a large bowl (do not throw away the pasta water), then add the rocket pesto mixture and stir through. Add a small touch of pasta water to make the pasta nice and silky. Serve on a large plate or platter, sprinkle with the toasted nuts and grate a bit more parmesan over the top. Serve at the table and enjoy.
Fluffy blueberry pancakes (serves 4-6) So, you want to make your pancakes rise? You want them to be fluffier than pillows? This recipe has the correct elements to achieve that. Just remember, once you have made the batter, make sure you do not leave it sitting there for a long period of time. Otherwise, the air and co2 will escape and your pancakes will not rise to be nice and fluffy. gently folding through with a spatula or 200mls of buttermilk 100mls milk 110g of sour cream 250 grams of plain flour ½ teaspoon of baking powder 2 egg yolks 2 egg whites 2 teaspoons of sugar A pinch of salt 125g blueberries Butter for frying Sift the flour and baking powder twice. In a clean, dry bowl and whisk, beat the egg white until foamy. This means almost soft peaks but not quite. Whisk the buttermilk, the milk, sour cream, flour, baking powder, egg yolk, sugar and salt together in a bowl until well combined. Add the foamy egg white to the buttermilk mixture, and incorporate by wooden spoon. Once well combined, add the blueberries and then slowly stir through. Now remember, try and work through these next steps fairly quick because the longer you leave that batter, the less fluffy your pancakes will be. Get a preferably non-stick pan on medium heat, then add a knob of butter. Once the butter is foaming add about 2-3 tablespoons of the batter to the pan for one pancake (don't spread the pancake out too much). Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until lightly golden brown. If your butter is starting to go a bit dark, take the pan off the heat, grab some kitchen paper with a pair of tongs and wipe the butter off the pan. Then you can return to frying your pancakes. Once all your pancakes are done, you can serve them with honey, maple syrup, a dusting of icing sugar, fresh berries and the list goes on. Make it personal (; Enjoy!
So you want to make a cheats pizza? Do not use this pre-made pizza bases, use flat breads, it works so much better. See for yourself. Flat bread cheat pizza (serves 3-4) 3 large flat breads 350g of tinned tomatoes 1 brown onion chopped 1 red onion sliced 2 garlic cloves chopped 1 handful of sage leaves picked 150g of prosciutto/parma ham Olive oil 100g of bocconcini torn ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes 100g Sour cream ½ a lemon juiced A pinch of sugar Salt and pepper for seasoning Pre-heat oven to 210 degrees Celsius. Whisk your sour cream and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside. Bring a pot or large pan to medium-high heat on the stove, add a glug of olive oil and then start frying off your brown onions, garlic and chilli flakes for about 2-3 minutes (make sure you only sweat the onion and garlic, not brown them). Next, add your tinned tomatoes and use your spoon to break up the whole tomatoes. Once the tomato sauce is boiling bring the heat down and simmer and let it bubble for about 4-5 minutes. Add your sugar and a pinch of salt and pepper to the tomato sauce, turn the heat off and set aside. Get your flat breads ready on a tray lined with baking paper (you don t have to cook all the pizzas together in one go). Start topping your pizzas just before your about to put them in the oven and start by only adding a light layer of the sauce otherwise the bread will go soggy. Then, add your mozzarella, sage leaves, red onion and prosciutto. Make sure the toppings are nicely spread out evenly. Cook in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until crispy on the edges and the cheese is golden brown on top. Once the pizza is done, use a spoon to drizzle the sour cream mixture over the top. Cut the pizza into whatever sized portions you like, serve and enjoy.
When you make the paste for a Thai curry yourself, you are taking things to a whole new level. Thai red curry (serves 4) Paste: Curry: 8-10 dried chillies Thumb size piece of galangal or ginger as an alternative peeled and roughly chopped Half a stalk of lemon grass roughly chopped 2 kaffir lime leaves 1 bunch of coriander springs 1 shallot peeled and roughly chopped 3 garlic cloves peeled 1 tablespoon of shrimp paste 1 teaspoon of ground cumin 1 flat teaspoon of salt Rice: 1kg chicken breasts cut into thin strips 1 teaspoon sugar 600ml coconut milk 200g Green beans topped and tailed 200g bamboo shoots 1 bunch of coriander leaves Vegetable oil 2 teaspoons of fish sauce 350g jasmine or basmati rice (try with the other cup later on) Salt Rice: Add all the ingredients to a pot with plenty of water (more than double the ratio to rice). Then, put the pot on high heat and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling turn the heat down to a simmer and stir occasionally for 8-10 minutes until cooked. Heat up again when ready to serve with the curry. The red curry paste: Get a wok or pot on medium-high heat, then (without any oil) add your galangal/ginger, dried chillies, lemon-grass, kaffir lime leaves, shallots and garlic cloves. Dry fry these ingredients for a few minutes until they start to colour and you can smell the aroma the being released (be careful not to burn the ingredients). Transfer the dry fried ingredients with the coriander springs to a food processor and blend until you get a smooth paste. Add a dash of oil or Thai red curry: coconut milk if the ingredients need help to blend. If you do not have a food processor you can use a pastel mortar. Just be patient and it will take 5-10 minutes to bash into a paste. Heat the wok/pot up again on medium-high and then add a glug of vegetable oil. Add about 2 tablespoons of curry paste. The rest of your curry paste should keep in the fridge for about a week. Fry the paste for about a minute then add your chicken and continue to fry for another 2-3 minutes to give it some colour. Next, add the coconut milk, turn the heat up and bring to the boil. Once the coconut milk is boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for approximately 3-4 minutes. Add your beans, bamboo shoots, sugar and fish sauce then stir through for about 3-5 minutes. Finally, turn the heat off and stir through the coriander leaves. Serve with the rice and enjoy.
Warm potato salad (serves 4) I had to put at least one salad in here. But I wanted it to be a salad that fills you up, and I wanted to show that salads don't have to be boring. 1.2kg of royal blue potatoes cut into thick dices 150g creme fraiche 5g of dill picked and roughly chopped 1 handful of coriander roughly chopped 100g capers 1 red onion sliced thin 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar Salt for seasoning Black cracked pepper (you could grind black peppercorns yourself if you have them) for seasoning Put your red wine vinegar and sliced onions in a small bowl or container. Just use your hands to massage the vinegar into the onion. Set aside. Get a pot of salted water, add the potatoes, bring to the boil and blanch until cooked. This should take about 15-20 minutes. You can stick a small knife in one of the larger dices of potato, and if it goes through with no resistance, and the potato slides off the knife without having to pull it, the potato is cooked. Drain the potatoes and then transfer into a large bowl Once the potatoes have cooled down and are warm rather than hot, add your crème fraiche, 3 quarters of the dill. 3 quarters of the coriander, capers, a pinch of salt and a pinch of black cracked pepper. Grab your onions and squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can, then add to the salad. Thoroughly mix everything in the bowl, and then serve in a salad bowl or large platter. Finish by sprinkling the salad with the rest of the dill and coriander and enjoy.
Salmon with cannellini beans and herb sauce (serves 4) I took a slightly more modern approach instead of doing a classic dish when designing this seafood recipe. I hope you all like it. Olive oil 4 salmon portions with skin, scaled if need be (use your knife to scrape the scales off the skin, then give the salmon a rise to clean it) 1.2 kg tinned/jarred cannellini beans drained and rinsed 250g cherry tomatoes halved A handful of sage chopped 2 garlic cloves peeled and sliced Salt and pepper for seasoning Herb sauce: 2 big handfuls of parsley chopped 2 big handfuls of basil chopped 4 whole garlic cloves peeled 4 tablespoons of olive oil Half a lemon zested and juiced Salt and pepper for seasoning Beans: Herb sauce: Get a frying pan on medium heat, add a good glug of olive oil then add your garlic and sage. Fry for about 30 seconds-1minute. Next, Add your cherry tomatoes and fry for another 30 seconds. Finally add your cannellini beans and a pinch of salt and pepper, and then mix/toss all the ingredients together. Transfer to a bowl and add a dash more olive oil, then season to taste to make sure you have enough seasoning. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Get your garlic cloves on a lined baking tray, then drizzle and coat the garlic cloves with some olive oil. Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Take out of the oven then place in a pestle mortar, along with the parsley, basil, lemon zest and a good pinch of salt. Grind all of those ingredients together until it becomes a paste, then add your Salmon: Assembly: lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste, mix together and then set aside. Place the salmon on a chopping board skin side up then use your knife to create incisions in through the skin (look at the picture if you don't understand). Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. You can pat the seasoning on to make sure it sticks on the salmon. Pre-heat a frying pan on medium-high heat, add a glug of olive oil then add your salmon skin side down. After about 3-4 minutes of frying, use a fish slice to turn the salmon over and fry for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat off, transfer the salmon on a plate just to rest for about a minute. For a portion, spoon some of the cannellini bean mixture on a plate or pasta bowl, place a salmon fillet on top skin side up so that skin remains crispy. Lastly, top the salmon with some of that herb sauce then serve.
This dish is all about showing you that beef doesn't have to be the first thing that comes to mind when making a burger. Let's change it up a bit! Chicken burger (serves 4) 750g minced chicken Plain flour for dusting 1 Handful of sage chopped fine 1 egg 1 quarter of a cup of breadcrumbs 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped 1 shallot chopped fine White bread rolls halved 1 large onion sliced 4-6 slices of Edam cheese 4-6 cos lettuce leaves 1 tomato sliced Salt and pepper for seasoning Sauce: 2 garlic cloves peeled 1 egg white 150ml of grape seed oil Half a lemon juiced 1 teaspoon of salt The garlic sauce: The burgers: Add the garlic, the egg white and salt to a blender and then blitz for a few minutes until combined. Slowly add the grape seed oil white the blender is running, keep checking to see that the mixture is actually blending. If need be, use a spatula to scrape the mixture down the sides. Finish by squeezing in lemon juice, then blitzing one last time. Add to a bowl or container, cover with cling wrap and set aside. Line a surface with silicon paper or non-stick baking paper, then lightly dust it with flour. Put the chicken mince, chopped sage, egg, breadcrumbs, the 2 cloves of chopped garlic, chopped shallots and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your clean hands to thoroughly mix all those ingredients together. Flour your hands and shape the chicken into about 150g patties, try not to make them to flat, yet too thin. Place the patties on the floured baking paper surface. Get a frying pan on medium heat, add a glug of grape seed oil, add your onions and a pinch of salt. Fry until the onions until they start wilting down and go translucent, then add your brown sugar. Keep frying the onions stirring/tossing occasionally until you can see the onions are browned and criminalised. Pre-heat a griddle pan on high heat, then add the chicken patties (make sure you here the sizzle when you add the patties). Turn the fans on or open windows if need be. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side. Once you have turned the chicken patties over, place the Edam cheese slices on top and leave it to melt while the chicken finishes cooking. Turn the heat down to low-medium heat, and then transfer the chicken patties on a plate or board. Add the bread to the griddle pan and toast them for about 1-2 minutes (keep an eye on them, you don't want them to burn). Once they are done put them on a plate ready for burger stacking. From bottom to top this is how I assemble my burger: Bottom bun, garlic sauce, cheesy chicken patty, caramelised onions, tomato, lettuce more garlic sauce, top bun, Boom!
The perfect soup on a cold winter s day. Feel free to use lamb stock for this recipe but I find it makes it a little bit too rich. Hope you enjoy. Lamb shank and pearl barley soup (serves 4) 2lt of chicken stock 1kg Lamb shanks 100g of pearl barely quickly soaked and rinsed 250g carrots washed and diced into cm cubes 150g potatoes washed and diced into cm cubes 1 onion sliced 3 garlic cloves chopped fine 1 thumb sized piece of ginger peeled and chopped fine 1 tablespoon of rosemary chopped fine 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour Salt and pepper for seasoning Olive oil Get a pot on the stove on medium heat, add a glug of olive oil then start frying your onions, garlic, rosemary and ginger without colour for about 1-2 minutes. Next add your meat, stir through and spend some time browning the meat. Next, add your cornflour and stir through to soak up the oil and slightly thicken the soup. Add your stock, bring to the boil, and then bring down to a gentle simmer. Add your pearl barley, carrots and potatoes. Stir and then let it simmer uncovered for about 50-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes. Once the pearl barely is cook, season to taste with salt and pepper then serve each bowl with an even amount of meat, veg and pearl barely.
There is no way I could forget about all my vegan homies out there. I hope I have done you guys proud with this recipe. Vegan quinoa salad (serves 4) Almond cheese: (optional) Quinoa salad: 300g of peeled almonds (if for any reason you cannot get already peeled almonds, you can peel them yourself. Just cover normal almonds in boiling water for about 10-15 minutes then use your fingers to peel the skin off; it should come off quite easily). 140mls of water ½ a lemon zested and juiced A generous pinch of salt and pepper 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil 1 cup of quinoa, soaked for about 1 minute, drained and then quickly rinsed 2 cups of vegetable stock 75g of sun dried tomatoes 60g Rocket 400g of tinned/jarred chickpeas drained and rinsed 1 handful of coriander roughly chopped The seeds from 1 pomegranate Olive oil A pinch of salt 1 teaspoon of lemon juice for dressing the salad Almond cheese: (optional) make sure you cover it before storing in the fridge. Soak the almonds in water overnight in the fridge. Drain the almonds, put them in a food processor with the pinch of salt, pepper, the water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Blend until it starts to break down, use a spatula to scrape the mixture down the sides if need be. Next, add your olive oil and process for about 6-7 minutes until smooth. Place a couple of layers of cheese cloth over a sieve then put the sieve over a bowl. Transfer your smooth almond mixture in the cheese cloth, then bring the corners of the cheese cloth up to tie a not firmly over the almond cheese. Leave in the fridge overnight. Cut the cheese cloth open, then you can store in an air tight container or a bowl. Just Quinoa salad: Put the quinoa and veg stock in a pot, bring to the boil and then bring the heat down to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes until the quinoa has soaked up all of the liquid. In a bowl, mix the cooked quinoa with the sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, coriander and a glug of olive oil. Quickly dress the rocket leaves with the lemon juice a pinch of salt. For a serving, place some of the quinoa salad in the middle of a plate or bowl, place some of the dressed rocket on top then make a few Quenelles or dollops of the cheese around the salad. Finally, sprinkle some pomegranate seeds on top. Enjoy.
Bread and butter pudding with crème anglaise (serves 5-6) This is just one of those dishes that taste a lot better than it looks. Not to say that it doesn't look appetising, but bread and butter pudding is quite a rustic dish. In this recipe, you will notice that I have used brown sugar instead of white. This just gives a slight toffee like flavour and aroma to the custard which I thought was really nice touch. Hope you all enjoy. 10 slices of white bread cut into triangles, placed on a cooling rack and left to go stale overnight. Alternately you can place them in an oven at 50 degrees Celsius for an hour if you wish. About 80g of butter 3 eggs 1 cup of cream 1 cup of milk 100g of brown refined sugar Vanilla extract 100g of dried cranberries 100g of dried sultanas Creme Anglaise: 300ml of cream 3 egg yolks Vanilla extract 20g of brown refined sugar Bread and butter pudding: Pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Use the butter to grease a baking tray and to butter the bread. Whisk the eggs, cream, milk, sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl until well combined. Neatly place half of your bread in the baking tray as your first layer. Place half of your dried fruit over the top as a second layer. Put another layer of bread on top and then slowly and evenly pour your whisked custard over the bread. Firmly push then bread down to help soak all of it in the custard and leave for about 10 minutes. Place the other half of your dried fruit on top as a final layer. Place in the oven for and cook for 40 minutes. Creme anglaise: Whisk your egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture goes slightly pale in colour. Heat the cream up in a pot and take off the heat just before it starts boiling (keep an eye on the cream to make sure it doesn't boil over). Add 1 quarter of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture and whisk through, then whisk through the rest of the cream. Put the custard mixture back in the pot on low heat, then gently stir with a wooden spoon or spatula continuously for about 10-15 minutes. You want the sauce to be thick enough to make a line on your spoon/spatula with your finger. Strain the sauce through a sieve and the sauce is done. When you serve a portion of the bread and butter pudding you can spoon some of the sauce on top.