Easy Weeknight Puttanesca

Is anyone else still feeling a little bit lazy post Christmas and wishing they'd done a little more lying around and a little less doing "stuff"? The return to work has definitely been a shock to the system for me and I'm lacking any kind of energy in the evening to cook. 

The temptation to order pizza is growing greater but with this date night standard pasta recipe, you'll be glad that you got.off the sofa. Plus you won't have those greasy cardboard boxes to deal with.

Fresh Pasta with Puttanesca Sauce

This recipe is sans olives. I would recommend including a handful of chopped black olives at the end.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Fresh Pasta (type and amount is to your discretion)
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
5 fresh Plum Tomatoes, chopped into chunks
1 tin of Plum Tomatoes
100ml Red Wine (I recommend a Sangiovese)
5 tinned Anchovies, finely chopped
1tbsp Capers, finely chopped
1 Shallot, finely chopped
A Hunk of Butter
1tsp Dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Heat a saucepan, add your hunk of butter, crushed garlic, anchovies, capers and oregano. Stir for a few minutes until the mixture gains colour.

Add your shallots and fresh tomato and turn down the heat. You want to sweat these until soft in the already fragrant mixture.

When the shallots and tomatoes have softened, add the red wine and increase the heat. You want to boil off the alcohol content aggressively for a minute or so.

Now add your tin of Plum tomatoes and simmer for ten minutes until you've got a luscious, thick ragu-like sauce. Add any salt and pepper at the end of the cooking process.

I served mine with a fresh garden salad (dressed with olive oil), garlic ciabatta.... and the rest of that Sangiovese!

A Winter Salad

Let's face it, we've all over indulged during the Christmas period. The warm fuzzy feeling has worn off and we're all left feeling a little regretful and wobbly. Or is it just me? But winter doesn't have to mean stews and roast dinners, there are some beautiful vegetables in season and it's time we remembered them.

Winter Beetroot Salad with a Wholegrain Mustard Dressing and Fresh Spinach

Serves 2

3 Different Beetroot varieties (try to get hold of a Golden Beetroot for its delicate sweetness)

1 Small Packet of Fresh Baby Spinach

1 Small Red Onion

1 tbsp Whole Grain Mustard

1 Garlic Clove, thinly sliced

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Cider Vinegar

Method

Roast your beetroots and red onion in the oven for 1 hour at 160C.

Let them cool slightly before thinly slicing your beetroots and red onion. 

Mix together in a bowl with the baby spinach.

In a jug or small container, mix your mustard, garlic, cider vinegar. 

Slowly add the olive oil, whilst whisking the mixture.

Pour over your salad and use tongs (or your well washed hands!) to ensure the dressing covers every little leaf.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans with Colcannon

For a few months now, we've been getting a weekly mini veg box from Riverford Farm. It's something we've always considered, but they managed to get Rob to sign up on a door to door visit and it's completely changed the way we're eating. Each box delivery is an exciting event as I never know what's coming (although I could look online but that would be cheating). They also gave us a fantastically thick Riverford cookbook for all our vegetable using needs. We've had to be a lot more creative in our food and generally only need to buy some meat if necessary for our dish. So here is a recipe for a veggie filled delight, plus a naughty bit of bacon.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans with Colcannon

Serves One

Ingredients

Fresh Green Beans

4 Rashers of Bacon/Pancetta (preferably streaky smoked bacon)

Two Medium Potatoes

A Handful of Cabbage/Kale or another Leafy Green

Butter for Mashing

Salt and Pepper

Gravy to Serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Prepare your green beans by washing, trimming the tops and bottoms and then separate into two piles.

Wrap each pile with two rashers of bacon and season with salt and pepper.

Place into a small baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil and place into the oven for 25 minutes (or until the bacon is as crispy as you prefer)

Boil your potatoes until soft. I like to keep the skins on for extra nutrients but you can peel them before boiling if you prefer. 

Wash and slice your cabbage or other leafy green into strips.

Once your potatoes are soft, drain them and mash with a knob of butter. You can also add a bit of cream here if you'd like for an extra touch of luxury.

Add your greens to the mash and stir through. 

Transfer your mash/greens mixture to a hot, well oiled or buttered frying pan and saute for 2 minutes to ensure you've got a few extra crispy bits.

Serve your parcels with the mash and a nice helping of gravy.

Grilled Marinated Lamb and Stove Top Dauphinoise

Weekends. They call for long, lazy cooking for delicious and indulgent dinners. I like to spend at least one day at the weekend exploring a new recipe from one of my books, taking my time while I prepare it and enjoying the warm fullness I feel as my head hits the pillow. Weeknight meals are often quick, rushed and convenient (unless you fancy eating at 10pm - which is fine for Rob but a little less ideal for me), so the indulgence to be able to cook anything I like on a lazy Saturday or Sunday is enough to get me excited for the weekends.

Grilled Marinated Lamb and Stove Top Dauphinoise

If you're stuck for a weekend meal, this one is a good mix of quick and slow. The slowness coming from the overnight lamb marinade and dauphinoise and then a final quick grilling of the lamb that fills your kitchen with the most delectable scent. These recipes come from Nigel Slater's Real Food.

Serves 2

Lamb Ingredients

- 4 large Garlic Cloves (crushed)

- 2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

- 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

- 2 tsp Herbes de Provence

- Freshly Ground Black Pepper

- 2 Lamb Fillets (about 250g each - I would recommend Neck Fillets)

Dauphinoise Ingredients

- 500g Waxy Potatoes (Charlotte or Maris Peer are the best for this)

- 1 packet chopped Pancetta

- 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)

- 2 Handfuls Fresh Rocket (Arugula)

- 200ml Double Cream

- 100ml Whole Milk

- 30g Grated Fresh Parmesan

Method

Mix together all your ingredients for the lamb marinade and massage into your lamb fillets. Leave overnight if you can, but if you're doing it on the same time then make sure you leave it for at least an hour.

Thinly slice your potatoes. If you've got a mandoline then that is ideal, but if not then take your time with a sharp knife to get some thin slices.

Fry your potato slices with some butter until they are beginning to brown slightly.

Add your pancetta cubes and fry until they are nice and crispy. 

Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

Add your rocket to the pan with the double cream and milk. If you can add a lid to your pan at this point then that's perfect. I didn't have a lidded frying pan, so I made a substitute lid out of tin foil. 

Cook at a low/medium heat for 10 minutes.

While your potatoes are cooking away, take a griddle pan (ideally) and get it nice and hot. Add the lamb and give it a good press down so that grill lines will start to form on the meat. 

Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. You want your lamb to still be pink inside. Cook for longer if you like you're not a fan of this. 

Remove the lamb from the pan and place on a chopping board. Cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid from your dauphinoise and stir in a your fresh parmesan. Cook for a few more minutes and then remove from the heat.

You're now ready to serve! :)

River Cafe Risotto Milanese

Risotto is one of those dishes that I have always struggled with. The same could be said for rice in general. It seems to be my downfall. Last year I tried a Sausage, Red Wine and Broad Bean Risotto, which was the most successful that I'd been but it was far from traditional. It was time to take it back to basics and learn from the best. Recently having purchased the original River Cafe Cook Book from a charity shop, we have been working our way through Italian classics. I am now in love with the idea of spending a summer in Italy, exploring different pizzas, pastas and wine and pottering round on a Vespa in a white sundress. Finally, I have discovered why risotto is so often raved about. The Risotto alla Milanese is a rich, creamy and satisfying dish and although it does take a lot of love and attention to achieve, the finished result is well worth the effort.  

Risotto alla Milanese 

from The River Cafe Cook Book

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
300g Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
1 litre Chicken Stock
150g Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 White Onion, peeled and finely chopped
75ml Dry White Wine
175g Parmesan, freshly grated

Method

Heat the chicken stock. 

Melt 75g of the butter and all the oil in a large saucepan. 

Gently fry the onion until soft. 

Add the rice, and off the heat, stir until the rice becomes totally coated; this takes only a minute. 

Return to the heat, add 1 cup of hot stock and simmer, stirring, until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. 

Add the saffron. 

Continue to add more stock as the previous addition is absorbed. 

Nearly all the stock will have been absorbed by the rice; each grain should have a creamy coating and yet still be al dente. 

Add remaining butter in small pieces, the wine and the parmesan, being careful not to overstir. 

Chocolate and Raspberry Choux Buns

After my experimental period over Christmas - I've decided that choux pastry is my new favourite. I've got very fond memories of Choux Buns. It's something my mum and I would buy as a treat at our weekly food shop - the caramel ones to be precise. They are the epitome of decadence, naughtiness and never fail to send me into a delectable sugar coma. Having make Profiteroles and a Gateux St Honore, I decided it was time to try my hand at Choux Buns.

Chocolate and Raspberry Choux Buns

You're going to need a batch of choux pastry to start with. I haven't had a chance to write up my personal method yet, but I would recommend you follow this recipe from Delia:

http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/baking/how-to-make-choux-pastry.html

For the filling....

Take one box of raspberries (saving a few for decoration) and place into a saucepan with half a cup of sugar and a dash of water. Heat this slowly until the sugar caramelises and the raspberries break down to make a coulis. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. 

Sieve the coulis into a bowl or jug and put to one side to cool. 

Next it's time for the Chantilly cream. In a mixing bowl, pour 300ml double cream, 1 tsp vanilla paste, 100g icing sugar. Whisk until the cream is nice and think. Put in the fridge to chill. 

Melt 1 large bar of dark or milk chocolate (up to your preference) in the microwave, or over a pan of simmering water. Dip the top of each choux bun into the chocolate for a nice coating and put aside to set. 

Once the chocolate has set, spoon a good amount of cream into the bottom case of the choux bun, add the raspberry coulis and sandwich the chocolate covered top onto your mountain of goodness.

Posh Fish and Chips

So it's that time of year again - Masterchef time! Is it just me or does it seem to be showing a lot more than last year? Not that I'm complaining... Around this time of year I get it into my head that I need to make my dishes look arty and cook fondant potatoes and make foams from everything. Alongside my healthy diet, I decided to "masterchef-ify" classic fish and chips.

Posh Fish and Chips

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 fillets of Plaice

400g potatoes

A handful of frozen peas

A Squeeze of Lemon Juice

1 clove of Roasted Garlic

1 tsp Tarragon
1tsp Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
20g butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

Fish
Start by creating a foil package for your plaice fillets. Then carefully lay the fillets down and cover with lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper. Seal the parcel.
Place in a preheated oven at 200C for 25 minutes.

Potatoes
Cut your potatoes into chunks and place into cold, salted water.
Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Drain the potatoes and return to the saucepan.
Add 20g butter, rosemary and salt/pepper to taste.
Mash the potatoes rustically so they are not smooth but more "crushed".

Pea Puree
Heat the peas in a pan of boiling water for 5 minutes until tender.
Place in a food processor with a squeeze of lemon juice, your roasted garlic, salt and pepper.
Puree the ingredients while the peas are still hot.

Pea Soup with Crispy Pancetta

I was listening to Jay Rayner's 'The Man Who Ate the World' on the way to my physio appointment this morning and during his time in Paris, he came across a dish in Guy Savoy where the peas in his pea salad had all been individually split. This got me obsessing with peas all day. I needed some peas in my life - stat.

We had some deliciously thin pancetta to use up also, so I thought the remedy to my cravings would be to make an indulgent pea soup and use pancetta as croutons. I did a lot of internet research to find the best pea soup recipe and decided to try Felicity Cloake's "Perfect Pea Soup" recipe for The Guardian. She uses bacon in the recipes but I took this out and replaced it with the pancetta topping. So here is my adapted version.

Pea Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Creme Fraiche

To Serve Two

Ingredients

15g butter
2 spring onions, chopped
4 rashers of pancetta
225g frozen peas
375ml of vegetable stock
Squeeze of lemon juice
Creme fraiche, to serve

Method

• Melt the butter in a pan and add your spring onions. Allow them to soften in the foamy butter. 
• Add the peas and let them defrost a bit. 
• Add your hot stock and allow to simmer for ten minutes.
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir.
• Using a stick blender, smooth the soup and allow to rest on a low heat whilst you make the croutons.
• Bring a small frying pan to a high temperature and add the pancetta. They will crisp in under a minute so make sure they don't burn. 
• Dish the soup into bowls and add a small quenelle of creme fraiche to the centre. 
• Lay your crispy pancetta on top! 

Raspberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

It seems that I have gone a little crazy for raspberries this month. They're not even in season. But if you bake them into treats then who's to know! It's also been a bit of a stressful month so far - a month of change and hard work. Naturally, I fall to baking to act as stress relief. After a particularly harrowing day yesterday, I not only prepped and cooked chicken livers for dinner (59 pence! How could I say no?) but crafted a batch of these raspberry strewn lovelies. As far as baking goes, these are very straight forward. Using only 40 minutes in total (25 of these are spent in the oven), it will be no time before you bite into a warm, gooey treat for the most depressing month of the year.  For those afraid of cream cheese, give these a try. You'll be surprised by how much you enjoy it.

Raspberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

NB: Raspberries can be replaced with any other berry of choice.

Ingredients

100g Soft Cheese

250g Caster Sugar

175g Raspberries

200g Plain Flour

2tsp Baking Powder

2 Eggs

75ml Oil 

1tsp Vanilla Extract

A pinch of Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C or 170C (fan oven) and line your muffin/cupcake tin with cases. You could also use a flat baking tray.

Beat the soft cheese with 25g of sugar and pop in the fridge for later.

In a small saucepan, heat the raspberries with another 25g of sugar and bash together until they form a coulis like consistency. Try to be uneven in your smooshing as a few bigger bits of berry are lovely. Put to one side to cool.

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt. 

Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and stir together thoroughly or use a beater on a very slow speed. Stir through the raspberry mixture. Don't worry if your mixture looks a bit odd and lumpy.

Fill each case to about 2/3 and plop a teaspoon of the soft cheese mixture into the middle of each. Use your finger to push down gently. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

French Classics: Cassoulet

I am very sorry France. I'm sorry because I'm going to attempt to cook a classic in my own style - Cassoulet. Everyone knows you don't mess with the original. Well that's boring. I want to do this Georgie-style. For anyone who doesn't know, a cassoulet is a dish mainly comprising of beans, toulouse sausage and duck. It originated in the south of France and is a slow cooked dish. In order to create my own (slightly budget) version, I researched a large variety of different cassoulet recipes and they all have their own method and use different ingredients. 

Georgie Porgie's Cassoulet

To Serve 2

Ingredients

6 Toulouse sausages (or sausages that include herbs, wine and garlic)

1 can Cannellini Beans

Fresh Parsley

1 White Onion, diced

1 Large Tomato, diced

1 500ml bottle of Dry Cider

1 handful of Bacon Lardons or Pancetta

1 tbsp Duck Fat

1 clove garlic

1 sprig of fresh Thyme

Method

Heat the duck fat in a large, heavy bottomed pan (a large Le Creuset style casserole dish would be ideal).

Add the sausages and bacon and cook until browned. Remove from the pan.

Add the onions and cook gently in the duck/sausage/bacon fat until lightly browned.

Add half of the cider and scrape any tasty residue off the bottom of the pan.

Add the beans, garlic, thyme and tomato and cook gently for ten minutes. 

Cut the sausages into bite size pieces and then add back to the pan with the bacon.

Chop a small amount of parsley and add this to the pan also. Season to taste.

Top up with cider until it just covers the ingredients. 

Place a lid on the dish and cook for half an hour.

Remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes, letting the liquid reduce until you have a nice thick sauce. 

Chop some fresh parsley for garnish, spoon the cassoulet into a bowl and serve.

Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie

Guess what?! I bought a pie dish. A gorgeous, kitschy pie dish. I bought it from Waitrose and it was ten pounds and I don't even care one tiny bit. Look at my excited face. LOOK AT IT!

Watch out Great British Bake Off, I'm coming for you next. If the show was for bakers who give it a good go but normally end up with flour in their hair and manage to mistake salt for sugar... Oh wait, that has happened this year. Perhaps I might be in with a chance.

The pie dish was christened with a classic fruit pie - rhubarb and raspberry. Rhubarb is such an undervalued fruit. It's quintessentially British, the tartness is to die for and it's also great in savory dishes (Rhubarb noodles anyone?). The combination of this with sweet, delicate raspberries and a classic sweet shortcrust pastry was going to be a winner. Shortcrust pastry might be the one area of baking that I can actually make a half-arsed go at. No soggy bottoms here please.

Rhubarb and Raspberry Pie

This is a nice simple recipe, no blind baking or making any sort of fruit compote for the middle. If you wanted to buy shop bought shortcrust pastry and forgo the lattice top, then it may be the easiest pie ever.

Ingredients

Pastry:

500g plain flour

100g icing sugar

250g butter - chilled to the point where you can grate it

2 eggs

A dash of double cream

Filling:

43g Plain Flour
2 sticks of Rhubarb, diced
2 punnets of raspberries
250g Golden Caster Sugar
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 tablespoon cold unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces
1 large Egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons Double Cream
Sugar for sprinkling

I'm not sure Paul and Mary would approve of the slapdash lattice top.

Directions

Start with your pastry. Sieve together your flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Having chilled your butter to the point of extreme solidness, you can grate this into the bowl also. This will need to be done with speed as the butter warms quickly and will become unmanageable.

There are two keys to a good shortcrust pastry. The first is to try and keep the dough as cool as possible, so when you're not working it, get it straight in the fridge. The second is to work it as little as possible. Doughs that are kneeded or mixed a lot become stretchy and smooth in quailty - doing this will make your shortcrust rubbery in texture. To get a nice crumbly, buttery crust, try your very hardest not to over mix it.

Once you have grated the butter into the flour and icing sugar, make the mixture into breadcrumbs by using your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together. Keep going until all of the butter and flour have been combined into a breadcrumb like consistency.

In a small jug, whisk the eggs and cream together. Add this to your breadcrumb mixture. Use a wooden spoon to bring the mixture together. Once it has started to form a dough, use your fingers to finish the dough. Don't overwork it!

Put your dough in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

In another bowl, add your rhubarb, raspberries, sugar, flour and lemon juice. Delicately mix these ingredients together as you don't want to smush your raspberries. A little bit of smushing is okay, don't beat yourself up about it. Put the mixture to one side.

Grease your pie dish and preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4.

Once your dough has chilled, take 2/3 of it (put the other 1/3 straight back into the fridge) and roll it out into a round shape that's big enough to cover your pie dish. Use flour on the work surface and rolling pin to stop the dough from sticking. The best way to transfer your dough from the counter to the pie dish is by using the rolling pin to gently roll the dough up. You can then unroll it over the dish and press down to fill the corners. Use a sharp knife to trim the edges.

Fill the pie with the raspberry/rhubarb mixture and put into the fridge.

Rescue your remaining dough and use this to make your topping. I went for a lattice top because I like to show off and then instantly regret it because I can't do it like a pro. If you want to do that then I suggest giving this Bon Appetit video a quick gander: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTHTt49e58w.

Either way, roll your remaining dough out and then either use the lattice method to top your pie or place the lid on top of your pie in the same way we transferred the base. If you have gone for a solid lid then make two little holes in the centre of the pie - this will let the steam escape and ensure that your lid doesn't puff up.

Use the beaten egg and cream mixture to glaze the top of your pie and sprinkle liberally with sugar.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Keep an eye on the top to ensure the pastry doesn't catch (blacken). If your lid is getting a bit browner than you'd like, make it a little foil hat and place it on top to protect the pastry.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool before serving. Serve with lots of yummy cream!

Chorizo Carbonara

So, it's been a little while since I've blogged. This is totally unacceptable, but I've been having an extremely busy august. Firstly Rob and I moved into our own bijoux love nest in South West London. We've been enjoying access to butchers, fishmongers and cheeseries and the amount of greenery. Having my own kitchen is a complete blessing and we've been experimenting with different recipes nearly every night.

As well as sorting out flat admin, my mother's impending wedding is approaching at an alarming rate.  Last weekend we enjoyed a great hen do - baileys, boats and feather boas all featuring!

You may remember the foodie pen pals project that I wrote about last month. I really enjoyed creating my box this month, but due to unforeseen courier issues I still haven't received my box. Apologies for the delay in this, I will be posting as soon as I receive my anxiously awaited parcel.

Luckily amongst the crazy month that was August, we encountered a bank holiday and I found the time to set up a  post. Bank holidays are made for relaxing and eating deliciously rich fayre. This time, after a long National Trust walk, we tried a Chorizo Carbonara. I've never had a good carbonara before, only the gloopy microwaved versions. Rob tells me I am missing out greatly, and after trying this version, I will be ordering a carbonara on our next visit to an Italian.

This recipe comes from Hugh Fearnley's River Cottage Everyday. It's fantastically quick and requires minimal effort with maximum tasty gain.

Chorizo Carbonara

Ingredients:

Enough spaghetti for 2 hungry people

1 tbsp olive oil

175g Diced chorizo

2 large egg yolks

100ml double cream

Salt and Pepper to season

In a jug, beat together your egg yolks and cream and season with pepper and a smidgen of salt. Put to one side.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the spaghetti. Cook to your preference (I would suggest an al dente texture).

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan or skillet. Add your diced chorizo and cook until golden and crispy.

Drain your pasta and add it to the chorizo pan. Pour in your cream/egg mixture and whisk together, taking the pan of the heat. Serve immediately! There's no need to worry about ensuring the egg is cooked, the heat from the pasta/meat will cook it.

Boozy Choccy Bread Pudding

Alcohol! Chocolate! White Bread! Pudding! You're happy now right? This dessert requires absolute minimal effort with maximum delciousness at the end of it. You can even put it together whilst cooking your dinner, and who thought they had time to do that anymore?

This is a bit stolen and adapted from a Nigella recipe, and I'm told that the consistency is a bit more 'bread and butter pudding' than 'bread pudding'. But as long as you're shoveling chocolate and boozy bread into your mouth, it's pretty much impossible to notice. 

Boozy Choccy Bread Pudding

Serves 2 fattys like myself and Rob, or a normal family of 4.

• 4 slices of white bread (as stale as possible) cut into chunks
• 1 120g bar galaxy chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 2 eggs
• 40g soft light brown sugar
• Half a cup of creamy liqueur of your choice (I used Marks and Spencers Toffee and Pecan Cream)
• Half a cup of double cream or crème fraîche
• Half a cup of milk
• Demerara sugar for sprinkling
   

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Place the bread and chocolate (evenly mixed) in an ovenproof dish.

In a jug, add the milk, cream, liqueur, brown sugar and eggs. Whisk until combined. 

Pour the mixture over the bread and chocolate and press down on the bread so that it soaks up as much of the liquid as possible. 

Sprinkle over a good helping of demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 20 mins or until the top is golden brown and crispy.