Cheese Straws. With Dijon Mustard.

We had a jolly lunch party the other week.  To start the fun I made these cheese straws just before the guests arrived, they took minutes and looked and tasted divine.

A packet of puff pastry is a key freezer essential, the rest you'll inevitably have lying around.  A perfect canape for a last minute dinner party or a great alternative to bread with soup.

Ingredients

1 packet of all butter puff pastry, defrosted
2-3 large handfuls grated mature cheddar cheese
3 tbso Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C.
2. Unroll the pastry and spread with a good layer of mustard and top with the cheese.

3. Cut into strips widthways and twist - take each end in each hand and twist in opposite directions.

4. Pop on greaseproof paper on a baking tray, brush with beaten egg and cook for 30 minutes or until golden.

Serve hot or cold.

Herbed Scotch Quails' Eggs. Divine.

I hate hate hate Scotch eggs - hard boiled egg wrapped in mushed up meat. Yuk.  My version however are galaxies away from the traditional rainy picnic staple.  I give you delicate quails' eggs wrapped in a pea, mint and basil puree, rolled in breadcrumbs and gently fried.  They are so dainty and completely moreish.

Ingredients

12 quails' eggs

handful breadcrumbs

2 handfuls of mint leaves

2 handfuls of Thai or sweet basil leaves

20 g sunflower seeds

65 g feta

juice and zest of ½ a large lemon

½ garlic clove

30 g Gruyere, grated

a glug of olive oil

100 g frozen peas, brought to the boil then plunged in ice water

black pepper (no salt needed thanks to the cheese)

Sunflower oil for frying

Method

1. Hard boil the eggs for 3 minutes (add the eggs when the water is boiling), remove, allow to cool and then peel.

2. Blend all the remaining ingredients, except the breadcrumbs, together adding enough olive oil to give you a sticky paste.

3. Wrap each quail's egg in the puree and then roll in breadcrumbs.  

Shallow fry in the sunflower oil until crispy, then allow to drain on kitchen roll.

Serve warm or cold as a canape.

So beautiful.

Gooseberry Chutney. Incredible.

I made this chutney the other weekend to serve with a wild boar roast.  It was so simple to make and received rave reviews.  You just chuck frozen gooseberries in a pan with vinegar, sugar and some spices and let the whole thing simmer for a couple of hours.

It really is so special when you can offer homemade chutney with a meal.  And to make people try it, hold off from offering the usual spread of shop bought gloop, they'll love you for forcing their hand.

Ingredients (makes two medium jars)

500 g frozen gooseberries
1 white onion, finely chopped
150 g sultanas
500 ml white grape vinegar (white wine vinegar)
1/2 tbsp salt
250 g brown sugar
1 heaped tsp freshly grated ginger

Method

1. Pop the whole lot in a a large, heavy bottomed saucepan and allow to simmer for an hour or two, or until thick.

2. Either serve immediately or pot while still warm in sterilised jars.

Perfect with mackerel, pork or cheese.

Thai Vegetable Soup. With Pearl Barley.

Pearl Barley is such an under used staple.  It is cheap as chips, so easy to cook and pretty nutritious.  Being keen to incorporate it in our diet I've come up with this delicious veggie Thai soup.

It is super filling so will happily work as a dinner in itself.  Plus is one of those fab recipes where you throw everything in a pan and let it do it's thing while you can pour a glass of wine and get on with your life.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
230 g shallots, peeled and quartered
3 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
50 g mushrooms, quartered
a large knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
very large bunch of coriander, stems finely chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
500 ml stock
100 g pearl barley
1 raw beetroot, grated
100 g beetroot leaves finely sliced
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tin coconut milk, reduced fat is fine
Salt and black pepper


Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a moderate heat.  Add the garlic and shallots, cook stirring for 5 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, ginger, mushrooms, coriander stems, chili and spring onions, cook for 3 minutes.

3. Add the remaining ingredients except the coriander leaves.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes, or until the pearl barley is cooked.

Serve hot garnished with the coriander leaves.  Seriously delicious and fragrant.

The Best Mackerel Pate. With Horseradish.

For our engagement party my hubbie rented out the beautiful headquarters of the Georgian Society in London.  It was such a fun evening with Chapel Down sparkling wine and canapes made predominately by my mother-in-law.  However, I did contribute a little with mini chocolate cupcakes and Nutella icing and mackerel pate on heart toast.  I made so much of the mackerel stuff that we were eating it in sandwiches for weeks and weeks later resulting in a 1.5 year ban...

However, I was in wonderful Woolworths the other day and coming across some tinned smoked and peppered mackerel I suddenly felt the pate urge.  I have changed the original version by adding horseradish - a completely delicious partner to oily fish.

I haven't bothered to make the heart toast but if you fancy it, all you do is use a heart cookie cutter to stamp out shapes from toast, cut the toasted shapes in half and then place under the grill, doughy side up, until crisp.  I'll write a proper blog on it next Feb...

Ingredients (serves 4)

190 g tin smoked and peppered mackerel fillets in veg oil, drained
2 tsp creamed horseradish sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 dsp creamed cottage cheese or creme fraiche
3 springs fennel, feathery parts only, chopped
Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Remove the skin from the mackerel fillets, break up into chunks in a bowl.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Check the seasoning, garnish with extra fennel and lemon and serve with french toast or crudites as a canape or spread in a sandwich with some peppery rocket.

So so easy and delicious.

Mini Frittatas. Perfect for a Packed Lunch.

We ran out of bread a couple of days ago and as I'm suffering from a sniffle my kneading muscles were feeling particularly lame.  So instead of a sarnie, the hubbie got mini frittatas for his lunch.

They are so easy to make and being 'mini' means they are great for a packed lunch or picnic.  I have provided the basic ingredients and then a list of possible filling combos.  I used up leftovers but in the process always tried to include a cheese and something crunchy and veggie for different textures and tastes.

Ingredients (makes 9)

7 eggs
50 ml double cream
Salt and pepper
Oil for greasing

Fillings - (you'll only need a small amount of each)

Frozen peas, feta, courgette strips, mint and spring onion

Beetroot leaf, Gruyere. red onion and cornichons

Sliced cooked sweet potato, Stilton, sage, spinach

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C and grease a muffin mould.
2. Mix the eggs, cream and seasoning together in a large bowl.
3. Fill the dips in the muffin tin with the filling combos you are using...

then pour over the egg mixture.

4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until set.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin and serving warm or cold.

Yum yum yum.

Oh So Smart Banana Custard.

Having some ageing bananas and meringues staring at me from the shelves last week saw the invention of this delicious and revamped banana custard recipe.

I simply sliced up the fruit and popped the slices in serving dishes, i topped the banana with a sweet custard and crumbled meringue and then baked the lot until it was set.  The key is to serve immediately however, or else the meringue will go soggy.  Feel free to swap the meringue topping with dark choc chunks or a mixture of cinnamon and granulated sugar.  A perfect standby pud.

Ingredients (serves 6)

3 ripe bananas, sliced
375 ml pouring cream
125 ml whole milk
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
4 tbsp runny honey
1 vanilla pod
3 meringues, broken

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140C.
2. Place the banana slices in 6 serving dishes.

3. Mix the milk, cream, vanilla pod (split in half) and honey in a saucepan and bring almost to the boil.  Then remove from heat and allow the flavours to infuse.
4. Whisk yolks and eggs together and then strain over the milk mixture.  Mix well and pour equally over the bananas.  Top with the meringue.
5. Place the dishes in a roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the dishes.  Pop in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until just set.

If you have used meringue then eat immediately, if not allow to cool in the pan and keep in the fridge until needed.

Beetroot Dauphinoise. With Horseradish and Sage.

Gosh I'm sorry for being such a slacker recently.  My mother in law gave me a knitting lesson before we left the UK and now I'm getting obsessed. Truely obsessed - I've nearly finished knitting all my relative's Christmas pressies and it's only August.  But one has to eat...

This is a fab side dish recipe to serve along side mackarel, salmon, beef or lamb.  You simply layer up beetroot and potato, spread over some horseradish sauce, cover with a creamy mixture and pop in the oven.  It is so delicious and the colour completely fabulous.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

500 g potatoes
500 g beetroot
4 tbsp creamed horseradish sauce
2 handfuls sage leaves
500 ml double cream
100 ml whole milk
Salt and black pepper

Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C.  Boil the beetroot, skin on, for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
2. Finely slice the potato leaving the skin on (try and get the slices to be transparent), peel the beetroot and thinly slice.

3. Layer the potato and beetroot slices in an oven proof dish, spreading over some horseradish sauce and sprinkling over the sage as you go. Finish with a layer of potatoes and beetroot.

4. Mix the cream and milk in a saucepan and add the seasoning.  Bring to boiling point then pour over the potato/beetroot stack.

Bake on a baking tray in the oven for an hour or until golden on top and bubbling.  Serve hot.

What fun.

The Best Smoked Haddock Fish Cakes.

I'm having a slight regression back to the meals of my childhood - chicken kiev and now fish cakes.  Like my chicken kievs, these fish cakes are so simple to make and so much more delicious and wholesome than anything you could buy in a supermarket.   And as a bonus they take me back to the rustic equivalents served in flashy gastropubs in London, although are more delicious and about a quarter of the price.

The recipe makes 4 medium sized fish cakes (2 for him, one for me and one for lunch the next day), but you could always make 8 and serve them as a starter.  Yum, yum, yum.

Ingredients (makes 4)

2 smoked haddock fillets (I cooked mine straight from frozen)
200 ml whole milk
1 tbsp butter
2 medium all rounder potatoes
2 hard boiled eggs, shelled and finely chopped
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 tsp horseradish sauce
a large handful of fresh fennel or dill
a large handful of parsley
salt and black pepper
breadcrumbs for coating
4 tbsp olive oil for frying

Method

1. Place the haddock fillets in a deep frying pan and cover with the milk, bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and cover with a lid.  Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cook in the heat for a further 3 minutes.  Remove the fish from the milk, brake up into flakes, and reserve the milk.
2. Chop the potato in half an cook in large saucepan of boiling water until tender.  Remove from the saucepan and place in a large bowl.  Add the reserved milk, the butter and mash well.
3. Add the flaked haddock to the potato mixture, along with all the remaining ingredients bar the breadcrumbs.  Mix well.  It should be quite a sticky mix but if it isn't wet enough add a little more milk.

4. Divide the mixture into 4 balls and shape into discs...

Gently press breadcrumbs all over the fish cakes, the mixture is quite wet so they should stick well.  You can leave them covered in a the fridge at this stage for 12 hours.

5. When ready to serve, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the fishcakes, cook on a moderate heat for 5 minutes on each side, or until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden and the cakes are hot throughout.  Allow to drain for a moment on kitchen paper.  Alternatively you could bake them on a greased baking tray for 20 minutes at 180C.

Serve with some steamed broccoli.  Divine and so easy.

Elene's Shopping List. Kitchen Essentials.

One of my closest friends Elene is a complete inspiration having left the city to set up a genius company called 'Ski Squirrel' http://www.skisquirrel.com/ and sell the most beautiful and unique jewellery http://mysilpada.co.uk/helen.jackson.  Although a complete superwoman in most regards, Elene has confessed that her cooking repertoire is rather limited and so, with complete joy, I've promised to help.

Here follows a basic shopping list for every kitchen - the ingredients you should always have in order to create most mains.  Quantities depend on how big your household is.  However, the key is, as ever, to have thinking confidence and substitute the ingredients you don't have for comparable others, rather than downing tools and running to the supermarket.  If a recipe calls for cream and you've run out, try cream cheese, if it specifies fresh green chilli add a dash from your dried supply, if it asks for onions try leeks... at the end of the day most of us are cooking for ourselves, our families and friends all of who will never know what the recipe said in the first place and will be overjoyed to have a home cooked meal.

As well as checking that I have the below key ingredients in stock, on a weekly basis I add in a few seasonal items like avocados, sugar snap peas, rhubarb, leeks, beetroot, venison etc or yummy things on special offer as well as perhaps some stewing steak if I'm planning a goulash, some smoked trout if I'm going for a Trout's Temptation, or aubergine if I'm in the melanzane mood.  The point is that if you have the below in your kitchen, you'll never again be lost, you'll have options.  The world is your oyster...

Finally, a quick word on breadcrumbs - whenever you have a loaf on its last legs, or some crusts which no one will ever eat, blitz them in a blender until you have crumbs, pop in a special 'breadcrumbs tupperware box' in the freezer.  I top my box up on a regular basis and then use the crumbs straight from frozen.  So easy and economical.

From the Freezer Section (or from the fridge and then keep in the freezer)
Peas (never scrimp on frozen peas, always pay the extra for McCain baby peas or similar)
Smoked haddock
White fish fillets
Free range chicken breasts
All-butter puff pastry
Filo pastry

Fresh Fruit and Veg
Lemons and Limes
Potatoes (general all purpose potatoes), or sweet potatoes for variety
Beetroot
Lettuce (I always buy iceburg, it is cheap and delicious)
Fresh ginger
Garlic
Onions (white), or shallots for variety
Red and/or green chillies
Mushrooms

Cans
Canellini beans (a great substitute for mash potato, just heat with oil and garlic then mash)
Coconut milk (low fat is fine)
Chopped or plum tomatoes
Red kidney beans
Chickpeas
Tomato Puree

Dried Herbs and Spices - these will last you for ages and ages
Red chilli flakes
Thyme
Cumin
Garam Masala
Turmeric
Paprika
Smoked paprika
Chili powder
Curry powder
Tarragon
Bay leaves
Nutmeg
Sea salt
Black pepper
Vegetable stock powder

Other Dried Goods
Yeast
White bread flour
Soy sauce
Mirin (rice wine)
Sesame oil
Rice vinegar
Pasta
Risotto rice
Red lentils
Black lentils
Rice
Rice paper wrappers
Nuts (cashews, pine nuts or hazelnuts)
Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower or poppy seed)
Peanut butter
Worcestershire sauce

Other
Free range eggs
Milk
Cream and/or creme fraiche
Olive oil
Sunflower oil
Red wine vinegar
Runny honey
Cream cheese (Philadelphia or equivalent)
Parmesan (not pre grated)
Dijon mustard
Plain yoghurt
Feta cheese
Butter
Horseradish sauce
Mature cheddar cheese

Fresh Herbs - buy from a garden centre and pot on your windowsill
Basil (any variety)
Coriander
Mint
Rosemary
Parsley (any variety)

The list may look long and your shopping bill may be high in the first week, but once you've got a stocked kitchen your weekly bills will halve. Trust me.

Root Salad with Honey, Chilli and Lime.

We had a large and jolly lunch party on Sunday and for once I was not keen not to spend most of the day in the kitchen.  So I came up with a menu of roast wild boar (from the fab Wild Meat Company http://www.wildmeats.co.za/) served with homemade breads, salads and gooseberry chutney all of which I prepared well in advance.  The meal was a success and I got to be apron-free as soon as our friends arrived.  This is one of the salads, a scrummy alternative to a standard potato salad.

You simply roast sweet potato and butternut squash with olive oil, honey, whole garlic cloves and red chilli flakes then allow to cool, saving the juices from the tin (I did this on Saturday and just kept everything covered in the fridge).  Then before serving you simply squish the garlic out of their skins and mix with the roasting juices along with some lime juice and a dash more oil.  Then finally top the whole affair with crumbled feta, mint and pumpkin seeds which adds some crunch, fragrance and saltiness.

It is definitely one I'll pull out at future lunch parties and braais.

Ingredients (serves 6 as a side)

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp dried red chilli flakes
olive oil
1 lime, juice only
salt and black pepper
4 garlic cloves, kept in their skins
a handful of pumpkin seeds
handful of mint leaves
100g feta, crumbled

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Place the vegetables in a large roasting pan and cover with the honey and chilli flakes drizzle over some olive oil and season well.  Use your hands to mix the veggies in the honey mixture then pop in the garlic cloves around them.  Put the whole lot in the oven for 45-60 minutes or until the veg is cooked and slightly charred on the edges.
3. Leave the pan on the side to cool, then remove the veggies and keep in the fridge until needed.  Remove the garlic cloves and squeeze out the insides into a bowl, discard the skins.  Poor the juices from the tin into the garlic bowl and add a touch more oil to loosen it up, seasoning and the lime juice.  Mix well or until the garlic has broken up.  Keep in the fridge until just before serving.
4. To serve, tip the veg in a serving dish and sprinkle over the feta, mint and seeds, then pour over the dressing.

Delicious and so stunning.

Homemade Chicken Kiev. Retro.

Chicken Kiev, mashed potato and broccoli takes me back to my childhood.  Meals around the kitchen table once homework was over and school uniform discarded.    

There is something completely delicious and timeless about the retro chicken kiev  - a garlic-y, parsley butter oozing out of a breaded chicken breast.  I reckon that there is nothing more gobble-ble when feeling tired and hungry.  As ever my recipe is as easy as pie to make and doesn’t require any fancy ingredients, just the will the get up close and personal with a chicken breast…

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped

a large handful of curly parsley, finely chopped

2 large skinless chicken breasts, free range of course

60 g butter, salted is perfect

2 large handfuls breadcrumbs, I used frozen ones straight from the freezer

1 egg, beaten

2 large handfuls of flour

salt and black pepper

oil for greasing a tray

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C.

2. Mix together the garlic, parsley, butter and seasoning.

3. Make a small (1-2cm) incision in one side of each chicken breast.  Go all the way into the middle of the breast then waggle the knife to either side.  You are aiming for a large cut throughout the length of the breast with only a tiny entry point (to stop the butter falling out as it cooks).

4. Carefully push the butter mixture into each chicken breast, making sure you fill up the breast as much as possible but don’t widen the entry point.

5. Now gently roll each breast first in flour, then in egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. 

Place on an oiled baking tray and pop in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the breadcrumbs crisp and golden.

Serve hot with broccoli and mashed potato.  Yum yum yum.

Smoked Haddock Chowder. Creamy.

Years ago my husband and I camped our way around Cape Cod eating bucket loads of clam chowder and lobster for the price of a hotdog.  It was an incredible holiday full of drive-in movies, whale sightings and dancing our socks off in the famous Beachcomber bar.  My smoked haddock chowder transports us back to those happy all-American days.  

Using smoked haddock not only adds depth of flavour to the chowder but it also means that you can whip it up in no time using haddock fillets straight from the freezer.  

Ingredients (serves 2 greedy ones)

3 frozen smoked haddock fillets

600 ml whole milk

3 leeks

2 all purpose potatoes, medium

1 onion

100 g butter

50 g flour

glug of olive oil

350 ml vegetable stock

salt and black pepper

 

Method

1. Place the frozen haddock fillets in a deep frying pan and cover with the milk.  Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes or until the fish flakes away from the skin.  Remove the fish from the milk, remove the skin and flake.  Keep the milk.

2. Slice the white part of the leeks into 1 cm rings and finely chop the onion.  In a large saucepan melt 55 g of the butter with the olive oil.  Add the leek and onion and cook over a moderate heat until soft and translucent but not coloured.

3. Peel and chop the potatoes into 1 cm cubes.  Add to the onion and leek mixture along with the stock.  Bring to the boil and simmer until the potato is tender.

4. In a clean saucepan melt the remaining 50 g of butter then add the flour.  Stir with a wooden spoon over a moderate heat for a minute then gradually stir in the reserved milk.  Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring well.

5. Pour the white sauce into the potato mixture and add the flaked haddock.  

Season well with lots of salt and black pepper and serve hot preferably from a thermos on the beach with some dry crackers.