Recipe: Carrot and Toasted Pine Nut Salad

Had a barbeque on sunday- Lovely! So nice to finally have a meal outside in my parent's sunny garden. We used one of those portable barbeques- they actually work pretty well! They look so puny i guess, but we cooked chicken, paneer, sausages and corn on the cob very successfully. I made a load of side salads to have with our sizzled meat, and this one came out on top. Very simple but delicious.

Carrot and Pine Nut Salad (serves 4 as a side dish)

5 carrots, peeled and grated

Handful fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp French dressing
100g pine nuts, toasted
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix together all of the ingredients except the pine nuts.  Season to taste, top with the toasted pine nuts and serve!

 

Recipe: Roasted Pepper and Sweetcorn Soup

This is a heavily adapted version of Nigella's "Sunshine Soup" recipe, found in her "Kitchen" book (of which I have an awesome signed version!). I added a few extra ingredients and upped the amounts, but I just found myself attracted to the idea of the recipe, just a delicious, sweet, smooth-but-chunky soup, which is also nice and light for the summer.

Roasted Pepper and Sweet Corn Soup (serves 4)

4 tbsp olive oil

2 yellow peppers, seeded and quartered
2 orange peppers, seeded and quartered
Knob of butter
1 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
600g tinned Sweet corn (plain not sweetened)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh coriander for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Put the quartered peppers in a roasting tin with the olive oil and some seasoning, and roast for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the red onion and garlic in the butter in a large saucepan.
2. Add 400g of the Sweet corn, the roasted peppers, stock and bay leaf, and boil for about 15 minutes, stirring often. Allow to cool a little, blend, and season to taste. Add the reserved Sweet corn, and bring the soup back up to heat.
3. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander if desired.

Recipe: Wild Garlic Pesto

Since the weather seems to finally picking up, me and Brendan (the boyf!) went on a lovely picnic the other day (nice and simple- ham, emmental and dijon mustard rolls, fruit and cream, sparkling elderflower! lovely!) and we found out that one of our local parks has a load of wild garlic growing in it! This is great news, as normally i have to trek all the way up to Bath University to pick round their forest, which is a bit of a mission really. As expected, this is a very strong and garlicky pesto- but it's quite fragrant and very delicious too. It's not one of those sort of pesto's that you would eat with chunks of ciabatta, but it's very good mixed into sauces, in marinades, and stuffed into things! I make my "traditional pesto" using the same recipe as this- with fresh basil instead of wild garlic and adding 1 clove of garlic.

Wild Garlic Pesto (makes 6 servings)
200g wild garlic leaves
100g pine nuts, toasted
30g grated parmesan
150ml good olive oil (or more depending on how “loose” you want the pesto)
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

1. Blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor/ with a hand blender. Season to taste, garnish with wild garlic flowers if desired, and serve!

Recipe: Turkish Lentil Soup, with Spiced garlicky croutons

I know, 11 days since my last post, but i've been being a very good girl and finishing all my essays up. Once the 23rd May hits, I am utterly free for the summer- and you will see far more regular posting! 4 more essays to complete at hand in, and 2 exams before that though- phew! Made this big batch of lentil soup the other day- I would say it makes about 6 portions. I've frozen a load of it actually, so i can have it as a quick lunch when i dont have time to cook/ am studying. Might defrost some tonight, thicken it up, add some veg to it and make a vegetable dhansak kinda thing actually- yum. I love the comforting thickness, the tang of the lemon, and the unusual flavour of mint in this soup. Sometimes I have this soup with spiced naan breads also, if i dont have any bread or croutons to hand. Oh, and the croutons will last 3 days in an airtight container before going stale. Great way of using up slightly stale-ish bread.

Turkish Lentil Soup, with spiced garlicky croutons (serves 6)

Croutons

5 thick slices bread (you can use stale bread if you want), diced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp herbs du Provence
¼ tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 knob of butter
1 small onion, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp cumin
Large handful mint, finely chopped
230g red lentils
115g bulgur wheat
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1.7 litres vegetable stock
Juice of ½ a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1.      Preheat the oven to 180C, fan oven. On a roasting tray, add all the crouton ingredients, toss to coat, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Set aside.

2.      Meanwhile, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil and butter for 5 minutes. Add the cumin and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add all the other ingredients (except parsley) and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, and cook on a medium heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.      Blend the soup partially (you want it thick, but still with a few chunks in it). Season to taste, and garnish it with the spiced croutons and freshly chopped parsley.  Serve!

Recipe: White Chocolate, Pecan and Coconut Cookies

My new housemates love me! I baked a load of these yesterday, for many reasons. 1) One of our housemates was leaving, so it was something to have at the party for people to nibble on. 2) I gave around a dozen to our leaving housemate, to take to his new home/fiancee. 3) Brought another dozen over to my new-ish neighbours, kinda like a reverse American "Hi welcome to the neighbourhood"- more like "Hi, i've moved in next door and am really nice/awesome at baking so invite me to parties please! and  4) Might enter these into a competition, they are rather scrummy, and a little bit different. There are no raising agents in this recipe (as i didn't have any at home), but feel free to use self raising flour if you want a softer/cakier texture to the cookies.

White chocolate, Pecan and coconut cookies (makes 40)

320g sugar

3 medium eggs

250g butter

250g plain flour

180g chopped  pecans, chopped finely

200g white chocolate, chopped finely

250g dried shredded coconut

Pinch salt

1.       Preheat the oven to 200C (fan oven 180C). Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside to cool a little. Whisk the  eggs and sugar together well (until white and fluffy), then beat in the melted butter.

2.      Add all the other dry ingredients and mix well until you have a fairly firm (but quite sticky!) cookie dough. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Roll 1tbsp amounts of cookie mix into balls and place evenly on the baking tray (leaving a little room for spreading).

3.       Bake in batches, for 14 minutes. Leave to cool slightly, and serve!

Recipe: Roasted Garlic Mushrooms, On Toasted Sourdough with Tomato Chutney

Now this is basically a lovely way of doing what is essentially "posh mushrooms and tomatoes on toast". Verrry garlicky, a little bit spicy, and just generally a nice mix of flavours. I made this for my student mate the other day and they thought it was completely gourmet or something, basically having nice things "on toast" can be such a simple thing to make, a delicious thing to eat, and it can be presented pretty nicely if needs be.

Roasted Garlic mushrooms, on toasted sourdough with tomato chutney (serves 2 as a main, 4 as a starter)
4 thick slices sourdough bread
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

4 large (as large as you can get) field mushrooms
4 garlic cloves
Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 green or red chilli, finely diced
60g butter
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chutney
1 white onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Natural yoghurt for garnish (optional)

1.       Preheat the oven to 180C. Melt the butter in the microwave. Mix in the parsley, garlic, chilli, oil and seasoning. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, and fill the field mushrooms with the garlic butter.

2.       Put the mushrooms in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, put all the chutney ingredients in a saucepan and cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally.

3.       Brush the sourdough with olive oil and seasoning, and grill the bread until golden and crisp. Season the chutney to taste, pour on top of the toast, top with the garlic mushrooms, and a dollop of natural yoghurt if desired.

Recipe: Mexican Tortilla Soup

This is one of the nicest soups I make- and you all know by now that i generally make a lot of them! Its sweet, spicy, tangy, filling, and so moreish! Topping the soup with crushed tortillas gives the soup such an interesting texture as well. I think traditionally tortilla soups are garnished with roast chicken and avocado slices, which you are more than welcome to do- I just didnt do it because my mum is vegetarian and also can't stand avocado!!

Mexican Tortilla Soup  (serves 3)
 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, diced
1 green chilli, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tin chopped tomatoes
650ml vegetable stock
1 tin black eyed beans, drained and rinsed
100g tinned sweetcorn, drained
1 tsp lemon juice
Large handful fresh coriander chopped (plus extra for garnish)
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Crushed tortilla chips for garnish
Lime wedges for garnish

1. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli in the olive oil for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the oregano and cumin and fry for a further couple of minutes.
2. Add the tinned tomatoes and stock, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the beans, sweetcorn, coriander and lemon juice and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
3. Season to taste, and serve, with some fresh coriander and crushed tortilla chips.

Recipe: Custard Buttons

I don't tend to do many "cover recipes"- from books, magazines or celebrity chefs, but with these little morsels I have made an exception. These are an adapted version (I added vanilla, changed amounts around a bit, and increased cooking time) of "Abbie's Custard buttons"- published in "Take a Break My Favourite Recipes" magazine, created by Abigail Smith. What's great about this recipe is it is so incredibly quick to make, yummy- and this batch was actually made with "Pure dairy free soya spread" instead of butter. So this recipe can be turned vegan if so desired!! People at work enjoyed them. I find a nice addition if you have time for it is pink icing and a sprinkling of dessicated coconut on top.

Custard Buttons (makes 18)

200g butter
100g icing sugar
200g flour
60g Bird’s custard powder
½ tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the butter and icing sugar in a mixer until well mixed. Add the flour, custard powder and vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Roll out small circles of the mix with your hands, and place on the baking sheet. Push down slightly, and then with a cocktail stick, make 4 little holes in the mix (so once baked they look like buttons!).
3. Bake in the oven for 22 minutes. Remove, and allow to cool- serve!

Recipe: Italian Cabbage Soup

Have any of you ever tried that "cabbage soup" diet? I have actually, it does work- I lost about 8 pounds in a week. I used to try all sorts of diets a few years, bit of a yoyo dieter. These days I don't really bother about diet plans/ calorie counting, I just try to not over-do it on the booze and portion size, and I exercise more (I have discovered Zumba recently and it is the best thing ever!!). Whilst I was on the cabbage soup diet, I didnt use the recipe that you are supposed to follow (as to be honest it was revolting) so instead I always used to cook it this way. Nowadays I just cook this soup if I fancy it- even a weeks worth of eating it twice a day hasn't put me off this dish- it's a classic, but I love it.

Italian Cabbage Soup (makes 2 servings)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion
1 celery stick
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp thyme
100g diced/shredded savoy cabbage
Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
½ tin tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock
50g frozen peas or soy beans
Sugar, salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Add all other ingredients, except the peas (or soy beans), and cook covered for a further 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve!

Recipe: Mediterranean Potato Bake

Again, sorry for not posting for a while, but it's been a hectic few weeks. I promise from now on you will be inundated by many mant entries, and I will definitely be trying to get more entries and yummy recipes on the blog this year compared to other years. This is a really nice and simple bake i made for me and my boyfriend the other day- pretty tasty and fairly healthy for a potato dish. I served it as a side dish along side a pork loin chop, but it's hearty enough to be a main course in itself, if you so wish.

Mediterranean Potato Bake (serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a side dish)

2 kg potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 white onion, sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
200ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil leaves (for garnish)

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. In a large baking dish, layer the sliced potatoes, and the diced red pepper. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the sliced onions for about 5 minutes, or until browned.
2. Put fried onions on top of the potatoes with the oregano, vegetable stock, and plenty of seasonin. Cover with aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the foil, garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve!

Recipe: Aloo Gobi

A traditional street food dish- aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry) can be found cooking on all the food stalls in Pakistan, as well as in our good ol' fashioned curry houses back in Blighty. The sweet cauliflower matched with the soft spiced potatoes make this recipe a delicious- and very cheap!- dinner, paired with some steamed basmati rice and peshwari naan bread. A big dollop of mango chutney on the side goes very nicely with it as well!

Aloo Gobi (serves 4)

500g potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbsp oil
60g butter
1 white onion, diced finely
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 green chilli, finely diced
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp mild chilli powder
½ a cauliflower, diced
350g passata
400ml water
1 tsp salt
Large handful of fresh coriander, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
Sugar and black pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. In another large pan, fry the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and cumin seeds In the oil and butter, for 10 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the potato and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, and cook on a medium heat for 20 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.
3. Season to taste, and serve with extra fresh coriander!

Recipe: Onion, Mushroom and Brie Tart

Hey guys, sorry about the lack of posting lately- but I must admit there is most likely going to be fewer posts than normal, until June next year probably- because of my degree. Got a lab report due in a week from now, which is absolutely horrifyingly boring and scary. Any way, this is a lovely quick dinner i made for myself last week- I had some brie to use up from when I went to a cheese fair. The brie was lovely actually- it's made in tipperary, soft and a great flavour, and some lovely nice old man sold it to me- Nick told me i'm such a sucker for an irish accent!!

Onion, Mushroom and Brie Tart (serves 4)

Knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp oregano
6 cherry tomatoes
8 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
50ml tomato juice
1 tsp sundried tomato paste
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
200g brie, sliced thinly
1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
Egg (for brushing- optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Fry the onion and garlic for 10 minutes on a low heat, or until caramelised. Add all the other ingredients (except pastry, brie and egg) and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Roll out the pastry onto a baking try lined with greaseproof paper. Mark a small border around the edge of the pastry with a knife, and then prick the middle with a fork to stop this part from rising. Spread with the onion/mushroom mixture, and top evenly with slices of brie.
3. Brush the edges of the tart with beaten egg or milk, and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes- or until the pastry has risen and is golden. Serve, with a healthy green salad.

Recipe: Mediterranean Vegetable Baguette

Bit of an unusual sandwich but it was absolutely delicious, really quick to make, and really set me up for the night! You can use the roasted aubergine slices you get vac-packed in olive oil from the world bit of the supermarkets, or you can just roast slices of it yourself- thick slices, drizzled with plenty of olive oil, salt and pepper, and chucked in the oven at 200C for about 10 minutes.

Mediterranean Vegetable Baguette (serves 1)

1 demi baguette (warm: optional)
4 thick slices roasted aubergine in olive oil (use deli, or roast your own)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small clove garlic, crushed
½ green pepper, diced
4 chestnut mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp Philadelphia
1 tsp sundried tomato paste
Salt and pepper

1. Fry the peppers, mushroom and garlic in olive oil, for 10 minutes. Mix together the Philadelphia and sundried tomato paste. Open up the baguette. Spread both sides with the cream cheese.
2. Arrange the slices of aubergine, and the hot fried mushrooms and peppers. Press together, slice and serve!

Recipe: Gigantes bean and Vegetable Gratin

This is a gorgeaus dish that my boyfriend invented recently, that I thought was so nice i asked him for the recipe to put up on here. I was quite surprised really that Nick came up with this sort of dish, as normally if i ever cook him anything vegetarian he's moans "what no meat??". Fairly healthy as well I suppose. I love those jarred greek gigantes beans in tomato sauce that you get in delis/ the "world" section of supermarkets. The brand we used is called "Odysea Baked Gigantes Beans". About the chilli- last weekend we went to the food market that is held regularly in Green Park station in Bath, and we bought this yellow chilli from a small stall selling bits and bobs. We mainly bought it because the vendor said to Nick how horrifyingly spicy it was and of course Nick had to take up that challenge. If you cant find any yellow chillis about just put a whole red one in there instead.

Gigantes bean and vegetable gratin (serves 2)

355g Jar of baked giganti beans in tomato sauce and olive oil
1/3 of a large leek, sliced
1/4 red onion, diced
Clove garlic, crushed
1/4 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 a yellow chilli, diced finely
6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp tomato chutney
2 ripe fresh tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp grated parmesan
15g grated cheddar
15g grated cheshire
2 tbsp breadcrumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Tip off oil from top of the jar of butterbeans jar into a saucepan (or just use a splash of olive oil). Fry onions, leeks, garlic and chilli, and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Mix in beans, chutney and chopped fresh tomatoes. Season to taste and transfer to baking dish and cover with the grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
3. Bake for 25 mins.Remove and serve!

Recipe: Potato and Chard Bake

This is a rather delicious side dish for two that I made a few nights ago- comforting, easy to make, and rather autumnul feeling I think! I managed to buy some gorgeaus rainbow chard from a lovely market in Kensington I went to last weekend (now doesn't that sound posh!). Bought some fab purple kale too as well actually, although we just steamed that and had it with butter, on the side of a gert pie - yum! If you can't find rainbow chard (or chard for that matter!) use kale or cavelo nero instead.

Potato and Chard Bake (serves 2 as a side dish)

250g chard (ruby or rainbow preferably), diced
850g potatoes, peeled and diced (I like to use Maris Pipers personally)
50g butter
Splash of milk or cream
Salt and pepper
15g breadcrumbs
30g parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Steam the diced chard in a steamer for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until soft .
2. Once cool, squeeze the moisture out of the chard. Drain the potatoes, and mash with the butter and milk/cream. Mix in the cooked chard, and season to taste. Spoon into a small baking dish, top with the breadcrumbs and parmesan and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
3. Put the dish under the grill for a couple of minutes, or until golden. Serve!

Recipe: Griddled Peach and Feta Salad

This is frankly the most GORGEAUS salad recipe I have ever made!!! It's got so much oomph, such zingy flavours, really well paired ingredients- basically it's just fab! If you cant get raspberry vinegar (i'm not actually sure how readily available it is in this country- the raspberry vinegar I have was a nice foodie buy from France this summer) then just use cider vinegar. You can also use nectarines or apricots in the place of peaches if you want. The nice dish i've presented this in was a present my mum brought back to me from Mexico- very pretty isn't it??

Griddled Peach and Feta Salad (serves 2)

Salad
2 ripe peaches
1 tsp raspberry vinegar
½ tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
100g mixed leaves (preferably peppery Italian leaves)
100g feta, diced
Salt and pepper

Dressing
1 tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Salt, sugar and pepper to taste

1. Put a griddle pan onto a high heat. Stone the peaches and cut each one into quarters. Brush each quarter with raspberry vinegar (or lemon juice) and sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper.
2. Put each seasoned peach quarter onto the griddle pan, one of the flesh sides facing down. In 2 minutes, turn it onto it’s other side, and then after another minute, turn it onto the skin side (making sure the peach “wedges” are griddled all over).
3. Put the leaves into a big serving dish. Top with the feta, and the still warm griddled peaches. Whisk together the dressing ingredients, season to taste and pour over the salad. Serve!

Recipe: Rice and Feta Stuffed Peppers

This is a nice recipe I rustled up as I had peppers, risotto rice, and now a load feta to use up suddenly- I had a big 1kg block of feta left over from Widcombe Rising, which (unopened) lasts until 2013 something, but SOMEONE (i'm pointing at you boyfriend!) drunkenly (or more worryingly, in his sleep, like sleep-eating!!) opened the pack of feta and had a nibble, so over the next month probably almost every recipe on here will include feta in some shape or form! I'm wondering whether it would be wise to make a big spanakopita filling (feta, ricotta, dill and spinach) and freeze it, to make spanakopitas at another time, but i'm not really sure how well feta freezes. Any way, this is a very pleasant healthy lunch for two, and very cheap to make.

Rice and Feta Stuffed Peppers (serves 2)

2 large or 3 smaller green peppers, halved and seeded
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 knob of butter
1 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp mixed herbs
100g Arborio rice
400ml vegetable stock
1 large ripe tomato, diced
Handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
80g feta diced

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Lay the halved peppers in a roasting dish and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the extra virgin olive. Season with a little salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the onions and garlic in 1 tbsp of the olive oil and butter for about 10 minutes. Add the mixed herbs, rice, and stock and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the chopped tomato and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the basil and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season the rice to taste and spoon into the roasted pepper halves. Top with the cubed feta, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with some mixed green salad!

Recipe: Chargrilled Courgette, Pea, and Ricotta Tagliatelli

This is such a divine recipe- the earthy flavours of the courgette mixing with the fresh zesty flavours of lemon and ricotta. I got this ricotta from the new Jamie's Deli that's opened up in town, the place is STUNNING- It's like a proper decent Italian deli, just with a few Jamie Oliver branded things scattered about. Theres meats hanging from the ceilings, big wheels of cheese, crates of unusual vegetables outside, and a fab deli counter. However, i had my sneaky eye on the ricotta they were selling, as i could tell it was THE REAL DEAL rather than the watery tasteless ricotta you get from supermarkets. This ricotta, sourced from Westcombe which is only a couple of miles from where I live, is so delicious and creamy and lovely- i'm hooked! This recipe takes 15 minutes to make and is very good for you- it includes at least 2 of your 5 a day in there! You can either use chargrilled courgettes that you get in a packet from the supermarket, or you could make your own by just chucking some courgettes on a griddle pan for a couple of minutes each side.

Chargrilled courgette, pea, and ricotta Tagliatelli (serves 1)

100g dried Tagliatelli
80g frozen peas
80g diced chargrilled courgettes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of half a lemon
Plenty of salt and pepper to taste
30g fresh ricotta

1. Cook the Tagliatelli according to the packet instructions. 2 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the frozen peas to the pan.
2. Drain the peas and pasta, and return to the pan. Mix in the courgettes, olive oil, lemon and seasoning. Top with the fresh ricotta and serve!

Recipe: French Pink Garlic Soup

This is my try at a traditional dish I tried recently on my holiday in the Dordogne, and as promised on this blog, i said i would try and recreate it at home and I think i've done a rather good job! I had a bit of a google to see what other traditional recipes include- many of which included egg or mayonaiise, which was a factor i wasn't too keen on, so i just tried making it as close to what i thought the dish tasted like in the restaurant. I wont lie to you guys, this recipe is not for the faint hearted, you have to really LOVE garlic in order to enjoy this soup. I brought back the large head of pink garlic (the size of a head of elephant garlic really) from my holiday in France (from the market in Sarlat)- but you may be able to get pink garlic from a local farmers market. If you can't, and you wanted to create this recipe with normal garlic (although i'm not sure whether the flavour of normal garlic is the same as pink) then i would reccomend using 25 normal sized garlic cloves. Yes ladies and gentlemen- I said 25. I did say this recipe was for alium lovers!!!

French Pink Garlic Soup (serves 2)

50g butter
3 large white onions
1 large head pink garlic, cloves peeled and roughly chopped
Pinch dried thyme
1 bay leaf
800ml chicken or vegetable stock
75ml double cream
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onions, garlic thyme and bay leaf in the butter for 6 minutes. Add the stock and cook on a high heat for 10 minutes.
2. Add the cream and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, blend, season to taste and serve!

Recipe: Puttanesca for One

Puttanesca is a traditional Italian tomato sauce, traditionally made with tomatoes, olives, capers, olive oil, chilli and garlic. In the Neopolitan region, it is also traditional to add lots of anchovies and oregano to the sauce. I've used worchester sauce because I don't like anchovies (too fishy for me) but worchester sauce is made with anchovies and I quite like that taste of it so i thought it made a good substitute. The sauce is said to have been invented in the 50s, and has been very popular in Italy from the 60s onwards. I have used wholegrain spaghetti this time- but that's what I just happened to have in the house, use white if you'd prefer.

Spaghetti Puttanesca (serves 1)

100g spaghetti
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
100g passata (or tomato juice)
30g black olives
20g capers
2 tsp Worchester sauce
Pinch chilli flakes
Pinch garlic salt
Pinch dried oregano
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (plus extra for garnish)
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

1. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta, and cook according to the packet instructions.
2. Put all the other ingredients in another smaller saucepan, and cook on a medium heat for 6 minutes.
3. Drain the spaghetti, stir in the sauce, and put back on the heat until most of the excess liquid has evaporated and the sauce becomes thick (this normally takes 1-2 minutes).
4.Serve with some freshly chopped parsley on top!