Banana and Blueberry Bread

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How on earth we are already in March I don’t know?! I began the year with a triumphant new years ambition to develop my humble blog, challenge my culinary skills and pepper it with new recipes. However due to a number of unexpected hurdles over the past months this hasn’t been actioned as much as I’d like! With a very busy and eventful week at work under my belt and a browning bowl of bananas sitting provocatively on the kitchen table I thought of nothing better than to create the comforting, warming and homely delights of a banana bread loaf to scoff with tea. Studded with crunchy pecans and soft sharp blueberries it is delicious eaten alone or toasted with ice cream. I love the use of muscovado sugar in this recipe which was a deviation from my usual (and reliable) recipe using a more refined caster sugar. But its treacle like flavour and depth adds a decadent dimension to this classic.

Makes 1 loaf or 4 mini loaves

  • 250g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 125g softened butter
  • 235g muscovado sugar
  • 400g ripe bananas (about 4 )
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 100g blueberries
  • 50g chopped pecans
  • 1-2 tbsp demerara sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line 1 x 400g loaf tin or 4 small loaf tins
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and muscovado sugar until creamy and fluffy.
  3. Gradually beat in the eggs, bit by bit.
  4. Mash the bananas with a fork in another bowl and add the vanilla extract. Combine thoroughly with the butter and sugar mixture.
  5. Sieve the flour and baking powder over the mixture and fold in to combine.
  6. Gently fold in the blueberries and pecans until evenly distributed
  7. Spoon the mixture into the lined tins.
  8. Scatter the top with a generous dusting of ground cinnamon and then top with the crunchy demerara sugar to create a nice crust.
  9. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes for the small tins and around 50 minutes for a large loaf tin. Check after 30 minutes regardless and remove from the oven when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  10. Leave to cool in their tins and then remove.
  11. Slice and serve layered with cinnamon mascarpone, yoghurt or warm with ice cream.
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Chocolate Fondant with Frangelico Mascapone

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I’ve always been in awe of the chocolate making process after watching an enlightening series featuring the modern day Willy Wonker, Willie Harcourt-Cooze. An enthusiastic middle class chocolate dreamer, he set about to live his dream of authentic chocolate making. To me, England feels like a country of chocolate addicts, or more likely, sugar addicts disgusing themselves as cacoa enthusiasts!? Without sounding like a chocolate snob, many of the milk chocolate bars that litter the countries newagents shelves have such a low cacao/‘chocolate’ content that in some countries it would be illegal to title this chocolate!

I’m an adorer of the dark stuff. The darker the better. I’ve always been amazed at how a 100% bar is created? With no sugar to bind it together its a pure cacao lovers heaven. Its painful sharing my 90% bar of goodness, when I just know that the majority will screw up thier faces in fright as they force down the ‘bitter soap’ they’ve just eaten as they compare to the likes of our dairy milk. But my chocolate interest has promted me to sample styles made from a variety of beans from all over the world and to really appreciate the differences in flavours. refining my love of the pure taste and the lower sugar content.

So when a work collegaue refreshingly and surprisingly bought in some tasty samples of his families homemade chocolate from their humble little Cotswold business – Doble & Bignall – I was keen to devour a piece and was taken by the first bite. Like beer, cheese and wine, chocolate varies in flavour substantially. Not just with the percentage but with the beans and country. Doble & Bignal have a small range of bars using beans from the likes of Panama and Venezuelan. The chocolate is smooth, tasty and distinctive. Perfect for a cheeky recipe. I kept the fonadant simple (I know…me not messing with a recipe!? Shocker) Firsty because shamefully this was the first fondant I’d attempted ever to make and the goo-cented, molten chocolate lava that should sterotypicaly weep from the middle like a happy sobbing child was far too much pressure to meddle with at this stage. So instead, go crazy on accompaniment. Frangelico mascapone, vanilla and orange ice cream or just heavily doused in a thick wall spporting, cement-like spatula of whippped double cream.

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Serves 6

Fondant

  • 85g caster sugar
  • 150g unsalted butter
  • 150g dark chocolate (E.g. Doble & Bignal’s bar)
  • 3 whole free range eggs
  • 3 whole eggs yolks
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • Soft butter and cocoa powder to line the moulds
  1. Start by greasing 6 small dariole moulds with butter. Dust with cocoa powder and shake of any excess. Set aside on a baking try.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  3. In a heatproof bowl combine the sugar, butter and chocolate and melt over a pan of barely simmering water. Allow to melt fully then set aside to cool slightly.
  4. When it is luke warm, whisk in the eggs continuously. The mixture will begin to thicken but keep whisking (don’t be tempted to add the eggs while the chocolate is still too warm of the eggs will scramble…yuck). Then fold in the flour.
  5. Pour the mixture evenly into the moulds and then chill for at least 25 minutes.
  6. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes. Take out of the oven, run a knife around the edge and turn out onto a plate. Serve with a dollop of your chosen cream and watch and enjoy in awe as (hopefully) your gooey fondant melts all over your plate…!

NOTE: I took my first test fondant out of the oven after 10 minutes and it still felt a little squishly in the middle to the touch. With the risk of having an overocoked fondant I took it out anyway. Shamefully on turning out it collapsed all over the plate….hence the additional mintues. However, oven will vary so perhaps cook for less time and do a touch test before remving the whole batch if the pressure is on…!

Frangelico Mascarpone

Please note – I did this by taste so the below measurements are a total guide. Start with less and keep adding more sugar and liquer until it is to your taste.

  • 250g mascarpone
  • About 4 tbsp sieved icing sugar (or as much as you like just to sweeten)
  • 1-2 tbsp frangelico liquer (to taste)
  1. Whisk the frangelico and icing sugar into the mascarpone, tasting as you go along to sweeten as you like.

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Seabass in a Fragrant Coconut Sauce

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As an avide foodie I crave and adore nothing more than a night in with a new recipe, ingredient, technique or guest to experiment on for the blog! Cheaper, more fun and far more relaxing. However, since moving to London the expanse of diverse, exciting and vibrant culinary pop-ups, restaurants, cafes and bars has stolen part of my attention which had been held hostage to the blog for a long while. I rarely eat out, only really on occasion. And then, nothing pains and bruises me more than ordering (or eating!) something I could have made myself. Be it better, warmer, larger or cheaper! Hence, I choose my dining locations carefully and my menu choices with thought.

However, as a fellow foodie, my willing sister and I venture out on a monthy or so basis to one of London’s restaurants to excite our taste buds, get inspiration and frankly for a girly catch up. Our list of ‘must try restaurants’ is only growning sadly. It seems that once one is ticked off another is added. We’ve had some great food but last Friday, after long frustrating working weeks, a home cooked delicious meal was in order. A few luxurious king prawns, a little love, time and attention and an aromatic riesling guaranteed and certainly delivered a more relaxing, cheaper, (boozier…..ahem…..) and enjoyable evening. This dish was delicious and hit the spot for flavour, decadence (without being time consuming I add, especially if you miss out the stock infusion at the start) and highly satisfying. Followed by a few too many scoops of my cheats salted caramel ice cream it was agreed that an evening in was far more rewarding and enjoyable than filling London’s bars and tills with our hard earned cash!

Serves 4

  • 4 seabass fillets
  • 8-10 large raw whole king prawns (win heads and shell) Optional – if you want to make a flavoursome stock. Raw cleaned prawns are fine if not.
  • 2 tsp coconut oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Thumb sized piece ginger, grated
  • 20g tumeric root, grated
  • 1 large red chilli (heat according to taste)
  • 350ml fish stock
  • 400ml coconut milk
  • 1 stick lemongrass
  • 1 Kaffir lime leaf
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • Bunch spring onions, chopped
  • Large bunch coriander, chopped
  • 2 limes, 1 cut into wedges to serve
  • Around 8oz rice – I used red Camargue rice
  • Greens to serve e.g. mange tout, pak choi etc.
  1. [This first step is optional and can be skipped. It will add a depth of flavour to the dish by using the shells and heads to enrich your fish stock. Peel the shells and heads from the prawns keeping the prawns for later. Heat a little oil in a saucepan on a medium high heat and add the shells and heads. Fry for about 5-8 minutes until they turn pink and begin to release their flavour and oily orangey juices. After this time, add the hot fish stock and simmer gently for about 4 minutes.
  2. Sieve through a fine sieve into a jug or another saucepan retaining all the liquid but then discard the shells. Keep the stock warm until needed.]
  3. Next, heat a tsp of coconut oil in a heavy based saucepan. Fry the ginger, tumeric, garlic and chilli for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the stock and coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
  4. Bash the lemongrass with the back of a knife a few times to open up the layers and add to the pan with the lime leaf and simmer gently for about 10 minutes to reduce the sauce and let the faours infuse.
  5. Add the fish sauce (I suggest adding it a tbsp at a time and tasting in between as once its in you can’t take it out again!).
  6. I made this a day ahead and I really think it benefitted from some time infusing in the pan while quietly chilling in the fridge (especially using the lime leave and lemongrass which will release thier flavours endlessly). I recommend at this stage to remove from the heat and leave to cool and infuse overnight. If not, continue as below.
  7. Simmer (or reheat, depending on your method) the sauce until you reach the desired creamy consistency you prefer then remove the lemongrass and lime leaf and discard. Stir in the chopped spring onions and coriander. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep warm while you prepare the rest.
  8. Cook your rice and add the juice of 1 lime to the drained hot grains and set aside to keep warm.
  9. Heat a frying pan over a medium high heat and add another tsp or so of coconut oil. Cut your seabass fillets in half if you wish, and score the skin to stop them curling up on frying. Fry, skin side down for 2-3 minutes, flipping only whe the skin is crisp and the flesh is almost done which you will see when the majority of it has turned white.
  10. While the seabass is cooking, add your prawns to the hot coconut sauce. Add them when the sauce is barely simmering to gently and lightly cook the prawns. Don’t overcook these or they will go all chewy. They need very little time and heat so a brief blast in the hot sauce until they just turn pink will do sufficiently.
  11. To serve, divide the lime rice among large warmed soup bowls.
  12. Top with the seabass fillets and divide the creamy sauce around the outside. Scatter with any reserved coriander and a juicy zesty wedge of lime!

To serve – I served mine with some briefly blanched sugar snap peas and mange tout. Drained and dressed quickly with a teaspoon of sesame oil while still hot and scattered with nigella seeds.

NOTE: This would also work very well with salmon. Feel free to gently poach the fillets in the coconut sauce for a different technique. Serve with any greens you like. Another addition would be to grate in some fresh coconut for added texture and taste.

WINE: Served with a lovely aromatic riesling to balance with the spice in this dish. Or a beer if you prefer! See here for some lovely suggestions.

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To follow if you’re feeling like you need a Friday treat…………

  1. Mix 1 can caramel condensed milk, 300ml single cream, 1 ½ tsp flaky maldon salt, crumbled in a tupperware. Freeze until set and then devour! NO CHURNING INVOLVED! (Crumble in some roasted hazelnuts, walnuts peanuts or pecans if you like)
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Celery Soup

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I first saw this recipe on a recent cookery show. ‘Which show?’ you might be wondering in bemusement because to me it feels as if television has become hostage to culinary ‘entertainment’ over the past year or so. And as a foodie I’ve ironically become frustrated and uninterested in them. We’re getting mixed messages about how cooking can be express-train fast (Jamie ahem…) using (expensive) pre-bought and usually additive laden ingredients. In utter confliction we’re being patronisingly taught that we can all cook to a budget if we spend a little more time in the kitchen and buy sensibly. As if this wasn’t a mixed enough message chefs are instructing us to be eating healthily and avoiding manufactured pre bought goods! And finally at the end of all these mantras we’re smacked round the face with a diabetes inducing screenful of cake and butter and ‘comfort food’? Rant over, this is one of the reasons I’ve avoided foodie programmes. However, like I said, I recently caught an episode of Tom Kerridge trying his hand at TV chef (cringe….sorry Tom). I’ve always admired his honest hearty cooking but when I saw a soup made of celery and his trimmed down physic I did wonder if he’d fallen off the foodie wagon. But don’t panic! Tom doesn’t let you down on sustenance….trust his gusty recipe and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Light and delicate in flavour but a wonderfully filling and satisfying soup it makes a change from the usual suspects…

Serves 4

  • 1 sliced onion
  • 2 grated garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 small potato, diced
  • 1 litre hot chicken stock
  • 1kg celery, chopped (leaves reserved for garnish)
  • Bunch chives or flatleaf parsley
  • About 4 tbsp mascarpone cream
  1. Start by heating the rapeseed oil in a heavy based saucepan. When hot soften the onion for 5-10 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further few minutes.
  2. Add the diced potato and cool for 3-4 minutes to soften. Then add the hot stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for about 8 minutes or so until the potato is soft.
  3. Add the celery and continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes of so until soft.
  4. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until smooth and velvety. Add the mascarpone and the herbs and plenty of seasoning to taste.
  5. Blend again and serve, topped with a little rapeseed oil and a scattering of extra chives/parsley and some celery leaves.

Hoisin Chicken

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Bill Granger has inspired yet another comfortingly Asian and finger licking dish for this weekends menu. Perhaps its the chilly and wintery weather that has blanketed London recently? The defeated gloom and pessimism only English winter can bring to the weather beaten faces of a us resentful Brits caused me to find myself reaching again for my colourful sunny copy of Bill Granger’s ‘Everyday Asian’. Cooked to inspire some colour and sunshine into the tail end of January. Today the weather was mediocre and after a day of chilly London adventure, I returned home to a warm tasty and sticky bowl of hoisin chicken and rice.

Serves 4

Hoisin Chicken

  • At least 8 piece of chicken (a mix between thighs and drumsticks)
  • 100ml hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp chilli sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp five spice powder
  • Garnish – sesame seeds, sliced spring onions, lime wedges, chopped fresh coriander

Broccoli

  • 1 large broccoli
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • ½ tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp runny honey
  1. Start with the chicken. Mix the marinade ingredients in a large baking dish and add the chicken pieces. Coat well. Leave to marinade for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Roast the chicken for 35 minutes until cooked and glazed.
  3. Meanwhile, cook your rice if you are having this as a side dish.
  4. Mix together the dressing ingredients and lightly boil the broccoli just before the chicken is ready. Drain and leave to dry out a little. While still warm, toss with the dressing.
  5. Serve the chicken with rice (if you wish) and the broccoli. Scatter over sesame seeds, sliced spring onions and chopped coriander and any extra sticky glaze if you like!

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Thai ‘Papaya Noodle’ Salad

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I bought a Papaya on a wim. As an extremely disciplined person by nature, I find it annoyingly frustrating that I can never resist a supermarket food offer! After freely placing it in my basket without a second economic thought, my mind began racing over what to make with it. On my walk home, sat in the cinema that same afternoon and whilst relaxing in the bath the culinary devil sat on my shoulder. With salmon in the fridge I couldn’t resist the flavoursome attraction of Thai ingredients to combine with from the pantry.

This recipe is loosely based on one by ‘The Hairy Bikers’. However it does emit some of the ingredients suggested as the pantry let me down (shocker) on tamarind water….but it tasted delicious! And who knows, it could taste even better? The important thing here is to make the dressing seperately and taste as you go along adding more of any ingredient you need depending on the taste which is how I came up with the below. Only then, once you have it to your liking, should you dress the salad. This may sound hard but trust your instinct and taste buds! See below for help.

Serves 2-3 depending on appetite!

  • 1 large papaya, peeled and chopped into matchsticks of julienned with a peeler
  • 3 oz red camague rice
  • 1 small red chilli, finely copped
  • 2cm knob ginger, half grated, half finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, grated
  • Juice 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 ½ tbsp sugar (palm or brown sugar)
  • Bunch mint leavves, chopped roughly
  • Bunch basil, chopped roughly
  • Large handful roasted peanuts
  • 2-3 salmon fillets
  • 1 head broccoli
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  1. Start by simmering the rice in boiling water for about 20 minutes until cooked. Drain and keep warm
  2. Next make the dressing. In a large bowl, mix together the chopped chilli, garlic, ginger, lime juice, soy, fish sauce and sugar. Give it all a good mix and taste. Add more of what you think it needs. This may be hard but use your instinct. Add more lime for sharpness, sugar for sweetness and soy for savoury saltiness. Quantities will all depend on the ingredients you start with. The soy I used here for example was even new to me –  a very dark, intense type unlike my usual light soy which is less pungent.
  3. Set aside the dressing when you’re happy with it while you julienne the papaya. I have a special peeler for this which I highly recommend if you’re into your raw vege noodles (see here). If not, chopp into matchsticks.
  4. You want to assemble the salad at the last minute when ready to eat so cook your salmon and broccoli before this. Heat a large fryng pan until medium-hot. Add a tbsp olive oil and fry the salmon fillets, skin side down for about 3 minutes on the skin side. Once the skin is nice and crispy turn onto the flesh side and cook for a further 2 minutes to brown it all over and create a lovely charred crust on the outside. Don’t be tempted to cook the salmon longer, the crust on the outside will be a delicous contrast to the soft just-pink inside. No matter what thickness the salmon, it should (generally) never take more than 5 minutes in a medium hot pan. Additionally, it will continue cooking while you bring it to the table.
  5. Steam or boil your broccoli and drain. Drizzle with the sesame oil.
  6. When ready to serve, combine the rice with a few tablespoons of dressing. Add the papaya, chopped herbs and peanuts and mix (reserving a handful or herbs for garnish). Add enough dressing to your liking but make sure its not swimming in the stuff!
  7. Top the salad with your tender salmon fillets alongside your freshly cooked broccoli and scatter with the reserved herbs.

WINE: Excellent served with a delicious Riesling (see here for a suggestion)

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Chilli Corn Soup

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I’ve been creating a lot of soup recipes recently. Its such a fantastic way of getting your greens and vegetable into your diet. And with the chilly weather recently, I’ve found myself lunching on soup nearly everyday! So some variation was in order. I churn out the same old soups, for ease, taste and price. But with a little thinking time I’ve tried to come up with some more original ideas to keep lunch times more interesting.

Like my quick pea and mint soup this is another super speedy soup that can be made in about 15minutes. Its so full of flavour and punch for such a quick recipe! While served simply as it is its great for a quick or light lunch it can be bulked up by adding some raw king prawns while you heat it through or with more chunks of hot fried chorizo for more of a hearty chowder style. I’ve also been known to crush a handful of cheese laden nachos on top too….and on the side….and errr….as a second course on those chilly nights. Its improtant to keep warm you know.

(This is a chunkier and spicier sweetcorn soup to the velvety creamed corn soup version here)

Serves 4

  • 4 spring onions, chopped including green tops
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1 red chilli – as hot as you can handle
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 cans sweetcorn (net drained weight about 520g or the same weight in frozen corn)
  • About 500ml hot stock
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  • Large bunch chopped coriander, stems reserved
  • To serve – Lime yoghurt, soured cream fried chorizo, prawns etc
  1. Heat a splash of oil in a sauce pan. Fry the spring onion lightly until softened then add the garlic and chilli and fry for a few minutes.
  2. Add the sweetcorn to the pan along with the chilliflakes and coriander stems and turn up the heat.
  3. Add just enough stock to cover the corn so there is enough for it to simmer in the liquid. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
  4. Blend with a hand blender adding as much stock as you need to obtain the consistency you want. Grates in the zest of the lime and squeeze in the juice. Add the coriander and blend again.
  5. Serve topped with e.g. fried chorizo, fried prawns, lime yoghurt a drop of chilli oil OR…. all of the above!

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Chicken Gyozas

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These bitesized morsels are one of my boyfriends favourites. But how could I possibly be outdone and beaten by Wagamamas on any culinary level!? As a passionate cook and foodie how could I let it rest that there was a dish out there he’d rather order in over cooking! Challenge raised and accepted, out came my surface level competitve and perfectionists nature. So, this weekend I attempted to make my first chicken gyozas – aka Japanese dumplings if you’re a Japanese or Wagamama newbie. I’d never really had these before so the idea seemed daunting, with thoughts of specialised steamers or equipment. But I can’t lie….these could not have been easier to recreate at home! I’ll admit they are a little fiddly to assemble but with 2 or 3 under your belt they’re easy. The only draw back is the time consuming assembly as after the first 5 or 6 you begin to get bored with the repetitive nature. With my boyfriend away this weekend I thought I’d practice them alone – a wise move if I had any hope of winning (my own?) challenge. However, now I know they are a success an extra pair of hands for the assembly wouldn’t go amiss! But I stress now that once made the cooking couldn’t be easier. Fried then steamed in a matter of minutes! Fast food that is totally fresh, hot and steamed to order. You can even make them in advance and cook within 10 minutes for any hungry guests.

Recipe adapted (with good reason) from ‘The Hairy Bikers’. (Makes about 30!?)

Gyoza Skin

  • 150g plain flour
  • 150g strong bread flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 200ml boiling water

Chicken Filling

  • 500g minced chicken
  • 1/3 white cabbage, shredded
  • Large knob ginger, grated
  • 3 cloves garlic, grated
  • ½ tsp salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp chopped spring onions (green parts)
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • Pinch sugar
  • Sunflower oil for frying

Dipping sauce

  • 6 tbsp soya sauce
  • 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • Squeeze lime juice
  • Dash chilli oil
  1. Combine and taste. Adjust as necessary

Assembly

  1. Start with the dough. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and then gradually pour in the water using a knife to mix it. Keep mixing until it comes together to form a dough.
  2. Form the dough into a ball using your hands then wrap in clng film and rest and cool in the fridge for 1 hour.
  3. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl and use your hands to squeeze the ingredients together.
  4. When ready to assemble remove the dough from the fridge. Chop in half to make it easier to handle and roll the dough as thinly as you can on a flowered surface. Use a 10cm cutter to cut rounds of the dough.
  5. Place a tsp of chicken mixture into the middle then use a dash of water to wet the circumference of the dough circle with your finger.
  6. Make the next bit as professional as you like. I made mine look more like mini pasties but as long as the filling remains locked in, it doesnt matter what they look like!
  7. Start by folding the dough over the filling so you form a half moon shape like a mini cornish pasty. Pinch together the middle so it sticks and do the same with the other sides. Pleat the edges however you like so it is tightly sealed. Place on a flowered tray while you make the rest.
  8. Repeat this with the remaining mixture until you have a tray of gyozas (about 30 depending on size).

Cooking

  1. When ready to cook, heat a large frying pan that can hold a fitted lid or a shallow saucepan with a tbsp or two of sunflower oil until hot.
  2. Fill the pan with as many gyozas as will fit in one layer placing them on thier flat base side for about 2 minutes until golden brown and a crust has formed. Make sure they don’t stick by giving them a shake now and again.
  3. Once a crusty golden base has formed, add 200ml of water to the pan and immediately fit with a lid. This will bubble up and steam up nicely so turn the heat down to a medium high or healthy simmer. Give them a shake to release any that are in danger of getting stuck to the bottom and then steam for 2 minutes.
  4. Remove the lid and cook for another 2 minutes.
  5. Serve immediately once removed from the pan and scatter with fresh chopped coriander and the dipping suace.
  6. Chopsticks for the experienced…..

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Pea and Ham Soup, Parmesan Croutons

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Bit of a belated recipe post for a festive Christmas soup to use up those leftovers and freshen the taste buds after an indulgent feast! Apologies if the posts have been a little thin on the ground recently. I haven’t stopped eating or reverted to a juice only January diet that some of my friends (sorry acquaintances) have been doing (!?). I also haven’t stopped cooking….or taking photos! Far from it. But the combination of a broken laptop and a delicious adventure to Paris over New Year stole my attention temporarily.

I’m no killjoy so don’t worry, the health benefits of the peas in this recipe can be couteracted slightly if you’ve invested some well worth time into cooking a delicious succulent sugar glazed ham and have any straggling leftovers to pop in. Simialry this can be countereacted with some cheese saturated paremsan croutons. Alternatively continue the alcohol themed festivities and serve with a delicious door-stop wedge of my served ’Boy Beer Bread’ slathered with salted butter.

Pea, Mint and Ham Soup

Serves 4

  • 550g frozen peas (50g reserved)
  • 750ml hot stock
  • 1 onion, chopped finely
  • 1 large clove garlic, diced
  • 1 large knob butter
  • Small handful thyme, leaves stripped
  • Handful fresh mint
  • Large handful of leftover shredded or chopped ham or ham hock
  • Serve with parmesan croutons below of butter slathered bread. E.g. a wedge of my ’Boy Beer Bread’
  1. Heat the butter with a splash of oil in a large saucepan until beginning to sizzle.
  2. Slowly cook and soften the onion for about 8-10 minutes until soft and translucent.
  3. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a few more minutes.
  4. Next, turn up the heat and add the peas and mix. Add 600ml of the hot stock and half the mint leaves
  5. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 8 minutes.
  6. After this time remove from the heat and blend with a stick blender. Add more stock if you want it thinner, this with vary on how you like you’re soup.
  7. Chop the reminaing mint leaves and then add to soup and blend again.
  8. Return the soup to the hob and add the reserved whole peas and stir in the ham.
  9. Heat through for a few minutes then enjoy!

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Parmesan Croutons

  • 250g stale bread, cut or ripped into large croutons
  • 4 large dessertspoons of grated parmesan
  • About 4 tbsp olive oil
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Douse the bread in the olive oil in a large baking tray. Cover with the parmesan and mix. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden and crispy.

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Gingerbread Ice Cream, Lemon Apple Tart

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Gingerbread! Not only is it a festive crowd and stomach pleaser but its also an adored treat in the Wardlaw household! So what could be better than gingerbread and ice cream combined for a festive spicy Christmas lunch dessert this year. I think I’ve gotten a little carried away with the gingerbread theme recenty (see here for gingerbread latte macaroons and here for gingerbread scotch pancakes). And those that know me know that ice cream is my achilles heel (see here for some inventive creations).

We’re probably in the minority in terms of food ethos on Christmas day. While many people might not think twice about their pudding choice I like to choose something that leads on from the indulgent main event that leaves people feeling happy and not sick and queezy. Don’t get me wrong, we’re a family with healthy appetite but a modest one. So, I always create something fresh and clean to cleanse the greasy remains of the turkey lunch so this zesty fresh tart is perfect.

This is a really old and long used tart recipe which could not be more simple to knock out! If you’re not making your own pastry it can be ready to go in under an hour!

Serves 6

Gingerbread Ice Cream

Although you could just flavour the ice cream base with gingerbread spices, I thought some added crumbled gingerbread would be a nice addition. Gingerbread is characteristcally mosit so I dried and crisped mine up beforehand to provide some texture to the final snowball scoop.

  • 1 can condensed milk
  • 300ml single cream
  • 1tsp ground ginger
  • 1tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g gingercake (I used Jamacian ginger loaf)
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Crumble the ginger cake onto a baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes or so, keeping an eye on it, until it begins to crisp a bit or loose some of its moisture. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Don’t worry – once its cooled it will crisp up more.image
  2. Mix the condensed milk and cream together thoroughly in a jug then add the spices and mix.
  3. Churn in an ice cream maker until thick but not too set. Alternatively you can pour it into a tupperware box and leave to set in the freezer until thicker and no longer sloppy.image
  4. Once the ice cream is the right consistency and the cake crumbs have cooled, stir them into the ice cream so it is distributed evenly and then freeze until hard.

Lemon and Apple Tart

Shortcrust Pastry (enough for 2 tart cases)

  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 250g plain flour
  • Zest of 1 lemon

Filling

  • 1 large cooking apple
  • 2 large eggs, whisked
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 50g melted butter
  1. Start with the pastry. I like to use plain shortcrust as the ice cream and filling are sweet enough. Mix together the butter and flour in a food processer until it forms a breadcrumb like texture and then grate in the lemon zest and mix.
  2. Keep adding a few tbsps of cold water bit by bit and mix until you form a soft smooth dough.
  3. Form gently into a dough and shape into a disc. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C and line and grease a 20cm loose bottomed tart tin.
  5. Once rested, roll the pastry thinly on a floured surface and line the tart tin pushing the pastry into the edges neatly. Use a fork to prick 4-5 wholes across the base to stop it puffing up while cooking. Line with a sheet of baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake the tart case blind for about 15-20 minutes until it has a light straw colour and is mostly cooked.
  6. Remove the beans and parchment and return the case to the oven to cook the base for about more 5 minutes. Finally brush with a little beaten egg to cover the wholes and seal the pastry.
  7. Leave the case to cool while you make the filling.image
  8. Whisk the eggs, sugar and lemon zest and juice in a bowl.
  9. Melt the butter and add to the mixture, whisking as you go.
  10. Grate the apple into the eggs too.
  11. Fill the tart case with the mixture and bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until just set and golden on top.

Serve the tart dusted with icing sugar and with a snowball of gingerbread ice cream!

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