26May
Pork and sage hand pies
These pies have everything that you need in your hand (and mouth): pork, sage, mustard and Parmesan.
lunch
11May
Sweet potato and feta galette
A savoury galette with foolproof crumbly, buttery pastry. This is my first ever attempt at making a galette. I didn’t even know what it was until someone challenged me to do it. Sure, once I googled it I realised I had seen it before – quite a popular little tart – and how had I never tried it before? The internet is choc-a-block full of different galettes, but mainly sweet ones, which look amazing with a good dollopo of ice cream in the middle. But true to my stubborn streak I decided to try not only a savoury galette but the less travelled road of a square shaped one too. In the process of testing this recipe I got sick of measuring grams for my shortcrust pastry and decided to work on a ratio as a quick go to whether serving two people or six. I am very proud to annouce it is: 1 liquid : 2 fat : 4 flour *taps self on the back obnoxiously* Sweet potato and feta galette (serves 2) For the pastry: 60g cold butter 120g plain flour 30ml cold water 1 tsp salt 1. In a bowl rub butter and flour together with your
17Dec
Cheese scones with cherry chutney
I have been struggling with the flu for the last two days. Deciding to walk around the Christmas market in the pouring rain does that to you. With the temperatures dropping and the sun becoming very shy this time of year it has been easy for me to sleep in. And sleeping in means that meals merge into one another and this gives me a great excuse to have brunch in bed. In England scones are often eaten as an afternoon treat, with tea and sweet toppings like clotted cream and jam, and although I will never say never to a scone with cream and jam I will always reach for the savoury ones first. Scones are not what first pops into people’s mind when they think of brunch, but for me that’s the perfect dish to have with coffee. Fluffy cakes with tangy cheese. Chutney is often paired with cheese scones but my choice of cherries as the fruit is unconventional for a chutney. It makes it a little sweeter than traditional recipes, but as a big fan of sweet and sour tastes this was a gamble that paid off. Sweet cherry chutney (yields around 300g) 250g frozen pitted cherries
13Oct
Falafel burger with halloumi fries
Do you know the feeling when you reluctantly try a new weird dish and fall in love with it? Falafels did that to me. Funnilly enough my local pub was serving a special of open falafel and guacamole during the summer. I had it twice and then just had to try and re-create it at home. Rather than guacamole I added a simple yoghurt and coriander sauce to pair it with the chili powder. It may look like an innocent hand held snack but this is one filling burger. Falafel burger (makes 2) 230g canned chickpeas (drained weight) Zest of one lemon 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp tahini 2 garlic cloves 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs 1 egg Flatbreads, red onions and lambs lettuce 1. Dry the chickpeas well with a paper towel. Blend all ingredients together breadcrumbs to one side. Blend until you get a smooth paste. Mix half of the breadcrumbs in and with your hands shape the paste into patties. Cover patties with remaining breadcrumbs and leave it to chill for at least 10 minutes 2. Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the
06Sep
White pizza margherita
My blogger friend Amanda gave me this idea to make a #dirtypizzaparty to get all of our guilty pleasures on top of one base (or two. or three). This pizza party is transatlantic btw so i had this 12″ margherita to myself. She reiterated the pizza had to have your favourite, guilty food as a topping. And loads of it. Consequently cheese, which means the topping is pure cheese with a touch of cherry tomatoes. Pizza for me is all about simplicity, the way to my heart is a thin crispy margherita, simple and crunchy. The base in my opinion can make or break a pizza. This challenge by Amanda push me outside of my comfort zone because I rarely make bread and have never made a pizza base before. No, correction – I have attempted it before but ti doesn’t even bear thinking about it. The shape on my white pizza base turned out very “rustic” but the texture was really amazing, when rolled to half an inch it bakes like heaven. White pizza margherita (makes 2 12” pizzas) for the base: 300g plain flour 7g dried active yeast 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil 200ml warm water 1.
