Brunchy Fridge-Raid Hash

Use up fridge remnants and fix your hangover. Boom.

'So, er, are we having anything nice for breakfast today? It doesn't matter if we aren't, I can just have Branflakes...' is the hopeful question I am asked eeeeeevery Saturday and Sunday morning. I like fun weekend breakfasts. I hate the idea of having cereal on a weekend. Cereal is for don't have time to grab anything more fun mornings. Weekdays. Workdays. But, and here is the tricky bit, it's all very well fastidiously planning your evening meals and having exciting, balanced, delish but not too expensive that you drain the joint account in one week meals Monday to Friday, but I find it hard to be THAT person who always plans super far ahead and generally run out of enthusiasm/inspiration. My response to the question asked is normally, 'Erm, eggs?' Luckily at times like these I suddenly remember the joys of fridge-raid hash. No, we do not get high for breakfast (not judging anyone who wants to do that...we all need to get by...) but by taking a little group of ingredients, that more often than not lurk in the fridge seemingly all by themselves, frying up in a big pan and chucking an egg on top, you have a knock out breakfast/brunch, and without trying that hard at all. And NO HORRIBLE BRANFLAKES!

One thing you do need is spuds, this can be in big or baby form, but you do need them. Take the amount you want to eat and either boil whole if tiny, or shop into desired sized pieces if big. Par-boil, drain, and set aside. What follows is one road you can go down, but don't feel you have to stick to it.

Feeds two. Chop an onion into quite chunky pieces and soften in olive oil in a large frying pan along with a finely sliced chilli and two cloves of garlic. Add a handful of chorizo, soft cooking chorizo is best but whatever you have works. Add a sliced pepper. Throw in the already cooked spuds, season generously and stir around really well, ideally letting the spuds catch slightly giving you some lush crispy bits. Add more oil if it all looks a bit dry. Tip into two bowls and top with some tomato wedges, chopped parsley and a fried egg (yolk MUST be runny for optimum eggy sauce).

Now for the fun bit, here is a list of the things that are sometimes lurking in the back of my fridge that I would happily use: pancetta, any sausage (probably best removed from casings), feta cheese, spinach, chilli flakes, courgettes, spring onions, cherry tomatoes, avocado (for topping with, not mixing in when cooking), you get the idea. Even better if they are just about to go off, so you can eat with a little glow of contentment that you saved them from a mouldy demise.

Now go and make your bits and bobs hash, and don't feel sad about boring weekend breakfasts again!

Man Salad (Pigeon, Pear & Walnut Salad)

Salad for men. Or women who also like meat in
 their salad (**puts hand up**).

Haven't blogged for a long time. But don't worry, I have been eating. Just not much in the way of new recipes as we were still doing building work. And I had a baby. Keeps you on your toes but now have my cooking mojo back. Whoop! Here's a nice new one to ease us into Autumn...

Many men balk at the idea of a salad. Throw some meat in and suddenly they are interested. Throw in some perfectly seared, just on the right side of pink, tender as anything pigeon breasts and they will barge you out the way before you can say 'I thought you didn't do salad'. This is so quick to put together, properly seasonal for right now and substantial and delicious enough to keep both hungry boys and the girls happy.

Feeds 4. Boil approx 400g of baby new potatoes in salted water until just cooked. Next do the pigeon breasts as they need a little time to rest after cooking. Take 8 breasts and season really generously. Get a heavy bottomed frying pan super hot and heat some olive oil or butter. Sear the breasts for no longer than 2 minutes each side, you want caramelisation on the outside but still pink in the middle, without blood running all over your greens. Give them a squidge, cut one open, better to have to put them back in than over cook and ruin them). Take out and put aside to rest.

Now make the dressing. In a pestle and mortar bash a small clove of garlic and a few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked, with a pinch of salt to make a paste. Stir in 2 tsp of sherry vinegar (can use whatever type you want, I just love sherry) and 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Chop two quite firm pears into small cubes, no need to peel.

Slice each pigeon breast into about 3 strips. In a large bowl combine your salad leaves, (I like to use chicory, romaine, rocket, watercress and little gem, any combo, just one type is fine, do what you like) with the pear, two handfuls of either walnuts or toasted hazelnuts and pigeon. Toss with the dressing at the last minute, go easy, as you can always add more.

Get stuck in and feel good about your lunch choices. Until the cheese comes out that is...

Smoked Salmon Rillettes - keeping it classy but easy

Sort-of quinelles

I am typing this still in a semi-building site (my home) with a miniature English Bull Terrier draped across me as if he is a teeny tiny lapdog. But he weighs 20 kilos and keeps wriggling so please excuse any typos. Please also excuse the fact I haven't posted since May, but living in said building site and cooking on my Campingaz 2000s (which only knows hot and bastard hot) has not inspired new culinary adventures, more like old favourites that I can cook with my eyes closed, and not get annoyed with my lack of proper kitchen over. The prospect of cooking in a real kitchen is so exciting that I invited myself back to my parents' to help cook for a little lunch party, even though there were rail replacements and I would spend almost as much time getting there and back as I would indulging in the real kitchen. It was worth it. I made smoked salmon rillettes with pickled cucumber for a starter, and it only went and bloody tasted great (much to my relief), so here's the recipe (can be made the day before).

Feeds four (easily doubled etc). Start with the liquid for the pickled cucumber. Combine 200ml of white wine vinegar with 150g sugar in a small saucepan, heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, take off the heat and leave to cool (I had to stick it outside as I was short of time). Peel the tough skin off half a cucumber with a potato peeler. Then peel the flesh into thin ribbons with the peeler, but leave the core full of seeds and too much water. Once the pickling liquid has cooled to room temperature, chuck in the cucumber ribbons and leave to pickle for an hour or so. 

Now for the rillettes. Poach two salmon fillets (I used slightly smoked, you don't have to) very simply in freshly boiled water, in a shallow dish with foil on top for about 8 minutes. Drain, cool, and flake into a bowl. Add to the bowl 200g finely shopped smoked salmon, a tbsp mayonaise, 1tbsp creme fraiche, zest and juice of a half a lemon, a pinch of cayenne pepper, cracked black pepper and a small handful each of chopped chives and dill. Mix well and taste. This recipe is all about personal taste so add more lemon if it needs more zing, or cayenne if you want more kick. It should be lively and light, not claggy. If you have time, stick it in the fridge to cool. 

Serve how you like, I opted for quinelles (first time I tried them, not bad for a first attempt, well no-one laughed...) and with toasted seeded sourdough and a little pile of the cucumber pickle on the side. you could go with fancy melba toast but I think anything toasted would be great. Do make the pickle, it really adds contrast and looks pretty with the pink salmon. 

I think it went down well, but sadly one guest had brought with them incredible ridiculously amazing truffle favoured crisps so I had a tough challenge beating those. How inconsiderate. 

Lamb with Braised Little Gems & Peas

That's summer, right there.

This is a less is more recipe. Something quite refined which I've never been very good at (see my lamb tagine recipe). This is I don't know why but I feel like this is quite grown up. It is super springy, a celebration of everything that is green and fresh, super light to eat, but in a sophisticated dinner way, not a salady way. Cooking lettuce feels a bit special, it's my new favourite thing, transforming a crisp tight bundle of bright green to something a little more mellow and soft, but still with a little refreshing bite. I'm still reeling from how easy and quick it was so make, it would be perfect for a dinner party served up in a massive shallow dish. I want to cook it again, now. 

Serves two. Heat oven to 200c. Slice four spring onions, half a fennel bulb, two garlic cloves finely, and quarter two little gems lengthways, removing the very end but leaving root so you get nice wedges. Rub approx 450g lamb neck fillet (a little goes a long way) with olive oil and season. In a hot oven-proof frying pan, sear the lamb really well on both sides, about 5 minutes each side, no more. Put straight into the oven for about 7 minutes, remove from oven and cover in foil. Meanwhile melt a generous knob of butter in a saucepan and saute the spring onions and fennel until softened but not browned. Add garlic and stir for one minute. Throw in a small glass of white wine, and perhaps take a slurp yourself. Once this has bubbled for a minute or so add the lettuce and two handfuls of fresh peas. Don't bother with frozen ones here, just don't. For the lazy (me) you can buy fresh podded peas, so no excuse. Add 300ml chicken stock (sooo much better with home-made) and let this simmer for about 5 more minutes, until the peas are cooked and the lettuce has wilted a bit. Season. Slice up the lamb and serve on top of a pile of the green vegetables and their now amazing brothy sauce. Stick a wedge of lemon on the side for good measure. 

This is so simple that it's kind of baffling how good it is, but you let the ingredients speak for themselves and they have a lot to say. Not in a loud shouty way, more of a pleasant soft murmering way. Don't overshadow them with too much garlic or lemon (I am the first to overdo flavours normally), stick to the recipe and enjoy summer on a plate. 

Asian Salsa Verde (a thrifty way to use up tired herbs)

Kerpow!

This is a super simple quick way to use up those floppy herbs in your fridge. I made this the other night in what I can only call a rather successful fridge raid. I had leftover roast beef, all rare and lovely and some very sad looking thai holy basil. The Thais rule when it comes to zesty explosively flavour packed dressings on salads so I went that way inspired, and it bloody worked! You don't have to go East with this, it would be just as amazing with more familiar herbs, but the point is that you chop  up all the herbs really fine, mix them in with some friends, and spoon onto some meat/fish of some description. If veggie you could char some cauliflower and that would be wowser too. 

Makes enough for sploshing on two people's dinner: finely chop half a bunch of thai holy basil, a handful of coriander, one lemongrass stick (hard outer layers and end chopped off), two cloves of garlic and a red bird's eye chillie and the zest of a lime. Put in a bowl with two tablespoons of fish sauce and the juice of the zested lime, along with a splash of non-flavoured oil.* Mix it all up and spoon onto anything from a pork chop, to a grilled bit of fish and really bring it to life. This is soooo good with left over roast beef, very quickly stir fried with some noodles and a load of green veggies.

I've always been a fan of thrifty cooking, something about the smug glow of self-righteousness or something, and avoiding discovering mouldy herbs rotting in your fridge is always nice. 

* A more European combo could include parsley, tarragon, garlic, lemon zest and juice and extra virgin olive oil, but make sure you season it really well, in the 'Asian' version, the fish sauce is all the salt you need. 

Chicken & Harissa One Pot (tray) Wonder

Camping but not camping

Oh how I feel bad about complaining about my tiny kitchen...that tiny kitchen was knocked down a month ago and oh how I long for my tiny kitchen again! Now I have a teeny tiny house, which is getting smaller by the minute, the husband assures me it will get bigger again (the builders come every day and do stuff outside but I can't help thinking this might be a nasty trick), and for now I am making do with enough space to stand in and that is all. The flip side is that  clever husband has managed to literally transplant the kitchen into our living room, so even though there is only enough room for a couple of hobbits (to be fair, I am roughly hobbit sized) I still have my oven, sink, dishwasher and hob. I say hob, but what I really mean is the CAMPINGAZ 200S!!! It's pretty sweet, it has too settings, high and very high, and after a bit of adjustment I'm getting used to it. 

Crap pic, but you get the idea. 

Cramped conditions call for easy cooking, more specifically one pot wonders. Nothing better than a delicious dinner that involves ramming a few key ingredients into a roasting tray and slamming in the oven. This is one of those. 

Feeds 2, but oh so easily doubled, tripled etc. Pre-heat the oven to 180c. Rub two free range chicken legs all over with a tablespoon of harissa each. You can buy it but if you can, make it (recipe here) as it keeps for ages and is so good in and with lots of things. You can cut some slits in the chicken to really let the flavour in. Put the legs in a roasting dish and add 8 cloves of garlic (skin on). I tend to tuck the garlic under the chicken, using the flappy bits as a weirdo kind of blanket for the garlic to stop it burning. Also add a couple of handfuls of baby potatoes, a big handful of cherry tomatoes, some thick wedges of lemon, season very well and pour over a glug of olive oil, giving it all a rattle/turn in the pan to coat. Throw it in the oven and once the chicken skin has gone all delicious and crispy you're done, between 30 and 40 minutes depending on how big they are. Give it all a shake halfway through to brown the spuds evenly and break up the tomatoes a bit. I served this with some spring greens tossed in butter and caraway seeds (TRY IT).

There were no leftovers and only one roasting tray (and one saucepan for the veg)  to wash up so I'm declaring it a success. Even if you have a massive kitchen, you should still cook this. 

Calcots (what's all the fuss about hey?) and Cheat's Romesco Sauce

Giant spring onions or tiny hand?

In all honesty it was a case of FOMO* that made me buy calcots and I'm glad of this neurotic side to my personality to be honest, as it turns out these giant spring onions are really delicious and quite fun to eat. After a bit of Googling I learnt all about how crazy Catalonians go for these strange onions, even having a whole festival dedicated to the highly seasonal produce, the Calcotada, brilliant! I figured they'd make a fun and unusual start to our Sunday Roast, but then I started waning a little when I realised I had to made Romesco sauce to go with them, then waned a little more when I saw I didn't have all the ingredients. Then I decided I would just cheat and make a quick easy version, and bloody hell, it worked! The sauce would be great on bruschetta and also with fish, and is really good as a dip with crudities, so make the whole batch as below and use up during the week. I sadly didn't have a charcoal grill, which is traditional but I whacked the grill on max and made do (I nearly used our fire but then the Husband wisely reminded me about all the nasties in the coal etc, phew). 

For the cheat's Romesco sauce, heat your oven to 200c, and place on a roasting dish the following: two tomatoes halved, one red bell pepper halved, three cloves of garlic skinned and a piece of bread (I used sourdough). Roast for 10 minutes so things soften a bit but don't burn anything. Do check it. For the last three minutes add a handful of flaked almonds (what I had in the cupboard but whole ones would be better). Allow to cool slightly then throw in a food processor with a tablespoon of sherry vinegar, a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a massive

Burnt onions! Hurray!

glug of extra virgin olive oil and season. Wizz to a pesto like consistency, slightly lumpy but everything kind of uniform. Sauce done. 

For the calcots, allow 2/3 per person (they are big). Heat grill to max temperature and grill the calcots, as they are (no need to clean or trim, although you may want to take the very long green ends off but make sure you leave some), and grill until blacked and little bubbles of liquid start coming out. Wrap them in newspaper for 15 minutes, this gently steams them so the insides are sweet and delicious. 

To eat the calcots (this is the fun bit) pinch the bottom where the root is, then gently pull the inner leaves from the top and squeal with delight as the sweet tender central part slides out all in one piece. Dip it in the sauce and throw oil and juice all down your top (the Catalans wear bibs, clever).

Obviously the calcot part is very much seasonal (winter) but the sauce is great, can be made in advance and would be very welcome as part of any Mediterranean spread, or just a dip to have with pitta. 

*Fear Of Missing Out (in case you didn't know that).

Feta & Spring Onion Omlette

Melty feta goodness

In a world of smashed avocado on sourdough toast and eternally cool Bondi style breakfast and brunch dishes popping up on all our tables at the weekend, the omelette can seem a rather dowdy, un-sexy choice. I am an avocado on toast with chilli and lime SLUT, don't get me wrong, but one day, I made an omelette with what was in the fridge, and it kind of made my life a lot better. 

I never used to be able to make omelettes, see Impossible Omelettes that is until, I realised I was using a crap pan. Now I have a lovely non-stick, perfect size for an omelette frying pan and I have, at the age of 33 discovered a world of eggy opportunity. Eggs are cheap, eggs are good for you, and an omelette takes all of 5 minutes from start to finish (ok a minute more if like the Husband you vom at the sight of any remotely un-cooked egg). Putting feta cheese in there really was a good idea, the spring onions too, but what really makes it sing is the herbs and chilli. Have all your bits and pieces ready and breakfast will be on the table before you can shout 'Put the kettle on'.  Do it, you know it makes sense. 

There, that was easy wasn't it?

Feeds one. Take 2 or 3 free range eggs (I go for 2, Husband needs 3) and roughly beat in a bowl/mug and season. Get the frying pan on a medium heat and melt a small nob of butter. Fry 2 chopped spring onions for about 30 seconds. Chuck the eggs in, giving them a poke about with a spatula for a second and then give it a wiggle so the egg gets in all the gaps. Add a small handful of feta to one half of the omelette and sprinkle with chilli flakes (if you want to). Just before it's cooked add small handful of coriander or parsley to the cheesy half, fold over and serve. 

You know those weekend mornings when you're slightly hungover and half way through the ingredient list of some delicious Ottolenghi creation and crying a little bit because it's all too hard? Stop. Put down the za'atar and make a lovely omelette. 

Fish Stew to Warm your Cockles (no cockles involved).

Note the drill bits top right, building work is FUN!

This is quick, easy and very welcome when you've just got in from work having frozen your balls off having waited for your dog to sniff Every. Single. Lampost. on the way home. Oh just me then. Don't feel you have to stick to the fish I used, if I wasn't cooking for the Husband, I would have thrown in clams, squid, maybe a scallop or two, but he's a bit boring, I mean shy, when it comes to seafood, so I used some lovely big prawns and some pollack that I dug out of the freezer. If you don't have fennel lying around you can just use an onion, but I do think the gentle aniseed flavour makes it. Also this is a one pot wonder. Yessss.

That'll warm you right up.

Feeds two cold hungry ones. Chop a fennel bulb quite finely, leaving out any really tough outer bits and saving any soft fronds for later. Also, finely chop a carrot and slice two cloves of garlic. Warm some olive oil in a medium sized saucepan and gently fry/sweat the carrot and fennel, once it has softened (don't brown it) add the garlic and continue stirring for a minute or two. Pour in a large glass of white wine and let it bubble away for a minute. Now add a tin of chopped tomatoes (fresh would be nice, but can you really be arsed to skin them and chop them all up?). Fill the tin with water and add that to the pan along with two big handfuls of length-ways sliced little potatoes (like Anya or baby Charlotte and for God's sake don't worry about skin) and some chilli flakes, if you like a little heat. Bring to the boil and simmer until reduced to a less watery, more stew like consistency, about 10 minutes. Potatoes should be cooked but not mushy and carrots should have lost their bite but again, not mushy. Season it and check how it tastes. Now for the fish, I laid the pollack fillet over the stew with the prawns and pushed it down a bit so it bubbled in the hot stew and cooked. As soon as the prawns are pink and the fish breaks up (stir gently so it doesn't completely flake up) it's ready. Ladle into two bowls, and top with a big blob of creme fraiche, some chopped flat leaf parsley, the grated zest of a lemon and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

This is really nice with some toasted sourdough rubbed with garlic, but since we had just been to the pub and had a whole Camembert 'starter' we went with the lighter option. Great either way.

Pink Gravadlax (cured with beetroot & horseradish)

Tadaaa!

My boss's husband is someone who takes his food very seriously, but not in a nobby way. He makes his own gravadlax all the time and no matter how many times I have been told how easy it is, I shied away from it, raw fish = danger, right? WRONG! This is so easy and delicious and about a million times cheaper than buying the equivalent of smoked salmon for a party. I did a side of salmon for my parent's Christmas drinks bash, and despite a very nervous discussion about whether or not it was too salty, with my Father, it turned out brilliantly, and furthermore, very pink! DO IT NOW!

This recipe uses a side of salmon, skin on, about 700/750g. You could do it with a smaller piece but I would reduce the curing time. Be aware that you need to cure it for 48 hours, so this isn't a last minute thing. Don't panic if you can't get fresh horseradish, just leave it out, but it does give a nice firey punch.

Not a salad.

Grate three raw, peeled beetroot and a 5 inch piece of fresh horseradish and mix together. Put the salmon in a big flat dish (I used a baking tray and cut the fish in half for ease), skin side down, and sprinkle over enough sea salt flakes to cover the fish with a decent covering of salt, about 150g depending on the surface area. Now sprinkle over a handful of demerara sugar and the beet horseradish mix and pat down to make sure it's all covered well. Sprinkle over two shots of gin, a big handful of chopped dill and then grate over the zest of a lemon (un-waxed obvs). It will look like a very healthy bright salad but don't be fooled. Wrap the dish tightly in clingfilm and put something on top to weigh it down, I used a smaller tray and a load of tinned tomatoes. 

Hard work done. Leave it in the fridge for 48 hours. 

Pull out of the fridge and marvel at the tonne of liquid that has come out (DON'T spill it all over your fridge. A pink food hygiene issue is not what you need.) Get it over the sink, and however you want, remove all the bits and pieces you have lovingly strewn on the salmon, bin them, and give it a good rinse with COLD water to remove every last bit of salt (I didn't do this at first, hence the very serious 'oh dear it's a bit salty' chat). Now scrub your hands as they will be very pink and a bit fishy. Nice. You can leave the skin on if you like, removing as you go but if you're using the whole lot in one go, using a long sharp knife, and skin side down, carefully remove it. Slice it (a jamon knife is ideal for this) in long thin ribbons and do with your beautifully cured bright pink gravadlax what you like. We had it on blinis with creme fraiche with dill and fake caviar, but it would be amazing in scrambled egg, on crackers, on it's own...I tossed some leftovers in some creamy pasta which completely changed it, not in a bad way, waste not want not and all that. 

Rather annoyed I didn't get a shot of the finished blinis but we were all a bit busy eating them and getting pissed on quince bellinis. Not quince blinis. Or salmon bellinis. 

Tarragon Chicken Pasta Bake - Baby food for Grown Ups

It's not crumble, it's pasta bake for grown ups. 

I think I must have eaten maybe three pasta bakes in my life and I don't know why it's not more. Pure comforting stodge, an often cheesy creamy carb fest that's gone crispy on the top. A random Nigella recipe popped up on my Facebook feed the other day for an insanely simple pasta recipe involving ham, creme fraiche and peas, the easiest supper ever with room to make it more grown up if you should so wish. The other night I set out to cook tarragon chicken risotto, which is a post Sunday roast special in our house. Except I didn't have any risotto rice* or parmesan. Or onions. Nightmare. I found a secret stash of arborio rice when cleaning out my cupboard the next day, you should do it some time, you find all sorts of things!!!!! After about 15 minutes deliberating whether or not to go to the shop (which would have taken four minutes) I took up the ready steady cook challenge and made do. And that's how this recipe came along. 

Feeds two with leftovers for drunken midnight feasts.

Preheat the oven to 180c. Cook enough pasta for 2, use a short pasta like penne or fusilli. Gent fry a finely chopped onion (I used two manky spring onions as it's all I had) in  a splash of olive oil or melted butter and add a minced clove of garlic after five minutes. Add a heaped teaspoon of dried tarragon (if you have fresh, great, just add it a bit later, when you add the chicken) and a splash of white wine. Let it bubble for a couple of minutes (but don't let it all evaporate) and add a couple of handfuls of shredded left over roast chicken and season well. Stir in a tbsp of creme fraiche and baby leaf spinach if you have it (this is a super flexible recipe). Grate in a handful of parmesan or cheddar. Drain your pasta which should be cooked by now and mix the chicken mixture with it. Take either individual ceramic dishes or one big one and divide the mix between them. Top with breadcrumbs mixed with the chopped zest of half a lemon, a bit more grated cheese and salt and pepper. Bung it in the oven and it's ready when golden.

Devour with your chosen green, chicory for me, peas for The Husband (I can't stand peas) and then collapse in a carb coma about ten minutes later when you realise how much bigger your eyes are than your fat pasta filled stomach. 

*In desperation I even googled 'Can you make risotto with pudding rice?' The resounding answer was a definite no. 

Pork Chop For Wurzels Fans

No pink bits here

I haven't blogged for ages, and my Dad noticed and took the trouble to tell me that I hadn't done anything since the pizza post in September, so I thought I'd better pull my finger out. Especially since I have been cooking lots recently. I got a puppy and got married, both pretty time consuming past times, but now the wedding is over and I can turn by back on my puppy for more than 0.158 seconds before something terrible happens, I'm back, cooking more, and will try and blog more often. For selfish reasons really, it's easier to google a recipe on my blog than find the recipe book or remember how to make something. But I hope you can make good use of it too. 

This recipe, pork chops braised in cider, is somewhat perfect for the chilly weather we've been having recently (HELLO! IT IS FEBRUARY!) and is far easier than cooking a pork chop quickly, to perfection. Done quickly and perfectly it is a delight to behold, but all too easy to over-cook to the texture of a flip flop, or under-cook, in search of juicyness and serve up raw. We have an on-going hilaaarious joke in my house that I can't cook a pork chop, EVERY time I cook one for the Husband (that still feels so weird) there are pink raw bits and he won't listen to me when I tell him that all the fancy restaurants cook it slightly pink these days, I just get cries of 'But it's bleeeding'. Whatever.

Anyway, no danger of that here, the pork is slowly braised to forkable (is that a word?) softness, with a gorgeous cider sauce, just the right balance of sweet and tangy.

Feeds 2. Season two pork chops and brown really well in a little olive oil in a  casserole dish that fits them fairly snugly. Remove the chops, set aside, and soften a small sliced onion, adding more oil if you need it. Don't burn. Add a chopped clove of garlic after 5 minutes and after that has had a minute to cook put the pork back in and pour in approx 200ml of cider. I use Wild Wood, best cider ever, but it sometimes makes me scrimp on the cider in the recipe because I like to drink most of it. Add a good splash of water, give it a stir, and simmer on a low heat with lid on for about 45 minutes, turning the chops over half way. At this point the pork should be really soft, if not cook a little longer. If you have too much sauce then just quickly bubble on a higher heat for a bit. Add a big blob of creme fraiche and check seasoning, sprinkling with a little chopped parsley to lift it a bit. Perfect with mash, or wet polenta as pictured (easier than mash and no peeling, wooo!).

By this point you will almost definitely be slightly marinaded in cider as you had to do something productive while the pork cooked right? 

The Perfect Pizza

Let's face it. Good pizza is awesome. Do you even know anyone who doesn't like pizza?! For a cheapo dinner date with mates it's perfect, but made at home it's somehow more special (and seems healthier somehow?!). I would define a good pizza as being so thin it almost can't bear the weight of the topping, and talking of toppings, I have learnt over the years that less is more. Cover your pizza in a greedy mish mash of toppings and you will have a soggy mess. Adorn your pizza sparingly and you will have a delicious light crispy mouthful of heaven. Pizza is getting really good in the UK now, finally steering away from deep pan and stuffed crusts (HOTDOG STUFFED CRUSTS, WTF?????). The most memorable slice of pizza I had was in a train station cafe in Riccione on the way to an Italian girlfriend's hen do. I decided then and there that I should probably be living in Italy if that was what you got in the station cafe. Soggy overpriced croissants and extortionate crap tea this wasn't.

As usual, I digress. Below is what I reckon to be a great pizza recipe, yes it's a slight effort to make it from scratch but make a batch on a rainy day (oh lots of them this AUGUST) and freeze what you don't use. I thought it might be a it of a lie that you can freeze the dough but it's true! And you look completely badass when you can just whip up home made pizzas with half an hours notice. This is based on Jamie Oliver's recipe which I have used forever.

Makes 6-8 massive pizzas. I hate floury mess so I like to throw all the dry ingredients in a bowl to mix and knead but do what you want. Sieve 1kg strong bread flour/00 flour/plain flour if that's all you've got into a massive bowl/clean work surface with a teaspoon of salt. In a jug mix 2 of those nifty 7g sachets of yeast with 650ml lukewarm water, 4tbsp olive oil and 1tbsp sugar, mix well and leave for a minute. Pour into the well. Make a well in your flour, and using your fingers/fork/wooden spoon gradually swirl the wet into the dry and once incorporated get kneading, for about 5 ish minutes until you have a really nice smooth springy dough. Dust a bowl (can be same one) with flour, plop your dough in, sprinkle a little flour on top, cover with a damp tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove until doubled in size (about an hour). This is where a fancy proving drawer seen recently on GBBO would come in handy but seriously who has one of those? Pre heat oven to max temp and put in a large baking tray/sheet.

Once all puffed up, take out of the bowl and on a floured surface 'knock it back'. I always like this bit, basically gently knead the air out of it. Break off a (girl sized) fist sized ball (at this point portion out the dough and individually freeze what you don't need in clingfilm) and roll it out into a really thin circle. Get it onto the now piping hot baking sheet and quickly smear some tomato sauce* and your toppings. Go easy remember! Shove back into oven and cook for about 6 minutes until golden and crispy. I won't tell you what to put on your pizza because half the fun is creating your own, if you have an awesome base whatever you put on will be great. Except pineapple, anything but pineapple.

* for tomato sauce I simply let a tin of chopped tomatoes, a squirt of tomato purée and a smashed garlic clove with seasoning, bubble down to a really thick sauce which takes about half an hour if that.

Get Dressed

The humble but divine vinaigrette

How many bottles of various salad dressings do you have in your cupboard? I bet there is at least something with sweet chilli and one with whole grain mustard and maybe something poncey and artisanal that you've never opened. And they are all gross because salad dressing should be made at home. Practically free and one million times better than something bought. For years I've been trying to emulate my Dad's recipe, the problem being it's not really a recipe as he just makes it on the spot, a little taste here and there, until 'Aaah, just right'. I'm no salad hugger, but along side a juicy steak I want nothing more than a perfectly dressed salad. And chips. Lots of chips. When eaten with something on the heavy side, like a risotto, a perfectly dressed salad is a necessary and complimentary accompaniment. Friends have often asked how I make my dressing so I figured, yes, dressing does matter! How awful is a thoughtless splash of screamingly tart Balsamic vinegar over a beautiful salad? How is it so acidic and so sweet at the same time? 

You don't need fancy vinegars to make a decent dressing, lemon juice and olive oil works perfectly, but below are the ingredients I use to make what I reckon is a pretty near perfect lick for otherwise, lets face it, boring salad leaves.

Oil base: I always use extra virgin olive oil, don't understand this rape seeds oil stuff, bleurgh.
Acidity: Anything you fancy from lemon juice, cider or white wine vinegar etc etc
Sweetness: this will stop that burning in the back of your throat, the tiniest pinch of sugar, I use whatever is to hand. It's not to make it taste sweet, rather to neutralise the acid a little.
Seasoning: essential, freshly ground salt and pepper.
Heat: I nearly always add a little pinch of English mustard powder or a little Dijon mustard.
Flavour: For a simple salad I always like to let a bashed clove of garlic flavour the dressing.

I never bother measuring but the general rule is one part acid to three parts oil. The rest of it is personal taste but add a little at a time, you can always add but it's annoying trying to take away. I don't have anything fancy to make dressing in, I just use a little glass and give it all a good stir. If using garlic let it sit a while, otherwise you're good to go. Also great for asparagus and globe artichoke.

A nicely dressed salad adds much needed freshness to anything from steak to pasta, go forth and mix, elevate your drab lettuce leaves to something wonderful!

Potato Rosti for Breakfast (and not making a hash of it for once)

Ooooze

Come the morning on weekdays, I gulp down a smoothie, I'm never hungry first thing but if I don't eat, the lure of croissant perfume they pump out of M&S at Green Park will get me every time. Even if I remain strong I have to walk past an Eat and a Pret. So I am screwed if I don't eat before I leave the house. People look at me in horror when I tell them my breakfast smoothie contains a raw egg, my boss told me to try it and I've never looked back. Come the weekend however, there is generally a naughty lie in,  more time and often a little hangover to deal with. The weekend demands a fun breakfast, something you don't have time for during the week, something to kick off two days off in style. But who has the foresight to plan breakfast??! Generally not me, which is why we often end up with soft boiled eggs and soldiers which is a little bit fun, but not overly exciting.

I have been put off making rostis ever since I attempted it with a non-non-stick frying pan. It tasted ok but it was anything but a rosti. I tried again with a new pan and won. It couldn't be simpler. A load of grated spuds with a bit of onion thrown in for good measure, squished in a pan, fried to a crisp, with a poached egg lobbed on top. I mostly have spuds and eggs. No fancy ingredients needed for this one.

Feeds 2. Peel and grate two large potatoes, and one large onion. Put all your gratings into a clean tea towel and squeeze the hell out of it over the sink. Amazing how much liquid comes out. This, you do not want in your rosti, mainly because it won't be a rosti. When as dry as poss, mix in a bowl with plenty of seasoning. Heat plenty of olive oil in a NON STICK frying pan and divide the mix into four. Plop each on in the pan and squidge down with a spatula. After a few minutes have a careful, sneaky look at the underside, you want golden brown, not light brown or indeed dark brown. Flip over, cook the other side (add more oil if it's mostly been sucked up) and serve with a poached egg on top.

There are a multitude of ways to pimp this, just go for it with whatever you have in your fridge/cupboard. I liked it simple. But with harissa on the side, obviously.

Surprise Indian Style Seabass

'On train home. Have you eaten yet? x' was the text I read as I stumbled out of the Bikram studio last night. Which really meant 'What's for dinner?'. Sweaty and tomato-like I had a 20 minute walk home to concoct a dinner plan, I had to use the sea bass fillets in the fridge and was going to roast them on potatoes with a bit of harissa to jazz them up. 'Eurgh. That sounds weird.' Said the Boyfriend, who spent the next 5 minutes hopefully suggesting curry. By the time I got home I had it sorted. Oven on, jump in shower, dress, rub a load of cubed potatoes and cauliflower with spices and roast, pan fry the fish with some more Indian bits and pieces, and bosh. No-one really wants to cook at 9pm knackered from a Bikram class but there wasn't really any choice, and it was really quick and easy, and I even got a 'That was really delicious!' from the Boyfriend, so that's why I'm sharing this recipe. I DONE A RECIPE ALL BY MYSELF!

Feeds two porkers. Pre-heat oven to 190c. Cube a couple of medium sized potatoes (don't bother peeling) into cubes no larger than 2cm and cut up a cauliflower into florets. Don't chuck the soft inner leaves, they're the best bits when they go all browned and crunchy. Slice two garlic cloves length-ways, not too thinly. That's important, otherwise they burn and go bitter. Put all this in a large baking tray and sprinkle over a teaspoon each of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, garam masala, half a teaspoon of tumeric and salt, one finely sliced red chili a generous glug of olive oil and mix well (hands are best, but then I still have yellow nails and look like I smoke 200 a day so use a spatula if you like). Roast for 20 minutes or so, turning a couple of times so it doesn't stick. You want it to the potatoes to be cooked through and the cauliflower a little browned but with a little bite still. Take two fillets of sea bass and rub with a mixture of the following: half a teaspoon of ground cumin, ground coriander and a pinch of salt and pepper. When the veg is just about ready, heat a non-stick frying pan, add a splash of oil and fry skin down for two or three minutes to make the skin nice and crispy. Turn over and cook for a further minute. Serve with the potatoes and cauliflower, a sprinkling of chopped coriander, and if like us, you need a bit of green, some cooked sliced cabbage tossed with a little fried garlic and mustard seeds.

This was one of those happy experiments that I will cook again. Not like my un-happy experiment the other day (a horrible mess of soggy noodles and cloying peanut butter which was so inedible it actually went in the bin).

Shakshuka - Pimped with Merguez

'Why have you put little turds in my breakfast?' asked The Boyfriend, when he finally emerged from his bed at midday on Sunday. That was the thanks I got for making a hangover busting feast for him (us). This is a rather exotic version of Eggs In Purgatory, hailing from Tunisia, Morocco, Libya or Algeria* depending on who you listen to and this recipe is an amalgamation of the many recipes out there. I think it's fair to say we have Yottam Ottolenghi to thank for the recent enthusiasm for North African and Middle-Eastern cooking, our cupboards are exploding enthusiastically with za'atar and sumac and what not, and if it means I get to eat things like this on a regular basis, hooray for him. 

Feeds two slightly hanging people who should know better. Grill/fry some lamb merguez sausages, they can be slightly undercooked as they will cook with the eggs a bit later. Just brown them nicely. In a large deep frying pan heat a generous glug of olive oil and gently fry one chopped onion, two chopped garlic cloves and a chopped red chilli (seeds in or out, your choice, it always makes me annoyed when a recipe says 'remove seeds', because what if I don't want to??!), half a chopped red pepper (you can use a whole one but I find it a bit sweet). After about 7 minutes add a tbsp harissa and cook for a further few minutes. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and season well. Let it bubble away gentle for maybe 10 minutes, until it has noticeably thickened. At this point take a spoon, make a little well in the sauce and crack an egg into said well. repeat three times then artistically place the sausages around the eggs. take a spoon/fork and with the wrong end, swirl the egg whites around, mixing into the sauce a bit but don't break the yolks. It can be a little tricky getting the whites cooked before the yolks overcook but keeping the dish uncovered helps. It will take about 6 minutes for the eggs to cook, less with a lid on. Serve strewn with chopped mint/parsley/coriander and a dollop of natural yoghurt or labneh (just strained yoghurt, which I am currently obsessed with). A bit of bread of some description wouldn't go amiss either.

You could pimp this further with feta, spring onions, chorizo instead of Merguez, whatever you have handy. Try not to get sausages that look like little turds though, although they did taste amazing...


*or all of the above. I think it might be like hummus, no-one really knows where it originated. 

'Nduja Linguine - Pasta Sauce for grown-ups

The day I discovered 'nduja (en-doo-ya) was a very happy day indeed. There was a stage when every food writer/journo/blogger was banging on about it so I thought it's probably worth a try. It was worth many tries and I implore you to give it a go. 'Nduja is a spicy, spreadable sausage from Calabria, Italy, and it is made with potentially undesirable parts of a pig's head with a firey whack of chilli. You can buy it in chunks, wrapped in its casing,  (see left) and you can melt chunks of it in purpose made clay erm, melting devices, you can stuff rolled pork belly with it, make scotch eggs with it (I will be soon,) or you can do as I have done here, and very simply melt it in a pan and toss through some pasta. The flavour is unique and really quite punchy, a little goes quite a way.

Feeds one: This is a quick dish so start by getting your pasta on the boil, I like to use linguine, something about how it feels on my toungue, ooh err, I just love it, but use what you have. Gently fry half a finely chopped onion and a small minced clove of garlic in a little olive oil, in a medium saucepan and cook until nice and soft. Break off a thumb sized piece of 'nduja and push it round until it have broken up and melted, leaving you with vibrant red oil and tiny nuggets of pork. Drain the pasta when al dente and add to the 'nduja pan along with a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, I like the freshness of it, although it's not essential. Mix the pasta and sauce really well and flop it into a bowl, topping with plenty of grated parmesan. In 8 or 9 minutes you have a bowl of pasta to be proud of, so twirl away and don't worry about the fact you're eating pig's head. 

Chicken Schnitzel - Because everything tastes good crumbed and fried right?

Well maybe not everything tastes better crumbed and fried, but many things do, and this includes chicken

breasts. I almost never buy chicken breasts, tending to favour thighs, for flavour and price reasons, but I wanted to try out a sexy looking recipe involving stuffing the skin of chicken breasts with nduja. So like a complete moron I bought skinless ones by accident. I was genuinely annoyed I couldn't make what I had planned, but then I remembered the old classic Schnitzel. The method of bashing the hell out of the poor unwanted chicken breast, covering it with bread crumbs and frying, keeps the chicken moist and delicious. Apart from using lots of plates, it's very quick, great for week-time suppers when the last thing you want to be doing is faffing around the kitchen with some complicated recipe best saved for an idle Saturday.

Feeds two. Take two unwanted (or indeed wanted) skinless chicken breasts, and between two sheets of clingfilm, bash like you've never bashed before. You want the finished article to be no thicker than 2cm.  Choose your weapon wisely, a thick rolling pin works well, as does an empty wine bottle. You could use a meat tenderiser too, I just remembered I had one and will be using that next time. Doh. Have one shallow bowl at the ready and lightly whisk an egg into it. Put a handful of seasoned flour on a plate, and on a third plate put a couple of handfuls of bread crumbs mixed with a tbsp chopped thyme leaves and the chopped zest of a lemon. Heat up a non-stick frying pan and add a tbsp olive oil. Meanwhile take one steam-rollered breast, dip first in the egg, then the flour and finally the breadcrumbs, making sure you have good crumby coverage. Over a medium heat fry this bad boy, not forgetting about the other one. They only take about 4 minutes each side so do watch that they don't burn, golden is the aim, not charcoal. Flip over once golden and fry the other side. Serve with something green and maybe some spuds* of some description. Really nice with a squirt of lemon.

You could do this with pork loin, or veal would be great too. Just make sure there is lots of flavour in your breadcrumbs, don't burn it and you can't go wrong. 

*I asked the Boyfriend if he wanted some sort of carbs with dinner and he said 'What are carbs?' Oh to be a boy!

When Hunger Strikes...eat these seeded crisp breads

Birdseed never looked so good

When me and my two sisters were at school, unless my Mum had delicious meanwhiles* to subdue our pre-pubescent hunger, there was literally hell to pay. I would get stroppy, middle sister would have what can only be described as a rather petrifying fit of fury, and the little one would sob her eyes out in disbelief. Poor Mum. Usually we got iced buns or lardy cakes from Reeves (a brilliant chain of bakeries located in the South West of England) but on the occasion that she presented us with a crappy packet of digestives there were problems. Not a great deal has changed since then, I don't have babies to feed yet, but I do have a boyfriend who periodically screeches at me, eyes pleading, beak open, demanding food. When his blood sugar levels drop he gets hangry. A subject I find great amusement in discussing with little sister, as one of her besties can transform in the same way, a Jeckyl and Hyde moment. These specimens must be fed immediately.

I, however, do not suffer from hanger. Instead, when I get in from work, starving and desperate for food, I tend to pick away at the fridge until that nagging emptiness is gone. This is a terrible thing to do for several reasons: it undoes all the good work I have done at Bikram, I nearly always have cheese in the fridge which is what I grab first, and then I'm not that hungry for ages so we eat later than we should. At Christmas, the Boyfriend's Mum gave me some of these seeded crisp-breads that she'd made, and holy moly are they good for those just-got-in-from-work-need-a-nibble-now moments. Savoury and crunchy and delicious they fill the gap before dinner is ready. The funniest thing is that the Boyfriend won't touch them, as they are 'full of bird seed' so he has to make do with the minging multi-pack of baked crisps he bought by accident, thinking they were normal Walker's. Ha.

This makes a huge batch but they will keep in tupperware, and I'm going to bring some to my friend's house later when we go over for dinner. She's preggers so I thought it would be a nice change from a bottle of Schloer.

Preheat the oven to 200c. Mix the following in a large bowl: 100g each of porridge oats, sesame seeds, linseeds (yeah I know! I've never eaten them either, just marvelled at the pretty blue fields of them in the summer), sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, 350g flour (any flour, go crazy, experiment), 1tsp baking powder and 1.5tsp salt. Now add 200ml water and 125ml oil (I used plain old vegetable oil) and mix really well, it will get quite stiff but do mix it up properly. Take a third of the mixture and roll it out between two large pieces of non-stick baking paper, you want roughly the thickness of Ryvita. Peel the top layer of paper off and cut into your desired shape. I went for rectangles. Original. Carefully place the sheet onto a baking tray and cook for about 15-20 minutes until slightly browned. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

I reckon you could get pretty creative with these, maybe a little cayenne pepper or Parmesan or both? I look forward to playing with this recipe. It was entitled 'Linda's Delicious Crisp Bread' but I don't know Linda and the Boyfriend's Mum is called Brenda so they can be Brenda's.

These are seriously good warm from the oven, so that's your little treat as chef. In fact I ate so many that I didn't need lunch, much to the Boyfriend's horror, when I suggested he make himself cheese on toast for lunch. Cheese on toast for lunch? Perish the thought.

*a snack to tide one over until dinner time