stuffed loaf

First make a bread dough, combine 500g of strong bread flour in a bowl with half a tablespoon of salt and mix. In a jug put 325ml of tepid water and add half a tablespoon of yeast and half a tablespoon of sugar, stir and leave for 5 mins. Pour the water mixture in to the flour and incorperate with a fork until you have a loose dough. Empty dough onto a floured surface and kneed until smooth and silky. Leave to prove in a covered bowl for half an hour. Then knock it back and kneed for five mins. Roll out into a large square. Imagine a line down the centre of the dough, on 1 half lay bacon, tomato halves, halved boiled eggs, basi and sprinkle with cheese. Fold the other half over and roughly crimp around the edge. Bake for about half an hour.

pasta with leeks & bacon in a cheese sauce

cook pasta of choice in large pan of salted boiling water. In another pan heat a knob of butter and a little oil, start frying chopped leeks. Add a splash of water and cook, stiring occasionally, untill the water has evaporated and the leeks are soft. Add chopped garlic, chopped bacon and little more oil if needed and fry until bacon is cooked. Drain the cooked pasta and add the leeks and bacon and a good grind of pepper. Finally stir in a tub of soft cream cheese. Once all combined serve and enjoy!

Beetroot risotto

Bring a pan of 1.5l of stock to a simmer. Chop an onion and fry in little olive oil with a knob of butter for 3 mins in a separate pan. Add 300g of risotto rice and fry for a minute, then add a glass of wine and cook until the wine has all been absorbed by the rice. Add grated beetroot, chopped basil, chopped parsley and 500 ml of the stock. Cover and simmer until the rice has absorbed it. Then start adding the rest of your stock a ladle full at a time, let it absorb before adding the next. Before adding the last ladle full of stock, throw in some shredded cabbage or greens or spinach. When the last of the stock has been absorbed take off the heat and add the zest and juice of a lemon and a handful of grated cheese. Serve.

pork & fennel

A fanstastic combination: pork chops with braised fennel, served with roasted new potatoes.
Steam or boil potatoes until soft place in a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil and place in a pre-heated 200c oven.
Sear the pork chops all over in a hot frying pan with olive oil then place in the roasting tray with the potatoes. Chop sage, rosemary, garlic and the fennel tops and scatter over the pork chops. Drizzle with olive oil and return to the oven for about 40 mins.
Meanwhile chop fennel bulbs into 8 wedges place in a very hot pan with olive oil and scorch on all sides. Turn down heat, add a splash of water cover and braise for half an hour. Serve all andd enjoy!

pork & fennel

A fanstastic combination: pork chops with braised fennel, served with roasted new potatoes.
Steam or boil potatoes until soft place in a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil and place in a pre-heated 200c oven.
Sear the pork chops all over in a hot frying pan with olive oil then place in the roasting tray with the potatoes. Chop sage, rosemary, garlic and the fennel tops and scatter over the pork chops. Drizzle with olive oil and return to the oven for about 40 mins.
Meanwhile chop fennel bulbs into 8 wedges place in a very hot pan with olive oil and scorch on all sides. Turn down heat, add a splash of water cover and braise for half an hour. Serve all andd enjoy!

Baked ristto

This is a lighter' summery twist on a traditional risotto inspired by Bill Granger.
Start as you would a traditional risotto. Fry chopped onions and garlic until soft, add 200g risotto rice and stir. Now instead of adding wine followed by ladle after ladle of stock as you would a traditional risotto, simply add 400mls of water and a can of chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil and add chopped courgettes, a drained tin of tuna and season. Bake for half an hour at 200c, then stir in a handful of grated cheese and serve.

Pizza fiorentina

This is an interesting way of using spinach or chard.
Make or buy a pizza base and spread with a simple homemade tomato sauce (fry garlic and basil stalks in olive oil, add chopped tomatoes and torn basil leaves, season and simmer until nicely thickened.) Steam or blanch the spinach or chard until cooked, then run under cold water before squeezing any excess water from it. Now toss the spinach/chard in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic and season to taste then scatter over the pizza. Dot with mozzarella all over. Finally crack an egg into the centre of the pizza and bake.

leftovers fry-up

This one's great for using up stuff at the end of the week.

Heat some oil in a pan and add some chopped onions and chopped bacon. Cook until the bacon browns and the onions soften. Chop up some cooked leftover sausages and add them to the pan, fry for a minute or 2. Then add some cooked leftover new potatoes (halve any large ones) and fry until starting to brown. Finally add some cooked sliced cabbage. Fry until all is warm and golden and slightly mushed together like a bubble and squeek. Serve and enjoy.

Minestrone

In a large pan fry chopped bacon in a little olive oil for 2 minutes. Then add chopped onions and fry for 2 more minutes. Turn down the heat and add a little more oil before adding 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped sticks of celery, some chopped up cherry tomatoes & chopped garlic. Put a lid on and sweat the veg for 15 minutes, stiring occasionally. Finally add 200g of macaroni, 1pt of chicken or veg stock, 1tbsp of tomato puree, a couple of chopped courgettes, sliced cabbage and sliced basil. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer until all the veg is tender, the pasta is cooked and the soup is as thick as you like it. Serve with crusty bread or warm crostini.

Sainsbury's inspired roast with green beans & beetroot tops

In a roasting tray toss new potatoes and good quality sausages in a glug of olive oil. Roast for 20 mins at 200c before adding wedges of beetroot and chopped courgette. Then roast for another 20 mins. Finally remove from the oven and dress with capers, dill, mustard, olive oil and white wine vinegar.
Meanwhile steam beetroot tops and green beans until tender. Toss the beetroot tops with olive oil, lemon and seasoning and it's ready to serve. Saute the green beans in a little buter with some bacon pieces and serve.

welcome

welcome to my new blog. I hope to post a variety of simple recipes here and I welcome any comments or recipe suggestions. Hope you enjoy!