Mushroom Risotto (V)

Risotto is a bit tricky but when you cook it right it tastes delicious. An italian dish which most people love. Also if you are a mushroom lover then add more porcini mushrooms.

Serves 4

1 litre of Vegetable Stock
125g Unsalted Butter
200g Mushrooms
50g Porcini Mushrooms
150 ml White Wine
200g Risotto Rice (I used Arborio)
50g Parmesan, plus extra to serve
1 tsp Thyme
2-3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 Onions, finely sliced
Salt and Pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the mushrooms and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes to heat through.

3. Pour the wine into the saucepan and increase the heat. The wine needs to disappear to remove the alcohol.

4. Stir in  the rice and fry for about a minute.

5. Add a ladleful of stock to the pan. Wait until the stock has absorbed and keep adding a ladleful of stock until its all gone. This should take 10-15 minutes.

6. Once the stock has gone mix in the parmesan cheese. Leave it to rest for a couple minutes then serve with extra grated parmesan.

Lemon Drizzle Cake (V)

A lovely light cake which is always good with a nice cup of tea.

Makes 1 Cake

150g Self Raising Flour
125g Caster Sugar
1 Lemon, juice and zest
2 tbsp Lemon Curd
Dash of Milk
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Medium eggs
75 Unsalted Butter

Drizzle
2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 Lemon, zest and juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c Fan assisted

2. Butter a loaf tin and line with baking paper.

3. Beat the butter and caster sugar together using either a wooden spoon or electric whisk. This should take about 10 minutes.

4. Once the mixture is light and fluffy add the eggs, lemon juice & zest, flour, lemon curd, milk and baking powder. Mix well.

5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes  To test the cake is cooked through poke a skewer through. If it comes out clean then it is cooked through.

6. While the cake is in the oven prepare the drizzle. Mix the juice, zest and sugar together. Once the cake is out of the oven evenly pour the drizzle over and leave to cool for about an hour. Serve with a nice cup of tea .

Hyper Smash

Dauphinoise Potatoes (V)

A side dish which I would always pick over chips. So delicious and is a good accompaniment to steak.

Serves 4

1 Kg of Large Potatoes, peeled and sliced
6 Shallots, finely sliced
3-4 cloves of Garlic, crushed
500ml Double Cream
50g Butter
100g Cheddar Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan assisted.

2. Put the butter in a pan and fry the shallots for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and cream to the pan and leave to simmer.

3. Place the potatoes in the pan and leave for about 5 minutes.

4. Tip the contents of the pan into an ovenproof dish. Top with the grated cheese and put in the oven for 30-40 Minutes. The potatoes should soften and brown

Kedgeree

An indian dish with lots of interesting thing in it. Tweaked the original recipe a bit but tastes fantastic.

Serves 4

600g Smoked Haddock

50g Butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 cup of Frozen Peas

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Ground Coriander

2 tsp Curry Powder (Medium or Hot)

2 Green Chillies, finely sliced

1 cup of Basmati Rice

700ml Fish/Vegetable Stock

1 Cinnamon Stick

100ml Double Cream

3 Hard Boiled Eggs, cut into wedges

2 tbsp Fresh Parsley

2 tbsp Flat Leaf Coriander 

1. Poach the haddock in a shallow frying pan, skin facing up, cover with boiling water and simmer fot about 10 minutes.

2. Drain the fish and pat dry the fish with paper towels. Remove the skin and flake the fish into bite size chunks and put aside.

3. Heat the butter in a large pan and add the onion. Fry until golden then add the curry powder, cumin, ground coriander and chilli. Stir for about a minute.

4. Add the rice and stir well. Add the stock to the pan with the cinnamon stick.  Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

5. Remove the cinnamon stick from the pan and stir in the haddock, egg and herbs to the pan. Season and serve.

Bara Brith (V)

A Welsh bread made with dried fruit, tea and spices. In welsh it means 'speckled bread'. It tastes delicious and always a good companion with a cup of hot tea.

Makes 1 Loaf

450g Mixed Dried Fruit
1 Mug of Black Tea
225g Demerara Sugar
100g Glace Cherries, halved
1 1/2 tsp Mixed Spices
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 large free range egg
450g Self Raising Flour
100g Butter
2 tbsp Clear Honey
1 tbsp Caster Sugar

1. Put the mixed dried fruit in a mixing bowl with sugar. Pour the tea over the sugar and fruit, cover and leave overnight.

2.  Preheat the oven to 170c/150c fan assisted. Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

3.  Mix the rest of the ingredients with the dried fruit mixture. Mix well.

4. Pour in the loaf tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. To check its cooked all the way through skewer through the centre, if its cooked it should come out clean.

5. Cool on the rack. Sprinkle with caster sugar. Serve

Pea Soup With Croutons

This soup is quick and easy and only needs a few ingredients, so cheap to make. Plus it's that time of year where it's getting colder and we all need something to warm ourselves up. 

Serves 4

Soup

400g Frozen Peas

1 Onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Mint

1/2 Garlic Clove, Crushed

3 Rashers of Bacon, chopped

Half a Pint of Vegetable Stock

Salt and Pepper

Croutons

1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 Garlic, crushed

2 Rashers of Bacon, chopped finely

1/2 Slices of Bread

1.  Fry the bacon for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and onion and fry until softened. 

2. Add the Vegetable stock to the pan with the peas and boil until the peas have cooked through.

3. While the peas are boiling, mix the olive and garlic together and dip the bread in oil. Fry the bread and bacon in a pan.

4. Once the peas have cooked, blitz with a handblender. Season if needed. Pour into bowls, top with croutons and bacon and serve with crusty bread.