Vegetable Pastitsio

I  made this pasta dish last night after a bit of a scrabble around in the fridge. I had some vegetables lying around in the salad tray and was thinking of making some minestrone soup. But nobody wanted soup! I also had some bits of cheese - mozarella, gorgonzola and a tub of half used marscapone from the weekend. So I decided maybe some pasta was in order. So... here is my recipe which I think is rather good.

3 red onions peeled and cut into half moons
3 leeks washed and cut into 1 inch slices
3 courgettes cut into 1 inch chunks
2 bulbs of fennel - trimmed and quartered
1x500g punnet of cherry tomatoes
olive oil
fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs
salt and pepper
500g penne pasta
6 slices prosciutto cut into strips
2 tablespoons marscarpone cheese
6 oz buffalo mozarella torn into chunks
6 oz gorgonzola in chunks

Preheat the oven to Gas 7/200 degrees centigrade.

Place all the prepared vegetables in large roasting tin and sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to lubricate all the vegetables well. Season with salt and pepper and add the fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs.
Place the tray of vegetables in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes until soft.
Remove from the oven.
Place a large pan of salted boiling water on the heat and add the pasta. Cook for about 10 minutes until the pasta is al dente.
Drain the pasta and add to the vegetables. Add the prosciutto and the cheeses. Stir the whole lot together to amalgamate the vegetables with the pasta and cheese.
Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes until bubbling.
Serve with simple green salad.

Chicken and Mushroom Pie

The summer is over and the chilly weather calls for some warming and comforting dishes. What better than a home made pie. This was my daughters request for dinner...

Serves 6

8 chicken thighs
1tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme
knob of butter
3 leeks washed well and sliced thinly
250g button mushrooms
1 tbsp plain flour
small glass white wine ( about 5 floz/150ml)
chicken stock -( about 5floz/150ml)
single cream ( 5 floz/150ml)
small bunch parsley finely chopped
good quality puff pastry
1 beaten egg to glaze

Preheat the oven to  Gas 7/220 degrees centigrade. Place the chicken thighs in a roasting tin and drizzle with the olive oil, salt and pepper and the fresh thyme. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Melt the butter and add the sliced leeks. Fry gently for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and cook for a minute to incorporate the flour. Stir in the wine and stock to make a thick sauce. Stir in the cream and add the mushrooms. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Set aside.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces discarding the skin and bones. Stir the chicken into the sauce together with the cooking juices from the roasting tin.. Season and stir in the chopped parsley. Pour the mixture into the pie dish.

Roll out the pastry to fit the top of your pie dish. Brush the edges of the dish with beaten egg. Cover the pie dish with the pastry and trim the edges. Cut a cross in the top of the pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg and put back in the oven for about 30 minutes.

White chocolate lace cupcakes

I recently made these gorgeous cupcakes for a family party. I wanted something that would transport well in the heat and would look good when I got to the party and that I could make in advance.
It is a really easy recipe as the wet ingredients are melted together and then mixed in with the dry so there is no whisking or beating.
 I found this recipe in an Australian Women's Weekly publication.  The recipe makes a dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients

250g/ 10oz butter
150g/6 oz white eating chocolate ( I used Green and Blacks as it is really got a good vanilla taste)
250g/10oz caster sugar
250ml/9floz milk
300g/12oz plain flour
125g/5oz self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Baking time - approx 50 minutes

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/ gas mark 3. Place your cupcake cases into a 12 hole cupcake tin.
 Chop the butter into small pieces and break up the chocolate. Combine the butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a saucepan and melt over a low heat stirring until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
 Whisk in the sifted flours, vanilla extract and lightly beaten egg.  Divide the mixture between the cake cases. It will be quite liquid but don't worry it is meant to be like this.
Bake the cupcakes for about 50 minutes until they are firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
The cupcakes will develop a thick sugary crust whilst baking and some cracks may appear but this is fine.
 Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.

The cakes will keep for a week in an airtight container or can be frozen for for 3 months.

To decorate.

 I decorated the cakes with a chocolate ganache. This is a mixture of melted chocolate and cream. It is easy to make.

White Chocolate Ganche
360g/11.5 oz white chocolate
125 ml/5floz pouring cream

Break the chocolate into pieces.
Bring the cream to the boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat.
Add the chocolate to the cream and stir until smooth and all the chocolate has melted.
Cool to room temperature and then cool in the fridge for about half an hour.
Beat with an electric mixture until the mixture becomes fluffy and spreadable.

Use this mixture to spread across the top of the cupcakes as your first layer of decoration.

To Ice the Cakes

Knead some ready made icing on a surface dusted with a little cornflour.
Roll the icing until 5mm/ a quarter of an inch thick.
Using a textured embossing mat roll on top of the icing to make a pattern. Use a rolling pin to firmly press and the pattern onto the icing. Using a 7 cm/2.5 cutter cut out 12 rounds from the icing. Carefully place the rounds onto the cakes.
Place the cakes into some lacy cupcake wrappers to hide the plain white cupcake cases.

Gooseberry Pie

My next door neighbours have just bought me the biggest bag of gooseberries freshly picked from a bush in their garden so I have just made two gooseberry pies out of them. Although gooseberries are quite tart they are delicious in a pie served warm with custard.

I had about 3lbs of gooseberries so I made two  pies and gave one to my neighbours. To make one pie halve the recipe which should serve about 6 people.


1.4 kg/ 3lb gooseberries washed and topped and tailed.
220g/ 8oz demerara sugar ( you can add more to taste if the berries are too tart)
4 dessert spoons of cornflour
4 tablespoons elderflower cordial
Beaten egg for brushing the top

Shortcrust pastry
For pastry use half the amount of fat to flour. I use plain flour and butter.
For my two pies I used 450g/1 lb flour and 220g/8oz of butter.

Sift the flour and into a bowl and add the butter cut into small cubes. Quickly rub the fat into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Add 3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water and work it into the crumbs until you have a soft dough.  Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in cling film. and chill in the fridge for about half an hour.

 To make the pie.

Put the gooseberries in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, cornflour and elderflower cordial. Stir together and allow to stand to allow the fruit to sit for about 10 minutes. Pour the fruit into your pie dish. Dot with a little butter.
Preheat the oven to Gas 6/200 degrees centigrade. Brush the rim of the pie dish with water and stick a strip of pastry all the way around the edge of the dish.  Brush the strip of dough with water so that your pastry lid will stick to it.Roll out your dough and cover the fruit with your pastry lid. Brush your pie with beaten egg.
Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes then turn the heat down to Gas 5/180 degrees centigrade and cook for about 30 minutes until the fruit is cooked through and bubbling.

Marinated Pork Kebabs

According to the weather forecast the weekend is set to be sunny and warm. Ever optimistic here is a recipe which will bring the taste of the Mediterranean if not the weather!
This was how my Dad always made his traditional Greek "souvla" or barbeque.
This recipe uses pork shoulder which is a great cut for making kebabs as it has a little bit of fat running through the meat which ensures it does not dry out on the barbeque.
This recipe was also featured in the Marlborough Town and Country Magazine - July issue

Marinated Pork Kebabs
Serves 4

500g pork shoulder - remove the skin and cut into 2 cm cubes
a wine glass of red wine
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
 salt and pepper

Place the cubed pork into a glass dish and pour over the red wine. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt and pepper. Allow to marinate for about an hour or if you have time overnight in the fridge is even better. Thread onto skewers and cook over a hot barbeque for about 20 minutes until the meat is cooked through.
Serve like the Greeks do in warmed pitta bread with a Greek salad.

Sort of Steak Fajitas

I created this recipe with a view to a more healthier way of eating. Rather than all the ingredients being cooked the only thing which is cooked is the steak and all the other ingredients are raw. You can serve this with the wraps or just have the steak with all the raw salad ingredients if you are trying to cut down.

Serves 4
Ingredients

500g rump steak
1tsp smoked paprika
1tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp thyme
1 garlic clove- finely chopped
juice of 1 lime

Slice the rump steak into 1 inch thick strips. Mix all the other ingredients together and mix with the steak. Allow to  marinate for about half an hour.

200g cherry tomatoes- halved
1 can kidney beans - drained
1 small bunch coriander - chopped
1 medium red onion - finely chopped
1 green or red pepper- chopped
juice of half a  lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Mix all these ingredients together and allow to stand for the flavours to develop while you cook the steak.
To cook the steak heat a griddle or frying pan and brush with a small amount of oil. Sear the steak quickly until it is cooked but still pink about 1 minute will be enough..
Serve the steak with the salad ingredients and serve with warm tortillas if liked.

Lamb Burgers stuffed with Feta Cheese

Over the next few weeks I will be posting some easy to cook, summer recipes which are perfect for when the weather gets a bit warmer.

130g couscous
120ml chicken stock
500g lamb mince
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
small pinch dried chilli flakes or to taste
4 oz feta cheese crumbled
salt and pepper

To serve pitta bread, fresh salad of tomato, cucumber, coriander and spring onions.

Place the couscous in a bowl and pour over the chicken stock. Cover with cling film and allow to stand for a while until all the chicken stock is absorbed.
Place all the other ingredients apart from the feta cheese in a bowl and mix together. Add the couscous and mix again making sure all the ingredients are well combined.
Shape the mix into burger shape. Make a small dip in the middle of the burger with your finger and stuff with the crumbled feta cheese. Mould the meat around the cheese to fully enclose it.
To cook your burgers heat a griddle pan brushed with a small amount of oil until it is hot. Cook the burgers on the hot griddle for about 5 to 7 minutes a side until the outside is crisp and the burger has  cooked through.
Serve in some warmed pitta bread with salad of your choice and good squeeze of lemon juice.