Mozzarella, Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread

For this recipe you need to start with a basic white loaf.

Makes 1 good-sized loaf
Preparation time 20 minutes
Rising time 1 hour
Proving time 30 minutes
Baking time 40 minutes

What you need:

1 x 7g sachet fast-acting yeast or 2 tsp dried active yeast
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
300ml/½ pint tepid water
500g/1lb 2oz strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting and rolling
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for oiling

Put the yeast and sugar in a bowl, cover with the tepid water and leave to one side for 5 minutes. In a bowl add the flour, yeast-and-sugar solution, salt and olive oil.

Mix together to form a soft dough. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface, then with a firm fist (dusted with flour to prevent sticking), knead the dough for 10 minutes, pushing and folding the dough over and over again until the dough springs back when you prod it. This can be quite knackering, but do keep it up as it’s the kneading that changes the texture from cake-like to bread-like.

Place the dough in a large, clean mixing bowl, which has had a dribble of oil wiped over it. Cover with oiled cling-film and leave in a warm place, such as an airing cupboard or near a warm cooker, for 1 hour until doubled in size.

Remove the clingfilm and stick your fist into the dough to knock all the air out of it. Knock the dough around for a minute, or until it has deflated, then shape it into an oval loaf shape and pop it into an oiled loaf tin; alternatively, make a large round farmhouse loaf or shape the dough into rolls.

Leave the bread to double again in size, which will take 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas 6. Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until it has risen, become golden and sounds hollow when you tap the base. Leave the loaf to cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Mozzarella, roasted garlic and rosemary bread

2 garlic bulbs

2 mozzarella balls

3-4 sprigs of rosemary

olive oil

While the dough is having its first prove, chop the tip off 2 whole bulbs of garlic, drizzle in olive oil, and then pop them in the oven (180C) for 30 minutes.

Once roasted, leave the garlic to cool. Once the bread is ready to shape simply flour the kitchen surface and a rolling in, then roll the bread dough into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle. Chop 2 balls of mozzarella into bite sized pieces and scatter them over the bread dough, scatter the leaves of 3 sprigs of rosemary on top, then finally squeeze the garlic out from its bulb and scatter this over the top.

Roll the bread dough up loosely like a Swiss roll, then chop in 5cm thick discs. Lay them 1 cm apart on an oiled baking sheet so they resemble a sheet of Chelsea buns. You will need to leave about 1 cm between each bun so they can rise into each other.

Leave to prove for 1 hour, and then bake at 200ºC for 45 minutes until risen, light and golden. The cheese will be oozing out of the buns and it will smell glorious.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

What you need:

60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g caster sugar
1 egg
10g cocoa powder
20ml red food colouring (preferably Dr. Oetker brand)
½ tsp vanilla extract
120ml buttermilk
150g plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tsp white wine vinegar
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Beat butter and the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed.
Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a very thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients
from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).
Turn the mixer up to slow speed, slowly pour in half the buttermilk.
Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again.
Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture.
Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.
Pour into paper cups in a cupcake or muffin tray. Bake for about 25 mins or until done. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle, should come out clean if done.
Leave to cool slightly in the tin before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Frost with cream cheese frosting.

For cream cheese frosting:

Beat the icing sugar and softened butter together on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes to gether and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated.
Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy (at least five minutes). Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.

Thai Noodle Soup

This soup is soooo simple to make and has really nice clean flavours.

You Will Need:

600ml chicken stock
1 Pak Choi sliced
2 chopped spring onions
Shitake mushrooms sliced
a good dash of soy sauce
a good dash of oyster sauce
Sesame oil
Chopped baby corn or sliced water chesnuts
150 - 200g raw peeled prawns (cooked will do but raw will give greater flavour and be more tender)
Thai rice noodles (1 bundle should be enough)
Dried chilli flakes (optional)
1 tbs white sugar
Salt and white pepper

Pour the stock into a pot and bring it the boil then reduce to as gentle simmer. Skim off any foam that may form on the top. Add the water chesnuts if you are using them, if not add the baby corn. Now add the mushrooms and the prawns. Add a good dash of soy and oyster sauce and the white sugar. Season with the salt and pepper to your own taste. Now add a sprinkle of chilli flakes and the sliced pak choi followed by a bundle of dried rice noodles. Don't allow the soup to boil but simmer gently for no more than 5 minutes (more if the prawns aren't cooked through.) Serve in bowls and add the spring onion as a garnish and a smal drizzle of sesame oil. Then simply enjoy!

Blueberry and White Chocolate Muffins

These are really yummy and moreish! You can make them with fresh blueberries too but I didn't because I wanted my son to have one too, and selfishly I didn't want little blueberry stained hand prints all over my white walls! Unlike cupcakes muffins do lose their pep after a couple of days so eat them quickly!

Makes 12

You will Need:

1 & 3/4 cups of plain flour
3/4 cup sugar (I used soft brown sugar but caster will do)
2 & 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 & 1/4 cup sour cream (reduced fat if you're being good!)
1/4 cup of butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g dried blueberries
75g chopped white chocolate bar or white chocolate chips

Crumb Topping
1/4 soft brown sugar (I used half soft brown and half granulated brown sugar for extra crunch)
3 tbs plain flour
2 tbs cold butter

First pre-heat the oven to 190 oC or 375 oF .

In a large mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients except the blueberries and white chocolate. In a second bowl add the eggs, sour cream and the vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Now add this to the dry ingredients and stir until it just comes together. Be careful not to over mix, only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in blueberries and white chocolate chunks.

Line a 12 cup muffin tray and fill two thirds with muffin mix. For the crumb topping cut the butter into flour and sugar until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over muffin mixture.

Bake for 20-25 mins or until a toothpick or a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire tray and then enjoy!

Extra tips:

It's not strictly necessary but you can soak the dried blueberries in some juice before you add them to the mixture. This will plump them up a little more before baking. Just make sure to drain them first.

If using fresh blueberries after washing them pat them dry well with a clean dish towel and then coat them in a little bit of flour before adding them to the mix. This helps to stop the blueberries from falling to the bottom of the muffin cups and aids even distribution.

Asparaus & Salmon Pasta

I made this the other day with leftovers I had in the fridge. It was so quick, simple and really delicious!

You Will Need:

Cooked Salmon Fillet (poached is best)
Bacon lardons / chopped smoked bacon rashers
Asparagus
150g (about half a tub) creme freche
30-40g parmesan cheese
200g cooked penne pasta
salt and pepper to taste

Serves 2

First put your pasta on to boil following the instructions on the packet. Then clean your asparagus and steam them for about 3-4 mins. You're going to pan fry them in a minute so you don't want to steam them for too long, just enough to soften them a little, but still with plenty of bite. Overcooked asparagus is horrible!

Next pan fry the bacon lardons in a little butter on a medium to high heat until they are golden brown in colour. This should ony take a few minutes. Chop up your steamed aspargus and add to the bacon lardons in the pan. Then flake your cooked salmon fillet into bite size cunks and throw that in the pan too. Add a little pepper or all purpose seasoning if you want at this point but I don't like to add salt until I serve because bacon and the cheese have a lot of salt in them so you don't want to over season. After tossing the ingredients together in the pan for a minute or so, turn off the heat and put the pan to one side.

Drain your pasta well and return to the pot. Add your creme freche and the grated parmesan and stir well. The heat from the pasta will warm through the creme freche and melt the cheese. Add your asparagus, bacon and salmon and stir through. Taste and and season with a litle salt if required. I added a little Tony's Creole Seasoning instead of salt which was nice but you can only get this in the States.

Serve in a bowl with some garlic bread and enjoy! Simple as that - Takes no more than 10-15 mins from start to finish.

Extra Tip:

You could also use parma ham instead of bacon, you won't need to fry this for long, simply warm through with the salmon and the asparagus for a min or two.

Lancashire Hotpot

I made this lovely version of a Lancashire hotpot today because I'm not very experienced with cooking lamb and it's a really easy way to cook it. The preparation takes about 20 minutes and the rest of the cooking is done in the pot and you can pretty much forget about it while you get on with other things. I hate eating lamb which is dry and tough so this recipe is a winner and the lamb will just melt in your mouth...

You Will Need:

800-900g (2lbs) of lamb neck fillet and shoulder steak chopped into medium sized chunks (I like to use a mix of the two but whichever cuts you prefer is fine.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions or 1 very large onion sliced into 2 cm wedges
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
570ml or 1 pint of hot water wit 1 tsp of Worcester sauce added
1 bay leaf
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
a little chopped fresh rosemary
4- 5 large potatoes cut into 1 cm slices ( I used Maris Piper)
sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
some butter

Pre-heat your oven to 170C/325F/as mark 3. Apply a layer of sliced potato to the bottom of a 2.5-3.5l casserole dish. Trim the lamb chunks of excess fat and pat dry with a paper towel. In a large frying pan heat the oil and about a tsp of butter until it's very hot then fry your lamb pieces until they are lovely and brown. Add the browned lamb on top of your potato slices in the casserole dish.

Next add your onions and garlic to the frying pan you used to brown off the meat. Fry until the onions start turning brown adding a little more butter if needed. Now add the flour and stir to soak up the juices then slowly add the pint of water with worcester sauce stirring all the time until smoothly blended. Season with salt and pepper and bring to simmering point.

Throw a couple of sprigs of thyme and the chopped rosemary on top of the meat and then pour on the gravy you've just made. Add another sprig of thyme and a bay leaf. Arrange the potatoes slices on top in an overlapping pattern.

Season the potatos with salt and pepper and add a few dots of butter here and there. Place the lid on the casserole dish then cook in the oven for one and a half hours. Then remove the lid and continue to cook for another 50 minutes. If the potatoes aren't browned enough or if you want them really crispy, simply brush with a little butter and place under a hot grill until really brown and crispy. Remove the bay leaf and thyme before serving.

Extra Tip:

It's lovely to have a slice of bread and butter to go with this to mop up all the gravy when you're done! mmmm comfort food!

BEFORE




AFTER

Banoffee Pie

I was inspired the other day to make this old childhood favourite of mine after seeing someone make a very complicated version on television. This is one of the easiest desserts to make. It tastes and looks amazing and anyone trying it will be impressed with your culinary skills. Great for dinner parties and summer nights but beware of the calories, this one's not for the lighthearted!



You Will Need:

150-200g Digestive Biscuits
70g Melted unsalted butter
400g condensed milk or 400g caramel condensed milk
300ml whipping or double cream
2 bananas
grated chocolate for decoration


First of all blend the digestive biscuits in a food processor until it's all crumbly. If you don't have a food processor a good trick is to put the biscuits in a sealed plastic bag and beat ferociously with a rolling pin until you have the same effect. (Also good for pent up frustration!) Mix the crumbed biscuit mix in a bowl with the melted butter then add to a baking tin and press down to make the base of your pie. A good way to do this is with a potato masher. It's best if you have a spring form tin so that you can easily remove the rim later on. Place the biscuit base in the fridge for about 20-30 mins to set.

There are two ways to make the caramel toffee sauce for your pie. The easy way or the even easier way. No need to faff about with sugar and water and melted butter which can so easily go wrong and ruin your pots and pans. Condensed milk is the best way to make delicious toffee. The easy way is to place a tin of condensed milk in a large pot, cover with water and simmer for 2-3 hours. Make sure you keep checking on the water level. The tin should be completely covered by the water or the tin could explode, so keep topping up if required. Leave the tin to cool before opening and inside you will now have some gorgeous caramel toffee. Once the tin has been caramelised it will remain so indefinitely so you might want to make 2 or 3 so you always have a ready supply of caramel toffee in your cupboard. The even easier way to do this is to spend a little more and buy the already caramelised version of condensed milk which is available in most supermarkets.

Next you should put your cream in a bowl with a little vanilla for extra sexiness and whisk until it's thick and forming soft peaks. Now your biscuit base should be done, so spread your caramel toffee over the base. Slice your bananas. Place some sliced banana on top of the toffee. I like to separate half the cream and fold one of the sliced bananas into some of the whipped cream. I then spread the banana cream on top of the toffee and bananas. Then add the rest of the cream and spread evenly. Now grate some chocolate on top for decoration and there you have it! Enjoy!