Vegetarian dinner

The My friend Giles is a veggie and he came for dinner yesterday evening. There is so much gorgeous veggie food out there there's no need to cook the usual "veggie pasta" when your friends come for dinner. Mix it up a bit and make it interesting! 

For starter I served wholemeal pita breads with houmous, olives, smoky roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes. A delicious and simple meze that guests can nibble on whilst the main in cooking. 

For the main I cooked delicious puff pastry parcels filled with butternut squash  flavoured with autumnal spices. This was served with a kale and feta gratin and a bright fresh green salad with lemon and a sprinkling of mixed seeds to freshen it all up. 

Ingredients (3 pastries)

1 sheet shop bought butter puff pastry, 1 egg, 1 small butternut squash, 1 tbsp butter, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp garam Marsala, salt and pepper to taste, grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 spring onion. 

Preheat the oven to 180 celcius. Peel the squash using a potato peeler, cut in half and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Dice, then boil in a large pan of salted water until very soft and tender. Drain the squash and mash with the butter, spices, lemon rind and seasoning. Finely slice the spring onion and stir in to the squash, set aside to cool. 

Once cool take the puff pastry sheet and using a rolling pin roll out slightly so it's around 3mm thick. Cut in to 6 square pieces, they don't have to be perfect squares so no need to use a ruler as you gather the edges up anyway! Divide the butternut squash mash between 3 of the pieces, use a little water to dampen the edges and then cover with another piece of pastry and press around the edges to seal. I like to scrunch the edges up a little to make them look rustic. Brush with a little beaten egg, place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and puffed. 

I served the pasties with a kale gratin, to be honest I prefer this made with spinach as its softer and silky, however kale was a nice change. If you use spinach just sub the kale for the same volume of defrosted frozen spinach squeezed of any liquid. 

Ingredients

200g kale, 200g crumbled feta cheese, 1 pot creme fraiche, salt and pepper, 1/2 grated nutmeg, 50g cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180 celcius. Blanch the kale in plenty of boiling salted water until just cooked. Drain very well. Mix the kale with the rest of the ingredients (excluding the cheddar), tip in to an ovenproof dish, scatter with the grated cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes until bubbling and golden. 

Don't forget a large mixed green salad, I used watercress, spinach and rocket dressed very simply with lemon juice, olive oil, seasoning and a sprinkling of mixed seeds. 

Buttered cannellini beans and lamb stew

In France and Italy they often use beans as a side dish instead of potatoes or rice. Inspired by the backstreet bistros in Paris this dish is rich, warming and delicious, great with fish and meat alike. I use a small amount of butter to emulsify the bean juices in to a rich sauce and add kale to balance the richness because of its dark mineral flavour. I cooked it last night to accompany a rich lamb stew and it was delicious! 

Ingredients

3 cans white cannellili beans, 1chicken bouillon cube,3 handfuls of chopped green kale, 50g butter, salt and pepper, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary finely chopped.

Drain 2 of the cans of beans and add to a large pan along with the remaining can of beans and it's juice. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Add the bullion, rosemary, seasoning and butter and stir until well combined and creamy. 

Add the kale, mix in to the beans, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes until the kale is cooked through. You may need to add a drop of water to loosen the sauce. 

I cooked the lamb stew in my slow cooker, simply add 1 pack smoked pork lardons, 1kg diced lamb, 2 roughly chopped red onions, a handful of quartered button mushrooms, 2 whole springs Rosemary and 2 tins of chopped tomatoes to a slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover and slow cook for 8 hours. 

Once cooked transfer to a large pan and on a medium heat gently reduce the stew until the sauce thickens. Remove the Rosemary stems, add salt, ground black pepper, some smoked paprika, and chopped tarragon to taste. 

This stew is super rich and smoky and went beautifully with the cannellini beans and kale. 

Autumn squash salad

I bought a gorgeous little squash at the market yesterday and have been pondering what to do with it all day. My favourite dishes combine a variety of textures and flavours, this one goes one better with the use of hot and cold too! Sticky sweet hot squash straight from the oven, served on cold creamy whipped goats cheese which melts ever so slowly in the heat. Topped with zesty fresh lemony salad and crunchy seeds. It's a real autumnal treat! 

Ingredients (2 main or 4 starter)

1 small squash, olive oil, salt and pepper, 1tsp dark brown sugar, 1 lemon, 225g pack soft goats cheese, 1 tbsp double cream, 1 pack mixed leaves (mine were spinach, watercress and rocket), sprinkle of mixed seeds (mine were pumpkin, sunflower and linseed)

Preheat the oven to 200 celcius. Cut the squash in half and use a spoon to scrape out and discard the seeds. Cut the squash in to wedges, arrange on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, salt, pepper and sugar and toss well to coat. Cook in the oven, turning twice during cooking to ensure its caramelised all over, for 30 minutes. 

Whilst the squash is cooking mix the cream and goat cheese in a bowl, beating to combine until smooth. Using a spoon smear a few blobs of the goat cheese mix on to plates. 

Once the squash is cooked, dress your salad leaves using around 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil to taste, season with salt and pepper. Arrange the squash on top of the goat cheese, then pile the salad leaves on top.  Sprinkle with seeds and a little finely grated lemon zest. 

The decedent gooey triple chocolate tart

So I'm all about healthy living, I eat my five a day, run, and drink plenty of water. However, for a special occasion sometimes you need a special dessert. Tonight we are off to see our good friends Ciaran and Chloe to meet their new beautiful baby daughter Orla, and a special pudding is in order! 

This is based on a brownie recipe and so it is gooey and fudgey in the centre. It is not a healthy dessert by any means, however it is divine, just make sure you do some excercise the next day! 

Ingredients

100g unsalted real butter, 150g milk chocolate, 150g dark chocolate, 3 large eggs, 150g White caster sugar, 1tbsp cold strong espresso coffee, 1tsp vanilla extract, 100g fine plain flour, pinch salt, 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2tbsp double cream.

Preheat your oven to 150 celcius. In a bowl set over simmering water melt the butter and 75g of each dark and milk chocolate chopped up in to small pieces. Stir to combine and set aside to cool slightly. 

In a seperare large bowl whisk the eggs, coffee, vanilla, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda until really frothy. Tip in the cooled chocolate mix and whisk again for a minute. Chop the remaining milk chocolate (75g) in to small chunks and add to the egg mix along with the flour. Stir until combined and tip in to a round pie dish (I used a foil one as taking this to a friends house but you can choose a pretty pie dish if at home). 

 

Bake on the middle shelf for 30 minutes and then leave to cool. In a small pan melt the remaining dark chocolate (75g) with the double cream and a tiny pinch of salt. Do not let this mixture simmer or boil, as soon as it gets warm take off the heat and let the chocolate gradually melt in the cream. Cool slightly and pour over the pie and spread it over the top. I like quite a rustic looking top but if you prefer you can use a spatula to smooth it to a more professional looking finish. 

Pea green soup

Easy, quick and delicious, this is one of my favourite simple saturday dishes that takes literally minutes to make and can be served hot with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese in the winter, or chilled for a simple summer supper.

If you're vegan just swap the milk for the same quantity of extra stock!

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 pint chicken or vegetable stock, 1 pint of milk, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 big mugs of frozen petit pois peas, 1tbsp dried mint or a few leaves of fresh mint finely chopped, 3 spring onions finely chopped, drizzle olive oil. 

Heat the oil in a large pan and quickly fry the spring onion and garlic until softened. Add the peas, stock and milk and slowly bring to a simmer, do not boil or it might split. Add the mint and using a handheld immersion blender blend until smooth. 

I love this hot with Parmesan, or perhaps some crispy fried bacon bits, however it's great either way! 

Eggs benedict

This is one of my favourite breakfasts, it reminds me of when Christian proposed to me, we were staying at the glorious Santa Ynez Inn (http://www.santaynezinn.com/mb/) in the beautiful wine growing region above Los Angeles in California doing a wine tour. He proposed at sunset whilst we were having a picnic on the Foxton Canyon Road and it was magical. The next day I woke up and ordered an eggs benedict for breakfast. It's a truly decedent start to the day, mainly due to the quantity of butter used to make the hollondaise sauce which slathers the top of this dish. However, once in a while, it's nice to have a treat to start the weekend! 

Ingredients

Sauce: 2 egg yolks, 1/2 lemon juiced, 1 pack unsalted butter, salt and pepper to taste. 

Muffins, brioche or a bread of your choice,  slices of thick ham, 2 eggs. 

Melt the butter in a pan and skim any white white residue which forms on the top, set aside but keep warm. Set a bowl over a pan of simmering water and add the 2 egg yolks and lemon juice, start to whisk continuously. The eggs will thicken up over the heat, once they have thickened (around 6 mins whisking) take the bowl off the pan and very gradually add the butter a tiny drizzle at a time, whisking thoroughly all the time. The sauce will start to become glossy and thick, if it gets too thick use a table spoon of warm water to thin it a little. 

Once the sauce is ready, season to taste. Toast the bread, poach the eggs and then stack the bread, ham and poached eggs on plates and slather with the sauce. 

White potato, onion and cheddar soup

Ingredients

4 medium white onions, 1kg white potatoes, 1 pint milk, 1 pint chicken (or veg) stock, salt, pepper, 1/2 fresh grated nutmeg, 1tbsp olive oil, 50g strong cheddar cheese.

Chop the onions and potatoes in to small cubes. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and on a medium heat gently fry the onions for 10 minutes until soft, stirring frequently to stop them browning. Add the potatoes and gently cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the milk and chicken stock, seasoning and nutmeg and turn the heat down, cook gently for 20 minutes, skimming the top to remove any foam that forms. 

Once cooked grate the cheddar cheese and add to the soup, stirring to melt. Let it cool slightly and then use a handheld blender stick to blend thoroughly until it's completely smooth. If you want a super smooth soup you can pass it through a sieve at this point also. 

Reheat the soup and serve with a little grated nutmeg on top, and some crusty bread on the side.