Banana oat muffins

Sometimes, the need for something sweet just cannot be avoided. I try to side step it; dodge the craving for doughnuts, persuade myself that a juicy apple will satisfy my craving, but that only works for so long.


You might just give in and snarf down a cookie or two but if you’d like something that’s delicious and a little bit healthier too, this is the recipe for you. These muffins are packed full of slow release oat energy, calcium and all the goodness of bananas. Although they’re chock full of bananas, it’s not an obvious flavour if you’re not they’re biggest fan. They’re just sweet enough, with a touch of honey in the mix, to sate your appetite for cake. If you're sensitive to gluten or coelic, choose gluten free oats which are available in most large supermarkets.

I’ve made them for breakfast and they’ve proved to be a very popular treat but they can be dressed up any way you like. I’ve kept them plain in my original recipe but you can add all sorts; dark chocolate chips or walnut pieces would be divine. Boost their fibre and mineral content with seeds in the batter or sprinkled on top. You can substitute the oats with wholegrain flour or ground almonds if the mood takes you.

On a practical note, beware as these are very sticky as they bake. Use a lightly oiled muffin pan without paper cases otherwise you’ll end up with lots of yummy muffins that you can’t get out of the cases. You can also use lightly oiled silicon cake cases, which work really well too.

Banana oat muffins Makes 6

125g (gluten free) porridge oats
140g low fat yoghurt/fromage frais
1 egg
2tbsp honey
1tsp baking powder
1 banana, mashed
1tsp cinnamon (optional)

 - Preheat the oven to 200C and use a dab of oil to grease a muffin tin or silicon cupcake moulds.
 - Beat the egg, honey and the banana together until combined then stir in the remaining ingredients. Alternatively, place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth.
 - Divide the batter between cups and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until dark brown (the colour of over-ripe banana skin!) and springy to the touch.
 - Serve plain or split with a little butter.

Don't like oats? Substitute for wholegrain flour or ground almonds.
Too plain? Add dark chocolate chips and walnut pieces. Or dried fruit and your choice of seeds.

Chocolate covered coconut macaroons

The world is going mad for macarons, the multi-coloured garish almond based meringue confections popular for afternoon tea around the world. Since I started working in London, I've seen swathes of tourists clutching pastel paper bags from the likes of Laduree. They're not the kind of thing that you find in Somerset! 


I'm partial to the odd macaron; they're cute, (dare I say) girlie and wonderfully bite-sized. However, they are a bit of a pig to bake. Achieving that light and fluffy texture is rather unpredictable, much like the somewhat troublesome meringue. If you're in need of a tasty sweet snack, maybe it would be better to by-pass the chichi and look a little closer to home. 


Macaroons (note the double 'o') are easy to throw together and provide the same deliciously sweet hit without the kitchen faff. According to the wonder that is Wikipedia, English macaroons and French macarons share the same Italian word maccarone or maccherone which derives from ammaccare meaning to crush or beat. Don't run away in horror; this refers to the crushed nuts that are the main ingredient of both recipes. Both are cousins of amaretti, the crunchy Italian almond biscuit. It's a very European affair.


I adore this recipe because it really is so simple. Bung the ingredients together, shape and pop in the oven. Decoration is optional but I like any excuse to mess around with chocolate. I've made these several times and they're an ideal mid-week bake because they're quick and easy to make out of ingredients that tend to lurk in the back of the larder. Oh and they're naturally gluten free too! 

Coconut macaroons
Makes 16 – 20

2 egg whites
300g unsweetened grated coconut (or the same of desiccated coconut)
3 tbsp runny honey (omit if using desiccated coconut)

To decorate
150g dark chocolate
10 glacé cherries (optional)

 - Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with a silicon or greaseproof paper.
 - Whisk together the egg whites and honey (if using).
 - Add the coconut and stir until coated.
 - Scoop out tablespoon dollops of mixture, compact slightly and evenly space on baking tray.
 - Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown.
 - Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool.
 - Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water.
 - Meanwhile, halve the cherries so that they’re ready to garnish.
 - Dip the flat base of each macaroon into the chocolate and place on a tray covered in silicon or greaseproof paper. If you want a particularly luxurious macaroon, allow these to cool and dip again.
 - Drizzle the top of the macaroons with melted chocolate and garnish with a half cherry, dipped in a little chocolate to act as glue.

Broccoli & Feta Potato bake

What a grim day! What happened to (the increasingly lesser spotted) Summer season? I'm certain that I haven't slept through it because I'm definitely not that well rested. Regrettably.

To banish the rainy day blues, I've been tucking into satisfying summer comfort food. This one pot meal is a great way to use up that tired looking bag of potatoes that's been hanging around for a bit too long. You could also use leftover boiled potatoes (skip the par-boiling if they've already been cooked or you'll end up with mush!) so it can be a super thrify meal too. I'm partial to a little ham or bacon thrown in but it's also delicious without if you're going meatless.

You might not have tried roasted broccoli before now but I think this will convert you. It brings out a sweet earthy flavour that shows off the little green trees at their best. Coupled with the mushrooms, you'll have a lovely rich mouthful. Don't forget a sprinkling of feta to cut through the warmth and give it a summery taste.
Broccoli & Feta Potato bake

Serves 4

300g new potatoes (or leftover cooked potatoes)
1 large head of broccoli
100g mushrooms, cleaned
handful of spring onions, sliced
50g ham or cooked bacon, roughly chopped (optional)
50g curly kale, storks removed and sliced
4 – 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
120g feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp (gluten free) soy sauce

- Preheat the oven to 180C. Add a drizzle of oil to a large roasting tray and pop into the oven to warm up.
- Boil the kettle while you half or (if they’re big ‘uns) thickly slice the potatoes.
- Prepare the broccoli. Cut bite-sized florets from the main stem, halving any trees that are too big. Cut the stem into chunks.
- Simmer the potatoes (if they need cooking) and broccoli stem for five minutes or until just tender. Throw in the spring onions so that they get a few moments in the hot water then drain the whole lot.
- Remove the roasting tray from the oven and add the potatoes, broccoli stems and spring onions – stand back as they may spit. Move them around in the hot oil so that they are nicely coated and start to colour in places.
- Add the broccoli florets, mushrooms and garlic to the roasting tin and then shove back into the oven for 30 minutes or until the broccoli starting to go a tawny golden colour and is cooked to your liking. I like it with a little bite left in it but this is up to you.
- Meanwhile, boil the kale for 4 minutes or microwave for around 3 minutes until just cooked.
- Remove the tin from the oven. Add the ham/bacon, kale and half of the feta before stirring and putting it back in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Serve generously heaped on plates and covered in the remaining feta cheese.

Summery chicken stew

The Boy and I have spent a glorious week touring the country to see friends and family. Naturally, our trips tend to revolve around food. We’ve barbecued near Bristol, sipped cider on the Cam (bringing a little bit of Somerset to Cambridge!) and noshed on marshmallows on a narrow boat.

Summer signals a flurry of activity for most people – time to make hay while the sun shines. If it’s raining – or if you’re busy dashing about doing a myriad of things simultaneously – you might like to come in after a long day to a bowl of stew.

This creamy chicken stew is light and fresh enough to suit a warm (if damp) summers day. As with all of my recipes, it’s easy and rather forgiving; you can leave it bubbling away on the stove (or in the oven – a similar amount of time at 180C should do the trick) while you go about your business. And, as long as you take care to ensure that it doesn’t boil dry, it won’t be ruined if you accidentally forget about it while you’re taking on the world.

This is a great recipe to have up your sleeve as a versatile and tasty dish. Although I’ve suggested kale, carrots and peas, you could throw in any vegetables that are in season and need using up. Asparagus works well if chucked in at the same time as the kale. In fact, you needed use kale – finely sliced cabbage, greens or spinach would work equally as well. An ideal one-pot supper to cut down on washing up without compromising on taste!

With all of the vegetables and light stock, this is a deliciously healthy meal. I would recommend using Quark instead of cream. It might sound like a Star Trek character but it’s actually a virtually fat free mild cheese that tastes lovely and creamy without being high in calories.

Summer Chicken Stew
Serves 4 – 6

6 chicken thighs, skin on
3 shallots or small onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
½ chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
50g dried apricots, chopped
700ml chicken stock/water
300ml white wine/cider
50g curly kale, stalks removed and sliced
1 tbsp dried tarragon
100g quark or 100ml single cream
50g peas, ideally fresh from the pod but frozen is fine

- Add a drizzle of oil to a pan large enough to take all of the chicken pieces and vegetables with plenty of space over a high heat. Brown the chicken in batches, placing them skin side down for a few minutes and once golden brown, turn over. Remove from the pan.
- Brown the onion for ten minutes until golden brown and soft. Remove and set aside.
- Deglaze the pan with wine/cider; pour in the liquid and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula to remove all of the cooked on flavour.
- Add the chicken and onions to the pan with the garlic, carrots, chilli, tarragon and apricots then cover with stock/water. Top up with boiling water if needed until everything is covered.
- Put a lid on the pan and turn the head down to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes until the carrots are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from the heat and skin off a cup of the cooking liquor. Set aside to cool while you stir in the kale so that it is submerged in the liquid. The residual heat will cool it nicely.
- Meanwhile, whisk the quark or cream into the cooking liquor until smooth and lump-free. Add this back into the pan, along with the peas and stir through.
- Serve with jacket potatoes, boiled jersey royals or rice.

Sticky Toffee Bread and Butter Pudding

Sometimes the simplest combinations are the best. Salty Cheddar cheese paired with sweet and sour Branston pickle, for example, or sweet ripe tomatoes combined with aromatic basil leaves. Both examples are far more than the sum of their parts. Bread and butter is another classic duo which are endlessly versatile; they work as an accompaniment with all sorts from scampi to jam.

I must admit that I was never drawn to the British classic, bread and butter pudding, when I was young. I always associated bread with savoury flavours and so, the idea of adding it to a sweet dish didn't compute. How wrong I was! It's such an easy dessert to make and is very forgiving if you feel the need to bend the recipe to your culinary whims. For my recent al-fresco-feeding-of-the-many-people moment at Cronkshaw Fold Farm, I added a luxurious sticky toffee element - as a nod to another British classic - but you could omit the deliciously sticky dates and caramel sauce for dried cranberries and white chocolate instead. Raisins and nuts would work well too. Or you could go for a virgin version and revel in simple stodgy comfort food. Either way, hot or cold, this ones a winner.

One of my lovely friends (I only have lovely friends, you understand) is gluten intolerant, just like my dear Mum, so my version was made - very successfully, I might add - with gluten-free bread. The custard binds everything together so that the bread, which without gluten is usually very dry and crumbly, was soft and moreish.

Sticky Toffee Bread and Butter Pudding
Serves four (multiply at will)

For the pudding
150g pitted dates
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g butter
10 slices of bread (brown, white, granary – the choice is yours)
400ml milk
2 eggs
25g sugar (plus 1 tbsp to top the pudding)
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the sauce
100g sugar
100g butter
100ml cream

- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Put the dates and bicarbonate of soda in a small saucepan and top up with water until just covered. Place over a low heat and simmer until the dates have broken down, stirring occasionally. Once the process is complete, they will look alarmingly like tar but fear not, as they taste amazing. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar together until creamy. Set aside.
- Once the dates have completely collapsed and you've emptied the pan, pour the milk into the saucepan and place over a low heat to warm through. This has the double benefit of infusing the milk with the toffee notes of the dates while making the pan easier to clean (as well as reducing washing up!).
- While the milk is warming, butter the bread then smear with a little date mixture and cut diagonally into triangles.
- When the milk has come to temperature, whisk slowly into the eggs and sugar.
- Place a few slices of the buttered bread into a baking tin, slightly overlapping them as you go. If you have any of the date mixture leftover, add a smear or two of that. Repeat the layers until you've used up all of the bread.
- Slowly pour the egg mixture over the bread and leave it to soak for 30 minutes or so. You might want to press the bread down into the mixture so that it soaks up all of the custard-y goodness.
- Scatter with the reserved sugar and bake for 40 - 45 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top.
- While the pudding is in the oven, melt the sugar in a saucepan over a low heat. Stay on the ball here or you’ll end up with a burnt mess. The edges will start to melt first – as soon as the first centimetre or so starts to turn golden brown remove from the heat and whisk the butter into the mixture.
- Next pour in the cream and return to a low heat, whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Add a pinch of fleur de sel or sea salt if you’re feeling fancy and want to go for a de rigueur salted caramel sauce.

Oriental cucumber noodle salad

It’s official: Spring is officially in full swing. The daffodils are out and proud in cheerful yellow hues and there’s a carpet of delicate purple crocuses in St James Park. It’s not all that long until the long Easter weekend, which we tend to fill with socialising and lots of food. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'm starting to shun my trusty soup recipes and bust out my refreshing salad recipes. I tend to lean towards zingy and fresh flavours in simple combinations that are - as always - easy to throw together.

This oriental-style cucumber and noodle salad is my current favourite. The ribbons of cucumber are cool and refreshing while the dressing of sweetened vinegar, garlic, soy and a touch of chilli is punchy. If you have time, you can toast the sesame seeds but I like to keep them pale and interesting; the toasted sesame oil in the dressing adds richness anyway. Use whatever noodles you fancy; rice ones are tasty if you're observing a gluten free diet. It keeps pretty well and can be made in advance; prepare the dressing and drizzle over before serving.

I call it "oriental-style" because I'm not certain whether it's Japanese, Chinese or something-else-ese. Apologies for my ignorance and enjoy!

Oriental cucumber noodle salad
Serves 2 (or 4 as a side)

For the salad:
½ a large cucumber
1 small cos lettuce
90g dried (rice) noodles
2 tbsp sesame seeds

For the dressing:
50ml white/rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp mirin (optional)
Squeeze of lime juice
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)

- Boil the kettle and cook the noodles as per the instructions (mine needed submerging in boiling water for four minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water to stop them from over cooking.
- Meanwhile, warm the vinegar, sugar, garlic and chilli together in a pan over a medium heat, whisking to encourage the sugar to dissolve. Set aside to cool.
- Half the cucumber lengthways and scoop the seeds out with a teaspoon. Finely slice or use a peeler to produce thin ribbons. Finely slice the lettuce.
- Whisk the remaining ingredients into the cooled flavoured vinegar.
- Combine the cucumber, lettuce and noodles and drizzle with dressing and sesame seeds.
- Plate up and scatter with a few more sesame seeds.

Ultimate easy tomato soup

Looking for a quick and easy tomato soup recipe to warm you up on a cold day? Check this out!

Our warm spring days were short lived and it’s been rather blustery and cool here in London in recent days. The weather has regressed my appetite back to the start of Winter when I was craving hot, soothing food to warm my cockles after a chilly day of walking, cycling or simply slogging it out in the office. In my mind, the simplest and tastiest way to do this is with soup.

Soup is fantastic. It’s portable – pop it in a heated thermos to provide a warming lunch on a long walk – and a great way to smuggle tons of vegetables into your diet. The straw poll soup of choice is tomato and I’ve got a nifty trick to increase the goodness as well as the flavour in this common classic. You might think that my twist would involve slow roasted vine tomatoes or the best quality olive oil (which would be lovely but also time consuming or expensive) but it’s a little more unusual than that and it’s in season right now. Beetroot. Yes, you read correctly! This fantastic root is lends its depth of flavour and colour to make a deliciously rich tomato soup. You don’t even need to be the biggest beetroot fan as the taste and tone isn’t out and out beetroot; the addition simply gives it a certain je ne c’est quoi to the finished soup.

Beetroot is bursting with lots of vitamins (including vitamins A, B6 and C) and minerals like potassium, magnesium and iron. Beets are a great source carbohydrates, protein, powerful antioxidants, folic acid and soluble fibre. It’s available in bunches in the supermarket or your local farmers market but it can also be found all year round pre-cooked in shrink-wrapped packets. Either works well though the raw form will increase the cooking time as you’ll need to scrub it, remove the leaves and stork and then microwave with a splash of water until it is soft. Cooking times vary depending on the size of the root but I find it tends to take about 20 minutes on full power. Find out more about the health benefits of beetroot and a myriad recipes too.

This soup recipe is quick, healthy and cheap. It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and cook. Even better, a portion comes in at about 25p so it’s an absolute bargain! Cheaper and tastier than Heinz cream of tomato any day. You can freeze it in batches and it will also keep well in the fridge for a few days if you whip up a big batch.

Ultimate easy tomato soup
Makes 4 – 6 servings (depending on how greedy you are!)

Ingredients:
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
1 400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 300g pack of cooked beetroot or 250g of fresh beetroot topped and tailed and microwaved until soft
100ml water (or stock, if you prefer)

- Chop the onion, carrot and celery and sweat with a little oil (or a splash of water) for five minutes or until softened.
- Meanwhile, chop the beetroot then add to the pan with the tomatoes and water.
- Simmer for five minutes or until piping hot all the way through.
- Blend until smooth then season and serve topped with cheese or low fat yoghurt.

Caramelised balsamic onions

 

I don’t know about you but I love a versatile ingredient; an item that can spark (at least) a dozen recipe or meal ideas and a flush of food-related excitement. There are many, many things that have that effect on me but there’s one in particular that I would like to share with you today.

Caramelised onions.

Those two words set off a firework of cooking concepts in my mind; recipes sizzle in my sub-conscious while images flicker in front of my eyes. Caramelised white onions in bolognaise sauce, sweet fried onions piled onto cheese atop a crisp cracker, crumbly goats cheese tart mingled with caramelised red onions, a rich onion-y hit in soups and stews… the list goes on and on. My mouth is watering while I type!

You can buy jars of onions chutney in the supermarkets which is all well and good but you can easily make your own easily and cheaply at home. Onions are a staple which I always have in my store cupboard because they are the foundation of many (most!) of my savoury dishes. Caramelising simply involves cooking them over a low heat for an extended period of time to bring out their natural sweetness. Once cooked, they can be kept for up to a week in the fridge but I doubt very much that they will last that long! If you have enough self-control, a jar of deliciously soft and sweet onions can make a fantastic gift idea for foodies.So if you’ve ever wondered how to make caramelised onions, read on.

I’d love to spend tons of time slaving over the stove but I genuinely don’t have the time. My recipe below gives you a cheat’s option which side steps the traditional yet time-consuming caramelising process. Of course, if you have the time to spare, by all means sweat them down over an hour or so to get the most out of them. If, like me, you’re short on time but need your onion fix, give this easy healthy recipe a go!

Balsamic caramelised onions
Makes 1 jar

Ingredients:
2 onions (red or white)
1 tsp sunflower oil or butter
½ tsp sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- Halve the onions, peel and slice. Sniffle.
- Pour in the oil (or butter, allowing it to melt if using) to a heavy based frying pan over a medium heat.
- Add the onions and sweat (covering with a lid) for five minutes or until softened.
- Remove the lid and reduce the heat. Cook for a further 10 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. The onions may catch on the bottom of the pan which is okay but don’t let them burn. If the mixture starts to look too dry, add a little water.*
- Add the sugar/honey and salt and stir well.
- Drizzle the onions with balsamic vinegar and use a metal or wooden spatula to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the balsamic has evaporated.
- Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week. Smother on crackers, add to cheese toasties... the possibilities are endless!

*At this point, you could cook for up to an hour if you have time for a more traditional caramelised flavour.

Leek and Potato soup

I think I’ve started something. I like to make a batch of soup at the start of the week (or ideally, the end of the weekend) to feed me throughout the working week slog. With the delayed cold snap creeping in, my office kitchen has a rush hour between 1pm and 2pm where we all crowd around the microwave to heat up our lunchtime fare. Most people have been bringing in soup since Christmas but it’s mainly in the form of cartons or tubs of the readymade supermarket stuff. It seemed like a big thing when my colleagues would ask “Is that homemade!?” Naturally I instilled the virtues of making your own and I think I inspired someone. One of my colleagues came in on Monday looking fresh faced and glowing with a tub of her very own homemade soup. She was really pleased with the results and has followed the trend by making more this weekend. Fab!

I love homemade soup because it’s a great way to use up leftovers and can be adapted to whatever is in season. British leeks are in season at the moment and, combined with potatoes, they make a warming meal that will keep you full for ages. I think that soup has something of a bad name because many people think that it needs hours of boiling on a stove in order for it to ‘proper’ soup. This just isn’t the case! You can make soup incredibly quickly and for much less than the supermarkets. You can pack it with cheap ingredients that are seasonal and good for you plus you know exactly what went into it.

I have leek and potato in my lunchbox this week. Despite its luxuriously creamy taste and texture, there’s no added fat in the recipe so it’s healthy too! I like to add a swirl of wholegrain mustard to add a little je ne c’est quoi.

Leek & Potato soup
Makes 6 – 8 servings

1 onion, sliced
2 sticks of celery, sliced
½ parsnip, cubed
2 leeks, washed and sliced
3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1l or so water or stock
3 tbsp fat free yoghurt
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

- Sweat the onion, celery, parsnip and leeks over a low heat for three minutes or until soft and sweet. Add a splash of water (instead of butter or oil) to stop it catching and burning.
- Add the potatoes into the pan then top up with water or stock to cover the vegetables. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- Remove half of the mixture and blitz in a blender – or use a hand blender in the pan so that the soup is mostly smooth but with a few chunks of potato and leek to chomp on.
- Adjust the consistency by adding more water or stock if you like a thinner soup then add the yoghurt and mustard before serving. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese or slurp with a side of cheese on toast.

Tender kale salad with roasted peppers and feta

Winter isn’t a season synonymous with salads but, with delicious leaves like curly kale in season, you can kick start your New Year with a nutritious and healthy salad. It’s a fantastically versatile dish which can be served hot or cold, with a main dish or on its own – the choice is yours! It’s quick and easy to zap in the microwave or bung on the hob. You can throw it together in about 10 minutes and it keeps really well – I’ve been making it in the evening while I make dinner and then scoffing it at my desk for an easy lunch.

It's a great accompaniment to fish, roasted vegetables or Parma ham (as you can see) but is strong enough to stand alone as a main meal. Choose the low fat feta if you're trying to be virtuous or omit it entirely if you'd rather. I tend to pop a tray of peppers in to roast whenever I have the oven on and then freeze them (any I don't nibble off the tray, at least) for a later date.

Kale salad with roasted peppers and feta
Serves one as a main or two as a side

For the salad:
150g curly kale
1 roasted pepper
100g feta cheese (or similar)
50g mushrooms, sliced

For the vinaigrette:
½ tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar

- Microwave (or sweat in a pan over a low heat) the mushrooms for 4 minutes or until softened and awash with flavourful juices. Drain, keeping the juices for later, and transfer to a salad bowl.
- Remove any thick stalks that linger among your kale leaves. Wash the kale well in a bowl of water, drain (leaving a little moisture on the leaves) and transfer to a microwaveable dish (or pan). Cover with a plate and cook for 3 minutes or until wilted down and tender. Add to the mushrooms.
- Slice the peppers into long strips and crumble or cube the feta before adding both to the bowl with the other ingredients.
- Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients with the mushroom juices and pour over. Serve hot or cold with Parma ham or on its own.

Roast Partridge with chorizo, butter beans and kale

The festive season may be over but one of game birds from the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ carol is at its best right now. Retire the turkey and start climbing those pear trees! Partridge is a tasty native bird which bridges the gap between the pheasant and the quail. A partridge will feed one handsomely though if you’re a little eater like me, one can do for two meals. Game is growing in popularity so much so that the supermarkets have started to sell various unusual meats. They have the benefit of being local, free-range and very lean. You can find partridges in Sainsbury’s for £3 each though they’re the kind of thing that can be picked up cheap from the bargain bin at closing time. A good butcher should be able to source and prepare a partridge for you.

Now that you’ve got your bird, what do you do with it? It may look like a chicken but don’t treat it like one – they’re small and delicate so they’re easy to overcook. If you’re curious about how to cook partridge to perfection, try this simple and tasty recipe which pairs it with creamy butter beans, spicy chorizo and delicious kale which is also bang in season.

Roasted Partridge with chorizo, butter beans and kale
Serves 2, generously

2 whole partridges
½ onion, sliced
100g chorizo, roughly cut into chunks
1 can of butter beans, drained
2 large handfuls of sliced kale
1 clove of garlic, sliced

- Preheat the oven to 230C.
- Add a drizzle of oil to a roasting tin, large enough to take both birds, and place it directly on a medium heat. Add the chorizo and fry until golden. They’ll release lots of delicious flavoured oil to the pan as they cook. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add the partridges to the tin and brown all over for a few minutes in the pan. Scatter the pan with the sliced onion and loosely cover the birds with the foil from a pat of butter (or a piece of foil).
- Place in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Baste the birds well with any juices in the pan. Recover with foil, lower the temperature to 180C and roast for a further 15 minutes. Check that the juices run clear and that the meat is piping hot all the way through.
- Remove the birds from the pan and set aside to rest. Put the pan on a low heat and add the chorizo, butter beans, kale and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until the beans are warmed through and the kale has wilted. Keep stirring to ensure that the beans don’t stick and add a little water if it becomes too dry.

Peach, Pear and Almond Pavlova

Happy New Year, my foodie friends! I’m afraid that I suffered with a “festive cold” over Christmas which meant that, instead of getting online and telling you how awful I was feeling, I decided to stay in bed (apart from a few misguided days when I went to work) and concentrate on getting better. Hope you don’t mind!

Despite my illness, I enjoyed my break and loved spending a whole ten days at home (proper Somerset home! Yay!) with The Boy and our families. We were given a gorgeous pasta maker by my grandmother so we’ve been mastering fresh pasta during the holidays. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to make and am now on the lookout for pasta dishes to match our tender sheets.

We spent New Year ’s Eve with good friends that The Boy and I went to school with. Our evening characterised the simple yet successful entertaining equation of great company plus delicious food (divided by optional banter, multiplied by reminiscing) equals wonderful evening. I was tasked with providing a pudding and with a glut of egg whites leftover from festive baking, the choice was clear. It was pavlova time. I made mine slightly more virtuous by substituting the traditional whipped cream with half fat crème fraiche.

I find that whipped egg whites can be something of a wild card ingredient. My top tips for limiting egg white disasters? I would recommend using a painstakingly clean glass or metal bowl (rubbed with a lemon if you’re really superstitious) for whisking in and be sure that your whisk is really clean too. Separating eggs can require a steady hand too so I break the egg over a mug or bowl to catch the egg whites before transferring them individually to the mixing bowl. That way, if a yolk happens to break, it only affects one egg (keep it for scrambled eggs or a cake) rather than your whole bowl – sods law says that its always the last egg when all of the others have separated perfectly!

Peach, Pear and Almond Pavlova
Serves 6 – 8

4 egg whites
225g caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp white wine vinegar (optional)
4 pears
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla pod
1 tin of peaches in juice
200ml apple and mango (or fruit of your choosing) juice
50g almonds
300ml half fat crème fraiche
25g icing sugar (or to taste)
Dark chocolate to decorate (optional)

- Preheat the oven to 180C. Cover a baking sheet with grease proof paper or baking parchment.
- Whisk the egg whites until they are just stiff and form shiny peaks. Ideally you want to do this with an electric mixer but if you don’t have one, you can do it by hand.
- Gradually add the caster sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking gently but thoroughly between spoonfuls.
- Once all of the sugar has been added, continue to whisk for a few minutes until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Fold in the corn flour and vinegar (if using) at this stage.
- Smooth onto the prepared baking tray (using a few blobs of meringue mixture under the parchment to keep it in place if necessary). The mixture needs to be about 4cm thick and it’s best if the outsides of your chosen shape are higher than the middle – I find the easiest way to do this is to gently smooth out the middle rather than piling up the sides. Of course, you could be fancy and pipe the meringue to make it look really pretty.
- Pop in the oven and immediately turn down to 120C. Bake for one and a half hours then leave in the oven until completely cool.
- Meanwhile, peel, core and quarter the pears. Drain the peaches, reserving the canning juice and set aside.
- Put into a saucepan and pour in enough juice (from the peaches as well as your chosen juice) to cover. Add the star anise and cinnamon. Slice open the vanilla pod lengthways (scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon and set aside) and add the empty pod to the pan.
- Poach the pears over a medium heat, keeping the pan to a gentle simmer, for around 15 minutes or until the pears are pleasantly soft. Remove from the poaching liquor and turn up the heat to reduce it to a syrup – this will take another 10 – 15 minutes or until thickened.
- Mix the crème fraiche, vanilla seeds and icing sugar. Taste and add more sugar if necessary then spoon on to the meringue base.
- Pop the almonds into a frying pan over a low heat and toast for a few minutes until slightly darker. Keep a close eye on them and don’t let them burn as they’ll become bitter.
- Arrange the fruit on top of the crème topping and intersperse with the toasted almonds. Scatter with grated chocolate to decorate. Serve drizzled with the poaching liquor syrup.

Honey glazed carrots

A chilly winter breeze has blown in and had me reaching for my thick coat, scarf and gloves. This is the time of year has me craving comfort food in the shape of rich risottos, beautiful bakes and sumptuous soups. In addition, my stomach seems to be gearing itself up for the big day and its legendary roast of epic proportions. Although I adore the meat element of a roast, I am a big fan of the accompaniments too. Crispy potatoes, Yorkshire puddings (not just with beef, I might add) and as many different kinds of vegetables as possible (as the season allows). 

Saying that, I like to keep things simple and, in my tiny kitchen, that means minimising the number of pans on the hob. Glazed roasted roots are a fantastic way to do this as it brings out their natural sweetness while reducing your hob-top saucepans. I’ve jotted down my recipe for carrots but it would work equally as well with parsnips or beetroot depending on your tastes. A little wholegrain mustard swirled through the glaze is a delight too!

Honey glazed carrots
Serves four as a side

250g chantenay carrots
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

-          - Preheat the oven to 180C.

-          - Scrape or peel the carrots (top and tail if necessary) and slice in half.  Place in a bowl, drizzle with oil and stir or toss with your fingers to coat them evenly. Season with a little salt and pepper.

-          - Spread out thinly on a baking tray and put in the oven for 30 minutes. Stir them once or twice to ensure that they cook evenly.

-          - Gently melt the butter and honey together over a low heat or in the microwave, stirring until combined.

-          - Remove the carrots from the oven and pour over the glaze.

-          - Return to the oven for another five or ten minutes until the carrots are browned on the outside but are soft enough to cut easily.

Autumnal Tomato & Marrow Soup

It definitely feels like autumn. The days are starting to draw in and I'm getting forgetful... If you're part of the Facebook revolution, you'll already know that we went away to enjoy some time on our friend's narrowboat this weekend. I'd prepared a warming casserole for our first meal on the boat and promised to share more details with you on my return. Now, I can be rather forgetful at times so I wrote a list for myself. Toothbrush? Check. A little light reading? Check. Camera? Check. All set. Or maybe not because, when I packed away my faithful camera, I didn't check that it had a memory card in it. School girl error! So I had a camera but no way of recording what turned out to be a lovely meal (though I do say so myself). I gave myself a stern talking to, I can tell you. That aside, we had a fantastic weekend with lots of picnic lunching on the roof.

For now, please warm your cockles with another marrow recipe. Come rain or shine - blustery chilling showers or crisp icy sunshine - this soup is rich, flavoursome and easily prepared in far less than thirty minutes. I made it first thing in the morning so that the only thing that stood in our way of a tasty hot dinner was a little heating up. I even took a serving to work for my lunch, which went down a treat.

This recipe was great for using up some of the marrow that I've recently been given by a colleague however there's still half left in the fridge so there's sure to be another marrow recipe popping up on here in the next few days!

Autumnal Tomato & Marrow Soup
Serves 4

½ onion, sliced
½ large marrow, cubed (my whole marrow was about 40cm by 15cm - a whopper!)
1 green pepper, sliced
1 tin of plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp of vegetable stock powder
1 sprig of thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 sprig of oregano or 1 tsp of dried oregano
1 clove garlic, sliced

- Sweat the onion in a large saucepan for a few minutes until soft and slightly translucent.
- Throw in the marrow and cook over a medium heat. It will soften, break down and become a little watery in the pan.
- Add the tomatoes, pepper, stock and herbs to the pan. If the juice from the tomatoes doesn’t cover the marrow, top up with boiling water. Bring to a simmer and add the garlic.
- Simmer for 10 minutes or until all of the vegetables are soft.
- Serve with grated cheddar or crumbled goats cheese and a hunk of crusty bread.

Hearty Healthy Pizza Stuffed Marrow

It's not often that I get déjá vu however this particular incidence is unique because it revolves around vegetables. Marrows, in fact. Around this time last year, we had been gifted tons of courgettes and marrows through The Boy's workmates. This year, it's my workmates that are donating their vegetables to us. I've turned to my trusty stuffing technique for the ginormous marrow that's been taking up the best part of an entire shelf in our fridge for the last few days.

Admittedly not my best photograph for this very reason and I very nearly didn't post it for that very reason but I couldn't let vanity get in the way of showing you just how big this beast was! I decided to go for a combination of tomatoes and herbs to bring out the sweet roasted marrow flavour. Topping the whole lot with a little cheese made it quite reminiscent of pizza! The trick with this recipe is to reduce the filling down until it's almost dry; that way, the marrow doesn't go soggy when you stuff it. Slice it up and serve it with wilted swiss chard and wild rice or crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Pizza Stuffed Marrow
Serves 4 - 6

1 marrow (30cm or so long)
1 onion, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
1 can of plum tomatoes
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp vegetable stock powder
50g mature cheddar cheese

 - Preheat the oven to 190c.
 - Rinse the marrow and cut it lengthways. Scoop out the insides, leaving a 1cm (or so) strip of flesh around the skin. Place the empty halves on a baking tray and put in the oven for 20 minutes.
 - Meanwhile, sweat the onion and celery in a little oil over a medium heat while you chop the marrow innards into chunks. Add them to the pan and let them cook down. They'll express a lot of watery liquid and when they do, turn up the heat to simmer it off. Sprinkle the herbs and garlic into the pan.
 - While the marrow simmers, drain the tomatoes (keep the juices for something else) and roughly chop. Add them into saucepan and stir. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally to ensure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
 - When the mixture has reduced down so that there's no remaining liquid, remove the marrow halves from the oven and spoon the mixture into it until it is level. Top with cheese and pop back into the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Succulent Baked Plaice with Olives

Plaice isn’t necessarily the prettiest of fish. As a flat fish, it can look (as the name suggests…) a little squished and it’s dull grey skin with violent orange spots wouldn’t be a great advert for the latest face cream. Despite the fact that it won’t be winning any beauty pageants any time soon, it is totally delicious and a great base for flavours.

It’s a pretty fiddly fish so unless your fishmonger is willing to fillet it for you, I would recommend baking it whole. I like to pop it in the oven with some herbs to infuse the flesh while it cooks. Go for woody herbs as a base which will withstand the fierce heat of the oven without wilting into nothing. Their flavour will survive but their structure is hardy too so they’ll stay bushy and hold the fish away from the baking tray – this will encourage heat to circulate around the fish and allow it to cook evenly. Keep any softer herbs – like parsley and dill – for sprinkling on top just before serving.

I paired our plaice with fresh tomatoes and black olives but you could add a few anchovies or capers if you've got them knocking about. If you're not feeling the lemony hint, try a combination of sliced orange and fennel.

Succulent Baked Plaice with olives
Serves 2

1 whole plaice
1 bunch/handful of oregano, thyme or rosemary (or a mixture)
1 handful of parsley or dill (or a mixture)
½ lemon, sliced
12 or so black olives
1 handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Drizzle of olive oil
25g butter

- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Rub both the sides of the fish and a baking tray with a little olive oil.
- Place the herbs in an oval in the middle of the baking tray and scatter with lemon slices.
- Put the plaice on top and surround with the olives and tomatoes.
- Bake for 15 - 20 minutes depending on the size of the fish – it should be white and opaque all the way through.
- To serve, cut along the centre line of the fish and gently peel the skin back. Add a knob or two of butter, the chopped parsley/dill and a little seasoning. The flesh can be pushed off the bones by placing the flat side of a fork against the spine and brushing outwards.
- Plate up with sauté potatoes and fresh summery salad.

Hand picked wild mussles and Moules Marinaire

Having anchored our boat in a quiet bay, The Boy was feeling intrepid and ventured out onto the scratchy, barnacle-clad rocks in search of little fishies. After a period of disappearance, he returned, pink cheeked with pride bearing all sorts of goodies. His bucket contained a variety of delicate, spritely fish, an baby starfish and five shrimps. 

The incy, wincy starfish (only an inch or so across) was coo-ed over and then gently placed back into its pool but we held on to the shrimps - good eatin' to be had there! Our seas and beaches are full of gorgeous goodies that anyone can make the most of if you know where to look.

Buoyed by his successful hoard, we went to for a wander along the surf and what did we find? Several mammoth rocks encrusted in midnight blue mussels which, in turn, were stuffed with silvery barnacles. We grinned gleefully at one another and picked eagerly at the shells. They weren't as stuck fast as I expected - I had memories of a mini-me whacking unsuspecting limpets with rocks in an attempt to knock them off their home rocks before they suckered themselves on. Mussels are far easier to harvest, as it turns out. 

After a quick google (the wonders of Smart phones) and some advice from our elders, we made quick work of collecting a box full. They were quite easily teased from the rocks by twisting them which broke their 'beards' away - the delicate strings that fix them to the surface of the stone - without damaging the mollusk. We mostly picked from the waterline and chose mussels which stayed in the water for as long as possible - our intuition told us that these would be the freshest but I've no idea if this is correct. We mostly went for mussels which were 6 - 7cm long and avoided the baby ones (less than 5cm). As with all foraging, we only took what we would be able to eat and left more than we took (we wouldn't want to spoil it for others now, would we?). Since our expedition, I've read that mussels actually spawn between May and August so harvesting is generally discouraged during this time. We stored them in a large plastic box which was filled with fresh sea water and kept them in the shade for the trip home.

Back at our rented caravan, we prepped our goodies. Have a look at the instructions above if you haven't done it before and are curious. It's a bit labour intensive but it's well worth it. Myself, The Boy and my Mum-in-Love stood around the sink and chatted away while we worked so it was no hardship. After the cleaning was done, there was one dish in the fore front of all of our imaginations that would showcase these little treasures of the sea.

Moules Marinaire

Serves five as a starter

1.5kg prepared mussels, rinsed

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

100ml white wine or cider

120ml single cream

Sunflower oil or butter

 - Sweat the onion and garlic in a splash of oil or knob of butter in a saucepan large enough to take all of the mussels until completely softened.

 - Add the mussels and stir well so that they're completely coated in onion.

 - Turn up the heat and pour in wine and cream. Cover and simmer for 3 - 4 minutes or until the majority of the mussels are open. Shake the pan every so often so move the mussels about.

 - Stir in the parsley and ladle into bowls. Serve with crusty bread to mop up any juices. Discard any mussels that have not opened during cooking.

Bacon and Broad Bean Hash

Having had yet another Mother Hubbard moment, I concocted this dish from the odds and ends that had been frequenting our fridge. One sad and solitary potato, the heart of a sweet heart cabbage and some bits of bacon that were left over from a pasta dish. I quite like the challenge of a near-empty fridge - sometimes too much choice can be a bad thing and an excuse for dithering.

With broad beans coming into season, this is a great way to use these deliciously savoury legumes. Ideally, they'd be fresh from the pod and into the pan but if yours aren't quite ready to eat or if, like me, you don't have a vegetable patch at your disposal then the frozen ones are great. If you're not a fan, substitute with peas though I'd probably go for finely chopped mint instead of parsley.

Super-simple flavours. Incredibly easy cookery! Great for summer - chuck everything in a pan to flash it with a little heat and then enjoy outside on your patio chairs. In our case, we'd be huddled on the back step. We just ate at the dining table but the sun was streaming through the window.

Bacon and Broadbean Hash
Serves 2

1 large potato, cubed
125g (smoked) bacon, sliced
½ onion, sliced
¼ sweet heart cabbage, chopped

100g broad beans

Handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped - with a few whole sprigs reserved to garnish (if you're feeling fancy)

 

 - Par boil the potatoes for three minutes. I like to do this in the microwave because it seems more efficient.

 - Meanwhile, dry fry the bacon in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. The bacon should colour up and expell any fat into the pan.

 - Mop up some of the fat from the pan with kitchen towel, leaving about a tablespoon remaining. Drain the potatoes (reserving the liquid) and add along with the onion and cabbage.

 - Keep everything moving around the pan so that it doesn't stick or burn. Fry for about four minutes or until the potato starts to colour.

 - Add the broad beans and a splash of the cooking liquid. Keep stirring and cook for a minute or two until they're cooked to your liking. If you're using frozen broad beans, cook for four minutes or until piping hot all the way through.

 - Just before serving, stir in the chopped parsley then pile onto your plates.