If I had to put a positive spin on Covid, it would have to be the appreciation it has given me for the little things in life. Last week I felt incredibly happy just to have my hair cut, whilst the prospect of having lunch with my girlfriends, now that the lockdown rules have been partially lifted, is set to be the highlight of my year! Of course, our lunch is not allowed to be inside a restaurant, so we’ve booked one where it’s possible to eat outside but undercover – perfect for our unpredictable English weather! One of my girlfriends only recently discovered the restaurant we’ve chosen, Wild by Tart, it sounds wonderful – although pretty much anything will seem wonderful after lockdown!…When it was suggested, I naturally googled it and was excited to see that the duo behind the restaurant has also published a cookbook. How could I have missed this publication (and restaurant opening)?!…this is why it’s so good to speak with our friends – the wonderful ‘word of mouth’ (something that, in some ways, lockdown has undermined, as you really can’t beat face to face gossip!). Anyway, I am pleased to say that I have now bought the cookbook and I hope to try out a few of the recipes for Menu Mistress…let’s hope that our lunch is as good as the recipes that I’ve been browsing in the cookbook!…

Actually, this week’s Menu One is another example of why it’s good to chat, as it was through chatting with my neighbour, Karin, that I discovered this recipe, ‘Grilled Salmon in Sweet, Smokey Tamarind Sauce’. The recipe is from the Mexican cookbook by Thomasina Miers, founder of the restaurant chain Wahaca. I’m so glad that I tried this recipe as not only is it delicious but also simple to cook and rather different from the recipes I tend to choose. This is another positive about sharing ideas, it pushes us out of our comfort zones. So, do try this recipe, it really does give a different dimension to a simple piece of salmon. Menu Two is a recipe for a Barnsley chop, I love this double chop cut of lamb as it just needs to be quickly pan-fried – it’s perfect for a quick midweek meal. In this recipe from Tom Kerridge’s cookbook, ‘Best Ever Dishes’, it is flavoured with cumin and coriander, then, at the end of cooking, is sprinkled with orange zest – a simple idea but totally tasty! Finally, Menu Three is a super vegetarian dish that incorporates one of my favourite snacks, courgette chips! ‘Courgette and Cheddar Risotto’ is a perfect springtime recipe, topped with the aforementioned fried courgette; I suggest you make a note of the recipe for these chips, as you will want to make them on their own as a snack – they are seriously good sprinkled with salt!

I hope you enjoy these recipes…watch out for my Tuesday Treat next week!

Menu One

Grilled Salmon in Sweet, Smokey Tamarind Sauce with Avocado Salsa (Serves 4)

In this recipe the combination of slightly sour tamarind sauce with the smoky chipotle is a marriage made in heaven and it is brought to an addictive level with the addition of a little sugar!…It is a seriously good sauce that transforms a simple piece of salmon to an exotic supper. The recipe is from the cookbook by Thomasina Miers, founder of the Wahaca restaurant chain, ‘Mexican Food at Home’. I like to serve this with an avocado salsa (recipe below) and sticky rice.

4 fillets of salmon

For the marinade:

4 tablespoons tamarind paste

2 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten free if required)

3 tablespoons groundnut or sunflower oil

Juice of 2 limes

4 tablespoons demerara sugar

3cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed

1 teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes

Handful mint leaves, roughly chopped

Handful of coriander leaves, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. A couple hours before you wish to eat, mix all marinade ingredients together. Place the salmon fillets in a shallow dish and pour over the marinade. Cover and chill for a 2 hours, turning halfway through.
2. When you are ready to start cooking, remove the salmon from the dish – reserving the marinade. Place a large frying pan over a high heat, when smoking hot add a drizzle of groundnut oil. When it is hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and fry for 5-6 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the hob and place under a preheated grill and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, pour the marinade through a sieve into a small pan. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce until it becomes thick and syrupy.
5. To serve, place the salmon on a plate with the sauce spooned over. It is great served with sticky rice and an avocado salsa (recipe below).

Avocado Salsa (Serves 4)

This a cross between a salad and a sauce. It is great as a side dish for fish, particularly with the recipe for Salmon in Sweet, Smoky Tamarind Sauce (above), or simply served with some tortilla chips!

1 ripe, but firm avocado, diced

5 cherry tomatoes, deseeded and diced

½ red onion, diced

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 rounded tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped

A few drops of Tabasco sauce

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Simply combine the ingredients together in a bowl, adding seasoning to taste. Cover with cling film and leave to one side for an hour to allow the flavours to develop.

Menu Two

Barnsely Chops with Cumin, Coriander & Orange

(Serves 4)

These lamb chops are a super quick meal to cook – they are great on a week night when you really don’t have the time or energy to think about cooking. The cumin and coriander, with the lovely zing of orange, really make this easy dinner extra special, serve simply with potatoes or rice and some steamed greens or a green salad. I found this recipe in Tom Kerridge’s cookbook, ‘Best Ever Dishes’, and it’s definitely one of those!

4 thick Barnsley chops

4 tablespoons cumin seeds

4 tablespoons coriander seeds

Vegetable oil

15g butter

juice of 1 lemon

finely grated zest of 2 oranges

sea salt and black pepper

1. In  a dry frying pan, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until they are lightly toasted (a few minutes). Crush the seeds finely in a pestle and mortar, then sieve them on to a plate to get rid of any woody bits.
2. Push one side of the chop into the spice mixture making sure it gets a good coating. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it is hot place the chops in the pan so that they are standing on their outer fat side, cook until the fat runs out and the skin starts to brown, then pour off this fat.
4. Turn the chops, seasoned-side down, and cook for  8-10 minutes, until dark brown and caramelised. Turn the chops over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes for medium-rare lamb.
5. Add the butter and lemon juice to the pan, and baste the chops with the buttery juice. Remove to a plate to rest for 5 minutes.
6. Serve the chops with the grated orange zest sprinkled over.

Menu Three

Courgette and Cheddar Risotto with Courgette Fries (Serves 4)

This is my new favourite risotto…I’ve always loved courgette fries, so a risotto topped with them is heaven! The pea shoots are a delicious garnish, they add a lovely fresh, sweet flavour and look beautiful!

For the risotto:

275-300g courgette, grated

1 small red onion, finely chopped

150g Carnaroli risotto rice

500ml hot vegetable stock

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

50g butter, cubed

100g mature Cheddar cheese, grated

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Pea shoots to garnish

For the Courgette Fries:

1 courgette

150ml milk, for dipping

4 tablespoons plain flour (gluten free if required)

Sunflower or groundnut oil for frying

1. First of all prepare the courgette fries. Cut the courgette into thin batons (removing centre core of seeds). Place the flour in a lidded container, and put the milk into a bowl. Dip the courgettes first in the milk then put them in the flour, put the lid on the container and give them a good shake so that they are evenly covered (shaking off any excess flour), you may want to do this in batches. Place the floured courgette batons to one side whilst you start the risotto.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until it has softened, about 2-4 minutes. Add the rice and give it a good stir so that they are completely covered in the oil, cook for about 2 minutes until they are slightly opaque looking.
3. Add a ladle of hot vegetable stock to the pan, stirring. Gradually add more stock, ladle by ladle until each one is absorbed. Continue cooking in this way, stirring, for about 20- 25 minutes until the stock is absorbed and then rice is al dente (with some bite). Add the grated courgette and the parsley, cook for 2 minutes and then stir in the butter and 50g of the cheese, season to taste.
4. Meanwhile fry your courgette batons: Generously cover the base of a small frying pan with sunflower oil or groundnut oil, heat over a high heat until very hot, then fry the courgettes, in batches, for a few minutes until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on kitchen roll and season with salt.
5. Place the risotto on plates and top with the courgette batons, then sprinkle the pea shoots around the plate. Serve with the remaining grated cheese.

Almond and Apricot Cake (with Gluten Free Option)

Admittedly this is not the most attractive of cakes, it’s rather flat and tends to go at little ‘golden’ around its edge…but remember, looks can be deceiving! It is a beautifully moist cake, with a slightly chewy crust, the sweet flavour of the apricots is complemented by a lemony syrup which you pour over the cake when it is still warm. It is a recipe that I have taken from an old book, ‘The Gastro Pub Cookbook’. At the time it was published in 2003, the gastropubs from which it takes its recipes, were some of the best in the UK, although some of these pubs might not have survived the recipes are still as delicious. Interestingly, the book was researched by Diana Henry who these days is a very successful cookery book writer in her own right. Henry described this cake as ‘one of the most delicious cakes I have ever tasted’, and I’m not going to argue with her! It was a recipe which she took from ‘Ballymore Inn’ in Co.Kildare, Ireland, which in fact, is still a very successful gastropub – one which I have on my bucket list to visit…!

If you are gluten free, like me, this cake can be easily adapted by using gluten free flour (I used Doves) – the cake in the photo is gluten free!

225g butter, plus extra to grease the tin

100g dried, ready to eat apricots

225g caster sugar

1 lemon, juiced

80g ground almonds

3 large eggs, beaten

100g plain flour (gluten free if required – see note above)

For the Lemon Syrup:

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 lemon, juiced

To serve: crème frâiche or whipped cream

1. Butter a 23cm round cake tin and line the base.
2. Roughly chop the apricots.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the lemon juice, ground almonds and beaten eggs, then mix thoroughly. Finally, fold in the flour and apricots.
4. Put the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven, 180’c fan, for about 35 minutes until the cake is firm and golden and leaving the sides of the tin.
5. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes then lift out onto a plate.
6. To make the lemon syrup, gently heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over the cake while it is still warm.
7. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or crème fraiche.

Things have been rather ‘hit and miss’ in my kitchen the last week or so…I am always trying new recipes for Menu Mistress, and I like to think that normally I have a good eye for ones that work, however recently I have had a few disasters. With hindsight, I can see that I’ve allowed my ‘good eye’ to be a little too indulgent, for example, the name of one of the failed recipes should have warned me that I was taking a risk, but when I heard its name, nostalgia got the better of me – ’Pork Basil Brush’. Yes, that really was its name! For those of you who are too young to remember or didn’t grow up in the UK, Basil Brush was a dapper little red fox, who was a popular children’s television character when I was growing up – I loved him and his ‘Boom Boom’ jokes, and ridiculous laugh! So, when I saw the name of the recipe I couldn’t resist. It appeared in an old cookbook, ‘The Good Food Guide Dinner Party Book’ which I managed to buy second hand after reading about it in one of my favourite books by Simon Hopkinson. Hopkinson recommended this seventies cookbook, as a ‘good read with some classic gems’ (although, I don’t think that he was necessarily eluding to this recipe!). Apparently ‘Pork Basil Brush’ appeared on the menu of a restaurant that actually acquired Basil Brush’s permission to name the dish after him – and had a paw marked certificate to prove it!… What a great nostalgic recipe, and if it had worked, what fun it would have been to share, but unfortunately, although edible and quick, it is definitely not a recipe that I could pass on to you. In the same vein, nor will I be passing on the ‘Cashew Nut Curry’ that I tried or the ‘Tuna Provençale’!…However, despite my recent recipe failures, I still have quite a few recipes up my sleeve, all tried and tasted and deemed good enough for Menu Mistress, so hopefully, you shouldn’t suffer from any frustrating failures in your kitchen!

This week I am, of course, steering away from serving fox(!)….Menu one is a delicious’ Lamb Kofta Curry’, this is in fact from the same Simon Hopkinson book, ‘Roast Chicken and Other Stories’, from which I got the idea to buy the seventies cookbook with the ‘Pork Basil Brush’! This Kofta Curry is a very delicious, mildly spiced dish with a creamy finish, the flavours have real depth. Admittedly, although a very straightforward recipe, it’s not the quickest meal for midweek, as you have to make the meatballs and fry them before adding them to a sauce, so you might prefer to make this at the weekend – but do try it, as it is very tasty. Menu two is a Lemon Chicken recipe, this is perfect for midweek, the lemon delicately flavours the chicken and is a perfect spring/summer recipe. Finally, Menu Three is a super simple pasta, ‘Penne with Courgettes, Mushrooms and Pine Nuts’, which I have been serving to my family for more years than I care to mention. It’s a ‘home grown’ recipe, one which I developed after being inspired by a pasta I tried in a restaurant – it’s not fancy, but is one of those easy midweek dishes, which is instantly gratifying.

Anyway have a wonderful week – my week is already looking up as I have finally got an appointment for a post lockdown haircut!…

Menu One

Lamb Kofta Curry with Rice (Serves 4)

This Kofta Curry is taken from Simon Hopkinson’s wonderful cookbook, ‘Roast Chicken and Other Stories; Second Helpings’. It is an absolutely delicious, mildly spiced dish with a creamy finish, the flavours have real depth; don’t be alarmed by its slightly oily, separated look, as, as Hopkinson himself says, “this is a sure sign of its authenticity”. Admittedly, although a very straightforward recipe, it’s not the quickest meal for midweek, as you have to make the meatballs and fry them before adding them to a sauce, so you might prefer to make this at the weekend – but do try it, as it is very tasty! I like to serve this with white long grain rice, it is also good with some poppadoms and chutneys on the side!

4 onions, finely chopped (to save time I use a food processor for this!)

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

700g minced lamb

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 tablespoon garam masala

½ teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped

1 egg, beaten

Flour (gluten free if required)

50g butter

½ stick cinnamon

4 cloves

4 cardamom pods

4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 limes)

12 fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

400ml coconut milk

(To serve: rice, poppadoms and chutneys)

1. Fry the onions and garlic in the oil until golden brown. Place on a plate to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in small frying pan, dry roast the coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant (a couple of minutes), then grind in a pestle and mortar.
3. Place the lamb in a bowl, adding the fried onions and mixing in the ground coriander and cumin, the turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder, pepper, salt, mint and egg. Form the mixture into walnut sized balls (koftas), roll in the flour and fry in the butter, in batches, until golden brown all over, remove to a plate.
4. Add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods to the pan, fry for a minute or so, then stir in the chopped tomatoes and top with the koftas. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes are softened and pulpy.
5. Add the lemon or lime juice, roughly chopped mint leaves and the coconut milk, stir gently.
6. Bring to a simmer and gently cook for 20-25 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Taste for salt.
7. Serve on a bed of rice, with chutneys and poppadoms on the side.

Menu Two

Lemon Chicken & Creamy Garlic Mashed Potato (Serves 4)

This is a lovely light chicken dish, subtly flavoured with lemon. You can either use a jointed chicken or simply chicken thighs for this recipe. This chicken is delicious served on a bed of creamy garlic mashed potato, however you could, of course, serve it with a potato dish of your choice. The recipe, which I have slightly tweaked to make it an easier midweek option, is from the ‘Market Kitchen Cookbook’, a book which was published over 10 years ago, but still has a couple of my family’s favourites.

1 chicken jointed into 8 pieces or 8 chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

25g butter

1 tablespoon flour (gluten free if required)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons Marsala wine (or sherry)

200ml chicken stock

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 tablespoons double cream

2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

Strips of lemon zest (for decoration – optional)

(Creamy Garlic Mashed Potato to serve – recipe below)

1. Season the chicken generously with salt. Add the oil to a casserole and fry the chicken pieces until they are golden brown. Remove from the casserole and place on a plate while you make the sauce.
2. Melt the butter in the casserole, then stir in the flour, allow to cook out a little then add the mustard. Pour in the marsala wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate before stirring in the stock, lemon juice and a good grinding of black pepper. Keep stirring until smooth.
3. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and return the chicken pieces, skin side up, to the casserole (the pan should be wide and shallow enough so that the sauce does not cover the chicken). Cook, uncovered, in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick.
4. Remove the chicken from the casserole, add the cream and parsley to the sauce, and gently reheat.
5. Serve the chicken, on a bed of creamy garlic mash (if using), sprinkled with the lemon zest with the sauce on the side. This dish is also good with ‘Fine Green Beans with Almonds’ (recipe here).

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potato (Serves 4)

In this recipe, I have simply added an extra garlic clove to my ‘Favourite’ Mashed Potato recipe, it complements the Lemon Chicken wonderfully.

1kg potatoes (floury, such as Maris Piper)

100ml full-fat milk

100ml double cream

3 garlic cloves, sliced

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into even sized chunks. Steam until completely cooked through.
2. Put the milk, cream and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat.
3. Mash the potatoes, adding the milk mixture a little at a time. Season well with salt and pepper.

Menu Three

Penne with Courgettes, Mushrooms & Pine Nuts (Serves 4)

This is a pasta recipe which I have been serving to my family for more years than I care to mention, it’s a ‘home grown’ recipe, one which I developed after being inspired by a pasta I tried in a restaurant. It’s not fancy, but it is one of those easy midweek dishes, which is instantly gratifying.

400g courgette, cut into batons

400g portobellini mushrooms (or large flat mushrooms), sliced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

4 tablespoons pine nuts

3 tablespoons olive oil

400g penne pasta

Sea salt and black pepper

4 heaped tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve

1. In a dry frying pan, toast the pine nuts over a medium/high heat for a few minutes until golden. Remove and keep to one side.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the frying pan and fry the courgette batons over a medium heat until softened, but retaining some ‘bite’ (al dente). Remove and keep to one side.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan, add the garlic slices and fry over a medium heat for about 30 seconds before adding the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms have released their juices and have softened but are still retaining their shape.
4. Meanwhile cook the penne pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente.
5. Finally, return the courgettes to the pan along with the pine nuts, stir to combine and reheat before adding the drained penne pasta. Give everything a good mix and season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve with a very generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Chocolate Meringue Cake

It’s my Birthday today, so I thought I’d celebrate with Chocolate Cake!…

This is one of those cakes that, if you are a lazy cook like me, you look at and think ,‘that looks complicated, it will take far too much energy to cook’ and you dismiss it…But, this cake is in fact quite straight forward to make, admittedly it requires a bit more time in the oven and you have to wait for it to cool properly before you can eat it, but it’s definitely worth the wait! What’s not to like…chocolate and meringue! I found this recipe some years ago in a magazine, it’s a recipe from Donna Hay.

This cake is supposed to look rustic – it will crack and collapse a bit!

240g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I use Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate)

180g unsalted butter, roughly chopped

2 eggs

4 eggs (extra) separated

90g brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

50g plain flour (use gluten free if required – I use Doves)

½ teaspoon baking powder

40g ground almonds

220g caster sugar

1 teaspoon white vinegar

3 teaspoons cornflour

25g cocoa powder, sifted (plus extra to dust)

1. Lightly grease and line the base of a 24cm round springform cake tin.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan and melt over a low heat. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Place the 2 eggs and the 4 extra egg yolks, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and  use an electric whisk to whisk until pale and thick – 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the chocolate mixture, the flour, baking powder and ground almonds and fold gently to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook in a preheated oven, 160’c fan, for 35-40minutes – it will only be partially cooked. Remove and set aside.
5. Increase the oven temperature to 180’c fan.
6. Place the 4 egg whites in a bowl and using an electric whisk, whisk until they form soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar, followed by the vinegar. Continue to whisk until the meringue is thick and glossy.
7. Sift the cornflour and cocoa together and add to the meringue, folding through to combine. Spread the meringue over the partially cooked cake .
8. Return to the oven (180’c fan) for 20 -25 minutes until the meringue is crisp and golden.
9. Allow the cake to stand in the tin for 15-20 minutes, before gently running a knife around the edge and removing it from the tin.
10. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving to allow the flavours to meld together. Dust with cocoa powder to serve. It is best served at room temperature – allow 30 minutes for it to warm up – it will become deliciously ‘fudgy’.

Chocolate Easter Nests

Happy Easter!…Just in case you need an excuse to eat more chocolate over the holidays, I’ve recreated one of my family’s all-time favourites, Chocolate Crispy Cakes, into a special treat for Easter! How can anyone resist, and they literally take 15 minutes to make – although admittedly you will have to wait for them to set in the fridge before eating…

50g unsalted butter

4 tablespoons golden syrup

100g dark chocolate (I use Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate)

75g cornflakes

About 20-30 Mini Eggs

1. Gently melt the butter, syrup and chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water (a bain marie).
2. In another bowl, gently crush the cornflakes into smaller pieces – this makes them easier to mold into a nest shape.
3. Add the cornflakes to the chocolate mixture, stirring gently so that they are evenly coated.
4. Spoon the mixture into muffin cases, using the back of the spoon to create a nest shape. Place three or four Mini Eggs into the ‘nest’, and place in the fridge until set.