Tag: recipes

‘Blast From the Past’ Recipe

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Potato and Smoked Mackerel Dauphinoise (Serves 3-4)

I figured that Februrary calls for a quick supper dish, so drum roll please for this months ‘Blast From the Past’… I first shared this recipe back in December 2020. It’s a great midweek supper dish, as you literally throw everything in a dish and leave it in the oven for an hour! I serve it simply with rocket, drizzled with a quality olive oil. The recipe is from one of Nigel Slater’s older cookbooks, ‘Real Food’. If you’re feeling particularly hungry, from personal experience, I think that for four people you should double the recipe and make two dishes – you can always reheat the leftovers for lunch the next day!

450g waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte

225g smoked mackerel fillets

2 bay leaves

300ml double cream

200ml full fat cream

1 tablespoon grain mustard

(Rocket to serve)

Serve with some rocket drizzled with a quality olive oil.

Wash the potatoes, there is no need to peel them, slice them lengthways (about 3mm thick).

Put them in a shallow baking dish about 30cm in diameter. Break up the mackerel fillets into large bite-sized pieces (remove the skin), and toss them gently with the potatoes. Tuck in the bay leaves.

Mix together the cream, milk, mustard and a little salt and pepper. Pour over the potatoes.

Bake in a preheated oven, 190’c fan, for about an hour until the cream is bubbling and the potatoes are tender.

Tuesday Treat

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Flourless Sour Cherry and Chocolate Cake

This is the perfect Valentine’s Day treat!.. Growing up in the seventies the ‘Black Forest Gateaux’ was my dream dessert. So when I came across this recipe I couldn’t resist! It’s a modern take on my childhood dream and all the better for it; it’s rich with a gooey middle and there’s a hint of sourness from the cherries. However, because it doesn’t contain flour it has a lightness. You can choose to serve it with crème fraiche or in true ‘Black Forest’ style with a good dollop of whipped cream. Thanks to cookbook writer, Ravneet Gill, for this wonderful recipe.

300g 70% dark chocolate (I use Lindt), broken up

225g unsalted butter

5 eggs, plus 1 yolk

4g sea salt

200g golden caster sugar

200g pitted sour cherries, frozen or jarred

Crème Fraiche or whipped cream to serve

*You will need a 25cm round cake tine, greased and base lined with greaseproof paper.

  1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water – make sure that the water doesn’t touch the bowl. Once melted take off the heat.
  2. In a bowl, beat the eggs (and extra yolk), salt and sugar until the mixture has tripled in volume, then carefully fold in the chocolate mixture, followed by the cherries.
  3. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake in a preheated oven, 160’c fan, for 45 minutes or until it has started to set on top.
  4. Leave to cool, then turn out, slice and serve with crème fraiche or a dollop of whipped cream.

‘Blast From the Past’ Recipe

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Penne Pasta with Sausage (Serves 4)

With its gloomy days, January is one of those months that calls for some quick supper dishes. This sausage pasta recipe is ready in 15 minutes, if not less – it’s a keeper. It will be no surprise to hear that it was one of the first recipes I ever shared back in 2020!..

I regularly cook this pasta dish as not only is it very tasty but incredibly quick to make. Although just a pinch of nutmeg and cloves are added, they really do make the sauce. The recipe is from ‘Passion for Pasta’ by Antonio Carluccio, I first bought this book over 20 years ago, it became so tattered from over use that I had to buy a second copy! If you are gluten free, like me, you can use gluten free sausages – I get some great ones from my local butcher. You can also serve this sauce with gluten free pasta, I think these days it’s hard to fault it; I have given it to Nick and Felix before, when I’ve been too lazy to cook two types of pasta, and they’ve hardly noticed! I particularly like ‘Barilla’ and ‘Garofalo’ gluten free pasta.

*To watch the video of this sauce being made click here!

375g penne rigate (gluten free if required)

75g butter

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

300g pork sausage meat, removed from casings and broken up (gluten free if required)

1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped

150ml dry white wine

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

75g freshly grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt and black pepper

  1. Melt the butter and gently fry the onion and garlic.
  2. Add the sausage meat, continuing to break it up, mixing it in with the onion and garlic. Fry gently until well browned.
  3. Add the wine and rosemary, reduce heat and cook gently for 10 minutes.
  4. Add the nutmeg, cloves and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Meanwhile cook the penne according to the instructions on the packet, until al dente.
  6. Mix the sausage mixture with the parmesan cheese and add to the drained pasta.

Tuesday Treat

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Banana Maple Friands

Oh, joy of joys, your very own, individual banana cake!.. These little friands are wonderfully moist, with a slightly sticky, chewy crust. They’re great served alone or for an indulgent edge, add a dollop of whipped cream!..

140g ground almonds

2 ripe bananas

6 egg whites, lightly whisked

180g unsalted butter, melted, cooled

240g caster sugar

75g plain flour (gluten-free if required, I use Doves)

2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus extra to drizzle

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*You will need a 12-hole friand tin, greased.

  1. Mash one banana in a bowl and add to the ground almonds along with the whisked egg white, melted butter, sugar, flour, maple syrup and cinnamon. Mix well
  2. Spoon the banana mixture evenly between the friand tin. Thinly slice the remaining banana and arrange 2 slices on top of each friand.
  3. Bake in a preheated oven, 160’c fan, for 30-35 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before using a knife to gently lever each friand out and allow to cool on a wire rack to cool. To serve drizzle with a drop of maple syrup.
    (They are best eaten on the same day when their crust is most chewy – but they will keep in an air tight container for 3-4 days)

‘Blast From the Past’ Recipe

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Spaghetti with Monkfish and Cherry Tomato Sauce  (Serves 4)

This is a recipe that I shared back in the early days of Menu Mistress when we were in summer lockdown. It was one of my favourite quick recipes during those never-ending Covid days (which now, thankfully, seem like some surreal dream; how quickly life moves on!). I made this pasta dish again just the other day and was reminded of it’s deliciousness. And so I decided that I should also remind you!..

Often nicknamed ‘poor man’s lobster’, monkfish is a lovely meaty fish making this dish totally satisfying. It is best to have all the ingredients prepared before cooking as the sauce cooks quickly. It is a very special yet quick and simple pasta dish…

400g monkfish fillet, sliced into 1cm slices

400g spaghetti

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 red chilli, chopped (or less according to your taste)

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

350g ripe cherry on the vine tomatoes, halved

4 tablespoons white wine

2 tablespoons of capers

1 large bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 lemon

Sea salt and black pepper

  1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Season the monkfish and place in the pan, allow to colour, stirring. Then add the dried and fresh chilli, and the garlic, cook for a couple of minutes.
  2. Add the tomatoes and wine to the pan followed by the capers, cook over a high heat for a couple of minutes.
  3. Meanwhile cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions until al dente.
  4. Drain the spaghetti and add it to the pan with the sauce along with the parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice (to taste). Toss everything together and serve. Easy!