Tag: recipes

Autumnal Cake

Autumnal Cake

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The nights are drawing in, cold dark evenings and we are firmly in the season of the pumpkin. My Autumnal cake started life out as a warmly spiced pumpkin cake but did require a lot of work. Thankfully however, I discovered cans of pumpkin puree, unfortunately though this has become increasing more difficult to come across. So now I use mostly butternut squash or sweet potato as puree for this cake. Whenever I’m using the oven, I stick a few potatoes in a tin in a hot oven for an hour with skin and all on and they roast within giving you a tender flesh that can be turned into a puree by simply pulverising it with a fork. I do these two or three times a week meaning I have a stash of cooked sweet potato in the fridge at anytime ready to be turned into any number of good things. Bags of frozen cubed butternut squash are great for this as well and take less time in the oven and can be broke down as well with a fork once cooked.

I do love a fancy cake tin, they can give you a very ornate highly decorative finish to a cake with no work. You can cook this cake in a plain loaf tin, grease with butter then fit with baking parchment. Another great option is a Bundt tin, just remember with these highly decorative tins they must be oiled well to prevent the cake sticking. You can use oil, non-stick baking spray or oil and flower to prevent it sticking. If you have pumpkin from your Halloween carving this is a fantastic use for them. It would seem like complete madness to just throw it away.

It is important to let your cake sit for 10 – 15 minutes when it comes out of the oven to cool slightly before turning out onto a rack to cool completely. This will give the cake a chance to firm up slightly and reduce the chances of it tearing as you unmould.

It seemed very appropriate that the Autumnal cake be sprinkled with thyme. Thyme is by far my favourite herb and its deep woodsy scent highlights the orange in the cake and brings everything together. The icing itself adds a slight sweetness to the cake but more importantly acts as a glue to stick the thyme leaves to the cake.

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Fish Tacos

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I absolutely love doing the sort of food that involves lots having plates and bowls dotted over the table filled with picky things, when I have friends over. It is relaxing and cosy and always helps when you have a crowd, if you’re not sure about what your guests like and don’t like this helps as rather than having to leave things on their plate, they can simply just not put it on there in the first place. It also is a major bonus that everything is such a doddle to make. I use the oven to cook the fish as it leaves me free to get on with everything else, saving time even though it is a longer cooking method.

You can use any firm white fish for these tacos’ hake, cod or haddock. Prawns would also be great here.

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Another great addition as a side dish is my crunchy salad with golden ginger dressing you can find the recipe here and if you really want to impress make your own flatbread for a more toothsome chew than the corn tortillas with my Nigella flatbreads

Duck & Orange Salad

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This recipe consists of perfectly pink duck breast nestled in leaves with a simple fiery orange and ginger dressing spiky and hot that cuts through the richness of the duck.

For anyone who hasn’t cooked duck breasts before watch the video below to see a step by step guide on how to cook duck breast.

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Exciting news upcoming in the next few weeks. I can’t say too much right now but all will be revealed very soon.

Below are a couple of my other favourite recipes. What are you favourite recipes? Leave a comment below.

Warm goats cheese,fig and parma ham salad
Goat Cheese, Fig & Parma Ham Salad
Halloumi, Mint & Pomegranate Salad

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

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A good old-fashioned chocolate cake is hard to beat, right? Its rustic appearance reassures me that it is going to deliver an uplifting fudgy hit of chocolaty goodness. Exactly what is needed midweek to get through.

This is a family favourite, that I am advised is best eaten slightly warmed so that the frosting has begun to melt and with vanilla ice cream. I prefer to eat at room temperature as is, but however you decide to eat it, I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Passion Fruit Pavlova

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A pavlova is one of my favourite desserts. I make them so often as you may have noticed. All that tender sweet marshmallowy centre and the crisp exterior topped with softly whipped cream and berries, how could you not love it? It is a perfect dessert for feeding a large gathering as most of the work can be done ahead of time then it’s just a matter of assembling. It is also great for using up eggs, every time I make something that requires egg whites only or egg yolks only, I freeze the part I’m not using in freezer bags. This prevents any waste. Anytime I want a custard or a pavlova I know I have a stash in the freezer, simply grab them from the freezer and defrost in the fridge.

If you would like a quicker version and don’t want to make your own curd, although, when you have the yolks leftover from the pav base it would seem like madness not too. You could buy a jar of lemon curd and scoop the pulp and seeds of a few passion fruit into this with a little squeeze of lemon juice to increase the zingyness.

Steak with Rosemary Potatoes

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It’s hard to beat a good steak. Using this recipe, you will have meat and potatoes in next to no time. What more could I ask for mid-week?

Cast iron pans are excellent for cooking steak because you can get the pan extremely hot which will give your steak a great colour which imparts flavour. You could use a heavy based pan if you don’t have any cast iron pans. My favourite pans though are spun iron pans they are like a cast iron pan but much more lightweight.

If you don’t have any garlic infused oil you can cut a clove of garlic in half and rub the steaks with the cut side to impart a very gentle garlic flavour. Garlic oil is a fantastic short cut ingredient and if you would like to know how to make it click here.

Probably the most important steps in cooking your steaks are to make sure your pan is immensely hot before adding the steaks and that you use the kitchen paper to pat the steaks dry, this helps them develop proper colour. No one wants a grey steak that has braised in the pan in its own juices. Last but not least don’t be afraid to season well.  

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

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This is exactly what weekend breakfasts are all about.

These are fluffy and spongy American style pancakes and the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten. I can already see the barrage of comments about those Japanese style pancakes and how light and fluffy they are but in truth I don’t see them as pancakes more as souffle and yes, they take as much work as a souffle to get right. I do love them, but they require as much work and attention as a new born baby. These pancakes are simple and delicious just a matter of stirring wet ingredients into dry and dolloping into a greased pan for a few minutes. To get even sized pancakes I would recommend using a quarter cup measure it makes the perfect sized pancakes. Enjoy warm from the pan with an ooze of maple syrup, crispy bacon or with lemon juice and sugar.

I believe it is also very important not to use a whisk to combine the batter as this over works the batter making a tough pancakes. Instead, simply fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula until just combined you want to remove most lumps but if the odd one remains it will not affect the pancakes.

Moussaka – The Perfect Crowd Pleaser

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Moussaka is a Greek dish of usually minced lamb, aubergine, potatoes and creamy sauce that is baked in layers like a lasagne. I really think of this as Greek lasagne and it is every bit as good as that sounds.

 I almost always use minced beef here as it is a dish I cook for a crowd and not everyone seems to be keen on minced lamb. Whichever meat you decide to use know that this will be delicious. It’s a great make ahead meal once put together you can allow to cool then store covered in the fridge and give it the final cooking in a hot oven for a little longer until piping hot within.

The aubergine are usually fried in quite a bit of oil as they are like sponges and it seems no matter how much oil they get they will drink this up and require more it is for this reason I use a non-stick pan and coat in very little oil. You can and sometimes I need to add a little more oil between batches. Aubergines are almost always salted to draw out moisture and make them less bitter. I have never found this step necessary. However, I do salt here only because I want to draw out a little of the moisture in them. It is about the only thing that can ruin this dish is having too much moisture and it being a horrible runny mess although, it will taste just fine.

The bechamel sauce needs to be thicker than normal and also contain egg yolks which make it set like a savoury custard. You shouldn’t require any seasoning as the parmesan should add enough. I love breaking through the very thin cheesy crust that forms on the top of this, it brings me great pleasure like cracking through a crème brulee.

I serve this alongside some roasted baby potatoes which I scatter with crumbled feta and thyme/oregano when they have come out of the oven and a simple green salad.