When I saw La Cloake had published the perfect Bostin baked beans I couldn’t resist. Then when I was in Block&Bottle and the chap next to me only wanted half a piece of guanciale (cured pork cheek) I couldn’t resist having a go.
I thought the cheese savoury sandwich was pretty universal, but after tweeting a photo of mine aroused some curiosity, I guess not. I once lived with a chap who’s family claimed to have invented them, and for this I can only thank them.
This was an excellent tea made by my girlfriend, well worth a write up. Pre-rolled pastry is a great shortcut to delicious dinners.
You will need A pack of pre-rolled puff pastry Half a large onion (finely sliced) A pack of smoked salmon (great use of the cheap packs of offcuts) Half a small tub of soft cheese A big squeeze of lemon juice A good scattering of capers Egg if you’re bothered about glazing the edge a slug of olive oil Do Softened the onions in a pan with the olive oil until translucent Let them cool a bit Add the soft cheese and lemon juice Bake the pastry on a sheet at 180 for a few minutes Pile it all into the middle of the pasty and spread towards the edges, leave as much crust as you’d like Scatter with salmon and capers Egg wash the crust if you’re into that sort of thing Return to the oven and bake until the edges are golden and the topping has a hint of char Result I’m sure this was meant to feed six but we didn’t let that get in the way.
I remember this from growing up, but didn’t know where it came from. A bit of googling suggests it was probably from Nigella Christmas. The original recipe calls for snipped sage leaves.
After a busy week mostly fuelled by snacks and black coffee we needed a dinner full of vegatables than was also satisfying. The combination of a tonne of spinach and cheese fitted the bill.
After seeing deep fried halloumi on TV this week, I wondered whether it could be airfried. Good news, it can!
You will need A block of halloumi cut into chunky chips.
It’s that time of the year (that most wonderful time of the year) where you can completely justify eating comforting food.
YES - I said it again - the weather is rubbish, everything seems to be terrible and it’s totally justified to eat pork, carbs and cheese baked in meaty salty delicious stock.
I’ve been working up in Scotland quite a lot over the last few months and whilst there came across two excellent local treats: macaroni pies (maracroni cheese, in a pie) and chicken tikka pie (you can figure it out).
I love a good pork chop but unless you’re careful they can get dry. Ignore those dreadful things with the fat taken off in the supermarket and get yourself with the skin still on and a good layer of fat on them from your butcher (or meatbox).
After an amazing pizza at Cal’s Own I decided it was time to have a go at making ricotta.
You will need 2 pints of full fat milk A good splash of white wine vinegar or lemon juice 200g of strong bread flour a pinch of fast yeast pinch of salr a hand full of spinach (fresh or defrosed frozen squeezed dry) half a jar of premade pesto Do Put the milk in a pan and bring almost to the boil Add the lemon or vinegar, turn off the heat and stir a little Leave for twenty minutes to stand.
I’ve not bee very well this week and not able to swallow easily so this super simple pasta dish was perfect.
Editors Note It has been pointed out that in fact my most wonderful girlfriend cooked this for me on Wednesday and that this recipe is not exactly what she did.