Green beans with feta and walnuts

Green bean salad with feta and walnuts

A lovely little salad that I had the other day with pumpkin and sausage salad. 

Green bean and feta salad ingredients

• 200g green beans, trimmed
• Small handful mint, finely chopped
• Juice half a lemon
• Handful walnut pieces, lightly toasted
• Small handful feta, crumbled
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to make green bean and feta salad

1. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. The beans should still be very crunchy.
2. Drain the beans and toss with the oil and lemon juice immediately. You could use walnut oil instead of olive oil, to give even more of a nutty taste.
3. Lie the beans in a shallow serving dish.
4. Scatter over the mint, crumbled feta and walnut pieces.  

 

Salami and vegetable pasta with feta

Another really quick and easy pasta dish that can be ready in the time it takes your pasta to cook (unless you use fresh pasta which cooks in 2 minutes).  

Pasta with salami, vegetables and pasta ingredients

• 1 medium or 2 large fresh plum tomatoes, chopped into 8th or quarters
• 1 large handful frozen grilled mixed veg (from Waitrose, others may exist, I haven't found them if they do)
• 1 large slice from a pack of feta (or half fat feta), crumbled
• 1-2 tablespoons homemade pesto
• 4 or 5  salami (I used a few slices of mixed salami from Aldi - some were actually a bit spicy)
• Enough spaghetti for 2 people 

How to make salami and vegetable pasta with feta

1. Put the pasta in a pan of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes under the cooking time stated on the packet.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan to a high heat then add the frozen vegetables.
3. Cut the salami into strips. 
4. Cook the vegetables for a a few minutes till cooked through then turn off the heat.
5. Add the tomatoes and salami to the vegetables and stir through. 
6. Drain the pasta then tip it back into the pan and stir through the pesto.
7. Add the vegetables and feta to the pasta and stir through.

Just back from holiday spaghetti

O is obsessed with spaghetti. On a recent trip to Bruges he claimed it was 'the Venice of the North', famous for its spaghetti. Sadly, he didn't manage to have any spaghetti while in Bruges, so I made some for him the day we got back from holiday.

Spaghetti with sundriend tomatoies

Since we'd only been away for a couple of days I had some parsley and an onion to hand. The beauty of this recipe, though, is that you can still make it using only store cupboard/freezer ingredients in a matter of about 20 minutes from start to finish. 

 Easy, speedy spaghetti ingedients

• 6 sundried tomatoes in oil
• A handful flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
• A handful toasted pine nuts
• 1/3 pack low fat feta cheese
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 rashers streaky smoked bacon 
• Enough spaghetti for 2 people

How to make easy, speedy spaghetti

1. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat.
2. Fill the kettle and switch it on to boil. 
3. Add the bacon to the frying pan and cook till crisp then remove from the pan.
4. Chop the onion in half, peel, then slice each half into thin slices.
5. Turn down the heat under the frying pan and add the onion. 
6. Fill a large pan with the boiled water from the kettle, add a little salt, then add the spaghetti.
7. Refill the kettle and put it on to boil. 
8. Cook the onion till slightly caramelised, ie do not move around too much. Add a little olive oil if there is insufficient fat from the bacon left in the pan.
9. Finely chop the garlic or crush using a garlic crusher and add to the pan.
10. Continue to cook for a few minutes taking care not to let the garlic burn. 
11. Using kitchen scissors cut the sundried tomatoes into small pieces then add to the frying pan.
12. Drain the pasta once it it al dente - this will probably be about 3 minutes before the cooking time specified on the packet.
13. Rinse the cooked pasta with just boiled water from the kettle and shake the colander to remove most of the water. 
14. Return the pasta to the pan you cooked it in and tip in the contents of the frying pan. 
15. Add the feta, crumbled, the chopped parsley and the pine nuts.
16. Toss together with the spaghetti and serve.

Party nibbles

My friend Kerry is hosting a party at her house and wants some suggestions for nibbles. Here's a few ideas.

Honey and mustard cocktail sausages

You will need:

• William Rose cocktail sausages*
• Runny honey 
• English mustard

1. Heat the oven to 190 degrees C (the magic cooking number)
2. Mix together equal quantities of honey and mustard in a large dish
3. add the cocktail sausages and toss to coat
4. Add a few grinds of black pepper
5. Tip into a roasting dish
6. Roast for about 10 minutes, then shake the tin and roast for another 10 minutes
7. Serve warm or cold

Variation

If you don't fancy using mustard, or just want to have a couple of different flavours, try sprinkling the sausages with dried chilli flakes instead of coating with honey and mustard.

*William Rose is the excellent butchers in East Dulwich. I always buy meat from there when I have people round. Of course if you don't live near East Dulwich you will have to get your sausages elsewhere, but do try and get them from the butchers and not the supermarket.

Pesto pastry puffs

Pesto pastry puffs ingredients

• 1 quantitiy ready rolled puff pastry
• I quantity homemade pesto
• Parmesan or good cheddar cheese

How to make pesto pastry puffs

1. Spread the pesto over the pastry.
2. Sprinkle with a thin covering of finely grated cheese.
3. Either roll up the pastry into a tiht roll, then thninly slice the roll, and lie each piece flat on a baking dish.
4. Bake at 190 degrees C for about 20 mins, or till the pasty is golden and cooked through.

Variation:Feta and sundried tomato puffs

• 1 quantitiy ready rolled puff pastry
• I quantity homemade pesto
• 1/2 pack feta cheese
• About 5 sundried tomatoes

1. Spread the pesto over the pastry then cut the pastry sheet into small squares and place on a baking sheet.
2. Bake for 20 mins, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. Cut 1/2 pack feta cheese into small cubes.
4. Cut the sundried tomatoes into small pieces using scissors.
5. Mix the feta and tomatoes together in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
6. Top each square with about a teaspoon full of the cheese and tomato mix.

Salmon and cream cheese rolls

Salmon and cream cheese rolls ingredients

• Smoked salmon or trout
• 1 tub Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 bunch watercress
• lemon

How to make salmon and cream cheese rolls 

1. Cut the salmon into long strips.
2. Spread each strip with a thin layer of the cream cheese.
3. Place a sprig of watercress in each strip.
4. Roll each strip up lightly.
5. Place on a serving plate, grind over some black pepper and squeeze over some lemon juice.

Cannelini bean hummus

Make just like normal hummus but use cannelini beans instead of chickpeas. You probably won't need as much oil as for chickpea hummus as the beans are very creamy.
Serve with toasted pitta bread.

A vegetarian feast

No photos and no recipes this time, just a list of dishes all based on those found in the River Cottage veg book. If you don't have River Cottage Veg Everyday yet, you should seriously consider buying it. I made slight tweaks to most of the original recipes, some intentional and some because I forgot to add a last minute ingredient. The result was a fabulous vegetarian feast - even the confirmed carnivore Ollie said that this meal was delicious. 

 

To start

Pistachio dukkah

Dukkah is an Egyptian spice mix made with toasted cumin, coriander and sesame seeds with dried chilli flakes and some shopped nuts. The version I made used pistachio nuts, and also a little chopped mint. 

The idea is to dip your bread first in some oil and then into the dukkah. It's pretty good and keeps for ages in a jar. It can also be used sprinkled over salads, roasted veg, grilled meats, anything, really.  

Cannelini bean hummus

This is made the same way as normal hummus but since the beans are very creamy when processed they don't need nearly as much oil. Not sure if I used rapeseed or olive oil in this recipe but both work equally well. 

Flatbreads 

I meant to combine the Jamie Oliver Moroccan chickpea flatbreads (add cumin and coriander seeds and chickpeas) with the HFW half plain half bread flour recipe. But since I didn’t read the recipe through before I started, I left the bread to prove without adding the chickpeas and spices. So I ended up with the River Cottage version with a bit more yeast, salt and sugar added.

I cooked these flatbreads in a hot oven (220 degrees C) rather than in a pan. This was probably a mistake. I took them out after almost 10 minutes by which time they were fairly crisp though had not puffed up as I expected. They tasted OK with the butter bean hummus and dukka though.

To follow

 

Roasted squash and shallots with merguez chickpeas

The trick to tasty chickpeas is to dress them while they are still hot. The ones in this recipe are delicious, and I would definitely make them without the roast veg as part of a tapas selection or to accompany to lamb chops. You can make the chickpeas a few days in advance as they will keep well in the fridge.

I didn't make the couscous or spiced yoghurt that you'll find if you follow the link above. Instead I made a few salads.

Date and orange salad with red cabbage and raw parsnip

Parsnips, it turns out, are an excellent raw ingredient in salads. Who knew?
I couldn't find Medjool dates for this salad so I just used regular ones. 

Sweet potato, puy lentil and watercress salad

The actual recipe for this dish uses roasted parsnips, but since I was using raw grated parsnip in the date and orange salad, I used sweet potato instead. This made the dish quite substantial but it still all got eaten, despite the fact that I forgot to add thin slices of the hard goat's cheese I'd bought to especially for the dish.
 

Tahini-dressed green bean salad and oven-roasted tomato salad

Tahini salad dressing is so moreish, especially if it includes a little honey as this one does. Since I don't like cooked courgettes I omitted them, and didn't replace them with anything. I oven-roasted the tomatoes for a little too long but once combined with the rest of the salad ingredients this didn't really matter. I think I forgot to add the mint at the end. 

Roasted aubergines with feta and pomegranate

To be honest, the dish I made was vaguely inspired by this recipe, but I could hardly say I followed it. I happened to have a handful of new potatoes so added these to some aubergines and roasted with some crushed whole garlic cloves. I added pomegranate seeds and crumbled feta to the dish before serving, but forgot to add the grated lemon zest and herbs. 

To end

Poached pears with chocolate sauce (not from River Cottage book, details to follow. Really.)

Henry salad

Warning: This salad is not for vegetarians. 

This is Henry.

Henry (right)

 
Henry had a very happy and, for pigs destined to end up on our plate, long life (3). 

Apparently he was especially partial to custard creams. I'd like to say the sausages made from him tasted of custard creams, but they didn't. They tasted of Happy Pig. OK, they didn't, they tasted of sausages. But very, very good sausages.

Last week was the first Salad Club of the New Year. Our lovely freelancer Janey Stapes offered me some sausages made from her parent's pig, Henry. Since I've been trying to convince Salad Club of the merits of sausage and pumpkin salad for some time, this seemed like the ideal opportunity to try it out on them. 


In the end, though, we made much simpler salad, with the sausages being the only ingredient that needed cooking.  

Henry (after)

Henry Salad ingredients

Serves 12-14

• 24 Henry sausages*
• 1 jar marinated grilled mixed peppers
• 1 large punnet cherry tomatoes
• 2 cans chickpeas
• 1 bunch basil
• 2 packs feta cheese
• 1 bag baby spinach
• 1 bag rocket
• Chilli flakes, to taste
• Toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds, a sprinkle each

 *If you can't get hold of Henry sausages, use top quality butcher's sausages. That is, buy them from an actual butcher's, not a supermarket. Or even better, from someone who makes sausages. 

Cooking with Henry

Gabi adds the finishing touches

It was thought that Henry, being an old (and happy) pig, may have turned a bit sinewy, and so rather than making him into chops and joints, he was made ENTIRELY INTO SAUSAGES! If I were a pig, that's the way I'd want to go.

This meant that Henry sausages had a very high meat content. It also meant he had a higher fat content than you'd find in most sausages.To remove some of the fat, I roasted the sausages on a grill pan at about 200⁰C in the oven . After 15 minutes I pricked the sausages to let more fat drain out, then continued roasting for another 20 or so minutes. There was a lot of fat. But we all know that fat means flavour. 

If your sausages aren't of such a high meat and fat content (ie normal sausages), you probably don't need to prick them, just roast for 30-40 minutes, turning once during cooking, till most of the sausage is browned.

How to make Henry sausage salad

I normally twist my sausages into half or 3rds before baking them for salads. That way you get lots of little individual sausages, each with its own skin, to bite into. Henry was having none of that, spilling from his casing when I tried to twist the links. Instead I cooked the links whoe then cut each sausage into 2, 3 or 4 pieces, just to give some variety.


All you need to do to make this salad cut the tomatoes in half, rip the basil into small pieces, and mix everything together with the oil from the marinated peppers.

Put more dried chilli flakes out for people to help themselves, along with the toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds.

Andrea, Sausage nosed Jane, Robbie

A vegetarian pie with winter salads

OK, so a cheese-filled pie is probably not the healthiest start to the New Year, but this was for a special occasion when my brother- and sister-in-law and nephew came round for an after Christmas dinner.

However, I'm a great one for winter salads, and the 2 below are a nice way of using raw winter veg. I felt a little smug about the amount of vegetables I'd bought so thought I'd take a picture. 

 Before

Thanks to Nigella we all know that a messaluna means 'half moon' in Italian and is a semi-circular double blade for chopping herbs.

 Messaluna pie ingredients

• 1 pack filo pastry (approx 300g)
• 5 eggs
• A 200g pack spinach
• 2 leeks
• 1 stick celery
• 2 small handfuls rocket
• 1 large red onion
• 1 bunch dill
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 3 spring onions
• 150g ricotta
• 100g feta
• 75g cheddar
• Oil, for frying and brushing

2 things I forgot to put in this pie but should be added:

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 small bunch chives or 1 tablespoon freeze-dried chives

  How to make vegetable pie

1. Chop the red onion and celery finely and fry gently in some oil for about 5 minutes till beginning to soften without browning.
2. Meanwhile rinse the spinach in water.
3. Heat a large pan and add the spinach. Keep moving the spinach round till it is wilted down to almost nothing. 
4. Tip out of the pan into a colander and allow to cool.
5. Put the spinach into a clean cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then chop finely.
6. Break the eggs into a large bowl and beat.
7. Crumble in the feta and ricotta into the eggs and grate in the cheddar.
8. Grate the lemon zest into the mixture. 
9. Add the chopped spinach and the rocket.
10. Finely chop the spring onions and add to to the egg and cheese mixture. 
11. If using, add the finely chopped chives and the dried oregano.
12. Chop the herbs and add these to the egg mixture.
13. Season well with salt and pepper.
14. Brush a baking tin which is slightly smaller than the sheets of filo pastry lighly with oil. I used a 30x20cm tin.
15. Lay a sheet of pastry in the dish so that the ends hang over the outside of the dish then brush lightly with oil. It doesn't matter if the pastry breaks; just patch it up so that the dish is covered.
16. Repeat till half the sheets of pastry have been used.
17. Pour the filling mixture into the pastry.
18. Fold the overhanging pastry from the pie bottom on top of the filling.
19. Top with the remaining filo sheets, brushing each with oil before laying the next on top. Brush the final layer of pastry with oil too.
20. Bake at 190 degrees C for 30-40 minutes or till golden. 

Serve with chilli jam.

After

Red cabbage salad

Do not be tempted to make a larger quantity of this salad as it takes a lot of chewing, so you will probably get bored halfway through your leftovers.

• 1/8 red cabbage
• 1 pear
• 1 small handful walnuts
• A few pieces blue cheese
• Walnut oil
• Lemon juice
• Chopped parsley
• 1 dessertspoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon yoghurt

To assemble the red cabbage salad:

1. Mix the mayonaise, yoghurt, lemon juice, walnut oil and chopped parsley in a bowl.
2. Shred the red cabbage finely and add to the mayo mixture.
3. Lightly toast the walnuts in a small frying pan over a low heat for about a minute.
4. Add the toasted walnuts to the cabbage.
5. Peel the pear and cut into thin slithers.
6. Add to the slaw and mix gently so the pears do not break but so everything is coated in the yoghurt mixture.

Leaf and root salad ingredients

• The rest of the rocket left over from the pie
• A handful watercress
• 1/4 grated raw parsnip
• 1/4 raw grated courgette
• A tablespoon sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice

How to make leaf and root salad

1. In a bowl, dress the rocket and watercress with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
2. Arrange on a plate, and top with the grated courgette and parsnip.
3. Sprinkle the toaste sesame seeds over the top. 

Roasted vegetable salad

Roasted vegaletable salad with balsamic dressing and yoghurt on the side

A couple of weeks ago salad club was roasted vegetables. This was the list of ingredients:

• Roasted aubergines
• Roasted mixed peppers and onions
• Roasted squash or pumpkin
• Roasted sweet potato
• Roasted potato
• Sundried tomatoes
• Feta cheese
• Pineuts
• Balsamic dressing
• Yoghurt 

For some reason, the person who was allocated squash/pumkin was unable to find any so brought aubergine instead. (Really? Two weeks before Hallowe'en?? Where was he looking? An aubergine shop?) This means we had 2 lots of aubergine, but no squash.

I invited everyone to tell me how they prepared their vegetables but only received four replies. I love the different styles so have copied them verbatim below.

For the sweet potato (as described by Yuki)

Peeled and chopped sweet potato into bite size chunks.
Place in baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
Put in oven at 180C and roast for 25mins. 

Paula's comment:  as expected from Yuki, practical, no nonesense, easy to follow instructions. 

For the potatoes (as described by Kate)

1lb of new potatoes
handful of chopped fresh dill
enough olive oil to cover the potatoes
Salt for taste

Paula's comment: I think these were then roasted in the oven, though at what temperature and for how long I don't know. I would also suggest that you simply drizzle olive oil over the potatoes, then toss to coat, rather than submerging them in oil.  

For (one of thee ) aubergines (as described by Amber)

we washed the aubergine, then chopped into cubes, put it in a colander and salted them for 30minutes, then rinsed, then tossed with olive oil, salt, chilli flakes, pepper and  italian mixed herbs. we baked it spread flat on a baking tray and placed in the oven at 180 for around 1 hr, checking and turning occasionally. 

Paula's comment: aw, how cute - love how Amber always says 'we' . Rehan (the other half of the 'we') is welcome at Salad Club any time.

For the balsamic salad dressing (as described by Gina)

Leave a couple minutes earlier so you have time to stop at Tesco
Check email to remember what ingredient assignment is
Locate salad dressing isle at Tesco
Spend a few minutes browsing for the best looking bottle of balsamic
Select and remove from shelf
Continue to check out and pay for your item
Store in fridge until salad club begins
Shake well and serve. 


Paula's comment: Top marks Gina, especially given that you subsequently had to miss Salad Club. Again. 

For the yoghurt side dish

This was my ingredient - it's something my Polish sister-in-law often serves with roast vegetables. 

• About half a large tub (200-250ml) natural or Greek yoghurt
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed in their skins
• A handful chopped parsley
• A handful chopped dill
• A small lug of olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients together at least an hour before you want to serve to let the yoghurt take up the flavours.
2. Remove the pieces of garlic before serving.

This was a tasty and filling salad, despite the lack of squash and only half the amount of feta since the other half was mouldy. Cheap too.

Salad Club III: Who is him? Greek salad

Today's salad is in honour of our former Greek colleague. We miss you, Nikki Papadaki.

Authentic Greek salad does not contain lettuce or chicken. For some reason, our version included cooked chicken, but I did draw the line at lettuce.

Greek salad ingredients

• 2 packs feta cheese (400g in total)
• 1 large cucumber, cut into cubes
• black olives, a large tub
• 1  red and 1 yellow pepper, cut into cubes
• 2 punnets cherry tomatoes
• 1 small red onion, very finely sliced
• 1bunch mint
• 1 bunch basil
• Cooked chicken

 
 
 
 

Greek salad dressing ingredients

• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Thyme
• Salt & pepper

 

Greek salad accompaniments to serve

Hummus, tzatziki, pitta bread. 


This week's salad club got a little out of hand. There were too many members (9) and too many slackers. We almost ran out of food and I had to send out rules. 

This week's star Tosser was Amber, who brought in home made tzatziki. Kate also deserves a special commendation for the salad dressing.




 

Sausage and squash or pumpkin salad

Here’s an easy dish that plays on the heavenly combination of pumpkin/squash and sausage. It’s so good I think Tom Archer should include it in his ready meals range. Leftovers make a great lunch, though someone has normally picked out all the sausages, leaving me with a pumpkin, feta and chickpea salad. It’s still a good lunch though. 

Sausage and squash salad

Sausage and squash salad ingredients

• 6 top quality butcher’s sausages
• Half a medium butternut or other firm squash, or pumpkin
• 75g feta cheese (about 3 slices from a 200g pack)
• A small bunch salad leaves
• A teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• Olive oil
• Soaked and cooked chickpeas 
• Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Soaking dried chickpeas

If this seems like a hassle, it really isn’t. I normally make 3 or 4 times the quantity of chickpeas I need then freeze them in individual portions in freezer bags. This seems to work well and they defrost in a matter of minutes. You can of course use drained tinned chickpeas if you prefer, but a bag of dried chickpeas costs about the same as a tin and takes up a lot less space in your cupboard.

How to make sausage and squash salad

Chickpeas

1. Using a sieve or colander rinse the dried chickpeas with plenty of cold water.
2. Tip into a large bowl, cover with cold water and add a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
3. Leave to soak overnight.
4. The next day, drain the chickpeas and rinse again in cold water.
5. Empty into a large pan, cover with cold water, and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Simmer till tender – about 45 minutes, depending on the age of your chickpeas.
7. Do not add salt while cooking as this will make the chickpeas tough.

The Magic Number 

Everyone knows that three is the magic number, except in cooking, when its 190⁰C (fan assisted).

8. Heat your oven to the Magic Cooking Number.

Sausages

9. Twist the sausages gently in the middle then cut in half to make 2 short, stumpy sausages out of each one. This makes them easier to eat plus quicker to cook through.

Or just use cocktail sausages which will cook even quicker.

Squash

11. Chop half a medium butternut squash into chunks and place in as large roasting tin with the sausages.
12. Sprinkle over the dried chilli flakes and drizzle with olive or rapeseed oil.Alternatively, drizzle with chilli oil instead of olive oil.

Roast and serve

14. Roast in the oven till cooked through – about 40 minutes.
15. Add some cooked chickpeas for the last 10 minutes of cooking to warm them through.
16. Remove from the oven and toss with any peppery salad leaves such as rocket or watercress and add some crumbled feta.
17. Scatter with toasted pumpkin seeds.

A variation

You could make this more of a lunchimte salad but substituting the sausages with some grilled bacon. A handful of walnuts and a sprinkling of sesame seeds adds crunch and texture.

My version of bread salad (panzanella)

A couple of weeks ago we had the most glorious, searingly hot Sunday. With nothing in particular to do, I spent the day pottering between the garden and the kitchen, making salads and reading recipe books.

This salad is based on the classic panzanella (bread salad) combination. It is perfect for a hot summer’s day, especially with a chilled glass of rosé. 

Bread salad ingredients

• 2 large, ripe tomatoes
• Half a yellow or orange pepper
• Half a cucumber
• About 8 pitted black olives
• Small bunch fresh mint
• 50g feta, ie 2 slices from a 200g pack (Waitrose feta is delicious)
• ¼ to ½ small red onion
• Small ciabatta loaf

Bread salad dressing ingredients

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Small clove garlic, crushed

Optional

• A few sprigs basil
• A few sprigs parsley

How to make bread salad

1. Heat the grill to a medium setting
2. Cut the ciabatta in half lengthways and rub with some olive oil
3. Grill for a few minutes till lightly toasted
4. Chop the tomatoes, pepper and cucumber into bite-sized chunks
5. Half the olives
6. Chop then onion very finely
7. Chop the mint and parsley, tear the basil (chopping will bruise it)
8. Add everything to a large bowl
9. Chop half the feta into small cubes and add to the bowl
10. Crumble the remaining feta and add that to the salad too

How to make the dressing

11. Put the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake to combine.
12. Pour over the salad and mix everything thoroughly.

Finally...

13. Break the toasted ciabatta into largeish chunks and add to the salad just before serving.

The dressing will make the bread go soggy so this salad needs to be eaten straight away.

Bread salad for lunch

If you’re making this salad for lunch, you will need to keep the toasted bread in a separate bag and add to the rest of the salad just before eating.

The bread can make this salad quite heavy so leave it out if you prefer.

If you still want your salad to be substantial, add a handful of cooked chickpea instead of the bread.

Roast lamb for a Stutterfest at Easter

Roast lamb for Easter 2012

No lunch for free in this post, just a really good Easter feast. 

A Stutterfest is a gathering of my partner’s family. This Easter we hosted a Stutterfest in our flat. There were 10 of us in total – three vegetarians and seven meat-eaters.

This year’s Easter meal was as much butterfest as it was Stutterfest. Everyone said the food was delicious but I think it could have been better. Here is the menu and my suggested improvements. 

Menu

• Cheddar biscuits 
• Savoury feta cheesecake
• Chilli jam
• Roast lamb stuffed with with olives and sundried tomatoes 
• Potatoes in butter
• Kale with lemon and garlic
• Confit garlic 
• Chocolate truffle cake 

To start: cheddar biscuits

The recipe I used for these savoury biscuits is based on the one in the Great British Book of Baking, from the popular TV series of the same name.

These are the quantities used in the book.

Cheese and chilli biscuits

Cheddar biscuit ingredients

• 200g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes, though I used more like 1 teaspoon
• 150g extra mature Cheddar
• 150g cold unsalted butter, diced into small pieces
• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

The extra egg yolk is unnecessary in my opinion, and you will end up with 1 unused egg white. While you can freeze this lone egg white for use another time, chances are you will forget about it then throw it away in a few months. So just add a splash of cold milk if you think your dough needs more liquid.

  How to make cheddar biscuits

1. Put the flour, salt, chilli flakes and cheese into a processor and pulse to combine.
   
2. Add the butter and process till fine.
   
3. Keep the processor going while you add the egg till you have a stiff dough.


4. Turn out onto a flowered surface and work into a cylinder.


5. Cut into 3 to make it easier to work with, then roll each cylinder till it is about 15–20cm long.


6. Wrap each in greaseproof paper and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.


7. The dough can be stored uncooked for 3 days in the fridge or for 1 month in the freezer.


8. Heat the oven to 200⁰C and lightly grease a couple of baking trays. You will probably end up with about 6 trays’ worth of biscuits, but unless you live in a Greggs you probably won’t have the capacity to cook these all at the same time. In my oven (my enemy) I can fit 2 trays at once.


9. Cut the dough into 1ch thick slices and lay them out on the trays, slightly apart.


10. Bake for 10–12 minutes till golden.
    
11. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

After 10 minutes the biscuits looked pale and undercooked. A nibble revealed they lacked salt and cheese. I added a sprinkling of salt and Parmesan before sticking them back in for another 10 minutes.

This recipe is a doddle to make and I like the fact that it can be stored in the fridge or freezer till needed. The cooked version, however, went soggy when I stored them overnight in a tupperware container, in a tin and in a kilner jar. However, another quick blast in the oven does revive them to crispness. (Thank you Kerry Gibson for that tip)

I don’t think the Great British Baking Book is that great. I’ve tried a few recipes from it that have disappointed – the Cornish saffron buns I made for my Not The Royal Wedding Party tasted of mould, and the shortbread biscuits were so inedible I threw them out before serving them. 

Unfortunately in my opinion this recipe notches up another black mark against the book – one more dud recipe and it will be consigned to the Oxfam shop. Dan Lepard does a cheese biscuit that uses equal quantities of flour, cheese and butter. He also includes additional flavouring with garlic and paprika, and added texture with almonds. I’ll give his version a go next time. 

Savoury feta cheesecake

This is a recipe I’ve been meaning to make for ages. Why I didn’t realise that this would mean serving a cold main course to my vegetarian guests I don’t know. 

This recipe is by Delia, and can be found online at:

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/cheesecake/savoury-feta-cheesecake.html

To my mind this recipe looks long and complicated but maybe that’s just because it involves gelatine. I’ve therefore edited the instructions to make it seem more straightforward, which it is, and have slightly altered the quantities for the sake of convenience. I hope she doesn’t mind.

Savoury feta cheesecake ingredients

For the base

• 75g white breadcrumbs (I used some leftover homemade bread)
• 40g Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. finely grated
• 25g melted butter

  

For the filling

• 200g pack of feta (recipe states 225g)
• 200g pot curd cheese (recipe states 225g)
• 200g pot fromage frais (recipe states 175g)
• 4 heaped tablespoons chives
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vegetarian gelatine powder
• 2 egg whites*

*Ah, could have added that egg yolk to the biscuits after all.

Now I have 2 spare egg yolks.

Method for savoury feta cheesecake

1. Preheat the oven to 200⁰C.
   
2. Mix the base ingredients in a bowl and season with pepper. As the cheese is salty you don’t need to add salt.
   
3. Lightly oil a deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin then press the breadcrumb mixture down tightly onto the base of the tin.


4. Bake for 15 minutes till golden.


5. Break up the feta into a food processor and blend with the curd cheese and fromage frais till completely smooth.


6. Transfer to a bowl then add the chives and spring onions.


7. Put the lemon juice in a small saucepan with 55ml water.


8. Sprinkle in the gelatine and stir to dissolve.


9. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to the softy peak stage.


10. Bring the gelatine mixture to the boil then tip into the cheese mixture and combine quickly.


11. Fold in the egg whites a tablespoon at a time.
    
12. Pour the mixture over the base and chill in the fridge, preferably overnight.

Chilli jam

I thought chilli jam would make a good accompaniment to the savoury feta cheesecake, and as I forgot to order some from Ocado I made my own. The deep red colour was a pretty contrast to the white cheesecake, when I eventually remembered to serve it. 

Chilli jam ingredients

• 8 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 10 red chillies, roughly chopped
• Finger-sized (Jamie’s) piece root ginger, roughly chopped
• 8 peeled garlic cloves
• 400g cherry tomatoes
• 750g caster sugar
• 250ml red wine vinegar 

How to make chilli jam

1. Whizz the peppers, garlic, ginger and chillies in a food processor.
2. Add to a heavy-based saucepan with the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil.
3. Skim off any scum and simmer for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Once sticky, cook for another 10–15 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Cool slightly then pot into sterilized jars.

Refrigerate once opened. Can be stored for up to 3 months.

I used half the quantity above which made 3 small jars. I gave 2 away as gifts and kept one for myself. It goes lovely with the cheddar biscuits too. (Thanks again, Kerry Gibson. Actually, do you fancy being guest blog editor?)

Roast lamb with sundried tomato and olive stuffing

I bought jamie magazine about a month ago. I like the size, the matt pages and the typeface. So far, though, this is the only recipe I’ve tried. In the magazine, floury potatoes covered with lemon juice are cooked in the roasting tin along with the lamb, but I make a separate potato dish cater for both meat-eaters and vegetarians.

Lamb before it went in the oven

Roast lamb ingredients

• 2kg butterflied leg of lamb
• 150g drained sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped (280g jar)
• 150g pitted black olives, roughly chopped
• 100g drained capers
• 1 tbps finely chopped rosemary, plus 3 or 4 large sprigs
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp dried oregano

Confit garlic ingredients

• 6 garlic cloves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Olive oil

  

How to make confit garlic

1. Put the garlic in a small saucepan with the thyme and bay leaves, and pour over enough oil to cover.
2. Cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes, till the garlic is tender, then remove the garlic with a slotted spoon.
3. The oil can be reserved for use another time.

You need to be very careful not to burn the garlic, even on the lowest heat, which is what happened at my first attempt. I ended up warming the oil for a few minutes then turning off the heat and letting it cool for a few minutes before repeating. It probably took about 30 minutes of careful heating and cooling.

How to make stuffed lamb

1. Preheat the oven to 250⁰C.
2. In a food processor, blend the sundried tomatoes, olives, capers, rosemary, confit garlic and red wine vinegar.


3. I made the stuffing the day before I was cooking the lamb.


4. Bring the lamb out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to cook it to allow it to come up to room temperature.


5. Lay the lamb out flat, season well then spread the stuffing over it.


6. Roll it up tightly and secure with cooking string. You will need someone to help you with this unless you have 4 hands. Some of the stuffing was squeezed out of the sides of the roll so I smeared this over the top of the lamb.


7. Put the rosemary sprigs into the roasting tin and place the lamb on top. Sprinkle the dried oregano over the top of the lamb.


8. Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature of the oven to 180⁰C and cook for another 1–1 ½ hours.
9. Rest the lamb on a warm plate, loosely covered in foil, for at least ‘15 minutes before serving.

The lamb was delicious, if a little well done. The stuffing brought a deep savory flavour to the dish, but the quantity given in the recipe wasn’t necessary – I reckon about half the amount would have been ample.

Potatoes in butter

This is my name for what Nigel Slater calls ‘A thin cake of potatoes and Parmesan’. I love Nigel Slater, and Nigel Slater loves butter. For this reason he’s known as Tubby Slater in my house, although he is nothing of the sort.

Potatoes in butter ingredients

This is double the recipe found in his book Tender Volume 1

 

• 2kg waxy potatoes
• 250g butter
• 4 garlic cloves (this still seemed a lot, I used 3 small cloves)
• 60g Parmesan, finely grated 

 

How to make potatoes in butter

1. Heat the oven to 220⁰C
2. Peel then slice the potatoes so thin that you can see through them.


3. I bought a mandolin especially for this job, or rather, this gave me an excuse to buy a mandolin. I haven’t figured out why I need all of the attachments yet, as most of the functions seem to be pretty much covered by my cheese grater which, now I think of it, has a slicing function too.


4. Melt the butter in a small pan


5. Crush or finely slice the garlic.


6. I crushed, so as to distribute the garlic as evenly as possible over the potatoes. I actually used my garlic crush today – normally I don’t as I hate washing it up.


7. Brush a little butter on the base of a baking dish then start layering your ingredients: potatoes, butter, garlic, salt, pepper, Parmesan.


8. I started off by using a pastry brush to brush the butter over the potatoes but in the end found it easier just to drizzle it over with a teaspoon.
9. Bake for about 45—50 minutes till the edges are golden. Remove from the oven and let the dish stand for a few minutes before serving.

This dish was delicious, but very, very buttery, and I found the taste of garlic quite strong. As part of an Easter feast though it was spot on.

Kale with lemon and garlic

Another delicious recipe from Nigel Slater’s Tender Volume 1. I’ve meddled with the quantities slightly which seemed to work well.

Kale with lemon and garlic ingredients

• I large bag curly kale (probably about 250–300g)
• A knob of butter (probably about 15g, rather than the 30g Tubby suggests for 2 people)
• A splash olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of half a lemon

How to make kale with lemon and garlic

1. Wash the kale then cook in boiling water for 1–2 minutes. You’ll probably need to do this in batches.


2. Drain the kale and put in a large serving bowl.


3. Warm the butter and the oil in a pan and add the crushed garlic and lemon zest.


4. Once the butter starts to foam, add the lemon juice.
   
5. Tip the butter mixture over the kale, season and toss everything together.

Steamed purple sprouting broccoli was my final savory dish.

I normally misjudge the amount of vegetables people will eat and end up with tons left over. At the end of this meal, however, I was left with just 1 stem of purple sprouting broccoli – success!

Something sweet for after

I am not one of life’s chocolate lovers. I wouldn’t really be upset if I never ate chocolate again. But O asked that I make a chocolate dessert to round off the meal and this time I obliged. Dan Lepard’s layeredchocolate truffle cake is a stunning-looking, sickly-tasting mass of chocolatey goo containing over a kilo of chocolate. My teeth hurt just making it.

This recipe requires 3 separate layers to be chilled before the next can be made, so start making it well in advance of when you want to serve it.

This is my own cake, I promise

As directed I used a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin but found that I ended up with far too much of each of the chocolate layers – enough to fill 4 ramekins. A 23-inch tin would probably have worked better.

Removing the cake from the tin didn’t work quite as successfully as I had hoped (see photo) but it still looked impressive. I didn’t notice this at the time but when I came to clearing up found that the brownie base was pretty much still intact on the base of the tin, so I’d served the cake without the base. There were no complaints.

I managed to eat about one third of my slice.