Cheese, Prosciutto and Tomato Tart

This is such a lovely treat to make and have sliced up for a weekend snack. Of course I cheat and buy ready roll puff pastry, even a few famous Chefs do! Why make life hard for yourself?

Just remember to take the pastry out of the fridge 15 minutes or so before you unroll it or it will be too hard and snap when you try to unravel it. This is ready in minutes and disappears even quicker.

Ingredients

1 pack ready roll puff pastry

2 tablespoon flour to roll pastry out on

60g cheddar – grated

3 tablespoons passata or tomato pasta sauce

2 slices prosciutto – in strips

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Salt and cracked black pepper to season

1 egg – beaten – to glaze.

Method

Pre heat oven to 190c / 170c fan

Take your pastry out of the fridge at least 15 minutes before you need to unravel it. Roll it out on a floury work surface and transfer onto a baking tray lined with grease proof paper. It’s ok to cut it similar to the size of your baking tray.

Spoon over your tomato sauce leaving a margin of 3 cm or so around the sides like a picture frame.

Sprinkle over your cheese. Add prosciutto and scatter on the oregano. Season with salt and cracked black pepper.

Roll your sides over all around to form a crust, then brush them with the beaten egg to glaze.

Place on the middle shelf of the oven for approx 12-15 minutes.

Serve with salad for lunch or on its own for a snack.

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Rainbow Bulgur Wheat

I must admit I am quite a newcomer to bulgur wheat. Introduced to me by my sister and I’m now totally converted and it’s number one fan. My mum used to put me off by calling it vulgar wheat but the thing is she’d only ever had it made very plain with boiled water so to be honest I would have been inclined to agree with her. However, it’s just how it is with vegetables. If you just boil things in hot water they are not going to be the most flavoursome thing to eat.

I’ve added some vegetable stock, good quality extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, garlic, a squeeze of fresh lemon, sea salt and cracked black pepper along with cucumber, pomegranate and parsley and it really is a wonderful explosion of flavour that will brighten up any salad or meat dish. Also lovely served with feta or halloumi for a delicious veggie option. I hope you try it.

Ingredients

100g bulgur wheat

400ml hot vegetable stock – I used one vegetable oxo cube

Half a cucumber – diced

100g pomegranate seeds

Hand full of parsley – finely chopped

Dressing

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon runny honey

Salt and cracked black pepper to season

1 clove garlic – minced

Squeeze of lemon juice

Method

Measure out your bulgur wheat on the scales and rinse thoroughly in a sieve.

Add to a pan and pour over your vegetable stock. Add a lid and boil over a high heat for approximately 10 minutes until the bulgur wheat soaks up the stock. Stir gently with a fork.

Transfer the light and fluffy bulgar wheat to your serving dish along with your pomegranate seeds, cucumber and parsley.

Mix up your dressing and pour over the bulgur wheat stirring thoroughly to combine.

Feta and Oregano Little Potatoes

I love these little potatoes as a side to chicken and salad, salmon and roasted vegetables or anything remotely mediterranean. Best eaten red hot and crispy from the oven with the feta scattered over upon serving. I hope you’ll make them part of your cooking repertoire.

Serves 2

Ingredients

10 little potatoes

Tablespoon dried oregano

70g feta cheese

3 cloves garlic

Salt and cracked black pepper to season

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.

Method

Pre heat oven to 200c / 180c fan

Chop your new potatoes in half or even quarters if they are the larger type of new potato.

Heat your oil in an oven proof dish that you are going to cook your potatoes in. Meanwhile, boil your potatoes for approximately 10 minutes while your oil is heating.

Drain your potatoes and transfer to your dish of hot oil being careful not to splash any.

Shake over your oregano, salt and cracked black pepper. Add in your cloves of garlic. I bruise them with a garlic press so they release more flavour.

Spoon over the hot oil and return to the oven for approximately 40 minutes basting every 10 minutes or so to crisp them up.

When your potatoes are ready to come out of the oven drain off any excess oil, scatter over your crumbled feta and serve immediately.

Filo Vegetable Samosas

I’ve added a recipe for all my friends doing Veganuary. These little samosas make the best lunch. They’re made using filo pastry so delightfully delicate and light. Just add a crisp salad with them full of red onion, tomato and a side of mango chutney for dipping. Fabulous when you have lots of left over veg you need to use up. Even better for lunch boxes the next day.

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 carrots

1 large potato

1 cup frozen peas

1 large clove garlic – minced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

3 sheets filo pastry

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 table spoon poppy seeds

Method

Pre heat oven to 220c / 200c fan and take your filo out the fridge at least 15 mins before you intend to use it.

Start by boiling your potato and carrot in a pan of salted water until tender.

Meanwhile, sauté your diced onions in a frying pan until they start to soften along with the minced garlic.

Add your spices and the frozen peas.

Stir around the pan until the peas are cooked. This should only take 2-3 minutes.

Once your onions are cooked and your veg is tender, drain and chop it into pieces, then add it to your onion and spice mix stirring to combine.

Place your 3 sheets of filo flat on the work surface. You need to work quickly as it can dry out quick.

Cut each sheet into 4 rectangles. You may have a marginal amount left from each sheet in order to do this but you can just discard this.

Fold each rectangle into a triangle shape. Open and fill with approx 1 tablespoon of the filling. Fold over back into the triangle shape and brush with oil all over and to seal the edges. Feel free to trim any edges to get the perfect triangle shape.

Place each samosa on a lined baking tray and sprinkle over the poppy seeds. Bake in the centre of the oven for approx 20-25 minutes.

Serve with a side salad and compulsory mango chutney.

Cheese and Bacon Potato Skins

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Cheese and bacon loaded potato skins. Crunchy, loaded with mature cheddar, sizzling crispy bacon and served with a sour cream and chive dip. Great as a side to load onto plates that everyone can help themselves to.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 potatoes

100g mature cheddar – grated

4 dessert spoons butter

Salt and cracked black pepper to season

4 rashers bacon – chopped into pieces

2 spring onions

Sour cream and chive dip to serve

Method

Pre heat oven to 245c / 225c fan

Wash your potatoes and prick each one with a fork a few times.

To speed up cooking time you can pop them on a microwaveable plate and microwave for 8 minutes all at the same time.

Place on a baking tray in a hot over for 20 minutes.

Remove, cut in half and scoop out half a potato from each half and reserve in a bowl.

To the bowl you have set aside add your grated cheese and butter, season, mix thoroughly and transfer back into the potato.

Sprinkle over the bacon bits and bake in the oven for another 20 minutes.

When they are ready to come out the oven remove and sprinkle over sliced up spring onion and serve with a sour cream and chive dip.

Mini Mozarella, Tomato, Pasta Salad

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I love salads and make so many varieties. This one is a favourite and great for an on the go lunch. The fresh tomatoes along with the sun dried ones give a real depth of flavour. Drizzled in extra virgin oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and spritzed with salt and cracked black pepper.

This is also a lovely dish served at a BBQ as a side. I can’t wait for BBQ’s in the sun with glasses of chilled rosé and the tunes on. Is any one else looking forward to BBQ’s?

Serves 2

Ingredients

Mini Mozzarella – 1 small tub

6 sun dried tomato slices

Handful of fresh green and kalamata olives,

1 spring onion – chopped

6 small vine tomatoes – chopped in half

Cup of wholewheat fusilli pasta

Method

Simply cook your pasta until al dente in boiling salty water. Drain and swirl over a little butter.

Toss into all your ingredients and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, a little white wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, salt and cracked black pepper.

Lemon and Garlic Houmous

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I love houmous. As a side to a chicken kebab, with crudités or pitta to dip, heaped into jacket potatoes or simply added to a salad.

I’ve added two of my favourite ingredients lemons and garlic to bring all the flavour with this delicious version. I can’t believe how quick and simple it was to make!

Some people like to remove the skins of each chickpea before blending but seriously?! I’m far too impatient and surely life is too short for that even in these pandemic, scraping the barrel times for fun! If lockdown goes on much longer I might give it a go though and I’ll let you know what I reckon!

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas – drained and rinsed

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons tahini

2 cloves garlic – minced

2 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and extra to drizzle

Method

Add the tahini and lemon juice to a large bowl and blend with a hand blender for a minute. It should start to look like the consistency of smooth peanut butter.

Now add your olive oil, garlic and salt and stir to combine. Blast for a few seconds with the hand blender, add your chickpeas and blend away some more for a couple of minutes, adding your tablespoons of water until creamy and smooth.

Heap into your bowl and add your own delights to dip in. We love toasted, warm pitta cut into strips, crudités and extra lemon juice squeezed on to serve.

Tip: Drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and dust a little cayenne pepper or smoked paprika to serve.

Cauliflower and Courgette Cheese

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I devised this recipe when a cauliflower the size of a fifty pence piece turned up in the online shopping delivery! I decided to bulk it out with a courgette and hey it was delicious, I’m going to make it all the time.

Ingredients

1 small cauliflower

1 courgette – sliced into 1cm rounds

60g mature cheddar

2 tablespoons plain flour

250ml milk

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

30g butter

Salt and cracked black pepper to season

Method

Chop your cauliflower into smallish florets – not miniature and boil in a pan of lightly salted water for approximately 15 minutes. Don’t add the courgette yet.

Chop the courgette into 1cm thick round slices and then in half. Add to the pan of boiling cauliflower for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Drain and spread out in a baking dish.

In a medium sauce pan, add your milk, flour and butter on a low heat and whisk all the time.

The sauce will start to thicken and once it does add your grated mature cheddar, mustard, salt and pepper and keep whisking until you have a lovely cheese sauce.

Now pour all over your veg and bake in the oven on 190C / 170C fan for around 20 minutes or so until the cheese turns nice and crispy on top.

Coleslaw

This is a crunchy, zingy, lime filled coleslaw that is perfect served with the Jerk Chicken recipe under mains. I often add a green pepper, red pepper, 1/2 a cup of sweetcorn and a sliced red chilli but that’s your choice.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large carrots

1/4 red cabbage

1/4 white cabbage

1 medium onion

2 spring onions

Juice of 1 lime

Big squidge of mayo – enough to cover to your liking

Method

Thinly slice your cabbage, carrot and onions. Squeeze over a big splodge of mayonnaise and the juice of a lime and combine together.

It’s as simple as that.

Caribbean Rice and Peas

This is just amazing and you will love this served with the Jerk Chicken recipe under my Mains section. This is my sisters recipe and it has a flavour all of it’s own and will scent your house with aromatic aromas while it’s cooking. Serve alongside the coleslaw recipe under my Sides section.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tin coconut milk

1 large onion thinly sliced

1 teaspoon allspice ( not mixed spice , must be all spice)

3 spring onions bashed ( pull out at the end – these just add flavour)

1 scotch bonnet chilli pepper (whole to add flavour – pull out at the end)

5 springs fresh thyme

2 cloves garlic – minced

1 tin of kidney beans ( and the juice)

2 cups of rice

Water to cook rice ( need 4 cups of liquid including the coconut milk and kidney bean juice, so just make the rest up with water).

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Glug of olive oil

Squeeze of lime

Method

Add a glug of olive oil to the pan. Pan fry the sliced onion and minced garlic until soft. Add all of your coconut milk, kidney bean juice and water to make it up to 4 cups of liquid all in all. Stir together.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the rice. Cook for 2 mins.

Rinse the rice under a tap in a sieve until the water runs clear. Bring to the boil and simmer with the lid on until all the juices have been absorbed by the rice.

When the rice looks fluffy and ready to serve add a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt, remove the spring onions and scotch bonnet and serve with the delicious jerk chicken.