Taste of Summer

This light, refreshing and easy salad would be the perfect food to serve in the sunshine on a hot day with an icy cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc!!

(Serves 4 starter size and 2 for main)

* 1 bag of Rocket
* about 150g Guerre Cheese
* about 200g of thinly sliced Parma Ham
* 4 ripe Peaches
* ample amount of cracked Black Pepper
* drizzle of good quality Olive Oil
* Balsamic Glaze or that really gooey quality Balsamic Vinegar

Tip: If I don't happen to have a really nice Balsamic Vinegar I often mix a cheaper runnier version with a dollop of honey and this has the desired taste and effect too.

- Cut the peaches into 8ths
- Thinly slice the cheese into slithers (I find the best way to achieve these is with a vegetable peeler)
- Loosely break up the Parma Ham into bite size morsels
- Combine together rocket, cheese, ham and peaches then liberally grind on the pepper and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic.

Bring on the Summer!!

Turkish Delight Pavlova

Apologies for missing in action and no new recipes for such a long time! However I have still been working hard to come up with new ideas so many more to come once more - Enjoy!!

I came up with the idea for this recipe when I was creating a Moroccan themed dinner party and needed something to finish the night with a bang!! We were heading into Autumn and the usual pavlova did not feel right for the that time of year. Then I saw the rose water in the cupboard and got inspired!!

Pavlova
* 4 egg whites
* pinch of salt
* 250g castor sugar
* 2 teaspoons of cornflour
* 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
* 1/2 teaspoon of rose water
* 1 teaspoon of pink food dye (optional)

Topping
* 400ml of double/whipping cream
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
* 50g of castor sugar
* a couple of punnets of strawberries (deheaded and cut up into bite size bits)
* the seeds of 1 pomegranate
* a large handful of roasted coconut flakes
* gold leaf or silver ball balls (if you really want to push the boat out!)

- Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees
- Prepare a flat baking tray with baking paper and if you need the help draw on a circle of about 20cm radius as a guide.
- Beat egg white and salt until satiny peaks form, then beat in sugar a 3rd at a time until mixture is stiff and shiny.
- Sprinkle in cornflour, vinegar, vanilla, rose water and food dye if using, then lightly fold into the egg whites.
- Spead the egg mixture onto baking paper within your circle then smooth the tops and sides. - Place in oven for approx. 1 hour. If you are using a fan forced oven I would turn the temparture down after about 15mins to about 120 degrees as you want the middle of the pavlova to stay nice and mashmallowy. Also check on a pavlova at about 45mins as depending on your oven you may feel it is ready. When ready it should be lightly browned up still a little bit wobbly!
- Once cooked whip your cream, sugar and vanilla until firm.
- Decorate with the strawberries followed by pomegranate seeds then coconut flakes and gold/silver.

Tip: if strawberries are not in season sift some icing sugar over them a couple of hours before to sweeten them up! Happy eating!!

Chicken Waldolf Salads in Chicory Cups

I invented this recipe for mine and Jacki's 30th birthday party which had the theme "Farewell to the Roaring 20's". The first time I made it with Little Gem Lettuces which worked well but since then I have tried it with Chicory leaves, their slightly bitter taste I feel, adds a more sophisticated edge to the dish. These work really well as a cocktail savory, as an entre or in DIY format at a picnic or buffet.

(makes about 40)

For the Waldolf Salad Mixture
* 2 Chicken Breasts (poached and shredded)
* 2 Stalks of Celery (finely diced)
* 1 Granny Smith Apple (finely diced)
* 1 handful of finely diced Walnuts
* 1 handful of Saltanas
* 1 Spring Onion (finely chopped)
* 2 heaped tablespoons of Whole Egg Mayonaise
* 1 teaspoon of Lemon Juice
* Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper (to taste)

* About 4 Chicory Lettuces (I am a perfectionist and divide these up so that on each platter they are all the same size, like any lettuce the outside leaves are bigger, so I have one platter of larger leaves, one of medium leaves and one of small leaves. However if you are just doing a casual format there is no need for such precision)

- Mix Waldolf ingredient till well combined (you can make this 1-2 days before, infact I often think this is better as the juices soak into the saltanas making them extra tasty), then refrigerate until ready to use.
- Cut Chicory Leaves to size
- Place a couple of teaspoons of the Waldolf Salad in each leaf and serve!!

Note: I often cover my platters with something like rocket or lambs leaf lettuce as this provides a good base so that the leaves balance and don't roll around, it also looks very pretty!!

Summer Lasagna

I find normal lasagne a bit stodgy and heavy but my husband loves it so I decided to invent a Lasagne that works for both of us, as it is a little bit different and nice and light, I have called it ‘Summer Lasagne’. It tastes perfect with a fresh Green Salad!!

For the Meat Sauce
· 800g Good Quality Beef Mince
· 2 tins of chopped Tomatoes (the flavoured ones from Waitrose are extra good)
· 1 Courgette (finely diced)
· 2 Red Peppers (finely diced)
· 2 Spanish Onions (finely diced)
· 1 teaspoon of Chilli Flakes or Fresh Chilli (diced)
· 1 tablespoon of Muscovado Sugar
· Bunch of Basil
· 3 Cloves of Garlic (crushed or finely diced)
· Salt & Pepper to taste
· ½ a bag of Spinach
· A sprinkle of dried Mediterranean Herbs
· 400ml Cheap Red Wine

- As there are so many ingredients brown the meat first in little olive oil, then set aside along with juices
- Now cook the garlic, onions, courgettes & peppers in the juices with about 50g of butter till they start to release a strong aroma and the onions turn translucent
- Add the meat to the vegetable and combine
- Then add the tinned tomatoes and then once the mixture is bubbling reduce the heat and simmer
- While simmering add herbs, chilli and sugar
- As the mixture reduces add the red wine (about a cup at a time, and then continue to add as required)
- Cook for at least an hour, the longer is cooks the better it tastes

For the Lasagne layers
· 1 packet of Lasagne Sheets (fresh is best but dried is fine too)
· 3 Courgettes (cut length ways)
· 3 Red Peppers (cooked in hot oven till skin browns and once sweated come off easily) or you could use a jar or large tub of Marinated Red Peppers instead for convenience
· 2 Eggplants (Aubergines) cut into rounds
· 1½ tubs of Ricotta
· 200g approx of grated Mozzarella Cheese

- Heat oven to 180 degrees
- Get out a reasonably sized deep baking dish, the one I use is about 28x28cm
- Grill courgettes and eggplants in the oven with a little olive oil till turning golden
- Spread the lasagne sheets with Ricotta (about ½ centimetre deep)
- Start to layer up the lasagne; starting with pasta, followed by meat, a layer of either type of vegetable and then repeat till the dish is full. Make your final layer meat and then cover with the grated Mozzarella Cheese
- Cover lasagne with foil and bake in the oven for about 25mins, then remove and bake for a further 10mins until the cheese turns bubbly and golden.
- Serve immediately ideally, but it also comes up brilliantly the next day with a reheat in the oven.

Thai Chicken Skewers with Satay Sauce

· 10-12 Chicken Mini-breasts (tenderloins) – aiming for 2 per person
· 10-12 BBQ Skewers
Marinade
· Juice of 1 Lime
· 1 chopped red Chilli
· 1 diced Garlic Clove
· 1 Dessertspoon of Sesame Oil or Ground Nut Oil

- Marinade Chicken for a couple of hours before inserting each breast onto a BBQ Skewer ready for cooking. Note: Soak BBQ Skewers in water (if they are wooden) for about 20 mins this will ensure they do not burn on the BBQ or in the oven.
- Cook for about 5 mins in each side either on BBQ/Grill or in Oven till cooked through
- Serve with Satay Sauce

Satay Sauce
· 1 tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
· 2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
· 4 Spring Onions (finely chopped)
· 1 Lemon Grass Stalk (the white interior only, finely chopped)
· 1 Tablespoon of Thai Red Curry Paste
· 1 Tablespoon of Tamarind Paste
· 1 cup of Roasted Salted Peanuts (chunkily ground)
· 1 ½ cups of Coconut Milk
· 2 teaspoons of Palm or Light Brown Sugar

- Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan and fry the garlic, spring onions and lemon grass for a minute of so then add the Thai red curry paste and stir together until fragrant
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pan stirring slowly until it comes to the boil. Note: if the sauce is too thick add a little boiling water till it forms the right consistency and simmer for a couple of minute.

Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

This is a wonderful dish for late spring and early summer as the potatoes and the asparagus are fresh and in season so taste their best.

· 4 Salmon Fillets (pan fried in butter till brown on the outside and pink in the middle
· 12 New Potatoes (cut in half)
· Handful of chopped Spring Onions
· Juice of 1 small Lemon
· 300g Butter
· 3 Egg Yolks
· 2 Bunches Asparagus or roughly 24 stems (boiled or steamed)
· Salt and Pepper to Taste

Crushed Potato Mash Instuctions
* Boil Potatoes (leaving skin on) till soft and tender.
* Gently fry the spring onions in 50g of butter till the onions are all soggy and edges slightly crisp.
* Once potatoes are cooked roughly mash with 100mm of butter then add your butter and Spring Onion combination and stir through.

For the Hollandaise Sauce
* Melt 300g of butter
* Put the Egg Yolks & Lemon juice together and blend with bamix or similar implement
* While blending slowly add the melted butter till the sauce develops into a creamy yellow consistency.

For the Salmon
* Pan fry in a little butter until cooked to your liking, if you like your salmon with skin on I would recommend cooking skin side down in hot butter for about 8 minutes till skin is crispy and then turning over and cooking for another 3 minutes, your salmon should be cooked through but not over done.

And finally
* Place Salmon on top of the Cruched Potatoes with Asparagus to the side and dress with the Hollandaise Sauce. Note: If I was cooking for a dinner party I would garnish with a few baby watercress shoots.

I have made several variation of this dish in the past, for a flash dinner party I made the Hollandaise with 2/3rds Pink Grapefruit Juice and 1/3 Lemon Juice and garnished the Salmon with Baby Watercress Shoot and Pink Grapefruit chunks, I served the Salmon on top of the Asparagus and used Baby New Potatoes as a side dish drizzled in Butter and a good quanity of chopped Spring Onions (see picture below).

Winter Salad

This Salad can stand on it’s own for a Girly Lunch or alternatively but used as an accompaniment to most meat dishes.

· 1 butternut squash or similar (roasted in long thin slices ) you can roast it any size really but presentation wise I think this is the best way
· 1- 2 Avocados (tea-spooned out of their shells)
· 2 broccoli flowers ( cut into pieces then steamed or boiled but better under cooked than over cooked for this recipe)
· 6 roma tomatoes –cut into about 6 wedges per tomato and then sprinkled with herbs, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar on each wedge – then slow roast them in the oven for about an hour


Dressing
· 1 tablespoon of honey
· 100mml Red Wine Vinegar

Combine these together till honey has melted—leave to cool

Garnish
· 180g Roasted Pine Nuts

Stack the salad together; broccoli on the bottom, followed by pumpkin, roma tomatoes and then avocado – dress and sprinkle with pine nuts