Lamb, Date and Almond Lentil Tagine

I adore Moroccan food. Absolutely, totally love it. Thankfully Fuz does too ;-) This was an easy and quick meal to use up some of the left over lamb from our Sunday roast. It would work well with leftover beef too.

For 2 portions you need
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp each turmeric, ground cumin, chilli flakes and ground coriander
1 tsp each of ground cinnamon and ground ginger
salt and pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp dates, roughly chopped
1 cup diced cooked lamb or beef
300ml lamb stock
1/2 cup red lentils
2 tbsp whole skinned almonds, toasted

Begin by frying the onion in the oil in the base of a tagine or other heavy based pan. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for another 5 mins or so. Add everything else apart from the almonds and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30-45 mins.

Add the toasted almonds 15 mins before you want to serve, and remove the lid to thicken the sauce. Delicious with the orange, onion and almond salad.

Orange, Onion and Toasted Almond Salad (v)

A lovely light fragrant salad which cuts through the richness of a tagine brilliantly or is fabulous on its own on a hot day. So not like the weather today then...!

For 2 people you need
1 orange, segmented
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1 tsp dried mint
2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
1 tbsp argan oil (or use olive oil)

Arrange the ingredients on a plate and leave to infuse for 30 mins or so before serving. Serve at room temperature, don't chill.

Easter / Ishtar Chocolate Egg Nests (v)

Easter isn't Ishtar without these nests. I prefer to use a base of butter, golden syrup and drinking chocolate/cocoa for the chocolate rather than melting chocolate as they remain softer and nicer to eat that way. This is a great recipe to get the kids to do, or to make to bring back memories of the last day of school!

For 10-12 nests you need
6 shredded wheat, crushed
100g butter or vegan spread
4 tbsp golden syrup
4 tbsp drinking chocolate or cocoa powder
Chocolate eggs to decorate
Paper muffin cases

Melt the butter, golden syrup and drinking chocolate in a pan gently. Mix into the crushed shredded wheat and then spoon into cases. Leave an indentation in the middle for the eggs to nestle in to. Top with eggs and leave for an hour or so to set. Yummy!

Cadbury's Creme Egg Brownies

A brownie adorned with a cadbury's creme egg showed up in my newsfeed on Facebook earlier in the week, so I decided to treat us to some for Easter. I've used mini creme eggs as the large ones would have made them too sickly (imho!). The brownie recipe I have used is my tried and tested adaptation of the Hummingbird Bakery's plain chocolate brownie which is chewy and moist and delicious. Enjoy!

For 12 portions you need
200g good quality plain chocolate
125g butter
150g plain flour
325g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 mini cadbury's creme eggs

Melt the chocolate and butter. Once melted and cooled slightly, mix in the other ingredients. Pour the batter into a lined swiss roll tin and bake at 160 degrees for about 15 mins. 

Carefully cut the eggs in half, but don't worry too much if they break a bit. After 15 mins, take the brownies out of the oven and push the halves of eggs into the semi cooked batter. Place them back in the oven for a further 15 mins to finish cooking. 

Leave to cool for 10 min before removing from the baking tin and slicing into generous squares. Happy Ishtar!

Dark Sweet and Sour Vegetables with Sesame Cashews and Noodles (v)

This is very quick and easy to prepare and tastes lovely. A brilliant healthy mid week supper for all the family. The recipe is based on a Lorraine Pascale one in Fast, Fresh and Easy Food.

For 3-4 people you need
2 onions, chopped into big chunks
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 head broccoli cut into florets
425g tin pineapple in juice
5 tbsp tomato ketchup
5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp soya sauce
1-2 tsp agarve nectar (according to your taste)
2 tbsp raw cashew nuts
2 tsp sesame oil
3 nests of noodles
fresh coriander for garnish

Beging by placing everything apart from the cashews, sesame oil, noodles and coriander into a pan. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook on a low heat for 5 mins until the veggies are al dente. Remove the lid and increase the heat to reduce the sauce slightly.

Toast the cashews in a pan until lightly toasted. Toss through the sesame oil.

Boil the noodles for 1-2 mins until cooked. Serve garnished with the coriander. Yummy.

Tofu Hoisin Pancakes (v)

I made a different version of these a few months ago, but we all fancied them again so I simplified the method and they were pronounced even more delicious than before! They're quick to cook, but the tofu really benefits from being pressed to make it firmer and then left to marinade for up to 24 hours.

For three people you need
1 pack firm tofu
1/2 jar hoisin sauce (I like Win Yip)
1/4 cucumber, finely sliced
2-3 spring onions, shredded
9 oriental pancakes
a little oil for frying

Begin by draining the tofu and placing it between two folded tea towels. Place a heavy weight on top (I use a le crueset pan!) and leave to drain. After 30 mins, replace the tea towels (which by this stage will be saturated with liquid) and leave pressed for at least another 30 mins, or overnight if you can (place the tofu in the fridge if you're going to leave it over night).

Once the tofu has been pressed, slice in half through the middle of the block, then in half again before slicing thinly. Layer up the tofu strips in a pyrex bowl with a thin covering of hoisin sauce. Cover and leave to marinate for at least an hour, and up to 24.

When you're ready to cook the tofu, heat the oil in a wok and fry the tofu in batches. Heat the pancakes according to the pack (usually about 45 secs in a microwave) and serve layered with hoisin sauce, cucumber, spring onions and the tofu. Yum yum yum!

Cardamon Rasmalai with Saffron; Vanilla and Nutmeg

I cheated for this, and used a packet. But frankly most of the Asian cooks I know do the same. You can buy the Shan ones from Asda for under £1. This was the perfect sweet note to follow our curry night, and calmed my tingling taste buds down after the fiery madras.

For 6-8 portions you need
1 packet Shan Ras Malai mix
5 tsp vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 litre of milk
500ml water
200g caster sugar
pinch saffron fronds
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1/4 nutmeg, freshly grated

Place the milk, water, sugar and saffron in a large pan and slowly bring to the boil. Stir every now and then to ensure the sugar melts evenly.

Make the ras malai following the packet instructions (tip powder into a bowl, add the oil and enough beaten egg to make a stiff paste).

Once the milk mixture has come to the boil, keep on a full flame and drop in small teaspoons of the ras malai mix (you can be pretentious and make them into quenelles if you want, or roll into balls). Cook for 5 mins until the ras malai has puffed up to 3-4 times its original size. Remove and leave to cool in a bowl. Reduce the milk mixture by half and then flavour with the nutmeg and vanilla. Pour the milk over the ras malai and leave to chill thoroughly before serving.

Black and White Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Snadwiches

This pic got rather a lot of likes on instagr.am the other day, proper food porn! And utterly delicious to eat too, if a tad messy! Making the cookies with vitalite not only makes them easier as you don't need to remember to leave the butter out or faff about softening it if you forget; but it also gives them a better texture. Contrasting the dark bitter chocolate with the white sweet chocolate works really well. I prefer the two flavours to adding in milk chocolate too for triple chocolate cookies. This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson's totally chocolate chocolate chip cookies from Nigella Express.

For about 20 cookies, depending on size, you need

125g dark chocolate

150g plain flour

30g cocoa powder

1tsp bicarb

½ tsp salt

125g vitalite

75g soft light brown sugar

50g white sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

350g white chocolate chunks or chocolate cut into chunks

Ice cream of your choice to serve.

Melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie and leave to cool slightly.

Beat the sugars and vitalite in a free standing mixer until light and fluffy. Then add everything else, mixing thoroughly.

Place teaspoon sized blobs onto a lined baking tray. You should be able to get 9-12 cookies on a normal sized tray and they don't spread that much whilst cooking. 

Cook in a moderate (170 degree) oven for 10 mins until cooked but not browned. Leave to cool on the tray for a few mins. If you try and move them too soon they will break but they will harden upon cooling. 

Sandwich your favourite ice cream in the middle and scoff. Nomtastic!

Chickpea Dhal (v)

Fuz and I had beef madras last night, but Lex is still veggie so I made him a quick and tasty chickpea dhal to have for his tea whilst we tucked into the rich beefy goodness. The dhal was a lovely side dish to our meal and Lex thoroughly enjoyed it too.

For 2-3 portions you need
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp rogan josh curry paste
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup red lentils
250ml water

Fry the paste in the oil for 2-3 mins until the oil separates and the aromas are released. Add everything else and bring to the boil. Simmer slowly for 20 mins or so until the lentils are cooked. Serve with rice and whatever else you fancy (in Lex's case this is cucumber slices topped with mango chutney!).

Beef Madras

It's soooooooo cold out, but this curry will keep you warm from the inside. Spicy and aromatic, it doesn't take long to throw together but does need at least an hour of gently bubbling. If you have time, make in advance and then reheat to allow the flavours to really develop and mingle into the tender beef. This recipe is taken from the BBC Good Food site.

For 2-3 portions you need

Curry

1 kg braising steak cut into bite sized cubes

2tbsp tomato puree

300ml Beef Stock

2tbsp veg or sunflower oil

1 large onion, diced

Curry Paste

1/2tsp ground black pepper

1/2tsp chilli flakes

2 fresh birds eye chillies, slit up the length of the chilli, stalk left on

2tbsp ground coriander

2tbsp lemon juice

1tbsp ground cumin

1 heaped tsp turmeric

2tbsp of grated ginger

6 cloves of garlic, crushed

Begin by softening the onions in a large heavy based pan over a medium heat in the oil till cooked and golden. Stir often so they don't burn. Once they are cooked, remove with a slotted spoon to a plate whilst you seal the beef.

Place the beef in the hot pan (you may need to do this in more than one batch to avoid over crowding the pan). Seal it and remove from the pan and place with the onions.

Place all the curry paste ingredients in the pan and cook for a few mins. Add everything else to the pan, including the tomato puree and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a slow simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for an hour, stirring every so often. Remove the lid for the last 10 mins to allow the sauce to thicken. Serve with rice and a nice cold beer or tall glass of sweet lassi. We also had some chickpea dhal alongside it as my son doesn't eat meat.

Roast Shoulder of Pork with Cider Sauce and Baked Apples

I've been a bit nervous about blogging this recipe as it's clearly a meat recipe, and I know a lot of the people who follow my posts do so because they're mainly veggie/vegan. So apologies in advance if this offends/annoys you but my eating habits have changed, and so, therefore, must my blog posts...

I've been experimenting with different cuts of meat recently as I've never learned to cook it as I was veggie for so many years. This is a very economical cut, but can be a bit fatty. Abel and Cole didn't disappoint however and delivered me a reasonably lean joint with a nice bit of skin on the top for crackling. I'd done quite a lot of research into how I was going to cook it and had toyed with the idea of doing pulled pork, but frankly waiting 16-24 hours for my tea wasn't what I wanted so I simply roasted it, following Hugh's advice for the 20 min high heat sizzle to begin with before a more gentle roast and then a last 15 min blast of heat for the crackling.

For 2-3 people you need
Roast
1kg shoulder of pork joint
2-3 potatoes, peeled and cut into thirds for roasting
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 onions, cut into quarters
2 apples, cored and cut into quarters, skin left on
salt and pepper
1 head broccoli, cut into florets and steamed

Sauce
300ml dry cider
2 tsp plain flour
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees. Season the meat with salt and pepper and place on a rack in a roasting pan and pop in the oven for 20-30 mins to seal the meat and give it some initial colour. After the sizzle time is up, reduce the oven to 160 degrees. Scatter the potatoes and carrots in the tin under the rack and add 250ml boiling water. Place back in the oven for 45 mins.

After this time, turn the meat to ensure even cooking. Add the onion and apple quarters to the pan and top up with a little more water if it's all evaporated. The water helps to create steam which keeps the meat moist, and also ensures the veggies cook with minimum additional fat.

Cook at 160 degrees for a further 30-45 mins, checking to ensure the meat doesn't over cook. Remove from the oven after 2 hours total cooking time, or when the meat is done. Cut off the crackling if you want it extra crispy and place on a baking tray. Cover the joint in foil on a carving dish to rest. Turn the oven up to 220 degrees again. Season the crackling with a little more salt and roast in the hot oven for 15 mins till totally crunchy deliciousness.

To make the sauce put the flour into the roasting tin and heat gently. Cook the flour for a few mins and then add the cider. Stir thoroughly to avoid lumps and heat until reduced and slightly thickened. Carve the meat and serve the veggies and sauce and enjoy enjoy enjoy!

Nigella's Malteser Cake

I've never made this cake before, despite lots of people raving about it. So when Fuz turned 40 a few weeks ago I dug out Feast and made it for him and his family. I can't say I liked it that much, the cake is quite chewy and chocolate cake is my least favourite type of cake, but I did like the malteser flavoured icing and everyone else loved it... It's such a simple cake to make, and the decoration takes no time at all so you can pass it off as something you have slaved over when in reality it's taken you five minutes. Result!

For a cake that serves 8-10 you need
Cake
150g soft brown sugar
100g caster sugar
3 large eggs
175ml milk
15g butter
2 tablespoons Horlicks powder
175g plain flour
25g cocoa, sieved
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda


For the icing and decoration
250g icing sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa
45g Horlicks
125g vegan spread
3 tbsp raspberry jam
2 x 37g packets Maltesers


Beat the sugars and eggs together in a free standing mixer for 10 mins until light and fluffy. Meanwhile heat the milk, butter and horlicks in a pan until just below boiling. Carefully pour this mixture into the eggs and sugar and mix thoroughly. Add everything else and then pour into two lined cake tins.

Bake in a moderate (170 degree) oven until risen and springy (about 20-30 mins). Take care not to over bake or the cake will be too chewy.

Leave to cook on a wire rack and make the icing.

In a free standing mixer, beat together everything apart from the jam and maltesters. Once the cake is cooled, spread 1/3 of the icing on one cake and top with the jam. Sandwich the second cake on top and then decorate with the remaining icing and maltesers. For a special cake for my son I used marshmallows and a crumbled crunchie bar on top as he prefers those to maltesters.

Tiger Striped Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cake

Lex requested marble cake for his lunch box last week and I'd been meaning to try out a tiger cake following the recent craze for them created by Lorraine Pascale. So I used her method for creating the stripes in my own normal victoria sponge cake base. It worked really well but I have to say was a right faff and took forever to splodge into the tin. The things mums do to make their children happy eh ;-)

For one cake that serves 8-10 people you need
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract, added to the egg jug for easier mixing
8oz self raising flour
8oz caster sugar
8oz vegan spread (e.g. vitalite)
1-2 tbsp soya milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder mixed with 1 tbsp boiling water

Make the cake base the usual way: place the spread and sugar into a free standing mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on high for 10 mins until pale, light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and flour on slow speed.

Once the batter is made, divide into two bowls. Add the cocoa powder liquid to one bowl and mix thoroughly. Add enough milk to the vanilla bowl to make the batter the same consistency as the chocolate batter.

In a greased 20cm cake tin, place alternating spoonfuls of the batters into the middle. Start with vanilla, then place a spoonful of the chocolate batter directly on top of the splodge of vanilla batter. Keep repeating and the batter will start to spread out into the tin. It is this process which gives the cake its stripes. It will take 10 mins or so to carefully and patiently use up all the mix. It is vital the batters are the same consistency or one will spread too much and the other will be too thick.

Once all the batter is in the tin (and congratulations if you did it properly and didn't give up at the end like me and lob spoonfuls anywhere in the tin towards the end ;-) bake in a moderate (160 degree) oven for 30-45 mins until the cake is risen and cooked. Leave to cool and then slice and marvel at the petty pwatterns on the inside of the cake.

Mixed Summer Berry Fruit Pie (v)

I cleaned out the freezer last week in readiness for this seasons new crops. Lurking at the back of the freezer were bags of last summers fruit: red currants, black currants, strawberries, gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries. I made some jam from strawberries and red currants, but still had enough fruit left over to create this pie.

For 6-8 portions you need
Pastry
8oz plain flour
4oz vegan margarine
cold water

Filling
4 cups mixed fruit
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (or to taste)
2 tbsp cornflour

Place the flour and vegan spread in a food processor and blitz till it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water a little at a time until a dough is formed. Push into a disc shape in clingfilm and leave to rest for 5 mins.

Gently heat the berries and sugar in a pan for 3-4 mins until the juices run. Strain off any liquid (this prevents the pie from becoming too soggy). Mix in the cornflour to the strained fruit.

Cut the pastry into two chunks of 1/3 and 2/3. Roll out the large portion and use to line a pie dish. Fill with the fruit and then roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid. Brush with soya milk and sprinkle over a little extra caster sugar.

Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 30-45 mins until the pie is golden brown and crisp.

Lentil Bolognese (v)

This recipe is a good base recipe for all sorts of things, but today we used it for pasta sauce. It's dead cheap, uber healthy and very yummy. Permission to feel ultra smug when creating and consuming granted ;-)

For 6-8 portions you need
2 cups green/brown lentils (not puy)
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 onions, finely diced
4 coves garlic, crushed
pinch sugar
salt and pepper
vegetarian stock powder
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried oregano

Begin by placing the lentils in a large pan of water. Bring to the boil and then boil fast for 10 mins. Reduce to a simmer and then cook for a further 15 mins or so until they are tender and cooked. The actual cooking time will vary depending on the lentils so keep checking for done-ness every 5 mins after the initial 15 mins of simmering.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion for 5 mins till translucent. Add the carrots and garlic and continue to fry for another 5 mins. Add everything else to the pan and bring to the boil. Check the seasoning and simmer for 20 mins until thickened and delicious.

Add the drained cooked lentils to the pan and heat through thoroughly. Serve over pasta with shredded fresh basil and veggie parmesan if you're not vegan.

Vegetarian Black Pudding and Poached Egg Salad

My boyfriend didn't believe that veggie black pudding would taste very nice, so I created this to prove to him it works. Even tho it's a weird thing to make veggie!

For two people you need
Salad
2 eggs
1 pack veggie black pudding
salad leaves
croutons
1 tsp malt vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Dressing
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Slice the black pudding into thick rounds (you'll get about 8 slices from one pack). Heat the oil and fry gently for 2-3 mins on each side until crispy.

Meanwhile, poach the eggs on simmering water which you have added the vinegar to.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together until emulsified. Season to taste.

Arrange the salad leaves on a plate and scatter over the croutons. Place the fried black pudding and egg on the leaves and drizzle over the dressing.

Pasta with Tomato Sauce

OK OK this doesn't sound like the most exciting recipe anyone has ever made, but according to one blog it's the most talked about tomato pasta sauce recipe on the internetz... Hmmm I thought and then I made it and I could see why. It tastes of perfect pasta sauce like you get in a good Italian. Rich but light, tasty and moreish.

For two people you need:
150-200g pasta
1 medium onion, cut in half
1 can chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
3 tbsp butter

Place the butter, tomatoes and onion in a pan and heat to a gentle simmer. Leave bubbling away for 30 mins, making sure you keep an eye on it so it doesn't catch and burn on the bottom.

Cook the pasta and when it's nearly done, blitz the sauce until smooth. Check the seasoning and serve. Totally yummy and so easy to make!