RECIPE: Fish Pie

Time: 1 hour 15 mins
Servings: For 4 adults

Ingredients:

12 medium sized potatoes
200g salmon fillet (2 portions)
500g smoked haddock fillet
250g frozen garden peas or petits pois
250g frozen or tinned sweetcorn
1 pint-ish milk (depending on preferred sauce consistency)
100g butter
Flour
Black pepper

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 6 or 200°c for electric ovens.
Peel the potatoes and put on to boil.
While the potatoes are cooking, cut your fish pieces into cubes and lay out in a baking dish.
Blanche the peas and sweetcorn (if using frozen sweetcorn) in boiling water for one minute.
Drain the sweetcorn and peas well and cover the fish with them.
When your potatoes are cooked through, drain well and mash. You can add some butter, milk and seasoning if you wish. Place to one side.
Make the white sauce.

To make the roux (white sauce):

Gently melt the butter in a large saucepan.
Once thoroughly melted, add some flour a little at a time until you have a slightly stiff 'dough' (for want of a better word!). Don't let it burn!
Keeping the heat at medium, whisk in the milk a little at a time and I mean a little! (You can warm the milk first for easier absorption but I never bother).
Keep going until the mixture becomes sauce like and then you can add larger amounts of milk until the sauce is at the right consistency for you.

Pour the sauce over the fish and vegetables and stir through so everything is coated well.
Spoon the mashed potato over the top and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes until the fish is cooked and piping hot through.

RECIPE: Chocolate Sandwich Cake

Time: 45 mins

Servings: For 12 slices

Ingredients:

Sponge:

200g self raising flour

200g butter or margarine

200g caster sugar

4 medium eggs

1 teaspoon of baking powder

50g cocoa powder

Buttercream:

100g softened butter

140g icing sugar

25g cocoa powder

Chocolate chips to decorate

Method:

Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and pale yellow.

Whisk up the eggs and add to the butter and sugar.

Seive in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix together until the sponge mixture is glossy and smooth.

Divide the mixture between two greased and lined cake tins (I use the ones with the removable bottoms for ease of turning out).

Bake in the oven on the top shelf at 190 degrees/170 degrees for fan assisted/gas mark 4 for 20-30 minutes.

Stick a skewer or a knife into the middle of the cake and if it's cooked, there will be no raw mixture when it s removed. If not put back in the oven for a little longer.

When completely cooled, you can ice the cake.

Cream the butter until soft and smooth.

Add the sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder, beating until smooth.

Paste the top of the bottom layer with a little of the buttercream and sandwich the two sponges together then use the rest of the buttercream to cover the top.

Decorate with chocolate chips.

Pop in the fridge under clingfilm or a cake stand and lid for the icing to stiffen.

Serve!

RECIPE: Almond, Raspberry and Blackberry Squares

Time: 10 mins

Servings: 12 squares

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter
300g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs
50g ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 punnet of fresh raspberries
1 punnet of fresh blackberries
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Flaked almonds

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 or electric equivalent. Grease and line a 10x12 inch baking tray.

Gently melt the butter in a pan. Once thoroughly melted, leave to cool for 5 minutes.

Beat in the eggs, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.

Add the flour, salt, ground almonds and a handful of flaked almonds then stir in well until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the lined baking tray then place the raspberries and blackberries over the top.

Cook in the oven for 40 minutes cover with foil and cook for a further 20-30 minutes. When done, it will be browned on the outside and a hint of squidge in the middle.
Turn out onto a cooling rack after 20 minutes and carefully remove the baking paper.

Slice into squares and serve with a sprinkle of icing sugar. Delicious warm or cold.

You'll notice I completely forgot to add the flaked almonds!

RECIPE: Seafood Risotto

Time: 30 mins

Servings: For 2 adults

Ingredients:

235g fresh seafood mix (mussels, prawns and calamari/squid)

220g Arborio rice

Approx. 700ml vegetable stock

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 courgette

1 small onion

Method:

Dice the courgette and onion then lightly fry in the olive oil until starting to soften.

Stir in the dry arborio rice and lightly fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the stock a little at a time, waiting until the liquid has been soaked up by the rice before adding a bit more. This way you will be sure to get the right consistency rather than watery risotto! If you run out of stock and need a bit more liquid, plain boiled water will be fine.

Once the rice is cooked, stir in your seafood mix - this should be pre-cooked already so you just need to warm it through in the rice.

Serve with buttered crusty bread.

RECIPE: Chicken Supreme

Time: 25 mins

Servings: For 3 adults

Ingredients:

1 medium sized chicken, cooked and stripped

Frozen peas - 2 handfuls

Tinned or frozen sweetcorn - 1 small tin or 2 handfuls

1 pint-ish milk (depending on preferred sauce consistency)

100g butter

Flour

Salt

Black pepper

Method:

Make your white sauce - Gently melt the butter in a large saucepan.

Once thoroughly melted, add some flour a little at a time until you have a slightly stiff 'dough' (for want of a better word!). Don't let it burn!

Keeping the heat at medium, whisk in the milk a little at a time and I mean a little! (You can warm the milk first for easier absorption but I never bother).

Keep going until the mixture becomes sauce like and then you can add larger amounts of milk until the sauce is at the right consistency for you.

Add the chicken pieces and continue to gently heat.

Drain the sweetcorn if you're using tinned.

Add sweetcorn and peas (still frozen, no need to pre-cook).

Stir well and continue to heat until peas and sweetcorn are cooked through.

Before serving, add black pepper and salt to taste.

Serve with boiled rice.

RECIPE: Sausage, Liver and Bacon in the Slow Cooker

Time: 30 mins

Servings: For 2 adults

Ingredients:

Fresh lamb's liver- enough for 2

4 x fresh Cumberland sausages

4 x rashers of unsmoked back bacon

Gravy granules or flour

1 pint of stock

Olive or vegetable oil

Flour

Black pepper

Method:

Grill the sausages until they are starting to brown.

Slice up the bacon into quarters.

Fry the bacon and then drain off the oil well.

Put a handful of flour and lots of ground black pepper in a dish and stir.

Rinse the liver.

Lightly coat the liver both sides in the flour and pepper mix, shaking off any excess flour.

Use the same pan but with fresh oil and fry the liver on both sides until golden. Use only the smallest amount of oil you can - keep adding little bits if it gets soaked up by the flour.

Add the bacon, liver and sausages into a slow cooker bowl - INCLUDING the fried flour bits that have come off the liver.

Add the stock and gravy granules or flour until just below your preferred consistency.

Heat on low for 2-3 hours.

Once ready to serve, add a few more granules or flour to thicken if desired.

Serve with buttery mashed potato and green beans.

***Don't add salt as the bacon provides enough.***

RECIPE: Leek and Bacon with Pasta and Cheese Sauce

Time: 25 mins

Servings: For 4 adults

Ingredients:

2 x large leeks

1 x pack of bacon (streaky, middle or back - smoked or unsmoked - whatever your preference)

150g cheddar cheese

Pasta x 8 handfuls

1 pint-ish milk (depending on preferred sauce consistency)

100g butter

Flour

Black pepper

Olive or vegetable oil (your preference)

Water

Method:

Cook pasta then drain.

Shred the leeks into long strips.

Slice the bacon.

Grate the cheese.

Fry the bacon in a pan - you can dry fry or use a small amount of oil but drain it all off afterwards.

Lightly fry the leeks in a little oil and a splash of water then drain.

Put to one side.

To make the roux (white sauce):

Gently melt the butter in a large saucepan.

Once thoroughly melted, add some flour a little at a time until you have a slightly stiff 'dough' (for want of a better word!). Don't let it burn!

Keeping the heat at medium, whisk in the milk a little at a time and I mean a little! (You can warm the milk first for easier absorption but I never bother).

Keep going until the mixture becomes sauce like and then you can add larger amounts of milk until the sauce is at the right consistency for you.

Add grated cheese and stir until melted into sauce.

Add pasta, leeks and bacon into white sauce and grind in lots of black pepper to taste.

Serve with warm crusty bread and fried mushrooms.