Lamb tagine with apricots and chickpeas

I always struggle to answer when people ask me what my favourite food is, there are just so many delicious things out there that I couldn't possibly narrow it down to one. If I had to pick my top ten I think I could just about do it, although even then my list would probably have changed by the next week. There are a few things I just couldn't be without and they would definitely be on the list, pasta, cake, bread and tagine.Tagine is probably Morocco's best known dish and most famous export, it is a combination of meat (usually lamb but sometimes chicken), fruit, sweet spices, hot spices and often aromatic flavours like rose petals. I can't remember exactly when I first tried tagine but I do vividly remember how the melt in the mouth tender meat, sweet and spicy flavour and the amazing smell simply blew me away, it was as they say love at first bite and I've been hooked ever since.If you're going to make tagine yourself it well worth trying to get hold of a spice blend called ras-el-hanout (I really like this one). Ras-el-hanout roughly translates as top of the shop, so called because the spice sellers in the souks of Morocco blend their very best spices to make it. There are no rules as to what goes in to ras-el-hanout, it can contain up to and over twenty ingredients but there is almost always cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and chili, the blend I'm using contains all manner of good things including rose petals, lavender, cloves and ginger, it smells amazing!

This is my recipe for tagine, it is highly adaptable and I change it depending on what I have in the cupboard, you could add black olives, preserved lemon and you just have to have some kind of dried fruit, I really like dried apricots in this but prunes are delicious too.

Lamb Tagine (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
  
• 2-3 medium onions roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed to a paste
• 3 tsp Ras-el-hanout or 1 tsp each of ground cinnamon, cumin and coriander
• 1 small red chilli chopped (add more or less depending on how hot you want it)
• 1 tin (400g) of chickpeas drained
• 1 pint of stock (any kind)
• 1 tin (400g) of chopped tomatoes
• Half a shoulder of lamb on the bone
• 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped into large chunks (you could use squash or sweet potato)
• A good handful of dried apricots
• Salt and pepper
• A large handful of chopped fresh coriander

Method:

• In a large pan over a gentle heat soften the onions in a little olive oil.
• Add the garlic, chilli and spices to the pan and cook for a minute more.
• Add the chickpeas, stock and tomatoes, mix well and bring to a simmer.
• Add the lamb, carrots and apricots, season to taste and put in a low oven for 3-4 hours until the lamb falls off the bone.
• Stir in the coriander just before serving and serve with cous cous or flatbread.
  

In The Bag - Chicken and Chestnut Pie with Leeks, Mushrooms and Tarragon

This October sees the return of 'In The Bag' the seasonal food blogging event run by Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie and Scott from The Real Epicurean. The challenge is to cook a dish which includes three seasonal ingredients which are chosen for us. The ingredients this month were mushrooms, herbs and nuts, I couldn't have been happier with that selection, it's almost as if they were chosen just for me.Aside from any Blumenthalesque concoctions sweet dishes were obviously out of the question, on the savoury side however the possibilities were almost endless. October really is a great month to be in the kitchen, the sheer vastness of the fresh, seasonal food available to me right now meant I really was spoilt for choice. I toyed with idea of doing a pasta dish -pine nuts, wild mushrooms, mixed herbs and maybe a creamy sauce- or maybe making a stuffing with the nuts and the herbs to fill some chicken breasts. In the end it was the weather that decided it for me, it's got quite a bit colder here in the past week and what I needed, what I really wanted, was pie.
The inspiration for my pie came from a recipe I saw a while back for a beef and chestnut pie, I thought that while the beef pie sounded really good chestnuts would probably go better with chicken, so that's what I did.

Chicken thighs are much more succulent and flavoursome than chicken breast which can easily dry out and can taste a bit bland. For the meat in my pie I first roasted chicken thighs on the bone until they were golden brown then shredded the meat off the bone ready to add to the filling. For the base of the pie I gently softened sweet young leeks and mild onions in butter so they cooked without colour, they add a sweetness and a delicious background flavour to the pie that perfectly compliments the chicken.To the base I added chopped chestnut mushrooms which are a bit chunkier and meatier than the usual white ones, I would have loved to use wild mushrooms if only I had had some. For the herbs I used a mixture of parsley and chickens best friend, tarragon. The parsley was more for colour than flavour but the tarragon has an amazing aniseed flavour that I just love and works fantastically well with chicken.

The final ingredient was the chestnuts, I used ready cooked and peeled chestnuts, the ready prepared are usually excellent quality but you could use fresh ones if you can get them. The chestnuts added a much needed texture contrast, without them it would all have been a bit too soft, they also add a wonderfully autumny nuttiness to the whole dish. I'm always sad to see the summer slipping away but it's delicious treats like chestnuts that remind me that there are still good things to look forward to, it won't be long before I'm drinking mulled wine and roasting fresh chestnuts over the fire.....

Chicken and chestnut pie (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 125g cold butter, diced
• 250g plain white flour
• Salt
• Water

For the filling:

• 6 Large chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
• Butter
• Olive oil
• 2-3 Leeks
• 3 Medium white onions
• 250g Chestnut mushrooms
• 2 Handfuls of finely chopped parsley
• The leaves from 3 or 4 sprigs of tarragon
• 200g cooked and peeled chestnuts
• 6 large heaped spoonfuls of creme fraiche
  
• Salt and black pepper
• An egg for glazing the pastry

Method:
For the pastry:

• First make the pastry. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl with a pinch of salt, rub in the butter cubes using your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.

• Add a couple of tablespoons of water and bring the mixture together with your hands. If it doesn't form into a ball add a little more water.

• Once you have a smooth ball of dough place it back in the bowl, cover it and leave it in the fridge while you start on the filling.

For the filling:

• First you need to cook the chicken thighs, season them well with salt then place them in a roasting tin and cook in a medium oven until golden brown. Once cooked leave them to cool then remove the skin and tear the meat from the bones. Set the meat aside and discard the skin and bones. (or do as I did and feed the skin to your cat).

• Now clean the leeks by slicing them lengthwise from the base leaving the root intact, wash them well to remove any grit or soil them slice into smallish pieces along with the onions.

• In a large heavy frying pan melt a good chunk of butter and a splash of olive oil, add the leeks and onions and cook slowly and gently so they are soft but not coloured.

• Slice the chestnut mushrooms leaving them quite chunky and add them to the leeks and onions, stir them well in and leave them to cook.

• Finely chop the parsley and tarragon and add it to the pan, tarragon is quite strong so you won't need a lot, taste the mixture and add more tarragon if it needs it.

• As soon as the mushrooms have cooked stir in the shredded chicken, chestnuts and creme fraiche, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning to taste.

• Spoon the mixture into an oven proof pie dish then roll our your pastry.

• Lay the pastry over the top of the pie filling, pushing it well down onto the edge of the dish so it has sealed. Trim off any excess pastry and brush the top with a little beaten egg, cut a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape the bake at about gas 5/190c/375f for 30-45 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and golden brown.
  

Kentish cobnut pesto

I always like to experiment with new ingredients so I was delighted (and somewhat surprised) to find these fresh cobnuts at my local supermarket, still green and in there husks as nature intended. Cobnuts are a cultivated variety of hazelnut and a speciality of Kent, they are slightly larger than normal hazelnuts and have a delicious mild and milky flavour when eaten raw but a much more robust and nutty flavour when toasted. They are also a very seasonal ingredient, only available for a few weeks at the beginning of September.According to the Kentish Cobnut Association children used to play a version of conkers with cobnuts but I had a much better use for them. I was torn between two possible recipes for my wonderful cobnuts. One was a cobnut and apple cake which I'm sure would be a perfect combination, the other, and the recipe I settled for was a cobnut pesto using toasted cobnuts, flat leaf parsley, olive oil and Parmesan.

Shelling cobnuts is a time consuming task but by the time I had reached the last of the nuts I had become quite proficient at cracking the shells using a meat tenderiser, one swift whack and off the shells came. I dry toasted all but a handful of the shelled nuts in a hot pan until they were golden brown, the smell of toasted nuts was too good to resist nibbling on a few as I grated some Parmesan.Once The nuts had cooled I added them to the blender along with a large bunch of parsley, a big handful of grated Parmesan and a generous quantity of olive oil which I added in a steady trickle until the consistency looked just right.

Served tossed through tagliatelle pasta with a handful of wild rocket leaves, a few tomatoes and sprinkling of chopped raw cobnuts for a bit of crunch this made a delicious alternative to the usual basil pesto. If you can't find cobnuts this would work almost as well with good hazelnuts.
Cobnut (or hazelnut) pesto recipe (Added to pasta will serve at least 4)

Ingredients:

• 450g/1lb cobnuts in there shell (or about 200g shelled nuts)
• A large bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
• A good handful of grated Parmesan
• The best olive oil you have

Method:

• Shell the nuts and toast in a hot dry pan until golden brown, nuts burn very easily so watch them!
• Set the nuts aside to cool while you grate the Parmesan cheese
• Add the cooled toasted nuts, parsley (stalks and all), Parmesan and a good slug of olive oil to a blender, blend everything together to a paste and add more oil until the consistency is right, it should be quite loose not thick or dry.
• Toss through pasta or use in any recipe where pesto is called for

Alternatively you can use a pestle and mortar to make this, follow the steps above but grind everything in the mortar.

Beef satay skewers with peanut dipping sauce

I know, I know, it's been way too long since I last posted! I'm sorry. After I finished my exams (which I passed, yay!) I just kind of ran out of inspiration. It's not that I haven't been cooking just nothing particularly blog worthy.

A couple of weeks ago I was skimming through the Serious Eats newsletter when I came across a recipe for beef satay. Now I love satay but normally it's made with chicken and the peanut sauce is cooked onto the meat this recipe is different and it instantly grabbed my attention.Unlike the more usual chicken this satay is made with cubes of beef which are marinaded in a mixture of soy and fish sauce with garlic, chili, coriander, onion and a little brown sugar. The marinade alone is unbelievably good, it's salty, sweet and slightly spicy and would make fantastic steaks just simply grilled.
For the satay part of the recipe a peanut sauce is made with peanut butter, chili, garlic, coriander and brown sugar. It makes a wonderful creamy yet spicy sauce to dip the skewers into or pour over the top.Ideally these would be cooked over charcoal for an authentic charred and smoky flavour, when I cooked these it was cold and raining so I just used a very hot griddle which worked well. I served them scattered with chopped coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime juice. Thai Jasmine rice makes a perfect accompaniment.

The recipe can be found here.

Haddock with chorizo, peppers and potatoes

You may remember a few weeks back I wrote about the hamper of foody goodies I won from Unearthed, in amongst the feta, salami and olives was a little tray of mini chorizo sausages which were just crying out to be turned into a dish that was vibrant, colourful and summery. So that's what I did.Foodycat suggested I try pairing the chorizo with squid which sounds like a wonderful combination, unfortunately I didn't have any squid but I did have some Haddock fillets so in keeping with the seafood idea I used those instead.

I've mentioned before how much I like one-pot recipes and this is another on of those, it's a quick and easy recipe that gives fantastic results.

• First I fried the little chorizos until their deep red paprika infused oil began to fill the pan then I added chopped new potatoes, tossed them in the oil and left it to sizzle for a few minutes with the lid on.
  
• While the potatoes and chorizo were cooking I chopped some red and yellow peppers and crushed some garlic, I added these to the pan along with a generous splash of sherry and covered it again for five minutes more.
• When the peppers had softened I added a handful of cherry tomatoes, laid the haddock fillets on top and covered the pan once more.
• Five minutes later it's done! serve with the cooking liquid spooned over the top and some good crusty bread to mop it up.
  

Slow-cooked cottage pie

It's been a long time coming but here it is, my cottage pie recipe!

Although there's no sign of it today I have been confidently assured that spring is no far away, with that in mind I've been cooking up some of my favourite winter dishes before the weather turns back to spring and the time for summer recipes returns.

One of mine (and I think everybodies) favourites has to be cottage pie. My cottage pie is a slight twist from the classic recipe as I used braising steak instead of the usual mince, after slow-cooking the steak for several hours it became so tender it just fell apart and left me with a fantastic rich, meaty stew, the perfect filling for my pie.I really love the crispy crusty bits on top of a cottage pie, to achieve maximum crustiness I always fluff up the top before baking and then flash it under the grill before serving.
Recipe:

For the filling: -

• 400g braising/stewing steak cut into large chunks, seasoned and dusted with flour
• Sunflower or other cooking oil
• 2 medium onions roughly chopped
• A stick of celery finely sliced
• 3 carrots roughly chopped
• A pint of beef stock
• A couple of bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

For the topping: -

• 3 large potatoes peeled
• Milk
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

Method: -

• To prepare the filling first put a large casserole dish on the hob at a medium heat
• Add a little oil and cook the meat until it is well browned
• Add the onions celery and carrots and cook for a minute longer
• Tip in the stock, add the bay leaves and bring to a gentle simmer
• Cover the casserole dish and turn the heat right down, leave it to cook for at least an hour, preferably 2 or more.

• To make the mash topping simply boil the potatoes until tender, drain, add hot milk, butter and seasoning then mash!

• To assemble pour the filling into an oven proof dish
• Spoon the potato on top and fluff up well for extra crustiness
  
• Bake at gas 4 for 1-1 1/2 hours until golden
• If the top isn't crusty enough just stick it under the grill for a minute.
• Serve!
  

Chicken with tomato basil and red pepper sauce

I've often heard it said that the best meals are those that are unplanned and prepared from just what you have in your cupboards and freezer. That was certainly proved true yesterday when I found myself needing to prepare a meal and had nothing planned.I came up with this chicken dish which looked so good I just had to get a photo to post on the blog. Not only is it delicious but it's quick to prepare and only uses one pan which is always a good thing in my book!
Using an oven proof pan I first prepared a sauce made from onions, red pepper, tomatoes, garlic and basil, I buried some big juicy chicken breasts in the sauce making sure they were well smothered then baked them until perfectly cooked, a good handful of grated Parmesan finished the dish perfectly.

Chicken with tomato basil and red pepper sauce:

Ingredients:

• A large white onion roughly chopped
• A large red pepper chopped into dice
• Olive oil
  
• 2-3 Cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
  
• A 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• A large bunch of fresh basil (substitute dried)
• 3-4 Large chicken breasts
• A large handful of grated parmesan
  

Method:

• In an oven proof pan soften the onion and pepper in the olive oil
• Add the garlic and cook for a minute longer
• Add the tin of tomatoes to the pan along with the basil and bring to a gentle simmer
• Bury the chicken breasts in the sauce making sure they are well covered, this will stop them drying out
• Bake the chicken for around half an hour in a medium oven, halfway through cooking scatter over the parmesan.
• Serve with pasta potatoes or rice.
  
• 
  

Rocket risotto with scallops and crispy ham

Scallops seem to be very in vogue at the moment, if you watch Masterchef you'll have noticed that every other dish has scallops in it, not to mention they're on every restaurant menu and in every supermarket too. I didn't understand what all the fuss was about until I tried one at a food show in Birmingham last year, they are possibly the most delicious seafoody thing I've ever eaten! I picked up some perfectly fresh and delicious looking scallops last week, unfortunately they weren't in their shells but you can't win them all.

I wanted to cook a main dish with my scallops rather than the usual starter, I wanted to incorporate ham into the dish too. It's a delicious combination. I settled on making a risotto -nothing fancy, just a basic risotto- stirring through some peppery rocket leaves and serving the fried scallops on top with some crisped up ham.

Black forest ham

Although Parma ham would have been really tasty I used German Black Forest ham, it's similar in texture to Parma ham but has a darker colour and a smoky flavour. Well worth trying if you come across it, it tastes superb!

The risotto was really good way to serve scallops and the ham that I crisped up in a pan complimented the scallops perfectly. My scallop dish repertoire is extremely limited, I'd love some more ideas. How do you cook scallops?

A tribute to Keith Floyd

If you're from the UK and perhaps even if you're not then you'll probably have heard the sad news that Keith Floyd, TV chef, one of my food heroes and all round great guy died on September 14th. He was one of the first people to make cooking shows entertaining rather than just educational, his passion for food, his flamboyance and his willingness to visit unusual places and put himself in strange situations made his programmes unmissable TV. He will be sadly missed.

If you've never seen Keith Floyd then here's a classic Floyd moment.

As a tribute to Keith Floyd I made this Andalucian paella using his recipe. The recipe is quite basic, it's what I would consider to be a traditional recipe.I browned some chicken pieces in a paella pan, added rice which is cooked with onions and peppers in chicken stock for flavour. Then saffron and turmeric were added for both flavour and to give the rice a fantastic golden yellow colour. Just before the rice was cooked I added prawns, mussels, tomatoes and a handful of chopped parsley.Paella is undoubtedly one of my favourite dishes, it's brilliant for sharing if you have friends over. Just put the pan in the middle of the table with lemon quarters for squeezing over and let everyone dig in!

You can find the recipe for Keith Floyd' paella here.

Mediterranean fish stew

I've been cooking up this fantastic fish stew for a while now, it's so delicious I new I'd have to post the recipe but it kept getting eaten before I could take a photo!

I've finally managed to get a shot after cooking this three times in less than a month, thankfully it tastes so good that I could never get bored with eating it.This is one of those dishes that you can mix about a bit, you can use all kinds of vegetables and different types of fish too. I kept my stew quite simple using sweet peppers, celery and fennel, for the fish I used monkfish and cod. There are loads of things you could use such as courgettes, aubergines, or artichokes, for the fish you could use haddock, prawns, halibut, scallops etc. It's up to you...The secret ingredient in this dish is the fennel, it's the perfect partner to the fish and gives the stew a slightly sweet aniseedy backnote. It's flavour is subtle but it makes a big difference to the flavour.I like to serve this with good crusty bread a wedge of lemon, a glass of chilled white wine is a very welcome partner too.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
  
• A large onion, chopped
• A bulb of fennel, finely shredded
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 2 large sweet peppers (yellow or red) chopped into largeish chunks
• A glass of white wine
• A 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• About 500g of fish, chopped into bite-size chunks (cod, haddock, monkfish, prawns, halibut etc)
• A handful of basil leaves, finely chopped (optional)
• A bunch of parsley, finely chopped

Method:

• In a large pan over a medium heat sweat the onion in the olive oil for two or three minutes
• Add the garlic, fennel and peppers to the pan, stir and cook for a few minutes more stirring occasionally
• Pour in the white wine and let it cook for a minute or so
• Add the tomatoes, season with salt then cover and let simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until everything is tender
• Add the fish and basil (if using) stir well and cover, leave for around fives minutes or until the fish is cooked though
• Serve scattered with the parsley with good bread and a squeeze of lemon
  

Tagliatelle with leeks prawns and pine nuts

I'm probably a bit mad but when a friend asked if I wanted to run the Leicester half-marathon with him I didn't give it much thought and just said yes. Well, I can't resist a challenge!

With just one month to go until the big day I've been training hard going on runs of 10 miles and more, yesterday I ran the full 13.1 mile half-marathon distance just to make sure I could actually do it - thankfully I could!

What's all this got to do with food? Well it'll come as no surprise I'm sure that running works up a big appetite, it's particularly important when running or doing any kind of exercise to eat enough carbohydrates. That's why I came up with this dish of Tagliatelle with prawns, leeks and toasted pine nuts, not only is it delicious but it's got plenty of carbs it's healthy and it's really easy to put together.I started by putting a pan of tagliatelle pasta on to cook meanwhile I softened some finely chopped leeks and garlic with the zest of a lemon in a little olive oil. Once the pasta was almost cooked I added chopped tomatoes to the pan of leeks along with some prawns and a dollop of creme fraiche (substitute sour or double/heavy cream). As soon as the tomatoes and prawns had heated through I tossed the pasta and sauce together along with some shredded basil and served it with toasted pine nuts on top.

The sauce was really light and fresh tasting, it was just what I wanted after a long run. If you don't want to use prawns then you could use white crab meat or tuna for a different but no less tasty dish. You could also try adding different vegetables such as peppers or broccoli.

Parmesan crusted chicken with tomato and basil sauce

Right now is probably my favourite time of year, the weather is good (well most of the time), the days are still long(ish) and best of all there is good fresh food in abundance.

I took a trip down to my local market recently to see what looked good and was really spoilt for choice. There were plump and juicy Victoria plums, bright red tomatoes on the vine, lettuces, courgettes, aubergines, peppers, fennel, cherries.... You get the picture.

While I wobbled home from the market having bought far more than I should I came up with an idea for a dish that would use up some of my newly acquired tomatoes. I was going to encrust a chicken fillet in parmesan and serve it with a tomato and basil sauce. Not only did it seem like a great way to use some of the tomatoes I had bought (way too many really) but I knew it would be delicious too!

The first thing I did was made the sauce by gently simmered cherry tomatoes with olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and a little sugar until they were very tender but still holding their shape. To prepare the chicken I bashed the chicken fillets flat with a rolling pin, a fantastic way to releive stress! I cooked the chicken on a lightly oiled very hot griddle pan for a couple of minutes on each side. To serve I put a fillet on each plate, stirred a large handful of roughly torn basil into the sauce then spooned it over the chicken.What I really like about this dish is how quickly it all comes together, it's the perfect after work dish. I'm sure I will be making this reguarly from now on, for as long as I can get beautiful tomatoes from the market anyway...

Spanakopita - A foray into Greek cuisine

Although I really enjoy Greek food I very rarely cook it. Greek food is simple and healthy using fresh vegetables and herbs, fish and meat, it shares many of the characteristics of my favourite cuisine of all -Italian- most notably it's wide use of olives and olive oil.

Clearly something had to be done about my lack of Greek cooking experience, and what better place to start than with one of Greece's most famous dishes, Spanakopita.Spanakopita is a spinach and feta pie made using filo pastry. Filo, meaning leaf or sheet is a type of pastry that unlike other pastries comes in wafer thin sheets which are layered up before being filled and baked. The resulting pastry is very light and wonderfully crispy and crunchy.

Normally I would make my own pastry but when it comes to filo there's no shame in buying it ready made. For the filling I used spinach, feta, spring onions, dill, eggs and a little nutmeg, it's probably not very authentic but hey, it if tastes good...

Ingredients:
A packet of filo pastry
olive oil
A couple of handfuls of spinach blanched, chopped and excess water squeezed out.
A small bunch of dill chopped
2 eggs
2oog feta crumbled
5-6 large spring onions/scallions, chopped
A grating of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Tip: Once you have opened the packet of filo you should keep it covered with a damp tea towel to stop it drying out - it dries out really fast!

• For the filling mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, season and set aside.
• Take a baking dish and lightly brush with olive oil, lay a sheet of filo on top and brush with oil. lay another sheet over the first and continue to layer up. Filo sheet, oil, filo sheet, oil until half the pastry is gone.
• Fill the lined dish with the spinach mixture and top with the remaining pastry brushing each sheet with a little oil as you go.
• Bake at a medium heat about 180c until golden and crispy.
• Serve with buttered new potatoes and steamed vegetables.
  

Salmon steaks with lemon and caper butter sauce

I awoke last Friday morning to find that a large white box had mysteriously appeared on my back doorstep, it took me a while -I was still half asleep- to work out it was the salmon that Able and Cole had sent me to try.Inside the box were two pristine organic salmon steaks surrounded by ice packs to keep them cool. I could tell it was top quality fish the moment I looked at it, the two steaks were perfectly cut and prepared, they looked really fresh too.

When I have ingredients of this quality I like to prepare them simply so as not to mask their flavour. For these steaks I prepared a lemon butter sauce from lemon juice and zest, butter, capers and salt.I gently fried the steaks in a little olive oil, I was worried they might break apart as I cooked them but in the event they held their shape perfectly. The flesh was succulent and tender, the flavour which was mild and delicate was perfectly complimented by the lemon sauce. I served the fish alongside some dill potatoes, quite simply boiled new potatoes tossed with chopped dill and butter.

Overall I was really impressed by the service and the quality from Able and Cole, as sadly few of us have access to a proper fishmonger nowadays it's good to know that it's still possible to buy expertly prepared fish and with the added bonus of it being delivered to your door. My only criticism -and it's only minor- is that for the price it would have been nice if they had cut the steaks a little thicker.

Salmon with lemon butter sauce and dill potatoes

Ingredients:

• 75g Butter
• A shallot or half a small onion very finely chopped
  
• A large juicy lemon, zested and juiced
  
• 2 tbsp chopped capers (rinsed if packed in salt)
• Salt
  
• 1 Salmon steak per person

For the potatoes

• New potatoes
• Butter
  
• Dill finely chopped
  
• Salt

Method:

• First make the sauce. In a small saucepan melt the butter and cook until it just begins to brown at this point add the chopped shallot and lemon zest and mix well.
• Next add the lemon juice and capers to the pan, stir the sauce and taste it should be quite sharp. Season with salt if you think it needs it.
• For the salmon heat a little olive oil or butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Season the steaks on both sides then add to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side turning halfway through cooking. The time will depend on how thick your steaks are so check they are properly cooked before serving, they may take longer or less time than mine did.
  

For the potatoes:

• Boil some new potatoes in salted water until cooked.
• drain and add the butter and dill, mix well and serve.

Serve the salmon steaks with the sauce poured over the top and the potatoes on the side.

Spatchcocked chicken with lemon, thyme and chilli

I cook up a nice roast chicken at least a couple of times a month, it's one of those dishes that never fails to please, unless you're a vegetarian of course. I normally add herbs, spices or marinades to my roast chicken to make it a bit more interesting, lemon and thyme is a good combination, Moroccan spices work well and I have had a lot of success with stuffing bacon under the skin before roasting.

Recently I've been experimenting with a completely different way of preparing the chicken - spatchcocking. Not only is it fun to say it's also a really good way to cook chicken, spatchcocking is a simple method for preparing chicken that results in it being spread out flat.One of the brilliant things about using this technique is that unlike on a conventional roast chicken where the bottom tends to stay pale and soggy, on a spatchcocked chicken all the skin is on top which means you get loads more delicious golden crispy skin when it's done. not only that but it cooks in about half the time of a conventional chicken and it's perfect for the barbecue too!

To prepare a spatchcocked chicken is actually really simple, essentially all you do is turn the bird breast side down and using some good strong scissors cut out the backbone (save the backbone for stock). Turn the bird the right way up again and press down firmly on the breast until you hear a crack and that's it! I said it was simple.

Lemon, thyme and chilli marinade

I came up with this marinade to go with my spatchcocked chicken, it's the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.

Ingredients:

• The zest and juice of 1 lemon
• A large handful of finely chopped fresh thyme
• A heaped teaspoon of flaked dried chillies or a couple of whole red chillies chopped
  
• 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4 tablespoons dark soft brown sugar
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together well then rub all over your chicken, leave for as long as possible, an hour will do but preferably overnight before cooking.

For detailed instructions including photos on how to spatchcock a chicken why not visit Mike at Mike's table HERE. I forgot to take photos of the preparation, sorry!

Home-made beef burgers

There's nothing quite like a good beef burger, fat, juicy and full of flavour. With barbecue season in full swing I thought I would try to convince you just how good burgers can be if you make your own, not only do they taste fantastic but they're a breeze to make too.

All you need to make the most basic of burgers is good quality minced beef, salt and pepper. I like to make mine a little more interesting by adding other flavours to the mix, you could add chilli, herbs, cheese, fried onions etc whatever you like really. For my burgers I used chopped sun-dried tomatoes and basil for an Italian feel then finished them off with some melting mozzarella, trust me, they were good!Once you've chosen your flavours it's just a case of mixing everything well together and using your hands to form them into burgers. I find it helps to leave in the fridge for an hour or so after you've made them as it helps them to firm up and keep their shape, of course if your really desperate you could cook them immediately!

So here are my top tips for making fantastic burgers:

• Use good quality mince/ground beef, you need some fat but not too much so don't buy the really cheap stuff.
• Add plenty of salt and pepper, they really need it.
• Don't add anything to chunky or too wet to the mixture this will cause the beef to break up during cooking and you'll be eating it from a bowl not a bun!
• Get the pan, grill or barbecue searingly hot before you put the burgers on, this will create a caramelised crust on the outside.
• Let the burgers rest in the fridge for an hour or so after you've made them so they can firm up.
  

I hope you'll try making your own, once you do you'll never go back!

Creamy seafood tagliatelle with asparagus

I have managed to achieve something that I never thought was possible. I've crammed so much into my freezer that there really is no more room. At all. It's completely my fault, whenever I see something that's reduced or on promotion I buy it and freeze it for later. The problem is I normally forget all about it then buy more stuff and freeze that too!

The freezer is stuffed with vegetables, meat, homemade stock, Ice cream, bread and a whole draw full of mysterious tubs, bags and packets that are unlabelled and I have no idea what they are!

My challenge this week is to run down the freezer to free up some space. Yesterday I made this creamy seafood tagliatelle using some frozen seafood mix (mussels, crayfish and prawns), I also used some fantastic fresh British asparagus which is optional but I really recommend it.
Considering the cream sauce this is a surprisingly light meal that's perfect for summer, great served with a glass of chilled white wine.

Recipe:(serves four)

Ingredients:

• 350-400g tagliatelle or your favourite pasta
  
• A bunch of fresh asparagus cooked and chopped into halves (optional)
• 2 Small onions or shallots finely chopped
• 2 Cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
• A large glass of dry white wine
• 150ml Sour cream
• 500g mixed cooked seafood (mussels, prawns clams etc)
• A good handful of chopped parsley

Method:

• First bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and begin to cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
• While the pasta is cooking fry the onions and garlic with a good pinch of salt in some olive oil in a large frying pan until just softened.
• Once the onions have softened tip in the white wine, turn up the heat and reduce the wine by half.
• When the wine has reduced down add the cream and mix well, taste the sauce to check the seasoning and correct it if necessary.
• Just before the pasta has cooked add the seafood, asparagus and parsley to the sauce, mix it well and leave for a minute to heat through.
• Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve.
  

Trout with lemon, basil, capers and olives

I love a good bargain, whenever I go to the supermarket I always take a look at the reduced price section to see what's going for a knock down price. Last week I'd obviously timed it just right, there was loads of fresh meat and fish being sold for mere pennies.

Most of my bargain haul went to the freezer to be cooked another day but I kept some whole trout aside, I wanted those for a simple stuffed trout dish. Like all fish dishes this one is quick to cook and simple to prepare, the only tricky part is filleting the fish but even that was a lot easier than I anticipated.

Trout with lemon, basil and olives.

Ingredients (serves four):

• 4 Whole trout, filleted (8 fillets).
• Sea salt and pepper.
• A fresh unwaxed lemon.
• 2 Tablespoons chopped capers.
• A good handful of chopped black olives.
• A large bunch of fresh basil.
• Olive oil
• You will also need some oven-proof string.

Method:

• Lay half four of the trout fillets out on a board and season well.
• In a large grate the zest of the lemon and add the capers olives and tear in the basil. Mix everything together.
• lay the lemon, basil, olive mixture over each trout fillet.
• Place the remaining fillets on top of the others so the filling is in the middle. A kind of trout sandwich.
• Tie each 'sandwich up with the string to make little parcels.
• That's it! bake in the oven on a medium heat for about 25-30 minutes.

It doesn't photograph well but trust me, it tastes good!

Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a traditional Middle Eastern dish of eggs cooked in a tomato and pepper sauce which is often eaten for breakfast served with pita bread for dipping. I don't often cook first thing in the morning -making toast is about as much as I can manage when I've just woken up!- so I made this as a main course instead served with salad and bread.Typically this is made in one large pan on a hob or over a fire, once the sauce is cooked the eggs are broken into it and when they are cooked it is served, I made mine slightly differently. After I'd made the sauce I poured it into individual dishes, I broke an egg over the top of each of them and then finished them in the oven. It might not be the 'proper way' to make shakshouka but it worked really well, the only tricky part was making sure the egg white was cooked but the yolk was still runny!

The recipe is adapted from this one from Riverford Organics which I originally got from a recipe card in our organic fruit and vegetable box.

Shakshouka recipe (Serves: 3-4)

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Onions, Finely chopped
• 4 Cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Yellow pepper, chopped into small-ish chunks
• 1 Red pepper, chopped into small-ish chunks
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• ½ tsp Each cumin and coriander
• 1 Fresh red chilli pepper, Chopped (optional)
• 400g/1 tin Chopped tomatoes
• Sea salt
  
• 3-4 eggs (1 per person)

Method:

• First preheat your oven to gas 4/180c
• While the oven is warming up you can make your sauce. First, I a large frying pan over a medium heat fry your onions until they are softened. (about 5 minutes)
• Add your garlic and chopped peppers to the pan, give everything a good stir and fry for a couple of minutes more.
• Next add your black pepper spices and chilli (if using) to the pan and mix well.
• Pour in the tomatoes, season well with salt and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes - until everything is soft and well cooked.
• That's the sauce made, now pour the sauce into three of four oven proof dishes (if you'd prefer use one large dish)
• Make an indentation in the sauce mixture and break an egg into each one, try not to break the yolk!
• Bake for around ten minutes until the white is firm but the yolk is still soft, it may take less time depending on your oven so keep an eye on them!
• Serve with bread for dipping and enjoy!
  

100% Pure

It was a few months ago now since I first saw Willie Harcourt-Cooze on TV espousing the virtues of real chocolate. Willie is an eccentric entrepreneur from Devon whose aim is to produce the worlds finest chocolate, by hand, from bean to bar.

At the age of just 27 Willie went to Venezuela and bought a 1000 acre farm -as you do- and planted it with 50,000 Criollo Cacao trees, widely regarded as being the best and highest quality strain of cocoa.

A bar of Venezuelan black 100% cacao

Back in the UK Willie set up his factory and began to produce his first bars under the name Venezualan Black. This is chocolate but not as you know it, the bars are made from 100% pure Cacao, they are not at all sweet and are not meant for eating raw. This chocolate is meant to be used as an ingredient, just like you would use garlic or salt and pepper. In fact Willie puts his cacao into just about everything from pasta and chilli to cakes and desserts.

I finally got hold of some of his cacao a few days ago, the bar I bought was described as having "tingly notes of nut and spice" which makes it sound almost like a bottle of wine.

I plumped for a pot of chilli as my first dish to get the cacao treatment, chocolate is a common ingredient in chilli -i'm sure you knew that- so it seemed like a good place to start. I just used my normal chilli recipe but just before serving I added a handful of grated cacao. The effect was quite astounding, the chilli became deeper, darker and richer and gave a complex and interesting flavour.

Chocolate chilli tacos with sour cream and cheese

I'm definitely a cacao convert just a small amount can make a massive improvement to a dish like chilli. The downside is that at £6 a bar this stuff is not cheap for now it will have to remain an ingredient for special occasions.

Willies official website can be found here: http://www.williescacao.com/