Sage Buttered Mushrooms on Toast

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I'd like to say that breakfast is my favourite meal of the day but if I'm honest this is only really true on days off. Nothing beats a lazy start to the day with a cup of tea in hand and a cooked breakfast on your plate. This breakfast takes around 15 minutes to put together and will make your stomach, and you incredibly happy. January is tough enough as it is, and starving yourself isn't going to make it any easier. We all deserve a treat once in a while, and this is particularly true after a week of work.

Serves 1 but can easily be doubled, tripled etc
You will need-

• 1 free range egg
• 2 portobello mushrooms, stalks removed
• A few slices of your favourite bread
• A knob of butter
• 1/2 tbsp sage
• 1 clove garlic

Pre-heat grill to medium high. Melt the butter in a small pan and add the sage leaves. Cook on a medium heat until the butter is lightly brown. Brush over the underside of the mushrooms, setting a little aside and then place them under the grill and cook till their tender. Whilst the mushrooms are cooking place your egg in a small pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 2 minutes before draining and running under a cold tap before peeling. When the mushrooms are almost done toast your bread then rub with the garlic. Place the mushrooms on top of the bread and top with the egg. Drizzle with remaining sage butter, salt, pepper and a little truffle oil if you have some.

Black Pudding Scotch Eggs

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I have a bit of a confession to make. I only tried my first scotch egg about a year ago. Up until then I always thought they we're pretty horrid and avoided them like the plague. In my defence, the only scotch eggs I ever got exposed to were ones bought in supermarkets that looked pale and uninviting. 

My first scotch egg was with black pudding and after my first bite I was determined to have a go at making my own. When Jo and I were menu planning for the Childhood Memories Supper Club I knew we had to sneak this in. Scotch eggs are good fun to make and I think something everyone should have a go at. Because we were serving these cut into wedges we cooked the eggs for a little longer but if you would prefer a runnier yolk I'd suggest boiling them for no more than 6 minutes.

You will need-

• 6 medium eggs - plus an extra 1 or 2 for the batter
• 250g black pudding
• 125g sausage meat
• A few sprigs thyme
• 1 tsp chopped sage, preferably fresh
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt & Pepper
• Plain flour
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Vegetable Oil

Begin by bringing a large pan of water to the boil and then gently lower the eggs in and simmer for 7 minutes. Once the 7 minutes are up remove to a bowl of ice cold water to stop them cooking any further. Once cool very gently peel the egg shells off and put the eggs to one side.

Put the pudding and sausage meat with the thyme, sage, paprika, cayenne, salt & pepper together in a bowl and give it a really good mix. You could, at this stage fry a little piece off to check the seasoning and add more herbs/spice if you fancy. Split the mixture off into 6 balls.

Prepare 2 squares of cling film and place one of the balls of pudding mixture in the centre. Now place the other piece on top before flattening out till its no more than 1/2cm thick. Remove the top layer of cling fim and place the egg in the centre. Bring the cling film up and around the egg. Tear off any excess meat and then using the cling film smooth over any edges or creases. Set to one side and repeat with the rest of the eggs. 

Place the sunflower oil into a large, heavy based pan and put on a medium high heat.

Set out 3 plates with the flour, beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs. Its important to keep one hand dry if you don't want to get covered in breadcrumbs and flour (like the 3rd photo down!) Firstly roll the egg in flour then dip in the egg mixture. Next cover with breadcrumbs before returning back into the egg and then finally back into the breadcrumbs.

If you have any left over meat simply roll into small balls and repeat the same instructions for the batter & frying.

To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a couple of breadcrumbs into it. They should sizzle and start to turn golden pretty quickly. Its important to only fry one egg at a time so as not to risk the oil overflowing. Gently lower the egg in and turn after a minute or when golden underneath. Continue frying till its a lovely golden colour all over then remove onto some kitchen paper to drain.

Leave to cool slightly before slicing into quarters. These should keep in an airtight box for 3 or 4 days in the fridge.

Sundried Tomato, Roasted Pepper & Spinach Lollipops

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At the last Plate Lickers Supper Club we served a selection of canapés which included these lollipops. They are super straight forward to make and are great if you have some entertaining to do. They would make a great treat for Halloween and fireworks night too. Just be sure to call them Catherine wheels instead! Kids and grown ups are sure to love them.

You will need-
Makes approx 30

• 1 block of puff pastry
• 280g frozen spinach- defrosted, water squeezed out and finely chopped
• 40g sundried tomatoes, patted dry and finely chopped
• 40g roasted red peppers, finely chopped
• 140g mayonaise
• 60g freshly grated parmesan or other hard cheese
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1tsp onion powder
• Wooden lollipop sticks

To start, mix together the spinach, tomatoes, red peppers, mayonaise, parmesan, garlic & onion powder and then season to your taste. Next, cut the puff pastry in half so you are left with 2 rectangle pieces.

On a floured surface, roll out one of the pastry blocks so it measures roughly 25x30cm. Spread evenly with half of the mixture leaving a 1cm thick edge on the long side furthest from you.

Wet the edge you have left with a little water and then roll the pastry up tightly. Wrap in clingfilm and then repeat with the 2nd piece of pastry. When they are both wrapped in clingfilm, place them in the freeze for at least 30 minutes (these can be left in freezer for up to 3 months). Then, when you are ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 180C. Take the cling film off the rolls and cut about 1/2cm off both ends (you can bake these as your tasters). Cut 1cm thick discs and place on a lined baking tray.

With a sharp knife, cut a small incision into the roll and carefully insert a lollipop stick. Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes or till lightly golden and puffed up. These are equally delicious hot or at room temperature.

Indian Scrambled Eggs on Naan Bread

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I should begin by saying I am all for eating breakfast for lunch & dinner. I am also up for dinner that can be thrown together and be ready to eat in under 10 minutes. I would recommend trying to track down a good quality naan bread, I used a garlic & coriander one from Sainsbury's but you could always make your own if you fancied the challenge. I would have photographed the whole process but the meal was finished in a flash, almost as fast as we both scoffed it down!

Serves 2
You will need-

• A drizzle of olive oil
• 1/2 green or red chilli, deseeded & finely diced
• 1cm square ginger, grated or finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander plus extra for serving
• 1 tomato, peeled and cubed
• 4 eggs, beaten lightly
• 2 Naan breads

Preheat your oven to 180C and then get a frying pan with the oil in on a medium high heat. Whilst the frying pan is heating place the naan bread in the oven. Add the chilli, ginger, spring onions, cumin, turmeric, salt & pepper to the pan and fry for a 5 minutes before adding the coriander & tomato. Give everything a good stir and cook for another minute before adding the egg. Keep stirring the egg and take off the heat as soon as they're cooked. This shouldn't take more than about 2 minutes. To serve, spoon the egg mixture onto the naan bread and top with some more coriander.
Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am!

White Courgette Pizza with Feta, Mint & Chilli

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The other night I had the best intensions to make a nice healthy dinner of the courgette soup I posted a few weeks ago (here) but my stomach growls told me that I needed something naughtier, a bit more indulgent. This is where this pizza was born. Cream cheese is used as the base of this pizza with a crunchy layer of courgettes, a kick from the chilli, creaminess from the feta & freshness from the mint & lime. Its safe to say we both went back for seconds.


You will need-
Pizza Dough- this recipe makes enough for 2 large pizzas so why not use the rest for this fried dough or double the toppings to make enough for 4 people.

• 500g strong white bread flour or Tipo '00' Flour
• 1/2 tbsp fine sea salt
• 7g sachet of dried yeast
• 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 325ml luke warm water

Topping- enough for 1 large pizza which will happily feed 2.

• 1/2 tub cream cheese
• Garlic salt
• 1 large courgette cut into really thin discs, you could use a mandolin here
• 1/2 red chilli, seeds removed and chopped finely
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 block feta
• A small handful of mint
• Wedge of lime

To make the pizza dough combine the yeast, sugar, olive oil and water in a jug and leave for 5 minutes. In a large bowl combine the flour and salt and then make a well in the centre then pour the liquid in. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix the flour mixture in till it all starts to come together. This can be done in a food mixture with a dough hook attached or a bread maker. Knead the dough on a floured surface till its smoothy and springy. Then place in a floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place till it has double in size.


When your dough is almost ready turn your oven on to 220C and place your baking tray or pizza stone if you have one in. When it has heated up roll your pizza out to the size of your baking tray. Dust the tray with plenty of flour and then transfer the rolled out pizza onto it. 

Now its time to get assembling. Spread with the cream cheese leaving a small border all the way round then lightly dust with garlic salt. Next lay out the slices of courgette so they cover the cream cheese then sprinkle with the chilli & pepper. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven. The pizza shouldn't take more than about 5 minutes to cook so keep a close eye on it. Its ready when the edges are golden brown and the courgette is just cooked.

To serve, crumble the feta over and spread with the torn mint before squeezing a wedge of lime over the pizza. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and serve right away.

Roasted Pork Belly

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After the success of the pork belly and gooseberry relish at the last Plate Lickers supper club Jo I and decided to share the recipes (Jo recently posted the recipe for the gooseberry relish which you can read here). We ended up using 8.5kg of Dingley Dell pork belly and 3 bottles of wine for our supper club and despite it being the course we were most nervous about, it was definitely the star of the night. The butchers at Andrew Northrops on Mill Road we so helpful. They advised us on how to get the best crackling, the juiciest meat & how much meat we would need to feed 30. 

We decided to keep the meat on the bone as this was the best way to ensure it would stay nice & moist. They told us that to get good crackling you need to make sure that the skin is really dry. The meat you normally buy in supermarkets is shrink-wrapped so it tends to be quite wet, but at Northrops they they always hang theirs which means the skin gets a chance to dry out. They also suggested that before salting the skin to slightly dampen your hands and pat the skin gently so that the salt had something to stick to. If you do this, make sure not to add too much salt as it will end up forming a crust across the skin. One last tip is to ask your butcher very nicely to score the skin for you (and also to remove the nipples!) This takes them seconds and will save you a lot of work trying to do it with a knife at home.

We used the basis of an Ottolenghi recipe for the pork but scaled it up to feed 30. The recipe can be found in the Ottolenghi Cookbook. The trick is to fill the baking dish with wine really carefully so you don't get any on the skin then to start the pork off on a really high temperature before turning it down ever hour till its  perfectly cooked and falling off the bone. I am really looking forward to recreating this with a smaller piece for a sunday lunch soon. I very luckily have a little of the gooseberry relish hiding in my fridge so I really need to get roasting before its all gone!

Courgette & Mint Soup

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This soup makes a fantastic quick, healthy and tasty lunch or dinner and is so easy to make too. The mint and lime bring a lovely freshness whilst the courgette and feta bring the creaminess. Its definitely worth making a double, triple or even quadruple batch and freezing it for a rainy day. Its all done in 1 pan so the washing up is minimal and the only special kit you need is a stick blender which you can get for cheap in most supermarkets. This is the perfect summery soup, but if you're in England I recommend googling photos of sunshine and clear blue skies as I think we've all forgotten what those look like!

You will need-

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 red chilli, finely chopped
• 500g courgette
• Salt & Pepper
• 300ml water
• 2 wedges of lime
• Small handful of fresh mint, roughly chopped
• Feta cheese

Put a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the oil. After a few minutes add the garlic and chilli and cook for a minute. Now add the courgette and simmer for 20 minutes or till they are really soft. Add the water, half of the mint & season well. Simmer for another 10 minutes then remove from the heat and leave to stand for a minute or 2. 

Carefully blitz the soup till smooth and adjust the seasoning if needed before adding the lime to taste. Serve in bowls topped with the remaining mint and some crumbled feta cheese.

Enjoy x

Ricotta Gnocchi Part 2

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I first posted a recipe for ricotta dumplings last year (here) after seeing them on the Two Greedy Italians and fell in love with them immediately. Recently I helped out Ursula Ferringo with one of her demonstration supper clubs where she made Ricotta Gnocchi. I loved her technique of very lightly mixing the ingredients till they just came together and then spooning rough balls of them rather than rolling into perfect cylinders. This way they hold all the delicious flavours of your sauce so much better. In this recipe I use all fresh ingredients but they would be amazing served with the tomato sauce from the other gnocchi recipe. 

This is another one of those dinners that come together so quickly. The other day I got in from work and had these ready in just 5 minutes, before heading outside to enjoy them in the sun, with a nice glass of white wine.

Serves 2

You will need-

• 150g ricotta cheese
• 43g Italian 00 flour
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 large egg yolk
• Salt & Pepper
• A small pinch of grated nutmeg

And the rest...

• A handful of wild rocket
• 1 clove garlic, crushed - leave this out if you're not a fan of raw garlic
• 1/2 chilli deseeded and finely chopped
• A small handful of freshly grated parmesan
• Salt & Pepper

In a bowl mix together all of your ingredients until they just come together. Using a tea spoon scoop out small mounds onto a plate and place in the freezer for a few minutes. If you weren't in a rush then you could just place them in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes. You could of course make these in advance and just keep them in the fridge till you needed them.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and then add your gnocchi. As soon as they start rising to the top remove them onto a plate with a slotted spoon.

Mix gently with the rocket, garlic, chilli, parmesan, salt & pepper and a drizzle of olive oil then eat straight away.

Butternut Squash Pita, a Bosnian recipe

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Pita like I've talked about before on my spinach pita recipe is a Bosnian filo pastry pie that I was brought up on. This butternut squash filling is a slightly different take on the original. Pumpkin pita is made but butternut squash isn't normally used. Personally I prefer the butternut to a regular pumpkin because of its sweetness. 

For the Plate Lickers Eastern European supper club I made this as a little appetiser but it is equally great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is delicious straight out of the oven but I quite like it at room temperature or even cold so it was make a great addition to any picnic this summer. Once you get the knack of rolling they are pretty quick to make and can be kept in the fridge for upto about 4 days. I have also made them way in advance before and frozen them before baking. Then the night before I needed them, moved them into the fridge and baked them in the morning. 

Pita is really great to make for kids as they can hold it in their hand and it doesn't make a mess. I will try to get the other recipes up but if you wanted to make just a cheese pita all you would need to do is leave the squash out and use a whole pack of feta.

You will need 

• A pack of filo pastry (don't use frozen) 
• 3 eggs 
• 600ml cottage cheese 
• 300ml creme fraiche 
• 1/2 pack of feta cheese (100g), grated 
• 1 small or 1/2 large butternut squash peeled and diced into small cubes 
• Salt & Pepper 
• Olive oil 

Begin by preheating your oven to 180C then lighly oil some baking trays. I use a mixture of small ones that have a little lip around them (the Mermaid brand do some great ones and I always see them in TK Maxx for quite cheap)

In a large bowl whisk together your eggs and then add the cottage cheese, creme fraiche, feta,squash and season. Mix everything well and then set to one side.

Next, unroll the filo and depending on the size cut in half or quarters. I like mine to be about 25 x 15cm, although this size is completely approximate. I do also sometimes make them even smaller which I did for the supper club. For the size of pita I normally do, you need a tablespoon of filling for each. Spread it roughly over the whole sheet then fold over the top and bottom till they meet in the middle.

Now just very loosely roll it up and place, crease side down in your tray. Keep going till you have used all the mixture and filo up. You can freeze any left over mixture for next time.

Once you have filled all your trays, brush the pita lightly with some olive oil and then bake for around 20 to 30 minutes or until the pita is golden and crispy around the edges.

Wild Country Organics & Baked Stuffed Courgette Flowers

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For a while now I have heard about 'the leaf man' on the Cambridge market on Sundays. But with working most Sundays and being a hermit on those that I've been off I haven't had a chance to explore for myself. I finally made it there this weekend and I wasn't disappointed. As well as the more standard salad leaves, wild rocket, sorrel etc they sell Asian leaves like tatsoi and shiso. I found some beautiful cavolo nero kale which I have been after for such a long time (I have only been able to find curly kale in the supermarket) and courgette flowers which I have wanted to have a go at cooking with for a very long time. 

Everything they sell is grown to soil association organic standards in Great Abington, just south of Cambridge. Great for those who want to cook with some slightly more unusual leaves whilst still eating local. The chap on the stall was extremely helpful and recommended ways of cooking with the ingredients. I ended up buying a huge bag of kale and a box of courgette flowers for an extremely reasonable £3.50. I can't recommend paying them a visit enough.

This recipe was inspired by the guy on the market but I added a few ingredients. Courgette flowers are normally fried but firstly I wanted to make something a little healthier and also frying things is always a little frightening at home.

Stuffed Courgette Flowers
Makes 4

• 4 Courgette Flowers
• 100g ricotta
• Grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 tbsp toasted pine nuts, chopped coarsely
• 3 basil leaves, roughly chopped
• Salt & Pepper

Begin by preheating your oven to 180C. Combine the ricotta, lemon zest, pine nuts, basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Gently open up the courgette flowers and stuff them with the ricotta filling then carefully seal them back up. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.

Serve straight away.

They are on the Cambridge market every sunday. To find out more details about Wild Country and to find out about their pitches in London check out their website www.wildco.co.uk

Chicken & Tortilla Soup

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Sometimes the best cure for a rainy day is a big bowl of chicken soup. This soup is a more exciting take on a staple and is sure to warm you up and bring you out of the gloom a grey day can bring. Whilst eating, just close your eyes and think of Mexico. You'll soon forget all about April & its showers.

This soup is deliciously fresh whilst still being hearty and the crunchy tortilla strips are better than croutons in my opinion. If you want to make it vegetarian/vegan, just switch the shredded chicken for some cooked black beans and the stock for vegetable stock. 

Serves 2

You will need-

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

• 1 chicken breast or 4 mini fillets
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red chilli, sliced (and deeseed if you don't want it to be too hot)
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 litre hot chicken stock
• 1 tortilla
• 1/3 cup frozen sweetcorn
• 1 avocado, stone removed, peel & sliced thinly
• Handful of coriander
• 2 lime wedges

Begin by tossing your chicken in a little olive oil, salt & pepper and place in an oven preheated at 180C for around 20 minutes.

Whilst the chicken is cooking, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan and gently saute the onion, chilli & garlic till soft. Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Now pour in the chicken stock, season and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

Once your chicken is cooked, leave it to cool for a few minutes, then shred with your fingers and place in your soup bowls.

Now heat some oil in a frying pan and cut your tortilla into strips. Fry on both sides till golden and then drain on some kitchen paper.

5 minutes before the soup is ready add the sweetcorn and continue to simmer. When the 20 minutes are up spoon it into the bowls, top with the avocado, tortilla, coriander and the lime wedges. Serve straight away.

Baked Eggs with Garlic Yogurt & Sage Butter

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Yesterday morning I was craving something a little different for breakfast, I have to admit the last few weeks I haven't veered very far from peanut butter on toast so a treat was in order. After a quick scan around my kitchen I decided on baked eggs. This takes no more than 15 minutes to put together and is so tasty that you'll wish you'd made seconds. (It was so good that we had it for breakfast again this morning)

Serves 2

You will need-

• 2 free range eggs
• 1 & 1/2 blocks of frozen spinach (or a large handful of fresh spinach cooked in a little oil till wilted)
• 3 tbsp yogurt
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 sage leaves chopped

Start by preheating your oven to 150C then place your frozen spinach in a small saucepan and defrost over a medium heat- this can also be done in the microwave. Once the spinach has defrosted, drain away any water and then add a little drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Line your ramekins with a layer of the spinach and then crack the egg on top. Place the ramekin on a baking tray and place in the oven. Cook for 12 minutes or till the egg white has set.

Whilst the eggs are cooking combine the yogurt with the garlic, season with a little salt and put to one side.

In a small saucepan melted the butter over a medium heat and cook till it starts to foam. Add the paprika and give it a swirl then continue cooking for a few more minutes. Finally add the sage and cook for another minute or so before taking it off the heat.

Once the eggs have come out of the oven spoon the yogurt over and drizzle with the butter. Serve with bread soldiers or baked strips of tortilla. Eat with a spoon of just dunk your bread straight in.