Smoked Salmon Parcels with Cucumber Ribbons and Melba Toast

The inspiration for this recipe was a Christmas present, the salmon being the ‘parcel’ and the cucumber strips the ‘ribbons’. Quite rich and very spoily, it made the perfect starter to our Christmas Day feast, and was terribly simple to make too, allowing for optimum present opening time. None of the flavours overpower the salmon, instead complimenting one another, and it looks suitably celebratory on the plate. With Valentine’s Day coming up there really is no excuse not to make this starter, perhaps in heart shaped moulds.

Serves 6

700g high quality smoked salmon slices 

300g creme fraiche

100g cream cheese

1 tbsp finely chopped fennel

1tsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

fresh dill, finely chopped, plus sprigs to decorate

1 lemon, cut into quarters

olive oil, to grease the ramekins

5 slices of white bread

1 cucumber, peeled into ribbons

1. Whizz 200g smoked salmon in a food processor briefly, so that it remains bitty and hasn’t turned to mush. Add the creme fraiche, cream cheese, and whizz briefly again.
2. Put into a bowl and add the fennel, sugar, lemon juice, chopped dill (to taste), salt and pepper.
3. Grease 6 ramekins (which can hold about 100ml of water) with the oil, then line with the remaining salmon.
4. Spoon in the mixture, and then seal by turning over the edges of the salmon, and adding a further piece to ensure there are no gaps.
5. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.
6. To serve, turn out on to plates (they should come out with a little coaxing using a knife), and surround with the cucumber ribbons. Add a dill garnish to the top, and scatter around, and add the lemon quarters. Serve with the melba toasts.

To make the melba toast, toast sliced bread in a toaster, then when it pops up immediately slice the toast again and cut off the crusts. Place in the oven, middle, non toasted side up, and leave until the toast starts to curl and brown. This will take about half an hour, but keep an eye on it!! Carefully remove, and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. 

Healthy Turkey Burgers with Pita, Tzatziki and Salad Leaves

About three years ago I went to university, drank beer and ordered too much takeaway. I started a food blog and became addicted to recipe books and cooking. It was only a matter of time before I needed the intervention of a personal trainer. 

Last week I began a four week programme of exercising with Emily, and a healthy eating plan. Note that this is not a diet, it’s a nutrition plan, which sounds so much more inviting. Well, I’m loving it so far, slightly because I went home this weekend and broke all the rules, but mostly because it tells me to eat more then I usually do. Salads, seeds and oat cakes loom large, but so do lovely fresh vegetables, fruits and protein rich meat and fish. My shopping trolley was looking so good this morning I nearly took a photo of it. I’m not THAT cool though. 

One supper suggestion on the plan is grilled turkey burgers with pita and salad, and the recipe below is my interpretation of the brief. I used extra lean turkey breast mince which contains only two grams of fat, regular lean contains about six, which just don’t cut it I’m afraid. The tzatziki uses low fat Greek yoghurt, and the pita bread is of the extra groovy, crammed with seeds, wholegrain variety. The whole lot’s either grilled or raw. And most importantly, it was delicious and I don’t feel like I’m starving myself. Ben’s even requested it again, the ultimate seal of approval!! 

Serves 2 greedy people, or 4 calorie counters

- For the Burgers -

500g extra lean turkey breast mince

1 onion, peeled and grated

1 garlic clove, crushed

handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

a sprinkle of cayenne pepper

- For Everything Else - 

salad leaves, I’ve used spinach

1 spring onion, chopped

1 tomato, sliced

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

2 small wholemeal pitas, halved

Tzatziki (my recipe can be found here, use low fat Greek yoghurt)

1. Preheat the grill. Mix all the burger ingredients together in a bowl, and shape into four burgers. Grill for approximately 8 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. 
2. Put together all the other ingredients on the serving plate, and serve the burgers on top, with plenty of tzatziki on the side.

Grilled Halloumi with Fresh Tomato and Mint, served on Pita

There are a few things in life that I really can’t stand, late buses, spitting in the street, exams, that sort of thing. The flavour of raw tomato is another... or so I thought. Ben will tell anyone who’ll listen that I’m one of the most pickiest girls in the world, but really I’m not that bad. I do, however, have very particular requirements on a number of things, coffee for example, and now, it would appear, raw tomatoes. Because, for the first time in forever I ate a raw tomato and didn’t screw my face up at it. Brilliant. Well not quite, the special requirement is that it’s a firm, bright red Greek tomato, preferably eaten next to a pool or by the beach. I had hoped that any old tomato would do, but like good coffee, the alternative really doesn’t come close. 

The tomato in this recipe, I’m sad to say, didn’t quite meet my exacting standards, but I’m pretty sure anyone normal would like it just fine, and placed alongside all the other ingredients this dish is a real treat, simple to make and gorgeously vibrant in colour. 

Serves One as a lunch, or Two as a starter

8 thick slices of Halloumi

half a firm tasty tomato, cut into 8 slices

2 tsp dried oregano

1-2 Pita breads

small handful of fresh mint leaves

a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Place the halloumi slices onto a baking tray or griddle pan (depending on which you have) and sprinkle with oregano and a little olive oil. Grill, or griddle, until golden brown. 
2. To assemble, place a heated pita in the centre of the plate, and alternate the tomato and halloumi, creating a fan effect around the bread. 
3. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with mint leaves. 

Herby Lamb Burgers with Beetroot Mayo and Goats Cheese

It seems beetroot is having a bit of a moment in my kitchen. Having not really incorporated it into recipes previously, the earthy flavour and vibrant colour of beetroot is sneaking in to salads, risottos and now burgers too. As with the Beetroot Risotto I made a few weeks back, here the beetroot mayonnaise is accompanied by goats cheese. Like lemon and meringue, pork and sage, lamb and rosemary, goats cheese and beetroot really do compliment one another perfectly, and in this instance they both compliment my lovely homemade herby lamb burgers perfectly too.

A bit more interesting then your regular ketchup or barbecue sauce accompaniment, a dollop of this beetroot mayonnaise on your burger tastes great and looks stunning too. Served with some spicy sweet potato wedges and you’ve got yourself one of the most colourful and pretty plates of food out there.

Serves 4

Pack of lamb mince, about 400g

1 red onion, half grated, half thinly sliced

handful roughly chopped mint

2 tsp dried oregano

a good glug of Lea and Perrins

salt and pepper

olive oil

3 tbsp low fat mayonnaise

2 cooked beetroot (from a vacuum pack), finely chopped

goats cheese (either a soft roll to spread or the kind with the hard skin to slice)

4 burger rolls, halved

salad leaves and fries to serve

1. Mix the lamb, grated onion, mint, oregano, lea and perrins and some salt and pepper in a bowl, and form into 4 burgers.
2. Prepare the beetroot mayo by mixing the beetroot and mayonnaise together in a bowl.
3. Heat a large frying pan until hot, rub the burgers with olive oil (as you would a steak) and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes on each side, or until they are cooked through.
4. To assemble the burgers, spread the goats cheese on to each inside of the burger rolls (or place slices on to the inside of the rolls), place the burger on the bottom half of the rolls, add a handful of salad leaves if you wish, then a dollop of beetroot mayo, and a few slices of onion. Top off with the top of the roll and serve. 

Dough Balls with Garlic Butter

I am of the opinion that if you go to Pizza Express for dinner, its pretty much the unwritten rule that you order the dough balls with garlic butter to start. Ben on the other hand thinks that, along with a pizza, this equals dough overload, and by the time I actually get to the main I’m pretty much full. Now this may be true, but he really can’t deny that dough balls are wonderful, especially with copious amounts of garlicky butter (or even Nutella).

So on Saturday night we found ourselves in dough heaven/hell, depending on your dough stance, with some big Hawaiian pizzas and plenty of dough balls to go with. Yum. I served mine with the King of all garlic butters, which consisted of not one but two cloves of raw crushed garlic. If you’re not so keen on the zing of a lot of garlic, and don’t want to repel all those within a 1 mile radius, perhaps opt for a more conservative one clove..

Makes enough for 2 greedy people

200g strong white bread flour

¾ tsp instant yeast from the tub

¾ tsp salt

¾ tbsp olive oil

a large wedge of softened butter

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

1. Preheat the oven to 240C. Put the flour in a large bowl, and stir in the yeast and salt using a wooden spoon. Make a well in the centre and add 150ml of warm water and the olive oil. Bring together with the spoon until you have a fairly wet dough.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for around 5 minutes until smooth. You can leave the dough to rise under a tea towel in the bowl, but this is not essential.
3. Roll the dough into evenly sized balls and place on a baking tray. Place in the oven on the top shelf and bake for around 15 to 20 minutes, until the balls have puffed up and browned.
4. Meanwhile, soften the butter further with two forks in a small bowl before adding the crushed garlic and mixing.
5. Serve hot.

Nutella Brioche and Butter Pudding

I first made this dessert by mistake, at the humble age of 11 or so. Back in the first few years of senior school I was lucky enough to have Food Technology lessons; we shared kitchens in pairs and got to eat everything we made. Obviously I didn’t realise how great they were at the time, but in hind sight, and in the knowledge of how difficult it is to find evening cookery courses (that aren’t either too academic, extortionately priced, or about cupcakes) I really wish I had made the most of them. Each week we were given an ingredients list for the following lessons recipe, and each week I would lose it in the bottom of my satchel until around about 5 pm the night before said lesson. On one such occasion the only kind of bread available in the grocery shop down the road was brioche… and so the Brioche and Butter Pudding was born. 

I remember Mrs Grist, the scary FT teacher, being infinitely impressed with my (read my mums) cleverness at substituting brioche for bread, and this happy accident became a firm favourite in my household.

The sweetness that the brioche brings to the pudding is complimented by a generous amount of Nutella, which melts all over the bread. Delicious. So quick and simple to make, I serve mine with double cream, custard or ice cream.

Serves 4 to 6

Loaf of Brioche, sliced and cut into triangles

Lots of Nutella

1 egg

half a pint of milk

1 tbsp caster sugar

handful of raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Spread the Nutella on each slice of brioche and arrange in a greased tin or pyrex dish, sprinkling over raisins on each layer. 
2. Mix the milk and sugar, then add the egg and beat until all mixed together. Pour mixture over the brioche, ensuring that the bread is soaked with the liquid. Cook in the oven for half an hour, until the pudding is nicely browned on top.

An Indian Feast

Last Bonfire Night, I hosted an Indian themed supper. Each guest brought a dish, and I made chutneys and onion bhajis. It went so well that I decided to recreate the feast again this week, but this time I made everything myself, including three curries, chutneys, raita, bhajis and naan bread. As you can imagine I was pretty exhausted after a good four hours of cooking - I think I chopped 12 onions, 12!!

All the recipes came from the wonderful BBC Food and Good Food websites, except for the main chicken tikka curry which is a Gordon Ramsay creation, originally found by my lovely friend Maddy. The best thing about these recipes is that they can all be made up ahead and reheated, saving time, energy and hob space later.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I doubled up the Chicken Tikka recipe to serve 6 people with leftovers. I started by making the sauce and blending it, then leaving it to one side, before reheating it just before serving and adding the browned chicken pieces which I allowed to infuse in the sauce for about 10 minutes or so. This curry has a good red colour, creamy texture and a deep flavour, with just a hint of spice that should appeal to even the most chilli fearing of friends.

Spiced Paneer and Tomato Curry

I’m a big fan of paneer, an Indian cheese similar to halloumi, and the Spiced Paneer and Tomato Curry I made was sympathetic to its delicate flavour. Again the spice level was more warming hint then blast.

Chickpea and Spinach Curry

The final curry I made was a Chickpea and Spinach number, Ben’s favourite, which made for a bit of colour on the table, and also could be described as healthy (mainly because it was green). I made the entirety of the curry up ahead, except for the addition of the spinach, which I added to the warmed sauce to wilt, about 15 minutes before serving.

The mix for the onion bhajis was again made up ahead, except for the flour, which was added to the onion, egg and spices just before frying. Once fried, I popped the bhajis in a Pyrex dish and placed them in the oven, on a low heat, to keep them warm until I was ready to serve.

Onion Bhajis, Raita and Naan

I can’t take all the credit for the feast though. Ben did make the Naan breads. He followed this Madhur Jaffery recipe, and cooked them on a slightly oiled pan on the hob rather then in the oven. They puffed up perfectly, and made for a sweet and fluffy accompaniment to the meal.

Alongside all this I served my trusty coriander chutney with the addition of a little natural yoghurt to create a smoother consistency, and cucumber and mint raita to cool everything down.

Phew, I’m exhausted just recounting it all to you here, but I’m pleased to say the meal went down very well, and six people managed to eat almost all of the different curries, which had been meant to make 16 portions!!

Soda Bread

By the time you read this I will have jetted off on holiday to Turkey. I’ve never visited the country before and am of course very excited to sample the food, hopefully I will have some lovely foody photos and perhaps a recipe or two to share with you on my return. In the meantime, I thought I ought to share with you a couple of recipes I managed to fit in before flying on the 27^th, so as not to abandon the blog completely for half a month!!

This soda bread is the laziest loaf I’ve ever made. I think the aim is to have as little contact with the dough as possible, great for those who don’t like to knead, so it’s therefore best to mix the ingredients in a magimix. After that, just place the extremely sticky dough on oiled baking parchment and bake in the oven for half an hour. The lovely, slightly sweet, and very rustic looking (!) loaf is great toasted with butter.

From Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic

250g plain white flour

250g plain wholemeal flour

100g porridge oats

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

25g butter, in pieces

500ml buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Oil a baking sheet with flour. Place the flours, salt, oats and bicarbonate of soda into the food processor. Add the butter and mix until rubbed in.
2. Add the buttermilk through the funnel whilst the machine is running, until everything is thoroughly mixed (but not over mixed).
3. Bring the dough together lightly and handle gently. Place on the baking sheet and shape to a round loaf, about 20cm in diameter. Make a deep cross in the top with a sharp knife.
4. Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, tap the base of the loaf to check its cooked through, it should sound hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Culinary Know How: SECOND YEAR

Budget: UNDER £3

Kitchen Requirements: FOOD PROCESSOR, BAKING SHEET, SHARP KNIFE, COOLING RACK.

Banana Bread

I always remember making banana bread with my dad when I was little. I used to love the stuff, but surprisingly haven’t tried making it for years. Ben hates bananas, but he was brave enough to give this ago and absolutely loved it. The bread came out really sweet, with just the right hint of banana, nothing too overpowering. It’s also brilliantly simple. If you have an electric mixer you can knock up the batter in under ten minutes, and it doesn’t take too much longer to mix it all up by hand.

From Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights

Makes one loaf

75g soft butter

4 ripe bananas

200g soft brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

170g plain white flour

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line 23x13x6cm loaf tin with a loaf liner or grease with some extra butter.
2. Mash the bananas in a big mixing bowl. Add the butter, egg, sugar, vanilla extract, bicarbonate of soda, salt and mix in the flour last. Pour into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £4

Kitchen Requirements: LOAF TIN, LARGE MIXING BOWL.

Rosemary and Sea Salt Foccacia

I’ve been neglecting the blog this week because of a horrible cold, and haven’t felt like cooking anything too adventurous. Hopefully this week will be better, and I’ve started as I mean to go on with a rosemary and sea salt foccacia. The recipe starts out in the same way as the other bread recipe that I have followed, and uses most of the same ingredients, except for the addition of sea salt and rosemary. However, it manages to have a wholly different consistency after the kneading, and different texture after it’s baked. We devoured half of it still warm dipped in olive oil as a tasty snack.

The recipe is from Lorraine Pascale’s excellent BBC 2 program ‘Baking Made Easy’, and can be found here.

Culinary Know How: 2^ND YEAR

Budget: UNDER £5

Kitchen Requirements: LARGE MIXING BOWL, BAKING TRAY.

Simple White Bread

This is the proudest I’ve ever been of anything I’ve cooked so far. I followed a simple recipe, but I was still amazed that it turned out so well. The recipe was so quick and easy, apart from the two hours resting (I never knew bread was so lazy), and the need for me to google the term ‘knocking back’ (punch the dough a bit and knead it some more). The results were great, a soft, light and fluffy interior, a slightly crusty shell, and the smell, not only of the bread itself but the smell that permeated through the flat, was delicious. Totting up what I spent on the flour and yeast, and working out how many loaves I can make with the ingredients was almost as big a surprise as the fact I managed to make the bread, each loaf costs roughly 40p, a greatly different figure to what I usually spend on the generic loaf packed with preservatives at the supermarket. If the economic and taste factors have still not swayed you, remember that the hands on time is less then 20 minutes and the rest of the time is resting and baking, so there really is no excuse. I’m going to try and make a loaf every Sunday from now on, and if you’re still not converted then try it for your self and expect to savour the results. The recipe can be found on the BBC Good Food website.

Culinary Know How: NO LONGER IN HALLS

Budget: UNDER £2

Kitchen Requirements: BAKING TRAY, BAKING PARCHMENT, LARGE MIXING BOWL, SEIVE.