23Jul
Fast Food

Green salad with cherries

July 23, 2015

This salad recipe may seem a bit boring and insignificant, but this recipe is sort of the basic foundation of salads. It will help you learn how to wash, look after and prepare and dress your salads so you can really enjoy them.

You’ll need a selection of freshly picked lettuces such as round lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, watercress, cos lettuce, little gem lettuce, chicory and radicchio (about 4 large handfuls). You’ll also need a jam jar dressing of your choice.

To wash your salad leaves:
When you get your lettuces home, remove the roots and any not-so-nice outside leaves first, then click or tear off the rest of the leaves and give them a good old wash in cold water. Once they’re clean, give them a spin in a salad spinner or shake them dry in a tea towel.

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23Jul
Salads

Squash soup with Parmesan croutons

July 23, 2015

This fantastic soup is best made with varieties of squash that have dense, orange flesh, such as butternut or onion squash. It’s important to use good chicken stock and season the soup well to bring out the nutty, sweet flavour of the squash. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, you can take the soup in different ways by adding pearl barley, dried pasta, or some chopped smoked bacon. Even the smallest amount of dried porcini. PS I made this in my pressure cooker the other day, with really great results – it’s so quick!

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you’ll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.

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17Jul
Fish

New York vanilla cheesecake with blueberries

July 17, 2015

Grease and line a 24cm springform cake tin and preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

Prepare the base. Mix the biscuits and butter in a bowl, press into the base of the tin and cook for 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Turn the oven to 200°C/400ºF/gas 6. Combine the sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Add the cream cheese and beat with an electric whisk until creamy. Add the eggs and beat well. Gradually add the cream, beating until smooth, then beat in the vanilla and zest.

Tip the mixture into the tin, level the surface and sit on a baking sheet and place in the centre of the oven. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the top is browned and the filling set around the edges. A piece of foil over the top will stop it browning too much. Let the cheesecake cool, then put in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

Put the blueberries in a pan, sprinkle over the sugar and add a splash of water. Put on a low-medium heat to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Cool and serve with the cheesecake.

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