Aztec Soup

This is a strange looking but very tasty soup. The original version also contains fried tortillas but it doesn't work very well with the ones you can get in the UK. You should be able to be able to get Pasilla chillis from large supermarkets or specialist shops. The chillis give the soup an excellent flavour and are not very spicy and do not need to be eaten.

1 litre stock
4 tomatoes
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp coriander/parsley
sunflower oil

To serve:
cream (to taste)
cheese (to taste)
2 ripe avocados
2 dried pasilla chillis

Make a few cuts on the skin with a sharp knife then plunge the tomatoes whole into boiling water. After a few minutes their skins should start to become loose. Drain the tomatoes, remove the skin and chop finely. Cut the chilis into large pieces and rehydrate in warm water - I find they are easier to cut with scissors than with a knife. Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in the oil until they start to go brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the stock, herbs and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins. Then liquidize the soup - it should be quite thin. Once the soup has been liquidized, return it to the pan and add the chopped and soaked chillis along with any liquid. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the cheese and avocado into small cubes and place into bowls. Pour the soup into the bowls and top with a small amount of cream.

Prawns Thermador

This recipe is based on the famous lobster dish. Serve with lots of crusty white bread or mash potato to soak up the juices. Serves 2.

100g large raw prawns
1 large pack spinach
150ml cream
50g gruyere/cheddar
1 tsp mustard
salt/pepper
nutmeg
butter

Remove the head and shell of the prawns. Cook the prawns in simmering water until they are pink. Heat the cream with most of the grated cheese, mustard and salt. Once the cream is hot add the prawns. Meanwhile wilt the spinach and them cut it up and add some butter, nutmeg and seasoning. Place spinach at the bottom of an oven dish, cover with prawn/cream mixture and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. Grill until the cheese is melted and slightly brown.

Spanakopita

I'm on a bit of a pie role at the moment... but I couldn't leave this one out! This is my version of Spanakopita, a greek spinach and feta pie. If you don't have any feta you could also use another white cheese such as ricotta, although it will have a different texture and taste. This pie is a bit dry on its own so goes well with a chunky red pepper and tomato sauce. Also, don't try reheating it in the microwave and the pastry goes all soggy. I find a metal pie dish gets better results with the pastry but you can use ceramic one too. This pie will feed about 4-5 people.

1 pack filo pastry
large bag spinach
1/2 pack feta cheese
2 tbsp cream (optional)
1 egg
1 onion (chopped)
salt/pepper
nutmeg
butter

Fry the onion and cool. Cut the feta into cubes and mix with the onions, beaten eggs and seasoning. You can also add the cream here if you like. Wilt the spinach and make sure it is drained of excess water. Cut up the spinach and mix it into the feta and egg mixture. Brush the pie dish with butter and line with two layers of filo pastry making sure the sheets overlap the edge of the dish. Pour in the filling and bring the flaps that overhang the dish back over to cover the filling. Use another sheet or so of pastry to cover the pie completely. You can crunch up the final sheets of pastry to make it make an uneven texture, this will make it more crunchy when cooked. Brush the pie with melted butter and bake at 200 degrees C for about 30-45 mins until the pastry is cooked and golden.

Easy Apple Tart

As the name suggests, this is a sweet version of the pie above, and equally as tasty.

3 large apples
1 pack puff pastry
10g butter (melted)
sugar
cinnamon
egg or milk

Peel the apples and remove the core.  Cut in half and then into thin slices like you see in a 'tarte au pomme'.  Arrange the slices of apples overlapping in lines leaving a margin around the edge.  Sprinkle with caster sugar, cinnamon and drizzle with melted butter. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg or milk. Bake in the oven until the pastry is cooked and golden around the edges (see packet for details).

Easy Tomato Tart

6 large ripe tomatoes
1 pack puff pastry
olive oil
oregano
salt/pepper
milk or egg

Slice the ripe tomatoes and lay them overlapping in vertical lines on a large piece of rolled out puff pastry, leaving an inch border around the edge. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg or milk. Bake in the oven until the pastry is cooked and golden around the edges (see packet for details).

Pie Ideas

Ever find yourself with some left over pastry and wonder what you could put in it, on it, or under it to make it into a pie? Here are a few ideas that could be done with puff, shortcrust or filo pastry:

• broccoli and Stilton
  
• roasted squash and feta
• tomato and pesto
• caramelised onion and talegio
  
• caramelised red onion and goats cheese
• fried leek with Camembert
  

Spicy Rice

This is a side dish just known in my family as 'spicy rice', it makes an excellent alternative to white rice and can be combined with many dishes.

16 floz basmati rice
1 pt vegetable stock
1/2 onion (very finely chopped)
1 clove garlic
1 red chili (finely chopped)
1 tbsp garam masala
salt
fresh coriander (chopped)

Wash and soak the rice for at least 20 mins, then drain for half and hour. Heat the oil and fry the onions until they start to go brown. Add garlic, chili, salt and rice and stir so the rice is coated evenly. Add the stock and garam masala and bring to the boil. Once it boils, turn down the heat and simmer gently until all the water is absorped. This should take about 20 mins. Use a fork to separate the grains before serving with the fresh coriander.

Homemade Veggie Burgers

This is a variation on a recipe from Ainsley's BBQ bible - don't worry, you don't need to BBQ them. I tend to cook a whole pack of chickpeas in the pressure cooker and make a lot burgers at once, and freeze them, but you can use tinned chickpeas instead for a smaller batch. I also like to serve them in cheesy baps and serve with salsa chipotle a mexican chili sauce.

1 onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
2 courgettes (finely diced)
3 carrots (grated)
14oz cooked chickpeas
3oz breadcrumbs
2 tsp curry paste or a combination of ground turmeric, cumin and coriander.
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 egg yolk
handfull of fresh parsley/coriander (chopped)
salt/pepper

To serve:
mayonaise
ketchup
lettuce
sliced tomato
red onion
cheesy baps or ciabatta x 4
salsa chipotle (optional)

Fry onion and garlic until soft. Add the carrot and courgettes and fry for another 5 mins. Leave to cool. Blend the chickpeas with the remaining ingredients. Mix in the vegetables and season. Shape into 4 burgers, cover and chill for an hour or so. Brush with oil and grill on both sides until golden. Meanwhile split the baps and toast them on both sides. Assemble the burgers and begin the feast.

Macaroni Cheese

This is no ordinary macaroni cheese. Forget lumpy white sauce... This recipe is one my mum had, I don't know where she got it from, but it's definitely worth passing on. Serves 2.

200g macaroni
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
squirt of tomato paste
thyme (dried or fresh)
100g Gruyère cheese (grated)
1 egg yolk
butter or olive oil
salt/pepper

Cook the macaroni according to the packet. Meanwhile, fry the onion and garlic with the thyme for about 5 mins until soft. Towards the end of the frying add the tomato paste and stir in. Once the pasta is cooked, add to the onions with the grated cheese and egg yolk and stir quickly. This allows the cheese to melt. Season to taste. Serve with a green salad.

Bubonic Birthday Carrot Cake

This is a carrot cake with a story to tell.... Luis made me this cake for my birthday.

After an exasperating afternoon, in which he went four times to the shops to get ingredients, Luis accidentally mistook the black food colouring for vanilla essence, and hence the bubonic carrot cake was born. This is a really good recipe if you like dense cakes like me. In fact, despite it being a rather unappetising colour, the cake went down very well at the party.

The recipe is adapted from the CakeBaker website, the only difference being Luis used butter instead of oil because he didn't think it looked very nice, and of course the food colouring.

Bakewell Tart

Pastry:
250g plain flour
150g butter
2 pinches salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
100g icing sugar
30g ground almond
1 egg
200g chickpeas/beans (for baking only)

Filling:
1 jar cherry jam
3 eggs
115g caster sugar
115g unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp brandy
115g ground almonds
some flaked almonds for decoration

Make the pastry by rubbing in the butter to the flour. Add vanilla, icing sugar and ground almonds. Add egg and mix well to form a soft dough. Do not overwork. Shape into a ball and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Cut out a circle of greaseproof paper sightly larger than the 20cm tart case with a removable base you are going to use. Roll out the pastry and line the tart case. If it is not non-stick then you will need to line or butter it. Cover the pastry with the paper and cover with raw chickpeas or beans to weigh down the pastry. Preheat the over to 180 degrees C and bake the pastry for 20 mins. The remove the paper and the beans and continue to bake for 7 mins longer. The pastry will be golden. Let the pastry cool.

Prepare the filling by beating the sugar and the eggs together. Melt the butter and add to the egg mixture. Mix well and stir in the vanilla and brandy. Fold in the almonds. Spread the jam evenly over the pastry case. I recommend the St Dalfour cherry jam as it has no added sugar and whole cherries. Pour the filling on top. Sprinkle with flaked almond and bake for about 30 mins at 180 degrees C in the centre of the oven.

Cajun Salmon with Asparagus Couscous

2 salmon fillets
1 cup vegetable/fish stock
1 cup couscous
1 bunch asparagus
juice of 1 lemon
cajun spice mix
garlic (chopped)
olive oil

Serves 2. Boil 1 cup stock in a saucepan then turn off the heat. Add the couscous leave for a few minutes with the saucepan lid on. Separate the couscous grains with a fork. In the meantime, cut the asparagus into about 4 pieces and steam until tender. Cover the salmon fillets in cajun spices and grill on both sides until cooked through. Mix the chopped garlic with lemon juice and olive oil, add to the couscous with the cooked asparagus and serve with the salmon fillet.

NB: you could also put other vegetables such as red pepper or leeks instead of asparagus.

Linguine with Smoked Salmon and Leeks

1 medium onion
1 leek
1 clove of garlic
1 glass white wine
100g smoked salmon (trimmings work well)
1 small pot single cream

200g pasta (serves 2)

Finely chop garlic and onions and fry in olive oil for about 5 mins. Add leek and fry until soft. Then add the wine and simmer until most of the wine has evapourated. Add the salmon (cut into pieces if not using trimmings) and cook until it goes light pink, then add the cream and heat through to reduce slightly. Season to taste.

Meanwhile cook the pasta. Linguine works well, but any pasta is fine really.

Serve with generous amounts of grated parmasan. Enjoy.