Hi and welcome to my blog! My name is Karen and I love cooking simple, uncomplicated, flavourful food. My cooking is inspired by seasonal ingredients, punchy flavours, an awareness of sustainability and of course by the likes and dislikes of my family and friends that sit around my table as well as you, the virtual guests around my table!
I am a chef, recipe developer and food stylist and generate my own content. I am also completely addicted to recipe books, of which I have an extremely large collection but the essence of my food is about celebrating life and all the fabulousness that we can add by creating good food.
Thank you for reading my blog. Please keep on giving me feedback and may your kitchen, as mine, be filled with joy and the best tasting food!
375ml milk 190ml desiccated coconut 50g butter, melted 1 egg 125ml flour 250ml caster sugar 125ml lemon curd (you may search my Lemon Curd recipe or simply use store bought) icing sugar for dusting
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and lightly spray 6 individual ramekins. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend together until completely smooth. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and space them apart. Pour the mixture into the ramekins and bake for 20 minutes or until just set. Serve the lemon puddings with a generous dusting of icing sugar.
1 large bunch of green asparagus 80ml cream 5ml wholegrain mustard 5ml flour 2 cloves garlic, minced 2,5ml salt black pepper 80ml Panko breadcrumbs 250ml mature cheddar cheese, grated
Set your oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 200℃. Parboil the asparagus in salted water for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and plunge the asparagus into ice cold water for a minute. Drain on kitchen paper. Arrange the asparagus in a gratin (any ovenproof) dish and set aside. Stir the cream, mustard, flour, garlic and half the grated cheese together and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the asparagus and top with the breadcrumbs and the remaining cheese. Bake for 12 minutes. Increase the oven temperature and grill until golden brown – about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Quarter the quince and then halve each quarter. Peel and cut out the core. Set aside. Add the sugar, water and vanilla to a saucepan set over medium-high heat and stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. Add the quince slices to the poaching liquid and bring the mixture to a simmer. Gently simmer the fruit until it can easily be pierced with a toothpick. Take the saucepan from the heat and allow the quince slices to cool in the liquid completely. Drain the quince and transfer the slices to a 18cm x 28cm ovenproof dish.
For the crumble: Preheat your oven to 180℃. Add the granola, almond meal, cinnamon, sugar and butter to a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. Keep going until the butter is well distributed throughout the mixture. Spread the crumb mixture evenly on the quince slices and bake for 30 minutes. Serve the quince crumble with a scoop of ice cream or yoghurt.
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add the oil to it. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrot and cook for another 3 minutes while stirring every now and then. Turn the heat up and add the beef. Break the meat up with a wooden spoon and stir around until loose and browned from cooking. Sprinkle the flour over the beef and stir through. Add the tomato paste, beef stock, red wine, stock powder, Worcestershire sauce, thyme leaves, bay leaves and salt and pepper. Stir the mixture and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You should now have a reduced, gravy consistency that isn’t watery. Taste the beef and adjust the seasoning according to taste. Spoon the mixture into a 18cm x 28cm ovenproof dish and allow it to cool. If the meat is cool when you add the mashed potato topping, the meat won’t cook through the topping.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan with boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them back to the saucepan. Add the warmed milk and 100g butter and mash the potato until smooth. Season with salt. Spread the mash on the beef and rough up the surface with a fork. Sprinkle the melted butter over and top with a sprinkling of the parmesan. Bake the cottage pie for 30 minutes until it is beautifully golden on top and bubbling on the edges. Serve piping hot.
Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir through to combine. Divide between 6 cups or one large glass jar. Refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours. Take the oats from the refrigerator and spoon out a portion. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Scatter the fresh figs and some mint leaves onto the oats to serve.
Gremolata: 62ml pine nuts (you may replace with sunflower seeds) a big bunch of parsley 2 cloves garlic, peeled the zest of 1 lemon a pinch of salt the juice of 1 lemon 45ml olive oil
Mushrooms: 45ml butter 30ml sunflower oil 500g mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped 15ml thyme leaves salt and pepper
For the Gremolata: Place a large frying pan on medium heat and add the pine nuts to it. Shake the pan over the heat or stir the seeds around with a spoon, until it starts to toast and change colour. Remove the seeds from the pan and set aside. Place the garlic, parsley and half the pine nuts on a chopping board and mince together until finely chopped. Add the lemon zest and a pinch of salt and chop the ingredients together. Scrape the chopped ingredients into a small bowl and add the rest of the pine nuts to it. Now add the lemon juice and olive oil and stir together. Set aside.
For the Polenta: Add the stock and salt to a saucepan set over high heat and bring the stock to a boil. Add the polenta and whisk the mixture together until it has thickened. Take the saucepan from the heat, add the butter and whisk well. Set aside.
For the Mushrooms: Add the butter and oil to a frying pan set over high heat. Add the mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Spoon the polenta into bowls and top with mushrooms and a spoonful of gremolata.
62ml pine nuts (or sunflower seeds) a large bunch of parsley 2 cloves garlic, peeled the zest of 1 lemon a pinch of salt the juice of 1 lemon 45ml olive oil
Place a large frying pan on medium heat and add the pine nuts. Shake the pan over the heat (or stir the seeds around with a spoon) until it starts to toast and change colour. Remove the seeds from the pan immediately and set aside to cool. Place the garlic, parsley and half the pine nuts on a chopping board and chop together until very fine. Add the lemon zest and a pinch of salt and chop again. Scrape the chopped ingredients into a small bowl and add the rest of the pine nuts to it. Now add the lemon juice and olive oil and stir together to blend. Serve the gremolata with rich dishes like oxtail, stew or simply add a bit of zingy crunch to any of your favourite foods.
Pour the chicken stock into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cut the breasts into 5-6 pieces and add it to the stock. Cook the chicken until most of the liquid has evaporated and then break up the cooked chicken pieces with a wooden spoon. Set a frying pan over high heat and add the oil and butter to it. Fry the mushrooms for about 7 minutes, until it has caramelised and has a beautiful golden colour. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the thyme leaves and garlic. Stir around for a minute or so. Now add the cream to the mushrooms and stir through. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the saucepan with the cooked chicken, turn up the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. The meat should now be creamy and fragrant. If you find it has too much liquid, simmer it for a while longer so that the liquid evaporates. Serve the chicken on couscous, rice or quinoa.
This is a rich, thick, dark and indulgent chocolate sauce where the wine is the star of the show. Choose a wine you enjoy drinking … I use a good, full bodied Merlot, but the choice is yours.
750ml red wine (Merlot) 250ml water 10ml vanilla 250ml sugar 2 slices orange peel 2 star anise 4 cloves 1 cinnamon quill 6 firm, ripe pears
Select a saucepan that is large enough for the pears to fir snugly but still be submerged in the liquid, even if they have to lie flat. Add all the ingredients, except the pears, to the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Now peel the pears and gently lower them into the poaching liquid. Turn the heat down to medium-low and poach the pears for 25 minutes. Rotate each pear every 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the fruit to cool in the liquid. Remove the pears from the liquid once it is room temperature. Strain the mixture through a sieve but reserve the poaching liquid.
Chocolate and Red Wine Sauce: 190ml cream 190ml poaching liquid from the pears 15ml cocoa powder 125ml sugar 240g chocolate, chopped 60g butter, cubed a pinch of salt
Add the cream, poaching liquid, sifted cocoa powder and sugar to a small saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer and whisk for 5 minutes while simmering. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate, butter and pinch of salt and whisk until smooth. (If the sauce cools and becomes too thick, thin it down by gently reheating it). Place the pears on a serving dish and pour over some chocolate sauce to serve.
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Add the onion and stir-fry it until translucent. Add the ginger, cinnamon stick, turmeric, coriander, cumin, curry powder and chilli flakes and gently cook the spices for 2 minutes while stirring. Now add the sugar, coconut cream and cashews. Bring the sauce to a simmer and then take it from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and blitz the sauce with a hand blender, until smooth. Place the saucepan back on medium heat and add the butternut and chickpeas. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the butternut is tender but do take care that the sauce doesn’t burn. Stir in the chopped spinach and peas and stir through. Adjust the seasoning according to taste. Garnish the curry with fresh coriander and serve it with jasmine rice.
My Whisk and I 