250g spaghetti 45ml olive oil 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 spring onion, finely sliced 2 tins of shredded tuna, drained 1 lemon, zest and juice 125ml sour cream 30ml capers, roughly chopped 30ml chopped parsley 15ml chopped chives parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and keep it in the pot too stay warm. Place a large pan over medium heat, add the oil and wait for it to heat up. Add the garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Now add the tuna, lemon zest and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the cream and cook for 1 minute. Add the spaghetti, capers, parsley and chives and stir until the spaghetti is well coated in the sauce. Grate over a generous amount of parmesan cheese and stir through. Now grate over some more parmesan, stir again and serve.
45ml butter 30ml olive oil 4 leeks, washed and sliced in coins 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato 15ml sugar 5ml salt 500ml vegetable stock 60ml cream a handful of basil leaves
Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the butter and olive oil. Add the leeks and cook, stirring often, until just before the leaks start to caramelise. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the tomato, sugar, salt and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Blitz the soup with an immersion blender until smooth and place it back on a medium-high heat. Pour in the cream and simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Scatter over the basil leaves and serve with toasted cheese sandwiches.
Dough: 330ml warm/tepid water 5ml salt 5ml sugar 10ml instant yeast 750ml bread flour
Filling: about 350g cooked, ground beef 250ml grated mozzarella cheese a handful of basil leaves
For the dough: Add the water, salt, sugar and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir the mixture together until the sugar has dissolved and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Add the bread flour and mix on low speed to form a dough. Turn the speed up to medium and mix/knead for 5 minutes. You will be left with a soft but slightly sticky dough. Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 240℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Dust a work surface with flour and divide the dough into 6 portions. Roll out each piece of dough to form an oval. Place the dough ovals on the baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Top the dough with mozzarella and a few spoons of beef, but keep a 1cm border on the edges. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling and pinch the ends together to form a boat shape. Bake for 13 minutes. Scatter over the basil leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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.
My Whisk and I 