Preheat your oven to 180℃. Place the chicken in a large oven dish, spacing them so that they aren’t crowded. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mayonnaise, chutney, water and curry powder into a jug and whisk together. Pour over the chicken. Chop half the apricots and sprinkle on the chicken. Cover the oven dish with aluminium foil and place in the oven to cook for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and scatter the rest of the apricots over. Cook the chicken (without the foil) for another 15 minutes. Spoon the liquid over the chicken from time to time. I serve this dish on couscous which is great for absorbing the abundance of sauce. A tomato and basil salad is the perfect pairing for a great weekday dinner!
half an English cucumber, cut into chunks 1 large onion, peeled and quartered 3 cloves of garlic, minced 8 ripe tomatoes, quartered 1 red chilli, chopped 30ml olive oil 80ml apple cider vinegar a bunch of basil leaves, chopped
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz together. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning – it is soooo important! Refrigerate the soup until you want to serve it. Spoon into soup bowls and serve with ice cubes and a fresh crusty bread.
100g pistacchio nuts, roughly chopped about 16 medium figs 50ml honey
For the pastry: Add the butter and sifted icing sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Run the machine until the mixture is well combined and pasty. Add the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Scrape down. Drizzle a few drops of the egg into the bowl with the engine running. Add a few more drops at a time until the mixture comes together. (You may have egg left and that is okay – the less you need the crispier the pastry!) Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap it with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 190℃. You will use a 22cm loose-bottom flan tin but do not spray or butter the tin! Roll the pastry to a 3mm thickness and line the bottom and sides of the tin. Dock the pastry with a fork and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and weights/beans and set aside to cool.
For the Crème Pâtissière: Add the corn flour to a mixing bowl. Pour a small amount of the milk into the owl and stir to make a slurry with the corn flour. Add the egg yolks and half the sugar. Whisk by hand until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside. Pour the rest of the milk and the rest of the sugar into a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take the milk from the heat as soon as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edge of the saucepan. Drizzle the warm mixture onto the egg mixture in a very thin stream while whisking continuously. Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place on a medium-low heat. Stir until the mixture is thick and smooth. Allow to cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and allow to cool completely.
Whisk the mixture by hand once it is at room temperature, until it is smooth. Spoon it into a piping bag and pipe into the prepared pastry shell. Scatter the chopped pistachio evenly over the surface. Cut a cross into the top third of each fig and place the figs side-by-side on the pistachio. Drizzle the honey over the figs before serving.
This recipe makes 12 small desserts or 6 substantial portions, served in glasses or ramekins.
1 x 200g packet of coconut biscuits (Tennis biscuits) 80ml desiccated coconut 1 x 385g can of condensed milk 80ml lemon juice 250g smooth cream cheese, room temperature 250ml fresh cream 2 x large mango, cubed
Break the biscuits into large pieces and place in a plastic bag. Crush them lightly with a rolling pin but keep some texture/not too fine. Add the coconut, mix through and divide amongst 12 serving glasses. Set aside. Pour the condensed milk and lemon juice into a mixing bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until incorporated. Add the cream cheese and mix again on high speed until the mixture is completely smooth. Set aside. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and beat until it forms medium-stiff peaks. Add the cream to the condensed milk mixture and fold through until it is thoroughly blended. Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the glasses and gently tap the glass so that the mixture settles into the crumb. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour. Peel the mango and cut into cubes. Spoon the fruit on top of each cheesecake, sprinkle some coconut shavings on top and serve.
1 roll butter puff pastry egg wash: 1 egg and 15ml water beaten together 3 large tomatoes 3 ripe plums 15 thyme leaves 15ml honey 250g flavoured cream cheese (I used chive flavour)
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Lay the pastry on the baking paper and cut a 1,5cm strip off each side. Brush the pastry with some egg wash and lay the strips onto the pastry border. Prick the inside of the pastry with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut the tomatoes and plums into wedges and place in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with the honey, season with salt and pepper and scatter the thyme leaves over. Brush the entire pastry sheet with the rest of the egg wash. Now spread the cream cheese onto the inside block of the pastry, using the back of a spoon. Arrange half the tomato and plum mix onto the cream cheese. Bake the tart in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the warm tart with the remaining tomato and plums and season once more. Serve slightly warm.
1 x 250 g bottle of cheese spread 150g butter, cubed 6 cloves of garlic, minced 2 red chillies, very finely chopped 250ml grated mozzarella cheese 2 sourdough loafs or baguettes
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Add the cheese spread, butter, garlic and chillies to a small saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir the mixture around while the butter melts. Keep going until amalgamated. Add the grated mozzarella and stir until the cheese has melted and has incorporated into the sauce. Take from the heat. Slice the bread on the diagonal into slices 2cm apart, taking care not to go all the way through to the bottom. Spread the cheese mixture generously between the slices. Wrap the bread in foil. (You may freeze one loaf at this stage). Place the loaf on a baking sheet and put into the oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
500g pasta of your choice 1 x 245g sachet pickled peppers, diced and liquid reserved 500g prawns, deveined 250ml salad cream/creamy mayonnaise 250ml yoghurt 2 big handfuls of basil leaves half an English cucumber, diced
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain. Take the pickled peppers from the sachet and chop. Set the peppers aside. Drizzle the pickling liquid over the warm pasta and stir through. Set aside to cool. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add the prawns and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Add the salad cream, yoghurt and basil leaves to a blender and process until you have a light green dressing. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the pasta, prawns, cucumber, peppers and basil dressing to a large bowl and mix through. Scatter some basil leaves on top and serve.
250g dark chocolate, chopped 250g biscuits, something like ginger biscuits, finger biscuits, Marie biscuits or digestives 100g soft butter 150g caster sugar 3 eggs 30ml vanilla 30ml cocoa powder 75g almond nuts, chopped 75g pecan nuts, chopped 50g pistachio nuts, chopped 30ml icing sugar, sifted, to decorate twine, to decorate
Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water and allow to melt until completely smooth. Set aside to cool. Bash the biscuits in a plastic bag but keep it chunky. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together. Gradually, and one by one, add the eggs – do not worry if it looks as though it has curdled at this stage. Add the vanilla and mix until blended. Sift the cocoa powder into the cooled chocolate and mix through. Now add the chocolate to the egg mixture and mix through on low speed. Take the bowl from the mixer and add the crushed biscuits and all of the nuts. Mix well. Refrigerate the mixture (in the bowl is fine) for about 30 minutes. Cover your working surface with plastic wrap. Roll the mixture into a log shape with your hands until it resembles a fat salami, about 30cm long. Cover the log with the plastic wrap and roll it, as if it were a rolling pin, to create a smooth cylinder. Twist the ends and make a knot. Refrigerate the log for at least 6 hours. Take the salami out of the fridge and lay it on baking paper. Rub some icing sugar over and tie with string to give it an authentic look. Slice into discs to serve.
These marinated eggs are delicious as a healthy snack or added to any asian dish and theeeee perfect companion for a slurpy bowl of noodles!! Serve them as breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between..
Add the water, soy sauce, vinegar and honey to a jug and whisk together to blend the ingredients. Set aside. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Lower the eggs into the boiling water with a spoon and cook for 7 minutes, or to your liking. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice and keep on the side. Transfer the eggs to the ice bowl after the 7 minutes. Once the eggs have cooled enough to handle it is really easy to peel them when kept under the cold water. Place the peeled eggs in a container and pour the marinate over. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours. The eggs must be submerged in the marinade – place a weight on top to keep them covered in the liquid. Remove from the soy mixture, slice and sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs to serve.
The eggs in these photographs were marinated for 24 hours – very dark colour and strong umami taste!!
250g digestive biscuits 100g butter, melted 250ml Cremona (coffee creamer) 1 x 385g tin condensed milk 250ml cream 80ml lemon juice your choice of fresh fruit and/or berries
Place 6 glasses/bowl on a small baking sheet and set aside. (the baking sheet makes it easier to transport the desserts) Place the biscuits in a food processor and process to crumbs. Add the melted butter with the engine running. You want to end up with a mixture that resembles wet sand. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of the mixture into the glasses and divide the rest equally. Press lightly onto the bottoms and place in the refrigerator. Add the Cremona, condensed milk, cream and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk together until you have a very thick mixture. Divide among the serving glasses and place back into the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours or overnight. Take the desserts from the fridge about 20 minutes before you want to serve them. Top with your choice of fresh fruit.
My Whisk and I 