Vinaigrette: 45ml lemon juice 5ml sesame oil 40ml olive oil a pinch of salt 15ml thyme leaves, chopped
350-400g green beans 10ml sesame seeds, roasted 1 lemon, zest cut into fine strips
Rinse the beans under running water and trim off the ends. Place a large saucepan on the heat, fill it with water and bring to a boil. Add the trimmed beans and cook for exactly 3 minutes. Drain the beans and once again run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. Shake the beans dry and pat with a clean dish towel. Arrange on a serving platter.
For the vinaigrette: Add the lemon juice, sesame oil, olive oil, salt and thyme leaves to a bowl and whisk together.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the beans and garnish with lemon zest, lemon slices and a sprinkling of the sesame seeds.
250ml uncooked lentils 1 onion, chopped 2 large aubergines, cut into small dice 4 cloves of garlic, minced 15ml chopped parsley 200g white bread (about 5 slices) 30g parmesan cheese, grated 10ml salt 2 x 400g tins chopped tomato 5ml salt 45ml sugar 30ml Worcestershire sauce a handful of basil leaves, chopped
Cook the lentils according to packet instructions, drain and set aside to cool. Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place a saucepan on medium heat and add some olive oil to it. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft. Add the diced aubergine, a pinch of salt and another drizzle of olive and stir-fry until really soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Take the mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Break the bread into chunks and add it to a food processor. Whizz to crumbs. Remove 125ml of the crumbs and set aside. Pour the rest of the crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Add the aubergine mixture, lentils, parmesan, parsley, salt and a few grindings of black pepper to the food processor and whizz to a paste. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning. Roll into 18-22 balls, place on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with some olive oil. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until crisp. Add the chopped tomato to a saucepan and add the salt, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer until reduced – about 15 minutes. Turn your oven onto the grill setting. Pour the tomato sauce into an ovenproof dish, place the aubergine balls on top and sprinkle over the reserved bread crumbs. Drizzle with olive oil and grill in the oven for 5 minutes. Sprinkle over the chopped basil and serve on steamed rice.
3 pears 100g blue cheese 50g walnuts 1 x 400g roll of puff pastry egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 15ml water whisked together 60ml mixed fruit jam 45ml boiling water a handful of basil leaves, chopped
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Wash the pears and dry them. Cut a slice from the bottom of each pear so that you have a stable, flat surface. Scoop out the core with a melon baller and set aside. Cut the blue cheese into small pieces and add it to a bowl with the walnuts. Mix together until you have a sticky, messy consistency! Divide the mixture in 3 and stuff it into the pears. Place the pastry on a work surface and cut 3 rounds, more or less the size of the bottom of the pears. Place the pastry over the stuffed opening and then place the pears on the prepared baking sheet. Cut 1cm wide strips from the pastry. Start at the stalk of the pear and wrap the fruit in the pastry strips. Brush with egg wash and bake in the oven until golden – about 20 minutes. Add the fruit jam, boiling water and chopped basil to a small bowl and stir until the jam breaks up into a thin sauce. Serve the pears warm with the sauce on the side.
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place the pastry on a work surface and cut 12 circles with a 7cm diameter biscuit cutter. Place 6 of the circles on the prepared baking sheet. Cut out the centres of the other six circles with a 6cm diameter cutter, wet the edges of the pastry and place on top of the pastry circles. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork and brush the elevated edges with egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cut strips (15cm by 0,5cm) from the remaining pastry and braid three strips together. (You should have 6 of these). Place the braids on the baking sheet and shape them so that they resemble the arch of a baskets handle. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, remove and allow to cool.
For the cream patisserie: Add the corn flour to a large mixing bowl and stir in the 50ml milk. Add the egg yolks and 50g of sugar and whisk together. Set aside. Pour the 450ml milk into a small saucepan and add the other 50g caster sugar to it. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take it from the heat as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edges. Drizzle the warm milk mixture onto the egg mixture while whisking vigorously. Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it on medium-low heat. Stir continuously until thick. Allow to cook for 30 seconds before removing from the heat. Add the vanilla and stir through. Pour the mixture on a dinner plate and then place plastic wrap directly on its surface. Allow to cool completely.
Pipe or spoon the cream patisserie into the pastry baskets and place a few speckled eggs on top. Now dip the handles into the white chocolate and position it on the baskets so that it resembles a handle. Allow to dry/cool before serving.
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Cut an extra piece of baking paper of the same size and keep aside. Lay the pastry on a work surface and cut 7cm diameter circles from it with a biscuit cutter. Place the pastry circles on the baking sheet, cover with the extra sheet of baking paper and place another baking sheet on top. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
For the royal icing: Add the egg white to a mixing bowl and whisk to a froth. Add the sifted icing sugar one spoonful at a time, stirring really well to incorporate. Keep going: add one spoonful of icing, stir for at least 30 seconds, add another spoonful, etc., until all the icing is incorporated or until you have a very stiff mixture. Spoon the royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a 4mm nozzle and pipe a border on each of the pastry discs. Set aside to dry and set. Add a few drops of water to the royal icing – literally two drops at a time -and stir to thin it down to a very thick but spreadable consistency. Drop a teaspoonful into each icing border and spread it out with the back of a teaspoon. Decorate the discs with edible flowers/petals before it sets. Put aside to dry completely.
Add the whipping cream and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk until it forms soft peaks. Add the mascarpone and vanilla and whisk until thick – BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER-WHIP as the mixture will split. Add the raspberries to the mascarpone cream and mix through with a wooden spoon, crushing some of the berries to release the juices.
Spoon the mascarpone cream onto a serving plate and place a pastry disc on top to serve.
2 x 400g rolls of puff pastry 250ml grated Ementhal cheese 310ml cream 4 eggs 250ml frozen peas, defrosted 5ml salt egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 15ml water beaten together
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and spray a 26cm diameter pie dish with cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides of the dish with one of the sheets of pastry. Trim the sides to make it neat and prick the bottom with a fork. Line the pastry with baking paper, weigh it down with rice/beans and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Turn your oven down to 180℃. Add the cheese, cream, eggs, peas, salt and a few grindings of black pepper to a mixing bowl and mix together. Pour the mixture into the baked pastry shell. Place the second roll of puff pastry on a work surface and cut a 27cm diameter circle from it to form the pie’s lid. Decorate the lid with cut-outs from the scrap pastry if you like. Place the pastry lid on the pie and lightly brush with the egg wash. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 50minutes. Start watching the colour of the pastry after 25 minutes or so and place a piece of aluminium foil on top of the pie if it is browning too quickly. Take the pie from the oven, let it stand for 10minutes and serve.
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add the tahini, sesame, miso, soy, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for one minute or so. Add the chicken stock a little at a time, stirring continuously. Keep going until all the stock has been added. Pour in the milk and bring the mixture to a slow simmer. Add the udon noodles, cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the dumplings, place the lid back on and cook on a low heat until warmed through. Scatter over the sesame seeds and chives and drizzle with chilli oil to serve.
12 x 250ml popcorn (about one and a half bags of microwave popcorn) salt (optional) 125ml butter 125ml brown sugar 220g marshmallows
Add the popcorn to a very large mixing bowl and sprinkle over some salt. Set aside. Add the butter and sugar to a saucepan set over medium heat and stir until both the butter and sugar has melted completely. Add the marshmallows and keep moving everything around until you have a thick, runny mixture. Take off the heat and pour over the popcorn. Mix the popcorn until it is evenly covered in the marshmallow mixture. Best eaten when slightly warm but almost as good at room temperature!
1 x 400g roll puff pastry pea shoots or any other soft herbs (you may press them for an hour or so before using but it isn’t necessary) 250g cream cheese, room temperature 250g frozen peas, defrosted 15ml finely chopped mint leaves 15ml finely chopped chives a good pinch of salt
Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Cut an extra sheet of paper and set aside. Place the lined baking sheet on a work surface and unroll the pastry directly onto it. Trim the sides of the pastry so that you have a perfect rectangle. Divide/cut the pastry in half lengthwise. Mark the pastry, in its length, at 6cm intervals, so that you can cut it into rectangular discs. NB: Cut the discs but do not move them apart – the sides will stay straight this way. Lay the pea shoots/herbs all over the pastry and place the extra sheet of baking paper on top. Flip the pastry over (keep it between the baking paper) so that the herbs face down. Refrigerate for one hour. Preheat your oven to 190℃. Add the cream cheese, peas, mint, chives and salt to a bowl and mix together. Set aside. Take the pastry from the refrigerator and place another baking sheet on top of the baking paper. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Spread the pea-cream cheese on to half the pastry rectangles and place another rectangle on top. Serve the pastry slices at room temperature.
500g mashed potato 200g + 120g butter, cubed and very soft 10ml salt 1 egg 500ml flour 10ml baking powder 10ml mild curry powder half a small onion, finely chopped 120g bag of salt and vinegar potato chips, finely crushed
Warm the mashed potato if it is cold. Add the 200g butter and salt to the potato and mix through. Now add the egg and stir until the ingredients are blended. Sift the flour and baking powder over and mix until it comes together in a dough ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Add the 120g butter, curry powder and onion to a small bowl and melt together in the microwave oven. Stir to mix and set aside. Add the finely crushed potato chips to a shallow bowl and set aside. Dust a work surface with flour and roll out the potato dough with a rolling pin. Cut the dough into 1cm x 3cm strips. Dip each strip into the curry mixture and then crumb it in the potato chips. Twist each strip and lay it on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes until golden. Serve the potato twists warm or at room temperature. They are very good with a dip or sweet chilli sauce.
My Whisk and I 