Fig, rocket and basil salad with goats cheese and prosciutto

This is the most simple salad to make and the combination of the basil, goats cheese, fig and prosciutto is amazing.

Another nice thing to do is turn it into a canape by quartering the figs, putting a small dollop of goats cheese on, season, add a basil leaf and wrap in prosciutto.

serves 5/6 as a Starter

1 bag Rocket
2 tubs of soft goats cheese/goats curd
1 Bunch of Basil
1 pack of Prosciutto/Parma ham
10 Figs

For the dressing I just make a basic vinaigrette with a little bit of mustard, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. And for the final touch you can either buy a bottle of balsamic reduction or make it yourself by boiling it in a pan until it becomes thicker, but still runny enough to squeeze through a bottle.
Then do a swirl over and around the salad.

River cafe polenta, almond and lemon cake

This week has been a bit up and down with the weather, lots of rain and then an absolute scorcher yesterday in the 30˚s. Yesterday was an especially good day because not only did I get a little bit less pasty but I also stood up on my surfboard about 10 times!! I did almost die about twice getting absolutely smashed by waves and ended up with my hair looking a bit like a loo brush but very happy!! Since the weather has been crappy I made a huge cake, and I think this could be my newest most favourite cake I have ever made. I have been trawling through my River cafe books and there is so much amazing stuff so since I have all kinds of great ingredients on my door step I am going to go nuts and try loads this month. Serves 12 450g unsalted butter, softened 450g caster sugar 450g ground almonds 2 teaspoons good vanilla essence 6 free range eggs zest of 4 lemons juice of 1 lemon 225g polenta flour or fine semolina 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon of salt Preheat the oven to ...

I remember my first ever falafel, I was eighteen. I imagine not many people would remember something like that, but given that I was fresh from the Dorset countryside and there weren't many opportunities to try new food, I remember it! Maybe it was actually more memorable because of the epic shock I had when my head was blown off by the spiciest sauce ever! After a bit of swearing, sweating and a running nose I recovered and went back to my normal routine of ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Unfortunately I worked minutes away from Mustafas falafel van on Portobello and my workmate and now fellow hippy food friend Philly loved them, she dragged me back and under strict instructions Mustafa was banned from the bottle of spicy sauce. Anyway end of my story is that it turned out falafels are pretty damn good once you can taste them, and if your ever hungry on Portobello go and give them a try! This recipe is from Green Kitchen Stories which is one of my new favourite blogs, it...

Smoked trout pate

I have been in the Loire Valley for the last three weeks working for a lovely family with four kids, there has been lots of spaghetti on the walls, wine drinking, chocolatey faces and bum pinching from a certain naughty four year old. We are staying in a big Chateaux and my bedroom in in a turret so I am now calling myself Rapunzel, although no french men have been at my window trying to climb up my hair yet! Here is a nice little recipe from Jamie Oliver for smoked trout pate which I have been doing as a little addition to summer lunches. So unbelievably easy to make, just mix in a bowl or chuck into a magimix for a smoother pate. serves 6-8 125g cream cheese 2-3 heaped teaspoons jarred horseradish 1 lemon small bunch of chives finely chopped 125g hot smoked trout or salmon, skin removed sea salt and pepper Mix the cream cheese with the horseradish, zest from the lemon and half of the juice. Mix in most of the fresh chives just leaving a few to sprinkle on the top when you serve it. S...

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