Food In My Home

I love doing tarts like this because they always end up looking so pretty. However I also don't love them as I am rubbish at doing pastry and have no patience when it goes wrong. This one kind of went ok actually, and once it was all finished and cooling I went to suffer in bed and when I emerged my Mum the patisserie fairy had beautifully glazed it. Use whatever sweet pastry recipe you like to make the tart case. The one I use is: 330g plain flour 100g icing sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 180g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 1 egg yolk 2 tbsp cold water Put the flour, icing sugar, and salt into a bowl and add the cold butter. Rub it in with your hands or use a food processor. With both techniques you need to get a coarse breadcrumb consistency, making sure there aren't any big lumps of butter left. Add the egg yolk and water and mix until the dough just comes together, being very careful not to mix any longer than necessary, you may need to add a splash more water if it is s

I have just been down in the country all weekend cooking for a client which is normally quite nice as I get to hang out at home and my Mum always ends up being my washer upper. Unfortunately I was flu ridden this time, and so was she, so I spent a dizzying few days trying to not sneeze in food or pass out from hot flushes. Anyway I managed it in the end and apparently there were many compliments from guests which I am pleased about since I lost all sense of smell and taste and had to use my Dad to check everything. Here is a really easy little canapé I did on Sunday before lunch, nice and fresh and I would say summery but it was raining. makes about 20 6 oz tuna steak (sushi grade) diced into small cubes 1 lime zested and juiced 1 red chilli, diced finely tbsp finely chopped red onion half an avocado diced to same size as tuna finely chopped coriander/mint/basil tiny drizzle of sesame oil drizzle olive oil 1 cucumber Dice up the tuna into small cubes, you want a really nice fresh bit f

This is another delicious Ottolenghi recipe, you could do it as a starter or part of a summery lunch. Serves 6 6 endives, cut in half lengthways 40g unsalted butter 4 tsp caster sugar 50g breadcrumbs 70g parmesan cheese, freshly grated 2 tbsp thyme leaves 120ml whipping cream 12 thin sliced of Serrano ham olive oil for drizzling Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Start by caramelising the endive in batches depending on how many you can fit in a frying pan. Put the butter and sugar in the pan over a high heat until the butter starts to bubble, then place the endive halves into the pan cut side down until they are golden. Remove and place into a lined baking tray, caramelised side up. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Mix the breadcrumbs with the cream, parmesan, thyme some salt and ground pepper. Spoon the mix on top of the endives and top with a slice of the ham. Roast in the oven until golden and the endives feel soft when poked with a knife. Serve hot or warm drizzled with a little oli

This is a really good lazy pudding, you can of course make the brandy snap baskets yourself which are really easy or I got mine at Waitrose because I didn't have time. You could also fill the baskets with ice cream, as its a nice way to serve it without it sliding all over the plate. brandy snap baskets whipping cream or double cream berries All you have to do is whip the cream till just thick enough to spoon and place the berries on top. If you want it sweeter you can add a little icing sugar to the cream or make a berry coulis to pour over.

I have done this starter twice now for lots of people and it has received loads of compliments. It's really summery, even though I think our summer came and went in a week, however if it does decide to come back, feed it to your friends. The courgette, chilli and mint create a really fresh taste and mixed with a bite of smoked salmon and sour cream yum yum yum! serves 4 Fritters 3 courgettes grated 1 egg 25g Plain flour Zest of 1 lemon 1 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped Bunch of mint, leaves picked and sliced Pinch of oregano olive oil Smoked salmon Soured cream Grate the courgette or if your lucky and have a magimix stick it through the grater setting. Lay the grated courgette down on a clean tea towel to absorb any moisture that comes out. Then get together the rest of the ingredients and place in a big bowl. Crack the egg into a bowl and beat till mixed then slowly beat in the flour till its a batter, no problem if there are a few lumps. Mix the courgette in with everythin

I ate this salad the other day and it was so delicious, I'm always looking for interesting new salads and this is one of my new favourites. Its incredibly fresh, crunchy and simple. 3 courgettes, grated 2 fennel bulbs, shaved thinly with a mandolin 2 avocados, diced sunflower seeds 3 lemons, juiced any oil, unflavoured or olive oil salt and pepper Grate the cougettes into a big bowl with the shaved fennel, add the diced avocado and pour over the lemon juice, this is important or the fennel and avocado might start to brown. Season and add oil and stir in seeds then its ready to serve. It's a great side salad otherwise you could have it for dinner with fish on or something.

This is a super simple salad, you hardly have to do anything with it because it's so tasty already. I make it as a salad to go with lots of other things at lunch. Beetroot is one of those superfoods which is supposed to be incredible for you, its a big antioxidant so I always eat it after I've drunk too much, makes me feel like I'm curing myself, and I read somewhere that it makes you skinny too...amazing! 4 raw beetroot peeled and grated, small bunch coriander/parsley, roughly chopped juice of 1 lemon a few glugs of good olive oil, any other oils fine too plenty of sea salt and pepper Peel and grate the beetroot, if you have a magimix you can use the grater setting and it takes seconds. Season and stir in the chopped coriander, oil and lemon juice. Season and you can add anything else you fancy, goats cheese, nuts, seeds to jazz it up.