Sausage, Mushroom, Bacon & Egg Pie

Serves 8

for the pastry:

250g seeded flour

50g wholemeal flour

200g chilled butter, cut into chunks

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

75 ml chilled water

Salt and Pepper

for the filling:

450g pork sausagemeat

(I use good quality, skinless sausages)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Salt and Pepper

Grate of nutmeg

150g pre-packed sliced button mushrooms

(these are much drier and don't make the pastry soggy)

10 strips of streaky bacon, cut in half

5 large eggs

Milk to glaze

Sesame seeds to sprinkle

1.  To make the pastry, whiz the flour, butter, salt and pepper in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix the ketchup with the water and drizzle into the mix, whilst the motor is running, until it just starts to clump together. Press into a ball, cover in cling film and refrigerate for half an hour.

2.  Roll out two thirds of the dough to about 3 mm thick and use to line a 26-28 cm loose-bottomed flan tin, lined with baking paper.

3.  Mix the sausage, onion, mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg together in a bowl, then spread evenly over the bottom of the pie.

4.  Layer over the sliced mushrooms.

5.  Arrange the bacon slices in a wheelspoke pattern around the pie to completely cover the mushrooms.

6.  Make 4 slight hollows in the top of the filling with the back of a tablespoon, and break an egg into each hollow. Beat the remaining egg with a fork and fill in any gaps between the eggs.

7.  Roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid and press the edges well to seal. Trim the excess pastry. Brush the top of the pie with milk and sprinkle on sesame seeds. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake the pie for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C and bake for a further 30 minutes, until golden brown.

9.  Allow to cool in the flan tin. Serve cold.

Pasta with Tuna, Olives & Garlic Lemon Yoghurt Sauce

Serves 4

300g dried pasta, such as macaroni, penne, shells, etc

300g canned tuna in olive oil, drained*

half a medium onion, diced

30 pitted black olives, halved

2 tbsp butter

2 cups plain Greek yoghurt

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp salt

Zest and juice of a lemon (separate)

Chopped parsley to garnish

*Alternatively, use 2 sliced, poached chicken breasts

1.  Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente.

2.  Meanwhile, fry the onion in a tbsp of butter until opaque but not coloured. Add the tuna, olives and lemon juice, stir well and cover to warm through from the heat of the pan.

3.  Warm the yoghurt slightly in a saucepan. Remove 2 tbsp of warmed yoghurt from the saucepan and stir together with the garlic, salt and lemon zest. Return this mix to the saucepan and stir in.

4.  Drain the pasta and return to saucepan with a tbsp butter. Add onion, tuna & olive mix and stir in. Stir in half the garlic lemon sauce.

5.  Pour the pasta mix into a serving dish, and drizzle with the remaining garlic lemon sauce.  Garnish with chopped parsley.

Turkey, Chorizo & Mushroom Pie with Cheddar Pastry

Despite the long list of ingredients and instructions, this pie is easy to make and tasty with it! The cheddar cheese pastry is delicious!

 Serves 4

CHEESE PASTRY:

120g plain flour

pinch of salt

60g chilled butter

60g mature cheddar cheese, finely grated

1 egg, beaten

FILLING:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 turkey fillet (about 400g), cubed*

150g cured chorizo, picante, sliced**

150g button mushrooms, quartered

1 small onion, chopped

50g butter

2 tbsp plain flour

200 ml cooking cream

100 ml milk

200 ml chicken stock made from whole cube

Salt and white pepper

2 tbsp chopped chives

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 medium egg, beaten

Freshly ground black pepper

* or chicken breast

** or bacon lardons

1.  For the cheddar pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Dip the cold butter into the flour and grate in. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2.  Mix in the cheese, then add the egg a little at a time to just bring the mixture together. Knead lightly, wrap in cling film and refrigerate.

3.  For the filling, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the turkey and chorizo and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring. Remove from the pan and set aside.

4.  Add a little more oil to the pan and fry the onions for 2 or 3 minutes until softened. Add to the turkey mixture.

5.  For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes over a medium heat, stirring constantly.

6.  In a jug, mix the cream, milk, stock, salt and pepper. Pour slowly into the flour mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring.

7.  Stir in the chives and parsley and add the sauce to the turkey mix and stir well. Tip into a deep pie dish and leave to go cold.

8.  Roll out the cheese pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is about 2-3 cm bigger than the top of your pie dish. Lay the pastry on the filling, and tuck the edges down in. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Stab the top with a knife several times for steam to escape.

9.  Bake in a pre-heated oven, 200°C, for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Cold Poached Lemon and Coriander Turkey Fillet

Serves 2

750 ml chicken stock

400g turkey filet, cut into 4

MARINADE:

Juice of 2 large lemons

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 packed tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves/stalks

1 small onion, roughly chopped

100 ml extra virgin olive oil

75 ml sunflower oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

125 ml natural Greek yoghurt

1.  Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan.  Add the turkey pieces and arrange in a single layer. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat and let the turkey pieces cool in the stock.

2.  In a mini mixer, combine the lemon juice, garlic, coriander and onion and whiz until the onion is minced (or mince the onion by hand and finely chop the coriander and blend well with the other ingredients). Pour into a glass jug and add the olive and sunflower oil, sugar, salt and pepper.

3.  Slice the cooled turkey pieces into 1 cm wide strips, put in a shallow glass dish and pour over two-thirds of the marinade. Cover and marinade in the fridge for at least 6 hours (up to 24 hours max).

4.  Mix the remaining marinade with the yoghurt to use as a dressing and keep refrigerated until required.

5.  Drain the marinade off the turkey slices and arrange them on a bed of salad leaves. Dress with the yoghurt dressing.

Whisky-Laced Bread Pudding

Cuts into about 27 slices

500g any leftover bread

(I used white baguette, croissants and brown pittas)

500g mixed dried fruit

(I used sultanas, raisins & chopped apricots)

1½ tablespoons mixed spice

500 ml full fat milk

100 ml whisky

zest of a lemon

2 large eggs, beaten

140g dark muscovado sugar

100g butter, melted

sprinkling of dark muscovado sugar

1.  Tear the bread into chunks and put in a large bowl with the fruit, mixed spice and lemon zest.

2.  Pour in the milk and whisky and scrunch it all up with your fingers to break up the bread.

3.  Add the eggs and sugar and mix well.  Leave to soak for 30 minutes.

4.  Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Butter and line with baking parchment a 20 cm square pyrex-type dish or non-stick tin.

5.  Stir the melted butter into the mix, then transfer to the dish and press down firmly. Sprinkle top with sugar. Cover loosely with tin foil.

6.  Bake for 1½ hrs until firm and golden, removing the tin foil for the last half hour to brown the top.

7.  Turn out of the dish, allow to cool slightly and cut into slices.

This 'n' That Cake

I tend to use what I have in the cupboard, hence the name! 

(This cake has raisins, mixed peel, almond slices, walnuts and a teaspoon of aniseeds in it, and I only managed 200g instead of 300g). 

I've made it in the past with a ready assorted snack bag of Tropical Mix fruit and nuts, which was lovely, and also with mixed glace fruit, finely chopped, and added with almonds. It really is a very versatile and forgiving cake...

Makes an 18 cm (7") cake

200g self-raising flour

pinch of salt

1 heaped tsp ground mixed spice

1 tsp ground cardamom (or ginger, if you fancy)

75g margarine

100g soft brown sugar

300g mixed dried fruit/nuts of your choice

1 medium egg, lightly beaten

125 ml ± milk
Icing sugar to dust

1.  Preheat the oven to 190ºC and well grease an 18 cm (7") cake tin, lining the bottom with greased greaseproof paper.

2.  Sieve together the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl.

3.  Rub the margarine into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

4.  Stir in the sugar and mixed fruit/nuts with a wooden spoon.

5.  Stir in the egg and sufficient milk* so that the mixture will drop from the spoon when shaken. Turn into the prepared tin.

6.  Bake in the oven for 50-60 mins, or until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 5 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool (the one above is a little well done because I forgot about it!).

7.  Dust top with icing sugar.

* How much milk you need depends on the mix of fruit and nuts you use. Add it slowly until you have the right consistency - you may find you need more or less.

Creamy Roasted Onion & Garlic Soup

Caramelised onion & garlic give this soup a wonderfully rich flavour.

Serves 4

3 large Spanish onions, peeled and sliced into 1cm slices

1 bulb of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

1 pt chicken stock

1 heaped tsp dried thyme

25g butter

200 ml milk

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Natural yoghurt to finish

1.  Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

2.  Put the onion slices and garlic cloves in a large casserole dish and add ¾ pt of the stock. Season, sprinkle with thyme, dot with the butter.

3.  Cover the casserole dish with tin foil and its lid to give a tight seal. Roast in the oven for 1½ hours, stirring halfway through.

4.  Remove the casserole from the oven and allow to cool.

5.  Add the remaining stock and blend in a blender or with a stick blender until smooth.

6.  Pour into a saucepan, add the milk and parsley and season to taste. Heat gently for 5 minutes, without boiling, and serve with a swirl of natural yoghurt, if desired.