Nectarine and goat's cheese tart

This was supposed to be made with figs, not nectarines, but my local supermarket is quite tempremental when it comes to fruit and vegetable stock. Nectarines actually worked quite well, and we not nearly as sweet as you'd think. There's a lot of contrasting flavours in here and it packs quite a punch. Best served with boiled potatoes (I sprinkled mine with some fresh thyme) and baby spinach salad leaves. This is just so easy to make and it looks great. Not the lightest meal in the world though.



Nectarine and goat's cheese tart

Serves 2

Takes 30 minutes if you're snappy with your timing


1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry or around 220g cut off of a block

125g soft goat's cheese

2 nectarines

A jar of ready made olive tapenade (black is best)

A handful of cherry tomatoes, around 10 will do

Beaten egg or milk to brush over the pastry - optional. I'm too lazy.


* Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan) and roll out the puff pastry, if needed.

* Score the edges of the pastry to form a crust, then spread a couple of tablespoons of tapenade inside the filling area.

* Slice the nectarines and arrange onto the tapenade.

* Crumble the goat's cheese into any bare areas, then plop the tomatoes down where you can.

* If you wish, brush the crust with egg/milk, which will make the pastry nice and golden and crisp when it rises.

* Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes - it's really best to keep an eye on it here. There's a fine line between well cooked puff pastry and burnt puff pastry!

Gnocchi Al Forno

A baked gnocchi dish adapted from a recipe I collected at Waitrose. With the spinach and broccoli it gives a green, healthy hit and the tomatoes offset that nicely with their salty tang. You could use another creamy cheese if you don't fancy ricotta and add another strong cheese on top instead of Parmesan.


Gnocchi Al Forno

Serves 4

Takes around 30-35 minutes


400g chopped spinach (frozen is ideal)

800g gnocchi

250g ricotta cheese

A crown of broccoli

Several sun-dried tomatoes to taste

A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn

4 tbsp breadcrumbs

4 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper


* Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Chop the broccoli into florets and defrost the spinach. If not using frozen, then wilt the spinach gently then whizz in a blender. Frozen is easier though!

* Boil the broccoli for 1 minute, then add the gnocchi and boil for 2 more minutes, then drain.

* In the meantime mix together the ricotta, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and 1 tbsp of the Parmesan.

* In a large, oven-proof dish mix the spinach mix with the gnocchi and broccoli and smooth down. Season with the salt and black pepper.

* Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the rest of the Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Fennel and lemon risotto & easy pasta bake

First up is the fennel and lemon risotto.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1089640/fennel-and-lemon-risotto

Now, I'm not a big risotto fan (overexposure as the veggie option in restaurants), but I have to admit this was delicious. The wine gave it a very strong tang; if you omit it you will have to really make the effort to add more flavour elsewhere. The fennel was lovely and buttery and imparted a flavour that synergised well with the lemon; that scented, fresh flavour that makes this a very summery dish.

I served it as recommended with shaves of parmesan, which I think is a must. My gripe is that without any sides, this wasn't a very big dish. I compensated a bit the second time by adding more rice and stock, and luckily my second fennel bulb was a bit bigger. Oh and I can't stand zesting lemons, but there's really no way around it; it's the zest that adds the real lemony hit.

Overall a very good recipe, one that I would make again if I can be bothered to zest!



Secondly, the cheesy broccoli pasta bake.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1094665/cheesy-broccoli-pasta-bake

I messed around quite a bit with the recipe, making it with the white sauce I usually make and adding some sweetcorn because I didn't think just the broccoli was enough veg. There's nothing much else to say about it really, it's a standard pasta bake. It can be rather bland if the sauce isn't tasty enough, so really make sure there's plenty of garlic, mustard and herbs in there. I even chucked in some old parmesan I had.

I put in the broccoli raw and it cooked just about enough but still a bit crunchy. I like it like that, but if you don't then boil it first. I also added herby breadcrumbs under the cheese topping.

It was ok, but I prefer making my pasta bakes with tomato based sauces.

Mozzarella, tomato and olive puff pastry tarts

I'm back from holiday now and can cook what I want! These tarts are so simple, tasty and look amazing. A good piece for if you're cooking for others. I've listed the ingredients on a per tart basis, to make it easier to scale up. These are quite large and I can only fit 2 comfortably on a baking tray.


Mozzarella, tomato and olive puff pastry tarts

For 1 tart

All in all time taken was around half an hour


1 medium tomato

Half a ball of mozzarella

125g puff pastry (I used 1/4 of a block of Jus roll all-butter puff)

Olive tapenade or sliced olives (Your choice of type, I used kalamata tapenade)

A few basil leaves to sprinkle on top

Optional - egg or milk to brush the edges

Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan ovens)


* Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until nice and thin and vaguely a squat rectangle shape

* Score a rectangle inside the edges; this is where your crust will puff up at the edge of the filling

* Spread/lay the tapenade/olives inside the scored area

* Slice the tomato and mozzarella and lay these down in an alternating pattern on top of the olives

* Sprinkle some basil leaves on top. If you want, brush the edges with egg or milk

* Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden

I served this with minted new potatoes and a salad. Yummy!

Quorn Lasagne

Another baked pasta favourite. This is the quorn version (I sometimes also have spinach, ricotta and mushroom) and is very simple to make and reasonably good for you.


Quorn Lasagne


Serves a very generous 4

Total time to prepare and cook: around 45 minutes


500g Quorn mince

2 x 450g tins of flavoured tomatoes (i.e. with herbs or garlic in) OR 2 jars of similar-sized ready-made pasta sauce

2 peppers (I used orange and yellow)

Grated cheese enough to sprinkle over the top

Lasagne sheets - I can't say how many as there are so many different sizes and different sizes of baking tins/dishes. I use Waitrose fresh ones, 1 packet.

For the white sauce:

2 pints (1.1L) of milk

4 tbsp flour

1 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat over to 200C


* Make the white sauce as per recipe shown in this blog

* Cook the peppers, mince and tomato sauce mix for 10 minutes over a moderately high heat

* Layer the lasagne sheets with the mince and white sauce in a baking dish, remembering to keep some white sauce spare for the topping

* On top of the last layer of pasta, pour a good amount of white sauce to cover and then sprinkle with the cheese

* Bake for up to 30 minutes, checking to make sure the cheese doesn't burn!

Macaroni Cheese

My favourite food from childhood, I used to get fed this as a baby. It's perfect comfort food, and the way this one is done is a little less heavy than most other recipes you'd find. Use your favourite cheese on the top; i used Gruyere for a punchy flavour with a relatively small amount.


Macaroni cheese


Serves 4

Preparation time 30 - 40 mins


2 pint/ 1.1L milk

2 tbsp plain flour

65g Parmesan or similar cheese

Grated cheese for sprinkling on top

250g macaroni pasta

A generous teaspoon of pureed garlic - optional

A couple of bay leaves - optional

Dried bread crumbs - optional

Preheat oven to 200C


* Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water for 8-10 mins, or 2 mins less than the packet recommends

* Make the white sauce (See my white sauce recipe!) and mix in the parmesan and optional extras once the sauce has boiled.

* Put the pasta into an ovenproof dish and pour the sauce on top (I added a layer of tinned sweetcorn for some veggies)

* Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly on top (and the breadcrumbs, if using)

* Bake for up to 10 - 15 mins, best to keep an eye on it and make sure it isn't getting too dry or burnt.

* You could stick it under the grill afterwards fr an extra couple of minutes for extra crispiness

Home baked beans

A rich, warming and ultimately quite healthy meal (if you ignore the sugar content) which is light enough to be followed by a dessert (less healthy). There are probably hundreds of recipes telling you how to bake your own beans, but this is one I liked. Cooking time varies enormously according to what equipment you use. I didn’t have the preferred casserole dish with a lid, so that cut the cooking time down by at least half. Also note that as well as being sweet, it’s also quite acidic due to the concentrated tomato. But don’t let that put you off too much – it’s delicious!

Home baked beans

Serves 4
Cooking time varies a lot – done my way it took 1.5 hours


2 x 400g tins of borlotti beans, drained

300ml passata (sieved tomatoes)

450ml vegetable stock

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tbsp molasses/black treacle

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp sun dried tomato paste (optional)

2 generous tsp of dried savory (optional, but yummy and an old remedy for
flatulence!)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 160C


*Put all ingredients in a pan, cover and bring slowly to the boil on the hob.

*Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour (if using a covered dish, 1.5 hours covered and an extra 30mins uncovered). You want the sauce to be thick.

*Serve with hot, buttered toast, maybe with a sprinkling of cheese.