Coconut Macaroons

Not to be confused with the pretty but (kind of) pointless French Macaron, these macaroons are like little moist clouds of deliciousness.

They take mere minutes to whip up and due to their snowball appearance are very apt for this time of year. A welcome respite from mince pies, make these your new Winter treat! 

Ingredients (makes around 8)

2 large egg whites

One drop of vinegar

Pinch of salt

50g ground almonds

80g sugar (granulated is fine) 

250g desiccated coconut

1 tsp vanilla essence

To decorate 

100g milk or dark chocolate 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan) and grease a baking tray. 

In a large mixing bowl and using an electric hand whisk, whisk the egg whites until frothy.

Add the drop of vinegar and then start to whisk in the sugar (around 20g at a time) until it is all combined and the meringue can form stiff peaks.

Add the vanilla essence, salt, almonds and combine until the mixture is sticky. 

Using slightly damp hands, roll the mixture into around 8 golf ball sized portions.

Place on the greased oven tray and bake for around 18-20 minutes, until the tops of the balls are golden. Allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate over the macaroons and allow harden.

 

Lasagne

Lasagne is the perfect comfort food. Ragu, pasta and a béchamel sauce all layered together to create something totally delicious. The secret ingredient in this dish is chicken liver. Even if you think you don't like offal, give them a go anyway. Chopped finely enough they melt into the ragu to produce an undetectable but delectable taste. 

I use dried pasta sheets in this, which seems lazy, but having experimented with homemade fresh pasta  I've found that it is too soft in the finished dish - using dried ensures that the layers stay intact once cooked. Be sure to use egg pasta sheets though as they have a richer flavour than their flour and water counterparts.

Ingredients 

For the ragu

500g lean beef mice

100g chicken livers, finely chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped

100g mushrooms, quartered 

400ml passata 

100ml red wine 

1 tbsp tomato purée 

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp oil, to cook

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the béchamel sauce

150g butter

150g flour

600ml whole milk ( you may not need it all)

80g Parmesan cheese, plus extra or top

9 dried lasagne sheets

Method 

Make the ragu first, as this takes the longest to do. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and add the onion, cooking gently until it is softened (around 10 minutes). Then, add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. 

Next, add the rest of vegetables (and a bit more oil, if needed) and cook for 5 minutes before adding the mince and chicken livers and frying until evenly browned.

Add the passata, red wine and tomato purée and mix everything together before bringing to the boil and then placing it on the lowest heat setting, leaving it to simmer for around 2 hours. Allow to cool before assembling your lasagne.

For the bèchamel sauce

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and then whisk in the flour until there are no lumps. Leave this on the hob for a few minutes to cook the floury taste out of it. Then, whisk in the milk a little at a time until you have a thick, smooth sauce. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and leave to cool.

Pasta sheets

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the sheets in batches of three for around 30 seconds to slightly soften, before placing them on a clean tea towel or kitchen paper.

Assembling the lasagne

I actually broke my lasagne dish a while ago and haven't got round to replacing it, so just used a pie dish which is a couple of inches deep. The good thing is that it's made of glass, so the layers are visible from the outside.

Grease your dish and start your layers. I do ragu, béchamel and pasta three times before covering the last layer of pasta with the remaining white sauce and scattering over some Parmesan and a few grinds of black pepper. The construction of lasagne is a contentious issue, so build it however you like, but I really do think this way is the tastiest.

Cook at 200 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the lasagne is bubbling and the top is golden and crispy. Leave to stand for 10 minutes and serve with a green salad and some olives. Like most food, lasagne is even better the next day and freezes well before cooking.

Meal Plan w/c 17th November 2014

Monday:  Tonight I'm making my favourite soup - Minestrone! I'm adding pinto beans, Vekale, fresh tomatoes, yellow peppers and courgettes. I'll also be using my homemade stock which I made out of the carcass of last weeks chicken.

Tuesday: Dinner will be jalfrezi made with chicken legs and thighs. I'll also be making some sag aloo (spinach and potatoes) and pilau rice to serve alongside it.

Wednesday: We're having a meatless day today, so I'm going to make falafel which we'll have with a colourful Turkish salad and some flat breads.

Thursday: I'm going to make a delicious lasagne (secret ingredient: chicken livers). There's a lot of components - white sauce, fresh pasta, bolognese etc, so I'm going to try and make the sauces the day before as it spreads the work out a bit, but also lets the flavours intensify as well.

Friday: Treat night, so we're going to have lamb koftes with a tahini sauce and a Meze plate with fresh pitta bread. Great start to the weekend!

Saturday: Oily fish night so either rainbow trout or mackerel, which we'll have with some purple potatoes (delicious and in season) and some salty samphire.

Sunday: To round off the week, I'm going to make some roast game birds with lots of vegetables and some cranberry sauce. For dessert I'm going to try and make a semifreddo and the flavours I'm thinking of are rose water and pistachio. 

Chicken Challenge Day 2: Chicken goujons with Mediterranean vegetables

So after using the legs and thighs of my chicken for last night's curry, I was left with the wonderful, juicy breast fillets which I decided to turn into chicken goujons. I haven't had these for years- they're the staple food in many a children's menu and are far more sophisticated than their chicken nugget cousins. Chicken breasts can turn tough very easily, especially when cut into strips, but the breadcrumbs seem to provide some insulation for the chicken and keep it deliciously moist. All in all, these goujons are a very forgiving dish to cook.

A way to make them more "gourmet" is to season the breadcrumbs. I used cayenne pepper as a spicy kick complements Mediterranean vegetables well, but you could basically add any herbs or spices you fancy. Next time I'm going make mine with a thyme and lemon zest crust- mmmmm.

Ingredients 

For the chicken goujons 

2 large skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips around 2cm wide 

Plain flour, to dust (around 3 tbsp) 

1 egg, beaten

80g fresh breadcrumbs 

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste 

3 tbsp sunflower oil 

For the Mediterranean vegetables

1 courgette, sliced

1 aubergine, halved lengthways and sliced 

1 red onion, thickly sliced 

1 red pepper, sliced

2 large tomatoes, quartered 

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Glug of olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place the chopped vegetables into a large, oven proof dish, drizzle over some olive oil and season to taste. Toss together so the oil is evenly distributed and place in oven. Add the cayenne pepper and some salt and pepper to your breadcrumbs.

2. Next, take the chicken strips and coat in the flour, shaking off any excess. Then dip and cover in the beaten egg and finally, roll around in the seasoned breadcrumbs until they are fully coated. It's best to use one hand for egg and one hand for breadcrumbs so you don't end up with a sticky mess!

3. Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan and fry the goujons for around 1 minute - just until the breadcrumbs have gone crispy. Then transfer them in an ovenproof dish and place in the oven with the vegetables.

4. The goujons will need around 15-20 minutes to cook and the vegetables will have had a 10 minute start, so both should be ready at the same time. To check if the goujons are cooked through, prod with a fork to see if the juices run clear. This means that they are ready to go.

Remember, often we cook chicken for a lot longer than is necessary and this has a detrimental effect on the texture - the braver you are when taking the chicken out of the oven, the tenderer and tastier it is likely to be!

Chicken Challenge Day 1: Chicken Jalfrezi

So my challenge this week is to see how many meals I can make out of one chicken. I bought a medium sized free range chicken today and have jointed it so that I can use it to form the base of our mid-week dinners.

The first thing I'm going to make with it is a chicken jalfrezi. For this I'm going to use the legs, thighs and wings. I'm using these cuts because they are quite forgiving. Unlike the breasts, they can be cooked for a couple of hours without turning tough, which is ideal for a curry as it's important to simmer it for some time to allow the flavours to develop.

Ingredients 

For the curry base

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp turmeric 

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp galangal

2 tsp red chilli 

2 medium onions, grated

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp ghee, or olive oil

For the meat and veg

400g skinless and boneless chicken (preferably thighs or legs)

1 green and 1 red pepper, thinly sliced

400g chopped tomatoes 

300ml water 

1 tbsp olive oil

Method 

1. Toast the coriander and fenugreek seeds in a dry frying pan for few seconds until they start to release their aromas - be careful not to burn them. Grind these up in a pestle and mortar and combine in a bowl with the rest of the powdered spices.

2. Soften the galangal by covering it in hot water and leaving it to soak until needed.

3. In a heavy bottomed casserole dish, heat the ghee or olive oil over a medium heat and add the grated and chopped onions and garlic, cooking for around 5 minutes until softened. Add the ground spices and mix into the onions thoroughly, cooking for a further 3 minutes.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes along with the water. Mix everything through, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so the spices are combined with the sauce. Drain the galangal and add this as well.

5. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil to a high temperature and fry the chicken until it is browned evenly on all sides. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and add the the curry sauce along with the sliced peppers.

6. Turn the temperature on the hob down to low, and simmer the curry for a couple of hours. If it becomes too dry, just add a little more water. It is important to let the flavours mingle and develop, so taste it as it's cooking and you'll get an idea of whether it's ready or not. You may also wish to add some salt.

Serve hot, with pilau rice and naan bread. This curry tastes even better the next day so you may even want to make two batches!

Meal Plan w/c Monday 10th November

Monday: Tonight's dinner will be minestrone soup with carrots, bell peppers, courgettes, cavolo nero and ripe Italian tomatoes. We won't need any bread because there will be pinto beans and pasta in the soup. I'll serve some green olives on the side and top the soup with Parmesan shavings.

Tuesday: I'm going to buy a chicken and see how many meals we can get out of it during the week. For the first day, I'm going to joint it and use the legs/thighs in a jalfrezi. This will be served with basmati rice and naan bread when we get home from the quiz.

Wednesday: Continuing with the chicken theme, I'm going to roast the breasts in a lemon and coriander marinade and serve them with a mixture of roasted Mediterranean vegetable. The side dish with either be giant cous cous or creamy mashed potatoe with truffle oil.

Thursday: I'm going to boil up whatever is left of the chicken carcass with whatever vegetable peelings I've accumulated during the week and make a stock. I might make a chicken consommé and serve it with some fresh homemade bread.

Friday: As a treat, I'm going to make homemade beer battered fish and chips, which we'll have with minted pea purée, gherkins and a tangy tartare sauce. I may even whip up a batch of curry sauce if I'm feeling particularly indulgent!

Saturday: We usually have oily fish tonight, but may feel like something different after the Friday night fish and chips. If that's the case, I'll make a beef Bibambap, with courgettes, carrots, red onion, beansprouts and sticky rice, with a hot sauce on the side and topped with a soft fried egg.

Sunday: I recently read somewhere that pheasant which has been covered in bacon before roasting is delicious,map so I'm going to test that theory this weekend. We'll have that with some goose fat roast potatoes and a variety of vegetables - cabbage is great this time of year. For dessert, I'm thinking of baking a plum, orange and almond cobbler with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream on the side. The contrast of hot and cold is wonderful.

Meal Plan w/c Monday 3rd November

Monday: Tonight's dinner will be minestrone soup with pinto beans, kale, courgettes, bell peppers and lots of other delicious veg. Perfect meal after a weekend of excess. We're cutting down on carbs so I'm not making any bread, but the soup is so filling that it doesn't need anything else anyway.

Tuesday: It's my birthday, so we will have a special meal tonight. Shellfish linguine with scallops, king prawns and clams, washed down with champagne and followed a delicious dessert. Happy birthday to me!

Wednesday: It's Guy Fawkes Night and we will most likely be going to a fireworks display. I'm going to make a lamb and date tagine that can be put in the slow cooker so it is ready to serve as soon as we arrive home. This will be served with a pomegranate and mint cous cous.

Thursday: We should go meat free today, so I'm going to make a ratatouille with courgettes, aubergines and peppers and I'll add in some lentils for a protein boost.

Friday: Depending on how we feel, I'm going to make either fish and chips or bulgogi beef Bibambap. Both are a great choice for a cosy Friday night dinner.

Saturday: Oily fish night! We'll have our weekly dose of omega 3 with some mackerel and I'll serve it with steamed samphire and garlic and herb baby potatoes. 

Sunday: I'm going to try and order some fresh suet from the butchers early on in the week so that I can make a steak and kidney pudding. This will be followed by a chocolate and fig tart with an orange blossom cream. 

Falafel

Falafel are a traditional Middle Eastern food made from chickpeas and broad beans. We have been trying to eat less meat during the week and they are really delicious with hummus, salad and some flatbreads. They are easy to make, but take a bit of organising as the pulses will need to be soaked the night before. The only way to cook them is to deep fry (it's important that they are really crunchy on the outside) but if served with a large enough salad, they almost qualify as a health food!

Ingredients 

For the falafel

150g chickpeas, covered with water and soaked overnight

200g broad beans, covered with water and soaked overnight 

1 large bunch coriander, stalks removed and leaves chopped

1 small bunch parsley, stalks removed and leaves chopped

4 sping onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp Baharat spice mix

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

5 tbsp sesame seeds

Sunflower oil, to fry

Method

1. Drain the pulses and lay on a tea towel to dry. Then add all the broad beans and three quarters of the chickpeas to a food processor and whiz until smooth.

2. Add the garlic, spring onions, herbs, spices and salt to the pulses and whiz again until well combined. Stir in the baking powder and chill the mixture in the fridge for at least half and hour.

3. Using damp hands, roll the mixture into tight balls about 1.5 inches across (the size of a fig) and roll in the sesame seeds. Chill in the fridge until you heat your oil.

4. Heat around 6cm of oil in a saucepan over a high heat to 180 degrees ( or use a deep fat fryer, if you have one) and fry the falafel in batches for around 5-6 minutes until dark brown in colour. Drain on kitchen paper until most of the oil is absorbed and served with plenty of salad, flatbread and hummus (recipe below).

Hummus 

Hummus is best made with dried chickpeas, and since we're using them already in this recipe, it's easy to whip up a batch to go with the falafel. 

Place the leftover chickpeas in a sauce pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for around 15 minutes until soft. Drain, place the chickpeas in a food processor and whiz until smooth. Stir in around 4 tbsp of tahini and the juice of half a lemon. If necessary, add some water 1 tbsp at a time to achieve the desired constituency. Season to taste. Serve at room temperature with the falafel. 

Meal Plan w/c Monday 20th October 2014

Monday: Soup day! Quite fancy a nice minestrone soup to boost my veg levels. Last weeks rye bread was a bit of a disaster - I'll either be brave and give it another go, or wimp out and revert back to my faithful wheaten bread recipe.

Tuesday: I'm trying to eat less meat during the week, so I'm going to make a nice ratatouille with courgettes, aubergines, red onions and whatever other veg takes my fancy. 

Wednesday: I'm going to try making falafels for the first time! This will take some organising as the chickpeas and broad beans have to be soaked the night before so that they're soft enough to cook with the following day. I'm going to serve this with a Middle Eastern inspired salad and some homemade tortilla bread. Recipe up soon!

Thursday: I'm really craving meatballs and although they seem like quite a low maintainence meal by the time you've made your own pasta and tomato sauce a whole day has gone by in the kitchen. I might try and source a crate of tomatoes on Monday and spend a few hours batch making tomato sauce to freeze for later use. I'll also make the pasta the night before as well.

Friday: I'm going to make a pork Bimbambap tonight which will be washed down with some Breton cider before a trip to the cinema.

Saturday: Fish night! Last week I had mackerel, so this Saturday will either be rainbow trout, or else I'll make my famous seafood linguine, which goes wonderfully well with our weekly bottle of champagne.

Sunday: Thinking of doing a mock Christmas dinner with game birds, chestnut stuffing, Brussels sprouts with pancetta and a delicious dessert.

Lamb and Medjool Date Tagine with Mint and Pomegranate Cous Cous

Tagines are my favourite thing to make in the autumn. Bung together a few spices, meat and some dried fruit and a few hours later the smell of your kitchen will transport you to a bustling market in Marrakesh. I've chosen to use Medjool dates in this dish - they're in season and they go wonderfully well with the lamb. However, you can use any dried fruit from apricots to figs - they melt into the sauce giving it a rich, sweet flavour that when combined with the spices makes for an amazing taste sensation. Grating the onions for the base can be a tear inducing task, but it's important as it allows the onions to melt into the tagine, spreading the flavour throughout. I tend to wear swimming goggles when I do this job - you may look and feel ridiculous for a short time but it's worth it to spare the stinging!

Ingredients

For the tagine

600g lamb neck (or leg or shoulder) chopped into 1 inch chunks 

2 large onions, grated 

150g Medjool dates (or other dried fruit)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

400g tinned tomatoes

400ml passata 

300ml lamb stock

1 tbsp ras-el-hanout 

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

4 tbsp olive oil

To serve 

Small bunch coriander, roughly chopped

1 tbsp flaked almonds

Methods

1. Firstly, make your spice mix by combining your spices in a bowl. Add the lamb chucks making sure they are evenly coated by the mixture. Place in the fridge to marinate for a least a couple of hours.

2. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil to a low temperature in a large casserole dish with a lid and add the grated onion, cooking for around 10 minutes until soft and golden. Be careful not to burn them. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Set aside. 

3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan, and add the seasoned lamb, frying until evenly browned on all sides. Add the meat to the casserole dish with the onions and deglaze the frying pan by adding the lamb stock and  scraping it with a wooden spoon to dissolve all the leftover browned bits.

Add this to the casserole dish along with the fruit, passata and chopped tomatoes. 

4. Put the lid on your casserole dish and place in the oven, cooking for around 2 1/2- 3 hours, or until the meat is meltingly tender. If the tagine is too liquidy, reduce on the stove until you have the desired consistency. To serve, sprinkle over the coriander and flaked almonds. 

P.S: it tastes even better the next day - if it lasts that long!

Mint and pomegranate Cous Cous

I prefer giant cous cous to the normal variety with tagines, because it absorbs flavours much better, both when cooked and when served as the side dish to a meal. As shallow as it sounds, it also looks prettier, especially when the jewel-like pomegranate seeds are mixed through. I add a bit of Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar to the cous cous after it has cooked (an idea stolen off Heston) as it adds a touch of acidity to the grains - perfect when served with a sweet tagine. 

For the cous cous

300g giant cous cous

400ml lamb stock

1 tbsp Dijon mustard 

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

To serve

1 pomegranate, deseeded 

Small bunch of mint, roughly chopped

Method

1. Place the cous cous in a medium saucepan and pour over the lamb stock. Cook this on a medium temperature until the cous cous is soft, and all the liquid has dissolved.

2. Add the red wine vinegar and the mustard, mixing until evenly dispersed. Then transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and the chopped mint. Serve immediately.

Meal Plan w/c Monday 13th October

Monday: Today I'm boiling up the carcasses of last night's partridges and pheasant to make a stock for our game soup. I'm going to be serving that with a homemade rye bread - the first one I've ever made!

Tuesday: Quiz night tonight, so I'm going to do an easy slow cooker curry which will be ready for us to eat when we come home slightly tipsy and high on winning. We'll stop off at Tiffin Express on the way home to pick up some rice and naan bread.

Wednesday: We're trying to eat more oily fish, so tonight we'll have some smoked mackerel with green beans, baby potatoes and puy lentils.

Thursday: Tonight I'm going to make a lamb, date and fig tagine which will be served with pomegranate and mint cous cous. Recipe up soon!

Friday:  We might go to the cinema if there's something good on. I'll either make a beef bulgogi Bibambap or we'll go to Sông Quê on our way out.

Saturday: Tonight we'll have a salt baked fish (maybe red snapper or sea bass) with a homemade basil mayonnaise and some garlic potatoes.

Sunday: We're planning to go for a long cycle today, if the weather is nice. I want to make something that can be prepared in advance and then bunged in the oven when we come home, so I'm thinking of making a venison and fig pie with a rough puff pastry top, with some buttered greens and truffle mash. 

Meal Plan w/c Monday 6th October

Monday: It's such a rainy day today, and apparently it's going to be like that all week long, so it's time to break out the comfort food! Tonight's dinner is going to be a hearty minestrone soup and wheaten bread. The perfect meal for a wet and dull Monday. 

Tuesday: Tonight is quiz night. I need to make something that can be prepared in advance and then easily reheated when we get home, but I don't want to serve something too nice as it won't be appreciated after a few drinks have been consumed... I haven't used my slow cooker in a while, so I I might throw together a casserole and let it do all the hard work.

Wednesday: We're trying to up our intake of oily fish during the week. Last week we had smoked mackerel with puy lentils and a green salad which was delicious. This time I might make some light mackerel fish cakes and serve them with sweet potato chips and a cress and rocket salad.

Thursday: Tonight I'm thinking of making either a meatloaf with tomato passata and truffle mash, or a lamb and date tagine with pomegranate cous cous. Both are equally gorgeous, but the tagine requires a bit more effort. I'll have to see how I feel...

Friday: We'll either go to the Vietnamese if we're planning on going to the cinema, or else I'll cook something. I'd like to make some more ravioli soon. Last time was a very stressful experience, but it was worth it in the end. If I'm feeling adventurous I might make two fillings- wild mushroom and ricotta, and spinach with Parma ham.

Saturday: Fish day! If I'm organised enough today, I'm going to try out something a bit more exotic than I usually do on a Saturday. Maybe some monkfish with a nice garnish and some veg.

Sunday: Hopefully Borough Market will have some pheasant this weekend. If they do, I'm going to serve it with a spiced plum sauce and seasonal vegetables. I'm also going to start making cocktails to pair with my desserts, so I'll buy some nice fruit, make a syrup with it, and mix it with spirits. Dessert will be chocolately this weekend, maybe a chocolate and pear tart.

Caramelised Pear, Ginger and Rosewater Cake

This cake is perfect for a special occasion or to round off a delicious meal. We had it as the dessert for our Rosh Hashanah dinner. The sponge is moist and rich and the caramelised pears on top are wonderfully sticky and sweet. The rosewater and edible rose petals give it a slight floral flavour which compliments the ginger perfectly.

Ingredients

For the caramelised pears:

2 large conference pears, cut into slices around 1cm thick

60g soft dark brown sugar

50g unsalted butter

For the cake:

220g self raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp Rosewater 

100g caster sugar

50g soft dark brown sugar

80g honey

100ml whole milk

100ml sunflower oil

2 large eggs

Pinch of salt

Butter, for greasing

(You will need a 20cm cake tin)

To decorate:

1 tbsp edible rose petals

Icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Firstly, caramelise your pears. Melt the butter and the sugar in a frying pan until they are toffee coloured and add the pears, turning them so they are evenly coated. Allow the pears to cook over a medium heat until they are soft and golden in colour. Set aside whilst you bake the cake.

2. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and grease your cake tin with some butter. Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugars together with an electric hand mixer until pale and thick. This will take a few minutes.

3. Mix together the milk, oil, honey and Rosewater together and add this to the egg mixture, whisking on low until well combined. Add in the flour mixture, around a quarter at a time until you have a smooth batter. Pour this batter into your greased cake tin. 

4. Bake the cake in the oven until dark golden brown and well risen. This should take around 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then transfer to a serving plate to cool completely. Top with the pears- they look pretty in concentric circles. Dust with some icing sugar and sprinkle over the rose petals. 

Serve with a chantilly cream or vanilla ice cream. The cake will keep well in an airtight container for up to three days. 

Bulgogi Beef Bibambap

Bibambap is officially my new favourite meal. It's a popular Korean dish and basically translates to "mixed vegetables with rice and meat". It's packed full of goodness and is tasty too. Be careful though- it's addictive!

Ingredients (Serves 2, generously)

2 medium carrots, julienned 

1 red onion, sliced thinly 

150g mushrooms, sliced

1 large courgette, julienned

200g beansprouts 

200g short grain rice (I used arborio rice! which worked well)

2 large eggs

300g beef sirloin, sliced as thinly as possible

100ml bulgogi marinade 

Sesame oil, to fry

Salt and Pepper

For the sauce

4 tbsp gochulang (a Korean chilli paste, available at Oriental supermarkets)

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp vinegar (I used cider vinegar, but any one will do)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

p.s, if you have difficulty finding the gochulang, just buy a hot chilli sauce and use this instead of making your own. I did this the first time and it still tasted great.

Method

1. Marinade your beef for as long as you possibly can. Place it in a bowl with the bulgogi marinade and massage it in with your hands until it is evenly coated. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

2.Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and have two large serving bowls nearby. Heat a few tablespoons of the sesame oil in a frying pan and start cooking your vegetables separately. They should only take a few minutes each. After cooking each batch of vegetables, divide them up between the two bowls and place in the oven to keep warm whilst you cook the others.

3. Cook your rice by placing it in saucepan and adding 700ml of water. When the water has evaporated take the pan off the heat and place a lid on it, leaving it for at least 15 minutes to make sure the rice is nice and fluffy.

4. Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Keep it at room temperature.

5. Add more sesame oil to your pan and fry the beef. It should be rare and tender so should only take a few minutes. Take the bowls out of the oven, and add the rice and the beef.

6. Fry the eggs until soft- try not to let the yolks harden too much. Season with salt and pepper if you wish. Place the eggs in the bowl.

When eating, mix the Bibambap thoroughly with a spoon, enabling the egg to coat the rest of the ingredients. Add the sauce generously and enjoy. 

Meal Plan w/c 29th September 2014

Monday: We have a Guinea fowl carcass left over from last night and some leg meat, so I'm going to make a game soup and serve it with some wheaten bread. I'll also be making some yummy juice using beetroot, celery, ginger and apples.

Tuesday: My Bibambap was a resounding success on Saturday night (recipe up soon) and I've been craving it ever since I finished the last mouthful, so I'm going to make it again, but this time with a homemade sauce as I stumbled upon a Korean supermarket on Sunday that's just round the corner from me.

Wednesday: I feel like having smoked mackerel, but I'm not yet sure of how I'm going to incorporate into a dish. Might make a green salad to go with it and serve it with some quinoa or baby potatoes.

Thursday: Now that autumn is finally upon us, I can start making tagines again. Dates are in season and looking fabulous so they'll go in there along with some lamb and giant cous cous.

Friday: We'll probably go to the cinema tonight, so will stop off for a Vietnamese on the way. We allllways order the same thing, so maybe we'll try something different (though I doubt it).

Saturday: I quite fancy trying a different fish this weekend. We usually have trout or mackerel, but might try halibut or red mullet.

Sunday: We're embracing game season at the moment, so I'll pop down to Borough Market this weekend and see what looks good. While I'm there, I'll pick up some juicy figs to make a chocolate a fig tart which I'll serve with a raspberry coulis and Chantilly cream. Love this time of year!

Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter

Homemade ravioli looks really impressive and isn't that difficult to make, however it is time consuming so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to do it. I've used two types of squash as my filling because I thought it would be a nice way to make these slightly inelegant vegetables look a bit more refined. This ravioli is the perfect autumnal dinner- not too heavy, but tasty and comforting at the same time. I served mine with a simple sage butter garnish and some roasted vine tomatoes- delish!

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, around 600g, cut into inch long cubes

1 small pumpkin, around 300g, cut into inch long cubes

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 bunch of sage, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

Salt and pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

300g fresh pasta

100g butter

Roasted vine tomatoes, to serve

Method

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place the butternut squash, pumpkin, red onion and half the sage into an oven tray and drizzle over the olive oil. Place in the oven and bake for around thirty minutes, or until the squash has softened.

2.When the veg has cooked, transfer into a large bowl and using a hand blender, blitz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and allow to cool completely whilst you prepare the pasta.

3. Divide the pasta dough into three, and using a pasta maker, roll it out until you get to the thinnest setting. Using a pasta stamp or any other cutter, press out the desired shape of your ravioli.

4. The amount of filling you place in the ravioli will depend on the size of your shapes. It's best to start off with a teaspoon so you can gauge the amount of filling your pasta will take as you go along. Place the filling in the centre of your pasta and dip your finger into a cup of cold water, running it along the edge of the pasta shape. Place another shape on top and crimp this using the back of a fork to seal the ravioli, making sure it is tight enough that the filling won't leak out. Place the ravioli onto a well floured plate to prevent sticking.

5. Repeat this until you have used up all your pasta. There may be some filling left- this can be frozen until you want to use it up.

6. To cook the pasta, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, and add the ravioli, cooking for around four minutes. Keep a watchful eye on them- if they boil for too long they may burst.

7. For the sage butter garnish, simple melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the sage along with a chopped garlic clove. Season to taste.

8.Carefully remove the ravioli from the pan using a slotted spoon, drizzle over the sage butter and serve immediately with the roasted tomatoes.

Salt Baked Sea Bass

Salt baking is a great way to cook fish. It involves making a mixture of salt and egg whites (basically a salty meringue) and coating it over the fish before baking in the oven.

Baking, as opposed to roasting, keeps the fish really moist and succulent. Also, if you're going to stuff the fish with any flavourings it really helps them to penetrate the flesh. 

Once in the oven, the salt will harden, insulating the fish and ensuring it cooks gently and evenly. 

Jamie Oliver *rolls eyes* recommends using rock salt, but plain table salt is a lot cheaper and better at moulding around the fish. Don't worry about the fish tasting salty- once the fish is cooked the meringue is chiseled off, and any remaining flakes removed with a pastry brush. The salt doesn't penetrate the skin, so the actual meat will not taste salty.

Ingredients

For the salt mixture

750g table salt

3 egg whites

For the fish

1 large sea bass, around 600-800g, cleaned and scaled

1 lemon, cut into thick slices

A few rosemary sprigs

Method

1. To make the salt mixture, place the salt in a bowl and add the egg whites, one at a time, stirring with a spatula. You may not need all the egg whites. When the mixture starts to come together, use your hand to gauge the consistency. It should be slightly sticky and mouldable. 

2. Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Lay the fish on a large baking tray (I line mine with baking parchment to help minimise mess) and stuff the belly with flavours of your choice. I used lemon and rosemary which are simple, but delicious. 

3. Cover the whole of your fish with the salt mixture, making sure that it is evenly distributed and there are no gaps. Mould it over the fish, pressing it with your hands so that it sticks together and insulates the fish.

4. Bake in the oven for around 35 minutes. The salt will turn a golden brown colour. When cooked, remove the meringue by hitting it swiftly with a blunt object such as a rolling pin. It should come off in large chunks. Go over the fish with a pastry brush to remove any stray bits of salt.

5. Transfer the fish to a serving dish and enjoy!