Sweetcorn Fritters

Can you spot the pattern here? At certain times of the year, we seem to be inundated with the vegetable du jour, so after I've made my usual recipe, I'm forced to consult my cookery shelf for inspiration. Don't get me wrong, this is why I love my veg box, it forces me to constantly try new recipes.

At the moment, it's sweetcorn and tomatoes and rocket from our garden (well, plant pots). Last weeks salsa was definitely a success, but I wanted something new. I found this recipe in Bill's Sydney Food by Bill Granger. While he is almost unbearably smug on TV, I love the sunny, bright styling of his book and the simplicity of his recipes.

These are fairly simple to make and are bound to impress, sweet and crisy sweetcorn in a batter full of coriander and chilli. I had them for a simple lunch with avocado, rocket and tomatoes and a the obligatory dollop of yoghurt. But, I have a sneaky feeling that they'd work perfectly with a fried egg and beans for brunch. Bill suggests serving them with roasted tomatoes and bacon. If you're making these for a lots of people, you can cook them in advance and just warm through in the oven.


Ingredients

Serves 4

2 corn cobs, kernals removed
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 small bunch coriander, chopped
1 small bunch spring onions, sliced
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2tsp paprika
1tbsp sugar
2 eggs
250ml milk

• Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix with the paprika. Whisk in the egg and milk with plenty of salt and pepper until you have a smooth batter.
• Mix the sweetcorn, chilli, coriander and spring onions in a bowl and stir in the batter until combined.
• Heat a large frying with a large glug of oil. Once hot, place a tablespoon of mixture into the pan and press on it lightly to spread it out into a fritter.
• Cook for a few mins on both sides until golden and remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper while you cook the rest of the fritters.

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Toasted Sweetcorn Salsa

This salsa makes the best of late summer ingredients. Fresh sweetcorn, crispy and sweet, flavoursome tomatoes and fruity chillis from our (very small) kitchen garden finished off with some lime and coriander. Try it spooned over nachos complete with plenty of guacamole and soured cream.


We used it in a mexican inspired (I make no claims of authenticity) brunch. Spoon some salsa onto a warm tortilla, top with some sliced avocado, a dollop of yoghurt and plenty of grated cheese and finish off with a fried egg. Wrap it up and prepare to make a mess as you eat it. I like this kind of brunch as I get the satisfaction of a fried egg (I'm all about eggs at the weekend) while shoe-horning in some vegetables at the same time, especially useful if I overindulged the night before. Eating something a little lighter than a full english also helps me fight the urge to go back to bed and no emerge again for the rest of the day...





Ingredients

1 red onion ( or a small bunch spring onions)
1 red chilli
2 cloves garlic
100g tomatoes
all finely chopped
1 sweetcorn cob
handful roughly chopped coriander
juice 1/2 lime

• Peel the skin from the sweetcorn cob and run a knife down the edge to remove the kernels.
• Heat a large frying pan, add a slug of oil and soften the onion, garlic and chilli for a few minutes.
• Add the sweetcorn and continue to fry for a few more minutes until the sweetcorn is cooked, but still with a little bite.
• Add the lime juice, tomatoes and coriander and season well.

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Courgette Fritters with a Tomato and Almond Sauce

I'm aware this is another courgette recipe. What can I say? We're overwhelmed, not only are we getting them from our vegbox but the marrows are also threatening to take over at the allotment we're babysitting.

Having said that, it's amazing what the pressure to use up a couple of huuuge marrows can do, I've come up with some genuinely delicious and different ways to cook courgettes, my favourite is still this soup, we made a huge batch out of the marrows.

This recipe is another gem, from none other than Cranks, I always forget just how good this book is, full of delicious and unique vegetarian recipes. It has guided me through budding vegetarianism and fed my friends and I through university.

These are crisp, delicate, gnocchi-esque fritters, eaten with a spicy tomato and almond sauce, couscous and yoghurt. I made the tomato sauce the day before in about 10mins and then made the fritters on the day. Cranks suggests making little balls and deep frying them. We went the lazy route and shaped larger fritters that we shallow fried. However, next time I think I will go all out and deep fry them (and I include instructions to do that below) - the crispy edges are just so good.


Ingredients

Serves 4

500g courgette, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
60g flour
1tsp paprika
1 red chilli, finely chopped
3tbsp chopped coriander
1/4tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1 bunch coriander, chopped
vegetable oil for frying

Tomato and Almond Sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 small piece ginger, grated, juice reserved
2tsp ground cumin
1tsp turmeric
2tsp paprika
2tsp garam masala
1 can chopped tomatoes
3tbsp ground almonds
To serve: couscous, yoghurt and extra chopped coriander

Make the tomato and almond sauce first, it benefits from sitting around for a while letting the flavours develop.

• Heat a large saucepan with a splash of oil. Fry the onions, ginger and chilli for 5 or so mins. Add the spices and fry for a few mins more.
• Add in the chopped tomatoes and ground almonds. Simmer for 15-20mins until thick and season well.

To make the courgette fritters:

• Squeeze the grated courgettes in a muslin cloth or clean towel to remove as much excess water as possible and tip into a large mixing bowl
• Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
• Now pour the oil into a deep saucepan – you want it to be about 10–12cm deep – and heat it to 180°C. To check, just drop a piece of bread into the oil, if it floats and starts to sizzle immediately, it's ready.
• Flour your hands and shape a tablespoon of mixture at a time into small balls. Carefully place into the hot oil. Fry the pieces gently, turning them a couple of times with a slotted spoon.
• When they’re browned and crisp, lift them out of the oil, allowing any excess to drip back into the pan, and drain on kitchen paper.

Serve on a mound of couscous with a spoonful of the sauce, a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of coriander.
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Courgette, Tomato and Basil Fritatta

A colourful, summery fritatta making the most of the abundant supply of courgettes and sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes at the moment; finished off with a little cheese and a sprinkling of basil (from our overflowing window box). Low in carbs, packed full of veggies and nutrient rich eggs; this is superhealthy summer eating.

Perfect for brunch with bacon or sausages and toast (I would also have it with baked beans but that's probably just me...) or lunch with a green salad eaten in the sunshine.

As with most of my recipes, this is very relaxed. Use what you have; broad beans or spinach would work equally well here. Or maybe, continuing the italian theme, add a torn ball of mozzarella for oozy, stringy, cheesy goodness. Our vegetable boxes have been low on onions recently, but I imagine if I make this again, I'd add a little finely red onion for extra bite. You could also make this even easier by laying the cooked courgettes in the bottom of a small greased baking dish, topping with the tomatoes, basil, cheese and eggs and baking at 180C for about 20mins until puffed up and golden brown.



Ingredients

Serves 2

2 medium courgettes
handful basil, shredded
handful cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 eggs and a splash of milk
knob butter
approx 50g cheese, grated

• Slice the courgettes thinly on the diagonal.
• Heat a medium non-stick frying pan with a little oil. Fry the courgette slices in batches until blistered and brown. Try to refrain from adding too much oil to the pan otherwise you'll end up with a greasy frittata. Season once cooked.
• Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and milk with plenty of salt and pepper.
• Once cooked, return all the courgettes to the pan with the butter and spread out evenly, sprinkle the basil and tomatoes over the top.
• Preheat the grill.
• Carefully pour the egg mixture into the pan, making sure all the vegetables get covered and add the grated cheese. Turn the heat down and using a spatula, carefully scrape the cooked edges inwards, allowing the uncooked eggs to run into the rivulets.
• Once the frittata is mostly cooked around the edges, but the middle is still fairly runny, pop under the grill until the top is completely set.
• To serve, run a spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen the frittata and cut into 4 wedges.
  

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Easy Flatbread Pizza

These pizzas are a great last minute dinner. So easy to make and a great (healthier) alternative to takeout pizza. You need to start with flatbreads rather than tortillas (try a turkish corner shop for the best) as they are sturdier and will hold up to the toppings better.


I often make an absurdly quick tomato by sizzling some garlic and chilli in olive oil, pouring in a can of chopped tomatoes and simmering for 15mins or so until thick and seaoning well. But you could just as easily use halved cherry tomatoes.

Top with whatever you like and bake for 10-15mins until the cheese is bubbling and golden. The key here is restraint - keep it simple and don't pile on the toppings if you want to keep your pizza crisp otherwise, and I'm speaking form experience here, you end up with a soggy mess.

Some ideas for toppings:

• A thin layer of tomato, a little mozzarella and some pine nuts. Top with shredded basil when cooked.
• Top with rocket and avocado
• Goats cheese, walnuts and a few dollops of onion marmalade
  
• Chargrilled aubergine and pine nuts (a little oregano would be good here)
  
• Any combination of anchovies, capers and olives
• Thinly sliced pear, gorgonzola and pine nuts, topped with some rocket or watercress.
  

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Roasted Tomato and Spinach bulghar salad

This is one of the great salads that I'm loving at the moment. They take a bit longer than your average chop and go salad to prepare but are bursting with flavour and if you make a huge batch, you can eat it for dinner and keep leftovers in the fridge for lunch or for other meals. Simply add the protein of your choice. Try blistered slices of haloumi, fried mackerel fillets, chicken, lamb kebabs or a poached egg.

This salad was inspired by this recipe from 101cookbooks, in all honesty, I took a cursory glance at the ingredients and went by the picture more than anything, so my version is below. Bursting with colour, sweet roasted cherry tomatoes and slow cooked red onions go beautifully with the nutty bulghar wheat spiked with loads of fresh herbs, a little garlic and a handful of spinach (I have a sneaky suspicion that toasted pine nuts or almonds would be a fabulously crunchy addition). A perfect accompaniment to a mezze type affair, try a simple carrot salad, some hummus and flatbreads.

Ingredients

250g cherry tomatoes
250g bulghar
olive oil
juice 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic
3 handfuls spinach
1 bunch mint
1 bunch parsley

Onions
3 red onions, finley sliced
2tsp brown sugar
1tbsp balsamic vinegar

• First up the tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 180C. Slice the tomatoes in half and throw onto a large baking tray. Drizzle with olive, season with crunchy flakes of sea salt, a twist of black pepper and a pinch of brown sugar. Stir well, making sure all the tomatoes are cut side up and roast for 40mins until shrivelled and golden.
• Meanwhile pour the bulghar wheat into a saucepan that has a lid with 1/2tsp of bouillon if you have it or a pinch of salt. Cover with boiling water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed and the bulghar is tender but still with some bite. (you may need to add a little extra water or drain any excess off.
• Heat a large frying pan with 2tbsp olive oil, add the onions and cook on low until completely soft. Add the balsamic vinegar, sugar and plenty of seasoning and cook for another 5mins or so until dark, sweet and sticky.
• To assemble the salad, squeeze the lemon juice over the bulghar and add 2-3tbsp olive oil, the garlic and most of the mint and parsley. Stir well and season to taste.
  
• Fold in the spinach and tumble onto a large serving platter. Top with roasted tomatoes, onions and the rest of the herbs.
  

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Chickpea Fritters

This is part of my resolution to actually cook something from the various food magazines I buy every month. These little chickpea fritters are from Olive. I made them as a starter when some friends came over, but they are pretty filling so would make a good lunch. I layered them with chargrilled aubergine and mozzarella and a tomato and coriander salsa. A deviation from the actual recipe which suggests using beetroot instead of aubergine, I've earmarked this for next time.


Whilst they were definitely delicious, flavoured with tahini, coriander and garlic, they are a little time consuming to make - separating eggs, whisking egg whites and the like. Don't let it put you off, just be prepared to spend a decent 30mins on it. The good news is leftovers keep pretty well, I actually made mine in the morning and warmed them through in the oven.

Ingredients

makes 8-10 small fritters

1 can chickpeas, drained
150ml milk
2 eggs, separated
1tsp baking powder
100g plain flour
1 small bunch coriander, chopped (reserves some for garnish)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
2tsp tahini
lemon, a good squeeze
1 aubergine, sliced
1 mozzarella ball, sliced
Tomato Salsa
250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
small bunch coriander, chopped
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp lemon juice

• To make the tomato salsa, mix all the ingredients and season well.
• Drizzle the aubergine slices in a little sunflower oil and rub in.
• Heat a large griddle pan and fry the aubergines for a few minutes on each side until soft.
• Remove from the pan, season well and squeeze over a little lemon juice.
  
• Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl,whisk the egg yolks and milk into a smooth paste.
• Sift in the flour and baking powder and whisk in well.
• Add the coriander, garlic, tahini, chilli and lemon juice and stir well.
• Now stir in the chickpeas.
• Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks, fold gently into the chickpea mixture.
• Heat a large frying pan and add a little oil. Spoon in about 1tbsp of mixture at a time into the pan and cook for 2-3mins on each side. you should get 8-10 fritters
  
• Drain on kitchen paper once cooked.
• To assemble, layer a fritter, a slice of aubergine and a slice of mozzarella and spoon over a little tomato salsa.

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Fajitas

Another student recipe, perfect for eating with a big group of friends. Surprisingly healthy, this is ful of veggies and will make a couple of chicken breasts go a really long way. We also had some sliced chillis on the side so you can make it really spicy if you're into that kind of thing...

Thinly sliced chicken breast, marinated in a punchy mix of paprika, ground cumin and ground coriander. Fry it up with lots of sliced onions and peppers. Load this onto your tortilla, top with some grated cheese, guacamole, a fresh and zesty salsa and a big dollop of soured cream (or yoghut). Then roll it up and stuff it into your mouth - be prepared for a bit of a mess.


Ingredients

Chicken
2 chicken breasts, sliced
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp paprika
2 onions, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped

Guacamole
1 avocado
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 lime
2tbsp yoghurt

Tomato salsa
200g cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 red onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cucumber, finely chopped
1/2 bunch coriander, chopped
1 lime
1tbsp olive oil

To serve:
200g grated cheese
1 small pot soured cream
8 tortillas, warm

• Put the chicken in a freezer bag and sprinkle over the spices.Close the bag, massage the spices into the meat and leave whilst you prepare the rest of the vegetables. Ideally, you'd leave it overnight to marinate in the fridge.
• Heat a large frying pan with a little oil, add the peppers, onions, garlic and chilli and cook over a high heat until softened.
• Remove from the pan and add the chicken, cook for 5 mins or so until browned. Add the onions and peppers back to the pan and cook for another few mins. Season well.
• For the guacamole, scoop the flesh out of the avocado and mash well, add the garlic, juice from the lime and yoghurt and stir well. Season well.
• For the salsa, simply mix the tomato, onion, cucumber, coriander and garlic together, squeeze over the lime juice, drizzle over the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stir well.

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Spicy Sausage Pasta

A simple bowl of pasta. Cheap, cheerful and full of flavour.

Put a large pot of water onto boil, and cook some pasta - whatever you have to hand really. Heat a large chopped garlic and chilli in a glug of olive oil. Add a couple of sliced sausages and fry until golden brown and caramelised. Pour in a can of chopped tomatoes, season well, perhaps add a pinch of sugar and simmer for 10mins or so until it's reduced and full of flavour. Add your cooked pasta to the sauce, mix well and throw in some shredded basil if you have it.


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Spaghetti with Tomato and Sausage

We got some tomatoes in the veg box this week, which was a welcome change, although we of course got the ubiquitous swede of course too (which I made into tasty rostis). I'm always a bit stumped as to what to do with tomatoes, cooking them seems to be a waste as I really want to make the most of their fresh, sweet flavour.

After a bit of time with my recipe books and Google, my favourite Saturday morning past time, I decided on a fresh pasta tomato sauce. I diced the tomatoes, added a little, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil and left them to marinade before stirring them through hot pasta with a little creme fraiche.

If the tomatoes were firm, red and tasted of summer as I'd hoped, I'd definitely have skipped the creme fraiche and just added some basil. Unfortunately, they were a little insipid and overripe, so needed a boost, but at least I have a recipe for tomatoes past their best.

This spaghetti and almond pasta is another favourite way to eat tomatoes.


Ingredients

Serves 4

350g spaghetti
4 sausages
2 tbsp olive oil
300 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
handful chopped thyme or oregano
6-8 tbsp creme fraiche

• Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water.
• Add the garlic, 1tbsp olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper to the tomatoes, stir well and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat a frying pan. Cut a slit into the sausages, remove the skin and break up the filling into small pieces.
• Add these to the pan with 1tbsp olive oil and thyme.
• Fry until the sausage is golden, add the tomatoes, cooked pasta and creme fraiche and stir well before serving.

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Seared Scallops with Bean mash, Roasted tomatoes and Crispy Bacon

This is a really old post from my birthday that I forgot to publish!

We decided to forgo a fabulous birthday meal, I got that with my best friend, she took me to Benares - amazing! Instead, we had a wonderful time in Borough Market and bought some beautiful scallops. The recipe below is from Jamie Oliver - The Return of the Naked Chef.

Anyway, this turned out to be an absolute treat, sweet tender scallops, with crispy salty bacon, roasted cherry tomatoes and a bean mash. Perfect indulgence in every mouthful. All washed down with some Moët, naturally...


Ingredients
Serves 4

125g cherry tomatoes
pinch dried oregano
olive oil
4 rasher streaky bacon
1 small clove garlic finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
3 anchovy fillets
1 can flagelot beans, drained (you could substitute cannellini or butter beans)
6-8 scallops
small bunch parsley chopped

Roast the tomatoes in the oven skins side down for 10-15mins.
Place the bacon beside them and roast for 10 more mins.
Meanwhile, fry the garlic, chillis and anchovies in 1 tbsp olive oil.
Add the beans, and a small glass of water.
Bring to the boil and mash, finish off with some oil and seasoning.
When the tomatoes are cooked, season the scallops and sear in a pan for 2mins on each side.
Serve a mound of the bean mash with the scallops balanced atop, scatter the bacon and tomatoes around and drizzle over some olive oil.

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Rocket Pesto

I'll never understand why people buy those horrid, bland ready made pasta sauces from the supermarket, full of who knows what and expensive! Pasta is the quickest, easiest thing to cook, you can often assemble a sauce in the time it takes to cook the pasta. Like this rocket pesto, and if you make lots, you can keep leftovers in the fridge for future quick pasta dinners. Below we had it as a quick lunch with some cherry tomatoes and bit of goats cheese that was languishing in the back of the fridge


This is a recipe from Cranks Bible, one of my favourite recipe books. I remember discovering this at university when rocket was the trendy new thing, what a revelation, rocket pesto is completely different to a classic pesto with the sweet creaminess of pine nuts and basil, this is altogether different; peppery, garlicky, it really packs a culinary punch.


Rocket, parmesan, looots of garlic, lemon juice and almonds all blended into a knobbly paste. You can then keep it in a jar in the fridge for at least a month. Eat this with linguine, some oily black olives, and a few sunblush tomatoes for a pleasing colour contrast as much as anything. Cranky also suggests stirring into a risotto, half way through cooking the rice for rocket and parmesan risotto.

Ingredients

Makes about 6 portions

3 cloves garlic
50g parmesan or strong cheddar, grated finely
50g blanched almonds
150ml olive oil
a few basil leaves (optional)
½tsp grain mustard
juice ½ lemon
1 red chilli

Throw everything into a small blender with a generous amount of seasoning and whizz until smooth. Simple as that! Adjust the amount of seasoning and lemon juice according to taste and decant into a clean dry jar. Read more...

Couscous Salad

I went camping this weekend, no ordinary camping, to a tipi! Camping trips always conjure up thoughts of lovely local shops selling lovely local food and cosy pubs with lovely warm fires. In reality, depending where you are, it can be hard to find a good pub and even harder to find one with good food. So, as we arrived late on Friday and wanted to make the most of our tipi, I planned ahead. Out came some sausages from the freezer, some homemade bread, leftover haloumi and... busy trying to use as much things from the fridge that were on the turn as possible, I decided on couscous, the perfect snack for the journey.

In reality of course, the campsite was brilliant (another winner from The Cool Camping Guide), with a delightful cafe on site, selling delicious breakfast and several pubs all within walking distant selling grat pub food, mostly mussels, which were literally caught over the road. Still... being the country, by the time we arrived on Friday, nowhere was selling food so I glad of my pack lunch (and the bottle of wine I thought to pack).


I love couscous, its such a pleasing vehicle for so many things - roasted carrots, smoked mackerel and brocolli.. I like it fresh and zingy as below with feta, parsley and lots of lemon juice, or with roasted vegetables and flaked almonds. The recipe below is obviously just a starting point, use whatever you have handy - peppers always nice, as are olives, anything you'd put into a salad really... Hummus is another great partner, or some leaves packed into the top of the box so they don't get soggy.



Serves 2

150g couscous
225ml hot vegetable stock
1/2 can chickpeas
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cucumber, cut in half, the middle scooped out and sliced
100g feta, crumbled
1 medium carrot, grated
bunch parsley(and some mint too if you have it), chopped
juice 1/2 lemon
3tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small handful toasted sunflower seeds or pine nuts

This is really just an assembly job...

• wiegh the couscous out in a large bowl, pour over the hot stock, cover a with a large plate and leave to steep for about 5mins.
• Once all the stock has been absorbed, fluff up using a fork. Pile all the ingredients into the bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Squeeze the lemon juice over and pour in the olive. Mix really well and taste, it'll probably need some salt and pepper.

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Simple Chickpea Stew

This is simplicity itself. I wanted something vaguely healthy (chickpeas count as a portion of your 5-a-day) that was comforting, ideally eaten from a bowl with enough sauce to soak into some carbohydrate, my choice being couscous. A dollop of yoghurt on top (I love yoghurt) and you're away.

This is basically, onions, garlic chilli, paprika, ground coriander and chickpeas simmered with chopped tomatoes for about 20mins and that's it! I like to always have chopped parsley around and its a nice contrast of green, but definitely not necessary, it also occurred to me that some toasted flaked almonds might add some texture, maybe next time.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 onions, diced (or sliced if you prefer)
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
1tsp smoked paprika
2tsp ground coriander
½tsp vegetable stock powder (bouillon), optional
2 cans chickpeas, drained
1 can chopped tomatoes

• Fry the onions, garlic and chilli over a low heat for 5-10mins until the onions are completely soft.
  
• Stir in the spices and fry until they release their pungent aroma.
• Pour in the chickpeas and stir well so that each chickpea is coated in the spice mixture
• Add the tomatoes. fill the empty can about half way with water, swill and pour into the pan.
• Add the bouillon powder and stir. Allow the mixture to simmer happily for about 15mins, after which taste and check for seasoning. You may need to add a little bit more water and/or paprika and ground coriander.
• Serve with couscous, yoghurt, and chopped parsley.
  

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Mexican Breakfast

As with most things I make, this isn't exactly authentic, but who cares when it tastes this good. And it did, believe me. This is a kind melding together of all things vaguely Mexican that I know of, initially inspired by this recipe from BBC Good Food, I made the spicy bean mixture, topped with cheese and grilled until bubbling and golden, on top came a fried egg, a spoon of tomato salsa, a handful of diced avocado and a splodge of greek yoghurt (in the absence of sour cream).

I would go so far as to say that this is almost healthy, plenty of beany protein and a hefty dose from the egg too, a couple of portions of veg and good fats from the avocado, all that colour is definitely good for you. This is a weekend breakfast though, you need a few hours reading the paper with a cup of tea to let it all digest. Then maybe another for lunch?

Breakfast Tostada

Serves 2

1 400g can refried beans
1 200g can kidney beans, drained
2 large flour tortillas
50g cheddar grated
1 green chilli , thinly sliced
2-4 free range eggs
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
½ red onion, diced
½ lime
½ avocado, diced
4tbsp sour cream or greek yoghurt

• Mix the tomatoes, red onion and lime juice together and season well.
  
• Mix the re-fried beans with the kidney beans and ½ the chilli, check if it needs extra seasoning.
• This makes a lot of bean mixture, leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days or freeze well.
• Spread a thin layer over the torillas, sprinkle with the cheese and remaining chilli and grill until the cheese is bubling and the tortilla crisp.
• Meanwhile heat about 1tbsp oil in a and fry the eggs to your preference. 1 or 2 each depending on how greedy you're feeling.
  
• Once the tostadas are cooked, top with the fried egg, a spoonful of salsa, some avocado and a dollop of sour cream.

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Spaghetti Puttanesca

Ah, the holy trinity of capers, olives and anchovies, they go so well together. You can't really beat a puttanesca, I used fresh tomatoes in this recipe, but that's mostly because we had lots. I think this is perfectly fine with chopped tomatoes. The intensity of flavour in the anchovy, capers and olives see to that.

I've included a recipe here, but once you made it once, you'll never the recipe again, its so easy. Just fry onions with garlic, chilli and anchovies, (I love anchovies so use loads), add the tomatoes, simmer for 10-15 mins until the sauce is thick, then add some capers and chopped black olives. done! I had mine with parsley, but you could have basil or nothing. Cheese is somewhat unorthodox but also good with this. Read more...

Courgette Caponata

With the bounty from my weekend doing Farmer's Markets, I decided to try making caponata for when my friends came over. This is a very loose version garnered from reading several recipes and then making it up! The general premise is that you cook onions, peppers and aubergine sloowly and then add some vinegar, tomatoes, capers and olives and continue to cook into a delicious stew, sweet from the peppers and onions and a bit sour from the capers and vinegar. Eat topped with pine nuts and basil. We had our slathered on toast, but I'm thinking you could have it with couscous or mixed into pasta. Any carb vehicle would do really.

I made mine with fabulous yellow courgettes, instead of the usual aubergine. So for a more authentic recipe, click here. I also made mine the night before to allow the flavours to develop and in fact you could keep a tub in the fridge for a few days, the flavours will just get better. We also found that it tastes better when cooled to room temperature rather than hot.

I'm pretty pleased that I got to use some basil from the bush we have growing in a window box. We got some other herbs at the farmers' market, so we'll see how they do. Including orange thyme, any suggestions on how to use it? I'm thinking perhaps with fish...

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 onions, sliced
3 peppers, sliced into long strips
2 courgettes, halved and sliced diagonally
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp olives, sliced
200g cherry tomatoes, halved

To serve:
basil and toasted pine nuts

Cook the onions, courgette and peppers in a liberal slug of olive oil for 10mins until softened and catching in places. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a few more minutes. Now add the rest of the ingredients, and cook slowly for 20mins more until the tomatoes have broken down and you have a thick stew. Season and serve at room temperature with the basil and pine nuts sprinkled on top. Read more...

Pizza

I don't normally go in for homemade pizza, I would much rather make flatbread pizzas, so much quicker! But, dinner was left up to Pete and this is what he came up with. Very impressed I was too. He used the Jamie Oliver recipe for pizza dough (he prefers Delia's though) and we got 4 decent sized pizzas out of it with half the quantities.

Now the topping, invented by us is where this really comes into its own. We roasted cherry tomatoes with the usual garlic and dried thyme, then chucked some basil on them and mashed them with a fork (watch out for the boiling liquid that squirts everywhere!) . Two 250g packs of cherry tomatoes should be enough to cover 4 pizzas (Use this recipe to roast them).


And there you have a delicious pizza sauce that's pretty good on its own with some mozzarella strewn on top and some black pepper. Bake at 200C for about 20mins until bubbling and golden and the base is cooked. Once out, drizzle with some good olive oil, and sprinkle over some more chopped basil. A few slices of creamy avocado would be nice on top, a handful of rocket or some toasted pine nuts....

The toppings for pizza are endless, the only rule I would say with home made pizza is to avoid the temptation to overload with toppings as it can make the pizza soggy and its best to instead make a few different pizzas and be able to actually taste the individual toppings.

To really avoid the soggy bottom of homemade pizzas, you need to get a pizza stone, to achieve a really crispy base, that's if you're really serious. Or, like Pete you could use an old kitchen tile....

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Scallops with Lentils and Roasted Tomato

Mmmm, yes more decadent eating. This was a mesh of lots of recipes that I saw, mostly including bacon, so I adjusted them a little bit. In fact, the sweetness of the roasted tomatoes goes really sweet scallops. If you're not feeling so flash, I think this would go really well with haloumi instead.

Another method of roasting tomatoes that I'm considering trying too, is to preheat the oven to 170°C, prepare the tomatoes as below, put them in the oven, immediately turn it off and leave them overnight so they end up like those sunblush tomatoes you can get. you could make loads this way and then keep them in jar covered in oil until needed.

Serves 4

250g cheery tomatoes, halved
150g puy lentils
12 scallops
½ lemon
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp thyme (dried or fresh)
1 pinch brown sugar
100g rocket

Put the cherry tomatoes in a roasting tray with enough space to be slightly spread out. Add seasoning, a sprinkle of brown sugar, ½ the garlic, thyme and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix well and place in an oven at 150°C for 1hour.

Meanwhile cover the lentils in water, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10mins, now simmer for 35mins until soft. Drain and dress with plenty of seasoning, the garlic, olive oil and spritz of lemon juice.

To cook the scallops, season and drizzle with a little oil. Get a pan really hot and sear the scallops on either side for a few mins.

To assemble, add a large spoon of lentils to the plate, add a handful of roasted tomatoes and some rocket leaves, now place four scallops on top drizzle with oil and feel proud of yourself. Read more...

Simple Tomato Sauce with Basil Oil

This was another staring in the fridge moment, or rather my friend Rose was, we decided to make a fresh tomato sauce, I suggested a raw one but she didn't agree. Anyway, with some lazy chopping we decided to try blending it and came up with lovely sauce. Some red pepper that needed to be used up added some sweetness and I made the basil oil to utilise some limp basil I had. We also threw some capers in a the end, just because we love them.

This is really good for using up tomatoes that have past their best. Make as much of this as you can and you can keep the leftover sauce in a jar in the fridge.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
250g tomatoes, roughly chopped
1tbsp capers
Couple sprigs of thyme

Basil Oil
1 small bunch basil
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp olive oil

Blend all the ingredients for the basil oil and set aside. Fry the onion and pepper in olive oil for 5mins until softened, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes and thyme and season well. turn the heat down and leave for 15-20mins until the water has evaporated and the sauce has thickened. Take off the heat and blend (carefully! Make sure the sauce doesn't splash everywhere...). Serve with pasta and drizzle the basil oil over. Read more...