Mediterranean Tart

We did have a nice day recently, it was not too cold and the sun was shining, quite hard to believe now. Anyway, i pottered around the garden, and planted chamomile, sun flowers, calendular and nasturtiums. I felt so summery and started craving chilled wine and something Mediterranean for dinner. So I went for a quick and easy classic, you can really make this with whatever you fancy or whatever you have in the house. Here is my rough guide... or at least how I made it on this occasion :)
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 pkt puff pastry (yes, some cheats are useful)
8 - 10 Tomatoes
Olives
I Pepper sliced and roasted
Red onion
1/2 pack of
Feta Cheese
Basil
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180
2. Just roll out the pastry on a baking sheet, I do mine quite thin, but this is personal preference, and pop it into the fridge
3. Slice tomatoes and put in a bowl, drizzle with olive and a couple of splashes of Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, mix well and leave for about 10 mins
4. In the mean time slice you onions into thin rings, chop the feta, half the olives (remove any stones) and chop the basil.
5, Brush your pastry generously with the olive oil and balsamic mixture your tomatoes are resting in.
6, Layer the tomatoes onto the pastry before adding the other ingredients. Leave the cheese and basil till last. Crumble the feta pieces over the top, then sprinkle the fresh basil.
7, Dip the pastry brush in the leftover oil and balsamic mixture and splatter the liquid over the tart.
8, Pop in the oven for about 30 mins
Serve with a huge salad and chilled wine

Cauliflower Cheese Risotto

I was never what you would call a Risotto fan. The ones I tasted were often bland and not very exciting. One of which was in a Michelin Star restaurant. It was spectacularly expensive, and spectacularly disappointing. It was criminal actually, and talking of which, my dinning companion's credit card was cloned by one of their repellent staff, we have never been back! Anyway, I recently had the best Risotto, Pea and Mint, in a tiny Gastro Pub in Salisbury. It was amazing, I wanted to eat the bowl and possibly the chef who made it, in the hope of tasting any remaining infusion.
So I started making them. They have to be the cheapest thing in the world to make and you can use anything you fancy in them. I am skint at the moment, and the larder had only some onion, celery and a cauliflower, which was coming to the end of its life. So I made Cauliflower Cheese Risotto, it was lovely. I'll admit it's not very Italian, but it is most definitely comfort food heaven. Here's the recipe.


Ingredients (serves 4)
12oz Risotto Rice
2 pints of stock (chicken or Veggie)
1 Whole Cauliflower
40z Very Strong Cheddar
30z Parmesan
Dry Tarragon
Nutmeg
Dijon Mustard
1 Onion
1 Sticky of celery
5 Cloves of Garlic

Method
1, Heat the stock to simmering
2,Finely chop onion, garlic and celery. Keep the garlic separate.
3, Grate the cauliflower florets (see picture above) and chop up the stalks
4, Fry the onion, chopped cauliflower stalks and celery in 2 tblsp of Olive Oil for about 10 minutes till soft
5, Stir in the rice and garlic and keep stirring, you will see the grains starting to burst. Lower the heat, and once they look like they are going transparent add a small glass of white wine. Keep stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed.
6, Add a ladle full of stock and keep stirring. Once this has been all absorbed, stir in your grated cauliflower, 1tsp nutmeg, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, and heaped tbls of Dried Tarragon (fresh is better if you have it) salt and pepper, before adding another ladle of stock. Stir very well.
7, Keep adding ladles of stock for about 20 mins, making sure most of the liquid has been absorbed. Taste the Risotto, it should be creamy, but with a bit of bite from the rice grains.
8, When you are happy with it, remove from the heat. Season if necessary, and then stir in well the cheddar, then the Parmesan and finally a knob of butter. Serve immediately

Always good with a nice fresh salad :)

Another Cottage Pie!

I don't want to give That Woman more space on my blog, but it is still hanging in the back of my mind! Hmmmm. Also, to my horror, someone I know made her shepherds pie, and boasted about it. Oh well, I guess we all have our cross to bare, and mine is feeling the need to watch Her every week and verbally beat her with a potato masher. In a very mature way, obviously :)

I decided on Sunday to make a Cottage Pie, it has been years, but I was convinced it wasn't the hardest thing in the world to make, therefore requiring numerous cheats. I prefer mashed swede to potatoes, so here is my recipe (and no, I am not some moron on Atkins!). It did take about 30 mins to chop, stir and assemble, but there as enough for 4 hearty portions, and if I had made 8 portions, it would have taken 4o mins. The extra portions freeze fine, so there is a nice "cheat" for a quick meal during the week ;)

Why do we need another Cottage Pie recipe? Well, the answer is, we don't! But it's mine, and I like it :)

Ingredients -
1 Large Swede
2 Carrots
2 Sticks of Celery
1 Large onion
5 Cloves of Garlic - Finely chopped
500g Lean Minced Beef
1 Tin of Chopped tomatoes
1/4 Pint of Beef stock
1 Tbs Tomato Puree
1 tbs of Creamed Horseradish
Olive Oil
1oz Butter
Salt & Pepper
Herbs of your choice (i have some dried mixed herbs from Provence - they work well, despite the 1970's authenticity)

1. Peel the swede, chop into chucks, pop into a saucepan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and then simmer.
2. Chop the carrot, celery and onion into very small cubes.
3. Heat 1 tbs of Olive oil and add the carrots, onion & celery, stir very well and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for about 5mins until soft.
4. Add the copped garlic and mix well, and then the beef. As you stir in the beef, use a fork to you can break down the lumps of meat
5. Once the meat is all brown add your stock, tin of toms, herbs and tomato puree, mix very well. Add a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Simmer for 30 mins, stirring occasionally.
6. This should have taken about 20 mins, so see if Swede is done... if not leave for another 5 mins. When soft drain and mash with the butter, horseradish, and season with salt and pepper.
7. When the meat is ready, you know what to do.... pour the mince into an ovenproof dish and top with the swede, put this in the oven for 30 mins - and you are ready to serve :)

If you prefer a veggie option, Quorn Mince works really well in this, but watch the moisture, before adding the to the casserole dish you make need to spoon off excess liquid.