A cup of tea

I'm revising for my Java exam, and right now a cup of tea is the closest I'm getting to any form of culinery delight...
That said, a cup of tea is hitting the spot completely, thus deserves a little blog attention. I think perhaps you should have one too?

A warm lentil salad with goats cheese and bacon...

Around a year ago I attempted to follow the Greek Doctor’s Diet, by attempt I mean I read the book and took a few things on board. It’s hard to take anyone who suggests that cheese and biscuits should never be eaten together, and that his diet is one that you should follow for the rest of your life, too seriously (or maybe that was just the point in the book that I realised I could never stick to this diet forever, cheese and biscuits, together, are the BEST). Despite the Greek’s faux pas (he did have extensive medical evidence to suggest his low GI approach was a winner) he made some fair points, and for a few weeks I did avoid potatoes, rice, bread and all the things that make it possible to eat anywhere near economically. Oh, and i didn’t really lose any weight, and that was the point I started running, which is far more fun than any attempts to curb your eating habits :)


If one good thing did come out of that diet it was a new love for lentils. This salad is especially tasty, probably because you fry bacon and onion in the pan before adding the lentils and water. This is a slightly modified version of my brother’s recipe, I’m using goats cheese rather than feta cheese, and peas instead of soya beans. Red onion tastes good in this as well, and i once used halloumi cheese which worked a treat. In short, you’ll probably find throwing in many things will work out fine.



A warm lentil salad with goats cheese and bacon...

• 4 bacon rashers, chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 small onion , finely chopped
• 200g cherry tomatoes , halved
• 150g green or puy lentils
• 1 cupful frozen peas
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 100g goats cheese in small pieces (or crumbles, depends on your goats cheese really)
  

1. Fry the bacon in a stick pan (as opposed to a non-stick pan, makes everything taste better when cooking the lentils) with a little oil until crisp. Remove the bacon.

2. Add the diced onion (add a little more oil if necessary) and fry until soft.

3. Add half the bacon back to the pan, and add the lentils. Stir the lentils in the mixture and allow a minute for them to soak up a little oil.

4. Cover the lentils with cold water (just enough to cover, you want the lentils to soak up the water, and shouldn’t expect to drain off the water before serving).

5. Bring the lentils to the boil, and then bring down to a simmer, put a lid on and leave for 20 mins. Check occasionally in case you need to add a touch more water.

6. Add the frozen peas in the final five minutes of cooking.

7. Before serving add the balsamic vinegar, cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and goats cheese.



The recipe above is for two, but I usually make enough for tomorrow’s lunch as well, as it’s fine to take to work cold.

And we’re done, I really should be revising right now, which is probably why I’ve finally managed another blog post, because revision is boring. Revision has also coincided with Food Monthly day (the day that without fail the Observer must be bought). That it calls itself the ‘Credit Crunch Cuisine’ issue, yet offers little in the way of budget recipes, it still has some amazing dessert ideas from old Mr Slater. I managed to stop myself embarking on a bakewell tart attempt today (it would definitely not fall into the essential domestica tasks bracket), but after October 6th (when 3 hour Java exam occurs) I’m free to bake and bake and bake....

Strawberry & cream Puffs

A Simple Dessert using up half a packet of puff pastry:

Half a pot of Double Cream
Golden Caster Sugar (50 g)
Half a packet of puff pastry
Icing sugar
Strawberries

1. Roll out your puff pastry to make a square (you'll need a floured surface and floured rolling pin or things will get messy).
2. Put the pastry on a baking tray and place another baking tray on top of the pastry (this will stop things getting too 'puffed')
3. Put the pastry in the oven at 200oC (fan oven, 220oC non-fan) for 20 mins until golden.
   
4. Remove the pastry, and dust with icing sugar.
5. Heat your grill to high
6. Put your pastry underneath the grill to caramelise. Watch carefully! At this point mine pretty much burnt, but was still edible, just.
   
7. Cut the pastry into rectangles, whilst it is still warm.
   
8. Whip the cream lightly with the caster sugar and add a few drops of vanilla extract, until the cream just holds its shape.
9. Slice the strawberries.
10. Assemble the puffs, add cream to each pastry rectangle and arrange the strawberries on top. Add another pastry rectangle on the top if you haven't burnt half of them *ahem*
11. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
    

Notes: As mentioned - keep a close eye as you grill the pastry. I also found the cream too sweet so adding the caster sugar is probably unnecessary.

Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes

I'm in the throws of preparing some pizza (I had to give in and be a real chef after the shop sold out of Pizza bases) so Whilst I wait for the dough to rise, here's a (albeit brief) recipe for the balsamic cherry tomotoes that will become one of my toppings:

1.  Oven on at 160oC (Fan)

2. Slice your cherry tomoatoes in half

3. Throws tomatoes in a roasting dish with some balsamic vinegar and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Remove from oven 20-30 mins later.

And you have balsamic cherry tomatoes, suitable for salads, to accompany dips, for pizza toppings etc..

Sausages, Bubble & Squeak and Onion gravy

I made this dinner after my long awaited return to running. After work I went with my boss for a 7.5km run and at the time I was feeling quite perky, but obviously an easy dinner was called for. My bangers and mash is a trusted favourite with very little margin for error. It can't just be mash though, bubble and squeak is far more fun! Allow an hour and half for the onion gravy, which gives you enough time to boil the veg. By the time dinner was cooked I had the mother of all headaches, at first I obviously assumed this was the onslaught of a lifetime of migraines and went to bed having hardly touched dinner... The morning after, I googled 'headache after exercise' and it appears I probably had just cained the running a little too hard*, since my legs since ache slightly three days later, the diagnosis is probably correct. Oh well, exercise isn't good for you after all!

*NB - a website did mention it was either exertion or bleeding of the brain, thankfully it appears to have been exertion :)

Anyway, onwards to what i think it is a pretty good sausages and mash recipe:

Ingredients:

Pork Sausages
6 potatoes
Half a Cabbage
1 Onion
300 ml of Diluted Bovril (or any beef stock, but Bovril makes the BEST gravy)
100ml Red wine ( i probably added more)
Mayonnaise
Butter
Wholegrain Mustard
Diijon mustard
Worcestershire sauce

Onion Gravy:

1. Slice your onions as finely as possible, add to a generous knob of melted butter in pan big enough to accommadate the 400mls of liquid you will add later.

2. Cook the onions until soft, then turn the heat down, leave for around an hour until browned, stirring occasionally.

3. Add a teaspoon of dijon mustard to the onions, a few splashes of worcestershire sauce, and give it a good stir. (you may wish to add some plain flour at this point for a thicker gravy, instead I add 'diluted' corn flour at the end if thickening is necessary).

4.Now add the red wine and stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Leave simmering for around 20 mins. Add cornflour mixed with a little water if thickening is required.

BUbble & Squeak:

1. Chop the potatoes into even sized chunks (quarters).
2. Boil the potatoes for 20/30 mins, until soft when pricked with a fork, nearly falling apart.
3. Mash the potatoes, I use a potato ricer which makes your life alot easier. I add whatever I've got
into the fridge into my mash (within reason). Today I added a drop of milk, some mayo, some
wholegrain mustard and a small knob of butter (which will help the squeak brown later). Season
well with salt and pepper.
3. Slice then chop the cabbage, boil for about 5 mins, until soft.
4. Add the cabbage to the potato and mash together.

5. Warm a non stick frying pan on the hob, but don't add any oil.

6. Add the mash & cabbage mixture to the pan, and spread it out to cover the span of the pan. Now leave the mixture for a few minutes before stirring. The mixture should 'bubble' a little (thus the name), I really like the brown bits so I cook the bubble and squeak for about 20- 30 mins.

*Bubble and Squeak is traditionally made from left over mash potato and cabbage (but I love it so much I make it from scratch).

Sausages:

Put the sausages in the oven, at about 180oC (Fan Oven), this depends on the sausages, but my chipolatas required about 30 mins to go brown and sticky (don't prick the sausages, or add any oil).

And we're done, hopefully you're in a fitter state to eat than I was :)