Healthy Greek cous cous salad

Here's a healthier take on a greek pasta salad I make :)

• 200g cous cous, soaked for 20min in 250ml water (I use bulgar wheat as well, or quinoa)
• 4 heaped teaspoons pesto (red or green, your choice)
• 50ml white wine vinegar
• 25ml olive oil
• couple dashes lemon juice
• 2 chopped spring onions
• quarter cucumber chopped fine
• 16 baby plum tomatoes chopped into 9 
• Whole block of feta chopped up
• 1 small red chilli chopped fine
• Finely chopped fresh basil and oregano

Make up the cous cous and leave to soak.

Mix the pesto, vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice together with the chilli.  Once the cous cous has soaked for 20mins and is still warm, mix it through with the pesto mix and leave to soak for another 20 mins.

In the meantime, chop your onions, cucumber, tomatoes and feta and add to a large salad bowl.  Add in the soaked cous cous and the chopped herbs and mix through well.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Christmas Pudding Cupcakes with Brandy Butter Frosting

I haven't tasted these (only invented them) cos I don't like xmas pudding, but everyone who tried them said they were delicious :) good for leftovers!

Cupcakes

• 120g plain flour
• 140g caster sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 40g unsalted butter or margarine
• 120ml whole milk (but I do use semi-skimmed)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Average sized supermarket christmas pudding (value!), around 454g

Frosting

• 250g icing sugar
• 80g brandy butter
• 25ml milk

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl or a mixer and mix until everything is a sandy consistency.

Pour in half the milk and mix until just combined.

Mix the egg with the vanilla extract and the rest of the milk and then pour into the mixture and mix again

Crumble about 2/3 of the christmas pudding into the mixture and mix again for a short time.

Spoon the mixture into paper cases so they are around 2/3 full and put into the oven for 20-25 mins.

Whilst they are cooking, put the icing sugar and brandy butter in a bowl, if you have a mixer you are best using it here.  Mix until it looks sandy again, then add the milk and put the mixer on full speed.  Leave it mixing for around 5 mins to make the frosting light and fluffy.

Once cupcakes are done, remove from oven and leave to cool, then pipe or spoon the frosting onto the top and decorate with sprinkles.

Spicy Corn Chowder

One of the 12 days of Soupmas :)  Made with all the leftovers I had in the house at the time

Serves 8

• 1 medium red onion (chopped fine)
• 6 spring onions (chopped fine)
• 1 leek (chopped fine)
• 6 medium potatoes (peeled and chopped fine)
• 2 cans of sweetcorn (340g each)
• 1.5l vegetable/chicken stock
• 500ml semi skimmed milk
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• pinch of chilli flakes or powder (to taste)
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Heat the oil in a large pan on the hob (around 3 litres in size or halve the recipe)

Saute the onion, spring onions and leek for 5-10 minutes until soft.

Add the potato and corn and mix well, season with chilli, salt and pepper.

Pour in the stock and milk and boil then leave to simmer for at least 60mins.

Before serving, if you have a hand blender or stand blender, use it to blend around half the soup so it becomes thick but there are still chunky bits in it.

Serve with fresh crusty bread and lashings of butter :)

Spicy pasta meatballs

• 4 Pork and chorizo burgers (or any speciality burgers from a supermarket)
• 6 Pork and chorizo sausages (or any speciality sausages from a supermarket)
• 2 large onions cut into chunks
• 4 rashers of bacon cut into small pieces
• 8-10 large mushrooms cut into chunks
• 300ml red wine
• 2 jars tomato sauce
• smoked paprika
• dried chilli to taste

Heat a large flat bottomed pan on the stove with some oil in.

Cut each burger into eighths and roll gently into ball shapes.  Cut the skin of the sausages and take out the meat and roll into balls equal in size to the burger ones.  Put all the formed meatballs into the pan and lightly brown them then put them to one side.

Saute the onions in the empty pan for around 5 minutes until soft and then add the bacon and cook as well.  Finally add the mushrooms and saute until cooked.  Add around a teaspoon of smoked paprika and stir until all is coated.  Add the chilli to taste (just a pinch makes it nice and spicy).

Pour in the jars of tomato sauce and add the red wine.  Bring to the boil and then simmer and add the browned meatballs.  Cook on simmer for around 30 mins.

15 mins into the simmer, put on the pasta of your choice.  Then once cooked serve with Parmesan cheese and enjoy :)

Goats cheese and red onion tartlets

I make these tarts using my proper Yorkshire pudding tin (4 shallow cups in the tin) so it makes perfect shallow little tarts.

• 4 slices of bread
• Splash of olive oil
• 2 large red onions cut in half and very thinly sliced
• 50ml red wine
• 50ml balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 small round of goats cheese (from the chiller aisle, not the cheese counter, there's one in a white packet with a goat on the top for 99p), sliced into 4 circles.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Heat the oil in a shallow based frying pan, add the onion and saute for 5-10 minutes until soft.

Add the red wine, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and simmer on a low heat for around 20mins until the liquid goes thick and sticky.

Grease the Yorkshire Pudding tins.  Get a cookie cutter or a saucer a little bigger than the size of the yorkshire pudding cup and cut out circles of bread.  Put them into the cups and gently push them into the edges to form a little case.

Divide the onion mixture equally between the cases and lay a slice of goats cheese on the top of each tart.  Put in the oven for 10-15 mins until the cheese goes golden brown on top.

Irish Coffee Mousse

This is a lovely but very rich :)  Shown in an irish coffee cup but would work very well in a small wine glass, the old style round 70s ones which they used to use in restaurants for Irish Coffees.  As with liquor coffees, you can pick your own flavour of alcohol, I just like Tia Maria ;)

Needs at least 6hrs chilling, so make night before or early in the morning.

For the coffee/chocolate mousse

• 300g 70% (at least) cocoa dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons espresso coffee made up (can buy instant from supermarkets or really strong coffee)
• 2 tablespoons of your chosen alcohol
• 120g unsalted butter
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 6 tablespoons caster sugar

For the white chocolate topping

• 200g white chocolate
• 1 1/2 gelatine leaves
• 350ml whipping or double cream
• 3 medium egg yolks
• 65g icing sugar
• a little vanilla extract

Bring a pan of water to the boil.  Find a heatproof bowl that will fit in the top of the pan and put the chocolate in this with the coffee, alcohol and the butter and melt it slowly.  Once it has melted remove from the heat and stir.

Mix in the 6 egg yolks until the mixture is very smooth (it may look a little grainy at this point, do not worry).

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff and a bowl can be turned upside down without them moving, slowly add the sugar, tablespoon at a time allowing each one to dissolve in the mix and whisk until it goes stuff and glossy.

Fold a ladleful of the egg mix into the chocolate and then add the rest trying to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.

Spoon carefully into the individual glasses, leaving at least a 1cm gap at the top of the glass and put into the fridge until you have made the next step.

Wash all the bowls you used, you're going to need them again.

Again melt the white chocolate in the bowl over the pan of water.  

Put the gelatine leaves on a plate with a few spoons of the cream and heat in a microwave for a minute or so until dissolved.

In another bowl beat the egg yolks and the sugar with an electric whisk, add the gelatine cream and the melted white chocolate and mix well.

In another bowl whip the remainder of the cream untol thick and then fold into the chocolate and egg yolk mixture.

Get the glasses with the dark mousse in out of the fridge and they will be slightly set.  Add some white chocolate mousse to the tops of the glasses so it looks like the floating cream topping on an irish coffee.

Chill the mousses for at least 6hrs before serving, and then gently dust with cocoa powder before you put them out.

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Drunken Mushrooms

Really easy to make for a nice dinner :)  Make just before you want to serve.  Makes enough for around 6 people.

• 500g value mushrooms(stalks removed) chopped chunky (so each mushroom into 6 or 8 pieces)
• 1 packet wild mushrooms (oyster, chanterelle or any others)
• 10 garlic cloves chopped finely or crushed
• small bunch fresh parsley chopped
• 75ml double cream
• 375ml white wine
• 50g salted butter
• Nice crusty bread like granary or mediterranean cut into 12 slices

Put the butter in a large saute pan over a low heat until it melts.  Add the garlic and parsley and let it cook gently.

Heat the oven to 180 degrees.  Place the bread slices on a baking trays and brush both sides of the bread with oil.  Place in oven for 10 mins until become crispy.

Add mushrooms to butter and garlic in the pan and toss so they are all coated.  Cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the white wine and then the double cream, turn down to a fierce simmer and cook for another 5 minutes until the sauce starts to reduce.  

Serve 2 slices of bread on a plate with mushrooms poured over the top.