Things on Toast; Monday - Eggs Florentine

So one of my favourite meals of the day is breakfast, in particular, toast (which my housemates know all too well!) For some reason, people at Uni seem to skip breakfast more than when they are at home - be it because they are in a mad rush for a 9am or simply because they are too hungover - I want to stop making breakfast a chore! For the next seven days, I will post 7 different, more exciting ways to eat your toast, some will be more tricky than others, but all doable!

So here is Monday's instalment: Eggs Florentine - Poached egg on wilted spinach with hollandaise sauce oodled over.

Based on 1 person, you'll need:

3 eggs (1 whole, 2 yolks only)

1 Lemon

50g butter

a good handful of spinach

A Slice of toast (obv...)

The trickiest part of this recipe is the hollandaise sauce, but it's not as hard as it may seem! Trust me.

Get a pan of boiling water and put a glass bowl on the top. Melt the butter into the bowl, squeezing in the lemon, then put the two yolks in and whisk constantly until the sauce thickens. Take off the heat.

Put your toast in. In a skillet or frying pan, on a medium heat, put your spinach in with just a splash of water, cover with a lid.

In the pan with boiling water, with a spoon, stir the water quite fast, until you get a small whirlpool in the middle, crack your egg in (I crack my egg into a small glass, then use that to lower it in) and reduce the heat so that the water is barely boiling - this will ensure the egg doesn't get battered and split. Cook for 3-4 minutes depending on the size of your egg.

Lay the wilted spinach on the toast, top with your poached egg (remove with a slotted spoon) and spoon over the hollandaise sauce. Finish with salt and pepper.

Hx

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Honey and Lemon Tea...Cold and Flu Remedy

I haven't posted for an absolute age on here, the usual start of term madness has finally settled down, and low and behold, I have come down with the usual bout of Fresher's Flu (along with my entire social circle)!  This will take you seconds to make, but will last you all year, and trust me, you will be glad of it when the dreaded freshers flu comes for you!  I am drinking a soothing mug of this as I write, and already my throat is feeling better and it's as though I have my beloved mum here looking after me!

 

 

All you need is half a jar or honey and a whole lemon.  Thinly slice the lemon and put it in the jar of honey.  Put in the fridge, and over time, it will go brown and turn into a sort of marmalade.  A few spoonfuls of this magic mix in a mug of boiling water will soothe even the nastiest of fluey cold symptoms.

Get Well Soon!

Hx
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Heavenly Tarte au Citron

Since I went to France a few weeks ago, and devouring my way through most artisan patisseries, it has been the tarte au citron which has stuck in my mind.   I made my own pastry, but I wouldn't blame you if you just went and got the shop-bought stuff for ease. So here we have it, a heavenly, silky, creamy dessert, perfect for sharing and impressing dinner guests. Enjoy...

Pastry:

125g plain flour

60g cold cubed butter

80g icing sugar

2-3 tbsp cold water

 

Filling:

200g Mascarpone

14oz Tin Condensed Milk

5 Lemons, Zested, 3 Juiced

2 Whole Eggs

2 Egg Yolks

 

 

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  With  your (preferably cold) fingers, rub together all of the pastry ingredients, then form a ball (is it just me or is this beginning to sound like an exert from 50 shades of Grey.......).  On a well floured surface, roll out into a 30X30cm (roughly) circle, and line it into a well greased quiche dish.  Bake blind for 10-15 minutes (until golden), remove, and turn down to about 150 degrees.

 

Whisk together your filling ingredients.  Pour onto your baked pastry and bake for about 10-15 minutes, until it looks wobbly when you give it a shake (it shouldn't go brown).

 

Let it cool, refrigerate and bask in the glory of its deliciousness....

 

;-)

 

Hx

 



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Giant Pasta Shells Stuffed with Roasted Red Pepper and Butternut Squash with Spinach and Ricotta

'Tis the season for....Butternut squash!  It is THE veg to be eating in September if you want seasonal, fresher than fresh beautiful veg (note I only use half in this recipe - the second half has been used for a second recipe which will be up ASAP).  This is a good get-ahead meal, as once cooked, you can just stick a few in the microwave and have for an easy lunch or dinner in days to follow.  I always find stuffed pasta very filling so one 'batch' of this will go far!

Based on a 'Batch' (serves 4 people, or 4 solitary meals)

 

About 20 conchiglioni (which is ever such fun to say - try it if you are as sad as I am...)

Half a bag of spinach

3 Tbsp Ricotta

2 Tbsp Cream Cheese

1/2 a Butternut Squash, Cubed

1 Red Pepper, finely diced

A sprinkle of Chilli Flakes

6 Cloves Garlic

1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes

A Splash of Balsamic

A pinch of Sugar

A pinch of Oregano

Salt and Pepper to Taste

 

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees.  On a tray, place your cubed squash and pepper.  Throw 4 garlic cloves in (don't worry about faffing about with peeling them - you will discard them later on).  Cover it all with a good lug of olive oil and a smattering of chilli flakes.

 

In a saucepan, on full heat, add a splash of water - just enough to cover the bottom - and throw in your spinach leaves, cover with a lid and leave for about a minute - they should wilt in this time.

 

In a mixing bowl, mix your ricotta and cream cheese together, crush your 2 remaining garlic cloves in, mix in the spinach and leave.

 

Cook the pasta shells in boiling water for about 10 mins.  When they are done, drain and cover with cold water so that they are cool enough to handle.

 

In your roasting dish, empty your tomatoes, add a splash of balsamic, a pinch of sugar and season with salt and pepper.  Using the tin the tomatoes were held in, fill with water and add this to the dish - this will help keep the pasta nice and hydrated when in the oven (most will evaporate off whilst cooking anyway so don't worry about losing flavour).

 

After your veg is roasted (your squash should be nice and soft, this should take 30-40 mins), chuck out the garlic cloves and add to your spinach and cheese mixture and stir in.  Crank the oven up to 200 degrees.  Using a dessert spoon, fill each pasta shell with about a spoonful for each, placing on top of your tomatoes.  Cook for about 15 minutes.

 

I didn't, but if you want extra cheesiness, top with grated parmesan.

 

Enjoy

 

 

 

Hx



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7 Minute Chocolate and Orange Fudge Truffles

Chocolate, Clotted Cream, Fudge, Orange, Butter....needless to say that weight watchers need not apply.  But for the not-so-feint hearted, these babies are utterly melt-in-mouth deliciously scrummy.  They take a tiny 7 minutes to actually make (though allow them to cool over night).  If I am strapped for cash (ahem...most of my time then...) then I make these for people for their birthdays/christmas, they make a great gift - they may not cost a lot but they show that a bit of thought and effort has gone into the person, and the best bit is that they are suitable for everyone...friends, grannies, boyfriends, mums, sisters.  And trust me, they won't complain being on the receiving end of these bad boys!

Ingredients:

1 tin Condensed Milk (14oz)

3 Oranges (zested, 2 juiced)

300g Dark Chocolate

200g Clotted Cream

200g Caster Sugar

200g Butter

Cocoa Powder to Dust

 



In a large pan, melt the butter and chocolate together on a low heat. Add all of the other ingredients, slowly stirring, simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes.  Voila - this is your truffle fudge mixture.  How easy was that?

 

Once cooled (best to cool over night), get a teaspoon and scoop into small balls (if they don't make perfect balls (pah) then with clean hands, roll in your palms to do so).  Coat in cocoa powder and serve!

 

It's best to present them in small little gift boxes lined with some grease proof paper to make it look like a grown up posh pressie.

 

 

 

Feel free to help them eat said gift....

 

Hx



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Spanish Tortilla

I don't know why more people don't make these, it is formed from the most humble (and cheap) ingredients: Potato, onion and egg.  It really is delicious and can be eaten hot or cold; a nice cold slice makes for a perfect lunch on-the-go, or alternatively, warmed and enjoyed as a side dish or with some salad for dinner. 

2 Onions

2 Potatoes

5 Eggs

150g Grated Parmesan

50ml Cream

100g Cream Cheese

2 Crushed Garlic Cloves

Bunch of Fresh Oregano

Very finely slice the onions and sauté in a pan in a good lug of olive oil on a very low heat in a large saucepan.  Using the slicer mechanism on a cheese grater, very finely slice the potato and put in the pan with the onions.  Crush your garlic in and stir.  Keep stirring occasionally to void the potato sticking to the bottom of the pan. Spoon your cream cheese in and stir in.  Tear the oregano and stir in.  When the potato is cooked, take off the heat.

In a jug, whisk the cream, eggs and parmesan together, season with salt and pepper.  Add to the potato and onion mixture and stir. 

In a frying pan on a medium/low heat, heat some olive oil and pour the potato, onion and egg mix and cook for about 5 minutes.  Use a large plate, place on top of the frying pan, and flip it, REALLY quickly.  Don't panic, just do it (using a knife to loosen).  Slide it back into the frying pan to cook the other side for a further 5 minutes.

Use a new clean plate, place on top and flip upside down to serve.

Serve straight away or cool and refrigerate for food on the go.

Yum.

Hx

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Lemon, Raisin and Maple Pancakes - American Style

These are great for a lazy weekend morning, to be enjoyed with good coffee and a decent weekend newspaper.  They make a fairly good batch, so half can be saved and refrigerated to be toasted and smothered in butter on a morning rush later in the week.  There's no reason why you can't sub the lemon and raisin for blueberries or your favourite pancake flavour.

Ingredients:

4 heaped Tbsp self-raising flour

1 Egg

100ml milk (give or take)

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Zest 1 Lemon

A handful of Raisins

Knob of Butter

In a measuring jug, beat the flour, egg and maple syrup together, gradually adding the milk until you have a thick but liquid batter, beat or whisk together for a further 2 minutes to make sure your batter is silky and light.  Stir in the lemon zest and raisins.

On a high heat, melt a little butter in a frying pan.  When bubbling away nicely, pour a circle of batter in the centre of the pan (it should be smaller than your fist), after about a minute, flip it over and cook for a further minute on the other side.

It is best to cook them one by one as they have a tendancy to merge together if you try two at a time.  Add a small pat of butter in between each pancake to make sure it doesn't stick.

When done, stack up, add some butter and drizzle maple syrup over.

Gorgeous.

Hx





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