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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Salted Caramel Shortbread

This recipe is great as it makes so many little bites so can last for ages.  I found that the caramel didn't set as firmly as I'd quite hoped, although it tastes ridiculously good, but if you are one who hates sticky messy hands, I'd suggest you coat only half of each piece of shortbread by dipping it in the caramel then leaving to set.  Either way, you are in for a taste sensation!

Here's how:



For the Shortbread:

250g Plain Flour

275g Salted Butter

125g Castar Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract



For the Salted Caramel Topping:

450g Tin of Condensed Milk

125g Butter

100g Castar Sugar

1tsp Salt

1tsp Vanilla Extract

To make the shortbread, mix all of the ingredients until it forms a very stiff dough, press down into a lined 8" x 11" tray, prick all over with a fork and bake in a 200 degree oven for 5 minutes before turning down to 150 degrees and cooking for a further half an hour.

In a wide pan, on a very low heat, melt the butter then stir in the sugar, salt, condensed milk and vanilla, stirring thoroughly ensuring all of the sugar has dissolved.

Once cooked and cooled, either spread the caramel all over the top, leave in the fridge to set, then cut into small bites.

OR cut the shortbread into pieces, dipping half into the caramel then leaving to set

OR if you are entertaining people, why not cut the shortbread into strips and serve the salted caramel warm in a bowl or jug for guests to dip in or pour over and enjoy warm.

There's no reason why you can't melt some chocolate and smother over the top to have an indulgent salted caramel millionaire's shortbread.  Personally, I didn't feel it was needed, but if you are a chocolate lover...go for it!



Perfection

Hx

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Boozy Summer Snow

Wake up your taste buds! These are so easy to make but really impressive to the unknowing eye and tongue, they are essentailly frozen cocktail/sorbet/desserts that are insanely refreshing, perfect for an evening like tonight. 

By rougly following my recipes there is no reason why you can't try out your own favourite cocktail - say a creamy Piña Colada sorbet, or a tangy Cosmopolatin one with orange, cranberries and Vodka?

I introduce to you the Lemon, Elderflower and Limoncello, French Martini and Mojito sorbets...

For the Lemon and Elderflower

4 Lemons, zested and juiced

75ml Limoncello

75ml Elderflower cordial

250ml Sparkling water

200g Castar Sugar

For the French Martini

1 punnet (200g) Frozen Blackberries

100g Frozen Pineapple

100ml Pineapple Juice

150g Castar Sugar

50ml Gin

For the Mojito

1 bag (about 6) Limes, zested and juiced

1 Bunch finely chopped Mint

200g Castar sugar

50ml White Rum

250ml Sparkling Water

Make all 3 or make just one, but for each there is no method apart from thoroughly stir (or blend, in the French Martini's case) all ingredients BAR the sparkling water, which should be added last and gently stirred in to avoid it going instantly flat.  Try and resist the temptation to add TOO much extra alcohol as you will end up with more of a summer slush due to the high freezing point of alcohol.

Pour the mixture into large shallow tubs and put in the freezer.  After 45 minutes, stir and put back in.  After a further hour, stir and put back in, then leave to set for good. 

After about 6 hours, it shoud be properly set.  If it doesn't scoop up into perfect ice-cream like balls, don't worry! It's about flavour, not shape.  The main reason for this is because the ingredients are so pure and there are no thickeners or other nasty E numbers to pretty them up - hence the name Summer Snow!

Soak up the glory and enjoy!

Hx



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Courgette Fritters

I was mucking about this evening with a vague idea of cooking something courgette orientated, and after much adding of random ingredients I found myself with this batter-type mixture, so thought it would be rude not to fry it!  I must say it was a smash hit with the family so even though I wasn't planning to, thought I ought to share with everybody, and I will try to be as accurate as possible with measurements, so long as my memory serves me well!  

Here Goes:

2 Courgettes, Grated

2 - 3 tbsp Plain Flour

100g Cheddar

75g Parmesan

1 Egg

1 Finely chopped Small bunch of Mint

Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

2 Garlic cloves, grated

100g Mascarpone

100g Cream cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Literally just throw all the above into a mixing bowl, as I did earlier, it didn't seem to do it any harm!  Get a large frying pan and fill with about 2cm deep of vegetable oil and put on a high heat, when hot enough, using a spoon, gently spoon in small balls into the hot fat, there should be room for 3 or 4 fritters.  After about a minute, turn over using a spatula and brown the other side.  Remove and place on a tray and put in the hot oven.  Spoon 3 more into the pan and carry on until all batter has been used up.  

I think this would taste great with tzatziki, so feel free to use my recipe from a week or so ago http://the-student-housewife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/greek-bbq-on-summers-evening.html

Enjoy :-)

Hx

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Roasted Tomato, Basil and Mascarpone Soup with Pesto and Parmesan Thins

This, in my eyes, is THE best tomato soup...although yes, I am biased. It's a great versatile meal as it's portable and can be eaten hot or cold.  The parmesan thins just melt in your mouth and are a less bulky alternative to your usual hunk of bread.

You'll need:

For the soup

1 kg mixed tomatoes (I used a pack of baby plum tomatoes, a pack of beef tomatoes on the vine and some medium sized ones)

2 carrots

2 onions

1 garlic bulb

A large bunch of fresh basil

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp mascarpone

1 Tbsp oregano

300g passata

For the Pesto topping

Large bunch of basil

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 garlic cloves

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan

For the parmesan thins

4 tbsp Grated parmesan

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp plain flour

50g Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the croutons

Half a loaf of ciabatta, cut into cubes

2 garlic bulbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

For the soup:

Cut all of your tomatoes in half (and the beef ones into quarters), chuck into a roasting dish and cover in olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano.  Peel 6 garlic cloves and dot them around, whole in with your tomatoes.  Bake in a 170 degrees oven for 1 1/2 hours.  (Patience, my friend, patience.)

Dice your onions and peel and roughly chop your carrots and cook in olive oil on a very low heat and slowly cook, stirring occasionally until soft.  When soft, add your basil, passata and a cup of water and leave on a low heat to reduce down (if it has reduced down and the carrots are still not soft, add more water - it will only evaporate away anyway so don't worry too much about losing flavour).

Once your tomatoes have roasted, pour into the pan including any juices and oils, add a splash of balsamic, 2 tsps of sugar and salt and pepper to taste.  Blend.

For the pesto:

Literally put all of the ingredients into a bowl and blend.

For the Parmesan thins:

In a mixing bowl, using your hands, combine all ingredients listed above.  On a tray lined with greaseproof paper, divide the dough into 8 small balls and push down onto the paper. Put into a hot oven (say 200 degrees) and cook until golden brown on top, take out and turn.  Cook until both sides are brown.  Do not remove from paper until cool!

For the croutons:

On a small tray, cover your bread cubes in olive oil, salt and pepper, add 2 halved garlic cloves and bake in an oven on 200 for about 10 minutes.

Absolutely gorgeous, trust me!

H x

p.s. I must thank my lovely boyfriend, Logan for being my sous chef this afternoon!

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Get ahead Mojito's

This way of making your mojito's is perfect as most of the preparation is done in advance.  Not your usual predrinking material (Echo falls or Glen's finest anyone?) but perfect for girly birthdays and special occasions.



To think I was in Puerto Banus this time yesterday sipping on this...wah

To make 6 Cocktails

8 Limes
A bunch of Fresh Mint
250g Caster sugar
A small bottle of white rum
1 Litre of sparkling water
Plenty of ice

The 'get ahead' tactic I use is to make your lime syrup in advance, literally squeezing your limes into a small jug mixing with the sugar and stirring....simples.  This is what takes all the time when fussing about making cocktails.  Keep some of the lime skins for decoration and an added kick for when you make the cocktails. Put in the fridge

When coming to make your cocktails, Tear off a small bunch of mint for each drink, put in the bottom of the glass and push down using the end of a wooden spoon.  Pour in a little lime syrup, say a tablespoon.  Fill the glass with ice, add your rum - I'll let you decide the strength ;) and top up with sparkling water.

So good!

Hx Pin It Now!

Greek BBQ on a Summer's evening

This is more of a Meze with a little BBQ on the side (to keep Dad happy) on such a gorgeous evening like tonight, I thought I'd transport us back to Greece with our own Big Fat Greek Feast.  I had just veg kebabs, being a veggie and all, but stuck some chicken on the others for my parents.

Home made Tzatziki, Greek Salad, Fried courgettes, Veg and spicy chicken Kebabs and Pitta

For the Tzatziki:

5 Tbsp Greek Yoghurt

2 Cloves of grated  garlic

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp white wine vinegar

A small bunch of mint finely chopped

Half a cucumber, peeled and grated

The main reason most people get this dip wrong is because they put the cucumber straight in without salting them, doing this will make a watery, flavourless Tzatziki.  So once grated, put in a sieve and cover with salt, leave them for about 10 minutes, then push them down and see how much water comes out! Pat with some kitchen towel and literally mix everything above together and voila.

For the Greek Salad:

Half a cucumber

A handful of cherry tomatoes

Quarter of a red onion

A red pepper

Half a block of feta

2 tbsp Olive oil

1/2 tbsp White wine vinegar

1 tsp Oregano

As with the cucumber, once you have halved the tomatoes, put them in a sieve, cover in salt and leave them for 10 minutes, when you come back, give them a good shake and watch all that flavourless water leave, leaving you with gorgeous jam-packed-with-flavour cherry toms!

Chop everything else up fairly small (the onion finely diced) and chuck it all in a salad bowl.

In a jar, pour in your oil and vinegar, cover and shake vigorously to form an emulsion.  Pour over the salad.  Sprinkle with your oregano and there you have it.

For the fried courgettes:

One courgette

4 tbsp plain flour

1 Egg

75 ml sparkling water (maybe more if it needs loosening)

400ml vegetable oil

4 ice cubes

Flour for dusting

Using a peeler, peel the courgette lengthways to form lots of thin ribbons, keep doing until the courgette disappears!  In a bowl, coat them in flour (to ensure the batter sticks to them).

At this point, put a medium sized pan on a high heat and add your oil.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg and flour, then stir in the sparkling water until you get a pancake type batter.  Add some salt and pepper to taste.  Put your ice cubes in.  The sparking water and very cold batter (in contrast to very hot oil) will make you the lightest most perfect batter (I use this as a tempura batter too).

You can tell your oil is hot enough by dropping a small piece of courgette in the oil, if it floats and bubbles, it is hot enough.  (please see post below regarding hot-oil-etiquette). 

Coat your ribbons in batter, allowing most to drip off back into the bowl, then GENTLY drop into the pan.  I found I could have no more than 4 in the pan at the time.  Note they will cook almost instantly and float, so using a skimmer, turn them over to ensure both sides are brown and lift out (I had a warm oven at the ready to keep them warm as I did the others).

When serving, squeeze a little lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For the kebabs:

1/2 a yellow pepper

1/2 a red pepper

2 Handfuls of button mushrooms

1/2 a red onion

2 chicken breasts (I used pre-marinated garlic chilli ones from Waitrose)

2 grated garlic cloves

a few lugs of olive oil

Roughly chop the veg so they are fairly good sized chunks (the button mushrooms can generally remain as whole) and cover in olive oil and grated garlic, get your hands in there and make sure it is all evenly coated.

Cut the chicken into chunks about 2 inch X 2 inch. 

Get your skewers and get cracking (I'm going to resist temptation to state the obvious on what to do here!)

Whack them on a hot barbie.

Here's to alfresco dining! Cheers!

Hx



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