Hazelnut and White Chocolate Hot Chocolate

Serves: depends on who you are serving, in theory this will fill 3 cups, in reality you will drink half of it in the kitchen while making it :)

Ingredients:

750ml milk

100g hazelnuts

100g white chocolate

Choc-kits,Marshmallows, or your favourite biscuits to serve

Method:

Preheat oven to 180° C and roast hazelnuts until golden.

While the hazelnuts are still hot roughly chop them and place them in a pot with the milk. Bring to the boil and turn down to a light simmer and cook for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the melted chocolate. Pour into mugs and enjoy while hot with choc-kits, toasted marshmallows and/or biscuits.

Beef Pitas

Serves 4

Ingredients:

600g good quality steak, cut into strips,

2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

4 sprigs of thyme, picked

45ml olive oil

15ml balsamic vinegar

Maldon Salt

Black Pepper

250ml yogurt

50ml tangy mayonnaise

½ cucumber, quartered length ways and finely sliced

1 clove garlic, crushed (use more if you like garlic)

10g mint, chopped

150g Rosa tomatoes, halved

½ red onion, sliced

1 head cos lettuce

1 avo, sliced (optional)

4 pita breads, lightly toasted

Method:

Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and thyme leaves together with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and pour the mixture onto the the steak strips and allow it to marinade for 15-30 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the yogurt, mayo, cucumber, garlic and mint together. Season well with salt and pepper.

Heat a little olive oil in a pan to smoking point and brown the meat on all sides.

Cut the toasted pitas open, and fill them with the cooked steak, tomatoes, red onion, avo (if using) and lettuce. Top with the yogurt sauce.

Plum and Almond Cake

 

Ingredients:

180g butter

180g castor sugar

100g ground almonds

5ml almond essence

3 extra large eggs, beaten

180g self-raising flour

80ml water

6 plums or nectarines or any stone fruit, halved and thinly sliced

Castor sugar for sprinkling

Icing sugar for dusting

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Cream the butter and add the sugar, ground almonds and almond essence, beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs beating well in between each addition.

Fold the flour into the butter mixture alternating with the water until well blended.

Pour the cake mixture into a square baking tin and arrange the sliced fruit on top. 

Sprinkle a little castor sugar over the fruit and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (bearing in mind that this is a moist cake and should be juicy because of the nectarines). 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in its tin before transferring it to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.            

Josh's Pasta

Serves 1 normal family of 4, or 1 very hungry Josh

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts or 1 packet of streaky bacon or both, cubed

Olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 red onion, sliced

400g courgettes, sliced

250g mushrooms, I like using a mixture, but just button mushrooms work just as well

200g Rosa tomatoes

500ml cream

100ml basil pesto

Salt and pepper

500g linguine or tagliatelle cooked

Fresh basil and parmesan to serve

Method:

Heat a large frying pan to smoking point, splash in a little olive oil, and add the chicken, lemon juice and a tablespoon of pesto. Add about a cup of water and bring to the boil. Let the water reduce until the pan in completely dry and then fry the chicken until golden brown. (Poaching it first will prevent it from drying out before it has cooked through).

Remove the chicken from the pan and add the bacon.

Once the bacon is golden brown, remove it from the pan and add the onions. Once the Onions are caramelized, remove them from the pan and add the courgettes. When the courgettes are golden remove them and add the mushrooms and cook until dark golden, then remove them from the pan.

Bring the pan back up to the heat and add more olive oil, when smoking add the Rosa tomatoes, and cook until they burst and begin to colour. Now add all the separately cooked ingredients back into the pan.

Add the cream and bring it to the boil, allow to reduce until it has thickened a little then add the pesto. Season well with salt and pepper, and if you like you can add a little more pesto to taste.

Mix the pasta with the sauce and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving - I have been told it’s just not as good if you don’t. Garnish with fresh basil and some parmesan shavings.