Potato and Raclette Galette

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Last year I ate the world’s nicest pizza when I was in France, which was made with potato and the yummy French cheese Raclette.

I took a craving for it but couldn’t be arsed with waiting to prove pizza dough, so I decided to make a galette using puff pastry.

I made a big galette, and it’s yummy served with salad for lunch.  If you’re entertaining you can make smaller individual ones that make lovely appetisers. You can prepare all the elements the day before and assemble and bake just before people arrive so that you’re not super stressed, and people will rightly assume you are a total domestic god or goddess.

If you can’t find Raclette (it can be tricky enough), any other tangy hard cheese can be used.  The lovely folks at my local Indie Fude recommended a brilliant Irish alternative called St Gall, which was delicious. I used a left over baked potato that I cut into slices, but you could also use left over boiled potatoes and crumble them across the pastry.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 Sheet ready made puff pastry

250 Gram Onions finely sliced

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Large potato (use either cold boiled potatos or a cold baked potato

150 Grams Raclette or other tangy hard cheese (finely grated)

Few springs of thyme or whatever your favourite herb is.

1 Egg yolk or little milk for glazing the edges

Method

  • Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onions stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until they’re brown and caramelised (brown not black). Allow to cool
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
  • Unroll your sheet of ready made pastry.  I put it on baking paper and put it a cooking sheet
  • With a knife, score a line (don’t cut through the pastry) about 1-2cm on the inside edge of the pastry this.  Then pierce the rest of the pastry with a fork (this will help it cook evenly). Brush the edges with the egg yolk
  • Sprinkle the caramelised onions on the pastry (keeping the edges clear), then lay out the slices of potato on top and sprinkle with herbs and grated cheese
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  It can be eaten hot or cold

3 Minute Tortolini Soup

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It’s January and everyone is broke, so we’re all back to bringing lunch from home.

Generally, I find sandwiches pretty boring, and I always try to find different lunch ideas, and love this. It takes 5 minutes to assemble the ingredients at home and when you’re ready to eat just top up your container with freshly boiled water. Just make sure you use a jar or container that can handle boiling water. Mason jars are ideal, but I’ve also repurposed the plastic containers that you buy ready made soups or stews in.

I used spinach and peas but you can swap out the vegetables you use, for things like kale, this might need to be chopped finely as it has a tougher leaf than spinach. I used normal shop bought tortolini and just use the filling you enjoy. I have listed the ingredients for 1 portion, but you can scale up the amounts for this soup and make it in a pot.

Makes enough for 1

Ingredients

4-5 Pieces of tortolini

Small handful of spinach

2-3 Tbsp frozen peas

1-2 Scallions/spring onions (finely chopped)

1 Tsp Pesto (just use the stuff from a jar)

1/2 Stock cube or 1 teaspoon of bullion powder

Method

  • Add all ingredients to a mason jar or heatproof container (this can live in the fridge for 2-3 days
  • When you’re ready for lunch top up the container with freshly boiled water and cover 3 minutes
  • Stir well and transfer to a bowl (the jar or contain will be really hot, so be careful), or you can eat it straight from the jar if no one is around and you don’t want the washing up

Roast Red Pepper, Tomato and Lentil Soup

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Cold dark winter days call for warm comforting food.

This delicious bright red soup is super healthy and filling, packed with fibre and flavour.

When I’m using the oven, I always throw in a tray of vegetables to roast so that I get my money’s worth by cooking a couple of things at once. I roasted a red pepper, onion, cherry tomatoes and garlic which give a really intense flavour. I also used a potato which helps give a creamy texture.

Ingredients

1 Red pepper (deseeded and cut into large chunks)

1 Tub Cherry tomatoes

1 onion (peeled and cut into large chunks)

1-2 Cloves of garlic (skin left on)

100 Grams Split red lentils

1 litre Vegetable stock (I used a stock cube)

2 small potatoes (cut into large chunks)

1 Tbsp smoked paprika (add half a teaspoon first then check for taste as some paprika is stronger than others)

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil

Salt

Method

  • Add the onion, pepper, tomatoes and garlic to oven proof dish, drizzle with oil and roast at 180 degrees (Celsius) for around 30 minutes or until the edges of the pepper start to char. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly
  • Add the lentils, potatoes, and vegetable stock to a large pot and bring to the boil, before reducing to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes (or until the lentils and potatoes are soft)
  • You can use a blender/food processor or an immersion blender. Add the roast vegetables (remove the skin from the garlic), to lentils and stock.
  • Sprinkle in half the smoked paprika and blend the ingredients together until creamy and smooth. Check the seasoning, add more paprika if you like it spicy and salt if you think it needs it
  • I served this with some fried up tortillas that had gone a bit stale (try this it’s yummy), but fresh crusty bread is also delicious with it

Roast Red Cabbage with Orange Dressing

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Side dishes can be a bit meh, and this is a tasty and healthy way of getting more vegetables way into your diet.

I like this served on a bed of humus, and it makes a really good vegan meal. It’s also really good served along side roast meat, and takes very little prep.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

Half a red cabbage divided into 4

Zest and juice of 1 small orange

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil (plus extra to grease the baking tray and drizzle over the cabbage)

1 Tbsp White wine or cider vinegar

Salt and pepper

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Celsius), lightly grease a baking tray
  • Divide half the cabbage into 4 (remove most of the stalk in the centre). Lightly drizzle with oil and bake for 25-30 minutes (or until tender)
  • To make the dressing, grate the orange zest, and then squeeze the juice into a bowl. Stir in the oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper
  • Remove the cabbage from the oven, and drizzle with the dressing before serving

Pork, Apple and Sage Sausage Rolls

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After Christmas many of us have pork sausage meat and sage left over from making stuffing, and this recipe is a great way to use it up. I actually didn’t have this so you can also use pork mince instead, it will still taste great.

I made cute little sausage rolls because I was making them for friends calling over over but you can make them bigger and they are great for lunches. I liked the sage with these these but if you don’t have, just use the herbs you have available. I know I have preached before about the buying reduced bread in the supermarket and turning it into breadcrumbs to keep in the freezer for recipes like this (do it, they’re super handy and versatile)

Use shop bought pre-rolled puff pastry to make these super quick to make. (only people with no life make puff pastry from scratch).

Makes 24

Ingredients

(for the filling)

400 Grams Pork mince or sausage meat

1 Small Apple (cored and cut into 1 cm chunks)

1 Clove garlic (finely chopped)

1 Egg

1 Handful of breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp Chopped fresh sage

Salt and Pepper

(for the pastry)

1 Sheet of pre rolled puff pastry

1 Egg yolk

1 Tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)

Method

  • Preheat over to 180 degrees (Celsius) , and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  • Add all the ingredients for the filling into a large bowl and get your hands in and mix until all the all the ingredients were combined
  • Unfold your sheet of puff pastry, and cut in two lengthways, so you have 2 long strips of pasty
  • Add the filling mixture down the centre of the pastry leaving 2-3cm of pastry at each side
  • Beat the egg yolk lightly and brush some down one of the long edges of the pastry, then bring both side together with side brushed with egg yolk slightly overlapping the other side (it will help glue the 2 side together
  • Turn the roll over, so that the were the 2 edges meet is on the under side. Brush with the egg yolk and sprinkle with the sesame seeds if you are using them. Cut roll in half and then devise each half into three (you can make bigger sausage rolls if you want), before placing on your prepared baking sheet. Repeat the process with the other half of your pastry and the filling)
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is a deep golden brown

Icelandic Christmas Cookies (Maren-Kornflexkokur)

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Some Christmas baking can be on the heavy side.  These are light as air, with a crumbly meringue outside and a soft marshmallowy centre.  Everyone went nuts for these. So give them a try,  they’re fairy quick and easy to make. Thanks to @roamingtaste for a great recipe.

They have only 5 ingredients, most of which you’ll already have in your cupboard.

Add some to a cute bag for nice gift when dropping into visit family and friends over Christmas.

Makes 24

4 Egg whites

170 Grams Sugar

130 Grams Dark chocolate (either chocolate chips or finely chopped)

70 Grams Cornflakes

1 Tbsp Vanilla extract

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 150 degree(Celsius).  Line 2-3 baking trays with baking parchment
  • In a stand mixer or using an electric whisk, whisk the egg whites until the double in size.  Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites until the mix reaches the soft peak stage
  • Add the other ingredients to the bowl and gently fold into the meringue with a large spoon until all the ingredients are combined
  • Using ether an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, soon the mix into the baking sheets leaving a space of 2-3cm between each cookie as the will spread
  • Bake for 20 minutes, and allow to cook on the baking sheet (they’re very soft coming straight from then oven and will set a little as they cool down.
  • Enjoy with some going coffee in front of a Christmas tree or roaring fire

Budapest

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Budapest was one of the jewels of the Austro-Hungarian empire. You can still find grand boulevards and impressive architecture. But unlike some other Eastern European cities it hasn’t enjoyed the same amount of investment. It’s original glory may have faded a little but it’s beautiful city with something for everyone.

Central synagogue

We went with a view to enjoying the Christmas markets, and I was left a little underwhelmed, as they tended to sell the same overpriced tourist tat as other Christmas markets that are franchised out to most major cities. However, I was really impressed by the great market hall. You can rub shoulders with the locals doing food shopping, and pick up gifts and handicrafts much more cheaply than in many of the over priced tourist shops.

The upper floor sells proper stick to your ribs tradional Hungarian food (although there is very little in the way of seating, you’ll probably end up eating at one of the counters that surround it)

Budapest is quite spread out and split in two by the river, one side being Buda and the other Pest. I opted for one of the hop on hop off buses as the most efficient way to see the city. A one day ticket with a Danube cruise included was €32. This was good way to learn more about the city and get warmed up in between stops (wrap up warm it gets really cold). The river cruise at night was also one of my highlights. You should also consider downloading the Bolt app (similar to Uber) if public transport isn’t your thing.

If you’re looking for night life the south of the city is where it’s at. Prices are cheaper than other western European cities. Like anywhere you’ll pay a bit more if you’re in a touristy area

The food was excellent, paprika is widely used, and brilliant bread and pastries are easy to find. Vegetarians might struggle as most of the dishes we found were meat heavy to say the least (but delicious).

Jannson’s Temptation

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You only have to mention potatoes and cream and you have my attention. Add a buttery breadcrumb topping and its on like Donkey Kong.

An American friend of a friend from the Midwest told me about this dish. His heritage is Scandinavian and apparently no Christmas eve is complete without this.

I used Nigella Lawson’s recipe, and she recommended using proper Swedish pickled sprats, (my friend told me they used anchovies, so I’m going with him). The dish shouldn’t be especially fishy, the anchovies are more to add a salty umami savoury flavour (some people add the extra oil in the tin, but I wasn’t sure if this would be too much and I’m glad I left it out). If you are vegetarian or hate fish you could replace the anchovies with some grated parmasan cheese which would also be yummy.

Layer the potatoes with fried onions and anchovies

Ingredients

1.2 Kg Potatoes (cut into very thin French fry like sticks)

2 large Onions (cut in half and sliced into half moons)

50 Grams Butter (plus extra for greasing your oven dish)

300 ml milk

300 ml cream

2-3 Handfuls of breadcrumbs

1/2 Small Tin of anchovies (finely chopped)

Black pepper

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • Add half the butter to a pan a fry the onions for 10-15 minutes over a low to medium heat. They should be soft but not have browned.
  • Grease an oven proof dish, and line with one third of the chopped potatoes. Sprinkle half the onions and anchovies over the top, add a couple grinds of black pepper
  • Top with another third of the potato chips, and sprinkle the remaining onions and anchovies, and a couple grinds of black pepper again. Top with the remaining potatoes
  • Stir the milk and cream together and pour over evenly over the potato mix
  • Sprinkle the dish evenly with breadcrumbs and dot with the remaining butter
  • Bake for around 1 hour (test with a fork to check that the potato are fully cooked) before removing from the oven.

‘El Bulli’ Bean Soup with Picada

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El Bulli was one of the most famous 3 Michelin star restaurants in the world.  I don’t claim this was what they served their customers, but apparently they would provide a 3 course meal for staff each day, and this is one of those dishes.

Anyone who’s ever worked in fancy restaurants will you the traditional staff meal can often be a bit ropey to say the least (I worked in a place once that only ever fed us cheap and nasty chicken nuggets).  A cook book based around El Bulli’s staff meals has actually been published called The Family Meal (dropping hints ahead of Christmas, just in case Santa is reading this)

It’s good to see El Bulli fed their staff well, and while it isn’t an extravagant dish, it’s delicious.  The thing that takes it to another level is the Picada (a Catalan version of pesto, made with hazelnuts and parsley).

Do yourself a favour and try to buy ready blanched hazelnuts, it will save a lot of time and effort.

Ingredients

For the soup

1 Onion (finely chopped)

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Clove garlic (finely chopped)

2 x 400 Gram Tins of cannellini beans

1 Litre Vegetable Stock (I used a 2 x stock cubes)

400 Mil Carton of Passata

1 Tsp Rosemary (Finely chopped)

1 Sprig of Thyme (or 1/2 Tsp of dried Thyme)

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Picada

1 x Large punch of parsley or couple of handfuls (roughly chopped)

1-2 Cloves of garlic

75 Grams Hazelnuts (try to buy the pre-blanched one, as removing the skins is a pain in the a*se)

50-75 Mil Olive oil, (or more if you want the Picada to be looser)

1/2 Tsp Salt

Serves 4

Method

  • For the soup, heat the oil in a large pot, and add the onion and cook over a medium heat until it becomes translucent, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the rest of the soup ingredients to the pot.  Simmer for over a low heat for 20 minutes.
  • While the soup is cooking you can make the picada.  If you haven’t been able to find ready blanched hazelnuts, heat the nuts in a frying pan until they smell nutty (I know this sounds weird but when you can smell the nut smell it means they are ready),  Transfer the toasted nuts onto the centre of a clean tea towel, bring the edges together and roll the nuts within the towel until the papery outer layer comes away
  • If you have more sense than I did and have bought hazelnuts without skins, add these to a food processer and pulse a couple of times until the nuts have broken up.  Add the rest of the picada ingredients to the food processer and blitz until you have a bright green paste.  I like mine quite chunky and rustic, but you can whizz it up until you get a super smooth paste if that’s your thing. 
  • Transfer the picada to a bowl and wipe the food processer, and you will be ready to transfer half the soup to the food processer and whizz until smooth before returning to the pot and stirring well.  This helps to thicken the soup
  • Add half the picada to the soup and stir well, before serving in large bowls.  Spoon a dollop of the picada in the centre of each bowl, serve crusty bread for a simple but delicious meal.

Pecan Pie

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It’s Thanksgiving and while I’m not American I do like the idea of getting together with your loved ones and sharing what you are grateful at least one day a year.

With this in mind I decided to make one of my favourite desserts, pecan pie.

If you use ready made pastry this is fairly quick to assemble giving you time to get on with other things.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 Sheet of ready made/ready rolled pastry

100 Grams Dark brown sugar

170 mil Condensed milk

1 Tbsp Maple or golden syrup

2 Eggs

150 Grams Pecan nuts

Method

  • Grease a 9 in pie dish. Preferably one with a removable bottom. I think metal dishes work best but use what you have. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (Celsius)
  • Line the pie dish with the ready rolled pastry, make sure its pressed well into the corners. Cover the pastry wth baking parchment and cover with baking beans or just use old dried rice like I do, and bake for 10 minutes.
  • Carefully lift the baking parchment and baking beans out of the pastry shell and bake for another 10 minutes before removing from the oven
  • Reduce the oven heat to 170 degrees
  • Add all the remaining ingredients (except the nuts) to a large bowl and whisk until well combined.
  • Pour the mix into the pastry case and top with nuts. Bake for 50 minutes and allow to cool before cutting