Monday, November 7, 2011

Summer Risotto


I been neglecting my blog, this recipe is one I've had ready since
the summer when there was a glut of fresh asparagus in the shops,
but they are still selling it even this late in the year.
Its not a typical Irish food but a delicate delight to give a taste of freshness.
Another quirk of the Irish is that we see the use of rice OK in Chinese and Indian cooking but find it a bit strange in European food.
I eat it as a main dish but the Italians have it as a starter to fill you up before the main meat dish, so it's naturally vegetarian. Of course there are many variations of this dish depending on which rice you use and which fillings and type of stock you use to cook but its best to use fresh and in season veg if you can.


Ingredients :
• 1 litre vegetable  stock
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil • 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 600g risotto rice
• 250ml dry white wine
• 1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends removed and discarded
• 340g of peas 
• 100g butter
• 1-2 handfuls of freshly grated hard cheese
• a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked and finely chopped

Chop your asparagus (discard woody ends), keeping the tips whole and blanch in salted water until tender, weigh out the rest of your ingredients ready to mix into your risotto. 

Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the oil and butter in a separate large pan, add the shallots and cook very gently until soft without colouring. Then add rice turn up the heat. Don't let the rice or veg catch on the bottom of the pan, so keep it moving.

Straight after add wine. The idea is to reduce the

wine and 
concentrate its flavour, then add the asparagus 
stalks(keep the tips for later) and half the peas.

Add the stock to the rice a ladle at a time, stirring (this activates the starch in the rice) and waiting until it has been fully absorbed before adding the next. Turn the heat down to low so the rice doesn't cook too quickly. This should take about 14 to 15 minutes and give you rice that is beginning to soften but is still a little al dente.

Then add the add blanched asparagus heads, the rest of the peas and the mint. (add the mint to taste )

Turn off the heat,  beat in your butter and mint,  check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. 



                                                                                         

Friday, July 8, 2011

Smoothie made simple and easy.

Long time and no writing in my blog. I've been off in Romania, where the food is really simple and pure. They have many great soups and lots of soft cheese, but best of all loads of fresh herbs and veg.

Back in Ireland the sun is shining today: the summer is here.
The reason this chef is not skinny is because the following recipe is what I have for breakfast but it can also double as a dessert.



           Ingredients

1             Banana         
200g       Raspberries (or any fruit or berry of your choice)
350g       Yoghurt Honey optional.

The big secret in my smoothies is that I freeze the fruit (which often is collected and stored during the summer, when there the berries are plentiful). I usually use a banana when making my smoothies as it gives body to the smoothie.

Preparation
Put yoghurt into pot big enough to blend the smoothie in.
Chop frozen fruit in small pieces (makes it easier to blend)
Add fuit to yoghurt and honey (if you have a sweet tooth or using as dessert) and blend till smooth.

I like a thick smothie that you need a spoon with: if you like less thickness then add more yougurt. This is easy and simple, and of course different types of yoghurt and fruit give diffent texture so go wild and buy that fruit going cheap because its needs to be used up, take it home and just freeze it and make a smoothie when you want a lovely treat.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Bread bread and pasta dura bread


So another post about what I got up to last week at the Sarah Baker Cookery School, in Cloughjordan: this time it's all about bread. I found it fascinating how much of a difference the distinct flours make on the dough. Using 00 flour made great pizza, and a French flour called 65 is used blended to give crunchy outsides and that crumb texture I love in stonebaked rustic French bread.

Watching so many different breads being made by people of different skill levels gave me confidence in my own bread making and with time and the right ingredients we could all be great bread makers.  

Below is my friend Andrea making an Italian bread from his childhood.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Cheese cheese and more cheese tasting at Reypenaer in Amsterdam


So this week I have been at an Artisan Food Production course at the Sarah Baker Cookery School, in Cloughjordan.In the first two days we have been looking at making youghurt, cream, butter and cheese. I’ve had a bit of a dairy overdose as we have been tasting all the different types of  products.

What really fascinated me was the cheese making and how there are so many variations of a simple process of separating whey and curd. It has been a joy to  make, talk and learn about food all day.

All this talk about cheese has brought back a visit to a cheese house in Amsterdam. I have been to a good few wine tastings but never to a cheese tasting before this one. I thought it was a great idea and it would be a great way of promoting Irish cheese and a way of showing off what’s out there. There is a cheese shop in Charleville County Cork which I must go visit.




On a Saturday morning we went to the Reypenaer shop in Singel, along one of Amsterdam's old city center canals.Reypenaer  cheese two-time Supreme Champion winner at the Nantwich International Cheese Show .
Reypenaer cheese, is an artisanal Gouda made from grass feed cows made in a traditional way and matured in the natural way.The family behind Reypenaer cheeses believe their cheese needs time to get to the right quality to get to the right taste, so if you quicken the process you lose taste and flavour, eg. a cheese that has been 6 months differ distinctly from one that has been maturing for four weeks. Young cheese is soft and more mature is harder; young cheese is at the beginning loose moist and with time and all the flavours get concentrated as the cheese becomes drier. 



These cheeses are stored in a traditional warehouse with 17000 cheeses, where the temperature fluctuations are more natural than in the modern ones: in the summer when the temperature rises the cheese lose moisture and get warm. This moisture has to be cleaned off, and this is all done by hand.


 

The above cheese guillotine was very useful in taking slithers of this 2 ½ old mature cheese. The idea is that the slither should melt in your mouth and you then wash it down with a port. This enhances and brings  out the full flavour of both.

In this cheese tasting we got to try a selection of mature and very mature Gouda  chervre’s. We also tasted a mature and very mature selection of cows Gouda  from 6 month old to 2 1/2 year old and with a  with white red and port wine selected to suit each type of cheese .

All in all it was a great experience and an education to the palate.




Sunday, May 22, 2011

Summer tart


With Summer well on its way we are set for loads of fruit.I love fruit and Im always trying to find ways of including it in my cuisine.This recipe is very easy once you have made the pastry.The only way to get good at making pastry is to make it.So be brave and give it a try.


 Pastry Ingredients
• 500g Flour,
• 100g icing
• 250g g butter, cut into small cubes

• 2 eggs, beaten
• a drop of milk



Sieve the flour into your mixing bowl and sieve the icing sugar over the top. Work the cubes of butter into the flour and sugar by rubbing your thumbs against your fingers until you end up with a fine, crumbly mixture.
Add the eggs and milk to the mixture and gently work it together till you have a ball of dough.
 Shape to a flat round and put it into the fridge to rest for at least half an hour.
Don’t knead it too much or the heat from your hands will melt the butter,the helps make a  flaky pastry.



Filling 

175g good lemon curd
250g mascarpone
•  500g strawberries or other fruits



Mix together the lemon curd and mascarpone until a smooth and uniform off-white, then pile into the tart case, spreading it out to cover the base. Hull and halve the strawberries, and arrange on top You want the whole tart to be covered.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Summer Cauliflower Soup

Sorry for my erratic  blogging lately.I have been away in France and I learned how its essential if your wine tasting and driving that you have to do that spitting of the wine into the spit-tune.Ill be doing a blog soon on my wine adventure soon.
Today I want to share a fine soup with an in season veg that is much over looked by myself.The Cauliflower this is a light summery soup which is simple to make and can be made with a variety of ingredients which most of us would have in our cupboard.
                              
Ingredients (enough for 2, double for 4)

1/2 cauliflower
2 small onions 
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
6 dl semi-skimmed milk 
43g grated parmesan or any other mature cheese OR in the event of no cheese in fridge, replace half of the milk with cream 
25g butter 
pepper, generously 
salt, generously 
                           
                            
                              
For a thicker winter soup grate 1 big potato and add with milk and cauliflower.

Chop up the onions and garlic saute them lightly. 
Add milk, chopped cauliflower heads, garlic and onions into a pan and bring to boil. Then turn the heat down and let simmer for about half an hour until cauliflower is soft (and potato, if using one). Then add the cheese, butter and spices and mix in a blender. Serve immediately. 
                              

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Growing and cooking the way forward.

Its been a very interesting food week for me. First I was out and about at the Camden Palace at an art exhibition. I was chatting about food for a change and a I mentioned how I would like to move the blog eventually to a “grow and cook” blog.Well someone was listining,I was handed a book called Grow and Cook by Brian Tucker, As Nora who gave me the book also runs Walnutbooks I figured should do a book review.



So here goes. Oh ya before I go on about the book my other interesting food event was that a co-worker of mine went on a holiday home to Hungary. I asked her to bring me back truffles if she could find some. So thanks Agnus, I’ve now got fresh truffles! But more about them in the future.

Back to Grow and Cook. It is a no fuss guide by Brian Tucker. It is a cookery and gardening book combined in one. Nothing too elaborate though, no photographs or images. Once I started though, I couldn’t stop reading, and for me that’s saying something as I rarely finish a book from start to finish. He gave great tips, such as  don’t bother with asparagus or spuds if you don’t have loads of space. It gave practical no hassle guide to growing and cooking all kind of foods that I’ve never tried, for instance jerusalem artichokes. The book explains best ways to grow, harvest and preserve and a simple recipe or two with everything from artichoke to water-cress and every thing alphabetically organized in between.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Hand made bread.

Welcome to the first Never Trust a Skinny Cheff video. As in my blog my aim with  my videos is to show how to make simple accessible food,my friend Diarmuid makes a great bread, which is simple and can be altered to anyones taste.
If you have a favorite recipe which you would like to share or make for the blog please get in touch.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

NUT ROAST

 I went to Brighton for a long weekend and my host requested that I make my famous vegy nut roast: he had tasted it a while ago whilst on a visit in Cork. But as we partied hard and ate, out as one does, we didn’t get to eat at home. When the time came for chilling and a bit of home cooking, I didn’t fancy making a big meal so we had a simple Italian dinner. So, Brian I dedicate this blog to you. I usually have this dish with Sunday roast.


Sunflower Oil
3 cloves Garlic
1 large Onion
7 mushrooms, medium sized
3 large carrots, 4 medium.
75 grams cold bread converted to bread crumbs
(If you’re stuck use fresh 3 or 4  slices of sliced pan but please try make it
multi grain at least)
50 grams of walnut
75 grams of crunchy peanut butter
1 egg (vegans can leave this out and add tomato puree)
3 sprigs of thyme


Chop and fry onion and mushrooms for about 3 minutes.
Then add chopped garlic.
Grate carrots
When onion is transparent mix in bread-crumbs and carrots.
If you have whole walnuts break into bits and fry separate pan till dark brown.
Then add nuts and peanut butter
Add thyme, season with salt and pepper.
Mix all together and then add egg and mix.

Grease the inside of a small loaf tin and add mixture

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 400 Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 6.
Roast in an over for 20 mins

If you have no nuts use beans and have a bean roast instead or use
beans and nuts.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Roast Veg Tower



Layered roasted Veg held together with cheese.

Not only does this look great but this great mix of Veg was just put togher to empty out my fridge. The base is a large flat mushroom , all the juices from the roast and cheese trickle down to the mushroom . The mushroom also gives the tower a strong base . I also used a mixture of peppers Eggplant and Tomatoes.

I  chopped up garlic added it to a mixing bowl then added the peppers egg-plant,  oil,salt and pepper. Mix up and leave to marinade for 10 /15 mins or overnight if u have time.

Then form a tower mixing the veg and add a chunk of cheese second from the top and hold together with a wooden tooth pic or skewer , these would be great accompanied by Baked potato which can be baked at the same time.

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 400 Fahrenheit / Gas Mark 6.
Roast in an over for 20 mins


Thursday, March 24, 2011

Whats in your FOOD



Not all food manufacturers are as open as this guy is about what is in his food.

Manufacturers have clear business reasons for every additive that they add to their processed food products. Here’s a general run-down of the most prevalent ones, along with specific examples of how they are listed on food labels:
--

* Preservatives help improve shelf-life of products so that products can be sold longer and don’t spoil as fast. Common examples include sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sulfites, BHA and BHT.
* Food coloring can make foods look tastier, or make food look like other products that consumers are already used to. Currently, the FDA has approved several artificial colorings, identified by their code including E133 (blue), E129 (red), E110 (orange), E102 (yellow), and E143 (bluish-green)
* Saturated fats oftentimes enhance texture and hold foods together – such as in pie crusts and baked goods. These fats are more resistant to oxidation, making it the preferred shelf-stable replacement for polyunsaturated fats. With the invention of the plant oil hydrogenation process, industrially-produced shortenings have become even cheaper – though this process also generates harmful transfats.
Typical examples of saturated fats are palm oil, palm kernel oil, and cotton seed oil.
* Flavor enhancers such as salt and MSG (aka monosodium glutamate) can overcome weak taste profiles of frozen or fat-free foods. Check the food label for other enhancers such as diglutamates and guanylates.
* Artificial sweeteners are key ingredients of low-cal foods that substitute table sugar (sucrose) or high-fructose corn syrup with unnatural compounds that taste sweet but aren’t recognized and processed by the body. Saccharin, aspartame (NutraSweet), sucralose (Splenda), and more recently stevia are examples that you may be familiar with.
* High-fructose corn syrup is added to sweeten virtually all processed foods not designated as low-carb, or low-cal, because of its comparatively low price and favorable properties for blending and transport.
* Fillers – for example those made from ground corn cobs – increase the portion bulk, making meals look bigger without adding additional expense. The downside is that they don’t add any minerals and vitamins so essential for our bodies.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Quiche made easy.



Quiche is a great way of clearing out your cupboards of veg and cheese that are coming to the end of there shelf life. Quiche is easy and simple and can be made in two simple steps.
Step 1 Pastry.

220g plain flour
120g butter
4 tbs of ice cold water

Place flour in mixing bowl and cut butter into small cubes.
Rub together with your fingertips until completely mixed and crumbly.
Mix in water and shape the doe in to a plate shape and put in fridge for a least 1 hour but can be left for the week. The less this doe is kneaded and shaped the better crumble the pastry has.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a round about 5cm larger than a 25cm tin, bake for 10minutes in oven at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6

Step 2 Filling

This depends what you have in your cupboard that needs to be used up. Cream ,cheese , veg and egges are the basic ingredients.
A simple quiche is cheese and onion .

3 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 clove(s) garlic, crushed and finely chopped, optional
2 medium eggs

150 ml milk OR 75 ml milk and 75 ml double cream
120 g hard cheese of choice, eg Cheddar, grated -
salt, pepper, herbs to taste

Beat the eggs in a bowl, then gradually add the milk/cream. Stir in the onions and half the cheese, then season with salt and pepper. Carefully tip the filling into the case, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, then bake for 20-25 mins until set and golden.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Don't Eat What You See on TV

Welcome to another Mid-Week Rant

What set me off on this weeks Rant was an article in the Sunday Times about salt content in Cornflakes .
One ounce of cornflakes contains more than 200 milligrams of sodium, even before you add milk.Crisps vary from manufacturer to manufacture , but generally they contain between 120 and 180 milligrams of sodium per ounce.Most of the high blood pressure generating sodium in our diet is hidden in processed foods we never think of as salty. Soups are especially loaded with sodium.

Don't think your getting a better product because your buying a brand named processed food, the bigger own brand foods have even higher levels of salt than the own cheaper super market in house stuff.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/04/salt-levels-food-supermarket-brands


I think the greatest bit of advise I've seen around .

Don't Eat What You See on TV



Saturday, March 12, 2011

Simple Curry



Oh I do love a good curry so this week I want to share this amazing curry.
What I really like about this curry is that there is so many levels to it, you can make it as complex or simple as needed.
Ingredients
•           2 medium size onions (approximately 300 gm.), peeled and roughly chopped
•           1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
•           2-3 cloves of garlic (optional), peeled
•           2  fresh medium tomatoes(200 gm. Tinned) or full fat yogurt tomatoes.
•           2-3 tbs. cooking oil
•           1 tsp. cumin seeds

For an amazing curry, add following whole spices 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick or cassia bark, 1-2 bay leaves, 2 large cardamoms-slightly cracked open, 4-5 cloves, 5-6 black peppers.(You can also just add Garam Masala add the end of dish for similar effect).

•           1/2 tsp. turmeric powder (too much makes the curry bitter)
•           1/4 tsp. chili powder (adjust to taste)
•           1 1/2 tsp. of coriander powder
•           Salt to taste
•           1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
•           2 tbs. fresh coriander leaves, chopped
a
            Wash and grind onions, ginger and garlic together in a food processor or chop finely by hand or grate.Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds. Let the seeds splutter. Add onion, ginger and garlic and fry until light brown.
Add all powdered spices and stir for 10 seconds, to release flavours.
 If adding  garam masala powder add at end.  Add tomatoes/yogurt and stir fry until oil separates from the mass. For a more professional taste, add a tsp. water and stir-fry again until oil separates. Repeat once more.
To give different flavours to the curry, you can add chopped spinach or half a tin of pureed spinach or a few diced potatoes or carrots or or half a cup of  lentils or 450 gm. of tinned chick peas, after draining out the brine. You can experiment with other additions too. That is how new dishes are born.

 You can add a few nuts like almonds or cashews at the end of the cooking process. They taste better if you soak and grind them first, adding creaminess to the dish.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Food sovereignty is the principle that people have the right to define their own food and agriculture system.Food Inc




In this Midweek Rant I'd like to recommend a documentary that is not just well made documentary but also has compelling content.

This documentary talks about the everyday dilemma of whether to buy expensive/good or cheap/crap food and how this juxtaposition has come about.

Its shows how the ordinary farmer is now a slave to the multinational companies.

The film doesn’t directly talk about organic or vegetarian ideas, but it’s putting forward the idea of farming as we did in Ireland in the 70's and how much it has changed.

We hear first hand from farmers, how heavy handed Monsanto [corporation] is breaking them one by one, and how government is biased to big producers of food and make it hard to be a small food producer.

Sometimes I have to remind myself why I should by from local producers, and this film gives good reasons why it’s for your own good you should buy from local and  small  producers.

The documentary is made for the American market but the EU is going down this road in its own way.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Peanut-butter cookies

This week I'm doing something very simple  and easy.

 I have been experimenting with biscuits as I'm trying to  reduce my purchases of shop made products (Ill leave my issues with trans-fats and the like for my midweek rants ,which you will see Iv started  last week do have a look).Of all the biscuits Iv tried this has been by far my most successful for me so far.
  • 125g  butter
  • 100g soft light brown sugar
  • 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
  • 150g self raising flour or  plain flour  with ½ tsp baking powder
  • 100g of your favorite peanut butter 



Pre-heat oven to 190°C/gas 5 
Heat up the butter and add with sugar to a mixing bowl.
Beat in egg to mixture in bowl and  shit flower into bowl and add peanut butter,
and mix.If mixture is to dry add a drop of milk.

Make mixture into balls  and put on baking tray and flatten with fish slice.
Bake for 10 minutes.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

He’d noticed that sex bore some resemblance to cookery:

Iv decided Im going to do a mid week rant and yest its Thursday but its a midish week rant so here we go with my quote of the week.

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
*He’d noticed that sex bore some resemblance to cookery: It fascinated people, they sometimes bought books full of complicated recipes and interesting pictures, and sometimes when they were really hungry they created vast banquets in their imagination—but at the end of the day they’d settle quite happily for egg and chips, if it was well done and maybe had a slice of tomato.
How true we dream of amazing things and end up having  a sandwich .

So for you who despair of mega Supper Markets and no control over our food sources, farmers going out of business because they are losing money on there produce. Well watch this man as he struggles to set up an alternative supper market.
Its a really great documentary series and shows how we struggle between quality and price for our every day supplies.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-peoples-supermarket/4od#3160796
--

Monday, February 28, 2011

Ricotta and walnut ravioli with roasted carrot sauce

So this weeks dish has cheered me up no end.This is the meal I changed last week due to climatic changes.I’v never made Ravioli before, well Iv never really made pasta before . I tried gnocchi but that ended in white sludge.Pasta should technically be made with 00 flour but plain flour will do  ok.

  • ingredients
  • 210g all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons water
Mound your flower on your work-top , scoop a hole out of the flower .Add eggs and salt, mix add a drop off water if still to dry.Knead the dough for about 10 mins this activates the  glutton in the floor which stops the dough ripping when u roll out your dough.Place you dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.Roll the dough on your work top.The dough needs to be half the dept of a beer mat.
When I cut out my shapes I made them circular, I did this because when you roll out dough it turns into a circler shape .I used a glass to cut out my shapes.
  • Filling:
  • 200g ricotta cheese
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 7 walnuts, halved and salt to taste

This was the filling I used but you can use spinach and goats cheese or any no. of fillings.I also put together a  sauce to go with this to make a full dish.I want to blog dishes that are easy and the ingredients are accessable but taste and look great.
Roasted Carrot Sauce.
This sauce is really easy to make, but makes the best of your ingredients.
  • 3 Carrots(depending on size ); sliced
  • 1 Onions; sliced
  • 2 tb oil
  • 2 Cloves garlic; minced
  • 2 / 4 cups of Vegetable stock
  • Juice 1/2 a lemon
  • Sea salt to taste
Pre heat your oven to roasting temp for your cookerSo I quartered my Carrots and chopped them to the width of your big finger.Put them into a roasting dish and  mix in oil and place in pre heated oven.
Chop onions and garlic.When u see the are roasting ¾ roasted add onion and garlic as they roast fast and will burn if added from start.So when they ingredients are roasted, add to blender and add lemon then salt to taste.Add the vegetable stock a cup at a time till the desired texture and thickness is achieved.
A few tips on this recipe: Make the dough as thin a  possible, especially around the edges where the join between top and bottom, this is where the pasta thickness doubles.
Put as much filling as you can fit into each Ravioli, stretch the edges if you need to make them bigger.Place in boiling water till they floot,cook after making. They don’t really keep, as they dry out and don’t taste as well.

Sweet Potato and Pear soup

I was all prepared to do a light  mediterranean  dish but the weather  yesterday changed my mind ,it was windy and wet ,wet ,wet .So I decided I should cross my original mediterranean idea with something hearty.
So I cam across this soup and just had the right ingredient in the  cupboard
If you're in the midst of winter gloom or happy when you feel the early days of spring  upon you, this is the one for you . It's by no way a run of the mill soup  its fruity and could  easily be served in the summer as a chilled soup,it’s a full-bodied soup not for you if your like more of a broth .
When you first taste it the pear gives u a fruity taste on your palate the sweet potato is more subtle it has a crunch texture from both the pear and sweet potatoes  if you want to cheer up  or do something special and unusual this is a simple way of doing it .
Ingredients
Oil
1 Onion
750g  Sweet Potato(cut into 2cm cubes)
2 large firm pears(cored cubed into 2cm)
750ml of vegetable stock
Garnish with your imagination.
Fry the onion until its transparent but not brown.Then add the sweet potato  and fry for 5 -10 minutes until soft but not browned.Then add the pears and fry for another 2 minutes.Add stock,bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes .
Let cool, blend and add garnish.

Sea beets/spinach Feta bake

Sea beet/spinach feta bake.
Spring was in the air, and the sun showed up . I called a friend to  go for a walk  on the beach.As we walked she showed me this plant  Sea spinach,its sweet and salty taste inspired me to use it for a non pastry dish.I feel I'm always doing pastry dishes . Be carefull to wash as its found at the areas of a beach where dog owners like to walk.

If you are using sea spinach make shure to remove as much of the stalk as possible as this is tough and bitter.Its best to go for the juicy medium-sized leaves .
Ingredients
  • 15 oz of spinach
  • 1 pack cottage cheese
  • 1 pack of feta cheese
  • 2 oz  shredded parmesan cheese
  • small onion
  • shredded carrot
  • 1 egg
  • 4 oz of breadcrumbs
  • 2 cloves of  garlic
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano


Crumple your feta into a bowl, then add all your other ingredients except for the egg mix well , add your egg and season. I found it beet to bake in a tin that you can remove from round the bake,Grees your tin with oil or butter .I covered my baking tin .But it's that easy place in the over for about 30 minutes  at 350 degrees .
It's a very easy dish but having the right tine makes it come out easier but it tastes as good as it looks.

Mushroom Soup


So this is a great soup for when u end up buying loads of mushrooms but never end up using them. I buy mushrooms with the intention of  using more mushrooms in my food and  a couple of days before they go bad I find myself making soup to use them up .I used make a milk based mushroom soup before I discovered this soup.

As usual I ended up with a large amount of mushrooms losing the will to survive  but  as it was a  special occasion I wanted to do something different.And this soup is what I came up with. Never had I a soup that is so creamy with out cream.
The great thing about this soup is that it works if you have only white standard mushrooms and powdered stock or if you go the whole hog and get a selection of  mushroom like shiitake oyster brown and dried Porcini mushrooms and use fresh stock. Of course better produce brings better results but give it a go either way
.Clean and chop up the mushrooms and fry in sunflower oil for a couple of minutes stirring well. Add  hot water to your dried porcini.
Then add you thyme garlic , butter and add the liquid plus the porcini.Then cook till the liquid is  nearly reduced.Season with salt and pepper to your taste and then add stock.Bring to boil and then simmer for 20 min , I then add it to a food blender all or part  depending on if you want a chunky mushroom soup or like a fully blended  .
You can keep mushrooms to add and a few florets of thyme for decoration