Tag: cheddar

Traditional Shepherd's pie
11Mar

Shepherd’s pie

When I think about food and movies my mind goes straight to the rich chocolate cake in Matilda, or the prison pasta from Goodfellas. And although these scenes are cemented in cinema history I wanted to draw inspiration from a show that is close to my heart. Friends has been something that I have re-watched numerous times, since I was a teenager and I will still watch it to this day, especially if I am feeling a little down. Thank you Netflix! Some of my favourite episodes are about Thanksgiving and they have inspired me in the past to try pumpkin pie and Ross’ “moist maker” turkey sandwich. But I wanted to recreate Rachel’s trifle, as it is such a famous scene. Rather than trying to make the trifle I made the Shepherd’s pie. Unlike Rachel’s “traditional” recipe, Shepherd’s pie actually takes lamb and not beef. I kept the recipe very traditional and added a little twist by making a simpler version of ketchup and adding that to the sauce. It did not taste like feet! Shepherd’s pie (serves 4) 400g minced lamb (i used 20% fat) 2 shallots, finely copped 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked 1 tbsp flour
2 mins read
1144 Views
Savory Cheese scones with cherry chutney
17Dec

Cheese scones with cherry chutney

I have been struggling with the flu for the last two days. Deciding to walk around the Christmas market in the pouring rain does that to you. With the temperatures dropping and the sun becoming very shy this time of year it has been easy for me to sleep in. And sleeping in means that meals merge into one another and this gives me a great excuse to have brunch in bed. In England scones are often eaten as an afternoon treat, with tea and sweet toppings like clotted cream and jam, and although I will never say never to a scone with cream and jam I will always reach for the savoury ones first. Scones are not what first pops into people’s mind when they think of brunch, but for me that’s the perfect dish to have with coffee. Fluffy cakes with tangy cheese. Chutney is often paired with cheese scones but my choice of cherries as the fruit is unconventional for a chutney. It makes it a little sweeter than traditional recipes, but as a big fan of sweet and sour tastes this was a gamble that paid off. Sweet cherry chutney (yields around 300g) 250g frozen pitted cherries
3 mins read
1246 Views
White pizza margherita with crispy base
06Sep

White pizza margherita

My blogger friend Amanda gave me this idea to make a #dirtypizzaparty to get all of our guilty pleasures on top of one base (or two. or three). This pizza party is transatlantic btw so i had this 12″ margherita to myself. She reiterated the pizza had to have your favourite, guilty food as a topping. And loads of it. Consequently cheese, which means the topping is pure cheese with a touch of cherry tomatoes. Pizza for me is all about simplicity, the way to my heart is a thin crispy margherita, simple and crunchy. The base in my opinion can make or break a pizza. This challenge by Amanda push me outside of my comfort zone because I rarely make bread and have never made a pizza base before. No, correction – I have attempted it before but ti doesn’t even bear thinking about it. The shape on my white pizza base turned out very “rustic” but the texture was really amazing, when rolled to half an inch it bakes like heaven. White pizza margherita (makes 2 12” pizzas) for the base: 300g plain flour 7g dried active yeast 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil 200ml warm water 1.
3 mins read
734 Views
10Feb

Hot chilli hearts

Shops are overflowing with chocolate at the moment: truffles, biscuits, lollipops. All wrapped in pink with little roses and sprinkles. As a lady that made me think “why yes I love all these little sweet gifts on Valentine’s” but more often than not my better half doesn’t appreciate chocolate as much as I do. Especially when they are wrapped in pink heart-shaped boxes. He likes chilli, manly, puts-hair-on-your-chest fiery type ones. So I made him some red hot chilli biscuits. Heart-shaped ones because let’s not forget, it is Valentine’s after all. Cheddar and chilli biscuits (makes around 20) 100g Plain flour 100g Cold unsalted butter, diced 1 tsp cornflour 90g extra mature Cheddar, finely grated 1 red chili, finely diced 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1tsp salt 1/2 tsp Paprika Depending on how hot you like your food, adjust for measures of chili and cayenne pepper. And remember to protect your hands with gloves or a little plastic bag when removing seeds from chili! 1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix plain flour and butter with hands until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 2. Add all other ingredients and mix with hands until dough is homogeneous. Knead briefly onto a floured surface. The
2 mins read
606 Views