One of the things I love most about Spring . . . next to the sunny days, flowers, rhubarb, bumbley bees and blue skies . . . is fresh asparagus!!
I could eat it every night of the week and never get tired of it. I know you can get it all year round, but I prefer to only eat English Asparagus . . . in season. Nothing tastes better in all the earth.
It hasn't spent weeks being Shipped and held in warehouses before it reaches the shop shelves. In most cases it's only just been picked within a few days or so. The flavour is incredible!
Of course it would be even better if I had Asparagus growing in my back garden, but alas . . . I don't and so I buy it at the shops.
I just adore it roasted until it is crispy tender . . . the flavour is beautiful, and when you toss it with a tasty lemon, honey and mustard vinaigrette, some toasted almonds and flaked Parmesan Cheese, you have something very special indeed!
*Roasted Aspagarus Salad with Parmesan and a Lemon Vinaigrette*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
A stunning springtime favourite with a delicious honey lemon vinaigrette dressing, shaved Parmesan cheese and crunchy toasted almonds!
For the vinaigrette:
2 lemons, halved crosswise
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1 shallot, peeled and finely minced
125ml extra virgin olive oil (1/2 cup)
1 to 2 TBS liquid honey
fine seasalt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Salad:
2 pounds of fresh aspagarus, trimmed of woody ends and
the points on the stems trimmed off
(They have a tendancy to be bitter at times)
50ml of extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup)
1 1/2 ounces flaked almonds, toasted
7 ounces of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, shaved
Heat your oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Toss the trimmed asparagus together with the olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Place into the heated oven and roast for about 12 minutes, until crispy tender.
While the asparagus is roasting make the dressing. Juice the lemons into a bowl, making sure you don't have any pips. Whisk in the shallots, honey and Dijon mustard. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture is emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide the roasted Asparagus between six serving plates in a decorative way. Drizzle each with some of the vinaigrette, drizzling some on the plate as well. Sprinkle with the nuts and shaved Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Enjoy a long weekend Easter lunch with Newman's Own, The English Provender Co. and Very Lazy!
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Enjoy a long weekend Easter lunch with Newman's Own, The English Provender Co. and Very Lazy!
Cook up a feast for friends and family this Easter with a range of recipe ideas from Newman's Own, The English Provender Co. and Very Lazy. Pick our your favourite dish or try the whole menu for a seasonal Easter Feast to kick off Spring in style.
The fresh French-inspired fig and goat's cheese salad using Newman's Own Light French Dressing is perfect to start!
*French Fig, Ham and Goats Cheese Salad with Almonds*
Serves 2
A delicious starter from the people at Newman's Own perfect for your Easter lunch. Serves 2
20g of whole almonds, chopped (I toast these first as
it really helps to bring out the flavour of them best) (2 TBS)
it really helps to bring out the flavour of them best) (2 TBS)
The fillet of Lamb served with a Very Lazy Chilli salsa is a great twist on the traditional dinner.
*Fillet of Lamb with Mint, Garlic and Chili Salsa*
served with lemon cucumber yogurt and caramelized onion couscous(Approximately 2/3 pound in weight each)
For the Salsa:
For the couscous:
Meanwhile, place the remaining 2 TBS of olive oil in a small pan and cook the chilli and garlic for 5 minutes. Leave to cool and then stir in the fresh mint.
Finally make the yogurt sauce by combining everything together.
Finish off your meal with this beautiful piece de resistance from The English Provender Co, a delicious sweet St Clement's Cake using their Luxury Lemon Curd.
*St Clement's Cake*
Makes 8 generous slices300g pack of full fat cream cheese (1 1/4 cups)
Cream the butter, sugar, ginger paste and lemon zest together in a large bowl until pale and well combined. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour after each addition if the mixture begins to curdle. Sift over any remaining flour and fold it in with a large metal spoon. Divide the mixture between the two tins, leveling the surface of each with the back of a spoon. Bake for 20 to 25 minues, until risen and golden and firm to the couch. Allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
I was recently sent this very pretty little cup and saucer from the company Select Japan. This cup and saucer are the latest design from the historic Arita Porcelain of Japan. Empty or full, it tells a unique story.
Stunning in it's simplicity when empty, the filled cup displays a delicate four leaf clover outline. Take a sip and halfway down, the clover transforms into a heart shape. Savour the full cup and you are left with another surprise . . . a second tiny clover outline seems to float before finally revealing a minute crystal heart at the very bottom of the cup.
Six tiny heart shapes are hollowed out around the rim of the saucer and a specially made glaze is injected inside. It is then baked in a kiln heated to a temperature of 1300*C which forces the glaze to harden and turn almost crystal in nature.
There is another heart shape at the very bottom of the cup. Each cut out in this product is carefully created by hand, and because of this delicate and painstaking work, only five hundred Heart in Clover cups and saucer sets can be produced every month.
This cup and saucer are also microwaveable and dish washer proof, which is a plus.
This cup and saucer are also microwaveable and dish washer proof, which is a plus.
The very first Japanese porcelain was baked in Arita Japan, in 1616, and this heritage has continued for nearly 400 years. Arita introduced its quality porcelain to the European continent in the 17th century via the Dutch East Indies Company, and is credited with inspiring the birth of the first European porcelain, Meissen. Arita is better known in Europe as Imari.
Cup and Saucer Set (Blue or Red) £43
Pair (One Blue and One Red Set) £86
Pair (One Blue and One Red Set) in Gift Box £96
For more details and how to purchase do check out the Select Japan page.
It really is a beautiful cup and so very delicate in appearance. I think the heart and clover effect is very unique and quite adorable. If I had only one negative to say about it, it would be that the saucer does not have a recessed area where there normally is one to help to hold the cup in place, but then again . . . since this is Japanese, perhaps that is the way they do things. All in all I do like this cup and saucer very much.
Many thanks to Ms Lina Panchal and Select Japan for sending it to me.
I do get sent the nicest things. I am a very lucky girl!
As we know Easter is just a few weeks off. I love Easter. Not only does it symbolize rebirth, but Spring and all that is good about this time of year, not the least of which is yummy chocolate!
Prestat, the chocolatier to Her Majesty The Queen, has created a clutch of NEW Easter hampers featuring everything from their latest Easter eggs to their brand new Red Velvet Truffles, their best-selling chocolate bars and even an Easter Bunny or two. Whatever hamper you choose, Prestat will help you stage the most delicious Easter egg hunt ever and turn Easter into Feaster!
Milk Chocolate Bunny Bunny Basket Hamper
A velvety milk chocolate egg fit for a princess; a keep-safe pink card egg brimming with pecan praline truffles; a crazy polka dot egg, laid by our hens Thelma and Louise, filled with hazelnut praline; two mini bars of award winning milk chocolate and a bag of mini eggs perfect for hiding in the garden under the watchful eye Bunny and Bunny. £45
Tilly the Bunny’s Best Kept Secret Hamper
A velvety milk chocolate Easter Egg filled with the finest truffles; a rainbow of mini foiled eggs; our new crazy polka dot egg, laid by our hens Thelma and Louise, filled with hazelnut praline; a keep safe pink card egg brimming with pecan praline truffles; our sensual Red velvet truffles; a classic jewel box packed with everyone’s favourites chocolates. Great Taste Award winning Pecan and Maple and Roasted Almond and Sea Salt Milk chocolate bars, all chosen by Tilly, the bunny resplendent in her red foil coat. £95
Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheap, Cheap Hamper
Prestat’s hens, Thelma & Louise have been busy laying chocolate eggs. Enjoy 1/2 a dozen real hens eggs, full of the finest hazelnut praline, nesting on a table setting wicker basket. £18
Do be sure to check out the Prestat Easter Shop for even more luxury Easter goodies.
Please note: I have not been paid to tell you about these, nor have I been given any free products. I just happen to think Prestat makes good chocolate and wanted to share.
I confess to being rather lazy at times. That's why I just love strips cookies. You know the kind I mean? You shape them into two flat logs on a baking sheet, create a dip in the middle and then fill that dip with something scrummy and bake.
The magic happens when you take them out of the oven and slice them into diagonals . . . what once was two becomes two dozen. Bingo! No fuss. No muss. It's as simple as cutting them with a knife. Quick as a wink.
I just adore this chocolate and cherry version . . . with it's rich chocolate dough and it's sweet Morello Cherry Jam filling. So delicious! I just adore jam . . . especially if it is in, on or around biscuits and cakes. tarts . . . toast, scones . . . I just adore jam full stop.
These have the added scrumminess of a white chocolate drizzle over top. Soooo good. Love, Love, LOVE white chocolate too!
Altogether, these were quite scrumptious. I hope you will give them a try. Resistance is futile. You will fall in love. I promise.
*Chocolate and Cherry Diagonals*
Makes 4 dozen
Printable Recipe
Scrummy chocolate cookies, stogged full of chocolate chips, cherry preserves and a drizzle of white chocolate. Very quick and easy to make!
280g plain flour (2 cups)
2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder (not drink mix) (1/2 cup), sifted
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
150g of caster sugar (3/4 cup)
85g of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
6 ounces butter, softened (3/4 cup)
2 large free range eggs
12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
about 6 TBS Morello cherry preserves
To drizzle:
4 ounces white chocolate, cut into bits
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchent. Butter the parchment lightly. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift together the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and soda. Stir this into the creamed mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Shape the dough into 4 (12 inch) long logs on the baking sheets, leaving lots of space in between them for spreading. Using your thumb, make a shallow trough down the middle of each. Spoon the cherry preserves into the troughs.
Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in the heated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the centre of one of the logs comes out clean.
Remove the baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely.
Carefully melt the white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. (Don't allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl, not to get into the chocolate or it will seize.) Drizzle this over the cooked cookie logs. Allow to set completely before proceeding.
Once completely cooled and the white chocolate has set, cut the logs diagonally into 1 inch wide strips. Store in an airtight container.
We do love a pot pie in this house, especially when they are homemade. My mom always made great pot pies when I was growing up . . . every roast dinner almost guaranteed a pot pie made from the leftovers within a day or two. We LOVED pies flat out. If it was in a crust . . . we were happy campers full stop.
We even loved the frozen pot pies that my mom would buy on sale from time to time . . . you know the ones I mean . . . lots of gravy, peas and carrots and a few bits of beef or chicken or turkey, depending on what kind they were. We just loved pie.
Happy to say my taste has gotten a lot better since I grew up. I would never be happy with one of those insipid frozen pies now . . . not when I can make one of my own at home that would be a lot tastier, and it's not all that hard either when it comes right down to it. Seriously.
It really only takes a tiny bit of effort and you can have a delicious pot pie on the table in no time at all. I love this pie with it's lovely rich and creamy tarragon sauce, filled with peas and carrots . . . and tasty chunks of chicken . . . leek and onion . . . all tucked beneath that flaky puff pastry crust. This be good eating all round. No question at all. I do so hope you will give it a try. I guarantee you will be converted. I think you'll plan on having leftovers from now on, just so you can make it. ☺
*Chicken and Tarragon Pot Pie*
Serves 4 to 6
A
delicious version of an old time favourite with a lovely rich sauce
which has been lightly flavoured with tarragon, chives and parsley. Puff
pastry tops it. What's not to like?
For the sauce:
50g butter (3 1/2 TBS)
35g plain flour (4 1/4 TBS)
500ml of hot chicken stock (2 1/4 cups)
100ml of single cream (generous 1/3 cup light cream)
several sprigs of fresh tarragon, leaves stripped off and chopped coarsely
a small bunch of fresh chives, chopped
the leaves from a small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
You will also need:
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 trimmed leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
a splash of white wine
500g of cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (a very generous pound)
75g of frozen peas (1/2 cup)
1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, all butter if possible
1 small free range egg, beaten with 1 tsp water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/gas mark 5.
Heat
the oil and butter in a large non-stick skillet. Once the butter
begins to foam, add the onion, carrots and leeks. Cook, stirring
occasionally, without browning, until soft. Season well with some salt
and pepper, add a splash of wine and cook for several more minutes.
Stir in the chicken and peas. Remove from the heat and pour into a 12
by 8 inch baking dish. Set aside.
To make the
sauce, melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan over low heat. Whisk
in the flour and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Slowly whisk in
the hot stock and cream, whisking constantly. Whisk and simmer until
the mixture thickens. Season well with salt and pepper. Stir in the
herbs. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Pour this mixture over
top of the chicken.
Unroll the pastry on a
lightly floured surface. Lay the sheet over top of the filling. Trim
the edges to sit just inside the edge of the pie dish, and then crimp
the edges decoratively. Score the pastry lightly in diagonals with a
sharp knife, taking care not to cut all the way through. Beat the egg
together with the water and then brush the top with some of this egg
wash. Cut a slash in the centre to vent for steam. (I use my kitchen
scissors and cut it in a criss cross.) Sprinkle lightly with some sea
salt and black pepper in a decorative manner.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately. We like to have some mash and veg on the side as well.
Ocado 'Next Top Supplier of the Year 2014' finalist praised by Tom Kerridge, Cyrus Todiwala and Atul Kocchar
The Spice Drops® range of food flavouring products from Holy Lama Naturals has won the praise of high profile food celebrities Tom Kerridge, Cyrus Todiwala and Atul Kocchar, with all three chefs impressed with the vibrancy of flavours and flexibility for creative applications.
Spice Drops® are concentrated spice extracts distilled into easy-to-use liquid drops for food and drink, providing chefs and cooks with simple and convenient access to a huge range of spices.
Already hailed by some of the UK's top food bloggers, the Spice Drops® range was named in March 2014 as one of Ocado's five finalists in its 'Next Top Supplier of the Year' competition, being selected from over 400 entries.
Ocado PR Executive Naomi Bullivant said:
"Our senior buyer Andy was blown away by the versatility of this product....you could use it to liven up plain yoghurt or make mulled wine in seconds."
Commenting on one of the Spice Drops® products, two Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge said:
"This has a fantastic saffron flavour."
Atul Kocchar, one of Britain's most critically acclaimed chefs and the first Indian chef to achieve a Michelin star was equally fulsome in his praise. About the entire Spice Drops® range he said:
"These products are an amazingly versatile way to bring food and drink to life. Truly authentic flavours."
TV chef Cyrus Todiwala, owner of landmark London restaurant Café Spice Namasté and a new Portuguese/Indian fusion restaurant in Waterloo, Assado, highlighted the products' ease of use in cooking:
"These drops present us with a wonderfully simple and flexible way to blend spices and create flavours."
Gouri Kubair, owner of Holy Lama Naturals, UK, said:
“It was fantastic to hear those comments from chefs I have long admired. I am also really excited by the wonderful feedback and imaginative recipes that Spice Drops® is starting to generate from our customers. People are starting to appreciate that trying new tastes with the Spice Drops® is easy and risk free.
The products are made in our family factory in Kerala, India, where we employ disadvantaged women, providing them with fair wages and optimum working conditions. It means a great deal to me that I can make a difference in this way."
Spice Drops® can be viewed and purchased from the Holy Lama Naturals online shop:
It can be a thrill to redesign your kitchen, but you may find yourself concerned about how much it will cost. One way to cut down on remodelling expenses is to obtain kitchen cabinets that are ready to assemble and that you can install yourself.
If you enjoy doing projects around the house, you will save a great deal of money by obtaining cabinets that only take a screwdriver to put together. These types of units can be purchased at locations such as www.shoprtacabinets.com. You can find a wide selection of cabinets in both light and dark wood, and all units are made of high-quality 100% plywood that will provide you with many years of service and beauty.
It does not take huge sums of money to accomplish the task of redesigning your kitchen. By changing the cabinetry in the room, your kitchen will take on an entirely different look. In many cases, this is all that is necessary to update the room and give you a truly beautiful kitchen with a great deal of attractive storage.
You might decide to choose cinnamon maple glaze cabinets for your room. These units will completely upgrade the appearance of your kitchen while also providing you with storage for all types of kitchen items. For optimum storage space, you may decide to acquire wall cabinets as well as base units. You are the best judge of how much storage you will need and what types of cabinets will be necessary to fill your requirements.
When you obtain cabinets that are ready to assemble easily and quickly, you can save money on installation fees. You will also have lovely units that will improve the appearance of your room and will be made of high-quality materials meant to last for years. Your cabinets will be flat packed and delivered right to your home. In no time at all, your kitchen will look like a completely remodelled room that you will be proud to show off to guests.
You are invited to visit Cabinet Mania to order the cabinets that will work wonders in your kitchen. Just by changing the cabinetry, the entire room can be renovated, and you will have all of the storage you require and the beauty you desire without needing to spend a great deal of cash. Think of all of the wonderful things you can do with the money you will save.
There are a lot of recipes floating around the internet called ham and cheese sliders, each one looking more delicious than the last. You probably know the ones that I am talking about. White buns stuffed with ham and cheese, drenched in a butter sauce, with poppy seeds on top . . . very delicious looking indeed. I confess I have never tried them, but they do look quite tasty.
The other day I started thinking about how tasty a recipe long the same lines done up as per a reuben sandwich would be and my wheels started turning . . .
I love reuben sandwiches . . . all that smoked meat and sauerkraut . . . cheese . . . thousand island dressing. So good. I think it was in Winnipeg that I had my first one. I love rye bread also, but that is not something that we can get readily here, at least not of the right kind.
I created my own thousand island dressing/sauce, and layered it with pastrami, and swiss cheese . . . and sauerkraut . . . between soft white buns . . .
Then I took the same idea as the ham sliders and created a butter sauce, using similar ingredients, except swapping out the poppy seeds for caraway seeds . . . which I felt went really well with the other ingredients. I also had some of that Paul Newman Hot Dog Sauce which went into the butter sauce too . . . which lent a bit of smokiness and some of that sharp heat you get from a nice hot mustard.
All in all I would say these were a HUGE success. We both enjoyed them very much and I would make them again. I only made a half recipe because, there are only two of us and we can only eat so much, but in all truth I was thinking later on, I should have made the whole shebang! Oh, I do so hope you will try these and that when you do you will love them as much as we did!! I will be making these again!!
*Reuben Sliders*
Makes approximately 6
I have seen plenty of ham and swiss slider recipes about, and thought I wonder what would happen if you did this as a reuben. And so I tried, with very tasty results. Hearty and deliciousThis be fork and knife food!
24 slices of pastrami
6 slices of Leer Dammer cheese
(Or any sliced Swiss)
a pack of 6 soft white rolls, do not separate
1/2 jar of sauerkraut, drained (You can freeze the rest)
2 heaped dessert-spoons of mayonnaise (about 1/2 cup)
2 TBS ketchup
2 TBS sweet pickle relish
2 tsp grated fresh onion
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp white vinegar
pinch salt
few dashes of hot pepper sauce
60g of butter, melted (about 1/4 cup)
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Worcester Sauce
1 TBS Paul Newman Hot Dog Sauce (or 1 TBS Dijon mustard)
1 tsp caraway seeds
Whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle, grated onion, garlic, hot pepper sauce and vinegar. Set aside. Whisk together the melted butter, onion powder, Worcestershire Sauce and Hotdog sauce(mustard). Set aside.
Cut your rolls in half through the middle without separating the rolls. You should have two slabs, one of the tops and one of the bottoms. Place the bottoms, cut sides up, into a 9 by 15 inch baking dish. Spread half of the mayonnaise mixture over this. Top with the pastrami. Spread the well drained sauerkraut over top of the pastrami, and then top with the cheese slices. Spread the cut side of the top part of the buns with the remainder of the mayo mixture. Place on top of the cheese slices. Pour the butter mixture evenly over top of the rolls, and sprinkle with the caraway. Cover the dish tightly with foil and sit aside while the oven heats.
Heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Place the covered dish in the oven and allow it so bake, covered, for about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until the cheese is melted, the filling has heated through and they are golden brown. Remove from the oven. Cut into individual rolls to serve. Serve hot.
Well, folks, what with having such a mild winter and a bit of early spring, quite a bit of the rhubarb in our garden is ready to begin harvesting now. Not bundles and bundles of it, but enough for me to indulge in a few rhubarb treats.
I love rhubarb season. I love rhubarb!! When I was a child, during rhubarb season, my mother used to give us each a stick of rhubarb and a small bowl of sugar. We would sit there sticking the end of the rhubarb into the sugar and biting it off on the sugared end. Oh boy. Was that ever mouth puckering good! You got the super sour tang of the rhubarb and a blast of sweet from the sugar. It was like a natural, "chemical free" pixie stick!
The other week I made a rhubarb pie and it was sooooo good. This weekend I decided to make a Rhubarb Clafoutis. Traditionally made with cherries, this is a French Dessert. It's like a batter pudding made with eggs, ground almonds, a bit of flour, sugar, fruit and cream. Technically a clafoutis made with fruit other than cherries it called a Flaugnarde, but why split hairs . . . this is a clafoutis.
Rich and sweet . . . with tender pieces of honey roasted rhubarb and lovely flecks of vanilla seeds througout, this is a fantastically scrummy dessert.
Of course Todd had to have his with some cream drizzled over top, and why not . . .
A little bit of an indulgence once in a while is a good thing. (So is the smell of your fingers after playing with the vanilla seeds. There's no calories in smell right??? Ok . . . so I did have an eensy peensy taste.)
*Rhubarb Clafoutis*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
Tender Spring Rhubarb is showcased in a very tasty dessert. The pinker rhubarb looks very nice done this way.
400g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths (3/4 lb)
1 vanilla pod
25g of butter (scant 2 TBS)
1 TBS runny honey (Acacia is nice)
50g of ground almonds (generous 1/2 cup)
2 TBS plain flour (all purpose)
100g caster sugar (1/2 cup fine white sugar)
2 medium free range eggs
2 medium free range egg yolks
250ml of double cream (a generous cup of heavy cream, a scant 9 fluid ounces)
icing sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Arrange the rhubarb in a single layer in a shallow 1 litre baking dish. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Dot the seeds over the rhubarb pieces. Dot with the butter as well and then drizzle the honey over top. Bake for 15 minutes in the heated oven, until tender.
Beat together the almonds, flour, sugar, eggs, egg yolks and cream, until you have a smooth mixture. Remove the roasted rhubarb from the oven. Pour the egg mixture over top. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes until puffed and golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately. Delicious!
(Lasagne noodles are somewhat different over here. They're not long and ruffle edged. They are flat edged, and about 4 by six inches in size.)
I had some cooked chicken and some cooked ham that needed using up today. I could have made a Cordon Bleu type of casserole, but I wanted something different. I was craving pasta . . . which as you know my husband hates. I think I finally found a pasta dish he sorta likes though.
Chicken and Ham Lasagne. I found the recipe in a cookbook I love. Rachel Allen Home Cooking. I didn't follow it exactly . . . I rather adapted it a bit, but then again . . . that's what I like to do.
I find a recipe that works for me and then I adapt it to our tastes and my rather lazy way of cooking. It happens more often than not in my kitchen.
I have always loved Rachel Allen's recipes and her cookery shows. The food she cooks is real food. Nothing artsy fartsy there. Nothing complicated.
You don't have to run out and buy special ingredients or equipment. That's my kind of cooking. Simple and wholesome ingredients. Simple cooking methods. Economical use of what you have in the larder . . .
I added some frozen spinach to the recipe I like to get veggies in wherever I can. I also added extra cheese to the top . . .
. . . because we like cheese, and that's how I roll. You can never have too much cheese to my way of thinking.
Its like bacon . . . more is . . . delicious. Things just taste better if there's cheese and/or bacon involved.
This was quite simply fantastic! It helped me to use up my leftovers. It was cheap to make. The husband loved it. Ok, so maybe love is a bit of an exaggeration.
I LOVED IT . . . he just kinda liked it . . . a lot. That's as much as he would concede.
I think he's afraid that if he actually ever admitted to loving anything with pasta in it . . . that would open the flood gates or something . . .
pasta would start raining down on him like cats and dogs . . .
And for someone like my husband . . . that just wouldn't do.
He did really really like it though . . . trust me on this. He had two servings.
*Chicken and Ham Lasagne*
Serves 4 to 6
8 cubes of frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
400g of cooked chicken, diced (scant pound)
Add the
garlic. Cook for a further two minutes. Scoop out and set aside. Add
the remaining butter to the pan. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth
paste.
Slowly whisk in the milk, until it is completely mixed in and
smooth. Whisk in the chicken stock as well. You should have a
thickened sauce which coats the back of a spoon. Season with the nutmeg
and salt and pepper to taste.
Top with
four lasagne sheets. Spoon the remainder of the ham/chicken mixture
and the spinach over top. Spoon over another 1/3 of the sauce. Top
with the remaining four sheets of lasagne. Spoon the remaining sauce
over all and sprinkle the cheese over top to cover.
TO FREEZE - This freezes very easily in single portions. Just cut the cooked lasagne up into single serving pieces. Place each in an airtight freezer container. Label and freeze for up to six months. When you are ready to serve. Pop the frozen piece of lasagna into a covered casserole and bake at 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4 for about 45 minutes until heated through and bubbling, uncovering for the last 5 to 10 minutes of cook time.
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