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American Pancakes

Ingredients

200g Self-Raising Flour

1.5 Tsp Baking Powder

2 Medium Eggs

250ml Milk

2 Tsp Caster Sugar

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil, plus extra for cooking

A Pinch of Salt

Makes 12 pancakes.

(Turn your oven to a low heat if you want to keep the pancakes warm whilst you make more.)

Add all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and lump free. Allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes.

Place a frying pan on the hob on a medium heat and add a splash of vegetable oil.

Using a large spoon or ladle, pour 2-3 tbsp worth of mixture into the centre of the pan. After 60-90 seconds, bubbles should have started to form on the surface and around the edges. This indicates it’s time to flip. Flip using a spatula and continue to cook for a further 60 seconds or until golden on both sides. Transfer to a baking tray whilst you cook the rest or serve immediately. Top with your favourite toppings and enjoy!

In the picture above I have topped mine with bananas and maple syrup, but it’s entirely up to you!

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Roasted Tomatoes with Rosemary and Balsamic

Ingredients

4 Large vine tomatoes

1 Small Garlic Clove, slivered

1 Sprig of Rosemary

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Serves 2 as an accompaniment. 

Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°. 

Add a good shaking of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar to a roasting tin along with the garlic and rosemary. Half the tomatoes horizontally and rub them around in the mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper and place in the centre of the oven.

Roast for 45-50 minutes to allow the tomatoes to become soft and sweet.

Serve immediately and enjoy alongside meat, fish, pasta, etc.

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Cucumber Yoghurt

Ingredients

400g Full Fat Greek Yoghurt

1/2 a Medium Sized Cucumber, grated

Salt, to taste

Simply mix the two together and season to taste. This combination is so versatile as you can add more ingredients depending what you’re serving it with. For example, you could add mint to make it more of a raita, or garlic and olive oil for a refreshing tzatziki. I generally eat this with curries and Indian dishes as I personally prefer it without the mint, but you’ll have to experiment yourself!

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Nutella Brownies

Ingredients

85g Plain Flour

50g Soft Light Brown Sugar

50g Unsalted Butter, melted

2 Medium Eggs

400g Nutella (or any hazelnut/chocolate spread)

20g Cocoa Powder

0.5 tsp Baking Powder

To begin, preheat your oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°.

Firstly, take a mixing bowl and mix together the Nutella and melted butter. I recommend heating the Nutella in the microwave slightly beforehand as this makes it easier to work with. Add the eggs and whisk until the mixture is smooth and the eggs are well combined. 

Sift in the cocoa powder and add the rest of the dry ingredients. Give it a thorough and final mix, ensuring you get rid of any lumps. 

Grease and line a baking tin and pour the mixture into the tin. Level the top and place in the centre of the oven. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is riddled with cracks and an even colour. Don’t worry that the brownies have a slight amount of movement as they will firm up whilst cooling, and this is what makes them so fudgy and delicious!

Cool completely for neatly cut squares of brownie or spoon out and enjoy with ice cream.

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Potato Dauphinoise

Ingredients

1kg Potatoes, sliced thinly

600ml Double Cream

100ml Milk

3 Cloves of Garlic, crushed

Salt and Pepper

Start by preheating your oven to Gas Mark 5/190°C/375°F.

Next, add the cream, milk and garlic to a saucepan on a medium heat. When simmering, add the potatoes and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are slightly soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grease a baking dish and using a slotted spoon, remove the slices of potato from the saucepan. Place in the dish in an even layer (some like to do this neatly although I personally chuck them in and hope for the best) and pour over the remaining liquid. 

Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour or until cooked through and golden brown. If the top browns too quickly, cover the dish with foil and remove again towards the end.

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Banana Bread

Ingredients

2 Large Ripe Bananas

2 Medium Eggs

50ml Milk

100g Butter

200g Self-Raising Flour

140g Golden Caster Sugar

2 tbsp Golden Syrup

1.5 tsp Baking Powder

0.5 tsp Vanilla Extract

First of all, preheat your oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F.

Mash the bananas with a fork and add the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined using a wooden spoon, followed by the dry ingredients. Ensure the mixture is smooth and free of lumps (although there will be small lumps of banana!).

Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin. Pour the mixture into the tin making sure it is spread in an even layer.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the tin after a few minutes and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack until ready to serve. This loaf is best eaten slightly warm as it really enhances the flavour of the bananas!

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Simple Pleasures: Perfect Poached Eggs

The ingredients are simple, really:

2 Medium Free Range Eggs

Boiling water

Vinegar, a couple of splashes

Firstly, fill a small saucepan with roughly 2 inches (50mm) of boiling water and add the vinegar. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmering the water rather than rapidly boiling it ensures that your eggs won’t disperse and will stay more intact. The fresher the egg, the more the white (albumen) will keep together.

Using a spoon, stir the water in a quick clockwise motion and crack the eggs into the centre of the swirling water. This helps the egg bind to itself as the white coagulates. 

Poach the eggs for 3-3.5 minutes or until the whites are opaque and firm. Remove and drain the eggs and serve immediately.

Serving Suggestions: 

Try spreading a slice of toast with butter and marmite to lay your poached eggs on, or with a drizzle of sriracha for a spicy addition to your breakfast!

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Courgette and Mature Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

1.5 tbsp Butter

85g Mature Cheddar, grated

1 Onion

1 Clove of Garlic

4 Large Courgettes

2-3 Large Potatoes

2 Vegetable Stock Cubes

2 tbsp Double Cream (optional)

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Start by roughly chopping the potatoes, onion, 3 of the courgettes and crushing the garlic. Add these to a saucepan on a medium heat along with the butter and saute for 5 minutes.

Add the stock cubes and just enough boiling water to cover the vegetables and leave to cook until softened and tender.

Meanwhile, preheat your grill and quarter and slice the remaining courgette into roughly 0.5cm thick pieces. You could also do this step using a griddle pan but its entirely up to you. Brush the pieces of courgette with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper, be careful not to go overboard with the oil as you don’t want your soup to be oily. Grill until starting to colour and soft, but not falling apart.

Blend the soup using a hand blender or food processor until smooth and stir in the cheese (you can add more or less cheese depending how you prefer it).

Stir in the grilled courgettes and season to taste. At this point you can add some cream if you wish, although it’s delicious either way!

This soup keeps really well and can also be frozen.

Happy souping!