Budget Marinated Olives

 

I lived in Lisbon 1995-1996, working for a British bank. A work colleague took pity on me living on me living on my own and invited me to join his wife and family on a bank holiday weekend in Nazaré, 77 miles to the north.  Preparing for an extended family gathering (his elderly mother told showed me her charm bracelet with a charm for each of the 18 children she had had!), he showed me this quick way to make marinate cheap olives.

1 tin of pitted black or green olives, or a mixture of both

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp oregano or mixed herbs

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed 

Simply mix everything together and leave for a few minutes, if you can, for the flavours to infuse.

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Pigs in Blankets Sausage Rolls

I made Pigs in Blankets Swirls a few weeks ago, but thought I'd try making more traditionally shaped sausage rolls for an extended family gathering the day after Boxing Day

Makes 8/16

320g pack ready rolled puff pastry
8 slices of streaky bacon
8 sausages or 500g sausage meat 

If using sausages, remove the casings by cutting them off with scissors. 

Lay the pastry out on the greaseproof paper it comes with, with one of the longest sides towards you.  With a rolling pin, roll the pastry out towards and away from you to make it a little wider.  

Cut the pastry in half lengthways from left to right to make two long strips.

Lay short lengths of bacon along the middle of the pastry strips.  After cutting the first few slices of bacon in half, I worked out I needed to cut them in three to cover the middle of the pastry.

Divide the sausagemeat in half and spread each half evenly over the bacon, along the middle of each pastry strip, right up to the edges.  If using sausages, just lay four skinned sausages along the bacon on each pastry strip.

Fold the longside of the pastry over to the over and crimp it closed with a fork.  Lightly score each pastry roll into 4, or 8 if you want mini sausage rolls. 

Once scored, cut with sharp scissors.  Drag the greaseproof paper onto a baking tray and arrange the cut sausage rolls with a bit of space between them.

Bake at 180C for 40 minutes until golden brown, turning half way though the cooking time.  Best eaten hot.  Can be reheated at 180C for 7 minutes in an air fryer.

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Camembert or Brie Tarts

I've had two failed attempts at making Camembert (or Brie Tarts, Tartlets, Bites, or Pies), first with wraps as the casing and the second time with shop bought puff pastry.  The wrap casings went soft, and the puff pastry heat sealed itself to the muffin tray and had to be chiselled out.  So I returned to my old faithful homemade food processor all butter pastry (from a 20+ year old Good Housekeeping magazine cutting), which I make Chicken & Ham Pies, Mince Pies, and Quiche with, to make Camembert Tartlets (or Pies, or Bites) 

Makes 20-24

175g plain flour

100g cold salted butter, cubed

250g Camembert or Brie

Thinly sliced garlic, rosemary sprig, or Cranberry Sauce (optional)

Place the flour and cubed butter into a food processor with 2 tablespoons cold water.  Pulse a few times, add another tablespoon of cold water and pulse a few times again.  Keep adding a tablespoon of water and pulsing a few times until the flour and butter begins to look like breadcrumbs.  I find the Aldi flour I use takes about 4 tablespoons of water to get to this texture.  After 4 tablespoons of water, run the food processor for a few seconds continuously to make the pastry clump together into a rough ball, adding a little more water if it doesn't.

When formed into a ball, tip out onto a floured surface, shape into a block and place in a plastic bag in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

After the pastry has rested (it apparently should rest to allow the gluten to relax so it doesn't shrink as much, and making the butter harden and make the dough easier to work with - but it is not essential if you really don't have time to let it rest),  roll it out on a lightly floured surface and cut out disks with a pastry cutter.  I used my largest round cutter and made 20 disks.  Had I gone a cutter smaller, I might have been able to cut 24 disks.

Lightly grease the mince pie tin with a little vegetable oil and place a disk over each hole.  Don't worry about pushing them down into the hole as they will fall back into them once into the hot oven.

Cut the camembert into as many disks as you have cut.  Place the cheese in the centre of each disk.  I cut my Camembert into small wedges, which I cut in half again to get a rough square in the centre.  

Sandwich the garlic and a few rosemary leaves between the slices of cheese, if using.  If using cranberry sauce, place 1/2 a teaspoon on top.

Bake at 180C for 18 minutes, turning half way through the cooking time, until lightly golden.

Leave to cool for a few minutes so the cheese is not molten, but serve warm.

We warmed these up at 180C for 2 minutes in an air fryer at a family gathering yesterday.

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Sesame Prawn Toast

I resisted the urge to buy some half price raw prawns in Aldi last week, and then saw a recipe online for Sesame Prawn Toasts. So when Aldi had some more half price prawns yesterday (and three tuna steaks - straight in the freezer), I grabbed them for my protein obsessed 17 year old son.

Makes 12

3 slices of bread

175g raw prawns

1 medium free range egg

1cm root ginger, finely gated

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 spring onion, chopped into 1cm rounds

Sesame seeds

Sesame oil

Light olive or vegetable oil for frying

Whizz the prawns, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and spring onion together in a mini food processor.

Drizzle sesame oil on each side of the slices of bread.

Divide the prawn paste between the slices of bread and spread smoothly right to the edges.  The two recipes I looked at said to cut the crusts off, and to use white bread, but I left the crusts off and used light wholemeal bread.  Sprinkle the prawn paste with sesame seeds.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.  If you have a larger non-stick frying pan that will fit more than one slice of bread, add 1 tsp oil per slice.

Fry topping side up for 1.5-2 minutes until the bottom is golden brown.  Lift the slice of bread up with a fish slice and pour in another 1 tsp of oil, then carefully flip it prawn paste side down into the hot oil.  Cover the pan with a lid or plate and fry for 1-5-2 minutes until prawn paste is golden brown.

Cut each slice of bread into quarters.  If the prawn paste looks slightly undercooked (grey rather than pale pink) when you cut up the toast, just fry again for another minute or microwave all four quarters for 1 minute.

Sesame Prawn Toasts can be cooked in an air fryer.  Drizzle the bread with sesame oil as above then toast  in the air-fryer for 3 minutes at 200°C until one side is golden. Spread the prawn paste on the untoasted side of the bread followed by the sesame seeds.  Cut into quarters and arrange as many as you can in the air fryer basket. Cook for 12 minutes at 180°C until golden brown.

Serve warm with sweet chilli sauce and/or soy sauce for dipping.

Can be reheated in the air fryer - 5 minutes at 180C. And can be frozen and reheated in the air fryer from frozen - 10 minutes at 180C.

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Bean Quesadillas

Bean Quesadillas are a surprisingly simple but filling snack or lunch.

Serves 2 

2 wheat flour tortilla wraps

1 can black or pinto beans 

1 small onion, peeled and finely diced 

1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tsp cumin

1tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

200g grated cheddar

Olive oil for frying

First make the refried beans. 

Heat 2 tbsp oil over a medium high heat in a frying pan.

Gently fry the onion until translucent (about 5 minutes).

Stir in the garlic and spices, then the beans and their liquid.

Bring the beans to the boil and simmer, stirring from time to time and mashing them with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon, until they are a double cream-like consistency.

Heat 1 tsp olive oil over a medium heat in a non stick frying pan large enough to fit one open tortilla.

Lay one tortilla into the frying pan and sprinkle 50g of cheddar on one half almost up to the edge.

Divide the beans into two portions in the pan and spoon one portion onto the cheddar cheese on the wrap in the frying pan. Sprinkle another 50g of cheddar on top of the beans, and fold the wrap in half covering the beans.  

Fry for 1-2 minutes until golden brown underneath, then carefully turn over and fry the other side for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.

Repeat with the other tortilla and remaining ingredients.

Serve with sour cream with a little chipotle sauce stirred through.

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Pumpkin Muffins

We regularly have a coeliac trick or treater visiting us the last few years, so I always make a gluten free treat.  This year I have made Pumpkin Muffins, using gluten free self raising flour rather than self raising flour, and the scrapings from inside a couple of pumpkins we've carved.

Any leftover muffins will be used for grab & go breakfasts, in lunchboxes, or snacks next week.

Makes 12

125ml vegetable or light olive oil

2 large free range eggs

250g pumpkin puree 

100-150g sugar

100g mixed dried fruit

2 tsp pumpkin spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp ginger)

250g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Make pumpkin purée by simmering 250g of pumpkin in water for 15 minutes.  Drain and liquidise.  

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs into the oil, followed by the cooled pumpkin purée, sugar, dried fruit, spices and baking powder.  Mix well then stir in the self raising flour.  This is a quite a wet mixture, so unlike other muffin recipes don't be afraid to mix the flour in thoroughly, as the muffins still rise well having done this.

Divide into 12 muffin cases. Bake at 200C for 15 minutes, until a metal sewer comes out of the central muffins clean.

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Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Oh my, why didn’t I try roasting pumpkin seeds in the air fryer sooner?

I didn’t have room in the oven last night for a tray of pumpkin seeds, so thought I’d try roasting them in the air fryer.  It works so well! 

Rinsed pumpkin seeds

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Paprika 

Salt

Rinse the pumpkin seeds to remove as much of the pumpkin flesh stuck to them as possible. I do this by covering them with water and swirling them around with my fingers. Most of the flesh will sink to the bottom of the bowl, leaving clean(ish) seeds floating on top. 

Drain the pumpkin seeds and roast them in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 180 C to dry them a little.

After drying, tip in a small bowl and stir in the olive oil, and paprika and salt to taste.

Return the seasoned seeds to the air fryer and cook for a further 10 minutes at 180C.

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Choc Chip Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins

More Grab & Go breakfast muffins for my 17 year old son, which he likes to alternate with Bacon & Cheddar Muffins I posted earlier, as he runs out the door to catch the bus to college.

Makes 12

100ml vegetable or light olive oil

75g sugar (optional)

2 ripe bananas (I freeze overripe bananas rather than throw them away, specifically to make this)

225g self raising flour or gluten free self raising flour

100g porridge oats

100g dark chocolate chips or cocoa nibs

1 tsp baking powder

2 large free range eggs

Put all the ingredients, apart from the chocolate chips/cocoa nibs, into a food processor and whizz until smooth. 

Add the chocolate chips/cocoa nibs and whizz to mix them in evenly. 

Divide the mixture into 12 muffin cases.  I use a generous vintage ice cream scoop, which only made 10 muffins the last time I made them.

Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, turning them through 180 degrees half way through the cooking time, until golden brown.  They are cooked through when a metal skewer comes out clean when pushed into the centre.  If not, cook for a couple more minutes then check again.

Keep in an airtight container for 5 days, or freeze.

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Bacon & Cheddar Breakfast Muffins

Grab & go breakfast for students (and their parents on the train to London to watch the Women's Rugby World Cup Final).

The trick to muffins that rise well is not overmixing.  As ever I have attempted a few short cuts, like adding the bacon and cheese to the milk mixture, and weighing the self raising flour straight into to the wet mixture to avoid mixing several times (and reduce washing up).

Makes 12

250ml whole milk

80ml light olive oil

1 free range egg

200g cooked bacon bits

100g grated mature cheddar

1 small courgette, grated (he was not impressed by this ingredient)

300g self raising flour (I used half wholemeal self raising flour, half white self raising flour)

Brown the bacon in a non stick frying pan. Add the courgette if using to soften it and evaporate off some of the liquid.  Leave to cool a little whilst you mix the other ingredients together.

Beat the egg, oil, and milk together in a mixing bowl.  Mix the bacon and courgette into the wet mixture well.

Weigh the self raising flour into the wet mixture and fold in gently, just until you can no longer see dry flour.

Divide into 12 muffin cases, and bake at 200C/180C fan in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top.

Leave to cool for 15 minutes before eating.  Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze and defrost overnight before breakfast.

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Pan Fried, Griddled, or BBQ Asparagus

Picked up some beautiful English asparagus from my local farm shop, West Lea Farm Shop, the other day.

We cooked half on the bbq at the weekend, and have pan fried the other bunch for lunch today.

1 bunch serves 2 as a starter

To cook, snap off the woody ends.  

Toss in a little olive oil if cooking on a griddle pan or bbq.  If pan frying, put about 1 tsp olive oil in a frying pan.  I reckon you could cook them in an air fryer too, but I haven't tried.

Cook over a medium high heat/flame until the asparagus begins to colour.  Try to colour all sides, without burning.

Serve hot with a small knob of butter or a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a little pinch of salt flakes.

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Staffordshire Oatcakes (Oat Pancakes)

Staffordshire Oatcakes are soft ground out pancakes traditionally eaten with the ingredients of a full English breakfast, but are great for an additive free wrap for lunch.

These are made with simple ingredients, including dried yeast, but have a better flavour if left to yeast further by leaving to stand overnight before cooking.

Makes 5 pancakes

125g oatmeal, or ground porridge oats

75g wholemeal bread flour

50g plain white flour

1 tsp dried yeast (that does not need to be activate first)

1/2 tsp salt

250ml water

250ml milk, or use water again

If making the oatcakes the same day as the batter, heat the water to 38C (you should be able to hold a finger in the water without it hurting).  If leaving the batter overnight don't worry about the temperature of the water.

Whisk all the ingredients together. Leave for about 15 minutes until the surface of the batter is bubbly.

When ready to cook, heat a pancake pan over a medium high heat.  Brush the pan with oil and pour in a large ladleful of batter.  Tilt the pan quickly to ensure the batter covers the pancake pan evenly.

Cook for 1.5-2 minutes until the top is dry with no wet batter.  Turn with a fish slice and cook the other side for the same amount of time as the first.

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Curried Bubble & Squeak (Potato Cakes) with Coriander Relish

Got leftover boiled or mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and greens? I thought I'd jazz up Bubble & Squeak with some curry spices and some coriander relish to use up some odd leftovers.

Serves 2

200g potato

Handful of cooked carrot, cabbage, Brussel sprouts etc

1 tsp garam masala or curry powder 

1 tbsp plain or chickpea flour

2 tbsp olive oil for frying

Relish

30g pack of coriander 

1 large garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cm ginger, roughly chopped

1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes 

2 tbsp dried mint

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 

1-2 tbsp water

Mash the potato well, before adding in the finely chopped vegetables and spice.  Do not add any oil or butter as you need a stiff mash that you can shape into four 'burgers' and keep their shape.  Add a little flour to the mash if needed to make it stiffer.

Fry the potato cakes in the olive oil in a non-stick pan over a medium high heat for about 5 minutes each side or until golden brown.

Whilst frying the potato cakes, whizz together all the relish ingredients until you have a pourable, double cream-like, consistency. Add more water and vinegar if needed to get a pourable relish.

Dip the potato cakes into the relish or pour over.

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Berry & Seed Yoghurt

There are so many suggested high fibre, gut friendly, longevity foods that I somehow feel there are not enough days of the week to fit them in.  My current fave Fruit & Seed Yoghurt breakfast has a plant count of 11, plus probiotic yoghurt

80g frozen summer fruits (blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries, blackberries) 

100g greek yoghurt

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 tbsp mixed seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, golden linseeds, hemp seeds)

1 tbsp organic porridge oats

1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Ideally, mix everything together the night before.  Failing that, microwave the berries for 1 minute, then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  The summer fruits are very tart so I like to add a little maple syrup.

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Feta & Walnut Dip

Needing last minute nibbles for a get together with the girls, I was inspired to add some walnuts to whipped feta to serve on homemade sourdough crostini.  It went down well so I'd better write up the recipe before I forget

Makes a small 150g pot

100g feta

25g walnuts

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Zest of half a lemon (optional)

1-2 tbsp whole milk or greek yoghurt

Whizz all the ingredients together in a mini food processor, adding milk or greek yoghurt to get your preferred texture (stiffer for spreading on crostini, looser for a dip).

This was made with half a block of feta as the other half had been eaten in a salad at lunch.  A whole 200g block would serve a small gathering better. Just double the ingredients.

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Padron Peppers

I first came across Padrón peppers in a tapas bar in Madrid 30 years ago, enjoying a weekend break in the city by a work colleague (we both worked for a UK bank, me in Lisbon, him in Madrid).  Despite looking like a hot green chilli they are usually mild, although the odd one can sometime surprise! 

We were thrilled to discover our organic veg box supplier stocks them from time to time.  However, it appears to be a short season so we buy them whenever they are available.

This week we have found them in a street market in the South of France, although the veg box ones have more flavour.

Serves 4 as a tapas

300g padron pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan until very hot.

Add the whole peppers and fry until the skin starts to blister and the peppers soften.  Stir every now and then to stop them burning.

Serve with a good sprinkle of sea salt and a cold beer

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Fruit Pancakes

I made blueberry pancakes for my son's breakfast on his 16th birthday, and have taught him the recipe for a quick high carb breakfast/snack.

Serves 2

1 mug/US cup self raising flour

1 mug milk

1 large free range egg

100g blueberries (I used frozen), raspberries, chopped strawberries, a grated apple or pear, or mashed banana

Whisk the flour milk and egg together into a smooth thick batter.

Stir in the fruit.

Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium high heat for 3 minutes then add a drizzle of oil.  Heat for another minute then add a ladleful of pancake mixture.

Cook for around 3 minutes on one side until the bubbles that start to appear on the surface have all popped and opened, the base of the pancake is a golden brown, and the pancake mixture on the surface is not runny when you tip the pan.  Flip the pancake with a wide fish slice and cook for a further 3 minutes until the bottom is as golden brown as the first side.

Serve with or without maple or golden syrup

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Air Fryer Tortilla Chips

We have run out of tortilla chips, and Big Boy (now 15 and 6'2") wants a high calorie snack as part of his bulking up diet for the gym.

I remember reading that tortilla wraps can be baked in the oven to make crispy tortilla chips, so googled whether this could be done in the air fryer rather than turn the oven on for one helping.  They can.  So I have dug out the two remaining tortilla wraps from the freezer than no-one wanted to use as they break when folded, and have stirred grated onion and garlic into some soured cream, and made guacamole. 

Serves 1

1 tortilla wrap
Extra virgin olive oil
Paprika or chilli powder 

Brush a light film of oil onto a wrap and sprinkle with paprika/chilli.

Snip into tortilla chips.

Place in a single layer into an unlined air fryer and cook for 5 minutes at 180C. No need to turn as they blow around in the air fryer! One large tortilla wrap will need to be cooked in at least 2 batches.

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Tomato Bruschetta

I know this dish as Pa amb Tomàquet, a Catalan staple of tomato rubbed over toasted or untoasted bread and seasoned with olive oil and garlic. But more people have heard of Tomato Bruschetta.

It's a great way of using tomatoes that are starting to go soft, and stale/hard baguette, sourdough, ciabatta, focaccia etc

100g ripe tomatoes (a handful of cherry tomatoes, or 2 medium sized), roughly chopped
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped

Pinch of salt

Stale bread

Whizz up the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic,and salt in a mini food processor.

Slice the bread, place in a shallow dish, and pour over the tomato pulp.

Cover and leave overnight ideally, for the flavours to develop and for the tomatoes to soften the bread. Eat at room temperature for the best flavour 

Pa amb Tomàquet is eaten as breakfast and as a snack/tapas throughout the day in Catalunya.

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Healthy No Added Sugar Cereal Bars

These date, oat, nut, seed & fruit bars were a huge success, so I am writing down how I made them before I forget 

Makes 10 bars

250g soft medjool dates, pitted

125g 100% peanut butter

100g porridge oats

100g whole almonds

45g mixed seeds

50g dried cranberries (optional)

Blend dates and peanut butter in a food processor until it forms a sticky paste.  Add 1-2 tbsp recently boiled water if required. If your dates are not that soft, soak them in boiling water for 20 minutes first, then drain and blend with the peanut butter. Do not use a Nutri bullet style liquidiser, as this struggled to make a paste without adding too much water.

Squish the rest of the ingredients into the date paste with your hands. Smooth into a small lined baking tray (or divide into 10 and squish into a mini brownie tin) with a wet spoon, and score into 10 slices.

Bake for 10 minutes at 180C (160C Fan).

Apparently these only last 3-4 days in the fridge, which seems odd given that all the ingredients last way past this individually.  Although I need not have worried, as they were all gone in a week.

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Chorizo & Manchego Pinwheels

Pretty pleased with my first attempt to make seasonal nibbles.  The possibilities with these cheesy pinwheels is endless - ham & cheddar, pesto & parmesan, spinach & feta, tapenade & feta.

Makes 18

1 pack ready rolled puff pastry

30 pack sliced chorizo

170g Manchego, grated

Roll out the pastry a little on a floured surface so you can fit all the chorizo slices on.

Evenly sprinkle with grated Manchego right up to the edges.

With one of the widest sides facing you, roll the pastry and filling carefully and fairly tightly.  

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 1cm slices.  I started from one end, and ended up with 17 pinwheels. Next time I would probably cut the roll in half, and keep cutting each section in half to end up with an even number of pinwheels.

Bake on a baking tray, on the paper the puff pastry came in, for 10-15 minutes at 220C/Fan 200C until lightly golden

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