Deep fried brie with cauliflower dip

Ingredients Brie, breadcrumbs, cauliflower, 1 egg, vegetable oil, almond milk, mustard.

Preparation: 15 minutes

This recipe goes hand in hand with my deep fried cauliflower with brie dip - I tend to serve them side by side for anyone who doesn't like cauliflower. Because naturally, me being me, I refuse to accept that a person could deny themselves such luscious, creamy goodness!

1) To make the cauliflower dip, prepare the cauliflower by removing the leaves and slicing the stem to the base. Slice around the stem to release the florets. Dice both and either steam or add to a pan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes until soft.

2) Drain the cauliflower and puree in the blender, adding a little almond milk until the desired dipping texture is reached. Flavour with mustard to taste (I usually add a teaspoon) and transfer to a dip dish.

3) To make the breaded brie, prepare two dishes - one with a beaten egg in it and one with the breadcrumbs. Dip the trianges of brie (I like to make them relatively bitesized as you'll only get one good dunk before biting into the lovely liquid centres!) into the egg, then roll into the breadcrumbs until coated - double dipping if necessary.

4) Bring a pan containing a couple of inches deep of vegetable oil to the boil (or turn on your deep fat frier) and fry the brie triangles until golden brown.

5) Serve the brie triangles with the cauliflower dip immediately.

Breaded new potatoes

Ingredients Egg, breadcrumbs, new potatoes, vegetable oil.

Preparation: 30 minutes

These crispy coated bites of soft potato may sound a little bland alone, but they make lovely croutons for soup and are especially incredible when dunked in chilli con queso. The smallest new potatoes work the best - these were about the size of cherry tomatoes.

1) Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes in a pan of hot water, then set aside to cool.

2) Set up one dish with a beaten egg and another with breadcrumbs, then when the potatoes are cool enough to handle, dunk in the egg and then into the breadcrumbs until coated. Double dipping may be necessary though I found the crumbs stuck perfectly to the skin of the potato.

3) Drop the potatoes into a pan of hot vegetable oil and fry until crispy and golden.

Greek stuffed tomatoes

Ingredients 200g Lamb mince, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp thyme, 2 cloves garlic, 50g breadcrumbs, 10 beef tomatoes.

Serves: 10 Preparation: 1 hour

These tomatoes are filled with the rich, warm flavour of moussaka and make a wonderful low-maintenance appetiser.

1) Either mix by hand, or add to a food processor the lamb, herbs, spices, mince and crushed garlic. Season with salt and black pepper and combine.

2) Slice the tops from the tomatoes and carefully cut the solid core with a knife. Insert a fork into the core and twist to remove, scoop out the seeds and discard.

3) Pack the mince tightly into the tomatoes, pressing down firmly, then replace the lids.

4) Bake in the oven at gas mark 5 for 45 minutes and serve hot.

Irish rarebit

Ingredients Bread, 200g Irish cheddar, 100ml Guinness, spring onions, butter, 1 tsp mustard, pepper, 50g breadcrumbs, 2 egg yolks.

Preparation: 10 minutes

Once upon a time, I believed that the best rarebit sauce was created with Newcastle Brown Ale and Lancashire cheese. Despite the booze and cheese being English, it was still a Welsh Rarebit in my book and bloody lovely it was too. And then, then I learned of Irish rarebit. Oh glorious Irish rarebit with your cheesey bread sauce and your tangy, stouty flavour. Bread on bread! GENIUS. This recipe is so 100% Irish* that I am considering my nationality - soda bread, Irish cheddar, Irish stout and even Irish butter. LUSCIOUS.

*erm... except for the spring onions and the mustard... shut up.

1) Slice the spring onions and add to the pan along with the stout and mustard. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat.

2) Grate in the cheese and whisk until amalgamated with the stout, then whisk in the two egg yolks and breadcrumbs and season with pepper and if necessary, another teaspoon of mustard.

3) The sauce should be thick, but pourable. Toast the bread on one side, then butter, allowing it to rest for a moment until the butter has melted before adding the cheese sauce. Grill until the top begins to colour and serve hot.

Pancetta pangrattato

Ingredients Pasta, parsley, lemon, butter, egg yolks, old bread, garlic, pancetta, parmigiano.

Preparation: 15 minutes (5 if using fresh pasta)

Bread is the stuff of life in this house. Rarely a meal goes by that does not include bread, whether by design or because my husband habitually makes everything into a sandwich (even soup!) and I delight in slathering my leftovers on toast. Bowie forbid either one of us ever develops a random gluten intolerancy. It would be intolerable.
Our leftover bread is torn up for panzanella, strata or blitzed into crumbs to coat everything from croquettes to goujons. This week, however, breadcrumbs have been thickening sauces. Once upon a time, when the Italians were poor they would substitute breadcrumbs for parmigiano in pasta, but my pangrattato (translation: grated bread) features parmigiano and bread and parsley and pancetta so it's more of a prosperous man's pasta and packs a real punch of flavour - it's also super quick to prepare.

1) In one pan, bring the pasta to the boil in hot, salted water and leave to simmer for 8-10 minutes. If using fresh pasta, prepare the other ingredients first as the pasta will only take 2-3 minutes to cook.

2) In a second pan, melt a tablespoon of butter and fry off the pancetta, stirring to allow the fat and butter to combine. Take off the heat and crack in an egg yolk per person and whisk briskly for around 30 seconds.

3) Stir in the breadcrumbs, parmigiano, and freshly chopped parsley and add a squeeze of lemon.

4) Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce until coated. Serve hot.

Aubergine & bean croquettes

Ingredients 1 can cannellini beans, 1 aubergine, 1 tsp paprika, 1 garlic clove, breadcrumbs, 1 egg, cooking oil.

Makes: 10 Preparation: 30 minutes

When Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty brought the charred aubergine into my life, I was a happy little bunny. Personally I prefer not to remove the burned skin as I think it adds so much gorgeous smoky flavour to the delicacy of the bean mash. If you liked my Butterbean Croquettes, you're going to love these!  

1) Using tongs, hold the aubergine over the open flame of your hob or a barbecue, turning around until the skin is evenly charred and the aubergine is softened.

2) Simmer the beans for 10 minutes in hot salty water, then drain and add to a blender along with the aubergine, 1 crushed garlic clove and the paprika. Pulse thoroughly until combined and season with salt.

3) Set out three dishes, one with a beaten egg, one with breadcrumbs and one to rest the croquettes on. Scoop out a handful of the mixture and form it into a ball, packing tightly - then roll out into a sausage shape or small bites as above.

4) Dip the croquette into the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs until covered evenly. Either shallow fry or bake in the oven until the crumbs are golden and crispy, then serve hot.

Panzanella

Ingredients 1 tbs Passata, 2 tbs basil oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup if vegan). Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, basil, old bread, kamalata olives.

Preparation: 5 minutes

Panzanella goes back to the 16th century, but it wasn't until the 20th century that this Florentine version emerged: stale bread soaked in oil, vinegar and tomato with herbs and mixed with salad. Back in the day - only onions were used, not tomato. And given that I loathe uncooked onions with a fiery passion, I am very glad indeed that it's no longer the 16th Century! You know, that and smallpox. I serve mine with cucumber, olives and cherry tomatoes but you can of course use salad leaves or other fruits and vegetables if you wish. I save my heels of bread and make this for a quick supper or a scrummy lunch.

1) To make the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar and passata and season to taste. I like to add a little honey to cut the acidity of the vinegar but this depends on what you are mixing into your salad of course! If you're vegan, you can use an alternative.

2) Tear the bread into bitesize chunks. I have done this with the leftover heel of ciabatta, spelt bread, you name it - any crusty loaf will do. If all you have is sliced bread or you don't bake your own, then I would recommend toasting the bread first.

3) Stir the bread into the dressing and stir in the other ingredients. Serve immediately. If you'd like this as a packed lunch, make up a little jar of dressing, a foil wrap your chunks of bread and keep them in your box of salad to prepare just before eating.

Garlic bread strata

Ingredients 4 slices garlic bread (Garlic, butter, parsley, bread) 1 egg, 1/4 cup double cream, parmigiano.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

What do you do with leftover garlic baguette? In this house, there is very rarely any left over I'll be honest, Scott Pilgrim isn't the only person addicted to it. But, when I was pregnant I had gestational diabetes and had to limit my carb intake. This meant where previously I could cane half a garlic baguette, I had to stick to one or two slices maximum. Hence... leftovers. This also works the morning after a night before when you NEED a good breakfast and all you have is the remnants of the buffet table.

1) Place the leftover garlic bread in an ovenproof dish.

2) Whisk the egg and double cream together and pour over the bread. Top with grated parmigiano and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

Broccoli & cheddar potato cakes

Ingredients Broccoli, 1 potato, 200g cheddar, old bread, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sweetcorn

Serves: 6 Preparation: 40 minutes

Comfort food comes in different guises for me. Sometimes it's about something warm and cosy, sometimes it's about something sinful and indulgent which will cheer me out of a funk. And sometimes it's about something quick and satisfying. This recipe falls into the latter category - these potato cakes are so quick to throw together and have a great texture. A crispy outer shell, soft fluffy potato, gooey cheddar and crunchy sweetcorn.

1) Peel and dice the potato and broccoli. I like to use just the florets and save the stem for pasta sauce or a pasta ingredient. Boil the potato for 8 minutes, add the broccoli with 6 minutes to go and the sweetcorn with 2 minutes to go. One pan... less washing up! Strain and set aside

2) Whisk an egg into a shallow bowl and make breadcrumbs in a blender by adding old bread and blitzing. Put the breadcrumbs into a separate shallow bowl.

3) Mash the potato roughly with a fork, or if you prefer, separate it from the broccoli and sweetcorn and mash using a ricer. Stir the ingredients together and grate in the cheese.

4) Form into patties with your hands, then dip in the egg mix and roll in the breadcrumbs.

5) You can deep fry for 1 minute, but I prefer to bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

Avocado fishcakes

Ingredients 1 avocado, 1 Maris Piper potato, smoked salmon, prawns, spring onion, old bread, coriander, lime

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

When I posted my recipe for avocado mash last week, I knew (despite my hatred of fish) that it would make the perfect base for a fishcake. Some smoked salmon, juicy prawns, the delicate creamy avocado mash with a tangy hit of lime smothered in coriander breadcrumbs... if you like fish then you'll love this!

1) Peel and cut the potatoes, then boil in hot salted water for 20 minutes and strain away the water. Set aside to cool.

2) Pulse the bread in the blender to form crumbs and stir through some finely chopped coriander.

3) Halve the avocados and scoop the fruit from the shell, discarding the stone. Pulse in the blender until smooth and creamy, then add the potato, a squeeze of lime and pulse again to combine.

4) Chop 2 spring onions and stir through the mash, along with the salmon and prawns and season well. Form into patties and roll in the breadcrumbs.

5) You could fry these, but I baked in the oven for 15 minutes. Perfect with mayonnaise, yoghurt or even cocktail sauce

Butterbean croquettes

Ingredients 400g butterbeans, 1 tbsp Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, 1 leek, butter, parsley, 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp mustard, old bread, 1 egg

Serves: 6 preparation: 45 minutes

Greek cuisine is magnificent. I love the combination of fresh herbs and citrus flavours with savoury ingredients. These croquettes are so simple but they're packed with flavour and the beans make a nice change from potato.

1) Simmer the butterbeans in hot, salted water for 5 minutes, then strain in a colander.

2) Pulse in a blender and then parse through a sieve, leaving the shell behind and a thick almost pate like consistency in the bowl below.

3) Chop the leek and sautee in a little butter until completely soft. Stir into the bean paste along with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, freshly chopped parsley and a little mustard and Greek yoghurt.

4) Roll the mixture into croquettes. At this stage, if you're preparing ahead you can refrigerate them until you're ready to cook.

5) Whisk an egg into a dish and pulse some stale bread in the blender to form breadcrumbs. Dip the croquette in the egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs until thoroughly coated.

6) The traditional Greek method of cooking is to fry them until the breadcrumbs crumbs are crispy. Personally I find baking them in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees to be more than satisfactory and certainly more healthy!

Stuffed Pumpkin: Leek & cheddar

Ingredients 1 leek, cheddar, munchkin pumpkin, breadcrumbs, butter

Preparation: 45 minutes

Halloween is a comin' and I'm filled with festive ideas for serving food. These TEENY PUMPKINS are adorable but there's not a lot of good eating in them, so they're merely a receptacle for the savoury, sweet ooze of brioche, cheese and leek. Mmmmm.

1) Slice the top from your munchkin pumpkin and carve out the flesh and seeds.

2) Roast in the oven for 25 minutes and set aside.

3) Slice your leek and sautee in butter until completely soft. Grate some cheddar and combine until the cheese is incorporated.

4) Spoon into the munchkin pumpkin, layered with breadcrumbs (I used brioche because I love the contrast of sweet and savoury), then replace the lid and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Goats cheese bites

Ingredients Goats cheese, old bread, sesame seeds, poppyseed, 1 egg

Preparation: 5 minutes

Sometimes in this life, one needs a treat. A little bit of something indulgent that can be prepared quickly and be repented for later. This is one such recipe.
And it is entirely toothsome - a molten mouthful of rich, tangy goats cheese surrounded by a crisp, crunchy shell. It can be eaten alone or dunked into a sweet chilli dip or salsa. I also happen to think these make excellent croutons for soup or salad. The best goats cheese to use, is a relatively slim tube within a rind, as it keeps its shape better when cooked - though rolling a ball of soft goats cheese also works well.

1) Pulse the old bread into crumbs into a blender, and stir in the poppyseeds and sesame seeds.

2) Slice the goats cheese, or roll into balls if using rindless and dip into a dish of beaten egg.

3) Dip the goats cheese into the breadcrumb mixture and ensure that it is evenly covered.

4) Fry for 2-3 minutes in a pan of hot oil, or deep fat fryer until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Sweet potato & ginger soup with harissa croutons

Ingredients 2 sweet potatoes, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1 white onion, 2 cloves garlic, Croutons: bread, rapeseed oil smoked chillis, garlic salt, paprika, mint, rose petals, cumin, caraway seeds, basil oil, bell pepper, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt.

Serves: 3 preparation: 1 hour

This soup is nothing short of magnificent. Rich, warming and comforting with a velvet thick texture - this goes perfectly with the spicy croutons and cool dollop of yoghurt

1) Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees.

2) Peel and finely dice the onion and sautee in a little rapeseed oil. Add the coriander and cumin.

3) Peel the skin from the potato and stir the flesh into the spiced onions.

4) Add the vegetable stock and mash the potato into it. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes, then parse through a sieve, to leave a smooth soup. Top with a dollop of yoghurt and the croutons.

To make the croutons:

1) Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper, then roast until the skin is almost completely blackened. Allow it to cool, then peel off the charred skin carefully.

2) Blitz the dried, smoked chilli in a blender, then add to a mortar and pestle and grind into a relatively fine dry paste. The ratio of spices is relatively simple for my recipe, though of course you can adjust for taste. Add 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp caraway seeds and grind into the chilli. Add a teaspoon of basil oil.

3) Add the bell pepper, 2 or 3 mint leaves and the rose petals (about half the petals from a single red rose) into a blender and pulse.

4) Stir the rose, mint and pepper mixture into the spice and oil paste - now you have harissa!

5) Spread a thin layer of harissa onto a slice of bread, then cut into squares. Fry off in a drizzle of rapeseed oil until crisp. 

French leek & potato soup

Ingredients 1 Leek, 1 maris piper potato, butter, sourdough bread, cheddar, parmigiano, 1 pint vegetable stock

Serves: 3 preparation: 1 hour

Leek and potato soup is so wonderfully comforting, but it can tend to be just a little bland. Adding the sharp richness of cheese transforms this into an indulgent delight. Much like French onion soup - with a layer of bread soaking up the soup yet crispy on top - this is a firm favourite.

1) Dice the leek and sautee in a little butter until soft. Peel and dice the potato and stir into the leek and butter.

2) Pour in the vegetable stock and simmer for 45 minutes until the potato is soft. Season according to taste.

3) Either mash the potato into the soup or pulse in a blender until smooth.

4) Transfer the soup into bowls and top with layers of sourdough bread, grated cheddar and parmeggian and grill until golden bubbly.

Pesto & mozzarella sartu

Ingredients Risotto rice (arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano - I would recommend carnaroli), white onion, vegetable stock, butter, mozzarella, old bread, Basil, basil oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmeggian, lemon.

Sartu is a sort of kiev made from risotto - baked in a bowl to form a crust on the outside and a soft gooey filling.

1) Prepare the bowl by rubbing butter on the inside, then coating with breadcrumbs (blitz old bread in a blender to form crumbs). Put the bowl in the fridge.

2) To make pesto:  add a good handful of fresh basil leaves to a mortar bowl and grind to a fine pulp. Sautee 1 crushed clove of garlic in basil oil and add to the mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and a handful of pine nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice, basil oil and parmeggian to taste.


3) To make the risotto crust, finely dice a white onion and sizzle in a pan with some basil oil. Add the rice and stir until the rice becomes transparent, revealing a white dot in the centre. Pour in a glug of vermouth and stir as it cooks off.

4) Add the first ladle of vegetable stock and stir through. Continue to stir the risotto, adding stock one ladle at a time as it cooks off. Once the risotto is ready, set aside to cool a little.

5) Take the crumbed bowl from the fridge and spoon a layer of risotto over the crumbs. Press firmly against the sides and imagine you're building an igloo! This has to stand up under its own weight so it needs to have firm sides.

6) Spoon the pesto into the centre and top with a good handful of grated mozarella, then pack more risotto down over the filling. This will form the base of the sartu so make sure it is flat.

7) Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn it over onto a plate and cut into it to serve.

Spinach, feta, olive & sun-dried tomato bean burgers

Ingredients 400g spinach, 1 potato, sun dried tomatoes, olives, feta, haricot beans, old bread, pistachios, sesame seeds, 1 egg.

Serves: 4 preparation: 30 minutes


This is one of my favourite recent recipes and I can see myself making these time and time again. The burgers are like an explosion of flavour - olive BAM, tomato BAM, feta BAM but there's the silky smooth potato and spinach to balance it out - the beans add a great texture and the crispy, nutty crust is fabulous.


1) Peel and dice the potato, then boil in hot, salted water until soft. Drain, mash and set aside to cool.



2) Drain the can of beans and slice them in half. This sounds laborous but it needn't be - just line them up and slice multiple beans at the same time! stir into the mashed potato.


3) Blitz the spinach in a blender and stir into the bean and potato mixture.


4) Dice the feta, tomatoes and olives and stir into the mixture.


5) Blitz your bread in a blender until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Crush a handful of pistachios in a blender and stir through the bread with some sesame seeds.


6) Whisk the egg and roll the patty into it before rolling it through the breadcrumbs, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Spinach & ricotta bean burger

Ingredients 400g spinach, 1 potato, 1 can cannellini beans, nutmeg, pistachio nuts, old bread, sesame seeds, ricotta cheese.

Serves: 4 preparation: 30 minutes


Spinach and ricotta are a match made in heaven - delicate, soft and comforting - and this bean burger is absolutely delicious.


1) Peel and dice the potato, then boil in hot, salted water until soft. Drain, mash and set aside to cool.


2) Drain the can of beans and slice them in half. This sounds laborous but it needn't be - just line them up and slice multiple beans at the same time! stir into the mashed potato.


3) Blitz the spinach in a blender and grate in some nutmeg and season with black pepper before adding 2 tablespoons of ricotta.


4) Stir the spinach and ricotta mixture into with the potato and beans and form patties.


5) Blitz your bread in a blender until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Crush a handful of pistachios in a blender and stir through the bread with some sesame seeds.


6) Roll the patties in the breadcrumb mixture, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

5 bean chilli & sweet potato melting burger

Ingredients 2 sweet potatoes, kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans, maize, pistachios, sesame seeds, old bread, coriander, 5 jalepenos, Philadelphia

Serves: 4 preparation: 30 minutes


I love bean burgers and this is a fabulously spiced with a scrumptious melting Philadelphia centre to cut through the heat.


1) Peel and dice the sweet potato, then boil it in hot, salted water until soft. Drain, mash and set aside to cool.  


2) Stir the beans into the sweet potato (Tesco sell "taco beans", 1 can of which is perfect - but rinse away the sauce, otherwise it will make the mixture too wet) and add a teaspoon of cumin and some chopped jalepenos to taste.


3) Sift in a little maize flour and stir through, adding more bit by bit until the mixture has stiffened just enough to form a patty with.


4) Blitz your bread in a blender until fine breadcrumbs are formed. Crush a handful of pistachios in a blender and stir through the bread with some sesame seeds.


5) Slice the patty in half and fill with a good teaspoon of Philadelphia. Form the patty back around the cheese to ensure there is no place for it to bubble out. Roll it in the breadcrumb mixture, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Chicken, bacon & parmigiano burgers

Ingredients 4 chicken breasts, 3 rashers of unsmoked bacon, parmigiano, old bread. (makes 8 burgers)

1) Pulse 1 almost stale crust of bread in the blender until breadcrumbs form - set aside.


2) Mince 4 chicken breasts in the blender.
(Your butcher will be able to mince chicken breasts for you (it's rare to find minced chicken in a supermarket, though you could substitute turkey mince if you like which is more readily available and lean for those who are dieting)


3) Add the bacon rashers and pulse in the blender - this should form a sort of sticky meat ball so break it apart with a wooden spoon before adding the breadcrumbs and a generous knob of parmeggian, freshly grated.


4) Pulse in the blender until another meatball forms. This should not require seasoning due to the salty tang of the bacon and the parmeggian but this would be fabulously enhanced with some chopped parsley stirring through it.


5) Separate the ball into 8 patties by rolling a handful of meat and flattening it a little with the palm of your hand.


6) These are best cooked on a BBQ, or if you're dieting use a grilling machine which allows any fat to drain off. I cooked these in a pan for 10 minutes, turning continually and using the flat of a spatula to press the patty.