Flatbread

Ingredients 500g plain flour (I used spelt), 5005 strong white bread flour, 10g yeast, 20g salt, 2 tbs olive oil, 325ml yoghurt, 325ml warm water.

Serves: 10-15 Preparation: 2 hours

Turkish style flatbread is fabulously versatile. Stuff (pitta style) to make cold sandwiches, hot pressed sandwiches, use as a vehicle for dips or top them pizza style with whatever you fancy. They are simple to make and keep well in an airtight container for about 5 days or can also be frozen to use later (though ideally for toasting as the texture will be affected somewhat.)

1) Stir the flours and salt together, then add the yeast to the yoghurt. Add the yoghurt to the flour and add the warm water. I highly recommend using a dough hook for mixing this - after the mixture begins to come together add the olive oil and then keep mixing for at least 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and silky. If you're mixing by hand... good luck with that!!

2) Flour your hands and shape into a round before transferring to a clean bowl. Cover with cling film or a plastic bag and leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size. This takes about an hour at room temperature.

3) Knock the dough back and leave it, covered, to rise for a second time. Purists will repeat this process for three or even four rises but truly I couldn't tell the difference in the finished flatbread so unless you want to spend all day in the house making flatbread I'd get it cooked at this point!

4) Dust your work surface generously with flour and tear off lemon sized pieces of dough (you can make these smaller or larger if you wish - if you have a big enough pan then you can make 10 good sized flatbreads) before rolling them out to 5mm thickness. Leave them to rise for at least 5 minutes.

5) You can make these with a frying pan and grill, or a griddle and grill. Heat your pan as high as you can and drop one piece of dough into it. If the pan is hot enough, after about 30 seconds you will see bubbles begin to form. Use a fishslice to just lift the dough and check for little spots of colour forming. Transfer the pan carefully to the grill (about 15cm from the heat, so middle shelf for most grills) and watch the flatbread bubble and then balloon! Drizzle with oil and serve or save.

Top tip. When it begins to char, it's ready. Just in case you're a bit nervous, here's a vine of my flatbread rising. Don't panic - it's supposed to do that!

Lancashire leek tart

Ingredients Pastry: 4oz plain flour, 2oz butter Filling: 3 eggs, 1 large leek, 2 tsp French mustard, 100g Lancashire cheese.

Serves: 4-6 Preparation: X

My husband loves a good tart. Fnar fnar... And he has very exacting standards, so when I say that this tart made it into the top 5 meals that I have made for him during our years together, that should tell you just how savoury and scrumptious it is. It aint so much to look at, but it really tastes like heaven.

1) To make the shortcrust pastry, cut the butter into small cubes and drop along with the flour into a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Drip in 2-3 tablespoons of cold water until the mixture quickly forms a ball. Wrap this in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 15 minutes. Once chilled, roll out and press firmly into a buttered pastry case. Bake blind for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

2) Slice the top and tail from the leek, slice in half and then slice thinly. Sautee in a pan with a little knob of butter until soft.

3) Whisk the eggs and mustard together and crumble in half of the cheese.

4) Spoon the leeks into the tart case and pour over the egg and cheese mix, adding the remainder to the top then bake in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 5 for 30-40 minutes. The tart should be solid, rather than wobbly in the centre with a golden surface.

5) Serve hot or cold.

Sugar-free gingerbread biscuits

Ingredients 250g plain flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2 tbsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice, 75g coconut palm sugar, 1 egg, 75g butter, 1 tsp hazelnut honey (optional).

Serves: 30-40 Preparation: 1 hour

Being the mother of an 18-month old starchild and an all-round healthy person myself, I am wicked-keen to replace refined sugar in all of my baking and cooking wherever possible. There are some recipes however where honey, banana or fruit juice just won't cut it - biscuits need sugar. It's science! So this month I am experimenting with *deep breath* Coconut palm sugar, coconut palm blossom syrup, agave syrup, and hazelnut honey which is just about the most delicious caramel-textured substance that I have ever encountered. 
These wonderful crisp gingerbread biscuits are spicy and sweet and will fill your house with the most amazing Christmassy smell.

1) Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda - and add to a food processor along with the butter. Blitz until fine breadcrumbs are formed.

2) Whisk the egg with the hazelnut honey if you're using it and add it, along with the sugar into the food processor and blitz through until the mixture comes together into a stiff dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes whilst you pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 (and clean up, if you're anything like me!).

3) LaRoll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface (I like to sprinkle a little extra ground ginger and allspice onto the surface as it not only gives the dough that lovely slightly freckled appearance but is just another excuse for The Tastiness) and roll out the biscuits to about 1/2cm thickness.

4) Cut out the shapes of your choice - stars of course being our preference! - and transfer to a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

5) It is of course traditional to decorate them, but I prefer to dust edible gold rather than ice them.

Mediterranean tart

Ingredients Pastry: 4oz plain flour, 2oz butter Filling: 4 eggs, 75g marscapone, 75g sun dried tomatoes, 75g artichokes, 3 bell peppers, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour (plus pastry chilling)

I adore tarts. Crammed with vegetables and set in a creamy egg filling with melt in the mouth pastry, they are a meal in themselves or great with salad. This tastes of pure sunshine and is super quick to prepare.

1) To make the shortcrust pastry, cut the butter into small cubes and drop along with the flour into a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Drip in 2-3 tablespoons of cold water until the mixture quickly forms a ball. Wrap this in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 15 minutes. Once chilled, roll out and press firmly into a buttered pastry case. Bake blind for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

2) Whisk the eggs and marscapone together, then stir in the oregano and basil.

3) This tart can be made quickly by using sun dried tomatoes and artichokes from a jar, drained well to remove the oil, but I would recommend roasting the peppers yourself as the longer they are marinated, the less sunshine sweetness they tend to have. Slicing around the core to remove the seeds, I roast these for 15-20 minutes and then peel off the blackened skin. 

4) Layer the vegetables in the tart case and pour over the egg and marscapone mix, then bake in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 5 for 30-40 minutes. The tart should be solid, rather than wobbly in the centre with a golden surface just beginning to form.

5) Serve hot or cold.

Pastel de nata

Ingredients Custard: 3 tbsps plain flour, 1 ¼ cups milk, 1 ⅓ cups caster sugar, ½ tsp vanilla essence, 6 egg yolks, 1 tsp cinnamon.

Dough: 220g plain flour, 7g yeast, 160ml milk, 2 1/2 tsp caster sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbs vegetable oil, 150g butter.

Serves: 9 Preparation: 2 hours (plus overnight)

As part of the World Cup Food Challenge 2014, this recipe represents a traditional meal of Portugal. Pastel de nata are stunning little cinnamon custard tarts, with a gorgeous flaky croissanty crust that has to be tasted to be believed. It's a LOT of work to make these, but they're well worth it and they freeze well.

1) To make the dough for the pastry case, please see up to step 5 of my croissant recipe.

2) To make the custard, bring the sugar and cinnamon to the boil in a pan with 2/3 cup of cold water until a syrup forms- don't stir it!

3) Separate the milk with 1/4 in a bowl and 1 cup in a pan. Whisk the flour in with the bowl of milk until smooth and set aside. Meanwhile, scald the milk in the pan, then whisk in the flour-milk mixture.

4) Add the cinnamon sugar syrup into the hot milk and flour whilst whisking furiously (you might want to ask someone to help!) then take off the heat once it is a smooth, just pourable consistency. Stir in the vanilla and set aside.

5) When the mixture has cooled just enough for you to comfortably touch it without swearing (about the temperature of a cup of tea if that helps!) whisk in the egg yolks and set aside to cool.

6) Pre-heat the oven to 290 degrees celcius and grab your pastry from the fridge. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1cm thickness and cut it into squares the approximate size of your chosen muffin tin dimples. Wet your fingers and press the dough into the muffin tin, moulding with your fingers until you've created a "lip" about 1/2cm above the muffin tin surface and pour in the custard.

7) Bake until the edges of the pastry are brown and the custard has a good wobble on. Serve warm, sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon.

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients 1 lb potatoes, 1 lb clams, 1 pint vegetable stock, 4 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp dill, 50ml double cream, 2 tbsp butter, 2 stalks celery, 1 white onion, 1 tbsp plain flour. Bread

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

As part of the World Cup Food Challenge 2014, this recipe represents a traditional meal of America. If, like me, you're vegetarian then separating a portion to add sweetcorn to just before the clams go in makes this really easy dual-chowder! It's a lovely hearty soup, just the thing to comfort one on a cold day (please ignore the fact that it is June!) - especially if you serve it in a bread bowl!

1) Peel and slice the potatoes into inch cubes and set aside, peel the onion and dice it along with the celery.

2) Add half the butter to the pan and sautee the onion and celery until completely soft (about 10 minutes), then add the remainder of the butter along with the flour and whisk until a roux has formed.

3) Add the potatoes, bay leaves and vegetable stock to the pan and stir through. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the clams and dill and allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes.

4) Hollow out a bread bowl by cutting a circle into the top of the crust and scooping out the soft centre with your fingers. Stir the cream into the soup, season to taste with salt and black pepper, then ladle into the bread bowl.

Lavender-almond croissants

Ingredients Croissants: 220g plain flour, 7g yeast, 160ml milk, 2 1/2 tsp caster sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbs vegetable oil, 150g butter.

Glaze: lavender jam Filling: 2 eggs, 100g ground almonds, 100g caster sugar, 100g butter, 1/2 tsp lavender

Serves: 12 Preparation: we're talking well over 8 hours...

Croissants aux amandes were invented, I believe, to revitalise day-old/stale croissants so you could buy croissants and just glaze and fill them if you prefer. Lord knows making croissants is a labour of love, one which will leave a sheen of butter on your table and leave you with aching hands from the lamination (layers of butter and dough which produce that magical flakiness - if your croissants don't fill your bra with crumbs, you aint doing it right!). Whether you bake or buy your croissants, my lavender jam makes the perfect glaze and the lavender almond cream in the centre is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Just look at those lovely shiny crescents, the effort is so worth it!

Baking the croissants

1) Combine the yeast, 3 tsps of warm water and 1/2 tsp sugar in one jug and set aside until it begins to froth. Add the vegetable oil. In a separate jug, dissolve 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt in the milk.

2) Sift the flour into a bowl and add the two jugs of liquid. Mix thoroughly and then kneed for approximately 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm room for approximately an hour until it has TRIPLED in volume.

3) Knock the dough back, gently with your fingertips, cover and set aside again to double in volume. Finally knock back the dough again and chill for 20 minutes in the fridge.

4) Now comes the fun part... roll out the dough into a rectangle (about 30 x 20 cm in size) and using room temperature butter, spread liberally over the left 2/3 of the centre of the dough, leaving a half centimetre unbuttered border. With the unbuttered 1/3 at the left, fold to the right, and then fold again. Roll back out then dust with flour, cover with cling film and chill for 2 hours in the fridge.

5) Roll dough back out and repeat the buttering and folding, dust with flour, cover with cling film and return to the fridge to chill for 2 hours.

6) Finally, roll out to a rectangle approximately 50 x 10 cm and slice in half lengthways. Return one half to the fridge to chill and roll the other out to approximately 40 x 10 cm, then cut into 3 squares and cut these squares diagonally to leave 6 triangles of dough. Repeat with the dough in the fridge.

7) Roll the dough into croissants by rolling each triangle gently from the long side towards the point at the top, thus creating the classic layer pattern, and then bring the two edges together to form almost a circle. Allow to sit for a few minutes until the dough begins to puff back up a little, then bake in the oven at the highest setting (mine is 240 for 15 minutes)

Preparing croissants aux amandes

1) Cream the equal parts of butter, sugar and almonds together, then beat in the eggs. Grind lavender in a mortar and pestle and stir in. (If you wish, you could substitute the sugar for lavender jam in order to get the flavour)

2) Poke a small hole into the croissant at the side of the central layer and use a piping bag to fill with the lavender almond cream.

3) Dip a pastry brush into your lavender jam and glaze the outside of the croissant. From here, you can also scatter with slivers of almonds but personally I find this a little bit overkill! Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Blackberry lavender clafoutis/flaugnarde

Ingredients 200g blackberries, 200ml milk, 1 tbsp lavender, 1 lemon, 50g caster sugar, 30g plain flour, 2 eggs.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

Not a day goes by when I don't crave lavender. There is nothing that brings me such pleasure as when my house is filled with the scent of it infusing, or when I discover yet more flavours that it will enhance. Blackberry and lavender is by no means a stranger to this blog, but I do believe this is my first clafoutis post!
Technically a flaugnarde unless cherries are used, this is essentially a fabulous wibbly custard set with fruit and as desserts go, contains very little fat and sugar. So go for it!

1) Infuse the milk with lavender for 30 minutes. In the meantime, lightly butter your baking dish with a smear of butter on a clean cloth or piece of kitchen roll and tumble the blackberries over it.

2) Sift the flour and sugar together, zest and juice the lemon and beat together with the eggs. 

3) Add the lavender milk through a sieve to separate out the flowers and whisk thoroughly.

4) Pour over the fruit and bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes and serve hot or cold.

Ginger beer battered avocado

Ingredients  Avocado, plain flour, ginger beer, oil for frying (I used ginger flavoured Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil).

Preparation: 10 minutes

The secret to good tempura batter is to use ice-cold water to make it extra crispy. Another trick is to use carbonated liquid - my beer batter or gin and tonic batter for example is fabulous. Ginger beer gives this the double threat of crispiness and flavour, and oh what flavour - ginger and avocado are wonderful partners and frying this in ginger oil only increased the taste combination.

1) Bring your oil to the boil, yo.

2) Whisk plain flour together with cold ginger beer - the batter should be a thick, stiff consistency in order to stick to the avocado.

3) Slice the avocado in half and use a tablespoon to scoop it from the shell. If the avocado is ripe enough the stone will pop out with a spoon but another good method is to prick it with a knife and pull it out. Slice the avocado into chunks and dunk into the batter - using a skewer to dip will ensure maximum coverage. Deep fry until the batter is golden, then serve immediately.

I served this with yoghurt dip - Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt, salt and pepper and chopped fresh mint.

Ginger beer battered halloumi

Ingredients Halloumi, plain flour, ginger beer, oil for frying (I used ginger flavoured Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil).

Preparation: 10 minutes

The secret to good tempura batter is to use ice-cold water to make it extra crispy. Another trick is to use carbonated liquid - my beer batter or gin and tonic batter for example is fabulous. Ginger beer gives this the double threat of crispiness and flavour which works wonderfully with the mild, squidgey melting halloumi.

1) Bring your oil to the boil, yo.

2) Whisk plain flour together with cold ginger beer - the batter should be a thick, stiff consistency in order to stick to the halloumi.

3) Cut the halloumi into chunks and dunk in the batter - using a skewer to dip will ensure maximum coverage but be careful not to break the cheese in half! Deep fry until the batter is golden, then serve immediately.

I served this with yoghurt dip - Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt, salt and pepper and chopped fresh mint.

Tempura avocado & grapefruit kebabs

Ingredients 1/4 cup Plain flour, 1/4 cup cold water, 1 avocado, 1 grapefruit, halloumi

Preparation: 10 minutes

Creamy avocado and tangy pink grapefruit are the perfect combination. I have been experimenting this week with grapefruit hollandaise for tempura avocado, which didn't give me enough of a flavour kick, and then I hit on the perfect solution - just leave the grapefruit in all its natural glory and make up the texture with halloumi to form these unusual, but fabulous kebabs.

1) Slice the avocado in half and use a tablespoon to scoop it from the shell. If the avocado is ripe enough the stone will pop out with a spoon but another good method is to prick it with a knife and pull it out. Slice the avocado into segments.

2) Peeling a grapefruit is best done with a chef's knife - peel through the thick skin and white pith until the pink of the fruit is revealed. Remove the segments by cutting into the natural sections of the fruit and popping them out with your knife.

3) Slice the halloumi into thick chunks and roast at the top of the oven, or grill for 3-4 minutes (until the centre is melting soft and the edges begin to colour).

4) Whisk the flour with ice-cold water (the colder the water, the crispier the batter - that's the trick with tempura) and dip in the avocado segments. Deep fry for about a minute, until the batter is golden. Skewer, along with the halloumi and grapefruit segments.

No bake cake: Raspberry & white chocolate mousse

Ingredients 150ml double cream, 30g white chocolate, 75g raspberries, 1 pancake.

Serves: 1 Preparation: 10 minutes

I was recently sent some of the lovely Abra-ca-Debora pancakes for a foodspiration challenge and had a lot of fun with the concept of "no bake cakes." My interpretation was to quarter the pancakes and layer with white chocolate mousse and raspberries, topped with whipped cream to form a single slice of cake. Abra-ca-FABULOUS.

1) Melt the white chocolate in a Bain Marie, then set aside to cool a little.

2) Whisk the double cream for approximately 2 minutes until soft peaks form. Separate a little out into a piping bag, then fold the chocolate in with the trest and continue to whisk until the peaks are stiff.

3) Using a spatula, spread the white chocolate mouse onto the pancake layers and stud with raspberries. Serve with a dollop of the whipped cream.

No bake cake: Strawberry ice-cream

Ingredients Ice-cream: 500g strawberries, 175g caster sugar, 500 ml full fat milk, 500 ml double cream, 10 egg yolks. (makes 1 pint) 1 pancake.

Serves: 1 Preparation: 1 hour (+ 4 hours freezing)

I was recently sent some of the lovely Abra-ca-Debora pancakes for a foodspiration challenge and had a lot of fun with the concept of "no bake cakes." My interpretation was to quarter the pancakes and layer with strawberry ice-cream and strawberries, topped with whipped cream to form a single slice of cake. Abra-ca-FABULOUS.

1) To make the ice-cream, halve the strawberries, sprinkle with a little sugar and leave to macerate in a bowl. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan and bring almost to the boil. Set aside to cool. and then take it off the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

2) Whisk the egg yolks and In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until thick, then pour in the milk and cream whilst whisking. Return to the heat and stir the custard until it thickens. Set aside to cool.

3) Blitz the strawberries until pureed, then fold into the cool custard and freeze in your ice-cream maker (or in the freezer, whisking every hour to avoid crystals forming.

4) Slice the remaining strawberries and sandwich the pancakes between alternate layers of ice-cream. I cut out a block of ice-cream and sliced it to fit. Top with whipped cream and serve immediately.

No bake cake: Banoffee

Ingredients 200ml double cream, 30g butter, 60g muscovado sugar, 1 banana, 1 pancake.

Serves: 1 Preparation: 1 hour 15 minutes

I was recently sent some of the lovely Abra-ca-Debora pancakes for a foodspiration challenge and had a lot of fun with the concept of "no bake cakes." My interpretation was to quarter the pancakes and layer with toffee and banana, topped with whipped cream to form a single slice of banoffee cake. Abra-ca-FABULOUS.

1) Melt the sugar in a pan, then add the butter and 100ml of the cream. Stir continually until a caramel sauce has formed. Set aside to cool, then chill in the fridge for an hour to form the thicker toffee.

2) Peel and slice the banana into 1/2cm discs, then spread the toffee sauce onto the pancake and top with slices of banana. Layer with more pancake, toffee and banana.

3) Whip the remaining 100ml cream and pipe onto the top.

No bake cake: Lemon curd mousse

Ingredients Mousse: 1 lemon, 150ml double cream, 1 tbsp icing sugar. Curd: 4 Lemons, 4 eggs, 350g caster sugar, double cream, 8oz butter. 1 pancake.

Serves: 1 Preparation: 1 hour

I was recently sent some of the lovely Abra-ca-Debora pancakes for a foodspiration challenge and had a lot of fun with the concept of "no bake cakes." My interpretation was to quarter the pancakes and layer with lemon curd and lemon mousse to form a single slice of cake. Abra-ca-FABULOUS.

1) To make lemon curd, see my previous recipe.

2) Zest and juice the lemon and whisk with the double cream and icing sugar until stiff peaks form. This takes about 2 minutes in a food processor with a whisk attachment or using an electric whisk.

3) Sandwich the layers of pancake with lemon curd and lemon mousse, "grouting" the edges to keep the shape when pressing down.

This can be served immediately or chilled for later.

Berry & rose crumble

Ingredients Dried rose petals, butter, plain flour, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, caster sugar

Preparation: 30 minutes

Following the astounding success of my lavender apple crumble, I wanted to continue to experiment with floral crumbles. If possible, this rose and berry combination, using my rose butter is even more fabulous. The sweet, full flavour of the berries and the delicate sweetness of the crumble is a definite winner.

1) Add the berries to a milk pan with a tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir through for about 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and you are left with mostly intact berries, and a little sweet fruit juice. Take off the heat and spoon into an ovenproof dish.

2) Rub the rose butter into the flour until it resembles rough breadcrumbs, then top the fruit with the crumble and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. This is perfect served with a little double cream.

Blueberry & coconut pancakes

Ingredients 1 1/2 cup plain flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp caster sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/4 cup dessicated coconut, 1 cup coconut cream

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

Coconut and blueberry go so well together and these Scotch/American-style pancakes are a wonderful way to combine them. Sharp juicy blueberries that burst with flavour, the toasted texture of dessicated coconut and the rich sweetness of the coconut milk. I like to serve these with yoghurt and honey but they're lovely on their own.

1) Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar along with the coconut, coconut milk and egg into a bowl and whisk into a batter. Leave to puff up and rest for at least 20 minutes. Add in the blueberries.

2) Stir through and ladle a spoon full of batter into a hot pan. Using a spatula, work round the edges, then when bubbles begin to appear in the surface of the pancake batter, flip over.

3) Each side should cook in about 2 minutes, giving you light, fluffy pancakes. These can be eaten immediately or toasted later.

Earl Grey & chocolate chip pancakes

Ingredients 1 1/2 cup plain flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp caster sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 egg, 2 Earl grey teabags, 1 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 bar dark chocolate

Makes: 6 Preparation: 1 hour

Whether you see these as Scotch pancakes or American style stacks, they are always a favourite breakfast treat in this house. I love to stand at my cooker, ladling slow bubbling circles of fluffy batter laced with different flavours. This recipe was inspired by Choc Affair's bergamot chocolate, which is available for my Leeds readers from the fabulous Millie's. I envisioned the bergamot being further enhanced by Earl Grey, which gives these pancakes a wonderful depth.

1) Add the teabags to a milk pan along with the milk and bring it to the boil. Allow it to cool back to room temperature before removing the teabags.

2) Chop the chocolate into chips, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar along with the chocolate and egg into a bowl and whisk into a batter. Leave to puff up as the milk cools, then whisk in the milk and leave to rest for at least 20 minutes.

3) Stir through and ladle a spoon full of batter into a hot pan. Using a spatula, work round the edges, then when bubbles begin to appear in the surface of the pancake batter, flip over.

4) Each side should cook in about 2 minutes, giving you light, fluffy pancakes. These can be eaten immediately or toasted later.

Nettle & feta tarts

Ingredients 4oz plain flour, 2oz butter, 3 eggs, 75g marscapone, 150g nettles, 35g feta.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 45 minutes

I love nettles. The green flavour makes a lovely refreshing tea, a peppery soup that only watercress can top for simplicity... but it also works well for a bit of indulgence. These tarts are feather light with melting soft nettles and the crumbly tang of feta.

1) To make the shortcrust pastry measure 4oz of plain flour and 2oz of cold butter. Cut the butter into small cubes and drop along with the flour into a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Drip in 2-3 tablespoons of cold water until the mixture quickly forms a ball. Wrap this in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 15 minutes. Once chilled, roll out and press firmly into pastry cases. Bake blind for 5 minutes and set aside to cool.

2) To prepare the nettles, pick them carefully by cutting through the lowest part of the stem with secateurs or good scissors, then pick them up by the stems and pop them in your foraging bag/basket. Pour into a colander and run under cold water until any bugs have been washed away. You can use rubber gloves to protect your hands when picking the leaves from the stems but years of cooking burns have given me asbestos fingers and a few stings in you really don't much notice the tingle any more. Drop the leaves in boiling water, stir once, then pour back into the colander. Plunge into ice water to stop the leaves cooking and retain their colour. Strain and set aside.

3) Whisk together the eggs and marscarpone and stir in the nettles and crumbled feta. Spoon into the tart cases and bake for 20 minutes at 180, by which time the pastry and surface of the tart should be golden brown.

Kale Pesto Caprese Pancake Cannelloni

Ingredients 120g plain flour, 2 eggs, 210ml milk, 90ml water, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, butter, 100g pine nuts, 1 lemon, 30g parmigiano, mozzarella, tomato, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, Cheddar

Serves: 4 Preparation: 45 minutes

I adore making pancakes. There's something so soothing about the ritualistic rolling of batter in a pan. When I created my recipe for kale pesto, I instantly envisioned it in contrast to oozing cheese and pasta. But then after using it as a pancake filling, I couldn't resist making cannelloni using my leftover pancake batter and borrowing the incredible yoghurt sauce that I created for enchiladas to smother my stuffed pancakes with. It's a delicious, yet light dish... coming soon kale pesto pasta. Om nom nom. 

1) Mix the flour with a pinch of salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs.

2) Measure 90ml water in a pyrex jug, then top it up to 300ml with milk.
Beat the eggs into the flour with a wooden spoon and gradually beat in the milk and water mixture until smooth.

3) Stir in the vegetable oil and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes but preferably an hour.

4) To make the pesto - Add the basil leaves to a mortar bowl along with a pinch of salt and the pine nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding a squeeze of lemon juice and grated parmigiano to taste. Tear the leaves of the kale from the woody stalks and add to a blender along with the pesto. Blend thoroughly, drizzling oil at the same time until the desired consistency has been reached.

5) Heat a non-stick frying pan until very hot, then add a small knob of butter. Pour in one ladle of batter, quickly turning the pan off the heat to coat the base evenly with the batter. Return to the hob and cook for about one minute, until the base is lightly browned. I like to use a spatula or palette knife to just loosen the edges of the pancake - once the air gets under it you will find it does not stick to the pan but slide about which helps it to flip!

6) Flip over the pancake (if you have a clumsy wrist, slide the pancake onto a plate, then tip the pan over the plate and turn it upside down. No one will ever know!

7) Once the pancake has cooked on both sides, repeat until you have 6 pancakes. Spread the kale pesto onto the pancakes and add a line of mozzarella in the centre. Roll up the pancakes and set them in an ovenproof dish.

8) To make the sauce, grate the cheddar into the yoghurt and spread over the pancakes. Top with an extra layer of cheese and bake for 15 minutes.