Easter bake

Ingredients 1 hot cross bun, 1 egg, marscapone, pancetta, 1/2 apple, parmigiano, butter, 1/2 leek.

Serves: 1 preparation: 20 minutes


Easter is, to me - a non religious person, time for indulgence. Chocolate, hot cross buns... what could be better!? The leftover hot cross buns make the most perfect base for a bake. Leek, bacon, apple, cheese... *drools*


1) Slice the hot cross bun in half, and then cut each half into 3 strips. Lightly butter the top side and alternate the top strips butter side down in a baking dish with the bottom strips (unbuttered) up.


2) Finely dice the leek and apple and sautee in a little butter until soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the pancetta.


3) Whisk the egg with a tablespoon of marscapone and pour over the hot cross bun strips. You can leave this to rest for up to an hour if you wish to allow the bread to soak up the egg, but just make sure to add a little extra before baking. Layer with the leek, apple and bacon mix, then add a layer of grated parmeggian.


4) Bake in the oven for around 10 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and turn golden brown.

Pesto knish

Ingredients Basil, basil oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmigiano, lemon, 2 maris piper potatoes, Jus-Rol™ puff pastry

Serves: 1 preparation: 30 minutes


A knish is a Jewish recipe though this I hasten to add is my own twist on the traditional form. The thinnest crispiest flakiest outer shell, a soft warm savoury filling - this is pure heaven.


1) To make pesto mash: see previous recipe.

2) Roll out the chilled pastry until it is as thin as possible but still thick enough to handle without poking holes through it. Remember pastry is made of butter and the potato is warm so you don't want to melt it!

3) Using a tennis ball sized scoop of potato, add it to the centre of the pastry, then cut the pastry down until it is just big enough to envelop the potato. Either poke a hole in the centre or as I did, twist the pastry together to form a spiral at the top. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Please note - the picture has obviously been deconstructed to show you the filling... don't put it in the oven open or it will dry out!

Pesto Mash

Ingredients Basil, basil oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmigiano, lemon, 2 maris piper potatoes.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes


Mashed potato is without a doubt my favourite food. It is the ultimate in comfort and is wonderfully versatile. Much like everything goes with toast, in my humble opinion you can add pretty much anything to mashed potato from citrus to cheese to spices to vegetables and it will still be absolutely divine. This pesto mash forms the basis of another recipe - Pesto Knish but is simply perfect as a dish in its own right.


1) Peel and dice the potatoes, then boil in hot salted water for 20 minutes.


2) To make the 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) Drain the potatoes and add to the blender along with a few teaspoons of pesto, blitzing for a few seconds until the potato is smooth.

Spinach & ricotta knish

Ingredients Jus-Rol™ puff pastry, 400g spinach, 150g ricotta, 1/4 nutmeg, 2 Maris Piper potatoes

Serves: 1 Preparation: 30 minutes


A knish is a Jewish recipe though this I hasten to add is my own twist on the traditional form. The thinnest crispiest flakiest outer shell, a soft warm savoury filling - this is pure heaven. This goes wonderfully well with roasted tomatoes.


1) To make spinach and ricotta mash: see previous recipe.


2) Roll out the chilled pastry until it is as thin as possible but still thick enough to handle without poking holes through it. Remember pastry is made of butter and the potato is warm so you don't want to melt it!


3) Using a tennis ball sized scoop of potato, add it to the centre of the pastry, then cut the pastry down until it is just big enough to envelop the potato. Either poke a hole in the centre or as I did, twist the pastry together to form a spiral at the top. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.


Please note - the picture has obviously been deconstructed to show you the filling... don't put it in the oven open or it will dry out!

Spinach & ricotta mash

Ingredients 400g spinach, 150g ricotta, 1/4 nutmeg, 2 Maris Piper potatoes

Serves: 4 preparation: 25 minutes


Mashed potato is without a doubt my favourite food. It is the ultimate in comfort and is wonderfully versatile. Much like everything goes with toast, in my humble opinion you can add pretty much anything to mashed potato from citrus to cheese to spices to vegetables and it will still be absolutely divine. This spinach & ricotta mash forms the basis of another recipe - Spinach & Ricotta Knish but is lovely just as it is.


1) Peel and dice the potatoes, then boil in hot salted water for 20 minutes.


2) Whilst the potatoes are cooking, blitz the spinach in a blender as fine as you can get it. Add the ricotta, black pepper and grated nutmeg and pulse through.


3) Drain the potatoes and add to the blender, blitzing for a few seconds until the potato is smooth.

Roast grape & ricotta garlic bread

Ingredients Seedless red grapes, ricotta cheese, 100g butter, 3 cloves garlic, 50g parsley, baguette

Serves: 1 Preparation: 30 minutes


I adore garlic bread. Like Scott Pilgrim I could eat it for every meal - there is something so comforting about the crisp outer shell of bread filled with meltingly soft butter-drenched bread and the sharp aroma of roasting garlic. This recipe makes excellent party food - a slathering of ricotta and the heady fruit really is a fabulous companion to the garlic.


1) To make garlic bread, simply peel and crush the garlic cloves, finely chop the parsley and stir together. Using room temperature butter, cream it until it is at a pliable consistency and stir through the garlic and parsley.


2) Slice the garlic bread at intervals - do not cut all the way through the bread, go to just over half way


3) There are two methods for making garlic bread, each equally effective. The first is to form the garlic butter into a sausage shape, wrap it in cling-film and allow it to become hard in the fridge. Then slice it and use these discs of garlic butter to slide between the partially sliced baguette. The second is to literally just spread the soft garlic butter into the slits of the partially sliced baguette.


4) Bake the bread in the oven for 8 minutes, ensuring the "unsliced" base of the bread is at the bottom so the butter does not seep out! On a separate tray, roast the grapes.


5) Tear off or slice through the bread and spread with ricotta. Top with the grapes and serve.

Courgette Fettucini

Ingredients 4 courgettes, pine nuts, double cream, 3 egg yolks, pecorino,

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes


I love pasta. There I've said it... I love the versatility of cooking with it and find it comforting to make but sometimes an alternative needs to be found. I have lots of friends who don't or can't eat it and I find this light alternative to be fantastic. So light in fact that I felt the need to make an incredibly ingulgent sauce to go with it...


1) Slice the tops and tails from the courgettes and then using a vegetable peeler, slice ribbons from each edge and then slice each ribbon in half vertically. Continue working round until about half the courgette has gone, then either discard the core or save it for soup or bread!


2) In a pan, toast off a handful of pine nuts and add double cream and grated pecorino to the pan. Stir through on a gentle heat until the cheese has melted, then whisk 3 egg yolks into it. Add the courgette ribbons to the sauce and stir through until they are coated.


Serve with lots of freshly grated black pepper.

Quorn Guinness Mole

Ingredients Guinness, 400g kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans, 6 squares 70%-80% dark chocolate, 1 white onion, 1 tbsp cumin, 50g coriander, olive oil, tomato passata, 1 tsp cayenne pepper.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes

A mole (rhymes with Ole!) is a traditional Mexican dish but like most Mexican cuisine, it has been cooked for generations according to family tradition, so there are literally thousands of varieties and one would be hard pressed to make it accurately when one person will give you a list of 30 suggested ingredients and the next over 100! The last of my very belated St Patrick's Day Guinness recipes!


1) Peel and finely dice the onion and fry off in a little olive oil with the cumin and cayenne pepper.


2) Add a packet of Quorn mince and half a pint of Guinness. Allow the Guinness to reduce for 4 minutes before adding the squares of chocolate.


3) Once the chocolate has melted, add the beans (Tesco sell "taco beans", 2 cans of which are perfect) and a little passata tomatoes. Stir through some finely chopped coriander and then allow to simmer until the sauce has thickened before serving.


Perfect with rice, nachos, stuffed into taco shells or tortillas.

Guiness & pork tenderloin mole

Ingredients Pork loin, 1/2 pint Guinness, 400g kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans, 6 squares 70%-80% dark chocolate, 1 white onion, 1 tbsp cumin, 50g coriander, olive oil, tomato passata, cayenne pepper.

Serves: 4 preparation: 2 hours


A mole (rhymes with Ole!) is a traditional Mexican dish but like most Mexican cuisine, it has been cooked for generations according to family tradition, so there are literally thousands of varieties and one would be hard pressed to make it accurately when one person will give you a list of 30 suggested ingredients and the next over 100! This recipe was created with someone who loves Mexican food but can't handle hot spices in mind (The Boy) so please do adapt the heat at will. The last of my very belated St Patrick's Day Guinness recipes - I guarantee that this pork will just fall apart and melt in your mouth... enjoy!


1) Add a little oil to a frying pan or griddle big enough to take a loin of pork and seal the meat for about 5 minutes, rolling it frequently until it is just coloured. Remove from the pan and set aside.


2) Add a peeled, diced onion to the pan and fry off in the oil and meat juices until clear and soft. Add the Guinness and reduce for 2 minutes.


3) Add the cumin, pieces of chocolate and stir until they have melted before adding the beans (Tesco sell "taco beans", 2 cans of which are perfect) and a little passata tomatoes. Stir through some finely chopped coriander.


4) Set the pork in a roasting dish and pour the sauce over. Roast, covered in the oven for an hour and a half, stirring every 30 minutes to ensure the beans on the surface do not dry out.


5) The pork will just pull apart and this shredded pork can be served with rice, in tortillas... however you like!

Roast aubergine, tomato & halloumi burrito

Ingredients   Baby aubergine, plum tomato,     halloumi, Hummus: Chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sesame seeds

Serves: 1 preparation: 30 minutes


As well as my ode to roast pepper today, I am waxing lyrical about roast aubergine. It is The Sex and this makes a gorgeous snack.


1) To make your own hummus, see previous recipe. Spread the hummus on the centre of a tortilla.


2) Slice the tops from the baby aubergines and rest them skin side down in a roasting dish. Sprinkle with a little salt to draw out the bitter juices, drizzle with basil oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes along with the tomatoes.


3) Add the halloumi slices to the oven during the last 5 minutes, then layer the tomato, aubergine and halloumi over the hummus.


4) To fold the burrito, take the left and right side and lift to ensure the contents are dead centre, then first fold the bottom over the contents, then the left and right sides and tuck in the top.

Roast pepper & goats cheese burrito

Ingredients   Tortilla, 1 bell pepper, cucumber, goats cheese cheese, Hummus:   Chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sesame seeds

Serves: 1 preparation: 15 minutes


I love the combination of roast pepper and goats cheese - in soup, in dip, even on a baked potato! it's a wonderful pairing of flavours, rich and sweet and this makes the most meltingly perfect lunch.


1) To make your own hummus, see previous recipe.


2) Slice the top from the pepper and scoop out the seeds. Slice the pepper between the membranes and discard these. Drizzle the pepper with olive oil and grill on each side for 5 minutes, allowing the skin to just blacken.


3) Spread the hummus onto the centre of the tortilla and dot with goats cheese and cubed cucumber before adding the roasted pepper. To fold the burrito, take the left and right side and lift to ensure the contents are dead centre, then first fold the bottom over the contents, then the left and right sides and tuck in the top.

Duck egg & avocado burrito

Ingredients 1 avocado, 1 duck egg, goats cheese, tortilla

Serves: 1 preparation: 10 minutes


There is very little in this world nicer than a just hard boiled duck's egg, still hot when combined with avocado. The creamy taste and soft texture goes perfectly with a mild chevre and a sprinkling of black pepper. A perfect lunch.


1) Boil the egg for 8 minutes in hot water, then carefully remove it and press it against a firm surface to crack the shell and make it easier to peel.


2) Whilst the egg is hot, cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Scoop the flesh from the shell and cut into chunks.


3) Add to the tortilla with some pepper and room temperature goats cheese and wrap it up - to fold the burrito, take the left and right side and lift to ensure the contents are dead centre, then first fold the bottom over the contents, then the left and right sides and tuck in the top.