Pistachio pesto scones

Ingredients 225g self raising flour, 50g butter, 75ml buttermilk, Basil, basil oil, garlic, pistachio, parmigiano, lemon.

Serves: 8 preparation: 30


I confess, I have never before enjoyed a cheese scone. It is something I would never order in a cafe by choice - often greasy and pungent with crispy bits of cheese on the top. *shudders* then I started to think that it was impacting my reputation for being a cheese whore in a thoroughly negative manner. The second result of my experimentations are these beautiful scones - a subtle flavour tang of basil with a great crumbly texture from the  pistachio and parmeggian.


1) 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 pistachio nuts. Grind thoroughly, adding lemon juice, basil oil and parmeggian to taste. 

2) Sift the flour and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3) Mix a tablespoon of pesto and the buttermilk in with the flour and butter until a dough has formed.

4)  Roll out the dough on a floured surface and then fold it in half and roll again. Cut out rounds of pastry with a scalloped cutter and brush with the last drizzles of the milk to help the surface colour.

5) Bake at 200 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Peanut buttered sweet potatoes

Ingredients 2 Sweet potatoes, peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods), honey (or agave syrup), olive oil

Serves: 2 preparation: 20 minutes

Peanuts with their salty, slightly bittersweetness bring out the natural sweetness of the potatoes and give them an almost powdery, velvet crust. These make a great topping for Mexican mole.

1) Slice the sweet potato thinly with a mandoline, or carefully with a knife.

2) Smooth the peanut butter over each slice with your fingers and arrange in a roasting tray. Drizzle with a little honey and olive oil.

3 Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until the edges crisp.

These go wonderfully as a topping for Mexican Mole with a little soured cream.

Stuffed Cabbage: Mexican mole

Ingredients Quorn Mince, 1 white onion, dark chocolate, tomato puree, mixed beans, red wine, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, olive oil, Rachel's organic Greek yoghurt, mozarella, savoy cabbage.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 1 hour

I often get dejected emails from people who cannot or choose not to eat products containing flour and I'm always surprised by how many of them do not ever think of wrapping the contents of a sandwich in iceberg lettuce rather than bread or a tortilla, or don't think of using a razor thin shaving of courgette or other vegetables to replace pasta in tagliatelle or cannelloni. The same goes for the humble cabbage leaf. I would far rather use savoy cabbage over vine leaves - they taste fantastic, they're more robust and easier to handle and the fabulous wrinkly texture is perfect for stuffing because all the little nooks and crannies are filled. This dish is a wonderful alternative to tortillas when making enchiladas.

1) Melt 4 squares of dark chocolate in a pan (I used some chilli and lime chocolate from BonBon to give this some extra heat) and add 1 finely chopped white onion and a glug of olive oil

2) When the onions have just begin to soften add the packet of Quorn mince (you could use some cooked, drained beef mince if you are not a vegetarian) and stir thoroughly until the chocolate has coated the onions and beef.

3) Add in 2 tablespoons of tomato puree, a teaspoon of Cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of chopped coriander. Stir thoroughly and add in a glug of red wine.

4) Add in the mixed beans - red kidney beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans and haricot beans (Tesco sell "taco beans", 2 cans of which are perfect) and stir well

5) Add salt, tomato puree and chopped chillis to taste

6) Add the greek yoghurt and grated mozarella into a milk pan with a pinch of salt and stir on a low heat until the cheese is incorporated. Pour over the tortilla rolls and add extra cheese and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper. 

4) Blanch the cabbage leaves in hot, salted water for 5 minutes, then plunge into ice-cold water so that the leaves retain their colour.

5) Dry thoroughly (I found shaking them outside before patting them with kitchen roll to be the easiest way) and spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the centre. Roll up as you would a burrito and place seam side down in a casserole dish - as below.

6) Rather than completely covering the cabbage, I thought a tablespoon and a half or so on top of each leaf to be sufficient. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the sauce bubbles and serve!

Stuffed Cabbage: Giant cous-cous, pepper & tomato

Ingredients 6 Savoy cabbage leaves, 2 bell peppers, 6 baby plum tomatoes, 1 cup Giant (aka Israeli) cous-cous (I bought mine fromMillie's Organic in Leeds), Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, mozarella, 1 tsp chilli powder, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp tomato puree.

Serves: 3 preparation: 30

I often get dejected emails from people who cannot or choose not to eat products containing flour and I'm always surprised by how many of them do not ever think of wrapping the contents of a sandwich in iceberg lettuce rather than bread or a tortilla, or don't think of using a razor thin shaving of courgette or other vegetables to replace pasta in tagliatelle or cannelloni. The same goes for the humble cabbage leaf. I would far rather use savoy cabbage over vine leaves - they taste fantastic, they're more robust and easier to handle and the fabulous wrinkly texture is perfect for stuffing because all the little nooks and crannies are filled. This dish has a gorgeous creamy sauce on the outside and a richer, slightly spicy centre.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside to cool.

2) Slice the tops from the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Remove the portions of flesh from between the membranes and slice into strips. Roast in the oven along with the whole tomatoes for 15 minutes at 200 degrees, drizzled with a little oil.

3) Peel and crush the garlic and sautee in a little butter along with the spices and tomato puree, then stir in the peppers and tomatoes and the cous-cous.

4) Blanch the cabbage leaves in hot, salted water for 5 minutes, then plunge into ice-cold water so that the leaves retain their colour.

5) Dry thoroughly (I found shaking them outside before patting them with kitchen roll to be the easiest way) and spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the centre. Roll up as you would a burrito and place seam side down in a casserole dish - as below.

6) Grate mozarella into Greek yoghurt and spoon over as much as you wish. Rather than completely covering the cabbage, I thought a tablespoon and a half or so on top of each leaf to be sufficient. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the sauce bubbles and serve!

Rhubarb & orange blossom tarts

Ingredients    Filling: 5 stalks rhubarb, 1 tbsp orange blossom essence, 2 cups jam sugar. Pastry: 250g butter, 100g caster sugar, 500g plain flour, 1 tbsp double cream.

Preparation: 30 minutes

There is only one word to describe these tarts, and that word is "toothsome".
They are toothsome tarts with the most incredible flavour and buttery soft pastry and quite honestly I could eat them until I lapsed into some sort of diabetic coma and not regret it!

1) To make sweet shortcut pastry: sift the flour and sugar and add small cubes of the cold butter into your blender and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cream and pulse until a dough ball forms. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge to cool for an hour.

2) To prepare the filling: see previous recipe.

3) Roll out the pastry and cut out circles of dough. I made some tarts with very thin crusts and some like the picture with the thicker casing and both work equally well.

4) Press into the tart cases and pour in the filling. Bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees and serve cool.

Rhubarb & orange blossom jam

Ingredients    5 stalks rhubarb, 1 tbsp orange blossom essence, 2 cups jam sugar,

Preparation: 30 minutes (plus 2 hours for maceration)

I have a weakness for rhubarb. Like citrus it's at once sweet and sharp, but  so much more so than any other fruit. When combined with orange blossom it has such exotic notes and I'm sure this jam will be a favourite!

1) Slice the tops and tails from the rhubarb and divide the stalks into small, even chunks. Put into a bowl and cover with the jam sugar, then cover with cling film and shake to ensure the rhubarb is evenly coated. Leave to macerate for 2 hours, by which time juice will have been drawn from the rhubarb and formed a rough syrup.

2) Using a spatula, scrape all of the fruit and syrup from the bowl into a pan and bring to the boil, allowing it to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring until the rhubarb has completely disintegrated. Add the orange blossom essence and stir through.

3) The jam is suitable at this stage to be used for tarts, however if you wish to set it into more of a jelly, add half a cup more jam sugar and bring to the boil for a further 4 minutes before transferring into sterilised jars.

Chachouka

Ingredients 2 bell peppers, 10 baby plum tomatoes, 1 white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 200g spinach, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp paprika, pinch saffron, 1 tsp chilli powder, olive oil, butter

Serves: 2 preparation: 30 minutes

Chachouka is a North-African casserole - I remember strings of melting soft onion, spices and the sharpness of the saffron and tomato under creamy egg yolk the first time I tried it in Paris, years ago. Because, as you know, I loathe onion - I've added spinach to the mix with fabulous results.

1) Slice the tops from the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Remove the portions of flesh from between the membranes and slice into strips. Roast in the oven along with the whole tomatoes for 15 minutes at 200 degrees, drizzled with a little oil.

2) Peel and slice the onion, then break into rings. Sautee in a little butter along with the spices on a medium heat for 15 minutes, adding the garlic at the last 2.

3) Stir in the spinach, pepper and tomatoes, then transfer to an ovenproof dish. Press wells into the surface with a tablespoon and crack the eggs into them. Bake in the oven until the egg white has just turned opaque, then serve.

Stilton & walnut scones

Ingredients  225g self raising flour, 50g butter, 75ml buttermilk, Stilton, 5 walnuts.

Serves: 8 preparation: 30

I confess, I have never before enjoyed a cheese scone. It is something I would never order in a cafe by choice - often greasy and pungent with crispy bits of cheese on the top. *shudders* then I started to think that it was impacting my reputation for being a cheese whore in a thoroughly negative manner. The result of my experimentations are these buttery, crumbly scones which are rich in flavour (perfect with a little cream cheese and honey) with not a crusty or greasy bit in sight!

1) First finely dice the walnut until it resembles fine crumbs, and crumble the stilton.

2) Sift the flour, walnut and sugar together, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3) Mix the cheese and double cream in with the dry ingredients until a dough has formed.

4)  Roll out the dough on a floured surface and then fold it in half and roll again. Cut out rounds of pastry with a scalloped cutter and brush with the last drizzles of the milk to help the surface colour.

5) Bake at 200 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Banana scones

Ingredients 225g self raising flour, 50g butter, 50g muscovado sugar, 75ml buttermilk, 2 bananas, pinch cinnamon.

Serves: 8 preparation: 30 minutes

I adore the flavour and scent of banana - so sweet and musky and mildly tropical. These scones have a wonderful texture and it's a good way to introduce flavour for those who don't like dried fruit.

1) First peel and pulverise the bananas in a blender, or by mashing with a fork.

2) Sift the flour, cinnamon and sugar together, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3) Mix the buttermilk and banana in with the dry ingredients until a dough has formed.

4)  Roll out the dough on a floured surface and then fold it in half and roll again. Cut out rounds of pastry with a scalloped cutter and brush with the last drizzles of the milk to help the surface colour.

5) Bake at 200 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Roast pepper & spinach linguine

Ingredients Linguine, 2 bell peppers, 200g spinach, butter, basil, tomatoes, olive oil, vintage cheddar

Serves: 2 preparation: 20 minutes

I don't know where this myth began that pasta is a heavy dish with rich sauces - this meal is feather light and makes a WONDERFUL pasta salad served cold. The melting soft pepper, fresh spinach and sharp crumbles of cheddar are absolutely delicious but there's really no sauce to speak of, just a  gloss of butter.

1) Slice the tops from the peppers and remove the cores. Remove slices of fruit from between the membranes (discarding these) and slice into strips. Roast in the oven at 200 for 10 minutes, drizzled with olive oil and finish under the grill for 5 minutes or until the skin begins to blacken.

2) Add the linguine to hot, salted water and bring to the boil for about 8 minutes.

3) Finely dice the basil and add, along with the spinach to a wok with a little butter. Stir through until the spinach is just coated, then remove from the heat.

4) Strain the linguine and add to the spinach along with the roast pepper strips and a little grated cheddar. Stir through and serve hot or cold.

Serving suggestion: try adding some roast tomatoes on the vine

Olive mash

Ingredients   2 Maris Piper potatoes, butter, oregano, black pepper, kamalata olives

Preparation: 30 minutes Serves: 4

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, my latest adventure in rich, indulgent - knock you off your socks with flavour - food is simply fabulous.

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

2) Peel and crush a clove of garlic and saute in a little butter with freshly chopped oregano.

3) Mash the potato, adding the garlic and oregano butter until silky-smooth in consistency, then pit and halve the kamalata olives and stir through.

Leek, pear & gruyere bread tart

Ingredients   6 slices of bread, 4 eggs, 2 pears, 1/2 leek, butter, gruyere, Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt.

Serves: 6 preparation: 20 minutes

Sometimes you need to make a tart in a hurry and don't have a 1 hour to fanny about chilling it and a further 10 minutes blind-baking it. Using a bread base is quick, fun and gives your tart a fun frilly appearance. This might be fast food - but the gorgeous combination of pear, gruyere and leek makes it impressive enough for company too.

1) Cut the crusts from your bread and roll them flat with a rolling pin. Press them into a tart case firmly with the edges overlapping a little.

2) Peel and core a pear and dice the flesh. Sizzle in a pan for 2-3 minutes with a little butter and the chopped leek. Layer onto the bread base.

3) Whisk the eggs with 2-3 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt and stir in a little grated gruyere, then pour over the bread base.

4) Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

Lavender marshmallow pie

Ingredients  Filling: 300g lavender marshmallows, 30ml milk, Pastry: 250g butter, 100g caster sugar, 500g plain flour, 1 tbsp milk.

Serves: 12 preparation: 1 hour 1/2


These little tarts are a delight - thin, crisp pastry with a gooey, fluffy marshmallow centre and the delicate flavour of lavender.
It's enough to make you want to be a rocking horse person!


1) To make sweet shortcut pastry: sift the flour and sugar and add small cubes of the cold butter into your blender and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the milk and pulse until a dough ball forms. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge to cool for an hour.


2) Roll out the pastry, cut out circles and press into tart cases. Blind bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 5 - 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.


3) Bring a pan of milk to the boil and melt the marshmallow into it, whisking through until they are completely incorporated. Set the mixture aside to cool, then pour into the tart cases and chill for at least an hour.

Lavender marshmallows

Ingredients 5 sheets gelatine, 225g caster sugar, 100ml water, lavender, 2 large egg whites, icing sugar and cornflour for dusting

Preparation: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour for setting)


Whether you make plain marshmallows, or lavender - I can promise that my recipe will make the fluffiest, lightest marshmallows you have ever eaten. Unlike the drier almost spongy texture of the marshmallows that you can buy - fresh marshmallow is wonderful and I promise the delicate taste of lavender will delight you. These are perfect on their own, for making white chocolate s'mores or for marshmallow pies.


1) Rub a little butter, oil or margarine onto a baking tray, then dust it with sieved icing sugar and cornflour. I use a ratio of 3 parts icing sugar, 1 part cornflower.


2) Soak the gelatine in cold water and set aside, then pour boiling water over a tablespoon of lavender and allow it to infuse for 2 minutes. Separate the lavender from the water with a sieve.


3) Put a pan onto the heat and crank it up high. Bring 100ml of the lavender water and sugar to the boil and continue cooking for 12 minutes. 


4) Then, carefully slide in the softened gelatine sheets and a little more of the lavender water. Stir briskly to incorporate the gelatine - you will notice the syrup becomes much stickier. Remove from the heat and decant into a jug. 


5) Quickly whisk the egg whites using an electric whisk until stiff peaks are formed. Continue whisking while pouring in the hot syrup from the jug. The mixture should thicken quickly and acquire a beautiful glossy hue. Continue whisking for 10 minutes until the mixture is stiff and thick enough to hold it's own weight. 


6) Pour onto the baking tray, dust with another layer of icing sugar and corn flower and leave for an hour to set at room temperature. 


7) To cut the marshmallow, use a sharp knife and section quickly, dragging the knife. Dust the edges with cornflower and icing sugar by rolling it in the excess and serve! 

Peanut buttered parsnips

Ingredients Parsnips, peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods).

Preparation: 1 hour

I adore parsnips - such a spicy, earthy flavour which caramelises perfectly when roasted. Peanuts with their salty, slightly bittersweetness bring out the natural sweetness of roast parsnip and give them an almost powdery, velvet crust.

1) Rinse but do not peel the parsnips, then slice into chunks. Smooth a thin layer of peanut butter onto each side of the parsnip with your fingers.

2) Roast in the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour at 200 degrees until the insides are fluffy and soft and the outsides begin to crisp.

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.

Pork & apple burgers

Ingredients 400g Sausage meat, 1 apple, sage, 1/2 white onion, butter

Serves: 6 preparation: 20 minutes

Making burgers is so quick and simple that I refuse to entertain the idea that there is any excuse for the kind of specimens that come under the category of "convenience food" and "fast food". They're unhealthy, low quality and truly no faster. Pork, apple and sage are such classic flavour combinations - give this a try as a fun BBQ alternative to beef.

1) Peel and finely dice half a white onion, peel, core and dice the apple and and fry both together in a little butter with some chopped sage for 2 minutes.

2) Combine the onions, apple and sausage meat - you could use a blender but I prefer to leave the apple chunks intact and use my hands. Season with  a pinch of salt and pepper first.


3) Form patties with your hands, packing the meat quite tightly and either BBQ, grill or bake in the oven.  For best results, sizzle the outside of the burger first using the juices from the onion, apple & sage pan.


I served with fresh lettuce from the garden and ketchup in a burger bun

Harissa yoghurt

Ingredients Smoked chillis, garlic salt, paprika, mint, rose petals, cumin, caraway seeds, basil oil, Rachel's Organic Greek yoghurt, bell pepper.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Harissa is a spice mix which hails from North African countries like Tunisia and Morocco and is used as a base for everything from dry meat rubs to a paste which can be spread on bread or added to sauces.
As you might expect there are thousands of recipes out there, from sharp and spicy to mellow smokey flavours, but my version - with a rose base - is universally gorgeous in my humble opinion. I like to mix it with yoghurt to make a dip (as pictured) or add to fajitas.

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) Stir 1 teaspoon of Harissa per 200g of yoghurt.

Butterbean & feta salad

Ingredients 1/4 Cucumber, 1 tin butterbeans, 100g feta, mint leaves, butter, 1/2 lime.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

I'm back! After almost a month off due to wedding/honeymoon madness I have woefully neglected you all. Hopefully this lunch idea will get me back in your good graces... the combination of lime and mint is always a winner with me - whether a cocktail, a pudding or a salad dressing, it never fails to add a fresh, exciting twist to a dish. This butterbean and feta salad is a great combination of melting soft cheese and beans with crunchy cucumber - great in a wrap, on bread or just on its own.

1) Drain the can of butterbeans and rinse in cold water. Bring to the boil in a pan for 4 minutes, then drain and set aside.

2) Slice and quarter the cucumber and cut the feta into equal chunks.

3) Zest the lime and squeeze the juice from one half. Finely chop the mint leaves and stir into the lime juice and zest.

4) Melt a knob of butter in a pan and add in the beans. Sizzle for a 30 seconds before adding the lime and mint, then fry off for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

5) Take off the heat and stir through the feta and cucumber to dress it before serving.