Lavender & white chocolate strawberries

IngredientsLavender, white chocolate, strawberries

Preparation: 10 minutes

Lavender and white chocolate is a familiar combination to this blog, but not everyone grows lavender so when the fabulous Millie's suggested Choc Affair's lavender white chocolate, I had to create a quick simple recipe for quick simple chocolate! Sweet, ripe strawberry goes wonderfully with the perfumed richness of the chocolate - just make sure not to refrigerate your strawberries or you'll ruin half the taste!

1) If you are infusing your own chocolate, grind 1/4 tsp lavender in a mortar and pestle and add to a bowl. Break up the white chocolate and sit the bowl over a hot pan to make a bain marie. Stir the chocolate until it melts. 

2) Dip the strawberries into the chocolate and leave them to set. This should only take 5 minutes or so. Serve!

Nettle soup

Ingredients 1 leek, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1 potato, 200g nettles, butter

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

When I first started making nettle soup, it took me literally 10 minutes of blanching and blending nettles with vegetable stock before I was eating my lovely fresh bowl of soup. These days I like more depth of flavour and a thicker texture which only adding leek and potato brings to the table. 20 minutes for soup is still great in my opinion, and nettles are freely available so this is certainly easy on the pocket.

1) Dice the leek and sautee until soft in a knob of butter.

2) Peel and dice the potato and add to the leek. Stir through and then add the vegetable stock.

3) 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.

4) Once the potatoes are soft (about 15 minutes) add the nettles to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pulse in the blender before serving.

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.

Sausage & smoked cheese lasagne

Ingredients Layer 1) 10 cherry tomatoes, 1 tsp butter. Layer 2) 4 Quorn sausages, 50g smoked cheese, 50ml buttermilk. Layer 3) 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp flour, 50ml milk, 1 egg.

Lasagne sheets/8 oz pasta flour, 4 eggs, 1 tsp olive oil, 10g cheddar.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 1 hour (plus 2-5 for chilling the pasta dough)

Smoked cheese is something that I rarely cook with. The heady flavour can easily overpower the other ingredients, but if you get it right it's a fabulous addition to meat dishes or in my case, being a vegetarian - Quorn!
This twist on lasagne (for my classic lasagne recipe, click here) uses the sharp freshness of cherry tomatoes to cut through the smoked cheese.

1) To make the lasagne sheets: Pour the flour, olive oil, a good pinch of salt, 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk into a bowl and kneed with your hands until you have a firm dough. Wrap this in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2-5 hours. 

2) Slice the Quorn sausages in half lengthways and roast in the top of the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees. Set aside.

3) Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and then into quarters and shuck the seeds with your thumb. Discard the seeds and add the tomato flesh to a pan along with a teaspoon of butter and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Spoon into your lasagne dish.

4) Dust a worktop with pasta flour and roll out the dough into a sheet 1/3 of a centimetre thick. Cut out rectangles of pasta and roll these through a pasta machine (or continue using a rolling pin if you don't have one). Add your first layer to the top of the tomatoes and press down to ensure that each part of the pasta is in contact with the tomatoes. Add the Quorn sausages, cut side down on top of the pasta.

5) Grate the smoked cheese and add to a pan with the buttermilk. Stir through until a smooth sauce has formed and pour over the Quorn sausages. Top with a layer of pasta, pressing down to ensure that each part is on contact with the sauce.

6) Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan and stir a tablespoon of plain flour into it to form a roux. Take off the heat and whisk the egg into the roux along with the milk. Whisk through for about 5 minutes and pour over the lasagne. Top with grated cheddar and bake the lasagne in the oven for 10 -15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Special butter

Ingredients Butter, caster sugar, your choice of flavouring (suggested: lavender, rose, vanilla, cinnamon

Preparation: 5 minutes + 2 hours refrigeration

Butter, ah butter. James Martin's soul mate it may be but most of us live in the real world where heart disease and obesity are concerns which have us reaching for the margarine or olive oil spread instead. Sometimes though, indulgence is necessary and here's where special butter comes in. I flavour mine with cinnamon, with lavender, with rose, with vanilla... whether you perch it atop a stack of pancakes, spread it on scones or give it as a gift, it's a lovely treat indeed.

1) Using room temperature butter, combine it with sugar at a ratio of 1/2 tsp per 30 grams of butter. The quantity you make is entirely up to you, I like to mould mine into shapes but this can easily be set in a regular pat or a dish. 

2) Add the flavouring of your choice and leave to set in the fridge.

For rose butter: to 60g of butter I added 6 dried rosebuds, roughly torn.
For lavender butter: to 60g of butter I added 1/2 a tsp of dried lavender.
For cinnamon butter: to 60g of butter I added 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
For vanilla butter: to 60g of butter I added 1 vanilla pod

Pumpkin ravioli with ginger butter

Ingredients 8 oz pasta flour, 4 eggs, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 pumpkin, 10 cherry tomatoes, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tsp ground ginger

Serves: 2 Preparation: 2-5 hours

Making pasta is a labour of love. There are recipes for which dried pasta is perfectly acceptable, and then there are those recipes which require getting your hands dirty... this recipe is positively filthy. The sweetness of the pumpkin, the tart, tangy combination of ginger and tomato... this is pasta perfection.

1) Pour the flour, olive oil, a good pinch of salt, 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk into a bowl and kneed with your hands until you have a firm dough. Wrap this in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2-5 hours.

2) You can buy pumpkin puree in a can if it's out of season, but to prepare from scratch: Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and pith with a spoon. Make sure all the stringiness has been removed. Peel away the skin with a chef's knife and cut the flesh into cubes. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes and blend until smooth.

3) Dust a worktop with pasta flour and roll out the dough into a sheet 1/3 of a centimetre thick. Cut out rectangles of pasta and roll these through a pasta machine (or continue using a rolling pin if you don't have one). Add a teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture to one side of the rectangle, fold in half and pinch the edges together, taking care not to leave any air trapped inside.

4) Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan along with a teaspoon of ground ginger. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place them cut side down in the pan.

5) Drop the pasta into a large pan of hot, salted water. The pasta will sink to the bottom initially but when it is ready (2-3 minutes maximum unless your pasta is too thick) it will float to the top. Remove the ravioli from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to the pan of butter. Stir through and serve.

Peanut butter & banana porridge

Ingredients Porridge oats, milk (I like almond milk), peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods), honey (or agave syrup), banana

Preparation: 10 minutes

This hardly seems worth writing as a recipe as there really isn't much cooking involved, but as a combination that everyone should try... my god yes!
The salty, heady flavour of peanut butter, the gooey banana which melts into the porridge and that extra sweet contrast of the honey makes this the ultimate breakfast for me. Especially on a snowy day like today.

1) Add the milk and oats to a pan and stir on a low heat for 5 minutes, allowing the oats to swell with milk and form porridge.

2) Slice 1 banana per person and add to the porridge along with a tablespoon of peanut butter per person. Stir through and serve drizzled with honey.

Courgette & potato bake

Ingredients 1 potato, 1 courgette, 5 cherry tomatoes, 30g basil, 100g Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, 100g cheddar.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

Everyone loves a good dauphinoise, but sometimes all that indulgence can get to even me and I yearn for something creamy and melty with a crispy top... but that won't make my thighs double in size at the very thought of it.
Enter yoghurt. One of my favourite ingredients as a vegetarian, it transforms this dish from a heavy carb fest into a light, tangy summer side dish.

1) Finely slice the potato and courgette with a knife, or using a mandoline. Parboil the potatoes for 4 minutes and set aside to cool.

2) Finely dice the basil, grate the cheddar and stir into the yoghurt.

3) Slice the cherry tomatoes into halves and then quarters, using your thumb to shuck away the seeds and juice from the centres. Stir into the yoghurt mix.

4) In an oven-proof dish, layer the potatoes and courgettes with the yoghurt mix, pressing down each layer firmly. I like to top with an additional layer of grated cheese but this is entirely to taste.

5) Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees until the top has begun to crisp and turn golden brown. Serve hot.

Broccoli & pepper pasta

Ingredients 1 broccoli, 2 bell peppers, pasta, gruyere

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes

This recipe is achingly simple, and very satisfying. Sweet, meltingly perfect peppers, gooey nutty gruyere and the freshness of the broccoli are a lovely combination.

1) Slice the top from the pepper and scoop out the core and seeds. Slice between the membranes and roast in the top of the oven for 15 minutes at a high heat.

2) Cut the florets from the broccoli stem and add to a pan of boiling water along with the pasta. Simmer for 8 minutes, then strain and set aside.

3) Grate the cheese and stir into the pasta, broccoli and bell peppers and serve.

Pancetta & Mushroom scramble

Ingredients 100g Pancetta, 3 eggs, 3 chestnut mushrooms, bread, butter

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

I am allergic to mushrooms, so they very rarely feature in this blog. I do however cook them for my husband from time to time, and this is one of his favourite breakfasts.

1) Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them. Season lightly with salt and black pepper and set aside. Good scrambled eggs should never be diluted with milk.

2) Finely slice the mushrooms and add to a pan along with the pancetta and a generous knob of butter. Stir through for 5 minutes on a low heat, then add the eggs.

3) Turn up the heat a little and continually stir the eggs to prevent them sticking to the bottom of the pan. Within about 5 minutes the eggs should be firm but not dry. Serve on toasted bread and eat immediately.

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.

Peanut butter & banana flapjacks

Ingredients 1 banana, 2 tbsp peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods), 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup peanuts, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips, tsp honey (or agave syrup).

Serves: 8 Preparation: 20 minutes

These are without a doubt the world's best banana and peanut butter flapjacks. Chewy and crunchy and sweet and savoury... and surprisingly healthy as baked goods go!

1) Mash the banana and peanut butter with a fork and add in the other ingredients

2) Using a tablespoon, portion out the flapjacks and drop onto baking parchment. I think these work best as rough cookie shapes because they crisp up better, but you could spoon onto a tray and cut out flapjack bars.

3) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees

Courgette & goats cheese linguine

Ingredients 1 courgette, 30g basil, 30g goats cheese, 1 tbsp butter, linguine.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 15 minutes

I adore courgettes. They're so versatile and are at once a juicy addition to a dish, and a perfect vehicle to soak up other flavours.

1) Bring the pasta to the boil in a pan of salted water and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

2) Cut the courgette into centimetre thick slices, then quarter. Add to a pan with the butter and freshly chopped basil and sautee for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

3) Strain the linguine in a colander and pour in with the courgette. Stir in the goats cheese until it has coated the pasta and courgette, then serve.

Banana nut flapjacks

Ingredients 1 banana, 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup sultanas, 1/4 cup toasted almond flakes, 1 tbsp dessicated coconut, pinch cinnamon.

Serves: 8 Preparation: 20 minutes

These totally tropical vegan flapjacks are ridiculously quick and simple and consist literally of oats, bananas, nuts and whatever else you want to bulk them up with. I chose sultanas and coconut but you could substitute different nuts and different dried fruits - or add in some spices or even chocolate chips. My next recipe (for the world's best banana and peanut butter cookies) which will cause you to WEEP for joy when you try them was derived from this concept.

1) Mash the banana with a fork and add in the other ingredients

2) Using a tablespoon, portion out the flapjacks and drop onto baking parchment. I think these work best as rough cookie shapes because they crisp up better, but you could spoon onto a tray and cut out flapjack bars.

3) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees

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.

Nettle & yoghurt risotto

Ingredients 1 cup risotto rice, 1 white onion,  1 pint vegetable stock, 100ml Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, 150g nettles, butter

Serves: 2 Preparation: 45 minutes

All risottos (no matter what the ingredients) can be made in 3 simple stages. The first is called tostatura - coating the rice in fat, the second involves cooking off some alcohol and the third involves releasing the starch from the rice one ladle of stock at a time. This risotto has the peppery freshness of nettles (which were late in season this year due to the snow) and a wonderful tang of yoghurt - a light change from my tendency towards rich, creamy risotto flavour combinations.

1) 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.

2) Dice the onion and sautee in a little butter until soft. Add the risotto rice and stir until the rice becomes transparent, revealing a white dot in the centre and pour in the wine.

3) Once the alcohol cooks off, add the first ladle of stock and stir through.

4) Continue adding the stock to the risotto, one ladle at a time, adding the nettles with the second to last ladle of stock.

5) When the rice has fluffed up and has become soft, stir through the yoghurt and serve.

Blueberry cheesecake scones

Ingredients 225g self raising flour, 50g butter, 50g sugar, 50g cream cheese, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/4 tsp vanilla essence, milk

Serves: 10 Preparation: 30 minutes

The sweet burst of blueberries, the rich tang of cream cheese and vanilla - unlike the dense texture of cheesecake, this scone is so light and fluffy that the flavour almost doesn't make sense. They're seriously moreish.

1) Sift the flour and sugar together, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in the blueberries.

3) Whisk a little milk and vanilla essence with the cream cheese to make it more liquid and mix with the dry ingredients until a dough has formed. It's best to work scones with cool hands so if yours are warm, run them under the cold tap first (and dry them) before working it.

4) Roll out the pastry 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 a little milk to help the surface colour.

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

Courgette & avocado linguine

Ingredients 1 courgette, 1 avocado, 1 lemon, coriander, parmigiano, linguine.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 15 minutes

I was just plating up this meal when my waters broke, leading to the premature birth of my Starchild, but please don't blame the food! This dish is full of spring freshness - juicy courgette, creamy avocado and citrus notes of lemon and coriander make wonderful company for pasta.

1) Bring the pasta to the boil in a pan of salted water and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

2) Cut the courgette into centimetre thick slices, then quarter. Toss in freshly squeezed lemon juice and coriander, then roast in the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.

3) Halve the avocados and scoop the fruit from the shell, discarding the stone. Pulse in the blender until smooth and creamy, then stir in the courgette and linguine. Serve with shavings of parmigiano.