Pumpkin pancakes

Ingredients 1/2 can pumpkin puree, 1 egg, 1 1/4 cup self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tbsp honey, agave or maple syrup.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 15 minutes

Scotch pancakes (or American style) are a big favourite in this house. On those mornings when I have totally forgotten to put the Overnight Oats in the fridge the day before, it's great to grab an egg and just chuck in some flour, flavour, something wet and a few minutes of whisking later, the griddle is sizzling with perfect little dollops of impending deliciousness. These pumpkin pancakes are so very perfect for this time of year; Autumn is coming and comfort foods are on the horizon. They're also sugar free and low in fat. I quite often use low gluten flours like spelt or buckwheat and add a bit of baking powder instead of self-raising - get experimenting!

1) Crack the egg into a bowl and give it a whisk.

2) Add the spices, pumpkin puree and your choice of sweetness. Whisk again.

3) Add the flour and whisk thoroughly to ensure that the batter is smooth. It should be of a thick, dropping consistency, so add a little extra flour if necessary.

4) Drop a tablespoon at a time of the batter onto a hot griddle or non-stick frying pan. When tiny bubbles begin to work their way through the batter, slide a fish slice under the pancake and flip over. Press lightly to ensure they're evenly cooked, then transfer to a wire cooling rack or stack straight onto the plate. Gorgeous hot or cold.

Sugar-free pina colada muffins

Ingredients 350g spelt flour, 2 eggs, 2 tsp baking powder, 30g desiccated coconut 75g diced pineapple and dried cranberries, 150ml pineapple juice, 100g coconut palm sugar, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp honey.

Serves: 6 Preparation: 45 minutes (plus an hour soaking)

When it comes to food critiquing, my husband is a man of few words, and many facial expressions so his reaction to these muffins of "oh my god! mmmmmm!!!" before grabbing a second one, posting a picture on Facebook and then begging me to bake some more for him to take to work with him says it all. These are absolutely luscious and will fill your house with the most incredible tropical scent. Plus they're sugar free and made from "good fat" and healthy flour! Hurrah!

1) Soak the dried pineapple and cranberries in the pineapple juice along with the honey for ideally an hour, then pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4.

2) Sift together the flour, baking powder, dessicated coconut and set aside.

3) If the coconut oil has solidified, melt it gently, then whisk in the eggs and palm sugar before adding the pineapple and juice.

4) Roughly fold the wet ingredients into the dry - don't overmix it. Muffin batter should never be completely smooth. Spoon into muffin cases and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. I like to sprinkle a little extra coconut on the top before baking - the toasted coconut smells and tastes WONDERFUL.

5) Leave to cool, if you have the willpower, then devour. These are good for up to 3 days afterwards if sealed in a tupperware container but benefit from being gently warmed in the oven for a few minutes before serving after that!

Mango sorbet

Ingredients 2 mangoes, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup if you are vegan).

Serves: 6 Preparation: 20 minutes

It has been sorbet central over here in the Lavender Kitchen. At this time of year the fruit in my bowl ripens so fast in the last of the summer heat, so I find myself making smoothies, jams and chutneys and baking puddings and pies and tarts galore so as not to waste any fruit. Mango sorbet is a particular favourite of mine because the buttery, silky texture of mango feels like it MUST be sinfully bad for you - and yet this sorbet contains nothing naughty at all!

1) Peel and slice the mango. There are many methods for doing so, from hedgehogging it to simply hacking away until you find the thick, rough core that stretches the full length of the fruit. Personally, I approach it like an avocado, slicing it towards the middle but not completely in half, then rotating it until it comes apart, revealing the core which can then be sliced away.

2) Transfer the fruit to a food processor (you'll want to save every single drop of the gorgeous juice as you're slicing it - I scrape it from the peel, from the chopping board etc) and puree thoroughly.

3) Add the honey and taste - remembering that freezing something dulls the flavour, so if it isn't sweet enough, it most certainly won't be when it's frozen! Add extra honey if necessary, but a ripe mango should certainly be sweet enough.

4) Transfer to your ice-cream maker and churn until frozen. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, transfer to a suitable container and freeze, removing every 30 minutes to whisk it to ensure that linear ice crystals do not form, solidifying the texture.

Pear & Matcha sorbet

Ingredients 4 over-ripe pears, 1 tsp matcha, 1 tbsp honey (or agave syrup if you are vegan).

Serves: 6 Preparation: 20 minutes

Matcha is a super-concentrated green tea powder, packed with antioxidants and nutrients, available from the mighty Teapigs. When they sent me some for #Foodspiration, I knew that the first thing I wanted to do was make a glorious green tea sorbet, and the beautiful grainy-sweetness of pears is so wonderful with tea. And lo, this super-food sorbet was born!

1) Peel the pears and slice the fruit away from the core.

2) Puree thoroughly in a blender, adding the honey and matcha when a smooth texture has been achieved.

3) Taste before transferring to the ice-cream maker, remembering that freezing something dulls the taste, so if it isn't sweet enough, it most certainly won't be when it's frozen! Add a little extra honey if necessary, then churn until frozen. 
If you do not have an ice-cream maker, pour into a suitable container and freeze, removing to whisk every 30 minutes to ensure that linear ice-crystals do not form, solidifying the texture.

Baby Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients 75g butter/oil, 125ml orange/apple juice, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 2 bananas, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp honey (or agave syrup), 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 250g self-raising flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 100g dried cranberries, 100g mixed seeds.

Makes: 16 Preparation: 45 minutes

OK, so this is not a baby recipe. Shaddap, it's not. It's NOT OK. It's a recipe for muffins which are sugar free and if you want them to be, dairy free. Healthy seeded breakfast muffins that are totally delicious and I just happen to feed to my twelve month old son... 

1) Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190 degrees and add the cranberries to the orange/apple juice.

2) Add the bananas, vanilla essence and honey to a blender and puree thoroughly. Add the eggs and melted butter/oil and pulse again until completely combined

3) Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarb of soda, then mix in the seeds.

4) Pour the puree in with the dry ingredients, add the juice and cranberries and mix roughly.

5) Spoon into muffin cases and add to a muffin tin, sprinkling some extra seeds onto the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the tops begin to colour and a skewer inserted to the middle cupcake comes out clean.

Peanut butter & honey fudge

Ingredients 100g butter, 475g muscovado sugar 125ml milk, 200g peanut butter (I used Whole Earth 3 nut butter), 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 400g icing sugar, 3 tbsp honey.

Serves: like, an army Preparation: 10 minutes plus chilling time

Fudge is just one of those things which is good in small doses... yet in order to make it one must make an awful lot of it. Even with the addition of peanut butter to cut the intense sweetness, this is still awfully rich. Therefore in the run up to Christmas - why not make some treats for the people that you love?

1) Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the muscovado sugar. Once it has melted completely, add the milk and bring to a rolling boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

2) Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, vanilla essence and honey.

3) Fill a bowl with the icing sugar and pour in the fudge mixture. Beat until all of the icing sugar has melted, then pour into a baking dish and chill in the fridge until firm before cutting into squares.

Panzanella

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

Preparation: 5 minutes

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Roast peppers with lavender goats cheese

Ingredients 1 Bell pepper, lavender goats cheese, lavender vinaigrette, spinach, rocket, watercress

Serves: 2 preparation: 30 minutes

This recipe uses two of my recent lavender recipes - lavender goats cheese and lavender vinaigrette. It might sound like a whole lot of lavender... but you can never have too much. This is absolutely delicious, and such a lovely twist of the classic roast pepper and goats cheese combination.

1) Slice the tops from your bell peppers, remove the core and seeds, then slice between the membranes to leave 3 or 4 slices of pepper flesh. Discard the core, seeds and membranes. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

2) Top a slice of bread with the roast pepper, and add the lavender goats cheese balls. Roast in the oven for a further 5 minutes, then dress with the salad and eat hot.

Lavender vinaigrette

Ingredients 1 tsp grainy mustard, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp lavender, 1 tsp honey (or agave syrup)

Serves: 4 Preparation: 5 minutes

It's no secret that I love lavender, or that this Provençal glory features heavily in my cooking. The vinaigrette is one of the best loved French influences and adding lavender and lemon in place of herbs and vinegar gives this a really wonderful twist. Perfect with peppery salad leaves like rocket and watercress.

1) Add the honey into the lemon juice and whisk together - the fruit acid should help even crystallised honey break down and integrate well.

2) Grind the dried lavender in a mortar and pestle and add to the honey and lemon along with the olive oil and whisk thoroughly.

3) Toss your salad leaves in the dressing and serve.

Lavender madeleines

Ingredients 105g flour, 70g butter, 1 tsp lavender, 2 eggs, 65g sugar, 1 tbsp honey (I used lavender honey), 1 tsp vanilla essence,½ tsp baking powder

Makes: 12 preparation: 2 - 4 hours

It's no secret that lavender is one of my favourite ingredients - whether used in sweet or savoury cooking it never fails to impress. Madeleines are a best beloved treat from my childhood - summers in France with these elegant little shells melting in the mouth. I have always loved to make them and especially loved to eat them. Adding lavender adds a more exotic twist to bring out the vanilla in these perfect, sweet sponges.

1) Add the lavender and butter to a milk pan, allowing it to melt slowly and infuse the butter with the maximum flavour. Add in the honey and stir through.

2) Whisk together the eggs, sugar and vanilla for 2-4 minutes until the mixture is pale and just beginning to stiffen.

3) Sift together the flour and baking powder, then fold with a spatula into the eggs. Once combined add in the flavoured butter.

4) Put the mixture into the fridge to rest for an absolute minimum of one hour. For best results leave for 3 hours, but this can be kept overnight if you are preparing for guests.

5) Rub a light layer of butter onto your madeleine pan, then using a tablespoon scoop a quenelle sized portion of batter into each shell dip. Some people recommend to use a piping bag - personally I feel that madeleine batter shouldn't be handled any more than you can help, otherwise they lose the lightness so I would advise using a spoon.

6) Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 12 minutes. If you're able to watch them bake through the oven door this will help you to learn whether your batter has been over handled or the moulds have been overfilled. The heat will initially cause the batter to settle into the mould but it should never spill out at the sides enough for the madeleines to touch. It should quickly bubble up into the classic "humped" shape without the centre breaking the bump like a volcano.

The madeleines should slide straight out of the mould and have a light, springy texture with slightly crispy edges. They're best eaten immediately, otherwise the sponge becomes denser.

Honey & pumpkin frozen yoghurt

Ingredients Rachel's organic Greek yoghurt with honey, 1 pumpkin, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp brown sugar.

Makes: 1L preparation: 4 hours

I must admit, I have never been a fan of frozen yoghurt. I love yoghurt, adore it in fact - as you've probably noticed, I cook with it a lot! But ice-cream is an indulgent, creamy affair - not a healthy virtuous experience!
Since becoming pregnant, I have been even more conscious about what I eat, and a craving for something chilled and sweet shouldn't mean that I pile on the pounds, and thus - my attitude to frozen yoghurt changed.
This is fabulously creamy and has a fabulous Autumnal flavour. It's perfect served with my ginger & pumpkin tarts.

1) 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.

2) Transfer the pumpkin to an ovenproof dish with a lid, and add the spices and sugar. Shake with the lid on to coat the pumpkin, and roast in the oven with the lid on for an hour. The trick to roasting it with the lid on, is that you retain every bit of the pumpkin juices and flavour.

3) Puree the spiced pumpkin in a blender (or by mashing thoroughly), and allow to cool.

4) Whisk the yoghurt in with 100g of the pumpkin and put in the freezer. (if you cannot get hold of 

5) Every 3 minutes for 2 hours, whisk the pumpkin yoghurt to ensure that linear ice-crystals do not form. After 3 hours, this should be completely frozen and ready to eat.

Lavender & honey ice-cream

Ingredients     550ml whole milk, 30g skimmed milk powder, 4 egg yolks, 50g caster sugar, 50g honey, 1/3 cup lavender

Makes: 1 pint ice-cream Preparation: 2 hours (plus freezing time)

This is one of the most sinfully rich, creamy, ice-creams I have ever eaten. It's something I make about once a year and eat sparingly, one mouthwatering scoop at a time with sweet fruit such as strawberries or a lemon tart. It takes quite a bit of effort because this is a recipe for hand-made ice-cream. If you have an ice-cream maker then omit the skimmed milk powder and use just 2 eggs.

1) Pour the milk into a pan and add the lavender, the skimmed milk powder and honey. Whisk as you bring it to the boil, then turn down the heat and allow to gentle simmer for 5 minutes before taking off the heat.

2) Add the egg yolks and sugar to a bowl and whisk for about 10 minutes until the mixture has doubled in volume and the colour has paled.

3) Strain the lavender from the milk, then set the bowl of egg yolks into a bowl of ice-water and pour in the milk mixture, whisking through until it is fully incorporated.

4) Return to the pan and cook on a low heat, stirring continuously, until it has thickened enough for you to draw a line through it with a spoon.

5) Scrape the custard back into the bowl over the ice-water with a spatula and leave to rest until it has cooled. Transfer to a tupperware box and put in the fridge for 4 hours.

6) Remove from the fridge and stir thoroughly, then freeze for 30 minutes.

7) Remove from the freezer and stir thoroughly with a fork. Return to the freezer but repeat this stage twice, after 30 minute intervals before leaving to freeze completely.

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.

Banana pancakes

Ingredients    2 very ripe bananas, 1 cup plain flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp honey, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup crushed pecan nuts, 1/2 cup milk

Serves: 6 (Scotch pancake style) 12 (crepe style) Preparation: 40 minutes


I'm going to deviate away from culinary references here and turn to the world of music. Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes is one of my favourite of his songs and every time I hear it it gets stuck in my head and I have an overwhelming compulsion to make banana pancakes. These work best in my opinion as a thick stack of scotch pancakes, drizzled with honey but The Boy demolished them before I could take a picture! So here's a crepe style made with the dregs of batter... 


1) Whisk the eggs with the milk, honey and vegetable oil and pour over the dry ingredients, whisking until they are combined.


2) Blend or mash the banana and add to the batter until incorporated. Leave the batter to rest for at least 30 minutes and then stir through.


3) Heat a non-stick frying pan until very hot, then add a small knob of butter. Pour in one ladle of batter (if you want crepes, quickly turn the pan off the heat to coat the base evenly with the batter, then return to the job) 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!

4) 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!

5) Once the pancake has cooked on both sides, serve with a drizzle of honey

Olive & tomato pasta

Ingredients    kamalata olives, baby plum     tomatoes, mozarella pearls, honey, basil oil, peas, linguine

Serves: 2 Preparation: 15 minutes


I know that my cooking seems to be absurdly diverse, but you may notice that there is a distinct pattern to my posts. Almost every flavour combination that I discover winds up being tossed with pasta when I have leftovers - I should change the name of this blog to Everything Goes With Pasta! When I made the  tomato and olive bruschetta earlier this week, I knew exactly how the remaining tapenade-like mixture would meet its fate though it did give me pause. When I was a child there was a trend in the post-Thatcher days to mix peas and sweetcorn with EVERYTHING to bulk out a spaghetti bolognaise or some rice and quite honestly I see peas mixed with a tomato-based sauce and want to run screaming from the room with a petulant "not again mummy!". The truth is that peas do go so wonderfully with pasta because the freshness cuts through a heavy cheese based sauce. In this cause I'm using cheese with the peas as a method to cut through the heavy olive-based sauce - mozarella pearls are wonderful here.



1) Put the linguine on to boil. A smooth linguine will take 8 - 10 minutes in salted water, if the linguine is dusted with polenta it will more likely take 11-12 minutes to become soft and pliable.


2) Add the peas during the last 2 minutes (if cooking from frozen - if cooking with shelled peas, 5-7 minutes should do, once they turn colour you only need another minute).


3) Once the pasta has been cooked (either taste a strand, or chuck it at the wall - if it sticks, it's done!), strain and toss in a pan with a few spoons of the remaining olive and tomato sauce and some mozarella pearls. Warm through in the pan, stirring continually until the pasta has become coated.


And serve!

Olive & goats cheese linguine

Ingredients Fine beans, goats cheese, kamalata olives, honey, linguine

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes


I know that my cooking seems to be absurdly diverse, but you may notice that there is a distinct pattern to my posts. Almost every flavour combination that I discover winds up being tossed with pasta when I have leftovers - I should change the name of this blog to Everything Goes With Pasta! When I made the  goats cheese and olive bruschetta earlier this week, I knew exactly how the remaining tapenade-like mixture would meet its fate and truly, combined with the freshness of fine beans this really was a superb dish.


1) Put the linguine on to boil. A smooth linguine will take 8 - 10 minutes in salted water, if the linguine is dusted with polenta it will more likely take 11-12 minutes to become soft and pliable.


2) Trim the ends from the fine beans and put them on to boil for 6 minutes, then strain and plunge them into ice water.


3) Once the pasta has been cooked (either taste a strand, or chuck it at the wall - if it sticks, it's done!), strain and toss in a pan with the beans and a few spoons of the remaining olive and goats cheese sauce. Warm through in the pan, stirring continually until the pasta has become coated.


I like to serve this with a little extra goats cheese crumbled on top but this is purely gluttony, the dish doesn't require any extra cheese - it's gorgeous with a little balsamic glaze drizzled over it too.

Olive & goats cheese bruschetta

Ingredients Ciabatta, 50g kamalata olives, 100g goats cheese, honey, cucumber.

Preparation: 15 minutes

I love olives - they're so mouthwateringly rich and seductive and can add a fantastic umami quality to your cooking. This bruschetta is a sinfully scrumptious quick snack made stunning with the fresh crunch of cucumber. Got leftovers? Try tossing it with fine beans and linguine.

1) Pit your olives (I never recommend buying pre-pitted olives. They are either rubberized with brine or the flavour and texture has been compromised with oxidisation. Eat them off the stones and they will melt in your mouth) and discard the stones - if you don't have a pitter, you can slice them with a knife and squeeze until the pit pops out.

2) Put the olives and 3/4 of the goats cheese in a blender and pulse through. Taste and then add honey to taste. The salty savoury flavour of the olives and cheese should be prevalent but the creamy delicacy of the cheese is lost without a little sweetness to bring out the citrus notes.

3) Slice the ciabatta and toast on one side (I like to brush with a very little basil oil and then press onto a hot, dry frying pan rather than grill as the bread will retain enough moisture to withstand the grilling that follows)

4) Spread the olive and cheese mixture onto the untoasted side of the bread, crumble the extre goats cheese onto the top and grill for 2-3 minutes. Serve with diced cucumber to cut through the richness.

Olive & tomato bruschetta

Ingredients Ciabatta loaf, 100g kamalata olives, basil oil, 200g baby plum tomatoes, honey.

Preparation: 15 minutes

I love olives - they're so mouthwateringly rich and seductive and can add a fantastic umami quality to your cooking. This bruschetta is one of my favourite quick snacks. Got leftovers? Try tossing it with peas, mozzarella and linguine.

1) Pit your olives (I never recommend buying pre-pitted olives. They are either rubberized with brine or the flavour and texture has been compromised with oxidisation. Eat them off the stones and they will melt in your mouth) and discard the stones - if you don't have a pitter, you can slice them with a knife and squeeze until the pit pops out.

2) Slice the tomatoes in half and then scoop out the core and seeds. You don't need to be too precious about it, the odd seed won't matter but for this dish we need the concentrated flavour of the tomato (the flesh) and not have the texture and flavour diluted by the acidic juices. Discard the core and seeds.

3) Put the olives and tomatoes in a blender and pulse through. Taste and then add basil oil and honey to taste. The salty savoury flavour of the olives should be prevalent but the sweetness of the tomatoes and honey should also come through.

4) Slice the ciabatta and toast on one side (I like to brush with a very little basil oil and then press onto a hot, dry frying pan rather than grill as the bread will retain enough moisture to withstand the grilling that follows)

5) Spread the olive and tomato mixture onto the untoasted side of the bread and grill for 2-3 minutes. It's entirely up to you if you wish to add cheese to this - personally I like to add a few mozarella pearls to cut through the richness.