Apple, Thyme & Marzipan Tart (heaven and easy!!!)

I can't claim that this was a carefully thought-out creation, it was actually a random mix resulting from my 'moving-house-soon' cupboard and freezer leftovers. The apple and thyme work really well together though and the marzipan adds a lovely sweetness to the whole thing. So it has been a successful experiment.

I've made this twice now in the space of a week and it will definitely become one of my dessert standbys. I always have the ingredients stashed away, so if you drop in for dinner in the new house of feedahappy life soon, this might be served!!

The tart is really simple to make. You can prepare, bake and have it on the table in 25 minutes.

I've made mine as individual tarts, but I quite like the idea of making a giant one and bringing it out to the middle of the table either sliced into generous portions or letting guests attack at will!! Competitive dessert eating may not bring out the best qualities of your friends though!!

On the marzipan front, I had a block in the cupboard, which I rolled to the required shape for this, Ready rolled marzipan will make this easier though, particularly if you're making one large one.

Apple, Thyme and Marzipan Tart (serves 6)

• 3 medium-sized, sweet apples (I used Pink Ladies), sliced thinly
• Block of marzipan
• Sheet of ready rolled puff-pastry
• handful of thyme sprigs
• 2 tbsp apricot jam (optional)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c

Step 2: Roll out pastry and placed on lightly greased baking sheet

Step 3: Cut into required portions (one sheet should make 6 rectangular tarts)

Step 4: Roll out your marzipan to fit inside the filo rectangles (leaving a 1cm gap between the pastry and marzipan edge)

Step 5: Lay the sliced apples on top of each other to cover the marzipan. Melt the jam in the microwave for 1 minute and brush over the apples (this acts as a glaze)

Step 6: Sprinkle over the thyme leaves

Step 7: Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden

Step 8: Serve warm with cream

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Use your loaf (a selection of sweet & savoury loaf cakes!)

I've been having a little bit of a loaf cake obsession lately.

A good chunk of cake is such a welcoming sight for me. Loaf cakes are pretty fail safe too - rarely suffering from the sinking middle of a more sensitive sponge - and really flexible on the ingredient front. Simply take a base recipe, throw in your favourite ingredients and off you go! If your additions sink a little too much to the bottom of the cake, it merely adds to the forgivable, rustic charm. The additions I'm sharing with you here are:

• Savoury pesto, pine nut and goats cheese
• Chocolate, vanilla and pear
• Date and walnut

Clearly, loaf cakes are more appropriate to serve at a lunchtime or informal gathering (perfect picnic cake) and will never engender the "oohs" and "ahhs" of a more sophisticated, efforty creation. But, when you want the house to smell of baking heaven and a slice of comforting sweetness on a plate in 60 minutes, loaf cake is the way to go.

It's also a good back-up freezer cake too. Bake it, let it cool, slice and freeze and you'll always have standby cake for when you really don't have the time to be the model of domesticity!

I'm moving house soon and have frozen some lemon loaf cake, so the first thing my partner and I can eat, amidst boxes, mess and delirium is a wedge of soft sponge and a mug of warming tea....perfect!

Loaf Cake Base Recipe

• 2tsps baking powder
• 150g plain flour
• 100g soft butter
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 150g caster sugar

Savory Pesto, Pine Nut & Goats Cheese

For this recipe, reduce the sugar to 50g and add the follow ingredients:

• 2 tbsp pesto (green)
• 100g goats cheese (a smooth, crumbly one works best)
• 100g pine nuts
• seasoning

Step 1: Preheat oven to 160c

Step 2: Mix all base ingredients together

Step 2: Crumble in goats cheese and seasoning. Stir through pesto gently to create swirls

Step 3: Pour into a medium sized, greased loaf tin and pour over the pine nuts to cover the top

Step 4: Bake in the oven for 50 - 60 minutes (place a knife or skewer through the centre, if it comes out with mix sticking to it, leave for another 10 minutes. Repeat until knife/skewer comes out clean)

Step 5: Leave to cool for 30 minutes and then tip out, slice and serve!


Chocolate, Pear & Vanilla

For this recipe, add the following to the base ingredients:

• 200g canned pears, drained and chopped (I had a rather posh jar someone had bought for me, but canned pears are just as good!)
• 2 tbsp best cocoa powder
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 20g plain flour

Step 1: Preheat oven to 160c

Step 2: Add the extra flour, cocoa powder and vanilla essence to you base mix and stir until all are combined and a smooth batter forms

Step 3: Stir through your pears

Step 4: Pour into a greased, medium sized loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes (follow above instructions regarding how to check when it's properly cooked)

Step 5: Leave to cool for 30 minutes, slice and serve!

Date & Walnut

Add the following to your base recipe:

• 150g chopped walnuts
• 150g chopped dates

Step 1: Preheat oven to 160c

Step 2: Mix together base ingredients and stir through nuts and walnuts

Step 3: Pour into greased, medium sized loaf tin

Step 4: Bake in oven for 50-60 minutes (follow above instructions to check when fully cooked)

Step 5: Remove from oven, cool, slice and serve!

Hope you enjoy!
Helen x

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My new favourite risotto...(beetroot, broad bean, goats cheese and lemon!)

Risotto often features in the house of feedahappylife.

A long day at work, is soon forgotten with 20 minutes of slow stirring and wine quaffing. I enter some kind relaxing trance, while grains glisten and bubble and herby scents rise up and sooth (reading that back, it sounds like a description of a Radox bath - forgive me...).

Until now I have favoured two risottos; a delightful chorizo concoction, with silky, smoky paprika oil running through the creamy bed of rice and a sweet potato, Gorgonzola and pancetta risotto (inspired by Piccolino's version, which has now been taken off the menu - it's a crime!).

However, there is quite a lot of risotto snobbery around. The grains have to be just right, not sticky and not too al dente. The sauce has to be smooth and rich but not gloopy and cloying. The flavours have to be multiple and complementary etc.. etc... Most of the time I ignore this, but sometimes I see a recipe where I think the effort will pay off....

I can't lay claim to this recipe -  it's from Delicious. I also can't tell you it's quick - there is a good 90 minutes of effort required here. However, I can tell you that this is the nicest risotto I've ever had! Providing you like the flavours of sweet earthy beetroot, paired with the piquancy of goats cheese and the tartness of lemon, I promise that you'll love this!

Beetroot risotto with broad beans, goats cheese and lemon thyme oil

Serves 4

• 100ml olive oil
• 1/2 lemon (zest and juice)
• thyme sprigs
• 500g beetroot (buy vacuum packs)
• 1.3 ltrs vegetable stock
• 5 small shallots (finely chopped)
• 3 garlic cloves (crushed or use puree)
• 300g risotto rice
• 120ml red wine
• 200g broad beans
• 120g goats cheese
• Seasoning

Step 1: Make your dressing my mixing 3/4 of your oil, with the thyme sprigs and lemon juice and zest. Stir it all together and put to one side

Step 2: Dice your beetroot into 1 cm cubes, toss with 1tbsp of your remaining oil, season and roast in an over (160c/GM4) for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Remove half of the roasted beetroot and puree it with 400ml of your stock. Pass your beetroot liquid through a sieve and then add to the remaining stock in a saucepan. Boil then simmer for a few minutes, before turning off the heat and putting to one side

Step 4: Return the remaining cubed beetroot to the oven and roast until caramelised (about another 15 minutes)

Step 5: Heat remaining oil in a pan and add the chopped shallots. Saute with the garlic for 5 minutes before adding the rice. Coat and cook the rice for about 2 minutes before adding the wine. Allow the wine to simmer and for the rice to absorb.

Step 6: Add a ladle full of beetroot broth at a time, stirring until it has been absorbed before adding the next. It'll take about 20 minutes of doing this before your broth is used and your rice perfectly cooked.

Step 7: Stir through the remaining roasted beetroot

Step 8: Boil your shelled broad beans for 3 minutes (ensure tough skins are removed - you can use frozen for ease!)

Step 9: Place a serving of risotto on a warmed plate. Scatter over the broad beans and crumble the goats cheese. Carefully pour the lemon thyme oil over the top and serve.

I know it's quite a lot of effort, but it's really worth it! Some pan fried pancetta would also work nicely in this too........

Hope you enjoy!
Helen x

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Gourmet salad for summer loving!

I would appear to be one of the few people who gets excited about salads.

For many people, salads are a superfluous plate dressing not made to touch the fork. To some, they have been tainted with all things 'diet' related or even considered a bit girly to be ordered for fear of mockery (applies to boys!).

To me, a good salad is a pleasure to view and to eat and one of my favourite meals.My perfect salads are not about low calorie and they are certainly not all vegetable. They are about taste, texture and creativity. If I was ever to write a recipe book, I think this would be what I'd focus on and it's generally what people ask me to make if there is a gathering!

Two of my favourite salads are:

• Roasted sweet potato, butter bean, chorizo and spinach
• Pan-fried courgette, balsamic raisin and toasted pine nut

Given I have a glut of courgette to get through (blog entry - the biggest courgette....ever) I've shared the latter with you below. This is such a lovely salad; sweet, tangy, crunchy and fresh. It's perfect on it's own or as a side. The courgettes can easily be grilled, making this a great BBQ dish too.

Courgette, balsamic raisin and toasted pine nut salad (serves 4)

Ingredients

• 2 medium courgettes
• 100g raisin
• 75ml balsamic vinegar
• 50g pine nuts
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• Olive oil
• Seasoning

Step 1: Slice your courgettes into chunky strips

Step 2: Heat a glug of olive oil in a frying pan (or griddle pan) and add the courgette. Turn after 2 minutes and repeat until both sides are slightly browned but the courgette is still firm. Put to one side to cool

Step 3: Add balsamic and raisins to a saucepan and heat rapidly until all the balsamic is absorbed. Turn off heat and put to one side to cool.

Step 4: Add the pine nuts to a dry frying pan and heat gently for 2-3 minutes (be very careful they don't burn) - put in a dish when they are toasted to prevent them continuing to cook

Step 5: Assemble dish. Add courgette to plate and scatter over raisins and pine nuts. Squeeze over lemon juice, season and serve

I hope I can convince you that salads are more than rabbit food!!
Helen x

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Strawberries, cream and crunch!

British strawberry season is in full swing and supermarkets are bursting with half-price berries. I often grab these berry-bargains, only to get home and think what do I do with them?!

They generally end-up in muesli or fruit salad, missing out on their dessert potential.

Strawberries are a pretty unique fruit...

• the only fruit with seeds on the outside (200 on average)
• a member of the rose family
• used in medieval times to symbolise purity and prosperity
• splitting a double strawberry and sharing it with someone from the opposite sex will make them fall in love with you for life (I think this may be folk lore!!)

..given this, they really do deserve special treatment some times, and this dish is for those times! I've chosen to serve my strawberries with ice cream and black pepper shortbread. The warmth of the pepper complements the flavours and the mix of textures is a nice touch too.

Once you've made the shortbread (which you can do 24 hours in advance), it's quick and easy to plate this up. Great for a summer dessert in the garden. If you're feeling really adventurous, you can make your own ice cream too, but on this occasion I've gone for shop bought...

Strawberry, Ice Cream and Black Pepper Shortbread (Serves 4)

Peppered Shortbread

• 60g plain flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp all spice
• pinch of salt
• 30g butter
• 25g sugar
• 10ml double cream
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Filling

• Strawberry Ice Cream (I used Carte D'or Strawberry Delice - low fat!)
• Strawberries (sliced - about 3 strawberries per serving needed)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 160c

Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar in a food mixer


Step 3: Mix flour, bicarbonate, baking powder, pepper, salt and allspice in a bowl

Step 4: Add cream and butter mix to dry ingredients and mix to form a dough

Step 5: Roll into a log, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes

Step 6: After chilling time, roll out onto a lightly floured surface about 0.5cm thick. Use a pastry cutter to create 8 rounds

Step 7: Place the shortbread onto a lined baking tray in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool

Step 8: Assemble dessert. Take one shortbread and scoop the ice cream on top. Sandwich together with a round of shortbread on top and place the sliced strawberries around the edge

The final step is a little fiddly and you'll need to move quickly to stop the ice cream melting. I'll be making this lots moving until the strawberry season is done!

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli

There are so many factors that come into play when deciding whether to cook a dish or buy a dish ready made....Have I got the time? How much does it cost to buy? How much time will it take me to prepare? Is there really going to be a noticeable difference between the bought and made dish?.....

I think that, when faced with these questions, there are a few core staples that often get the 'buy' rather than 'make' decision. For me, there are:

• Pastry (I'm still not very good at this!)
• Bread (so much kneading and proving and waiting etc...)
• Pasta (so much equipment required and so many nice, ready made choices

However, I have learnt that when you tackle these and take on their challenge, they seem to generate happiness in abundance for you and for others. Part pride and part amazement that you can pull it off, the feeling they generate ensures that the occasional 'make' decision for these pays off.

Pasta has been the one I've avoided for some time, assuming you need so much equipment to do it. So, I bought the equipment (the pasta maker, ravioli mould etc...) and actually found that it worked better when I just used a rolling pin and my fingers! A food mixer with a dough hook will make the kneading stage considerably easier, but it's by no means a requirement. You'll just have to get your arm muscles ready otherwise...

I made pumpkin and sweet potato ravioli (inspired by a Rick Stein recipe), but once you've cracked it, you can play around with the fillings to your hearts delight! I fancy making a goats cheese and pesto filling next time.....

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter (serves 4 as a starter)

Pasta

• 225g plain flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp olive oil
• 2 medium eggs
• 4 medium eggs, yolks only

Filling

• 300g pumpkin and sweet potato mix (I used Sainsbury's prepared bag)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (grind lightly in pestle and mortar)
• 1 medium egg, yolk only
• 25g Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 amaretti biscuits (crushed)
• 15g fresh white breadcrumbs
• seasoning

Sage Butter

• 75g salted butter
• 20 sage leaves

Step 1: Preheat oven to 200c/GM 6. Spread the pumpkin and sweet potato in a even layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes

Step 2: Whilst vegetables are roasting, make the pasta. In a large bowl (or food mixer bowl) add all the pasta ingredients and mix together. Then you'll need to knead. If you have a dough hook, attach to mixer and let it do it's thing for 10 minutes. If you haven't, flour your surface and knead for 10 minutes. Essentially you need to create a pliable, elastic dough.

Step 3: Wrap your pasta dough in cling-film and rest for 20 minutes

Step 4: Remove your roasted vegetables and puree them (either with a blender stick or the back of a fork). Add to the vegetables all of the remaining filling ingredients and stir through to combine

Step 5: If you have a pasta machine, divide your dough into manageable pieces and feed through the machine (you'll need to work it down to setting number 2 for ravioli). If you've not got a machine, don't worry! Just take small pieces of pasta and roll them into a thin disk on a lightly floured surface
Step 6: Cut the pasta into squares (about 8cm squared - but you don't need to be too exact!) and add a tsp of the filling in the middle

Step 7: Fold the pasta over the filling so all the sides meet. Squeeze out any air and press the sides together to seal them (you may need to add a little water to the edge with your finger if it's not sticking). Repeat until all of your filling has been used (should make about 16).

Step 8: Boil a saucepan of salted water and reduce to a simmer. Gently place your ravioli into the water and cook for about 4 minutes

Step 9: Whilst the ravioli is cooking, make your sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan on a high heat. Add the sage leaves to fry in the butter (the butter should start to foam). Remove from the heat.

Step 10: Drain you ravioli and place on warmed dishes. Pour over your sage butter and serve.

So there you have it. Fresh pasta, straight from your kitchen! Realistically, this takes a least 1 hour to prepare, so I think it's more of a special occasion dish...on week nights I'll revert to the ready made option!

Top Tips

• There are a few tools you can invest in if you want to create less rustic ravioli....

....Lakeland Ravioli Press (around £14)...

...Pastry Wheel (about £22)...

• A pasta maker will be a good investment if you want to make lasagna sheets, spaghetti etc.. You can get manual or automatic ones...Honestly though, I think you need to make pasta quite a lot to justify the investment

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Potentially calorie neutral cakes?!

I wrote a few weeks ago that I was still trying to find my food love. It’s funny the amount of time I spend thinking, eating, cooking and writing about food that there isn’t one thing that comes to the fore.

When I look at a lot of the things I’ve been blogging about, the common theme appears to be vegetable dishes (e.g. Moroccan Vegetable Stew, Pea Soup) and cakes (e.g. Umbongo Cake, Afternoon Tea). I think I may subconsciously be off-setting cake calories with vegetable consumption! Seriously though, these are the things that time and time again I will cook for myself and others.

I love the freshness of vegetables and the ability to take an ingredient, that people regard as a side dish or force themselves to include in meals, and make something really delicious out of it. There is such variety that the recipe opportunities are never ending. With so many vegetables that I’m yet to cook (Samphire, Kohlrabi, Plantain to name but a few), there is some always something new around the corner willing me to experiment.

…and then there are cakes! Beautiful, moist, exciting, show-offy cakes! It’s oven-alchemy the way that a simple batter mix of flour, sugar, butter and eggs can be transformed into a golden sponge, filling the house with the smell of domesticity and a sense of safety and warmth. Most of my stresses can be soothed with a cup of tea and a slice of my favourite lemon cake (as featured in the Spring Feasting entry).

This led me to thinking about vegetables in cakes… I’ve seen some lovely recipes for chocolate and beetroot cake, pumpkin pie and of course the inimitable carrot cake but I’ve not really dabbled with them. Time to rectify things and combine my loves into easy, edible delights.

I decided to take my fail safe muffin recipe and experiment with the contents of my cupboard and vegetable basket….with the results as follows:

• Beetroot and Orange
• Courgette and Lemon
• Carrot & Nutty Nutmeg

I’m very happy with the results, particularly the carrot mix, and could happily scoff my way through the whole lot! I have a theory (this is grounded in no scientific fact and quite illogical), that the vegetable content offsets the calorie content, thus making thus a calorie neutral cake...so scoff away!

All of these can be happily enhanced with a flavoured cream cheese topping (see below) for a more elegant finish or just served as is!

....topping made from cream cheese and icing sugar....

Muffin Mix (makes 18)

• 350g plain flour
• 200g granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs (beaten)
• 120ml milk
• 120ml plain yoghurt
• 115g butter (melted)

Beetroot and Orange Mix

• 100g grated beetroot
• 1 Orange (zested and juiced - only 1/2 juice will be needed)

Lemon and Courgette Mix

• 100g grated courgette
• 1 Lemon (zested and juiced)

 

Carrot and Nutty Nutmeg Mix

• 100g grated carrot
• 50g mixed nuts (roughly chopped)
• 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Step 1: Combine all muffin ingredients into a large bowl (do not over mix - it should be a little lumpy)

Step 2: Add the ingredients for your chosen flavoured muffin and stir through

Step 3: Pour mix into muffin cases (use paper cases or squares of baking parchment), fill 2/3 full and place into oven 190c/GM 5 for 20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch

Step 4: Remove and leave to cool before serving or icing

 

...Courgette and Lemon Muffins served warm with Greek Yoghurt...

 
Hope you enjoy this way of getting to your five a day!
Helen x

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