I had cake and ravioli for breakfast

Parma ham and goats cheese ravioli with chorizo basil infused oil

Well, after waking up to lemon drizzle cake, it felt totally natural to follow (pre coffee) with some impromptu ravioli. Cooked coats cheese is one of the most srcummiest (salty, smooth and rich) of tastes, and squashed all up with parma ham and basil, it becomes one helluva a bite. As the goats cheese cooks inside the ravioli, some of the creaminess oozes out and coats the outside of the pasta with a slightly glossy salty film. Garnish with chorizo oil // its melt in the mouth moreish.

A few sheets of fresh egg lasange sheets
150g of goats cheese (sliced into 10p piece sizes)
4 slcies of parma ham
30g grated parmean
100g chopped basil
1 (really hot red chilli) finely chopped
1 egg yolk (to make em stick)

Infused oil
Chorizo 50 g (diced)
1 clove garlic
1/2 red chili
20g fresh basil

Cut the lasagna sheet into 2inch x 2inch squares (average). Put a little bit of goats cheese in the centre, a little parma ham, squash in a little basil and chili, sprinkle with Parmesan - put a little egg yolk around the edge, place its twin square on top and press down hard (put some egg yolk around the edge as well. Keep pressing down. Add to boiling water (boil for 5 -6 mins). Plate up - heat extra virgin olive oil, add chili garlic, chorizo (30 seconds) - add another splash of ex vi. ol. oil and spoon on top of the pasta. Top with Parmesan.

My favourite food

Home baked Lasagna

Needs no introduction? 

Tomato Mince
1 onion (finely chopped)
3 cloves of garlic

500g mince
1 glass of red wine
1 cup of beef stock
2 tbsp of tomato puree (and then some)
6 drops of Tabasco
Some dried chillies / chili powder
handful of chopped chorizo
handful of fresh oregano

handful of fresh basil
few sprigs of rosemary
2 tins of chopped tomatoes

White sauce
100g plain four
100g butter
1 pint of milk

200g chedder cheese and 100g parmesan for layers

Saute the onions and garlic (5mins) add the chorizo and a glug of red wine (2mins) - remove chorizo / onion mix and place in a bowl for later. Add another chopped garlic clove to the hot pan, and a little of the stock and a little of the red wine. Add the mince (1 min) add the rest of the stock and red wine. The stock will reduce so dont worry if it looks watery. Add the tomatoe puree, Tabasco, oregano, basil and rosemary. Add the pre cooked chorizo to the mix and the tins of tomatoes. Let it simmer for 20mins or so. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make the white sauce - heat butter in pan, whisk in the flour, gradually add the milk to the mix taking it off and on the heat as needed (dont let it get too hot or it goes lumpy). Layer up lasange with lots of cheese.

I got all deluded by food

Roasted cauliflower with baked goats cheese and basil pesto

April is being a real joy, what with all this faux summer sun - this roasted cauliflower dish gives Mediterranean loveliness with fresh pesto everywhere you smell - and has that blindfolded subconscious effect of making you think it might not really be a Wednesday. Delish mid week supper // also would be yum as a chilled salad on a Saturday.

1 head of cauliflower
3 cloves of garlic
couple of splashes of ex.vi.olive oil
a few bands of chopped leek
300g of mild goats cheese

handful of little tomatoes

For the pesto

handful of fresh basil leaves
4 - 6 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
handful of grated Parmesan cheese
squeeze of lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
2 tblsp of chicken stock

Turn oven on to gas mark 6, splash baking tray with olive oil and put in oven. Chop the cauliflower into little florets, crush garlic and chop leeks add to the hot oil on baking tray. Roast for 15mins - add the little tomatoes - roast for a further 10 / 15 mins. Make pesto by blending all the ingredients. Pour the pesto over the roasted cauliflower, top with crumbly goats cheese and salt and pepper and grill until perfection (6-8mins/ish).

Buns are Holy

Hot Cross Buns (makes 16)

Driven to food distraction by numbers, these little hot cakes make your house smell all snug and tradition'y. They are sweet and sticky on the outside with lovely soft buttery lightness that goes real nice with cheese and cups of tea.

270mls milk
2 cloves
2tsp Cinnamon
1tsp of all spice
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
pinch of saffron

450g Strong white bread flour
100g butter (cubed)

1tsp salt

20g caster sugar

3 eggs

10g or 1 sachet of yeast (follow directions)

120g currents or raisins

For the crosses

3 tblsp of flour + some water to make a paste. 

some icing sugar and a paintbrush (small and fine)

Put the milk and spices in a pan and scald. Turn off the heat and leave milky spice mix to infuse for a while. Rub the butter into the flour. Add the salt and sugar and yeast (mix with some warm water to activate). Make a well in the middle, add 2 beaten eggs and gradually add the milk mix until you have a soft dough. Knead for 10 mins. Cover and leave somewhere warm for 1 hour (until doubled in size). Knead a wee bit, then stretch out on a work surface and add the currents / raisins. Kneed in so they distribute. Divide into 16.  Put on baking tray. Leave to double in size for a bit. Use  knife and mark a cross on the buns - brush with beaten egg - paint the cross on with flour paste. Place in the oven gas mark 5/6 for 25mins. Mix a little sugar with water and brush each bun - using a fine paintbrush paint the crosses with icing sugar.

I created a Monster

Bitter chocolate and orange cream cheese ganache tartlets 

Mmmmmm. Torn between cheesecake and tart, some delicious half breed was formed. These little digestive based tarts are simple and bitter sweet, the gooey orange pangs fumigate you mouth while the silky chocolate / cream cheese ganache squeezes your face into that mmmmm with squinty eyed happiness expression. N.b. not helpful for waistlines.

Base
150g dark chocolate digestives
100g salted butter

Cream part
200g cream cheese
2 oranges (squeezed)
30g icing sugar

Choc pot
100g dark chocolate (min 52% coco)
150g salted butter
50g light brown muscovado sugar
1 orange squeezed
2 eggs (beaten)

Melt the butter and combine with the crumbled biscuits (blend them or beat them with a rolling pin) to make the base. Grease the inside of 6 ramekin's with butter. Add digestive base to each and press down hard. Place in the friezed for 10mins to set. In a bowl, add all the cream part and whisk. On the heat add the butter and the chocolate (cubed), allow to melt. Add the juice of 1 orange and the sugar. In a separate pan, heat the cream part until it just simmers. Add the beaten eggs to this. Fold this into the melted choc pot pan. Pour this mix on top of your base into your ramekin's. Put in the over for 18 - 22 mins at gas mark 5 / 6. When you remove the centre should be the only bit that giggles.

I'd swap my eye for a pizza pie (well i'd get greasy cheese in it)

Goats cheese, basil pesto and sweet roasted pepper pizza (makes 2 pizzas)

Auk for crying out loud, the joys of electricity and an oven have only gone made pizza perfection. The light, crispy base is the source of the woops and yeahs and oos and ahhs - extra fine candian strong flour - you cheeky find - binds to make the softest dough making a truely bouncy bite possible. Basil pesto made with pecoroni rather than pine nuts and parmesan, maintains a nuttiness that sprawls itself snugly over the sweet charcol pangs of roasted pepper and creamy deapths of goats cheese.

Bouncy thin base
180g extra fine canadian bread flour
140ml warm water
7g dry yeast
1tbl sp olive oil

Tomato Sauze ( put all ingredients in a blender and whizz)

1/2 tin baby cherry tomatoes
handful basil
3 gloves garlic
salt / pepper
1 tblsp olive oil

Basil pesto (put ingredients in a blender and whizz)
handful of basil
30g pecoroni cheese
1 tblsp olive oil
1 clove garlic

Topping
100g buffalo mozzeralla
100g goats cheese
1 sweet red pepper (cook in the oven for 20mins gas mark 6)

Okay. It seems like there are lots of things here to refer back to with that never-ending ingredient list. Basically, everything rests on the base. If the base is soggy and without bite it doesn’t matter how delicious your toppings are - chaos will ensue. In a cup add warm water to yeast and salt (Fizz). Empty flour onto work surface and make a well in the middle. Fill the well with yeasty water and 1tblsp of olive oil. Gradually pull flour from the sides into the well and the quickquick keep doing this until the floury water mix comes together. Then knead it for 5-10mins. If its too wet spinkle more flour. If its feels like leather add a little water. If its very liney (with breaks in the dough) a little oil and a little water. Roll into a ball and break in two. Put in slightly oiled bowl and place a damp tea towel over the top and leave somewhere warm for 45mins.

Whiz the tomato sauz ingredients. Then whiz the basil pesto ingredients. Then 45 mins later roll out the dough and assemble your pizza. Place in an over turned floured baking tray (allows heat to cook it from beneath as well as above like a pizza oven). Cook 12-14mins in hot oven.

I salute hotpots

Hot Butternut squash and Coconut Daal 

When everything starts to get a bit much and your eye balls have been physically scratched it’s nice to resort to a one pot dish that breathes warm and spicy fumes into your house and total satisfaction to belly. This daal is draped in sweetness from the cinnamon and coconut combination, but avoids sickly sweet, as it’s cut through by the chilli and the butternut squash, what cushy padding - it's more of a background player, but it gives texture and is so clever at absorbing flavour and creating harmony that it wouldn’t be quite so satisfying without it. 

rather how it makes you feel than what it looks like
(FORGOT TO PHOTOGRAGH MY DISH)

5 handfuls of any type of lentils
2 medium butternut squashes (chopped to 1 cm cubes)
4 handfuls of chopped spinach
4 green chillis
2 large onions
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp cinnamon 

1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
4 tsp ground cumin / crushed cumin seeds
3 tsp medium curry powder
2 bay leaves
1 can coconut milk
4 cans of boiling water
50 g butter / ghee 

40 g tomatoe puree
salt and pepper to taste (be generous)

Heat oil in a pan, add onion, crushed garlic / ginger / chilli. Cook for 6 mins. Add butter or ghee and all the spices and the bay leaves. Add the chopped butternut squash and 1 tin of water – leave for 2-3 mins. Add the coconut milk, lentils and remaining water. Cook for 1 hour on a low heat – add the tomato puree - add the chopped spinach. Cook until you feel like eating. If it gets too thick add some more water, it it seems too watery let it boil for a little so it reduces.