Ingredients:
1 spiced black chai tea bag - made up with 3/4pt boiling water
12oz dried mixed fruit
10oz wholemeal self-raising flour
8oz light muscovado sugar
1 large egg - beaten
Spread/oil to grease the tin
Method:
Using the tea bag and 3/4 pint boiling water make up the tea in a bowl or jug, leave the bag in to steep for about 5 minutes before removing and discarding
Add the dried mix fruit into the tea, cover and leave to soak for at least 4 hours (or overnight if you have time)
Sieve the flour into a large dry bowl and stir in the sugar
Tip in the fruit/tea mix and stir
Beat the egg and stir into the mixture
Tip the cake mix into a 2lb cake tin which has been pre-greased and lined with parchment paper
Gently tap the tin to remove any air bubbles and smooth the top of the cake
Cook at 130 degrees for about 1hr 45 mins until cooked through and firm to the touch
Remove from the oven but leave to cool in the tin for about 10-15 minutes before turning out of the tin and removing the paper.
This cake should give about 10 slices
The dried mixed fruit I used contained currants, raisins, sultanas and candid citrus peel.
Other teas could be used, but I like the extra warming spices in the black chai.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (flattened to about 1cm depth)
1 tbsp olive oil
glug of brandy (to de-glaze pan)
5-6 stems of tarragon (just the leaves, discard the stems)
1 small pot of single cream (about 150g)
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan
Cook the chicken breast in the frying pan, turning every couple of minutes until cooked through (mine took 8-10 minutes)
Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm
Add a small glug of brandy to the pan to deglaze, then pour in the cream and allow to warm through on a gentle heat
Stir in the tarragon leaves
Put the chicken breasts on a plate and pour the creamy sauce on the top
Serves 2
I served mine with roasted white and sweet potatoes and asparagus tips
Ingredients:
1 medium sized butternut squash
2 large red peppers
1 red chilli - finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pint vegetable stock (I used 2 stock cubes)
Method:
Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds
Cut again into about 10 equal sized chunks and lightly coat in some of the olive oil
Cut the peppers in half, remove the stalks, seeds and membrane and lightly coat in the rest of the olive oil
Put the butternut squash in to a roasting tin and place in the oven at 180 degrees for about 12-15 minutes, after this time add in the halves of the red peppers and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes - don't let them begin to burn at the edges
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes
Once cool enough to handle remove any loose, bubbled or browned skin from the peppers and then roughly cut into smaller pieces and place in a saucepan - if there is any juice from the cooking in the bowl of the peppers tip this into the saucepan for extra flavour
Cut the skin from the butternut squash, roughly chop and place in the saucepan
Add in the vegetable stock and chopped chilli
Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally
Simmer gently for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the butternut squash is really tender
Liquidise or blend the soup until smooth
Served with granary french stick as a starter
This amount of soup was enough for a good sized starter portion for 5-6 people
Ingredients:
2 medium sized potatoes - boiled and mashed
4 small smoked mackerel fillets - skinned and cut into pieces
2 spring onions - finely sliced
1 red chilli - finely chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil to fry
Method:
Boil and mash the potatoes and leave to cool for a few minutes
Stir in the mackerel, spring onion and chilli
Split the mixture into four equal portions and gently mould each portion into a patty/flattened ball shape
Place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to firm up
Heat up the oil in a frying pan and gently cook for about 4-5 minutes per side - turn once, very carefully, or the fishcakes will break up
Served with roasted potato wedges, fresh vegetables and horseradish sauce
Serves 2
I used 2 medium sized potatoes which were about 12 oz raw, unpeeled weight. I mashed using a potato ricer to get a really smooth finish.
I used a pack of honey smoked mackerel fillets which weighed about 8 oz.
These fishcakes could be made with any firm fish, salmon with a spoonful of chopped dill would be really tasty.
Ingredients:
For the base:
20 digestive biscuits - crushed
4 oz olive oil spread - melted
1/2 oz desiccated coconut
For the top:
400ml tin of coconut milk - full fat and as thick and hard as possible
4oz icing sugar
1 oz desiccated coconut
Method:
For the Base:
Mix together all of the ingredients and then push the mixture into the base of a greased and lined loose bottomed tin
Flatten the mixture and then refrigerate for about 2 hours to firm up
For the top:
Place the coconut milk into a bowl and whip this until it becomes the consistency of whipped double cream - this is about as thick/hard as the coconut milk is likely to get
Whip in the icing sugar and desiccated coconut
Pour the mixture over the base and refrigerate again for a couple of hours before serving
Serves 6-8
The coconut milk needs to be as thick and firm as possible before whipping. If the coconut milk is thin it will not whip. I have found that often the cheaper brands are thicker.
I probably spent about 10-15 minutes whipping the coconut milk - it is a slow process!
Ingredients:
