Ultra low carb cauliflower crust pizza

This is a great alternative to a bread base, perfect if like me you cycle your carbs. Use veggie cheeses to make this suitable for vegetarians.


Ingredients, makes 1x 9-10 inch thin pizza


200g cauliflower (about half the head of a medium cauli)
1 egg
2tbsp parmesan
salt and pepper
a touch of oregano (optional)


Method
Grate or food process the cauliflower until it looks like cous cous.
Place in a microwavable bowl and microwave, covered in clingfilm for 4 minutes.
Remove from the microwave and squeeze out all the excess moisture and water, I did this by tipping the cauliflower into a teatowel and ringing it out really hard.
Place the dry cauli in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mash together with hands.
Lay a large circle of greaseproof paper (slightly oiled) on a baking sheet
Using an 8 inch cake ring  as a guide (i took the base out of a loose bottom tin and used that) tip the mix into the tin and press down evenly.
Lift the tin and then press/flatten out the cauli mix so its around 9-10 inches (8 will be too thick and wont crisp up)
Bake in a pre heated oven gas mark 7 (220) for 15 minutes until golden. don't worry if its not fully cooked as it will bake further once the toppings are on.
Once golden top with whatever you like and return to the oven on full heat for 5-10 minutes or until toppings are cooked.
Slide off the greaseproof paper straight onto your plate and enjoy.
Im having mine with chipotle pulled chicken, mozzarella, olives, pine nuts and a base of my kale and ricotta pesto.

Four utterly delicious and clean salads

So as you all know im an avid fan of meal prep. Most of my meals I prepare in advance because im so busy. The below four salads are great to grab on the go in Tupperware usually paired with protein of some sort. The flavours are bursting and fresh. Salad no longer means a bit iceberg and a slice of tomato. These are inspired from all over the world and contain only fresh, raw, clean ingredients.

 

The four salads are:

 

• Moroccan inspired carrot salad
• South American guacamole
• Slow roast squash, feta and spinach salad
• Superfood rainbow quinoa salad

 

I haven't given methods because making a salad is pretty self explanatory, just throw all the ingredients into one.  All salads serve 3 large (heaped palm sized) or 4 smaller portions.

 

Moroccan inspired carrot salad.
This goes great with marinated meats, its so fresh and delicious while packing lots of vitamins, minerals and superfoods from the pomegranate and chai.

 

Ingredients
2 grated carrots
1/2 red pepper finely sliced
2 grated or finely sliced radishes
1 small bunch of coriander or mint finely chopped
1/2 pomegranate (seeds only, get them out by bashing the back of the pom with a spoon)
juice of 1 lemon
small lick of extra virgin olive oil
2tsp toasted sesame seeds
2tsp toasted cumin seeds
sprinkling of chai seeds
salt and pepper

 

South American guacamole
packed full of good fats I enjoy this for breakfast with an egg white omelette before the gym.  Also great on rye bread for a snack.

 

Ingredients
1 large or 2 small very ripe avocados chopped chunky
1/2 red onion very finely diced
a handful of cherry tomatoes quartered
1 small bunch of parsley or coriander
1 chilli finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper

 

Slow roast squash, feta and spinach salad
This is simply delicious, especially when the garlic slow roasts with the squash and you can mush it up and add it to the salad. Pure comfort food, packed full of low glycemic (good) carbs, protein from the feta and iron from the spinach

 

Ingredients
1 small organic squash, I get the Tesco finest ones, cant remember what the bloody hell they are called by my god they are good, look like a normal squash but have a name beginning with a P and are a dark orange.. don't bother peeling the squash, do that after its roasted because its easier, chop into quarters and roast the squash in coconut oil, salt, pepper for 1 hour on medium until tender and slightly charred (I start it off high for 20 minutes then turn it down low) Once cooked scoop the flesh and chop roughly.
1/2 bag baby spinach
1/2 pack feta cheese (make sure its feta not the low fat and not the greek style)
2tbsp pine nuts toasted
2tbsp pumpkin seeds
optional:

1 stick of celery chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped
a handful of sugar snap peas chopped

 

Superfood quinoa salad
This is my staple salad, I always have a bowl of this in the fridge, it goes with absolutely everything and is also substantial on its own. This salad is also a great protein source for veggies. make sure all your veg is finely chopped for this, you can have it chunky if you want but it has a better overall texture if its a very fine dice.

 

Igredients
1/2 cup quinoa cooked as per pack instructions
1/2 can of black eyed beans drained (don't cook them)
1 stick of celery finely chopped
A small handful of cherry tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 a pepper finely chopped
1/4 bag of finely sliced baby spinach
A few florets of very finely chopped broccoli (raw so cut it small)
1/2 pomegranate seeds (see above tip)
juice of 1 lemon
small lick of extra virgin olive oil

 

1tbsp each of
chai seeds
pumpkin seeds
flax (linseed)
toasted pine nuts
toasted peanuts, almonds or cashews (not the salted ones)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prawns with nam jim dressing and crunchy salad

Nam Jim is a traditional Thai dressing is hot sour and tangy, try it over rare seared beef with sesame seeds, absolutely stunning.

 

Ingredients

for the tempura batter and prawns

1 egg

1 cup ice water/cold water

1 cup all purpose flour, sifted

half a dozen large king/tiger prawns, shelled but with tail on

for the nam jim

2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons palm sugar
2-3 red shallots or half a small red onion chopped
3-4 bird’s eye chillies (to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves or 1 fresh root
Pinch of salt

For the salad

1 carrot

½ small white cabbage

A small handful of sugar snap peas

A small handful of beansprouts

1 sheet of medium egg noodles

2tsp Sesame oil

2tsp Sesame seeds

1tsp honey

2tsp soy sauce

Method

For the nam jim - In a large pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with the salt, add the coriander and chillies and roughly pound. Stir in the sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and finely chopped shallots.

For the salad - Cook the egg noodles as per the packet instructions, its usually simmer for 10 minutes until tender.

Cut the carrots into quarters lengthways then using a sharp knife, a food processor attachment or a mandolin slice the carrot as thinly as possible, so you have long thin slivers of carrot. Do the same with the cabbage.

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

For more flavour gently toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat until they are golden. This releases lots more flavour than adding them un toasted.

For the tempura batter Beat an egg in a bowl. Add ice water in the bowl. Be sure to use very cold water. Add sifted flour in the bowl and mix lightly. Be careful not to overmix the batter. Coat the prawns in flour then into batter and fry in vegetable oil until golden.

 

Feta baked with tomato and oregano

I love this side dish, although its substantial enough to eat on a summers night with loads of bread and butter.
I originally started this recipe with loads of fresh tomatoes baked with oregano and a little wine, i added the cheese later when i wanted a side dish for roast chicken that wasnt too "Sunday dinner like"

Ingredients
makes enough for 2

1x 400g of tomatoes
2 large vine tomatoes
1 block of feta cheese around 100g
1 pinch of chilli
1 garlic clove crushed
extra virgin olive oil
1tsp oregano
a little parmesan for the top (optional)

Method
first you need to make a kind of quick tomato sauce.
heat a little veggie oil in a pan and sweat the garlic, that means cook it without colouring or burning it, so nice and gentle.
Add the chilli, oregano and tinned tomatoes, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes to get all the flavours going.
season to taste.
Now to your baking dish, i like a nice 2 person gratin dish but pyrex is also fine and also you can make little individual ones of these if you like.
Crumble the feta into the dish and pour over the tomato sauce.
top with sliced tomatoes and grated parmesan and bake on 200 (gas mark 6) for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve with crusty bread for a great side dish for chicken or fish or a great starter on its own.

Gnocchi with squash, goats cheese and pine nuts

This is a great summer supper dish, its more substantial than you might think as gnocchi can be quite heavy, its tatties and flour after all.  I always find its best to use leftover mash which is stone cold, if you make mash especially you have to wait for it to get cold and for the protein to stabilise (sounded canny clever that didnt it) it basically means it wont be sticky and sloppy.

Ingredients
for the gnocchi:
250g cold mashed potato
salt and pepper
100g plain flour

for the rest of the dish:
1 butternut squash
a lick of veggie or olive oil for roasting
salt and pepper
goastcheese 1 standard log from a supermarket is fine
a handful of pine nuts gently toasted in a dry frying pan (this is vital to develop their flavour)
50g of butter melted
a handful of baby spinach

Method
Theres two main sections you need to get cracking with the gnocchi and the squash, probably start with the gnocchi, mix all of the ingredients together with a good whack of salt and pepper to your taste.
take half the mix and roll it out into a thin sausage about the width of your finger, unless you have fingers like Madonna, then roll them a little thinner.
Cut your fingers of dough into 1.5cm pieces and press each piece with the back of a fork to make a slight indentation.  This isnt just for decoration but the grooves help tjhe sauce stick to the gnocchi.
leave your gnocchi to one side covered with a teatowel and start your squash.
Peel and chop into 2cm pieces, roughly, no ones going to measure but the smaller you chop them the quicker they will cook.
Toss them in the oil, season and roast on 200 for 30 minutes or until tender.
To cook the gnocchi get a pan of water boiling, pop some salt in and drop your gnocchi in, they will take around 2-3 minutes to cook and will float to the top once done.
As soon as they are cooked you need to work quickly, drain them and immediately toss with the cooked squash and any oil from the pan.
add the pine nuts, spinach, butter and crumbled goastcheese and toss everything together for a minute.  No need to have any heat under the pan, there will be enough residual heat from the squash and gnocchi.
There we go a nice quick supper.

Once you have the basics of this recipe down you can chop and change, gnocchi with tomatoes, chilli and rocket, or with pesto, or with mushrooms and mascarpone. spring veg, creme fraiche and lemon - loads of options.

A Simple quick Curry

Da Vinci once said simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and I’m inclined to agree. So many people can’t make a good curry, and even more resort to jars and tins and pre made pastes.  This is a really simple quick curry recipe my nana Perveen taught me how to make when I was younger, half my family are from the middle east and my nana lived there for about 15 years when she met my granda so she knows her stuff.

This is a standard curry sauce; you can add any meat or some butternut squash, veggies or lentils for a veggie curry.  I’ll only say one thing about the meat, if your using chicken don’t just put raw chicken in unless it’s really good quality.  It won’t taste of anything; it’ll just be a texture in your mouth.  I always roast a whole chicken and pick the meat off, shredding it and adding it to the curry half way through.  It has so much flavour and is cheaper than breasts as you can pick a good quality chicken up for £6 to feed 4 people and the last I checked two breasts were pushing a fiver.

Ingredients
will feed 4

1 tsp mustard seeds

1tsp fenugreek
2 chilies, sliced
1tsp turmeric
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp garam masala
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic chopped fine or grated
1x 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine or grated
2 chilies, chopped fine seeds in or out whatever you prefer
1 tin of 400g tin tomatoes
1 tin of 400ml tin coconut milk (it doesn’t make the curry taste of coconut don’t worry it just adds richness, if you really don’t want to add it just use 2x tomatoes)
 salt and pepper
Oil
1 bag of spinach

MEAT: 1 cooked chicken, 6 raw tiger prawns per person, leftovers from your Sunday roast beef/lamb/pork or some veggies and lentils for a veggie curry

Method

Get a frying pan hot and add the mustard seeds. Once they start to pop which is about 10 seconds put them in a bowl and add the coriander to the pan. Toast the coriander seeds for a minute or so to release their flavors. Shake the pan to make sure they don’t burn and again set aside to allow to cool.

Finely dice the onion and add it to a large saucepan with the garlic and ginger and oil.

Sweat on a low heat for around 10 minutes.

While this is happening crush your spices which will be cool by now.

Once they are crushed and the 10 minutes have passed turn the heat up, add the crushed spices, the fenugreek, turmeric, garam masla, and chili to the pan and stir constantly over a high heat.  This is an essential stage as all spices need to be hard fried to release their potential.  Literally 20 seconds will do it, stirring all the time to coat the onions.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and coconut milk to the pan immediately with about 100mls of water.

Give everything a good stir.

Simmer for 10 minutes then add your meat whatever you are using. (Unless you are using prawns as they only take minutes to cook so don’t add them until 5 minutes before the end)

Simmer for another 10 minutes.

While this is happening add your spinach to a food processor or stick blend to a puree (you might need a little water to help you along)

You should be left with a green liquid sludge.

Add this to the pan (add your raw prawns now if making a prawn curry)

Simmer for more minutes then serve with rice, naan, whatever you like.

All in all this is just over 30 minutes for an authentic and totally delicious curry.

Slow cooked herby lamb shoulder from This Morning

A lazy Sunday dish if ever there was one. After a little prep you pop this perfectly paired duo in the oven and forget about them until suppertime.  Serve this with the cabbage gratin from my accompaniments section.

I reckon this one is my most popular dish from This Morning and rightly so its unbelievably easy and tasty!

Ingredients

1kg (approx.) boned shoulder of lamb or mutton (it it's rolled, unroll it)

1 400g14oz tin of chopped tomatoes

Fresh rosemary

Fresh thyme

Fresh bay

1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled and bashed with a knife (to crush it but not chop it)

200ml6¾fl oz lamb stock

200ml6¾fl oz white wine

Salt and pepper

Olive or vegetable oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas 2.

Start with the lamb. Season it liberally with salt and pepper and a good lick of olive or vegetable oil.

Get an ovenproof, lidded pan (or casserole dish) smoking hot and seal the lamb on all sides.

Now add the bashed head of garlic (don’t worry about the skins), the herbs, wine, stock and bubble away for a minute on a high heat, it will smell fantastic!

Add the tomatoes, season liberally, put a lid on the pan and place in the preheated oven for three hours minimum. The lamb can stay in for up to seven hours so don’t worry about timings as long as it's in for at least three.

Sticky BBQ pork ribs with bean salad from This Morning

A good BBQ sauce recipe is golddust! Ive been using this one for years and it never fails!  It works just as well with any meat and is a perfect dipping sauce for nachos, corn on the cob and lots more BBQ favourites!

Ingredients

Serves 6

For the ribs:

3 racks (approx. 550g each) of pork spareribs (You want to serve around 3 ribs per person)

1 onion, finely diced

80g soft brown sugar

80ml dry sherry

1 inch piece of grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves crushed

200ml tomato ketchup

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

100ml soy sauce

1 pinch of chilli flakes

1tsp ground cumin

For the salad:

1 can of your favorite beans, i like butterbeans, drain and rinse them.

A handful of vine tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 large courgette, diced  

1 small red onion , chopped very finely

Coriander and parsley , chopped or torn

The juice of 1 lemon

1 red chilli, seeds in if you can stand it, finely chopped

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

Method:

For the sauce heat a little oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion gently until its soft.  Add the garlic, cumin, chilli flakes and ginger and cook for 1 minute, still on low.

Turn the heat upto medium, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer uncovered on low heat for 15 minutes, until thick.  The marinade can be made in advance and keeps perfectly well in the fridge, covered or in Tupperware.

While this is doing put your ribs in a pan of boiling water and simmer for the same time it takes you to make the marinade (around 20 minutes)

Pat your ribs dry and brush generously with the marinade.

To cook the ribs, BBQ for 20 minutes over hot coals; or roast on an oven set to 220 (gas mark 7) for 40 minutes.

Whichever way you cook them brush them with more marinade and turn them as they cook, at least twice!

Making the salad couldn’t be simpler, gently fry the courgette until golden in a little oil and then add all the ingredients to a large bowl.

Toss everything to combine then taste the salad, does it need perking up with more lemon, salt or pepper? If so go for it.  You can make the salad in advance, its best served room temperature for the flavors to mingle so take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving.

Serve the charred sticky ribs with the bean salad and an extra bowl of the marinade on the side for dipping.

Messy fingers ahoy – don’t forget the napkins!

5 spice duck with crunchy noodle salad and homemade sweet chilli sauce

This is my taste of the orient.  So fresh and tasty.  Duck is such a seasonal treat, readily available from September to January.  The richness of the meat compliments the sharpness of the sauce and the freshness of the salad.

Ingredients

serves 2

For the duck:

2 duck breasts

Salt and pepper

4tsp 5 spice powder

For the salad:

1 carrot

½ small white cabbage

A small handful of sugar snap peas

A small handful of beansprouts

1 sheet of medium egg noodles

2tsp Sesame oil

2tsp Sesame seeds

1tsp honey

2tsp soy sauce

For the sauce:

225g caster sugar

150ml water

1 red chilli and 1 green, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic crushed

1inch piece of ginger grated

1 stalk lemon grass

2tbsp fish sauce

1 lime, juice only

1 small spring onion finely chopped

1 very small bunch of corriander, finely chopped

Method

Begin with the sauce as it can be made well in advance.

To make the sauce:

Place the sugar and water into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the chillies, garlic, ginger and lemongrass and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes a syrup. 

Remove from the heat, strain to remove all the bits and add the fish sauce, vinegar and lime juice.
Leave to cool, then stir in the spring onions and very finely diced coriander and refrigerate until required.  You can add more chilli for colour if you want but i like it clear.

For the duck:

Pre heat the oven to 200 / gas mark 6.

Score the skin of the duck to help render the fat.

Season the duck with the salt and pepper and the five spice powder on the skin and flesh.

In a COLD frying pan place the duck skin side down and then the heat on.

Set a timer for 3 minutes and cook the duck without touching it.

All the fat will render out of the skin slowly giving you a delicious crisp edible skin.

after 3 minutes flip the duck and fry for 1 minute on the other side.

After 1 minute transfer the duck to the hot oven and cook for 3 minutes in which time you can prepare the salad.

When the duck is cooked its ESSENTIAL you leave it to rest for at least 5 minutes to help the meat relax to make it really juicy and tender.

For the salad:

Cook the egg noodles as per the packet instructions, its usually simmer for 10 minutes until tender.

Cut the carrots into quarters lengthways then using a sharp knife, a food processor attachment or a mandolin slice the carrot as thinly as possible, so you have long thin slivers of carrot.  Do the same with the cabbage. 

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

For more flavour gently toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat until they are golden.  This releases lots more flavour than adding them un toasted.

Serve the salad drizzled with some of the prepared sauce with the duck sliced on the side and an extra little dish of dipping sauce on the side.  Totally food heaven!  Leave the duck out for a packed lunch staple!

Risotto with pan fried scallop, black pudding and poached duck egg

This is a delicious dinner party dish or a simple evening supper, its one of the dishes i do most at cooking shows because it shows a lot of technique and gives loads of tips.  Scallops arenyt as expensive as people seem to think either. i reckon around 80p for a good king scallop is a bargain.

Leave out the scallops for a simple supper or maybe substitute with some nice haddock or mackerel?

Ingredients:

serves 2

1tsp butter and 1tsp olive oil

1 shallot finely diced

1 clove of garlic crushed

700mls fish stock

100g black pudding

50g Butter

50g of grated parmesan

Salt and pepper

200g risotto rice

100mls white wine

1 fresh duck egg. (no more than 2 weeks old)

1tbsp of white wine vinegar

2/3 king scallops per person, cleaned without roe

Method

You want your risotto to be smooth and ozzy not stodgy and dry. 

Heat the stock in one pan.

In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and butter, add the shallot and garlic, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. (this is commonly referred to as ‘sweating’.)

When the shallot and garlic have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it.

After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic.

Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice and reduced by half, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.

Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes.

Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite.

Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well.

Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be.

Working quickly cook the egg and scallops as below.

Get a saucepan of water boiling with the vinegar added and also get a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil in it smoking hot (good idea to get these on a few minutes before so your ready to go as soon as the rice is done)

Crack the egg into a small cup and gently tip it into the pan of water and vinegar. Se the timer for 2 minutes to give you a nice soft poached egg.

While your egg is poaching, lighly season the scallops and add them to the hot pan along with the sliced black pudding, count to 1 and a half minutes then flip the scallops. 

Immediately turn the heat off, add a knob of butter, and baste the scallops for one final minute. 

This will give you perfectly cooked scallops every time.  Adjust the timings if the scallops are quite thin.

Serve the creamy ozzy risotto in a bowl with the scallops and black pudding on top and crown each plate with a soft poached egg and maybe a drizzle of the butter from the scallops pan.

Cod and chorizo risotto

Cod and chorizo are culinary best friends, this is a really quick delicious supper, ready in under 30 minutes, give it a go with salmon or another fish, or leave the fish out completely, whatever you like!

If you want to splash out on your chorizo, check the Bath Pig, they are proper safe, best ive ever tasted, and they mail order.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

25g/1oz butter

1 onion or shallot, peeled, very  finely chopped

350g/12oz risotto rice such as Arborio or Carnaroli

150ml/5fl oz white wine

1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock, hot (keep it hot in a pan on the hob)

75g/3oz parmesan

salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g/7oz  chorizo, diced

2x 125g/4½oz fillets of cod

chopped fresh parsley

Method

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the chorizo and fry until golden and its released its paprika juices.

Turn the heat right down and add the onion, stir to coat it in the fat, then sweat very gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until the onions are softened but not coloured.

Add the rice and stir for 1-2 minutes, turn the heat up then pour in the wine.

The wine whould bubble and boil, thats exactly what your after.

Reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the wine has been absorbed by the rice.

Add a ladleful of the hot stock to the rice and bring to a simmer. Stir regularly until all of the stock has been absorbed. Repeat this process until all of the stock has been used up and the rice is tender and the risotto is creamy. This should take 20-25 minutes.

Stir in the cheese, reserving a little for serving. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a knob of butter for flavour.

While the risotto is cooking, heat a frying pan over a medium to high heat. Season the cod fillets with salt and pepper and add the cod skin side down  and fry on a high heat for 3 minutes, don’t touch the fillet, just leave it skin side down.

Flip the fillets, turn the heat off and again set the timer for 3 minutes.  The fillets will cook in the residual heat of the pan.

The skin should be really crisp, sprinkle with a little salt and serve along side the risotto sprinkled with the chopped parsley.

Immense.

Because its nice to be nice

Ive been lucky enough to have been sent a few items lately so its only fair they get a mention and a review.

First up i was sent a pot of Thai Taste Red Curry Paste.  I usually make my own paste however used this one as a quick tea fix, the paste was punchy and easy tyo use with plenty of flavour.  I sweated some onions in a pan then added a few tablespoons along with some chicken and a little coconut milk and simmered for around an hour, serving the finished dish with sticky rice.  When ive used pre bought pastes in the past ive had to top up the ginger/garlic/chilli to give a round flavour however this was spot on and made a perfect quick tea.

Next up we have Bottle Green cordial, you can find the brand in all good supermarkets, ive been a fan for ages, their winter spiced cordial which i served with hot water is out of this world, kind of like a none alcoholic mulled wine.  I drank buckets of the stuff over Winter.

I was sent a bottle of their new pomegranate cordial to try and it was beautiful, the kind of thing you would imagine drinking at Wimbledon.  Its light and super refreshing   Whatsmore the brand is doing its bit for charity.  The new range, featuring super stylish bottles are actually in support of Breast Cancer, check the web for more details or go buy a bottle and do your bit!

My final and favourite is Fancies cupcakes in Sheffield.  I was given a box after a recent visit and they were awesome, big enough to share, their buttercream is unreal, really light and creamy, almost like an Italian meringue.  If your in Sheffield check them out, they've got shops all over the city.

The softest confit of belly pork with skin roasted potatoes

This is one of those dishes where the quality of the ingredient speaks louder than anything! Which i LOVE as it yields absolute maximum flavour and minimum effort. I usually serve this with one of the following or sometimes a few of the following: mushroom fricasse, apple and onion veloute, cabbage and bacon, kentish apple tart, maderia roasting jus etc etc. Most of the recipes can be found under the acompaniments section however feel free to ask if theres something you cant find.   Below ive taken a pic of the potatoes i simply roasted to serve with the pork.  They were tossed in salt and pepper and olive oil with a little garlic and rosemary. Beautiful.

Ingredients
Serves 4

1kg belly pork

1 star anise

1teaspoon of corriander seeds

1 teaspoon if sea salt

Sprig of rosemary

½ teaspoon of whole black pepper corns

2 pints of duck or goosefat, if you dont have 2 pints use what you have and top the rest of the liquid up with vegetable oil.

Method

Pre heat oven to gas mark 2

In a pestle and mortar grind the star anise, corriander seeds, salt and pepper into a fine dust.

Lay the pork skin side down and rub half of the mixture into the flesh.

Turn the pork over and rub the other half on the skin.

Place the pork in a roasting tin.

Warm the duck fat/oil mixture in a pan until its just simmering.

Pour over the pork (dont score the skin)

Submerge the rosemary sprig in the oil.

Cover the baking tin with foil and add to the oven for 3 hours undisturbed.

When the 3 hours are up remove the pork from the liquid and pat dry on both sides.

Score the skin in diamond patterns with a sharp knife.

Heat a frying pan and add a little of the oil leftover from the roasting tin.

When its smoking hot add the pork skin side down for 3-5 minutes to let the skin crackle. Dont move the pork just leave it.

If the skin isnt crackled enougth for your liking simple add the pork to a roasting tin, skin side up and roast for 15 minutes on gas mark 8.

Allow the meat to rest before carving. The skin will crispen a little more as its cooling down.

And thats it! SO simple but my god so delicious!

You can prepare this dish upto a day in advance. Simply re heat in a hot oven for 20 minutes, skin side up.