Plan B!

You don't have to fill the cases with the cheese and onion mixture – it's just my favourite so all roads lead to cheese and onion, if you know what I mean – instead of Rome!

Here's an alternative - make a tuna and parsley version – like the mixture that we've used in a puff pastry sheet. It has to be said that the wholemeal pastry recipe is great and one that I use regularly – not at all heavy and certainly healthier than puff pastry.

If you've frozen cases take them out of the freezer on the day you intend to use them and transfer to the fridge - it wouldn't be the end of the world if it were the day after.

Here's the recipe for the filling :

Tuna and Parsley filling

for tartelettes

200g tin of tuna in sunflower oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

100g cheddar cheese, grated plus additional

to sprinkle over the filled tarts

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped or

1 tbsp dried parsley

salt and black pepper

1 tsp of wholegrain or Dijon mustard

Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6

Drain the tuna reserving 1 tbsp of the oil. Cook the onion in the oil for 3-4 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl mix the tuna, cheese, parsley, seasoning and mustard. Cool, cover and fridge until ready for use.

Here it is :

Place your cases back into the bun tin and, using the ice cream scoop, add the filling and then garnish with a sprinkle of grated cheese. The same principles apply as with the cheese and onion tartelettes – check after 20/25 minutes until you have the colour of choice. Serve warm.

Bon appétit!

You know that ...

… I never waste time - or ingredients for that matter - if I can help it.

In this instance it's not wasting time. If you intend to make the tarts or a large version, in anticipation of visitors or just because you want to save yourself a job - make your pastry case(s) ahead – i.e. make the pastry, rest it, then roll it out as required and freeze.

To illustrate, here are a couple of photos – what they show is that it's worthwhile investing in a good quality bun tin and that after chilling the cases they will lift out of the tin and stand well on their own so you could bag or box them and freeze.

What you see are uncooked cases – straight from the fridge, eased gently from the tin – ready for freezing and to use whenever the mood takes!

One final note to self – can I suggest if you're freezing a large pastry case then keep it in its tin to prevent it getting bumped and bashed when you are rummaging through your freezer looking for something vital that has vanished without trace!

The secret … is in the chilling – in case you hadn't noticed!

There are three stages – blitzing and chilling the pastry – prepping the filling and chilling – rolling cutting out and chilling.

It doesn't matter how long you leave your pastry cases once you've cut them out – so long as they are fridged. I can assure you of one thing – you will not suffer from soggy bottoms!

Have a look at the photo of the filling – the cheese is a mixture of finely grated and ordinary – why fine? – because it combines better and gives you a more compact filling, not bursting out all over the place.

When you're ready to fill your cases use a traditional ice cream scoop – like this one :

You'll achieve a neat finish :

Here they are ready to eat. It's a matter of personal taste how golden you like the tarts. I like a squidgy filling in a crisp pastry case and a toasted cheese topping. If you prefer a lighter colour and less crisp then check your oven after 25 minutes.

I'm so sorry you can't smell them!

Two holidays in May!

I thought I'd get ahead of the game and give you some ideas since for the two long weekends coming up in May. For the recipe that follows you could make one large tart. If you'd prefer this route then grease and line a 22cm flan dish or spring clip tin.

Tartelettes

(in this version cheese and onion)

For the cases

225g wholemeal plain flour

110g unsalted butter, cubed

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

For the filling

2 medium onions, chopped finely

knob of butter and drop of rapeseed oil

12 grated cheese – mature cheddar, Red Leicester

and Gruyere

1 egg beaten, to bind

black pepper

1 tsp mustard – Dijon or wholegrain – optional

You'll need muffin or deep bun tins – if they are non stick then there's no need to grease and a straight sided cutter measuring 8cms x 3cms approx.

For the tartelettes use a food processor – add the flour, baking powder and butter and blitz until resembling breadcrumbs. Add a drop of ice cold water and blitz until the pastry comes together (do not over blitz). Tip the pastry onto a sheet of cling film – using the film gather the pastry together into a ball and fridge for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile soften the onions in the butter and rapeseed oil. Set aside to cool.

Mix the cheese, onions, black pepper and beaten egg together – set aside and chill in the fridge until you're ready to use.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board and cut out your tartelette cases, place gently into your bun tin, chill in the fridge until you're ready to use.

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

When you are ready to bake put the chilled filling into the chilled cases and bake for 30 minutes – turn the tin after 15 – cook until they are golden brown.

Read on for the hints and tips and photos too!

April is a fickle month

Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to rely on the weather and arrange our social lives in the certainty of knowing we weren't going to get wet through or freeze or even need the snow boots – stranger things have happened!

When I was planning my menu for the supper with friends I took a risk and decided on the safe bet, that it would probably be cool – sadly I got that one right - typical!

Righty ho, back to the hotpot – the meat is ready when you are. For the gravy, use the garlic infused lamb stock – discarding any fat. If you wished you could sauté onions and carrots, (small dice) in a knob of unsalted butter and then add your stock – thicken with a little slaked cornflour. Cover the lamb with your stock and vegetables.

As part of my prep yesterday I baked jackets potatoes – 3 medium to large – cooled, peeled and then sliced, bagged and fridged, ready for assembly. Grated Red Leicester cheese – 50g to sprinkle on the top of the potatoes.

Pre-heat your oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Layer the sliced potatoes on the top of the lamb and stock. Season with black pepper, then sprinkle the cheese to complete. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

The hotpot will give you four generous portions, here's one of them :

It may not be a traditional hotpot for the purists out there but who cares.

If you should try this recipe I hope you enjoy it - I think it's good any time – by the way – you can freeze any leftovers – well, you never know.

Comfort food is not just for winter!

Shop Smart!

I know that what follows is too late for the Easter holidays but, as we've two long weekends in May I decided to share – you might find it helpful.

Friends coming for supper on Sunday. I wanted to prep and cook as much as I could the day before and decided ahead of the game that I was cooking a hotpot, or rather my version of it. Normally for hotpot I'd use lamb shanks, slow cooked then strip them ready to use.

I don't normally buy meat from a supermarket – but I'm sure you've noticed that we've been bombarded with deals. So I decided to try an experiment and see what was on offer. I bought a half leg of lamb joint for £5.40 – weight 1.079kg - £5 per kilo – half price. I sealed the joint and then de-glazed the pan using 2 tsps of garlic paste and then added lamb stock. I slow cooked for 3 hours.

Here's the result :

As you can see the bone lifts away leaving a plateful of tender, moist meat – just like this :

I suppose the lesson is keep your eyes open. I didn't want a huge leg of lamb but some smart supermarket person decided to offer the half leg. A very loud message to all supermarkets out there – not everyone wants a huge big lump of meat nor, and more importantly, can they afford it! End of rant.

The lamb deal was so good and definitely cheaper than shanks – sadly they've become fashionable – like beef cheeks but that's another story.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Hodgepodge … again

Having gone to the bother of giving you the blueberry compote recipe it seemed rude not to give you another recipe in which to use it!

Hope you like my latest :

Lemon and Blueberry Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 lemon meringues, crushed

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

30g lemon curd – microwave on medium for

10 secs – stir and then the curd is ready to pour

1 tbsp blueberry compote

sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds to decorate

Before we go any further – a couple of pointers. The lemon meringues I found in Marks and Spencer – see photo below. We've spoken about lemon curd – you can make your own or buy a good substitute as a back up – mine is Marks and Spencer's Sicilian – see photo below.

Finally, the toasted flaked almonds. I toasted them in the oven – 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 5 minutes. I set my timer a minute at a time – checked and gave the baking tray a shake - the colour of the almonds is up to you but don't forget them or you'll be really cross!

Construct as follows :

Meringues, crushed

add scoop of ice cream

drizzle the loosened lemon curd over the ice cream

add the blueberry compote

decorate with a sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds

It is best served in a glass dish or bowl as you can see :

Another easy assembly dessert option to include in your store cupboard arsenal!

The Compote Compilation

A cook can never have enough compotes to choose from – here's another – this time blueberry. They are quick and easy to make and have a gazillion uses – the usual suspects like toppings for pancakes, cereals and yogurt. Dressing up desserts like cheesecakes – giving that much needed sharpness - quick and simple over ice cream.

Here it is :

Blueberry Compote

250g blueberries – defrosted if frozen

100g caster sugar

juice of one small lemon

Pop the blueberries and the sugar into a medium sized saucepan and cook gently until the sugar melts and the mixture begins to thicken – add your lemon juice. This should take approximately 15 minutes. Stir occasionally taking care not to break up the fruit – this is a marathon not a sprint – be patient – it's only 15 minutes. If you must walk away from the stove then make sure you've got your timer around your neck.

When the mixture is cooked leave it to cool – then spoon into the clean jar you've got ready!

Here's one I made earlier – the compote not the jar :

Never let it be said that I don't try and save you time – frozen blueberries are available from Sainsbury's – 400g for £2.15.

Enjoy the 15 minutes of therapy nurturing your compote – I certainly did!

The coleslaw conundrum - the raw slaw principle

For me a coleslaw is not just a summer side for a BBQ. I like the flexibility of having the raw ingredients, prepped and ready to use. This type of “salad” is delicious all year round.

You can use any dressing that takes your fancy and the balance of the cabbage, carrot and whatever else you throw in a bowl is entirely your own choice. There is an added advantage too – if you like to eat sensibly say, during your working week, then making up a batch of raw slaw will be your best friend – so often we set out with the best of intentions but after a long hard day at work your resistance is really low. The answer is to have your ingredients ready and waiting to assemble quickly.

So, with that in mind :

Slice your cabbage – bag, clip and fridge.

Julienne your carrots – as many as you like – bag, clip and fridge.

Spring onions are mild, you could use a Spanish onion if you prefer or a red version. You can get a sweet, mild variety in the Tesco Finest range. Slice, bag, clip and fridge.

Here's an alternative dressing if you aren't fond of a mayonnaise base.

Pomegranate Dressing

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

juice of two limes

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

pinch of nigella seeds

1-2 tsps sumac

Mix all the ingredients together, preferably in a jug then

pour into a clean jar (with a lid!) and shake well

You might have noticed that it's healthy too. If you are a virtuous person and have leftover protein in your fridge, like salmon or chicken - try creating your own wrap together with the pomegranate slaw. Leftover Asian Spiced Salmon would work well too – the recipe is on the blog.

By the way – did you know its origin is Dutch – from the word koolsla, meaning cabbage salad and evolved into the word coleslaw.

I hope I haven't bored the pants off!

The coleslaw conundrum - an uphill battle!

I have friends and students who really dislike coleslaw and would pull a face that you're not supposed to see and then decline. The most frequent comments are - “it's tasteless and too much dressing” “I like the combination of vegetables but the dressing is too creamy and sickly”

I do like a challenge and consequently was delighted to hear “completely different to shop bought” “the dressing is very light not like the shop bought stuff”, “refreshing, tangy and delicious”.

If you don't want to be bothered with slicing and dicing then you could choose a good quality or your favourite shop bought brand of coleslaw and enhance it – there is without doubt a world of difference out there – it does not necessarily follow that the most expensive is the best, if you get my drift.

Obviously industrial processors are used for the mass produced product, hence the huge chunks of tough, woody cabbage in the mixture. So, if you are going to use a ready prepared version and make it your own you might want to fish out the larger pieces of cabbage and slice/chop/dice at will!

Add any of the variations mentioned in the Coronation Slaw recipe – to begin with the curry powder, lime juice and mango chutney then the apricots and sultanas. Add chopped nuts – walnuts or pecans would work well or a sharp flavoured apple, peeled quartered and diced. It's whatever floats your boat but is more practical if you don't have the time to slice and julienne the cabbage and carrots.

There is another speedier option – you can buy bags of coleslaw mix – in theory ready to use. The downside is that this product is mass produced as is the ready-made coleslaw and suffers the same fate - large inedible slices of cabbage et al. However it's nothing a chefs knife can't put right – tip it onto a chopping board and refine! The upside is it's practical and if you want to road test creating your own slaw it's worth a shot.

I don't want you to get the idea that I'm a coleslaw snob – too late was the cry!

The coleslaw conundrum …continued … say hello to your new best friend!

The julienne peeler - every serious cook should have one!

Here's another thing that gets on my wick – entirely related to shop bought coleslaw you understand – carrots either sliced so finely they are mush or so chunky and uneven you have to make an unscheduled trip to the dentist – without being ridiculous your slaw should be of a similar size.

Carrots bleed if you grate them – not to mention pebble dashing every nook and cranny in your kitchen – how is it possible that grated carrot can jettison so far?

Ta dah – enter the julienne peeler.

Here it is, along with the uniformly sliced strips of carrot it produces :

A neat piece of kit and inexpensive too.

The result of all your hard work looks like this :

Of course you could, if you prefer, dust off one of the gazillion attachments that belongs to your food processor/mixer for which you paid an exorbitant price and, if you can remember which bit goes where, use the slicer cum grater. Oh and create a washing up mountain to boot!

The coleslaw conundrum - Coronation Slaw

My quest for a good quality coleslaw has been going almost as long as the vegetarian burger.

I mentioned the slaw in My Quest with a photo of it, alongside the corn and chickpea burger and promised that the recipe would follow, here it is :

Coronation Slaw

110g white cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

salt and black pepper

30g ready to eat apricots, finely diced

30g sultanas soaked in mango and apple juice

50g mayo

50g sour cream

1 tsp mild curry powder

squirt of lime juice

1 tbsp mango chutney

If there's one thing that gets on my wick it the huge lumps of woody cabbage you always find in shop bought coleslaw.

If you are of a similar mind and decide to try this recipe, I promise you that attention to detail is worth the effort. Here's what I mean :

First up slice a “cheek” of cabbage – a sharp paring knife is the best piece of kit – smaller and more easy to control – with care!

                                      

The recipe given will give you a box of slaw – measuring approximately 11cms x 6.5cms x 5cms. One box lasted me a week, a spoonful here and a spoonful there – you'd be surprised how well it fits as a side to lots of main dishes and particularly as part of a sandwich.

To be continued ...

Radio Recipes!

Next Tuesday, 11^th April at 10.45am I'll be talking to Bernie Keith on his Radio Show, The Bernie Keith Show, BBC Radio Northampton, chatting about chocolate. I promised Bernie's Producer, Sarah that I'd post the recipes, along with photos of the bits and pieces mentioned so that if anyone wanted the recipes or any other information, it was available.

Here goes :

Easter Nests

200g plain chocolate, broken into small pieces

30g golden syrup

50g unsalted butter

100g Rice Krispies (or cornflakes if you prefer)

3 mini eggs for each next

Makes 12

Place the chocolate, syrup and butter into a bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water.

While this is melting, line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

Whisk the chocolate mixture together until it's smooth and shiny, then remove from the heat. Add the cornflakes and mix to coat evenly.

Portion out the mixture into nest shapes in the paper cases and put ¾ mini eggs in the middle of each. Place in the fridge to set.

Chocolate Notes:

When melting chocolate do so in a large bowl and glass is the best.

Do not overheat chocolate, gently simmer the water.

Leave the melting chocolate alone.

Make sure that the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. It should be the steam from the water that melts the chocolate.

I realise that this is not a traditional Easter Egg but hey does it really matter so long as it's chocolate?! What I love about this is it's easy and makes heaps so whilst it sounds like it could be expensive if you've lots of treats to give then you'll find it's great value too.

Rocky Road

250g dark chocolate

150g milk chocolate

175g soft butter, unsalted

4 x 15ml tbsp golden syrup

200g hobnobs

*150g shelled Brazil nuts

*150g red glace cherries

*125g mini marshmallows

Put the biscuits into a freezer bag and roll with a rolling pin until you get a mixture of rubble.

Chop the Brazil nuts into different sizes.

Chop both sorts of chocolate into small pieces, or use chocolate buttons made for melting and then put them into a heavy-based saucepan to melt with the butter and syrup over a gentle heat.

Take the pan off the heat and add the biscuit and nuts, cherries and mini marshmallows. Turn carefully so that all the ingredients are coated with the syrupy chocolate.

Tip into a foil try (I use a tray bake size), smoothing the top as best you can, although it is meant to be uneven.

Refrigerate until firm enough to cut, which will take about 1½-2 hours. Take the set block out of the tray. With the long side in front of you cut 6 slices down and 4 across so that you have 24 squares.

Original recipe was taken and tweaked from “Nigella Christmas”.

This is the basic Rocky Road recipe. The three ingredients marked “*” can be swapped to suit your own personal taste. You can choose any of the ingredients given on your “Design your own Rocky Road” sheet attached.

Make ahead tip:

Make the Rocky Road and refrigerate to set, cut into bars or bite size pieces and then store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.

Freeze for up to 1 month.

Make it your own

There's nothing quite like giving a gift that you've made. These days it's easier because there are so many bits and pieces you can buy, inexpensively, to make it special.

The foil trays are by a company caalled Queen of Cakes via Amazon and measure 7” x 4.5” in old money or if you prefer 18cms x 11.5cms. The cellophane bags came from Lakeland Plastics and the Easter “pegs” came from Home Bargains, as did the tiny Easter buckets.

Design your own Rocky Road

Traditionally Rocky Road is made using Brazil nuts,

glacé cherries and marshmallow.

Rules are meant to be broken - take a look at the

list below and if you'd like to design your own

Rocky Road swap any or all of the three

ingredients in the original recipe for the

same weight

(or may be four if you want to stay true

to Rocky Road and include the mini marshmallows)

Cashew

Peanut

Pistachio

Pecan

Hazelnut

Glacé cherry

Dried sour cherries

Cranberry

Apricot

Banana chips

Pineapple

Sultanas

Nougat

Turkish Delight

Fudge

Toblerone

Praline

Salted Caramel

Mini Marshmallow

Popping Candy

My latest versions are :

Pecans with dark cherries and vanilla fudge

Pistachios, apricots and Turkish Delight

Chocolate Bark

Kit required

Baking sheet 30cm x 18cm approximately

A handful of chopped dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots and toasted, roughly chopped hazelnuts. I appreciate that sizes of hand vary! As a rough guide 30g.

Line a baking sheet with cling film. You will find the cling film easier to control if you oil the baking sheet.

Break 300g of dark or milk chocolate into pieces and put in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and melt. When the chocolate has melted pour it onto the cling film lined sheet, spreading evenly – I use a spatula.

Scatter the fruit and nuts over the chocolate - gently pushing in any that need a little help – if you aren't confident with a finger tip then use a small round bladed knife as illustrated.

Leave to set for 4 hours – remove from the sheet and peel off the cling film. Cut the chocolate and fruit into diagonal chards using a large chefs knife - place in a cellophane bag and “peg” to finish.

You can use any combination of fruit and nuts to suit your taste.

Happy Easter and I hope you enjoy the chocolate treats!

Easter Emergencies - Whilst I'm at it …

...speaking of cherries and raspberries too – I thought you'd find the following two recipes of use in your secret culinary arsenal. I have mentioned them previously but a long time back - they are definitely worth repeating.

Cherry and raspberry compote

350g cherries, stoned

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

150g raspberries

Pour 4 tbsp of water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place the pan over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until they have released some juices but are not overcooked.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then chill it well before serving.

Cherry Compote

350g cherries, defrosted if frozen

50g granulated sugar

2 tbsp cherry juice

¼ tsp almond essence

2 tsps arrowroot

1 tbsp cold water

Place the cherries, sugar and juice in a saucepan heat gently, stirring. Cook for 10 minutes then break up the cherries so that there are no whole cherries left. Add the almond essence.

Blend the arrowroot and water together then add to the cherry mixture, on a gentle heat, stirring continuously. When the mixture has thickened heat for another minute.

Use over ice cream when warm or set aside to cool and decant into a clean screw top jar and “fridge”.

Notes:

Both the compotes have many uses – apart from warm served with ice cream. Spread it on toast, serve with yogurt, on top of cereal and definitely with scones.

Sweet dark cherries available frozen from Sainsbury's £2.15p for £480g.

Raspberries – shop around – Iceland's £1.50 for 300g.

You'll be pleased you made one or the other!

Easter Emergencies - Hodgepodge – take 2

Never let it be said that I don't give you alternatives - here's another variation of Hodgepodge :

Cherry and Chocolate Hodgepodge

Serves 1

1 410g can of Black Cherry pie filling with

fruit separated from juices

3 meringue kisses, crushed

25g of chocolate – see below

As with the previous Hodgepodge recipe a glass bowl or sundae dish is perfect for this dessert.

Tip the cherries into a sieve and let the juices drip through – this will take a while since they are dense – it's worth the wait.

Assemble with the meringues, add a dessert spoon of cherries then add tiny pieces of chocolate of your choice – the list is endless but here's an idea or five :

plain chocolate drops

crushed Maltesers

small pieces of Rocky Road

bash a crunchy (in its wrapper – so convenient, no bits

other than where you want them to be!)

bash a flake (in its wrapper)

In the photos below I used tiny pieces of Rocky Road.

Add another dessert spoon of cherries. With the juices reserved add a drop of water to loosen – loose enough to be able to drizzle over the top of the cherries.

You'll have cherries and juices left over but I can't believe this is going to be a problem. You could either repeat the dessert or use as a topping over ice cream. If you want a grown-up version, add a drop of Kirsch to the juices but don't tell anyone I said so! Your secret is safe – tee hee.

P.s. An optional extra – add a scoop of chocolate ice cream in between the cherries.

Easter Emergencies - The Upside to the Hodgepodge!

To begin, you've included all the elements of a good dessert :

sweetness – the meringues

texture – the hazelnuts

sharpness – the raspberries and the juices

sticky toffee sauce and ice cream – pure indulgence

what is a dessert without indulgence!

Better still the Hodgepodge is instant – ish. You can put in as much or as little effort as your time permits – to explain.

You can buy drums of meringue kisses or make your own*.

You can buy ice cream or make your own*.

You can buy whole hazelnuts and chop and roast or buy roasted, chopped hazelnuts in 100g bags ready to use.

Frozen raspberries are another “Perfect Product” for our list.

You can buy jars of caramel sauce – dulce de leche or salted caramel or you can make your own sticky toffee sauce*.

If you want to make any marked * above, i.e. your own meringue kisses, vanilla ice cream and sticky toffee sauce the recipes for all three are on the blog.

It's whatever suits you best - a very large tick whichever way you look at it!

Easter Emergencies - A Hodgepodge …

… aka a mess. I just love to be able to pull ingredients for a speedy sweet straight from the store cupboard/pantry and freezer and serve a dessert worthy of the extra calories! Like I said a girl needs to be prepared - what follows is a series of recipe ideas and variations - the components of which can either be made ahead and frozen or can be part of your store cupboard/pantry.

Without further ado here's my most recent creation :

Hazelnut Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 meringue kisses, crushed

1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

A sprinkle of toasted, chopped hazelnuts – 25g approx

30g frozen raspberries – defrosted – do not sweeten

1 tbsp sticky toffee sauce – loosen in microwave for

15 secs on medium

Assembly

A glass bowl or sundae dish makes this

dessert stand out, layer as follows :

crushed kisses

scoop of ice cream

sprinkle of hazelnuts

raspberries but reserve the juices

drizzle of sticky toffee sauce

drizzle of raspberry juices

Add a final sprinkle of hazelnuts

Here is the result :

Feedback from the Chief Taster – yum and is there enough for tomorrow?!

My quest …

for the ultimate burger – a meat free version that is – has taken a positive turn of late.

I came across “Fun in a bun” (Spicy corn and chickpea burgers with smoky sweet potato wedges) by Jamie Oliver in the Sunday Times Magazine.

Here's my variation – the first prototype!

Burgers

1 x 400g can chickpeas – shucked

1 x 340g sweetcorn drained and placed on

a tray lined with kitchen roll – pat dry

½ tsp each of ground coriander, cumin, sumac

and salt

3 tbsp plain flour

extra flour to dust

cling film

Place the chickpeas and sweetcorn in a food processor and pulse – keep some texture in the mixture :

Tip the mixture into a mixing bowl and then add the spices and salt. Divide your mixture into a size that suits – as a rough guide I made 5 :

Spoon your divided mixture straight onto the cling film and gather firmly into a ball. You can weigh your mixture if you want to be precise. Tip the ball onto your floured board and form gently into a burger shape. Your mixture is quite fragile and requires gentle handling. When formed place the burgers on a tray and “fridge” for 30 minutes.

Heat a glug of rapeseed oil in a frying pan to a medium heat. Add the burgers and cook gently for 5 minutes each side until golden brown.

Here they are :

What the recipe doesn't say

The mixture is very sticky and if you don't use the cling film method I've included above then you'll finish up with more of it on your hands than anywhere else – by using the cling film you're not handling the mixture until it is formed into a ball - ready to roll into flour to form your burger shape.

Use the best quality of sweetcorn you can afford – it's worth it.

I would not recommend adding your spices and seasoning directly into your food processor - you'll run the risk of tainting the bowl, hence transferring to a mixing bowl.

I'm difficult to please having sampled lots of rubbish vegetarian food over the years, but this first version is good to go – here's what I served – to myself!

The burger in a toasted brioche bun with a side of Coronation Coleslaw. The recipe for the slaw and the second prototype of the burger are coming soon!