Revisited …

… the orzotto which I mentioned in July last year.

You may remember that orzo is actually pasta - despite it looking exactly like arborio rice. The difference though, is that orzotto does not involve masses of time and effort to produce, so is perfect for a mid week supper. The original version did not include white wine or parmesan cheese so here's the revised, richer version.

Orzotto - revisited

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

260g orzo pasta

425ml chicken stock (or vegetable)

75ml dry white wine

2 tbsps lemon juice

200g frozen petit pois

2 tbsp fresh pesto

bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

75g parmesan cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

extra pesto and slices of lemon to serve

extra grated parmesan to serve

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for 2/3 minutes. Add the dry white wine and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in orzo and cook for 1-2 minutes and then add the stock all at once. Simmer and stir occasionally for 7/8 minutes until nearly cooked. Stir in the lemon juice and the frozen peas. Simmer for a minute and then add the parmesan cheese and continue to summer for 2 minutes until the peas are cooked then add the pesto and the parsley.

Season to taste and serve with extra pesto, a squeeze of lemon and parmesan cheese to sprinkle.

Here are a couple of additions – add prawns, obviously defrosted.

You know how I'm always banging on about slow cooking a whole chicken – here's where it comes into its own. I slow cook and freeze a chicken, divided into portions as required - breasts, legs, wings etc., and the stock too. I cannot tell you how useful this is.

On class night I served the orzotto topped with slices of slow cooked chicken breast. How difficult is it to pull a chicken breast (or two) out of the freezer mid week?

It's just the job any time but is particularly comforting at this miserable time of year.

I'm sure a risotto purist wouldn't be terribly complimentary and be able to tell the difference but mid week - with little or not time to cook - who cares.

By popular request …

… came the next appetiser Parmesan biscuits which I've served a time or two for friends – these biscuits are perfect to serve with drinks. It also seemed like a good idea to include the biscuits since when making the dough it does look like a little piece of magic!

Parmesan biscuits

Makes 25-30

100g cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch salt

pinch cayenne pepper

1 heaped tsp mustard powder

50g finely grated mature cheddar cheese

50g finely grated parmesan, plus extra to decorate

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 180c/160fan/Gas 4.

Place the butter and flour into a food processor with the salt, cayenne, mustard powder and cheeses. Process together then pulse the mixture in short spurts until you notice the mixture coming together. It will eventually bind without the need for egg or water. Tip the mixture onto a sheet of cling film and use the cling film to bring it together into a round. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Leaving longer will do no harm.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the pastry thinly. Cut out the biscuits in shapes to suit the occasion. Lay them on a greased or non stick baking tray – 2cm apart. You'll need two trays.

Brush the surface with egg and sprinkle over a little of the finely grated parmesan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Use a palette knife to ease the biscuits off the tray and place on a rack to cool. They will keep for a few days – good luck with that!

Thank you Simon Hopkinson – you're a genius!

It does exactly what is says on the tin and here's what they look like :

I promise you you'll never make cheese straws again – not that there is anything at all wrong with cheese straws, she says, hurriedly. These biscuits are just beyond delicious but the “parmesan on the top of the biscuit” is they are so easy to make – sorry for the bad, bad pun but “cherry on the top” didn't work somehow!

It just so happens …

… that I've got a loaf of soda bread in my freezer which will do very nicely for the base of the goats' cheese toasts. I know that the point of the recipe is to encourage you to preserve your own lemons but I also happen to know that Waitrose is the place where I can buy preserved lemons in a jar and good ones too. For those who don't want to preserve their own I can highly recommend Belazu Lemons - £2.13 for 350g – 220g drained.

If you look at the page in the magazine (p.67) you'll see that the home-made jar of lemons is bright lemon in colour. If you buy a jar then you'll notice two things – their colour is dull and the fruits are smaller. To show what I'm waffling on about, here's a photo of both :

It just goes to show that a last minute decision can pay off, the “toasts” went down a storm. They are quick and easy to prepare and the dressing is just yum!

Here's what they look like :

I know I've used this expression in the past but, now and again it really pays to fly by the seat of your pants. I would never normally produce any recipe in class without it being tried and tested but these little beauties looked so tempting I couldn't resist!

Well done Waitrose Food.

Fast forward … back to reality!

Oh well, nothing lasts forever and the holiday is over – thank you my friend for the best time!

It really is back to reality and post Christmas I'm just catching up with all my reading. It's also coming up to class time again – it'll be good to “get back in the saddle” as they say.

I know that my students will be suffering from winter blues – fed up with icy cold mornings and defrosting the car.

With that in mind here's what I've decided to do :

Parmesan biscuits

Orzotto – revisited

Malteser Brownies

Whilst ploughing through all the reading stuff I also came across Goats' cheese toasts with preserved lemons, mint and raisins” taken from Waitrose Food January 2017. It gives an easy recipe for preserving lemons and then the recipe for the “toasts”. It looks so inviting and simple I decided to add an extra appetiser with, as you would expect from me, a tweak or two along the way. Here's the recipe :

Goats' cheese toasts

2 preserved lemons quartered

1½ tbsp raisins

pinch crushed chillies

2 tbsp olive oil

125g soft rindless goats' cheese

1 tsp honey

3 tbsp full fat natural yogurt

3 large slices of sourdough bread, toasted

and halved

sprinkle of ground cumin

Cut the flesh from the preserved lemon and discard. Cut the rind into thin strips or finely chop. Stir in the raisins, chilli and 1 tbsp oil.

Mash the goats' cheese in a separate bowl with a fork. Add the honey, yogurt and remaining 1 tbsp oil, stir until smooth. Spread onto the sourdough toast and top with the lemon mix. Sprinkle with ground cumin and serve.

From Waitrose Food January 2017.

The original recipe uses ½ tsp cumin seeds and a handful of chopped mint to garnish.

Lets see how it goes!

On location in SC - The final class!

I mentioned earlier that my friend said “I have to make a loaf before you leave so you can watch me”. Well, today's the day!

A few basics before we begin, get yourself organised and do your “mise en place” - it means literally “put in place” so, weigh out your ingredients and make sure you've all the utensils you'll need and, most importantly, don't forget to turn on the oven.

Time to road test those scales.

I can do no better than to show my student in action and his finished product!

A very competent baker!

On location in SC - The Sunday pudding

I'm a great fan of mixing recipes and this is a perfect example. Another plus – you can make the base and topping separately and freeze and not necessarily on the same day! Note to self – if you do freeze the toffee apple base then make sure you do so in smaller pots or bags. You can then pull out however many portions you need and assemble rather than waste it – in your dreams!

Toffee Apple Crumble

Pre-heat oven 190c/170fan/Gas 5

For the toffee apple base

6-8 large Cox's apples, peeled, cored and sliced

115g unsalted butter

125g soft dark brown sugar

1 orange, zest and juice

A slug of Amaretto - optional

Place the apples, half the unsalted butter, the soft dark brown sugar, orange zest and juice (with Amaretto if you wish) into a large frying pan and cook for 10 minutes until tender.

For the crumble topping

150g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

250g self raising flour

150g demerara sugar

200g pecans, a mixture of finely

chopped and others left larger

In a large mixing bowl rub the butter into the flour – this is one occasion where using your fingers is better than a mixer – you want a texture to the rubbed in crumb, not fine sand. Add the sugar and the nuts and set aside.

Serve in individual ramekins or make one large crumble. Bake for 25 minutes.

The toffee apple base is also delicious as a topping for home-made vanilla ice cream.

In truth I can't remember where the recipe for the toffee apple base came from but the crumble topping is taken from Nigella Lawson's “How to be a Domestic Goddess” - Plum and Pecan Crumble.

On location in SC - The Sunday roast.

I'm not going to recite the lunch menu. I am however going to mention a crucial part of probably the most famous marriage of all - Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Lots of people struggle with it and resort to ready-made versions or buy a ready-made batter mix. There's nothing wrong with either but I would be remiss if I didn't give you my two pennyworth.

I've used the following version for a long while and, pardon the pun, “if it ain't broke don't fix it”. It's by Barney Desmazery and came from Good Food magazine, February 2009.

Makes 8 large or 24 small puddings

with tins to fit your choice

140g plain flour

4 eggs

200ml milk

salt and pepper

vegetable or sunflower oil to drizzle

into the tins

Heat the oven to 230c/210fan/Gas 8 – in other words very hot! Place the tin(s) in the oven to heat through.

To make the batter tip the flour into a large mixing bowl and beat in the eggs until smooth. Add the milk gradually and beat until lump free. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the batter into a jug then remove the hot tins from the oven. Pour the batter into the holes. Place the tin(s) back into the oven and leave completely alone for 20/25 minutes until they have puffed up and browned. Serve immediately.

My two pennyworth

Any leftovers – I know, very funny – freeze them when they've cooled – will keep for one month. Pop straight from the freezer into a pre-heated oven, as above, for 5 minutes.

An individual muffin tin works really well for deeper, larger puddings.

I make my batter first thing in the morning, to use later in the day. I keep it fridged and remove so that it can reach room temperature before cooking - stir before use.

This recipe never fails – just make sure you set your timer and resist the urge to open the oven door!

P.s. Memory Lane - my Dad never ate Yorkshire pudding with meat – he loved it for afters drizzled with either jam or golden syrup – a habit leftover from when there wasn't enough meat to go round.