When you're ready to serve …

The result of all your hard work look like this :-

To complete, add :

100g of your home-made mayo and combine

or you can split

50g mayo

50g sour cream

To turn the slaw into a “Coronation Slaw” add :-

1 tsp mild curry powder

a squirt of lime juice

1 tbsp mango chutney

Optional extras anyone?

Add any of the following for a fruit and nut hit :

30g ready to eat apricots, finely diced

30g sultanas soaked in mango and apple juice

1 eating apple of your choice – quartered and

chopped

30g of chopped nuts – walnuts or brazils

This is not just any old slaw, whichever combination you choose – the home-made mayo makes all the difference and takes it to another level, well worth it!

Hmm, what's next … it has to be the bread!

The raw slaw

Time is our greatest enemy – or rather lack of it - whether its a commute, long hours, collecting and ferrying children, there's very little left to think about food and meals - here's my antidote which does require some prep but it's well worth the effort.

The basic raw slaw

It's much better to prep the slaw in separate food bags – it lasts longer.

How much you prep is up to you – as a guide :

110g white or red cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage – a “cheek”

use a paring knife – see hints and tips to follow

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

salt and black pepper

Slice your cheek of cabbage as finely as you can using a sharp paring knife – bag, clip and fridge. 

Next up the carrots – they 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 :

Bag, clip and fridge.

A neat piece of kit and inexpensive too.

Finally, spring onions are mild, you could use a Spanish onion if you prefer or a red version. You can get a sweet, mild variety too. Slice, bag, clip and fridge.

The ingredients are deliberately bagged separately – they keep fresh longer!

When you're ready to serve …

Variations on a theme!

If you wanted to change the mood depending on what you're serving then why not try these ideas!

For a French mayonnaise swap the lemon juice

for white wine vinegar, keep the remaining ingredients

Smoked mayo – stir in a few drops of smoke flavouring

to the mayo – substitute 1 tbsp of cider vinegar for the

white wine vinegar. Add a few drops of maple syrup

on each dollop of mayo. Fab on fries!

It does exactly what it says on the tin, here's a photo of the original :

What's not to love!

It's really useful – so many other recipes contain mayo, the most obvious being coleslaw – with the home-made mayo it takes it to the next level.

I don't think you'll ever buy mayonnaise again – goodbye shop bought.

If ever there was a recipe “for keeps” this is it!

Speaking of coleslaw ...

Make your own mayo!

The simple things in life – and your kitchen – are the best!

One of the best salady sides has to be mayo – but not any old bottle or jar – a mayo you've made yourself.

A good mayo recipe is pure gold and the following recipe is easy peasy. I cannot take the credit for the recipe – it belongs to Matt Preston late of MasterChef Australia. It never fails!

A small dish served as a side – a central part of sharing plates of mixed meats or fish and seafood – or both - is delicious.

Here goes :

Stick blender mayonnaise

1 egg

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

pinch of salt

juice of half a lemon – 2 tbsp

350ml of grapeseed oil

Break an egg into the stick blender jug. It's important that the yolk doesn't break. Add the mustard, salt and lemon.

Add the grapeseed oil, again being careful not to break the yolk. Insert the stick blender, be sure that the blades completely cover the yolk.

Blend – after a couple of seconds you'll see white ribbons rising through the oil. Slowly pull the blender up through the oil so it amalgamates and push down again to incorporate all the oil.

Serve!

Stick Blender Mayo is not as stiff as shop bought since it does not contain preservatives so the consistency should be spot on – if you think it's too stiff for your taste then add a drizzle of double cream.

The mayo recipe includes lemon juice and Dijon mustard, an excellent “good to go” base. All that's needed is extra seasonings – celery salt and white pepper as a suggestion.

An added bonus - you get 425g from a batch of mayonnaise and it will keep in the fridge for 3 days, so loads left over for other stuff!

Now for the variations ...

By the way …

… here's a “salady side” that's my absolute favourite – its flavours match either with the Three Cheese Tart or the Homity Pie or for that matter anywhere you want a relish or a side it fits the bill - from baked salmon or honey glazed gammon to plain and simple with bread and cheese.

For those not in the know “bazzin” I associate with Manchester slang, meaning “great”, “fantastic” or particularly in this case “excellent” but any of the above will do!

I've used an organic vac pack of beetroot - it's easily available and ideal for the purpose of this relish and it's quicker!

Bazzin' beetroot relish

300g of cooked beetroot

peeled and cut into small cubes

1 sharp eating apple, peeled, cored and cut

into small cubes

1 medium onion, finely chopped

75g soft dark brown sugar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and black pepper

Don't forget to use gloves when prepping your beetroot!

Mix well and place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan – 16cms in diameter. Simmer on a low heat, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. Box up and fridge until ready to use.

I like the flexibility of this beetroot relish – it's not complicated or fussy and you can make it any time you've got half an hour to spare.

Here's a photo, served with frittata sat on sautéed veggies and topped with the Bazzin' beetroot relish:

I just thought I'd mention it!

Coming next … ideas for more salady sides

Homity Pie

 

MiamMiam

School of Cookery

Homity Pie

Serves 12-16 depending on size of slice

Pastry case

200g plain wholemeal flour

100g unsalted butter

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs, then gradually add a glug of water and use and round bladed knife to bring the pastry together.

You can use a processor to reach the breadcrumb stage if you prefer – I'd then tip the pastry into a mixing bowl and add the water by hand.

Rest the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ahead of the game

Bake 6 large jacket potatoes, then cool, peel and dice finely

and place in a large mixing bowl

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500g onions, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic – finely chopped or roasted

paste

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

salt and black pepper

5 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley – 3 tbsp for the

filling and 2 for the topping – use less if you are

using dried

300g of grated cheese – I use a mixture of mature

cheddar, Gruyere and Red Leicester – 200g for the

filling and 100g for the topping

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil, add to the potatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Add the cheese and parsley, mix thoroughly.

Roll out your pastry and line a greased baking dish measuring 24cms in diameter x 5cms deep.

Tip your potato mixture into the pastry case and pack it down tightly and flat – it will look as if you'll never get all the filling into the case – persevere – you will succeed.

Top with the remaining cheese and parsley.

Bake in a pre-heated oven – 190fan/170c/Gas 7 for 40 minutes – check after 20 minutes.

Alternatively you can make mini homity tarts using the same recipe, you'll get 18, 7cm “cases” - based on a bun tin of a similar size . Roll out the pastry and cut out circles using a straight sided 7cm cutter.

I'd recommend passing the potato through a ricer before adding the remaining ingredients. I'd also suggest using an ice cream scoop – measuring 5cms in diameter – to fill the cases. Press the filling down gently to flatten and garnish and bake as per the original recipe.

Whether you're making the large pie or the individual cases you can make them ahead and freeze. Once you've lined the greased baking dish, freeze until required. Once lined, place the bun tin in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove the tin and ease out the cases, bag and freeze until required.

In the unlikely event that you have any leftover it freezes really well – freeze in individual portions.

Either version of the homity is useful – serve the pie as part of your Boxing Day lunch, or as the centre piece of your buffet. The tarts are a great size for a canapé or serve as a starter warmed with antipasti or garnish with diced chorizo, fried – not forgetting a drizzle of the delicious oil.

By the way ...

The dish and the “pie” photos

Homity Pie – the scaled down version

I wouldn't normally use a foil pie dish, in the interests of recycling and climate change et al but when I do I re-use them – just a thought!

a dish fit for purpose!

with the pastry lining

and then the filling

cooked and ready to serve!

Perfect – I hope you'll agree!

For those who would like the recipe for the Homity Pie catering size, it follows ...