Speed sweets … a Hodgepodge

… aka a mess. I just love to be able to pull ingredients for a speed sweet straight from the store cupboard 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.

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

Do I have your attention?!

A Croque, the jam and a wedge

Cooking doesn't have to be complicated – the simpler the better. Here's an example - recipes for a sandwich, with two sides.

The beauty of these recipes are that they are straight forward – the Croque can be made ahead, ready to fry whilst your wedges are in the oven.

I know the Croque is indulgent – it's meant to be – perfect for the weekend in front of your favourite film.

The Croque :

Croque Monsieur

4 slices of medium sliced wholemeal bread

2 tsp Dijon mustard

75g (3oz) Gruyere cheese (grated)

2 slices of ham or try 45g of cooked ham hock

if you can get it – omit the ham for the vegetarians

30g (1½oz) unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4

Spread ½ tsp of mustard over each slice of bread.

Spread half the cheese on two slices of bread followed by the ham, remaining cheese on top. Sandwich together with the other two slices of bread.

Heat the butter in a frying pan until foaming – fry your Croque Monsieur for 1-2 minutes on each side. If your frying pan is suitable for the oven then pop in for 4-5 minutes. If not then transfer the Croque to a baking sheet.

If you haven't got or can't get hold of Gruyere then use Mature Cheddar instead – nothing is set in stone!

Adaptable for meat eaters and vegetarians too.

The jam :

Balsamic Onion Jam - 4 of everything!

4 medium brown onions, finely diced

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 tbsp soft dark brown sugar

1 garlic clove, finely chopped (optional)

1 tbsp unsalted butter – 15g-30g

as a guide my “tablespoon” was exactly that -

from the cutlery drawer

the large frying pan measures 29cms/11” in diameter

and is non-stick

Using a large frying pan, cook the onions in the butter over a medium/high heat, stirring constantly for 5-8 minutes until they are opaque. Add the vinegar and sugar. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the onions are cooked down to a jam-like consistency for 20-25 minutes. Do not cover the pan at any stage.

The recipe will give you 300g of jam.

Cool and place in a sealed container or a jar with a tightly fitting lid and keep in the fridge.

Finally the wedges :

You can use Charlotte or any waxy potato for wedges. If in doubt check the instructions on the bag. King Edward potatoes are great too – crispy on the outside – fluffy on on the inside. Cut your wedges into similar sizes and place on a large baking tray, drizzle with rapeseed oil and pop into a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 – 20 minutes then shake and repeat. The more wedges you have the longer it will take for them to be crispy and brown. Tip into a bowl and sprinkle with a seasoning of your choice – Chinese 5 Spice, Chilli Flakes, or Classic Paprika & Onion, to name but three. Shake again and serve.

Phew!

Now for something sweet …

Soup's up!

This is deliberately a veggie soup – in the interests of balance – a rest from meat for the week.

Carrot, Coriander and Chickpea Soup

1lb/500g Charlotte potatoes, peeled and diced

l large onion, finely chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 stockpots, vegetable or chicken

1 litre of water

1 tsp mild curry powder

1 heaped tsp coriander

Salt and black pepper

Rapeseed oil

1 can 400g/240g drained weight can of chickpeas -

(14oz/8½oz) drained and shucked

(optional – see notes to follow)

with veggie dumplings

Soften onion and carrot in drop of rapeseed oil for approx 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add curry powder, coriander and black pepper, cook the spices with the onion and carrot for 2 minutes so that the flavours are released.

Add the stockpots, plus 500ml water and simmer until the pots have melted.

Add the diced potatoes and the remaining 500ml of water, bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes until the carrot and potatoes are cooked. Taste, then add salt to personal taste.

At this point you can set aside the soup until you are ready to serve.

Before serving pop 3 ladles of soup into a food processor/liquidiser and blitz. Tip the thickened soup back into your remaining soup, add the chickpeas, heat and serve.

By blitzing a portion of the soup no artificial thickening is required. The potato is your thickener and the joy of using a variety like Charlotte is that those left in the soup retain their shape - together with the other veggies and the chickpeas it is definitely a soup of substance!

the notes

Without being too ridiculous try and keep your carrot, onion and potato a similar size so that they cook evenly.

Don't put potatoes in with the carrots, onion and oil – the starch that is released from the potatoes means that they will cement themselves to the bottom of your saucepan!

If you want to shuck your chickpeas i.e. remove the outer husk, have a look at the blog for Sunday 18^th March 2018 – Veggie Rendang – the shucking and the photos – The shucking stuff which gives you chapter, verse and photos.

The savoury equivalent to the “cherry on the top of the cake” is a dumpling. Vegetarian suet is out there!

the dumplings

100g/4oz self raising flour

50g/2oz vegetarian suet

pinch of salt – mixed together

Add 100ml cold water, gradually to mix

and form into balls – 4 large or 8 small

Bring your soup to a simmer then add the dumplings, cover and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

Then there's the Croque ...

Now for a salad – but not as you know it!

 

Warm smoked mackerel, beetroot and apple salad

Serves 2 – generous portions

350g new potatoes

2 tsp horseradish cream

100g sour cream

2 tbsp mayo

juice of 1 lemon

2 smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and

flaked (200g approx)

250g cooked beetroot, cut into small cubes

1 large eating apple, Cox, Pink Lady, Granny Smith

black pepper

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender - drain the potatoes and cut in half lengthways. Whilst the potatoes are cooking mix the horseradish cream, sour cream, mayo and lemon juice in a bowl. Season with black pepper.

Add the mix so that it covers the potatoes and place on a serving dish. Then add the flaked smoked mackerel. Add the beetroot and the apple to complete!

It might sound like an odd combination but it works.

If there is any left, box it, fridge it and lunch it next day!

Soup's up

The baked potato … and whilst I'm at it

Now I can show you how taking 5 minutes out of your day can produce a meal!

To recall …

If you have turned on the oven, fill it

Bake half a dozen jacket potatoes – they don't take up too much space if, for example, you're cooking a roast. Prick them and wrap in foil – bake for an hour – check – depending on the size they make take a little longer. Set them aside to cool and then bag and fridge.

This has got to be the quickest meal … you've prepped the coleslaw and all you have to do is add a dressing of choice. The jacket potatoes are cooked and so all that remains is for them to be zapped in the microwave and whilst that's happening you can unwrap the ham hock – hey presto!

It doesn't have to be ham hock, it can be anything you like salmon, tuna or chicken. There are loads of veggie options too.

You could scoop out the potato – be careful of your fingers – add cheese and pop back.

Here's another idea if you don't like ham hock :

Asian Spiced Salmon

Marinade

2 x 4oz Salmon fillets

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp powdered star anise or one star anise

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Mix together the marinade, pour over the salmon fillets, turning to coat thoroughly, cover and leave in fridge for an hour or so.

When you are ready to cook, pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 and cook for 15 minutes.

It's equally good hot or cold!

Then there's a salad ...

The basic 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 – see hints and tips to follow

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.

Julienne your carrot – 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 too. Slice, bag, clip and fridge.

The ingredients are deliberately bagged separately – they keep fresh longer and carrots “bleed” into other veggies so unless you love orange cabbage I'd definitely recommend!

If you'd like to see a photo of “a cheek of cabbage” check out the Veggie label Saturday 15^th April 2017 – The Coleslaw Conundrum – the raw slaw principle – Coronation Slaw gives the photo.

There is an added advantage – 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 - it's not as easy as it sounds when you're hungry and your resistance is low. The answer is to have your ingredients ready and waiting to assemble quickly.

You don't have to use mayo - you can use any dressing that takes your fancy with the cabbage, carrot and onion – last minute additions of a handful of sultanas or raisins, nuts, or cubes of apple would work well too.

If you want a dressing that is different and healthy too then have a look at this :

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

Now for the rest of the meal!

How about choosing roast pork for your Sunday roast?

It would be perfect for my next idea - choose a roast that's big enough to give you 500g of leftover pork – if the budget permits – if not you can use mince.

A stir fry makes the best and quickest use of your leftover roast so you'll need a wok!

San Choy Bow is Chinese and here's my useless bit of information - “sang choi” means lettuce in Cantonese.

Here goes :

San Choy Bow

Little Gem lettuce cups

(if Little Gem not available use Iceberg -

smaller inner leaves) – I would say 3 per person

depending on size of appetites

500g/1lb2oz leftover roast pork, shredded

1 garlic clove or garlic paste

1 red chilli, finely chopped

150g/5oz chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped

6 spring onions, finely chopped

225g/8oz water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped

200g/7oz bean sprouts, chopped

Glug of rapeseed oil

3 tbsp hoisin sauce*

1 tbsp soy sauce*

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce*

1 tbsp dry sherry or Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)*

Wash your lettuce, pat dry ready to serve.

Combine the four ingredients marked * to make a sauce – this can be made ahead.

Over a high heat add the oil to your wok and cook the garlic and chilli for a minute. Add the mushrooms, onions, water chestnuts and bean sprouts until mixed through and sizzling followed by the shredded pork – 2/3 minutes.

Add the sauce mixture, stirring and sizzling until completely combined for a final 2/3 minutes.

Serve!

Slaw and jackets next …