Recipes

Pancakes with Hazelnut Praline and Caramelized Apples

Makes 10 pancakes

Ingredients:
150g plain flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
150ml milk
1 tbsp melted butter

Method
Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl, male a well in the centre and add the egg
and egg yolk, add the milk and mix well into a smooth batter. Whisk in the melted butter.

For the praline butter
Ingredients:
150g of caster sugar
150g of hazelnuts
150g unsalted butter softened,
150g caster sugar

Method
1. Place the sugar on a non stick pan with low sides and scatter the nuts over the top. Set over a
low heat, do not stir.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment, when carmel turns golden brown pour the mix on to a baking tray and allow to cool until hard. Then place in a food processor and whizz until it reaches a gritty powder. Mix the praline powder with the softened butter and caster sugar.

For the caramelized apples:
500g peeled and cored apples and sliced

Ingredients:
175g black pudding cut into slices
700g good quality sausage meat or lean pork
225g chicken livers washed and trimmed
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves chopped
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
2 tbsp of brandy
2 tablespoons of a mix of rosemary, thyme and parsley chopped finely
50g pistachio nuts whole
225g streaky bacon rashers

Method:
1.5 Liter terrine or loaf tin
Prepare the chicken livers; mince together with the pork/sausage meat, garlic and shallots in a food processor. Empty the contents of the mixer into a large bowl, add the seasoning herbs, black pudding, brandy, egg and nuts, mix thoroughly. Check the seasoning by frying a teaspoon of the mixture and tasting.
Line the terrine/tin with the rashers; leave enough hanging over the sides to fold over.
Fill with the prepared mixture give the tin a little bang on the work surface to compact the contents and cover with ends of the rashers.

Quick and easy dishes are just my type of supper, especially ones that use ingredients that are available in the store cupboard or in the fridge and provide you with an all in one meal in one dish.

Pasta bakes fit the bill for me perfectly. Though if you’re not fans of pasta bakes because they are too dense and heavy with soggy pasta and globby sauce, try this recipe.

The best way to making pasta with a light interior and crispy crust is to cook it at a high temperature. Don’t cook it for too long as the pasta is already cooked. You also don’t want to slow cook it, soaking up the moisture from the sauce and become soggy or gluey in the process. Use a large shallow dish rather than a deep one as this maximises the surface area and increases the amount of yummy crust.

Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Baked Pasta

3 cups of penne pasta
2 large heads of broccoli cut into florets
100 g smoked salmon sliced into strips
3 medium tomatoes sliced
2 tbsp capers (optional)