Ingredients (makes roughly 12 tarts):

• 1 pack of shortcrust pastry
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 150ml of double cream
• 115g of caster sugar
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 6 tablespoons of water
• 115g of shelled pecan nuts – chopped
• 12 whole pecan halves

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C.

Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured work surface.  Cut out 12 circles and line a tart baking tray or individual tartlet trays.  Prick the base of each tart case with a fork and then line each one with some baking paper and fill them with baking beans.  Blind bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.  Remove the tray from the oven and then remove the beans and baking paper.  Return the tray of tart cases to the oven for a further 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the oven again and allow to cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.

Mix half of the cream and half of the syrup in a bowl.  In a saucepan, pour the sugar and water in along with the cream of tartar and heat gently until the sugar dissolves.  Stir while the sugar is dissolving.  Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the mixture to the boil and simmer until light golden.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bowl of cream and syrup.

Return the pan to the heat again and gently simmer for a few minutes and then stir in the other half of the cream.  Remove from the heat once you’ve stirred it well and allow to cool.

Brush the other half of the syrup over the tart cases.  Place a portion of the chopped pecan nuts into each of the pastry cases and then spoon in enough toffee to come level with the top of each tart case.  Gently place one of the whole halves of pecan onto each tart and press lightly into the toffee.

Leave them to cool once again and then tuck in!  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 500g of frying steak – cut into thin strips
• 100ml of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed and finely sliced
• 1/2 onion – sliced into strips
• 2 spring onions – finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, spring onion, sesame seeds and chilli flakes together until the sugar has dissolved completely.  Next, add the steak and sliced onion and ensure that it’s well coated by the marinade.  Seal or cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for about an hour to marinate.

When you’re ready to cook the beef, heat a pan up over a medium to high heat and remove the strips of beef from the marinade and fry them in the pan for a few minutes per side.  Just before the beef is cooked, pour in the marinade and bring to a gentle simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened slightly.

Serve up with some freshly cooked rice and a salad.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

• 250g of macaroni pasta
• 40g of butter
• 40g of plain flour
• 600ml of milk
• 250g of grated cheddar
• 50g of grated parmesan

Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water, drain and leave to one side while you prepare the cheese sauce.

Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat and pour in the flour, stirring to form a roux.  Pour in the milk a little bit at a time, whisking gently and constantly.  Cook for 10-15 minutes until slightly thickened.  Pre-heat the grill to high.

Once the sauce has thickened slightly remove it from the heat and stir in 3/4 of the cheddar cheese until fully melted into the sauce.  Pour the drained pasta into the cheese sauce and mix well.  Transfer the whole mixture to a deep oven dish and top with the remaining cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Cook under the grill until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling.  Serve up straight away and enjoy this indulgent meal!

PS: I accidentally picked up some smoked cheddar, but it turned out very nice indeed!  Worth a try! 🙂

Ingredients (serves 1-2):

• 300g good quality fresh steak – ribeye or sirloin
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• Watercress and rocket salad

Trim any excess fat from the steak and place it in the freezer for about 30 minutes.  This will help when it comes to slicing the steak.  After 30 minutes, remove the steak from the freezer and slice very thinly.  Arrange the slices in a circle on a plate.  Drizzle over the lemon juice, olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Leave for 5-10 minutes to cure a little.

Arrange the salad on the plate and dress with a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing.  If you have some parmesan, grate some over the top of the salad with a potato peeler.

Enjoy this delicious treat! 🙂

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 small onion – chopped
• 1 carrot – chopped
• 1 stalk celery – chopped
• 2 x 200g tins of chickpeas – drained and rinsed
• 6-8 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
• Juice and zest from 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon of dried parsley

Heat some oil in a large pan and add the onions, carrots and celery.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the carrot and celery soften slightly.  Add the chickpeas, garlic, rosemary, half of the parsley and the vegetable stock and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Stir every so often.  Season the soup to taste and then blend it until smooth.  Return the soup to the pan and heat through.  Add the lemon zest and juice and also the rest of the parsley.  Season again if required and then serve up straight away with some crusty bread.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 6-10 strips of belly pork
• 200g of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried coriander
• 2 cloves of garlic – finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 30g of fresh ginger – grated
• 200ml of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• Plenty of pepper

Mix together the sugar, coriander, garlic, chilli flakes, ginger and soy sauce in a bowl.  Place the pieces of belly pork in the marinade and ensure that they’re nicely covered in the sauce.  Once all of the pork is in the bowl, cover it with cling film and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours; overnight is better!

When you’re ready to cook the pork, remove the strips of belly from the marinade.  Heat a frying pan up and add a little oil.  Gently fry the pork, fat side down, until the fat is rendered off a little.  Once the fat has been rendered off a little, tip the pork strips flat and pour over about half the marinade.  Simmer the meat in the marinade for a couple of minutes per side.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Turn the grill on to a medium to high heat and place the strips of pork onto a foil lined oven tray.  Place the tray under the grill and cook the pork for a further 5 minutes each side, basting with the leftover marinade regularly.  Grill until nice the pork is slightly blackened.

Remove the pork and drain off the majority of the marinade.  Serve up with fries, salad or both!  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

For the roasted tomatoes:

• 700 g of cherry tomatoes (large ones if possible, to make skinning easier)
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic – finely sliced
• A handful of basil leaves – chopped
• Salt and pepper

For the risotto:

• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• 110g of sun-dried tomatoes – roughly chopped
• A large knob of butter
• 1 red onion – finely chopped
• 225g of risotto rice
• 275 ml of dry white wine
• 50g of parmesan – grated
• 1 tablespoon of double cream
• Salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C, then start by skinning the tomatoes.  To do this, put them into a bowl and pour boiling water over them and leave for 1 minute.  Drain off the water and you should now be able to easily remove the skin from each tomato.  Slice each tomato in half and place it onto an oven tray.  Sprinkle the garlic and basil over the top along with a good grind of salt and pepper.  Place them into the oven for up to an hour until the edges of the tomatoes are blackened.  Once cooked, remove them from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then blend the tomatoes and any juices using a blender.  Put to one side.  Reduce the temperature of the oven to about 180 degrees C.

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan and fry the onions off until nicely coloured.  Add the rice and stir around the pan to coat it in the juice of the onions for a few seconds.  Pour the wine in and allow to reduce down a little, again stirring the rice around.  Add the tomato puree and 330ml of boiling water and give it a good stir.  Add the blended tomato mixture, the sun-dried tomatoes and season well with salt and pepper.  Heat it all up to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly, and then pour the whole lot into an oven dish.  You should place the oven dish into the oven about five minutes before needing it.

Cook in the oven for 25-35 minutes until the rice is nearly ready (it should still have a slight bite to it).  Remove the dish from the oven and generously sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top then return the dish to the oven for a further 5 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the cream and then top each serving with some basil leaves and another grating of parmesan if you like.  Enjoy this lovely meal!

Ingredients (serves 1):

• 2-3 chicken wings
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1/2 tablespoon of cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes

Mix together the honey, vinegar, oil and chilli flakes in a bowl.  Place the chicken wings into an oven dish and spoon of the marinade.  Heat the oven up to 160 degrees C.  Place the dish into the oven for about 20 minutes before turning up the temperature to around 20 degrees C.  Baste the chicken every five minutes, making up some more marinade if required.  Cook until the skin is nice and crispy (40 minutes to 1 hour).  Enjoy!  Be careful of how much spice you put in. 🙂

Ingredients (serves 1):

• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried chili flakes
• 3 chicken wings
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh parsley

In a bowl, mix together the lemon juice, oil, garlic, rosemary, chilli flakes and a good grind of salt and pepper.  Adjust it to suit your taste if necessary.  Place the chicken into a small oven dish and coat it evenly with the marinade.  Rub it into the chicken to get the best effect.  Cover the dish with cling film and allow to marinate for about an hour.

Heat up the oven to around 200 degrees C.  Remove the cling film and place the dish into the oven.  Cook the chicken for up to 40 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy.  Baste the chicken every five minutes or so with the marinade.

Serve with some fries and salad and sprinkle over the fresh parsley.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion – finely chopped
• 1 carrot – chopped
• 1 celery stalk – chopped
• 2 garlic cloves – crushed and sliced
• 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
• 250ml of red wine
• 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
• 250ml of vegetable stock
• 2 x 400g cans of beans (your choice) – drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
• 500g spaghetti
• Grated parmesan

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium to high heat.  Add the carrots, onion and celery and fry for around 8-10 minutes until the celery just looses its crunch.  Add the garlic and tomato puree and stir for a minute before adding the wine.  Allow to simmer for a further couple of minutes before adding the rosemary, tinned tomatoes and the stock.  Bring to the boil and then gently simmer for ten minutes.  Add the beans and cook for a further five minutes.  Add a little more stock if it dries out or becomes too thick.  Stir in the fresh parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

When you put the beans in you should also put on the spaghetti to cook.  Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain it off and stir it into the bean mixture.  Grate a little (or a lot) of parmesan over and serve straight away.  Enjoy!