Back to normal - A Tickle Tray

A “Tickle Tray” so called because quite simply it tickles the taste buds!

This recipe is ideal – it doesn't require a massive amount of prep – just bits and pieces you can do a day or two in advance when you have time, that can be fridged ready to pull out when you are ready.

It's inspired cooking all in one tray, a dive-in dish.

A Tickle Tray

You'll need a large baking tray which will be greased with either rapeseed or olive oil – measuring 43x31 cms.

Serves 4-6 depending on size of appetites

The chicken for the tray

1 slow cooked chicken – 1.5kg

1 chicken stock pot

2 tsps of garlic paste or 1 garlic stock pot

generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic

Italian seasoning

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and mix the stock pot with the garlic paste and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with the herbs. Switch your slow cooker to the low setting and leave it for 8 hours.

When the chicken has cooled remove from the slow cooker. Strip the chicken into large ish pieces, bag and fridge. Strain the stock, jug and fridge. I would suggest that you cook the chicken the day before you need it so that you can strip and strain. If you are slow cooking ahead then freeze the chicken and the stock. Remove from the freezer the day before you want to use and defrost in the fridge.

Use the two chicken breasts – pulled into pieces

ready to be scattered

the strained chicken stock

1kg cooked Charlotte potatoes, peeled and cut

into large dice – prep ahead then bag and fridge

250g diced chorizo – I buy it ready diced

2 medium red onions, sliced – prep, bag and fridge

mixed sweet peppers, de-seeded and sliced -

prep, bag and fridge – you can buy a punnet of

sweet mini peppers (190g) - orange, yellow and red

6 cherry tomatoes – or small bunches x however

many servings required

50g black olives, pitted and sliced – optional

easy to obtain in jars

100g each of Panko breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese to

garnish

salt and black pepper

Bread of your choice to serve, with bowls of

balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil for extra dipping

When you're ready – now for the creative bit!

There are photos too ...

Take a look :

Here's the tin, greased and dusted

The filling in the tin, ready for the oven

Out of the oven, leave to cool

A slice of cake, with raspberries -

or strawberries!

A perfect summer treat!

Next up bits & pieces and hints & tips …

Chocolate cake!

For the chocoholics here's the first of three chocolate recipes that will hit the spot – you want easy – this is it – it does exactly what it says – in the tin!

Here it is :

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Serves 8

120g dark chocolate – choose a cocoa solid

of 50%

120g unsalted butter

150g caster sugar

50g cocoa

3 eggs

½ tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp vanilla essence

You will need a small sandwich tin -

measuring 20cms/8” x 3cms/1¼”

a butter wrapper for greasing

an extra heaped teaspoon of cocoa

for dusting

a sheet of foil big enough to wrap the cake

Grease the tin with the butter wrapper and then sprinkle cocoa into the tin and carefully tilt the tin until the bottom and the sides of the tin are covered. A small tip – unless you are practised at this art you might want to tilt the tin over the sink!

Pre-heat the oven 130fan/150c/Gas 2.

Set a glass bowl over simmering water and melt the chocolate and butter – when melted, wearing oven gloves and with care, set aside on a heatproof mat or board. Stir in the sugar, cocoa, eggs and vanilla, mix well. Tip into your prepared sandwich tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Let the cake cool, in the tin for 15 minutes.

There are photos too …

The third option …

...fancy a fish alternative?

If you're not a lover of fish but recognise that it should be part of your diet then disguise it!

Here's a different way of getting those Omega 3 oils :

Smoked Mackerel Paté

250g smoked mackerel

250g quark (it's a soft cheese made from skimmed milk – not nice on its own but great as a low fat product for a healthy pate!)

Glug of lemon juice

Black pepper

Two tsps of creamed horseradish

Remove the skin from the mackerel, flake it and pop into your food processor. Add the quark and blitz with the mackerel, then add the lemon juice, black pepper and horseradish, blitz again. You can gauge the consistency of the paté to your personal taste.

You can then add, for example, chopped onion, chopped capers.

Serve with anything you like, toasted bread, rice cakes or add to warmed pitta slit, with salad. Add to cooked pasta, hot or cold – perfect for lunch on the run!

If you can't get hold of quark you can use cottage cheese - low fat of course!

Very healthy – very virtuous – but more to the point very versatile and moreish.

Three perfect, easy peasy patés for you to choose – or may be all three?!

Whilst I'm on the subject of bread ...

 … here's another quick and easy bread recipe which is perfect as part of a Ploughman's Lunch. It uses beer and self-raising flour as the raising agents and I warn you it's delicious and moreish!

Beer Bread

Serves 6-8

100g cheddar cheese

375g self-raising flour

3 tbsp caster sugar

330ml ale, such as India Pale Ale

20g butter, melted (optional)

You will need a 2lb loaf tin – makes one 2lb loaf

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

Grate the cheddar cheese into a mixing bowl. Sift in the flour and the sugar, then mix well. Then, slowly pour in the beer, mixing as you go, until the mixture comes together to form a wet dough.

Pour the dough mixture into a greased loaf tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the bread is risen and golden brown. To check if the bread is cooked all the way through, tap the bottom with your knuckles – it should sound hollow. During the remaining 4-5 minutes of cooking you can brush the crust of the bread with the melted butter, if preferred.

after adding the beer

ready for the oven

before the melted butter

fingers itching – leave to cool

just add butter to sample – worth the wait!

You might want to have a glance at the Hints and Tips coming next before you have a go ...

I forgot to mention …

… as part of the sharing plates I made soda bread – two loaves – one to be eaten over the weekend and one for Brian to take home – it's his favourite and so a treat!

It's a while since I've made it so here's a refresher for you :

Soda bread

170g self raising wholemeal flour

170g plain flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

290ml buttermilk – you may need

an extra drop and so purchase in a 300ml pot

is convenient

semolina for sprinkling and dusting

Pre heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Tip the flours, salt and bicarb into a large bowl and mix.

Make a well in the centre, pour in 290ml of buttermilk and mix quickly with a large fork until you have a soft dough formed. You may need an extra drop if your dough is too stiff but take care it should not be too wet or sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly.

Form the dough into a round a flatten slightly. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet. You can use flour or semolina

Slice an “x” on the top of the loaf sprinkle with a little semolina and bake for 30 minutes – the base should sound hollow when tapped.

Just to confuse the issue I've found buttermilk in different weights. A low fat version weighing 284ml and a full fat version weighing 300ml.

This bread makes great toast too!

Another easy peasy and inexpensive treat.

Whilst I'm on the subject of bread ...

Reflections on Christmas cooking …

… I needed a dessert for Christmas Eve.

The brief – it had to be plant based for two of us, the remaining four guests didn't have any dietary requirements.

You can go dizzy trying to split the atom – should I give in and buy a dessert or two? No! Then I realised go “plant based” for all.

Okey dokey, I want a combination of fruit, cream – may be ice, crunch or texture if you like and then a surprise.

Hmm, I have cooked apples and Swedish Glacé in the freezer, that's the fruit and ice cream sorted – uninspiring you might think.

Then I had a lightbulb moment - M&S Plant Kitchen makes Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (8 for £2 in the biscuit aisle) – I could bash them to a rubble in a food bag, clipped, using the end of a rolling pin.

I'm getting there … and then a lightbulb moment for the finale – sticky toffee sauce warmed to drizzle over – the bonus I can make it ahead and freeze. All that's required is a glass sundae dish to serve!

Here's the plan :

for assembly - using your sundae dish

a generous tablespoon of Swedish Glacé

a generous tablespoon of cooked apples

a generous handful of the cookie rubble

warm the Sticky Toffee Sauce in the microwave

(1-2 minutes) and drizzle generously over the top

I think I'll call it a Christmas Sundae!

Save time and money – Part 7

Here's another cheap and cheerful recipe, again uses your slow cooker and, other than minimum prep, the rest is done by magic!

Steak Pie Filling

Serves 4/6

1kg/2.2lbs braising steak or stewing steak, cubed

glug of rapeseed or Canola oil

2 x Knorr beef stock pots

2 heaped tbsp tomato paste

2 heaped tbsp small chunk Branston pickle

Brown the meat in a frying pan, using a drop of rapeseed oil – do this in small batches – if you don't you'll get grey looking meat - it'll take ages and will stew. Using a slotted spoon pop the browned meat into the slow cooker.

Dissolve the stock pots in the residual pan juices, then add the tomato paste – make sure the paste is properly melted and “cooked out” - if you don't do this you'll get a bitter taste. Add your Branston, then add 250ml water, bring to the boil and tip over your meat. Slow cook on low for 4 hours. If your gravy is too thin then add a little slaked cornflour and thicken to taste.

You can make this filling ahead and freeze it, should you have a spare 30 minutes.

All that remains in your choice of lid – you could cheat and use a puff pastry sheet or create a “hot-pot” style, sliced potato lid from your ready-baked potato stash or leave as is and serve with potatoes and other veggies of your choice.

By adding the tomato paste it enriches the gravy. By adding the Branston Pickle it gives a zingy flavour – ordinary it is not!

Life is so much easier with a slow cooker.