Plan B!

You don't have to fill the cases with the cheese and onion mixture – it's just my favourite so all roads lead to cheese and onion, if you know what I mean – instead of Rome!

Here's an alternative - make a tuna and parsley version – like the mixture that we've used in a puff pastry sheet. It has to be said that the wholemeal pastry recipe is great and one that I use regularly – not at all heavy and certainly healthier than puff pastry.

If you've frozen cases take them out of the freezer on the day you intend to use them and transfer to the fridge - it wouldn't be the end of the world if it were the day after.

Here's the recipe for the filling :

Tuna and Parsley filling

for tartelettes

200g tin of tuna in sunflower oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

100g cheddar cheese, grated plus additional

to sprinkle over the filled tarts

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped or

1 tbsp dried parsley

salt and black pepper

1 tsp of wholegrain or Dijon mustard

Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6

Drain the tuna reserving 1 tbsp of the oil. Cook the onion in the oil for 3-4 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl mix the tuna, cheese, parsley, seasoning and mustard. Cool, cover and fridge until ready for use.

Here it is :

Place your cases back into the bun tin and, using the ice cream scoop, add the filling and then garnish with a sprinkle of grated cheese. The same principles apply as with the cheese and onion tartelettes – check after 20/25 minutes until you have the colour of choice. Serve warm.

Bon appétit!

You know that ...

… I never waste time - or ingredients for that matter - if I can help it.

In this instance it's not wasting time. If you intend to make the tarts or a large version, in anticipation of visitors or just because you want to save yourself a job - make your pastry case(s) ahead – i.e. make the pastry, rest it, then roll it out as required and freeze.

To illustrate, here are a couple of photos – what they show is that it's worthwhile investing in a good quality bun tin and that after chilling the cases they will lift out of the tin and stand well on their own so you could bag or box them and freeze.

What you see are uncooked cases – straight from the fridge, eased gently from the tin – ready for freezing and to use whenever the mood takes!

One final note to self – can I suggest if you're freezing a large pastry case then keep it in its tin to prevent it getting bumped and bashed when you are rummaging through your freezer looking for something vital that has vanished without trace!

The secret … is in the chilling – in case you hadn't noticed!

There are three stages – blitzing and chilling the pastry – prepping the filling and chilling – rolling cutting out and chilling.

It doesn't matter how long you leave your pastry cases once you've cut them out – so long as they are fridged. I can assure you of one thing – you will not suffer from soggy bottoms!

Have a look at the photo of the filling – the cheese is a mixture of finely grated and ordinary – why fine? – because it combines better and gives you a more compact filling, not bursting out all over the place.

When you're ready to fill your cases use a traditional ice cream scoop – like this one :

You'll achieve a neat finish :

Here they are ready to eat. It's a matter of personal taste how golden you like the tarts. I like a squidgy filling in a crisp pastry case and a toasted cheese topping. If you prefer a lighter colour and less crisp then check your oven after 25 minutes.

I'm so sorry you can't smell them!

Two holidays in May!

I thought I'd get ahead of the game and give you some ideas since for the two long weekends coming up in May. For the recipe that follows you could make one large tart. If you'd prefer this route then grease and line a 22cm flan dish or spring clip tin.

Tartelettes

(in this version cheese and onion)

For the cases

225g wholemeal plain flour

110g unsalted butter, cubed

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

For the filling

2 medium onions, chopped finely

knob of butter and drop of rapeseed oil

12 grated cheese – mature cheddar, Red Leicester

and Gruyere

1 egg beaten, to bind

black pepper

1 tsp mustard – Dijon or wholegrain – optional

You'll need muffin or deep bun tins – if they are non stick then there's no need to grease and a straight sided cutter measuring 8cms x 3cms approx.

For the tartelettes use a food processor – add the flour, baking powder and butter and blitz until resembling breadcrumbs. Add a drop of ice cold water and blitz until the pastry comes together (do not over blitz). Tip the pastry onto a sheet of cling film – using the film gather the pastry together into a ball and fridge for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile soften the onions in the butter and rapeseed oil. Set aside to cool.

Mix the cheese, onions, black pepper and beaten egg together – set aside and chill in the fridge until you're ready to use.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board and cut out your tartelette cases, place gently into your bun tin, chill in the fridge until you're ready to use.

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

When you are ready to bake put the chilled filling into the chilled cases and bake for 30 minutes – turn the tin after 15 – cook until they are golden brown.

Read on for the hints and tips and photos too!

April is a fickle month

Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to rely on the weather and arrange our social lives in the certainty of knowing we weren't going to get wet through or freeze or even need the snow boots – stranger things have happened!

When I was planning my menu for the supper with friends I took a risk and decided on the safe bet, that it would probably be cool – sadly I got that one right - typical!

Righty ho, back to the hotpot – the meat is ready when you are. For the gravy, use the garlic infused lamb stock – discarding any fat. If you wished you could sauté onions and carrots, (small dice) in a knob of unsalted butter and then add your stock – thicken with a little slaked cornflour. Cover the lamb with your stock and vegetables.

As part of my prep yesterday I baked jackets potatoes – 3 medium to large – cooled, peeled and then sliced, bagged and fridged, ready for assembly. Grated Red Leicester cheese – 50g to sprinkle on the top of the potatoes.

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

Layer the sliced potatoes on the top of the lamb and stock. Season with black pepper, then sprinkle the cheese to complete. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

The hotpot will give you four generous portions, here's one of them :

It may not be a traditional hotpot for the purists out there but who cares.

If you should try this recipe I hope you enjoy it - I think it's good any time – by the way – you can freeze any leftovers – well, you never know.

Comfort food is not just for winter!

Shop Smart!

I know that what follows is too late for the Easter holidays but, as we've two long weekends in May I decided to share – you might find it helpful.

Friends coming for supper on Sunday. I wanted to prep and cook as much as I could the day before and decided ahead of the game that I was cooking a hotpot, or rather my version of it. Normally for hotpot I'd use lamb shanks, slow cooked then strip them ready to use.

I don't normally buy meat from a supermarket – but I'm sure you've noticed that we've been bombarded with deals. So I decided to try an experiment and see what was on offer. I bought a half leg of lamb joint for £5.40 – weight 1.079kg - £5 per kilo – half price. I sealed the joint and then de-glazed the pan using 2 tsps of garlic paste and then added lamb stock. I slow cooked for 3 hours.

Here's the result :

As you can see the bone lifts away leaving a plateful of tender, moist meat – just like this :

I suppose the lesson is keep your eyes open. I didn't want a huge leg of lamb but some smart supermarket person decided to offer the half leg. A very loud message to all supermarkets out there – not everyone wants a huge big lump of meat nor, and more importantly, can they afford it! End of rant.

The lamb deal was so good and definitely cheaper than shanks – sadly they've become fashionable – like beef cheeks but that's another story.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Hodgepodge … again

Having gone to the bother of giving you the blueberry compote recipe it seemed rude not to give you another recipe in which to use it!

Hope you like my latest :

Lemon and Blueberry Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 lemon meringues, crushed

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

30g lemon curd – microwave on medium for

10 secs – stir and then the curd is ready to pour

1 tbsp blueberry compote

sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds to decorate

Before we go any further – a couple of pointers. The lemon meringues I found in Marks and Spencer – see photo below. We've spoken about lemon curd – you can make your own or buy a good substitute as a back up – mine is Marks and Spencer's Sicilian – see photo below.

Finally, the toasted flaked almonds. I toasted them in the oven – 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 5 minutes. I set my timer a minute at a time – checked and gave the baking tray a shake - the colour of the almonds is up to you but don't forget them or you'll be really cross!

Construct as follows :

Meringues, crushed

add scoop of ice cream

drizzle the loosened lemon curd over the ice cream

add the blueberry compote

decorate with a sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds

It is best served in a glass dish or bowl as you can see :

Another easy assembly dessert option to include in your store cupboard arsenal!