Smoked Trout Mousse

Smoked trout mousse livened up with a little caviar and cucumber - isn't it pretty? I think the colours on the plate are amazing, and its a great quick canape for holiday events.

The past few weeks have already been packed full of parties, family gatherings, end of term parents get-togethers and dinner parties. So full in fact that I am running out of time to do the usual Christmas things like shop for presents and plan Christmas dinner.

In store this weekend is a book group night in, a friend's drinks party and a day out at the movies with the family. The only way to manage hectic days like these is to have a repertoire of very quick, but very beautiful, festive and tasty dishes to turn out of your kitchen. This one has minimum effort and maximum impact on a plate.

Smoked Trout Mousse with caviar

450g smoked trout fillets
250g cream cheese
5tbsp creme fraiche
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper

to serve:
1 cucumber
a small pot of caviar (or some thin strips of roasted red pepper)

Flake the fillets of smoked trout into a food processor making sure none of the skin is attached.
Add the cream cheese, creme fraiche, lemon and cayenne pepper.
Blitz until light and fluffy. If its too thick, add a little more creme fraiche or a dribble of milk to thin the mixture down. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

to serve:
Slice the cucumber into 1/2cm slices, top with a dollop of the mousse and a tiny dot of caviar or a little roast red pepper if you prefer.

Indian Spiced Scones

I've not posted for a few weeks but with good reason I promise. I've been making hundreds of Christmas Cakes for our lovely cafe customers and developing a range of chutneys and relishes inspired by my wonderful big sister and her San Francisco based Chutney Company McQuade's Celtic Chutneys. This is one of the best recipes I've come up with to show off the products. I've been meaning to post this recipe for months but every time I make them, they are wolfed so quickly, I've not managed to stop and take a photograph.... really!

Unlike a regular scone, they are not served with sweet jam and cream but instead with strong gutsy flavours to complement the chilli heat in the dough. Sweet onion chutney takes centre stage inside a warm scone seasoned with chilli, garlic, ginger and Indian spices. This is a gorgeous canape for those upcoming holiday parties, lovely with a full flavoured red wine and cheese or cut slightly larger and served on the side of warming lentil soup.

Indian Spiced Scones

250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp garam masala
125g butter (straight from the fridge)

1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 red chillies,  finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp natural yogurt
2 tbsp mustard seeds

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. 
Sieve the flour, bicarbonate, baking powder, salt and garam masala into a large bowl. 
Add the cold butter and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. 
Stir in the garlic, ginger, chillies, egg and yogurt and bring together into a soft dough. 
Place on a well floured surface and roll to about 2cm thick.
Cut into rounds, either large to serve with soup or small to use as canapes.  
Brush each scone with milk and sprinkle with mustard seeds.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until risen and golden. 
Serve as canapes with cheese and chutney or warm and buttered with soup.

Kilted Sausages and Cranberry & Apple Stuffing

Living in fear of being snowed in has led me to a new and very lovely place in my life: I am really quite organised for Christmas. Presents have been bought or (hopefully) are on their way. Cakes have been baked for home and for the Green Apple Cafe, canapes have been made and frozen and only interesting side dishes remain to be considered.

There is something so depressing about kilted sausages in a supermarket pack. Usually 12 miniature sausages with a wafer thin wrapping of bacon in a huge plastic pack. Why depressing? Well either you need lots of packs or you are getting one or at best two tiny sausages with your Christmas dinner. "That's enough for me," you might say, and while I might agree with you on the day, it is simply too frugal for that particular meal. So I need to make mine at home. Not rocket science but one of those little side dishes that is worth a little bit of time and effort sourcing the ingredients. A good butcher for the chipolata sausages (get lots), well cured bacon, I found some maple cured streaky bacon. Then simply run the flat of a knife along the streaky bacon to stretch it out a little thinner, then wrap each little sausage in a little kilt of bacon. Cook alongside the turkey as you would a very small pack of supermarket sausages. It is well worth a drizzle of maple syrup with a light hand just a few minutes before you take them out of the oven to accentuate the sweetness of the bacon.

A proper recipe this time for Cranberry stuffing. Another simple recipe but with the best ingredients, it makes a special addition to Christmas dinner. Either buy good sausages and split their skins to remove the sausage meat or speak to your local butcher and ask for their best shop-made sausage meat. This stuffing can be used in the traditional way to stuff a turkey but I prefer it cooked seperately

Cranberry, Apple and Pork Stuffing
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
500g good quality sausage meat
100g fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
2 green apples, peeled and grated
zest of one tangerine or small orange
1 egg

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
In a heavy frying pan, heat the oil, add the onion and saute until transluscent but not coloured.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, stir the onion together with all the other ingredients until well combined. The easiest way is to knead with your hands.
Either roll the mixture into small balls the size of walnuts or press into a loaf tin.(If you must, use it to stuff the turkey but this makes the turkey even harder to cook so I prefer to cook it seperately as a side dish)
For walnut sized balls, bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. For stuffing baked in a loaf tin, bake for 45-60 minutes until golden and cooked throughout. Serve with turkey or with any roast dinner.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

I don't like big cakes. I've tried ordering slices of victoria sponge in cafes, or triple layer carrot cakes in tea shops but I simple can't get over the feeling that I am stealing a piece of someone else's cake. I like to have my own cake. I don't care if it's big or small as long as it is all mine. So after years of skirting around the issue, trying to persuade myself to eat slices of cake from dessert trollies, I have decided that from now on I will only be eating cupcakes and other individually packaged treats (obviously brownies and other tray-bakes are not included in this declaration, that would just be silly). 

So at the cafe, individual cakes are definitely the order of the day. We have already had lots of cupcake orders for children's parties (these banana cupcakes were for an 8 year old's birthday party) so my plan this summer is to expand my repertoire of cupcakes and get lots of practice at pretty decorative frosting. There are worse things that seeing the summer stretch ahead filled with piles of flavoured cupcakes: cappucinno and espresso, mojito and strawberry daquiri are just for starters.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

25g butter

25g cream cheese

2 tbsp cocoa powder

200g icing sugar

1 tbsp milk

Beat the butter and cream cheese with a wooden spoon until soft. 

Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa powder into the butter mixture and beat until well blended.

Add a tablespoon of milk if necessary to reach a thick spreading consistency. 

Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge until the cupcakes are cool. 

Banana Cupcakes

170g butter

170g caster sugar

170g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs, whisked together

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 medium bananas, chopped 

Preheat the oven to 180C

With an electric beater, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add a tablespoon of flour and fold in to the mixture.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the batter mixing well, then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. 

Gently stir the bananas into the mixture

Line two muffin tins with 18 cases and divide the batter between them.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until the cupcakes are golden brown. 

Cool on a wire rack then top with chocolate fudge frosting and decorate with dragees, smarties or chocolate chips. 

The Quickest Ever Canapes -a book group special

I met with the girls in my book group last night. They are a discerning bunch and whoever hosts our monthly catch-up always tries to provide interesting food as part of the evening's entertainment.

So, my turn last night but between working a ten hour day, feeding the kids and trying to make the house presentable to adults, I didn't have much time to prepare unusual and stylish nibbles to accompany wine and book chat. Instead I had to fall back on a favourite quick but gorgeous d-i-y canape.

If you have time and inclination, make your own blinis, otherwise, buy them in and use all your creative skills assembling a platter of blinis, salmon and creme fraiche for everyone to help themselves to.

Lemon Vodka-Creme Fraiche Blinis
300ml creme fraiche
3tbsp lemon vodka
Zest of one lemon, finely grated
1 tbsp capers, chopped

Whisk together the creme fraiche and vodka then stir through the lemon zest and capers

To serve:
Smoked Salmon
Blinis - either home made or shop-bought

Mango and Prawn Summer Rolls with Garlic Chilli Dipping Sauce

I swear I am going to contract scurvy soon if I don't start piling on the vegetables. I have loved every bit of cold weather food - and will very probably be back eating it later in the week if the icy conditions don't dissipate but right now I am dreaming of spring - of being able to see my garden under the blanket of snow, of eating crisp salads NOT root vegetables. I think the best way to deal with that craving in deepest darkest mid-winter is with strong flavours, eye-watering aromas and naturally light food.

These summer rolls tick all the boxes, the are crammed with fresh vegetables and are low fat, packed full of flavour and incredibly filling and moreish. They can be bulked out with vermicelli noodles, chicken, pork or any other flavour you would like to add. Even kids love them, especially if the are allowed to make them up themselves (although my boys perfer plain soy sauce for dipping).For me, I love them with seafood and salad- the simpler the better.

Summer Rolls with garlic chilli dipping sauce
8 sheets of rice paper
16 cooked prawns or an assortment of mixed seafood
1/2 mango thinly sliced into batons
a handful of fresh lettuce leaves
fresh mint, basil or coriander leaves
very thinly sliced vegetables - any of the following:
peppers, mange tout, carrot, cucumber

Fill a bowl with warm water and dip each sheet of rice paper for 30 seconds until soft. Set aside under a damp tea-towel. Don't allow them to stick together. 

Place a couple of prawns, a few strips of mango, a little lettuce and herb and a mix of the fine vegetables down the middle of each rice paper. Roll up tightly and slice in half on the diagonal. Serve with Garlic Chilli Dipping Sauce.

Garlic Chilli Dipping Sauce
1 large clove of garlic, chopped finely
1small, hot red chilli, chopped finely
1 spring onion, chopped finely
Juice of 1 lime (approx 2tbsp)
1 Tablespoon of sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce

Whisk all the ingredients together and serve alongside the summer rolls.

Cold Hands, Hot Pastry

The snow has been falling for weeks now, my car has disappeared under driven snow. Between snow showers, the world freezes, the sky becomes clear blue and your breath is like fog. Beautiful maybe but I can not escape the village to break out to the shops and we are living entirely on storecupboard concoctions.

My hands have not warmed up since I ran to the logpile for firewood this morning. My fingers are numb so I am carrying my own winter warmers with me when I go out to play. Wrapped up in foil, hot and crispy with a delicate chilli hit, I'm hoping they will take the sting out of the cold and make it easier to hang out sledging and igloo making in the garden without needing to come indoors and cuddle a radiator every ten minutes.

Versions of these turn up in every bakers throughout Asia. Made with puff pastry or samosa pastry, they are breakfast fare in Malaysia and tiffin in India but I like them baked not fried, and although they can be filled with anything from spiced chicken to minced lamb and vegetable, I am having a post Christmas, vegetarian week so hot potato curry it is. 

Curry Puffs

2 large baking potatoes

4 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 cm ginger, finely chopped

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander seed

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp hot chilli powder

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

100g frozen peas

2 balls of frozen spinach

Small bunch of fresh coriander

1 package filo pastry

2oz butter, melted

Peel the potatoes. Chop them into small dice and boil till just cooked then drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Fry gently till soft and aromatic.

Add the cumin, coriander seed, garam masala, chilli, mustard seed, spinach, peas and potatoes and cook together on a low heat for 5 minutes until well mixed. Remove from heat and add a good handful of finely chopped coriander.

Cut the pastry into long strips, approx 6cm x 25cm. Place a teaspoon of the mixture at the top of a pastry strip and fold over to cover the potatoes and make a triangle. Keep folding the triangle over until you reach the end of the pastry sheet and your filling is well enclosed. Brush the filled triangle with melted butter.

This makes around 20 pastries which can be frozen uncooked and baked from frozen. Bake 180C for 8-10  minutes until golden brown (10-12 minutes if frozen).

Serve with raita and fruity chutney.

Dolcelatte and Parma Ham Gougeres

Oh baby its cold outside, so the idea of steaming hot cheese puffs is even more enticing than normal. The snow is falling thick and fast, the temperature is plummeting and warming food is definitely the order of the (very chilly) day. The best part is, they freeze well so I can make a huge batch and keep some to serve during the party season. These are usually made with gruyere but I wanted something just a little deeper in flavour and chunkier in texture. Using a stronger blue cheese, a gorgonzola or roquefort gives a great result but if you do, I wouldn't bother with the ham as the delicate flavour is overpowered.

Dolcelatte and Parma Ham Gougeres

250 ml whole milk

125g butter

salt and pepper

100g plain flour

3 large eggs

100g dolcelatte (or other mild blue cheese), crumbled

50g Parma Ham

Heat the oven to 220C/Gas 7.

Heat the milk, butter and a few grindings of salt and pepper in a saucepan until the butter has melted. Add the flour and whisk until the mixture starts to come away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and add the eggs and cheese. Beat until smooth and shiny. Snip the Parma ham into little shreds and stir through the batter.

Using two teaspoons, place dollops of the batter onto a baking tray and bake in the hot oven for around 10 minutes until light and golden.

Serve immediately or allow to cool and freeze.

Hot Spinach and Parmesan Dip

Served bubbling hot or at room temperature with crusty bread or crudites, this is one of those stand-by storecupboard American recipes that are rarely found in British kitchens but made at the drop of a hat in American ones.

It is really quickly thrown together (quick canapes for unexpected guests are extra useful at this time of year). I always keep those balls of frozen spinach in the freezer so am only ever 10 minutes away from this hot full-flavoured dish. Adapted from a recipe at www.epicurious.com, it is high on my emergency list of party food.

Spinach and Parmesan Dip
4 balls of frozen spinach
(approx 150g frozen weight) 
1 packet onion soup mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup natural yogurt       (or soured cream)
50g Parmesan Cheese

Defrost the spinach then blitz  in a blender with the soup mix, mayonnaise and yogurt. To serve cold, pour into a bowl and serve just as it is, (it really is that simple).

If you want to serve the dip hot, pour into an oven proof serving dish, top with grated parmesan cheese and place into the oven (180C) and warm for 10 minutes then serve with crusty bread or fresh vegetables.

Cider Cheese Bread

Its truly winter now. The colours are muted, leaves are off the trees, sparkling spiders webs decorate the decking. I'm trying to remember all the flavours of warmer weather and looking at a shelf packed with preserves, jellies, chutneys, ketchups and jams made from the glut of produce in the summer makes me want to bake something that will show them at their best.

This dough is quick and easy to make as it only proves once (like pizza dough), it is gently aromatic and bubbles beautifully in the oven. You could use apple juice instead of cider, the flavour will still come through.

It might be good with a goat cheese, or a melting tagleggio but here I've used an Isle of Mull Cheddar, my kids favourite. On the side, maybe a tomato salsa, an apple and chilli jelly, or a hot, full flavoured, chilli chutney (like McQuade's Habanero Chutney- unfortunately not yet available on this side of the Atlantic!) would be the perfect accompaniment.

Cider Cheese Bread
Bread dough:
375g bread flour
1 tsp salt
2x 7g sachets of dried yeast
2tsp mustard powder
175ml dry cider
100ml hot water

Topping:
1 clove of garlic
25g butter
25g flour
100 ml cider
200g strong cheddar cheese, grated
2 tsp dijon mustard

Sift the flour into a large bowl, stir in the salt, mustard powder and yeast. Make a well in the centre.
Mix the cider and hot water together and pour into the well. Mix together with your hands until the mixture comes together then knead for around 3minutes until it forms a smooth ball.
Leave in a warm place till risen to twice its size (around 1 hour)
Meanwhile, cut the garlic in half and rub the clove all round a small saucepan. Next melt butter in the pan, stir in the flour and cook slowly on a low heat until blended well together. Whisk in the cider to make a smooth thick sauce then add the cheese and mustard and stir until everything is melded together.
When the dough is risen, press out to a thin oval shape (around 1cm thick)  and top with the cheesy cider mixture. Bake in an oven 200C for around 12-15 minutes until the bread is light and risen and the cheese and cider is melting and golden. (you could also make smaller rolls - just be careful of the baking time)
Serve with hot soup and spicy chutney.

Chick Pea, Chorizo and Chard Tortilla

Dense, robustly spiced, and full to the very brim of the frying pan with flavour. This tortilla is not a particularly authentic regional dish but is a home-made amalgam of various Spanish and Moorish dishes with flavours that meld so beautifully I can just about imagine a version being served up in a back street tapas bar.

This is part of my Friday night repertoire. Friday is my favourite night to gather, the whole weekend is ahead of us and catching up with friends makes it feel like a holiday weekend, somehow much longer than the paltry saturday/sunday version. However on a friday night, finding time to do some after work shopping before swimming lessons with the kids makes it challenge to fit in cooking. Simple, fast, flavourful food has to be the order of the day.

This tortilla is full of bold flavours, strong smoky paprika and sweet peppers are held together by iron rich chard. I used the rainbow chard I have still growing rampantly in my garden, but you could substitute with swiss chard or spinach (or do without it altogether but just a few strands of greenery snaking through the dish gives it a fresher flavour and colour).

The nutty bite of chickpeas rolled around in the orange oil oozing from the chorizo give the dish a substantial feel, making it good for a full meal not a just side dish. However, tonight it will be served as tapas, along with some serrano ham, maybe some lemon and chilli mushrooms or olives and good crusty bread, it gives me lots of time to finish off a main course or throw together a dessert with no pressure from hungry visitors.

Chick Pea, Chorizo and Chard Tortilla
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil

1 roasted red pepper(I got mine in a deli)

1/2 tin chick peas
1/4 loop of chorizo
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 big handfuls of rainbow chard, roughly chopped
4-5 eggs, beaten
Salt

Finely chop the onion and garlic and saute in a frying pan in a good glug of olive oil until soft and fragrant.

Dice the red pepper and chorizo into chick pea sized chunks and add to the pan with the chick peas and paprika.

Saute everything together until the orangy paprika oils run from the chorizo.

Add the chard and keep stirring until it wilts and everything starts to meld together in the pan.
Add the eggs and stir gently to incorporate the eggs into the whole mixture, then allow to set over a medium heat.
Preheat the grill then slide the whole pan under the grill to set the top of the tortilla, it will only take a minute or two to become light gold and puffy.
Remove from the grill, gently loosen from the edge of the frying pan with a knife then place a large plate over the pan and invert the tortilla onto it. Then place another plate on top and invert once again so the glossy grilled top of the tortilla is on view. Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Allow to cool slightly before slicing into canape sized cubes or wedges.
Serve hot or room temperature as a tapas or with a salad.

Baked Camembert

The days are getting shorter, the clocks will soon change and the sunshine more often than not fades to the chill of an autumn evening. Twice this week I've woken up to frost in the grass and ice on my car windscreen.

In this weather, I want to close all the windows, lay a roaring fire, listen to the wind whirl out on the deck and curl up with a good book and a plate of something low in effort and high in comfort value. Hot burbling cheese, crunchy nuts and not too much faffing around to throw together. Quite perfect.

This is not so much of a recipe, more of a suggestion:
Baked Camembert with Cranberries and Hazelnuts
1 whole camembert (the type that comes in a wooden box)
1 handful of dried cranberries
1 handful of chopped hazelnuts
Around 2oz dark muscovado sugar

Remove the camembert from its box and wrapper. Slice a thin layer of rind off the top of the cheese and replace the cheese in its box.
Scatter the cranberries and hazelnuts on top of the cheese and sprinkle sugar over the whole lot.
Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes at 180C until glazed and bubbling.
Serve with chunks of baguette or wedges of pita bread, boiled baby new potatoes, steamed asparagus or home made oatcakes.

Warming the House

A gorgeous night, the unveiling of our friends' new house-extension, interiors worthy of Home and Garden, lovely people in fullest socialising mode, the drinks were flowing freely and the hosts asked me to cook... and I love to cook party food.
I agonised over Mediterranen vs Asian, hot vs cold, one bite vs fork and plate and how to get all my current favourites on one plate at the same time.... at the end of deliberations, the menu was:

• Smoked salmon on rye with curried egg salad
• Indian spiced scones with plum and black pepper chutney
• Lemon and thyme chicken skewers with satay sauce
• Spinach dip with dukkah dippers
• Blue cheese shortbread with honey and figs
• Tandoori prawns on mini poppadoms

and

• Mini cranachan for dessert

With such fantastic hosts, and stunning setting, any food would stand out, but my fave on saturday was the mini cranachan. I found these little shot glasses and spoons and I want to use them for every meal we have. Mini gazpacho before lunch, mini beef stew as an after school snack, mini trifle, they are going to get so much use! If you make these with any little shot glasses, follow the sizes below - otherwise, double the recipe and make full sized desserts for 6 grown ups.

Mini Cranachan (makes around 18 - for full size - just double the recipe)
1 punnet of raspberries
1 tub of double cream
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp good whisky
1 tbsp icing sugar
2oz porridge oats
2oz light muscovado sugar

In the bottom of each glass, place one or two raspberries.
Whisk the cream until it starts to hold its shape then whisk in the honey, whisky and icing sugar till light and airy.
In a dry pan, roast the oats and sugar together, do not leave this alone or it will burn, keep stirring it around the pan until the oats and sugar have melded into a lovely toffee colour and toasted crunchy texture.
Top the raspberries with the cream concoction then sprinkle with crunchy oatmeal.

Dukkah Dippers

Crispy, crunchy, aromatic and deeply savory, these middle eastern spiced pitta bread dippers turn any regular dip into a stunning centerpiece.

Dukkah is a traditional blend of nuts and spices usually served along with olive oil as a dry roasted dip for breadsticks. The recipes vary from country to country and from street vendor to street vendor and every home has its own blend with its own personality dependant on the preferences of its family.... it might feature pistachios, almonds or more commonly, hazlenuts, it will be spiced with black or white pepper and salt, sesame seeds (black or white), cumin, coriander, even occasionally fennel seeds.

The pitta bread can be cut into all sorts of shapes, long narrow strips, delicate triangles or chunky wedges, as long as they are big enough and wide enough to scoop dollops of dip. I love these served with paprika dusted hummus, but they are great with tzatziki or tomato salsa and leftover dukkah makes a beautiful crust for salmon.

Dukkah Dippers

4 pitta breads

2 tbsp olive oil

for the dukkah:

3 tbsp hazelnuts 

3 tbsp pistachio nuts 

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tsp coriander seeds 

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp sea salt 

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 180C.  

Dry roast the spices and nuts in a frying pan for a few minutes until they start to turn a light brown colour and release their aroma. Do not leave them alone for even a second as they burn very easily. Allow to cool a little then roughly chop the nuts and spices, I like to crush them in a pestle and mortar to get a mixture of fine crumbs and chunky nutty bits . 

Cut the pitta breads into small triangles. Lay out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the spice mixture and drizzle with olive oil.  

Bake in the oven for 10- 12 minutes till fragrant and golden. Again watch them carefully, you want a light golden colour and a crisp texture not blackened bread and bitter spices.

Indian Spiced Wedges with chilli, lime and black pepper raita

I love potatoes, and usually the more butter and cream I can cook them with the better. Obviously my Irish genes start to dominate whenever I start to think about side dishes as rice, pasta and cornmeal hardly ever rear their heads without a bit of prodding. I especially love when potatoes can take centre stage, like in a spanish tortilla, a pommes dauphinoise or here in this chilli hot party dish.

Potato wedges of some sort have become an absolute staple in my house for parties. Whether we are having a children's party, sleepover, cocktail party or seasonal get together, potatoes in at least one form, if not two or three are a must. These go down a storm because its easy to spice them up for the grown-ups and serve them straight for the kids.

These can be made with little potatoes. look fabulous with red skinned potatoes but I think are best with big maris piper baking potatoes, sliced into chunky wedges, baked crispy and aromatic on the outside and to a cloud-like fluffiness on the inside.

Indian Spiced Wedges with chilli, lime and black pepper raita

4 baking potatoes, each cut lengthways into 12 wedges

4tbsp olive oil

2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp sea salt

200ml natural yogurt

2 limes

1 hot red chilli

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7

First prepare the raita. Chop the chilli finely then juice and zest the limes. Mix the yogurt with the lime juice and zest and chilli and add 1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a little salt and more pepper if you like it with more bite.

Toss the potatoes with the spices and olive oil to coat well.

Spread out on a baking tray skin side down and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Serve with the lime and black pepper raita dip.

The Perfect Oatcake

Its been a long time coming, my writing regularly in these pages. I've been an intermittant passer-by to the blog these past two years but I have now built up a huge list of recipes and ideas I want to explore and I finally have the time to devote to the cooking, growing, gathering and scrounging required - so here goes!

Have you ever eaten the perfect oatcake? Was it crumbly or firm? Coarse or fine textured? Fife cut (i.e. chunky triangles) or dainty and round? Was it rich and buttery or flaky with lard? Oatcakes are full of soluble fibre and provide a prolonged energy releaes so they are good for you in every possible way. As I try to reduce my bread intake (I love love love bread) oatcakes have become my new love.

I've baked a heap of oatcakes, used every possible kind of oatmeal, I've tried adding bran, fruit and blends of spices. I like my oatcakes with a bit of texture so have sworn off the fine oatmeal that is almost the texture of flour, but can't quite get my teeth round the coarser grainy texture of pinhead oatmeal (although it makes a good chunky textured biscuit to serve with soft cheese and chutney.)

In the interests of research, I've tried oatcakes dipped in chunky soup, served them with fresh cheeses and popped them in my pocket as an energy snack before a run and I think I can finally lay down my tastebuds and settle on one final recipe - for now anyway.

The Perfect Oatcake
50g (2oz) medium oatmeal
50g (2oz) wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
25g (1oz) lard (melted)
5tbsp boiling water
1tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1tbsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Pour in the lard and boiling water then stir till the mixture forms a ball. Roll out till 5mm thick and cut circles with a 4cm cutter. Lay on a baking sheet. Mix together the rosemary and sea salt.
Sprinkle the tops with the rosemary and salt mixture.
Bake for 8-10 mins until the biscuits are just starting to turn golden brown.

Eat with homemade soup, pate or strong cheese.