Homemade Gnocchi with fresh pesto.
A Flavourful delight you must make fresh a dish made with my new food processor from my wife and my daughter for my birthday thanks guys.

 

 

Ingredients.

 

 

75g pine nuts

2 handfuls of basil leaves

the juice of 1 lemon

Olive oil to taste

salt

pepper

100g parmesan

4 medium potatoes

80g Plain flour

1 egg beaten

 

First put the potatoes in the microwave for 8 mins or until fluffy inside, take the skin off and mash add to the flour and  make a well in the middle, fill the well with the egg and mix in from the egg out, till you form a dough add more flour or egg if needed. roll into a  sausage shape cut 1inch thick

and roll each piece against the back of a folk to form grooves, boil in salt water till they rise to the top, about 2-3 mins then drain.

For the sauce toast the nuts in a pan and add to a food processor with basil, lemon juice salt pepper parmesan and mix pouring the oil in while mixing till it forms a sauce. serve on the gnocchi with a side salad   

 

 



Egg fried rice.
A simple modern classic that can be infinitely adapted.

Ingredients.

Rice of your choice 2/3 cup per person
Rice wine vinegar
Fish sauce
1 Egg per person
Frozen peas
Fresh parsley
Prawns
Tamarind sauce
Poppy seeds
Sesame seed oil
Unsmoked gammon ham
Garlic and Ginger paste


Amounts of ingredients are not needed for this dish, as I feel unlike say baking stir fry should just be done to taste. the only thing I would insist on is using cold boiled rice from the day before freshly boiled rice will just not work. Mix your egg in a jug and add to a very hot oiled wok cook for 30 sec then take off the heat and let it cook with residual heat, once cooled roll up and slice and save, add garlic and ginger paste to the empty egg wok add the chopped ham, peas and pawns and fry till coloured. add the rice, vinegar, fish sauce, parsley, egg  and poppy seeds. and fry on a high heat for 5mins serve with a Tamarind sauce.

Elderflower jelly with Chinese stem ginger.

A Truly easy recipe with a complex taste.

Ingredients.

1 packet of unflavoured gelatine
125ml of hot water
10 tablespoons of elderflower cordial
500ml of cold water
1 thumb of Chinese stem ginger sliced

Mix your gelatine with the hot water, make up the elderflower cordial separately
with the cold water making sure it taste strong, stir the gelatine mix into the cordial and pour into a bowl, let it set in the fridge for at least 3 hours and serve with sliced Chinese stem ginger.

Avocado ice cream.

 

Ingredients.

2 large ripe avocado's
50g caster sugar
2 tablespoons milk
140ml whipping cream

Scoop the flesh of the avocado's into a liquidiser, add milk and sugar then blend until smooth, pour the cream into a mixing bowl and whip until it form soft peaks, fold the avocado mixture into the cream pour into a shallow freezer safe container and freeze for 3-4 hours stirring every 40mins to break up any big frozen lumps

Cherry Clafoutis.

Ingredients.

4 eggs             
160 g plain flour
160 g butter melted and cooled
300 ml milk             
120 g caster sugar
2 vanilla pods, split lengthways        
60 g butter             
400 g  ripe cherries, stoned and with stalk removed
25g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. 

 beat the eggs in a bowl with a fork, then lightly beat in the flour. Whisk in the cooled melted butter, then gradually whisk in the milk followed by the sugar. With the point of a knife, scrape out the seeds
from the vanilla pods and add them to the mixture.
Cut 20g of the butter into small pieces, set aside. Use the remaining 40g to generously grease an ovenproof dish, about 22cm in diameter and 3-4cm deep. Spread the cherries evenly over the base of the dish, then pour the batter mixture over them. (I pit the cherries by stabbing them with the top of a icing bag), transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven setting to 180°C/gas 4, and cook for a further 15 minutes. Scatter the reserved butter pieces and almonds evenly over the top of the clafoutis and bake for another 5 minutes, or until set. To check, carefully insert the point of a sharp knife in the middle, if it comes out clean, the clafoutis is cooked

Falafel.

Ingredients.

1 x 400 g tin of mixed beans         
1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas

1 lemon

3 tablespoons smoked paprika      

1 heaped teaspoon allspice

1 heaped tablespoon plain flour

1 bunch fresh coriander

olive oil

 

Drain the chickpeas and put them into the processor Finely grate in the lemon zest, then add a pinch of salt and pepper,smoked paprika  , allspice, flour and coriander Blitz until smooth,  Scrape out the mixture and use clean, wet hands to quickly divide and shape it into 8 balls Put 1 tablespoon of oil into the frying pan and add the falafels, tossing until golden and crisp

Pitta bread.

Ingredients.

1 1/2Tsp  dry yeast

250ml warm water

3 cups plain flour

1 Tsp salt

2 Tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tsp sugar

 

Add the sugar to the water then sprinkle in the yeast, wait 20mins for the yeast to activate. Add the flour to a mixing bowl, slowly add the yeast mix to the flour while bringing it together with your hand, till it becomes one ball of dough add the salt and oil to the dough and knead in for 3mins, cover bowl with a tea towel and leave for 20 mins, separate into 6 or 7 equal parts and roll then with your hands into balls, cover for 20 mins , roll out on a floured board around 3-4mm thick and bake at gas mark 7 in batches of 2 for 5mins.