Triple Cheese and Onion Strata

Nigella Lawson you saucy mare,
with your bloody great knockers
and your lovely long hair.
Your sultry, sexy glances are a delightful habit,
your voluptuous body like Jessica Rabbit.
Your saucy minx looks are designed to excite,
they made me nick this recipe from the BBC Food site.
The dish it is perfect, it tastes divine,
the recipe is yours, and the poem is mine.



You Need:
1 Baguette, ends chopped off and discarded, cut into 1cm/½in slices and left to go stale
6 Spring Onions, roughly sliced
150g/5oz Mozzarella, roughly chopped
50g/2oz Parmesan, shaved or grated
100g/3½ Cheddar, broken into pieces
100ml/3½fl oz Soured Cream
6 free-range Eggs
small bunch fresh chives, chopped, to garnish
Method

Arrange the stale baguette slices in a layer in a 25cm/10in square dish.
Place the spring onions, mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar into a food processor. Add the soured cream and eggs, then blend until smooth.

Pour the cheese and egg mixture over the bread in the dish, cover with cling film, and leave in the fridge to soak overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180C/360F/Gas 4.

Take the strata out of the fridge and uncover. Bake for 30 minutes, or until completely cooked through.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chives and spoon onto serving plates.

Feeds 4

Big Beans (Gigantes Plaki)

This is based on the recipe from Good Food Magazine. You can serve it on it's own as a meal for two or as part of a meze if you have company. It's simple to make and tastes just as good the next day. Add some Chorizo or some Chicken if you are feeding carnivores and can't do without meat.






You need:

2 x 410g tins of Butter Beans (drained)
3 tbsp Greek extra virgin Olive Oil - plus a bit more to serve
1 Spanish Onion - finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves - finely chopped
2 tbsp Tomato Purée
800g ripe Tomatoes - skins removed and roughly chopped
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp dried Oregano
pinch ground Cinnamon
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf Parsley - plus extra to serve


Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Heat the Olive oil in a large frying pan, then tip in the Onion and Garlic. Cook over a medium heat for 10 mins until softened but not browned.

Add the Tomato purée, cook for a further minute, then add the remaining ingredients, and simmer for 2-3 mins. Season generously, then stir in the Beans.

Tip into a large ovenproof dish, then bake for approximately 1 hr, uncovered and without stirring, until the Beans are tender. The Beans will absorb all the fabulous flavours and the sauce will thicken.

Allow to cool, then scatter with parsley and drizzle with a little more olive oil to serve. This is good with some fresh crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Enchiladas with Cheese

This is a really good lunch or light dinner recipe. If having it for dinner, you'll probably want some rice with it. This is fast becoming one of Bil's signature dishes :-)









You need:

For the Salsa..
2 x 400g tins Chopped Tomatoes
1 x Green Chilli - de-seeded and finley chopped
1 x Red Onion - chopped
4 x tablespoons Fresh Coriander - chopped
2 Limes - Juiced
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

For the Enchiladas
4 x Large Flour Tortillas
110g Wenslydale Cheese - grated
150g Mozzarella Cheese - grated
200ml reduced fat Creme Fraiche

Pre-heat the oven to 180c

Tip the Tomatoes into a sieve and let the excess liquid drain away..you may want to do that over the sink or over a bowl. Place the Chili into a bowl and add half the Onion, the drained Tomatoes, the Coriander, Lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well!

Now, in another bowl, mix the 2 cheeses together. Place 1 Tortilla on a work surface and spoon a tablespoon of the Tomatoe Salsa over it, spreading it not quite to the edges. Add a bit more Salsa if a tablespoon isn't enough. Sprinkle over a heaped tablespoon of the Cheese and follow with a dollop of the Creme Fraiche. Roll the Tortilla up into a cigar shape and place into a 23cm Square baking dish (or whatever you have), seam side down. Repeat with the rest of the Tortillas.

Spread the remaining Creme Fraiche over the top of the Tortillas and then sprinkle over the rest of the Salsa and the Onion and Cheese

Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with a salad or some rice!

Feeds 4

Brussels Sprouts with Almonds

This is a different way to serve one of the most common (and boring?) British Winter vegetables. The Almonds add a different texture and you need to make sure you don't overcook the sprouts.


You need:

675g Brussels Sprouts - trimmed
50g Butter
25g Blanched Almonds
1 Garlic Clove
1 and a half teaspoons white Breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Cook the Sprouts in salted boiling water for no more than 6 minutes. Drain and place in a warm serving dish. Cover and keep warm.

Heat half the butter in a pan and add the Garlic and Almonds. Stir fry for a few minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Remove the Garlic and discard.

In a different pan, melt the remaining butter and add the Breadcrumbs. Stir fry until golden then stir into the Almonds and then scatter over the sprouts.

Makes enough for 4

Garden Vegetable Pie

A brilliant one-dish meal, ripped straight from the pages of this months Good Food Magazine. This recipe will be ideal in the winter months and given the state of the summer we are having, it's not bad now either!






You need:

50g Butter
50g Flour
2 teaspoons Mustard Powder
1 pint Milk
200g Mature Cheddar - grated
2 large Potatoes - sliced into rounds
1 head Broccoli - cut into florets
1 head Cauliflower - cut into florets
200g Frozen Peas
small bunch Chives - snipped

Heat the oven to 220c

Melt the Butter in a saucepan, then stir in the Mustard Powder an Flour. Cook for 1 minute, then gradually stir in the Moo Juice, until it's smooth with no lumps. Keep stirring until the mixture begins to bubble and turns thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and stir in all but a handful of the Cheese.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Cook the Potato for 5 minutes, then tip in the Cauli and Broccoli and cook for another 3 mins. Add the Peas and cook for 1 min more. Drain all the veg and allow it to steam dry for a few minutes. Set aside enough Potato slices to cover the dish. Add the Cheese sauce to the vegetables, along with the Chives and stir well to combine.

Tip into a deep ovenproof dish and cover the vfeg with the reserved potato slices. Top everything with the remaining cheese and bake for 20-25 mins until Golden

Serve with some fresh crusty bread

Feeds 4

Summer Vegetable Pasta and Lemon

A light and easy to cook dish, perfect for a warm summer evening. If only the weather would oblige!









You need:

2 Leeks - finely sliced
350g Fresh Taglaitelle
100g Green Beans - top and tailed, then halved
150g Frozen Peas
150g Frozen Broad Beans
1 tablespoon Lemon Zest - grated
4 tablespoons Creme Fraiche - reduced fat
2 tablespoons Fresh Basil - finely sliced
2 tablespoons Parmesan - grated
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Heat the Olive Oil in a pan, then slowly cook the Leeks for 5 minutes.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the Tagliatelle, Broad Beans, Green Beans and Peas to the water..

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes only, then drain, reserving 4 tablespoons of the cooking water. Add the Pasta and the vegetables to the Leeks, along with the Creme Fraiche, Lemon Zest and the reserved cooking water. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Toss until well combined, then serve sprinkled with the Parmesan and Basil

Feeds 4

Roasted Vegetable Tart

I used some pre-frozen Tuscan Vegetables for this dish. You know when you go to a farm shop and they have those huge freezers full of loads of varieties of fruit/veg? That's the ones. You could use any frozen veg i reckon, just pick whatever you fancy. Probably best to steer away from tomatoes as they make the base a bit wet. Peppers, mushies, courgettes, onions - all good





You need:

375g pack of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry - from the chiller in supermarkets
4 tablepoons Green Pesto
125g Mozzarella - torn into small chunks
280g Frozen Vegetables - your choice which ones

Pre heat your oven to 200c. Unroll the pasty and square off the sides/edges. Or...you could cut into quarters and make 4 individual tarts. Place the pastry on a large baking sheet and then using a sharp knife, score all the way round the edge of the pastry, 1cm in from the edge. Take care not to cut all the way through.

Spread the Pesto evenly over the tart or tarts), staying inside the border you have created. Now pile the frozen Veg into the middle of the tart.

Cook in the oven for approx 15 minutes, until the pastry just begins to brown. Now scatter the Mozzarella evenly over the top and return to the oven for 7 or 8 minutes to allow the cheese to melt

Serve with some new potatoes or a salad

Feeds 4