Warm Prosciutto and Blue Cheese Salad and BBQ Ideas

I have been all about the recommendations lately, and not giving much out about what I have been cooking… mostly because I haven’t.

In between decorating, enjoying the little bursts of sunshine and generally being quite busy I haven’t been cooking properly lately. There have been lots of Waitrose/M&S trips to buy food I don’t have to do anything with.

I need this break I think. It hard to get anything done in an evening if you plan on cooking properly and I am a girl who likes her early nights.

But anyway this is a little something I made for my girlfriends a couple of weeks ago and have been meaning to make again and make prettier and better so I could share it with you.

I have made it again, yesterday, after a few glasses of wine in the sunshine it’s the only thing I could think of, but it definitely wasn’t prettier so here you are. I am sharing with you anyway with a photograph from my phone. I hope that’s okay… it really is a good salad and another ‘boy-friendly’ salad, I had proof last night.

As this is a salad I am not giving you quantities you can make it for 1 or many, teeny or huge.

You need;
Rocket and spinach
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Red onions
Potatoes
Blue Cheese
Prosciutto

So first I caramelised the onions, do take your time with this do it slowly and take at least 30 minutes, you might want to do this first. About 15 minutes in a sprinkled sugar on them and then stirred that in. Fry on a low heat with a little oil and stir and watch.

At the same time I put all the tomatoes on a baking tray with some olive oil and seat salt and black pepper again on a low temperature and left them in there while I cooked everything else. I used the best cherry tomatoes I could get my hands on but you can use any kind you like.

This was also the first time this year I tasted Jersey Royals, damn they are lovely. ut again you could use any potato you want, I simply boiled them because of all the other tasty (naughty) ingredients in this dish but you could also fry them up with the prosciutto. That would be good…

So those are the bits you need to cook, fry your prosciutto last then you just need to chuck your salad into the bowl, add those hot bits then the crumbled blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola this time and have also tried it with a Stilton) and lastly the Prosciutto.

And yes I did serve it with a huge lump of garlic bread. What?

*Since it is BBQ weather (finally) in Bristol here are some more sunshine worthy recipes for you to try this weekend.

Salads;
Apple and hazelnut salad
Strawberry and halloumi salad
Blueberry and goats cheese salad
Sweet Potato, pomegranate and halloumi salad
Asparagus and mozzarella salad
The perfect Caesar salad
Grilled peach salad
Griddled potato salad

Dips;
Guacamole
Hummous
Salsa

Bread;
Soft white rolls

BBQ;
Beef burgers
Bean burgers
Red chilli fish patties
Lamb Kofta

Or use my Portugal post for inspiration, all we did was BBQ and eat the pool…

Eating in Portugal

or this for a simple quick supper that lets you stay outside for longer

Pan-fried salmon and avocado salsa

Kale, Bacon and Butternut Squash One Pot Wonder

Monday again… how did that happen?

A quick post today as I am in for a busy day, this is something I made last week for a quick healthy dinner with the aim to use up a big bag a kale we had.

You need:
1 small-medium butternut squash or large sweet potato, cut into bite size chunks
1 bag of kale (200g ish)
1 pack of thick cute smoked bacon, chopped
a few sprigs of rosemary (leave in tact) and thyme (leaves stripped) and a couple of sage leaves
3 large shallots, peeled and cut into quarters
250ml vegetable stock
some tasty bread to serve

1. First heat up some olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the bacon and fry until cooked through. Then add the squash and shallots and your herbs and fry until the edges are nicely brown.

2. Add the stock and cover, leaving to simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is cooked through.

3. Finally remove the rosemary and then add the kale and stir through, cover again and leave for 2 minutes.

Serve with some bread and butter.

Having eaten this between three people I think it can be seen as more of a side dish but it is a great healthy and tasty meal, if not massively filling.

Original recipe here

Cauliflower Cheese

I have been craving this for weeks, and last weekend I worked a lot, so on Sunday with the wind blowing a gale outside and drizzle coming down so thick it was like fog, I finally got round to making it.

It is more than comfort to me, it’s a dish my Mum used to make a lot for me as a child and so I will always love it.

I found it hard to write my recipe though as I make my roux by eye and don’t measure anything!

How cute is my Emma Bridgewater dish? A present from my Mama!

You need;
1 large white cauliflower
50g flour; use whatever you have, I used a little buckwheat and a little plain but normally I would use wholemeal
50g butter
1-2 pints of milk – depending on how thick you want your sauce
150-200g cheddar - I use the strongest as I can get, you can totally use whatever you like here as well, a little bit of Stilton takes it to a whole other level.
2 tbsp double cream (not important)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1-2 pinch’s of freshly grated nutmeg – to taste
sea salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
Cook the cauliflower in boiling salted water until just tender – 5-6 minutes. Don’t underdo it either – crunchy, al dente cauliflower is not right for this dish.) Drain thoroughly and put into your baking/serving dish.

2. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a medium-sized pan. Spoon in the flour and stir, do not let it burn. Cook for 4-5 minutes to cook the flour off.
Remove from the heat and gradually beat in the milk, a few spoonfuls at a time at first, then increasing the flow as the sauce thins. Make sure you taste the sauce to check the flour has cooked.
Return to the heat and heat gently for about 10 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and creamy.
Keep stirring!

Then add in the cheese, cream, mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper and adjust to your taste.

3. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, sprinkle over some more grated cheese (and breadcrumbs if you have them) and bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbling!

I also grill mine for a further 3 minutes to get those delicious burnt edges.

I even had enough leftover for my lunch the next day.

Bath Soft Cheese

I had to do a mini post about this cheese…

I love getting cheese from our local farmers market but I normally a stinky/cheddar kinda girl as I normally buy more in the winter but on a sunny Sunday I wanted a make a picky lunch in the garden for my Bridesmaids who were coming to try on their dresses.

So I grabbed this local brie like cheese. It was so delicious, we ate the whole lot.

Opps there goes the diet!

I love the packaging, especially the font!

And the seal on the back makes it feel extra special opening it.

I also got some amazing bread from the Bordeaux Quay stand, an apple and some crisps and hummous.

The hummous was amazing, I was being lazy but it was a good one so was okay!

You find out more about this week and where to buy it on their website here

Don’t leave it as long as I did, go grab some!

Fragrant Roast Chicken and Fresh Summer Vegetables

I am sorry it has taken me so long to post this after showing you my starter to this great summer entertaining menu…

A busy week of planning and shopping for the wedding, with one month to go I am trying to get everything I need together so I can relax a little, meant very little time to get this up!

So anyway, here is a great dish for entertaining, it makes lots and is easy and delicious!

You need;
5 lemons
12 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
10cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp ground coriander
3 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp olive oil
8-12 skin on chicken pieces (legs, wings and thighs)
sea salt and cracked black pepper

1. Juice a lemon and set the lemon halves to one side then with a pestle and mortar, ground together the lemon juice, all of the garlic, fresh and ground ginger, coriander and honey then add some olive oil, until you have a rough paste. Make it quite thick, so it doesn’t just slide off.

2. Cover the chicken pieces in your paste, working it into cracks and creases, and set aside to marinate in the fridge for as long as possible, I left mine for about an hour but you should do overnight if you can.

3. About 45 minutes before you want to eat the chicken, preheat the oven to 190°C
Chop the squeezed lemon halves and the remaining whole lemons into small chunks, each with a bit of skin then heat a little olive oil in your roasting trays on the hob and wipe most of the marinade off the chicken, season and lay skin-side down in the trays and brown them a little before putting them in the oven.

4. Chuck the lemon pieces into the trays, turn them in the oil, then turn all the chicken pieces skin-side up. Put the trays in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
Keep an eye on the chicken – because of the honey, it can burn easily.
It will be golden and slightly sticky when ready. Allow to sit for five minutes before serving.

I served with steamed summer vegetables, I didn’t really mess with them too much.

I par-boiled some local new potatoes, then threw them about in a skillet with some fresh thyme before chucking in the oven for 15 minutes.

I got some podded peas, which I popped whilst serving the bruschetta and chatting with my friends, love that!

I boiled these for about 2 minutes. No more needed!

Don’t forget unless you’re serving straight away dunk in an ice water bath quickly after removing from the hob before draining and they’ll keep their bite.

Some local carrots chopped, steamed and seasoned with salt and pepper.

And some fresh corn on the cob, I truly forgot how delicious this stuff is and haven’t eaten it in years, this corn was so good we didn’t even add butter!

And that was it. My favourite meal to ever have served, fresh, and so great for a Saturday night dinner or Sunday lunch with friends and good wine.

LOVE.

Recipe from Red Magazine