Chorizo and tiger prawn risotto with red beans

ingredients:

= 150 gr chorizo sausages
= 400 gr raw giant tiger prawns with shells
= 350 gr Italian arborio rice
= 450 gr tin red kidney beans
= 1 large Spanish onion, peeled
= 1 clove garlic, peeled
= 1/2 x 0.4 gr jar saffron threads
= 175 ml olive oil
= 1/2 level teaspoon chrust dried chillies
= 1 fish stock cube
= 150 ml dry white wine
= 25 gr butter
= spring fresh basil or 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
= salt and freshly ground black pepper.

you need a heavy-sided pan diameter of about 11in (28cm) and a depth of 2 1/2in (6cm)

Way to make:

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic and set aside. Cut and discard the ends of chorizo sausages, then slice them into 1/4in (5mm) pieces and set aside. Place the saffron threads in a small bowl, along with 1-tablespoon of boiling water, and leave to soak while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. To peel the prawns, remove the shells-leaving the small tails attached to the bodies- and put them in a small bowl. cut down the back of each prawn, remove any black thread and discard. Then wash the prawns under cold running water, pat dry with kitchen towel and set aside. Now rinse the red kidney beans under cold running water, dain and reserve.
3. To flavour the olive oil, heat 150 ml in the heavy pan, add the prawn shells and half the crushed dried chillies and cook over a high heat, stirring constantly, until the shells turn pink-about 2 minutes. Empty the contents of the pan into a strainer over a bowl, discard the shells and chillies and return the flavoured oil to the pan. Add the prawns to the oil and saute until pink, then remove and reserve.
4. Add the chopped onion, garlic and remaining crushed dried chillies and saute for about 5-minutes, until the onion and garlic start to become translucent, then add the sliced chorizo sausages and cook for further 2 minutes.
5. Crumble the stock cbe into a large measuring jug and pour 2 pints (1.2 litres) of boiling water over, stirring thoroughly.
To prepare Risotto, add the the rice to the pan with the onions, garlic and chorizo sausages and cook over a moderate heat for 2 minutes, stirring so that every grain is coated with the oil. Add the wine and let it sizzle away for 30 seconds, then add the soaking saffron threads (with their water) and enough of the stock to just cover the rice-about 275 ml. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the rice has absorbed most of the stock, then add another 150 ml of the stock and simmer again until absorbed.
Continue cooking in this way until the rice is just tender and all the stock has been used-which should take about 25 minutes in all. Do not walk away from the risotto at this point as you don't want the pan to dry out and the rice to burn.
6. To finish, heat the remaining olive oil over a high heat in a medium-sized frying pan, add the drained red kidney beans and saute for 1-minute, until heated through. Add the cooked, reserved prawns, cook for a further minute, then season. Stir those into the rice, along with the butter, and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a heated serving dish, decorate with a sprig of basil or snipped chives and serve immediately.

Kir and Gougeres

For the Kir

Pour about 55 ml of creme de cassis into each of four wine glasses (its important to pour the cassis first, then top each one up with about 150 ml of chilled white wine, preferably a white burgundi). Instead of using white wine, you can add sparkling wine or champagne.
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For the gougeres

= 50 gr unsalted butter, diced
= 75 gr plain flour, sifted
= 2 medium eggs
= 40 gr emmental, finely grated
= 40 gr mature cheddar, finely grated
= a little nutmeg
= salt
= a medium-sized baking sheet, lightly buttered and dusted with flour.
= preheat oven to 200'C

way to make:

1. Place the butter, along with 150 ml of cold water, in a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan and heat slowly, until the butter melts. bring to rapid boil and remove from the heat immediately.
2. Quickly tip in all the sifted flour and return to a low heat. Beat vigorously, until the mixture comes away clean from the sides of the pan, which should take a minute or so.
Remove again from the heat and cool for about 1 minute.
3. Add 1-egg, beating hard to ensure it is completely amalgamated, then add the second. Beat vigorously, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Stir the cheeses in, a tiny grating of nutmeg and a generous grinding of salt. Combine well.
4. Using 2 teaspoons, heap blobs of the mixture on to the prepared baking sheet, making 12 in all, spacing them well apart.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the GOUGERES are puffed up and golden brown all over. (do not open the oven door to check until at least 20 minutes is up).
6. Carefully transfer them to a wire rack and, using a sharp knife, pierce a tiny hole in the side of each gougeres, to release any steam. Serve them barely warm with the kir.

Caponata

Ingredients:

= 1 medium aubergine, weighing about 225 gr
= 1/2 level teaspoon salt
= 2 sticks celery, trimmed
= 1 tablespoon olive oil
= 1 small onion, peeled and choppes
= 1 level tablespoon tomato pure
= 2 rounded teaspoons capers, drained
= 25 gr pitted green olives, drained
= 1 dessertspoon red wine vinegar
= pinch custer sugar
= 1 plum tomato
= 1 rounded dessertspoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
= salt and freshly ground black pepper

Way to make :

1. Cut the aubergine into 2.5 cm dice, place in colander over a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and allow to drain for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, put a small pan of water on to boil. Cut the celery into 2cm diagonal slices and, when the water has come to the boil, blanch the celery for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Then drain in a colander, refresh in cold water and drain again.
3. Rinse the diced aubergine and pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat half the olive oil in a medium-sized, non stick frying pan, add the aubergine and fry for about 10 minutes, over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown and softened. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate.
4. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and fry the onion over a low heat until soft and golden-abot 7 minutes. When the onion is cooked, add the blanched celery and cook for a further 4 mintes. Next, mix the tomato puree with a tablespoon of hot water and add this to the onion and celery mixture, along with the capers, olives, red wine vinegar and sugar, and cook for 4 minutes. Return the diced aubergine to the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Seosonwell, cool, transfer to a lidded container and refrigerate overnight.
5. Prepare the plum tomato by putting it in a small bowl, pour over sufficient boiling water to cover it, the pour off the water and quickly fill the bowl with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain, remove the tomato, peel and discard the skin, quarter the flesh, then scoop the seeds out and discard. Cut the flesh into 5mm dice and put in a lidded container in the fridge. The next day, stir the chopped tomato and parsley into the caponata. Serve.

Creme brulee custard wiyh raspberries

Ingredients :

= 570 mldouble cream
= 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
= 4 large egg yolks
= 2 sligthly rounded tablespoon custer sugar
= 450 gr raspberries
= 1 level dessertspoon icing sugar

You also need a serving dish approximately 22.5cm in diameter and 5 cm deep

Way to make:

1. Heat the cream with the vanilla pod in a heavy-based saucepan, until hot bt not boiling. Remove from the heat and whisk thoroughly for a few seconds to disperse the seeds from the vanilla pod, cover and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, gently whisk the eggs yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl.
3. Remove the vanilla pod from the cream and shake well. If you want to reuse the vanilla pod, you can lightly rinse it, dry it thoroughly and then store it in a jar of sugar.
4. Pour the cream over the egg yolks and sugar and whisk together. Return to the pan and cook very gently over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Allow just the occasional simmering to form on the surface, followed by vigorous whisking off the heat to disperse them back into the cooler parts of the custard.
5. When the custard is ready (it will be noticeably thicker), pour it into the dish-the mixture should fill only two thirds of it, allowing room for the raspberries. Cool, then chill for at least 4 hours. Pile the raspberries on top and dust generously with the icing sugar.

Lamb and Smoke beef patties with Curry Sauce

Ingredients:

For the curry sauce
= 1 tablespoon groundnut oil
= 2 small onions, peeled and roughly chopped
= 2 level teaspoons mild curry powder
= 3 level tablespoons raisins or sultanas
= 285 ml fresh vegetable stock
= 150 ml Greek-style natural yogurt
= salt

For the patties
= 500 gr lamb mince
= 5 smoke beef, diced
= 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
= 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
= 15 gr dill, roughly chopped
= 20 gr flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
= a little flour for dusting
= 2 tablespoons groundnut oil
= salt and freshly ground black pepper

Way to make:

1. Pre heat the oven to 220'C. Heat the oil for the sauce in a medium-sized saucepan, then add the chopped onions and cook for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden. Now stir in the curry powder. Let the powder cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it burning. Add the raisins or sultanas and the stock and bring to the boil.
2. Once the liquid is bubbling, turn down the heat, season with salt and leave to simmer gently while you make the patties.
3. For the patties:
Mix all the ingredients, except the flour and the oil, together and season generously with salt and black pepper. Dividedthe mixture into 8 and shape it into rough, knobbly patties. Don't overwork the mixture at this stage, just squash the patties together firmly but do not flatten them.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then dust the patties lightly with the flour and fry until golden. This will take 3-4 minutes on each side. Gently beat the yogurt into the curry sauce.
Transfer the patties to an ovenproof dish then ladle the sauce over the top.
Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling.
Serve the patties with some sauce.

Stewed Blackberries and Custard

Ingredients:

For the fruit
= 700 gr blackberries
= 200 ml elderflower cordial
= 7 pieces lemon zest, remove with potato peeler

For the Custard
= 275 ml whole milk
= 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
= 3 large egg yolks
= 50 gr caster sugar

You need a lidded, flameproof oven dish measuring approximately 10in(25.5cm) in diameter and 2in(5cm) deep.

Way to make

1. Pre heat the oven 325'F (170'C). Put the blackberries in the dish and place over a low heat (this is just to get the dish hot for the oven). Pour the elderflower cordial over the top of the berries and mix in the lemmon zest. Allow to simmer and then put the lid on.
2. Place the dish on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes. After this time, have a look at the contents and give the dish a brief shake-do not stir it as this may break up yhe blackberries.
3. Depending on the ripness of the fruit, they may need a further 10 minutes to be thoroughly cooked throgh and soft. Remove from the oven, take off the lid and allow to cool. Once the fruit is cool, remove the lemon zest.

4. For The Custard:
Heat the milk with the vanilla pod in a heavy-based pan until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and whisk for a few seconds to release the vanilla seeds into the milk. Then, in a bowl, briefly beat the egg yolks and sugar together and strain the hot milk over the mixture, whisking as you go.
Return the whole lot to the pan and cook over a very low heat, using a heat diffuser if you have one, until lightly thickened. This will take about 10 minutes. If you curdle the custard, a blast in a liquidiser will resque it. Cover with clingfilm and leave to cool. Serve at room temperature with stewed blackberries.
To serve this custard with fresh strawberries add Cointreau, to taste, to the cooled custard.

Plum Upside-down Cake

Ingredients:

= 700 gr plums (25-30 plums)
= 50 gr muscovado sugar
= 150 gr unsalted butter, softened
= 110 gr self-rising flour
= 25 gr ground alomonds
= 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
= 3 large eggs
= few drop almond essence
= 110 gr caster sugar

You also need a cake tin with a fixed base measuring 9in(23cm) diameterx2in(5cm) deep.
Buttered.

Way to make:

1. Melt the muscovado sugar with 25gr of the butter and then spread the mixture in the bottom of the buttered cake tin. now srone the plums, trying to keep them whole, and pack them on top of the butter and sugar mixture. They should form a very close-fitting single layer, so use more or fewer plums as necessary. Leave the tin to one side.
2. Preheat the oven to 190'C while you make the cake mixture. First sift the self-rising flour, ground almonds and baking powder together and put aside. Whisk the eggs lightly and add a drop or two of almond essence-go lightly, it's powerful stuff.
Now, using a food mixer or a hand-held electric whisk and bowl, beat the remaining 110gr of butter and caster sugar together for a couple ofminutes until pale and very soft. Then, with the food mixer or electric whisk still running, tip in one third of beaten eggs.
Repeat alternately untill all the ingredients have been incorporated and the mixture is thick, soft and floppy.
3. Scrape out the mixture from the bowl and spoon it over the plums in the cake tin, covering them completely. Put the tin into the preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes.
Check the cake after this time-if it is browning too quickly, reduce the temperature to 180'C. Continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes, until the cake has shrunk away from the sides of the tin and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
4. To serve, take a shallow dish and invert it over the top of the cake tin. Hold the entire ensemble very firmly and then turn it over. Place the dish on the work surface and very carefully lift off the cake tin.
5. The upside-down cake can be served hot, warm or cold.