Northumberland gazette, 8th May 2014

At this time of year, I am never without wild garlic in my fridge. It's the ultimate in frugality - it's free - and it grows in abundance in most woodland/ riverside area. As I live next to a river and a wood, there's never a shortage here! I featured 'ways with wild garlic' a while ago on my blog. It's such a versatile ingredient. I make hummus, pesto, flavoured oil and butter, pasta, bread and lots more and I add it to my cooking all the time, at this time of year. 

Get yourself out foraging. Making delicious food out of free ingredients is a great feeling. The season lasts until around the end of May, so don't delay.  Wild garlic pesto lasts for absolutely ages, so make lots and keep it in the fridge and you'll be enjoying it through to next year's season. And whizz it up with some oil and have garlicky oil at your fingertips for months to come. Check out my blog for the most moreishly delicious focaccia smothered in wild garlic oil. Might not be great for the bikini diet but it's good for the soul! Or treat it like a herb and chop it finely, and cover with water in ice cube trays. When they're frozen pop the ice cubes in freezer bags and use a few cubes whenever you fancy in your cooking. 

At this point in the season, you'll start finding pretty white flowers on the garlic. These are perfectly edible and make a pretty addition to salads or to beautify a bowl of wild garlic soup. 

I also always have chorizo in my fridge. It lasts for ages (far longer than I ever manage to keep it) and you only need a small quantity to make a real flavour difference to your food.  I use it as a base in so many dishes and practically all of my soups.  I often add it to my pasta when I'm having pasta with wild garlic and hazelnut pesto. The smokey paprika flavour complements the wild garlic beautifully. 

With this in mind I devised a nice little cheese scone recipe with chorizo and wild garlic. 

Scones are a great, cheap and filling treat. You can adapt them to include whatever you fancy or whatever you have! Or you can enjoy them plain. I've said it before but if you have a bag of flour, you'll never go hungry! 

Cheese, chorizo and wild garlic scones 

Ingredients 

500g Strong white flour

2 tsp baking powder 

80g Butter

200g Grated cheese plus some extra for sprinkling on top

1/2 tsp of salt 

40g Chorizo, very finely chopped

2 spring onions, finely chopped

30g wild garlic, finely chopped

200g milk plus extra for brushing on top

Method

Put the flour and baking powder in a bowl.  

Rub the butter into the flour, with your fingertips, until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs. 

Meanwhile, fry the chorizo on a low heat until it has rendered it's fat and add the spring onions. After a couple of minutes, add the wild garlic. Let it wilt for about 30 seconds and turn the heat off. Add this, along with the salt and the grated cheese, to the flour mixture. 

Gradually add the milk (you may not need it all) until you have a soft, sticky dough. Don't make it too wet.

Knead it for a couple of minutes on a floured surface. Then roll it out to approximately 2cm thick. 

Cut them into about 18 scones. If you don't have a cutter, rather than roll the dough out, you could just make lots of balls and flatten them out to around 2cm thick. They won't have the nice straight sides but they'll have a lovely rustic appearance!

Brush some milk over the tops and add a sprinkling of grated cheese. 

Put on a hot baking tray in a preheated oven at 200c/ gas mark 6. Cook for around 15 mins until they are golden brown. 

Enjoy warmed with lots of butter and a cuppa. Or go all Spanish and complement them with a glass of Rioja!

Meal planner

Hi! 

Feels like ages since I've been on here properly. Been busy getting my pieces for the paper sorted but think I'm finding my feet a bit now so it shouldn't affect my frugal blogging!

We have been away down south for the long weekend with Ian's family so I've not done much cooking since last week. 

We got home on Monday so I made a quickie supper of pasta with wild garlic pesto, prawns, chorizo and lots of grated Parmesan with a crunchy breadcrumb and chilli flake topping. 

I did a serious stocktake in the freezer and cupboards on Monday night. It is amazing what I've uncovered from under mounds of ice! I found a pack of chicken thighs and a homemade beef and Guinness pie. Total result. Tasty, speedy suppers to follow! 

On Tuesday I had leek and potato soup with some sorry looking rolls from the freezer. In the evening I made the chicken thighs into a cheesy chicken & broccoli bake with the purple sprouting broccoli from my dad's garden. I poached the chicken in water with a stock cube, some asparagus stalks, a celery stick send a carrot for about 15 mins, until cooked through. Just before I took the chicken out I chucked the broccoli in for a few mins, until tender. I then strained the chicken and veg and removed the stock veg (and gave it to the hens). I put the stock to one side. 

In a large pan I melted some butter, mixed in a few spoons of plain flour and whisked in some of the stock until I had the desired consistency. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, a tsp curry powder, added a large splash of white wine, a good grating of cheese. 

I took the chicken off the bones, discarded the skin (well, gave it to the cat actually!) and chopped up the meat. I added the meat and broccoli to the sauce, covered with a mixture of dried breadcrumbs and crushed salted crisps. I baked it for about 30 mins at gas 6/ 200c until bubbling and calling my name. 

While it was cooking, I rustled up a lovely pan of creamy mashed potato with lots of wild garlic butter. I also made some rice for Robin as a going back to school treat! It went very nicely with both but the mash is definitely the winner!

With the leftover mash from Tuesday's supper I made easy pea-sy fish cakes for the kids (and, although Ian and I were going out for a cheap and cheerful Italian with friends, we also had some!!). 

I defrosted 1 fillet of pollack and 4 raw king prawns. I then poached the fish with some milk, seasoning and a pinch of paprika. Just as it was about to be ready (only takes 5 mins), add a small handful of frozen peas and the prawns. When it's all cooked drain the fish, prawns and peas and save the cooking liquid. 

Chuck the fish etc in a food processor along with some mash, salt and pepper, a few chilli flakes, some fresh herbs (I used mint, chives and oregano from the garden), some grated cheese and some dried breadcrumbs. Whizz it together and then let it cool in the fridge until you're ready to use. My mash was very milky already so I didn't add any wet ingredients but you could add an egg, some of the cooking milk or some mayonnaise. 

When ready, shape them into balls (about the size of ping-pong balls) and then slightly flatten. Coat in more dried breadcrumbs. If the mixture isn't very sticky, you may need to use a little beaten egg before the crumbs. 

Heat a frying pan, add 1 tbsp groundnut oil and add the fish cakes. When browned, turn them over and continue to cook on a low heat until brown on both sides and heated through. The combination of the fish, peas and mint was delicious. We all enjoyed them with carrots and chips and there wasn't a crumb leftover!

So, we're at Thursday already. I've just inhaled an enormous bowl of bread and butter pudding and ice cream so nothing else for me until tonight. I'm going to give the leftover chicken bake to the kids, with rice, for supper and Ian and I are going to have the beef and Guinness pie, with the rest of the freebie purple sprouting broccoli and some minty peas, for ours. Then Ian will have the leftover pie on Friday night as I'll be gallivanting in Harrogate at the Good Food Show Live (my birthday present from my lovely friend, Gail) with, aforementioned friend, Gail!

On Saturday my menu consists of fish pie. If you are making my menu make extra mash for the fish pie and fish cakes, when you're making it for the chicken bake. And, when you make your fish cakes, poach extra fish and prawns and use them for the fish pie, using the poaching milk for the cheese sauce. Use hard (but soft, if you know what i mean?!) boiled eggs and peas, spinach and sweetcorn are all good additions too. 

To make your eggs, put them in cold water and bring the water to the boil. Take them out of the pan 6 mins after putting them in. Put them in iced water to cool quickly and then peel them and half them for the pie. 

I assemble all the fish, nestle the eggs in amongst it, add the veg and then pour lots of cheese sauce over the top. I top it off with crumbs and bake until bubbling. 

Freeze if you're not using it for a few days. 

The kids are at a party on Sunday so we'll just grab a toastie and/ or soup for lunch. For supper I'm going to make an oven-baked risotto with some peppers  and cherry tomatoes I've got in the fridge.

Hope this has given you a little inspiration. 

Next week I will, almost certainly, be melting Easter chocolate to create something to share with friends and get out of our house whilst I'm working on my bikini body!!

Linguine with lemony prawns, chorizo and wild garlic pesto

I always have a big bag of raw, frozen prawns in the freezer for when I want a speedy meal. 

Ingredients 

Linguine or whatever pasta you have

Wild garlic and hazelnut pesto - recipe on the blog (you can use any green pesto though)

1 tbsp olive oil

Chilli flakes

Half a lemon

Hard cheese

Raw, frozen prawns 

About 1 inch chorizo sausage, sliced. 

Dash of white wine/ white wine vinegar

Method

Defrost the prawns.  Marinate them in chilli flakes, lemon, lemon juice and oil. 

Put some linguine (or any pasta you have) in some salted, boiling water. 

Dry fry some chorizo until it renders some fat. 

Add the marinated prawns and any marinade. Add a dash of white wine vinegar (if I'd had an open bottle of white wine, I would have used that)

When the prawns turn pink add a handful of grated cheese (I used grana padano but Parmesan fine too). 

Add some pasta cooking water and stir. It'll make a nice creamy sauce. Turn off the heat. 

When the pasta is cooked, stir the pesto into it.  Don't drain all the water. It's nicer if it's still a bit wet. 

Stir some grated cheese into the pasta. 

Add everything from the frying pan into the pasta. Stir. 

Top with a mix of crunchy breadcrumbs ( see tip below), finely grated cheese and chilli flakes. 

Tip:

Whenever I have bread that is going to go bad, I whizz it up into breadcrumbs. I then cook them in the oven on a low heat until they are all dried. Then I keep them in sterilised jars in the cupboard. 

They are so handy. They can be used to add to dishes to make them go further, for breading fish or chicken, fish cakes, as a topping to fish pie/ cottage pies, the list goes on... They're a great store cupboard ingredient. 

Scrummy but Skinny Tomato Soup

Calories: Approx. 116 per serving. Serves 4. 

To counteract the gluttony of pancake day, I promised a scrummy but very skinny soup. So here goes....

Ingredients

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 yellow pepper (or red is fine)

5 tomatoes 

1 tin tomatoes (you could just use 2 tins rather than fresh too)

Chicken stock made from stock cube (fill tomato tin)

1 inch chorizo, sliced

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

A small handful fresh basil 

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp sugar

Tabasco sauce to serve 

Method

If you've got a food processor, use it! It'll massively save you time. 

Chuck the celery and onion in and chop for a few seconds. 

Heat a large pan and fry off the chorizo for a couple of mins. Add the chopped onion and celery and a pinch of salt. Crush the garlic into the pan. Keep it moving. Add the paprika and oregano. 

Pop the pepper and carrots in the food processor and chop.

When the onion is translucent add the pepper and carrots. 

Chop the tomatoes in the processor along with the basil and then add them to the pan along with the balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and tinned tomatoes. Use the empty tin to make the chicken stock in and add it to the pan too. Season. Add 1 tsp sugar if required.  Bring it to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 mins. 

Tip it into the blender and blitz. Et voila. 

I put a little Tabasco sauce on it when I serve it. 

A nice warming Spanish Style Chorizo, Prawn and Chickpea Stew

Calories: approx 291 per person based on 3 sharing. This does NOT include the bread or any extra oil. 

Hello!  Hope you've all had a great day.

Well, today has been a challenge! A very hyperactive, spotty 5 year old hanging off me all day whilst I've tried to work... Roll on bedtime!!

So I wanted something easy and comforting for supper.  I wanted minimal chopping so happily used dried chilli flakes instead of the chilli that is in the fridge (I'll use it for a curry over the weekend) and tinned tomatoes rather than fresh. 

I always have raw king prawns in the freezer as they are a quick, low fat option even with defrosting them. I speed the defrost time up by putting them in water to defrost the ice casing.  I also always have chorizo in the fridge. It's about my most used ingredient. I absolutely love it and it goes in most things I make. I love how it transforms a meal. 

So with those ingredients mind, I thought I'd make a Spanish style prawn stew. I also chucked some chickpeas (storecupboard staple!) in too to bulk it out. I made it up as i went along with nagging  children next to me, so it definitely doesn't require much brain work! 

Ingredients

• Approx 3" piece of chorizo, sliced
• 1 red onion (if you only have white, that's fine), sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes. More or less, if desired. 
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• A couple of splashes of med sweet sherry - prob about 100ml
• 1 tin of tomatoes - Use fresh if you'd like but I simply couldn't be bothered today!
• A large dash of balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained but not rinsed 
• Raw king prawns - we had about 8 each as they were big and we are greedy!!
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• My sun dried tomato and olive bread or other crusty bread to serve (optional)

Method

Heat your pan up (dry) until nice and hot. Add the chorizo to the pan and let it release it's fat for a min or 2. Don't let it burn. Turn down the heat to low. Add the sliced onion to the pan and slowly cook.  Add a little salt with the onions to help them cook off a bit quicker. If you need to add a little more oil, feel free to add it. Add the garlic, chilli and oregano to the pan and cook for another 2 mins. Don't let the garlic go brown.  Add the sliced pepper and the sherry.  If you don't have any you could use white wine and then add a spoon of sugar later on with the tomatoes.  Raise the heat and cook for a couple of minutes until the alcohol has cooked off, then lower the heat and cook for a further 5 mins, stirring a few times.

Add the tomatoes and also a tin full of water.  Add the balsamic vinegar (and sugar, if necessary). Season with sea salt and  black pepper. Bring to the boil. 

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Let it cook for approx 40 mins. Keep an eye on it and stir a few times to make sure that it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan.

10 mins before the end of the cooking time, add the chickpeas. About 2 - 3mins before the end of cooking time add the prawns.  Make sure that they have turned thoroughly pink and are nice and hot.

If you have some fresh parsley, sprinkle some on the top and serve.

I served this with my sun dried tomato bread and ate far too much. Also couldn't wait for it to cool down so didn't follow my advice and had it hot with butter melting on it. 

Hope this tickles your fancy!  It is honestly one of the nicest flavours and proper comfort food. And the only fresh ingredient was a pepper so it's v handy too!

If you serve it with lots of bread this would serve 2 adults and 2 little people.