Salmon and Spinach Lasagne

4 salmon fillets

360g baby spinach

Pinch of grated nutmeg, optional 

360g Parsley sauce

4 sheets of fresh egg lasagne

25g Cheddar, grated

Salad, to serve.

Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Put the salmon on a large sheet of foil, season and sprinkle with 4tbsp water. Wrap to make a parcel, sealing the edges lightly but leaving room inside for the air to circulate. Bake for 15 minutes. Discard the skin, flake the fish and mix with the cooking juices.

Rinse the spinach, then put in a wok or large pan and stir-fry until it wilts. Drain in a colander and press with the back of a spoon to extract as much water as possible. Chop roughly and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, if using.

Heat the parsley sauce and mix three-quarters with the salmon and spinach.

Layer the lasagne with the salmon and spinach in an ovenproof dish. Finish with the reserved parsley sauce.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 25 minutes. Serve with salad.

Serves: 4

1 of your 5 a day.

Per serving

Calories: 509

Fat: 29.2g

Sat Fat: 7.8g

Rhubarb and Strawberry Eton mess

A pudding perfect for this summery weather we are currently having in the UK.






400g rhubarb
2 1/2 level tbsp caster sugar
400g strawberries
300ml double cream
1/4tsp Vanilla extract
300ml rhubarb yogurt
8 meringue nests, broken into large pieces






Preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Wash the rhubarb and cut into 2cm pieces. Put in a roasting tray and mix with the caster sugar. Cover with foil and nake for 20 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender but has kept its shape. Leave until completely cold. Drain of the juices and reserve.
Cut the green tops off the strawberries and halve or quarter them, depending on their size.
Whip the cream with the vanilla extract until it just starts to thicken and hope it's shape. Take care not to overwhip or let it become stiff. If you're using an electric mixer use it on a slow speed. Add the yogurt and continue to whip slowly until it holds it's shape.
Stir the broken meringues into the cream mixture, then fold in three quarters of the fruit, taking care not to break the meringues too much. Spoon into six glasses and put the remaining fruit on the top. Serve within an hour.
Drizzle on a little of the reserved cooking juices just before serving.




Serves: 6


Per serving:


Calories: 426 
Fat: 27.4g
Sat Fat: 16.7g


For a quicker dessrt replace the rhubarb and sugar with 250g Raspberries as they do not need baking.

Special cauliflower cheese

Ingredients:


1 large cauliflower 
50g butter
40g plain flour
500ml semi-skimmed milk
1/2tsp English mustard
1/4 level tsp cayenne pepper
75g extra mature Cheddar cheese, grated
75g Gruyère, grated
25g Parmesan, grated 
40g white bread (slightly stale), made into crumbs
1 level tbsp seasame seeds
1 level tbsp sunflower seeds


Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Break the cauliflower into large florets. Add to a large pan of fast boiling water, return to the boil, then cover and simmer for 10mins. Drain.
Melt the butter, remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Cook over a low heat for 1 minute, stirring.
Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the milk. Heat again until simmering, whisking constantly. Add the mustard and cayenne and simmer for 1 minute.
Take off the heat. Set aside 25g Cheddar, then add the rest of the cheeses and stir until melted.
Put the the cauliflower in an oven proof dish, then pour over the sauce. Mix the reserved cheese with the breadcrumbs and seeds. Sprinkle over the cauliflower and bake for 10-15mins


Serves 4


Per serving:
Calories - 500
Fat - 32.7g
Sat Fat - 18g
One of your 5 a day.

Steak Wellington

Steak Wellington


Ingredients:


50g mushrooms, chopped
1 level tsp oil
1 level tsp butter
300g Beef Fillet steak
50g Brussels Pate with Garlic
250g ready to roll puff pastry
Flour, for rolling out
1 medium egg, beaten
New potatoes with chopped parsley, courgette and carrot ribbons, to serve




Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Heat the butter and oil in a non stick frying pan. Add the mushroom, then gently fry over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they have shrunk and all the juices run out. Continue to cook until all the juices have evaporated. Tip into a bowl to cool.
Cut the steak into 2 even sized pieces. Heat the pan, add the steak and cook for a few seconds on each side to brown the outside- the meat should still be raw. Put on a plate and leave to cool.
Mix the pate with the cold mushrooms. Spread on top of the steaks. Cut the pastry in half and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Place a piece of steak, pate-side down, in the centre of each half.
Dampen the edges of the pastry with a pastry brush, then fold over to enclose the steaks in neat parcels. Place the parcels on a baking sheet with the folds underneath. Brush with beaten egg, then bake for 18-20 minutes until golden. Serve with new potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley, and carrot and courgette ribbons.


Serves: 2
Ready in: 50mins
Calories per serving: 880
Fat per serving: 49.9g

Shortbread Kisses

After whetting your appetites with all those pictures of lovely food here is a recipe to make some 'Shortbread Kisses'






Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Put 50g salted butter (at room temprature), a few drops of vanilla extract and 25g caster sugar in a bowl and mix with a spoon until evenly blended.
Add 75g plain flour and 1 level tbsp cornflour and mix with a spoon to make a dough. Bring the dough together with your finger tips, but try to handle it as little as possible. Shape into a flat cake, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 15 mins - no longer or it will be too hard to roll out.
Lay a large sheet of cling film on a work surface. Unwrap the dough and put on top, then cover with another sheet of clingfilm. Roll out the thickness of a £1 coin. Remove the top sheet of clingilm.
Cut out pairs of shapes using cookie cutters and place onto the prepared baking trays, leaving a small gap between each biscuit. Gather up the leftover dough and roll out again to make more biscuits. You'll make more biscuits than you will need for this dessert but they'll keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
Bake for 10-12mins until lightly tinged at the edges. Leave on the baking trays for 10mins, then carefully lift them off an put onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Just before serving, whip 75ml double cream until it just holds its shape. Take 8 biscuits and sandwich together with 2tbsp strawberry preserve and the cream. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar and serve with strawberries and blueberries


Per serving:
388 calories
30.7g fat
19.1g sat fat

Some of the best food of my life

I think I can safely say that while I was on my holiday I had some of the best food in my life and the sandwich and the ribs are by far the best sandwich and the best ribs I've ever had by far!!