Herb-crusted rack of lamb with red wine sauce and mustard mash

Last week I thought spring was well and truly on the way and I found myself day-dreaming about beer gardens, Sunday walks with ice-cream and ditching the winter boots. Then as the week progressed, it got colder and windier and now it’s forecast to snow again!

But with Easter round the corner and lighter nights on the way, I wanted to embrace the new season and make a real spring-time meal that I could share with you.

This herb-crusted rack of lamb with red wine sauce is perfect for Mother’s Day if you’re making dinner tonight and haven’t yet decided what to cook. (Above photo taken from Gordon Ramsay's recipe)

It’ll also make a nice Easter meal if you need more time to prepare and get hold of some top quality lamb from the butchers.

Cooking the lamb on the rack keeps it succulent and the topping is just delicious and really easy to make. I got the basic idea for both the crust and the gravy from Gordon Ramsay’s recipes but have adapted them along the way to make them lighter and perfect for the time of year. (I must say, before my fiancé reads this, that he in fact made the gravy on this occasion!)

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the lamb:

2 large racks of lamb

Olive oil

4 slices of stale bread, teared into chunks – I use ciabatta

7 tbsp grated parmesan

A few sprigs of fresh parsley, thyme, coriander and rosemary

Handfull of toasted pine nuts (optional)

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

For the red wine sauce:

2 banana shallots, finely chopped

1 large garlic glove, finely chopped

2 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

150ml red wine

500ml chicken stock (if making this gravy for beef, use a rich beef stock instead)

A few sprigs of rosemary and thyme

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Place the lamb on plastic cutting board fat side up. Lightly score the fat layer with a sharp knife then sprinkle the lamb with salt, pepper and a little olive oil then rub all over.

Put on your potatoes to boil for the mash and chop your shallots and garlic for the gravy.

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and seal the lamb by holding each side in the oil long enough to develop a brown colour (be careful you don’t burn your hands). Remove from the pan and set aside while you prepare the crust. Firstly, toast off the pine nuts if using.

Place the bread, parmesan, herbs, pine nuts, a splash of olive oil and seasoning into a blender and pulse several times until it looks nice and green and fully mixed into fine crumbs.

Brush the lamb generously with the mustard and coat with the crust mixture. Place into a roasting tin and put in the oven for around 20 minutes. Note: the lamb needs to be pink inside and it will continue to cook as it rests so be careful not to over cook.

While the lamb is in the oven you can make the gravy. Fry off the shallots and garlic in a splash of olive oil and add salt and pepper. Fry for about five minutes until the shallots soften then add the flour and stir for a few more minutes.

Pour in the vinegar and red wine and bring to the boil. Add the stock and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the wine has cooked off. Add the herbs for a few more minutes then strain the gravy through a sieve.

Remove the lamb from the oven and leave to rest for ten minutes while you get everything else ready.

Slice the lamb into cutlets and serve approximately three pieces per person.

Serve with mashed potato (mixed with a tbsp of mustard and lots of butter) seasonal vegetables and the red wine gravy. Yum!

Let me know how you get on and please send me your photos!

Two ways with butternut squash

I seem to spend the entire of my weekends in the kitchen at the moment – not that I’m complaining, but if you saw the size of my kitchen you’d wonder how I hadn’t developed severe claustrophobia yet.

This weekend has been no different – although I haven’t been suffering from a hangover which is a little out of the ordinary.

Today I made one butternut squash go a very long way in prepping for the week ahead.

The week’s are so busy and go so fast – if I don’t plan ahead (lunches in particular) I end up snacking on rubbish or not eating at all.

This butternut squash and harissa hummous is so easy to make – it takes a little patience but it’s perfect to do on a Sunday afternoon and have in the fridge ready and waiting. It’s so much nicer than the pre-made stuff in the supermarkets.

It’s yummy on crackers or crispbread for lunch or on a wrap with falafels and salad. I made some a couple of weeks ago as part of a Moroccan tapas-style tea and took some into work – everyone wanted some and luckily the recipe makes a substantial batch so there was plenty to go around.

It only uses half a butternut squash and with the other half you can either roast if off and freeze it for next time or make a satisfying soup.

I made the soup using sweet potato, stock, onion, garlic, herbs and the other half of the butternut squash then froze it in batches so that when I need to grab a quick lunch, I can just take it out of the freezer and it’ll be defrosted by lunch time.

Butternut squash and harissa hummous

Ingredients

½ butternut squash, cut into 2cm chunks

3 garlic cloves

olive oil

3 tbsp tahini paste

2 tbsp harissa

400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Method

Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Put the squash and whole garlic cloves in a roasting tray with a good drizzle of oil then season with salt and pepper.

Cover with foil to stop the edges burning then put in the oven for around 45 minutes – until the squash is really soft. Leave to cool.

Put the contents of the tin into a food processor including any juices, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and add.

Add the rest of the ingredients with a touch more salt and pepper and whiz until smooth. Drizzle with extra olive oil and serve.

Tip: I served mine with toasted pittas and a pistachio and feta salad (Paul had his with a big juicy Moroccan spiced steak!

Butternut squash and sweet potato soup

Ingredients

½ butternut squash, cut into 2cm chunks

500ml chicken or veg stock

1 medium-sized sweet potato, cut into 2cm chunks

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 red onion, roughly chopped

olive oil

tsp dried thyme

tsp dried rosemary

splash of milk or cream 

Method

Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Put the squash and sweet potato into a pan of boiling water and part-boil for about ten minutes. Prepare your stock.

Tip into a roasting tray and drizzle with oil. Scatter over the onion, garlic and herbs, drizzle over some more oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for around 20 minutes until the squash and potato is soft (keep checking to make sure the onion and garlic doesn’t catch and burn. Leave to cool slightly.

Use a hand blender to blend the mixture, adding the stock a little bit at a time. Finally blend in a dash of milk (or cream if you want it to be richer).

Serve immediately or freeze until needed. Defrost before re-heating.

Spicy sweet potato and chickpea stew

Today I’m sharing a comforting and good-for-you spicy stew, as the girls at work and me have started a healthy living club in the office.

With January in full swing and having all over-indulged over Christmas, we decided that only way to become healthier and resist temptation was to do it together – seeing as we spend most of our time at work!

There’s almost always chocolate, sweets, cakes or biscuits going around the office and when it’s there we can’t walk past it. If we’re having a busy or stressful day then we all agree that we’ve earned a treat. And on those days when we’re tired or not feeling our best, it becomes a case of NEED not want. Sound familiar?

Now I’m not for a second saying that we’ll be cutting out all guilty pleasures – as I said in my last blog, I just can’t live like that. But I’m definitely convinced that smaller portions, lots of fresh and healthy foods, more veggie alternatives, regular snacking on healthy foods such as nuts and dried fruits, and regular exercise are the key to a healthy lifestyle.

I’m no expert, but I’ve had my fair share of difficult relationships with food and I now know that what we eat massively affects not only our weight, but our mind, concentration, sleep patterns and mood.

So we’ll see how the new healthy living goes! There are no rules at the moment – it’s more a case of making our own lunches instead of buying chips in the canteen, having healthy snakes on our desks, and supporting each other at the gym.

We all have different goals – whether it be tone up or lose weight – but our common aim is to generally feel more energised and better about ourselves.

At this time of year I crave comforting, warming food and this vegetable stew is perfect for satisfying hunger while helping you stay on the right track to healthier living.

Top Tip: Cayenne pepper contains thermogenic properties which raise metabolism and can help you lose weight.

Ingredients

Olive oil for frying

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 garlic gloves, crushed

500ml water

1 sweet potato cut into 2cm chunks

5 large vine tomatoes (could use a tin of chopped tomatoes instead)

3 bay leaves

1 red chilli, finely chopped, seeds removed

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp cayenne pepper (or ½ tsp chilli power instead)

1 courgette, diced into 2cm chunks

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Optional: Quinoa or brown rice to serve (I use Pedon bulgar and quinoa – just cook like you would rice.)

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes. As the onions start to brown, add the garlic and cook until the onions are soft.

Add 50ml of the water and stir in the sweet potato. Then crush the tomatoes into the pan and add the bay leaves. Cook for five minutes.

Stir in the spices and add another 300ml of the water. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the courgette, chickpeas and the rest of the water and simmer for around 10 minutes until the sweet potato and courgette is tender.

Note: If you make this the night before, it also makes a tasty lunch and because it contains protein from the chickpeas and substance in the sweet potatoes, you really don’t need anything with it.  

Good intentions

Okay, let’s get the excuses for my hiatus out of the way first. It’s the two ‘W’ words: wedding and work! Since returning from a holiday in Tenerife in August I literally didn’t stop until Christmas due to a busy schedule at work, a house move which fell through and a wedding to plan – all of which left me too shattered to come home and think about a blog. But that’s a rubbish excuse and my New Year’s resolution is to make more effort and stop blaming what is really just laziness on being too busy!!

So staying on the New Year’s theme, January is generally a month of good intentions when we vow to lay off the booze, hit the gym and eat healthier. Of course this never fully materialises (last night I went out drinking cocktails and tonight I will be stuffing my face with Christmas chocolate on the basis that if I eat it all now then it’s gone and I can’t eat anymore – come on, we all do that?!)

But, my saving grace is that most of the time I do eat healthy and I’ll certainly keep that up. If you’re looking for a serious January detox the HonestlyHealthly book is your bible. My mother-in-law-to-be lent it to me a couple of months ago and I’ve had a bash at a couple of the recipes – the one I’m sharing with you here is a nutty granola which is fabulous with yoghurt for breakfast and it’s super healthy.

While the book has some great ideas (in particular the good-for-you cakes and chocolates which provide a guilt-free fix when you’re craving something sweet), it would be extremely difficult to keep up the lifestyle element for any length of time.

I do recommend this granola though – make a big batch and store in an airtight container and it’ll last for weeks.

I'm now going to go and make a salad for tea and pack my gym bag for tomorrow!

Nutty granola

Ingredients

50g dried dates

100g jumbo rolled oats

2 tbsp honey

85g mixed raw cashew and pecan nuts

15g raw pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp olive oil

It’s not in the recipe but I also add 50g of dried cranberries

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Simmer the dates in 1cm of water until soft then blend until smooth with a hand blender.

Put in a large bowl, stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden. 

Reduce the oven temperature to 110 degrees and cook for a further 30 minutes until the mixture is dry and crisp.

Leave to cool completely, then enjoy!  

I meet the King&Queen of baking at Bolton Food&Drink Festival

He calls her ‘Bezza’ and she teases him about watching his weight – the relationship between Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood is special, and I got to witness it firsthand when I met them on Saturday. 

I was visiting the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and was lucky enough to be allocated an interview slot with the Great British Bake Off (GBBO) judges.

As a huge baking fan, I was already quite informed about the pair’s history – their books and recipes, family life and successful baking careers – but there was still a raft of questions I had in mind. 

Unfortunately I didn’t get the time to ask them everything I wanted but I teamed up with Dolly Bakes and A Little Bit Of Heaven On A Plate to do the interview and I think between us we got our answers. 

During our chat, Paul said one of the best desserts he’s ever had was a passion fruit roulade with mango ice cream at Ston Easton in Somerset where bake-off was filmed. Mary joked that he had it every night, and each time she pinched a little bit – she couldn’t have too much because she didn’t want to get fat!

Both said they never know who’s going to win GBBO at the beginning of the show. They said they judge each programme as it happens and rarely look back on their decisions so the contestants have to prove themselves. 

Now you probably expect me to say this, but they seem like two lovely people. Their banter is natural, funny and endearing and they were happy to spend their lunchtime speaking to queuing bloggers and journalists and signing books for fans. 

After the interview, an eager audience piled in to the AGA Rangemaster marquee in Victoria Square for a live demo from Mary and Paul, in which Mary made a Frasier (strawberry) cake and Paul showed us how to prepare a two-strand plaited loaf.

I was pleased that Mary’s cake looked quite easy and once I’m back from my holiday I will certainly be giving it a go. It’s made up of a Genoese sponge sandwich, filled with strawberries and a creamy lemon filling, and topped with a marzipan disc and melted chocolate for decoration.  
Their banter continued throughout the demo as they cracked little jokes, usually at each other’s expense. Paul joked that Mary’s AGA was bigger than his first house and he laughed when the electric whisk was accidentally switched on at the wrong time, covering her in cake filling!

Paul also had a couple of cheeky digs at Mary’s age, telling the audience her fist book was published in 1853 and joking she was 105 when she said life was too short to clarify butter! 

We also got a lovely insight into their home lives. Mary loves baking with her grandchildren at home while Paul’s ten-year-old son Josh (whose godfather, incidentally, is James Martin) has an exceptional palette and often runs rings around him in the kitchen.

The pair had tons of useful tips for baking such as dropping the cake mixture into the tin at close range, lining your tin with butter and then a disc of greaseproof, and my favourite from Mary – always use full fat ingredients and “just have a smaller slice”. I couldn’t agree more!

Paul admitted that he often uses other bakers’ ideas for inspiration but that he’d personally had more inspiration from junior bake-off than the main show – I must admit, what those kids can do is awesome.

Sadly, both denied rumours of any appearance on Strictly Come Dancing this year, but Paul seemed open to taking part next year.

Snippets from the interview

Who inspired you both?
Mary: First of all it was my cookery teacher, Miss Date. She was lovely, a little round dumpling and she was very kind to me
Paul: It was my dad and my mum. I grew up in a house full of bakers so mum was making pies, apple pies and my dad was making all the bread and scones.

Last year the Guardian said you were the best reality TV judging duo ever – how do you feel about that?
Paul: Haha, bang on! I mean, what can you say?
Mary: I liked it because they said we were better than Simon Cowell.
Paul: I met Simon recently actually and he said 'you're me aren't you?' I said, ‘apparently yeah’. I mean you take it with a pinch of salt. I mean, we just judge from our hearts, we're honest. It's all about integrity and if it comes across well then it comes across. We're just honest to ourselves that’s all.

There are so many baking gadgets out there these days – what's your must have item?
Mary: I think don't have too many gadgets. You need a sharp knife, you need the basic tins – I don't use an awful lot of gadgets or a lot of tins because most people haven't got the room to store them. If I can get away with using a traditional tin or traditional item, I use it. I don't go in for all the 'a thing to hang bananas on' or all the little intricate things, I can manage without. 
Paul: There's only one thing I would say and that's digital scales and they will help, everything else you don’t really need.
Mary: It's very important to weigh accurately. If you want to be a good baker, you need good ingredients, and use the right sized tin and then digital scales.

I believe you have a KitchenAid Mary, what do you think of them?
Mary: They are both good but also you don't need one. If you're not doing an awful lot of baking you can buy for about £15 a hand beater - that's what we're going to use today - you don't need (unless you are going to do an awful lot) you don't need too much specialist equipment.
Paul: KitchenAids are good and so are Kenwood. They are both very good. It depends what you want, they both do the same job. I've test driven the two of them recently and they're both good.

After the demo I wandered around the fabulous market, sampling Harvey Nichols’ French onion soup, as recommended by Mary, and later indulging on chocolate mocha and cookies and cream fudge.

There’s still one day left of the Bolton Food and Drink Festival – see here for details. And if you’ve not been yet, I’d strongly recommend a visit! 

Taste buds tickling for Bolton Food & Drink Festival

ONLY a few days remain until the Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2012!!! 

I can't stress enough how fantastic this four-day culinary extravaganza is – whether you're a passionate cook or a complete novice, if you like eating and drinking (and who doesn't?!) then it's definitely worth a visit.

The seventh annual event – set to big the biggest and best yet – will see more than 80 traders occupy stalls in Victoria Square, Oxford Street and Deansgate between Friday, August 24 and Monday, August 27.

If you haven’t been before, don’t miss out on the chance to peruse the stalls and experience new tastes and flavours, or visit one of the many restaurants putting on special deals as part in the festivities. 

Events and demonstrations being held across the town are bound to get visitors salivating and no doubt inspired to cook more and try new things.

For the first time, the festival will include a designated al fresco dining area, called Gourmet Kitchen, featuring a variety of traders selling high-end international street food such as Harvey Nichols’ Gastronomique van selling French cuisine; Ginger’s Comfort Emporium selling unique flavoured ice-cream (including olive oil!) and The Hungry Gecko – Asian street food by Masterchef 2011 finalist Jackie Kearney.

The main events will take place in the Rangemaster Cookery Theatre, featuring two star Michelin chef Michael Caines; Queen of cakes Mary Berry and artisan baker Paul Hollywood; French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and proud Yorkshire-man and Saturday Kitchen presenter James Martin.

I’m like a child waiting for Christmas knowing that I'm going to see the lovely Mary Berry on Saturday – so be sure to read a blog about that next week!

If you just fancy a wander around the speciality market, other tasty treats include cupcakes; speciality bread; homemade jams; handmade chocolates; rustic pies and traditional fudge.

Special events at venues and restaurants throughout Bolton include a Best of Lancashire dinner at JJ’s Restaurant in Egerton; a special festival menu at Nick's at Chequerbent; Afternoon Tea at the Holiday Inn, Bolton town centre; Greek Meze and live music at Sokrates Greek Taverna in Horwich; and a family fun day at Pizza Express in Bolton.

For more information on the events, visit http://www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com/

Read my interview with chef Michael Caines at last year's festival here. 

Bake off is back!!

I'm thrilled that The Great British Bake Off has returned to our TV screens – just in time to fill that gaping hole left by the BBC’s superb coverage of the Olympics.

It’s early stages, but who is your favourite competitor so far? I know who my least favourite is – I'm sorry but tomatoes shouldn’t go on top of a cake. Fact.

Due to an unexpected excitement towards the Olympics, I haven’t blogged since June. I've just been too distracted and watching all those athletes with their incredibly toned bodies made me think about cutting down on my cake.

I say think about, I didn’t actually do it  – and now that Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, the King and Queen of baking, have returned, I will be back in the baking bubble in no time.

If you haven’t seen this show, you must. It got the entire country going baking mad last year with shops seeing huge sales increases in baking products.

The fantastic thing about it is that we get to know the bakers' personalities – they're just ordinary people who bake for fun in their own homes.

It becomes an obsession and last year I found myself thinking about what cakes I would make if I were on the show all the time – I dare you not to want to get straight in the kitchen when it finishes.

If you do, try these easy cake recipes to get you going. The star cakes were done recently for a wedding – they are lemon sponge and the recipe is here – just add the juice of one lemon to the sponge mixture and the juice of half a lemon to the buttercream.  

The banana and walnut muffins are really easy and make great breakfast snacks.

The Great British Bake Off is on Tuesdays, 8pm, BBC2.

Banana and walnut muffins

Ingredients

175g/6oz unsalted butter, at room temperature

175g/6oz sugar (half light muscovado, half golden caster)

75g/2½oz chopped walnuts

2 medium-sized eggs

175g/6oz self-raising flour

3 medium-sized over ripe bananas, or 2 large

A drop of vanilla extract

Some demerara sugar for sprinkling

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and weigh out your ingredients. Then put muffin cases in a 12-hole muffin baking tin.

Beat the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or a wooden spoon until light and coffee-coloured.

Slowly add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, then mix in the walnuts and self-raising flour.

Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork. Gently fold the vanilla extract and the bananas into the cake mixture using a spatula or metal spoon, turning gently and taking care not to over-mix.

Scoop the cake batter into the prepared cases leaving a little bit of room at the top for the cake to rise slightly.

Dust with a little demerara sugar then put into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.

Leave the muffins to cool for about ten minutes then take out of the tray and cool completely.