Instant Chocolate Mousse

Although I don't really have a sweet tooth normally I am always a fan of chocolate mousse. Typical then that, now I'm pregnant and only want sweet things, chocolate mousse is often off the menu as it contains raw egg. Thank goodness (as usual) for Nigella Express which has this recipe in for an extra quick, egg free chocolate mousse. I can see this being a pretty permanent fixture in my fridge for the next 7 or so weeks. It seems to be really liquid when you decant it but once it's set in the fridge it has an amazing thickness. I like it best with a good dollop of double cream.

Instant Chocolate Mousse

For 4-6

150g mini marshmallows
50g soft butter
250g good dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids) chopped into small pieces
60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 x 284ml tub double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water into a heavy-based saucepan.

2. Put the saucepan on the hob, over heat, though keep it fairly gentle, to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.

3. Meanwhile, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick, and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth cohesive mixture.

4. Pour or scrape into 4 glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or 6 smaller ones and chill until you want to eat.

Pomegranate Ice Cream

When I made pomegranate vodka I then had lots of leftover juice so I immediately made one of my favourite things to have in the freezer in case I need an exciting pudding at the last minute - Nigella's No Churn Pomegranate Ice Cream from Nigella Express. This is yummy, almost sherberty and a must for anyone who has a weakness for cream and sugar together.


No Churn Pomegranate Ice Cream 

Serves 8

2 pomegranates (plus seeds from a third for decoration if you want)
1 lime
175g icing sugar
500ml double cream

Now I used the leftover juice from making the vodka and as I have this to put in the freezer for emergencies I don't bother with the seed decoration bit. You need an airtight container for this I use a couple of leftover takeaway boxes so they fit into the freezer easily and you don't have to worry about the whole lot defrosting and refreezing.

1. Juice the pomegranates and the lime and strain into a bowl.

2. Add the icing sugar and whisk to dissolve.

3. Whisk in the double cream and keep whisking until soft peaks form in the pale pink cream.

4. Spoon and smooth the ice cream into the airtight container of your choice and freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

5. Scatter with some pomegranate seeds before you eat it.

Mortadella Pasta Salad

The last of the salads for my studio picnic with my sister and the last from Nigella Express. I love this - I thought it was going to be a bit bland and dry (and lacking in mayo) but it was delicious and, even though I hate lemon, the lemon juice here is absolutely necessary and not at all too lemony. Although it used Mortadella it would work well with any kind of ham you can get hold of or even bacon... but then pretty much everything works with bacon. In fact, this pasta salad is a great basis for everything as you can have most of it in the fridge. I've taken to buying the pre-grated Parmesan because it's so useful for things like this and soups so in fact I only need to get the ham - I think I'll make this next time I have ham leftovers. Delicious!

Mortadella Pasta Salad

Serves 4 as a packed lunch

250g fusilli
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Maldon salt or 1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp mild German mustard, or similar
1 thick slice (approx 150g) mortadella, diced into 5mm squares
20g curly parsley, finely chopped
25g Parmesan flakes
salt and pepper to taste

I didn't have German mustard so I used good old grainy and it worked just fine. I also hate curly parsley and never see the need for it so I used flat leaf.

1. Put the pan of water on to boil, add the salt to taste, and then cook the pasta following the packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile whisk together the oil, lemon juice, salt and mustard to make the dressing.

3. Drain the cooked pasta and tip it into a large bowl, pour over the dressing and toss well to coat.

4. When cool, stir in the mortadella pieces, chopped parsley and Parmesan flakes. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as required.

Coq au Riesling

The thing about occasionally feeling miserable is it's hard to motivate yourself to plan what to cook for a dinner party. I was so bad on Sunday night that Joe resorted to scouring through our cookery books to see if anything was easy and appealing and came across this fantastic recipe in Nigella Express. The most strenuous part of this recipe is the chopping of the chicken and it's incredibly tasty and really soothing actually which is just what I needed. I served it with garlicky, buttered tagliatelle.

Nigella suggests that this would be at it's best if you let this get cold and then reheat it the next day which is what I would have done if I was more organised and hadn't spent my time lying around on the sofa being morbid.

Coq au Riesling

Serves 6

2 tbsp garlic oil
150g pancetta
1 leek, finely sliced
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 bay leaves
300g oyster mushrooms, torn into strips
1 x 75cl bottle Riesling
double cream
salt and pepper
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Loads of chicken - chopped by Joe

I made this is a large oval le creuset casserole which was great as it could go straight on the table when it was ready - but you basically just need a big pot with a lid. As I wanted to do minimal shopping I used what chicken I had in the freezer which was 8 boneless chicken thighs and 4 chicken breasts and it was fine. We also couldn't find oyster mushrooms so we just used normal ones quite thinly sliced. This is great for a dinner party because once it's cooked you can either keep it on a really low heat keeping warm.

1. Heat the oil in your pot and fry the pancetta until crisp.

2. Add the sliced leek and soften it with the pancetta for a minute or so.

3. Cut the chicken into pieces (2 or 3 for the thighs, a few more for breasts), tip into the pan, add the bay leaves, mushrooms and wine.

Pre-Simmering

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes, stirring in the double cream for the last couple of minutes.

Post-Simmering

5. Sprinkle with dill and serve.

Nearly ate it all before I remembered to take a photo