Anchovy and Goats Cheese Puffs

I make these alongside my chorizo and parmesan puffs they are great to assemble beforehand and chill or freeze.

Anchovy and Goats Cheese Puffs

Makes 16-20 squares

I jar of anchovies (approx 60g drained weight)
30g soft goats cheese
350g pre-rolled puff pastry
garlic oil
1 egg, beaten

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. I use disposable foil baking trays to make these - if you are having a party it's easier to throw these away after use rather than add to the washing up.

1. Lay the pastry out in a rectangle and baste the outside edges with beaten egg.

2. Brush the rest of the pastry with garlic oil and draw a line down the middle of the pastry so it looks like an open book.

3. On one side of the pastry dot the anchovy and bits of goats cheese and grind some black pepper over the top.

4. Fold over the other half of the pastry over the top of the anchovy and goats cheese and press down the edges.

5. Brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg and then chill, freeze or cook in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until it's golden on top.

6. Cut into small bite-sized squares and serve.

Chorizo and Parmesan Puffs

Every year we have a Christmas drinks party and every year I try to make enough canapes to sink a ship. This year I had my hands fuller than usual so I wanted to do as many things as possible ahead of time and these are incredibly easy to assemble and can sit in a disposable foil tray in the fridge until you are ready to cook them - I also do an anchovy and goats cheese version.

Chorizo and Parmesan Puffs

Makes 16-20 squares

350g pre-rolled puff pastry sheets
6 tbsp grated Parmesan
20 slices chorizo
1 egg, beaten
garlic oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. I use disposable foil trays for this so I can throw them out when they are cooked and because they are easy to stack in the fridge.

1. Lay the pastry out in a rectangle (or roll it out into a rectangle if you haven't got the pre-rolled stuff). Brush with beaten egg all around the outside edges.

2. Brush the middle of the pastry rectangle with garlic oil and gently draw a line down the centre of the pastry top to bottom so it looks like an open book.

3. Layer half of the chorizo along one half of the pasty and sprinkle with half the Parmesan. Then do a second layer with the remaining chorizo and sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan.

4. Fold the empty half of the pasty over the top of the chorizo and Parmesan layers (like you are closing a book) and press down the edges.

5. Brush the top with beaten egg - you can either chill or freeze it now - or cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

6. Slice into small bite-sized squares and serve.

Steak and Stout Pie

Every year I make a pie for my friend Libby and her husband Ian. For the last two years it has been chicken pot pies, this year I decided to branch out and try Jamie Oliver's Kate and Will's Wedding Pie from his new cook book, Jamie's Great Britain.

It is not a quick recipe, it's easy enough to do but it does cook for two hours even before you put it in the oven for 45 minutes so make sure you have time for that. It was well worth the wait though. Absolutely delicious and one I will be making again.

Jamie Oliver's Kate and Wills's Wedding Pie

Serves 8-10


For the filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 knob butter
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
3 fresh bay leaves
3 medium red oinons, peeled
1 kg shin of beef, cut into 2.5cm dice and keep the bone
Sea salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons tomato puree
400ml good local smooth stout
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
1.5 litres (2 3/4 pints) organic beef or chicken stock
140g pearl barley
3 tsps English mustard
2-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
100g good quality Cheddar cheese

For the pastry:
300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g Atora shredded suet
100g butter
Sea salt
1 large free-range egg, beaten

You will need a large casserole-type pan - I used my large oval le creuset and the liquid was about 1cm from the top so you really need something big for this. You will also need a large pie dish or accept that you are going to have two pies! Get your beef shin from the butcher and ask to keep the bone - they'll dice it for you and you can just put it straight in... perfect. Also put 125ml water in a jug in the fridge to get cold for the pastry before you start.

1. Put the olive oil, butter and herbs into a large casserole on a high heat. Roughly chop and add the onions with the diced meat, the shin bone and a couple of pinches of salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the tomato puree, stout, flour and stock and stir until everything comes together to a simmer. Turn the heat down low and put the lid on and let it cook for an hour stirring occasionally.

3. When the hour is up, stir in the pearl barley, put the lid back on and simmer for another hour. Then remove the lid and simmer for a further 30 minutes, or until the meat shreds easily and the gravy is thick.

4. Spoon away any oil from the top, then stir in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce and finely grate in the cheese. Season to taste.

5. While the stew is cooking, put the flour, suet and butter into a bowl with a good pinch of salt. Use your thumbs and forefingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles cornflake shapes. Lightly stir in 125ml of cold water and then use your hands to gently pat and push it together in a rough dough. Don't overwork it. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and put in the fridge until it's needed.

6. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Discard the shin bone and ladle the hot stew into a pie dish.

7. Use some of the beaten egg to eggwash the edges of the dish then dust a clean surface and rolling pin with flour and roll out the pastry until about 1cm thick and a little bit bigger than your dish.

8. Carefully place on top of your pie and trim the overhanging edges - roll these into a ball for later. Pinch and squash the edges of the pastry to the dish. eggwash the top and then using the excess from the edges cut out a shape for the top if you wish - I used a cutter to cut two cows. Stick these on top of the pie and then eggwash them.



9. Cook the pie in the bottom of the hot oven for about 40-50 minutes until the pastry is golden. Serves with steamed, buttered vegetables.

Leek and Goats Cheese Tart

Rather refreshingly we have my 19 year old cousin staying with us at the moment before she goes back to uni and she requested a leek and goats cheese tart which I was pretty excited about as I love it and I had a recipe for one that I've wanted to try for ages. It's in Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook and the reason it's so appealing is that the pastry is incredibly easy and use of mustard on the tart base means the rest of the ingredients can be really simple. I did do a couple of tweeks which I'll put in brackets after the ingredients so you can use my version or hers... in fact you should just buy the book. It's wonderful.

So, this tart was delicious, I didn't add all the creamy filling as I was worried about it bubbling over but I could have done, as it was it was fine but I like as much cream as possible!

Leek and Goats cheese tart

Serves 4-6

For the pastry:
120g butter
1/2 tsp salt
200g flour

For the filling:
2 tbsp Dijon mustard (I think one large one would be fine)
4 leeks, thinly sliced (I used three large and there was still too much)
285ml single cream
Salt and Pepper
2 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks
200g goats cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
200g soft goats' cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. You need a 23cm flan tin lined - I find it helps to rub a bit of butter round mine.

1. Make the pastry by sifting the flour with the salt and either rub the butter into the flour with your fingers, or pulse in a food processor, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough cold water to bind the dough together.

2. Roll out the dough and line the flan tin. Prick the base and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.

Tart base

3. Cover the tart base with baking paper and fill with baking beans and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove the baking beans and leave to cool.

4. When the pastry has cooled a little, spread the Dijon mustard over the tart base.

5. Beat together the eggs, yolks, cream and seasoning.

6. Gently fry the leeks in the oil until they are soft and put them in the tart. Crumble over the goats cheese and pour the egg mixture on top.

7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the tart is set - I found it was more like 25.

Finished tart

Chicken and Bacon Tart

This is great for leftover chicken and in fact you can make it with anything you have hanging about in the fridge as long as you use the egg/sour cream filler anything can go in. The important thing about tarts is to season them enough - I know people are scared of salt but you can have a little taste of the filling before you pour it in and see. It's really too sad to have an under-seasoned tart. If you don't have chicken then a cheddar cheese and bacon version of this is great and you can always stick a leek in instead of onion.


CHICKEN & BACON TART
Serves 4

For the pastry:
220g plain flour
110g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
pinch of salt
1-2 tbsp chilled water

For the filling:

Chicken and bacon (on a small plate)

2 cooked chicken breasts or left over roast chicken
4 rashers of bacon
1 onion - or whatever you have. I like using large shallots and a bunch of 6 or so spring onions
2 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
A handful of tarragon, chopped finely
300ml creme fraiche or sour cream
salt and pepper
A tiny pinch of garlic salt if you want

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. You will need a fluted tart tin - I'm not entirely confident of the size of mine but I think probably about 23cm. This is also good if you want to make the pastry up before hand. The pasty does have to rest quite a bit and then you bake the base blind so it's not the speediest recipe in the world.

1. Make the pastry by sifting the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl, adding the cubed butter and rubbing it into the flour like you are making some sort of strange double handed sign for money. You want the mixture to resemble breadcrumbs when you finished and you want as much air in it as possible so lift the mixture up in your hands as you rub the butter into the flour.

2. Wrap the pastry in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour. Roll it out so it is larger than you tin and then line the tin with it using a rolling pin rolled over the top of the tart tin to give you neat edges. Then put in the fridge for a further 20 mins to rest.

Neat pastry case

3. Prick the bottom of the pastry case with a from, line with baking paper, fill with baking balls and then bake blind for 12-15 mins. When it's done leave it to cool and make the filling.

Baking balls!

4. Heat the oil in the pan and cook the onions over a medium heat until they are soft and translucent, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and add the shredded chicken and bacon and tip into the prepared pastry case.

Chicken and bacon in pastry case

5. Whisk together the eggs, creme fraiche, tarragon, salt or garlic salt, and pepper and pour over the tart.

6. Cook in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden on top. Serve with salad and onion marmalade or chutney.

Finished Tart

Mozarella and Parma Ham Tart with Basil

This is incredibly easy and so yummy that whoever you're making it for will be really impressed and you really won't have done anything much. If you were really organised you could make these ahead but you'd need a bigger fridge than I've got and they only take ten mins as it is anyway.

MOZARELLA AND PARMA HAM TART
Serves 4

500g packet puff pastry (I like to roll it myself but you can get pre-rolled if you prefer)
6 vine-ripened tomatoes
6 slices parma ham
125ml olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 ball mozzarella (unless you are completely decadent and naughty in which case have 2), drained and torn.
Basil leaves (about 6 or 7)
1 egg, beaten to use as egg wash

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Now you really can chop the tomatoes and make the garlic oil before... these are basically like pizza's but without all the faffing with the dough.

1. Slice the tops and bottoms off the tomatoes and then cut into reasonably thin slices and lay out on a plate covered in kitchen roll. Then cover the tomatoes with kitchen roll so any excess liquid is absorbed. You don't want soggy tarts.

2. Put the garlic and olive oil in a bowl and bring to the boil, then turn the heat to low and let it cook for 5 minutes or until the garlic is brown. Turn the heat off and set aside.

3. Remove the garlic from the oil and slice. Keep the oil ready for basting the pastry.

4. Roll out the pastry or not if you've got pre-rolled. I use a side plate to measure out 4 circles from the dough (it should be about 3mm thick). Place the circles on greased baking trays (I use reusable baking sheets so I don't have to faff about with butter).

5. Using the tip of a knife and being sure you don't cut through  the pastry, make a circle about 1cm from the edge of the pastry disc.

Pastry base with very wonky guideline - just because I don't want you to feel pressured obviously

6. Brush the outside of this circle with the egg wash and the inside with garlic oil.

7. Staying inside the border line make a layer of tomato's first and then if you want to be really garlicky add some of the chopped up garlic.

8. Sprinkle over the torn up mozzarella and then do the same with torn parma ham.

Tarts pre-oven

9. Cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes (slightly longer maybe, my oven is a bit hot) until the pastry is puffed and golden and everything looks yummy.

10. Sprinkle with torn basil and serve 1 per person with onion jam or something similar.

Finished tart