PUY LENTIL SPINACH BLUE CHEESE SALAD

How beautiful was the weather today - it was boiling in London and so we thought it was the perfect day for our first barbecue of the year. We have simple tastes when it comes to grilling and so had cheese burgers and sausages but I wanted to make a different type of side dish to our usual green or potato salad. I found this lentil salad recipe in a waitrose magazine from last year - it was apparently inspired by Le Tour de France.

It took around 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.

Ingredients for 6 people (as a side dish):

250g puy lentils
3 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, sliced (I didnt have a leek and very much missed it)!
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, sliced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 x 25g pack of flat leave parsley, roughly chopped
100g bag baby spinach
Squeeze lemon juice (optional)
100g blue cheese (such as Stilton or Roquefort)

Cook the lentils according to the packet instructions. I put the lentils in a saucepan and covered them with three times their volume of vegetable stock (you could just use water). Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lentils are firm to the bite.

When they are ready drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry the leek and the carrot over a medium heat for 10 minutes. As I mentioned earlier I didnt have a leek so had to just make do without.

Add the celery for a couple of minutes and then stir in the remaining olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.

Tip the drained lentils into the pan and mix together with the vegetables.

Remove from the heat and add the parsley and spinach, tossing together until the leaves have started to wilt.

Pour into a bowl / serving dish, season well and add a splash of lemon juice. Finally scatter with some blue cheese and serve warm or at room temperature.

This was very good although as I mentioned earlier I missed having a leek. Pascal adored this salad - it is definitely one of his favourites. I think you could easily mix it up a little - for example add some cherry tomatoes or pine nuts or whatever you have available. It would also go very nicely with some crusty bread and butter although I definitely enjoyed it with my cheese burger….you can never have enough cheese right?!

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CHORIZO MAC AND CHEESE

Mac and cheese is my all time favourite dish - I could eat it every week (or every day)….although that probably wouldnt be the smartest decision health wise considering the amount of cheese I put in. However I do like to cook it every so often as a treat.

My favourite recipe is this mac and cheese with lardons, leeks and spinach although my daughter Arabella and I are quite a fan of the Kraft boxed mac and cheese although I dont think it contains much goodness :-) This is a new recipe I saw on Lorraines morning TV show - it is a completely different way to cook the dish and took about 50 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 people (big, healthy portions):

350g dried macaroni pasta
4 uncured chorizo sausage (or a flavour of your choice)
1 red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 x 410g tin evaporated milk
80ml tomato ketchup
1 tsp English mustard
300g Cheddar cheese
1/2 a big pack of cheesy tortilla chips
Couple of drops of hot sauce (we didnt use)

Preheat the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4.

Boil the macaroni in salted boiling water according to the packets instructions - mine took 7 minutes and I cooked them al dente. Drain and then set aside.

Chop the onion, crush the garlic and remove the chorizo from its casing and then cut into bite size pieces. Fry in a dry pan for 3-4 minutes.

Add the onion and garlic and cook for a further five minutes until softened.

Add the evaporated milk, ketchup, mustard, 2/3 of the grated cheese and then stir until melted. 

Season and add the hot sauce if desired.

Stir in the pasta.

Pour into a baking dish.

Blitz up the tortilla chips until they resemble breadcrumbs - I scrunched them in the bag but you could use a food processor. Sprinkle over the pasta and then cover with cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

I have to admit I was pretty dubious about cooking mac and cheese with ketchup and evaporated milk but it actually really worked and the tortilla chips and cheese topping was amaze balls!! It was a little sweet - I think to enhance the flavour I would serve with a green salad next time. Arabella prefers this version to my one with leeks and spinach….although that is not surprising for a kid….my husband Pascal shocked me by loving this too even though he hates ketchup and milk. We will definitely be cooking this again - it was quick and simple and cheap as well.

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SMOKED SALMON GOATS CHEESE RISOTTO

Another day, another Fay Ripley recipe and more goats cheese! Arabella and I had a lovely weekend with our best friends in West Sussex but then came home to an nearly empty fridge. Arabella wanted bread, cheese and saucisson and so we kind of compromised with this risotto as it included goats cheese!

I have made this several times before and it is super easy and so delicious. Pascal feels "icky" about the goats cheese and smoked salmon idea but I think it goes together like bacon and eggs or strawberries and cream!!

Ingredients for 4 people:

1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
250g risotto rice
800ml chicken stock
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
150g soft goats cheese
150g smoked salmon, roughly chopped into strips
10g fresh dill or chives, chopped
A shaving of Parmesan
Black pepper

In a saucepan, fry the onion for 5 minutes until soft, in the oil and butter.

Add the rice and stir for a minute.

Add the stock and lemon zest and bring to the boil. 

Stir once and then pop a lid on and simmer for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked but still has a little bite.

Crumble in the goats cheese and stir until it melts into the rice.

Season with black pepper (I really dont think it needs any salt) and stir through the smoked salmon and dill. Er I forgot to take a picture here - I think I was just so keen to eat at this point!!!

Serve with a shaving of Parmesan and tuck in!

Wow - a big thumbs up from both Arabella and myself - we adored it. Risotto always used to be my favourite dish and it is again now. I rarely have it in a restaurant as it can easily be overcooked and rubbish, however this certainly wasnt the case here - it was creamy and delicious - a perfect 10!

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OVEN BAKED RISOTTO WITH PESTO GOATS CHEESE

Pascal has gone back to France and left me with an abundance of cheese and rather randomly a lot of basil so I searched though my recipe folder to see what I could cook. I found this recipe which I cut out of a magazine in April 2008 - it was definitely time to give it a go!!

Ingredients for 4 people:

Risotto

1.2 litres of chicken or vegetable stock

25g butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped

300g risotto rice

150ml white wine (I didnt have any wine so just used a little extra stock)

Salt and pepper

Pesto

1 shallot, peeled and chopped (I forgot to buy this so used a garlic clove instead)

30g pine nuts

80ml olive oil

70g basil leaves

A squeeze of lemon

To finish:

A knob of butter

200g freshly grated Parmesan

150g goats cheese

Preheat the oven to 190 C / 170 C fan / gas mark 5.

Bring the stock to the boil in a small saucepan.

Melt the butter in a large casserole dish / saucepan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook gently for several minutes until softened, without colouring.

Add the rice and stir for about a minute.

Then add the wine (or in my case some of the stock) and simmer until almost absorbed.

Pour in the boiling stock and season. Next cover and cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

While this is cooking you can prepare the pesto. As I mentioned I forgot to buy a shallot so just used a garlic clove instead - I dont think it made too much difference.

In a food processor, place the shallot, pine nuts, olive oil, half the basil and some salt and pepper and whizz to a puree.

Then add the remaining basil and a squeeze of lemon and whizz again.

When the risotto is ready, take it out the oven and give it a stir.

Mine hadnt absorbed all the stock - I dont know why - I ended up putting it on the hob for a few minutes.

Then add a knob of butter and the Parmesan to the risotto and stir.

Spoon in pesto and stir.

Finally stir in half the goats cheese and then serve with the remaining goats cheese on top.

This was fabulous, great flavours - Arabella literally inhaled her bowl and announced it her new favourite. I think when I cook it again I will cook the risotto the traditional boring way of slowly spooning in the stock and stirring continuously rather than putting it in the oven as my rice was a little soft….I like it to have a bite to it. However I loved the combination of the goats cheese and pesto and was very pleased with the dish. It was easy to make and tasted great. I cant believe I waited 7 years to cook it….the recipe is the same age as Arabella!!

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