Red Pepper Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe

Day-before prep for lunches is the best way to stop yourself spending £8 at Pret (no matter how good their sarnies are…) every day and then wondering why you’ve got no wine money at the end of the week. It can be hard to fit in when you get home and all you want to do is continue whatever box set you’re currently 3 seasons deep into but this one can be done in a flash. You can make a few for the week on a Sunday if you’re super organised and keep it all in the fridge until you’re ready to layer up and go! This easy red pepper pesto is full of flavour and if you choose a wholegrain pasta you’ll be full all afternoon in preparation for that marathon watching when you get in…

Serves 1

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

Jar of red peppers

75g unsalted cashews

bunch of parsley

1 garlic clove

50g Parmesan, grated

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

75g any pasta, cooked and tossed in olive oil

+ anything else you fancy, make it colourful!

Recipe:

1.   Stick everything for the pesto in a food processor and blend until smooth.

2.   Stir through the pasta and pop in the bottom of the jar.

3.   Layer up! Add one of spinach, sliced cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls.

4.   Stick it all in a bowl and smush round for deliciousness!

Raspberry, Rose and Pistachio Cake Recipe

These three flavours work so wonderfully together; you can see exactly why they inspire so many Middle Eastern desserts. Rose has got a bad rep here in England however with the stale ‘old-lady perfume’ being its most famous associated image. This is here to change that! By using only the slightest hint, you get just the very top notes of sweet florals and this mixed with the sharpness of raspberries and creamy crunch of pistachios makes for a delicious cake. The double cream ‘icing’ marries well with the sponge as the lemon and wine create the perfect balance. As it is fresh cream, this is best eaten straight after making and must be stored in the fridge if not- although the need for storing it is yet to be needed in our house!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

225g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

3 large eggs

225g self-raising flour

90g pistachios

2 tbsp rose syrup

pink food colour (optional)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of ½ lemon

punnet of raspberries

double cream, 600ml

dry white wine

lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp caster sugar

rose petals, to decorate

Method:

1.   Whip butter and sugar together until really fluffy. Slowly add the eggs one at a time.

2.   Add the lemon zest, juice, rose syrup and colouring if using. Fold through the flour and then the chopped pistachios.

3.   Bake for 25 minutes at 180c.

4.   Dissolve the caster sugar and lemon zest into the wine and lemon juice. Add the cream and whip to soft peaks.

5.   Squidge the raspberries a little bit and add to half of the cream. Use this to sandwich the cakes together when they’re cool.

6.   Spread the rest of the cream over the top of the cake. Decorate the top with the rose petals and raspberries. 

Limoncello Meringue Pie Recipe

Lemon meringue pie has to be one of the most famous puds out there and for good reason! This one’s been inspired by my recent trip to the Amalfi coast where the lemons are something else entirely. You could easily make this with oranges and Cointreau if you preferred but the tartness of the lemons against the sweetness of meringue makes for an unbeatable combination in my opinion. 

Makes 6

Ingredients:

300g plain flour

1 tbsp icing sugar

125g chilled unsalted butter, cubed

4 egg yolks (separated 3 and 1)

35g cornflour

250ml water

100ml lemon juice

110g caster sugar

65g chilled unsalted butter

80ml limoncello liqueur

2 egg whites

110g caster sugar

Method:

1.   Rub together or stick in the food processor the flour, icing sugar, 125g butter and a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 1 yolk and 2-3 tablespoons iced water, and continue until mixture comes together in a smooth ball. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

2.   Meanwhile, place cornflour in a bowl with the water and stir until smooth. Place in a pan with lemon juice and the 110g caster sugar, and stir over low heat for 5-6 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add remaining yolks, one at a time, combining well with a wooden spoon.

3.   Stir in limoncello and remaining 65g butter, then cover surface with a piece of cling film (to prevent a skin from forming) and cool.

4.   Lightly grease 4-6 tart tins. Roll out pastry and fit in the tins. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

5.   Preheat oven to 180°C. Bake for 15 minutes. Pour lemon filling into the pastry cases and chill for 1 hour.

6.   Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar and beat until glossy and firm. Pipe or spoon onto tarts and either stick under the grill or torch to get toasty! 

Summer Pudding Recipe

When I think of summer, I think of berries and this little number is always a winner at the end of a BBQ (which inevitably is actually an inside grill situation due to the rain…). On showing this recipe to an American friend, their shock was something I wish I’d documented at the time. Indeed this is a very British pudding, unlike the chocolate cream like puddings he was used to back home. But what a pud! He’s now a convert, I’m pleased to say. The bowl I used here is one of Anthropologie’s ‘Latte Bowls’ (why they’re called that, I will never know) and they fit these proportions perfectly. Of course, use a larger pudding basin if you’d prefer or indeed, any small dessert bowl in your cupboard would do the job. Please do chill overnight or the bread won’t have time to firm up – believe me, it’s worth the wait.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

500g mixed berries

zest and juice of ½ an orange

3 tbsp sugar

7/8 large slices white bread

clotted cream – to serve

Recipe:

1.   Line a deep bowl with two layers of cling film.

2.   Heat the fruit with the sugar, orange zest and juice in a pan for 3 minutes until the berries have released they’re gorgeous red juice.

3.   Strain them through a sieve and put aside.

4.   Cut bread into rectangles (leave crusts on) and one small square. One at a time dip into berry juice and line the pudding basin.

5.   Fill with the drained berries and top with one large dipped slice of bread.

6.   Pull cling film round and leave in fridge for 6 hours with a heavy book on top.

7.   Turn out on to a serving plate and dollop cream on each slice. 

Pimms Trifle Recipe

The British summertime: Wimbledon, strawberries and rain. All three an absolute guarantee. This trifle sees one of those things perfectly blended with another’s favourite tipple- Pimms. A drink that is rarely seen post August and certainly isn’t brought out until some inexplicably hot day in May… by which point every pub in the vicinity starts charging £25 for a watery bit of mint and flat lemonade. This on the other hand has spiked cream and the best Pimms syrup ever! I’d make double and keep it stored in the fridge, it’s delicious drizzled over ice cream. If you want to add jelly too then be my guest! Just pour it over the sponge finger layer and leave for at least 4 hours in the fridge to set. 

Serves 10

Ingredients:

200ml Pimms, plus a dash

juice and zest of 2 lemon and 2 oranges

75g icing sugar

bunch of mint

¼ cucumber, sliced

200g trifle sponge fingers

1 large punnet of strawberries (about 700g)

100g strawberry jam

1 large pot double cream (600ml)

600ml vanilla custard

Recipe:

1.   Mix together the Pimms, 75g icing sugar, citrus juices, half of the mint and cucumber in a bowl. Blast in microwave for 30 secs at a time until the sugar’s melted. Leave to infuse for as long as you can and then strain.

2.   Stick two trifle sponges together with strawberry jam. Dip into the juices and arrange round the sides and bottom of a trifle dish. Pour over the rest of the syrup and leave it to soak.

3.  Slice some of the strawberries in half lengthways and place cut side out around the dish in a circle above the lady’s fingers. Chop the others up however you like and pop on top of them. Pour the custard over the berry layer.

4.  Whip up the double cream and dash of Pimms until soft peaks form. Pick off small mint leaves and pop them on top for garnish. Chill in the fridge for 3 hours before serving.