Chocolate, Whisky and Hazelnut Mousse

The best thing about a mousse is that if you are cooking for loads of people, you can make lots, tip it into some nice glasses and after a few hours chilling, you will be guaranteed a whole load of 'oohs' and 'aahs' from your mates. Great! This one is a bit of an adult mousse, one that I had to hide from my daughter (sorry Cerys). With a punch of whisky, not too much sweetness and a crunch of roast hazelnut, it just takes that already impressive blend of airy chocolate and cream into another dimension. An absolute doddle of a dessert, give it a go choc lovers.

Chocolate, Whisky and Hazelnut Mousse
Makes 4

300ml double cream
200g 70% proof chocolate
50g soft brown sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 tbsp whisky
2 handfuls of hazelnuts, toasted in a dry pan and roughly chopped

1 - Heat up the double cream in a thick bottomed pan along with 1 handful of the hazelnuts. Break up the chocolate and add to the cream along with the sugar. Stir until completely dissolved then pour through a sieve into a separate bowl.
2 - Allow to cool slightly. Stir in the whisky and egg yolks thoroughly.
3 - Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Beat in roughly one third of the egg whites, and then gently fold in the remaining.
4 - Tip into your glass of choice. Cover with foil or shrink-wrap and allow to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours. They will keep for a couple of days.
5 - When ready to serve, sprinkle with a few of the chopped roasted hazelnuts.

Wild Mushroom and Thyme Soup with Black Bream

Wild Mushroom and Thyme Soup with Black Bream
Serves 4

1kg wild mushrooms, either single variety or mixed
4 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 whole clove of garlic, unpeeled
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 litre vegetable stock
150ml single cream or crème fraiche
2 fillets of black bream
Salt and pepper

1 – Roughly chop up the mushrooms. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the mushrooms, onion, garlic clove, thyme and a good grinding of fresh black pepper. Cook off until the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to caramelise.
2 – Pour in the stock. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the garlic clove.
3 – Pour into a blender and puree until you have a smooth consistency.
4 – Return to a clean pan and pour in the cream or crème fraiche. Bring to the simmer and stir thoroughly. Taste for seasoning.
5 – Slice the fillets into 2 pieces. Season. Heat up a little olive oil in a pan and add the fish skin side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the skin is golden. Turn and cook for a further minute. Place a piece of fish into the soup and serve.

Ham Hock, Borlotti Bean and Kale Soup

Ham Hock, Borlotti Bean and Kale Soup
Feeds 4

For the ham and stock
1 ham hock
1 carrot
1 onion
A few black peppercorns
2 or 3 bay leaves

3 large floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
A good pinch of saffron
A pinch of cayenne pepper
750ml of ham stock
Ham from your cooked hock
250g of cooked borlotti beans
A few handfuls of sliced kale

1 - To cook your ham and make stock, put all of the ham and stock ingredients into a pot. Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-2 and a half hours. The meat will be cooked when it falls from the bone.
2 - Remove the ham and leave to cool. Remove the fat and then peel off the chunks of delicious, gelatinous ham.
3 - Pour the stock through a sieve and reserve. You can freeze what you don't use.
4 - To make the soup, heat up the oil in a pan. Add the onion, celery, carrot and potato and cook for 5 minutes. Add the paprika, cayenne and saffron and stir for 1 minute.
5 - Pour in the stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrot and potato have softened.
6 - Add the beans and kale. Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
7 - Finally, stir in the ham and heat through. Taste for seasoning then serve in large bowls with good, crusty bread.

Herbed Chicken with Roasted Roots and Borlotti Beans

Herbed Chicken with Roasted Roots and Borlotti Beans
Serves 4

For the chicken
4 chicken breasts, fillets removed
2 egg whites
75g Oat Bran or breadcrumbs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped fresh or dried thyme
25g Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Olive oil spray

For the vegetables
2 beetroot, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
2 turnips, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
4 carrots, peeled and sliced thick
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
1 tbsp caraway seeds
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 200C/GM6. Place all of the chopped vegetables into a baking tray, scatter over the caraway seeds, season with salt and pepper, drizzle over the oil and squeeze on the lemon. Mix it all together and roast on the middle shelf for 30 minutes, checking now and again that it isn’t starting to burn.
2 – Put the chicken breast between a large slice of non-stick baking paper. With a rolling pin, flatten the breasts slightly.
3 – Put the egg whites into a bowl. In another bowl, mix together the Oat Bran or breadcrumbs, lemon zest, thyme, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper.
4 – Dip the chicken breasts into the egg white, shaking off any excess, then cover liberally in the oat bran mixture. Put onto a non-stick baking tray, spray lightly with olive oil spray then bake on a high shelf for 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
5 – Take out the roasted vegetables and tip in the tomatoes, beans and mint. Season and mix together.
6 – Serve the chicken breasts sliced on top of a pile of roast vegetables and beans with a side serving of pasta tomato sauce blended until smooth and heated through.

Smokey Sausage and Pepper Pasta

People, it seems, are becoming more and more bogged down with the pressures of everyday work or family activities and tea time is becoming more of a chore. That tends to see people reaching for the convenience food. If you can gain a bit more confidence in the kitchen by adopting a few simple cooking processes and learning how to be creative with what you have, it is amazing what you can do.

I always ensure that the spice and dried herb cabinet is full to the brim. They lift the dullest and most bland of ingredients to another level. This dish is a perfect example of what you can do with just a few fresh ingredients and some non-perishable store cupboard herbs and spices. It is completely non-authentic, but does that matter when it is cheap and delicious, packed full of flavour and filling for the whole family? 

Smokey Sausage and Pepper Pasta
Feeds 4

8 good quality pork sausages (I use Gordon's of East Boldon - always a top quality and award winning banger)
1 onion, sliced
1 pepper, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 tins of tomatoes
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsps dried oregano
2 tspn paprika (if you can get it, smoked sweet paprika)
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Tagliatelle or your pasta of choice
Fresh basil

1 - In a large casserole dish, heat the olive oil and then quickly brown the sausages all over. Remove and keep aside.
2 - Add the onions and pepper to the oil and stir for 5 minutes until soft and slightly browned. Add the tomato purée, garlic, herbs and spices and cook for 1 minute.
3 - Return the sausages to the casserole dish with the tomatoes. Bring to the boil and then simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
4 - Boil your pasta of choice. Serve with the smokey sausage and pasta sauce, a scattering of basil and a green salad.

Corn Soda Bread

Soda bread is so easy to make: 10 minutes maximum mixing, 25 minutes in the oven and minutes to devour with lots of butter.

This one is perfect for the gluten intolerant, using a good quality gluten free flour along with maize, or ground corn. It gives a lovely crunchy outside and a scone-like inside.

You can experiment with this recipe by adding some Cheddar cheese, perhaps some whole spices such as cumin and chilli. Try it, you won't regret it.

Corn Soda Bread
Feeds 4-6

300g bread flour 
200g ground corn/maize
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
500g natural yoghurt

1 - Pre-heat the oven to GM6/200C.
2 - In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients then pour in the yoghurt. Mix together with a wooden spoon then tip onto a floured baking tray. Form it into a dome shape but don't knead or press it too much.
3 - Use a knife and cut a cross into the top. Place onto the middle shelf and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. If you tap the bottom it should make a hollow sound.
4 - Allow to rest for 10 minutes then serve with lots of butter.

Chocolate and Almond Mousse Cake

You may need to burn a few calories after tackling my favourite easy cake,  the chocolate mousse cake. Rich, buttery and intense with high cocoa content, it is a crowd pleaser pretty much all of the time. I love the chestnut version; so seasonal and a brilliant alternative for Christmas pudding for chocolate lovers. But I also love almonds, and with ground almonds surely being a staple cupboard ingredient for everybody, you can whip one of these up in no time.



Chocolate and Almond Mousse Cake
Feeds 8

250g 70-80% chocolate
250g butter
200g ground almonds
50g sliced almonds
5 eggs
100g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split and seeded (optional)

1 - Preheat the oven to 180C/GM4.
2 - Break up the chocolate and put into a heatproof bowl along with the butter. Place over a pan of water and bring to the boil until the chocolate and butter have melted.
3 - Separate the eggs. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla seeds and sugar until pale. Stir in the chocolate and butter and then finally, gently fold in the ground almonds and the sliced almonds.
4 - Whisk the egg whites until they reach 'soft peak' stage, or you can hold the bowl upside down and nothing falls out. Gently fold into the mixture.
5 - Grease and paper a 20cm spring form cake tin. Pour in the cake mixture, then place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cake is still slightly wobbly and the surface has cracked.
6 - Remove and rest until cool. Decorate with cocoa powder and a handful of sliced almonds.