Ingredients:

4 wholewheat tortillas
3 tbsp olive oil
800 g canned chopped tomatoes, drained
85 g low-fat mozzarella, coarsely grated
30 g pecorino cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler
60 g kalamata olives, pitted and halved lengthways
¼ tsp dried red chilli flakes
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
230 g rocket, thick stems removed, washed and well dried
100 g fresh basil leaves, torn in pieces 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 230C with the racks in the upper and lower thirds. Arrange the tortillas on two rimmed baking sheets and brush the tops with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and then divide the tomatoes, cheeses, olives and red-pepper flakes between them.
2. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the crusts are crisp and edges are browned, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil and the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. When the pizzas are finished baking, toss the rocket with the vinaigrette. Top the pizzas with the basil leaves, slice and serve with the salad.

Victoria sponge cake

Ingredients:

Sponge

175 g unsalted butter
175 g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
175 g self-raising flour

Filling

3 tbsp strawberry jam
500 ml double cream

Method:

1. Set the oven to 180C/gas 4. Lightly butter two sandwich tins, each with a diameter of 20cm.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, and then slowly add the beaten egg.
3. Fold in the sifted flour and spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tins.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool and then remove from the tins.
5. Whip the cream until thick and use it to fill the sponge with the jam.
6. Dust liberally with icing sugar to serve.

Battenberg cake

Ingredients:

175 g unsalted butter, softened
175 g caster sugar
3 free range eggs, lightly beaten
175 g self-raising flour
2 tbsp milk
red food colouring
150 g apricots, glaze
2 tbsp icing sugar
350 g readymade marzipan

Method:

1. Grease a 20 x 15cm Battenberg cake tin with butter, or if using an oblong tin, line with parchment paper. Use enough to cover the base and sides. Cut another piece of baking parchment as long as the tin. Fold the paper in half along its length – so it's just over the height of the tin. This last bit of paper will keep the two colours of sponge separate as they bake.
2. Heat the oven to 180C/160 C fan/gas 4.
3. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy – this should take about 10 minutes. You could use an electric mixer for this. Gradually beat in the eggs, - if the mixture looks like curdling add a tablespoon of flour.
4. Fold in the remaining flour along with enough milk to give a soft dropping consistency.
5. Divide half the cake mixture between 2 sections of the battenburg tin. If you are using a normal tin, spoon half the mixture into one half of the tin – along its length. Then put the long strip of baking parchment in the middle of the tin.
6. Tinge the remaining cake mixture pink with food colouring and spoon into the remaining two sections of the battenberg tin, or add it to the other half of the tin. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until firm to the touch.
7. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. It’s a good idea to bake this cake the day before assembling as it firms up and is easier to handle.
8. Trim both halves of cake so they are the same size. Cut each piece in half down their length so you have 2 long strips of each colour.
9. Warm the apricot glaze. Lay a strip of pink cake on a board and brush the top and sides with the glaze; put a plain strip alongside it and brush with more glaze in the same way. Finish with the other two strips on top, so you have a coloured checkerboard affect.
10. Brush the entire cake with the glaze. Roll the marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar to a 20cm x 30 cm rectangle. Put the cake at one end of the oblong and encase with the marzipan. Serve sliced with the marzipan seam facing downwards.

Cornish pasty wraps

Ingredients:

4 tortillas, wraps
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
225 g minced beef
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato purée
2 medium potatoes, peeled and finely diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 tbsp fresh thyme, leaves
100 ml passata
85 g frozen peas
1 egg, beaten

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and cook onion over a medium heat for 5 minutes until softened. Turn up the heat, stir in beef and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
2. Stir in the tomato puree, potato, carrot, thyme, passata and 100ml water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook for a further 2 minutes. Season to taste.
3. Pre-heat oven to 200C/Gas 6. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
4. Take the wraps and place 2 on each tray. Divide the beef mixture between each, spooning on to each half, leaving a 1/2 cm border around edges.
5. Brush the edges well with beaten egg, fold over the wrap and press down firmly to seal the edges. Brush outside edges with more beaten egg and press down well. Brush all over with more beaten egg.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden. Serve with tomato chutney or ketchup on the side

Scotch Eggs

Ingredients:

12 large eggs
800g good-quality Cumberland or Lincolnshire sausages, skinned
5 tbsp curly parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp English mustard powder
2 tsp ground mace
12 rashers smoked streaky bacon
85g plain flour
140-200g/5-7oz dried breadcrumbs
about 1 litre/1¾ pints sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying
scraps of bread, for testing oil

Method:

1. Put 9 eggs into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, set the timer for 5 mins. When 5 mins is up, quickly lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon and plunge into a big bowl of cold water.
2. Put the sausagemeat, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder and mace into a bowl with plenty of seasoning. Break in 1 of the remaining eggs and mix everything together.
   
   

Beef Wellington

Ingredients:

a good beef fillet (preferably Aberdeen Angus) of around 1kg/2lb 4oz
3 tbsp olive oil
250g/ 9oz chestnut mushroom, include some wild ones if you like
50g/ 2oz butter
1 large sprig fresh thyme
100ml/ 3½ fl oz dry white wine
12 slices prosciutto
500g/1lb 2oz pack puff pastry, thawed if frozen
a little flour, for dusting
2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tsp water

Method:

1. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Sit the 1kg beef fillet on a roasting tray, brush with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with pepper, then roast for 15 mins for medium-rare or 20 mins for medium. When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven to cool, then chill in the fridge for about 20 mins.
2. While the beef is cooling, chop 250g chestnut (and wild, if you like) mushrooms as finely as possible so they have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor to do this, but make sure you pulse-chop the mushrooms so they don’t become a slurry.

Chicken & Mushroom Puff Pie

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
8 rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut into large pieces
1 onion, halved and sliced
250g pack baby button mushrooms
handful thyme sprigs
2 tbsp plain flour
400ml chicken stock
200ml milk
500g pack fresh puff pastry, or frozen and defrosted
1 egg, beaten

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Season the chicken to taste and fry for 5-8 mins until golden brown, turning occasionally. You may need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pan. Lift the chicken onto a plate and tip the bacon into the pan. Fry for 5 mins until crisp. Add the onion, mushrooms and thyme, then fry on a high heat for another 3 mins until the onions start to colour.

British Pork Cassoulet

Ingredients:

400-450g streaky steaks (strips of pork belly ), rind trimmed
1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
400-450g pack of pork sausages (try Cumberland, garlic or sage-flavoured Lincolnshire varieties)
4 back bacon chops, about 400g/14oz
400g can cannellini, haricot, butter or mixed beans, drained
1 large onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, thickly sliced
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 bouquet garni 'tea bag'
about 600ml chicken stock (from a stock cube is fine)
25g fresh white breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves

Method:

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Quickly pan-fry the strips of pork belly in the oil, followed by the sausages and back bacon chops, until well browned.
   

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For the base

50g butter
175g pack peanut cookies

For the filling

5 gelatine leaves
500g tub ricotta
175g smooth peanut butter
175g golden syrup
150ml milk

To decorate

270ml pot double cream
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 bar peanut brittle, crushed

Method:

1. Oil and line a 20cm round loose- bottomed cake tin with cling film, making it as smooth as possible. Melt the butter in a pan. Crush the biscuits by bashing them in a bag with a rolling pin, then stir them into the butter until very well coated. Press the mixture firmly into the base of the tin and chill.
2. Soak the gelatine in water while you make the filling. Tip the ricotta into a bowl, then beat in the peanut butter and syrup. Ricotta has a slightly grainy texture so blitz until smooth with a stick blender for a smoother texture if you prefer.

Mini pork pies with piccalilli

Ingredients:

few dots of butter
600g shortcrust pastry, bought or homemade
little flour, for dusting
85g dried white breadcrumbs
400g good Cumberland sausages (about 6)
200g smoked bacon lardons
¼ tsp each ground mace, ground pepper and dried sage
1 egg, beaten with a fork
few pinches sesame seeds
piccalilli, homemade or bought, to serve

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line each hole of a 12-hole muffin tin with a thin strip of baking parchment across the middle that’s long enough so the ends stick out a centimetre or two – use a dab of butter to stick in place. Roll out two thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured surface and stamp out 12 x 10cm circles (you may need to re-roll trimmings). Press a circle into each hole to line.

Mince pies

Christmas Classic Treat

 

Ingredients :

unsalted butter, for greasing  
plain flour, for dusting  
375 g shortcrust pastry  
200 g good-quality mincemeat 
a splash of brandy, sherry or orange juice  
½ an apple, peeled and chopped into small chunks  
2 balls of stem ginger, finely chopped  
75 g dried cranberries  
50 g dried apricots, finely chopped  
a pinch or two of mixed spice 
1 large free-range or organic egg  
1 tbs semi-skimmed milk  
icing sugar, for dusting
Method :

Getting your hands on some really good-quality mincemeat, then stirring through a few extras to really make the flavours sing is the key to getting this moreish festive treat to taste absolutely incredible. Adding a little sprinkling of ground cinnamon in with the icing sugar before dusting is super delicious too. Enjoy!

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 and grease a shallow cupcake tray lightly with butter. Dust a clean surface and rolling pin with flour, then roll half the pastry out to the thickness of a pound coin. Carefully cut out 12 circles with a pastry cutter or a clean glass tumbler, then lay them in the hollows of the tray and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.