Bangers and mash

Super duper sausage sensation


Today I got my final results from university, and I was thoroughly exhausted from worrying about them all week. I wanted to celebrate this evening by making something easy yet delicious for dinner, so I whipped up one of my favourite at-home treats: bangers and mash. This has a sweet and tangy sauce which is given a bit of a kick by wholegrain mustard. Conveniently enough, this dish goes very well with a big fat glass of red wine. Job done, Joey happy.

Ingredients (serves 5):

15 pork sausages (preferably nice ones from the butcher)
3 red onions, sliced
1 oz brown sugar
6 dessert spoons worcestershire sauce
3 dessert spoons white wine vinegar
375 ml chicken stock
3 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
(I won't bother including the instructions for mash here, but just have enough made to go round.)

Method:

Heat some olive oil in a pan on medium to high heat, and add the sausages. Cook them until browned and add the sliced onions. Cook until onions begin to soften.



Add the brown sugar and mix well for 1 minute to ensure it doesn't stick. The sugar will begin to caramelise and the ensuing smells will make your mouth water.

Pour in the chicken stock, vinegar and worcestershire sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. After this, crank up the heat to full and stir until sauce reduces and becomes thicker.

Stir in the mustard and serve immediately over creamy mash. Bleedin lovely!

Parmesan and basil scones

Yummy teatime snack




These little gems are easy to fling together if you have someone popping round for a cup of tea. They taste amazing straight out of the oven when they are hot and buttery, but are also super served cold with a heap of jam or a wedge of cheese. This recipe will make 6 - 8 scones, so if you're expecting guests I'd double the quantities as these will disappear fast.

Ingredients:

8 oz self-raising flour
Pinch salt
2 oz cold butter
2 oz parmesan, grated
10 - 12 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Approx 140 ml milk

Method:

Put flour, salt and butter into a food processor and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Using really cold butter keeps the scones flaky and light.

Add in the parmesan and basil, and enough of the milk to bind the mixture into a soft dough.

Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough gently. Roll or pat out to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut out scones with a floured cutter (the one I used was about 2 inches, but any size will do).

Place scones on a greased baking tray and brush the tops with milk. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 190 degrees celcius until raised and golden brown.

Thick garlicky mayonaisse

Creamy garlicky decadence




This was my first attempt at making my own mayonaisse and it didn't turn out half bad. My only mistake was using an extra virgin olive oil instead of a more flavourless variety, as the extra virgin has too strong of a taste for a mayonaisse. This is great as a dip for chips, potato wedges, chicken wings, tortillas etc.

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk
2 garlic cloves
Salt
100ml olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Method:

You can either make this in a food processor or by hand. My food processor decided it didn't want to partake in the construction of a mayonaisse, so I made it painstakingly by hand. It takes between 5 - 10 mins to make it this way but it is worth the effort.

Mince the garlic cloves finely and sprinkle them with a liberal amount of salt. Using the flat part of your knife, crush the garlic until it almost forms a paste. The salt acts as an abrasive which helps to break down the garlic pieces.

Beat together the garlic paste, egg yolk and the juice of 1/2 lemon with a whisk. You then need to very very slowly and gradually incorporate the olive oil; whisking all the time, add in a little bit of oil at a time until the mixture is thick and creamy. Don't rush this bit otherwise the mixture can split. Add the chopped parsley (either curly or flat leaf) and stir well.

Taste, and add more lemon juice as needed (or if needed) until you have your ideal garlicky mayonaisse.

Lemon flour mackerel

Fishy, healthy, lemony lunchtime




This is a deliciously light and healthy dish that is as easy on the pocket as it is on the palette. It is also ridiculously quick, and can be put together in less than 10 minutes.

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 mackerel fillets
Olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon flour
Salt, pepper
Fresh rocket leaves
Baby spinach leaves
1 tomato, cut into wedges

Method:

On a large plate, mix together the lemon zest and flour with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Lay the mackerel fillets on the flour mix and coat them evenly on both sides.

Put a glug of olive oil in a frying pan and put it on a high temperature. Heat the oil until smoking. Fry the mackerel in the hot oil for 2 minutes on each side. You can add a bit of butter to the oil if you want.

Meanwhile, toss the rocket and spinach in some lemon juice and plate it up with the tomato wedges. Serve with the hot mackerel and a slice of lemon.