It feels a bit out of season to be blogging this on a glorious May day, as I always make it for a Boxing Day buffet. But it makes a tasty weekend lunch or it would be great for a picnic. I recently used a tin of tuna instead of the smoked mackerel and that […]

You can’t beat a home-made pie – it’s up there with soup and a cracking roast in terms of ‘most comforting things to cook’ in my book. And it doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming, thanks to frozen pastry. Turkey or chicken and ham pie is a fantastic way to turn leftovers into […]

It was chilly Friday night so I was pleased to see a couple of Cumberland sausages had been pulled out of the freezer for tea. No time for a full-on onion gravy so I improvised something quicker with storecupboard stuff. Also a good way to finally use the jar of caramelised onion chutney that’s been […]

I don’t really know what to call this. Shepherd’s pie – made with lamb. Cottage pie – a dish of leftovers eaten by rural people, who lived in cottages. So what do I call my version of this classic British dish that I make with diced pork? I’m going for Pigsty Pie – there’s a […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D This is my version of a rich, silky Carbonara. A bit of low fat creme fraiche supplies the creaminess so that clearly cancels out any calories from the cheese and bacon. I’m sure that’s how it works, isn’t it? I always keep a few little packs of diced pancetta in the […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D It might be considered a bit boring, but I love anything from the cod family. Thick, flakey and meaty roasted cod crisp battered haddock with chips – thanks to a stint living in Yorkshire haddock’s still my preferred chippy choice. Just typing those words is making me hungry – not helped […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D I’d never made pesto before – always seemed like too much hassle when the stuff in jars is so convenient. But I bought a huge bunch of basil from the market recently, did nothing with it for a week and couldn’t think of anything else. In a mini-chopper I blitzed up […]

[tweetmeme source=”easyteas” only_single=false http://www.URL.com%5D Classic flavours together in a light, creamy sauce with pasta. We’ve done it with fresh or frozen cod fillets and both work fine. The whole dish from start to finish takes about 20 minutes. In a hot pan, seal a couple of cod fillets, season them with s&p and pop them […]

This rich, creamy dish is a great way to make steak go a bit further.It’s tasty, quick and if you use low fat creme fraiche in place of sour cream it’s pretty healthy too. The meat is not cooked for long so is best with fillet (although sirloin and rump are both fine too). See […]