The Hangry Chef

I've used that many sweet pastry recipes over the years and there's 1 million and 1 ways to make sweet pastry but this is the recipe I find always results in a nice, not too crumbly, not too sweet pastry and it's not that hard to make. You will need... 200gr unsalted butter, slightly chilled 100gr caster sugar 360gr plain flour 1 large egg 1/4 tsp vanilla bean Method... 1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until just combined. 2. Add your egg and mix quickly 3. Sift your flour and fold into butter. As soon as its incorporated, mould into a flat square, wrap in cling wrap and place in the fridge to rest for 1 hour. 4. Remove from fridge, let sit for 10 minutes to slightly soften, then roll between two pieces of baking paper and use as desired.

After the first Tips and Tricks of the Trade rant I thought I'd keep this one a bit more simple... I've just had a peanut butter sandwich and I'm not so hangry so I can actually think straight and tell you some awesome sneaky tricks to keep your life in the kitchen a bit more efficient. So we already know we've gotta have our Mise En Place sorted out with all your equipment and ingredients ready to rock and roll... But now we need to know a little-known trick of how to use one of the most important ingredients in many recipes- DRIED SPICES. When spices are dried and put into a container for a while (several years in some cases!), the flavours sometimes can become a bit weak, but don't fret- they're just having a snooze. All you need to do to wake up that flavour is pop your spice in a clean, dry pan and heat it up a bit before using it. For example; if you're making a curry and have a whole heap of wonderful spices, put them all in the pan together an...

These two can hang out together all day... I can't take credit for this but I used to make this as an apprentice and the recipe is burned on my brain because the ingredient measurements are so similar. It really is a labour of love and needs to be done a day in advance, but they're really great to show off your mad cooking skills and are easy to present beautifully. Almond Biscotti  You will need... 200gr eggwhites 180gr caster sugar 180gr plain flour 180gr almonds (you can use other nuts if you wish- hazelnuts and pistachios go really well too) Method... 1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and line a square loaf tin with baking paper 2. Beat egg whites to soft peaks and gradually add sugar while continuously beating to stiff peaks (French Meringue Style*). Sugar is properly combined when you pinch a bit of the mixture and it is smooth and granule-free. 3. Fold in flour and nuts, take care not to knock any air out, pour into your tin and knock the tin on t...

This has to be one of my absolute favourite things to cook and to eat! I love Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall (what a mouthful), he's really an inspiration to me because he's known for his back-to-basics philosophy and I really love his homey, comforting style of cooking.   You will need... 1kg black mussels A small knob of butter 1 tbsp olive oil 100g streaky bacon, chopped 1 bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced 1 sprig thyme 1 bay leaf 250ml medium-sweet cider 1 tsp wholegrain mustard 2-3 tbsp double cream Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Lots of chopped fresh parsley, to serve Method... 1.  Scrub mussels and remove the wiry little 'beards' that are attached to the shells. Discard any open mussels that don’t close when given a sharp tap. 2.  Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter and oil. When the butter is foaming, add the bacon and cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the green onions, thyme and bay leaf ...

Nothing goes better with a cheese plate then some freshly made flatbread, and I've noticed that you can even buy it at the grocery store these days! But if you don't want to pay a ridiculous amount of money for some 'Artisan Flatbread' and if you own a pasta roller then you can just make it yourself. It should last a fair while stored in an airtight container and if you don't eat it all while its still piping hot out of the oven. This recipe makes pretty massive quantities, so if you're just making it at home I would use a quarter of this recipe. You will need... 55gr fresh yeast/ 25gr dried yeast 840mL warm water 25gr sugar 25gr honey 230ml olive oil 40gr salt 30gr chopped thyme leaves 1700gr bread flour Method... 1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius, grease 2 large baking trays and sprinkle with a little fancy salt like Maldon or Himalayan Pink Salt (which has gone a bit mental lately) or you can just use course sea salt 2. Dissolve ye...

I have grand plans for a Cupcake Week in the near future, I love a cupcake. Some people would say they've been done a million times and I would have to agree, but they're so simple to make, and really you can't go wrong with a morsel of fluffy cakey goodness topped with sweet rich icing. You will need... 200gr butter, room temperature 300gr caster sugar 400gr S R flour 250ml milk, room temperature 4 eggs, room temperature 1 tsp vanilla Method... 1. Pre-heat oven to 180 º C.   Line a 12-cup cake pan with cup cake papers. 2. Crack eggs into a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork. 3. Place butter, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the eggs, mix for 1 minute, then sift the flour and add alternately with the milk 4. Divide evenly between the cup cake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and firm to touch. 5. Allow to cool for a few minutes then trans...

The hubby and I travelled to Europe a few years ago now, and I have to admit that Spain was a bit of an afterthought (shame on us right?!). We only decided to stop in Barcelona because it was on the way from London to Rome, and I now think it was one of the best places we went our entire trip. I have this habit of talking to taxi drivers when arriving to a new country, I pretty much harass them until the give up the goods on the best places to go for the locals and our chauffer in Barcelona did not disappoint! He recommended a seafood restaurant called Restaurante Cheriff in Barceloneta that claimed to have ‘The Best Paella In The World’. Now I didn’t have much to compare it to, but seriously… Foodgasm. I still haven’t been able to replicate it, with a seafood sauciness that is so rich and delightful its actually meaty tasting and fresh seafood that was crawling in the tanks on the wall literally 5 minutes ago, but I've found and tweaked my own version which i...

This is Anna-Maria’s Zucchini Slice from Stephanie Alexander’s Cooks Companion …   I’ve tweaked it a little as I’m sure most people do, it’s one of those no-rules recipes where you can customise it as much or as little as you like. I love zucchini because it is such a versatile vegetable (although technically it’s an immature fruit- wiki will tell you it’s a swollen ovary of a zucchini flower… sounds appetising), you can put them in almost anything because they don’t have a very strong flavour, which is great when it comes to hiding veggies from your kids! I’ve even eaten a chocolate cake that had grated zucchini in it and it was one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had- so moist (haha MOIST!) You will need… ¼ cup of olive oil (the recipe says half a cup but you really don’t need that much) 500g zucchini, grated 1 small carrot, grated 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 200gr smoked bacon, finely chopped 100g freshly grat...