Recipe: Chocolate Baileys Cheesecake

Cheesecake is an all-round pleaser at a dinner table, and if you opt for a chilled cheesecake rather than a baked one, it couldn’t be easier to make.

The following recipe is for a Chocolate Baileys Cheesecake. It was one of the puds I made for Christmas Day, but if you can't wait until next year, it could be the perfect way to end a New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day feast too.

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Chocolate Baileys Cheesecake

Ingredients (serves 12)

• 300g Hobnobs
• 100g unsalted butter
• 600g full fat cream cheese
• 300ml double cream
• 100ml Baileys
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 300g milk chocolate
• 50g milk chocolate (optional - for decoration)

Method

1. For the cheesecake base. Crush the Hobnobs to form crumbs, using either a food processor or rolling pin (having placed the biscuits in a mixing bowl or plastic bag). 

2. Melt the butter, add it to the crushed biscuits, and mix through.

3. Press the biscuits evenly into a spring form cake tin, and then chill the base in the fridge whilst you prepare the cheesecake topping.

4. For the cheesecake topping. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese together using an electric whisk to make it smooth. Then slowly add the double cream, followed by the Baileys and icing sugar.

5. Melt the milk chocolate and slowly add it to the cream cheese mixture, still using the electric whisk.

6. Spoon the mixture on top of the biscuit base and spread it out so that it is even.

7. Melt the additional 50g milk chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the cheesecake. 

8. Place the cheesecake in the fridge and leave it to chill for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.

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If you would prefer a more subtle Baileys flavour, reduce the quantity to 50ml or 75ml. You could also switch the milk chocolate for dark or white chocolate, or leave chocolate out of the recipe completely. In addition, digestives or another crunchy biscuit would work well for the base if you don’t fancy hobnobs.

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Want to make a cheesecake but not to keen on Baileys? Try my White Chocolate and Honeycomb Cheesecake instead.

Caribbean Food Week - 19-25 August 2013!

With weeks of beautiful sunshine, a British win at Wimbledon, and the momentous birth of our future King, the summer of 2013 has definitely been one to remember. The fun is set to continue as well, with Caribbean Food Week and Notting Hill Carnival just weeks away!

Running from the 19^th to the 25^th August 2013, the week leading up to the Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday 25^th and Monday 26^th August, Caribbean Food Week will focus on spreading Caribbean flavours and cheer throughout the UK, with people encouraged through events, activities and promotions to taste new dishes and spice up old favourites with Caribbean ingredients and spices.

Back in April, I had the pleasure of attending a launch event to introduce Caribbean Food Week 2013. Sponsored by Grace Foods, the leading UK supplier of Caribbean food and drink, the event debuted a range of freshly made and delicious Caribbean dishes, cooked up by Chef Hasan De Four using a range of readily available ingredients. The menu included: 

• Ackee & Saltfish Fritters, served with chilli dipping sauce
• Roasted Pumpkin & Coconut Soup
• Jerk Chicken Skewers
• Caribbean Fish & Chips (fry coley with seasoned sweet potato fries)
• Curried Goat served with Rice and Peas
• Tropical Rhythms Fruit and Rum Jellies
• Spiced Plantain and Ginger Fritters served with Nurishment Caramel
• Chow! – spiced tropical citrus fruits caramelised with sweet chilli

My favourite dish was the Ackee & Saltfish Fritters, which were moreish, light and incredibly delicious! As a big fan of coconut, I also enjoyed the smooth and refreshing Roasted Pumpkin & Coconut Soup, with a Scotch bonnet drizzle adding a slightly warm kick.

The Curried Goat was tender, flavoursome and very scrummy, and surprisingly so to be honest, as it was not something that I was expecting to enjoy. This seems to be a common view amongst many people in the UK, despite them happily consuming other goat produce, such as goat’s milk and goat’s cheese. Don’t be scared to give goat meat a try though! The assimilations people make with the flavour and textures of goat to beef and lamb are accurate, and, for those of you that are health conscious, goat meat also offers a number of excellent health benefits. As well as being very high in protein, and a fantastic source of iron, goat meat also contains less saturated fat, and lower cholesterol levels than beef, pork, lamb and even chicken. Bonus!

At the event, Grace Foods also displayed its broad range of products, a number of which were used to make the dishes on offer to demonstrate their quality and versatility. Introducing some of these products to your home and dishes would be the perfect way to get in the spirit for Caribbean Food Week, so why not take a trip to the world food aisle of your local supermarket, or source out a local independent for a more cultured experience, and give some Caribbean-style products and recipes a try.

One of the brands owned by Grace Foods is Encona, which offers a range of delicious and exotic flavours from around the world, including a strong Caribbean-inspired selection. As well as being perfect to add flavour to a dish as a dip, the sauces can also be used for marinading (see my Ginger, Sweet Chilli & Lime Salmon with Noodles recipe as an example). My favourite sauce from the range is the Sweet Mango Chilli variant, although (unfortunately) it does not seem to be available in all supermarkets, so you may have to hunt for it a little – it will definitely be worth it when you find it though!

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There is a lot more to Caribbean Food than Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae sauce (although this could be the perfect place to start), so get your taste buds tingling, the rum flowing, and embrace Caribbean Food Week. The flavour experiences are not something that you should miss out on, and there are definitely some delicious dishes and recipes for you to try!

For more information about Caribbean Food Week, along with recipe inspiration, visit the dedicated Facebook page, and follow @CaribbeanFoodWk on Twitter.

Recipe: Caramelised Red Onion, Goats Cheese and Tomato Tagliatelle

The crumbly yet creamy texture of goats cheese, along with its delicious flavour, makes it one of my favourites, and a dinner where it features is always a treat!

The following recipe makes an ideal mid-week meal. Straight-forward to make and ready within half an hour, you can sit back and enjoy the rest of your evening with a smile on your face and a satisfied tum.

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Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic dressing
• 1 carton chopped tomatoes
• 60g goats cheese (30g for each plate)
• 200-250g tagliatelle (dried or fresh)
• Fresh parsley, finely chopped to garnish

Method:

1. Fry the onion in the oil for 2-3 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add the sugar, stir and allow to caramelise slightly. Then add the balsamic dressing, stir, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

2. When the sauce has reduced slightly, add the chopped tomatoes, mix through, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes, until reduced. Season to taste.

3. Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle - if you are using fresh tagliatelle it can be done just minutes before serving.

4. When the tagliatelle is cooked, add it to the sauce and toss through until coated. Serve the pasta, crumble over the goats cheese, and finish with the finely chopped fresh parsley. Easy!

Caramelised Red Onion, Goats Cheese,
and Tomato Tagliatelle

Recipe: Ginger, Sweet Chilli & Lime Salmon with Noodles

Ginger is my ingredient of the moment. The warmth and flavour it offers adds another dimension to both sweet and savoury dishes, and I am thoroughly enjoying finding new foods to pair it with.

Ginger, Sweet Chilli & Lime Salmon with Noodles

With the sun FINALLY making an appearance this weekend, I decided to explore how I could incorporate ginger into a fresh tasting, light spring/summer dish, using another favourite of mine, salmon.

The following recipe is for a noodle based dish, using salmon that has been marinated in a sauce made from fresh limes, fresh root ginger, garlic and sweet chilli sauce (although you could use fresh red chilli – I just prefer a more subtle spice level). The different ingredients used add different levels of flavour, which come through in stages to offer a fresh and delicious taste experience. 

Please note, for optimum flavour, you will need to marinade the salmon for a couple of hours before cooking. Don’t let this put you off though – the prior preparation is definitely worthwhile, and when you are ready to eat/feeling hungry, the dish is quick and easy to cook! Additionally, if you are not a fan of salmon, the dish is likely to work well with chicken.

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Ingredients:

• 400g salmon fillets, skinned and cut into chunks
• 1 red onion
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 150g spinach
• 120g fine noodles
• 1 tablespoon oil

For the marinade:

• Zest and juice of 2 limes
• Thumb-sized piece of root ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ tablespoons sweet chilli sauce OR 1 fresh red chilli

Method:

1. For the marinade: Place the garlic, ginger, lime zest, lime juice, and sweet chilli sauce/chilli in a dish, and mix together. Add the salmon, and coat in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

2. Putting the dish together: Finely slice the onion, and fry in the oil until softened. Add the soy sauce and mix through.

3. Add the salmon and marinade to the pan, and cover with a lid. Cook for 5-10 minutes on a medium heat until the salmon is cooked and starting to flake.

4. Meanwhile, cook the noodles. Before draining, add the spinach to the water to allow it to cook quickly.

5. Drain the noodles and spinach, and add to the pan with the salmon. Mix everything together and then serve.

***

If you like this, why not try Salmon & Ginger Fishcakes. Another light, refreshing and healthy dish!

Event: FoodCycle and Love Food Hate Waste Feaster

Food waste is a global issue, and in the UK alone it has been reported that we throw away one third of all of the food that we buy. This amounts to more than 7 million tonnes of waste each year, which, as well as being incredibly harmful to the environment, costs £12 billion!
 
One great charity working to fight against the impact of food waste, as well as food poverty, is FoodCycle, whose aim is to redirect the edible food that is thrown out by retailers each year.
 
With hubs located around the UK, FoodCycle helps and encourages local communities to set up groups of volunteers that collect surplus food. The food is then used to prepare nutritious meals in unused professional kitchen spaces, which are served to people who do not have access to healthy foods for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of income or a lack of knowledge about nutrition and healthy eating.
 

The Chapter Hall at the Museum of the Order of St John
FoodCycle Feaster event - 28 March 2013

To raise awareness of their work, and to demonstrate how surplus food can be used to feed faces rather than bins, FoodCycle held a Feaster pop-up restaurant event at the Museum of the Order of St John, in Clerkenwell, on Thursday 28 March 2013. Partnering with the national Love Food Hate Waste Campaign, the evening saw 90 guests treated to a delicious five course vegetarian banquet, with dishes made largely using food that would have otherwise been thrown away for a number of different reasons. For example, retailers may have considered food to have been the wrong shape, size or colour; a certain item may have been over ordered; there may have been typos on food labels; or, there may have been cosmetic damage to packaging.
 
Although I would have loved to have been one of the paying guests waited on during the evening, I wanted to show my support for FoodCycle by attending the event as a volunteer, which was a highly rewarding and enjoyable experience.
 
Held in the stunning Chapter Hall of the museum, the setting for the event was beautiful and atmospheric, and as groups of strangers tucked into their food, I found it amazing how an experience focused on an issue in the here and now was being explored in a place decked with history.
 
The food served during the evening was of an incredibly high standard, perfectly proving that surplus food is more than suitable for consumption. Designed by FoodCycle’s talented catering team, the menu comprised of the following:

Aperitif

Prosecco with rhubarb puree

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Canapés

Pesto and roasted cherry tomato tartlets
Crostini with surplus aged cheddar and apple & plum chutney

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Starter by Valentine Warner

Beetroot with ravigote sauce

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Main

Whole-roasted and stuffed sweet onions, served on roasted garlic & red pepper puree, topped with crumbled Shropshire blue cheese and crispy garden peas

Served with:
Braised purple sprouted broccoli
Fresh tomato salad with rocket, cress, and peashoots
Crushed new potatoes
Salsa verde

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Dessert

Chocolate dipped poached pears with apricot-pecan stuffing and chilli-vanilla sabayon
Served with fresh berries and mint

***

 

Final Sweet Treat

Mini meringues hand-dipped in chocolate

Having had the opportunity to try the food, I particularly enjoyed the stuffed sweet onions. They were absolutely delicious, with the different components working together to offer a range of flavours and textures. The meringues were also incredibly moreish – so simple and uncomplicated, but so delicious!

 

Overall, the evening was a truly enjoyable experience to have participated in. It was really rewarding to have had the opportunity to work amongst a truly passionate team of people, and all of the FoodCycle workers that I had the pleasure of meeting at the event were clearly driven by their work and dedicated to the FoodCycle cause. This was inspiring to see, and made me keen to do more to help, and there’s lots you can do too!

 

To support Food Cycle in their efforts, why not think about how you and your family can work to reduce your own food waste in your home? Taking simple steps to reduce food waste can be highly effective, and it’s really not that hard to take a proactive approach!

 

The following is taken from an article I wrote for Green Living magazine. Small but steady steps will enable the UK to make progress, so don’t throw in haste, save your waste, and rejoice in the satisfaction that you are making a difference.

 

• F is for Freeze - Save room in your freezer to prolong the quality of fresh food, and to store leftover portions of home-made meals. So much food can be frozen, but check guidelines for suitability.

• O is for Observe - Conduct regular checks so that you are aware of what food you have, in addition to expiry dates. This will enable you to make informed decisions when planning meals, and help you to use up food before it deteriorates.

• O is also for Opt-in - Check if your local council provides facilities for food waste. With regular collections and trusty containers, your efforts towards food waste will be made easy! If you have the space and interest, you could also consider home composting – a fantastic way to engage and educate children about food waste too.

• D is for Date - Know the lingo! If food has a ‘use-by’ date it is unlikely to be suitable for consumption much after this date. Best before dates, on the other hand, are there for guidance – the quality may start to decline, but use your initiative. If your loaf of bread still looks and feels fine, do not bin it.

 

• W is for Weigh - Preparing or cooking too much food is an issue for many of us, but solutions are available. Electronic scales are an ideal kitchen companion, but you could also invest in a spaghetti measurer, use cups or handfuls to measure rice, pasta and vegetables portions, and use recipes for guidance.

• A is for Advice - Use the wealth of information that lies at your fingertips and explore the Internet. Search council websites to see what is happening in your local area to tackle food waste, and gain inspiration from specialised websites, such as FoodCycle.

• S is for Shopping - Plan meals in advance, and take a detailed list of what you need to buy when you go food shopping, including quantities. This way, you will only buy what you need!

• T is for Try-it-out - Before throwing any food away, consider if there are any other uses for it. For example, staling bread can be used in bread and butter pudding, or blitzed to make breadcrumbs that can be mixed with cheese for a crunchier pasta bake topping.

• E is for Encourage - For support and success encourage friends and family to focus on reducing food waste too! Make it fun, particularly if you have children. Why not hold competitions to create unique and imaginative names for the dishes you make from your leftovers?

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For more information about FoodCycle, visit their website. Here you can find out if there is a hub in your local area, along with other ways you can support the cause.
 
FoodCycle also runs a Community Café in Bromley-by-Bow in London called Pie in the Sky café. It is open Monday-Friday from 8.30am-3.30pm, with lunch served from 12-2pm.

 

 

Recipe Review: Salmon & Ginger Fishcakes

As a big fan of fish, I recently had a hunt around to find some new recipes that I could experiment with. Last week, I made Salmon & Ginger Fishcakes after tweaking a recipe from BBC Good Food.

Free from normal potato, the fishcakes were healthy, light and delicious - definitely the ideal dish for a mid-week dinner! The fresh ingredients (lime, garlic, ginger) made the fishcakes taste great, and the warmth of the chilli added an extra layer of flavour. The sweet potato chips (one of my favourites and able to count towards your 5-a-day) were also a great accompaniment, particularly with the light dusting of paprika.

Below is my adapted version of the original recipe. Let me know what you think and if you have any other suggestions for ways to adapt them. I will definitely be making them again, so it would be great to have some new tweaking ideas!

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Ingredients (serves 3):

Salmon & Ginger Fishcakes
with Sweet Potato Chips
(please excuse the poor photography skills)

• 1 large sweet potato, cut into chips
• 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 3 skinless salmon fillets
• Piece of ginger (about the size of the top part of your thumb)
• Zest of 2 limes, plus wedges for serving
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder (or one small de-seeded, fresh red chilli)
• 1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• Garlic mayonnaise

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. Arrange the chips in a roasting tin with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt, pepper, and a light dusting of paprika, and bake for 30 minutes.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan, and fry the spring onions for 3-4 minutes until softened.

3. Finely grate the ginger and garlic into a bowl, and add the lime zest, chilli powder, and spring onions.

4. Chop the salmon as finely as possible, and place in the bowl. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly.

5. Shape the mixture into 6 patties, and lightly coat with flour.

6. Heat the remaining oil in the pan, and cook the patties for 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through.

7. Remove the chips from the oven, and arrange on a plate with two of the fishcakes. Serve with garlic mayonnaise and lime wedges.

Recipe: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Pudding

When you are looking for a little comfort to help escape the cold outside, a hot pudding with some smooth and creamy custard can be the perfect way to warm yourself up. One of my favourites is pineapple upside down pudding. The tangy fruit, against the soft sponge, and creamy custard is a winning combination, and the ingredients are pretty basic and affordable, making it an easy treat to rustle up in no time.

If you are not a fan of pineapple, you can substitute it for another fruit, such as peach. You can also use fresh fruit if you are not a fan of tinned, and in the summer you can ditch the custard and opt for something fresh and seasonal as the base, like raspberries.

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Ingredients:

• 100g self-raising flour
• 100g margarine (plus a little extra for greasing)
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 small tin pineapple
• Handful of cherries (fresh or glacé)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

2. Grease a sandwich tin with margarine, then sprinkle the brown sugar over the base.

3. Arrange the fruit on top of the sugar (the sugar helps to slightly caramelise the fruit, giving the pudding  a nice shine when it is turned out).

4. In a bowl, cream together the margarine and caster sugar until light and fluffy.

5. Beat the eggs together in a small bowl or jug, and gradually stir in to the sugar and margarine mixture.

6. Sift in the self-raising flour, and gently fold in until fully combined.

7. Pour the cake mixture over the fruit and smooth out.

8. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sponge is golden brown.

9. When cooked, remove from the oven, and allow to rest slightly, before turning out onto a plate for serving.

***

If you want to have a go at making your own custard, I normally opt for good old Delia Smith’s recipe. Click here for more information.

Happy baking! I hope the pudding makes you feel warm and snug.

Recipe: Rainbow Vegetable Lasagne

For many people, a New Year represents a new start, with resolutions set out to improve certain aspects of life; but whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking or save money, change can be hard to implement. One thing that you can easily control however, is what passes your lips, so why not make 2013 the year to focus on food, and extend your culinary repertoire by developing a collection of dishes that not only taste delicious, but allow you to lead a healthier lifestyle as well.

One way to make your meals more nutritious is to focus on the colours of foods used within them. A large proportion of your daily food intake should be made up of a rainbow assortment of fruit and vegetables, which, as well as enhancing the aesthetic appeal of dishes, provide your body with the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to perform its daily functions.

The following recipe is for a much-loved Italian dish that has been colourfully adapted for a nutritional twist. It is perfectly suitable for vegetarians, however you could add mince to the filling, or even diced chicken, for a protein boost.

 

Rainbow Vegetable Lasagne

 

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, peeled and cubed
• 1 courgette, peeled and cubed
• 1 yellow pepper and 1 green pepper, de-seeded and cubed
• Handful of mushrooms, washed and cubed
• 2 tins/cartons chopped tomatoes
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 stock cube
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh or dried mixed herbs

Cheese sauce:

• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 600ml milk
• 75g cheese
 
• 6-8 lasagne sheets

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

2. Prepare the vegetables, chopping them into even sized chunks.

3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and cook the onion for 2 minutes until softened.

4. Add the other vegetables to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, the stock cube, and the herbs, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season as desired.

5. Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring to form a roux. Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously to ensure the mixture remains smooth. Once the milk is added, continue stirring the sauce until it bubbles and thickens. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the cheese and stir until it is melted. Season as desired.

6. Remove the vegetables from the heat and layer them into an ovenproof dish with the lasagne sheets and cheese sauce. Finish with a sprinkling of grated cheese.

7. Place the lasagne in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. When cooked, the lasagne sheets should be softened.

Recipe: Carrot and Coriander Soup

When it’s cold and wintery outside, all I want to do is snuggle up on the sofa with a blanket and a bowl of comforting home-made soup. The following recipe is for a delicious carrot and coriander soup, with added leeks for extra flavour. If you haven’t made soup before, and find it easier to buy, I promise you, you won’t turn back once you have tried your own!

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Ingredients:

• 450g carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 1 potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable sock
• Ground black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• 30g butter
• 3 tablespoons greek yoghurt

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and add the carrots and leeks. Cook for 10 minutes until they  begin to soften.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of coriander and mix through.

3. Add the potato to the saucepan, and pour in the stock. Stir and season to taste. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 20 mintues.

4. When the vegetables have softened, blend the mixture in a food processor, with the extra tablespoon of coriander.

5. Pour the soup back into the saucepan, and stir through the greek yoghurt. Return the soup to the hob to gently heat through before serving.

6. Enjoy with some freshly warmed bread for the perfect winter warmer!

 

Recipe: Orange and Ginger Marmalade Muffins

Jam is commonly used in a number of baking recipes to add flavour, sweetness and colour, but how about using marmalade as a tangy alternative instead? The following recipe is for delicious orange marmalade muffins, which would perfectly accompany a breakfast feast or act as a delicious mid-morning treat.

***

 

Ingredients:

• 175g plain flour
• 25 porridge oats, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons ginger
• 175g light soft brown sugar
• Zest and juice of one orange
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 150g plain yoghurt
• 1 egg
• 9 teaspoons chunky orange marmalade (this could be switched for alternative flavours

 

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, and line a muffin tin with 9 paper cases.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and ginger into a large bowl, and add the oats and sugar. Mix to combine.

3. In a jug, whisk the orange zest and juice, oil, yoghurt and egg together. Then, add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

4. Spoon one tablespoon of the mixture into each muffin case, and then spoon one teaspoon of marmalade into the centre. Cover with the remaining muffin mix and a sprinkling of oats.

5. Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.