Saturday 25 July 2015

Wholesome Cottage Pie



Warm comforting cottage pie. This is one of my favourite ultimate comfort food dishes to have when you need a little love and nourishment. I grew up eating this dish for dinner. It's a classic and to me it never gets old. 


Ingredients    
-400g lean mince beef mince
-1 tablespoon of olive oil  
-1 onion (finely chopped) 
-2 garlic cloves 
-1 carrot (grated)
-2 sticks of celery (finely chopped) 
-75g frozen peas 
-1 beef stock cube (dissolved in 800ml boiling water) 
-2 tablespoons of tomato puree 
-2 tablespoons of worchester sauce 
-salt and pepper 
-5-6 large rooster potatoes 
-50g butter (melted)
-25ml milk 
-75g grated cheddar cheese 

Method 
Peel the potatoes and add them to a pot of cold water with a little salt and bring to the boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until tender. When cooked strain the water and mash. Add in the melted butter and milk and mix till smooth and lightly creamy. Season with some salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a deep dish and when hot cook the mince first until brown. Add in the finely chopped onion and garlic and saute until soft. Stir in the grated carrot and finely chopped celery and mix together. Add the tomato puree and worchester sauce until combined. Add the frozen peas and finally pour in the beef stock, cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes until slightly reduced.  

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Transfer the mince mixture to a deep casserole dish. Cover with the creamy mashed potatoes and finish with zig-zag fork lines. Bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes and then add in the grated cheese to the top and return to the oven and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.  

Serve straight away!



Wednesday 8 July 2015

Toblerone Cheesecake with Almond Brittle


Happy Hump Day!

I've held off for a while posting this recipe.

I made this dessert back in February for family when we received as a gift the infamous size of your head duty free Toblerone bar. Now this gigantic toblerone bar must have been sitting in my fridge for days hours before I decided what to make with it.
Being Summer time and all and with large numbers of people passing through the airport I thought this would be a good time to share my favourite Toblerone recipe. Afterall who doesn't love a good old Toblerone bar from the airport? (Mine's the white chocolate one!)

This combination of crunchy chewy biscuit base, smooth chocolate cream cheese and salty honey roasted almonds make this dessert a little bit special and indulgent and not bikini friendly.
 
It is a simple no bake cheesecake recipe that I promise you will leave you wanting to make it again and again and rushing to the airport as Toblerone is actually difficult to find in your local supermarkets!



Ingredients: 
Honey Roasted Almonds
-300g Almonds (whole with their skins on)
-50g light brown muscovado sugar
-1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
-3 tablespoons of honey
-2 tablespoons of water
-1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Biscuit layer
-200g chocolate digestive biscuits
-75g butter (melted)

Cream cheese layer
-500g cream cheese (full-fat)
-50g caster sugar
-300g double cream
-300g toblerone melted

Topping
-75g melted toblerone




Method:
Start by preparing the honey roasted almonds. Preheat the oven to 180℃ and line a large flat oven tray with baking paper. Spread the almonds in a single layer and bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes until lightly browned. While the almonds are roasting, mix together the sea salt and sugar in a bowl and leave to one side. In a pot melt together the sunflower oil, honey and water and let it come to bubble. Once bubbling, add in the hot almonds and mix to coat them. Stir until the liquid has evaporated and the nuts are shiny and golden. Remove from the pot and add to a large bowl pouring over the sugar/salt mixture and stir to coat the almonds. Once coated in sugar/salt mixture remove them and place back on the baking tray in a single layer breaking up the clusters and leave them to cool. Once cool store in a lunchbox until serving and decorating.

Base: Crush the biscuits in a sandwich bag with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in pot and pour into the biscuits. Press this biscuit mixture into the base of the cheesecake tin and leave to rest in the fridge.

Cream cheese layer: Melt the toblerone chocolate in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water for 10-12 minutes until smooth. (Do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl as it will split the chocolate).
Beat together the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer until combined.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Fold the cream into the cream cheese and finally stir in the cooled melted toblerone chocolate. Spread the chocolate mixture over the set biscuit base and place in the fridge ideally overnight to allow it to fully set.

The next day just before serving the cheesecake - melt 75g toblerone chocolate again in the heatproof bowl and drizzle this along the top of the cheesecake using a fork.
Chop up the sugared almonds roughly and dollop a heap in the centre of the cheesecake and along the edges of the cheesecake.
And Voila!

Hope you enjoy!

Monday 6 July 2015

Carlingford - WildWood Cafe review



This is my first review.
It is inspired by my visit to Carlingford to my good pal Naomi. Amongst many foodie outlets we enjoyed this weekend she took me to visit her friend Joanna who just opened the doors to 'Wildwood Cafe' run by her and her husband - Joanna and Shane. They've only recently opened their doors (June 2015) and the excitement and energy in the place was surreal.
Their cafe embodies modern new age designs and ideas with cool life/foodie quotes, images and interesting quirky decor all set amongst the most spectacular breathtaking location looking down on Carlingford Lough and village.

Now I could go on all day about the decor of this place but it is important that I mention the humble healthy hearty food on offer - after all this is why we were here!

I absolutely love trying out new food and new food places and Wildwood Cafe could could be one of my top ever favourite food discoveries.
Wildwood Cafe is designed around the philosophy of healthy wholesome food that is freshly prepared whilst providing optimal taste and nutrition. It is similar to the idea of 'Happy Pear' in Greystones however it is not strictly vegetarian as there are meat dishes on the menu such as the Chef's signature dish 'Thai Green Curry'. I was sorry to not have ordered this also.
Joanna makes you feel very welcome and delighted to have you in her cafe which is nice to experience. She takes time to explain the menu and get to know her customers while her husband Shane runs the kitchen. With the help of Joanna, I order and enjoyed a colourful plate full of Falafel, hummus, tzatziki, roast vegetables, zingy beetroot and ginger slaw and green salad all served with toasted warm flat breads fresh off the griddle pan. This was a plate of heaven for me as I love picking at small pieces of food and mixing them together. It was so fresh and bursting full of flavour.
My friend Naomi had the gorgeous Zesty Bean Burger with salads and homemade wedges.
I've included the pictures of our food below which give you an idea.




All in all this foodie experience was well worth the visit and I shall be back very soon to sample the rest of the varied menu.

Meeting these people inspired me and allowed me to recognise the energy, determination, passion and love that goes into a place like Wildwood Cafe.

*Website B&B and Cafe - http://carlingfordbandbviewpoint.com/cafe-carlingford-wild-wood/

*Wildwood Cafe facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wildwood-Caf%C3%A9/413777612162403?sk=info&tab=overview



Sticky Lemon Curd & Berry Cake



Sticky moist lemony cake with a sweet tangy burst from fresh raspberries and blueberries. A little pick me up cake. 

Ingredients: 
-125g caster sugar
-175g soft butter 
-3 eggs 
-100g greek yoghurt 
-Zest and juice of one lemon 
-75g mixed berries (raspberries & blueberries) 
-3 tablespoons of lemon curd 
-200g self-raising flour 

Method 
Preheat the oven to 160℃. Line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper. 
In a mixer cream together the butter and caster sugar until soft (5-6minutes). Add in the eggs one at a time and scrap down the sides of the bowl each time. Stir in the greek yoghurt. Add the zest and juice of the lemon. 
Lightly sieve in the flour and fold gently into the mixture. 
Dust and cover the berries a little flour - this prevent them sinking to the bottom of the cake. 
Add half of the cake mix to the lined tin and sprinkle the berries on top along with 2 tablespoons of lemon curd. Swirl the curd around with a spoon into the cake mix. Add the remaining cake mix and dot the top of the cake with the remaining berries. Gently add the remaining lemon curd to the top of the cake and swirl along the top between the berries. 
Bake in the hot oven for 40-50minutes until the cake skewer comes out clean. 

Serve this cake warm with some fresh lemon curd and berries on the side!
Enjoy! 






You can find my lemon curd recipe featured below: