Scones

Scones are so typically English and you can't have a cream tea without them!

With their rich and fruity texture, teamed with clotted cream and jam they are just pure bliss!

Typically washed down with tea, I like mine with a glass or two of Champagne! What can I say?? It's the French in me!

With clotted cream & strawberry jam

Ingredients:

• 225g self-raising flour
• 40g golden caster sugar
• 75g soft unsalted butter
• 50g raisins 
• 1 large egg, beaten
• about 2-3 tablespoons milk to mix
• a little extra flour

First shift the flour into a large bowl then add th sugar and rub in the butter into the dry mixture until the mixture looks crumbly. Now sprinkle in the dried fruit, pour in the beaten egg and add 3 tablespoons of milk.

Start to mix to a dough with a knife, then bring the mixture together using your hands - it should be  a soft but not a sticky dough, so add more milk (a teaspoon at a time) if the dough seems too dry. Form the dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured working surface.

Now, with the a floured rolling pin, roll it out very lightly to a thickness of about 3cm. This thickness is vital, the reason so,e scones don't rise enough is because they are too thin.

Then take a pastry cutter and tap it sharply so that it goes straight through the dough - do not twist or the scones will turn out a strange shape!

When you have cut as many as you can, knead the remaining dough together again and repeat. Then place the scones on a lined baking tray, dust each one with icing sugar and bake near the top of the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Once they are done they will have risen and tun golden brown. Remove from the oven and onto  cooling rack and serve very fresh, split and spread on clotted cream and jam.....or you could just eat them with butter.

I am craving these again as they are just so delicious!!!

Let me know if you make these and tag me in your photos on Instagram - atableavecjulia

Vegetable Lasagne

I love pasta dishes and fancied a non-meat dinner so thought I would make a roasted vegetable lasagne.

It's so tasty and comforting and with our summer being a tad of a let down, is the perfect meal for this season!

For all you meat lovers out there....fear not!! I promise you won't miss the presence of meat in this dish as the flavours are just so good!


Ingredients:

• 2 small aubergines, cut into 2.5cm chunks
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunky strips
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5 tbsp. olive oil
• 450g courgettes, sliced
• 225g fresh lasagne sheets
• 50g Parmesan

For the Béchamel sauce:

100g salted butter

100g plain flour 

1 litre milk 

100g grated fresh Parmesan

1/4 freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas mark 7. Mix the aubergines, onions, peppers, garlic, 3 tablespoons of the oil, and a little seasoning in a bowel. Transfer to a large roasting tin and cook for 30 minutes, or until soft.


Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the courgettes over a high heat for 4 minutes, until browned. Tip onto a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside.
Remove the roasted veg from the oven. Stir in the courgettes. Lower the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas mark 6.


Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the cold milk, reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes whisking constantly. Once thickened, stir in half of the Parmesan cheese with the nutmeg, season and set aside to cool slightly.


Cook the lasagne according to the packet instructions, separating the sheets and draining on a clean tea towel.


Spoon a thin layer of the béchamel sauce over the base of a buttered 2-4 litre shallow ovenproof dish. Cover with 4 lasagne sheets, overlapping them slightly. Top with half the vegetables, then one-third of the remaining béchamel sauce and another 4 sheets of lasagne. Repeat once more. Spread over the remaining sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.


Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until golden and bubbling.


Serve with a salad.

Caramalised Banana Cake

I love cake and I love bananas, so add them together then you have one very content woman.

Ensure you use ripened bananas, otherwise they will be slightly hard once the cake is cooked, and not soft and delicious.

This cake is delicious on it own or served with Oreo ice cream!

Ingredients:

For the topping:

• 80g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 150g light brown muscovado sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 4 large ripened bananas

For for the cake batter:

• 240g plain flour
• 21/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 300g golden caster sugar
• 120g unsalted butter, very soft
• 3 large eggs
• 150ml soured cream

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4 and lightly grease a deep 23cm round cake tin, lining the base with baking parchment.

To make the topping, put the butter and the sugar in a small saucepan snd cook over a medium heat until melted and combined. Add the vanilla and mix together. Pour the caramel into the cake tin and spread in an even layer. Cut the bananas in half lengthways and arrange on top of the caramel, cut-side down.

To make the batter, put all of the ingredients in a large bowl with 1/4 tsp salt. Use an electric mixer to beat together on a low speed until the batter is smooth and evenly mixed. Pour the batter on top of the bananas and level out with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 55 mins - 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the cake begins to to look too dark, cover with foil after 45 mins. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to a plate.

This cake is best served warm so reheat your slice in a microwave for 20 seconds if not eating straight away or over the next few days.

Serve on its own or with ice cream....it goes exceptionally well teamed with Oreo ice cream!

Bon appétit!! 

Moelleux au Chocolate 

I am utterly and completely obsessed with chocolate! I don't think I could function if I had to go without the heavenly stuff for more than a day....I would quite literally go "cold turkey".

This dessert is for the chocolate lovers of this world, the people who rejoice at the very sight and smell of chocolate, who dream of the stuff and couldn't possibly live another day without it...low and behold, even those who still have their sanity intact and aren't too bothered about chocolate (I don't trust you people, how could you not love chocolate?!) will love this!

Moelleux au chocolate is a chocolate lava cake, as soon as you break into the moist sponge this glossy chocolate sauce just oozes out and takes you straight to heaven!

Let's get straight to the recipe before I run off to Waitrose to buy their entire chocolate stock and eat myself into a food coma!!

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

• 170g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 170g butter, cubed
• 170g light brown sugar
• 85g plain flour
• 6 eggs, beaten

For the ramekins:

• 30g soft butter
• 30g unsweetened cocoa powder

Prepare 6-8 ramekins by brushing them with the butter and then dusting them with the cocoa powder. Make sure to tap out all of the excess cocoa powder.

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bain marie (a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water), stirring occasionally. Alternatively, melt them in the microwave on a low setting. 

Combine the sugar and flour in a bowl. Mix in the melted chocolate eggs followed by the flour and sugar. Divide the mixture between the ramekins and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.*

Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the cakes for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are firm and the centres slightly runny. Test by inserting a toothpick in the centre - it should come out wet. Leave to rest for 2 minutes before turning the cakes out of the ramekins on to plates. Serve immediately, with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or fresh berries.

* baking your batter cold will make it slower for the heat from the oven to penetrate the middle of the cakes, which will make the centres more gooey. The ramekins filled with the batter can be covered with cling film (don't let it touch the batter) and kept in the fridge for several days. They can also be well wrapped in cling film and frozen, then baked from frozen (they will need an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven - test to see they are done as above).


Enjoy!!

Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb with Chilli Jam & Rosemary

This slow cooked lamb is pure heaven! So tender, juicy and melts in the mouth!! Not to mention the flavour that omits from the meat!

It's so easy to prepare and cook too which is an added bonus, and because it cooks slowly on a low heat, you're free to get on and do other tasks around the house....or sit on the sofa with a nice glass of wine! Perfect!

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5kg lamb shoulder
• 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, plus extra to serve
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250ml white wine
• 1 garlic bulb, divided into bulbs, unpeeled
• 4-5 tbsp chilli jam (Tracklements is what I used)

Preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas mark 3. Put the lamb in a roasting tin. Make incisions all over the meat, then pull off and insert small sprigs of rosemary into them. Scatter the remaining rosemary around the lamb.

Drizzle the lamb with olive oil and season with plenty of sea salt and black pepper. Pour the wine around the lamb and cover with foil. Roast for 3 hours. Remove from the oven, lift the foil and scatter the garlic cloves around the lamb. Recover with the foil and return to the oven for half an hour.

Ready to scatter the garlic cloves & put back in the oven

Take the lamb out of the oven, remove the foil then pour out the juices into a jug/bowl. Leave the garlic in with the lamb. Spread the lamb with the chilli jam, then return to the oven for a further 30-40 minutes until tender and sticky. Remove the lamb and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, skim the fat from the reserved meat juices, then pour into a pan. Bubble over a medium heat until thickened and serve with the lamb.

I served the lamb with a gratin dauphinois (different recipe to the one already posted...keep an eye out for it as will be posted soon!) and veg!


Bon appétit!

Ready to serve!

Polenta, Chorizo and Prawns

I love king prawns, the bigger and juicier the better! Although they have to be ready to eat, I do freak out if they're served with heads and legs still intact and whoever is with me, will have to get them ready for me otherwise there will be tears involved!

Fear not, this dish (as well as all dishes I will cook with prawns) calls for peeled prawns to be used!

This dish packs a lot of flavour and is rather filling due to the polenta. It's a mix of Spanish and Italian and the outcome is divine!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 100g chorizo, skin removed and thinly sliced
• 600ml vegetable stock
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 180g pack raw king prawns 
• 100g quick cook polenta 
• 50g Parmesan 
• 25g butter
• 1/2 small pack parsley, roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in another pan, boil the vegetable stock.

Add the garlic and prawns to the frying pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until the prawns just turn pink, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and keep warm.

Add the polenta to the vegetable stock and whisk vigorously for 1 minute until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Parmesan and butter for 1 minute until melted. Season liberally. 

Serve the prawns and chorizo in their oils on top of the polenta, with the parsley scattered over the top.

Enjoy!