2.12 Lasagne – Advanced – Rice & Pasta

Okay, okay. I know some of you are saying or thinking “but why has he listed LASAGNE as ADVANCED???”. Well, to put it into perspective, you need to make a Bolognese sauce and a Béchamel sauce (both of which are either time consuming or fussy), then assemble everything and bake it for the right amount of time. The full recipe can take more than 3 hours from beginning to end.

Advanced doesn’t necessarily mean “difficult”, but there’s more to it than throwing a few jars of sauce at some pasta sheets and shoving the whole thing in the oven!

ALSO - This is the final episode of Season 2. I'll be back with Season 3 on 2nd October 2015, but there'll be a couple of bonus recipes before then.

PART A – BOLOGNESE SAUCE

As usual, I don’t know how traditional this is as nobody taught me how to make it. You can use this sauce over some pasta if you don’t feel like going the full Lasagne route.

Ingredients:

400g Italian pork and fennel sausages, removed from casings

500g lean beef mince

2 large red onions, diced finely

3 large garlic cloves, minced

800ml passata

500ml beef stock

200ml boiling water

150ml red wine

¼ cup chopped fresh oregano leaves

½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp tomato paste

½ tbsp black truffle salt (see notes below)

Pepper

Olive oil (for frying)

I have specified Italian pork and fennel sausages. This is because they seem to have a higher percentage of meat when compared to other sausages, plus the flavours work. If you want to use plain pork sausages (or another flavour you like), then go right ahead. If you want to get rid of the pork completely, then I guess beef sausages could work, or just use extra mince.

I would recommend lean mince in this as there’s probably already going to be a bit of fat in the sausages, plus you’ll need to add some oil for frying. You can use ordinary beef mince (I usually do), but if you want to get all fancy, feel free to use Angus or Wagyu beef instead. Traditionally, you should be using veal mince anyway.

Passata is just a smooth tomato puree. If you can’t get it, blend a few tins of tomatoes until smooth.

The type of wine doesn’t matter. Just use anything you have laying around. I’m not really a wine connoisseur.

If you can’t get fresh basil and/or oregano, use 1 tbsp dried oregano and/or 2 tbsp dried basil instead.

I use truffle salt to add a hint of additional flavour. If you don’t like truffles, don’t worry, you can substitute it with plain salt and still have a great lasagne. Or, you could use another type of specialty salt, such as smoked sea salt, black sea salt, pink  salt, etc. Not all salt tastes the same. You could even drizzle some flavour-infused oil over the top when you serve it.

Method:

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, fry the onions in some olive oil with a generous pinch of salt until softened, then add the garlic and fry until browned.

2. Add the sausage meat and cook until browned. (Try to break up the meat as much as possible.)

3. Add the beef mince and cook until browned.

4. Stir in the red wine and allow to simmer for approx. 30 seconds to remove some of the alcohol.

5. Stir in the tomato paste, passata, stock, water, chopped herbs, truffle salt and a generous pinch of pepper. (TIP: I would usually pour the water into the empty passata bottle and shake it up to get anything stuck to the sides.)

6. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cover the pot.

7. Simmer sauce for 2 hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes. (You don’t need to be too diligent here. Leave the sauce to do its thing, just go check on it from time to time. You don’t want the sauce to be too thin, but you also don’t want it to be too thick as the pasta sheets will absorb some liquid as it cooks later.)

8. Once the sauce is done, put aside until you are ready to assemble. (Like all Bolognese sauces, this gets better if you leave it in the fridge overnight. Just heat it up a bit before you use it to make it easier to pour and spread.)

Makes enough for 1 Lasagne, or several serves of Spaghetti Bolognese.

A video of this part of the recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/lATn05YwnTI.

PART B – BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

A fairly standard white sauce. Of course, I have to mess with it a bit (it’s kind of my thing), but I don’t go too crazy with it.

My mother tells me that adding cheese to a Béchamel sauce makes it a Mornay sauce (and from what I can see she's correct), but I don't think I add a large enough amount of cheese to make the distinction. If you have to, then call this a Mornay sauce. Or a Béchamornay. Whatever!

Some people like to use ricotta in their lasagne instead of Béchamel. They are to be pitied.

Ingredients:

1L milk

100g unsalted butter, cubed

½ cup plain white flour

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

½ tbsp black truffle salt

½ tsp pepper

Extra milk (if necessary)

The truffle salt is back again! As before, feel free to substitute it for another salt.

You may not need the extra milk, it depends on how thick you want the sauce.

Method:

1. Over a medium heat, melt the butter in a pot.

2. Once it is bubbling, add the flour and whisk until combined. (This is called a ‘roux’ (pronounced “roo” for those of you who are wondering).)

3. Continue to whisk the butter and flour over the heat until the roux begins to darken to a light nut-brown colour. (Be careful, you don’t want it to burn.)

4. Pour in the milk and whisk constantly until the sauce has thickened to a custard-like consistency and remove from the heat. (The longer it cooks, the thicker it will get.)

5. Whisk in the parmesan cheese, truffle salt and pepper.

6. If mixture thickens too much, add extra milk as necessary until proper consistency is retained.

7. Place aside until you are ready to assemble.

Makes enough for 1 Lasagne.

PART C – ASSEMBLING THE LASAGNE

Ingredients:

approx. 12 Fresh Pasta sheets

3 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Black truffle salt (optional)

Pepper (optional)

There is no real art to this. The amount of each of the above ingredients used is really up to you, and depends on the size, height and depth of your baking dish, as well as how generous you are with the Bolognese and Béchamel.

Fresh pasta sheets seem to work much better than dried, and do not take as long to cook in the oven. If you feel more confident with dried pasta sheets, then use them instead, but don’t blame me if it doesn’t work out the same!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F).

2. Pour a generous spoonful of the Bolognese sauce into the bottom of your baking tray and spread it to the edges. (This gives the first layer of pasta something to rest on and stops it from sticking to the pan.)

3. Place the pasta sheets in a single layer over the Bolognese. (Try not to overlap. TIP: If there are any large gaps, just cut or tear an extra pasta sheet into strips to fill the gap.)

4. Pour another couple of spoonfuls of Bolognese over the pasta and gently spread to the edges of the dish.

5. Pour over 1/3 of the Béchamel sauce as evenly spread as possible. (Don’t be too concerned if it doesn’t look even, you can press down on the next layer of pasta sheets to spread it out.)

6. Scatter a small handful of mozzarella over the Béchamel. (Optional – you need to have enough Mozzarella leftover to cover the top layer, so be a bit stingy with it between the layers.)

7. Repeat Steps 3-6 as necessary.

8. Once the dish is full, scatter over as much mozzarella, parmesan, truffle salt and pepper as you’d like.

9. Bake for 45 minutes. (The pasta sheets should be cooked by now.)

10. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then serve. (A simple garden salad goes well with this.)

I’ve made this for a broad range of people, and based on this experience it can serve anywhere from 6-12.

A video of this part of the recipe is also available - http://youtu.be/Rz2FOAWQ36g.

I hope you've enjoyed Season 2, and I'll see you again soon!

2.11 Spotlight #3: Chocolate (a.k.a. In Love With The Cocoa)

I hope you’re enjoying the recipes so far, but the time has come for this season’s final Spotlight feature.

This month, I will tease you with images of glorious, glorious chocolate. Just kidding! Sort of. I’ll actually be weighing in on what I consider the best uses of White, Milk or Dark chocolate in cooking. Plus, I’ll share a few handy little tips that will have you ganache-ing your teeth in no time (yes, the dreaded puns have returned…). Plus, a BONUS Choc-Mint Mousse recipe!

If you feel that you can sit this one out, I will be back with another recipe next week. For everyone else, please watch the video at https://youtu.be/-7u1U6vx9s4.

If anyone would like to share their own tips, or even if you just have a question, please do not hesitate to email me.

2.10 Chilli Chocolate Fondant w/ Raspberry Habanero Coulis – Intermediate – Baking & Dessert

This is my spin on an old classic with a little something extra.

For those of you who are sceptical or unfamiliar with it, chilli actually goes quite nicely with chocolate, so long as you get the balance right. If you REALLY cannot fathom it, just take the chilli elements out of one or both of the fondant and/or coulis and you are left with a perfectly fine and more traditional version. I’ll leave it up to you.

This recipe may sit on the fence between Intermediate and Advanced, but I had to choose a side to put it on, and here we are now.

PART A – RASPBERRY HABANERO COULIS

We’ll start off with this because it needs time to chill. If it’s a bit too daunting, feel free to skip the coulis and serve the fondants with some fresh raspberries instead.

Ingredients:

400g fresh raspberries

2 habanero chillis, deseeded and sliced

2/3 cup caster sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp lemon juice

Two habaneros may seem excessive to some. Why bother adding something like this if you don’t want its presence to be felt? Besides, without the seeds it shouldn’t knock your socks off too much anyway.

Method:

1. Over a medium-high heat, stir together the ingredients in a pot until it begins to bubble.

2. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes before pouring through a sieve to remove the seeds.

4. Place into a bowl or container, cover, and place into the fridge to chill.

6. Once chilled, it is ready to use! It tastes great with just ice cream, or you could use it as a syrup for pancakes, or you can even add it to cocktails for an interesting hit.

PART B – CHILLI CHOCOLATE FONDANTS

I wouldn’t even consider starting this part of the recipe until the coulis has been in the fridge for at least 30-45 minutes.

Ingredients:

275g 70% cocoa dark chocolate

225g unsalted butter

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

1 ½ cups plain white flour

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp dried chilli powder

Salt

50g unsalted butter, melted (extra)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

This is a fairly basic fondant mix, with the addition of dried chilli powder. If you don’t like the spice, replace the chilli powder with vanilla paste or even some instant coffee granules.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (or 350°F).

2. Brush 6-8 dariole moulds/small ramekins with the melted butter, then dust with cocoa powder and shake out any excess.

3. In a pot over medium heat, melt together the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally.

4. Transfer to a large jug (or a bowl with a pouring lip) and stir in the sugar, chilli powder and a pinch of salt, then place aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.

5. Whisk the eggs together in a jug, then add to the chocolate mixture a bit at a time until combined.

6. Sift the flour and fold it in until smooth.

7. Pour the mixture into the prepared moulds/ramekins until each is approx. ¾ full.

8. Place onto the middle shelf of your oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. (Usually 12 minutes is perfect, but some ovens vary.)

9. Loosen the fondants from the moulds (using a sharp knife if necessary), then invert onto a plate gently.

10. Serve immediately with a swirl of the chilled coulis and a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream, or crème fraiche and a dusting of icing sugar. (If you have any leftover White Chocolate Ice Cream from earlier in the season, that would work just as well here.)

Serves 6-8 depending on the size of the moulds/ramekins.

A video of this recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/GHb6ZjqgOu8.

2.09 Prawn & Shitake Dumplings w/ Pickled Vegetable Salad – Low-Fuss – Sides & Starters

Who doesn’t love dumplings? This is the one that I make when the mood takes me. You don’t have to make the salad to go with it (Low-Fuss is about doing as little as possible), but I find that they work well together.

Don’t be fooled by the number of steps or ingredients in these recipes, they are actually very, very simple.

PART A – PRAWN & SHITAKE DUMPLINGS

Ingredients:

200g raw peeled prawns

200g shitake mushrooms

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

1 spring onion, sliced

1 tsp rice wine

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp cornflour/cornstarch

½ tsp sesame oil

Gow Gee wrappers

I prefer these dumplings steamed, but you can also fry them after steaming to get a bit of extra texture.

Unlike my San Choy Bow recipe from earlier in the season, go for the fresh shitake mushrooms in this.

Use whatever dumpling wrappers you want, I just use Gow Gees because they’re round and fit into my dumpling-crimper.

Method:

1. Place mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, then place into a mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Place prawns into food processor and pulse until minced, then add to the mushrooms and mix well.

3. Add the garlic, ginger, spring onion, rice wine, soy sauce, cornflour and sesame oil and mix until combined.

4. Place a spoonful of filling in the middle of a dumpling wrapper, wet the edges and fold over to seal. (As I said, I use a plastic dumpling crimper because it’s just easier, but you can do this by hand, it just might not look as neat.)

5. Repeat Step 5 as many times as you need to, then place the dumplings aside until it is time to steam them.

6. Place a steamer tray over a pan of simmering water. (I use a bamboo steamer basket, but I used to use a metal steamer and the result was just as good.)

7. Arrange the dumplings on a plate that has been lightly greased with some oil, then place into the steamer, cover, and steam for 5-10 minutes. (You may need to do this in batches. You should be able to tell when they are cooked as the dumplings will become slightly translucent and the prawn will have an orange colour.)

8. Either serve as is, or fry them in some oil until crispy. (Deep fry or shallow fry, it’s up to you. Just be careful when you add them to the oil, as any leftover moisture will make the oil spit and it could get messy and/or painful.)

Can make up to 20 (or more).

PART B – PICKLED VEGETABLE SALAD

Ingredients:

1 large carrot

1 large cucumber

½ white radish (Daikon)

¼ cup chopped mint leaves

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp fish sauce

Sesame seeds (to garnish)

When I first made this I was just looking for something that would counterpoint the prawn dumplings, and I think I succeeded.

If you don’t want to make this, then I understand. Not everybody has the same tastes!

Method:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot lengthways until you have turned the whole carrot into ribbons. (Not really sure how else to describe it.)

2. Repeat the process with the radish and the cucumber, then place all of them into a bowl. (Stop shaving the cucumber when you get to the core as it is mostly just seeds and water.)

3. Toss together until distributed, then add the chopped herbs.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and fish sauce until the sugar has dissolved.

5. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and herbs, and toss together until everything is coated. Cover with cling film, and place aside for 5-10 minutes. (This is the best time to steam the dumplings.)

6. Pour the salad through a sieve and drain away as much of the liquid as possible. (If you want, save the dressing as a dipping sauce for the dumplings!)

7. Place onto a plate (with the dumplings), sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top, and serve.

Serving sizes are at your own discretion.

A video of the full recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/xCZ0emavLc4.

2.08 Spotlight #2: Meringue (a.k.a. If You Like It Then You Better Put Meringue On It)

I hope you’re enjoying the recipes so far, but alas the time has come once again for another Spotlight.

This month, I will show you the different types of meringue and how they are made, as well as some information as to their difference uses. There’s probably more variety than you think. Plus, a BONUS Pavlova recipe!

If you feel that you can sit this one out, I will be back with another recipe next week. For everyone else, please watch the video at https://youtu.be/eBa-Xm80Paw.

If anyone would like to share their own tips, or even if you just have a question, please do not hesitate to email me.

2.07 Raspberry Soufflé w/ White Chocolate Ice Cream & Almond Praline

If you’re throwing a dinner party and want to end on a high note (or just try to seem a bit posh), then a soufflé is probably the way to go. To complement the flavours (as well as up the ‘wow factor’) I think my ice cream and praline accompaniments work quite well.

You may think there’s a degree of difficulty (and snobbery) when it comes to making soufflé, but that’s not necessarily correct. I have listed the recipe as ‘advanced’, but this is more so due to the dish as a whole. The soufflé itself is probably ‘intermediate’ at most.

PART A – WHITE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

While it may seem a bit pedantic to make your own ice cream, this is an ‘advanced’ dish, so why the heck not?

This is a fairly simple recipe, and it’s even better as you will not require an ice cream maker for it.

Of course you can just use a store-bought ice cream instead, because most people probably can’t be bothered to make it!

Ingredients:

200ml milk

600ml cream

5 egg yolks

¼ cup glucose syrup

½ cup caster sugar

200g white chocolate

Pinch of salt

As with all of my recipes that will list milk, I will always mean full cream milk. You won’t get the same results with lite or skim milk, and don’t even get me started on soy/coconut/rice/almond/whatever milk as that’s completely not what I’m going for here!

In regards to the cream, I mean just plain pure or single cream, not double cream or something with thickeners.

Adding glucose syrup ensures a smaller ice crystal in the finished product, which basically means a lighter and softer texture. Since I don’t use an ice cream maker, I need all the assistance I can get with this. In America, you will probably find this called corn syrup.

Use the best white chocolate you can get here. If you have a favourite brand, then go for it! I would also request that you go for ‘eating’ chocolate rather than ‘cooking’ chocolate, as the flavour and quality is much better.

Method:

1. Place the milk and 1/3 of the cream (200ml) into a saucepan over medium-low heat until almost simmering, then remove from the heat. (Put the rest of the cream back into the fridge for later in the recipe.)

2. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, glucose and salt until pale and thick.

3. Whisk a small splash of warm milk/cream mixture into the egg mixture, then slowly whisk in the rest until combined.

4. Pour everything back into pot, place over a medium-low heat and allow to cook while stirring constantly until the custard coats the spatula. (TIP: You want a pouring custard consistency, as opposed to something thick like crème patissiere.)

5. In a large jug, pour the custard over the chocolate through a sieve and leave for 5 minutes, then stir until combined and smooth.

6. Allow the mixture to cool, then cover and place into the fridge for at least 2 hours or until chilled.

7. With a handheld mixer, whisk the remaining cream (400ml) to soft peaks, then fold it gently into the chilled custard until fully combined.

8. Transfer into a container with a tight-fitting lid and place into the freezer for 1½-2 hours. (NO LONGER THAN THIS OTHERWISE IT WILL FREEZE COMPLETELY!)

9. Remove the semi-frozen ice cream from the freezer and whip it up with an electric mixer for 30-60 seconds, then return to the freezer to freeze completely.

10. The ice cream is now ready to serve. (TIP: I would recommend that you remove it from the freezer approx. 15 minutes before serving for the optimum texture. Also, use a wet scoop as opposed to a warmed scoop; this will allow you to get a more visually appealing scoop, assuming that you into that sort of thing. And let’s face it, if you’re thinking of making this, then you probably are!)

Makes up to 2 litres.

A video of this part of the recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/PISH5KhsOcc.

PART B – BASIC ALMOND PRALINE

I’ll admit that this probably doesn’t really contribute anything important to the dish, but if you want a little something extra, this does nicely.

If you don’t want this, then I’d recommend some crushed Amoretti biscuits instead.

On the other hand, this shows that I may have FINALLY managed to sort out my toffee shortcomings (for those of you who know me, there’s a reason why my profiteroles are always dipped in chocolate).

Ingredients:

1 cup caster sugar

½ cup flaked almonds

2 tbsp water

1 tsp cream of tartar

So, it turns out that the thing that was always missing from my toffees was cream of tartar, and it was my mother who finally let me into this secret. Thanks Mum!

Also, ‘cream of tartar’ is a misleading name. It isn’t creamy, nor is it a plaque build-up on your teeth, but actually a chemical powder that is a by-product of winemaking. It has a number of cooking uses, most notably in stabilising whipped eggwhites or cream, but in this case I’m using it to prevent the crystallisation of sugar in my toffee syrup. I still don’t understand where the name comes from, but I guess ‘potassium bitartrate’ or ‘potassium hydrogen tartrate’ don’t sound as food friendly?

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a tray with baking paper.

2. Scatter the almonds over the paper as evenly as you can, then bake them for approx. 5 minutes or until golden and toasted. Place aside until needed, but leave it on the tray.

3. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar, water and cream of tartar over a medium heat until bubbling.

4. Allow to bubble until it changes to an amber colour, then remove it from the heat.

5. Pour the syrup over the toasted almonds, place another sheet of baking paper over it and smooth out gently. (Be very careful! Sugar syrups are blisteringly hot.)

6. Allow to cool, then peel off the top layer of baking paper, and break the praline into shards and/or crush to a powder. (I usually do both for presentation purposes.)

7. Serve with ice cream or use to decorate cakes, pastries, etc.

A video of this part of the recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/YvMQ_iOEUrE.

PART C – RASPBERRY SOUFFLÉ

The star of the show! As mentioned above, this is actually much easier than you probably think it is. They key is having the right equipment for the job.

It’s also important to realise that they won’t always rise as much as you want them to. Sometimes they’ll almost double, while other times they’ll barely get above the rim of the ramekin. At least they’ll always taste good!

Ingredients:

350g raspberries

5 large eggwhites

½ cup caster sugar

1/3 cup self-raising flour

75g unsalted butter, cubed

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp lemon juice

Melted butter, extra

Caster sugar, extra

Icing sugar, for dusting

You can use either fresh or frozen raspberries for this recipe. I’ll usually buy fresh raspberries and store them in the freezer anyway.

Busted! Using self-raising flour in a soufflé! Well, why not? You want it to rise, don’t you? *shrug*

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).

2. Brush 4-6 ramekins with the additional melted butter in an upwards motion, then add a teaspoon of the extra caster sugar, turning until coated evenly, then shake out the excess. (The number of ramekins won’t always be the same. Some eggs are bigger than others, as are ramekins, plus sometimes the weather can play a factor in how much air you can beat into the eggwhites, or the amount of air that gets knocked out when mixing in the soufflé base sometimes varies, plus several other factors. I’ve always gotten at least 4 serves out of this recipe.)

3. In a saucepan, heat the raspberries, half of the sugar (1/4 cup), water and lemon juice over a medium-high heat until the juices release and begin to bubble.

4. Pour through a sieve into a jug or bowl and press out as much juice as you can, then place aside until needed. (Discard the seeds, you don’t really want or need them.)

5. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the flour (to make roux), and stir together until it becomes a light golden-brown colour.

6. Whisk in the raspberry mixture and continue whisking until combined, then place aside to cool for around half an hour. (It can get quite thick as it cools, but don’t stress too much about this.)

7. Beat the eggwhites to soft peaks in a stand mixer, then add remaining caster sugar (1/4 cup) a bit at a time (while mixing) until it reaches stiff peaks. (you can probably use a handheld mixer for this, but I find stand mixers do a better job.)

8. Mix a dollop of the meringue mixture into the raspberry base to lighten it, then gently fold the two mixtures together until fully combined. (The rougher you are, the more air you’ll knock out, which means your soufflés won’t rise as much.)

9. Using a spatula, fill the prepared ramekins with the soufflé mixture all the way to the top, then smooth it over.

10. Wet your index finger in some water and run it around the inside top edge of the ramekins to make a border.

11. Place the filled ramekins onto a tray and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

12. Remove, dust with icing sugar, and serve immediately along with some ice cream (and praline).

Serves at least 4.

A video of this part of the recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/N22w9-59rrQ.

2.06 Chicken Scaloppine – Intermediate – Meat & Poultry

I have used the dish's traditional spelling (you will also see it as scallopine, scallopini, etc.), however I’m not sure how traditional this is. Please keep in mind that I never claimed to be a food purist. Although I’m half-Italian, I was never really taught how to cook authentically or made privy to any secret family recipes. I just make it up as I go along!

Maybe we should refer to this as the ‘half-traditional’ version? Or, if you simply cannot bear to even associate it with the name Scaloppine, just call it ‘Chicken Fillets w/ Creamy Mushroom & White Wine Sauce’. Spoilsport!

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breast fillets

300g mushrooms, sliced

100ml dry white wine

2 cups thickened or double cream

1 cup plain white flour

6 sprigs fresh thyme

Olive oil (for frying)

Salt and pepper

This recipe was used as part of a dinner party I held in which each part of the meal highlighted a particular herb (this one was thyme). If you can’t get fresh thyme, then just use a generous tablespoon of dried thyme. Alternatively, you can also use lemon thyme.

I use Swiss Brown mushrooms for this, but you could use field mushrooms, portabella or button mushrooms instead.

Use whatever dry white wine you have around. Just make sure it isn’t chilled as you’ll be pouring it into a hot pan and that never ends well!

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper.

2. Slice the chicken fillets in half lengthways. (Try to keep them as even as possible. If you can get a butcher who will do this for you, or find a place that already sells them like this, then that would be just fine.)

3. With a meat mallet, flatten each piece of chicken until it is roughly ½ cm (or 1/5 inch) thick. (TIP: If you’ve never done this before, try not to hit it too hard, and start at the thickest point.)

4. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and place aside until ready to cook.

5. Pour some oil into a large pan and place on a high heat.

6. Fry the chicken for approx. 1 minute on each side, then remove from the pan and place aside. (This is just to seal it, the chicken will cook fully in the sauce later.)

7. Reduce heat to medium-high and add mushrooms to the hot pan (add extra oil if necessary). Fry until browned and most of the liquid has evaporated. (Don’t get too freaked out by any flour stuck to the bottom of the pan, this will both add flavour and help the sauce to thicken.)

8.  Add the white wine and allow to bubble away for at least a minute. (This should deglaze the pan.)

9. Add the cream and thyme and reduce to a low heat.

10. Return the chicken to the pan and loosely cover with foil. (If you want to be fancy and make a cartouche out of baking paper, that is totally up to you. I have been known to do this quite often!)

11. Simmer covered for 20-25 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. (The sauce will thicken more as it cools.)

12. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta, and something green.

Serves 3-6, depending on how generous you are with the chicken.

A video of this recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/BjlYJoqdKGw.

2.05 Tiramisu – Low-Fuss – Baking & Desserts

I have marked this recipe as ‘Low-Fuss’, and this may strike some of you as odd. For some reason, people tend to think of Tiramisu as something fiddly or difficult, but if you aren’t baking your own sponge fingers or using raw eggs anywhere, then it’s really not much effort at all. Especially when you cheat a bit!

It’s actually so lazy that my mother’s side of the family may disown me altogether. Or praise me for my creativity. You can never tell, Italians can be pretty unpredictable.

There is some piping involved, however, and some of you may consider that “fussy” (but it really isn’t).

Ingredients:

Sponge finger biscuits (Savioardi)

500g mascarpone cheese

1 cup boiling water

1 cup thick vanilla custard

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup coffee liqueur

2 tbsp instant espresso coffee granules

2 tbsp icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste/extract/essence

Chocolate shavings (to serve)

The number of sponge fingers really depends on the size of your serving platter, for this is a freestanding Tiramisu. Usually about 20 should be enough.

You can use whatever coffee liqueur you prefer. I have tried this with Kahlua, Tia Maria, Galliano Ristretto, and even Baileys and Frangelico is fine for a twist now and then.

If you don’t want the coffee flavour to be too strong, then use normal instant coffee instead of espresso. I also don’t think there’s an issue if you use decaf instant coffee.

If you already know how to get chocolate shavings, then that’s great. Otherwise, you may get some advice in the video recipe. Or, just grate some chocolate or smash up a few Flake bars. (That’s right Cadbury, I just advertised for you! Now, where’s my money?)

Method:

1. In a bowl, stir together the instant coffee, caster sugar, coffee liqueur and boiling water, then place aside to cool until ready to assemble the Tiramisu (at least 10-15 minutes).

2. In another bowl, mix together the mascarpone, custard, vanilla and icing sugar until combined, then beat with an electric mixer until thick. (Try not to overmix or the mascarpone will curdle, and that is extremely difficult to recover from.)

3. Transfer mascarpone mixture to a piping bag.

4. Pipe two parallel lines of the mascarpone mixture along the centre of your serving plate.

5. Take a sponge finger and completely submerge in the coffee mixture for 3-4 seconds, then shake off any excess. (You do not want it to get completely soggy at this point, and the more of the coffee each biscuit soaks up leaves less for the rest!)

6. Place the soaked sponge finger onto the platter so that it intersects the lines of mascarpone mixture. (And therefore, it will stay in place.)

7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you have covered the lines of mascarpone.

8. Pipe some more of the mascarpone over the surface of the layer of sponge fingers in the same way as you piped it onto the platter, however this time you want to try to cover as much of the surface as possible. (5-6 lines should do it.)

9. Repeat Steps 5-8 as necessary.

10. Once you have used the last of the mascarpone, this will be the top layer. (You can try to make it look as pretty as you want, but it's not necessary.)

11. Scatter over the chocolate shavings. (This will hide anything that isn’t pretty. If you’re using Frangelico instead of coffee liqueur, some roasted crushed hazelnuts would be nice too.)

12. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to allow the biscuits to soften further. (If you're strapped for time (or just can't control yourself), you can serve it after only 30 mins of refrigeration, but I would recommend you leave it overnight.)

I would usually do 2 layers of 10 biscuits. So, basically that’s 5-10 serves. Get it?

A video of this recipe is also available - https://youtu.be/u4JPJPTXZ5U.