1 × 198g tin sweetcorn, drained
120g plain flour
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp vegetable oil
8 rashers streaky bacon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD:
To make the chutney, place all the ingredients in a pan over a medium heat. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir well to combine. Simmer for 30–40 minutes or until it’s reduced and sticky. Pour into a sterilised jar and allow to cool. This will keep for up to 4 weeks in the fridge.
To make the fritters, combine the eggs, shallots and sweetcorn, then add the flour, chilli flakes, paprika and seasoning.
Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over a medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a little of the batter into the pan; it should start to sizzle straight away.
Using two teaspoons, spoon the batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to cook the fritters in batches.
Fry the bacon in the same pan until crisp, then remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Serve the fritters with bacon and a good dollop of tomato chutney.
What better way to get your friends over than to host brunch? For me, this is the ultimate Girls’ Brunch. Prosecco at the ready! If you make the loaf, curd and lollies the day before, you can easily throw the rest of this together on a Sunday morning – it’s just a case of making the potato cakes and whizzing up your drinks.
Apple, Orange, Carrot and Ginger Juice
Mum’s Toasted Lemon Drizzle Agave Bread served with Lemon, Lime and Thyme Curd
Hot Smoked Salmon, Watercress and Dill Potato Cakes
This chapter is all about two things: lunch and small plates. Dishes to be shared, or smaller-sized meals when you’re peckish. Often, if I’ve been out during the day, I won’t want a large meal for dinner, so instead I’ll make something small or a “light bite”.
Aside from our inherited brunch culture, I like to think us Brits also love to have a little bit of everything. I certainly do, and when I meet my mum for lunch this is what we do. Lots of little plates to share so you get a taste of everything. This way of eating feels a lot like what the Swedes call lagom, translating more or less to “Not too little, not too much. Just right.”
In honour of my distant Scandinavian heritage, I dedicate this chapter to exactly that. A little bit of everything. Not too much, not too little. Just right.
In this chapter you’ll find all sorts of dishes that stand alone as a lunch or light dinner, plates that go well together to create a tapas-style menu, and even some nibbles and canapés. From the show-stopper Beetroot Salmon Gravadlax with Pickled Cucumber to the Chicken, Leek and Ginger Potstickers, my Munchies 3 Ways to the warming Roasted Tomato and Pepper Soup with Kale and Pistachio Pesto, these are recipes you’ll make time and time again.
ROASTED TOMATO AND PEPPER SOUP WITH KALE AND PISTACHIO PESTO
SERVES
4
This is one of my all-time favourite soups for the winter months and it really hits the spot. An oldie but a goodie, and reassuringly hearty when finished off with creamy crème fraîche and a dollop of Kale and Pistachio Pesto.
INGREDIENTS:
800g red tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 yellow peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 red onion, thickly sliced
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 tbsp olive oil
500ml hot vegetable stock
2 tbsp crème fraîche
4 tsp Kale and Pistachio Pesto
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas mark 6.
Throw the tomatoes, peppers, onion and thyme into a baking tray. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Give it a stir and pop in the oven to cook for 30–35 minutes until soft and browned.
Remove the tray from the oven, discard the thyme stalks, and place the vegetables into a blender along with the stock, and blitz. Check you’re happy with the consistency and flavour, adding more seasoning or stock if necessary. Add most of the crème fraîche and blitz once more until combined.
Pour into bowls, swirl a teaspoon each of crème fraîche and kale and pistachio pesto into the soup and finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
SERVES
2–4
Chicken wings have always been, and will continue to be, my Number 1 guilty pleasure. These wings have a sticky hot, spicy and sweet sauce that’s so moreish you’ll be wanting to make another batch straight away. If you have a kitchen thermometer, it would be handy here but isn’t essential.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp gochujang Korean chili paste (available online or at Asian supermarkets)
1 tbsp Sriracha chilli sauce (available at all large supermarkets)
4 tbsp soft brown sugar
3 tbsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tsp American hot sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp