Roasted Cod Loin Wrapped in Proscuitto with Garlic Mash

Recipe for 4 on Weight Watchers

4  4oz Cod loins seasoned  go up to 6oz if not watching weight
8 slices of proscuitto 2 to each loin or 3   "            "            "
1 to 2lbs floury potatoes
1 to 2 bulbs of garlic
milk, cream, butter or yoghurt to mash
large pack of spinach
nutmeg
Seasoning

Wrap the ham around the seasoned cod
place in a baking tray, spray over with a little olive oil light spray
1or 2 whole garlic bulbs, cut of the top. Place the whole bulb in foil and roast with the cod for around 15 mins along with the fish

Really hot oven 220c for round 15 mins with the garlic.


Boil 1lb of  chopped floury potatoes for around 15/20mins (increase this to 2lbs if not WW). Drain into a colander
 Place ½ cup of milk (skimmed if WW) in the pan and heat up until almost boiling (1 cup if not WW) Return the potatoes and mash well. Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves into the mash and whip through. Season to taste and perhaps add a little Greek Yoghurt if you like it creamier. Blow this and add butter & cream if you're not watching your weight.

Keep warm while you blast washed spinach in a frying pan, really high heat until wilted. Season with salt & pepper and a little grated nutmeg and you're ready to rock & roll.

Plate up and serve xxx

Pear & Frangipane Tart with Amaretto Whipped Cream

This will make 1 10"/11" 26/28cm round tart
or 1 13"x 4" (34cm x10cm) long tranche type tart plus a few small tartlettes

You will need around 4 ripe pears, peeled, halved length ways, core removed and thinly sliced from the base to the top do not cut through the top,  try to keep the pear half intact, Fan out and sprinkle with a little lemon juice. You should do this while the pastry is cooking not too long beforehand.
A little Apricot jam warmed through with a little water or liqueur to make a glaze.
A few toasted slivered almonds to decorate
Whipped cream to serve. I added Amaretto to mine.

Ingredients

4/5 slightly firm but ripe pears
Apricot jam to glaze
few toasted almonds to decorate
softly whipped double cream flavoured with a little Amaretto

For the Sweet Pastry

125g/4oz unsalted butter
250g/8oz plain flour
2 tbsp sifted icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1tsp lemon juice
2/3 tbsp cold milk
pinch of salt

For the frangipane

175g/6oz ground almonds
225g/7oz butter
225g/7oz caster sugar
50g/1½oz plain flour
4 eggs
1tsp almond extract
4tbsp liqueur I used Kirsch, Amaretto or even Brandy

When I'm making small amounts of pastry I prefer to do it by hand as not only is it very therapeutic it seems to make a much flakier pastry.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Mix the wet ingredients together and add a little at a time to the dry ingredients mixing in lightly with your fingertips.Until the mixture forms a soft dough, be careful as may not need all the liquid, you don't want a sticky dough. Place on a floured board bring together to a smooth ball, flatten slightly, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for a least half an hour.

For the Frangipane

Cream together the butter & sugar until very pale & fluffy.
Mix the flour with the ground almonds in a separate bowl
To the butter and sugar mix add one egg at a time beating well between.
Add the dry ingredients and fold gently through.
Finally add the booze a tbsp at a time and it's ready.

Set the oven at 200c/400f/gas 6

Grease the tart tins well
Roll out the pastry and line the tins. Do not trim to neatly, leave a slight overhang on the tart which can be trimmed off later.
Line the tin with a large piece of crumpled parchment paper. Fill with beans and bake for around 15 mins until the pastry is beginning to brown and the base is reasonably dry when you lift up the paper.
Remove the beans & paper, put back in the oven until the base is golden brown & crispy.
You can now trim off the excess pastry.

Turn the oven down to 180c/350f/gas 4

Place spoonfuls of frangipane in the case and smooth out. Gently arrange to pears on top lightly fanning out while pushing in slightly.
Bake for around 30 minutes until the frangipane is golden, crispy and cooked through in the middle.

Lightly glaze with warmed apricot jam with a little water or liqueur added to make a coating consistency. Pop back in the oven for just a few minutes to glaze.

Serve with either creme Anglaise,   whipped cream or creme fraiche with added liqueur and a little sugar. I used Amaretto for this.

White Chocolate Florentines with Cranberries & Pistachios

White Chocolate Florentines

This recipe should make approximately 12 x 7cm Florentines. I used a silicone muffin tray with 7cm holes to bake mine.(thanks to Ruth @Pink Whisk for this fab tip) Otherwise you'll need good
parchment paper on a greased oven tray, leaving lots of space between each Florentine as they really spread out. I would only make 4/5 to a tray at a time. Of course you could make smaller ones for Petite Fours by just using a teaspoon of mixture per Florentine, should make around 2 dozen with this recipe.   I have also posted the recipe for dark chocolate Florentines at the bottom of the page.
Set Oven at 180c 350f gas 4

1.5 oz /40g butter
2oz 50g caster sugar
1 level tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp double cream
1 tsp lemon juice
4oz/ 100g white chocolate
2oz /50g dried apricots chopped
1.5 oz /40g dried cranberries chopped
1oz /50g chopped pecans
1oz /50 g chopped Pistachios
1oz/50g flaked almonds

Melt the butter with the sugar in a saucepan
Beat in the sieved flour, cream & lemon juice,
Add all the other ingredients, stir well and you're ready to bake.
Bake for approx 15 mins but keep a keen eye on them. They should be golden but not brown.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water.

When the Florentines are cold remove them from the silicone cases, if you use parchment you can quickly reshape them into neat circles while they are still hot from the oven and then leave until cold.

Coat the backs with white chocolate, leave to set. I usually pop them in the fridge for this.
When set use the remaining chocolate to trickle over the tops.

I estimate that the cost to make 12 Christmas Florentines would be around £3.50 to £4 as the ingredients are quite expensive. I usually make large batches of 48-60 and of course this would cut down the cost substanially as you can use whole packets of everything.


FLORENTINES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
candied orange peel, almonds & sultanas

Ingredients:- to make around 15
1oz/50g candied orange peel chopped
1oz/50g blanched slivered almonds
1.5oz/40g glace cherries chopped
half an ounce/25g sultanas chopped
small piece around 15g candied angelica chopped (just increase cherries if you can't find this)
1.5oz/40g unsalted butter
1oz/50g caster sugar
1tbsp double cream
1 tbsp plain flour
1tsp lemon juice
6oz/175g 70% really good dark chocolate
Preferably you will need one or two of those non stick silicone muffin trays or good quality baking parchment on around 3 oven trays.
Melt the sugar & butter gently in a saucepan
Beat in the flour, cream and lemon juice
Stir in everything else.
Set the oven to 180c
Place rounded teaspoons of the mixture into the silicone muffin trays or space tsps well apart on the parchment paper ( at least 2" between each)
Bake for approx 12 minutes until golden. Leave in the silicone trays until completely cold. If baked on a tray you can quickly reshape them into neat circles while they are still warm.
When cool coat the backs with melted chocolate. When the chocolate is almost set make wavey lines on the chocolate with a fork.

Pork Saltimbocca with sauteed potatoes

I love to make this for dinner parties as it's all in the preparation, the pork & the potatoes can be prepped up and ready for to fry and the salad can be chopped and ready to serve. So little cooking is involved and you can really enjoy your evening and fellow diners

Saltimbocca is traditionally made with veal.  I know here in the UK we have always frowned on our fellow Europeans who have love to cook with this meat. I still have a problem with eating young animals and although I regularly cook veal for my customers I just can't eat it. So this is an alternative version of the traditional Saltimbocca using pork fillet.  It really is the most delicious main course and I know your guests are going to think you've been slaving away in the kitchen all day. Just don't let on it's so easy!!!!

You will need around 1lb of pork fillet to serve 4
trim & cut into 12 equal rounds
12 cocktail sticks
3 tbsp good olive oil
12 sage leaves
12 slices of parma or serrano ham
around 1 cup of Marsala wine or medium sherry
seasoning
Batten out the pork rounds with the heel of your hand, just to make a bit thinner
Season well, put the chosen ham on the top of the pork.
Fold them into the shape of my picture.
Place a sage leaf on top and skewer through as if you were stitching with the cocktail stick.

all prepped up & ready to cook

Heat the Marsala gently to remove a little of the alcohol,
get a frying pan nice & hot, add the oil, add the pork putting the sage leaf side down first. Fry for just a couple of minutes. Turn over & repeat for two minutes.



just a couple of minutes a side

Remove the cocktail sticks & place onto a warm plate.
Pour in the Marsala or sherry blast for a minute or so & that's your sauce done. Just place a little over each serving.
Serve with sauteed potatoes and a lovely crisp salad

gorgeous crispy sauteed potatoes

A pretty salad with a little vinaigrette to serve

Goat's Cheese & Caramelised Red Onion Tartlettes with Thyme

I adore cheese and these little Goat's Cheese Tartlettes are so delicious. Now if your not too keen on Goat's cheese these will work equally as well with some lovely strong cheddar or a mixture of cheddar & gruyere. You could use basil or oregano in place of the thyme.

The pastry is the one I make for virtually everything. It's a lovely rich & crumbly shortcrust. Be really kind to it. Don't overmix or overhandle it, be kind & gentle to it,  keep it  cool until baking and it will be just fabulous.

This recipe will make 12 x3" tartlettes or 24x 1.5" or even 1 large 8/9" tart.


To make around 12 tartlettes or 1 large 10" Quiche



Pastry:-
2oz butter
2oz vegetable shortening or lard
8oz plain flour
1oz grated cheddar
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
1 beaten egg to bind. perhaps a little water may be needed as well
Filling:-
2 red onions finely sliced
1 tbsp red wine or sherry vinegar
2 tsps brown sugar
1 oz butter
200 gm soft goats cheese
50 gms Boursin
2 large eggs
1/4pt double cream
few sprigs of thyme chopped
seasoning
grated nutmeg
Make the pastry by rubbing the fat with the flour until the breadcrumb stage, add the cheese & beaten egg & cayenne pepper, bring together & add a little water if necessary. Leave to rest for around 30 mins in the fridge before rolling out quite thinly.
Line the well greased tartlette tray (I quite often use a muffin tray for this) with the pastry. Pop back in the fridge to firm up.
Meanwhile fry the onions in the butter gently until soft, add the vinegar & sugar and continue to cook until caramelised.
Beat the eggs, add the crumbled cheeses and cream mix through. Add the thyme a few grinds of pepper & salt. Mix the cooled onions in.
Add to the pastry cases. Don't be tempted to overfill if you've too much mixture. Sprinkle over a little grated nutmeg. Place the tartlettes on a hot preheated oven tray & bake 200c for around 15 mins, turn down to 160c for another 10 mins or so until the pastry is golden brown. Just test to make sure the filling is set and the pastry at the bottom is cooked through. Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tins.