Fritatta

An ideal quick supper or lunch, straight from the fridge and made from almost anything that you find in there too. Never two the same, but totally satisfying and made for sharing . No recipe here, seems self explanatory, but remember to warm the pan and pre heat the grill first....Enjoy.

Provençal Sauce

Simple ingredients, stunning result.

One of those great standbys to have in the fridge and the basis of so many good tasting dishes. Why buy one of those jarred alternatives when this is so easy to make? Just use a spoonful to give extra taste or texture to sauces, or as a sauce on vegetables, heat and serve on top of pasta or even spread it on a pizza base. The sauce is a great with fish, wrapped in foil and baked together in the oven, or with prawns and peppers, maybe simply spread on an omelette and topped with cheese, once again this sauce base is only limited by your creativity and imagination. It will easily keep for 2 weeks stored in the fridge and the flavour can be adapted simply by adding fresh basil, paprika, chilli, roasted vegetables etc again the combinations are endless and a whole world better than those you can buy. Have a go, you will not be disappointed. Enjoy.

Ingredients

2 medium onions, chopped finely
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
A glass white wine-optional
4 tins plum tomatoes
Salt and black pepper to season

Method

1. Place a pan onto warm, peel and chop onion. Add a little olive oil to the pan, add the onion and sauté gently to soften, but not colour.
2. Meanwhile, peel and slice the garlic and add to the pan too.
3. When onion is softened add the glass of white wine, if using and reduce until syrup like in consistency. Add seasoning.
4. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and reduce again until the watery appearance of the liquid disappears and the sauce thickens somewhat.
5. Pour into container, chill until ready for use.

Strawberry Puree

Got up this morning and remembered we had the first of the summer strawberries. Rather than just having the same old strawberries and cream I decided to make something different. So I made a puree to put into a yoghurt. To make the puree I used 250g of strawberries and 50g of Icing Sugar.
Method For Puree

1. Add the strawberries and icing sugar together in a liquidizer,
2. Blend these quickly and make sure it is properly blended,
3. When its done simply pass it through a sieve and if it does not all go through simply stir it round with a wooden spoon.

So after you have made the puree you can do loads with it. You could:

• Pour it over your homemade Ice Cream from our previous recipe,
• Make a yoghurt,
• Pour it over puddings
• Add to sumer drinks at your BBQ

So with our puree I simply stirred it into about 500g of Natural Yoghurt. Then stirred until fully mixed. Enjoy it with your breakfast or even as a little snack as it is good for you.

Great stuff from the Lad here, don't forget that you can apply the above to many of our berry fruits throughout the season, try Raspberries or Blackberries for instance. The puree can be made in a cooked form too, Lad can follow up on this soon. A cooked "coulis" is perfect for churning into an ice cream, sorbet or delice type dessert. Enjoy

Chicken Stock

One of your kitchen essentials is simply stock. Rather than reach for the stock cubes, have a go at making some yourself. Very straightforward and very rewarding and very easy to store too.

Bones from 1 raw chicken
2 Carrots
2 Sticks Celery
1 Medium Onion
Handful fresh herbs-parsley, thyme, sage
1 Clove Garlic, whole but crushed.
Half glass white wine
25ml White wine vinegar
750ml Water

1. Place stock pot onto heat gently. Peel carrots and onion, then chop all coarsely with the celery. Crush garlic by covering unpeeled clove under side of blade of your chopping knife, and thumping down sharply with the underside of your fist.
2. Pour a little vegetable oil into the stock pot and add the chopped vegetables, your herbs and garlic, when sweated and softened, add the chicken bones. Cook all until golden brown.
3. Pour the white wine and vinegar over the vegetable and chicken bones, stir in and allow to reduce until the liquid becomes syrup like.
4. Add the water, bring to boil, then turn down to simmer. Allow to reduce by half. Skim off any scum that forms carefully. Strain through a sieve into a suitable container. Use stock as your recipe requires.

The stock can be reduced still further, if you wish, until it becomes even stronger in taste, at which time you can cool it and then pour it into ice cube trays and freeze for later use. This way you can always have your own instant stock in the freezer, ready to use, simple add them to your cooking for an instant taste boost. Great for gravies or sauces, or adding depth to lighter cream based reductions too. Should you wish for a lighter coloured stock then simply seal the chicken and vegetables and do not brown.