gluten-free hazelnut chocolate biscotti .. work in progress.

A mexican ragu (via Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Meat Book). Olives and raisins and all things nice. Try it as a refreshing change to a tomato-rich herby bolognese.

250g minced beef
250g minced pork
1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped red pepper
1 or 2 fresh chillies
50g raisins
50g stoned green olives (pimento-stuffed for preference), finely chopped
250ml beef stock
135ml chopped tomatoes or a tube of tomato puree



Put the meats in a large bowl and season with the vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper, mixing well together. Leave to stand.



Heat the oil in a large pan and sweat the onion, garlic, red (or orange) pepper and chilli for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft and lightly browned.

Add the meat to the pan and cook hard until well browned all over.

Add the rest of the ingredients (and 50g flaked almonds, if you wish) and mix well. Bring to a very gentle simmer and cook, partly covered, for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if mixture is looking dry, but don't let it be too saucy.

Be sure to make enough that you have some to put aside for a day or so and gently reheat. Serve with whatever you fancy .. soft tortillas, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and grated cheese or rice, or potatoes or pasta or bread and butter; it is all good.

I made these: Bittersweet Biscotti (or so i named them) with walnut, spice & white chocolate. They are gluten-free, which makes them a little crumbly but the chilli hit is slow and luscious in combination with the darkest, bitterest chocolate that i had in the cupboard.

The original recipe came from here, but i adjusted with a little less gluten-free flour, walnuts instead of almonds and a majority of dark 70% chocolate, with white chocolate chips for contrast.





Oh, and i also made this: Rick Stein's Fennel Sausages with lemony potatoes and bay. Delicious.

This is easy, quick and deeply satisfying.

It is not baking, but it might be alchemy.

Line a deep baking tray (26 x 31 x 2.5 cm) with baking parchment.

Melt 200g good dark chocolate and 100g unsalted butter in a large bowl over gently simmering water, stirring until combined.

Fold in 350g condensed milk and 250g grated coconut

(gently toasted in a large dry pan) and 200g glace cherries, chopped.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tray and spread into an even layer.

Chill in the 'fridge for 4-5 hours, then cut into small squares.

Store in the fridge between nibbling.

... as easy as pie.

Eat hot, warm or cold as a stolen slice straight from the fridge. This is comfort food that is easy on effort, so very simple, and fills little and big tummies equally happily. I added sharks to my pie crust; a pie without frivolous embellishment is somehow naked.

Sophie Grigson's Sausage and Apple Pie

Take a 450g packet of ready-made puff pastry (if you will. Make your own if you have the urge). Cut the block in half and roll one piece to generously line a shallow 9 inch pie plate.

Take a quantity of good sausage meat (a 450g packet of fat sausages cut from their skins is an excellent choice) and spread evenly across the pastry sheet. Season with pepper, nutmeg andfresh chopped sage (3 or 4 leaves). Peel, core and slice 2 large eating apples and arrange the slices evenly across the sausage meat. Season again with pepper and nutmeg.

Roll out the remaining pastry to form the lid. Beat an egg yolk with a tablespoon of cold water and brush the edges of the pie pastry with the egg wash and lay the lid on top. Press the edges together to seal, and trim the excess. Make a hole in the centre of the lid to let the steam out, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Put a baking tray in the oven and preheat the oven to 220ºC.

Brush the pastry with the egg wash (after adding fish or otherwise-shaped motifs) just before popping in the oven on top of the baking tray so the base gets an instant blast of heat. After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 180ºC and cook for another 30-40 minutes until the apple is tender.

I liked this. I LOVE potato dauphinoise and jansson's temptation but all that cream .. oh la la .. it is not good for my butt. I needed an alternative and this works well. It looks great too (i forgot to take the final photo) and tastes wonderful at room temperature, with ham.

Thinly slice 3 large baking potatoes (about 900g) - thin as you can, with a sharp knife or a mandolin grater. Put the slices in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.





Stir in 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped, then add 115g grated Gruyere cheese. Turn to coat as evenly as possible.

Layer the potatoes in to a generously buttered shallow gratin dish. Pour over approx 400ml chicken stock, just to cover the surface. Dot the top generously with butter and bake at 190ºC for an hour or so.

Hot, bubbly golden goodness (you'll have to imagine that part).

In my previous life we would drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel to the Italian border seeking pizza for lunch. But, before pizza, we would stop for morning coffee. There is an alpine village at the far end of the tunnel with little coffee shops which serves the best. hot. chocolate. ever. I have sought such delicacies ever since, with no satisfaction.

I now know what i was drinking (spooning) in that den of sweet decadence; Budino di cioccolato (as found in Nigella Lawson's Express).

250ml full-fat milk
125ml double cream
60g caster sugar
1 x 15ml tablespoon cornflour
35g cocoa powder
2 x 15ml tablespoons boiling water
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60g dark chocolate




Put the kettle on, and warm the milk and cream in a saucepan (or in the microwave).



Put the sugar and cornflour into another saucepan and sieve in the cocoa powder. Add the 2 tablespoons of boiling water and whisk to a paste.

Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time, followed by the warmed milk and cream, then the vanilla extract.

Scrape down the sides of the pan and put it on a lowish heat, cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens to a mayonnaise consistency. Nigella reckons about 4 minutes .. if, like me, your heat is too low it will take longer. I slowly increased the heat until the mixture swelled.

Take off the heat and whisk in the finely chopped chocolate, before pouring into 4 small glasses or cups.

Serve straight from the pan to warm the cockles of your heart.

Alternatively, cover the tops of the cups, allowing the cling film to rest on the surface to stop a skin forming, and refrigerate. Take out of the fridge a little before serving (with cream, perhaps).



Or with macaroons, if you fancy (and a good use of the 2 spare egg whites).



My poison leg is slowly repairing. I was shocked today at how weak my balance is on that side of my body (thanks for asking xx).