Mushroom and gruyere parcels (quick version)

These bite size delights work equally well at parties, or crammed into a car full of people on the way to a gig. Very simple to make, even a bass player can do it!

Makes 12 parcels

12 chestnut mushrooms
100g gruyere cheese, grated
dash of dark soy sauce
salt and black pepper to taste
375g ready-rolled puff pastry

Pre-heat your oven to 190C.
Take each mushroom and remove the stalk, then make a couple of cuts inside across the gills and splash on a drop or two of soy sauce. Cut the pastry into 12 squares and place a mushroom on each. Put some grated cheese on top of each, with salt and pepper to taste. Carefully fold up the pastry around each mushroom to make a little parcel, leaving some gaps so the moisture can escape. Place your parcels on a greased baking sheet and bake them for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Delicious hot or cold!

Stuffed squid in the style of Keith Floyd (RIP)

I cooked this yesterday, when we heard that the wonderful, inspirational Keith Floyd had died. Seafood and wine seemed a fitting tribute to the great man, so I donned a Floydian bow tie, opened a bottle of red and got stuck in. Thanks to Liz on camera duties! Serves two.

Six small squid, cleaned and prepared
Plain flour (‘00’ grade if possible)
Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper
Enough vegetable oil to fill the bottom of a frying pan to about 4mm depth

For the stuffing:
Handful of breadcrumbs
Handful parmesan cheese, grated
1 small mild chilli
2 large handfuls of spinach
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
1tbs curly parsley
3 canned anchovy fillets

For the vegetables:
Six baby plum tomatoes, quartered
1 red pepper, torn up
1 small aubergine, sliced diagonally
1 small courgette, sliced diagonally
4 canned anchovy fillets
olive oil
juice of half a lemon
large splash of red wine
salt and pepper to taste
big pinch each of thyme and parsley

First off, pre-heat your oven to about 170 C, and put all the vegetables in a large roasting tray with the herbs, lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning. Mix everything together, lay the anchovy fillets on top and splash the wine over it. Drink some wine too. Put the tray in the oven and have another sip of wine. You want the vegetables to cook slowly, about 25 minutes or until they look just nicely roasted.
Next make the stuffing. Wash the spinach in a large metal colander and pour some boiling water over it to wilt it down. Press the water out of it with a spoon and chop it up. Finely chop all the other stuffing ingredients, and have another sip of wine. Mix the stuffing well together and divide it up so you’ve got some set aside for each of your squid.
Take your cleaned squid (and another sip of wine), and if you like, score the flesh lightly with a sharp knife. Reserve some of the tentacles for decoration (you can put some of these chopped up in the stuffing mix too. Damn, I probably should have done that earlier, never mind, have some more wine), and stuff them full of the spinach and breadcrumbs mixture.
Put the flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Lightly coat your squid in the flour. Heat the vegetable oil in your frying pan until it’s quite hot – drink some more wine while you wait for it to get hot enough, and check how your vegetables are doing.
Shallow fry the squid, turning them occasionally. Put the reserved tentacles in too – they won’t take as long – and they’ll look lovely as garnish. Cook them for about ten minutes, until golden brown – not too long, or they’ll become tough and rubbery. Serve on top of the roasted vegetables, and enjoy the rest of the wine. Cheers!

Smoked salmon and grilled aubergine feta salad

Get all summery with this light supper salad. If you want a bit more of a kick to your balmy summer evenings, just up the chilli sauce quantity, or sprinkle some dried chilli flakes (which looks pretty as well)...

Serves two

Make the dressing:

1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs groundnut oil
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp clear blossom honey
1 tsp finely chopped parsley
Pinch wild thyme

Mix well...


For the salad

Four handfuls seasonal salad leaves
50g feta cheese, cut into 1cm cubes
50g smoked salmon, torn roughly into strips
2 or 3 baby aubergines, or one large aubergine
A lug of groundnut oil
Pinch of sea salt
Black pepper to taste

Put a cast iron griddle pan on a high heat. Cut the aubergine lengthways
or diagonally into 5mm thick slices, and rub with the oil, salt and
pepper. Toss all the other ingredients together with most of the
dressing (reserve a little to drizzle over at the end), and arrange in
individual bowls. Grill the aubergine slices for a minute or so each
side, so you get nice charred marks across them.
When done, lay the slices over the top of the salad, and drizzle over
the remainder of the dressing.

Warm salad of smoked mackerel and celeriac

This is a fairly quick light supper. Serves 2

1 small head of celeriac, cut into half inch cubes
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
pinch of thyme
two smoked mackerel fillets, skin removed and cut into chunks
olive oil
50 ml water
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp Dijon mustard
salad leaves - whatever mixture you like

Heat a couple of lugs of olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion and celeriac, and stir well to get coated in the oil. Cover and cook for a few minutes, giving the pan an occasional shake. Add the chilli, garlic and thyme and cook for another couple of minutes.
Add the water and mustard, cover and cook on a slow heat for about ten minutes, until the celeriac is getting tender. Uncover, to reduce the liquid. When it's thickened nicely, stir in the mackerel chunks just to warm through. Season to taste.
Serve tossed through the salad leaves.

Liz's Rainy Day Sundae

Liz came up with this wonderful comforting dessert after we'd got soaked through in Kensington Park one Sunday afternoon. Indulge. Enjoy.

Per serving:

As much Baileys ice cream as you dare

2 or 3 Oreo cookies, broken up

A scattering of Maltesers

Chocolate sauce drizzled on top

Your taste buds will love you forever...

Squid, mussel and saffron soup

This is a venetian-style soup, and has got a lot of my favourite things going on in it - seafood with a bit of spice... Serves two.

For the stock:
1 3/4 pints of water
2 carrots, chopped
half a bulb of fennel, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 potato, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
A sprig of wild thyme
Blade of mace
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
Handful of fresh parsley

Also:
1 kg live mussels, scrubbed and cleaned
Half a glass of white wine

And:
200g squid, cleaned and cut into rings (or any other seafood you fancy - I added some prawns and tuna steak when I cooked this for the picture)
Big pinch of saffron strands
1 medium sized mild red chilli, chopped finely
Big pinch of white pepper
Sea salt (or a dash of Thai fish sauce) to taste
20g unsalted butter
60ml single cream

First off, make the stock. Chuck all the chopped veg and the seasoning into a large pot with the water. Cover and bring to the boil, then uncover an simmer for about half an hour until the liquid has reduced down to about a pint. Strain, and set aside.
Next, cook the mussels. Clean and pull off the beards. Discard any that don't close tight when tapped. Put the mussels and the half glass of white wine in a large pan. Choose one with a close-fitting lid that's got a large enough bottom so that the mussels aren't piled up too deep. Cook covered on a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan vigorously from time to time. As soon as the mussels have opened up, remove from the heat and tip them into a big colander with a bowl underneath to catch the liquor. Discard any that haven't opened properly. Remove the mussel meat from all except a handful of nice-looking ones, and set aside.
Next, heat some butter in a big pan. Add the chopped chilli and cook for a minute or so. Add the stock and the saffron and bring it to a slow simmer. Add the cream and the raw seafood and cook for a couple of minutes until just done. Add the mussels and the liquor (keep back the last spoonful as it may contain some grit). Add the parsley, check for seasoning, and serve.
This goes well with some crusty bread and a glass or two of rosé wine.