Stuffed fried chillies

We love to watch a spaghetti western on a Sunday evening, and it's nice to have food that fits the fake Mexican vibe.

Makes six to eight, depending on the size of the chillies

6 or more medium sized mild green chillies, or you can use small sweet peppers for a milder dish

For the filling:
2 tbs cream cheese
1 can tuna, drained
two handfuls grated cheese (Montery Jack, Cheddar or Emmental work well)
1 tbs chopped chives

For the batter:
two eggs
plain flour
salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil suitable for shallow frying

Slit each chilli down one side lengthways, and put them in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for about ten minutes, shaking and turning them occasionally. When the skins have started to blister, put the chillies into a plastic bag, tie the top (those sealable food bags are handy for this) and set aside for twenty minutes. They'll steam in the bag.

While the chillies are steaming, mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl. You want quite a sticky filling, which helps the chillies keep their shape and won't leak out.

To make the batter, separate the egg whites and yolks. In a large bowl, whip the whites until quite stiff, then fold the yolks in. Get another bowl for the flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

Take the chillies out of the bag. The steaming will have loosened the skins a bit, so peel off the loose chilli skins, then carefully open each chilli and take out the seeds and veins. Fill each with the cheese and tuna stuffing, making sure there aren't any air pockets left.

Heat a large deep pan filled with enough oil to shallow fry the chillies in. Roll each chilli in the seasoned flour, then dip in the whipped egg so all the surface is covered. Fry the chillies in the hot oil for a few minutes, turning once or twice, until they're golden brown.  Drain the excess oil off on kitchen paper, and serve immediately.

Mushrooms on toast

This is a quick light supper dish, that you could adapt at as starter.

Serves two

1 onion, chopped
125g mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil
10g unsalted butter
Pinch each of dried oregano and thyme
A dash of soy sauce
75g grated cheese (mixture of parmesan and manchego, or whatever is to hand)

4 very thick doorstep slices of wholemeal bread, crusts cut off

Mix the chopped mushrooms and garlic with a splash of soy sauce, and let the flavours mingle.  Put a frying pan on a medium heat, and add the butter and a lug of olive oil.  Add the onion and cook stirring for a couple of minutes until it starts to colour.  Empty the onion into a food processor.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes until reduced in size and coloured.
When the mushrooms are done, put them into the food processor with the onion, bread crusts and half the cheese, and blitz to make a rough paste (optional - you could add a dash of truffle oil to the mixture).
Meanwhile, toast the bread under a moderate grill (brush the bread with some olive oil first if you like).
When the bread is lightly toasted, top each slice with a quarter of the mushroom mixture and a sprinkling of the rest of the cheese.  Pop back under the grill for a couple more minutes.
When done, plate up and garnish with a bit of seasonal salad leaves to serve.

nb, if doing this for a starter, reserve few cooked whole mushroom slices before the rest go into the blender, and put a couple on top of each finished piece of mushroom toast as garnish.