Homemade Pesto
1/4 cup olive oil or cooking oil
1/2 cup walnuts and/or pine nuts
2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
Combine oil, nuts, basil, cheese, garlic, and salt. Cover and process or blend until nearly smooth, stopping and scraping sides as necessary. Add pepper to taste. If you aren't serving the pesto immediately, separate into portion sizes and store in airtight containers.
1/4 cup olive oil or cooking oil
1/2 cup walnuts and/or pine nuts
2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
Combine oil, nuts, basil, cheese, garlic, and salt. Cover and process or blend until nearly smooth, stopping and scraping sides as necessary. Add pepper to taste. If you aren't serving the pesto immediately, separate into portion sizes and store in airtight containers.
Tomato bake / Green tomato bake
1lb (450g) green tomatoes, sliced
1 onion, chopped
3oz (85g) breadcrumbs
2oz (56g) grated cheese
Basil, dried or fresh
crushed garlic
butter
2tbsp white wine
Slice tomatoes and arrange in a greased oblong dish; scatter onions, chopped basil and garlic over. dot with butter and pour over wine. cover with cheese and breadcrumbs. Cover with foil and place in a preheated oven, 180°C, gas mark 4 for 50 min. Serves 2, or 4 as a side dish.
1 onion, chopped
3oz (85g) breadcrumbs
2oz (56g) grated cheese
Basil, dried or fresh
crushed garlic
butter
2tbsp white wine
Slice tomatoes and arrange in a greased oblong dish; scatter onions, chopped basil and garlic over. dot with butter and pour over wine. cover with cheese and breadcrumbs. Cover with foil and place in a preheated oven, 180°C, gas mark 4 for 50 min. Serves 2, or 4 as a side dish.
Courgette Bread / Fig / Fruit Loaf
This loaf freezes well. Most fruit/sweet veg can be used instead of courgettes.
1 teacup oil
3 eggs
8oz (224 grams) caster sugar
1lb (450 grams) grated, unpeeled courgette
3tsp vanilla essence / dried vanilla powder
14oz (400 grams) flour
2tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3tsp cinnamon
Beat eggs and oil until fluffy; beat in sugar. Add vanilla and courgette/fruit. Beat. Combine remaining ingredients, then add to the courgette mixture and beat well. Bake in 2 greased loaf tins at 160°C, gas mark 3 for 40 mins approx or until a skewer comes out dry.
Kids Vegetable Risotto
Written for my 10 year old to cook on his own with a watchful eye, he made this for my 39th birthday, it was lovely, he was so proud!!
Egg cup of oil
6-8 Mushrooms
2 carrots
1 onion
1 mug rice
2 stock cubes
2 mugs water
Small spoon salt
Chunk butter
Grated cheese
Wash and carefully cut up small the vegetables. You can put them all in the blender and whiz then turn off and stir then whiz again until the lumps are even in size.
Take the blade out of the blender and shake of veg into large pan. Then scoop out all the other veg from the blender into the pan, add the oil. Put the pan on the hob. Turn on gas with red clicker and turn to low (small flame), stir carefully for 5 minutes until veg starts to go brown.
Add the rice, stir in. Chop the stock cubes into quarters and add to the pan. Stir again well. Now add 2 large cups water and stir in well. Stir every few minutes to stop sticking.
Set buzzer for 10 minutes, keep stirring. Once buzzer goes taste a tiny amount and see if rice is soft.
Stir in chunk of butter and a bowl of grated cheese.
Italian Bread
Approx 4 cups warm water (tea-cup)
2 packs dried yeast
1.5 kg ‘00’ flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
Mix one cup warm (not hot) water with the yeast and sugar, put in warm spot for 10 mins. Place flour in warm spot too.
Create well in flour stir in yeast mix. Gradually add the rest of water, judging it by eye. Should be wetish dough but not too sticky. Knead in the large bowl for 5 mins, sprinkling flour around the edges, this should and up with smooth dough ball.
Cover with black bin bag and place in sunny spot for 1 ½ hours min – greenhouse ideal if in cooler country like the UK. 2 better.
Grease and flour 2 large round tins. Knead again and cut into 2 and kneed these into round balls and place in 2 large tins. Put back in bin bag and place in sun for 45 mins to an hour.
Heat oven to 180 and cook for 35-40 mins, should sound hollow. Once cooked take out of tins straight away and cook
Spinach and Ricotta gnocchi
5 cubes frozen spinach
1 tub ricotta
2 eggs
Pinch salt and pepper
Sprinkle of mace or nutmeg
1 teacup of grated parmesan
1 cup flour
Cook spinach until all liquid is gone, in large bowl mix ricotta, eggs, spinach, parmesan, seasoning. Stir well, work in the flour gradually until not too sticky.
Flour big tray or worktop. Using teaspoon, spoon lumps on to tray and roll in flour then roll into balls. Put on large dish.
When all mixture is made into balls. Boil in water for 4-5 minutes or until floating, cook in batches of approx 8.
Put in over dish and pour over a passata type sauce ie tomato and bacon or vegetables. Bake for 40 mins at 180 approx until bubbling.
