Rice salad
250g of rice cooked drained and cooled in cold water and drained again.
Half a pack of mixed frozen veg cooked and cooled
Three onions blitzed in the food processor till crumb like and fried with three or four Cloves of garlic crushed and chopped.
Mix all these together and add a teaspoon of ground ginger and a teaspoon and a half of white pepper.
Mix and chill.
Great on its own or have with any meat. The rice salad alone works out at around 18p per person.

Double Chocolate Biscotti
Servings: About 30 biscotti
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 50 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Ingredients

1-3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
1/4 cup + plus 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey’s Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-2 tablespoons  sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl and mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips and stir on low speed until just combined.
Dust a work surface with flour. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sticky dough out onto the work surface and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Using your hands, shape the dough into a rough ball (if it’s still too sticky, dust with a bit more flour) and cut in half. Form the dough pieces into two short logs by rolling back and forth. Place the logs onto the prepared baking sheet and shape into longer logs about 3/4-inch high and 2 inches wide. Allow enough space for the logs to spread a few inches while they bake. Bake for about 35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Let the biscotti logs cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, or until just cool enough to touch (if you wait any longer, the biscotti will be difficult to cut); then, using a sharp knife, slice the logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch slices (I do this right on the baking sheet). They will crumble just a bit; don’t worry about it. Turn the biscotti on their sides (so that the cut sides are down) and place back in the oven for 10 minutes to dry and crisp up. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
When cool, push all the biscotti together (this prevents the Confectioners sugar from getting on the sides of the cookies) and use a fine sieve to dust with Confectioners sugar. Serve with coffee, tea or warm milk.

Nutrition Information

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Per serving (30 servings)
Serving size:
1 biscotti
Calories:
110
Fat:
5g
Saturated fat:
3g
Carbohydrates:
15g
Sugar:
11g
Fiber:
1g
Protein:
1g
Sodium:
111mg
Cholesterol:
22mg

Ingredients

For the biscotti base

250g plain white flour (use an extra 30g for the chocolate biscotti), plus extra for dusting

½ tsp baking powder

250g caster sugar

2-3 medium eggs, beaten

Pistachio and cranberry flavouring

220g shelled pistachio nuts

125g dried cranberries

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

OR

Hazelnut and date flavouring

200g skinned hazelnuts

125g stoned dates

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

OR

Chocolate, almond and orange biscotti

50g good-quality dark chocolate

135g blanched almonds

50g chocolate chips

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

½ tsp vanilla extract

A Trio of Biscotti

Makes 15-20
Bake 30 minutes

These crunchy, sweet Italian treats date back to the 13th Century. The dough is baked in a log, then cut up into slices and baked again so they dry and crisp up, hence the name biscotti, which means ‘twice cooked’. They are many different ways to flavour your biscotti. Delicious with tea or coffee, you can also enjoy them the traditional Italian way, dipped into Vin Santo or a sweet wine. These are three of my favourite biscotti flavourings.

1. Heat your oven to 140°C (or 160°C for a non-fan oven, which is a better option for this recipe if available). Line a baking tray with baking parchment or silicone paper – I suggest you do this even if your tray is non-stick.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs, a little at a time, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next. Continue until you have a firm dough; it may not be necessary to add all of the egg. The dough shouldn’t be at all sticky. If you are making chocolate biscotti, add the extra flour and be careful with the amount of egg you add (as the melted chocolate will also add to the stickiness of the mixture).

3. Now it’s time to add your chosen flavouring (the quantity of each of these is sufficient to flavour the whole batch of dough).

a. For the pistachio and cranberry biscotti, roughly chop the pistachio nuts and dried cranberries and add them to the biscotti dough with the lemon zest. Mix the flavouring ingredients in with your hands until they are evenly incorporated.

b. For the hazelnut and date biscotti, roughly chop the nuts, keeping them chunky (some can remain whole). Roughly chop the dates and add to the biscotti dough with the nuts and lemon zest. Mix in with your hands until well combined.

c. For the chocolate, almond and orange biscotti, melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water, then cool until tepid. Roughly chop the almonds. Add the melted chocolate to the biscotti dough and stir until evenly incorporated. Bring the mixture together to form a firm dough. Add the almonds, chocolate chips, orange zest and vanilla extract. Mix these ingredients in with your hands until well combined.

4. Once you have added your flavourings, turn the biscotti dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently, then divide in half.

5. Roll each piece of dough into a long log, about 4cm in diameter. Place both logs on your lined baking tray, spacing them at least 5cm apart as the mixture will spread a bit. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

6. Leave the logs to cool on the tray for 10 minutes to allow the dough to firm up slightly, then transfer to a board. Cut the logs, on the diagonal, into 2-3cm thick slices.

7. Place the slices, cut side up, on the baking tray. Return to the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the biscotti are dry through to the centre, turning them over halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. These biscotti keep well in an airtight container.

Great sausage casserole

Preparation time

30 mins to 1 hour

Cooking time

30 mins to 1 hour

Serves

Serves 6

1–2 tbsp sunflower oil
12 good quality pork sausages
6 rashers rindless streaky bacon, cut into 2.5cm/1in lengths
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½–1 tsp hot chilli powder or smoked paprika
1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
300ml/10fl oz chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 bay leaves
3–4 sprigs of fresh thyme
100ml/3½fl oz red or white wine (optional)
1 x 400g/14oz can butter beans or mixed beans
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the sausages gently for 10 minutes, turning every now and then until nicely browned all over. Transfer to a large saucepan or a flameproof casserole dish and set aside.

Fry the bacon pieces in the frying pan until they begin to brown and crisp then add to the sausages.

Place the onions in the frying pan and fry over a medium heat for five minutes until they start to soften, stirring often. You should have enough fat in the pan, but if not, add a little more oil.

Add the garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes more until the onions turn pale golden-brown, stirring frequently.

Sprinkle over the chilli powder or smoked paprika and cook together for a few seconds longer.

Stir in the tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and herbs.

Pour over the wine, or some water if you’re not using wine, and bring to a simmer.

Tip carefully into the pan with the sausages and bacon and return to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover the pan loosely with a lid and leave to simmer very gently for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Drain the beans and rinse them in a sieve under cold running water. Stir the beans into the casserole, and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with rice or slices of rustic bread.

Brioche buns
Prep: 15 mins Cook: 20 mins plus up to 3 hrs rising
Easy
Makes 16 small buns or 12 larger ones
We show you how to master this soft bread enriched with eggs and milk. Serve split and filled with barbecued meat, burgers or pulled pork

250ml warm water
2 tsp dried yeast
Yeast

(not fast-action)
3 tbsp warm milk

2 tbsp golden caster sugar
450g strong flour
Flour

, plus extra for dusting
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, plus 1 beaten egg, for glazing
sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Method

Mix the warm water, yeast, warm milk and sugar in a bowl. Let it stand for 5 mins until it becomes frothy – this is how you know the yeast is working.

Tip the flour and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl, add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre of the buttery flour and add the warm yeast mixture and the eggs.

Use your hands to mix it into a sticky dough – don’t worry if the mixture feels a little wet at this stage, it will come together when kneading. Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface.

Knead the dough for 10 mins by stretching it on the work surface – it will still be very sticky at this stage but don’t be tempted to add too much flour.

The dough is ready when it feels soft and bouncy – this means that the gluten strands have developed. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and set aside to rise for 1-3 hrs or until doubled in size.

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out and knead again for 2 mins. The dough should be much less sticky now, but add a little flour if it needs it.

Divide the dough into 12-16 even pieces. Roll into balls and arrange on lined baking trays. Loosely cover with oiled cling film and leave for about 1 hr or until doubled in size again. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and place a shallow baking tray at the bottom.

Uncover the trays, brush the buns with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Pour a cup of water into a baking tray at the bottom of the oven to create steam (see Tips for success, left). Bake for 20 mins or until golden, then leave to cool on a wire rack.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  AngelBabe.