Goat's Cheese & Red Pepper Tart--Baking Recipes

Goat's Cheese & Red Pepper Tart

Ingredients

2 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
12 pitted black olives
2 red pepper (choose tapered, heart-shaped ones if possible)
200g ready-made shortcrust pastry
150-200g / 5-7oz log firm goat's cheese, such as Sainte-Maure de Touraine or Capricorn
250g cherry tomato
few oregano or basil leaves

Ingredients

2 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
12 pitted black olives
2 red pepper (choose tapered, heart-shaped ones if possible)
200g ready-made shortcrust pastry
150-200g / 5-7oz log firm goat's cheese, such as Sainte-Maure de Touraine or Capricorn
250g cherry tomato
few oregano
 or basil leaves

Method

1. Cook the onions in the oil for 6-7 mins, until they are softened and lightly coloured, then add the balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp water. Cook for a further 2-3 mins. Roughly chop the olives and stir in. Leave to cool.

2. Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and core. Put under a hot grill, skin side up, until the skins are charred. Remove and put into a food bag until cool enough to handle, then peel off the skins.

3. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roll out the pastry and line a 23-24cm deep flan tin. Line with baking paper and beans, then bake for 10 mins. Remove the paper and beans, then bake for 5 mins more, until the pastry is golden and crisp.

4. Spread the onion mix over the base of the pastry case. Put the halved peppers on top, cut side up with tapered ends towards the centre. Slice the goat’s cheese and put a few slices in each pepper half. Tuck the tomatoes in the gaps between the peppers.

5. Bake for 20-25 mins until the cheese is lightly tinged brown and the tomatoes have burst. Scatter over the herb leaves and serve warm or at room temperature.

Oriental Express--Baking Recipes

Oriental Express

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped into chunks

½ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder or ground ginger

300-340g packet fresh stir-fry vegetables

2 x 250g packets ready-cooked express basmati rice

2 tbsp soy sauce, or more to taste

Method

1. First put the wok on the heat, then pour in the oil and bring it up to a medium-high temperature. Now add the onion and cook, stirring only occasionally, until it starts to brown – this takes about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the 5-spice powder or ginger and stir it around quickly for about 30 seconds. Next tip in the vegetables and stir them around, keeping the heat quite high so the vegetables cook quickly and stay crunchy. Keep cooking and stirring for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

2. While the vegetables are cooking, make a 2cm tear in the top of each rice packet, then microwave each packet separately for 2 minutes on full power. If you don’t have a microwave, put your rice on to cook according to the packet instructions before you heat up the work.

3. Splash in 2 tbsp soy sauce and remove from the heat. Use more soy if you like but remember that it’s salty. If you want more sauce, splash in 1-2 tbsp water. Tip the rice on to plates, add the veg and eat immediately.

Chicken korma melts--Baking Recipes

Chicken korma melts

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breast fillets
180g tub full-fat cream cheese
2 tbsp Korma paste
1 tbsp chopped coriander, plus extra to serve
juice ½ lemon
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
rice and salad, or new potatoes and vegetables, to serve


Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and arrange the chicken in a large ovenproof dish. Beat the cheese, korma paste and the 1 tbsp coriander together with a squeeze of lemon. Squeeze the remaining lemon over the chicken and spread the curry mix on top. Scatter over the chilli and bake for 15 mins.

2. Remove from the oven, add the tomatoes to the dish then return to cook for another 10 mins. Scatter with more coriander and serve with rice and salad or new potatoes and vegetables

Sticky pork & pineapple hotpot--Baking Recipes

Sticky pork & pineapple hotpot

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1½ kg (about 8) pork shoulder steaks, each cut into 4 thick strips
3 onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
small bunch coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves reserved
3 Thai red chillies, 2 sliced, 1 left whole and pricked
3 star anise
100g dark soft brown sugar
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp fish sauce
600ml chicken stock
350g fresh pineapple, cut into chunks

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, flameproof casserole dish. Season the pork, and brown it in 2 or 3 batches until golden, about 5 mins per batch. Set aside in a bowl. Stir the onions into the remaining fat, cover and soften for 5 mins – they will take on the browned colour of the meat. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.

2. Add the garlic, coriander stalks, chillies and anise to the dish, sizzle for 1 min, stirring often, then mix in the sugar and tomato purée. When these have melted and it looks a bit like barbecue sauce, return the pork and its resting juices to the dish, along with the fish sauce and stock. Tuck in the pineapple chunks here and there.

3. Once simmering, cover the hotpot, leaving a small gap for steam to escape, and transfer to the oven for 2 hrs. With 30 mins to go, skim some of the fat from the top (this tends to seal the liquid in, making it more difficult for the sauce to reduce), then return to the oven. The pork will be meltingly soft when ready. If the sauce is thin, lift the pork into a warmed serving dish, put the casserole dish on the hob and simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened. Leave to cool for 5 mins, taste for seasoning, pour over the pork and sprinkle over the coriander leaves.