Most people like pizza. There’s so many options for toppings and flavours. Almost everyone can find something they like. Some crazy fools even substitute the traditional tomato sauce for barbeque sauce! Weirdos!

I suppose that’s a great reason for making your own pizza: you have complete control over everything – how crispy the base is and what kind of toppings to use.

If the thought of making your own dough puts you off there are easy ways to cheat. You can buy pre-made pizza bases in the supermarket, although in my experience they don’t taste great, or buy a packet of pizza dough. This stuff is great because you just need to add water and kneed it into shape.

My favourite pizza toppings are all the classics: finely chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, olives and chillis, of course. A nice bit of cheddar, parmesan and fresh mozzarella add the cheese-factor.

Ingredients

For the sauce
passata (sieved tomatoes)
a handful of chopped basil leaves
a handful of chopped oregano leaves
a sprinkle of salt & pepper

For the dough
a packet of pizza dough
warm water

For the toppings
anything you fancy! I used:
1 red onion
1 green pepper
2 red chillis
a few black olives
a few cherry tomatoes
sliced mozzarella
grated cheddar
grated parmesan

Method

Follow the instructions on your packet of pizza dough. Remember to leave it to rise for about 20 minutes. If you feel brave then have a go at tossing your pizza. If not, get your other half to do it for you (so if he drops if you can blame him!)

Pour the passata into a saucepan and warm it up (don’t boil it). Add the basil, oregano and salt & pepper. Stir the sauce while gently warming it. If you think it needs thickening up add a small amount of tomato paste.

You may want to pre-cook your pizza base a small amount before adding any sauce or toppings. I put mine in the oven for about 5 minutes on 220 degrees. This helps it to crisp up a bit so that the sauce doesn’t make it too soggy.

Spread the sauce over the pizza base. Sprinkle your chosen toppings on to the pizza. Place in the oven for around 20 minutes at 220 degrees.

Not only am I a chilli fiend, but also definitely a chocolate fiend. So, I spent a good while looking for a nice cake to bake for Easter. I considered trying my Mum’s recipe for a beetroot chocolate cake – she promises that it tastes far better than it sounds – or a carrot cake. Instead I went with what I really wanted: a big, fat chocolate cake. After all, it is Easter – a time for indulgence after 40 days of giving things up for Lent (I gave up giving things up).

Anyway, I found a recipe for an Ultimate Chocolate Cake by Angela Nilsen but reduced the amount of sugar and butter because after weighing up the ingredients, I decided that I didn’t want this cake to be the single reason for giving myself and my housemates heart attacks and diabetes. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

The Cake
200g dark chocolate (I used Lindt’s 85% cocoa bar)
150g unsalted butter
85g self raising flour
85g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
100g muscovado sugar
150g caster sugar
3 medium eggs
75ml buttermilk

The Icing
200g dark chocolate (I used Lindt’s dark cherry chocolate but any will do)
260ml double cream
1 tablespoon of caster sugar

I used two round cake tins, 7 inches diameter.

Method

Butter the cake tins and pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3 or 160 degrees.

Melt 200g of the chocolate. You could do this by boiling a saucepan of water, then placing a heatproof bowl over the saucepan and put the broken up chocolate squares into the bowl. When the chocolate is melting, add the butter and stir until it’s all melted together.

Put the self raising and plain flour into a mixing bowl, along with the bicarb of soda and the sugars. Mix these ingredients together with your hands, removing any lumps that you feel.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the buttermilk to them. Add the egg mixture and the melted chocolate to the flour and sugar. Stir the mixture until smooth. It won’t be very runny, but nor should it be too tough so add a drop more of buttermilk if you think it needs it.

Pour into your tin or tins, whack it in the oven and bake for about 1 hour 25 minutes. When cooked, you should be able to stab a skewer through the cake without it leaving any cake mixture on it. If it does, just cook it for a few more minutes and check again.

Let the cake cool down completely before you add any icing to it, otherwise the chocolate in the icing will melt while you try to get it to stay on the cake.

If you made the cake in one tin, you might want to cut it into two pieces, or not – it’s your choice! I made two sections so that I could add some of the icing in the middle.

To make the icing – warm up the cream in a saucepan but don’t boil or burn it! When it’s very warm add the sugar then break up the chocolate and stir it in until melted and smooth.

Let the icing cool a little then spread a bit on the top of the bottom layer. Sandwich the layers together. Pour the rest of the icing over the top of the cake and spread it around the sides.

As you can see from the photos, I’m terrible at icing cakes but the mess doesn’t bother me – it’s the taste that matters! I added some Mini Eggs, as it’s Easter, and some chocolate sprinkles.

Butternut squash (along with the good old pumpkin) is such an unappreciated vegetable; most people will, at best, only ever eat it around Halloween time, but it’s in season all through the Winter so there’s no reason not to make much more of it.

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
1 large brown onion
2 large potatoes
3 cloves of garlic
around 1 pint of chicken stock
1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
a generous pinch of salt and pepper
olive oil

Makes around 4 portions

Method

Chop the squash in half, lengthways. Remove the seeds then chop the squash into chunks, leaving the skin on. Peel the potatoes and the onion, then chop these into chunks as well.

Put the squash, potatoes, onion and garlic (with skin on) into a large roasting tin. Drizzle oil over the vegetables and sprinkle the cumin, salt and pepper all over. Roast for around 25 minutes at about 200 degrees.

The vegetables should have softened up in the oven. Take out the garlic cloves and remove their skins.

Place the roasted veg (and skinless garlic) into a food processor and whizz them up while gradually adding the chicken stock, until you get a tasty mush of vegetables.

Transfer the puree to a saucepan and warm it through. You can add more stock/water if you like a runny soup, or you can boil off some of the stock already added if you like it thicker.

You could serve this with a small amount of creme fraiche, some chopped spring onions and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Tasty, warming Winter food. Delicious!

Leeks are a favourite of mine; not only do I think they taste great but they’re a national symbol of Wales. I have to admit that on St David’s Day I tend to wear a daffodil instead but I do eat my fair share of leeks!

They’re a really versatile vegetable and carry other flavours well, such as chilli. I usually steam leeks and have them as part of a roast dinner but in this recipe I stir fry them to add colour and flavour to a pasta dish.

Ingredients

4 Lincolnshire sausages
1 large leek
1 red pepper
1/2 an onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 red chillis
a pinch of dried thyme
a knob of butter
a small bit of grated cheese
pasta shapes

Serves 2-3 people

Method

Begin by cooking the sausages under the grill. They’ll take around 20 minutes so you can stir fry the other ingredients while they’re cooking. You could also begin to boil your pasta too.

Chop the vegetables then melt the butter in a warmed frying pan or wok. Add the onion and red pepper. Cook until the onions begin to brown then add the dried thyme, garlic, chillis and leek.

When the vegetables have softened take the cooked sausages and chop them into small chunks. Stir them into the veggie mixture and cook for a further two-ish minutes.

Just before serving, stir a small amount of cheese into the sausages and vegetables.

Enjoy your tasty and colourful pasta meal!

Washing up is probably nobody’s favourite after-dinner activity (incidently mine is to slump on the sofa and finish off a glass of wine) but it needs to be done eventually. One pot meals are great for those of us who just can’t be bothered!

This spicy rice dish makes a great lunchtime snack (make it the night before then heat it up in a microwave when you’re hungry) or can be an accompaniment to something meaty – I had this with leftover chicken drumsticks.

Ingredients

basmati rice
boiling water
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (chilli powder)
1/2 red onion
1/2 green pepper
1 or 2 red chillis
a handful of peas

Method

Chop the onion, green pepper and chilli. In a large, deep frying pan or wok, fry these ingredients for a few minutes until they soften.

Add the rice into the pan, followed by the water. I used 1/2 a mug of rice (enough for two people, feel free to use more if you want more) and roughly 1 1/4 mugs of boiling water. Stir the rice, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Tip: You may want to add the water in bit by bit as it gets absorbed. This will make sure you don’t use too much water and get soggy rice.

Stir in the turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala (if using). Bring the rice to the boil and add the peas.

Simmer until the rice has absorbed the water and serve (then wash up!).

My other half, Jimmy, loves pasta and curry. Being the genius he is, he combined the two to make curried pasta!

This pasta dish is great hot or cold and goes well with almost everything!

Ingredients

pasta shapes
a large dollop of mayonnaise
a dollop of curry paste (we used Rogon Josh in this example)
a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
the juice from half a lemon

Method

Cook and drain the pasta. If you want to make this as a cold side dish (great for BBQs and parties) run cold water over the cooked pasta.

Place pasta in a large bowl and add the mayonnaise and curry paste. Mix together well then stir in the coriander and lemon juice. Done!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and New Year celebrations. It’s such a fantastic time of the year for foodies and I certainly had a great time cooking and eating!

It’s been a while since I made a post but I’m back with a super tasty treat which is easy and quick to cook: chicken!

These chicken pieces taste great and you can vary the spices and herbs each time you cook them. I can say with some certainty that they’re better and more enjoyable to eat than any of that junk you get from fast food stores.

Ingredients

6 chicken drumsticks (with skin on)
around 80g of breadcrumbs (whizz some slices in a food processor)
1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
ground salt and pepper
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons of milk
2 tablespoons of plain flour
a few drops of vegetable oil

Method

Coat the chicken pieces in the flour by shaking them in a freezer bag or rolling them around.

Mix together the breadcrumbs with the herbs and chilli powder and season with salt and pepper. Place the mixture onto a plate.

Put the beaten egg into a bowl then stir in the milk and oil.

Take a flour-coated piece of chicken and dip it into the egg mixture first, followed by the breadcrumbs. Coat each piece of chicken in this way.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 190 degrees (gas mark 5). Alternatively, you could fry the chicken gently in butter for around 20 minutes.

Not only is tomato salsa easy to make but you can use it in so many ways: as a dip for potato wedges, a relish for burgers or stir it into a boring pasta sauce to give it a kick. I like to dollop it in chicken fajitas.

When buying a pre-made salsa from a shop you can never be sure what you’re getting. Salsa varies from the mild, fruity versions to the incredibly spicy, garlicy versions. It can swim in a liquidy sauce or just be a tomato pulp – when making your own salsa it really is up to you.

This recipe is a tangy, spicy and saucey variety but you can alter the ingredients to match your taste.

Ingredients

4 ripe tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1 large green chilli
1/2 a red onion
1/2 a lime (optional)
a handful of coriander leaves
a small squirt of passata (sieved tomatoes)
a drop of olive oil

Method

Finely chop the tomatoes, garlic, chilli, onion and coriander leaves. You can de-seed the chilli if you want to tone down the spice but I’ve left them in for this recipe.

Put the ingredients into a bowl and add a dribble of olive oil and squeeze the lime all over.

Now add the passata. Do this slowly and carefully so you can get the consistency you want. Leftover passata can be used to make a pasta sauce.

Alternatively, you could substitute the fresh tomatoes and passata for a tin of chopped tomatoes which should contain all the juice you need to make the sauce.

No cooking or warming required – just stir, serve and enjoy!

If you make more than you need place the leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

I was never a huge fan of pork before I started to cook for myself. It would always be served in the same bland way with very few herbs and spices. The thing about pork is that it’s such a mild meat that I think it needs a lot of flavour added.

The chilli went perfectly with the pork; it really gave it a kick and tasted fabulous.

I still need to work on the presentation though!

Ingredients

pork loins (or chops if you like)
3 cloves of garlic
a handful of corriander
2 red chilli peppers (or as much as you want)

Method

Chop the corriander, garlic and chilli and rub it all over the meat. Leave to marinade for as long as you can – or not at all if you don’t have the time.

Grill on a medium heat for around 15 to 20 minutes – keep checking the firmness of the meat; you don’t want it to be too hard or it’ll taste dry and nasty!

I served my pork with a light salad and sweet potato wedges. Easy and tasty!

When the seasons change and the cold, wet weather starts coming in there’s only one thing for it: comfort food!

My other half, James, suggested an apple pie. I’m a crumble fan myself so I compromised and set out to make a crumble pie!

Ingredients

350g shortcrust pastry – recipe
crumble topping (200g plain flour, 150g butter, 100g brown sugar)
4 bramley apples
2 handfuls of blackberries
a spinkle of ground cinnamon
a few tablespoons of caster sugar

Method

To make the crumble topping combine the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add cubes of the butter and mix the ingredients with your hands until it forms a sort of breadcrumb consistency. Add more flour and butter if you need more crumble topping.

To make the filling, peel and core the apples. Chop them into medium sized cubes, then place in a large pan and gently heat them for a few minutes or until they go soft. Add the blackberries and stir for 2 minutes.

Roll out the shortcrust pastry so that it will line your pie dish / cake tin / whatever you’re using to cook it in. Pour the apple and blackberry mixture into the pastry-lined dish, sprinkle with some caster sugar and cinnamon.

Cover the fruit mix with the crumble topping and bake in the oven for 30-50 minutes at 200 degrees (gas mark 6). It’s ready when the crumble topping is crispy and golden.

Serve with some yummy custard or just sprinkle some caster sugar on top.

(More spicy recipes coming soon, I promise!)

Chicken is great; it’s so versatile and you can combine it with many different herbs and spices to get a huge variety of dishes.

I love a traditional Sunday Roast but sometimes it’s nice to try something a bit different. This is where Jamie Oliver steps in… His latest series (Jamie at Home) is great for picking up new ideas and this recipe is based on his “Tender and crisp chicken legs with sweet tomatoes” dish.

Ingredients

4 or 5 chicken thighs with the bone removed
5 potatoes, peeled and chopped in half
5 juicy, red tomatoes
1 lemon
4 cloves of garlic
a nice big handful of fresh oregano
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
salt & pepper (to taste)
some olive oil

Makes enough for 3 or 4 people

Method

Chop the chicken roughly into finger sized strips and chop (or crush) the garlic cloves. Heat up a large pan with a splash of olive oil, then add the chicken, garlic, the fresh thyme and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

If I was going for a spicy version of this dish, I’d add a few chopped chillis at this point.

While your chicken is cooking, blanche the tomatoes – put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them, leave for around 20-30 seconds, drain water, then pour cold water over them. The skin of the tomato will now be easy to peel off.

You’ll also want to par-boil the potatoes – place the peeled potatoes into boiling water for around 10 or 15 minutes until they’re quite soft.

Remember to stir your chicken around while it’s cooking so that it browns up nice and evenly. When the chicken looks pretty much done, put it into a roasting tin (or any deep oven-proof dish you have) and add the blanched tomatoes with skins removed and the potatoes.

If you have a pestle and mortar, place the fresh oregano leaves in it and give it a good, hard bashing! Really beat it up – imagine it’s the face of someone you despise! This will help release the flavour and make it taste wonderful. Add a bit of olive oil to the oregano – roughly three tablespoons – stir it around and then pour this ‘oregano oil’ over the chicken mixture.

If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, you can try to bruise the oregano by placing it on a wooden chopping board and mash it with a rolling pin or spoon. Once looking mushy, pop it in a bowl and add the olive oil.

Squeeze the juice of a lemon all over the food and place in a pre-heated oven for about 35 minutes at about 220 degrees or gas mark 7.

I made a tasty gravy from the discarded bones of the chicken thighs – any old gravy will do really.

If you like, serve this with steamed green beans and carrots. Enjoy as an alternative Sunday Roast!

Yum!

Pasta is one of my other half’s favourite dishes so he always suggests it when I’m at a loss for dinner ideas. We usually end up deciding to have some sort of “pasta tomato thing”.

This sauce is fantastic for a quick and easy (not to mention cheap) pasta meal.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (optional if you fancy a veggie meal)
1 green pepper
1/2 an onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 red chillis (or as much as you want)
1 tin chopped tomatos
a handful of green beans (aka haricots verts)
a handful of okra (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Enough for two or three people

Method

Chop the chicken breasts, pepper, onion, garlic and chillis however you want to (not too finely chopped).

Fry the onion and garlic until slightly browned in a large frying pan or wok, then add the chicken, chilli and green pepper.

When the chicken is looking as if it’s nearly cooked through, chop the ends off the green beans and add to the pan. Cut the (optional) okra into smallish pieces and add this too.

I added okra because I had a load of it in the fridge which desperately needed using up – feel free to add any other vegetables you fancy (sweetcorn, mushrooms, aubergine or chickpeas all work well).

After a few minutes add the tin of chopped tomatos and the cayenne pepper. You may want to boil off some of the liquid from the tin of tomatos. Stir for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked and the tomatos are nice and warm!

Serve with any type of pasta you fancy and perhaps a bit of garlic bread too!

Welsh cakes – yummy. Not to be confused with scones! I suppose they’re a kind of mixture between a scone and pancake and they’re so, so easy to make.

Welsh cakes remind me of my favourite teacher from Primary school, Mrs Hill. I’m sure we did the odd bit of learning from time to time but the only thing I remember about her was constantly being in the classroom kitchen, making Welsh cakes. Oh to be six again…

A good Welsh cake will have a touch of mixed spice added to give it a good old Welsh kick! Mixed spice usually contains nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, caraway and cloves.

Ingredients

230g self-raising flour
125g butter (unsalted)
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
75g caster sugar
75g raisins and/or currants
1 egg

Makes around 15 Welsh cakes

Method

Combine the flour, sugar and spice in a mixing bowl and add the butter. Using your hands, mush the butter into the mixture. It’ll eventually end up as a crumbly mess and should be quite dry to the touch. Then mix in the currants.

Beat the egg and add it into the mixture. Again, using your hands, mush it all together until you get a doughy consistency.

Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and use it to roll out your dough to less than 1cm in thickness. If like me you’re lacking a rolling pin, try wrapping cling film around a baseball bat or bottle of something – it works a treat!

Use a cutter (or the open end of an empty jam jar) to cut the dough into circle shapes.

Alternatively you could roll bits of dough into balls and use your hands to flatten them out.

Grease a non-stick frying pan with a bit of butter and warm it up to a medium heat. Cook each Welsh cake for around 3 or 4 minutes each side.

Serve warm with a sprinkle of sugar and a smidge of cream or butter.

The perfect snack for during tomorrow’s Welsh rugby game! Blasus iawn (very tasty)!

I remember visiting a friend of mine from an Indian family. It was about 9 o’clock in the morning and I was amazed to find her mum in the kitchen chopping onions, peeling vegetables and marinading chicken. I thought ‘wow, curry for breakfast, I’m glad I popped by!’

But no, she was preparing the evening meal. From then on, that’s what I’ve considered making a ‘proper’ curry to be; long hours of hard work and preparation – but boy is it worth it!

Don’t get me wrong, half the time I make curry it’s done in a rush within an hour but when I’m feeling inspired (and bored) I know it’s time to make an all-day curry!

Jalfrezi is one of my favourite curry dishes because it has this amazing flavour to it and it’s nice and spicy!

To make this version you’ll need some time, some big pans and a food processor.

Ingredients

The sauce:
1/2 a large onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
a lump of chopped ginger – roughly half the size of your thumb
1 tin plum tomatoes
1/2 pint of water
1 tbsp ground corriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric

The meat & veg:
2 chicken breasts, diced up
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 a large onion, sliced
2 red chillis (optional)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala (spice mix)
a handful of fresh, chopped coriander leaves

Makes enough for two hungry curry monsters.

Method:

First off, you’ll want to take the chopped chicken and coat it in the cumin, ground corriander and turmeric then leave it to marinade in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight).

To make the sauce, fry the roughly chopped onions with the garlic, ginger and green chilli in a large pan until they’re slightly browned. Add the water to the onion mixture and simmer this for around an hour. Then allow it to cool down.

While that’s simmering, put the plum tomatoes in a food processor and give it a good whizz – aim for a smooth consistency. Heat another large pan and gently fry the ground coriander, cumin and turmeric in a splash of oil for about a minute.

Then add the tomato ‘paste’ and simmer for around 30 minutes.

Give your cooled onion mixture a good whizz in the food processor and add it to the spiced tomato sauce. Give it a stir and simmer for 20 minutes.

You can make large batches of this sauce and freeze it for later use.

Fry the marinaded chicken in hot oil (chilli oil or olive oil will work) and stir continuously. After a few minutes, turn down the heat and add the other half of the chopped onion, the red pepper and chillis. Stir this until the onions and pepper soften (and the chicken is cooked, of course).

Then add the earlier prepared sauce to the fried chicken and simmer for around 10-20 minutes. Just before you dish it up, stir in the garam masala and chopped coriander leaves.

I serve my jalfrezi with basmati rice (add a tsp turmeric while it’s boiling to get a fabulous yellow colour) and a dollop of lime pickle – delicious!

I admit that this isn’t a particularly easy recipe but it will taste divine! I promise to add some more easier and quicker curries.

Chili con carne is definitely one of my favourite dishes. It can be made in so many different ways and you can mix in a variety of ingredients.

Apparently traditional chili recipes don’t include any beans and to serve it with rice is a travesty. Bugger the traditionalists, I say! Chili is so versatile that you can make it exactly what you want it to be.

This is my tried and tested (and yummy) version:

Ingredients

500g minced beef
1 finely chopped onion
1 chopped red pepper (or green, if you fancy a change)
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans
1/2 small tin of sweetcorn (optional)
200 ml beef stock (fresh if you’re lucky, cubes if you’re not)
2 tsp of ground cumin
2 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 red chilli pepper (optional, add as much or little chilli as you can handle)
a smidge of ground black pepper (and salt if you like)

Enough for four people, or two with plenty of leftovers!

Method

In a nice big pan, on a medium heat, brown the onions and add the chopped pepper. When the onion and pepper are softened add the garlic but be careful not to burn it or you’ll lose its beautiful taste!

Around a minute after adding the garlic, add your mince carefully. By carefully I mean that you should add it in small chunks, seperating the strands of meat as best you can – this will help prevent it from clumping together.

Once the meat is nicely browned stir in the cumin, cayenne pepper and corriandor. Fry for a few minutes and then add the chopped tomatos, then the chilli pepper. Allow the juice from the tinned tomatos go in the mixture too; this will help to make the sauce. Stir the tomatos into the mince then add the beef stock and black pepper (and salt if you want to) and stir.

Once you’ve got to this stage in the cooking, you can be as quick or slow as you like. Chili con carne likes to simmer. Leave it to simmer for as long as you can stand waiting! (I usually leave it 20 or 30 minutes but feel free to leave it to up to an hour if you want). You’ll want to get a relatively thick consistency so if your chili is a bit watery slowly bring it to the boil and wait for it to thicken up.

The wonderful aroma of cumin should be waltzing around your kitchen at this point. You’ll want to have a taste to see if you want to add anymore cumin or chilli (if you’ve had a chilli accident and find that it’s too hot, try adding sugar in small amounts, until you can cope with the heat – you weakling!).

As soon as you’re happy with the taste you can add the kidney beans and (optional) sweetcorn. When I’m using up ingredients from the back of the cupboard I sometimes add in chick peas.

Then it’s up to you to decide how you want to eat it! My favourite is with rice; it really fills you up. Or you could serve it in tortilla wraps with a salad. Of course, you could always have it on top of a baked potato and a sprinkle of grated cheese on top – yum!

“Whenever I meet someone who does not consider chili a favorite dish, then I’ve usually found someone who has never tasted good chili.”

Jane Butel, author of ‘Chili Madness’