This is a really simple goat’s cheese starter.

– Use North African brick pastry sheets. If you can’t find them, filo pastry should also work.
– Cut each round brick sheet in half and fold each half lengthwise to obtain a long strip. If you are using rectangular sheets of pastry, cut into strips.
– There are many many techniques of folding samosa shaped triangles. The best technique I know of can be seen here on the right (thanks to youtube)
– Place a thin slice of tomato and a slice of goats cheese into your pastry packet

– Seal well with melted butter
– Brush all over with more melted butter
– Brown in a hot oven for ten minutes or fry with some oil in a pan. You can also deep fry these samosas, they only need a few minutes before turning a lovely golden brown colour.
– Serve on top of a salad (I use roquette or young spinach leaves)
– Sprinkle with a little balsamic vinaigrette

I obtained some chilli powder from Bolivia. I used it in this very interesting variation on Chilli Con Carne:
Chilli:
– Fry a chopped onion
– Brown some freshly minced beef
– Add some chilli powder, some garlic and a little ground coriander
– Add a large tin of peeled tomatoes (or some fresh chopped tomatoes) and one or two little squares of dark chocolate
– Simmer until the sauce thickens
– Add a tin of red beans
Topping:
– Boil some potatoes, carrots and sweet potato
– When soft, drain and make a mash, add a little butter and some grated cheese
Pie:
– Place the chilli in an ovenproof dish
– Place a sliced tomato on top
– Cover with the mash and make some pretty patterns on top with a fork
– Cook in a hot oven until nicely browned on top
For those who are frightened of making a chilli that is too hot and spicy, you can substitute the chilli powder with sweet mild paprika. When serving put some tabasco or hot sauce on the table for those who like it “hot”, and some do…

I’m sure I have posted this recipe somewhere here already. This version was especially tasty:
– Fry a chopped onion
– Make green curry paste in a blender using the following ingredients:
– a large bunch on fresh coriander (leaves and stalks)
– one or two fresh chillies (depending on how hot they are)
– one clove of garlic
– about 2cms of fresh ginger
– a teaspoon of Thai shrimp paste (sometimes called Trassi or Kapi – you can buy it in most oriental stores)
– A little oil, sesame oil is good for a nutty flavour
– Add the curry paste to the onions
– Add coconut milk
– Add a tin of peas, or fresh peas, or even frozen ones
– Cook on a gentle heat
– Add fresh peeled shrimp and cook through (if you are using cooked shrimps do not cook for so long, just heat them sufficiently)
I serve this with rice and fresh basil.

This sauce has a lot of ingredients. It’s better if you cook it a few hours in advance or even the day before to allow the deep flavors to merge and mingle.
– Fry a chopped onion in a little oil.
– Add a tin of peeled tomatoes
– Add the following ingredients:
2 cloves chopped garlic, teaspoon ground coriander, teaspoon ground cumin, two big spoons tomato ketchup, lemon (or lime) juice, tablespoon dark brown sugar, big teaspoon molasses, two or three tablespoons red wine vinegar, a chopped chilli pepper (or two depending on how hot they are), two big spoons of mango chutney, two teaspoons honey, glass of orange juice, big dash of Worcester sauce, two tablespoons of soy sauce, 2cms of chopped fresh ginger (or teaspoon ground ginger), big teaspoon of mustard, a little water, salt to taste (just a little, the soy sauce usually makes it salty enough).

– simmer on a low heat for 35-45 minutes, add some more water if the mixture starts getting too thick
– I add an optional ingredient at the end which is “liquid smoke”, you can buy this if you live in the US, otherwise it can be ordered on the internet at myamericanmarket.com. It gives a wonderful smoky taste.
– I cook spare ribs for 45 minutes in the oven and baste regularly both sides with this sauce. Then finish them off on the barbecue. You can use it with practically any barbecue recipes. Heat some sauce and put on the table for dipping.
The photo on the left shows my barbecue ribs served with Mille Feuilles of Boulgur and Quinoa (see recipe here above)

My mother used to make fish pie regularly, this recipe brought back childhood memories similar to that wonderful scene with the food critic in the movie Ratatouille.
– Chop two leeks and gently fry in some olive oil with a chopped onion.
– Peel and boil some potatoes and carrots, you can also add a turnip, a swede, or a sweet potato.
– Add a little water to the leeks if they start to stick to the pan
– When the leeks are soft add a large knob of butter to the pan.
– Sprinkle with flour and mix well. When all the lumps of flour are dissolved, add some milk and keep stirring until the sauce starts to thicken. Add plenty of nutmeg.
– If the leek/béchamel sauce is too thick add some more milk or a little cream.
– De-bone some fillets of fresh salmon and remove the skin. Actually any other fish would also be good.
– Place the fish in a deep baking dish, add pepper and sprinkle a little white wine over it, for added flavour.
– Pour over your leek/béchamel mixture.
– Mash the potatoes (and other vegetables if used) with a little butter.
– Spread the mash over the top of the fish and leeks. Make pretty patterns on the top with a fork.
– Bake in the oven at 200° for 25-30 minutes by which time the mash topping should have started to brown.

For me the best condiment to go with this fish pie is a generous dose of hot tabasco.

I purchased some cooking rings. They are really useful for making individual gratin portions (“rostis”), perfectly round fried eggs, and for making very pretty presentations on a plate. You can find them in most supermarkets now or buy them online at places like Tescos or even Amazon. They are very cheap. I am told you can also cut an opened tin can in half, but this sounds dangerous, beware of cutting yourself.
I have always like cooking with cereals, rice and couscous of course but also Bulgur, Quinoa, Barley and Millet. I made these little cereal and tomato moulds to accompany my chicken breasts stuffed with horn of plenty mushrooms with blueberry sauce
– Fry a chopped onion in a little oil.
– Add a mixture of quinoa and bulgur, salt, pepper and some stock to just cover
– Cook for about 10-15 minutes adding more stock if necessary. This method is identical to making a risotto. Different grains are available in different countries and require varying cooking times. You need to stop cooking when the cereals have absorbed all the liquid but are still a little “al dente”.
– Allow the cereals to cool a little and add a lot of chopped parsley, or better, some chopped basil.
– Slice a large tomato, I used Coeur de Boeuf or “BeefHeart” tomatoes. Using your chef’s cooking rings, cut out a circle from each tomato slice just the size to fit inside the rings.
– Grate some cheese, I used a mixture of freshly grated parmesan and goat’s cheese but emmenthal or cheddar will also work.
– Add one or two eggs (depending on how many rings you are making) to the cooled quinoa/bulgur/parsley (or basil) mixture.
– Assemble your rings with a layer of cereals, a layer of grated cheese, a slice of tomato, a layer of cereals, a layer of grated cheese and topped with a tomato ring. Add any leftover grated cheese on top.
– Bake in a medium oven for 12-15 minutes.
– Place the rings on a plate and carefully lift them off. The eggs and melted cheese should have set the little “towers” which look just spectacular.

They say that your can keep Christmas pudding indefinitely in a plastic container in the fridge. I guess this is because the amount of alcohol that goes into it, a very long shelf life is assured.
You can see my Christmas Dinner Leftovers recipes on my 26th December post.
You can imagine that I was a little reluctant about making a dessert from the leftover Christmas pudding in early May (ie 6 months old) but as this was a homemade pudding based upon the wonderful Good Housekeeping recipe, it did smell ok, and the archeological effort of re-discovering it and getting it out of the deepest depths of the fridge sort of justified doing something with it.
In fact, after months of marinating, it was just delicious, better than at Christmas.
– Roll out several layers of fill pastry, brush each side with melted butter and lay on top of each other.
– Grate an apple (or two). Add some cinnamon and nutmeg.
– Spread the grated apple and left over Christmas Pudding onto the layers of filo pastry. Moisten with a little rum or brandy if the mixture seems too dry.
– Roll up the pastry into a roll and brush all over with more melted butter.
– Bake in a hot oven until golden brown.
– Slice and serve with cream, ice cream or even some bandy or bum rutter.