Roasted Butternut Squash, Rosemary and Garlic Lasagne

This is by far the best lasagne I have ever had, It is simply divine. I first had it at my friend Michelle's house and have made it myself on numerous occasions for guests. It is quite simple to make but does require some time. The butternut squash alone takes a good 30 minutes to cut properly. But it is totally worth it!

It is an epicurious.com recipe which I have tweaked. I absolutely love that website and tend to go there straight away when I am looking for ideas.

Ingredients

3 pounds butternut squash, quartered, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice 

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 cups milk

2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crumbled

1 tablespoon minced garlic

56g unsalted butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 onion, sliced

9 no-boil lasagne sheets 

1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan 

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 450°F. and oil 2 large shallow baking pans.

In a large bowl toss squash with oil until coated well and spread in one layer in pans. Roast squash in oven 10 minutes and season with salt. Stir squash and roast 10 to 15 minutes more, or until tender and beginning to turn golden.

While squash is roasting, in a saucepan bring milk to a simmer with rosemary. Heat milk mixture over low heat 10 minutes and pour through a sieve into a large pitcher or measuring cup.

In a large heavy saucepan cook garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in flour and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk mixture in a stream until smooth. Return pan to heat and simmer sauce, whisking occasionally, about 10 minutes, or until thick. Stir in squash and salt and pepper to taste. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, its surface covered with cling film.

Reduce temperature to 375°F. and butter a baking dish, 13 by 9 by 2 inches.

Pour 1 cup sauce into baking dish (sauce will not cover bottom completely) and cover with 3 lasagne sheets, making sure they do not touch each other. Spread some sauce over pasta and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan and a sprinkle of sliced onion. Make 2 more layers in the same manner, finishing off the sauce and sliced onion.

Cover dish tightly with foil, tenting slightly to prevent foil from touching top layer, and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake lasagne 20 minutes more, or until top is bubbling and golden. Let lasagne stand for 20 minutes.

      

                

    

       

Mary Berry's Pinwheel Biscuits

Who doesn't love Mary Berry? Ian and I really got into last seasons' Great British Bake Off when we were flicking through channels and saw a bearded guy called Ian dramatically throw his not so Baked Alsaka in the bin in a tantrum because Diana had taken it out of the fridge on purpose. 

Well, after that we were hooked. It had everything you could want from a TV show - drama, suspense, good vs evil and delicious baked goods. 

I saw Mary Berry demonstrate these biscuits in one of the Masterclasses and thought I would give it a go. They are easy to make and taste yummy. 

As you can see, mine didn't turn out as perfectly as I would have liked, but hey ho, practice makes perfect. They only lasted 1 & 1/2 days. Hmmm...maybe that's why I am unable to shift that post baby weight.

Ingredients

Vanilla biscuit dough 

50g softened butter

25g caster sugar

25g cornflour 

50g plain flour 

½ large egg 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate biscuit dough 

50g softened butter

25g caster sugar

25g cornflour

40g plain flour 

½ large egg 

15g cocoa powder

Method

Make each of the doughs by creaming the butter and sugar together, mixing in the egg, sifting the dry ingredients over the top and mixing until the dough comes together.

Wrap each dough separately in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm.

Flour your bench lightly and roll each dough out (separately) to a piece 25 x 18cm. Keep any excess dough to make marbled biscuits by mixing both batches together. 

Place the vanilla dough on top of the chocolate dough and roll up tightly. 

Re-wrap the roll in cling film and place back in the fridge to chill for a further 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 180° and remove the dough from the fridge, cutting 20 slices and placing them on a lined baking tray. Make sure the dough is very firm before you start cutting the biscuits or else, again, they may become misshaped.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the vanilla biscuit is golden brown. 

       

                     

      

Marbled Shooting stars with the scraps of dough

The proof is in the pudding

Nigella's Mirin Glazed Salmon

As you all know by now, I love Nigella and her recipes. They are uncomplicated and delicious. This recipe however is in a different league. It literally takes 10 minutes from the moment you open your fridge to take out the Salmon, to when you have the most amazing glossy and glazed fish on your plate.

Ingredients 
60 ml mirin (japanese sweet rice wine)
50 grams soft light brown sugar
60 ml soy sauce
500 grams salmon (4 x 125g / 4oz cut from the thick part so narrow but tall rather than wide and flat)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 - 2 spring onions (halved and shredded into fine strips)

Method
Mix the mirin, brown sugar and soy sauce in a shallow dish that will take all 4 pieces of salmon, and marinate the salmon in it for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second.

Meanwhile heat a large non-stick frying pan on the hob.

Cook the salmon in the hot, dry pan for 2 minutes and then turn the salmon over, add the marinade and cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove the salmon and add the rice vinegar to the hot pan, and warm through.

Pour the glaze over the salmon and top with the spring onion strips.

Serve with rice or noodles.

If you have any leftover salmon (I highly doubt it), keep it in the fridge and make a salad out of it the next day. It is meant to be divine.

All you need

                            

Served on a bed of rice with spring onions

Addictive Chilli Paneer

I absolutely love Chilli Paneer. In fact, I love paneer, fullstop. Whether it's Paneer Tikka for starters, or a Muttar Paneer curry for mains, to the ultimate - Chilli Paneer. My mouth is already drooling! I found this recipe on Google. As usual I typed in 'Best...recipe' but this was actually on the second page of the search results. The reason why I sifted through the front page recipes was purely down to the amount of ingredients and complexity of those recipes. As you know by now, I like quick and cheerful.

If I am being completely honest, I am off this chilli paneer dish for the time being. When I made this recipe for my friends, it was so yummy that I cooked it from scratch THREE MORE times in the SAME WEEK. Yes - that's right, I had a lot of chilli paneer that week. In fact, that is all I ate for 7 days in a row. I am an 'all or nothing' type of girl.

So cook this recipe at your own risk. You have been warned - it is delicious and completely addictive!

Ingredients
200g Paneer (cubed)
1 Green Pepper
1 Onion
5 Green chillies (you could add more depending on how hot you like it)
2 teaspoons Soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chilli sauce
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Pepper powder (black)
1 tablespoon Garlic and ginger paste
Handful of Chopped coriander
Salt as needed

Batter for frying Paneer cubes:
Vegetable oil as needed for frying
1 & 1/2 tablespoons of Plain flour
1 & 1/2 tablespoons of Corn flour
Pinch of Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon of Salt

Method
Make a thick batter of plain flour and corn flour with salt. The batter consistency should be enough to coat the paneer smoothly.

Fry the paneer cubes by dipping them in this batter, drain in paper towel.

Cube the onion, green pepper and slit the green chillies

Heat a pan with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add the crushed garlic and ginger paste and green chillies. Fry for 2 minutes. BEWARE - you get a lot of oil sparks and the garlic and ginger paste pops everywhere. I recommend you use a tea towel in front your body when stirring the pan.

Add the onion and fry till transparent.

Add the green pepper and stir in high flame.

Reduce flame and add the sauces, pepper amd salt and mix well.

Add the deep fried paneer cubes and mix in the lemon juice and mix well until everything blends evenly.

Lastly add the coriander leaves and transfer to the serving dish.

Paneer frying in batter

                               

Et voila!

Ina's French Toast Bread Pudding

I think Ina Garten (fondly known as Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network) is fantastic! She appears to have such a warm personality on TV and I adore how much she is still in love with Jeffery (her childhood sweetheart and husband of almost 50 years)! I have tried a few of Ina's recipes and they never disappoint. Yummy, easy and quick to prepare the recipes I have tried always taste delicious and leave people wanting more.

I ate this French Toast at my friend Laura's house, who kindly hosted a Stella & Dot Trunk Show for me and I was addicted. She also packed some for me to take home and I am reluctant to say, it was all gone by the end of the car ride home. Yes, all 4 pieces.

I tried this recipe for my husband's surprise birthday brunch and it went down a storm. Our friends took pieces home in doggy bags and it was all gone by the end of the brunch!

Ingredients
1 sliced Brioche loaf
8 large eggs
5 cups milk
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt (I use Maldon)
Icing sugar and pure maple syrup, for serving

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

Arrange the bread in two layers in a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish, cutting the bread to fit the dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, honey, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Pour the mixture over the bread and press the bread down. Allow to soak for 10 minutes.

Place the baking dish in a larger roasting pan and add enough very hot tap water to the roasting pan to come an inch up the side of the baking dish. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil, tenting it so the foil doesn't touch the pudding. Make two slashes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes, remove the aluminum foil, and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes, until the pudding puffs up and the custard is set. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.

With a small sieve, dust lightly with confectioners' sugar and serve hot in squares with maple syrup on the side.