Oaty Apple Crunchable

With this wet autumnal weather I'm craving hot wintery dishes! I call this a crunchable: it hits the spot just like a crumble, but has healthy oats and only takes five minutes!

The toasted oats and caramelised sugar give a nice crunch. It works as a topping for any kind of stewed fruit, or use tinned fruit for an instant treat. Last week I collected a load of mixed windfall apples which I stewed gently for about ten minutes with sugar, cinnamon and a knob of butter.

Serve with hot custard, or cold ice cream! I ate mine with toffee frozen yoghurt - stay tuned for my recipe!

This recipe makes enough for one lucky person:

• 2 handfuls of oats (no measuring here!)
• 1 handful brown sugar
• Knob of butter

1. Take a frying pan and melt the butter on a moderate high heat
2. Toss the oats and sugar in the hot butter.
3. Stir until the oats go nutty and the sugar starts to melt and caramelise. This only takes a few minutes, don't let it burn!
4. Tip the hot mixture on top of a hot bowl of stewed fruit. Enjoy!

Baked eggs and tomato

This is a lovely recipe for a leisurely Sunday brunch, particularly on a wet miserable day like today! This recipe makes two eggs per person in individual serving dishes. Eat it with crusty bread or sautéed potatoes.

• 2 eggs
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered
• 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
• Tomato oil (from sun-dried tomatoes), or olive oil
• Half tsp paprika
• Cheddar or parmesan for the top (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Put a tablespoon of oil in a small ovenproof dish
3. Fit the tomatoes and garlic into the dish. 
4. Sprinkle with salt and dust with paprika.
5. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes
6. Remove from the oven, make twos hollows in the tomatoes and gently crack an egg into each.
7. Return to the oven and cook for about eight minutes, until the whites are set but the yolk still runny.
8. If using, add a sprinkling of grated cheese around the edges just before the end of cooking.

Variations

If you have stale leftover bread that needs using up, shred a slice into the bottom of the dish before layering with tomatoes. The bread soaks up the oil and tomato juice making a delicious gooey mixture.

I like the warm heat of paprika, but herbs like thyme or chives are a nice alternative. Chilli gives a spicy kick.

Peach and ginger cobbler

My best recipes always seem to be "I have loads of this and loads of that, what can I do with them?"

This time I had a punnet of peaches which had been rock hard for a week, then all went soft at once. Plus a load of ginger which has been languishing in my fridge a while, and I thought, do peaches and ginger go together? It turns out that yes, they're a delicious combination!

I considered a crumble or a pie suddenly thought, of course, peach cobbler! I haven't made a cobbler in years, but this was a delicious success. The crunchy top and gooey insides with the soft spicy peaches are heavenly.

For the cobbler:

• 100g self raising flour
• 50g butter
• 50g sugar
• 2 tbsp cold water

1. Put the flour, butter and sugar into a bowl and rub all together.
2. Add the water a little at a time until it all comes together into a dough.
3. Wrap the dough and put in the fridge to cool.

For the peaches:

• 4 ripe peaches, stoned and cut into segments
• 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 small orange
• 20 g sugar
• Generous knob of butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Small glass sherry or amaretto

1. Take the zest from the orange, cut off the remaining peel then slice the flesh into chunks.
2. Put the butter into a pan on a high heat.
3. Add the peaches and mix, you want them to caramelize a little bit.
4. Stir in the ginger and orange.
5. Add the sugar and mix in, then add the sherry and vanilla.
6. Mix together until the sugar has all dissolved then take off the heat.

Assemble and cook:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C or equivalent.
2. Gently spoon the peaches into either two individual oven dishes or one larger dish.
3. Take the cobbler dough from the fridge. Roughly roll out to an inch thick, and with a small cutter, cut 4 or 6 discs depending on thickness and size of your cutter.
4. Pop the discs of dough on top of the peaches.
5. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 minutes.
6. Serve with cream or ice cream!

Variations

Flaked almonds are a nice addition to the cobbler, it gives extra crunch.

I like the nice round effect that you get from using tiny biscuit cutters, but to save time and effort, simply cut the dough into six portions, roll into balls with your hands then flatten them slightly.

Caramelised fennel and blue cheese risotto

It's turned a bit autumnal here despite being August, so after buying some big fat fennel bulbs in the market I made a favourite warming recipe, fennel risotto with blue cheese.

It's amazing how satisfying a good risotto can be, it's such warming comfort food. It's simple to make but there's definitely a knack to it - the rice should be soft but not overcooked, and there should be enough liquid to ooze a little on the plate, but not so much that liquid runs out. Restaurants often serve runny risotto, this is very wrong to me!

My recipe serves 2-3, you can serve a small portion as a starter. Use whatever blue cheese you favour, a good Stilton or strong Gorgonzola gives a robust flavour and creamy texture, but use something milder if you prefer. A good rich stock is vital to a good recipe, I use Swiss Marigold vegetable stock.

• 1 large fennel bulb, finely sliced
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 200g risotto rice
• 50g blue cheese
• 500 ml rich vegetable stock
• Small glass of white wine or white vermouth
• Knob of butter

1. When slicing the fennel, reserve the whiskery fennel tops for decoration at the end.
2. Splash some oil and a knob of butter in a large frying pan and fry the fennel and onion, initially on a high heat. 
3. When the onions start to go translucent, turn down to a gentle heat and cook for about ten minutes until the fennel and onion go soft and caramelised. 
4. When done, remove from the heat and put to one side.
5. To cook the rice, add oil and a knob of butter in a high-sided frying pan or sauté pan.
6. When the butter starts to bubble, add the rice and stir until all the rice is coated in the oil. Stir for a couple of minutes, this gives the rice a slightly nutty aroma.
7. Stir in the wine or vermouth until the alcohol evaporates, then pour in enough stock to cover the rice.
8. Stir stir stir! Each time the liquid has nearly been absorbed, add more.
9. Once you've used the stock and the rice is part cooked (5-8 minutes or so), stir in the fennel and onion mixture.
10. Keep stirring until the rice is cooked, adding more water as necessary.
11. Taste the rice occasionally to check when it's done.
12. When done, take off the heat and mix in the cheese.
13. To serve, spoon into the middle of a plate and sprinkle with fennel fronds and shavings of blue cheese.

Variations

Caramelised fennel has only a mild aniseed flavour but if you want more kick, add a teaspoon of fennel seeds.

A sprinkling of toasted walnuts when serving gives an extra nutty warmth to the dish.

Corn and red pepper chowder

I was feeling a bit under the weather, had some bright red peppers that needed using, and a bag of corn in the freezer... that means corn chowder! It totally cheered me up, it's hearty, summery soup which looks so pretty in the sunshine.

• 1 large onion, roughly diced
• 2 red peppers, chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 200g small waxy potatoes, chopped into bite sized chunks
• One 400g can or equivalent frozen sweetcorn
• 500 ml vegetable stock (ideally with Swiss Marigold)
• Sprigs of fresh parsley (optional)
• Natural yoghurt or sour cream (optional)

1. Reserve roughly a quarter of the sweetcorn.
2. Splash some oil into a large saucepan along with a knob of butter, and heat.
3. Fry off the chopped onions, then add the peppers and carrot for a few minutes until softened.
4. Make up your stock with boiling water and taste it to make sure it's tasty. The secret to any soup is a good stock.
5. Liquidise the remaining sweetcorn with a little bit of the stock, then add that and the rest of the stock to the pan. If it doesn't quite cover the vegetables add a splash more water.
6. Put on the lid and cook on a moderate heat until the potatoes are cooked (10-15 mins).
7. When it's ready, ladle chowder into bowls and garnish with a spoonful of natural yoghurt or cream, and a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Variations

A handful of Quorn chunks adds protein to this dish.

Meat-eaters can use a good chicken stock and add flaked white fish.

Cool down with Spicy Beetroot Gazpacho

It's el scorchio in London, the hottest day of the year so far! Hankering for something cooling I made gazpacho with a slight difference - the earthy sweetness of beetroot, cooling cucumber, and the spicy kick of chili and garlic. Delicious!

• 1 tin of tomato passata/chopped tomatoes
• 2 cooked beetroot (pref not in vinegar)
• 1/4 stick of cucumber, roughly chopped
• 1 stick celery
• Pinch of salt
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 tsp tabasco (to taste)

1. Whiz up all the ingredients in a blender
2. Serve chilled with lots of ice.

Variations

Fresh tomatoes are actually best, but you need juicy red ones that you'll have to skin by immersing in hot water.

Roasted beetroot give the best flavour here as it really brings out their sweetness and reduces the earthiness.

Also wonderful with a slug of gin!

Roast butternut squash & tomato with bulgar wheat salad

Whilst cooking my lovely tagine the other day, I roasted some extra chunks of butternut squash, tossed with chilli powder and cinnamon, because it's great to have cold as a salad.

I also roasted some plum tomatoes, tossed the two together in sweet balsamic vinegar, and served with cold bulgar wheat which I'd cooked with a pinch of cumin. Dished up, I finished off with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped spring onions. Healthy, tasty and cool with a slight kick.

Also a nice picture I think! I'm trying to practice my food photography, with hot dishes I don't always have time!