3 Ingredient Cheesy Pesto Twists

My kids at the moment are constantly after food. The minute they walk through the door after school they're foraging in the fridge looking for something that takes their fancy, but strangely enough that something never seems to be fruit. Not unless I've peeled and chopped it and put it in a bowl for them.  If there's not a freshly baked offering on the side they then turn to the biscuit tin, which is usually empty.

Earlier in the week I remembered I had some pesto in the fridge, leftover from a pasta dish one night, and not being one that likes throwing food away I decided to put it to good use. I usually keep a roll or two of puff pastry in the fridge or freezer ready to make into something tasty, so thought I would combine the two and make a snack ready for when the kids came in from school.

This simple recipe requires only 3 ingredients, and makes use of that half a jar of pesto, along with hard cheese and a sheet of puff pastry - I go for the ready rolled as it makes life so much simpler!

I USE MY MICROPLANE GRATER FOR EASY GRATING OF HARD CHEESE

These twists are a great accompaniment to a pasta dish, for the kids to snack on after school, or to enjoy with a glass of wine at the weekend.

3 Ingredient Cheesy Pesto Twists recipe by Helen Jessup on Scribd

Ham, Egg & Tomato Brunch Parcels

The end of half term is coming to a close. Goodbye lazy mornings & hello again school runs. It's only a few more weeks until the Summer holidays though, and as this half term is usually the busiest and most exhausting, it will be a welcome relief.

With the weather here being so lovely this week, bedtimes have slipped back, mornings have become shorter and breakfasts have run into lunch. This has been a great excuse to eat brunch, which is so much more exciting than breakfast, as nothing is out of bounds. 

Pastries are not considered to be a healthy breakfast, but add eggs, tomatoes, lean turkey ham, and pop a handful of fresh greens on the side, it suddenly becomes a light, well balanced, and healthy brunch.

We're a bit partial to Bernard Matthews wafer thin Turkey Ham in this house, and it's my usual 'ham' of choice for sandwiches and quick meals. It's often added to a cheese toastie, or forms part of the husband's speciality omelettes or 'egg on beans on cheese on ham on toast', when he's left in charge of dinner. 

Here I've used a combination of the classic brunch/lunch ingredients of ham, egg and tomato in a tasty (and slightly spicy) puff pastry parcel, which is easy to prepare and quick to cook. The scrambled egg could even be made in advance and kept in the fridge, ready to assemble and bake right before brunch time.

Ham, Egg & Tomato Brunch Parcels - makes 6

tbsp olive oil

1/2 red chilli, finely chopped

3 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

4 eggs, beaten

salt & pepper

6 slices Bernard Matthews wafer thin Turkey Ham, chopped

a few basil leaves, chopped

375g (approx) puff pastry sheet

60g grated Emmental cheese

• heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan
• add the chill and tomatoes and cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes
• add the eggs (reserving 2 tbsp for later) & a pinch of salt & pepper and increase the heat
• stir continuously to scramble the eggs
• remove from the heat and stir in the turkey ham & basil leaves
• unroll the pastry sheet & cut into 6 equal squares
• lay the pastry squares onto a lightly greased baking sheet
• spoon the scrambled egg into the centre of the squares
• top the egg with grated Emmental
• brush around the edges of the pastry with the reserved beaten egg
• fold the corners of the pastry into the centre to meet, and brush with more beaten egg
• bake in a preheated 200C oven for approximately 20 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown

serve warm or cold, or pop in a paper bag and take it with you for a brunch on the go!

this post has been commissioned by Bernard Matthews

Dairy Free Chocolate Vol Au Vents

Another week of Great British Bake Off has passed, and this week I decided to give vol au vents a try. I've made puff pastry before, and whilst it was pretty time consuming it wasn't particularly tricky. This time, however, I decided to make a dairy free version, using Pure Sunflower Spread.

Pure Sunflower Spread is a dairy free alternative to butter, which can be used in baking, and whilst I've used it in cakes before, I've never tried it with pastry. As it's much softer than butter I chilled it right down in the freezer before I started, and although the dough became very sticky after a few rolls and turns, it was fine between two sheets of baking paper - just remember not to add any flour during the folding and turning.

The pastry puffed up reasonably well, and although it doesn't rise as much as puff pastry made with butter, it's a healthier alternative, so it's perfect for those wishing to follow a lower fat diet, as well as those cutting out dairy.

Vol au vents often have some kind of creamy filling in them, whether it be sweet or savoury, and I've made a sweet chocolate mousse, which is also dairy free and made using coconut milk. I was tempted to top with a strawberry or raspberry, but in the end opted for some honey roasted almonds, which complimented the sweet filling perfectly.

It may seem like there are a lot of steps in this recipe, but it really isn't complicated, but the making of the pastry and vol au vents can just be a little time consuming.

Dairy Free Chocolate Vol Au Vents

220g Pure Sunflower Spread
220g plain flour
pinch of salt
50ml cold water
100g pitted dates
400ml can coconut milk (refrigerated)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
tsp pure maple syrup
1 egg, beaten
honey roasted almonds

• Place the Pure onto a sheet of baking paper and top with another sheet
• Press the Pure to flatten into a rectangle
• Place in the freezer for an hour
• Cut half of the Pure into cubes and add to a food mixer along with the flour and salt
• Turn the food mixer on low/medium and mix with a flat beater until it resembles breadcrumbs
• With the motor running add the water a little at a time until the dough starts to come together (you won't need to add all the water)
• Form the dough into a ball and flatten out, wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for an hour
• Roll the dough out until it's large enough to encase the remaining slab of Pure
• Place the Pure on top of the dough and fold in each side to cover completely
• Roll the dough into a rectangle 
• Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third up
• Turn 90 degrees and repeat
• Keep repeating this cycle to build up the layers - you will need to place in the freezer for 20 minutes every 2nd turn
• If the dough becomes too sticky try rolling between two sheets of baking paper
• Once you've repeated the process 10-15 times chill in the fridge for an hour before rolling out
• Roll out on a floured surface to the thickness of a one pound coin
• Cut an equal quantity of discs from the pastry (don't re-roll or you will lose your layers)
• Cut a smaller disc from the centre of half of the larger discs to make a ring
• Brush the whole discs with beaten egg
• Lay one of the rings over a disc & repeat with the remaining discs/rings (I also made a few mini versions using the cut out discs)
• Place the vol au vents on a baking tray
• Bake in a preheated 200C oven for approx 10-15 minutes, until puffed up & golden
• Allow to cool on a wire rack

Filling

• Place the dates into a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 20 minutes
• Open the can of coconut milk and you will find that the it's separated into two parts - scoop the cream away from the water
• Drain the dates and add to a food processor with the coconut cream, cocoa powder & maple syrup
• Blend until smooth
• Refrigerate until firm enough to pipe & pipe into the vol au vent cases
• Top with a couple of honey roasted almonds

Win a dream baking kit worth £1000 with #bakedairyfree

If you're a bit of a whizz when it comes to baking dairy free creations then this competition that Pure Dairy Free are hosting could be for you, and you could be in with a chance of winning a dream baking kit worth £1000.

this recipe was commissioned by Pure

#shortcuteggsperts - Roast Dinner Tart

For the final #shortcuteggsperts challenge for British Lion Eggs I have been challenged to create a recipe that uses up leftovers as well as eggs. With 5 of us in the house (including one teen with a bottomless pit for a stomach) we don't often have much in the way of leftovers, but if we do they are always put to good use, and never thrown away.

New research by British Lion eggs ahead of British Egg Week (6-12 October 2014) has found that today’s mums are increasingly committed to reducing food waste to save food, time and money - but their biggest challenge is how to feed the family on leftovers and random ingredients at the end of the week. A study of 2,000 mums* found that with the most common days for food shopping being Monday and Saturday, and 55% of mums running out of food 4-5 days after their shop, 67% admit they end up living on scratch meals using leftovers towards the end of the week, peaking on Fridays.

I can definitely relate to these results, and quite often at the end of the week I make random meals to use up the vegetables left in the fridge, be in it a curry, a soup or ratatouille (my favourite). If you have meat and vegetables leftover from your Sunday dinner this recipe is an easy way to use them up, and of course it includes a couple of large free range eggs.

Roast Dinner Tart - serves 4/5

1 sheet of puff pastry

butter for greasing

leftover meat, veg & stuffing - I used roast pork, broccoli, courgettes and mini stuffing balls

1/2 small red onion, sliced

2 large eggs

150g cream cheese

salt & pepper

• Roll out the pastry into a rectangle that would cover a baking tray with raised sides
• Lay a sheet of baking paper onto the baking tray, and grease with butter
• Lay the pastry sheet onto the tray, making sure that the pastry reaches up the sides of the tin
• Prick the base of the pastry with a fork
• Bake in a preheated 200C oven for approx 5 minutes (to avoid a soggy bottom)
• Cut the leftovers into bitesized pieces and scatter over the pastry along with the onion slices
• Beat the eggs and cream cheese together, and season to taste
• Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables
• Return to the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown

I have been provided with shopping vouchers to cover the cost of my ingredients