LIVER

Raw liver is never a pretty sight. Right up there with Brussels sprouts and lumpy custard, it’s one of those things that lots of children, not to mention adults, go green at the mere mention of. Not only that, you have to spend at least ten minutes preparing liver before cooking and you run the risk of splattering blood all over the kitchen if you plonk a plateful down too carelessly on the work top. So what then, I hear you cry, is the point of liver?

Well, if you can get past the downside, liver is also pretty tasty, versatile, full of protein – and dirt cheap. Lambs’ liver is your best bet for an everyday dinner, closely followed by chicken livers. Ox liver and pigs’ liver are even cheaper, but they have a stronger, less pleasant flavour – and they remind me of bad school dinners and pet food. At the other end of the scale, calves’ liver is tender and delicious, but considerably more expensive, so even though it’s my favourite I only buy it occasionally.

If you don’t like the idea of eating liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti, try one of the following recipes...

To prepare liver

Put the liver into a colander and give it a good rinse under the cold tap to get rid of most of the blood; now you can see the skin and any other little bits of sinew that need removing much more easily. (As with any other meat, I find it much easier to cut liver up with kitchen scissors.) Coat the pieces in a little seasoned flour and you’re ready to go.

CHICKEN LIVER RISOTTO

Add 1/2 glass of white wine and 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper with the stock for extra zing.

SERVES 4–6:
1/2 lb (250g) chicken livers
4 rashers of back bacon
1 onion
2 peppers
1 courgette
Mushrooms
A handful of spinach
1 clove of garlic

Rice (roughly one handful per person)
Oil
1 pint (500 ml) (approx) chicken stock made with 2 stock cubes
Thyme
Parsley
Paprika

Method

• 1.Wash and chop the onion, garlic, peppers and courgette.
• 2.Prepare liver in the usual way; snip into small pieces with the bacon and quick fry for a few minutes in a large saucepan with the oil until the bacon is brown and crisp and the liver is done on the outside.
• 3.Strain off as much of the oil and liquid as you can; warm some more oil in the pan, then add the onion, garlic, peppers and courgette and cook for a few more minutes, until the onion is soft and golden.
• 4.Wash and drain the rice, mix it well with the meat and vegetables in the saucepan and add the stock with the herbs. (Don’t worry too much about any extra liquid; risotto tends to be wetter than most other rice dishes and you can always strain some of the liquid off at the end once the rice is cooked if you think there’s too much.)
• 5.Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer very gently for about 15 minutes until the rice is just soft, adding the spinach about five minutes before the end. Sprinkle the finished risotto with paprika and season to taste.

ALSO TRY...

• 1.LIVER, BACON & ONION: (see Chapter 10: Weekly Menu Planning).
• 2.LIVER IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE: Prepare and pan fry 1 or 2 packets of lambs’ liver with a sliced red onion, then add a small tin of pineapple chunks (without the juice) and the black bean sauce; stir well and simmer for about 15 minutes.
• 3.SPICY LIVER & PORK MEATBALLS: Add 1 small packet (say 80p worth) of roughly chopped liver to about 1 lb (450 g) of minced pork (see Spicy Pork Meatballs, in this chapter).
• 4.MIXED GRILL: A great favourite back in the 1970s when prawn cocktails and Black Forest Gateau were the height of fashion, a mixed grill is traditionally a fat and cholesterol-laden time bomb. Make a slightly less lethal version by washing and preparing the liver in the usual way, then frying in a little olive oil and butter with some kidney, mushrooms and a small, finely sliced onion. Garnish with watercress and serve with good quality, oven-cooked sausages, grilled tomatoes and potato wedges or oven chips.

FISH

Support your local fishmonger – or the fresh fish counter in your local supermarket, if you’re lucky enough to have one. I think lots of us tend to be unadventurous when it comes to buying and cooking fish simply because we just don’t know what to do with it and are too shy to ask. British fish stocks have been in crisis for a long time and by now we should all be eating more ‘sustainable’ fish, such as herrings, sprats, sole, sardines and red mullet. So don’t ignore those friendly, helpful faces behind the fish counter any longer; ask for advice and start cooking more fish from this moment on. I will if you will.

Tips

Prawns can be defrosted much more quickly than the instructions on the packaging suggest if you’re using them for cooking. Just put them in a colander and rinse well in cold water; leave to drain for about 15 minutes, then rinse well again.

TUNA LASAGNE

If you like, use grated cheddar instead – although cottage cheese makes this a very low fat option – and leave out the parmesan and breadcrumb topping.

Serve with salad, broccoli or any other green vegetables, and extra sweetcorn.

SERVES 4 – 6:
1 tin of tuna (any size)
2 standard tins of chopped tomatoes
Frozen prawns (1 small bag or half a large one)
Spinach (a couple of handfuls)
Frozen sweetcorn (or one small tin)
Lasagne sheets (approx 9)
Lemon juice
Basil
Black pepper

FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE:
1 small carton of cottage cheese
2 oz (50 g) butter
2 oz (50 g) flour
1 pint (500 ml) milk

OPTIONAL:
Parmesan cheese
Breadcrumbs

METHOD

• 1.Wash the spinach, tear into pieces; drain the tin of tuna and mix with the defrosted prawns, chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn, lemon juice and seasoning in a large bowl.

TO MAKE THE CHEESE SAUCE:

• a.Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for a minute until the paste is glazed and shiny looking.
• b.Remove from the heat, add the milk and cheese, and return to the heat. Keep stirring the sauce continuously and make it easy on yourself by using a small hand whisk instead of a wooden spoon to stop it going lumpy. (If you want the sauce a bit thinner, just whisk in more milk.)

• 2.Layer the tuna mixture and the pasta sheets with a couple of spoonfuls of cheese sauce, finishing with a complete layer of cheese sauce on the top.
• 3.Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan and bake in a moderate oven, Gas Mark 4 (180°C) for 20–30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the top is a deep golden brown.

SWEET & SPICY PRAWNS

SERVES 4–6:
1 large bag of frozen prawns, defrosted
2 red or orange peppers
1 small tin of baby sweetcorn
3 –4 broccoli florets
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1/4 pint (125 ml) hot water

1 level teaspoon chilli powder
Soy sauce
Garlic puree
Tomato puree
Sesame seeds
Olive oil
2–3 shredded wheat style squares of dried noodles

METHOD

• 1.Defrost the prawns (see tips above).
• 2.Heat the oil in a wok or very large saucepan; cut peppers into thin strips, slice the baby sweetcorn whichever way you want and chop the broccoli into tiny florets.
• 3.Stir fry the vegetables in the hot oil for a few minutes with the sesame seeds.
• 4.Meanwhile, dissolve 2 tbsp soft brown sugar, 1 tbsp each of tomato and garlic puree in 1/4 pint (125 ml) of boiling water, add the soy sauce and chilli powder and mix well.
• 5.Pour the liquid into the pan, turn up the heat, add the prawns and cook for another few minutes until everything is hot and the vegetables are just tender.
• 6.Break the dried noodles up a bit and add at the same time as the prawns, otherwise leave the noodles out altogether and cook some white long grain rice instead.

KEDGEREE

Kedgeree is traditionally a breakfast dish, but there can’t be many people who can eat this much food first thing in the morning.

Use whichever type of rice you like; I use brown rice and add sesame seeds to give it a nice, nutty flavour – and this is yet another dish you could easily sneak spinach into if you wanted.

Kedgeree may sound unexciting at best and pretty revolting at worst, but it’s actually lovely, tasty and warmly satisfying; hopefully even your kids will like it. Over the years I’ve perfected my technique to the point where the whole thing takes less than half an hour and makes hardly any washing up. What more could you ask for?

SERVES 4 –6:
Brown rice (about 1 handful per person)
Smoked mackerel
3 –4 hard boiled eggs
Sesame seeds
3 or 4 spring onions (or 1 regular onion)
1 clove of garlic
Small handful of frozen peas
Oil
Butter
1/2 tsp curry powder
Parsley
Lemon juice

METHOD

• 1.Put the rice in a large saucepan of fresh, slightly salted water, stir, pop the eggs in and put the pan on the stove over a high heat.
• 2.Bring to the boil; boil rapidly for a minute, then turn the heat down low and cover with a lid.
• 3.Meanwhile, prepare the smoked mackerel by removing the skin and checking carefully for bones; flake the fish in a bowl, then peel and finely chop the onions.
• 4.After the eggs have boiled with the rice for about ten minutes, remove them from the saucepan with a slotted spoon, put them to one side and add the frozen peas to the boiling water. Turn the heat up until the water’s boiling again, then turn it down and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the rice is ready. (Don’t let the rice overcook and go soggy.)
• 5.While you’re waiting for the rice, peel the hard boiled eggs and chop them into chunks. Warm the oil in a large pan or a wok.
• 6.Strain the cooked rice and peas through a colander and pour freshly boiled water from the kettle through the colander to remove any trace of starch; add a lump of butter to the rice in the colander and gently stir it in.
• 7.Fry the onion, sesame seeds and curry powder in the warm oil until the onion starts to soften, then add the fish and cook for another minute or two.
• 8.Add the rice and peas, hard boiled eggs and plenty of parsley, mix well and when you’re sure it’s warm enough, sprinkle with lemon juice and serve.

FISHCAKES

MAKES 12 LARGE FISH CAKES:
4 fairly large potatoes
6 frozen skinless cod fillets
1 medium-sized tin of tuna
Lemon juice
Butter
Milk
Black pepper
1/2 lb (225 g) breadcrumbs, approx
1 small tin of sweetcorn

METHOD

• 1.Cook the frozen cod fillets in an ovenproof dish, according to the instructions on the packet (this usually takes between 15–20 minutes).
• 2.Meanwhile, boil the potatoes – with or without the skins – before mashing them with a tablespoonful of butter and some milk.
• 3.Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fish to a mixing bowl and flake with a fork, then drain the tins of tuna and sweetcorn and add them to the bowl with lots of lemon juice and black pepper.
• 4.Add the mashed potatoes to the bowl, mix well, then form into fishcakes with your hands.
• 5.Gently press the fishcakes into a tray of breadcrumbs on both sides (you don’t have to dip them into beaten egg unless you want to) and fry in a large saucepan for a few minutes, with enough hot oil to completely submerge the fishcakes. Keep warm in the oven and serve with chips or potato wedges and green vegetables or salad.

ALSO TRY...

• 1.FASTEST-EVER FISH CAKES: (see Chapter 4: Quick Fixes).
• 2.FISH PIE: Use a mixture of white fish, tinned tuna, and prawns mixed with lemon juice, seasoning, 1/2 glass of white wine and a basic cheese sauce made with 2 tbsp flour, 2 oz (50 g) butter, 1/2 pint (250 ml) of milk and 2 oz (50 g) of grated cheddar cheese; top with mashed potato and cook in the oven for 20 minutes, until the potato browns and the sauce bubbles.
• 3.GRILLED SARDINES: Melt 2 oz (50 g) of butter in a saucepan and stir in 1 teaspoon each of coriander, paprika, sugar and Tabasco sauce; make a series of diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish from head to tail, coat the fish and grill for about 5 minutes on each side, turning once.

(MOSTLY) VEGETARIAN

Tips

Use aluminium foil shiny side inwards to direct more heat towards the food.

Eat shoots and leaves; packets of mixed stir fry vegetables are good value and you can add extra mushrooms, peppers, bean sprouts or onions according to taste.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Life may be too short to stuff a mushroom, as Shirley Conran famously said, but it’s definitely not too short to stuff peppers. If you’re using very large peppers you’ll probably only need one each, otherwise make it two small peppers per person.

SERVES 4–6:
4 large bell peppers, mixed colours
1 packet of Quorn pieces
1 onion or a few shallots
4–6 mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cumin
1 large mugful, approx 8 oz (225 g) couscous
Butter
Olive oil

OPTIONAL:
1 vegetable stock cube
Grated cheese

METHOD

• 1.Slice the tops off the peppers, get rid of the stalks and wash the tops and the whole peppers inside and out. Stand the peppers up in a deep roasting pan and pre-heat the oven to about Gas Mark 6 (200°C).
• 2.Finely chop the onions, mushrooms and tops of the peppers and fry in a large pan with butter and olive oil. Add the garlic, about a teaspoon of cumin and the same amount of mixed spice and give it a good stir.
• 3.Meanwhile, add the boiling water to the couscous in a large bowl (according to the instructions on the packet), stir and leave for a few minutes.
• 4.Now add the Quorn to the pan with the vegetables, and if you want more liquid, crumble in the stock cube and add a drop of water.
• 5.Fluff the couscous up with a fork and mix with the vegetables and Quorn.
• 6.Stuff the peppers, piling any remaining mixture loosely around the base. Cover loosely with foil (see notes above), bake in the oven for 20–30 minutes, removing the foil for the last 5 minutes and sprinkling the peppers with grated cheese.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

On second thoughts, stuffed mushrooms make a great starter or side dish and go very well with rice and salad...

1–2 large flat cap mushrooms per person
White breadcrumbs, a couple of handfuls
Goats’ cheese, a couple of ounces
Dried parmesan cheese
Garlic puree
Marmite or Vegemite
Oil
Butter
Parsley

METHOD

• 1.Remove the stalks then wash and peel the mushrooms – or don’t peel and wash the mushrooms; peel but don’t wash, or wash but don’t peel ... some people say you should, some say you shouldn’t. (For what it’s worth, I usually do both.)
• 2.Dissolve a heaped tsp of Marmite or Vegemite (or use a stock cube if you haven’t got either) in a small saucepan of boiling water, and poach the mushrooms for a few minutes.
• 3.Put the warm mushrooms on a grill tray, spread each one with a spoonful of garlic puree topped with crumbly goats’ cheese and a mixture of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese; drizzle with olive oil and grill for a few minutes until the toppings are crusty and brown.

VEGGIE BURGERS

You don’t really need an egg to bind the mixture together, but put one in if you like, or used a beaten egg mixed with melted butter to glaze the burgers, instead of oil. Use whatever spices you like – coriander, cayenne pepper and curry powder are all good. Normally, I’m against the idea of smothering food in tomato ketchup, but veggie burgers are one of the few things that really do taste better with lots of it.

MAKES 6–8 BURGERS (DEPENDING ON SIZE):
1 tin of chick peas
1 courgette
2 onions
2 carrots
6 tbsp porridge oats
2 cloves of garlic
Thyme
Salt & pepper
Tomato puree
Vegemite
Olive oil
Wholemeal flour

OPTIONAL:
1 egg to bind

METHOD

• 1.Finely chop the onion; grate the carrots and courgette.
• 2.Warm some oil in a pan; fry the onion, carrots and courgette over a medium heat and add the crushed garlic and thyme.
• 3.Meanwhile, drain the chick peas and mash them up a bit with a fork in a large bowl.
• 4.Put the porridge oats in the bowl with the chick peas, and as soon as the vegetables have softened, throw them in as well.
• 5.Add a couple of squirts of tomato puree, salt and pepper and 2 tbsp olive oil and mix it all together.
• 6.Shape the mixture into burgers using your hands and the wholemeal flour and place on an oiled baking tray. Brush the burgers liberally with more oil and bake them in the oven, Gas Mark 6 (200°C) for about 15 minutes.

AUBERGINE LASAGNE

To make a lasagne for more than six people, increase the amount of onion and aubergines and make the cheese sauce with 3 oz each of butter and flour and 1 3/4 pints of milk. (You don’t need to increase the amount of cheese; a little goes a long way.)

Alternatively, make an aubergine bake by omitting the lasagne sheets and using one tin of tomatoes instead of two.

Serve on its own, or with extra green vegetables, sweetcorn, or a mixed salad.

SERVES 4 – 6:
6 – 9 lasagne sheets
1 large or two smaller aubergines
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 standard size tins of chopped tomatoes
1/4 pint (125 ml) vegetable stock
Oil

FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE:
2 oz (50 g) butter or margarine
2 oz (50 g) plain flour
1 pint (500 ml) milk
1 oz (25 g) cheese

OPTIONAL:
1/4 bulb of fennel
Parsley

METHOD

• 1.Wash and thinly slice the aubergines, cut the slices in half and put them in a bowl of salty water (see notes, page 16).
• 2.Slice or chop the onion and fennel and fry in the oil with the crushed garlic and a good sprinkling of parsley.
• 3.Add the tinned tomatoes to the pan; bring to the boil and simmer gently while you fry the aubergines.
• 4.Heat more oil in another pan and to save time fry the aubergine slices on one side only, then drain them on kitchen roll.

TO MAKE THE CHEESE SAUCE:

• a.Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for a minute until the paste is glazed and shiny looking.
• b.Remove from the heat, add the milk and cheese, and return to the heat. Keep stirring the sauce continuously and make it easy on yourself by using a small hand whisk instead of a wooden spoon to stop it going lumpy. (If you want the sauce a bit thinner, just whisk in more milk.)
• 5.Layer the lasagna sheets, tomato sauce, aubergines and cheese sauce in a large ovenproof dish, finishing with a layer of cheese sauce on the top, and bake in the oven, Gas Mark 6 (200°C) for 15–20 minutes.

LENTIL MOUSSAKA

SERVES 6:
8 oz (225 g) green lentils or mung beans
1 14 oz (410 g) tin of chopped tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
2 aubergines
Mushrooms (6 – 8 depending on size)
4 medium-large potatoes

1 pint vegetable stock
Oil: sunflower/olive
2 tsp marmite or vegemite
2 tsp basil
1 tsp all spice
Tomato puree

FOR THE TOPPING:
1 pint (500 ml) warm milk
4 oz (100 g) butter
3 tbsp plain flour
2 egg yolks

METHOD

• 1.Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a very large saucepan; add the finely chopped onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the onion is browning.
• 2.Add the lentils, chopped tomatoes and stock with the herbs and spices and bring to the boil.
• 3.Boil quite rapidly for about 5 minutes, then turn the heat down and simmer very gently for about 1 hour until the lentils are soft and mushy.
• 4.Meanwhile, peel and put the potatoes on to boil in a pan of fresh cold water.
• 5.Cut the aubergines into thinly sliced quarters and soak in a bowl of cold salty water for 5 minutes while you peel and finely slice the mushrooms.
• 6.Drain the aubergines thoroughly with kitchen roll, or a clean, dry tea towel, then deep fry in very hot oil.
• 7.Put the fried aubergines in a bowl and mix with the sliced mushrooms. (The aubergines absorb so much oil there’s no need to fry the mushrooms as well.)
• 8.Slice the boiled potatoes and add about half a tube of tomato puree to the lentils and stir well.
• 9.Layer the lentil mixture with the aubergines and mushrooms in a large ovenproof dish and finish with a layer of sliced potato.
• 10.To make the topping, melt the butter in a saucepan and warm the milk – either in another saucepan, or in a large bowl in the microwave (approx 4 minutes on high).
• 11.Add the flour to the melted butter and stir over the heat for a minute, then pour in the warm milk, whisking all the time.
• 12.When the sauce starts to thicken, add the egg yolks and whisk for another minute.
• 13.Pour the topping over the moussaka and bake in the oven for 30 –40 minutes, Gas Mark 4 (180°C) until the sauce is bubbling and the topping has a golden crust.

RICE SALAD

Use whichever type of rice you like, but I think the lighter, fluffier texture of basmati rice is better suited to rice salad than brown or short grain.

Change the salad ingredients around to suit yourself and add some good, diced chicken, ham, prawns, flaked tuna or smoked salmon – this is another good meal for using up leftover bits and pieces.

In fact, there’s only one thing you need to be absolutely certain of – as with any dish containing cold rice – and that’s making sure you cook and keep it in the right conditions. Because of the starch, warm rice is a haven for the sort of bacteria that can lead to a very nasty stomach upset – or worse.

To avoid trouble, strain the cooked rice in a colander then immediately rinse under cold running water for a minute; absorb the excess moisture with plenty of kitchen roll, and if you’re keeping it for later, get the rice covered and into the fridge as quickly as possible. If you’re cooking a lot of rice and you only want to save some of it, separate the rice you’re planning to keep and follow the above procedure – just don’t leave it sitting around in the kitchen for any length of time.

Finally, if you want to warm up cold rice, do it thoroughly, preferably in a pan with very hot oil, until it’s piping hot.

1/2 lb (225 g) basmati rice
Sugar snap peas
Baby sweetcorn
Baby plum tomatoes
Leftover chicken breast meat
A few slices of cold ham
1 avocado
2 spring onions
Chives
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Method

• 1.Cook the rice in a saucepan of boiling water, boiling rapidly for a couple of minutes, then turn the heat down low and simmer gently for about 10 minutes (don’t walk away and do something else; you don’t want it mushy and over-cooked).
• 2.Strain the cooked rice through a colander; rinse with plenty of cold water, remove excess water with kitchen roll, put the rice in a large bowl and cover loosely with a clean cloth or a sheet of foil. (No need to keep it in the fridge if you’re planning to eat it straight away; rice salad is one of those things that tastes better at room temperature than it does chilled.)
• 3.Just cook the baby sweetcorn and sugar snap peas (preferably in the microwave) so they still have plenty of crunch, and add to the rice.
• 4.Chop the meat, halve the avocado and cut into chunks, then add everything to the bowl of rice with the seasoning, whichever herbs you want to use and a little olive oil.
• 5.Stir gently, blending everything together without turning it to mush, and serve.

NUT-FREE NUT ROAST

This is more or less the same as the Curried Nut Roast (see Chapter 10: Weekly Menu Planning). If you can’t find a bag of mixed seeds in the supermarkets, buy smaller packets and mix them up yourself.

SERVES 6–10:

1/2 lb (225 g) mixed sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds
2 smallish peppers – red/orange and green
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tin of chick peas
1 carrot, grated
Breadcrumbs made with 4–5 slices of white bread
2 rounded tsp curry powder
1 rounded tsp coriander
Tomato puree
2 eggs, beaten
Olive oil
Sunflower/corn oil

METHOD

• 1.Make the breadcrumbs in a blender or food processor, then put them in a very large mixing bowl.
• 2.Blend the seeds and chick peas for about half a minute and add them to the bowl.
• 3.Meanwhile, chop the onion and peppers and fry with the crushed garlic in a mixture of olive oil and sunflower, or corn oil, until the onion is crisp and golden.
• 4.Add the fried vegetables to the bowl with the grated carrot, curry powder, coriander, 1 tbsp of tomato puree and the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly – use a fork, it’s easier – to bind everything together.
• 5.Press the mixture into a well greased, standard-sized loaf tin (long-strip-lined with greaseproof paper, see Lining the tin, page 166) and bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas Mark 6 (200°C) for about half an hour, until golden.

PIZZA

Contrary to what you may think, if you’ve never made pizza dough before, this is as easy as falling off a log. True, you have to wait a little while for the dough to prove, but so what? If I make pizza I usually do it on a Saturday afternoon so we can eat it in front of the telly in the evening, so pick a time when you don’t have to rush off anywhere else for a few hours.

As with most recipes where you get to play with dough, the whole process is a lot of fun and the results are at least as good as anything you get from a pizza parlour, let alone a supermarket.

If you’ve got enough pans (or 7” sandwich cake tins) and plenty of oven space you can make individual round pizzas, but I make mine in the same standard-size rectangular oven trays I’d use for a Swiss roll (see notes, page 196) and cut them up into squares; usually six large pieces per tray.

THE QUANTITY BELOW MAKES ENOUGH FOR TWO LARGE, THIN & CRISPY TYPE PIZZAS AND ONE SMALL ROUND ONE (SEE ABOVE) – OR TWO LARGE PIZZAS AND 12 DOUGH BALLS.

TO MAKE THE DOUGH:

1 lb (550 g) plain flour

2 tsp (or 1 sachet) of dried yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 pint (250 ml) warm water mixed with 2 tsp oil

METHOD

• 1.Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
• 2.Pour the warm water and oil into the well and quickly mix everything together with your hand to make a soft dough, then turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it well for a good 5 minutes, sprinkling more flour whenever you feel you need to.
• 3.Place the dough on a large, greased ovenproof dish, cover with a damp tea towel and leave at the bottom of the oven on the lowest setting for about half an hour, until the dough has swollen and doubled in size.
• 4.Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it again for another 5 minutes (known as ‘knocking back’).
• 5.Put the dough back in the oven to prove again, covered with the damp cloth (which you’ll probably need to wet and wring out again) for about half an hour – same as before – until it’s doubled in size, then knead the dough again for roughly 5 minutes.
• 6.Divide the dough into however many pieces you think you’re going to need and roll out each piece to more or less the right size and shape for the pan you’re using. Gently press the dough into the oiled pan, trim any rough edges and brush the entire surface of the dough with a little more oil. Cover with clingfilm and keep in the fridge until you’ve got all your bases ready and prepared the toppings, and your pizza is ready to go in the oven. N.B. If you have enough dough left over, put it back in the oven covered with the damp cloth for another half an hour, then knead it again and either make another pizza, or wrap it in plenty of clingfilm and put it in the freezer. Alternatively, use leftover dough to make dough balls; just form the dough into ping-pong sized balls, place on a greased tray at the bottom of the oven and serve with garlic butter.

TO MAKE THE PIZZA TOPPINGS:

Anything goes really. I usually make one vegetarian and one meaty pizza on the oven trays and mix whatever I’ve got left over to make the small round pizza, which goes something like this: Any or all of the following:

2 –3 slices of ham
2 rashers of bacon
Leftover sausages (cooked) or frankfurters
Leftover meatballs
Leftover Bolognese or chilli

1 onion
Green and red pepper
Mushrooms
Spinach
Tomato
Sweetcorn

1 bag of grated mozzarella cheese
Tomato puree
Mixed herbs
Cayenne pepper

METHOD

• 1.Fry the onion and peppers and divide between two bowls; one meat, one veggie.
• 2.Fry the mushrooms and spinach, drain a small tin of sweetcorn and add to the veggie bowl.
• 3.Chop up the leftover sausages, ham, etc and add to the meat bowl.
• 4.Thinly spread all pizza bases with tomato puree, add the toppings, cover liberally with the grated mozzarella, top with sliced tomato, sprinkle with herbs and spices and bake in a hot oven, Gas Mark 6 – 7 (200/220°C) for about 20 minutes, changing the trays over from top to bottom about halfway through the cooking time.

BAKED POTATO PIZZAS

Eternally popular, it’s pizza again; this time on a potato base. (See also Bread Roll Pizzas, Chapter 10: Weekly Menu Planning.)

Use the largest baking potatoes you can get; one half should be more than enough for most children (and some adults). Cut the potatoes in half first to reduce the cooking time; prick each potato several times with a sharp knife then either wrap each half in foil and bake in the oven or start them off in the microwave by putting them cut side down on a plate and cooking on high for a few minutes before wrapping in foil and finishing in the oven.

Largest baking potatoes

Grated cheese: a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar is good
Chopped tomatoes
Spring onions
1 red or orange pepper
1 small tin of sweetcorn
Butter

Parsley
Chives
Salt & pepper

METHOD

• 1.Bake the potatoes in the usual way, then scoop out as much of the soft inside as you can without tearing the skin and causing a total collapse.
• 2.Put the mashed potato into a bowl with the chopped peppers and onion, sweetcorn, herbs, a couple of tablespoons of chopped tomatoes, some butter and half the grated cheese and mix it all together.
• 3.Stuff the potato skins with the filling, top with the remainder of the grated cheese and bake the potato pizzas in a moderate oven, Gas Mark 4 (180°C), for about 20 minutes until the pizzas are warmed through and the cheese is brown and bubbly.

CHEESE & ONION TOMATOES

Cheese & onion pie without the pastry; these are great with sausages or bacon and beans for dinner, or as a very filling weekend breakfast. You don’t have to feel guilty about discarding the insides of the tomatoes either; keep them in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days and use them up in any recipe that includes chopped tomatoes; chilli, lasagne, shepherd’s pie or a pasta sauce.

SERVES 4:

4 large beef tomatoes
2 oz (50 g) grated cheese
2 oz (50 g) breadcrumbs
1/4 pint (125 ml) milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 very finely chopped onion
1 tsp plain flour
Salt & pepper

METHOD

• 1.Cut a circle out of the top of each tomato with a very sharp knife; big enough to enable you to get the knife inside.
• 2.Discard the tops and use the knife to scrape out some of the tomato to make a hole big enough to fill.
• 3.Finely chop the onion and coat with the seasoned flour, then mix the onion in a bowl with the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, milk and beaten eggs.
• 4.Put the tomatoes in an ovenproof dish and spoon the mixture into each one (the amounts given here are enough to fill four beef tomatoes to the top) and bake in the oven, Gas Mark 6 (200°C) for about 30 minutes until the tops are firm and golden.

VEGETABLES

If you only buy fruit and vegetables in season, you’ll never be disappointed. (It’s not that difficult either when you think about it.) What’s the point of eating apricots and plums in January if they taste like polystyrene? And there’s nothing to beat British strawberries from the beginning of June till the end of July, so try and resist those bright orangey-red imports you find in the shops all year round; most of the time they’re as hard as bullets and taste of nothing.

Tips

Ripen avocados by putting them in a brown paper bag with a banana for a few hours. Also ripen mangoes in a paper bag (without the banana).

For perfect roast potatoes: King Edwards or Maris Pipers are best. Always par boil the potatoes first, simmering for no more than five minutes while you heat the fat in a large ovenproof dish. Strain the water off and bash the potatoes up a bit by shaking them two or three times in the saucepan with the lid on, so they’re soft enough on the outside to absorb some of the hot fat, which is what makes them lovely and crisp.

Poach mushrooms in Marmite stock instead of frying in butter when you want to cut calories.

Cook all your vegetables in one large saucepan; put the carrots in first (in cold water), then add broccoli or cauliflower with peas or sweetcorn, which only need 3 or 4 minutes, when the carrots are half-cooked. Or buy a vegetable steamer, which makes it easier not to overcook vegetables.

Make gravy by adding the vegetable water to the gravy granules, for extra vitamins.

DIY PASTA SAUCE

Like ratatouille (see below), this pasta sauce is miles better than any of the bottled ones you find in the supermarket. Make it in larger quantities whenever you can so you’ve got some left over to freeze for another time. (The quantities below make enough for a main meal – with pasta – for about six people.)

DIY Pasta sauce is very versatile, so try these alternatives, or make up your own:

Add a dash of balsamic vinegar or a pinch of cayenne pepper for a spicier flavour.

For a creamy pasta sauce, stir a small carton of soft cream cheese, Quark, or crème fraiche into the sauce at the end.

1 standard tin of plum or chopped tomatoes
2 onions
2 courgettes
Two peppers (any combination of red, green, orange or yellow)
Mushrooms
Spinach (about half a bag)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 vegetable stock cube
Oregano or Italian herbs
Basil
Tomato puree
1/2 glass of red wine
Olive oil
Butter

METHOD

• 1.Gently warm butter and oil in a very large pan while you wash and chop the vegetables the way you like them. (If you’re planning to blitz the finished sauce in a blender, don’t bother fine chopping, just hack it to bits.)
• 2.Put the garlic and all the vegetables, except the spinach, into the pan, cook for a few minutes until soft, then crumble the stock cube in with the herbs, add the tinned tomatoes and spinach and give it all a good stir.
• 3.Turn the heat up and let the sauce sizzle before adding the red wine and tomato puree. If you think the sauce is too watery after a couple of minutes, reduce it by keeping the heat up high until the excess liquid evaporates, then turn it down and simmer very gently for a few minutes. To thin the sauce, add more vegetable stock and/or red wine.

RATATOUILLE

SERVES 6 AS AN ACCOMPANIMENT TO A MAIN MEAL:

1 aubergine
2 courgettes
1 onion
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 cloves of garlic
2 standard tins of chopped tomatoes
Tomato puree
Basil
Mixed herbs
Olive oil

METHOD

• 1.Heat olive oil in a very large saucepan; add the onion and crushed garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes.
• 2.Meanwhile, top and tail the aubergine and courgettes; slice thinly into rounds, halves or quarters, then soak the aubergine in a bowl of salty water for a few minutes before draining well on plenty of kitchen roll.
• 3.Dice the red and green peppers and put all the vegetables in the pan with the herbs, chopped tomatoes and a little more olive oil.
• 4.Give it all a good stir, bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down, adjust the seasoning and add however much tomato puree you think it needs.

Also try...

• 1.SKINNY MASH: Don’t peel potatoes; just give them a quick wash with a nailbrush in cold water, then boil and mash them in their skins. Known as skinny mash in our house, it saves a lot of time and is much, much nicer than it sounds.
• 2.BROCCOLI CHEESE: Make cauliflower cheese with broccoli instead of cauliflower, or a combination of both, and serve with pasta, crispy bacon and grilled tomatoes.
• 3.HONEY & GINGER GLAZED CARROTS: Fry 1/2 lb (225 g) of thinly sliced carrots in some butter for a few minutes; add a mug of ginger beer and 2 teaspoons each of honey and brown sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until the carrots are just soft.
• 4.ROASTED VEGETABLES: Any combination of mushrooms, onions or shallots, squash, peppers and finely sliced carrots sprinkled with sesame seeds, basted in olive oil and roasted in a large ovenproof dish for about half an hour.