The afternoon we arrived at Bodegas Monje was utterly stunning. The sky was a shimmering turquoise and the rows of vines glowed emerald green, rolling down towards the sea. What a gorgeous place.

First up was a tour of the winery (meaning that we had to head into the gloom of the cellar… boooo.)  Still, I learned absolutely loads about wine making (the winery produce a stunning range of wines, mostly exported to the USA).

Next, it was upstairs to the rather beautiful cookery school, to get a crash course in Canarian cooking and test some of those stunning wines as well:

First on our menu was that Canarian staple (and my Disreputable Dad’s absolute favourite): papas arugadas (meaning literally ‘wrinkled potatoes’).  We had a bit of a laugh when we discovered that the type of spud used is ‘Quinegua’ – pronounce it in a Spanish accent and you’ll see exactly how it got its name: King Edward!

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We watched as the small potatoes were barely covered with boiling water and an eye watering amount of sea salt was added (at least two handfuls, but don’t worry, the potatoes will only absorb as much as they need – we tested this theory).  The potatoes were then covered and boiled for about 20 minutes, depending on size.  When tender, they were then drained and returned to the heat where they were tossed and shaken until all the remaining water was gone and they took on their traditional wrinkly, dusty appearance.  Delicious.

Next we moved on to the sauces.  Traditionally, red mojo sauce is served with meat and green with fish.   We were on the green team (the green can be coriander, but is just as often parsley or a mixture of the two) and set to work.  Mojo is traditionally made entirely by hand in a pestle and mortar and takes LOADS of elbow grease.  I bet there aren’t many bingo wings to be seen on the island, what with all that pounding!

For Green Mojo

6 cloves garlic

1 tsp sea salt

1 green pepper, deseeded and finely diced

One small (and very hot) green chilli

1/2 bunch fresh coriander (or parsley)

2 tsp cider vinegar

2 wine glasses of olive oil

First, crush the garlic with the salt, then slowly add in the green pepper, pounding until it’s all completely pulped.  Now add a tiny piece of the green chilli (to taste, but if they’re as hot as the ones on Tenerife, a teeny tiny square is all you need), then add in the coriander and keep pounding. When everything is completely pulped, add in the vinegar ad the oil.

We added a handful of crushed almonds and sultanas, which adds a little sweetness and thickens the sauce, but this is optional, as is an avocadeo, which adds a lovely creaminess.

For Red Mojo

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

1 red chilli (again, as much as you like, but a small piece if they’re the very hot fiery ones)

1 slice toasted bread

2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 wine glasses olive oil

1 tsp sweet paprika

Again with the red, the garlic is pounded with the salt before the other ingredients are added one by one, making sure they’re completely broken down before the next ingredient is added.  The toasted bread works as the thickener in the red mojo.  Both were absolutely delicious.  We ate the red mojo with some pulled pork and those gorgeous potatoes.

We also had a demonstration of how the locals eat Gofio, the baked corn flour from the mill we visited in La Orotava.  The Gofio is mixed with ground raisins and almonds, milk, a splash of water and local honey.  It’s worked into a firm dough and that’s it.  It’s eaten sliced with goats’ cheese, and maybe even some mojo sauce.  We were divided on the gofio but I thought it was really lovely.

I adored the food on Tenerife: the seafood was delicious and very fresh (the ‘wreckfish’ was delicious, but I’m struggling to find out whether this is just local to Tenerife, or if it’s called by another name elsewhere), and obviously we ate an enormous amount of flan (I suppose we would say creme caramel), delicious custardy slabs, sometimes served with the dark caramel sauce, or sometimes with other little drizzly sauces, but often just plain.

Muy delicioso!

If you’d like to see more foodie photos from my trip, check out my Facebook page.

We LOVE lentils.  The texture is almost creamy, satisfying in that way that only a big dollop of mashed potatoes is usually satisfying, plus of course they have the added bonus of being VERY good for you and low fat too.  This recipe is one of our favourites – I often make double and blend the leftovers with stock the next day to make soup.  It’s best, though, served with some big, fat, meaty sausages: our favourites being the ones from Jimmy’s Farm.  Nommers.

You will need:

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 carrots, diced

1 leek, finely chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

150g red lentils

500ml chicken stock (or I often use leftover gravy from a roast dinner topped up with water)

Salt and pepper

So heat up the oil in a big saucepan and bung in the chopped onion, carrots and leek (any old veg will do, really).  Give them a little sprinkling of salt and a quick stir around then leave them on low for a good ten minutes to soften.  A little sprinkling of dried chilli flakes wouldn’t go amiss at this stage either.

After that you can just bung everything else in, really.  Leave it on low, pop a lid on and go and do something else for half an hour.  Oh and don’t forget to pop your big, fat sausages in to the oven – they’ll take about 30 minutes too, at 200 degrees/gas 6.

Check the seasoning and away you go.  I’ll warn you, it’s very moreish, so it’s best that you make double.

As birthdays go, I think the Mad Professor has probably had better ones (at least the start, anyway).  We all overslept and there was loads of shouting, jostling for bathroom space, yelling at the cat and stuffing down of toast (I did manage to write ’17′ in jam on his, at least…), with no time for pressie opening or even a quick round of the happy birthday song (we  like the Disney version, complete with clapping.  Only if nobody else can hear).  We rushed out of the door to school still wrestling blazers, tucking in shirts and eating toast.

One the upside, he only had one class today and I was supposed to pick him up at 11am, but then my lovely ex-sister in law, who I don’t get to see very much any more, popped round with a card, and we got chatting and…

I forgot him.

On his birthday.

In torrential rain.

When I finally got to the school, the birthday boy looked like a drowned rat and appeared to have lost his happy birthday sparkle.  He was darned miserable.  He sat next to me and heaved an unhappy sigh, wiping the mist off his glasses as the rain water dripped off his nose.

Still, to cheer him up, I reminded him that it was Birthday Cake Privilege time.  As you’ll know, at English Towers, the birthday person gets to choose their own birthday cake. And I have to make it, no matter what they choose (I draw the line at novelty cakes though – they can only choose flavours.  I’m not making bloody rabbits and scenes from Star Wars).

The Prof chose a four tier jammy creamy vanilla flavoured cake.  Raspberry jam, PROPER cream, and lots of it.  Then he took his soggy self upstairs to change and console himself with a couple of games of shooting people until their heads explode. As you do.

Anyhoo, I set to work making a basic vanilla sponge.  It’s easy peasy. Heavy on the vanilla as you really want the flavour to shine through:

The Mad Professor’s Four Tier Jammy Creamy Vanilla Birthday Cake

175g butter (room temp is best)

175g golden caster sugar

3 large free range eggs

2 tsp good quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

175 self raising flour

For the filling/topping:

Large tub of double cream (not whipping cream)

Jar of nice raspberry jam

• So in the mixer, whizz up the butter until nice and soft, then add in the caster sugar and whisk until really soft, pale and fluffy.
• Break the eggs into a bowl, give them a quick mix with a fork, then dribble them into the mixture. Have your flour weighed out so if it starts to curdle, you can add a spoonful to bring it back together.
• Add in the vanilla and then gently stir in the flour.
• Blob half of the mixture into each buttered, lined medium cake tin (you can weigh them to get them exact if you can be arsed)
• Bake at 180/gas 4 for about 20 minutes. You want them just golden so they spring up in the middle when gently pressed.
• Tip them out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.  Once cooled, carefully cut each cake in half to create two layers.

Whip the double cream (I say double rather than whipping cream because it has a bit more body – useful when you’re layering – whipping cream tends to flump out of the sides and the whole thing can collapse if you’re not careful), then start to assemble:

Place your first layer on your serving plate or stand, spread generously with raspberry jam, then dollop on a couple of spoonfuls of cream.  Don’t push down as you add the next layer or you’ll get unwanted splurging (and nobody wants that).  Continue to add each layer, adding jam and cream until you add the top layer and dollop on the remaining cream.  I decorated with little white chocolate thingies, but was told that this was ‘too girly’ and to remove them immediately.

And finally…

The smile was back.

Happy birthday Sam xxx

It’s been an odd weekend.  First of all we watched ourselves on the telly (it’s a very weird experience, I can tell you).  We took part in a Channel 5 programme being made about Disneyland Paris’ 20th birthday celebrations when were out there a couple of weeks ago – it aired yesterday.  I actually managed to take a picture of the Death Wish Dude being interviewed – here he is in all his widescreen glory!  Anyhoo, after all that excitement, it was straight on to the birthday cake challenge.  As you might already know, it is the tradition at English Towers for the birthday boy to pick his very own choice of birthday cake.  Usually they choose something hideously difficult to make (just to annoy me), but this time, the Birthday Death Wish Dude wanted nothing more than a big fat chocolate cake.

Easy peasy.  The only difference is that I had a little experiment and tried making the ganache with coconut milk instead of double cream. It came out deliciously light and whipped beautifully.  Highly recommended.

To make the Death Wish Dude’s Ultimate Coconut Ganache Chocolate Layer Cake, you’ll need:

175g butter (I use salted)

175g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

150g self raising flour

20g good quality cocoa powder

100g good quality dark chocolate

For the ganache:

400g tin coconut milk (I used the full fat stuff)

500g (yes, yes, I know… ) good quality dark chocolate

1 packet Maltesers

So firstly, melt the chocolate (you can do it all at the same time or in the two batches.  It’s quite easy to pour the melted chocolate into the mixer bowl when it’s sat on the scale) in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.  Don’t let the water touch the bowl (yeah you know the drill).

Beat the butter in the food processor until light, then add the sugar and whizz again until pale and fluffy.  Add in the eggs (I beat them, then add them a dribble at a time – helps with the odd bits of dropped shell too), then stir in the sifted flour and cocoa.  Finally, stir in the 100g melted chocolate.

Bake in two medium lined tins for about 20 minutes until just springy in the centre.  Allow to cool.

For the ganache:

Warm the coconut milk in a saucepan – don’t allow it to boil, it only needs to be warm enough to melt the chocolate.  Then just turn off the heat, plop all the chocolate in and stir occasionally until it’s all melted.

Transfer to a bowl and chill down completely in the fridge.

To assemble:

Carefully slice each cake into two.  Pick a nice flat one as your top layer and remember which one it is!

Take the ganache out of the fridge and whip until light and fluffy (or you can just spread it).

Layer the cake slices with a thick spreading of ganache then finish with a nice layer of ganache all over the cake.  If the thought of 500g of chocolate gives you a heart attack, you can halve the quantities and just layer the two cakes together.

Finish with Maltesers (beer can candles optional).

And here he is with his birthday cake of choice.  Happy birthday, Charlie! xx

There’s a real sea-change in my cooking at this time of year.  I want brighter, fresher meals and newer, interesting flavours.  And while the weather over Easter left a lot to be desired, it also left me a bit of time, while waiting for my slow-cooked lamb, to wade through the enormous pile of new books I’ve received recently, to find the best ones just for you (you’re welcome).

First up, then is Bill Cooks for Kids.  I love Bill Granger’s food, and he certainly fits the ‘brighter, fresher’ theme very well.  His new book is jammed full of really great, interesting recipes to cook with children and I love that there are some more complex flavours in amongst the more simple cakes and biscuits: spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, ricotta, spinach and Pecorino is easy to cook, but Bill makes it much more interesting (and appealing to adults to) by roasting the cherry tomatoes with garlic and red onion first.  If you’re looking for simple, fresh suppers and rainy-day baking, look no further.  A great book with Bill Granger’s easy style and bright, stylish photography.  Loved it.

Bill Cooks for Kids is out 10th May, currently priced £6.79 on Amazon.

Claudia Roden’s new book, The Food of Spain, is nothing short of a magnum opus.  This absolute feast for the eyes took, apparently over five years of research, and it shows.  Roden travelled extensively around Spain to bring us delicious, traditional dishes from every region, plus interesting commentary and fascinating notes on ingredients.    This book is a MONSTER.  I’m only about a third of the way through but so far I’ve marked so many pages of incredible food – I’ll be working through it for a while.  The papas arrugadas y mojos canarios reminded of my Disreputable Dad, who adores the salty Canarian potatoes, while the almond ice cream takes me straight back to the Majorcan holidays of my youth.  I can’t wait to dive into a proper paella and the Catalonian chocolate and almond cake looks utterly sumptuous.  With gorgeous photography and Roden’s trademark attention to detail, I reckon this is a must-buy for anyone who adores food.

The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden is out now, hardback priced £15.00 on Amazon.

Donna Hay is another writer who consistently produces beautiful, inspiring cookery books and her new offering, Seasons, doesn’t disappoint.  The photography is gorgeous and the recipes, while being garnered mainly from her eponymous magazine, will be new to most of us here.  As it’s (obviously) split into seasons, this is the book to grab NOW for inspiration for fresh new dishes for spring.  The coconut bread (made with buttermilk and ground almonds) is an absolute delight and the pan-fried salmon with fennel salad has already been bookmarked for one of this week’s suppers.  My one complaint is that the book is so massive, it’s difficult to perch somewhere in the kitchen while you’re cooking!  It’s actually quite magazine-like in its feel (if not its weight!) and I love Hay’s choices of recipes – from easy midweek suppers to gorgeous dinner party blowouts.

Seasons by Donna Hay is out now, priced £14.48 on Amazon.

Last, but my no means least, and actually quite Claudia Roden-like in its delivery, is my surprise of the season: Cooking from the Heart: A Jewish Journey Through Food, by Hayley Smorgon and Gaye Weeden.  This is another epic tome, but if you’re a bit of a food buff, like me, you’ll adore reading the stories of the Jewish people in the book (who all ultimately ended up in Australia) and sharing in their stories and family recipes.  You know me: I love a bedside book with proper food stories, and this is one to get lost in.  There are plenty of what you would consider classic Jewish dishes, but lots of fabulous fusion too.  Utterly adorable and addictive: buy it for someone you love.

Cooking from the Heart is available now, priced £22.63 on Amazon.

Let’s face it: Easter just isn’t Easter without hot cross buns.

And chocolate.

But mostly hot cross buns.

If you’re feeling a bit daunted by the whole prospect of making your own, don’t be. Let Auntie English Mum guide you through the whole process.  Think of me as a little friend hovering at your shoulder in the kitchen.  Actually don’t.  That’s a bit creepy.

Anyhoo, it’s really easy (with a bit of waiting around), and the gorgeous scent of these spicy orangey wonders fills the whole house.  So let’s get cracking.

You’ll need:

150ml milk

150ml water

Zest of 1 orange

50g butter

450g strong white bread  flour

1 tbsp mixed spice

1 tsp salt

75g sugar

1 x 7g sachet dried yeast

100g sultanas (or mixed peel if you must – bleurgh)

For the cross:

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp caster sugar

For the glaze:

1 tbsp orange marmalade, rindless or sieved

Step one:

Before you start, assemble and weigh out your ingredients.  This will save you time and prevent any flapping half way through the recipe.

So in a small saucepan (or jug if you’re doing it in the microwave) warm the milk, water, orange zest (use the finest grater you have) and butter until the butter is just melted, then turn off the heat.  Let it cool so that when you stick your finger in, it feels like blood temperature.

Step two:

While the liquid is cooling, sieve the flour and ground mixed spice together into a large bowl.  Next, stir in the salt, sugar, dried yeast and sultanas (have a quick pick over to make sure there are no stalks left).

Step three:

If you’ve got a mixer,  pop in all the dry ingredients, then set it on low and slowly pour in the milky mixture until the dough comes together (you might not need all of it so go steady), then plug in the dough hook and set it to knead for a good five minutes.

If you’re old-fashionedy or are still waiting to meet the mixer of your dreams (they do actually come out nicer and lighter if you knead them by hand), you’ll have to get to it for at least ten minutes.  Yes, I know, sorry, but it’s true.  Knead away, holding the dough lightly with one hand while you stretch it away from you with the other, before bringing it together and repeating the process.  The sultanas keep trying to escape, but grab any of the little blighters trying to make a quick getaway and poke them back in. Keep going until the dough is nice and springy and firm (think the texture of a boob, or possibly a bottom cheek – poke your finger in – if the dough springs back, then it’s done – if not, knead a bit more).  Disclaimer: possibly best if you don’t actually do this with people’s boobs.

Step four:

When your dough is sufficiently springy, leave it covered with a clean tea towel in a warm place until it’s doubled in size.   Then, just knock it back with your fist and cut it in half, then half again and half again.  Form each of your 8 pieces into a ball and place them on a floured baking tray.  Cover and rise again until they’re puffed up.

Step five:

If you want to add the cross, then mix about 2 tbsp flour, a tsp of caster sugar and enough water to make into a thick paste and either just dribble it with a teaspoon, or pipe it onto your buns (ooer Missus) with a disposable piping bag.  Or, you can cut a cross in the top of the buns and pipe the cross into the little lines.  Totally up to you.

Step six:

Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 180/gas 6 until they sound hollow when patted on the bottom.  Finally, when they’re just out of the oven,  warm up the marmalade with a splash of water and brush it on for extra glossy stickiness (use rindless here – you don’t want bits of peel sticking to your buns). If you’re going to freeze them, slice them in half first so they can go straight in the toaster.

And that’s it.  Congratulations, you are a master bun maker.  Go you!

First up, Hotel Chocolat sent us one of their new, and rather heavyweight, Extra Thick Easter Eggs to try.  The packaging is really glossy and attractive (it looks a little like a hatbox, decorated with ribbon) and the egg inside doesn’t disappoint either – we tried the Rocky Road to Caramel egg which had two really chunky halves of chocolate: one side was embedded with all sort of goodies like biscuity pieces and puffed rice and the other was a scrummy mixture of caramel chocolate and milk chocolate.  Inside were more delicious Hotel Chocolat chocolates.

The verdict? All round a heavyweight contender but, as usual with Hotel Chocolat, it’s a bit of a luxury item at £26, although weighing in at a hefty 500g there’s plenty of actual chocolate for your money.

Montezumas sent us a couple of their new Monkey Bars.  Celebrating all things British (a ‘monkey’ is Cockney rhyming slang for 500) in this the year of the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee, these bad boys are pretty enormous (I’ve provided you with a fork so you can get the idea) and were absolutely delicious.  They snap into big chunks (so you don’t feel overly guilty: ‘what? It’s just one square’!).  Our fave was the ‘Nanny Goat’ salted peanut and butterscotch.  Priced at a bargainous £13.99 they’re available from Montezumas shops and John Lewis, amongst other places.

The lovely chaps at Biscuiteers have added hand-iced chocolate eggs to their lovely range of biccies.  Quite pricey at £25 but their stuff is notoriously high quality (I often send their biscuits as presents and they’re always amazing)

Or maybe if a chocolate egg isn’t going to be quite enough, I could interest you in a break at the Chocolate Boutique Hotel?  Decorated in gorgeous chocolatey browns (of course), the hotel provides everything you could possibly need for a choctastic weekend away, including ‘choctails’, chocolate fountains in your room and even chocolate making workshops.  What’s not to love?

If you’re interested in shopping locally, I thought Big Barn was a good idea.  It’s kind of like Amazon or Etsy, but for local food.  Click on http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/marketplace/?vendorsearch=chocolate to find Artisan chocolatiers near you or online.

There’s loads of other chocolatey stuff going on this Easter including:

A free Easter fun day at the Boat House Restaurant and Bar in Chertsey on Saturday 7 April 2012, including mini cupcake decorating and an Easter egg hunt.  There are two sessios: 11.30am and 5.00pm.  Contact 01932 565 644 or email res.bridge@bespokehotels.com

An Easter egg treasure hunt organised by the Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes London as part of their ‘Family Fun in the City’ package.  In true Sherlock Holmes style (deerstalker optional), the hunt takes you round some nearby attractions including the Sherlock Holmes Museum and Madame Tussauds.  Everyone who completes the quest gets an egg too!  The package includes accommodation for two adults and two kids under 12 in lovely mini-suite style accommodation with loads of extras like in-room movies and meal vouchers.  Plus breakfast is free for kids!  A great little getaway

As you may have noticed, I’ve got a brand new look!  With four new headers in preparation, you’ll soon see English Mum in a whole new way, split into easy sections so you can find the bits you like best – there’s foodie travel, our home life and parenting waffle, family travel and good old cooking and baking.

Keep checking back to see the new look English Mum!

l love cream.  But with double cream containing 48% fat, it’s not exactly your healthy option.  Fine for the occasional treat, but not for every day.  So how can we still make all the lovely creamy recipes and sauces that we love whilst reducing some of the calories and producing a lighter, fresher end result?

Well, last time I was there, the Yeo Valley chaps set me a bit of a challenge: have a go at substituting yogurt in some of my favourite creamy recipes.   And you know me, I’m always up for a challenge in the kitchen.

In baking, dressings and marinades you can add yogurt straight from the fridge.  If you’re cooking with the lower fat yogurt varieties, you do run the risk, as with single cream, that they will ‘split’ (ie curdle) if you place them straight into a very hot environment.  You can counter this by using the ‘standard’ versions rather than the low fat (still much lower fat then cream) and bringing the yogurt up to room temperature before you cook with it.

I used Yeo Valley’s Greek Style Natural Yogurt which has 9.5% fat (plus a nice long sell-by date) so it’s still got a nice creamy finish and isn’t too sharp-tasting.  I’ve taken to keeping a couple of pots in the fridge as I use them at breakfast time, with fruit and muesli, as well as for cooking.

I had a go at cooking some of my favourite creamy recipes, substituting yoghurt instead. Here’s how I got on:

Spaghetti carbonara (or yoghetti carbonara – see what I did there?)

Snip a pack of smoked streaky bacon (outdoor reared, please) or pancetta into strips and fry in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until nice and crisp.  Set pan aside on a low heat (you can do this while the spaghetti cooks).

Cook 300g spaghetti in plenty of boiling, salted water.

Meanwhile, mix a large tablespoon of Greek yoghurt with two eggs and a splash of milk, then stir in a big handful of grated Parmigiano or Pecorino.

When the spaghetti’s cooked, drain and dump it into the bacon. Pour over the yogurt mixture and toss to combine.

The verdict:

To be honest, once we’d added Parmesan, we could hardly taste the difference.  Slightly sharper in flavour but still yummy.  Fussy Death Wish Dude didn’t even notice and hoovered it down, and the Prof said that he’d ‘noticed something a bit different’ when I told him afterwards. Success.

We also tried:

Ice Cream: AMAZING success here. We actually liked the flavour of the ice cream better with the yogurt.  Especially good with fruity and citrussy flavours and the bonus is here that you don’t need an ice cream machine.  Try folding lemon curd through Greek yogurt and adding a grating of fresh ginger for extra zing, or just fold through your favourite fruit compote (Yeo Valley do some lovely flavours) before freezing.  Take the ‘ice cream’ out of the freezer to soften up a little before serving.

As a dressing: I mixed the yogurt half and half with mayonnaise, added a squeeze of lemon and a handful of herbs and served it with smoked haddock fishcakes. Delicious.

However, my biggest success by a mile was with my usual buttermilk scone recipe:

Greek Yogurt Scones

Scone recipes often call for buttermilk.  Yogurt makes a great substitute as it’s still slightly acidic but adds a lightness to the finished scones. Here’s my adapted recipe:

500g plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp cream of tartar

125g cold butter

1 tbsp caster sugar

150g Greek yogurt

150ml milk

1 free range egg

First, get the oven nice and hot – you want it at 200 degrees/gas 7.

Next, weigh out all your dry ingredients.  Sifting them together will give you a lighter finish.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a knife, then rub it in, squeezing the butter pieces into the flour gently with your fingers until only small ‘flakes’ remain.  You don’t have to make it completely uniform.  Stir in the flour.

Now mix together the liquid ingredients.  Add them into the dry until it comes together into a soft dough.  You probably won’t need all the liquid.  Reserve it for glazing the scones at the end.

Roll the dough out quite thickly (say about 2-3cm) and cut out 12 rounds with a cutter.  Pop them onto a baking tray (sprinkle on a little flour first so they don’t stick) and brush them with the leftover liquid.  Sprinkle over a bit of extra sugar for colour and crunch.

These scones take literally about ten minutes to cook.  Keep an eye on them.  Serve warm with jam and more Greek yogurt.

The verdict: Fabulous.  Light and fluffy in the centre and they rose magnificently too.  I’ll be using yogurt from now on!

So yesterday saw me tootling off into London in the Spring sunshine.  We had such an amazing time at Leith’s last time, cooking the Extra Special Christmas range, I was delighted to be asked back to try out their Easter range. Once again, Leith’s have been hard at work testing (and eating!) loads of new products that they feel are good enough quality to be called ‘extra special’ and go into the new range at Asda.  I actually felt quite sorry for lovely Camilla, the MD of Leith’s School of Food and Wine when she was talking about the sheer amount of chocolate they’d tested (who’d have thought there was such a thing as eating too much chocolate?!).

Like last time, we were lucky enough to be allowed into the famous Leith’s kitchens to cook with the new ingredients.  Our starter was a delicious mixture of fresh green samphire (yes, you can get it at Asda!) and young asparagus, topped with a poached egg and some strips of parmesan.  As you can see, our table slightly failed on the runniness of the poached egg (we might have been gasbagging a bit too much to be paying attention), but the finished dish was delicious, and so elegant:

Next up was an amazing rack of lamb (it comes ready trimmed), which we adorned with a herb crust:

And our desserts were gorgeous strawberry tarts, with a crisp (ready made, but ‘extra special’) buttery pastry case, filled with a delicious mixture of mascarpone, double cream, vanilla and icing sugar and topped with strawberries which we then glazed with Extra Special strawberry jam.  Droolworthy.  And a ‘top tip’ we learned here, if you’re going to be making the tarts in advance, line them with a thin coating of melted chocolate before filling – it keeps them crisp):

We had such an amazing day and sadly, once again, I just about managed to hoover up my starter and main course (and plenty of the very freely flowing wine) before I had to leg it off to catch my train.

And especially for you, I’ve got a hamper with loads of the new Asda Extra Special Easter products to give away:

Just comment to enter!  

Competition finishes midnight Tuesday 27th March.  The winner will be chosen at random. No cash alternatives. The judge’s decision is final.

 

This competition is now closed. Well done to Jo Bryan who won the hamper