eggs

Our carbonara

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nyt carbonara

Actually, this isn’t our carbonara, it’s the New York Times’.

Serves 3-4

200g pancetta pieces or bacon lardons

Splash olive oil

2 eggs, 2 egg yolks (make a meringue or throw them away, according to your temperament and mood)

1/2 cup of grated pecorino, 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Good grating of black pepper and good grating of nutmeg (the nutmeg is my sole contribution to the recipe). (You can swap the nutmeg for a couple of handfuls of peas, added to the cooking pasta in the last minute or two of cooking time, and some shredded fresh mint, added to the egg and cheese combo.)

Pasta to your appetite

Fry the pancetta in olive oil in a hot pan till just starting to crisp and brown. Meanwhile put the pasta on to cook and boil the kettle again. Fill a large bowl with boiling water and set aside.

Mix together the eggs, cheese and seasoning. At this point I had the dog begging for scraps and a very small person standing next to me saying ‘thcheesthe’ very insistently. Reader, I gave them both cheese.

Then add the cooked pasta to the pan with the pancetta and continue to cook it on a gentle heat for a minute or two.

Empty the bowl of water and immediately add the pasta and bacon and the cheese and egg mixture to the hot bowl. Stir to combine.

Serve with more grated parmesan. Bert had his with fresh strawberries (intended for pudding, but he insisted) and I had mine with a green salad.

 

 

 

 

Sunny pasta

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Roast yellow veg carbonara. Blurred but cute picture.

sunny

Served 2.5 (me and Bert and leftovers for my lunch tomorrow)

Half a butternut squash, deseeded, sliced into slim discs

Yellow pepper, deseeded, sliced into discs

Splash of olive oil or rapeseed oil

One clove of garlic, crushed

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

60ml double cream

Pecorino cheese, grated – about half a cup – around 60g or so – and a little more to serve

Pasta

Half a ladle full of saved pasta water

Drizzle the veg with oil and roast for about half an hour in a hot oven – 220 or so. (I did it on the bottom of the Aga roasting oven.)

At this point in the proceedings I watched two Peppa Pigs with Bert on my knee, surrepticiously sniffing his hair.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta, keeping about half a ladle of the cooking water to one side. Mix together the cream, egg and cheese and season with salt and pepper. In a large pan, fry the garlic briefly in a little oil, stir in the veg then take the pan off the heat and stir through the pasta the second it’s drained, followed by the cream mixture and a little bit of the pasta cooking water. Coat the pasta with the sauce and serve with a bit more grated cheese.

Bert hasn’t eaten for over 24 hours because of a virus (Ray’s done well out of it), but he ate this.

 

Apple fritters

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fritter

Oh balls, I’ve got nothing in for pudding except a bowl of apples and pears.

Made 8 fritters

130g plain flour

1.5 teaspoons baking powder (that’s one and a half, not fifteen)

1.5 tablespoons of golden caster sugar

1 egg

100ml whole milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 average sized eating apple, cored and diced (I used two small ones)

Vegetable oil for frying

Beat everything except the oil together. It’s a thick batter, closer to cake mixture in consistency than pancake batter. Heat up about an inch of oil in a deep pan and drop spoonfuls of the batter in. When they’re puffed up and golden, turn them over in the pan. Get them out with a slotted spoon, pop onto some kitchen towel and dust with icing sugar. It’s a good idea to make them before you eat the main course so they’ve got time to cool and you’re not toiling over boiling fat while a todder practises acrobatics on a high chair unattended.

We had ours with maple syrup. Bert took a second one to eat on the sofa – not strictly allowed. At the moment he laughs with pure joy every time I tell him I love him – is there anything better in life than a toddler? Maybe a toddler and warm apple fritters.

Raspberry and white chocolate Eton Mess

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raspeton

A treaty Sunday pudding.

Serves 3-4

For the meringue:

2 egg whites

4oz golden caster sugar (the maths is easier with ounces)

For the Eton Mess:

200g raspberries

200ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks

50g white chocolate, smashed to splinters

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks then gradually add the sugar till it’s thick and glossy. Spread out on a lined baking sheet and bake at a low temperature (I did mine in the Aga simmering oven – 140 for a normal oven) for 2-2.5 hours, so it’s cooked but still mallowy inside. Combine with everything else and serve. Bert alternated his with mouthfuls of corn on the cob but I can’t say I’d recommend that.

This gave Bert enough energy to empty the tins cupboard, stacking the contents neatly in the toilet, behind his tiny piano and in the fireplace. There may still be a tin or two of treacle in the utility room.

Little apple frangipane tarts

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applefrang

Makes two little tarts

1/2 sheet of puff pastry

1 eating apple, finely sliced

1 egg

40g golden caster sugar

40g ground almonds

40g softened butter

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Beat together the egg, almonds, butter, sugar and vanilla essence. Cut two circles out of the puff pastry (mine were about 12 centimetres in diameter). Press a smaller circle into each with the top of a glass and spread a dessert spoon or so of the frangipane mixture over each, keeping within the smaller circle – I’m not entirely sure if you need to bother with this, but I was in a neat-freak mood. Maybe because Bert’s started shaming me by tidying up after me.

Meanwhile, watch your todder finally master the art of forward motion on a wheelybug. (Finally, he won’t back himself into corners and squeal! Oh, he just backed himself into a corner and squealed.) Using the frangipane as a glue, press the apple in each in a spiralling circle (if you can be bothered to be neat) then top with another blob of frangipane to make a kind of frangipane sandwich.

Bake on a lined sheet at 190 or near the middle ish of the Aga roasting oven for about 15 minutes.

Gran’s sweetcorn pudding

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sweetcorn

My mum used to make something like this when we were small. It came to me in a flash today and I thought it would be nice with the pulled pork I put in the oven at lunchtime.

Serves 4-6 (just me and Bert here though, ahem)

2 thick slices white bread – about 170g

2 eggs

400ml milk

1/2 teaspoon paprika

250g can sweetcorn, drained

salt to taste

100g grated pecorino

Break the bread into chunks and put in a pan with the milk. Warm till the bread’s absorbed the milk and is soft. Break it up into smaller pieces with the back of a fork or spoon until it looks like mash. Then stir in the paprika, salt, sweetcorn and beaten eggs. Put in an ovenproof dish, top with the grated cheese and bake at 180-200 degrees (or near the bottom of the Aga roasting oven) for about 25 minutes till it’s puffed up and golden.

While it was cooking, I desperately tried to add ‘mummy’ to Bert’s repetoire, which now includes car, hiya, RaRa (for the dog), Didda (for daddy) and bye bye. Priorities, Bert!

Storecupboard berry frangipane tart

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frangipane

Should serve 8. Served 3.5. Let’s blame Bert.

75g golden caster sugar

75g soft butter

2 eggs

75g ground almonds

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frozen puff pastry – 500g pack (there will be some leftover)

Frozen berries – enough to cover the pastry

Beat the sugar and butter together in a food processor (or by hand), then beat in the eggs and stir through the almonds and vanilla.

Line a pie dish with the puff pastry, cover with a layer of fruit and then cover the lot with the frangipane filling. Bake at 190 or in the middle of an Aga roasting oven for 30 minutes.

For dinner tonight Bert ate five new potatoes and three slices of tart. He was quite literally begging us for tart. Then he zoomed off in his tractor with John the bunny riding pillion.

Wholemeal raspberry and banana pancakes

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raspberry

Serves 3-4

2 tablespoons melted butter

225g self raising wholemeal flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

300ml whole milk

1 crushed banana

Handful of fresh or frozen raspberries

Mash the banana together with the raspberries and melt the butter. Stir the rest of the ingredients into the fruit and use the traces of melted butter in the pan to grease a hot frying pan. Fry dessert spoons in batches, turning over when they start to bubble. Cook till golden on both sides and firm.

Do not attempt this with plain wholemeal flour – you will get flat, dry patties.

Bert’s dad’s on a health kick and this is my attempt to make our normal weekend banana pancakes daddy-friendly. Apparently the maple syrup was missed. (I wouldn’t know – mine were drowned in it.)

Spinach, mint and parmesan frittata

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frittata

Serves 2.5 (if the large people are greedy)

4 small floury potatoes

Tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Large handful spinach, chopped

Leaves from a sprig of mint, finely chopped

4 eggs, beaten

Handful grated parmesan

Peel and thickly slice the potatoes (to about 1cm thick), place in a pan of boiling water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes till tender. Drain and leave them in the colander for a couple of minutes to dry.

Heat the oil in the pan and fry the potatoes till golden, adding the garlic at the last minute. Mix the eggs, spinach and mint and pour in, topping with cheese. Cook on the stove top till firm then finish off under a hot grill till the cheese is bubbling and golden.

We had ours with sausages and cherry tomatoes. To be honest, this really could have served four.

Little raspberry and hazelnut puddings

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hazelnut

Serves 4 – me, Bert, Daddy and Ben

2 tablespoons ground hazelnuts

2 dessert spoons self raising flour

2 tablespoons golden caster sugar

2 eggs

100ml cream

Sprinkling of cinnamon

A handful of fresh or frozen raspberries

Mix all the ingredients except the berries together and grease some small tins with a little butter – I used Yorkshire pudding tins. Put a few raspberries in each then pour in the batter and cook at 180 degrees or in the middle of the Aga roasting oven for 12 minutes. Perfect for babies who’ve worked up an appetite by being pushed round in a wheelbarrow.