Simple soufflé with courgettes and herbs
Ingredients
Eight medium free range eggs; two courgettes; three shallots; knob of butter for frying; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 20g sesame seeds (optional ); four oz feta cheese; two tablespoons chopped dill; two tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley; two tablespoons chopped chives; a little cold water and 30g grated parmesan cheese.
Method
Slice courgettes thinly. Finely chop shallots and sauté in butter. Add courgettes, cooking for a few minutes. Do not allow to brown. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cool.
Preheat oven to 180? degrees.
In a small frying pan, add sesame seeds on medium heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon. Do not add oil. Sprinkle with pinch of salt and continue to stir until seeds have turned brown (not black ).
Crumble feta and add to courgette mixture, gently. Sprinkle with freshly chopped herbs, parsley, dill and chives.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs vigorously, adding two to three tablespoons of water. Eggs should be beaten for about three minutes, which will ensure lightness. Add eggs to courgette mixture.
Place courgette mixture in a greased pie dish, ensuring even distribution of courgettes and herbs. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and top with toasted sesame seeds.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Should be light in texture.
Glazed loin of bacon with pea and potato mash
If you’re short of time you could serve the pea and potato mash with pan-fried bacon chops, which take no more than 15 minutes to cook. For a really smooth mash, use a potato ricer; or a sieve also works well, it just takes a lot more elbow grease.
Ingredients
750g loin of bacon or ham joint; 675g floury potatoes cut into chunks; 175g frozen peas; two teaspoons of good quality mustard; 50g butter; one tablespoon of demerara sugar; 100ml milk; salt and freshly ground white pepper; good pinch of ground cloves and baby leeks, to serve.
Method
Place the loin of bacon in a pan of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes per 450g.
Set the oven to gas mark 4, 180C (350F ). Drain the loin of bacon and then score the fat in a diamond pattern. Spread over the mustard. Mix together the sugar and cloves in a small bowl and sprinkle all over the mustard in an even layer. Roast for 20 minutes until the top is nicely glazed and the joint is completely cooked through. Leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.
As soon as you have popped the bacon into the oven, steam the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes until just tender. Cook the frozen peas in a separate small pan for three to four minutes.
Drain the peas and then return to the pan. Season and then add the butter and milk. Blitz with a hand blender until you have a smooth puree. Mash the potatoes until very smooth, then fold in the pea puree until well combined. Season to taste.
Carve the loin of bacon into slices and arrange on warmed plates with the pea and potato mash. Serve with a dish of baby leeks.
