What a Tart

So I thought it was about time I blogged something savoury because all I seem to be doing at the moment is cake, bread and pudding, though that's a pretty accurate representation of my current diet...

 

I made this in the summer holidays for my sister, who likes neither leeks nor anything that even vaguely resembles a quiche, BUT when I gave her this she ate it all and went back for seconds. And when Rebecca ate it yesterday she exclaimed 'I don't even like leeks!' as she also went back for seconds. It's an excellent crowd pleaser, very easy to make, and it looks awesome.

Also Dad's lent me his fancy camera, so I can now take food photographs again without having to beg Zosia to leave the library and trek all the way over just so I can take a picture of my soup/cake/etc, which is just great for everyone (except maybe my Dad's nerves).

Ingredients:
Pastry
- 175g plain flour (I use 100g of white and 75g of wholemeal)
- 110g butter, cubed
- ½tsp salt
- sprinkle of black pepper
- ½tsp thyme leaves
- 2-3tbsp cold water

Filling
- 25g butter
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 large leek, washed and chopped
- 1tsp caster sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 200ml double cream
- 1 egg, beaten
- 125g soft goat's cheese, crumbled
- 1tsp French mustard
- salt and pepper
- 1tsp thyme leaves, plus a few extra sprigs for decoration

Method:
1. First, make your pastry. Using the tips of your fingers, rub together the flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the salt, pepper and thyme, then add the water a little at a time. You only need enough to bring everything together into a dough, so be careful not to over-do it.
2. Wrap the dough in clingfilm, and put it in the fridge while you get started on your filling.
3. Put the butter, onions, leek and garlic into a pan, then turn the heat up and add the sugar. Make sure you stir fairly often so it doesn't stick and burn, but there's not much else to it! Cook for about 15-20 minutes, until everything's lovely and caramelised, then take off the heat and put to one side. At this point you should also turn on your oven, and set it to 180°C.
4. Take your pastry out of the fridge, lightly flour your worktop and roll the pastry out to about 5mm thick. Then use your rolling pin/bottle to drape it into your quiche dish (if you don't have a quiche dish, you can use the lid of a casserole dish or anything similar - just make sure it can go in the oven).
5. Gently ease the pastry to fit properly in the dish, then grab a fork and prick lots of holes in the bottom of the pastry (which is a great alternative to baking beans) before blind baking in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.
6. While your pastry case is baking, you can get the filling sorted out. Grab a large measuring jug and measure out the cream, then add the egg, mustard and goat's cheese and mix it all together (alternatively, you could put a third of the goat's cheese to one side and sprinkle it over the top before baking). Tip in the leek mixture, the salt and pepper and half the thyme leaves and stir together.
7. Once the pastry is out of the oven, trim the edges and tip in the filling. Sprinkle the goats cheese (if using this method) and the rest of the thyme leaves on top, then put back in the oven for 30 minutes.

8. Voila! Decorate with the thyme sprigs, and eat with something yummy like potato wedges (or a salad if you've been living off cake like I have). Jamie and I intend to take the leftovers to eat on our Windsor Great Park picnic tomorrow, along with some very exciting blackberry and elderflower cakes which I shall also blog soon. NOM.

Up (for) the Apples and Pears

I've spent the last few weeks at home thinking of ways to use up our giant 17lb bucket of plums (not even joking), so when I got to Dad's house in London and discovered their tree was full of pears that hadn't even been touched I just couldn't help myself. Cue climbing the pear tree in a mini skirt then spending the afternoon baking.

It looks super fancy and impressive, but it's the easiest thing ever and it barely costs anything to make. And it tastes SO. GOOD. Also the recipe is adapted from Mary Berry's apple tarte tatin recipe because it's really easy and she's amazing.

Ingredients:
- block of puff pastry (you can make your own if you want but it's sooooo much effort)
- 175g granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cardamom pods
- 850g pears
- juice of 1 lemon

Method:
1. First, preheat your oven to 220°C. Then put the sugar in a saucepan along with 6tbsp water, the cinnamon stick and the cardamom pods. Stir on a low heat until the sugar's dissolved, then turn up the heat and STOP STIRRING. Seriously, do not touch that spoon. You're allowed to swirl the pan a bit, but no. spoons. Boil until it turns a 'golden straw colour', then take out the spices and pour into an oven-proof dish (a cake tin would work, just make sure it's deep enough).
2. Put the lemon juice into a bowl, then peel and thinly slice the pears and throw in with the lemon juice 'til you've prepared all of them (this'll stop them going brown, and it tastes nice too). Arrange the pear slices on top of the caramel and press down.
3. Roll out the pastry, then cut into a round slightly bigger than the tin. Cover the pears and tuck the pastry down the sides, then make a small slit in the top to allow steam out.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, then turn it out onto a plate and present to your amazed friends/family, before eating with lots of ice cream.

You may not have a fruit tree in your garden, but if you go to your nearest market you'll find that at the moment they have heaps of pears, apples, plums, blackberries, peaches, figs and more - so there's really no excuse. Think of your five a day! And try not to think about the sugar and pastry - just concentrate on the fruit.

Bonus: picture of me mid-mini-skirt-tree-climb:

#YOLO.

The Best Treacle Tart Ever.

This year on New Year's Eve life was a bit different. My birthday's on January 1st so usually NYE is birthday party time, but I did NOT want to be 20 and so kept it on the ultra-low this time. Instead Fraser came over on my birthday, and for New Year's Eve Mum's boyfriend came for dinner and Mum and I did uber cooking. 

And I made this:

It has been the work of years, and started off as a recipe by Linda Collister in The Great British Book of Baking. And I'm pretty darn proud of it if I do say so myself.

Ingredients:
Pastry                                                                           Filling
- 220g plain flour                                                           - 9 rounded tbsp golden syrup
- pinch of salt                                                               - 3 rounded tbsp treacle
- 1tsp caster sugar                                                        - 150g white breadcrumbs
- 160g unsalted butter, chilled and diced                     - zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 2-3tbsp ice-cold water                                               - juice of half of each the lemon and orange
                                                                                     - 1tsp ground ginger
                                                                                     - 1tsp grated nutmeg

You'll need yourself a 26cm-deep pie dish (or thereabouts), and some cold hands to work with the pastry - though that last one's probably not going to be hard to ensure at the moment (brrrrr)!

What to do:
Pastry
1. Sieve the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl, then rub in the butter using the tips of your fingers.
2. Using a round-bladed knife, stir in enough of the water to bind the mixture into a dough.
3. Wrap the dough in clingfilm, and chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes while you make the filling/pour yourself a glass of wine or suchlike.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle 3cm larger than your dish. If you don't have a rolling pin, use a wine bottle, Genius or what?!
5. Use your rolling pin (/wine bottle) to transfer the pastry to the dish, then press the pastry into the base. Trim off any excess pastry using a sharp knife and put aside. Put the dish  into the fridge to chill.

 
6. You can either clingfilm the excess pastry and fridge it to make jam tarts later, or you can get fancy and use it to make a lattice top. If the former, skip to the filling bit below, but if the latter, keep reading folks.
7. Roll out the excess pastry so it's slightly larger than the pie dish, then cut it into strips of about 2cm each. You should end up with 12-14.
8. Cut a sheet of greaseproof paper larger than the dish, and place one of the strips onto the middle of it. Take another and lay it perpendicular to the first, so it lies across the top. Place another in the same direction as the first strip (leaving a gap the same size as the strip itself), between it and the first, and tucking it underneath the second strip. Continue like this until you have a full lattice and each of the strips are used.

Filling
1. This is super simple. Gently heat the golden syrup and treacle in a pan until runny, then remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, zest, juice and spices.
2. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. If the mixture seems loose then stir in more crumbs, or if it's too stiff then add more syrup until you're happy with the consistency.
3. Spoon the filling into the pastry case, taking care not to compact the mixture.
4. If you've made a lattice top, slide your hand underneath the greaseproof paper and lift it. Bring it close to the tart, and then flip it in one swift motion. Remove the paper and trim the edges of the lattice, then brush with a beaten egg.

 
5. Bake for about 30 minutes at 190°C, until the pastry is golden. And then enjoy thoroughly - with cream/custard/ice-cream if convenient. If inconvenient, do it anyway.

This Is Uni Christmas Dinner

There is something quintessentially British about a roast dinner, particularly at Christmas, and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying it's my favourite day of the year. We've just had our last weekend at university before the holidays, so we decided to make it our honourary Christmas so we could celebrate together. Earlier in the week we Christmas-ified the house, and yesterday Jamie and I went out to pick holly before I embarked on the epic mission that was the roast dinner. It was beautiful.

 Not just the food (though that was pretty darn good if I do say so myself), but the company and the laughs and the cracker-hats and just everything. It was a good day. BUT I'll stop being sentimental now and get on with the recipes - I'm going to go through all the elements (in the order I started making them), so this'll be quite a long post, but it'll be totally worth it, promise.

Meat substitute:

I decided to make some awesome veggie pies, because I couldn't find anything nice in tesco. This made enough for four of us, as I did gluten-free red onion and rosemary sausages for Zosia.

Ingredients:

- 1x 500g pack puff pastry                                            - 150ml white wine                         

- 25g butter                                                                  - 1½ tbsp plain flour

- 6 shallots, roughly chopped                                       - 250ml veg stock          

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed                                              - 75ml double cream                   

- half an onion (save the other half for gravy)              - sprinkle of dried thyme            

- 4 new potatoes, peeled and chopped                        - salt and pepper             

- 1 pack asparagus tips, washed and chopped              - 1 egg       

1. Melt the butter in a pan and add the shallots, onion and garlic, then cook until soft and just beginning to colour - about 8 minutes.

2. Add the thyme, new potatoes, asparagus (not the tips yet) and wine, and boil 'til the wine has almost gone. Add the flour and stir well.

3. Pour in the stock and add the tips of the asparagus, then season to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring fairly regularly so it doesn't stick to the pan.

4. Add the cream and cook for another 3 minutes. Voila, filling done.

5. Roll out the pastry to about 1cm thick, then cut into small and large circles (I used a cup for the smaller ones and a bowl for the larger). Put the smaller ones on an oiled baking tray, then pile on as much filling as you can stack up, leaving a rim around the edge. Wet the rim and then put the larger pastry circle over the filling, making sure it sticks to the rim of the smaller circle. If you like you can also make decorations for the top, and stick those on with water too.

6. Beat an egg, then brush the pies with it. This will make them all golden and lovely. Once that's all done, they want about 30 minutes at 200°C in a preheated oven.

Roast potatoes:

This, like the yorkshire puddings, is Andy's recipe - a mix of his ideas, Nigel Slater's and Nigella's. A mix which certainly works, because roast dinners should not be as good as Andy's are, so I'm copying.

1. Begin by heating about 1-2cm of vegetable oil in a roasting dish at 200°C.

2. Peel enough potatoes for the number of people, and put into a pan of cold water. Bring to the boil, and cook for a MAXIMUM of 5 minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then put the colander on top of the empty pan and place the pan lid on top for about 5 minutes, or until you're ready for them. This will steam dry them and make them extra crunchy later.

4. Sprinkle over some plain flour (or semolina powder if you have it - I was on flour) and some salt and pepper, then do the hokey cokey (aka shake it all about) and get them all scuffed.

5. CAREFULLY, place the potatoes into the super-hot oil, making sure they're completely coated. Really do be careful - I was rushing too much yesterday and I have the burn-marks to prove it.

6. Put the dish back into the oven and let the potatoes cook for 35-40 minutes, checking and turning them half way through.

I over-did them a bit, but honestly it just added to the crunch. YOU CAN'T LOSE WITH THESE.

Yorkshire puddings:

This was my first time making Yorkshire puddings, though I've had Andy's and Mum's homemade ones for years. Mine therefore weren't quite as awesome as hoped, but practise makes perfect.

Ingredients (makes 12 - you'll need muffin tins):

- 4 eggs

- 250g plain flour (I used gluten free)

- 350ml milk

- pinch sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to at least 240°C, and fill each muffin tin cup with 1cm of vegetable oil. Put the tins in the oven for the oil to heat while you prepare the batter.

2. Whisk the eggs, milk and salt in a bowl for about 5 minutes using an electric whisk, longer if by hand. The mix should increase in size and be all bubbly, then leave to stand for 15 minutes.

3. Whisk in the flour a little at a time 'til there are no lumps. You should have a smooth batter, and the oil in the oven should be beginning to smoke slightly. 

4. Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tins (I found it was about 4tbsp per cup), being very careful 'cos they're pretty darn hot. Bake for 20-30 minutes, leaving plenty of space for them to rise. Do NOT open the oven door while they're cooking, or they'll sink and it will be sad.

No, mine weren't as spectacular as Andy's, but it was my first time. And also I was using gluten free flour which is a bitch to work with. So really, all in all: SUCCESS.

Roast carrots and parsnips:

1. Grab enough carrots and 'snips for the number of people, then peel them all and top and tail them.

2. Carrots - chop roughly in diagonal-ish chunks, then place in one half of the baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and a handful of either tarragon or thyme. You can also add garlic too, if you fancy. Give them a good stir so they're completely coated in everything.

3. Parsnips - chop either into small chunks, or cut them vertically and keep them long and thin. Pop them in the other half of baking dish and do the olive oil/salt and pepper thing like with the carrots, then give them a squirt of either honey or maple syrup. Stir to coat.

4. Cook for 30-45 minutes at 200°C, taking out to stir every 15 minutes or so to prevent them burning on top.

I forgot to get a picture of them cooked, but you can see them on the finished plate.

Cheesy leeks:

This is my Mum's recipe adapted from a Jamie Oliver one, and for me no roast is complete without them.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

- 800g leeks, washed and chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed

- 30g butter

- tsp mustard (French is always best)

- 200ml single cream

- 100g cheddar cheese, grated

- thyme (6 sprigs fresh/decent sprinkle of dried)

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the garlic, leeks and thyme. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the leeks have softened and shrunk down.

2. Tip into a baking dish, then season, add the cream, mustard and half the cheese and mix together.

3. Top with the remaining cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes, 'til golden and bubbling.

This is not my picture. I forgot to take one... though in my defence I was incredibly busy. I'll update this the next time I make them, and for now you can have Jamie Oliver's as a rough guide (although I use a deeper dish and fill it more).

Greens:

You can use whatever you like for these - I used a pack of tender-stem broccoli, some green beans, a few handfuls of kale and some sprouts. Because even though I hate sprouts, it's Christmas, and in my house that means being given two sprouts and being made to eat at least one of them. It's all good fun.

1. Chop the broccoli, sprouts and beans how you want them. Melt some butter in a saucepan, then add the broccoli and sprouts. Cook these for about 8 minutes, stirring regularly, and then add the beans and cook for another 5 mins.

2. Finally add the kale, and cook for about 3 more minutes, until it's shrunk down. Then season well and add a good squirt of lemon juice, and serve.

Gravy:

I made up a pint of Bisto caramelised onion gravy, to which I added a teaspoon of marmite, a dessert spoon of cranberry sauce and (after frying in olive oil 'til soft) the other half of the onion left over from the pie filling. Waste not want not.

Merry Christmas, all.

I always wanted to be Snow White

I thought she was awesome. She was the only Disney princess who looked anything like me - ie. had shorter, dark hair. I had the dress and hairband and everything. The particular bit I'm thinking of though is this:

 Watching it back now, no wonder she has lips red as the rose with that amount of make up on, and my pie totally looks better and also much more hygienic. Guess what this post is really going to be about:

There's something of a growing tradition that for Fraser's birthday I make him 'birthday pie', and so this is this year's attempt. Last year's didn't go so well (completely not my fault) so there was a fair amount of pressure, but I totally pulled it off. Also it's an apple pie, by the way. I probably should have said that sooner. Because even though Snow White made a Gooseberry Pie, "it's apple pies that make the men-folks' mouths water" as her evil stepmother so wisely said. Promise mine isn't poisoned though.

For the pastry (a sweet shortcrust - recipe from 'The Great British Book of Baking' by Linda Collister): 

- 225g plain flour

- pinch of salt

- 60g caster sugar

- 125g unsalted butter, diced and chilled

- approx 3tbsp of very cold water.

Yes, you could buy pastry, but I love making it and I think it's awesomer if it's your own. Also I make it by hand rather than in a food processor. Definitely not because I still want to be Snow White or because I can't afford a food processor.

1. First of all, I'd suggest putting a small cup of cold water in the freezer while you do other things to make it uber-cold. Then sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Add the butter and, using the tips of your fingers, rub it into the flour mixture until it looks like breadcrumbs. 

2. Using a palette knife (or a butter one which is all I have), stir in enough cold water to bind it all together and make a soft but NOT sticky dough. You can add more flour if necessary, but it's better to just be careful with the water.

3. Being careful to work it as little as possible, wrap the ball of dough in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes while you make the filling. This does stuff to the gluten that I don't fully understand but I do know that I've forgotten to do it before and it was bad. So chill your pastry.

For the filling:
- approx 1kg Bramley apples (4 big 'uns)
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- zest of half a lemon
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 1-2tsp ground cinnamon
- 25g melted butter
- 1-2tbsp water

1. Peel, core and chop the apples and place them in a big bowl of water to which you have added a massive squirt of lemon juice. This will stop them going brown but won't make them taste solely of lemon. This may have been my mistake the first time around.
2. When all the apple is done and you're ready to move on, drain the water (probs easiest to just tip the apples into a sieve and then transfer back) and then add the sugar, zest, cinnamon and butter and stir gently to coat.
3. Get your pastry out the fridge and cut off a third, then roll that out into a circle slightly larger than your pie dish (mine was 22cm in diameter and 3cm deep. IF you don't have a pie dish then you can use the lid of a casserole dish. Or just buy one. They're cheap and exciting.). This will be the base. Then sort of wrap the pastry lightly around the rolling pin, and let it unfurl over the dish. Press all around the bottom and sides to make sure there's no air trapped - you can use your fingers or a spare bit of pastry. Don't trim the edges.
4. Spoon the filling onto the base, and then add the water. Roll out the rest of the pastry into a circle large enough to cover the top, then brush the rim of the base with water and place on the top using the rolling pin method. Gently press together the pastry of the base and the top to seal it, then take a sharp knife and trim the excess pastry. You can use this to make decorations, which stick on with a bit of water.
5. Assuming you don't have any woodland creatures/birds handy to do the job for you, use a fork or your fingers to scallop the rim. Make sure you've cut a couple of slits to act as air holes so your pie doesn't explode, and then brush with a beaten egg.

6. Bake for approximately 35 minutes at 180°C, then when the pastry is all golden and lovely take it out the oven and sprinkle with a bit of caster sugar. Serve with cream, ice cream, creme fraiche, custard... whatever takes your fancy.

I am the new Snow White. No, the animals didn't help me make my pie, but I could totally see them from every single window of the house. And also Fraser whisked me off to Paris a couple of days after I made my pie, which is almost exactly the same as being awoken from your apple-induced-coma and riding off into the sunset.
It's like my very own Disney film.

Scones

I always have scones at the best times. 

We had scones at Hilsdon's birthday and on the day we signed our house contract. I always have them on holiday in Cornwall and when we go to National Trust houses (History nerd for the win).

And because I'm so gluten free and awkward, when I fancied scones this week I had to make some myself. 

CUE BAKING.

I used a Delia recipe, similar one can be found here except she doesnt say buttermilk or egg in her book. So here we go...

What you need:

225g of self raising flour

75g of butter

1 and a half tablespoons of caster sugar

1 pinch of salt

150ml of milk

And what to do...

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Rub in the butter.

3. Add the caster sugar and the salt. Stir it in

4. Add the milk a bit at a time and stir it with a knife. (I'd never stirred with a knife before. Was a new and interesting experience.) You may not need to add all the milk, at least I didnt, because the mixture might be sticky enough without it. Use some logic, you can't cook without it. 

5. Liberally dust a board and a rolling pin with flour and roll out your pastry. REALLY THICKLY. Delia says never less than 2cm thick. BELIEVE HER because I misjudged it and ended up with mini half scones. Which are super cute, but not hefty enough for my taste in scones. 

6. Cut your scones out with a pastry cutter or a thick biscuit cutter or, if you're really stuck, use the rim of a small glass. 

7. Place the soon-to-be-scones on a greased baking sheet on a tray, dust with a little flour and place them in the oven for about ten to fifteen minutes until they're lightly golden brown.

8. ENJOY. With sunshine, tea, jam and clotted cream. 

(I follow the Cornish method of making up scones - jam first, then cream because you SPREAD jam and you PUT cream. Whereas silly old Bryony does it wrong. Or the Devon way. Which involves cream first then jam. Because apparently, cream is like the butter. I prefer my way because you can get away with more cream. But ultimately, it's your call...)

And yes, from the melty clotted cream on my scones, you can see that the weather has been SUPER lovely down south. A bit too hot for me (our car thermometer hit 36 degrees celcius earlier this week) but it makes a change...

Gooseberry Pie

So this is like, one of the most specialist recipe combinations everrr. 

We're talking gluten free gooseberry pie. Because my dad gave me GLUTEN FREE READY MADE PASTRY. Which is a revelation because I'd never seen that before, I love pastry and gluten free flour is, 'scuse my french, a bitch to make into pastry.

Plus my grandma gave me thousands of gooseberries. She grows them and they all decided to turn up at once before a rainstorm so she had to pick them and, stupidly, I said I'd do something with them. Course, they're awkward little fruits, more bitter than sweet and you can't even buy them at Tesco. 

SO MANY GOOSEBERRIES OMG.

 So Yes. Here's how I did gooseberry pie:

What you need:

200g of ready made pastry

500g of gooseberries

100g of caster sugar

A splash of water

Some egg yolk

And what you gotta do:

1. Preheat the oven to aroun 180 degrees celcius/whatever your pastry packet says. 

2. Grease the pie dish with a little butter or oil. 

3. Thinly roll out the pastry and place it over the pie dish. Push it down and shape it to the shape of the dish. Trim off the edges and save these to one side to make the lid of the pie.

4. BLIND BAKE IT! This should involve baking beans. I don't have baking beans. I asked the internet. Internet said use rice. I asked the madre. She said use lentils. I used lentils.  I spent ten minutes picking lentils out of the cooked pie crust. Don't use lentils.

The cat watching the pie become a pie.

5. As your pie crust cooks, its time to make the filling. place the gooseberries (washed, topped and tailed) in a pan. Add the caster sugar and a splash of water and heat it up. Leave to simmer for about five minutes until the fruit is nice and soft. (I used frozen gooseberries so I cooked mine for a bit longer.)

6. Take your pie crust out of the oven.

7. Strain the gooseberries through a collander to get rid of the water. Place them in the pie crust.

8. Roll out the remaining pastry so it's large enough to cover the pie. COVER THE PIE! Brush the edges of the crust with egg yolk, and put the pie lid over the pie. Squash down the edges with a fork. Poke a few holes in the pie lid and brush it with egg yolk.

9. BAKE THE PIE. For around 25 minutes until its golden brown.

10. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar.

11. EAT THE PIE. Withh ice cream. Or custard. Or cream.Wonderful.

Cooking en masse

Occasionally, before doing a night out, people come round to our flat for pre-drinks. And occasionally they come for dinner too. The most I've cooked for to date was 15 - a terrifying task when in a kitchen not *really* big enough for the 6 it's given to, with a hob that takes an age to heat up and an oven that only works when it wants to. The way to avoid panic is to plan, and to make something that manages to be delicious, filling and easy all at the same time. 

My solution is twofold: 

1. Plastic plates and cutlery. Because it's all very well being green, but who wants to wash up for 15 people?

2. A savoury puff pastry tart with a potato salad and green leaves.

Photos from when I recreated at home - despite my organisation, there just was not time to stop and take photos while the masses were hungry waiting for food. Apologies.

Tart: (serves 6)
- 375g pack puff pastry
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 orange pepper
- 50g sundried tomatoes
- 125g pot goats cheese
- 2tbsp (approx) Sacla red pesto
- handful fresh basil
- salt and pepper

Potato Salad: (serves 4)
- 450g new potatoes
- 4 spring onions
- 3tbsp mayonnaise
- 3tbsp creme fraiche
- handful of both fresh parsley and chives
- salt and pepper

Lots of things can be done earlier on in the day, so when people start arriving you can swan around in your lovely dress having done your hair and make-up and avoid this situation:

All dressed up for Harry Potter night. I am the exhausted, not-quite-ready-looking girl on the left, not the one on the right in the apron as you might expect. I believe that was donned to prevent food/drink spillage on the white shirt.

- which is never good when it's only 8pm. With this particular meal, you can do the potato salad in the afternoon which is a big plus.

A funny shaped potato. I had to get it in somewhere.

1. Start by washing the potatoes and cutting away any sprouting bits. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and then put the potatoes in. Bring back to boiling and cook for 20 minutes.

2. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, chop your spring onions and put into a large bowl. When the potatoes are no longer too hot to touch, chop them into small pieces and add them to the bowl too. Follow with the creme fraiche, mayonnaise and herbs, and season. Voila. This can now go in the fridge until you need it (though admittedly, it is nicer at room temperature - so perhaps take it out 20 minutes or so before you want to use it).

The tart is equally easy to make, and bits of it can still be done in advance.

1. VEGETABLE PREPARATION TIME. Wash and half the cherry tomatoes, de-seed and chop the pepper into smallish pieces, chop the red onion and the garlic and put them all in a baking dish. Season and drizzle with olive oil, then put into a preheated oven at 220°C for 15-20 minutes. This part could be done in advance, as if necessary you could then cover with cling film and come back to them later on.

2. Roll out your pastry on a floured surface. You want to get it approximately 1cm thick and as even as you can. Then, take a sharp knife and roughly score where the crust of the tart will be. This means that when the vegetables are added and weigh down the pastry in the middle, the bits around the edge are free to puff up to their heart's content. Score along the sides too - as this will help the layers to separate and also aid the puffing-process.

3. After letting the pastry rest for a couple of minutes, spread the area you want the vegetables to lie on with the pesto before using a slotted spoon to heap on the vegetables (the slotted spoon stops so much juice coming with them, and helps prevent a soggy bottom on your tart). Add the sundried tomatoes and sprinkle over the goats cheese - when I last made this meal at home I only used half a pack of the latter to avoid being accused of using too much cheese, but my sister said she would've liked more and I should've used the whole pack, so really it's completely up to you.

4. Tear the basil and sprinkle over, and then bake for about 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and it's all looking good. Note: I think it says 15 minutes on the pastry packet, but you'll need a few minutes longer as there's so much topping. When it's done, you can garnish with a bit more basil just to add to the wow-factor, and you're ready to serve.

And as for the salad - buy yourself a few bags of baby salad leaves and whip up some Honey and Mustard Dressing during the day, and you're set. All done together, it gives you time to do this...

Hello from Tonks and Luna

...if you want to. Feeding the 5,000 has never been so easy. Unless you're Jesus. But that would be a whole different blog post.