West Country Cider Mussels from River Cottage

This is our own locally inspired take on the classic moules marinière, using leeks, thyme and cider. It works equally well with cockles or palourdes instead of mussels.

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a feast

50g unsalted butter
1 or 2 leeks, white part only, finely shredded, or 1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1½ teaspoons cider vinegar (optional)
½ glass of real cider (medium is best; or use dry plus a splash of apple juice)
1kg mussels, scrubbed and debearded 2 tablespoons double cream (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the butter in a deep, wide pan over a medium heat and add the leek or onion, plus the garlic. Cover and sweat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not coloured. Raise the heat and throw in the thyme. When its scent hits you, add the cider vinegar, if using, and cider, then the mussels and some salt and pepper. Give them a quick stir and a shake, then cook, covered, for 3–4 minutes, shaking the pan a couple of times. When all the mussels are open (discard any that remain closed), finish with the cream, if you like, and serve with some good bread and more cider (in a glass, this time).

From River Cottage Fish book.

Lemon, parmesan and smoked salmon linguine

From Channel 4 website. Very tasty. Made it with salmon fillets instead of smoked salmon and penne rather than linguine. A million weight watchers points per serving.

Serves 2
Ready in 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 200g linguine
• Butter, for frying
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 200ml pot half-fat crème fraiche
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 25g fresh Parmesan, grated
• 75g sliced smoked salmon, cut into strips
• Few wild rocket leaves, to serve (optional)

Method: How to make smoked salmon linguine

1. Cook the linguine according to packet instructions

2. Meanwhile, melt a little butter in a pan and cook the garlic until softened. Add the crème fraiche, lemon zest and Parmesan. Cook for 1 minute and remove from the heat.

3. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce and smoked salmon. Divide between 2 bowls and garnish with the rocket to serve, if you like.

Chocolate Pear Trifle

BUY - a good quality Chocolate Cake (e.g. Waitrose do one for around £2)

- a tin of pears

- 4 chocolate mousses dark chocolate if poss

- whipping cream

- small bar Bournville

break up the cake in a bowl

add some of the juice from the tin to moisten (not all)

add the pears

spread the 4 mousses over the pears

whip the cream and spread over the mousse

add choc gratings to decorate

probably 500 calories per portion!

Spiced grilled pears

WW Points = 1 Servings = 4 Prep time = 4mins Cooking time = 5 mins

Ingredients

	1 spray low-fat cooking spray
	2 medium pear(s), ripe, peeled, halved, cored
	2 teaspoon polyunsaturated margarine, low-fat
	2 teaspoon light brown sugar, demerara
	2 teaspoon spice, cinnamon and ground ginger

Instructions

• Preheat the grill to high. Coat an ovenproof dish with cooking spray. Place the pear halves in the dish cut side up. Put ½ teaspoon of the margarine in the centre of each pear half. Mix together the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the pears.
• Place 10cm (5 in) from the heat and grill for 5 minutes until bubbling and golden.
• Served along or with ice cream or natural yogurt.

Hazelnut and honey stuffed apple

WW points = 1.5 Servings= 1 Prep time = 1 min Cooking time= 9 mins

Ingredients

	1 medium apple(s), cored and scored around the middle
	5 g hazelnuts, roasted, chopped
	5 g raisins
	1 teaspoon honey, runny

Instructions

• Put the apple in a small microwave-safe container. Mix the remaining ingredients together and spoon into the cored apple. Microwave for 2 minutes. Leave to stand for 7 minutes before serving.

Honey-rum marinated oranges

This light, refreshing dessert is perfect after a heavy winter meal.

WW points = 1.5 Servings = 6 Prep time = 15mins Cooking time = 6mins

Ingredients

	80 g honey
	80 ml water
	50 ml rum, dark variety
	1 tablespoon cinnamon, (one stick)
	5 medium orange(s)
	2 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh
	2 tablespoon fresh mint, for garnish

Instructions

• Combine honey, water, rum and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes; set aside to cool. Wash, dry and zest 1 orange (should yield about 2 tablespoons of zest). Then slice off ends of all oranges; remove peels and as much of white pith as possible. Slice each orange into 6 rounds and place orange slices in a large glass baking dish; set aside. Add lemon juice and orange zest to cooled honey-rum mixture; stir and pour over oranges. Cover baking dish and chill in refrigerator for at least two hours and up to overnight for maximum flavour. Serve with mint garnish.

Ginger ice cream

WW points = 2.5 Servings = 8 Prep time = 20 mins Cooking time = 3 hours

Ingredients

	410 ml evaporated milk
	2 teaspoon vanilla essence
	1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
	2 tablespoon muscavado sugar
	2 level tablespoon syrup, from a jar of stem ginger
	50 g ginger, stem, chopped
	8 sprig fresh mint, to decorate

Instructions

• Pour evaporated milk into a large bowl. Add vanilla extract, nutmeg and sugar. Whisk with hand-held electric beaters until thick and foamy, until mixture is roughly three times original volume. Tip mixture into a rigid freezer container and freeze until almost frozen. Remove from the freezer for 10 minutes so that ice cream softens slightly, then mix in ginger and ginger syrup. Freeze until firm. Serve, decorated with mint leaves.

Bananas in Orange and Rum sauce

WW Points = 3 Servings = 4 Prep time = 5 mins Cooking time= 10 mins

Ingredients

	2 zest of 1 orange(s)
	1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
	6 tablespoon low-fat plain bio yogurt, (or Greek)
	15 g sultana(s)
	2 tablespoon muscavado sugar
	2 tablespoon rum, light or dark
	4 medium banana(s), not too ripe

Instructions

• Stir 1 teaspoon of orange zest and the vanilla essence through the yogurt. Chill until ready to serve. Put the remaining orange zest into a frying pan with the sultanas, sugar and rum. Heat and simmer gently until the liquid has reduced by half. Slice the bananas into the frying pan and cook gently for about 2 minutes, turning the slices to coat in the orange sauce. Serve at once with the orange flavoured yogurt. For a sharper flavour, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the sauce just before serving.

Balsamic Strawberries

Strawberries with vinegar and pepper may sound unusual, but the sweet-tart combination is delicious, and the balsamic marinade tints the strawberries a gorgeous deep red. WW Points = 1.5 Servings = 4 Prep time = 5 mins Ingredients 450 g strawberries, halved or quartered 2 tablespoon light brown sugar 1 tablespoon vinegar, balsamic 1/4 teaspoon pepper 125 g natural low-fat yogurt, vanilla 1 tablespoon fresh mint, leaves, optional Instructions Combine strawberries, sugar, vinegar and pepper in a bowl. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, stirring at least once. Serve in 4 small glasses or bowls and top each with 1 heaped tablespoon of vanilla yogurt. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Nigella's Coca Cola Ham

Haven't done this yet...This Nigella recipe is taken from her popular Channel 4 series Nigella Bites, based on her popular book How To Eat. Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2kg mild-cure gammon
• 1 onion peeled and cut in half
• 2 litre-bottle coke

The glaze

• Handful cloves
• 1 heaped tbsp black treacle
• 2 tsp English mustard powder
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar

Method: How to cook ham in Coca Cola

1.I find now that mild-cure gammon doesn't need soaking. If you know that you're dealing with a salty piece, then put it in a pan covered with cold water, bring to the boil then tip into a colander in the sink and start from here; otherwise, put the gammon in a pan, skin side down if it fits like that, add the onion then pour over the Coke. Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on, though not tightly, and cook for just under 2 1/2 hours. If your joint is larger or smaller work out timing by reckoning on an hour a kilo altogether, remembering that it's going to get a quick blast in the oven later. But do take into account that if the gammon's been in the fridge right up to the moment you cook it, you will have to give a good 15 or so minutes' extra so that the interior is properly cooked. Meanwhile preheat oven to 240C/gas mark 9.

2.When the ham's had its time (and ham it is now it's cooked, though it's true Americans call it ham from its uncooked state) take it out of the pan but DO NOT THROW AWAY THE COOKING LIQUID (great stock for soups or gravy) and let cool a little for ease of handling. (Indeed you can let it cool completely then finish off the cooking at some later stage if you want).

3.Then remove skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove. Then carefully spread the treacle over the bark-budded skin taking care not to dislodge the cloves. Then gently pat the mustard and sugar onto the sticky fat. Cook, in a foil lined roasting tin for approximately 10 minutes or till the glaze is burnished and bubbly.

4.Should you want to do the braising stage in advance and then let the ham cool, clove and glaze it and give it 30-40 minutes, from room temperature, at 180C/gas mark 4, turning up the heat towards the end if you think it needs it.

5.This is seriously fabulous with anything, but the eggily golden sweetcorn pudding that follows is perfect: ham and eggs southern style.

Salmon dill honey mustard

Mix 1 tblsp runny honey

1 tblspngrainy mustard

1 tbspn dried dill

cover salmon fillets with the sauce

cover with tinfoil

200degrees 20 - 30 mins

Choose a small oven dish so that the sauce doesn't run and burn -keep the salmon tight in the dish.

Salmon en croute

2 leeks small or 1 large

200g mushrooms

tomato puree

butter

dill S+P

salmon fillets

puff pastry or breadcrumbs

Sweat the chopped leeks and mushrooms in butter and olive oil

Add tomato puree 1 good tblspn S+P dill

cover over salmon

add sheet of puff pastry + egg wash

200 degrees c 25 mins

Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza

Pizza bas

Chicken breast

bottle caesar salad dressing

Cos/ Romaine (long) lettuce

Mozzarella

parmesan

Make pizza dough with yogurt or buy ready made base

Chop us chicken breast (s) cover in Caesar Salad dressing 1/3 of bottle to marinade while you...

Use 1/3 of dressing to smooth over cooked pizza base then cover with slices of mozzerella

Fry up chicken bits in Caesar dressing

Put pizza base in 200degreec C 5 mins

Add chicken bits to pizza

Return to oven for last 5 mins or so while you

Mix up Cos lettuce leaves with 1/3 dressing

add parmesan and few anchovies (optional)

Remove pizza add salad and serve.

Chicken Liver Pate

I pot of chicken livers

few bits of chopped bacon or lardons

garlic cloves 2-4 to taste

S+P

herbs thyme/marjoram/oregano etc

1oz butter + little olive oil

Sweat bacon and garlic in butter and olive oil

add drained chicken livers

add seasonings

blend add little melted butter to cover top

then transfer to little bowl /jar then to fridge

You can add a little cream or flambee in a little booze if you want a richer pate

You can also only part blend or chop up finely to start with and not blend for a coarser pate

Pizza Dough

Natural yogurt

Flour - grananry works well

Baking powder 1-2 tspfuls depending on quantity of flour/yog

Blend together

Add herbs

Salt and Pepper

A little olive oil

The mixture shouldn't be too sticky.

Roll out - not too thick.

Part bake while you prepare toppings c.10 mins 200degrees C.

You can part bake then freeze or keep for another time in fridge (or you can freeze mixture then roll out after defrosting but you will need to add flour).

Orange, red onion and beetroot salad

A Hugh F-W recipe from the Guardian. A quick and perky starter for a winter lunch or supper. Serves four.

3 beetroot, roasted, peeled and thinly sliced
2 oranges, peeled with a knife to get rid of all traces of skin and pith, then thinly sliced (hold the fruit over a bowl, to catch any juice, and squeeze any juice you can extract from the skin and add this to the dressing)
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

For the vinaigrette
1 tsp white-wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Arrange the beetroot, orange and onion on four plates (or on one large platter). Whisk together the reserved orange juice, vinegar and mustard, then whisk in the oil. Season to taste, and trickle the dressing all over the salad.

Courgette, anchovy and lemon fettucine

This was OK but not amazing. I might have used too much pasta.

Guardian recipe. 8.5 WW points per serving.

This recipe fits our continuing January criteria of low-effort cooking, while also tasting uplifting enough for this time of year. The courgettes get cooked in the pasta water at the end. Then, after you have drained off the water, you melt the anchovies with garlic in the same pan (one-pot cooking!) and finish it by tossing it all together with lemon zest. A supremely simple supper.

Plenty for two. Takes 25 minutes of extremely relaxed pottering.

Some extra virgin olive oil

250g fettucine (or you can use pappardelle, tagliatelle, or any long, flat pasta)

3 medium courgettes, sliced 1cm thick

30g anchovy fillets, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Sprinkle of chilli flakes

Small knob of butter

Zest of 1 large lemon

Salt and pepper

Heat a large pan of salted water with a splash of the olive oil and, once it has come to a rolling boil, chuck in the pasta, give it a stir and whack a lid on.

Look on the pasta packet to see how long it takes to cook and, when it is four minutes away from being ready, drop in the courgettes and add an extra two minutes to the cooking time. Give it a good stir and stick the lid back on.

When the time is up, drain and put the empty pan back on a medium heat.

Gently fry the chopped anchovies, garlic and chilli in the butter and a healthy glug of olive oil for around three to four minutes until the anchovy pieces start to melt.

Turn off the heat, tip in the pasta and courgettes, along with some seasoning (a little salt and lots of pepper) and the lemon zest.

Toss, stir and give it all a good roll around, breaking up some of the courgette slices as you go, and add another slug of olive oil if you think it could do with it.

Once all the pasta is well coated, give it a last taste (you might want the extra zing of a squeeze of lemon juice), and serve in warm bowls.

Fennel with Blood Orange and Grated Courgette

Unusual flavour but tasty. From Abel and Cole. 2 Weight Watchers points per serving.

"This combo is quite addictive, and it's absolutely stunning served with grilled or pan-fried fish. Healthy, quick and easy – you've got to love it! Serves 1-2 as a light main or 4 as a side dish."

• 1 medium-sized fennel
• 2 blood oranges
• ½ large or 1 small courgette
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp of a good extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp almond slivers, lightly toasted

First, slice the fennel into thin (1/2 - 1 cm) panels. Then roughly cut each into large bite-sized pieces (about 2inx1in). Place in a salad/mixing bowl.

Cut the top and bottom off the oranges. Stand on a cutting board and cut the skin off in panels, working your way around the orange. Squeeze the juice from the flesh embedded in the skin over the fennel.

Then, cut the segments out of the orange (leaving behind the pithy bits and the opaque papery skin) over the bowl, dropping them on top of the fennel. This allows extra juice to drip over the fennel, and this acts as an instant salad dressing! Squeeze the remaining orange over the salad and discard.

Grate 1/2 a courgette straight into the bowl, using a medium sized grating - i.e. you don't want it grated finely like Parmesan. Add a pinch of sea salt, a grinding of black pepper and a splash of olive oil.

Toss and add in a handful or two of cooled, toasted almond slivers. Serve or chill for up to 2 hours (though, if you’re making in advance wait to add the almonds until right before serving!).

Dark Chocolate Ginger Beetroot Cake

From Abel and Cole. 7 Weight Watchers points per serving if there are 12 servings per cake.

A Shropshire-based beetroot grower once invited me for tea and offered me a slice of chocolate beetroot cake, alongside beetroot sorbet and other beet treats. This is my take on the cake. It's a fabulous way to use up your roots, and the beetroot is not there as a gimmicky ingredient. It lends a lovely moistness, an earthy sweetness and a rich, ruby tinge. Serves 8.

• 200g beetroot
• 125g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of sea salt, crushed finely
• 150g caster sugar
• 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 whole eggs
• 150g dark chocolate, finely grated
• Crème fraiche to serve

First, cook your beetroot. Put in a pot, cover with water and boil for 1 hour, or until tender enough to pierce right through with a fork. Peel, brushing the skin off with your fingers while holding the beets under a lightly running tap. Roughly chop and puree in a food processor until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Separate the eggs. Whisk the yolks with the butter and the sugar until pale and creamy. Whisk the whites until stiff and meringue-like. Gently fold the yolk mix to the flour. Then, fold the whites in 1/3 at a time. Gently stir in the beet puree, chocolate and ginger.

Grease an 18.5cm (7in) cake tin with butter, dust with enough flour to coat - or line with parchment paper. Add the cake mix. Bake for 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. It will be fairly moist, almost fudgy in the middle. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, then turn our and cool on a rack. Serve with crème fraiche.