Split pea and bacon soup

You can't beat this soup. Warming, bacony, thick and delicious, served with some fresh bread it makes a perfect lunch. I always cook it in a pressure cooker and it's very quick and easy. It would need to cook much longer in a normal saucepan and I'm not sure how it would turn out. 

• 1 large onion
• 250g cooking bacon, chopped (preferably smoked)
• 200g dried yellow split peas
• 1 litre ham, chicken or vegetable stock (be careful if using a stock cube, as it can become too salty if the bacon is also particularly salty)
• 1 bay leaf

1. In a large pressure cooker start to heat the bacon gently until the fat begins to run out. If the bacon is very lean, add a little olive oil.
2. Add the chopped onion and fry gently for 3 or 4 minutes until slightly softened.
3. Add the split peas, stock and bay leaf and give it all a good stir.
4. Close the pressure cooker and cook the soup under pressure for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and leave it to come down from pressure.
5. Take out the bay leaf and puree the soup with a hand blender.
6. Check the seasoning and serve immediately. It also freezes well, so I usually make up a big batch.

Spiced fruit buns

These are based on hot cross buns, which we love and haven't always been able to get hold of in our travels around the world. This version is more of a spicy teacake, delicious toasted and buttered and is one of our favourite breakfast foods. In Canada I couldn't get hold of mixed spice, but I could buy tea masala, an Indian spice mix used for making spiced chai tea. Slightly more peppery than the mixed spice I buy in England, it works really well. If you can't get mixed spice, use ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. They freeze really well; put them in ziplok bags once they are cool and freeze the day you make them.

• 540g plain flour
• 50g granulated sugar
• 2.5 tsp dried yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp mixed spice
• 50g dried mixed peel
• 150g dried fruit (mainly raisins and sultanas, but a few cranberries, cherries or apricots are a nice addition)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 200ml warm milk
• warm water
• 40g butter, melted

1. Put all the dry ingredients in a mixer bowl.
2. Add the milk to the beaten egg, stir in the melted butter, then top up to 400ml with warm water.
3. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients.
4. Knead using a dough hook attachment (or by hand if you don't have a mixer). Add more flour if the mixture is too wet.
5. Shape into buns using around 90g for each bun. This usually ends up with 13 buns, a baker's dozen.
6. Place on a baking sheet, cover with a cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until roughly doubled in size.
7. Optional - for hot cross buns, make a paste from 75g flour and about 5 tbsp water and pipe crosses onto each bun after proving.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 F/220 C for about 10 - 15 minutes until golden and cooked through.
9. Optional - glaze the buns: immediately on removing from the oven, pour over a sugar syrup made from 2 tbsp water and 2 tbsp sugar, heated together until reduced and syrupy (but not caramelized).

Bacon and Broccoli Cobbler aka pink bobbly pie

One of those recipes that feels like it's been around forever and remains a firm family favourite. The savoury scones top a creamy bacon and broccoli sauce, flavoured with mixed herbs and grainy mustard. Serve with some steamed carrots. Not so cheffy son tried making it once, but the topping turned into a pink bobbly mass according to his girlfriend. Hence the title.

(The scones can also be baked separately and served as an accompaniment to soups. You can vary the spices and seasonings you use in them. I normally add some paprika and maybe some dried oregano with salt and pepper. In today's version I used some sriracha chili sauce in place of some of the ketchup. Some caramelized onion, finely chopped walnuts and cumin seeds make another delicious version.)

Serves 4 - 5

For the savoury cobbler scones:

• 12 oz self raising flour (or plain flour + 3 tsp baking powder)
• 3 oz margarine or butter
• 3 oz grated cheese
• seasonings (salt and pepper, 1 tsp paprika)
• 2tbsp tomato ketchup (or a mixture of sriracha and ketchup)
• about 8 tbsp milk

For the bacon and broccoli sauce:

• 400g chopped smoked bacon (I always use cooking bacon, which is ridiculously cheap and already chopped up for you)
• 300 g- 400g broccoli, cut into small pieces, including the tender parts of the stems
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 yellow or red pepper, chopped
• 100 g mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• glug of olive oil
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• about 500ml milk (or a mixture of milk and stock)
• 1 bayleaf
• 1 tsp grainy mustard (I used honey mustard as there was a jar of it open)

This is mixed enough

1. Make the scones: rub the margarine or butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs (using a mixer if you have one). 
2. Stir in the seasonings and the cheese.
3. Add the ketchup (and sriracha if using) and around 6 tbsp of the milk and mix together until a dough just forms, adding more milk if necessary. Don't overwork the dough - there can still be some loose bits. If you overwork it you will get tough scones.
4. Tip the dough onto a work surface and gently knead to combine into a smooth ball of dough.
5. Roll the dough to a thickness of around 2 cm and cut out shapes of your choosing. Reroll the trimmings and cut more shapes until you have used up all the dough.

1. Pre heat the oven to 200 C
2. For the sauce, put the broccoli in a microwave proof dish with a tablespoon of water, cover and microwave for 2 or 3 minutes until partly cooked.
3. Fry the onion and pepper in the olive oil until starting to soften, then throw in the bacon and continue to fry. Add the sliced mushrooms and soften slightly.
4. Add the cornflour and stir around to cook the flour for a couple of minutes. 
5. Gradually add the milk (and stock if using), stirring to combine until the liquid thickens into a creamy sauce. 
6. Throw in the bayleaf and the broccoli along with its cooking liquid and stir together, adding the mustard and seasoning to taste.
7. Continue to cook until the sauce is thick enough to support the weight of the scones without them sinking too far.
8. Pour the mixture into a baking dish deep enough to hold it without it boiling over, then top with the scones. 
9. Bake for around 30 minutes until the scones are risen, golden and cooked through and the sauce is bubbling.

Microwave Meatballs

Meatballs  in tomato sauce with courgettes

These are so easy and quick to make, I would never go back to frying meatballs. You can vary them by adding different herbs and spices, garlic, chili or other ingredients. We love an Italian style version, with oregano, basil, and garlic, served over spaghetti with tomato sauce. Another firm favourite is a Thai style version, with green Thai curry spices and a green curry sauce with coconut milk and coriander, served with rice, although we do argue about the level of chili heat.

A food processor makes the recipe very simple, as you can blitz the breadcrumbs with the garlic, fresh herbs and spices in seconds. If you don't have one, you'd have to chop the garlic and herbs and make the breadcrumbs by putting the bread in a plastic bag and bashing it with a rolling pin to break it up.

The uncooked meatballs freeze really well; to stop them sticking together, freeze on a tray, then put them into a zip lock freezer bag.

meatballs ready to zap in the microwave

Basic meatball recipe (makes about 25 meatballs, enough for 4 or 5 people)

500g minced (ground) meat (for the Italian version I tend to use a mix of beef and pork, for the Thai version, minced turkey is a good and healthy alternative)
about 100g stale bread (if it is very fresh, you might need to toast it lightly or dry it out in the oven to get it to crumb effectively)
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper

Additions:
The delight of this recipe is that the variations are endless - try out different combinations to find your favourite.
- good handful of fresh herbs (for Italian style try sage, basil, oregano, thyme; for Thai style use basil and coriander - experiment with different combinations, you can't really go wrong)
- if you don't have fresh herbs, use a teaspoon or two of dried herbs, eg Italian seasoning, or a teaspoon of Thai green curry paste
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 small fresh chili (optional)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp paprika
cayenne pepper to taste


1. Blitz the bread in a food processor (with the fresh herbs and garlic if using)
2. Mix the breadcrumbs, meat, beaten egg and other flavourings in a big bowl so that they are thoroughly combined. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Using your hands, shape the mixture into balls, using around 25g of mixture for each ball.
4. Arrange the meatballs in a single layer in a shallow microwaveable dish - a pyrex type pie dish is a good container to use.
5. Cook uncovered on full power in the microwave for 2 - 3 minutes, then rearrange the meatballs so that they can all cook evenly. Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. They will be almost done by now. I normally finish them off by adding them and their cooking juices to whatever sauce I am using and simmering on the stove in a big frying pan or wok.

cooked meatballs emerge from the microwave

A note on sauces: you can make your own basic tomato sauce, like this one from my Veggie Daughter vegetarian cooking blog Veggie Daughter Tomato Sauce  or you could use a shop bought sauce. For the Thai style, the easiest way to make the sauce is to use your favourite Thai curry paste, mixed with coconut milk  and maybe some caramelized red onions and courgettes (I tend to use Mae Ploy brand Thai sauce and follow the instructions on the tub). A jar of Thai curry sauce would also work fine.

Party Chicken

Here's an easy recipe from the 80s, proudly showing its age with its condensed soup/sour cream sauce combo, the food equivalent of 80s big hair and leg warmers. It might be retro, but it's still right up there on our list of family favourites.  The soup and sour cream mix with the meat juices to form a delicious creamy sauce perfect for mopping up with roast potato wedges. Add some green vegetables, or some other roasted veggies on the side. Once you've prepped the chicken, potatoes and chosen veggies you can just shove it all in the oven and let it get on with cooking.

Party Chicken - it looks a bit beige here, but it does taste good!

Ingredients (serves 4- 6)

4 - 6 chicken breasts (you can also use turkey breast strips)

300g bacon rashers (smoked adds a good flavour, but unsmoked is fine too)

1 can condensed mushroom soup 

about 200g sour cream

splash or two of milk to thin the sauce slightly

optional sliced mushrooms

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C

2. If the chicken breasts are large, cut them in half; you want pieces about 90g in weight.

3. Wrap each piece of chicken in a bacon rasher and place in the base of a casserole dish. I used to secure each piece with a cocktail stick, but I don't bother anymore, as it seems to stay put if you are not too rough when stirring it.

4. If you have extra bacon, chop it and scatter over the chicken pieces.

5. If you are using mushrooms, slice them and scatter over the chicken pieces.

6. Mix together the soup and sour cream, thinning with a little milk.

7. Pour the soup mix over the meat, gently lifting the meat with a spoon to let the sauce cover most of it.

8. Cover and put in the oven for about 1 hour, stirring gently half way through, being careful not to dislodge the bacon from the chicken. 

If you're serving roasted potato wedges with it, they take about the same time to cook. Cut potatoes into wedges, toss with some sunflower oil, salt and pepper in an oven dish and put in the oven at the same time as the chicken, giving them a stir half way through to prevent them from sticking.

Sticky teriyaki style salmon stir fry

Quick and easy teriyaki style salmon, I got the idea from masterchef Monica's recipe for soy sauce and honey chicken.

Serves 5

5 x 125g salmon fillets
sauce:
2 tbsp clear honey or maple syrup
2 tbsp soy sauce
clove garlic, finely chopped
small piece (roughly 1cm) fresh ginger, finely chopped
finely chopped fresh chili to taste (or cayenne pepper)

vegetables (eg carrot, peppers, beansprouts, courgettes, onions, mushrooms, bok choi)
mixture of sesame oil and vegetable oil, about 1 tbsp
straight to wok style noodles (1 sachet per person)

Prepare the veg by slicing thinly (or buy a ready-sliced pack if you're in a rush).

Combine the sauce ingredients in a large heavy saucepan (away from the heat). Put the salmon in the cold saucepan and swish it around to cover it all over with the sauce. Put the saucepan on a medium heat until the sauce bubbles, thickens and coats the salmon. Continue to cook gently until the salmon is done. Depending on the thickness of the salmon fillets, it will only take 5 minutes or so for it to cook through.

Meanwhile, Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until it is very hot and stir fry the sliced vegetables. Heat the noodles in the microwave for a minute, then add them to the stir fry and mix together over the heat. Finally top with the cooked salmon and remaining sauce and serve immediately.

Basic Bread and variations

A perfect loaf made by Tom. White with a little multigrain flour substituted

Living overseas means you can't always get a good old British style loaf. In many places the bread tastes very sweet (in fact, I think it is actually getting sweeter here too, but that's another story). We made a lot of our own bread using variations on this recipe. It fills the house with a delicious aroma and there is always a race to get the 'knobby' (end of the loaf) and scoff it whilst still hot with lashings of butter.

Basic white loaf:

600g strong white flour (value brand plain white flour also seems to work fine)
2tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2.5 tsp instant dried yeast (or one sachet)
400ml warm water

1. Put the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add the water and combine, then knead until stretchy and smooth. This is easiest in a food processor with a dough hook, but not difficult to do by hand and good for working out the frustrations of the day.
3. Shape the dough roughly to fit a large loaf tin. Place in the greased loaf tin, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place until more or less doubled in size. Beware of putting on a warm windowsill where the cat likes to sit, unless you want a cat paw shaped dip in the loaf.
4. Preheat the oven to very hot (210 centigrade, 400 fahrenheit).
5. Bake the loaf for 25 minutes until golden brown. Tap the bottom of the loaf to check if it is done - it should sound like a drum.Cool on a wire rack and be prepared to defend against snackers.

Variations

Just vary the type of flour, add in seeds, nuts, herbs, garlic, fried onions, olives, sundried tomatoes or whatever takes your fancy. Adjust the amount of liquid if adding wet or oily ingredients. Shape into rolls, bake in a loaf tin, make a round loaf, the variations are endless. For rolls, this amount of dough will make about 13 rolls - weigh out roughly 90g pieces of dough for each roll. Reduce the baking time for rolls to about 15 minutes or so.

One of our favourites is just to substitute around 200g of the flour with multigrain or granary flour. It's also nice to roll the dough in sesame or poppy seeds.

For a delicious herb and garlic bread, gently saute a crushed clove of garlic with some dried herbs (eg basil, oregano) in a tablespoon of olive oil and add it into the dough with the water (reduce the amount of water slightly or you will need to add more flour to stop the dough being too wet).

Mumrousse goes digital

I've always collected recipes. Recipes passed on from family are some of my favourites; I learned to cook from my mum and my nanna and in turn my kids have learned from my mum and me. The life we've led has taken us to live in various places around the world, and many of my favourite memories are of foods discovered and recipes given to me by friends I've met in our travels. I've also got stacks of recipes from magazines and newspapers, from the backs of food packets or from those cards you pick up in the supermarket. And now more often than not, recipes from the internet.  They all get bunged into a binder, currently an old English binder from my son's schooldays. The previous binder disintegrated from overuse and the most popular recipes have become increasingly food-spattered and dog-eared.  I'm glad that my children delve into the folder to find certain recipes when they're left to fend for themselves or have headed off to uni or just fancy baking something. My middle son in particular loves to cook and is amassing quite a collection of cookbooks, including Escoffier and Larousse Gastronomique. It was he who christened my ratty old recipe binder the Mumrousse.

 Now the recipes are falling out again and the binder is overflowing. It's hard to find the recipe I want. It needs sorting out, forgotten recipes cooked again, perhaps to delight once more or perhaps to be relegated to the reject pile. So here goes, I'm putting my favourite recipes into this blog so that the whole family can find them whenever they want.