Fully Loaded Nachos

Isn't it just the worst when you're sat in a bar, waiting for a huge plate of nachos to arrive? Dreaming of lashings of fresh guacamole, mountains of melted cheese, cascading mounds of pico de gallo.  You're drooling right about now, aren't you? You're so ready for this meal, you could burst, then the waiter plops down the saddest plate of crisps you've ever seen. Store bought guac, jarred salsa and woe betide, disgusting gritty cheese sauce.  What's the point in life, why would you do something like that to the majestic nacho?!  Well, screw that, make your own and never be disappointed again.

It might seem like a lot of work, making your own guacamole and pico de gallo but trust me, it's worth it and hardly takes any time at all.   Plus, did I mention it's delicious and a million times better than store bought?

For some strange reason some people aren't big fans of coriander or jalapenos, Weird right?  So don't feel like you have to cover your nachos in the green stuff.  I absolutely love it so added a tonne at the end. Not only does it taste freaking amazing but it makes your nachos look bloody mouthwatering!

P.S. little tip, never EVER put lime in Blue Moon. I learned that the hard way, orange slices only. 

Fully Loaded Nachos

Ingredients

• For the Pico De Gallo :
• 3 tomatoes deseeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion finely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1tbsp chopped coriander
• salt & pepper


• For the Guacamole :
• 1 large, ripe avocado
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1tbsp lime juice
• salt & pepper


• To Assemble the Nachos :
• 1 bag lightly salted tortilla chips
• 150g grated cheese (your choice)
• 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 150ml sour cream
• 1tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 jar pickled jalapenos

Cooking Directions

1. First of all, make the pico de gallo but mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
2. For the guacamole, place all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Check the seasoning and set aside.
3. To assemble the nachos, spread half of the bag of tortilla chips over a large ovenproof plate or tray and sprinkle with half of the grated cheese and half of the black beans. Top with the remaining nachos, cheese and beans, place into a preheated oven (170°C) for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Dollop spoon fulls of the pico de galo, guacamole and sour cream on top of the nachos and sprinkle with chopped coriander and pickled jalapenos.
4. Serve with an ice cold beer and a good film.

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Butternut Squash and Gruyere Soup with Spiced Chickpeas

Christmas is over and the goose has gotten fat, and by the goose, I mean me!  A month of eating whatever I like, whenever I like, has left me a bit on the chubby side and craving nutrients. How do I rectify this, with diet and exercise? Why no, have you met me?!  I've just exchanged my ludicrous lunches and mid afternoon snacks with a bowl of homemade soup.  I mean, surely this will help me blitz my muffin top...right??

This is the perfect winter warmer to keep your tummy full and happy.  It packs a good old punch of chilli too, which is never a bad thing.  The roasted spicy chickpeas add a pop of protein and help keep you fuller for longer.  The cheese is simply there because it's nice and I'm greedy, feel free to leave it out if you're wanting to save the calories.

What's your favorite homemade soup to help beat the bulge?

Butternut Squash and Gruyere Soup with Spiced Chickpeas

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

Serves 4

For the Soup:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 large pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
300ml vegetable stock
100g gruyere cheese grated
100ml reduced fat coconut milk, keep some for a drizzle

Spiced Chickpeas:
1 tin of chickpeas, drain and rub them dry in a clean tea towel
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large pinch of salt and pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method:
First of all make your chickpeas.  Preheat the oven to 170°C and prepare a large baking tray.  Place your dried chickpeas in a freezer bag and add the oil, close the bag and shake to coat.  Open and repeat the process with the dry spices.  Pour the chickpeas onto the baking tray and roast for 25 minutes.

While the chickpeas are roasting heat the coconut oil over a medium heat in a large pan.  Fry the onions until soft and slightly coloured.  Crush in your garlic cloves and cook for another minute or so.  Tip in the butternut squash and all the spices followed by the vegetable stock and simmer until the squash is tender, around 20 minutes.

Once cooked through transfer everything to a blender and process until smooth and creamy.  Pour back into the pan, stir through the grated cheese until melted before adding the coconut milk.  If the soup is still a little thick add some water until it reaches your desired consistency.  Check your seasoning, heat through and serve with the spiced chickpeas and a drizzle of coconut milk.

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Spicy Cheese Scones

For the past week I have had an intense craving for warm cheese scones.  I'm sure you're all aware that there isn't much worse in life than a bland supermarket scone, so there was only one option. Get my tush in the kitchen and bake my own.  

Luckily I'd just been up to my favorite farm shop for a big slab of delicious and extra strong Snowdonia Little Black Bomber cheese. Oh I do love a strong cheese.  I often mourn the loss of the olde stylee dairy they used to run at Beamish. They did a cheese so strong it could pull the gums over your teeth, sigh.

 The best thing about this recipe is it contains no butter which I'm quite sure means they're good for you...right?  So, if you want delicious and light scones in a hurry, this is for you!

Spicy Cheese Scones

Ingredients:

250g self raising flour

3tsp baking powder

large pinch salt

sprinkle of cayenne pepper/chilli powder (optional but recommended)

200g strong cheddar cheese, grated

3tsp vegetable oil

125 ml milk (maybe a bit more depending on how it mixes)

1 large, free range egg

Method:

 

Preheat oven to 180C and grease a large baking tray.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper into a large bowl. Add the cheese and mix through the flour mixture. 

Beat the egg and milk together in a separate bowl and add the oil. The oil replaces the butter/margarine that usually gets used to rub into the flour. By using the oil you cut down on the dreaded calories and it saves a lot of time. 

Pour the milk/egg/oil mixture into the flour mixture and using a metal spoon / fork, mix the dough until it clumps together, but is not too dry. If too dry, splash a bit more milk in to use up the flour. 

Press the dough out on a flat clean floured surface until it is about 5mm thick, then fold it over ontop of itself (this gives the finished scones the natural "break" to cut open), flatten it again, using the palm of your hand. Do not use a rolling pin as it is too heavy and will prevent the scones from rising. 

Cut out your scones out by using a round cutter (you decide on the size) or if you don't have a cutter handy use a drinking glass. Place them on a baking tray and brush them with a little milk, pop them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Serve, still warm, with lashings of butter, cheese, jams and honey.

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Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese Pie

As my Sunday tradition details, when going to a friends house I must always have some sort of baked good on my person. The odd few times I've turned up at said friends house empty handed the mood instantly dampens and the guilt trips commence. Since the last few trips have been of the empty handed persuasion I felt I should really make it up to my wonderful chums in the shape of a pie. Nothing says I love you like a pie!

What I love about pies is that anything and everything goes. Got some potatoes and cheese that needs using up, make a pie. Some berries threatening to go bad stashed at the bottom of your fridge, make a pie! It really is the ultimate fridge clear out meal.

I happened upon this glorious specimen as I was casually leafing through the latest copy of Delicious Magazine last week at work. I flicked past the page and paused, I had that feeling. You know the one, when you know you're missing out on something good. So, I turned back the page and gasped at the beautiful image I was confronted with. Unfortunately, I was far too eager to play with my new camera to allow the pie a proper cooling period and attacked it while still warm. This resulted in the sloppy filling rather than the perfectly layered rainbow of yumminess in Delicious, but hey, I'm an impatient child at heart.

Butternut Squash, spinach and goat's cheese pie with cheesy pastry

Ingredients:

• 2 small butternut squashes, peeled, de-seeded and cut into thick slices
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ras el hanout
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 4 whole garlic cloves, skins on
• 500g baby spinach (I used normal spinach)
• 250g ricotta
• 50g pine nuts
• 200g soft, rindless goat cheese sliced
• 
  
• 350g plain flour
• 50g coarse polenta (I used fine)
• 150g cold butter, diced
• a pinch of salt
• 60g grated parmesan (I used local strong cheddar)

Method:

• For the pastry mix the flour, polenta and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub together till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and 5tbsp of cold water (add the water slowly, you may not need it all) till the dough sticks together. Kneed gently until it forms a ball, wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C. Scatter the butternut squash in a large roasting tray and drizzle with half of the olive oil, scatter over the chili flakes, ras el hanout and cumin seeds and season well with salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven, stirring occasionally for 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the sliced onions and garlic cloves to another roasting tray with the rest of the olive oil. Halfway through roasting the squash add the onions to the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the squash and onions from the oven, squeeze out the garlic from the skins and mash the roasted garlic up with the onions.
• Place the spinach in a colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water. Refresh with some cold water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Mix with ricotta and season with salt.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out 2/3 of the pastry and use it to line a 23cm springform time(I used an 18cm tin and reduced the cooking time to 25 mins). Add half the spinach mixture in a layer, then distribute half of the squash on top of that. Scatter with half of the pine nuts and goat's cheese. Repeat for another layer before adding the garlicky onions on top.
• Roll out the rest of the pastry then lay on top of the pie, pushing the edges to seal well. Make a hole in the centre and decorate the top with the left over pastry. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and sprinkle with a handful of parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes till golden brown on top. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin.

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SMS on a Sunday, for once!

My first on time SMS post in weeks. I'm so proud!

I'm going to keep this one short but sweet as I'm so exhausted I could just lay my head upon my laptop and sleep for 1000 years. This weekend, we at Bigface Studio have been shooting a charity calender for Claires Message, a campaign to lower age of cervical screening to 20 in the UK. 15 models, 7 hours, 3 workers. Despite the early rise and hard work it turned out to be one of the most rewarding days I have ever spent. Some of the stories I was exposed to were utterly shocking yet so inspirational! Needless to say, as soon as the day drew to a close I was straight on the phone to my GP arranging my first cervical screening.

For those of you in the North of England, keep an eye out on Monday daytime and evenings ITV news for the full story.


This weeks recipe was chosen by Hanaa of Hanaa's Kitchen and is quite different from most of the other treats we've been baking up over the months. This week, we made caramelized onion, sage and cheddar muffins, that's right, savory muffins! I've never had a savory muffin before so I was quite excited to try these out, even more so after the SMS girls were talking of their spicy kick. I altered the recipe quite a bit just to fit what I had on hand, I added chunks of feta cheese and rather than onions I used caramelized shallots.

The muffins were a roaring success. I didn't have very high hopes and convinced myself they would stick to the muffin try and fall apart when I tried to remove them but each and every one came out perfectly. I haven't tried one yet as I have a pan of basil and tomato soup simmering away in the kitchen that is begging to be paired with these muffins. What a perfect supper for a chilly Autumn day.

Check out the SMS girls for more muffins.

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