Prawn Cocktail

Ingredients
2 Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon English Mustard
1 Teaspoon Mustard Powder
250ml Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce
A Splash of Tabasco Sauce
50g Ready to Eat Prawns
1 Few Lettuce Leaves
2 Avocados

Equipment
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Balloon Whisk
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Metal Spoon

The Good Bit

1. Drop your egg yolks, mustard and mustard powder into your bowl and begin to whisk, slowly drizzle the oil in and whisk at the same time, you should get to a consistency similar to that of shop bought mayo then add in the tomato and tabasco sauce. (do not add all the oil in one go, it will spoil the mayonnaise)
2. Line 4 glasses with your lettuce leaves, then drop in the avocado, add on top a dollop of your seafood sauce and then arrange a few prawns on top and serve.

Serves 4

Thai Steak Salad

Ingredients
400g Rump Steak
1 Lime (juiced)
5 Tablespoons Sweet Chilli Sauce
1/2 Stalk Fresh Lemon Grass (finely chopped)
1/2 Iceberg Lettuce (shredded)
1 Large Carrot (grated)
150g Red Grapes (halved)
25g Roasted Peanuts (chopped/roughly crushed)
Oil

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Pastry Brush
1 Griddle Pan
1 Large Mixing Bowl
1 Small Mixing Bowl

The Good Bit

1. Brush your steak with oil then griddle on each side for 3 minutes until it is cooked until medium rare (or longer if you want it well done)
2. In the meantime, mix the lime juice, chilli sauce and lemon grass in your small bowl, tip half into a larger bowl, then toss in the lettuce, carrot and grapes into the larger bowl and mix well.
3. Serve your salad onto four plates, slice the steak and serve on top, sprinkle over the nuts and drizzle the remaining sauce over the top.

Serves 4

Caesar Salad

Ingredients
3 Slices Of Fresh Bread (cubed) (or a good farmhouse white)
1 Lettuce (roughly torn)
Parmesan (grated)
Vegetable Oil
1 Glove Garlic (crushed)
4 Anchovy Fillets (chopped)
4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Teaspoons Mustard Powder
1 Egg (yolk only)
200ml Olive Oil
Pepper

Equipment
1 Blender
1 Frying Pan
1 Garlic Press
1 Serving Bowl
Kitchen Paper

The Good Bit

1. Start by bunging the garlic, anchovies, lemon juice egg yolk and mustard powder in your blender, mix well then slowly add the olive oil until you have a thick creamy dressing, if it is too thick for you just a a splash of water, season with freshly ground black pepper.
   
2. Now heat a splash of vegetable oil in the frying pan until it is very hot, then rapidly fry off your cubes of bread until they are golden on all sides then drain on a piece of kitchen paper.
3. Now chuck your lettuce in a bowl and mix in 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan along with the dressing, when it's mixed well and ready to serve, sprinkle over the croutons and another tablespoon of parmesan.

Serves 4

Salami Tower!!

Ingredients
6 Slices Bread
50g Butter
50g Soft Cheese
4 Slices Salami
Lettuce (4-5 big leaves shredded)
Mayonnaise (I like the type with Dijon mustard mixed in)
1 Tomato (thinly sliced)
Salt and Pepper

Equipment
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Wooden Spoon
1 Table Knife

The Good Bit

1. Start by mixing together in the bowl the butter and soft cheese. Spread 1/4 of this mixture onto your first 2 slices of bread, Put 2 slices of salami on each, top these with half your lettuce and then add a dollop of mayonnaise to each.
2. Now spread another 1/4 of the butter/cheese mix onto 2 more slices of bread and place these on your sandwich spread side down, then spread another 1/4 of the butter cheese mix on top and top off both sandwiches with the other half of your lettuce and a few slices of tomato, season with salt and pepper.
3. Finally spread the remaining 1/4 of the butter/cheese mix on your last 2 slices of bread and place butter side down on top of your sandwich, slice in half and serve a proper mans sandwich!

Serves 2

Tuna Salad

Ingredients
1x400g Can Tuna (drained)
1x400g Can Cannellini Beans (drained and rinsed, mixed beans will do)
1 Clove Garlic (crushed)
1 Large Tomato (chopped)
1 Tablespoon Fresh lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Capers
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley (chopped)
1 Lettuce (little gem variety)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Garlic Press
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Masher
1 Wooden Spoon

The Good Bit

1. In the bowl, mash half the beans with the garlic, now stir in the tomato, capers, parsley and lemon juice with the wooden spoon. Gently crumble the tuna over the top of this mixture with a fork then stir in again, season with salt and pepper.
2. Serve a good scoop in a lettuce leaf
   

Serves 4

Summer Sundays Chicken

Ingredients
4 Chicken Breast
1 Lettuce (divided into leaves)
375g New Potatoes (cooked/from a can)
8 Tomatoes (skinned sliced, don't worry about skinning if you are not sure)
1 Onion (cut into wedges)
175g Asparagus (boiled in salted water until tender then refreshed under a cold tap)
A Handful Fresh Parsley (chopped)
175g Melted Butter (unsalted is best)
2 Eggs (split and keep just the yolks)
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 Lemon (juiced)

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Blender (or mixing bowl and balloon whisk)
1 Griddle
1 Pan (2/3rds full with boiling salted water)

The Good Bit

1. A couple of things to do first, if the potatoes need cooking, get them on for about 10 minutes in the boiling slated water, check with a fork, when they are done there should be very little resistance to the fork going all the way through. Do the same with the asparagus, that only takes a couple of minutes though, set both aside and allow to cool, or for speed run under cold water.
2. Next griddle the onion wedges turning once so they char on two sides, set aside and griddle the chicken, that should take about 10 minutes on both sides.
3. Whilst the chicken is doing plate up, start with the lettuce leaves, then decorate with the tomato slices, new potatoes asparagus and onion wedges.
4. In the blender mix in the egg yolk, mustard and 4 tablespoons of lemon juice then pour in gradually the butter until you have a smooth sauce, this can be warmed up gently using a bain marie (pour the sauce into a bowl and stand in a saucepan of warm water.
5. Finally when the chicken is done, lay on top of the salad sprinkle over some of the chopped parsley and drizzle over the hollandaise sauce.
   

Serves 4

Tortilla Espanol

Ingredients
2 Onions (red are better here)
2 400g Cans Kidney Beans (drained)
1 Jar Guacamole
8 Lettuce Leaves (shredded)
6 Tomatoes
2 Teaspoons Cumin
1 Pack Tortillas
100g Grated Cheese (your choice, i love a good strong cheddar)
A Dash of Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon or Lime
Fresh Parsley/Coriander

Equipment
1 Sharp Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Frying Pan
1 Potato Masher
1 Large Bowl
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Can Opener (unless your cans come with one of them clever openers already on)

The Good Bit

1. Chop both the onions into fine cubes and fry off half in the frying pan until golden (3-4mins), add the cumin and fry for another minute, Add the kidney beans and keep over a low heat whilst you prepare the rest.
2. Chop your tomato into small cubes and add the rest of the onion into the small mixing bowl with the lemon/lime juice, A tablespoon full of the chopped parsley and a splash of olive oil and mix gently
   
3. Heat the tortillas according to packet instructions, whilst doing this mash the onion and kidney beans in a large bowl.
4. Serve each tortilla rolled up with a handful of lettuce and a generous helping of the mash inside and good dollops of guacamole and salsa on top and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
   

Serves 4

Mexican Chicken Tower

Ingredients
250g Chicken Breasts cut into bite size pieces (or for the veggie option 250g mixed veg/beans)
125g Bag of Ready Grated Mature Cheddar Cheese (or grate your own)
1 Can Tomatoes
1 Can Kidney Beans
1 Large Onion
1 Pepper
4 Ready Made Tortillas (usually come in 8's so if you have 4 left from the fajitas,bonus!)
Chilli powder
Olive Oil (any will do, sunflower, vegetable etc.)
Salad Leaves and spring onions (or thinly sliced onion rings) and soured cream (optional) to serve.

Equipment
1 Large Frying pan/Wok
1 Wooden/Plastic Spatula
1 Wooden/Plastic serving spoon
1 Sharp Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Oven Proof Dish (large enough for a tortilla to lay in and 2-3inch deep)

The good bit

1. Start by heating a dash of oil in the wok/large frying pan and preheat your oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 4
   
2. Cut the large onion into small chunks, (a size you are happy to eat, not onion ring size though!) try to cut the pepper into similar size chunks.
3. Put all this in your heated oil and cook through until the chicken begins to brown stirring fairly often.
4. Once the chicken is browning open the cans of kidney beans and tomatoes and drain your kidney beans, add these to the pad along with a teaspoon of chilli powder (2 if you are daring!)
   
5. Bring to a simmer and leave for 10 minutes. Now to prepare the tower!
6. Lightly grease an oven proof dish and place a tortilla on the bottom, spread over 1/3 of the chicken mix and sprinkle with 1/4 of the grated cheese, continue this patter (tortilla, chicken, cheese) and top it off with your 4th tortilla and the remainder of your cheese.
   
7. Place in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and begun to brown, grab yourself a drink, you'll be impressed when this comes out! Prepare your lettuce, onions and anything else you want to serve up
   
8. Cut the tower into 1/4's and serve with the lettuce and onion rings/spring onions, again to keep things cool you could always serve with a dollop of soured cream.
   

Serves 4