Chard and chorizo tart

The chard plants have gone rather mad on the allotment this year - here they are a month or so ago - they're now well over six feet tall.



So we've eaten lots of chard with a dash of lemon juice and olive oil, and it's been cunningly hidden in all sorts of vegetable sauces. But before outright rebellion began, I had the bright idea of combining it with chorizo...

You'll need:

a large bagful of chard leaves (you could also use spinach)
1 onion, finely chopped
lots of chorizo, sliced (I used about 10 slices for three of us)
2 eggs
a dash of milk
shortcrust pastry

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and find a quiche/flan tin or dish (preferably with a removable bottom).

Gently fry the onion in a little olive oil until it's translucent. Wash the chard, drain in a colander, and then tip into the onion pan. It'll gently wilt, and shrink to about a tenth of its former volume over a couple of minutes. Stir it occasionally to stop it sticking.

Line the flan dish with your shortcrust pastry, and then place the whole thing on a baking sheet. Tip the chard/onion mixture on top of the pastry, and then decorate roughly with the chorizo slices. Beat the two eggs together in a mixing jug, and add a splash of milk (or cream if you have it lying around the fridge). Tip into the pastry case, season with some ground black pepper, and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the eggy mixture is set.


It goes very well with a tomato salad. Or more green leaves, if you've got an allotment glut...

Spinach and feta muffins

I adapted a Hugh Fearnley-Whernley recipe for these - and it turned out a treat.

Makes 12 enormous muffins, or lots and lots of fairy-cake sized ones. You'll need:

1 small onion, finely chopped
whatever spinach you have lurking at the bottom of the fridge, chopped
a little olive oil
half a pack or so of feta, cubed
250g self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarb of soda
a little salt (not a lot, as the feta's pretty salty)
2 eggs
80g butter, melted and cooled down a bit
200ml buttermilk (either use milk with a squeeze of lemon juice, or add 75g yoghurt to 125ml milk...)

Stick your oven on at about 200 degrees C, and line your muffin tin/cupcake tin with paper/silicon cases of your choice.

Fry the onion in a little olive oil, until it turns translucent. Add the chopped spinach, and stir for a couple of minutes until it's wilted. Take off the heat, and leave to cool.

Sling the flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs/buttermilk/melted butter together in a jug - and then pour them into the flour mixture. Mix everything gently together. Carefully fold in the onion/spinach mixture, and then the feta cheese.

Spoon the muffin mixture into your cases, and then bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes (small fairy-cake size), or a 15-20 minutes (large muffin size) until golden.

Eat lots while hot. They'll keep for a while, but are loveliest warm.

Feta and courgette frittata

Another one in the "ooh, look what I found in the fridge" series.

You'll need:

4-5 eggs, depending on how large they are
a little milk
a handful of sliced cooked potatoes
an onion, finely sliced
a couple of courgettes, chunkily sliced
half a packet of feta cheese, cut into chunks
some dried thyme
lots of black pepper
olive oil

You'll need a reasonably large, heavy-bottomed frying pan (it helps if you've got one without a plastic handle, so it can go under the grill at the end). Start off by frying the onion in a little olive oil until it's translucent. You'll then need to add a really good slurp of olive oil (probably a couple of tablespoons), and layer up the courgette/potato slices. Leave this to cook for 5 minutes or so.

Dot the pan with the chunks of feta cheese. Scatter some dried thyme over the top of everything, and give it a good dose of black pepper. Mix together the eggs with a little milk, and pour into your frying pan.

Turn the heat down low, and leave for 15-20 minutes, until most of the egg has set (I think I left mine for about half an hour - good if you like crispy potatoes on the bottom of the frittata). Turn on the grill, and sling the pan under it for another 5-10 minutes, until the top of your frittata is browned.

We ate this with just a green salad - it was surprisingly filling!

Aubergine curry

Curry seems to be going down well at the moment - you ate this with a little rice and some cumin potatoes, and liked all three.

Makes enough for 4, as one of a couple of main course dishes. It'd also be nice with some chickpeas thrown in.

You'll need:

1 onion, finely sliced
1 medium aubergine, cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cut into large(ish) pieces
whatever veg you have left in the fridge that you need to use up (we had a small piece of butternut squash that got chucked in)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
(you could also add some chilli powder, if you're making this for non-small people, or indeed for small people who like spice)
sunflower oil
1 tin of chopped tomatoes

Fry the onion in a little sunflower oil until it turns translucent. Add the pepper and aubergine chunks, and fry until they have softened (you may need to add some more oil - the aubergine will absorb a lot). Chuck in all the spices, and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the chopped butternut squash (or whatever other veg you want to use up), and the tin of chopped tomatoes. Rinse the tin out with some water, and add this in too. Bring everything to the boil, and then simmer for 20-30 minutes, or as long as you've got.

Smoked salmon and courgette quiche

This was one that your Dad and me loved, but which you wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Funny - you love slices of bread topped with smoked salmon.


Makes enough for 4. You'll need:

1 large courgette, chopped into smallish chunks
a small packet of smoked salmon, torn into small pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
shortcrust pastry (made with about 8oz flour)
2 eggs
1/2 pt full cream milk
a little olive oil
a sprinkle of thyme (dill would be lovely if you have some), and lashings of black pepper

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and fish out (a) one of those flan dishes with a removable bottom and (b) a baking tray to stand it on. Grease the flan dish, or line with some greaseproof paper.

Roll out your shortcrust pastry, and line the flan dish. Mine's about 20cm across, I think, and this amount of pastry is more than enough to line the dish and have a little left for 3 or 4 jam tarts.

Fry the onions in a little olive oil, until they turn translucent. Add the chopped courgette, and cook until it's softened (but not too much, or you'll have a soggy mess on your hands).

Tip the courgette/onion into your flan dish, and spread them about artistically. Add the smoked salmon pieces, and season with some thyme and lots of black pepper.

Lightly beat the eggs with the milk, and pour (carefully) into the pastry shell. Make sure it's on the baking tray before you start - there's nothing worse than wobbling across the kitchen with it.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is set. Eat while still warm, with a green salad.

Butternut squash, spinach and blue cheese tart

This was inspired by the vast quantities of butternut squash in the veg box last week.

Makes enough for 4. You'll need:

a medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
a good slug of olive oil
lots of spinach (about 1/3 of a bag, or whatever frozen stuff you can drag out)
a good hunk of blue cheese (ours was miscellaneous Sainsbury's value 'blue cheese', but stilton would be good, and roquefort or gorganzola pretty special)
one onion, finely sliced
a clove of garlic, minced
shortcrust pastry (enough for an A4-sized baking tray - 8oz flour should do the trick)

Stick the oven on at about 200 degrees C. Tip your cubed squash into an ovenproof dish, and slosh some olive oil over the top. Shake the cubes about until they're coated, then roast in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until the squash is soft.

In the meantime, fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until its turned translucent. Add the spinach, and heat in the pan for a couple of minutes until its wilted.

Grease your baking tray, and roll out the shortcrust pastry. Line the tray with the pastry, and then tip the onion/spinach mixture on top. Scatter over your roasted squash, and some cubes of blue cheese. It should now look a little like this:


Season with some salt and black pepper. Turn the oven down to about 180 degrees C, and bake the tart for about 20-25 minutes. It's ready when the pasty is crisp and golden brown, and the cheese has melted.

We ate ours with lashings of black pepper and a nice green salad:

Pasta with anchovies, broccoli and stilton

I know this isn't too dissimilar to the orecchiette with anchovies and broccoli that I posted last July (was it really that long ago?). You can blame Nigel Slater for that - I have a sneaking suspicion both recipes were inspired by his latest book, Tender.

Makes enough for three. You'll need:

1 medium-sized head of broccoli (this would be even nicer with purple sprouting)
a 150ml or so of creme fraiche
4 anchovy fillets
1 onion, sliced
enough pasta for three (that's about 6-7 handfuls in our house)
a slosh of olive oil
a chunk of stilton, crumbled

Sling the pasta in a pan of boiling water, and cook until al dente. In the meantime, chop the broccoli into small florets, and steam for 3-4 minutes.

In a frying pan, gently cook the onion in the olive oil, until it turns translucent. Add the anchovy fillets, and stir to break them up (they'll almost dissolve in the oil). Add the creme fraiche, and simmer for few minutes. Sling in the stilton (dolcelatte would be even better here, I suspect), and let it melt - if the sauce becomes a little thick, then dilute with a little hot water.

Tip in the broccoli and the drained pasta, and toss everything together. Season with lots of black pepper.

Fish pie

We ate this on a cold February day, after zooming to the library to read about pirates, princesses and bears. I made you your own little pie, which you thought was fabulous.

This is great for using up any odds and ends of fish or prawns you’ve got lurking in the back of the freezer. To make enough for 4, you’ll need:

250g (ish) puff pastry (life’s too short to make this stuff)
chunks of fish – we had some cod offcuts from a previous meal, but any firm white fish or salmon would do
prawns – again, we had a mix of shell on prawns (which I de-shelled), and some of those tiny little cheapie frozen ones
1 onion, finely chopped
a couple of tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoon butter
milk – I must have used at least half a pint
a small pile of grated cheese – say 50g

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C. You’ll need to find a pie dish of some description – you could use lots of small ones (ramekins are perfect for small people), or a big pyrex or enamel job.

Fry the onions in a little olive oil until they’ve softened, and then tip them into your pie dish.

Next, you’ll need to poach your fish. Place it in a pan, and cover with milk. Bring to the boil, and then quickly turn down to a simmer. Depending on how large your pieces of fish are (in particular how thick), it’ll take from 4-8 minutes to poach them.

Fish the pieces out of the milk with a slotted spoon, and place on a plate. Flake, and check carefully for bones. Sling your small chunks of fish in the pie dish too, and add the prawns (assuming they’ve been defrosted thoroughly if you’ve retrieved them from the freezer!).

You now need to make a white sauce, to go over the fish and onions. Take the warm milk you used to poach the fish, and melt the butter in it. Add the flour, and whisk until it starts to thicken (keep simmering the milk, and don’t let boil). Add the grated cheese, salt and black pepper, and whisk until smooth.

Pour the white sauce over the fish. Roll out the pastry to the size of your dish, and place over the top of the fish mixture – you’ll need to make a couple of slits to let the steam out. Place the dish on a baking tray (in case of spills), and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is puffed up and golden.

It’s delicious with some steamed broccoli – and of, course, you’ve got to have peas…

Pork and olive stew

This is perfect with some basmati rice, and some greens on the side. It vanished fairly quickly, but that’s because you have an ongoing love affair with olives – and have had since you were about six months old.

You’ll need:

400g pork shoulder (or something that will do well when stewed for a very long time), cut into chunks
half a jar of black olives
a tin of chopped tomatoes
1 onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
a splosh of olive oil
1 tsp paprika
thyme, black pepper, a little salt

First of all, stick the oven on low – maybe 160 degrees C, and fish out a good, ovenproof casserole dish. We’re still using the old one your Dad went to college with.

Brown the pieces of pork in a little olive oil in a frying pan, and then tip into your casserole dish (I used some of the oil the olives were packed in). Fry the onions in the same pan until they turn translucent, and then add the red pepper. Cook for another couple of minutes until it too has softened. Chuck in the tin of chopped tomatoes, a good sprinkling of thyme, the paprika and lots of black pepper – and then bring to the boil. Tip this into the casserole dish with the pork.

Put the lid on (or cover with foil), and then sling the casserole dish in the oven for a couple of hours. Keep an eye on it – you may want to add a little more water near the end to stop it sticking. It’s ready when the pork falls apart – but it’ll keep in the oven for as long as you need it to (as long as you add enough water).

Chicken in ale stew with thyme dumplings

This was one of those stew/casserole hybrids necessary to get rid of some of the odder ends of the vegbox (kale and swede). We spent the afternoon making Christmas cake, while this bubbled away on the stove.

You'll need:

a couple of chicken thighs per person
1 medium swede, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, sliced
a couple of carrots, chopped
three or four handfuls of kale, shredded
half a bottle of slightly flat ale, that your Dad didn't really like much
a good pinch of thyme
lots of black pepper
a good slug of olive oil

Drizzle a decent slosh of olive oil into the bottom of a casserole dish, and brown the chicken thighs. Decant to a plate for 4 or 5 minutes while you fry the onion until it turns translucent. Tip the chicken thighs back in the dish, and add the swede, carrots, ale, thyme and lots of black pepper. You'll probably have to add a mug or two of hot water (or even better chicken stock) as well, depending on how much ale is left.

Bring all this to the boil, and then simmer for an hour or so, until the swede is tender and the chicken is cooked. Add the kale, turn the oven on (to about 200 degrees C) and then get started on the dumplings.

You'll need:

vegetable suet
self-raising flour
a teaspoon of dried thyme
a little cold water

As it says on the side of the Atora suet packet, your basic dumpling involves a ratio of 2:1 flour: suet (so if you have 100g flour you'll need 50g suet). Chuck the suet, flour and thyme into a bowl and mix. Add a little cold water until you have a slightly sticky dough. Roll into small balls, flatten slightly, and place on top of your stew.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or so, until the tops of the dumplings have turned golden brown. Eat at once, fighting over the last dumpling.

Butternut squash and feta tart

Your Dad and I ate this in front of the telly after you'd gone to bed, indulging in a little West Wing season 3.

Makes enough for 2. You'll need:

puff pastry, about 200g (I bought this - life's too short to make it)
1 onion, finely sliced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small cubes
a good slug of olive oil
50-100g feta cheese, cubed
dried thyme, lots of black pepper

Stick the oven on at about 200 degrees C, and fish out a baking tray.

Sling the cubed squash into a pan with a good splosh of olive oil, and gently fry until it softens. Add the onion, and fry for another 5 minutes or so, until it turns translucent.

Roll out the pastry into whatever fancy shape you like (I'm rather boring, and usually go for a rectangle). About 1cm in from the edge, draw a border round the whole piece of pastry using the point of a knife. Carefully place the pastry on a greased baking tray.

Tip the squash/onion onto the pastry, and even it out. Scatter over the feta cheese (if I was Nigella I would say tumble, but that's wrong wrong wrong) thyme and black pepper.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry has turned crisp and golden.

Lamb and olive stew

It was a proper autumn day today - warmish, but drizzly and grey. There were soggy leaves everywhere on the way back from nursery - which weren't much fun to swish through. So we left the lamb and olive stew to cook in the oven, and went for a swim.

You'll need:

a few lamb pieces, preferably on the bone (we had about 400g of large bits of lamb in some very odd cuts)
one onion, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
1/2 a jar of green olives
a tin of tomatoes
dried thyme, oregano and black pepper

Stick the oven on at about 160 degrees C.

Brown the pieces of lamb in a large ovenproof saucepan or casserole dish - you may need to add a little olive oil so it doesn't stick. Chuck in the onion and green peppers, and cook for a couple of minutes.

Tip in the green olives, tomatoes, and some water (about a can-ful). Season liberally with thyme, oregano and black pepper. You probably won't need much salt, especially if your olives were packed in brine.

Stick the lid on, and cook in the oven for 2-3 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone, and the tomatoes have cooked down to a beautiful red sludge. Check on it every now and again- you may have to add a little more water half an hour before the end.

We ate this with couscous and a spinach salad.

Chicken, coconut and potato curry

This one was a bit of a 'let's see what there is in the fridge and chuck it in' curry. Makes enough for 4.

You'll need:

1 large chicken breast (or whatever cooked chicken you've got hanging about), sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper, sliced
a handful of spinach
4 or 5 mushrooms, sliced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
about half a block of creamed coconut, dissolved in about a tin of hot water
2 teaspoons dried ginger (fresh would be even better)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

Chuck the onions and garlic in a frying pan with a little oil, and fry until translucent. Add all the spices, and fry for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken, and stir, coating it in the spices. Cook for 4-5 minutes, and then throw in the pepper/mushrooms/spinach/whatever, and stir round until they're soft.

Add the tin of tomatoes, and stir in the coconut/water. Tip in the potatoes, and bring everything to the boil. Leave to simmer for as long as it takes the potato to cook - the longer the better (45 minutes or so), though you may have to add a little extra water if it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Eat with lots of basmati rice, and a scattering of cashew nuts on top.

Aunty Michelle's lamb tagine

We've eaten this in England and France, and it's fab. Today was no exception.

You'll need:

1kg cubed, boneless lamb (I did it today with lamb shoulder on the bone, and just cooked it for longer)

1 tablespoon ground ginger
1-2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

3 garlic cloves
4 large onions, finely chopped or grated
olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt
a handful of dried apricots
50g raisins/sultanas
50g flaked almonds
1 tablespoon honey
300ml tomato juice (I used water and a good squirt of tomato puree today)
1 can chopped tomatoes
300ml lamb stock

Stick the oven on at about 170 degrees C.

Mix the spices in a bowl, add the cubes of lamb, and coat evenly. Brown the lamb in a large frying pan (you'll probably have to add some olive oil to stop it sticking). Sling into your casserole dish. Fry the onions and garlic in the pan, until soft (again, you'll probably need a little olive oil). Tip these into your casserole dish too.

Add the apricots, raisins, flaked almonds, honey, tomato juice, chopped tomatoes and lamb stock, and season with a little salt. Cover your dish, and cook in the oven for at least 2 hours. You could do this on the hob too - just be prepared to add a little extra water if it looks a little dry.

Eat with couscous, and the inevitable courgettes.

Courgette and feta tart

Courgette, allotment, glut, yada, yada...

We've spent the day recovering from the delights of birthday parties, beaches and too much cake. So pastry for tea was the ideal solution. This makes enough for 3-4 people, or 2 very greedy ones.

You'll need:

a couple of large courgettes, sliced
3 medium onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
a good slosh of olive oil
half a pack of feta cheese, cubed
the scone base from Grandma's pizza or shortcrust pastry - they're both nice with a teaspoon or so of dried thyme added to the flour.

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees and fish out a baking tray (you'll need to grease it or line it with greaseproof paper).

Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they've softened. Roll out your dough/pastry, and line the baking tray. Scatter the onion across the base, and then lay out the slices of courgettes in whatever pretty pattern takes your fancy - I like the geometric niceties of rows, but you could go all out for arty-farty if you've got time. Scatter the feta cheese across the courgettes, drizzle a little extra olive oil all over, and season well with lots of black pepper.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the base is crispy and the feta cheese browned. Goes well with a green salad, and Patak's aubergine pickle.

Rosti

The Swiss would probably take umbrage at this version, but it's rather good. We ate it with some chard from the allotment, and it all disappeared rather rapidly.

Makes enough for two greedy adults and one greedy three-year-old. You'll need:

700g potatoes
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 slices of streaky bacon, sliced into small pieces (lardons would be even better)
salt and black pepper
butter

Scrub the potatoes, and then sling them in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes, until they're parboiled. Peel (you should be able to easily do this with a knife), and then grate using a coarse grater.

While the potatoes are boiling, fry the onion and bacon together for 6-7 minutes, until the onion softens. Tip into the grated potato and mix gently - if you find the potato starts to stick, you'll need to add a knob of melted butter - and season with salt and lots of black pepper.

Melt another large knob of butter in your frying pan. Divide the mixture in two, and press half into the pan. Fry for 7-8 minutes on a medium heat (if it starts to burn, add some more butter). Turn the rosti over (it's probably easiest to slide a plate on top, and flip the pan upside down), and fry for another 7-8 minutes until it's crispy on the bottom.

Eat as quickly as possible. Do try not to have a heart attack.

Ricotta, spinach and pine nut tart

Otherwise known as "how to use the other half a pot of ricotta leftover from making yesterday's tea - I know, I'll put some pastry with it"

Makes enough for 4 reasonably greedy people. You'll need:

half a pot of ricotta cheese (about 125g)
a medium-sized bag of spinach
a couple of onions, thinly sliced
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
a handful of pine nuts
a slosh of olive oil
lots of black pepper and a little salt
8oz flour (preferably self-raising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
2oz butter
a little milk (about 4-5 fl oz)

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and find a baking tray.

First of all make your scone base. Chuck the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and butter in a food processor, and whizz everything round until it looks like tiny breadcrumbs. Add the milk a little at a time, so as to not drown everything, and blitz until the dough starts to come together. Roll out, and press onto a baking tray, that you've lightly greased with a little butter or oil.

Stick the onions and garlic in a pan with a good slug of olive oil, and fry until they turn translucent. Spread over the base of the tart. Tip the spinach into the same pan, and cook for a couple of minutes until it's wilted.

Dollop the ricotta roughly over the tart, and sprinkle with a few pine nuts. Drizzle a little extra olive oil on the top, and liberally apply black pepper.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes - once the case is nicely browned, it's time to get it out.

We ate ours with a green salad covered in an Asian-style dressing (lots of sesame oil and soy sauce).

Coconut dahl

This one was shamelessly lifted from Olive magazine, and tweaked slightly. It's delicious with cold chicken, naan bread and salad.

You'll need:

250g red lentils
a tin of coconut milk (around 400ml)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
1 teaspoon turmeric
a good splosh of sunflower oil
a teaspoon of black mustard seeds

Chuck the lentils, coconut milk, finely chopped onion, tomatoes, chillies and turmeric into a saucepan. Add about 300ml water to start off with (you may need a little more later on if the lentils aren't quite cooked and are starting to stick).

Mix well, and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for half an hour, until the lentils are tender - everything will have gone a beautiful yellow colour.

Take the sliced onion, and fry in a good splosh of sunflower oil until it's crisp and browned. Add the mustard seeds, and fry until they start to pop. Sling on top of the lentils and serve (some fresh coriander on top would also be nice).

Courgettes stuffed wth pork, rice and mint

The weather's gone all summery, so we required something Mediterranean-ish for tea. Sadly, it won't last...

Makes enough for two. You'll need:

two large courgettes, halved lengthways, and with the insides scooped out
120g cooked rice (about 50g dry rice)
200g pork mince
a large handful of mint, finely chopped
an onion, finely chopped
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C.

Brown the mince in a frying pan (you may need to add a little olive oil if it's very lean). Add the onion and garlic, and fry until they go translucent. Add the spices, and cook for a couple of minutes. Chuck in the innards of the courgettes, and cook for another couple of minutes until they've mushed down.

In a large bowl, mix this onion/courgette/mince conglomoration with the cooked rice. Add the chopped mint, and season with lots of black pepper and a little salt.

Place the courgettes in a baking dish, and stuff them with the rice/mince mixture. Cover with foil, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the courgettes have cooked through.

We ate this with a ridiculously hot tomato and chilli sauce. It'd also be nice with something a little tamer.

Leek, courgette and stilton tart

This used up the last of the leeks from the allotment. Sadly, it did nothing for the glut of swedes from the vegetable box.

You'll need:

4 or 5 medium leeks, washed and sliced
a couple of onions, sliced
a good wedge of stilton (doesn't matter if it's past its best somewhat), crumbled
a small courgette, sliced
a splosh of olive oil
lots of black pepper, and a little dried thyme
shortcrust pastry

Stick the oven on at about 200 degrees C.

Splash a little olive oil into a pan, and fry the leeks and onions on a low heat, until they soften. Add half a teaspoon of thyme, and season with black pepper.

Roll out your shortcrust pastry, and place on a baking tray (preferably one covered in greaseproof paper, or greased with a little oil or butter). You could bake the pastry blind at this point, if you have the time (cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper, and place some baking beans on top before sticking in the oven for 10 minutes or so).

If, like me, you're aiming to have tea ready for 6pm, spread the leek/onion mixture on top of the raw pastry, and dot with the slices of courgette, and the pieces of stilton.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the top, and bung in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the pastry has turned golden brown, and the stilton has melted. (Obviously if you've already baked the pastry case blind, you'll not need as long).

We ate this with a green salad, and some new potatoes.