Pork chops with cream, mustard and spinach topping

I've used a lot of spinach for just two people. That amount is probably enough for 4. I served this with fusilli pasta drizzled with a touch of extra virgin olive oil.

2 pork chops
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
150 ml soured cream
1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
250 g spinach leaves
1 garlic clove, crushed
extra virgin olive oil

1. Season the pork chops on both sides with pepper and salt. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the meat for about 4-5 minutes on each side (depends on thickness).

2. In the meantime, switch on the oven to the lowest setting and warm 3 plates.

3. Wash the spinach and spin dry. If you don't have a salad spinner, shake your colander and tip the spinach onto a clean dish cloth. Pat it as dry as possible without bruising the leaves. Set aside.

4. Mix the soured cream, mustard and garlic and season with a little black pepper. Set aside.

5. Once the meat is cooked, transfer onto one of the warmed plates and place in the oven.

6. Tip the spinach into the frying pan and wilt in the cooking oil. Add the cream mixture and heat through.

7. Place a chop on each plate, optionally drizzling with the meat juices, and top with the creamy spinach. Serve immediately.

Swiss Walnut Tart (Engadiner Nusskuchen)

I came across this recipe via a community sister of a home décor website I'm active on and simply had to try it out. It's wonderful - and I don't normally eat cakes! One little thing: I find the shortcrust pastry a wee bit sweet so reduced the amount of sugar, originally 150 g. Also, I always use fine unrefined brown sugar instead of white sugar. In this case I think it probably enhances the overall butterscotch taste. But anyone who loves pecan pie, banoffi pie, florentine biscuits etc. has got to try this! :))))

Shortcrust pastry:
160 g butter, softened
100 g sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 egg
300 g flour

Filling:
20 g butter
300 g sugar
250 g coarsely chopped walnuts
250 ml whipping cream, warmed

1 egg yolk for brushing

1. Work the softened butter, sugar, flour and egg into a shortcrust pastry, then chill.

2. In the meantime make the filling:

Melt the butter over a low heat in a saucepan, add the sugar and over a medium to high heat keep stirring until the sugar has melted and you have a smooth, thick caramel. If there are lumps, don't worry just keep stirring until they have dissolved.

Add the walnuts and warmed cream and bring to the boil. Leave to cool a little. Don't worry if there are hard bits and the mix isn't quite homogenous, that happened to me as well but they'll dissolve with the heat from the oven.

3. While the nut mix is cooling, get your shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and divide in two parts: 1/3 for the lid and 2/3 for the base.

Roll out the base or press into a 24 cm spring tin or flan dish bringing it up to form a rim. Use a fork to stab some holes into the bottom. Now add the nut mix.

Roll out the pastry for the lid and cover the cake. Fold any excess pastry over, with a fork stab a few holes into the lid and brush with egg yolk.

4. Baking times:

fan-assisted oven: 30-40 min at 180 °C on the second level from the bottom

gas oven: 40 min at gas mark 5 (200 °C)

Check if it's finished with a skewer - there will still be a little sticky caramel on the skewer.

If using a spring tin turn out of the tin and leave to cool on a rack, otherwise leave and serve in the flan dish. Optionally serve with whipped cream or to complement the sweetness of the cake with crème fraîche, soured cream or Greek yoghurt.

Strips of sirloin with guacamole and roasted veg

One night, we only had one steak so I had to think of something to do that would serve the two of us. It all started with thinking about a steak sandwich and resulted in this absolutely delicious meal that I'd happily serve to any guest.

1x 175 g sirloin steak, brushed with olive oil and seasoned with pepper and salt, fried for 1 min 15 sec on each side, the rested for 5 minutes in the oven on a warmed plate (not hot) covered with a warmed stainless steel lid (or tin foil) in an oven preheated and left on at 1/2 gas mark

guacamole, soured cream and veg

veg: 2 sweet (pointed peppers), 1 bunch spring onions, 200g thickly sliced mushrooms, 3 crushed garlic cloves - sautéd in a frying pan until soft then seasoned with pepper and salt and kept warm in the oven at gas mark 1/2 while the meat is cooked.

Served with crusty bread, optionally trickled with EVO.

Pasta with smoked mackerel, cherry tomatoes and avocado

I usually make this with cold left over pasta but it's nice with hot pasta as well.

250g of cooked pasta, hot or cold
200g smoked mackerel, flaked
1 ripe avocado, cubed (with a spoon)
250g cherry (plum) tomatoes, halved
freshly ground black pepper
a drizzle of olive oil

Roasted Aubergine Soup

This is a wonderfully sumptuous soup that is great as a starter or for lunch. Next time I'll try using ground cumin instead of the herbes.

2 large aubergines, halved lengthways
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, very finely chopped
Herbes de Provence
1 l vegetable (or other) stock
1 handful of bread crumbs

1. Season the aubergines with pepper, place them cut side down into a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 45 minutes to an hour in a very hot oven until they have softened. Take out and leave to cool before roughly chopping them up.
2.Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions, garlic and herbs until softened but not brown. Add the aubergines, bread crumbs and stock. Season with a little black pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer till hot. Blitz and serve.

Parsnip and Spinach Soup

On Sundays in winter, we usually make a large pot of soup that'll serve us for lunch throughout the week. Today, my partner had a look in the fridge and came up with this stunner!

2 largeish onions, chopped
1 whole clove garlic, chopped
dried basil
1.5 kg parsnips
750 g carrotsSend
200 g spinach leaves
2 medium potatoes
2 l low-salt stock
black pepper
1 chilli, chopped and deseeded
olive oil

1. Sauté the onions, garlic, chilli and basil until the onions become translucent. Add the parsnips, carrots and potatoes and mix together until the veggie are coated (2-3 minutes).

2. Add the stock and season with black pepper. Bring to the boil and add the spinach.

3. Simmer for 20 minutes or until all the veg are soft, stirring from time to time as the spinach tends to float to the surface. Blend when ready.

Variation:
For a less sweet flavour, try this with fewer parsnips and more potatoes.

Home-made baked beans

These taste a lot nicer than shop-bought baked beans and you have control over the amount of sugar you add (if any – I don’t). I make this dish in two different ways: really thick with practically no sauce or with sauce by adding passata.

1 440 g-can of beans, no salt or sugar added, (e. g. Cannelini, black-eyed, )
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tsp. dried basil
2 tbsp. tomato puree
freshly ground pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil
tomato passata (optional)
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan that can be placed in the oven and sauté the onions and garlic until softened. Add the herbs and stir for a minute, then add the beans and tomato puree. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Add a little water or (if used) the passata.
Cover with a lid and bake at 200 °C/gas mark 5-6 for 15 – 20 minutes.