This is one of my favourite comfort dishes and it's so quick and easy. You will need:

• Good Chorizo
• Yellow or Red Pepper
• Aubergine
• Carrots
• Celery
• Garlic
• Green Chilli
• Red Onion
• Dried Oregano
• Bay Leaves
• Tinned Tomatoes
• Tinned Flageolet Beans
• Glass of red wine
• Chicken Stock

As always I never really measure anything, I just add until it looks/tastes right. 

1. Chop the chorizo into nice thick chunks and fry in a heavy casserole pan until it starts to go a nice golden brown colour. There should be enough oil in the chorizo which should release into the pan, if not add a bit of olive oil. 
2. Once nicely coloured, spoon out the chorizo and put to one side.
3. Add your diced carrots, celery and onion to the pan, when they start to soften add in the garlic and chilli. Fry for a few minutes careful not to let the garlic burn.
4. Add your diced peppers and aubergine and continue to fry until they have started to brown. 
5. Then add your glass of red, some chicken stock, a couple of bay leaves, a good pinch or two of oregano and a couple of tins of tinned tomatoes. Put the chorizo back in to the stew. Bring to the boil and let simmer, you want it to reduce down. 
6. Once the stew has reduced, but too much, you want it a little saucy! add your flageolet beans or any beans you like. I also like to use butter beans or chick peas. Stir these in and allow another five minutes or so. 
7. Serve with some bread or we like to have some bulgur wheat or cous cous. 

Hope you enjoy! 

Valentines Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have made these before and they are amazing and so perfect for Valentines Day. It's The Hummingbird Bakery recipe from their cookbook. I have tried lots of different recipes for this cake, but this one produces consistently beautiful cakes.

Ingredients:


Cake
60g unsalted butter at room temperature
150g caster sugar
1 egg
10g cocoa powder
20ml red food colouring (preferably Dr Oetker)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
120ml buttermilk
150g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 white wine vinegar


Frosting
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold


Preheat oven to 170ºC.


For the cakes: Put the butter and the sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Then beat in the egg until well incorporated.


In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add in the butter mixture and mix until evenly combined and coloured. Slowly mix in half the butter milk and then half the flour. Repeat the process with the rest of the buttermilk and flour.  Beat until smooth. Then add the salt, bicarb and vinegar, stir in and then beat a little more.


Spoon mixture into 12 cases so that they are each about two-thirds full and bake in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave them to cool while you make the frosting.


The frosting: Beat the icing sugar and butter together until well mixed. Add the cream cheese and beat until well incorporated, beat for at least 5 mins until mixture is light and fluffy. Do not overbeat as it can quickly become runny,


When the cakes are cold you can apply the frosting! Then lick the bowl. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do, I can not recommend the Hummingbird Bakery book enough, so many delicious recipes.

Quick Broccoli Wrap

I made this up a few weeks ago and have been obsessed with it since, it's just so quick and delicious.


Ingredients
tortillas (I like the multi-grain ones)
broccoli
red onion
feta cheese (as good as you can get)
pine nuts
fresh Basil
avocado Oil
unwaxed lemon
salt
pepper


Lay out your tortilla. Start with slicing the red onion, quite thinly and laying on the centre of the tortilla (because you will fold the sides up). Then, I would tear a few basil leaves and sprinkle over the onions. Then take your broccoli and just take off a few florets, break them up quite small so they can cook properly. Sprinkle the broccoli with some feta, pine nuts and season to taste, then grate a little lemon zest over. Lastly, drizzle on a little avocado oil or olive, you don't need a lot, its just to put a little moisture in the wrap. You don't want to fill the tortilla too much or you will not be able to parcel it up. Mine looked like this:

To parcel it up, fold the top and bottom in and then the two sides, it doesn't have to be perfect, just as tight as you can get it so that things do not spill out. Place it on some grease-proof paper on a tray (fold side down) and pop in oven for 20 mins at 180ºC or until the tortillas start to brown. Cut in half and serve with a little rocket salad.


Bon appétit!