Baked Camembert with Garlic and Rosemary

If you're going to treat yourself, do it properly.

There is nothing more comforting on a winter's day than an oozing baked Camembert with warm, crusty bread for dipping. You may be wondering why this Camembert looks like it has exploded - the wooden edging just cracked open in the oven and I am really glad that it did - it meant we got to eat some extra flavoursome cheese that had started to go crisp mmm, but don't worry, the middle was still perfect.

I have posted a Camembert recipe before here and made some rather delicious ham, cheese and chive bread to go with it which you can find the recipe for here. Both were delicious but this time I decided to try fresh rosemary with the Camembert rather than thyme and it was very tasty - although I would recommend either herbs! I also didn't have as much time so I bought some fresh ciabatta from the supermarket to heat up in the oven for dipping in the cheese, but if you do have more time or if it is a special occasion, you should definitely try out the above bread recipe - super quick, easy and yeast free!

Serves 2
- 1 whole Camembert
- 2 fresh garlic cloves
- few sprigs of rosemary
- caramelised onion chutney
- ciabatta

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Remove the Camembert from its packaging and with a sharp knife, make a few slits on top.

3. Slice the garlic and tear the rosemary leaves in half, then push both into the slits.

4. Place the Camembert back in the wooden box and onto a baking tray in the middle of the oven - bake for around 15 minutes or until fully melted in the middle. Place the ciabatta in the oven and bake for the same amount of time.

5. When done, slice the ciabatta and serve immediately - open up the Camembert by removing the top with a knife, then dunk the ciabatta in, and top with a generous amount of chutney!

Enjoy :)

Perfect pizza

I love making pizza, I've made it from scratch so many times since I got this amazing Italian pizza magazine last summer (picture of magazine at bottom of post). It's actually quite simple to make pizza dough, healthier, and tastes so much more authentic! It is so versatile as well, you can choose the thickness of the dough depending on how you like your base, use half wholemeal flour to increase the nutrition, or even make your own stuffed crust (which I can't wait to try). You can buy a passata to spread on the base, or make your own. I usually buy a plain tomato passata, season and add fresh herbs. The best part is you can top your pizza with whatever you want (although mozzarella is a must have for the base).

The toppings I used in the photos are:
- Goats cheese and red onion
- Tomato, mushroom and pepper
- BBQ chicken and extra cheese
- Italian ham, mushroom and pineapple

(They all have passata topped with ready-grated or freshly sliced mozzarella, and a sprinkling of cheddar or parmesan)

Other toppings I have used on home-made pizza are:
- Proscuitto, mushroom and parsley (my favourite!)
- Chicken, rosemary and pepper
- Red onion and sausage/meatball

Next time I really want to try making a fiorentina (spinach, parmesan and egg) and a gorgonzola cheese and caramelised onion pizza

Makes 2 large, or 4 small pizzas
Ingredients for pizza base:
- 400g plain white strong flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried yeast or 1 sachet of easy bake yeast
- 25 ml hot water and 25ml milk, mixed together
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing over base
- 1/2 tsp salt
- tepid water, to add to the dough
- extra flour for dusting surface


1. Pile the flour in a large bowl and make a centre in the middle.
2. Mix the yeast with the water and milk (and/or follow packet instructions as this varies depending on what type of yeast you are using)
3. Wait for the yeast to react and become foamy, then pour into the flour with half the olive oil and the salt, and knead for 10-15 minutes on a work-surface dusted with flour. The dough should be smooth, elastic and stretchy - add more liquid if needed - the dough must not feel tacky or sticky at the end of the kneading process.
4. Grease a large bowl with the remaining olive oil and place the ball of dough inside. Cover with cling film or a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for an 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled inside.
5. Next, gently knead the dough and split into 2, or 4, and roll out on a floured work-surface. Place on a baking sheet and brush lightly with oil. Cover with passata, fresh herbs and mozzarella and any other ingredients you desire.
6. Bake in the oven at 200 or 220 degrees/gas mark 6 or 7 for 10-15 minutes, or until the base is cooked through, crisp and golden.

Enjoy :)

Mince and rice

This is one of my favourite things to cook at uni!

It's quite simple, and uses a lot of store-cupboard ingredients which is always handy

Ingredients: (serves 2)

- 15g butter

- 250g beef mince

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 2 rashers of bacon (preferably smoked), sliced

- 50g mushrooms, sliced (I usually use more than this)

- 100g rice (I use wholegrain)

- 1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes (I use a whole tin otherwise it would go to waste...)

- 1/2 beef stock cube, dissolved in 200ml of water

- 1 tsp mixed herbs

- Handful of grated cheddar

1. Brown the mince in the butter, then add the bacon and onions.

2. Once cooked, add the mushrooms, then stir in the rice until coated in the mince mixture.

3. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and the stock cube mix.

4. Add the herbs and season to taste.

5. Stir, bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked (no crunch).

6. Don't forget the grated cheese!

Simple as that! Enjoy :)

Goats cheese and caramelised onion tart (Valentine's Day starter)

Goats cheese and caramelised onion tart

(As seen on Masterchef Celebrity 2010 - Lisa Faulkner won with this as part of her 3 course meal)

Recipe I used is from here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/goats_cheese_and_onion_51943

I previously used ready made puff pastry to make this starter, but making shortcrust pastry makes this more rewarding and rich in taste and texture :) I would definitely recommend this for any special occasion!

Pastry preparation and cooking - make sure you have some baking beans or something similar as this pastry is cooked blind before the filling goes in!

I love making the caramelised onion filling (onion, sugar, butter, balsamic), it smells divine when it's cooking, and tastes even better! I made the goats cheese filling (goats cheese, egg yolk, cream) with spreadable goats cheese instead of crumbly, although I think crumbly would have worked better for texture...

I garnished with spinach leaves, a dash of balsamic, and dried thyme!