Patatas bravas with chorizo

You can't have tapas without crispy, well-seasoned, fried potatoes smothered in a rich, smoky tomato sauce - or patatas bravas as it is known! The perfect side dish to a main meal or just one of many tapas dishes.

 Feel free to add spices or hot paprika to this recipe - I am not a huge fan of spicy food so that is why this recipe won't be particularly 'hot'. The chorizo I bought was quite spicy so that's what gave this dish flavour.

With hardly any ingredients, this is really easy to whip up, especially in advance as it can be oven-baked later on to heat through - perfect for dinner parties or as part of a tapas buffet!

Serves 2
- 2 baking potatoes
- olive oil
- seasoning (paprika, dried herbs, pepper, spices etc)
- 1/2 ring of chorizo, sliced
- tin/carton of chopped tomatoes (I used the Sainsbury's one with olive oil & garlic in)
- parsley, to garnish

1. Peel the potatoes and chop them into small cubes. Bring a pan of water to the boil and par-boil the potato cubes for 5 minutes, then drain.
2. In a large frying pan, heat a generous amount of olive oil to fry the potatoes in. Put on a high heat, add the potatoes, and generously sprinkle with whatever seasoning you prefer. Fry in the hot oil for about 15 minutes, frequently tossing the pan to evenly fry and coat in the oil and seasoning. They should be soft in the middle and crispy on the outside when finished.

3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the chopped tomatoes and stir in the chorizo. Cook on a high heat until the tomatoes have reduced and the sauce is quite thick.

4. When cooked, stir the potatoes into the sauce then serve in individual dishes ready to eat straight away or to be re-heated later.

Enjoy :)

For another tapas idea, try these sweet potato fries!

Sweet potato fries

 I made some 'tapas' dishes this weekend (well, my version of tapas) which included these honey glazed sweet potato fries which were the star of the show. Super easy to make and taste delicious.

Perfect dipped in garlic mayonnaise, tzatziki, and salsa (on separate dippings of course!)

Serves 2

- 1 large sweet potato

- olive oil

- seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika, dried herbs etc.)

- squeezy honey

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees and place a baking tray with a generous amount of olive oil inside.

2. Peel the sweet potato and slice into thin chip shapes, or wedges if you prefer.

3. Take the tray out of the oven when the oil is heated and place the chips in the hot oil, turning and shaking to make sure they're evenly coated (drizzle extra oil on top of needed!)

4. Sprinkle on some seasoning and drizzle honey over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, checking and turning half way through.

5. Check that they are soft in the middle, then remove from the oven and pour the chips out onto some kitchen roll, and dab with more kitchen roll to remove any excess oil. Leave to cool for a few minutes, then serve!

Enjoy :)

Perfect potato wedges

This is just a quick post to show you how to make some really good wedges to go with every meal. They are  soft inside even without parboiling, and really crunchy with tons of flavour. I made some to go with chicken drumsticks the other night, mm mm (perfect with BBQ sauce too!)

Serves 1

- olive oil

- 1 baking potato

- schwartz season-all spice (salt, paprika, pepper, garlic etc.)

- mixed herbs

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Drizzle some oil in a baking tray and place in the oven to heat.

3. Meanwhile, cut the potato into wedge shapes - fairly thin. (Do this by cutting the potato in half lengthways, then in half again, and keep doing this with each part until you get a number of wedges!)

4. Take out the oiled try, and place the potato wedges on, turning over so coated in the oil.

5. Cover with a sprinkled of season-all or some salt, pepper, paprika etc. followed by some dried mixed herbs.

6. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes, or until golden brown, crisp and soft in the middle!

Enjoy :)

Egg fried rice

My mum bought some 'sticky pork belly slices' from Sainsbury's the other week which you just bake in the oven, so I decided to whip up some egg fried rice to go with it. Usually I would add peas but I felt like using carrots and green beans for a change. This is super easy to make - probably not the best egg fried rice ever because if you make it properly you should let the rice cool down etc etc but who has time for that.... this is fine if you just want some yummy rice very quickly!

Serves 2

- 185g wholegrain rice

- 1 carrot, sliced

- large handful of green beans, chopped

- sesame oil (or olive)

- 1 egg, beaten

1. Cook the rice according to packet instructions in salted water, with the green beans and carrot. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the rice, stirring until coated. Gradually pour in the egg, stirring and frying until the egg is set. Voila!

Enjoy :)

Tomato and basil bruschetta

A delicious taste of Italy! Tomato and basil are the perfect match, and even better with a dash of balsamic vinegar, basil (green) pesto and a sprinkling of parmesan. These are a crowd-pleasing starter or side dish accompanying any Italian-style food, particularly a pasta dish. So easy to put together but such impressive flavours. Bruschetta is so versatile - you can top it with anything: garlic butter, caramelised onion and goats cheese, mozzarella and sun dried tomato, herby mushrooms etc etc. I served this with carbonara - the recipe is here!

Serves 2

- 1/2 baguette, sliced into eight (I used wholemeal)

- few dollops of green pesto

- large handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced or quartered

- few leaves of fresh basil, torn

- dash of balsamic vinegar

- small handful of parmesan, grated

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180 degrees. Place the tomatoes and fresh basil in a bowl and stir in some balsamic vinegar (the smell is amazing!)

2. Spread green pesto on each slice of bread, and place on a baking tray.

3. Spoon the tomato and basil mixture on each slice, grate some parmesan on top, if desired, and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the bread is crisp and hot to touch.

Enjoy :)

Pesto mash

This mashed potato was deliciously creamy and rich, despite not having any cream or crème fraiche in. I decided to use pesto because I've had pesto and cheddar on a jacket potato before and it was so yummy, so I knew that it would taste good in mash as well. I served this with chicken wrapped in pancetta (see previous post) and green vegetables. It's amazing that just by adding a few dollops of green pesto, you can transform a boring mash into something delicious and luxurious! You should definitely try this if you like pesto.

Serves 2
- 450-500g potatoes (I used desiree and vivaldi)
- pinch of salt
- dash of semi-skimmed milk
- knob of butter
- 1/2 small jar of green pesto (or less, or more)
- handful of cheddar, grated


1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20-25 minutes, or until soft.
2. Drain and return to the pan. Add some milk and a knob of butter and mash for a couple of minutes until smooth.
3. Add the pesto and stir in, then continue to mash - adding more butter and/or milk depending on the taste/texture you desire.
4. Put the cheddar in and continue to mash. Season to taste, and serve.

Enjoy :)

Simple potato salad

Hope everyone is enjoying the hot, sunshine weather - this potato salad is a perfect side dish for a barbecue, or any other summery meal. I made this last night to go with sausages in buns, salad, kettle chips and scotch eggs - last minute thrown together BBQ style food! We had a few leftover potatoes from the night before, which is why I decided to make this. Usually I would make a potato salad with new potatoes (with the skins still on) and fresh chives, but we didn't have any fresh herbs in the house, and the potatoes we had cooked the night before were Sainsbury's taste the difference Vivaldi potatoes and were peeled. But this was still really yummy and the best part is that all the ingredients are ones which almost every household will already have!

Serves 2
- about 6 potatoes (depending on size), cut into chunks
- 1 heaped tbsp of mayonnaise (I used Hellman's light mayo)
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard (or any other mustard you prefer)
- few pinches of paprika (probably about 1/4 - 1/2 a tsp)
- fresh herbs, chopped such as chives OR dried herbs (I used thyme)

Simply mix the potatoes with all the other ingredients until combined. Season to taste.
You could also add bits of cooked bacon, or chunks of hard-boiled egg to make this more substantial and interesting!
Enjoy :)

Crunchy potato wedges

Everytime I make wedges I usually just slice the potato, add some oil and seasoning and bake in the oven. Don't get me wrong, they are delicious like that but I stepped it up a whole new yummy-level by adding breadcrumbs and fresh parsley. We had these delicious crunchy wedges with the beef burgers (see previous post for recipe). They were full of texture and flavour, perfect!

Serves 2
- 2-3 large baking potatoes, sliced into wedge shapes
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
- generous amount of paprika
- 1 wholemeal crust of bread, crumbled into crumbs
- handful of fresh parsley, chopped


1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Drizzle some of the oil into a deep baking tray and place in oven to heat up.
2. Remove the tray from the oven, and lay the wedges in the oil. Drizzle with the remaining oil. Season with salt & pepper, and sprinkle with paprika.
3. Coat the wedges in the breadcrumbs and parsley. Toss the tray until all combined.
4. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through, and the breadcrumbs are crisp!

Enjoy :)

Oven-baked rosemary & bacon potato rosti

As I was grating all the potatoes I thought to myself, is this really worth it!? For some reason, I had the expectation that this would be watery and bland (even though I seasoned etc.) Boy was I mistaken! This was one of the best potato dishes I've ever had, and definitely the best one I've ever made. I don't think I've ever even had a rosti before - if I have it wasn't memorable. So I was just going to make a traditional rosti and fry them individually, but then I decided to oven-bake one big one so the potato is cooked for about an hour, meaning the result is a soft, creamy inside, and a crisp outside, mmm. I served this with balsamic, rosemary and tomato marinated lamb which complimented it perfectly. I will post the recipe for the lamb over the next couple of days. Who would have thought grated potato would taste so satisfying...

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

- 3 rashers streaky bacon

- 750g potatoes, peeled (waxy potatoes - I used Sainsburys taste the difference Vivaldi)

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1/2 onion

- butter, for greasing and topping

- dried or fresh rosemary, for sprinkling

- handful of parmesan, grated

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees/gas mark 5. Dry-fry the bacon in a pan until golden and crispy. Cut into pieces once cooled.
2. Boil the potatoes whole for about 5 minutes. Drain and place in cold water.
3. When cool enough to handle, grate the potatoes into a large bowl, occasionally adding olive oil.
4. Finely chop the onion and add to the grated potato along with the bacon.
5. Place a baking tray in the oven to heat. Grease a loose-bottomed cake tin with butter and scatter the potato mix into it. Do not pack it down with your hands. Sprinkle with rosemary and parmesan, and scatter butter over the top. (Picture below is at this stage)

6. Place on top of the baking tray in the oven and bake for 1 to 1 and a half hours - until the potatoes are cooked through and crisp on top.

Enjoy :)

Honey and balsamic salad

Ah my two favourite ingredients! I'm like Winnie the Pooh, I pretty much eat honey out the jar... so I love making my own salad dressings because I can make them nice and sweet with honey and balsamic. I know many people that are sceptic of salads because 'who wants to eat leaves!?', but you can make them taste great while still being healthy. Although they do not make the most nutritiously balanced dinner, they are perfect for lunches or as a side dish, or even a snack. I made this salad last summer on a warm(ish) day and it went down a treat. I will not put exact quantities because you can just put as much of each ingredient in as you like - the same goes with the dressing - the best way to get it right is to keep testing it and to add more of what you think it needs for the flavour and consistency that you want.

Ingredients in the salad:
- Lettuce, torn (I used some picked from the garden but you can use romaine or little gem etc.)
- Mixed leaves (spinach, watercress etc.)
- Cherry tomatoes, sliced
- Red onion, sliced
- Cooked chicken breast, sliced
(You can add anything else you like, such as pepper, cucumber, mushroom etc. but don't forget that certain flavours may not go with this sweet dressing, but feel free to experiment)

Ingredients for the dressing:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 1 tsp mustard (preferably wholegrain)
(These are just rough measurements, as said before, you can use more or less of whatever seems to work with the flavour and consistency you prefer)

Simply put the salad ingredients you want in a large bowl, and toss with the dressing until coated.
Enjoy :)