Spinach and Ricotta Tart 
Recipe 

3 x eggs

1 tub ricotta

1 bag spinach

Handful of parmesan

Ready roll pastry (of your choice)

Pinch of pepper

Mix the eggs and pepper together in a bowl.  

Line base of cocotte with pastry (ensure that the pan has been seasoned with rapeseed oil)

Add the egg mix to the spinach and mix adding the ricotta and parmesan ensuring all ingredients are coated. Add the pastry to your Crafond cocotte base and pour in the filling. Cover with your Crafond cocotte lid and cook on a medium heat for 20-35 minutes on the hob. 

Serve hot or cold....simple!! 

A light summer tea,

Once again sincere apologies, I have no idea where the time seems to be going. Its hard to believe that we are over half way through the year (sorry)! Well here is another beautiful dish which has me salivating and would be a lovely dish to take outside and enjoy on a warm summer evening (when we have them) to enjoy with friends and family.

Parma ham and red pepper with taglierini

Ingredients

• 1/2 red or white onion, peeled
• 1 red pepper, deseeded
• 90g slices Parma ham
• 1/4 of a fresh red chilli
• 1 large firm tomato
• 1/2 bunch of fresh flat-leave parsley, leaves picked
• 200g taglierini
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• rapeseed oil
• 1/2 an unwaxed lemon, the zest and juice of
• parmesan cheese, for grating

Method

Start by preparing your ingredients. Very finely slice the onion, pepper and half the parma ham. Finely slice the chilli. Quarter the tomato, cut out the seeds and finely dice the flesh. Finely chop the parsley leaves.

Put the finely sliced Parma ham into a large dry frying pan (Crafond Saute would be good) over a heat and cook for 5 minutes, or until crispy. Transfer to a double layer of kitchen paper to drain. Cook the taglierini in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, return the frying pan to a medium-high heat with 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion, pepper and chilli and cook for a minute or so. Roughly slice the remaining Parma ham and add to the pan, stir in most of the parsley leaves and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Reserving some of the cooking water, drain the taglierini and add to the sauce. Add the lemon Juice, diced tomato and a good grating of parmesan. Toss well over the heat until lovely and glossy, adding a splash of the cooking water to loosed, if needed. Divide between your plates, sprinkle over the crispy Parma ham and add an extra grating of parmesan. Finish by sprinkling over the lemon zest and the rest of the chopped parsley. Alternatively, serve in a large bowl allowing guests/diners to help themselves.

Recipe and image taken from Jamie's Food Tube: The Pasta Book

Homemade roasted butternut squash and sweet potato risotto

Apologies...again

It doesn't seem too long ago since I last had to write and apology post, well here we are again. Unfortunately there an old saying which reflects the reason behind my poor time keeping on the update of this blog, I'm not sure if its classed as a saying or how its classified but, ' there aren't enough hours in the day'. So going forward I can't promise that the blog will be updated every week, as such there will be one new blog a month and any others will be a bonus for you :)

My own recipe and pics

Please forgive the poor photography but these are the final product (the roasted squash and potatoes could have done with a 'shuffle' to show the glaze off). This should feed about 4 and is the easiest risotto.

Ingredients:

1 Onion

1 tablespoon Rapseed oil

250g Arborio rice

Chorizo (as much as you like..or don't)

1 large glass of white wine (any will do doesn't need to be expensive, but definitely not bubbly)

700ml vegetable stock

Peppers (mixed)

1 butternut squash

3 sweet potatoes

Honey

Parmesan to taste

Method:

Peel and chop into cubes the sweet potato and butternut squash, rinse and scatter on the Castey Vulcano flat tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle honey over the whole area. If you like before the honey you could add a small amount of rapeseed oil to give extra colour. Place tray in the oven and turn once or twice in the duration of cooking (about 35-45 minutes). Once they soften and gain the colour you're after remove from the oven.

Pre-heat oven to 180

Dice the onion and fry until translucent (for about 4/5 mins), then add the chorizo (to your own taste). Stir in the wine and leave to simmer for 5 minutes on a low heat..

Add the rice and ensure that its all coated with the oil and the oil from the chorizo and leave for a further 2 minutes.

Next add the vegetable stock but leave around 150ml to add later if the risotto seems to be drying out. Stir in the peppers and season.

Now if you're doing this in one of our fantastic Crafond Saute pans, you can simply remove the handle, put on the lid and put it in the oven, but whatever your cooking in transfer from the hob to the oven (obviously the dish/pan must be oven safe). 

Leave in the oven for 30 minutes but keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn't dry out, if it seems a little dry add the remaining stock and stir. Once the majority of the stock has been absorbed and the rice etc. are cooked, remove from the oven.

To serve heap around a quarter of the risotto on a plate alongside the roasted goodies and serve with a small shaving of the cheese on the top, et voila. You have a beautiful dish for tea! Well, you should have if I've given the right instructions. Please accept my apologies should I have missed anything out.

Bank holiday monday offers

If you like to grab yourself a bargin keep your eyes out for our fantastic deals coming your way on the 22nd May, Huge reductions on our Diamond line and Diamond Induction line as well as a huge £50 off of one of our best selling frying pan sets from the Castey Vulcano range. Be quick though, the offers are superb but are limited and it will be a case of 'first come first served'. 

http://www.perfectpans.com/castey-vulcano-3-piece-frying-pan-set-807-p.asp 

The next post

So thats 'all for now folks' hopefully the next update will be in a few weeks but as to what it may be, your guess is as good as mine!

Quick & Simple Recipe Of The Week!

 Tomato & Goat's CheeseTarte Tatin 

Why not try our quick and simple recipe of the week. This recipe is delicious with only 25 minutes baking time this delicious snack served with Balsamic Vinegar and Pesto would be a refreshing and tasty meal for you all to enjoy a mouth-watering, healthy dinner! 

     

Ingredients: 

250g plain flour 

1 tsp salt 

80 ml Rapeseed/Sunflower oil

2 tbsp lukewarm water

1 egg  

For The Topping: 

400g firm, ripe cherrAly tomatoes, halved

110g goats cheese 

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 

60 ml Rapeseed/Sunflower Oil

Salt and pepper 

1. Heat the oven to 220'C (200'fan) 425F, Gas 7
2. Mix the flour, salt , Rapeseed/ Sunflower Oil, water and egg to a smooth dough. Cover the dough and rest it for an hour at room temperature
3. Knead the dough and roll it out between two layers of grease- proof paper into a thin ground. 
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic until softened. Arrange the tomatoes in the pan and crumble over the cheese. Sprinkle the garlic on top and season with salt and pepper. 
5. Brush with a little more oil (either Rapeseed or Sunflower) and place the dough on top of the tomatoes pressing down slightly. Bake for 25 minutes  until the dough is golden brown and crisp. To serve, allow the tarte tatin to cool for a few minutes then gently turn it out onto the plate, and slice.  

            Image taken from http://www.steworastory.com/2014/09/easy-tomato-goat-cheese-tart.html April 2015. 

An alternative serving suggestion, use the same topping on slices of bruscetta (cut thick on an angle) or cut the dough into small squares and top as normal with the tomatoes etc. and serve as individual tarts.