Tomato Soup

6 Big Beefsteak Tomatoes
1 Red Pepper
1 Orange/Yellow pepper
2 Red onions
1 Brown onion
6 Garlic cloves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Brown sugar
Balsamic vinegar
Beef stock

1. Roughly chop the veggies up and stick in a roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and then season. Sprinkle with brown sugar, not too much, roughly 2 or 3 pinches. Stick in the oven until everything is reasonably browned, turning a few times throughout. Should take about 45 mins depending on your oven. 
2. Once out of the oven, stick the tomatoes to one side to cool and the rest of the veg into a deep pot/pan. Once the tomatoes have cooled slightly, remove the skins and discard. Add the peeled tomatoes to the pot and cover with beef stock, about an inch more than the veg. 
3. Simmer for half an hour. At this point, taste and add more seasoning if necessary and tomato purée if it needs it.
4. Leave to cool slightly and then blitz.

Scotch Broth

1 Onion
2 Carrots
400g Chopped tomatoes
1.2L Vegetable stock
110g Pearl barley
2 Cloves garlic
2 Sticks celery
100g Cabbage (shredded)
80g Peas

Serves 4, 180 calories per serving

1. Boil the pearl barley for 25 minutes. 
2. Chop the veggies finely and fry in a couple of teaspoons of oil for 3-4 minutes. 
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and the stock and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the pearl barley, peas and cabbage and simmer for another 20 minutes
5. Season to taste with pepper.

Optional extra: Throw a bit of braised lamb or beef in there at the step 4

Spicy Roast Butternut Squash Soup

Squash
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Potato
Cayenne pepper/chilli powder
Vegetable stock
Olive oil

1. Dice the vegetables into big chunks and roast with a splash of olive oil until browned and tender.
2. Cool then blitz, and add some cayenne or chilli powder is added. Then stir in boiling hot stock until the desired consistency is reached.
3. Simmer gently for a few minutes taking care not to over-reduce the stock. Season to taste.

Mushroom Soup

500g white mushrooms
90g butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp plain flour
1000ml chicken stock
bay leaf
4 tbsp double cream
white pepper

1. Heat butter in a large pan, then slowly cook onions & garlic for 10 mins until soft.
2. Turn up heat, add mushrooms, and cook for 5 mins while stirring constantly.
3. Sprinkle in the flour, stir well to coat everything.
4. Pour in the stock, and bring to the boil.
5. Add bay leaf; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 mins.
6. Remove bay leaf, and allow soup to cool for 5-10 mins.
7. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth(ish).
8. Add good dash of white pepper, then reheat.
9. When hot again, stir in cream.
10. Serve with crusty bread

Sweet Potato Wedges

¼ tsp ground cumin
16 oz sweet potatoes (about 2)
½ tsp curry powder
¼ tsp salt
⅛ tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil
⅛ tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
2. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; cut each half lengthwise into 6 wedges.
3. Combine sweet potatoes and remaining ingredients in a bowl; toss gently to coat.
4. Place wedges on a baking sheet (do not overlap); bake for 25 minutes or until very tender.

Chocolate Ganache

500 gm cooking chocolate (finely chopped) 
300 gm heavy cream 
30 gm butter 

1. Heat heavy cream until it boils. Turn off flame.
2. Add chopped cooking chocolate and stir quickly. Finally add butter and mix well.
3. Leave it to cool at room temperature for few hours before use. 

Moist Chocolate Cake

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
120 gm salted butter
½ cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup boiling water

1. Preheat the oven at 150°C. Grease a 7×11 inch baking dish with butter/shortening.
2. Mix the flour and baking soda by whisking together in a mixing bowl.
3. Beat the sugar and butter. Add the egg and beat well.
4. Add the milk/buttermilk and cocoa and mix everything well.
5. Add the boiling water and vanilla extract now.
6. Finally add the flour mixture and mix everything well.
7. Pour it into the baking dish and bake for about 30-35 minutes or till the cake is done.
8. Cool on a wire rack and do the topping/frosting.

The Takeaway Secret Doner Kebab

1 teaspoon of plain flour
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
½ teaspoon of dried Italian herbs
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
½ teaspoon of onion powder
¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
500 grams of lamb mince, as fatty or as lean as you like (but fatty works best)

Tip: Once you've made this kebab once, you won't be able to get enough of it, so next time, why not measure out the ingredients (except the mince) and box or bag them up so that next time you just need to add your pre-mix to the mince! What I do is line up a bunch of paper cake cases and go along adding each of the ingredients, then pour each one into a small resealable bag! Easy.

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add all the mince to the bowl and mix it thoroughly with the dry ingredients for 2-3 minutes. 
4. Punch and knead the mixture so it's compressed and no air pockets remain; the kebab meat should be extremely smooth and tightly packed.
5. Tip the seasoned mince out and shape it into a loaf and place it on a baking tray.
6. Bake in the centre of your oven for 30 minutes, then turn the loaf over and return it to the oven for another 30 minutes.
7. The loaf should be evenly browned.
8. Once cooked, remove your doner kebab from the oven and cover it with foil, allowing it to rest for 10-20 minutes.
9. Slice the donner kebab as thinly as you can, just how you like it from your local takeaway!

White Kebab Sauce

3 tablespoons Mayo
1 tablespoon natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of salt
pinch of dried parsley or dried mixed herbs
1 tablespoon of water

1. Mix everything together except the water, once combined add the water and mix again until you have the desired consistency.
2. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours before serving

Kebab Chili Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 Large onion finely chopped
4 Cloves garlic finely sliced
3 Teaspoons Mint Sauce
50ml Distilled Vinegar
Fresh Chilies (3 Cherry Chilies or 10 Green Finger Chilies)

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz up until pureed but with small pieces of onion, garlic and chilli visible. Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Chicken Karahi

1kg Chicken - cut into medium pieces, bone-in
Vegetable oil for frying
1 medium to large red onions - chopped fine
8 cloves garlic - thinly sliced
2 tbsp ginger - thinly chopped
Salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp chilli powder
4 green chilli - sliced
5 tomatoes - thin chopped

1. On full heat, saute onions until they're translucent.
2. Chuck in all the garlic.
3. Once both are slightly golden, add the salt, black pepper, chilli powder, green chillies, half of the ginger, and all of the chicken.
4. Fry the chicken in the mixture for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, mix it well and turn the heat down to minimum. Cover it and leave for 10 minutes.
6. Uncover it and cook the chicken on high heat until the water from the tomatoes dries off, leaving a rich, heavenly smelling thick gravy. Chicken should be completely done by this point.
7. Add the remaining ginger and serve with boiled white rice or naan bread.

Kailan Ikan Masin

A bunch of kailan (cut the stalks and leaves into smaller pieces)
½ an onion (sliced)
3 pieces garlic (crushed)
2 pieces bottled ikan masin (tenggiri; break into small pieces)
2 cm ginger (thinly sliced)
1 red chilli (seeded)
5 cili padi (crushed)
2 tbps oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 calamansi (the limau in your teh O ais limau)
A splash of water

1. Saute the garlic and cili padi until aromatic.
2. Add in the ikan masin pieces.
3. Add in the onion and garlic.
4. Add in the oyster and fish sauces and squeeze in the calamansi, stirring thoroughly.
5. Add in the chili and kailan, and a splash of water for the appropriate thickness of the sauce.

Banana Cake II

1½ cups (210 g) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ cup (150 g) sugar
2 tablespoons (30 g) melted butter (salted or unsalted)
1 large egg white
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ cup (125 ml) sour cream, regular or low-fat
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (60 g) chocolate chips
1 cup (250 ml) banana puree, made from about 2 very ripe medium-sized bananas. Be sure to use very ripe bananas, whichever you choose: the skin should have black speckles on them and be soft to the touch.

1. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) square pan and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). I often add a shot of hyper-strong espresso to the batter, which is positively delicious. People often raise an eyebrow when I tell them how good coffee is with bananas, but since coffee is a tropical fruit (or berry), as are bananas, the combination makes sense.
2. Sift together in a bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix in the sugar.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, egg white, egg, banana puree, sour cream, vanilla and espresso, if using.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the wet ingredients with a spatula until almost mixed. Add in the chocolate chips or cocoa nibs and stir until just combined, but don’t overstir: stop when any traces of flour disappear.
5. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until the center feels lightly-springy and just done.

Storage: This cake will keep well for 3-4 days, or can be frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap, for a few months.

Truli Fruli Hot Sauce

Makes 5 bottles of sauce

15 Scotch Bonnet chilis
1 onion
1 carrot
5 cloves of garlic
6 or 7 tomatoes
1 bottle fruity malt drink (Barbican will do)
100ml cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Chop up your onion, carrot and garlic and sweat down in a large frying pan (15 minutes is ample).
2. Transfer the onion/carrot/garlic into the biggest saucepan you've got.
3. Roughly chop your tomatoes and cook them out for a bit in the frying pan (5-10 mins to soften them up a bit). Transfer to the big saucepan.
4. Transfer all the chilis to the big pan.
5. Pour the malt beverage into the big pan. Add the vinegar, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
6. Blitz it all in a liquidiser or in the pan with a hand blender. What you want is a consistency slightly runnier than tomato ketchup, but you're going to sieve this so you'll need to judge for yourself. This should give you about a 5 bottles of sauce after sieving but there's gonna be some trial and error.
7. Once it's blitzed it's time to taste. It's going to be mental hot, but that's the point. There's no point doing all this if you make something akin to chili sauce, it should make your face sweat. But be aware, unsieved is a lot hotter than sieved because it still has all the white pithy membrane that holds some of the heat. Add salt and sugar to try and get a balanced flavour, don't let one dominate (although heat obviously will).
8. Stick a sieve over a measuring/pouring jug and ladle in the sauce and work it through the sieve with the bottom of the ladle, repeat until all the sauce is gone. You'll be left with some toxic sludge in the pan that I'm yet to figure out a use for. Practical jokes probably.
9. Fill up your bottles. You are now in the hot sauce business.

Garlic Cheese Pretzels

Yeast

1½ cups warm water, 45°C

1½ tablespoon active dry yeast

Dry ingredients

1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
3 cups grated sharp cheddar
½ cup flour for work surface

2 tablespoons milk

Sprinkle
½ teaspoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. In a glass measuring cup, add the warm water and the yeast. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a food processor fitted with a dough blade, add the dry ingredients and the parmesan and pulse together 3 times at 5 second intervals.
4. Add in 1 egg and the warm water and yeast mixture. Mix until the dough comes together, pulse for 10 second intervals 3 times.
5. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface or cutting board. Knead 10 to 12 times, adding a little flour, if sticky. Cut the dough in half and set aside.
6. Roll out 1 piece of dough to a 12 by 17-inch rectangle, about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle ¾ cup of the cheddar in the middle (short way). Fold ⅓ of the dough over, and sprinkle with ¾ cup of the cheddar. Fold the last ⅓ over and pinch the edges closed. Roll with a rolling pin to form an 11 by 15-inch rectangle.
7. Cut into ½-inch lengthwise strips. Pinch the cut edges together and then roll into cigar shape.
8. Form into a pretzel shape and put on a baking sheet lined with a baking mat. Repeat with second ball of dough.
9. Beat the remaining egg and the milk in a small bowl. Mix well. Brush the formed pretzels with the egg mixture and then sprinkle evenly with the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flakes and kosher salt.
10. Bake until nicely browned, about 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve warm or room temperature.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx. 14

150g soft unsalted butter
125g soft light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg, fridge-cold
1 egg yolk, fridge-cold
300g flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 x 350g packet of milk chocolate morsels or choc chips

1 x large baking sheet

Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Put the brown and white sugars into a bowl, pour the slightly cooled, melted butter over them and beat together.

Beat in the vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg yolk until your mixture is light and creamy.

Slowly mix in the flour and the bicarb. until just blended, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the cookie dough into an American quarter-cup measure or a 60ml round ice-cream scoop and drop onto the prepared baking sheet, plopping the cookies down about 8cm apart. You will need to make these 2 batches, keeping the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge between batches.

Bake for 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Make Ahead Note: The cookies can be made up to three days ahead and stored in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for a total of five days.

Chili con Carne III: LBJ's

1 kg ground meat
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin seed
6 tsp chilli powder (more if needed)
1 ½ cups canned tomatoes
2 - 6 dashes of hot sauce
2 cups hot water
salt

Directions

1. Cook meat, onion and garlic in large pan, until brown.
2. Add other ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.

Chili con Carne II: Flatlander

1 kg lean ground beef
1 can tomato juice
1 can tomato puree
1 ½ cups chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tspgarlic powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp white sugar
⅛ tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 cups canned red beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

1. Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients to a large kettle. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Comeback Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Heinz ketchup
¼ cup chili sauce (DO NOT substitute Thai chili sauce)
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
¼ cup light olive oil
juice of one lemon

Salted Beef

1.5 kg beef brisket
Water
Salt
Brown sugar
Bay leaf
Anise
Clove
Allspice
Coriander
Peppercorn

1. Cook everything (except the meat) for long enough to dissolve the salt and sugar.
2. Let brine cool completely.
3. Add meat in brine and refrigerate for 5-7 days.
4. Take the meat out of the brine, rinse and place into a pot.
5. Add some onion, celery and carrot.
6. Gently simmer for about 2½ hours.

Serve on rye/caraway bread with English mustard and a side of sliced dill pickle.