Peas, Watercress & Brown Shrimp on Toast

This is an adaptation of a Lindsey Bareham recipe that I tore out of a magazine a couple of years ago, and quickly became a favourite simple-yet-polished lunch in our household. As well as being relatively healthy and simple, with only a handful of ingredients needed, the blitzed watercress and pea mixture is really bright and fresh, and looks great on the plate. Despite being a good lunch dish, this would also work well in smaller quantities as a starter, or add more of everything to make into a light supper. If you can't find brown shrimps (Waitrose usually have a good supply) feel free to substitute them with prawns or crayfish. Although this is really quick to throw together it's worth noting that a good food processor or hand blender is essential to blitz your greens!

For two generous lunches you will need…

100g peas (fresh or frozen)

1 large handful of watercress

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp cider vinegar

Salt & pepper

Knob of butter for the toast

2 slices of good sourdough bread

50-100g brown shrimps

Lemon to serve

You will need to…

- Cook the peas in boiling water, then drain and add to your food processor along with the watercress, mustard, olive oil and cider vinegar.

- Blitz until it becomes a thick herby sauce and season to taste. You might want to adjust the vinegar/oil balance too - I like it quite tangy.

- Toast your sourdough slices and butter generously.

- Spread with a thick layer of green paste and top with the shrimp. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Enjoy! C x

Malteaser Cake

This Malteaser Cake is always a show stopper. During my cooking jobs in Scotland over the summer this cake was a favourite for afternoon tea, and I assure you it takes a very hungry army of people to demolish the whole thing in one sitting! Infact, it is so rich and chocolately that it could almost be served with cream as a pudding. I have enjoyed many an hour sitting aligning every malteaser to make this cake look symmetrical - the first time I made it, it certainly didnt look like my latest one in

these photos! 

To serve 12 hungry people you will need... 

For the chocolate sponge 

150g soft unsalted butter

250g caster sugar

150g self raising flour

100ml sour cream or double cream

4 medium eggs

50g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder 

a pinch of salt 

1/2 a vanilla pod or a few drops of vanilla extract 

For the icing (these quantities ususally make a bit extra)

100g dark chocolate

550g icing sugar 

250g soft butter

2tbsps milk/water 

4x 135g malteasers (make sure you have enough or else you wont cover the whole cake!) 

You will need to... 

-Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 

-Grease and line two 8 inch loose bottomed cake tins

-Put the butter, sugar, flour, cream, eggs, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and vanilla into the large bowl of an electric mixer and mix until smooth. 

-Pour the mixture into the two cake tins and bake in the oven for 25/30mins or until a skewer comes out clean, Leave to cool for a couple fo minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

- When the cakes are cool make the icing, First melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water stirring occasionally. 

- Put the icing sugar in the electric mixer (no need to sieve if using a mixer) then add the butter and and milk/water until light and smooth. Then pour the melted chocolate in with the mixer still running. 

- Place the sponge on the plate you will be serving it on- it is difficult to move once you start covering the cake in malteasers. Then using a palet knife, spread the chococlate icing over the bottom layer before placing the second layer on top and covering the top and sides of the whole cake with icing.

- Then begin to stick the malteasers on, I find doing it in straight lines makes the neatest looking cake!

Enjoy, Z x