Preparation time: 10 – 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 – 35 minutes
Skill level: easy
Faff level: 3/10
Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 red pepper – cored and cut into 1cm strips
• 1 yellow pepper – cored and cut into 1cm strips
• 1 large onion – thinly sliced
• 3 ripe tomatoes – roughly chopped
• muscovado sugar – 2 tsp
• 1 chilli – finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme – stripped and chopped
• parsley – chopped – 1 tbsp
• coriander – chopped – 1 tbsp (plus more to scatter at the end)
• cumin – ¼ tsp
• saffron strands – ¼ tsp
• smoked paprika – ¼ tsp
• 4 free-range eggs
• olive oil
• water – up to 125ml
• s & p

First find a large deep frying pan or saucepan.

Add a good slug of oil and sauté the onion for two minutes.

Next add the peppers, chilli, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and coriander, and cook over a high heat for a couple of minutes until the peppers start to soften and intensify in colour.

Add the tomatoes, saffron, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Stir frequently and add enough water to keep everything loose and moist.

Taste, season, taste, season, etc.

This dish is going to be served in individual pans straight from the hob*, so you need find 2 small frying pans and divide this mixture between each.

Break 2 eggs into each pan (it helps to make indentations in the sauce with the back of a spoon), season, cover and cook over a very low heat for 5 – 10 minutes or until the egg whites have set but the yolk is still soft.

Sprinkle with more coriander and serve up with a few chunks of good bread.

* Obviously you don’t have to do this, you could stick to the one pan and serve up on plates.

Verdict: A sweet gently spiced dish which makes a great weekend brunch treat. The flavourings are only a guide, so experiment with different herbs and spices (riffing around a Middle Eastern theme).

Drink: A strong heavily sugared k4e.

Entertainment: Now that I’ve discovered Yumblog Junior finds my dancing hilarious, the entertainment possibilities are endless.

Preparation time: 10 minutes + overnight soaking
Cooking time: 1.5 hours
Skill level: easy
Serves: 2

Ingredients

For the Baked Beans

• dried pinto beans – enough for 2 (about 150g)
• 1 bulb of garlic
• sprig of parsley
• 1 large or several small tomatoes
• olive oil
• s & p

For the Toast

• good bread – 2 slices
• garlic – 1 clove
• 2 very ripe tomatoes
• 2 dried chillies
• oregano
• olive oil
• s & p

Soak your beans in water overnight (with 1 change of water)

Pre-heat the oven to 200c (gas mark 6)

Put the soaked beans, whole garlic bulb, tomato(es) and parsley in a ceramic oven-proof dish. Pour over some water until the beans are covered to a depth of 1cm and then drizzle with olive oil.

Cover with tin foil and pierce with 2 small holes to allow some of the steam out.

Put in the oven and bake for an hour and a half.

Remove from the oven and discard the parsley. Squeeze the pulp out of the tomato(es) and discard the skin. Squash the garlic with a wooden spoon to squeeze out the juice and then discard.

Season with salt and pepper and mix everything together.

Toast some bread. Scrape topside with garlic and then squeeze/rub over the ripe tomato.

Sprinkle with crushed dried chilli and oregano and then drizzle with olive oil.

Season and spoon over the baked beans.

Eat and be happy.

Verdict: A great weekend brunch treat. Better than Heinz. Delicious. Experiment with different bean/herb combos.

Drink: A milky k4e.

Entertainment: Test Match Special on 5Live. Tuffers was off to the O2 to see Lady Gaga.

The recipe below is very tasty … but does it show enough cookery skills …?

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 – 30 minutes
Skill level: Easy
Recipe: Based on a recipe from Wa’Ro magazine

Ingredients

The quantities stated here are vague/non-existent – the balance of ingredients is entirely up to you so just use your imagination.

• mushrooms – halved or quartered depending on size – some
• garlic – thinly sliced – 1 clove per person
• spring greens (or other dark green cabbage such as Savoy) – shredded – some
• good bread – sliced – some
• Lincolnshire Poacher or strong Cheddar – grated – some
• milk – 1 tbsp per person
• grain mustard – 1 tsp per person
• olive oil – some
• s and p

Pre-heat the grill.

Heat a little oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan until very hot.

Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or so until softened and golden.

Remove from the pan and set aside (keeping warm).

Pour a little more oil in the pan and add the Spring Greens. Cook for another 5 minutes or so until softened.

Add the cooked mushrooms, taste, season and keep warm over a low heat.

Toast the bread on both sides.

In a bowl mix together the grated cheese, mustard and enough milk to bind.

Pile the mushroom mixture onto the toasts and then spoon over the cheese.

Place under a hot grill until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Serve immediately.

Verdict: Garlic Mushrooms? Melted Cheese? There was never going to be any doubt that this would be anything other than very tasty. Makes a great weekend brunch/lunch/greedy snack.

Drink: Beetroot Juice.

Entertainment: Nemone on 6Music.

Freelance Writer Alex, Paediatrician Children’s Doctor Tim and NuDadDhruv fight it out in the final of MasterChef.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 – 25 minutes
Skill level: easy
Serves: 2
Recipe: Wa’ro Magazine

Ingredients

• Ricotta cheese – drained – 250g
• Grana Padano cheese – finely grated – 2 tbsp
• 1 egg
• cherry tomatoes – halved – 150g
• basil leaves – torn – 1 tbsp
• olive oil – 2 tbsp
• 2 slices wholemeal or sourdough bread

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5.

Arrange the tomatoes, cut sides up, in a small roasting tin, season well and drizzle with olive oil.

Use a little of the oil to grease two 180ml ramekins or similar oven proof dishes. As you can see, we didn’t have anything of the right size so we used three smaller ramekins. It don’t matter none.

Beat the cheeses, egg and basil together with a little seasoning in a bowl and divide between the ramekins.

Bake the Ricotta mixture along with the tomatoes for 20 – 25 minutes, until the cheese is puffed up and beginning to brown.

Run a knife around the edge and turn out of the ramekins.

Toast the bread and drizzle with olive oil.

Top with slices of the baked Ricotta.

Season with a twist of black pepper.

Serve with a salad.

Verdict: A quick tasty soufflé which makes for an easy but special midweek dinner. A whole host of flavour variations could be made.

Drink: A light vinho verde, it’s only 10.5% so you can drink loads of it.

Entertainment: ‘Eastern Promises’ on DVD. A good, tattootastic film with an improbable happy ending. Blogger D enjoyed the naked Viggo Mortensen sauna fight scene.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Skill level: easy
Serves: 2

Ingredients

• strong cheddar – grated – 200g
• beer – 150ml
• butter – 30g
• plain flour – 1tbsp
• English mustard – 1tsp
• Worcester sauce – splash to taste
• s & p
• 4 slices of good bread such as ‘Oat and Molassis‘

Preheat the grill.

Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour to form a roux.

Gradually stir in the beer to make a thick sauce and then add the cheese, mustard and Worcester sauce (omit if vegetarian).

Stir to a lovely silky smooth consistency and remove from the heat.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Toast one side of the bread, turn over and spread thickly with the rarebit.

Grill until bubbling and beginning to brown.

Eat.

Make some more.

Repeat until sick.

And later once the rarebit spillage in the grill pan has cooled you can peal it off for a bonus cheesy tidbit.

Verdict: Even better than cheese on toast!!!

Drink: The rest of the beer as a mid-morning treat.

Entertainment: A weekend mixture of newspaper and radio.

If you look carefully you might be able to make out the face of our
Blessed Virgin Mary crying a garlic tear.

Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 12 hours soaking
Cooking time: 45 – 60 minutes
Skill level: Easy

Ingredients

• dried borlotti or cannellini beans – soaked for 12 hours
• 1 celery stick
• 1 small potato – cut in half
• 2 cherry tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic – whole
• 3 bay leaves
• a few sprigs of thyme
• red wine vinegar
• olive oil
• parsley
• s & p

Hi Guys,

Drain and wash the beans, place in a pan and cover with cold water. Add the potato, celery, garlic, tomatoes and herbs.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 45 – 60 minutes, until the beans are tender. During cooking top up with water is needed.

Drain the beans keeping half of the cooking water and return to the pot.

Remove all the added ingredients from the beans.

Mash together the potato, tomato and garlic and add to the beans along with the retained cooking water. Add a generous glug of olive oil and a splash of vinegar and season. Stir in some chopped parsley.

Serve

Verdict: Amazingly pukka.

Drink: Beer, wine, etc.

Entertainment: A returning traveller tells tales of archaeology and snogging.

PS: The other blogger would like to add Smith to the list of despised.

PPS: In the interests of keeping things positive the original blogger would like to add to his list of admired: Blanc, Blumenthal, Carrier, Contaldo, Dickson-Wright & Paterson, Fat bikers, Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hom, Jaffrey, Locatelli, Rhodes, Rimmer, Slater, Torode and Mosimann.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Skill level: Easy
Makes: 8

Ingredients

• self-raising flour – 120g
• caster sugar – 30g
• 1 egg
• milk – 1/4 pint
• pinch salt

Sift flour into a bowl. Add salt and sugar. Whisk egg and milk together. Then mix the two mixtures together in the flour mixing bowl.

Heat a frying pan with the merest soupçon of oil glazing the bottom. Pour in some mixture until it’s the sort of size you’d expect of a Scotch Pancake – probably about 8cm in diameter, though a ruler might melt if you get it too close. When the fledgling pancake is starting to bubble and become less liquid on top, turn it over and cook some more, though only a few seconds more. Remove from pan. Place on dish. Repeat to fade.

Scoff the lot in an unashamed fashion.

Verdict: They are definitely Scotch Pancakes yet they are less sweet than the ones out of the shops. We didn’t bother with butter and jam, though doubtless there are those that will.

Drink: Tea

Entertainment: It was Easter Saturday, so there was a bounteous selection of filmic entertainment on the telly. Our feast coincided with Toy Story 2. The fat man who drove across the road to work was particularly odious.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Skill level: Easy
Makes: 4 – 6

Ingredients

• sweet potatoes – 375g
• 1 small onion – cut in half and thinly sliced
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 2 garlic cloves – crushed
• goat’s cheese – 100g
• olive oil – 2 tbsp
• s & p

Preheat the oven to 220°C (gas mark 7). Peel and grate the sweet potatoes, place in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Put in a bowl.

Heat half the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add this to the grated potato along with half the cheese and the beaten eggs. Season and mix well.

Divide the mixture into 4 and using your hands, mold into cakes.

Put on an oiled baking tray and drizzle with the remaining oil.

Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Return to the oven and continue to cook for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is just turning golden.

Serve with a hearty salad.

Verdict: Sweet and satisfying with a tang to finish.

Drink: Not today.

Entertainment: ‘Control’ on DVD.

Preparation time: 2 days
Cooking time: 20–30 minutes
Skill level: Medium
Makes: 8–10

Ingredients

• strong white flour – 375 g
• unsalted butter – 50 g
• cider vinegar – 50 ml
• warm water – 100 ml
• live yoghurt – 100 ml
• 1 large egg
• salt – 1 tsp
• easy-blend yeast – 2 tsp

Day 1:

Melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from the heat and beat in the egg, vinegar, water, yoghurt and salt until the mixture is smooth.

Put the flour and yeast in a bowl and add the butter mixture. Stir to form a thick batter/runny dough. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 10 minutes.

Turn out on to an oiled surface and knead for 15 seconds (it’s a very wet mixture, so don’t panic).

Place in an oiled bowl, cover in cling film and put in the fridge overnight.

Day 2:

Turn out the dough onto an oiled surface and knead briefly (again, it is still very moist). Return to an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1½–2 hours to warm up and start to rise again.

Line a large tray with a tea towel and cover with a generous layer of flour.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll to 15mm thick. Cut out circles using a 12cm pastry cutter. Place on the tray and dust with more flour.

Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 1½–2 hours.

Find a frying pan with a lid and put on a moderate heat.

Place 3–4 muffins in the pan, cover with the lid and cook for 2–3 minutes until golden brown. Turn over and cook the other side for a further 3–4 minutes. During the cooking the muffins will rise and expand, so don’t pack them too close.

Place on a cooling rack and cover with a tea towel to keep them soft.

Repeat until all the muffins are cooked.

Verdict: Bloody marvellous. The overnight chilling produces a dough which is as light as an angel’s kiss.

Drink: Has to be accompanied by a mug of tea.

Entertainment: Over the two day process we watched ’300′, an Ed Byrne stand-up and ‘Blakes Seven’. All good in their different ways.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Skill level: Easy

Ingredients

• potatoes
• cabbage – 150g – shredded
• 1 medium onion – finely chopped
• garlic – 2 cloves – crushed
• butter – generous knob
• milk – approx 75ml
• 2 eggs – free range
• parsley – generous handful
• plain flour – 2tbsp
• olive oil
• s & p

Not sure if this is Dolores, Fifi, Jolene or Daphne

Start by making the mashed potato in the usual way with milk, butter and the teaspoon of mustard.

Meanwhile chop the onion and garlic and lightly fry in butter for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Also shred the cabbage and boil in salted water for 3-4 minutes or until just tender.

Place the mash, onions, cabbage, flour and chopped parsley in a large bowl and mix together (you will need more parsley than you think). Season to taste.

Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into round cakes on a floured surface.

Gently fry in a heavy-bottomed pan for 4-5 minutes each side. The cakes should now be a lovely golden brown. Keep warm in the oven while you poach the eggs.

A startled pair of eggs poaching in a pan

Half-fill a deep frying pan with water and bring to the boil. Break each egg onto a small plate/saucer and gently tip into the boiling water. Turn down to a simmer and poach for 3-4 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon, place on top of the cakes and sprinkle with more chopped parsley.

Eat.

Verdict: Simple, comforting and tasty. Ideal for a lazy mid-week dinner or weekend brunch. Much helped by the luxury of freshly laid eggs. Brown sauce is a good accompaniment.

Drink: Still sleepy and paranoid from the weekend’s drinking … so water.

Entertainment: It’s the penultimate day of ‘Masterchef’ and the final three had to cater for a posh wedding at Blenheim Palace as well as cook ridiculously complex food for a table of Michelin stars. John and Gregg watch over the precedings and comically shout foreboding conjecture at each other. It’s great stuff. Prediction: Thirty-three-year-old James to win easily, eighteen-year-old student Emily to go on to get a double 1st at Oxford, and father-of-two Jonny to have a nervous breakdown.

TV DOES GET BETTER THAN THIS … but not much.