31. Apple Jelly

I've been wanting to make jelly for a while now, and with apples still very much in season in January, it feels like the perfect opportunity to do so. Apple jelly is such a good accompaniment to some of the heartier roasted meats of the cold winter months, and is brilliant when mixed into gravies and sauces. I used golden apples for this recipe, but I think using a variety of tart and sweet apples would work well too.

Apple Jelly

Makes 3 small jars

2kg Golden apples

1.5kg water

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

6-7 whole cloves

about 900g caster sugar

about 30g lemon juice

Chop your apples up into small pieces. No need to peel or core your apples: the pips are what provide the pectin needed to set your jelly. Add to a large casserole with your water and spices. Bring to a boil and cook for 30-40 minutes until your apples are cooked through but still hold their shape. Pour your fruit and juice into a scalded jelly bag (or a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth) set over a medium sized bowl and leave to drain overnight.

The following day, measure your juice out into a large casserole**. Add roughly two thirds the weight of your liquid in sugar as well as one tsp of lemon juice for every 200g of apple juice rendered. I ended up with 1.4kg of liquid so I added 900g of caster sugar and 6tsp of lemon juice. Heat gently until your sugar has dissolved.

Meanwhile, prepare your jars by removing any seals and popping the jars on a baking tray with their lids. Put the whole lot into a cold oven and turn it on to 110ºC. Bake for a minimum of 30 minutes. Sterilise any seals and equipment (ie. ladle, funnel, what have you's) by boiling them for 20-30 seconds.

On a high heat, bring your jelly to a boil and cook until your temperature reaches setting point (about 104ºC) or passes the wrinkle test. For the latter you'll need to place a plate in the freezer while you're waiting for your jelly to boil. When you're jelly reaches it's setting point, drop a teaspoonful onto your cold plate and return it to the freezer for a minute. Test by pushing the jelly with your finger: if it wrinkles, it's ready. Skim any white scum off the surface, ladle your jelly into your jars, cover and seal. Allow to cool to room temperature. Make sure your jars are hot when you fill them (this helps create that airtight seal that prevents your jam from going off). Store in a cool dark place, once opened, refrigerate and use within 3 months.

**Reserve your cooked apple to make delicious, homemade Pâtes de Fruits.

30. Almond Tuiles

These are a quick and easy treat to make to bring to friends houses for coffee and they're so pretty to give as a gift as well.

Almond Tuiles

Makes 12 to 16

25g unsalted butter

70g egg whites (about 2)

100g caster sugar

20g plain flour

pinch of salt

120g flaked almonds

oil for greasing

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Melt your butter and allow to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, whisk together your egg whites, sugar, flour and salt. Add in your melted butter and whisk to combine. Fold in your flaked almonds.

Prepare your baking trays by lining them with parchment paper and lightly brushing them with a bit of oil. Drop a heaping teaspoon of batter on your tray and spread with a palette knife or fork dipped in water to prevent it from sticking. Spread it as thinly and evenly as you can: this decreases the cooking time and makes lovely thin, crisp tuiles. They ought be about 10 cm in diameter. Prepare two rows of 3 biscuits. Bake one tray at a time for 6-8 minutes until the edges are a lovely golden brown. 

Place two rolling pins about 4-5 cm apart. You can use anything you like to help shape these delicate cookies (wine bottles are also a good tool) but make sure you work quickly: once out of the oven, tuiles cool down and become brittle. Slide your parchment paper over your rolling pins and lightly crease the middle of your paper to help curve your tuiles. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing and repeating the process with the next batch.

Once fully cooled, carefully remove your tuiles from your parchment paper. Store in an airtight container to keep them crisp for 1-2 weeks. 

29. Vanilla Macarons

A french classic of two crisp almond meringue shells surrounding a creamy ganache or fruit filling. These guys are the focus of many a window display in Parisian patisseries and salon de thés. But making them at home isn't as intimidating as it may sound. Yes, it will take a bit of practise, but soon enough you may be creating your own fantastic window displays (Let's not kid ourselves though: they'll all be eaten before you get a chance to right?)

Vanilla Macarons
Makes about 30

For ganache:
300g whipping cream (30%), divided in half
150g white chocolate
1 vanilla bean

For macarons:
200g icing sugar
200g ground almonds
150g egg whites (about 4), split in half
200g caster sugar
50g water
1 vanilla bean

Start by making your vanilla ganache. Heat half your cream with the seeds scraped from your vanilla pod. Finely chop your white chocolate and add to a medium bowl. Pour your hot cream over your chocolate and whisk until it's fully melted. Add in the other half of your cream, mix, clingfilm the surface and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

For your macarons shells, place your icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor and blend for one minute. Alternatively, you can sift your icing sugar and almonds together into a medium bowl. Add the seeds from your vanilla pod along with half your egg whites and mix to form a smooth paste.

Place your caster sugar and water in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Cook until a sugar thermometer reads 118°-119°C. While your syrup it cooking, place the other half of your egg whites into a large heatproof bowl or stand mixer. Whisk your whites to soft peaks (you can start once the temperature is around 105º-110ºC). Slowly pour your hot syrup into your beaten whites, whisking constantly on a medium speed. Once all the sugar has been added, turn your mixer up to high and beat until cool and thickened, about 6-7 minutes. Fold one third of your meringue into your paste, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides so it is evenly incorporated before adding another third. Repeat with the final third of meringue to make a fairly thick batter.

On to the make or break of a good macaron: the "macaronage". This step serves to knock out some of the air and deflate the batter to make it a bit more fluid. This is done by scraping the mixture and pressing it against the sides of your bowl. Repeat this action 15-20 times until it turns glossy and a ribbon of batter reincorporates into itself in about 10 seconds. Under mix and your macarons won't be shiny and may crack; over mix and you will end up with flat, uneven macarons.

Preheat oven to 160ºC. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Pipe you're batter into 3cm mounds about 3cm apart. Tap the base of your tray with the palm of your hand or against your work surface to knock out any air bubbles and to smooth out your batter. (Note: If you are confident with your macaronage, you do not need to allow macarons do dry out before baking. If you are unsure, allow them to "croute" for 20-30 minutes until they are dry to touch.) Bake your trays one at a time for 12-13 minutes. Allow shells to cool completely before attempting to remove them from parchment paper.

To assemble, whisk vanilla ganache until stiff. Pair up your shells and pipe a tablespoon of filling onto the base and use the top to push the filling out to the edges. If you can help yourself, store your macarons in the fridge overnight in an airtight container to allow the flavour to develop. Keeps for 3-4 days.

28. Chicken Dumpling Soup

Sundays afternoons around our house often involve a roasted chicken, veggies and potatoes. This delicious ritual is always an excuse for what I'm really excited to make: chicken soup, topped with biscuity, crispy dumplings (drool). It's such a fabulous way to use up that leftover chicken and save a bit on the weekly shop too!

Chicken Dumpling Soup

Serves 6-7

For soup:

1 leftover roast chicken carcass

3-4 celery stalks

2 carrots

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

4-5 sprigs of thyme

4-5 bay leaves

salt

pepper

For dumplings:

200g plain flour

1.5tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

pepper

100g unsalted butter

about 50g water

Place your chicken into a large casserole and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for one hour. Allow to cool, remove carcass from stock, pull off any meat and set aside. Discard the bones. 

Preheat the grill setting on your oven to 200ºC. Chop your onions, carrots, celery, garlic and add to your stock. Top off with a bit more water. It should be a bit liquid (the dumplings will help thicken it) so bring the water level up to about 4-5 cm from the edge of your casserole dish. Bring to a boil with your thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make your dumplings by mixing together your flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Rub in your butter until your mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in your water, a bit at a time until your dough comes together.

Add your reserved chicken to your soup. Give it a taste to see if it needs any more seasoning. Roll your dumplings into tablespoon sized dough balls and add to your soup. Once all the dumplings have risen to the surface, place under the grill and bake for 10-15 minutes until the tops have browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

27. Cheese Straws

Cheese straws: Another brilliant leftover puff pastry options and super quick to make if you have friends popping over for an "apéro" (a.k.a. wine, snacks and gossip). Careful though, a batch goes pretty quick!

Cheese Straws

Makes about 30 straws

One portion puff pastry
200g cheddar cheese
50g parmesan
salt
pepper

Preheat your oven to 200ºC. Roll your pastry into a rectangle measuring about 30 by 40cm (3mm thick). Cut your dough in half, then into 1cm strips. Twist each pastry strip 4-5 times and place onto a parchment paper lined baking tray, spaced 1cm apart. Grate your cheeses evenly over your pastry and bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

26. Anzac Biscuits

Hey, it's Australia day! So why not make some Anzac biscuits to celebrate. Their oaty, coconutty, golden syrupy flavour paired with a hot cup of tea make for the perfect midday treat.

Anzac Biscuits

Makes about 16

80g dessicated coconut

120g plain flour

100g rolled oats

100g light brown sugar

120g unsalted butter

50g golden syrup

25g water

1tsp baking soda

Preheat your oven to 160ºC. Mix your coconut, flour, rolled oats and sugar together in a large bowl. Melt your butter with your golden syrup and water in a small saucepan. Stir in your baking soda. Add your mixture to your dry ingredients and stir to combine. Roll your oat mixture into tablespoon sized portions and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving room for spreading. Press each biscuit down with a fork and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown.

25. Salted Caramel Spread

Salted Caramel. Eat it on toast. Eat it with pancakes. Eat it with dessert. It's just so good on everything!

Salted Caramel Spread

Makes 1 small jam jar (about 400g)

200g caster sugar

100g unsalted butter, roughly chopped

150g heavy cream (30%)

1tsp fleur de sel

Note: Be so careful when cooking caramel. It may be delicious but it's hot as heck so be mindful when making it. Make sure your butter is at room temperature and be cautious when adding cool ingredients to hot caramel. The drastic change in temperature will cause it to bubble up and steam, so always add things slowly and be careful when whisking.

In a small saucepan, bring your cream to a boil and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add in a third of your sugar and, stirring occasionally, allow it to melt. Once all the sugar has dissolved, add in another third. Repeat, using the final third, then cook your caramel until it turns a lovely dark amber colour and starts to smoke, or reads 170ºC-175ºC.

Remove from heat and gradually whisk in your butter, being careful to avoid any steam or splatter. Whisk in your hot cream and fleur de sel, then return to heat and cook for a further 2 minutes to thicken. Pour into a clean jam jar, allow to cool and store in the fridge for up to a month.

24. Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Éclairs

Ohhh man. The combination of pastry cream and vanilla ganache makes the filling that extra bit lighter and the slight crack and bitterness from the dark chocolate balances the crispy choux to make for a delicious dessert.

Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Eclairs

Makes about 20

For choux pastry:

100g water

100g milk

4g salt

4g sugar

90g butter

110g flour

180g eggs (about 4)

For filling:

Pastry cream:

250g milk

60g sugar

50g cornstarch

3 egg yolks

25g unsalted butter

1/2 vanilla pod

Vanilla ganache:

150g whipping cream (30%)

80g white chocolate

1 vanilla pod

For topping:

200g dark chocolate

Prepare your fillings first. For your pastry cream, scrape the seeds from your vanilla pod and add to a saucepan with your milk and place on a medium heat. Whisk together your sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks to form a paste. Whisk half of your warmed milk into your paste and then add the mixture to the saucepan with your butter. Continue whisking until very thick (your whisk will leave a trail behind it) or a thermometer reads 96ºC. Transfer to a clean bowl and cling film the surface directly to avoid a skin forming. Pop it in the fridge to cool completely.

For your vanilla ganache, heat half your cream with the seeds from your vanilla pod. Finely chop your white chocolate and add to a heatproof bowl. Pour your hot cream over your chocolate and whisk until it's fully melted. Add in the other half of your cream, mix, clingfilm the surface and refrigerate to cool completely.

Preheat your oven to 170ºC. Place your water, milk, salt, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove your pan from the heat and add in your flour in one go, then beat with a wooden spoon. Return your pan to a medium heat and continue stirring the mixture to dry it out a further 2 minutes (your dough will form a ball quite quickly, but keep stirring to dry the mixture out). Place your dough into a clean bowl and continue mixing until most of the steam has evaporated and the dough is cool, about 3-4 minutes. Add in your eggs one at a time, giving it a good mix in between additions. Your dough might need a little more or a little less egg depending on how much water remains. You can test the consistency by drawing a line in your batter: if the gap closes after 4-5 seconds you're good to go. If not, add a bit more egg.

Pipe your choux pastry onto parchment paper lined baking trays. Your eclairs should be about 10cm in length and 2cm wide. I use a star shaped piping tip (with a minimum of 8 teeth) to help the pastry expand evenly in the oven without cracking, but piping with a round tip and using a fork dipped in water yields good results too. Bake for 40-45 minutes, quickly opening the oven door after 30 minutes to let some of the steam escape and help your choux dry out (don't do this too early or your eclairs will collapse). Your pastry should be an even golden brown and feel dry to touch.

Prepare your filling by whisking your vanilla ganache until stiff. Stir your pastry cream to smooth it out and fold both creams together. Melt 150g of your dark chocolate over a bain marie. Remove from heat, finely chop the remaining 50g and stir into your melted chocolate. Leave for 10 or so minutes to cool and thicken slightly.

To assemble, poke two holes in the top of each eclair and pipe in your vanilla filling. Dip each eclair into your melted chocolate and allow to cool and set (if you can resist!). These are best eaten the same day but can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

23. Rustic Crostata

Have some left over poached fruit? Need an easy dessert idea? A rustic crostata will save the day!

Rustic Crostata

Serves 6

For pastry:

120g plain flour

80g butter, chilled

5g sugar

pinch of salt

40g water, chilled

For filling:

about 400g Poached Fruit

Demerara Sugar

1 Egg, for eggwash

In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar and salt. Cut your butter into small cubes and rub in to your flour until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add in your water a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together and there are no more dry bits. Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour.

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Roll your dough out to a 3mm disc. Strain the syrup from your fruit and place in the centre of your disc. Lift the edges of your dough and fold over your fruit, pinching to form a seam. Repeat every few centimetres to create a border all the way around your crostata. Whisk your egg and brush the folds of your pastry, then sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is a lovely golden brown.

22. Crostini

Crostini is a great solution to stale bread and super quick to prepare if you have people coming over and you need something to spread cheese or pâté on.

Crostini

1 day old baguette

olive oil

salt

pepper

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Slice your bread thinly (about 5mm thick). Brush both sides with olive oil and spread out on a baking tray. Salt and pepper your slices and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

21. Tomato Chilli Jam

This stuff will knock your socks off. Perfect in any sandwich, stirred into fried rice, or as my good friend Zoe says "Try it under a fried egg. They'll never be the same without it!"

Tomato Chilli Jam

Makes about 500g

500g Tomatoes

30g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 chillies (I used Scotch Bonnet peppers), finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

300g sugar

100g red wine vinegar

Put half your tomatoes in a food processor with your ginger and balsamic vinegar and puree until smooth. Roughly chop the other half of your tomatoes and add to a large casserole with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Check it's set by spooning a bit of hot jam onto a plate and popping it in the freezer for a minute to cool. Push the jam with your finger: if it wrinkles, it's ready.

While your jam is cooking, prepare your jam jars by removing any seals and popping the jars on a baking tray with their lids. Put the whole lot into a cold oven and turn it on to 110ºC. Bake for a minimum of 30 minutes. Sterilise any seals and equipment (ie. ladle, funnel, what have you's) by boiling them for 20-30 seconds. I like to use clamp top jars because I find them beautiful and they make for a nice container to gift jam in. Whatever you decide to use, make sure your jars are hot when you fill them (this helps create that airtight seal that prevents your jam from going off).

20. Homemade Puff Pastry

Puff Pastry. Honestly not as difficult as it's made out to be. Yes, it is time consuming and, yes, you can buy good, all butter puff pastry in many supermarkets nowadays. But it's not nearly as satisfying as saying "Hey, I made this entire thing myself, from scratch". It's a good thing to know how to make, and with all the butter bashing and folding and rolling, it's actually quite useful if you need to let off any hot air and relax for the afternoon.

A few things to remember before getting started...

1. Good pastry takes time. This isn't that wham-bam minute pastry you stick in the food processor and voilà. It probably takes about 6 hours to make this at it's quickest, so make sure you prepare the day before you want to bake with it.

2. You can fit your pastry around your schedule. All times stated are minimum. You can leave your pastry in the fridge overnight and fold it in the morning if you like. Resting times are there to make sure those buttery layers stay intact and don't melt into the dough, giving you nice definitive layers.

3. Be honest with your dough. If you're working in a warm environment and your dough starts to feel sticky, give it 10-15 minutes of fridge time to firm up again before continuing.

4. You can double up and freeze half. Wrap it in a bit of cling film and use within 2 months. (See, the time saving has begun!)

Puff Pastry

Makes about 600g

250g plain flour

125g water

1/2tsp salt

40g unsalted butter, melted
170g unsalted butter, chilled

The first step is to make your détrempe by combining your flour, water, butter and salt and mixing until it is well combined. Wrap in cling film and chill for 2 hours.

Take your chilled butter and flatten between two sheets of parchment paper until it measures a 15cm by 15cm square and refrigerate until ready to start making your puff.

Your dough and butter should feel of the same consistency before starting your folds. If your butter is too cold, remove it from the fridge 5-10 minutes before rolling your dough out otherwise it will break up into lumps in between your layers. Roll the détrempe out into a square about 25cm by 25cm thick. Place your square of butter diagonally on top of your dough and fold the corners of the dough over to create a sort of envelope. Pinch the seams together, then turn so you have a flat side facing you.

Fold down the top third

Fold up the bottom third

Turn your dough 90º and indent to indicate the number of folds

Roll your envelope out to 3 times it's length, then fold the dough in thirds (like a letter) and give it a 90º turn. This is called a turn. Repeat the process of rolling into a rectangle and folding, then cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour. Remember: if at any point your dough starts to get sticky and warm, place it in the fridge for 15 minutes before resuming your folds. You've now done two turns (woohoo!). Repeat the rolling, folding, rolling, folding, chilling another two times so that you have a total of 6 turns in all. Chill for 2 hours before using. Keeps for 4-5 days.

Now relax, and think of all those flaky-buttery-delicious layers you've just created!

19. Poached Fruit

Brilliant for breakfast with a bit of yogurt (or maybe combined with some of yesterday's granola), a lunchtime snack or quick dessert. This is another one of those recipes you can tweak to your liking. But try and use seasonal ingredients since they'll give better flavour. Apples, pears and cranberries caught my eye at the market this week. The perfect combination of flavour and colour to make for deliciously poached fruit.

Poached Fruit

400g water

200g sugar

1 orange, juice

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

3-4 whole cloves

8 cardamom pods, crushed

1tbsp vanilla syrup

3 pears

2 apples

200g cranberries

In a large saucepan, bring your water, sugar and orange juice to a boil. Add in your spices and cranberries and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, peel, core and slice your apples and pears, then add to your pot and cook for 10-15 minutes until softened but still slightly firm. Remove your fruit (set aside to cool) and reduce your liquid to half it's volume until slightly thickened and syrupy. Leave to cool and mix both the fruit and syrup together. Refrigerate and consume within 4-5 days.

18. Granola

Toasted homemade granola is just so easy to make, and so much tastier than what you can get in the supermarkets, mainly because you made it. All substitutions allowed in this recipe: if you don't like it, change it.

Granola

Makes lots...

150g unsalted butter

150g honey

50g maple syrup

450g oats

125g almonds, roughly chopped

60g sunflower seeds

60g pumpkin seeds

50g linseed or flax

250g dried apricots, roughly chopped

100g dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 160ºC. Melt your butter, honey and maple syrup together in a saucepan. In a large bowl, mix together your oats, almonds, sunflower, pumpkin and linseed. Add your buttery sweet mixture and stir until evenly coated, then transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden, tossing every 5-10 minutes so that the edges don't burn. Allow to cool to room temperature before adding your dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.

17. Pesto Pinwheels

Don't throw away leftovers! This is a fabulous thing to do with any leftover puff pastry you might have kicking around your fridge. Turn it into something delicious!!

Pesto Pinwheels

Makes as many as you can

Leftover puff pastry scraps

Pesto

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. On a lightly floured surface, roll your pastry scraps as long as you can get them, until your dough is about 2mm thick. Spread pesto overtop leaving about a cm along one length. Starting along the pesto covered edge, roll into a long sausage shape, brush the pesto free end with a bit of water and use it to seal the whole lot together. Cut into discs 1cm thick and space out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-18 minutes (depending on thickness) until your pinwheels are a nice golden brown.

I like to play about with the scrolls and pinch them into different shapes, either 2 by 2 to make little pesto hearts or by 5-6 to make larger pieces. Make sure you have fun with it, it's leftovers after all!

16. Whipped Cream (with a little hot chocolate on the side)

An essential base for fruit, an exceptional topping for pie, or just to elevate your hot chocolate to the next level, this is one must memorise recipe that will get you points every time.

Whipped Cream

For cream:

250g cream (35%), cold

60g mascarpone cheese

30g icing sugar

half a vanilla pod

For hot chocolate (1 serving):
200g milk
45g dark chocolate, finely chopped
pinch of salt

Scrape vanilla seeds, add to a bowl with remaining ingredients and whisk for 2-3 minutes until stiff. Serve in large dollops. Keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days. To refresh, add a dash more cream and whisk again until stiff.

For the hot chocolate: bring your milk to a boil, pour over your chocolate and whisk. Add your pinch of salt. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

15. Flan Parisien

Silky and rich, perfect for those cold winter days.

Flan Parisien

Makes one 20cm flan, at least 4cm deep

For pastry:

175g plain flour

125g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

10g sugar

1/2 tsp salt

60g water

For filling:
750g milk
250g cream (35%)
200g sugar
100g egg yolks (about 6)
100g cornflour
1tbsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla pod

Start by making the pastry. Mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Rub in your chilled butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add in your water a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together and there are no more dry bits. Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour.

Make your filling by warming the cream and milk in a saucepan over a medium heat. Split your vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds. Whisk together with your sugar, egg yolks, cornflour and vanilla extract to form a paste. Slowly add your hot milk/cream to your eggy paste and whisk. Return to a clean saucepan and cook over a medium heat whisking constantly for about 10 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Don't worry if you get any lumps, you can always strain your filling. Place the mixture into a clean bowl, cling film the surface directly to prevent a skin from forming and chill until completely cooled (about an hour).

Roll the dough out to 2mm in thickness. Line your deep pie dish prick the base with a fork and chill for a further 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 170ºC. Give your pastry cream a quick whisk to smooth it out, pour into your chilled pastry, and trim your pastry about 1cm above the filling line. Bake for 1 hour until the filling is set, golden and caramelised on top. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

14. Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

Now this is the good stuff. When I lived in the UK, my flatmates and I consumed a jar of this stuff a week. We would eat it with everything. Chicken, pasta, cheese, fried rice: any dish would do. Unfortunately, it's not as easy to find in France, so I've been "forced" to make my own.

Caramelised Red Onion Chutney

Makes about 1.5kg

2kg red onions
4tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves
5 bay leaves
150g dark brown sugar
100g caster sugar
300g red wine
150g red wine vinegar
150g balsamic vinegar

Thinly slice your onions and add them to a large pot with your olive oil, garlic and bay leaves (if you feel like having a cry open a window or rinse your hands under cold water). Cook gently over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened and lightly browned.

Prepare your chutney jars by removing any seals and popping the jars on a baking tray with their lids. Put the whole lot into a cold oven and turn it on to 110ºC. Bake for a minimum of 30 minutes. Sterilise any seals and equipment (ie. ladle, funnel, what have you's) by boiling them for 20-30 seconds. I like to use clamp top jars because I find them beautiful and they make for a nice container to gift chutney in. Whatever you decide to use, make sure your jars are hot when you fill them (this helps create that airtight seal that prevents your chutney from going off).

Once your onions are nice and soft, add in your sugars, wine and vinegars. Simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced and thickened to a jam like consistency. Fill warm jars and seal. Leave for at least 2 weeks to allow flavour to develop. Keep unopened in a dark cool place for up to 1 year, once opened, consume within 2 months.

13. Bagels

There ain't nothin' like a good bagel. Surprisingly easy to make and oh so delicious, you'll wonder why you never made them before.

Bagels

Makes a bakers dozen (13)

For the poolish:
570g strong white bread flour
550g warm water
6g dried active yeast

For dough:
450g strong white bread flour
15g salt
1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp baking soda (for boiling stage)
cornmeal
poppy or sesame seeds to decorate

Note: I usually start this recipe around 7 or 8pm the day before I want to boil and bake.

To start your poolish, get your warm water and tip in your yeast (Remember: if the water is too hot, the yeast will die; if it's too cold, it won't do it's business). Give it a few minutes to mingle and get bubbly and then mix in your flour. Cover the top with cling film so that it's airtight and leave it for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, the mixture should have doubled in size (a good sign that your yeasty friends are alive and well). At this point, it's time to get down and dirty. I add everything into the same bowl because, let's face it, we all could do with less washing up. So throw in your flour, salt and honey and mix until everything comes together.

Once everything is well incorporated, it's time to give your dough the kneady love it deserves. Tip it out onto a nice clean surface and give it a good ten minutes of love. Don't be shy, it's truly worth it. Remember, ten minutes of love now equals 13 deliciously plump bagels later. So if you feel the need to rest, give yourself the seventh inning stretch but knead that dough until it's nice and smooth and elastic. When your 10 minutes are up, give yourself a pat on the back because hey, all the hard work is done.

Now all you need to do is divide the large dough ball into 13 little dough balls. Make sure each one is nice and round before you rest it. This can be done by cupping your hand over the dough and, with the heal of your hand, creating small circles until the dough feels nice and tight. Allow them to rest for 20 minutes under a bit of cling film. Make your bagel holes by sticking your finger straight into the middle and then moving the dough around so that you create a hole that's about 2.5cm wide. Do this for each one and put them on a bit of parchment paper leaving space between bagels so they have a bit of room to grow. Cling film the tray loosely and put them in the fridge to rest for 10 hours.

Preheat your oven to 240ºC. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Prepare your toppings. Get a clean baking tray out and sprinkle it with cornmeal. Once the water is boiling, add your tablespoon of baking soda and watch it bubble up (Woah). Then drop your bagels in a few at a time, top side down and boil for 30 seconds on each side. Drain for a second of two, then place on your baking tray and sprinkle with toppings immediately. Make sure to leave about 2cm between each bagel. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until they are a lovely shade of bagel brown.