Lasagne to die for and a tarted up dessert!

My mother-in-law came for lunch on Sunday – all the way from Bucks so I had to make a meal worth driving for! This lasagne (from Jamie Oliver’s ‘Jamie’s Dinners’) is the best that we have ever had and we make it over and over again. It is brilliant when you are entertaining because you can get all the bits ready individually and then layer and bake at the last moment – straight to table when you’re done, no messing!

The addition of the butternut squash (I always want to say squatternut bosh after Ross in ‘Friends’!) makes it really moreish and works incredibly well to lighten it up for a summer lunch. The other great feature is the ‘no cook’ white sauce – less work, more yum!

Find the recipe @: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/simple-baked-lasagne

First make your components... roast butternut squash and slow cooked meat ragu

.. the start layering; pasta, squash, meat, cheese sauce... etc.

 

and... voila! ready to go into the oven

and then to table for the hungry Kemptons!

I had some margarita ice cream leftover from when the girls came over on Wednesday and I knew that my mother-in-law is always on the lookout for easy desserts (they are her nemesis!) so I thought I would show her this one! I tarted it up with a quick rhubarb granita, made with a few weedy thin sticks of rhubarb I pulled from the garden this week – a little wine and vanilla sugar and cook for 8 mins to make a syrupy mush, the cool and freeze – stir with a fork and freeze again. It only made a tsp each, but that was all we needed!  See an earlier post for the ice cream recipe!

How to tart up already delicious margarita ice cream - rhubard (from the garden) granita and fresh raspberries!

Malt loaf made new…. ML and butter pudding with a ‘nice cup of tea’ custard

I came home to find many items beyond their ‘best before’s and although I hate it when I throw away half a tub of creme fraiche or some wilted veg, I was determined to find a use for my stale malt loaf, still wrapped and a bit squidgy. I took inspiration from how I like to eat my malt loaf treat (spread with butter and accompanied by a cup of tea) and decided to make a variation on ‘bread and butter pudding’.

It came out fantastically well and we have all enjoyed eating this comforting pudding….. it takes it sweetness mostly from the malt loaf and so isn’t overly sweet. If you have a sweet tooth feel free to add a bit more sugar to the custard – I would rather have a scoop of vanilla ice cream to accompany it!

So.. to what I did!

1 stale malt loaf

Butter for spreading

100ml strong black tea (1 tea bag, squeeze it to make the tea strong)

Just under a pint of milk

2 eggs

Vanilla sugar for sprinkling (to taste)

• Thinly slice the malt loaf and butter it on one side, place into a buttered dish, overlapping the slices
• Make the tea and then top up with milk to make 1 pint, add the 2 eggs and whisk to combine
• Strain the egg/tea mixture over the slices of malt loaf
• Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and leave to soak for 30 minutes (preheat the oven to 180C during this time)
• Bake for 30 minutes and cool for 5-10 mins before serving

Crunchy and malty on top, gooey smooth custard underneath - yum!

A bowl of velvety comfort

A well deserved hearty dinner – rapid ragu.

Fuelled by my sunny lunch, I decided to embark on the mammoth task of cleaning the patio and front porch  – Abbie helped for about….. 5 minutes. I then continued to scrub and power wash for 4 hours, taking only a quick break for tea and malt loaf.

Jon offered to make one of our favourites – Nigella’s Rapid Ragu – which we ate with leaftover olive bread from lunchtime – PERFECTION!  It is hearty, warming and supremely yummy – just what you need when you can’t unbend your fingers after they have been squeezing a power hose!

The link to the recipe is:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/rapidragu_87337

See below for youtube Nigella clip….