Home Cooking Made Easy

Put the red wine in a small pan and boil it until it is reduced by half, this usually happens quite quickly. Add the thyme leaves and cranberry sauce, bring it to just below the boil, then take the pan off the heat and set aside.

Put the egg in one bowl and the breadcrumbs in another, then season the breadcrumbs with salt and pepper. Cut the Camembert into four pieces, then dip into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Dip once again into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Have a slotted spoon and tongs at the ready along with a wire rack with some kitchen paper underneath it.

Fill a medium, deep pan with oil to the depth of 6cm and heat over a medium heat until a small piece of bread carefully placed in the oil browns in 60 seconds.

Carefully place the breaded cheese into the hot oil, one by one, using a slotted spoon. Put them into the pan from a low height so that the hot fat does not splash, then deep-fry until they are a lovely golden brown colour. Remove the cheese with a slotted spoon or tongs – whichever is easier for you – and place them on the wire rack. Putting them on the rack rather than straight onto kitchen paper means that they will not be sitting in their own fat and will stay nice and crispy.

Once you have cooked all of the cheese wedges, place them on serving plates with the cranberry sauce and serve straightaway with a green salad.

Light & crispy tempura prawns & soy chilli dipping sauce

This is a great dish to impress friends. Prawns are perfect, but you could also use courgettes, aubergines, peppers and all sorts of vegetables as well if you like. I have made my own dipping sauce to serve with the tempura, but it is also delicious served with some ready-made chilli sauce.

Serves 3–4

500ml vegetable oil, for deep-frying

100g plain flour

100g cornflour

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp baking powder

180–200ml very cold sparkling water

Few ice cubes (not essential but it helps)

10 large raw prawns, peeled with tails still intact

Dipping sauce

20ml soy sauce

20ml mirin

½ chilli, deseeded and finely diced

½ clove of garlic, peeled and finely diced

1 x 5mm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced (or to taste)

Lay some kitchen paper on the work surface and place a wire rack over it. I put deep-fried food on this as soon as it is cooked because the fat can drip down onto the kitchen paper through the rack; this is better than letting the food sit in its own oil if put directly on kitchen paper. Have a slotted spoon or tongs at the ready, whichever is easiest for you to use.

Fill a medium, deep pan with enough oil to reach 5cm depth (I used about 500ml) and heat over a medium heat until a small piece of bread carefully placed in the oil browns in 50–60 seconds.

Just as the oil is almost at the right temperature, put the flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the water. Mix everything together very quickly until just combined. The batter should be quite thick and it does not matter if there are still lumps. Add 2 or 3 ice cubes, then dip one of the prawns in the batter and let the excess drip off until you can still see a bit of prawn through the batter. Carefully add the prawns to the hot oil from a low height so the fat does not splatter. Do not overcrowd the pan, as this lowers the temperature of the oil and makes the prawns boil rather than fry, so add them in small batches and deep-fry for 2 minutes. The prawns will cook in 2–4 minutes (although this depends on how big the prawns are). Tempura batter is very pale, unlike fish and chip batter, so when it starts going from white to pale golden, the prawns should be ready. Check one by cutting it open to see if it is cooked. It should be white and not too glassy looking, and you will now know how long to cook the other prawns.

Remove the prawn with a slotted spoon or tongs and place it on the wire rack to drain, then repeat with the others. There will be enough batter here for some vegetables too, which are delicious.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and serve with the hot prawns.

Prosciutto & Brie toastie

I used to go round to my friend’s house in Witney for tea. Every so often, when cheese triangle sandwiches on white bread were not on the menu, her mum would fire up a machine that made the most perfect toasted cheese and ham sandwiches. I can never beat the perfection of those little triangle sandwiches, but this comes oh so close!

Serves 2

6 slices of prosciutto (streaky bacon will work well too)

Large knob of butter

4 slices of good thick crusty bread

Oil, for frying

100–150g Brie, ripped up into chunks

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6. Fry the prosciutto or bacon to just the way you like it, then set aside. Tip off any excess fat from the pan. Butter each slice of bread.

Heat some oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add two slices of bread, buttered side down, and divide the Brie and prosciutto or bacon between the bread. Put the other slices of bread on top, buttered side up, and using a fish slice, squish it down in the pan so it cooks more quickly. As soon as the bottom is toasty and golden brown, turn it over and cook the other side, squishing with the fish slice. I usually cook mine for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the toasties are cooked, remove them from the pan.

The chilli jam goes well with this, but a big blob of brown sauce is also a match made in heaven!

Satay chilli chicken

A quick easy canapé or starter, or just a tasty snack.

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts

Oil, for cooking

1 squidge of runny honey

1 small bunch of coriander leaves

Peanut sauce

100g crunchy peanut butter

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp sesame oil

1–2 red chillies, finely chopped (depending on how hot you want it)