Tana Ramsay’s Family Kitchen: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Every Family

5 dried apricots, finely chopped (or 2tbsp cranberries)

3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce salt and pepper

For the dip

2 tbsp fresh mint

8 tbsp crème fraîche

1 lemon, juice

Makes: 12 cakes

Prep/cooking time: 45 minutes

1 For the dip, simply chop the mint and stir into the crème fraîche with the lemon juice.

2 Boil the potatoes whole and with their skins in lightly salted water until just cooked – be careful not to overcook, they should simmer, not boil furiously, and you should just be able to pierce with the tip of a knife. Drain well, and when cool enough to handle, peel.

3 Mash the potatoes and sprinkle over the flour, mixing in throughout. Add a little salt and mould into a dough. Place this aside now while you make the filling.

4 Lightly toast the pine nuts in a small pan until golden. Gently fry the onion in another pan with the olive oil and butter. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and allow this to form a paste with the onions.

5 Add the lamb mince and stir until it begins to brown. Allow to brown a little more than usual, then add the tomato purée, spinach, pine nuts, dried apricots (or cranberries) and the parsley, Worcestershire sauce and a little seasoning. Stir together and allow to continue frying gently for a couple of minutes until the spinach has wilted, then put aside to cool.

6 Break the potato dough into 12 small balls and sprinkle a little flour over your hands and your work surface. Flatten one of the pieces into a circle shape using the palm of your hand. Put approximately 2 tablespoons of the lamb mince mix into the centre, then bring up the edges to enclose and mould into a nice neat cake shape. Knead together any cracks with your hands and generally make into a smooth surface with floury hands. Each cake should be about 2cm thick and 5cm wide. Repeat this with the other dough balls, keeping flour on the surface and your hands.

7 Using a large and fairly deep frying pan, heat up 3–4mm of oil until it is just lightly smoking. Put the potato cakes in one by one, taking care not to splash the oil or damage the cakes. Leave them to fry until golden in colour then turn carefully.

8 Once they are golden all over, place onto kitchen roll to absorb excess oil.

Tip

• Best eaten warm, but my kids enjoy them when they are cold, especially with the dip! A great addition to any lunch box!

sandwich fillers (#ulink_53f66730-a65e-537d-a6e6-eaf50d1b500b)

All these fillers keep well if you make them the night before.

salmon and cream cheese with lemon

100g/4oz salmon fillet, cooked

100g/4oz smoked salmon trimmings

200g/8oz cream cheese

1 lemon, juiced

pepper

Prep time: 10 minutes

Makes: 2 rounds of sandwiches

1 Put all the Ingredients In the bowl of a food processor and blitz until smooth.

coronation chicken

200g/8oz cooked chicken (preferably the leftovers from a roast chicken)

1 tbsp mild curry paste

1 tbsp mayonnaise

½ lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

Prep time: 10 minutes

Make1s: 2 rounds of sandwiches

1 Cut the chicken into small, child-friendly pieces. In a small saucepan gently cook the curry paste for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Allow to cool completely.

2 In a bowl combine the chicken, mayonnaise, cooled curry paste and lemon juice. Check seasoning.

smoked mackerel and cream

250g/10oz smoked mackerel fillets, skin and bones removed

2 tsp horseradish

100g/4oz cream cheese

pepper

Prep time: 10 minutes

Makes: 2 rounds of sandwiches

1 Put all ingredients in the mixer and pulse until mixed together but maintaining an interesting texture.

easy sausage rolls (#ulink_952cc499-ee46-5e9f-8e3e-aa430d43139d)

200g/8oz sausage meat