Black Pudding, Pear, Potato and Ricotta Salad

I say salad, but this is a full-on, whole hearted meal that not only will leave you full of food, but also full of flavour. My previous post told how I was enjoying trialling some produce from Laverstoke Park Farm, and the recipe today includes the Black Pudding and Buffalo Ricotta from there. I have added quantities for ingredients as a guide, but I'm one of those 'choose as much as whatever as you'd like' sort of people, so feel free to go ahead and change!

Black Pudding, Pear and Ricotta Salad

Ingredients: Makes one large salad - serves two happily.

For the salad:
Bag of rocket leaves
12 baby new potatoes, halved
2 large pears, cored and wedged
2 thick slices of Laverstoke Park Farm black pudding, cubed
leftover bread (nice crusty loaf works best) torn into chunks
ricotta

For the dressing:
1/2 lemon, juiced and skin torn and squashed
1 garlic clove, crushed
black pepper
small handful roughly chopped fresh mint
several small whole mint leaves
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar

Method:

Add the potatoes and all but one of the pear wedges to a roasting tin.
Make the dressing - combine the garlic, black pepper, lemon juice and skins, chopped mint, 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar.
Pour over the potatoes and pears and roast in a hot over until the potatoes are crispy and the pears are soft...around 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, fry the cubes of black pudding. Once beginning to crispen up, add the torn bread. The black pudding should produce enough oil to fry the bread in too without the need to add more.
Remove the potatoes and pears from the oven and drain off the juices and dressing into a small bowl. Add another 2 tbsp olive oil and a splash a red wine vinegar to the juices and stir to combine. Taste and adjust flavours as desired.
Once the bread has begun to turn to croutons, add the few whole mint leaves to the oil to crispen up.
Slice the remaining pear wedge thinly.
In a large serving bowl, combine the rocket, potatoes, pears, black pudding and croutons. Blob little bits of ricotta all over. Top with the crispy mint leaves, thinly sliced pear and drizzle over the new dressing from the small bowl. Grind some fresh black pepper over the top.
Eat warm.

I hope you like this - don't be put off by the long list of ingredients for the dressing - you'll have most in the store cupboard anyway. And once you've started the recipe, all else can be done whilst the potatoes and pears are in the oven.

Disclaimer: The products I received were complimentary for review and recipe development purposes. All opinions given are my own, honest and truthful.

Pesto Mediterranean Tarte

An easy weeknight meal that simply needs assembly on the night. I put a little spin on it for my daughter, calling it Pesto Pizza. Chop all your toppings in advance and store in a tub or sealed freezer bag. I chose peppers, tomatoes, mushroom, chorizo and mozarella, but you really could put on anything you fancied...grilled aubergine, seared asparagus?

Unroll the sheet of puff pastry (I've always believed life is too short to make your own puff!) and score a light border around the edge. Spread your pesto over the base, top with toppings, making sure the wetter ones, such as tomatoes, are on top so they don't make the pastry soggy, and top with cheese. Bake in a hot oven until the base is crispy underneath - you may need to cover the top with foil to ensure it doesn't burn. Serve with a crispy green salad.

Prep Ahead Weekly Meal Planning - February

This week's menu might be a little more 'prep on the night', but I don't think anything took longer than 15 mins, so still fairly quick. In fact, only the duck and the tarte needed this for the assembly and the greens respectively. 

Menu:

Monday: Mediterranean pesto tarte with salad

Tuesday: bangers, mash and spinach

Wednesday: crispy duck, steamed buns, jiggy jiggy greens

Thursday: slow cooked chilli

Friday: peri peri chicken pot

I haven't planned for the weekend as the other half is away so me and F will grab what we fancy when we fancy it. Click on the duck for the recipe as this is something we had a couple of weeks ago. F declared she didn't like duck, then proceeded to eat two full buns of the stuff, so this week I bought four legs rather than two! The batch of buns I'd made stored well in the freezer, tho I had a panic when I got them out that they'd be very heavy. But, again, I was proved wrong and, when simply resteamed, they puffed up perfectly again! 

This week, I also used the new meat grinder attachment for the KitchenAid to homemake sausages and beef mince for the chilli. It worked well, although making from scratch took me an extra 45 minutes of prep. Worth it though to know what's gone into your food. If you don't have one, simply throw the meat into the food processor, or ask your butcher to grind your chosen cut of meat. He'll do it for free. 

The shopping list is here.

Hope you enjoy the ideas this week...please comment under the posts to let me know how you got on!

Saturday Night Supper Suggestions

If you're searching for something to make for those dark, cold, winter evenings, look no further. Perfect for snuggling down with in front of the fire...

Lamb and Herb Stew - delicious. Make it as hot or mild as you want by adding more or less Harissa.

Oxtail Stew - you could spice this one up with the addition of chilli flakes.

Tartiflette - reminiscent of those bright cold ski days - one of my favourites, though make sure you do something during the day to deserve this winter treat!

Green Thai Curry - you don't have to make your own paste for this one, but the addition of onions and green pepper makes it even more tasty. Serve with coriander flatbread.

Gnocchi - very easy so don't be put off by making your own pasta. It's simple. And a range of sauces to choose from too.

Herby Lamb Cobbler - a great winter warmer for those chilly evenings.

Mushroom and Spinach Pancakes - if you use shop-bought pancakes it takes even less time to prepare!