Poached egg on toast

A super healthy, super tasty way of squeezing the last out of this season's asparagus crop! You could even make a big batch and freeze it!

Ingredients 

(Serves 4)

800g asparagus (woody ends removed)

2 white onions

1 carrot 

2 litres vegetable stock

8 fresh eggs

16 slices ciabatta bread 

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Finely chop the onions and carrot, add a lug of olive oil to a large saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onions and carrot until softened, for approx 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile cut off the tips of the asparagus and set aside for later, then roughly chop the stalks and add both them and the stock to the softened veg. Simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and purée with a hand blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add the asparagus tips to the pan and return to the hob on the lowest heat.

4. Meanwhile, set a large pan of water to boil, and toast your ciabatta.

5. Crack the eggs into the boiling water and poach for a couple of minutes so cooked but with a runny yolk.

6. Ladle the soup into bowls and add the poached eggs directly into the soup. Serve with ciabatta on the side and a drizzle of olive oil on the bread and top of the soup. 

Prawn and Rocket Summer Spaghetti

This is a very summery tasting dish, with bright, fresh flavours! It's dead quick and easy too! I'll be making this again! 

Ingredients

(Serves 5)

500g spaghetti

3 cloves garlic 

1 red chilli- medium heat

600g raw, peeled prawns

1 glass white wine 

3 heaped tbsp sundried tomato purée

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 handfuls rocket

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Finely slice the chilli and garlic, and finely grate the zest from the lemon, set aside.

2. Set the spaghetti to boil in well salted water.

3. Add the garlic and chilli to a medium- hot frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the garlic is a pale golden brown.

4.  Add the prawns to the pan and sauté until pale pink in colour.

5. Add the wine and sundried tomato purée to the pan. Sizzle away until reduced a little and the alcohol from the wine has evaporated.

6. Squeeze in the lemon juice, folk the spaghetti to the prawn pan with a solash of pasta water to loosen the sauce, and stir through the rocket. 

7. Serve up with a sprinkle of the lemon zest on top, and a hunk of focaccia... If you're feeling particularly greedy... Like me! 

Pan Fried Sea Bass, With Ratatouille, Jersey Royals and Asparagus

Delicious fresh sea bass, a nod to the mediteranean, and fresh in season British veg! What more could you want? Get cracking...

Ingredients 

(Serves 2)

2 fillets sea bass, skin on, boned.

Approx 10 spears asparagus

Approx 10-12 jersey royal potatoes 

8 cherry tomatoes

1/2 courgette

1/2 red onion

3 cloves garlic

8 green queen olives, pitted 

1 small red chilli, seeds removed

Handful of basil (approx 8 leaves)

Salt and pepper 

Olive oil

10g butter 

Method

1. Finely chop the onion, garlic and chilli, halve the cherry tomatoes and olives, and slice the courgette half lengthways then thinly slice.

2. In a small pan with a little olive oil, begin to fry the onion on a low- medium heat for a few minutes until softened. Add two cloves of garlic and the chilli and fry for a few further minutes, before adding the courgette, tomatoes and olives. Tear in the basil leaves and leave to stew away on a low heat while you prepare the rest of the dish, stiring occasionally.

3. Give the potatoes a wash and set to boil in salted water.

4. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus spears.

Holly's Hints- Hold the spear in the centre with one hand and at the bottom end with the other, then just snap them! They will snap exactly between the woody and good part of the spear!

Then place in a bowl and cover with just boiled water from the kettle, set aside.

5. Slice along the skin of the seabass fillets, then pat the skin dry with some kitchen roll and season with salt.

Holly's Hints- the cut in the skin will stop the fish curling up when you fry it, and drying and salting it will ensure it crisps up nicely. 

6. Prepare some garlic butter by crushing a clove of garlic and stiring it into the butter, set aside.

7. Once the potatoes are nearly done but still a little too firm, preheat a non-stick frying pan to a medium high heat with a very small splash of olive oil. Once got, add the fillets skin side down and leave to fry completely untouched for four minutes. This allows the skin to crisp up. 

8. Drain the potatoes and melt the garlic butter over them, then season with a little salt and pepper. Keep warm.

9. After four minutes, turn the heat on the figs pan to low, and flip the fillets onto the fleshy side. Fry for a further two minutes.

10. Meanwhile, drain the asparagus and dry with kitchen roll.

11. Serve the fillets onto the plate, turn the heat on the fish pan up to high and add the asparagus. Toss the asparagus occasionally whilst topping the fish with the ratatouille and serving up the potatoes.

12. Finally, serve up the asparagus into the plate. Then you're ready to go! 

Victoria Sponge

Quite literally the Queen of cakes... The classic Victoria sponge, is a light, delicious, simple sponge, (or rather 2), sandwiched together with jam and often cream. The traditional way would be raspberry jam and no cream, but over time it has evolved and now often contains whipped cream or buttercream as well as jam of various varieties, and even fresh fruit. It would also originally have been dusted with caster sugar, but is now more commonly decorated with a dusting of icing sugar instead. It is named as it is because of Queen Victoria's fondness of the cake during her reign from 1837-1901. One of the Queen's ladies in waiting, Anna, the Duchess of Bedford is said to have invented the tradition of taking afternoon tea, as she invited friends to join her for an additional meal of sandwiches, cakes, other sweets and tea at 5 o'clock. It is thought that these parties sparked Queen Victoria's love of this ever popular sponge, and by 1885 the Queen was regularly holding afternoon tea parties herself. The first widely published recipe for the cake was in the book published in 1861, 'Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management', and it has since turned into a recipe book staple! I made mine with buttercream, strawberry jam and fresh strawberries! Here's how to rustle one up yourself...

Ingredients

For the cake...

200g beaten eggs (approx 4 medium eggs)

200g butter at room temperature

200g caster sugar

200g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder 

2 tbsp milk 

For the filling...

80g butter

160g icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

5 tablespoons good quality strawberry jam

Fresh strawberries or other fruit (optional) 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan and grease and line 2x 20cm round cake tins with greaseproof paper.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. This can be done in a stand mixer or with an electric hand whisk in a large bowl.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat, at a slightly lower speed at first. Then increase the speed until light and fluffy again, almost mouse-like. 

Holly's Hints- As there is the same weight of each ingredient, the mixture shouldn't split or curdle at this stage, but to be safe, add just a teaspoon of flour after each egg to prevent this. 

4. Add the milk, flour and baking powder, half of the flour at a time, and either fold in gently by hand, or stir through with the mixer on it's lowest speed. Taking care not to knock too much air out of the batter. 

5. Spoon the batter into the two baking tins, and bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. When it's done the cakes will be golden brown, spring back to the touch, and a wooden skewer after inserted will come out clean.

6. Turn the sponges out onto a cooling rack, and in the meantime prepare your buttercream. Beat the butter at increasing speeds until fluffy, then add the vanilla extract and the icing sugar just a little (about 2 tbsp full) at a time, and continue to beat at a medium- high speed until smooth and creamy. 

7. Once the cakes have cooled, spread one side with the buttercream, and the other with the jam. If using, lay the fruit on top of the bottom sponge too, then sandwich the two together. 

8. Use a sieve to dust the top with icing sugar, and serve it up with a cup of tea!