Superfood Carrot Salad

Did you ever end up with a packet of those ready-prepared carrot batons, just a heartbeat away from being bin ready and wish that you didn’t have to throw them away… Well I hate that, and I really don’t like to waste food, so here is what I did!

A sweet simple, quick to make carrot superfood semi-raw salad, easy to change-up, to use up whatever left over vegetables happen to be loitering in your chiller, threatening to turn ugly and take the rest of your salad box with them.

Get raw, get healthy, get Luxe!

INGREDIENTS

Sumac
Handful of chopped fresh dill (dried will do, 2 teaspoons)
1 packet carrot batons (prepared about 350 grammes is enough)
1 Orange
1 Lime
1 Lemon
Large handful of pumpkin seeds
1 dried chipotle chili
1 Medium red fresh chili
1 small pot of sour cream or creme fraiche
teaspoons soft golden Demerara sugar

METHOD
Boil a kettle and soak your chipotle chili in some water until you are ready to use it.
In a non-stick dry frying pan toast your pumpkin seeds until they start to release their oils and go shiny, crackle and their skins start to split and go a nice toasted golden colour, this is quick, about 3 minutes only, while they are still hot shake in 2 teaspoons of sumac, swill around in the pan and tip the mixture out on to a small side plate to cool.
Into the same pan now its empty add a glug of olive oil, 2 heaped teaspoons of golden brown soft Demerara sugar and the carrot batons and shake until coated. Allow to saute shaking the pan occasionally, over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Add the juice from the citrus fruits, and the rind and shake again, allow to continue cooking for another minute or so or until you can smell the citrus oils.  Tip the pan contents out on to a plate and put the empty pan back on the heat.
Add the chopped de-seeded fresh chili, chop finely the chipotle and add this to the pan and allow to cook off until the chili is sizzling and soft.
Turn the carrots and mixture back into the pan with the chili and give a good mix or shake to distribute the flavours evenly. Remove pn from heat.

Finally add to the mixture in the pan your dill fronds, creme fraiche and toss together with the carrots, sprinkle liberally with the sumac pumpkin seeds and serve with veggie cheese burgers, steaks, whatever you like. A fresh superfood alternative to french fries and absolutely gorgeous too!

LUXE TIP
Add a sprinkling of fresh pomegranate seeds if serving this with a buffet spread for a glam ‘jewelled’ look.

LUXE LUNCH TIP
This carrot superfood salad makes a great addition to packed lunch boxes, simply allow to cool and serve the next day for a health kick salad with some cold mackerel fillets.

Scallop & Zucchini Spaghetti

This is such a beautifully simple recipe, but so fresh and light. The ideal way to inject a little spring luxe into your evening by marrying sweet soft scallops with fresh peas, savoury asparagus spears, pan-fried buttery zucchini and just a hint of creme fraiche to add a creamy luxe touch. Just add a sprinkle of parmesan if that’s to your taste or as I like to do myself; a drizzle of really good quality olive oil, a healthy dose of freshly cracked black pepper and a crush of decadent sea salt…

Spring veggies calling out for a dollop of creamy, olive oil and buttered spaghetti

Asparagus tips, trimmed and stripped at the bottom, moody stalks removed

Zucchini (courgette), julienned ready to be blanched

Scallop & Zucchini Spaghetti

Scallop & Zucchini Spaghetti

Scallop & Zucchini Spaghetti

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2, multiplies perfectly
12 Large – sized Scallops (I use frozen for pasta dishes)
12 pitted black Olives
12 Asparagus spears, woody stalks removed
12 Fresh Basil leaves, roughly chopped but left large
2 Long Zucchini, top and tailed and Julienne cut
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup of frozen peas rinsed well in ice-cold water
Enough Spaghetti, cooked according to packet instructions (I use whole-wheat)
Butter for pan-frying
200g tub of Creme fraiche (cream cheese is also a lovely substitution for this)
Salt & Fresh-milled black pepper to taste.

METHOD
In a large non stick frying pan cook the frozen scallops on a low heat turning after 5 minutes until starting to get a crisp golden colour. remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Leaving the juices from the cooked scallops in the pan, add a good drizzle of olive oil and a small know of butter and allow the flavours to cook together for 2 minutes on a medium heat, add the zucchini and allow to cook. Once the zucchini starts to brown throw in the asparagus tips, basil and garlic and olives, and turn up to high.
After 2 minutes add the peas and remove the pan from the heat, stir in the 200g of creme fraiche and stir well. Season to taste. return the pan to the heat and turn it down to medium.
Add the scallops and spaghetti, toss the sautéed veg in its cream sauce along with your spaghetti and serve immediately.

VEGETARIAN & VEGAN TIP
This recipe works incredibly well without the dairy products and or the scallops. A topping of finely chopped herbs and scallion and a good squeeze of lemon or lime give a nice zingy finish.

LUXE TIP
Add half a cup of dry white vermouth to the pan along with the creme fraiche and allow to reduce and cook the alcohol off before adding the scallops at the last stage.

Whiskey Sour Cupcakes

These chichi little darlings were inspired by a sunset cocktail at an amazing little Italian bistro on the high street in Montecito, California.

As the recipes keep on coming so does the luxe and my goodness these top the charts for me. Based on a trusty faithful cupcake recipe and lovingly tested and re-tested until absolutely perfect (oh it’s so hard being me!), these delicious buttery, not-too-sweet cupcakes are NOT for sharing with the kids. Perfect for an evening soiree for adults, these glamorous confections are worthy of any party plan.

Ingredients round-up for whiskey sour cupcakes

Tips and Tricks, make your cupcakes super pro style!

The finished article!

So cute it warranted a close up

Choose one!

INGREDIENTS

CUPCAKES
250 g unsalted butter softened
250 g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
245 g plain flour
100 ml buttermilk
80 ml milk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
5 tablespoons whiskey
1 large lemon, juice and rind

FROSTING
250 g cream cheese, room temperature
114 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
110 g confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of whiskey
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

METHOD

CUPCAKES
Preheat the oven to 180 C/gas 4. Line 2 x 12-hole 125 ml non-stick muffin trays with cupcake papers.

Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and beat until well combined. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking soda and fold in while adding the milk and buttermilk. Stir until almost smooth.
Stir in the lemon juice, lemon rind and the whiskey.

Divide the mixture between the muffin holes then bake for 15/20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 10 minutes in the tin. Turn the cakes out on to a wire rack to cool.

FROSTING
Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter until well blended. Sift in confectioners’ sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine. mix in the remaining lemon juice and whiskey.
Fill a plastic bag with the cream cheese frosting and ice large creamy swirl on to the top of each cupcake and sprinkle with edible glitter

LUXE TIP
Before frosting the cupcakes, mix 150 ml of lemon curd with 2 tablespoons of whiskey. Using a teaspoon gently remove one circle about 1 inch in diameter and 1/2 and inch down into each cupcake and put to one side. Place a large teaspoonful of the whiskey curd mix into the hole and replace the removed piece of cupcake. Frost as normal and finish with a generous sprinkling of black edible glitter for a delicious grown up flourish!

Fruit and Nutty Brussels

Maybe I am fruity, maybe I am nutty, either way, I have never been a massive fan of Brussels Sprouts.

Considering that I am a vegetarian in the “porniest” sense of the word – meaning that I adore simply cooked dark green leafy garden delights, deep plummy aubergines seasoned and cooked slowly in a pan in sigh-inducing ‘drink-a-spoonful-of-it-at-bed-time’ Extra Virgin Olive Oil, creamy-white cauliflower steamed and tossed with a spoonful of toasted sesame seeds – and my ardent love of all things vegetable related, brussels… well they just never floated my boat, if you catch my drift.

Then came the adulthood culinary interest and the necessity to partake in the consumption of Brussels sprouts at least once a year for the festive christmassy season and on the holiest of days, and I figured that I had better find my own methodw of making this potentially heinous mini cabbage palatable, and so much to my mother’s delight, I grew to love brussels sprouts in my luxed-up way.

Once you have tried them cooked like this, you wont want to wait until christmas to have them again.

Artful mixing of sweet shop-bought sugared macadamia nuts, toasted salty caramelised naturally savory pistachios, and the juicy sharpness of sour cherries or cranberries make this a dinnertime favourite for any time of year . This recipe is quick, easy and dinner party impressive.

Serve with saffron  and milk poached turbot for maximum opulence, or with mashed potatoes,  and yummy veggie sausages smothered in home-made veggie onion and mustard gravy for a filling but healthy weekend dinner.

waiting for a fruity nut bath

Prepping the veg

macadamias, cranberries and pistachios

pistachio nuts, shelled

the toasted mixed nuts

brussels sprouts mixed wit their ingredients

brussels sprouts mixed wit their ingredients

brussels sprout mixture.. toss to coat

The finished article, serve and save some for the morning!

INGREDIENTS
1 handful of sugared macadamia nuts
1 handful of semi-dry sour cherries/cranberries or green sultanas
2 handfuls of plain pistachio nuts, shelled
500g bag of fresh brussels sprouts
1 dessertspoonful of butter
1 dessertspoonful of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
a drop of water for steaming

METHOD
Remove any soft or yellowing outer leaves of brussels sprouts, slice a small amount of hard woody white base off of the brussels, and make a small score or incision into the hard white bottom part of the brussels. prepare all the sprouts in the same way and set aside.
Shell the nuts that have shells and lightly crush or batter with a rolling-pin or the back of a wooden spoon.
Preheat a frying pan to a medium heat, no oil, and when it starts to get hot add the macadamia and pistachios until they start to give off their lovely nutty toasted aroma, and the sugar from the macadamia dusting starts to get a bit golden. Remove pan from the heat, throw in the dried fruit and toss to get a nice golden warm sticky mixture. Set aside.

Put a small amount of water into the same pan (just enough to cover the bottom) over a medium to high heat and cover with a lid until boiling, when ready throw the brussels sprouts into the boiling water and re-cover. Allow the brussels to steam cook a little until they become vivid bright green and feel soft when prodded with the tip of  about 6 minutes.

When the water has been absorbed into the brussels, put the olive oil and butter into the brussels pan and gently toss to coat the brussels, season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

When the butter is melted and the brussels are thoroughly coated and still a little al-dente, remove the pan lid, throw in the toasted fruit and nutty mixture and toss again.

Serve hot straight to the table still in a pan.

LUXE TIP
Excellent use for any remaining portions, with a full english breakfast the next day, roughly chop any leftover fruit and nutty brussels and mix with a small amount of mashed potato, shape into burger type patties. Lightly fry in a small amount of olive oil or oven bake medium to high for 15 minutes. Serve with baked beans, fried eggs sunny side up, fried mushrooms and hot white buttered toast! Makes me want to scream yummy!

Twinkly Swiss chocolate ganache roll

My decision to write my first ever “baking” recipe here on the blog could only ever be complete if the primary offering were rich chocolate-ey gooey deliciousness that no one could fail but to love.
A very simple chocolate sponge cake, rolled with buttery chocolate cream filling and covered with swirled rich luxurious chocolate ganache frosting. I finished mine sprinkled with white snow-like icing sugar and dusted it with aurora borealis bright twinkling edible glitter.

It’s a synch to make and even easier to eat!

Sparkling gooey chocolate yumminess!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE

6 medium eggs

150g caster sugar

150g plain flour

60g of you favourite cocoa powder

33 x 23 cm swiss roll tin, prepped lined with baking parchment

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTER FILLING

100g softened butter

100g icing sugar

80g of your favourite chocolate melted

FOR THE GANACHE FROSTING
500g good-quality chocolate, chopped
500ml double cream
70ml cup corn syrup

Eggs

Baking Tray

Caster sugar

Flour

Chocolate

Butter

Wrapped Sponge

Chocolate butter filling

Filling the curled sponge

Spreading the sponge with chocolate

Spreading the chocolate all over the sponge

Chocolate for the ganache

The finished article!

The cake presented

Chocolate Ganache swiss roll cake

Sparkling and ready to serve

Sparkling gooey chocolate yumminess!

Inside view of the cake

METHOD
SPONGE

Using an electric hand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until thick and creamy.  Sieve the flour and cocoa together and fold into the egg and sugar mixture with 1 tbsp hot water, trying not to knock out too much air.
Place the sponge mixture into the prepared tin and tilt the tin to level the mixture, making sure it goes right into the corners.  Bake at 160 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until it is springy to the touch.
To form the roll shape, turn the sponge out on to a piece of baking parchment, and make a dent along the width of the sponge, 1cm in from one of the longest edges.  From this same end, roll up the sponge into a long thin sausage shape withe the paper in the middle, and twist the overlapping ends of the baking parchment like a sweet and leave it to cool on a wire rack, I also covered mine with foil to hold the shape firmly.
CHOCOLATE BUTTER FILLING
Beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy and then beat in the melted chocolate.  Unroll the sponge from its wrappings, spread over the butter icing and up roll again, using the paper to support the sponge and protect from breakage. Cover with foil again and set to one side whilst you make the chocolate ganache frosting.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE FROSTING
Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the double cream and the corn syrup to a simmer over medium-high heat in a non-stick saucepan on the hob; pour the sugar and cream mixture over chocolate and leave it to stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.
Stir the melted chocolate into cream until mixture is combined and smooth, stop as soon as you achieve a glossy well mixed finish.
Refrigerate the mixture in a Tupperware container, until the frosting begins to thicken and becomes lighter in colour.Remove the chocolate swiss roll from its foil and cover the entire thing with a 1cm thick layer of chocolate frosting. sprinkle with a little icing sugar and some edible glitter.
LUXE TIP
This entire recipe would work incredibly well as a white chocolate version, add a little vanilla essence to the sponge mix and substitute the chocolate cocoa for white chocolate powder or Ovaltine in the sponge mix. Substitute the chopped hard chocolate in the chocolate cream and frosting for white chocolate.
To finish, omit the icing powder sprinkles and instead use a little vanilla sugar and some cute pink edible glitter for some Barbie inspired glam!
HAPPY KIDS TIP
On either version, use a packet of liquorice allsorts to turn this cake into a hungry crocodile birthday cake. Cut the square allsorts in half diagonally and use to make teeth a third of the way along the cake and halfway down as teeth. Use the liquorice roll shapes as feet wither side top and bottom. Use the pink and blue bobble covered allsorts as eyes. This snappy sweet crocodile cake will bring toothy grins from children and adults alike!

He says tomatoe, I say tomato… Savoury spinach and cheese french toast

This dish was an impromptu breakfast “American style” as so many of our breakfasts are. A 6 feet 3 American needs satisfaction in a way that only a western european cooked breakfast can give. And boy did this brunchy delight hit the mark… flavourful grainy whole-wheat toast, buttery hot spinach, fluffy eggy breakfast flavours and oozy melting cheese. A dish so ‘Luxe’ it deserves making once a fortnight (minimum) from now on, it can be prepared, served hot and eaten within as little as 15 minutes.

Satisfied, happy well-fed breakfast companions will thank you, as will your tummy… embellishments and improvements after the jump.

Ingredients for Savoury cheese and spinach French Toast

Whole-wheat bread dipped in beaten, seasoned egg

The bread once soaked in the beaten eggy mixture

The eggy bread, pan-fried in butter and a little olive oil

The savoury french toast, awaiting the topping of your choice

The finished dish, and a mini side salad of juicy ruby-red grapefruit

Savoury french toast topped with melting cheese and buttery spinach

INGREDIENTS
2 Farm fresh eggs beaten, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 Slices whole-wheat or 5-grain bread
2 Slices of sliced cheese
1 small piece of brie
2 large handfuls of spinach
butter for cooking

METHOD
Put the beaten egg into a plate or shallow dish, place the bread slices into the beaten egg mixture and turn after 3 minutes making sure that the bread soaks up the egg mixture well.

Whilst this is happening, heat a little olive oil and butter in a non-stick frying pan on a low to medium heat. Gently fry off the slices of french toast in the pan until golden and bubbling on each side.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Once each of the bread slices is thoroughly  cooked through, place on a plate ready for serving, top each with a slice of cheese and a little of the brie and leave in the oven to keep warm.

Add a little butter to the already hot frying pan, and add the spinach. Gently toss the spinach in the melted butter until wilted and hot.

Carefully with oven gloves, remove each plate with a slice of french toast from the oven and top with the spinach.

Serve hot and be ready for your applause.

LUXE TIP
As you can see from the photos we served our breakfast with a simple juicy ruby-red grapefruit salad sprinkled with a little caster sugar

HUNGRY MAN TIP
Serve with slices of crispy fried smoky maplewood bacon, or a slice of smoked salmon

Enchiladas San Blas – Seafood Enchiladas

This is an absolute favourite recipe of mine, originally served up at the incredible ‘Cafe Pacifico’, seriously the best mexican restaurant in London’s cool, vibe-ey Covent Garden. Its served there as two cheesed up, fresh tasting seafood enchiladas baked with a paprika, sweet and spicy tomato based sauce. It’s to die for and since being in Switzerland I miss this dish so much I decided to re-create a homemade version. Variations and comments welcome.

Baked Enchiladas San Blas

 INGREDIENTS
1 tin chopped tomatoes, 400g
1 white onion, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
grated cheese, 350 g, we used Fontal
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 heaped teaspoons tomatoes concentrate
10 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped roughly
1 tin crabmeat, best quality, drained
1 piece of cucumber around 4 inches, watery centre removed, roughly chopped
corn tortillas

METHOD
Fry off the onion gently in a saucepan in a small quantity of olive oil, add the yellow pepper and garlic. After around one minute add the shrimp. Once the shrimp is pink and cooked put the mixture from the saucepan into a heatproof bowl and add in the cucumber, crabmeat and half of the grated cheese, mix well and season.
In the same saucepan put the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and paprika and leave to reduce and thicken on a low to medium heat, for around 8 minutes.
When ready, spoon a third of the tomato sauce into the base of a glass ovenproof dish, assemble the corn tortillas fill each with a spoonful of the seafood filling mixture, roll into fat cigar shapes and place lengthways into the baking dish. Repeat untill all the tortillas and filling are used up.
When this is done cover the enchiladas with the remaining tomato sauce, and top with the other half of the grated cheese. Bake at 160 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

LUXE TIP
Serve decorated with fresh lime and orange slices for a festive finish and some juicy table decoration!

Ingredient mix for enchiladas san blas

Gently fried san blas ingredients ready for stuffing

A filled san blas tortilla

Tomato and paprika sauce lining the bottom of the glass dish, almost time to bake

The rolled enchiladas san blas ready for a tomato paprika blanket

The tomato-ed, cheese-ed Enchiladas now ready for the oven!

Ready to eat, hot melted and fresh cleanly flavoured enchiladas san blas!

Guacamole avocado salad to serve with the “san blas”

Baked Enchiladas San Blas