Ever since I first tried prosecco I think I have been it’s biggest fan and one of the largest contributors to it’s production. With summer holidays here it now means a bottle of bubbles is on the weekly shop : ) Who can blame me? 

If you’re struggling to prep your seafood ask your fishmonger or there are tonnes of YouTube videos out there! In this dish I cut the langoustines up into bite sized pieces and dropped them in the sauce with 2 minutes to go! They cooked perfectly and get coated in that lovely lemony, buttery sauce.

I fell in love with squid ink on a trip to Barcelona about 4 years ago where I had it as a risotto. Since then my fascination with has grown and grown to the point I know bring back authentic squid ink products on every trip I can get hold of them… sad I know!

Anyways, on my latest trip to Italy I brought back some squid ink linguine and that is the perfect accompaniment to this feast of pure decadence : ). I cook the pasta in boiling salted water for just 6 minutes so that it has a chance to finish of in the sauce and soak some of it in whilst still being al dente.

Next up is dessert, my favourite course usually as I have an incredibly sweet tooth. I’m not big on pastry usually, especially when it comes to savoury products but I do love a good choux pastry. Normally in the form of profiteroles rather than eclairs because I prefer my desserts in miniature a lot of the time, it feels like you’re getting more.

It is safe to say I’ve made profiteroles a few times, usually though I tend to stick to the traditional recipes and make a vanilla creme patisserie to fill them with. This time though I went full blown experimental with them. Mixing tea’s and citrus flavours has been done before but I’ve not seen any recipes using jasmine tea in this way…maybe I’m just not looking hard enough though. I think the flavour combination I’ve chosen for this makes them slightly of the wall but I think they taste great.

One of my oldest friends brought me a white tea and jasmine blend tea back from Hong Kong when she lived out here and truth be told it took me a while to get the balance of leaves to water right. It’s a running joke between LR and I, it once took me 6 attempts to make her a cup that wasn’t too strong or too weak.

This blend of tea is so aromatic and also naturally quite sweet which is great as it meant I could reduce the sugar content of my profiteroles. As with any tea, to get the best flavour you have to let it brew for a while so that is what I did. I used the tea in place of water or milk for my profiterole base. This does give the profiteroles a slightly darker colour but I like the it.

Next up I got to thinking of what to put in them. I love the idea of citrus to cut through the richness of cream so decided to go with passion fruit. I absolutely love The Cherry Tree, they are a family run company that make the most delightful preserves and pickles. Every year at Manchester’s Christmas market I buy myself a few jars of their passion fruit curd and I cannot get enough.

I added 3 heaped spoons of the curd into some double cream so it is just marbled through and that is all there is to it. When the profiteroles are done it’s just a case of pricking a hole in the middle with a skewer and leaving in the oven with the door ajar to stop them from losing their shape and going soggy. Pipe the cream into the hole you made earlier then pile into a mound of pure deliciousness.

If you don’t have a piping bag you can make one out of grease proof paper of simply cut the corner of a food bag.

This is my idea of pure indulgence and definitely goes down a treat when we have a stay at home date night : ) Make sure you check out the recipes x

One of my favourite dishes for a foodie pit-stop when I’m out and about is beef tataki from Yo Sushi, it’s served with a fennel salad and that is where I got the idea for mine. Fennel is in season all year but at the moment it’s at its best and readily available in supermarkets too. You can use both the bulb itself and the leafy greens as long as they’re not yellow as they can taste quite bitter.

Fennel is definitely a love it or hate it kinda thing as it has such a strong aniseedy flavour. I’ve teamed it with some fresh herbs; parsley, coriander and mint finely chopped with a diced chilli and seasoned with salt and pepper are the perfect combination. 

When it comes to the oil and acid base of my dressings I use a ratio of 3 parts of a really good oil to 1 part lemon juice or balsamic for acidity. Due to the colour though, for this one I went with a very good extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Give it a good shake and store it in the fridge for a maximum of 3 days if you are going to use it daily or just make it up as you need it.

Ciao guys 😊 today I get the pleasure of coming to you from the beautiful Sorrento. 

Not going to lie, this is probably one of the best backdrops I’ve had the pleasure of blogging from. I’ve got rolling mountain views behind me and Mount Vesuvius and the bay of Naples behind me. Blogger heaven! 

I used to be the kind of post night out smug girl you all love to hate…. Someone who didn’t suffer from hangovers!

The minute I hit 27 though it was downhill with a vengeance, it hit me and it hit me hard! I finally realised the hell that is the morning after the night before and having someone laughing at you really doesn’t help matters so, for everyone out there I wronged… I’ve learnt my lesson and I’m sorry. Truly and honestly.

But whats the alternative? Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes I also feel the need to just throw something together but the trick is making sure it’s the right thing and it fits the way I eat and what I like. Sounds simple right?

To stop me grabbing the nearest thing I like to make a batch of tomato sauce that is so versatile It can be used with pretty much anything. I absolutely adore Italian food and that has been the inspiration for this sauce. It mainly uses store cupboard ingredients and stores for a week in a sterilised jar when done.

It’s just a case of a little preparation then leaving it to simmer and do it’s thing.


Now it’s all well and good having a go to sauce but you’ve also got to know what to do with it. I use my sauce in so many different ways so it doesn’t feel like I’m eating the same thing every meal especially if I am using it in my meal prep. 

First up, on baked chicken or fish. Each of the ingredients I use in the sauce goes well with chicken or fish which is one of the reasons I use it so often. I layered some sauce onto the fish in this case then created a crumb with almonds and mixed herbs then baked for 20mins. Serve it with a side of veg and your good to go.



Now secondly, who doesn’t like a pasta dish? I’ve made the switch to wholegrain pasta to up my fibre intake, an easy switch to make. I love the way fusilli clings to sauces so it was one of my first choices for this but penne, conchiglie, farfalle or rigatoni would work just as well.

I start by crisping up some smoked bacon or pancetta lardons in a dry pan, throw in a couple of tablespoons of the sauce to heat through then add the pasta. I cook my pasta al dente as I prefer the texture. 

As the sauce already contains onion, chilli and garlic this pasta dish requires very little else but for the cheese lovers out there knock yourselves out with some grated parmesan on top and you’re good to go. Quick, easy and tasty.

Last and definitely not least risotto. My favourite rice to use is carnaroli, if you can’t get hold of it I’d use arborio, a great substitute. Carnaroli has great flavour, holds it’s shape well and is pretty much fool proof so there’s no going wrong even if you’ve never made risotto before.

Risotto is such a comforting dish and again this sauce works just as well. It can be a tad time consuming to make but the end result is well worth it. I start with a classic method of gradually adding stock to rice and chicken, then add a couple of tablespoons of the sauce and one of cream cheese just to add a little more creaminess to the consistency. 

All of these take less than 10mins prep time and 20mins cooking time so they are perfect for a midweek dinner or easy lunch if your in a rush.

Give the sauce a try. It’s so much cheaper than the alternate convenience foods out there and has a lot less salt and only natural sugars from the onions and tomatoes. Tomatoes are also low in fat, high in fibre and a low-calorie source of many vitamins and minerals. Win win hey?



*http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36051333

1. onion
2. peppers
3. mushroom
4. broccoli 

so this dish makes an appearance in some form. Even when I’m home alone as I know it’s quick and easy but healthy too.

I chop all the ingredients with some chicken into similar sized pieces then throw in a food bag. For a girl who despises washing up like I do, food bags are a kitchen staple. Into the food bag go some oregano, chilli flakes, garlic, lemon juice and of course, salt and pepper. This then sits in the marinade for a little while before going in an oven proof dish. Job done!

I’ve given you a range of ideas to try out that I think make cooking for crowds easier. Hopefully it’s also less effort than trying to decide how much you need to order from the takeaway to feed everyone AND it should be a lot quicker : )