Mac’n’Cheese, Raspberry Cake And Beautiful Butternut Squash Chips: Kitchen Wonders For The Weekend

Every week we celebrate the glorious Friday feeling by bringing you some kitchen inspiration.

This weekend, we plan to spend a bit of time in the kitchen rustling up some of our favourites.

Friday Mac’n’Cheese

We love pasta and we love cheese! This evening we’re not too keen on spending hours in the kitchen after a busy day at the office so this simple supper is the perfect meal to finish off your day in comfort. Serve with a crunchy side salad to complete the dish. This recipe feeds four people.

Ingredients

50 grams of butter

50 grams of flour

Four bay leaves

Five closed of garlic, crushed and finely sliced.

One litre of skim milk

700 grams of macaroni or penne pasta

100 grams of grated cheddar cheese

100 grams of Parmesan cheese

100 grams of breadcrumbs

Two large tomatoes

One teaspoon of dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius and place a large saucepan of water onto the boil. Cook your pasta as per the packet instructions.

In a saucepan, melt the butter on a low heat before adding the flour. Mix together with a wooden spoon to form a thick paste.

Add your finely chopped garlic and fry for two minutes.

Add your bay leaves before slowly adding your milk a little bit at a time while whisking.

Bring the mixture to the boil and leave to simmer.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the sauce. Mix well.

Remove the pan from the heat and add your tomatoes and cheeses along with a generous amount of pepper.

Add your thyme and mix well.

Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top with breadcrumbs.

Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and crispy.

 

Saturday is Perfect for Rachael Allen’s Bakewell Cake

The Derbyshire town of Bakewell is responsible for the invention of the classic tart to which the town gave its name. The divine combination of raspberries and almonds makes for a gorgeous recipe - its inventor must have been someone who baked very well indeed! This cake is an evolution of the idea, using fresh or frozen raspberries rather than raspberry jam. It's a simple recipe but a perfect example of how a simple combination of flavours can be deliciously effective.

Ingredients

150g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
150g caster sugar
Two eggs
A few drops of almond essence or extract
50ml milk
150g self-raising flour, sifted
150g ground almonds
150g fresh or frozen (and defrosted) raspberries
25g flaked almonds
Icing sugar, for dusting
Softly whipped cream and fresh raspberries, to decorate
20cm diameter cake tin with
6cm sides 

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, then butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with a disc of baking parchment.

Cream the butter until soft in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Whisk the eggs and the almond essence or extract together in a small bowl for a few seconds or just until combined, then gradually add the eggs to the creamed butter mixture, beating all the time. Next beat in the milk, then add the flour and ground almonds, carefully folding these in just until they are mixed. 

Next add the raspberries and fold in gently so as not to break them up too much. Tip the batter into the prepared tin, then scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Use a small, sharp knife to loosen the edges, then carefully remove the cake from the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool down completely before transferring to a serving plate 

Dust with icing sugar. Serve with softly whipped cream if you wish, or decorate with fresh raspberries. 

Sunday’s Roast Salmon With Lemon And Butternut Squash Chips

We don’t have to have a huge roast dinner every Sunday and it’s nice to have something light for a change. After a long walk on the beach or even a trek to the shops this healthy supper will set you up for a happy and healthy week. Butternut squash is a great alternative to potatoes. This recipe feeds two.

Ingredients

Two fillets of salmon

One large lemon

One knob of butter

½ a large butter nut squash or a whole small one

One red chili

One teaspoon of sage

One Stick of Cinnamon

Olive oil

Method

Butternut squash takes about one hour to roast so it is important to get working on this first.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

With a sharp knife, cut your butternut squash down the middle taking care. If you wish, peel the vegetable first.

Scoop out the seeds from the centre and discard.

Chop the squash into wedges and place on a baking tray.

Break up your cinnamon stick into three piece and add to the squash.

Finely chop your red chili and add to the squash along with the sage.

Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper to the squash and top off with a generous glug of olive oil.

With clean hands toss the squash until the ingredients are equally spread.

Roast for 45 minutes to an hour or until tender.

With clean hands

Keep the salmon simple! Wrap the fillets in tin foil and place a knob of butter onto each.

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over them and bake for 15 minutes.

Serve the salmon and squash with a delicious glass of white and a crisp salad.