Bulgar Wheat Salad

Love this salad. Hardly any cooking involved, full of healthy ingredients and a fresh lemon flavour perfect for the summer. It's a bit like tabboulah but I've left out the essential parsley and given it a Greek twist with the addition of olives and feta. This can be prepared ahead of time chilled in the fridge before serving. Great picnic food but also good as a side dish for a summer barbeque.

Serves 4

100g bulgar wheat

150g red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cut in half

200g feta cheese, cubed

1 tbsp dried oregano

half a jar of black olives, sliced

3-4 spring onions (or 1 shallot), finely sliced (or chopped chives)

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

bunch of fresh mint, chopped

sprinkle of sea salt

Put the bulgar wheat in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. Bring 400ml of water to the boil and add the bulgar wheat. Reduce to a simmer and cook for ten minutes by which time most of the water should have been absorbed. (Keep an eye on it towards the end of the cooking time in case it sticks). Fluff the grains with a fork and allow to cool.

While that's happening, halve the tomatoes, cube the feta, and slice the olives and spring onions. Finally, chop the mint and zest and juice the lemon.

Once the bulgar wheat has cooled, sprinkle on the dried oregano and sea salt and stir in. Then add the remainder of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Put into the fridge for about an hour to allow the flavours to blend together.

This is perfect picnic food as it can be served straight from a tupperware container alongside a savoury tart or quiche.

Easy Bakewell Tart

Bakewell Tart is an English classic named after the market town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England. This recipe is one I've perfected over the years and is really easy to make. It uses a shortcrust pastry base spread with raspberry jam, which is then covered in frangipane and sprinkled with flaked almonds. Don't be put off by the thought of having to make frangipane, as this recipe uses just four ingredients and it will take no time at all to whisk up.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC and grease a 23cm loose bottomed tart tin with butter paper.

If, like me, you're using ready-made pastry, remember to take it out of the fridge about an hour before you need to use it.

350g shortcrust pastry

125g butter, melted

125g caster sugar

125g ground almonds

3 eggs

200g raspberry jam (minimum!)

50g flaked almonds

Jam is the essential ingredient here, so either make your own or buy a jar of good quality jam. While the classic flavour is raspberry, I've also made this with my plum jam which is just as good.

Unroll the pastry and carefully line the tin, using your rolling pin to level off the top. Prick the base lightly with a fork and put it in the fridge to keep cool.

For the frangipane, simply whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy and then slowly drizzle in the melted butter, whisking to combine. Then stir in the ground almonds using a large spoon.

Take your tart case out of the fridge, spread the base with a good layer of jam and then pour over the frangipane. Finally, sprinkle with the flaked almonds and put into the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes.

Don't worry if the filling puffs up while cooking as it will fall back once cooled.

When the time is up, stick a skewer into the middle and if it comes out clean, the tart is cooked through. Take it out of the oven and leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.

Serve with a handful of fresh raspberries and a bowl of whipped cream or crème fraîche.

Haggis Pie

My mother was very proud of her Scottish heritage and this is from her recipe book. She called it Haggis Pie which, as it's not unlike a Shepherds Pie, made it more appealing to her grandchildren.

Haggis is the national dish of Scotland and, as such, has a starring role in the national celebration that is Burns night.

Held on 25th January each year, Burns night commemorates the life of the bard Robert Burns arguably best known for having penned Auld Lang Syne.

This recipe uses all the ingredients associated with a traditional Burns night supper which includes haggis, neeps (mashed turnip) and tatties (mashed potato).

Serves 4

approx 500g haggis

900g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 small turnip, peeled and diced

salt and pepper

grated nutmeg

30g fresh breadcrumbs

50g unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Steam or microwave the haggis according to the instructions given.

Boil the turnip and potatoes (in separate saucepans as the turnip will take longer to cook) and then drain, mash and season.

Spread a layer of mashed potato on the bottom and sides of an ovenproof dish. Cover this with a layer of the mashed turnip, then cut open the haggis and scoop this out on top. Finally top with the remainder of the mashed potato. Scatter with breadcrumbs and dot with butter.

Put into your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until crisp on top.

And now a word about Haggis. For those of you who’ve never tried haggis, it is normally made with sheep’s offal mixed together with onions, oatmeal, seasonings and spices. This is all encased in a wrapping which ends up looking like a large, bulbous sausage. Haggis is easiest to find in January (because of Burns night) and freezes well, if you want it later in the year.