Sarah Venning’s recipes

Heat 2 tablespoons of a light oil in a wok. Add a sliced red onion and half a sliced red pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes until golden.

If using prawns, stir in 150g of raw prawns now and stir fry them until they’re pink.

Add 200g cooked ribbon noodles and fry quickly to heat them through, then add two eggs and stir fry quickly to mix them up.

Add either a handful of beansprouts or broad beans or shredded cabbage, plus 1 tablespoon of caster sugar, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, the juice of a lime and 4 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce.

If you’re using cooked chicken, add 150g now (if you are mixing chicken and prawns, you need about 150g of protein in total so swap them around as you like). Stir fry to heat it all through for another minute.

Just before serving, sprinkle with two or three chopped spring onions, lots of fresh coriander and a small handful of roughly chopped roasted peanuts.

This is a mucked about recipe from a Sharwoods packet but it works pretty well.

175g shallots, peeled and finely chopped
75g butter
75g smoken streaky bacon, chopped
2 eggs
1×435g tin unsweetened chestnut purée
1×200g or vacuum pack whole chestnuts, roughly chopped
200g breadcrumbs

Cook shallots with bacon until soft (10 minutes). Beat eggs and add to chestnut purée. Add chopped chestnuts, breadcrumbs, parsley, shallots and bacon. Add salt, pepper and a grating of fresh nutmeg.

4tbsp heaped white breadcrumbs
1 large onion grated or v finely chopped
1 heaped dsp dried sage
900g pork sausagemeat
1 egg beaten
salt and pepper

Combine breadcrumbs, onion and sage in a large bowl and add a little boiling water. Mix thoroughly. Add sausagemeat to mixture and season. Add egg.

2 egg yolks
1 level tsp Dijon mustard
300ml light oil (eg sunflower)
1 tbsp lemon juice
0.5 tbsp Pernod
salt and pepper

Beat egg yolks with mustard. Add oil one drop at a time. After adding a third of the oil, beat in half the lemon juice. Carry on adding oil, beating mayonnaise continuously. When all the oil is added, beat in the Pernod, salt and pepper to taste.

If having langoustines, roast them at 240°C, having greased them first, for five minutes.

Serves six to eight
Caramel: 140g sugar
Custard@ 600ml medium coconut milk
1 vanilla pod
1 cinammon stick
2 cardamom pods
4 eggs
30g caster sugar

Stand six to eight ramekins in a roasting tin in an oven at 150°C/300°F/Gas 2. Put caster sugar for carmel in pan with 5tbsp water. Stir over moderate heat until sugar is dissolved, brushing in any stray crystals. When syrup is clear, bring to boil and boil hard until it caramelizes to a hazelnut brown. Don’t stir, but swirl pan around to even out hot spots. As soon as caramel is done, remove roasting tin and pour caramel into ramekins, tipping each to cover bottom and sides. Leave ramekins to cool then return to roasting tin.

For custard, put coconut milk in pan with vanilla pod and cinnamon stick. Open cardamom pods, take out black seeds and crush. Add to milk. Bring gently to boil, then remove from heat. Cover and infuse for 15 minutes in warm place. Whisk eggs with caster sugar. Bring coconut milk back to boil and pour onto eggs, stirring constantly. Strain custard then pour into ramekins. Add hot water to raosting tin so it comes about halfway up the ramekins. Cook in oven for about an hour until custard has just set. Cool ramekins then store in fridge covered with clingfilm until needed. Invert them into shallow bowls to serve.

Rather good with double cream if in a greedy mood.

3tbsp olive oil
3 small onions, peeled and chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
3 courgettes, grated
3 carrots, grated
1 butternut squash, peeled and grated
1 large pinch dried oregano
2 bay leaves
6 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

Makes approximately three litres. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large saucepan and fry onion, pepper, courgette, carrot and butternut squash for 5-10 minutes. Add oregano, bay leaves and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for around 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, before blitzing until smooth in the blender.

Serves 4
4tbs rolled oats

2tbsp oat germ
100ml skimmed milk, slightly warmed
150g plain yoghurt
3tbsp honey
1tbsp orange juice
1tbsp lemon juice
1 red apple, grated
1 green apple, grated
1.5tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts
1.5tbsp flaked toasted almomds
300g mixed fresh or defrosted berries

1. Soak the oats and oat germ in the warm milk for three hours or overnight
2. Just before serving, stir in the yoghurt, honey and lemon and orange juice
3. Stir in the apples, nuts and berries, then serve

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/pitta-bread,1622,RC.html

Serves 6
1kg mixed fish fillets (e.g. hoki, swordfish, cod, snapper, orange roughy)
Pinch saffron
1 red onion. chopped
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced or a red pepper
4tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1tbsp coriander seeds
1tsp cumin seeds (or 0.5tsp ground)
2 bay leaves
1 fresh thyme sprig
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 heaped tbsp tomato or sun-dried tomato purée
1 glass red wine
300ml fish stock or water
1-2 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper

Season fish and set aside. Infuse saffron with tbsp hot water in a small bowl. Fry onion and celery in olive oil. When almost done, add garlic, cumin, coriander, bay and thyme. Cook for two minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato purée and lemon zest. Boil for 10 minutes until thick. Add wine. Cook for minute or so, then add stock or water. Season. Simmer for five minutes. If it tastes sharp, add sugar to soften. Simmer for another five to 10 minutes. Add fish and saffron, stir, then simmer gently for five minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 190°C.

Nut loaf ingredients

1oz butter
4oz mushrooms
1 peeled finely chopped onion
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
0.25 pt water
1 rounded tsp marmite
1tbsp wholemeal flour
1tsp mixed herbs
3oz ground cashewnuts
3oz ground almonds
6oz breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
2 small eggs
1lb loaf tin, lined with greaseproof paper and foil

Melt butter, fry onions and mushrooms until tender. Add tomatoes and cooked until they pulp. Add water to veg with marmite. Simmer for two minutes. Sprinkle flour. Mix crumbs and nuts and herbs. Add everything together. Add eggs, mix again and season. Put into tin, level off and press down well and cover with foil. Cook until risen at 190°C for 35-40 minutes.

Mushroom sauce
0.5oz margarine
Tbsp oil
Small onion
6oz mushroom finely chopped
Garlic
0.66tbsp sherry
1oz flour
0.75 pt stock
1tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper

Fry onion, garlic and mushroom. Add sherry and cook. Sprinkle flour. Add stock and return to boil. Add soy sauce. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add marjoram