Pan fried sea bass perched on a bed of leek risotto

After a long day viewing properties ready for the next chapter of our lives commencing in Nottingham, we wanted something simple but tasty and filling to devour. This is what we chose, and by all means is not unique to us, it has been done many times before in a huge variety of ways but this is how we whipped our version together. Anyone can do it! It's so fresh and easy to make!

Pan Fried Sea Bass Perched On A Bed Of Leek Risotto

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 sea bass fillets, scaled and boned

1 small leek, finely chopped

150 g arborio rice

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 pint chicken stock

75 ml white wine

a knob of butter

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a suitable pan, add the leeks and cook for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook together until softened. Pour in the rice and cook until transparent, usually a minute or two. 

2. Add your wine to the pan and cook until all absorbed by the rice, then start adding your hot stock, one ladle-full at a time, each time ensuring that the stock is absorbed before adding the next ladle-full. Do this until the stock is finished and/or the rice is just cooked, roughly about 15-20 minutes. Add a knob of butter and season to taste, stir thoroughly and leave to rest whilst you cook the fish. 

3. Heat a frying pan until searingly hot with a little butter and some olive oil. Score the skin of the fillets in a criss cross pattern and season with salt and pepper, place skin side down in the pan and season the top. Now this is the important bit, DO NOT shuffle the pan, just press down the fillets and leave. Cook until almost cooked through, doing 95% of the cooking on the skin to get it lovely and crispy, then turn over and finish off the flesh side for a few seconds. Serve immediately on top of a bed of creamy leek risotto. 

Note - Do NOT add cheese to this risotto as this will mask the delicate flavour of the fish. Serve with some lovely fresh green leaves or just as it is.

Chocolate orange melting puddings

When you have a niggling feeling for something sweet after an evening meal, instead of chomping away on a bar of chocolate or such, try this. A luxuriously naughty little treat which can be whipped up in no time at all and caters for those sweet cravings after a lovely savoury meal. This little pud was put together from a variety of sources and we believe this recipe is perfect for ease and full of flavour. We love chocolate orange which is a marriage made in flavour combination heaven, but you can also use coffee for a mocha flavour or try other combinations that you may fancy - have a play and see what you can create!

Chocolate Orange Melting Pudding

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

150 g good quality dark chocolate (minimum 70% - we used 85%)

125 g unsalted butter, plus some for greasing

150 g golden caster sugar

40 g plain flour

2.5 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

zest of one orange

3 eggs

cocoa powder for dusting

Method

1. Preheat your oven to Gas Mark 6. Grease 4 large or 6 medium ramekins and dust lightly with cocoa, set aside. 

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a make shift bain marie with a little simmering water in a saucepan and a glass bowl over the top, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

3. Beat together the sugar, eggs, juice, zest and flour then set aside. Combine the melted chocolate and butter with the above mixture, stirring until smooth. 

4. Pour the mixture into the greased and dusted ramekins and bake for 10-12 minutes for the medium ramekins or up to 20 minutes for the large. Bake until slightly cracked on the surface. This will ensure the puddings have a lovely melted centre.

Serve with cream or ice cream. 

Note - You can keep the mixture in the fridge overnight in ramekins to cook the next day should you have too many.

English summer frittata

Today we harvested some beautiful green and yellow courgettes from the veg patch in Sasha's parents' garden. The weather this year has meant that the patch hasn't been as successful as in past years, but these little courgettes have flourished! A neighbour kindly gave us some lovely Vivaldi potatoes, freshly plucked from the ground, and we had a box of fresh free range eggs in the pantry, so what better than to make a tasty frittata for supper. A few delicious ingredients, simply put together, so that you can taste each and every one. A simple recipe, which proves that you need not eat meat at every meal to be fully satisfied. 

English Summer Frittata

Serves 4 

Ingredients

2 medium green courgettes, diced

3 small yellow courgettes, diced

150 g fresh broad beans, podded

2 medium onions, sliced into half moons

3 large Vivaldi potatoes, peeled and cut into dice

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 large free range eggs

a dash of milk

50 g mature cheddar cheese, grated

a few chives, snipped

5 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

Notes - The term dice is approximate, say about 1-2 cm in size.

Method

1. Start by cooking your potatoes and onions. Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and add the prepared potatoes and onions. Season lightly with salt. Gently shallow fry, without colouring, for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.

2. In the meantime, fry off your courgettes in the olive oil with a little salt and pepper, until lightly browned, approx 10 minutes.

3. Boil the broad beans for a couple of minutes. Run them under cold water to cool them down and then pop them out of their papery outer skins. This is well worth the effort!

4. Crack your eggs into a jug and add a dash of milk. Season well with salt and pepper and whisk together.

5. Once the potatoes have cooked, drain away the majority of the oil. Once all of the component parts of your frittata have been cooked/prepared, place them all into the large frying pan along with the potatoes and onions and the finely chopped garlic. Fry for a minute before pouring over your egg mixture. Turn the vegetables over in the egg to ensure everything is well combined, level the top and leave to cook gently over a low heat. Preheat your grill.

6. When the bottom of the frittata has cooked, pop under the grill to cook the top. This should only take a few minutes if your grill is hot. Once cooked through, scatter the grated cheese over the top and place under the grill again to melt and colour the cheese. When you are happy that it is cooked, remove the frittata from the grill, sprinkle some chives over the top and serve.

Serve with a mixed salad.