It’s been a week of visitors for me. During the week it was my sister and trainee chefette Marie (above outside an aptly named Florist) and her boyfriend Mark and at the weekend my in-laws. Whilst Marie and Mark were here I made a Banoffie Pie, I normally make one based on a Jamie Oliver recipe that is very good. I wasn’t in the mood to make pastry and had no biscuits, dilemma. So I made a cornflake crumb base, it tasted great although was too crumbly so needed more melted butter. The quantities I used;

• 3 cups of cornflakes
• tbsp of cocoa
• tsp of coffee
• 1/4 cup of butter melted (I think it needs 1/2 a cup)

You need to stick the dry ingredients into a blender and blitz to fine crumbs, then put into a bowl and stir in the melted butter before pressing into a pie dish. Bake for 10 mins and leave to cool.
The toffee part was a pre-boiled tin of condensed milk (it takes 3 hours).
Then the topping was whipped up cream with vanilla (from the pod), a pinch of ground coffee and a tbsp of icing sugar. Top with chocolate curls.


Today I made a Tomato Tart for lunch. I have made it before and it was so good and simple I thought it perfect for visitors. Firstly I made some pesto, I have tried shop bought for this recipe and it is nowhere near as good, I think they add way too much oil. The Recipe is by Sam Stern from the book Cooking up a Storm. Here is the recipe;

Tomato Tart

• 375g/13 oz packet of puff pastry/or a pastry disc
• 3 tbsp of fresh pesto
• 5-6 vine ripened tomatoes
• fresh basil or thyme
• sea salt and black pepper
• olive oil for greasing
• egg for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 200 c. Grease baking tray with a little oil (or just use baking paper like I do).
2. Roll pastry into a rectangle about 35 by 28 cm (I used a pastry disc so just cut the sides to make rectangle). Cut 2 half inch strips, brush with milk and one down each side of the rectangle. Prick base lightly with a fork to stop it ballooning up.
3. Spread pesto over the base thinly.
4. Thinly slice tomatoes and lay over the base.
5. Brush the pastry frame with beaten egg. Season with salt and pepper and scatter with basil leaves or chopped thyme.
6. Put into the oven to bake. Check after 20 mins but it may need longer. The bottom needs to be cooked and the edges brown and puffed.
7. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt before serving (and Parmesan if you like). Yum.