Home Sweet Home

We're back from our French holiday, all in one piece. Maybe a bit larger pieces than when we left as all we seemed to do was eat. As usual, our days were planned around what we were going to eat. Mostly it was lunches that would go on for hours. There's something about being on holiday that means you're never full. You can just eat and eat and eat. My usual healthy eating went completely out the window and was replaced by a lot of 'nems' - deep fried spring rolls wrapped in lettuce and mint - and cheese. Very tasty but I've never craved vegetables so badly as I did sitting on the Stansted Express coming home last night. Supper was going to have to be slightly healthy with nothing remotely deep fried in sight. I came up with quite a tasty seared beef and roasted tomato salad concoction. The perfect way to ease us back into non holiday eating.

Ingredients

2 small fillet steaks

salad

asparagus tips

raw baby spinach leaves

french beans

Parmesan

cherry tomatoes

A mustard based vinaigrette

Chop the tomatoes in half and put in the oven at 180 degrees for about half an hour.

Cook the beans and asparagus and then plunge into icy water so they stay bright green. Keep them on ice until you're ready to use them.

Sear your beef fillets on a high heat, then turn the heat down slightly and cook until they're the colour you like.

Let the beef sit for ten minutes and then slice into thin slices.

Sprinkle your salad and spinach leaves onto a big wooden board.

Cut up the beans and asparagus and sprinkle them on top of the salad.

Then add the beef strips, tomatoes and dressing.

Shave some big bits of parmesan on top et voila...

Bon Apetit!

Red Tomato

I made these little tomato sensations last night and thought I should share them. They are a Skye Gyngell recipe and an essential part of her 'toolbox'. IE she is never without them in her kitchen. My Mama always has a huge stash of them ready and waiting to throw into a salad or pasta; they are very, very delicious. I'm used to making them with her in Wales in the bottom left of the Aga so last night was a bit of trial and error, using a bog standard electric oven. I put them in at about 120 degrees for three hours and they are a vision, if I do say so myself.

Slow roast tomatoes

About 20 baby tomatoes

sprinkling of salt and pepper

half a teaspoon of brown sugar

Cut the tomatoes in half and lay them out neatly next to each other in a baking tray.

Sprinkle with the salt, pepper and sugar and put in the oven at a very low, gentle heat, about 120 degrees. Or if you're lucky and have an Aga, bottom left all the way.

Keep checking on them as it's very easy to frazzle them. But generally leave a few hours for them to be ready.

When they are done, they'll keep for a week or so. Or if you want to preserve them for longer, put them into a sterilised jar with a bit of olive oil.

They are great for adding to a pasta, a salad or just having as a little snack when you're peckish even.