Ridiculously simple recipes that never fail.

whizz a tin of tomatoes and tin of drained carrots = tomato soup or the base of any sauce!

Pea soup - gently fry an onion in a good dollop of butter for 10 minutes. Add 750ml chicken stock and bring to the boil. Add 500gm frozen peas, return to boil for 3 minutes. Blend. Add ham and/or mint. Thanks, Mary Berry

Buy a pastry base; put in a tin of tuna that has been mixed with garlic and mayo; grated cheese on top, then in the oven. It is yummy both hot and cold.

Shortbread: flour: butter: caster sugar in proportions 4: 3: 2

Rub butter into flour, stir in sugar, press into cake tin/ Swiss roll tin/ baking tray.

Chill for half an hour.

Cook at 160 for until just lightly straw coloured. In an 8” cake tin, it’s about 30-35 mins.

(My mum-in-law used to leave the butter out for a couple of days till it just started going sour. It is rather good that way.)

Melt cheese in what cream though?

shysal

Carb-free cheese sauce.

Melt cheese in the cream, it will thicken.

I’ve done that tonight with macaroni and smoked bacon lardons!
Best ever cheese sauce!

1" water in teacup. Salt if desired. Pop in raw egg. 1.15 mins in micro. Et voila; perfection on toast!

Carb-free cheese sauce.

Melt cheese in the cream, it will thicken.

Non-alcoholic Zabalgione:

Put a couple of eggs in a saucepan (or bain-marie if you can't set your hob at a VERY low setting. Whisk with an electric mixer for ages with the hob at the lowest setting until it's pale fluffy and can be spooned like a mousse. Drizzle in some runny honey as you go. Only disadvantage, has to be eaten immediately.

For the alcoholic version add Madeira instead of honey. Not sure if that needs sweetening, so dollop some honey in that one, too if needed.

Mackerel pate:

2 peppered mackerel fillets. Take off skin
Tub of Cottage cheese
Dollop of horseradish
Squirt of lemon juice
Whizz together and chill

lentil soup - 4oz red lentils, 1 onion, 500ml water and a ham stock cube.
Skin and chop onion, lightly fry in a drop of oil or bit of butter is better, add lentils, add water, (do not add stock cube at this point or lentils won't cook down) simmer until soft, add stock cube, stir and blitz if required. Very cheap, very tasty and very nutritious.

250 ml in Australia not sure what that is in the UK. They sell measuring cups here so I just use one of those.

Really ? Might try the pizza one ….what is a cup measure?