New Viddy - Strawberry and Blueberry Pavlova

We did this video quite a while back but for some reason forgot to put it on my blog. It’s for my pavlova and it’s a cracking desert to whip out at a dinner party as it’s relatively easy, looks impresive and (most important) tastes incredible.

Once you’ve made a few successful meringues you’ll be able to whip it out for all occasions and is a great one to have in your arsenal. Last night I halved the recipe and made a few smaller ones for tea and they went down like a storm.

The photography industry tends to be way less busy over Easter so I’ve got a bit of time off to make some new videos, work on some recipes and bring you treats for your eyes and bellys! Check out for updates soon!

PAVLOVA

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

170g caster sugar

300g double cream

1 punnet strawberries

1 punnet blueberries

Method:

-       Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees centigrade

-       Line a baking tray with parchment ready for the meringue

-       Separate eggs and put the whites into a clean bowl

-       Whisk to stiff peaks

-       While still whisking add the sugar one tablespoon at a time until all encorporated. ª

-       Spoon the mixture on a baking tray in blobs forming a circle about 8in

-       Place the meringue in the oven and turn down to 140 degrees

-       Bake for 1 hour

-       At this point you can either take the meringue out of the oven which will leave it slightly gooey in the centre or turn the oven off completely and leave the meringue in to fully dry out over night. Both are lovely

-       Top with whipped cream and chopped fruit

(DISCLAIMER) Be careful only to make this recipe for people you want to come round again as it’s guaranteed they’ll want to come back!

ª The trick is to rub the meringue mixture between you finger and thumb until the grittiness has almost gone but not fully. If the mixture is too gritty then you will have a gritty meringue, if the mixture is smooth then the sugar has melted resulting in an unstable mixture and a flat meringue. 

Tartiflette

Apologies for not posting in ages but I’ve been silly busy with work. So far this year I’ve shot on a beach in South Africa, On top of a mountain in Slovenia, I had my first taste of surfing (I was rubbish), my first taste of skiing (I was pretty good) and now it’s briefly started to slow down. This all prompted me to book my first skiing holiday which I came back from last week - we went to the French Alpes and I absolutely loved it. The first thing I wanted to try when I got there was Tartiflette, it’s a classic French dish that originates from the area, if you like cheese then you’re going to absolutely love this dish.

Reblochon cheese originates from the Alpine region of France and this dish was actually created to increase sales of the cheese in the 1980’s, that said it originates from a recipe that can be tracked back as far as 1705. It is a filling and warming dish, ideal for these confused nights we seem to be having – is it going to snow again or is it going to turn into Spring? Today we had glorious sunshine followed by hail and then heavy snow. Weird. Anyway please try out this dish and let me know what you think!

(Serves 2)

TARTIFLETTE

Ingredients –

1 Reblouchon cheese

2 handfuls new potatoes or 4 medium potatoes

1 onion

6 rashers smoked bacon or a good handful of smoked lardons, chopped into small chunks

8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Method –

-       Turn your oven to about 200 degrees centigrade

-       First you need to boil your potatoes and then set aside to cool slightly

-       Meanwhile fry the onion for a few minutes on a medium heat until soft, add the garlic towards the end so as not to burn the garlic

-       Add the bacon and fry for a further few minutes until the bacon is cooked, season with salt and pepper but be careful not to add too much salt as the cheese and bacon are already quite salty

-       Chop the potatoes into small chunks and add to the pan with the bacon and onion mixture and mix gently together

-       Divide the mixture between 2 oven proof dishes and top with half a reblouchon cheese sliced in half across its equator

-       Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted and has gone slightly crusty on top

-       Leave for a minute or so before you eat so you don’t get burnt from the moltern cheese loveliness

Oh and be sure to eat the crust as it adds a totally different dimension to the dish, all you need to go with tartiflette is a small salad and a good glass of red!