TOP IT OFF
CRISPY PARMA HAM
80g Parma Ham
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180°
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Rub the parma ham with a very little olive oil on both sides and lay out on the paper. Bake till crisp and deep in colour, about 10 minutes. Watch like a hawk so that it doesn’t catch and burn. Serve either as a single large crisp or break up into shards or pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Parmesan Crisps
100g Parmesan, finely grated
Preheat the oven to 180. Spread parchment of silicone sheet onto a baking tray. Divide the Parmesan into 8 little piles and arrange separately on the sheet, leaving plenty of speak between them. Bake for 8-10 munutes until light gold and bubbling. Remvoe from the oven and allow to cool a little before carefully peeling off and transferring to a wire rack to fully cool. Store in an airtight container.
ROASTED FETA
1 block feta (200g), drained
3 tsb olive oil
Pinch oregano
Preheat your oven to 200. Unwrap your feta, drain off any watery liquid and pat dry. Place into a small, oven proof dish. Spoon over the olive oil and sprinkle with oregano. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until crisping up and golden at the edges. Eat immediately, whilst melting and unctuous.
ROASTED KALE
Fistful of curly kale
Glug of olive oil
Flaky salt
Preheat your oven to 220. Wash your kale and strip off the stalks (discard). Dry the leaves then massage with oil. Sprinkle over a little salt then spread in a single layer on a baking tray. Roast for 8 or so minutes, tossing half way – you want to catch it when it’s just crisping up and still green rather than bronzed, but it will colour at the edges.
CHORIZO CUBES
100g chorizo ring (semi-dried)
2 tbs olive oil
Cube your chorizo into pieces not more than 1cm. Fry for a few minutes over a medium-high heat, turning from time to time, until crisp and seeping orange oil. Strain the pieces off, reserving the oil to dot over soup or vegetables.
SAUSAGE CRUMBLE WITH FENNEL & GARLIC
2 good quality fresh pork sausages
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 fat garlic clove
Pinch dried chilli flakes
2 tbs olive oil
Warm the oil in a frying pan. Squeeze the sausages out of their skins. Bash the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar then add the garlic and chilli and a pinch of salt and pound until you have a rough paste. Add to the pan, fry for a minute, then add the sausagmeat, stirring, turning and breaking up till you have a fragrant, sizzling, partly crisp-edged mince.
ANCHOVY & CHILLI BREADCRUMBS
200g sourdough
1 small tin anchovies in oil
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
Tear the sourdough up. Put into a food processor along with the anchovies (including their oil) and the chilli. Whizz to breadcrumbs. Warm a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the breadcrumbs. Fry, turning, until golden and crisp. You made need to do this in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
PAN-CRISP CHICKEN THIGHS
4 chicken thighs
1 tbs olive oil
Salt
½ lemon
Warm the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place, skin side down in the pan. Leave for 15-20 minutes without moving, allowing the fat to render down. If the skin seems to be colouring too much, turn the heat down to low. When the skin is crisp and golden all over, turn the thighs over and cook for a further 15 minutes. Squeeze the lemon juice over to serve.
PAPRIKA SEEDS + NUTS
2 handfuls mixed seeds and nuts to hands
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
Pinch salt
Warm the oil through in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients, shaking and turning for a few minutes until the seeds are popping and the nuts turning golden. When ready, turn out onto a cold plate to cool.
BUTTER FRIED ALMOND FLAKES
2 tbs butter
4 tabs flaked almonds
Melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat till foaming. Add the almond flakes and cook carefully, stirring from time to time until golden. Transfer to a cool plate before they burn.
SOY-TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
4 tbs pumpkin seeds
2 tbs soy sauce
Warm a dry frying pan over a medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Stir to toast evenly. When golden and popping, pour over the soy sauce and stir quickly to coat as it will sizzle and evaporate. Tip out onto a cool plate.
QUICK PICKLED RED ONION
1 red onion
1 lemon
Halve your onion lengthways then finely sliced across into thin half rings. Lay snugly into a small bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice. Leave for half an hour, turning occasionally in the juice, till the colour turns bright pink and the onion has become milder. Will keep for a few days in a sealed container in the fridge.
PARSLEY + LEMON ZEST
50g parsley, leaves chopped
Zest of one lemon
Stir together and sprinkle liberally over anything