Lorraine Pascale - Home Cooking Made Easy

1 tsp sesame seeds

½ tsp paprika

1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

1 tbsp toasted and finely chopped hazelnuts

Prepare your chosen coating ingredients and put each one in a separate small bowl or ramekin. Choose a good combination of colours, flavours and textures.

Put the goat’s cheese in a bowl and season, blending the salt and pepper in well. Break the cheese into bite-sized pieces, each about 15g (1 teaspoon) each and roll them into smooth balls measuring about 2.5cm in diameter.

Mix the honey with a few drops of water to loosen it a little and brush it all over a truffle. Place the ball in one of the coatings and swirl it around until it is evenly coated. Arrange on a serving platter and repeat until all the balls are coated.

Either eat at once or cover and refrigerate until almost ready to serve. The beauty of these is that they can be made ahead of time and then taken out of the fridge half an hour or so before guests arrive.

Roasted butternut squash soup with chilli & ginger

This is the soup that broke me – it turned me from being a model into wanting to be a chef. I made it one autumnal day in Battersea and the sweet, deep, slightly spicy taste blew me away.

Makes about 1.2 litres, serves 4

1 medium butternut squash, about 800g, unpeeled, deseeded and cut in half from top to bottom

1 clove of garlic, unpeeled and squashed

2 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g butter

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

1 x 2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional) or 1–2 chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (I like my chillies quite hot), plus extra to serve

900ml of liquid chicken stock (veggie stock is good but chicken stock usually has a better flavour)

Squeeze of lime juice

To serve

Splash of coconut milk

Few fresh coriander leaves

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F), Gas Mark 7. Put the butternut squash halves on a large roasting tray with the garlic. Slash the squash with a knife, then drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and season well. Roast in the oven for about 30–35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the squash slides through easily and it is nice and soft.

While the squash is roasting, put the remaining tablespoon of oil and the butter in a large pan over a low heat. Add the onion and seasoning and leave to soften right down, stirring occasionally. This is a little time-consuming and can take up to 20 minutes or so, but it is worth it for the sweetness of flavour.

Remove the roasted squash from the oven and leave to cool a little, turn the oven off and pop some bowls in to warm. As soon as the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the skin and set aside, discarding the skin.

Once the onion is soft, squeeze in the roasted garlic clove, discarding the skin, then add the squash, ginger, chilli and stock. Bring to the boil then take it off the heat.

Next, get another large pan at the ready. Working in batches, blitz the soup in a blender, pouring the smooth soup into the clean pan. I like to blitz it until it is really, really smooth. Once all the soup has been blitzed, return the soup to the hob to heat through until piping hot. Taste and season with salt and pepper if you think it needs it. At this stage I often add a squeeze of lime juice, which really lifts the flavours of the soup.

Ladle the piping hot soup into the warmed serving bowls and serve with a little coconut milk drizzled over the top and a sprinkling of coriander leaves and finely sliced chilli.

Herbed baked Scotch eggs

I have a penchant for Scotch eggs. I buy them at the petrol station in the middle of long car journeys – I just fill the car up with petrol, then go into the shop and grab a Scotch egg and a packet of prawn cocktail crisps. However, when I have time, I like to make my own, and I use different types of sausagemeat to give them something a bit extra. Dipped in some mayonnaise or a large blob of salad cream, they really make my day.

Makes 4

Oil, for oiling and drizzling (you can use light oil spray if you like)

4 medium eggs

1 egg, lightly beaten

75g natural or golden dried breadcrumbs

Small handful of fresh thyme leaves

Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Plain flour, for dusting

Pinch of mustard powder

6 good-quality sausages, with their ‘skins’ removed

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6 and line a baking tray with oiled foil. Put the whole eggs in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling, turn it down to a robust simmer and cook for 5 minutes. When the eggs are ready, remove the pan from the heat, take it to the sink and run cold water over the eggs for a minute or two to stop them cooking. Peel the eggs and set aside.

Put the lightly beaten egg in one bowl and the dried breadcrumbs, thyme and nutmeg along with a bit of salt and pepper in another bowl. Season the flour with salt and pepper and the mustard powder.

Put some clingfilm on the work surface, take 1½ sausages and squidge the meat down on the clingfilm. Squish it until is becomes a roundish flat circle, then take one egg and dip it into the seasoned flour. Put the egg in the middle of the sausagemeat and draw up the clingfilm around it so you have a little ‘sac’. This is a great way of covering the egg with the sausagemeat and I find it beats trying to do it without. Now carefully peel away the clingfilm, leaving the sausagemeat around the egg. You may need to squish it down and around slightly on the egg if there are any gaps.

Now dip the meat-coated egg into the lightly beaten egg, making sure it is covered all over, then dip it into the breadcrumbs, rolling it around and pressing to secure any bits that are not sticking properly. Place the Scotch egg on the prepared baking tray and repeat with the other three eggs. Spray or drizzle a little oil over the eggs, then cook in the oven for about 20–30 minutes, or until the sausagemeat is cooked and the Scotch egg looks golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

These are lovely to take to work, or just to have in the fridge as a treat.

Caramelised spiced nuts

I like to make a big jar of these spiced nuts and pop them on the shelf to grab on the go when I fancy a naughty tasty snack.

Makes about 600g

300g granulated sugar

450g mixed nuts, like cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tsp paprika, plus extra to taste if necessary

1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra to taste if necessary

1 tsp ground cumin, plus extra to taste if necessary

300ml water

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4 and line a large baking tray with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking sheet.

Put the sugar, nuts, salt and spices in a medium pan with the water and bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat a little and simmer the mixture rapidly for about 15–20 minutes until the bubbles become thick and syrupy.

Strain the mixture through a colander set over a bowl (use oven gloves when handling the pan, as hot sugar can spit and splutter and burn you), then tip the nuts onto the prepared baking tray and spread them out in a single layer. Bake the nuts in the oven for 20 minutes, or until toasted.