Recipes for Mr and Mrs Turner

so last night I was working and Mrs Turner asked for a couple of recipes, these are those. Italian filo pie the filling for the pie is a mix of roasted vegetables, herbs and caponata. caponata a southern Italian accompaniment, chop a couple of onions and sweat until soft. add some chopped parsle, root and all, and some finely chopped garlic and add to the onion. allow to cook out for a few minutes then add a sprinkle of chilli flakes, a dash of wine vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar and allow the vinegar to reduce. throw in a couple of punnets of sweet baby plum, or cherry, tomatoes and cover. cook over a low heat for ten to fifteen minutes to allow the tomatoes to pop a little. take off the heat, grate in the zest of a lemon and the lemon juice and add a few tablespoons of chopped capers and a 100g or so of chopped olices. season, taste and allow to cool. dice a couple of good sized aubergines, season and mix with oil and roast at 180C until browned. do the same with a decent sized butternut. take a couple of courgettes and cut into large dice. bring a slick of oil to a high heat in a flat bottomed pan. in batches fry the courgettes until browned. drain on kitchen roll. add the courgettes, aubergine and butternut to the caponata and mix together. chop a bunch or parsley, basil, chives and mint and add to the vegetable mix. if the mix is too oily then add some breadcrumbs. brush some filo pastry with oil and make a parcel three or four layers thick. place some mix onto the filo and shape as desired. in the restaurant we make pasty shapes but if you're cooking for a few people make a swiss roll shape and let everyone dig in. baked nectarines. the most important ingredient is fresh nectarines, halved and de-stoned. to make the filling you will need some vegan ricotta, made from cashew nuts blended with soy milk, lemon juice and a little salt. it should have the consistency of ricotta, so quite thick. sweeten with agave nectar and add a handful of chocolate chips and some chopped biscotti. top the halved nectarines with a spoonful of the mix and bake in an oven pre-heated to 160C. cook until lightly browned. Some biscotti recipes: My basic recipe for biscotti is pretty foolproof and you can add chocolate chips and chopped fruit if you like. 335g of self raising flour 165g of caster sugar 100g of chopped almonds 2 medium eggs 50ml of vegetable oil One teaspoon of almond extract Place the dry ingredients into a bowl. Put the eggs, oil and almond extract in a jug and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Knead the dough together. At first it will be quite dry but continue working and the sugar will start to dissolve and it will come together. Cut into three equal pieces and place on a floured surface. Take each piece and form into a ball. Now take the ball and roll into a sausage shape, roughly 10” in length and place onto a flat pan covered in baking paper. Once you have rolled all three, place the tray into an oven pre-heated to 180C. bake for 10-15 minutes until browned and risen. Take the cooked sausages and place onto a cutting board and cut into individual biscotti. It’s best to work when the sausages are hot, so watch your fingers or use a tea towel to hold the biscotti. Place the cut biscuits back on the baking paper and place the tray back in the oven for a further 5 minutes. Take out and allow to cool, and store in an airtight box.   Vegan and gluten free biscotti: when we need to use biscotti in desserts, for example baked nectarines, we tend to use a version that is suitable for all our customers. This recipe works pretty well. 100g cornflour 100g polenta 120g doves farm gluten free bread flour 1 tsp baking powder 150g golden caster sugar 150ml soy yogurt 50ml veg oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp almond extract 80-100g chopped almonds Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then bring together and form a dough; it should not be too sticky. Using some more flour split dough into four and roll into sausage shapes. bake at 180C for 20 minutes or so on greaseproof paper, until still slightly soft. Remove from the oven and cut each sausage at an angle to make biscuits. Place back on the greaseproof and bake for a further five to ten minutes, turning the biscotti once. This will dry them and lightly brown the sides.   cheers wayne