Chocolate Lava Surprise

This is the most delicious, forgiving yet impressive yummy chocolate pud I've ever made. There is something special about breaking through the chocolate outer shell to uncover a gooey chocolate lava stream that oozes out onto the pristine white plate. 

It is the perfect dinner party delight as it will surprise the oblivious guests and make you feel like an accomplished chef (if you get it right..no pressure). You can make the mixture  days in advance, put into the ramekins, freeze & then defrost a couple of hours before you want to cook them, or simply make on the day and put into the oven 10 minutes before you want to serve. 

Serves 4

125g finest quality dark chocolate (70% +)

125g unsalted butter

3 large eggs

150g sugar

35g plain flour (Italian 00 is ideal)

butter & flour to prepare the ramekins

Method

- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease 4 ramekins with butter and dust with flour. Put the chocolate and butter suspended over a pan of simmering water and allow to melt (if you're feeling lazy, put in the microwave for about a minute to 90 seconds, but pause and check often).  Stir gently until smooth and beautiful.

- In a separate bowl, whisk the golden caster sugar with 3 large eggs.

- Combine the 2 bowls, beat together and then stir in 35g plain flour.

- When you’ve finished your main course and you feel like you could eat again, divide the mixture into 4-5 ramekins and bake hot for 8-10 minutes until they are well risen and cracked on top.  Serve with sprinkled icing sugar and single cream. I like to add a couple of raspberries to give it more colour and attempt to make it look slightly healthy.

When you break into it, it should look like this below…mmmm!

Thai Green Curry

I'm 19 years old, so it's about time I throw my own dinner party with absolutely no help from Mum. I promised my friends a three course meal and I chose to do Jamie Oliver's, Thai Green Curry for the main. I first tried this when Mum put on a dinner party for her friends, they were all commenting on it and saying how fantastic it was so I had a little portion to myself (the perks of being a waitress). It was the best thai dish I'd ever tasted. It was fresh and powerful and a dish I thought I would need many years experience to make..I was wrong.

This recipe may seem daunting due to the overwhelming amount of herbs and ingredients needed, but it's actually dead easy. The handy food processor is the hero to this recipe. You literally chuck in all the curry paste ingredients in, whiz it all up together and you're pretty much there!

Serves 4

Prep Time: 45 minutes 

Cook Time: 20 minutes 

6 spring onions, washed and trimmed 

4 to 6 medium green chilies, seeded and finely chopped 

2 cloves garlic 

1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped 

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, pounded and crushed 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

1/2 handful lime leaves, torn 

2 lemon grass stalks, trimmed back and finely chopped 

2 good handfuls fresh basil on the stalk 

3 good handfuls fresh coriander on the stalk 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

4 limes, zested and juiced

16 ounces (two tins) coconut milk 

1 handful chopped pistachio nuts

4 chicken breasts without bone and skin, each cut into 5 large pieces 

Method

- Put all the green curry paste ingredients in a food processor and whizz to a smooth green paste. 

- Marinate the chicken in a little of the paste for 30 minutes, then add a little oil and the chicken pieces to a hot casserole-type pan or wok. Fry for 4 minutes, then add the remainder of the marinade - it will sizzle and spit.

- Stir in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Season to taste. The flavour should have a kick but be reasonably mellow - very fresh and fragrant. 

To serve, sprinkle with the pistachios and some coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice or noodles, and chunky coconut, tomato, cucumber and lime relish.

Enjoy! 

Have a lovely weekend x