Tufnell Park Tavern - N7

If you follow me on instagram you might of seen that I went out for lunch yesterday. My Mum, Aunt, Grandpa and I usually go out for lunch once a month when my Grandpa comes into town. 

I first discovered the Tufnell Park Tavern when we went there for our staff Christmas lunch last year  and have been dying to go back. It's changed hands a few times in the last couple of years and the new management have turned it into one of those perfect little gastropubs that has great service, a great atmosphere and a great selection of food.

I had the Duck Confit Salad with Pear and Mint and the Garlic and Rosemary Flatbread. The duck was cooked perfectly and the salad was nice and fresh but the pears could have done with being poached or grilled as they were a little hard. My Grandpa had a Grilled Mackerel Salad and the others had a selection of Cicchetti - perfect lunch food!

I would definitely recommend this place, there is also an adjoining coffee shop which serves a selection of cooked breakfasts and pastries which I want to try out some day. 

Website and info here. 

Classic Pesto

Italian is my favourite type of food hands down. It's quick and simple so there's really no excuse for not having a go.

 I must admit I am an absolute slave to the jars of Salca pesto, we lived off them at uni but you can make this as the pasta boils and its perfect to add a little sparkle to your Monday evening. If you're expecting to recreate what comes out of a jar forget it, home-made pesto is fresher, lighter and almost a completely different taste - they can't really be compared.

What you will need:

• 50g fresh basil leaves
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 25g pine nuts, toasted
• 90ml olive oil
• 2 tbsp parmesan, grated 
• Salt and pepper

(Serves 4)

Now I will warn you before you start, 50g of basil doesn't sound like a lot, but its absolutely loads. This is how much I used for one portion (15g):

Don't buy a living basil plant just for the purposes of this recipe, you'll just end up using it all and then some. They are also notoriously difficult to keep alive so unless you're Alan Titchmarsh don't bother. I would suggest buying a couple of the packets of cut basil (here) because you actually get a lot more for your money.

Get all your ingredients together and get your pasta going. Put the basil, oil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and give it a good whizz. My weapon of choice for dressings and sauces like this is a Baumix, available from Amazon. 

When it has become a paste, season with salt and pepper then add the cheese and mix by hand. Drain your pasta and, if you find your pesto is a little thick, reserve some of the pasta water to add to it. Transfer to bowls and serve with parmesan shavings and a sprig of basil on top. 

Enjoy!

Toblerone Cookies

This is the only cookie recipe you'll ever need. Trust me. I've never been any good at cookies, they always just turn out like biscuits but even I managed to turn this recipe into the proper chewy ones like you get from Millies Cookies!

What you'll need

• 250g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 170g unsalted butter, melted
• 200g dark brown soft sugar
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• Broken up Toblerone or any other chocolate

Preheat the oven to 170c / Gas mark 3 and grease your baking trays or line with parchment. This recipe makes about 8 really big cookies. Cream the melted butter, brown sugar and caster sugar together then mix in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy. Sift in the flour, bicarb and salt then stir in the chocolate.  Drop the cookie dough onto your trays - about four tablespoons for each cookie and leave plenty of space for them to expand (about 8cm). 

Bake for 15 mins and check them, if they need a bit longer just put them back in. Cool on baking trays for a few mins before transferring to wire racks to cool completely and store in an air tight tin. They should keep for up to a week and if you find they have gone a bit hard just heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Let me know what you think! x