Food & Drink

Prep:5 mins Cook:10 mins - 12 mins Makes enough for 2 adults + 2 children

Me Come Dine With Pasta with salmon and peas

Make this salmon pasta in under 20 minutes for a dinner the whole family can enjoy. Kids will love the fun-shaped pasta while packing in bre and omega-3.

Ingredients

• 240g wholewheat fusilli • knob of butter • 1 large shallot, nely chopped • 140g frozen peas • 2 skinless salmon llets, cut into chunks • 140g low-fat crème fraîche • ½ low-salt vegetable stock cube • small bunch of chives, snipped

Method STEP 1

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the fusilli according to the pack instructions.

STEP 2

Meanwhile, heat a knob of butter in a saucepan, then add the shallot and cook for 5 mins or until softened.

STEP 3

Add the peas, salmon, crème fraîche and 50ml water. Crumble in the stock cube.

STEP 4

Cook for 3-4 mins until cooked through, stir in the chives and some black pepper. en stir through to coat the pasta. Serve in bowls.

Banana biscuits

Prep:10 mins Cook:15 mins Makes 24 cookies

Have a bunch of overripe bananas in the fruit bowl? ese soft biscuits are easy for children to make and are perfect for using up browning bananas.

Ingredients

• 75g salted butter • 100g light brown muscovado sugar • 1 medium egg • 1 medium ripe banana, mashed • 250g plain our • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda • 1½ tsp cinnamon • 50g raisins, chocolate chips or pecan nuts (optional)

Method STEP 1

Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. or in a heatproof bowl in a microwave on high in 30-second bursts, until melted. Tip the butter into a mixing bowl if melted on the hob.

STEP 3

Stir the sugar into the melted butter with a wooden spoon, then beat in the egg until smooth. Stir in the mashed banana. Sift the our, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and a pinch of salt into the bowl and mix until it forms a soft dough. Add the raisins, chocolate chips or nuts, if using, and stir well until evenly distributed.

STEP 4

Use a teaspoon to drop small scoops of the mixture onto the prepared trays, spacing them well apart as they’ll spread. It should make about 24 cookies. Bake for 10-12 mins until they are light brown on the edges and feel dry to the touch.

STEP 5

Leave on the tray for a couple of minutes to set, then lift onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.

Elder ower champagne

Prep: 20 mins + 11 days Makes 10 litre batch

Ingredients • 1.8kg sugar • 18 heads of elder ower • 8 lemons , zested and juiced • 5g sachet dry champagne yeast • You will also need a 2 x 12-litre fermenting bucket (ideally with airlock lid) muslin, sterilised.

Method STEP 1 Fully dissolve the sugar in 4l just-boiled water in a fermenting bucket. Add 6l cold water.

STEP 2 Shake any bugs loose from the elder ower, then strip the orets from the heads with a fork. Let the sugar water cool to 20C and stir in the lemon zest, juice, owers and yeast. Cover, and leave to ferment out of direct sunlight for six days. If your bucket doesn’t have an airlock lid, gently rest the lid on top of the bucket.

STEP 3 Strain through boiled or sanitised muslin into the second sanitised bucket, leaving the sediment behind. Leave it to sit for a couple of hours for any last pollen or sediment to settle.

STEP 4 Siphon into sanitised wine or zzy drink bottles and seal. Leave for ve days in a cool dark place. Check the carbonation by lightly opening the lids to vent excess CO2. Keep in fridge if notably vigorous. If you drop the sugar to 1.6kg, it shouldn’t nish above 8% abv, at 2kg, 10%. Champagne yeast is tolerant up to at least 15%.

ELDERFLOWER WINE Prep:10 mins 6 weeks fermenting, and up to a few months to clear Makes a 4.5 litre/1 gallon batch

Ingredients • 25 heads elder ower • 200g sultanas , roughly chopped • 1 lemon , zested and juiced • 1kg sugar • 5g citric acid • 75ml cold black tea • 5g sachet wine yeast • 1 campden tablet

Method STEP 1 Read our guides on how to clean brewing equipment and home brewing safety tips before you get started. Trim the elder ower orets o the stems with scissors or a wide-toothed comb into a clean bucket.

STEP 2 Add the sultanas, lemon zest and juice to the bucket. Dissolve the sugar and citric acid in 2l boiling water and pour into the bucket. Cover and leave for 8 hours or overnight to steep.

STEP 3 Add the tea and 2.5l cold water, stir, then sprinkle the yeast over. Cover and leave in a moderate (15-20C) spot, out of the sunlight, to ferment until the foam has died down – this usually takes ve days, but could be up to 14.

STEP 4 Transfer into a clean bucket or demijohn, leaving the sediment behind. Top up to 4.5l with cooled boiled water if desired. Cover tightly (a lid with an airlock is recommended). Leave to ferment, this usually takes six weeks (little trails of bubbles are a visual indicator).

STEP 5 When the liquid stops bubbling and clears a little, transfer to a clean bucket, leaving the sediment behind and adding the campden tablet. Leave to clear, which may take a few months, then decant into sterilised bottles. Store in a cool, dark place. e wine will improve for up to 18 months.