Poultry keeper's Pie

Similar principle to a shepherd's or fisherman's pie, but using chicken left from Sunday's roast hence the name. I couldn't be bothered to make mash so I thinly sliced the potato with my mandolin. Mash would work just as well though.

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 leek, sliced
125g mushrooms, sliced
220g cooked chicken
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
400g potato, thinly sliced or mashed
250g milk
5g butter
5g plain flour
1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

* in a little oil gently fry the leek, mushroom and garlic until softened
* mix with the chopped chicken in a casserole dish
* make a white sauce by combining the milk, butter and flour in a small pan. Bring to the boil, whisking continually, then simmer for a couple of minutes and stir in the mustard
* stir the sauce into the chicken mixture and top with the potato
* bake at 180C for 40 minutes or until the potato is cooked

Egg and 'chips'

Not chips at all!

Ingredients (serves 1)
190g potato, diced
1/2 onion, cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 mushrooms, quartered
1 egg
1 tsp sunflower oil
Paprika and thyme

* put the potato, onion and garlic in a roasting dish and sprinkle over the oil, paprika and thyme (or other seasonings of your choice)
* cook at 180C for 20 minutes then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes
* make a gap in the middle of the potato and crack the egg into the space
* return to the oven for 4 minutes or until the egg is cooked

Tuna Potato Cakes

Ingredients (serves 2)
450g potatoes, peeled
Knob of butter
Slosh of milk
Tin tuna chunks, drained
4 Anchovy fillets (optional)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Salt/pepper

* boil the potatoes for 25 minutes or until cooked
* mash with the butter and milk, and season well
* mix the onion, tuna and anchovy into the potato
* shape the potato mix into cakes and coat with a little flour
* fry until golden

Leek and Potato Soup

I always said that I hated soup, but lately I've realised that what I hate is 'cream of ...' soup, or any soup which has been blitzed completely smooth. Homemade soup with lots of chunky veg in it is actually pretty good and has the advantage of being cheap to make. I forsee a lot of soup in my immediate future.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)
2 leeks, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
450g potatoes, peeled and chopped
100g pearl barley
1 litre vegetable stock
Herbs, pepper etc to season

* heat 1tsp oil in a large pan and saute the leek, onion and garlic for a couple of minutes
* add the stock, potato and barley and season
* bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour