Charlotte Pike

Award-winning food writer Charlotte Pike
Recipes, foodie guides and news from my kitchen

Lunch

Wild Garlic French Dressing

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French dressing is one of the most useful ingredients to have in the kitchen. Once you’ve tasted amazing homemade dressing, there’s no going back. I recently instagrammed a photo of my wild garlic French dressing after a foraging trip, and many of you asked for the recipe, so here it is.

I recommend making this using an electric food processor of some kind, as you can really whizz the green leaves up into small pieces much more easily than chopping them by hand. It gives a much nicer texture and a very green colour. I use the Magimix, but the Nutribullet also works extremely well. When it’s not wild garlic season, I make this dressing using a huge bunch of parsley and a large clove of garlic, crushed. It keeps for around 10 days in a jar (give it a shake before using), and don’t keep it in the fridge.

Wild Garlic French Dressing
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1680 calories
0 g
0 g
189 g
0 g
26 g
224 g
209 g
0 g
0 g
158 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
224g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1680
Calories from Fat 1673
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 189g
291%
Saturated Fat 26g
131%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 20g
Monounsaturated Fat 138g
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 209mg
9%
Total Carbohydrates 0g
0%
Dietary Fiber 0g
1%
Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin A
0%
Vitamin C
0%
Calcium
1%
Iron
6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. 7 fl. oz. Extra virgin olive oil (best quality)
  2. 1 fl. oz. white wine vinegar (Forum are my favourite, but I also use Aspall Organic)
  3. 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  4. Generous pinch Maldon sea salt
  5. A huge handful wild garlic leaves, washed
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to the blender and whizz until very green and the leaves are finely chopped. Pour into a large jar and store. Shake before use.
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calories
1680
fat
189g
protein
0g
carbs
0g
more
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/

Homemade sausage rolls

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This is a very flexible recipe. Good quality sausage meat makes an excellent filling, and it is pre-seasoned, too. You can add extra flavours to the meat if you wish, such as dried chopped fruit, maybe apricots, or fresh herbs, such as sage. Try a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top of the pastry for an extra layer of flavour. I often do half and half.

Good quality sausage meat and all butter pastry make all the difference here.

Make large sausage rolls for lunch or a picnic, or mini sausage rolls to serve with drinks. Either way, I promise you they’ll be gone in a flash.

Homemade Sausage Rolls
Yields 10
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
25 min
Total Time
40 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
25 min
Total Time
40 min
388 calories
18 g
55 g
30 g
12 g
8 g
97 g
435 g
0 g
0 g
19 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
97g
Yields
10
Amount Per Serving
Calories 388
Calories from Fat 268
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 30g
46%
Saturated Fat 8g
42%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 15g
Cholesterol 55mg
18%
Sodium 435mg
18%
Total Carbohydrates 18g
6%
Dietary Fiber 1g
5%
Sugars 0g
Protein 12g
Vitamin A
2%
Vitamin C
2%
Calcium
6%
Iron
13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. 375g pack all butter puff pastry, ready rolled
  2. 500g sausage meat
  3. Sea salt and black pepper
  4. 1 egg, beaten
  5. Optional
  6. 2 tbsp fresh herbs, chopped, such as sage
  7. 4 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Set out a large non-stick baking tray.
  2. Roll out the pastry if yours is not pre-rolled. It needs to be about 3-4mm thick.
  3. Form the sausage meat into an even cylinder shape, around 4-5cm in diameter for large sausage rolls and 2-3cm for small sausage rolls.
  4. Start with the pastry set out in front of you in a rectangle in landscape form. Lay the sausage meat evenly along the length of the pastry right up to the very edge on each side, around 1/3 of the way down the height.
  5. Fold the top of the pastry back over the sausage meat, ensuring it is tidily wrapped around the sausage meat. Where the seam sits on the top side of the pastry, cut carefully to form a small handle.
  6. Cut the sausage rolls into individual pieces by slicing through the width of the large roll using a sharp knife. Transfer each roll to a baking tray, spreading them out well. Use a table work with long thin tines to gently press on the ‘handle’ to stick the pastry together. Brush with beaten egg and slash the tops, if you wish. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you wish to use them and bake the sausage rolls until they are puffed and a rich, golden brown. This should take 15-25 minutes.
  7. Transfer to a wire rack and allow them to cool before serving either warm or completely cold. They will keep for up to 5 days.
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calories
388
fat
30g
protein
12g
carbs
18g
more
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/

Mushroom Soup with White Truffle Oil

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Mushroom soup is a real favourite of mine and this recipe is one I picked up from my recent visit to Linthwaite House. It is wonderful. I have tweaked the recipe ever so slightly, but I am pleased to bring it to you with thanks to Head Chef, David Aspin.

Truffles make a simple mushroom soup even more special. I don’t often have truffles in stock at home, and I suspect most of you don’t either, so I really recommend a drizzle of white truffle oil on top of your soup to make it extra special at this time of year. I source my truffle oil from Vallebona in Wimbledon which is a wonderful supplier of amazing Italian groceries. This is one of my very favourite lunches, served with some homemade bread. The bread in this recipe is my homemade focaccia recipe. This bread happened one of my bestsellers at my cafe which I opened this summer, which I hope to make a permanent fixture in 2017.

This is a lovely vegetarian soup and makes a special starter for a dinner party. As always, please do let me know if you make any of my recipes. I love to hear from you.

Happy Christmas to you all,

Charlotte x

Mushroom Soup with White Truffle Oil
Serves 6
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
325 calories
31 g
62 g
21 g
5 g
13 g
354 g
682 g
9 g
0 g
7 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
354g
Servings
6
Amount Per Serving
Calories 325
Calories from Fat 185
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 21g
33%
Saturated Fat 13g
64%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 62mg
21%
Sodium 682mg
28%
Total Carbohydrates 31g
10%
Dietary Fiber 4g
14%
Sugars 9g
Protein 5g
Vitamin A
20%
Vitamin C
24%
Calcium
5%
Iron
6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. 70g unsalted butter
  2. 100g diced shallots
  3. 2 cloves of garlic
  4. 1 bouquet garni
  5. 500g mixed wild mushrooms or portobello if you can’t get these, thinly sliced
  6. 250g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
  7. 1 litre vegetable stock
  8. 200ml double cream (optional)
  9. White truffle oil to serve
Instructions
  1. Sweat the shallots & garlic in the butter until transluscent. Add the mushrooms & bouquet garni & cook for 5 minutes. Now add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil & reduce the heat to a simmer & cook for 15 minutes. Add the cream & cook for a further 5 minutes.
  2. Finally, place the soup into a liquidiser & blend until smooth. Serve with a drizzle of truffle oil on top.
Adapted from Linthwaite House
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calories
325
fat
21g
protein
5g
carbs
31g
more
Adapted from Linthwaite House
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/