My First Roast Chicken

I tagged along on a trip to Bath with my mum on Saturday and marched around all the places I wanted to visit in under two hours while she had lunch. It was great but I wish I'd had longer! I bought the most beautiful 21cm chef's knife made by I O Shen - the swirls along the handle aren't just decorative but help with the weight and balance of the knife. Then, I visited the amazing Foodie Bugle and chatted to the lovely owners, Silvana and John-Paul de Soissons about their beautiful and eclectic selection of kitchenware for sale. I purchased a pretty tile to take photos against, which is something I've been after for a long time, along with a Falcon enamel pie dish (for 2 potion lasagne in Poitiers) and their first printed magazine - it started out being online. My third and last stop was Richard Bertinet's bakery for some focaccia and a quiche for my supper. Once there I also couldn't resist one of his recipe books that focused just on bread recipes - an excellent find as I have enough cookbooks already that are half bread and half cake!

Leek and Bacon Pasta Bake

This is a family favourite and I can't remember where it originated from but my sister can probably tell me! We normally cook this in France and have a few variations - chicken and broccoli, leek and bacon, pea and chicken, or any combination of those ingredients. I'm afraid this is one of my very vague recipes as I always forget to weigh the ingredients before I cook them. You just need to make enough cheese sauce to cover the pasta. Last time I made it I used half dried pasta and half fresh pasta and it tasted delicious.

Bacon and leeks

Leek and bacon pasta bake recipe

Serves 3 or so people

Preheat the oven to 180˚

Ingredients

2 leeks, thinly sliced

6 rashers of bacon, cut into pieces

Enough cooked pasta for 2 people

Knob of butter

Plain flour

Milk

Optional grating of nutmeg

Cheddar cheese or gruyère

Method

In a frying pan gently and slowly cook the leeks and bacon until the bacon is cooked and the leeks are soft and not squeaky.

Cook the pasta so that it's al dente.

Melt the butter in a heavy based pan and add the flour to make a roux (when it makes a sort of paste from the melted butter and flour).

Once the roux is made, slowly add milk, stirring/whisking all the time, until the mixture is smooth.

Bring to gently to the boil and keep stirring until the sauce thickens.

Take off the heat.

Grate a little nutmeg in (I don't know where to put in the nutmeg in a cheese sauce so I just add it near the end) and then pop the grated cheese in to taste. Stir until the cheese is melted in.

Put the leeks, bacon, pasta and sauce in an ovenproof dish and cook in the oven for 20 minutes or so until the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown on top.

Cheese sauce with nutmeg