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Privacy NoticeYou’d be surprised by the number of mouth-watering meals you can rustle-up using the contents of your store cupboard. Jo Pratt, a chef and author who’s known for her passion for inspirational, modern and tasty food, is on a mission. She has partnered with specialist food importers Cooks&Co’s to inspire home cooks to explore and experiment with exciting new flavours, using store cupboard essentials with a few fresh ingredients thrown in the mix. Whether it’s a delicious dinner or a simple but tasty cake, Jo shares some of her favourite recipes that showcase Cooks&Co’s range, adding an extra dimension to your cooking. And from sweety drop peppers to plump pitted black cherries, there’s an ingredient to elevate every dish… Cherry Streusel Cake With Cherry Cream
This irresistible cake is wonderfully straight forward to make
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Ingredients / Serves 8-10 425g can of Cooks&Co Pitted Black Cherries 50g caster sugar 200ml double cream 1 tbsp kirsch (cherry liqueur) For the base 115g unsalted butter, soft 115g caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste 3 large eggs 75g ground almonds 75g polenta 1 tsp baking powder (gluten-free if required) For the Streusel topping 85g porridge oats (gluten-free if required) 65g unsalted butter, diced 25g caster sugar 65g coconut flakes Method Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the base and sides of a 20cm square cake tin with a piece of baking parchment. Drain the Cooks&Co Pitted Black Cherries, reserving the liquid. Sit the drained cherries on a plate lined with some kitchen paper to absorb any excess liquid. Put the cherry syrup in a wide saucepan with the 50g caster sugar. Bring to the boil and leave to reduce to a more syrupy consistency until you have about 150ml in quantity. Set aside and leave to cool completely. For the base, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla using an electric mixer until you have a light and fluffy consistency. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the ground almonds, polenta and baking powder. Spread the cake batter into the base of the prepared tin. Scatter the drained cherries over the top of the base. To make the streusel topping, put the oats, butter and caster sugar in a large bowl. Add the coconut flakes, crushing them in your hands as you add them, to break them into slightly smaller pieces. Rub everything together with your fingertips to make a rough crumble mixture and scatter on top of the cherries. Put in the oven and bake for 50 minutes until nicely golden and the centre feels firm when lightly pressed. Cool in the tin for about 30 minutes before serving warm or cooling completely on a wire rack. To make the cherry cream. Lightly whisk the double cream until it starts to form soft peaks. Stir the kirsch into the cooled cherry syrup, then fold this through the cream giving you a pretty, pink cherry flavoured cream. Serve with slices of the cherry streusel cake. Pan-fried Gnocchi With Chicken, Porcini and Blue Cheese
Using shop-bought packs of fresh gnocchi makes this dish into a one-pan wonder
Ingredients / Serves 4 25g Cooks&Co Dried Porcini Mushrooms 2 skinless chicken breast fillets 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves 3 tbsp olive oil 10g butter 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed or grated 600g fresh gnocchi 100g Cooks&Co Sweety Drop Peppers, drained 100g baby leaf spinach Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 100g firm blue cheese, such as Stilton or Danish Blue Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling Method Put the Cooks&Co Dried Porcini Mushrooms into a measuring jug and fill with boiling water until it reaches 300ml. Set aside and leave the mushrooms to rehydrate for a few minutes. Cut the chicken into thin strips. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the thyme leaves. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken and stir fry for about five minutes until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Stir in the garlic for the final minute. Remove from the pan and set aside. Return the pan to a high heat and add 1 more tbsp olive oil and the butter. Fry the gnocchi for about 5 minutes until golden, tossing around for even colouring. Return the chicken to the pan and add the peppers, rehydrated mushrooms, and all the liquid. Allow to simmer for about 2 minutes then stir through the spinach, a handful at a time, until the leaves have just wilted. Season with a little salt and a good twist of black pepper. Finish by scattering over the blue cheese so it melts over the top. Serve straight away with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and twist of black pepper. Pork and Lentil Stroganoff
Traditional stroganoff using brown lentils and dried Porcini mushrooms? Genius!
Ingredients / Serves 4 25g Cooks&Co Dried Porcini Mushrooms 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely sliced 2 cloves garlic, peeled and grated or crushed Pinch cayenne pepper 1 tsp paprika 300g pork fillet, cut into slim strips 1 x 400g tin Cooks&Co Brown Lentils, drained 2 x Cooks&Co Roasted Red Peppers, cut into thin strips 1 tsp Dijon mustard 200ml sour cream 80g baby spinach leaves Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the rice 40g butter 1 onion, chopped 1 bay leaf 250g basmati rice 500ml chicken stock Method Put the dried Porcini Mushrooms into a measuring jug and pour in boiling water until it reaches 450ml in the jug. Set aside and leave the mushrooms to rehydrate. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. For the rice, melt the butter in a heavy based braising casserole dish with a lid. Add the onion and bay leaf and cook gently for about 10 minutes until the onion has softened but not coloured. Stir in the rice. Once it is coated in the butter, pour in the stock, increase the heat, bring to the boil and cover with the lid. Put in the oven and cook for 20 minutes without removing the lid. Once cooked, remove from the oven, and leave to stand for about 5 minutes to continue to absorb any moisture in the pan. Meanwhile, to make the stroganoff, heat a large frying pan with the 1 tbsp olive oil. Gently cook sliced onion for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic, cayenne pepper and paprika. Cook for about 30 seconds. Increase the heat, add the pork, and stir fry for a couple of minutes until the pork is starting to cook through. Stir in the lentils and red Peppers, soaked porcini mushrooms and all the liquid. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, a little at a time and stir until wilted. Finally, stir in the Dijon mustard, sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Remove the lid from the rice pan, run a fork through the rice to separate the grains and serve alongside the stroganoff. Cooks&Co is an award-winning ingredients brand, offering a range of great tasting ingredients for beginners and passionate foodies to use for any meal or occasion. Jo Pratt x Cooks&Co www.cooksandco.co.uk. READ MORE: Click here for today’s top showbiz news Steph’s Packed Lunch chef Theo dishes up the ultimate grazing boards Boost energy levels and sleep quality with The Imperfect Nutritionist’s dishes Mindful Chef’s super quick recipes you need for spring – gnocchi to rump steak Get exclusive celebrity stories and shoots straight to your inbox with OK!’s daily newsletter Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnBlueFood
