Only_Oli (The O_Zone)

Ingredients :

• A can of Chickpeas
• A can of tomatoes
• one pepper
• Some carrots, as you see fit
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 chicken stock cube
• Salt, Pepper
• Dried Apricots (very important to give some authentic flavour of Sweet and Spicy).
• A bunch of Parsley or Coriander, depending on your taste
• Optional: A couple of potatoes
• Optional: Cauliflower
• KEY ingredients: The spices are the key ingredients in this dish, and it comes down to what you like or the dishes that you are trying to accompany.
  • Ground Coriander
  • Turmeric
  • Cumin
  • Smoked Paprika
  • Piment de l’espelette
  • Black Pepper
  • Cinnamon (I only like very little of this if any)
  • Ras el Hanout (which is usually a blend of all the spices above and even more).

How to Make :

• Chop the carrots into big pieces
• Do the same with Pepper and Potatoes, or all the vegetables you considered.
• Roast the Garlic and spices for a few minutes, and then add all the other ingredients.
• Pour 0.5l of Chicken Stock, bring to a boil to cook the vegetables, and reduce slightly.
• You can make the ragout a bit thicker with a tablespoon of flour if required.

Ingredients :

• 1.5kg approx of deboned lamb shoulder.
• Salt, Pepper to taste
• A bunch of curly parsley
• 80-100g of onion
• 80-100g of Pistachios
• 80-100g of Almonds
• 80-100g of Pine Nuts
• 80-100g of dates
• 80-100g of dried Abricots
• 2tsp of Ras el Hanout spices
• Some honey (may be a good tablespoon)
• Olive oil to cover the meat before cooking

How to Make :

• Blitz all the ingredients in the Thermomix for 10 seconds on 5, this will make a coarse paste.
• Open up the shoulder flat on the tray.
• Use the Thermomix mixture as a “farce” and roll the shoulder with some butcher’s twine.
•  Put in the oven at 140 degrees for 2 to 3 hours. (you can cover with aluminium foil, but make sure you leave some time without the foil to give it a nice colour)

Serve with some Gratin Dauphinois and juicy vegetables…and a good Cote du Rhône

Ingredients :

• 1.2kg of Potatoes, Charlotte’s are the best but others will do.
• 1 or 2 Garlic Cloves
• Fresh Thyme
• Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg
• Double Cream (2X400ml)
• 400g of Conte Cheese

How to Make :

• Mandoline slice the potatoes into 3mm thick pieces
• Layer the oven proof dish with :
  • Patatoes
  • Salt / Pepper / Thyme
  • Grated Conte Cheese
  • Cover with some cream
• Repeat until the dish is full
• Grate some Garlic on one of the layers to give a bit of special flavour
• Do the same with the nutmeg as it is quite powerfull
• Place in oven for 60mins at 170 degrees (fan) – or until cooked
• Check the cooking at it varies on the type of patatoes used.
• See my other post on patatoes to choose the right type

  

  

  

  
  

A buttery, crisp, and simple pastry base

I’ve been saying for a while that I should make my own shortcrust pastry instead of buying it ready-made—and I finally did.
It’s surprisingly quick, deliciously buttery, and the texture is perfect for any tart or quiche (like my Tomatoes, Bacon and Goat Cheese Quiche).

You can do it entirely by hand, but the Thermomix TM7 makes it very easy.

🧈 Ingredients

For one 28 cm tart (or two small ones):

• 250 g plain flour

• 125 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

• 1 pinch of salt

• 1 egg yolk (optional – richer texture)

• 2 to 3 tbsp cold water (just enough to bind)

⚙️ Method – Thermomix TM7

1. Add flour, butter, and salt to the bowl.

2. Mix 10 sec / speed 6 → sandy texture.

3. Add egg yolk and 2 tbsp cold water.

4. Mix 15 sec / speed 4, until the dough begins to clump.

5. Gather into a ball by hand – don’t overwork it.

6. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes before use.

🖐️ Method – Manual

1. In a bowl, mix the flour and salt.

2. Rub in the butter with fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.

3. Add the egg yolk and just enough cold water to form a dough.

4. Shape into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

🔥 Baking Tips

• For quiches: blind-bake at 180 °C (fan) for 15–20 minutes with ceramic beads.

• For sweet tarts: bake fully with filling at 180 °C for around 30 minutes until golden.

• The dough freezes beautifully; wrap tightly in cling film.

🧑‍🍳 Notes

• For sweet pastry, add 1 tbsp sugar and skip the egg yolk.

• For extra flakiness, replace 20 g of butter with 20 g of lard or shortening.

• If you use salted butter, skip the pinch of salt.

Perfect for…

• Quiche Lorraine

• Goat Cheese & Tomato Tart

• Lemon Tart or Tarte à la Rhubarbe

I am having a go at making some rustic terrine this weekend.

I first made this in 2023. I am planning to make this in large quantities, but freeze some of them for longer-term storage.

I used chicken liver this time in 2025, and it is delicious. I made four jars and a terrine.

I will try to freeze a couple to see how the long term storage works. (We have already eaten a jar in less than 3 days….)

Ingredients :

• 500g Minced Pork or Shoulder that you mince yourself.
• 500g Porc liver, I have also used Chicken liver.
• 500g Pork Belly.
• 250g Pancetta or Smoked bacon
• 2 eggs
• 3 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
• Two medium-sized finely chopped Shallots
• A tsp of Pepper
• 3 to 4 Tsp of Salt
• I like a bit of Nutmeg as well, and Juniper berries are also an optional addition.
• A little bit of fresh or dried Thyme, a little bit of Parsley
• A double shot of Cognac, Armagnac, or Port.

How to Make :

• Mince all the meat on a coarse setting or cut it finely with a knife.(5 seconds on 8 in Thermomix)
• Cook the liver a tiny bit to seal it in a pan with butter. Then take it out and cut it into small bits.
• Pour the Cognac into the pan with a teaspoon of sugar and evaporate until you get a nice caramel.
• Mix all ingredients, spices, and meat until you obtain a homogeneous mixture. best to massage the meat manually.
• Make sure the conserve jars are sterilised. (I steam mine for 5 to 10 minutes)
• Put the mixture in the preserved jars.
• Cook in the oven at 130 degrees Celsius in a bain marie until the temperature in the centre of the jar of meat reaches at least 71 degrees Celsius. I have also done 2 hours.
• The small jars will be ready before the large ones, so take them out of the oven when they reach 71 degrees Celsius. (This is optional)
• Take them out of the oven and let them cool. Ideally, you want to press the meat because it will shrink a bit in the jars. Alternatively, you can melt some lard and pour it over the dish. This will fill the gaps and protect for the longer term.
• Put into the fridge for 24-48 hours before eating.

Another quick recipe for a weeknight dish.

Ingredients:

• Some Shoulder pork steaks, one per person (3 or 4 in this case).
• 4x Greek Yoghurt. 2 for the marinade, 2 for the sauce
• 1 Lemon, 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil, two cloves of Garlic.
• 1 tsp Cumin, 1tsp Ground Coriander, a pinch of Salt, 1/2 tsp Pepper.
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika, 2 tsp of mixed dried herbs.
• 2 Large tomatoes.
• 1 Large onion
• 3 or 4 Gyros breads, if you can find them, or simply Pita Bread.
• Parsley, dried or fresh (The classic would be Mint but I prefer Parsley).
• 1/4 of a Cucumber. (roughly peeled and de-seeded)
• 1 Clove of Garlic
• Ideally, a few wooden skewers
• More cucumber as garnish is also allowed….

How to Make:

• Cut the steaks into thin slices (2 or 3mm thick)
• Slice the tomatoes thinly and de-seed. Slice the onion thinly, reserve for the final serving.
• Mix the two yoghurts with the spices, lemon juice, olive oil, and crushed garlic. This will be the marinade.
• Marinate the pork for an hour in the fridge.
• Make the Tzatziki sauce with two yoghurts, finely chopped cucumber, a single clove of crushed garlic, and one tablespoon of olive oil. (optional, a bit of lemon)
• Add Parsley, Salt, and Pepper to your taste.
• Once the pork is ready, cook in the air fryer for 15-20 minutes on 195 degrees. (You can use the skewers to keep things a bit more tidy and manageable inside the Air-fryer.

Serve with a few chips and a beer! (Either prepare each Gyro or let your guest decide how to stuff the pitta with all the goodness you have prepared).

Over the years, I have documented a few brioche recipes.

This is my latest as of the Summer of 2025.

I use my Thermomix TM7 to measure and warm the milk, egg, and butter mixture to 37 degrees.

I then use it for the kneading as well. It makes it all very simple.

Ingredients:

• 100g Butter – room temperature
• 250ml Milk – room temperature
• 1 egg – room temperature
• Mon Fournil Brioche Flour (I source mine from a company called French Click)

How to Make:

• Using Thermomix
• Measure 250g of milk
• Add Measure 100g of Butter (in small cubes)
• Add one egg
• Set TM7 to 37 degrees Celsius for 4 minutes, rotating in reverse at 0.5
• Add Flour
• Set to dough mode for 3 minutes
• Wait 5 minutes
• Do the dough mode again for 3 minutes.
• Take it out of the bowl and put it into a large glass bowl with cling film
• Let it rise until it doubles in size. (90 minutes)
• Butter the oven-safe Brioche tin
• Split into three balls of approximately 280g. Make 3 small balls by “tucking under”
• Place the 3 balls into the tin, cover with clingfilm, and let them rise again until they touch the clingfilm.
• Optional but nice: Brush an egg on the top of the raised dough before putting it in the oven.
• Place in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees on fan mode.
• Let cook for 30 minutes, then monitor until the internal temperature reaches 90-91 degrees or a knife inserted comes out clean. (Could be another 20 minutes).
• Unmold immediately after cooking and let cool down on a wire rack. (Use a long, thin knife to separate the sides of the brioche)

Optional:

• Once the brioche is cool, cut it into slices and freeze it in separate bags for later use.