Smoked Salmon Carbonara

Once again, I find myself undertaking a health and fitness overhaul - and whilst I am trying to lose a little weight, it's more a case of adjusting lifestyle and nutrition for the whole family, without compromising on the delicious food that we all love.

I've made a version of this Smoked Salmon Carbonara for a few years - firstly taking inspiration from this BBC Good Food recipe. 

However, I have tinkered and tweaked, as I generally do to make it my own, and just recently have overhauled the cream element to use fat free Greek yoghurt to help with the sauce - it works marvellously. I also use dill rather than chives, as it's a beautiful complementary herb with salmon and the addition of spinach just gives it some veggie goodness.

It's a super speedy meal and can be on the table in under fifteen minutes including preparation so is perfect for midweek when time is short.

The below makes three adult portions - with each portion coming in at around 512 calories.

Smoked Salmon Carbonara

Here's how:

• 100g smoked salmon
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 eggs
• 2 heaped tbsp Fat Free Greek Yoghurt
• 200g dried spaghetti
• 100g spinach
• 50g Grana Padana or other hard cheese
• Black pepper
• Sea salt
• Handful dill leaves

Firstly fill and boil the kettle and pour the boiled water over the dried spaghetti in a large pot, season with a pinch of salt and place onto a medium heat. Use a fork to gently tease the spaghetti down into the water as it softens and cook for 9 minutes (or according to the packet instructions).

In the meantime add the olive oil to a pan or wok and place onto a low heat. 

Now mince the garlic and add to the pan to gently soften and flavour the oil. Add the spinach leaves to the pan and allow to cook gently, then carefully remove the spinach and set aside.

Slice the salmon into thin slithers and set aside. Chop the dill finely. 

Now in a jug or bowl crack in the two eggs, add the Greek yoghurt and the cheese; season generously and mix well. Now add the salmon and half of the dill.

Once the pasta has cooked through, use tongs to remove it and place directly into the pan with the oil and garlic, still on a low heat. 

Toss the past using the tongs, to ensure it all gets a slight coat of the garlicy oil, and then add the yoghurt and egg mixture over the pasta and mix well to ensure all of the pasta becomes coated with the creamy sauce. 

Return the spinach to the pan and mix through and then remove from the heat and dish up, sprinkling over the remaining dill leaves onto each portion to serve.

For more family pasta recipe inspiration I've included a few of our favourites below:

• Super Green Pasta Sauce
• Squash Mac and Cheese
• Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron and Chilli
• Bridget's Easy Peasy Cheesy Pasta Bake
• Pastitsio - The Greek Lasagna

Children's Party Food: Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Blinis

Catering for children's parties often means the parents too, and this always begs the question of whether to just cater for the children, or to throw a few other bites onto the buffet table that might satisfy a more sophisticated, older palate. 

These smoked salmon blinis always go down well and are so quick and simple to do they're an absolute no-brainer. You can of course garnish with a little dill too, but I struggled to get hold of any for Bridget's second birthday party recently. Bridget loves them too - so they're a good all-rounder for both young and old party guests.

Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Blinis

Here's how:

• Pack of blinis
• 1 tub cream cheese
• 300g smoked salmon
• 1 lemon
• Black pepper to season

Firstly place the blinis onto a the grill rack and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes on either side, remove and leave somewhere to fully cool.

Spread each blini with a teaspoon full of cream cheese.

Put on top of each blini a generous amount of smoked salmon in a pretty looking mound.

Squeeze over the fresh lemon and add a pinch of black pepper to each. Enjoy!

Lunch at Oblix, The Shard

Last Monday, I enjoyed a gorgeous, impromptu lunch at The Shard's Oblix restaurant with my friend Tatum and our two little ones.

We were in the area to visit the London Aquarium and decided to try this rather than the flurry of chain restaurants we wandered past along the Southbank.

Considering it was Monday lunchtime, and a dreary day, the place was buzzing, mainly with what looked like business lunches, and as it's a smart place; we were impressed by how welcoming and accommodating the staff were to Bridget and Cruz, a pair of cheeky toddlers. They were really helpful sorting highchairs and that was the first tick for me.

The views over London are great, but it was a pretty grey day, so we didn't choose the best day for that.

Tatum and I shared a range of small plates, which was a great way to enjoy lunch together, as there was a wide variety of delicious plates to choose from. Every plate was artfully and carefully considered in terms of presentation too.

We had a flatbread topped with smoked salmon, rocket, cream cheese, chives, lemon and some sea salt and every taste was delicious. The babies thought so too. 

Smoked Salmon, Rocket, Cream Cheese & Chive Flatbread at Oblix

A crispy chilli squid with lime was one of the best I've had in a long time, it wasn't over seasoned and it wasn't overcooked; just done to perfection and a burst of delicious flavour in every mouthful. 

Crispy Chilli Squid with Lime at Oblix, The Shard

The soft shell crab was to die for too - a taste of the sea brought to life with a gorgeous hint of chilli infused mayonnaise.

Soft Shell Crab at Oblix, The Shard

We had a plate of seared beef, which was just browned at the edges, as the name suggests, topped with truffle and girolles and was served with a sweetcorn jus or reduction. I cannot stress enough how beautiful this was both in appearance and flavour, the meat just melted in the mouth, delicious. 

Seared Beef with Girolle and Truffle at Oblix, The Shard

Our final dish at Oblix was burrata - after my recent trip to Rome I'd been craving it and it's not available in too many places here. Soft, creamy and fantastic, the burrata was served with fresh datterini tomatoes; a perfectly sweet, small variety, with basil leaves, a drizzle of a balsamic glaze and a great olive tapenade. Our standout dish for sure. So simple yet so stunning.

Burrata at Oblix, The Shard

We also had some chips as a finger food for the two tots which were also rather tasty and some beautiful freshly baked bread too.

Oblix is an attractive proposition, stylish setting, winning menu that delivers on both taste and appearance, views over the city and attentive, knowledgeable staff. With an open kitchen and views into the pastry kitchen, the butchery area and the open grill, aside from the other guests it sets a great atmosphere too.

The staff at Oblix were great with the children, didn't mind them having a few snacks we'd brought along with us or the mess on, and under, the table that comes with two feisty toddlers.

The meal with service at Oblix came in at £120. Money well spent, and I’ll be sure to return to try the dinner menu.

Smoked Salmon Shred Salad with Horseradish Dressing

Here's another delicious salad that comes in at only 315 calories and includes a delicious, creamy and punchy dressing too.

The smoked salmon provides a wonderful source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids plus lots of vitamins and minerals and the 125g smoked salmon is a generous amount too. The horseradish dressing works so well with the smoked salmon too and this doesn't feel like a 'diet' dish - it's utterly delicious and filling.

Smoked Salmon Shred Salmon with Horseradish Dressing

Here’s how:

• 125g smoked salmon
• 50g watercress
• 50g carrot
• 50g red cabbage
• 50g cucumber
• 50g radish
• 1 tbsp 0% Natural Yoghurt (I use Yeo Valley) 
• 1 tsp creamed horseradish
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 cherry tomatoes
• Pinch black pepper

Grate the carrot, red cabbage, cucumber and radish and add to the plate with the watercress and halved cherry tomatoes.

Pop the salmon on and squeeze over the lemon over the entire plate and then sprinkle on the black pepper - be generous as lemon and pepper over smoked salmon is delicious.

Now add the Fat Free Yoghurt and the creamed horseradish to a small bowl or cup and mix then add to the plate for a gorgeous dressing. Enjoy!

Brunch at Villandry, Great Portland Street

A few weeks back I won a Twitter competition to enjoy a brunch for two at Villandry on Great Portland Street, so a week later I trotted along one August Saturday morning with my mum, Vicky for a leisurely brunch followed by some retail therapy.

Having only ever popped into Villandry for a tea or coffee with a slice of cake before, I was keen to try out what else they had on offer. Our table was booked for 11:30am and I immediately ordered a Virgin Mary with a pot of tea for Mum, and a latte for myself, whilst we perused the menu.

The Virgin Mary had a good hit of spice in there, which is just how I like them, and for once I wasn’t hungover, so I wasn’t craving a good glug of vodka for that oh-so soothing hair of the dog feeling.

Rather than the traditional egg and bacon options, Mum and I were rather more tempted by their ‘small plates’ section of the menu which had some very enticing sounding dishes listed.

We chose the Villandry Mediterranean mezze platter, a smoked salmon dish, salt and pepper squid, beef carpaccio and a dressed crab salad with some chunky bread – in short, a mini-feast for the pair of us.

The platter consisted of a quenelle each of hummus and babaganoush with some focaccia, some deliciously salty black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet roasted red pepper, some griddled courgette and some mozzarella balls rolled in a mild pesto. 

The babaganoush and focaccia were the stand-outs of the mezze. In fact, all of the bread is produced on-site and is outstanding, but the focaccia had an extra something – a slight garlic hue with the crunch of sea salt, it was sensational – I could have certainly eaten more of it. The babaganoush had a coarse, chunky texture and a divine smoked flavour – again, I could have eaten tons more of it, but luckily we had plenty more to get through.

The Severn & Wye smoked salmon had a beautiful flavour, gently smoky and with a melt in the mouth texture, the drizzle of lemon over it only improved it, with of course the essential sprinkling of black pepper. Eaten with a hunk of the delicious Villandry bread, this was a winner.

The salt and pepper squid was fantastic. Coated in a beautifully light batter that was packed full of flavour, the squid was cooked to perfection, unlike so many other venues that over-cook their squid, this was light with just a touch of bite to it, but had, happily, completely avoided that awful rubberiness that I’ve experienced time and time again elsewhere. I did find it a little strange that this was served with what tasted and looked like a thousand island dressing, but hey ho. 

The other real winning dish was the dressed crab and avocado salad. Once again the quality and flavour of the crab was excellent, and with a little green leaf covering the mound of crab, and the cucumber jelly which covered the square plate, it was a very, very  pretty plate and certainly wasn’t a case of style over substance. I would actually return for this alone as a delightful lunch dish. 

The only other dish we had was the beef carpaccio, which was the only thing that there was really any left of at the end of our feast. It was perfectly acceptable in terms of quality, but really was lacking in seasoning, and when compared to the delights of the squid, salmon, crab and the mezze platter, it just didn’t match up, but as we’d over ordered anyway, this wasn’t a problem at all.

The service was attentive, friendly and informative throughout our brunch at Villandry. We sat in the restaurant area rather that the café, which was a mistake as there was much more of a buzz in the café area that was packed full, but this certainly didn’t detract from what was a very pleasurable meal. We were gifted a £50 voucher and had a small bill of £8 to pay at the end so this also presents good value in the heart of the West End. Definitely a key contender for the best brunch spots, but I will certainly return to try some of the main dishes too as they all sounded rather glorious too.