Chilli Pepper Travels

Kedgeree

2021-08-10T03:02:00.001-07:00

Some people love it and some people don’t. It’s a curious dish, fused from Scottish smoked fish and Indian fried rice.

Usually it’s made with smoked haddock, but I’m using kippers today. Although I think any smoked fish will be great in this dish. Lot’s of sweet veggies compliment the smoky fish and a bit of umami rich Thai fish sauce adds the right kind of savouriness.

Ingredients

2 kipper fillets, poached in milk, broken into chunks

(Reserve the milk for cooking the rice)

1cup of Long grain or basmati rice (cook in one and a half times the amount of liquid to rice and using the poaching milk from the fish and/or water)

1tbs Ginger-Garlic Paste

2 fresh chillies, chopped

1onion, chopped

1red Pepper diced

1handful Frozen peas

1handful sweetcorn kernels

1handful chopped spring onion

1handful chopped fresh coriander

1tbs Indian curry powder

1tbs Thai fish Sauce

1tsp black Pepper

Poach the kippers in the milk for just a couple of minutes. Use the Milk to cook the rice.

Fry the onion and add the ginger garlic paste.

Ad the cooked rice and all the veggies and mix well in the hot pan/wok/kharai

Add the curry powder, pepper and fish sauce and taste for the right Balance.

Serve with lemon if you like. I prefer it without.

Bon Appetit!

Spinach and Feta Lasagne

2019-06-22T04:41:00.001-07:00

This recipe has one of my favourite combination of ingredients - Spinach and Feta. This time realised in a Lasagna.

Ingredients

400g Spinach, blanched

200g Feta

250g Ricotta

2 Eggs

8 Lasagne sheets

A grating of nutmeg

A few grinds of pepper

300ml Hollandaise Sauce

80g grated Cheddar Cheese

Mix together spinach, ricotta, crumbled feta, eggs and seasonings.

Layer the lasagne sheets with the spinach mixture in a baking dish, topping the last lasagne sheet layer with the hollandaise sauce and the grated cheddar.

Bake in the oven at gas 6 or 170C ish for about 40 minutes.

Let the top get nice and golden brown.

Cut into squares and enjoy with a little salad.

Stir fried Morning Glory (Pak Boong Fai Dang)

2019-04-18T04:54:00.001-07:00

One of my favourites is this Thai style stir fried Morning Glory.

Very quick and healthy, but most important very tasty.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of Morning Glory (Water Spinach) , cut into 1 inch pieces, leaves and stalks separate

5 gloves of Garlic, sliced

2 long red Chillies, sliced

2 tsp fermented Soybean paste

1 tsp Oyster sauce

1 tsp Light Soy Sauce

1 tsp Thai Fish Sauce

1 tbs Water

1 tbs vegetable oil

Prepare all the ingredients beforehand, ready to wok.

Make a sauce from the water, fish sauce, soy sauce and soybean paste.

Heat the wok, then add the oil, garlic and chilli.

Stir fry for a moment just to soften slightly then add the stalks of the Morning Glory.

Stir together then add the sauce.

Heat through before adding the leaves at the last minute, just to let them wilt.

Ready!

Serve with steamed rice.

I also added a Thai style omelette to complete my meal.
Bon Appetit!

Dim Sum - Daikon Cake - Lo Bak Go

2019-03-02T00:28:00.001-08:00

So today I am making one of my favourite Dim Sum. Called by different names in English, like Turnip Cake, Radish Cake etc.

I decided to call it by it’s actual ingredient that I’ve used, which is Daikon.

The Daikon I got is fairly small, so I’m using two. But they come in all kinds of sizes, so you’ll have to adjust the recipe to suit your amount of Daikon.

Daikon is a kind of radish by the way, in case your not familiar with it.

Instead of Chinese sausage I am using a nice smoked bacon, not only because I haven’t got any Chinese sausage, but also because I think it tastes nice.

The cake needs to be sautéed, cooked, steamed and fried. So there are many steps to follow. But none are difficult.

Here goes:

First the ingredients

2 Daikon shredded or grated

3 thin slices of smoked streaky bacon, chopped (or 1 small Chinese sausage]

2 dried Shitake mushrooms (soaked for 3 hours, starting with 150ml hot water) stem discarded and then chopped

1 heaped tbs dried shrimp (soaked for 3 hours together with the shitake) (keep the soaking water) and chopped a little smaller

100g Rice Flour (I used brown)

1 tbs Tapioca Starch

100ml water

1tsp of Salt and a pinch of white Pepper

2 tsp Sugar

Once all the ingredients are prepared we are ready to start cooking.

Start by frying the bacon on a low heat to release all their oils or fats.

Add the mushrooms and shrimp and sautéed a little more.

Add the shredded Daikon and let it wilt and settle in the heat.

Season with salt, white pepper and sugar, then add 100 ml water, put a lid on,

and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix the soaking water, taking care that there is no grit in it, with the rice flour and tapioca starch.

After 10 minutes the Daikon should be soft and the starchy slushy is ready to be added.

Stir everything well until it thickens into a paste. Turn of the heat.

Now to steam the Daikon Cake.

Line a cake tin with cling film, leaving some excess over the edges, to be folded over later.

Transfer he Daikon Paste mixture into the cake tin and smooth the top.

Fold over the cling film, to prevent drips from the steamer lid falling onto your cake.

Place into your steamer basket and steam for 1 hour.

Leave to cool before removing and be careful of the steam.

Cool completely in the fridge.

Remove from the tin and cut into thick slices.

Fry in a little oil until nice brown edges have developed.

Or be a rebel like me and fry it all like a frittata.

Serve with soy and chilli dipping sauces.

Bon Appetit!

Surf and Turf P.F. Chang‘s style

2018-12-29T01:43:00.004-08:00

So I had this dish at P.F. Chang’s in Fort Lauderdale once and loved it. Ever since I’ve been trying to recreate it. There are some copycat websites, but non seemed to have the recipe for this one.
This is my version. It has no lobster, but don’t let me stop you from adding a tail or two.
My recipe has ribeye instead of filet mignon. But it’s a part of the dish that can be changed to your liking. I can imagine Venison or even Kangeroo making a great substitution.

Surf and Turf Ingredients
Prepare all these ingredients separately and put aside, together in a bowl.

10 King Prawns, cooked
1 Filet Steak, cubed into 2cm pieces, quickly seared on all sides
5 asparagus spears, cut into 1inch length and steamed for 3 minutes, then refreshed in icecold water
5 Shitake mushrooms, sliced thickly and fried quickly
2 medium potatoes, diced and fried until golden

The butter glaze
Mix together
1 tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tbs shao shing rice wine
2 tbs water
2 tsp honey
1 the butter
1 tsp cornstarch
1 star anise
3 slices ginger
1 sliced garlic clove

Bring this sauce to a simmer. Then leave to cool and remove the whole spicings.
Now the preparation or mise en place is complete.

When ready to serve the dish, heat a wok as hot as it gets and throw all the surf and turf into it.
Quickly stirfry to heat everything through, add the sauce, let it bubble and coat/glaze everything. Serve right away garnished with chopped spring onion and coriander.
Bon Apetit.

PS, if you know another good version, please let me know :)

Jellied Eel

2018-12-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

As per repeated request I am posting this recipe which stems from my mother and her mother before that.

Eel is caught in the lake of my hometown in Germany by the local fisheries.

I was very happy to see their van/stall parked outside the supermarket. As I walked towards it, I was saying Eel, Eel, Eel repeatedly in my head, wishing it to be there.

And yes! He had just two lovely and fresh Eels there, just waiting for me.

This recipe is ever so easy and even considered old fashioned and unpopular. But before it gets lost, I am writing it down now. My mum is old now and doesn’t remember any receipts.

So here it is the way I recall it.

The measurements are not in stone, so you have to add little and taste, use your judgement and creativity, and sometimes I think a bit of luck, and a bit of magic.

Here is picture, but it’s not mine. Mine wasn’t very pretty, so I put it at the end...

Recipe

1large Eel, 1kg ish, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 Onion, roughly sliced

1 Carrot, sliced

5 Peppercorns

3 Cloves

2 Bayleaves

2 tsp sea Salt

2 tsp Sugar

2 tbs White Vinegar

Water

Add the Eel, salt, carrot, onion, pepper, cloves and Bayleaves to a pot and add water

literally to just cover everything.

Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.

Leave to cool slightly, then season with sugar and vinegar to taste.

Your looking to achieve a good picking type liquid or brine, which will become the jelly, but also flavour the fish.

Once cooled to room temperature place the fish and liquid into its glass or ceramic serving dish, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

In the morning you will have Jellied Eels! The liquid yellifies all by itself.

Eat with some rye bread or toast or steaming hot boiled potatoes and horseradish sauce.

Bon Appetit,

Ps: Eel are not sustainable everywhere, so make sure you get it from a sustainable source.

Shashlik with Letcho

2017-10-28T06:33:00.001-07:00

I’m sure you’ve heard the word Shashlik before and maybe in your tradition is actually is a kind of meat on stick dish. The one I’m presenting here is the kind of Shashlik (actually spelled Schaschlik. Where I’m from) I remember from childhood BBQ’s in North Eastern Germany.

Much of our cuisine was highly influenced by Hungarian dishes, and this one is a prime example.

Meat on sticks covered with a tangy Paprika and tomato based sauce. Fond memories....

For the Schaschlik any kind of meat or sausage can be used, but tradition had it, that

Diced Pork Fillet

Thick sliced of bacon and diced pork liver

Or pieces of liver rolled in bacon

Sliced pickled cucumbers and

Onion segments

were used to make up the sticks.

Nowadays I like to add more things. Meatballs, bratwurst, peppers, mushrooms and whatever else I can think of. The more variety to more fun to eat!

The Letcho sauce is made by

Sautéing Bell peppers or similar and onions in bacon fat or olive oil, then adding fresh tomoatoes, preferably skinned or tinned or passata. I like passata as it’s nice and smooth and makes an attractive sauce.

Simply add salt, pepper and paprika powder to taste and a delicious sauce awaits. It’s lovely hot, but I actually really like it fridge cold.

The traditional Schaschlik Recipe:

1 Pork Fillet, diced into 1inch pieces

400g chicken livers, cut into equal size pieces to the Pork

4slices of streaky bacon cut in half and used to roll around the chicken livers

1 onion, quartered, then the segments separated.

1 large gherkin, thickly sliced

Salt, pepper and paprika powder mixed together to make the seasoning

Alternate the ingredients onto your skewers and bbq, grill or shallow fry on a medium heat until cooked through, while turning frequently.

Letscho German Style:

1 red, yellow and green bell pepper, sliced

1 400ml jar of passata

1 onion, sliced

1tbs lard, (I’m using olive oil, but lard was the fat of choice in olden days)

Salt, pepper and paprika powder to season

Sauté the peppers and onions in the fat until softened, the. Add the passata, season and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Serve hot, warm or leave to cool. It’s delicious at any temperature.

Chicken Biryani

2017-09-08T00:46:00.001-07:00

Here is my home made Chicken Biryani recipe. It is not strictly regional but a version which includes all the things I love, the way I love them. Much could be said about the subject, but Im not one for many words these days, so here it goes:

There are a few steps to Biryani.

Step one:

Soak 1 mug of basmati rice in cold water

Step two:

Make the chicken curry:

Ingredients: serves 4

The marinade for the chicken

2 skinned free range chicken thighs or legs cut at the joint

2 tbs yogurt low fat, but not fat free as this may curdle while cooking

1 chopped tomato

1 tbs ginger garlic paste

1 tbs crisp fried onion

1 tbs Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

Mix all this together and set aside

Step three:

Into a pot that has a nice tight fitting lid, goes:

1tbs oil or ghee or a mixture of both

6 Green Cardamon pods

3 pieces of Cassia Bark or 1cinnamon stick

10black peppercorns

6 cloves

2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

Fry the whole spices and potatoes for a little while until fragrant and the potato is lightly browned on the sides.

Add the marinated chicken to the pot and stir well together. Add just enough water to keep everything simmering without going to dry.

Step Four:

Now cook the soaked basmati rice for 5 minutes in simmering seasoned water.

Bring enough water to easily engulf the rice to a rolling boil with salt, a couple of cardamon pods, 2 cloves and a cassia bark stick. Carefully poor the drained rice into the water and simmer for 7 minutes. The rice will now be about half done.

Strain the rice through a colander.

Step Five:

The chicken should now be ready for the rice to go on top.

But first place 4 soft boiled, peeled eggs onto the chicken curry. Then sprinkle the part cooked rice gently on top of the curry. It's important to leave it fluffy instead of pressing it down.

Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes on a medium heat, then turn off the heat and leave to sit for a further 5 minutes before revealing your aromatic Biryani.

Sprinkle with mint, coriander and more crisp fried onions and serve with mint and onion raita.

Bon Apetit!

Wonton Soup

2017-06-24T03:02:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to make these at home for a very long time. Today I finally found the time and have gathered all the ingredients.

They are:

For the dumpling stuffing mixture:

300g minced lean pork

200g raw prawns, chopped roughly

1 egg

1 heaped tsp corn starch

3 chopped spring onions

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp salt

A few shakes of white pepper

5 drops of toasted sesame oil

1 tsp light soy sauce

Simply mix all these ingredients together with your hands.

There are a lot of home cook recipes out there, that add all sorts of vegetables to the mix, but I want the most authentic Chinese restaurant taste, that I crave. So no extra veg in my mix!

I have bought dumpling wrappers from an Asian grocery. They usually come frozen. There are thin ones or thicker ones, round or square ones. The shape doesn't matter, but thinner ones are better for this purpose.

Next it's filling the wrappers. After defrosting, gently pull a wrapper off, lay it out in one hand and with a spoon gather a small amount of stuffing and place it on the middle of the dumpling skin. Have a cup of water nearby to dip the spoon in and use the edge of the spoon also to lightly wet the outer edge of the wrapper. Then fold over and seal. You only need to wet one side, to stick it to the other side. It seems a bit fiddly at first but I promise it gets easier as you go!

There are many ways to shape wontons, but however you do it, it's going to be the right way! As long as the filling is enclosed in the wrapper ;)

I have tried both steaming and boiling the wontons, and both work, but boiling achieves a softer texture, while steaming a more chewy one.

I like them both.

As there are now quite a few wontons lying around, so I have frozen some in batches and have eaten some straight away... but to make the actual soup, I used the water that the wontons cooked in. Strained out any bits and seasoned with a little light soy and added a few chopped spring onions. To make more broth, I would use a light chicken stock to create it, seasoning with light soy and a couple of drops of sesame oil.

The wontons are so delicious they need nothing more.

However to make it more of a meal, Chinese cabbages, mushrooms and noodles can be added.

Pot Au Feu alla Olle de Carne

2016-11-02T06:34:00.001-07:00

Autumn is in full swing and I am craving a hearty Beef broth with lots of vegetables, just like the Costa Rican Olla de Carne. But. Since I cannot get hold of the kinds of vegetables that are prominent in Central America, I adapt my version to a European style in a kind of French Pot au Feu.

Ingredients:
2 large slices of Beef shin
1 Onion, studded with 3 cloves
1 large garlic clove
10 peppercorns
2 tsp sea salt
A bouquet garni featuring; a celery stalk, parsley and coriander stalks and 2 bay leaves
Root vegetables:
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled and halved
1 turnip, cut into 8 pieces
1 corn cob, cut into 4 rounds
8 new potatoes, peeled, left whole if the right size

So, I'm starting with a clove studded onion, a bouquet garni, a garlic clove and salt and peppercorns.
Leaving some of the skin on the onion gives the broth a nice colour.

To this I add the Beef shin and cover with cold water.

Now I bring it to a simmer, cover and simmer quietly until the meat releases from the marrow bone. This takes about 1 hour and a half,

Meanwhile I can prepare my vegetables,

Carrots, Parsnips, a turnip and a corn cob are cut into large chunks, I left the potatoes whole as they are just the right chunk size already.

Once the meat is cooked to tender but not falling apart, I take it out and leave to cool, before cutting into large chunks. I remove any bits that don't look beautiful in the finished dish, like the sinue or connective strands or any fatty bits.

The broth is then strained into a clean pot and the vegetables added. First the carrots, potatoes and turnip, followed by the corn and parsnip after 10 minutes.About another 10 minutes quiet simmering and all the vegetables should be tender to a bite, yet not falling apart.

The meat can now rejoin the pot, heated though and it's ready to serve.

In Costa Rica, Olla de carne is served with a bowl of rice. I like that, so that's what I will do. But a hunk of crusty sourdough bread would also be nice.

A little sprinkling of parsley or coriander will look and taste great as it's served.

Bon Apetit!

Aguadito Peruvian Chicken Soup

2016-08-24T10:14:00.002-07:00

This ancient Peruvian Chicken Soup is said to bring the dead back to life.

Well here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

Serves 4 (4 weightwatchers smart points)

2 chicken breasts (about 400g) sliced

1 corn cob cut into 8 cobettes

1 potato, quartered

1 red pepper, sliced

1 carrot, diced

1 courgette, in large dice

1 litre chicken stock

1 big bunch of fresh coriander

1 fresh chilli pepper

2 cloves of garlic

Juice if one lime

Heat the chicken stock and first add the carrots, potato and corn cobettes.

After about 10 minutes simmering add the peppers, chicken and courgettes. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Check the seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste.

In a blender mix the coriander, chilli, lime and garlic with some of the hot broth from the cooking pot.

Add this gorgeous green smoothie to the broth just before serving.

You can also add some cooked rice into the serving bowl, but I left it out.

Enjoy this wonderful soup.

White Fish Ceviche

2016-07-23T02:32:00.001-07:00

Ceviche is a dish of cured seafood in citrus juices. There are many varieties in Middle and South America, with everyone's version slightly differently spiced and varying ingredients used. I love them all, but this is my favorite mix.

Ingredients:

200g very fresh white fish (such as cod, sea bass or lemon sole), diced into 1 cm cubes

Juice of 1 lime, 1 lemon and 1orange

1 shallot, finely diced

1 scotch bonnet pepper, finely diced

1tsp sea salt

A few coriander leaves for garnish

Simply mix the curing marinade together and pour over the fish. Leave to sit in the fridge for 2 -3 hours. Then serve with tortilla chips or plantain chips. To make it a more complete dish, Avocado and sweet potato also makes a nice accompaniment.

Bon apetit!

Quick Protein Bread

2016-07-09T03:35:00.000-07:00

This bread is based on eggs and quark (a zero fat dairy product) the added ingredients are kinda up to you. Seeds and kibbled nuts, cracked wheat, wheat germ, almond flour, linseed, chia and all things that are good for you can go in. A little bit of bread flour will help bind it all together.

Ingredients:

300g Quark

5 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp sea salt

3 tbs strong bread wholemeal flour

2 tbs weatgerm

200g of your selection of nutty and seedy goodies, coarsly ground

Preheat the oven to 160C. Mix together the eggs, quark and baking powder before mixing all the other ingredients into the batter. It will end up like a cake mix texture rather then a dough. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment and pour in the mix. Sprinkle seeds on top of you like. Bake for 90 minutes. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before turning out to cool down. Eats well with lovely homemade spreads. I made Sundried Tomato Butter and a Herb and onion Quark spread.

To store it, place in a bag and keep in the fridge. (Warm it up in the toaster)

You will be surprised how delicious this bread is. And full of goodness!

Sichuan Beef Noodles

2016-07-07T10:54:00.003-07:00

Ingredients:

500g diced shin of beef

12 small shallots, peeled, left whole

100ml shao shin rice wine

2 tbs dark soy sauce

1 tsp rock sugar

1 cassia bark stick

2 star anise

4 cloves

2 bay leaves

5 Sichuan peppercorns

3 -5 dried long red chillies

1 tbs Chinese chilli bean paste

500ml water

Fresh noodles

Beansprouts

Spring onion, sliced at an angle

Extra chopped fresh chillies

Fry the shallots until nicely coloured, add to a sturdy slow cooking pot. Fry the diced beef in the same pan until nicely coloured, too. Add to the pot. Add all the other ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is fork tender.

Heat the noodles over steam or microwave quickly just to warm them up. Place into a bowl and sprinkle over some beansprouts. Ladle over the beef and broth and garnish with spring onion and extra chillies.

Enjoy this warming, unctuous hug in a bowl. Be happy!

No Name Chicken

2016-04-22T06:32:00.001-07:00

If you've ever been to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan or Koh Tao in Thailand, you may have come across these delicious deep fried snacks. The recipe appears to be a bit of a secret, but I have finally managed to uncover it.

I am tempted to keep it a secret, just for the fun of it, but hey. It isn't really that difficult to figure out.

Ingredients: (makes about 18 No Names)

150g tempura batter mix (you can make your own of course)

1 egg

150ml sparkling water

A selection of vegetables, peanuts and chicken all diced up quite small.

I used onion, bok choy, peppers and soy beans. But any soft vegetables are good.

Use as much as it takes to fill the batter with goodies.

Heat oil for deep frying in a suitable pan. Drop a tiny bit of batter in the oil, to see if it starts frying. Once it does drop spoonfuls carefully into the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan. The fritters will fry away happily and turn them self around as they cook, if they have enough room to move. However you can give them a little hand if they don't.

Once they have an appetising golden brown colour they are ready to be fished out with a slotted spoon and placed on kitchen roll to drain any excess oil.

They must be served with sweet chilli sauce.

Careful! Leave them to cool a little before you take your fist desperate bite ;)

Cod & Clams

2016-03-15T23:45:00.001-07:00

This dish is very loosely inspired by Bacalao en salsa verde. It is more light and fresh and almost like Moules Mariniere. I think it's very delicious and I want to share it with you.

Ingredients:

1 piece of fresh cod filet about 350g

500g frozen or fresh small clams

1 small bunch of parsley

1mug of frozen peas

5 garlic cloves, sliced

100ml white wine

50ml olive oil

1tbs Plain flour

Salt and pepper

Add the flour with a good seasoning of salt and pepper to a bowl. Cut the cod into 1inch chunks and toss it in the flour until coated all over.

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the cod prices carefully for a couple of minutes. Turn them once (carefully not to break them) then fry for another 2 minutes.

Now take the pan of the heat and take the cod out and place on a plate, waiting to join the pan again later.

Now add the garlic to the oil in the pan. Heat until it sizzles but don't let it brown. Add the white wine and bring to a simmer. Now add the peas and bring back to a simmer. Next add the parsley and let it come back to a simmer.

Then the clams can go in. They will literally open instantly. Once open, add the cod back in and cover with a lid to let the heat and flavour mingle for just a couple of minutes.

As soon as everything is nice and hot, ladle into warm bowls and serve with some crusty bread to soak up all the wonderful juices.

Bon Apetit! Enjoy this one!

Mentaiko pasta (Spicy Cod Roe)

2016-03-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

Mentaiko is a Japanese spicy cod roe. Obviously not easily available in other countries, but that's not going to deter me! In Britain's supermarkets cod roe can be found in perfectly sized 200g tins. Great for making Taramasalata, but today I'm using it for a little Italian- Japanese fusion. This pasta is creamy and spicy and mildly seafoody. It's one of those dishes where the pasta shines through, so using a good quality brand does make a difference.

Ingredients: serves 2

1 200g tin Cod Roe

200g dry linguine or spaghetti

A big glug of mild olive oil

1minced garlic clove

1tbs minced chilli

1/2 a lemons juice

a few sprinkles of mustard cress

Nori leaf snipped into strips for garnish

Cook the pasta following packet instruction.

Into a big bowl add the cod roe, garlic, lemon juice, chilli, cress and olive oil. Stir together and that's the sauce made.

When the pasta is perfectly cooked add it straight to the sauce in the bowl. Stir everything together and adjust the sauciness with some of the pasta water.

Serve straight away in warm bowl and garnish with the nori strips.

Eat! Slurp! Oiishi!

Sayur Lodeh, Spicy Vegetable Curry

2016-03-11T03:02:00.000-08:00

This is my version of a beautiful Southeast Asian vegetable curry. I'm calling it Sayor Lodeh, after the Malaysian Curry from which I have been inspired, but it is not an authentic recipe. It is also not strictly vegetarian, but if you want it to be, then the non veg ingredients can easily be substituted.

The most important part of this dish is the cabbage. You will be surprised how wonderfully sweet it becomes in the spicy curry, and the texture is just lovely, soft and springy.

My version is very spicy, but that's important. A vegetable curry can easily become bland and boring in my opinion. So the fruity spiciness makes it really interesting and will leave you craving for more.

Ingredients:

These go together into a blender:

1 mug of coconut cream

1 mug of chicken stock

1 tbs Thai yellow curry paste

1 tsp chilli sambal

A few shakes of Thai fish sauce

1 whole scotch bonnet pepper

1 tbs palm sugar

1 tsp shrimp paste

About 7 macadamia nuts

Whizz this lot into a smooth soup. Sometimes the macadamia nuts don't blend completely, but that makes it a nice surprise when you come across one in the finished dish.

Pour this into a large pot and add your choice of vegetables.

I sometimes add some fried tofu and sometimes prawns or even some chicken, but the main ingredients are the vegetables and more importantly the cabbage.

I'm going to give a few examples of vegetables that I would include. The more variety the merrier!

White Cabbage

Butternut squash

Green beans

Carrots

Cauliflower

Mange tout

Sugar snap peas

Aubergine

Pea aubergine

Courgette

Pumpkin

Baby sweetcorn

Mushrooms

Butter beans

And the list could go on, but that's my favourites.

Cut the vegetables into suitable chunks. Add the ones that need longer cooking first, then follow with the delicate ones towards the end of cooking. Simply bring the curry to a simmer and cook with a lid on for about 20 minutes.

The result should be a fairly soupy curry with hearty and spicy depth of flavour. It eats well with just steamed rice, but I also like to ladle it over noodles for a lovely curry noodle soup.

Eat, be happy and Bon Apetit!

Rice & Peas

2016-03-09T05:05:00.001-08:00

Classic Caribbean dish. Easy to make by not many people actually know how exactly it's made. Of course there are many ways to cook rice and everyone has a favourite. Here's mine.

Ingredients:

1 mug of long grain rice (not the parboiled stuff)

1 mug of chicken stock

1 tin of beans (I used Borlotti Beans, but Kidney beans or even Black beans are good)

1tbs Coconut powder

A few stalks of fresh thyme, leafs only

A pinch of allspice

1large pinch of sea salt

1scotch bonnet pepper

Place your rinsed beans and rice into a pot. Mix the chicken stock with the coconut powder and add to the pot. Add the seasonings and place the whole scotch bonnet on top.

Bring to a simmer. Once simmering stir once carefully with a fork, then put a lid on. Turn the heat to very low and cook for 15 minutes. Do not take the lid off! Leave to rest for a further 15 minutes. Now it's ready. Fork through the rice gently before serving.

Eat! Feel good! Do a little twerk.

Bon Apetit!

Lemon Sole En Papillote

2016-03-08T10:19:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

1 Lemon Sole

A few cooked new potatoes

A medley of peas, green beans and mange tout, cut into bite sized pieces

A knob of butter

A glug of olive oil

A few pieces of diced bacon

A seasoning of sea salt, pepper and some fresh parsley.

Half a lemon to serve

Mix the ingredients together (apart from the fish). Place the fish on a large piece of grease proof paper. Top with the mixed ingredients and crimp the paper tightly together at the top, but leaving room inside for the air to circulate.

Place the parcel onto a baking tray and into a hot oven (200C or gas 8) for 20 minutes.

Serve with the lemon. Eat. Enjoy! Be careful of the bones!

Bon Apetit!

Clam & Chorizo Linguine with Courgetti

2016-03-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

This light yet so tasty dish satisfies many cravings.

You want to eat some slurpy pasta? But it's not really healthy and way to filling... Try this mixture of pasta and Courgetti.

Ingredients:

50g dry linguine (or fresh is good too)

2 courgettes, spiralised

2small green chillies, chopped

2garlic cloves, chopped

500g clams in their shell (mine came frozen)

120g Diced chorizo

1small bunch of Parsley, chopped

1/2 lemon

A splash of white wine

A big glug of olive oil

Start by putting the pasta on to cook. Read the packet instruction and cook the linguine for 1minutes less. It will finish cooking in the sauce.

Next heat the chorizo in the olive oil. Add the garlic and chilli, stir for a minute then add the splash of wine. Now for the clams. Add them to the pan, let them open, then use a slotted spoon to take then out. They can go into the bowl with the Courgetti for now.

Sprinkle in half of the parsley and once the pasta is ready add it straight to the pan.

Toss everything and stir around until the pasta has absorbed some of the liquid and looks perfectly cooked. The clams will have released some juice also, so there should be plenty, but if it's not enough, add some of the pasta cooking water.

Lastly add the Courgetti, clams and the remaining parsley to the pan and mix everything together well. Serve straight away. (The Courgetti does not need cooking at all)

Eat. Feel good.

Bon Apetit!

Green Devil on Rye

2016-03-08T01:29:00.001-08:00

Well, why did I call I green devil? It's not what I think. I love avocado. But a friend called it the green devil so often, that every time I see an avocado I now think it's called green devil.... Ok, that cleared up, here is my simple breakfast idea of the day.

Start by putting a small pot of water on the stove and bring to a simmer. Gently lower two eggs into the water and set a timer for 4 minutes.

Next place the rye bread into the toaster ready to push down.

Then cut a ripe avocado in half and spoon out the flesh into a shallow bowl, season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of half a lime. Add fresh green chilli and chopped up spring onion if you like.

Mash roughly with a fork. Pop the toast.

Dollop the avocado on the toast. The eggs should now be ready.

Shock the eggs under cold running water, then carefully peel. Place on top of the avocado toast, season with a sprinkle of sea salt and cut some fresh some cress on top.

Eat. Be happy! 😄

Bon appetit!

Hake Galician style

2015-09-17T02:42:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

Hake fillet (2 portions)

1 romano pepper, sliced

4 medium potatoes, cut tandomly

1 red onion, sliced

6 kalamata olives

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parsley

Method

Sautée the potatoes onions and red pepper in the olive oil until just lightly coloured. Add the garlic slightly later to avoid it getting to dark, which can make it bitter. Add a little water and the olives and pour into a suitable roasting dish. Braise/roast in a medium hot oven for 30 minutes.

Season the fish fillet with sea salt about half an hour befor cooking. In a cold pan with just a little oil place the fillets skin side down and turn on the heat. Now cook on a medium flame. Make a cartouche from grease proof paper and place it over the fish, so the steam cooks the top. Do not turn the fish over, but let the skin crisp up and the flesh steam under the cartouche. Serve the braised vegetables and set the fish on top. Sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with a little good olive oil.

Spaghetti Putanesca

2015-02-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

This tasty Pasta Dish from Southern Italy can be easily made with ingredients from the store cupboard.

This is my version. Quantities can be changed to your liking and I'm only using fresh tomatoes because I have too many of them right now. Tinned will be great too.

Ingredients:

2 tbs Olive Oil

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1 long red Chilli Pepper, deseeded and chopped

4 Anchovy fillets, chopped

2 tbs Capers ( if using the salted variety, rinse the salt off)

About 10-12 black olives, I like mine whole, but pitted is fine of course

A whole bunch of Cherry Tomatoes, halved (or chopped tinned tomatoes)

I'm starting with the olive oil, garlic, chilli and capers in a large high sided chef pan, that will eventually hold the whole dish, including the pasta.

Turn the heat on high and sizzle everything until fragrant. This only takes a minute or two.

Next add the tomatoes. Mine are quite tart, so I'm adding a little sprinkle of sugar to balance them out, but if they are nice and sweet or from a tin, then no sugar is needed.

After the tomatoes have softened a little throw in the olives. Just warm them through, don't cook for too long or I find the dish gets too much bitter olive flavour.

Now the sauce is ready for the pasta. So cook yours as instructed on the packaging and toss it straight into the sauce. Also add a splash of the pasta cooking water, this will give the sauce a nice consistency and marry everything together.

There we are, ready to serve. If I had some fresh Parsley I would sprinkle some as I serve, but it's winter and my herb garden is not providing any.

So a grinding of fresh Pepper will do!

Bon Apetit!

Delhi Style Harlequin Squash

2014-09-16T03:21:00.001-07:00

This pretty Squash makes a great side dish for an Indian Curry Night.

I really like the gentle sweetness and delicious Indian spiciness in this dish.

Ingredients

1 Harlequin Squash (or other Pumpkin/Squash)

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Nigella Seeds

1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds

1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns

1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

5 dried Red Chillies

1tbs Coconut Oil

1 tsp Sea salt

1/2 tsp Amchur Powder

In a wide non stick heat the Oil and add the whole Spices,

stir for minute then add the diced Squash and sprinkle with the Salt.

Mix well with the Spices then cover and turn the heat to very low.

Cook until the Squash is nice and soft, stirring every now and then.

When the Squash is done squish some of the pieces and leave some for texture. Stir in the Amchur Powder to balance the sweetness. Lemon juice maybe used instead of Amchur.

The skin now has a nice chewy quality and the flesh is lovely and soft.

I'm not sure it will last until the rest of the Curries are ready,
I could eat it just as it is, right now!