Jenny Eatwell's Rhubarb & Ginger

Salmon & olive pasta - a nice change from tomato sauce.

2023-03-24T20:45:00.000+00:00

SALMON & OLIVE PASTA

Served 3

Ingredients :

1 tablespoonful of olive oil

20g butter

3 large banana shallots, halved and sliced finely

Sea salt

White pepper

1 lemon, zested

Half a lemon, juiced

15 or more green olives (in brine) halved

3 dessertspoonfuls of rinsed capers

As much as you enjoy, chopped fresh dill (save some for decoration)

Your choice of dry pasta shapes (I used approx 200g)

Half a teaspoonful of vegetable stock powder

Your favourite good quality extra virgin olive oil (I used one from Puglia)

3 skinned and rinsed fresh salmon fillets

Three tablespoonfuls of frozen peas.

Method :

Fill a decent sized saucepan with cold water and add a big old pinch of sea salt. Place on the heat to boil.

Add the butter and olive oil and once the butter has melted, add the shallots, a pinch of sea salt and some white pepper. On a medium heat, fry and stir, fry and stir until the shallots are beginning to take on a golden colour.

Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive halves, capers and fresh dill and stir through. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the pasta water is boiling, add the dry pasta and cook for the manufacturer's recommended time - then carry on cooking, because they never get it flipping right. Add the peas for the last few minutes and cook until the pasta is either al dente or to your liking, then drain and set aside to keep warm.

Bring the contents of the frying pan back up to heat and add sufficient extra virgin olive oil to comfortably coat the pasta. Add a little cold water and the vegetable stock powder and stir through until simmering. Push everything over to the one side and add the salmon fillets in the gap. Place a lid over the pan and gently cook the salmon until just firm, then remove the fillets out onto a warmed plate and put to one side to stay warm (under the grill works for me). Add the drained pasta to the frying pan and stir through until the pasta is well coated with the flavoured oil.

Dish the pasta up into warmed bowls and add the salmon fillets on top. Sprinkle the reserved dill over, to make it look pretty. (I forgot this bit when I made it).

Serve with oven baked garlic bread, if you can remember to put the blinking stuff in the oven in time. I rarely do.

Ta daaa! There you are - a relatively healthy dinner. Aren't you impressed? lol

It's been a long time, for sure!

2023-03-24T20:06:00.000+00:00

As the title says, it's been a long old time since I was here posting new and delicious recipes!

In that time, all kinds of things have happened - most of which I'll no doubt get around to telling you as we go along. However, I've had a number of sad losses which have gone a long way towards de-tuning my desire to blog recipes, not least of which was because I just didn't have time!

Anyway, I'm here now and I'll be blogging recipes for food that was particularly good and enjoyable. Largely, because if I don't type them up almost as soon as I've eaten them, I'll forget how I made them and/or forget that we even had them in some instances. *sigh* Old age, it's a bugger for sure!

The new posts will also be a LOT shorter, to reflect the trend towards people complaining about recipe blogs that blather on for pages and leave the recipe right until the end. Oh right, *cough* that'll be me then. Hey ho!

Bacon & Mushroom Risotto

2020-06-30T21:35:00.002+01:00

BACON & MUSHROOM RISOTTO (serves 3)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

300g smoked back bacon, fat chopped finely, remainder diced

1 medium onion, chopped finely

quarter tsp of ground black pepper

20g unsalted butter

250g mixed white and chestnut mushrooms, sliced

1.5 tsp dried tarragon

0.5 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

300g Arborio rice

175ml (miniature bottle) of Sauvignon Blanc white wine

1.5 litres of simmering mixed chicken & vegetable stock

finely grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese for garnish

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley for garnish.

Method :

Heat the rapeseed oil in a deep saucepan or wok over a high heat and add the bacon pieces. Cook until the moisture has all burned off and the bacon is just beginning to turn golden.

Reduce the heat and add the onion and black pepper. Stir and fry until the onion is softened and transparent, but don't let it brown.

Add the unsalted butter and mushroom slices. Stir regularly until the butter has melted and the mushrooms have softened. Add the tarragon, thyme and Worcestershire sauce and stir through.

Increase the heat and while the pan contents are heating up, add the rice and stir to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan but becomes coated in the flavoured oil.

Once the rice is well coated and the temperature is up, add the white wine. This should sizzle as it hits the pan and the rice gives what is known as a "sigh" as it begins to absorb the liquid. From this moment on, you should be - pretty much - stirring non-stop (20 mins approx) to gently encourage the rice to release its starch.

Once the wine is all absorbed, add a ladleful of the stock and stir until it is absorbed by the rice. Continue on this way - a ladleful of stock, stir, stir until it is absorbed - until the rice is tender but retains a tiny bit of al dente bite.

Finish by continuing to cook and stir until the consistency is unctuous and saucy, but not running with liquid. Check for seasoning - you won't need salt because of the bacon and the salty cheese you're about to garnish it with.

Serve into warmed bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of grated cheese and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

Tuck in!

Printable version

Plum & Orange Upside Down Cake

2020-06-17T21:47:00.000+01:00

What to do, when you have a punnet of beautifully coloured but fairly tasteless plums and a couple of elderly oranges, in the fridge? Why, make an upside down cake, of course.

This basic recipe would work for lots of different fruit combinations, for instance rhubarb & orange, apple and spice, peach and vanilla .. your choices are only limited by what fruit you've got!

I have used both the unsalted butter that is in the recipe and Stork baking margarine for this cake and both have worked as well as one another, so it is a very forgiving and adaptable recipe. Everyone needs at least one sponge cake recipe that is pretty much guaranteed to deliver good results - and this is definitely one of those.

PLUM & ORANGE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE (makes 12 pieces)

Ingredients :

175g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
175g caster sugar
175g softened unsalted butter
12 small plums, stoned and halved
2 medium oranges, zested and juiced
1 tsp icing sugar

Method :

Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/350degF/Gas 4.

Line your baking tin with greaseproof or parchment paper, making sure enough overlaps so that you can lift the cake out, once baked.

Place the plum halves, cut side down and in an even layer, onto the paper.

Measure out the flour and baking powder and using a sieve, sift into a large bowl.

Now simply add all the other ingredients (apart from the orange juice & icing sugar, which is for the drizzle once the cake is baked) to the bowl and whisk everything together until you have a smooth, well-combined mixture of dropping consistency. Provided the butter is good and soft, this shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes.

Spoon the mixture into the baking tin - taking care not to disturb the plum halves - and level the top. Place the tin gently into the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes to cook - but don't open the oven door to check it until at least 25 minutes have elapsed.

You will know when the cake is done by touching the centre of the cake lightly. If your finger leaves no impression - and the cake springs back - it has finished baking.

Stir the icing sugar into the orange juice.

Place the tin onto a cooling rack and, with a silicone brush, brush the orange juice onto the surface of the cake. It will be absorbed easily as the cake is still hot.

Leave the cake in the tin until the orange juice has been absorbed and the surface has dried sufficiently to be just tacky.

Place a plate over the top of the tin and with a quick flip, turn everything upside down. Lift the tin off and carefully remove the paper. If any plums stick to the paper, gently scrape them off with a palette knife and replace them back into the hole they came from.

Leave the cake to finally cool and try not to eat it all at once!

Printable version

Pan Muffins - a super-simple bread alternative!

2020-03-24T20:04:00.001+00:00

We're currently experiencing the lack of certain products in the stores, thanks to selfish people panic buying. My hubby saw this recipe today and thought it sounded such a good idea as a bread alternative, that he immediately sallied forth into the kitchen to give it a go - and do you know, it only worked!

Now I know that there are some people who have never bought flour (and some who are unlikely to ever be able to buy flour, if the panic buying continues), but most people I know will have a fairly decent stock of both plain (all-purpose) and self-raising (self-rising) flour, not to mention a pot of either Greek or natural yoghurt in the fridge. If you're new to flour and are able to get some, then these little muffins are super-easy for everyone to have a go at. They don't even need an oven!

They make up into a muffin that you can cut in half, butter and enjoy with cheese or jam, dip into soup or just plain old eat as they are. The outside is a little bit hard, but no worse than a crusty loaf and the inside is surprisingly fluffy. The acidity in the yoghurt reacts with the bicarbonate of soda in the self raising flour, which causes the muffins to rise and gives them the fluffy consistency. Hence, plain flour most definitely wouldn't work, not unless you add a little bicarb!

We had them for lunch today and I can confirm they're extremely yummy with some cheddar and chutney.

PAN MUFFINS (makes 6)

Ingredients :

1 cup plain Greek yoghurt
2 cups self raising flour
a pinch of salt

1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil.

Method :

Add the yoghurt to a large bowl and sift in the self raising flour.

Add a pinch of salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms.

Shape into a sausage and divide into 6 equal portions.

Form each portion into a ball and then flatten into a disk roughly the size of a muffin (an English muffin, if you're from America or Canada!).

Leave to rest in a warm place for 15 mins.

Using a large frying pan with a lid, add the oil to coat the bottom of the pan and place over a low heat.

Once the oil is heated (hot, but not smoking) add the muffins (as many as will fit without overcrowding).

Cover the pans and cook the muffins for around ten minutes on each side.

At the end of cooking remove the lids and cook for 1 minute extra on each side, then remove onto a wire rack to cool.

Super tasty served warm with butter.

Printable version

Keema Muttar (or minced lamb with garden peas) Curry

2019-10-23T21:50:00.001+01:00

It is possible that you have come here looking for the old recipe for Keema Muttar and are currently scratching your head and thinking "I'm sure this isn't the one!". Well, you would be right. I made the old recipe recently and hated it. I can't help but think I'd written something down wrong, or remembered something wrong (probably those multiple spoons of tomato puree), but the end result was horrid. It makes me wonder how many of you also tried it and thought the same thing! I do hope you'll tell me, if that happens in future!

Anyway, I read many, many recipes for Keema Muttar and came up with a new one which I've been refining over several different attempts (as these rather random photographs will attest). The last incarnation was deemed "this is your best one yet!" by my hubby. As I happened to agree, it was time to include the recipe on the blog in place of the old unsatisfactory version.

This one doesn't contain any tomato puree, you may be happy to note. I certainly was. LOL

This one was "the best one yet!"

I've a couple of points worth noting for you, the first of which is that if you like your curry on the milder side then make sure to remove the pith and seeds from the inside of the chilli before chopping it up. For the same reason, you may wish to reduce the curry powder down to a mild version and likewise reduce the amount of black pepper and ginger you include. Made as the recipe states, you'll wind up with a curry that will make your nose run and may even demand some mango chutney alongside as it's a frisky one! I like to serve a cucumber & mint raita - which I really must blog the recipe for - which does a brilliant job of calming the beast.

Secondly, the amount of peas you include is entirely up to you. I like a moderate amount of peas, but not too many. Please don't leave them out entirely or it isn't a Keema Muttar, it's a minced lamb curry. LOL

Righto then, it's time to head for the kitchen!

KEEMA MUTTAR (or MINCED LAMB WITH GARDEN PEAS) CURRY (Serves 4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp coconut oil
500g minced lamb
a quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt
half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped finely
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 red or green chilli, chopped finely
half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 large vine ripened tomatoes, core removed and diced
5-6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 heaped teaspoonfuls of your favourite medium curry powder
half a teaspoonful of ground coriander
a flat teaspoonful of ground turmeric
1 teaspoonful of ground ginger
1 tablespoonful of Maggi tamarind sauce
300ml water (approx)
50g (approx) of frozen garden peas
2 tablespoonfuls of fresh coriander leaves, chopped.

Method :

Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over maximum heat and, once the oil is liquid, add the minced lamb. Fry, stirring and turning the mince, until the mince has all changed colour and any liquid has been steamed off. Add the sea salt and black pepper and stir through. Once the lamb has just begun to caramelise, remove from the pan into a bowl using a slotted spoon to retain the oil and rendered fat and set the mince aside.

If there is a lot of fat in the pan, spoon some off until you are left with around 2 tablespoonfuls. Add the onion, garlic and green chilli and stir to combine. Fry over a medium heat, stirring often, until the onion is transparent and the garlic is fragrant. Make sure not to burn any of the garlic, to avoid any bitterness. Part way through cooking, add the cinnamon and stir through.

Next, add the tomatoes and continue frying until the tomatoes have softened and begun to break up.

Add the curry powder, ground coriander, turmeric, ginger and tamarind sauce to the pan and stir through. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes until the powders are all well combined with the mixture.

Return the mince to the pan and stir through, making sure to combine the ingredients well and coat the mince with the spice mixture. Add the water (you may need more, so keep a little extra on hand) and gently stir through. Allow the mixture to come to a steady simmer for some 20 minutes or so. As the curry simmers, the sauce will thicken and reduce to your favoured degree. Some like their curry to be quite dry in which case you won't need any additional water, others prefer a saucier curry. Keep an eye on the sauce as the curry cooks and be prepared to add a little more water from time to time to keep the sauce how you like it.

A few minutes before you are ready to serve, add the garden peas and fresh coriander (retaining some for garnish) and stir through. Try not to add the peas too soon, or they will lose their fresh green colour.

Serve with Basmati rice, naan bread and a cucumber & mint Raita. Don't forget to garnish with a sprinkle of the chopped fresh coriander, just to make it look pretty!

Printable version

Poached eggs made with a poaching pan

2019-09-27T19:52:00.001+01:00

Lots of people have asked me about how to use an egg poaching pan. I know that it is perfectly possible to achieve a wonderfully shaped, beautifully cooked poached egg without the use of a cheating pan, but if you consider how few people - these days - have access to REALLY fresh eggs, you probably understand why the interest in the pan.

Plus, for people who just aren't into the mechanics and finer points of poaching an egg, or students, or just anyone who wants an egg that's not fried and doesn't require winkling out from its shell, an egg poacher is the answer.

Here on Granary toast and seasoned with a little Sumac spice

The big advantage is that using a poaching pan means you don't need to worry about how old your eggs are. Obviously, the fresher the better, but if you've got a few that are getting ready to claim their pensions there's no need to scramble them, your trusty poacher will have them ready for you irrespective of their age.

Here, one gorgeous poached egg on potato cakes. Delicious!

Now, it's dead easy - the pan comes with (usually) four little plastic cups which sit inside a metal framework which fits into the top of a small, shallow frying pan type of affair. (In fact, mine can be used as a frying pan if you remove the five bits and pieces - multi-purpose, yay!). In essence, what happens is that you put water into the pan, re-assemble the framework and cups (work of seconds) then, as the water heats (on the cooker hob, or over the campfire - I rule nothing out), you bung your egg(s) into the cup(s), replace the lid and wait (patiently, this isn't a microwave you know) until the egg is set to your preference, whereupon you upturn the cup and so long as you've greased the cup sufficiently, out pops your egg. Yum yum.

Here, on wholemeal toast with fresh Dill. Gorgeous.

One thing I will make sure to say is that the timings depend upon things like the size of your egg, whether you keep your eggs in the fridge or not (in the fridge means they'll take a bit longer because they're so cold when they arrive in the pan) and how your cooker behaves. So you may find it takes a couple of goes before you get the perfect poached egg. Don't, however, feel downhearted and think you can't do it if the first one or two goes isn't quite right - just adjust the timings accordingly (less time for a runnier yolk, more time for a harder yolk) and try again. :)

Got it? Well, if you need step by step instructions, I've done those for you as well. Read on!

POACHED EGGS, MADE USING A POACHING PAN

Ingredients :

1 to 4 eggs (basically either as many as you want -v- as many as your pan can hold)
a knob of butter or a tsp of olive oil or coconut oil - a fat of your choice
cold water.

Method :

First of all, you need to remove the cups and the supporting frame, then pour a half inch or so of water into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan over your heat source, replace the frame for the cups, cover and switch on to high.

Take each cup that you'll be using and smoosh whichever your choice of fat is around the inside of the cup - just a bit, just to help the egg back out again when it's done.

Once the water is boiling, remove the lid, replace the cups back into their holes and break one egg into each cup. Replace the lid and patiently wait for the eggs to cook. This is often a good moment to get the toast on.

Now you don't want the water to be boiling hard, but equally you want it to do more than just simmer. Let it get a bit frisky in there. As the eggs cook, they'll turn white and opaque and cook from the outside in. In order to test them, touch the yolk with a rounded knife tip. If it gives but doesn't shimmy like a jelly (which means it needs more cooking) - you need it to be a bit firm - then it's done and you're likely to have a runny yolk. If you like your eggs more set, then the more firm the centre of each poaching egg gets, the harder the yolk will be. I usually wait around 7-9 minutes for a large egg, but then I like my yolks to be gorgeous and runny.

Anyway, when you think you're there, take each cup out (holding the cup with the help of a tea towel usually prevents burns or scalds), run a knife very gently around the edge of the egg to release it - and with a flick of the wrist, upside down it goes onto your toast.

Sprinkle to taste with salt & black pepper and tuck in!

Printable version

Plum & Pomegranate Clafouti

2019-09-27T14:24:00.000+01:00

This is one of those recipes that I included on the blog but didn't ever complete the post, so it didn't reach the stage of being published.

It reaches back to 2012 (and it's now 2019), so you'll forgive me if I've forgotten the true in's and out's of the recipe, but what I do remember is that the end result was gorgeous. What reminded me about it was the fact that we're about at the end of plum season again and I really haven't made the most of the little darlings, this year. Hence, I was pondering on what I could make that involved plums - and suddenly remembered this Clafouti.

Well, here it is. The recipe itself couldn't be any easier, in fact the hardest bit about it as I recall, was finding the right dish to put it in! LOL It certainly didn't stay in that dish for long - we made a serious hole in it that first serving.

Somewhere between pancakes and sponge pudding, a clafouti definitely fits into the "comfort food" brackets that you know I so love. Go on, indulge yourself!

PLUM & POMEGRANATE CLAFOUTI (Serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

500g red plums, stoned and quartered
2 tbsp of runny honey
1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses
1 tsp orange flower water
20g unsalted butter
2 medium eggs
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 heaped tbsp self raising flour
50g semi skimmed milk
3 tbsp greek yoghurt
a pinch of sea salt.

Method :

Place the plums, honey, pomegranate molasses and orange flower water into a bowl and mix until the plums are liberally coated, then tip the plum mixture into a large wide, shallow tart dish and level out.

Melt the butter either in a pan, or in the microwave. Take care not to let it burn.

Into a large bowl, place the sugar, eggs and flour. Whisk together until creamy and whilst whisking, add the milk, yoghurt, salt and melted butter. Whisk until all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour the batter over the plums and place into a pre-heated oven at 180degC/350degF/Gas 4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is slightly domed and a pointed knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Serve warm with cream.

Printable version

Teriyaki chicken - my first Japanese dish!

2019-09-12T15:51:00.000+01:00

I didn't ever set out to have a back catalogue of "dishes from other countries", but as you progress with your cooking (that'll be the royal "you" as opposed to you specifically), you find that you're quickly looking at dishes that originate from abroad. I suspect it's all part of that wunnerful whirled we call t'internet, with its accessibility to things otherwise unknown, both good and bad. I just choose things that look tasty, look simple to cook in their processes and that will fit within our increasingly restrictive requirements where ingredients are concerned.

As a result, let me introduce you to my first Japanese dish - Teriyaki chicken. By all accounts, this method of producing a meat or fish glazed with sugar, mirrin and soy dates back to the seventeenth century. I was surprised by that, as it seems such a simple process to have been around, unadulterated, for all that time.

The end result for this dish is entirely reliant upon the quality of your soy sauce(s). I've found - and have no doubt said before - that even though products such as Blue Dragon and Amoy are in just about every supermarket, that doesn't mean they are good quality. Try, where possible, to access some authentic soy. I've got Lee Kum Kee's light and dark soy sauces and for all that even they aren't the proper deal, they're about as good as you're going to get without having to take out a mortgage on the house to buy them.

We took a trip to our local Chinese supermarket where we found the Lee Kum Kee products and after consulting the lady in the shop, also took home her recommended Mirin and Sake. (Which incidentally, weren't the most expensive ones in the shop, either). For sure, the Mirin is another sport entirely when compared with Sainsbury's own version (which is like water in comparison) and as for the Sake, well that's the first bottle of Sake I've ever bought so have nothing to compare it with. However, it does a very good job in the cooking!

My first go - before I found decent soy sauce

This recipe is taken from loveFOOD.com and I only reproduce it here just in case it ever disappears from their website, as we love it and definitely want to keep hold of it! The original recipe is here and by all means follow the link and refer to it there rather than here, taking this as recommendation. However, I have adjusted the quantities to accommodate our three diners, swapped to chicken breast because we prefer it, included a wee drop of dark soy because it makes all the difference where the colour is concerned and I always toast the sesame seeds. So, on that note, onwards!

TERIYAKI CHICKEN (serves 2-3)

Ingredients :

2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 to 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

pinch of ground black pepper
500g boneless & skinless chicken breast fillets, sliced into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp diagonally sliced spring onion (or coriander) for garnish.

For the teriyaki sauce :

3 tbsp light soy sauce

half a tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp Sake (or substitute a dry sherry)
2 tbsp Mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar.

Method :

For the teriyaki sauce, combine the ingredients in a bowl and set aside until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour the sesame seeds into the dry frying pan and over a medium heat, gently toast them until they are a light golden colour and fragrant. Don't leave them for a second, or they'll instantly burn. Decant into a small bowl and set aside for garnish.

Place the chicken with the cornflour and pepper into a plastic bag (or in a bowl) and toss to coat. Heat the oil in the frying pan over a high heat. Cook the chicken for around 5 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through.

Reduce the heat to medium. Pour over half the teriyaki sauce and simmer, stirring regularly, until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken, beginning to caramelise.

Pour over the remaining teriyaki sauce, stirring until it thickens again, glazes and adds to the caramelised areas whilst still retaining some sauciness. If the sauce becomes too thick or too reduced, add a wee drop of water to let it back down.

Serve with fried rice and sprinkle the sesame seeds and spring onion over the chicken, to make it look extra pretty and taste a little bit more delicious.

Printable version

Fruity and intense chicken, sweet potato & cauliflower curry

2019-06-14T21:27:00.000+01:00

Now I know I have both a chicken & sweet potato and a chicken & cauliflower curry on the blog here, but honest injun, this one is different. It makes no pretence of being related to any authentic Indian curries but is purely of my own making and, in particular, to my hubby's taste. You see, for ages he complained about my making curries that "didn't taste of curry". Well, I tried this way and tried that way, tried this recipe and that recipe but nothing did the trick. Right up until Asda started selling their Medium curry powder which contains the following : Coriander Seeds, Garlic Powder (12%), Cumin Seeds (8.0%), Onion Powder, Paprika (8.0%), Turmeric, Ginger, Salt, Chilli Powder (5.0%), Cinnamon, Fenugreek Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Black Pepper, Cloves and Cardamom. Suddenly, curries tasted of curry for him. So you might want to find a curry powder that sounds very similar in its ingredients, to get close to the right flavour for this curry. Alternatively, just use your favourite curry powder, because maybe my favourite won't taste of curry to you!

I recommend that you par-boil the cauliflower while you are cooking the sauce, as that puts you in far better control over how tender it is by the end. It would be so easy for the curry to be the right texture, but the cauliflower to be too hard - or even worse, utterly fallen apart to mush.

I always include the sweet potato pieces (cut into half inch or smaller dice) from the beginning and they seem to have just cooked to perfection by the end. However, if you're dubious about that, feel free to par-boil those with the cauliflower.

We've become quite accomplished at eating some fairly fierce curries, of which this was one. However, there's no need for you to suffer the pain if you're not so keen on the hot'n'spicy, just leave out the raw chilli and if necessary, substitute one or more teaspoonfuls of medium curry powder for a mild version.

As for accompaniments, well the Indian world is your oyster. We always have plain Basmati rice alongside the curry because it helps to cool the tongue. However, you could make a pilau rice, or have chapattis, naan bread, raita (which is also great for cooling), onion bhaji's, pakoras - whatever you fancy. Right at the moment, I'm trying to lose weight, so I've cut down on the accompaniments but the menfolk still had a couple of onion bhaji's, just so that they don't feel too hard done by.

Here's the recipe, don't be scared by the list of ingredients as it is a simple matter of putting them all in the one pan in order. As such, I recommend you get everything ready before you start to cook, otherwise you could find yourself dashing around the kitchen getting a bit stressed - and we don't want that! Oh and if you cook for just one person and have a freezer, I can recommend freezing the leftovers as it only gets better for keeping and defrosts perfectly.

Maggi Tamarind Sauce - to help you find it, if you're new to it.

FRUITY AND INTENSE CHICKEN, SWEET POTATO & CAULIFLOWER CURRY (serves 3)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp coconut oil
300g boneless, skinless chicken breast cut across the grain into small chunks
sea salt
50g or thereabouts of small cauliflower pieces
1 large onion, diced finely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 fresh red chilli, chopped finely (save a little back for garnish)
half a tsp ground black pepper
half a tsp ground cinnamon
25g salted butter
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into half inch dice
2 medium sized ripe tomatoes, finely diced
4 heaped tsp medium curry powder
1 flat tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp Maggi tamarind sauce (or 1 tbsp lemon juice)
500ml cold water
a small handful of sultanas or raisins
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (save a little back for garnish)
25g creamed coconut
1 tsp honey.

Method :

Heat the coconut oil in a deep frying pan and, once sizzling hot, add the chicken breast pieces and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Leave them to turn golden on two sides, then remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and reserve. The chicken doesn't need to be cooked through at this stage.

While the chicken is cooking, bring a pan of water to the boil and add the cauliflower pieces to par-boil for 5-10 minutes. You want them to be just off being fork tender, as they will finish cooking in the curry sauce.

Add the onion, garlic, red chilli, a pinch of sea salt & the black pepper to the frying pan (using the oil that remains from the chicken) and cook for some 10-15 minutes until the onion is softened and transparent. Add the cinnamon and stir through.

Add the salted butter and while that is melting, add the sweet potato pieces. Stir everything together and cook on for another 5 or so minutes, until the sweet potato is heated through and beginning to cook.

Add the diced tomatoes and stir through. Cook on for another 15 minutes or so, until the tomato has begun to break down and the oil is separating from the mixture.

Don't forget to drain the cauliflower and reserve it for use later!

Sprinkle in the curry powder and turmeric and stir through. Cook on, to ensure that the spices are cooked through and lose their raw taste, for another 5-10 minutes, stirring often to ensure they don't catch on the bottom of the pan.

Add the tamarind sauce (or lemon juice) and cold water, along with the sultanas and coriander and stir through. Bring the contents of the pan to a lively simmer and cover with a lid. Cook until the sweet potato is just off being fork tender, then remove the lid.

Add the cauliflower and chicken and simmer for another 10 minutes during which time the sauce will reduce. Continue the lively simmer (add a little water if the sauce becomes too reduced) and add the creamed coconut. This will have the effect of thickening and sweetening the sauce so once the coconut is stirred in well, taste for sweetness and if your preference is for the mix to be a little sweeter, then add the tsp of honey. It is quite okay to omit the honey, if the mix is sweet enough already.

When the sauce is at your preferred consistency, serve onto warmed plates with the reserved coriander and red chilli sprinkled over and accompaniments of your choice.

Printable version

Lemon & Black Pepper Chicken - super tasty, with a definite zing!

2019-06-08T13:10:00.000+01:00

What a very pleasant surprise this meal turned out to be. I really wasn't expecting much from it and hence only took a couple of pictures. You'd have thought I'd know better by now and would take more pictures just in case, but no.

The recipe is incredibly simple - just pan fried chicken breast in a sauce made with slices of lemon, crushed fresh garlic, some chicken stock, lemon juice, runny honey and a whole heap of black pepper. How often it is that the most simple recipes turn out to be the best!

I particularly enjoyed the lemony sauce with the Jersey Royals and the Sweetheart (or Hispi) cabbage. Mmmnnn, but that was sooo good. I'd been craving cabbage, so that might be why, but son & heir agreed the combination was very tasty and a second opinion is always helpful. Feel free to pair the recipe up with whatever accompaniments you fancy - after all, it's your dinner so why not please yourself.

Uncharacteristically, let's head on directly to the recipe and gird your loins for a zingy, fresh tasting chicken sensation.

LEMON & BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN (serves 2)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil
2 individual skinless, boneless chicken breasts
a pinch of sea salt
half a lemon, sliced thinly
half a lemon, juiced
one clove of garlic, crushed
as much fresh ground black pepper as you want - I used a teaspoonful
1 tbsp runny honey
200ml chicken stock - I used a combination of Knorr stock granules (half tsp) and chicken Bovril (half tsp)
2 tsp approx finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp Bisto best chicken gravy granules.

Method :

Heat the olive oil in a good sized frying pan until sizzling hot. Gently add the chicken breasts and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Leave the chicken to brown - you're aiming for it to have an all over golden tan, so don't keep fidgeting it about or it won't sear. Turn the chicken to sear the other side and add the lemon slices to the pan.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, crushed garlic, black pepper, runny honey and chicken stock. When both sides of the chicken are golden, pour the mixture over the chicken into the pan. Allow the sauce to heat through and bubble, reduce slightly and thicken. Turn the chicken from time to time, to keep it basted in the sauce and ensure it is cooked through.

Reduce the heat to medium and include the parsley. Allow a moment or two for the parsley to heat through and add the gravy granules if necessary, to thicken the sauce to your personal taste.

Serve with the lemon slices on top, with a little chopped parsley as garnish and vegetable accompaniments of your choice.

Printable version

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable & Cheese Quiche

2019-05-28T14:42:00.000+01:00

Well, once again it's been an age since I've committed a recipe to the blog but this one was so good, it looked so pretty and was very successfully tasty that I've had lots of requests for the recipe. So here we are!

I won't go into a long old rigmarole about the quiche, just suffice to say that I was looking to achieve a quiche that had to be tasty, I didn't want it to be too wet (the contents, that is!) and it had to be vegetarian. For me, this creation ticked all those boxes but be aware that my hubby thought it was a little bit "squishy", so if you've got texture-centric diners it's probably worth subbing some other vegetable in for the courgette, as I suspect that was the culprit.

I managed to avoid most of the "squishiness" by oven roasting the majority of the vegetables, which dried them out nicely. Take care to cut the sweet potato pieces into very small chunks to avoid it overpowering the contents. It will spread out better as smaller pieces.

Ready for the oven

Hubby thought that perhaps the addition of some sweet corn would have been nice, so maybe I'll try that in the next version. :)

As ever, if you try the recipe and have any problems or confusion with it do let me know and I'll do my best to iron those problems out for others!

ROASTED MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLE & CHEESE QUICHE (serves 4-8)

Ingredients :

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 small red onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 medium courgette, top & tailed, then cut into small chunks
8 button mushrooms, sliced finely
Frylight sunflower oil cooking spray
sea salt & black pepper
300g approx ready rolled shortcrust pastry (or you could make your own)
3 large eggs
1 tsp English mustard powder
100ml double cream
100ml semi skimmed milk
2 pieces of chargrilled red pepper from a jar (rinsed), cut into small pieces
3 sprigs of fresh basil, sliced fine
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
half a tsp dried oregano
30g Gruyere or Gouda cheese, grated finely
30g red Cheddar or red Leicester cheese, grated finely
50g mature Cheddar cheese, grated finely
50g Greek salad cheese (Feta-alike, so if you've got Feta, that would be fine) broken into small pieces
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped.

Method :

Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/340degF/Gas 4.

Place the sweet potato, onion and courgette pieces onto a large baking tray and spread them out evenly. Spray well with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little sea salt & black pepper. Place into the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender. Ideally, the vegetables should have small areas of charring on them in order to get the best flavour.

With 10 minutes to go, sprinkle the vegetables with the sliced mushrooms, give a quick spray with the Frylight and replace into the oven until the rest of the veggies are done. Remove from the oven and place to one side to cool until required. Once cool, cut the onion quarters into smaller pieces.

While the veggies are cooking, prepare your pastry case by lining a loose bottomed 8 inch sandwich tin or quiche dish with pastry that has been rolled out thinly, making sure it is pressed into the corners of the tin and without any air bubbles underneath. Cover the pastry with a layer of baking paper and fill with baking beans. Once the vegetables are done and removed from the oven, place the pastry case in to part-bake for some 20-25 minutes. Again, when the time is up, remove and leave to cool until required.

While the pastry is part baking, you can get on with making the filling. Take a large bowl and break the eggs into it. Give them a light whisk to break the yolks and combine with the white. Add the cream, milk, some black pepper and the mustard powder and whisk to combine.

Add the sliced red peppers, basil, parsley, oregano and all the vegetables from the oven which should be fairly cool by now. Add most of the grated cheeses but reserve a little to sprinkle over the top and give the whole lot a good, but gentle, stir so as not to break anything up. Add the Greek salad cheese and give everything a light stir, just to combine.

When the filling is ready, take the part baked pastry case and carefully pour the filling in. Gently encourage the contents to spread evenly across the pastry case to avoid any areas that are just egg mixture. Sprinkle the surface with the reserved grated cheese and lay the tomato slices in an attractive pattern on the top. Sprinkle the chives across the surface and give the tomato pieces a tiny sprinkle with black pepper.

Place into the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. Check the quiche after 25 minutes and turn it if the surface is browning unevenly. When cooked, the centre of the filling should feel fairly firm to the touch, but have a little spring in it and the whole thing should be a golden colour.

Remove the quiche from the oven and allow to cool for some 15-20 minutes. In the case of a loose bottomed sandwich tin, gently remove the quiche from the tin and leave on a baking rack to cool completely.

Serve with chips or Jersey Royal new potatoes and salad.

Printable version

Spicy Hot Prawn & Apple Curry - friskier than a spring lamb!

2019-01-09T14:44:00.000+00:00

I have had this recipe sitting waiting to be published since for ever, it seems. The trouble is, you see, Christmas and new year got right in the way and I lost touch with reality. *chuckle* No, reality has always been right here - I just got distracted for a while.

So here you are all those people who were so keen to have the recipe. I do apologise for the time it has taken.

The curry is a touch different from the norm in its use of apple, but it gives such a lovely fruity tang that goes so well with the tomato, tamarind, red onion and coconut. Some of those ingredients also give off a sweetness which somehow boosts the flavour of the prawns. Lots of savoury flavours as well, of course, from garlic, coriander, ginger, turmeric and the curry powder - which included a small amount of Tikka curry powder, prevent it from becoming too sweet and naturally the hot spiciness from the red chillis combined with the ginger and spicy curry to make this lovely light textured prawn curry super frisky! Not so frisky that it melts anything, but enough to clear the sinuses. Can't be bad!

SPICY HOT PRAWN & APPLE CURRY (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp plus a half tbsp salted butter
1-2 red onions, depending on size, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
sea salt
ground black pepper
a quarter tsp of ground cinnamon
4 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 sharp eating apple (I used Braeburn), peeled, cored & diced small
3 tsp medium curry powder
1 tsp tikka curry powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
a pinch of dried red chilli flakes (to taste)
500ml hot water plus more as required
1 tbsp tamarind sauce
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaf plus a little for garnish
half tsp honey (to taste)
325g cooked, peeled, cold water large prawns, defrosted and drained if pre-frozen
hot white Basmati rice to serve.

Method :

Melt the coconut oil and butter in a large frying pan and add the onions & garlic. Fry on a medium heat until the onions are transparent and just beginning to caramelise and the garlic is fragrant. This shouldn't take too long if the onions have been chopped finely enough. Part way through the cooking, add the sea salt, black pepper and cinnamon and stir through.

Once the onions and garlic are cooked to your satisfaction, add the cherry tomatoes and apple and cook on until the tomatoes are beginning to soften and break up.

Add the curry powder, turmeric, ginger and red chilli flakes and stir through. Cook on for about 5 more minutes, to allow the spices to amalgamate and lose their uncooked flavour. Add the water, tamarind sauce and fresh coriander and stir through.

Cook at a simmer, stirring regularly, until the ingredients have all amalgamated into a sauce and the sauce has reduced to a good thick consistency. This can take around 20 mins, perhaps a bit longer depending on how much juice the tomatoes had and how much water you added.

Taste the sauce for seasoning and add more salt, or black pepper, or chilli flakes as necessary. Taste again and add the honey if required. Stir everything through once more.

When you are happy with the flavour and consistency of the sauce, add the prawns and increase the temperature under the pan, to heat the prawns through. You aren't looking to cook them as they've already been cooked - just heat them through to piping hot.

Serve the curry with the white basmati rice and sprinkle the remainder of the coriander over the top as garnish.

Printable version

Pork And Apple Pie - think a lighter textured pork pie!

2018-11-30T13:36:00.001+00:00

The moment I saw this recipe in the Take a Break - My Favourite Recipes magazine, I knew I had to give it a go. I've done a couple of variations on a pork and apple pie already - Kentish Pie and Ham & Apple Pie - both of which are really popular with the family, so I reckoned this would also be a hit. Little did I know just how much of a hit it would prove to be! It's hard to say which way I like it best - room temperature, or direct from the fridge. All I know is that it is delicious and especially good with mustard or piccalilli!

Of course, apart from the delicious flavour of this pie and the lightness of the gorgeous pastry, one of the very best things about it is just how simple it is to make. I suppose it all hinges on your using a tasty sausagemeat for it as you won't get good things back if you don't put good things in to begin with! I picked a 72% pork sausagemeat, which was seasoned with sage, nutmeg, mace and black pepper. Inevitably, I tinkered about with the quantities, plus I used smoked back bacon, which inevitably has more flavour than unsmoked and more meat than fat, I swapped the leek for a small red onion because hubby hates leek and also added more sage until my nose told me there was enough.

Contrary to the original recipe, I pan fried the bacon before adding it to the filling mix as I was a bit nervous about it discharging too much water in the cooking. I also baked the pie in a loose bottomed sandwich tin (the recipe states to bake it free form on a baking tray) basically because my crimping is rubbish and I would have hated for it to have come apart during the baking or got washed away by all the water from the bacon.

All of my tinkering about with the recipe worked perfectly, resulting in a nicely shaped, full of filling, golden baked pie that will grace our Boxing Day buffet table very nicely thank you. It will be lovely with the pickles and salad that accompanies the cold meats and cheeses and make a fabulous centre piece for the table.

Many thanks to Laurie Burley of Cornwall for sending in her delicious pie recipe to the magazine - I know it has instantly become a family favourite!

PORK AND APPLE PIE (serves 6)

Ingredients :

For the pastry :

225g plain flour
140g cold diced butter
a pinch of sea salt
a quarter tsp of black pepper
1 tsp English mustard powder
2 egg yolks kept separate - one for the pastry and another for glazing
2 tbsp or thereabouts, of cold water (I used carbonated mineral water).

For the filling :

400g of your favourite pork sausagemeat
100g smoked back bacon, finely diced
1 sharp eating apple (I used a Braeburn), peeled, cored and finely diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
2 heaped tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried sage
half a tsp ground black pepper.

Method :

Using a food processor (you can opt to rub in the butter, if you prefer), put the flour, diced butter, sea salt, black pepper and mustard powder in to the bowl and whizz for as long as it takes to get to tiny breadcrumb stage. Add the one egg yolk and half the water and blitz again. You are aiming for the crumbs to clump together and form a mass. You may need to add the remainder of the water and continue blitzing until the clumps form. Don't add too much water too soon, or you will potentially end up with a too wet mixture. Some loose mixture is acceptable as it will all come together in the cling film.

Spread a large piece of cling film out across the worktop and tip the contents of the processor on top. Fold the cling film over the top and gently press and pat the pastry together so that it forms a cohesive whole. Then fold each end up to seal and place into the fridge for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 190degC/375degF/Gas 5.

Heat a frying pan and add the diced bacon. Dry fry until all the moisture has evaporated and the pieces are beginning to turn golden. Set aside.

Taking a large bowl, add the sausagemeat, cooked bacon, diced apple, diced onion, chopped parsley, dried sage and pepper. Using your hand, squish and mix the ingredients together until everything is evenly distributed. Try not to massage the mixture into a lump, but keep the texture light and broken up.

Reclaim your pastry from the fridge and roll out half of it to line an 8" sandwich tin - a loose bottomed one helps to get the pie out at the end of baking. Trim the pastry off neatly and level with the top edge of the tin.

Place the sausagemeat mixture gently into the pastry case and distribute it evenly, making sure to not press down too hard. Remember, you want to keep the texture light. Level off with the top of the tin.

Taking your egg intended for glazing, brush a little egg around the inside edge of the small amount of pastry above the level of the meat.

Roll out the second piece of pastry and place over the top of the tin to create the pie's lid. Ease the pastry down onto the top of the meat filling and press lightly to create a seal around the edge where the egg wash is. Trim off neatly and crimp the edges in a pretty pattern.

Cut a cross into the centre of the pastry and turn back each quarter of the cross, to allow the steam to escape whilst baking. You can decorate the surface with pastry leaves or whatever you want, at this stage.

Finally, egg wash the surface of the pastry and place into the oven for 30 minutes. When the time is up, reduce the oven temperature down to 170degC/325degF/gas 3 and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre of the meat sends back some resistance, indicating that the meat is cooked, and the pie is lovely and golden in colour.

Remove from the oven and cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack. While the pie is still quite warm, remove from the tin (this is where the loose bottomed tin comes in SO handy) and gently place back onto the wire rack to cool.

Serve at room temperature with pickles and salad, or chips and baked beans. The pie is just as good served directly from the fridge, to have with pickles and salad or to take on a picnic.

Printable version

Latin American Chicken - frisky, fruity and delicious

2018-10-25T21:13:00.002+01:00

Well, colour me surprised and extremely impressed by this recipe. Some recipes you can look at and immediately imagine the flavours, know how it is likely to look, what consistency the sauce will be etc. This one, I had a good idea of the flavours but I couldn't, for the life of me, think what sort of consistency it would turn out to be and whether the flavours would be intense or somewhat wishy-washy. You see, I have something of a past history with wishy-washy tomato based chicken dishes. *coughs behind hand* Moving on ....

I don't remember finding this recipe, but it was there in my "new recipes" folder on my computer so I obviously spotted it at some point and saved it for future reference. As you do. I have so many recipes saved that I have had to categorise them to within an inch of their lives in order to keep control. Without the blessed categories, there'd be recipes romping unchecked everywhere as soon as I got past the opening window, I'm sure of it. Anyway, there it was (here, if you're curious) and originally intended to be a recipe for the slow cooker.

Now although - as you know - I do have a slow cooker, in this instance it wouldn't have been a lot of use as I was cooking for just the two of us and the ingredients would have got lost in my big old crockpot. Whatever you can cook in a slow cooker can be cooked in an oven, so that's where it ended up and (ssssshhh, don't tell anyone) but I think it may have been all the better for it, too.

As a matter of necessity, I tweaked the recipe remorselessly. Things such as leaf coriander went out of the window, in favour of ground coriander, as my chaps really don't like leaf coriander. I didn't have any allspice, so in went a combination of cinnamon, mace and a bit more ground coriander for luck. For all that I did have a can of black beans, it would have made way too much so I swapped them out for a small can of red kidney beans and crossed my fingers.

The bit I was having trouble with, was knowing quite how the sauce would turn out - and indeed, if I would wind up with any sauce at all. You see, apart from a small amount of chicken stock and a much larger amount of spicy salsa (for which, I used Asda's salsa in a jar) plus any juice that might leach out from the red pepper and sweet potatoes, there wasn't any identifiable "sauce" as such. Now, cooked in a slow cooker, this wouldn't be such an issue as they do tend to water their contents down through returning the steam back into the pot as condensation. I decided the best thing was to prevent the loss of steam created during the cooking process and covered the casserole dish with a tight sheet of silver foil under the lid. Oh and crossed my fingers. Essential bit of cooking technology, that. Well hurrah for crossed fingers, because it worked!

The end result had just enough sauce to keep the contents nicely moistened, the chicken soft and tender and with the final addition of a squeeze of lime juice, was sooooo blinking delicious! Plus, of course, the added benefit that other than a bit of chicken frying the cooking was a simple matter of heating everything up in the chicken pan, pouring it into the casserole dish and waving goodbye to it for an hour and a half. Take fifteen minutes of that time to cook some rice and ~back of hand to forehead~ oh the stress! SLAVING over a hot stove (a.k.a. reading my book in the living room) whilst the dinner cooked. Perfect.

Do, by all means, feel free to cook the original incarnation of this recipe if it appeals, but I have noted down my version of it below, which is of course a whole lot better. *wink* If you prefer chicken thighs, you'll possibly need to increase the cooking time by a half hour or so, depending on how big and muscly your chicken is.

LATIN AMERICAN CHICKEN (serves 2)

Ingredients :

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
sea salt
ground black pepper
1 tsp plus 1 tsp ground coriander
2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 red pepper, de-seeded and cut into strips
1 large clove of garlic, sliced finely
1 200g tin of red kidney beans, drained
200ml chicken stock (made with 1 stock cube or 1 tsp stock powder)
200g spicy salsa from a jar
half a tsp of ground cumin
half a tsp of ground cinnamon
half a tsp of ground mace
a pinch of dried red chilli flakes (to taste)
a small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
lime wedges, for garnish.

Method :

To begin with, pre-heat your oven to 180degC/350degF/gas 4.

Then, take each chicken breast and cut it in half horizontally so that you end up with two much thinner pieces of chicken for each breast. This will ensure the chicken cooks evenly.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large frying pan over a moderate/high heat and lay each piece of chicken inside. Quickly sprinkle with half of one of the tsp of ground coriander and a pinch of sea salt & black pepper, turn the chicken and repeat for the other side. Fry the chicken until golden on the one side, then turn it over and complete the frying on the other side. If the chicken isn't quite cooked through it doesn't matter as it will complete cooking in the oven. Once golden on both sides, remove the chicken to a lidded casserole dish and reserve.

Tip the sweet potatoes, red pepper and garlic into the frying pan - add a little more rapeseed oil if necessary - and fry until the garlic is golden, the potatoes have coloured in places and the red pepper has begun to soften - around 5-10 minutes.

Add the red kidney beans, stock, salsa, remaining ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, mace and chilli flakes and stir through. Bring to a boil and add a little more water if necessary, as it can evaporate quite quickly. Pour the contents into the casserole dish and stir through.

Cover the casserole dish with a tight fitting layer of silver foil and the casserole lid and place into the middle of your oven for 1.5 hours. I would advise checking the liquid level after an hour, just in case your sealing hasn't quite worked! If necessary, top up with a little water or chicken stock.

I served mine with basmati rice that had been cooked in vegetable stock, with a few added peas and a very naughty knob of butter melted through. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top and add a couple of lime wedges for squeezing. Scrummy!

Printable version

Lincolnshire sausage & sun dried tomato quiche - feeds a crowd!

2018-08-31T20:06:00.000+01:00

If there's one thing that my menfolk are guaranteed to eat, it's a slice of quiche. As I have now conquered my (stupid, as it turns out) tendency towards a soggy bottom (don't bake the tin on a baking tray - the two layers prevent the pastry from cooking properly. So simple, but it took me years to work it out!) making quiche has become a regular occurrence in our house.

The good thing about quiche is that there are so many different variations of filling. Yes, there's the good old bacon & cheese that always gets the thumbs up, but really you can put just about anything into a quiche so long as it's not wet, or will cook wetly. (Courgette, I'm looking at you here).

In this instance, I was looking for something that would provide a man-pleasing filling. Now my hubby has always loved Lincolnshire sausages, whereas I have been rather less than complimentary about them. It's not as though I actively dislike them, it's just that there are other types of sausage that I find more appealing. Stop giggling at the back! I did think, though, that their herby character would go nicely in a quiche and tomato seemed a natural bedfellow for them. Of course, it just isn't quiche if it doesn't have some cheese in and/or on it, so some mature cheddar was a given. Now our son has a serious dislike of cooked tomato (he picks the tomato off the top of his quiche, strange child), which is where the sun dried tomato comes in. Perfect.

The filling made up to be a good, deep fill with lots of character and substance, just what I was after. You could certainly feed a crowd with this one, as mine very nicely cut into six decent sized portions, served with salad and chips for the menfolk. I now have half a quiche (three portions) which should keep the wolf from the door for us all at lunchtime tomorrow, as well.

Oh and incidentally, as a means of making six sausages go adequately around three people, you can't beat it!

LINCOLNSHIRE SAUSAGE & SUN DRIED TOMATO QUICHE (serves 6)

Ingredients :

400g Lincolnshire sausages, removed from their skins
approx. 300g shortcrust pastry (sufficient for an 8" sandwich or flan dish, approx. 1" deep)
3 extra large eggs
150ml soured cream
a half tsp of ground black pepper
a quarter tsp of sea salt
70g mature cheddar cheese, grated
6 pieces of sun-dried tomato (I used the ones in oil), sliced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 medium tomato, sliced finely into 5 slices.

Method :

Your first job is to cook the sausages. Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/350degF/Gas 4. Remove the sausage skins and pinch off small pieces of sausage meat, forming them into balls. 1 sausage will make around 5 balls. Place onto a foil-lined tray and give them a light coat of cooking spray. Place into the middle of your oven for around 20 minutes until cooked through and just beginning to brown. Once cooked, set aside to cool a little.

Next, you need to part-bake the pastry case. If you are using pre-rolled pastry, keep it on the baking paper and roll it out a little bit thinner than it arrives. Cut a piece that is significantly bigger than the baking dish or tin you will be using. Keeping the pastry on the baking paper, gently sink it into the tin making sure there are no bubbles under the pastry and it is pressed gently into the corners. Carefully remove the baking paper and trim off the majority of the excess with a sharp knife, but leave a decent overhang to cope with any shrinkage.

Replace the baking paper and lightly smooth it across the base. Pour in your baking beans in an even layer and place the tin centrally into the oven for 20 minutes. You can use this time to make the filling.

Break each of the eggs into a cup and pour them into a large bowl. Doing this ensures that if one of your eggs is off or even slightly dodgy, you don't lose the lot! Add the soured cream and whisk together. Next, add the black pepper, sea salt, two thirds of the grated cheese and the parsley and stir until everything is combined.

Remove the pastry case from the oven and gently lift out the baking beans by holding the greaseproof paper. Set the baking beans aside to cool down.

Tip the sausage balls into the pastry case and sprinkle over the pieces of sun dried tomato. Pour in the egg/cream mixture and sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese. Add the five tomato slices in an attractive pattern.

Gently place the quiche into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling has risen, turned golden and feels fairly firm when pressed in the middle.

Remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes. You can now trim back the overhanging spare pastry and if you are using a loose bottomed tin, remove the quiche from the tin and place it back onto the cooling rack. Serve whilst still a little warm or at room temperature, with a crunchy garden salad.

Printable version

Tasty turkey stuffed Romano peppers

2018-08-29T19:55:00.001+01:00

This recipe, which came from my fevered imagination whilst I was craving stuffed peppers one day, succeeded in surprising even myself. Oh yes, in a positive way, of course! You wouldn't be seeing it if the reverse was true as I very much keep my failures to myself. Well, apart from sharing the very worst of them on my Facebook page, where it's worth it for the laugh.

Anyway, these 'ere stuffed red pointy peppers are just totally lush. The tasty turkey mince filling (you could use pork mince, if turkey isn't your thing) is flavoured with Italian style influences - tomato and sun dried tomato pesto predominate - yet they have a Mexican touch with the spicy Mexicana cheese that tops each pepper. The gorgeously soft, sweet, fruity flavour of the peppers themselves just brings everything together in a deliciously amalgamated whole.

I recommend serving the peppers either with something creamily rich like a mushroom risotto (which is my choice), or a fresh crunchy mixed salad with a creamy dressing. I think either would work as well as the other.

Super-simple to make, the bit that takes the longest time is the making of the filling. However if you're going to be pushed for time then that can easily be made ahead and even frozen (but defrost before use), thus making the preparation a simple matter of filling the peppers and putting them in the oven. From getting out the ingredients to sitting down to eat took around 90 minutes, but then I'm incredibly slow. However, it gives you an idea of the time required.

Go! Fry! Stuff! Bake! Enjoy! (A glass of wine wouldn't go amiss, either).

TASTY TURKEY STUFFED ROMANO PEPPERS (serves 2)

Ingredients :

2 long red pointed Romano peppers, cut into two lengthways and de-seeded
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 red onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove, diced finely
sea salt & ground black pepper, to taste
300g minced lean turkey
1 vine ripened medium tomato, diced
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 tsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
half a tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp sun dried tomato pesto
1 tsp reduced salt Knorr chicken stock powder
100ml warm water
1 tbsp torn fresh basil leaves
60g sliced Mexicana cheese, or grated mature cheddar.

Method :

Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/350degF/Gas 4.

Before beginning to cook the filling, deal with the two peppers and cut them in half lengthways, remove the pith and seeds but leave the stem attached. Place them into a suitably sized baking dish.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large frying pan and add the onion & garlic. Fry until the onion is softened and beginning to take on colour. Season with a pinch of sea salt and a couple of pinches of black pepper.

Push the onion & garlic across to one side of the pan and add the turkey mince. Break up the mince and fry until there is no pink colour left. Mix the onions & garlic in and continue to fry.

Add the diced and quartered tomatoes, frying until the pieces have softened and are beginning to dissolve into the mix. Add the tomato puree, tomato ketchup, dried oregano, chopped parsley, pesto, chicken stock powder and water. Stir gently to combine and cook on until everything is mixed well together and the liquid has reduced significantly. You are after a fairly dry mix, so that the mince doesn't just flow out of the peppers! Once you are happy with the consistency, add the torn basil leaves and stir through. Taste for seasoning and adjust both salt & pepper to taste.

Divide the mince mixture between the four pepper halves and either place the Mexicana cheese slices over the mince, or sprinkle the cheddar over the top of each pepper.

Place the baking dish into the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Serve with some wild mushroom risotto, or alternatively a fresh mixed salad.

Printable version

Best ever Moussaka - with a little bit of help!

2018-05-23T20:10:00.000+01:00

Now, before going any further, if you've come here looking for the original version of my recipe for Moussaka and are aghast to find it has been replaced by this one - do let me know and I will reinstate it. You see, in my opinion, this new recipe is such a totally different kettle o' lamb deliciousness, it quite outstrips the old recipe. Although, having said that, this recipe carries an awful lot of the previous incarnation along with it - just with a few tweaks and twists that have made such a difference. So anyway - to horse! Or kitchen. lol

You'll be wondering what makes the big difference. Well, firstly, I've got a new way of preparing the aubergines that works so beautifully well. Instead of brushing the aubergine slices with olive oil and having them absorb half a bottleful, I am now taking advantage of that wonderful thing, the low calorie cooking spray. In my case, a 1 calorie coconut oil version. Spray the tray, lay the aubergine slices on, spray each slice, sprinkle with salt and pepper and into the oven they go. They come out beautifully toasty, sweet and soft without being greasy in the slightest - which of course, then cuts the amount of oil your Moussaka is dealing with. Perfect.

Secondly, I've included some garlic. Now don't go looking all horrified, what I'm looking for here is flavour and it's only one clove. Some traditional Moussaka recipes ask for it, some shun it completely. Believe me, it makes a difference so go for it.

My third big improvement is that I have been using a pre-prepared bechamel sauce, to which I add two egg yolks and a good amount of nutmeg, plus as much seasoning as is required. Yes, I have a taste just to test how much seasoning to use. Now if you're hale and hearty and able to make your own bechamel by all means be my guest and do so. If, however, you're like me and a short cut to deliciousness can only result in your not feeling so trashed later on in the day, then buy some. I heartily recommend Lidl's Italiamo Besciamella as being one that is a gorgeous texture and delicious flavour. A great starting point for any white sauce!

Now comes the big discussion point. To potato or not potato. For me and for all that I love potatoes, they are not welcome in my Moussaka. I reckon that potato was only included because the price of a) lamb and b) aubergines became prohibitive and to make the dish more of a meal, potatoes were introduced. I can respect that - I've done things like that myself, over the years. However, I can't help but think that a true Moussaka should be just meat (and sauce), aubergines and bechamel sauce with nutmeg & cheese. However, if you're trying to feed a big family and sliced potatoes will help make your Moussaka go further, then use them. (It helps to add them to the aubergines being baked in the oven to par-cook. Makes sure they cook through in the Moussaka).

There are two ingredients that it is important you don't skip. One is the wine - absolutely essential. Two is the teaspoonful of mint jelly. The sweetness of the jelly helps to round out the acidity of the wine and as we all know, mint and lamb are a combination made in heaven.

Now I've used Grana Padano cheese for my Moussaka, but that is by no means set in stone. I would have used Kefalotyri if I could have found any, or Parmesan if my son didn't hate the stuff. To be honest, I dare say a good mature Cheddar would do the trick as you don't use very much. So, I shall leave the cheese up to your own taste - but don't leave it out! It is essential for getting that beautiful golden crust on the finished article.

Yes, this recipe takes time and yes, it makes a prodigious amount of washing up, however you can easily combat both of those points by making the dish up to the point of putting it in the oven and set it aside (even overnight, if needs be!) until required. (I make mine in the morning, ready for eating that evening). You just pre-heat the oven and in it goes. As for the washing up, well hopefully you'll have had time to deal with that in the meantime, making clean up after dinner itself a relatively simple matter.

Choices of things to serve alongside your Moussaka include garlic bread, chips (a.k.a. fries) and of course, the ubiquitous side salad or even better a Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion and feta cheese sprinkled with dried oregano. Delicious.

Oh and another plus point (as if you needed another one), is that it freezes really well. So make an enormous dish and freeze half for another day. Can't do better than that!

MOUSSAKA (serves 4)

Ingredients :

2 large aubergines, sliced thinly

low calorie cooking spray

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 large onions, sliced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
500g minced lamb

1 tsp ground cinnamon

half a tsp dried thyme
2 vine ripened tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp of lamb stock powder (or 1 lamb stock cube)

200ml red wine

1 tsp mint jelly
500ml carton of Lidl Italiamo Besciamella (or other equivalent)

2 egg yolks
1 tsp grated nutmeg

grated Grana Padano cheese for sprinkling.

Method :

Preheat the oven to 180degC/350degF/gas mark 4.

Line two large baking trays with silver foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the aubergine slices onto the baking tray and spray liberally with cooking spray. Sprinkle with sea salt & black pepper then bake for 20 minutes or until they feel cooked through when a knife is inserted. They should hopefully have some browned areas, which adds to the flavour. Set aside to cool.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large frying pan and add the onions & garlic. Cook gently for around 15 minutes, stirring often, until golden and soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the minced lamb to the pan and fry on the highest heat, stirring often, until browned and slightly caramelised. Remove some of the fat that will have accumulated (if necessary) and return the onions & garlic to the pan.

Reduce the heat to moderate and add the cinnamon, thyme, tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir to combine and cook on for another 2-3 minutes. Add the lamb stock powder or cube and the red wine. Bring everything to the boil and cook briskly, stirring often, until the red wine is reduced by half. Season with the mint jelly, salt and pepper to taste.

Using a lasagne dish, layer the aubergine and mince, starting with mince. You should have sufficient for three layers of mince and three of aubergine, finishing with an aubergine layer.

Tip the bechamel sauce into a bowl and stir in the egg yolks, nutmeg and some black pepper. Pour the sauce evenly over the top of the aubergine & lamb mixture and level the top surface. Sprinkle liberally with the grated Grana Padano cheese.

Now, at this stage, you can leave the Moussaka to one side until you are ready to bake it. It will cope with being refrigerated until the next day, if you so wish.

Making sure the oven is pre-heated to 180degC/350degF/gas mark 4 and the Moussaka is at room temperature, bake the Moussaka for around 45-50 minutes, until the top surface is golden and the edges are bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to settle for some 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

Serve with chips (fries) or garlic bread and a side salad with olives and feta cheese.

Printable version

Grilled Curry Chicken Skewers (well, they almost made it onto the skewers!)

2018-04-14T20:41:00.001+01:00

Isn't it funny how I go for weeks not blogging a thing, then all of a sudden I have a mad rush of blood to the head and bingo, there's three blog posts in quick succession. I have no idea why it happens, but it certainly seems to!

Now, these almost kebabs were so blinking tasty that they just had to be committed to blogdom straight away. You won't have any idea the tussles I have had with yoghurt marinated chicken, but they have been almost on an epic scale of disappointment. Hence, having had a taste of these little babies and realised that I'd reached nirvana, I just knew I had to write down the recipe and write it down fast - before it sank without a trace.

Now by rights, I should have laced these pieces of chicken onto kebab skewers and grilled them that way. However, I discovered at the last minute that the majority of my little wooden skewers had left home, so they just went onto the baking tray and were grilled like that. I don't think it harmed them any - in fact, I know it didn't.

Usually - and by "usually" I mean "in the past" - my attempts at yoghurt marinated chicken have been pallid at best and watery at worst. However, in this new and exciting dawn, I am so excited to report that they were neither pallid, oh no, nor were they watery! Well, they did exude a little water when being cooked, but that soon burned off.

They were deliciously spicy hot, with the warm curry spices singing along in harmony with the tang of lime juice and intense fruitiness of the tamarind. The acidity of both yoghurt and lime juice had tenderised the chicken and the use of garlic granules meant there were no horrid lumps of half cooked garlic in the mix. The slight charring on each piece brought out the best in the Tandoori spices and that spoonful of hot curry powder meant you were left in no doubt as to the worth of the sweet & fruity salad, along with the buttery rice.

I am seriously chuffed - maybe even "chuffed as nuts" as Dave Myers (he of Hairy Bikers fame) often says - with this recipe. I might even need to cook it again, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. LOL So if you give the recipe a whirl, do let me know how you get on with it!

Oh and incidentally - if you put your chicken onto the skewers, they'd be just brilliant cooked on a barbecue!

GRILLED CURRY CHICKEN SKEWERS (serves 2)

Ingredients :

4 dessert spoonfuls of full fat unflavoured Greek yoghurt
juice of half a lime
2 tsp rapeseed oil
1 tbsp tamarind sauce
4 heaped tsp tandoori curry powder
1 heaped tsp hot curry powder
half a tsp of ground turmeric
1 tsp of dried garlic granules
a pinch of sea salt
pinch of ground black pepper
2 large skinless and boneless chicken breasts, sliced across the grain.

Method :

Firstly, in a large bowl, make up the marinade by stirring together all the ingredients except the chicken breast slices.

Add the chicken slices and stir gently, ensuring that the marinade reaches every piece.

Cover with cling wrap and set aside in the fridge for a minimum of 4-5 hours.

To cook, cover a baking tray with silver foil and spray with a little cooking spray.

Using tongs, remove each piece of chicken from the marinade (taking as much of the marinade with each piece as wants to come) and lay it in a blob on the baking tray, leaving a little space in between each piece. Alternatively, lace each piece onto a bamboo skewer that has been previously soaked in water (to stop it going up in flames) - not too tightly - and lay the skewer on the baking tray.

Distribute any leftover marinade over the pieces that need a little more coverage.

Grill, under a hot grill (or a hot broiler, if you're American), until each piece has begun to char slightly. You don't want to have a lot of charring, just a few spots on each piece's high points. Turn the pieces and grill again.

Serve with buttery savoury rice and a fresh, fruity salad.

Printable version

Fully Loaded Nachos - the turkey version!

2018-04-13T20:30:00.000+01:00

I'm a bit of a novice at the Fully Loaded Nachos game, however I do love them! This evening's version was so good, its recipe definitely requires blogging. Well, I say "recipe" but in truth it's more of an assembly job than a recipe!

Along with the luscious goodies that are included in this turkey version, I also contemplated adding things like beans - red kidney or cannelini - sweet corn, fresh coriander, avocado and sliced red chilis. All the kinds of things that you might find in a Mexican dish. While I can see all of those things working, I'm glad I didn't add everything because it would have been far too much - so hark to my word of caution that Fully Loaded, whilst encouraging heaps of ingredients, can easily become too much to eat! As it is, these nachos came in at around 725 calories per portion which required some jiggery pokery of the other meals, in order to fit it in without exceeding my daily calorie limit!

Anyway, the best thing about this meal is that you can include or exclude whatever you like. So long as there are nacho chips and cheese, whatever else you add is entirely up to you. My recommendation is that you use this recipe as help regarding how you make the dish, but free wheel about what you include.

Oh and it's worth knowing that these are like iron filings to a magnet for teenagers. They just can't resist! :D

FULLY LOADED (TURKEY) NACHOS (serves 2)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 small red onion, chopped finely
half a bell pepper (any colour), diced
250g turkey mince
a pinch of sea salt
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
sufficient barbecue sauce to coat
half a tsp of hot smoked paprika
150g or thereabouts, of nacho chips
100g of grated cheddar cheese
100g of grated Mexicana cheese
2 small tomatoes, sliced finely
sliced jalapeno peppers, to taste
100g approx of tomato salsa
150ml of sour cream
2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
crispy fried onion bits (optional)
fresh lime wedges.

Method :

Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/350degF/Gas 4.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a frying pan and add the onion, bell pepper pieces, salt & black pepper. Cook over a moderate heat until the onion is softened and the bell pepper has begun to soften. Move the vegetables to one side, increase the heat to high and add the turkey mince. Fry until the mince has changed colour by 90% and stir in the vegetables. Continue to fry until all the liquid has gone and the mince mixture is beginning to caramelise.

Reduce the heat to moderate and add the barbecue sauce & smoked paprika. Stir everything together and cook until you have a fairly dry mix, which should only take a few moments.

Remove from the heat and set aside.

Take two baking trays and cover each with a sheet of baking paper.

Arrange a handful of nacho chips in the centre of each sheet, in a relatively flat layer. This is the "plate" upon which the dish will be built - so don't take it too broad or you'll use too many chips, or too high or you won't fit the end result in the oven!

Next, sprinkle on a quarter of the cheese onto each bed of chips.

Then, heap on a quarter of the mince mixture onto each bed of cheesy chips.

Arrange the tomato and jalapeno slices across the mince mixture.

Dollop on the salsa, dividing between the two batches of chips.

Take another handful of chips and heap them on top of everything, on both trays.

Add the remaining quarters of the mince mixture, balancing it on top of the piles.

Sprinkle everything liberally with the remaining cheese, again dividing it between the two trays. You can even add more jalapenos at this stage, if you're keen!

Carefully place the two trays into the oven for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them at half time, as you don't want the chips to burn.

When the cheese is melted and the mince is sizzling, remove the trays from the oven and have some warmed plates waiting.

Taking the baking paper, make it into a chute and slide the nachos onto the warmed plate. They should go in one fell swoop, so be brave!

Add dollops of sour cream, sprinkle with the sliced spring onion and crispy onions, if you're using them and add the two wedges of lime, for squeezing at the table.

Prepare to accept the grateful and adoring thanks of the masses.

Printable version

Mexican rice - another aide memoire!

2018-04-12T21:02:00.001+01:00

I have found the recipe for Mexican rice to be so useful - we have it a lot as accompaniment to all different types of protein - that I thought it was about time I gave it the credit it deserves and blogged the recipe!

Here's some examples of where I've used it ....

with Quorn Southern Fried (which get baked) flavour nuggets ...

with sausage incorporated into it ...

with a Mexican style baked lime chicken and side salad ...

with fajitas ...

and even with a fried egg & avocado, for lunch!

As you can see, it's a great accompaniment to all kinds of Mexican inspired dishes. I love it - and it can be taken up a few notches with the addition of beans, or mushrooms, or peppers, anything you like really! I tend, these days, to add a red or yellow pepper as a matter of course, anything to increase the vegetable intake of the menfolk. They love the spicy flavours and the Mexicana cheese that melts on top, so any additional veg tends to just get eaten along the way.

If you can't find Spanish rice, paella or short grain rice is an acceptable substitute. Oh and interestingly (well you might not find it interesting, but I thought it was!) and while we're talking about rice, I discovered today the difference between Mexican and Spanish rice dishes. For ages I've thought they were one and the same, however it seems that the Mexican is red (because of the tomato) and the Spanish is yellow (because of the saffron and no tomato). So there, now you know. You'll thank me one day when you're at a pub quiz and that question comes up. LOL

MEXICAN RICE (serves 4)

Ingredients :

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 red onion, chopped finely
1 bell pepper (any colour), diced
10g butter
150g Spanish or Paella style rice
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp dried oregano
half a tsp ground cumin
half a tsp garlic granules
1 tsp chicken stock powder
half a tsp vegetable stock powder
freshly ground black pepper to taste
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
two thirds of the empty tomato tin of hot water
100g of Mexicana cheese, sliced finely
3 spring onions, sliced finely on the diagonal, as garnish.

Method :

In a deep saucepan or wok (non-stick is great), heat the rapeseed oil and add the onion and pepper. Fry over a medium heat until the onion is soft and the pepper has begun to soften.

Add the butter and rice and continue to cook, so as to achieve a toasted effect on the majority of the rice.

Add the chilli powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, garlic granules, stock powder and black pepper and stir through.

Add the chopped tomatoes and a two thirds of a tomato tin of hot water and stir through. Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, over a slightly reduced heat, until the rice is 99% cooked and the liquid has reduced and thickened. You may find you need to add a little more water before the rice is finally ready for the next stage.

Turn the heat off and lay the Mexicana cheese on the surface of the rice. Sprinkle the spring onion over the top and replace the lid. Some 10 minutes later, once the cheese has had time to melt, serve.

Printable version

Pork, apple & mustard sausage rolls - an aide memoire!

2018-04-11T20:07:00.000+01:00

I was so sure there was one, I just came to find the link for my pork, apple & mustard sausage rolls - and was absolutely astounded to find that I haven't blogged them!

Yes, I have several sausage roll recipes on the blog here but none of them are with my family's favourite pastry - a mix of flour, vegetable suet and butter. This pastry is hugely calorific but so delicious with savoury recipes. It's also not as much of a mouthful as puff pastry can be and not as claggy in the mouth as a light shortcrust can be, all of which is a very good thing. Once baked, it also has a strength to it - particularly when judiciously coated in an egg yolk wash - which can be really useful when out on picnics or just plain old eating in the car. Nobody wants a collapsible sausage roll in those circumstances.

As such, here now follows an aide memoire of this sausage roll recipe, including the correct quantities for the pastry - which will save me from having to work it all out for the umpteenth time!

PORK, APPLE & MUSTARD SAUSAGE ROLLS (makes 6)

Ingredients :

For the pastry

225g plain flour
75g vegetable suet
75g salted butter
a pinch of sea salt
a good pinch of black pepper
60-80g of carbonated mineral water.

For the filling

6 quality pork sausages, skins removed
half a Braeburn apple, peeled, cored and finely diced
6 tsp wholegrain mustard (or thereabouts)
an egg yolk, for glazing.

Method :

At least an hour before you require it, make your pastry. Add the flour, suet, butter, sea salt & black pepper to a large bowl and rubbing between your fingers, rub the butter into the mix. You should wind up with a mixture somewhere between cornflakes and breadcrumbs.

Stir in approximately half the water, adding a little more and a little more, until the mix is damp enough to come together when pressed. Erring a little on the dry side is infinitely better than having it too wet, so add cautiously!

Lay out a large piece of cling wrap and dump the pastry into the middle. By patting and pushing, make a rough log shape and close the cling film over it, tightening up either end to compress it. Place the pastry into the fridge for a minimum of 30 mins before using.

When ready to make the sausage rolls, set your oven to pre-heat to 180degC/350degF/Gas 4. Take the pastry from the fridge and cut into two halves and set aside.

Skin the sausages, disposing of the skins, and set the sausage meat aside still in its sausage shape.

Peel and core the apple and chop one half into fine dice. Eat the other half. Well, someone has to!

Roll out one half of the pastry on a floured board, to make a rectangle long enough to take three sausages, laid end to end, and with enough pastry on either side so that you can roll them up and have the sides meet.

Spread half the mustard onto the middle of the pastry, creating a "bed" for the sausages to lay on. Add half the apple pieces to the mustard and lay the sausages on top, pressing down lightly onto the apple.

Brush a little water onto the side of pastry that is furthest away from you. Lay the dry side of the pastry over the sausage mix and continue to roll onto the dampened side. You may need to trim any excess pastry, rather than have too thick a layer around the sausage mix.

With a sharp, wet, knife cut the roll into three (or smaller, if you want picnic versions). Lay each sausage roll onto a baking tray, join side down, and repeat the whole process with the second half of pastry, remaining mustard, apple and last three sausages.

Brush each sausage roll liberally with the egg yolk and pierce the top with a fork or make a knife cut, to let the steam out as the sausage cooks.

Place into the oven for 35-40 minutes, after which you should place the sausage rolls onto a wire rack to cool. Beat off all comers until ready to serve.

Printable version

Malibu Caramelised Pineapple - totally tropical!

2018-04-08T21:36:00.001+01:00

I tend not to make dessert during the week, but save the calories for Sunday evenings and any leftovers go on to Monday, which helps to cheer up a sometimes glum Monday dinner. This week, because it had been for ever since we'd had one, I bought a pineapple and then pondered on what to do with it. We've had plenty of just plain pineapple with cream desserts and sometimes pineapple with fresh mint sugar (which is lovely) but this time I wanted to involve it in some kind of cooking process. I obviously had caramelisation in my back of my mind, but it took some thought for it to surface!

As I pondered on the best way of caramelising the pineapple - in a pan? Under the grill? In the oven? Use the blowtorch? - I also considered what flavour(s) to put with it and in what form. We had some Greek yoghurt in the fridge, so that would be a tasty accompaniment, but I also wanted something to give the pineapple some juice as the caramelisation process tends to dry the fruit out slightly. Perhaps not surprisingly, I began to consider alcohol and Rum Chatta and Malibu were right up there as choices. I'm so glad I went with the Malibu as the flavours are just made to go together and it gave the pineapple such a great depth of flavour.

I eventually opted to use a combination of the grill and the blowtorch for the caramelisation, which worked perfectly. The grill did the legwork of lightly cooking the fruit, melting the sugar and almost caramelising enough, but a quick go over with the blowtorch added the lovely charred flavour of burned sugar that is essential.

Allowing the caramelised fruit to macerate for a number of hours in a drizzle of the Malibu turned out to be a great decision as the fruit absorbed the alcohol beautifully. When you bit into a piece, the first flavour you got was a fairly intense bitterness from the burned sugar, then the cooling juice combined with the slight heat of the rum alcohol, which turned into sweet pineapple and a hint of coconut flavours. Gorgeous effect!

My son opted for a couple of spoonfuls of rum and raisin ice cream to go with his fruit, which I am quite sure was little short of divine. LOL I am sure that a Chantilly cream would be lovely too. Regrettably, I went for the lower calorie version of Greek yoghurt, which really was no hardship, being utterly delicious and very moreish!

I haven't given quantities in the recipe as it really depends on how big a pineapple you have and how much sugar and Malibu you want to involve.

Pineapples are a good price in the shops at the moment (April), so go on - indulge!

MALIBU CARAMELISED PINEAPPLE (Serves 3)

Ingredients :

One large pineapple
soft brown sugar
Malibu liqueur.

Method :

Prepare your pineapple by cutting off its top and tail, then removing the skin. Discard these pieces. Make sure to take out any "eyes" that remain, along with any seeds that might be hiding in the fruit. Then cut the pineapple into four pieces, each piece having a section of the core down one side.

Turn the pineapple piece to one side and cut that piece of core out. I always have a gnaw on these pieces, as the core holds just as much Bromelain as the flesh does. (Scientific studies have shown Bromelain to be useful as an anti inflammatory, so I'll take as much of that as I can get!).

Once the core is removed, cut the pineapple quarter into bite size slices and put them onto a foil covered baking tray. Repeat with the other three quarters.

Pre-heat the grill (or broiler, if you're American or Canadian!) to maximum.

Next, sprinkle each pineapple slice with a good quantity of soft brown sugar and place the tray high up under the grill. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and become sticky.

If you don't possess a blowtorch, then simply leave the pineapple under the heat until the sugar has burned a little. This may take some time depending on how juicy your pineapple is and how hot your grill gets! However, if you do possess a kitchen blowtorch, this is the time to wield it across the top of each pineapple slice, taking care not to burn the sugar a little too much!

Once you've done that first side, quickly flip the slices over and repeat with the sugar and heat.

Moving fairly swiftly so as to not allow the pineapple to cool and stick to the foil, remove the slices to a dish which can cope with all the slices in one layer. I used my Pyrex lasagne dish, which worked perfectly. Taking the Malibu, drizzle it lightly over the top of the slices and deliver a flourish of rather more to the gaps in between. You don't want to wash the caramelised sugar off the slices!

Cover the dish with cling film and place in the fridge for the fruit to absorb some of the Malibu and become gorgeous. Oh yes, and cool down. I left mine for a good 4-5 hours.

Serve with Greek yoghurt or a compatible ice cream such as rum & raisin, vanilla, or chocolate and remember not to drive anywhere immediately afterwards. *chuckle*

Printable version

Chicken sausage burrito bowls - frisky comfort food!

2018-03-23T21:07:00.001+00:00

Two posts in one month! I'll be meeting myself coming back, soon.

I dare say you won't be surprised to hear that I collect recipes like a magpie collects milk bottle tops. Except, milk bottles don't have shiny tops any more. Oh well, you get the drift. I have LOADS of recipes I've bookmarked for future reference. I look through them whenever I'm putting together the menu plan for the week and will often choose one or two. Interestingly, this week, it would seem that all the chosen recipes are good'uns (doesn't always happen!).

Mind you, I always wind up tinkering about with the recipes for one reason or another but really that's neither here nor there. This one - the burrito bowls - was originally a vegetarian recipe that I decided to add some protein to, in the shape of chicken sausage meatballs. It worked very nicely! Here's the original recipe if you're curious, but remember that I've changed several things in my version.

I'll warn you, that it is chili peppers three times over (chili powder in the rice, chilis in the Mexicana cheese and some chili in the salsa) so be prepared for your nose to run and your tongue to tingle - but it is controllable and the avocado helps no end!

Another great pro point is that it all comes together beautifully in the one pan. *happy sigh* I like those recipes.

Let's get on with it then, eh? Forwards!

CHICKEN SAUSAGE BURRITO BOWLS (serves 4)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

8 chicken sausages, skinned and cut into 4 pieces
3 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, cut into small squares

½ a red bell pepper, cut into small squares
12 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
1 tsp hot chili powder (adjust as desired!)
1½ tsp sweet smoked paprika (use hot if you're a chili hound!)

150g short grain rice (Spanish if you can get it)

300ml hot water

1 tsp vegetable stock powder
1 x 200g tin red kidney beans, drained
Sea salt
Black pepper
100g Mexicana hot cheese, grated
1 avocado, chopped into small squares

salsa, to taste.

Method :

Heat the rapeseed oil in a deep frying pan and add the sausage pieces. Fry over a hot heat until the pieces are golden coloured but not wholly cooked. They will finish cooking with the rice. Remove the sausage pieces to a bowl with a slotted spoon so as to leave as much oil in the pan and reserve.

Put the spring onions, garlic and bell pepper into the pan and stir fry until the pepper is beginning to soften.

Add the tomatoes, chili powder and smoked paprika to the pan and fry until the tomatoes are beginning to break up.

Add the rice, hot water, vegetable stock powder, kidney beans and reserved sausage pieces and stir through. Taste for seasoning and adjust with sea salt and black pepper if necessary. Cover the pan and cook for some 10-15 minutes until the rice is tender, stirring from time to time to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Once the rice is tender, serve into warmed bowls.

Garnish with grated Mexicana cheese, cubes of avocado and a good dollop of salsa. If you like it, some fresh coriander is good, too!

Printable version

Quick barbecue orange chicken - super speedy!

2018-03-21T20:30:00.001+00:00

I have been hearing a lot about "Orange Chicken" just recently and had been keeping my eye open for a recipe that would suit me. Such a lot of recipes seem to involve coating the chicken pieces in batter and either deep frying them, or frying them in some way, shape or form, before adding the sauce - and I'm just not into that. I'm not averse to colouring the chicken in a frying pan though - ostensibly frying it, but in just a whisper of oil and without the batter.

This week, I found this recipe "Crockpot Orange Chicken" from Heidi's Home Cooking blog and it was so simple that I felt it would stand up to being swiftly cooked in a wok or frying pan (or skillet, depending on where you're from!) as opposed to the slow cooker it was intended for. However, as is my wont, immediately I began thinking about ways of broadening its flavour horizons.

So, step 1 was to make sure the seasoning was on point and as we're using soy sauce there were no worries about the salt. However, pepper wasn't mentioned - and I wound up using both black and white peppers. Black pepper directly on the chicken and the white pepper in the final seasoning of the sauce.

I could also see that some garlic and ginger wouldn't go amiss, however hubby is sensitive to ginger so that was out (but feel free to add some if you're okay with it!) but some finely chopped fresh garlic cooked with the chicken became step 2.

Because of the lack of ginger, it seemed as though some red chili pepper would be a good idea, so step 3 was to add a finely chopped fresh red chili and dried red chili flakes, to taste. This was a lovely addition as it definitely helped to balance out the sweetness from the barbecue sauce and the orange marmalade, although using a dark coloured marmalade also helped in that regard as it was rather more bitter than sweet.

All together, because I had everything prepped and ready to go before I started cooking, the dish only took around 25-30 minutes from start to serve, which was perfect.

Both my menfolk really liked this dish and returned clean plates to the kitchen. Always a satisfaction! The flavours weren't hugely in one way or the other - both the barbecue sauce and the marmalade seemed to be knitted together with the help of the soy sauce and the garlic and chili just helped to make everyone friends. As it was cooked so quickly, the chicken didn't have an opportunity to dry out, staying moist and tender throughout.

I served the chicken with egg fried rice, some prawn crackers and chopped spring onion sprinkled over as garnish, however it occurred to us that it would be fairly epic served similarly to crispy fried duck - in small pancakes with spring onion & cucumber shreds. So I'll leave that aspect up to you, but do let me know how you like it if you try it!

QUICK BARBECUE ORANGE CHICKEN (Serves 3)

Ingredients :

200 ml of a good, tasty barbecue sauce
1 heaped tbsp of a dark orange marmalade
2 tsp cornflour
1 red chili pepper, finely chopped
3 tbsp light soy sauce
a good pinch of white pepper
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced finely against the grain
a pinch of black pepper
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped on the diagonal for garnish.

Method :

In a jug, whisk together the barbecue sauce, marmalade, cornflour, chili pepper, soy sauce and white pepper and set aside.

Heat the rapeseed oil in a deep frying pan or wok and add the chicken. Season with the black pepper. Cook over a high heat until all trace of pinkness has gone from the chicken.

Add the chopped garlic and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes until softened and fragrant, in the residual liquid from the chicken.

Pour in the sauce and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil and allow it to reduce until a sticky glaze consistency has been reached and it is coating the chicken.

Serve, adding a sprinkle of chopped spring onion as garnish, with your choice of additional rice and a few prawn crackers for crunch.

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