Lemon and Cheese

Bacon and Mushroom Pasta

2012-01-30T01:05:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely weekend of vampires, my first visit to Nandos and watching the Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown and Trafalgar Square. It was even more fantastic as I had good company and had originally had no plans for the weekend at all! I needed something warming after standing out in the cold for a bit yesterday, so I had this lovely bacon and mushroom pasta dish which did the trick. I added a bit of samphire which needed using up and also used yoghurt rather than creme fraiche as that's what I had in the fridge and it was delicious and easy too!

Bacon and Mushroom Pasta (from Good Food Magazine October 2005)
(Serves 4)

400g penne pasta
250g pack chestnut or button mushrooms
8 rashers streaky bacon
4 tbsp pesto
200ml carton 50% fat crème fraîche
handful basil leaves

Cook the pasta in boiling water in a large non-stick saucepan according to pack instructions. Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms and snip the bacon into bite-size pieces with scissors or a sharp knife.

Reserve a few drops of the cooking water in a cup or bowl, then drain the pasta and set aside. Fry the bacon and mushrooms in the same pan until golden, about 5 mins. Keep the heat high so the mushrooms fry in the bacon fat, rather than sweat.

Tip the pasta and reserved water back into the pan and stir over the heat for 1 min. Take the pan off the heat, spoon in the pesto and crème fraîche and most of the basil and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the remaining basil to serve.

Stir Fried Chicken with Barbecue Sauce, Kai Lan and Rice Noodles

2012-01-26T01:46:00.000-08:00

Back in November I went on a guided tour of Chinatown and then went back to the cookery school where the leader of the tour cooked us lunch. She picked up all her ingredients as we were walking round Chinatown and one of the dishes that she made was Chinese sausage with rice noodles and sa cha or Chinese barbecue sauce. I recreated that dish a couple of weeks ago, but completely forgot to take any photos. I will hopefully make it again and share the recipe with you.

I bought a jar of the barbecue sauce, so I was looking round for recipes to use up the rest of the sauce and stumbled across one for Beef with Chinese Barbecue Sauce but when I looked in the freezer I didn't have any beef, so I used chicken instead and it tasted fantastic. I served the chicken on a bed of rice noodles (which I am having a love affair with at the moment) and kai lan or Chinese broccoli.

Stir-fried Chicken with Barbecue Sauce (adapted from userealbutter.com)

450g chicken breast cut into pieces
1 tbsp shaoxing Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp Chinese barbecue sauce (sa cha)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 spring onions, sliced

In a medium bowl, mix the beef with the cooking sherry, water, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until the chicken is evenly coated. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the Chinese BBQ sauce, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and sugar. Stir together.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or sauté pan on high heat. Toss in the green onions when the oil is hot (they should sizzle when they hit the oil) and stir for ten seconds. Add the chicken and sauté until the chicken is mostly cooked. Pour in the BBQ sauce mixture and stir fry until the meat is browned. Remove from heat. Serve.

Goats Cheese Salad

2012-01-24T01:09:00.000-08:00

Another recipe out of my Weightwatchers cookbook and a very tasty one too. I love goats cheese, it has been my favourite cheese since I was small and I had never got around to making goats cheese salad! I did change the recipe slightly, I used sourdough bread instead of french bread and I added samphire and tomatoes to the salad. I also made a different vinaigrette, I can't see the point in putting sugar in a vinaigrette so changed that for mustard, which is surely healthier? I loved the green beans in the salad so I must remember to do add them in more often!

However, I would advise following the recipe and baking the bread and goats cheese rather than grilling it. As you can see I managed to burn my bread within a matter of seconds!

Goat's Cheese Salad (from Weightwatchers Book of Recipes)
(7 WW ProPoints per serving)
(Serves 4)

150g French stick, cut into 1 inch slices
low fat cooking spray
150g goat's cheese, sliced thinly
225g fine green beans
2 Little Gem lettuces, shredded
150g baby spinach leaves, rinsed
black pepper

For the dressing
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp sesame oil

Preheat the oven to 190C. Spray each slice of french stick with a little cooking spray and bake in the oven for 5 mins.

Top the bread with the goat's cheese slices and return to the oven for 5 mins, until the cheese begins to melt.

Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the beans for 2 mins. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Toss them together with the lettuce and spinach.

Mix together the dressing ingredients and drizzle this over the salad. Toss everything thoroughly and then divide the salad between four plates. Top the salad with the goat's cheese toasts and a generous grinding of black pepper.

To add a little colour you could add 225g halved cherry tomatoes.

Salmon Noodle Bowl

2012-01-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

So even though I haven't yet started weightwatchers, I did buy a couple of weightwatchers cookbooks and I've been cooking some of the recipes from them. I am loving noodle soups at the moment and they are very healthy. I had to try this one, although I didn't follow the recipe exactly, it was still delicious. I used udon noodles, kai lan, and left out the bamboo shoots and bean sprouts as I didn't have any.

Salmon Noodle Bowl (from Weightwatchers Book of Recipes) (11WW ProPoints per serving)
(Serves 1)

125g salmon fillet, skinned
30g thin rice noodles
kettleful of boiling water
425ml fish or chicken stock
60g sugar snap peas, sliced
60g beansprouts rinsed
40g drained bamboo shoots
1 tbsp chopped coriander
2 spring onions, sliced
wedge of lime to serve

For the Marinade
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp artificial sweetner
juice of 1/2 lime

Mix the teriyaki sauce, sweetner and lime juice together in a dish. Turn the salmon in the marinade to coat and set aside.

Soak the rice noodles in boiling water for 5 mins, then drain.

Heat a frying pan, lift the salmon out of the marinade (keeping the marinade) and then dry fry for 2 mins on each side until the flesh is caramelised.

Meanwhile bring the stock to the boil, add the reserved marinade and sugarsnap peas and simmer for 3 mins until just tender.

Place the noodles in a deep bowl. Top with the beansprouts and bamboo shoots. Pour the hot broth and the sugarsnap peas into the bowl and scatter with the coriander and spring onions. Place the salmon on top of the noodles. Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze over.

The salmon can be replaced with 165g skinless boneless chicken breast but it will need about 10 mins to cook through. The ProPoints value will be 9.

New Potato Salad 'Tartare'

2012-01-20T01:23:00.000-08:00

I got the River Cottage Veg cookbook for Christmas and it looks like it has loads of lovely vegetarian recipes in it. This is the first recipe I have made from the book and it was delicious. I was looking for something to go with some garlic sausage I had bought and this was perfect. The vinaigrette dressing for the potatoes perfectly complimented the garlicyness of the sausage and I served it with a green salad.

New Potato Salad 'Tartare' (from River Cottage Veg - Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall)
(Serves 4)

1kg small new potatoes
2 tbsp capers
1 tbsp shopped gherkins
handful chives, finely chopped
handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
handful dill, finely chopped
3 soft, hard boiled large eggs
salt and pepper

For the vinaigrette
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

Make sure the potatoes are all roughly similar in size (cut up larger ones if necessary). Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with water, add salt and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 8-12 mins.

Meanwhile, for the vinaigrette, put the cider vinegar, mustard, oil and a little salt and pepper in a jar and shake to emulsify.

Drain the potatoes and place in a large bowl. While they are still warm, pour on the vinaigrette and toss to mix. Leave until cold.

Add the capers, gherkins, herbs and some salt and pepper and toss again. Quarter the boiled eggs lengthways, gently mix into the salad and serve.

Tartiflette

2012-01-17T00:50:00.000-08:00

My parents first had tartiflette in Dijon about a year or so ago and they spoke of it so highly that since then I have wanted to try it! My Mum came over last week and so I made it for her and although it didn't really do much for my diet, the combination of bacon, gooey cheese and potatoes is fantastic. It is traditionally served with charcuterie, gherkins and pickled onions, but we had it with a green salad and it was the perfect accompaniment.

Tartiflette (from Stella - Telegraph Magazine)
(Serves 6)

1.3kg waxy potatoes
35g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
250g chunky bacon lardons
1 onion, roughly chopped2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 reblochon, about 350g

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until just tender. Drain. When they are cool enough to handle, slice them. Heat half the butter and half the oil in a saute pan and cook the potatoes until they are golden. Season and put in a shallow ovenproof dish.

Heat the rest of the butter and oil in the same pan and cook the lardons over a fairly high heat to colour them. Turn down the heat, add the onion and cook until soft and beginning to colour. Throw in the garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add this to the potatoes and gently combine.

Slice the reblochon and lay on top of the potato. Bake in the oven for 15 mins, until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve immediately with a green salad and mustardy vinaigrette.

Thai Yellow Prawn Noodle Soup

2012-01-13T04:13:00.000-08:00

I seem to be watching a lot of cookery programmes recently and I am particularly obsessed with Nigella Kitchen. She made a delicious Thai Chicken Noodle Soup and I thought I'll have a go at that, but I didn't have any leftover cooked chicken so I used prawns instead and they work just as well. This was a delicious warming soup, subtly spicy but not too spicy and I felt very healthy with all the green veg! I shall definitely be making this again.

You could pretty much use any green veg that you have knocking around and you could use pretty much any white meat, shellfish or fish, it's very versatile and easy to adapt to the ingredients you have on hand.

Thai Yellow Prawn Noodle Soup (inspired by Nigella Kitchen)
(Serves 1)

50ish g rice noodles
300ml veg or fish stock (I used veg stock with tamarind in it)
150ml coconut milk
1 tsp Thai yellow curry paste
8 raw prawns
2-3 mushrooms, sliced
2-3 kai lan
2-3 spring green leaves, sliced
handful sugar snap peas

Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of boiling water for 20 mins, when they are soft drain and cool under cold running water.

Heat the veg stock and coconut milk in a saucepan until fairly hot and then stir in the Thai curry paste.

Put the prawns into the stock and cook for about 2-3 mins. Add in the sugar snap peas, kai lan and mushrooms and cook for a minute. Add in the noodles and the greens and stir. When the greens have wilted you are ready to serve.

Smoky Butter Beans and Greens

2012-01-10T02:19:00.000-08:00

I am still a huge fan of spring greens and have been using them a lot recently in my cooking. I have been wanting to make this recipe for ages and never seemed to get around to it but finally I did and I'm glad I did! It's a super healthy light lunch or dinner and can be eaten on its own or served over rice. Good Food Magazine recommend that it's served with a dollop of natural yoghurt and I would totally agree with this as it can taste a bit dry and claggy without it, but definitely a lovely and healthy light meal.

Smoky Butter Beans and Greens (from Good Food Magazine May 2010)
(Serves 4)

3 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil
200g spring greens or chard, washed and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
400g can butter beans, rinsed and drained
½ tsp cumin seed
1 tsp smoked paprika

Place a wide, lidded pan over a medium heat with 2 tbsp oil. Add the greens, salt and pepper and cook, with the lid on, stirring frequently, until the greens are lightly steamed and wilted, about 4-5 mins.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the butter beans and cook, stirring, until heated through. Add the remaining oil, then the cumin seeds and smoked paprika. Stir until evenly combined and serve.

Chicken and Leek Pie

2012-01-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

I had a very quiet Christmas season, I spent a lot of time with my family which was lovely and read a lot of books and watched a lot of DVDs! I didn't get much of a chance to cook and as I now get a free school lunch I don't get to do as much cooking as I would like, but I still occasionally get to make some lovely meals. I am also hoping to start weight watchers when I return to school tomorrow as I have put on rather a lot of weight, largely due to these school lunches and my inability to have small portions! So I shall let you know how that goes and I shall share with you some of the healthy recipes that I cook along the way.

This is a fantastic way of using up your leftover turkey from Christmas or leftover chicken from a roast. It is a lovely creamy pie and I served it with broccoli and greens.

Chicken and Leek Pie (adapted from www.jamieoliver.com)
(Serves 6-8)

2 rashers smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
½ bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
olive oil
a large knob of butter
2kg leeks, washed, trimmed; white end chopped into chunks, green end finely sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
800g cooked chicken or turkey meat, torn into big chunks
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 pints turkey, chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of crème fraîche
1 500g packet puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Preheat your oven to 190°C. Put your bacon in a large pan on a medium heat and add your thyme leaves. Add a lug of olive oil and the butter and let it all fry off a few minutes. Add all of the leeks and fry them off for about 3 minutes so they are well-coated in the butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper then pop the lid on top, turn the heat down to medium and let them cook away gently for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure they don’t catch.

When your leeks are ready, add the chicken meat to them and stir. If you’ve got a bit of stuffing mixed in there you can put that in too. Add the flour, mix it in well then pour in your stock and stir again. Add the crème fraîche then turn the heat up and bring everything back up to the boil, then turn the heat off. Pour the mixture through a sieve over another large empty pan and let the wonderful gravy from the mixture drip into the pan while you roll out your pastry.

Get a deep baking dish roughly 22 x 30cm. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with a bit of flour and roll your pastry out evenly so you have a rectangle big enough to cover your baking tray.

Spoon that leek mixture from your sieve into the pie dish and spread it out evenly. Lay your pastry on top, tuck the ends under then gently score the pastry diagonally with your knife. Add a pinch of salt to your beaten egg then paint this egg wash over the top of your pastry. Pop your pie in the oven for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

The gravy that you saved from the leek mixture can be served over the pie, or you can freeze it and it makes a lovely sauce for a chicken breast with some new potatoes.

Courgette Muffins

2011-12-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

One of the last things I did with my home grown courgettes over the summer was make Courgette Muffins. I made them as a light pudding for a dinner party my parents had and they went down a treat. They are really lovely and moist as they include apple as well as courgette and then they had that citrusy tang with the orange. I'm a total fan of vegetable cakes!

Courgette Muffins (from Good Food Magazine July 2010)
(Makes 12)

50g courgettes, cut into chunks
1 apple, peeled and quartered
1 orange, halved
1 egg
75g butter, melted
300g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
100g golden caster sugar
handful of sultanas
1 tub soft cheese mixed with 3 tbsp icing sugar, to make icing

Brush the muffin tin with oil. Ask your grown-up helper to switch the oven to 190C

Grate the courgettes and put them in a large bowl. Grate the apple and add to the bowl. Squeeze the orange and add the juice to the bowl.

Break the egg into a bowl; if any bits of shell get in, scoop them out with a spoon. Stir the butter and egg into the courgette and apple mix.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the bowl. Add the sugar and sultanas.

Mix with a spoon until everything is combined, but don't worry if it is lumpy.

Spoon the mixture into the tin. Ask your helper to put it in the oven and cook for 20-25 mins. Cool in the tin, then spread some icing on each.

Miso Glazed Tuna and Greens

2011-12-07T06:18:00.000-08:00

I found bags of spring greens and cavolo nero reduced in the supermarket so bought a few to keep me going. I've never really eaten greens before but I thought I'd give it a go and this is one of the dishes I made with them. I ended up putting them in pretty much everything I cooked and they worked with everything. The combination of the greens, tuna and miso was delicious.

Miso Glazed Tuna and Greens (adapted from www.epicurious.com)
(Serves 4)

1 cup white miso (also called shiro miso)
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 pounds tuna steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
mix of cabbage, spring greens and cavolo nero

Heat miso, mirin, sugar, and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in mayonnaise, then cool to room temperature.

Put tuna in a sealable bag (or nonreactive shallow dish). Pour marinade over tuna and marinate, chilled, at least 1 hour.

Heat oil in a frying pan and add the tuna cubes. Stir fry for about 2 mins. Add in the greens and stir until just wilted. Serve with rice or just by itself.

Tomato Salsa

2011-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

I love fresh tomato salsa in the summer, all the vibrant red and yellow tomatoes mixed with the onion and the chilli, such beautiful colours. Now the colder weather has arrived, I love eating things that remind me of summer. This salsa is so versatile; I had it with cajun chicken and rice and also as a side salad on a couple of occasions and it was delicious.

Tomato Salsa
(Serves 2)

6-8 cherry tomatoes
half small red onion, chopped
half green chilli, chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil

Mix the tomatoes, red onion and chilli together in a bowl. Pour over the olive oil and stir together.

Thai Yellow Fish Curry

2011-11-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I went to a lovely Thai restaurant 'The Mango Tree' on Grosvenor Place in London and had a fantastic meal. One of the dishes we had was Yellow Thai Fish Curry which had monkfish and butter fish in it. I had never tried butter fish before but it actually did taste really buttery. So I thought I would try and recreate it at home and I succeeded! I couldn't find butter fish and the monkfish was too expensive so I just used cod and haddock which broke up more when I stirred but still did the job. I also loved the potato in the curry and the aubergine was the first of my own mini aubergines from the garden. All in all delicious!

Yellow Thai Fish Curry (adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine March 2006)
(Serves 2)

1-2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
200ml light coconut milk
6 salad or new potatoes, halved if large
half an aubergine, chopped into pieces
handful cherry tomato
250g skinless white fish fillets, cubed or left in big pieces
handful coriander leaves
2 limes, 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges

Heat the red curry paste with the coconut milk in a saucepan. Add the potatoes and cook for 3 mins, then add the aubergine and cook for 5 mins, or until just tender, then add the fish and cook for 3 minutes or until cooked through.

Stir in the coriander and lime juice and serve with wedges of lime to squeeze over

Green Tea, Chicken and Noodle Soup

2011-11-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

Sarah from Simply Cooked was our November Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to create something truly unique in both taste and technique! We learned how to cook using tea with recipes from Tea Cookbook by Tonia George and The New Tea Book by Sara Perry.

I am not a huge fan of tea but I thought I'd give this a go and actually I was surprised with the result. Of course the soup base included miso, so the tea taste wasn't overpowering, it was just a little after taste with each sip of the soup. I used chicken instead of tofu as I don't like tofu, so I just cooked the chicken before I added it to the soup. I actually fried it cut up into little pieces but this added a bit of an oily taste to the soup so it might have been better to cook it in the water like you do with Pho.

Green Tea, Chicken and Noodle Soup

4 green tea teabags, or 1½ tablespoons (22½ ml) (3 gm) green tea leaves
1¼ inches (3 cm) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
5 oz (140 gm) thick or thin egg noodles
6 chicken thighs, pre-cooked
5 oz (140 gm) bok choy or spring greens, shredded
1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) light soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (1 oz) (30 gm) red or white miso paste
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) sesame oil
6 scallions (also called spring onion or green onion), trimmed and sliced
sprinkling of sesame seeds

Place 6 cup (1½ litre) water in a pan with the green tea bags or leaves and the ginger slices. Heat until the water is just below boiling and bubbles start to form.

Remove the pan from the heat and let it steep for four minutes.

Remove the tea bags or strain the liquid to remove the tea leaves. Return the ginger slices to the liquid and reserve.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package instructions in a separate pan.

Return the tea liquid to the heat and add the pre-cooked chicken, bok choy or greens, and the soy sauce. Heat gently for five minutes, until hot all through.

Scoop out some liquid to a small bowl and mix in the miso paste. Then return the liquid to the pan.

Add the sesame oil and scallions. Spoon into bowls and garnish with the sesame seeds.

Courgette and Lemon Cake

2011-11-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

For pudding to go with the Sunday roast I made a Courgette and Lemon Cake, with lemon cream cheese frosting and it was fantastic. Very tasty and lovely and moist. The original recipe (posted below) has poppy seeds in it but I couldn't find them in any of the supermarkets I went to, so I just omitted them and it didn't make much difference flavour wise. It was probably also less irritating as they tend to get stuck in between my teeth!

Courgette and Lemon Cake (from Good Food Magazine September 2010)
(cuts into 12 slices)

250g pack unsalted butter, very soft, plus extra for the tin
3 unwaxed lemons
200g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
2 medium courgettes, coarsely grated (you'll need 300g/10oz flesh)
1 tsp poppy seeds , plus extra to decorate
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g self-raising flour
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
85g icing sugar
200g pack full-fat soft cheese
4 tbsp lemon curd (optional)

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Zest 2 lemons, then squeeze their juice into a separate bowl. Put 200g butter, the caster sugar, eggs, courgettes, poppy seeds, vanilla and lemon zest into a mixing bowl. Beat to a creamy batter. Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, the flours, baking powder and ¼ tsp salt. Spoon the mix into the tins, then bake for 25 mins or until risen, golden and springy in the middle.

Make a drizzle by mixing another tbsp lemon juice with 25g icing sugar. Put the remaining icing sugar and butter into a bowl, add the soft cheese, remaining lemon juice (about 2 tbsp) and grate in the final lemon's zest. Beat to make a creamy, smooth frosting.

When the cakes are ready, cool for 15 mins in their tins, then turn onto a cooling rack. Prick several times with a cocktail stick, spoon over the drizzle and cool completely. Can be frozen at this stage for up to 1 month. Put one cake onto a serving plate and spread with just under half the frosting. Spread over the lemon curd, if using. Top with the second cake, spread the remaining frosting over the top and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

A Sunday Roast

2011-11-04T02:24:00.000-07:00

To christen the new kitchen I invited some friends over last weekend and we had a roast! I had lots of help which made the cooking a lot less stressful than it could have been.

It was a fairly simple lunch: roast chicken, roast potatoes and carrots, sausages wrapped in bacon, stuffing, broccoli, gravy and bread sauce but delicious.

Now this bread sauce is nothing like normal bread sauce, or even very sauce like, but this is how my mum has always made it and how we normally have it when having a family roast. It's the first time I've ever tried to make it too, but I think it came out ok!

My Mum's Bread Sauce

Milk
7-8 black peppercorns
7-8 Cardamom pods
7-8 cloves
1 onion, sliced
4 slices white bread, made

Heat about an inch and a half of milk in a medium sized pan with the peppercorns, cardamon, cloves and onion until it comes to the boil and then turn off the heat and leave to one side. You can do this just after the chicken goes in.

Make the slices of bread into bread crumbs using a food processor.

Strain the milk through a sieve into a bowl and mix in the breadcrumbs. Put the mixture into an oven proof pot and when the chicken comes out of the oven put the bread sauce in to warm through. When everything else is ready, take the bread sauce out the oven and serve.

Cha Han

2011-10-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

I love Wagamama's, it's one of my favourite restaurants to eat at and I often have the Cha Han. It looks so easy to make, and so I thought I'd give it a try and it is really easy to make! There's lots of prep to start off with but the actual cooking is really quick and easy as with most Japanese food. The food is delicious, light and healthy and it doesn't make you feel overly full! I'd definitely recommend having it with pickles and miso soup. they go so well together.

Cha Han (from The Wagamama Cookbook)
(Serves 2)

200g boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat
2 tbsp yakitori sauce
2 tbsp vegetable oil
8 cooked, peeled prawns (shrimp)
2 tbsp canned sweetcorn, well drained
2 tbsp mangetout, finely sliced
4 button mushrooms, finely sliced
2 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
2 eggs, beaten
75g cooked Thai fragrant rice
salt as desired
2 tbsp light soy sauce

Yakitori Sauce
6 tbsp sake
6 oz light soy sauce
6 tbsp Mirin
1 tbsp sugar

Make the Yakitori Sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a small pan and gently heat to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool. It will keep indefinitely in the fridge.

Combine the chicken and the Yakitori sauce in a bowl. Work gently with your fingers for a few minutes, turning the meat in the sauce. Marinate for at least 30 mins (1 hour is even better). Remove the chicken, reserving the marinade, and cut the meat on the diagonal into thin slices.

Heat a wok over a medium heat for 1-2 mins or until completely hot and almost smoking and add the vegetable oil. Add the prawns, sweetcorn, mangetout, mushrooms and spring onions along with the chicken and stir-fry over a medium heat for about 5 mins until the vegetables just start to wilt and the chicken is cooked. Add the egg and continue to stir-fry until it is just scrambled.

Add the rice. Season with salt and soy sauce and continue stir frying until everything is mixed evenly and the rice heated through. Divide between 2 bowls and serve with miso soup and pickles.

Sausage and Lentil One Pot

2011-10-26T04:48:00.000-07:00

Sausages are so difficult to photograph, I can never get them to look pretty! However, this is a lovely warming winter dish.

Sausage and Lentil One Pot (from Good Food Magazine April 2006)
(Serves 4)

1 tbsp olive oil
400g pack sausages
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red pepper, sliced
250g puy lentils
150ml vegetable stock
125ml red wine or extra stock

Heat oil in a pan, cook the sausages until browned, then remove. Tip in remaining oil, onion, garlic and pepper, then cook, about 5 mins more until softened. Add lentils and sausages to the pan with the stock and wine, if using.

Bring up to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins until lentils have softened and sausages are cooked through. Serve with plenty of crusty bread.

Claypot Chicken and Rice

2011-10-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

I love rice and I love being able to use my rice cooker, which I don't get to do often enough! This is a recipe that has been hanging about for ages with the Chinese sausage sitting in my freezer, so I finally thought I should try it out. Now, I decided that I don't really like the flavour of the Chinese sausage but the dish as a whole was really tasty. I'm not really sure what to do with the rest of my Chinese sausage that will disguise its flavour, so if anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Claypot Chicken and Rice (from Soy and Pepper)
(Serves 4)

4 portions cooked rice, cooled
4 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 stalks spring onion, chopped and separate the white and green parts
6 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 15 mins and thinly sliced
1 Chinese sausage, sliced

Seasoning for chicken

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1/2 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Dash of white pepper

Seasoning for rice

2 tsp oil
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chilli oil (optional)

Marinate the chicken pieces and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat some oil in a large pan or wok and stir fry the white parts of the spring onions, chicken, Chinese sausage and mushrooms for a few minutes until the chicken turns white and is almost cooked. Set aside.

Add the cooked rice, chicken, mushrooms and Chinese sausage back to the wok and pour in the rice seasoning and green parts of the spring onions. Mix well over medium heat and then transfer to a rice cooker. Let the rice mixture sit on 'Keep Warm' or 'Low' setting for 15-20 minutes for the flavours to mix thoroughly. Garnish with chopped spring onions, coriander and serve.

Smoked Haddock Fish Cakes

2011-10-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

I am on half term this week and next week and I'm enjoying the break from work! The kitchen is finally all in, I'm just waiting for the floor, which comes next week, the door and the painting. It looks really good, the tiling is beautiful and I have under cupboard lighting! I promise to post before and after pictures when it's all completely finished. I am so happy with the kitchen so far and my new oven is brilliant! I've used it everyday since the main building work was finished, its so nice to have the oven back after almost 7 months!

This is another of my summer dishes, beautiful fishcakes. They were lovely with a nice fresh salad from the garden. The original recipe does not include sweetcorn but I had a craving for them so added some in and it added a really nice element to the dish.

Smoked Haddock Fish Cakes (adapted from Good Food Magazine January 2003)
(Serves 4)

100g white breadcrumbs
2 eggs
450g potatoes, peeled
450g smoked haddock
1 small tin sweetcorn
1 lemon, grated zest
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
flour, for dusting
3 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

Preheat the oven to 150C. Spread the crumbs over a baking sheet and dry in the oven for 10-15 minutes until pale golden, stirring halfway.

At the same time, hard-boil one of the eggs. Cut the potatoes into chunks. Cook in boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain well and mash with a fork.

While the egg and potatoes are cooking, put the fish in a frying pan with just enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes until just cooked. Remove the fish with a palette knife and put on a plate. When it is cool enough to handle, carefully remove the skin and any bones. Flake the fish.

Shell the egg and chop it. Carefully mix with the potato, fish, sweetcorn, lemon zest, parsley, ½ tsp salt and a some black pepper. With floured hands, shape into 4 round cakes.

Coat each cake in the egg, then the dried breadcrumbs. Reshape if necessary.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the cakes over a medium heat for 5 minutes on each side, turning once, until golden on both sides. Serve

Smoked Salmon, Orzo, Cucumber and Dill Salad

2011-10-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

Another of my summer dishes. This was a delicious salmon, cucumber and dill pasta salad, lovely and cooling on a hot summer day.

Smoked Salmon, Orzo, Cucumber and Dill Salad (adapted from Good Food Magazine April 2011)
(Serves 2)

4 pieces smoked salmon
5 spring onions, 3 whole, 2 finely sliced
1 small bunch dill , ½ chopped
1 lemon, ½ juiced, ½ sliced
125g orzo pasta
extra-virgin olive oil
1 heaped tsp mayonnaise
½ cucumber, peeled and diced

Cook the orzo following packet instructions, before rinsing in cold water and thoroughly draining.

Slice the smoked salmon into smallish pieces.

Whisk 2 tsp lemon juice with 1 tbsp olive oil, the mayonnaise and seasoning.

Put the smoked salmon, cooked orzo, sliced spring onions, cucumber, chopped dill and dressing in a bowl. Give everything a stir and serve.

Daring Cooks October 2011

2011-10-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

The October Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce.

I loved this challenge, I love Chinese food anyway so this was so exciting! It's the first one that I've managed to complete for a little while and I was so pleased that I actually got it made as well as it being delicious. The three components together work deliciously. My hoisin sauce didn't turn out as expected, it was a bit too runny but it still tasted right!

Thin Pancakes:
Makes 24-30 pancakes
Preparation time: about 10 minutes plus 30 minutes' standing time
Cooking time: 45-50 minutes

Ingredients
4 cups (960 ml) (560 gm) (19¾ oz) all purpose flour
About 1½ cup (300ml) (10 fl oz) boiling water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vegetable oil
Dry flour for dusting

Directions:

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Gently pour in the water, stirring as you pour, then stir in the oil. Knead the mixture into a soft but firm dough. If your dough is dry, add more water, one tablespoon at a time, to reach the right consistency. Cover with a damp towel and let stand for about 30 minutes.

Lightly dust the surface of a worktop with dry flour. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes or until smooth, then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a long sausage and cut each sausage into 8-10 pieces. Keep the dough that you are not actively working with covered with a lightly damp dish cloth to keep it from drying out.

Roll each piece into a ball, then, using the palm of your hand, press each piece into a flat pancake. Dust the worktop with more dry flour. Flatten each pancake into a 6 to 8 inch (15 cm to 20 cm) circle with a rolling pin, rolling gently on both sides.

Place an un-greased frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is hot, lower the heat to low and place the pancakes, one at a time, in the pan. Remove when little light-brown spots appear on the underside. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

Moo Shu Pork:

Serves 4
Preparation time: 25-30 minutes
Cooking time: 6-8 minutes

Ingredients
2/3 cup (1 oz) (30 gm) Dried black fungus ('wood ears')
½ lb (450 gm) pork loin or butt
¾ cup (3½ oz) (100 gm) bamboo shoots, thinly cut
3 cups (6 oz) (170 gm) Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), thinly cut
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) vegetable oil
2 scallions
1 tablespoon (15 ml) light soy sauce
2 teaspoons (10 ml) rice wine
A few drops sesame oil
12 thin pancakes to serve

Soak the fungus in warm water for 10-15 minutes, rinse and drain. Discard any hard stalks, then thinly shred.
Thinly cut the pork, bamboo shoots and Chinese cabbage into matchstick-sized shreds.
Lightly beat the eggs with a pinch of salt.

Heat about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil in a preheated wok and scramble the eggs until set, but not too hard. Remove and keep to one side.

Heat the remaining oil. Stir-fry the shredded pork for about 1 minute or until the color changes. Add the fungus, bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage and scallions. Stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes, then add the remaining salt, soy sauce and wine. Blend well and continue stirring for another 2 minutes. Add the scrambled eggs, stirring to break them into small bits. Add the sesame oil and blend well.

Hoisin Sauce:

Ingredients
4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) peanut butter OR black bean paste
1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey OR molasses
2 teaspoons (10 ml) white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon (⅔ ml) garlic powder
2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame seed oil
20 drops (¼ teaspoon) Chinese style hot sauce (optional, depending on how hot you want your hoisin sauce)
1/8 teaspoon (⅔ ml) black pepper

Directions:
Simply mix all of the ingredients together by hand using a sturdy spoon.

At first it does not appear like it will mix, but keep at it just a bit longer and your sauce will come together

Final Preparation and Serving:

Each of the three components that comprise the complete Moo Shu dish are served separately, and the diner prepares each serving on his or her own plate. Most restaurants provide four pancakes, a serving of Moo-Shu and a small dish of hoisin sauce as a single serving. To prepare each pancake for eating, the following is the most common process: a small amount of hoisin sauce is spread onto the pancake, on top of which a spoonful of the stir-fry is placed. In order to prevent (or, realistically, minimize) the filling from spilling out while eating, the bottom of the pancake is folded up, then the pancake is rolled, similarly to a soft taco. Once rolled, the prepared pancake is eaten immediately.

Potato Salad with Eggs, Capers and Anchovies

2011-10-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

I made some lovely summery dishes over the summer and never had time to post them. So now that I'd like a reminder of summer with all the cold weather we've been having I thought I'd make a start on posting them! This is a delicious potato salad that I saw on TV and knew I had to make. I love Valentine Warner, but some of his recipes are a little complicated but this is dead simple and very tasty. I made a lot of potato salads over the summer with my own home grown potatoes and they were all delicious.

The work on my kitchen starts tomorrow and as you can imagine I'm currently living in a bit of a mess! The units were delivered last week so my living room is full of boxes and the worktops and appliances are arriving tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it being finished but am not sure about the mess! I shall take some pictures and show you the transformation when it's done!

Potato Salad with Eggs, Capers and Anchovies (adapted from What to Eat Now: Spring and Summer - Valentine Warner)
(Serves 6)

750g small waxy potatoes
6 eggs
1/2 small red onion
small handful of chives
3 sprigs fresh tarragon
handful flat parsley leaves
salt and pepper

Mayonnaise
6 tbsp mayonnaise
juice 1 small lemon
5 salted anchovy fillets in oil, drained
2 tbsp baby capers

Put the potatoes in a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 15-20 mins or until tender. Drain in a colander under cold running water.

Add the eggs to another pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 10 mins. Drain under cold running water.

For the mayonnaise, put the mayonnaise into a bowl. Roughly chop the anchovy fillets and stir into the mayonnaise with the capers.

Slice the potatoes and tip them into a serving bowl. Peel the eggs, chop them up into small pieces and add to the potatoes. Peel and finely chop the red onion and scatter over. Strip the whole tarragon leaves from the stems, chop them and the other herbs and add to the salad.

Spoon the mayonnaise over the top of the salad and turn with two large spoons until all is mixed and evenly coated. Season with a little salt and pepper. Serve.

Summer Fish and Pepper Stew

2011-09-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

The first time I made this it turned out really bland, so I added in some cayenne pepper to spice things up a bit and it worked, this is nice with a spicy twist. Life has been ridiculously busy over the last few weeks with going back to school, but I shall try to keep up with the blog as term progresses. I am also slowly getting closer to having my kitchen redone! The tiles are ordered and the paint is bought, the units are being delivered in a week and the builders start the week after! I'm kind of looking forward to it, but dreading the mess! I can't wait to have my shiny new oven though! Chicken Kiev and chips here we come!

Summer Fish and Pepper Stew (adapted from Good Food Magazine July 2007)
(Serves 4)

2 cloves garlic , crushed
1 onion, halved and sliced
2 peppers, 1 red and 1 yellow, sliced into strips
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
olive oil
2 tbsp small capers, rinsed
1 small glass white wine
500ml light chicken stock, fresh, cube or concentrate
400g baby new potatoes, halved
300g raw prawns
400g skinless plaice fillet, cut into strips, or other white fish
a small bunch basil, shredded

Fry the garlic, onion and peppers in a little oil until completely softened, add in the cayenne pepper and stir for 30 secs until you can smell the spice. Stir in the capers then add the wine, stock and potatoes and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Add the prawns and plaice and cook for 3 minutes. Stir through the basil and serve in bowls with crusty bread.

Healthy Coleslaw

2011-09-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

My mum gave me some kohlrabi and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I tried it steamed and it was really nice but I wondered if it would make a good addition to coleslaw and it worked. This is a much healthier version of coleslaw as it has yoghurt in it as well as the mayonnaise and it is still really really tasty.

For this simple supper I had the coleslaw, cherry tomato and samphire salad, tortelloni and home made tomato sauce. It was really good.

Healthy Coleslaw (adapted from Good Food Magazine August 2007)
(Serves 6)

6 tbsp plain yoghurt
½ tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 kohlrabi
1 small apple
2 carrots
1⁄2 onion

Mix the yogurt, mustard and mayonnaise together in a bowl. Then grate the kohlrabi, apple and carrots. Either grate the onion or chop as finely as you can. Tip all of the vegetables into the bowl and stir through the dressing.

Will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cucumber and Yoghurt Soup

2011-09-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

I made this cucumber and yoghurt soup earlier on in the summer and it was delicious. The first time I made it, I didn't put the cumin and coriander in and it was a really bland, so I tried a second time with the spices and it was much much better. The spices added much needed flavour.

Cucumber and Yoghurt Soup (from Good Food Magazine July 2005)
(Serves 4)

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cucumbers, roughly chopped
500g Greek yogurt
300ml carton fresh chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, crushed
handful mint leaves
flatbreads, to serve

Heat a frying pan without any oil. Add the coriander and cumin seeds until they become fragrant and then grind in a mortar and pestle or grinder.

Put the cucumbers in a food processor with the yogurt, stock, garlic and mint, then add the coriander and cumin and season to taste. Blend until smooth, then pour into a jug. Place in the freezer for 20 mins to chill.

When ready to serve, heat the grill. Brush one side of the flatbread with 2 tsp olive oil, and grill for 1 min or until browned and crisp. 3 To serve, pour the soup into chilled bowls or glasses. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil and season with a little cracked black pepper. Serve with the crisp flatbread on the side.

Tomato and Bread Salad

2011-08-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of tomatoes from my garden this year! I planted four plants, one plum tomato, one normal tomato, one red cherry tomato and one yellow cherry tomato and all of them have done fantastically. I've had tomatoes coming out of my ears for a month or so now! So I've been looking for recipes to use them up and this one fitted right in, especially when I've been trying to make nice lunches for myself too. I love how the red and yellow tomatoes look mixed together and this was an incredibly tasty lunch.

Tomato and Bread Salad (adapted from weightwatchers.com)
(Serves 6)

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, extra-virgin
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, cut in wedges, wedges halved
2 read onions, chopped
6 slices of ciabatta or sourdough bread
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, cut in half
handful of thyme, leaves pulled from the stalk

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano. Add tomatoes and onion; toss and let stand at least 15 minutes for flavors to blend.

Heat grill or griddle pan. Drizzle olive oil over the bread.

Grill bread until toasted, about 2 minutes per side; remove from grill and rub with cut side of garlic. Cut bread (or simply break it) into bite-size chunks.

Just before serving, add bread to bowl with tomatoes; sprinkle with thyme and toss to mix and coat.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

2011-08-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly emptying my freezer as I have finally booked my new kitchen for October, but I am going from two freezers down to one, so need to make sure all the stuff fits in one freezer by October! The kitchen is going to be basically the same design as now, although I am getting a column oven and grill come microwave to save some space, and pan drawers so the pans aren't hanging on the wall getting all sticky. I'm very excited!

I've gone back to making stir fries as I found quite a lot of strips of beef in the freezer! This was a Jamie Oliver recipe that I found when I was looking for something to do with beef and broccoli. It was really tasty, although I ended up with too much sauce as I only made it for me and forgot to half the soy sauce and the sesame oil!

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry (adapted from jamieoliver.com)
(Serves 2)

200g purple sprouting broccoli
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sirloin steaks
1 tsp ground coriander
olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Place the broccoli spears into a heatproof bowl and cover them with boiling water. Add a good pinch of salt and leave for 10 minutes. Drain and put to one side.

Slice the steaks into finger-sized strips and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the ground coriander over the meat so they stick to it and give it a lovely, fragrant flavour.

Heat a wok or large frying pan until very hot. Pour in a splash of olive oil and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Fry for a couple of minutes until the onions have softened a little. Drop in the seasoned pieces of beef and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add the broccoli spears and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring all the time.

Pour in the soy sauce and sesame oil. Toss in the pan until everything is well coated. Serve over noodles or egg fried rice.

Fish Tagine with Apricots and Honey

2011-08-20T05:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the Imperial War Museum, to see the Children at War and Once Upon a Wartime exhibitions. Both of them were really good and the Children at War exhibition also included the 1940s house, which was fascinating too.

This is one my Mum cooked again. It was really good, so tasty and the fish was cooked to perfection. I didn't mind the sweet and savoury together, it just worked so well.

Fish Tagine with Apricots and Honey (from Leiths Fish Bible)
(Serves 4)

65g tilapia fillets
1 tsp ground cumin
pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
a large pinch of saffron
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ras-al-hanout
30g semi dried apricots
1 tbsp set honey
425ml fish stock
1/2 lemon, finely sliced
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
salt and pepper

Cut each tilapia fillet into 3-4 strips. Sprinkle the tilapia with half of the cumin, season with pepper and rub into the fish. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for 30 mins or until required.

Heat the oil in a large casserole and add the onion, garlic, saffron, cinnamon, ras-al-hanout and the remaining cumin, the apricots, honey, stock and lemon slices. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15-20 mins or until the onion and lemon are soft and the liquid reduced by half.

Add the fish strips and coriander to the summer liquid and poach over a low heat for 3-4 mins. Season the tagine with salt and pepper.

Serve the tagine directly from the casserole, garnished with coriander sprigs. Goes well with couscous.

Miso Rice and Chicken

2011-08-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

I have finally completed the first draft of my dissertation and it has gone to my tutor and couple of friends for help with editing, so I'm having a few days off to relax and go see the exhibitions I've been wanting to see all summer and not been able to. This morning I went to the Museum of London Street Photography Exhibition, which was really interesting, although I always have a sneaking feeling that really the old photos, modern photos with people dressing up! Then I went to their Modern London galleries which opened last year and chart the history of London from 1667-present. They have done an amazing job with the makeover, and you can now wander round Victorian London shops, see images from the Blitz and see fashion from the 60s, 70s and 80s as well as a whole lot more and the whole thing was free!

I have trying to create exciting dishes for lunch and supper whilst doing my dissertation and one of them was this really simple but delicious lunch with lovely Japanese flavours.

Miso Rice and Chicken (adapted from Good Food Magazine August 2010)
(Serves 1)

60g sushi rice
1 skinless chicken breasts
70g sprouting broccoli
2 spring onions , cut into diagonal slices
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

For the dressing
2 tsp miso paste
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp grated ginger

Cook the rice using a rice cooker, then keep warm.

While the rice is cooking, cut the chicken breast into slices and stir fry until golden brown.

Boil the broccoli until tender.

Mix the miso, rice vinegar, mirin and ginger together to make the dressing.

Divide the rice between two plates and scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds. Place the broccoli and chicken slices on top. To finish, drizzle over the dressing.

Daring Cooks August 2011

2011-08-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread.

I haven't done very well with this this month. I so wanted to make it, I love love love curry, but my dissertation seems to have taken over my life! I was going to make it on Saturday and I got back late from Oxford, so I tried it yesterday evening, only to get the recipe out and read that the batter for the Appam needed to be left for 8-12 hours! So I made the curry, which was delicious and totally worth making but I guess I didn't quite fulfil daring cooks for this month. I want to make the beef curry too, so I'll try making the appam with that. I also forgot to take any photos until halfway through! Not doing well this evening!

Shrimp in Coconut Milk (Chemeen Pappas)
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons (45 ml) vegetable oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml/3 gm) mustard seed
1/8 teaspoon (⅔ ml/½ gm) fenugreek seeds
10 fresh or frozen curry leaves
2 cups (480 ml/480 gm/½ lb) thinly sliced onion
2 teaspoons (10ml/8 gm) minced garlic
1 teaspoon (5ml/4 gm) minced ginger
2 fresh green chiles, split lengthwise
2 teaspoons (10 ml/10 gm) tomato paste

Ground masala
4 teaspoons (20 ml/7 gm) ground coriander
½ teaspoon (2½ ml/1½ gm) paprika
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml/¾ gm) cayenne
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml/¾ gm) black pepper
1¼ teaspoons (6¼ ml/7½ gm) salt
¾ cup (180 ml) coconut milk
1 ½ pounds (750 gm) medium or large shrimp, shelled and deveined and sliced in half lengthwise if large

1. In a large skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. When hot add the mustard seeds and cover until they stop popping. Add the fenugreek seeds and stir until they color lightly. Add the curry leaves (they will sputter and spatter), wait about 20 seconds, then add the onions and fry until they are soft, but not brown.

2. Add the ginger, garlic and green chiles and cook for one minute. Add the tomato paste, dry masala and salt and stir and fry for another minute. If it dries out, add a few drops of water.

3. Add ½ cup (120 ml) of the coconut milk, along with 1 cup (240 ml) of water. Increase heat to medium-high and cook at a strong simmer, uncovered for 5-10 minutes to thicken the sauce and blend the flavors.

4. Add the shrimp, and cook, stirring, until they have all changed color and curled up. This will take less than 5 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp. Add the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) of coconut milk, bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Taste for salt and serve immediately.

Rabbit with Mustard and Tarragon Sauce

2011-08-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

The last couple of times I've gone home my mum has tried out new dishes for our evening meal. This one was Rabbit with Mustard and Tarragon Sauce and it was delicious. The sauce was lovely and rich and the rabbit just fell off the bone. She served it with broad beans, french beans and potatoes from her garden, so good.

Rabbit with Mustard and Tarragon Sauce (from Leiths Meat Bible)
(Serves 4)

1 rabbit, jointed
2 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
45g butter
85g bacon or salt pork, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp plain flour
600ml chicken stock
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Combine 2 tbsp mustard with the tarragon, then spread over the rabbit pieces. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 170C.

Heat the butter in a frying pan. Pat the rabbit pieces dry, season with salt and pepper, then brown them all over. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a casserole.

Add the bacon and onion to the pan and cook over a low heat until the onions are soft and just browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 min.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the stock. Return to the heat and bring the sauce to the boil, stirring continuously.

Pour the sauce over the rabbit. Cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until the rabbit is tender.

Lift the rabbit on to a warmed serving dish. Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp of mustard to the sauce. Reduce it by boiling rapidly until it is shiny and rich in appearance. Check the seasoning. Pour the sauce over the rabbit pieces.

Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Rabbit and Pearl Barley Stew

2011-08-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

I am slowly getting there with my dissertation, I finally decided on looking at why Mrs Beeton and the Book of Household Management was such a success not only in it's own time but why it was still popular well into the 20th century. It's really fascinating and I keep finding out all sorts of interesting things! I also got to look at the first edition of the book today, which was amazing in itself I also discovered that she was advising women about divorce and domestic violence in 1861, so definitely ahead of her time. She was by all accounts quite a woman.

This is obviously not a summer recipe, it's definitely more of a winter warmer! I made this quite some time ago but never got around to posting it. Its a simple barley and rabbit stew and it was very tasty and very warming.

Rabbit and Pearl Barley Stew (adapted from A Taste of My Life - Timothy Spall)
(Serves 2)

1 rabbit, jointed
seasoned flour, for dusting
2 tbsp vegetable oil
150g bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 large leek, sliced
100ml white wine
500ml stock
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 sprig rosemary
2 tbsp pearl barley

Dust the rabbit pieces with seasoned flour, then shake off any excess. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the rabbit and fry for 3-4 minutes on both sides, or until golden brown all over. Remove and set aside.

Add the bacon to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the onion, garlic and the sliced leeks. Fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the fennel is softened. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Return the rabbit to the pan together with the wine, tomato purée and the rosemary. If the rabbit is not completely covered with the liquid, top up with water. Bring to the boil, then stir in the pearl barley, cover and simmer for one hour and 15 minutes, or until the pearl barley is tender.

To serve, spoon into serving bowls.

Meals Out

2011-08-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have been out for a couple of lovely meals recently. The first was lunch at The Tontine just off the A19 near Northallerton. It is run by the McCoy brothers and has a wide ranging menu and the food was delicious.

I had black pudding with crispy pancetta and mushroom sauce to start with.

Then Roast Salmon with Spinach and Clam Sauce.

Both of the courses were delicious and the main course was served with seasonal veg and there was a lot of veg!

We then went to L'Atelier de Joel Robouchon in Covent Garden for my father's birthday on Saturday. We had the lunch menu, and I had tomato gaspacho with goats cheese and olive toasts to start with, which again was really tasty and just what I needed after a hot morning wondering around Notting Hill.

I then had chicken ballotine with caramelised onion and tempura battered aubergine with carrots with butter and cumin, but I didn't manage to take a picture of it before I ate it! It was pretty good too, but the chicken was a little dry.

Pasta with Prawns and Pesto

2011-07-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite quick dishes to make, when I have no energy and want comfort food quick, this is it. I have a horrendous cold right now so the more comfort food the better!

Pasta with Prawns, Courgette and Pesto
(Serves 1)

about 8 or 9 cooked prawns
1 small courgette, sliced
enough pasta for 1 person (I used spaghetti but it works with anything)
1 tbsp pesto

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Meanwhile, fry the courgette in a little oil until golden brown and soft.

When the pasta and courgettes are cooked, drain the pasta and combine with the courgettes, prawns and pesto.

Serve and enjoy!

Cheesey Courgette Enchiladas

2011-07-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've finished work for the holidays and am now on to my dissertation. I'm getting really excited about it, but I'm not sure how to make it about libraries! I'm looking at cookery books and domestic history collections at the Women's Library and how they fit into the historical contexts they were written in. It's really fascinating and I get to look at the changing role of women in the late 19th, early 20th century, there's just so much to write about.

I made these enchiladas ages ago but they were so good. I couldn't bake because my oven was broken but I grilled the cheese on top and it went all lovely and crispy. I have loads of courgettes again this year and I will definitely be making this again!

Cheesy Courgette Enchiladas (adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes)
Serves 4

1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium spring onions, chopped
1/4 cup coriander, chopped
2 medium courgettes, grated
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 cups grated montery jack or cheddar
4 Large tortillas
chopped spring onions (optional)
chopped coriander (optional)
1/2 jar ready made enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 200C.

In a medium nonstick skillet, sauté garlic and spring onions in olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes; add courgettes, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup cheese; mix well.

Divide courgettes between in each tortilla, roll and place seam side down in baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese and bake until hot and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Serve with chopped coriander, spring onions, and sour cream.

Daring Cooks June 2011

2011-06-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

I love potato salad!! I make it all the time, this Smoked Salmon and Watercress Potato Salad is one of my staple recipes but I have never put it on the blog! It is so tasty and it also makes a great pasta salad. I don't like the heaviness of a just mayonnaise potato salad so I add yoghurt, sour cream or creme fraiche to it and this makes it a bit lighter and healthier too!

Smoked Salmon and Watercress Potato Salad
(Serves 1)

2 pieces of smoked salmon
handful of watercress
3 potatoes
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp yoghurt or sour cream or creme fraiche
squeeze lemon juice
1/2 tbsp chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Chop up the smoked salmon into small slices.

Chop each potato into about 4 depending on the size of your potato and boil for about 15-20 mins. Leave to cool.

Whilst the potatoes are cooling, mix together the mayonnaise, yoghurt, lemon juice and salt and pepper.

When the potatoes are cool, add them to the creamy mixture, add the watercress, smoked salmon and chives, stir together and serve.

The Garden

2011-06-04T02:47:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been much cooking happening at my house recently or at least nothing new. I started my new job and that's been taking up a lot of my time and I am also finishing off my college course. Also at this time of year I am mostly to be found in the garden, especially with the beautiful weather we've been having recently. Although if someone can send some rain it would be much appreciated! I thought I would show you what the veg bits of my garden look like at the moment so you can see where all my free time has been going.

This is the herb garden bit outside my back door. I have garden mint, oregano, variegated sage, thyme, normal sage, chives, garlic chives, black peppermint, curly parsley, flat leaf parsley, garlic chives, Greek basil and just out of shot some dill.

This is the loganberry plant that comes over from my neighbour, she has also just given me some seedlings to plant my side so I will hopefully have even more next year. It has so many berries on it this year.

These are the potato plants. I have two different sorts of potatoes on the go, one I know is pink fir apple, the other I'm not sure about but the plants are huge and flowering, I grow them in tarpaulin sacks. They are earlies so they should be ready soon!

This is the larger of the two collections of pots! Here were have four different types of tomatoes, plum, round, cherry and yellow cherry, peppers, rosemary and tarragon, aubergines, rainbow chard, sorrel, rocket, watercress and stir fry mix leaf as well as some sweet peas at the back.

Next is the courgette/squash bed. I have two long green courgette plants and one round yellow one, which doesn't look too happy at the moment. The two squashes on the end are spaghetti squash.

Next is the mixed veg bed. This has broad beans, french beans, onions, spring onions, fennel, pak choi, carrots and two sorts of lettuce.

Lastly come the strawberries, again two different sorts, there are also pepper plants, spinach and tomatillo not yet through.

Daring Cooks May 2011

2011-05-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

Our May hostess, Denise, of There’s a Newf in My Soup!, challenged The Daring Cooks to make Gumbo! She provided us with all the recipes we’d need, from creole spices, homemade stock, and Louisiana white rice, to Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo and Seafood Gumbo from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh.

I made the Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo and wow what a taste! It's incredible! This was my first go at making gumbo and I have to say I was terrified of cooking the roux for so long but I managed not to burn it. I couldn't get all of the ingredients so had to substitute a few. I used chorizo and bacon for the sausages and I couldn't find file powder at all, but despite that it was truly delicious if not authentic!

Drew’s Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo
Minimally adapted from My New Orleans: The Cookbook, by John Besh
Serves 10-12

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) rendered chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) flour
2 large onions, diced
1 chicken (3 ½ to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) Basic Creole Spices (recipe follows), or store-bought Creole spice blend
2 pounds (2 kilograms) spicy smoked sausage, sliced ½ inch (15mm) thick
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green bell peppers (capsicum), seeded and diced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 quarts (3 liters) Basic Chicken Stock (recipe follows), or canned chicken stock
2 bay leaves
6 ounces (175 gm) andouille sausage, chopped
2 cups (480 ml) (320 gm) (11 oz) sliced fresh okra, ½ -inch (15mm) thick slices (or frozen, if fresh is not available)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Filé powder, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
4-6 cups (1 – 1½ liters) (650 gm – 950 gm) cooked Basic Louisiana White Rice (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Prepare homemade chicken stock, if using (recipe below).
2. Prepare homemade Basic Creole Spices, if using (recipe below).
3. Season the chicken pieces with about 2 tablespoons of the Creole Spices while you prepare the vegetables.

4. Make sure all of your vegetables are cut, diced, chopped, minced and ready to go before beginning the roux. You must stand at the stove and stir the roux continuously to prevent it from burning.

5. In a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan, heat the chicken fat, duck fat, or canola oil over high heat. Whisk the flour into the hot oil – it will start to sizzle. Reduce the heat to moderate, and continue whisking until the roux becomes deep brown in color, about 15 minutes.
6. Add the onions. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the onions into the roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue stirring until the roux becomes a glossy dark brown, about 10 minutes.

7. Add the chicken to the pot; raise the heat to moderate, and cook, turning the pieces until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
8. Add the sliced smoked sausage and stir for about a minute.
9. Add the celery, bell peppers, tomato, and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

10. Add the thyme, chicken stock, and bay leaves. Bring the gumbo to a boil, stirring occasionally.
11. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, skimming off the fat from the surface of the gumbo every so often.
12. Add the chopped andouille, okra, and Worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper, several dashes of filé powder, and Tabasco, all to taste.
13. Simmer for another 45 minutes, continuing to skim the fat from the surface of the gumbo. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls over rice. Pass more filé powder at the table if desired.

New York

2011-05-06T09:26:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry this has been so sporadic recently, bear with me for a month or so until things hopefully settle down. I am so behind that this is actually from the beginning of April! I went to New York for about 4 days and we had some really good food and some not so great food. Although the guy in the diner where we ate breakfast almost every morning did bring us the right drinks without us having to order on the last day! Here are a couple of the highlights:

The first is an amazing apple pie we had for dessert at Rue 57 on the corner of W57th Street and 6th Avenue. We were expecting just a bog standard slice of apple pie but this was something else! Almost a whole apple thinly slice, caramelized on a filo base with vanilla ice cream. So good!

The second is my Mum's Jumbo Shrimp Risotto at Sarabeth's, 40 Central Park South, between 5th and 6th. This looked delicious and the prawn sticking up made us all giggle!

I also spent a lot of time in Borders bookshops, which were closing down, stocking up on culinary mysteries! I came home with 30 books and my suitcase only weighed 15kg!

Spanish Rice with Seafood

2011-04-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, OK so I haven't updated in almost a month. Things have been pretty hectic. I start my new job in three weeks, so am wrapping things up at my current job and I'm currently in the middle of doing two essays due in at the beginning of May, not much time for proper cooking or blogging.

I also had a major disaster a couple of weeks ago, my oven broke, it started sparking when I was cooking fishcakes and I haven't been brave enough to turn it on again since. So I'm ovenless! Despite this I have found plenty of hob top meals to make. The first of these being a sort of paella dish. It was unfortunately a bit bland and I think it could have done with a bit of paprika to spice things up, but not too bad.

Spanish Rice with Seafood (adapted from Olive Magazine May 2010)
(Serves 2)

1 onion, sliced
1 pepper, cut into chunks
olive oil
150g paella rice
pinch saffron
400ml chicken stock, hot
125g cooked mixed seafood
1 lemon, halved
small bunch parsley, chopped

Cook the onion and pepper in 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide, shallow pan until softened. Stir in the rice until coated in all the oils. Stir the saffron into the stock then add to the pan and stir well. Put on a lid and cook for 15 minutes until the rice is tender and the stock absorbed.

Stir in the seafood until heated through completely, then squeeze over lemon and toss through the parsley.

Sizzling Salmon with Bean Mash

2011-03-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

I have a new job! I will start as a Librarian at a school in North London in August, my first professional post. I am really looking forward to it and the challenges that it will bring. It's very different from what I am doing now, but there are still archives to play with and I'm looking forward to teaching library and research skills to the girls. This was delicious. I loved the bean mash and will definitely be making it again, it was a nice alternative to potatoes. It looks from the picture as though I burnt the salmon but it wasn't! The picture has just come out very dark! Sizzling Salmon with Bean Mash (from Good Food magazine May 2002) Serves 4) 4 skinless salmon fillets 1 lime 3 tbsp clear honey 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard 3 cans butter beans, rinsed 25g butter 5 tbsp crème fraîche 1 garlic clove, crushed 100g bag rocket Set the grill to its highest setting. Put the salmon fillets flesh-side up and evenly spaced in a shallow flameproof dish. Finely grate the zest of the lime into a bowl, then squeeze in the juice and stir in the honey, mustard and a good sprinkling of salt. Pour the mixture over the salmon and grill, without turning, for 5-6 minutes until it's golden on top and cooked through (check the centre with a fork). Meanwhile, tip the beans into a saucepan and add the butter, crème fraîche, garlic and plenty of salt and pepper. Turn the heat on to moderate and coarsely mash everything together - a wooden spoon or a masher will do the job - until hot and bubbling. This only takes a few minutes as the beans are already cooked.Tip in the rocket and stir into the mash until it's hot and just wilted. Serve the salmon on the mash, drizzled with the cooking juices

Hummus, Avocado, Rocket and Cherry Tomato Sandwich

2011-03-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

This is not really a recipe, so much as a sandwich that I came up with whilst scrounging in the fridge for something to eat! I love hummus and would eat it whenever I could if I let myself! This was really tasty, so I thought I'd share. It would be even better with homemade hummus rather than store bought.

Hummus, Avocado, Rocket and Cherry Tomato Sandwich

2 slices wholemeal bread

1 small avocado, sliced

5/6 cherry tomatoes, halved

handful rocket

2/3 tbsp hummus

Lightly toast the bread. Spread the hummus on one slice of the bread and put the avocado, cherry tomatoes and rocket on top and then put the other slice of bread on top.

Grilled Pork with Lemon and Thyme Barley

2011-03-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

The barley is really the star with this dish. I've never tried pearl barley before but I am interested in trying lots of grains to add more fibre to my diet. One of my friends used to eat it a lot and said it was really good, so I thought I'd try it. This dish was delicious, I love lemon anyway so it's perfect for me. I added some old bay seasoning to the pork which complemented the barley amazingly.

Grilled Pork with Lemon and Thyme Barley (from Good Food Magazine March 2011)
(Serves 4)

4 pork medallions
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves , crushed
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 small onion , finely chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
200g pearl barley
600ml hot chicken stock
4 lemon thyme sprigs, leaves only
100g bag baby spinach
juice and zest 1 lemon

Place the pork in a shallow dish and add the vinegar and garlic, turning to make sure they're evenly covered. Leave at room temperature for 10 mins. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion and coriander seeds for 3-4 mins until softened.

Add the barley and cook for 1 min in the oil, then add the stock and thyme. Bring to the boil, cover then simmer for 30-35 mins until the barley is tender and the liquid absorbed.

Transfer the pork to a grill pan and cook under a hot grill for 5 mins on each side until nicely browned and cooked through. Stir the spinach, zest and juice into the barley and spoon onto plates. Serve with the grilled pork.

New Potato and Smoked Haddock Crush

2011-03-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

I seem to have a lot of smoked fish in my freezer at the moment and I am coming up with different ways to use it rather than just making kedgeree. I came across this recipe in Good Food and it looked simple enough to make on a work day evening and tasty as well. It was and very easy and quick to make. I used parsley instead of chives but it worked just as well.

New Potato and Smoked Haddock Crush (adapted from Good Food Magazine May 2007)
(Serves 4)

500g new potatoes, scrubbed if muddy
6 garlic cloves, peeled, but left whole
300g undyed smoked haddock, skinned
full-fat milk
4 tbsp olive oil
small bunch chives, finely chopped

Halve the potatoes if large. Tip into a pan of boiling salted water with the garlic, simmer for about 20 mins until they are on the brink of collapse, then drain. Meanwhile, cover the haddock with milk. Bring to a simmer, then poach the fish slowly for 5 mins until it flakes easily. Drain fish, but reserve the milk.

While everything is still warm, crush the potatoes and garlic with a masher. Flake and mix in the fish, add 2 tbsp of the poaching milk and 3 tbsp olive oil, then mix well - you should have a loose, rich mash. Taste for seasoning. Stir in the chives and serve.

Daring Cooks March 2011

2011-03-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenges us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau. And Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

This is something I would never have thought of eating let alone trying to make. I have seen ceviche before was worried about the whole idea of cooking in acidic liquid, but actually this turned out really tasty and flavourful. The papas rellenas, I had never heard of before but they were really interesting to make and I had to semi deep fry again, hurrah! I did it and again it was not as scary as I thought! I made the vegetarian version as I don't like mince and used black beans and bulgar instead of tempeh and quinoa, mostly because I already had the first two in the house. These were really tasty as well and I ended up making three of them with lots of filling left over, so I've frozen them for another day.

Cheviche de Pescado (Fish Ceviche):

2 lbs. (about 1 kg) firm white fish (scallops or other seafood may be substituted)*
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 chili pepper, minced (I recommend Aji if you can find it, but Jalapeno or other peppers can sub)
1 cup (240 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice (between 8-12 limes)
Fresh juice only, no bottled. Can use lemons in lieu of limes.
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (4 grams) (1/8 oz) fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Garnish:
1 large sweet potato
1 large ear of corn
Lettuce leaves

Boil sweet potato and corn (separately) if using for garnish. Allow to cool. (Can be done hours or even a day in advance)

Wash and trim your fish. Slice into pieces between ½ inch (15 mm) cubes to 2 inch (50mm) pieces, depending on taste.**

Place fish in a non-reactive, shallow pan in a thin layer. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine lime juice, chili pepper, coriander and garlic. Pour mixture over fish. Stir lightly to expose all the fish to some of the lime juice mixture.

Put sliced onion on top of fish as it “cooks”

Let fish stand for 10 minutes.*** Lift fish out of the lime juice and plate individual portions ,**** garnishing with lettuce, slices of sweet potato and slices or kernels of corn if using.

* It is important to use high quality, really fresh fish. You can use previously frozen (I’ve been using it because I am too cheap to buy this much sashimi grade fish), but it’s not as good. The better your fish, the better your ceviche.

** The fish is going to “cook” in the lime juice – how thick you make the pieces will determine how much the fish cooks, so keep your own preference in mind when you are cutting the fish up.

*** I have looked at recipes all over the interwebs for ceviche, and they all have different “cooking” times – I am going with 10 minutes because that’s what my Peruvian cookbook says. While I was in Lima, all the ceviche I ate was just barely white, and basically raw. I may cause a raging debate about ceviche by saying this, but I think that is most traditional. However, you can thoroughly cook the fish by letting it sit much longer – a few hours or even overnight. When I did this, it made the fish taste of nothing but lime and it was a bit rubbery, so it’s not what I would recommend.

**** The portions can vary; personally I prefer to have ceviche as I mostly ate it in Lima – as a starter, in a fairly small portion. It’s very light and a lovely way to start off before eating something else. You can also eat a full meal portion of it if you want – I think that’s too much, but if you love it, don’t let my taste stop you!

Papas Rellenas (vegetarian/vegan):
Makes 6

Ingredients
For the dough:
5 pounds (2¼ kg) (3 large – 4 medium) russet potatoes
½ cup (120 ml) (75 gm) (2 ⅔ oz) cornstarch (called corn flour in some countries)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) (1/5 oz) salt, or to taste
Lots of pepper

For the filling:
1 cup (240 ml) (150 gm) (5⅓ oz) diced onion (any color)
4 cloves garlic
½ chili pepper (Aji recommended)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) (1/8 oz) ground cumin
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) (2 gm) (1/16 oz) sweet paprika
1 cup (240 ml) (115 gm) (4 oz) cremini mushrooms, small dice
½ package tempeh, thin cut and quasi crumbled (Or you can use cooked black beans)
½ cup (120 ml) (90 gm) (3 oz) raisins, soaked in 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water for 10 minutes, then minced
1 handful spinach
1 cup (240 ml) (185 gm) (6½ oz) quinoa (Or you can use another cooked grain, like buckwheat)
¼ c. white wine, water or beef stock for deglazing
Salt and pepper to taste

For the final preparation:
1 large egg, beaten (for vegetarian version) OR egg replacer equivalent to one large egg (for vegan version)
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) all-purpose flour
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash salt
1 cup dry (240 ml) (110 gm) (4 oz) or fresh (240 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) bread crumbs (you can use regular, panko, make your own or use store-bought)

Oil for frying (enough for 2” (50 mm) in a heavy pan like a medium sized dutch oven)

For the dough:

Boil unpeeled potatoes whole until tender when stuck with a fork. Let potatoes cool.

When potatoes are cooled, peel them and either mash them with a potato masher or force them through a potato ricer (preferred).

Add cornstarch, salt and pepper and knead “dough” thoroughly to ensure that ingredients are well combined and uniformly distributed.

While potatoes are cooling, make filling:

Caramelize onions in olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and chili pepper and cook.

Add the cumin and paprika and cook briefly (a few seconds).

Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.

Add tempeh and raisins.

Deglaze the pan with white wine. Add spinach and wilt.

Add the quinoa and season with salt and pepper.

Allow filling to cool before forming “papas.”

Finishing the dough and forming the papas:

Use three small bowls (or other shallow containers) to prepare the papas. In one, combine flour, cayenne and salt. In the second, combine the egg replacer and water. Put bread crumbs in the third.

Flour your hands and scoop up 1/6 of the total dough to make a round pancake with your hands. Make a slight indentation in the middle for the filling.

Spoon a generous amount of filling into the center and then roll the potato closed, forming a smooth, potato-shaped casing around the filling. Repeat will all dough (you should have 6 papas)
Heat 1 ½ - 2 inches (4 – 5 cm) of oil in a pan to about 350 – 375° F (175 - 190°C).

Dip each papa in the three bowls to coat: first roll in flour, then dip in egg replacer, then roll in bread crumbs.

Fry the papas (in batches if necessary) about 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Flip once in the middle of frying to get both sides.

Drain on paper towel and store in a cool oven 200°F (95°C) (gas mark ¼) if frying in batches.

Serve with salsa criolla (or other sauce of preference) immediately

Crepe Suzette

2011-03-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

It was pancake day on Tuesday and we made pancakes! I had some of my family round for the evening and my mum brought a fish pie for main course and then we had Crepe Suzette. We didn't do the flaming bit, but the orange butter and cointreau in the batter was delicious, definitely worth making.

Crepe Suzette (adapted from Cordon Bleu Cookery Course)

(Makes about 8 pancakes)

Batter
3 oz plain flour
2 eggs
1/2 pint milk
1 tbsp melted butter or oil
1 tbsp cointreau

Orange Butter
3 oz unsalted butter
6 lumps of sugar
2 oranges
1 tbsp cointreau

Make up the batter. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and drop in the eggs. Add the milk to the eggs gradually stirring well. When half the milk has been added, beat well and add in the butter or oil and the cointreau. Whisk in the rest of the milk and leave to stand for at least 1/2 hour.

Cream the butter. Rub the sugar cubes over the orange rind until soaked with orange zest and oil. Crush the sugar and add to the butter, working in the cointreau and a little orange juice.

Fry the pancakes paper thin, stack and cover until needed, spread the butter over each pancake, fold in three and arrange overlapping down a fire proof dish. Put in a quick oven for 6 to 7 minutes. Heat a glass of cointreau set light to it and pour flaming over the dish as it comes from the oven.

Greek-Spiced Baked Prawns

2011-03-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

I have always been intrigued by baked prawns with tomatoes and feta but never seemed to get around to making them. I finally did a couple of week ago and they were very very tasty and something I will definitely be making again.

Greek-Spiced Baked Prawns (adapted from Gourmet Magazine November 2008)
(Serves 4)

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tins chopped tomatoes, drained, reserving juice
Pinch of sugar
1 1/4 pound large peeled and deveined prawns
1/4 pound feta, crumbled (2/3 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped dill

Preheat oven to 190C.

Cook onion and garlic in oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in spices and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes with juice and sugar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Season shrimp with 1/8 teaspoon salt, then stir into tomato sauce. Transfer to a 2-quart shallow baking dish and top with feta. Bake until just cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve sprinkled with dill.

Jamie's 30 Minute Meals: Sticky Pan Fried Scallops, Sweet Chilli Rice, Dressed Greens

2011-03-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

I got Jamie's 30 Minute Meals out the library to have a look at the recipes before buying the book and this was the only one I wanted to make! I didn't bother buying the book but copied the recipe and tried it one evening. First things first, it took longer than 30 mins, but I think that has been covered by most national newspapers here! None of the recipes actually take 30 mins. The scallops however, were really tasty and worth doing. The rice was just weird, I think I'd just make normal egg fried rice rather than this steaming stuff, which just made my rice really mushy. Having said that, the sweet chilli on top was a nice addition. The greens were just steamed greens with citrus squeezed over, nothing that I wouldn't normally do. So no it didn't take 30 mins but it was actually quite a tasty meal.

Sticky Pan Fried Scallops, Sweet Chilli Rice, Dressed Greens (adapted from Jamie's 30 minute meals)

(Serves 4)

Rice

One large mug basmati rice
small bunch of spring onions
3 eggs
1 tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sesame oil
1/2 lemon
small bunch fresh coriander
sweet chilli sauce
Cook the rice according to packet instructions.

Trim and finely slice the spring onions and put into a bowl. Crack in the eggs and add the soy sauce and sesame oil then whisk.

Drain the rice, leaving a bit of the water in the pan. Pour the egg mixture all over the rice, squeeze in the lemon juice and add a pinch of pepper. Put the lid on the pan and turn down to the lowest heat for 3-4 mins.

Scallops

400g scallops
1 lemon
Chinese five spice powder
sesame oil
1 clove garlic
runny honey
2 small knobs butter
small bunch of coriander

Put the scallops in a bowl, drizzle over some oil, season with salt and pepper, finely grate over some lemon zest and dust with five spice powder. Drizzle with the sesame oil and toss together to coat in the flavours.

Heat a large frying pan on the highest heat. Put some oil in a pan and add the scallops. Don't turn the scallops until they've had 2-3 mins or are golden underneath. Quickly turn them over and cook for 30 secs then crush over the garlic clove. Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon and add a drizzle of honey and 2 small knobs of butter. Take off the heat and when melted and sticky put on a plate and sprinkle over the leaves from a small bunch of coriander.

Greens

4 pak choi, halved
200g purple sprouting broccoli
200g asparagus
1/2 lime

Steam the vegetables for about 3-4 mins then take off the heat. Once tender tip on to a plate and drizzle with soy sauce and olive oil. Squeeze over the juice of half a lime.

Tomato, Chipolata and New Potato Lunch with Mustardy Vinaigrette

2011-03-05T02:02:00.000-08:00

I make my lunch and take it with me to work everyday, it saves me so much money and I know exactly what's gone into it! I recently got Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Everyday River Cottage book and I have found the recipes much easier to recreate than in some of his other books. There is also a section on lunchbox meals, which is perfect for me, and this is one of the lunches. I added some feta in as it needed using and it worked really well. Very tasty!

Tomato, Chipolata and New Potato Lunch with Mustardy Vinaigrette (from River Cottage Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)

(Serves 1)

4 cold boiled new potatoes, cut into chunks if large

handful of sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
2-3 cold cooked chipolatas

for the dressing
1 tsp mustard
1 1/2 tsp cider or white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
small pinch of sugar
salt and pepper

To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Put the potatoes, tomatoes in a bowl, trickle over most of the dressing and toss together.

Transfer to your lunchbox. Place the chipolatas on top and trickle on the remaining dressing. Seal your lunch box.

Smoked Cod and Cannellini

2011-03-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

This is a really easy and very tasty meal. I actually had it for brunch before I went to work one Sunday and it filled me up until dinner when I got home. I used butter beans rather than cannellini beans because I can buy small tins of butter beans but not of cannellini beans! It makes a great change from the standard fry up or from kedgeree for that Sunday morning.

Smoked Cod and Cannellini (adapted from Nigella Express)
(Serves 2)

350g smoked cod fillets
small spring parsley, including stalks
2 bay leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
2 leeks, sliced
375ml water
80ml white wine
2 cans cannellini beans
60-125ml fish cooking liquid
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives
salt and pepper

Lay the fish fillets in a large frying pan with a spring of parsley, bay leaves, peppercorns and leeks. Pour in the water and wine and bring to the boil.

Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the fish in the poaching liquid for 3-5 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish. Take off the heat and remove the fish.

Tip out all but about 60ml of the poaching liquid from the pan. (The amount depends on the depth of the pan. You will need just enough to warm through the beans.

Drain the cannellini beans, rinding them in a sieve or colander and add to the pan, Warm through in the poaching liquid for about 3 mins.

Turn off the heat and place the fish on top of the beans in the pan, Add the oil, most of the parsley and the chives, stirring everything together and breaking up the fish as you go.

Check the seasoning and turn out into a couple of bowls sprinkle with the last bit of parsley and serve.

Margarita Ice Cream

2011-03-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of January I went to a friend's house for her birthday party. She made absolutely fantastic Mexican food; quesedillas, chicken fajitas and then margarita ice cream and brownies. We also have lovely mojitos to go with the meal. Ever since then I have been craving margarita ice cream and as the recipe is so easy I had a go at making it myself and it is just so good! It doesn't require any churning, or stirring with a spoon, just mix, stick it in the freezer overnight and eat. Delicious own its own or with brownies!

Margarita Ice Cream (from Nigella Express)
(Serves 6)

125ml lime juice
2 tbsp tequila
3 tbsp cointreau or triple sec
150g icing sugar
500ml double cream

Pour the lime juice, tequila and cointreau into a bowl and stir in the sugar to dissolve.

Add the cream and then softly whip until thick and smooth not stiff.

Spoon this into an airtight container to freeze overnight. This ice cream does not need softening before serving as it will not freeze too hard.

Snails with Garlic Breadcrumbs

2011-02-27T04:17:00.000-08:00

My sister made some garlic mushrooms for canapes on New Years Eve and left behind some of the garlic butter, which I froze. I thought it would go perfectly with some snails and I was right. The butter doesn't melt as much as the normal garlic and parsley butter that goes with snails but you get the lovely garlic taste and it's a bit less messy. I do have a snail fork so getting them out of the shells wasn't a problem but I didn't have the holder so I had to hold them with an oven glove to eat them! Still well worth it!

Snails with Garlic breadcrumbs
(Serves 2)

12 snail shells
12 snails
100g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
small handful breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Soften the butter and mix with the breadcrumbs and garlic.

Put the snails into the shells and spoon some of the butter on top and put into either a snail plate or on a baking sheet

Place the snails into the oven and cook until the butter melts or they go golden brown on top. Serve.

Chicken and Thyme Pies

2011-02-26T02:29:00.000-08:00

This is one of the pies I made in my Christmas cooking extravaganza. The recipe was originally Tarragon and Turkey Pot Pies but as I had neither tarragon nor turkey, I made chicken and thyme pies instead. I froze the pies after I made them and ate one a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious.

Chicken and Thyme Pies (adapted from Good Food Magazine January 2006)
(Serves 4)

400g cooked chicken, torn into chunks
100g chestnut mushrooms , quartered
100g frozen peas , defrosted
chicken stock , fresh, cube or concentrate made up to 300ml
1 onion, halved and sliced
2 sheets of fresh or frozen ready-rolled puff pastry , cut to fit 4 pie dishes
1 egg, beaten for glazing
1 tsp dried thyme
142ml pot of double cream

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cook the onion and mushrooms in a little butter until soft, add the rest of the ingredients (except the pastry), bubble up and season. Divide between 4 small ovenproof pie dishes, cover with a circle of puff and glaze. Bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden.

One-Pan Spanish Fish Stew

2011-02-23T07:52:00.000-08:00

This Spanish fish stew was delicious. All the flavours went really well together. I used Rock Fish, which is a meatier fish and worked really well and I also put the chickpeas in when I added the tomatoes as I like my chickpeas to be on the mushier side if I'm eating them whole. I'm still not sure why the parsley mix was added at the end, I'm not sure it brought anything to the dish and it probably could have been added in earlier.

One-Pan Spanish Fish Stew (from Good Food Magazine March 2009)

(Serves 4)

handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
zest and juice 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 medium onion, finely sliced
500g floury potatoes, cut into small chunks, no larger than 2cm cubes
1 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 fish stock cube
200g raw peeled king prawns
½ a 410g/14oz can chickpeas , rinsed and drained
500g skinless fish fillets, cut into very large chunks

In a small bowl, mix the parsley with ½ the garlic and lemon zest, then set aside. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan. Throw in the onion and potatoes, cover the pan, then sweat everything for about 5 mins until the onion has softened. Add the remaining oil, garlic and spices, then cook for 2 mins more.

Pour over the lemon juice and sizzle for a moment. Add the tomatoes, ½ a can of water and crumble in the stock. Season with a little salt, then cover the pan. Simmer everything for 15-20 mins until the potatoes are just cooked.

Stir through the prawns and chickpeas, then nestle the fish chunks into the top of the stew. Reduce the heat and recover the pan, then cook for about 8 mins, stirring very gently once or twice.

When the fish is just cooked through, remove from the heat, scatter with the parsley mix, then bring the dish to the table with the bottle of olive oil for drizzling over and some crusty bread, if you want.

Daring Cooks February 2011

2011-02-14T03:08:00.000-08:00

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com

I did it! I actually did it! I deep fried stuff! I asked for help and it was suggested that I could put 2 inches of oil in the bottom of a tall pan and do it that way, so that's what I did and it was much less scary than I thought it would be! The tempura was delicious, I did mushrooms, broccoli, courgette and sole and they were so good, especially the sole. I also finally got the tamagoyaki right to go with the noodles for the first time, usually I can't get the omelette to roll properly but it worked! So thank you, I will probably not be deep frying things every day but at least if I want to, I know I can!

Hiyashi Soba:
Recipes courtesy of Globetrotter Diaries and About.com-Japanese Food
Serves 4

Soba Noodles:

Ingredients
2 quarts (2 Liters) water + 1 cup cold water, separate
12 oz (340 g) dried soba (buckwheat) noodles (or any Asian thin noodle)

Directions:
Cooking the noodles:
Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them.

Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Spicy Dipping Sauce:

Ingredients
¾ cup 70gm/2½ oz spring onions/green onions/scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (4 ⅔ gm) (0.16 oz) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1/8 gm) (0.005 oz) English mustard powder
1 tablespoon (15 ml) grape-seed oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon (15 ml) sesame oil (if you can’t find this just omit from recipe.)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - roughly 1/3 a teaspoon of each

Directions:
1. Shake all the ingredients together in a covered container. Once the salt has dissolved, add and shake in 2 tablespoons of water and season again if needed.

Common Hiyashi Soba Toppings:
Thin omelet strips
Ham
Boiled chicken breasts
Cucumber
Boiled bean sprouts
Tomatoes
Toasted nori (Dried Seaweed)
Green onions
Wasabi powder
Finely grated daikon (Japanese radish)
Beni Shoga (Pickled Ginger)
All toppings should be julienne, finely diced or grated. Prepare and refrigerate covered until needed.

Serving:
Traditionally soba is served on a bamboo basket tray, but if you don’t have these, you can simply serve them on a plate or in a bowl. Divide up the noodles, laying them on your serving dishes. Sprinkle each one with nori. In small side bowl or cup, place 1/2 cup (120 ml) of dipping sauce into each. In separate small side dishes, serve each person a small amount of wasabi, grated daikon, and green onions.The noodles are eaten by sprinkling the desired garnishes into the dipping sauce and eating the noodles by first dipping them into the sauce. Feel free to slurp away! Oishii!

Tempura
Recipes courtesy of pink bites and itsy bitsy foodies
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 cup (240 ml) iced water
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) plain (all purpose) flour, plus extra for dredging
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) cornflour (also called cornstarch)
½ teaspoon (2½ ml) (2½ gm) (0.09 oz) baking powder
oil, for deep frying preferably vegetable
ice water bath, for the tempura batter (a larger bowl than what will be used for the tempura should be used. Fill the large bowl with ice and some water, set aside)

Very cold vegetables and seafood of your choice ie:
Sweet potato, peeled, thinly sliced, blanched
Carrot, peeled, thinly sliced diagonally
Pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed, thinly sliced blanched
Green beans, trimmed
Green bell pepper/capsicum, seeds removed, cut into 2cm (¾ inch)-wide strips
Assorted fresh mushrooms
Eggplant cut into strips (traditionally it’s fanned)
Onions sliced

Directions:
Place the iced water into a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk and gradually pour into the iced water, stirring (preferably with chopsticks) and blending well. Add flours and baking powder all at once, stroke a few times with chopsticks until the ingredients are loosely combined. The batter should be runny and lumpy. Place the bowl of batter in an ice water bath to keep it cold while you are frying the tempura. The batter as well as the vegetables and seafood have to be very cold. The temperature shock between the hot oil and the cold veggies help create a crispy tempura.

Heat the oil in a large pan or a wok. For vegetables, the oil should be 320°F/160°C; for seafood it should be 340°F/170°C. It is more difficult to maintain a steady temperature and produce consistent tempura if you don’t have a thermometer, but it can be done. You can test the oil by dropping a piece of batter into the hot oil. If it sinks a little bit and then immediately rises to the top, the oil is ready.

Start with the vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, that won’t leave a strong odor in the oil. Dip them in a shallow bowl of flour to lightly coat them and then dip them into the batter. Slide them into the hot oil, deep frying only a couple of pieces at a time so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.

Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off. Continue frying the other items, frequently scooping out any bits of batter to keep the oil clean and prevent the oil (and the remaining tempura) from getting a burned flavor.

Serve immediately for the best flavor, but they can also be eaten cold.

Creamy Smoked Haddock and Saffron Kedgeree

2011-02-13T05:15:00.000-08:00

This is kind of a posher version of a simple kedgeree, using saffron and double cream. It's still really easy to make just a bit creamier than the traditional dish and still just as delicious.

Creamy Smoked Haddock and Saffron Kedgeree

(Serves 6)

300g basmati rice
50g butter
3 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and halved
200ml double cream
500g naturally smoked haddock, skin removed
100ml white wine
1tsp cayenne pepper
pinch saffron strands
1 tbsp mild curry powder
freshly grated nutmeg
small handful flat-leaf parsley , chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Cook basmati rice, leave to cool. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a large ovenproof dish with some of the butter. Push the egg yolks through a sieve and roughly chop the whites.

Gently heat the cream in a frying pan until just below boiling point, then add the fish. Cover and poach for 4 mins. Place the wine in a pan with the saffron and warm to infuse. In a large bowl, mix together the rice, cayenne, curry powder, nutmeg, seasoning, chopped egg whites and saffron-infused wine. Lift the fish out of the cream and flake into the bowl - removing any bones as you find them. Scrape in the cream and gently mix together once more.

Tip everything into the buttered dish and dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake to heat through for 20 mins, then serve scattered with the parsley and sieved egg yolk, with lemon wedges on the side.

Chicken and Lentil Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

2011-02-12T03:08:00.000-08:00

I went to my sisters a few weekends ago and she made a delicious lamb tagine for Sunday lunch. I came home and decided that I wanted to have a go at making a tagine too. I went with chicken and lentil and it was delicious and surprisingly really easy to make. I also have some lamb casseroling meat in the freezer so I'm hoping to make a lamb and artichoke one sometime soon.

I served it with couscous with tomatoes, courgette and pine nuts.

Chicken and lentil tagine with preserved lemons and olives (adapted from the Hairy Bikers)
(Serves 6)

½ tsp saffron threads, crushed
250ml/9fl oz chicken stock, warmed
3 tbsp olive oil
3 onions, chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 free-range chicken, jointed
250g red lentils
1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
6 small preserved lemons, quartered, or 2 larger ones, chopped
100g/3½oz mixed olives (green is traditional)
good handful coriander leaves, chopped
good handful flat leaf parsley, chopped

Add the saffron threads to the stock to infuse.

Meanwhile, in a tagine or heavy-bottomed lidded casserole, heat the olive oil and fry the onions until soft. Add the ginger, cumin and garlic and cook gently for a couple of minutes

Add the chicken and lentils and stir to coat with the onion and spices. Sprinkle in the crushed peppercorns and add the lemons and saffron-infused stock.

Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on a very gentle heat for about one hour, or until the chicken is falling apart.

Add the olives and continue to simmer for another ten minutes. Add the chopped coriander and parsley just before serving

Serve with potatoes, crusty bread or rice and a green salad.

Spicy Scrambled Eggs with Chapatis

2011-02-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

I love easy and delicious breakfast/brunch type dishes especially when they involve eggs. I have a very hectic six months coming up, I have several essays to write, a dissertation to complete by the first of September and I work full time, so I spent the weekend a couple of weeks ago sorting out the house and making food for the freezer. I had a relaxing Sunday morning and made this delicious scrambled egg dish for breakfast. It was mildly spicy, but not too much, so perfect for breakfast.

Spicy Scrambled Eggs with Chapatis (from Vegetarian Christmas, Good Food Magazine 2006)
(Serves 4)

25g butter
1 bunch spring onions , sliced diagonally
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
pinch turmeric
4 tomatoes , deseeded and diced
8 medium eggs , beaten
2 tbsp Greek-style yogurt
4 chapatis , warmed
chopped fresh coriander , to garnish

Melt the butter in a pan, then cook onions for 1 min. Add the spices and cook for 30 seconds, stirring.

Add the tomatoes, eggs and yogurt, then cook, stirring, for about 4 mins until scrambled. Season to taste.

Spoon one quarter of the mixture onto one quarter of a warmed chapati. Fold in half, then in half again to make a triangle. Repeat with the remaining mixture and chapatis. Serve immediately, garnished with a little of the coriander

Coley Korma

2011-01-31T10:25:00.000-08:00

I came across an episode of Jamie's Fish Suppers when I was flicking through the TV one night and it was actually really interesting. He did his top ten sustainable fish recipes and this Coley Korma was one of them. This is such a versatile dish, I actually used cod, because I had some in the freezer and used tikka masala paste instead of korma. You could pretty much use any fish and any curry paste to create this dish and it would be delicious and it is so easy.

Coley Korma (from Jamie's Fish Suppers)
(Serves 4)

2 heaped tbsp korma paste
4 coley fillets, skin on, scaled and pin-boned
Olive oil
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
½ x 400ml tin coconut milk
Few sprigs of fresh coriander, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
½ - 1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Put a large frying pan on a medium heat. Use the back of a spoon to spread 1 heaped tablespoon of the korma paste all over the flesh side of the fish fillets. Add a lug of olive oil to the hot pan, then add the coley, flesh-side down. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning halfway when you’ve got some colour.

Turn the heat under the fish up to high and throw in the greener half of your sliced spring onions. Stir in the remaining korma paste, coconut milk, coriander stalks and most of the fresh chilli. Let it bubble away for a couple of minutes until the fish is starting to flake apart. Taste your sauce and add a squeeze of lemon juice if it needs it.

Serve with rice and top each portion with a piece of coley. Pour the sauce over the top then scatter over the reserved spring onions, chilli and coriander leaves. Serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

Chicken with Paprika and Sour Cream

2011-01-27T03:01:00.000-08:00

My Mum gave me a lots of Waitrose recipe cards that she'd been collecting over the past couple of months and there are quite a few recipes that I am going to make. One of them was this Chicken with Paprika and Soured Cream recipe that I made last week for dinner. It was really tasty and the smokiness of the paprika really came through.

Chicken with Paprika and Sour Cream (from Waitrose Recipe Card)
(Serves 2-3)

1 tbsp vegetable oil
340g pack chicken mini fillets
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sundried tomato paste
300ml chicken stock
250g pack chestnut mushrooms, halved
170ml carton sour cream
chopped parsley to garnish

Heat the oil in a non-stick sauté pan and brown the chicken fillets on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper. Add the onion, garlic and paprika to the pan and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and stock, then return the chicken pieces to the pan and season.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Add the mushrooms to the pan and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the soured cream and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Pappa Al Pomodoro

2011-01-22T01:51:00.000-08:00

So with all the chickens I roasted over the Christmas period, I made stock from the bones, most of which I have frozen but I did use some to make this delicious soup. Now Ina Garten annoys me slightly, I can't put my finger on why, she just does, but this recipe is delicious. My sister said it tasted just like Heinz tomato soup and that's definitely a compliment. I have to say that I blitzed the soup up at the end as I don't much like lumpy soups and I used celery instead of fennel, because I could not find fennel anywhere. I also didn't bother with the topping, most of my soups get transported to work for lunch so the topping wouldn't have worked lasted long enough, but this was so good.

Pappa al Pomodoro (from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)
(Serves 6)

1/2 cup good olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, medium-diced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced
4 cloves minced garlic
3 cups 1-inch diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
2 28-ounce cans good Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

For the topping:
3 cups 1-inch diced ciabatta cubes
2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F

For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine. Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil.

Panfried Pork with Maple and Mustard Sauce

2011-01-19T11:46:00.001-08:00

I have a cold and this is the sort of food that I love when I have a cold, lovely and filling but really easy to make.

Panfried Pork with Maple and Mustard Sauce (from Good Food Magazine May 2007)
(Serves 4)

2 pork tenderloins , about 300g/10oz each
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion , thinly sliced
200ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
juice 1 lemon
handful parsley sprigs (optional)

Cut the pork into 3cm thick slices, season with salt and pepper, then lightly coat in the flour (the easiest way to do this is to put the flour and seasoning in a large food bag, add the pork and shake well). Heat the oil in a large frying pan, preferably non-stick, then add the pork and quickly fry until it is browned all over. Cook the pork for about 5 mins, then remove to a plate and cover with foil while you make the sauce.

Add the onion to the pan (with a touch more oil if needed), then quickly fry until lightly coloured, add the stock, then bring to the boil. Boil hard for a couple of minutes to reduce the stock a little, stir in the maple syrup, mustard and lemon juice, then bring back to the boil, stirring well.

Return the pork to the pan and gently simmer for a further 3-4 mins until it is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley, if using.

Daring Cooks January 2011

2011-01-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.

I have to say I loved loved loved this challenge. Cassoulet is something I love to eat and that I have wanted to make for ages but just been too lazy to do it, so I'm so glad this challenge finally got me to make it and I got to make confit, something I never thought I'd do. It took us ages to find duck legs, everywhere seemed to be sold out because of Christmas but we finally found some on Christmas Eve. I made the Cassoulet a couple of days after Boxing Day for my family, we had goose on Boxing Day so I used goose fat for the confit and the onion paste. I also couldn't find pork rind anywhere without buying a huge joint so I just used bacon to boil with the pork belly and beans and to line the casserole dish instead. It was so tasty and such a warming dish, a proper winter warmer.

Cassoulet
Cassoulet by Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman (as featured on the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations”)
Serves 4 - 8

Ingredients for Duck Confit

4 whole duck legs (leg and thigh), size does not matter
sea salt, for the overnight (at least 6-8 hours) dry rub (the amount varies depending on the size of your legs, so just know that you need to have enough on hand for a good coating.)
2 cups/480 ml/450 gm/16 oz duck fat
a healthy pinch or grind of black pepper
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove

Day One

1. Rub the duck legs fairly generously with sea salt, place in the shallow dish, cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. At all times, keep your work area clean and your ingredients free of contamination - meaning don't allow any other food, like bread crumbs or scraps, to get into your duck, duck fat or confit, as they will make an otherwise nearly non-perishable preparation suddenly perishable.

Day Two

1.Preheat the oven to moderately hot 375ºF/190ºC/gas mark 5.

2.Render (melt) the duck fat in the saucepan until clear.

3.After seasoning with the black pepper, place the duck legs in the clean, ovenproof casserole.

4.Nestle the thyme, rosemary and garlic in with the duck legs, and pour the melted duck fat over the legs to just cover.

5. Cover the dish with foil and put in the oven. Cook for about an hour, or until the skin at the "ankle" of each leg pulls away from the "knuckle." The meat should be tender.

6. Allow to cool and then store as is in the refrigerator, sealed under the fat. When you need the confit, you can either warm the whole dish, in which case removing the legs will be easy, or dig them out of the cold fat and scrape off the excess. I highly recommend the former. A nice touch at this point is to twist out the thighbone from the cold confit. Just place one hand on the drumstick, pinioning the leg to the table, and with the other hand, twist out the thighbone, plucking it from the flesh without mangling the thigh meat. Think of someone you hate when you do it.

Ingredients for Cassoulet

5 cups/1200 ml/1100 g/39 oz dried Tarbais beans or white beans such as Great Northern or Cannelini (if you use canned beans be aware that you will need double this amount!)
2 pounds/900 gm fresh pork belly
1 onion, cut into 4 pieces
1 pound/450 gm pork rind
1 bouquet garni (tie together two sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme and one bay leaf)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup/60 ml/55 gm duck fat
6 pork sausages
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
4 confit duck legs

Day One

1.Place the beans in the large bowl and cover with cold water so that there are at least 2 or 3 inches (50mm or 75mm) of water above the top of the beans. Soak overnight. That was hard, right? (Beans will double in size upon soaking, so use a big bowl!)

Day Two

1. Drain and rinse the beans and place in the large pot.

2. Add the pork belly, the quartered onion, 1/4 pound/115 gm of the pork rind, and the bouquet garni.

3. Cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and continue to simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 minutes more.

4. Let cool for 20 minutes, then discard the onion and the bouquet garni.

5. Remove the pork belly, cut it into 2-inch/5-cm squares, and set aside. (If you plan to wait another day before finishing the dish, wait to cut the pork belly until then.)

6. Strain the beans and the rind and set aside, reserving the cooking liquid separately.

7. In the sauté pan, heat all but 1 tablespoon/15 ml/15 gm of the duck fat over medium-high heat until it shimmers and becomes transparent.

8. Carefully add the sausages and brown on all sides.

9. Remove sausages and set aside, draining on paper towels.

10. In the same pan, over medium-high heat, brown the sliced onions, the garlic and the reserved squares of pork rind from the beans (not the unused pork rind; you'll need that later).

11. Once browned, remove from the heat and transfer to the blender. Add 1 tablespoon/15 ml/15 gm of the remaining duck fat and purée until smooth. Set aside.

12. Preheat the oven to moderate 350ºF/180ºC/gas mark 4.

13.Place the uncooked pork rind in the bottom of a deep ovenproof non-reactive dish. You're looking to line the inside, almost like a pie crust. Arrange all your ingredients in alternating layers, beginning with a layer of beans, then sausages, then more beans, then pork belly, beans, duck confit and finally more beans, adding a dab of the onion and pork rind purée between each layer.

14. Add enough of the bean cooking liquid to just cover the beans, reserving 1 cup/240 ml in the refrigerator for later use.

15. Cook the cassoulet in the oven for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to very slow 250ºF/130ºC/gas mark ½ and cook for another hour.

16. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate overnight.

Day Three

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 350ºF/180ºC/gas mark 4 again.

2. Cook the cassoulet for an hour.

3. Break the crust on the top with the spoon and add 1/4 cup/60 ml of the reserved cooking liquid. (Don't get fancy. Just pile, dab, stack and pile. It doesn't have to be pretty.)

4. Reduce the heat to very slow 250ºF/130ºC/gas mark ½ and continue cooking another 15 minutes, or until screamingly hot through and through. Then serve.

Braised Cod with Butter Beans and Mint

2011-01-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

I made this such a long time ago, that I can't really remember anything about it! My Mum brought me back lots of fish from a little shop on the seaside in Northumberland and this was what I made with one of the cod fillets. It includes beans which I'm still trying to eat more of, and it had the most wonderful fragrant broth that I tipped it all into the dish and used extra bread to mop up. I used sourdough bread as the piece underneath as that's what I had and that worked really well too.

Braised Cod with Butter Beans and Mint (adapted from Good Food Magazine April 2007)
(Serves 4)

4 cod fillets, skin on
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch spring onions
large pinch saffron strands
2 garlic cloves, chopped
400g can butter beans, rinsed and drained
600ml fresh fish stock
small handful mint leaves, chopped

TO SERVE
8 thick slices baguettes, toasted

Heat oven to 180C. Check the cod for bones and remove if necessary. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole, add the spring onions, saffron and garlic, then cook over a low heat for 1-2 mins until soft.

Add the butter beans and stock, then bring to the boil and season. Nestle the cod, skin-side up, into the butter beans, then cover and cook in the oven for 10 mins, or until the cod is just done. Lift from the oven and check the seasoning. Add the mint just before serving.

To serve, put 2 slices of toasted baguette in a bowl, top with butter beans and cod (pulling away the skin if you want) then spoon the cooking juices around the fish.

Jamie's Chicken and Mushroom Pasta Bake

2011-01-06T04:42:00.000-08:00

In between Christmas and New Year I did lots of cooking to fill up my freezer again after weeks of laziness with cooking in December. I had a really lovely time making pies, soup and pasta and rice dishes in between painting lots of door frames in my hall way. They have now gone from green to white! One of the dishes that I made was Jamie Oliver's Chicken and Mushroom Pasta Bake (spaghetti tetrazzini), it fitted the bill using mushrooms and chicken thighs, both of which I had a lot of. I had the first portion today for lunch and I have to report that its really rather tasty.

I am adding this to this week's Presto Pasta Nights round up, this week hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. Check out her blog on Friday for the round up.

Jamie's Chicken and Mushroom Pasta Bake (spaghetti tetrazzini)
(Serves 4)

20g/a small handful of dried porcini mushrooms
olive oil
4 chicken thighs, boned, skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
350g/2 handfuls of mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned and torn
200ml oz white wine
455g dried spaghetti
500ml double cream
200g Parmesan cheese, grated
a sprig of fresh basil, leaves picked

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Put your porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover them (approx. 150ml/5½fl oz). Put to one side to soak for a few minutes.

Heat a saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients, and pour in a splash of olive oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and brown them gently in the oil.

Strain the porcini, reserving the soaking water, and add them to the pan with the garlic and fresh mushrooms. Add the wine, with the strained porcini soaking water, and turn the heat down. Simmer gently until the chicken pieces are cooked through and the wine has reduced a little.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions and drain well. Add the cream to the pan of chicken, then bring to the boil and turn the heat off. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the drained spaghetti to the creamy chicken sauce and toss well. Add three-quarters of the Parmesan and all of the basil and stir well. Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish or non-stick pan, sprinkle with half the remaining cheese and bake in the oven until golden brown, bubbling and crisp.

Divide between your plates, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese before serving.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

2010-12-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

We have had some lovely food over the festive period. We started on Christmas Eve with Whole Roasted Carp with Capers. I made potatoes boulangere to go with it. The texture of the fish was far too soft for me though, I much prefer a meatier fish, but it was good to try it.

Opening the presents on Christmas Day was accompanied by lovely canapes made by my sister. We had vol au vents filled with olives and spicy peppers,

salmon and creme fraiche blinis and basil pesto and cheddar palmiers. They were delicious.

For our main course on Christmas Day we had Venision Wellington, Red Cabbage, Spaghetti Squash, Mash Potatoes, Roast Potatoes and Mangetout with Gravy.

Then for pudding my sister made Chocolate Truffle Cake from Nigel Slater's Real Fast Puddings. It was gorgeous but very rich so we only needed a small slice. We had some more for pudding on Boxing Day with raspberries and cream and the tartness of the raspberries cut nicely through the rich chocolate.

Mince Pies

2010-12-26T03:33:00.000-08:00

I had my first go at making mince pies this Christmas. The local history group who meet where I work every other week were having a Christmas party, to which I was invited, so I wanted to make some mince pies to take along. So I got my Mum, who has been making mince pies for years, to show me how to make them. Sadly because of the weather the party was cancelled so the staff in the library got the pies instead! I had lots of people telling me how good they were though and I never realised how simple they were to make!

Mince Pies (from Cordon Bleu Cookery Course)
(Makes about 18)

For rich shortcrust pastry
8 oz plain flour
pinch of salt
5 oz butter
1 oz shortening, or lard
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbsp cold water

For the filling
about 1 1/2lb mincemeat
caster sugar for dusting

Make the pastry
Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Drop in the butter and cut into the flour until the small pieces are well coated. Then rub them in with the fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. mix the egg yolk with the water and tip into the fat and flour and mix quickly with a palette knife to firm dough.

Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly until smooth. Chill in a refrigerator wrapped in clingfilm for 30 mins before using.

Make the mince pies
Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cut the pastry into two lumps. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the pastry fairly thinly and stamp into rounds for the lids with a cutter. Put the rounds to one side. Add trimmings to the second half and roll out a little thinner than the first half. Stamp in rounds a little larger than the first.

Put the larger pastry rounds into patty tins, with a good spoonful of mincemeat to fill well. Place the smaller rounds on top, using a pastry brush and water to wet slightly and pinch the edges together. Brush lightly with cold water and dust with sugar.

Cook for 15-20 mins until nicely brown. Cool slightly before taking from the tins.

Chicken Caesar Salad

2010-12-24T02:29:00.000-08:00

Chicken Caesar Salad is one of my Mums favourite dishes. She can't eat tomatoes, so it's one of the salad options that's pretty much guaranteed not to have them in. I don't think I had ever really eaten it before we went Paris, I'm not a big fan of creamy salad dressings much preferring vinaigrette, but the one she had in Paris was delicious and I have been craving it ever since. So I thought I'd try and make my own version with some left over roast chicken from last weekend and the results were pretty good. The sauce has the right consistency and flavour and was much better made from scratch than bought in a bottle, and the salad as a whole was really good. a lovely classic Caesar Salad.

Chicken Caesar Salad (adapted from Good Food Magazine June 2006)

(Serves 4)

1 medium ciabatta loaf (or 4 thick slices crusty white bread)
3 tbsp olive oil
leftover roast chicken
1 large cos, romaine or 2 little gem lettuce, leaves separated

For the dressing
1 garlic clove
2 anchovies from a tin
medium block Parmesan or Grano Padano cheese for grating and shaving
5 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tear the bread into big, ragged croutons or, if you prefer, cut with a bread knife. Spread over a large baking sheet or tray and sprinkle over 2 tbsp olive oil. Rub the oil into the bread and season with a little salt if you like (sea salt crystals are best for this). Bake for 8-10 mins, turning the croutons a few times during cooking so they brown evenly.

Bash the garlic with the flat of a knife and peel off the skin. Crush with a garlic crusher. Mash the anchovies with a fork against the side of a small bowl. Grate a handful of cheese and mix with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Season to taste. It should be the consistency of yogurt - if yours is thicker, stir in a few tsps water to thin it.

Shave the cheese with a peeler. Tear lettuce into large pieces and put in a large bowl. Pull chicken into bite-size strips and scatter half over the leaves, along with half the croutons. Add most of the dressing and toss with your fingers. Scatter the rest of the chicken and croutons, then drizzle with the remaining dressing. Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and serve straight away.

Work's Christmas Meal 2010

2010-12-23T02:16:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we had our works Christmas dinner at Little Bay Restaurant on Farringdon Road, London. We had a lovely evening out and the meal was fairly cheap as works dinners go, the first and main course were absolutely delicious. I got to try pig's cheeks which I have never had before, and they were very tasty, lovely with the garlicky mash. The dessert, however was not so good, I went for a white chocolate cheesecake, which had a weird grainy texture to it. I would definitely recommend going there for their savoury food though.

Pig's Cheeks with Garlic Mash, Crispy Bacon and Gravy

Breast of Duck with Red Cabbage, Sultanas, Paprika Potatoes and Duck en Croute

White Chocolate Cheesecake with a Passionfruit Coulis

Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup

2010-12-20T02:16:00.000-08:00

Last week my sister stayed with me as she had some things to sort out in London. On the Sunday evening she made a beautiful Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup for us for dinner and served it with Naan Bread. It was delicious and we had some leftovers that I froze, so I get to eat it again soon.

And for no other reason than she looks very cute in this picture, this is Smudge fast asleep on the back of a chair.

Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup (from Glamour Magazine December 2010)
(Serves 4)

2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch chilli flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
600g carrots, washed and coarsely grated
140g split red lentils
1l hot vegetable stock
125ml coconut milk
plain yogurt and naan bread, to serve

Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside. Add the oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened.

Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer). Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.

Baked Beans with Chicken Nuggets

2010-12-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

I remember when I was much younger, going shopping with my Mum. We always went to John Lewis for lunch as a treat and I would always have baked beans with chicken nuggets, it was cooked with the chicken nuggets in with the beans, and I loved it. I wanted to try and replicate this but with homemade baked beans. This was really simple to make and was lovely and warming on a cold evening. I also had lots of leftovers and froze the, which was good as they were very easy to heat up in the microwave when I was ill and the last thing I wanted to do was cook.

Baked Beans with Chicken Nuggets (adapted from Olive Magazine January 2006)
(Serves 4)

olive oil
16 chicken nuggets
6 rindless bacon rashers, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
700ml passata (or use 2x 400g tins chopped tomatoes)
400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 onion, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven

heat a little oil in a large pan, add the bacon and onion and cook for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute.

Put the chicken nuggets into the oven or under the grill and cook according to the instructions on the packet, they take roughly 12-15 mins.

Pour in the passata, add the beans, paprika and sugar, then season and mix well. Bring to a simmer and cook everything together for 15 minutes. Once the chicken nuggets are cooked add them to the bean mixture and cook for about 5 mins. Serve.

Daring Cooks December 2010

2010-12-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

Ok, so I cheated with this. I have poached several eggs over the last month but I never managed to have enough time to make hollandaise sauce to go with it, so unfortunately I just had poached egg on toast. It is one of my favourite quick breakfasts and I used it to practice poaching eggs. I also seem to have had the busiest month ever and have been sick for the last week, so forgive me for not doing this properly but I did do the poaching bit and it was very tasty!

Eggs Benedict

4 eggs (size is your choice)
2 English muffins
4 slices of Canadian bacon/back bacon (or plain bacon if you prefer)
Chives, for garnish
Splash of vinegar (for poaching)

For the hollandaise (makes 1.5 cups):
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp. (5 ml) water
¼ tsp. (1 ¼ ml/1½ g) sugar
12 tbsp. (170 g/6 oz.) unsalted butter, chilled and cut in small pieces
½ tsp. (2 ½ ml/3 g) kosher salt
2 tsp. (10 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a simmer.

2. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and set aside.

3. Whisk egg yolks and 1 tsp. (5 ml) water in a mixing bowl large enough to sit on the saucepan without touching the water (or in top portion of a double boiler). Whisk for 1–2 minutes, until egg yolks lighten. Add the sugar and whisk 30 seconds more.

4. Place bowl on saucepan over simmering water and whisk steadily 3–5 minutes (it only took about 3 for me) until the yolks thicken to coat the back of a spoon.

5. Remove from heat (but let the water continue to simmer) and whisk in the butter, 1 piece at a time. Move the bowl to the pan again as needed to melt the butter, making sure to whisk constantly.

6. Once all the butter is incorporated, remove from heat and whisk in the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper (if using).

7. Keep the hollandaise warm while you poach your eggs in a thermos, carafe, or bowl that you’ve preheated with warm water.

8. If the water simmering in your pan has gotten too low, add enough so that you have 2–3 inches of water and bring back to a simmer.

9. Add salt and a splash of vinegar (any kind will do). I added about a tablespoon of vinegar to my small saucepan (about 3 cups of water/720 ml of water), but you may need more if you’re using a larger pan with more water.

10. Crack eggs directly into the very gently simmering water (or crack first into a bowl and gently drop into the water), making sure they’re separated. Cook for 3 minutes for a viscous but still runny yolk.

11. While waiting for the eggs, quickly fry the Canadian/back bacon and toast your English muffin.

12. Top each half of English muffin with a piece of bacon. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, draining well, and place on top of the bacon. Top with hollandaise and chopped chives, and enjoy!

Salmon with Coriander Dahl

2010-12-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

More lentils! This time Indian style lentils. I decided to have this just on it's own without any naan bread or rice and it was very filling without all the extra carbs. I also added some frozen spinach in at the last minute to add some more veggies to the meal, plus spinach always goes well with lentils. This was not really spicy enough for me, but it did have a nice flavour.

Salmon with Coriander Dahl (adapted from Olive Magazine July 2010)

(Serves 2)

75g red lentils
400ml chicken stock
1 small onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala, plus extra for the salmon
pinch chilli flakes
small bunch coriander, chopped
2 fillets salmon
groundnut oil or sunflower oil

Heat some oil in a pan and saute the onions until soft. Add in the tumeric, garam masala and chilli flakes and cook for a minute or so. Then add in the tomatoes and cook for another minute. Finally put in the lentils and the stock and bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes until lentils are tender. Stir in the coriander.

Rub the salmon with oil, seasoning and a little garam masala. Grill for 6-7 minutes until just cooked. Break into large chunks and gently stir through the dahl. Serve with the rice and naan bread, if you like.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

2010-11-26T04:21:00.000-08:00

I am trying to incorporate more fibre into my diet, which is proving much more difficult that I thought it would be. I don't really eat much fruit at this time of year, I much prefer summer fruits which just don't taste the same in autumn/winter. I also don't really like wholemeal bread and detest granary bread, so the easy things to get into my diet I don't like to eat all the time. I have opted for eating more lentils and beans instead as I like both of them and they are quite easy to use instead of potato for a meal. This Vegetarian Shepherds Pie is one of the meals that I've tried. It was really filling and I didn't miss the meat at all.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie (adapted from Jamie Oliver)
(Serves 4-6)

2 red onions
2 carrots
2 cloves of garlic
a small bunch of fresh rosemary
2 x 400g tins of lentils
olive oil
1 x 400g can of plum tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock, preferably organic
1.5kg Desiree potatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g Cheddar cheese, grated
100ml whole milk
a large knob of butter
1 fresh nutmeg, for grating

Peel and roughly chop the onions and carrots. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Pick the rosemary leaves, discard the stalks, finely chop half of leaves and put the rest to one side. Drain the lentils.

Heat a large pan on a medium heat and add a tbsp oil. Add the onions, carrots and garlic to the pan. Cook gently with the lid on for 8 to 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.

Add the chopped rosemary leaves, tinned tomatoes and stock and stir well. Bring to the boil, then add the drained lentils, reduce to a low heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes, or until thick.

To make the mash topping:

Peel the potatoes, cut them into halves and quarters depending on their size, and put them into a pan of salted, boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes until tender. Stick a knife into them to check they’re soft all the way through.

Drain in a colander and return them to the pan. Grate the Cheddar cheese. Add the milk, butter, most of the cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pan. Mash until smooth and creamy.

Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Transfer the lentil mixture to a large ovenproof baking dish. Spoon the mash evenly over the top, poke the remaining rosemary leaves into it to decorate and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, then cook in the hot oven for 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

Potatoes Boulangere

2010-11-24T03:45:00.000-08:00

Potatoes Boulangere is one of those side dishes that you always get in French restaurants and love but never try to make at home. I never knew that it was so simple to make. The stock makes the potatoes so tasty and this dish is so easy to prepare. It's literally layering everything together, pour over the stock and the put in the oven to bake. It definitely takes me back to the many fantastic trips I have had to France.

I had them with chicken stuffed with cream cheese wrapped in bacon, broccoli and courgettes.

Potatoes Boulangere (adapted from Good Food Magazine January 2008)
(Serves 4)

1 onion, thinly sliced
few thyme sprigs or some dried thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
750g potatoes ,peeled and sliced thinly
300ml vegetable stock

Heat oven to 200C.

Spread a layer of potatoes over the base of an oiled gratin dish. Sprinkle over a few onions and some thyme and continue layering, finishing with a layer of potatoes.

Pour over the stock and bake for 50-60 mins until the potatoes are cooked and the top is golden and crisp.

Tomato and Courgette Tortellini Soup

2010-11-21T05:42:00.000-08:00

It is definitely the time of year for warming and comforting dishes. Walking to work this afternoon my hands and face were freezing and according to the weather it's going to snow later in the week. I used my last courgette this week, so summer has definitely gone! I found a last one lurking when I took the plant out last week, part of it went into this tortellini soup. It was lovely on warming on a freezing cold day.

Tomato and Courgette Tortellini Soup

(Serves 1)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small courgette, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped
350ml vegetable stock
1/4 pack fresh filled tortellini

chopped basil or parsley

grated parmesan, to serve

Heat oil in a pan. Fry the courgettes for 5 mins until starting to soften, add in the tomatoes and garlic and fry for a minute. Add the stock , then simmer for 5 mins.

Once veg is tender, stir in the pasta. Return to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the pasta is just cooked. Stir in the basil or parsley, if using. Season, then serve in bowls topped with a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Rice Noodles with Hoisin Lamb

2010-11-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

I got an amazing deal on lamb cutlets a little while ago and stored them in my freezer. I had eaten the other eight cutlets just simply grilled with risotto on the side, but for the last two I wanted to do something different. I stumbled across this Asian inspired and it seemed to be just what I was looking for. The lamb was really good, but the noodles could have done with a bit more of a sauce rather than a dressing.

Rice Noodles with Hoisin Lamb (adapted from Good Food Magazine February 2007)
(Serves 2)

125g rice noodles
6 lamb cutlets , fat trimmed off
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 courgette
1/2 carrot
10 sugar snap peas
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

Cook the rice noodles following the packet instructions then rinse with cold water and drain.

Brush the lamb cutlets with the hoisin sauce. Cut the courgette and carrot into batons and stir fry for about 3-5 mins. Mix with the rice noodles and remaining ingredients.

Grill the lamb for 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through but still pink. Serve on top of the noodles.

Daring Cooks November 2010

2010-11-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Souffles as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate souffle recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

I made souffle! I can't believe it! I put off this challenge for so long and I finally made the souffle about 30 mins ago and I am so glad that I did and it worked! I made one individual souffle with one egg as I had left it so long that I only had time to make it for me. I used the watercress souffle recipe but put rocket and cheddar cheese in instead, as I don't really like Parmesan and I had rocket in the fridge already. It was actually really nice, it rose a little too much and went down the side of the ramekin, but you can't have everything! I am just so glad that it basically worked and was lovely and fluffy.

Rocket and Cheddar Souffle
(Serves 4)

2 Tbsp 1 oz/30g butter plus additional for the soufflé dish
3½ Tbsp (55 ml) 1 oz/30g plain (all purpose) flour
1 cup/8 fluid oz (240ml) milk
½ cup (120 ml) 2 oz/60g cheddar cheese, finely grated plus additional for the soufflé dish
1 cup (250ml) 2 oz/60g finely chopped rocket
4 large eggs, separated
½ tsp (2½ ml) (3 gm) (.1 oz) prepared mustard
¼ tsp (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) (0.05 oz) cream of tartar*
Salt and pepper to taste
* If you can’t find cream of tartar, a dash (~ ½ tsp) of lemon juice can be substituted

1. Butter the soufflé dish(es) thoroughly, then grate a small amount of cheese in each dish and tap so that the sides are evenly coated with the cheese. Place the dish(es) in the refrigerator until needed (according to some sites, this helps the soufflé climb).

2. Preheat the oven to moderate 350º F / 180º C / gas mark 4

3. Wash and chop the watercress if you haven’t already.

4. Finely grate the parmesan cheese

5. In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook 1 minute, then add the milk, a little at a time, and stir until just thickened, about 1 minute. Add the cheese and stir until it’s just melted. Remove from heat then add the watercress and salt and pepper.

6. In a larger pan, bring water to a gentle simmer. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl set just over this water until pale and slightly foamy – about 6 minutes. (I held the bowl just above the simmering water to be sure I didn’t cook the eggs)

7. Mix the egg yolks into the watercress sauce.

8. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they form stiff peaks yet are still glossy.

9. Fold the egg whites into the sauce in 3 additions so that it’s evenly mixed, but you don’t lose too much volume.

10. Remove the soufflé dish from the refrigerator and spoon the mix into it. Use a spatula to even the tops of the soufflés and wipe off any spills.

11. Bake 25 minutes for small dishes or 40 minutes if using a large soufflé dish, then serve immediately.

Paris

2010-11-13T02:40:00.000-08:00

I have lots of food that I cooked before I went to Paris still to write about, but I thought that I would write about my trip whilst it was still relatively fresh in my mind. I went with my Mum to Paris for three days last week, we did a Gastronomic Tour with a tour guide. On the first evening we did a three hour walking tour through the area in and around Les Halles, learning about the market, cafes and restaurants and the history behind the site. We then walked to a lovely fish restaurant close to the Bastille for dinner. I had John Dory and got a whole fish really simply cooked with rosemary and my Mum had Sole Meuniere with three fillets of Sole on her plate, it was absolutely divine.

The second day included the highlight of the trip, a three course meal with every meal in a different restaurant and each course being chosen by the chef at the restaurant. We started at 11.30am and had a brief walking tour onto I'le St-Louis, looking at the Hotel Particuliers that still survive on the island. This led us to our first restaurant Le Fin Gourmet, where we were treated to a glass of white wine and Salmon Rillettes with Rocket and a Balsamic Dressing. This was absolutely delicious.

We then walked to I'le de la Cite, past Notre Dame and through the beautiful flower market, learning more of the history of the area to the restaurant where we had our main course. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, save that it was in what used to be the cloisters of the old Abbey. There we had roast chicken with a mushroom sauce, braised celery, half a grilled tomato and some mashed potato with a glass of Cotes du Rhone. We were not very impressed by the main course, the chicken had a huge bone in it, so not much meat and all in all it just wasn't very inspiring. Also when I asked for an extra glass for water I was told we could only have one glass each. Very bizarre.

Our final walk took us over the Pont Neuf to Rue Dauphine on the left bank, not far from where we usually stay in Paris, and to our final restaurant for dessert. This again was very disappointing, of all the magnificent typical french desserts we could have had, profiteroles is not what I would have chosen. They were fine, but will always remind me of school dinners.

In the evening we only wanted something light for dinner so we took ourselves off to a cafe near the hotel and had salads. I had my favourite, goats cheese salad.

My Mum had Caesar Salad, which was so huge that she couldn't finish it but I did and it was absolutely delicious. One of the things I love about Paris is the cafe culture, that you can get fantastic food relatively cheaply in a really relaxed environment.

On the morning of the third day we went on a walking tour with tastings in and around Boulevard St Germain. The first tasting we had was Macarons from La Duree. I had rose and ginger and my mum had salted butter caramel. They were both sublime, much better than any macarons I'd had before. We then moved on to Rue Jacob and J. Leblanc oils. We tried three different oils, pistachio, hazelnut and the nut from the inside of the kernel of the plum! The last was very bitter. Here is our tour guide talking about the oils with the samples in a basket around her neck.

We went back on our way to the hotel and I bought some of the hazelnut oil, some tarragon vinegar and some raspberry vinegar so I can make some lovely vinaigrette at home. Our next tasting was choquettes and a mini almond cake from the carton bakery in Rue de Buci. We then walked back to Rue Dauphine close to where we had dessert the day before and tasted saucisson and ham from Coeson. Our final tasting was glass of red wine from one of the wine sellers in Marche St Germain. The wine a little strange on its own but would have been really good with food.

We then left the group and went to the supermarket to buy cheese and other bits and pieces and then to the fromagerie to buy yet more cheese! My fridge currently smells delicious and I need to say a big thanks to my Mum for suggesting the trip, I had a really lovely time.

Courgette and Basil Pasta with Pesto Crumbs

2010-11-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, so it's been over a week since I wrote anything here, this last week has been totally hectic. I went to Paris for 3 days on a gastronomic tour with my Mum and had a fantastic time, I will blog more about that later this week. Then I went to Hen party on Saturday for my friend whose getting married in a month and had a lovely time dancing and chatting with friends and in between all that I've been to work and had fireworks in the back garden for Bonfire Night! Fantastic way to spend the week, but very little cooking at home was done.

This dish used up the last of my courgettes, and it was one I saw in Good Food and knew I had to try. It was delicious, I was lazy and used a jar of pesto which I combined with the breadcrumbs, but it worked just as well. I had it with a pork chop seasoned with Old Bay and then sugar snap peas.

Courgette and Basil Pasta with Pesto Crumbs (from Good Food Magazine September 2010)

(Serves 6)

500g pack penne
5 courgettes, grated
2 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
500g pot crème fraîche
25g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), finely grated
small bunch basil, reserve a few leaves for garnishing
85g chunk ciabatta
handful toasted pine nuts , plus a few extra for sprinkling

Slightly under cook the pasta, then drain, reserving a ladleful of cooking water. Rinse the pasta with cold water to cool. Drain again, toss in a little oil to stop it sticking together and set aside while you get the rest of the bake ready.

Fry the courgettes in oil for about 10 mins to drive off most of the liquid; they should reduce down a lot. Add the garlic and onion to the pan, cook for 2 mins more, then season really well and add to the pasta. Stir in most of the crème fraîche and half the Parmesan with seasoning, then tip into an ovenproof dish. Dollop the rest of the crème fraîche over the top.

Heat oven to 180C. Whizz nearly all of the basil, remaining cheese, bread and pine nuts together to make pesto crumbs, then scatter all over the top. Finish with a few more pine nuts. Bake for 20 mins until the topping is crisp and bubbling at the edges. Serve with a few more basil leaves scattered over.

Bacon and Courgette Lasagne

2010-10-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have, over the past few months been experimenting with different lasagnes. I don't like mince so the traditional lasagne is out, but I've been trying various different none mince ones. Some have been fantastic and some not so good, never to be repeated. This one worked a treat. It did come out a little watery so I think the courgettes need cooking for a little longer to get the water out of them, but as a taste combination it was really good.

Courgette and Bacon Lasagne (adapted from Good Food Magazine November 2009)
(Serves 6)

3 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
300g pack lean smoked back bacon, chopped
3 medium courgettes, sliced
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes in rich juice
20 basil leaves, roughly torn, plus extra to serve if you like
250g pack fresh egg lasagne
2 x 250g tubs cheese sauce
handful grated cheddar

Fry the onions in the oil for about 5-10 mins until transparent. Add the oregano, bacon and courgette and fry for 5 mins more, stirring frequently. Tip in the tomatoes, season and bubble uncovered for 5 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.

Heat up the cheese sauce.

Spoon a third of the tomato sauce on the base of a lasagne dish. Top with a third of the lasagne sheets. Then top with a third sauce, a third lasagne, the last of the tomato sauce and finally the last sheets of lasagne. Pour over the cheese sauce and scatter with the cheese and an extra grating of nutmeg.

Bake at 190C for 40 mins until golden and bubbling. Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Warm Chilli Chicken Salad

2010-10-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays are usually the only day I have enough time to make myself a warm lunch. It's the only day of the week where I am either at home or in the library. For the last few weeks its been in the library studying for an essay which finally got handed in last week, so I celebrated by making myself a warm salad. This salad was so good, I had to ring my mum to tell her how good it was. The sweet chilli works so well with the other ingredients and the lettuce leaves provide that freshness so the dish is not too sticky and cloying.

Warm Chilli Chicken Salad
(Serves 4)

4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
8 medium potatoes
2 peppers, one red one yellow
salt and pepper
salad leaves
for the marinade
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp virgin olive oil
3 tbsp sherry or white wine
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 dsp sweet chilli sauce

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a deep dish and marinate the chicken for a minimum of an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cut the potatoes and peppers into squares and toss them in a little oil in a roasting tin. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the chicken on the middle shelf of the oven and roast the veg on the top shelf for about 30 mins or until cooked.

Mix the roasted veg and chicken with the salad leaves. Pour over the juices from the dish (or if you didn't have any, some more sweet chilli sauce). Mix well and serve with some ciabatta.

Barbecued Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

2010-10-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

I have had a really good day so far, apart from burning two finger on the grill this morning! I have done some gardening and picked lots of carrots and courgettes, I have spoken to my sister whose currently in Australia. It was lovely to speak to her and she may, if she gets totally bored, do some updates here, as she is probably eating much more interesting food than I am!

Having said that I have been doing a bit of inventive cookery recently rather than my staples. One of these was Barbecued Chicken with Lemon and Garlic, although its too cold for barbecue here so I grilled it instead! It was delicious, really tender and juicy with a lovely flavour. I served it with a tomato, onion and rocket salad, rice-a-roni pilau mix and tzatziki.

Barbecued Chicken with Lemon and Garlic (from Australian Women's Weekly Lebanese)
(Serves 4)

1.5kg chicken pieces on the bone
2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cracked black pepper
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
1 tbsp mint, finely chopped
125 ml olive oil
125 ml lemon juice

Make two deep cuts in the thickest part of each chicken piece.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a large shallow dish, add the chicken, mix well. Cover, refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Drain the chicken over a medium bowl and keep the marinade. Barbecue (or grill) chicken until it is browned all over and cooked through, brushing with the reserved marinade occasionally during cooking.

Crispy Peking Duck

2010-10-23T02:56:00.000-07:00

I have had a duck sitting in my freezer for ages, doesn't that sounds familiar? I go out with an idea of what I want to cook, then I get home with the meat/ingredients and can't remember at all, so they get frozen and left for ages!

I love duck but have little idea of what to do with a whole one. I did have a vague idea of crispy Peking duck, having eaten it so many times in Chinese restaurants but thought it was way too difficult, this recipe actually turned out to be fairly easy. I used a small duck and it fed me for two meals beautifully. The picture is just making my mouth water at the memory of how good this was.

Peking Duck (from Chinese Food in Minutes by Ching-He Huang)
(Serves 8)

1 medium duck
2 ltrs boiling water

for the glaze
5 tbsp clear honey
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 tbsp brown sugar

for the Peking duck sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
6 tbsp hoisin sauce
6 tbsp caster sugar
6 tbsp water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour blended with 1 tbsp cold water

To serve
24 wheat flour pancakes
1 cucumber, deseeded and sliced lengthways into long strips
3 spring onions, sliced lengthways unto long thin strips

Place the duck on a rack over a roasting tin and pour the boiling water over it. Discard the water and pat the duck dry with absorbent kitchen paper.

Mix together all the ingredients for the glaze and brush over the duck, inside and out. Leave to dry and glaze for about 10 mins, then brush again. Repeat using most of the marinade but reserve 4-5 tbsps.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place the duck on a rack in a roasting tin, transfer to the oven and cook for 45 mins. Turn the duck over and brush with reserved marinade. Check that the bird is not getting too dark, then cook for a further 40-45 mins or until the skin is crisp. Remove the duck on its rack from the oven, cover loosely and leave to rest.

To make the sauce, heat a pan or wok and add all the ingredients for the sauce except the blended cornflour. When the sauce starts to bubble slightly, add the blended cornflour and stir well to thicken. Set aside and leave to cool.

Oil the base of a small bamboo steamer and half-fill with wheat flour pancakes. Place the steamer over a pan of boiling water (making sure the water does not touch the base of the steamer), cover with the lid and steam for 3-4 mins until the pancakes are soft and cooked. Repeat with the remaining pancakes.

Carve and slice some duck. Place a tsp of the sauce on a pancake top with some of the duck meat, cucumber and spring onions, roll up and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining pancakes.

Ginger-steamed Fish with Stir Fried Vegetables

2010-10-22T04:04:00.000-07:00

I'm still using my veggies out the garden, I have carrot and courgette left and they have been my staples for the last couple of weeks. They are a delicious combination in all sorts of ways. This is a very simple noodle dish and healthy with the steamed fish. I used turbot as that's what I had in my freezer, but you could use any firm white fish you wanted.

Ginger-steamed fish with stir fried vegetables
(Serves 2)

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
2 firm white fish fillets
120g wheat noodles
1 tbsp oil
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 courgette, julienned
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp finely grated ginger

Mix together the soy, oyster and hoisin sauces and the Chinese rice wine in a bowl.

Crush the piece of ginger with the side of a large knife. Place the ginger in water in the bottom of a steamer pan and bring to the boil.

Place the fish in a lightly oiled steamer basket, place over boiling water, cover with a lid and steam for 10 mins

While the fish steams, cook the noodles.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat, add the oil and stir-fry the carrot for 3 mins. Add the courgette and stir fry for 3 mins. Add the spring onions, garlic and ginger and stir fry for a further minute. Add the sauce mixture and cook stirring continuously.

Lay the fish on top of the noodles and serve.

Ham, Cheese and Leek Spatzle Bake

2010-10-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

My dad bought me a packet of spaetzle back from Germany ages ago as I really wanted to try it, but it's mostly been sat in my cupboard ever since. I tried it with some meat and gravy but I wasn't too keen on that, and then as a pasta substitute with some tomato sauce, which worked really well. This, I guess, is another pasta substitute recipe because it's a lot like how I make macaroni cheese but it worked really well. It was lovely with a green salad and vinaigrette.

Ham, Cheese and Leek Spaetzle Bake
(Serves 4)

8 slices of ham chopped
2 leeks, sliced
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup uncooked spaetzle

for the bechamel sauce
25g butter
25g plain flour
300ml milk

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Cook the spaetzle according to the packet instructions, adding the leeks for the last five minutes of cooking time.

Meanwhile make the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a non-stick pan, stir in the flour, and cook over a low heat for a couple of minutes.

When smooth, start adding the milk. Stir until smooth, and then add more milk and stir until the sauce is thickened.

Add the ham, cooked spaetzle, leeks and 3/4 of the cheese to the bechamel sauce and poor into an oven proof dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 mins or until the cheese is golden on top.

Daring Cooks October 2010

2010-10-14T01:48:00.000-07:00

Blog-checking lines: Our October 2010 hostess, Lori of Lori’s Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged The Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

I really enjoyed this challenge, it was little fiddly at first and I had to redo several of the rolls as the vine leaves kept splitting, but my kitchen smelt heavenly whilst they were cooking and they tasted so good.

When I went down to Green Lanes, one of the Greek/Turkish/Cypriot areas of London to buy my vine leaves the man in the shop asked whether I knew what to do with them! He thought it was funny than an English girl wanted to make dolmas!

I made the vegetarian version as I don't like ground meat. I ate them with some hummus and pitta bread and a few cherry tomatoes as lunch one day. I now have loads in the freezer just waiting for snack time!

Wara Einab or Dolma/Cold Stuffed Grape Leaves
Adapted from Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Eastern Food a Borzoi Book, published by Alfred A. Knopf
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

24 – 30 preserved or fresh grape leaves.
1¼ cups (300 ml) (9 oz) (250 gm) long grain rice
1- 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped or 4 tablespoons (60 ml) (35 gm) finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (25 gm) finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) crushed dried mint
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) ground allspice
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6½ gm) dill
Salt and pepper
2 tomatoes, sliced **optional**
3 or 4 cloves garlic
2/3 cup (160 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) sugar
Juice of 1 lemon or more

Notes:

If using grape leaves preserved in brine, to remove salt put them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Make sure that the water penetrates well between the layers, and leave them soaking for about twenty minutes, then change the water a time or two using fresh cold water.
If using fresh leaves, plunge a few at a time in boiling water for a few seconds only, until they become limp, and lift them out.

Pour boiling water over the rice and stir well, then rinse with cold water and let drain.

Mix the rice with the chopped tomatoes, onion or scallion, parsley, mint, cinnamon, allspice, dill, salt and pepper to taste.

Place a grape leaf on a flat surface, vein side up.

Place about two teaspoons (10 ml) of the filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge.

Roll the leaf end to end, starting from the stem edge. As you roll, fold the sides of the leaf in toward the center. The leaf should resemble a small cigar, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches (50 mm to 65mm) long.

Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling. (You can freeze the stuffed grape leaves at this point. Just line a baking sheet with wax paper. When firmly frozen, transfer to an airtight plastic bag place back in the freezer.)

Pack the stuffed leaves tightly in a large pan lined with tomato slices or imperfect grape leaves Place a whole garlic clove in between them for extra flavor. The tightness will help prevent the rolls from unraveling.

Mix together olive oil, 2/3 cup (160 ml) water, sugar and lemon juice and pour over the stuffed leaves.

Put a small heat proof plate on top of the leaves to prevent them from unwinding, cover the pan and simmer very gently for about 1 hour, until the rolls are thoroughly cooked, adding water occasionally, a cup at a time, as the liquid in the pan becomes absorbed. Cool in the pan before turning out. Serve cold.

Fennel and Courgette Risotto with Scallops and Prosciutto

2010-10-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

This is seriously one of the best risottos I have ever made or eaten. I grew my enormous fennel bulb as I said in a previous post, and I looked around for fennel recipes, when I found this one I knew I had to try it. I love risotto and scallops and this is the perfect combination. The original recipe didn't have courgette in it, but because I have loads in my garden, I'm still adding them to anything! The addition of courgettes definitely worked in this recipe. The smokiness of the prosciutto also worked really well with the flavour of the scallops and the creaminess of the risotto. So good.

Fennel and Courgette Risotto with Scallops and Prosciutto (adapted from Delicious Magazine September 2007)
(Serves 4)

50g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 fennel bulbs, heads finely sliced
300g risotto rice
300ml white wine
1.2 litres vegetable stock, hot
1 tbsp olive oil
80g pack prosciutto, cut into thin strips
12 fresh scallops
3 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
4 tbsp mascarpone

Melt the butter in a large, deep frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for 8 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, fennel and courgettes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated in butter, then add the wine and bubble for 2-3 minutes.

Add the stock, a few ladlefuls at a time, stirring in each addition until absorbed. Keep ladling and stirring until the stock is used up and the rice is al dente but creamy – this will take about 20 minutes at a gentle simmer. Check the seasoning, cover and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan, then add the prosciutto and fry for 1 minute or until crisp. Remove with tongs and set aside. When the pan is hot, add the white parts of the scallops and season in the pan. Cook for 1 minute each side or until lightly golden, then add the corals and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. Stir the parsley and mascarpone into the rice.

To serve, divide the risotto between 4 bowls, top with the crispy prosciutto, scallops and their corals, and season with black pepper.

Snail Pasta

2010-10-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

I love snails and this is one of the simplest recipes with snails that I have come up with. I always buy about 5 dozen in a tin and then try and find quick ideas to use them up. They are fantastic with pasta and a tomato sauce.

Snail Pasta

(Serves 1)

10 snails

1 cup tomato sauce, something like Good Food's Tomato and Basil Sauce

enough pasta for one person

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

Make a quick tomato sauce, for the last five minutes of cooking the tomato sauce, add in the snails. If you are just reheating the sauce, add the snails to the sauce and heat up.

Drain the pasta and add to the tomato sauce, serve.

Lentil and Spinach Burgers

2010-10-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

I made these fantastic lentil and spinach burgers a couple of weeks ago. When I go to the pub close to work I always have their lentil spinach burger and it is so good that I wanted to try making them for myself. I couldn't find a recipe that was exactly what I wanted on the Internet, so I took inspiration from several recipes and made my own.

I don't like pan frying from scratch, fishcakes and burgers, always seem to fall apart on me, so I baked these first, but that didn't given them enough colour so I pan fried them for a couple of minutes on each side at the end to brown them up. This also makes them easier to cook after defrosting them, all I have to do is fry them.

Lentil Spinach Burger
(Makes about 8 large burgers)

1 large potato, peeled, cooked and mashed
8-10 oz spinach, stemmed and sauteed
1 cup red lentils, cooked
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 egg
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Mix the potato, spinach, lentils, cumin, coriander, garlic powder and
breadcrumbs in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in
the egg. For the patties by forming a ball in your hand and carefully
pat them into a burger patty type shape. Put them onto a baking sheet
and then put the mixture in the fridge for 30 mins.

Put the burgers in the oven for 30 mins. The heat a frying pan on a
medium high heat until the oil is pretty hot and the fry the burgers
gently on both sides until golden, flipping in the middle.

Serve on a bun with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.

Marinated Tuna Kebabs

2010-10-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

I grew some fennel in the garden this summer, but only one of them grew into a proper fennel bulb, and it was huge! I used it in these kebabs and also in a delicious risotto. It worked really well with the tuna and lemon flavours. I served the kebabs with ratatouille and rice and toasted orzo mix.

Marinated Tuna Kebabs (adapted from Australian Women's Weekly Greek)

(Serves 4)

1kg tuna

for the marinade

1/2 cup fresh parsley sprigs

1/3 cup fresh coriander leaves

3 cloves garlic, bruised

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp ground coriander

125ml lemon juice

60ml olive oil

1 tsp grated lemon rind

Cut tuna into 3cm cubes.

Blend or process all ingredients for the marinade until smooth.

Combine tuna and marinade in a large bowl, mix well, cover and put in the fridge over night.

Thread the tuna onto 8 skewers, grill until cooked as desired, turning once during cooking. Serve with lemon wedges.

Spicy Egg Wraps

2010-09-30T03:56:00.000-07:00

I like trying different things for breakfast. My sister is currently in Laos and eating lots of egg for breakfast, and if she's lucky rice. I wouldn't mind rice for breakfast, but I'm not so sure about eating egg every day. This eggy breakfast was delicious though.

I was a bit alarmed by pouring the egg onto the bread in the pan as it all leaked over the sides of the bread, but it stuck to the bread even where it leaked. It was mildly spicy, so a good wake up but not blow your head off spicy and the salad and yoghurt were also lovely and refreshing.

Spicy Egg Wraps (From Good Food Magazine September 2010)
(Serves 2)

1 little gem lettuce, shredded
2 tomatoes, chopped
small piece cucumber, roughly chopped
few pinches chilli powder
2 chapatis
2 eggs
2 tbsp low fat natural yoghurt

Mix the lettuce, cucumber, tomato, coriander and a pinch of chilli powder in a bowl.
Put a chapati in a dry non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat until toasted on the underside. Meanwhile beat one egg with a pinch of chilli powder and a little seasoning.

Turn the chapati over, then pour the egg over the surface, spreading it to the edges. When the egg has set around the edges, quickly flip it over (don't worry if the egg spills into the pan a little) and cook for a few secs more. Invert onto a serving plate so the egg is no top.

Spread the salad down the centre of the chapati, drizzle with yoghurt and roll up.

Lemon Chicken with Spring Veg Noodles

2010-09-28T02:25:00.000-07:00

I made these noodles a little while ago, when I was eating out of the freezer and store cupboard. I changed the original recipe and used runner beans and broad beans, as that's what I had, and I used an orange instead of a lemon to create the sauce. It was still a very easy tasty and filling meal. The original recipe is posted below but it's easy to change and adapt to the ingredients you have.

Lemon Chicken with Spring Veg Noodles (adapted from Good Food Magazine May 2008)
(Serves 2)

1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
zest and juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
2 tsp cornflour
125g pack or 2 sheets medium dried egg noodles
200g frozen peas and bean mix
4 spring onions, sliced

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, then fry the chicken for 5 mins until almost cooked. Tip onto a plate. Pour 150ml water into the pan with the lemon zest and juice, sugar and ginger.

In a bowl, mix the cornflour with a little water until smooth, then whisk into the pan. Bring to the boil, stirring, then add the chicken to the sauce. Reduce the heat. Bubble for a few mins until chicken is cooked and the sauce thickened.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles and veg together in boiling water for 4 mins, then drain. Toss together the chicken, noodles, veg and spring onions and serve.

Curry Courgette Soup

2010-09-27T04:52:00.000-07:00

Whilst I was still trying to use up some of my very large courgettes, I made lots of courgette soup, as many as my soup containers could hold! One of these was this Curry Courgette Soup and I even have some for lunch today!

My Mum actually met Elaine Borish on one of the Cruises that my parents went on last year and recommended the book to me. I bought the book and promptly put it somewhere and forgot about it, I think I had run out of courgettes by the time I bought it! I found it again this year and have been making some of the recipes out of it. It is definitely helping me to clear those courgettes that have been sitting on the side!

The heart made of creme fraiche wasn't deliberate, I only noticed it when I downloaded the photo to my computer! Having said that it was a really tasty soup and I was intrigued by the use of rice rather than potato to thicken the soup, which worked really rather well.

Curry Courgette Soup (from What Will I Do With All These Courgettes? - Elaine Borish)
(Serves 6-8)

3-4 medium courgettes, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
50g rice
600ml chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp mustard
100-225g yoghurt

Place the courgette, onion, rice, chicken stock and salt in a large pot.

Add water, if necessary, to cover the courgette and simmer until the courgettes are tender, about 15 mins.

Blend in a food processor together with curry powder, mustard and yoghurt.

Crockpot Barbeque Pulled Pork

2010-09-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

I finally used my crockpot for something other than chilli or apple sauce! I made Barbecue Pulled Pork from Steph at A Year of Slow Cooking. I have never eaten pulled pork before but it always looks so good that I had to try it. I did use a very cheap cut of pork shoulder, which seemed to let out an awful lot of water and I didn't really end up with a sauce, just a watery tomato ketchup mixture. So I made some barbecue sauce to go with the pulled pork. My Mum used to make this sauce all the time when I was little, it is really lovely with chicken thighs, but it was also delicious with this pulled pork. I served it with plain boiled rice.

Smokey Barbecue Sauce

1 oz butter
1/4 pint water
1 tbsp mustard
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp demerera sugar
1 garlic clove
1 slice of lemon
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp wine vinegar
pinch cayenne pepper
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1/2 tbsp tomato puree
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the onion and garlic until soft but not brown. Add the vinegar, water, mustard, sugar, lemon, bay leaf and cayenne pepper. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 15 mins.

Stir in the remaining ingredients with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for a further 5-10mins. Remove the bay leaf and lemon before serving with barbecued meats.

Smoked Haddock and Sweetcorn Chowder

2010-09-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

I had several bowls of calm chowder when I was in Boston back in April, but clams are difficult to get here unless they're in a tin and they are really salty, so when I came across this recipe for smoked haddock chowder, I knew I had to try it. I love the comforting nature of this soup, it's creamy and filling with the potatoes and also packed full of veg. What could be better?

Smoked Haddock Chowder (from Good Food Magazine January 2005)
(Serves 4)

450g undyed smoked haddock fillet, skinned
1 bay leaf
850ml milk
25g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g french beans, chopped into 2in pieces
125ml dry sherry
pinch of paprika
225g floury potatoes, peeled and diced
100g frozen or canned sweetcorn kernels

Put the fish in a frying pan with the bay leaf and milk. Bring to a simmer, then cover and set aside for 10 mins. Lift out the fish with a slotted spoon, flake roughly, discarding any bones, and strain the milk.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and cook the onion over a low heat for 3-4 mins until softened. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for a minute, then tip in the garlic and green beans and cook for a further 5 mins. Now stir in the sherry and simmer until almost all the liquid has disappeared.

Add the paprika and potatoes, pour in the poaching milk and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 15 mins, add the sweetcorn and cook for 5 mins more. Remove from the heat and gently fold in the fish. To serve, scatter over some chopped fresh parsley and accompany with the garlic bread.

Mild Potato Curry topped with Smoked Haddock and Poached Egg

2010-09-18T04:23:00.000-07:00

I seem to have an awful lot of smoked haddock in the freezer. I'm not quite sure where it's come from but I'm slowly trying out new recipes using it. This is one that has sat in my recipe folder for ages and I finally got around to trying it. It was much less filling that champ with smoked haddock and a poached egg, which I often find difficult to finish, and the potatoes had a lovely mild spiciness that complimented the smoked haddock.

Mild potato curry topped with smoked haddock and poached egg
(Serves 4)

For the potato curry
350g/12oz waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm/½in dice
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g onions, chopped, finely
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp coriander, chopped roughly
4 x 100g pieces of undyed smoked haddock fillet

For the topping
2 tsp white wine vinegar
4 eggs

For the potato curry, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 6-7 minutes until tender, then drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and, when they begin to pop, add the turmeric and onions. Fry for 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and lightly browned. Add the potatoes and some salt and pepper and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the coriander, set aside and keep warm.

Bring about 5cm/2in of water to the boil in a shallow pan. Add the pieces of smoked haddock, bring back to a simmer and poach for 4 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon, cover and keep warm.

Discard the fish poaching liquor, pour another 5cm/2in of water into the pan and bring to a very gentle simmer. The water should be just trembling and there should be a few bubbles rising up from the bottom of the pan. Add the vinegar, break in the eggs and poach for 3 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper.

To serve, spoon the potato curry into the centre of 4 warmed plates. Remove the skin from each piece of haddock and put it on top of the potatoes. Put a poached egg on top of the fish and serve.

Daring Cooks September 2010

2010-09-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

I picked the Oven Roasted Tomatoes because I have had a tonne of tomatoes from the garden this year and I'm slowly running out of ideas of what to do with them! I actually used oregano instead of the basil called for as that's what I had in. I loved this recipe, the tomatoes came out of the oven so sweet and juicy. I had some in a salad last week and they were so good. I froze these ones as suggested, but last year I made some similar, canned them and used them throughout the winter to remind me of that lovely summery taste.

Recipe: Oven Roasted Tomatoes (for Freezing)

10-12 Tomatoes, cut in half or thirds. Core if needed
3 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (Cut into thin strips)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1-2 pinches salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Lay the tomato halves out on a baking tray and sprinkle over the garlic, basil, salt and cloves. Poor over the olive oil. Bake in the oven at 325 F for an hour or until slightly browned.

The finished tomatoes can be stored as-cut, chopped or pureed to make a sauce or tomato paste

Lemon Pasta with Courgette and Feta

2010-09-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Whilst browsing for courgette recipes a couple of weeks ago, I cam across this delicious sounding pasta dish from Tracy at Sugar Crafter. It looked so simple and included two of my favourite ingredients, lemon and cheese, and courgettes of which I have way too many and it lived up to my expectations. I had it for lunch on Saturday and it was so good. It reminded me of the beautiful summer we've had which sadly now seems to have disappeared.

I am entering this into Presto Pasta Nights, this week hosted by Abby of eat the right stuff, check out her blog on Friday for the round up.

Lemon Pasta with Courgette and Feta

(Serves 1)

2 handfuls farfalle pasta
1 small courgette
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup feta cheese
Fresh parsley

Chop up the garlic cloves into small chunks, and slice the courgette. Quarter the courgette slices.

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the packet.

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and olive oil over low heat. Add in the minced garlic and lemon juice, and then sauté for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is tender.

Add in the zucchini and cook 3-4 minutes longer until the courgette begins to brown and has soaked in the lemon flavor.

Toss the lemon-zucchini mixture with the cooked pasta, and then sprinkle the feta cheese over the top. Scatter chopped parsley over the top.