Spaghetti with Pork & Butternut Squash Bolognese

Sometimes I love a good old 'spag bol'. Its not only the ultimate comfort food but also is a nice change during the Christmas period where you end up eating roast dinners for a week.

Last night I knew what I wanted and I was happy that the bolognese took about 10 minutes to put together. Then I left it to happily simmer while I relaxed and the flavours melded into a delicious light but meaty bolognese. Later on, The Bloke cooked the spaghetti and it was ready. Pretty easy, huh?

Ingredients:          (Serves 4)

500g pork mince
1 onion, peeled & chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
200g butternut squash, finely diced
1 small glass white wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp. tomato puree (paste)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
salt & pepper
400g spaghetti
parmesan to serve

Method:

Dry fry the pork mince in a saucepan (it usually has enough fat in it so doesn't need extra oil). When the meat is beginning to brown, add the onion, garlic and squash. Stir and cook on a medium high heat to cook the onions and mince. Then a small glass of white wine and cook on high until liquid mostly evaporated. Then add the tomatoes, herbs and seasoning. Stir, cover and put on a very low simmer for about 45-50 minutes. (It can be ready in 20 but it tastes better the longer it cooks).

Cook the spaghetti to pack instructions and serve with the bolognese. A good grating of parmesan is always nice too.

Note: Rather than spending excess on parmesan - give Grana Padano a try. Its less that half the price and tastes nearly exactly the same.

Pan Fried Gurnard with Peas & Beans

Red Gurnard is a lovely fish that for some reason, is a bit difficult to buy in London without visiting a fishmongers. It such a shame as so many people are unaware of how absolutely delicious it is. Its flavour, to me, is sweet and a little like lobster, with chunky flesh and no hint of the strong 'fishy' smell that you get from some fish. Do try and look out for it - its so good.

You can make this dish with other types of fish though - like hake or cod. Ideally one that breaks into large chunks and holds its own shape. This is a healthy, fresh meal that works for anytime of day.

Ingredients

2 whole gurnard, skinned & gutted
2tbsp. oil
300g baby potatoes
200g tinned broad beans (shelled)
150g frozen peas
150g green beans, cut into 1 cm pieces
1 tbsp. white wine
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
4 tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. flour
handful croutons

Method.

In a bowl, mix the paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Put a third on a plate with the flour and the remaining in a bowl with the mayonnaise. Mix the mayonnaise with the spices and add enough milk to make loose enough for a sauce. Refrigerate until needed. Mix the flour with the spices on the plate and set aside.

Halve and boil the potatoes in their skins. Drain and set aside. In one pan, add 1 tbsp. oil and stir fry the beans and peas gently for 5 minutes. Add a drizzle of white wine and season. Keep warm while you cook the fish.

In a large frying pan, heat the other tbsp. oil. Dip the fish into the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Pan fry on both sides for about 2 minutes each side, or until cooked.

To serve, lightly crush the potatoes and drizzle with a little of the sauce. Top with the beans and croutons and then break the fish over the top. Drizzle with more sauce and serve.

Asturian Fabada (Spanish Bean Stew)

I had actually eaten this twice in Spain before I got to making it myself. Both times myself and The Bloke were in an non touristy, remote part of Spain and we has this presented to us when we were hungry and just wanted some GOOD food. And both times we were in heaven. I'm sure it is served in the tourist areas too but I haven't seen it. Its proper Spanish cuisine!

It took for my neighbour, who hails from Barcelona, to buy some for me and knock on my door with a little pack of ingredients. I have since seen the ingredients in the local Spar supermarket (photo at the bottom of this post) and I recommend if you are in a supermarket in Spain and see this - buy it and try the recipe - its lovely. And I recommend you pick up some of their dried Fabada beans - they are white beans but larger and creamier than you get in the UK and work perfectly in this dish.

Ingredients:

1 chorizo
1 morcilla (black pudding)
small piece tocino (bacon - pork belly part)
77g diced pancetta
400g fabada (white beans)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
few threads saffron (optional)
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
black pepper
salt (if needed)

Method:

Soak the bacon and fabada beans in separate bowls overnight. Drain. Put the beans in a large sauce pan with the pork belly piece, pancetta, onion, garlic and bay leaf. Add enough water to go about an inch over the top of the beans. Bring to the boil and let cook on a low heat (covered) for 1 hour and a half. Then add the whole chorizo, the whole black pudding, the saffron, paprika and black pepper. Bring back to the boil and then cook on low for a further 30 minutes. Check the beans are tender and if the sauce is too thin, reduce a little by boiling with the lid off for 5-10 minutes.

Finally, remove the sausage, black pudding and pork belly piece. Chop the sausage and pudding and put back into the stew. With the pork belly, cut off as much fat as is to your taste and roughly chop the rest. Add to the pan.

Check for seasoning (you may not need salt) and serve with crusty bread. Delicious and so very Spanish. Maybe have a glass of wine with it. I did.

 

Fabada ingredients!

Tikka Prawns with Mango Salsa

This is a nice change to the usual chicken tikka that is so well known and loved, particularly in the UK. As I made it after work, I was very tempted to use a ready made tikka paste, but considering I had all the ingredients, it seems silly not to give the spice mix a go myself. The only difference being it wasn't quite as red in colour as it would normally look, but I didn't want to add red food colouring (I know a lot do) because I decided this was the natural spice colour. It was delicious!

I was just leaving the store from buying the lettuce and noticed a mango. So I picked that up and bought it too. A mango salsa with red onion, coriander, lime and a tiny bit of fresh chill was all it needed. That and some chapati to stuff it all in!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. cumin powder
1 tbsp. garum masala powder
1 tsp. chilli powder
1 tsp. tikka masala powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
juice of 1 lemon
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch ginger, chopped finely
180g natural yoghurt
250-300g king prawns

Method:

Mix the spices with the ginger, garlic and lemon juice. Add the yoghurt and stir in well. Pop in the fridge and marinade for 1-2 hours. Heat a little oil in a sauté pan. Shake the marinade off the prawn and pan fry for about 2-3 minutes. Serve on a hot sizzling dish (to make it sizzle more before serving, squeeze on a little more lemon juice!)

I served this with a Mango Salsa. For this you just mix in a bowl:

1 mango, chopped, 1/4 red onion, finely diced, 25g fresh coriander, chopped. 1 small green chilli, chopped finely, juice of 1 lime. Stir well and refrigerate until use.

Also add some shredded lettuce, chapatti and a little riata. Perfect.

Easy Cock-A-Leekie Soup

Well it has been quiet on here, hasn't it. I would apologise, but I have been away!! While London poured its cold rain on people trudging to work - I was in sunny Gran Canaria reading and relaxing. However, getting off the plane on Saturday night reminded me how cold London actually is right now - so Sunday lunchtime, I needed hot, comforting soup. Eaten with a comfy pair of socks on and a thick woollen jumper.

I was lucky that the leeks I had bought before the holiday had survived and I always have chicken breasts in the freezer. So Cock-A-Leekie it was. Its a Scottish soup that has been around since the 16th century and with few ingredients, is so simple to make and gorgeous.

Ingredient:

2 chicken breasts, sliced
2 leeks, sliced into rings
1.2 litres chicken stock (a stock cube is fine)
1/4 cup (65g) white rice
4 bay leaves
salt & pepper
parsley to serve

Method:

Put the stock, bay leaves and sliced chicken in a saucepan. Bring it to the boil and cook on a simmer for 30 minutes. You will need to use a tablespoon to lift off the impurities from the surface and discard. (Do as much as you can.. but if you try to remove it all, you'll lose too much soup).

Add the leeks and rice and bring back to the boil. Turn back down to a simmer, cover and cook on a low heat for a further 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped fresh parsley to serve.

I served this with (easy) poppy seed rolls. Just use a pack of ready to make ciabatta. Follow the instructions but add 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds before mixing. Make into rolls and bake as normal. Delicious!

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry with Cauliflower

I find it so hard to not want a curry every day. To me it just has so much flavour, whether it be North Indian, Asian, Ethiopian.. or any of the worlds amazing curries. Tonight I am home alone (The Bloke in the pub). I was meant to go out myself, but found myself looking forward to home, quiet and a curry. So I decided on a Sri Lankan style.

I really wish my cupboards contained some fresh coconut so I could have made 'pittu' which are towers of rice mixed with grated coconut. I'll have to save that for another day. Meantime, the curry. I have made the Sri Lankan curry powder and the recipe is below. Enjoy!

For the curry:

2 large chicken breasts, skin removed
2 tbsp. Sri Lankan curry powder (recipe below)
1 tsp. chilli powder
1-2 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch piece ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. paprika
150ml water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 head cauliflower, in florets
150ml coconut milk

For the curry:

Cut the chicken into chunks and put into a bowl with the curry powder and chilli powder. Mix well and leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and add the sliced onion and green pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or so until softened. Add the garlic and ginger, stir through and cook for another minute. Then add the chicken along with the cayenne pepper and paprika. Let the chicken cook a little, adding the other tbsp. oil.

Add the water, salt and cauliflower. Stir well and pop a lid on the pan. Turn the heat to low and leave to cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes add the coconut milk and stir through. Leaving the lid off the pan, cook for 10 minutes to let the flavours develop. Taste to check for seasoning.

Serve with rice and/or chapati - I'm having brown basmati. Sri Lankan curry at its best!



For the Sri Lankan Curry Powder:

3 tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tbsp. cumin seeds
1 x 4cm stick cinnamon, crumbled
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
8 curry leaves
2 cloves
2 cardamom pod seeds (husk removed)


Heat the spices above in a dry frying pan until fragrant and the seeds beginning to 'pop'. Put into either a grinder, pestle and mortar or hand blender and grind to as much of a powder as you can. Store in a dry place.

The Best Warm Halibut Salad

It sounds a bit cheeky to call this 'The Best' but its my blog and I think it is! Layers of texture and flavour with crushed potatoes, crunchy lettuce, pancetta, croutons, perfectly pan fried halibut steak and a divine sauce to bring it together. It really is good!

I'm a big fan of warm salads in winter and this has got to be up there as a favourite. The salad works really well with chicken breast too - just make sure you make the skin crispy and slice it on top of the salad with the dressing. Its quite simple - but very good.

Ingredients:

2 halibut fillets, skin removed
500g baby potatoes
2 little gem heart lettuces
handful croutons
1/4 red onion, sliced
77g pancetta cubes
1 small leek
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. vinaigrette
50g mayonnaise
25g parmesan, finely grated
4 (approx.) tbsp. milk

Make the dressing: mix the parmesan into the mayonnaise and add the milk. Stir well and put into a pouring bottle. You want the sauce to be pourable but not runny.

Halve the potatoes, keeping the skin on. Boil in water until tender and crush with a fork. Add 2 tbsp. vinaigrette and keep warm.

Fry the leek and pancetta in the oil until soft. Pan fry the halibut in the same pan for about 3-4 minutes each side.

To plate up, serve the crushed potatoes on the bottom of the dish. Top with the lettuce and then add the leeks, pancetta, onion and croutons. Dress with the last tbsp. of vinaigrette and some of the mayo sauce. Top with the halibut and dress with more sauce. Serve and enjoy!!