Quick Kimchi & Korean Sesame Spinach

Along with the Sweet & Crispy Korean Chicken I made yesterday, I also made a quick kimchi. I say quick, because kimchi is normally a fermented vegetable side dish. This is the non fermented version that doesn't miss out on the flavour, but you can make it and have ready to eat in a couple of hours as opposed to weeks or even months. This is a cabbage based one with spices and it is fresh and delicious alongside any Korean main dish.

Ingredients:

1/3 white cabbage or Chinese cabbage, chopped
2 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. hot red pepper flakes
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. fish sauce,
3-4 spring onions, chopped
1/2 carrot, julienned strips

Method:

Put the chopped cabbage in a container with the salt and 3 cups of cold water. Leave to soak for about 2 hours, turning in the brine occasionally.

In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. When the 2 hours are up, put the cabbage in a colander and refresh well with water. Pat dry with a kitchen towel and add to the sauce. Stir well and it is ready!



Another dish I made was the Korean sesame spinach, to add another flavour and some beautiful colour.

In a large bowl, I mixed 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 finely chopped shallot along with 1.5 tbsp. soy sauce and 1.5 tbsp. sesame oil. Then blanch some fresh spinach, squeeze out the excess water and add to the sauce. Sprinkle over sesame seeds and serve hot.

A beautiful Korean meal, served with rice. Filling and so tasty!

 

Korean Sweet & Crispy Chicken

I don't think I have even cooked Korean before, which surprises me, as its up there as one of my favourite cuisines when booking a restaurant in London. I really wanted to give it a go though, so yesterday I made this sweet and crispy chicken.

Sticky from the sugar with a tang from the soy sauce and ginger and a crunch from the coating - it was lovely with steamed rice and kimchi for an elegant meal.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts        (Serves 4)
2 eggs
1 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornflour (corn-starch)
salt & pepper
1 cup boiling water
2 inch piece ginger, sliced thin
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
vegetable oil (for frying)
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 dried red chillies, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts (or peanuts)
few spring onions, sliced


Method:

Cut the chicken into large strips and put into a bowl. Crack in the 2 eggs, add the flours and season with salt & pepper. Using a (clean) hand, mix thoroughly until the chicken is coated well in the batter. Set to one side in the fridge while you make the sauce.

In a wok, boil the cup of water. Add the ginger, soy, vinegar and sugar and set to boil. Turn the heat to medium and cook for about 30 minutes until sauce reducing and thickening. Be careful as it will be very hot if you spill it.

In a heavy bottomed pan, add the oil to come up to about 2 inches up the sides and heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken pieces, separating as you go. Cook each piece both sides, until golden and drain excess oil by putting in a bowl lined with kitchen paper. Repeat till all cooked.

Add the crispy chicken to the sauce along with the sesame seeds, pine nuts and chillies. Stir well until combined and serve with a garnish of sliced spring onions and a bowl of steamed white rice. Delicious!

 

 

Grilled Mackerel with Strawberry & Avocado Salsa

Last night was a very simple dinner as I was out until fairly late so I knew I had little time to prepare. I defrosted 2 mackerel fillets slowly in the fridge all day ready for grilling when I arrived home. I happen to love strawberries with mackerel although I usually make a strawberry salad - this time we had a strawberry salsa. Snuggled up beside a crispy skinned piece of mackerel. Fresh, healthy and quick. And great for a diet lunch too.

Ingredients:

2 mackerel fillets
200g strawberries, chopped
1 ripe avocado, chopped
20g fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tbsp. honey

Method:

Put the strawberries, avocado, onion and coriander in a bowl, Season with a little salt & pepper and add the lime zest and juice and the honey. Stir gently together to prevent breaking up the avocado. Set to one side.

Make cuts in the skin of the mackerel, season and brush with a little oil. Grill the flesh side up first for 2 mins and then turn to skin up and grill for a further 4-5 minutes until skin crispy and fish cooked.

Serve together with potato wedges if liked.

Sausage, Squash & Broccoli Wraps

A perfect meal for when you aren't in the mood for cooking. I went to the dentist yesterday so was feeling sorry for myself and a little sore. For lunch, The Bloke made me a lovely chicken soup which was so comforting (recipe here).

When it came to the evening I was in a little less pain and able to eat properly again, but still not really in the mood to put in much effort, so I made an old favourite of ours. Sausage, squash & broccoli baked in a roasting tray with garlic and sage and left it cook itself. A couple of wraps and a yoghurt sauce and it was ready.

Ingredients:       (serves 2)

6 large pork sausages
1/2 head broccoli
1/2 squash, peeled
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced thickly
4-5 cloves garlic, skin on
drizzle olive oil
1 red chilli, sliced thinly (optional)
few leaves sage, chopped (optional)
pack of flour tortillas

Get a small roasting tray ready and set the oven to 170 C. Cut the broccoli and squash into strips. Put into the tray with the red pepper, onion and garlic. Cut the sausages into bite size and add to the top. Sprinkle over the chilli and sage (if using), drizzle with very little olive oil and season with salt & black pepper. Toss together lightly.

Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook, uncovered for a further 20 minutes to brown the sausages and veg.

For the yoghurt sauce:

1 cup natural low fat yoghurt
1 tsp. garlic powder
small handful fresh coriander, chopped

Combine the yoghurt, garlic powder and coriander in a bowl and serve with the sausage bake in the tray along with a few flour tortilla. Wrap up and enjoy!

Note: I keep the skins on the garlic, its a bit of a personal preference, but you can pop the roasted garlic out of the skin if preferred.

Quick Chocolate & Strawberry Tart

The strawberries in the garden are just beginning to get there.. not quite though. Maybe a few more weeks before we can walk around the garden picking the juiciest ones to eat as we stand there. However, the local shop to me has them and they were two packs for the price of one. So of course, I got them. And made the simplest dessert out there.

Of course, you can make the pastry case; I often do. But not always. And I had a pre-made pastry case that I bought recently, just waiting to be filled. So I grabbed the four other ingredients I needed and made this Chocolate & Strawberry Tart.

All you need is:

1 cooked pastry case
200g chocolate (dark or milk)
240ml double cream
Strawberries

Put the cream into a saucepan and heat until warn but not boiling. Add the chocolate and take off the heat, stirring until the chocolate has melted into the cream. Pour onto the pastry case. Leave to one side while you cut the strawberries in half.

Place the strawberries, cut side down, in a nice pattern on the chocolate. Chill for 30 mins before serving with more cream. Quick, easy and delicious!

Brazilian Feijoada with Farofa

The Bloke has been working nights recently and I wasn't expecting him home at all last night, but work finished early and he phoned to say he would be home at 9pm. I hadn't planned to cook anything for myself - but now I would! The only meat I had defrosted was some stewing beef so I figured I would make a casserole. I then looked in the food cupboard and a tin of black beans took me where I knew I had to go. Brazil.

After a little research I decided on Brazils National Dish of Feijoada which I have actually heard of but never tasted before. I know you are meant to use dried black beans but I had the tinned black beans, so in this case decided to use them. I had all the other ingredients to make it, but then noticed that they often make a topping. Now you can make this dish without the topping but I wanted to be as authentic as I could so I ran to the local international food store (I am so lucky to have one close by) to buy some cassava flour to be able to make the topping - Farofa. Not the easiest product to find - I was lucky, but you can substitute with breadcrumbs. So here we have it. Brazilian Feijoada with Farofa with rice, cabbage and habanero sauce. Delicious!

For the Feijoada:

400g casserole steak
100g cooking chorizo
4 bay leaves
2 red chillies (as hot as you like)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped finely
400g tin black beans

Chop the steak and chorizo and add to a large pot. Add the bay leaves, chillies and half of the garlic. Add enough water to cover and bring to the boil. Then set to a simmer and leave covered for about 2 hours (check occasionally to stir).

Fry the remaining garlic and the onion in oil until browning. Add to the casserole along with the tin of black beans. Include the water that the beans are in too. Give it a good stir and leave to cook on low for a further 30 minutes.

Serve with steamed white rice, stir fried cabbage or greens and a dash of habanero sauce. If you want to make the Farofa topping - here is the recipe:

Farofa:

40g butter
1 small onion, chopped finely
few rashers streaky bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup cassava flour
20g fresh parsley, chopped
salt

Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onion, garlic and bacon. Fry on a high heat until cooked and then add the cassava flour. Mix in thoroughly until it looks a bit like breadcrumbs. Add some salt and the parsley. You can make this ahead and have it ready to put on top of the casserole.

Steam some rice, stir fry some cabbage and serve with a large wedge of orange. When you squeeze over the orange - it comes alive with flavour! Enjoy.

Chicken, Chips & Curry Sauce

Sometimes the simplest food is the best. Get a great product, cook it well and you will always be happy. Saturday night we stayed at home with a couple of beers and a movie. I brought this to the table for dinner and we were salivating.

Perfectly roasted chicken, hand cut baked chips and curry sauce. What's not to like? The chicken cost a few pounds from the 'Ken's', the local butcher. The curry sauce I had made a few nights ago (recipe here), and the chips were just two potatoes. One hour and a half of simply letting them cook in the oven and it was ready. Chicken, chips and curry sauce.

 

 

For the chicken:   

1.2kg chicken (free range ideally)
20g butter, softened
salt & pepper

Set the oven to 190 C. Cut any string off the chicken and gently use your fingers to ease the skin away from the breast of the chicken. Push the butter in the space made and move it around under the skin to cover the breasts. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and put into a small roasting tin. Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour. Take chicken out of oven and remove the foil and put back in the oven for 15-20 minutes more. Then take out of the oven and leave to rest on a serving platter.

For the chips:

Leaving the skin on the potatoes, cut them into chips. drizzle with oil and put onto a microwavable plate. Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes to part cook. Pop onto a baking tray, drizzle with oil and season well with salt & pepper. Cook for approx. 20 minutes, until browned.

Serve on a platter with the crispy skinned chicken and heated curry sauce. Eat and enjoy!!

Cauliflower & Kale Soup with Crispy Kale & Parmesan

Another tasty soup recipe for you to try - and its a healthy one too. Kale is such a healthy vegetable which is very high in beta carotene, vitamin k, vitamin C, calcium and is popular worldwide. Its similar to a wild cabbage or collard greens, or the Italian cavolo nero. It makes a very pretty green soup and I particularly like it with the nutty flavour of roasted cauliflower.

We had this for lunch the other day and the smell in the house of the roasting cauliflower, cooking kale and the baking bread was absolutely fabulous! Oh and its not only cheap but easy to make too!

Ingredients:

200g kale, sliced
1 head cauliflower, in florets
3 cloves garlic
1.5 litres chicken stock
a little oil
shaved parmesan to finish

Set the oven to 140 C. Put a couple of handfuls of the kale onto a baking sheet and drizzle very lightly with oil. Season with a little salt and pop in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, until crispy. Set to one side.

Turn the oven up to 200 C. Put the cauliflower florets onto a baking sheet with the garlic (still in its skin) and a drizzle of oil and cook for about 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and tip the cauliflower into a large sauce pan. Peel the cooked garlic cloves and add to the pan. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add the kale and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Using a hand blender, blend the vegetables until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve in a bowl with the crispy kale and parmesan shavings on top. Enjoy!!

Chorizo Quesadillas & Steak Fajitas

Last night was Friday night and there is nothing I like more than a nice steak. I fancied it spicy so I made Steak Fajitas. I used to buy the spice mix years ago, but its just so easy to throw together the spice mix for it, that I worked on how to re-create it myself.

The quesadillas were added to the meal as the steak had a bit too much fat on it for my liking (as occasionally happens) and having trimmed the fat off, there seemed a bit too little steak for a meal for two. I would normally use corn tortillas for the quesadillas, but I only had the flour ones in this instance which works nearly as well. Perfect Friday night in meal for two. Considerably cheaper than a takeaway!

For the quesadillas:

6 flour or corn tortillas
1 small cooking chorizo (about 80g)
1 1/2 cups grated cheese (mix of cheddar and gruyere is good)
20g fresh coriander, chopped
4-5 spring onions (scallions), chopped
olive oil for frying.

In a dry frying pan, crumble the chorizo and fry until crispy. Place onto kitchen paper to drain excess oil.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add one tortilla. As it is heating up, top with a third of the chorizo, cheese, spring onion and coriander. Press another tortilla on the top and cook for a few minutes to crisp the tortilla and melt the cheese so that the top tortilla sticks to it. Flip over as carefully as you can and cook the other side. Keep warm in a low oven as you do the other two. Slice into four and serve hot!
 

 

For the fajitas:

1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
 
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 steaks, cut into strips
1 red pepper, sliced
1 large (or 2 small) onions. sliced
pack of flour tortillas

Mix all the spice mix ingredients together in a bowl and add the steak. Leave to marinade for 30 mins. Stir fry the peppers and onions in 1 tbsp. oil until soft and then add the steak and the other tbsp. oil. Cook for a couple of minutes until the steak is cooked.

Serve with guacamole and warm flour tortillas.

 

Eat and enjoy!

Turkey & Bacon Meatloaf with Pickled Blueberries

I wanted to pickle some blueberries. It was initially nothing to do with the meal I was going to cook but having looked in the freezer to defrost something. I saw some turkey escalopes. Now I guessed that they would work beautifully together and I was right. I know that normally you would use turkey mince to make meatloaf, but my mind was now set on meatloaf. So, with the turkey being lean, I pulled out some streaky bacon to add to the turkey to keep it moist. Turkey and bacon meatloaf with pickled blueberries. Lovely!!

The recipe for the meatloaf is a nice easy one and slices really well. Perfect for a cheap and easy midweek meal. Served with a potato apple salad.

Ingredients:

500g turkey escalopes, cut into chunks
120g streaky bacon rashers, chopped
2 slices brown bread, soaked in 2 tbsp. milk
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp. tomato ketchup
1 tsp. English mustard
1 egg
25g parsley.

Set the oven to 200 C.Put all of the above ingredients (apart from 1 tbsp. ketchup) and blend to a thick paste. Grease then line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper and put the meatloaf mix in, patting it level. Spread the remaining tbsp. ketchup on the top.

Put in the oven for approx. 45 minutes and then remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a board. Slice thickly.

For the pickled blueberries:

225g blueberries
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 star anise
1 stick cinnamon
1 bay leaf

Put the vinegar, water, sugar and spices into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then put the blueberries into a bowl and add the vinegar & spices. Leave to cool and then pop in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours. When the time is up, strain the blueberries and put the pickling liquid back onto the heat. Boil to reduce by half and then pour back over the blueberries. Leave to cool before serving.

For the potato apple salad:

Boil about 8-10 new potatoes in their skins until tender. Leave to cool before removing the skin and chopping. Put into a bowl and add 3 chopped spring onions (scallions), 1 small apple, chopped finely. Add 2 tbsp. salad cream and 4 tbsp. mayonnaise and mix through. Season with salt and pepper.

I served these all together with some garlic puree (recipe here), and Spanish padron chillies. But you can serve the meatloaf with anything you like! Enjoy!

Mandarin 'Caviar'

A while back I made a dessert for guests and for dessert I had made a mandarin & white chocolate cheesecake. I wanted an impressive topping, and not being much of an artist I needed something that worked for me.

This mandarin 'caviar' is a nice little touch to desserts and any fruit juice can be used. In this one I used freshly squeezed mandarin juice (in fact the juice from a tin of fruit works too!)

For this recipe you need to locate a pipette (chemist) or a squeezy bottle with a small tip or even a syringe.

Mandarin Caviar

Ingredients:

2-3 cups vegetable oil
3 cups juice
4 teaspoons powdered gelatine
3 tbsp. cold water
sugar (to taste) or a squeezy bottle with a small tip or even a syringe.

Method:

Put the vegetable oil into a jug and put in the fridge over night or in the freezer for half an hour.

Mix the gelatine with the 3 tbsp. cold water to dissolve. Put the juice and sugar into a small saucepan and heat till boiling. Boil the juice, reducing the quantity by about half. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. You want the caviar balls to 'pop' with flavour so it needs to be concentrated and strong/sweet flavoured. Add the juice to the gelatine and leave to get to room temperature.

Remove the oil from the fridge or freezer and with the pipette, squeeze small droplets on the surface of the juice into the cold oil. Little balls of caviar will settle down into the bottom of the jug. You may need to stop halfway to re chill the oil. When you have used up all the juice, strain the balls into a sieve and put into an air tight container and chill.

Don't wash the oil off it can crush the balls and you can't taste it anyway. These keep in the fridge for a 7-10 days.

Ham, Swede & Sweet Potato Cakes with a Poached Egg

There are some mornings that I wonder whether summer is actually coming at all. I know its only the end of May, but this time last year was full sun, sitting on blankets in the garden. This year you will be out for 5 minutes enjoying then weather and it starts raining.

So this morning, before The Bloke left for work, I cooked him a warm and comforting breakfast. He loves ham and eggs and I am continually finding new ways to serve them. This morning I came up with this: Ham, Swede & Sweet Potato Cakes with a Poached Egg.

Ingredients:      (Serves 2)

1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped
1/3 swede, peeled and chopped
20g butter
2 slices good ham, chopped
2 eggs
little oil
paprika
few chives, for garnish


Method:

Cook the swede and sweet potato in boiling water for 15 minutes, until soft. Drain and mash with a little butter in a bowl. Add the ham and season with a little salt & pepper.

Add a dash of olive oil and a little butter to a frying pan and fry two patties of the mix (if you have a chefs ring do use it as it makes a neater circle. Cook both sides and put one on each plate. Keep warm in the oven while you poach the eggs.

Boil a large pan of water and add a capful of vinegar. While the water is on a medium boil, add the eggs (gently) and cook for approx. 2 minutes or until the whites look set. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the water and gently sit on kitchen paper for a few seconds to drain excess water.

Mix a little olive oil with 1/4 tsp. paprika. Chop the chives.

To serve. Put the egg on top of the potato cake and drizzle with the paprika oil. Top with chives and serve with toast or griddled bread. Enjoy!!

Fish Katsu Curry with Papaya Salad

There are two great things about this recipe to me. One, you can use pretty much any white fish you like - I happened to have plaice so used that - but you can use any type like tilapia, cod, pollock, whiting etc.  The other is that I finally worked out a great recipe for Chinese style curry sauce which I absolutely adore.

Normally you only see the Japanese Chicken Katsu dishes (I have a Chicken Tonkatsu one here on the blog from a while back), but why not use fish? Its light, healthy - I baked the crumbed fish rather than the usual frying - and can be served with so many different side dishes. We like papaya salad in this house and I find that the chilli in the salad works well with the lightness of the fish. Kids love fish cooked like this too, as for some reason, they love anything bread crumbed. And we loved it. The Bloke cleared his plate and claimed the leftover curry sauce for himself! Really delicious and fabulous for a diet too.

For the curry sauce:

2 onions, peeled & sliced
5 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1  1/2 tbsp. medium curry powder
2 tbsp. plain flour
450ml chicken stock (cube is fine)
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sake (Chinese wine)

Method:

Fry the onions in the oil for about 10 minutes, until soft and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook for a further 5 mins. Add the curry powder and flour and stir in. Now add the hot stock (a little at a time at first to incorporate the flour) and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes to reduce a little and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Take off the heat and using a hand blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Then pop back on the heat, add the soy sauce and sake wine and season with a little salt & pepper. Boil hard to reduce and thicken for about 5-10 minutes. Set to one side

For the fish:

2 fillets white fish, skin removed
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 egg, whisked
1 tbsp. flour

Method:

Set the oven to 200 C. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper. Have 3 shallow bowls; one with the whisked egg in it, one with the flour, and one with the breadcrumbs. Dip the fish firstly in the flour and shake off the excess. Then dip in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Press the crumbs on well (both sides) so you get a nice thick coating and put onto a greaseproof paper covered baking sheet. Cook for about 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish - 10 mins for thin, an extra 5 minutes if its a thicker piece of cod).

Slice the crispy fish thickly and drizzle over the curry sauce. Serve with salad (papaya salad recipe here) and rice or chips.

I think I may be making this again, Soon!

Note 1: You can use any breadcrumbs, but the Panko Japanese ones are bigger flakes, which make it crispier - you can buy them in Asian stores and in most supermarkets these days too.

Note 2: The Chinese Sake wine is also easy to buy in supermarkets and lasts for ages if you put the cap back on tightly.

Sticky Toffee Cake Tray Bake

Yes, a bit of a long winded name for a cake finger I know, but I wasn't quite sure what to call it. The theory of the much loved Sticky Toffee Pudding is there... but without the toffee sauce, which to be honest is not needed as it is sweet enough!

The Bloke wanted something transportable for a few people and sticky icing doesn't work so this is what was made. I sneakily (chefs privilege) had one while they were still warm and oh! they are mighty fine. Pretty easy to made, simple enough ingredients and quick to make. Lovely with a cup of tea (oh, how British!). My Sticky Toffee Cake Tray Bake. Slice into fingers and share if you dare.

Ingredients:

200g dried/semi dried stoned dates, chopped
100g raisins, chopped
175ml boiling water
1 tsp vanilla essence
85g butter, room temperature
140g caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
2 large eggs
100ml milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 tablespoons black treacle


Method:

Set the oven to 170 C and grease, then line a tray (mine was 34cm x 24cm) with greaseproof paper. Put the chopped dates and raisins in a bowl with the vanilla essence and boiling water and set to one side.

In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter together. Add one egg and beat in, followed by half of the flour and beat in, then half the milk and beat again. Then add the second egg and beat followed by the remaining flour and mix in.  Then add the cinnamon and ginger and the black treacle followed by the remaining milk and beat again.

Tip in the fruit (and water) and stir well. Tip the batter into the prepared tray and pop in the oven for 25 minutes, when it will be risen and golden. Leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes and invert onto a wire rack to cool.

When cool, invert onto a chopping board and cut into fingers. I cut first the width into three sections, then the length into 1 inch slices.

Makes 24 (Yes I ate one!!)

Now at this stage, you can put on any icing, or fudge topping of your choice. But it really tastes quite good as it is! Enjoy with a cup of tea. Or as a dessert with hot, sweet custard. Delicious!

Lobster Linguine with Broccoli & Walnut Pesto

We very rarely eat lobster in this house, partly because The Bloke tends to be a bit touch and go on whether or not he likes seafood and partly because although I like it, it is overpriced in this country (England). I actually got this whole cooked lobster tail for a special price a week or so ago, so put it in the freezer and last night decided to cook it.

The Bloke however, loves linguine. And broccoli. So I wanted to incorporate those flavours to ensure he enjoyed it as much as I did. There are so many flavours you can use in a pesto; tomato and basil being the most common or maybe coriander pesto I made a while back (recipe here). Here I have made broccoli and walnut pesto, which uses the same theory with basil and parmesan still, only using walnuts instead of the usual pine nuts and added blended broccoli. He loved it! As did I, as I intend to have the pesto again for my lunch today, only with salmon and penne pasta.

Ingredients:

half a small head broccoli, chopped
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup parmesan
1/2 cup fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup olive oil (you might need a touch more)
salt & black pepper
100g (per person) linguine
cooked lobster tail, chopped (or you could serve with salmon steak)

Cook the chopped broccoli in boiling water for 5 minutes until tender. Let cool for a moment and add to a food processor with the garlic, basil and walnuts. Blend until smooth. Add the parmesan, olive oil and season with 1/4 tsp. each of salt & pepper. Blend briefly to combine. You may need a little more olive oil than stated to make a loose sauce.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and mix in the pesto. Either stir in the lobster or chunks of cooked salmon.

You could also make this dish vegetarian by serving it with just the sauce and using some vegetarian cheese. Or I imagine this would make a vibrant dip with pitta breads at a party. Either way, try it - its lovely!

Quick Rhubarb and Custard Tarts

This recipe was one of those 'I have a little pastry left over' moments on Sunday after having made some little chicken tartlets. I had already cut them in 6 circles, so I thought for a moment. Then I ran into the garden and cut 2 stems of rhubarb... it sort of went from there.

They took about 10 minutes to make them and about the same again to cook. They were rather delicious and we ate the lot immediately with the help of our neighbour who happened to be out in his garden too!

Ingredients:    (makes 6)

Half a pack of ready rolled puff pastry
2 sticks rhubarb
25g sugar (depending on how sweet your rhubarb is)
carton of ready made custard
icing sugar for dusting

Method:

Cut the pastry into 6 circles, grease 6 of the holes in a tart tin and line them with the pastry. Put the rhubarb in a small saucepan with a tiny splash of water and the sugar. Cook on high for about 4 minutes until softening. Taste to check for sweetness - you don't want it too sweet.

Spoon the  rhubarb into the pastry cases and top with about 2 tbsp. each of the custard. Pop in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until pastry browned and tops bubbling. Remove from oven, leave to cool and dust with icing sugar. EAT!


Note: you can make as many as you like, just use more ingredients!

Note 2: You can use any fruit you have in the cupboard too - tinned peaches chopped would be delicious!

Chicken Shawarma with Zhug sauce & baked chips

I decided to cook this after seeing a photograph I saw from a friend who was visiting Jordan for work. The photo of this Chicken Shawarma he sent was something I had heard of, but never cooked, nor eaten. I wanted to make it straight away, but after research found that it contained a product called 'mastic'. No doubt I could have cooked it without it, but I wanted to be as authentic as I could and found some reasonably priced on Amazon. It arrived a few days later and still I held out on cooking the dish. Partly as it had a few elements and I wanted to ensure I was in a cooking mood and had the time.

Turns out - it didn't take as much time as I thought. And the taste? Wow. It is now my current favourite dish. There are plenty of ingredients and if you rarely buy spices - it'll look like a lot. But I have a good stash of spices and had everything I needed. Particularly now I had the mastic! I SO hope people give this one a go. It is totally worth it!! Absolutely divine. Chicken Shawarma.

So, I marinated the chicken for a full 24 hours. One hour will do but I wanted to give this dish its best possible chance. I made the 'Zhug' (chilli & coriander) sauce, the tahini sauce and the bread and I was good to go! I actually just made chapati, but made them bigger than usual so I could wrap the meat and sauces before griddling; they worked perfectly. You can also buy large flatbreads from most grocery stores.

For the chicken marinade:

Juice & zest of one lemon
1 cup natural yogurt
3 dried bay leaves
6 cloves
seeds from 5 cardamom pods
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1/2 tsp. mastic
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. all spice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp tahini
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

In a pestle and mortar, crumble in the bay leaves and add the cardamom seeds and mastic. Pound to a powder. Add the this the rest of the above ingredients in a bowl. Slice the chicken breasts into strips and add to the marinade. Refrigerate for 1-24 hours.

For the tahini sauce:

2 tbsp. tahini
5 tbsp of boiling water
Juice of half a lemon
1 clove garlic crushed with salt

Combine the above ingredients. When you first add the water it will look curdled; just keep stirring and it will be a creamy paste in minutes.

For the Zhug sauce:

2 tsp. black peppercorns
seeds from 5 cardamom pods
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
approx. 50g of fresh coriander
2 large mild green chillies and 2 small hot green chillies
2 cloves garlic
juice from 1 lemon
60 ml of olive oil
pinch of salt

In a dry frying pan, toast the peppercorns, cardamom, caraway seeds and cumin seeds until the release a lovely aroma (don't burn!). Put in a pestle and mortar and bash until fine. Put into a hand blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

To cook & assemble:

Drain the meat from the marinade and discard marinade. Stir fry the chicken quickly over a high heat for 4-5 minutes until cooked.

Place a flatbread on the counter and spread a line of the tahini sauce. Cover this with a generous line of the zhug sauce. Top with some chicken and roll up the flatbread. Brush with olive oil and place on a hot griddle for 4 minutes each side until crispy. Cut into thick slices.

Serve with hand cut baked chips, red cabbage, pickles, red onion and tomatoes. Simply delicious!

Pork Wonton Noodle Soup with Green Beans

I remember the first time I tried Wonton Soup. It was in Chinatown in London and I think I was probably about 17 years old. These days (The Chilli Years), I'd probably order the Hot & Sour Soup, but the memories of how wonton soup being my favourite thing ever, went on for years and years. I've always been a fan of anything wrapped in little parcels, be it ravioli, spring rolls or filled dumplings of any kind. Its like a little gift.

I have made the effort in the past of making the wonton wrappers myself, which is in itself quite simple, but combined with the slight 'fiddliness' of having to fill each one soon had me heading for Hoo Hing, which is an Asian Wholesaler that happens to be in East London, rather close to me. There I can but wonton wrappers to stick in the freezer for when I want them. So I do. You can buy them in any Asian store now fortunately, so this is what I'd recommend.

Wonton soup doesn't traditionally come with noodles - or green beans either, but I wanted a more substantial evening meal, rather than a small starter.

Ingredients:

For the soup:
1.5 litre of vegetable stock
30g miso paste
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tsp. fish stock
1 stick lemongrass, bashed with a rolling pin
pinch chilli flakes
6 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1.4 small white cabbage chopped
handful green beans, chopped
handful broccoli, chopped
2 spring onions, sliced
200g egg noodles

For the wontons:
1 pack square wonton wrappers
200g pork mince
1 inch piece ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
2 spring onions
1 tsp. sesame oil.

First, start the broth by putting the stock, miso, soy, fish stock, lemongrass and chilli into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and let simmer as you make the wontons.

To make the wontons, put all of the wonton ingredients, apart from the wrappers, into a food processor and process for about 30 seconds until well chopped and combined. Take a wonton wrapper (have a small bowl of water beside you). Place the square shape into a diagonal facing you on a board. Put a heaped teaspoon of the pork mixture onto the top end of the diagonal. wet the edges of the wrapper and lift the bottom corner of the wrapper over the meat, and press onto the top corner. Press the sides closed making a triangle shape, ensuring to push out any trapped air and sealing well. I tend to fold the side corners over to make a neat package but you can wrap wontons anyway you like, as long as they are sealed. Place onto a plate and repeat until the meat is used up. Set to one side.

Back to the soup. Add the chopped cabbage, green beans, broccoli and spring onion and continue to cook on a low heat. Cook the noodles to packet instructions (usually about 3 mins), drain and put in a bowl with 1 tsp. sesame oil to prevent sticking. Cover with cling film and leave to one side.

Boil a pan of water and pop in half of the wontons. They will go to the bottom of the pan. Cook on a low boil until the wontons float to the top - that means they are cooked. Using a slotted spoon, remove and put the wontons into the broth. Repeat with the remaining wontons. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

To plate up, put some of the noodles into a large bowl. Top with 6 wontons and ladle over the broth and vegetables. Garnish with more spring onions and serve with a good chilli oil.

Filling and delicious!

Note: You could save yourself an half an hour and get some wontons ready made from a local Asian store if you like!!