Fried Green Tomatoes with Remoulade Sauce

I have been wanting to cook these for years, but green tomatoes are so hard to find in London. Probably England! But determination won, I kept looking and presto! in a Polish shop in Leytonstone, I finally found the elusive green tomatoes. I picked a few knowing what I had to do that Saturday for lunch.

This is a dish from Southern United States and I hope I did the dish proud. I am sure my American family will read this and tut at some of the incorrect ingredients... but this was truly delicious!

Ingredients:      (Serves 2-3)

2 large green tomatoes
2 eggs, whisked
1 tsp. tabasco sauce
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
vegetable oil
salt

Cut the tomatoes into thick slices. Mix the cornmeal and flour into a bowl. Whisk the two eggs in another bowl and add the hot sauce. Stir.

Dip the slices of tomato first into the egg mix and then into the cornmeal mix. Repeat with the slice to get a double coating and lay gently on a plate. Continue until all the slices are coated.

Put about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil into a wide frying pan and heat until a crumb sizzles immediately. Add the tomato slices into the pan and fry on each side for a couple of minutes until crisp and golden. Place on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Serve hot with a fork and the remoulade sauce. The tomatoes retain heat well so be careful. So very tasty!

For the remoulade sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
2 finely chopped spring onions
1 finely chopped cornichon
1 tsp tabasco
1 small clove garlic, grated

Method:

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl! Serve. Eat !

Its All About The (Lamb) Gravy

Sometimes it IS all about the gravy. I have cooked this dish so many times for people and they look at me saying the lamb is gorgeous. It is of course as slow cooked lamb generally is, but what I don't mention is the gravy makes this dish. Its made from the juices of the lamb with some additions that take the flavour to another dimension.

I nearly cooked this recipe this time with mashed potatoes - but just couldn't. It works so well with crisp roast potatoes and simply steamed spinach. With a few peas if you like. But I wouldn't change anything about this recipe. Its a family, and friends, favourite!

Ingredients:        (serves 3-4)

1/2 lamb shoulder 
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 cloves garlic, peeled.

For the gravy:

3 tbsp. all purpose flour
700ml vegetable stock (cube is fine)
2 tbsp. sherry vinegar
2 heaped tsps. mint sauce (from a jar)
1 scant tsp. English mustard
2 tbsp. capers, rinsed and chopped
a little salt and pepper

Method:

Find a medium roasting tin and set your oven to high (240 C). Trim off any huge sections of fat.. you can leave the bits in the layers, but cut off any large chunks you see. Cut one of the garlic cloves into slivers and cut little holes in the lamb - insert the slivers of garlic. Put 2 sprigs of rosemary in the tin and top with the remaining garlic. Put the lamb on top and the last sprig of rosemary on that and drizzle with a little olive oil. Cover tightly with a large sheet of kitchen foil and put in the oven - now -  immediately turn the heat down to 170 C for 4 hours. (The smell will drive you crazy).

When the time is up take the lamb out of the tin. Put on a warmed plate and cover with foil to rest. Its time to make the gravy.

Look and see how much fat is in the tin. You only want about 1-2 tbsp. so pour off any excess. Remove the rosemary and garlic (it will be very dark) and discard. Place the roasting tin directly on the hob on a medium heat. Add the flour and stir in, scraping some of the browned bits off the bottom of the tin. Now add the stock, just a little at a time, incorporating and scraping the bottom as you go. When all the stock is used up, you can turn up the heat, stirring all the time, to let the gravy thicken. When its a bit thicker, add the vinegar, mint sauce, mustard, capers, salt & pepper. Stir well and let cook for another couple of minutes. Pour into a jug.

Shred the lamb - it will be soft and easy to shred. Serve on a plate in the middle of the table with the gravy, roast potatoes and steamed spinach. Delicious - try it!! Your diners will love you.

Note: When you have 4 or more people to serve, I find getting 2 half shoulders of lamb together in the tin works best. You can buy a whole shoulder but the half is a better cut for this.

Healthy Lamb Doner Kebab

Oddly enough, I have honestly never eaten a doner kebab in my life. In the days where I normally would have eaten one, I was in my twenties and a vegetarian. So usually joined my friends very happily with pitta bread filled with cabbage, lettuce, onion, lemon juice and chilies. At times they were jealous saying mine looked lovely. And it was!! But here I am recreating a typical British version of a doner kebab With lamb, chilli sauce, garlic sauce and salad. And its healthy.

I have used lamb leg steak with minimal fat. I know that doner kebab is made particularly good because of the fat...but I am trying to give you takeaway, homemade healthy. So bear with me. Its SO tasty. And low fat!

For the kebab:

400g lamb leg steak
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried mixed herbs.

Put all of the above in a food processor and process until a paste. Mould into a loaf shape and cook by either putting in the oven for 3 hours on 150 C. Or in a slow cooker on low for 7 hours. When the time is up, wrap in foil for ten minutes to rest. Then sharpen your best knife and cut into the thinnest slices that you can.

For the Garlic sauce:

Mix 4 tbsp. low fat yoghurt with 1 crushed clove garlic and 1/4 tsp. salt. leave in the fridge to let the flavours develop.

Chilli sauce

Put 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes in a food processor. Add 1 small sliced onion, 5 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp., tomato ketchup, 1tsp chilli flakes (more if you like) and 2 tsp. mint sauce (in vinegar). Blend well.

Note: The chilli sauce in this recipe make a full jar of it. Pop it in the fridge and try it on anything - its delicious! It should last a week.

Trillionaires Shortbread

We've all tried Millionaire Shortbread (and very popular it is too!) - well here with have that... with a bit more. A layer of shortbread, topped with peanut butter, then caramel.. finally topped with melted Toblerone chocolate. Healthy? No.. Rich, indulgent and delicious.. Oh yes. Trillionaires' Shortbread

The good thing about this one is that the Toblerone chocolate doesn't turn into a hard 'slab' of chocolate that shatters when you try to cut it! Easy to make and a lovely treat to serve with a cup of coffee. Try to just have the one!

For the shortbread:

225g plain flour

175g butter, cold, cut into cubes

75g caster sugar

 

Set the oven to 150 C. Grease and then line a 9 inch square cake tin with greaseproof paper.

 

Rub the butter into the flour until you have fine breadcrumb texture, then stir in the sugar. Tip into the tin and press down with the back of a spoon until level. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until lightly golden. Leave to cool.

 

For the peanut butter layer:

 

Melt 20g butter in a small sauce pan. Stir in one pot (340g) crunchy peanut butter in and heat through stirring well until smooth. Pour over the shortbread and put in the fridge for about an hour until set.

 

For the caramel:

 

Mix 150g butter, 1 (379g) can condensed milk and 100g golden syrup in a small saucepan. Keep stirring and heat though. When the butter has melted, turn up the heat a little and let it boil as you keep stirring. It will turn a light brown colour and that it when its ready (be careful not to let it burn so keep stirring). Let cool for a few minutes and then pour onto the peanut butter layer. Put back in the fridge for 2 hours to set.

 

For the topping:

 

Melt 350g Toblerone chocolate in a microwaveable bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir to ensure all chocolate is melted. Pour on to the caramel layer and put back in the fridge to set.

 

In about 2 hours it should be perfect to be able to cut into square. Serve with coffee and a smile!

 

 


 

Corned Beef Hash on Toast with A Fried Egg

Ahh corned beef reminds me of when I was a little girl at school. Back in the 70's (and probably before that), at school break times we were presented with an unhealthily warm corned beef sandwich and a small bottle of equally warm (and suspicious smelling) milk. A horrible memory which has put people of my generation off milk and corned beef for life. And not surprising! Upon saying that - I love milk and I love corned beef. And one of my favourite breakfasts has to be corned beef hash.

Served hot on a slice of brown toast, with a perfectly fried (ideally poached - was feeling lazy on Saturday morning) egg. With a dash of HP sauce. Perfect!

For the hash:

1 tbsp. oil
1 large potato, peeled and chopped 1/2 inch dice
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tin corned beef
200g baked beans
a little salt and a lot of black pepper!


Put the chopped potato on a microwavable plate and cook for a couple of minutes until softened a little. Fry the onion with the oil in a frying pan and add the potato. Cook for about 7 minutes until the potato golden and the onion cooked.

Add the tin of corned beef and mix in well with the vegetables. Season well. Finally add the baked beans, stir in and heat through gently.

Serve hot on a piece of toast and top with a runny yolked egg. And HP sauce. Delicious!

Squash, Green Lentil & Serrano Ham Soup

For those of you who like thick, hearty soups, this is one for you. Sweet butternut squash mixed with the lavishness of the Serrano ham and the earthy bite of green lentils is a delicious mix for a home made hearty soup.

I made this with some cheese and onion rolls, hot out of the oven and it was heaven. For the rolls, just make a basic bread dough, take a piece the size of your palm and flatten it into a round. Put in a chunk of cheddar cheese and some chopped onion in the centre and cover with the dough. Roll into a ball and complete the remaining rolls. Leave to rise in a warm place for 15 minutes and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. Eat hot with the soup. A delicious lunch for after a walk in the woods!

Ingredients:   (Serves 4)

1 large onion, sliced
350g butternut squash, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
25g butter
1 tbsp. oil
120g Serrano ham
200g green lentils
700ml chicken stock
100ml double cream
a little fresh parsley, to garnish

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan and add the onion, garlic and squash. Sauté for 10 minutes on a medium heat until softened. Chop all but 1 slice of the ham and add the chopped pieces to the vegetables. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the hot stock and lentils and season with salt & pepper. Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for about 35-40 minutes. Take off the heat, use a stick blender to blend the soup and then put back on the heat, adding the cream. If its too thick at this stage, add some water and heat through to get the consistency you like.

For the garnish, cut the last slice of Serrano into four and fry in a small pan. Serve the soup in a bowl, top with the parsley and pieces of ham. Delicious!

Chicken with Figs, Feta & Quinoa

This is a delicious dish that I would recommend one would cook to treat their partner after a long day at work. The flavours of roasted figs with the slightly spicy chicken and cool feta cheese, sitting on a bed of fig flavoured quinoa is just perfection!

I would eat this any day of the week but best when figs are in season. We have a very young fig tree at the moment in the garden, but it only produced 3 figs this year and they are long gone.. scoffed straight off the tree!

Ingredients:

4 ripe figs, quartered
200ml port
2 shallots (or a small onion), sliced
1 cup quinoa
1 small red pepper, sliced
1 courgette, cut into chunks
1 tbsp. + 1tsp. olive oil
2 chicken breasts
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. powdered garlic
50g feta cheese


Method:

Set the oven to 200 C. Put 2 of the quartered figs into a small pan with the port. Bring to the boil and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Using a hand blender, blitz the figs and port into a sauce.

Put the shallots, red pepper and courgette into a small roasting pan with 1 tbsp. oil drizzled over and roast for 15 minutes. Then add the rest of the figs to the roasting dish and roast for a further 15 minutes.

Cook the quinoa in boiling water for about 10 minutes until cooked. Drain (if necessary) and add to the port sauce. Stir well and reheat gently in a microwave or back in the pan. Keep warm.

For the chicken, put the breasts in between two pieces of cling film and hit gently with a rolling pin to flatten out and make the same height. Sprinkle over the cayenne, paprika and garlic powder and drizzle with 1 tsp. oil. Cook in the oven (uncovered) for about 25 minutes - while the veg is roasting.

To serve. Place the fig flavoured quinoa at the base of a plate. Top with the roasted vegetables. Slice the chicken breast and lay that on the top and crumble over the feta. Season, serve and enjoy!

Minestrone Soup with Ham

This is one of those easy pull together soups that's perfect for autumn days. Tasty, simple packed with flavour from the vegetables and ham. Orzo pasta is perfect for this dish as its small and gives the dish some 'bite' without being bigger than the chopped vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 courgette, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 glass white wine
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
400g tin chopped tomatoes
800ml vegetable stock
1/3 cup (65g) orzo pasta
6 slices ham, chopped
black pepper
salt

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan and add the carrot, onion, leek, courgette and garlic. Cook on a low/medium heat for 8 minutes when beginning to soften. Add the white wine and turn up the heat. Cook off the alcohol until almost completely evaporated. Add the herbs, tomatoes, pasta and stock, cover and leave to cook, half covered, for 20 minutes. Finally add the ham and season to taste.

Serve with bread and butter and enjoy!

Beef Keema Curry with Spinach & Paneer

Yes, yet another curry. The weather has taken a turn for the worse in London and I have a terribly bad cold which I have had for two weeks. So I am trusting in chillies to give me strength! When I see any meat and have to decide what to make - curry is always the first thought in my head.

The word 'keema' basically means finely chopped (as in meat) so this is a perfect dish for you to use with minced beef. You can make keema kebabs, keema filling for samosas or as I have, in a simple curry with spinach and paneer cheese. Paneer is an Indian cheese which you may find difficult to buy in England, but the dish is such as lovely with just the beef and spinach.

Ingredients:               (Serves 4)

500g beef mince
1 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
1 inch piece ginger, grated
1 tbsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
2 bay leaves
200g fresh spinach
120g paneer, chopped (optional)
1 tsp. garum masala
fresh coriander to garnish 

Method:

Dry fry the beef mince in a large pan. There will be enough fat in it to cook. When the meat has cooked, use a slotted spoon to put the meat into a bowl and set to one side. Wipe the pan clean.

Add the oil to the pan and heat. Cook the onion and garlic on a medium heat until beginning to brown. Add the ground coriander and turmeric and stir well. Add the chopped tomato, bay leaves, chillies, and spinach, along with 1 cup water. Stir and leave to cook uncovered, on a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the ground beef, ginger and paneer (if using). Leave to cook, uncovered for 5 minutes and then sprinkle on the garum masala. Stir through.

Serve garnished with the coriander and enjoy with steamed rice.

Cheesy Onion Bread

I saw this recently and had to try it.. what a great idea as a pick and share bread. Oozing with mozzarella and cheddar, with spring onions and melted butter bringing it all together. Delicious. Here I made a small round ciabatta, as I didn't want the bread to be too big - but you can buy any round loaf you like.

This is not my usual kind of food but I feel it deserved a mention as its such a cool idea.

Ingredients:

1 round loaf bread
125g mozzarella, sliced
80g cheddar, sliced
4 spring onions
50g butter, melted


Heat the oven to 200 C. Place the loaf on a chopping board and slice - but not all the way down. You just want to get about two thirds of the way down with each slice. Turn the loaf and repeat, so you have squares on the top.

Mix the melted butter with the spring onions in a small bowl and set to one side. Place the bread on a piece of foil large enough to cover over the bread when ready. Push the cheese slices into the gaps and spoon the spring onion butter in and amongst the cheese. Cover with the foil and pop in the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve hot with napkins - it can get very messy! Enjoy.

Coconut Cod Curry

It has taken me years to like fish curry. And with The Bloke not liking any fish near a tomato based sauce, it can make things limited. But coconut and fish are delicious together. This recipe uses fresh coconut and coconut milk and is so delicious.

I have been ill for the last week so apologies for my quietness. My head was too fuzzed up to think of a recipe, let alone wanting to cook or eat it! But I am on the mend and back in the kitchen. Here is a lovely recipe for a cod curry.

For the paste:

 

1 small onion, chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

80g fresh coconut, grated

5 cloves garlic, peeled

2 green chillies

1 tbsp. black peppercorns

1 tsp. salt

 

For the fish:

 

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/4 tsp. black mustard seeds

1 tsp. turmeric
180ml water

600g cod fillet, cut into large chunks

200ml coconut milk

handful of fresh curry leaves

handful of fresh coriander leaves

 

 

 

Method:

 

For the paste, put all of the ingredients into a hand blender with a splash of water. Blitz until a paste.

 

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the mustard seeds until the start to splutter. Then add the paste and the turmeric. Stir well and then add the water. Turn the heat to high for 5 minutes to reduce a little and then turn down the heat to medium, adding the cod and covering with a lid. Finally add the coconut milk and the curry leaves. Stir thorough, but be careful to not break up the fish too much.

 

Serve with fresh coriander, steamed rice and chapatis.

 

BST- Bacon Spinach Tomato Pasta

This has honestly got to be one of my favourite pasta dishes, ever. All of the ingredients taste beautiful together. I wouldn't recommend using tinned tomatoes (although you could) as the freshness of all the ingredients make it special somehow.

You can use any pasta for this dish...linguine, penne...anything you like. I like it with tagliatelle.

This is exactly what I wanted after a long day at work - and with The Bloke grilling the bacon as I cooked the pasta and made the sauce...it took no time at all. Perfect pasta!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large glass white wine
100g fresh spinach
12 streaky bacon rashers
200g Tagliatelle pasta

Method:

Heat the oil and gently fry the onion until translucent. Add the garlic for 2 minutes and cook. Add the tomatoes and fry for 2 mins, then add the wine and turn up the heat. Cook off the alcohol for 2 minutes and turn the heat to medium. Add the spinach and stir to wilt into the sauce.

Grill the bacon, dabbing the fat off as you go with kitchen paper until the bacon is crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. Cut each rasher into 3-4 pieces with kitchen scissors.

Cook the pasta to the pack instructions - try to make it a little al dente. When cooked, use tongs to put the pasta into the sauce (adding a little of the pasta water - just about a tablespoon). Stir well and season with black pepper. You shouldn't need any salt because of the bacon.

Stir the bacon through the pasta and serve with a good grating of fresh parmesan and some crusty bread to mop up the juices. Perfect, simple ingredients - cooked well.