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.