Sauteed Brussells and Bacon with Farfalle

The humble brussel sprout is never given much credit. Its one of those loved and hated vegetables, of which I am firmly placed in the 'love' team. They are like little baby cabbages that were grown possibly as early as the 13th century in what is now Belgium. They also contain sulforaphane, a phytochemical under basic research for its potential anticancer properties - although has less sulforaphane than its brassica brother, broccoli.

Although in the UK, they are mostly boiled (probably why people don't like them much), the best ways to cook them is to either roast them or shred them and stir fry, which brings out a lovely flavour. They pair beautifully with bacon and parmesan so here we have a lovely pasta meal with those delicious flavours.

Ingredients:             (Serves 3-4)

130g streaky bacon
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
200g brussel sprouts, shredded
1 tbsp. olive oil
180g farfalle pasta
50g pine nuts
parmesan, to finish

Method:

Grill the bacon until crisp. The best way to do this is to dab at any fat with kitchen paper every few minutes while it is cooking. Remove and set to one side on some more kitchen paper.

Put the pasta on to boil in a large pan of boiling water.

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes and then add the sprouts. Stir fry for about 4 minutes and then add 3 tablespoons of the water from the pasta. Cover and let steam for 2 minutes. (alternatively, you could add a few tablespoons of white wine).

Drain the pasta and add to the sprouts, along with the pine nuts. Stir well. Just before serving, crumble in the bacon and combine.

Serve with a generous shaving of parmesan (use a potato peeler to get nice shavings) and serve hot. Delicious!

Nutty, Chewy, Choc Chip Flapjacks

Flapjacks are an old childhood favourite of mine and I can recall the smell of the house while my mother baked them. Known as flapjacks in the UK, they would likely be called granola bars, or cereal bars in some other countries.

They can vary quite a bit in terms of healthiness, this recipe is for the sweet toothed among us! Every bite is a mix of textures and flavours; of chocolate, crunchy nuts and chewy oats with raisins. I used a 9 x 9" tray to bake these in, but in all honesty I should have used one about 12 x 12 as they came out rather large! Not that I'm complaining....

Ingredients:

300g butter
4 tbsp golden syrup
340g golden caster sugar
200ml condensed milk
400g porridge oats
200g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
150g raisins (or currants)
100g white chocolate chips

Method:

Grease and then line a 12 x 12 inch tray (or close to). Set the oven to 170 C.

In a heavy based saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar and syrup on a low heat. When melted, take off the heat and stir in the condensed milk. Add the remaining ingredients and stir through well.

Tip mixture into the prepared tray and smooth out the top with a spatula. Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes, until starting to go golden brown. Leave to cool to room temperature and then cut into squares.

Serve with tea or coffee.. or grab one as you are running out the door to work! Either way, enjoy!

An English Bread Soup

Bread Soup is a dish that consists of stale bread cooked in a broth, and there are many variations from many countries. I have had quite a few and love it, as the bread in the middle soaks down into almost a velvety texture of softness as it cooks and absorbs the soup base and the bread at the top soufflés right up with a crunchy cheese topping.

This dish is entirely made from leftovers. After having had tapas on Friday night, I had sliced too much baguette and it was in a bag with no where to go. I had a small amount of cabbage, 2 leftover frozen sausages (I defrosted them) and a piece of cheese. This surely would make a fantastic bread soup. And you know what? It did.

Ingredients:     (Serves2)

2 sausages
1/4 savoy cabbage, shredded
80-100g grated cheese
2 cloves garlic, 1 chopped, 1 left whole
1 small baguette, sliced into 1" rounds 

Method:

Set the oven to 180 C. Cook the cabbage in plenty of boiling water for about 8 minutes, or until cooked and then drain, reserving the cabbage water. Take the skin off the sausages and crumble the meat into a frying pan with the chopped garlic until browned. Set aside. Lightly toast the bread (not too brown) and rub the whole garlic clove over one side of all of the pieces of toasted bread.

To assemble: in an ovenproof saucepan layer the ingredients. First put in half of the sausage meat, half of the drained cabbage, then half of the bread pieces, topped with a handful of the grated cheese. Then repeat with a second layer, ending with the cheese. Pour the cabbage water over the top (just enough to cover the bread) and finally add a little more cheese over the top.

Put the pan into the oven for 30 minutes; the top will be souffled up and golden. Serve into two serving bowls and enjoy!

Simple leftover ingredients
 

Filling and delicious!

Chorizo in Garlic & Red Wine

Here is another easy Spanish tapas for you from Friday nights tapas feast. Chorizo in red wine is simple, but very moreish. I have been making this for many years and I refuse to do a table full of Spanish Tapas without them.

I am lucky enough to have a Spanish friend and neighbour who regularly goes over to Barcelona to see her family, who then brings me back some proper Spanish Chorizo. Its so good!

Ingredients:

200g chorizo, sliced thickly
1 shallot, chopped finely
1 tsp. olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp smoked paprika
150ml red wine
fresh parsley, to serve

Method.

Heat the oil in a small pan and fry the shallot and garlic for 1 minute. Then add the chorizo. The chorizo will produce more oil so you shouldn't need much.

Cook on a high heat until brown and then add the smoked paprika and the red wine (be careful, it will splutter). Continue to cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated and the chorizo is dark in colour and has absorbed the flavours of the wine and garlic.

Tip into a dish and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and some cocktail sticks for your guests to help themselves. They will be glad to - its delicious! Happy cooking!

Tapas! Spanish Tortilla

Another one of the dishes from tapas night was a Spanish tortilla. It was actually only recently that I found out that the 'tortilla' is any omelette in Spain. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I always thought it was specifically the famous potato one! So in theory this is a 'potato tortilla' but I think we all know what I mean.

This is a great recipe for a dish that could be a served as a lovely lunch with salad, or as part of a tapas collection of food, or could be wrapped up and taken on a picnic (which we often do!). Simple, but delicious. Apologies to any Spaniards reading this who have their own recipe of maybe more eggs, or chopped potato etc. There are many ways to make this - but this is one that I do.

For this I use a small frying pan which is 19cm (7.5 inches). Of you only have a large pan I would double up on the ingredients, but if you can get a small pan it makes a perfect sized tortilla.

Ingredients:

4 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp. oil
5 eggs
salt & pepper

Method:

Heat the oil in the pan and add the onion and potatoes. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes, moving them around the pan until the potatoes are soft but not brown. Try to keep the potato slices in one piece - some will break but try to keep to a minimum by being gentle.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and season with a little salt & pepper. Add the cooked potatoes and onions to the eggs and stir gently. Clean the pan and add another tbsp. oil in to heat. Put the egg and potato mix back into the pan. Cook for about 6-7 minutes until the bottom is set and browned. Then you put a plate over the top of the pan and invert, so that the tortilla is on the plate, browned side up. Slide the tortilla back into the pan to cook the other side, adding a little bit more oil if needed. Push the sides under neatly. Cook the other side for a further 6 minutes and put onto a board to cool. Serve warm or room temperature in thick wedges with salad on the side.

Spanish Tapas - Pork Tenderloin with Brie & Garlic Prawns

Here are a couple of my favourite tapas dishes that I made last night. We sat with these and a glass of rioja, excitedly chatting about our upcoming holiday to The Balearics. Its a few weeks away but last night I felt like we were already there!

I made five dishes in all - here are two of them. Pork tenderloin with sweet caramelised onions and soft brie and garlic prawns. The great thing about these dishes is the simplicity of them - you don't need to go overboard with tapas - keep it simple.

Ingredients:           (Makes about 10)

100g pork tenderloin
80g brie cheese
1 onion
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 small baguette

Method:

Slice the onion thinly and put into a small pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes to caramelise.

Cut the baguette into slices, on the diagonal, and lightly toast. Cut the cheese into small slices. Leave the cheese to come to room temperature.

Slice the pork tenderloin into 3mm slices and put cut side up on a sheet of cling film. Cover with another sheet and hit once with the bottom of a saucepan to flatten out.

Lightly season the pork with salt & pepper and fry both sides in 1 tbsp. olive oil, it will only take about 1 minute each side as they are so thin.

To assemble. Put a spoon of caramelised onions on a piece of the toasted bread. Top with a piece of cheese and then a piece of the hot pork. Serve immediately.



Garlic Prawns:         (serves two)

150g king prawns
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
couple of sprigs fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a pan, add the oil and butter. When sizzling add the garlic and parsley for about 1 minute. Then add the prawns, tossing in the garlic butter mix, until pink and juicy. Serve hot!

Moroccan Beef Couscous Warm Salad

Now this dinner came about because of two ingredients. One was the ribs eye steaks I bought a few days ago. As I said at the time they were not only on the bone, but they were enormous. To get them both a more normal size (and to fit them in the pan!) I decided to cut a large strip off each one and put them in the fridge for another dinner. The other was a perfect, round green courgette I cut from the greenhouse today. I couldn't chop it and ruin the shape so I cut it into wedges for this dish. You can use any courgette though of course.

Packed with flavour, this beef salad is served warm with couscous, apricots, almonds, creamy feta, coriander yoghurt and a generous helping of my red pepper pesto. Great for a dinner and impressive enough for a dinner party. I'd serve this in the garden to guests with a glass of crisp, dry white wine.

Ingredients:    (serves 2)

2 steaks (of your choice)
2 tsp. olive oil + 2 tbsp. for couscous
2 tsp. zatar seasoning (optional)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup couscous
2 cups vegetable stock (cube is fine)
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
25g coriander, chopped
1 courgette
6 dried apricots, quartered
50g feta cheese
handful sliced almonds
2 tbsp. natural yoghurt, with chopped coriander stirred in
2 tbsp. red pepper walnut pesto (recipe at bottom of page)

Method:

Season the steaks with a little salt & pepper, rub with the oil and zatar, if using, and garlic powder. Wrap in cling film and leave to marinade for 30 mins.

Put the couscous into a bowl and add the hot stock. Cover with cling film for 3-4 minutes and then add the tomatoes, onion & coriander, stir through with a tablespoon of olive oil. Re-cover and set aside.

Cut the courgette into wedges and sprinkle with salt & pepper and a drizzle of oil. Pop in a 200 C oven for ten minutes. Remove and set to one side.

Fry the steaks for about 7 minutes, turning half way through until cooked to your liking, remove and cover with foil to rest for 5 minutes.

To assemble: Get a large plate and spread out the couscous. Slice the steak on the diagonal and lay over the top of the couscous. Scatter around the courgette pieces and apricots. Crumble over the feta and top with sliced almonds. To finish, add a spoonful or two of coriander yoghurt and a couple of red pepper pesto. Serve warm.

For the red pepper pesto:

Chop two or three roasted peppers finely (I used ones from a jar) and put into a bowl. Add 20g breadcrumbs, 30g chopped walnuts, 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Either serve chunky or put into a hand blender if you prefer it smooth. A lovely alternative pesto that works so well with Moroccan flavours.

Three Pork Wellington with a Creamy Dijon Sauce

This was yet another one of those open the fridge decisions. It reminds me a little bit of the old TV show 'Ready Steady Cook' which I used to love years ago (new series back on but its not as good) where contestants are given half a dozen ingredients and they have to come up with a snap decision for a recipe. That is often how I cook. Well, the fridge gave me a pork tenderloin and some ready made pastry. With a nose in the freezer for additional help I thought pork wellington!

A twist on the Beef Wellington which is a fillet of beef wrapped in a mushroom duxelle and covered in pastry. The Bloke, as mentioned before, hates mushrooms (which is usually used in a beef wellington), so I grabbed an Irish white pudding and some speck (a type of prosciutto) out of the freezer to defrost.

So we had pork fillet, pork white pudding and pork ham. Three porks.. well.. why not? I have to say I was unsure, but went ahead. And it was delicious. Three Pork Wellington with Creamy Dijon Sauce.

Ingredients:      (Serves up to 4 slices)

1 pork tenderloin (about 420g)
2 tbsp. oil
salt & pepper
200g white pudding
200g frozen spinach
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
80g prosciutto (or speck)
1 pack ready rolled puff or shortcrust pastry
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten

Method:

Set the oven to 200 C. Take the pork tenderloin and cut off 1/3, cutting off the thinner end (the tenderloin gets thinner at one end and you want the same size). Pop the thinner cut off into a bag and put in the fridge or freezer for another use (maybe a stir fry, or chopped into a meatloaf with pork mince?). Season the large piece left and heat the oil in a frying pan. Sear all sides of the pork and pop in the oven for fifteen minutes to start the cooking process. Remove from oven and leave to cool, then cover and pop in the fridge while you make the rest.

Put the frozen spinach into a small pan with boiling water and cook for a few minutes until soft. Drain and put into a clean tea towel, twist and squeeze to remove the water from it and put onto a chopping board. Chop finely and put into a mixing bowl with the white pudding. Fry the chopped onion and garlic until soft and add to the mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the white pudding, onion and spinach together. Set to one side.

Set the oven again to 200 C. To assemble: Lay out the ready rolled puff pastry on a floured board. Spread the mustard over the pastry leaving a frame and then lay the prosciutto over the pastry. Take the white pudding mix and spread it oven the top of the prosciutto and then put the (now cooled) pork on the top (see pic below):

Carefully roll up and trim the sides. Seal well using a wet finger to ensure all pastry sealed and there are no gaps. Put onto a greased baking tray with the sealed side on the bottom. Use any cut off pastry to make a decoration on the top and brush with the beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. The pastry will be golden and the meat cooked though. If you have a meat thermometer, use it to double check the pork has an internal temperature of about 155 F.

To serve, cut the ends off and discard. Cut the Wellington in half and serve for two large portions. Or into four, for a smaller serving slice. Serve with vegetables and a gravy of your choice. I made a Dijon cream sauce (recipe below):


For the Dijon sauce:

Slice 3 shallots and chop 1 clove garlic. Fry in a little oil until cooked and add 1 cup white wine. Cook on a high heat until reduced by half. Add 1 cup vegetable stock and again cook on a high heat until reduced again by half. Add about 140ml double cream and turn the heat to medium. Season with a little salt and pepper and add 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard. Stir through and cook on low for a couple of minutes and its ready.


Note: You want to err on the side of overcooked with pork, undercooked pork can cause food poisoning. The times and temperatures above will be ample (I cooked a little longer than usual), but when you cut into the pork you will be able to tell. It may still be a tiny bit pink but no blood should be coming out of it. If unsure, pop back in the oven for 5 mins after cutting - it won't do the wellington any harm.

Note 2: White pudding can be bought in the UK - Waitrose sell a few types - but if you can't get hold of it you can try with black pudding, which is readily available in UK stores. It really is worth trying to find the white pudding if you can though. Irish readers - you are lucky!

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

As ever, at the weekend I had leftovers from a roasted chicken, so I shredded the breast meat for this, leaving some nice big chunks in it. You can, of course, make this from chicken breasts that have been roasted in the oven. But this is SO handy for leftover chicken!

I wanted to do a chicken noodle soup as its one of my favourite soups and I wanted to use vermicelli noodles. So Thai is was. I tend to cook quite a lot of Thai food these days.. it seems to be the taste of the moment. So anyway, here it is. It only took 25 minutes to make too.

Ingredients:

1 litre chicken stock (cube is fine)
400ml coconut milk
1 inch piece ginger, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 red birds eye chilli, chopped finely
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tbsp. palm sugar (brown sugar will do)
juice of two small limes
1 tbsp. fish sauce
25g coriander
cooked chicken shredded from about 2 breasts
140g beansprouts
100g mange tout, sliced
4 spring onions, sliced
100g vermicelli noodles

Method:

Put the chicken stock and coconut milk into a large pan with the ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric, sugar, lime juice and fish sauce. Bring to the boil. Cut the stems off the fresh coriander and chop the stems, reserving the leaves for later. Add the coriander stems to the pot. Turn to a simmer and leave to cook for 10 minutes for the flavours to fuse.

Add the chicken and vegetables to the pan and leave to cook on a medium heat for another 10 minutes. Then add the noodles until cooked.

Serve in a wide bowl with the coriander leaves in the centre, like a salad. They will wilt into the soup as you eat it. Top with some fresh chopped red chilli if liked. Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Nigerian Lamb Curry Stew

I have been looking at Nigerian recipes recently and have been finding it hard to locate Nigerian curries. There are some, but I thought there would be more. It seems that lamb stew is the more popular. 

Here I have cooked a typical local dish of a lamb stew - the thyme and the seasoning cubes are always used in their dishes. I have added curry powder and coconut milk to make a creamy curry, with the spice from the scotch bonnets. The dish is slow cooked so that the lamb is fall apart tender and the flavours combine beautifully.

300g lamb leg steaks, trimmed of fat and cubed
1 vegetable seasoning cube
salt & pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch piece ginger, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 scotch bonnet chillies (1 chopped, 1 left whole and pierced)
1 cup coconut milk (200ml)
1 cup water
200g tinned chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp. curry powder

Put the lamb into a bowl and sprinkle over the seasoning cube, salt & pepper. Put the onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and the chopped scotch bonnet chilli in a hand blender and blend to a paste. Add the paste to the lamb and stir well. Leave in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour.

In a sauce pan, add the coconut milk, water, tomatoes and curry powder and bring to the boil. Add the lamb and its marinade along with the whole scotch bonnet. Stir well, cover and turn the heat to low. Cook gently for about 2 hours. For the last 15 minutes, take the lid off the pan and turn up the heat to reduce the sauce until its thickened.

Serve with rice and fried plantain. A delicious warming curry - that is surprisingly not that hot! It is, however, delicious!

Yankee Beans & Biscuits

Again, for Independence Day - these are a couple of sides I added to the meal. For anyone who has tasted the standard baked beans, this is sort of similar in a way... but takes the flavours to another dimension. Only the Americans can make beans taste this good - trust me!

Now the biscuits may not be something that would be eaten with this meal particularly. But even since I was a little girl watching a fantastic US TV show called Little House On The Prairie, I remember 'biscuits' being made. Now these weren't biscuits like you get in the UK, which are like cookies, but more like savoury light, fluffy scones. So apologies for going a little 'off piste' but I really wanted to try them. Made with buttermilk, they were as light as a feather. First - the Yankee Beans:

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
120g streaky bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. paprika
400g tin cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1 tbsp. tomato puree
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. English mustard powder
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
hot sauce to taste (optional)

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and bacon for 5 mins. Then add the garlic to cook for another couple of minutes on a medium heat. Add the thyme, paprika, beans, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder and bay leaves. Stir well. Now add 1 cup of water, stir and bring to the boil. Pop a lid on the pan and turn the heat to low.

Cook on a gentle heat for 30 minutes. Then add the vinegar. Add 1 tbsp. of your favourite hot sauce (if you like it hot) and serve sprinkled with parsley. The flavours are amazing and this tastes great with steak, or chicken.. or just simply on toast!

For the American biscuits:

250g plain flour            
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2tsp. salt
90g cold butter, cubed
1 cup (250ml) buttermilk

Set the oven to 220 C. Put the dry ingredients in a food processor with the butter and pulse until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the buttermilk and blend to make a very soft dough. Tip onto a floured board. You can add a little more flour if you like but it is meant to be very soft.

Press out to about 1 cm high with your fingers - don't roll with a rolling pin. Cut rounds with a cutter and place onto a floured baking sheet. Cook for 10-12 minutes until golden and soft. Cool on a wire rack.   

Garlic Butter Basted Rib Eye & Parmesan Crusted Corn Cobs

For American Independence Day I decided to cook up a 4th July American dinner. The bone-in rib eye steak was a must - simply pan fried with some herbs from the garden, garlic and basted with butter to let its perfect flavours shine through. Here I have cooked it on the bone and then removed it to serve - it was huge!

The corn was baked with a salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and freshly grated parmesan, making it a little healthier than the usual lashing of butter, but keeping the flavour. Delicious. First - the steak..

Ingredients:      (Serves 2)

2 rib eye steaks, on the bone, trimmed of fat
salt & pepper
2 tbsp. oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled & bashed but together
1 spring fresh rosemary
2 springs fresh thyme
20g butter

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan and season the beef with salt & pepper. Add the sprigs of herbs and garlic and cook on one side for 5 minutes. Add the butter to the pan and flip the steak over. Cook for a further 5-6 minutes, basting the butter over the steaks until browned and cooked to your liking, I did medium here. Remove from the pan and loosely wrap in kitchen foil to rest for 5 minutes. Then cut off the bone, slice and serve.

For the corn:

2 whole or 4 half corn cobs
a little mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Set the oven to 200 C and cut some kitchen foil to loosely package one of the cobs. Brush a little oil on the foil to help prevent the cheese sticking too much.

Brush a little mayonnaise on the corn - you don't want much, just enough to get the spices and cheese to stick. Sprinkle the spice mix and then roll in the parmesan. Put on the foil and wrap the foil in a loose package so only the bottom of the corn is touching the foil. Pop in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Serve with the steak and enjoy!

 

 

The 4th July meal all together - it was absolutely delicious. I hope the American readers of this blog feel I did them proud! And Happy Independence Day to them all.

Quick Little Chocolate & Key Lime Pies

Yesterday was 4th July and celebrations were held across the USA for Independence Day. So in keeping with this, we had an fabulous American dinner (which I'll be posting later). This was the dessert that we had.

Key Lime pie is an American dessert and the 'key' part is named after the limes from Florida Keys. I didn't have those particular ones - but I did have a bowl of limes. This recipe uses just a few ingredients and I had all of them, so I made a last minute decision as dinner was cooking and thought I'd surprise The Bloke by whipping up little individual versions. Ideally you need a couple of little chefs rings - I used 3 x 1.5 inch ones.

Ingredients:     (Serves 2)

6-7 chocolate chip cookies
20g butter
150ml double cream
200ml condensed milk
juice of 3 limes and zest of 1
milk chocolate for grating

Method:

Put the chefs rings onto a small wooden chopping board. Put the cookies into a small freezer bag and crush to crumbs using a rolling pin or bottom of a saucepan. Melt the butter in the microwave (or in a pan) and add to the biscuits; mix well. Spoon the biscuit mix into the bottom of the two rings and press down with the back of a spoon. Pop in the fridge for a minute while you make the topping.

Put the cream, condensed milk, lime zest and juice into a bowl and whisk together using an electric or hand whisk. it will thicken up quickly. Share the mixture into the two rings until full and tidy the tops by sliding a knife across. Pop in the fridge for about 2 hours. Its worth the wait!

When just about to serve, grate some milk chocolate over the top of the key lime pies and use a spatula to loosen the bottom from the board. Use a sharp knife to work around the edges of the rind and the put onto a small serving dish. Then remove the metal ring. Grate chocolate over the top (I put some chocolate into the freezer for a little while to make the grating easier). Serve and enjoy!

Spanish Hake with Chorizo One Pot

There was me thinking that The Bloke was odd not liking fish with tomatoes.. and then I found out there are hundreds of people who agree. I find this odd as there are so many dishes that have the two ingredients together. But having asked around it seems there are a pocket of people who find that tomatoes make fish taste stronger and therefore don't like it. Over the years I have been working ways of getting The Bloke to eat fish and ensuring no tomatoes go near it!!

This Spanish one is a recipe that I created when I found that most shops sell pepper paste. In the past, a great thickener for sauces would be tomato paste - but this pepper paste worked the same and no tomatoes. Having a Spanish friend and neighbour helps for this recipe - certainly as she always very kindly brings me back some great chorizo when she visits her family. So this is a much loved recipe in this house - Hake with Chorizo.

Ingredients:

120g cooking chorizo, sliced 1cm
6 shallots, peeled and quartered
1 red pepper, cubed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. paprika
salt & pepper

85ml white wine

300ml water

1 tbsp. pepper paste

200g baby potatoes, quartered

100g asparagus
4 hake steaks (or 1 large fillet cut into 4)
salt & pepper

Method:

Find a large pan with a lid and heat the oil. Cook the shallots for a couple of minutes and then add the chorizo. Cook until the red oil starts to run out of the chorizo (about 5 minutes) and then add the red pepper and garlic. Continue to cook over a medium heat for a further 8 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the veg is soft and chorizo browning. Add the paprika, a little salt & pepper and stir well.

Add the wine, scraping any browning bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes, until the wine has almost evaporated and then add the pepper paste and the water. Bring to the boil and add the potatoes. Pop a lid on the pan and turn the heat to a simmer and leave for about 20 minutes for the potatoes to cook and the sauce to thicken.

(If prepping early, you can turn the heat off at this stage and reheat later before adding the fish and asparagus, making a quick dinner if you have guests!)

Still on a low simmer, add the asparagus and hake skin side up, to the top of the sauce; don't stir in. Put the lid back on and let steam for 4 minutes. Lift the lid and carefully remove the skin off the hake, it should come away quite easily. Turn the fish over and put the lid back on to steam the other side for another 4 minutes.

Fill bowls with the fish and vegetables, with plenty of the rich flavourful sauce. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve with crusty buttered bread to dip in! Enjoy.



Note: You can also use tomato paste in this recipe as a thickener, but you can also just let the sauce cook with the lid off on a high heat, to thicken the sauce too.

Baked Crispy Chicken with Warm Sesame Spuds

Potato salad is one of those recipes that seems to be everywhere. So many countries have their version of it, and the majority seem to be the type in mayonnaise. I do like that version, sure but have started getting into s habit of dressing little baby potatoes in a salad dressing while they are still warm. You can try so many different flavours and the warm, cut potatoes absorb the flavours so well. This is my current favourite. Sesame oil and sesame seeds are perfect for this salad.

The chicken is crunchy on the outside and soft and juicy in the middle - and its not fried! Its baked, so this dinner is very low in fat, but tastes amazing.

Ingredients:       (Serves 2)

2 chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
60g (ideally panko) breadcrumbs
flour, for dusting
250g baby potatoes, halved, skin on
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. dijon mustard


Method:

Set the oven to 190 C. Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of cling film and batter out as thin as you can with a rolling pin. Dust the chicken with flour and dip first into the egg and then the breadcrumbs, pressing them on well. Place on a baking sheet covered with greaseproof paper and pop in the oven for 30 minutes.

Boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until tender. (Best way to tell if they are cooked is to put a knife in one and lift out of the water. If it slides off the knife they are ready.) Put into a bowl and add the sesame seeds, oil, vinegar and mustard. Stir well and serve warm with the chicken and some steamed vegetables. Lovely!

Thai Balls & Spicy Mooli Noodles

This meal, in all honesty, was made from leftovers. Last weekend we had a BBQ and one of the burgers I made was a Thai pork burger. I didn't put a recipe up for this at the time as I was too busy cooking for the party, but the recipe for those were the same as these Thai balls.

Either way, six Thai burgers were leftover so I popped them in the freezer, only to be defrosted yesterday and re-invented as Thai Pork Balls making a thrifty, and very quick, meal for two.

Ingredients for Thai Balls (or burgers)

3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 spring onions, chopped
1 red chilli, seeds removed
1 inch piece ginger, chopped
1 tbsp. lemongrass paste
handful fresh coriander
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
500g (1lb 4oz) pork mince
1 egg, beaten
25g breadcrumbs
vegetable oil to fry

Put the garlic, spring onions, chilli, ginger, lemongrass and coriander into a hand blender and blitz to a paste. Alternatively, chop everything finely. Put into a large bowl with the pork mince, lime zest and juice, egg and breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Now you can shape into balls (for this recipe) or patties for burgers.

For the Thai balls, roll into 1 inch balls. Heat oil in a heavy based pan to about an inch up the sides. When hot, fry the balls for about 5 minutes until brown and cooked through.


For the Spicy Mooli Noodles:

1 small mooli (or half a large)
1 carrot
1 cloves garlic
1 Thai chilli (seeds removed)
1/4 tsp. salt
8 green beans, cut into thirds
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp. palm sugar (white works too but palm sugar is better)
1 tbsp. Thai fish sauce
1 large lime, juice only

Peel the mooli and carrot and cut into julienne strips. Put into a large bowl. Using a pestle and mortar, pop in one garlic clove and a chopped Thai red chilli (seeds removed). Crush to a pulp with a 1/4 tsp. salt. Add the green beans and pound a little more. Then add 4-5 cherry tomatoes, quartered and pound again. It should look like this:

Then add 1 tablespoon of palm sugar, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and the juice of one lime. Mix thoroughly and put into the bowl with the vegetables. Cook some rice noodles to packet instructions and rinse under cold water. Now add the noodles to the marinade and mix well.

Serve the mooli noodles with the Thai balls and a little sweet chilli dipping sauce. Garnish with a little fresh coriander and enjoy!

Moroccan Ostrich with Couscous

It was only recently that I learned that Ostrich farms are appearing in the Middle East. And why not indeed. Ostrich meat is one of the healthiest meats you can eat and its absolutely delicious. Not only that but the UK shops has started to realise this and you can now buy it in so many places. I love it myself. AND its low fat.

Here I have kept it simple. Moroccan spiced ostrich steak, served with couscous. This meal takes about ten minutes to make - what's not to like?!

Ingredients:      (Serves 2)

2 ostrich steaks
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. sumac, optional
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
salt & pepper
1/2 cup couscous
1 cup (230ml) chicken stock
1 roasted pepper (from a jar), chopped
1/4 red onion chopped finely
coriander to serve

Method:

Put the couscous into a bowl and add the hot stock. Cover with cling film and leave to steam while you cook the ostrich.

In a frying pan, heat the oil. Sprinkle the ostrich with the spices and salt & pepper. Add to the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes each side, depending on the thickness of the steak. Remove from pan and let rest for a minute on a board.

Add the onion and pepper to the couscous and stir, adding just a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt & pepper. Cut the steaks on a diagonal and serve on top of the couscous with a garnish of fresh coriander. Easy, quick and very, very tasty.

Note: I served mine with roast carrot salad, flatbreads and aubergine hummus for a delicious feast!

Note 2: You can use anything you like in the couscous, instead of the peppers you can use chopped tomatoes, or raw courgette.

Aubergine Hummus

No, this isn't Baba Ganoush, the usual dish that one would expect as an eastern dip to accompany my Moroccan meal. I wanted to make something slightly different - so we have aubergine hummus. Or eggplant hummus (depending on where you're from).

A creamy delicious change from normal chickpea hummus - this mixes the chickpeas with roasted aubergine, with notes of garlic, lemon juice and a touch of cumin. Lovely with anything.

Ingredients:

1 aubergine, sliced into rings
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp. olive oil
300g chick peas, rinsed
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin


Set the oven to 190 C. Place the aubergine slices onto a baking sheet, sprinkle the garlic over the top and drizzle with one of the tablespoons of olive oil. Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it - if the slices are too thin it will burn. You want the aubergine to be tender.

Remove the aubergine from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then tip into a food processor along with the chick peas, lemon, cumin and remaining olive oil. Process until smooth and put into a nice serving dish. Dress with a drizzle more oil and some pickles on the side.

Note: I have decorated this with redcurrants as I harvested some today from the garden, but you can use anything you like. Indecently, the redcurrants were lovely with the hummus! Enjoy!