Lemon Cookies

This is a adapted from a Botswanian recipe and uses condensed milk in the cookie dough.. So very light and melt in the mouth, these lemon biscuits are quick to make and very easy to eat!

I know biscuits are readily available in most places but there is something nice about a homemade cookie and the wait for them to cool down. They make the house smell delicious too!

Ingredients:    (Makes 36)

100g caster sugar
225g butter, softened
200ml condensed milk
zest and juice of 2 large lemons
350g plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
icing sugar to finish

Method:

Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the condensed milk gradually incorporating into the mix. Then add the lemon zest and juice and stir in. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the wet ingredients. Combine the two to get a soft dough.

Set the oven to 170 C (160 C for fan oven) and line a couple of baking sheets with greaseproof paper. Taking a small amount of dough, make a 1 inch ball, place it on the baking paper and press a fork in the top to flatten slightly. Continue, leaving a little space in between each ball.

Put in the oven for 12 minutes, or until just starting to colour (you want them a light colour). Cool on a wire rack and when completely cool, dust with icing sugar. Delicate and light, these lemon cookies are lovely.



 

Ham Hock Dutch Bitterballen

I read about these before I even tried them, in a little cookbook I bought in Amsterdam and just knew I would love them. The next time I flew over to see friends I had them twice and they were just so delicious. Hot crunchy balls of yumminess. They generally have beef in them and you dip them in mustard. So good.

However, I had some shredded ham hock left over from the pea and ham soup the other day and thought...well why not? They are similar enough to a croquette that you would get in Spain and they put ham in theirs. So I came up with this new recipe: Ham Hock Bitterballen.

Ingredients:      (makes about 24)

200g shredded, and then chopped, ham hock
400ml vegetable stock (from stock cube)
30g butter
30g flour
nutmeg
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
oil for frying
2 eggs
breadcrumbs

Method:

Put the butter in a medium pan and melt. Add the flour, stir well and let the flour cook out for a few moments. Slowly add the hot vegetable stock, stirring all the time, until its a creamy sauce.

Add the shredded ham to the sauce along with the garlic powder, mustard, nutmeg and salt & pepper. Spread out onto a plate and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up.

Beat the eggs and put into a dish. Put the breadcrumbs in another dish beside it. Have a bowl of cold water handy to wet your hands before rolling. With wet hands, pick about a tablespoon of the cold ham mix and roll into a ball. Carry on until all rolled. Then dip the first one in egg, then breadcrumbs, then repeat so they have two layers of crumb (makes them crispier).

Keep dipping the other rolled balls until all completed. Heat oil to about 2 inches in a sturdy pan and when hot, fry the Bitterballen for about 4 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven until all cooked. Serve piping hot with mustard for dipping on the side. Delicious!

Ham Hock Bitterballen!

Note: (For information on how to cook the ham hock, please see the pea and ham recipe from a few days ago.)

Note: To get a uniform shape, cut the cold ham mix in half with a knife and keep cutting to make 24 pieces. They will look small, but they get bigger with the breadcrumbs.

Botswanian Groundnut Chicken Stew with Okra

This was a last minute change to my plans. I had some chicken breasts and had a plan to pan fry them with quinoa, but The Bloke intervened just before he left for work. He noted that a lot of readers on the blog were from Botswana and casually suggested I should try something from there. He then left for work and I sat for a moment, agreeing with him. 

So this is the dish I came up with. Botswana do an amazing dish called Groundnut Stew. Now after some research I found that peanuts are not actually a nut but from the legume family.What is a legume? It is a type of plant with seeds that grow inside pods such as peas or beans. Unlike nuts, which are grown on trees, peanuts grow underground. Hence Groundnut Stew.

I threw in some okra at the end, which is not traditional to the dish although as often the way, there any many versions. Some adding fresh tomatoes, some adding brown sugar. I did my version. You can really put in any vegetable - in fact having tried it now, I think green beans would work better than okra - but I guess that's a matter of taste.

Ingredients:  (Serves 4)

3 chicken breasts, skin removed, chopped into large chunks
120g peanut butter
100g tomato paste
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
1 inch piece ginger, chopped finely
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 cup (250ml) cold water
1 scotch bonnet, left whole and pierced with a knife
1 tbsp. oil
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
handful veg of choice, green beans/okra

Method:

Make the sauce by putting the peanut butter, tomato paste, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes in a bowl. Slowly add the water, mixing as you go to make a creamy sauce. Leave to one side.

In a non-stick pan, fry the onion and green pepper for 5 minutes until tender. Add the chicken and continue to cook. Pour the sauce over the top, stir and leave to simmer for 30 mins, partly covered. You will need to stir quite a bit as even in a non stick pan, the peanut butter can cause it to stick at the bottom. Then add the green beans or okra and the whole scotch bonnet chilli for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve with rice and remember to remove the whole chilli!

Note: During my research into the food of Botswana I found a lovely little recipe for lemon biscuits. I think I'll make them today!

Ham Hock and Pea Soup

A few weeks ago in the local butchers I was browsing to look for something new. I spied a 1.4kg ham hock. I normally buy gammon but having never actually cooked a ham hock before I decided to buy it. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it but figured I'd think of something.

I decided to made Ham Hock and Pea soup. I normally buy a cut of gammon for this but knew that the ham hock being on the bone would produce a better stock. The Bloke noticed the difference immediately saying it the best ham soup I've made. I had to agree. It was better - delicious in fact. And once you have gone through the soaking of the ham overnight and boiled the meat - the soup takes no time at all. And the ham hock only being £2.47  (and enough to make 2 different meals, the next of which I will put up later this week) made the soup very cheap indeed!

The best way is to soak the ham overnight on a Friday night to remove the salt. Cook the ham on the Saturday and refrigerate. On the Sunday morning remove any fat from the stock and shred the meat for the soup. Its a few days, true, but its an easy thing to do in the background and will have you looking forward to the best soup ever!

Ingredients:    (Makes enough soup for 4)

1 ham hock (1.5kg or so)
4 bay leaves
25g butter
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 potato chopped
1 small carrot, sliced thinly
500g frozen peas
100ml double cream
parmesan (to finish)
black pepper

Soak the ham hock in a large pot of water overnight to remove the salt and drain the next morning. Put the ham back in the pot, fill with fresh water and the bay leaves and boil for 2 1/2 hours. Leave the ham to cool in the stock before removing, reserving the stock into a jug. The fat will rise to the surface to be removed. Shred the ham and put 1/3 into one container (all you need for the soup). Put the other 2/3 of the ham into another container for another use.

To make the soup, fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes and then add the potato and carrot. Cook on a medium heat stirring to prevent sticking. Then add the peas and 1 litre of the reserved stock. Bring to the boil and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes. Lower the heat, add the cream and season with just black pepper (no salt needed). Blitz with a hand blender, leaving a few chunks of peas un-pureed for texture. Add the ham and stir through. Serve hot with parmesan grated or shaved on top and with buttered brown bread.

Note: The remaining shredded 2/3 of the ham I plan to use for something else - I do have an idea.. and will put up on the blog soon!

Steak Stroganoff Pie

Friday was Eclipse Day! I bought the  special glasses and was up and ready in the garden for a spectacle of seeing the moon passing over the sun. Sadly, we live in London which, at this time of year, is just cloud. So I saw nothing - apart from a few neighbours waving at me and laughing at my naivety and hope from the warmth indoors. It was not to be.

I knew I was making Stroganoff pies that night - so in homage I added the only thing I would see close to an eclipse on the top of the pie. Easy pies to cook as you make the filling in 10-15 minutes and cut a shape of pastry and bake it separately in the same time adding it at the end - why not? Its still a pie (of sorts).

And it was rather yummy. Steak Stroganoff Pie.

Ingredients:      (makes enough for 2 large pies)

320g pack of ready rolled puff pastry
2 x fillet steak (beef)
1 tbsp. oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
100g baby button mushrooms, halved
1 tsp. paprika
100ml double cream
1 tsp. English mustard
3 tbsp. brandy

Set the oven to 200 C. Cut the pastry lids to fit whatever dish you be serving the individual pie in. It doesn't have to fit perfectly. Brush with a little milk, put on a lightly oiled baking sheet and put in the oven for 15 minutes.

Cut the steak thinly in strips and sprinkle with the paprika and some ground black pepper in a bowl. In a pan, cook the onion and garlic together in the oil for 5 minutes until tender. Add the steak strips and mushrooms and stir fry until the beef only just cooked (still a little pink in the middle). Add the brandy and turn up the heat for a moment to cook off the alcohol. Then add the cream and mustard and stir and cook on a medium heat to thicken. Season to taste with a little salt.

Pile into serving dishes and add the pastry lids on top. Serve hot with chips and steamed vegetables on the side.

Enjoy!

Sumac Chicken Kebabs & Zucchini Tzatziki

Last night having made a huge stack of flatbreads - I knew I needed the perfect filler. Kebabs.

Sumac is a lemon tasting spice which is grown mostly in Africa and North America and I have started to use it as a marinade instead of lemon which is better as I find lemon very acidic.

The Zucchini Tzatziki was simply due to the fact that I had no cucumber, which is the usual recipe, but I did have a few courgettes. And you know - its rather good.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
2 tbsp. sumac
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. olive oil.
salt & pepper

Method:

Cut the chicken into bite sizes pieces and put into a food/freezer bag. Add the other ingredients and massage into the chicken. Leave in the refrigerator to marinade for between 1-4 hours. When ready to cook, soak 4 wooden skewers in cold water for a few minutes and thread on the chicken. Turn grill to high and cook for about 10 minutes, turning a few times.

For the Zucchini Tzatziki:

Grate one medium zucchini and place in a clean tea towel or some muslin. Squeeze as much water out as you can by twisting the fabric. Put into a bowl with 150g low fat natural yoghurt, 1 grated clove of garlic, a squeeze of lemon juice, a dash of olive oil and salt & pepper. Stir to combine. Serve chilled with chicken kebabs, flatbreads and chilli sauce (I used the Mexican Chipotles recipe from the other day and it was delicious!)

Simple food - great taste!

Imam Bayildi and Easy Homemade Flatbreads

I always have Imam Bayildi as a side dish when I go to Turkish Restaurants. Its a slowly baked whole stuffed aubergine (eggplant) in a rich tomato and garlic sauce. It was a staple for me back in the 'vegetarian years' as it was pretty easy to make after work and I'd make a few ready to be put in the oven.

It holds its own as a vegetarian main dish with a salad and flatbreads or can be a side dish to anything from steak to chicken kebabs. Here I have sprinkled on toasted breadcrumbs before serving as the crunchy texture goes so well with the creamy, soft aubergine underneath.

For those who are curious - Imam Bayildi means the 'Imam fainted' and the story goes that many years ago a Turkish Imam swooned when he tasted his wife dish of aubergine, tomatoes and olive oil. Another story is that he fainted because she couldn't make the dish for her husband as they had run out of olive oil. I have no idea why, or if, he fainted, but this is a lovely quick vegetarian dish that anyone would enjoy.

I also added the flatbread recipe as I think they are by far the easiest, cheapest, quickest flatbreads you could have. Two ingredients is all you need. And a dry frying pan.

Ingredients:    (Serves 2)

2 aubergines
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, sliced
400g tinned tomatoes
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp paprika
juice of 1/2 lemon
handful breadcrumbs

Method:

Set the oven to 180 C. There is an on-going debate about whether to salt aubergines because they hold too much liquid and are bitter, but these days this is rarely needed, especially if the aubergines are small and fresh. Cut them in half lengthways and scoop out some of the seedy middle part. Chop this and leave to one side. In 1 tbsp. oil, fry the aubergines for a few minutes to slightly soften. Remove and leave to one side.

In another tablespoon of oil, gently fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, then adding the chopped aubergine centres. Add the tomatoes, sugar and paprika and cook for another 5 minutes. Put the aubergines snuggly into a small dish and fill the holes in the aubergines, pouring any sauce in and around them.

Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. Drizzle the last tablespoon of olive oil over the dish. Lightly toast the breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top before serving.

For the flatbread:

Put 2 cups all purpose flour into a bowl. Add 1 cup plain low fat yoghurt and stir in until you get a soft dough. Separate in half, then half again and then again to get 8 pieces. Roll one into a ball and on a floured work surface roll out thinly into a circle. Heat a dry frying pan and add the dough circle. Cook for a few minutes on each side and leave to cool on a tea towel. Easy - no yeast needed! You can add a touch of salt if you like, though.

Chipotle in Adobo Sauce

Chipotles in Adobo is a staple in Mexican cooking. Most Mexicans buy them ready made in cans particularly because the quality is so good. You can actually buy Chipotle Paste in most London stores now, but they don't have the whole chillies in the sauce - which I think they should be because they are smoky, hot and frankly delicious!

Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapenos and many people (including myself) grow them so I thought I'd put up this recipe. I made it when having a friend visiting recently as I was doing a Mexican feast and I felt it was necessary to have it on the table. It was hot and smoky and lovely. And you can do so much with it. Yesterday I took a few spoonful's, chopped the whole chipotles and mixed it with mayonnaise and lime - and it was insanely good.

The best thing to do, is to blend the chipotles into the sauce to make a delicious chilli sauce. Its hot and bursts with flavour.

Dried chillies are sold in so many places now - I got these chipotle chillies in Brighton when visiting family a while ago as I have used up the dried ones we made from the home-grown batch. In the same store I also got the Ancho (Poblano) chilli that is also in this recipe. But both the chipotle and the ancho chillies are also sold in general supermarkets.

Ingredients:

About 20-25 small dried chipotle chillies
1 large dried Ancho (poblano) chilli
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced thinly
5 cloves garlic, sliced thickly
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
150g light brown sugar
170ml white wine vinegar
170ml rice vinegar
salt & pepper

Method:

In a small pan, boil the large ancho chilli for 15 minutes until soft. Leave to cool in the water and drain. Put the chilli and the tinned tomatoes into a hand blender and blitz until combined. Set aside.

Boil the chipotle chillies in boiling water the same way until plumped up and softened. Leave in the water to further soak while you make a start on the sauce.

In a large pan, fry the carrot, onion and garlic in 1 tbsp. oil for a few minutes until tender. Add the tomato/chilli mix and stir through. Add the herbs, salt & sugar. Stir and cook on a medium heat to thicken. Now add the vinegars and continue cooking for a further 20 minutes on a simmer. Drain the chipotles and add to the sauce. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes and leave to cool in the pan.

Put the sauce into jars, cover and refrigerate until use. 

OR: use a hand blender to use as a regular chipotle sauce. Delicious!

The canned Mexican variety
 

Salmon & Leek Ravioli with a Basil Cream Sauce

A few weeks ago when I had salmon, this was a dish I considered making, but put it off because making pasta can be fiddly and you need a bit of patience, Its not difficult to make pasta, and the rolling machine now makes its as thin as you like. But I tend to make each one by hand - its how I've always done it, which takes time if you want it to look nice.

I do think its worth it though and you always get a little sense of pride in a dish that is so handmade. This is a good dish if you have guests over, as it can be prepared before they arrive and not only takes minutes to cook - but looks impressive.

So salmon ravioli it had to be. The basil cream sauce just adds a nice touch of richness and luxury (and its quick).

For the pasta:

Tip 1 & 3/4 cups of '00' pasta flour out onto the work surface and make a well in the centre. Crack in 3 medium eggs (ideally fresh from your friends chickens - thank you Shelly). Using a fork, whisk the eggs lightly, slowly incorporating the flour. Keep whisking and you end up with a dough. You don't want it too sticky, just soft. Wrap in cling film and leave on the counter while you make the filling.

For the filling:

2 salmon fillets (skinless, cubed, about 300g)
1/2 leek, white part, sliced thinly
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. white wine
1 egg
2 tbsp. parmesan
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
zest of a lemon
salt & pepper

In  the oil, gently fry the leeks until soft. Add the salmon and cook until only just cooked. Add the white wine and turn up the heat to cook off the alcohol and tip into a food processor. Let cool for a few minutes and add the remaining ingredients. Place in the fridge until ready to assemble.

Using a pasta rolling machine - or roll by hand with a rolling pin - to as thin as you can. Flouring the counter, cut out 2 inch rounds from the pasta with a cookie cutter. Have a small bowl of water to one side pick up one pasta round. Put a teaspoon of filling into the middle - then wet the rim of another round and add it to the top. Press to seal, pushing out any air. Place on a clean tea towel and keep filling until pasta used up. Leave to dry out a little.


For the sauce:

150ml white wine
150ml veg stock
100ml double cream
2 tbsp. basil
salt & pepper

Put the wine in a small pan and cook on high to reduce by half. Add the vegetable stock and again cook on high to reduce by half. Turn down the heat and add the cream and basil. Leave to cook and slightly thicken on a low heat for 10 mins while you boil the pasta. Season to taste.

In a large pan of boiling water, put the ravioli in for approx. 10 minutes (depending on the thickness, taste to check). Drain well and serve with rocket and spoon the basil sauce over the pasta. Serve with freshly grated parmesan. Delicious!

Note: The way I cut the basil is called 'chiffonade'. You put the basil leaves on top of each other and roll up. Slice thinly. You can do it this way or just finely chop it.

Chicken Katsu with Tonkatsu Sauce

This is a Japanese dish that is very popular in Hawaii. One of my favourite dishes, I nearly always make Chicken Katsu Curry. Which is a flattened out chicken breast, coated in Panko breadcrumbs and either pan fried or baked (I always bake them), served with a curry sauce. Its delicious with steamed rice and a mandarin & radish salad.

This is the same Katsu chicken but served with a Tonkatsu sauce which is like a Japanese BBQ/Worcestershire/fruit sauce that I have made my version of. Usually this sauce is served with the pork version..

For the chicken:

Flatten out 2 chicken breasts by putting them in between some cling film and using a rolling pin. Then dip in one beaten egg, followed by a coating of Panko breadcrumbs. Lay on a baking sheet and bake at 200 C for about 20-25 minutes. Remove and slice into strips.

For the Tonkatsu sauce:

125g tomato ketchup
1 grated apple
75ml sake (Japanese wine)
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, grated
1 inch piece ginger grated
2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Put all of the above ingredients into a small pan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook to reduce until thickened. Cool and serve at room temperature with the chicken and a salad of choice. I did a tomato Panzanella salad - which seems an odd idea as its Italian but somehow goes beautifully with the Japanese style BBQ chicken.

Note 1: Japanese Panko breadcrumbs are available in most supermarkets and is a much larger type of breadcrumb.

Note 2: You can substitute the Japanese Sake wine for any dry white wine.

Irish Colcannon and Onion Gravy

Being St Patricks Day yesterday, and being half Irish, whilst listening to Irish music in the kitchen I made sure to have a hearty Irish dinner. There are so many to choose from but I fancied Colcannon.

Now Colcannon is from the South of Ireland and its mashed potatoes with cabbage - but there is also Champ from the North of Ireland which is mashed potatoes mixed with spring onions (scallions). I decided to do a mix of both. With lashings of home made onion gravy. And a couple of Irish sausages.

Here I have the recipe for the colcannon and the gravy. No doubt my next challenge will be buying a sausage casing machine so I can make my own sausages too. First - the colcannon:

Ingredients:  (Enough for 3-4)

3 large potatoes, cut into small pieces
1/2 small savoy cabbage, chopped
6 spring onions, chopped
butter
milk
salt & pepper

Method:

Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes until soft, drain. Boil or steam the cabbage for 10 minutes, drain & put into a bowl with the spring onions. Mash the potatoes with butter and a splash of milk and combine with the cabbage and spring onions. Cover and keep warm until serving.

For the Onion Gravy:

2 medium onions, peeled and cut into rings
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
25g butter
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. flour
400ml strong beef stock (2 stock cubes if using)
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme
splash white wine (optional)

Heat the oil and the butter and fry the onions on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Then add the sugar to the onions, cover and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until beginning to brown. Add the flour and mix in well with the butter. Let that cook on a low heat for 2 minutes then add a little of the hot stock, mixing well. Slowly add the rest of the stock, continually stirring, then turn up the heat to high and add the wine (if using), the bay leaves, thyme and Worcestershire sauce. Cook on high for 4-5 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium and cook until thickened.

Chocolate & Black Cherry Cookies

I was talking to a friend in Ireland about the blog the other day and one of the comments I recall from him was, 'not enough sweet things!' He is probably right. I tend to cook and write recipes for things that I personally like - and I am not much of a fan of sugar. But I do sometimes have the odd indulge in cookies.

I had a tin of black cherries in the cupboard and some dark chocolate, so I made these chocolate cookies with a juicy imbedded cherry and a drizzle of chocolate on top. I had eaten two before they had even cooled down!

Chocolate & Black Cherry Cookies

Ingredients:     (Makes about 20)

50g butter, soft
200g caster sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla essence
200g all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
60g cocoa powder
pinch of salt.
200g black cherries
100g plain chocolate

Method

Cream together the butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy. Add the egg, sour cream and vanilla essence and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Using a hand mixer (or with a wooden spoon) incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet, a little at a time. The mixture will look quite dry but as you bring it together to form a dough it will be fudgy. Cover in cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Drain the cherries from any syrup and dry a little with kitchen paper.

Set the oven to 180 C. Taking the dough, pull off pieces to make a ball about an inch and a half. Press your thumb into the middle of the ball and put a cherry in the hole you have made. Set it on an non stick but ungreased baking tray and continue until all of the dough has been used up, setting the cookies about an inch apart on the tray.

Cook for 8 minutes and leave to cool on the tray. Melt the chocolate either in the microwave (stirring often to prevent burning) or in a bowl set over water and either pipe the chocolate over the cookies with a piping bag or use a fork to dip and drizzle. Place on a plate or tray and put in the fridge for the chocolate to set.

If you can do all this without eating even one of them, you're a better person than me! Enjoy!

Restuarant Review - The House of Ho

Wandering through Soho in London last week we came upon The House of Ho, in Old Compton Street. The Bloke, having lived in the Far East with work for 5 years, was delighted to try what looked to be good Vietnamese food and I was more than happy to give it a go, as was our friend accompanying us.

On first entering the restaurant we noticed the place was small and fairly busy, but were pleased that although we hadn't booked, the three of us were given a table immediately. It has a good setting for romance. Candlelit and cosy with dark wood, I liked the look immediately. 

First ordered were drinks. Our friend had a beer and The Bloke and I opted for Jasmine tea for two and were promptly given two cute cast iron pots on a wooden block with little cups. Adorable. I poured immediately and grimaced, suggesting to my partner to not drink it. We tend to drink jasmine tea at home and it is meant to be light and refreshing - a pinch of leaves is plenty. They had heaped in what looked like about two or more tablespoons. It was so strong you could nearly stand a spoon up in it. We asked for more water to thin it down which they happily did, but my concerns were already twitching - if they can't make the basic tea - what would the food be like?

The waiter suggested we picked about three 'tapas style' dishes each so we picked ten to be sure (I was particularly hungry that night). Peering at the menu in the dark was quite difficult but eventually for starters, we decided on the rolls and chose one each - although we planned to share our food. I was looking forward to trying their Pho but they only serve that at lunchtimes. I went straight to the 'steamed' section of the menu and only found three things. Jasmine Rice, Lobster or Sous Vide Egg. I moved on to the rest of the menu.

I chose the Hot Crispy Rolls with pork and mushroom which I couldn't fault, very nice. The Bloke chose Pickled Vegetable summer rolls, which were quite nice, bit bland but okay and our friend chose the Mushroom & Herb Rolls. Again very nice and one of them came with the best peanut sauce I have EVER tasted. Sadly, that was the best part of the meal.

The (half) chicken wings were cooked well, in a sauce and were just okay. The Crispy Squid everyone agreed tasted exactly like the crisps you can get in England (Nik Naks). I guess if you like them - you'd like the squid. I wasn't a fan but the others loved them.

The Duck Breast was well cooked and came with a lovely black rice in a cabbage leaf, however, the 'sweet and sour' sauce was up with one of the worse flavours I have ever tasted. I could smell something immediately I didn't like on the table and when I tasted the sauce I knew that was what it was. We all looked at each other... "what IS that? It tastes.. almost dusty.. like.. an old dusty cupboard". It was the only description that seemed to fit as we all nodded in agreement. At least that comment made us laugh for the rest of the evening.

The Morning Glory (like a sea spinach and a favourite of mine) was lovely and served with crispy shallots. The Vegetable Curry was bland, although the okra was perfectly cooked. The Heavenly Flowers (grilled little flower bulbs) were interesting, crunchy and nice.. but left an strange, empty taste in your mouth. Everything was served very sporadically and we had to wait for something to go with rapidly cooling vegetables, or eat them alone. The rest of the dishes we picked at and left on the table when we departed, which is surprising as the servings are quite small. And I pretty much eat anything when I am hungry.

The words I said as I left were that my stomach "was left feeling sad". Which is a shame as Vietnamese food cooked properly is a delight! The bill came to about £100 (with one beer and tea as drinks).

On the website they quote "Our food is served ‘Banquet Style’ meaning it is served as and when it is ready". One gets the feeling that it is more for their convenience than anything else. That being said, the waiting staff were polite and we felt we were treated well. Its just a shame that the food, although presented beautifully, is just... well.. just okay.

Lamb fillet with Broad Beans & Peas

I find it a real struggle to find a lean piece of reasonably priced lamb. They are out there but they seem to be rare. I have never liked fat on my meat - I know it can be a personal thing but I am one of those people who cuts off every single piece, if possible.

There are some who say that the flavour is in the fat, but that was the very reason I started playing with flavours and finding ways of putting huge flavours into meat without using any of the fat. In the case of lamb, I usually end up with lamb leg steaks, but occasionally, very occasionally I come across lamb fillet strips. I think it may have been from Ocado, but the butcher is probably the best place to go to. Its a serious treat.

If you do find lean lamb - this dish is just so perfect. You don't need the big, punchy flavours. The lamb speaks for itself in this lovely simple Lamb Fillet with Broad Beans & Peas.

Ingredients:

225g lamb fillet strips
4-5 strips streaky bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup white wine.
3/4 cup vegetable stock
400g tinned broad beans, drained
200g frozen peas

Method:

Season the lamb strips and pan fry whole for 7-8 minutes until cooked. Set aside on kitchen paper to drain and rest.

Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry in the oil with the onion and garlic until crisp and tender. Add the wine and cook on a high heat until reduced by half. Then add the stock and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the peas and drained broad beans and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Slice the lamb into generous strips.

Serve the bacon & broad beans,  with some of the liquid, into a wide bowl and top with the tender lamb pieces. Lovely with boiled new potatoes or some crusty bread. And maybe a glass of wine if you wish.

Lebanese Potatoes and a Nifty Little Garlic Sauce

It was about two weeks ago I had these potatoes with a simple pan fried lamb chop. . Just a nice change from the usual boiled potatoes I would normally serve with the lamb.

The garlic sauce was tangy with lemon and the garlic surprisingly milder than expected. Its such a handy little recipe though - literally takes 5 minutes and changes a whole dish.



Lebanese Potatoes

For the potatoes:

Cut your potatoes into bite size chunks and pan fry in a tablespoon of vegetable oil until crisp and tender. Set aside on kitchen paper to drain.

Add another bit of oil to the pan and add 1/2 chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic, a shake of cayenne pepper & a shake of ground coriander. Sauté for a few minutes and add the potatoes back into the pan. Stir, season with salt & pepper and add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some fresh chopped coriander. Serve hot with the garlic sauce on the side.

Garlic Sauce

For the Garlic Sauce:

Using a hand blender, blitz a whole, peeled, bulb of garlic with a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup olive oil. The oil and lemon juice will emulsify to make a thick and creamy sauce with the texture of mayonnaise.
Delicious!

Banana Pancakes with Honey & Lime

I had a visit the other day from my lovely friend who keeps chickens. She brought me the freshest eggs I have ever had! I plan to do lots with them and yesterday morning was no exception! After throwing around a few suggestions to The Bloke, he decided he wanted my Banana Pancakes. Not like the thin crepes like we had on Pancake Day recently - but thick, fluffy ones with bananas.. with a drizzle of honey and a squeeze of lime. I had to agree - they were gorgeous.

Banana Pancakes with Honey & Lime

Ingredients:    (Makes 8)

2 ripe banana, 1 mashed and 1 sliced thinly
2 eggs, beaten
140g self raising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
125ml milk
25g butter, melted, plus more to fry
honey
1or 2 limes

Method:

In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder. Then make a well in the centre and add the 1 mashed banana, the 2 eggs, the melted butter and the milk. Whisk together until you get a creamy mix. It won't be entirely smooth because of the mashed banana but ensure you don't have any flour lumps.

Melt some butter in a pan and ladle in some of the batter making two in at a time (I used a 1/2 cup as a measure). Place 4 slices of banana on the top of the batter and fry for 2 minutes until you see bubbles at the sides of the pancake and carefully flip over. The uncooked batter on the top will be runny, so it may spread when you flip, so use a spatula to pull the batter back to make a neat circle shape. Cook for another 1-2 minutes and put onto a plate. Keep pancakes warm in the oven on a low heat, until all the batter is used up.

Serve with a generous helping of runny honey and a good squeeze of lime juice. Lovely!

South African Bobotie

I first saw a recipe for this in an old recipe book that was written in the 70's. I've had this book since I was a teenager and still have it today. So many of the recipes are just so dated (think liver, and devilled eggs, blancmange!). And Bobotie.

I have never tried to cook this dish and I have also never eaten it either, but considering its South Africa's National Dish, it has to be good, right? So I did a bit of research on the dish and its small changes over the years and gave it a go.

Bobotie 

And it IS good. Very unusual flavours of curry, ginger and coriander mixed with raisins and apple and softened beautifully with bread soaked in milk. Topped with a type of egg custard and served with bananas and salad. I was surprised how much I like it.

Ingredients:      (Serves 4)

For the curry paste:
2 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
4-5 allspice berries (or 1/2 ground)
grind of salt
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
3 small cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, chopped
1 large green chilli, chopped
1 hot birds eye chilli, chopped

2 slices brown bread
125ml milk
1 tbsp. oil
1 onion chopped
500g lean beef mince
1 small apple , diced small
50g raisins
juice of 1/2 lemon

For the custard:
2 eggs
200ml milk
3 bay leaves

In a pestle and mortar, grind the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and allspice berries to a powder with the salt. Add the curry powder, turmeric powder, garlic, ginger and chillies and bash until you have a dry paste.

Pull the bread apart roughly and soak in the milk while you cook the onions and beef.

Fry the onion in the oil until translucent and add spice paste, cooking until fragrant. Then add the beef, breaking it up as it browns. Then add the apple, raisins and lemon juice. Stir well, cooking on a medium heat. Finally break up the soaked bread over the top and stir in.

In a square lasagne dish (about 9x9 inch), pat the mince down and leave to one side to cool for 10 minutes. Then whisk the eggs and milk together and pour over the top. Place the bay leaves in a nice pattern and pop in the oven for approx. 30 minutes. Remove from oven and leave for 5-10 minutes to let the custard completely set.

I served this a fairly traditional way with white rice (which I steamed with a cinnamon stick and 1/2 tsp. of turmeric), a carrot and coriander salad with lime dressing and a sliced banana. Absolutely delicious!! Why did it take me so long to cook this?

Restaurant Review - Indian City

Last weekend we met with a friend who had just come back to England from Delhi and we were keen to go for a meal. I decided on Indian City, not far from St Pauls Cathedral/Blackfriars Bridge. I did a bit of research and saw mixed reviews, so thought we'd give it a go. I booked a table for three for the Saturday night.

We apologised as we arrived 20 minutes after our booking time and were delighted at how nice they were - even though they were fully booked and had kept our 'reserved' table. First impressions good. The table was laid out beautifully and the waiter gave us the menus and five minutes to settle before we ordered our drinks. The two men had a beer and I had a Lassi, which is a yoghurt based drink and it was lovely.

For starters we decided on the Mixed Tandoori platter for three which arrived promptly. The chicken was melt in the mouth, the prawns huge and tasty. Sadly my piece of salmon was too dry to eat and the piece of lamb I had was very overcooked. Someone else's portion of lamb was rare though and the others salmon seemed to be fine too, so bad luck on my behalf! The presentation of the plating up was first class and the tamarind sauce that was served with the meats was a delight.

For mains we ordered a Lamb Vindaloo, a Garlic Chilli Chicken Tawa, a side dish of Mutter Paneer - I insisted as its my favourite - with steamed rice and 3 roti (tandoori bread).

The lamb vindaloo was excellent. The meat was tender, the sauce was rich and very, very hot and we all loved it. The Chicken Tawa lacked something to me.. it just didn't seem to have much flavour. It could be partly due to the huge flavour coming from the vindaloo though. The worst dish was the mutter paneer. The minute it came to the table I was confused, as it looked like a yellow thick custard with a few random peas and hardly any paneer. I tasted it and the sweetness of the dish was overwhelming. It was more of a creamy dessert.. with peas in it. Considering our guest is from India - we asked him what he thought and he confirmed that was not a traditional flavour (or texture) at all.

So a bit of a mixed bag really. The bill came to £92 which I thought was a little excessive as we didn't even have a main dish each and only had a total of two beers and two Lassi drinks. But then again - its location will always be a bit overpriced. In all, I wouldn't rush back. But the waiters were polite and maybe I missed a trick on the menu.

Mini Pork & Tomato Meatloaves

This time it was The Bloke's turn to be feeling a bit unwell and he sent me a text asking for mashed potatoes. I'm pretty sure he wanted something to go with the mash so before leaving for  my Spanish lesson, I pulled a pack of pork mince out of the freezer to defrost and used the train journey to have a think about what to make. I decided on one I haven't done for over a year. Pork and Tomato Mini Meatloaves. He wanted comfort food and I was happy to accommodate.

Pork & Tomato Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients:  (Makes 6)

500g pork mince
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 carrot, chopped very small
1 onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, minced.
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 slices bread, made into breadcrumbs
200g chopped tinned tomatoes
1 egg
small bunch fresh thyme
few cherry tomatoes
pinch of sugar
salt & pepper

Method:

Set oven to 200 C. In the oil, cook the chopped carrot, onion and garlic on a medium heat for about 8 minutes until carrots are tender. Scrape into a large bowl and leave to cool for a moment. Then, to the bowl, add the pork mince, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, tinned tomatoes, the egg and half of the thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Lightly oil 6 ramekins or muffin tins and fill the meat mixture to the top. Press a half of a cherry tomato in the middle (cut side up) and sprinkle the tomato with a pinch of sugar. Add the rest of the thyme leaves and put the filled ramekins onto a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

I prefer these to the standard loaf tin meatloaf that you slice. They seem more manageable and are lighter. And I love individual portions of anything. I served two per person with creamy mashed potatoes and broccoli.

Chicken, Prawn & Chorizo Jambalaya

Although I believe Jambalaya was a French word meaning 'mixed up'.. this dish is mostly American. I've not exactly stayed true to its roots as it should have some smoked sausage in it - but then again, its another one of those dishes that in the past probably had a mix of whatever you wanted in it. Its a bit like a campfire meal and I all goes into one pot (which I love). Either way - this is the version I have been cooking for nearly 20 years and I love it. Chicken, Prawn and Chorizo Jambalaya.

The reason I use basmati rice is to take it away from a risotto, which is thick and the rice tends to stick together. I think in this dish, its nicer for the rice to be more separated and loose.

Ingredients: (Enough for 4 with a salad)

2 large chicken breasts, skinless
140g chorizo
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp. oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tsp. dried chilli flakes
150g basmati rice
235g raw king prawns
1/4 tsp. saffron threads
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas
20g butter
salt & pepper
parsley, chopped as garnish

Method:

Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Tip the prawns into a jug with the saffron and add 1 litre of boiling water. Set both to one side.

Fry the onion in a large pan with 1 tbsp. oil until tender and add the garlic, chilli flakes and red pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes and then add the chicken. Stir fry until chicken beginning to brown and add the dry rice. Stir well, making sure the rice gets coated with the oil. Carefully pour in about 3/4 of the saffron stock from the prawns, leaving the (now mostly cooked) prawns in the jug. Add the bay leaves and stir well.

Bring to the boil, and then turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, adding more stock if it dries out. When the stock is absorbed but the mix not dry, add the peas and the prawns. Simmer for another 5-6 minutes to let the peas cook and the prawns heat through. Finally add the butter and stir through until butter melted and jambalaya rich and glossy.

Serve with a garnish of parsley and  a chunk of buttered baguette and a salad on the side.