Chorizo & Feta Tostadas with Avocado sauce

This was one of the many dishes I made at the weekend whilst we had friends round for a Spanish/Mexican fusion dinner. It was a bit of a put together appetiser at the last minute and ended up being the best thing on the table (well it was my favourite, certainly). This is great as an appetiser or as a party type finger food and has so much flavour they'll be cleared in no time!

Serve them hot as you make them and you'll be surprised how simple yet delicious they are. Crumbled. crispy chorizo, creamy feta, a lovely sauce made from tomatoes, chilli and avocado, drizzled with honey. I imagine this dish would be better with green tomatoes, but the red large ones I used were still gorgeous for the dish.

Ingredients:

1 pack flour tortillas
150g cooking chorizo, skin removed
40g feta cheese
3-4 large tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 green chilli
25g fresh coriander
1 ripe avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
runny honey

Method:

Fry the tomatoes in a dry non-stick pan; cut side down to blacken a little. Add the whole garlic cloves. Then transfer to a bowl and put in the microwave to cook until tomatoes soft and collapsing.

Add the coriander, chilli and avocado and blend to a paste with a hand blender. Add enough water to make a looser sauce. Pop in the fridge.

Use a cookie cutter to make tostadas from the flour tortillas, you should get 2-3 from one tortilla. Put a little oil in a frying pan and fry the tostadas on both sides until browning and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.

In the same pan, crumble the chorizo in and fry until crispy, drain on kitchen paper. To assemble, lay the tostadas on a serving plate and portion out the chorizo onto each. Crumble over the feta cheese and top with a spoonful of the sauce. Drizzle over the honey and serve immediately. Delicious!!

Pancetta wrapped Lambs Liver with Roast Tomato Sauce

We fancied liver last night, but are getting bored of the usual way of cooking it - plain pan fried with bacon & onion gravy. So I grabbed a pack of pancetta from the fridge and a half a pack of roasted tomatoes I had left over; still unsure how it would pan out.

Pancetta is an Italian mildly spiced bacon made from the pork belly and often comes in cubes. It also comes in thin strips, which is what I have used here.

I ended up cutting the liver into strips and wrapping each strip completely in the pancetta (I think it needs plenty of the salty flavour) and fried them on a high heat. The roasted tomatoes from last week (recipe here) were simply seasoned with salt and pepper along with 2 tsp. sugar and 100ml water and blitzed into a thick sauce. Spinach and garlic seemed a nice accompaniment. It was lovely!

Ingredients:

300g lambs liver, cut into strips
1/4 cup flour
80g pancetta
1 tbsp. oil

Method:

Simply coat the liver strips in flour (this helps the pancetta to stick) and roll up in the pancetta. Put in the fridge to firm up the parcels for 15 minutes and then pan fry in a little oil. Serve on some spinach wilted in garlic and a little butter with the tomato sauce on the side. Delicious and simple!

I imagine you could pop these bacon & liver parcels onto a skewer and put them on the barbeque. A delicious alternative meat side dish, which I am thinking... would taste lovely dipped in a good barbeque sauce! I must try that this summer!!

Luxury Meat Terrine with Cabbage Avocado Slaw

Yes, Luxury Meat Terrine. Or 'Posh Meat Loaf' as I also like to call it. This is really quite special and happens to be something I don't cook very often. It has chicken, duck, pork sausage meat and pork tenderloin in it and is just so, so special. I sometimes leave the pork tenderloin out if I am feeling a bit thrifty, but with that extra texture, it just works that little bit better. And the leftover pork tenderloin is great for so many other recipes like my American Pork & Beans (recipe here).

This is an impressive looking and tasty dish that can be made 'winter' served hot with roasted potatoes, veg and a nice thin chicken gravy from the juices OR can also be a 'summer' dish served with pickles, salad and a crisp white wine in the garden. Either way it is a dish to impress! I have always, in the past, made this a hot dish but this time I am serving it the latter. Room temperature Luxury Meat Terrine with chutney, Spanish padron chillies and home-made slaw of red & white cabbage, lime and avocado dressing.

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast, skin removed
1 small duck breast, skin removed
100g piece of pork tenderloin (optional)
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 tbsp. brandy
1 tsp. dried thyme
hefty pinch black pepper
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
250g pack streaky bacon
1 pack good quality pork sausages (400g)
1 tbsp. hot creamed horseradish
100ml double cream
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley


Method:

Slice the chicken and duck breasts into a mix of thin strips and 1cm dice. Cut the pork tenderloin the same (if using) and add the meats to a bowl. Measure 2 tbsp. brandy into the bowl along with the thyme, chopped garlic and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour to marinade (you can leave longer).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the chopped meats for about 7-8 minutes until cooked and leave to cool. Using a loaf tin, arrange the strips of bacon so that they cover the bottom and overhang the sides (see picture).

Set the oven to 180 C. Slit the skins on the sausages and put the sausage meat into a bowl along with the cream and horseradish. Mash together and then add the cooled, cooked meats. Combine well and add the parsley. Spoon the meat mixture into the loaf tin and wrap the overhanging bacon over the top.

Wrap the whole thing in a double layer of kitchen foil and place into a roasting tin. Pour water so it comes halfway up the tin and place into the pre heated oven for one hour. Press the top to ensure the meat feels firm. 

Then remove the tin from the oven, take out of the water bath and pull back the foil. Put back in the oven for a further 10 minutes to brown the bacon on top. Remove from the oven and drain the juice, reserving for gravy if needed. Either slice hot or leave to cool to have with a lovely creamy coleslaw and some pickles. Delicious!

For the slaw:

1/4 red cabbage
1/4 white cabbage
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. white vinegar
3 spring onions, chopped
1 avocado
4 tbsp. mayonnaise
pepper

Shed the cabbages as thinly as you can and put into a sieve over a bowl. Add the sugar, salt & vinegar and mix through. Leave for an hour to soften.

Push the excess water out of the cabbage and put into a clean bowl. Add the spring onions. In a small bowl, crush the avocado and mix in with the mayonnaise. Stir into the cabbage and onion mix and add a little ground pepper. Serve with the meatloaf. Lovely!

Perfect Roast Sirloin of Beef

It took me quite some years so perfect roast beef. I know topside and silverside are meant to be the best cuts, so I kept buying them; occasionally overcooking and getting frustrated over the fat involved (I detest fat!). As I eat beef the least of all meats - it something that I never got round to perfecting. But on I tried. And I have decided that the leanest, healthiest, easiest piece of beef to roast for me, is a sirloin of beef, off the bone. That may sound an expensive way to do it - and its not the cheapest I agree. But it is the best for healthy, juicy delicious roast beef.

A 1.5kg piece of sirloin costs around £20, sometimes less. Having roasted and sliced it - it makes enough for 6 generous meals which is about £3.30 a person. Added to vegetables, the meal still comes in well under £5.00 and tastes perfect. Unless you actually like fat on your beef, which means its probably not for you. But this is lean and juicy. And makes the most gorgeous gravy, of which I make enough for the whole roast so I can bag and freeze the remaining 4 portions after serving for an easy week day roast beef with mashed potatoes with gravy.

Ingredients:

1.5kg sirloin of beef
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, peeled
small bunch fresh thyme
4 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 litre beef stock (cube is fine)

Method:

Set the oven to 240 C. Trim the majority of fat off the beef so you have a thin layer and massage the tbsp. oil into the beef. Slice the onion thickly and  lay in a roasting tin. Put the thyme on the onion and place the beef on top, seasoning with salt and pepper (see photo below).

Now put the tray in the oven and turn the heat immediately down to 200 C. Cook for 55 minutes for rare. One hour for medium rare, 1 hour 5 mins for medium and 1 hour 10 mins for well done. When the time is up, take the tray out of the oven, remove the beef and loosely wrap in foil to rest.

To make the gravy, set the oven tray directly onto the hob. Depending on the amount of fat you left on the beef (there should be very little), add about 1 tbsp. oil to the onions. The onions will be very dark, but that is what will be colouring the gravy. Turn the heat to medium under the roasting dish to heat up the oil. Add the flour and stir well, getting the onions incorporated and off the bottom of the tray. Now add a little stock at a time until you have a lovely meaty gravy. Add any juices from the rested beef for more flavour, strain and pour into a jug.

Slice the beef and enjoy!

Perfect Roast Beef

Diabetic Lemon Drizzle Cake

Some years ago, I used to make cakes for The Bloke's workplace, which they loved and I got to practice different recipes. The favourite was always my Lemon Drizzle Cake.

There was one chap there who is a diabetic so always missed out - so I came up with this recipe for a diabetic version. He was delighted as he got a whole cake when the others just got a slice! I've been promising him this recipe for ages, so Tony, here it is.

I use Hermesetas granulated sweetener in this recipe. As it is a very light product, rather than weigh the sugar - I find it best to use volume. 1 cup sweetener = 1 cup sugar.

Ingredients:

175g butter, softened
1 cup granulated sweetener
3 eggs
2 lemons
100g self raising flour
75g ground almonds
4-5 tbsp. milk
1/2 cup granulated sweetener


Method:

Set the oven to 180 C. Grease and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

In a large bowl, mix the sweetener into the butter until incorporated and light. You can use an electric whisk but I used a fork. Break the eggs into the mix, one at a time until blended. Add the zest of the two lemons and stir in.

Sieve the flour into the bowl and fold in gently, followed by the ground almonds. It will be quite a stiff paste, so add about 4-5 tablespoons of milk, one at a time until you have a soft, dropping consistency.

Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for about 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cake.

While the cake is baking, make the drizzle. In a small pan combine the juice from the 2 lemons and 1/2 cup of sweetener. Bring to the boil and reduce by about a third (about 3-4 minutes). Set to one side.

When the cake is cooked, leave to cool a little for 5 minutes. Using a skewer, make deep holes into the cake all over. Then spoon the drizzle over the top of the cake. Leave to cool completely before serving.

For those who want the recipe for a Lemon Drizzle using sugar, just substitute the sweetener for caster sugar!

Enjoy!

 

Spaghetti with Spicy Aribiatta Sauce (V)

This is an Italian dish that a friend requested a recipe for; I'm glad she did - it was a lovely lunch! Its another one of those dishes that has had all sorts of ingredients added to it, but I usually try to strip recipes back basics. Find out what the dish is trying to say to me and keep it simple. It never ceases to amaze me how much nicer food is when you don't mess around with it too much.

Arribiata literally means 'angry' in Italian, which can only be from the fiery heat of the chilli used in the sauce (of which there is quite a lot). You should really only have this sauce with penne pasta - but I like it with spaghetti and you must use fresh tomatoes, rather than tinned. You can also make this a meat dish by adding a chicken breast, maybe poached and sliced over the top with a drizzle more sauce. I wanted a light lunch and I also wanted the sauce to be the main ingredient. You don't need much - just enough to coat the pasta. With a little parmesan. Delicious!

Ingredients:    (Serves 2)

4 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. chilli flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. sugar
200g dried pasta

Method:

Using a hand blender, process the tomatoes to a paste (its fine if you have a few whole pieces, in fact rather better if you do). Set to one side.

In a frying pan add the olive oil, garlic and chilli flakes. Now put on a very gentle heat. You don't want to burn or brown the garlic, you just need to cook gently and flavour the oil. It should take about 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. At this stage the tomatoes will be quite light in colour.

Keeping on a low heat, cook the sauce for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. The tomatoes will darken as they cook. Taste to check for seasoning.

Cook the pasta of choice to the packets instructions, or until al dente, drain and add the pasta to the sauce, tossing well.

Serve with parmesan shavings and enjoy. Beware though...its HOT!

Simple ingredients!

This recipe can me made less hot by, of course, adding less chilli but I think its a sauce literally made for chilli fans!

Betty's Baked Pie

Over this coming weekend of 8-10 May 2015, The Royal British Legion will join the nation in marking the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. It is with this in mind that I made this pie. Its main ingredient is one of the most famous rationed meat from wartime England - corned beef. Its a little less popular these days but is still sometimes seen in a sandwich with pickles or as corned beef hash; fried with potatoes. Here it is used in my Bettys Baked Pie.

The recipe to this actually does comes from 1940 wartime. It was handed to me by a lovely old lady whose mother cooked it for her back in the day. I'm not sure where the 'Betty' comes from... maybe her mother was called Betty? I think its likely.

Either way - its a delicious little recipe and I have hardly changed it over the years. I just added a chilli as I think corned beef and chilli go very well together. But you can omit if you like. I think children would love this!

Ingredients:

1 tin corned beef, chopped
1 tsp. oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeds removed, chopped
pack of ready to roll pastry
3 large eggs
100g cheddar cheese, grated
dash of milk
salt & pepper

Method:

Set the oven to 180 C. Roll out your pastry to fit an 8-9 inch, loose bottomed quiche tin which has been greased. Lay the pastry in the tin, letting the pastry overhang the sides.

In 1 tsp. oil, fry the chopped onion and chilli until cooked.

Layer the corned beef, onion and cheese in the pastry case and season well with salt & pepper. Whisk together the eggs and a dash of milk and pour evenly over the top of the corned beef mix. Pop in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, until the egg is set in the middle. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and trim off the excess pastry.

You can serve this with a side salad, maybe with chips. Or take wedges of it packed in a picnic. I had it the way I have always had it. Still warm with some hot baked beans, Delicious! And a lovely remembrance of the war.

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Burritos

We woke up hungry today which is quite rare. And as we are planning to go to a Spanish Food & Wine fair later, I want us to have a hot and filling breakfast before we go. So Breakfast Burritos it is. Nice and quick too.

Ingredients:

4 flour tortillas
4 eggs
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
80-100g grated cheddar cheese
50g hot tomato salsa
25g coriander, chopped

Method:

Set the oven to 180 C. In a small frying pan, make a one egg omelette and put onto a plate. Repeat with the other three eggs.

To assemble, lay a flour tortilla on a board and place an omelette on the tortilla - it will be slightly smaller in diameter. Put a line of cheese down the centre, followed by a few spoons of salsa and then some coriander. Roll up and place in a baking dish. Repeat with the other tortillas until you have four.

Place in the oven for about 20 minutes for the cheese to melt. Serve hot.

Black Sesame Tofu with Hoisin Broccoli Noodles

Having been a vegetarian myself for many, many years (I'm not anymore), I have so many recipes I used to play with years ago. The Bloke never seemed to want to eat vegetarian but I think I may be showing him that if the effort is put in - vegetarian food is certainly as tasty as meat dishes! So I am introducing a vegan or vegetarian meal at least once or twice a week these days, which pleases me so much.

Here we have tofu, which was always a favourite of mine. I have coated the tofu chunks in soy flavoured egg and then black sesame seeds (sadly making it non vegan - I'll work on that!). Its simple and delicious with any stir fry you want to make/have ingredients in your fridge for. Low fat and good for you with plenty of taste!!!

Ingredients:

200g tofu
4-5 tbsp. black sesame seeds
1 egg
2 tbsp. soy sauce
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. Sake or mirin
2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 red chilli (I used a Thai hot chilli), finely sliced
4 spring onions, sliced
1/4 head broccoli, in florets
1/2 red pepper, sliced
25g fresh coriander, chopped
200g udon noodles
1 tsp. sesame oil

Method:

Chop the tofu into 1cm cubes (makes about 24) and dry with kitchen roll. Put the black sesame seeds onto a plate. Whisk the egg with 1 tbsp. soy sauce and add one whole peeled garlic clove, smashed. Dip the cubes of tofu into the egg mix and then into the sesame seeds to cover. Place onto a plate and refrigerate until ready to cook. Discard the egg mix.

Make the sauce. In a small pan add 3 tbsp. sake, 2 tbsp. hoisin sauce, 1 tsp. sugar & 1 tbsp. soy sauce. Bring to a boil and let reduce for about 3 minutes to thicken. Set to one side.

Cook the noodles for 7-8 minutes (or to packet instructions) and drain. Put into a bowl and add 1 tsp. sesame oil to prevent sticking. Set to one side.

Stir fry the broccoli, red pepper and the green part of the spring onions for 6-7 minutes until tender. Slice the remaining 2 cloves of garlic and the chilli and add to the veg; cook for another 2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles to the pan and mix in with the vegetables. Then stir in the sauce along with the fresh coriander. Serve the noodles in a plate, top with the tofu and garnish with the red chill. Delicious!

Easy Re-Fried Beans

A big fan of Mexican food, one of the side dishes I love is re-fried beans. They are sold in tins here in England but its just so easy to make.

I created this recipe many years ago, on holiday with a group of friends. We were all staying in cottages in a place called Darley, Yorkshire and I was the only one of the group happy to cook. I made a deal with them. Being a vegetarian at the time, I suggested that I did ALL the cooking (great response) as long as it was vegetarian (not so great response). We were located in a place that had very few shops, but I happily went off shopping. In the five days we were there, I heard no complaints as they tucked into various veggie dishes. One of the nights was Mexican food, so one of the side dishes was a hot, garlicky, melting cheese topped dish of re-fried beans. I have stuck with the same recipe ever since and it is store cupboard staple too.

Ingredients:

1 400g tin cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
1 400g tin red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pint chicken stock
salt
black pepper
grated hard cheese or mozzarella

Method:

In a wide frying pan, fry the onion until translucent. Add the garlic for another 2 minutes and then add the two tins of beans with the hot stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Then, with a potato masher, simply mash the contents of the pan. Season with a little salt and lots of black pepper. Top with grated cheese and serve with the cheese melting lovingly over the delicious re-fried beans. Perfect!

Note: If you like it spicy - add a couple of chopped chillies with the garlic - I do!

Chicken in Green Sauce with Penne

This is such a fresh, vibrant dish to cook. When you blend the peppers, spinach and coriander, the smell is just like walking through an English summer garden. And the vibrancy of the green sauce makes you feel you are eating health in a bowl. That happens to tastes amazing. I was actually excited cooking this, as it has to be my personal favourite flavour combination and I think you will love it!

There seem to be so many red sauces with pasta; occasionally white. Tomato, red pepper or cream sauce. Never had I had a decent, fresh green sauce unless it was just herbs. This is my Chicken in Green Sauce with Penne.

Ingredients:

2 large green peppers
260g spinach
25g coriander
3 cloves garlic,
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 tsp. oil
2 large chicken breasts, skin removed, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
120ml double cream
200g penne pasta
2 tbsp. natural low fat yoghurt
Handful walnuts, toasted in a dry pan & chopped


Method:

Cut one of the green peppers in half and reserve half for later. Then, either over a naked flame, or under the grill blacken the skin of the one and a half peppers and put into a freezer bag to steam for a moment. Peel away as much of the blackened skin as you can and discard the stem & seeds. Put the peppers into a food processor and add to it, the coriander, spinach, 2 cloves of the garlic and 1/2 onion. Process until fine. Add enough water (50-100ml) to make a loose paste.

Slice the remaining 1/2 pepper and chop the remaining 1/2 onion and finely chop the garlic clove. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tsp oil and gently cook the onion and pepper and garlic until tender. Add the pepper/spinach paste and cook on a low heat, adding a further 100ml water, the nutmeg, sugar and seasoning. Add more water if needed; you need a loose sauce, but not watery.

In a separate frying pan, heat the other tsp oil and fry the chicken on a high heat for 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add the chicken and juices to the pepper sauce. Stir through and add the cream. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.

Boil the pasta in a large pan, until just cooked (al dente) and combine with the chicken and sauce. Cook gently for 2 minutes and then serve with a spoon of yoghurt on top and a sprinkle of the walnuts. Delicious!

This is a sauce I used to make back in the days of being a vegetarian, so it also makes a great vegetarian pasta sauce (omitting the chicken) which is packed with flavour and also good with crumbled feta cheese over the top. Enjoy!

Comforting Parsnip and Leek Soup

Yet another soup for you to try. I am a huge fan of homemade soup because its just so comforting and gives you so much more flavour than the tinned variety. It was last Sunday lunchtime when the weather was just on the wrong side of cold that was crying out for a warm, thick pair of socks and a large comforting bowl of soup with bread and butter.

Still having an excess of parsnips after having made parsnip mash and parsnip hummus, I pulled out a few more to make a delicious soup.

Ingredients:

3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. butter
800ml vegetable stock (cube is fine)
100ml double cream
croutons, to finish
snipped chives, to finish

Gently cook the leeks and parsnips in a large pot in the butter and oil, on a low heat for about 10-12 minutes until soft. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for about 1-15 minutes until the parsnips are tender.

Take off the heat and using a hand blender, blitz into a smooth soup. Put back on a gentle heat and add the cream. heat through stirring. Serve topped with the croutons and chives.

For the croutons, I used the standard seeded granary bread we had and cut them into cubes, tossed in a tiny bit of oil and popped in a hot oven for 3-4 minutes to crisp up.

Warming and comforting. And so very easy to make!

Easy Authentic Rogan Josh

The one thing I try to stick to with these recipes are to find the healthiest way to cook them. I find a lot of Indian food cooked in the UK to be a bit too oily from the large amount of ghee that is used which is unnecessary. Also, the best thing for me about this dish, is that it uses a lean cut of meat so the fat is removed making this a very healthy curry. The flavour doesn't need to be from 'marbled fat' running through it - it is so packed with flavour from the spices you can use lean meat.

In fact this dish is also good with skinless chicken breasts. Here I have used lamb. Its warming a spicy and I love it.

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled 
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
500g lamb leg steaks, trimmed of any fat and diced
seeds from 5 cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
2 onions, peeled
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. chilli flakes
2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
4 tbs. plain yogurt
100ml water
1 tbsp. garam masala
1 tbsp. dried curry leaves, crumbled
fresh coriander for garnish

Finely chop one of the onions and put in a bowl. In a hand blender, puree the other onion and add it to the bowl. Put onions to one side. In hand blender, blitz the garlic and ginger with 2 tbsp. water to make a paste. Put to one side. In a pan add 1 tbsp. of oil and fry the lamb cubes until browned. Remove from the pan and set to one side.

In the same pan, add the bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon stick with a further tbsp. oil. Cook until the bay leaf is beginning to brown and then add the chopped and pureed onions along with the tbsp. butter. Cook for 5-10 minutes on a medium heat until browned. Then add the garlic/ginger paste and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Now add the meat and resting juices back to the pan and stir fry for 1 minute.

Add one tablespoon of the yoghurt and stir in. Then add another, until 4 tbsp. have been put in. Combine well and then add the water. Bring to a boil and then simmer on the lowest heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. You may need to top up the water if its drying out.

After the 2 hours the lamb should be melt in the mouth soft with a thickened sauce. Add the garam masala and the curry leaves and stir through for last 5 minutes of cooking.

Serve with basmati rice and fresh coriander. And a naan bread of you like. Delicious!

Mango Cake with Mango Buttercream Filling

I have had a large tin of mango puree in the store cupboard for quite a while, that was kindly given to me. I had intended on using it in a savoury dish but hadn't got round to it. So I decided to make a mango cake - its really easy too.

I used to dislike mangos up until I was sitting at breakfast one morning in Tenerife and had some fresh mango for breakfast, which was juicy, sweet and just divine! I have never looked back. Now, I don't know why, but I rarely see mango cakes. It is now probably my favourite fruit and I think there needs to be more mango recipes out there. I plan to experiment this week.

Ingredients:

170g butter

225g caster sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla essence

180g self raising flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup tinned mango puree (about 400g)

 

 

Set the oven to 160 C and line a greased loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

 

With a hand mixer, mix the butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and incorporate. Add the vanilla essence. Fold in the flour and baking powder and then stir in the mango puree to make a batter. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and cook for about 1 hour, checking occasionally. The cake is ready when you put a skewer in the middle and it comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cook completely.

 

For the buttercream filling:

 

225g butter, room temperature

125g icing sugar

1/2 cup (about 200g) mango puree.

 

Beat first the butter and then add the sugar in, a bit at a time. Keep beating and then add the mango puree until incorporated. If it is too thin, add some more icing sugar. The buttercream will firm up in the fridge. (Notes on buttercream at the bottom of this page).

 

Cut the cake in half lengthways and spread the butter cream on both inside levels. Put in the fridge to firm up a little and then press the top gently onto the bottom, with the buttercream touching. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

 

 

Slightly ironically, the day after I made this I managed to snag a bargain of 8 large mangos for £2.79 in a local food store! So now I have to get my thinking cap on to use them up.

 
 

Note: Troubleshooting buttercream. If the butter won't incorporate, its probably because the butter is too cold. Scoop a few spoon of the mix and heat in the microwave. Then add that back to the main mixture and beat together. If the buttercream splits, it usually means you need to use a higher strength beater. Put the mixture into a tall pot and use a hand blender. You should get perfect smooth buttercream.

 

Bbq Chicken Skewers with Avocado & Courgette Salad

With the weather getting slightly better I am really looking forward to pulling the barbecue out of the shed so we can sit outside, cook and enjoy. Sadly though, it looks much nicer than it actually is. So I keep on hoping and making food perfect for the barbecue and then realising we have to eat it indoors yet again. I remain hopeful!

In the meantime here is Bbq Chicken Skewers with a light avocado, courgette and lime salad.

Ingredients for the chicken:

2 chicken breasts, skinless and cut into large cubes
4 skewers (wooden or metal)
2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the chicken cubes. Marinade from 1 hour to 1 day in the fridge and then thread onto the skewers. Grill for about 8-10 minutes, turning frequently.

For the avocado & courgette salad:

1 small avocado, peeled and chopped
1 courgette, grated
zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tsp. black poppy seeds
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. honey

Put the grated courgette onto a clean tea towel and add 1/2 tsp. salt. Leave for 30 minutes and then wring the excess water out by twisting the fabric tightly over the sink. Add the now drier courgette to a bowl and add the other ingredients. Mix well and leave to marinade at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a couple of flatbreads for a delicious fresh and healthy bbq chicken kebab.
Enjoy!

Easy Mexican Spicy Baked Eggs

This is an adaptation of the Mexican Huevos Rancheros which is generally a fried tortilla,  topped with a spicy tomato salsa and a couple of fried eggs. Here I have just removed the 'fried' part to make a quick, healthy, filling Sunday morning breakfast with a nice spicy kick!

The chilli sauce that you add can be any type you like. I used my Chipotle In Adobe sauce, (recipe here) - but you can use any kind you choose.

Ingredients:      (Serves 2)

1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp. good chilli sauce
4 eggs
fresh coriander, to serve
1 chopped green chilli, to serve
4 flour tortillas

Method:

Gently cook the onion and red pepper in the oil in a small pan until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes and stir. Add 1-2 tbsp. of a good chilli sauce and cook on a medium heat to thicken slightly. Season with salt & a grind of black pepper. Put into a shallow dish. Make four wells in the tomato salsa and gently break an egg into each hole. Pop in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the white looks set.

Warm the tortillas up in the microwave for about 1 minute and serve with the salsa and egg in the middle (see serving picture at the bottom of this page). Top with fresh chopped coriander and the green chilli. Eat while still steaming hot!

Roast Tomato Bread

This is one of those recipes that will come in handy if you found you have bought too many tomatoes (which I did last week) or in the summer when you are growing tomatoes and you have a glut of them (most years). In panic, when I see them getting over ripe, I have to think quickly on a way to save them. I have a few things that I do with a glut of tomatoes and this is one of them. I roasted them. And made tomato bread.

 

They were rather large tomatoes so I cut them into wedges, but if they are cherry tomatoes you can leave them whole or cut them in half. Toss them in a little olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper and put them into a hot oven (about 200 C) and roast until they have lost most of their liquid and have started to blacken. How long depends on the size of the tomatoes, but these took about 45 minutes. Then leave them to cool and put into a freezer bag. At this stage you can just freeze them as they are for future use, or you can make a delicious pasta sauce. In this case I froze half for a later date and used half in my Roast Tomato Bread.

 

 

 

I used this basic bread recipe:

 

500g strong white flour

7g sachet fast-action yeast

1 tsp. salt

3 tbsp olive oil

300ml water

 

In a bowl, mix the flour, yeast and salt. Male a well in the centre and add the oil and water and knead into a dough. Leave in the bowl in a warm place in the house to rise for 1 hour.

 

Then knock back the risen dough and mix about a cupful of the roasted tomatoes into it. Mix in well and then make into a ball and put on a greased baking tray to cook at 210 C for 20-25 mins. I also put some into flower pots (which looks so pretty).

 

To do that you need to grease the (clean) flower pot and line with greaseproof paper. Then pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Perfect, tomato bread to have with just about anything. Enjoy!

 

 

Grilled Mackerel with Leek & Walnut Couscous

I have quite a few mackerel recipes that we like to try. It is one of those fish that seems to carry all sorts of  punchy flavours alongside it like horseradish, beetroot and chorizo to name but a few.

Its an oily fish with a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids which is good for normal metabolism and so, rather good for you. As it is oily, I like to simply grill it rather than pan fry; which I have done in this recipe and served with a couscous with leeks, green peppers, apricots and walnuts with a simple yoghurt sauce on the side and a little coriander pesto.

Ingredients:

2 mackerel fillets
1 leek, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup semi dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup couscous
1  pint chicken stock

Gently pan fry the peppers, leeks and garlic for about 10 minutes or until vegetables softened. In a bowl, add the hot chicken stock to the couscous and cover with cling film to let steam for 5 minutes. Add the vegetables to the couscous, along with the apricot and walnuts.

Set the grill to high and cook the mackerel, first skin side down for 2-3 minutes, then turn over and cook the until the skin is crisp.

Serve the fish skin side up with the couscous on the side.

For the yoghurt sauce:

In a bowl, whisk 1 cup plain low fat yoghurt with 1 clove garlic, minced, the zest and juice of 1/2 lime,  a handful of chopped fresh coriander, salt & pepper.

For the coriander pesto:

In a hand blender, blitz 25g fresh coriander, 1 tbsp. of pine nuts, 3-4 tbsp. olive oil with a dash of lime juice.

Serve either one of the sauce, or both as I have, with the fish and couscous. Very healthy and very tasty!


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Ensalada Rusa (including Vegan version)

This is a Spanish tapas dish that I had in the Canary Islands (think it was Tenerife). It is also called Olivier Salad and originates in Russia, but is also served in Spanish countries.

It is so simple, but so different to the usual tuna salad I have had in the past. Its a perfect little side dish to other tapas like sizzling garlic prawns and crusty bread.  Served in the garden with a newspaper and a glass of Rioja!

You can make this vegan using vegannaise which is a vegan mayonnaise,. You can buy Granovitas' Mayola in stores - or make it yourself using the recipe at the end of this page) and instead of tuna and egg, add chopped beetroot, pequillo peppers and green beans. Just as delicious.

Ingredients for tuna version:     (Serves 2-4)
1 x 160g tin tuna, drained
1 medium carrot
4 small new potatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas
150g mayonnaise
2 eggs, hardboiled & peeled
few chives for garnish

Method:

Boil the potatoes whole until tender and remove from the water with a slotted spoon, reserving the water in the saucepan. Leave to cool, peel and chop into small dice. Put into a medium sized bowl.

Chop the carrot into pea size dice and add to the potato water. Cook for ten minutes adding the frozen peas to the carrots for the last 2 minutes. Drain and add to the potatoes. Chop the hardboiled eggs. Put in the bowl with the cooked vegetables along with the drained tuna and mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly.

Lightly season with salt & pepper and stir in. Top with the chopped chives and serve at room temperature with lots of crusty bread.

For the Vegan version:

Make as above but instead of the tuna and egg, add a handful of steamed fine green beans, chopped, some chopped beetroot and sliced pequillo peppers. The vegannaise can be bought in stores but here is a recipe for that also.

Vegan Mayo   (Makes 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

 

1 cup firm silken tofu

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. English mustard

1 tbsp. caster sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup olive oil

 

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and mix until you get a light, thickened creamy mix. Now use in the recipe above and you have a Vegan Ensalada Rusa. Delicious!