Portuguese Fava Bean/ Broad Bean stew

 Excellent recipe for those broad beans I haven't picked young enough.

Heat a large saucepan and add Chorizo 'ring' sliced into half-moons and 85g of smoked bacon lardons cooking gently until the oil from the chorizo starts to be released. Add 1 large onion (diced) and fry for a couple of minutes. Add 4 cloves of garlic (minced) and cook until the sausage is beginning to brown. 

Stir in 3tbsp tomato puree, 1tbsp red wine vinegar, and quarter teaspoon each of cinnamon and allspice until well combined

Add 1kg broad beans - Original recipe says shelled. It works fine with freshly picked beans with skin left on - and 5.5 cups water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 45 minutes. Add chopped parsley towards the end.

I added some tomato passata as well because I happened to have some open from a previous meal. Recipe to be adjusted next year depending on whether this is required as well as the tomato puree

Salt beef

 To be completed when I've finished making the current one in 7 days time :)

For the brine

I used Jamie Olivers (but black peppercorns corns rather than red)

For next time could swap out with a few of the below (although stick with the 200g table salt to keep the salt level lowish

• 2 litres water
• 350g–500g coarse sea salt (or pickling salt)
• 250g–300g soft light brown sugar or caster sugar
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp juniper berries
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp mustard seeds
4-6 bay leaves

Smashed avocado and soya beans (or edamame beans)

Can't get frozen edamame beans locally just soya beans. Difference is that the soya beans need cooking first.

For 2 people cook 1 cup of soya beans according to the packet and mash whilst still warm. If using edamame (the young soya beans) then no need to cook, so just mash.

Add an avocado, a big pinch of nutritional yeast, salt and squeeze of lemon and mash together.

Serve on wholemeal toast with optional poached egg

Air Fryer Bagels - high protein

Made using either cottage cheese or greek yogurt these bagels are high(er) in protein. The recipes this is based on say full fat but I've used 0% fat each time I've made them to keep calories down. At some point I might try with full fat to see what difference it makes to the finished bagel.

Cottage Cheese - strain overnight then process until smooth

Yogurt - much simpler as no need to process - use a good quality brand of Greek yogurt and strain overnight.

For each volume of cheese or yogurt add to it the same volume of self raising flour (1 cup of each will make 4) in a bowl.

Mix (use hands for half of this) until sough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead on a floured surface until smooth adding more flour if needed to ensure not sticky.

Roll into a ball and divide into 4.

Roll each ball into sausage shape about 17cm long and 2.5 cm think (7 inches by 1 inch) then join the ends pinching them together to seal OR and I need to try this  flatten and poke a hole in the centre and stretch to make bagel shape. Make sure the hole is larger than you expect it will be when cooked.

Brush the tops with egg white (or beaten whole egg) and sprinkle with small seeds (eg sesame, nigella, and/or poppy).

Airfry at 150C for 14 -16 minutes until golden on top and no longer doughy in the centre.

Rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and eating

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Chicken Keema

 This went down very well and easier than making lamb kebabs / chicken shawarma.

Based on Romy's recipe. 

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and give a good spray with vegetable oil. Add 4 grated/ minced large cloves of garlic and 8 chopped spring onions (including green part). Stir then cook for 2-3 minutes. Add a rounded half teaspoon of chilli powder and cook for a further minute.

Add 1tsp each of turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, salt and black pepper along with 2tsp of tomato puree, 3 tsp pomegranate molasses and a chopped small handful of coriander. Mix well so evenly coated and then add 500g chicken mince. Stir thoroughly to break up the mince. Cover with lid and cook on lower heat for 10 minutes stirring every now and then. Add a heaped tablespoon of greek yogurt and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve in pita breads with side salad and pickled jalapeños for those who like more heat. 

Stuffed Marrow Rings

Soak 100g (4oz) fresh breadcrumbs with 3tbsp milk for 2 minutes. 

Top and tail a medium sized marrow and cut into 3cm thick rounds. Cut away and discard the seeds to form rings. Place in single layer on a baking tray. 

Into the breadcrumbs, mix 175g (of 225g) grated Cheddar cheese, 50g roughly chopped pine nuts and 1tsp dried basil. Season to taste. Stuff the rings and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cook at 180C for 30-40 mins until marrow is tender and cheese is browned.

Slow Cooker Pork and Olive casserole

 

One of the recipes I based the below on added smoked paprika, lemon juice, zest and parsley. It was more than fine without but might try adding one or more next time

Lightly dry fry 100g sliced chorizo (release a bit of oil, don't get anywhere near crispy) in a frying pan. Add to slow cooker pot leaving the oil in the frying pan. Top up the oil in the frying pan with a bit of olive oil and brown outside of 500g cubed pork shoulder/leg in batches. Remove and put into slow cooker pot leaving oil. Gently fry 1 chopped onion and two cloves garlic in the oil until starting to soften. Add to slow cooker pot.

To the slow cooker pot add a tin of tomatoes and enough chicken stock to nearly cover the pork. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

Then add 100g rinsed green olives and a drained tin of chickpeas and salt and pepper. Cook for a further hour (basically heating the olives and chickpeas).

Couscous is a good accompaniment