We bought the Hairy Bikers Eat For Life book last weekend. Highly recommend it - we've had many meals this week from recipes in the book. This included Rich Beef in red wine and Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu (I can't find these online). Mr B made third quantities of the former and it still fed 3 of us with some left over including some of the Colcannon. With a single chicken portion left over as well, we had a tapas meal yesterday evening!
On the tapas 'menu':
Chorizo and cherry tomatoes - slices of chorizo each with half a cherry tomato on top.
Rich beef in red wine
Baked leeks topped with slices of the chicken 'cordon Bleu'
Oven baked potato croquettes
All baked/reheated in hot oven. Served with green salad.
Oven baked potato croquettes
Heat oven to 200C
Mix any seasonings or additions (eg finely chopped cooked veg, meat, fish) with mashed potato. Add splash of milk to get creamy consistency. With your hands form into walnut sized balls
Put layer of breadcrumbs on a plate.
Dip the potato balls into milk and toll in breadcrumbs to coat. Put on lightly greased baking tray and cook for 20 minutes, turning at least once, until golden on outside.
Depending on what you add to the potato, these are a low fat alternative to the normal fried variant.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Portuguese chicken soup
Made the Hairy Bikers piri piri chicken for supper on Monday. Two further meals from it, a chicken and salad wrap and this Portuguese chicken soup.
Portuguese chicken soup
Make stock from carcass of chicken (the piri piri one adds an extra flavour). You need 1 pint.
Finely chop 1 red onion and gently fry in a small amount of oil until translucent. Add a crushed clove of garlic towards the end. Add the stock and 2 oz rice. Bring to rapid boil then cover tightly and turn off heat (or simmer until rice is cooked if you prefer that method). 5 minutes before serving add up to 8 oz shredded cooked chicken and juice of half a lemon. Heat through. Season to taste. I included a couple of dashes of tobasco.
The traditional recipes I found all have chopped mint in them. One variant to try when the mint is growing again.
Portuguese chicken soup
Make stock from carcass of chicken (the piri piri one adds an extra flavour). You need 1 pint.
Finely chop 1 red onion and gently fry in a small amount of oil until translucent. Add a crushed clove of garlic towards the end. Add the stock and 2 oz rice. Bring to rapid boil then cover tightly and turn off heat (or simmer until rice is cooked if you prefer that method). 5 minutes before serving add up to 8 oz shredded cooked chicken and juice of half a lemon. Heat through. Season to taste. I included a couple of dashes of tobasco.
The traditional recipes I found all have chopped mint in them. One variant to try when the mint is growing again.
Saturday, 30 November 2013
Chicken enchiladas with salsa verde
Picked tomatillos - the paper cases masked the small size of many of them so didn't have as much as I thought. Made green salsa from it and chicken enchiladas for it go with (froze surplus of the former for future use).
Green salsa
250g tomatillos sliced
finely chop half an onion, 1 green chilli and handful coriander leaves
Put all into saucepan with 1tsp cumin, juice of half a lime, 250ml of water. Bring to boil then simmer for 10 minutes.
Chicken and sweet corn enchiladas
Heat oven to 180C
Chop two onions, fry over medium heat in tbsp of oil until translucent. Add two tins of chopped tomatoes and simmer until slightly reduced.
In the meantime in a separate pan fry 500g cooked chicken in tbsp oil with 2tbsp fajita spice mix (half a packet if bought by the packet!) for a couple of minutes and then add large tin of sweetcorn and fry for further couple of minutes.
Layout 8 tortilla wraps on a board. Put a couple of spoons of tomato and onion sauce down the middle each. Put the chicken and sweetcorn mixture on top. Wrap each one and put into a baking dish (lasagne dish). Cover with remaining tomato and onion sauce. Grate gruyere or cheddar cheese on top. Bake in oven for 20 mins or until cheeses is bubbling and browning.
Green salsa
250g tomatillos sliced
finely chop half an onion, 1 green chilli and handful coriander leaves
Put all into saucepan with 1tsp cumin, juice of half a lime, 250ml of water. Bring to boil then simmer for 10 minutes.
Chicken and sweet corn enchiladas
Heat oven to 180C
Chop two onions, fry over medium heat in tbsp of oil until translucent. Add two tins of chopped tomatoes and simmer until slightly reduced.
In the meantime in a separate pan fry 500g cooked chicken in tbsp oil with 2tbsp fajita spice mix (half a packet if bought by the packet!) for a couple of minutes and then add large tin of sweetcorn and fry for further couple of minutes.
Layout 8 tortilla wraps on a board. Put a couple of spoons of tomato and onion sauce down the middle each. Put the chicken and sweetcorn mixture on top. Wrap each one and put into a baking dish (lasagne dish). Cover with remaining tomato and onion sauce. Grate gruyere or cheddar cheese on top. Bake in oven for 20 mins or until cheeses is bubbling and browning.
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Courgette and Feta Salad
Post Open Gardens BBQ earlier this month had a number of salads being brought along to go with the Pulled Pork and obligatory burgers and sausages. This is the one we were all asking for the recipe for. So courtesy of Anita - and based on original in Sainsbury's magazine:
5 medium courgettes thinly sliced lengthwise (original recipe had a medium aubergine in place of 2 of the courgettes). Toss in olive oil to lightly coat
1 tbsp dill (or fennel leaves) and 2tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped
Juice of a lemon
2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil from the jar of sunkiss tomatoes (below)
100g feta
30g sunkiss tomatoes roughly chopped
25g lightly toasted pine nuts
Griddle the courgettes - in batches - for 2-3 mins on each side until lightly charred and tender. Transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool slightly. When close or at room temperature, toss in the herbs and then arrange on a large platter. Crumble the feta and scatter over the courgettes along with the tomatoes and pine nuts over.
Whisk together the lemon juice and oil with some freshly ground black pepper and drizzle over.
If not served as part of a mass BBQ this salad is great with a green salad and hot pitta breads
5 medium courgettes thinly sliced lengthwise (original recipe had a medium aubergine in place of 2 of the courgettes). Toss in olive oil to lightly coat
1 tbsp dill (or fennel leaves) and 2tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped
Juice of a lemon
2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil from the jar of sunkiss tomatoes (below)
100g feta
30g sunkiss tomatoes roughly chopped
25g lightly toasted pine nuts
Griddle the courgettes - in batches - for 2-3 mins on each side until lightly charred and tender. Transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool slightly. When close or at room temperature, toss in the herbs and then arrange on a large platter. Crumble the feta and scatter over the courgettes along with the tomatoes and pine nuts over.
Whisk together the lemon juice and oil with some freshly ground black pepper and drizzle over.
If not served as part of a mass BBQ this salad is great with a green salad and hot pitta breads
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Swiss chard Saag Aloo
The Swiss chard last year is still producing leaves so adapted a Saag Aloo recipe to use it (Kate came round for supper yesterday evening rather than us meeting for a drink at the pub, so needed an additional dish to go with the Chicken Tikka Massala we had got out of the freezer for just Mr B and myself!) Serve with mint and cucumber raita and naan bread.
2tbsp oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp minced garlic and ginger
500g potatoes peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks
1 red chilli finely sliced (remove seeds if you want this to be mild - I didn't)
half tsp black mustard seeds
half tsp cumin seeds
half tsp turmeric
250 g swiss chard - stalks chopped, leaves roughly torn
Fry the onion in a frying pan that has a lid. Add the garlic and ginger and spices after 2 minutes. After a further 2 minutes add the potatoes and chilli cook for 5 minutes. Add couple of tbsp of water and the chard stalks, cover and cook until the potatoes cooked (upto 10 minutes). When they are add the chard leaves. Recover and gently cook until leaves have wilted. Season with salt and serve.
The recipe this was based on suggested addition of a can of chick peas to make this into a vegetarian meal for two. Might try this at some point
2tbsp oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp minced garlic and ginger
500g potatoes peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks
1 red chilli finely sliced (remove seeds if you want this to be mild - I didn't)
half tsp black mustard seeds
half tsp cumin seeds
half tsp turmeric
250 g swiss chard - stalks chopped, leaves roughly torn
Fry the onion in a frying pan that has a lid. Add the garlic and ginger and spices after 2 minutes. After a further 2 minutes add the potatoes and chilli cook for 5 minutes. Add couple of tbsp of water and the chard stalks, cover and cook until the potatoes cooked (upto 10 minutes). When they are add the chard leaves. Recover and gently cook until leaves have wilted. Season with salt and serve.
The recipe this was based on suggested addition of a can of chick peas to make this into a vegetarian meal for two. Might try this at some point
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Roast Lamb and Boulangere Potatoes, Lamb Stock, Pearl Barley Soup
Roast Lamb
Three constantly hungry young men to feed today along with Mr B so tried out James Martin's roast lamb with boulangere potatoes rather than battle with a mountain of roast potatoes. In my oven, for when I next cook it - which is a definite - the first 30 minutes should be at 220 and then the hour with the potatoes at 200. I didn't cook the peas and onions that Mr Martin has accompanying the lamb - other steamed veg instead.
All comments were very positive - nothing on lack of gravy as there was just enough juices in the potatoes!
Lamb Stock
I made Gordon Ramsey's Lamb Stock a couple of times last year using the bones from the whole lamb we purchased. Delicious! Thought I would see if I could get a reasonable stock from the bone left from todays roast using the pressure cooker. Not as tasty but will be good base for soup later this week.
400+g bone from roasted leg of lamb (with at least some scraps of meat left on it) split into two at the joint
Roughly chopped small onion
Roughly chopped carrot
End of celery sticks and leaves or roughly chopped half stick of celery
half teaspoon of garlic puree
1 tbsp olive oil
half teaspoon tomato puree
half glass of dry white wine
1 litre of water (I used water from cooking vegetables earlier)
1 bay leaf
2 peppercorns
Gently fry the vegetables in the oil in pressure cooker. When lightly golden add the garlic and tomato puree and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half. Add rest of ingredients, adding extra water if needed to cover everything, and bring to H pressure. Cook at H pressure for 30-45 minutes (I cooked for 30 minutes and will try 45 minutes next time). Take off heat and leave until back at room pressure. Strain into bowl. Pick meat off bones. Pass veg through sieve. If soup is intended use then add sieved veg and the meat to the stock. Either way leave to cool and skim off fat before use.
Hearty lamb and barley soup
When making Lamb Stock from bones from whole lamb there was plenty of meat that could be added to this soup. This week with less meat from the bone, I'll be experimenting with something like butternut squash with the pearl barley, root veg and stock. Will come back and update!
Busy day in many ways. Cheese on toast for supper and cooked by someone else methinks!
Three constantly hungry young men to feed today along with Mr B so tried out James Martin's roast lamb with boulangere potatoes rather than battle with a mountain of roast potatoes. In my oven, for when I next cook it - which is a definite - the first 30 minutes should be at 220 and then the hour with the potatoes at 200. I didn't cook the peas and onions that Mr Martin has accompanying the lamb - other steamed veg instead.
All comments were very positive - nothing on lack of gravy as there was just enough juices in the potatoes!
Lamb Stock
I made Gordon Ramsey's Lamb Stock a couple of times last year using the bones from the whole lamb we purchased. Delicious! Thought I would see if I could get a reasonable stock from the bone left from todays roast using the pressure cooker. Not as tasty but will be good base for soup later this week.
400+g bone from roasted leg of lamb (with at least some scraps of meat left on it) split into two at the joint
Roughly chopped small onion
Roughly chopped carrot
End of celery sticks and leaves or roughly chopped half stick of celery
half teaspoon of garlic puree
1 tbsp olive oil
half teaspoon tomato puree
half glass of dry white wine
1 litre of water (I used water from cooking vegetables earlier)
1 bay leaf
2 peppercorns
Gently fry the vegetables in the oil in pressure cooker. When lightly golden add the garlic and tomato puree and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half. Add rest of ingredients, adding extra water if needed to cover everything, and bring to H pressure. Cook at H pressure for 30-45 minutes (I cooked for 30 minutes and will try 45 minutes next time). Take off heat and leave until back at room pressure. Strain into bowl. Pick meat off bones. Pass veg through sieve. If soup is intended use then add sieved veg and the meat to the stock. Either way leave to cool and skim off fat before use.
Hearty lamb and barley soup
When making Lamb Stock from bones from whole lamb there was plenty of meat that could be added to this soup. This week with less meat from the bone, I'll be experimenting with something like butternut squash with the pearl barley, root veg and stock. Will come back and update!
Busy day in many ways. Cheese on toast for supper and cooked by someone else methinks!
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Pulled Pork - part of a 21st celebration
Eldest turned 21 and her request for the actual day was for us all to travel miles for a pulled pork 'burger'. Me saying that I could make it as good as if not better was probably only a minor factor to us not travelling said miles (friends coming round with bottles etc were probably the main ones). So now to confess - not that it will be a surprise - that I made it up from a variety of recipes found online. Result was so well recieved that it will be repeated!
Take a 2.5+kg Pork Shoulder and remove the skin and fat (make pork crackling from the skin or discard depending). Place meat in a roasting tray.
Mix together
- 3tbsp paprika
- 3tbsp garlic salt
- 1 tbsp dark brown soft sugar
- 1tbsp dry mustard
Rub the mixture all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate over night.
The next day pour some cider or apple juice in the bottom of the roasting tray to max of 1 cm depth (aim is to add some moisture but not too much), cover and tightly seal with silver foil, and cook the pork in oven at 150C (max) for about 6 hours.
Take a 2.5+kg Pork Shoulder and remove the skin and fat (make pork crackling from the skin or discard depending). Place meat in a roasting tray.
Mix together
- 3tbsp paprika
- 3tbsp garlic salt
- 1 tbsp dark brown soft sugar
- 1tbsp dry mustard
Rub the mixture all over the pork. Cover and refrigerate over night.
The next day pour some cider or apple juice in the bottom of the roasting tray to max of 1 cm depth (aim is to add some moisture but not too much), cover and tightly seal with silver foil, and cook the pork in oven at 150C (max) for about 6 hours.
If cooking in slow cooker there’s no need to add any liquid.
The BBQ sauce
70ml cider vinegar
150ml Dijon mustard
100 ml tomato ketchup
75g soft dark brown sugar
2 crushed garlic cloves
1tsp cayenne pepper
0.5tsp ground pepper
Combine all ingredients. Bring to simmer and stir until sugar dissolved. Taste and adjust (eg add more vinegar) if required. Take off heat
When meat is done transfer onto a warm plate or another pan, cover and keep warm. Stir/scrape the residual juices in the roasting pan to combine and add to the BBQ sauce. Simmer sauce for 10-15 minutes.
After this time 'pull' the pork, ie shred, using a couple of forks. Pour half of the BBQ sauce over it and toss to combine. Serve the pulled pork with buns and coleslaw and the rest of the BBQ sauce in a jug for those who want more.
Repeated the above for Open Gardens post event bbq on 4th August 2013. Wasn't sure how many I was cooking for so used about 6kg of pork (combination of shoulder and leg), 1x30g jar of garlic salt, 1 of paprika and guesstimated the sugar and mustard powder. Some left over and now in freezer for another time.
The BBQ sauce
70ml cider vinegar
150ml Dijon mustard
100 ml tomato ketchup
75g soft dark brown sugar
2 crushed garlic cloves
1tsp cayenne pepper
0.5tsp ground pepper
Combine all ingredients. Bring to simmer and stir until sugar dissolved. Taste and adjust (eg add more vinegar) if required. Take off heat
When meat is done transfer onto a warm plate or another pan, cover and keep warm. Stir/scrape the residual juices in the roasting pan to combine and add to the BBQ sauce. Simmer sauce for 10-15 minutes.
After this time 'pull' the pork, ie shred, using a couple of forks. Pour half of the BBQ sauce over it and toss to combine. Serve the pulled pork with buns and coleslaw and the rest of the BBQ sauce in a jug for those who want more.
Repeated the above for Open Gardens post event bbq on 4th August 2013. Wasn't sure how many I was cooking for so used about 6kg of pork (combination of shoulder and leg), 1x30g jar of garlic salt, 1 of paprika and guesstimated the sugar and mustard powder. Some left over and now in freezer for another time.
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