A Tasty Monday

Last years Easter bank holiday I was nursing a hangover and eating pizza, oh how times have changed. This year I baked these little bad boys.....

..went to the garden center (when did I get so old!) and also cooked this spicy little beauty.

I really hate to admit this but this is based on a ready meal I had. A M&S one I might add.....but a ready meal non the less. However this was much tastier and so easy to make. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients (is there any Asian recipe that doesn't say that in the foreword?), all are available from the supermarket.

What you need

500g pork mince

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 thumb piece of ginger, grated

2 spring onions, finely sliced

3 tbsp Toban Jhan (chilli bean paste)

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 packet of red miso soup

1 tsp Sichuan pepper corns

2 packs udon noodles

handful kale and tenderstem broccoli

What you need to do

This is a really quick dish to cook so get yourself organised first. Boil the kettle for the noodles and have the garlic, spring onions and ginger together in a bowl. Then in another bowl mix the Toban Jhan, tahini, soy sauce, sesame, puree, sugar, red miso and pepper.

Get a wok smoking hot with a tbsp of oil and then add the mince. Cook until crispy and then drain on kitchen paper.

Add another tsp of oil into the wok and then stir fry the ginger mixture for roughly a minute. Add the liquids with a cup of water, broccoli and  then bring to the boil. 

Put the noodles on. Add the pork and kale to the mixture and cook until the kale is cooked. Mix with the noodle and serve.

A Love Story

This post is ridiculously overdue. Like February overdue. So apologies but hey,I got there in the end.

In February I was fortunate enough to be invited to the most beautiful wedding in Seattle. The Groom was my old flatmate Danny, one of the most amazing boys with the best ear lobes in the entire world. Danny was marrying the love of his life, Maddie. Their story truly is a love story. It's one of those stories that brings tears to your eyes and makes you believe that fairy tales truly are real.

They met on the back of a taxi in Thailand (Maddie saved Danny's life, sigh) and it was love at first sight. They carried on their love over Facetime and the other techy wonders of the modern world. Danny went to visit her. She came to visit him. Then they decided to get married.

I was devastated to loose Danny (only because he was my mechanic, not because he was awesome) but over the moon that these two wonderful people were making their love official.

True love

So, in February half term a group of us went over to Seattle. I have to say that before this trip I had slightly bad view of Americans, I don't really know why but I found them annoying. Well not anymore. Every single person I met in Seattle was amazing. There was drinking, hoola hooping, Spice Girls and lots of laughter and it truly was one of the best holidays ever. And then came the wedding.

Maddie is one of those amazingly creative people and their wedding was a testament to her talents. Which brings me nicely on the the point of this point which is these little bad boys. There were lots of amazing things about that week and this was definitely one of them. They are SO nutty, chewy and just amazing; simply the best cookie I have ever eaten. They were so good I smuggled some back to the UK (I was so scared of being arrested that I showed them to the bored patrol guy and asked if I was in trouble, he looked at me like I was a nut job - a peanut job......) Maddie is an awesome baker and these are her brainchild. Find the recipe here and definitely check out her other culinary delights.

The only thing that was changed was I used crunchy peanut butter. This was only because the cookies I had were made by Maddie's mum who used crunchy. I'm not going to argue. You can by Crisco off Amazon. DO NOT use butter, it wont work. If you don't want to invest in Crisco (these are so worth it) then use Trex with an extra tbsp of butter.

Photos of Maddie and Danny were taken by their very talented photographers, website here

My Mini Mexican Dinner Party

I feel myself saying this a lot but it's true; I'm a rubbish blogger! I started this blog as a way to record my recipes (I'm also crap at writing things down on scrap paper and loosing them!) and because I genuinely enjoy writing. The last few months have been pretty busy though (but NOT enough to warrant me not blogging!) as I've bought a house. Anyone who has been through this knows it is amazing but pretty stressful. I've moved away from my lovely lovely Kemp Town to the Elm Grove area. Although I really miss Kemp Town I now have a kitchen I can fit more than 1 person in and I have a garden; amazing! Plus living up a hill makes me far less inclined to go shopping (however ASOS has taken over in a big way!).

Old Kitchen-apologies for dire photo!

The other day I have my first official dinner party (official means I invited people, called it a dinner party and we sat round my new table, its got chairs and everything!). As I wanted to come across as being in complete control and uber organised I wanted something that I could have pretty much done by the time my lovely guests arrived. As I was still trying to muster up the courage to try my jeans on after Christmas I decided to do something light(ish), fresh and spicy. Mexican it was!

New kitchen with the added luxury of gas!

People have a funny idea of Mexican, assuming it is unhealthy and heavy. This is wrong. O.k, so I had cheese, sour cream and refried beans as sides but you didn't have to add them, you'd be a fool not to, but you don't have to!

Anyway I decided on a carnitas (Mexican pulled pork) with salads and all the trimmings. Unfortunately I didn't have the sensible idea of actually taking photographic evidence of each individual course so apologies for that!

Carnitas (Mexican Pullled Pork)

What you need

Pork shoulder, from the neck end, bone in.

1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

1/2 ground cumin

Salt and pepper

A few good glugs of orange juice (I actually used citrus juice as this was all that was available but think pure OJ is more authentic!)

Chilli paste

2 dried ancho chillis

1 dried chipotle chilli (both of these chillis are available in Waitrose!)

1/2 onion

good splash of cider vinegar

1-2 clove garlic

handful of coriander

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp dried oregano

What you need to do

Turn on your oven full wack. Mix the paprika, cumin and salt and pepper and then rub it into the pork. The harder you rub, the tastier it will be! Put the pork into a oven proof pot and then cover roughly 1 third with a good glug of orange juice and water (or stock). Put in the oven for 30 minutes before turning the oven down to 120. 

Now, roughly 4 hours later I decided to go out. I am paranoid about leaving my oven on and so took the pork out, took the cracking off and dumped the pork plus liquid in my slow cooker, on low, until I woke up (bleary eyed and slightly hungover) around 8 hours later! By this time the pork was falling off the bone. I pored off the juice before I pulled it as I wanted to drain the fat off (by this point I had tried on my jeans-they were every tight!).

Now its time to make the chilli paste. I looked at various different recipes for this and kinda amalgamated a few of the ones I liked the look of! Soak the chillis for roughly half an hour, do not throw the soaking liquid away!

In a food processor mix the all of the paste ingredients with a generous splash of the soaking liquid. Pull the pork and stir through the chilli paste. The pork can be gently re-heated just before you lovely guests arrive!

Taco Version

Jamie's Mexican Street Salad

I served this with Jamie Oliver's Mexican salad. He calls for half a cabbage (red and white) but I always seem to have loads left over when I make coleslaw so settled on a quarter! I also had no fresh jalapenos so I added a regular fresh chilli.

What you need

Quarter of red and white cabbage (shredded)

1 carrot, grated

4 radishes (not in season, I paid the price by them being decisively un-spicy!)

1 bunch of coriander, chopped

1 fresh chilli, finely diced

1 red onion, halved and finely sliced

1 lime

1 tbsp olive oil

What you need to do

Standard Jamie (got to love him,).  Check it in a bowl, squeeze over lime and olive oil before serving. Just had a rethink on that first sentence, I appreciate most salads follow the chop and chuck formula but it is still very Jamie!

Not the best picture but the tortilla version

The Extra Bits

I also served pico de gallo which is typically (I think!) chopped tomato, chopped red onion, chilli,
 coriander and lime juice. I also added grilled corn, removed from the husk, and avocado-simply because both are the food of the Gods (and also pretty Mexican).

Finally I made Paul Hollywood's roasted salsa and a standard guacamole (avocado, tomato, red onion, chilli, coriander and lime). Don't forget cheese and sour cream!

My lovely (and hopefully happy) guests

Chorizo and Lentil Stew with Grilled Halloumi and Mint Salsa

This was adapted from a recipe called Meat Free Mondays. I added meat and adapted it slightly. It's not that I can't have a meat-less Monday (in fact in wasn't even Monday) but I just thought chorizo would really go with this.

What you need

250g puy lentils
1 Onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika and chilli flakes
1 tbsp tomato puree
Glug of white wine
Vegetable or chicken stock
1 can of tomatoes
1 red pepper
Handful of kale (or any greeny type vegetables)
Handful of cherry tomatoes
Chorizo (I used about 3 inches, sliced!)
1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses

Mint Salsa

3 tbsp of mint
1 tsp of capers
3-4 tbsp mint salsa
1 clove of garlic
1/2 lemon

What you need to do

In a pan (can use stock or water, I used stock for extra flavour) cook the lentils.

While they are cooking fry the chorizo until crispy. Remove from the pan but save some of the oil. Add the onions and fry till soft. Add the garlic, paprika and chilli.

Then add the puree, wine stock and tinned tomatoes. Simmer for roughly 15 minutes. Add lentils for another 10. Then add the kale, tomatoes and pomegranate molasses, cook for 5.

Prepare mint salsa by literally chucking everything into a mini processor and pulsing until combined or simply put everything of a chopping board and cut it all up while muddling it up with the other ingredients.

Pan fry halloumi on a griddle and add chorizo to stew. Serve the stew topped with halloumi and mint salsa.

Street Diner

Every Friday since the 26th April I have been slightly grouchy at lunch time. The reason for this is Street Diner, an awesome street food market in Brighton that I have NOT been able to go to because I teach on the outskirts!! I have had to put up with The Boy coming back and telling me about the amazing lunches he had (although he bought me Picnic Corner's delicious scotch eggs back a couple of times, he knows what's good for him!). I have also had to salivate over other people's bloody photos on twitter and read a few blogs, check out Rosie's post on Street Diner here and give her follow whilst your there.

 So when summer holidays eventually came I was VERY excited! My first trip was gay pride day. I had an Jian Ping which was an awesome pancake with duck and egg. It was seriously tasty. 

As I was trying to get in as many stalls as possible in the 6 weeks I also had a Trolls Pantry. I am no stranger to this place but hadn't had it in ages. I was actually a tiny bit disappointed! The burger and trimmings were delicious as always but the bun was a bit stale, sure this was a one off as The Boy is now a huge troll fan and he knows his burgers. The next Friday, what a surprise; I was at street diner again! This time I had a friend (a very fussy one) and was trying to decide between Hallo Chorizo or the South American tosada. I love my friend but she doesn't share and I did not want the inevitable food envy so we both went for chorizo. Oh sweet Jesus. It was fricken amazing. I couldn't decide between romesco sauce or homemade lemon aioli (obviously I was having chorizo AND halloumi) and so the lovely lady did me half and half. The two ladies who were cooking up a storm were really friendly and I always love a bit of banter! The chorizo and halloumi are grilled and served in Flint Owl bakery rolls with tomato salad and rocket. As I just thought how to describe the taste I just closed my eyes and sighed. It was that good. Smokey, spicy chorizo, oozy salty halloumi, garlicky, lemony, herby, peppery goodness. It was so good that the following Friday I went and got another one!

 However, so I could carry on with my quest to taste as much as possible The Boy got the ribs with plantain chips and dumplings from Likkle Bickle which was really tasty. I also got some gorgeous brownies from Honeycomb cakes for my friend’s birthday, although they didn't all necessarily find their way to my friend......

My Street Diner mission was put on hold whilst I went on holiday to Spain. However I did have a craving for Hallo Chorizo so tried to recreate it. Although it didn't quite live up to the original it satisfied my craving, I’ll blog about it at some point! Once back from sunning myself I was eager to get my Street Diner back on. I had been eyeing up the Little Blue Smokehouse, probably due to the hunks for meat! I have to say I could never be a vegetarian because of places like Little Blue Smokehouse. Happy meat, happy duck. I had pastrami with the world’s biggest pickle, yum.

School starts again on Tuesday but blossoming relationship with Brighton's first street food market can continue as they are now open on Saturdays, woohoo! That's my weekend plans sorted!

Catch Street Diner at Brighthelm Gardens on Queens Road. Friday 11-3 and Saturday 12-5. 

Chicken Fajitas with Homemade Tortilla

I have a confession. I actually quite like the Old El Paso fajita set. With all the trimmings (grated carrot, cheese, guacamole, salad leaves, sour cream, salsa and cucumber). As i'm pretty embarrassed about this I decided to make my own. It was a MILLION times better and I made my own tortilla which was easy and so much nicer then shop bought. I got the recipe from here but I found I needed less water.This serves 3 people.

What you need 

Chicken

6 chicken thighs, skin removed

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne seasoning

salt and pepper

1 lime

1 tsp honey

Tortilla

2 cups of flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup of water

3 tbsp olive oil

What you need to do

In a bowl, or sandwich bag, mix the spices then throw in the chicken, honey and lime juice. Leave to marinate for a bit. Then cook them at 180 for roughly 30 minutes,

When the chicken in cooking make your tortillas. Simply mix the salt and flour then add the water and oil. Stir to form a dough and then turn out and knead till soft. Then split your mixture into 6 parts and roll into individual balls. Next roll these out to your desired thickness ( I like mine thin). Dry fry them in a hot pan until  lightly browned.

Take your chicken out of the oven and leave to rest. Then shred and serve in the tortilla with whatever you like! 

The Best Pulled Pork

There is something very satisfying about buying a piece of free range, local meat for a reasonable price and turning it into something tasty. This time it was the turn of the pork shoulder. I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic butchers (Westdene Butchers) near my work. They are so friendly, always willing to give you advice and are really reasonable. I'm really interested in butchery (Trevor is thinking about starting a course, yay!) so I love how they have the whole animal on site so I can get a cheeky look at what they're doing and can asked for the the meat to be cut exactly how I want, you don't get that with a supermarket!

This pork needs a bit of spice, some love and a long time in the oven! I served this in buns with homemade BBQ sauce, homemade coleslaw and corn on the cob. I got the spice rub recipe from here. Served 6.

What you need

Shoulder of pork (I got it with the bone still in to keep it from drying out and a decent amount of fat)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons Essence, recipe follows1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon cumin1 tablespoon paprika

Essence

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper1 tablespoon cayenne
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp dried leaf oregano
1 tbsp dried thyme



What you need to do

Place the pork in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the seasoning evenly over the pork to coat. The more you rub and massage the spices into the meat the better, show that meat some love! Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Turn your oven on full wack. Cook the pork on full for 45 minutes then turn your oven right down to 125c and cook for roughly 10 hours, basting occasionally.

Test the meat after 10 hours; it's done when you can pull it apart with 2 forks. I then mixed the meat with the juices and a bit of my BBQ sauce and left it for 24 hours (a vital step according to the Americans!)

My BBQ sauce

My sauce was really tasty (after mellowing in the fridge for 24 hours) but a bit random as I made it up and didn't write it down! However there are loads of recipes on the internet BUT please, for the smoky goodness and for that dear little piggy, but chipotles in it. They are incredible!

My coleslaw

Finely slice a quarter of a white cabbge and the same of red and grate a carrot. Mix with yogurt, cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp of wholegrain mustard and a good dollop of mayonaise. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Eat as soon as you can!

Oh and sorry for the slight highlighting! Highlighted one thing then couldn't get it back to the original, hence whole post being slightly different colour-  very annoying!

Coconut and Tomato Chana Dahl

Another warming veggie dinner. Simple, cheap and tasty.

What you need

1/2 tsp aestophidia
1 tsp Garam Marsala
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
thumb piece of ginger
1 chilli
250 g chana dahl
1/2 block of creamed coconut
1 tin of tomatoes
1 lemon
1 bag of spinach

What you need to do

Grate the ginger over the saucepan so you don't loose any of the juices then saute it with the onion, chilli and garlic until soft. Add the spices and fry till fragrant. Add the lentils, tinned tomatoes and the coconut. Then cover with water and simmer till the lentils are soft. Chuck in the spinach to wilt and then use the lemon juice to add acidity to the dish. Feel free to chuck in  more chilli. I served this with a roti.

Game Crumble

I got the idea off this from Sams of Brighton's twitter feed. The first time I did it the crumble was soggy. My lovely mum then told me to dry fry the crumble mixture. The result? Lovely tender meat and crunchy top. I cooked the casserole in the slow cooker overnight

What you need

Crumble

Handful of jumbo porridge oats.

1 pack of chestnuts

1 spring of rosemary and thyme

5 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

Game casserole

1 game pie mix

seasoned flour

1 large onion

handful of chestnut mushrooms.

2 parsnips, roughly chopped

2 carrots, roughly chopped

half a celeriac, roughly chopped

half a bottle of red wine

splash of port

300 mls of beef stock

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp of redcurrant jelly

What you need to do

Coat the meat in the flour and then sear. Remove with a slotted spoon then saute the onions. When softened add the garlic, parsnips, carrots and celeriac. Add the meat and veg to the slow cooker and  then add all the other ingredients. Cook until the meat is tender.

Meanwhile whizz all the crumble ingredients in a food processor. In a frying pan dry fry the mixture until it starts to dry out. I finished it off in the oven  (around 200c) on top of the game casserole but if your short on time you can simple sprinkle over the casserole, just make sure its crisps in the pan. 

Serve with mash and green beans.

Aubergine Cannelloni

As I really try to only eat, as my mum calls it, 'happy meat' I can't afford to eat it all the time. Luckily for me I enjoy veggie and The Boy isn't one of those men that thinks a meal isn't a meal unless it's got meat. These are really tasty. If you've got a griddle definitely use it for the aubergines. Makes them taste lovely and smokey.

What you need

4 aubergines

2 tubs of ricotta

1 large bag of spinach

50 g of Parmesan

a generous grating of nutmeg

salt and pepper

1 jar of passata

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 shallot.

pinch of sugar

1 ball of mozzarella 

What you need to do

Slice the aubergines thinly length ways and salt. Leave in a colander to drain for half an hour.

While the aubergines are doing their thing, wilt the spinach and then really squeeze out all the excess water. Chop and then mix with the cheeses, nutmeg and season generously.

Once some of the moisture has come out of the aubergines get the griddle really hot. Lightly oil the aubergines then griddle till charred. Take a spoonful of the cheese and spinach mixture and roll it up  in the aubergine. Fill up a baking dish.

Next make a simple tomato sauce. I simply sauteed some shallots and garlic and then added a jar of passata, a pinch of sugar and seasoned. Pour this over the aubergines and then dot with mozzarella.  Cook at around 190 until the top is golden and crisp.

A little too crispy?

Scotch Egg

Hot dogs and champagne, burgers and lobster and free range fried chicken. Yup, once thought dirty food has had a glamorous makeover. This little revival has been going on for a while now and the scotch egg has also been part of it. Farmers markets and and pubs love them and so do I. Especially with salad cream.

What you need

Sausage meat ( I used 5 free range sausages)
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Seasoning
Panko bread crumbs
5 eggs
Plain flour
1 tbsp milk

What you need to do

Put the eggs in a cold pan. Bring to the boil for 2 minutes then plunge into iced water. Peel carefully!

Remove the skins from the sausages then mix in the mustard, parsley and season. Split the mixture into 4 and then lightly flour the surface of some clingfilm. Put one portion of the sausage meat on the clingfilm and then cover with lightly floured cling film and roll out. Take the top layer of clingfilm off. Nestle an egg in and then, using the clingfilm, bring the sausage meat up around the egg. Twisting the clingfilm at the top you can now roll the clingfilm parcel between you hands to ensure a round shape. Repeat with the other 4 eggs and then chill for about 30 minutes.

Turn your oven on-200c. In the meantime, put some flour into a small bowl and season. Beat the remaining egg in a second bowl and add the milk. Put the breadcrumbs into a third bowl. Dip the egg into the flour, egg then breadcrumbs. I doubled dipped again for a mega crunchy coating!

Heat up some oil in a frying pan (about 2cm deep) then fry till crispy and golden. Finish in the oven for roughly 10 minutes.

Not quite a runny yolk but delicious!

Chilli Pickle Canteen

India holds a very special place in my heart. I love how diverse it is: the people, the atmosphere, the feeling you have when your there and the food! So great and so cheap! The best samosa I've ever had was from a shack in a bustling street in Mumbai, simply proves that it proper bricks and mortar don't matter!

The food in India is nothing like the stuff you get in England but if you want a great, authentic curry in Brighton then you head to The Chilli Pickle on Jubilee Street. You can't miss it; its got a fricken huge cow by the entrance.
I have been to Chilli Pickle loads now and have pretty much loved everything I've eaten there (apart from a rather odd duck soup thing), I even spent my anniversary with The Boy there. So, when I saw that they had started a takeaway service I knew I had to try it.
We decided on the King Thali and got one spicy and one mild. Being a Tuesday it came really quickly and it was like Christmas. It arrived in a huge cardboard box and when opened had several little pots of loveliness. I was reeling a bit from how un-eco all the packaging was until I read on the little menu that you could recycle or compost everything bar the tinfoil; impressive!

Christmas!

Anyway The Boy and I ordered the Old Dehli chicken and the Tanjore mutton. They both came with (deep breath now) rice, pumpkin samosa, hara bara kebab, carrot thoran, yello dal, Rajathani millet and peas, plum chutney, mint chutney, garlic pickle, cumin raita, a roasted pappad, a phulka AND jaggery and date kheer. 

 Tanjore Mutton

The mutton was incredible  Lovely balance of flavours, incredibly tender meat and just the right amount of heat. The chicken was, again cooked perfectly. The sauce of the chicken was lush; tomatoey, creamy and buttery goodness. It was so exciting having all the little bits to go with it, like I said earlier, it was like opening a stocking at Christmas! The only thing I didn't like was the jaggery (an unrefined cane sugar) and date kheer; a type of rice pudding. When I was in India people kept trying to get me into the puddings. I didn't like them then. I still don't. Nothing personal just far too sweet.

I really recommend this if you like curry and, in fact if you don't like English curry (The Boy doesn't really like curry but loves The Chilli Pickle). And try the King Thali. As it was the first week we got 25% off so it was £22 pounds but for the amount you got I'd be more than happy to pay the full amount. The only thing I hope is that they change all the bits occasionally as I want to try more of the curries but would also like to try more bits!

Jamie's (or Daisy May's!) BBQ Ribs with Cowboy Beans

Oh. My. God! These were amazing! Good old Jamie Oliver (although I was at Gatwick at a ridiculous hour this morning and he has a cake stand in Departures, I think he is slowly taking over the world....). Get beef short ribs from your butcher, you won't regret it.

What you need

5 tbsp American yellow mustard
1 x 4-bone rack of beef

Rub

4 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp chilli powder

few grinds of pepper

1/2 tsp salt

olive oil

Marinade

4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp runny honey
a large knob of butter
1 beef stock cube
2 tbsp water

What you need to do

Preheat your oven to 130c. Rub the mustard all over the meat. Then mix the rub ingredients together and massage these into the ribs as well. Make sure you get into all those nooks and crannies! Wack them onto a backing tray, bone side down, and cook for 5 hours.

Just before the time is up put all the marinade ingredients into a pan and cook until combined. Make a tinfoil parcel and pour in most of your marinade. Put the ribs on top, meat side down, then pour the rest of the marinade in. and cook for another hour. Remove from the oven and pour off any marinade.juices. Cook for another 45 minutes to crisp up. When the time is up remove the meat to a board and rest for 10 minutes. Pour over the juices and serve!

Cowboy Beans

What you need

2 red onions

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tbsp chipotle chilli BBQ sauce (or just the chilli)

15 g butter

3 x tins of beans ( I used haricot)

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

white wine vinegar

1 tbsp black treacle

4 rashers of smoked bacon

1 sprig of rosemary

 handful of Parmesan 

stale bread

What you need to do

Sweat the onions in a little oil with the paprika. Add the butter, chillies, tomatoes bay leaves and beans (along with the can juice). Give it a stir and then simmer for roughly an hour. Season with the vinegar and salt and pepper then stir through the treacle.

In a food processor whizz up the bread, rosemary, cheese and bacon. Sprinkle this over the beans then cook at 180 until crunchy!

I served this with the ribs, homemade slaw and a jacket potato, bloody lovely.

A Little Bit of Nigella

I LOVE Nigella! The Boy loves her too but for very different reasons. I really enjoyed her last series, Nigellissima, and her orzo recipe got my mouth watering. I chucked in some celery and mushrooms and replaced the water with chicken stock. This would feed four hungry people.

What you need

400g Orzo
8 rashers of good quality smoked bacon, diced
splash of vermouth/white wine (optional)
1 celery stick, chopped
1 onion chopped
1 liter of chicken stock (you might not need it all)
1 handful of peas
1 handful of mushrooms, sliced
Parmesan to taste
a knob of butter

What you need to do

Sweat the onions and celery until soft. Add the bacon then after a couple of minutes chuck in the mushrooms and cook till the bacon is crispy. If using add the alcohol and let it bubble then tip in the orzo and cover it with stock. Simmer for the time it says on the orzo packet (if it starts to look a bit dry add a little more stock but the finished result should be risotto consistency). In the last couple of minutes add the peas so they cook through.

Finish with a naughty knob of butter, seasoning and Parmesan to taste (I like loads, but i'm a pig with a future heart problem!)

Spiced Carrot and Butter Bean Soup

I've decided that my blog is going to be like a good old bus; you wait for one post then several come at once. I can't believe that some people blog everyday, maybe I should teach the kids in ICT and get a production line going!
So, winter has really hit. Gone are the mornings that I would spring out of bed as it was light and slightly warm. Common place now is grumbling furiously, sticking my toe out in the cold and then, when finally untangled from the duvet, fumbling around in the dark trying to get dressed whilst not waking The Boy, only then to get into school and have numerous kids tell me I have my clothes back to front and inside out. Winter is all about stodge. And soup. Here is a recipe for the latter.

What you need

5-6 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, squashed
1 tsp ground coriander
thumb piece of ginger, grated
1 tsp red chilli (fresh or dried)
Juice from 1 orange
1 tsp of sugar
1 litre (roughly) of stock
Juice from one orange
50 g creamed coconut
1 can of butterbeans
Small bunch of coriander, stems chopped, leaves reserved

What you need to do

Sweat the onions, garlic and coriander stalks until soft then add the ground coriander and fry for 1 minute. Next add the carrots, garlic, ginger and chilli, fry for a couple of minutes then add the orange juice, stock, sugar and creamed coconut.

Bring to the boil and then simmer until the veg are done. Add half a tin of butter beans and blend. Then add the rest of the tin alongside the coriander. Season to taste!

Foodie Penpal part 2

My foodie pen pal this month was the lovely Emily who runs a great Bristol based blog. I always get really excited when I receive my parcel (I mean, who doesn't love getting stuff in the post that isn't a bill!) and this month didn't disappoint. 

Bloody iphone. CANNOT turn this picture around!

I got some 

• Halloween cookies (The Boy polished off most of these, grrr)
• some Bombay mix 
• a jar of Barts jerk paste, I love anything spicy so can't wait to try this.
• raw beetroot 'crisps', I will be a glowing after eating these
• Pukka vanilla chai tea (this is not in the photo as it mysteriously disappeared after my birthday weekend!)

Thanks so much Emily, I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoyed mine. xxxx

A Spanish Kitchen

I've been putting off writing this post because it just reminds me of how crap the English weather is and how much I love eating in the sunshine.

The Boy's grandad has a lovely place in Spain and we spent an amazing 2 week there this summer. Me, The Boy and lots of lovely food= perfect.

 Spanish Stew

 

 What you need

300g Pork belly

Chorizo (I used about half of a sausage!)

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

50 g tin of anchovies

1 red pepper

1 jar of haricot beans

2 tins of tomatoes

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp of sherry vinegar

1 handful of parsley

What you need to do

SO easy! Fry off the chorizo and remove. Fry the pork belly in the oil and remove. Saute the onions until soft. Chuck everything else in (apart from the parsley) with a good grinding of black pepper. Put in the oven (about 175c). Go and drink gin and tonics and play scrabble. Roughly 2 hours later (or indeed however long you want as long as the pork in lovely and tender) remove from oven and check the seasoning. Throw in the parsley

Serve with lots of crusty bread.

Gazpacho

 

This was lush. Really fresh and zingy. Even better the next day.

 

What you need

2 slices of stale bread
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 kg really ripe tomatoes (skinned)
1 green pepper (deseeded)
1 cucumber
1 onion
300mls of tomato juice
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

What you need to do

 

Tear the bread up and mix with the garlic, vinegar and 4 tbsp of water. Leave to soak for roughly half and hour.

Then put the bread mixture, plus everything else into the blender. Blend to desired texture and add water to your preferred consistency. Season with sherry vinegar to taste.

Top with any or all of the following: hard boiled eggs, onion, tomato, croutons, green peppers and cucumber.

Seafood Pasta 

 

This dish is so quick once you've prepped everything so make sure you start frying the tomatoes and garlic roughly 5 minutes before the pasta is ready.

 What you need

 

3 cloves of garlic

2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped

Couple of handfuls of clams

2 baby squid

Splash of white wine

12 prawns

2 big tbsp of creme fraiche

chilli

200g pasta

squeeze of lemon

parsley

What you need to do

Put the pasta on to boil.

Steam the clams in the wine until they have opened (throw any unopened ones in the bin). Strain the juice through a fine sieve save for later. 

Fry the garlic and tomato. Add the prawns and squid and cook until the prawns turn pink. Add the clams, their juice, chilli, peas and creme fraiche. 

Quickly drain the pasta (if you drain it quickly the pasta will retain some of the cooking water which adds to the sauce) and add to the fishy pan, give it a good season, sprinkle with parsley and a lovely squeeze of lemon.

As it was just the two of us and we were on holiday we ate it out of the saucepan with lots of wine. You can use a bowl if you want!

Did this a second time, check out the clams!?

Tapas, Duck Style

 

Tapas is amazing. Whenever The Boy and I go out we share whatever we have so we get to try as many things as possible. My life is one big tapas.

L-R Soda bread, crispy pork in tomato sauce, tomato and onion salad, calamari, fried iberico chorizo, prawns with garlic aioli, tortilla

 

Crispy Pork in Tomato Sauce

 

What you need

 

Pork belly strips (about 4)

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Splash of sherry and sherry vinegar

400 mls pasatta

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 anchovy

1 tbsp chopped parsley

 What you need to do

Season the pork belly and cook until crispy.

In a pan saute the garlic then add the sherry and vinegar, reduce. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. 

When the pork belly in ready, cut into pieces. Pour over the sauce.

Tortilla

 

What you need

 

2 potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 onion, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

6 eggs, beaten and seasoned

What you need to do

 

In a pan slowly cook the potatoes, garlic and onion until soft. Add the mixture to the eggs, stir, then return to the pan. Don't stir the mixture whilst it cooks, but shake the pan as it helps with the shape of the tortilla.

When the tortilla is beginning to look set on the top, invert a plate over the top and turn the tortilla out. Then carefully slide in back into the pan. Cook for a few more minutes. Turn onto a plate and serve lukewarm.

Went down well!

Arroz con Lagontinos y Almejas 

Known to us mere mortals as rice with prawns and clams!

What you need

350g of paella rice
2 large tomatoes, grated

2 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper
few strands of saffron, steeped in boiling water
6 slices of chorizo
1 small glass of white wine
1 litre of stock
handful of prawns
handful of clams
handful of peas
1 lemon

What you need to do 

 

Gently fry the tomatoes, pepper, chorizo and garlic. Add the rice and stir so all the grains are covered in the chorizo oil. Add the wine, saffron and stock. Leave simmering for roughly 20 minutes. Try not to stir it! When the rice is nearly done add the clams, peas and prawns. Cook for 2 minutes then remove from heat. Cover with tin foil and leave for 5 minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley and lemon wedges.

A few more foodie photos

Duck Pate

Prawns Pil Pil

Fillet with Prawns and Bearnaise Sauce

Duck with Calvados Sauce

Crispy Minted Lamb Chops

Butterflied Sardines a la Duck