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

Pea Risotto with Baby Squid and Chorizo

This really is an 'eat with your eyes' kinda dish. Bright green risotto topped with ruby red risotto and pearly, sweet baby squid. And, if I don't say so myself, it was fricken tasty. Serves 3 giant portions

What you need

Roughly 350 g of risotto
1 onion
(I would have also added celery but I didn't have any!)
splash of white wine
2 litres of vegetable stock (you won't need it all)
4 decent sized handfuls of peas
a sprig of mint
a knob of butter
100 g chorizo, diced
2-3 baby squid

What you need to do

Heat up the stock and keep it on a low simmer. Soften the onions in a little oil then add the rice. Stir to make sure all the grains are coated in oil. Toast the rice for about 1 minute then add the wine. Turn the heat down to a low simmer. Keep adding the stock a ladleful at a time (allow the rice to absorb the stock before adding the next), stirring continuously until the rice is soft but still has a bit of a bite (will probably take around 15-20 minutes) .

When the rice is nearly done, heat the peas through (don't do it for long as they will loose their colour). Add a few peas to the risotto then blend the rest with the mint, a little stock, a knob of butter and salt and pepper. By this time your risotto should be done so add a knob of butter, season and leave to rest.

Whilst the risotto is resting heat up a pan and fry the chorizo till crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen roll then pour nearly all the oil out of the pan, save a litttle as this will make the squid taste blimmin amazing. Quickly flash fry the squid (I do mine for literally 30 seconds!).

Serve the risotto with the chorizo and squid nestled on top. You can add a bit of Parmesan if you want.

Pea risotto with squid and chorizo

Ducks Love Hash

Anyone who has been hungover and lives in Brighton is probably familiar with the hash breakfasts at Billies. Stodgy, tasty, carby, greasy and HUGE; it really is great the morning after. However, on this particular morning I could not be bothered to walk, it is from Kemp Town to Hove (I just googled it, 1.4 miles, too far)!  So, after giving my best puppy dog eyes to The Boy, he headed off to get the ingredients for a homemade hash. I though it was pretty good, and it did the job! This serves 4 generous portions.

What you need

3 large potatoes, cubed
4 rashers of thick cut, smoked bacon
4 sausages cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion sliced
1 tin of beans
1 ball of mozzarella, grated
handful of grated cheddar
4 eggs

What you need to do

Put the potatoes on a baking tray with a bit of oil and cook on 200c for 30 minutes.

Chop the bacon into thin slices. Remove the fat and then render it down in a pan. Gentle fry then onions in the fat until soft. Add the sausages and once cooked add the bacon.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and mash slightly. Add them to the pan with the beans then transfer to a oven proof dish. Sprinkle over the cheese then crack the eggs on top. Bake until the cheese in gooey and the eggs are cooked.

N.B This time I cooked it the yolk was a bit hard. I think I had turned down the oven temperature the yolk and white would have cooked more evenly. Because I wanted a runny egg too I cooked one to go on top at the last minute.

Just out of oven, with my hard egg.

With a lovely fried egg

Chicken Broth with Tarragon Gnocci

When I'm feeling rubbish there is nothing better then a bowl of chicken soup, a cliché I know but true. However, being a bit of a fat cow I want some good old carbs with my soup and get tired of the generic bread or noodles. So when I was in the supermarket my eyes fell on  gnocchi and I though I'd give it a go. I did make then gnocchi though! I was pleased with the results; it was surprising light but filling.

What you need

Tarragon Gnocchi

900g floury potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
250g plain flour
1 tsp of dried tarragon

Chicken Broth 

1 whole chicken (preferable free range)
stock vegetables finely diced (I used carrot, leek, onions, celery and mushrooms)
a few pepper corns
whatever herbs you have (I used rosemary, thyme, bay and parsley)

What you need to do

Gnocchi

To make the gnocchi, boil the potatoes in as little water as possible until tender. Put them in the oven on a low heat to dry them out. Mash the potatoes while they are still warm. Season and add the tarragon, then slowly add the flour, kneading gently by folding the edges of the dough into the centre and pressing down lightly before sprinkling in each further addition of flour, until it is soft. 

Take bits of the mixture and roll it into a sausage. Cut it into pieces about 2.5 cm long. Press down lightly using a fork so they are a bit curved. 

Add to salted boiling water. They are ready when they raise to the surface.

Chicken Broth

Soften the vegetables in a little oil then add the peppercorns, herbs and the chicken. Cover with water and simmer for roughly an hour and 20 minutes. By this time the chicken will be lovely and soft. Leave this to cool.

When cooled remove the chicken and shred. I then sautéed the gnocchi to served with the chicken, broth and some cabbage.

Hangover Pasta

There is nothing like a bowl of creamy pasta when your hungover. This is one of my favourites. You may not want to include quite as much garlic as I do; my love of the stuff looses me friends the morning after.

What you need

400g of Pasta (I like linguini)
250g of bacon       
4(!) cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 shallot finely sliced
handful of mushrooms (doesn't matter what you use, I like chestnut)
handful of peas
150 mls of cream
3 egg yolks
150g Parmesan

What you need to do

Put a pan of water on to boil. Add pasta with a bit of salt when the water has reached the boil

In a bit of oil (or even better, rendered down bacon fat!) gentle sweat the shallots until soft. Whilst they are happily sweating away crack on with the creamy sauce.

Grate the Parmesan and mix with the egg yolks, cream and plenty of black pepper.

By this time the onions should be nice and soft so time to crack up the heat and add the bacon (don't forget to keep an eye on your pasta!). Fry the bacon till your preferred 'doneness'. Throw in the mushrooms and when nearly done add the peas.

When the pasta is ready drain but save a little of the water. Add the pasta to the creamy sauce and then stir though the bacon mix. If it's not saucy enough for you, add a little of the pasta water.

Enjoy!