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

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