At the moment we are trying to cut down on carbs, one of the yummiest and healthier ways to do that is to eat lots of lentils! So, I found a recipe and adapted it a bit.
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
8 - 10 little skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or leave this out and keep it vegetarian)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp paprika
3 whole thai chillis
1 large onion , finely sliced
1 cup dry split red lentils
400g can chopped tomato
1 tbsp tomato sauce / paste / puree
Some chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick (about 4 cm long)
100g whole dried apricots
Method:
Fry the onion, garlic and chicken in the oil and add the ground spices. After about 10 minutes of frying, the chicken should be cooked. Add the tomatoes and let it cook for another 15 minutes to combine the flavours.
In another pot, cook the lentils in some chicken stock (they need to be covered). Add the apricots and the chilies there too. Cooking lentils takes about 30 minutes. Once it was cooked, I let the stock reduce and thicken for a while.
Mix it all together in a casserole dish and put it in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about a half an hour (this isn't a necessary step,but maybe it helps the flavours mix better).
Because if the large amount of lentils, you can eat it just like that, or you can have it with rice or bread.
A Note on Lentils:
Lentils have the third-highest level of protein, by weight of any legume or nut. So, lentils are a source of inexpensive protein and also of iron for vegetarians. They are also healthy because of the of the folate, vitamin B1, other minerals and fiber (consisting of 11% - 31% fiber depending on the colour - red is the least fibrous).
They are mentioned many times in the Hebrew Bible, the first time being the time when Jacob purchases the birthright from Esau with stewed lentils (they are tasty indeed).
In Jewish mourning tradition lentils and eggs are considered as food for mourners because their round shape symbolising the life cycle from birth to death.
In Italy, eating lentils on New Year's Eve traditionally symbolizes the hope for a prosperous new year, most likely because of their round, coin-like form.
Original recipe:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1860/moroccanstyle-chicken-with-lentils
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Simple Vanilla Cupakes
I'm going to try these today!
http://www.food.com/recipe/simple-vanilla-cupcakes-178370
Buttercream:
1 Cup butter,
3 cups icing sugar,
1 tsp vanilla extract / 2 tsp essence
Some milk / cream to make it nice and smooth
http://www.food.com/recipe/simple-vanilla-cupcakes-178370
Buttercream:
1 Cup butter,
3 cups icing sugar,
1 tsp vanilla extract / 2 tsp essence
Some milk / cream to make it nice and smooth
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Roast Pumpkin & Aubergine Salad
Having limited ingredients in the house sometimes kind of encourages me to be more creative with food and putting things together that I would never have thought of otherwise. This is one of those surprising combinations.
Ingredients
1/2 half small pumpkin, peeled & chopped in chunks
2 big aubergines, chopped in chunks
handful of pumpkin seeds
2 little wheels of feta
olive oil
salt
herbes de provence
pepper
Method:
Lay out your pumpkin & aubergine in a baking dish - it's alright if it's not a single layer. Add some salt, a little pepper, a generous amount of herbes and some olive oil. Toss around & roast at 190 degreees celsius for 1.5 hours until soft.
When the veggies are looking a little wrinkly, you can take them out and toss them with the feta (crumbed) and the seeds. Add more olive oil if you like.
Ingredients
1/2 half small pumpkin, peeled & chopped in chunks
2 big aubergines, chopped in chunks
handful of pumpkin seeds
2 little wheels of feta
olive oil
salt
herbes de provence
pepper
Method:
Lay out your pumpkin & aubergine in a baking dish - it's alright if it's not a single layer. Add some salt, a little pepper, a generous amount of herbes and some olive oil. Toss around & roast at 190 degreees celsius for 1.5 hours until soft.
When the veggies are looking a little wrinkly, you can take them out and toss them with the feta (crumbed) and the seeds. Add more olive oil if you like.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Green Creamy Soup
Hmm, this is really good: creamy, herby and very green.
Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, sliced
2 heads of broccoli, chopped
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp beef stock powder
2 tsp paprika
1 cup Greek / Bulgairan double cream yoghurt
3 twigs of thyme
3 twigs of rosemary
Method:
Fry the onion and paprika in a little olive oil. Once translucent, add the veg, stock, garlic and almost cover with boiling water. Boil until the water has reduced by about 2 thirds and then mash it a bit. Everything should be soft and mushy. Transport to the blender and blend. I had to do 3 batches of blending. Blend the last batch with your herbs- de-twigged and the yoghurt.
Mix it all up and enjoy, maybe with some crunchy croutons.
Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, sliced
2 heads of broccoli, chopped
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp beef stock powder
2 tsp paprika
1 cup Greek / Bulgairan double cream yoghurt
3 twigs of thyme
3 twigs of rosemary
Method:
Fry the onion and paprika in a little olive oil. Once translucent, add the veg, stock, garlic and almost cover with boiling water. Boil until the water has reduced by about 2 thirds and then mash it a bit. Everything should be soft and mushy. Transport to the blender and blend. I had to do 3 batches of blending. Blend the last batch with your herbs- de-twigged and the yoghurt.
Mix it all up and enjoy, maybe with some crunchy croutons.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie
Serves 2 very hungry people
I made this the other day and it was so very tasty and so it's highly recommended. It's filling and tasty, and mostly healthy. The original recipe is from Good Food, and as I usually amend the recipes a bit depending on the state of my ingredients, or purse. So, here's my own version:
Ingredients:
250g beef mince
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
3 carrot, in rondels
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Marmite
1 cup dry lentils, cooked
3 medium-large sweet potatoes
Butter & milk for the sweet potato mash
Method:
Fry the onion & leek until translucent. Add the garlic, Marmite, Worcestershire & mince and fry until brown and almost crispy. Add the carrots and cook until soft. Add a little water if necessary. It should be a little bit saucy.
In the meantime boil the sweet potatoes. If you can cut them into 2cm slices they cook through quite fast. Drain & mash with butter & milk and a pinch of salt if you like.
And, then for the lentils: If you have a can or 2 you can use that, but if you are cooking dry lentils, it will take about 30 min. Put a cup of lentils into a pot with lots of boiling water. If you add a whole cup it will really make a lot of lentils but it will make your meal go further (my husband and I were particularly hungry this day and ate the entire pie in one night). Anyway lentils are tasty and a healthy source of protein. But if you want less lentils to meat ratio, then use only half a cup.
Mix together the lentils and the vegetables and pour into a baking dish. Top with the mash & flatten. The butter in the mash is what should help it to brown and crisp a little bit under the grill. Grill for 10 min and enjoy hot!
Here is the original recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1718633/sweet-potato-shepherds-pie
I made this the other day and it was so very tasty and so it's highly recommended. It's filling and tasty, and mostly healthy. The original recipe is from Good Food, and as I usually amend the recipes a bit depending on the state of my ingredients, or purse. So, here's my own version:
Ingredients:
250g beef mince
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
3 carrot, in rondels
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Marmite
1 cup dry lentils, cooked
3 medium-large sweet potatoes
Butter & milk for the sweet potato mash
Method:
Fry the onion & leek until translucent. Add the garlic, Marmite, Worcestershire & mince and fry until brown and almost crispy. Add the carrots and cook until soft. Add a little water if necessary. It should be a little bit saucy.
In the meantime boil the sweet potatoes. If you can cut them into 2cm slices they cook through quite fast. Drain & mash with butter & milk and a pinch of salt if you like.
And, then for the lentils: If you have a can or 2 you can use that, but if you are cooking dry lentils, it will take about 30 min. Put a cup of lentils into a pot with lots of boiling water. If you add a whole cup it will really make a lot of lentils but it will make your meal go further (my husband and I were particularly hungry this day and ate the entire pie in one night). Anyway lentils are tasty and a healthy source of protein. But if you want less lentils to meat ratio, then use only half a cup.
Mix together the lentils and the vegetables and pour into a baking dish. Top with the mash & flatten. The butter in the mash is what should help it to brown and crisp a little bit under the grill. Grill for 10 min and enjoy hot!
Here is the original recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1718633/sweet-potato-shepherds-pie
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Pumpkin & Lamb Stew
Ingredients:
1/2 pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped (ours weighed 3,2kg whole)
5 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans
1 can butter beans
200g stewing lamb
1 heaped tsp minced garlic
1 heaped tsp minced ginger
Spices
Grind the following into a powder in a spice grinder:
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin
2 star anise
1 chilli
1/2 quill of cinnamon
Method:
Fry the onion with some oil and when brown add the garlic, ginger, spices, and the meat to brown. Just cover with boiling water. Then add the tomatoes and simmer for 40 minutes until the meat (if there is some of the stewing bones) is soft.
Add the beans and pumpkin and leave the lid on to steam the pumpkin that is not covered with water / sauce. Cook this for about a half an hour, or until the pumpkin is cooked through.
Enjoy hot, topped with coriander and a dollop of creamy Bulgarian yoghurt.
Next time we're going to try a pumpkin dish with pork, bacon, apples and chilli.
1/2 pumpkin, peeled and roughly chopped (ours weighed 3,2kg whole)
5 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans
1 can butter beans
200g stewing lamb
1 heaped tsp minced garlic
1 heaped tsp minced ginger
Spices
Grind the following into a powder in a spice grinder:
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin
2 star anise
1 chilli
1/2 quill of cinnamon
Method:
Fry the onion with some oil and when brown add the garlic, ginger, spices, and the meat to brown. Just cover with boiling water. Then add the tomatoes and simmer for 40 minutes until the meat (if there is some of the stewing bones) is soft.
Add the beans and pumpkin and leave the lid on to steam the pumpkin that is not covered with water / sauce. Cook this for about a half an hour, or until the pumpkin is cooked through.
Enjoy hot, topped with coriander and a dollop of creamy Bulgarian yoghurt.
Next time we're going to try a pumpkin dish with pork, bacon, apples and chilli.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Root Mash
This is a really simple and delicious side to a roast, or whatever you would normally eat mashed potatoes with, but much more exciting and healthy.
Serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes
3 medium carrots
1 stalk of celery
1 medium onion
2 turnips
2 cloves of garlic, halved
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pepper
1 handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
Method:
If you feel like being fancy, you could make a rough mirepoix* by chopping your carrots into rondels** and slicing up the celery and frying that with the onion quartered. When the onion is translucent, add with the the potato, garlic and turnip to salted boiling water in a pot. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. (Otherwise, you could just chop all the vegetables roughly and boil them all at once, altogether).
Drain the vegetables and then add the mustard, olive oil, pepper and fresh parley and mash it together until creamy.
Easy, healthy and delicious.
*mirepoix (pronounced "meerpwah"): the name for carrot, celery and onion chopped and used together for a base of a wide range of dishes.
*rondels: When you slice carrots at 90 degrees, they end up in little round circles, the word if from Old French, and also apparently Middle English. It's a very descriptive word. I like it.
Serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes
3 medium carrots
1 stalk of celery
1 medium onion
2 turnips
2 cloves of garlic, halved
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pepper
1 handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
Method:
If you feel like being fancy, you could make a rough mirepoix* by chopping your carrots into rondels** and slicing up the celery and frying that with the onion quartered. When the onion is translucent, add with the the potato, garlic and turnip to salted boiling water in a pot. Leave to simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. (Otherwise, you could just chop all the vegetables roughly and boil them all at once, altogether).
Drain the vegetables and then add the mustard, olive oil, pepper and fresh parley and mash it together until creamy.
Easy, healthy and delicious.
*mirepoix (pronounced "meerpwah"): the name for carrot, celery and onion chopped and used together for a base of a wide range of dishes.
*rondels: When you slice carrots at 90 degrees, they end up in little round circles, the word if from Old French, and also apparently Middle English. It's a very descriptive word. I like it.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Creamy Lentils
I pretty much just made this up right now and now I'm eating it and blogging about it at the same time so that I don't forget what I did.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 large carrot, chopped
2 peppers, chopped
5 tomatoes chopped / 440g can
2 tsp vegetable stock powder
2 tsp herbes de provence
1 bay leaf
1 cup water
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 cup dry, brown lentils
white sauce (1/2 c milk, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp flour)
1/2 block feta cheese
black pepper
Method:
Throw all herbs, garlic and vegetables in the pot with the dry lentils, water and stock. Boil for 45min until the lentils are soft. I think that the acid in the tomatoes and the salt in the stock makes them take longer to cook - usually they take about 30 min.
Make some white sauce with about half a cup of milk, 2 tbsp butter and then gradually add in the flour and stir quickly to prevent lumps on a medium heat. As the butter melts, and the flour cooks, the sauce will thicken. Let it boil for 5 min, stirring. Honestly, I am not sure about the quantities, I have never made white sauce from a recipe, I just throw stuff together and stir it until it's thickened. Sometimes I like to stir in black pepper as well.
Serve white sauce on top of the lentils and top with crumbed feta. Enjoy with some toasted pieces of baguette.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 large carrot, chopped
2 peppers, chopped
5 tomatoes chopped / 440g can
2 tsp vegetable stock powder
2 tsp herbes de provence
1 bay leaf
1 cup water
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 cup dry, brown lentils
white sauce (1/2 c milk, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp flour)
1/2 block feta cheese
black pepper
Method:
Throw all herbs, garlic and vegetables in the pot with the dry lentils, water and stock. Boil for 45min until the lentils are soft. I think that the acid in the tomatoes and the salt in the stock makes them take longer to cook - usually they take about 30 min.
Make some white sauce with about half a cup of milk, 2 tbsp butter and then gradually add in the flour and stir quickly to prevent lumps on a medium heat. As the butter melts, and the flour cooks, the sauce will thicken. Let it boil for 5 min, stirring. Honestly, I am not sure about the quantities, I have never made white sauce from a recipe, I just throw stuff together and stir it until it's thickened. Sometimes I like to stir in black pepper as well.
Serve white sauce on top of the lentils and top with crumbed feta. Enjoy with some toasted pieces of baguette.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Simple Borscht
As you may know, I don't like a lot of fuss when it comes to recipes- they shouldn't take days to prepare unless you are making something pretentious, ridiculous, and most likely Parisian. Most of the time, I don't think that the taste is much affected if it takes you 2 hours to cook instead of 2 days. This recipe I amended to be quick and easy. It is surprisingly tasty and one of my winter favourites.
Boscht, or Bortsch, is eaten from the Ukraine to Poland and Russia and can take many different forms, be eaten hot or cold, the common factor generally being beetroot. This version tends to be more typically Russian.
Ingredients:
8 cups beef stock
500g shin-in stewing beef
2 onions, peeled and chopped
5 medium carrots, chopped
8 medium beets, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
2 cups of thinly sliced cabbage
3 tsp red wine vinegar (lemon juice is a good substitute)
Double cream Greek yoghurt to serve (or sour cream)
Pepper to serve
Method:
This method is much simpler than the original recipe as you will see...
Add your stock, meat and onions into a large pot and let it get to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour until meat is cooked. If you like, you can get the meat out, cut it off the bone and cut it into bite-sized pieces to make it easier to eat.
Time for the carrots, beets and potato to go in. Let the pot simmer for an additional 30 min.
At this point, the meal is almost ready. Add in the cabbage and simmer for 15 min.
This is when you add the vinegar and stir in. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with a couple of tablespoons of the yoghurt and sprinkle with pepper.
Enjoy with a nice bread, or if you have a burst of energy, look up piroshski (small Russian pies often enjoyed with borscht) and try making some.
Notes:
To illustrate how Borscht is made in different ways, Constance Spry's recipe involves egg white and the only vegetable included is beetroot, other variations do not include beetroot at all, some rather include cucumber and others include a tomato base.
Beetroot are good for your heart, liver and can help prevent diabetes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeturia
I got my recipe from Simply Recipes and adapted it a bit: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/borscht/
Boscht, or Bortsch, is eaten from the Ukraine to Poland and Russia and can take many different forms, be eaten hot or cold, the common factor generally being beetroot. This version tends to be more typically Russian.
Ingredients:
8 cups beef stock
500g shin-in stewing beef
2 onions, peeled and chopped
5 medium carrots, chopped
8 medium beets, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
2 cups of thinly sliced cabbage
3 tsp red wine vinegar (lemon juice is a good substitute)
Double cream Greek yoghurt to serve (or sour cream)
Pepper to serve
Method:
This method is much simpler than the original recipe as you will see...
Add your stock, meat and onions into a large pot and let it get to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour until meat is cooked. If you like, you can get the meat out, cut it off the bone and cut it into bite-sized pieces to make it easier to eat.
Time for the carrots, beets and potato to go in. Let the pot simmer for an additional 30 min.
At this point, the meal is almost ready. Add in the cabbage and simmer for 15 min.
This is when you add the vinegar and stir in. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with a couple of tablespoons of the yoghurt and sprinkle with pepper.
Enjoy with a nice bread, or if you have a burst of energy, look up piroshski (small Russian pies often enjoyed with borscht) and try making some.
Notes:
To illustrate how Borscht is made in different ways, Constance Spry's recipe involves egg white and the only vegetable included is beetroot, other variations do not include beetroot at all, some rather include cucumber and others include a tomato base.
Beetroot are good for your heart, liver and can help prevent diabetes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeturia
I got my recipe from Simply Recipes and adapted it a bit: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/borscht/
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Nacho Soup
The problem with this post is that I didn't have nachos to enjoy my 'soup' with so I just used some baked potatoes as the accompanying starch and served the soup over that.
WARNING: This is an extremely lazy meal.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 can Rhodes Mexican tomato mix
1 can kidney beans
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp ground garlic
1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn
2 avocados
4 tbs double cream greek yoghurt
1 tsp whole coriander
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup water
Method:
Fry the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.
Add the can of tomato, corn, water and the beans with the spices.
Simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes to combine the flavours.
Serve with a avocado cut up on top and add the yoghurt. If you have some fresh coriander, it will also garnish the dish nicely. A extra splash or Tabasco also won't do any harm. ;)
Enjoy.
WARNING: This is an extremely lazy meal.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 can Rhodes Mexican tomato mix
1 can kidney beans
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp ground garlic
1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn
2 avocados
4 tbs double cream greek yoghurt
1 tsp whole coriander
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup water
Method:
Fry the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.
Add the can of tomato, corn, water and the beans with the spices.
Simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes to combine the flavours.
Serve with a avocado cut up on top and add the yoghurt. If you have some fresh coriander, it will also garnish the dish nicely. A extra splash or Tabasco also won't do any harm. ;)
Enjoy.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Caramelised Apple
A tasty crêpe topping!
Method:
Ingredients:
1 granny smith apple
1 big tbsp demarara sugar
1 tsp butter
My pans don’t often burn so I hardly use butter or oil when
frying, but in this case it may help the process.
Cut the apple in half, core and finely slice – about 5mm
thick if possible. Lay these in your pan, covering the bottom with one layer.
This should use up all the apple. Add in the sugar and butter on top and let it
melt and soak through.
When they’re brown and slightly sticky, you can remove them
from the heat and arrange on a crêpe with some stiffly beaten cream, fold
traditionally.
Yum.
How to make crêpes.
Raspberry Clafoutis
Traditionally a clafoutis is made with whole cherries, if
made with other fruit it is called a flaugnarde. It comes from an area near east of Bordeaux called Limousin (yes, it vaguely has something to do with the word limousine). I ate a raspberry clafoutis in Carcassonne and decided to
try my own one this week!
Ingredients:
Icing sugar for dusting
1/4 cup full cream milk
3 tbsp melted (but not hot!) butter
1/2 cup cake wheat flour
3 large, free range eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
250g fresh raspberries
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
Method:
Beat all the ingredients together, except for the berries (always remember that if you are adding melted butter to egg, there is the danger of the egg cooking if your butter is too hot - gross!). Once your batter is smooth, pour it into a 10cm diametered baking dish. I found
that a 20cm dish made the clafoutis too thin and difficult to serve properly.
Carefully spread your raspberries
out into the batter – they will sink down while cooking.
Cook at 180’C for 30
minutes and rotate it in the oven half way through, if necessary.
Dust with the icing sugar immediately before serving otherwise it will disappear. I think it can be eaten warm or cold, but we liked it cold
and with vanilla ice-cream!
For this culinary adventure, I Googled my way to this link.
Mexican Salad
20 olives (without pips)
A golden habanero chilli
20 baby tomatoes
3/4 tin of red kidney beans
A handful of fresh coriander
Half a cup of corn
An avocado peeled and cubed
Cottage cheese
Dressing:
2 tbsp. of lime juice
5 drops of tabasco sauce
2 tbsp. canola oil
Salt
Pepper
Chop the olives, tomatoes and coriander roughly.
If your avocado is ripe, the pieces can be quite big (3 x
3cm), but the habanero you should chop as finely as you can, taking care to
wash your hands afterwards and not touch your face at all.
The beans and corn can be added whole after rinsing , if
from a can.
Pour over the dressing and toss the salad.
Serve with a dollop of cottage cheese on top and a sprig of
coriander for garnishing.
Variation: Squash was also a popular Aztec food, so cooked, chopped and cooled, it would make a good addition and bulk up the
salad.
Mexican Roast Chicken
A fantastic twist to a Sunday roast lunch. Hmmmmm!
Ingredients:
1 chicken to roast (ours was 1,8kg)
3 green chillies
2 onions, peeled and halved
2 tbsp oil
A few cloves of garlic
Spice rub:
4 dry red chillies
2 tsp whole coriander
4 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp salt
Method:
Put your spices for the rub in a coffee bean grinder and
grind up. You could use a pestle and mortar, but if you want finely milled
spices use a spice mill or a coffee bean grinder (which is what we use and it
works really well! But we only use it for spices, not coffee). The chillies won’t really flake with a pestle and mortar
so you could use cayenne pepper instead if you don’t have a spice mill.
Baste your chicken with the oil all over and sprinkle the ground powder over it.
Position the garlic and onions around the chicken and the chillies on top.
Put
this into you oven heated to 180’C and cook for 2 hours.
When the juices run clear, the meat is cooked to the bone and the meat is flaky and almost
falling apart, then you know that the chicken is cooked. Cut down the breast bone, pull of the
drumsticks and serve.
Lamb Pilaf
For my husband's birthday I got him Anjum's New Kitchen. It was a great gift as since then we have made many delicious Indian recipes from there, dipping into our 'exotic' supply of spices from the Spice Emporium and introducing our taste-buds to new and fantastic flavours.
Yesterday I came home to a absolutely delicious Lamb Pilaf or Lucknowi Biryani.
What's unique about this dish is that the rice is cooked with the meat rather than separately, the latter I would assume is usually the case with rice-accompanying dishes.
Ingredients:
350g jasmine rice
650g lamb neck
6 cloves of garlic
12g fresh, crushed ginger
1 tsp salt
1 big onion, chopped
10 cardamon pods (green)
1 tbsp black pepper
4 bay leaves
4 pieces of cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
4 tsp canola oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
4 green thai chillies
Method:
Rinse the rice and soak it for 30 min.
Make a stock by putting the following ingredients into a large sauce-pan: 500ml water, the lamb, half the onion, garlic, ginger, salt, cardamom, black pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer for 40 minutes or until the lamb is tender.
Take out the meat and place it in a separate bowl so that you can strain out the spices from the stock with a sieve. The stock shouldn't have any solids in now. Measure it and add enough water for it to reach 700ml.
Heat the oil in your saucepan and add the cumin. When the seeds start to make a sizzling sound, add the chillies and other half of the onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the lamb neck in again to brown (about 5 minutes). Your stock can now be added along with the drained rice that has been soaking.
Simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave it to steam for a further 5 minutes.
Note: This version is slightly different to the one published in the book, just describes how we cooked it.
Yesterday I came home to a absolutely delicious Lamb Pilaf or Lucknowi Biryani.
What's unique about this dish is that the rice is cooked with the meat rather than separately, the latter I would assume is usually the case with rice-accompanying dishes.
Ingredients:
350g jasmine rice
650g lamb neck
6 cloves of garlic
12g fresh, crushed ginger
1 tsp salt
1 big onion, chopped
10 cardamon pods (green)
1 tbsp black pepper
4 bay leaves
4 pieces of cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
4 tsp canola oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
4 green thai chillies
Method:
Rinse the rice and soak it for 30 min.
Make a stock by putting the following ingredients into a large sauce-pan: 500ml water, the lamb, half the onion, garlic, ginger, salt, cardamom, black pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer for 40 minutes or until the lamb is tender.
Take out the meat and place it in a separate bowl so that you can strain out the spices from the stock with a sieve. The stock shouldn't have any solids in now. Measure it and add enough water for it to reach 700ml.
Heat the oil in your saucepan and add the cumin. When the seeds start to make a sizzling sound, add the chillies and other half of the onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the lamb neck in again to brown (about 5 minutes). Your stock can now be added along with the drained rice that has been soaking.
Simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave it to steam for a further 5 minutes.
Note: This version is slightly different to the one published in the book, just describes how we cooked it.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
My Tiramisu
I read about 6 recipes and then combined them into this:
Ingredients:
1x tub marcapone (250g)
1x 250ml double thick cream ( I only used about 200ml whipping cream because its thinner)
150g sugar
A tot of rum (or amareto or marsala wine, something to that effect)
1 1/2 cup strong coffee (I wanted decaf so I used a good brand of instant decaffeinated coffee)
2 tsp cocoa powder
1x big pack boudoir / finger biscuits
Method:
Let the marscapone and cream reach about room temperature or the cheese will lump up when you beat it. Beat with half of the sugar and the cream. Castor sugar dissolves faster and better, so use that if you can, but I didn't.
Then make your coffee and add the rest of the sugar there to dissolve, stir it and let it also cool a little.
Get a dish that can fit in 2 layers of your biscuits, try see how they fit when they are dry first.
Dip the biscuits for about 2 seconds into the coffee until they have liquid all over them and shake it off before putting it in the dish so that it doesn't leak liquid everywhere.
First layer: Half of the biscuits dipped and laid down next to each other to cover the bottom of the dish.
Second layer: Half of the creamy mixture spread over the biscuits. Sprinkle over 1 tsp cocoa powder.
Third layer: Do another coffee-dipped biscuits layer.
Fourth layer: The creamy mixture again sprinkled with the last of the cocoa.
Put it in the fridge to set for about 2 hours to set.
Cut into pieces and scoop out.
To serve more easily you could also make little mini-tiramisu's in ramekins or dessert glasses.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Naan Bread
After a delicious supper at Bhandari's I decided that I could try my hand at naan bread. It was rather easier than I had thought!
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups of low fat yoghurt
Method:
I mixed together 4 cups of flour with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder. I then kneaded in 2 cups of low fat yoghurt, but double cream might make it tastier.
Once you've kneaded it for about 5 minutes, oil another bowl lightly and put the ball of dough aside to rest for an hour. Thereafter, divide the dough into about 10 balls and roll them out.
Since you will probably be using a round frying pan, try to make them round rather than long. When ready, add the dough, once piece at a time to the pan on medium-high heat until the bread puffs up and gets brown marks on it.
Then transfer it to a hot oven (220 - 290'C). My oven started smoking at 290 so I turned it down. I think this part of the process just cooks the inside a bit more.
Serve hot with butter and garlic.Enjoy with a nice hot curry and a home-made chutney.
Note: I found that they weren't great the next day, so if you're going to make them, eat them all that day (which shouldn't be too difficult).
I used this recipe: http://low-cholesterol.food.com/recipe/naan-203261
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups of low fat yoghurt
Method:
I mixed together 4 cups of flour with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder. I then kneaded in 2 cups of low fat yoghurt, but double cream might make it tastier.
Once you've kneaded it for about 5 minutes, oil another bowl lightly and put the ball of dough aside to rest for an hour. Thereafter, divide the dough into about 10 balls and roll them out.
Since you will probably be using a round frying pan, try to make them round rather than long. When ready, add the dough, once piece at a time to the pan on medium-high heat until the bread puffs up and gets brown marks on it.
Then transfer it to a hot oven (220 - 290'C). My oven started smoking at 290 so I turned it down. I think this part of the process just cooks the inside a bit more.
Serve hot with butter and garlic.Enjoy with a nice hot curry and a home-made chutney.
Note: I found that they weren't great the next day, so if you're going to make them, eat them all that day (which shouldn't be too difficult).
I used this recipe: http://low-cholesterol.food.com/recipe/naan-203261
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Easy Coconut Ice
I'm not a fan of the super-sweet but it makes a good Christmas present! This is also one of my gran's recipes:
Ingredients:
1 tin condensed milk
400g icing sugar
350g dried coconut
1/4 tsp salt
Method:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and then pour out into a flat pan with at least 3cm high sides. Allow to set for a couple of hours and then cut into blocks and serve. Actually I would recommend cutting into blocks when half-set. If you cut it too soon, it'll merge again and too late will require too much muscle.
Ingredients:
1 tin condensed milk
400g icing sugar
350g dried coconut
1/4 tsp salt
Method:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and then pour out into a flat pan with at least 3cm high sides. Allow to set for a couple of hours and then cut into blocks and serve. Actually I would recommend cutting into blocks when half-set. If you cut it too soon, it'll merge again and too late will require too much muscle.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Roasted Tomatoes and Tomato-Jam Sauce
I love tomatoes and can't wait until I have my own garden to grow plenty of vine-ripened varieties in! In the mean time, I try to pick out the ripest once from the supermarket.
Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients:
6 ripe tomatoes (cut in half with seeds and juice spooned out)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Topping (such as Italian herbs, fresh basil, half a clove of garlic in each half etc)
Method:
Put the tomatoes in a baking try with the skin side down and drizzle with olive oil, pepper, salt and add your herbs or other seasoning.
Bake for an hour at 180'C.
The tomatoes may have become smaller and their taste will have concentrated. Their useful shape allows you to fill them with Chevre/Chevin or some Buffalo mozzarella (if you used Basil leaves). Because olive oil is so delicious you can always add a glug over the top and a small splash of balsamic vinegar as well. The tomatoes can be served hot or cold and can be eaten simply as they come out of the oven.
Tomato-Jam Sauce
Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
2tsp sugar
2 tsp chilli chutney
Pepper
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Juice and seeds of 6 tomatoes (scooped out)
1 tsp cornstarch/ mazina
Method:
Add all the ingredients (except mazina) into a small saucepan and once it starts boiling add the mazina stirring constantly. Once mixed in you can leave the mixture to reduce until it's thick and almost jam-like. It will also thicken as it cools, so keep that in mind.
This can be used for finger foods such as bites of crusty bread with cheese, or simply eaten as a spicy jam.
Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients:
6 ripe tomatoes (cut in half with seeds and juice spooned out)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Topping (such as Italian herbs, fresh basil, half a clove of garlic in each half etc)
Method:
Put the tomatoes in a baking try with the skin side down and drizzle with olive oil, pepper, salt and add your herbs or other seasoning.
Bake for an hour at 180'C.
The tomatoes may have become smaller and their taste will have concentrated. Their useful shape allows you to fill them with Chevre/Chevin or some Buffalo mozzarella (if you used Basil leaves). Because olive oil is so delicious you can always add a glug over the top and a small splash of balsamic vinegar as well. The tomatoes can be served hot or cold and can be eaten simply as they come out of the oven.
Tomato-Jam Sauce
Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
2tsp sugar
2 tsp chilli chutney
Pepper
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Juice and seeds of 6 tomatoes (scooped out)
1 tsp cornstarch/ mazina
Method:
Add all the ingredients (except mazina) into a small saucepan and once it starts boiling add the mazina stirring constantly. Once mixed in you can leave the mixture to reduce until it's thick and almost jam-like. It will also thicken as it cools, so keep that in mind.
This can be used for finger foods such as bites of crusty bread with cheese, or simply eaten as a spicy jam.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Jam Tartlets with Roasted Peaches and Ice-cream
I mainly made this dessert because I had puff pastry left overs from making a pie.
Ingredients:
Puff pastry squares
Jam (cranberry & apple), 1 tsp per square
Ripe peaches slices into 1 cm strips
Sugar
Vanilla ice cream or plain yoghurt
Honey for drizzling
Method:
You can cut your own pastry squares once rolled out, about 5cm for all sides. Make a little hollow in each square for the jam to sit in. The cranberry jam worked nicely, but as it heats up, the berries slide off and stick to the pan instead of the pastry, so try to avoid that from happening.
Lay your peach strips, gently sifted with sugar, next to the pastry in a roasting pan and cook for 15 - 20 min on 200 degrees until lightly browned. Serve with ice cream or yoghurt after drizzling with honey.
Ingredients:
Puff pastry squares
Jam (cranberry & apple), 1 tsp per square
Ripe peaches slices into 1 cm strips
Sugar
Vanilla ice cream or plain yoghurt
Honey for drizzling
Method:
You can cut your own pastry squares once rolled out, about 5cm for all sides. Make a little hollow in each square for the jam to sit in. The cranberry jam worked nicely, but as it heats up, the berries slide off and stick to the pan instead of the pastry, so try to avoid that from happening.
Lay your peach strips, gently sifted with sugar, next to the pastry in a roasting pan and cook for 15 - 20 min on 200 degrees until lightly browned. Serve with ice cream or yoghurt after drizzling with honey.
Roast Chicken & Mushroom Pie
My own invention and hence might need some tweaking here and there :)
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1,2kg free-range chicken
A lemon
3 cloves of chopped garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp herbes de provence
400g brown mushrooms chopped into 2cm squares
2 tbsp butter
1 roll of puff pastry (defrosted)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 c milk
1 egg
Method:
Squeeze the lemon into the olive oil, chicken stock powder, herbes, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 3 tbsp olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, 1 tsp chilli flakes and stuff the chicken with the rest of the lemon. Mix the oil and rub into the chicken. Roast at 190 degrees celsius for an hour. When the juices run clear, it's cooked and the meat can be pulled from the bone and shredded.
In a saucepan, heat a tbspn butter and add in the cornstarch once dissolved into the cold milk and stir until thick. Add in some pepper and remove from the heat.
In a big frying pan sauté the mushrooms (wiped down with a damp cloth so that they aren't waterlogged!) in a tbsp butter with a clove of crushed garlic and some more chilli flakes, a pinch of salt an a little pepper. Once all the water has been released and evaporated from the mushrooms, pour the sauce over and stir in the chicken. The filling mutn't be too liquid, but more like a sloppy mud viscosity.
Roll out your pastry and lay it into a greased pie dish. Add the filling on top, and put your second layer of pastry over the top, squeezing the edges together with your thumb and forefinger. Decorate the pie with extra pieces of pastry and poke a few breathing holes in the top. Return to the oven, after brushing with a beaten egg, for 30 min at 180 degrees celsius until golden.
Ingredients:
1,2kg free-range chicken
A lemon
3 cloves of chopped garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp herbes de provence
400g brown mushrooms chopped into 2cm squares
2 tbsp butter
1 roll of puff pastry (defrosted)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 c milk
1 egg
Method:
Squeeze the lemon into the olive oil, chicken stock powder, herbes, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 3 tbsp olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, 1 tsp chilli flakes and stuff the chicken with the rest of the lemon. Mix the oil and rub into the chicken. Roast at 190 degrees celsius for an hour. When the juices run clear, it's cooked and the meat can be pulled from the bone and shredded.
In a saucepan, heat a tbspn butter and add in the cornstarch once dissolved into the cold milk and stir until thick. Add in some pepper and remove from the heat.
In a big frying pan sauté the mushrooms (wiped down with a damp cloth so that they aren't waterlogged!) in a tbsp butter with a clove of crushed garlic and some more chilli flakes, a pinch of salt an a little pepper. Once all the water has been released and evaporated from the mushrooms, pour the sauce over and stir in the chicken. The filling mutn't be too liquid, but more like a sloppy mud viscosity.
Roll out your pastry and lay it into a greased pie dish. Add the filling on top, and put your second layer of pastry over the top, squeezing the edges together with your thumb and forefinger. Decorate the pie with extra pieces of pastry and poke a few breathing holes in the top. Return to the oven, after brushing with a beaten egg, for 30 min at 180 degrees celsius until golden.
Teriyaki Chicken & Pineapple Burgers
Teriyaki is a Japanese sweet soy sauce. As I understand it has sake and mirin in it if you are to make it properly, but I just cheat and use sugar. It still tastes good.
Ingredients:
4 sesame seed burger breadrolls
4 free-range chicken breasts
1 pineapple (4 slices)
Lettuce leaves
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp freshly chopped ginger (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1/4 c Tamari soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch/Mazina
1/4 c cold water
Method:
Prepare your burger roll by cutting it in half and lining it with lettuce (also stops the sauce making it soggy).
Cut up your pineapple into 1cm wide slices and fry these with your chicken breasts (or after) until the chicken is cooked through and browned (fry for about max 10min on medium heat). Remeber to put the bigger pieces of chicken in the middle of the pan and the smaller ones on the outside.
While that's frying, make the teriyaki sauce by heating the sugar and soy sauce with the garlic and ginger over the stove on a medium heat. Dissolve the cornstarch into the cold water and add it into the hot mixture on the stove, stirring continuously until thick. It'll go almost as thick as melted chocolate.
Layer the chicken, pineapple and sauce onto your burger and enjoy! :)
Ingredients:
4 sesame seed burger breadrolls
4 free-range chicken breasts
1 pineapple (4 slices)
Lettuce leaves
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp freshly chopped ginger (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1/4 c Tamari soy sauce
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch/Mazina
1/4 c cold water
Method:
Prepare your burger roll by cutting it in half and lining it with lettuce (also stops the sauce making it soggy).
Cut up your pineapple into 1cm wide slices and fry these with your chicken breasts (or after) until the chicken is cooked through and browned (fry for about max 10min on medium heat). Remeber to put the bigger pieces of chicken in the middle of the pan and the smaller ones on the outside.
While that's frying, make the teriyaki sauce by heating the sugar and soy sauce with the garlic and ginger over the stove on a medium heat. Dissolve the cornstarch into the cold water and add it into the hot mixture on the stove, stirring continuously until thick. It'll go almost as thick as melted chocolate.
Layer the chicken, pineapple and sauce onto your burger and enjoy! :)
Friday, January 6, 2012
Smoked Turkey Pasta
Because of those amazing 50% off Christmas meat sales at Woolworths, we ended up with a lot of turkey in our fridge. I haven't eaten much turkey in my life so it was slightly challenging trying to find ways to eat it in a meal. This quick-to-make and absolutely delicious turkey pasta is a good reason to invest in a chunk of ready-to-eat turkey for any occasion.
Ingredients:
250g pasta (spaghetti)
50g Gruyere
200g baby tomatoes
1 tsp herbes de provence
1 tsp dried garlic
2 hot chillies
A glug of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Method:
Cook the pasta through with a tsp of salt and drain. Add it back to the pot with the Gruyere (grated), mix in the olive oil and the turkey (cut into 2cm square chunks).
Remove from heat once cheese is melted.
In another pot, throw in your washed tomatoes and chopped chillies. Set the stove plate on a high heat and poke a few of the tomatoes so that the juices can run out and become sticky. Sometimes this happens on its own when the tomatoes get very hot.
Quickly add the herbes and the garlic and stir very few minutes until you are convinced that your tomatoes are soft and sweet inside.They should be soft to the touch and not firm.
Add the tomatoes to your spaghetti and serve.
Serves 3
Ingredients:
250g pasta (spaghetti)
50g Gruyere
200g baby tomatoes
1 tsp herbes de provence
1 tsp dried garlic
2 hot chillies
A glug of olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Method:
Cook the pasta through with a tsp of salt and drain. Add it back to the pot with the Gruyere (grated), mix in the olive oil and the turkey (cut into 2cm square chunks).
Remove from heat once cheese is melted.
In another pot, throw in your washed tomatoes and chopped chillies. Set the stove plate on a high heat and poke a few of the tomatoes so that the juices can run out and become sticky. Sometimes this happens on its own when the tomatoes get very hot.
Quickly add the herbes and the garlic and stir very few minutes until you are convinced that your tomatoes are soft and sweet inside.They should be soft to the touch and not firm.
Add the tomatoes to your spaghetti and serve.
Serves 3
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