Thursday 29 August 2013

Coronation Style Roasted Chicken with Yogurt Marinade

I love nothing more in this world than a roasted chicken! Any way I can take it, I love to experiment and try new things. This time I really wanted to emulate a tandoori chicken but with more of a coronation chicken salad flavour. This was very simple; the only difficult part was doing cutting the back out of the chicken because I decided to do a spatchcock method. I also removed the skin and slashed it a bit so the marinade would seep in. I marinated mine for about 5 hours but you can do 1-2 in a pinch. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 medium chicken (1.4kg)
300g non-fat Greek yogurt
2 tbsp. madras paste
2 tbsp. Mango chutney
5 garlic cloves

To Start:
Spatchcock your chicken, please only do this if you are skilled with a knife, and have a sharp one!
Cut out the backbone on both sides of the spine, flip the chicken over and press it down and break the breastbone.
Remove all the skin and slash the breast and thighs.

To Marinade:
In a bowl, mix up all of the ingredients thoroughly.
Put your chicken in a pan, that can go in the fridge, and rub the marinade in, don’t be afraid to get personal with it. It needs a massage!
Pop that in the fridge for a few hours and you’ll be ready to cook!

To Cook:
Take the chicken out and try to wipe down a bit of the yogurt, but not much.
Place on a wire rack pan and bake at 200C for about an hour or until it’s nice and brown but not burnt.

Tuesday 27 August 2013

American Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Normally I wake up on a weekend wanting breakfast tacos, but not this past Saturday, all I could think about was pancakes with some lovely blueberry syrup. Turns out I had the blueberries in the freezer, all there was to do was whip it all up for an easy breakfast! This made four exactly and served two, but can easily be doubled. Also, from experience, I would start the pancakes first then work on the sauce while the pancakes are going! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
150g self-raising flour
1 large egg
1 tsp. baking powder
300ml milk
½ tbsp. sugar
150g frozen blueberries
1 tbsp. corn flour
½ c. orange juice
½ c. water
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 tbsp. oil

To start:
Mix up the flour, egg, baking powdering milk and ½ tsp. sugar in a bowl.
In a cast iron skillet, heat a tiny bit of oil and rub it all over the pan with a paper towel.
When it’s hot about 5 minutes, pour on the first pancake, turn the heat to med-low and leave it alone for about 4-5 minutes or until you start to see air bubbles on the top.
Flip, and wait a further couple of minutes until nice and golden on the other side.

Meanwhile:
As the pancakes are cooking, throw the blueberries, orange juice, water, cinnamon and 2 tbsp. sugar and melted butter into a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until a thick lovely syrup has formed.
When the pancakes are done, butter them up and pour the blueberry sauce on top!

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Crispy Chorizo and Prawns on Spinach Couscous

I have to admit, this isn’t totally my recipe idea, I adapted it from a chefs recipe I saw on TV. It was a 15 minute meal special and I didn’t believe him so I made my own. The original recipe was with squid and needless to say I did not like it at all. I decided to try my hand at a prawn one and I really enjoyed it! I just have to post it because it literally took nearly 20 minutes. So so so easy, and everyone needs easy. This is for exactly two servings, but I would just double it if you want to make more! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
150g uncooked prawns
100g chorizo sausage
1 whole pepper, you can mix and match of any color
1 medium onion in halves
¾ c. whole wheat couscous
100g baby spinach
1 tbsp. bouillon powder
1 c. boiling water
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. sherry vinegar
Yogurt for dolloping

To start:
In a food processor, add the onion, spinach bouillon powder and blitz up until it’s almost a paste, a few seconds.
Add the couscous and stir around.
Next add the boiling water, try to pour it all around.
Pop the lid on the processor and let sit until you’re ready to serve.

To Make the dish and finish:
Slice the pepper, onion, and chorizo.
In a hot pan put the chorizo down until it starts releasing some fat, about 2 minutes.
Next add the peppers and onions and sauté for a good 5-7 minutes until the chorizo crisps and the peppers soften.
Next add the prawns continuing to stir until they get a pink color.
Crush in the garlic and add the honey, stirring around until it gets a nice caramelized color and there’s a real crisp to the veggies.
Next deglaze with the vinegar scraping the bits off the pan, and then you’re done.
Serve hot over the couscous!

Monday 19 August 2013

Easy Vegetable Pearl Barley Risotto

I love love love pearl barley. It’s so useful and good for you. I bought it once because I was going through a whole grain and fibre phase, and I ended up using it in a risotto as a substitute for Arborio rice. I absolutely love this and won’t change back to Arborio unless I have a hankering for it. I vary with my garnishes but I generally keep this vegetarian as there’s just no need for any meat. The base of the risotto is below but you can put anything you want in it. Please enjoy, this serves 2 hungry people!

Ingredients
1 ¼ c. pearl barley
1 stalk celery
1 small onion
1 litre vegetable stock ( I use marigold stock powder)
2 tbsp. Philadelphia cream cheese
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. oil

My garnishes:
Yellow courgette
Roasted beetroot (If you would like the recipe message me)
Rocket
Cherry tomatoes

To start:
Dice onions and celery, fry in a little oil until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the barley and stir for a further 2-3 minutes.

To finish:
Add a third of the stock and bring it to a boil. Stirring constantly, turn the heat down to a simmer until most of the liquid is gone. This should take 5-8 minutes.
When the liquid is nearly gone add another third of the liquid and bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer, cover for 5 minutes.
Next taste the barley and see if it’s soft, you want a nice firm texture but it won’t feel weird to chew.
Add half of the remaining stock and cover a further 4 minutes.
To finish add the garlic and the cream cheese, the rest of the stock and stir keep on a simmer with lid on until it’s smooth and done.*

*At this point I added sliced courgettes and cherry tomatoes. The heat will cook the courgettes through and give a nice crisp tastes. Then I top with my roasted beetroot and arugula to serve.

Thursday 15 August 2013

Diced Turkey Breast Fideo

For those of you that don’t know what fideo is, it’s a Spanish word for ‘noodle’, but it’s often used to describe one type of noodle dish in Mexican cuisine. Sometimes you’ll find it as a soup called sopa de fideo, but my mom usually just made a thicker version without the soup. I absolutely love to make this, and I was ecstatic when I found vermicelli nests! It’s basically the exact same stuff you would get in a local grocery store back home, except they’re longer and swirled into nests instead of small straight noodles. These noodles cook super fast which makes them a great choice for a quick weeknight meal. This is also wonderful as a vegetarian option without the meat. I hope you give it a try! This serves 3.

Ingredients:
500g diced turkey breast (or you could use mince)
125g vermicelli nests or fideo noodles
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
½ green pepper
1 small onion
1 ½ tsp. cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp. oil
Handful of chopped coriander

To start:
Dice onion and pepper.
Heat up your stock to have ready.

To cook:
In a shallow sauté pan, heat the oil and fry together the onions, pepper and turkey meat. About 5-6 min.
When the turkey is nearly done and browned on all sides, crush up the vermicelli nests and drop in the pan and stir to combine. (The point is to toast up the noodles)
Next add the cumin.
Stir thoroughly for another 5 minutes.
Next add the tin of tomatoes, coriander and the hot stock 1 cup at a time. Stir thoroughly, and bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer.
Cover for a further 5 minutes or until noodles are soft.

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Easy Lamb Mince Tagine

Who says that a tagine has to be cooked for ages and ages? Well I have a recipe that will give you everything you want from a tagine that has been cooked down for hours, except not! This is so easy you could do during a busy week day, you could even use any type of meat you want, and I used lamb because it’s a traditional flavour profile but I am going to try turkey next. This serves 3-4. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
400g lamb mince
1 400g tin chick peas drained
¼ c. sliced almonds (preferably toasted)
1 onion
5 dried apricots
5 whole dates
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
2 cardomom pods
Pinch saffron
Fresh mint
1 ½ c. stock
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. oil

To Start:
Dice onion, apricots, and dates.
Steep saffron in 1.5c hot water with stock cube or stock powder.

To cook:
In a saucepan, heat oil, and brown lamb with diced onion and apricots. 6 minutes or until cooked through.
Next add dry spices, cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom pods and turmeric, stir continuously until fragrant.
Add the flour and mix thoroughly about 3 minutes.
Next add the drained chick peas, honey, almonds and stock with saffron. Stir thoroughly and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat.
Right before being done toss some mint leaves on it for a few minutes.
Serve over couscous. Enjoy!

Thursday 8 August 2013

Pork and Bacon Sloppy Joes

I had some extra pork mince and I wanted to do something old school and summery, but give it a twist! This was the perfect thing for me, as I’ve never made sloppy Joes from scratch. For any of you that don’t know what a Sloppy Joe is, traditionally it’s beef mince with a sauce made out of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and other spices that make it a really sloppy meat patty you throw on a bun and get messy! It’s a delicious treat and I will be making my version again, which is with pork and bacon! This recipe makes 2-3 depending on how much you want on your bun, enjoy!

Ingredients:
250g pork mince
4 smoked bacon slices
½ onion
½ green pepper
¾ c. ketchup
1 tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt + pepper to taste
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. oil
2 whole wheat baps

To Start:
Dice the onion and pepper fairly small.
Chop the bacon into small pieces.

To cook:
In a large skillet heat the oil, and add the bacon onions and peppers.
Cook until the bacon gets crispy, but don’t burn the onions. About 5 minutes.
Next add the pork mince and break up with a spoon until really fine, until completely cooked a further 5 minutes.
Next add the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcester sauce, garlic powder.
Mix thoroughly and simmer, on low for a couple of minutes until the sauce heats thoroughly.
To serve, plop the mixture on any buns of your choice and enjoy!

Monday 5 August 2013

Sausage Cassoulet with Bacon

I’ve always been into making casseroles, but I wanted to make a French inspired dish, with sausages and bacon. I thought that I would be in for slaving all day in the kitchen, but what I found was quite the opposite! It was such a simple dinner to throw together. I personally made my own cannellini beans in some stock with onions and carrots, but I would recommend anyone in a hurry to go for tinned beans, which is what I’m writing up the recipe for. This serves 4 people. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
6 traditional plain sausages
4 large tomatoes
2 tins of cannellini beans (you can use any white beans)
1 glass of white wine
2 large carrots
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 slices of smoked bacon
1 tsp. pepper
1 beef stock pot/cube
1 c. water (if needed)
1 tbsp. oil

To start:
Heat oven to 190C or 375F
Chop up the onions, carrot, bacon.
Cut up tomatoes and garlic set aside.

To Cook:
In a large skillet (an ovenproof one is ideal), heat the oil and add the onions carrots and bacon. Sauté a few minutes until the bacon gets a little crispy.
Next add the sausages, stirring constantly for a few minutes.
Next add the glass of wine and simmer until that reduces down by half.
Then add the rest of your ingredients, the tomatoes, garlic, pepper, stock pot, beans (undrained). Bring up to a boil, and then remove from heat. You want a thick stew consistency, so if it's not juicy enough add a little water.

To Finish:
If you’re using an ovenproof dish, stick it in the oven for 30 minutes.
If not, transfer to an oven safe dish, and bake for 30 minutes. Be careful the mixture is nuclear hot!

Friday 2 August 2013

Spicy Pork and Apple Meatballs

I had some pork mince and I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I decided to make some meatballs! I've made meatballs before but I wanted to try something new, a new way to keep the flavor and to keep it moist. I decided to grate an apple in for some added texture and it worked out great, the meatballs came out really lovely and juicy. These would be great with a sauce, or simply eaten on their own or in a sandwich! Really good. This is a small portion for two people and it makes 8 meatballs, you can double it for a family portion quite easily.Enjoy!

Ingredients:
250g pork mince
1 small apple
½ small onion
½ green pepper
1 slice of bread
1 egg
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried chillies
½ tsp. salt
1-2 tbsp. oil

To start:
Chop the onion and the pepper as finely as you can.
Grate as much of the apple as you can skin and all.
Tear the bread into small pieces.
In a bowl combine all of the ingredients.
Clean your hands and mix it up with your fingers, it’s the only way to get it all mixed thoroughly.

To cook:
Form the meatballs by rolling into a ball in your hands, I made 8 with this recipe so about golf ball size.
In a non-stick skillet, heat some oil, when hot add the meatballs and turn continuously. Cook about 5 minutes on each side.
When the meatballs are done they’ll feel very firm when you press into them they will resist.
Enjoy hot with some sauce, or on their own in a sandwich!