Cat's Smoked Bacon, Courgette and Sweet Pepper Risotto

This was sent to me by my lovely friend Cat, who is currently taking a year of being a governess for a rich Russian family and jet setting round the world as a result - lucky lady!

This is my first time of cooking this recipe, so I hope it goes to plan and does the original justice. I will upload the details and photos when I'm done...Here's the ingredients and method which I'm going to follow:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
175g (6oz) button mushrooms, sliced
250g (9oz) arborio or other risotto rice
900ml (30fl oz) chicken stock, home-made if possible, hot
salt and freshly ground black pepper
225g (8oz) smoked streaky bacon, cut into strips
275g (10oz) small courgettes, diced
25g (1oz) butter
50g (2oz) parmesan, grated, and a few shaved slices
chopped fresh parsley

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan on the Boiling Plate (I used my cast iron Le Creuset wok here), add the onion, garlic and red (green or yellow) pepper, and saute for a few minutes. Toss in the mushrooms and cook for a further minute.
2. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes. Pour 750ml (25fl oz) of boiling stock and season.
3. Cover with the lid and transfer to the Simmering Oven for 25 minutes (here I left the mixture in the wok but got it to a simmer and put the lid on, I kept it simmering on the hob and that worked fine). Check and stir once during this time, bringing back to the boil on the Boiling Plate, and adding more stock if necessary.
4. Fry and brown bacon on the Boiling Plate in a large non-stick frying pan. Remove and put on to a plate.

Add the courgettes to the fat in the pan and fry until just tender. Put to one side with the bacon.
5. Test the rice: it should be soft on the outside but still have a little bite in the centre. Return to the Boiling Plate to reduce if there is excess liquid. Add the butter, grated parmesan, the bacon and courgettes.

Check the seasoning and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley (or any other fresh herb of choice) and shavings of fresh parmesan if liked. 

Conclusion - Yummy! - Thank you Cat! xx

Good Food Banana & Blueberry Muffins

We had some over ripe banana's in the fruit bowl, as I'm sure every household does, and I can't bare to see food go to waste so I looked up this recipe.

I don't like bananas myself, though Adam is a big fan, and definately seemed to like the ones which I brought him straight from the oven and this recipe makes enough to take some to work too.

 Ingredients

• 300g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g light muscovado sugar
• 50g porridge oats , plus 1 tbsp for topping
• 2 medium bananas , the riper the better
• 284ml carton buttermilk
• 5 tbsp light olive oil
• 2 egg whites
• 150g punnet blueberries  

  Method:

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Tip the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Hold back 1 tbsp of the sugar, then mix the remainder with the flour and 50g oats. Make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until nearly smooth. Stir the buttermilk, oil and egg whites into the mashed banana until evenly combined.
2. Pour the liquid mixture into the well and stir quickly and sparingly with a wooden spoon. The mix will look lumpy and may have the odd fleck of flour still visible, but don't be tempted to over-mix. Tip in the blueberries and give it just one more stir. Divide the mix between the muffin cases - they will be quite full - then sprinkle the tops with the final tbsp of the oats and the rest of he sugar. Bake for 18-20 mins until risen and dark golden. Cool for 5 mins in the tray before lifting out onto a rack to cool completely.

Using yogurt
Buttermilk's natural acidity helps to lighten muffin mixes and increases the rise. It's usually available in the dairy section of supermarkets, but if you can't find it, use low-fat plain yogurt instead (a mild bio yogurt is best) or skimmed milk with a splash of lemon juice.

Beetroot Chocolate Fudge Cakes (from Cook Yourself Thin)

I've been wanting to try this one for a while. Though the original recipe makes one large cake I'm opting for the cupcake option.... hope it works... they're currently in the oven so I will keep you posted....

Ingredients:

The cakes

• 250g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• 250g light muscovado sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthways and seeds scraped out
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons clear honey
• 40g self-raising flour
• 40g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 25g cocoa powder
• 50g ground almonds
• 250g raw beetroot, peeled and finely grated
• 100ml strong black coffee
• 30ml sunflower oil

Nutritional Information

Per serving:
305 calories

The topping

• 150g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 tablespoons strong black coffee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 tablespoons clear honey

Method:

1. Preheat a conventional oven to 160ºC, or a fan-assisted one to 140ºC. With the help of a brush and a tiny bit of sunflower oil, grease the surface of a round 20cm diameter by 8cm high loose-bottomed tin and set aside.
2. Melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until all dissolved, then set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, the scraped-out vanilla seeds, the maple syrup and the honey for three minutes with an electric hand whisk until pale and quite fluffy.
4. Gently fold in the flours, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cocoa and ground almonds until fully incorporated.
5. Using some kitchen paper, dab the grated beetroot thoroughly to remove some of the excess moisture. Fold in the beetroot, cooled chocolate, coffee and oil with the help of a spatula until thoroughly mixed together.

I bought precooked beetroot, not realising  till I got home that the recipe said raw. It seemed to work fine though. Precooked beetroot clearly can't be grated but one of the great things about my Kenwood food processor is the mini bowl which you can attach inside the larger one for smaller jobs throughout the recipe. So I chopped the beetroot into a grated-like consistency through using the blade attachment on the small bowl.  

In the above picture, you can see the mixture in my Kenwood food processor, the ready chopped beetroot and the chocolate melting nicely in the bowl ready to be mixed in...


6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook in the middle of the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. After this time, cover the cake with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

I used my smallest ladle to ladle the mixture into muffin cases. I then baked for an hour, tested and then baked for a little longer on a lower heat. You need to monitor the cooking as it really does vary from oven to oven and will take less time in individual cases too.

7. Test the cake by inserting a skewer (or knife) into the centre to see if it comes out clean (although this cake is so moist that even when the cake is fully cooked, the skewer comes out looking slightly messy). Leave to cool on a wire rack.
8. To make the fudge topping, melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then remove from the heat and add the coffee and the vanilla essence.
9. At this stage the chocolate will seize up slightly, but it will relax back once you add the honey and gently mix in.
10. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes before icing the cake. Cut the cake through the middle and ice it in the centre and on all sides.
11. Decorate the top with whatever you fancy, but I like using pink flowers, such as tulips or roses, which I plant into the cake with a bit of stem left on. 

  

Tips

1. Leave yourself plenty of time to make this cake because it is quite a lengthy recipe.
2. The cake is best eaten when it is still slightly warm. It is also really important to ice it at the last minute or the icing can lose its shine.
However, it would freeze beautifully providing you put it away before icing. Simply defrost when needed and ice at the last minute.

My Savoury Pancakes

This is a recipe for pancakes that I memorised from a children's cookbook we had at home growing up and it honestly never fails, which begs the question, what is with people using pancake mixes! I really don't get it, especially as there are only 3 ingredients to the batter!

Batter ingredients:
100g of plain four
250ml of egg + milk

Filling:
 For the filling, the world is really your oyster. If you like you can just go for lemon and sugar, which is delicious.
I tend to go for a variety of left overs from my fridge but usually some sort of meat, vegetable and cheese, and herbs (fresh if possible) for something extra.
This time I went for peppered salami, smoked ham, Edam sliced thinly, green olive, red sweet pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Method:

1. Put a large none stick pan on the hob to heat up with a good swig of good olive oil
2.Weigh your flour in a large mixing bowl
3. In a measuring jug crack your egg and then pour your milk until you reach 250ml
4. Pour your milk and egg into the mixing bowl with the flour and whisk until you get a lovely smooth batter
5. Sort out and cut up whatever your filling is going to be 
6. Ladle one ladle  of batter into the hot pan and quickly lift the pan and rock it to make sure the batter spreads out evenly and fully across the surface of the pan
7. Watch for the change in colour, its subtle but you will recognise when it changes colour across the whole pancake and this is the tell tell sign that it is time to turn it
8. If your brave, flip it, or if, like me, you're not then you can turn it with a spatula
9. Place your filling in a line down the middle of the pancake, turn your heat down to half heat whilst you're doing this
10. Fold both remaining sides across the filling
11. Slide in onto your plate and place that plate into a low heat oven whilst you cook the other one (oven at around 60'C is just fine). Repeat the process.
Enjoy!

NB: This quantity of batter should make 4 large pancakes

TIP: Eggs are often labeled with a best before date a month or two before they actually go off, the fail safe way to check whether your egg is safely usable is to drop said egg into a glass of cold water if it sinks it's OK if it floats then its off. You would know instantly if it was off when you cracked in any case as it really would stink.

Rachel's Chicken Kiev with Sauté Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

I thought it was about time that I cooked a chicken kiev from scratch. It was a childhood favourite of mine and a favourite of Adam's too. We had the shop bought one last week - it was okish, but I knew it would be so much nicer if I knew I cooked it from scratch myself.

My lovely friend Katie bought me this recipe book for my birthday or Christmas and I have been meaning to cook something from it ever since:

My Ingredients:

I halved everything in the original recipe as I was just cooking for the two of us and I used Matzo Meal instead of breadcrumbs as it was what I had in and it worked a treat!

Recipe:

Final Dish:

This recipe does take time, but I do definately think its worth the effort. Wasn't massively keen on the potatoes, to be honest but I think I might try the oven alternative next time. I loved the kiev and definately would recommend trying it to anyone. I also think it would be nice with a side of summer salad. Enjoy!

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Update : April 2010

Just tried this dish again but this time I did the potatoes in the oven, as suggested on the second page of the original recipe. This really worked much better - and is how I will do it from now on. Please find updated photo below:

 

Chicken Soup for the Soul

So simple and so comforting. My Mum and her Mum always referred to it as Jewish Penicillin which I have always thought was an excellent name for it as it really does make feel better when your feeling one degree under.

Take the chicken bones/carcass left over from roast or Maple Chicken perhaps. Put in a big pan with an onion and any other veg you like, any left over cooking juices, salt and pepper to taste:

Add water, right to the top of the pan. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and keep it simmering as long as possible, a few hours if you can. This process is a lot quicker if you have a pressure cooker, which I am yet to get, but my Mum tells me it takes 45 mins to get a perfect stock, so I think I will definately invest in one at some point.

Once you have boiled it for as long as you can, strain it off to get your stock. At this point you can just keep it and freeze it for any recipes which require stock.

Or you can go on and make it into Chicken soup - I usually do this by adding a packet or two of cuppa soup, but you can add noodles, veg, chicken pieces, possibilities are endless.

Maple Chicken with Greek Potatoes

The chicken part of this recipe has been adapted from Nigella's Maple chicken 'n' ribs taken from her "Nigella Express" cookbook. The potatoes are my own invention, inspired by a holiday to Kefalonia a couple of years ago....

Right first the Maple Chicken:

Ingredients:

8 pack of chicken drumsticks
250ml/8¾fl oz apple juice, as sharp as possible
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, halved
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and cut in half

Method:

1. Place the chicken drumsticks into a couple of large freezer bags or into a dish.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients, squeezing everything together well before sealing the bag or covering the dish.
3. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight or for up to two days. (half a day works also - that's what I did on this occasion)
4. Take the dish or bags out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6/ 180C fan
5. Pour the contents of the freezer bag or dish into one or two large roasting trays, making sure the chicken is skin-side up.
6. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the ribs and chicken are sticky and golden-brown and completely cooked through.

Ok Greek Potatoes:

These want to go into the oven once your chicken has been in for half an hour. I therefore timed the first 20mins for the chicken and then I prepared the potatoes ready to go in 10mins later.

Ingredient:

1 large potato or 2 small ones per person
1 teapoon of fennel seeds
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
good swig of olive oil
good shake of mixed herbs
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Mix in a small dish all ingredients other than potatoes:

 

2. Chop your potatoes into bite size pieces, I personally don't bother peeling them but its entirely down to personal preference

3. Put your potatoes in a roasting dish and pour over your oil mix, now get your hands in there and turn everything over well until the potatoes are thoroughly coated:

 

4. Put in the oven for 45mins or until crispy, shaking/turning occasionally

Final dish:

 

(tip:  when you serve strip the chicken off the bone and spoon over the cooking juices - delicious!)

Don't forget - no need to waste the bones, why not boil them up for some lovely chicken soup for the soul!

Ching-He Huang's Spiced beef stir fry topped with spring onion and coriander

Ingredients

For the beef stir fry
400g/14oz beef fillet
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp light soy sauce
pinch sea salt
1 large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 spring onion, finely sliced
For the wasabi mayonnaise
1 tsp wasabi paste (available from some supermarkets and Asian grocers)
3 tbsp mayonnaise
pinch caster sugar
For the spicy coating
1-2 tbsp ground cumin (to taste)
1-2 tbsp dried chilli flakes (to taste)
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp sea salt
To serve
warm flour tortilla wraps

Method

1. For the beef, prepare the fillet by flattening it with a meat mallet or rolling pin, or cut it in half horizontally. Cut into wafer-thin slices.
2. For the wasabi mayonnaise, mix all of the wasabi mayonnaise ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. For the spicy coating, mix all of the coating ingredients together on a plate. Roll the beef slices in the spice mix, then shake off any excess.
4. Heat a wok until smoking and add the groundnut oil, then add the beef and stir-fry for one minute, or until browned. Add the rice wine and season with the soy sauce and a pinch of salt. Remove from the heat and stir in the coriander and spring onion.
5. To serve, wrap the spicy beef in the tortillas and top with the wasabi mayonnaise. Serve immediately.

- I served it with spicy potatoes this time - next time I'm definately going to try the wrap option.

Debbie & Andrew's Scicilian Sausage Pasta Bake

 

I came across this company at the Good Homes Show in Earls Court a few years ago. They were handing out sausage samples on sticks, my friend Tuely and I kept going back for more as they were honestly the most delicious sausages we had ever had. We both bought lots of sausages that day from Debbie & Andrew's. When I got home I went to their website and found that they kept their own recipe log of recipes they had been sent on there. I liked the look of this one and so printed it out. It is now one of our favourites and always goes down very well.

I would also like to thank this recipe as it is responsible for me finally mastering tomato pasta sauce from scratch so I love it on too levels as it is due to this recipe that I have managed to create my own recipes such as my leftover pasta (with ham)  .

Hope you enjoy!

Mum's Fresh Fried Fish

This dish instantly makes me think of summer. It was a big favourite of childhood and is of adulthood too. It took me yrs to master it for myself but I finally did last summer :) 

Here's some info on Matzo Meal, for those of you who haven't heard of it or want to know some more, what it is and what it can be used for:

Matzo meal: How to cook: Good Food Channel

Rakusen's Limited :: Where can I purchase Matzo Meal?  

New Tip: I now have started coating the fish in plain flour before the egg and then the matzo meal, this, I've found, makes a better fuller coating.

 

Cate's Delicious Fish Pie

Anna's Delicious Cottage Pie

Yum Yum Yum!

Proper traditional comfort food.

18 November 2012 (update)

Didn't add carrot this time but did add sundried tomatoes and a bit of left over pepper and also fennel seeds to the mince when it was cooking. I added a little truffle oil and butter when mashing the potato and  edam and parmesan on  top; all recommended additions, all yummy.

Melodie's Delicious Bolognaise

Another delicious recipe from my fabulous friend Melodie...again learnt when I went to stay with her in Paris during my student days....

 

As you can see for this version I also added green olives and left over orange pepper to the recipe, which worked very well indeed - sundried tomatoes would be another good addition

I personally think that wholemeal pasta works best with all red meat dishes. 

Enjoy! - it's definately one of my long term favourites which I cook time and time again. x

Anna's Mum's Traditional Mexican Picadillo

Picadillo is a traditional Mexican dish introduced to me by my wonderful, half Mexican, friend Anna through her Mum's delicious recipe and Anna's amazing cooking....

Now before you begin the main part of the recipe you should put your brown rice on to cook as it takes 25mins. You want it in a large pan with boiling water, straight from the kettle, 75g per person approx, though for this quantity of Picadillo I generally use 225g which seems to be the perfect quantity. Literally bring the pan up to the boil, place the lid on, turn down the heat to a simmer and set your timer for 25mins - that's it - the delight of cooking brown rice- so simple!

Here is the rest of the method:

Plate it up with a couple of spoonfuls of the rice and equal quantity of the Picadillo as so:

How ever if you then want to freeze the remainder as I did, I suggest that you mix your rice and Picadillo together as so: