Beef Mulligatawny Soup

This makes about 2 kg so should keep you in lunches for a bit.

Ingredients

• 1 Onion
• 2 Carrots, chopped
• 1 Apple; peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 tbsp of Olive Oil or Canola Oil
• 1 tbsp of Plain Flour
• 3 tsps of Curry Powder
• 1 to 2 tsp of Hot Chilli Powder
• About 2 litres of Beef Stock
• 400g tin of Tinned Tomatoes
• 250g of cooked Minced Beef
• 100g of cooked rice
• Salt and Pepper

Method

Put the oil in a large pan and sauté the onions with the carrots and the apple until soft.

Stir in the curry powder, flour and chilli powder then stir for one minute.

Stir in the stock, tomatoes and seasoning then bring to a rapid simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for approximately 90 minutes.

Liquidize then add the rice and beef.

Increase the heat and simmer for two to three minutes. 

Check the seasoning and serve.

Curry Powder

Mexican Jerk Chicken

Very simple and easy to make dish. If you want a Russian Roulette feel to it leave some of the peppercorns whole as they pack quite a kick when you eat one! I have used chicken breast for this as the missus is very fussy on her cuts of chicken; if you prefer you can use chicken legs and thighs and cook it on the barbecue. Finishing in the oven to make sure they are cooked through.

Ingredients

• 450g Chicken Breast
• 1 tbsp of Allspice
• 1 tbsp of Black Peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp on Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tbsp chopped Thyme
• 1 bunch of Spring Onions
• 1 tbsp of a smoked chilli sauce (or more if you like it spicy)
• 1 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• The juice of 1 Lime

Method

Put everything except the chicken in a food processer and process until quite smooth. 

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a freezer/food bag (or bowl). Add the sauce and work it into the chicken. Seal the bag/bowl and leave to stand (preferably overnight but for at least a couple of hours).

Heat a griddle pan and cook until it begins to look quite caramelised and is hot all the way through.

I recommend serviving with some salad and Mexican Patatas Bravas. 

As usual I forgot to take a picture so here is one robbed from the internet
looks pretty similar though!

Mexican Patatas Bravas

Little roast potatoes with chilli sauce. Lovely!

Ingredients

• 500g White Potatoes
• 2 tbsp of Smoked Chilli Sauce
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• Grated Parmesan
• 1 sprig of fresh Rosemary
• Finely chopped Parsley
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper

Method

Wash and cut the potatoes into bite size pieces (peeling optional). Put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 15 minutes. This is probably a good time to put the oven on (200°C).

Drain the water and remove excess water with kitchen roll. Add the leaves from the rosemary, crushed garlic and finally some salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the oil and put on a baking tray. Cook for about 45 minutes.

Serve covered with a dollop of chilli sauce, some finely chopped parsley and a generous sprinkle of parmesan.

It burns....

Chicken Supreme

I always thought this dish was made with mushrooms but I suppose if all you have to base it on is a memory of a Birdseye microwave meal from the eighties...

Ingredients

• 2 Onions
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 6 rashers of Bacon
• 3 Chicken Breasts
• 1 Chicken Stock Cube
• 200ml (400ml) of Double Cream
• Black Pepper

Serves 4

Method

Gently fry the sliced onion and the crushed garlic in olive oil until the onion is soft. Remove from the pan and reserve for later.

Cut the bacon into small strips and fry in the same pan you used to cook the onions. Put to one side.

Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and fry until cooked. 

Add the reserved ingredients and mix it all together. 

Mix the stock cube with 100ml of boiling water and stir into the chicken mixture. Then add the cream evenly coating everything. The original recipe I saw asked for 400ml of cream which is far too much for my tastes so I halved it. Cook until the cream is hot, season with pepper (you shouldn't need salt as the bacon is pretty salty) and then serve with rice.

While there is nothing actually wrong with this we can do better!

Turkey Risotto

Cheap, cheerfull and easy to make. What more do you want..

Ingredients

• 150ml of dry White Wine
• 1 Red Onion
• 2 tbsp of chopped Chives
• 400g of Risotto Rice
• 900ml of Chicken Stock
• 150g of Green Beans or Peas
• 1 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 25g of unsalted Butter
• 200g of Turkey fillets (cooked)
• 50g of grated Parmesan
• Salt and Black Pepper

Serves 6

Method

Bring the stock to a boil and then reduce the heat to give a gentle simmer.

In another pan heat the oil and half of the butter. Chop the onions and then sauté until they have softened. 

Stir in the rice and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the wine and gently stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Now add a ladle of stock to the rice and gently stir until it has been absorbed. Make sure you move all the rice around so that none sticks to the pan. Repeat with further ladles of stock until you have added half of the stock.

Stir in the chopped or shredded turkey and continue adding the stock a ladle at a time. The rice should look thick and creamy. If you run out of stock before the rice is done use boiling water in the same manner.

With the last ladle of stock add the green beans.

Once that has been absorbed stir in the remaining butter, chives, half of the Parmesan, salt and pepper (to taste).  Serve sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan.

Turkey Risotto with peas.

Carbonara

The classic carbonara - no cream in sight! 

Ingredients

• 225g of Pancetta as a 1cm slice or thick cut Bacon
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 4 tbsp of dry White Wine
• 2 large Eggs
• 4 tbsp of freshy grated Romano Cheese
• 50g of freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano Cheese
• freshy ground Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp of chopped flat lead Parsley
• 550g of pasta

Serves 6

Method

Cut the bacon or pancetta into strips just over half a centimeter wide. 

Bash the garlic lightly to loosen the skin which you discard. Sauté in the olive oil gently until it is a golden brown. Do not allow it to burn or it will taste bitter. 

Remove the garlic and discard.

Now cook the bacon/pancetta in the garlic infused oil until it just begins to crisp. Add the wine and cook for two minutes before turning off the heat.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl and then stir in the cheeses, the pepper and the parsley.

Once the mixture is thoroughly incorporated add the hot, cooked, pasta and toss rapidly. Make sure the mixture coats the pasta evenly. The latant heat of the pasta will cook the egg.

Warm the pancetta/bacon quickly on a high heat and then mix with the pasta.

Toss throughly and serve with more grated Parmesan. 

Spaghetti Carbonara

Pasta with a Ham, Broccoli and a Creamy Mustard Sauce

Another quick recipe, I suppose that is the point of this blog... Serve with garlic bread for a filling meal.

Ingredients

• Your Pasta of choice - Fresh or Dried
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• Half a head of Broccoli cut into small florets
• 300ml of Double Cream
• 2 tablespoons of English Mustard
• 4 slices of thick Ham
• 1 onion
• 140g of Cheddar Cheese - grated
• Salt and Pepper

Serves 4

Method

Take the broccoli and add it to a pan of boiling water. Simmer for four minutes. Drain and put to one side.

Start the dried pasta cooking (if using). If you are using fresh then get your big pan of water boiling in readiness.

Saute the onions for five minutes. Add the crushed garlic and continue cooking for a further minute. 

Start the fresh pasta cooking. Meanwhile, add the diced ham and cook for a minute. Finally add the cream and mustard stirring continuously. Once the mixture has almost reached the boil add the cooked pasta. Stir so that all the pasta is covered with the sauce.

Stir in the grated cheddar cheese, season and serve.

Korean style fried rice

This is an extremely quick and easy dish that you can use to get rid of odd vegetables and meat from the fridge. Considering how little is in it, the dish is very tasty.

Ingredients

• 4 Chicken breasts or beef steaks (whatever you fancy)
• 300g of Long grain, Basmati or Jasmine rice
• 1 bunch of spring onions (trimmed and sliced)
• Beansprouts
• Mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of chilli sauce (plus some for drizzling)
• 3 cloves of Garlic (crushed)
• 4 free range Eggs
• Toasted Sesame oil

Serves 4

Method

Cook the rice as per the associated cooking instructions and drain.

Griddle, grill or shallow fry the meat until cooked to your liking. Meanwhile, fry the mushrooms for 2 minutes in the sesame oil. Add the garlic, spring onions and beansprouts and fry for a couple more minutes. Add the chilli sauce and soy sauce then fry for a further minute. 

Start the egg frying in a seperate pan.

Stir the cooked rice into the sauce/veg mixture and warm for a few minutes.

Serve the rice in a bowl topped with sliced meat and the fried egg then drizzle with a little chilli sauce.

They key to this recipe is getting everything ready at the same time - it's just a case of playing it by ear.

I forgot to get a picture for this dish so have stolen one from the internet -
the dish looks like this but with the slided meat next to the egg.

Homemade Beefburger

Making a beefburger is ridiculously simple and does not require extensive use of herbs/spices/fillers and the like that many recipes seem to think is necessary. Seconds to make and not that long to cook - why would you buy ready made ones? This recipe is pretty much stolen with pride from the Ocado website - does the job nicely.

Ingredients

• 400g minced (ground) lean beef
• 2 tbsp Peroni Nastro Azzurro or similar beer
• 1 pinch Salt and pepper
• 1 dash Tabasco
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Recipe

Put the beef in a bowl and mix with the beer (it's probably easiest to use your hands)

Mix in the salt, pepper and the tabasco sauce.

Turn it out onto a chopping board and form into four burger shaped rounds. You can also use silicone egg rings as a mould if you want them to be perfectly circular. On cooking the diameter shrinks a bit so it is probably worth making them slightly larger than the width of the bun.

Put the oil in a frying pan or griddle on a medium heat and cook, turning occasionally, until done (See Resources Pages for temperature charts for how well done the meat is).

Serve on a bun with whatever you fancy; cheese, onions, coleslaw...

Picture taken from the Ocado Website