Guacamole - waider
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Contents
Introduction 1
Conversion tables 2
Soups, Starters and Munchies 4
Soups and Sauces 15
Meat, Poultry and Game 23
Fish 42
Vegetable Dishes and Salads 45
Spuds, Rice and Pasta 53
Curry 65
Baking 74
And Don’t Forget The Drinks… 80
…Or The Magic Ingredient 83
Index 85
Introduction
When I started this I don’t think I realised how big it was going to turn out. The basic idea was to get people to submit a few of their favourite recipes, which I would pull together into a cookbook. Some people did, some people didn’t but we’ve ended up with more than 3 recipes – see JC I told you it could be done – and I’ve ended up putting a load of my own in there, mainly because I ended up with more chapters than I thought I would, and as some of them were a little on the empty side I went a bit mad on filling them up.
As the size of this book grew I decided against trying to put in metric/imperial/other measurements for everything and decided instead to just put in a few conversion tables at the beginning of the book (courtesy of Ade).
I would like to that I have tried them all out personally, but I haven’t so I can’t. However with the exception of one or two recipes (Cliffy's "Toad in the Hole" Special) to which I added some clarification everything should be pretty much as I got it (I did correct some spelling mistakes, but even I am not infallible, and neither is my spell checker), so I would suggest that if you have any difficulties with any of the recipes contact the contributor – they’re all listed.
So I hope you all enjoy cooking something from this. There should be something in there to suit pretty much everyone. Right now I’m not exactly planning on doing another volume or anything, but I guess if I got enough input from other people then anything could happen…..
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Conversion Tables
|Oven Temperatures |
|Electric |Gas Mark |Description |
|Fahrenheit |Celsius | | |
|225 F |110 °C |¼ |Very cool |
|250 F |130 °C |½ | |
|275 F |140 °C |1 |Cool |
|300 F |150 °C |2 | |
|325 F |170 °C |3 |Very moderate |
|350 F |180 °C |4 |Moderate |
|375 F |190 °C |5 | |
|400 F |200 °C |6 |Moderately hot |
|425 F |220 °C |7 |Hot |
|450 F |230 °C |8 | |
|475 F |240 °C |9 |Very hot |
|Liquids Imperial ( Metric/US |
|Imperial |Imperial oz |Metric ml |US oz |
|1 quart |40 |1140 |38.5 |
|1 pint |20 |570 |19.25 |
|1 cup |10 |285 |9.6 |
|1 gill |5 |142.5 |4.8 |
|1 fluid oz |1 |28.4 |0.96 |
|1 tbl |5/8 |17.8 |0.6 |
| |(1/16 cup) | | |
|1 dsp |1/3 |10.00 |0.32 |
|(1/30 soc) | | | |
|1 tsp |1/6 |5.00 |0.16 |
|Liquid metric ( imperial |
|Metric |Imperial |US |
|1 ml/cc |0.03 fl.oz |0.028 fl.oz |
|1 dl |0.35 fl.oz |0.33 fl.oz |
|1 litre |1.76 pints |2.1 pints |
|Weight |
|1 ounce |28.35 g |
|1 pound |453 g |
|1 kilogram |2.204 lb |35.3 oz |
…and for those who don’t want to calculate the stuff themselves:
Guacamole
This makes a batch of kick ass guacamole – Brian P.
Ingredients
1 large or two small ripe avocadoes
1 clove of garlic 2 if you wanna really go for it.
½ large lime (much better than lemon)
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
Optional extra is some coriander leaves (say 8-10 leaves)
Method
Mush up the avocadoes. Chop then crush the garlic until its super fine, ensuring all the juice gets in the mix. Stir into the mix. Squeeze in all the lime juice.
If adding the coriander: Strip out ALL the stalk material and chop the leaves to a fine paste, stir in to mix.
Add a teaspoon of Tabasco, or more to taste. Stir and allow to sit in fridge.
Note
To make a guacamole dip stir in a small tub of crème-fraiche into the mix. This works better than soured cream as it does not really change the flavour but makes it less thick, with a milder taste.
Cliffy's "Toad in the Hole" Special .....
Discovered how to make this when I was living next door to JC and have used it to prove that you can feed 10 people with under £5 - Cliffy
Ingredients
Flour
Eggs
Milk
Sugar
Lemon pieces .... no rind ....
1 ½ lbs of fresh sausages
Method
Chuck the Flour, Eggs and Milk in a big bowl. Use dustbin if no bowl is available. Whisk until it resembles the pancake batter that Mom used to make. You may need to add extra flour/eggs/milk until you reach the desired consistency. Don't fret about this too much as the more you add, the more food you will have when you're finished.
When you have the desired consistency/amount of pancake batter you should slap the sausages on the grill. Grill the sausages.
Now find a baking tray. Use the dustbin again if a tray is unavailable, or you simply don't know what a baking tray is.
Pour some of the batter into the tray. Place the sausages in the tray. Sprinkle the non-sausage areas lightly with the sugar and lemon pieces. You do this away from the sausages cos the mix near the sausages will be very moist after cooking due to the sausage juices anyway. It’s a hit and miss thing that doesn't really matter. Pour in the rest of the batter and then the remains of the lemon and sugar. Just don't go mad with the sugar - i.e. you should not have used more than two tsp. Throw the lot in a pre-heated oven (approx. 275 degrees 'cos our oven in Plassey was crap). Should take around 20 mins ... but you should really do what I did .... check it every 2 mins or so 'cos this stuff has a habit of over cooking and going dry very quickly.
When ready .... serve it up .... NOT a glamorous meal, consider using the dustbin again. Goes well with a glass of cold milk.
Note
If you’re in a bit of a rush and don’t have the time to experiment with getting the quantities for this one right then you can always follow the following guidelines:
Serves: 4
Preparation: 1-1 ½ hr
Ingredients
450g (1lb) pork sausages
120g plain flour
a pinch of salt
1 egg
300ml (0.5 pint) milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7
Arrange the pork sausages in a 1.2litre (2 pint), heatproof dish and cook in the oven for 10 minutes.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack in the egg. Gradually beat in the milk to make a smooth batter.
Pour the batter round the sausages and bake for 30-40 minutes until well risen and nicely browned.
Serve with creamy mashed potatoes.
Avocado Starter with Sauce Vinaigrette
For those of you who don’t like avocados this should be a revelation (ask John) and for those of you who like vinegar this will be heaven.
For the accompanying wine I would suggest a Chardonnay - Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Ingredients
2 Avocados
Sauce Vinaigrette
1 red pepper or tomato
1 pickled gherkin (optional)
or ½ teaspoon of capers (optional)
1-2 cloves of garlic
½ onion (optional)
1 teaspoon of French mustard
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
100 ml olive oil or sunflower oil (suit your taste)
150 - 200 ml white wine vinegar
parsley, salt & pepper to taste
Method
Start off preparing the vinaigrette: Dice the pepper/tomato, gherkin/capers and onions. Add this and all the remaining ingredients (except the garlic) into mixer. Crush the garlic and add it in – push the button and mix. Note: ideally you will want to be able to distinguish the ingredients so stop mixing before it becomes a vinaigrette slush.
Cut the avocados length-wise in half and take out the stone. Pour the vinaigrette into the hole left by removing the stone and serve half an avocado per person as starter. Serve with fresh baguette or foccacia, preferably the DIY types you get from Cuisine de France or M&S..
Hash Browns
Courtesy of AjD – Waider
Ingredients
A sufficiently filling amount of potatoes.
Oil for cooking
1 med-largeish onion
½ or 1 bulb clove garlic
1-2 eggs
Method
Wash potatoes. Dice finely. Toss into a pan with pre-heated oil. I prefer a sesame/corn oil mixture. When the potatoes are about half-cooked (no longer white, and turning glassy), add the onion you've diced about as finely as the potatoes. When the onion is glassy and green, add the garlic that you've coarsely chopped. Finally, crack one or two eggs over it. Turn repeatedly; when the egg's done, you're done. Eat.
Note
The hotter it cooks, the quicker it cooks, and the crisper the potatoes will get. By the time you're done, the potatoes should be nice and browned.
Genuine Aussie Fruit Smoothie
This is about the healthiest thing to eat - loads of Vitamin C, antioxidants, fibre, potassium, calcium, etc. Strawberries are among the healthiest of the lot. Excellent when you feel a cold coming on, or on a hot day - Broenwynn
Ingredients
1 large, ripe (but not mushy) banana
½ cup frozen fresh strawberries (no additives)
1/3 cup frozen fresh blueberries (no additives)
2 slices frozen fresh peaches (no additives)
1/3 cup non-fat, natural vanilla yoghurt
Method
Place all ingredients in a blender. Mix until smooth. Enjoy.
Note
Using FROZEN fruit and NO ICE is the key to making a genuine smoothie. If you use all fresh fruit, it will be a runny mess. The consistency is created by using frozen fruit. Also, a banana as base is key - have tried making smoothies without a banana, and they're just bad. But try other fruit/berry combinations, i.e. mango instead of peach.
Bacon & Cheese Bites
This recipe is one myself and JoeV evolved over a period of time while sharing the shoebox flat in Lennox Street. This became a typical Saturday morning breakfast in the pre-coffee-morning days. It also works great as a starter to a meal, when cut into smaller pieces. If using as a starter, I would recommend that the quantities here be used for 4-6 people.
This is a greasy, messy breakfast - great alternative to a fry. Its biggest drawback is that its so filling you never get to enjoy enough of the food before you’re stuffed. - JC
Serves: 2-3 people
Preparation time: 15-20 mins
Ingredients
1 packet back rashers (6)
1 cuboid block of cheddar (Dubliner, or any similar cheese will do)
Hoi Sin Sauce
White Sliced Pan (I use batch bread normally, but whatever you like)
Method
Cut two medium-thick slices of cheese from the block, and three pieces of bread to the same size.
Coat one side of two pieces of bread with Hoi Sin
Build a “triple decker” of bread (w. Hoi Sin), cheese, bread, cheese, bread (w. Hoi Sin). The Hoi Sin should be against the cheese, not the outside of the sandwich
Flatten out one rasher (you may wish to stretch it a bit with the back of a knife)
Cover one side of the rasher with a small bit of Hoi Sin
Now, place the “triple-decker” on the side of the rasher which has the sauce. You want to place it at the end of the “thick” side of the rasher.
Now, roll the sandwich until it is wrapped completely in rasher.
Repeat for the other 5 rashers
Grill under a medium heat, turning every minute or so, until the rashers are cooked through.
Serve as is, or slice each “bite” into 2 or 3 “nibbles”.
Hummus
This is best done in a food processor, but I've made it using a potato masher as well – Broenwynn
Ingredients
1 can garbonzo beans (chickpeas)
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp warm water
4-5 cloves chopped garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp black pepper
2-3 dashes Tabasco
1 tsp paprika
Method
Place garbonzo beans in food processor and chop until almost a paste. Add tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and water. Blend well. Add remaining ingredients and blend until a thin paste. Increase water slightly for a more runny hummus, decrease for more paste-like consistency. There are many variations of hummus, and spices can be changed to alter the flavour. Key ingredients are the garbonzo beans, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. The seasons give it bite and lasting flavour. Excellent as a spread on bagels or in sandwiches (lovely on a toasted cheese sambo with avocado).
Hummus (II)
- Ade
Ingredients
1 tsp of baking soda
350 grams of dry chickpeas
½ tsp ground cumin
4 cloves of garlic
Juice of 2 lemons
Olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ cup of tahina (recipe below, without parsley)
Method
Soak the chickpeas in water overnight, with the soda. Cook them until soft, reserving a little of the cooking liquid. Reserve a few whole chickpeas for decoration.
Mash all the ingredients together, but not too finely. If the consistency is too dry, add a little of the chickpea cooking liquid.
Spoon the mixture on a plate and make a well in the centre. Put a little olive oil and the reserved chickpeas into the well and serve with pita bread.
Variation
Add extra tahina to taste.
Tahina
- Ade
Ingredients
1 tsp finely minced Garlic
60 ml fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp Salt
100 grams sesame paste
60 ml water
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Method
Using a fork, blend together the sesame paste and water, then add the lemon juice, parsley and garlic, mixing well after each addition.
Alternatively, mix all the ingredients together in a blender. The mixture will thicken later in the fridge.
If Tahina is to be eaten by itself (e.g. with bread), add lots of chopped coriander and/or parsley.
Keeps in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Marmite Cheesy Toast Experience
It’s a very simple but of overlooked taste sensation - Tim
Ingredients
Tea
Bread
Cheese
Marmite
Method
Put the kettle on
Toast a slice of bread. Spread marmite on the toast to taste
Thinly slice/grate some mature cheddar onto the marmite. Put under the grill, or put into the microwave (if you only have a toaster and microwave) until the cheese has melted
Brew a nice hot cuppa
Enjoy
Fried Ham and Cheese Sandwich
Weird and all as this may sound it is actually quite delicious. I remember someone in Rhebogue first making this one evening – and it has become one of my favourite snacks, especially on those cold, wet winter nights we get in Galway – Paula
Serves:1
Preparation time: 15 mins
Ingredients
2 slices white bread buttered
cheese
ham
mustard (optional)
1 egg
2tbsp milk
½ oz butter
Method
Make a ham and cheese sandwich to your own liking, with or without mustard (I find any of the grainy mustards great in this). The sandwich shouldn’t be too full, otherwise things can get a bit messy.
Beat the egg and milk together and dip both sides of the sandwich in this mixture, allowing it to soak well into the bread.
Melt the butter in a frying pan (preferably non-stick over medium heat. Fry the sandwich on both sides till golden brown. The eggy bread should turnout like French toast, and the sandwich filling should be heated, with the cheese melting once the sandwich is cooked.
Enjoy.
Student Surprise
- JC/Waider
Method
Cook some waffles or similar starch substrate. Actual healthy non-frozen food is probably bad for this recipe, I guess.
Take mince, brown it.
Add beans. Baked, not kidney. Waider doesn't like kidney beans.
Add hoi-sin sauce. This was the magical ingredient, if I recall correctly.
Add, hmm, chopped onion? Sure. Why not!
Add anything else that seems plausible, or was available cheap at the Parkway. Except skanky ho's, of course. You don't eat them. Bob? Hello? Bob? Where are you going?
When it looks cooked, eat it.
DOH. After doing this: Cook some waffles or similar starch substrate. Actual healthy non-frozen food is probably bad for this recipe, I guess.
Then: Chop your substrate into pieces and toss it into the mix once the mince has been browned.
Peanut Butter Pita
Quick munchie, straight from the top of my head – Tim
Ingredients
Wholemeal pita bread
Butter (optional)
Peanut butter (I prefer crunchy)
Tea
Method
Toast the pita on both sides until the sides separate enough to cut. Slit the pita open.
(Optional)apply some butter inside the slit pita
Spread peanut butter inside the pita (to taste)
Brew a hot cuppa.
Takes the edge of my munchies anyway ;)
Variation
I have the same fav recipe with one small yet tasty addition. Trust me - Cliffy
Insert fresh sliced strawberries, after the peanut butter.
Garlic Mushrooms
- James
Ingredients
Lots of butter
3 or 4 cloves garlic chopped up small
1 onion chopped small
Salt, pepper & herbs
Chopped mushrooms in slices (after washing and drying)
Stock
Cornflour
Method
Fry the garlic in the butter, then add the onions followed by the seasoning then the mushrooms. Finally add stock and bring to the boil. Add the cornflour, stir while thickening and simmer a bit. Serve with fresh bread.
Beefsteak Tartare
- Anita
Serves: 4 as a starter, 4 as a main course
Preparation time: 15 mins
Ingredients
500g fresh beef mince (high quality ‘cause you are going to eat it raw)
1 tsp salt
6-8 drops Tabasco
½ tsp paprika
1 small onion diced
1-2 sprigs of parsley chopped
2 tblsp Cognac
1 tblsp Lemon Juice
6-8 drops Worcestershire sauce
2 egg yolks
pepper to taste
Optional Ingredients
(use only one – I strictly recommend not to use the optional ingredients in combination with each other unless you suffer from weird taste….)
1 tsp capers
2 anchovy filets
1 tblsp ketchup
1 thinly sliced gherkin
Method
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and thoroughly mix with a fork.
Serve with toast, capers, olives and garnish with an onion cut into rings.
Thai Pumpkin Soup
– Broenwynn
Ingredients
3-4 large white potatoes
1-2 large white or yellow onion
1 32 oz can pumpkin
1 16 oz can squash
4 tbsp fresh minced/grated ginger (do not use powder!)
6-7 cloves minced garlic
1-2 tbsp cumin
1-2 tbsp ground mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
5-6 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 tsp coriander
½ pint cream
Sour cream
Method
Dice peeled potatoes into 1-inch squares. Place in large saucepan filled with water to 1 inch above the potatoes and boil until tender (like you were making mashed potatoes). Roughly chop onions and sauté until tender (use oil sparingly or use cooking spray). Place cooked potatoes and onions in food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to large saucepan and mix in pumpkin and squash over med-low heat. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, mustard, lemon juice, Tabasco and coriander. Keep over med-low heat, stirring frequently until hot (approximately 30-45 minutes). *Pumpkin boils at a low temperature, so there will be bubbles long before it is hot, but do not increase burner temperature significantly or you risk scorching the pan/mixture. About 20 minutes into the heating process, add the cream and mix thoroughly. Serve hot and top with drizzled sour cream. Seasoning can be varied and increased to intensify flavour. Scallions or fresh chopped coriander are excellent garnish. Black pepper is also a good addition.
Tuna & Sweetcorn Bisque
This soup is great on cold damp evenings when you need something fast. Warming, filling and, best of all, easy, this soup goes great with fresh warm baguette with plenty of butter.
The original recipe essentially made the white sauce from scratch as part of the recipe, but the packet option here makes this a no-brainer. I remember the first time I tried the original recipe I spent ages trying to get lumps out of the sauce. With the packet mix this is easier, but still watch out…nothing will ruin this soup like getting a lump of un-dissolved white-sauce mix while eating.
The curry powder I generally use for this is Sharwoods Madras, but you can substitute any other you wish. A good tumeric-based curry powder will give the soup a marvellous colour. Add more or less powder depending on how hot the curry powder is, and how spicy you like your soup - JC
Serves: 2-3
Preparation time: 15 mins
Ingredients
1 pkt White Sauce
1 tin tuna (175 – 200 g), preferably in brine, but oil will do.
1 medium tin baby sweetcorn
3-4 tsp curry powder
350 – 500 ml milk
sunflower oil (or some other light cooking oil such as rapeseed)
Method
Heat some oil in a saucepan (or just heat the pan if the tuna is in oil). You only want a medium to medium-low heat for this.
Open and drain both the tuna and the sweetcorn
Add approx 2-3 tsp of curry powder to the heated pan, and fry gently for a few seconds to release the flavour.
Add the tuna, and fry for about 30 seconds
Add the sweetcorn, and fry for an additional 30 seconds
Add approx ¼ of the milk, and stir well to mix in the curry.
Slowly add the white sauce mix, stirring well. If you see lumps forming, stop adding, and stir them out. Then proceed more slowly. This usually takes about 30-60 seconds for the packet.
Bring to a low boil (being careful not to boil the milk), and add the remaining milk until the soup is at the desired thickness. Remember that the white sauce will continue to thicken it until the milk is at a low boil.
Allow to simmer for about 3 mins.. Add the remaining curry powder during this time if necessary.
Once the corn is heated and cooked thru, serve and enjoy
Basic Tomato Sauce
This sauce is used in Piccata Alla Milanese (page ), Stuffed Peppers Á
La Oui (page ) and call also be used for Bolognese – Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30-60 mins
Ingredients
6 tomatoes
1 tbsp flour
½ l red wine
4 cloves garlic
2-3 bay leaves
3 tbsp tomato puree
Basil or oregano
Salt/Aromat and pepper to taste
Method
Dice the tomatoes and garlic and fry with the butter. Add in the flour and stir thoroughly to avoid lumping and add the red wine.
Add the tomato puree, herbs, bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.
Let the sauce simmer on low for up to an hour, but stir it now and then (hint: put the lid on the pot if you don’t want your kitchen floor to gain a reddish paint)
Variations
Add peas and tuna to the sauce and serve with pasta (recipe from the south of Italy – absolutely yummy)
If you want to do Bolognese add fried mince to the sauce.
Chicken Soup
This recipe is a bit time consuming but well worth the effort. This to me is the ultimate in winter warming comfort soup. The recipe originated from my Grandmother, she used to make this soup at Christmas using turkey stock, we still do that at home, but this version is more applicable to everyday living. A good flavoured stock is the basis of this recipe, hence the importance of making the stock from scratch. You can make the soup using stock cubes, but it won’t be the same.
This recipe works well with chicken, turkey or lamb stock. I usually make it with the left over carcass from a roast chicken, including any of the chicken meat that wasn’t used. Chicken wings, drumsticks, lamb shanks, turkey carcasses, wings or drumsticks (with meat still on them) all make great stock. I have found though that the best results are obtained by roasting the meat prior to making the stock – Paula
Serves:4
Preparation time: 5 hours
Ingredients
1 carcass of a roast chicken
1 l water
1 dsp oil or butter
2 onions finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
2 of one of the following – celery sticks, parsnips or leeks
Method
If you have roasted the chicken yourself then place your roasting tin on the cooker over high heat and pour in half of the water. Bring the water to the boil and stir well to dissolve all the chicken juices etc. from the pan.
Place the chicken carcass in a saucepan with all the water, place a lid on the saucepan and simmer for several hours. If I make this stock in the evening after dinner I usually leave it simmering until I’m going to bed, then finish off the soup the next day.
Note – check the stock every half hour to make sure too much liquid isn’t evaporating, if it is add more water.
Allow the stock to cool slightly and strain it off. At this stage I would pick through the bones for any pieces of chicken meat, especially if I have left full drumsticks on the chicken carcass. Keep this meat for use in the soup later.
At this stage you may notice a layer of fat on top of the stock. Adding ice cubes to the stock will start to set the fat and allow you to skim it off with a spoon. Alternatively you could leave the stock in the fridge till set (it should turn jelly like) and the fat will set and lift off the surface easily.
This finished stock will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days and freezes very well, however it should be boiled rapidly for 3 minutes prior to use.
Finishing this soup off is very easy. Over medium low heat sweat the vegetables in the oil or butter in a covered saucepan for 10-15 minutes. They should not colour.
Add the stock, and any chicken meat retained. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Check for seasoning, add a stock cube dissolved in some boiling water if you need more liquid/flavour. Serve.
Variation
For a more substantial soup include a few potatoes cut into chunks, and simmer fro longer, i.e. till the potatoes are cooked.
Carrot and Orange Soup
This is a favourite of mine (courtesy of my Dad again), ideal hot and steamy on a cold winters day, but works equally well served chilled in the middle of summer - Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 mins
Ingredients
1 fairly large onion chopped
2 oz butter or margarine
1 lb diced carrots
1 lt chicken stock
½ tin concentrated orange juice (to taste)
Salt, pepper & pinch of ground coriander
For the garnish:
150ml cream or natural yoghurt
finely grated rind of orange (parsley on St. Patrick's Day!)
Method
Heat the butter until foaming and just soften the vegetables in it but on no account let them colour. Add the stock and let it simmer, covered, until the carrots are well cooked. Then puree in a blender. Season to taste with approx. half tin of concentrated orange juice mixing it in gradually, so that it does not overpower the carrot flavour. Add the salt,pepper and ground coriander and stir.
Serve hot with dollop of cream or yoghurt and sprinkled over with the orange rind (or parsley).
To serve cold, mix in yoghurt and add a little cream when taking from the fridge. Scatter with rind.
Can be served with brown bread spread with butter which has had the grated rind of orange mixed into it.
French Salad Dressing
Like most salad dressings this is based on a flavoured mixture of oil and vinegar. I’ve bought and tasted plenty of salad dressings, but this has to be among one of my favourites, probably because it’s one of those recipes I’ve been making or helping to make since I was old enough to help my Mum in the kitchen. It keeps so well in the fridge I’m never without some – Paula
Makes 500ml
Ingredients
100 ml vinegar (I usually use a wine or cider vinegar)
300 ml oil (rapeseed works rather well - olive oil can overpower this if it is too strong in flavour, so be careful on your choice of oil)
1 cherry tomato (2 if they are very small)
1 shallot
1 clove garlic
5 peppercorns
pinch salt
½ tsp dried mustard powder or 1 tsp grainy mustard
½ tsp sugar
Method
Blend everything together in a food processor or blender. Taste for seasoning, adding more sugar, mustard or vinegar as necessary. You should get a think dressing.
Note
If making larger quantities then use regular tomatoes and onions instead of the cherry tomatoes and shallot.
Grazer Pumpkin Soup
- Anita
Serves: 4 as a main meal
Preparation time: 40 mins
Ingredients
300g pumpkin
1 medium onion
1 tblsp butter
1.4 l water
1 sprig parsley
1 bay leaf
2 tblsp cornflour
Crème fraiche
Paprika, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste
Method
Cut the pumpkin into slices, take out the seeds, cut off the rind and dice it into chunky bits.
Dice the onion and fry it with the butter, add the pumpkin and stir fry it for 1 min. Then add in 1l of water and let it simmer for 20 mins.
Blend or mash the pumpkin mixture to make a smooth soup. Mix the cornflour with 4 dl of cold water (watch out for lumps) and add to the soup. Add the chopped parsley, bay leaf and the spices and let simmer for another 10-20 mins. If the soup is too thick add some more water, similarly if it is too thin add more cornflour.
Server with a dollop of crème fraiche in the middle and brown bread on the side.
Note
You can also toast some pumpkin seeds and toss them on the soup when ready.
The traditional Austrian way of serving the soup is with a dash of pumpkin vinegar instead of crème fraiche.
Salad Sauce á la Anita
Vinegar Danger Zone - Anita
Serves: 1 head of salad
Preparation time: 10 mins
Ingredients
1-2 tblsp sunflower oil
5-6 tblsp vinegar (white wine or distilled malt)
1 tblsp French mustard
½ tblsp Dijon mustard
1-2 tblsp milk
chives
salt or aromat, a pinch of black pepper and garlic powder to taste
Maggi (liquid seasoning made by Knor – typically Swiss, but you can find it in Ireland)
Method
Put the oil in a bowl and then gradually stir in all the other ingredients, adding in the vinegar last.
Mediterranean Marinade
For Duck, Rabbit, Lamb or chicken. You will need a mortar and pestle for this – Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 2 mins
Ingredients
1 tblsp French mustard
1 tblsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tblsp of thyme, rosemary, sage (preferably fresh)
2 bay leaves
2 juniper berries
1-2 tblsp soy sauce
1-2 tblsp of lime/lemon juice
2 tblsp olive or peanut oil
seasalt to taste
1 tsp crushed coarse black pepper
Method
If the herbs are fresh slice them, otherwise throw all together in a mortar (assuming it is big enough…) and blissfully bash and crunch it with the pestle.
To use
Pour it into a bowl and place the meat in it. Cover the bowl and put into the fridge. Let it sit for 1-3 hours.
Take out the meat and fry in a grill pan.
Bren's Beef on Noodles
Quantities are just from my head as I never measure - Bren
Ingredients
Groundnut oil
2 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped
1 inch of ginger crushed and chopped
1 red chilli sliced (seeds in for spice if you like it!)
A decent quantity (see what I mean) of beef/steak sliced into thin strips
10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
3 heads of Pak Choi (chinese cabbage - can use Bok Choi if desired)
1 bunch of spring onions cut into thirds.
1 green pepper cut into strips
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2-3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
Sesame oil
Medium egg noodles
Method
Ok, heat your wok really hot, add a little groundnut oil and add in your chopped garlic, ginger and chilli. Fry for a few secs and add your beef. Stir fry the beef for a few minutes until cooked as you like it and then remove everything from the wok.
Heat the wok up again and add a little more oil. Add the sliced green pepper and stir fry for about 30 secs. Then add the spring onion and pak choi and stir fry for about 30 secs further. Now add back in the beef. Mix the whole lot around and add the tomatoes.
Now add the soy sauce and rice wine. Mix for a few seconds and add the oyster sauce and hoisin. Mix and cook for a further 30 seconds or till heated through. Drizzle over a little sesame oil and mix.
Serve on a bed of hot boiled medium egg noodles cooked according to instructions on the packer (the 4-minute ones are great).
Irish Harp Stew for St.Patrick's Day
I collect far more of these than I cook, but I can vouch for this being entirely too tasty for its own good – Waider
Ingredients
1 lb round steak
Onion
Carrot
Tablespoon Tomato pureé
Red pepper
4 oz mushrooms
Beef stock cube
250ml Harp lager
Oil for frying
Method
Cut steak into bite size pieces, put a little oil in pan & brown steak. Remove. Chop onion pepper & carrots and fry.
Put meat back in pan, add in lager mixed with tomato pureé & stock cube, bring to boil.
Turn into casserole dish & cook in oven 150C for 1 ½ hours, about 10 minutes before end add in mushrooms. Season to taste & sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with baked potatoes or mash.
Paprika Pork with Porcini Mushroom Stuffing
This is a recipe I threw together on the spur of the moment, using ingredients that happened to be lying around. I fed three people from one pork fillet – a larger filet would probably serve four, a smaller one two. The results were rather wonderful – Paula
Serves:2
Ingredients
1 small pork fillet
1 tbsp paprika
2 oz butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
½ tsp dried mixed herbs
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
2 oz breadcrumbs
salt and black pepper
Method
Pour some boiling water over mushrooms and allow to soak for 30 mins. Drain mushrooms, reserving water. Chop mushrooms roughly. Melt 1 oz butter in pan and sauté onion and garlic over low heat for 10 mins till onions are softened. Add herbs and fry 1 min more. Remove from heat and stir in the mushrooms and breadcrumbs. Season with salt an pepper and add a little of the mushroom water if the mixture is too dry. It should clump together will, but not be a soggy mass.
Preheat oven to 190C.
Using a sharp knife make a slit down through the centre of the pork filet, so you end up with a pork tube, which should be open at both ends.
Use a teaspoon and/or your finger to stuff the pork with you mushroom mixture. If you have too much stuffing then wrap the remainder in tinfoil to cook later. Toss the stuffed pork filet in the paprika.
Heat the remaining butter and olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Once heated fry the fork fillet – you want to brown and seal the meat on all sides, but not cook it through. Transfer the pork to an ovenproof dish. Add 1-2 tblsp of the mushroom water (if you have this left) to the pan. Stir briskly to remove any bit stuck to the pan then pour all the pan juices over the pork.
The pork should then be roasted for 20mins – up to 40 mins for a large pork fillet. You may need to cover the pork for half of the cooking time if oyu feel it is getting too overcooked/dry. Any remaining stuffing can be cooked in the oven with the pork. Once well wrapped in foil it won’t dry out and should take about 20 mins. Leave pork to sit for 5 mins prior to slicing and serving.
Variation
Saute ½ onion, finely chopped and 1 tsp mixed herbs in 1 oz butter for 5 mins. Stir in 1/3 green apple peeled and finely chopped and cook for another minute. Stir in 4oz breadcrumbs, and if the mixture is a little dry add a little cider to moisten. Use this to stuff the pork fillet.
Finely chop the other ½ of the onion and place in an oven proof dish or casserole along with the remaining 2/3 of the apple peeled and sliced. Pour over about 250ml cider, enough to cover the onion and apple.
Fry the pork fillet over high heat to brown on all sides and place in the casserole dish. The cider should come about 1/3 of the way up the side of the pork. Cover and roast at 190C for 30-45 mins till the pork is cooked. Turn the pork half way through the cooking time and remove the cover for the last 15 minutes.
The onion/apple/cider mix the pork is cooked in makes a wonderful sauce if pureed and thickened with a little cornflour if necessary.
Picata alla Milanaise
- Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Ingredients
Basic tomato sauce (made from 3 tomatoes) (page 16)
1-2 boneless, thin pork chops per person
3 eggs
1 tbsp butter
4-6 tbsp flour
Dried oregano, pepper, paprika, salt/Aromat to taste
~150g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Method
Heat up the tomato sauce
Put on water for the spaghetti
Season the pork chops with oregano, pepper, paprika, salt/Aromat
Put the flour in one soup plate. In another beat the eggs with 1 tbsp of the parmesan cheese.
Dip the pork chops first in the flour and then into the egg/cheese mixture, making sure the chops are evenly and fully coated in each.
By now your water should be boiling for the spaghetti so put them onto cook.
Heat the butter in the frying pan and fry the pork chops for 10 mins. They should be golden brown and cooked.
Drain the spaghetti, put on plate, top with the tomato sauce and then the pork chops. Serve with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Mustard Vinegar Chicken with Spring Onion Mash and Baby Carrots
It sounds a bit bizarre, but it's absolutely yummy!! - Bren
Ingredients
For the chicken:
3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
4 tbsp of Dijon mustard
4 tbsp of olive oil
4 phicken breasts
A handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
For the mash:
Potatoes (amount depends on how many I guess - a potful? :))
6-8 spring onions
Butter
Double Cream
For the carrots:
Baby Carrots
Butter
Method
Flatten out the chicken with a meat mallet until about 1/4 an inch thick. In a bowl, mix the mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Put the chicken in an ovenproof dish (without overlapping if possible) and pour on the mustard/vinegar/oil mixture. Grill the chicken in a hot grill about 6-8 inches from the heat source for about 15-20 mins (depends on heat of grill) until juices run clear when pricked. Turn once and baste a few times. When cooked ,add in chopped parsley.
Boil the potatoes and after seasoning with a good deal of salt and pepper, add a LOT of butter and mash. Chop spring onions finely. Add spring onions to mash and add a small quantity of cream (100ml?? Depends on yourself I guess) and stir with a wooden spoon. Should be sticky and fluffy and tasty.
Boil the baby carrots (or even better, steam them!) and when done, add some butter and toss.
Serve and enjoy!
Chicken Fart-Eaters (Fajitas ?)
Also works well with minced beef, or couscous as a veggie option – Brian P.
Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breasts
1 onion.
2 large cloves of garlic
1 can beans (black eye, mixed beans or red kidney beans as available)
1 yellow pepper (or red if not available)
1-2 green chillies
½ tube tomato purée
1 small can sweet corn , optional
(for veggie option handful of mushrooms are a good thing)
1 nutmeg (or 2 tea spoons ground)
2-3 tsp oregano
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 tsp cumin
Tabasco sauce
½ a lime
Olive oil
To serve:
Simple crisp salad
Soured cream and chives
Guacamole
8 soft flour tortillas (You can make these yourself, but its not worth the effort)
Method
Slice the chicken breasts into thin slivers, squeeze over some of the lime juice and a dash of the old Tabasco, let it sit for a bit.
Chop the onion finely, slice the pepper, seed and chop the chillies. Boil up the beans and all that other good stuff.
In a hot wok or large frying pan roast the oregano cumin, cinnamon and HALF the nutmeg (grate it in obviously if its a whole nutmeg). After 30 sec at a high remove to bowl.
Turn the heat down to moderate and add the oil. Then add the onions and allow them to become golden. Then add chicken and return the roast spices to the mix. Let that cook for a bit.
Strain the beans now and set them aside to dry off a bit. Add the peppers to the mix. Add the chillies. Crush in the garlic. Add the beans. Cook this for a bit. Then squeeze in half a tube of tomato puree. Stir and cook turning heat down. Add water to loosen the mix if necessary.
Add in the remaining nutmeg (this is important to do late on as the spice loses some of its flavour with heat). Squeeze in remaining lime juice. Add Tabasco to taste.
Serve with a simple crisp salad, soured cream and chives, and guacamole (page 2).
Wrap in warmed soft flour tortillas.
Wine recommendations: Nivara or maybe a spot of Valdepinias.
Venison Drowned in Red Wine
For those who want to try out something special, here is the traditional Swiss method for cooking Bambi. Be prepared to use massive amounts of red wine…and it will need forward planning.
For the accompanying wine I would suggest a heavy red wine, ideally with Shiraz or Merlot grapes but preferably no Australian or Californian Wine. A very heavy Rioja will do in a pinch (this excludes Faustino!), or consider trying the Lebanese Chateau Musar - Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 1-7 days
Ingredients
150 – 200 gr. of venison per person (deer, hare, boar etc. - also works for venison sausages)
1 tablespoon of butter
Flour
2 tblsp Knorr Gravy (or any other gravy powder such as Bisto)
Marinade
1 litre of cheap “cardboard carton” red wine
100 ml of red wine vinegar
4-6 Bay Leaves
4 Juniper Berries
2 Carrots
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Onion
3 Cloves
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method
Cut the venison into chunks (about 1” on a side) and place it in a non metal bowl.
Pour the litre of wine over it as well as the red wine vinegar.
Add in the bay leaves, cloves and juniper berries.
Cut the onion, garlic and the carrots into chunky stripes and add them to the marinade.
Salt & Pepper to taste - though I recommend not to use too much salt at this stage (you can even leave it out).
See that the venison is evenly covered and put a plate on top of the bowl to seal it off – place in fridge an let it sit there for 1-7 days. Note: If you let it marinade for more than one day you have to stir it once a day and the longer you let it absorb the wine the more dominantly sour the outcome will be)
Take the venison out of the marinade (don’t throw away the marinade!) and let it drain in a sieve for 10 mins.
Dust it with flour and fry it with the tablespoon of butter in a non stick frying pan until it is evenly brown.
Add ¾ of the marinade, reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 mins. Dissolve the gravy in the rest of the marinade (no clumps allowed) and add it to the venison – leave it simmering on medium heat for 30-40 mins.
Taste and add more salt & pepper if needed.
Note
Traditionally in Switzerland this would be served with glazed chestnuts, sour red cabbage and knöpfli but seeing as this is not to everyones taste you can serve it with mashed potatoes mixed with spring onions or pumpkin. Of course, even finding most of these things in Ireland could be a challenge in itself.
Pseudo-Caribbean Blackened Chicken
Quantities are approximate, as per usual. It's disgustingly simple, but works pretty well – Lock
Serves:1
Ingredients
Chicken piece(s), with skin, with 150-200g meat[1]
4 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp honey
a dash of Worcester sauce (yes, really; trust me on this)
2 thin slices of ginger
2 slices of garlic
Chilli [2]
a small amount of allspice, ground (2-3 berries is about right) (optional)
Notes
1. The only essential is that the chicken have some skin. I find that leg & thigh quarters work well (I split 'em at the joint), quantity and flavour-wise, and pieces with bones seem to give a better flavour, but it's perfectly possible to do this with a deboned breast, so long as one side is still covered in skin. I'd recommend not mixing breasts and legs, as the cooking time is slightly different.
2. As a rule, use slightly less chilli than you think you'll need, as the cooking process seems to enhance the heat. Finely chopped fresh chilli works reasonably well, but the recipe seems to work best with thick chilli sauces, such as a good-quality harissa ( recently, I've been using a home-made chilli sauce imported from Trinidad by a relative ). Dried chillies can be used, but this entails a lengthy marinade before cooking.
Method
Mix together the 'wet' ingredients, the allspice and chilli, to form a smooth paste.
Loosen the skin on the chicken pieces, and shove slices of garlic and ginger between the skin and the flesh.
Use a teaspoon to get about 90% of the paste between skin and flesh. You can make sure it gets well distributed by carefully pressing the skin from outside. Coat any exposed pieces of flesh with the paste, too, and use the last of the paste to give a very light coating to the outside of the skin: this will help it crisp up. You can marinate for an hour or two at this stage, but it isn't really necessary.
Roast the chicken pieces, uncovered, in a hot oven (200-225C). Give them slightly longer than you normally would (roughly 35 minutes for thighs); about 5 extra minutes after the juices run clear. If there were traces of leftover paste you can use them to rebaste in the middle of cooking.
When the chicken is ready, the skin should mostly look black, and have 'puffed out' a little from the flesh. The paste both flavours the meat and keeps it moist, while the caramelisation of some of the honey ensures that the skin is very crispy.
Thanks to that paste, this goes extremely well with rice, potatoes, roast butternut squash (takes about same time as the chicken, and its sweetness complements the spicy chicken well). It needs something 'clean and refreshing' for company: salads and lightly-flavoured stir-fried vegetables (e.g. a combination involving green pepper or mangetout) work well.
Pesto Chicken
I have done this recipe with either green pesto and courgette or red pesto and red peppers. Either way it tastes wonderful – Paula
Serves:4
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, each cut into three strips
1 large onion sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 medium courgettes (for green) or 1 large red pepper (for red) sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp basil (green) or sundried tomato (red) pesto
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
2 oz feta cheese crumbled
Method
Preheat oven to 190C
Heat ¼ oil in pan over low heat and sauté onion and garlic for 10 mins till onion is softened. Place these in an ovenproof dish.
Heat another ¼ oil in pan over medium high heat and briskly stir fry courgette or pepper for 1-2 mins. Add to ovenproof dish and mix into onion garlic mix.
Add remaining oil to pan and fry chicken over high heat to brown and seal on all sides. Layer on top of the vegetables in the oven-proof dish.
Smear chicken with the pesto, green if using courgette and red if using red peppers. Sprinkle the pine nuts and feta cheese on top.
Bake for 20-25 mins. This should be enough to finish cooking the chicken, and soften the feta cheese (which doesn’t really melt).
Laotian Crack
Courtesy of Meredith – Waider
Ingredients
1 large shallot, sliced
1 boneless chicken breast, cut up (i like 1/4" slices)
¼ onion, sliced vertically
7 fl oz coconut milk
1 green onion, sliced, with some of the green part
2 fresh red Thai chillies, sliced, neither seeded nor soaked (danger, Will Robinson! danger! if you don't like things really spicy, maybe start with one little tiny one.)
Fish sauce
Black pepper
Chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
Vegetable oil
Method
Heat a little oil and fry the shallot until it's golden brown (you don't want it crispy, but some browning makes for a nice mixture of colours and flavours.) Remove the shallot from the pan and set aside.
Toss in the chicken and the sliced onion, and cook until the chicken isn't pink anymore. Add a couple of dashes of fish sauce and pour in the coconut milk. Let it simmer over low-medium heat for a few minutes, until you're sure the chicken is done. Don’t let it actually boil because the coconut milk will curdle, which won't affect the flavour but will make the dish look kinda disgusting.
Taste and add fish sauce if it's not salty enough.
Add the fried shallots, green onion, and chillies. Stir up and let the flavours mix for a minute or two.
I like to serve this by putting a mound of rice in the middle of a pasta dish, dumping the entire contents of the pan over it, and sprinkling with a little black pepper and plenty of chopped cilantro. It’s *pretty*, and it's *so good*.
Enjoy!
Chicken in Honey and Thyme
This is a variation of a recipe my Dad used to do a lot while I was in Secondary school. I have always loved the rich creaminess of the sauce, which is set off perfectly by the Thyme. I haven’t tried this with fresh thyme, but if you want to try it, then don’t rub it into the chicken (as with the dried) but instead, just chop and add to the sauce. Don’t overdo the honey. No, really. Don’t.
This is clearly a white-wine meal. I would tend to go for something crisp or dry, rather than a fruity wine which I find makes the whole thing a bit too sweet - JC
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 35 mins
Ingredients
4 breasts of chicken
2 medium onions, finely diced
200 ml cream
200 ml white wine
2 tblsp of honey
4 tsp dried thyme
2 oz butter
salt to taste
Method
Slice each chicken breast 2 or 3 times diagonally with a sharp knife
Rub the thyme into the chicken, making sure to concentrate on the diagonal slashes.
Heat half the butter in a pan, and fry the chicken breasts over a medium heat until sealed, the reduce the heat to medium-low until the chicken is almost cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pan, and then add the remaining butter, and the onions (do NOT clean out the pan after removing the chicken).
Allow the onions to sauté until they begin to go clear.
Add the white wine, and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Add the honey, cream, and a dash of salt
Bring the sauce to a low simmer, and add the chicken back in.
Allow to cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with rice or creamed potatoes.
Duck with Rice and Mint
This is a bit of shameless boasting, cunningly disguised as useful information. I made an absolutely delicious duck dish last night, and must share. The original comes from 'Leith's Latin American Cookery', by Aleria V. Sisti (Leith's is a famous cookery school in London): previous discussions with my boss about paellas and their ilk suggest that it has older, Portuguese origins. The main Latino addition seems to be the salsa cruda, the fresh sharpness of which makes a wonderful contrast to the richness of the duck and rice. For comparison purposes, or something, I've included the original recipe, and my version, though the method is much the same for both. I hope it meets with your approval – Lock
Serves: 4ish
Ingredients
Original recipe
1 duck, jointed into 8 pieces
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
285g (10oz) white long-grain rice, washed and drained
1 tsp crushed cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp finely chopped mint
salt & black pepper
4 tbsp brandy
570ml (1 imperial pint) chicken stock
To serve: salsa cruda
My ingredients (for 1 glutton):
1 boneless duck breast, with skin (about 7 oz total), cut into 3 pieces.
a little olive oil (since we're not going to use high temperatures)
a smallish red onion
one small garlic clove
3oz (or so; I judged by eye, not mass) of Italian brown rice [note 1]
some cumin seeds, crushed (½ tsp? I just poured some into the mortar)
a generous pinch of saffron [3]
1 heaped tsp of chopped mint
½ red sweet pepper, cut into ½-inch pieces [4]
salt, pepper to taste
a dash of port (no brandy, and I thought the port's sweetness would work)
½ pint chicken stock
To serve: salsa cruda
Notes:
1. Although it's brown rice, it's quite a soft one, with short, fat, nutty grains which absorb flavours well and slurp up a lot of liquid, so I thought this would work better than white long-grain. Using the brown also means the simmering time can be increased, so the flavours can intermingle better. If I’d had white arborio in the house, I might have used that instead.
2. There is no note #2. Please move on, nothing to see here.
3. I put this in the (warmed) chicken stock to soak, while frying the duck, onions and rice, to maximise the distribution of saffron through the dish.
4. Just another flavour which I thought would work. It did.
Method
(Theirs, phrasing slightly edited by me; my comments and changes are in square brackets):
Place the duck pieces, skin side down in a large saucepan, over a low heat. Some of the duck fat will render, and can then be used to brown the duck. Transfer the browned pieces to a bowl and drain the excess fat from the pan. If necessary, deglaze the pan with a few tblsp of water, and pour the liquid over the duck.
[I kept the duck skin side down for a good few minutes, until the skin had contracting sharply and turned a rich, golden brown, then turned the pieces for just long enough to seal the flesh. After removing the pieces, I discarded most of the fat by decanting, but tried to keep the bits with juices and other flavoursome stuff (they seemed to be more dense than the fat, hence the decanting).]
Add the vegetable oil to the deglazed pan, and cook the onions gently until soft. Add the garlic and dry rice [and leek], and stir over low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the cumin and turmeric [N/A] and cook for another minute.
Add the chopped mint and duck pieces (avec juices) to the pan and mix thoroughly with. Add salt and pepper to taste, pour in the brandy [port] and enough stock to just cover everything.
[I used all of it, since the saffron was in it; besides, it seemed to be about right, quantity-wise].
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and check if the rice and duck are cooked. If not, add a few more tbsp of hot stock and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
[Since the brown rice I used normally takes about 25-30 minutes, I just checked the fluid levels at 20 minutes, tossed in the red pepper, and checked the rice after another 10 minutes; I like my cooked peppers to still have a bit of texture.]
Serve immediately, with the salsa cruda in a side dish. Enjoy.
Variations
The most obvious thing to do would be use a different flavouring to the mint. Ideas which spring readily to mind are to use black olives, or slices of orange, or both (there is a basque chicken dish which has the two combined). Obviously, the alcohol component leaves lots of scope for improvisation. For those who like their food fiery, the recipe is rich enough to cope with a good dose of chilli (I'd be tempted to use whole dried red ones of a flavoursome variety, fry them with the garlic and rice, let the simmering release their flavours, and remove them before serving), though you might want to sweeten it just a little in this case (honey? a liqueur instead of brandy?). If you have ideas of your own, let me know.
Slightly Cheezy Pesto Stir-Fry
Well there was a recent reasonable success but it involved quite a bit of grabbing whatever was handy and adding it in. Again a pasta dish - might do well with rice too ... or if ye're fancy go and try a bit of the oul couscous. - James
Ingredients
The list of ingredients is ridiculous - quite worrying in fact
garlic, onion (a bigish one)
chopped bacon and ham
a handful of frozen veg
sprinkling of wheat-germ
paprika powder, salt & pepper
pesto (basil sauce) (green gunk) a goodish dash
pine-nuts
spoon of mustard, honey, peanut-butter
dash of soy sauce
drop of milk to make it more juicy
a few chopped up bits of cheese - cheddar&blue
Have I forgotten anything? Now some of these were used just because they happened to be unlucky enough to be in the way of the soy sauce so don't worry if your supplies aren't quite as extensive.
Method
Basically - fry garlic and onion for a bit in olive oil (with a bit of salt) Add bacon and ham and fry them a bit too.
Then gradually add all the stuff in the list (the order of the list is good), keep stirring.
Add enough milk to make it juicy and not dry. Soy-sauce is a bit juicy too. Once milk and cheese are added lower heat, stir and don't leave anything stick and it should be finished soon enough.
Feel free to drop any ingredient - but I think the pesto is valuable and adds well to the taste. Pine-nuts are a bit excessive but a bit of a nutty feel would be good – try walnuts or something instead. (cheaper!)
Other possibilities to add in here would be any kind of mushroom, some ginger and/or grated lemon peel might add a bit of zing. Orange or tomato juice could be used instead of or as well as the milk to add juciness.
I've recently discovered the spoon of peanut-butter trick and together with a bit of mustard and honey it can make quite a good flavoursome impression on quite a few dishes :- e.g. add to chilie-con-carne. Kind of Dutch Indonesian influence there but on a milder scale.
Chicken with Pesto
Originally, this recipe was supposed to be chicken breasts filled with a cream and pesto sauce. However, when I got to Joe’s (where I was gonna cook), I discovered that stuffing the chicken breasts was gonna be a bit tricky. So, being the lazy type that I am, I improvised, and this recipe was the result.
Obviously, being Italian in influence, I would recommend serving with your choice of pasta – dried or fresh. A good crisp white wine to accompany, and Robert’s the brother of your father – JC
Serves: 4
Preparation time 20 mins
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 red pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tblsp green pesto (pesto alla Genovese for the purists)
150 ml cream
150 ml white wine
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil
Method
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, and quickly fry the chicken on all sides to seal in the juices. (Sometimes I lightly toss the chicken in flour first to keep in even more juiciness and flavour)
Reduce the heat, add the red pepper, and fry until the peppers are beginning to soften
Stir in about 1 ½ tblsp of pesto, and fry for an additional minute
Add the white wine, and allow to simmer for approximately 3-4 minutes
Add the cream, salt & pepper to taste, and simmer for another 5-6 minutes. During this stage, you may also need to add the remainder of the pesto – some judicious tasting is required here
Serve on a bed of pasta
Creole Pork Casserole
I made this years ago when JC and Rafe were living in Landsdowne, and from those days I know this also works perfectly well without the celery (just add more pepper and a second onion) - Paula
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 1 ½ hrs
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
900g pork shoulder (or whaever pork meat you want) cubed
350g chorizo sausage sliced
1 large onion chopped
6 sticks celery chopped
1 large green pepper chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
50g flour
900ml pork stock (chicken will do if you don't have any)
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1-2 tsp Tabasco
1 tbsp sherry
Method
Heat the oil in a casserole, or saucepan. Fry the pork and chirozo over high heat till browned. You may need to do this in batches. Remove pork and chirozo from the pan.
Next fry the onion, celery, pepper and garlic for a couple of minutes, over medium heat.
Put the meat back in the pan and stir in the flour followed by the stock.
Finally add the thyme and Tabasco and leave to simmer for 1 hour or more till the pork is cooked. Stir in the sherry and serve.
Grenadian Chicken With Mace
- Paula
Serves:6
Preparation time: 1 ½ hr plus marinading
Ingredients
6 chicken leg portions
4 tbsp dark rum
2 in piece ginger chopped
2 tsp ground mace
grated zest ½ lemon
juice 1 lemon
1tsp salt
dash tabasco
1 tsp muscavado sugar
3 clove garlic crushed
40g butter in pan with
1 1/2 tbsp oil.
1 onion chopped
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp tomato puree
300ml chicken stock
25g creamed coconut
Method
Mix together 2 tbsp rum, half the ginger, 1 tsp mace, lemon zest and juice, salt, Tabasco, sugar and 1 clove garlic. Marinade the chicken in this mixture for several hours, or overnight.
Heat the oil and butter in a pan and fry the chicken (shake off excess marinade, but keep it) till browned. Remove the chicken from the pan.
Saute the onion and remaining garlic for 5 mins. Add all remaining ingredients (including the chicken) except for the creamed coconut. Cover and cook gently for 1 hour.
Add creamed coconut just before serving.
Chicken Valencia with Pine Nuts
I had this book all finished when I got this recipe from my Dad (the source of many of my recipes originally). I tried it out, and well the results were spectacular. I served it up with some baby new potatoes and a plain greed salad. Mmmmm - Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, split lengthways and beaten flat
Oil & butter
125ml Cointreau
2 oranges
4 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp cultured sour cream
1tsp thyme
60ml chicken stock
seasoning
2 dsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
Method
Toss chicken in seasoned flour. Fry on the pan until lightly brown, 2 – 4 min. each side. Remove chicken and oil.
Add Cointreau. Flame reduce to a syrup. Add mustard, sour cream, stock thyme and 2 tsp grated orange rind. Return chicken to the pan and cook on low heat for 2 – 5 min.
Arrange on the plate with the pine nuts and garnished with the peeled orange slices.
Stuffed Peppers á la Omi
- Anita
Ingredients
½ l tomato sauce, preferably not with basil
1-2 green peppers per person
300g beef mince
300g rice (parboiled long grain)
1 big onion diced
1 cube chicken stock
salt, pepper, paprika, mustard powder to taste
Method
Fry rice in some butter, add diced onion and water and chicken stock cube. Simmer till rice is cooked and drain.
Fry mince and add seasoning to taste. Mix in the rice.
Wash peppers, remove the stalk and seeds, making sure not to cut too large an opening gin the top of the peppers. Wash out the peppers and stuff with the rice and mince mixture.
Place the stuffed peppers in the tomato sauce in a saucepan and cook for 30 minutes, occasionally moving the peppers about so that they do not burn at the base.
Serve with garlic bread.
Fish Ambot Tik (Fish in a Hot and Sour Sauce)
This and the next recipe are both based, to some extent, on recipes contained in "A Taste of Goa", by Mridula Baljekar, and both are pretty simple. Quantities of spices and the like are rough estimates: I tend to just pour some from the jar until it looks about right. Obviously, chilli content should be varied to suit your personal tastes - Lock
Serves: 1 hungry person
N.B: Ingredients marked with "*" are things I added to the original recipes; as such they may be considered optional.
Ingredients
200 g (7oz) fish [1]
1 tbsp cider vinegar [2]
pinch of salt [I didn't use this; my salt demands are pretty low]
½ tsp turmeric (haldi)
1 tbsp veg oil (I find ghee too heavy for fish dishes)
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
½ onion (2-3 oz), chopped
1cm (1/2") cube of ginger, shredded [*]
2 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds [*]
½ tsp black mustard seeds [*}
chilli [3]
1 tsp paprika
50g (2oz) creamed coconut, finely chopped [4]
100ml (3 floz) water
1 tsp tamarind [5]
Notes on ingredients:
1. The book recommends shark or monkfish. In truth, almost anything works well in this recipe, but fish with a stronger flavour (such as the aforementioned) probably work best.
2. Lime juice gives a pleasant variation, which tastes quite different. The author says that cider vinegar is the closest thing in the west to the "toddy vinegar" (made from fermented sap of the coconut palm) which is used in Goa.
3. Last time I used this, I ground up two dried, Thai "birds eye" chillies. I suspect that one or two Kashmiri chillies would also work well, but would obviate the need for paprika. Fresh serranos would presumably be a good alternative.
4. If you can get it, fresh, grated coconut would be a delightful replacement for the creamed stuff.
5. If tamarind isn't available, ½ tbsp lemon juice is an acceptable alternative.
Method
If necessary, skin the fish. Wash it gently and pat dry with paper towel. Pour over the vinegar, and sprinkle half of the turmeric and salt. Turn the fish over until turmeric is evenly distributed, then cover and leave to marinade for 20-30 minutes.
Grind up whole spices (and chilli, if using whole dried ones). Pour hot water over tamarind and soak for 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve (optional) to obtain tamarind flavoured water.
Heat oil, then add the onion. Once the onions have begun to caramelise, add the garlic, ginger, and freshly ground spices, and fry gently for another 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the remaining turmeric, and paprika, plus 1-2 tbsp of water. Stir for 1-2 minutes over a low heat.
Add the coconut, the "tamarind water" and remaining salt (optional). Stir until the coconut is dissolved. If using lemon juice instead, just add about 3oz water, and add the lemon juice at the end of the cooking process.
Add the fish, along with the juices from the marinade, and bring to a slow simmer for 5 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Usually, I serve the above with steamed rice (usually steamed with a couple of cloves, and either a cardamom pod or a little saffron) and (depending on the availability of green things) a fresh salad or some stir-fried vegetables.
Goan Baked Fish
Serves: 3 gluttons
N.B: Ingredients marked with "*" are things I added to the original recipes; as such they may be considered optional.
Ingredients
700g (1 ½ lb) fish, in a single piece [1]
2 tbsp lime juice
pinch of salt (optional)
1 tbsp veg. oil
1 small-medium onion, halved, then cut into fine semicircles
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed/chopped
1" cube of ginger, finely chopped [*] (the author doesn't seem to be too keen on ginger with fish)
4 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds [*]
3 tsp fennel (soonf) seeds [*] (I find this sweetens the recipe slightly)
½ tsp turmeric
chilli [2]
30g (1oz) creamed coconut (or fresh if you can get it), finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
Notes on ingredients
1. The book recommends a smallish whole salmon (gutted and with the backbone removed); the Goans actually use a local fish, which is similar to salmon. I've actually had the best results with a large, thick fillet of smoked cod. Whichever fish you use, I'd choose one with a pronounced flavour.
2. In general, use less than you think you'll need, as the baking process seems to enhance the chilli effect. From memory, I used two dried birds eye chillies on my last attempt.
Extravagant option (esp. if using salmon or another whole fish): add 100-170g (4-6 oz) peeled prawns at the same time as the coconut.
Method
Make three deep slashes on each side of the fish, to hold some of the topping/filling.
Rub lime juice all over the fish, and sprinkle with salt. Set aside to marinate for 30 mins.
Grind up the whole spices. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
Heat oil, and fry onions until soft but not brown. Add garlic, ginger, and freshly ground spices, and fry for 1 minute. Add turmeric, and fry for 30 secs, then add 2 tbsp water and cook until the water evaporates. Add another 2 tbsp water.
Add the coconut, tomato puree, and coriander leaves (and prawns, if you use them). Reduce heat and stir until coconut dissolves. Remove from heat.
Push some of the spice-coconut mixture into the slashes in the fish, and use the rest to coat the fish (if using a large fillet) or fill the stomach cavity, (if using a small, whole fish). Wrap loosely in foil (I suspect that a banana leaf would be an ideal alternative, if you can get them), and bake for 20 mins. Fold back the foil and turn the temperature up to 200C/400F, and bake for another 5 mins. If using a whole fish, allow to rest for 5-10 mins before serving.
I generally serve this with rice and a salad, but dahls, naan breads and various spicy cooked vegetables also make good accompaniments.
Salsa Rice Bean Dish
For the token veggies on the DSP, here's one of my favourites (JC and Joe V have actually had this and can attest to it being quite tasty) - Broenwynn
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked rice
1 large red (or yellow) onion, coarsely chopped
1 large capsicum (green), coarsely chopped
3-5 spring onions, coarsely chopped
3-4 roma tomatoes (or 1 large tomato), coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 small zucchini, coarsely chopped (optional, not everyone likes zucchini)
1 large tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 large jar of your favourite pasta sauce
Healthy dose of garlic, minced (3 cloves or so)
Dash or eight of Tabasco
Lots of cheddar cheese, grated
Method
Prepare veggies as noted above. Cook rice per package instructions. Combine chopped veggies with cooked rice. Add kidney beans. Add pasta sauce. Add garlic and Tabasco. Mix well. Serve hot, and top with generous amounts of cheese. A nice green salad will go well with this.
Finish with several pints of stout.
Cheers!
Fried Courgettes w. Garlic & Lemon
This is one of the easiest side-dishes I know which makes a great change from straight forward boiled vegetables. It is important to try and work fast once you start cooking, otherwise you will either burn the garlic, or over-fry the courgettes and they will become terribly soggy.
You don’t have to use olive oil in this one – any oil will do really - but I find that it gives greater flavour than light oils such as rapeseed or sunflower. - JC
Serves: 2-4 people
Preparation time: 10 mins
Ingredients
3-4 small courgettes
1 clove garlic
dash of lemon joice
1 dsp olive oil
Method
Cut your garlic into slices, as thin as possible. If you’re not great with a knife, or lazy, crush it instead.
Cut your courgette into triangular chunks.
Heat the olive oil in your pan, until it is very hot
Add the garlic and courgettes together, and fry briskly. Don’t stop stirring or it will burn.
After about 90 – 120 seconds, add the lemon juice, and toss it into the courgettes, and serve.
Australian Salad
Might sound weird, but it is amazingly delicious! - Bren
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
½ a galia melon
2 kiwi fruits
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Fresh salad leaves (one of those pre-packed 4 leaf ones with rocquet is very
good!)
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Method
Chop the melon into smallish chunks (or use a melon baller if you like). Peel the kiwi fruit, slice in half lengthways and then cut halves into slices. Put both these in a bowl.
In a separate bowl make the dressing by whisking together the Dijon mustard, wholegrain mustard, honey, lemon juice (or vinegar) and olive oil.
Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips and fry in some olive oil, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Once cooked, before removing from pan, add in garlic, stir for a few seconds and add chicken to the melon and kiwi.
Pour over the dressing, mix well and serve on a bed of the salad leaves, with a final good twist of black pepper over the top.
Lemon Ginger Noodle Salad
Ingredients
12 oz. uncooked linguine
2 tsp sesame oil (light olive oil works as well)
½ cup chopped scallions (green onions)
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
2 tbsp. roasted sesame seeds
Dressing
½ cup tahini (sesame seed paste, used a lot in middle eastern food)
½ cup boiling water
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp fresh minced/grated ginger (do not use powder!)
4 cloves minced garlic (2-3 tsp crushed garlic from a jar)
2-3 tsp chilli paste (hard to find, use slightly less of favourite curry paste)
Method
First make the dressing. Put tahini in a medium bowl, whisk in boiling water until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until blended. Set aside.
Cook linguine per package instructions, then rinse under cold water until cool to touch, drain and place in large bowl. Drizzle with oil and mix well until thoroughly coated. Add dressing and mix until well coated. Add parsley, scallions and sesame seeds. Toss well. Serve at room temperature.
Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables
I generally use a different selection of vegetables each time I make this but it always seems to turn out great. Quantities are for 4 people but scale it up or down as suits you – Paula.
Serves:4
Ingredients
1 medium red onion chopped into chunks
2 cloves garlic sliced
16 baby new potatoes par boiled (almost cooked) and cut into halves
Selection of vegetables roughly chopped – fennel, courgette (baby or regular), peppers, chillies (if you want a bit of heat), green beans, broccoli. Quantities here depend on how hungry you all are
2 tbsp olive oil
8 cherry tomatoes
8 olives
2 oz feta cheese crumbled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
1 oz sundried tomatoes finely chopped
1 tbsp pine nuts roasted
Method
Preheat oven to 190C.
Mix the onion, garlic, potatoes, vegetable selection, olive oil and salt and pepper in an ovenproof dish. Roast for 20 minutes stirring half way through.
Add the cherry tomatoes, olives and feta cheese. Mix well and roast for a further 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with the pine nuts and sundried tomatoes and serve.
Variation
For the selection of vegetables use a selection of par boiled root vegetables, e.g. carrot, parsnip and sweet potato. Mix these with the onion and garlic and olive oil as above, along with 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds and some chilli flakes. Roast for 20 minutes. Garnish with toasted cashew nuts and serve.
Spiced Carrots
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30mins
Ingredients
200g / 8oz carrots, peeled
1 tsp cumin seeds
25g / 1oz butter
1 tsp paprika
1green chilli finely chopped (deseed the chilli for less heat)
Grate rind and juice ½ lemon
Method
Slice the carrots as desired. Place in a pan with barely enough cold, slightly water to cover them. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer till the carrots are cooked to your own liking. Drain the carrots.
While the carrots are cooking roast the cumin seeds in a saucepan for a couple of minutes. Grind the cumin seeds to a powder.
Melt the butter in a pan. Fry the chilli for 30 secs, add the paprika and fry for another 30 secs. Add the lemon juice and ring, mix well then toss in the carrots. Stir well to coat the carrots in the spices.
Sprinkle with the ground cumin seeds and serve.
Roasted Vine Tomatoes with Garlic
Even though this recipe uses whole cloves of garlic the flavour is very mild. Roasted garlic takes on a very sweet mild flavour, making it very edible. I’ve used cherry tomatoes still on the vine for this recipe, more for presentation reasons than anything. Regular cherry tomatoes would work just as well - Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Ingredients
20 or cherry tomatoes on or off the vine
8-10 cloves garlic unpeeled
salt and black pepper
2 tsp sugar
1 tblsp olive oil
Method
Preheat oven to 190C.
Wash the cherry tomatoes and place in an oven proof dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, sugar and olive oil. Add garlic cloves.
Roast for 20-25 mins, basting with the oil/juices in the bottom of the dish half way through the cooking.
Serve.
Mango and Avocado Salad
This salad is exceptionally easy to make and tastes divine. Perfect served on a hot summers day or even as an accompaniment to curry - Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 mins
Ingredients
1 large avocado
1 large mango
1-2 red chillies finely chopped
Rind and juice1 lime
1 dsp olive oil
1 tblsp chopped fresh coriander
Method
Mic the chilli, lime rind and juice, olive oil and coriander together.
Peel and chop the mango and avocado into even size chunks.
Mix fruit and dressing and serve.
Pink Grapefruit and Courgette Salad
You need small (these will be not much larger than your average size tube of smarties) or baby courgettes for this recipe – Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 mins
Ingredients
2 pink grapefruit
2 small or 4-5 baby courgettes
1 dsp olive oil
1 tblsp chopped fresh coriander
Method
Wash and slice the courgette.
Now for the difficult bit. You want to cut the skin off the grapefruit, removing the pith and everything to expose the flesh. Do this over a dish as you want to keep any juice that comes out of the grapefruit during this process. Basically take a sharp knife (and it must be sharp) and cut a slice off the top and bottom of the grapefruit, exposing the flesh. Now you can slice the skin off the side of the grapefruit, again exposing the flesh. This is when it gets a bit messy. You need to remove the flesh from each segment of the grapefruit by slicing into the centre on each side of each segment, using the membrane that divided the segments as a guide. You should end up with a dish of these segments, and plenty of juice. If you can’t manage this, go to a shop buy a tin of pink grapefruit segments in unsweetened juice, return home and open the tin.
Half the grapefruit segments if they are too large and add to the courgette.
Mix the grapefruit juice, olive oil and coriander together.
Pour over the grapefruit and courgette. Mix well and serve.
Carrots in Gin
- Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 25 mins
Ingredients
700g carrots peeled and chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 oz butter and
a little water
2 tsp gin (or a bit more if you like)
Little grated lemon zest
Method
Place the carrots, butter, sugar and water in a saucepan over high heat and boil rapidly till carrots are cooked and water is evaporated - you have to be careful not to burn the carrots. Add the gin and lemon zest and serve.
Vegetables with White Balsamic Vinegar
This goes well with Duck, Lamb or Chicken – Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 25-30 mins
Ingredients
1 kg of vegetables (courgettes, peppers, peperincini, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green beans, kohlrabi, carrots – get the idea?)
1 medium onion or 2 spring onions
1 tblsp butter or olive oil
½ - 1 dl white balsamic vinegar
pepper and salt to taste
Method
Wash and slice the veggies whichever way you prefer them.
Fry the diced onion with the butter/oil (preferably in a wok) add the veggies and fry for 5-8 mins (depends on how crunchy you want them).
Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and let simmer for 3-5 minutes. You’re done !
Aloo Sag a la Chop
- Chopper
Ingredients
Oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, chopped
2 fresh red chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb Potatoes, cut into small pieces
2 x 8-oz packets frozen spinach leaf, thawed
Salt
Method
Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes. Boil these in a pot with some turmeric until they are just done.
Heat the oil in a Wok, add the onion, and cook until soft. Add the ginger, chilies, turmeric, cumin and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, and salt to taste, stir well, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the red pepper to the mix.
Squeeze out any liquid from the spinach and chop. Add to the potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, until both vegetables are tender.
If it's too dry you might want to add some vegetable stock, but be careful not to mush the whole thing up.
Baby Potatoes with Chilli and Orange Butter
This is yet another of my spur of the moment inventions. Based on a recipe I had tried out for citrus parmesan potatoes and the fact that I had some home grown chillies to hand and no parmesan this ensued. It goes pretty well with anything -Paula
Preparation time 30 mins
Serves:4
Ingredients
Enough baby potatoes (new or otherwise) for 4 people
Enough butter to toss said potatoes in
Finely grated rind 1 orange
Juice of ½ orange
1 medium sized (couple smaller) red or green chilli finely chopped
Method
Melt the butter over low to medium heat. Stir in the orange rind and chilli and cook for 1 min. Remove from heat. Stir in the orange juice and leave to cool.
It doesn’t matter if this mixture separates upon cooling the main idea is to get the flavours of the orange and chilli into the butter.
Pour boiling water and a pinch of salt over the potatoes and cook till done; this will probably take about 15-20 minutes. Drain and stir in the chilli butter. Serve.
Alternative
To make citrus parmesan potatoes omit the chilli from the butter. Just before serving grate fresh parmesan cheese (or your favourite hard cheese) over the potatoes. Stir and serve.
Sour Marjoram Potatoes
Yet another Austrian recipe of the vinegar variety – Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Ingredients
9 small potatoes (waxy)
1 tbsp flour
½ - 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 small onion
1-2 tblsp butter
2-3 dl water
1 tbsp marjoram
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2-3 mm thick slices. Boil them for about 8 mins – you want them cooked, but not disintegrated. Drain the potatoes and let them cool in a sieve for 10 mins.
Put the putter into a large frying pan and fry the diced onion.
Add in the flour and knock down the heat and keep stirring (the desired redult is a thick creamy looking substance).
Add the water, vinegar and marjoram and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and let simmer for 10 mins (if it’s too thick add more water or vinegar).
Roman-Thai Veggie Fried Rice
I've tried to include alternate ingredient names, and some suggestions for ingredient substitutions. All my recipes are all my own, and I admit I actually never use measuring tools, so the amounts (especially for spices) may need adjusting according to your own tastes. Most of what I make are experiments, generally from having seen or tasted something that looked good and I got to go home and guess at the ingredients. This. Like my other recipes is among the dishes that I live off ... like them it’s "tried and true" but admittedly, may not be to everyone's liking - Broenwynn
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked rice (long grain or jasmine)
1 large yellow onion
1 large capsicum (green pepper)
3-4 Roma tomatoes
1 large carrot
1 med bunch broccoli crowns
6-8 spring onions (scallions, green onions)
3 eggs
3-4 cloves garlic
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp black pepper
5-7 dashes Tabasco sauce
Vegetable stock bouillon cubes (flavour cubes for soup stock)
Italian dressing (favourite Italian style salad dressing)
Parmesan cheese
Method
Cook rice per package instructions, adding vegetable stock cube/flavouring to water prior to boiling, set aside
In large (frying) pan: Use oil sparingly to coat pan or use a cooking spray. Place roughly chopped broccoli and grated carrot and fry at med-high heat until almost tender.
Add soy sauce, lemon juice, pepper, cumin, garlic and Tabasco while broccoli and carrot cook. Stir occasionally with wooden spoon. Once broccoli and carrot are almost tender, add capsicum, yellow onions, and spring onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes at med-high heat. Reduce heat to low and set aside.
In separate pan add well-mixed eggs (a few dashes of Tabasco in this works well) and scramble over medium heat until dry and crumbly. Add to vegetable mixture. Add roughly chopped tomatoes to mixture. Add cooked rice to mixture and stir well over low heat until all ingredients are thoroughly integrated.
Top servings with favourite Italian dressing and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve and enjoy.
Note
Seasoning amounts can be varied to taste ... black pepper, garlic and lemon juice are key to the overall intended flavour. Possible variations include adding chopped water chestnuts, zucchini...
Curried Potatoes
Again this started out as invention and ended up being an irresistible dish. I cooked what I thought was enough for two days, it never lasted that long. It appears to be delicious hot or cold, although by the time we were eating it cold we had probably drunk enough wine to make us appreciate anything. You decide - Paula
Preparation time – 30mins
Serves:4
Ingredients
Enough baby potatoes (new or otherwise) for 4 people
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions chopped
2 cloves garlic sliced
4 tbsp curry paste
1 tub Greek yoghurt
Fresh coriander chopped
Method
Scrub potatoes. Pour boiling water and a pinch of salt over the potatoes and cook till almost done; this will probably take about 15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté garlic and onion for about 5 mins till starting to soften. Add curry paste and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Stir in the yoghurt and once mixed in add the potatoes and heat through, stirring carefully so that the potatoes do not break up. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve.
Note
If baby potatoes are not available chopped potatoes will work equally well. In the case of new potatoes scrub, but do not peel prior to use. For “old” potatoes peel prior to use. A soapy/waxy variety of “old” potato works best, as floury potatoes have a tendency to go into mush in this recipe.
Waider's Goddamn I'm So Lazy Special Fried Rice
Partly cadged from a recipe on a soy sauce bottle, among other places. Measurements aren't terrifically important, at least not the way I cook this. This is actually partway between stir-fry and fried rice; depending on how much extra stuff you throw in. I've never made this for more than two people, so I'm not so sure how it scales. – Waider
Ingredients
1 chunk of chicken per person. Breasts are good since they're generally the right size for a single serving.
2 eggs per person
"Enough rice" per person. If you've cooked rice, you know how much.
1 small onion per person
A quantity of peas
Carrots
Peanut oil
Soy sauce
Anything else that seems like it'll fit (peppers, chestnuts, bamboo shoots, spices, etc.)
Method
Put the rice in a saucepan, fill it with twice as much water as rice, and put it on max heat. Toss in a little salt if you want the water to boil hotter. Once the water's boiling, crank it back to simmer. I've found it hard to mess up cooking rice, other than letting all the water boil off. You don't need the rice to be particularly sticky for this recipe, since the idea is that the egg is supposed to make it clump. In practice, screw that and use a fork instead of chopsticks.
Put the peanut oil in the wok, and turn it on to "OOOOH! HOT!". How much oil and how hot is a matter of experimentation; I think I probably use about 2 tbsp and put the heat up to the max.
While the oil's heating, cook up the chicken. Hey, you can get precooked if you're lazy. Me, I toss it in a microwave for five mins or so (650W, not quite max power). Once the chicken is cooked, shred it.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them soundly.
You might need to defrost the peas. I generally toss 'em in a bowl of water for now.
Chop the onion and whatever else you're throwing in. Carrots should be sliced into sticks, I guess.
Right now, everything is waiting for the rice. With practice you may find the optimum time to turn on the wok. I just leave it work away by itself until the rice is cooked.
When the rice is cooked, drain it in a sieve. Rinse it through with water if you like, to remove excess starch, but it's not really that important.
Now, this is the only timing critical bit. Toss the eggs into the hot peanut oil. Watch for oil splashes. Stir the eggs like mad to prevent an instant omelette forming. Add the rice and mix, mix, mix. This should stop your eggs from congealing pretty sharpish. Now toss in all the other ingredients, and KEEP STIRRING. Once you've added everything, douse everything liberally with soy sauce and stir some more. This is the stir-fry like part of the recipe. If you stop stirring, you end up with burnt rice and/or burnt egg, neither of which adds to the recipe.
Keep with the stirring until you're convinced everything is sufficiently hot. Note that heating stuff is really the only side of this you're interested in, since it doesn't taste nice when it's cold (you rinsed the rice, didn't you?), and all the potential food-poisoning items have already been cooked.
Toss it on a plate. Serve with wine. You wanna do this with chopsticks, fine by me. I tend to give up and use a fork.
Chopper's Fabulously Yummy and Really Simple Basil & Tomato New Potato Stuff
Ingredients
Basil (preferably fresh)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Some Mushrooms
1 Large Onion
1 Green Pepper
Small New Potatoes
2 Large RIPE Tomatoes
Tomato Puree
Vegetable Stock
Method
Boil the New Potatoes and cut into small, bite sized pieces.
Chop the Onions and Mushrooms and add to the wok in some hot virgin olive oil.
Add lots of Basil and pepper to the mix (Don't spare the rod) and fry until golden brown.
Add the Green Pepper, chopped into appropriate pieces obviously.
Fry a bit more. Maybe add some more pepper.
Skin and chop the tomatoes. Drop them into the mix with the new potatoes.
Add a lot more basil and pepper.
Do maybe a 1/5 pint of vegetable stock. Mix in some tomato puree stuff and pour into the wok. Mix well.
Cover and simmer until enough of the water has evaporated to give you the desired moisture level.
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
To finally tell you how to do it properly…without the aid of a jar of sauce from M&S
For the accompanying wine I would suggest an “Orvieto” or “Pinot Grigio/Gris”.
It is important to note that the eggs are only added at the very last moment. If you add them any earlier, or while the food is still on the heat, then they will overcook and solidify. While this does not really affect the taste, it will cause the whole mess to “fluff up” and ruin its appearance. Indeed, some people have suggested that if the egg overcooks, it makes the meal look a touch vomitous - Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 25 mins
Ingredients
100 – 150 gr. of spaghetti per person
1 onion
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of butter
150 ml cream
2 dl dry white wine
100 gr back rashers
50 gr Parmesan Cheese (fresh and preferably grated)
oregano, salt & pepper to taste
Method
Put on the water for the spaghetti and while you wait for it to boil start working on the sauce
Dice the onion, cut the rashers width-wise into thin strips and fry both with the tablespoon of butter in a non stick frying pan. Add the white wine reduce the heat and let it simmer for 3-4 mins. Add in the cream, oregano as well as salt & pepper to taste. Leave it simmering on low heat until the spaghetti is cooked.
When the spaghetti is done drain it and put it back into the pan but do not put back on the ring, add the cream/wine sauce and stir.
Finally, add in the grated parmesan cheese and the (here they come) 2 eggs - stir the whole mess thoroughly and serve immediately.
Risotto is Yummy
You say, "want to know how to make risotto? :)" Waider says, "Do tell" Waider says, "That's rice and peas and stuff, no?" You say, "PEAS!???" fiocco yuk! You say, "... nice sticky rice with much butter .... random tasty flavours ... and a bit of cheese probably. :)" You say, "flavours are quite random but I would've thought not quite random enough to encompass peas :)("
You say, "basic recipie: get big pot, fry uncooked rice, butter, perhaps onion, commence berserk stirring, gradually add cups of stock/flavoursome soup type thing, don't forget to stir frequently, finish up with some parmesan, attempt to unstick the risotto from the pot and ....., CONSUME with gusto.
My latest particular one was made using some slightly curried vegetable/ham stock that needed to be used up and there were some cooked veg in there too, onion, butter, seasoning and rice did the rest. There are also about a million variations (which is why there seem to be so many options below) but don't worry, all you really need is rice, butter and [stock or veg or nice things or any combination of the former]
Basically rice is fried in butter and stirred alot while gradually adding stock whenever it dries out a bit. It should swell and take up lots of nice flavour and be very tasty with a bit of cheese. - James
Ingredients
(if you've rice & butter/oil/whatever and _something else_ and maybe some cheese you shouldn't ever need to specially shopping for your risotto. Mustn't forget to mention that you need a decent pot ... the rice will swell and you're throwing everything else in too so just make sure you've enough room for everything + you stirring energetically so that you can minimise the amount you scatter over the cooker. (this is STICKY stuff and can prove interesting to try and remove)
butter - nice big chunks, I'd say I used in total a quarter of a packet ... um ? That would be ? 125g?
rice - about a cup for two people, white is fine, I suppose brown would be grand too, but the white really turns out quite nice.
1 onion [optional] and other veg/meat things for frying [very optional - e.g. if you've no stock]
stock vegetable or meat (or see later for more suggestions) (like salted water but fry up more veg before for flavour! You need about enough to cook the rice... if you end up with too little just add some water at the end. Ummmm, for a cup of rice you should need about ...um .... say between 5/6 cups of liquid roughly.
seasoning & herbs & spices if you're inclined
parmesan or other hard tasty cheese (or if you're using cheddar for that extra stickyness make sure you don't drown the other flavours, although a bit of cheddar is nice alright)
If you're artistically or nouvelle-cuisine inclined you need something to garnish the risotto afterwards as a sticky yellow-white heap of risotto may be very tasty but, well, it looks a bit boring. e.g. some salad, an olive, capers, .... depending on what went into the risotto. Y'know, use your artistic flair and ingenuity for this bit.
Method
Chop onion small and fry in some of the butter, ... add some more butter and fry uncooked rice in there for a while too. Just swish everything around and all the butter will be sucked up by the rice.
(If adding meat/veg/cooked veg do so now and fry em up until they mix with the rice, ... don't overwhelm your rice with veg, ... the rice should be the main feature as it's going to take loads of flavour from the stock/veg later)
You could also add some herbs, spices, seasoning, garlic, a bit of chilli etc ... now. (but don't add all of that, seasoning is enough, herbs & spices etc. are nice with different things.)
Now start the risottification.
The idea is to slowly add the liquid so the rice absorbs it gradually and sticks to the bottom of your saucepan. This will make cleaning up as difficult as possible later on (so make sure it is understood that you're not doing it beforehand). Oh, and forget about dishwashers. If made correctly this stuff should be so sticky that nothing short of direct human intervention and application of large amounts of chemicals and scraping will clean the risotto pot.
If you don't have stock, or oxo cubes then soup or salted water are fine to use but to get some flavour then fry stuff up with the butter & rice at the start for a few minutes. Tasty items I could suggest are peppers, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes (remember to soak them beforehand), olives, capers, broccoli ..... You could also throw in leftover cooked veg or meat (I did), carrots, leek, celery, ham, sausage, and be sure to add in a good dollop of herbs, salt and pepper and other seasoning too.
Note: Italians will get very insulted if you think of Risotto as a "left-over" dish so don't be tempted to think of it that way. Think of it more as a flexible, delicious and filling food (and did I mention easy to prepare (but not to wash up)). And don't go nuts with loads of flavours .... it's almost tastier when there's just one/two tasty flavours.
So anyway at this stage you should be stirring every few minutes and splishing in some more of whatever liquid you're using ... so you have to hover around the pot and concentrate .... no wandering off to talk on the phone or the washer-up is in REAL trouble. Keep at this until the rice has cooked (eat some to test). Then add a good bit of grated parmesan (or whatever you like) and maybe a little more butter :), season and turn off the heat. Mix in the parmesan and leave to "cream" for a minute or so.
Now the sticky mess is ready to be dished up and consumed.
Serve with something pretty but not filling as the risotto may look innocent but it's great stuff and will satisfy even the most experienced of eaters. Something pretty? e.g. a slice of tomato, some salad, something uncooked of what you threw in at the start, stuffed peppers :), ....
Saffron and Cardamon Rice
- Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Ingredients
1 lb rice
750ml water
3 cardamon pods
2 cloves
1 tsp salt
3tbsp semi-skimmed milk (I use whatever I have)
½ tsp crushed saffron
Method
Put the rice, water, cardamon pods, cloves and salt in a saucepan, bring to the boil, turn down the heat to medium low and cook the rice for 12 minutes, or until done. Drain. Heat the milk and mix in the saffron. Pour this over the rice, stir well and leave on a low heat for 5 mins. Serve.
Pullao Rice
- Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 mins
Ingredients
3 oz unsalted butter
4 cloves
4 green cardamon pods
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 lb basmati rice rinsed to remove excess starch
1 l water
Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the spices and fry for 1 min. Add the rice and fry for a further minute, stirring well to coat the rice in the butter spice mix. Add the water and cook out the rice (should take about 12 mins). Drain and serve.
Variation
To make fruity pullao rice follow the recipe above, however after the spices have been fried add 2 oz flaked almonds and 3 oz sultanas and fry for 1 minute before adding the rice.
Berner Rösti
- Anita
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 35 mins
Ingredients
2 big potatoes per person (if a main dish, otherwise 1 potato). NB make sure the potatoes are waxy (you will save yourself a lot of hassle….trust me)
1 medium onion
3-4 rashers
3-4 tblsp frying butter (don’t use oil – the taste would be all wrong, been there done that)
salt, pepper, nutmeg, paprika to taste
Method
Boil the potatoes the day before because you need the cooled or they will distintegrate (traditionally rösti is a leftover dish).
Take the skin off the potatoes. Put the frying butter into a frying pan and grate the potatoes into the pan. NB very important to use a coarse grater.
Add in the diced onion and the thinly sliced rashers, turn on the heat and fry for 3-5 mins, if the potatoes already start sticking to the pan add in more butter.
Spice the rösti and turn down the heat to medium and let it fry for 20-30 mins, but be sure to check it won’t stick to the pan. Place a plate on top of the rösti and flip the frying pan (beware of excess butter !) to turn out the rösti. The rösti should now be brown and cruncy.
Asparagus Risotto with Champagne
Can be served as either a side dish or a main course – Anita
Serves:4 (half the amounts if being made as a side dish)
Preparation time: 50mins
Ingredients
3 big cups of risotto rice (vialone or arborio)
1 onion or spring onion
6 asparagus (green ones)
3 bay leaves
1 cube of chicken stock
1 tblsp butter
1 piccolo champagne (250ml – you can also use German Sekt, but be sure that you use a dry one, or alternatively a dry white wine)
salt, coarse black pepper to taste
fresh parmesan cheese
Method
Dice the onion and fry in the butter for about 1 min. Add in the rice and fry all together for 1 min. Then add the champagne and fry for 2 mins. Then add 6 cups of water and turn down the heat.
Cut of the hard ends of the asparagus and cut each into 3 pieces. Add them to the rice.
Add in the chicken stock cube, bay leaves and spices to taste and let simmer for 20-30 mins (depending on the rice – note you don’t have to drain the rice since the water is the exact amount of water the rice can soak up).
Grate some parmesan and toss it on the risotto. You can also cut wafer thin strips of the cheese and serve with garlic bread or foccacia.
Serve with a Frascatti or an Orvieto (both white wines) or a bottle of Prosecco (Italian champagne)
Curries
I recently rediscovered the whole curry ting, and in a moment of temporary insanity decided to make my own curry powder and paste. The results quite amazed me. Although slightly time consuming, the result proved to be worth all the effort. I would recommend these to anyone who has a well stocked spice cupboard, as the number of spices involved is quite substantial, but worth investing in for those who don’t. I have also found that the best source of herbs and spices is my local health food store, where the prices are only a fraction of those usually encountered in supermarkets - Paula
Curry Powder
Preparation time – 15 mins
Makes 7oz (200g) approx.
Ingredients
Whole spices Ground spices
4 tbsp coriander seeds 4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp cumin seeds 4 tsp garlic powder
3 x 2in pieces cassia bark 2 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp fennel seeds 1½ tsp chilli powder
2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp green cardamon seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds Note
½ tsp black onion seeds All spoon measures are
6-8 cloves heaped spoonfuls.
4-6 bay leaves
20-25 dried curry leaves
Method
Place the whole spices in a saucepan and roast over a medium heat, shaking the pan every 30 sec. The spices should not burn. They will give off a light steam, and will also give off an aroma when done. Allow to cool and then grind in batches.
I started using a mortar and pestle for this, but as I had made a double batch I found this too time consuming, so I opted for my coffee grinder instead. Perfect one it was cleaned well before and after use.
Once the roasted spices are ground they should be mixed with the dry spices and the mixture is then ready for use, although it is better if left to mature for a month (mine doesn’t last that long though).
It can be stored in an airtight container, out of the light for up to six months, after which time the powder will lose its flavour and can become bitter.
Note
The amount of spices can be varied according to personal taste, and the quantities easily scaled up or down according to the amount needed. Typically 2 level tsp of powder per person is sufficient, 1 tsp per person for a milder dish.
Curry Paste
Preparation time – 25 mins
Makes 1½lb (675g) approx.
Ingredients
1 portion curry powder (see above)
6-8 fl oz (175-250ml) vinegar (any type)
6-8 fl oz (175-250ml) vegetable oil
Method
Mix the powder and vinegar to give a creamy paste (add some water if necessary) and leave to sit for at least ten minutes. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add paste to the oil, carefully as it will splatter. Stirring constantly cook for 5-10 minutes until all the liquid is cooked out of the paste.
You can check this by removing the pan from the heat. After a couple of minutes the spices should sink to the bottom of the pan with a layer of oil on top. Bottle in sterilised jars, and top off with a little warm oil. Store out of the light
Green Curry Paste
Preparation time – 25 mins. plus soaking
Makes 1lb (450g) approx.
Ingredients
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
6 garlic cloves chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 ½ oz (40g) fresh mint leaves
1 ½ oz (40g) fresh coriander leaves
3 tsp salt
3 tsp turmeric
2 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp green cardamom seeds
4 floz (120ml) vinegar
4 floz (120ml) vegetable oil
2 fl oz (50ml) sesame oil
Method
Soak the fenugreek seeds in water overnight. Strain, discarding the water.
Place the seed with all other ingredients except the oils in a blender and blend till pureed. Leave to stand for at least 10 mins.
Heat the oil and proceed to fry and finish off the paste as in the curry paste recipe.
Variations on the Curry Theme
I find that the powder and pastes above make an ideal base for a wide range of curries - Paula
The base for any recipe is as follows:
Per portion
½ small onion chopped
1 small clove garlic thinly sliced
1-2 tsp curry powder or 1 tbsp curry paste
2 tsp vegetable oil
Method
Heat oil over medium heat. Fry the garli for 30 sec, then add the onion and fry for 2 mins. Add curry powder and paste and fry for a further 2 mins.
Add the main ingredient (meat and/or vegetable) of choice and stir fry for 5-10 mins in the case of meat, 4-5 mins in the case of vegetables.
Curries can then be cooked “dry” until done or one of the following added per portion:
1 ½ tsp tomato purée and juice 1 lemon
3 tbsp single cream
2-3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
2-3 tbsp coconut milk
2-3 tbsp stock/water
I find the latter two ingredients best for use in curries where I want to stew meat for a length of time, although in such cases I increase the quantities till the other ingredients are almost totally covered. Although the curry may appear to contain too much liquid at first it will thicken if the lid is removed 15-30 minutes before the end of cooking time.
Chicken Tikka
The following is off the top of my head. Vary spices to suit your own tastes; I tend to vary the mix according to mood and I measure by eye, not teaspoon, so what follows is just my best estimate of a typical example. Grinding whole spices (and using fresh garlic, ginger) is usually better because pre-ground stuff doesn't retain its flavour for long. If you're feeling really keen, I'd recommend dry-frying the coriander and cumin until they turn a slightly darker brown, then grinding them. You'd probably want to increase the quantities of coriander cumin and chilli for lamb. The vital parts are:
The lemon juice: this basically acts as a flavour enhancer. To allow a reasonable time-scale, a simple rule of thumb is to coat the meat in LJ (and a little salt, if you want) immediately before prepping the marinade. Lime juice works even better.
The longer the meat sits in the marinade (up to about 24 hours, at any rate), the better the end product will taste. It'll also taste hotter, so allow for that in your use of hot spices. I reckon that 3-4 hours is the minimum for acceptable results.
Chilli, coriander, cumin, ginger. 'Nuff said - Lock
Serves:2
Ingredients
~300g Chicken breast, cut into about 12 pieces.
1 large clove garlic, very finely chopped
1cm cube of ginger, grated or finely chopped
4 tbsp full-fat natural yoghurt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
Chilli [see note below]
½ tsp turmeric (or more if you want a bright colour)
The seeds from one cardamom pod
1 clove
3-5 black peppercorns (optional)
[variations: use ¼ tsp fennel seeds, or a couple of allspice seeds instead of clove; add a small pinch of asafoetida or ½ a teaspoon of amchur (dried bitter mango)]
Note on chilli: chilli powder is OK if it's fresh, but I'd recommend either grinding up whole dried ones or finely chopping fresh ones (ditch the seeds: they add heat but not much flavour, so it's better to use a lot without seeds than a little with seeds). Obviously you'll have to vary quantities according to the individual chillies as well as your personal tastes, so get to know your dried ones, or cut a wee piece from a fresh one and taste it before use. Typically, I might use one or two long thin fresh chillies (of either colour), or a couple of dried 'birds eye' ones.
Method
Cut up meat and roll in lemon juice (and salt, if used). Set aside for 20 mins.
Finely grind up whole spices and chop up garlic, ginger etc. Stir spices, garlic, ginger and chillies into yoghurt.
Add meat and residual lemon juice. Stir around, the cover with cling film (unless you want your fridge to stink of chicken tikka) and shove in fridge to marinade.
For cooking, since tandoors are hard to come by, the best option is probably just a hot oven (225C is reasonable), although grilling and the BBQ also work. Put the meat onto skewers, leaving 1-2cm gaps between pieces. Pour over a little left-over marinade, and let the oven work its magic until meat is cooked through but still juicy (NB: for lamb you don't need to be so careful; about 20 minutes) Turn 'em once during this process, and spoon over the last of the marinade at this point.
Serve with whatever you want, but some kind of chutney, either rice or an Indian bread and something green and refreshing (salad or stir-fried veg with a little ginger and lemon juice) is a good mix.
Green Thai Chicken Curry
This is a recipe which I made up at one stage, after Joe telling me about something similar Bu used to make a lot. I have no idea how similar this is to Bu’s original recipe, but it’s a nice variation on the more common Indian and Chinese style curries you tend to get.
There is only one thing to watch out for with this recipe, and that is not to use onions or other pungent veggies, as they completely overpower the other flavours. I never thought it was possible, but this is a curry which is actually very aromatic and full of subtle flavours. Of course, you can always just spice it up to a themo-nuclear curry if that’s your thing, but I wouldn’t bother normally.
I haven’t bothered with quantities for the veggies. Use enough for 4 people, based on whether or not they are salad-dodgers. For a vegetarian dish, use more veggies, and no chicken.
I think this is a curry which calls for wine rather than beer. A good fruity Chardonnay would go well, but a nice crisp Italian would be equally as palatable – JC
Serves:4
Preparation time: 40 mins
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 tblsp plain white flour
1 tin coconut milk
thai green curry paste
kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 stalk lemon grass, finely diced/shredded)
Variety of vegetables (mangetout, baby sweetcorn, small asparagus tips, bell peppers, etc.)
Method
Cut the chicken into thin strips, about 1” to 2” in length, and toss in the flour until lightly coated
Cut the veggies to a similar size (half the mangetout and sweetcorn, and use this as a size guide for everything else!)
Heat a tablespoon of light cooking oil (rapeseed is good) in a wok until very hot (just beginning to smoke, but no more).
Add the chicken and fry quickly to seal it. (At this high heat, if you stop stirring, stuff will burn. You have been warned.)
Add the vegetables and lemon grass, and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring and tossing continuously
Add green curry paste, and quickly stir in to coat the meat and vegetables. (Start with about 3 tsp. You can add more later if its not hot enough.)
Reduce the heat, and add the coconut milk and 3 or 4 kaffir lime leaves.
Allow the whole lot to simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste after about 15 minutes, and stir in more green curry paste if you feel it is necessary.
Serve with perfumed or sticky Thai rice.
Chicken Tikka II
- Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes plus marinading
Ingredients
1 lb chicken cubed
1tsp ginger pulp (i.e. finely chopped)
1sp garlic pulp (1-2 cloves crushed)
¼ tsp tumeric
1tsp chilli powder
¼ pt natural yoghurt (5fl oz)
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp oil
Method
Mix all ingredients except the oil together and leave the chicken to marinade for a minimum of 1-2 hours.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and place the chicken on a tin-foil covered grill pan. Baste with 1 tbsp oil.
Preheat grill to a medium high heat. Grill the chicken for 15-20 min, basting and turning 2-3 times.
Chicken Curry
This is a recipe which has evolved over the years. After leaving college, my spice collection grew, ’cause I wasn’t a poor student any more, and consequentially, I have ended up with something approaching the “traditional” spice mix, but you can omit any of the spices if you don’t have them close to hand.
If you want to make a beef curry out of this, half the turmeric quantity and add in some tomato puree (a dessert spoon or two) instead.
Greek yoghurt is slightly more flavourful than natural, and tends to give a creamier sauce. A really rich alternative is to use ½ yoghurt and ½ cream – my current fave.
If you like fruit in your curry, you can add some raisins or even banana about 10 mins from the end, or when you add the yoghurt/cream if you want the fruit flavours to be more dominant.
The most important thing about this recipe is to never leave Bob near it unattended while you are cooking, unless you intend to try killing or seriously maiming someone from a chilli overdose - especially if their name is James.
This curry goes great with your lager of choice, or with a good fruity white wine. And always remember: drinking water does not make the heat go away - it makes it worse. Alcoholic beverages or milk are your best bets - JC
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 45 mins
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
4 medium or 2 large onions (mild Spanish or white onions work best)
1 or 2 fresh red chillis (deseeded and diced)
½ tspn caradmon powder
½ tspn cumin (ground, or seeds)
1 tspn ground coriander
1 tspn salt
3-4 tspn turmeric
500 ml natural or Greek yoghurt (or 250 ml yoghurt, 250ml cream)
Method
Cut the chicken and onions into squares, about ½” on a side.
Mix all the spices and the chilli in a mortar, and crush into a paste. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, then just don’t use cumin seeds (use powder) and dice the chilli as finely as possible.
Heat some oil in a pan, add the chicken, and fry quickly to seal.
Add the onions and reduce the heat, until the onions are sautéing
Add the spice-mix and stir in, until everything is well coated.
Add a dash of water (about a tablespoon) – this will prevent the yoghurt/cream from curdling when you add it.
Add the yoghurt (and cream if you’re using it), and stir in to let the turmeric colour everything nicely
Allow to simmer for about 20-25 minutes. If the sauce is getting too thick, then add a small quantity of water.
About 5 mins from the end, the flavours will have developed more or less fully. At this point, it is safe to taste and see if anything is missing/overpowering. If there is too much chilli, consider adding some powdered coconut (if you have it handy).
Balti Lamb Tikka
- Paula
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes plus marinading
Ingredients
1 lb lamb
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic pulp
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tbsp lemon juice
6fl oz natural yoghurt.
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 pepper seeded and sliced
3 large chillies left whole
Method
Mix the lamb, cumin, coriander, chilli powder, salt, garlic pulp, garam masala, fresh coriander, lemon juice and yoghurt together and leave to marinade for a minimum of 1-2 hours.
In pan heat the oil. Add the tomato puree, fry for a few seconds and then add the lamb (leaving excess marinade out). Cook for 7-10 minutes till lamb is browned, and cooked. Add the pepper and chillies and heat through. Serve.
Cookies
This cookie recipe can be adapted to suit pretty much any flavour. The dough should be rather stiff and dry – this is good, as the drier it is the crisper the cookies will be - Paula
Makes ~36 cookies
Ingredients
3 oz butter softened
3 oz caster sugar
3 oz brown sugar (I use Demerara)
1 large egg
6 oz self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
Flavouring of choice (see below)
Method
Preheat oven to 190C. Line a baking tin with baking parchment or well greased greaseproof paper.
Cream together the butter and sugars till well mixed. Add the egg to the mixture and sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. The mix should be rather stiff and dry at this stage. Add the flavouring of your choice and mix again. Drop teaspoon full amounts of dough onto the baking sheet and bake for 10-13 mins till golden. Allow to cool on the tin for 1 min before removing to a wire rack (the one from the grill pan will do fine if you have nothing else – just make sure it’s clean) Allow the biscuits to cool fully before packing into an airtight container for storage (if you haven’t eaten them all at this stage.
Note
I always use a large egg for this recipe. If using a smaller egg the mixture may end up too dry, i.e. it will not fully bind together. If you find this is the case even after the flavourings have been added then add a small drop of milk to the mixture.
Flavourings
Chocolate – Add 1 tblsp cocoa powder and 1 tblsp drinking powder to the flour
Chocolate chip – add 4 oz chocolate chips (same for any other type of “chips” – I have used butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips and baby M&M’s which I got in the US)
Chocolate chip with nuts – add 2 oz each chocolate chips and chopped nuts
Lemon – Add juice of ½ and rind of 1 lemon
Lime and white chocolate – Add rind and juice of 1 lime and 4 oz white chocolate chips
Rum and raising – Soak 3 oz raisins in 2 tblsp warmed rum for at least 1 hour before adding to mixture
Vanilla – Add a few drops of vanilla essence and/or replace the caster sugar with vanilla sugar. To make vanilla sugar place 2 vanilla pods in a bag/box of caster sugar and leave sit for at least 1 week before using.
The variations are endless. It’s up to you to decide what your favourites are. Always remember though, the end mixture should be quite dry.
Absurdly Easy Chocolate
Not only is this recipe easy, it also happens to be vegan (no animal products
used). Cake Courtesy of Tom Boutell - Waider
Ingredients
1 ½ cup flour
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
½ tbsp salt
6 t tbsp oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cold water
Method
Mix the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients. Stir until smooth. Bake at 350
degrees for 40 minutes.
Eat.
I would presume this should be cooked in either a greased baking tin or a baking tin lined with baking parchment. As to the size of tin, well I guess that can only be judged from the volume of the mixture. Also the temperature given is in F (about 170 C) - Paula
Black Forest Gateau
Originally from "Nan Nestor". It has since been modified and taken on a distinctly Coleman character. Thanks to Mum for the good tips on "The Science of making Sponge". Basically (I'll get my notes later) - James
Ingredients
6 eggs
6oz caster sugar
6oz flour & cocoa/coco mix
75/100ml water (recommendation from Brenda Costigan's book)
Black cherries or grapes
cherry/cranberry/blackcurrant/apple juice
kirsch/red jamacian rum/bacardi/sherry/wine/cider?
Whipped cream.
Grated chocolate.
Method
Turn on the damn oven. 180 degrees. (I keep on forgetting to do this at this stage.)
Separate the yolks from the whites.
Mix the yolks, sugar, flour & cocoa and water and beat (with a whisk). Really beat the ____ out of it. Get it nice and creamy. When you rub a finger in it and it holds the streak for just a second you're done. (thanks Mum)
Now beat up the egg whites until they're stiff. Fold the eggwhites gently into the other mix and transfer to the baking trays. Into the oven rapido super quick but treat the sponge gently.
Be paranoid and don't open the oven too soon. Don't BANG the oven door - the sponge doesn't like it.
It could be done in 20 minutes, but for 6:6:6 IN TWO BREAD-LOAF TINS it took 35/40 minutes to bake. Less time if the sponge is split into smaller/flatter cakes.
Slice a knife into the sponge. If it comes out clean it's done.
Assembly of Black Forest Gateau:
Seed the grapes and stone the cherries. Mmmmm. Lick each one. (just kidding!) Nice juice :-P''''
Chop the sponge in three thin slices.
Lay the bottom slice on the tray the cake will be served on. This tray is best flat, without edges. (edges interfere with slicing and attachment of grated chocolate).
Pour juice and kirsch/red jamacian rum/bacardi on the sponge. I like to get it really moist ... but this makes sure the slices will never be able to stand up by themselves.
Lay out grapes/cherries on top of the sponge.
Spread a thin layer of cream on top to help the next layer stick.
Lay the next layer of sponge on top of this, soak with juice, pile with grapes and spread with cream as before.
Repeat again but don't put any cream right on the top. If you want to be really fancy heat some juice and thicken it with some cornflour or arrowroot. Pour this syrup on top to make the cherries really Shiny.
The compulsory ASCII barfic diagram:
____________________________ -syrup on top for shine (usually omitted)
cCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCc -layer of cherries only (grapes okay too)
cCSSJSSJSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSCc
cCSSJSSJSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSCc
cCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCc -layer of cream
cCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCc -layer of grapes/cherries
cCSSJSSJSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSCc -layer of juice/rum-soaked sponge
cCSSJSSJSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSCc
cCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCc
cCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCc
cCSSJSSJSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSCc
cCSSJSSJSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSSJSCc
-------------------------------------------
Cream (C) is slathered around the outside.
Grated chocolate (c) is stuck to that all around the edge.
Note
Self raising flour (or flour + baking powder) used mix about 2/3 flour and 1/3 cocoa. Coco makes a the sponge a bit pale but as it's hidden by cream & grape and doused in juice & rum/kirsch/whatever it hardly makes a difference. If using electric whisk much more air is incorporated so they say use normal flour.
Interesting to note the 1egg:1oz ratio. the 6:6:6 is for two bread-loaf sized cakes. Which makes a good amount of gateau - enough for 10/a few more people. The ratio is varied according to cake made and quantity desired. Cooking time will of course then vary ... depending on amount of sponge and size of container.
Tiramisu
No! put me down! roughly translated from the Italian as "Pick me up" - "Tira mi su" due to the caffeine and alcohol content :) Full credit for this excellent dish must go to Lucia and the Italian nation in general - James
Ingredients
Strong coffee (~2 bowls made with a heaped spoon (table) of coffee)
~80g siucra (that’d be sugar)
Finger biscuits/Sponge trifle 200g, 2pkts
Cocoa powder
2 eggs - 2yolks, 1white used
Mascarpone cheese 1pk
2 spoon bacardi rum
Method
Mix siucra and 2 yolks. Beat really hard + for long time until it goes a light colour. Your arm should be falling off now, don't worry >;) there's more beating to come. Add mascarpone and bacardi and mix in.
Beat egg-white hard (again! :( ) until stiff. Have fun persuading your fork to stand up! - If it doesn't say 'ahhh - this forks too thin' and give up :).
Mix above mixtures together to give you some creamy gunk. N.B. fold gently together, do NOT beat.
Mix big spoon of coffee with a bowl of boiling water. Don't SCALD yourself! We don't want any dead flesh in this dish, it's meant to be Vegetarian remember! (not that I can see anything vegtablike about coffee, cake, cheese, eggs, sugar or bacardi!)
Soak each biscuit in the coffee before layering in bottom of dish. Again: don't scald! Only a silly person :) would also dunk their fingers into the boiling coffee! :O if you're using the cake you'd better skip this pre-soak, you don't really want it to disintegrate before it gets to the intended bowl.
When you have a layer use more coffee to soak biscuits/cake thoroughly - they should be squishy to touch (ugh!). Now cover this layer with about half the creamy gunk and smooth it out.
After another layer of soaked biscuits and cream leave in the fridge to recover a while. Sprinkle with the cocoa sometime.
Force yourself and some hapless friends to eat the horrible stuff! :)
The compulsory ASCII barfic diagram:
|_________________________| -sprinkling of coco on top
|CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC|
|CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC| -layer of creamy gunk
|BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB|
|BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB| -layer of coffee-soaked biscuits
|CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC|
|CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC|
|BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB|
|BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB|
+------------------------------------+
Dad’s Brown Bread
This recipe is actually courtesy of my Dad. It is one of the easiest bread recipes to make, and the results are wonderful. It freezes really well too, so instead of actually making it myself I take the lazy option and just raid the freezer most times I’m home – Paula
Makes 4 loaves
Preparation time: 75 mins
Ingredients
4 oz bran
4 oz kibbled wheat (optional)
12 oz plain white flour (sieved)
2 lb brown flour (stoneground)
3 tsp salt (level tsps)
3 tsp bread Soda (heaped tsps)
1 tbsp black molasses or brown sugar (heaped tbsp)
3 pts buttermilk (less if not using kibbled wheat or if required drier)
Sesame seeds (optional)
Method
Mix all ingredients (except sesame seeds) together in a food mixer. Put into four two-pound bread tins. Sprinkle top of mixture with sesame seeds if using and level off.
Place in oven and bake for 15min @ 230oC then 45min @ 200oC in a standard oven - 15min @ 220oC +then 35min @ 190oC in a fan oven. Turn out of tins and allow to cool on a wire rack prior to use.
Skittled Vodka
I'm scared - JC
For your next party
1 bottle vodka
6 packets of skittles.
Method
Open the bottle of vodka
Empty out about 3-4 shots of the vodka into a smaller empty bottle.
Open the first packet of skittles. Remove Green Skittles. Add all other skittles to the large vodka bottle. Repeat for other 5 packets of skittles.
Add all the green skittles to the vodka, which was initially removed.
Leave over night (not in fridge).
Wake up and put bottles in fridge.
Remove bottles from fridge that night - note skittles have completely dissolved - and PARTY!
Result : One bottle of sweet sweet red vodka, which goes down smooth as summer fruit kia-ora (which is what it has been compared to) but is as lethal as they come (because to all intensive purposes it is straight vodka and also because its full of sugar). Also one bottle of green, which tastes quite Lime-y.
Obvious question: why remove the greens? - If you don't you end up with a brown drink which looks mingin' and no-one will drink it.
Rumpot (Rumtopf)
This is makes a wonderful desert, served in little glasses topped with whipped cream, the fruit mixed with some whipped cream makes a wonderful cake filling, and the rum itself tastes wonderful – hot or cold - Paula
Ingredients
Fruit (see notes below on type and preperation)
Sugar (½ lb to each 1 lb fruit)
Rum – your choice whether to use dark or white, I use dark usually as I prefer the flavour, but it does colour the fruit.
Method
This can be made in any jar or pot that has a wide neck. Sterilise the jar and all equipment (I usually soak them in Milton then rinse well in boiling water).
Layer the preparedfruit in the pot. Cover with the rum, ensuring the fruit is completely immersed.
Cover the pot with clingfilm or a loose fitting lid. Air should not be able to get in but similarly if the rumpot should decide to ferment on you the pot could explode it the lid is too tight. Leave in a dark place to mature – at least 3 months, preferably more.
Notes
Suitable fruit for this recipe are firm, soft fleshed fruits as follows: berries (e.g. raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, boysenberries, tayberries, gooseberries); cherries; plums; apricots and currants (black, white or red).
Unsuitable fruit include apples, bananas, peaches, nectarines, and all citrus fruits.
To prepare fruit firstly ensure that only ripe unblemished fruit are used. No damaged or over-ripe fruit should be used as these can spark off fermentation, which you don’t want. Fruit should be carefully washed prior to use.
Place fruit in a bowl and add sugar. To each 1 lb of fruit add ½ lb sugar. Mix, careful not to damage the fruit and allow to sit for ½ hour before adding to the rumpot. I usually process each batch of fruit separately and layer then put the into the pot in layers.
Although nowadays most types of fruits are available all year round this was not always the case. Traditionally the rumpot was added to as different types of fruit came into season and hence the idea of layering the fruit. You can thus make the rumpot all in one go, or by stages if you prefer.
Cherry Brandy
Although technically this recipe is for cherry brandy, the cherries used to produce the brandy taste amazing too. I guess this recipe is adaptable to any type of fruit suitable for a rumpot (see page 81) - Paula
Makes 1 bottle brandy
Ingredients
1 lb cherries
½ lb sugar
1 bottle brandy (I used the cheapest stuff I could find for this)
Method
Sterilise all equipment by soaking in Milton then rinsing with boiling water. To start you will need a largish bowl (big enough for 1 lb cherries), a large jar (big enough to hold all the ingredients), and a spoon. Once the brandy is ready you will need a bottle, a funnel, a spoon and a smaller jar for the cherries.
Ensure fruit are just ripe and undamaged/unblemished. Remove any stalks from the cherries and wash them carefully. Place the cherries in a bowl and carefully mix in the sugar. Leave to sit for ½ hour.
Place the cherries into a large wide-mouthed jar and pour in the brandy. Cover jar with clingfilm and place in a dark place for 3 months.
The brandy can then be strained off and bottled. The cherries may also be packed into a smaller jar and covered with a little of the brandy and kept for use in deserts, cakes etc. or eaten straight away.
Gin and Tonic Sorbet
- Paula
Serves:4
Preparation time 15 mins plus freezing
Ingredients
175g caster sugar
450 ml water stirring constantly
Juice and rind of 2 limes
450ml tonic water
6 tbsp gin
Method
In a saucepan over medium heat dissolve the sugar in the water. Add the lime rind and juice and bring the mix to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes or until 110 C / 225 F. Cool and strain the liquid if you want to remove the lime. Add in the gin and tonic.
Freeze, stirring (well beat up really) a couple of times as it gets slushy to prevent ice crystals forming. Enjoy
The Can’t Cook Won't Cook Cookie
Ok, these are quick and easy hash munchies. 'Ware the hash munchies, it can become a downward spiral. You know the scenario, eat a fresh cookie, yum. 30 min later you feel peckish, and what do you find in the kitchen but fresh baked cookies, yum. that's when it starts getting messy - Tim
Ingredients
1 tub of Pillsbury dough boy chocolate chip cookie dough
a tenth to eighth.
also needs an oven, a baking tray and for garnish assorted food colourings and a small brush.
Method
Pre-crumble the magic ingredient. Remove the dough from the tub. Mix in the magic ingredient (I had to use a flowered board and kneed it in). Prepare the cookies as per the instructions - simple as place on the baking tray if I remember correctly.
Place in oven, cook until golden.
While cooling you can add the garnish by painting silly smiley faces or slogans in assorted colours on the cookies. I prefer smileys myself. This also has the added bonus of differentiating them from normal ones if you want to hide them in plain sight.
Note
If using the cookie recipe on page 75 then simply melt ½ oz of the butter and mix in the precrumbled magic ingredient. Mix this butter back in with the remaining butter and make the recipe as normal.
Quick and Simple Magic Mega Munchies
These are especially good for long train/bus journeys - Tim
Ingredients
1 packet of munchies (Cadburys chocolate)
magic ingredient to taste
Method
Put the munchies in the fridge until solid cold. Take a sharp knife and chop off the caramel tops. Sprinkle with magic ingredient.
If necessary make a little hollow in the caramel.
Put the munchies back together and allow to warm up to let the chocolate bind together properly.
Place them back in packet for ease of use.
Note
The principle applies to any chocolate bar really
Index
I had great intentions at the beginning of alphabetising and cross referencing this index, but then I got a bit lazy so I have ended up listing the recipes in the order in which they appear in each of the chapters, and after that you’re on your own.
Soups, Starters and Munchies
Guacamole 4
Cliffy's "Toad in the Hole" Special ..... 4
Avocado Starter with Sauce Vinaigrette 6
Hash Browns 6
Genuine Aussie Fruit Smoothie 7
Bacon & Cheese Bites 8
Hummus 9
Hummus (II) 9
Tahina 10
Marmite Cheesy Toast Experience 11
Fried Ham and Cheese Sandwich 11
Student Surprise 12
Peanut Butter Pita 13
Garlic Mushrooms 13
Beefsteak Tartare 14
Soups and Sauces
Thai Pumpkin Soup 15
Tuna & Sweetcorn Bisque 15
Basic Tomato Sauce 17
Chicken Soup 17
Carrot and Orange Soup 19
French Salad Dressing 19
Grazer Pumpkin Soup 20
Salad Sauce á la Anita 21
Mediterranean Marinade 21
Meat, Poultry and Game
Bren's Beef on Noodles 23
Irish Harp Stew for St.Patrick's Day 23
Paprika Pork with Porcini Mushroom Stuffing 24
Picata alla Milanaise 25
Mustard Vinegar Chicken with Spring Onion Mash and Baby 26
Carrots
Chicken Fart-Eaters (Fajitas ?) 27
Venison Drowned in Red Wine 28
Pseudo-Caribbean Blackened Chicken 30
Pesto Chicken 31
Laotian Crack 32
Chicken in Honey and Thyme 33
Duck with Rice and Mint 34
Slightly Cheezy Pesto Stir-Fry 36
Chicken with Pesto 37
Creole Pork Casserole 38
Grenadian Chicken With Mace 39
Chicken Valencia with Pine Nuts 40
Stuffed Peppers á la Omi 40
Fish
Fish Ambot Tik (Fish in a Hot and Sour Sauce) 42
Goan Baked Fish 43
Vegetable Dishes and Salads
Salsa Rice Bean Dish 45
Fried Courgettes w. Garlic & Lemon 45
Australian Salad 46
Lemon Ginger Noodle Salad 47
Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables 47
Spiced Carrots 48
Roasted Vine Tomatoes with Garlic 49
Mango and Avocado Salad 50
Pink Grapefruit and Courgette Salad 50
Carrots in Gin 51
Vegetables with White Balsamic Vinegar 51
Spuds, Rice and Pasta
Aloo Sag a la Chop 53
Baby Potatoes with Chilli and Orange Butter 53
Sour Marjoram Potatoes 54
Roman-Thai Veggie Fried Rice 55
Curried Potatoes 56
Waider's Goddamn I'm So Lazy Special Fried Rice 57
Chopper's Fabulously Yummy and Really Simple Basil & Tomato 58
New Potato Stuff
Spaghetti alla Carbonara 59
Risotto is Yummy 60
Saffron and Cardamon Rice 62
Pullao Rice 62
Berner Rösti 63
Asparagus Risotto with Champagne 64
Curry
Curry Powder 65
Curry Paste 66
Green Curry Paste 66
Variations on the Curry Theme 67
Chicken Tikka 68
Green Thai Chicken Curry 69
Chicken Tikka II 70
Chicken Curry 71
Balti Lamb Tikka 72
Baking
Cookies 74
Absurdly Easy Chocolate 75
Black Forest Gateau 76
Tiramisu 78
Dad’s Brown Bread 79
And Don’t Forget The Drinks…
Skittled Vodka 80
Rumpot (Rumtopf) 80
Cherry Brandy 81
Gin and Tonic Sorbet 82
…Or The Magic Ingredient
The Can’t Cook Won't Cook Cookie 83
Quick and Simple Magic Mega Munchies 83
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