Beast from the East Stew

Where is all this snow coming from? We need another cold weather warmer now. Bring in the stew

Serves 6-8

750g Stewing Beef

75g Plain Flour

250g Chestnut Mushrooms, quartered

1 Large Onion, chopped

1.25l Beef Stock

1 Sweede, Chopped

1 Turnip, chopped

1 tbsp Tomato Puree

2 tsp Dried Rosemary

2 tsp Dried Parsley

2, Garlic Cloves, crushed

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

Couple of Shakes of Worcestershire Sauce

250ml Glass of Red Wine

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

1. In a freezer bag add the flour, salt and Pepper and the beef. Close up the bag and give a shake until the beef is coated. In a frying pan add the olive oil and heat over a medium heat and add the beef in batches. Cook the beef until it has browned. Put aside for later. 

2. In the frying pan add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Fry for 2-3 minutes until onions have softened. Add more olive oil if not much oil in pan. 

3. In a slow cooker add the beef, onion, garlic, mushrooms and rest of the ingredients. Give this a good mix.

Leave for the following:

- Low - 7 - 8 Hours
- Medium -  5 - 6 Hours
- High - 3 - 4 Hours

4. Serve with mash and carrots

Glamorgan Sausages (V)

These are very tasty. Vegetarians Approved and Meat Eater Approved. This is a recipe originating from Wales (Glamorgan in particular). These would be ideal with a nut roast (plugging).

Makes 6 - 8 Sausages

1 Medium Leek, sliced

160g Breadcrumbs (80g to coat, 80g for the sausage)

1 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Parsley

½ tsp Mustard Powder

2 Eggs (1 for Sausage, 1 for Coating)

Salt and Pepper

125g Caerphilly Cheese, grated

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

4 tbsp Plain Flour

Knob of Butter

1. Preheat the oven to 200c/180s fan assisted. Melt a know of butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and leek to the frying pan. Cook until softened. Allow to cool. 

2. In a mixing bowl. Add 80g of breadcrumbs, thyme, parsley, mustard powder, 1 egg, Caerphilly cheese and the leek & garlic with salt and pepper, give a good mix. Shape into sausages. Then put on a plate and put in fridge for ½ an hour.

3. Place whisked egg, breadcrumbs and flour on individual plates. Take Each sausage and coat with the flour, egg and breadcrumbs (in that order). Then place on a baking tray and put in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the breadcrumbs are a golden colour.

Garlic Flatbread (V)

Who doesn't love garlic bread? If someone says they don't they are either lying or they are people you shouldn't associate with. Or you could tempt them with this recipe

Makes 1 (Can serve 2)

100g Plain Flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp Dried Yeast
1 tsp Salt
75ml Lukewarm Water
Olive Oil

25g Salted Butter, at room temperature
1/2 a Bulb of Garlic
A few Parsley Leaves, roughly chopped

1. Put the oven on 200c/180c fan assisted. Wrap the garlic bulb in tin foil and put in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

2. Mix the plain flour, dried yeast and salt. Make a well in the centre. Then add the lukewarm in the centre and mix, You should be able to form a ball shape. If too dry add more water, if too wet add more flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Then in a bowl rub olive oil around the bowl and add the dough and cling film. Leave to prove for 45 minutes - 1 hour. It should double in size.

3. While the dough is proving make the garlic butter. The garlic will be soft and can be pushed out of the cloves into a bowl. Mix with the butter and parsley. Season.

4. Once proved knead a bit to push out the air. Then roll thinly but don't let the dough rip. Then spread the garlic butter on top. But on a tray in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes. Serve as a side dish.

Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom Risotto

Midweek meal. Jam packed risotto with a huge amount of flavour

Serves 4-6

Knob of Butter
1 Onion, diced
2-3 Chicken Breasts, diced
200g Chestnut Mushroom, cut into quarters then in half
100g Smoked Bacon Lardons
150ml White Wine
1.4l Chicken Stock
25g Parmigiano Reggiano
250g Arborio Risotto
Handful Parsley, chopped
1 Carrot, peeled and diced into cubes

1. Melt the butter in a pan and fry the chicken until cooked all the way through. Remove and put on a plate with kitchen roll to dab the excess fat. Then fry the bacon for 2- 4 minutes. Then remove this from the pan and put on kitchen roll.

2. With the juices and remaining butter in the pan, add the carrots and onion and fry til softened (couple of minutes). Add the risotto rice and allow to fry for a minute. Add the white wine and stir. Allow to reduce. Then add 2 ladles of stock and stir. Allow to reduce before adding another ladle of stock. Continue until out of stock. Keep stirring so risotto doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. 

3. When there is no more stock add the chicken, mushrooms, bacon, Parmigiano Reggiano and parsley to pan. Serve with extra cheese and parsley.

Dough Balls and Garlic Butter (V)

A good side or starter. Got the idea from having them from a packet by a famous restaurant chain (you know the one).

Makes 20 Balls

Dough Balls
500g Strong White Flour, plus extra for dusting
1tsp Yeast
1 tsp Caster Sugar
1½ tsp Salt 
300ml Warm Water
1 - 2 tbsp Olive Oil

Garlic Butter
100g Salted Butter
Handful of Chopped Parsley
2 Large Garlic Cloves, crushed

1. For the dough balls in a large bowl mix the flour, salt, sugar, yeast. Then make a well in the bowl and pour the water and give a good mix. It should stick together. If too wet add flour and if it isn't combining add a bit more water. 

2. Take out of the bowl and dust a work surface with flour and knead for 10 minutes (gives those shoulders a workout).

3. Clean the bowl and cover the bowl with olive oil by rubbing it to the side. Add the dough to the bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove for an hour or until it doubles in size.

4. Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan assisted. While the bread proves, mix the butter, garlic and parsley together in a ramekin.

5. Put greaseproof paper on baking trays. Take the dough give a final knead and split into 20 balls (roll between your hands to get the shape). Then put in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Serve Warm.

Prawn and Pea Linguine

Think this is a simple but tasty dish. Had a craving for prawns and was part of a deal so plus on the tasty side and money side.

Serves 2

200g Linguine

185g King Prawn

1 / 2 Cloves Garlic, crushed

Half a small glass of white wine

Handful of Parsley, chopped 

Small Onion, finely diced

4 tbsp Double Cream

Mug of Frozen Peas

Olive Oil

1. Boil water in a medium sized pan. Put the linguine in and allow to cook according to the pack.

2. While the pasta is cooking heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the garlic and onions for 2 minutes. Then add the prawns to the pan and cook thoroughly (they should be pink coloured). Then add the lemon juice and white wine. Allow it to reduce a bit. 

3. Before the pasta is cooked, add the peas to the pan. Once peas have been cooked drain and return to pan. 

4. Add the double cream to the frying pan. Heat through for a minute on a medium heat. Then tip the sauce into the pan with the pasta and add half the parsley. Season to taste and give a final stir. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley.

Movember 4 Course - Fish Course - Moussels in Creamy Cider

This week is the fish course. I am a huge fan of mussels but they take a bit of work to clean but once you have finished making them and start eating, it makes it all worthwhile.

Serves 2

1kg Mussels
2 Cloves of Garlic, diced
4 shallots, sliced
150ml Cider
100ml Double Cream
Flat Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped
Knob of Butter

Crusty Bread, to serve

Mussel Prep

1. Give the mussels a quick rinse with cold water

2. When taking a mussel if its open give it a tap with a knife or a surface, if it closes then it's fine to prepare. If it doesn't then you need to throw it away as the mussel is dead. Also if you find any mussels with a broken shell then discard them too.

3. Take a sharp knife knife and scrape off the barnacles (they are these white hard spots on the shell).

4. Then pull off the beard off the mussel. Use the knife if they are tough to remove (it is the brown/black hairy thing near the hinge of the mussel).

5. Repeat steps 2-4 with each mussel. Not all mussel will have barnacles or beards.

Cooking

1. Use a large pan and melt the melt butter and cook the garlic and shallots for 1-2 minutes until softened.

2. Then add the mussels to the pan and pour in the cider and give a quick stir. Place the lid of the pan and steam for about 5 minutes. The shells should have opened.

3. Add the cream and parsley and heat through for a couple of minutes.

4. Serve immediately with crusty bread. Have another bowl for the shells.

Tip

With the mussels they need to alive when you cook them for the best flavour. So that most of the mussels are alive when you prepare them put them in the fridge with a damp flannel over them. This gives them the moisture they need.

This is the fish course for my 4 Course Movember meal please please please donate to the cause :

Movember Donation Page

Parsley Sauce (V)

A new recipe for a new year. So here it is, a great accompaniment with fish, ham or gammon.

Serves 350ml Delicious Parsley Sauce

50g Unsalted Butter
3 heaped tbsp Plain Flour
Good Handful of Fresh Parsley, chopped up
Salt and Pepper
250ml/300ml Whole Milk

1. Get a pan and melt the butter.

2.  When the butter has melted in the pan add the flour one tbsp at a time. Stir in thoroughly.

3. Gradually add the milk (by about 50ml at a time) to the pan and stir into the butter/flour mix.

4. Once it has add combined add the chopped up parsley to the white sauce. Stir in. Taste. Season to taste. Serve.

Tip: For a creamier taste use cream instead of milk

French Onion Soup (V)

Something nice and warm after you have been out Christmas shopping. Cheap to make and fairly healthy

50g Butter
3 Large Onions, finely sliced
6 Shallots, finely sliced
Shake of Worcestershire Sauce
2 Glasses of Red Wine
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp Thyme
1 litre Vegetable Stock
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

Garlic Croutons
1 Baguette, cut into slices
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
50g Butter
100g Gruyère , grated
Handful of Parsely, chopped

1. Preheat the grill to a medium heat.

2. Heat the butter in a large pan and gently cook the onions, shallots and garlic until softened. This should roughly take about 10 minutes over a low heat. 

3.  Increase the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes, until the onion becomes dark golden, sticky and caramelised, stirring now and again to stop it catching. 

4. Add the wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add the stock, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce and thyme and bring to the boil. Taste and Season. Simmer for 10 minutes.

5. While the soup is simmering, prepare the croutons. Mix the garlic, butter and parsley together. Spread on the bread and put under the grill for 2 minutes. Once the butter has melted over the bread and it's beginning to toast put the cheese over it and put under the grill for a further 3 minutes. 

6. Pour the soup in the bowls, top with a giant garlic crouton.

Tip: Want help cutting up your fresh herbs. Heres what I use:

Mushroom Stroganoff (V)

A variation of the Russian classic, Mushroom Stroganoff is creamy and tasty. Perfect with either Tagliatelle or rice.

Serves 4

250g Flatcap Mushrooms, sliced

250g Chestnut Mushrooms, quatered

1 Small Glass of White Wine

1 Onion, finely sliced

2 Garlic Clove, crushed

2 tsp French Mustard

2 tsp Paprika

Handful of Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

200ml Double Cream

300g Tagilatelie or Rice

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Shake of Worcestershire Sauce

Squirt of Lemon Juice

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil and boil the paste or rice for the instructed time.

2. While the pasta/rice is boiling, get a large frying pan and heat olive oil in the pan. Add the onions and garlic, fry until softened. Add the mushrooms and paprika and fry for 5 minutes.

3. Add the cream, wine, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and French mustard to the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Season to taste and add the parsley to the pan for 30 seconds while stirring. 

4. Drain the pasta/rice from the pan, serve onto the plate and add the sauce on top. Serve.

Tip: If the sauce hasn't thickened, get a teaspoon of cornflour and put it into a glass and mix with a dash of water. Add to the pan, leave for a couple of minutes and the sauce should thicken.

Prawn Cocktail

A classic starter which originated in the 1970s and in my own opinion is a timeless classic. Quick and easy to make and is a real crowd pleaser.

Serves 2

4 Tiger Prawns
175g King Prawns
Knob of Butter
1 tsp Parsley (Dried or Fresh)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Little Gem lettuces, washed and torn
2 tsp Paprika

Thousand Island Dressing
5 tbsp Mayonnaise
5 tbsp Tomato Sauce
2 tsp Lemon Juice
Shake of Tabasco (optional)
Shake of Worcestershire Sauce
Pepper
Salt

1. Fry the butter in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and the tiger prawns and fry until the prawns go bright red.

2. Make the Thousand Island dressing by adding all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the king prawns and mix further.

3. Get a large wine glass (suggested size seen below), and place 1 little gems worth of lettuce in each glass, add the prawn/thousand island mixture on top of that. Add a tsp of paprika on top of the mixture for each glass. On the side of the glass add the tiger prawns. Serve with brown bread and a side plate to put the discarded shells.



Tip
You will need a large wine glass so that you can get the food out. A wine glass which can hold half a bottle or more is ideal. And when you aren't serving prawn cocktail from them, they make great drinking companions.

Kedgeree

An indian dish with lots of interesting thing in it. Tweaked the original recipe a bit but tastes fantastic.

Serves 4

600g Smoked Haddock

50g Butter

1 onion, finely diced

1 cup of Frozen Peas

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Ground Coriander

2 tsp Curry Powder (Medium or Hot)

2 Green Chillies, finely sliced

1 cup of Basmati Rice

700ml Fish/Vegetable Stock

1 Cinnamon Stick

100ml Double Cream

3 Hard Boiled Eggs, cut into wedges

2 tbsp Fresh Parsley

2 tbsp Flat Leaf Coriander 

1. Poach the haddock in a shallow frying pan, skin facing up, cover with boiling water and simmer fot about 10 minutes.

2. Drain the fish and pat dry the fish with paper towels. Remove the skin and flake the fish into bite size chunks and put aside.

3. Heat the butter in a large pan and add the onion. Fry until golden then add the curry powder, cumin, ground coriander and chilli. Stir for about a minute.

4. Add the rice and stir well. Add the stock to the pan with the cinnamon stick.  Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

5. Remove the cinnamon stick from the pan and stir in the haddock, egg and herbs to the pan. Season and serve.

Lemon and Prawn Pasta

A quick midweek meal which is easy on the wallet and the stomach.

Serves 2

150g Linguine

Small Carton of Double Cream

100g Frozen Peas

Handful of Parsley

1 Lemon

200g Prawns

Parmesan, grated

1 Egg Yolk

Salt and Pepper

1. Put the pasta in a pan and boil according to the instructions.

2. In a bowl put the egg yolk, zest and juice on a lemon, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well.

3. A few minutes before the pasta is cooked, add the prawns and peas to the pan. Drain the water and put pasta, prawns and peas back in the pan. Put the sauce in the pan and mix over a low heat for about a minutes. Serve with parmesan on top. 

Couscous Centred Chicken

So haven't posted much recently. Since its summer, going to start putting picnic style food. However if you are facing the British weather, just as nice eating the food inside. Have these by themselves or in a sandwich.

Serves 4

2 Chicken Breasts

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

Handful of pine nuts

Handful of Parsley, chopped

1 tbsp Mint, chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

50g Butter

50g Couscous

200ml Chicken Stock

Pack of Streaky Bacon

75g Dried Apricots, chopped

1. Add the boiling chicken stock to a bowl with couscous. Leave for 10 minutes.

2. Lay out some tin foil and place the steak bacon on it. Flatten the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of cling film.  Lay this in the centre of the bacon.

3. Fry the onion and garlic in butter in a frying pan until softened. 

4. Once the couscous has soaked up the stock, add the lemon juice, onions, garlic, pine nuts, apricots, bit of butter, mint and parsely to the bowl. Mix well.

5. Put the mixture onto the chicken. Wrap the chicken around the couscous, then the bacon and then the foil tightly around the whole thing. Keep refrigerated overnight.

6. Preheat the oven to 160c Fan assisted/180c.

7. Cook in the foil for 30 minutes. Take out of the foil and cook for further 30 minutes. Let it cool and cut into slices. Serve.

Homemade Baked Beans & Garlic Bread

A twist on the classic student meal.

Serves 4

3 tbps Tomato Purée

A couple of shakes of Worcestershire Sauce

3/4 Rashers of Bacon
250ml Vegetable Stock

1 Can of Canellini Beans

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, crushed
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 Red Chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp of Brown Sugar
1 tbps Mustard
Vegetable Oil

Garlic Bread
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
Butter
French Baguette
Parsley, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the grill (or use a griddle pan).Put oil in a large pan. Fry the bacon for about 5 minutes. Then  add the onions, garlic, chilli, pepper and fry for a further 3 minutes.

2. Add the stock, tomato purée, Worcestershire to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer and add the mustard and brown sugar. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add the beans. Keep on the heat for a further 5 minutes. Season if needed.

3. While the beans are being cooked, make the garlic bread. Slice the garlic bread and place under the grill or on a griddle pan. Mix the butter, garlic and parsley together. Once the bread is toasted put the butter mixture on the toast and put under the grill for less than a minute. Serve

Calzone

Essentially a pizza folded in half. Fill it with anything you want. Can make it really meaty with pepperoni, sausage, pork, beef etc. Go veggie, with peppers, onions, sweetcorn etc. Or have a bit of everything

Ingredients

Serves: 4

Dough

250g Strong White Flour, shifted

Sachet of Yeast (7g)

Pinch of Salt

Splash of Olive Oil
125ml of Milk
75ml Water

Filling

1 Onion, sliced finely

Ingredients for the Dough

1 Pepper (Red or Green)

Black Olives, halved

Pepperoni

Ham, cut into pieces

Cooked chicken, cut into chunks.

Mozzarella Ball, cut into slices
Mushrooms, sliced
200ml Passata

40g Butter
2 Garlic Cloves
Parsley



1. To make the dough, you put the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the milk, water, salt and yeast to the bowl and mix together. Once combined begin to knead the dough for about 5 minutes

2. Add the olive oil and knead the dough for a further 5 minutes. Leave in a warm place for a couple of hours.

3. Preheat the oven for 220c/200c fan assisted.

4. Fry the pepper, onion and mushrooms in a pan. Put in a large bowl and add the other filling ingredients to the bowl, apart from the mozzarella. Mix well.

5. For the garlic butter, put the butter in a bowl and microwave. Fry the garlic. Add the garlic and parsley to the butter and stir.

6. Get the dough and separate into 4 pieces. Put the dough onto a floured surface and roll into circles.

7. Add the filling in the centre of the dough, then place the mozzarella on top.

8. Fold the dough over the filling and brush the edges with the butter to seal. Then brush a bit on the top.

9. Put on a baking tray with greaseproof paper on it. Put in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Serve

Salmon and Asparagus Pasta (With a Kick)

One of the first few things I have ever cooked. It has been changed a fair bit but still tastes great and fills you up.

Serving Suggestion 4

Pack of Smoked Salmon, cut into pieces
Bunch of asparagus, chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
4 Shots of vodka
Half a lemon, juice and rind
4 tablespoons of crème Fraiche
Parsley, roughly chopped
Tagilatelle (enough for four)
Salt and Pepper

1. For the sauce fry the chopped onions in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Boil another pan with water and add the tagilatelle, then after a few minutes add the asparagus.

2. Once the onions are soft add the smoked salmon.

3. Add the crème fraiche and vodka to the pan. If too thick add more vodka or a bit of the pasta water. If too thin add more of the crème fraiche. Add the lemon rind and juice and chopped parsley. Heat through

4. Drain the pasta and asparagus and mix the sauce in. Serve.

Salmon Fishcakes

An easy recipe that tastes nice and doesn't burn a hole in your wallet.

Serves: 4 /Makes about 8 fishcakes

300g Potatoes (Maris Piper preferably)
1x Can Red Salmon
Pepper
1 Lemon (Juice and Rind)
Butter
Parsley
Bit of Beaten Egg

To Coat the Fish cakes
White Flour
Bit of Beaten Egg
Breadcrumbs (About 3 slices of white bread blitzed in a blender)

1. Boil the potatoes until soft enough to mash

     2.  Add the mash to the mixing bowl with the salmon, black pepper, lemon juice, lemon rind, a bit of butter and parsley.

    3.   Stir the mixture while adding the egg so that it binds together.

    4.   Pick up a bit of the mixture and shape into a cake (Making sure it isn't too thick so that it doesn't  break apart when cooking). Dip the cake in flour, egg and then the breadcrumbs.

    5. Fry one one side for a few minutes. Flip and fry for a few minutes. It should be golden on both sides

Serving Suggestions: Veg and Tartar Sauce