Lockdown

One would have thought I'd have time to update my blog more often while working from home. How wrong of me to think that as I have never been busier!

I have been cooking and writing my recipes however its been one thing or another that has stopped me from being more active here. So here are a curry recipe to try....let me know what you think!

Spicy Beef & Mushroom curry

This curry is a mixture of a whole load of spices but really worth it for the earthy flavours and still easy to make. Cook in low heat for an hour to develop flavours and the end result will me a tender beef curry that will melt in the mouth. This curry is even better the next day!

Serves 2

Prep & Cook one hour plus

Ingredients

500g beef cubes

1 large onion cut into small cubes

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup hot water

6 medium mushrooms sliced

6 cherry tomatoes halved

1/2 cup fresh chopped coriander

1 tbsp garlic & ginger paste

1 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 tsp sea salt

 

spice mix

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp pomegranate powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp tamarind powder

1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves

1 tsp dried mint leaves

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground pepper

 

Method

heat oil in a large pan and cook onions until they turn dark brown

add garlic and ginger paste and stir for a couple of minutes

add beef and cook for another 5 minutes turning the mix to get even colouring on the meat

add a splash of water if the mix becomes too dry then add the spice mix and cook for 3-4 minutes

mix in tomato puree, salt and hot water then add mushrooms, cherry tomato & coriander

bring to the boil then reduce to the lowest heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour

serve with rice, bread and salad

Summer Nights and Light Bites

It’s all about colour! I work with a mixture of leaves, grated root vegetables, grains, lots of herbs, fruity (nectarines, strawberries & grapes work well) & tangy flavours, and a bit of spice to liven things up! 

My sister, Saira, has contributed some of the inspiration behind the recipes and passed on the tantalising photographs to accompany them! Thank you Sis!

Make a picnic with cold meats, cheeses, freshly baked breads, crunchy salads with simple dressings, all to go with your favourite cool drinks! 

 

Avocado & Goats Cheese

Light and fuss free salad that can be had any time of the year. It’s a mix of sliced avocado, edamame beans, pineapple chunks, sliced courgette & cucumber & sweetcorn. Grill the goat’s cheese and serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with mustard seeds.

Spicy Couscous Salad

Prepare couscous (plain or flavoured) according to cooking instructions and mix with thinly sliced lettuce, parsley & coriander. Top with red chillies. If using plain couscous, use vegetable stock to add flavour. I use a light dressing made with wholegrain mustard, lemon juice and white wine vinegar. Add the dressing just before eating to give a crunchy and zingy taste.

Griddled Courgette Slice

Courgettes are one of my favourite vegetables and I often use them in salads either raw or in this case griddled. Lightly oil a griddle pan and cook on high heat thinly sliced courgettes until each side is seared, about 1-2 minutes. Top with stir fried butter beans & cherry tomatoes in a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Drizzle tahini and add lots of chopped parsley for extra crunch.

Feta Cheese and Chicken bites

When it’s too hot to have a big meal, I like to make a big bowl of salad made up of baby leaves, tomatoes, pea shoots, spring onions, cooked mushrooms and any other vegetable that takes my fancy! To make it a substantial meal I add chicken bites (stir fried with a little vinegar & olive oil and seasoned with mustard & pepper). Cheeses like feta & halloumi go well with salad greens. To add another taste element, make a quick pickle of sliced red onions soaked in pickling vinegar, lemon juice and wholegrain mustard. Yummy!

Dressings for salads, soups, cold and BBQ meats

·      Add 1 cup Greek yoghurt, small bunch flat leaf parsley, few sprigs lemon thyme, 2 tbsp lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt & pepper.

·      Put 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard, juice of half a lemon, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp chilli flakes and ¼ cup malt vinegar in a clean jar. Put the lid on tight and give the mix a good shake before using.

·      Blend 2 cups rocket, ½ cup walnuts, 1 cup white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp sumac into a thick paste in a blender.

·      Dry fry assorted seeds like mustard, sesame, sunflower etc in a frying pan and once cooled mix with balsamic vinegar. For a little kick add freshly sliced chillies.

Slow cooker Pulled Pork

I normally put the pork in the slow cooker first thing in the morning on the lowest setting and forget about it until later in the afternoon when the meat is tender and house full of lovely aromas. 

Ingredients

1 small piece shoulder of pork (fat removed)

1 bottle cider

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp dark brown sugar

½ pint chicken stock

Method

·      Add the pork shoulder in the slow cooker after searing on all side in a frying pan

·      Mix all the ingredients together and pour over the shoulder joint

·      Cover and put it on the lowest setting to cook for 6-8 hours

·      Check after 5 hours and adjust setting to high if there is a lot of liquid left.

·      Once cooked shred with 2 forks and serve with salad or homemade chips

 

Roasted Vegetable Frittata – 6 portions

When I don’t have time, I just use frozen roasted vegetables & sweet peppers in brine but any leftover vegetables at home can be added to this versatile frittata. If there are any pickled onions going spare add them in – the more the merrier!

Ingredients

6 eggs

Splash of milk

1 bowl roasted vegetables (stir fry mix works too)

6-8 cherry tomatoes halved

Handful fresh spinach roughly torn

100g grated cheddar

Method

·      Pre-heat oven to 180* and lightly grease a 9” ceramic dish
·      Lightly whisk eggs with milk and season with salt & pepper
·      Mix cherry tomatoes and spinach with roasted vegetables, cheese and egg in a large bowl and pour everything into the dish
·      Bake for 30-40 minutes on middle shelf checking after 25 minutes.

2 egg Salad Omelette

Mix a handful of pea shoots, 4 cherry tomatoes halved, chilli flakes with eggs and a dash of milk. Season to taste and cook the egg mixture on medium heat. Once both sides are cooked, sprinkle tbsp mozzarella and serve with a mixed salad. For something a bit more substantial, put the omelette in a wrap and have it with a crunchy side salad. 

 

Harissa Prawns with noodles

Marinate 300g King Prawns in 1 tbsp Harissa paste, 1 tsp garlic paste and ½ tsp ginger paste. Add 1 tsp vegetable oil and when hot stir fry marinated prawns until cooked. Squeeze juice of half a lemon & serve with cooked noodles

Comfort food

Apologies I have been very lazy with posting my recipes - I have written a few but not got around to posting them on site. So here goes....the ones below appeared in the local magazine (Teesdale Mercury) in March 2020...Enjoy!

The humble crumble

They are the easiest things to make and I am always experimenting with the crumble topping to give some variety.

This is a crumble recipe using fruit & nut muesli. Mix all the ingredients and blend in a grinder to get a combination of grainy and chunky topping.

The ingredients below will yield 1 cup crumble mix enough to make crumble for 4 people.

·      ¾ cup mixed muesli with fruit & nut clusters

·      ½ cup almonds

·      1 tsp butter

·      1 tsp dark brown sugar

·      ¼ tsp cinnamon

The baked end result is a gooey, crunchy and caramelised topping which is not too sweet and has just a hint of cinnamon to tantalise any taste bud. Spread over fruit of choice with orange juice and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the crumble is bubbling.

Sweet & Sharp yoghurt

I love yoghurt, sharp coulis and acidic jellies so I made this concoction which turned out to be quite pleasant!

Mix 1 cup of fat free Greek yoghurt with 2 tbsp sharp coulis like blackcurrant. Add ¼ boiling water to a sachet of orange jelly, cool for 5 minutes then pour over all yoghurt mix reserving ¼ cup of jelly. Whisk yoghurt & jelly until smooth and pour in a container (big enough to get 4 portions) and leave in fridge for 10 minutes. Pour the reserved jelly on top and chill for 2-3 hours before serving.

Coconut & Orange sponge

I use thick cut orange marmalade in the sponge mix which gives it a zingy flavour. Instead of a jam topping I put a layer of sharp coulis or lemon curd on top then sprinkle with coconut. It can be had cold with cream or warmed up with custard. Delightful!

Makes a large tray bake and can yield from 12-24 slices based on how generous or stingy you want to be!

Prep: 15 minutes        Cook: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

230g butter

220g sugar

230g self-raising flour

3 medium eggs

2 heaped tbsp orange marmalade

150ml milk

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp grated coconut

Topping

½ cup blackcurrant coulis

½ cup grated coconut

Method

·      Preheat oven to 180*C and butter and line a large baking tray with baking paper

·      Put all the cake ingredients apart from coconut in a large bowl and whisk until everything is blended will.

·      Add coconut, mix well then pour in baking tray. Level the batter and put in oven for 30 minutes turning the tray around halfway.

·      Check after 30 minutes – when the sponge springs back on touching it is cooked.

·      Let sit for 5 minutes then pour over coulis and spread all over the cake. Sprinkle grated coconut after 20 minutes as the cake will have cooled down a bit.

Chickpea flour and banana choc chip tray bake

I was looking for a gluten free recipe for a friend as I had some bananas to use up. This is what I came up with after getting some online inspiration!

Prep: 10 minutes        Cook 40-50 minutes   Serves 12 generous portions

Ingredients

1 cup chickpea flour

1 cup rice flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

5 very ripe bananas mashed

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

2 large eggs

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 ½ tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup dark choc chip

Method

·      Pre heat oven to 180*C and grease and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

·      Mix everything apart from choc chips with a whisk then stir in the chocolate chips and pour mix in baking tray.

·      Bake for 40 minutes turning the tray after 20 minutes.

·      Cake is cooked once a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

·      Serve warm with ice cream or custard.

Chickpea Curry

I have made this curry before however I made the current recipe with some tweaks and this version got the thumbs up!

I prefer to soak dry chickpeas overnight then cook them rather than use tinned ones as the taste is definitely sweeter when made fresh. After the chickpeas have been cooked – about 30 minutes – the curry is assembled and dish ready in 20-30 minutes tops.

Serves 4          Prep time: 10 minute plus soaking overnight            Cook time 1 hour

Ingredients

2 cups chickpeas soaked in cold water overnight

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium red onion chopped

1 tbsp garlic & ginger paste

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

¼ tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 x vegetable stock pot

500g tomato passata

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves

2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

·      Cook chickpeas until tender – drain liquid and keep to one side

·      In a medium sized pan, heat olive oil and cook onion until dark brown

·      Add garlic/ginger paste, stir for 10 seconds then add cumin, coriander and chilli powder, adding a splash of water if the mix gets too dry while cooking

·      Add tomato puree and vegetable stock then pour over the passata

·      Let the stock pot dissolve in passata stirring all the time then add the chickpeas and stir to combine

·      Add vinegar, increase heat until the liquid is boiling

·      Add fenugreek leaves, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes

·      Add lemon juice, simmer for another 5 minutes and serve with garlic rice

Note: Quick garlic rice can be made by slicing fresh garlic pods and cooking in a little vegetable oil until brown. Mix into cooked rice & season with salt & pepper. 

Quick & Easy Vegetable omelette salad

For this recipe I made a 2 egg omelette with pre-cooked roasted vegetables. Sprinkled grated cheese on top and served with a mix leaf and coleslaw salad. Yummy!

Just the ticket for a cold & rainy night. A generous portion for 1 which can be eaten hot or cold depending on time of day.

Caramelised Date & Cinnamon rice pudding

I love rice pudding and this is my version using dates to sweeten it rather than sugar. Baked in the oven for an hour the end result is a smoky caramelised pudding that was surprisingly light. 

Makes enough for 2 large bowlfuls

Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time 1 hour

Ingredients

100g dates chopped to small pieces

60g pudding rice

400ml semi skimmed milk

1 tsp runny honey

Pinch cinnamon

Method 

·      Preheat oven to 180*C

·      Stir honey into the milk and add rest of the ingredients

·      Pour in a pint size tin and bake in the oven for an hour stirring pudding mixture a few times.

·      Serve with yoghurt or fresh berries