Creamy Blue Cheese Linguine

Creamy Blue Cheese Linguine – Serves 2

 Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 100ml dry white wine
• 150g strong blue cheese, crumbled
• 150ml creme fraiche
• 160g dried linguine
• 100g green beans, trimmed
• 60g wild rocket

Method

Step 1
Heat the oil in a pan and saute the onion and garlic for around 5-6 minutes until the onion starts to soften.

Step 2
Add the white wine and simmer for 2 – 3 minutes until it has nearly all reduced.

Step 3
Stir in the cheese and creme fraiche into the onions and wine. Heat gently for around 2-3 minutes until the blue cheese has melted into the creme fraiche and the suace is warmed through. 

Step 4
Meanwhile, cook the linguine in a seperate pan for 4 minutes. Add the green beans to the pan and continue cooking until the green beans are cooked. Drain then return to the pan. 

Step 4
Add the rocket to the pasta and leave for 1 minute, or until the rocket has wilted. Now stir in the hot sauce and your ready to eat.

Serving Suggestion
Serve with plenty of black pepper and if you are a lover of blue cheese, crumble some extra blue cheese over the top!

Squash Seeds with Chilli & Salt

Squash Seeds with Chilli & Salt

I know so many people who throw away the seeds from a pumpkin or a butternut squash – it should be an arrestable crime! I made this for my sister a few months back, and she loved it so much, that she went and bought a squash the very next day – just to cook and eat the seeds! 

Why not try this with my vegetable soup recipe – a great way to get all of your 5 a day! 

 

Ingredients

• Seeds from 1 butternut squash
• 1/2 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• Salt, to taste

Method

Remove the seeds from the squash and remove the membrane from the seeds (this is by far the most time consuming bit!). Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the chilli, a pinch of sea salt and the squash seeds, then heat through and serve immediately.

Spanish Tortilla

Spanish Tortilla – Serves 6 

Ingredients

• 2 red peppers
• 8 eggs
• 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced into 2-3mm discs
• 100g feta cheese
• 50g spinach, chopped

Step 1
First of all you need to char the whole red pepper so it is blackened all over, as this gives the red pepper a really soft texture. This can be done a number of ways; the best way (and my favourite) is on a BBQ, but under a grill on a really high heat, or placing on the naked flame of a stove will all give great results. Once the skin is blackened, remove from the heat, allow it to cool for a few minutes until it is ok to touch with your fingers, then peel the skin away. Remove the seeds and membrane, then slice the pepper into thin strips. Set aside.

Step 2
Peel the potatoes and slice into thin discs (approximately 2-3mm thick). Place the discs into a pan on a low heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil and fry for between 15 and 25 minutes, depending on the thickness and type of potatoes. You should be able to tell when the potatoes are cooked, as they will start to go soft and may even break up a little in the pan. Make sure that you keep turning the potatoes, otherwise they are likely to burn! Set aside.

Step 3
Break all the eggs into a separate bowl, season and mix together until the egg whites and yolks are completely blended. Once blended, add in the potatoes, spinach and red pepper into the mixture and give it a good mix.

Step 4
Preheat the grill in preparation, then heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and pour in the egg mixture. Using a wooden spatula, keep going around the edges and pushing the cooked egg into the middle of the pan. After 5 minutes, remove the tortilla from the heat – it should be starting to set around the edges, with the middle still a little wobbly. Crumble over the feta cheese and place the pan under the grill for around 7 minutes, or until the egg  is cooked through and the tortilla no longer wobbles.

Serving Suggestion
This is a very versatile dish, so here are a few modifications that I think would go really well:

• Finely chopped chorizo sausage
• Finely chopped red chilli
• Sprinkle other types of cheese over the tortilla before going under the grill

I served this with a side salad, but in Spain it is traditionally served in a baguette, and I think some chilli sauce just tops it off perfectly.

Spinach & Prawn Risotto

Spinach & Prawn Risotto – Serves 5

Like much of my cooking, I take inspiration from Jamie Oliver; and when it comes to making risotto’s, I haven’t found a better ‘base recipe’ yet. The only reservation that I have is that it’s probably not that good for you (due to the amounts of butter and cheese involved) – but for a special occasion, it’s a great creamy risotto that can be adapted for just about any topping. I have to say it is the best tasting risotto that I’ve made to date, and I was really happy with the results.

I did take a photograph of this dish, but unfortunately my computer crashed recently and I lost a lot of data, so I will post up a photo as soon as I possibly can!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 150g spinach, washed & chopped
• 16 large king prawns
• 150g small prawns/shrimps
• 20 small plum tomatoes
• 70g butter, cut into 1cm cubes
• 1.1 litres of chicken stock
• 2 glasses of dry white wine
• 400g risotto rice (I use arborio)
• Salt & pepper

Before you start cooking, you need to make sure that you have some boiling stock ready. Start by slowly frying the onion, shallot and garlic with a knob of butter (or oil) for around ten minutes until soft but not coloured. Now add in the arborio rice and turn up the heat. You will see that the rice turns translucent (almost see through) and at this stage you want to pour in the wine. Keep stirring until the wine has cooked into the rice – it should smell fantastic!

Now you need to add in your stock, so turn down the heat on the rice and add one ladle at a time, keeping the temperature at a simmer. Wait until the liquid has mainly evaporated, then add in another ladle – make sure that you continue to stir the rice, as this helps the rice absorb the flavour of the stock, and gives it that lovely sticky texture. Continue to add in ladles of hot stock for around 15 minutes, until the rice is almost cooked. Now this is Jamie’s base recipe – all you need to complete the ‘risotto bianco’ is the butter and parmesan cheese, or of course you can add in any ingredients that you like. 

For this recipe, after around 12 minutes of adding the hot stock, I added in the baby tomatoes, spinach and the shrimps to the rice mixture in order for them to heat through nicely. Personally I prefer to pan fry the king prawns separately so I can really concentrate on the seasoning, but if you wish, you can add them to the rice too, although I would give them a little longer – say 5 minutes. Ensure that if you are pan frying your prawns, you time it to coincide with the rice cooking!

Take the rice off the heat, add in the grated parmesan and butter cubes and give the risotto a good stir. Now leave the rice to stand, covered, for 2 minutes until the butter melts and gives the risotto a real creamy texture. Serve the risotto right away, topping with the pan fried prawns, and salt and black pepper.

Oriental Stir Fry with Aromatic Lamb & Pok Choi

Oriental Stir Fry with Aromatic Lamb & Pok Choi – Serves 2

Tonight was definately one of those nights where I was in the mood for a stir fry – a quick and tasty dish was required! I think lamb is an under rated meat for stir fry’s as if cooked correctly it can be amazingly tender.

Remember, the key to any stir fry is to ensure you have all the ingredients you need to hand; so ensure everything is chopped and prepared before you start.

Ingredients

• 2 hand trimmed leg steak of lamb
• 100g fresh egg noodles
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 tsp 5 spice powder
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• Olive oil for frying
• Sesame oil, to drizzle
• 1 red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped
• 2 heads of pak choi, leaves seperated
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• Zest of 1 lime, and a squeeze of lime juice

Firstly, slice up the lamb into thin strips and coat with the garlic, ginger and 5 spice powder then set aside. In a seperate bowl, mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce and cornflour together and set aside. Mix the cooked noodles with a drizzle of sesame oil and set aside. Now, along with your chopped ingredients you should be ready to start cooking.

Heat a small amount of oil in a wok and briefly fry the lamb strips on a high heat, so the meat is still a little rare in the middle and remove from the wok (this should only take a minute or two).

Add a little more oil to the pan and fry the pak choi and chilli with the oyster sauce for a couple of minutes, then add the lamb back to the pan. Add the spring onions and noodles to the wok and stir fry for a couple of minutes until the noodles are warmed through.

To serve, squeeze over the lime juice and sprinkle over the lime zest.

Chicken Stuffed with Goat's Cheese on a Bed of Tomatoes

Chicken Stuffed with Goat’s Cheese on a Bed of Tomatoes – Serves 2

I’m trying to be as healthy as possible at the moment, and although the chicken is stuffed with goat’s cheese, it’s a healthy meal in my book – and what’s more it tastes great. Recently I have been adding a splash of balsamic vinegar to the tomatoes and I feel it really enhances the flavour.

If your making this for a special occasion, why not wrap the chicken in a couple of slices of Parma ham or streaky bacon.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (with skin on)
• 200g plum tomatoes on the vine, (some halved, some whole)
• 50g firm goats cheese, cut into slices
• 1 handfull of thyme sprigs
• 1 handfull of basil leaves
• 1 glass of white wine, preferably dry
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper
• Slices of Parma ham (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Peel back the skin of the chicken and stuff inside slices of goats cheese & a couple of sprigs of thyme. Season the chicken and place into a roasting dish.

Place the tomatoes around the chicken then pour in the oil, wine and balsamic vinegar. Check the seasoning again, scatter a couple more thyme sprigs over the chicken and tear a handful of basil leaves over the tomatoes. Place in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Vegetarian Lasagne

Vegetarian Lasagne – Serves 4

Susie has been banging on about how good her mums vegetable lasagne was, and as my parents brought us back loads of puy lentils from their holiday in France, we thought we would give it a go.

I have to admit that I was a little surprised how much I enjoyed this; the thought of lentils and vegetables as a replacement tom meat wasn’t really doing much for me to be honest, but it was really good! It’s certainly worth a try as it’s healthier and works out a lot cheaper – good for surviving the ‘credit crunch’.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil (for frying)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 6 oz of lentils (I used puy lentils)
• 1/2 pint vegetable stock
• 15 oz tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 courgettes, diced (I omitted these)
• 1/4 tsp basil, oregano & thyme (or use herbs de Provence)
• Lasagne sheets
• 1 pint of cheese sauce
• Cheese (for grating on top!)

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until softened a little, then add the garlic, lentils, puree, stock, bay leaf, carrots, and courgettes. Simmer for around 20-25 minutes until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid has absorbed. At this point, remove the bay leaf, stir in the herbs, add the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Once finished, fill your lasagne dish with alternate layers of mixture and lasagne sheets, until the dish is full. Pour on the cheese sauce and sprinkle some grated cheese on the top to give the lasagne a golden finish. Place in the oven at 200 C for around 45 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

I tend to serve this either with a side salad or some green veg, but it is equally good all on it’s own!

Enjoy.

Norwegian Waffles

Norwegian Waffles – Serves 4

I had my parents visiting on Saturday morning, so I decided that we could try out our new Norwegian pancake maker that we bought in Bergen a few weeks ago. We noted down a very rough recipe from our friends that we were staying with, so we weren’t too sure how they would turn out – fortunately they turned out great! Now I know that you wont all have Norwegian waffle makers lying around, but these should work well in any waffle maker, or even cooked as a type of pancake. You can serve these with whatever toppings you like; my personal favourites are honey, lemons & sugar and nutella with chopped bananas but I think savoury toppings would work equally well.

As I was going all out to impress, I also made some blueberry muffins adapted from a Delia Smith recipe with the blueberries from our garden (watch out for the recipe very soon), all in all a really great breakfast!   

 

Ingredients

• 325g plain flour
• 14g of yeast
• 8 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 knob of butter
• 4 eggs
• 100ml milk + extra (See instructions below)

Method

Add all the ingredients except the milk into a bowl and set aside. In a separate pan, gently heat around 100ml of milk until luke warm then add to the other ingredients and start to whisk together. Once the mixture is starting to bind, add more cold milk until you get a smooth ‘pancake’ like consistency, but make sure that it isn’t too watery though (The next time I make these I will try and measure this exactly and edit my post).

Once you have your mixture all you need to do now is cook the little beauties! Personally my favourite topping is lemon and sugar – why not post in the comments section which toppings you use… it may give us all some new ideas! Hope you enjoy as much as me and my family did!

Ecuador Trip!

For the couple of days I have been in Ecuador on business so this post has been a long time coming. However the trip couldn’t have come at a better time, as I had been pondering which country to feature as part of my International Cuisine Series – the trip made my decision easy!

I stayed in Quito in La Mariscal region of the city, and despite being on business I managed to wangle a days sightseeing too. This gave me an opportunity to sample some of the fantastic food that they cook in Ecuador – the street food is particularly tasty! Ecuador is traditionally famous for it’s exotic fruits, vegetables and seafood dishes, although there is also an abundance of good quality steak available from Argentina. The drinks they serve are also fantastic – particularly the fresh fruit juices; my favourites were mora (blackberry juice), passion fruit and papaya, although I have to admit the Mojito’s were pretty good too!

I found a fantastic bookshop just around the corner from my hotel and came across an excellent book on Ecuadorian cooking – in particular there are some great soup, vegetable and seafood recipes which I will be sure to try, so keep checking back over the next couple of weeks!

Anyway, here are a few pictures from my trip – what an amazing place!

 The gardens of the Monastery of San Francisco Qutio’s Old Town

 

A view of Qutio from the top of the Teleferico

 

 and finally…. ensalada de frutas. This was just what I needed after a hard days sightseeing!

Pork Stroganoff

Pork Stroganoff Recipe – Serves 2

Pork stroganoff – everybody’s heard of it, most people have tasted it, so I thought it would be a perfect recipe to kick of my series of recipes from around the world. Stroganoff is of course a popular dish in many countries, but originates from Russia back in the 19th century and according to “Oxford Encyclopaedia of Food and Drink” was possibly named after Count Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov.

“Stroganoff” is very often cooked using beef; in fact beef is definitely the way to go if you want to stick with tradition, however I happened to have a nice piece of pork fillet in the fridge so I cooked with what I had. If your a vegetarian then feel free to omit the meat and just use mushrooms – try and get some different types of mushrooms as this will give you a better texture and taste. I’ve tasted a lot of bad stroganoff’s in my time – most were far too sickly, usually a result of using double cream. This recipe uses sour cream / creme fraiche so is healthier without losing any of it’s taste.

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 50g chestnut mushrooms. sliced
• 50g shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 200g pork fillet, sliced into strips
• 1 knob of butter
• 3 tbsp brandy
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 150ml creme fraiche or sour cream
• Rice or pasta, to serve

Method

Before you start you want to season the pork strips – this is where the taste really happens so don’t rush this bit! Slice your pork up and place in a bowl; now sprinkle in the paprika, 1/2 of the cayenne pepper, and season (be generous with the cracked black pepper). Now mix this up with your hands and if you can, leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Heat the butter in a wok or frying pan and fry the onions and mushrooms on a medium heat until they are soft.  Turn up the heat and fry the pork strips for several minutes until cooked. Now the fun bit… Flambe! Pour in your brandy and then, using a match, carefully set fire to the brandy in the pan and burn off the alcohol. This looks great if you have guests round! Once the flame has died, stir in the mustard and your creme fraiche / sour cream and gently simmer. Taste the sauce and adjust the cayenne pepper to taste, seasoning if required – I like it to have a bit of a kick so I go crazy with the cayenne pepper!

I have always served stroganoff with brown rice, but I know a lot of people like stroganoff with tagliatelle and this is great too. A bit of rocket or some greenery such as brocoli really completes the dish in my opinion. Enjoy!