Sticky Sausages!

 

Sticky Sausages

 (much better than honey & mustard!!)

Ingredients:

2lb little sausages

2 tablespoons of clear honey

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon tomato purée 

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

Few drops Tabasco.

 

This recipe was passed on to my by my friend Heather and was definetly a winner at her drinks party!

Put sausages in roasting tin. Mix everything else together. Pour mix over sausages & toss them around to cover them in the mix. Bake at 200degC for 20-25 mins. Turn sausages several times to keep coating them in the sauce.

I make sure I make plenty!!

Spicy mixed nuts

 

Spicy Nuts

 

Ingredients:

1kg mixed nuts - walnuts, hazlenuts, cashew, pecan etc etc

75g butter

50 ml water

100g soft brown sugar

2 tbsp chinese 5 spice

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp chilli powder

 

Heat oven to 180 degrees

 

Melt butter in a pan with all the other ingredients. Stir until dissolved. Add nuts & cook stirring frequently for 5 mins. Spread on baking tray & cook for about 15 mins but check that the nuts are not overcooked. Leave to cool (they should be hard and not sticky), separate the nuts & add more salt if you like them a bit saltier. Enjoy

Pork Meatloaf

This is an easy recipe and the end result is comfort food!!

Ingredients:

• 45gms of Panko Breadcrumbs
• 500gms of minced pork
• 8 slices of prosciutto or smoked streaky bacon
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• 20gms of grated parmesan
• 1tsp of dried Herbs de Provence
• 1 tsp of dried Oregano
• (The choice of hebs is down to your own taste)
• 1 beaten egg
• salt & pepper to taste

Set oven to 190degC or 170degC fan

Whilst the oven warms up, put the onion, garlic and a couple of slices of prosciutto into a food processor and blitz. (if you want you could use smoked streaky bacon) In a mixing bowl add the pork, breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan, herbs and the blitzed onion, prosciutto and garlic. Add seasoning and then mix well with your hand until the ingredients are well mixed. 

Line a tin (bread/loaf tin will work) with the rest of the prosciutto and then put the mix into the tin, pressing down well to make sure there are no air gaps. Put the loaf tin into a baking tray and add boiling water to the tray so it covers half way up the tin.

Bake in the oven for about one hour. 

The meatloaf can be served warm (sliced) with your choice of vegetables or cold (cliced as well) with a salad.

Shallot Onions in Butter & Balsamic Vinegar

 So simple and yet a great accompaniment to cold meats and salad.

(Serves 2)

• 4 or 5 banana type shallots
• 30g butter
• 1 tablespoons honey
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 pr 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

slice the shallots in half (unpeeled) and then trim and skin the onion so that it remains intact and does not separate when cooking. Gently fry in the butter until browned and soft. Then add the honey and balsamic vinegar and cook until you have a thick rich sauce. Season if required.

I like to serve with cold ham, really fresh salad and brown bread - to mop up all of the lovely sauce! The balsamic mixture also works to 'dress' the salad.

 

Tomato Chutney

 Quite often I have chutneys that are far too rich and dark and really take too much flavour away from cheese - my favourite 'goto' snack. This recipe hits the spot exactly!

Ingredients:

• Large onion (or red onion) - chopped
• 800gms of tomatoes - chopped
• 2 off eating apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic - crushed
• 125g of light muscovado sugar
• 1 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp of ground mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp of ground cloves
• 250ml of cider vinegar

In a pan put all of the ingredients in and stir well. Heat gently and bring to the boil and and simmer well for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. When the mixture reaches a thick stage (moist but not wet), spoon into sterlised jars and seal. Allow to cool. 

The chutney is best left for a week or so but if you can't wait......

Serve with crunchy cheddar and a crusty loaf.

Bruschetta

 Simplicity is the order of the day.....

Ingredients:

• 8 ripe tomatoes - deseeded and diced
• 10 basil leaves finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic - crushed
• 1/2 small onion - finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of basamic vinegar (you can add more!)
• salt and pepper to taste (and a little sugar if the tomatoes are not sweet)
• 4 tbsp of good quality extra virgin olive oil
• Crusty loaf cust into thick slices

Mix the ingredients together and leave in the fridge for an hour or so to marinate but remove 30 mins before serving.

Toast the bread on both sides until golden then spead the mixture generously onto the toast and serve.

This together with a glass of wine in front of the TV - simplicity at its best.

Korean Spicy Ribs

This recipe is from 'Eat Korean' by Da-Hae West.

The meat falls off the bone and the ribs are sticky and (not too) sweet!

In fact I would recommend the book for not just this recipe but others that are also fabulous.

Ingredients:

Serves: 6
500g (1lb 2oz) pork spare ribs
50g (1¾oz) fresh root ginger, roughly chopped
5 whole garlic cloves, peeled
125ml (4fl oz) light soy sauce
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped, to garnish

Sauce: 

1 tbsp sesame oil
4 tbsp gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)
4 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp regular soy sauce 
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds 
1 tbsp white rice vinegar
8 garlic cloves, minced
5-cm (2-inch) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and very finely chopped

Put the ribs in a large saucepan or stockpot with the ginger, garlic, soy sauce and enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to cook gently for 1½ hours, until the ribs are tender and cooked through.

Meanwhile, combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix together well. Line an oven tray with foil (this will make everything a lot easier to wash up later) and preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6.
Arrange the cooked ribs on the prepared tray and brush with the sauce to coat evenly. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, turning and basting the ribs with more sauce halfway through cooking.
Remove the tray from the oven and put the grill on to high. Brush the ribs once again with the remaining sauce, then grill for 2–3 minutes until the sauce is sticky and is just beginning to char at the edges. Scatter over the spring onions and serve.

Sorry about the photo - I just could not wait to try them!!

Fabulous Flapjacks

For those with a sweet tooth, there is something a bit morish about these chaps.
Golden syrup is the key ingredient!

• 250gms rolled porridge oats
• 125 gms of butter
• 125gms of soft brown sugar
• 3 tbsp of golden syrup

(and for a really different taste, add 50gms of cranberries (dried) - Whitworths do a nice one.

Melt the butter in a dish in the microwave - 20/30 seconds should do. Then place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly coated in all that goodness!
Put into a baking pan/tray. I like a thick flapjack so a 20cms square tin works well but if you want it thinner try a larger rectangular tray. Press the mixture down into the pan and if you are adding cranberries try and get them to be below the surface.
Bake in a pre-heated over (180degC Fan or 200degC conventional) for 15 to 20 minutes until golden.

When you take out of the oven, score the mix with a knife to portion up and then allow to cool. Then remove from the tray and cool further.

The photo show the pre-cooked ones on the left and the ones on the right are ready to devour!

Guinness Bread

Want to be able to make an impressive bread? One that is easy as well? then here you go!

Ingredients:

• 325g of Malted Blend stoneground wholemeal flour
• 125g of plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbps of Demerara sugar
• 50g of butter
• 1 tbsp (heaped) baking soda
• 300ml of Guinness
• 150ml of milk
• 2 tbsp of treacle

Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl (except the soda) and rub in the butter until the mixture is even and looks like breadcrumbs, lifting as you go. Add the soda to the mixture and mix thoroughly. Add Guinness, milk and treacle to the dry mix and mix until you have an even wet mix. Put in a baking tin and bake for about 50 minutes to 1 hour until risen and hollow when tapped underneath (180degC fan). Cool on a wire tray.

This bread is so easy to make and there is no proving etc. It is quite a heavy bread but cut thinly it is delicious with cheese, pate or soups. Or simply with some good butter!

Haggis Scotch Eggs

I have been toying with making these little beauties for a while but never seemed to have got around to making them. I was very pleased with them. Serve them with a garnish of your choice or just a dollop of the horseradish mayonnaise.

Ingredients (Makes 8):

• 8 quail eggs
• 125g sausage meat
• 150g haggis
• Plain flour
• 1 beaten egg
• 30g fresh brown breadcrumbs
• 20g oats (very slightly blended to reduce crumb size)
• Salt & pepper
• Oil for deep frying (150 degC)
• For the horseradish mayonnaise:
• 2tbsp quality mayonnaise & 1tbsp horseradish mixed well

Cook the quails eggs for 1.5 to 2 minutes in boiling water then wash in cold water and peel and pat dry. Mix the haggis and sausage meat together with a little seasoning until well mixed. Set up 3 dishes with flour, egg and the breadcrumb/oats mixed. Take some haggis mixture and form into pattie and then make a ‘cup’ that will take an egg (about 6mm thick) place egg in the hollow and then work the mixture around the egg to form a neat covering and the basis of a scotch egg (make sure there are no gaps in the casing) I find that the egg is about 5cms in diameter. Prepare all the eggs and then on to the next stage. Roll each egg in flour (shake excess off) cost in the egg and then roll in the breadcrumb mix until well covered. When all eggs are done, deep fry in oil for 4.5 minutes. Allow the eggs to drain well and finally pat dry with a kitchen tissue if required. Serve immediately or allow to cool.

Having been inspired by a photo that Lee posted from The Friday Food Club, I substituted the egg with grated beetroot (cooked) It’s a bit fiddly and a lot messier but the results are great and a perfect match with the horseradish may. One tip – pat the beetroot a little to ensure it is not too wet! It will make the forming of the ‘egg’ easier. Enjoy (PS Sorry there isn't a better photo of the beetroot version - couldn't resist it and only remembered to photo is at the last minute!)

Beetroot Rosti...

The demands of Mrs. H. are not to be ignored and with a challenge in hand I decided to have a go at Beetroot Rosti. Now, Mrs. H. is rather keen on Beetroot but I have never tried these before. After consulting a few recipes I decided to give it a go. This was going to be the accompaniment to a fillet steak and dauphinoise potatoes!

Ingredients (Makes 3 or 4):

• 2 raw beetroots
• Fresh ground pepper and sea salt
• 1 tbls of plain flour
• 1 medium onion
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp of butter

Peel and coarsely shred both the beets and the onion and place in a sieve over a bowl. The reason for this is we want to remove as much of the retained liquid as possible. Squeeze the shredded veg until most of the liquid has gone. Beat the egg and add this (as required) and some flour to bind the mixture. Season and then form into patties. Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add butter. When hot, add the patties and cook for approx 8 mins on each side until firm and crisp. Serve with the steak or on their own!

The general consensus was that the flavour was lovely but they could have been crisper. Walks off with head in shame!

Crayfish Fishcakes

In a desperate try to get a decent spicy fishcake, I tried using a tub of crayfish bought from the local supermarket – a few tweeks here and there, and voila – delish!

Ingredients (Serves 2 hungry people):

• 1 Tub of peeled crayfish tails
• 1 tbsp of Thai fish sauce
• 1 chopped green chilli
• 1 tbsp of red thai curry paste
• 1 small piece of ginger – grated
• 1 clove of garlic – roughly chopped
• 2 tbsps of chopped fresh coriander (inc stalks)
• Juice of ½ lime
• ½ tsp sugar (ideally palm sugar but any will do)
• 1 tbsp of dried breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 1 tsp chopped thai basil leaves
• Veg oil for shallow frying

Put the crayfish, fish sauce, chilli, paste, ginger, garlic, lime into a blender and blitz for a very short while – but make sure it is roughly chopped and not too fine. Put this mix into a bowl and combine with the eggs, breadcrumbs, coriander, and basil and ensure the mixture is well mixed together. You should be able to form little patties of the mixture and they should keep their shape. If the mixture is a little liquid, add a few more breadcrumbs. Fry the patties in vegetable oil and make sure they are well cooked on one side before turning over. Serve with some sweet chilli dipping sauce and maybe some cucumber relish.

Parmesan toasts!

I do like a bit of bread with my soup but sometimes I yearn for something a little different. Here’s one idea:

Ingredients:

• French stick / bagette
• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ cup of finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 190/200 deg C. Blend garlic with the olive oil until smooth and brush over thin slices of the baguette. Sprinkle with black pepper and then top off with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 15-20 mins until brown. Serve straight away or when cooled down – just great on their own or with a thick soup!

Salad of Smoked Mackerel and Beetroot

There are just times when I cook something and it is perfect – not often, I have to say – but this is one of those occasions that did it. It’s also a dish that kept well in the fridge for a second bash the next day – it was just as good!

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter):

• 250g Pack of cooked beetroot
• 70gms of caster sugar
• ½ tsp of sugar
• 80ml of white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp of vinegar
• 150ml of water
• 1 tbsp of creamed horseradish sauce
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ tsp English mustard powder
• Salt and pepper
• 100ml of double cream
• 1 small onion sliced
• 2 smoked mackerel fillets (skinned)
• Watercress as a garnish

There are 3 parts to this and all easy. Firstly chop the beetroot up and place in a bowl. In a pan, boil the water and add the 70gms of sugar to it to dissolve. Add the onion and simmer for 4 or 5 minutes then add the vinegar. Take off the heat and add this mixture to the beetroot and allow to cool and infuse, stirring occasionally.

Whip the double cream gently until just starting to peak and then carefully fold in the lemon juice, sugar, mustard, horseradish and vinegar together with salt and pepper. You should then get a lovely soft but firm horseradish cream. It is not strong but this can be changed by using a stronger horseradish sauce and more of it!! Lastly, drain the beetroot mix and then arrange the beetroot and onion on the plate with a dollop of the cream and the watercress around the plate. Break up the mackerel and scatter over the beetroot salad. Needless to say, it goes with saying that you can use fresh horseradish and freshly cooked beetroot. Either way - Enjoy - if you like beetroot, you'll love this.

King Prawns and Rice

Friday last saw Mrs H and I tucking into King Prawns and rice – just the way we like them. The idea of a Thai salad on a cold evening sis not appeal to us! It a quick and simple dish and tastes great. In fact it takes more time to peel the prawns than cook then! The primary ingredient are those type of prawns that are massive – I tend to buy then from my local Korean supermarket – about £10 for 20 and about 150mm’s long. (make sure they are the uncooked variety!) - they are often frozen as they probably come from The far east...

Ingredients (serves between 2/3 people):

• Pack of Super King prawns
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 10gms Butter

For the rice:

• 1 cup of basmati rice
• 1 tsp of groung tumeric
• 2 tbsp of sultanas
• 2 tbsp of pistachio nuts
• 1 tsp of pine kernel nuts
• 1 large onion
• ½ tsp of sugar
• Olive oil

I take a prawn and remove the head. I then cut the prawn lengthways to break open the underside of the shell. The shell is then easy to remove and the prawn can be cooked on a griddle, splayed open. Wash all the peeled and split prawns and set aside.

Boil the rice until just cooked with the tumeric. Drain and wash with hot water and leave to drain. Chop and fry the onion in about 1tbsp of olive oil. When cooked, add all of the nuts and sultanas and fry until starting to turn brown. Add the rice and ensure all is completely mixed well and hot throughout. Keep warm.

Now melt the butter in a hotish pan or griddle and add the garlic. After a few seconds, add the prawns and fry until they change colour to pink – meaning they are just cooked.

Serve prawns on a bed of the rice and spoon over any butter and garlic on to the top. Absolute bliss!!

Tomato Salsa (Dip)

This can be varied as and how you like but I will give you a basic outline below

Ingredients:

• 1 x 440gms can of chopped tomatoes (or fresh is you want but remove seeds)
• 1 small chopped onion
• Small handul of chopped fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp of tomato ketchup (or homemade)
• 1 chopped fresh chilli – to suit
• 1 half small green capsicum pepper – chopped (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp of caster sugar – depending on the sweetness of vegetables etc

Simply chop all the ingredients and mix in a bowl. Cover and allow the coriander to infuse.

Server with Fajitas or corn chips – or both!