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 Soup - 1 (Thermomix recipe)

At this time of year (Sept/Aug) we find we have a massive amount of tomatoes in the greenhouse. Apart from tomato sauces for pasta etc, I find a soup a perfect solution for excess tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• 500 gms of peeled and deseeded ripe tomatoes (fresh) (cores removed)
• 1/2 red/brown onion - peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 small carrot - peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 stick of celery- cut into large pieces
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of double concentrated tomato puree
• 1 tsp of sugar (or 2 if tomatoes are not that sweet)
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh gound black pepper
• 1 tsp of vegetable bouillon stock (powdered)

Into the Thermomix, running speed 8, drop carrot, onion and celery - 10 secs. Add olive oil and cook speed 1 for 3 mins, 100 deg C. Add tomato puree, tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper and cook speed 3, 100 deg C for 10 mins.

I find the fresh tomatoes have plenty of water in them and so I suggest adding the powdered bouillon direct to the mixture.

Check the level of salt and sugar and add as required and then blitz the whole lot, speed 10 for 30 seconds.

Of course, there is no need to use a Thermomix - its just easier and quicker. You can do all of this in a pan and use a blender when cooked.

Serve with warm, buttered crusty bread......

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.

Kedgeree

 A firm favourite in our house! I tend to serve with Mango Chutney as a condiment....

Ingredients (serves 2/3 ish):

• 220g of smoked haddock
• 1 cup of long grain rice (I use basmati as I have a sack of it!!)
• 15ml of lemon juice
• 75ml of single cream
• pinch of grated nutmeg
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 hard bolied eggs cut into wedges
• 25g of diced butter
• fresh parsley
• salt & pepper

Place the haddock in a frying pan and cover with water and then poach for about 10 mins. Remove from the pan and remove the skin and any bones. Reserve the liquid for the rice as below.

The volume of rice needs to have double the quantity of cooking liquid. If there is not enough, then top up with water. Bring this all to the boil and simmer for about 15mins. Preheat the oven to 180degC.

Remove the rice when tender and stir in the lemon juice, cream, flaked fish, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Stir in the eggs with care and then transfer the whole mixture into a buttered baking dish and dot the top with the butter as well. Bake for about 25mins.

Serve with a little chopped parsley, check the seasoning and add Mango Chutney to the side if you fancy it! As the fish is salty, check first before adding any salt. For a richer dish, the rice quantities can be reduced and the haddock and cream can be increased.

Enjoy....

Leek & Spring Onion Gratin

This recipe came about because of the veg we were growing on our vegetable patch. Very enjoyable and perfect with a piece of fish.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red onion
• 1 shallot onion
• 3 or 4 spring onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 smallish leeks
• 50gms of butter
• 2 tbsp of double cream or creme fraiche
• salt & pepper

• Topping:
• 22gms of shaved parmesan
• 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
• (drizzle with olice oil before putting into oven)

Pre-heat an oven to 200deg C

Slice the leeks and onions and then fry them in the butter until soft. Take off the heat and add some pepper.

Place in an oven proof dish and add the cream or creme fraiche and stir well. 

Cover with the topping and olive oil

Bake for about 15 mins or so until golden on the top. Youcan add a little salt during cooking but remember that the parmesan can be a little salty.

Serve wih a piece of grilled salmon or fish of your choice.

BBQ Lamb - Chimichurri style

This recipe was given to me by a friend - Jan of Not Just Canapes - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jan-ghosh-5760b236

I will say no more than it is fabulous and VERY moreish.

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg of Lamb shoulder - de-boned and cut into large pieces
• 20g flat leaf parsley, leaves and stalks
• 30g mint, leaves and stalks
• 30g coriander, leaves and stalks
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 15g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 3 chillies, seeded
• ½ tsp salt
• 50ml lemon juice
• 60ml soy sauce
• 120ml sunflower oil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp water 

Just whizz all these ingredients together (except the lamb!!) and use some to marinade the lamb and heat the rest as a sauce. 

Marinate the lamb for an hour or so and then cook the pieces on the BBQ to your preferred level of cooking. Serve with the sauce (warmed or not) and devour!

You can use lamb rum, lamb leg or whatever is to hand....

Thai Style Pork Spare Ribs

Rib Stock:

• 10 meaty ribs (or so) - cut individually
• 1 stalk of lemongrass - chopped finely
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 10mm slices of galangal root
• 2 litres of water

Simmer in this stock mixture for 1 hour. Once done, discard the stock.

Rib Marinade:

• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 1 small handful of coriander stalks & leaves
• 2 large gloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp of black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp of tumeric powder
• 1/2 cup of light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of fish sauce
• 2 tbsp of Kecap Manis (Dark sweet soy sauce)

Blitz the mixture with a hand blender. When the ribs are taken out of the stock, arrange in a dish and pur over the marinade. Leave for 30 mins to an hour. I tend to go back and turn the ribs every 10 mins or so

Dipping Sauce:

• 3 tbsp of fish sauce
• 3 tbsp of fresh lime juice
• 25g of palm sugar
• 1 red birdseye chilli - chopped
• 2 tsp of toasted rice - search on this blog on how to make this
• 2 tbsp of coriander leaves - chopped

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and make sure the sugar is dissolved in the mix. Serve with the ribs as a dipping sauce.

Oven roasting - 200degC for about 10 mins - do not over cook as this will spoil them.

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!!

Potato and Meat Pie

This is a derivation of my Grandmother's pie  (Maud Clarke) and was probably made during wartime as it contained little meat. It is, however, delicious and easy to make....

Ingredients:

• Short Crust Pastry (enough to line the top and bottom of a round 20cm baking tin)
• 4 medium sized potatoes par boiled then chopped
• 1 Tbsp of oil or lard
• half a small onion
• handful of mince - it can contain fat!
• 1 egg - beaten for eggwash
• Salt & Pepper to taste.

Fry the mince and onion in the fat until it is all browned off and transfer to a mixing bowl including any juices/oil. Peel the potatoes and then dice into cubes- they must be no bigger than 1cm cubed or even smallr if you can manage it.
Mix the potatoes with the mince mixture and then season with plenty of salt and pepper.
Line the pie tin with pastry and then spoon in the mixture trying to leave as few air pockets as possible. (now you know why you have to chop the potatoes quite small) Top off with pastry and then crimp the edge. Finally, eggwash the top liberally and pierce with a fork to allow any steam to escape.
Bake in a fan over at 180degC (200 conventional) for about 30 mins until golden brown.

Personally I can never wait to tuck in - just add tomato ketchup on the side!!

Ox Cheeks (slow cooked)

By slow cooking the beef or ox cheek, you end up with super tender meat that almost melts in the mouth. The recipe below will feed 2/3 people. I use a pressure cooker for this recipe but there is no reson you can't use a slow cooker or the oven. The difference is that the pressure cooker takes about 1 hour, the oven takes about 4 hours and a slow cooker on low about 12 hours.....

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp light olive oil
• 750gms of ox cheek - cut up into large sized peices
• 1 onion - diced
• 1 celery stick - diced
• 1 carrot - diced
• 2 large cloves of garlic - crushed
• 1 stems of fresh thyme
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 250ml beef stock
• 350ml of full bodies red wine
• 1 tbsp of black treacle
• Salt & Pepper

Firstly you need to season the meat pieces with salt and pepper and then brown the meat pieces all over in a hot frying pan with 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Ensure you have removed any fat peices from the outside of the meat. Put the seared meat to one side, add the remaining oil to the pan, lower the heat and add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Then add the celery and carrot and cook for 5 mins.

Add all of the ingredients to the pressue cooker and cook for 1 hour. (ensure all of the meat is covered by liquid)

Once cooled down, you can remove all of the meat from the cooking liquor and then strain this off, discarding the solids. (it is possible to liquidise this complete liquor but I prefer a richer sauce).
Return the liquid to the pressure cooker and reduce until you have a thick and sticky sauce. Season to taste. Add the meat back and coat in the sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Point to note: if you use a stock cube as your source of beef stock, please be careful in the amount of salt you add as the reduction of the sauce could make it become a little salty. I tend to use Knorr Touch of Taste Concentrated liquis stock.

Serve with vegetables of your choice but horseradish mash is a good place to start!!!

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!

Macaroni Cheese

(Apologies to the original author - I seem to have lost their name.)

Time: 15 minutes for cooking pasta; 25 minutes in the Thermomix; 30-40 minutes baking

Yield: 4 generously

As reassuring as a goodnight kiss, mac ’n’ cheese is comfort food at its best. It ticks every box in the book: it can be made ahead of time in total or in various stages, it can be made just for two or to feed a crowd, reheats like a dream, it won’t break the bank and everyone likes it. And what’s not to like? This ostensibly humble dish pops up on smart menus all over our most food-obsessed cities. We like it as a main dish but it’s also a classic steakhouse side-order and has even been sighted at Neil Perry’s much-awarded Rockpool restaurants. Our recipe uses three cheeses, giving a beautiful creamy texture to the sauce with no graininess, plus depth of flavour. Once you’ve tried this one it will be a bit like pulling on your favourite jeans; you know it will always be good, whatever the occasion.

•             160grams dry macaroni, cooked in boiling salted water until al dente

•             40grams each of cheddar, gruyere and parmesan cheeses, cut into pieces

•             500grams full-cream milk

•             ¼ onion, peeled

•             1 bay leaf

•             2 whole cloves

•             50grams salted butter

•             50grams plain flour

•             1teaspoon Dijon mustard

•             1 egg yolk

•             1 pinch salt and ground white pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced.

2. Place all three cheeses in the mixing bowl and chop 5 seconds/speed 8. Set aside.

3. Pour the milk into the mixing bowl and add the onion, bay leaf and cloves. Infuse by heating 5 minutes/60 degrees/reverse/speed 1.

4. Pour the milk and flavourings into a jug and allow it to stand and infuse for a further 5 minutes or so.

5. Meanwhile, place the butter into the mixing bowl and melt 3 minutes/60 degrees/speed 2.

6. Add the flour and cook 4 minutes/Varoma/speed 4. The mixture should be sizzling slightly and look a little sandy; if not cook a minute further.

7. Strain the warm milk back in to the mixing bowl then Cook 5 minutes/90 degrees/speed 4. Then cook again 2 minutes/100 degrees/speed 4, the mixture should be boiling at the end of the cooking time.

8. Take the lid off and allow the sauce to cool for a few minutes. Then add the grated cheeses, mustard and egg yolk. Mix 30 seconds/speed 4.   

9. Combine the sauce with the cooked macaroni and turn into a buttered 1-litre shallow ovenproof dish.

10. Bake in the centre of the oven at 170C (fan-forced) for 30-40 minutes, the sauce should be bubbling at the sides and the top nicely browned.

11. Serve with greens and crusty bread.

AND … Your call as to when to boil the macaroni. You can do it while the sauce is in the Thermomix so they’re ready at about the same time but if you cook the pasta first, give it a light coating of butter or oil as soon as it’s drained so it doesn’t form clumps while you’re waiting for the sauce to cook. Or, keep the finished sauce in the fridge for a day or three until you’re ready to boil the pasta and do the bake.

I think the recipe is great BUT I wonder is a little more cheese is required. You try it nad tell me what you think