Strawberry Kisses

Strawberry Kisses

These were a bit of an experiment for Wear it Pink day. I used the recipe for Coffee Kisses in the good old Bero Book and omitted the coffee but added Strawberry flavour Angel Delight in place of some of the flour and some Hot Pink food colouring.  Here's the result.

Makes 12

150g which is a pack of Strawberry Angel Delight made up to the 150g with self raising flour.
75g caster sugar
75g butter
1 egg, beaten
Hot Pink colour

Heat the oven to Gas 4/180ºC

Mix the flour, Angel Delight and sugar and rub in the butter.

Stir in the egg and food colour and mix well.

Form into balls about the size of a walnut.  Place on a baking sheet lines with baking parchment and flatten slightly.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Once they are cold you can sandwich them together with butter cream.  

I used ½ pack Angel Delight,
80g icing sugar, sifted
40g butter
Hot pink colour

Beat together and use to sandwich the biscuits together.

If you'd rather make the Coffee Kisses use 150g self raising flour and no Angel Delight.  Instead of the food colour use 2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water.

General Tso's chicken

General Tso's chicken

This dish, apparently named after a Hunanese general from the Qing dynasty, is one of my favourites from Ching's Fast Food.  It's a regular on the menu.

Serves 2-4

2 skinless chicken breasts cut into 1.5 cm cubes
salt and pepper
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp groundnut oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 dried red chillies or use crushed chillies to taste
1 tbsp chinese rice wine or dry sherry
4 spring onions, cut into 2.5 cm lengths

Sauce:
1 tbsp yellow bean sauce
1 tbsp lght soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp light soft brown sugar or runny honey
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Put the chicken cubes into a bowl and season with the salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the cornflour on and mix well.

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl.

Heat a wok over high heat and when it is hot add the oil.  Add the garlic and dried chillies (or crushed ones) annd fry for a few seconds before adding the chicken pieces.  Stir fry for 2 minutes.

As the chicken starts to turn opaque, add the rice wine or sherry.  Cook for another 2 minutes then pour in the sauce and bring to the boil.

Cook the chicken in the sauce for a further 2 minutes or until it is cooked through and the sauce has reduced and thickened.  Add the spring onions and cook for about 1 minute before serving.

Feta Stuffed Burgers with Barbecue Sauce

Feta Stuffed Burgers with Barbecue Sauce

Mince is one of those go to foods and can be done up in so many ways.  I made these with minced beef but minced lamb would have gone well with the feta and maybe a little mint added.

Basically, I mix the mince with seasoning and finely chopped onion.  Some people like to add egg and breadcrumbs but I tend not to.  Form the meat into burger shapes.  If you want to try the mix for seasoning, fry off a little and taste it, adding more seasoning if you want.

Chop the feta into large cubes about 1" and form the burger around the cheese, in much the same way as you would for a scotch egg.  Now cook your burger in your chosen way: barbecue, grill, oven or fry pan.

For the sauce, I fried off a little chopped onion with a clove of garlic, when softened, I added a tin of chopped tomatoes,  a tsp sugar,  a little tomato puree and a good splash of Worcestershire sauce. Simmer until thickened and serve with the burgers.  

Alternatively, brown the burgers off, put in a cooking dish and pour the sauce over.  Cook in the oven for about 15 mins until cooked through.

Chilli Bean Cobbler

Chilli Bean Cobbler


This was on Sunday Brunch.  It makes loads so you might want to half the recipe.

Serves 6-8

For the chilli

2 kg large chunk brisket

200 ml strong coffee

2 ancho chillies, chopped

10 g ground cumin

10 g smoked paprikas

5 g oregano

1 bay leaf

2 onions, diced

1 red chillies, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 x tins of chopped tomatoes

30 g soft dark brown sugar

2 peppers, sliced

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 x 400 g tins kidney beans, washed

200 ml strong beef stock

225 g polenta

225 g flour

1 tbsp baking powder

50 g sugar

1 tsp celery salt

1 tbsp chives, chopped

225 ml buttermilk, sour cream or yoghurt

Half a bunch coriander, chopped

1 egg

75 ml oil

75 g tinned sweetcorn

Soak the anchos in coffee.

Seal the beef by quickly frying it to brown the outside, then remove.

Fry the onion, garlic, chillies for 5 minutes to soften.

Add everything except the beans, stir well and bring gently to the boil.

Half cover and simmer for 2-3 hours until soft.

Stir in the beans.

Divide into 8 individual pie dishes or 1 large dish

To make the cobbler, mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk the wet ingredients together.

Mix together, but careful not to overwork.

Spoon ‘dollops’ on top of the chilli pots. Cook at Gas 4/180ºC for about 20 minutes to set.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole and limes to taste.

Chicken stuffed with pate

Chicken stuffed with pate

There are many things you can stuff into a chicken breast, try the haggis stuffed chicken on here or use cream cheese or Mozzarella.  On this occasion I used some pate that was in the fridge.

Make a pocket in the chicken breast, stuff with some pate and wrap with bacon or Parma ham.  

Wrap the chicken breast loosely in foil and add a little stock or water, or wine, whatever is handy really.  Bake in the oven about Gas 4/180ºC until the chicken is cooked through, about 25-30 mins.  Open the foil for the last 5 minutes if you want to brown the bacon or ham.  Serve with your favourite veg.

Cheese Scones

Cheese Scones

Sometimes you just want something familiar, something "old school".  There's nothing like a warm buttered scone.  The Bero book is the hero in this case.

150g self raising flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp dry mustard
25g butter
75g grated cheese, a nice strong one
1 egg
50 ml milk

Preheat the oven to Gas 7/220ºC

Mix the flour with the salt, pepper and mustard powder.  Rub the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Stir in most of the cheese, keeping a little for the top of the scones.

Mix to a soft dough with the egg and milk, reserving a little for glazing the tops of the scones.

Once the mixture comes together, try not to over handle it.  Roll out to a round just over 1cm thick, and cut into 8 triangles or cut with a scone cutter into rounds. (If you are using a cutter, try not to twist it when cutting the scones as this can stop them rising properly)

Place on a greased baking tray, brush the top with the remaining egg and milk mixture, trying not to let it run down the sides of the scones.  To with a little of the reserved cheese and bake  for 10-15 minutes.

Apple and Blackberry Traybake

Apple and Blackberry Traybake

This recipe is from a lovely book by Anne Shooter called Sesame and Spice.

It's a lovely moist cake which would be lovely as a desert with custard or ice cream, as well as eaten as cake.

150g softened butter
200g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon and the juice of ½
175g self raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 large or 2 medium Bramleyy apples
200g blackberries
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Heat the oven to Gas 5/190ºC.  Line a shallow 20cm baking tin with baking parchment.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating between each addition.  Stir in the vanilla extract and lemon zest an then fold in the flour and baking powder.

Peel, core and dice the apples then toss in the lemon juice.  Add half the apples to the cake batter, stir gently to mix them in and then very gently fold in half of the blackberries.

Pour the batter into the tin and top with the remaining fruit.  Sprinkle with the demerara sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and the centre is firm to the touch.  Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out and allowing to cool completely.

This will keep for about 3 days if you wrap it in baking parchment and foil.

Biscotti

Watching the Great British Bake Off contestants making Biscotti inspired me to give them a go.  They are pretty easy to make and you can put any selection of fruit and nuts into them you like.  I based mine on Nigella Lawsons recipe from her Nigellisima book.

Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

1 egg
75g caster sugar
finely grated zest of an orange
125g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
fresh nutmeg
75g pistachio nuts ( I used a mixture of nuts)
50g dried cranberries

Preheat oven to Gas 4/180ºC

Whisk the egg and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the orange zest then slowly fold in the flour, baking powder and a good grate of nutmeg.

Fold in the fruit and nuts.  The dough will be quite sticky.

Flour your bench and maybe even your hands.  Form the dough into a flattish oval a bit like the shape of a ciabatta, about 25cm x 5cm, tapering slightly at the ends.

Line your baking sheet with baking parchment and carefully put the dough onto it. Cook for 25 - 30 minutes until it is pale golden in colour. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes and then cut it with a serrated knife into fingers about 1cm thick. Put these cut side up onto the baking parchment covered tray and cook for 10 minutes and then turn them over so the other cut side is exposed and cook for another 5 minutes.

Cool the biscotti on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.  They would make lovely presents, but make more of them because they are very moreish.

Turkish Spiced Cabbage and Minced Lamb Stew with Tomatoes

Turkish Spiced Cabbage and Minced Lamb Stew with Tomatoes

This recipe comes from Rick Stein's new book "Venice to Istanbul".  It's a recipe you might not consider making as it contains cabbage, the much maligned vegetable, but give it a go because it is really delicious and resulted in clean plates all round.  Definitely one to make again.

The ingredients for 4 as per the recipe

45ml olive oil  (I didn't use this)
250g minced lamb
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp red pepper paste (recipe below but I used Harissa)
½ tsp chilli flakes
4 tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (I didn't peel)
1 tsp salt
6 turns black pepper mill
375ml water
1 medium Savoy or white cabbage, coarsely chopped.

What I did

First off I bought the minced lamb in the supermarket and there was 475g in the pack.  Quandry..... do I use 250g per the recipe and freeze the rest for some as yet unidentified recipe, probably finding it in the freezer some months later or do I just use the whole pack?  Answer..... I use the whole pack.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over high heat and fry the minced lamb until brown all over.  (I didn't use the olive oil because I think minced lamb is fatty enough as it is, in fact, I drained some fat off once the meat was browned).

Turn the heat down and add the rest of the olive oil, onions and garlic and stir until softened.  (Again, I didn't use any additional oil here)

Add tomato paste, red pepper paste ( I used Harissa here), chilli flakes, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. Add 250ml water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 mins.

Add cabbage and the rest of the water (I didn't add any more water as it still seemed quite liquid) Simmer for another 30 mins.  Sprinkle with chilli flakes and serve.

If you want to make the Red Pepper Paste:

660g red peppers
50g tomato paste
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
30 ml olive oil

Roast the peppers for 20-30 mins at 220ºC/Gas 7 until dark and softened. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cling film, leave until cool enough to handle.

Remove the charred skins, stalks and seeds and blitz in a blender with the remaining ingredients.

Store this in a jar, in the fridge for around a week.

Squash, Greens and Quinoa Fritters with Sumac Yogurt

Squash, Greens and Quinoa Fritters with Sumac Yogurt

A tasty and different meat free recipe from Sainsbury's magazine.

150g quinoa (dry weight)
400g butternut squash, peelef and deseeded
a bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
50g spinach or kale, shredded
60g rolled oats
1 tsp cumin seeds
200g pack feta cheese
1 unwaxed lemon
4 medium eggs, lightly beaten
½ x 28g pack flat leaf parsley, chopped
½ x 31g pack coriander, chopped

Sumac yogurt
1 x 170g pot Greek yogurt
sea salt
1 tsp sumac or dried chilli flakes

To serve
½ cucumber
4 ripe tomatoes
a handful of pitted black olives
salad leaves

Fill and boil a kettle.  Weigh the quinoa into a mug, noting the level it comes up to. Rinse under cold water, drain and pour into a pan.  Fill the mug to the same level with just-boiled water and add it to the pan, repeat so you have double the volume of water to quinoa. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 10-12 mins until almost all the water has been absorbed abd the little curly grains have been released from each quinoa seed.

Meanwhile, coarsely grate the squash and add to the quinoa for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.  It will steam on top of the quinoa. Drain if needed and return to the heat to dry out.  Spread out on a baking tray to cool for 10 mins.

Put spring onions, greens, oats and cumin seeds in a large bowl.  Crumble in the feta and add salt, pepper and the zest of the lemon. Mix well. Add the cooled quinoa, squash and eggs and stir in the eggs.  Mix well and chill for 20 minutes.

Shape the quinoa into 8 large cakes or more smaller ones and chill for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, peel the cucumber, halve lengthways, deseed and slice.  Mix with the tomatoes, olives, juice of half the zested lemon and a drizzle of oil. Season. Arrange salad leaves in a bowl and top with the tomato mixture.

Mix the yogurt with sea salt and the juice of the other lemon half, stir in the sumac.

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat and fry the patties for around 4 mins per side until golden brown.  Serve with the salad and yogurt.

Notes: I think chopped fresh mint would be good in these.  A stronger cheese would go well as well, maybe even a blue cheese.  Add a few more cumin seeds or use caraway seeds for a change.  Chilli would be a good addition too.  

Poached eggs. Finally I can make them

Poached Eggs

I've made them in a poaching pan with the little cups and they are good, but not quite right.  I've tried making them in a pan and the method fails me every time, but not today thanks to the Hairy Bikers:

The method is in their Hairy Dieters cookbook under the recipe for poached egg, smoked salmon and spinach. 

Half fill a medium non-stick saucepan with water and add 1 tsp of white wine vinegar. Bring to the boil, then with a slotted spoon place the egg in its shell into the boiling water for precisely 20 seconds.   ( I counted 20 mississippi's)

Remove the egg and turn the heat down, so the water is simmering gently. Crack the egg into the water and let it drop to the bottom of the pan. Cook on a low heat for 3 minutes. The water should be just slightly bubbling. The egg will rise to the surface when it’s nearly ready. They often stick to the bottom of the pan and require a gentle nudge with the spoon. 

It also works best if you use fresh eggs. The fresher the egg, the more perfectly rounded it will stay. Older eggs will become messy and are less likely to keep their shape.

Spanish Chicken with Crispy Paprika Potatoes

This recipe comes from the January 2015 Good Food magazine

Spanish Chicken with Crispy Paprika Potatoes

Serves 4

4 baking potatoes, cubed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
6 roasted peppers from a jar, finely chopped ( I used Pepperdew)
140g cream cheese
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or use 4 breasts as I did)
8-12 chorizo slices

Heat oven to 200ºC/180º fan/Gas 6.

Tip the potatoes onto a large baking tray.  Mix the paprika, oil and vinegar, pour over the potatoes and toss together.  (I found it easier to put all of these in a plastic bag and mix together well before emptying onto the baking tray)
Bake for 10 minutes while you prepare the chicken.

Mix the chopped peppers with the cheese. Open out the thighs or creat a pocket in the breasts and share the cheese between them.  Bring the sides of the chicken together to enclose the filling then put each into an individual foil package, top with 2-3 slices of chorizo and wrap in the foil.

Put the foil parcels on top of the potatoes and return to the oven for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes crispy.

Serve with salad leaves simply dressed with an oil and balsamic vinegar mix or with vegetables as I did.