Mild Chicken Tikka Masala

Serves 4-6

Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients

700g/1½lb-900g/2lbs boneless chicken pieces
45ml/1½fl oz/3 tbsp vegetable oil
¼ red onion or 1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 large jar tikka masala sauce
125ml/4¼fl oz plain yoghurt

To Serve:
plain boiled rice
poppadoms

Optional Garnishes:
handful fresh coriander
30ml/1fl oz/2 tbsp toasted coconut or toasted almond flakes
boiled rice

Method

1. Fry the onion and garlic gently in the oil. Add the chicken pieces and fry until golden brown and cooked all the way through.
2. Add the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes
3. Add the yoghurt and stir through the sauce.
4. Place two poppadoms in the microwave, draped over a coffee cup for 10 seconds on high. Remove and gently press onto the cup to set. Repeat.
5. Serve the chicken and rice spooned inside the poppadom 'bowls'.

Christmas Club Sandwich

Serves 1
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time less than 10 mins

Ingredients

2 thick slices slightly stale country-style bread
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Greek-style yoghurt
1 tbsp double cream
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp clear honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices ready-made stuffing
4 slices ready-cooked turkey breast
2 tbsp ready-made cranberry sauce
handful mixed fresh herbs, such as chives, flatleaf parsley and basil
dash balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Heat a griddle pan until very hot and griddle the bread until lightly charred on both sides.
2. Place most of the olive oil in a small bowl with the yoghurt, cream, mustard and honey. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir to combine.
3. Spread half of the dressing on top of one of the slices of griddled bread and arrange the slices of stuffing on top. Cover with the turkey and the cranberry sauce.
4. In a bowl, dress the herbs with the rest of the olive oil and add the balsamic vinegar. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir to coat.
5. Place the herbs on top of the cranberry sauce and drizzle over the remaining dressing. Cover with the other slice of bread, secure with cocktail sticks and cut in half. Place on a plate and serve.

Chicken Chow Mein

Ingredients

150g/5oz dried yellow shi wheat flour noodles, or medium egg noodles
dash toasted sesame oil
300g/11oz skinless chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips
dash dark soy sauce
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 tsp chilli sauce (optional)
1 tbsp cornflour
1-2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 red pepper, de-seeded and finely sliced
150g/5oz bean sprouts
1 large spring onion, sliced lengthways
2 tbsp light soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Cook the noodles in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes until al dente, or according to packet instructions. Drain, then rinse under cold running water and drain again. Drizzle with a dash of sesame oil and toss through to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other.
2. Place the chicken strips in a bowl and season with a dash of dark soy sauce, the five-spice powder and chilli sauce, if using. Mix well, then lightly dust the chicken strips with the cornflour.
3. Heat a wok until smoking and add the groundnut oil, then add the chicken and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is golden-brown and cooked through.
4. Add the red pepper and stir fry for one minute, then add the bean sprouts and spring onion and stir fry for 30 seconds. Stir in the cooked noodles and season with the light soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Pile the noodles onto a serving plate and serve immediately.

Gnocchi all'arrabbiata

Ingredients

For the arrabbiata sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the gnocchi
150g/5½oz ready-made gnocchi, cooked according to packet instructions
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. For the arrabbiata sauce, heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft.
2. Add the chilli, vinegar and sugar and stir well.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer until thickened, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. For the gnocchi, place the gnocchi into a serving bowl and drizzle with oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir.
5. To serve, pour the sauce over the gnocchi.

Lamb with mashed potatoes, balsamic glazed baby onions and French beans in pancetta

Ingredients

For the lamb with red wine jus
12 lamb chops, trimmed (keep all trimmings and chine bone from rack)
4 tbsp clear honey
5 tbsp light olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
250ml/8¾fl oz red wine
1 litre/1¾ pints vegetable stock
For the balsamic glazed baby onions
300g/10½oz baby onions, peeled but left whole
150ml/5¼fl oz balsamic vinegar
For the French beans wrapped in pancetta
250g/8¾oz fine green beans, trimmed and blanched
4 slices thin pancetta
For the mashed potatoes
4 King Edward potatoes, peeled, chopped into even-sized pieces
salt, to taste
knob of butter
dash milk
150g/5¼oz parmesan, grated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the lamb with red wine jus, place the lamb chops into a large oven tray, drizzle over the honey and four tablespoons of the olive oil and add half of the rosemary. Cover and leave to rest for at least an hour in a cool place.
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat, add the lamb trimmings and bone and fry until dark in colour. Remove the lamb trimmings from the pan and set aside. Add the celery, onion, carrot, tomatoes and garlic to the same pan, reducing the heat to medium. Soften for two minutes before adding the tomato purée.
4. Increase the heat and fry, stirring regularly until the purée has become rich and dark. Return the bones to the pan, along with the red wine. Simmer until the volume of liquid has almost evaporated. Add the vegetable stock and the rest of the rosemary. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the volume of liquid has reduced by half. Before serving pass the gravy through a fine sieve into a clean pan and keep warm.
5. For the balsamic glazed baby onions, place the baby onions into a non-reactive, heavy-based roasting tray, pour over the balsamic vinegar and place in the preheated oven to cook for about 15 minutes, until caramelised and cooked through.
6. For the French beans wrapped in pancetta, divide the blanched beans into four equal-sized bunches. Wrap each bunch in pancetta. Place into the oven (still at 180C/350F/Gas 4) to cook for five minutes, or until the pancetta is crisp.
7. For the mashed potatoes, place the potatoes in a pan and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt, bring to the boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Boil for 12-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
8. Drain the potatoes well and mash with a potato masher or ricer until smooth.
9. Heat the milk and butter in a small pan until the butter has melted. Add the milk and butter mixture to the mashed potato, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine. Keep the potatoes warm while you cook the lamb.
10. To cook the lamb, heat a griddle pan until smoking. Drain the lamb chops, scraping off any excess marinade. Place six of the chops into a frying pan and fry over a very high heat for two minutes on each side for rare (longer if you prefer your meat more cooked through). Once cooked, set the chops aside in a warm place while you repeat the process with the remaining six chops.
11. To serve, place a dollop of mashed potato to one side of each of four serving plates. Lean three lamb chops on one side, and place a bundle of pancetta-wrapped beans alongside. Scatter a few onions around each plate and drizzle a generous portion of red wine jus over the chops and vegetables.

Scallops with chorizo

Ingredients

110g/4oz chorizo sausage
400g/1lb small scallops (or larger ones, halved across the middle), removed from their shells
½ lemon, juice only
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Method

1. Slice the chorizo into rounds no more than ¼cm thick.
2. Place a pan over a medium heat and fry the chorizo (without adding any oil, as the chorizo will give out plenty of its own oil) for about two minutes, or until crisp on both sides.
3. Remove the chorizo from the pan and transfer to a bowl. In the same pan, fry the scallops in the oil left by the chorizo for about a minute on each side.
4. Return the chorizo to the pan with the scallops, add the lemon juice and let it bubble for a few seconds.
5. To serve, place the chorizo and scallops onto a serving plate and sprinkle over the parsley. Serves four as a main course with the Chickpeas with cumin and sherry, or eight as a starter with a few salad leaves.

Roasted sea bass with chorizo, red onion and cherry tomatoes

Ingredients

For the chorizo
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
100g/3½oz chorizo, cut into chunks
2-3 sprigs thyme
50g/1¾oz black olives, stones removed
8 cherry tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sea bass
1 x 500g/1lb sea bass, head removed, scaled and gutted
small bunch fresh thyme
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chorizo.
3. Fry for 4-5 minutes until the oil runs out of the chorizo and the onions soften.
4. Add the thyme, olives and tomatoes and stir to combine.
5. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, before transferring the mixture to an ovenproof dish.
6. Using a sharp knife, slash skin of the sea bass diagonally along each side so that the flesh is exposed and place sprigs of thyme into the slashes.
7. Season the sea bass with salt and freshly ground black pepper and place on top of the chorizo mixture.
8. Drizzle over the olive oil and cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the fish is tender and cooked all the way through.
9. To serve,take the cooking dish to the table.

Aromatic Beef Curry

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 150 g (5½ oz) button mushrooms, sliced
• 400 g (14 oz) sirloin steak, trimmed of fat and cut into thin strips
• 1½ tsp bottled chopped root ginger in oil, drained
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ tsp crushed dried chillies
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, about 400 g
• 1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water
• 300 g (10½ oz) plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 125 g (4½ oz) young spinach leaves
• juice of ½ lime
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus extra leaves to garnish
• Cardamom rice:
• 340 g (12 oz) basmati rice, well rinsed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 whole green cardamom pods, cracked
• juice of ½ lemon
• salt

Preparation method

1.   Heat
   the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion and mushrooms. Cook over
   a high heat for 2 minutes or until the onion slices begin to colour.
2.   Add
   the beef together with the ginger, garlic, chillies, ground coriander,
   cardamom, turmeric and nutmeg. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring well, then
   add the tomatoes with their juice and the cornflour mixture. Bring to
   the boil, stirring. Stir in the yogurt and honey. Bring back to the
   boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
3.   Meanwhile,
   prepare the cardamom rice. Put 450 ml (15 fl oz) cold water in a
   saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the rice, cinnamon stick and
   cardamom pods. Bring back to the boil, then cover tightly and cook for
   10 minutes or until the rice is tender. Drain and return the rice to
   the saucepan. Stir in the lemon juice and keep covered until the curry
   is ready to serve.
4.   Stir
   the spinach, lime juice and chopped coriander into the curry and allow
   the leaves to wilt down into the sauce. To serve, spoon the curry over
   the rice and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Here goes.....

Ok, this Blog is going to be like a recipe database.

It will have various foods I like and various foods that I have been told about...

So enjoy reading and hopefully enjoy cooking!

Thanks