Cyder with Eloise

February 7, 2010

Masoor dal with Pumpkin

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: , — tamara @ 7:57 pm

If cooking in a slow cooker it is worth preparing the ingredients as described below rather then just throwing everything together in the pot, it really will enhance the flavours.

Ingredients
600g Pumpkin, approximate weight once you have peeled and de-seeded, sliced into large chunks
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Brown mustard seeds
2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Groundnut oil
1 Onion, peeled and chopped
4 Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
250g Red lentils, soaked for 30 minutes and refreshed in cold water
3 tsp Curry powder, I use hot but you can use a medium one if you wish
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Brown sugar
50ml concentrated vegetable stock
1/2 inch Ginger, peeled and chopped
150ml Water (if cooking on the stove)

Method – Slow cooker
Heat the oven to gas mark 5 (190c/375f). Lay the pumpkin out on a baking tray and sprinkle over the salt and olive oil. Roast for 25 minutes to start to develop the flavour. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle, then chop roughly into 2cm cubes.
While the pumpkin is roasting you can start to prepare the other ingredients.
Dry fry the mustard and cumin seeds in a frying pan over the stove, set aside, then add the groundnut oil to the pan and soften the onions and garlic, pour into the slow cooker.
Add all the other ingredients to the slow cooker including the toasted seeds and chopped pumpkin.
Cook for 8 hours on medium, or until the lentils have gone quite soft.
Try not to lift the lid too often to stir, but do check that it has not gone too dry, if it has then add extra water.

Method – Stove top
Prepare the pumpkin as above.
Dry fry the mustard and cumin seeds in a frying pan over the stove, set aside.
Heat the groundnut oil in a heavy based pan and soften the onions and garlic. Add all the other ingredients to the pan including the toasted seeds, chopped pumpkin and water then bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer a cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils have gone quite soft. Stirring regularly to ensure it is does not dry out, adding more water if necessary.

I’d like to try this recipe with butternut squash instead of pumpkin, if you do then please note you may not need to add as much sugar.

February 6, 2010

Six Nations & Pasties

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: , — tamara @ 4:05 pm

While everyone in the US is gearing up for the superbowl, here in the UK those who care about a real game are preparing for the Six Nations Rugby kick off. It’s quite traditional to associate food and sports in the US but less so in Britain, although Lenny did only go to a football match once because he had heard that Walsall had won an award for best pies.

It has started to be come a tradition for us to have a little cook off first to help the beers go down. If we are going out to the pub to watch the games we have in the past prepared sneaky little tapas bites and Spanish omelette, but we are stopping in today so I’m making pasties.

These are not traditional Cornish pasties as they would tend to have a few less ingredients and the filling is not normally cooked first.

The quantities in the pasty are down to your tastes really. I have used equal quantities of vegetables and meat. Any of the filling that is left over you can freeze to use another day or fill a pie dish and add some beef stock and use the left over pastry to cover. You can also freeze any prepared but uncooked pasties and then cook from frozen.

Make 8-10 Pasties

Ingredients
600g Plain flour, sifted6nations
1/2 tsp Salt
125g Butter
125g Lard
50ml Cold water
1/2 tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion (approx 75g), finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Potatoes (approx 300g), peeled & diced into approx 2-3mm cubes
1/2 Swede (approx 125g), peeled & diced into approx 2-3mm cubes
2 Carrots (approx 100g), peeled & diced into approx 2-3mm cubes
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Oregano
600g Rump steak, cut into small cubes approx 1cm
1 tbsp Plain flour
A pinch of sea salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper
1 Egg, beaten for glazing

Method
Rub the butter and lard into the flour and salt to until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle enough water over the crumbs to bring the pastry together, but not too wet.
Knead lightly on a floured surface until smooth.
Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes until required.
Soften the onions in the olive oil in a heavy based pan on the stove, add the other vegetables along with the thyme, oregano, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper. Stir together then put the lid on the pan for 10 minutes to soften slightly.
Add the steak and simmer for 10 minutes stirring frequently, stir in the flour and remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Roll out the pastry in to 8-10 disks approx 20cm in diameter, about as think as a £1 coin.
Lay the pastry disks on a well floured baking tray and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until ready to cook.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5 (190C/375F).
Remove the pastry from the fridge and one at a time brush the edges with some milk which will help the pastry seal. Spoon some of the pasty filling (approx 2-3 tablespoon) on to half of the disk. Fold the other half of the disk over the filling and press the edges firmly together. Turn the edges over to form a crimp all along the edge. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and using a knife a cut a small air hole in the centre of the pasty to allow steam to escape while cooking. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, check after about half an hour to make sure the pastry is not browning too much and if you you can cover them lightly with tin foil.

While making this recipe I come up with the idea (too late now!) for a 6 Nations Pasty. Next time :)
England – Local British Beef
Ireland – Potatoes
Scotland – Use the more traditional turnips rather the swede
Wales – Replace the onions above for 2 leeks
France – Dijon mustard
Italy – Oregano

February 3, 2010

Jerusalem Artichokes

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: — tamara @ 9:33 pm

In season at the moment are Jerusalem artichokes. They are not widely used in Britain which is a shame as they are extremely tasty & versatile. They can also be used both raw and cooked.

For more information on Jerusalem artichokes check out the eat the seasons website.

    Potato gratin with Jerusalem Artichokes and Leeks

Serves 3- 4. This dish is as versatile as the ingredients, we served this with pork chops and broccoli but it can be served as a main dish by itself, or with any other grilled meat.

Ingredients
350g Potatoes, peeled & sliced into approx 2-3mm slices
1 Leek, sliced
200-250g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled & sliced into approx 2-3mm slices
300ml Milk
1 Vegetable or chicken stock cube (If you would rather use fresh stock try and concentrate it as much as possible and make it up to 300ml with the above milk, as this does give a nice creamy flavour.)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
25g Butter
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
25g Parmesan cheese

Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease a baking dish with some butter.
Layer half the potatoes across the bottom of the dish. Next layer on the artichokes, and then the leeks. Add some seasoning.
Layer on the second half of potatoes.
In a small pan heat the butter and add the milk, garlic, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then remove from the heat and pour evenly over the gratin.
Cover the dish tightly with tin foil and cook for 1 hour. Test with a knife to see if it cooked though, the knife should not meet any resistance, if it does carry on cooking covered for another 25 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle over the parmesan cheese and bake for another 15 minutes or until the cheese has started to brown.
Serve.

Trish:
You may omit the butter, but I think all the other ingredients will meet your standards :)

February 1, 2010

Olive Recommends

Filed under: Blog — tamara @ 9:53 pm

I don’t think I have introduced my side bar list ‘Olive Recommends’. Food bloggers that have appeared in the reader blog of the month feature in BBC magazine Olive.

This months entry is from Charlie Shaw, a butcher from London’s Borough Market. Check out his blog butcherhook.net for tips on preparing or cooking meaty dishes and follow his meat travels and recommended hang outs.

Preparing a Chicken to a Full English Breakfast

Previous entries include:

The fabulous MOWIELICIOUS. You can put calories on just looking at Mowies photos but they are so worth it.

and

Bill Pearson visits and reports on various foodie locations and small independent food producers across Britain. A handy map shows the locations of places featured in the Good Food Shops Blog and rather more bizarly but none the less interesting is a map different traditional gingerbreads of the UK. I’m interested to know what the next map feature maybe.

I love checking out new foodie blogs to see what people are cooking all over the world so any suggestions you’d like to share, if it is your own blog or one you just really like reading please leave me a message.

January 31, 2010

Chicken Biryani

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: , — tamara @ 7:38 pm

This method produces really light fluffy rice and I love the sweetness of the onions.

I always remind people to count out the cloves and cardamom pods as we come across them, so no nasty soapy surprises. I could pick them out when serving, but where is the fun in that.

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts and the meat from 2 chicken legs or thighs – chopped into 2cm cubes or thereabouts.
2 Onions – peeled and sliced into whole rings
2 tbsp groundnut oil
Pinch of Saffron
10 Cloves
2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
1 inch Ginger, peeled and grated
3 Garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
1 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Paprika
2 Cinnamon sticks
6 Cardamom pods
2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Lemon juice
200ml Yoghurt
150g Basmati rice, unrinsed

Method
In a small pot put the saffron with approx 10 tsp boiling water and leave to infuse.
Heat the groundnut oil in a frying pan and fry the onion slices until golden brown. Remove from pan and drain well on kitchen paper. Set aside.
Grind 4 cloves in a pestle and mortar and then roughly grind 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp coriander seeds, put in a mixing bowl, with ginger, garlic, cayenne, turmeric, paprika, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamom pods, 1 tsp salt, lemon juice, 1/2 the saffron mixture and the yoghurt. Mix well and then coat the chicken in the marinade, leave to marinate for 30 minutes to 4 hours.
Use some of the oil from the fried onions to grease a casserole dish (preferably one that can be used on the stove top as well as in the oven with a tight fitting lid – ideally a Le Creuset style pot). Spread the meat evenly out over the bottom of the dish, reserve any extra marinade. Sprinkle over the meat 3/4 of the onions.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 3 (160c).
Bring to the boil 2 1/2 pints of water, add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamom pods and 6 cloves and infuse on a low heat for 5 minutes before adding the rice. Simmer for 10 minutes and then drain, the rice should still have a soft bite to it.
Take a large scoop (approximately 1/4) of the rice and mix it in with any remaining sauce from the marinade. Spread evenly over the meat mixture, and then follow with the remaining rice, pour over the remaining saffron mixture and sprinkle on the onions. Cover the dish with tin foil and the lid. Place on the stove at a medium heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Serve using a large spoon so you do not mix up the meat and rice. You can leave the dish covered for up to 30 minutes before serving without having to heat it up.

January 23, 2010

Huevos rancheros

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: — tamara @ 2:01 pm

I have been wanting to buy a tortilla press for a number of years, but always felt I could not justify the expense when I could just roll out tortillas and chapatis. They never really turned out quite how I wanted, so finally I have succumbed and purchased yet another kitchen gadget that I don’t have room for! So to prove to myself that this was a good investment I have been cooking Fajitas, Taco’s and Huevos rancheros all week!

The tortilla press I got from Coolchile, for corn tortillas you use Masa Harina, but I don’t yet know where else to buy this from and the postage is quite expensive so if anyone knows where I can buy this in the UK please leave me a note.

There are many versions of huevos rancheros or ranch style eggs, some people serve them with sausage, refried beans or fried eggs but this is how I like it.

If your serving this for breakfast you can make most of the components the night before so there is less to do in the morning.

    Huevos rancheros

Serves 2
Ingredients
2 Corn tortillas
3 tbsp Black bean chilli
2 tbsp Guacamole
2 tbsp Salsa
4 Eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt & pepper
Knob of butter

Method
Heat the butter in a frying pan and pour in the eggs, scramble the eggs using a fork, being careful not to over cook them.
Lay the tortilla out on a plate and on one half serve half the eggs, on the other half serve the black bean chilli. Spoon over the guacamole and salsa.

    Black bean chilli

Ingredients
250g Black turtle beans, soaked for 24 hrs.
1 Bay leaf
1 tbsp Olive oil
2 Shallots, finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp Tomato purée
1 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp Ground coriander
1/2 tsp Chilli flakes
1/2 tsp Coco powder

Method
In a large sauce pan cover the beans with plenty of water, add the bay leaf and bring to the boil, simmer for an hour to cook the beans or until they are soft.
In another pan heat the olive oil and soften the onion and garlic. Add the cooked beans and all the other ingredients, simmer for 20 minutes.

    Guacamole

Ingredients
1 Avocado
4 Cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño, finely chopped
1 Garlic clove, crushed
1/2 Lime
Handful of freshly chopped coriander

Method
Scoop out the avocado from it’s skin and roughly chop, put in a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Using a fork crush some of the avocado against the side of the bowl so you have some chunky fruit and some pulpy and then fold all the ingredients together.

January 18, 2010

Cooking the Cowboy Way

Filed under: Books, Recipies — Tags: — tamara @ 9:50 pm

“The kind of fare that any hard-working, independent, courageous, modern-day wrangler, even a wrangler of office files or Junior’s soccer team, would be mighty glad to come and git.” – Colman Andrews

Cooking The Cowboy Way – Grady Spears & June Naylor.cowboy

Grady Spears grew up in Texas, dreaming of life on the trail, a path that he was lucky enough to be able to follow from high school. Now as a restauranteur and chef he has created cowboy menus for restaurants in Texas and California as well as for the Bush family at the Texas Governor’s mansion. He owns Grady’s Restaurant in his hometown of Fort Worth.

Grady has already released several cookbooks including The Texas Cowboy Kitchen co-written with June Naylor with whom he now he hits the cowboy trail. June is an award winning journalist and author who has covered food, dining and travel for more then twenty years.

The cowboy who is up before dawn and back in camp long after sundown knows the hardships of raising a head of cattle, he has a great respect for the food he has worked hard to raise, and the land that is so much a part of his life. Cowboy food is good, honest, simple, comforting and reminiscent of a way of life that has changed very little over the years.

This is a collection of recipes and stories gathered on the trail from cowboy cooks, chuck wagons and ranch kitchens. The story of cooking the cowboy way is told through local knowledge and visits to ranches and cafes all across North America; from Calgary, Alberta to the southern state of Florida. Each chapter includes an introduction to the ranches and recipes from that area. Photography by David Manning is evocative of life out on the range and modern day cowboy life. There is also a handy glossary if your unfamiliar with some of the cowboy terms.

To be honest, from the outset I had expected and looked forward to nothing but meat based recipes, large chunks of steak on the BBQ or over the fire with a few beans, but I was pleasantly surprised. The recipe selection is as diverse as the range of cooking methods; including many vegetable dishes, salads, baked breads, cakes and desserts. There are over fifteen different rubs, marinades, dressings and sauces that can be adapted to meat or fish, and after a long dry day in the saddle there are a selection of drinks to quench the thirst.

Most ingredients in this book can be purchased from your local store/butchers taking into account that some meat cuts and breeds are not available in the UK, but it is easy enough to substitute and there is a list of resources at the back of the book.

NB:The reference to kosher salt is not a term used often in the UK. This salt is large grain with no additives, use coarse or cooking salt.

The cooking directions are clear, easy to use and have been written so that anyone can cook these at home in a conventional oven, I would have liked to see more instruction on how to go about cooking outdoors for example in dutch ovens, but recipes can be easily modified and I am going to report on my progress with cooking outdoors over the next few months on my blog.

Grady uses his cooking to reach back to his cowboy experiences. The recipes in this book can transport you too, pull on your boots, grab your Stetson and light up the camp-fire, for some good honest, rustic cowboy food.

With so many recipes to choose from it’s been hard to know which to try first, I’m saving some of the one pot dishes and BBQ meats for when the weather perks up here in England so come back soon to have a look how I got on. In the meantime here is a little taster.

    Red River Salsa

I loved the use of the roasted garlic here. I char-grill my vegetables under the oven grill and roast the garlic on a baking tray for approximately 15 minutes at gas mark 4. I also don’t de-seed my jalapenos, either they are not as hot as the ones in the US or I just like it spicy.

Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
2 poblano chillies (large dark green chilli)
1 head of garlic, roasted
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
2 to 3 teaspoons cumin seeds, roasted
½ up fresh coriander, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Salt

Method
Over gas or charcoal grill, char the tomatoes, bell pepper and poblanos. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skins. They suggest using rubber gloves for this. Add the pulps to a food processor, squeeze the roasted garlic head, removing the soft meats from their skins. Add the roasted garlic to the food processor, along with the onion, jalapenos, cumin seeds, coriander and lime juice. Pulse until the mixture is nubby in texture. Add salt and serve warm or chilled. The salsa will keep in the fridge, covered for 3 to 4 days.

    Dutch’s Portobello Mushroom Burger with Herbed Mayo & Greens

I like to use corander instead of roasemary and serve with the above salsa.

Ingredients
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
Salt
4 hamburger buns, toasted
2 cups field greens, or 1 bunch of arugula (rocket)
8 thin slices tomato
4 thin slices red onion
4 slices Swiss cheese

Herbed Mayonnaise
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tsp mince fresh rosemary
1 roasted garlic clove, minced

Method
In a large bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar and mustard. Place the mushrooms in the marinade and let sit for at least 1 hour. While the mushrooms are marinating, make the herbed mayo, combining all the ingredients in a bowl; cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven 400f (gas mark 6) or prepare a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat. Remove the marinated mushrooms from the liquid and season with salt. Discard the marinade. On the grill cook the mushrooms over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes in each side; in the oven, roast them, top side down, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Spread the herbed mayonnaise evenly in each half of the buns. Place each mushroom on a bottom bun and put a quarter of the greens atop each warm mushroom. Top with 2 slices of tomato and a slice each of onion and cheese. Serve warm.

January 17, 2010

Mango & Banana Smoothie

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: — tamara @ 1:00 pm

Lenny’s not normally interested in smoothies, so when I find one he really likes it must be worth posting!

Serves 2

IngredientsSmoothies2
1 Mango
1 Banana
150ml Orange juice
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
3-6 Ice cubes

Method
Chop the fruit and add to a blender with the orange juice and blend. Then add the yoghurt and ice cubes. Blend again to incorporate and serve while chilled.

January 16, 2010

Nonya Chicken Curry Kapitan

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: , , — tamara @ 6:00 pm

Nonya is a description for the coming together of two cuisines, Chinese and Malay (nyonya). Coconut, chilli and ginger or galangal are the key ingredients, as are the sweet & sour flavours you get with lime and palm sugar or tamarind paste.

I have made a nonya chicken curry before from a recipe by Madha Jaffery, although it was quite different with tomatoes, potatoes and tamarind.

This recipe is adapted from Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey.

Ingredients
4 Dried red chillies, soaked till soft in hot water then chopped
200g Shallots, roughly chopped
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 tsp Turmeric powder
25g Garlic, roughly chopped
1 inch Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Lemongrass stalks, chopped
1/2 tsp Shrimp paste
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
3 Chicken breasts, sliced
3 tbsp Desiccated coconut
300ml Coconut milk
1 Cinnamon stick
1 tsp Palm sugar
1 tsp Salt
Juice 1/2 Lime
Coriander, chopped to garnish

Method
Put the ingredients for the curry paste into a blender – Chillies, shallots, spices, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, shrimp paste and 1 tbsp of oil.
Heat a dry frying pan and add the desiccated coconut and stir until lightly golden. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and crush to a fine powder.
Heat the remaining oil in a large heavy based saucepan and add the spice paste and fry while stirring for 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken and continue stirring for 3 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, cinnamon stick, sugar and salt, simmer for 30 minutes to reduce the coconut milk. You can spoon off any excess oil that appears on the top.
Add the lime juice and ground coconut and simmer for a further minute. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with plain basmati rice.

January 13, 2010

Falafel

Filed under: Recipies — Tags: , , — tamara @ 8:24 pm

I have written the recipe out so many times, why oh why can I never find it when I need it. This is one of the recipes that inspired me to start my blog in the first place so I could not believe it when I realised I’ve not added it. So here goes:

Ingredients
250g Dried chickpeas, soaked for 24 hrs
1 Bay leaf
2 Garlic cloves
2 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 Large bunch of coriander
1 Large bunch of flat leaf parsley
3 Spring onions
1/2 White onion
50g Chickpea flour
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
500ml Sunflower oil, or adjust the amount depending on the size of your frying pan

Method
Bring a pan with salted water and a bay leaf to the boil, cook the chickpeas for at least an hour or until they start to soften. Put 1/2 the chick peas in a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb.
Roughly chop the coriander & parsley and thinly slice the spring onions.
Crush the garlic cloves in a pestle and mortar with some sea salt.
Grate the onion (watch your eyes!) and add all the remaining ingredients to a food processor.
If your not using a food processor make sure you finely chop all the ingredients including the remaining chick peas and put in a mixing bowl.
Pulse the ingredients until combined but the mixture is still quite rough. Season well.
Shape the falafel into flat disks approximately 2cm thick.
Heat the oil in a frying pan (or use a deep fat fryer), when it is hot add the falafel, I cook about 5 at a time. Fry until golden brown and drain on some kitchen paper.
Serve with toasted pitta breads, salad, hummus and sweet pepper & chilli sauce sauce.

This recipe makes about 15 falafel. We normally greedily eat the first 2 out of the pan on their own and burn our mouths, but what I don’t use straight away I freeze. They make a great grab and go lunch, I just heat them up in the dreaded microwave at work.

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