Tuesday 8 December 2015

CURRENT: RECIPES

I've decided to make this a regular feature after seeing a few of you trying out some of my previous recipes on Instagram. 

Let me know if you try any of these! 

Corn Risotto

Don't tell anyone this but I have a 'Grains' cupboard. Yes, I am the girl who keeps four different types of rice (paella, risotto, brown & wild just so you know). I went to give it a good sort out the other night and I have bags of grains coming out my ears. Mixed quinoa, bulgar wheat, farro, the list goes on.  Ava must have clicked on to my love of a good grain because she got me this book for my birthday. This is the first recipe I made. It was so good that I decided immediately I had to blog it.

Serves 2.

500mls good veg or chicken stock, 1 large corn on the cob or 1 drained tin sweetcorn, 3 spring onions, 2 tbsp butter, 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 200gm risotto rice, 1/3 cup white wine, as much grated parmesan as you like, salt & pepper
  1. Put the stock on a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile remove the kernels from the corn and place in a bowl (or drain the tinned sweetcorn if using instead). Chop the spring onions, keeping the white and green parts separate
  2. In a saucepan melt half the butter with the oil and sauté the white parts of the spring onions until tender (about 5 minutes)
  3. Add the rice and stir until the grains become shiny and translucent. Pour in the wine and keep stirring until the liquid bubbles away
  4. Add a ladle of stock at a time, stirring constantly, until the rice has absorbed all of the stock. Repeat.
  5. After 15 minutes add the corn and most of the rest of the green spring onion. Continue adding more stock and stirring for another 5 minutes. 
  6. Turn off the heat and and stir in the cheese and remaining butter. Season to taste and sprinkle with the remaining spring onions
I served this with a grilled salmon fillet however I imagine it would be even more delicious adorned with a few slices of extra crispy streaky bacon. If you haven't tried the amazing combo of salty bacon and sweet juicy corn then you need to get on that. Stat.


Sausage, Butternut Squash & Sweetcorn Casserole

I must be going through some kind of sweetcorn fetish. But apparently this is Kelis' favourite recipe. As in the singer. I have no idea how I know this. Probably because I unashamedly read Closer magazine. Oh and I added sausages. Because what I blatantly don't read is the news. Particularly when it comes to processed food.

Serves 2. (with an extra portion for tomorrows lunch that you can fight over)

One packet of good quality sausages, 1 butternut squash (peeled, seeds removed and cut into cubes), 1/2 red onion (diced), 65 gm frozen sweetcorn kernels, 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp dried oregano, 240 ml whipping cream, 25 gm pecans (lightly toasted and chopped), 110 gm Gruyere cheese (grated)

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius or gas mark 4. Brown sausages in a frying pan and then place in a large casserole dish.
  2. Combine all the ingredients except the cheese and pour over the sausages. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  3. Remove dish from oven, lift off foil, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake uncovered for a further 30 minutes until the squash is tender and the cheese is golden brown.
Disclaimer: this dish will not make you feel skinny. But it's worth it.

Cider with Rosie's Tahini Noodles

I see tahini everywhere. I keep going to buy a jar and then wondering what the hell I would actually do with it so I put it back. Only to keep seeing the stuff everywhere. Taunting me for not being an adventurous or adept enough cook to constantly have half a jar open in the fridge. Then I found the perfect recipe. And subsequently spent half a day trying to source some. After 5 supermarkets I ended up paying £3 more than I should have in Whole Foods. Despite this, this noodle recipe from one of my favourite bloggers was pretty amazing. So much so that I've made it twice. And in order to use up the rest of the tahini have started making my own hoummous. Given that I shop in Waitrose and make my own hoummous I really feel I deserve to live in a better postcode by now.

Jamie O's Fiery Dan Dan Noodles

This recipe helped my life in two ways. 1) I have a jar of Szechuan peppercorns that cost an arm and a leg (thanks again Whole Foods) that I am dying to use up and 2) I got to use my new coffee grinder as a spice grinder. I know. I'm fucking wild. So if you have any recipes featuring the word 'Szechuan' then please do send them my way. This recipe was brill though and  allow me to fully utilise chilli oil. Which I would put on cornflakes if I could.

Serves 2.

1/2 beef or chicken stock cube, 250 gm minced beef, 1/2 runny honey. 150 gm noodles, 2 handfuls mixed green veg (I used Chinese cabbage, pak choi & sprouting broccoli), 2 peeled  & finely chopped cloves of garlic, 1 and 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp freshly ground Szechuan pepper (woohoo), 2 and 1/2 tbsp good quality chilli oil, 1 spring onion (finely sliced), 1/2 lime (cut into wedges)
  1. Crumble the stock cube into a pan of water and bring to the boil.
  2. Add the beef to a dry pan and keep it moving on a medium to high heat until it is golden and crunchy (about 10-15 minutes). Pour away any excess fat then add the honey and toss until mince is coated. Cook for about 30 seconds then take off the heat.
  3. Stir the noodles into the boiling stock and move them about a bit so they don't stick together. Cook according to pack instructions. Shred your cabbage, quarter your pak choi and snap up the broccoli spears. When the noodles have 1 minute to go, throw in the greens to blanch them then drain, reserving a mugful of the cooking water. Tip the noodles, veg and water back into the hot pan.
  4. Add the garlic, soy, Szechuan pepper and chilli oil. Give it a good mix with tongs then divide into two bowls. Sprinkle over the crunchy beef and scatter with the spring onion. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.

Winter Super Food Salad

This is for anyone who struggles to keep it healthy during the winter months. This salad from the Wholeheartedly Healthy Blog seriously rocked. I added a grilled mackerel fillet to mine because GOOD FATS but to be honest you can accompany it with what you want. Be it a bucket of chips if that's what you fancy. You might be missing the point if you do. But bikini season is ages away anyway. 

Rachel Allen's Sweet Potato & Chickpea Tagine

I spent a good 10 minutes looking to see if some other mug had taken the time to put this recipe online as it seemed like such a pain to write the whole thing out. Turns out no-one else could be bothered either. So I got the cook book and typed it out for you. Because this is one of the nicest veggie recipes I have tasted in ages. And I'm a mug.

Serves 4.

2 large sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper,  2 peppers (1 red, 1 yellow), large onion (thinly sliced), 3 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced), 3 tsp chopped root ginger, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsps paprika, 1 x 400gm tin chickpeas (rinsed and drained), 100ml veg stock, 1 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp chopped coriander, 75 gm toasted almonds (roughly chopped)

  1. Preheat oven to 230 degrees or gas mark 8.
  2. Peel and cut sweet potato into cubes and put in a bowl with some olive oil and seasoning. Spread cubes onto a large roasting tin and place the whole papers at one end on the same tin. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. Transfer the sweet potato to a bowl and set aside
  3. The peppers will need an additional 15 minutes to roast. They are ready when the skin has slightly blackened and the flesh feels soft underneath. When cooked, remove and place in a bowl covered with cling film (this makes skins easier to remove). When they are cool, peel off the skin. Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds then chop the flesh into 2cm pieces.
  4. While the sweet potatoes and peppers are cooking, pour olive oil into a large sauce pan and place on a medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and paprika then season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the onions are soft and beginning to brown.
  5. Add the chickpeas with the stock and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, peppers, honey and half the coriander, stir gently and season to taste.
  6. Transfer to a plate and serve with whatever you like. I went for couscous and natural yogurt. You could serve with pitta instead. And a dollop of that home-made hoummous you need to get rid of.

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