Home made Thai Green paste...and curry!

As with pesto this tastes so much better made at home then out of a jar and is so simple there really is no excuse!

Ingredients:



(this isn't really the 'proper' thai curry paste recipe but you're more likely to have these things at home and it works just as well!)

For the paste:
Fresh corriander - the more the better in my opinion!
Ground Corriander
Ground Cumin
Lime Juice/Fresh Lime
Green Chillies
Fish Sauce
Garlic
Ginger

For the curry:
Coconut milk
Noodles/Rice
Meat or Fish
Onions
Veg of your choice (spring onions, peppers, carrots, pak choy)

Method:

I dont really use exact measurements as everyone likes a bit for chilli, corriander, lime depending on preference so just mix it up to make it work for you!

1. In a pestle and mortar or little blender put a good couple of handlefuls of fresh chopped corriander, chopped chillies (as many as you want depending how scipy you like it) a theaped easpoon of ground corriander and cumin, a tablespoon of lime juice, a good sized teaspoon of fishsauce, grated garlic and ginger, and mix, sauce done!

2. Place your noodles or rice on the hob to cook, following instructions on the packet!

3. In a wok/pan put your sliced onions, carrots and meat if you are using any and oil and cook until softened, then add your paste and fry for 30 seconds or so to release the flavours.

4. Add you coconut milk and fish if you are using any, the rest of your veg and bring to the boil then simmer, if you want your veg crunchy add once the dish has come to the boil then simmer for a short amount of time.

5. Add some more fresh chopped corriander at the end and possibly a dash more lime juice if it needs it!

Posh Smoked Salmon Pasta... in minutes!

I tried this one up as I had a load of Smoked Salmon to use up and it turned out really well so thought I would share! It's pretty basic but seriously yummy!

Ingredients:

Smoked Salmon

Pasta

Rocket

Cucumber

Cream Cheese

Creme Fraiche (optional)

Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper

Courgette/Mangetoe/Sugar snap peas

Salad dressing (preferably a Balsamic one)

Olive oil

Method:

1. Put your pasta on to cook

2. In a mixing bowl slice you 3/4 of your smoked salmon, add rocket, salt and pepper, lemon juice, cream cheese and a tablespoon of creme fraiche to lighten it slightly if you wish.  Mix it all up so you have a creamy, not too thick sauce, you can add a drizzle of olive oil also if you want.

3. Made a nice green salad using the rocket and cucumber and in a fry pan just very quickly fry off you thinly sliced courgette/mangetoe or sugarsnap peas in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper so they are still crunchy but slightly browned on the outside.

4. Once the pasta is cooked drain it and mix in with the sauce.

5. Serve up with the salad and add the remaining smoked salmon to the salad, dress your salad and you're ready to go!

Two minute tasty Peanut Noodle dish!

This literally takes minutes and uses things you normally have at home, it's a perfect post gym meal, full of protien and quick!! 

Ingredients

Sauce:

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1/3 cup veggie broth (or water)

1/4-1 teaspoon red chiles, crushed

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tamari (soy sauce)

Everything Else:

4 oz brown rice noodles or any you have

1 tablespoon olive oil – groundnut if you have it

1/2 medium onion

4 cups assorted veggies (cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, peppers, celery etc)

Chicken/Tofu if you want

Optional Toppings:

Bean Sprouts

Corriander

Lime juice

Instructions:

In a bowl, whisk together ingredients for sauce, tasting and adding more of anything you may want. If you like it mild, add less red chiles (1/4 teaspoon) and if you like it hot, add more! Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onion and cook until onion is fragrant and translucent, 4-5 minutes. Stir in choice of veggies and cook for two more minutes.

Next, add in peanut sauce and reduce temperature to low. Cover and let cook until veggies are tender, 6-8 minutes.

Cook brown rice noodles according to package while veggies are cooking.

Add drained rice noodles to the veggie mixture along with the meat/tofu if used.

Serve with bean sprouts, coriander, and lime juice.

Homemade Pesto...and a pasta recipe too!

What is pesto?? Everyone loves it but few know what's actually in it and it tastes sooo much better when you make it yourself and will take you seconds!!

For the pesto:

75 g2¾ oz rocket
75 g2¾ oz baby spinach
75 g2¾ oz basil
75 g2¾ oz mint
2 garlic cloves, minced on a grater
120 g4¼ oz mixed nuts such as peanuts, salted cashews and pistachios
150 ml5¼ fl oz olive oil
½ lemon
Black pepper, to taste

Pesto usually uses pine nuts but they are expensive so go with whatever you have at home! It also usually has parmesan in but as you will see later in the recipe we have left it out of this stage so that it lasts a lot longer in the fridge and have mixed it up with a bit of feta instead.

To make the pasta dish:

2 rashers of bacon
1 courgette, peeled into long, thin strips
300 g10½ oz dried pasta shells or conchiglie pasta if you can find it
100 g3½ oz feta, crumbled (could also use goats cheese or mozarella)

Method: 

1.    Cook the pasta shells in lightly salted water according to the packet instructions. Stir the pasta once at the start of cooking to prevent sticking.

2.    Heat a griddle, or a non-stick frying pan, and dry fry the bacon until crispy on both sides. Once crisp, remove and drain then add the peeled courgette strips to the same pan and griddle for a couple of minutes to colour and crisp up but be careful not to burn them.

3.    Meanwhile, PESTO RECIPE: add in the herbs, leaves, minced garlic and nuts into a blender and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Blitz until roughly combined, then gradually pour in half of the olive oil and blitz into a paste consistency. Add the rest of the olive oil.

4.    At this stage you can transfer the pesto to a sealable container and store in the fridge until needed. It should keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. If you dont add the cheese at this stage it keeps for a lot longer!

5.    Drain the pasta and place into a bowl. Pour the pesto on top and crumble over the feta cheese. Mix together so the pasta is well covered and the pesto collects in the pasta shells. Transfer to a serving bowl.  

6.    Chop the bacon into small pieces and scatter over, along with the griddled courgette strips. Squeeze over some more lemon juice and drizzle with a little olive oil, then serve.

Steak and Blue Cheese Salad

An awesome summer salad, quick but sooo tasty, inherited from Mumma Ju this is a family favourite!

Ingredients:

2 steaks

Blue cheese

Cherry tomatoes

Pine nuts or walnuts

Cucumber

Lettuce

2 red onions

Brown sugar

Olive oil

Butter

Potatoes

Method:

1. Cut the potatoes in wedges, drizzle olive oil and season and place in the over at 250 degrees, if you want to cook them faster par boil them in a pan of water first.

2. Cut your red onions into thin strips and place in a fry pan with butter, olive oil and brown sugar and leave to simmer on a low heat to caramelise.

3. Get out your dinner plates and cover with salad and chop cherry tomatoes in half and cucumber in slices and place on top.

4. Cut the cheese into small cubes and scatter along with the nuts.

5. Heat up a frying pan or griddle with a large knob of butter until its very very hot.

6. Season the steaks with salt and pepper before placing in the frying pan, turning and cooking until they are cooked the desired amount.

7. Remove steaks and slice into thin slices before place over the salad.

8. Finally place the caramelised onions on and around the steak and salad.

9. Serve with potato wedges or fresh bread.

Homemade ginger and orange Granola

Want to be healthy but it still taste soooo yummy then try out this for breakie...! Make a batch and it will last you for weeks!

 

Ingredients:

250g jumbo rolled oats

50g nibbed or flaked almonds

50g pumpkin seeds

50g sunflower seeds

1tsb ground ginger

Pinch of salt

50g butter

5-6 tbsp honey

1 large orange

Method:

1. Pre heat the oven to 180oC.

2. Mix the oats, almonds, pumkin seeds, sunflower seed, ginger and salt in a large bowl.

3. Melt 50g butter with 5-6 tbsp honey, and then add the grated zest of 1 large orange.

4. Pour the melted butter over the oat mixture and stir well.

5. Spread the mixture on wide baking tray and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown, giving it a stir every 5 minutes to ensure it colours evenly.

Tip: Dont put the oven too high and take time to stir often and just be patient, its worth the wait if you let it just cook slowly and get nice and brown!

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a big favourite of all my friends, quick easy and healthy healthy healthy!!.. Nutrious and delicious!

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts x 2
Fresh ginger about 3cm
Garlic x 2 cloves
Fresh Coriander, roughly a handful finely chopped
Noodles - whatever type you like, rice, flat, vermicelli, egg, instant!
Red chilli x 1
Chicken stock cube or miso soup sachet
Onion x 1
carrot x 1
celery x 1 or whatever veg you have got in your fridge
Spring onions x 2
Soy sauce
Pepper
Maggi sauce and Sweet Chillie sauce are optional additions


All veg is optional and can change with what you've got.
 
Method:

1. Wack the chicken breasts in an oven proof dish, season and then cover with foil and put in a preheated oven (around 200 degrees) to cook for roughly 20 minutes. Cut up red chilli really small, take out seeds depending how spicy you want it
2. Take off the skin from ginger and garlic and then finely grate

3. Cut onion up really small and finely chop coriander.

5. Put garlic, ginger, onion, half coriander and chillie in pan with onion and gently fry until onions are soft.
 
6. Add stock/soup and hot water (as much as u want start with a pint or so then can add more later if you want more soup but flavour is stronger with less water.
 
7. Bring to the boil, when boiling add carrots and celery and cook for 2 mins
 
8. Turn heat off and add few swigs of soy sauce, rest of the corriander and the spring onions.

Easiest Desert Ever! - Orange and Lemon Posset

Great dinner party desert, you can prepare in the morning, it takes minutes and it tastes delicious!!

Ingredients:

600ml cream

150g sugar

Juice of 2 lemons

Juice of 1 orange and zest

Langue du chat or shortbread biscuit as an optional side!

Method:

1. Pour the cream into a small sauce pan add the sugar.  Slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Once it comes to the boil, let it bubble for a few minutes stirring all the time.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the lemon juice and orange juice plus the orange zest stirring the mixture thoroughly as you do it.  It should start to thicken instantly.

3. Allow to cool and then pour into individual glasses, cover with cling film and put in the fridge to chill.

Creamy Spinach Salmon Lasagna

Love lasgana but fancy a change...here is your solution.. I think I might even prefer it!

Ingredients:

Lasagne sheets

Salmon cut into small chunks

Spinach about 4 cubes defrosted

200g unsalted butter

4 heaped tbsp corn flour

2 litres milk

Jif lemon

1 tub mascarpone cheese

Bunch finely chopped parsley

200g fresh grated parmesan

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large pan and add in the corn flour and blend well.

2. Mix in the milk a little at a time, beating well to stop any lumps, bring to the boil.

3. Remove the sauce from the heat and then stir in the mascarpone and parsley and squeeze of lemon, also add plenty of seasoning.

4. Butter an ovenproof dish and cover with a layer of sauce then lasagne sheets.

5. Place in some of the pieces of salmon and some of the spinach, dot with butter and sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

6. Continue the layers, and then finish off with the sauce, making sure all the pasta is covered and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

7. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling at 200oC

8. Serve with sprinkle of parsley.

Easy Peasy Cakes

Anyone who says they can't cook a cake or even need a recipe is lying!!
Here is your fool proof, easy to remember, all in one cake mix!
All you need to remember is 6,6,6,3!

Ingredients:

6oz Self Raising Flour

6oz caster sugar

6oz unsalted butter

3 eggs

Few drops of vanilla essence

1tsp baking powder

Buttercream icing:

Icing sugar

Unsalted butter

Dash of milk

Any food colouring colours you want!



Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, a little lower if you have a fan oven.

2. Grease proof paper you cake tin or get out your cup cake trays.

3. In a large bowl or a magimix place all the ingredients, sifting the flour.

4. Mix it all up into a smooth, yummy cake mix.

5. Place in cake tin or cup cake holders and put in the oven for 25 minutes - do not open the oven whilst they are cooking!!

6. Remove after 25 minutes and leave to cool.

7. For the icing just place 200g butter in a bowl and whisk until smooth then add icing sugar and whisk up with a splash of milk and add colouring or cocoa powder for different colours and flavours. Continue to add icing sugar until the mixture is stiff and dense.

8. Once cooled decorate whichever way you want! I will upload pictures of the various different designs I have done... comment if you want more details

Ideas..

For the raspberry jam filling use a knife and cut out a cone shape from the middle of your cup cake, put a small teaspoon of jam in then push the cone cake bit back in on top.




For oreo cup cakes carefully split your oreo and place half a biscuit in the bottom of your cup cake before adding the cake mix and baking.  You can also add some cocoa to the cake mix for extra chocolateyness!  Then crush up the remaining oreos and add to the icing mix for added oreo goodness!!




For nice swirls with your icing invest in an icing bag, very cheap and perfect for the professional look finish.


For two tone icing split your icing, colour one a different colour to the other and then lie your piping bag on the side filling it up with one icing on the bottom and the other on top.

Beetroot Risotto

Yum, yum, yum!! Love the colour and the taste is just as good! A great alternative to your tradtiontal risotto! I served mine with grilled chicken and a feta and rocket salad.

Ingredients:

500g fresh beetroot
2 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
1 onion , finely chopped
1 garlic clove , finely chopped
250g rissotto rice
150ml white wine
700ml hot vegetable stock
handful grated Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)
4 tbsp soured cream
handful chopped dill

Method:

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Peel and trim the beetroots (use kitchen gloves if you don't want your hands to get stained) and cut into large wedges. Place on a large sheet of foil on a baking sheet. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, season, then cook for 1 hr until the beets are soft.

2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil with the butter in an ovenproof pan with a lid. Tip in the onion and garlic, then cook for 3-5 mins until translucent. Stir in the rice until well coated with the butter and oil. Pour over the white wine, then let the mixture bubble away for 5 mins.

3. Stir well, then pour over the stock. Stir again, cover and place in the oven. Cook for 15 mins until the rice is soft. Remove the beetroots from the oven. Whizz ¼ of them to make a purée, then chop the remainder into small pieces. Stir most of the Parmesan, the beetroot purée and chopped beetroot through the risotto, then serve with some soured cream dolloped over and the dill and extra Parmesan scattered on top.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Possibly the yummiest soup I have ever had, a great winter warmer and filling meal!

Ingredients:

1kg butternut squash/pumpkin, deseeded and cut into 1cm cubes

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

4 tsp red thai curry paste

450ml vegetable stock

400ml coconut milk

142ml pot of single cream

20g pack fresh basil, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven for 180oC.  Place the pumpkin or butternut squash on a non-stick baking tray and season.  Roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium pan and add the onion and ginger.  Cover and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the pumpkin, stock and coconut milk.  Cover and bring to the boil, then allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.

3. Puree the soup in a food processor or blender in 2 batches, until smooth.  Return to the pan, season to taste and reheat gently, adding a little more stock or boiling water for a thinner consistency if required.

4. Place the cream and chopped basil in a small pan and heat gently.  Serve the soup in bowls with the basil cream swirled over the top and sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper, and with crusty granary bread on the side.

Red Thai Spiced Meatballs

Dinner last night was Bens favourite, this dish is quick, easy and cheap! What more could you want! You can even prepare the meatballs earlier so when it comes to dinner its even quicker!

Ingredients:

2 x 28g pack fresh coriander (or there ish)

1 pack fresh lemon grass or just lemon juice if its easier

3 red chillies, halved and deseeded

2 x 430g packs 12 beef meatballs or mince and make your own

2 tbsp oil (not olive oil)

3 tbsp red thai curry paste

2 x 400ml coconut milk

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 onions

2 peppers

1 carrot

You can switch the veg with whatever you have in your fridge!

Method:

1. Preheat the over to 180oC.  Finely chop the coriander.  Remove the tough outer leaves from the lemon grass and finely slice the tender cores.  Finely chop the chillies (reserving a little to garnish) and place on a large plate/shallow big bowl with the lemon grass and two-thirds of the coriander.  Mix to combine.

2. Roll the meatballs carefully in the coriander, chilli and lemon grass mixture to coat.  Heat 1-2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs gently over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning once, until lightly browned (this can be done in 2 batches using 1 tablespoon of oil for each batch).

3. Slice the onions, carrots (extra thin) and peppers and place in the wok with a dash of oil, fry for a few minutes until soft and then add the red curry paste and fry for 30 seconds.  Pour in the coconut milk x 2 and simmer for 2 minutes until slightly reduced.  Stir in the tomato puree and keep warm.

4. Meanwhile, place the browned meatballs in an ovenproof dish and finish cooking in the oven for 10 minutes, until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs from the dish to drain the excess oil.  Stir the meatballs into the red curry sauce.

5. Scatter the finished meatballs with the remaining coriander and red chilli.  Serve with fresh egg noodles... or rice.  Ben also likes a bit of naan bread to mop up the sauce!