Jamies Amazing Breakie of Smoky Maple Pancetta, Fluffy corn & Chilli Pancakes!

By far the BEST breakfast I have had in a long time... SOO yummy!!!

Ingredients:

Pancakes

1 cup of self-raising flour

1 large egg

1 cup of semi-skimmed milk

1 fresh green chilli

40g Cheddar cheese

1 handful of frozen sweetcorn

olive oil

Toppings
4 ripe tomatoes
1 ripe avocado
1 lime
half a bunch of fresh coriander 
8 rashers of smoked pancetta
maple syrup
4 tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt
Lingham's chilli sauce


Method:

1. Whisk the flour, egg and milk in a bowl with a pinch of salt until smooth.Finely slice the chilli, grate the cheese, then fold both into the batter with the sweetcorn.

2. Roughly chop the tomatoes, peel and destone the avocado then toss altogether with the juice from half a lime, the top leaf part of the coriander, salt and pepper.

3. Put the pancetta into a medium frying pan on a medium-low heat, turning when crisp and golden.

4. Drizzle with maple syrup, glaze for 20 seconds, then remove from the heat.

5. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil into a small frying pan on a medium, add a ladleful of batter and spread it out to the edges.

6. Flip when golden and remove to a plate once done.

7. Place a quarter of the topping and pancetta on top of the pancake and serve with a dollop of yoghurt, wedge of lime and chilli sauce if you like extra heat.

8. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and serve as and when they're ready.

Jamies Chicken Tikka, Lentil, Spinach and Naan Salad

Another of Jamies Salads, probably one of my favourites, I love the dressing and would use it on other salads as well as its so yummy and not too unhealthy!

Ingredients:

Chicken
2 x 200g skinless chicken breasts
2 heaped tsp Patak’s tikka paste
4 chestnut mushrooms

Salad
4 spring onions
1 fresh red chilli
1 heaped tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds olive oil
1x 250g pack of ready to eat Puy lentils
1 ripe tomato
red wine vinegar
1 big bunch of fresh coriander
2 lemons
4 tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt
1 heaped tbsp cashew nuts
1 heaped tbsp mango chutney
1 tsp turmeric
2 naan breads
200g baby spinach
1/2 a cucumber
1 carrot
30g feta cheese.

Method:

1. On a large sheet of greaseproof paper, toss the chicken with salt, pepper and the tikka paste.

2. Fold over the paper, then bash and flatten the chicken to 1.5cm thick with a rolling pin.

3. Place on the hot griddle pan with the halved mushrooms, turning after 3 or 4 minutes, until nicely charred and cooked through.

4. Trim and finely slice the spring onions and half the chilli.

5. Put the mustard and cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of oil into the frying pan, followed by the sliced spring onion and chilli.

6. Tip the lentos into a splash of red wine vinegar.

7. Toss occasionally for a couple of minutes, then turn the heat off.

8. Rip the coriander stalks into the liquidizer with the juice of 1 lemon, the yogurt, cashews, mango chutney and turmeric, then whiz up until smooth.

9. Remove the cooked chicken and mushrooms from the griddle and put the naan on the pan.

10. Tip the baby spinach on to a serving board or platter, scatter over the lentos, speed-peel the cucumber and carrot over the top and sprinkle over the mushrooms.

11. Slice the chicken, naan and remaining chilli and arrange on top, then crumble over the feta and spoon over the dressing.

12. Finish with the coriander leaves and serve with lemon wedges.

Jamies San Fran Blackened Chicken Quinoa Salad

Never say salads are boring... this is healthy, interesting, yummy and pretty simple to make! :)

Ingredients:

Quinoa salad

1 mug (300g) of quinoa

1 fresh red chilli

100g baby spinach

4 spring onions

1 bunch fresh coriander

1 bunch fresh mint

1 ripe large mango

2 limes

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 ripe avocado

50g fets cheese

1 punnet cress

Chicken

2 x 200g skinless chicken breasts

1 heaped tsp ground allspice

1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

Olive oil

2 mixed colour peppers

To serve4 tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt

Method:

1. Put the quinoa into the pan and generously cover with boiling water and the lid.

2. Put the chilli, spinach, trimmed spring onions and coriander (reserving a few leaves) into the processor, tear in the top leafy half of the mint, then blitz until finely chopped.

3. On a large sheet of greaseproof paper, toss the chicken with salt, pepper, allspice and paprika. Fold over the paper and bash/flatten the chicken into 1.5cm thick with a rolling pin.

4. Put chicken into frying pan with 1tbsp of olive oil, turning after 3-4 minutes until blackened and cooked through.

5. Deseed the peppers and cut each one into 8 strips and add into the frying pan, toss regularly.

6. Peel and cut mango chunks.

7. Drain quinoa and rinse under a cold tap, then drain well again and tip on serving board or platter.

8. Toss with the blitzed spinach mixture, squeeze over the lime juice, add the extra virgin olive oil, mix well and season to taste.

9. Sprinkle the mango chunks and cooked peppers over the over the quinoa.

10. Halve and destone the avocado, use a teaspoon to scoop curls of it over the salad.

11. Slice up the chicken, toss sliced in any juices and add to salad.

12. Crumble over the feta, scatter over the remaining coriander leaves and snip over the cress. Serve with yoghurt.

Jamies Griddled Tuna Kinda Niçoise Salad

So Ben bought me the 'Jamies 15 minute meals' book as a Christmas present but really it was a present for him as for 2 weeks afters he picked a different menu each day hence the over load of Jamies Meals on the blog for now...This one is nutritious and delicious though!

Ingredients:

For the salad350 g mixed green and yellow beans½ baguette12 black olives, (stone in)3 ripe mixed-colour tomatoes1 romaine lettuce20 g feta cheese1 lemon

For the tuna & dressings1 big bunch fresh basil6 anchovy fillets1 lemon4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil2 x 200 g tuna steaks, (2.5cm thick)1 tablespoon red wine vinegar1 heaped teaspoon wholegrain mustard1 teaspoon runny honey

Method:

1. Line the beans up and cut off the stalks, put them into the pan with a pinch of salt, then cover with boiling water and the lid 

2. Slice the baguette into 2cm chunks and put on the griddle pan, turning when golden 

3. Pick and reserve 10 baby sprigs of basil 

4. Rip off the rest of the leaves and blitz them in the liquidizer with the anchovies, juice of 1 lemon, the extra virgin olive oil and a splash of water

Pour about 40% of the dressing on to a nice serving platter and put aside 

5. Rub 10% into the tuna and season with salt and pepper 

6. Pour the rest of the dressing into a big bowl with the vinegar, mustard and honey, then mix together 

7. Drain the cooked beans, remove the stones from the olives, roughly chop the tomatoes, then add it all to the bowl of dressing and toss together

Put the tuna on the griddle pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until blushing in the middle 

8. Chop the lettuce into 2cm chunks, tear the toasts into croutons and arrange over a large board with the lettuce 

9. Scatter the dressed beans, olives and tomatoes over the top 

10. Tear each tuna steak in half and add to the dressing platter 

11. Scatter over the reserved basil leaves, crumble over the feta and serve with lemon wedges

Jamies Sticky Kicking Chicken

OK so it didnt take 15 minutes and its not that simple but its so yummy and once you've made it once its much quicker second time around...

Ingredients:

Salad
200g thin rice noodles 
sesame oil
800g watermelon
2 little gem lettuces
1 handful of radishes
Half a bunch of fresh mint
Half a bunch of fresh coriander

Chicken
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice
olive oil
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Dressing
2 tbsp low-salt soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
Half a fresh red chilli
Half a thumb-sized piece of ginger
2 spring onions
2 limes
1 small clove of garlic

Method:

1. In a bowl, fully submerge the noodles in boiling water.

2. On a large sheet of greaseproof paper, toss the chicken with salt, pepper and the five-spice. Fold over the paper, then bash and flatten the chicken to 1.5cm thick with a rolling pin. Put into the large frying pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, turning after 3 or 4 minutes, until nicely charred and cooked through.

3. Drain the noodles and toss with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil on a big serving platter. Put half of the noodles into the medium frying pan, tossing regularly until nice and crunchy.

4. Remove the watermelon skin, cut the flesh into erratic chunks and add to the platter. Trim the lettuces and cut into small wedges, halve the radishes, finely slice the top leafy half of the mint and most of the top leafy half of the coriander, and scatter over the platter.

5. Put the coriander stalks into the liquidizer with the soy and fish sauces, chilli, peeled ginger, trimmed spring onions, a splash of water, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and the lime juice. Squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher, then whiz until smooth.

6. Drain away any excess fat from the chicken pan, put back on the heat, drizzle with the sweet chilli sauce and toss with the sesame seeds.

7. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently with clean fingers until well coated, then break over the crispy noodles.

8. Transfer the chicken to a board and serve with an extra sprinkling of coriander leaves.

Rekorderlig Mussels

Definitely a new favourite of mine... so easy yet SO yummy!!!

Ingredients:

40g/1½oz butter
2 medium banana shallots, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
150ml/5fl oz milk
1kg/2lb 4oz mussels, de-bearded and cleaned
300ml/10fl oz Rekorderlig Apple cider
200ml/7fl oz double cream
crusty bread, to serve

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat and gently cook the shallots, garlic and celery until soft but not brown.

2. Stir in the flour and gently cook for a minute or so then slowly add the milk a little at a time, stirring continuously, to make a smooth, thick sauce.

3. Meanwhile, tip the mussels and Rekorderlig into a separate pan, cover with a lid and bring to the boil and steam the mussels for 4-5 minutes until the shells have just opened.

4. Place a colander over the pan containing the white sauce and drain the mussel liquor into the sauce. Return the mussels to their pan and cover with a lid to keep warm.

5. Working quickly, whisk the mussel liquor into the sauce, bring it to the boil and continue boiling until it is the consistency of double cream. Stir in the cream, pour the sauce into the pot of mussels and serve immediately with crusty bread.

Ligurian Focaccia

So I haven't updated for a while but Easter weekend has provided some time to get uploading!!

Ben sent me on a cooking course for my Birthday which was possibly the best day ever and this is the first thing we made..!

Ligurian Focaccia, possibly the tastiest bread ever!

Ingredients:

A cake or package of active yeast of the kind sold in the supermarket.
About 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) warm water
1/3 cup extravirgin olive oil
Salt, both finely and coarsely ground (kosher will work well for the latter)
6 1/4 cups (750 g) unbleached all purpose flour


Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. 

2. Make a mound of flour on your work surface, scoop a well into the middle of it, and pour in the yeast mixture together with 5 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 healthy pinches of fine salt. 

3. Knead the mixture, adding further warm water is necessary, until you obtain a fairly firm, homogeneous dough - around 10-15 minutes of kneading. It needs to still be fairly moist.

4. Put the dough in a bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise for 2 hours.

5. Preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C).

6. Grease a baking sheet and dust it well with finely ground salt. 

7. Take the risen dough and spread it enough to completely cover the baking sheet, dimpling the surface by pressing down on it with a spoon or using your finger tips.

8. Let the dough rise about 10 minutes in the pan. While it is doing so, take the remaining oil and beat it lightly with a little water to make an emulsion; brush this emulsion over the focaccia and sprinkle it with coarse sea salt and anything else you fancy! (I used Rosemary)

9. Bake the focaccia in a low rack until it is a lively golden brown, turning it 180 dgrees when it is half-cooked, then remove it and let it cool. Don't let it overbrown. 

Top Tip...
Put a bowl of water in the oven with the focaccia, to keep it from drying out overmuch as it bakes.
To help the dough rise, you can add a teaspoon of honey, malt extract, or sugar to it.