2009 February

Archive for February, 2009

Microwave Golden Syrup Sponge

The Ingredients:

100 g self raising flour
100 g butter
100 g sugar
30 ml milk
2 eggs (beaten)
few vanilla essence
grated zest of half a lemon
3 tablespoons of golden syrup

The Method:

Cream the butter and sugar together. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla essence. Add the flour, milk and lemon zest.
Put the golden syrup in the bottom of a two pint bowl. Spoon the mixture on top. Place in microwave (with a plate on top). Cook for 3.5 minutes on high. Serve with custard or ice cream.
(N.B. if doubling quantitites, cook for 5.5 minutes on high).

Soft center chocolate puddings

First, preheat oven to 220.
Melt together 125g of dark chocolate & butter over a gentle heat
Whisk together 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks and then, when light & fluffy, combine with the melted chocolate. Add 2 tablespoons of icing sugar (or was it flour? can’t remember!)
Pour in to tall ramakins that have been dusted inside with chocoloate powder.
Cook for 10 minutes and serve immediately with extra thick cream or custard.

thai style prawns

The Ingredients:

100g wide rice noodlesr
1 tblspn veg oil
1 finely chopped garlic clove
2 finely choppedd lemongrass stalks
1 egg beaten, seasoned.
150g raw peeled prawns
1 tblspn fish sauce
1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
2 tblspn soy sauce
large handful of roasted peanuts coarsley chopped
beansprouts (handful)
coriander leaves to dress.

The Method:

Cook noodles, drain and refresh with cold water
Heat oil in wok, stir fry garlic and lemongrass. add egg, stir quick, add noodles, prawns, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce & half peeanuts.
Stir fry for 2 min to cook prawns.
Add beansporuts & coriander toss over heat for 1 minute.
Serve with remaining peanuts scattered on top

stir fried chicken and sweetcorn noodles

The Ingredients:

100g medium egg noodles
1 tbspn veg. oil
1 finely chopped garlic clove
100g chicken thigh meat
mangetout, thinly sliced.
1 tbspn Soy Sauce
2 tbspn fish sauce
165g tinned sweetcorn
salt/white pepper
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
coriander leaves
Cook noodles & drain

The Method:

stir fry garlic, quick, then add chicken.
add mangetout & sauces, simmer briefly, then add noodles & sweetcorn. season.
remove from heat. ad sesame seeds & oil. serve. dress with coriander.

Marinated Duck Salad

The Ingredients:

Marinade:

1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Salad:

1 duck breast
1 tablespoon vegatable oil
200g somen noodles
bunch of spring onions, sliced lengthways
1/2 cucumber juielnned
1 carrot julienned
2 tblspn hoisin sauce
salt/white pepper
2 teaspoons sesame seends, toasted.

Marinade ingredients in small pan with 100ml water, bring to boil till honey melts then pour over duck slices when cooled. leave for 1 hour or overnight in fridge.
Discard marinade from duck.
Heat oil, stif fry duck 3-4 min.
Cook noodles, drain, freshen with cold water.
Combine noodles with vegatables & hoisin sauce in large bowl.
Add duck, toss gently. season, serve, top with sesame seeds.

Lightly curried veg noodles

The Ingredients:

150g thin white somen noodles
1 tblspn veg oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, sliced.
1/2 chinese cabbage
8 button muchrooms, thinly sliced
1 tblson kare lomen sauce
1 tblspn soy sauce
salt & white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dashi no moto
handful of beansprouts
coriander leaves
1/4 cucumber julienned

The Method:

Cook noodles, drain and refresh with cold water
Heat oil in wok, stir fry onion, pepper, cabbage and muchrooms for 2 min.
Add kare lomen sauce, stir fry for 5 min.
Add soy sauce, 150ml water, season, add sugar and dashi no moto – simmer 1 min
Divide into bowls & sppon over vegetables
Top with beansprouts, coriander & cucumber

Carbonara

The Ingredients:

1/2lb(225g) Tagliatelle (Pref fresh)
4oz (110g) Streaky bacon, de rinded
2 Large Eggs
1 onion
Parmesan Cheese (for the sauce and for grating on the top when serving)
small pot of double cream

Method:

Er, I’m sure you can work it out!

Fish Cakes

Serves 4

The Ingredients:

500g Hebridean white crab meat
2 tbsp Desiccated coconut
50g Coconut cream
5cm Fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Eggs, beaten
1 Lime, juice (or enough to taste)
25–50g Fresh white breadcrumbs
750ml Vegetable oil, for deep frying

The Method:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, except for the breadcrumbs and oil. Grind in plenty of black pepper, then add half the breadcrumbs and mix well. Keep adding the breadcrumbs until the mixture is demonstrably firm enough to hold together. Mould the mixture into 8 cakes and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180°C (or fill a large, deep saucepan just over a third full with vegetable oil and heat it until it turns a cube of bread golden in about 30 seconds). Deep-fry the crab cakes in two batches for 2–3 minutes each until they are golden-brown, then blot them dry on kitchen paper. (At this point you could leave the cakes for an hour or so at room temperature and finish the cooking later.)
Heat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Put the crab cakes on a heavy baking sheet and cook for 10–15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Slow Roasted Lamb with Butterbeans

Serves 6

The Ingredients:

1 shoulder of lamb, bone in (about 2.2kg)
Salt and pepper
1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
Olive oil
2 big carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 sprigs of rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
1 small bunch of parsley, plus a handful more, for sprinkling
400g tin of chopped plum tomatoes
300ml red wine
300ml chicken stock
3 x 400ml tins of butter beans, rinsed and drained
Zest of 1 lemon

The Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Rub the lamb shoulder all over with salt and pepper. Using the point of a knife, make about 12 incisions in the skin side. In each one, stuff a quarter of a clove of garlic (you’ll need to use 3 cloves in total).
In a large roasting tin, heat a good splash of olive oil on the hob. Add the lamb and brown well on all sides – this will take about 15 minutes. Make sure it’s a decent colour, as it won’t get much opportunity to brown in the oven. Remove from the tin and keep to one side.
Throw the chopped vegetables and remaining garlic into the roasting tin with the herbs and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften; add a splash more oil if needed. Pour in the tomatoes, wine and stock and bring to a bubble. Place the lamb on top, skin side down. Cover the roasting tin securely with a large sheet of foil (seal it properly around the edges) and place in the oven for 2 hours.
When the 2 hours are up, stir in the beans and turn over the lamb, so it’s skin side up. Replace the foil and return to the oven for 2 more hours. By now, the meat should be tender and easily pulled from the bone.
Finally, remove the foil, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes to brown the top a little more. Pour off the fat (you should get most of it if you tip off a couple of cupfuls) and season the beans and vegetables well and stir well. Then add a handful of chopped parsley, plus the grated zest of the lemon. Let people help themselves at the table. A green salad is all you need on the side.

Chicken, Red Wine & Bacon Casserole

Serves 6

The Ingredients:

4 British chicken drumsticks
4 British chicken wings
4 tbsp olive oil
150g smoked back bacon, diced
2 level tbsp flour
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
½ bottle full bodied red wine
350ml chicken stock
150g button mushrooms
12 small shallots, peeled, or 1 large onion, sliced
3 sprigs parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

The Method:

Preheat the oven to 140°C / 275°F / gas mark 1.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy-bottomed ovenproof casserole dish, over a medium heat on the hob. Once hot, add the chicken a few pieces at a time, and fry on all sides until golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside in a large dish.
Add the shallots and bacon to the casserole dish, and cook for 10 minutes. Once golden and beginning to soften, remove and place in the side dish with the chicken.
Reduce the temperature to low, add another 1 – 2 tbsp of oil and the flour into the casserole dish, and mix with the juices already in the bottom. Heat for another couple of minutes, or until it is lightly coloured, then stir in the garlic and the wine, followed by the stock. Return to the boil and cook briskly until it has thickened slightly.
Add the mushrooms, chicken, shallots and bacon into the casserole dish. Bring to a gentle simmer, add the herbs, and season to taste.
Once the casserole returns to the boil, cover and place in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
Serve with mashed potatoes and green vegetables.

Archive for February, 2009

Microwave Golden Syrup Sponge

Soft center chocolate puddings

thai style prawns

stir fried chicken and sweetcorn noodles

Marinated Duck Salad

Lightly curried veg noodles

Carbonara

Fish Cakes

Slow Roasted Lamb with Butterbeans

Chicken, Red Wine & Bacon Casserole

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