Easy Peasy Pizza

June 19th, 2008

With a little inspiration from BBC Good Food and driven by hunger, wine and the lack of food in Tesco Metro, we came up with these little babies when my friends Brid and Jenny came to visit from oxford. Possibly the easiest pizzas ever (apart from the ones that get delivered to your door)

We used Turkish wholemeal flatbreads, but I think even tortillas would do the job as long as you don’t put too much topping on otherwise they’ll probably go soggy. Spread them with pesto, the better quality the better, and top with halved cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and pepper. Put them in the oven until the cheese melts and is golden, about 15minutes and top with the avocado and maybe some olive oil. Simple as that and honestly, soo tasty.

Since then, I’ve been thinking of other possibilities… spread onion marmalade on the flatbread and top with goats cheese and some walnuts or pesto, thinly sliced pear, gorgonzola and pine nuts, both topped with some rocket or watercress. Chargilled aubergine, sliced tomatoes, oregano, pine nuts and mozzarella. Anything with anchovies, capers and olives always works well…

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The Best Chocolate Brownies

June 18th, 2008

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It was only a matter of time before these came up… These are based on Nigella’s recipe, (how can you go wrong with Nigella?) and give you everything you could want in a brownie, rich, intense, chocolatey, gooey perfection. All I’ve done is scale down Nigella’s recipe so that you get a more manageable mixture that can fit into a smaller tin, which makes it a lot easier to cook.

The key to a good brownie is to use good quality ingredients, the best chocolate you can get and good butter and eggs. The only sticking points might be melting chocolate (see below) and knowing how long to cook the brownies for, its difficult to give exact instructions as all ovens vary, you’re looking for the top to have dried to a paler brown and for the middle to be firm but still squidgy. Remember they will continue to cook as they cool. I would always rather an undercooked brownie than an overcooked and its amazing what a few hours in a fridge can do to firm brownies up.

Variations
This recipe is a fantastic base to add any number of ingredients to, below are a few ideas, I’ve not tried all of them, so it would be interesting to know if they are good…

  • Add 150g chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts
  • Substitute 1tbsp Baileys for the vanilla
  • Add the grated zest of 1 orange instead of the vanilla for chocolate orange brownies
  • Add 150g chopped white chocolate just before baking
  • Add 100g peanut butter just before baking
  • Substitute either all or ½ of the flour for ground almonds
  • Add 1tbsp espresso instead of the vanilla for chocolate and coffee brownies

Melting Chocolate
I always melt my chocolate in the microwave and have never had a problem. Now I am not the most patient or careful person, so I thought this technique must be pretty foolproof but, having spoken to friends, it turns out they have problems with chocolate burning, so, I found this website that gives pretty comprehensive tips on melting chocolate. Also, it turns out, you might be able to rescue burnt chocolate by carefully whisking in a little vegetable oil, I’ve never tried though, so let me know if it works.

Ingredients
190g dark chocolate, broken up
190g butter, cubed
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
2tsp vanilla extract
110g plain flour
½tsp salt

Melt the chocolate and butter together. Meanwhile whisk the eggs and sugar together well until pale. Whisk in the melted chocolate and vanilla, and stir in the flour, salt and any extra ingredients. Transfer to a greased 9in square tin. Bake at 180°C for approx 20mins, keep checking the brownies after about 15mins to see if they’re done, a minute can make all the difference between a dry brownie and a squishy one.

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Chickpea burgers

June 16th, 2008

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These little cakes are a delicious alternative to falafel, serve with pitta, yoghurt, salad and the tomato salsa below. These are also really easy to make, literally mashing chickpeas and frying them. Some obligatory fried onions obviously work a treat here too. This makes enough for 4 people, but I bet these also freeze really well , so worth making a big batch.

I always buy my chickpeas either from an indian grocery shop or in the ‘ethnic’ section of the supermarket, they are so much nicer than the supermarket.

1 onion, chopped
1tsp cumin seeds
small piece ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
2tsp ground coriander
1tsp garam masala
½tsp ground cumin
3 cans chickpeas, drained
1 small bunch chopped coriander
50g flour

Tomato Salsa
5 ripe tomatoes, chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ lime, juiced

To make the salsa, mix the ingredients together, season well and set aside for the flavours to mingle.

Fry the onions in a little oil for a few mins, then add the cumin seeds, garlic and ginger and fry for a few mins more. Add the chickpeas, chilli and the rest of the spices. Stir well and season. Blend half the mixture until smooth, add the rest of the chickpeas and coriander. Take 1 tbsp of mixture and shape into a ball, flatten and dust with flour, repeat with the rest of the mixture and chill for 30mins.

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Huevos Rancheros

June 15th, 2008

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Huevos rancheros is the perfect brunch, something a bit more special than your average fry up. Its basically eggs fried/poached in a spicy tomato salsa. I’ve seen recipes where you fry the eggs separately and add the salsa on top, but I prefer cooking the eggs in the sauce.

If you were being authentic, you would eat this with tortillas, and you certainly wouldn’t put baked beans in it. But, one, I love baked beans and two, I couldn’t be bothered to go out and buy tortillas, I think it is nicer with them though.

Huevos Rancheros

Serves 2 hungry people

1 onion
1 red pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 red chilli
4 ripe tomatoes (or 1 can chopped tomatoes)
all finely chopped
½ can baked beans (optional! )
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
4 free range eggs
toast/tortillas to serve

Fry the onions and peppers in a little oil until softened, add the garlic, chilli and spices and fry for a fruther few mins, now add the tomatoes, season and stir well. Simmer for 10-15mins until you have a rich tomato salsa, add a little water if necessary), now stir in the beans. Make a little hole in a corner of your pan and gently crack an egg in, repeat with the rest of the eggs. Turn the heat up and cover, cook for 5-10mins until the eggs are cooked as you like them. A little extra chilli sauce is also very good here, as is grated cheese.

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Pasta with blue cheese and walnuts

June 13th, 2008

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This is a seriously easy pasta sauce. Basically just stir some blue cheese, a little chopped garlic and some chopped walnuts into (hot) cooked pasta. The cheese melts and forms a silky sauce for the pasta. This is amazing if you REALLY love blue cheese otherwise, it can be a bit strong, in which case, add a spoonful or two of creme fraiche to dilute the effect.

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The Best Carrot Salad

June 12th, 2008

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This is possibly the simplest, easiest salad to make, but is such a delight, serve it with simple dressed leaves alongside anything. Goes particularly well in a sandwich with hummus. I pretty much eat this with every meal.

Grate as many carrots as you like. One carrot per person is a good estimate for a side salad. Add some finely chopped garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning. Theres your basic salad. I usually add either spring onions or some finely chopped red onion. Toasted seeds are also a must, sunflower or pumpkin. A little bit of chilli is nice too. In this picture I added some finely sliced fennel too because it was in my veg.

Also, see this recipe in The Guardian for a japanese version

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The Loveliest Daal

June 11th, 2008

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A lovely bowl of soft comforting daal. Eat with rice and naan. Counts as one of your 5-a-day too. Its worth making loads of this as it lasts really well and freezes superbly.

Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
small piece ginger, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
½ tsp turmeric
2tsp ground coriander
2tsp ground cumin
1tbsp curry powder
500g daal
4tbsp creamed coconut
1½tsp sugar
1tsp salt
1litre vegetable stock

Cook the onions in a little oil for 5mins, then add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further few mins. Next add the spices, allow to sizzle a bit and add your lentils. Stir to make sure the spicy mixture coats the daal, add the creamed coconut, salt, sugar and stock. Simmer gently for 30mins at least… its hard to say how long it will takes, it all depends on the daal you use. I didn’t soak my lentils and they took about 45mins. Just keep an eye on them and add extra water as necessary. Remember that they will continue to absorb water as they cook so you probably want to end up with a slightly runny sauce.

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Spring Courgette Pasta

June 9th, 2008

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My friend Kat introduced me to this way of cooking courgettes, apparently they do it in Carluccio’s… Anyway, its completely won me over, I love this way of doing it, its so simple and no more soggy, slimy courgettes. Try adding a spoonful or two of creme fraiche at the end.

Although I had this with pasta, it could also work really well in some kind of hot salad with feta.

Ingredients

Serves 2

2-3 courgettes, grated coarsley
200g pasta
2 cloves garlic
1 red chilli, finely chopped
25g butter
½ lemon
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
parmesan to serve
handful basil

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water. Meanwhile, cook the grated courgettes in the butter with the garlic and chilli until softened and beginning to brown in places. Add the drained pasta to the pan along with a glug of olive oil. Stir well so that the pasta is coated evenly, season well and add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Serve with some grated parmesan and a few shredded basil leaves.

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Fish Pie

June 8th, 2008

Loosely based on a recipe by Gordon Ramsey, this is seriously the best fish pie I’ve ever tasted. He makes it topped with puff pastry, but why miss a chance to use mashed potato? Use any combination of fish you like (see fish online), prawns or scallops would be a particularly decadent addition. some kind of salad with a mustardy dressing and maybe some capers goes well with this.

Fish Pie

Serves 6

1.5kg floury potatoes
100ml milk
50g butter
2 onions, finely chopped
250ml dry vermouth
375ml stock
½tsp english mustard
½ lemon, juiced
200g creme fraiche
400g trout fillet, cut into small pieces
600g white fish fillet (such as pollack, coley), cut into small pieces
1 samll bunch parsley chopped
handful basi leaves, shredded

Peel the potatoes and cook in boiling water until very soft. Mash the potatoes with the milk and butter and season well. Meanwhile, fry the onions in a little oil until softened. Add the vermouth and boil until reduced by half, add the stock and boil until reduced by half again. Add the creme fraiche, mustard and lemon juice, cook gently until thickened and season. Add the fish and herbs to the sauce, mix well and transfer to an ovenproof dish. Top with the mashed potato and cook at 180°C for 30mins until golden brown on top. Allow to stand for 5mins before serving.

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Pasta with Tomato and Creamy Pesto

June 7th, 2008


This is a summery fresh dish dreamt up by using what was in my friend Jen’s fridge, and pretty good it came out too. We fried some muhrooms and garlic, added them to pasta with pesto and a dollop of yoghurt, then we added fresh tomato at the end. We used vine tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes would be particularly lovely here, use the best quality you can, preferably local.

Pasta with Tomato and Creamy Pesto

Ingredients

Serves 4

400g penne or any other short pasta
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
250g tomatoes, chopped
250g
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp pine nuts
4 tbsp pesto, preferably homemade
4 tbsp yoghurt, any will do
Parmesan and fresh basil to serve

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water. Meanwhile fry the mushrooms in a little oil, after a few mins add the garlic anf pine nuts, continue cooking until the mushroom are cooked and the pine nuts are toasty brown. Add to thhe drained pasta along with the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and season, leave covered for a minute or two to allow everything to warm up and the flavours to mingle.

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