An impromptu recipe that turned out well, resulting in a tasty and hearty winter warmer.
In a large pan fry a chopped onion until soft and golden. Add garlic and diced celery and saute for a few minutes. Stir in a couple of chopped tomatoes.
Stir in a spoonful of flour to soak up the juices, then slowly add a jug of stock, mixing well to remove any lumps. Add seasoning - oregano, pepper, salt, and garlic salt - then a load of finely-chopped vegetables - carrots, potatoes, beans, sweetcorn etc. I used a bag of frozen mixed veg for variety.
Add enough liquid to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour or so, stirring occasionally to stop the mixture catching on the pan. Some of the vegetables may start to mash and disintegrate, but that's not a problem as they add body to the broth.
Monday, December 16, 2019
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Penne and chicken
This has been such a staple of ours for so long I can't believe I haven't posted it here yet!
In a large pan of salted water, cook the penne.
In a separate pan, fry some diced chicken and bacon pieces - I like to make both of them small bite size - until cooked. Stir in some cream and bring to the boil to thicken. Serve over the pasta.
So simple!
In a large pan of salted water, cook the penne.
In a separate pan, fry some diced chicken and bacon pieces - I like to make both of them small bite size - until cooked. Stir in some cream and bring to the boil to thicken. Serve over the pasta.
So simple!
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Goulash soup
A tasty and hearty dish that we tried for the first time last night. When we were camping this summer we stopped for lunch at a tiny cafe while taking shelter from a sudden downpour. We had goulash soup, and decided to hunt down a recipe. I'm happy to say it worked out well, something to do again.
In a large saucepan fry a few rashers of finely-chopped bacon until crispy. We usually get lean bacon, but for purposes like this Canadian (or "streaky" as we knew it in Britain) is perfect.
Set aside the bacon and fry some finely-cubed steak until browned. Scoop that out and set it aside with the bacon. I find this also produces a fair amount of liquid, which I drained off for later use too.
Now fry a couple of finely-chopped onions and cloves of garlic until golden. Stir in a generous spoonful of paprika, and a couple of heaped tablespoons of flour. Stir for a couple of minutes, then stir in a generous spoonful of tomato paste and a good slosh of red wine vinegar. The result should be a sticky paste.
After a minute or so, stir in a good jug of beef stock (including the liquid set aside from cooking the steak), salt, a chopped red pepper, and the bacon and steak. There should be enough liquid to cover everything. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes.
Add a few finely-cubed potatoes - there should be at least as much by volume as meat - and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender.
If necessary, add a bit of liquid to cover the ingredients, but the result should be a rich and thick soup. Stir occasionally to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
In a large saucepan fry a few rashers of finely-chopped bacon until crispy. We usually get lean bacon, but for purposes like this Canadian (or "streaky" as we knew it in Britain) is perfect.
Set aside the bacon and fry some finely-cubed steak until browned. Scoop that out and set it aside with the bacon. I find this also produces a fair amount of liquid, which I drained off for later use too.
Now fry a couple of finely-chopped onions and cloves of garlic until golden. Stir in a generous spoonful of paprika, and a couple of heaped tablespoons of flour. Stir for a couple of minutes, then stir in a generous spoonful of tomato paste and a good slosh of red wine vinegar. The result should be a sticky paste.
After a minute or so, stir in a good jug of beef stock (including the liquid set aside from cooking the steak), salt, a chopped red pepper, and the bacon and steak. There should be enough liquid to cover everything. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes.
Add a few finely-cubed potatoes - there should be at least as much by volume as meat - and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender.
If necessary, add a bit of liquid to cover the ingredients, but the result should be a rich and thick soup. Stir occasionally to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Jambalaya
A spicy and hearty dish.
Fry a sliced spicy sausage in a generous knob of butter.
When it's browned a bit, add spices: large spoonful of paprika and cumin, dash of cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Stir and cook for a minute.
Add a chopped tomato and cook until the juice starts to come out.
Add the veggies: a chopped pepper, a few sticks of celery, and spring onions. Stir and cook for a few minutes.
Stir in rice, then stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for about 1/2 hour.
Near the end, stir in shrimp.
Fry a sliced spicy sausage in a generous knob of butter.
When it's browned a bit, add spices: large spoonful of paprika and cumin, dash of cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Stir and cook for a minute.
Add a chopped tomato and cook until the juice starts to come out.
Add the veggies: a chopped pepper, a few sticks of celery, and spring onions. Stir and cook for a few minutes.
Stir in rice, then stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for about 1/2 hour.
Near the end, stir in shrimp.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Cheesecake
This is a simple and creamy-delicious no-cooking cheesecake recipe. I've seen variations on this posted all over the place, but was clued into it by a blogger friend a few years ago.
For the base:
Crush about a dozen digestive biscuits (plain or chocolate) until they reduce to fine crumbs. Mix with a generous spoonful of ground almonds and about 3 or 4 oz melted butter. Press the mixture into a greased baking tin. Use a tin with a separate bottom so you can remove later. Pop the base in the fridge while you make the filling.
Filling:
Beat together 1 lb/500g cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and a dash of cream, together with 1/2 lb/200g melted chocolate. Spread over the base and refrigerate.
Flavors:
The original recipe used melted Toblerone, but you can use pretty much any chocolate - milk, dark, white. This is also good to make plain cheesecake with just vanilla essence as flavoring, or add fruit essence such as lemon.
You can also finish off with toppings such as grated chocolate, or fruit and a fruit gel.
Tips:
To crush digestives, place them in a ziplok bag and press with a rolling pin.
The amount of cream will depend on the cheese you use. The original recipe called for blocks of Philly, which is quite solid so I add a lot of cream - about 1 cup. If using a softer cheese, say spreading cheese from a tub, use less cream or it will end up too runny and might not set. You should end up with a thick mixture that will barely pour.
The consistency will also depend on the flavoring you use. Adding chocolate will help it set, but you could opt for other kinds that don't thicken as much.
If you are using chocolate, break it into a metal mixing bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Get this going early on because it will take a while to melt over a gentle heat. In fact, this step largely dictates the overall preparation time.
For the base:
Crush about a dozen digestive biscuits (plain or chocolate) until they reduce to fine crumbs. Mix with a generous spoonful of ground almonds and about 3 or 4 oz melted butter. Press the mixture into a greased baking tin. Use a tin with a separate bottom so you can remove later. Pop the base in the fridge while you make the filling.
Filling:
Beat together 1 lb/500g cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and a dash of cream, together with 1/2 lb/200g melted chocolate. Spread over the base and refrigerate.
Flavors:
The original recipe used melted Toblerone, but you can use pretty much any chocolate - milk, dark, white. This is also good to make plain cheesecake with just vanilla essence as flavoring, or add fruit essence such as lemon.
You can also finish off with toppings such as grated chocolate, or fruit and a fruit gel.
Tips:
To crush digestives, place them in a ziplok bag and press with a rolling pin.
The amount of cream will depend on the cheese you use. The original recipe called for blocks of Philly, which is quite solid so I add a lot of cream - about 1 cup. If using a softer cheese, say spreading cheese from a tub, use less cream or it will end up too runny and might not set. You should end up with a thick mixture that will barely pour.
The consistency will also depend on the flavoring you use. Adding chocolate will help it set, but you could opt for other kinds that don't thicken as much.
If you are using chocolate, break it into a metal mixing bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Get this going early on because it will take a while to melt over a gentle heat. In fact, this step largely dictates the overall preparation time.
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