Pitta wraps

When we want a change from regular wraps (tacos, fajitas etc.) pitta makes a nice change with a Greek twist rather than Mexican.

Warm some pittas in the oven to make them more flexible. Spread a spoonful of tzatziki, then salad and meat, and roll it up. Eat with care  :)

For salads, you we use thinly sliced cucumber, pepper, tomato, onion, olives, and shredded lettuce.

For meat, a favourite is lamb sausages, fried then thinly sliced.

Gnocchi with Pomodoro Sauce

We've gone full-on international this week! This is another first for us, and a very quick and tasty dish.

In a large saucepan, saute a few stems of fresh flat leaf parsley, oregano, rosemary, and basil until they become crisp. Lift out and discard the herbs.

Add chopped onion and garlic and cook gently until soft. Add a can of crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and black pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens. Stir in some thick cream and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, cook a packet or two of potato gnocchi in salted boiling water until they float to the top. Drain them off and add to the sauce. Add some mozzarella balls and top with a handful of grated Parmesan.

Cha han

A simple but tasty rice dish. This is for chicken and prawn, but you can substitute all sorts of ingredients to your taste.

Preparation:

Finely chop some chicken and marinade for an hour in a few spoonfuls of soy sauce, grated ginger, salt and pepper.

Cook a pan of rice.

Cooking - this is very quick:

Heat oil in a wok. Add the chicken, a handful of quartered shitake and button mushrooms, some shelled prawns, snow peas, sweetcorn, chopped scallions, and the rice. Stir in a whisked egg.

Crab and sweetcorn soup

This has always been one of our favourites when we've gone for a full sit-down meal at a Chinese restaurant. But it is also amazingly easy to cook at home. We are always on the lookout for new soup ideas, so I'm surprised it's taken us this long to try this for ourselves.

Make up a pan of stock - either bouillon paste, or we often use home-made turkey stock as a soup base - and season it to taste. 

Bring the stock to the boil, then stir in some flaked crab meat (either fresh, or processed) and a drained can of corn. Thicken with a little cornstarch. Add some veggies if wanted - we used some small bok choy, or you could add green onions. Stir in several beaten eggs to finish off the dish, and serve.

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!

Greek salad

Easy, tasty, and a perfect accompaniment to pork souvlaki.

Mix together in a bowl: 1 cucumber (peeled, seeded and chopped), 1 tomato and 1 red pepper (seeded and chopped), black olives, and a sprinkle of finely-chopped red onion. Crumble over some feta cheese and top with a simple vinaigrette.

Rice

Given that rice is such a staple for us, maybe even more so than potatoes, I thought I would share our easy, no-fuss approach to cooking plain boiled rice. This is adapted from a pilau rice recipe, but without the spices.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a pan, and add the rice. Stir around for a few seconds to coat the grains. Add salt and either stock or water. If you had the pan warm enough the liquid should hiss when you pour it in. You want about 1 1/2 to 2 times the volume of liquid to rice.

Bring to the boil, give one last stir, and put the lid on. If you're cooking on gas, you want to turn the heat really low for about ten minutes and then switch off for the remaining time. If you use an electric hob it's even easier - when you put the lid on, switch off the ring and just leave the pan where it is. The residual heat in the ring will do the rest.

Twenty minutes later, you have beautifully cooked, hassle-free rice. Don't be tempted to lift the lid and check on it. You need to keep the steam in the pan to cook the rice. Just trust the process.

If you are cooking brown or wild rice, increase the cooking time. You can also leave the pan on the stove for a while longer if you're not yet ready to serve. This approach is very forgiving.

Pasta with creamy chicken and mushrooms

A really simple but tasty dish.

Fry some chicken pieces and sliced mushrooms in a generous knob of butter until cooked. We actually like to fry the mushrooms first to brown them, then set them aside while we cook the chicken so they don't go soggy. Add a good portion of cream and boil until it thickens. Having butter in the pan helps to thicken the sauce.

Serve over pasta of choice.

Curried shrimp and spinach

A very simple side dish I made up on the fly last week, just to add a little something special alongside the more regular chicken curry that I made.

Fry a sliced onion long and slow until it caramelizes nicely. Add spoonfuls of ground spice (cumin, coriander, chili, and some curry paste), then a couple of chopped tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes mash down and mingle with the spices. About 10 minutes from serving, add some generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves. Stir carefully to bring them into contact with the heat and let them sweat down. Stir in a handful of shelled cooked shrimp and make sure everything is mixed in and coated with spices.

Parsnips in creamy horseradish

OK, this is a bit late posting as it was one of the side dishes we had with the Christmas turkey. It is another of our collection of tasty veggies for special occasions, although it is very quick and easy to do.

Peel and core parsnips then blanch them for a minute or two in boiling water. Drain and place in a casserole dish.

Mix 1/2 and 1/2 creamed horseradish and thick cream and pour over the top. The mixture should just coat the parsnips. Sprinkle over grated Parmesan and bake in the oven for about 1/2 hour.

Creamed spinach

A very easy and tasty side dish, if you like ringing the changes on vegetables.

Fry a sliced onion in butter until golden. Add a handful of chopped spinach. In this case I used some frozen spinach defrosted. Stir and cook for a few minutes, then add a generous dash of cream. Bring to the boil and simmer until the cream is reduced.

Last night's supper - poached halibut with Hollandaise sauce, saute potatoes, carrots and creamed spinach.

Corned beef hash

This is a simple dish, but remarkably tasty and filling. It uses a can of corned beef - NOT the same thing as Spam!

Fry a finely chopped onion until soft. Add a can of corned beef and break the meat down into smallish chunks with a spoon. Keep frying, stirring to prevent the mix from catching on the pan, until the meat breaks down into a mush. Add a can of baked beans and stir in a generous squirt of tomato ketchup. Keep cooking on low until the mixture thickens up a bit.

Serve with mashed potatoes and veg.

Perogies

Not something we had ever come across until we moved to Canada, but very much a favorite over here.

We keep bags of frozen perogies ready to be used. Easy to take out the required quantity. These are surprisingly filling little blighters. I reckon on serving only 6 to 8 per person, so you do need to count them out or you can easily over-cater.

Cook the perogies according to instructions - basically boiling for about 10 minutes.

Serve topped with sour cream, grated cheese, fried bacon, and chopped chives and spring onions.

Thai chicken wraps

This is a quick and simple meal, something we made up, with no pretense at any cultural origins. In fact, it's a bit of a hodge-podge of influences :)

Breadcrumb (either fresh or Panko) some chicken pieces and fry until crisp and cooked through. We usually use boneless thighs rather than breast, because they have more flavor and moisture. If cooking whole, slice thinly once cooked.

Serve on flour tortillas with mayonnaise or sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and a good dash of Thai sweet chili sauce.

Shrimp salad

After enjoying this light and easy meal while we were away camping this summer, we had it again tonight. Just because ...  :)

Mix a good portion of cooked and peeled shrimp into a Marie Rose sauce (equal dollops of mayonnaise and tomato ketchup mixed together.

Serve with a generous mixed salad, and fries or buttered new potatoes.

For a fresher and lighter taste, serve the shrimp without the sauce on top of a mixed or Caesar salad.

Tagliatelle & tuna

A very quick & easy pasta dish, when you want something a little different.

Get your pasta cooking - fresh or dried tagliatelle in a large pan of salted water.

Meanwhile, make a Roux sauce (melt butter, add flour and fry a little, then slowly stir in milk, whisking to remove lumps). When you have a thick sauce, mix in a couple of cans of drained flaked tuna. You don't want the sauce too thin before mixing in the tuna because there will likely be some liquid with the fish. Once it's mixed in, thin down if necessary, and season with a pinch of garlic salt and black pepper.

Drain the pasta, serve with the sauce.

Stir fried beansprouts

We often use this as an easy accompaniment to a stir fry.

Fry a sliced onion until it starts to turn golden. Throw in a handful of fresh beansprouts and a dash of soy sauce. Toss briefly until heated through and serve immediately.

If you want a bit of color, you can add some shredded carrot or other vegetables to the mix.

Chicken Teryaki pittas

Chop some chicken into small pieces and marinate in a Teryaki sauce. Fry until cooked through. Serve in pitta pockets with mayonnaise and filling of choice such as rice, shredded lettuce, and chopped tomatoes.

Spaghetti carbonara

A quick and easy dish, and also our traditional first dinner whenever we go camping.

Cook the spaghetti in a pan of salted water.

Meanwhile, cut up some bacon into fine pieces and fry in a little olive oil. When turning crisp, add some cream, bring to the boil, and add some grated or diced cheddar. Turn the heat low and allow the cheese to melt into the cream.

In a separate bowl whisk 2 or 3 eggs with some more cream.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to the pan. Stir in the eggs and cream. The egg will cook in the heat of the pan. Stir in the bacon/cream/cheese mixture and serve immediately.

Ravioli

This meal is a real cheat, all from pre-made ingredients, for when we need a quick meal that needs no preparation. We buy packets of fresh-made filled pasta.

Boil the pasta until cooked. Drain. Add a jar of sauce and return to the heat for a few minutes to heat the sauce through. Serve with grated Parmesan.