Six-Minute Stir-Fry

This stir-fry takes six minutes, from pan to plate. Its super quick, easy, fresh and flavourful. The amount of sauces and spices is flexible, and can be adjusted according to taste.

SIX-MINUTE STIR-FRY
INGREDIENTS:
4-5 nests medium egg noodles
2 peppers (red/green/yellow), cut into strips.
A handful snow peas
A handful sugarsnap peas
A handful of cooked frozen king prawns
Flaked almonds
Sweet chilli sauce
Peri peri sauce
Chinese 5 spice and Thai 7 spice to taste
A handful of chopped coriander

METHOD

1. Heat a dash of olive oil in a pan until very hot. Tip in the sliced peppers, both types of peas, and prawns. Let cook for two minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles as per package instructions for stir-fry (usually 3-4 minutes).
3. Into the vegetables, add in a dash of both sauces, then season with the Chinese 5 spice and Thai 7 spice according to your tastes. Leave to do for a further two minutes.
4. Stir in the flaked almonds, then drain the noodles and add to the vegetables, tossing to make sure all the noodles are coated. Add in the chopped coriander, stir through, and serve.

Eclairs

An absolute mess. You could call them 'rustic', if you're being kind!

Éclairs! The first time I tried them, they were a bit of a disaster. I went into the kitchen and dug out the baking utensils, imagining crispy fresh choux pastry filled to bursting with rich, smooth vanilla crème, topped with a sinfully decadent glossy chocolate sauce, powdered with icing sugar. What I got was... not that. I was disappointed and temped to throw them away before anyone had the chance to witness my failure. However, guilt and an aversion to waste kept me from doing so. -Well, that, and my mother, who happened to see, and convinced me that they'd taste ok- and they did. They may not have been exactly what I'd been envisioning, (far from it) but they still tasted great! They looked ok too, which was far more than I was expecting.
Recently I tried them again, this time used Sorted's recipe for dark chocolate and ginger éclairs, which you can find here. However, to the crème patisserie I made minor changes. Sorted uses seven egg yolks in their ginger crème patisserie, which I was reluctant to do, simply because I knew the whites would just eventually be disposed of. Seven egg whites is a lot, and aside from making meringue based desserts etc., I couldn't recall many recipes that used egg whites- and I did not want to make macarons again. (Also, two egg whites makes plenty macarons, seven would make enough to feed an army!)
I also topped mine with a glossy ginger-chocolate sauce, rather than melted chocolate, because I prefer my sweet choux desserts to be topped with sauce, rather than chocolate that will set and harden.

Piping skills need work!

DARK CHOCOLATE GINGER ECLAIRS
So here we go; you can find the original recipe here.

GINGER CREME PATISSERIE RECIPE
To be completely honest, you can barely call it a recipe, its more of a simple variation. The recipe belongs very much to SortedFood. All I did was use whole eggs rather than separated, and use custard powder rather than corn flour for that lovely rich colour. You can use corn flour if you don't have custard powder.
INGREDIENTS
500ml Whole milk
1tsp Vanilla extract
1 Piece fresh ginger grated
75g Caster sugar
25g Plain flour
4tsp Custard powder
3 Whole eggs

The method I used is exactly the same, simply use the three whole eggs instead of the seven egg yolks, and substitute the corn flour with custard powder if you have it.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE
100g Dark chocolate
25g Butter
1tbsp Golden syrup
2tbsp Stem ginger syrup

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients in a pot and heat gently, stirring, until melted. Pour into an icing bag, snip off the end, and drizzle onto the éclairs.
2. Top the éclairs with chopped stem ginger pieces.

Chicken And Mushroom Palmiers

Palmiers.

Sweet party bites are great, right? Popcorn balls, little bites of flaky pastry with chocolate fillings, cute little macarons, biscuits, chocolate fingers... yum. But occasionally, all that cloying sweetness feels like its choking you from inside out. And so a mixture of savoury and sweet party bites are the best way to go. Now, I don't know about you, but I always find savoury more difficult to make rather than sweet, and so I prefer easy, simple recipes that are quick and can be made ahead of time. These chicken and mushroom palmiers fit the description perfectly, with their flaky, golden pastry, well seasoned, flavourful filling, and not bad at all to look at. Made with only a handful of ingredients, these are quick and delicious, and even the mushroom haters enjoy them, which really is saying something.
Because I'm lazy (as you all probably know by now) I use ready rolled puff pastry rather than the blocks. These also ensure a more even pastry thickness, and nice neat sides. (I usually roll the ready rolled pastry so its just that bit thinner, because I think its a little thick.) Palmiers can be made ahead, cut, and frozen until the needed time, and so are perfect for last minute snacks, as party sides, or little savoury treats.

CHICKEN & MUSHROOM PALMIERS.

INGREDIENTS:
2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry, defrosted.
500g chicken breast.
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger.
1 large clove garlic.
1-2 green chillies.
1 onion.
6-7 mild peppadews.
Handful of jalapenos in brine.
5-6 medium sized button mushrooms.
Chinese 5-spice and dried parsley to season.
2tsp fresh mustard.

METHOD:

1. Finely dice the chicken, mushrooms, onions, peppadews, drained jalapenos, ginger, garlic, and green chillies.
2. Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan. Add in ginger, garlic, and green chilli, and the chicken. Cook until the chicken is done through and the water has burnt away. Add in the onion, mushroom, jalapenos and peppadews, and cook though.
3. Stir in the mustard, and then season to taste with 5spice and dried parsley. Leave aside to cool.
4. Unroll the pastry. Spread a generous amount of filling on the outer 1/3rd's of the pastry, leaving the middle third empty. Roll both ends inwards so that they meet in the middle. brush with a little milk to help seal.
5. Cut into slices, and place on a baking tray, leaving space between each palmier. brush with milk, then bake at Gas Mark 7 for 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.

Vegetable Soup With Spinach

It's so cold today. I'm currently sat huddled up under blankets, my fingers and the tip of my nose are icy cold. I don't know if its the weather, or just my piss poor circulation.  What I do know is that the perfect thing for cold days is lots of hot drinks. Soup counts as a hot drink. Mmm. Soup. Vats of vegetable soup and lots of lapsang, and that's me set for the winter!
This recipe for veg soup is one of the best yet, quick and easy, thick and smooth, and tasty. It's simple, and rewarding. You can omit the chicken for a vegetarian option. The choice of spices is up to you, I usually add in an OXO Italian spice cube, salt, and pepper, and nothing else. Here's how to do it:

Topped with croutons, served with herby garlic flatbread.

VEGETABLE SOUP
YOU WILL NEED:
500g chicken breast, cubed
1 Tomato
1 Pepper
1 Carrot
1 Potato
2 Medium onions
1 Chicken/ vegetable stock cube
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 Inch piece ginger, finely diced.
1-2 Green Chillies, diced finely.
Salt and pepper, and your choice of spices (e.g. OXO Italian Spice cube) to taste.
Handful spinach, chopped.

METHOD:

1. Roughly chop the tomato, carrot. pepper, potato and one onion. Boil until softened and cooked, then add in the stock cube and liquidise.
2. Meanwhile, dice the other onion finely. Braise in butter until soft. Add in the ginger, garlic and green chilli. 
3. Add in the chicken and spices, and let it cook until the chicken is cooked through and the water has burnt away.
4. Add the liquidised mixture to the chicken, adding in more water if needed.
5. For a vegetarian option: Boil the vegetables, then add in the stock cube and liquidise. Lightly cook the ginger, garlic and chilli in a little oil, then add in the liquidised mixture. Add in the spices, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for five-ten minutes, adding more water if needed.
6. Lightly braise the spinach in butter until just wilted and warmed through. add into the soup, pour into bowls (or cups!) and serve, alone or with crusty, or flat bread.

On a side note, the best thing to do with stale bread is turn it into croutons. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a choice of dried hers, and slow bake or grill on low heat, tossing occasionally, until crisp. They taste really good with soups and salads, or even on their own as a snack!

Blackberry & Chocolate Pudding

The blackberry bushes in the alleyways around our home grow blackberries in abundance, fresh and ripe and free for picking. Having been blackberry picking a few days ago, a bowl was languishing in our kitchen, in need of consuming. After eating a fair share fresh off the bushes, staining fingers mouths and clothes in the process, I wanted something different with these, so I decided to stick these into some yummy chocolatey goodness. so here it is, Blackberry and chocolate pudding!
This recipe is from Super Cookery's Chocolate & Baking recipe book, which is absolutely fantastic. You can omit the cocoa powder in step 3 if you want a non-chocolatey version of this dessert. I was being lazy (and I was also a bit short of time) so I served it with Ambrosia custard, instead of making my own. After all, it tastes delicious, and shortcuts sometimes are perfectly acceptable!

BLACKBERRY & CHOCOLATE PUDDING


Toss blackberries and sugar gently.

INGREDIENTS:
450g Blackberries
75g Caster Sugar
1 Egg
75g Soft Brown Sugar
75g Butter, melted
125g Self-raising Flour

METHOD:

1. Grease an 850ml ovenproof dish
2. In a large bowl, toss the blackberries and caster sugar together gently, then transfer to the ovenproof dish.
3. Beat together egg and brown sugar, then stir in the melted butter and milk.
4. Fold in flour and cocoa powder lightly to form a smooth batter.
5. Spread batter carefully over the blackberries, then bake in a preheated oven at Gas Mark 4 (180C/350F) for 25-30 minutes until the topping is firm.
6. Sprinkle with granulated sugar, or dust with icing powder and serve warm with custard, cream or plain.

Afternoon tea treat: Blackberry Pudding with Custard.



Spaghetti & Meatballs with Crispy Garlic & Herb Potato Wedges

Lunch, spaghetti and meatballs with garlic and herb roast potato
wedges and a rosemary and sea salt focaccia.

Hmm. Lunches and dinners. Quick and tasty main meals. Thinking of something to cook each day is pretty stressful. Searching for a recipe that is quick and tasty is even more difficult. Today morning I was given the choice of one of two chores; cooking, or ironing. Well, that one's a no brainer. As I've often mentioned before, ironing is tedious and dull, and leaves the mind to wander down paths one would rather not revisit. So, cooking it is!
I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs; quick, filling, and satisfyingly scrumptious, with garlic and herb roast potato wedges (because I was craving garlicky potato wedges), and to go with it was an (extremely easy) rosemary and sea salt focaccia, courtesy of my sibling. The most satisfying thing about this dinner was that it was all home made, from the meatballs to the accompanying bread, yet quick, simple, and delicious all the same.
I used home made meat balls, but you can use any you like in this recipe. This recipe is enough for eight (with leftovers) so feel free to cut down on the amounts if cooking for less people. I used red wine vinegar infused with honey and chilli, so I added slightly less sugar. Feel free to increase the amount slightly after tasting.

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Prepping my recipe mise.

INGREDIENTS:
8oz spaghetti
15-20 meatballs of your choice
Juice of half lemon
Fresh thyme

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
2 cans chopped tomatoes
3 fresh tomatoes
1tsp chilli flakes
4-5 Cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 generous tsp dark brown sugar
3tbsp red or white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste.

METHOD:

1. Blend chopped tin tomatoes and fresh tomatoes to a fine puree.
2. Heat olive oil in pan and add in the chilli and garlic, cook until the chilli starts to smell quite strongly, then add in the pureed tomato.

   

   Quick and flavourful, perfect for spaghetti.

3. Bring to boil, simmer for approximately 15 minutes until thickened slightly. Add in the vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar, stir thoroughly and then bring to boil again. Simmer for a further ten minutes. Add seasoning and/or sugar according to taste.
4. Meanwhile fry the meatballs in a little oil until golden and well done. remove from pan, squeeze over juice of half a lemon, and set aside.
5. Cook the spaghetti as per instructions until it reaches al-dente, remove from water and place in serving dish.
6. Pour the thickened sauce over the spaghetti, toss well, and add the meatballs. Garnish with a generous amount of fresh thyme. Serve with garlic and herb potato wedges and focaccia, or alone if one so wishes.

Delicious, quick, and satisfying.

GARLIC AND HERB ROAST POTATO WEDGES
This recipe for potato wedges is my version of an original found a while ago, from a source I've completely forgotten. The original recipe had 20 garlic cloves in it, an amount I found astonishing. I cut down the amount to something slightly more reasonable, and added some of my own ingredients. The resultant wedges are delightfully lemony, garlicky, and herby mouthfuls with crisp salty skins. Mmmm.

INGREDIENTS:
8-9 medium sized potatoes, cut into wedges with skins on
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
Juice of one lemon
Three sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
Handful of fresh chives, chopped
Butter
Olive oil
Coarse sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste.

METHOD:

1. Boil potatoes for fifteen minutes on high heat, then drain and tip into a roasting tray. Squeeze over lemon juice, add blobs of butter, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt and toss gently.
2. Place in pre heated oven (approximately gas mark 6) for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and the skin is crispy.
3. Remove from oven, add in the garlic, herbs, and pepper, toss, then replace in the oven for a further 15 minutes, until the garlic is roasted slightly and the flavours infuse.
4. Serve immediately as a side to any dish.

Crispy and flavoursome, as all good potatoes should be.