Leftover Traybake thing

Mathew’s rather taken with a meat feast traybake that’s available from one of our supermarkets. Whilst it’s good to see him devouring pasta, cheese, tomato sauce and various bits of meat I’m not entirely happy with the amount of fat he’s eating. Plus at £3 a pop it’s not ideal.

I thought it can’t be that difficult to make at home using leftovers so I thought I’d give it a try. After a bit of trial and error I think I’ve got it pretty spot on.

The beauty is that it can all be put together in advance, maybe even frozen, and heated up in the oven making it a perfect midweek meal.

Ingredients:

• 120g dry pasta
• 150g grated hard cheese (I use 50/50 cheddar and Double Gloucester)
• 4 baby corn cobs
• 40g chorizo
• 40g Salami
• 40 cooked chicken
• 5tbsps tomato sauce (tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, garlic – cook for 30 mins and blend to smooth sauce.  Chill)
• Pepperoni slices

To make the sauce, sweat the onion, pepper and garlic in a little oil and water for about 5 mins or so. If the onions start to fry and turn golden, add a splash of water. Chop the tomatoes and add to the pan, skin and all. Cover and simer for about 20-30 mins. Uncover and blend to a smooth paste. Allow to cool so that it thickens.

Cook the pasta in boiling water for 10 mins. Drain and allow to cool completely. Cook the cobs for 3 mins in boiling water and again, cool rapidly and pat dry. Slice the corn into ‘flowers’. Cut the chorizo, salami and chicken into 5mm cubes.

Mix the meat, corn and pasta together and add the tomato sauce. Stir in the grated cheese reserving some to sprinkle on top.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish. arrange the slices of pepperoni on top and scatter the remaining cheese on top. Cover with foil.

When it’s needed, preheat the oven to 200C and bake for 20 mins. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 mins.

This lends itself to almost any combination of savoury bits and pieces you can think of. Try adding mushroom, courgettes, peas, fresh tomatoes, olives, cubed feta, the list is almost endless.

McMeatballs

I like haggis. A lot. My other half, not so much, Mathew however loves it. So rather than cook two meals I did a bit of sniffing around on the internet and found a recipe for a 50/50 haggis and minced lamb meatball. I gave it a whirl and it went down a treat. Albeit rather a greasy one.

I’ve since made a few changes (swapped lamb for beef, added chives, served with pasta and sauce rather than tatties and neeps) and today it became the inaugural dish of Mathew’s cookery club. OK it’s just me and him, with guest appearances from mum, but it gets him more involved with the preparation of his food so hopefully he’ll become more adventurous at mealtimes.

Pasta sauce

Ingredients

• 8 ripe tomatoes
• 2 shallots
• 4 mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1tsp fresh thyme
• 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1tbsp tomato puree
• 1 birdseye chilli (whole)

Blanch, peel and deseed the tomatoes. This can be a bit of a faff but it beats having skin and seeds in your sauce. Blitz the tomatoes to a paste in a blender.

Putting a small cross in the base of the tomato makes it easier to skin

Once the tomatoes are deskinned, deseeded and chopped…

Blitz the shallots. Blitz the mushrooms, thyme and garlic together.

Blitz the shallots

Pick about 1tsp fresh thyme

Blitz mushrooms, thyme and garlic

Melt butter and a dash of oil in a large saucepan. The oil helps to stop the butter from burning.

When the butter is foaming, add the shallots and fry for a couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms, thyme and garlic. Cook for a further couple of minutes before adding the tomato, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and white pepper. Mix it all together, pop in the whole chilli, cover and simmer for about 25 mins.

When cooked, discard the chilli and season to taste. Put aside (can be frozen) whilst making the meatballs!

Meatballs

Ingredients

• 250g lean minced beef
• 250g haggis
• 1egg yolk (who knew it would take a 7yr old four attempts at separating an egg!)
• 1tbsp chives
• pinch of salt and pepper

Mix together all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. This can be done in a food processor but half the fun is getting stuck in with your hands and getting all the ingredients mixed really well.

Once everything is combined, take a small amount in your hands and form into a ball. Continue with the rest of the mixture until there’s nothing left.

Preheat the oven to 200C and roast the meatballs for about 15-20 mins until they are cooked all the way through. Reheat the sauce. Cook some spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet.

Make a nest of pasta in a bowl, put meatballs on top and spoon over the sauce. Sprinkle with cheese if you like.

The meatballs can be cooked then frozen once cold and reheated straight from the freezer as required.

 

 

Spanish-style Chicken thighs

 

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thigh fillets
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• Olive oil
• Air-dried ham (Iberico, Parma, Serrano)
• Manchego cheese

Prep

Unroll each chicken thigh and envelop in a folded piece of cling film. Using a rolling pin, flatten the thighs out to about 3 mm thick.

Thinly slice the garlic and combine with the rosemary and olive oil in a large flat dish.

Place the flattened thighs in the dish ensuring each is coated in the oil. Cover, and leave in the fridge overnight for the flavours to infuse.

To serve

Gently cook each piece of chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through (about 5 mins each side).

Lay the chicken on a baking sheet and top with the ham and grated cheese. Place under a hot grill, or in a hot oven, until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with pepper and serve. Roast potatoes, asparagus, broccoli and French beans and a rich tomato sauce make ideal accompaniments as does a chilled white Rioja

Marinating chicken thighs

Fried gently until brown

Topped with cheese and ham, ready for the oven

Outflanked

Sauteed tomatoes with oregano

Dinner

Today I cooked one of my favourite pieces of steak: flank. Sometimes known as bavette, eaten more widely on the continent than here at home in the UK. Often referred to as ‘butcher’s cut’ as in the past it was often reserved by the butcher for him/herself, flank steak is growing in popularity as it’s a cheaper cut of meat than most and, in my opinion, far superior in flavour (if it’s been treated well, aged and prepared properly).

There isn’t a local butcher where I live but there is a great butcher close to where I work so as I’m home alone for the next week, I thought I’d treat myself. Flank doesn’t really need marinating, but it does need cooking the right way to ensure it’s both enjoyable to eat and easy to digest. I made a marinade and did a lot of the prep on Friday, cooking the steak on Sunday,

For the marinade:

• 2 whole Ancho chilies
• 1tbsp light soy sauce
• 3tbsp Henderson’s relish (or Worcestershire sauce)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 2cm fresh ginger (finely chopped)
• 5 whole allspice berries
• Water to make up to 200ml of marinade

Combine all of the above in a jug and allow the chilis to soften. Ancho are the dried Poblano chilis and have a mild but deep smoky flavour. After 24hrs, pour the marinade into a resealable bag and add the steak. Squish about a bit and place in the fridge for 24hrs or so.

The cooking bit

Remove the marinating meat from the fridge about ten minutes prior to cooking to allow it to come up to room temperature. Pour the liquid into a small saucepan to make a sauce.  remove all the bits of pepper, garlic and ginger adhering to the steak and pop them into the saucepan with the liquid. Pat the steak dry and put to one side.

Heat up a griddle pan or a heavy frying pan until it is smoking. DO NOT oil either the meat or the pan. The heat should be sufficient to seal and cook the meat without the need for oil (which only creates a lot of unwanted smoke). Place the steak in the pan and leave it alone. Don’t move it around, press it down or anything. After three minutes, turn the steak over. Continue cooking the steak for a further three minutes. This should result in a rare to med/rare steak. Remove the steak from the pan and slice, with the grain, into strips. Place sliced steak in a warm place for 20 mins or so whilst you prepare your accompaniments.

The sauce

I don’t feel it’s necessary to make a sauce to go with the steak but it seems such a waste to just throw the marinade away. Bring the liquid to the boil and strain out the bits, returning the liquid to the pan. Add a dozen or so whole black peppercorns. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the liquid to reduce to about 50ml. Just before you serve up, add about 100ml of double/heavy cream. Stir well and bring to a boil but do not boil! Pour into a jug and serve alongside.

I fried a few mushrooms (shiitake, enokitake and oyster) in butter and garlic, sautéed some potatoes and softened a few cherry tomatoes and green beans in butter and oregano to eat alongside the steak.

Porky Al Forno

A slight variation on the caulifornication recipe making the al forno dish more of a side-dish.

• 1x leek
• 1x carrot
• 100ml double cream
• 1x clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
• 2x new potatoes
• breadcrumb and parmesan mix

This first stage can be done in advance. The carrot and potato were left over but basically cook both until just on the soft side of al dente. Slice and boil the leek for three minutes then strain and cool with cold water. Once cold, pat dry. Slice the potato. Melt a knob of butter and a splash of oil in a frying pan. Chop the garlic and fry gently until soft. Do not allow to brown. Add the leeks, potato and carrot and fry for about five minutes. Add the cream and the mustard and stir well. Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish, allow to cool if preparing in advance, and cover tightly with foil.

The veg was put in the fridge until needed the next day. I also prepared the pork chop as follows:

• 1x pork chop (approx. 200g/ 1in thick, bone in)
• 1x clove garlic
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 4tbsp light soy sauce
• black pepper

Put all the ingredients into a re-sealable freezer bag. Score the pork chop in a diamond pattern and place in the bag with the marinade. Massage gently and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

When it’s tea time, preheat the oven to 200C and put the veg into the oven for 25 mins.

After 25 mins, heat up some butter and oil in a pan and seal the pork chop on all sides. Transfer to an oven tray and place in the oven for 10 mins. Take the veg out and uncover. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and cheese and put back into the oven for about 5 mins until the top is browned and the cheese has melted.

Check the chop is cooked through and serve

Ready for the fridge

Tea time!

Brown and bubbling from the oven

Scored, marinaded and searing

Caulifornication

Please excuse the pun. I’m tired and I can’t think of anything else right now.

I was looking for an accompaniment to some plain old roast chicken and had a cauliflower and a leek in the cupboard so I adapted a potato and leek al forno recipe. The resulting dish, however would probably serve as a main dish on it’s own (vegetarian if you omit the lardons)

• Half a cauliflower, broken up into florets
• 1x leek
• 2tsp turmeric
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 anchovy fillets
• 2 rashers of thick cut smoky bacon (optional if vegetarian)
• 500ml double cream
• 2 slices stale bread
• grated parmesan

I blanched the cauliflower florets in boiling water and turmeric for about 5 mins then cooled them rapidly under the cold tap. When cooled, slice thickly.  The leek was sliced, blanched for 3 mins and drained.

Meanwhile the anchovy fillets and the garlic were chopped and heated in the pan until the garlic had softened. Then add the bacon chopped into small pieces if using. Cook until the lardons are starting to get a bit crispy then add the leeks and sliced cauliflower florets. Cook covered for a further 5 mins on a medium heat. Add the creams, stir, and cover tightly with foil. Place in a hot oven (200C) for 30 mins.

After half an hour, remove from the oven, uncover and sprinkle the parmesan and the bread (crumbed in the food processor) over the top. Return to the oven for 10 mins or until the top is browned.

I served it up with roast chicken and pickled carrots. The carrots were dead easy and took about 5 mins to prepare: Add 1 cup of white or apple cider vinegar, one cup of water, 1 tsp salt and 3 tsps. sugar to a pan. Bring to boil so salt and sugar are dissolved. Using a peeler, cut a couple of carrots into ribbons and place in a bowl with dill and garlic. Pour the vinegar over the carrots and allow to cool. When cold, discard the liquor, dill and garlic and serve.

Shoots of Spring

This time of year sees the homegrown crop of asparagus hit the shelves.

Usually asparagus just gets a quick steam or boil, a knob of butter and served as an accompanimaent. Leftovers tend to end up in an omelete or salad.

However of late, I’ve been cooking and eating asparagus as a dish in it’s own right as a quick and tasty snack

• 1x bunch of asparagus (12 spears)
• Parmesan
• Squeeze of lemon
• Couple grinds of salt & pepper

Trim the bottom 2cm or so off each spear as it tends to be a bit woody. Peel the bottom third of each stalk to remove any tough skin.

Blanch the spears in boiling water for no more than 1 minute then cool rapidly in cold water, iced water is good.

Pat dry and preheat the oven to 200C.

Arrange the spears in an ovenproof dish and drizzle with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Shave strips of parmesan and lay on top of the asparagus.

Pop into the oven for 5-10 mins until the cheese has melted.

Serve immediately.

Pork’n’Beans

 

Usually pork’n’beans is a throw-together, last minute sort of a meal. Due to some sort of a mix up with the shopping we had a surfeit of baby plum tomatoes so I looked in the cupboard to see what was lurking in there that could be used with the tomatoes as I was getting a bit bored of salad. And salsa.

In the back of the cupboard was a tin of cannellini beans so, along with a few other bits and pieces, I had a go at baked beans.

For the beans

• 1x 250g punnet of baby plum tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
• 3x cloves garlic
• bunch of spring onions
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1x 400g cannellini beans

Chop the onion and quarter all the tomatoes. Finely chop the garlic and soften the onion and garlic in a knob of butter and a splash of oil in a saucepan. Add the paprika after 5 mins and continue to cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes (skin, pips and all) and the tomato puree. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on a low heat for about an hour. Rinse the beans well and add them to the sauce and set aside.

Pork’n’beans

The beans were allowed to cool overnight. Two rashers of belly pork were put in an earthenware dish, seasoned and covered. They were slow cooked at 160C for three hours or until most of the fat has rendered down and the skin has crisped up (you may wish to uncover the chops for the last half hour and cook at 200C). The pork was drained and patted dry. In another dish, the cold beans were spread over the bottom and the pork placed on top. This was then put into the oven at 200C for as long as it takes to make a rich buttery mashed potato. About 25 mins.

I didn’t bother (I was too hungry to wait any longer) but you could serve with cabbage, or broccoli. I just served the pork’n’beans with mash. There were no leftovers.

Spiced Caulistilton soup

Some weeks ago I bought what I thought was a bargain. 500g of Stilton for a pound. There was a reason it was a pound: it was almost runny. I didn’t discover this until I opened the cheese one evening. It was also a bit too mature, even for me.

Nevertheless I didn’t bin it I just did the usual and put it back in the fridge. Yesterday I noticed there was a cauliflower lurking in the veg drawer so today I’ve made a sort of cream of cauliflower and Stilton soup which we’ll have for tea tonight.

Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower

500g Stilton (or other blue cheese)

3 shallots

bunch of spring onions

1tsp each of coriander seeds, cumin seeds and turmeric

1/2tsp black peppercorns

1 litre chicken stock (or veg stock)

knob of butter

300ml double cream

Finely chop one shallot and the spring onions. Sweat them off in the butter. Meanwhile toast the coriander, cumin and peppercorns and grind. Add the turmeric and add to the shallot/spring onions.. Stir well to combine then add the cauliflower florets and the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the cauliflower is soft. Meanwhile slice the two remaining shallots and shallow fry until crispy. Set aside, pat dry and allow to cool.

Add the cheese and the cream and bring up to the ‘almost boil’. Use either a stick blender or food processor to blitz the soup until it’s, er, soupy.

Serve with warm crusty bread and crispy fried shallots.

That’s shallot. No more

Simmering cauliflower

Mmmmmmm, cheese

Ta-da!

Cardaplums

A few weeks ago I went a bit mad and bought loads of plums. Now those that remain uneaten are going a bit soft so it’s time to get busy.

Take a dozen ripe plums and quarter them into a casserole. The ones I had were a bit tart despite being ripe so I took about 15g of sugar and a dozen cardamom pods. I deseeded the pods and added the seeds to the sugar and ground the mix to dust in the mortar and pestle.

I mixed the three ingredients together and put them in a hot oven (180C) for about 30mins. When they had cooked down I cooled them and put them in the freezer until later.

Perfect hot with ice cream or in a sweet pastry tart. With ice cream