Month: Mar 2021

Chicken burgers

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Crunchy and tasty. Stick it in a toasted brioche bun with lashings of sriracha, mayo, sliced gherkins and a couple of baby gem lettuce leaves. With the obligatory coleslaw and sweet potato wedges on the side. Makes 4.

  • 500g minced chicken
  • 2 slices of white bread
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
  • Zest of ½ a lemon
  • 150g or so of dried breadcrumbs
  • Veg oil
  1. Soak the bread in the milk for 10 mins
  2. Put the mince in a bowl, add the egg, milk and bread mixture, and season with salt
  3. Mix thoroughly, cover and pop in the fridge for 10 mins
  4. Make into 4 burger shapes (or more, if you want little burgers!)
  5. Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon zest and parsley. Season and mix again
  6. Tip onto a plate and coat the burgers with the zesty breadcrumbs
  7. Heat veg oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry for 5 mins on each side until golden brown, crunchy and cooked through

Sausage and chestnut stuffing

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Delicious savoury stuffing, although I always cook it on the side and never stuffed into anything. Eat it with a lovely roast chicken, a turkey or just on its own with a pile of roast potatoes and gravy.

  • 350g sausage meat (or just plain sausages squeezed out of their skins. Don’t look at the skins afterwards, they’re a bit weird)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 stick celery, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 pouch (180g) cooked whole chestnuts, chopped into small pieces
  • 2 eating apples, peeled and cored
  • 40g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Large handful of fresh herbs – soft ones like sage, chives, thyme, parsley – chopped finely
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the oil in a small pan and cook the onion, celery and garlic over a low heat until completely soft
  2. While it’s cooking, dice the apple finely
  3. Add the apple to the pan and cook for a couple of mins
  4. Take off heat and cool
  5. In large bowl combine the cooked onion, celery and apple with sausage meat, chestnuts, herbs, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper
  6. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C)
  7. Either put the stuffing into a shallow dish and fork the top to give it peaks, then bake for 30 mins or form into walnut-size balls and bake on a baking tray or around the roast for 15 mins

Green minestrone soup

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A wholesome, springtime, green version of the traditional tomato-based soup. Feeds 4.

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 leek, washed and finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 800ml veg stock
  • 200g mini soup pasta shapes
  • 150g green beans, cut into 1 cm pieces
  • 100g frozen peas, defrosted (just pour some hot water over them)
  • 100g spinach, chopped
  • 1 tin haricot beans, drained and rinsed
  • Salt and pepper
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • 4 heaped tsp pesto
  • Handful pinenuts, toasted
  • Parmesan, grated
  1. Melt the butter in a large pan
  2. Add the leek and garlic, and cook over a low heat until soft and translucent
  3. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, season and add the pasta and green beans
  4. Bring back to the boil and cook at a bubble for 5 mins
  5. Add the peas, spinach and haricot beans. Cook for another 2 mins. Add a bit of boiling water if all the liquid has disappeared
  6. Once piping hot, add a squeeze of lemon, taste and adjust the seasoning
  7. Serve in deep bowls topped with a tsp of pesto, a sprinkle of pine nuts and a small cloud of parmesan

Use other greens if you have them – diced courgette, broad beans, baby kale. Bring your steaming soup to the table with a loaf of fresh bread for dunking. This will make everyone happy.

Lamb korma

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So much more than the bland, overly-sweet takeaway version. Don’t get me wrong, that can be a happy thing in it’s own right, but this is fragrantly delicious and delicately spiced. Feeds 2 with seconds.

  • 50g ground almonds
  • 1 large green chilli, seeds removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • Small chunk of fresh ginger, grated
  • 50ml water
  • 300g lamb neck fillet, trimmed and cut into pieces
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 2 cloves
  • 3 cardamom pods
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Salt
  • 1½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 50ml double cream
  • Flaked almonds, toasted
  1. In a mini food processor, combine the ground almonds, chilli, garlic, ginger and water into a smooth paste
  2. In a thick-bottomed pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil and brown the lamb. Then remove it with tongs and turn the heat down
  3. Add the whole spices and stir for 1 min
  4. Add the onion and cook gently for 7 mins or so until soft
  5. Add the ground spices and stir in. Cook for a further minute, then add the almond paste
  6. Stir and cook gently for a couple of minutes, then add the stock, coconut, sugar and salt
  7. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and add the lamb back in, along with any juices that have leaked out
  8. Cover and simmer for 45 mins, stirring occasionally. Add a touch more water if it starts to catch
  9. Take off the heat, stir in the cream and lemon juice and serve straight away, sprinkled with flaked almonds

Eat with basmati rice or paratha, with garlic spinach on the side

Hot cross buns

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Or in my house they’re Not Cross Buns because they induce delighted good humour and I can never be bothered to put the crosses on top. Even cross-less, these buns are delicious. Spiced, soft, full of dried fruit, and amazing toasted with a bit of butter.

  • 2 tsp dried yeast
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 150ml warm milk
  • 75ml warm water
  • 450g bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 100g currants
  • 40g chopped mixed peel
  • Couple of gratings of orange zest
  1. In a small jug, whisk together the milk, water, sugar and yeast. Once well combined, leave to froth for 5 mins or so
  2. Put the flour, salt and spices into a big bowl and mix
  3. Make a well in the middle and add the melted butter, beaten egg, yeast mixture, currants, mixed peel and orange zest
  4. Mix first with a spoon, then with your hands, into a soft dough
  5. Turn out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 mins until it’s smooth and elastic. It will also smell amazing! It may shed currants as you knead, but just stick them back in as you go
  6. Tenderly place the ball of dough into a clean bowl (or just wash up the one you used before), cover with a tea towel and stick in a warm place for an hour. Mine always goes in the airing cupboard with the towels
  7. When it has doubled in size, tip out of the bowl and knead again for a couple of mins
  8. Divide into 12 roughly equal-sized pieces and roll gently with your hands into round buns
  9. Line the baking tray with baking parchment. Pop the buns onto the lined tray and cover with the same tea towel
  10. Pop back in the warm place for around 40 mins, until doubled in size again. This is the ‘cross’ stage if you can be bothered to pipe a flour-water paste over the tops in X shapes
  11. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C) and bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown
  12. If you want them to be shiny and a little bit sticky (again, I can never be bothered) you can brush over a sugar glaze while they’re still warm. This should set once they’re cool.

Tuck. In.

Beef ramen

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

I’m a big fan of a noodle packet, but this is for when you want something a bit more special. Not completely authentic, but quick and simple to make. And very delicious – deep, rich and savoury. Endlessly adaptable, and always good. Change it up with grilled chicken, slow cooked meat, gyoza, tofu, salmon, vegetables. Feeds 2.

  • 900ml beef stock (I like to use one of these and one of these – because who has time to make stock?)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp black vinegar
  • 2 thick slices of ginger
  • 1 garlic clove, left whole and squashed a bit with the flat of a knife
  • 1 tsp mirin
  • 400g rump steak
  • Veg oil
  • Salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 300g mange tout
  • 200g noodles, whichever sort you like. I like wheat udon because they’ve got a lovely texture
  • 2 spring onions
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp Szechuan chilli oil
  1. Heat the beef stock in a large pan with the soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, garlic, ginger and the green ends of the spring onions. Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 mins. Taste it – it should be beefy, aromatic and delicious
  2. Rub the steak with oil and sprinkle with salt
  3. Heat a frying pan until very hot and cook medium-rare. For a 1 inch thick steak, give it 2 mins on each side and then rest. Slice thinly and add any juices into the soup
  4. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and lower the eggs into it. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 6-7 mins, depending on egg size. Remove the eggs and run under cold water until cool. Peel and keep on one side until the soup is ready
  5. Cook the mange tout for 1 min in boiling water
  6. Finely slice the spring onions
  7. In the bottom of each soup bowl, put 1 tsp of sesame oil and 1 tsp chilli oil
  8. Fish the flavourers out of the broth and bring it to the boil
  9. Add the noodles to the soup and cook them for as long as they need. Then it’s time to construct the soup!
  10. Use tongs to divide the noodles between the 2 bowls
  11. Pour over the stock then arrange the other ingredients on top – sliced steak, mange tout, spring onion. Finally, cut the egg in half lengthways and place on top

Ready, steady, slurp!

Konigsberger klopse

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A very traditional German meatball dish, one that I’ve never come across anywhere but my family. My dad’s granny used to make it for him and the tradition continues through the generations. It sounds odd – meatballs in a gravy which includes sour cream, capers, lemon and gherkins – but you won’t regret trying it. The combination is rich, savoury, tangy, creamy and delicious.

  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1 thick slice white bread, torn into pieces
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 5 tbsp butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 350g minced beef
  • 300g minced pork
  • 5 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • Zest and juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • A grating of nutmeg
  • 1 litre chicken stock
  • 4 tbsp plain flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp baby capers
  • 3 tbsp gherkins, finely chopped
  • 200ml sour cream
  1. Soak the bread in the milk for 5 mins then mush it together and pull into smaller pieces with your fingers or mash with a fork
  2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the onion and cook over a low heat for around 8 mins until completely soft
  3. In a large bowl put the beef and pork mince. Add the soaked bread and cooked onion
  4. Add 3 tbsp of parsley, the salt, paprika, lemon zest, 1 tsp juice, worcestershire sauce and nutmeg
  5. Combine really thoroughly with your hands, pressing the mixture together as you mix
  6. Shape gently into golf ball-sized meatballs. Don’t compress them too much, you want the texture quite light and open
  7. Bring the chicken stock to the boil in a large pan, then turn to a simmer
  8. Drop the meatballs into the stock gently, one by one. Cover the pot and cook for 15 mins
  9. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon. Pour the stock into a jug. There should be around 800ml
  10. In the same pan, over a medium heat, melt the remaining 4 tbsp butter
  11. Add the flour and combine into a paste. Cook for 2 mins, then whisk in the hot stock bit by bit to make a sauce
  12. Season with salt and pepper, then add the rest of the lemon juice, the capers and gherkins. Stir in the sour cream and the remaining chopped parsley. Check the seasoning and adjust if needed
  13. Add the meatballs back in and heat for a couple of mins, but don’t allow to boil

Serve with oodles of noodles (tagliatelle or papardelle work), a pile of knobbly spaetzle or some steaming new potatoes. Green beans on the side. Job done.

Sweet potato, red onion, lentil and halloumi salad

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A delicious combination of textures, colours and flavours. Eat it on its own or as part of a spread to delight friends and family.

  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky pieces
  • 1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • Pinch chilli flakes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 225g block halloumi, cut into pieces about the same size as the sweet potato
  • 250g cooked green lentils
  • Handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C)
  2. Mix the olice oil with all the spices
  3. Dump the sweet potato and red onion into a roasting tin, pour the spiced oil over the top and season well. Mix with your hands until it’s all thoroughly coated
  4. Roast for around 25 mins, then add the lentils and halloumi and give it a gentle mix around
  5. Return to the oven for a further 15 mins until the sweet potato is soft and caught around the edges, the halloumi is soft, the lentils have absorbed all the delicious juice and everything is good
  6. Remove from the oven and stir through the lemon juice and a bit more olive oil
  7. Arrange on a platter, sprinkle with parsley and eat!

Loubyeh b’zeit

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

AKA one of the nicest ways you’ll ever find to eat runner beans. Warm, comforting and wholesome. Feeds 2.

  • 1 heaped tbsp salted butter
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced into half moons
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 250g runner beans
  • 3 ripe tomatoes
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp allspice
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tsbp extra virgin olive oil
  1. Cut little X shapes through the skin on the bottom of your tomatoes and pop them in a bowl. Boil the kettle and pour boiling water over the tomatoes until they’re covered. Leave for 1 minute then drain the hot water and re-fill the bowl with cold water from the tap. After a minute, the skin should peel off the tomatoes easily, without taking any tomato with it. Then just chop them roughly. Careful, they’ll be slippery!
  2. Top the runner beans, remove the strings (weirdly satisfying) and cut them into chunky pieces
  3. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat
  4. Add the onions and garlic, cover and cook for 5-7 mins until translucent but not browned
  5. Add the cut-up beans, cover and cook for 5 mins
  6. Then add 2 tbsp water, the chopped tomatoes, cinnamon and allspice. Season with salt and pepper
  7. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 mins until the sauce is thickened and the beans are cooked through (they should be soft but with a gentle bite)
  8. If there’s any extra liquid, remove the lid and turn up the heat for a minute or so until it has evaporated
  9. Remove from the heat, add the olive oil and stir to combine. Leave to sit for 5 mins with the lid on before consuming hungrily because it has made your kitchen smell so good

Chicken with saffron and yoghurt

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Sunshine in a chicken dish. Perfect for a summer lunch with friends.

  • 8 chicken thigh fillets
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 green chilli (with or without seeds, your call)
  • 2 tbsp ras el hanout
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 pinch saffron strands
  • 200g plain yoghurt
  • 1 whole orange, skin left on and cut into slices
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Whizz up the onion, garlic and chilli. Mix with all the other ingredients except the chicken and orange to make the marinade
  2. Dunk the chicken into the marinade, massage in, then cover and put in the fridge for at least an hour (up to 24)
  3. When ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 200C fan (220C)
  4. Slice the orange and place it on the bottom of a roasting tin as a bed for the chicken thighs
  5. Roast for 20 mins, turning halfway through. Serve with the orange slices and jewelled rice

Alternatively, cook this chicken under the grill or on the barbecue. Chargrill orange wedges to squeeze over when you serve