Month: Mar 2021

Thai red curry beef

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Intensely tasty curry with tender beef, crunchy veg and creamy, spicy, flavourful sauce.

  • 300g beef rump steak
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp red curry paste
  • 1 tbsp thai fish sauce
  • 3 lime leaves
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tin of bamboo shoots
  • ½ medium red pepper, cut into fine strips
  • Handful of frozen peas
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp ground roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed (not finely ground)
  • 20 fresh basil leaves
  1. Slice the beef into 5mm strips, trimming off any sinew or fat. This might be easier if the meat is frozen slightly so you could pop it in the freezer for 20 mins before you start cooking if you remember (I never do)
  2. In a wok over a medium-high heat, add the red curry paste and half of the coconut milk
  3. Stir to dissolve the paste into the coconut and cook on high heat, stirring constantly for about 5 mins
  4. Add the fish sauce, the other half of the coconut milk and turn heat down to medium
  5. Add the beef, lime leaves, lime juice, red pepper, sugar and ground peanuts
  6. Stir cook for a minute until it comes to a bubble then add the bamboo shoots and peas
  7. Cook for a couple more minutes until the beef is cooked as you’d like, then turn off the heat
  8. Taste and add more lime/salt/sugar as needed
  9. Roughly tear up the basil leaves and stir in
  10. Serve straight away over jasmine rice with a sprinkle of sliced fresh red chilli if you’d like

Rice and peas

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

The traditional accompaniment to jerk chicken, but also gorgeous on its own with some sauteed spinach and a drizzle of extra-hot chilli sauce.

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp veg oil
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 1 tin gungo peas, drained and rinsed (or kidney beans – but if you hate kidney beans as much as I do and you can’t find gungo peas, try borlotti beans instead)
  • 3 spring onions, chopped
  • ½ tsp dry thyme
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • 1 scotch bonnet chilli, whole but pierced with a fork a couple of times (you can leave this out if you prefer)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100ml water
  • 200g long grain rice (not the quick cook stuff)
  1. In a saucepan with a lid, heat the oil and cook the onion and garlic over a low heat for 5 mins
  2. Add the spring onion, coconut milk, gungo peas, thyme, allspice, chilli, salt and water. Bring to the boil
  3. Add the rice, stir in and put the lid on. Turn to a low simmer and cook for 15 mins
  4. After 15 mins, check the seasoning. If the rice still has a tiny bit of crunch to it, add a couple of tbsp boiling water and cook for another 3 mins.

Chickpea-pea pancakes

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A brilliant weekday lunch if you just can’t bear yet another sandwich.

  • 1 tin chickpeas
  • 50g plain flour (substitute gram flour if you want it to be gluten free)
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • Handful fresh coriander stalks, finely chopped
  • Handful of frozen peas
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  1. Drain the chickpeas, keeping 100ml of the chickpea water
  2. Puree ⅔ of the chickpeas with a stick blender or mini food processor
  3. Scrape the puree into a bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the oil and season generously. Mix into a thick batter
  4. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Divide the mixture into 4 and dollop into the frying pan. Fry on 1 side for 5 mins without moving it, until brown and crunchy. Then gently flip and fry for a further 5 mins on the other side.

Serve warm, sprinkled with the leaves from the coriander and a lemon wedge on the side to squeeze over the top. Pop a spoonful of plain yoghurt and another of mango chutney (Geeta’s for the win!) on the side, plus some halved cherry tomatoes.

Pasticcini di mandorle

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Gorgeous little Italian almond cookies. Pale and interesting, they are a delight with a cup of coffee or rich hot chocolate. These also happen to be a perfect gluten free treat if you have someone in your life who can’t eat wheat. Makes 16-20.

  • 350g ground almonds
  • 170g icing sugar (up to 200g for large eggs)
  • Zest of 1 lemon (or 7 drops orange oil)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan (180C) and line a baking tray
  2. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.
  3. Pinch a walnut-sized ball of dough with your fingertips. Deftly and quickly roll it between your palms
  4. Repeat for the rest of the mix, placing the balls on the baking tray
  5. Using your thumb, make a little dent in the centre of each one
  6. The top will crack beautifully as they bake. For cookies with a soft marzipan texture, bake for just 11-12 mins. For a firmer, chewier texture, cook for 14-15 mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Lamb tagine

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A delightful meld of savoury and sweet flavours – and a beautiful combination of tender meat bathed in a rich, spiced sauce. And, bonus, it’s super-easy to make!

  • 500g lamb neck fillet or shoulder, cut into chunks
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 tsp honey
  • Pinch saffron
  • 350ml lamb or chicken stock
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • Handful of dried apricots
  • 1 preserved lemon (or juice of half a lemon)
  • 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • Handful fresh coriander, chopped
  • Small handful fresh mint, chopped
  1. Mix all the ground spices together
  2. Toss the lamb pieces in half this spice mix and leave to marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours
  3. Pre-heat the oven to 140C fan (160C)
  4. Heat the olive oil in a deep, heavy-based casserole dish and brown the seasoned meat in small batches
  5. Remove to one side once it’s browned all over
  6. Lower the heat, add the onion and garlic to the pan with the remaining spices and cooking, stirring, until softened and lightly coloured
  7. Add the honey, saffron, stock, tomatoes and apricots, season and bring to the boil
  8. Return the meat to the pan, stir in and stick the lid on
  9. Cook in the oven for an hour
  10. Cut the preserved lemon in half and discard the interior pulp. Finely chop the skin and stir into the tagine with the chickpeas. Cook in the oven with the lid on for a further 30 mins
  11. (If you want to thicken the sauce, lift the meat out of the pan with a slotted spoon and put the pan back on the hob over over a high heat. Boil until thickened and reduced, then stir the meat back in)
  12. Check the seasoning and stir in the coriander and mint
  13. Serve with bread (ideally the flat white loaves served alongside all Moroccan dishes), rice or cous cous. Plus a spoonful of plain yogurt and a herby, lemony salad.

Peanut butter cookies

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A harmonious blend of sweet and salty deliciousness in cookie form. Textures are gorgeous too – crunchy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. I challenge you to eat just one.

  • 150g crunchy peanut butter
  • 110g salted butter, at room temperature
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 100g light brown soft sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 180g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ¼ tsp salt 
  1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan (180C) and line a baking tray
  2. Whisk together peanut butter, butter, sugars and egg until well combined
  3. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt. Stir in with a spoon, forming a stiff dough
  4. With your hands, roll the dough into 3cm balls
  5. Place on baking tray and use the back of a fork to mark and flatten each ball slightly. 
  6. Bake in 2 batches for 10-12 mins until the edges begin to turn golden. Cool on wire rack.

Chicken and chorizo stew

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A happy marriage of Spanish flavours. Hearty, rich and contented. All you need to serve with it is a chunk of crusty bread to dip into the sauce and a large glass of red wine. Feeds 4

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 chicken thighs (with bones or without, up to you)
  • 100g chorizo, chopped into pieces
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 250ml dry sherry
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the oil in a casserole dish over high heat and brown the chicken on both sides
  2. Remove from pan, turn heat down to medium and add the chorizo
  3. Once browned, add onions and cook for 5-10 mins over low heat until cooked through
  4. Pour in the sherry and bubble, stirring to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan
  5. Add the stock, tomatoes, sugar, herbs and spices.
  6. Bring to the boil and then simmer with the lid on for 20 mins. Uncover, stir in the cannellini beans and cook for further 20-30 mins until the sauce is thickened and lovely
  7. Serve with stir fried garlic spinach on the side if you want something green with it

Macaroni cheese

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

The ultimate comfort food. Categorically not mac n’ cheese.

This dish was a staple of my childhood Friday evenings, playing raucously with friends while our mums got quietly drunk in the kitchen. Always eaten with lashings of ketchup and gherkins, occasionally with the added treat of sliced hotdogs stirred in. And with an inevitable battle over who got more of the crunchy top. Now I like to think I’m slightly more sophisticated (sometimes), but I still love the contrast with the creamy pasta, so I eat it drizzled with chilli sauce or topped with pickled jalapenos. And accompanied by a nice crispy salad on the side.

  • 2 tbsp salted butter
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 400-500ml milk
  • 200g grated cheddar (or to taste)
  • 400g pasta shapes
  • Salt and pepper
  1. In a thick-based saucepan over a low-medium heat, melt the butter then sprinkle over the flour
  2. Stir together until they form a light brown paste (a roux! Tres sophistique) and keeping stirring for a couple of mins
  3. Add the mustard and stir in
  4. Then pour over the milk and either whisk (which gets rid of lumps) or stir constantly right down into the corners until the sauce is thickened and voluptuous
  5. Turn off the heat, add the grated cheese and stir until it has melted in. Taste and season

You can eat this sauce simply mixed into cooked pasta, but to make this into a proper baked macaroni cheese …

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan (200C)
  2. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water for 6-7 mins – around 3-4 mins less than usual
  3. Drain it and tip into a ceramic oven dish
  4. Mix through the cheese sauce, top with a bit more grated cheese and bake for 30 mins until bubbling and golden

Simple okonomiyaki

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Not that it’s especially complicated in the first place, but this simplified version of the Japanese cabbage pancake, smothered in condiments, is a quick and easy lunch. And still manages to be a veritable party in your mouth! Crunchy, spicy, savoury, creamy, tangy – it’s the ideal way to use up leftover raw white or sweetheart cabbage. Feeds 2.

  • 3 eggs
  • 3 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • Large handful of shredded cabbage
  • 1 spring onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • Mayonnaise, ideally in a squeezy bottle
  • Sriracha chilli sauce
  1. Make a thick batter with the eggs, flour, sesame oil and soy sauce
  2. Mix in the spring onion and cabbage
  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and, dividing the mixture into quarters, spoon 4 heaps of the cabbage mixture into the pan
  4. Fry on one side for 2 mins until golden brown (don’t be tempted to mess about with it while it’s cooking)
  5. Then flip them, press down gently and give them another 2 mins until cooked through
  6. Serve them straight away with lavish zigzags of mayo and chilli sauce over the top, and tuck in.

Fragrant pilaf

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

The most soothing of rice dishes. Aromatic with mild spice but no heat, buttery and delicious

  • 150g basmati rice
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 1 onion, sliced finely into half moons
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ chicken stock cube
  • Handful of flaked almonds, toasted
  1. Heat the butter in a pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook the onion over a low heat for 5-10 mins until completely soft, tender and golden
  2. Add the cinnamon, bay and cardamom and stir in for a minute until fragrant
  3. Add the crumbled stock cube and stir into the butter so it completely dissolves
  4. Turn the heat up, tip in the rice and stir it into the spiced buttery onions until it starts to crackle
  5. Add 300ml boiling water, stir well, stick the lid on and turn it down as low as possible
  6. Cook for 10 mins then turn the heat off and leave for a further 5 mins without taking the lid off
  7. Serve sprinkled with toasted flaked almonds

If you want a simple bowlful of comforting loveliness, you can just eat this on its own with a spoonful of yogurt on the top. Or it makes a great side dish to something spicy and saucy. Or feel free to make it more substantial by stirring through chickpeas, scraps of cooked chicken or lamb, chargrilled aubergine or courgette.