Month: Jun 2021

Make chicken more delicious with marinades

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Adds bags of flavour and succulence to chicken, whether you’re barbecuing, grilling or roasting. Quantities given are for roughly 8 pieces of chicken, could be breast, thigh or drumstick. The basic principal is acid, sweet, salt and flavourings, so it’s endlessly adaptable to whatever you have in the fridge. Just mix together the marinade ingredients and chuck in the chicken. Mix well, cover and put back in the fridge until you’re ready to cook. Anything from 20 mins to 12 hours ahead.

LEMON GARLIC PAPRIKA

  • 1 lemon, juiced but keep the shell to add too
  • 4 cloves garlic, squashed with the side of a knife
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp salt

YOGHURT BBQ

  • 5 tbsp plain yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp barbecue sauce
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp garlic granules
  • 2 tsp onion granules
  • 2 tsp salt

HONEY, CHILLI AND LIME

  • 2 limes, juiced but keep the shells to add too
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp sriracha
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 3 garlic cloves, squashed with the side of a knife

Pea and avocado salad

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Fresh summer salad, an excellent combo of sweet peas, sharp mint, creamy avocado and slightly bitter leaves. Feeds 4.

  • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 20g mint leaves, finely chopped
  • 300g frozen petit pois
  • 2 baby gem lettuces, leaves separated and roughly torn (or other crisp salad leaves)
  • 2 avocados, scooped into chunky pieces direct from the skin
  1. Put the peas in a large bowl, pour boiling water over them, stir and leave to stand for 5 mins, then drain well and tip back into the bowl
  2. Add the sugar, vinegar, oil and most of the mint. Season and stir together well, leaving for 20 mins to get to know each other
  3. Just before serving, throw in the lettuce and avocado and toss everything together
  4. Strew onto a platter, sprinkle with the rest of the mint and serve straight away

Flourless chocolate mousse cake

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The most beautiful celebratory chocolate cake/dessert, managing the extraordinary magic of being both lightly cloud-like and deeply rich. The addition of frangelico makes it ever so slightly nutella-adjacent (although there are many other alcohol choices which work). AND it’s gluten free, just in case that’s important too. Based on Nigella’s amazing chocolate cloud cake recipe.

  • 6 eggs, 4 separated and 2 whole
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 250g dark chocolate
  • 125g unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp frangelico (or dark rum, brandy, amaretto, cointreau)
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. Line a springform tin with baking parchment
  3. Snap the chocolate up and cut the butter into pieces, putting both into a heatproof bowl
  4. Heat the chocolate and butter together until only just melted – I use the microwave on 30 second bursts for this. Be careful not to overdo it. Once melted set on one side
  5. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy and starting to hold the bubbles
  6. Tip in half of the sugar a tbsp at a time and whisk into glossy ripples. Set on one side
  7. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole eggs, remaining sugar and frangelico
  8. Tip in the slightly cooled chocolate/butter mixture and whisk thoroughly until creamy and thick
  9. Gently fold in the egg white mixture until well combined
  10. Pour the batter into the prepped tin and place in the oven
  11. Bake for 35-40 mins until the cake is risen and cracked with the tiniest wobble in the middle
  12. Cool on a rack in the tin. It will sink in the middle and that’s totally fine!
  13. Only remove from the tin when you’re ready to serve

Serve at room temp with a tumble of ruby raspberries and a dollop of softly whipped cream (150ml double cream, whipped with 1 tbsp sifted icing sugar and 1 tbsp of the same alcohol)

Celeriac schnitzel

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A lovely supper – crisp and savoury outside, soft and almost nutty inside. Well worth the effort and time. Feeds 2.

  • 1 celeriac, peeled
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 100ml water
  • Couple of sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 4 tbsp dried white breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp grated parmesan
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C)
  2. Cut 4 slices, 1.5cm thick from the celeriac (save the scraps for making soup or remoulade or celeriac chips)
  3. Lay the slices in a single layer in a roasting tin, season well and add the salted butter, water and thyme
  4. Cover with tinfoil, scrunched well around the edges to seal it, and pop in the oven for 30 mins
  5. The celeriac should be soft to the point of a sharp knife. Remove from the tin and lay out on a plate to cool (saving the pan juices for the aforementioned soup if you like)
  6. Leave the celeriac slices to cool slightly while you prep the next bit
  7. Pour the beaten egg onto a lipped plate or shallow bowl
  8. Tip the breadcrumbs onto a plate and mix well with salt and pepper, paprika, garlic and parmesan
  9. Sprinkle flour over the celeriac slices, making sure the upper side is lightly coated all over, patting the flour on with your fingertips
  10. Gently place each slice, flour side down, into the egg … and then into the breadcrumbs. At the end of the process, one side of each celeriac slice will be well coated, the other naked
  11. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and butter together over medium heat
  12. Carefully slide each celeriac slice, breadcrumb side down, into the pan
  13. Leave untouched until the underneath is golden brown and crunchy – around 3-4 mins – then flip over and give the unbreadcrumbed side a couple of mins

Serve immediately, crisp breadcrumb-side up, with a herby, mustardy potato salad and a green salad

Thai green curry chicken

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Fragrant, punchy and succulent. Soft poached chicken and crunchy veg, cloaked in copious sauce that does the miraculous task of being both spikily spicy and coconuttily creamy.

  • 2 heaped tbsp green curry paste
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • 3 lime leaves
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • 300g chicken breast, cut into fine slices
  • 100g fine green beans, cut into short lengths
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 15g basil leaves
  1. Heat half the coconut milk in a wok over a high heat until it bubbles
  2. Add the green curry paste and stir together until it dissolves into the coconut
  3. Add the rest of the coconut milk and stir together. Bubble the mixture for 5 mins
  4. Add the chicken, green beans and lime leaves, stir in
  5. Turn the heat to medium and cook for a couple of mins, then add the fish sauce and sugar
  6. Continue to bubble and stir until the chicken is just cooked through, just a couple more mins should do it
  7. Turn off the heat and tear in the basil leaves

Serve over jasmine or basmati rice. Don’t eat the lime leaves. Do eat the delicous curry with a spoon. Maybe with a refreshing cucumber salad on the side.

Halloumi and roasted pepper burgers

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So delicious! Salty, squeaky cheese contrasting with sweet, soft peppers, topped off with creamy, spicy mayo and peppery rocket, and wrapped up in a toasty bun. It’s all good.

  • 1 block halloumi
  • 1 tsp veg oil
  • 2 brioche buns
  • 2 roasted peppers (you can roast your own or I highly recommend these ones)
  • 2 tbsp mayo
  • 2 tsp sriracha
  • Small handful rocket leaves
  1. Cut the buns open and toast to golden brown
  2. Slice the halloumi into 8 slices
  3. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over a medium-high heat
  4. Place the halloumi in the pan and fry until golden on both sides
  5. Mix the sriracha and mayo together
  6. Cut the roasted peppers into chunky slices
  7. Spread half the sriracha mayo on the bottom half of each toasted bun
  8. Pile on 4 slices of halloumi, one of the cut-up roasted peppers, some rocket and the top of the bun
  9. Eat immediately while the halloumi is still hot

Pineapple and cucumber salad

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Malaysian-style salad, fresh and refreshing, sweet and tangy. The best alongside anything spicy. Serves 2.

  • ⅓ cucumber
  • 200g pineapple
  • 1 big red chilli, deseeded and sliced
  • Handful fresh coriander, chopped
  • 50g roasted salted peanuts
  • 1 tsp tamarind paste
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 2 tsp lime juice (about ¼ of a juicy lime)
  1. Slice the cucumber in half lengthways then cut out the core
  2. Cut into thin half moon slices
  3. Cut pineapple into chunks and cut this into thin slices too
  4. Pile the cucumber and pineapple into a bowl with the chilli, peanuts and coriander
  5. Put the tamarind, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice in a little bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves
  6. Pour over the salad and toss together before serving straight away

Chicken and leek pasta

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Delicious, savoury, garlicky, lemony with sweetness from roasted leek. An excellent weeknight dinner, simple to make and tasty to eat. Feeds 2

  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 2 leeks, cut into 2cm pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 200g pasta shapes
  • ½ lemon, zest and juice
  • Parmesan
  1. Pre-heat oven to 190C fan (210C)
  2. Put the chicken thighs, leek pieces and whole, unpeeled garlic cloves into a roasting tin
  3. Drizzle over the oil, add salt and pepper and smush everything together to coat with oil and seasoning
  4. Shuffle everything out into a single layer and pop it in the oven for 30 mins
  5. Put a big pan of salted water on the hob to boil. Try to time it so the water comes to a boil as the roasting tin comes out of the oven
  6. Put the pasta in and bubble for 10-12 mins (or whatever the package says) until cooked – then drain and put back in the saucepan
  7. In the meantime, remove the leeks to a bowl on one side
  8. Remove the chicken from the tin onto a chopping board and slice into bite-sized pieces
  9. Squeeze the soft garlic out of its skin back into the roasting tin
  10. Scoop 60ml or so of boiling pasta water from the saucepan and use it to deglaze the roasting tin over a low heat, scraping the delicous brown from every corner and squishing the garlic into the mix as you do it
  11. Add the lemon juice and zest, stirring to combine
  12. Pour the glossy mix of lemon, garlic and chicken juice into the drained pasta, scraping with a spatula to catch every scrap
  13. Tip in the leeks and chicken and stir thoroughly to combine. Check the seasoning
  14. Serve hot with a drift of grated parmesan over the top

Lamb meatballs with fragrant tomato sauce

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Summery, fragrant and ever so tasty. Serve with flatbread for wrapping and scooping, and perhaps some thick plain yogurt to dollop on top. Messy, but worth it. Feeds 2 generously.

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 40g coarse bulgur wheat
  • 300g minced lamb
  • Handful parsley, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp pul biber chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1 pinch cloves
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, then add the onion and cook gently for 5 mins
  2. Then add the garlic and continue to cook for 4-5 mins until completely soft. Then take off the heat
  3. In the meantime, put the bulgar wheat into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and cover with boiling water. Leave for 5 mins and then drain
  4. In a big bowl, mix together the lamb mince, parsley, allspice, pul biber, cumin, bulgar wheat and half the cooked onion
  5. Season well then use your hands to mix together thoroughly until completely combined
  6. Roll between your fingers into walnut-sized meatballs
  7. Put the heat back on under the onion pan and add the tinned tomatoes, half a tin of water, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, clove, sugar, salt and pepper
  8. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 mins
  9. While the sauce cooks, heat a large non-stick frying pan with the veg oil over a medium-high heat
  10. Quickly brown the meatballs until they have a bit of colour all over. They don’t need to be cooked through
  11. As they get brown, drop them into the tomato sauce so it finishes its 20 mins full of balls
  12. Give it a further 10 mins and then taste for seasoning. Serve warm but not hot

Tiny jam tarts

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Mini jewelled bites of jammy love. The Queen of Hearts would be proud.

Simplest of simple to make. You’ll need a mini muffin tin, rolling pin and just 2 ingredients.

  • 100g shortcrust pastry, or whatever you’ve got left – this is the perfect way to use up leftover scraps of shortcrust pastry (perhaps from making quiche…)
  • Jam, whatever variety you like. Ideally a fancy one. I favour apricot
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan (200C)
  2. Roll the pastry out to 1.5 to 2mm thick
  3. Cut circles with a cutter about 1cm wider than the holes in the tin
  4. Press each circle gently into a hole
  5. Squeeze up the scraps of leftover pastry in your hands and re-roll to make more circles
  6. Put half a teaspoon of jam into each little cup
  7. Pop into the oven and bake for 15-20 mins until the pastry is golden and the jam is bubbling
  8. Flip them out with a teaspoon and cool on a wire rack

Munch.