Category: Recipes

Roast chicken

~ Sophie ~ 5 Comments

So simple, so utterly delicious. Stick a raw chicken in the oven and a short time later you’ve got a roast chicken! Crispy skin, succulent meat. Best dinner ever.

  • 1 whole chicken, around 1.5kg
  • 1 onion
  • Half a lemon
  • 2-3 tbsp/approx 30g salted butter
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C fan (240C)
  2. If the chicken is tied up, untie the string or elastic from around it. Put it into a roasting tin that fits snugly
  3. Leaving the root end intact, cut the onion in half. Cut one half into half again. Cut the other half into 6 wedges
  4. Cut any large pieces of hard fat off the inside edge of the chicken. Then put 2 quarters of onion and the half lemon inside the chicken
  5. On each side of the chicken, ease the skin away from the breast at both ends and push butter under the skin
  6. Season the chicken well and put into the hot oven
  7. After 15 mins, take the chicken out, baste it and turn the oven down to 170C fan (190C)
  8. Cook the chicken for a further hour, basting every 15 mins or so. When there’s 30 mins to go, add the onion wedges to the roasting tin
  9. When it’s cooked through, take it out of the tin, tip out any juice inside and place on a serving dish. Allow to rest for 10 mins
  10. Pour the cooking juices and fat into a small glass. Use the baster to remove the cooking juices from underneath the fat, to make gravy with or just serve with the chicken. Some juice will come off the resting chicken – this can be added too.

Serve with roast potatoes and all the trimmings. Or in a roast chicken sandwich with mustard mayo and rocket. Use the carcass to make stock

Beef and red wine stew

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A testament to the power of low heat and time. It starts as an unprepossessing combination of chunks of stuff floating in red wine and stock. Ends as a bowl of rich, warm, comfort food. Eat it with dumplings, eat it with mashed potatoes or just dunk bits of crusty bread in it.

  • 500g stewing beef (I like beef shin, but it works with any stewng cut except that extra-lean stuff)
  • 3 tbsp flour, mixed with salt, pepper, a sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 stick celery, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 300ml red wine
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 stalk of fresh thyme
  • Salt & pepper
  • Additions such as whole peeled shallots, trimmed chantenay carrots, button mushrooms
  1. Cut the beef into chunky cubes and dredge in the seasoned flour
  2. Melt the butter and 1 tbsp oil in a lidded casserole over a medium heat
  3. Brown the beef (in batches) in the hot oil, removing it into a bowl afterwards
  4. Turn the heat down and, into the empty pan, add 2 tbsp oil and the garlic, onion, carrot and celery
  5. Cook for 5 mins until softened, then add the crumbled stock cube and tomato puree
  6. Stir in and cook for a further couple of mins
  7. Add the red wine, turn the heat up and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan
  8. Boil for 2 mins and then add the beef, herbs, seasoning and enough boiling water to cover everything
  9. Put the lid on and cook over the lowest possible heat on the stovetop, or in the oven at 140C fan (160C)
  10. Cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom
  11. Add the additional veg and cook for a further 40 mins

If cooking dumplings in the stew, add them with the extra veg

If you want to make this into a pie, leave it to cool and use ready-rolled shortcrust pastry to line a pie dish. Fill with stew, seal the pastry lid and brush with egg wash. Make a small hole in the pastry lid to let the steam out and bake at 180C fan (200C) for 30-40 mins until golden brown and crunchy.

Pickled green tomatoes

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We had a glut of unripened cherry tomatoes last summer, and I hate throwing anything away. This recipe makes 1 large jar of poky, sweet/sour, more-ish pickles. Pretty and delightfully lime green in colour, I highly recommend these with any cold meat or strong cheese.

Just as a note, these are not the sort of pickles that keep for years – they need to be stored in the fridge and eaten within a month or so.

  • 400-500g green tomatoes, cut into wedges or halved if small or left whole if tiny
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 250ml white wine vinegar
  • 250ml water
  • 1 tsp dried dill
  • ½ tbsp black peppercorns
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 3 tbsp white sugar
  • 2 tbsp salt
  1. Wash the jar and its lid in hot soapy water, then rinse and allow to air dry. Or microwave the jar with an inch of water in the bottom of it for 3 mins on full power. Then pour out the water and leave to dry.
  2. Pack the tomatoes into the warm jar
  3. In a small saucepan, combine all the remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and salt.
  4. Pour the hot brine into the jar over the tomatoes
  5. Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles
  6. Discard any remaining brine (or use to pickle something else!) or top up the jar with extra water if any tomatoes are sticking out
  7. Screw on the lid tightly and allow to cool to room temperature. Shake the jar to make sure all the contents are evenly distributed and put into the fridge
  8. Ready to eat after a week

Milena’s vanilla kipfel

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My Czech granny’s recipe for vanilkove rohlicky. Melt-in-the-mouth, crumbly vanilla-scented crescents, traditionally made for Christmas. Our family celebration isn’t complete without a selection of little biscuits or pecivo.

The recipe is so simple, it’s a bit intimidating – the original directions simply said to “mix ingredients” and then to “bake”. That was it. I’ve included a bit more detail

  • 200g plain flour
  • 150g unsalted butter
  • 100g ground unblanched almonds (suggest grinding them yourself if you can. You could also use hazelnuts or walnuts)
  • 50g caster sugar
  • Vanilla icing sugar for finishing
  1. Pre-heat oven to 150C fan and grease or line baking tray
  2. Mix ingredients. It will feel as though the mixure is too dry and it won’t come together. Don’t be tempted to add liquid, it will happen!
  3. Make into crescents. Traditionally approx 5cm long. Don’t use too much dough, these are quite small. Roll between your fingers to made a slightly tapered sausage, and then curve round into a crescent shape
  4. Place on baking tray and bake for around 20 mins until slightly golden. Don’t over-cook
  5. Shake in vanilla icing sugar (or sift over) whilst still warm and then leave on a rack to cool
  6. Store in an airtight tin with any leftover icing sugar

If you don’t have vanilla icing sugar, you can make some in advance by putting used vanilla pods into icing sugar and leaving for 2 weeks, shaking periodically. Or if you’re not organised enough (I’m not), you can just add 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the dough mixture.

You can also make vanilla extract by sinking used vanilla pods into a bottle of vodka (around 4 pods to 200ml alcohol), and I always add a couple of tbsp sugar too. It should be ready to use in a few weeks, but will get stronger the longer you leave it. A higher proportion of vodka will result in some absolutely delicious vanilla vodka, rather than vanilla extract.

Saag paneer

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Brilliant dish as part of an Indian feast with friends, or just sitting on the sofa in pjs, watching Queens Gambit and eating a bowl of it on its own. It’s the power of squeaky cheese. This is enough for 2 if you’re not having anything else with it. And for 4 as a side dish.

  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 220g firm paneer, cut into small cubes
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cm piece of ginger, grated/minced (highly recommend a microplane grater for this!)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 300g spinach, washed and roughly chopped
  • 50ml single cream
  • ½ tsp salt
  1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a deep frying pan, pop in the paneer and fry until golden. Then remove from the pan
  2. Add the other tbsp oil and the cumin seeds. Fry for 1 min until you can smell them, then add the onion
  3. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5-8 mins until the onion is golden and completely soft
  4. Stir in the garlic and ginger, cook for 1 min and then add the garam masala and turmeric. Season with salt
  5. Add the tomato to the pan and stir everything together. Cook with the lid on for 10 mins, stirring occasionally and adding a small amount of water if it’s starting to catch
  6. Put the spinach in the pan and carefully stir into the mixture – you might have to do this in stages
  7. Once spinach is wilted, pour in the cream, a splash of boiling water and the paneer cubes and combine
  8. Heat until bubbling and serve straight away

Quick chocolate cake

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Our family’s birthday cake recipe. It’s quick, incredibly easy and makes a cake that is moist, chocolatey and satisfying without being heavy or overly rich. It also doesn’t involve creaming butter and sugar which is a huge point in its favour for me! I’ve given this recipe out probably more than any other.

  • 60g dark chocolate
  • 110g unsalted butter
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 125ml milk
  • 120g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. Grease and line 2 identical baking tins (or 1 big one if you don’t want to make a sandwich cake)
  3. Melt together the chocolate and butter. I used to use a bain marie, now I just melt in the microwave – 40 seconds at a time, stir and check
  4. Pour the melted chocolate and butter into a mixing bowl
  5. Beat in the sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla
  6. Tip in the flour and baking powder, and a pinch of salt
  7. Mix until just combined – don’t over-beat it
  8. Pour (yes, it’s that liquid, don’t worry) into the lined tins and bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and cooked through. If cooking in 1 tin, bake for about 10 mins longer)

You can also use the same recipe to fill cupcake cases and cook for just 15 mins. Or 4 times the recipes fills a deep roasting tin, which will need about 40 mins but makes an excellent option for large numbers.

Ice once cool with the chocolate glaze below. It’s the best chocolate icing ever. And no clouds of icing sugar to contend with. This quantity will ice the cake above, with enough to sandwich between the 2 cakes as well as coating the top and sides.

  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 85g dark chocolate
  • A drop of veg oil
  1. Break the chocolate into a bowl and add the other ingredients. You won’t believe it will turn into a beautiful, glossy, smooth icing, but trust me, it will.
  2. Melt together in a bowl over some hot water or in short bursts in the microwave. It will look terrible until it suddenly doesn’t
  3. Once the icing has cooled slightly, use a spoon to spread over the top and sides of the cake. Top with chocolate sprinkles/maltesers/candles. The cooled icing will set so it’s not crunchy but will hold its shape.

Beef gyudon

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Intensely savoury, wonderfully comforting. Feeds 4

  • 500g steak
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 4 small onions, finely sliced into half moons
  • 2cm ginger, peeled and finely julienned
  • 100ml soy sauce
  • 100ml mirin
  • 50g dark brown sugar
  • 150ml beef stock
  • To serve, sliced spring onion, pickled ginger, toasted sesame seeds
  1. Slice the beef against the grain into very thin pieces, approx ½ cm thick. Remove any hard fat or sinew
  2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onions
  3. Cook over medium flame, stirring occasionally until they are completely soft and brown. This takes at least 10 mins
  4. Add the fresh ginger, stir in and cook for a further 2 mins
  5. Add the soy, mirin, sugar and stock. Cook for around 10 mins until the sauce is reduced to a syrupy consistency
  6. Stir the beef into the sauce and cook for just a couple of mins, until the beef is no longer pink on the outside
  7. Serve straight away on top of white rice, sprinkled with sliced spring onion, toasted sesame seeds and pickled garlic. Eat with a spoon

Chilli cheese cornbread

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Moist, crumbly, a delicous mix of savoury and sweet, with a good poke of chilli. Excellent with tomato soup. Or toasted for brunch with some crushed avocado and a fried egg. Eat it up quickly as it won’t keep for long.

  • 40g butter
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 120g coarse cornmeal or polenta
  • 75g plain flour (or GF plain flour if you like)
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 75ml plain yogurt
  • 75ml milk
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • 75g strong cheddar, grated
  • 1 small tin sweetcorn, drained

You can adapt this recipe easily to suit your tastes or what you have in stock. Take out the chilli, cheese or onion (just melt the butter and add it alone). Add chilli flakes, chopped ham, diced chorizo, pinch of smoked paprika, fresh herbs (chives or coriander work really well).

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C). Line a baking tin or loaf tin
  2. Melt butter and cook onions on a low heat until completely soft
  3. Tip all dry ingredients into large bowl, mix and make a well in the middle
  4. In a jug or another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk and eggs
  5. Pour this into the dip in the dry ingredients and stir together until smooth
  6. Add the chilli, cheese, cooked onions, butter and sweetcorn. Season with salt and stir together
  7. Spoon into the tin and bake for 35 mins until golden on top and cooked through
  8. When you take it out of the oven, leave in the tin for a couple of mins and then turn out
  9. Cut into slices or triangles to serve

Chicken tortilla soup

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

Mexican-spiced tomato and chicken soup. Eat it with tortilla chips or homemade corn bread.

  • Cooked chicken, cut into in small pieces
  • Chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Pinch ground cinnamon
  • Pinch chipotle chilli flakes (or regular chilli flakes)
  • 1 tin tomatoes
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained
  • 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed
  • Zest and juice of ½ lime
  • Salt and pepper
  • Toppings – can include chopped fresh coriander, diced avocado, crumbled feta, sliced red chilli
  1. Heat oil in saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 8-10 mins until soft and translucent
  2. Stir in the spices, tomatoes, sugar, chicken stock and seasonings
  3. Simmer with lid on for 20 mins
  4. Add sweetcorn, beans, cooked chicken, lime zest and juice and cook for further 5 mins
  5. Check seasoning and serve

Serve with delicious things to sprinkle on top

Spicy braised pork and carrots

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

I love pork belly – it’s cheap, succulent and incredibly delicious if you cook it low and slow. This is a Chinese-style (nowhere near authentic!) dish of warming spice and sweet, soft meat. Spicy, but not enough to make you sweat. This will comfortably feed 4.

  • 400g pork belly without skin, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 3cm ginger, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 5 spring onions, sliced
  • 3 tbsp shaoxing wine (could substitute dry sherry)
  • 2 tbsp gochujang chilli paste (could substitute sriracha)
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari if you want to make it gluten free)
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 5 carrots, cut into chunky pieces
  1. Boil a large pan of water
  2. Drop pork into the boiling water and cook for 5 mins, then drain and leave to dry
  3. Heat oil in a deep frying pan or casserole dish with a lid
  4. Over a medium heat, fry pork pieces until golden and then remove and put to one side
  5. Turn heat down and add garlic, ginger and spring onions
  6. Fry until aromatic and then add shaoxing, gochujang, chicken stock, pepper, star anise, cinnamon, soy sauce and sugar
  7. Bring to the boil and mix well
  8. Add pork back in, stir and put the lid on. Simmer on a low heat for an hour
  9. Add carrots and continue to cook uncovered for a further 30 mins, stirring occasionally

Serve with jasmine or basmati rice and stir-fried greens