Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.
I can find it hard to know what to give people for gifts. When I’m not sure I normally cook or make something for them instead; it’s personal and I quite enjoy doing it. This is the other recipe that I developed for Kenwood (see crumble here) and I think they look a bit like Brussels sprouts if you stand far enough away (and squint). My recipe for Cranberry and Pistachio Chocolate Truffles is really simple and I find I usually have these ingredients in the cupboard at this time of year.
I love cranberries and really try to make the most of them when they are around; they are almost fool proof when it comes to making jams and jellies as they are so full of pectin. This Cranberry and Clementine Crumble is a great way to use cranberries in a different way over the festive period and the addition of Cointreau adds a little something extra. I was asked to come up with a couple of wintry recipes as part of a project with Kenwood. I used one of the new Kenwood Chef Sense machines to test the recipe out at home and then I spent a day filming the recipes! I hope you enjoy it!
You will need (as a light lunch for 4):
150g couscous
250ml chicken (or turkey) stock
50g walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted
4-5 rashers smoked, streaky bacon
10 sprouts, shredded
50g dried cranberries
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying
Put the couscous into a large bowl. Bring the stock to a boil and pour over the couscous. Cover and put to one side for five minutes.
Add a little oil to a frying pan on a medium heat and add the bacon. Fry until golden brown.
While the bacon cooks add the walnuts and dried cranberries to the couscous with some salt and pepper and give it all a good mix together to fluff up the couscous.
You will need (for a good platter of nibbles):
500g turkey mince (not lean)
1 1/2 tbsp garam masala
200g cranberries
125g granulated sugar
250ml water
1 red chilli, finely chopped
Mix the garam masala into the turkey mince until well distributed and well mixed together. Form into mini meatballs then cover and refrigerate until needed.
Put the water and sugar into a pan and heat slowly until the sugar dissolves. Add the cranberries and chilli and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until thickened and the cranberries have burst.
Put the sauce to one side to cool.
You will need (for the cranberry sauce):
200g cranberries
80g sugar
50ml water and 50ml clementine juice, mixed together
Splash Cointreau
Put all the ingredients into a pan and cook for five minutes until the cranberries start to burst. If it looks a like there’s a little too much moisture (I find cranberries to vary a lot in their water content) then cook for a few minutes more to evaporate some of the water. Put the cranberry sauce into a bowl and leave to cool. I’m not sure it gets much simpler and this sets to a lovely dolloping consistency.