I didn’t realise how much rice I had been eating until I thought about the last time I ate pasta or potatoes and I can’t remember when that was. I like rice as a plain side to something, a herb encrusted rice salad or as a risotto. This quick and easy rice dish (or a cheat paella) is not a paella by any means but it’s a great dish to knock up after a hectic day with a nice bit of chorizo for a mid-week Spanish pick me up. Get out your flamenco.
Granny’s Sage, Chestnut, Apple and Onion Stuffing for Sausage Rolls
Ingredients
You will need for 16 sausage rolls:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small apple, peeled and finely chopped
80g cooked and peeled chestnuts, finely chopped
400g good quality sausages
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
Butter or oil for frying
Salt and pepper
1 pack readymade and rolled puff pastry
Milk or egg for brushing
Method
Melt a large knob of butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onion, apple and sage and fry for 5-6 minutes or until softened.
Add the chestnuts, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes longer. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Gnocchi with Broccoli, Toasted Walnuts and Blue Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
You will need (for four):| 2 500g packs of gnocchi (not the refrigerated ones) |
£1.30
|
|
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
|
£0.80
|
|
1 small onion, finely chopped
|
£0.10
|
|
Oil or butter for frying
|
£0.02
|
|
300ml double cream
|
£1.10
|
|
150g creamy blue cheese (I used Blue Monday)
|
£1.20
|
|
75g walnuts, roughly chopped
|
£0.85
|
|
Salt and pepper
|
£0.02
|
|
Total
|
£5.39
|
Method
Start by getting a frying pan on a low to medium heat and adding a glug of oil or knob of butter. Add the onion and fry slowly for around 20 minutes or until softened but not browned. While the onion is frying get another small frying pan on a medium to high heat. Add the chopped walnuts and toast them in the dry pan for a few minutes until you can smell they are toasted. Watch them carefully though as they can burn easily. Put to one side when done. When the onion is around five minutes from ready bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the broccoli and boil for two to three minutes.When the onion is soft, pour in the cream and stir frequently until it just starts to simmer.
Add the gnocchi to the pan with the broccoli and continue to boil for one to two minutes more or until the gnocchi floats to the top.
Crumble the blue cheese into the cream sauce, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and stir frequently.
Drain the broccoli and gnocchi and put to one side.
Ensure the cheese has melted into the cream and then add plenty of black pepper. Taste the sauce and add a little salt if needed; it will depend how salty your cheese is.
Chicken Tikka Wraps with Cucumber and Onion Salsa
Ingredients
You will need (for four):|
2 free range chicken breasts
|
£3.42
|
|
2 tbsp tikka paste
|
£0.20
|
|
150g organic natural yoghurt
|
£0.49
|
|
1/2 large lettuce
|
£0.25
|
|
1/2 cucumber
|
£0.33
|
|
1 small red onion
|
£0.10
|
|
Small handful fresh coriander
|
£0.15
|
|
8 wraps
|
£1.00
|
|
Salt and pepper
|
£0.02
|
|
Oil (for frying)
|
£0.02
|
|
Total
|
£5.98
|
Method
Start by slicing the chicken breasts into thin, inch sized pieces. Put these into a bowl with the tikka paste and 1 tbsp of yoghurt. Mix together and then cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.While the chicken marinates prepare the rest of the meal.
Wash the lettuce and drain well before shredding it.
To make the salsa finely chop the cucumber and the onion. Put half of the onion and all of the cucumber into a bowl. Tear in the coriander and then mix it all together with some salt and pepper. Put this to one side.
When you are ready to cook the chicken get a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add a little oil and the other half of the chopped onion. Fry the onion for around five minutes to get a little colour then add the chicken and all the marinade.
Continue to fry it all together for around ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked and some of the edges of the chicken have started to catch. Leaving the chicken to catch really adds to the flavour.
Caribbean Spicy Bean Burgers with Pineapple Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
You will need (for four):
| For the burgers – | |
| 2x 400g cans of mixed beans, drained | £1.58 |
| 50g breadcrumbs | £0.30 |
| 2 tsp ground allspice | £0.10 |
| Few sprigs thyme, leaves only | £0.10 |
| 1 egg | £0.35 |
| 3 spring onions, sliced | £0.35 |
| Salt and pepper | £0.02 |
| For the pinepple sauce – | |
| 1x 227g canned, chopped pineapple in juice | £0.43 |
| 125g caster sugar | £0.19 |
| 175ml water | £0.00 |
| 4 tbsp white wine vinegar | £0.18 |
| 2 garlic cloves, crushed | £0.05 |
| 1/2 scotch bonnet chilli, roughly chopped | £0.08 |
| 2 tsp cornflour | £0.03 |
| Salt and pepper | £0.02 |
| 4 crusty white rolls | £1.20 |
| Total | £4.98 |
Method
Put the drained beans into a large bowl and roughly crush them with a masher or the back of a spoon.
Add all the remaining burger ingredients, except the egg, and thoroughly mix together.
Taste the mixture to check the seasoning and when you are happy crack in the egg, mix well and then form into burger shapes.
Put to one side while you make the pineapple sauce.
Drain the pineapple and then put into a saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the cornflour.
Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for around five minutes.
Mix the cornflour with a little water to make a paste and then mix this into the sauce.
Bring the mixture back to the boil then remove from the heat.
Blend the pineapple sauce until mostly smooth but with some pineapple chunks still left.
Put to one side to cool down.
Paprika Topside of Beef with Roasted Garlic Mash and Peas and Onions
Enter my knowledgeable butcher. I had heard that hanger (or onglet) steak was a cheap alternative that is normally used for slow cooking. Unfortunately there was no hanger available as it was all frozen, but not to worry, as I was assured that a few slices of topside would be a good substitute. My butcher took off a few thick steaks from the topside and butterflied them for me, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. The topside came in at £12.95 per kg whereas sirloin would have been £24.50 per kg.
Broad Beans and Goat’s Cheese on Toast
Ingredients
You will need (for two slices):
- 2 large handfuls of broad beans in the pod
- 2 spring onions
- A few sprigs of basil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Soft goat’s cheese
- 2 slices of good quality white bread
Method
Start by removing the beans from their pods. When you have a pile of pale green beans, put them into some lightly salted boiling water for around four minutes.
Drain the beans when cooked and then run them under cold water to stop them cooking. When they have cooled down, remove the grey skins from each bean. It sounds like effort but it’s honestly just a quick insertion of a finger nail on one side and a gentle squeeze on the other. They just pop right out.
Finely chop the spring onions and roughly chop the basil. In a bowl mix together the beans, spring onions, basil, olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
Toast the bread and then spread the goat’s cheese thickly onto each slice and top with the bean mixture.
Creamy Mushrooms and Wild Garlic on Brioche Toast
Ingredients
You will need (for two):
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 250g mushrooms
- 150ml single cream
- 16 small leaves wild garlic, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Butter
- Brioche, two slices
Method
Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for at least 15 minutes or until starting to turn golden at the edges. Increase the heat, you may need to add some extra butter, then add the mushrooms.
Fry the mushrooms until they are golden and sticky before turning down the heat to low and stirring in the cream. Simmer the cream, stirring occasionally, until it’s reduced then add the wild garlic and some salt and pepper.
Turn the heat off and let the garlic infuse with the cream while you slice and toast the brioche. Serve the mushrooms atop the brioche.
Veal, Pork, Serrano Ham and Porcini Cannelloni – Random Recipe Challenge
I know I’m guilty of flicking through all my recipe books and thinking how good the recipes sound but knowing full well it’s pretty unlikely I’ll ever give it a try because I’ll either forget or not have the time. This challenge suited me because I was forced not to turn the page to find something quicker, easier or less expensive. I stuck to the rules and ended up opening Rick Stein’s Spain to Canalons de ternera, cerdo, jamón y boletus or Veal, Pork, Serrano Ham and Porcini Cannelloni.
Homemade Burgers with Kohlrabi Coleslaw
You will need (for two):
250g beef mince
1 medium onion
A splash of Worcestershire sauce
2 small carrots
1 small kohlrabi
Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
Burger accessories like cheese, lettuce, buns etc.
Start by making the burgers. Finely chop the onion and add about a third of it to a bowl with the mince, Worcestershire sauce and some salt and pepper. Squeeze all of this together with your hands until well mixed and then form into burger shapes. Fry the burgers in a little oil until cooked.
While the burgers are cooking put the rest of the onion into another bowl and peel and chop the carrots and kohlrabi to the same size as the onion. Stir all of the vegetables together in the bowl with a good dollop of mayonnaise and a little salt and pepper.
When the burgers are almost ready I like to add a thick slice of cheese while they’re still in the pan so it starts to melt. Assemble your burger how you see fit; I would always opt for plentiful gherkins.
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