PAW's Recipe of the Month December - North African Left-Over Turkey Pie

Remembering past journeys to Thailand I am reminded of one of the Amazing Thailand promotional clichés ‘The Sights and Sounds of Thailand’ which we added –‘ and the Smells!!’ Unless you have been to Thailand you will never have such and experience.

Having started here I am mindful of the Sights, Sounds and Smells of Christmas, many of which are sitting in our memories of days past invoking all sorts of emotions and feelings. When it comes to food our senses are an integral part of the digestive process that can prevent indigestion and eating disorders. How so you may well ask.

You will know when starting a car engine, it is important that you prime the engine as it is cold, and you need to wake it up with a bit of kick start to get all the parts lubricated and working to be efficient. So too with the body. Smells alert the brain and in turn that starts the gastric juices into action further stimulated by the sights and sounds (cooking, cutting) – once you start to eat you have touch and tastes. Food cannot be absorbed if you do not break it down and that will not happen if the correct juices are not lubricating its passage. Remember we chink glasses to give wine sound!

Without this process you may suffer from indigestion, acid reflux, heartburn and often happens when you eat on the move or too quickly – in car mechanical terms you flood the engine and it can’t cope – so please be mindful to not ‘flood’ your engine this Christmas time……

North African Left-Over Turkey Pie

2tsp Coriander Seeds

2tsp Cumin Seeds

Pinch of Ground Cinnamon

Olive Oil

2 Aubergines cut into dice

2 Med Onion peeled and chopped

2 tbsp Harissa Paste

2 Bell Peppers prepared and diced

Can Chopped Tomatoes

Chicken Stock Cube

Leftover Turkey – cubed

Filo Pastry and melted butter

1.    Warm the spices in a pan for a few minutes (do not burn) Add a glug of olive oil, the aubergines and shallots – turn all over in the spices and gently sweat until softened.

2.    Add the harissa and peppers and the tomatoes and stock cube. Stir and simmer for about 20 mins till all softened and cooked and mixture is thickish.

3.    Add the Turkey meat and stir in. Set aside to cool

4.    Put the mixture into an oven proof pie dish.

5.    Lay out your filo sheets – brush a sheet one at a time with melted butter, scrunch up (not too tightly) and place on top of filling. Repeat the process with little parcels of scrunched filo until covered completely. Add a little more melted butter to the top if needed.

6.    Bake in hot oven 180 degrees until golden and serve.

PAW's Recipe of the Month November - Herb Baked Salmon

Whilst the weather cannot make up its mind quite whether it is autumn or winter one should be mindful that Christmas is looming. Cries I here of how it all comes too soon, and everything must be on hold till the very last moment. Seems to me as ever, how short our memories are. One thing I do know is that shops – and commerce put their Christmas dates in their diaries a year in advance and the same time every year and not earlier as it often seems.

My old harp sings ‘planning’ I know some who buy their Christmas Cards in the January sales for the following year, whilst others have a box or drawer and add specially purchased gifts for Christmas presents as they are on special offer. All this with thoughts in advance as too must be the festive food arrangements. Things that can be stored or put in the deep freeze to negate that last minute expense and panic. Menu planning and lists, an absolute necessity for a calm and managed time. You can also be sure to have the right quantities of everything preventing excessive waste – or certainly plan to use up leftovers in culinary creations with a selection of store cupboard basics.

What would you find in my cupboard that would be of use to you. Well here are some suggestions for you. Tinned or cartons of ready cooked Pulses. Chopped Tomatoes, Passata, Tomato Puree, Mayonnaise, a selection of Pesto’s, Breadcrumbs, Tinned fruits like Pears and Fruit Pie fillings, Pasta of varying sorts – rice selection too. Stuffing mixes can be useful. Oils and Vinegars, Oriental Sauces, Tinned Tuna, Sardines, Coconut Milk. Chocolate White and Dark, Baking Flours, Dried Fruits, Sugars, Nuts, Semolina, Powdered Potato mix, Ground Rice, Cornflour, Custard Powder, Stock Cubes.

Having pondered - time for a recipe I guess. Light but flavoursome and easy to do.

Herbed Fish Bake

Chunky Fish Fillets – Cod – Haddock (this is enough for two)

4 tablespoons of Natural Low-Fat Yoghurt

2 Tbsp Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

2 tbsp chopped Parsley or Dill

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Mix together the Yoghurt, half the chopped Herb and Pesto

Place fish into a shallow oven proof dish

Pour over mixture

Bake in Oven for about 15 – 20 mins till cooked

PAW's Recipe of the Month October - Asian Salmon

Only the other day I was asked what my signature dish was. I am always dumbfounded by this question as I tend to create food of the minute depending on ingredients available and the occasion. Ah you might say that slightly contradicts my often table bashing comments about planning and kitchen management. There is always a plan in the air and the store cupboard and fridge stocked with temptations for diversion. So there will be a key ingredient like fish or meat with a temptation of what to do with it. Occasionally there is a plan and sometimes creation develops according to weather, time available and my mood. I might be inspired by something I have seen on TV or in a magazine. With eyes open and sensitive to any stimulation that might spark a flavour, colour or aroma.

A confession occurs to not being a great fan of Salmon. That being said there is always a time that it does fit the bill for fare of the day. Cooking it perfectly often alludes many when it is overcooked – dry, pale and hard to consume. Cooked till just the right moment is art to be acquired where flavour and succulence is maintained. So practice and get it right.

Asian Salmon

2 ¼lbs half side fillet

8fl oz soy sauce

2 fl oz rice vinegar

2 fl oz freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon toasted (dark) sesame oil

1½ teaspoons chilli paste

4ozs sliced Spring Onions

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (8 large cloves)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

12 ozs Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Directions

Line an 8 by 12-inch baking pan with aluminium foil. Place the salmon in the pan.

In a mixing cup, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chilli paste, spring onions, garlic and ginger.

Pour 1/3 of soy sauce mixture over the salmon fillet. Sprinkle the Panko evenly over the fillet. Pour the rest of the soy sauce mixture evenly over the Panko. Be sure to soak the Panko completely and if any runs off, spoon back onto the salmon. Set aside for 15 minutes, leaving all the sauce in the pan.

Preheat the oven to 200C . Roast the salmon for 18 to 20 minutes

Remove from the oven, wrap tightly with aluminium foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

PAW's Recipe of the Month September - Breakfast or Brunch Hash

Do you recognise arriving at a point in the week or day when you stop and realise you have lost the plot. Suddenly you panic forgetting what you were planning to do, or even didn’t have a plan but suddenly realise something has to happen. This is defined as panic management. So many people have it just about the time they realise that supper or dinner has to be on the table for the hungry vultures. Many resort to convenience foods or take-away.

So many times I have written about planning. A quiet moment constructing a plan for the ensuing week or two, where you at least have a structure of ingredients at hand to conjure up that little bit of magic. The other special magic of course is to prepare something for another day at the same time. A Casserole doubled and half frozen for another day. Double potatoes or vegetables and create something the next day. Extra baked potatoes can become stuffed potatoes or sauté. Blanched vegetables can become vegetable bakes with pasta or mashed and made into hash or cakes.

The other cross that is born is by one very simple question. “What would you like for Dinner?”  It starts at childbirth and then forever becomes a burden of life for the producers of food. If you are cooking, no one should be asked what they want, they should have two choices. Take it or leave it! And NO alternatives. That’s assuming you are not being paid for the production. The choice is yours to become a slave to the culinary diversities of your family or not.

Breakfast or Brunch Hash

Cubed Boiled Potatoes

Fine Diced Onion

Sliced Mushrooms

Sliced Chorizo

Worcester Sauce

White Wine

Eggs

Toasted Brioche

Olive Oil

Sweat off the onions till translucent. Add the Chorizo – a few shakes of Worcester Sauce and splash of White Wine. Bring to the boil and reduce the liquor to concentrate the flavour. Add the mushrooms – stir and cook. Finally add the Potatoes and heat them through slightly browning them taking care not to break them up.

Toast the Brioche slices and when ready pile the hash on top and serve topped with a fried egg to finish is all off.

PAW's Recipe of the Month August - Courgette & Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

If I only had a garden with sunshine and room for a vegetable patch, life would be blissful, but alas I don’t and that is that. An allotment plot also would be a huge responsibility for me but I do indeed enjoy the spoils of those who labour hard, home growing.

It does however puzzle me that all these efforts once fulfilled express such huge amazement at the quantity that is produced with little forward planning on what to do with it all. Perhaps sharing with a neighbour or giving it away is one remedy. Surely however the growing plan should also include storage and production for sustained supply during the future period. Tomato Sauces, Sauces, Pickles or simply freezing or drying. Some storage methods work better than others and have to be tried. Whether it be in boxes of moist sand for roots – or if you are salting as we used to do with runner beans. You must surely also have a collection of recipes ready at hand for pickling and bottling with containers ready and waiting.

Good Kitchen management and planning is as always essential. Of course you don’t have to grow, but can take advantage of farm shops and bulk buy produce for preserving yourselves when prices are keen and advantageous. Sitting in the garden on a summers day preparing produce can be a great past time and of course the labours enjoyed later in the year. This can be a good way to occupy young little people during holiday times.

So with a surplus on hand the produce arrived and here is my use of Courgettes courtesy of BBC Good Food.

Courgette & Orange Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cake

350g courgettes

(no need to peel them)

200g soft brown sugar

125ml sunflower oil

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

grated zest 1 orange

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g sultanas

300g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

for the frosting

200g full-fat cream cheese

100g icing sugar, sifted

good grating of orange zest

Method

1.    Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly oil and line a 1kg loaf tin with a strip of baking parchment. Finely grate the courgettes, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can with your hands (too much will make the cake soggy).

2.    Stir the courgettes with the sugar, sunflower oil, eggs, orange zest, vanilla and sultanas, then fold in the flour and baking powder until they disappear, but don’t overmix.

3.    Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

4.    Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar (don’t overbeat as this can make the mixture too soft), then chill. Spread over the cooled cake, scatter with the zest and chill until ready to serve. Will keep for a week in the fridge.

PAW's Recipe of the Month June - Strawberry Buns

One of the most fundamental skills that never seem to be taught in a domestic environment are knife skills. Choosing the right knife for the job – how to look after your knives. U Tube has numerous tips and recommendations here’s one for starters

Knife Skills I am sure you will learn allot by spending only a few minutes. Never Never put your Kitchen Knives in the Dishwasher. The heat will cause the shank in the handle to expand and crack the handle. Don’t store them altogether in a drawer. It’s dangerous and does not protect the blades. Keep them sharp – find somewhere to have them sharpened (knifemandirect.com) – you don’t cut yourself with a sharp knife if handled correctly as no pressure is need. Your investment in a good knife is for a lifetime. My college knives of over 45 years ago are still in my collection and used regularly. When buying a new knife. Look at the price and divide by 50 or 40. That will give you a yearly cost not bad for a 40 year or 50 year lifetime.

As we start the Strawberry Season I am sure many of us regularly try to conjure up a new way of serving them. The diversity of Choux Pastry is one of those skills often passed by but can be used in so many shapes and applications – so give it a try.

Strawberry Choux buns

For the choux pastry

50g butter

75g plain flour

2 large eggs

For the filling

2 tbsp custard powder

300ml milk

½ tsp sugar free vanilla extract

150ml Greek yogurt

15g coarsely grated white chocolate

125g small strawberries, halved

dusting of icing sugar (optional)

Method

1.    Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Heat oven to 200C, 180C fan gas 6. Heat the butter in a non-stick pan with 125ml water until melted. Increase the heat until boiling then remove from the heat and quickly beat in the flour until the mixture comes together as a ball. Cool 5 mins then beat the eggs with 1 tbsp water then beat into the pastry a little as a time to make a thick glossy mix.

2.    Spoon onto the baking tray in 8 equal size blobs. Bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and golden. Take from the oven make a slash in the sides and return to the oven for 5 mins more to dry out.

3.    While baking make the filling. Mix the custard powder with a little of the milk then, with the remaining milk and vanilla put in a non stick pan and cook, stirring over the heat until thickened. Stand for 5 mins then beat in the yogurt and set aside to cool, stirring frequently to make sure a skin doesn't form. When cold, stir in the grated chocolate.

4.    Reserve 1 tbsp of the custard mix then use the rest to fill the buns. Distribute all but 8 halves of strawberries between the buns, then blob a little of the remaining custard filling on top and add the reserved strawberries. Lightly dust with the icing sugar before serving if you like.

PAW's Recipe of the Month May - Morrocan Style Chicken

I am not sure if I envy the friends who spend their Sunday morning preparing their meals for the week. Carefully portioning each meal into containers and storing in the fridge to be re-heated as planned. However planning is essential. I remember only to well the task of menu planning for a four day weekend with the scouts many years ago. Meticulous planning was essential as we were to camp in a remote part of Essex with no pop to the corner shop for emergencies. Breakfast, Snacks, Lunch and Supper all cooked on an open fire and no refrigeration. The shopping list seemed endless. Indeed it was a task but all worked to perfection and nobody went hungry or suffered from an upset tummy.

Today many still rely on the classic “Panic Management” in the kitchen. The obligatory store cupboard items like cereals and toast for breakfast and then oh my goodness it’s

5 o’clock and hungry mouths to feed what will it be? The worst of all those mouths are asked what they would like and the a la carte menu goes into play. The slave to the kitchen and stove sets sail to oblige or suggests the simplest such as take away or throwing something readymade into the oven or under the grill. Is it any wonder that people’s palates are jaded or stifled to boredom, continually consuming the same old?

Kitchen Management as many have professed before is far the better gallant knight. A few moments scheduled to plan a structure of Menu and variety as well as preparation and cooking planning, can make a week’s catering pass with a breeze. Though deciding what is on offer will no doubt cause concern to those who expect the usual a la carte choice of familiarity. Persevere and life will become simpler and meals taken together and all the same will soon create better harmony all round.

This below can be cooked in advance and reheated but is simple and flavoursome as well as being budget efficient. Enough for 4 - adjust the number of Chicken Thighs accordingly.

Moroccan Style Chicken

8 Skinless Chicken Thighs

½ tsp Smoked Paprika

¼ tsp Ground Turmeric

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 Onions peeled and sliced

½ Lemon – Sliced, deseeded and quartered

1 tbsp Cornflour

400g Tin of Lentils drained and rinsed

Bunch of Chopped Coriander

1. In a Pestle and Mortar pound the spices together and then add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil. Put the Chicken Thighs into a freezer bag and add the spiced paste. Roll it all together and leave to marinate for about an hour or overnight in the fridge (turning from time to time)
2. Warm some Oil in a pan and sweat the onions. Add the Chicken, add the remaining marinade and Lemon slices – cook till golden brown.
3. Stir in the Cornflour and mix well. Add enough water to half submerge the Chicken. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Add the Lentils and most of the Coriander – heat through – check the seasoning.
5. Garnish with remaining Coriander and serve.

PAW's Recipe of the Month April - Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb - Greek Style

With topsy turvy weather one doesn’t quite know what to prepare for lunches or supper/dinners. One thing for sure – shopping is without doubt an experience of folly and confusion. Even if you don’t have to be budget conscious, pennies can be saved with a little diligence. When buying almost anything do! compare the cost per lb – ounce – gram or kilo with other similar packets, parcels or even if loose. The loose items are not always the cheapest. The Supermarket ‘specials’ are not always the bargain that the spangled labelling would have you believe nor the famous 2 or 3 for the price of one especially if you don’t use the extra items before they deteriorate. I do take particular care when looking at Vegetables – Sausages, Bacon and Cheese. We all have a favourite Supermarket but oh my goodness how the prices vary from one to another and very often for the same package. I noted once that Onions were as much as twice the price in one store compared to another and the same packaging and supplier. With Vegetables you also have to be aware of how much peelings and trimmings you are discarding this will of course increase the value. I always try and find short main stem Broccoli and often buy frozen sprouts as almost 50% of fresh ones are discarded in peeling. So sometimes ready prepared are not only time efficient but also cost effective. The choice is yours of course. With special offers for the Season I thought a nice easy cook meal would be useful for entertaining – so here goes.

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb – Greek Style

1 Leg of Lamb

1 Bulb of Garlic – Cloves peeled and cut into two

2 Lemons

1 Bunch of Fresh Oregano or Thyme

1 Kg Charlotte Potatoes

2 Bay Leaves

Glass of White Wine

S & P

1. Perforate the Lamb with slivers of Garlic – Place into a plastic food bag – add Salt and Pepper – a good glug of Olive Oil the herbs and the juice of one of the Lemons. Turn it all over and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
2. The next morning remove the joint from the fridge and leave it to come to room temperature - turn it every so often. Heat your oven to 140F Gas 1
3. Line a baking tray with two sheets of foil like a cross. Cut up the potatoes into chunks and place in the foil with the Bay Leaves. Place the Lamb on the top add another spread of Olive Oil, add the White Wine and juice of the second Lemon.
4. Close up and seal the parcel leaving a slight dome above the Lamb.
5. Place into the oven and cook for 5 hours. The Lamb should fall off the bone – serve it with the potatoes and pan juices.

PAW's Recipe of the Month March - Chicken & Leek Pot

So we start March with a mixed bag of weather and so it will continue I guess. On the menu one doesn’t quite know whether lighter foods are needed or to stick with winter warmers. Inspired with the celebration of St David’s Day I have turned to Leeks for inspiration. Innovation and inventiveness is always the order of the day and of course simplicity. This dish may be topped with a pie crust or filo pastry.

I have to confess that for speed I have often reverted to using Cream Cheese as a base for a White Sauce negating the roux and classic method. It also gives that little bit extra unctuousness. It can be used for Cauliflower Cheese, Lasagne, Pasta Sauces – let your imagination run wild indeed. Pasta bakes or Vegetable bakes.

A variety of Pestos in the cupboard are also very useful to add that little extra flavour. What else I wonder do you keep in your cupboards. Tomatoes – chopped are a good stand by as well as Passata and Tomato Paste. Stock cubes always. I also like a   selection of soups to use as a base for other sauces. With management and planning I reckon to have supper on the table within an hour or less. Sometimes I do preparation for the next night at the same time as preparing and cooking the meal in hand.

Chicken & Leek Pot

8 Skinless & Boneless Chicken Thighs

1½ lbs trimmed Leeks – cleaned and thickly sliced

1 Large Garlic Clove – peeled and crushed

10 oz Potatoes – thinly sliced (you choose if you want to peel)

7 ozs Cream Cheese with Garlic & Herbs

3 fl.oz White Wine

¼ pt Chicken Stock

2 tsp Cornflour

1. In a flameproof and oven proof dish. Warm some oil and add the Leeks and Garlic. Cook gently without colour to soften.
2. Put the Cheese, Wine, Stock and Cornflour into a blender and blitz together
3. Arrange Chicken Thighs on top of the Leeks then pour the Cheese mixture over.
4. Layer the potatoes slices on top and cover lightly with oiled greaseproof. Add the lid and bake in a medium oven for about 1¼ hours until Chicken is cooked. Remove the greaseproof and turn up the heat to brown the potatoes or place under a hot grill.
5. Serve with seasonal vegetables or Salad

PAW's Recipe of the Month February 2017 - Bobotie

Efficiency and austerity. I have in the past mentioned maximising the usage of your appliances and having just seen the winter quarter utility bill I am reminded how making the most of your cooking practices especially when using your oven. It can be a vast hollow of a space to heat if you are only putting in one dish and once extracted there is all that residual heat to evaporate into the atmosphere – or pound notes blowing away in the wind.

So when you are planning your meals do try and cook on the hob or in the oven and not both. If you are fortunate to have a combination oven/microwave then that is a smaller space for the odd small dishes that need cooking. Vegetables can of course be steamed in the microwave giving fuel efficiency – though I admit it takes little practice to get it just right.

My other efficiency is bulk cooking for the freezer. Why one cake when you can bake 3 or 6. Minced Beef 10 – 15lbs at a time basic recipe. This is frozen in blocks and when required can be made into bolognaise, chilli con carne, a pie or a crumble. Stewing Beef again 10 – 15lbs basic recipe. Add to a batch kidneys for Steak and Kidney – add Mushrooms, Potatoes, Winter Vegetables – make into a Pie, Cobbler or add Dumplings. The basic recipe always includes carrots and onions, sometimes garlic and tinned tomatoes or tomato paste too and of course herbs for extra seasoning. A slug of wine or beer can also enhance the flavour.

Taking a batch from the freezer to defrost can mean Lunch or Supper on the table within an hour!

One of my adapted dishes is a South African Bobotie which puts a different twist on Cottage Pie. Curried Mince with a little Dried Fruit and topped with an Egg Custard

Bobotie

2lbs of prepared and cooked Basic Mince

1 Slices of White Bread cubed and soaked in water

2 tbsp Madras Curry Paste or Powder

1 tsp Ground Cloves

1 tsp Allspice

2 tbsp Mango Chutney

3 Tbsp Sultanas

Topping

300ml Full Cream Milk

2 Large eggs

Put the mince into a bowl. Squeeze the water from the bread, Add to the Mince as well as all the other ingredients and mix well.

Put into a an oven proof dish and press down making a flat top.

Make the topping by mixing the Egg and Milk together.

Pour on top of the mince.

Place in a hot oven 180C – Gas 4 for about 35 – 40 mins till Custard is set and turning golden.

PAW's Recipe of the Month January 2017 - Fish Pasta Cardinale (cheating)

So you survived another year and the baubles and bangles either already away or imminently so. Oh and it wasn’t Christmas at all - you were that tad overweight in November so get over yourself. January of course can be somewhat chilling to the bone and depressing if the sky is grey and gloomy and it’s wet. Spring seems so far away with the short days and long dark nights. I always think it’s time for culinary creations of the cuddly kind – ones to warm the heart and kindle flames of satisfaction.

We all have our favourite ingredients – those that remind us of childhood follies,  favourite aunts or grandmothers. Some are simple like fish fingers or sausages others more complex like rabbit stew with pearl barley or corned beef hash. I wonder how many you can write down. Then you have foods that you have arrived at, some luxury as treats and some become a regular in your weekly diet regime. Maybe Saturday is Curry Night or Friday is Fish and Chips. Eventually we all arrive at a wall known as Menu Fatigue. This also happens when you frequent a favourite restaurant. It seems odd to me that specials often last for weeks or months but should really be changed regularly to tickle your taste buds and keep your palate interested, reserving the main menu as a fall back.

Creating from fridge and freezer is also an adventure and this concoction unfolded the other evening by chance.

Fish Pasta with Cardinale Sauce (cheating !)

Firstly make a Sauce by combining 1 tin of Tomato Soup, 1 tin of Chopped Tomatoes and about three Fish Stock Cubes. You can add more to taste. Add a slug of Brandy or Rum. Check the seasoning and finish with a dollop of Double Cream. ( Thicken with a couple of egg yolks and butter if a little too thin)

Next cook some of your chosen Pasta (fresh from the Supermarket) I chose Mushroom Tortellini (1 Packet) and Gnocchi (1 Packet) drain and put to one side.

Then I sautéed some baby scallops (2 Packets) and cubed white fish (1 Packet Bassa Fillets). Defrost some Leaf Spinach (drain and heat in the Microwave)

With the Sauce nicely hot I added the Pasta as well as the hot Spinach and mixed. Piled into large soup bowls and topped with the fish concoction. Finally with a little remaining Sauce coat the fish.

All enough for about 4 people – sprinkle with chopped parsley for that final finish and serve. Hot Crusty bread to accompany if you like.