Keema meatballs and masala

THIS is a lovely alternative to the usual beef meatballs, using lamb mince. The result is a spicy, tender meatball with a nice yoghurt sauce. It is good for lunch or dinner, and I had it with a naan and tomatoes and cucumber. This is from Olive magazine.

Ingredients:
lamb mince 400g
tumeric 2 tsp
medium chilli powder 2 tsp
ground coriander 2 tsp
ground cumin 2 tsp
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
ginger finely grated to make 2 tbsp
coriander 1/2 small bunch, finely chopped
lemon 1
chicken stock 200ml
natural yoghurt 150ml pot
naan breads to serve.

Put the lamb in a bowl with a tsp each of the spices, half the garlic and ginger, the coriander and a squeeze of lemon. Fry in a little oil until browned then scoop out of the pan. Clean out the pan and add the rest of the spices, ginger and garlic with a little more oil. Fry for a couple of minutes then add the stock and the meatballs back. Simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes, stir in 4 to 5 tbsp of yoghurt and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with naan.

A recommended salad is 1 red onion, halved and sliced, a handful of chopped mint leaves and a handful of chopped coriander.

Cod with lemon, tarragon and creme fraiche

I HAD  a lovely Nigel Slater book given to me for Christmas and I decided by the end of January it was about time I made something out of it. I cooked for my family the cod, thyme and lemon recipe, which was very easy to cook and took me only about 30 minutes in all.

I pretty much followed the recipe down to a T, although I used dried thyme as I couldn’t find any fresh.

The result it a tangy yet creamy sauce, with the added punch of the delicious salty capers. The fish is perfectly cooked. I served it with potatoes, courgettes and green beans. For pudding I did mango, passion fruit, crumbled meringue and double cream whipped- an exotic Eton mess.

Put 350g cod fillet, cut from the thick end of the fish, into a large shallow pan with the juice of 2 lemons and 40g butter. Chop half a small bunch of tarragon and add to the pan with a bay leaf and 6 black peppercorns. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes, till the fish if opaque. Remove the fish with a fish slice and keep warm.

Chop the rest of the bunch of tarragon and add it to the pan with a teaspoon of capers and 3 tablespoons of creme fraiche. The creme fraiche will turn a little grainy where it meets the lemon juice, no matter. Spoon the sauce over the fish.

This recipe serves two and is from eat, the little book of fast food, by Nigel Slater.

Jamie Oliver's Tray Baked Chicken Maryland

THIS recipe comes from Jamie's Dinners and is quite an unusual one- chicken and bananas! But the flavours went surprisingly well together and is an easy weekday dinner.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, skinless

4 fresh corn on the cobs

1 x 410g cannellini or butter beans, drained

2 bananas, peeled

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large wineglass of white wine

300ml double cream

55g butter

12 rashers of streaky bacon or pancetta

A handful of fresh mint, leaves picked

Preheat your oven to 220C/ 450F/ Gas 7 and get a roasting tray which will fit the breasts in side by side. Run a knife down the length of the raw corn cobs to remove the sweet bits of corn. Add the corn to the tray. Using a fork squash up half the beans until you have a pulp and add these to the tray, with the unsquashed half.

Put the chicken on a chopping board. and make a pocket and squash half a banana into it.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place them on the corn and beans. Add your wine and double cream, then divide the butter into little knobs and scatter all around the tray. Drape the bacon or pancetta over the breasts and bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the bacon is crisp. 

A three course Sunday lunch

For Mother's Day I planned a three course Sunday lunch, and it all went surprisingly well. For starters I did a pea and coriander soup with chorizo, which I would highly recommend. A very tasty soup which went down well with everyone. For the main I did simple steamed salmon. I put salmon fillets wrapped in foil with lemon and parsley and white wine poured over it and cooked for 25 minutes. With this I made a simple parsley sauce, and I did some vegetables from a Jamie Oliver recipe of cherry tomatoes and green beans with anchovies sprinkled over it and cooked in the oven. For dessert I did a simple meringue with pineapple, mango, passion fruit, kiwi and double cream, flavored with vanilla.

Here's the recipe for the Pea and Coriander Soup with chorizo, from Olive magazine.

Ingredients:
Onion 1 roughly chopped
Butter
Potato 1 medium, peeled and diced
Chicken stock 750ml
Frozen peas 400g
Coriander 1/2 small bunch, roughly chopped
Oliver oil
Sliced chorizo 60g pack, cut into strips

Cook the onion in a knob of butter until softened. Add the potato and cook for a moment then tip in the stock. Simmer until the potato is soft. Keep back a good handful of peas, then add the rest to the pan and bring back to a simmer for two minutes. Add the coriander, stir until just wilted then turn off the heat. Blend until smooth
Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a pan and cook the chorizo until crisp.
Stir the reserved peas into the soup, heat through and serve topped with the chorizo.

A decadent dessert: Chocolate chiffon Maltesers cake

WHEN one of my brothers saw this cake he asked me if I always look for the richest cake I can find. I really don't but as I had given up chocolate for Lent, when I was looking what to make for dessert on Easter Day my eyes were drawn to this cake. And it didn't disappoint. The cake was moist- even my mother who doesn't like chocolate cake liked it. The icing was delicious and the added extra of the Maltesers was just right. You only need a very small slice! It is quite easy to make. I would definitely recommend!

Ingredients:
Eggs, 6, separated
Cream of tartar 1/2 tsp
Cocoa 60g
Plain flour 260g
Golden caster sugar 360g
Bicarbonate of soda 11/2 tsp
Table salt 1 tsp
Vegetable oil 125ml
Vanilla extract 2 tsp

Buttercream icing
Slightly salted butter 500g, at room temperature
Icing sugar 200g
Drinking chocolate 50g
Milk 2 to 3 tbsp
Maltesers 5x135g pouches (I used less than this- about 500g)

Line the bottom and sides of a 23cm cake tin with baking paper. Heat the oven to 180C/ fan 160C/ gas 4. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff. Put the remaining cake ingredients into a separate bowl with 190ml water and blend to a rich, thick chocolate mixture. Fold in the egg whites. Don't beat the mixture, as you want to keep the egg whites fluffy. Just fold and fold and fold.
When the mixture has no more visible white streaks, pour it into a tin. Bake for approximately one hour. When it is ready it will feel spongy and there will be a soft crust on the top. Cool IN the tin for about 10 minutes. Then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack.
Put the buttercream ingredients into a large bowl and beat until really soft, creamy and fluffy. If you need it to be softer just add a spoon of milk and mix again.
Ice the cake in an even layer. Starting at the bottom of the cake, working your way around, take one Malteser at a time and push them into the icing. Then add the next layer. Keep going until you get to the top and then circles, and work you way into the middle until the whole cake is covered.

Service with a smile

Fair play to Bluegrass in High Wycombe. The American smokehouse is a great addition to High Wycombe town centre. Every time I go past there it looks really busy. I went along on a Sunday afternoon with a a few friends who were slightly worse for wear. But the staff dealt with it extremely well. The menu is pretty simple and offers the big four- pulled pork, brisket, chicken and ribs. They are smoked for 48 hours. They also do burgers and great desserts. I went for the beef burger with pulled pork and fries and coleslaw. The pulled pork was delicious- tender and moist. It married well with the burger. I would have preferred a soft bun than the ciabatta one though. The fries are well seasoned and I like the fresh coleslaw, although I prefer it creamier. It was about £11. The others had ribs, burgers and the chicken. Staff even replaced a burger when one was dropped on the floor by accident. Great service.

Mexicano!

The chimichanga

Ok... So just how is it April already? Nearly May. I can't believe how fast time is going. Hence why the blog updates have been a bit slack. But I'm here now... That's the main thing right. And I'm here with a little recommendation in Monmouth (recently voted in the top four places to live. Moco's Mexican Restaurant in Church Street to be exact. I went there with three home pals and it was good. Ok, it's not the most stylish or extravagent Mexican but it's simple, well priced and huge portions. We ordered nachos for starters until I remembered I had given up crisps for Lent. Jemma proceeded to tell me they were the best Nachos she had ever had- thanks Jem. I had garlic mushrooms, which were simply garlic mushrooms cooked in garlic butter. They were tasty and the staff did them very quickly. I then had the beef chimichanga for main. I must confess I was a bit disappointed it was mince and not strips of beef but it was tasty nonetheless and served with guacamole and sour cream. There were two packed parcels. I only managed one and ate the other a few days later and it tasted great. The others had burritos and chilli. It was just under £20 a head got a starter, main and two bottles of house wine, which I think is reasonable. It's worth a visit.