INGREDIENTS
Chicken - one breast per person
Oil
Chopped onion
Flavourings of choice
Heat the oven to 200 c.
Tear off a length of tin foil - enough to securely wrap the chicken breast.
Place the chicken breast in the centre of the tin foil and add a dessert spoon of oil. Add the onion and flavourings. Wrap the chicken in the tin foil as though a parcel, place on a baking tray and cook for apprx 45 mins (until the chicken is white all the way through and the chicken juices are clear).
Cook 1 breast per person.
Suggested flavourings:
Soft cheese (eg Philadelphia) and garlic.
Tomato puree, garlic, brown sugar (for a barbecue flavour)
Soy sauce, tomato puree and garlic (for a Chinese flavour)
Friday, 27 March 2015
Onion, celery and carrot
Never underestimate the power of one onion, one stick of celery and one carrot. Chopped into small pieces and fried in a pan they form the basis of so many meals. Add tomatoes and garlic for a basic pasta sauce. Add meat, stock and some pulses for a hearty stew. Add some meat, spices and a tin of tomatoes for a curry. Learn the basics, these form the foundations for so many dishes.
Saturday, 21 March 2015
Spanish Omelette
INGREDIENTS
- 5 eggs
- Cheese - grated.
- Potatoes - already boiled and cut into bitesized cubes
- Onion
- Pepper
- Bacon / Chorizo (optional)
- Sunflower / vegetable oil
In a heavy based frying pan heat up 2 dessert spoonfuls of oil.
Chop the onion and pepper, add to the pan and fry for about 5 mins.
Also add any bacon or chorizo (optional).
Once the vegetables and meat are cooked break the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk with a fork.
Add to the frying pan over the vegetables and meat - move the pan to ensure the egg covers the other ingredients.
Cook the omelette for a couple of minutes until the egg starts to set.
Add the cheese.
To cook through the top of the omelette, place the pan under a grill for about 5 mins.
ALTERNATIVES
Different vegetables can be added to the omelette, as can different meats (ensure any meat is cooked through before the eggs are added).
Additional flavours, such as garlic or chilli, go well in this dish. Add to the pan just before the eggs.
- 5 eggs
- Cheese - grated.
- Potatoes - already boiled and cut into bitesized cubes
- Onion
- Pepper
- Bacon / Chorizo (optional)
- Sunflower / vegetable oil
In a heavy based frying pan heat up 2 dessert spoonfuls of oil.
Chop the onion and pepper, add to the pan and fry for about 5 mins.
Also add any bacon or chorizo (optional).
Once the vegetables and meat are cooked break the eggs into a separate bowl and whisk with a fork.
Add to the frying pan over the vegetables and meat - move the pan to ensure the egg covers the other ingredients.
Cook the omelette for a couple of minutes until the egg starts to set.
Add the cheese.
To cook through the top of the omelette, place the pan under a grill for about 5 mins.
ALTERNATIVES
Different vegetables can be added to the omelette, as can different meats (ensure any meat is cooked through before the eggs are added).
Additional flavours, such as garlic or chilli, go well in this dish. Add to the pan just before the eggs.
Chicken Curry
INGREDIENTS
- Onion
- Pepper
- Chicken - 1 breast of chicken per person is plenty - 2 will easily feed 3 people. Alternatively 1 pack of chicken mini fillets is enough for 2 to 3 people
- Curry paste - in a jar this will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks once open. Balti paste is my favourite.
- Tomato puree
- Mango chutney
- Coconut cream (optional for a creamier curry)
- Carrot / celery / courgette / mushroom chopped into small pieces - optional
- Tin of tomatoes
- Sunflower / vegetable oil
Fry the onions in about a dessert spoon of oil over a low heat.
Add about a dessert spoon of curry paste and a squirt of tomato puree.
If you are going to add extra vegetables then chop them into small pieces and add at this stage.
Fry for a further couple of minutes.
Cut the chicken into bitesized pieces (using kitchen scissors may be easier than cutting with a knife).
Add the chicken to the pan.
Add the chopped pepper.
Once the chicken has started to brown add a dessert spoonful of mango chutney.
Add the tin of tomatoes then leave to simmer for at least half an hour.
You may need to add water at this stage. Use the tin from the tomatoes as a guide - half fill with water and add to the curry.
The longer you leave the curry to simmer on a low heat the better!
About 10 mins before you dish up you can add coconut cream to make the curry creamier and more like a korma. Add the coconut cream to taste.
Serve with rice. White rice needs to be boiled for about 10 mins, brown rice for about 20 mins.
- Onion
- Pepper
- Chicken - 1 breast of chicken per person is plenty - 2 will easily feed 3 people. Alternatively 1 pack of chicken mini fillets is enough for 2 to 3 people
- Curry paste - in a jar this will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks once open. Balti paste is my favourite.
- Tomato puree
- Mango chutney
- Coconut cream (optional for a creamier curry)
- Carrot / celery / courgette / mushroom chopped into small pieces - optional
- Tin of tomatoes
- Sunflower / vegetable oil
Fry the onions in about a dessert spoon of oil over a low heat.
Add about a dessert spoon of curry paste and a squirt of tomato puree.
If you are going to add extra vegetables then chop them into small pieces and add at this stage.
Fry for a further couple of minutes.
Cut the chicken into bitesized pieces (using kitchen scissors may be easier than cutting with a knife).
Add the chicken to the pan.
Add the chopped pepper.
Once the chicken has started to brown add a dessert spoonful of mango chutney.
Add the tin of tomatoes then leave to simmer for at least half an hour.
You may need to add water at this stage. Use the tin from the tomatoes as a guide - half fill with water and add to the curry.
The longer you leave the curry to simmer on a low heat the better!
About 10 mins before you dish up you can add coconut cream to make the curry creamier and more like a korma. Add the coconut cream to taste.
Serve with rice. White rice needs to be boiled for about 10 mins, brown rice for about 20 mins.
Chilli Con Carne
INGREDIENTS
- Minced meat
- Tin of tomatoes
- Tin of red kidney beans
- Chilli con carne spice mix
- Onion
- Pepper
- Tomato puree
- Sunflower / vegetable oil
Chop the onion and pepper into reasonably small pieces.
Fry the onion and pepper in a dessert spoonful of oil for about 5mins.
Add the minced meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon so there aren't clumps of meat. Cook for another 5 mins, or until the meat has browned.
You may find the mix goes quite watery due to the fat in the meat - it is best to tip the liquid away if this happens. If the pan is heavy use paper towels to soak up the liquid, but be careful - the liquid will be HOT.
Add a good squirt of tomato puree, and cook through for a couple more minutes.
Add the spice mix and the amount of water stated on the spice mix packet.
Add the tin of tomatoes.
Rinse the kidney beans in a sieve thoroughly before adding to the pan.
Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for at least 10 mins. On a very low heat this can simmer for longer.
Serve with rice (white rice takes approx. 10 mins to boil, brown rice takes about 20 mins to boil).
ALTERNATIVES
This mix can be used instead of the chicken fajita mix in fajitas, Mexican lasagne, nachos and even quesedillas.
- Minced meat
- Tin of tomatoes
- Tin of red kidney beans
- Chilli con carne spice mix
- Onion
- Pepper
- Tomato puree
- Sunflower / vegetable oil
Chop the onion and pepper into reasonably small pieces.
Fry the onion and pepper in a dessert spoonful of oil for about 5mins.
Add the minced meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon so there aren't clumps of meat. Cook for another 5 mins, or until the meat has browned.
You may find the mix goes quite watery due to the fat in the meat - it is best to tip the liquid away if this happens. If the pan is heavy use paper towels to soak up the liquid, but be careful - the liquid will be HOT.
Add a good squirt of tomato puree, and cook through for a couple more minutes.
Add the spice mix and the amount of water stated on the spice mix packet.
Add the tin of tomatoes.
Rinse the kidney beans in a sieve thoroughly before adding to the pan.
Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for at least 10 mins. On a very low heat this can simmer for longer.
Serve with rice (white rice takes approx. 10 mins to boil, brown rice takes about 20 mins to boil).
ALTERNATIVES
This mix can be used instead of the chicken fajita mix in fajitas, Mexican lasagne, nachos and even quesedillas.
Quick Pizza
INGREDIENTS
- Flatbread - this could be flavoured (garlic / tomato / cheese), or a nan bread
- Tomato sauce - this could be a carton of passata / a tin of plum tomatoes mashed / pasta sauce (but avoid ones high in sugar)
- Cheese - hard cheese such as cheddar grated. Traditional pizzas have mozzarella, sliced (optional)
- Toppings - any raw meat should be cooked before adding to a pizza
Heat the oven to 180 - 200 c.
Put the bread base on a baking tray.
Cover the bread base in the tomato sauce - a good layer but not an amount that will make the bread soggy.
Grate on a layer of cheese.
Add your toppings. Try combinations from onions / peppers / sweetcorn / ham / chorizo (pre-cooked) / olives / tuna..... the list is endless!
Grate on a top layer of cheese.
Cook in the oven until the cheese has melted and started to turn brown.
ALTERNATIVES
Add crushed garlic, butter and chopped parsley to the bread base for a garlic alternative.
Instead of a tomato base use a soft cheese mixed in with some crème fraiche / soured cream as a base sauce.
- Flatbread - this could be flavoured (garlic / tomato / cheese), or a nan bread
- Tomato sauce - this could be a carton of passata / a tin of plum tomatoes mashed / pasta sauce (but avoid ones high in sugar)
- Cheese - hard cheese such as cheddar grated. Traditional pizzas have mozzarella, sliced (optional)
- Toppings - any raw meat should be cooked before adding to a pizza
Heat the oven to 180 - 200 c.
Put the bread base on a baking tray.
Cover the bread base in the tomato sauce - a good layer but not an amount that will make the bread soggy.
Grate on a layer of cheese.
Add your toppings. Try combinations from onions / peppers / sweetcorn / ham / chorizo (pre-cooked) / olives / tuna..... the list is endless!
Grate on a top layer of cheese.
Cook in the oven until the cheese has melted and started to turn brown.
ALTERNATIVES
Add crushed garlic, butter and chopped parsley to the bread base for a garlic alternative.
Instead of a tomato base use a soft cheese mixed in with some crème fraiche / soured cream as a base sauce.
Spaghetti / Linguine with cream sauce, bacon and peas
INGREDIENTS
- Half a pack of pasta for 2 people
- 3/4 pack of soft cheese with garlic and herbs (Philadelphia make one, but the own brand may well be cheaper)
- 2 or 3 slices of bacon per person (smoked is saltier than unsmoked and dry cured will cook crisper as it has a lower water content)
- Cup of peas for 2 people
- Sunflower / vegetable oil for cooking
Fill a big saucepan with water and bring to the boil (this may be easier if you boil the water in a kettle first, then fill the saucepan). Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the pan.
Add the pasta and make sure it is submerged in the water - there should be a good coverage of water.
Add the peas into the water with the pasta.
In a saucepan or frying pan heat up 2 teaspoons of oil and add strips of bacon (cutting with kitchen scissors may be easier than cutting the bacon with a knife). This should be cooked over a medium heat.
Once the bacon has cooked for about 5 mins turn the heat down to low and add the soft cheese. Stir.
Once the pasta has been cooking for 10 - 12 mins check a strand - it should not be too soft but should have lost its hard "bite". Remember - wholewheat pasta takes at least 5 mins longer than white pasta.
Drain the pasta as soon as it is cooked but keep back a cupful of the water that the pasta was cooked in.
Add the water to the bacon and cheese sauce - the full cup may be too much, the sauce needs to be the consistency of cream / cheese sauce / thin gravy.
Stir the bacon and cheese sauce through the pasta and peas, then serve carefully!
ALTERNATIVES
This recipe can be adjusted by adding different vegetables to the pasta water as well as / instead of peas.
Mushrooms can be fried in with the bacon.
The bacon could be replaced by deli meats such as pancetta / chorizo / parma ham.
- Half a pack of pasta for 2 people
- 3/4 pack of soft cheese with garlic and herbs (Philadelphia make one, but the own brand may well be cheaper)
- 2 or 3 slices of bacon per person (smoked is saltier than unsmoked and dry cured will cook crisper as it has a lower water content)
- Cup of peas for 2 people
- Sunflower / vegetable oil for cooking
Fill a big saucepan with water and bring to the boil (this may be easier if you boil the water in a kettle first, then fill the saucepan). Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the pan.
Add the pasta and make sure it is submerged in the water - there should be a good coverage of water.
Add the peas into the water with the pasta.
In a saucepan or frying pan heat up 2 teaspoons of oil and add strips of bacon (cutting with kitchen scissors may be easier than cutting the bacon with a knife). This should be cooked over a medium heat.
Once the bacon has cooked for about 5 mins turn the heat down to low and add the soft cheese. Stir.
Once the pasta has been cooking for 10 - 12 mins check a strand - it should not be too soft but should have lost its hard "bite". Remember - wholewheat pasta takes at least 5 mins longer than white pasta.
Drain the pasta as soon as it is cooked but keep back a cupful of the water that the pasta was cooked in.
Add the water to the bacon and cheese sauce - the full cup may be too much, the sauce needs to be the consistency of cream / cheese sauce / thin gravy.
Stir the bacon and cheese sauce through the pasta and peas, then serve carefully!
ALTERNATIVES
This recipe can be adjusted by adding different vegetables to the pasta water as well as / instead of peas.
Mushrooms can be fried in with the bacon.
The bacon could be replaced by deli meats such as pancetta / chorizo / parma ham.
Fajitas
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 chicken breast per person (or equivalent of beef)
- 1 onion per 2 people
- 1 pepper (any colour) per 2 people
- 3 tortillas per person
- 1 pot of crème fraiche or soured cream
- 1 little gem lettuce or half an iceberg lettuce
- 1 jar / carton of passata (tomatoes)
- Tomato puree (optional)
- 2 dessert spoons of fajita spice mix or 1 sachet fajita spice mix
- Sunflower or vegetable oil
- Additional toppings such as jalapeno chillis, grated cheese
Cut the chicken into bitesize pieces - most easily done with a pair of scissors. Put these in a large bowl or casserole dish.
Chop the onion and pepper and add to the chicken in the bowl.
Mix in the spice mix plus approx. 2 dessert spoons of the oil and 1 dessert spoon of water.
You can also add a squirt of tomato puree at this stage as well if you want for a stronger tomato flavour.
Stir well and leave to marinade - overnight in the fridge is fine if covered in clingfilm / lid. It is also ok to start cooking this straight away without leaving to marinade.
Heat a big frying pan or wok, medium hot with no oil (non-stick pan is best).
Once the pan is hot add the chicken mix - stir occasionally until the chicken is cooked through (cut open a chicken piece and it will be white all the way through once cooked).
Add about a third of the passata - this creates the sauce but don't add too much as a wet sauce will leak through the tortillas and make them soggy.
Heat through until bubbling then serve in a clean casserole dish.
Serve with the tortillas (warmed for a few minutes in the oven or for a few seconds in the microwave is nice), chopped lettuce, grated cheese, crème fraiche and any other toppings.
REMEMBER - wash carefully anything that has touched raw meat, including your hands! Don't use the same utensils and bowls with the cooked food as you did with the raw meat.
ALTERNATIVES:
The fajita recipe can be used in other meals, here are some suggestions:
NACHOS
Cook up the chicken as above.
Line a casserole dish / baking tin with nachos / tortilla crisps (any flavour but the cheapest available are fine).
Pour the chicken mix over the nachos and grate a good layer of hard cheese (such as cheddar) over the top.
Place under a hot grill until the cheese is bubbling.
Serve in the casserole dish (but be careful - it is hot!) - add spoonfuls of crème fraiche / soured cream, jalapeno chillis, guacamole.
Very good to share...
MEXICAN LASAGNE
Cook up the chicken as above.
Drain and rinse thoroughly in a sieve a tin of pre-cooked red kidney beans (not dried).
Once the chicken fajita mix is cooked, take off the heat and add the kidney beans.
In a casserole dish (ie an ovenproof dish) put a layer of flour tortillas in the bottom, add a layer of chicken mix, then another layer of tortillas, then another layer of chicken mix, and so on until all is used.
Finish with a tortilla layer, cover with crème fraiche and a good layer of grated cheese.
Cook in an oven at 180 c for approx. 30 mins.
QUESEDILLAS
Cook up the chicken mix, or if using leftovers then heat them through to ensure they are hot.
Heat up a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat with no oil.
Put a flour tortilla in the pan, flat.
Quickly add a couple of spoonfuls of the hot chicken mix, plus a handful of grated cheese.
Put another flour tortilla on top and press down with a spatula.
Cook for a couple of minutes, or until the bottom tortilla is starting to toast, then carefully flip over in the pan using the spatula.
This is a Mexican version of a toasted sandwich so a wide variety of fillings can be used as an alternative. Any tex mex dips left over from the night before can taste good added to your chosen filling.
- 1 chicken breast per person (or equivalent of beef)
- 1 onion per 2 people
- 1 pepper (any colour) per 2 people
- 3 tortillas per person
- 1 pot of crème fraiche or soured cream
- 1 little gem lettuce or half an iceberg lettuce
- 1 jar / carton of passata (tomatoes)
- Tomato puree (optional)
- 2 dessert spoons of fajita spice mix or 1 sachet fajita spice mix
- Sunflower or vegetable oil
- Additional toppings such as jalapeno chillis, grated cheese
Cut the chicken into bitesize pieces - most easily done with a pair of scissors. Put these in a large bowl or casserole dish.
Chop the onion and pepper and add to the chicken in the bowl.
Mix in the spice mix plus approx. 2 dessert spoons of the oil and 1 dessert spoon of water.
You can also add a squirt of tomato puree at this stage as well if you want for a stronger tomato flavour.
Stir well and leave to marinade - overnight in the fridge is fine if covered in clingfilm / lid. It is also ok to start cooking this straight away without leaving to marinade.
Heat a big frying pan or wok, medium hot with no oil (non-stick pan is best).
Once the pan is hot add the chicken mix - stir occasionally until the chicken is cooked through (cut open a chicken piece and it will be white all the way through once cooked).
Add about a third of the passata - this creates the sauce but don't add too much as a wet sauce will leak through the tortillas and make them soggy.
Heat through until bubbling then serve in a clean casserole dish.
Serve with the tortillas (warmed for a few minutes in the oven or for a few seconds in the microwave is nice), chopped lettuce, grated cheese, crème fraiche and any other toppings.
REMEMBER - wash carefully anything that has touched raw meat, including your hands! Don't use the same utensils and bowls with the cooked food as you did with the raw meat.
ALTERNATIVES:
The fajita recipe can be used in other meals, here are some suggestions:
NACHOS
Cook up the chicken as above.
Line a casserole dish / baking tin with nachos / tortilla crisps (any flavour but the cheapest available are fine).
Pour the chicken mix over the nachos and grate a good layer of hard cheese (such as cheddar) over the top.
Place under a hot grill until the cheese is bubbling.
Serve in the casserole dish (but be careful - it is hot!) - add spoonfuls of crème fraiche / soured cream, jalapeno chillis, guacamole.
Very good to share...
MEXICAN LASAGNE
Cook up the chicken as above.
Drain and rinse thoroughly in a sieve a tin of pre-cooked red kidney beans (not dried).
Once the chicken fajita mix is cooked, take off the heat and add the kidney beans.
In a casserole dish (ie an ovenproof dish) put a layer of flour tortillas in the bottom, add a layer of chicken mix, then another layer of tortillas, then another layer of chicken mix, and so on until all is used.
Finish with a tortilla layer, cover with crème fraiche and a good layer of grated cheese.
Cook in an oven at 180 c for approx. 30 mins.
QUESEDILLAS
Cook up the chicken mix, or if using leftovers then heat them through to ensure they are hot.
Heat up a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat with no oil.
Put a flour tortilla in the pan, flat.
Quickly add a couple of spoonfuls of the hot chicken mix, plus a handful of grated cheese.
Put another flour tortilla on top and press down with a spatula.
Cook for a couple of minutes, or until the bottom tortilla is starting to toast, then carefully flip over in the pan using the spatula.
This is a Mexican version of a toasted sandwich so a wide variety of fillings can be used as an alternative. Any tex mex dips left over from the night before can taste good added to your chosen filling.
Lifelong Cooking
Josh, this blog is for you, an online version of the notebook that seems to have spent the last 12 months open on my hand written recipes for chilli con carne or spaghetti with peas and bacon in cream sauce. I have taught you only such a small amount of what you could have learned, but actually that was never the point - I don't want to train you for a career in food, I just want you to have an appreciation of good, healthy food (and some foods not so healthy!); to understand that what you eat has such an impact on your whole being; and that food, and more precisely, cooking, is not something to be afraid of but to indulge in for all its sense of achievement, sociability, and enjoyment. Sometimes what you are cooking won't turn out right, sometimes you will set the fire alarms off or burn the pans, sometimes the first mouthful will be inedible (as will the second and the third), sometimes all you will be able to afford is a packet of cheap sausages (although I hope you have learned that good fresh food and pulses are cheaper than ready meals and fast food) - but that is no different to life as a whole, so be thankful for the experience, learn from it and know that next time it will be different. So have a passion for food, and a passion for life, but don't cover that passion in snobbery - remember that a tin of beans smothering toast on a Sunday morning can be one of the best meals in the world. Obviously if the baked beans are homemade and the bread from a granary loaf, all the better! And just remember that, unless you are baking (where cooking turns into a science to raise cakes, bread and pies), a recipe is a guide and some meals can never truly be written down because often the best meals come from using up what is in the fridge or vegetable basket.
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