Nearly Ratatouille

Serves: 4-6         Prep Time: 10-20 minutes         Oven Time: 45 minutes

I didn’t have all the ingrediencies required for a ratatouille but I think my take of this dish suites most home cooks. Its not difficult and it gets rid of the small need to be used vegetables in your fridge.

• 1 portion lardoons
• 1 Red onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 Shallot onion, coarsely chopped
• ¼ Celeriac, coarsely chopped
• 2 leeks, cleaned and chopped into 1cm pieces
• 1 sweet red pepper, quartered long ways and cut into 1cm pieces
• 4-5 thin slices Ginger
• 2 Courgettes quartered long ways and cut into 1cm pieces
• 4 Carrots, quartered long ways and cut into 1cm pieces
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3-4 garlic, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp Olive oil, for blanching
• 1 glass white wine
• 1 tin chopped Tomatoes
• Salt, Pepper and Mixed Herbs to taste.
• Optional – a little Saffron and or Sweet Paprika.

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Chop/prep all ingrediencies and keep in separate bowls.
3. Add the oil to the big oven dish, and blanch the lardons, before they crisp up add the onions, chopped garlic, red pepper and ginger.
4. After 3-5 minutes stir in the carrots, celeriac and leeks. Fry, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
5. Then pour in the wine and chopped tomatoes.
6. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sprays of thyme and maybe add some mixed herbs.
7. Top the lot with the courgettes, gently turn the courgettes under the contents of the oven dish. Cover with a lid and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
8. Remove from oven. Check the taste, and add extra if needed. This is also where you add the saffron and paprika. Gently turn everything in the dish making sure its all covered in liquid and return to oven without the lid, for another 15 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!

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Jerusalem Artichokes

I didn’t know anything about Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes) until
a friend of mine gave me a bag (roughly 1.5kg) of his harvest. I was a little comprehensive because they looked weird and they had no give-away smell at all.

It took me two days to get courage enough to start experimenting.

My first try, was just to boil them in saltwater – similar to potatoes – without peeling them.

I placed 10 medium sized roots in a saucepan with enough water to cover them. Added 1 tsp salt, and left them cooking for 15 minutes. I then removed the skin, simply by cutting length-wise and squeezing the flesh out. I was surprised of the flavour, I know I’ve tasted it before, but no idea where. It wasn’t an unpleasant taste.

I used a teaspoon to make small cakes on a frying pan with butter, and sprinkled mixed herbs, garlic & onion salt over them. That was very nice.

I then used the rest to make a mash, by adding a little milk and butter, plus pepper, nutmeg, onion and garlic salt. Mixed it thoroughly and reheated the mash, and that was quite a pleasant taste too.

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Croutons vs. Chips

I had ½ a stale white bread and because of our current circumstances with Covid-19, I didn’t just want to throw it away or feed it to the birds.

As I quite like to have a nipple when I watch TV, I decided to make some flavoured croutons.

• Left over bread
• Some oil (olive or sunflower)
• Salt and flavouring (onion salt, Garlic salt, mixed herbs …)

• Cut 4 slices, and cut the slices into 1cm cubes.
• Placed ½ of the cubes in a pre-heated wok,
• Drizzle some sunflower oil, salt and onion salt over the lot.
• Turn heat down to half, and turn the cubes at regular intervals until the croutons are browned but not burned.
• For the second half replace onion-salt with another flavour.

And there you have it, croutons instead of chips to nipple.

Cooking and Prep. time max 10 minutes.

 

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My Beetroot Smoothie

Prep time 2 minutes	Blending time 3 minutes
Makes 3 beakers/glasses	Only 67.3 kcal (81.6 kcal)/glass

I love beetroot salad and pickled so I was looking for what would taste nice in a beetroot smoothie, without too much of a Rooty flavour, and here is my solution. Yesterday I made the “Red Fruity” smoothie, but this “Beetroot Smoothie” is even deeper red. You can leave out the garlic, and if you can find it use the Cherry Vinegar, that really improves the taste.

• • 2-3 precooked Beetroots (180-200g)
  • 2 small Shallots (40-50g), roughly cut
  • 3 Radishes (15g), head & tail removed
  • 1 small Garlic clove (5g)
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh Ginger (10g)
  • 250 ml unsweetened Coconut Water
    (or cold green tea)
  • ½ lemon (15g)
  • 1 tsp Womersley Cherry Vinegar
  • Pinch salt and pepper

Add 1 handful frozen cherries (100g)
This increases the kcal per glass by 14 kcal
If you leave out the garlic, subtract 2.5 kcal from the above kcal/glass

1. 1. Place all ingredients in the blender.
   2. Blend for 2-3 minutes
   3. Split evenly between 3 glasses.
   4. The smoothies will keep in fridge for max 2 days.
      Shake well before usage.

Enjoy!

 

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Tonight’s Smoothie is Red

Prep time 2 minutes	Blending time 3 minutes
Makes 3 beakers/glasses	Only 56 Kcal/glass

• 250 ml cold green tea
• ½ lemon, peeled, de-stoned and quartered
• 4 slices of ginger
• 1 handful frozen Raspberries
• 1 handful frozen Blackberries
• 1 handful frozen Blueberries
• 100 g frozen Pineapple
• 3-5 drops Vanilla extract

Add a banana for a sweeter and more filling taste
This increases the Kcal per glass by 20 Kcal

1. Place all ingredients in the blender.
2. Blend for 2-3 minutes
   until smooth and no more ice lumps
3. Split evenly between 3 beakers/glasses.
4. The smoothies will keep in fridge for max 2 days.
   Shake well before usage.
5. Serve and enjoy you drink.

Enjoy!

 

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Yellow Smoothie

Prep time 2 minutes	Blending time 3 minutes
Makes 2½ beakers	Only 24 kcal/½ beaker

I heard about yellow smoothies, so, I decided to try to make one myself. I am not in favour of using milk products (yogurt and milk). Here is my solution of a yellow smoothie. .

• 1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 lemon, peeled, de-stoned and quartered
• 100 g frozen mango
• 4 slices of ginger
• 250 ml cold green tea

1. Place all ingredients in the blender.
2. Blend for 2-3 minutes
   until smooth and no more ice lumps
3. Split evenly between 2 shaker beakers, and poor remaining liquid into a glass.
4. The smoothies will keep in fridge for max 2 days.
   Shake well before usage.
5. Serve and enjoy you drink.

Enjoy!

 

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Easy Rösti with Tuna Steak and steamed Broccoli

Prep time 2 minutes	Cooking time 15 minutes
Serves 1	Calories 420 in total

I have a Chinese supermarket nearby and I like their frozen tuna steaks (just under £10 for 5 individually sealed steaks). The rösti couldn’t be much easier to make than this, all it requires is a grater or a food processor that can do the coarse grating for you. Why steamed broccoli? Because of the latest findings in vegetable cooking this is the healthiest way of cooking vegetables. The vitamins stay where they are (doesn’t get cooked away into the water) and the flavour and colour are also so much nicer. The salting of steamed vegetables is a little tricky, I use one of two ways to do this. The first: while cleaning the veg add salt to the last rinse and leave vegs in soak for a couple of minutes. The second: in the steamer add double salt to the water below the veg and the steam will then become salty.

• 1 Tuna Steak
• 200g grated potatoes (one large potato)
• Onion and garlic salt
• 4-6 broccoli flowers
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1-2 tbsp Rapeseed oil
• 10g butter

1. Coarsely grate a washed potato (no need for peeling), place the grated potato in one bowl of boiling hot water, leave to rest for a minute or so, then drain it, but leave it in the strainer.
2. Wash the broccoli flowers and place in a steamer. Dissolve the salt in the steamer water (button bowl), place the steamer in a microwave and cook on full heat for max 3 minutes.
3. In the meantime – I like using a wok, because I can control the heat and I don’t need too much frying oil – heat a wok/frying-pan – when hot add 1 tbsp oil and 10g butter, when this has amalgamated – add the grated potato. Flatten into a pancake, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion salt and or garlic salt. Fry for 5 minutes each side. Leave lid on.
4. While the rösti is frying – heat a griddle pan (or just a frying pan) – dry the tuna steak on some kitchen towel – when the pan is smoking hot place the tuna stake on it. Seal both sides before seasoning (salt, pepper and maybe some garlic salt) and if using a frying pan – add a little oil – lower the heat. Fry for max 2 minutes each side.
5. Remove the lid from the rösti and turn heat up to make the sides crispy, max one minute each side.

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Super healthy dinner for one

Calories: 380 cooking and prep time max 15 minutes

For the stir-fry:

• 100g cooked chicken, diced roughly.
• ½ medium sized onion, chopped
• ½ courgette, julienned
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved and quartered
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 5g butter
• Salt, pepper and herbs to taste.

For the rösti:

• 1 medium potato, grated and washed (after grating)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 5g butter
• Salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion salt.

Start the stir-fry:

1. Melt the butter and oil in a wok.
2. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes and herbs; let simmer for 2 minutes stirring now and again.
3. Lower the heat and add courgettes and chicken, stir it, cover with lid and leave simmering for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, make the rösti.

1. Rinse the grated potato in cold water, squeeze as much water from the rinsed potato.
2. Heat the oil and butter on a separate frying pan.
3. Shape the potato on the pan like a pancake. Use a spatula to press and shape the rösti.
4. Sprinkle the potato pancake (one side only) with the herbs.
5. Fry on medium heat for 5 minutes on both sides.

My Bolognaise sauce

Serves 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Ready in: 40 minutes

I was making lasagna the other day and wanted to refresh my memory so I went to my “Cookery book for my Mother” just to check if I had everything needed to make a bolognaise sauce, and realised I had never actually written how to make this sauce. I know, it’s just something that happens and it was taught to me by both my mother and my Italian grandmother, who would turn in her grave seeing this recipe. She would insist that the sauce should simmer for between 10 and 12 hours. Sorry grandma, we don’t have the time nowadays.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. vegetable/olive/rapeseed oil
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 500g minced beef
• 1½ tin (600g) chopped tomatoes (maybe blended)
•       or 500g pure “Tomato Passata”
• ½ tube of Tomato Purée
• 200ml chicken stock
•      (or 1 crushed stock cube dissolved in 100ml boiling water)
• 1 tsp of mixed herbs –
• or pinch of: sweet paprika powder, oregano, basil, thyme & rosemary
• 1 pinch of salt & black pepper

Optional ingredients:

• 1 pinch fresh grated nutmeg or powder
• 1-2 carrots, roughly grated
• 1 celery stick finely chopped
• 1 small glass sherry/brandy/wine

Method:

1. Add the onions and garlic to a frying pan (or wok) with the oil.
   Fry until the onions are slightly tranluscent.
2. Add the mince to the frying pan until all of the meat is brown –
   but only just brown as you don’t want your meat burnt.
3. Once the meat is slightly brown, add the tinned tomatoes (blended – if you want),
   tomato purée, chicken stock and mixed herbs, paprika, salt and pepper if you want.
4. Cover the pan (or wok) with an anti-splatter lid, lower the heat to just less than half
   and let the sauce simmer for 15-20 min. stirring now and again

• Serve with pasta or use in a lasagna.

Tip

• A small glass of sherry/brandy/wine added to the simmering sauce will enhance the taste. Keep the sauce in fridge for 2-3 days or freeze and keep for up 3 months. If frozen: thaw in fridge overnight. Don’t use from frozen.
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Easy Fried/Stir-Fried Potatoes

This is a quick way to make fried potatoes from scratch, if you are in a hurry and don’t want to wait for your potatoes to be cooked.
This is a two-in-one recipe for fried potatoes.

2-5 potatoes
1tsp olive oil
25-50g butter (depending on how many potatoes are used)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Pan-Fry: Slice the potatoes into thin slices using a mandolin

Stir-Fry: Cut the potatoes into cubes using a mandolin.

• While slicing/cutting bring a saucepan of water and a little salt to boil.
• Add the sliced/cut potatoes to the boiling water and cook for about 2-3 minutes, drain and dry with a kitchen towel.

Pan-Fry:

1. Heat oil and butter in a frying pan
2. Add the potatoes and fry. Turn occasionally until potatoes are browned and slightly crunchy.
3. If wanted you can also add some sliced onions to the frying pan.
4. Serve as a Side-dish to your dinner or lunch, sprinkled with parsley and/or chives.

Stir-Fry:

1. Heat oil and butter in a wok.
2. Add the potatoes to the wok. Stir occasionally.
3. Add whatever else is needed for the stir-fry.
4. And serve.