Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce

Serves 3-4
Total time 6 minutes
This is such an easy, quick and tasty dinner that I thought I would share it with my readers. All that’s required is that you have a tin of fishballs and chopped tomato.

• 1 tin 400g Bornholms Fiskeboller
  (purchased online from Danish Food Direct)
• 1 tin chopped Tomato
• Herbs to taste – I used Salt and Pepper, Thyme and Parsley

• 1^st make the tomato sauce, simply empty tin into a saucepan and heat, once hot add the required herbs.
• 2^nd strain the fishballs and add to the tomato sauce.
• Cover the saucepan with a lid and let the sauce simmer on lowest heat possible for max 5 minutes.
• Serve on a bed of rice or as in the picture with rice noodles.

Christmas Greetings

I wish all my followers a merry Christmas
and all the best for the Year 2016.

Rice Pudding

This rice pudding is also called “Ris a la Mande” or “Risalamande”; it is my variation of it.
The Rice Pudding should be made at least a day prior to eating.

The Rice Pudding

• 200g pudding rice
• 600ml water
• 400ml milk
• 500ml whipping or double cream
• 50g Chopped almonds
• Vanilla extract or one pod (to taste)
• Touch of salt and sugar (to taste)

On the day of serving:

• 300ml Whipped whipping cream
• 1 or 2 cans or jars of red cherries
• Brandy or Kirsch
• Potato flour

The Rice Pudding

1. Bring the water with the salt and sugar to a boil; then gently add the rice to the boiling water.
2. Simmer until the water has evaporated, then add the milk, cream and vanilla, and leave to simmer (on the lowest heat possible) for approximately ½ hour. NO stirring required.
   Keep an eye on it, you don’t want it to simmer dry,.
3. Remove from heat and transfer into a bowl (remove the singed bottom carefully if the pudding has “burned” onto the saucepan).
4. If too dry add the remaining 100ml cream left over from using only 500ml of whipping cream (a large tub normally comes in a 600ml size).
5. Then stir in the almonds.
6. Cover the bowl with cling film; set aside to cool; then keep it in the fridge until needed.

On the day of serving:

1. When chilled, gently fold-in the 2nd lot of whipped cream
2. Place in the fridge until needed

The Sauce

1. Strain the tinned or jarred cherry juice into a saucepan.
2. Add 25g potato flour per ½l cherry juice to a small amount of the cherry juice.
3. Heat the remaining juice and slowly add the flour mixture to the warm juice, heat until it has thickened then return the cherries to the sauce.
   (maybe add some brandy or kirsch to the sauce).

 

1 rotisserie chicken – 7 different meals

Today I purchased one rotisserie chicken; which of course, for one person, is rather extravagant. I decided to dissect the chicken into: 1 portion of deboned chicken legs; 2 portions of skin-less chicken breast; scrape and cut all remains of chicken meat off the carcasses and bones, split this in 2 portions roughly ¼ and ¾; and finally place all the bones, skin and carcasses in a large saucepan for stock.

For the stock (makes upto 4 portions):
• the bones, skin and carcasse
• 1.5-2 ltr water
• 1-2 roughly cut onions,
• 2-4 chopped carrots,
• 1-2 potato roughly cut
• Herbs to taste
• 200g green/mixed lentils

• Let it simmer gently for 1-2 hours.
• What I also did was hang a strainer into the pot/stock placing the lentils in the strainer; thus still part of the stock but without them getting mixed into the stock
• Drain the stock; then add the lentils and set aside to cool.
• Portion into 4 small containers; freeze when cool enough

As I had a portion of Bombay cooked lentils I use the ¾ chicken bits and mixed it to the lentils, added some spices, and had my lunch.

The ¼ portion of chicken meat went into a chicken mayo, spiced with garlic and chilli powder and a drop of lemon, ready for spreading tomorrow.

The 2 portions of chicken breast went straight into a small freezer bags each, and when they are cold enough, place them in my freezer.

Now – I ask – am I still extravagant? No, I think not. For £4 for the chicken & £1 for the vegetables getting food for 5-7 people depending what I do with the chicken breasts; not bad if I say so myself.

Deep Fried Rabbit

I was experimenting and mixing a couple of recipes and came up with this one. I am not a great lover of deep frying but this is worth it. You don’t need a deep-fryer all you need is a steel/iron saucepan and 1 ltr of rapeseed oil. I must admit it’s the first time that I have cooked rabbit; but not the last. I was pleasantly surprised with the result, even though it wasn’t quite successful. The batter was a bit thin & runny; thus it fell off the rabbit. Never the less it was fun and a very nice result; for all it was relatively quick produced. I changed the recipe to be coated in egg and bread crumbs. I went to the butcher who stocks game and asked for a cleaned and jointed rabbit. The pieces he had were too big so he cut the saddle in half and separated the legs. I ended up with 8 pieces and it wasn’t OTT expensive.

• 1 ltr rapeseed oil
• 50g Parmesan, finely grated
• 2 x 50g sachets panko breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 wild rabbit, jointed and each leg also
  jointed into a drumstick and thigh
• Lemon wedges, to serve

• Heat oven to 160°C/140°C fan and have ready a large baking tray with a wire rack placed over it.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan (or use a deep-fat fryer) until the oil reaches 140°C. Depending on the size of your pan you will be frying 3-4 pieces at a time; hence the hot oven. So fry the biggest pieces first.
• Meanwhile dry each piece of rabbit.
• Beat the eggs in a plate/soup plate (I like to add some herbs to the egg – e.g. salt, pepper and maybe some thyme).
• Mix the Parmesan and breadcrumbs on another plate
• Dunk each piece of rabbit in the beaten egg, lift out with a fork
• And coat in the bread crumbs.
• Repeat with a couple more pieces.
• Lower into the fat and fry for about 9 mins for smaller, 12 mins for larger pieces (11 mins if resting in oven), until deep golden and cooked through. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
• Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on the rack in the oven while you do the next batch. Never leave the pan unattended.

Serve the rabbit with a sprinkling of flaky salt and plenty of lemon wedges.
You can also add small bowls with mayonnaise and/or tartar sauce and/or sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

Potatoes and leftover Stir-fry

Serves 1

Prep & Cooking Time: 10 minutes

 

• 1 onion medium sized or 2 large Charlotte onions
• 1-2 clove Garlic
• 1-2 baby sweet peppers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 20g butter
• 2-3 potatoes
• 1 handful frozen peas
• 4-5 small tomatoes
• 1 chicken stock cube
• Salt, pepper, marjoram, thyme & basil to taste
• Some leftover cooked meat/chicken

1. Finely chop the sweet pepper, onions and garlic
2. Heat the oil and butter in a wok, then add the chopped onions, garlic and peppers.
3. Use a mandolin to julienne the potatoes and add these to the wok.
4. Dice the leftover meat/chicken and add to the wok.
5. Dissolve the stock cube in ½ litre hot water and add this to the wok.
6. Stir and add the peas and herbs.
7. Cover and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Stir and add the quartered tomatoes, un-cover but leave simmering for 2 more minutes.

 

I love real wheat pasta

A week or so ago, I cooked some pasta, for 9-10 minutes as prescribed. It was taste-less and still half cooked, not very nice. I thought it was because I wasn’t feeling too well, and filed the thought at the back of my brain that I don’t like pasta anymore.

Today; I really fancied some pasta but felt reluctant: “do I want to cook for 10 minutes – only to throw the result away?” Hmmm … That was the thought that went through my mind. Anyway, I did cook some pasta but I also notice that the pasta I had cooked last time was gluten free “FreeFrom” pasta. And that has just joined my rubbish bin. So now I have re-discovered that I love real wheat pasta. To accompany the pasta I had stir-fried pak choi, Vichy carrots and a lovely tender dry-fried Angus beef steak. Followed by strawberries and cream.