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  1. Chili con Carne

    December 6, 2006 by Lisa


    Ooh, yum. My recent trip to the states gave me a taste for some American home cooking. I dragged a couple packets of corn bread mix home and made this easy chili with what I could find in the house.

    Ingredients:

    • 500gm beef mince
    • 1 large shallot or half an onion
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 can kidney beans
    • 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped roughly or 1 can chopped plum tomatoes
    • 1 tablespoon cumin
    • 1 tablespoon flour
    • 3 tablespoons water
    • several good shakes Tabasco (I think I did about 10) or chili powder to taste
    • 1 half a tube of tomato paste
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Brown the beef and shallots in the olive oil. Add the kidney beans, pasta sauce and fresh tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Mix the flour, cumin, tabasco and water into a paste and add it to the beef and beans. Cook an hour at low heat, stirring frequently. Longer is even better, when poss. Add more tabasco and salt and pepper as you like!

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  2. Balsamic Grilled Onions

    November 20, 2006 by Lisa

    Lovely, lovely, sweet red onions. No one in my household liked onions when I made this, so this made just enough for me, me, me (plus a little extra). Would have been nice with some sliced fennel grilled with the onions, I expect.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 medium sized red opinion, sliced into thin slices
    • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
    • 1 clove minced or crushed garlic
    • salt and pepper

    Heat the vinegar, garlic and rosemary in a sauce pan until hot, but don’t let it boil. Let the mixture stand for 20 minutes. If it seems that a lot of balsamic has evaporated off, add another tablespoon or so. Heat the oil in a small frying pan. Place the onions in a single layer in the pan and coat with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Fry over a medium heat for 4-6 minutes until the onions are soft and slightly browned. Toss with the vinegar mixture.

    Especially nice with any sort of pork dish.

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  3. Ragu alla Bolognese

    November 11, 2006 by Lisa

    This is my take on the classic ragu of Bologna. Pretty close to the original, with the exception of veal and giblets and other meaty things that make it even more incredibly rich than this recipe using cream.

    Ingredients:

    • 500grams minced beef
    • 2 carrots, chopped
    • 1 shallot, chopped
    • 45 grams pancetta, cubed
    • wineglass of red or white wine
    • 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk or cream
    • salt and ground pepper
    • 1 cup chicken broth
    • half a tube of double concentrate tomato paste
    • olive oil

    Brown the pancetta in the olive oil for a couple of minutes, then add the carrots and shallots and cook until limp. Add minced beef and brown. mix together tomato paste, broth and wine and add to the browned beef. Add salt and pepper to taste (a couple of turns of the pepper grinder and a few shakes of salt). Cover and simmer for half an hour or so. Add the milk or cream a little at a time, stir and simmer uncovered a bit longer, maybe 15 minutes or so.

    Serve with penne, or preferably, fresh tagliatelle.

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  4. Balsamic Chicken

    November 6, 2006 by Lisa

    Sadly not terribly photogenic, so there’s no piccie, but was it quick, easy and delicious.

    Ingredients:

    • 4 skinless chicken breast fillets
    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
    • 1/2 cup chicken broth
    • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 1/4 cup flour
    • salt and pepper

    Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4-inch thickness. Dredge in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Cook the chicken until nicely browned and cooked through. Remove chicken to a platter and keep warm. Add vinegar, broth and garlic to the frying pan and cook over a medium-high heat for about 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced. Stir in the butter to finish. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.

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  5. Plum Chicken

    October 22, 2006 by Lisa

    Ingredients:

    • 3 large plums (8 oz or so), pitted
    • 1 tblsp butter
    • 1/2 small chopped onion
    • 1/4 cup (scant) brown sugar
    • 2 tblsp sweet chili sauce
    • 1 tblsp soy sauce
    • 1 tsp lemon juice
    • 3 skinless chicken breasts

    Puree the plums in a blender or food processor. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onions and cook until soft. Stir in the plums, sugar, chili sauce, lemon juice and soy sauce and cook uncovered until slightly thickened. Place the chicken breasts in an oven pan, lightly salt and pepper them and cover with 1/4 of the sauce.

    Cook in a hot oven for 15 minutes, turn the chicken over and add another 1/4 of the sauce. Cook another 15 minutes or until cooked through. 5 minutes before the end, add the rest of the sauce.

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  6. Ranch Dressing

    July 6, 2006 by Lisa

    I can’t seem to find decent ranch dressing in the shops anymore. Nevermind. I’ve figured out my own, very easy version. The only downside is that it’s quite thin, but is nice and subtle-tasting at least.

    Buttermilk is often difficult to find (although Tesco now sell it), so I make my own by stirring a tablespoon of lemon juice into half a cup of whole milk and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

    • 1/2 cup buttermilk
    • 1/2 cup mayonnaise, creme fraiche or sour cream
    • 1/2 a vegetable stock cube
    • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 and a bit teaspoon dill

    Mix or shake well.

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  7. Coriander and Mint Couscous

    June 17, 2006 by Lisa

    Obviously you can put anything you like in couscous, but I was rather pleased with this combo:

    • 250g couscous
    • Boiling water
    • knob of butter
    • 2 ripe tomatoes, cubed
    • 1/2 large cucumber, cubed (cucumbers in the UK are massive, so use a whole US sized one)
    • crumbled feta cheese to taste
    • handful of chopped fresh mint
    • handful of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
    • juice from 1 1/2 limes
    • 2 tblsp olive oil
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Prepare couscous according to directions and let cool. Add the rest of the ingredients and chill for an hour.

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  8. Pasta e Fagioli

    June 17, 2006 by Lisa

    (AKA Pasta Fazool)

    Not really a summer recipe, but a great one for when you have nothing fresh in the house. Wonderfully filling and lovely. Used dried beans if you like, but soak overnight first.

    • 2 cans pulses (any sort: kidney, cannellini, flageolets or haricot)
    • 125g cubed panchetta or chopped bacon
    • 2 tblsp olive oil
    • 1 shallot or a 1/4 – 1/2 an onion, chopped
    • 1 carton or a can of chopped tomatoes
    • stock cube (any sort)
    • 1 1/2 cups boiling water
    • large handful of chopped herbs – oregano, rosemary, marjoran and thyme are nice
    • 200gms small pasta, like Conchigliette (tiny shell pasta)
    • Salt and pepper

    In a large saucepan, fry the pancetta and shallot or onion in the olive oil until the onion is soft. Drain about half the water from the beans and add to the pan with the chopped tomatoes and the stock cube and boiling water. Add the chopped herbs and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for an hour or more or until the beans are tender. Longer is better as some beans can remain hard. Watch it carefully as the water can easily cook away and you run the risk of burning the soup. Add additional water if required. 15 minutes before the end, add the pasta (and a little more water if necessary).

    When the pasta is cooked, serve with crusty bread or polenta as desired. I like to make a double batch of soft polenta to serve the first time, then let it harden and slice and grill it for the next day’s serving. The second day is always the best.

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  9. Enchiladas de Pollo en Inglaterra

    June 13, 2006 by Lisa

    A rather time-consuming, fattening and messy proposition, but nice, nevertheless. “En Inglaterra” refers to ingredients you can get here easily. The corn tortillas from the grocery here are not really acceptable to me. Too… icky. Buy proper white corn tortillas at Mexgrocer online. Delicious.

    Mexican food is not always spicy and this recipe is very mild with a creamy sauce.

    Anyway, for the chicken, place 4 chicken thighs in a covered oven dish and add a couple of tablespoons olive oil, a good couple tablespoons of powdered cumin, some dried oregano and a splash or two of tabasco. Plop in a 200C oven for a while – between 40 mintes and an hour – until cooked through and falling off the bone. Shred the chicken and set aside. Keep the oily chickeny grease as you’ll need it later.

     

    Enchilada Sauce:

    • 2 Ramiro (large long red) Peppers
    • 1 tblsp Oregano
    • 1 tblsp Ground Cumin
    • 1 cup Chicken stock
    • 1 clove garlic
    • 1 chopped shallot (or 1/4 of an onion. I like shallots as I don’t use a lot of onion and they keep well).
    • scant 1/4 cup of the reserved chicken grease
    • 1/4 cup cream or milk
    • 1/2 tube of tomato paste

    Roast the peppers in the oven until fragrant and slightly blistered. Remove from oven and let cool. Scrape the seeds from the peppers and put in a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blend well. Pour into a largish saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes.

    For the Enchiladas

    • The chicken
    • The Sauce
    • 250gm cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
    • Soured Cream, avocado, sliced olives and cilantro (coriander) for garnish
    • 6-8 corn tortillas

    Place the rest of the chicken grease in a small frying pan and heat. You could use a cooking oil, but I like the flavour of the chicken grease. Fry a tortilla in the oil until just softened, then dip in the enchilada sauce, then transfer to a rectangular oven dish. Add a couple of tablespoons of chicken and a handful of cheese to the middle of the tortilla and roll it up gently. Repeat for the remainder of the tortillas until the pan is filled. Cover with the remaining sauce, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and some olives. Bake in a 200C oven for 30-40 minutes until heated through.

    Serve with the condiments, mexican rice and refried beans).

    Ole!

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  10. Lamb, red wine and rosemary casserole with herby potato stacks and braised red cabbage

    February 17, 2006 by Lisa

    Brilliant. No changes required to this recipe: lamb, red wine and rosemary casserole with herby potato stacks and braised red cabbage.

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