Tuesday 28 August 2012

Pea and Ham Soup

Not everyone's fave but this is definitely one of mine!

Crucials

500grams of Peas (small pack)
One large onion
Six rashers of bacon, fat removed
Two celery sticks
Two cloves of garlic
Three slices of honey roast ham
Three medium sized potatoes
Pint and half of chicken stock
Salt and Pepper
Glug of olive oil
Glug of  double cream (if you don't have any use milk)

Prep
  • Chop the onions, garlic, celery and bacon and fry in a stock pot on a low heat until soft for about 20mins
  • Chop the potatoes into small pieces and add to the pot
  • Pour in the chicken stock and simmer for approx 20-25 mins until potatoes are soft
  • Add all the peas and a glug of cream and salt and pepper
  • Simmer for a further 10mins
  • Add the ham (shredded into bits)



Blend

  • Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until puréed
  • Pour back into the stock pot and season to taste
  • Serve with crusty bread and butter
  • Colour and taste is AMAZING!





Homemade Tomato Soup

Wow I actually can't believe my last post was in January, that's 7 months ago quite shocking but this year has flown exceptionally fast, 5 weddings down, the Queens Jubilee, Olympics, my little sister has moved to New York, Karen about to introduce the lil Le Cornu into our world and summers nearly over! Busy busy and that doesn't mean I haven't had time to cook, I have but I've been far too lazy and just not had the chance to share!

What's made me post today is Mirek, he's had two teeth removed and has been told by the nurse to avoid, rice, pasta and anything solid! Oh gawd initially that made me quite sad, but then I realised  that suits me just fine for two reasons..1) soup only dinner diet for a few days is surely going to help me lose a few pounds for my beach holiday in October...2) soup = autumn/winter and I LOVE this season and what with conkers already starting to line The Avenue this makes me happy!

Never made soup before so am going to post two recipes today, firstly delicious homemade tomato soup.

Crucials
Approx 12 reasonably sized tomatoes (home grown ones are the best as they're much juicier but i used a mix of both
One carrot
Three celery sticks
One large onion
Two cloves of garlic
Handful of fresh basil
Salt & Pepper
Pint and half of chicken stock
Glug of oil
Glug of Lea Perrins Worcestershire sauce

Prep 

  • Boil some water in a kettle and fill a large mixing bowl
  • Place all the tomatoes into the bowl for 5 mins
  • Chop the onions finely and the carrot and celery stick into small pieces
  • Fry the oil, onions, garlic, carrot and celery sticks in a large stock pot and cover for about twenty mins until soft
  • Peel the tomato skins off the tomatoes, should come off quite easily if not place them back in the hot water
  • Chop the tomatoes into small pieces and add to the pot
  • Chop the basil and add to the pot
  • Simmer for approx 15 mins
  • Add the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper, simmer for approx 20 mins
Blend
  • Add the contents of the pot into a blender slowly bit by bit with a ladle and blend until it's pureed
  • Place back into the stock pot and add a glug of lea perrins
  • Simmer for approx 20mins and season to taste
  • Serve with crusty bread and butter






Saturday 21 April 2012

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This recipe is so easy to make I gave Mirek instructions over the phone and he made it for me. Really tasty and healthy-ish, and great if you want to use up what's in the fridge.

Tip: Make sure you check the chicken every 15mins and mix the mixture and baste over the chicken


Crucials

Chicken breasts x 3
One big onion
One carrot
Half a block of feta cheese (or you can use pack of boursin)
Six-Eight mushrooms
Eight cherry tomatoes
One Pepper (Red is best)
Small packet of pancetta or three slices of bacon
One lemon
Glug of olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Three slices of parma ham (o)

Stuffing

  • Pre-heat your oven to 180degrees
  • Chop all the veg and bacon/pancetta into tiny pieces (onion, carrot, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepper) and add to a big mixing bowl
  • Crumble in the feta cheese
  • Add a glug of oil
  • Squeeze in the lemon
  • Season with salt and pepper and mix it all together well
  • Slice a pocket sideways into each chicken breast (like a pitta bread)
  • Stuff each breast with the mixture
  • Optional: Wrap each chicken breast with the parma ham and place in a roasting tray



Sprinkle the remainder stuffing around the chicken breasts and a little over the top
Place in the middle of the oven and bake for approx 40-45mins (checking and basting every 15mins)

It might look a little burnt on top of the chicken, but it's not it's crispy and makes it taste even better!


Serve with rice. Soooooo yum!


Sunday 29 January 2012

Pork chops with mushrooms and cream

This is one of mamma spoon's faves too, pork chops with mushrooms, cream and mash! Probably one of the simplest of dishes I've made but definitely one of the best!

Crucials

Pork chops (ideally with bone)
Packet of mushrooms
Potatoes
One lemon
One and half spoonfulls of plain flour
One clove of garlic
Salt and Pepper
Butter
Pot of Double cream
Fresh basil (o)

Pork prep
  • Preheat the oven at 200 degrees
  • Fry the pork chops in butter on both sides and season with salt and pepper until they brown

  • Whilst they are frying chop up the mushrooms into quarters 
  • When the porks browned both sides place it on some foil on a roasting tray - make sure the foil is big enough to pack up when the mushrooms  are done
  • Fry the mushrooms in the same pan that you fried the pork
  • Crush in the garlic and add to the mushrooms with some black pepper and fry gently
  • When the mushrooms are soft, turn off the heat and add one and half spoonfulls of plain flour
  • Mix the mushrooms up until all the flour has disappeared and squeeze in a whole lemon and mix
  • Then put the mushrooms on top of the pork chops in the foil
  • Pour the double cream over the pork chops and wrap the foil over into a parcel so its all sealed
  • Add some fresh basil on top (o)

  • Place into the oven on 200degrees for approx one hour and a half 
  • Peel the potatoes and boil to mash with butter and cream


Serve with veg of choice, we had brocolli and sugar snap peas. OMG soooooo delicious! 

Sunday 22 January 2012

Sunday Roast!

Fancied a roast today! Perfect Sunday, up at 9:30am prepared the chicken, long walk around Beckenham with Darvill, bumped into Rudi and Amy, met Mirek in the Woody with Missy, left him to watch the footy with Cleavers, went home to crack on with dinner, mum popped by to pick Missy up and we chilled with a Roast and a Chateauneuf-de-Pape. Ahh just how Sundays should be!

Crucials 

Maris Piper Potatoes
One chicken
One lemon
Fresh Basil
Fresh Coriander
Chunk of ginger
Chilli flakes
Chilli powder
Parmesan (o)
Salt and Pepper
Three cloves of garlic
Butter
Olive Oil

Chick.. Chick.. Chick.. Chick.. Chicken!

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
  • Melt a knob of butter in the microwave, add a glug of oil
  • Chop up the basil and corainder and add to the butter
  • Crush the garlic and mix it all in
  • Squeeze half a lemon and season with salt and pepper
  • Add some grated parmesan and mix (o)
  • Add a small spoonfull of chilli flakes
  • Make pockets under the skin of the chicken breasts and slice into the chicken meat
  • Repeat for the legs
  • With a spoon put the mix under the skin of the chicken and rub it all in, until all the mix is nearly gone, then rub the remainder over the top of the chicken
  • Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of chilli powder over the top
  • Put the other half of the lemon up it's bum!
  • Leave to stand if possible!



  • Put it into the middle of the oven and roast for approx 2 hours until skin is crisp
  • Every half hour, spoon the juices over the chicken
  • After 45mins of the chicken being in the oven boil the potatoes
  • When they're nearly ready drain them and put a lid over and carefully shake the pan so they fluff up
  • Put a knob of butter and glug of oil into a roasting tray
  • Add the potatoes and coat them with the buttery oil
  • Spoon out some of the chicken juice and pour over the potatoes
  • Switch the chicken to the bottom of the oven and the potatoes in the middle
  • Roast until potatoes are crispy




Serve with buttery baby corn and carrots..Mmmm


Forking Fish Pie!

I made this dish last week and have just remembered that I hadn't put it up as Le Cornu requested!

I know it's a bit odd but when I'm hungover as well as always craving something containing minced meat, I also really crave a good mash potato topped fish pie! This recipes a classic and a goodun and inspired by the lovely Steph Tiller!

Top tip essential: Steph's top tip -  Make the sauce thicker than you think it should be

Crucials:
One lemon
Fish Pie mix (haddock, salmon and cod)
Eight king prawns (I use raw)
Three eggs
Coriander (although Parsley would be better)
Salt & pepper
Potatoes
Peas
Milk
Butter
Plain flour
Two spoonfulls of creme fraiche or double cream (o)


Fish filling

  • Add the fish (excluding the prawns) into an oven proof dish and cover with milk, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle in some fresh coriander. 
  • Cover with a lid and put into the oven for approx 15mins on 200degrees
  • At the same time peel and boil the potatoes
  • And hard boil the eggs (approx 8 minutes boiling)
  • Gently fry the onions and squeeze half a lemon in so they are soft
  • When the fish is done, drain the milk and keep to one side in a measuring jug
  • Break the fish up a little and add it to a deep pyrex dish




  • Cover the fish with the fried onions and add in the raw prawns in between the mix
  • The potatoes should be ready now so mash them up with some butter and a spoonfull of cream
  • Now make a roux by adding a knob of butter to a small saucepan, once the butter has melted add some plain flour slowly and mix it quickly to make a paste then little by little add the fish milk stock and keep stirring so it gets thicker, repeat this until you've made a white sauce for the fish. 
  • Once the white sauce looks ready with no lumps add a spoonfull of creme fraiche or double cream and stir - make sure the sauce is thicker than normal
  • Finish it off by squeezing the rest of the lemon in and season with salt and pepper
  • Pour the sauce over the fish and give it a gentle stir
  • Cover the fish pie with the mashed potato and bake in the oven until the top is all golden and crispy - approx 35mins




Serve with mange tout and fresh peas. YUM! x


Sunday 8 January 2012

Casserole a'la Boeuf Spoons

This has got to be one of mum's best sooo delicious and warming and just perfect for  a lazy January Sunday! Never made it before so rang mum and scribbled the briefest of instructions down on a post it and just added my little extra bits :-)

Mirek said it's one of the best meals I have ever made :-) and of course i asked him what was wrong with all my other dinners!

Top Tip Essential: when making the sauce, make sure you make a roux with flour and cold water if you need to thicken it up later when the sauce is in
- Also you can pretty much add any veg you have into this dish, just remember to fry the onions up first
- A joint of beef costing £8 will make enough dinner for 5/6 people
- (o) = optional

Crucials

Joint of beef
One onion
Six mushrooms
Six wild dry mushrooms (o)
One large carrot
One Red Pepper
One Star Anise (o - but a fab tip from Heston!)
Pinch of smoked paprika (o- this is very strong so make sure its just a pinch)
Salt & pepper
Plain Flour
Pint of cold water
Olive Oil
Two beef stock cubes
One chicken stock cube (o)
Small glass of red wine
Approx 20 peppercorns
Three large bay leaves

La Casserole Prep

  • Set the oven to 160 degrees/gas mark 3
  • Chop all the veg (carrots, mushrooms, pepper) up into small pieces and put aside. Keep the onions separate as you'll need to fry these first

  • Slice the Beef joint up into slices approx 1/2 an inch thick
  • Coat each slice of beef in plain flour

  • Pour a glug of oil into a large frying pan and on a low heat fry the slices of beef until they start to brown around the edges, season with salt and pepper on both sides (this takes approx 8 mins)

  • When they are done put them to one side and add the onions to the frying pan with the meat juices
  • Fry gently until soft
  • Add the rest of the veg and fry gently until they are all softened

  • Then add one big spoonfull of plain white flour and stir so the veg is all coated
  • Pour in the cold water and keep mixing until it all forms a sauce consistency
  • Break in the stock cubes and keep stirring
  • Add the star anise (o) bay leaves and all the peppercorns
  • Add the red wine and keep stirring
  • If the sauce is of the consistency you like then fab, if you need it to be a little thicker then take a tiny amount of flour and mix with the same amount of cold water and pour into your sauce stirring it in until smooth
  • Add in a pinch of smoked paprika (o)
  • Keep cooking the sauce for approx 20 mins
  • Season to taste 
  • In a large casserole bowl or pyrex dish add some of your sauce mixture, then add a layer of the beef slices
  • Continue to layer.. sauce..beef...sauce and cover the dish then put it in the oven
  • Cook in the oven for 3.5 hours


Serve with creamy mash potato and choice of veg, we had baby carrots and asparagus and i was so excited about it I forgot to take a picture of it plated, but this is what the leftovers look like. Hearty and really yum!