Cabbage spaghetti

Got home from a weekend away and looked into the fridge - sighed ... and looked around again.  

OK - half a cabbage, frozen sliced ham from Christmas, a drop of elmlea left from last week, the end of the parmesan ... and some frozen peas  ... voila!  Cabbage carbonara.  

It was surprisingly tasty - and cheap ... needs a good grind of black pepper to give it some zing.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic

Spaghetti

Savoy cabbage

ham

parmesan

chilli flakes

frozen peas

1.  Sautee chopped onion in olive oil until soft, add crushed garlic and a tablespoon of water, continue to cook slowly.

2.  Shred cabbage and chop ham into small pieces.

3.  Cook pasta according to packet instructions.

4.  Add shredded cabbage to onions, with a little more water, and a handful of frozen peas, a few chili flakes, and steam/fry for a few minutes.

5.  Add ham and cream to heat through.

6.  Drain pasta and add to sauce, with grated cheese.  Stir in

7.  Stir, serve, scoff, seconds ...

Cheap, delicious, uses stuff up.

Mac and cheese etc

Comfort food is the order of the day - but so is getting some vitamins as well as the carbs and protein - so I ramped up mac n cheese with some vegetables.  It didn't take any longer, and was delicious.

Cauliflower

Mushrooms

Soya milk

Cornflour

Macaroni

Cheddar cheese

Peas

Tomatoes

1.  Chop cauliflower into florets, place in steamer part of steamer pan.  Add a good handful of sliced mushrooms.

2.  Grate quit a lot of cheddar cheese.

3.  Put steamer pan on top of pan of water, heat until boiling.

4.  Add pasta to water, stir once, and replace cauliflower pan above it.

5.  Heat soya milk until simmering, then add slaked cornflour to make a sauce, as it thickens add grated cheese, stir until all melted - season with salt and pepper.

6.  Boil pasta for 10-12 minutes, until it is nearly done. stir occasionally to make sure it's not sticking together.

6.  Add frozen peas to steaming veg.

7.  Slice tomatoes.

8.  In a baking dish add steamed veg and drained cooked pasta, add sliced tomatoes.

9.  Pour on cheese sauce.

10.  Bake for 20 minutes or so.

11. Serve, scoff

Quick mushroom and pepper stroganoff

 

Quick, tasty and economical.  It can be made vegan by using Elmlea plant based (or other plant based cream), but I used elmlea double cream, which cuts down on the dairy, rather than cutting it out altogether.

Olive oil

Chopped shallots (onion or leeks)

Crushed garlic

Red pepper

Mushrooms

Basmati rice

Paprika

Spinach

Frozen peas

Elmlea (cream/ plant based cream)

1.  Sautee chopped shallots, add chopped red pepper and mushrooms, and crushed garlic - soften for about 5 minutes.

2.  In a saucepan/heavy pot cover basmati rice with water, to about an inch over the rice, add salt - heat until it starts to boil.  Slam on the lid and turn the heat right down - let it a cook gently and absorb the water for 12-15 minutes - turn heat off, and let it just sit there.

3.  Meanwhile, when veg are softened chuck on a couple of handfuls of spinach, a cup of frozen peas and stir in.

4.  Add a cup of water and bring up to simmer.  

5.  When the spinach is wiled the peas will be nearly done.  Now add the cream, stir in to make a sauce and sprinkle on paprika.  Stir gently.

6.  Serve, scoff ... finish seconds.

Pork chops, in a mustard cream sauce, sauteed new potatoes and carrots, peas parisienne

 

Well , the photo is a disappointment, but the dinner wasn't!  It was film night at KitchenFairies HQ, and I try to theme the dinner with the film.  The film was "Hugo" ... the connection was that the film was set in Gare du Nord, Paris - so it was French Bistro food.

Also, I have no idea if peas parisienne have any authenticity to them - it's just what I have always called leeks, peas and lettuce cooked this way.

Pork loin chops

Olive oil

Meat seasoning (black pepper, garlic, celery salt, paprika)

New potatoes

Carrots

Butter

Leek

white wine

Little gem lettuce

Garlic

Chicken stock

Dijon mustard

Cream

1.  Rub the pork loin chops with the seasoning and olive oil, set aside for an hour.

2.  Peel new potatoes and carrots, cut potatoes in to quarters, length wise, and the carrots into diagonal chunks.

3.  Wash and shred leeks.

4.  In a heavy frying pan with a lid melt butter (lots ... twice as much as you think you need) and add the potatoes, carrots and cup of water.  Put the lid on and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5.  Take the lid off the potatoes and simmer off most of the water.

6.  Sweat the leek off in olive oil, add crushed garlic.

7.  20 minutes to go ... heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan, when hot add the chops and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

8.  Stir the potatoes and carrots, put the lid back on and let them crisp up.  Shake about every 3 minutes to stop them catching.

9.  Remove chops from the pan, add white wine to the pan, with a little chicken stock and a teaspoon of dijon mustard, stir and simmer.  Add cream.  Put chops back into the sauce and keep on a low heat.

10.  Add frozen peas and wedges of little gem lettuce to the leeks, add a splash of white wine.  Simmer for 3 minutes.  Add a drop of cream.

11.  Serve, scoff ... it was delicious!  really rich - but fabulous.

Spiced lamb, mushroom and pea curry, dhal and rice

Oops - I forgot to take a picture of this dinner before people dived in - but there were some leftovers, so I took a quick snap of them.  The thing which really was a shame to miss were the lovely spiced lamb steaks - but hey ho!

Lamb steaks
Natural yogurt
Curry mix (bassar masala in our case)
Rice
Red lentils
Onion
Garlic
turmeric
mustard seeds
fennel seeds
cumin seeds
Mushrooms
water
potato
peas

1.  Marinade the lamb steaks in spices mixed into yogurt.
2.  Put both the rice and lentils on to boil.
3.  Fry chopped onion, crushed garlic and various spices, fry off for a few minutes, then add chopped mushrooms.  After they have fried for a few minutes add some water and some finely chopped potato (the potato softens and helps form a sauce).
4.  When curry is nearly done add the peas, and fry the lamb steaks.
5.  Finally make a tarka for the dhal by frying spices of your choice in oil, chuck over the dhal as you take it all to the table.
6.  Serve, scoff … you might want to blob on some natural yogurt too.

Curried fish and chips

National Curry week:  day 5 - and Friday.  We love our fish and chip treat on a Friday - and Paul the fish has such good fish, that I decided to stick with tradition, but to do a spicy batter.  It tasted a lot better than it looks, but you can see how beautiful the haddock was in this pic.

Potatoes
olive oil
Haddock
Gluten free flour
Lahore fish spice mix
frozen peas


1.  Cut potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil, and bake for 45 minutes.
2.  Make batter by mixing flour, spice mix and water - the batter should be about the consistency of double cream.
3.  Dip the fish into GF flour, then the batter and fry (make sure the oil is hot enough - that was my mistake - it wasn't quite, so it stuck to the pan a bit).
3.  Boil peas.
4.  Scoff.

Cod and smoked salmon fishcakes

 Lots of inspiration for tonight's tea - some home grown triumphs ... broad beans and courgette ... some donated glut yellow tomatoes, an irresistible find in a punnet of heirloom tomatoes, podded peas in the organic box, and some cod fillets also from the organic delivery.  So, adding some smoked salmon from the fridge this was a delicious summery treat.

Potatoes
Butter
Cod fillets
Bay leaf
Onion
Egg
Italian breadcrumbs
Courgette
Olive oil
Broad beans
Peas
Heirloom tomatoes
Spring onion
Basil

1.  Peel and dice potatoes, boil to make the mash.
2.  Mash potatoes with butter and seasoning.  Leave to cool.
3.  Poach the cod in water, with a bay leaf and half an onion.  Don't over cook it, a few minutes simmering, then turn off the heat and let it cook gently for 10 minutes.  Remove from the water and leave to cool.
4.  Dice the courgette, put in a pan with crushed garlic and olive oil.
5.  Pod the beans and peas and put in a steamer ready for steaming.
6.  Slice the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, finely diced spring onion and shredded basil.  Drizzle on a little good olive oil.
7.  Now assemble to fish cakes, break the smoked salmon into pieces, skin the cod and gently flake into the potato.  Mix together gently, so that the fish stays mostly in individual pieces.
8.  Chill the fish cakes for a few minutes.
9.  Whisk an egg in one bowl, put breadcrumbs in another.  Coat the fishcakes - fist in egg, then in breadcrumbs.  For a lovely crispy finish I did this twice ... egg, breadcrumbs, 5 minutes to dry, egg, breadcrumbs.
10.  Finally - turn the heat on under the courgettes and the peas and beans and fry the fishcakes in olive oil ... about 4 minutes each side - in batches, keeping them warm in the oven as you finish.
11.  Serve, scoff, smile.

Vegetable stroganoff

After a day at the seaside I needed something quick and filling.  Chop, fry, boil and it's done!

Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Smoked paprika
Red pepper
Mushrooms
Frozen peas
White wine (optional)
Stock
Natural yogurt
Tagliatelle (gluten free for us)

1.  Boil pasta according to packet instructions.
2.  Finely chop onion and soften in olive oil.  Add crushed garlic and a pinch of paprika.
3. Chop red pepper and add to the onion, fry for 4-5 minutes, add chopped mushrooms.
4.  Add a little stock and/or white wine and simmer briefly.
5.  Drain the pasta when al dente and add to the vegetables with a big spoonful of natural yogurt.
6.  Toss it together and it's done.

Served with a green salad.

Seafood paella

Not that much left of the veg box, but some mixed seafood salad in the freezer .. ta-dah .. seafood paella.

Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Saffron
Red pepper
White wine
Paella rice
Stock
Tomatoes
Seafood mix
Frozen peas

1.  Sautee chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, soak saffron strands in a little water.
2.  Add chopped pepper, stir.
3.  Add paella rice, turn around in the oil until every grain is lightly coated, then chuck in a glass of white wine.
4.  Add the saffron and soaking water, and a little stock, simmer until most of the water is absorbed, then add some chopped fresh tomatoes, simmer a little more, adding more stock if necessary.
5.  Chuck in mixed seafood and a handful of frozen peas, cook for 5 more minutes.
6.  Turn off heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
7.  Scoff.

Veggie sausage and mash

Sometimes it's the only thing which will hit the spot.  Not really a recipe, but I have included it as I did the sausages in a nice tomato and onion gravy (with peas), and added cabbage to the mash.

Potatoes, peeled and cubed
Cahhage, shredded
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic, crushed
Veggie sausages (these were Linda McCartney's)
Tomato puree
Veggie stock
Butter/Margarine/Olive oil

1.  Boil the potatoes, steam the cabbage on top.
2.  Gently fry the onions in olive oil, then add the sausages and garlic.
3.  After a couple of minutes add a squite of tomato puree to the sausages, and about 1/2 pint of veggie stock - simmer.  Add peas to the sauce after about 10 minutes.
4.  About 12-15 minutes later everything will be ready.  Mash the potatoes, add butter and cabbage.
5.  Serve, scoff, sleep.

Crispy fried fish, tiny roasties and braised peas and lettuce

So, I opened "The Mediterranean Pantry" this week.  One exciting week!!! Lots of lovely stuff for sale, and loads of potential for lots of fun.  Today I invented "Calabrian fish crust mix", for fried fish.  It is delicious, and will be on sale in The Mediterranean Pantry very soon.

So, I took advantage of this and pepped up our traditional Friday night fish and chips ...

Potatoes
Olive oil
White fish
Calabrian fish crust mix
Onion
Garlic
White wine
Petit pois
Little gem lettuce

Instructions, in more or less, chronological order ...

1.  Chop potatoes into 1 inch cubes - parboil (or microwave) - toss in olive oil and roast in a hot oven.

30(ish) minutes later

2.  Chop an onion, sautee in olive oil until soft, add crushed garlic and a good slosh of white wine.
3.  Chop white fish into 1 inch strips (or leave as fillets if you prefer).  Pat dry with kitchen roll.
4.  Coat the fish pieces with Calabrian fish crust mix.
5.  Fry fish, in hot olive oil - a couple of minutes of each side, in batches, drain on kitchen roll, keeping the batches warm as you go.
6.  Add petit pois to the onions with wedges of little gem lettuce.  Stir until lettuce is wilted.
7.  Scoff.

Delicious.

Mushroom and pea spaghetti "carbonara"

Our interesting dietary requirements mean that our dinners, if we are all to eat the same, need to be meat free, gluten free and lactose free - but I fancied something a little bit creamy, rather than the usual tomato based sauce ... so missing out the bacon, the cream and using gluten free pasta - came up with this, which was enjoyed by all.  It was improved by adding parmesan, for those of us who could.  I didn't want to, so had loads of black pepper ground on top.

Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Olive oil
frozen peas
gluten free spaghetti
egg
black pepper
parmesan (optional)

1.  Sweat onions gently in olive oil.
2.  Add mushooms and crushed garlic and cook together for about 8 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile boil pasta.
4.  Add frozen peas to mushrooms and heat through.
5.  Lightly whip the egg.
6.  When the pasta is done, drain and add to the mushrooms, take off the heat.
7.  Stir the egg into the pasta mixture and let it cook with the heat of the pan.
8.  Scoff

Onion bhaji, potato and pea curry, chickpea and pumpkin curry

Another end of veg box challenge.  Onions, butternut squash and kale ... and a handful of potatoes.

Onion bhajis

3 onions, finely sliced
chili flakes
bicarb
gram flour
oil


Potato and pea curry

Diced onion
black mustard seeds
cumin seeds
turmeric
crushed garlic
oil
diced potatoes
water
frozen peas
garam masala

Chickpea and pumpkin curry

Olive oil
diced onion
fennel seeds
cumin seeds
chili flakes
crushed garlic
butternut squash
tomato puree
water
chickpeas
shredded kale

1.  Start onion bhajis - sliced onions and add salt and spices.  Leave to sit - this will draw the water out of the onions, allowing them to bond better with the gram flour forming their own batter.
2.  Start other curries by sauteeing diced onion, and the spices and garlic.
3.  Add potatoes to one pan and butternut squash to the other, cook for a few minutes.
4.  Add tomato paste to butternut squash, and water to them both.
5.  Simmer curries for about 15 minutes, add more water if they get dry.
6.  Add chickpeas to butternut squash, and then cook a little longer.
7.  Add shredded kale to butternut squash and peas to potatoes, simmer for 5 more minutes.
8.  When other curries are ready, add bicarb and gram flour to the onions for the bhajis, and mix.
9.  Fry spoonfuls of onions, drain on kitchen roll and eat.

Potato and pea curry

What can you do with some potatoes, green beans and some peas, and 20 minutes?  Well, this .... and it was truly delicious.

Olive oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Chili flakes
Turmeric
Diced potatoes
red onion, chopped
Garlic
Chopped green beans
Water
Frozen peas
Garam massala

1.  Sautee red onion, garlic and spices in olive oil.
2.  Add diced potatoes, turn over in oil and then add water.
3.  Simmer, add green beans.
4.  Simmer more, add frozen peas and a smidge of garam massala when nearly done.

Beware, you may need seconds, or thirds.

Spicy, crunchy fish with new potatoes and peas and stuff

A neighbour, very generously, gave us some home grown new crop potatoes.  She was very proud of them - and quite justifiably so, they were DELICIOUS.  I just boiled them simply and sprinkled them with sea salt.  To accompany them I did spicy crunchy fish and lovely spring vegetables.

Fish

Pollock (or other white fish) fillets, cut into 2 inch(ish) piece

Polenta

Malaysian fish curry spice mix

Olive oil

1.  Toss polenta and spice together,  then toss fish pieces in the mix.

2.  Fry (in batches) in olive oil, drain on kitchen paper, and keep warm until veg and potatoes are ready.

Vegetables

1 onion, finely chopped

Olive oil

Clove garlic, crushed

Petit pois

White wine

Little gem lettuce, cut into 6-8 wedges

Radishes, finely sliced

1.  Soften onion in olive oil, add crushed garlic.

2.  Add petit pois and wine, heat through, about 3-4 minutes

3.  Add lettuce and radich, toss through until lettuce has wilted a little - about 2 minutes.

Serve - scoff - have seconds

 
 
 

Todmorden tapas

Saw some nice looking Manchego in our local well known budget supermarket - it became the inspiration for this.

Potatas bravas
Garlic mushrooms
Garlic proawns and peas
Green salad
(Some pepper and cheese things from a jar)



1.  Peel and chop potatoes into chunks, boil.
2.  Peel and chop 2 red onions.  Sautee in 2 pans, one for the potatoes, one for the mushrooms.
3.  Add butter to the mushroom pan, garlic and chopped mushrooms, cook down.
4.  Add tomatoes, and a pinch of chili flakes to the onions for the potatoes, cook down.
5.  In a third pan, slosh olive oil, and handful of frozen prawns and frozen peas, crushed garlic and chili flakes, with a splosh of white wine.  Leave to sit and cook off hard when everything else is just about done.
6. Add cooked drained potatoes to onions and tomatoes.
7.  Dress green salad leaves with olive oil and lemon juice.

Scoff.

Parsley and lemon crusted fish, with chips and green vegetables

Traditional Friday night dinner - small ringing of the changes.

"Chips" ... boiled and roasted in olive oil.  Boil - 5ish minutes - into hot fat, in hot oven, for about an hour.

The fish is Alaskan pollock in a batter made from 1 whisked egg, a splash of soya milk, a half cup of polenta and a fistful of chopped parsley, with salt and pepper and the grated zest of a lemon.  The fish was coated in the batter, and then fried, a couple of minutes on each side just before serving everything else.  Drain on kitchen paper.

The vegetables - leeks, softenned in olice oil, then added crushed garlic, some mushrooms and a knob of butter.  Sautee gently, then season and add a splosh of white wine.  Simmer briefly, transfer to oven dish - tip on handful of frozen peas, and some baby spinach.  Cover with foil and stick in the bottom of the oven.

Fnatastic batter, really fresh tasting.  And the veg ... oooo ... lovely, buttery and garlicky and fresh.

Roast trout ... yum ...

Got a really good deal on some fish this week, so bought some trout.  Simple treatment - but so, so, so delicious.

The timing for this dinner is ... start with the potatoes, chop and put on to boil - then put oiled tray in oven for oil to heat  - then prepare the fish, with slices of lemon in the cavity.

When the potato pieces have boiled for 5 minutes, drain and transfer to hot oil.  Turn, so that they have every surface coated in oil - put back in a hot oven.

After 20 minutes - put the fish, in an oven dish  - with oil and lemon into the bottom of the oven

- there are about 20 minutes to go now

Sautee finely diced celery in oliev oil.
Add crushed garlic and a splosh of white wine.
After 5 (ish) minutes add shredded cabbage to softenned celery.
Add a cup of frozen peas. Simmer, until all cooked.

Serve
Receive praise .

Fish and chips with peas ... cajun style (ish)

Friday night fish and chips, with peas - cos we love it ... but tonight some cajun spicing and some extra veg from the organic box make it a new version of a consistent favourite.

So, coming in from the train/commute like me ... you need to i - get that oven on heating up - chop the potatoes and get them on to boil.  Then calm down a bit  and take the next bits more slowly.




Potatoes

potatoes
olive oil
salt

Par-boil potatoes, put olive oil in a roasting dish to heat up.
When potatoes are par-boiled, and oil heated up, drain potatoes and bung into the roating pan.
Stir them around until they have a film on every surface sprinkle with salt.
Roast for an hour or so, until crispy.

Green veg

1 onion, finely chopped
olive oil
crushed garlic
savoy cabbage
dry white wine
petit pois

1.  Sweat down chopped onion in olive oil.
2.  When a bit soft add crushed garlic, and wine.
3.  Chuck in shredded cabbage, simmer until soft,
4.  5 minutes before serving chuck in frozen peas .. season ..

Fish

Olive oil
White fish
Polenta
cajun seasoning

1.  Mix polenta and cajun seasoning to taste ... in our case about 50/50 ... because it's on the outside of the fish and not HOT HOT HOT all the way through ... but the fish is nice and spicy.
2.  Dredge the fish in the spice mix.
3.  Shallow fry each piece - a couple of minutes each side.
4.  Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while you do the rest.

When everything is done .. serve... scoff.

Cajun cod, tiny roasties ... spring greens and peas

Fish and chips are a bit of a Friday night tradition ... but a twist is always welcome.

To be honest, it's not much of a twist - f&c is a classic because it's delicious.

The twist was i) greens with peas - has been lettuce before but today we had spring greens - and the combination is GOOD and ii) polenta and cajun blacknned seasoning on the cod pieces.

Start with the potatoes - boil, drain and roast in olive oil.

After about 45 minutes start on the rest ....

Toss fish pieces in polenta a spice mixed together - fry for a couple of minutes on each side.

Steam green and frozen peas.

Serve, scoff, have seconds.