Prawn Linguine

So this is another very simple and light dish that takes minutes to prepare and cook!

For this you'll need:

• Spring onions,
• Garlic,
• Prawns,
• Linguine pasta,
• Creme fraiche,
• Olive oil,
• Chilli flakes,
• Salt & pepper
• Cherry tomatoes (optional)

Start off by boiling the linguine. About 3-4 minutes before the pasta is done, heat some olive oil in a wide pan and add the garlic.  Once the garlic has started to softened, add the prawns.  Once the prawns start to turn pink, add the green onions and about 2 table spoons of creme fraiche and cook until the prawns are fully cooked.  

   

Add the cherry tomatoes just before the sauce is fully heated through. Season with the chilli flakes, some lemon and salt & pepper.

Once everything is ready, pour the prawn sauce onto the drained pasta and mix through.  Garnish with some parsley. 

Now serve with a wedge of lemon!

Enjoy!

Chicken and Basil Burgers!!!

This is a truly delicious and super easy to cook!

For this you'll need:

• Minced chicken,
• Chopped onion,
• Basil,
• 1 egg,
• Olive oil,
• Salt & pepper.

For the dressing and topping:

• Mozzarella,
• Tomato (finely chopped)
• Spring/Green onion (finely chopped)
• Vinegar,
• Sugar,
• Salt & pepper.

Place the minced chicken in a bowl and add the onion, salt & pepper, rip the basil into the mix and add the egg. Mix all together, get a little mucky and use your hands.

Put a little olive oil on your hands and take about a golf ball size of the mixture and pat. Keep doing this until all the mixture is finished.

When you're ready, heating a flat pan and fry the chicken for a few minutes on each side.

To make the dressing to go on top of the burgers, start off by adding some vinegar into a pot with a teaspoon of sugar. Heat so the mixture combines and the sugar dissolves. Then leave to cool.

Once the tomatoes and onions have been chopped and the dressing has cooled down, mix together with salt and pepper. Taste and add what you think is needed.

Now to put everything together. To add a little extra, toast the buns to give a bit of a crunch!

On top of the burger, add some shredded mozzarella and the salsa dressing. To add a bit of 'zing', spread some grainy mustard on top of the burger.

Add some potato wedges to the side and you're done!

Enjoy!

Baked Sea Bass with chilli, fennel and lemon

This is a super simple dish to prepare and cook. Very light, with a salad on the side or any veg! For this dish, I served it with a mushroom and spinach in a cream cheese sauce.

For this you'll need:

• Sea bass, (cooked whole or head removed)
• Fennel, thinly sliced,
• Red chillies, thinly slices,
• Lemon, thinly sliced,
• Olive oil,
• Salt & pepper.

Get the fishmonger to removed the insides of the fish and keep a slit down the middle of the fish. 

Salt & pepper the fish from the inside and outside and add some olive oil. Stuff the fish with as much or as little fennel, chilli and lemon. Make some small slits on the outside of the fish and cut the lemon to fit in the slits.

Oil a baking sheet and place the fish on the oil. Bake in the oven for about 15-20mins or until you see the skin crisping and when tested with a fork, the fish falls off the bone. 

On the side I had some cream in a pot on a low heat. After a few minutes and when the cream is beginning to heat up, add some mushrooms and allow to soften. Once the mushrooms are beginning to soften, add the spinach, salt and pepper. The spinach doesn't need a lot of time to soften, so keep a close eye. Add some grated parmesan and stir through. The sauce it now complete! Serve on the side of the fish! 

This also has rice on the side! 

Enjoy!

Cajun Spiced Salmon!!!

I love sea food and would like to experiment with different kinds of sea food dishes but I'm just not that brave, yet.....
This is a very simple and maybe a little safe, but its a start!

For this you'll need:

• Salmon fillets,
• Lime juice,
• Chilli powder,
• Ground cinnamon,
• Smoked paprika,
• Ground coriander,
• Soft brown sugar.

For the salsa, you'll need:

• Ripe avocado, peeled and diced,
• Cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered,
• Spring onions,
• Lime juice,
• Olive oil.

Put the salmon fillets in a deep dish, pour over the lime juice and leave to 'cure' for a few minutes.

While waiting for the salmon to cure, mix all the spices together with the sugar on a flat plate or tray. Roll the salmon fillets in the spices so each fillet is completely covered. 

Heat the grill to high, grease a baking sheet and place the salmon fillets on the sheet and place in the grill.  Grill for a few minutes until the salmon is cooked through and the edges are starting to crisp and blacken.

While the salmon is cooking, start preparing the salsa. Mix all the ingredients together adding salt and pepper to taste.

Once the salmon is cooked through, serve with the salsa and some rice!

Happy eating!

Delicious Mushroom Stroganoff

If you haven't already noticed, I love mushrooms!! So this dish is a bit different to the original Beef Stroganoff.

For this you'll need:

• Olive oil,
• 1 onion, chopped finely,
• 1 table spoon paprika,
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed,
• Lots & lots of mushrooms (any/all types!),
• 300ml vegetable stock,
• 1 table spoon Worcestershire sauce,
• 4 table spoons of soured cream (half fat or full fat).

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic until they are softened. Add the paprika and fry for about 1 minute.

Next step is to add the mushrooms and cook on a high heat, stirring often for a few minutes.

Pour in the stock and the Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, bubble for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens, then take off the heat and stir in the sour cream.

Make sure you stir through well so that the sour cream is mixed in well.

Have with some steamed/boiled rice!

Happy eating!

Chicken Lasagne

This is lasagne with a twist!

It is made with chicken....

You'll need:

• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Onions
• Ground nutmeg (adds a little bit extra to the taste)
• Ready to cook lasagne sheets
• Mince chicken / or strips of chicken
• Butter
• Salt & pepper
• Chopped tomato
• Grated Parmesan

For the bechamel sauce:

• Butter
• Flour
• Milk

The first thing to do is get all the chopping out of the way. Chop all the mushrooms, onions and garlic.

Add some butter into a large pan/pot and add the onion and butter. Fry on a medium heat until the onion and garlic are soft. Then add all the mushrooms and fry.

After the mushrooms have shrunk and become soft, add the mine chicken, season with salt & pepper to taste and add about half a teaspoon of nutmeg. Mix well and allow the chicken to cook.

Once the chicken has been cooked through, add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes.

Leave the chicken and mushroom filling on a low heat and make the bechamel sauce now.

Add some butter to a sauce pan and add some flour. Keep mixing and stirring until everything is combined.

After the mix has come together, start adding milk a little at a time and mix thoroughly. Once you get a cream like consistency, the sauce is ready.

Now you can start layering the lasagne.

Start with the chicken and mushroom mix, then add the bechamel sauce, some grated parmesan and then the lasagne sheets.

Keep layering and finish with the bechamel sauce topped with cheese!

Happy eating!!

Light Reading!

Something I have just acquired and just had to share!!

Found this book in one of my favourite markets, Spitlefields! 

This book, as the title suggests, has 1000 recipes and was written in the early 1940's for women to make due with what ingredients they could find during the second world war.  

Might try some eel soup....... or something different!

Light & Fluffy Buttermilk Cake!

This is my first sweet dish on the blog!
Its been a long time coming as I love making cakes, cupcakes, muffins and many other sweet dishes.

This is one of my favourite cakes as its easy to make, light, fluffy and just the right thing to have when you just crave something sweet. Perfect to satisfy that need. Lovely with a cup of tea!

Ingredients;

• 200g plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 150ml buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or a whole vanilla pod)
• 125g soft unsalted butter
• Icing sugar for dusting

To get the vanilla out, cut through the middle along the pod and scrape the insides.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix in the sugar.

Place the egg yolks together with the vanilla and 2 table spoons of buttermilk, and beat until combined but not frothy.

Add the butter and remaining buttermilk to the flour mixture and beat for a minute.

Gradually add the egg yolk mixture in 3 batches, beating well each time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix well for one last time. Pour into a prepared cake tin lined with butter.

Level the filling in the cake tin and place in the middle of the oven.
Check that the cake is not browning too much from the top after 20 minutes. If so, cover.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Yo can tell when the cake is cooked when it has risen and springs back when touched.

Remove from the over and leave to cool for about 15-20 minutes before turning out.

After turning out, dust with some icing sugar!

Light and fluffy!!

Sweet eating......

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

So I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been busy settling into a new job & getting adjusted. As it's a new year (Happy New Year!), I've decided to make one new years resolution and to (hopefully) stick to it! My new years resolution is to keep up with my blog and to try a new ingredient that I've never tried before at least once a month.

So for my first blog of 2012, I've used an ingredient I never had before - butternut squash.

Here's my recipe for a scrumptious butternut squash soup....

Ingredients;

• 1 large or 2 small butternut squash (cubed)
• 1 medium sized potato (cubed)
• 2 small onions (chopped finely)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

To start off with, melt the butter in a pot and then add the onions. Leave to cook for 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent.
Add the butternut squash, potato, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix well so that all the ingredients are coated with butter.

Then add the vegetable stock.

 

Bring to the boil, then allow to simmer for 30 minutes so that the butternut squash and potato are very soft.
Use a hand blender or a stand alone blender to turn the ingredients into a soup consistency. If you prefer the soup to be thick, remove about half a cup to a whole cup of the liquid from the pot, blend and add liquid as you like to make it as thick or as thin as you want it.

Enjoy with some crusty bread.

Happy eating!