The Grains With No Name

I've been buying the Food Doctor instant pots recently, as part of an on-and-off drive to eat a bit more healthily and lose a little weight. However, at the same time we've been meaning to cut back our food bill a little, too, and paying £1.39 a throw for what's essentially some grains in a pot began to seem a little excessive; so I trawled a few pages search results for some likely recipes, to see how to approach it, and came up with this for starters. It tastes not bad at all.

One third of a cup of quinoa
Two-thirds of a cup of bulgar wheat
A handful of green lentils
Two cups of fresh chicken stock
A small onion, chopped
Two cloves of garlic. minced
A tablespoon of tomato puree
A teaspoon of ground cumin
Half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
A squeeze of lemon juice
A splash of white wine
Two handfuls of baby spinach
A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Olive oil
Salt

Heat the olive oil - a couple of tablespoons should be plenty - in a thick-bottomed pan for which you have a lid, then soften the onion for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Stir in the tomato puree and cook for another minute.

Tip in the bulgar wheat, quinoa and green lentils and stir to coat. Add the white wine and let it bubble for a few seconds, then pour in the stock. Stir in the spices, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer on the lowest heat for twenty minutes. Fold in the spinach and a squeeze of lemon juice and season to taste. Add a little more stock if necessary. Put the lid back on and cook for another ten minutes, until the lentils are tender, then serve with chopped coriander. I might add a little halloumi or feta when I take it to work tomorrow...

Pasta alla Paola

This one happened because Paula was looking for something to do with three courgettes and three leeks, which isn't immediately obvious as there are no courgettes in it, and no leeks. My arrival in the Highlands also happened because of Paula - so now you know who to blame.

Serves two

Four chicken thighs, skinned and boned
Two red pointy peppers, de-seeded and cut into thick ribbons
Half a red onion, sliced
Two large, ripe tomatoes, cored, de-seeded and quartered
A round of goat's cheese
A red chilli, chopped
Two cloves of garlic, minced
A big sprig of thyme, leaves picked
Tamari/dark soy sauce
Juice of half a lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
Tagliatelle
Salt & black pepper

Marinate the chicken thighs in the soy sauce, lemon juice, chilli, garlic and a glug of olive oil for an hour.

Heat the oven to 200, toss the seasoned peppers and onions with the thyme leaves and olive oil and roast on a baking tray. After quarter of an hour, add the tomatoes and stir. Preheat the grill to high and start to grill the chicken thighs, turning after five minutes. Get the pasta going and add chunks of goat's cheese to the roasting pan. Rest the chicken thighs after ten-or-so minutes under the grill, when they're blackening at the edges and moist in the middle, while you rinse, drain and salt the pasta, mixing in the roasted vegetables. Serve with a grating of black pepper and the chicken thighs on top.

Not Lancashire Hotpot

When we were in Bath last month, we followed TripAdvice and went to Bistro La Barrique. My review of it is here but I'd forgotten, until clearing out receipts just the other day, that on the wee card that came with the bill was a recipe. I made it tonight, and it was rather good.

Sweet Potato and Goat's Cheese Hotpot
Serves 2
Two medium-sized sweet potatoes
Five spring onions, chopped
250ml double cream
Four medium egg yolks
Three or four big slices of soft goat's cheese
Tarragon and chervil (or parsley)
Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 180 and bake the potatoes on a baking sheet for twenty minutes - maybe thirty or forty, depending on the size - until softened through. Leave the oven on while you peel and mash the sweet potato well. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the spring onions, then spoon into a small casserole dish or two large ramekins (oven-proof soup bowls will do). Put a slice or two of goat's cheese on top. Chop a tablespoon of tarragon and chervil/parsley into the eggs, mix in the cream, season and pour on top of the hotpot. Bake for 15+ minutes until the custard is set. Eat immediately, with a green salad or buttered greens.

A shed-building supper.

Knocked together after knocking together the new shed, because it was too late for what I'd planned to cook.

Ten raw king prawns
A cheek off a butternut squash
A red pepper
Half a red onion
Ten wee tomatoes
Two medium tomatoes, skinned and seeded, or a small tin (this is supposed to be painless)
Tomato puree
Two cloves of garlic
Olive oil and chilli-infused olive oil
Spaghetti
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Set king prawns to defrost, if using frozen ones, and heat the oven to 200. Make a very large dice of red pepper, squash and red onion, put it in a small roasting tin, coat with a tablespoon of chilli oil and another of olive oil, season, stir and put it in the oven; roast these for twenty minutes or so, stirring occasionally and adding some baby plum or cherry tomatoes around halfway through. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add spaghetti. Heat a little olive oil and chilli oil in a saucepan, finely chop a little red onion and a clove or two of garlic and soften gently. Throw in a big teaspoon of tomato puree and cook down a little, then increase the heat add the raw prawns, frying for a couple of minutes. Tip in the roasted vegetables plus a couple of tablespoons of chopped tomatoes (fresh or tinned), season then cover and simmer for five minutes. Stir in some chopped basil and black pepper. Drain the pasta, toss in a little olive oil and salt, and serve on warmed plates topped with the sauce.

I think a little courgette or aubergine would add some balance to the sweetness - perhaps even just a squeeze of lemon. It was good enough to write up, anyway.
UPDATE: This time, I added some balsamic vinegar to the vegetables as they roasted, and a bay leaf to the sauce, which seemed to balance things a bit better.

An odd curry

work in progress

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 or 3 curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
pinch asafoetida

coriander, grated ginger, minced garlic, chopped onion, tin of tomatoes, halved/quartered new potatoes, sliced carrots, broad beans, green beans, lettuce, mangetout/sugar snaps

ghee
salt

heat ghee, soften onions, then garlic, add whole spices, fry, add ginger and ground spices, fry, add root veg, fry, add tomatoes, curry leaves, bring to boil, cover, simmer ~15 mins
boil broad beans for 4 mins, refresh, skin
top & tail mangetout/sugar snaps and green beans
add green beans, taste, seasons, cook ~5 mins
shred lettuce, chop coriander
add peas, lettuce, broad beans, cook ~5 mins
serve with rice or naan.

lacks depth - nice treble, no bass - saffron? fish stock? prawns?

King Prawns with Saffron Rice

When I was in my mid-teens, one of my Dad's customers opened a restaurant called 'The Orient Express'. Although it went downhill later on, at the outset it was about the best place in town and it became our Friday evening haunt, with some great characters and fine memories to complement the food and wine. One of my favourite dishes was a simple plate of king prawns served on saffron rice, and last night I decided it was time for a trip down memory lane; refinements to the route will no doubt follow.

Serves two.

Two dozen king prawns - I used raw, shelled ones.
A cup of basmati rice. *
A cup and half of good vegetable or chicken stock. **
A clove of garlic, minced.
Half a teaspoon of saffron.
Half a teaspoon of turmeric.
Quarter of a teaspoon of chilli flakes or crushed chillis.
A pinch or two of herbes de provence/fines herbes.
Half a glass of white wine.
Olive oil.

Bring the stock to the boil then stir in the crushed saffron, turmeric and chilli. Leave it for a minute and then stir in the rice, plus a little salt if you think the stock needs it. Bring back to the boil, then turn the heat right down and seal the pan - cover with foil and top with a lid, wrap the lid in a teatowel and put something heavy on top, whatever works for you, as long as you stop the steam escaping. Now leave it for about fifteen minutes - until the liquid has just gone but before the rice starts to stick to the bottom - while you de-vein the prawns and mince the garlic. Now remove the rice from the heat and let it carry on steaming for another five or ten minutes. Meanwhile, gently heat a little olive oil (enough to just cover the bottom) in a deep frying pan and fry the garlic for a couple of minutes. Don't let it brown. Increase the heat and add the prawns, stir-frying for two or three minutes until pink. Add the dried herbs then pour in the wine, stir and leave to reduce by half.

Serve the juicy, garlicky prawns, wine sauce spooned over, on a bed of yellow, slightly spicy rice, for one of the finest quick suppers I can think of.

I'm really hungry now.

* My 'cups' are basically teacups rather than a US standard measure.
** You could probably use fish stock, but I'm not a big fan.

Update:
These days I'm using three or four cloves of garlic and easily double the quantity of wine, to provide more sauce.

A lentil salad

We've been a bit heavy on the meat recently, so this was an attempt to redress the balance. Alas, the Polish sausage Kuba brought back this week, which I foolishly placed by the loaf on the bread board, proved too tempting towards the end of the meal. It wasn't needed: it was just there.

Serves two as a main meal, perhaps with some bread.

Green or puy lentils, three or four handfuls (I have small hands)
250g halloumi cheese
Half a red onion
A clove of garlic
A lemon
Salad leaves, a couple of handfuls (I used romaine and spinach)
Baby plum or cherry tomatoes
A red chilli
Vegetable stock
White wine
Walnut oil
Extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Paprika
Fresh herbs - I didn't use any, but think that mint would work particularly nicely next time.

Slice the red onion, mince the garlic, de-seed and slice the chilli and juice the lemon, then mix all that up in a bowl and leave it.
Wash the lentils then bring them to the boil in about half a litre of the stock topped up with white wine. Cook at a rolling boil for ten minutes then cover and simmer gently till tender (around half an hour), topping up with hot water if needed.
Cut the halloumi into thick slices, sprinkle with paprika and place under a hot grill till golden-brown.
Drain the lentils. Drain the onion mix, reserving the lemon juice - to which add a dash of balsamic vinegar before whisking in a tablespoon of walnut oil and then three or four more of olive oil, till you have a tasty dressing.
Roughly shred the salad leaves and herbs, halve the tomatoes, put everything in a large salad bowl and mix through the dressing. Serve with the halloumi on top and some crusty bread. You can leave the salami in the fridge.