1 Comment

Posted on April 10, 2019 by gorgefood

I have recently bought a book about flavour – it’s like a bible for what goes together, and straight away I picked up on chocolate and cardamon as I really like the taste of cardamon in a dessert. I’d say this one is an aquired taste though so if you don’t like dark bitter choolate I wouldn’t bother, it is a very rich tart! I served this with creme fraiche and fresh raspberries rather than cream as I thought that might be too rich but if you have a sweet tooth go ahead and stick some whipped cream on!

This would be really easy to make if you bought ready roll sweet pastry but I will put the recipe just in case you want to go the whole hog like I did.

Ingredients
Serves 6 – 8
1 hour to prepare and 2 hours to set.

225g  plain flour
100 butter
80g sugar
1 large egg

200g good quality dark chocolate
10 cardamon pods
300ml double cream
25g butter

Start by preparing a 20cm sweet pastry case.

Preheat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

Put the butter and flour into a bowl and rub together until it resembles crumbs, add the sugar and the egg and mix together with your hands until it resembles a big ball of dough. If it needs more liquid add a splash of milk.

Chill the pastry for at least 30 minutes and then roll out until it fits into your tart case. I use one with a push up bottom so I dont have to worry about greasing the sides. trim the edges of the pastry and then bake in  the oven for 10 – 15 minutes until the case is cooked then remove and let cool.

Bash the cardamon pods in a pestle and mortar and remove the skins then grind up the seeds to form a powder. Put the cream and chocolate in a sauce pan and warm up enough to melt the choclate pieces then add the cardamon powder, mix together vigourously then set aside to cool.

When the case and chocolate filling have cooled, fill the tart case with the chocolate mixture and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours until it is solid.

Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before eating and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and some fresh raspberries.

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Posted on April 10, 2019 by gorgefood

 

Another week another curry! I just can’t get enough. This is really simple and effective and uses things you probably already have in your cupboards so can be rustled up easily for a midweek meal. I used chicken thighs on the bone for this but you could use them without the bone if you prefer – just dont use breast! Its just not the same.

Ingredients
serves 4
2 hours to marinade – 45 mins to cook.

2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
 2 – 3 skinless pieces of chicken on the bone per person – thigh or drumstick.
1 tsp tumeric powder
2 large onions diced
1 green chilli sliced with seeds
8 tomatoes chopped fine
200ml water
a knob of butter

Spice mix
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp corriander seeds
1 inch of cinnamon stick
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 cloves
2 dried red chillis or 1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin seeds

Put the garlic and ginger paste and tumeric in a bowl and mix together. Put in the chicken pieces and make sure they are coated evenly then leave in the fridge to marinade for at least 2 hours.

Put all the spice mix ingredients in a spice grinder if you have one ( unfortunately I don’t but it’s on my list) or a pestle and mortar and grind together until it resembles a coarse powder.

Fry the onions in a little oil until soft then add the sliced chilli and fry for a few more minutes. Add the chopped fresh tomatoes and cook for 4 – 5 minutes until they have broken down.

Add the chicken pieces and cook on a medium heat for about 5 minutes making sure you turn it to seal all the sides, then add the spice powder and cook for another few minutes.

Add 200ml of water and stir round all the side of the pan to get all the flavour off and thicken the sauce – season with salt and a knob of butter and then simmer on a low heat with the lid on for 25 – 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened. You could also put into an oven proof dish and cook in the oven for 30 minutes on 180 degrees. If the sauce doesnt thicken enough cook for 5 minutes in the oven without the lid.

Serve with rice and chappati or naan! ( I skipped that bit as I am watching the calories!)

You may notice that my dish appears to have red chilli in… it does because I had run out of green but try and use green if you can!

57066176_10156048956717890_5259353012056358912_n

Leave a Comment

Posted on February 4, 2019 by gorgefood

I know.. Cauli again! I promise something different this weekend though as I am doing a few new dishes for a dinner party. But for now – another cauli salad but I think this is the best one yet!

Ingredients

Serves 2.

1 large cauliflower
1 onion – sliced
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp garlic paste
300g Giant Cous cous
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic crushed
2 tbsp golden raisins
Handfull chopped parsley
1 mild red chilli deseeded and sliced
Seeds of 1/2 a pomegranate
1 tbsp pine nuts.
Olive oil, salt and pepper
1 tbsp crispy onions from a jar – optional

Pre heat oven to 190 fan/170/gas mark 5.

Prepare the cauliflower for roasting by removing the large outer leaves ( keep the small tender ones next to the florets for roasting as they taste lovely when crispy) break into florets and mix in a bowl with the sliced onion, 2 tbsp olive oil, tumeric, cumin and garlic paste. spread evenly on a baking tray with the tender leaves and roast for 20 – 25 minutes until soft. A little charring is good for taste! Leave to cool.

Toast your pine nuts by cooking in a dry pan for a minute until starting to go brown.

While this is roasting, prepare the cous cous by simmering in salted boiling water until soft. Drain, cool and then put into a bowl with the crushed garlic, lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, raisins, chilli, pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts.

Mix the roasted cauliflower and onion in with the couse cous, stir well and scatter the fresh parsley and crispy onions over the top.

52029203_10155903028692890_5399446667634147328_n.jpg

Leave a Comment

Posted on January 22, 2019 by gorgefood

 

Stuck at home with a poorly baby, just come back from a weekend away and Ocado is due at 7.30pm, there is NOTHING in the house apart from a few bits of veg and a bag of sweet potatoes… I considered making soup but soup is boring, I don’t feel like I’ve eaten if I have soup!!

Managed to find a yellow pepper, 2 small onions and a few chillis and a couple of sprigs of corriander still left in my plant. Salt and pepper wedges popped into my head!

I loved every bloody mouthfull of this too! Sometimes a “ready steady cook” moment leads to a recipe for life!

Replace the oil for fry light and skip the mayo and you also have a healthy January recipe too!

Ingredients

Serves 2 as a lunch or 4 as a side dish.

1 bag of sweet potatoes
1 red/green/yellow pepper or a mixture – diced small
1 large onion diced finely
1 red chilli diced small ( remove seeds if you don’t want it too hot)
1 green chilli diced small
2 large cloves of garlic – diced small
garlic and ginger paste – 1 tbsp
chilli flakes – 1 tsp
6 szechuan peppercorns (optional)
OIive oil or rapeseed oil – 2 tbsp
Salt and Pepper
Handful of chopped corriander

Garlic mayo and sriracha to serve. ( optional)

Peel and cut your sweet potatoes into wedges and toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp oil, chilli flakes, ginger and garlic paste and a good grind of sea salt and black pepper. Roast in a hot oven at 200 degrees 180 fan for up to 20 minutes until cooked.

Whilst these are cooking heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and add your diced vegetables with a good grind of sea salt and black pepper and the peppercorns if using and stir on a gentle heat until soft.

Serve your wedges with the veg on top and scatter the chopped corriander and drizzle with garlic mayo and sriracha ( optional)

 

50669971_10155873321657890_5501993573081415680_n

1 Comment

Posted on November 21, 2018 by gorgefood

Don’t be put off by the title this is a seriously easy and very cheap dish and I am going to use the basis of this to make many more lovely things! This is why I love getting new cook books as they teach me new ways of doing things and give me ideas. Even though this is essentially someone elses recipe ( I just thought it too good not to share!!) it will be the base of a few more of my inventions starting with a lamb keema biriyani ( watch this space!) I never knew you could cook rice like this but I am going to be doing it a lot! I always find it tricky to get rice perfect.

I ate this on its own but I could also be used as a side dish. I have adjusted the ingredients slightly from the book as I thought there was too much cinnamon.

Ingredients
Serves 4 as a main

800g cherry tomatoes
12 large peeled Garlic cloves roughly chopped
4 Banana Shallots, peeled and chopped into chunks
25g Corriander roughly chopped
3 tbsp – fresh Thyme leaves
1 large Cinnamon stick
100ml Olive oil
300g Basmati rice ( I always use Tilda)
600ml boiling water
Salt and pepper

Put the whole cherry tomatoes, garlic, shallot , thyme and cinnamon in a baking dish with high sides then pour over the olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Cook for around 1 hour at 160 degrees fan until soft then remove from the oven.

46479718_10155736727392890_7860197129896067072_n

Turn the oven up to 220 degree fan.

Without breaking up the tomatoes put the uncooked rice on top, season again with salt and pepper and add the boiling water. Seal the dish tightly with foil and bake in the oven for around 25 minutes until the rice is cooked. Take out of the oven and leave covered for 10 minutes then remove the foil and sprinkle with corrainder, stir gently and serve!

46447748_10155736727807890_667939028812693504_n

 

 

Leave a Comment

Posted on November 21, 2018 by gorgefood

Another healthy one I am afraid! A good lunchbox filler though if you like cauliflower and don’t like eating sandwiches every day! This recipe is from “Simple” by Otteolenghi – you may have noticed that it’s my new fave book –  my next one is also from there…. Some fattening food soon though I promise!! Just in time for the christmas gluttony.

Ingredients

Serves 3 – 4

1 large Cauliflower
1 Onion roughly sliced
25g roughly chopped Parsley
10g roughly chopped Mint
10g roughly chopped Tarragon.
1/2 Pomegranate – seeds removed
50g Pistachio nuts – shelled, dry toasted and chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
Juice of 1 Lemon.
100ml olive oil to dress – Use less if watching calories.

Take one third of the cauliflower and put is aside and then divide the rest into 3cm ish florets. Put these with the sliced onion and thinner cauliflower leaves ( when these get crispy it gives a lovely taste to the dish) on a roasting tray and evenly coat with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Roast for around 30 minutes at 200 degrees fan until soft and golden.

46502258_10155736727142890_626066542240464896_n

With the remaining cauliflower grate it raw into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and a pinch of salt. When the roasted cauliflower/onion and leaves have cooled add this to the mixture and give it a stir to combine then serve!

( Next time I will make the cauliflower florets a bit smaller – in  this picture they are a bit big and were still a bit too crunchy)

46493236_10155736727732890_100969346779578368_n

 

 

Leave a Comment

Posted on November 11, 2018 by gorgefood

45864697_10155718593712890_1259520359510573056_o

First recipe I have tried from my new “Simple” book by Yotam Ottolenghi. I was flicking through this morning and stumbled across this beauty knowing I had a few over ripe avocados in the fruit bowl ( they were going to end up as guacamole on fajitas for tea).

Simple and delicious and I will probably add a bit of chilli next time.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 slices of thick crusty bread per person. ( 8 )
3 extra ripe large avodacos ( mushy)
60g butter – warm
2 limes – zested and juiced
1.5 packs of cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp capers – chopped fine
2 large cloves of garlic cut in half
salt and black pepper
1.5 tbsp Olive oil

Optional
1 tsp toasted cumin seeds ( i didnt have any in)
15g Chopped tarragon leaves ( I only had dried but used a tiny pinch as it can be very over powering)

Put the butter, avodaco, half the lime zest, half the lime juice and a pinch of salt into a blender and whizz together until smooth. put in a bowl and add the half of the tarragon/cumin seeds.

For the salsa, cut the cherry tomatoes into small chunks and mix with the chopped capers and the rest of the lime juice and zest, olive oil and a grind of black pepper.

Grill the bread on both sides and then rub the cut garlic cloves across the top of each slice.

Spread with the avocado butter, top with salsa and then sprinkle the rest of the tarragon and cumin seeds on top and a grind of black pepper.

If you wanted to take it a step further you could stick a poached egg on top!

45902501_10155719375922890_487492738149777408_o

 

Leave a Comment

Posted on October 12, 2018 by gorgefood

Tea last night was an invention test as I have a big bush of sage growing in the garden and I wanted to make use of it! Sage isnt a herb I cook with often but I opened the fridge and found hal;f a pack of pancetta and some cavolo nero that I didnt know what to do with and a dish was born! I really loved this and will definately make it again therefore I am sharing it on here before I forget how to make it!

I could have choosen another type of pasta but I really  like Orecchiette ( little ears!!) as it scoops up the sauce and filling nicely.

You could make a vegetarian version of this dish by substituting the pancetta for roasted squash pieces and I think that would go really well.

Ingredients.

Serves 4

400g Orecchiette pasta ( 100g per person depending on appetite)
150g Pancetta pieces
1 pack of button mushrooms – sliced
100g shredded Cavolo Nero or Kale
8 Sage leaves torn into small pieces
3 sprigs of lemon thyme – stalks discarded
2 large Garlic cloves roughly chopped
1 tsp Chilli flakes
A knob of butter
1/2 a lemon – zest and juice
Salt and Black Pepper
2 tbsp Olive oil.

Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water until al dente

While the pasta is cooking, in a small frying pan very gently heat the garlic in 2 tbsp of olive oil making sure it doesn’t go brown, after 3-4 mintes add the sage leaves, lemon thyme and chilli flakes and warm again for a few minutes and then set aside.

Drain the pasta but retain a bowl of the cooking water to make your sauce.

In a large frying pan, heat a splash of oil and then fry the pancetta until almost cooked before adding the mushrooms and cavolo nero/kale. Carry on frying for a few mintes until the mushrooms and greens are soft then combine with the pasta and garlic and herb oil. Add grated lemon zest and juice, salt and black pepper, a knob of butter and a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water from the pasta and warm in the frying pan until everything is piping hot.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top and garlic bread!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Posted on September 10, 2018 by gorgefood

It’s a miracle this meal happened considering the delicate state I was in yesterday after way too much wine at a wedding the day before but I wanted to have a chinese meal without all the takeaway calories so this was the only way! It is surprisingly quick and simple to make as long as you have the basic ingredients in which luckily I do!

I reckon this was tastier than anything I could have ordered from the chippy too!

Ingredients

Serves 4
20 – 30 mins.

500g skinned, boneless chicken thigh ( or breast if you prefer)
1 large handful of cashew nuts
3 dried red chillis
1 large red pepper cut into strips.
3 cloves garlic sliced thinly
2 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped or grated.
4 spring onions cut into 1 inch chunks on the diagonal
2 tsp szechuan peppercorns
2 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine ( or sherry if you don’t have it)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp Caster sugar

* Be careful not to add salt as the soy sauce is salty enough.

First of all, toast the peppercorns in a dry pan until aromatic. Cool and lightly crush in a pestle and mortar – don’t grind to a powder though. Set aside for later.

Chop the chicken into bite sized chunks and season with salt. Fry for 5 – 10 minutes in oil until browned all over then set aside.

Fry the red peppers and spring onion chunks for a few minutes, then add the garlic, ginger, dried chillis and peppercorns and carrying on cooking for 2-3 minutes.

Mix the cornflour, rice wine and soy sauce together in a jug and mix to a paste then gradually add 200ml of water and the sugar. Put this into the pan, add the chicken and cashew nuts and simmer on low for around 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Remove the dried chillis before serving and serve with rice.

41396070_10155578330467890_5204867825738448896_n.jpg

Leave a Comment

Posted on September 5, 2018 by gorgefood

I know I know.. another Aubergine dish! But I do love them!

Another one from Olive magazine with a few tweaks that I felt it needed. This is great served as a lunch or a side dish. The recipe in the magazine uses a few strands of saffron to colour the yoghurt but I personally didn’t like the taste with saffron in so I have left that part out.

Ingredients
Serves 2

2 large Aubergines cut into round slices
2 tbsp Tamari – or you can use Soy Sauce if you can’t get this.  Tamari
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Sesame oil
2 preserved lemons – 1 thinly sliced and 1 roughly chopped.
200ml thick yoghurt preferably Greek.
Handful of Corriander and mint leaves to serve
1 red chilli deseeded and sliced
2 tbsp toasted cashew nuts.

Heat the oven to 200 fan/180/Gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Mix the Tamari/Soy Sauce, Honey and Sesame oil in a bowl.

Lay the aubergine slices evenly on the tray and coat each one with some of the sauce mixture then bake for 20 minutes or until soft.

Put the chopped preserved lemon  with the yoghurt and a pinch of salt in a food processor and mix until smooth.

Toast the cashew nuts in a dry frying pan for a few minutes.

Arrange the cooked aubergine slices on a plate and scatter the corriander and mint leaves, red chilli slices, preserved lemon slices, cashews and drizzle with the dressing.

This dish is nice served hot or cold and may also be nice with some pomegranate seeds for a bit of colour and sweetness.  (I didn’t thave any in!)

 

40685319_10155567691182890_8522695878253740032_n

 

 

Groups
Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs
Foodies100

Hits
  • 52,012 hits

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com