Bacon, Halloumi and Baby Roast Potato Salad

Ah, at long last. My food mojo is back. The mojo where I dream up random combinations and they make it into reality. I kind of dreamt this one up very vaguely based on the idea of a delicious Halloumi and steak salad we had back at our South African themed Christmas meal (my other half is from SA) and several times since too. I've taken the basics from it and changed it up a little - and made a heavenly salad in the process! This got a big thumbs up from my man (even though it was salad haha! and its low in FODMAP's and gluten free without any compromise on flavour!

The potatoes make this an easily gluten free meal - though you could swap out for another carby item or leave out altogether. Lemon and maple syrup may seem a bit of an odd combo in a salad but the lemon cuts through the sweetness and the slight smoke of the bacon complements the sweetness of the maple so well together - I've used this in a few other salads and it works a treat. And I am fully signed up to the capers club now - only took 34 years!! Plus I am definitely liking Halloumi now, its a bit like aubergine - cook it well its heaven - cook it bad, ah well yeah that will be hell then!!

Serves 2

120g Halloumi, 1cm dice

3 tsp garlic infused oil

3 unsmoked bacon rashers, diced

1 large tomato, diced

1 tbsp. capers, rinsed and drained

1 tbsp. cornflour

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. maple syrup

50g baby spinach

8 new potatoes
Black pepper
4-5 Basil leaves to garnish

Start by pre-heating the oven to about 200o. Coat the potatoes in a little of the oil, place in a shallow baking dish and roast for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, coat the halloumi cubes in cornflour.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan, cook the bacon until crispy and lift out onto paper. In the same pan, add the capers and tomatoes, fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring often over a moderate heat until the tomatoes are starting to soften.

Push the tomatoes and capers to the side of the pan and add the prepared halloumi, fry without turning for 3 minutes or until golden and turn over and fry until golden all over. Stir in the lemon juice and maple syrup, coat everything well. Season with black pepper.

Place the spinach in a large serving bowl or plate. Halve the potatoes and place on top of the spinach, spoon over the bacon & halloumi. Scatter over the basil.

This is definitely a summer keeper! I love the salty little fried cubes of tasty cheese and they are weirdly addictive! Your salad may lack some depending how ahead you are with timing!!

Curried Corned Beef Hash - Low #FODMAP

As part of my dabbling with the #FODMAP diet, adapting my current repertoire of recipes is proving to be a thorough mixture of highs and lows, or as the famous Foreigner song goes 'In my life there's been heartache and pain, I don't know if I can face it again, Can't stop now, I've travelled so far, to change this lonely life'. Okay, so maybe lonely life is a little extreme - but faced with hunger, 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and near to tears trying to find something to eat you really do start to think that maybe the IBS wasn't really that bad.....shall I just get a nice warm and tasty pasty?!

Fortunately its not been all bad there has been highs in the form of actual whole days without stomach pain, which after 18 odd years is a revelation - and actually its super useful in identifying triggers. That comes with sadness though too. A cheeky fruit cider on Saturday afternoon left me questioning how much I really did enjoy its beautiful chilled fruitfulness!! I am almost at the end of the elimination phase despite the cider slippages- and I look forward to reintroduction with a mixture of joy at the thought of hot buttered avocado toast and also with some trepidation..!

So as promised a few weeks back - I promised to share some tasty recipes - admittedly there has not been as many show stoppers as I would have liked, however this is the first dish I had seconds of, which is a good sign! Adapting this from my main corned beef hash took a bit of thinking. Baked beans, Worcestershire sauce, onions and the garlic in its raw form were all off the menu; so how would I make it still taste good and be low in FODMAP's?! Admittedly its not lactose free - I added quite a bit of cheese but as my booklet assures me - most cheese, especially the hard ones are low, and therefore suitable... and discovering garlic oil was allowed has been a game changer!

Ingredients

Serves 3-4

1x 340g Corned Beef

1/2 stick celery, finely chopped

1 tsp garlic oil

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

4 large white potatoes, diced (skin on or off as you prefer)

1/2 tsp turmeric

3tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

2 salad tomatoes

1 heaped tsp tomato puree

50g red Leicester cheese, grated

1 tsp butter

s&p to taste

Start by boiling the potatoes with the turmeric, drain well, mash well and add the butter, 1/3 of the cheese and 1 tbsp of the coriander. Season to taste and add put to one side. Pre-heat oven to 190o.

Heat the a non-stick frying pan until medium-hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and toast until they start to pop or smoke very lightly, add the oil and celery and fry for 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and fry for a further 5 minutes or until starting to go mushy, turning down the heat a notch. Add the corned beef and break down with a spatula and fry until browned lightly. Make a well in the middle and stir in the tomato puree and a splash of water to loosen and fry for a further 2-3 minutes or until well mixed, stir in the remaining coriander and season with black pepper.

Transfer into an oven proof dish, top with the prepared mash and sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned nicely.

Serve with veg of your choice - we had roasted carrots with dwarf beans.

Pulled Pork with FODMAP Ginger Barbecue Sauce

Since my last posting, about starting a FODMAP diet in order to try and figure out some of my ongoing digestive 'issues', it sent me into a bit of well, frankly a meltdown! I think trying to start anything that has such a big impact on everything, combined with a super busy time at work, plus being rather hormonal at the time, it was just heading for a disaster!! I did mention I was on the edge of a meltdown previously and I have never cried in a super market but it came very, very close the following day!! One thing I've learned, is do not go shopping when hungry and whilst doing FODMAP!! Nothing will be suitable and you will only be sad and disappointed!! Not to mention quite close to pretty much offending anyone you love! (Sorry B!)

So, towards the end of last week, in an attempt to get back on plan, afterall on the days I did follow it I REALLY noticed a difference digestively, planning was key in it all and with Father's Day fast approaching and the thought of navigating a restaurant menu bought me out in a cold sweat, I knuckled down and after poring over the FODMAP books, again I decided to do pulled pork.Meat after all is easy, the sauce is where it gets interesting... pretty much any ready made sauce, condiment or flavouring is very much on the no list, and so I decided to make a FODMAP friendly barbecue sauce...

Starting was the hardest part - how to do it without any garlic-honey or onions! Previously I have relied on my trusty 'Winter Barbecue sauce' but couldn't make it due to the aforementioned 'banned' items, along with also not being able to have dates or apple, that sauce was doomed. Also another no go was the sauce I make for my pasta! What to do?!! It was time to start a clean slate, wave goodbye to my beloved garlic and embrace a new food challenge... and its time to say hello...to... Mr Celery! He will be your new friend!! It substitutes very well for when you would normally be browning your onions etc! The spice Hing was also recommended by my dietitian as a sort of replacement to the flavour that onion gives - I am not entirely sure on quantities but thought would start with half a teaspoon and go from there!!

Fortunately all the hard work paid off and its actually a pretty low maintenance dish whilst still being delicious! The sauce was really tasty, with a sweet smoky depth and also fresh tasting and no one missed the onion or garlic, including my brother commenting it wasn't bloating compared to a regular version. This sauce is now definitely my base sauce!! I adore ginger and would eat it in copious quantities, though the overall finish of the dish is not very gingery at all, if it was just for me I would of added some extra ground ginger!

For the pork - it takes a long time to cook, so plan appropriately. I woke at 6am Sunday morning to put mine in the oven, I recommend a later time but it depends on your guests schedule...

Serves lots - maybe 8? Depends on greed of guests!

Ingredients

Approx 2 kg joint Pork shoulder

1 x 440ml can ginger beer (check label, mine was from Tesco)

1 tin good quality plum tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 stick celery, finely chopped

25g dark soft brown sugar

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 bay leaves

1 heaped tsp English mustard powder

1/2 tsp hing (also known as Asafoetida)

1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

4 heaped tsp tomato puree concentrate (roughly 1/2 a small tin)

1/2 bunch fresh coriander, shredded

You will need a roasting bag OR lots of foil

Oven 150o (mine is still broken but medium!)

Place the pork joint in the roasting bag and tip in just under half the can of ginger beer (save the rest), seal and place in a baking tin. Or do equivalent making a tight foil bag around the pork. Place in the oven and roast for 6-7 hours or until cooked through and falling apart almost just by simply staring at it.

For the sauce -roughly 3 hours before the pork is going to be ready:

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan to medium/ hot heat, fry the celery for 4-5 minutes or until starting to brown, add the red wine vinegar and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in the bay, smoked paprika, hing, mustard,sugar and tomato puree and saute for about 3 minutes until well incorporated and its a lovely reddish brown colour, stir in the chopped tomatoes and most of the remaining ginger beer (I couldn't resist a sneaky sip!), cover and reduce the heat down low. Simmer for a good 2 1/2 hours, giving the odd stir.

When the sauce is done, stir through 2/3 of the chopped coriander, leaving the prettier leaves for garnish. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the pork from the oven, cut open the bag/ open the foil up and fold back the sides. Lift the pork onto a suitable chopping board (I have one with a drainage area purely for these dishes!) Drain off most of the liquid into a jug and use a little to enhance the barbecue sauce - maybe 1/2 a cup or so at the most.

Remove the rind from the pork - if you want crackling, scrape off most of the loose fat, and return to the oven on a thin baking tray until done to a desired crunch. (I am not a fan but my dad and brother are far more fond of crackling)

Using forks (and maybe a large knife to hack into chunks first), shred the pork into a deep sided baking dish.

Pour over the prepared sauce and return to the oven for about 25 minutes to warm through.

Garnish with remaining coriander leaves and feast! We had ours with a mountain of fodmap suitable roasted veggies and roasted new potatoes

NB:
Do not attempt FODMAP diet without consulting a registered dietitian.
OR when in crazy busy month.
I am also very new to this whole diet thing so tailor to your own individual needs and follow advice given by your dietitian!
*Celery is not to be eaten in large quantities on FODMAP but I used a small amount, spread across a large amount of sauce

Cheesy Gammon and Potato Bake

I've got history. With graters that is...

This picture happened recently. Its like a crime scene, you can still see traces of the cheese I was attempting to grate. Oh the horror! Me and my Jamie grater had 6 magical years together. I already owned two rather shiny microplanes (and still do but their handles annoy me) but my beloved coarse grater survived 4 house moves and grated a hell of a lot of cheese. And carrots.Probably more. Then one fateful night OH THE HORROR IT SNAPPED!! I almost cried. What shall I do? Do I replace? I was scared in case the horror happened again....

So I went shopping... I tried to look for the JO one *just in case I changed my mind* but couldn't find on the high street...it was late..I was tired...weary...still saddened ...and in a moment of madness I purchased the below lime flecked one for a whole pound. I like a bargain but its not the one for me. The bottom cover thingy seems entirely useless other than to fall off and its unsurprisingly not sharp enough. It doesn't have a good prognosis.

But then a rainbow appeared on the horizon of my tears... and it was a welcome hello to my OXO Good Grips 'Complete Grate and Slice set' and we have fully bonded. Those who follow me on Instagram will testify to that! The set consists of four removable grating and slicing slides - and I used it almost daily ever since receiving it! It has pride of place at the front of the cupboard rather than being abandoned towards the back in the mandolin graveyard.....

As I've had 'issues' with my PC and the odd health one to throw a spanner in the works, I have not been very good writing down any recipes but this one is fairly close. My oven temperature is still wrong and I still share a kitchen so blogging is tricky! I have posted pictures of a similar dish a few years back here  with inspiration from Hampshire Cook but this is the updated one with an actual recipe! 

Sorry if the pictures fuzzy - my PC is still trying to break all my images!

The fine slicing blade in the Good Grips set is awesome - as well as graters, this is my 3rd mandolin set too and its perfectly thin and sharp, oh and easy to use! Which is the main thing! I have slightly wonky joints and ease of use is high up on my agenda!! I used both the fine mandolin and coarse grater for this recipe and it took moments to prepare for a big bowl of comfort food! The gripper tool is strong and hold the veggies well when slicing, to protect your fingers!

Serves 4 (ish) Easy

Ingredients:

480g thinly sliced white potato

150g cooked gammon, shredded

80g lancashire cheese, grated

500g milk

25g butter

25g plain floir

1 tsp English mustard powder

1 tsp vegetable stock powder

S&P to taste

Pre-heat oven to approx 190o

Cover the potatoes in cold water, add the stock powder and bring to the boil for 5 minutes, then drain well

In the saucepan melt the butter, add the flour and mustard powder, stir in the milk gently until thickened and simmer for 5 minutes

Add half the cheese to the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste

Layer up the potatoes with the gammon and a sprinkle of cheese in between. Cover with the sauce and sprinkle over the last of the cheese

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden and all lovingly brown on top.

Many thanks to both OXO Good Grips and to Holly at the Lenny Agency for her patience!

Disclaimer: I received the Complete Grate and Slice set for review only and all opinions and pictures remain the property of Anne's Kitchen

Corned Beef Hash with Extra Veg, and a Happy New Year!

I had originally nearly finished writing this post, then I stupidly tried to change photo format and lost the whole blog post!! Now I didn't make any resolutions but instead to make more of an affirmation that 2016 I will be more thankful, though I may have just broken that slightly with a slightly sweary outburst! *Close my eyes, count to 10 and be thankful I have a computer to type on!* Though I will be computer less again soon, I've had nothing but trouble with it since buying it last January so its back to pc hell again once I get around to attempting to do a back up!

So did you make any resolutions? Broken them already like me? ! The last 5 years have been an emotional roller coaster, often feeling like its straight out of hell ...... but .... I have worked very hard mentally trying to have a more positive outlook, change what I can and accept what I can't change. Sometimes its a little easier said than done and there has been tears, often out of frustration but I am starting 2016 with a clean slate. I did a fair amount of mental de-cluttering last year, including removing people in my life who didn't belong in it - its been hard, and emotionally painful but it was definitely for the best. I am very lucky, and grateful that I do have amazing friends and family to help me through both the good and the bad times too. My top tip for 2016 is to reach out to loved ones if you need help, don't struggle on your own just because someone else made you feel so worthless. There are some proper goodun's out there!!

During 2015 I have not cooked as much, sharing a kitchen is not ideal for when you want to experiment or cook up a feast but can't get in the kitchen .... but its what we have until we either win the lottery or live on porridge for a year but I am positive it will happen soon! Also the IBS/ reflux has been a general nightmare, so much meal planning has gone to waste as I couldn't manage it but I am now seeing a fab new doctor so hopefully once we get to the bottom of it, some of my love for cooking - and eating will reappear! Maybe I might even start to blog again more regularly as I feel I have very much neglected the blog of late!!

Anyway, enough of my post hangover gushiness and in with what you came here for - the food! Corned beef hash is one of those comfort food dishes that's a relatively new staple in our diets! Weirdly I never ate this at home growing up and only ever once eaten it out as a child, so the idea to make it came out of nowhere a few months back and I've been slowly tweaking it to my liking. I've kept loyal to the potato and corned beef bit but shaken up the rest and this current edition is rather delicious if I do say so myself!

Its never going to win a beauty pageant but it tastes pretty darn good and that's all that matters! Its economical to make, packed with sneaky veggies and re-heat's really well too. This one used regular baked beans but we have also experimented with the mixed beans in tomato sauce which worked equally well.

Serves 4

Easy

Ingredients

320g peeled, diced swede

770g white potatoes, diced (peeling optional)

1 tin corned beef, roughly chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 tin baked beans, low salt if possible

1 tbsp smoked paprika

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 small red pepper, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

50g grated cheddar

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp tomato puree

S&P

Boil the swede and potato together for 20 minutes or until soft and fluffy, drain well. Add the butter and mash well.season to taste with salt and pepper

Preheat oven to roughly 180o (our temperature gauge is still broken, basically a medium hot oven)

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saute pan, fry the onion until golden, add the red pepper for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and corned beef and saute for about 6 minutes or until the corned beef has become a little mushy and the veggies are soft and cooked through. Add the worcs sauce and tomato puree, along with 6 tbsp water to loosen, cook for a further 3 minutes and remove from the heat.

Fill a oven proof dish (mine is roughly a4 sized) with the meaty mixture. Mix together the smoked paprika and baked beans and pour over to make a thin layer. Top with a further layer of the prepared mash and sprinkle over the cheese. Make a pretty pattern with forks if desired.

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until its golden on top and bubbling. Serve with greenery of choice, buttered spring greens work very well here.

Pan Fried Basa with a creamy Courgette and Chorizo Sauce

Over the years after many trials and tribulations I have become far more confident with cooking fish successfully, and this time I won the jackpot! I loved everything about this dish, it was dreamt up and fortunately it was a very good dream! The creamy sauce, with smoky chorizo and fresh chunks of sweet courgette works so well with the Basa, a relatively plain, affordable white fish that's ideal for this dish. It was a dish I would be happy to order and eat in a good restaurant!

I tried to keep the dish relatively simple, we had no cream in and as we car share during the week, and B was not home from work yet, so a little improvisation was on the cards! I wondered to myself if I could substitute with a little milk and it worked a treat! By the time it had cooked, and a little flour to thicken it was a really good consistency, smooth and cream like without being heavy or claggy (not often manage to use that word!! I used both dill and thyme in the dish in different stages, partly down to indecision! I wanted the earthy thyme with the rich chorizo but had some lovely fresh dill leftover from a fish pie I made on saturday - in the end I cooked the thmye at the start with the chorizo and then the dill went in to finish the dish. If you can't get any fresh dill I would suggest just use extra thyme leaves instead.

Another bonus is that its also cooked all in one pan so less to wash up! Alongside the fish I made sweet potato mash - always a winner!! Even more so when it involves my beloved Masha toy! If you hate mashing (or have evil elbow joints!) then its a god-send and takes no effort and is surprisingly therapeutic! I've had mine a few years now and wouldn't be without it! 

Serves 2

Easy

Under 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Basa fillets (approx. 260g), halved across the middle

70g chorizo, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large beef tomato, chopped

1 courgette, halved and sliced

2 tbsp plain flour

Sea salt and black pepper

50g butter

1 heaped tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 heaped tbsp. fresh dill leaves, chopped

200ml milk

Sweet Potato Mash:

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 white potato

Salt and pepper

1) Place the flour on a shallow plate and season with salt and pepper, pat the fish dry on kitchen towel and then coat well in the flour mix (don’t discard the flour mix!)

2) Meanwhile boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain well. 

3) Heat a tsp of the butter in a large saute pan, fry the chorizo and courgettes gently for 3 minutes until starting to colour nicely, add the tomato and fry for a further 2 minutes, add the thyme leaves and stir through, remove everything using a slotted spoon and keep warm.

4) Add the butter to the pan, melt down over a moderate heat, add the fish pieces in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes, turn over and fry for a further 2 minutes until crispening, spooning over the buttery juices, push to one side of the pan and add the prepared chorizo veggie mix, pour in the milk and simmer for a minute, make a well and sparingly scatter 1 tbsp of the flour mix and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring the sauce constantly until thickened. Add the dill and stir through.

5) Drain the potatoes, and mash, season to taste.

6) Serve up the mash on one side of your plate, with the veggie bits on the other side and gently place the fish on top. Scatter over a little sprinkle of dill leaves to garnish.

My dish was quite frugal and so I am sending my dish into this months Credit Crunch Munch - my Basa was bought half price reduced and my thyme leaves can from my 13p reduced plant! The tomatoes and dill were also bought over by dad so were free to me! This month it was run by Food Glorious Food. It was set up by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours to promote frugal recipes and cooking.

Also I snuck in a lonely, slightly soft tomato and cooked the courgettes all together in the sauce to boost veggie content with minimal washing up! I have entered it in Jen's Food Extra Veg Challenge, created by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy Food for Families:

Last but not least my first entry to Cook Blog Share! This week its held by Sneaky Veg ( I love the name!)

Baked Coley with Parma Ham

For the more avid reader....this dish actually was made last year but was somehow relegated and I stumbled across it lurking in the bottom of my word document for unfinished blog posts! Now its starting to get more summery, I am thinking more summery food and I remembered how easy, and delicious this dish was! Perfect for an easy summer nights meal! I think the night it was made, we had been for a long, leisurely walk around the grounds of nearby parkland and moaning about the inevitable midges and bugs of balmy evenings!

Blogging has been tough this past month, I have been purposely neglecting my internet presence, and trying to reconnect with real life in a hope to understand why I go through such bad bouts of low mood etc...making sure I am not just using the blog etc as escapism... that combined with deciding to come off virtually all my prescription meds and recovering from my mangled index finger has almost driven me to the edge of giving up the blog. The dressing is finally off, though I have numbness and a fear every time I pick up my chef's knife! Giving up though is not an easy decision, after over 8 years of doing it! I love blogging, connecting with others but sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with it all, all the talk of PA, DA, SEO etc just phases me to the point of erm, should I retire?! Anyway, do please bear with my wobbly moments!

This dish is so easy it takes moments to throw together, and looks like you have made a bit of an effort! We originally had this with creamed spinach and jacket potato mash - can't go wrong really with its accompaniments but something green always complements fish very well!

Serves 2

Easy

2 Coley fillets

4 slices parma ham

6 halved cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp grated parmesan

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Line a baking tray with foil and grease lightly. Pre-heat oven to 200o

Wrap the parma ham around the coley fillets, tucking the seam underneath. Place in the baking tray,  season with salt and pepper, then scatter over the tomatoes and the parmesan. Drizzle with a little oil and bake for roughly 18-20 minutes, or until the fish has cooked through.

The flavours work so well together, Coley is a fairly light, inoffensive tastying fish and the Parma ham gives it a lovely, slightly salty tasting boost!

Cheesy Sausage and Spaghetti Hoop Bake

Many apologies for the tumbleweed gathering on my blog of late! Its been a funny few months, with family being poorly I have been prioritising my time, also I've been spending time focusing also on me, following my pain management program I've found myself questioning a lot of what I do, how and why.... Plus I decided I'd had enough of the side effects for one of the meds for my Fibromyalgia and I have been weaning down slowly, which apart the current insomnia phase its been overall worthwhile!

Also managing to slice through my left index finger 3 weeks ago really has not helped with blogging in general! Typing's a nightmare, yet alone cooking and pretty much all my meal planning went out of the window and whilst there has been some pretty decent meals...they have been few and far between! On the plus side we have been busy perfecting making calamari!

Pasta bakes are one of my go to dishes - it feeds us for days and I had made this dish at the beginning of March we had family over, and it also gave us lovely leftovers too! Pasta hoops or as they are better known - spaghetti hoops - are one of my favourite pasta shapes and writing this now reminds me I must pick some up some more next time I am in town! This is by all means not my first dish with hoops - you can see here my other Spicy Toasted Cauliflower Spaghetti Hoops.

Its a bit of a naughty ingredient but I used Garlic Sausage in this, which I get in the Polish aisle - its garlicky but without being over powering and it keeps for ages before being opened, so I often keep a pack or two stashed away in the fridge for impromptu dinners! I also used some ready diced onion, its super lazy but when tight for time its a handy cheat! You might also spot there is no thickening agent - however 'loose' it might look let the oven do its magic- the al dente pasta will soon devour any excess!

Sizing wise - I used my large rectangular traybake tin for this- which worked perfectly and roughly feeds 6 to 8 people, depending on your appetites of course!

Ingredients:

300g pasta hoops, boiled as per packet instructions, until al dente
2 sticks of finely chopped celery
200g garlic sausage, chopped into 1/2 cm chunks
1 red pepper, diced
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
400ml light vegetable stock
200ml milk
1 heaped tbsp rosemary, leaves finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
100g grated extra mature cheddae
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp olive oil


Method:

1) Heat the oil in a large saute pan, fry the onion gently then add the celery and pepper, fry for about 5 minutes or until softened, then add the sausage until lightly browned, stirring regularly.

2) Add the tomato puree and rosemary to the pan, fry for a minute then add a couple of spoonfuls of the pasta water to loosen, then pour in the milk and stock, bring to the boil.

Pre-heat oven to 200o.

3) Drain the pasta and add to the pan, season to taste, then transfer into a dish large enough to hold it all!

4) Top with the grated cheese and scatter over the cherry tomatoes. Put in the oven, near the top and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden, bubbling and crispy.

When cooked and all lovely looking, serve with buttered green vegetables:

Enjoy! Its a real crowd pleasing family meal and proper comfort food!

As my pasta bake had three vegetables in it, along with on the side I am sending my dish over to this months Extra Veg Challenge - being hosted by Jo's Kitchen, which was originally set up by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy Food for Families

Courgette and Mozzarella Piadina

This recipe is one that's been loitering for the past few months - I think I made it even last year but had for some unknown reason not blogged it! The original recipe was taken from a Waitrose freebie magazine, no idea which one though as it was torn out a few months back! I've since made it a couple of times, changing the fillings each time and the base piadina is so easy to make its a handy standby!

Piadina meant absolutely nothing to me prior to making this but fortunately the picture helped to show us a nice, neat bread kind of thing stuffed with nice things. Frying bread is not something I regularly dabble in but I have made the odd doughy thing over the years that way.. and as our oven, is well temperately challenged and this recipe appealed as it didn’t involve it at all!

The piadina were fairly quick and easy to make and assemble, though having a second pair of hands also helps! Also reading the recipe from start to finish… Probably the best way of describing it is that its a cross between a pizza and pitta bread ! I didn't quite fully understand some of the instructions in the original recipe and I have changed it to how it worked for us. 

Serves two:

Ingredients:

2 courgettes
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 small garlic, crushed
½ red chilli finely chopped
1 lemon, finely grated zest only
250g self raising flour
125g mozzarella, drained. Torn into small chunks
20 basil leaves

Salt
Spray oil

Cut the courgette length ways into thin slices. Heat a frying pan and gently saute the courgettes until softened and golden. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar, garlic, chilli and lemon zest, season to taste.

Meanwhile place the flour in a large bowl, a pinch of salt and stir in 6-7 tbsp of cold water. Use a fork to mix it in and bring it together, then knead lightly until you have a soft dough.

Divide into two balls, lightly flour the worktop and roll out to form an 18 cm circle. Repeat with the other ball.

Heat a large heavy based frying pan, spray with oil and place on of dough circles. Gently fry on both sides, greasing as needed for 2-3 minutes or until lightly risen. Remove from the pan and repeat with the other circle. If the pan gets too hot just remove for little bursts to stop it burning.

With the removed circle, carefully use a sharp bread knife to make a large pocket, fill with half the courgette mixture, chunks of mozzarella and basil leaves. Repeat with the other one. Return to the pan, place a heavy saucepan on top to weigh it down and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until cooked and lightly golden. Repeat with remaining piadina.

Slice into quarters and serve with a nice dressed salad and sauteed tomatoes.

Cheesy Chorizo Gnocchi Bake

Have you ever dreamed about what it would be like to immerse yourself within a gooey spicy vat of melty cheese? No, nor me either but after making this bake it honestly doesn't seem like a bad option in the middle of winter and all its snowy grey and drizzle ridden dreariness! I know I will melt come summer and its humid fly filled evenings but I hate being cold, my body hates being cold so it really cannot come around soon enough! Cold is bad unless it involves ice cream and lots of it!

 

As much as my stretchy work trousers are suddenly feeling much more snug than I would like, winter is simply not made for salad and when the evenings are lighter, evening walks will re-commence and hopefully those trousers will become slightly less snug! Sometimes you just need a comforting, warming dish that gives you a well needed hug, and my Cheesy Chorizo Gnocchi Bake gives you a lovely sleep inducing cuddling up on the sofa with your loved one kinda hug.

 

When planning our meals they are a mixture of tried and trusted, random things I snag online or in my overflowing collection of torn out recipes and the rest I imagine ingredients I would like to eat but this dish came to me in a dream. I have only ever baked gnocchi once in a rather nice prawn dish but some reason its not an ingredient I really think of and when I was recently carrying out the reverse dad taxi role, and taking my dad shopping following some surgery I spotted a packet of Gnocchi. Then the image in my dream formed and this dish was born a few nights later! I did once attempt to make my own but its better to just buy them unless you are gnocchi master perhaps.

 

Serves 3-4 with a side

 

Ingredients:

 

125g mozzarella, torn into chunks

500g prepared gnocchi, boiled and drained.

120g spicy chorizo, sliced into thin half moons

400g tin cherry tomatoes

2 heaped tbsp grated cheddar

1 onion, finely chopped

75ml milk

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

 

 

Method:

 

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil and gently fry the onion for 3 minutes, or until starting to become translucent, add the garlic and chorizo and fry for a further 3 minutes, or until the chorizo has released its fragrant oils and has lightly browned. Stir through the tomatoes, rosemary and add the milk, gently simmer, covered for ten minutes.

 

Pre-heat oven to 200o

 

Stir the prepared gnocchi into the sauce, being careful not to break the tomatoes, and transfer into a small baking dish - I used my pie dish which is multi versatile! 

 

 

Sprinkle over the grated cheddar, transfer to the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until all lovely, golden and bubbling.

 

 

Serve hot with buttered greens:

 

As delicious as the bake was I would suggest its eaten all in one sitting - we kept some back for lunches...but the gnocchi kinda soak up the sauce and its edible but not quite as good the next day...

Polish Ham and Cheese baked Pancakes with Hardy's

First things first - before cooking this delightful dish make sure you have allocated enough time – it doesn’t take that long to actually cook but rushing around to make twelve pancakes, one by one is awfully time consuming whilst also crumbling up cheese, slicing ham, along with preparing a tray of potatoes and squash, and it results in a lovely, rather messy cheese splattered kitchen!

 

You see normally I am quite organised in the kitchen but I had got home late from work, and really fancied a cup of tea. So that’s what I did. So in turn I ran late, though in the end it all worked out fairly fine except for some slightly soggy broccoli. No one complained anyway that it was a bit late and we all had seconds, so I am not sure really why I get into such a tizz! I do like being punctual even if I am working to my own little schedule in my head! Though I may at one point declared if I were to offer pancakes again presume I have gone crazy!

I think I may have mentioned before that my roots are a little bit Polish but I have never really explored Polish cuisine other than picking up the odd packet of ready made Pierogi (and the fun time I accidentally bought sweet cheese ones and served with a garlic butter sauce!) and this recipe by no means is particularly Polish in origin, though it does use a rather tasty ham called Szynka Swojska, which was wrapped in some kind of netting and proved fun to remove, plus a cheese that was labelled as being a soft cheese, but on opening it was actually rather crumbly upon touch and more resembled a cottage type cheese but without the watery gloop part! I will have to look next time in the Polish shop more closely to find its other name! Fortunately it also melted into the ham fairly well! I think next time I would add more cheese - as the last few pancakes were on the skinny side!

 

Recently I was sent a bottle of Hardy's 'Stamp of Australia' Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir - its a new variety on me and I am a fan! When it comes to sparkling wines I do like Champagne but I can't afford it and normally we tend to buy Prosecco for special occasions, though this sparkling Chardonnay is definitely a serious competitor! I am no wine buff but I really liked the lightness of this one, its small bubbles bursting with a light citrus note on the tongue with an almost creamy, smooth roundness to it makes it most drinkable for all tastes! My boyfriend is not normally a fan of chardonnay as it tends to be drier (perfect for me!) but even he enjoyed this without adding a splash of raspberry syrup! It complements the smoked ham and slightly sour cheese flavours very well but even on its own its a very pleasant glass of bubbly. A keeper!

 

Serves 4-6

Pancakes:

180g plain flour
5 eggs
400ml milk
Pinch salt

Sauce:

250ml milk
250ml water
1 heaped tsp vegetable bouillon powder
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
6 tbsp grated extra mature cheddar
2 tbsp cornflour
6 cherry tomatoes, halved

Filling:

500g diced Szynka Swojska (cooked ham) cut into small strips
275g Polish soft cheese  - crumbled

For frying - butter or spray oil

A large sheet of greaseproof paper -

Start by making the pancakes. Sift together the flour, salt and beat in the eggs. Add the milk bit by bit to form a smooth batter. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy based frying pan and add a little butter or spray oil, add a ladleful of batter and swirl around quickly to form a thin pancake. Cook for about two minutes then flip, and cook for a further minute or until cooked through. Place on the prepared baking paper, and repeat with remaining batter to form roughly 12 pancakes.  Alternate the cooked pancakes with the greasing paper to stop them sticking to each other.

When your pancakes are all prepared, pre-heat oven to 200o. Lightly grease two large baking dishes.

Place a pancake on a board or clean counter. Spoon over ham and a litte cheese, roll up and place seal side down in the dish. Repeat with remaining until all filled.

Meanwhile boil together the milk, water and bouillon. Slacken the cornflour with a little water and when the milk mixture is boiling, stir in the prepared cornflour paste, whisking all the time until thickened. Add the rosemary and 2 tbsp of the cheese. Pour over the prepared pancakes and sprinkle over the remaining cheese and tomato halves.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Sorry there are no pictures of it plated it - it was gobbled up fast by my family and lovely neighbour who popped around for her share as she had never had them baked before! For the record I served mine with broccoli, and a tray of roasted new potatoes with cubes of butternut squash.


Many thanks to Hardy's for the wine samples. All opinions, text and photography remain the property of Anne's Kitchen and prior permission must be sought before use elsewhere. 

Tuna Meatball and Courgette Risotto

A few years back I recall making some tuna meatballs but I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed and I never revisited them... they were kind of stodgy and er dense from memory… until one particular night recently... I had planned a risotto of some sort for dinner and I thought about using up the bacon lurking in the fridge but as we were planning sausages on the Thursday and my head started muttering too many nitrates in the week, I decided to cook something fishy instead but we only had tinned tuna, tinned mackerel or tinned salmon and nothing in the fridge or freezer.. and I wondered if could we dare brave tuna meatballs again? Plus the thought of tuna stirred through risotto didn’t exactly sound inviting at all yet alone the mental imagery and I thought about making tuna meatballs again but smaller this time and a completely different recipe – so I tweaked a few things and voila! Success! Apart from Mr B initially thinking the meatballs were actually made of chicken it was a resounding success!

Since making this courgette version, I also made another one with finely sliced leek, added at the same stage as the courgette in the original version and a cupful of petit pois near the end, along with roasting cherry tomatoes instead of peeling etc as basically they are less faffy to do, oh and I used some lovely fresh rosemary instead of Basil – both risottos were resounding successes and I am making mental note of both to remake! Don’t be shy with the parmesan – I have in the back of my mind somewhere that cheese and fish are not very Italian but I am part Polish and the rest a mixed English bag and well I don’t really care! It tastes great and surely that’s all that matters?!

 

The meatballs are easy to make - I have tried both with and without flour to roll in and providing you work quickly, the less flour the better! Its a fairly cheap dish to make as well - tinned tuna is so handy to keep on standby this makes a great week night or weekend meal to cook!

Serves Two – Easily doubled.

Meatballs:

1 x tin tuna in spring water
1 tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese
1 medium egg
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
1 tbsp finely chopped basil leaves
1tbsp olive oil

Risotto:

175g carnaroli rice
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 courgette, trimmed, cut into thin quarters
1 tbsp olive oil
Knob of butter
50ml dry white wine (or vermouth)
1 large tomato (or 6 cherry tomatoes)
1 heaped tsp vegetable stock powder, made up in 700ml boiling water
½ lemon, zest only
2 heaped tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese + more to serve
3 basil leaves, for garnish

Pre-heat the oven 10 low – about 80o

Start by preparing the meatballs. Mix lightly the tuna, basil. Egg, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Use a teaspoon and hands to create mini meatballs. Heat the olive oil, fry the meatballs for about a minute or so on each side until lightly crispy, place in a baking tray, cover loosely with foil and keep warm in the oven.

Place the pan back on the heat and melt the butter, gently sauté the onion until translucent, being cautious not to brown it then add the courgettes and fry for 5 minutes to lightly colour.

 

Add the white wine, allow to burn off then stir through the garlic and rice, fry for a minute then add a good splash of stock to loosen, reduce the heat slightly and when the stock has evaporated and starting to sizzle slightly, add a splash more and repeat until the rice has fluffed up - about 30 minutes give or take. You may choose to spend this time getting to know your wine better.

 

When its almost cooked through add the prepared tomato, and lemon zest. The texture should be slightly loose but not sloppy! Turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper and stir through the parmesan.

Serve in bowls with a good sprinkle of parmesan and a basil leaf

 

Risotto really is perfect comfort food – who can resist a big steaming bowl of hot creamy, fragrant rice on a chilly winters night? The flavours all worked so well together and it will definitely be made again soon!

 

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If my risotto has whetted your appetite why not check up this little round-up of deliciousness:

 

An intriguing sounding and gloriously golden Prawn Savoury from FabFood4All

 

This simple but delicious looking Tomato and Basil Risotto from Happiness is Homemade

 

If you have not tried using pearl barley instead of risotto rice it makes for a delicious risotto still - this Chorizo and pea one from What to Have For Dinner Tonight (I make a similar one myself and I agree the flavours work so well together!)

 

I adore the name of this newly discovered blog Knead Whine and her risotto of Butternut Squash and Sage looks scrumptious!

 

Seeing this lush looking Baked Wild Mushroom Risotto from Family-Friends-Food makes me pine for my old cast iron casserole.. which I regrettably sold to make space a few years back...one day we will meet again!

 

There is also another lovely oozing Mushroom one - this tasty risotto from Munchies and Munchkins also contains black garlic - something I recall seeing at a food show with a morbid fascination!

 

 

 

Sweet Potato and Mozzarella Bake

Finally my horrid germs, apart from last nights coughing- help-cough- I can't breathe - and stumbling in the dark and praying it was Covonia I was downing and not Liquid Senna (I know T.M.I!!) are packing their dirty bags, I am feeling marginally more human like and I am starting to finally work through writing up a few recipes jotted down before Christmas, which now seems like forever ago and I feel suddenly lazy! Where has the time gone?!

Anyway, a few months back I became part of the Happy Egg Co Taste 100 Blogger Network and I got to play with a few packets of lovely free range eggs and hopefully over the next few months I can bring you some egg-citing things on the blog! We go through a lot of eggs in our house as they are so versatile from baking sweet things to more savoury treats including glazing simple sausage rolls or even a simple omelette for dinner so a few eggstra packs of eggs was most welcome!

We only eat free range eggs at home and fortunately more and more people do use them and not ghastly battery farmed ones but its harder to tell when eating out, especially for breakfast. However I do try where possible to choose higher welfare and with free range eggs being easily affordable they play a big role in our diet and a lot of my meal plan! 

We also buy sweet potatoes on a regular basis and I love them fried, boiled, baked and especially turned into falafel but sometimes I buy them too often and I start to run out of ideas of what to do different to them... As a result half a bag was loitering in the salad draw and none of my regular options appealed on the particular chilly evening, whilst I rummaged through the fridge my eyes spotted the bright yellow egg boxes (hard to miss!) and I wondered what could I do with both...

 

From memory we were having a sort of Spanish night and I was frying off some heavenly Padron peppers and throwing together a large pan of my chorizo pepper rice dish and I really fancied something warming and bake like and I decided to make a bake with the eggs and sweet potato, added in some gooey mozzarella and ta dah a star was born!

 

Serves 3-4 

Easy

 

Ingredients:

360g sweet potato
125g mozzarella, roughly torn up
4 large free range eggs
½ tbsp. dried oregano

Salt and pepper, to taste
½ red onion, finely sliced

1 tsp smoked paprika
Butter or oil spray for greasing dish

Method:

Slice the sweet potato into ½ cm discs, place in a steamer bag or similar device and steam in the microwave for 6 minutes or until a knife goes through easily or in a regular steamer for about 18 minutes.

 

 

Heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan and brown the onion slices until golden. 

 

Beat the eggs with the oregano, salt and pepper. Place the cooked sweet potato slices in a baking dish - something like a pie dish will suit, alternating with the mozzarella, scatter over the red onion slices and pour over the prepared batter.  Sprinkle over the smoked paprika.

Bake for 40 minutes in a hot oven or until golden and bubbling

 

The finished bake was delicious and warming, whilst feeling nourishing with the gorgeous orange hue of the sweet potatoes and purple onion slivers adorning the top which adds a little welcome colour to a blustery wintery night!

 

 

I have sent my Sweet Potato and Mozzarella Bake over to this months Vegetable Palette challenge at Allotment 2 Kitchen: