What’s Cooking – Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

I believe I am not the only person in the world who exhibits a particular behaviour when entering a restaurant for a repeat experience. The vast majority of people evidently do exactly the same. On an earlier visit you have a dish from the menu and it turns out to be a smash hit in flavour town and you gastronomically fall in love. Henceforth for time eternal every time you visit that restaurant you end up ordering that dish again in the hope of capturing that moment of true love, sure you may look through the menu, even hum and ha but in the end you will opt for that hope, again.

One such dish for me is served at our local Chinese restaurant, it is their sweetcorn and chicken soup, it is divine, thick, creamy and full of flavour, simply put it is heavenly and thus an inevitable starter no matter whatever else I intend to order. So as I am one of those “foodies” that truly believes that whatever I taste I can make it better myself at home as anything cooked at home has those missing essential ingredients that are rarely if ever found at a restaurant, being passion and love.

So you can imagine how I was fired up the other night when flicking through my cookbooks the other night looking for inspiration when I came across a recipe for my favourite soup, to the kitchen!

Ingredients needed:

• 1 Chicken (with giblets if possible)
• 1 Tin of creamed sweetcorn
• 3 Fresh corn on the cobs
• Couple of onions, carrots and celery stalks
• 1 tsp of whole peppercorns
• Handful of chopped fresh parsley stalks (save leaves for latter)
• Couple of bay leaves
• Olive oil
• Chicken stock or water

Method:

Turn your oven on to 200C

Peel and wash your fresh corn on the cobs and then pat dry with some kitchen roll. Place on a baking tray and drizzle the olive oil over them. Give them a good rub all over to make sure the oil covers them full. Sprinkle some salt over them and pop into the oven for 20 minutes or until looking golden. Remove and allow cooling.

Whilst you corn is cooking wash and quarter you chicken and pop into a large pot. Roughly chop your carrots, onion and celery and throw them in the pot. Next our spices, so add the peppercorns, parsley and bay leaves. Finally add enough chicken stock or water to just submerge the contents of your pot and a good pinch of a nice salt crystal.

Bring to the boil and then gently simmer for an hour. Turn of the heat and leave to cool for half an hour. With some tongs gently extract the chicken form the pot and place into a bowl to drain a bit, the rest of the contents we need to sieve to remove the veggies and herbs we no longer require.

Remove the skin from the chicken and discard (unless you own a hound) and then remove all the meat and shred it into small strips and place back into the draining bowl.

With a sharp knife cut the corns from the cobs and place into a bowl.

Place the stock that is now free from any bits back into you large pot and bring back to the boil. Add one tin of creamed sweetcorn. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the bowl of chicken and any juices collected and carry on cooking for a couple more minutes. Finally add the bowl of roasted corn you have made earlier and season to taste.

Simmer for a couple of minutes and then serve and enjoy the subtle blend of flavours carried over your taste buds by a wonderfully rich chicken stock, bliss.

Now western food tastes would dictate that we should have something to go with this soup, now being a Chinese dish it is usually served on its own or as part of a larger meal. Myself I must admit to liking a nice fresh multigrain roll with lashings of butter as a partner or if you wanted to build on the corn theme of the dish some warm butter chunks of American corn bread works amazingly well! It’s like a ‘Merican and Far East Fusion thing, and it’s a marriage.

Have you ever found a bizarre fusion of different cultural foods?

BFree Bagels with Smoked Salmon #NationalBreakfastWeek

“I know family comes first, but shouldn’t that mean after breakfast?”
― Jeff Lindsay, Dearly Devoted Dexter

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yet so many of us are neglecting it… me included. I try to have breakfast but most days a cup of coffee keeps me going until lunch or even dinner time. I know this is not a good idea but… I try my best to remember about breakfast, especially this week…

In celebration of #NationalBreakfastWeek I decided to “play” with the BFree range.

BFree was developed to bring tasty, ‘good for you’ breads to the market.

Often, people avoid bread or feel poorly after having a sandwich and this may be due to sensitivities to wheat or gluten. There is No Guilt associated with eating BFree as the nutritional composition of our products is Extraordinary!

When wheat is removed from bread products, it is as if the ‘scaffolding’ that holds the structure together is pulled apart. BFree has developed a recipe and composition that replaces the gluten and wheat and with natural ingredients…

BFree range includes: soft white loaf, brown seeded loaf, brown seeded rolls, white rolls, plain bagels, multi-seed bagels, multigrain wraps and fajita kit. You can find some BFree products in Asda and their full range can be purchased from Ocado.

But… back to my breakfast…

Bagels with smoked salmon have a very sentimental value for me. When I first came to the UK, I used to live close to Gants Hill in London. There was this small bakery on my way to the tube station and every morning I would buy myself breakfast from them – a cup of coffee and a bagel with salmon. After a few months I moved and it was bye, bye to my favourite breakfast… so now from time to time I prepare it at home… it is never the same but… close enough.

So what will you need to create Bagels with Smoked Salmon (besides the obvious?)

• BFree bagels (I used plain ones)
• Good quality smoked salmon
• Salted butter
• Fresh ground pepper
• Fresh lemon

Now all you need is to put all together.

Cut the bagels in half. If you like, toast them but I like my ones as they come from the pack.

“Apply” a generous amount of butter, don’t miss the corners!

What?!?! 😉 What corners?!?! Lol

Carefully add the smoked salmon.

Grind some fresh pepper all over your creation.

Finish with a squeeze from half a fresh lemon; just a little; just to give that extra bite.

Make a cuppa of your favourite beverage, find a place in the warm with a view of something green, and enjoy a me moment.

What’s your favourite breakfast?

Did you make something special in celebration of #NationalBreakfastWeek?

Flavour profiles – what goes well with what?

After my successful Chocolate and Orange Drizzle Cake experiment I have developed a taste for more… as in more experimentation with different flavours.

Right now I have 6 ripe kiwi fruits which I would love to turn into a cake.

I was just browsing the net in search of something to complement the kiwi flavour when I stumbled upon Nouveau Raw website and their fantastic Flavour profiles that pair well in recipes article.

Experiments in the kitchen are fun but it is nice to have something to check if your picked flavours will pair well.

Nouveau Raw created this awesome chart which I will shamelessly re-blog here for you.

• Allspice pairs well with: apples, beets, cabbage, caramel, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, juniper, mace, mustard, nuts, nutmeg, onions, pears,  pumpkin, root vegetables, yams.
• Almond pairs well with: apple, apricot, banana, caramel, cherry, coffee, fig, honey, orange, peach, pear, plum
• Anice pairs well with:  apples, beets, caramel, carrots, chocolate, citrus, cinnamon, coconut, coriander, cranberry, fennel, figs, fish,  garlic, peaches, pomegranates,  pumpkin
• Apple pairs well with: caramel, cardamom, chestnut, cinnamon, cranberry, currant, ginger, hazelnut, mango, maple, rosemary, walnut
• Apricot pairs well with: almond, black pepper, caramel, cardamom, ginger, hazelnut, honey, orange, peach, vanilla, plum
• Asian Pear pairs well with: almond, apple, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, honey, macadamia, nutmeg, raisin, vanilla
• Banana pairs well with: caramel, cherry, chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, ginger, hazelnut, honey, mango, molasses, papaya
• Basil pairs well with: capers, chives, cilantro, garlic, marjoram, oregano, mint, onion, parsley, rosemary, thyme,  artichokes, eggplant, green vegetables, mushrooms, olives, Sweet Basil is the best basil for pesto and tomato salads.
• Bay leaf pairs well with: artichokes, beans, garlic, grains, juniper, lentils, marjoram, mushrooms, nuts, oregano, parsley, potatoes, sage, savory, thyme and tomatoes
• Beets pair well with: Apples, basil, beef, butter, cabbage, caraway seeds, carrots, cheese, chives, dill, hard-boiled eggs, garlic, honey, horseradish, lemon, mint, mustard, olive oil, onions, orange, pepper, pistachios, salt
• Blackberry pairs well with: apricot, black pepper, cinnamon, citrus, hazelnut, lemon, other berries, peach, plum
• Blood Orange pairs well with: almond, cardamom, chocolate, cinnamon, clove, fig, ginger, honey, other citrus
• Blueberry pairs well with: other berries, cardamom, mango, lemon, hazelnut, ginger, fig, lavender, other citrus
• Butternut Squash pairs well with: sage and rosemary, either of which can be used fresh or in dried form.  The warm “pie spices” of nutmeg and ginger are a good match for butternut squash, both underlining and balancing its sweetness. For a savory approach, consider cumin.  Chilies provide sweet-and-spicy flavor combination.  The naturally sweet taste of butternut squash is enhanced when paired with fruit, such as fresh and dried apples, fresh pear, orange juice and dried cranberries.
• Caraway pairs well with: apples, beets, broccoli, cabbage, pears, sauerkraut, allspice, almonds, cardamom, chili, cinnamon, coriander,  dill,  fennel seed, juniper berry, onion, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, parsley, thyme.
• Cardamom pairs well with:  apples, bananas, beans, caramel,  citrus fruit, coconut, ice creams, nuts, mango, allspice, almond, cardamom, chili, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, curry, dates, fennel seed, ginger, mustard, paprika, pears, pepper, star anise, turmeric, saffron
• Carrot pairs well with: anise, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, walnut
• Celery pairs well with: cabbage, cilantro, cucumber, cumin, garlic, ginger, mustard, onion, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, tomatoes, thyme
• Celery Seed pairs well with: tomatoes, allspice, black pepper, caraway, chili, cinnamon coriander, cumin, fennel seed, ginger, sage, turmeric
• Cherry pairs well with: apricot, black pepper, chocolate, citrus, nectarine, peach, plum,  vanilla
• Chestnut pairs well with: apple, caramel, chocolate, coffee, pear, vanilla
• Chives pair well with: asparagus, basil, cheese, cilantro, dill, fennel, green vegetables, horseradish, mushrooms, olives, paprika, pasta, parsley, tarragon
• Chocolate pairs well with: oranges, nuts, Allspice, almond, aniseed, cinnamon, clove, curry leaf, fennel seed, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, mint, nutmeg, onion, vanilla
• Cilantro (coriander) pairs well with: apples, apricot, avocados, berries, cherries, citrus, coconut, nectarine, peach, plum, tropical fruit, Allspice, Cardamom, clove, cumin, curry, dates, fennel seed, garlic, ginger,  mint, sun-dried tomato, turmeric, tomatoes.
• Cinnamon pairs well with:  allspice, apples, bananas, cantaloupe, caraway, cardamom, clove, cacao, chilies, caramel, cauliflower, chocolate, corn, curries,  coffee, coriander, cranberry, cumin, dates, figs, ginger, mint, nutmeg,  grapes, oranges, peaches, pears, winter squash, star anise, sun-dried tomatoes, tamarind, turmeric, vanilla
• Chervil  pairs well with: artichokes, asparagus, carrots, chives, citrus, grains, green beans, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, onions, parsley, tarragon, thyme,and  vinegar
• Clove pairs well with: allspice, apples, beets, bay leaf, cakes, cardamom, cacao, carrots, chocolate, citrus, coriander, cumin, curry, fennel, ginger, mace, nutmeg, orange, peaches, pineapple, pumpkin, red cabbage,  star anise, tamarind, turmeric,vanilla
• Coconut pairs well with: Allspice, banana, basil, black pepper, Brazil nut, caramel, chocolate, citrus,  cumin, curry leaf, garlic, ginger, guava, lemongrass, passionfruit, pineapple, sun-dried, tomato, turmeric, vanilla
• Coriander pairs well with: allspice, apples, bananas, beans, chili, cilantro, cinnamon, citrus, cloves, cumin, curry, fennel, fish, garlic, ginger, mace, mint, mushrooms, nutmeg, onion, parsley,
• Cranberry pairs well with: apple, chocolate, cinnamon, citrus, mango, mint, pear
• Cumin pairs well with: allspice, anise, avocados, bay leaf, beans, cabbage, cardamom,  cilantro, cinnamon, citrus, coconut, coriander, cucumber, curry, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger,  lentils, mace, onion, nutmeg, parsley, tomatoes
• Currants, Black and Red, pairs well with: cassis, chocolate, citrus
• Dill pairs well with: anise, basil, cabbage, capers, caraway, carrots, chives, coriander, cucumbers, cumin,  fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, mint, mustard, oregano, onion, paprika, parsley
• Elderberry pairs well with: apricot, fig, honey, lemon, mandarin, other berries, peach, plum
• Fennel pairs well with: anise, artichokes, basil, beans, cabbage, cheese, cilantro, cinnamon, cucumber, cumin, dill, eggplant, fenugreek, figs, garlic, lemon balm, lentils, mint, olives, onion, oregano, parsley, pork, thyme, tomatoes
• Fig pairs well with: almond, black pepper, cinnamon, citrus, hazelnut, pear, vanilla
• Garlic pairs well with: basil, caraway, chili, coriander, cumin, curry leaf, marjoram, mint, mustard seed, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sun-dried tomato, thyme
• Ginger pairs well with: allspice, almond, anise, apple, apricot, banana,basil, berries, Brazil nut, caramel, carrots, chives, chocolate, cilantro, cinnamon, citrus,cloves, coconut, coriander, cranberry, cumin, curry, dates, fennel, grape, hazelnut, passion fruit, peach, pear, pineapple, plum,  nutmeg, onion, peaches, pears, pepper, pumpkin, raisins, turmeric, vanilla
• Gooseberry pairs well with: citrus, hazelnut, honey, other berries, white chocolate
• Grape pairs well with: chocolate, citrus, fig, honey, ginger, raisin
• Grapefruit pairs well with: basil, black pepper, caramel, citrus, mint, rosemary, thyme, tropical fruit, vanilla
• Guava pairs well with: citrus, lime, coconut, huckleberry, kaffir leaf, pineapple, strawberry, tropical fruit
• Hazelnut pairs well with: apple, apricot, banana, berries, caramel, cherry, chocolate, citrus, fig, mandarin, peach, pear, plum
• Jicama pairs well with: acidic fruits and juices such as lime, lemon and orange juice.  Red pepper and hot pepper sauce,  avocado, cilantro, cucumber and grapefruit.
• Kaffir Leaf pairs well with: banana, citrus, coconut, lemongrass, tropical fruit, watermelon
• Kiwi pairs well with: apple, banana, berries, cherry, citrus, coconut, mango, tropical fruit
• Kumquat pairs well with: berries, cherry, chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, persimmon, plum
• Lavender pairs well with: chocolate, lemon, blueberries, vanilla, thyme
• Lemon pairs well with: apricot, berries, black pepper, cardamom, cherry, citrus, ginger, nectarine, peach, plum, prickly pear, tropical fruit
• Lemongrass pairs well with: cherry, berries, citrus, coconut, ginger, guava, kaffir leaf, coconut, tropical fruit, vanilla
• Lime pairs well with: apple, berries, cherry, ginger, papaya, plum, strawberry, tropical fruit
• Lychee pairs well with: citrus, ginger, gooseberry, tropical fruit, vanilla
• Mace pairs well with: allspice, asparagus, beans, cabbage, carrots, cheese, cinnamon, cloves, coffee, cranberries, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, peaches, pumpkin, potatoes, vanilla,
• Mandarin pairs well with: cardamom, cherry, chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, fig, ginger, nutmeg, tropical fruits, vanilla, star anise
• Mango pairs well with: apple, banana, berries, caramel, citrus, coconut, melon, tropical fruits, vanilla, cinnamon
• Marjoram pairs well with: artichokes, basil, cinnamon, cumin, eggplant, fennel, garlic, mushrooms, onion, oregano, parsley,  thyme
• Melon pairs well with: berries, citrus, lemongrass, lemon verbena
• Nutmeg pairs well with: allspice, asparagus, cabbage, cardamom, carrots, cinnamon, cloves, coffee, coriander, cranberries, cumin, ginger,  mace, onion, peaches, pumpkin, thyme, vanilla
• Orange pairs well with: almonds, basil, berries, brandy, cherry, chocolate, cilantro, cinnamon, coffee, cranberry, fig, ginger, grape, hazelnut, mint, nutmeg, persimmon, pineapple, vanilla
• Oregano pairs well with: basil, cinnamon, cumin, eggplant, fennel, garlic, marjoram, mushrooms, onion, parsley, thyme, tomatoes
• Paprika pairs well with: allspice, caraway, cardamom,  garlic, ginger, legumes, oregano, parsley,  rosemary, saffron, thyme, turmeric, vegetables
• Papaya pairs well with: citrus, black pepper, lime, mango, tropical fruit
• Parsley pairs well with: basil, bay leaf, chives, dill,  garlic, marjoram, mushrooms, grains, onion, oregano,thyme, tomatoes
• Pear pairs well with: almond, apple, caramel, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, citrus, ginger, hazelnut, vanilla, walnut
• Persimmon pairs well with: apple, black pepper, cinnamon, citrus, kumquat, pear
• Pineapple pairs well with: basil, caramel, cilantro, coconut, macadamia, rosemary, tropical fruit
• Plum pairs well with: almond, cinnamon, citrus, chestnut, black pepper, hazelnut, honey, vanilla
• Pomegranate pairs well with: apple, citrus, cucumber, mint, tropical fruit
• Prickly Pear pairs well with: citrus, lime, tomatillo, tropical fruit
• Raspberry pairs well with: apricot, cinnamon, citrus, ginger, lemon, nectarine, other berries, peach, plum, rhubarb, thyme, vanilla
• Rose water pairs well with: saffron, cardamom,jasmine, almonds, pistachios and coconuts.
• Rosemary pairs well with:  apples, asparagus, basil, citrus, cranberry, fennel, garlic, grains, mushrooms, marjoram, onion, oregano, parsley, thyme, tomatoes
• Rhubarb pairs well with: apple, apricot, berries, black pepper, citrus, ginger, nectarine, peach, plum, strawberry
• Sage pears well with: apples, bay leaf,  capers, caraway, celery, citrus,  garlic, ginger, marjoram, onions, paprika, parsley, rosemary, thyme, tomatoes
• Sesame pairs well with: citrus,  garlic, ginger, thyme
• Sorrel pairs well with: chives, beans, leafy greens, oregano, parsley, thyme, and squash
• Strawberry pairs well with: apple, black pepper, chocolate, citrus, coriander, mint, rhubarb, vanilla
• Thyme pairs well with: bananas, basil, bay leaf, beans, carrots, citrus, dill, garlic, mint, mushrooms, onion, oregano, parsley, sage
• Tomatillo pairs well with: berries, citrus, mango, prickly pear, tropical fruit
• Walnut pairs well with: apple, apricot, banana, caramel, chocolate, cinnamon, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, rum

I hope you will find this chart as useful as I am.

Chocolate and Orange Drizzle Cake

Last Sunday yet again I was asked to bake a Lemon Drizzle Cake. Don’t get me wrong, this is a lovely cake but after two weeks of baking it every other day I’ve decided it was time for something new. I didn’t want to disappoint nor, for safety reasons stray too far from the requested type of cake, so I decided to bake a “off spin” drizzle cake, or in cook-speak take it to the next level. It was my first attempt and I really wasn’t sure how it would turn out but in the end I needn’t have worried as it was quite something if I may say so myself; a bit more moist and sweater than a lemon version but extremely tasty and satisfying.

I present to you the Chocolate and Orange Drizzle Cake.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 3 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g unsalted butter, soften
• 1tsp baking powder
• Zest of one large orange
• 1tbs of fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2tbs chocolate shavings

For the orange drizzle:

• 50g granulated sugar
• Juice of one large juicy orange

The above ingredients will make a cake that fits perfectly in an 8” loaf tin.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C fan.

Grease and line your baking tin, or just grease it.

In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients being: flour, sugar, chocolate shavings and baking powder; add zest from one large orange, soften butter, eggs and fresh squeezed orange juice – mix all ingredients until smooth.

Pour into your earlier prepared loaf tin.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 40-45min or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

Prepare your drizzle by mixing the sugar with the orange juice. “Stab” your cake repeatedly with a toothpick and then slowly drizzle it with your mixture allowing it to soak in deep inside the cake.

Let it cool completely.

Cut, serve and enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Quick and Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lately we seem to have become obsessed with a Lemon Drizzle Cake. In the last 2 weeks I have baked one seven times 🙂 It was proving very hard to “save” the cake until I could actually take some pictures, but a few days ago I succeeded, so here you go – my Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 3 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g unsalted butter
• 1tsp baking powder
• Zest of one lemon
• Icing sugar for decoration

For the lemon drizzle:

• 50g caster sugar
• Juice of one large lemon

The above ingredients will make a cake that fits perfectly in an 8” loaf tin.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C fan.

Grease and line your baking tin, or just grease it if you have problems with making a perfect lining like me 😉

In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients being: flour, sugar and baking powder.

Add the zest from one large lemon. Due to possible wax coating on the lemons nowadays remember to wash it well before grating the zest (I like to keep it in a bowl of hot / boiling water for a few minutes first).

Melt your butter a little, so it is nice and soft (20sec in pulses in a microwave should do the trick).

Add the butter and eggs to your mixing bowl and beat all the ingredients until smooth.

Pour into your earlier prepared loaf tin.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 40-45min or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

Mix lemon juice with sugar and prepare to drizzle.

I like to remove my cake from the tin before drizzling begins and place it on a cooling rack.

“Stabbing” the cake all over with a little toothpick will help your drizzle to soak deeper into the cake, but it is an optional extra.

Drizzle your cake and allow it to cool…

When totally cool, sprinkle the cake with a little bit of icing sugar, which will give it a nice even finish.

If you want a more crunchy drizzle, use granulated sugar and for even more crunch go with icing sugar.

If you decided to give this cake a try and it is not lemony enough for you, just add a bit of lemon juice inside the cake during the mixing process and it will boost the lemon flavour right up.

Happy Baking!

How to make Tea Smoked Peppers

Here is a brilliant idea to help even the most rubbish cook elevate a dish to a gourmet level with hardly any effort but amazing results. Like all great ideas it is simple, straightforward and almost foolproof. I do not claim any fame or fortune for conceiving the idea I am merely the messenger helping to spread the word so that all can enjoy this technique.

As you can probably tell by now I am enthusiastic, correction very enthusiastic about tea smoking. Readers of my blog will know from historical posts that we are big smokers of food, but until now it relied on a massive effort to clean and fire up the Primo cooker in the garden and like all humans sometimes the will is willing but the flesh is weak. Now we have a quick and easy way to imbue our food with a vast range of smoky flavours inside, on the cooker!

So what do you need in the kitchen to join us in total appreciation of this technique? Not much as it goes….

• A vegetable steamer or a saucepan with a colander that fits snugly on top with a lid and can be put on a hot cooker ring. Plastic isn’t going to get the job done it does need to be metal.
• A strip of tinfoil
• A small packet of loose leaf tea leaves (best quality you can find). We used Earl Grey Bravo from Adagio.
• Something to smoke, we used peppers in this example but anything can go in…

Method:

Place the base of you steamer or saucepan on to the cooker.

Next you need to tap into you creative side and build a holder for the tea leaves out of the tinfoil.
We have learnt to use a small bowl as a mould as this helps a lot. The key part here is to form it in such a way as to have 4 legs to stand on as we don’t want the part with the tea leaves touching the base of the steamer.

Place you creation into the steamer base or saucepan, DO NOT be tempted to put any water in there!

Put your tea leaves into the bowl part of the tinfoil, a small handful is enough.

Place your colander or upper section of you steamer on top of the base.

Place in a single layer whatever you have chosen to smoke in the upper section, don’t stack them up if you can avoid it as this will impact on the ability of the smoke to get everywhere.

Lastly strap on the lid and turn the heat up to medium.

As the colander gets hot the tinfoil and in turn the tea will get hot and soon it will start to smoke and fill the house with wonderful tea smells. As the heat works its way up it will heat up the veggies and help cook them. It will also help release essential oils that will greatly enhance the flavour of the vegetable, these oils help trap the smoke from the tea resulting in awesomeness.

Go have a cup of tea or prepare whatever you are going to have you lovely, tasty, smoked veggies with.

After 20 minutes turn the heat off, leaving it for longer will make the smoked tea flavour more intense if you prefer that, concurrently cooking for less time will make the flavour much more mellow. Only practise will give you the right level of flavour that suits your palette.

Place in your sandwich, or add to pizzas, with scrambled eggs, or as a topping with your favourite cracker, whatever your mind can dream up, and trust me you will be dreaming of countless ways to involve this technique in even the simplest meals from now on…

Go on… you know you want to try it…

What’s Cooking – 45 Minutes Roast Chicken

First, let me start with an apology – I hadn’t planned on sharing this recipe, hence the lack of more pictures, but as it came out so delicious, I really wanted to tell you all about it.

The recipe for a 45 minute Roast Chicken is loosely based on the “Roast Chicken” from “On the Table in 30 minutes – One Pot” by Paraggon books. I say loosely, as I got the main idea from the book but then to make it work for me I had to change both the ingredients and the method to get it done.

So, let’s start with the ingredients:

• 6 skinned chicken thighs
• 500g of baby potatoes
• 250g Brussels sprouts
• 2 large carrots
• 1 large pepper
• 2 onions
• 1 courgette
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 2tbsp of multigrain mustard
• 2tbsp of honey
• 1tbsp white wine vinegar
• 0,5tsp chilli pepper
• 100ml chicken stock
• 1tbsp dry oregano
• 2tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat your oven to 240C.

Wash and peel (if needed) your baby potatoes and cut them into halves.

Chop the veggies into your desired size – I tried to make the carrots the same size as my potatoes and everything else was chopped into thick slices.

De-skin your chicken.

Prepare 100ml of chicken stock (stock cube, fresh or best of all make your own); then add to it: mustard, honey, wine vinegar, chilli pepper and crushed garlic plus a little bit of salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a large heavy pan (I used my go to cast iron one). Toss in the onions and potatoes and fry them for 2-3 minutes; then add the carrots and courgettes. After a further 2-3 minutes, add all the remaining veggies – in my case peppers and Brussels sprouts. Fry them all for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Remove the veggies from the pan and place in a casserole dish, which will be suitable to go to the oven and will hold all the veggies plus the chicken.

Reheat your frying pan with some additional olive oil and start on the chicken. Please your chicken in the pan, add a generous amount of salt and pepper and fry on one side until lightly browned. Turn them over and add your earlier prepared “sauce” plus sprinkle all over with your oregano. Fry for a minute or two, and then transfer the chicken and all the sauce into the casserole dish.

Place in the oven and allow it to cook for 30 minutes.

After this time you will have one amazing dinner ready to be served.

Just in case you are wondering how on earth I’ve managed to take a 30min recipe and turn it into a 45min one, I will explain… The original recipe calls for the whole dinner to be cooked in one pan (who would have thought it given the title of the book) and I simply do not own a cast iron pan to take this volume of food in one go, so I started to prepare it using two separate dishes, then decided that was a rubbish idea and just used my biggest pot I owned. Unfortunately as my decision was so late in the game I had not warmed my new pot up like I had with my two smaller pots. Therefore as my food was going from the frying pan to the cold casserole dish I needed to add some extra time to allow everything to heat up again, hence the longer cooking time. Anyway as it turned out I was saved and it worked perfectly… the chicken was falling off the bone and my veggies had still kept their shape and where just right.

Happy cooking!

What’s Cooking – Quick and Easy Sausage Rolls

Dependent on how we make them, sausage rolls can take hours or just minutes to prepare… made entirely from scratch including mincing our own meat and making the pastry can take hours or simply opening the pack from the supermarket and re-heating what’s in it can take just minutes. We all know which ones have the best chance of tasting awesome and will have out of this world flavour but do you have the time? As time is not always on our side we usually go for a middling option – ready to roll pastry and a good quality pack of ready-made sausage meat. Sausage meat is available everywhere around Xmas and all year round from a good local butcher.

This way we didn’t have to spend hours in the kitchen and could still enjoy freshly baked sausage rolls that will satisfy our flavour crave.

So what ingredients do you need?

• 1 pack of Jus-Rol puff pastry sheet
• 1 pack of sausage stuffing
• 1 egg; beaten

Method:

Line 1 large baking sheet with some baking paper.

Pre-heat your over to 200C.

In a cup, whisk up 1 egg.

Roll out your ready-made pastry if it is not pre-rolled into sheets for you.

Starting from the short end of the pastry measure in about 1.5cm from the edge and place a nicely rolled our generous portion of sausage meat filling.

Lift the edge of the pastry up and roll it up over the meat until it is covered.

Use the egg wash and paint a line with a pastry brush along the edge and then roll some more to make your roll complete. The egg wash will help to glue the pastry together and stop your rolls exploding in the oven as they cook.

With a sharp knife cut the pastry to release the finished sausage rolls and put to the side.

Repeat the above process until the whole pastry is used up.

With a sharp clean knife cut your long sausage rolls into desired size and place them on the baking sheet.

Make a few cuts at an angle on the top of each sausage roll.

Use the remaining egg wash and paint your sausage rolls this will help them achieve a rich brown colour.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven, remove from the baking sheet and cool on a rack for 5 minutes.

(Go on you know you can do it, it is only five minutes show some restraint.)

Serve!

A perfect breakfast food to start any special (or ordinary) day that goes nicely with a cup of tea or fresh filtered coffee!

Enjoy!

What’s Cooking – Christmas Gingerbread Man Cookies

The Christmas season is in a full bloom so it is time to get some festive food ready. What can be more festive than some tasty little gingerbread cookies?

The recipe I want to share with you today is from The Christmas 3D Cookie Kit from Parragon. The kit contains 3D cookie cutters (so you can make your own 3D snowman and 3D Christmas tree) and a recipe book with a fantastic selection of Christmas cookies.

The recipe I’ve chosen was originally for a Mini Gingerbread House Cookies, but we thought that a gingerbread man shaped cookies will be a better choice 🙂

Ingredients:

125g butter

2tbp golden syrup

175g light muscovado sugar

300g self-rising flour

2tbsp ground ginger

1 large egg

Method:

Prepare 2 large baking sheets, ideally pre-lined with a baking paper.

Heat the oven to 160C.

Place the butter and the golden syrup in a pan and heat gently, stirring all the time until melted.

Remove the pan from the heat, add sugar and stir until dissolved.

Sift the flour and ginger into a large bowl and make a well in the middle ready for the wet ingredients.

Pour in the warm, wet ingredients and add the beaten egg into the mix.

Stir thoroughly to form a smooth dough.

Wrap it in a cling film and chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Remove your dough from the fridge and prepare to roll it out; ideally you want your rolled dough to be about 5mm thick.

Cut desired shapes using a cookie cutter or an upside down glass if you want to make a classic round shape or even a knife if all else fails.

Transfer your cut cookies to your baking sheets.

Chill in the fridge for a further 10 minutes.

Bake in earlier preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until firm and lightly brown.

Remove from the oven and allow them to cool down.

Now the fun can begin…

It is time to decorate!

If you are good with decorating you can make your own royal icing (just mix 150g of icing sugar with 2tsp of white egg powder and 2 tbsp of cold water)… I am not a master decorator so we used shop bought icing pens to make this job easier 😉

Happy baking!

What’s Cooking – The Perfect Steak à la Marco Pierre White

I’ve already shared a steak sauce with you, so next in line must be the steak itself! For us any steak is a treat, so an aged fillet steak is only for days that will never be forgotten. They aren’t even close to being cheap so they have to be reserved for special occasions to add another layer to the wonder that is making that day special to us. Lately we haven’t actually had any special occasions to celebrate but Mark wouldn’t believe me that a Worcestershire Steak Sauce is so amazingly nice, so we made that the occasion so we could cook one so he could try it for himself.

We got some lovely fillet steaks from Donald Russell. We were lucky as a 160g steak if bought in packs of four were on special offer 🙂

If you going to push the boat out and have a steak then you might as well have the best cut and what can be better than a buttery-tender prime fillet beef steak?

(Oh my, I am drooling just thinking about the dinner we had).

So anyway, we had our steaks, all we needed now was a Knorr Stock Cube and a little bit of olive oil.

Following what Marco Pierre White told me to do; we seasoned our steaks with only the Knorr stock cube instead of adding any salt. Why? Let me tell you:

First of all it will coat and stick much better to the meat then just salt would.

Secondly, as all the meat is evenly covered it will enhance the flavour of the meat better and thus elevate it to the next level.

And third because he said so 😉 and despite the evidence I do occasionally do as I am told.

Once you have all the ingredients you need:

• Steaks
• A Knorr stock cube
• A dash of Olive oil

… it is time to cook.

Method:

Heat a large, heavy, thick-bottomed frying pan – we used our cast iron one as it is simply perfect for it. It must be “smoking” hot, so the surface of the meat caramelises.

In a small bowl crush the Knorr stock cube and mix it with a little bit of olive oil creating a paste. You can use whatever flavour you want – I guess beef would be ideal in this situation… however we used chicken…

Season your steaks with the paste. Make sure it is spread evenly on both sides of the meat. Don’t put it too thick. You want just a little flavour enhancement.

Put the steaks into the frying pan and fry for about 2 minutes on one side, then turn over and fry for 1 minute, then take the frying pan away from the heat still leaving the steak in the frying pan. Now watch your steak. Once you see the blood start to break the surface, your steak is ready – it will be a perfect medium-rare.

Add all other bits you are having with it and dig in!

Oh and don’t forget about the star of the show your Worcestershire Steak Sauce!

I did find a video recipe for both steak and a Worcestershire Steak Sauce. If you dislike onions and prefer peppercorns in your sauce have a look at this video; you might find it helpful.