Recipe of the Day: Smoked Mackerel Risotto

After journeying home to London from Bexhill-on-Sea I was super hungry and in need of something stodgy! Unfortunately the fridge was almost bare apart from some sticks of celery and a couple of Dairylea cheese triangles. And so, instead of rushing straight for the take away pizza menu I had a little dig through the freezer. To my delight I found some smoked mackerel fillets which I decided to grill with a little butter and add to this wonderful risotto.

Ingredients:

2 Smoked Mackerel fillets
2 Sticks of Celery
1/2 cup of rice (Wish I had risotto rice but I used basmati)
1 fish stock cube
1 Dairylea Cheese triangle

I spread some butter over the mackerel and grilled on high until it was sizzling. Meanwhile I put the rice in the pan with the stock cube and enough water to cover about an inch above the rice. I sliced the celery into small pieces and added once most of the water had been absorbed. I then flaked the fish off the skin and added it to the risotto. Lastly, I popped in the Dairylea to give it a rich creamy texture. The trick is to over boil the rice if you don’t have any risotto rice. This makes it thick and stodgy. Done! Easy and delicious 🙂

Recipe of the Day: Dad’s Secret Anglo-Indian Dal (Or Lovely Gubly Lentils)

The best thing about Anglo-Indian heritage has to be the food. East meets west really doesn’t get any better than when it is sitting on a plate on a cold English day. One of my absolute favourite dishes has to be our family Dal recipe that has been a staple in my diet as long as I can remember. As well as being super healthy and soul-warmingly satisfying, it tastes amazing encapsulating those classic Indian flavours of earthy cumin and vibrant coriander. I must have eaten at least a kilo of lentils last year at university, especially during hockey season when I came back freezing, famished and fatigued. So please have a go and no one tell my dad that this famous Lucas recipe has entered the blogosphere.

Ingredients (Serves 2)*

1 Small cup of red lentils
1 White onion
1/2 tsp of Garam masala
1 tsp of Cumin
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp pureed Ginger
1 tsp pureed Garlic
1 handful Corriander

*All of the quantities are approximate as I usually just throw everything in Indian style 🙂

Wash the lentils thoroughly in a sieve. Put into a pan and cover with water until it reaches about one inch and a half above them. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat so it is simmering gently. Skim off any scum that will collect on the top occasionally. This gets rid of unwanted starch.

Chop the onion into small pieces and measure out your spices. Add the onions to a pan and fry lightly. Then add the spices, garlic and ginger, stirring well. Once the onions are nice and soft, switch of the heat and put to the side.

 

Stir your lentils occasionally keeping an eye on the water level. It should be absorbed by the lentils which will gradually start to break down. You will notice this when you stir. You can see the difference in the second picture.

 

When the bubbles seem thicker and the lentils virtually shapeless, add your onion mixture and salt to taste. Give it a good mix and leave to infuse for another five minutes and then finally add chopped corriander.

And there it is! My delicious family dal recipe; ideal on a cold winter day and perfect for that silly diet you may be on. Goes great with rice or a fresh chapati mmm!!

Recipe of the Day: Potato Salad with Gherkin and Egg

It sounds positively gross I know, but this little potato salad is a lovely twist on the traditional potato and mayo mixture. The creaminess of the mayonnaise against the sharp, crunchy gherkins is an absolute delight especially when you get a lovely piece of egg to add to the mixture of textures. It is so easy to assemble and makes a difference when you fancy something weird yet wonderful.

Serves around 6-8
Ingredients:
16 medium Potatoes (any that you have will do. Preferably waxy)
Two Gherkins
One white onion
Four Eggs
Mayonnaise
1 tsp pureed garlic
Olive oil

Peel and chop the potatoes into desired sizes and boil until soft enough to put a knife through but hard enough to hold and not crumble. Drain the potatoes away and leave to cool.

Boil the eggs with the potatoes to save a pan and remove them after 6 minutes and put them into a bowl of cold water. Chop the onion into slices, put into a bowl with a knob of butter and microwave for one minute, stir then microwave for another minute. Chop the gherkins into small chunks and add them to a bowl with the onions. Peel and chop the eggs being careful to peel and chop one before peeling the others in case they need further boiling and then add them to the bowl with the gherkins.

Season with salt, pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and the garlic as an optional extra.

 

Add a large dollop of mayonnaise and stir through until everything is mixed together and evenly coated. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve 🙂

 

The Joys of a Simple British Breakfast

When you work in retail it can be really hard to get up in the morning especially when you start to think about nagging customers, endless mess and the never ending nine hour day. But what gets me up is the prospect of having enough time to enjoy a proper breakfast especially as I ride my bike to work. Most of the time I tuck into a lovely bowl of golden syrup porridge but today I opted for the traditionally British bacon and egg sandwich. Yum!! And I can tell you, it most definitely put a smile on my face 🙂

A healthy little pud

I felt like something sweet but I didn’t want to run straight to the chocolate tin. I found some low fat natural yogurt in the fridge, drizzled it with some honey and enjoyed it guilt free! Wish I had a little granola though. Next time 🙂

When Dad Finds the Kitchen

Most of the time I will cook the dinner in our household, not because I have to but because I love it, a passion which I believe got from my dad. My dad was a single parent to my sister and I after my mother passed away in 2001. I grew up watching him cook hearty meals for the three of us when he could have been microwaving a ready meal. I tried my best to help do little things like cut an onion or supply the tea. However the situation, he was my true inspiration and creator of my mentality that says there is always time for fresh food no matter how difficult things get. There are some days my dad comes home a little later than usual with pounds and pounds of meat after visiting the Indian butcher. This time he came home with industrial sized bags of spices and a huge bunch of coriander as well. Despite complaining about a bad back this week, he set to work on making his famous tandoori chicken accompanied by our family’s lovely tarka dal. I would put the recipe up if I knew it but he keeps his methods secret so none of us might out do him. And so instead readers, a picture will have to do!

Tandoori Chicken with Rice and Tarka Dal

My dad doesn’t really cook that often but you know that when he does it will be a massive treat. This meal really was delicious and I ate way too much of it but these sort of things have to be savored. Let’s hope dad’s in a cooking mood again soon!

Recipe of the Day: Courgette, Mushroom and Bacon Pasta

Courgettes are in season at the moment so I love to use them in as many recipes as possible. They are incredibly versatile being perfect for salads, roasting and sauteing but today I used them for pasta.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

500g Fresh Spaghetti 
150g Mushrooms
2 Courgettes
4 rashers of bacon
2 egg yolks
100ml olive oil
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Garlic Puree

Put a pan of water on to boil. Slice the mushrooms, courgettes and bacon and lightly fry in some olive oil. When the courgettes begin to soften add the pureed garlic and the herbs and stir through. Keep and eye on it because If the garlic burns it can taste bitter. Put the spaghetti into the pot of boiling water (fresh pasta will only take a couple of minutes). Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the olive oil until it has emulsified. Drain the spaghetti and stir in the courgette mixture. Take off the heat and pour in the egg/olive oil emulsion, stir through thoroughly, season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

When Grandmothers Come to Visit.

Sausage meat pie, Roasties and Sweetcorn

It is known among most of us, how awkward it can be to say “no!” to that extra potato your grandmother is trying to put on your plate or the sandwiches and cake between lunch and dinner and the eight O’ clock supper of soup and bread. You feel guilty for stuffing down those extra large portions, all the tea and biscuits you would consume in a week and a flurry of tid-bits she keeps bringing to you but really, we all love it. There is nothing like a grandmother’s cooking to make you feel happy and content like a little pig in the sun. It must be the way it tastes; not particularly spectacular or stunningly presented but full of a warming homeliness that makes you feel young and safe. It is almost like the feeling you get opening a present on Christmas day; ultimately irresistible to even the most miserable of adults. It is only when she leaves after that long weekend you start to notice the bloating of your stomach and the pangs of hunger visiting you every hour on the hour. You immediately crave anything green and juicy and foods of a brown or beige hue offend. However, once you have returned to your limited routine and food doesn’t just find its way into your mouth, you start to wish you had Nana’s magical meals back in the house again and more importantly, her there to make it taste great.

Recipe of the Day: Rice Salad

My sister is always whinging about being hungry and as we are often in the house alone I get roped into cooking things for us. One of my favourite dishes to prepare is a simple rice salad. There are a number of variations including an Asian style salad but because of what was in the fridge I stuck to a more Mediterranean  style.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

2 cups of white Rice
2 cloves of Garlic
1 White onion
100g Sun dried tomatoes
1 large Courgette
100g Green olives with pimentos
100g Roast chicken
Spinach
Olive oil

Put two small cups of rice on the boil. Whilst this is cooking chop the garlic and onion finely. Slice your olives and tomatoes and cut the courgette into small chunks. Put the courgette into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and microwave for one and a half minutes. Chop up some roast chicken if you have some or leave it out. It still tastes good. When the rice is ready, drain it then run some cold water over the rice to cool it slightly. Add the spinach leaves and stir them in so they wilt. Add all of the other ingredients, drizzle with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. You could also add some chives and basil if you are feeling posh 🙂 Once the rice gets to room temperature it is ready to eat.

It is a lovely snack for any veg you might have lying in the fridge that needs to be used up. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe of the Day: Tomato Bruschetta

Sometimes the most simple recipes can be the most satisfying and this is definitely one of my summer favourites. I made it for my boyfriend and I in Tenerife for dinner one night and I can honestly say it was delicious. The soft tomatoes, tangy onions and crunchy bread offered a range of beautiful textures combined with the smooth richness of the extra virgin olive oil. We had it with some Serrano ham and brie; an unlikely combination of European flavours but it is just what we fancied at the time.

Recipe:

2 Beef tomatoes
1 medium sized red onion
2 cloves of fresh garlic
High quality extra virgin olive oil
two small baguettes or bruschetta

We cut the tomatoes into chunks and sliced the red onion into small pieces. We then added finely chopped garlic and added a few lugs of olive oil and mixed it together with a little salt and cracked black pepper. You can add some chopped basil as an optional extra for a deeper flavour. We then cut the baguettes in half and drizzled them with olive oil, rubbed freh garlic over the soft bread and then popped them under a high grill for five minutes. Once the bread is nice and crunchy, take it out and serve with your delicious tomato mixture.

So satisfying, so tasty and so healthy! The only bad thing is that when you end up eating so much of it the bread becomes a little abrasive and you really feel it with those acidic tomatoes and onions. Oh well, it’s not stopping me 🙂