Butternut squash bruschetta

I asked the wonderful Jamie Magazine for suggestion to use butternut squash and they sent me a wonderful recipe for roasted squash topped with sage and goats cheese.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/magazine/recipes-view.php?title=squash-aamp-goat-s-cheese-bruschetta

However I'm not a fan of goats cheese and didn't have much in my cupboards so I decided to have a go with what I did have. So this is a much simpler version with NO OIL.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (unpeeled, deseeded)
Fresh spinach (sliced)
Feta cheese (crumbled)
2 cloves garlic
Ciabatta sliced
Black pepper
Pinch dried oregano

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200*C
2. Cut the squash into wedges
3. Bake wedges on a baking tray for 30minutes
4. Put the ciabatta slices on a tray in the oven with the squash for a further 10 minutes
5. Remove from the oven, and rub each slice of bread with a peeled garlic clove
6. Put the wedges of squash in a bowl and mash with a fork
7. Add the pepper and oregano to the squash and mix in
8. Spread the squash on the bread
9. Sprinkle with the spinach and crumbled feta
10. ENJOY!

Kofta kebabs and Moroccan Style couscous

This recipe takes 15-20 mins start to finish and you can choose exactly how you want to cook the kebabs and the cous cous just needs a kettle and bowl. The only fresh stuff you need is the mince, coriander and pomegranate. Everything else can live quite happily in the store cupboard till you want them.

Ingredients

For the koftas you'll need:
Extra lean beef mince or good quality lamb mince
Curry paste of your choice (tikka, madras etc)
Runny honey
Sesame seeds

For the cous cous you'll need:
Dried cous cous
Sultanas
Dried apricots (chopped)
Flaked almonds
Chopped pistachios
Pomegranate (ready prepped from the supermarket is fine)
Moroccan spice blend (ready mixed is just easier)
chicken stock cube(s)
Boiling water
Fresh coriander (chopped)

For the  raita you'll need:
Natural yoghurt
Mint sauce


Method

1. Open the mince and remove the (in the words of Sean Lock) "meat nappy". Break up the mince in the packet with a fork.
2. Add a couple of heaped spoonfuls of the curry paste. Work on about half a heaped desert spoon per person.
3. Work the paste into the mince until thoroughly combined.
4. Pack handfuls of the mince onto metal skewers till they're about the thickness of a sausage. They don't need to be perfectly smooth, just about the same thickness all the way along.
5. Your choice how you cook them: grill, oven bake, pan fry, griddle, BBQ, etc. just remember you want to cook them hard and fast so the outside caramelises but the inside remains moist. 10-15mins tops.
6. For the cous cous, add a couple of spoonfuls of the spice blend and mix together.
7. Make up some stock using the cube(s).
8. Following the instructions on the pack for how much to use rehydrate the cous cous using the hot stock. Cover the dish in cling film and leave to steam.
9. Once fully hydrated and plumped up, add the nuts, dried fruit, pomegranate and coriander to the cous cous and mix in.
10. 5 mins before the end if the cooking time brush the kebabs with the runny hunny.
11. Once cooked, roll the kebabs in sesame seeds. The honey should help them stick
12. For the sauce, Stir 2-3 teaspoons of mint sauce into half a cup of natural yoghurt.
13. Serve the kebabs with the cous cous and sauce.

Warning! These are not healthy! But they are scrummy! Crunchy Chewy Oat Cookies

In homage to The Great British Bake Off I've decided to share my favourite cookie recipe. Never had a complaint so far and super super easy.

I use salted butter simply because the first time I made this I didn't have unsalted and found the level of salt perfect. They're sweet and very slightly salty - think salted caramel but with homely comforting oats. The brown sugar helps with the caramel vibe.

I make these every year at least 5 times a year especially at christmas. And in honesty it's becoming tradition.

Foolproof recipe. Crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle and they make the best ice cream sandwiches. Or so I'm told.

Makes 30-35

Wet:

250g salted butter

3tbsp golden syrup

Dry:

250g self raising flour

250g soft light brown sugar

250g porridge oats

1.5tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 180•C and line 2 trays with grease proof paper.

2. In a saucepan, gently melt the butter and golden syrup together until totally liquid.

3. In the meantime mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

4. Pour the wet into the dry and stir well until combined.

5. Using a tablespoon measuring spoon pack the mixture in, level it off then tap it out onto the tray. Repeat stacking two scoops on top of each other. Make sure you leave plenty of room on the tray between each one because they spread when cooking.

6. Bake for 10-13 minutes and remove from the oven when still soft.

7. Remove from the grease proof while still warm and cool on a wire rack.

8. Store in an airtight container ... If they last that long ;-D

King prawn, chilli and tomato risotto

I decided to do this as an alternative to Sunday lunch today and am so pleased I did. Less dishes no worrying about whether everything will be ready at the same time and goes rather well with a little glass of chilled vino (white or rose). I added prawns and chicken stock to this but you could just as easy use vegetable stock and at the last minute add cubes of halloumi or just leave it as is.

Traditionally you would use a separate pan for the stock to bring it to the boil and keep it hot. I use stock cubes in a jug of boiled water from a kettle so no ladling hot stock from one pan to another. I just pour it straight from the jug I make the stock up in.

 


Ingredients:
2tbsp olive oil
300ml arborio risotto rice
700ml boiling water
2x chicken oxo cubes
1/2 diced onion
1 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
4 cloves crushed garlic
2tbsp tomato purée
200ml passata
20g finely grated cheddar
King prawns
1tbsp Fresh basil chopped
Salt and pepper

Method:
1.  Gently fry the onion in the olive oil
2. Add the chilli and garlic and cook on a low heat for a minute to let the flavours infuse the oil.
3. Add the rice and stir until coated in the oil.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the tomato purée and stir until mixed into the rice and the pasta has cooked out a little.
5. Add the passata in two stages stirring in each portion and ensuring some of the liquid has cooked off before adding the next bit.
6. Turn up the heat to a medium heat and start adding the stock in small amounts, stirring all the time, ensuring that each addition is fully absorbed by the rice before adding more.
7. Towards the end of the stock additions add the prawns and stir them in.
8. Finally add the finely grated cheddar and chopped basil and serve. The cheddar needs to be finely grated as you want it to dissolve into the creamy juices.

Chorizo and courgette frittata

Chorizo and courgette frittata
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 courgette grated
6 chestnut mushrooms chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 ring chorizo, diced
3 spring onions, chopped
100g grated cheddar
200g crumbled feta
Pinch oregano
1tsp smoked paprika

 
Method:
1. Pre-heat your grill
2. In a non-stick pan gently fry the chorizo until the oils have rendered out and the chorizo is crispy
3. Add the mushrooms and cook down until golden
4. Add the other veg and cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the veg has started to colour
5. Add the cheddar, feta, oregano and paprika to the eggs
6. Pour the eggs into the veg and chorizo in the pan and quickly stir to mix everything together then turn down the heat
7. Gently cook until the frittata is mostly cooked through and set
8. Put the pan under the grill on high to set the top and get the cheese on the surface bubbly and golden (careful if your pan has a plastic handle like mine so keep it out if the heat)
9. Slice and serve

Spinach and feta filo pie

Spinach and feta filo pie

Ingredients:

1 pack of chilled filo pastry

For the filling:
8-10 bricks of frozen spinach, thawed
5 eggs
300g crumbled feta (1 & 1/2 packs)
100g grated mature cheddar
1/2 fresh nutmeg finely grated
1/2 bunch mint finely chopped
100g pine nuts

 



Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200*C
2. Lay out a sheet of grease proof (approx. 50cm long). Oil the grease proof and rub it all over the paper.
3. Open the filo and lay all the sheets opened out onto the grease proof
4. Carefully lay the grease proof into a round ovenproof dish and press it in until the dish is fully lined with the grease proof and filo
5. Squeeze all the excess water out of the spinach and finely chop
6. In a large bowl whisk the eggs and add the remaining ingredients and spinach and stir together
7. Pour the filling into the dish lined with the filo and fold up the excess filo to cover the top
8. Tear off the excess grease proof from round the sides
9. Bake for 20-25 mins until golden and crisp and the filling is set

10 minute - Chorizo and butter bean pan fry

My lovely husband managed to get away from work early today so I got to do something a bit different for our lunch.

This one has a real feel of tapas but obviously a bigger dish and takes only a few minutes to cook from start to finish.

Ingredients:
Thinly sliced chorizo
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 red onion
Pinch oregano
1tsp Moroccan style seasoning
2 tins butter beans
Small handful of coriander
1/2 iceberg lettuce
1/2 block of feta

Method:
1. Chop the chorizo into smallish strips. Heat a dry non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and add the chorizo. You want the oils to render out of the chorizo.
2. Chop the onion and peppers into strips and add them to the pan.  Fry everything until the chorizo starts to brown and the veg starts to soften.
3. Drain the butter beans and add them to the pan along with the oregano and Moroccan seasoning.
4. Turn the heat up and let the beans start to scorch a bit. You want the skins to dry out and the beans to start going a little fluffy. Stir occasionally so they don't burn.
5. Chop the coriander and add to the pan.
6. Shred the lettuce and plate up. Add the butter bean fry up to the plate and top everything with a crumble of salty feta.