Traditional Boxing Day meal using left-over turkey and ham from the day before.
Serve with chips and peas.
Ingredients
Equipment
Rolling pin
Pie dish
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC
Month: December 2016
There are many different ways of making a bacon sandwich, some combinations work and some don’t.
Firstly you will need good quality bacon. Our bacon of choice is dry cured middle (it should go without saying with the rind on) supplied by Axon’s of Didsbury.
The next decision is the bread. On no account should you use brown bread – its just wrong.
If the bread is very fresh and soft then just the bread and the crispy bacon is all you need. A soft white batch roll works well for this. You will not need any butter – the bacon has enough fat. Never add a tomato if the bread is untoasted. The additon of a fried egg with black pepper is never a bad thing.
If you are toasting then you should butter the toast. The addition of either a sliced tomato or a fried egg and plenty of black pepper also works well. This is an either/or choice, never use both together.
Ingredients
Bacon
Bread
Then depending on the bacon and bread combination possibly butter, sliced fresh tomato or a fried egg, black pepper.
Equipment
A grill
Method
- Grill bacon until rind is crispy.
- Place the bacon between the bread
- Eat immediately
Photos
The choice of potatoes is important. Floury potatoes will give the best results.
The other thing you need to pay attention to is cutting them uniformly so that they are all the same in cross-section. You are aiming for a square cross-section measuring between 10mm – 15mm on the edge.
Ingredients
Good quality chipping potatoes
Equipment
Deep fat fryer
Method
- Peel potatoes and rinse with cold water. Heat the deep fat fryer to 170ºC
- Now cut the potatoes. Start by cutting a thin slice from one side. Next cut into slices of equal thickness between 10 and 15mm depending on preference. Then for each slice cut a thin chip of one side to create a flat edge. Then cut the rest of the slice into chips so they have a square cross-section. Repeat for each potato. This will produce uniformly square chips, some small chips of random sizes and a thin slice from each potato.
- Now rinse the chips in cold runnig water to remove excess stratch.
- Pat the chips dry with a tea towel.
- Place the chips in the deep fat fryer, and cook until they start to colour. This will take about 10 min. If making a lot of chips, fry them in small batches.
- Remove the chips from the fryer and rest on kitchen roll. Turn the deep fat fryer to 190ºC.
- When the fryer is up to temperature return the chips to the fryer, cook until they are crispy. You will need to keep a close eye on them as it will not take long.
- Drain of excess oil and place in a warmed bowl lined with kitchen roll.
- They are ready to eat.
Photos
 
 
   
   
No introduction required.
Ingredients
200g Chocolate (75% Cocoa)
3 large eggs
40g Golden caster Sugar
120ml warm water
Equipment
Whisk
Pan and bowl for melting cholate
Bowl for whisking egg whites
Method
1. Place the broken-up chocolate and the warm water in a large heatproof bowl.
2. Sit the nowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
3. With the heat at its lowest, allow the chocolate to melt slowly.
4. Remove it from the heat and give it a good stir until it’s smooth and glossy
5. Let the chocolate cool for 2-3 minutes before stirring in the egg yolks. Then give it another good mix with a wooden spoon.
6. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to the soft-peak stage.
7 . The whisk the sugar into the egg whites, about a third at a time, then whisk again until the whites are glossy.
8. Using a metal spoon, fold a tablespoon of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then carefully fold in the rest.
9. Pour the mousse into whatever you want to servwe them in and chill for at least 2 hours, covered with clingfilm.
Photos
 
The classic soup, always popular.
Ingredients
1 medium onion
2 leeks
3-5 potatoes depending on size
750ml chicken stock (or veg)
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp cream (optional)
25g butter
1tbsp olive oil
Equipment
A large sauce pan
A hand blender
Method
- Chop onion quite small (but not really fine) & soften slowly without colouring in 1 tbsp oil & generous slice butter. Add more butter if needed.
- Wash leeks, slice and rinse again (use white and green parts)
- Once onions are translucent add the leek, stir and cover pan. Stir occasionally.
- Peel potatoes and cut into small dice
- Add potatoes to pan once leeks have softened, and stir
- Make stock
- Add stock to pan and some white pepper
- Bring to boil then simmer for 10 minutes
- Remove a couple of spoonfuls of the leek and potato
- Blend the soup then return the leek and potato you reserved
- Check seasoning
- Add spoonful or two of cream, if liked
Photos
 
Its called baked risotto and yes, it’s baked, but it bears little relation to risotto other than the rice. It is however delicious. It is the rice-based cousin of salami pasta.
Equipment
- Oven-proof baking dish
- Large pan
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 bulb of fennel , finely sliced(optional, leave it out if you don’t like it)
- 2 cooking chorizo sausages, cubed
- 1tbsp olive oil for frying
- 25g butter for frying
- a few grilled artichokes (optional, leave it out if you don’t like it)
- 1 tbsp bouillion powder
- 1 cup of risotto rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- a handful of baby spinach, wilted
- salt and pepper to season
- 4 vine tomatoes (or similar amount of cherry tomatoes), chopped
- 2 balls of mozarella, finely sliced
- Handful of fresh basil leaves
Method
- Preheat the oven to 130°C, placing the dish in the oven to warm
- Heat the oil and butter over a high heat and then add the onions
- Cook the onions on a medium heat until they are soft and translucent
- Add the chorizo and sliced fennel if using and cook untilt the chorizo fat is renedering
- Add the rice and stir constantly for 2 minutes
- Add the wine, keeping stiring until mix in
- Add 3 cups of boiling water, followed by the bouillion powder
- Stir well, then bring to a simmer.
- Season with pepper to taste
- Transfer to the oven dish, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes
- Chop the basil and mix with the tomatoes. Season well with salt and pepper
- Remove from the oven
- Turn the oven up to 220°C
- Stir in the spinach
- If the rice is very dry, top up with boiling water. How much you add will determine how sloppy the resulting dish is, so make it how you like it.
- Layer the tomatoes on top
- Followed by the sliced mozarella
- Return to the oven and bake until the mozarella has browned and the mixture is bubbling
- Eat immediately
Photos
This recipe needs a very specific ingredient – the hot sauce. Its actually “Condimento per spaghetti” by Tutto Calabria. You can buy it from Italian Continental Shop.
Ingredients
Spaghetti
Hot sauce
Baby spinach
Italian sausage or cooking chorizo
Parmesan cheese.
Equipment
Sauce pan with a lid
Frying pan
Cheese grater
Method
1. Dice the sausage and fry over a moderate heat
2. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add salt, then the spaghetti.
3. Occaisonally turn the sausgae so it cooks on all sides.
4. Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet.
 
5. Transfer the sausage to a plate cover with kitchen roll to soak up excess fat.
6. When ready drain the spaghetti, and return the pan is was cooked in
7. Add a 1tbsp of hot sauce per person and stir until mixed well
8. Add a handful of spinach, mix and then place a lid on the pan to steam the spinach. It is ready when the spinach is wilted.
 
9. Grate the parmesan and transfer the pasta to bowl.
10. Top the spaghetti with the sausage and parmesan.
11. Eat immeadiately. Good with Daddy Salad and a glass of red wine.
Sea bass fillets shallowed fried like this makes the skin very crispy and the flesh perfectly cooked. Serve with rice and greens.
Ingredients
Sea bass fillets, boned, 2 per person
Ground nut oil for frying
Equipment
A large frying pan
Method
- Pat the fish dry on both sides using kitchen roll.
 
2. Put enough oil into the pan to cover the bottom of the pan to a depth of 2mm and turn the heat to full.
3. Place the fish into the pan skin side down. Be careful – the oil is hot and will splash.
4. Fry the fish until they are no longer translucant, but and even solid colour. To help them cook baste them with the oil. Do no turn them, keep them skin side down for the whole of the frying.
 
5. Remove from the pan and pat dry with kitch roll to remove excess oil.
6. Serve immediately.
 
One of my very favourites. A Thai style curry with falvours of chilli, garlic, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and kaffir lime in a coconut milk broth – you can vary the quantities of these to find the balance that works for you. This recipe produces a very hot curry – there is a lot of chilli in it. There is no better way to cook a duck breast than this.
You could make your own red curry paste, but you will struggle to produce anything as good as you can buy.
Serve with rice.
Ingredients
5 Red bird’s eye chillis, sliced (or use a Scotch Bonnet for a slightly different flavour)
5cm Ginger, sliced
3 Cloves of garlic, sliced
2 dsp of red curry paste
1 tbsp of ground nut oil
250ml of coconut milk
2 dsp of fish suace
juice of a lime
4 fresh (or frozen, but not dried) Kaffir lime leaves
1 tin of sliced bamboo shoots
handful of green beans
2 duck breasts with skin
washed baby spinach
1/4 tsp palm sugar
Equipment
A heavy bottomed frying pan
A heavy bottomed deep pan
Method
1. Slice the chilli, garlic and ginger.
2. Heat the oil in the pan then add the red curry paste. Fry until it becomes a vibrant red colour.
3. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli, fry until soft.
4. Add a splash of boiling water to the pan, scrape the bottom and sides of the pan.
 
5. Add the coocnut milk and stir well. Then add half the fish sauce, half the kaffir lime leavs, and the half of the lime juice.
6. Bring back to the boil, then add the bamboo shoots, then top up the suace with boiling water. How much you add depends on how thick you what the curry vs how mush time you have to simmer the broth. Start with 400ml – you can always add more later.
7. Bring back to the boil again, and then turn down the heat so the liquid is simmering lively. Simmer for at least 30 mins.
8. Prepare the green beans by triming and slicing, then add to the broth.
9. Heat the frying pan on a high heat, then place the duck breast into the hot pan skin side down. Do not add any oil – as the duck cooks it will cook in its own fat. Cook the duck breasts until the skin is crispy and the fat has rendered from the meat. Do not turn the duck breasts.
10. Add the spinach to the broth. It will wilt almost instantly, stir it in.
11. Move the cooked duck breasts to a chopping board skin side up. Slice the duck.
12. Add the remaining lime leaves, fish sauce, lime juice and the palm sugar and stir well.
13. Carefully transfer the slices of duck together and gently lower them into the broth. The easier way to do this is by sliding the knife underneath the sliced duck and using it to pick them as if one piece. The uncooked side of the duck breast should be immersed in the sauce, the crispy skin sitting above the level of the liquid. Poach the duck breast in the curry liquid until just slightly pink. Do NOT stir.
14. Remove the duck slices together and place on the plate with the suace and rice. Garnish with chopped corriander and serve immediately.
