Chilli King Prawns & Roasted Fennel with Sourdough

Chilli King Prawns & Roasted Fennel with Sourdough

Cooking/Preparation Time - 20 minutes

Feeds 4/8 

Ingredients -

1 x Fennel bulb - Finely slliced lengthways 

1 x White onion - Cubed

3 x Large cloves of garlic - Crushed and roughly sliced

1 x Pint of white wine

1 x Red chilli - Finely sliced

1/3 of x Ancho chilli - Finely sliced

Glug of olive oil

Handful of fresh parsley - Finely sliced

Hunk of sourdough per serving - Once toasted rub in the oil that the fennel has roasted in.

Instructions - 

Start by finely slicing the fennel lengthways and add a drizzle of olive oil and seasoning before roasting on 200 Degrees Celsius for 12/15minutes or until the edges start to darken.

Finely cube the onion, crush and finely slice the garlic and add both to a pan with a big glug of olive oil on a medium heat. Season with Salt & pepper and add in the chopped Ancho chilli and cook for 2/3 minutes until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the white wine and turn the heat up to cook off the alcohol. Cook for 4/5 minutes then add in the whole uncooked prawns along with the fresh chilli and cook for a further 4 minutes or until the prawns turn pink. Whilst the prawns are cooking toast the sourdough or put in the oven for 4/5minutes. Cover with the leftover oil from the dish you roasted the fennel in, this will give a lovely sweet taste to the sourdough. 

Once the prawns are cooked serve, adding in the roasted fennel. Garnish with the fresh chopped parsley and you're ready to get stuck in..

Crispy Ricotta Dumplings with Rosemary & Sage and Prosciutto Topping

If you're in need of comfort food then look no further, plus it's simpler to make than it looks. Give it a try and you'll definitely be surprised at how easy it is and how impressive the results are. If you've mustered up enough energy to start entertaining guests again then this will work as a great main dish. It's very colourful and the contrast between the hot and the cold parts is fantastic as is the beautiful scent created by the fresh herbs. It's wholesome, home made and hearty...what more could you be after?

Crispy Ricotta Dumplings with Rosemary & Sage and Prosciutto Topping

Cooking / Preparation Time - 45 mins

Feeds - 4/6

Dumpling Mix

2 x Cups of Ricotta (2 x 250g pots)

1.5 x Cups of Parmesan - Finely grated

1  1/4 x Cup of plain flour 

2 x Free range eggs

1/4 x Nutmeg

1/4 Zest of lemon 

White pepper

Rock salt & black pepper

Sage & Rosemary Butter

2 x Large sprigs of rosemary

4 x Sage leaves per serving

1/2 x Pack of butter

Rock salt

2 x Red pepper - Sliced lengthways into 1cm wide strips and roasted until crispy round the edges.

Watercress - 1 x Handful per serving
Prosciutto - 1 x Slice per serving

Instructions - 

Start by combining the dumpling mix and stir together thoroughly until you have a sticky but together mixture. Next roll it into a ball, adding a little extra flour if you need to. Make sure that you flour the kitchen surface before rolling out the mixture into a tube and slicing into portions. Transfer these onto baking paper with a dusting on either flour or fine semolina. Aim to cook 3 to 4 dumplings at a time in a large pan of generously salted boiling water for between 6 to 8 minutes. Your dumplings should float to the top and no longer be sticky in the centre when sliced. 

In a frying pan melt the butter on a medium heat adding the sage, rosemary and rock salt. Next add the cooked dumplings and fry until golden on both sides.

TIP - Dry the dumplings with kitchen towel before frying and they'll cook a lot quicker.

Allowing 3 to 4 dumplings per serving, stack them into the centre of the plate and sprinkle round the fresh watercress.  Next add the crisp, roasted red peppers in the middle along with the prosciutto and pour over a spoonful of the herb butter. Garnish with the crispy sage leaves.

Crispy Buttermilk Turkey Tacos

If you're not yet sick of the sight of turkey and you're still keen to indulge a little whilst making the most of the Christmas leftovers then you have to MAKE this!!

Don't be put off by the ingredients list, you'll have most of it in your cupboards. This also serves to impress at any dinner party and if you're all out of turkey use fish, chicken or try my vegetarian version. 

Crispy Buttermilk Turkey Tacos

Cooking / Preparation Time - (As long as you have the patience to marinate the turkey for - Anytime from 1hr to overnight ) plus 30mins cooking time.

Feeds - 4-6

Ingredients - 

Leftover turkey - Keep it in medium sized chunks/ slices and allow around a handful per serving

Buttermilk Marinade -

150g of Buttermilk (If you can't find this use sour cream and add a dash of milk)

2 x Tbsp of Smoked paprika

1 x Tsp of Cayenne pepper

2 x Tbsp of maple syrup

Sprinkle of rock salt

Generous sprinkle of white pepper

Generous sprinkle of black pepper

Flour Mix -

2 x Cups of plain flour

2 x Tbsp of smoked paprika

1 x Tsp of cayenne pepper

Sprinkle of rock salt

Generous sprinkle of white pepper

1/2 x Lemon zest

Pickled Red Onion- 

1 x Large red onion finely sliced

3 x Large glugs of red wine vinegar - Enough to cover the onion

1 x Tbsp of caster sugar

Spicy Pickled Radishes -

5 x Radishes - Finely sliced

2 x Glugs of red wine vinegar - Enough to cover the radishes

1 x Tsp of caster sugar

1inch of ginger - Finely sliced

1/4 x Medium sized red chilli - Finely sliced

Paprika Mayo-

4 x Tbsp of full fat mayonnaise

1 x Tbsp of smoked paprika

Large sprinkle of white pepper

Glug of Choula chilli sauce or Tabasco

Squeeze of a lemon

Extras-

Pack of soft flour tortillas - Allow one per person

1/4 x Red Cabbage - Finely sliced/shredded

1/2 x bunch of fresh coriander finely sliced to garnish

3/4 x Red Chilli - Finely sliced to garnish

Instructions - 

Start by combining the buttermilk marinade with the spices then add the turkey, cover and leave in the fridge to marinade for as long as your patience allows.

TIP - I always freeze some of my leftover turkey as I find I need a few days turkey free post Christmas. As long as you defrost and cook thoroughly the turkey will be just as good as fresh.

Whilst the turkey marinates combine the spices with the plain flour so it's ready to coat the turkey. Next start on pickling the red onion and radishes, combining all ingredients listed above and making sure you finely slice both the onions and radishes, they'll pickle quicker this way. 

Ensure the red cabbage is as finely shredded as possible and put to one side along with the coriander and fresh red chilli if you fancy the extra spice. 

Combine the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and spices. Give it a try to make sure you're happy with it, add extra spice if you can handle it.

Heat up a medium sized pan with vegetable oil until the fat is bubbling hot. Test by sampling one small piece of turkey before adding the rest - It should fizz and float to the top if ready.

Once the turkey is marinated carefully remove it from the marinade and add it straight to the flour mix coating all sides (try to keep as much of the marinade on the turkey as possible) before adding to the hot oil and deep frying for 3/4 minutes until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon to remove it from the oil, place the turkey onto paper towels to soak up some of the excess oil.

TIP - Don't overfill the pan as it reduces the temperature of the oil. You can keep the cooked turkey warm in the oven if you have a fair bit to get through. 

Once you've cooked all the turkey, start by adding the shredded cabbage to the middle of a taco followed by a generous topping of paprika mayo and the crispy fried turkey. Follow this with the pickled onions and radishes before garnishing with coriander and chilli Serve whilst the turkey is still warm. 

BREAD SAUCE

Bread Sauce- 

3 slices of white bread

1 x Pint of Full fat milk- Enough to cover the bread

4 x cloves

2 x Bay leaf

Sprinkle of salt 

Generous sprinkle of white pepper

A nob of butter

Instructions - 

Combine all ingredients and heat on a medium to low heat on the hob until the bread dissolves, let this simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and once you're happy with it remove from the heat, once cool cover until you need to reheat and serve or serve immediately. 

Turkey Leftovers Round 1- Crispy Fried leftovers with Spicy Guac & Gem Lettuce

If you're like me and are already a few Christmas dinners down then you might find this one useful...

Turkey Leftovers Round 1

Crispy Fried White Pepper Turkey with Extra Crunchy Stuffing, Spicy Guac & Gem Lettuce

This is a great option when you're still full from your Christmas day roast but have leftovers that you can't resist.

Cooking / Preparations Time - 15mins

Feeds 4

Ingredients - 

2 x Handfuls (8/10) Brussel Sprouts - Cut in half with outer layers pulled off

2 x Gem lettuces - Thoroughly washed with end cut off and leaves left separate 

2 x Handfulls of leftover turkey - A combination of light and dark meat works best - Sliced into rough strips

1 x Handful / Generous chunk of stuffing - Sliced into small cubes

1 x Spring Onion - Finely Sliced

1 x Handful of fresh coriander - Thoroughly washed and finely sliced

1/2 x Tsp of Smoked paprika

1/2 x Tsp of White pepper

2 x Ripe Hass avocados

1 x Limes 

Glug of Oil

Generous glug of Mexican style chilli sauce such as Cholula or chipotle tabasco 

Rock salt & black pepper

Instructions - 

Start by adding the brussels sprouts, turkey and stuffing to a pan on a medium to high heat before adding a glug of oil, 1/2 a tsp of white pepper and let cook until golden and crispy. Make sure you shake the pan enough to turn the sprouts, turkey and stuffing. All sides need to be golden and crispy before serving.

While the sprouts and meats are cooking, start by combining the avocado, 1/2 the spring onion, juice of both the limes, 1/2 a tsp of smoked paprika and good glug of the Cholula chilli and garlic sauce (I'm obsessed with it). Season with salt and pepper then give it a good mash/mix before finally add 3/4 of the chopped coriander. Taste to make sure it's spicy/seasoned well enough.

Once the guacamole, sprouts, turkey and stuffing are ready to go - Serve up by placing generous spoonfuls of the spicy guacamole onto the individual gem lettuce leaves followed by doing the same in sprouts, turkey and crispy browned stuffing. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with spring onion, coriander and a squeeze of fresh lime. 

The best bit is that you won't be left too full to eat all the other leftovers going...this is great as a light lunch, brunch or starter.

Mikey's Mulled Wine

Mikey's Mulled Wine 

This hands up has to be the BEST mulled wine I've had, I'm a red wine enthusiast and this one nails it :-)

Preparation Time - 30mins

Waters - 6-8 or even 12

Ingredients - 

2 x Bottles of OK quality red wine

500ml x Ginger beer

500ml x Apple juice

Glug of brandy- for extra strength

1 x large cinnamon stick

2 x Star anise

3 x Cloves (he's not keen) - stick into satsuma

2 x Cardamon pods

3 x  Orange slices

3 x Lemon slices

3 x Lime slices

1 x Satsuma with cloves stick in 

1 or 2 Tbsp of Muscovado sugar - taste it after one.

Instructions - 

Add all of the above and cook on a low heat for between 30mins and 3 hours...it will get better with time :-)

Stuffing Rolled Roasties

Stuffing Rolled Roasties - 

This one is for the vegetarians out there who feel like they may be missing out over Christmas...this dish really does take roast potatoes to the next level. I'm only cross that I'd not done this sooner!!!

Cooking/ Preparation Time - 1.5hrs

Feeds - 6/8 or 4/6 with enough for potato hash the next day

Ingredients - 

5-6 or (around 1.5kg) x Large potatoes Maris Piper 

1 x White Onion - Finely Sliced into rings

170g x Sage & Onion Stuffing (Paxo) - Add 350 ml of boiling water to the dry stuffing - Stir thoroughly.

1/2 of a cup of fine semolina

3 x Handfuls of fresh spinach - Wilted down

Olive Oil 

Rock salt and white pepper

Instructions-

Start by peeling the potatoes then slice into 3"x 3" rough squares and add to a pan of boiling water with a good sprinkle of salt. Boil on a high heat for 12-15 mins. It's better for them to be over cooked rather than undercooked. Test the potatoes by pushing a knife into one, the potato should slide off pretty easily if they've been boiling for long enough. Once cooked drain in a colander and then return the potatoes to the hot pan but off the heat.  Next add the sage and onion stuffing ensuring that you use a fork to separate/whisk up the stuffing first so that it's not in big lumps. Add both this and the semolina to the potatoes, cover with a lid and shake so that the potatoes are rough and fluffy with a coating of semolina and stuffing. 

Take a large oven dish and cover with a good amount of oil. Season with salt and pepper and heat in the oven for 5 mins on 200 degrees Celsius. Add the potatoes to the hot oil (be careful it may spit) using a serving spoon gently turn the potatoes in the oil before placing in the oven - All sides should be covered. 

Let them cook for around 35mins then carefully turn the potatoes in the oil again. You may need to add another glug of oil at this point to make sure you encourage as much crunch as possible. You can also add in the onions and spinach making sure you tuck them in alongside the potatoes as you don't want the onions to overcook. Plus you still need to maximise opportunity for potato crispiness!

Cook for a further 15/20 minutes until you're satisfied with your golden potatoes. Oven dependent you may need to turn it up to 220 degree Celsius if you're not getting them golden quick enough. 

TOP TIP- Make sure you don't over crowd your tray as they'll take longer to cook and go golden. 

This Months Company Magazine

AWKWARD

RELUCTANT VEGETARIAN

LEEK & SPINACH RICOTTA WELLINGTON

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/12/19/dish-of-the-day-the-reluctant-vegetarians-recipe-for-leek-spinach-ricotta-wellington/

Baked Brie with Roasted Garlic, Chilli & Cherry Tomato Salsa

Baked Brie with Roasted Garlic, Chilli & Cherry Tomato Salsa

This one is super simple, completely indulgent and definitely one to be shared. It's all down to good quality, ripe ingredients.

This should be a strong contender to be included in anyone's Christmas canapés or can even be eaten a pre-Christmas day supper snack. As long as you get it while it's warm and take into consideration the  serious amount of garlic you're about to eat, you'll thoroughly enjoy this dish.

Cooking / Preparation time - 20mins

Feeds - 4/6

Ingredients - 

1 x Whole Brie (vegetarian Brie available)

8 x Large cloves of garlic

1 x Medium red chilli

2 x Tsp of chilli flakes

1 x Sprinkle of rock salt

Large handful/ 8/10 cherry tomatoes - Try the yellow ones for some variation and extra sweetness

2 x Sprigs of rosemary

4 x Large glugs of extra virgin olive oil 

Sprinkle of black pepper

Instructions - 

Start by adding six cloves of garlic (outer layer left on) and your cherry tomatoes to an ovenproof dish and cover with a glug of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast for 10 mins on 180 degrees Celsius. Add in a sprig of rosemary for the last 2 minutes or just until it's crisp.

In the meantime remove the outer layer of the remaining garlic cloves, crush them with the side of your knife and slice in half. Next carefully make small slices in the Brie, around 6 or 7 should be enough and push the garlic inside along with a few sprigs of rosemary. Place in a dish and bake for 5/6 minutes.

Whilst the Brie is baking, start your salsa by using a pestle and mortar to muddle the red chilli and chilli flakes with rock salt and black pepper until you're left with a paste. Once you have gently roasted your rosemary add this too, leaving out the central hard stalk. When your cherry tomatoes have roasted nicrly and your garlic has become soft, start squeezing out the sweet, roasted garlic and combining this to your paste. Continue to muddle and gradually start to add your olive oil. Next add your cherry tomatoes along with the juices from roasting them and give a thorough stir.  Check for seasoning and adjust if you need to.

Serve the salsa alongside the baked brie with a crunchy french stick or freshly baked loaf.

THIS WEEKS RELUCTANT VEGETARIAN BLOG.

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/12/04/dish-of-the-day-the-reluctant-vegetarian’s-recipe-for-baked-brie-with-roasted-garlic-chilli-cherry-tomato-salsa/

Roasted Tomato & Rosemary Soup with Cheese & Onion Ciabatta Toastie

Roasted Tomato & Rosemary Soup with Cheese & Onion Ciabatta Toastie

Now the temperature outside has started to drop and the days are closing in, I'm finding I can't help but crave warming comfort foods. This is a super simple way to pack in a load of vegetables, indulge in a bit of melted cheese and enjoy the comforts of a tomato soup that's not Heinz. Don't leave out the rosemary as this takes this dish to a whole new level. 

Cooking / Preparation Time - 40mins

Feeds 4-6

Ingredients -

4 x Large tomatoes - Roughly chopped

8 x Cherry Tomatoes - Finley sliced

1 x White onion - Half finely sliced, half roughly chopped 

5 x Large Cloves of garlic - Left whole (save half of one to rub over the ciabatta)

2 x Dark red peppers - Roughly chopped into chunks

2 x Vegetable stock cubes

1 x Pot of creme fraiche

1 x Small handfull of parsley - Finley chopped

2 x Spring onions - Finely sliced

1 x Bunch of rosemary - Roasted and finely sliced

1 x Large handful of mature vegetarian cheddar - Grated

1 x Ciabatta 

Rape Seed Oil - Small glug

Instructions -

Start by roughly chopping up the large tomatoes, half an onion, garlic and red peppers. Add them to a roasting dish, season and drizzle with rapeseed oil. Cook on 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. 10 minutes before removing from the oven add in the rosemary so it remains fragrant once cooked. Next make up 2.5 pints of vegetable stock and combine with all the vegetables and blend in the blender. Ensure that you remove all rosemary stalks before blitzing. Check seasoning and adjust accordingly.

For the cheese and onion toasted ciabatta, slice the ciabatta in half lengthways and rub with the fresh garlic. Add a small sprinkle of the finely sliced white onion, spring onions and finely sliced cherry tomatoes followed by the grated vegetarian cheese. Season with black pepper and place the other half of bread on top forming a sandwich. Next pan fry the ciabatta in a glug of rapeseed oil cooking on both sides. Place something heavy on top, pressing down on the ciabatta to help it cook. If you have one a toasted sandwich maker will work well here as well.

Serve the soup with a sprinkle of chopped parsley, fresh white onion, black pepper and a dollop of creme fraiche. Add the cheese toastie to the soup or serve on the side and dunk.