Favourite recipes.....

Gandhi

Gandhi

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Ok, so we've had the things about you, what you look like, what's your desk look like, size of your wine cellar etc. type threads. What Floats my boat is.... what is your 'signature' dish. I.E. If you had a hot date coming for supper, if you were cooking a sinful supper for yourself, a dish to impress, a combination of your favourite foods etc.

Whats NOT Allowed is anyform of pre-processed or cooked/takeaway/readymeal type stuff. For they art Beezebub in the form of food and shall lead straight to the inferno of eternal damnation. Especially Dominoes and excepting Schwartz Bros Burger company (if you've ever tatsted one of their 'blue cheese veggie burgers ;) )


Mine is my especially tasty 3 hour bolognese that goes well on pasta (fresh) or jacket potatoes or anything else you'd serve with meat sauce..

An equal amount of pork and beef mince (amount depends on servings I use 1/2lb of each and that serves 4) Should be the best quality, cheap stuff aint gonna cut it here, it's a simple recipe so all about quality of ingredients...

1 Large onion

3 fat juicy cloves of garlic

3 bay leaves

Some white wine (the best you can affiord to cook with)

Enough Passata to survive 3 hours of cooking (I use 750ml of both, making 1,5l of liquid to 1Lb of meat)

Salt & Pepper

METHOD:

Soften the onion in plenty of olive oil over a medium heat, when translucent add pork and beef mince and brown.

Crush the garlic and add to the pan along with the bay and and enough pasatta/white wine to cover the mince.

Season to taste.

IMPORTANT BIT

Bring to the boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. This needs to cook for no less than 2 1/2 hours. Best thing to do is get it going, turn it to the lowest setting your ring will allow and then go out and have some fun while it cooks. You'll come back to the msot succulent pasta sauce ever.

Cook your fresh pasta and stir into the meat sauce,

Garnish as desired (basil/parmesan)


Taught to me by an italian lady who loved her food, they used to do the prep before they went to church and it was ready when they came home.




Reason I'm posting this, is I'm a bit stumped at the mo for stuff to cook, so Ideas purleaze!
 
oh wow...I like this thread but I have so many favourite recipes...I will get my thinking cap on :)
 
My cooking is too random to turn into recipes... No two dishes are the same.

Yours is quite scary. It has meausurements and things!
 
Naturally Smoked Haddock in Butter Sauce with Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
For the fishy bit....
One largish piece of naturally smoked haddock (not the bright yellow stuff) skinned
About half a pint of creamy milk
50grammes butter (at least)
Loads of black pepper
heaped teaspoon cornflour
chopped fresh parsley

Heat the milk and half the butter in a largish pan, (I use a deep frying pan) until the butter is melted and add as much black pepper as you like
Add the fish, bring to a gentle simmer and then turn the heat down, cook for five mins until the fish flakes easily.
Remove the fish from the milk
Mix the cornflour with some more milk and add to the hot fishy milk, add the rest of the butter, stir until thickened, taste to see if it needs any salt (smoked fish can be salty enough so go careful)
Add the parsley if using
Put the fish back in the sauce and flake into large chunks

Make some creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes
Cook some fresh veg
oooh I'm hungry again
:LOL:
 
Mine is a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for Mutton Tagine - absolutely gorgeous but I'm damned if I can be bothered to type out the whole thing on here. You wanna cook it - do an internet search and it'll pop up I'm sure! In fact - better still HERE it is! Very tasty it is too!
 
Witch said:
Mine is a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for Mutton Tagine - absolutely gorgeous but I'm damned if I can be bothered to type out the whole thing on here. You wanna cook it - do an internet search and it'll pop up I'm sure! In fact - better still HERE it is! Very tasty it is too!
Click to expand...

love watching him on the telly...very entertaining chap
 
Right. I'll try to fob off a "recipe" on you lot then.

Citrus Ramen

Ingredients :
1 packet of Ramen, any flavour - meaty ones are nice. Chicken works well.
A can of Tuna
A bunch of Broccoli
Clove of garlic
Lemon pepper
lemons!
soy sauce.

Break the ramen before cooking.
Add more water than you normally would (I guess you could follow the instructions on the packet & then add a bit more!)

half cook the ramen

Add ramen stock, lemon pepper, tuna (whole can), broccoli, crush the clove of garlic & add, a good squeeze of lemon juice & a touch of soy sauce.

Finish cooking the ramen

Serve
Tip : fork out hard matter first, then pour the fluid over the top. Stops you throwing liquid everywhere when you realise your bowl is too small!

Season with a slice of lemon

Eat!

Oh, and you can swop out the lemon for lime - gives it quite a different flavour.
 
Hoodi said:
It has meausurements and things!
Click to expand...

Only as a rough guide, If I said 'shove some pork/beef/garlic/onion in a pan etc' People would only go :cautious::thinking::bang: Hence the rough guide.

All recipe are open to interpretation!
 
I'm crap in the kitchen. I'm a survivalist type cook on the rare occasions I have to be, so I'll step back from this one and let you gourmets have the floor. :D
 
Witch said:
Mine is a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for Mutton Tagine - absolutely gorgeous but I'm damned if I can be bothered to type out the whole thing on here. You wanna cook it - do an internet search and it'll pop up I'm sure! In fact - better still HERE it is! Very tasty it is too!
Click to expand...

My favourite Tajine is here Bit expensive to cook but works well poured over a big pile of couscous.


Hmmm, I love food. And I still manage to remain under 10stones ;)
 
Oh dear :|

Ramen is really versatile - there's an awful lot you can do with it, which is what makes it one of my favourite things to grab whatever is going in the fridge and see what you come out with!

I'm not a big fan of the sterotypical british cuisine. I mean, it's OK, but... Yeah, I'm gonna stop there. I was brought up on arabic food, and have since tried to sample food from as many different places as possible - spencer has the right idea by learning from the horses mouth!
 
Marianne said:
love watching him on the telly...very entertaining chap
Click to expand...

Hugh F-W and Rick Stein have, in my view, done more for the survival of smaller British suppliers and producers than just about anyone else on TV in the past few years. We try so far as we can to use local producers - farmers markets, farm shops etc, and when we do have the use the supermarket try to make sure that food we buy has been grown over here if it's practical so to do. I really wish people would think more about the distance their food has travelled to get to them - generally speaking the fewer, the better - and it tastes better that way too!

/rant mode off

:D
 
Hoodi said:
I'm not a big fan of the sterotypical british cuisine.
Click to expand...

Properly battered fish, nicechips and good mushy peas?


A decent steak and kidney pie?


Sunday roast (forerib of beef)

A traditional stew & dumplings?

If it's done well then it's just as good as anything therest of the world can through at us. I fear thought that peoples opinions of our dishes has been tainted by shoddy pub lunches and chain restaurants....

Ploughmans lunch... Decent cheese, homemade bread, an apple and a pint of cider. Point made.
 
Meat always tastes better from a village butcher ! I have found anyway !

My recipe !

Beans on Toast

Toast bread, cook beans, pour beans on toast ! Job done ! ;)

Havent had much need to cook for anybody else recently ! LOL Oh well, fingers crossed that will change soon ! ;) Then ill print all these off and try one them ! ;) LOL
 
Good idea for a thread! One of my favourites is the good ole chilli con carne.

Dice onions and chilli peppers and fry until translucent and add some garlic.
Brown the minced steak in a seperate pan until the fat evaporates and then add to the onion.
Throw in a generous sprinkling of chilli powder and oregano, then add good dollops of Linghams sweet chilli sauce, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup.
Add some sliced mushrooms, tinned chopped tomatoes and beef stock, stir well and season then place in a moderate oven (about 140-150*) for 3-4 hours. Serve with creme fraiche or sour cream, rice, tortillas, grated cheese, guacamole, garlic bread or any combo of the above.

As a side note, for the perfect Yorkshire pudding:
1/2 pint of milk
4oz flour
2 large eggs
tablespoon of oil
salt and pepper

Mix all of the above (wet ingredients first), preferably in a food mixer then allow to stand for a few hours. Put your yorkie tray in a hot oven with a little oil on the bottom until smoking hot then transfer to the hob over a medium heat, add the mix then straight back in the oven for 35 minutes until risen, golden brown and crispy. Do not open the oven door during the cooking time!

Finally, whilst I'm on the subject of roast dinner the perfect accompaniment are parmesan parsnips. Taken some large parsnips, quarter lengthways and remove the woody core. Place in a pan of cold water and bring to boil. In the meantime sieve some flour and mustard powder and add a good helping of finely grated parmesan and place in a large freezer bag. Allow the parsnips to boil for 2 minutes, drain and add to the freezer bag, twist shut and shake until the parsnips are well coated in the mix. Roast in oil and butter in a hot oven for about 45 minutes, turning halfway and removing the excess fat at this stage. Once you've had them you'll never eat them any other way!

Getting hungry now!
 
Hmm, yeah - but that's just it, even when it's done well british cuisine just doesn't touch foreign offerings - atleast not for me. My sister is a mean cook and sticks to mostly standard dishes. They're lovely - but give me some good sushi or felaful any day.

I should mebbe point out that at weekends I'm a restaurant chef.

edit : damn my starting a post then fobbing off for ice - that was directed at Gandhi :D
 
Witch said:
Hugh F-W and Rick Stein have, in my view, done more for the survival of smaller British suppliers and producers than just about anyone else on TV in the past few years. We try so far as we can to use local producers - farmers markets, farm shops etc, and when we do have the use the supermarket try to make sure that food we buy has been grown over here if it's practical so to do. I really wish people would think more about the distance their food has travelled to get to them - generally speaking the fewer, the better - and it tastes better that way too!

/rant mode off

:D
Click to expand...

Too true, mores the pity.

I don't really like the stein (have you been to padstow?) and hugh is typical of dorset folk, but they have done good work, there is much to be said for locally sourced, organic, proper & seasonal food. The big 4 supermarkets really need to wise up. Public opinion is changing and they need to adapt. I just don't want to see another class divide appear based on the affordability of good,healthy, nutrional food. Unfortunately things are going this way at the moment with the price of organic foodstuffs etc.


Anyway.......


Favourite recipes? (mine feeds 4 for about £1.50 a head at top quality, more like less than a pound on budget ingredients ;) )
 
Take approximately 1lb of haricots cuits au four and heat gently and serve over hot pain grillé for a quick, easy and cheap meal full of vitamins and protein ;)

Alternatively, lasagne or spag bol. Not necessarily with the stuff that comes in jars. More like a quick whip around the kitchen. Tomato puree, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, red onions, clove of garlic, etc...
 
I don't have any particular dish that I make.... but I do make the most scrummy muffins :D Will dig out the recipe and post later if anyone is interested :)
 
This is my fav, not got a name though.....

any pasta you want, I use penne
1 x onion
1 x 2 chicken breasts (serves 2-4 peoples)
1 x pot of M&S green pesto, or any you've got, red will do too
1 x red pepper
6 x fresh vine toms
1 x small pot creme fresh
1 x clove of garlic
1 x small handfull of grated parmesan to cook with + some to bung on at the end.
1 x squirt of tom puree
1 x some fresh parsley

Clean and place your chicken on a large piece of cling film, fold cling over so that the breasts are covered and give them a right good beating, once they are nicely flat, say 10mm or so high. Bung them onto a griddle pan, no oil, and let them cook until done, around 5-10mins. Once cooked kepp on one side for later.

Chop your onions and garlic finely, heat some olive oil in a saucepan, chuck in the onion and garlic, let sweat for a couple of mins, chop up your red pepper and bung in, also quarter the vine toms and add too. Let this cook for a further 5-10mins, meanwhile put the pasta on depending how long s this cook (quick or normal stuff).

Cut the chicken up into small pieces and place into the pan, squirt some tom puree in too, buy now (from onions going in too puree going in around 10-15 mins tops) your pasta should be done , drain this, put some grated parmesan into the pan, give a quick mix, put the pasta into the pan, mix around, then put 4 teaspoons (2people) of pesto in and 4 teaspoons of creme fresh. take off the heat and give a good mix around. Serve with a sprinking of fresh parsley and parmesan. Note add black pepper to taste throughout the cooking process.

Prego 'chargrilled chicken pasta, in a creme fresh pesto sauce'
 
This is making me hungry... If I was going for a three course special occasion then I'd be thinking along the lines of:

Pear & pancetta salad
Mixed leaf salad with sliced fresh pears and red peppers & some Gorgonzola cheese (decent stuff, not the acidic mess the supermarkets try to sell) dressed in a nice ranch style dressing and topped with a couple of bits of fried, thinly sliced pancetta.

Fillet steak poached in red wine with celeriac mash & steamed brocolli
This is a dead simple one, the only trick is getting the timings right so that everything arrives together. The key to this, as ever, is decent ingredients. The steaks should be approximately the same size and well marbled. The wine needs to be a decent, robust and preferably spicy little number, I tend to go with a decent Rioja or Shiraz.

The steaks should be poached in a mix of chicken stock and red wine, about half and half of each with a few whole peppercorns, a couple of whole peeled garlic cloves and a bunch of fresh thyme. For medium it only takes about 7 minutes of cooking, maybe 8 mins for well done. Once the meat is done, remove it from the pan and allow to rest. In the meantime strain the cooking liquor and retain about a wine glass full and the garlic. Return this to the pan, crush the garlic and reduce slightly then add a knob of butter to create a thin but silky sauce.

I tend to serve this with a mash of celeriac and potato which is really simple to do but a wee bit different. It's just a case of peeling both, chopping and boiling until done then mashing with butter and black pepper.

For a vegetable I like a bit of *steamed* brocolli (anyone who boils it should be taken out and shot). This only takes about 2-3 mins to do so you can normally start this as the meat is finished.

Unfortunately you're now stuck with a half bottle or so of wine which just looks a bit stingy on the table so the bad news is the evening is a bottle and a half minimum ;)

Home made bitter orange ice cream
Now normally the concept of home made ice cream conjures visions of splitting custards and excessive churning but this one's a little different. Simply take a pint of double cream, the rind of an orange and a lime, the juice of the orange and 2 limes and some icing sugar (I forget the exact amount I'm afraid) and whip it all together. Once it's at the stage of forming soft peaks simply freeze et voila!

You can serve it either as is or with an orange coulis made from a simple sugar syrup and pulped orange flesh.
 
rpstewart said:
Unfortunately you're now stuck with a half bottle or so of wine which just looks a bit stingy on the table so the bad news is the evening is a bottle and a half minimum ;)
Click to expand...

now that's my kinda cookin'!
 
Here's one I did the other day...

Homemade rosti with smoked salmon and poached egg

Bloody luvverly it was too
 
rpstewart said:
This is making me hungry... If I was going for a three course special occasion then I'd be thinking along the lines of:

Pear & pancetta salad
Mixed leaf salad with sliced fresh pears and red peppers & some Gorgonzola cheese (decent stuff, not the acidic mess the supermarkets try to sell) dressed in a nice ranch style dressing and topped with a couple of bits of fried, thinly sliced pancetta.

Fillet steak poached in red wine with celeriac mash & steamed brocolli
This is a dead simple one, the only trick is getting the timings right so that everything arrives together. The key to this, as ever, is decent ingredients. The steaks should be approximately the same size and well marbled. The wine needs to be a decent, robust and preferably spicy little number, I tend to go with a decent Rioja or Shiraz.

The steaks should be poached in a mix of chicken stock and red wine, about half and half of each with a few whole peppercorns, a couple of whole peeled garlic cloves and a bunch of fresh thyme. For medium it only takes about 7 minutes of cooking, maybe 8 mins for well done. Once the meat is done, remove it from the pan and allow to rest. In the meantime strain the cooking liquor and retain about a wine glass full and the garlic. Return this to the pan, crush the garlic and reduce slightly then add a knob of butter to create a thin but silky sauce.

I tend to serve this with a mash of celeriac and potato which is really simple to do but a wee bit different. It's just a case of peeling both, chopping and boiling until done then mashing with butter and black pepper.

For a vegetable I like a bit of *steamed* brocolli (anyone who boils it should be taken out and shot). This only takes about 2-3 mins to do so you can normally start this as the meat is finished.

Unfortunately you're now stuck with a half bottle or so of wine which just looks a bit stingy on the table so the bad news is the evening is a bottle and a half minimum ;)

Home made bitter orange ice cream
Now normally the concept of home made ice cream conjures visions of splitting custards and excessive churning but this one's a little different. Simply take a pint of double cream, the rind of an orange and a lime, the juice of the orange and 2 limes and some icing sugar (I forget the exact amount I'm afraid) and whip it all together. Once it's at the stage of forming soft peaks simply freeze et voila!

You can serve it either as is or with an orange coulis made from a simple sugar syrup and pulped orange flesh.
Click to expand...



All sounds good to me!


Cheats thai green chicken curry....

into a blender put....

garlic,
ginger,
lemongrass,
green chilli,
coriander,
lime zest

Blend to a paste

Tip a can of coconut milk into saucepan, add the blend and set over medium heat.

Meanwhile slice a few chicken breasts and fry them gently ina little live oil to seal them, then add to the sauce mix. Poach gently untilthe chicken is cooked and the sauce reduced slightly. MAybe 10 minutes or so.

Serve with Jasmine rice and fresh coriander.

Best thing is, you can vary the ratio of ingredients in the flavourings to suit your mood. Feeling fragile? Reduce the chilis a touch etc etc etc
 
I've got Nanny Oggs cookbook from the Terry Pratchett series - was bought for me as a joke but one of the currys in there is awesome! Will write down recipe when I get a min.
I actually tried making the Rock scones too but they actually met with their reputation & were completely inedible (& could definately do some serious damage if used as a weapon :LOL: )
 
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