Patatas Bravas and Chorizo

Continuing with the Spanish theme, we’d been given some fresh chorizo from Spain and I decided I would fry it with patatas bravas as an accompaniment.   Patatas bravas are small roasted potatoes with a tomato sauce.   I decided to add some yellow pepper to the sauce for extra vegetables, although I don’t think that’s how you’d be served it in Spain.  Very simple and easy.

Looking at the plate the proportions do look wrong but it tasted good and I was happy with all that tomato.    But, if I really wanted it to look more balanced then next time a little more chorizo and a little less tomato.

Ingredients – serves 2

Fresh chorizo, sliced

Two medium sized potatoes

400g tin of tomatoes (but possibly less next time!)

1 yellow pepper

1 green chilli pepper

2 spring onions

How to make Patatas Bravas with Chorizo

1. Turn the oven on and put a baking tray inside with a couple of tablespoons of oil.  Cut the potatoes into large cubes and then parboil.  Drain and season the potatoes.

2. Put the potatoes in the oven.   They will take about half an hour,  take out a couple of times and turn over.

3. The chorizo releases a lot of  oil so needs no oil to cook.  Just put into a dry frying pan.  Turn halfway through to brown both sides of each slice.

4. In another pan add the yellow pepper and chilli pepper.   When softened add the tomatoes and heat through.  Stir the spring onion in at the end.

 

Paella Recipe

I’ve been having a rather Spanish themed week this week after my mother gave me a packet of Carmencita Paellero seasoning her Spanish teacher had recommended and she had brought back from Spain.  The first dish I tried was Paella.  As my husband doesn’t like seafood I went for the meat only version.  I can’t say it’s entirely authentic as I didn’t follow any particular recipe.  However, it tasted good and reminded me of Spain.  If I hadn’t had the seasoning I would have just added the ingredients separately, not including colouring and corn flour.  For the colouring a pinch of turmeric would work just as well.

Ingredients

250g paella rice (I didn’t have any so used arborio risotto rice)

200g chicken, chopped up

50g chorizo, cubed

1 red pepper

2 tomatoes, diced

Handful of green beans

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Paellero Carmencita seasoning (contains: garlic, salt, paprika, corn flour, colouring E102, pepper, clove & saffron)

Extra pinch of pimenton (smoked sweet paprika)

1 small green chilli, finely sliced (optional and probably not authentic but I love chilli)

Method

1. Fry the chicken briefly till white on all sides. Remove.  Add the onion and fry till soft.  Add the chorizo.   It will soon begin to release oil.   Then add the vegetables.  Return the chicken to the pan.  Add the seasonings.    Then add the rice.   Cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring.

2.  Cover with water and leave over a low heat.  Don’t stir.  If it gets dry, add an extra dash of water.  It should be ready in about 20 minutes.

 

Roast Chickpea Salad

Recently everyone seems to be making roasted chickpeas and so I decided to try my own version and put them on a salad.   As  chickpeas are the main ingredient in falafals I decided to go for a north African/ middle Eastern falafal inspired flavour.  They even smelled like falafals as they were roasting.  The dressing for the salad contained the same flavours as the chickpeas and was made in the same bowl and so really helped the flavours to spread through the whole dish.

Ingredients

400g can of Chickpeas

1tsp cumin

1tsp chilli powder

Olive oil

Lemon juice

salad leaves

Grated carrot

Sliced cucumber

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Method

1. Drain and rinse can of chickpeas.  Put in a bowl with the olive oil, cumin and chilli powder.  Mix well till all chickpeas are coated.   Tip out onto a baking tray.  Put in the oven for about 45 minutes.

2. In the bowl that the chickpeas were in there will still be cumin and chilli powder coating the bowl.  Add the juice of one lemon and some extra virgin olive oil.  This will be the dressing.

3. Arrange the salad on the plates and drizzle with the dressing.  When the chickpeas are ready take them out of the oven and divide between the plates.

 

Stewed Rhubarb with Cinnamon

I hadn’t eaten rhubarb for ages until a weekend away when it was on the buffet table at breakfast.  I helped myself to almost the whole dish topped with natural yoghurt.  Delicious.  So, this weekend when I was visiting my parents and I discovered the overgrown rhubarb patch I was delighted to take some home with me.   As a child I took it for granted and ate it all the time in homemade pies and jellies but now it seems more of a special treat and something I can get excited about.    I don’t usually measure anything anyway but with this recipe I have absolutely no idea of the quantities.     I’ll try to remember as best I can.

Approx 16 sticks of rhubarb, chopped into 2 cm chunks

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan with a dash of water.    Cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes.

Serve by itself, with natural yoghurt or any other way you enjoy eating rhubarb.

 

Spicy Tomato Pasta

This is my number one standby meal and I seem to make it at least once every couple of weeks, sometimes even once a week.  Amazingly, when I first had it it was my husband (who was then my new boyfriend) who cooked it for me and I found it rather too spicy, even though he had made it much less spicy than I now make it myself.  I soon caught his chilli addiction and this became not just his but also one of my favourites.

Ingredients

Enough pasta for 2 people

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 or 2 birdseye chillis, finely diced

3 tomatoes cut into thick wedges

1 yellow or red pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

teaspoon of dried oregano

Grated cheese to serve (optional)

How to make spicy tomato pasta

1. Put the pasta on to boil until al dente

2. Stir fry the pepper and chilli pepper with a little oil.  Add the onions and garlic.   I like to still have a  little crunch in the onions but you could add then earlier if you prefer them more well done.  Then, as I don’t want the real tomatoes to disintegrate into the sauce I add then last at the same time as the chopped tomatoes and oregano.  Bring to the boil and simmer.

3.  When the pasta is done, the sauce is ready.  Serve with grated cheese on top.

 

Lemongrass Chicken Stir-Fry

Today I fancied lemongrass.  And that’s how tonight’s meal started.   Now lemongrass doesn’t go with saugages or stewing steak so it had to be chicken.  The rest of the ingredients were typical East Asian – chilli, ginger, garlic.   If I’d had a cold earlier it would be  gone by now.

Ingredients- Serves 2

250 g Chicken, thinly sliced

Tbsp Lemongrass paste (or fresh lemongrass if possible)

1 Chilli, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Knob of fresh  ginger, finely diced

Half yellow pepper, sliced thinly

Handful of green beans

2 Spring onions,1 finely diced for the marinade and one sliced for the stir fry

1 onion, sliced

1 tbsp fish sauce

1tbsp groundnut oil

Handful of dry-roasted peanuts, crushed

Noodles or rice to serve

How to make Lemongrass Chicken Stir-Fry

1. Finely dice 1 spring onion and mix with the sliced chicken and lemongrass.  Leave to marinate for 1 hour.

2. Put the noodles or rice on to boil according to packet instructions.

3. Heat the oil in a wok.  When it’s hot, add the chicken.  Stir fry for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, chilli, ginger, pepper, beans and onions.  Continue to stir fry for about a couple of minutes.  Add the fish sauce and approx 100ml of water and cook for another 2 minutes.  When ready serve over the rice or noodles and top with crushed dry-roasted peanuts.

 

Sausage Casserole

This is lovely and warming, a great way to eat sauages and be healthy!  I don’t often cook with sausages and these had been hanging around in my freezer for quite long enough and I really felt I should do something with them.  Most of these ingredients were in the cupboard so this is a great dish to make when the fridge is getting bare.

Ingredients – serves 2

3 sausages

400g can chopped tomatoes

300g can of borlotti beans

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

1 onion

Handful of green beans

1 clove of garlic

Bay leaf

Thyme

100 ml Chicken stock

1 Chilli (optional)

How to make Sausage Casserole

1. Slice the sausages approx 1 cm thick.  Brown in a little oil in a saucepan.  Remove.

2. Add finely diced onion, celery and carrot to the saucepan.   After cooking for a while add the crushed garlic, sausage pieces, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf and stock.  Simmer for approx 10 minutes then add the beans.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.   Serve with warm bread.

 

Halloumi Salad, Mexican Style

I got the inspiration for this recipe from Nigella Express.  But as it turned out, only the halloumi and the lime juice remained in my version.  I love spicy citrusy flavours and this salad was perfect for Saturday lunch today.

Ingredients

Block of halloumi

Two handfuls of spinach leaves

Two tomatoes

Half a red pepper

Half a yellow pepper

10cm of cucumber

Juice of 1 lime

Flavourless oil

1 chilli pepper

Garlic salt

Dried corriander leaf (would have used fresh if I’d had it)

Black Pepper

How to make the Halloumi Salad

1. Chop the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers into equal sized chunks.  Season with a little salt and pepper and mix together.

2. Make the dressing.  Squeeze the lime and finely chop the chilli.  I like heat so I leave the seeds in but you can deseed it if you want.  Put these ingredients plus the oil and dried corriander into a bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust as necessary.

3. Slice the cheese, approximately 1cm thick.   Heat a dry frying pan and put the slices in the pan.  After a couple of minutes turn the cheese and cook until it is browned on each side.  Remove and place in the bowl with the dressing.

4.  Put a handfull of spinach on each plate and divide the chopped salad between the plates.  Top each plate with 3-4 slices of the halloumi.  Drizzle the remaining dressing over the top.