Chicken Shish Kebabs

Last year I went on holiday to Egypt and when I go anywhere new, one of the main things I get excited about is trying all the food.  Unfortunately I picked up a stomach bug on the second day and wasn’t completely well until the last day so I couldn’t really enjoy it all.  I did manage to eat some absolutely fantastic grilled meats though which were really well marinated and tender.  I’m  not sure exactly what they were marinated in but they were really delicious.

So when this month My Kitchen My World went to Egypt,  I was happy to have an excuse to finally make these kebabs.   I have to say that the end result did not taste quite like anything I actually ate in Egypt so I can’t claim they are authentic.  However, they tasted great and reminded of the holiday that inspired them.

Ingredients

300g chicken, chopped into large chunks

1/2 tsp dried mint

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Seeds from 3 cardamom pods

1 garlic clove, crushed

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 tbsp yoghurt

How to make Chicken Shish Kebabs

1. Combine all the herbs and spices with the yoghurt.  Stir well.   Add the chicken and stir so it is coated on all sides in the sauce.   Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours to marinate.

2. Thread the chicken onto skewers.  Cook on a griddle pan, under the grill or barbecue.   Serve with salad and pitta bread.

 

Inspired by Masterchef: Vanilla Panna Cotta and Mixed Berry Sauce

Last week on Masterchef it was all about baking and desserts so I really was spoilt for choice over what to make – cupcakes, clafoutis, eccles cakes, bakewell tart or choux buns were just some of the options I had to  turn down.  I don’t consider myself to be an expert on desserts, but I do like making them and am almost always happy with the results.   Well, how could anyone not be happy with creamy vanilla and berries?

I chose panna cotta in the end as it is something I had planned on making for a long time.  It is also one of the desserts on my list of new year food plans.   Looking back at the list it strikes me that I have actually made a lot more of the desserts than savoury dishes.  Something that will have to be put right after Masterchef finishes I think.

The last time I ate panna cotta was about a month ago in a restaurant on my birthday and I was a bit disappointed with the texture.   It just wasn’t smooth and creamy enough.   But, luckily the one I made was perfect.  I can say with 100 percent confidence that my one was better than the restaurant one.   I served it with a warm sauce which made it melt a little at the sides but both texture and taste were lovely.   Next time I have guests I know what I’ll be making.

Next week’s Inspired by Masterchef post will be published early on 28 April.

I am also sending this to Lisa at Sweet as Sugar Cookies for Sweets for a Saturday.

Ingredients – serves 2

250ml double cream

1tsp vanilla essence

25g caster sugar

1g gelatine leaf

Berry Sauce

Approx 3 tbsp frozen mixed berries

1 tbsp caster sugar

30ml water

How to make Vanilla Panna Cotta and Mixed Berry Sauce

1. Soak the gelatine leaf in warm water.   When it’s soft, squeeze the excess water out.

2. Put the cream, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and heat.   Stir to dissolve the sugar.  When it is bubbling around the edge and just about to boil, take it off the heat and add the gelatine leaf.   Stir till fully dissolved.

3. Pour into two ramekins and put in the fridge.   They will need a minimum of two hours to set.

4. Make the sauce by putting all the berries, sugar and water into a small saucepan.   Bring to the boil and reduce till the sauce is syrupy and the berries are beginning to break down.

5. To serve, fill a saucepan with boiling water from the kettle. Hold the ramekin in the pan for about 20 seconds.  Turn the ramekin over onto a plate and the panna cotta should fall out. Spoon some sauce onto the side.If serving the sauce warm then serve immediately as it will begin to melt the panna cotta.

 

Goat’s Cheese and Vegetable Pancakes

Today I broke the habit of a lifetime.   I made pancakes when it wasn’t pancake day.   If I have ever done this before, please remind me.  I am not of course including eating the ones that are called crepes and therefore claim to be classier, even though they are just the same as British pancakes, because I have to admit that I have eaten crepes on the odd occasion.

Thinking about pancakes reminds me of a Canadian lecturer at work who said she was really surprised when she found out that here most people only eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and not throughout the year.  As they are so easy it did make me think that I should make them more often.   And then pancake day passed and I forgot about it.   And then, I saw on Livs’ blog, Six Mix Tricks, that she was having a competition in which we should use one of her mixes and create a Spring/Easter themed recipe.  As batter is one of the mixes I decided to make pancakes.   Now, I know pancakes are not especially springlike, but they do include eggs, and by serving them with a side salad and including fresh mint and goat’s cheese with Mediterranean vegetables (apart from the mushroom) in the filling, they seem much lighter and more summery than the pancakes I made back in February.

So, what have I learnt?   Pancakes are definitely a forgotten about meal and I resolve to make them again before next year in February.   Also, if you are interested in finding out more about Livs’ concept of cooking based six mixes (batter, pastry, white sauce, custard, cake and scone) then take a look at her blog.

Ingredients – Serves 2

For the Batter – Makes 3-4 pancakes(so you can have dessert ones too)

250ml milk

100g flour

1 egg

Pinch of salt

For the Filling – fills 2 pancakes

1/4 aubergine, diced

1/2 pepper, sliced

5 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

2 spring onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

Goats cheese

About 10 fresh mint leaves, finely sliced

Salt

Black pepper

How to make Goat’s Cheese and Vegetable Pancakes

1. Prepare the batter.   Using a whisk mix together the milk, flour, salt and egg.   Leave to stand while you prepare the vegetables.

2. Heat some olive oil in a pan.  Add the aubergine, red pepper, onion and garlic.    When softened add the mushrooms.

3. Heat a little oil in a frying pan.  When hot, add a ladle of batter.  Tip the pan to the sides so the batter covers the whole of the bottom of the pan.   After a couple of minutes turn and cook the other side.

4. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

5. Serve by putting the vegetable filling in the middle of the pancake, sprinkle with mint, spring onions and chopped mint. Roll up and serve with salad.

 

Rocket and Goat’s Cheese Balsamic Salad

This month for Taste and Create I was paired with Measured in Pinches and I found this lovely salad on her blog.   Although not a big fan of greens, she actually fell in love with rocket (arugula) when she was in England because of it’s peppery taste and because of a certain carrot, rocket and houmous sandwich she used to buy in Boots the chemist.   Now, it’s a long time since I’ve had that particular sandwich but I do know what she means, and I will look out for it again next time I get my lunch from Boots.  Anyway, Boots may be good but this salad would make an even better alternative.  The rocket of course is lovely and delicious, but for me, what makes it really good is the goat’s cheese, onion and balsamic vinegar.   For me these flavours really work well together.  The sweetness of the balsamic vinegar really complements the tanginess of the cheese.   It is definitely something I will make again.    I served it with pitta bread to make a nice easy weekday dinner.

Ingredients – Serves 2

4 handfuls of rocket

1 red pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

5 mushrooms, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Goats cheese

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Pinch of sage(optional)

Pinch of rosemary(optional)

How to make Rocket and Goat’s Cheese Balsamic Salad

1. Heat a little oil in a  wok.   Stir fry the peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic.   When nearly ready add the balsamic vinegar and herbs if using.  (I was a little unsure about whether sage would go so I added a very very small amount which I then couldn’t taste so I still don’t know). Stir in then take off the heat and leave to cool slightly.

2. Put a pile of rocket on each plate. Top with diced tomato.  Add the pepper, onion and garlic mix.   Crumble the goats cheese on top. Add extra balsamic vinegar if it’s too dry.

 

Roasted Sea Bream with Roasted Onions

A couple of weeks ago I heard about the 365 challenge in which the Murdoch Books team are cooking their way through all the recipes in Stephane Reynaud’s 365 Good Reasons to Sit Down to Eat which includes a recipe for every day of the year.   If you want to see what they have created so far and follow the challenge then go to their 365 Challenge blog at Murdoch Books.  This post can also be found there.

For my first recipe I chose red mullet with roasted onions.  I didn’t think this would be a problem.  I’d just seen red mullet on the supermarket fish counter and I assumed it was in season and I’d find it again easily.   How wrong I was.    When I was sent the recipe and went back to the supermarket there was no red mullet.    I asked the fishmonger if there was any fish that would be similar but he told me nothing was similar and he didn’t know when he would next have red mullet.   Not very encouraged, I went away and decided to try elsewhere another day.  I found a fresh fish shop on the internet and decided to do a detour there on my way home from work.   Unfortunately I’d picked the day it was closed.    Hoping for third time lucky, I went to another supermarket that I knew had a fish counter.    Deciding I would have to give up on red mullet I opted for sea bream instead.   I’m not sure if it has any similarities to mullet, but it was a very nice fish all the same with nice bright eyes and no fishy smell.

So, finally I could begin to cook.   As I hadn’t seen the recipe before deciding to make it, I hadn’t known that it required barbecuing.    Not having a barbecue, I deciding roasting the fish would have to do as a substitute.   After all, the onions needed roasting so I would be using the oven anyway.

I also decided to make small roast potatoes, roasted tomatoes and roasted fennel to go with the fish and onions to make a full meal.

Overall I was happy with this, it was a good meal, but it was essentially just roasted fish and roasted vegetables.   It definitely needed the potatoes and extra vegetables to make a full meal.

Ingredients – vary quantities according to number of people

Whole fish

Onions

Bay leaves

Thyme

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Assorted vegetables for roasting

How to make Roasted Sea Bream with Roasted Onions

1. Wash the onions well as you keep the skins on them.  Slice down in a cross shape but not cutting all the way through.  Push a little butter inside and sprinkle with dried thyme then wrap them in aluminium foil.

2. Season the fish with salt and pepper, and rub with olive oil.   Oil the roasting tin.   Put a couple of bay leaves under the fish, a couple inside and a couple on the top.

3. Put the onions and fish in an oven pre-heated to about 200c for about 20 minutes.

I also roasted potatoes, fennel and tomatoes with the fish.   The potatoes should be parboiled, salted and need to go in the oven about 15 minutes earlier than the fish.

 

Potato Rosti with Chorizo and Pepper Ragout

There are some things that I should have done fifteen years ago.   One of those things is make this rosti and sauce from a small book called, Kartoffeln Leicht Gemacht (Potatoes made easy), that I was given by one of the teachers at the school in Germany where I spent a year as an English assistant.   I think she hoped I would go home and create some German dishes to remind me of my time there.  Well, I looked at the pictures!  Not just once but a few times over the years, but I never actually got around to making anything.

Well, over the past few months I have been looking at the entries each month for Dom’s random recipe challenge at Belleau Kitchen.  But yet again, I hadn’t actually got around to doing this challenge.  I suppose I was a bit scared of the randomness of it all.   What if I got something I didn’t like?  Just forget it for that month and hope for better luck the next time?   Well, this month Dom asked us to take the first recipe book we’d ever bought or been given and pick something randomly from that.   Well, it turned out to be just the push I needed to use this book.

The sauce was quite rich and really tasty.  The rosti was great tastewise but was a little soggy in places.   I think squeezing the water out first would help it to crisp up a bit more or possibly just cooking it a little longer.  Even so,  I will definitely be making it again.

Ingredients

For Ragout

1 red pepper, roughly chopped

1 green pepper, roughly chopped

1 onion, sliced

3 inches of chorizo, chopped (this was a German sausage in the original recipe)

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp paprika

For the rosti

2 large potatoes

1 onion

Small knob butter

Salt

Black pepper

How to make Potato Rosti with Chorizo and Pepper Ragout

1. Grate the potatoes in a food processor.  Ideally, then put the grated potato in a clean teatowel and squeeze the excess water out. This will help the rosti to crispen up.

2. Heat a little oil  in a frying pan.   Dice the onion and add to the pan when the oil is hot.  Fry until soft then add the grated potato, salt and pepper.   Fry, stirring for a while.

3. Then flatten the potato and turn the heat down so it cooks slowly.

4. Put all the ragout ingredients into a saucepan.   Add about 6 tablespoons of water. Bring to the boil then turn down to simmer and put the lid on.

5. After about ten minutes turn over the rosti by putting a plate on top, turning the pan over so the rosti falls onto the plate and then sliding the rosti back into the frying pan.

6. After about 10 more minutes, the rosti should be ready.  If necessary, put under the grill for  few minutes to crisp up the top of the rosti.   Serve  with the ragout on the side.

 

Inspired by Masterchef: Monkfish Tail Wrapped in Pancetta

This week on Masterchef it was the food critic week.  I always love this round as the critics don’t know the contestants so I feel their opinions are based wholly on the food whereas I sometimes feel John and Greg may have another agenda and can be influenced by what they already know about the contestants.

Anyway, at the end of the show I was left with at least three things that I would like to make.   Rice paper rolls, paneer and spinach stack, and of course, monkfish wrapped in pancetta.    According to the critics the paneer stack was the star meal of the day and maybe I should have tried to make it but I felt I didn’t have quite enough information in order to make my dish into a star dish.  So, that dish was out.  What about the rice paper rolls?   Well, I am definitely planning to make them.  But not this week, soon.

So, back to the monkfish.  On Masterchef it was filled with garlic, thyme and rosemary.   As I had basil and chives left over from the previous day, I decided to use this as my filling along with the garlic.   It was really quite a simple dish.   It was my first time to cook with monkfish though and so it was also my first time to remove the long bone that goes through the length of the tail.  I seemed to manage it without wasting much of the flesh, but I did end up cutting the tail in half lengthways in the process.   Anyway, at least having two strips of tail, each with a fat end and a thin end meant that I could place them end to end which would mean that once wrapped in pancetta the whole fish was a similar thickness.   I hoped this would mean it would cook evenly and not leave me with one end overcooked.   It seemed to work.  The fish seemed to be well-cooked to me.   You notice I say ‘seem’.  This is because I haven’t really eaten monkfish before and so I haven’t eaten a perfectly cooked piece of fish in order to compare my efforts against.  The flavour from the garlic and herbs was delicious and the fish itself was definitely meaty, not as flakey  and light as a lot of fish.  I hope this is how monkfish is supposed to be.    Anyway, next time I am at a really good restaurant and I see it on the menu, I suppose I’ll just have to order it to find out.

Next week’s Inspired by Masterchef post will be on 23 April.

Ingredients – serves 1

1 Monkfish tail

8 slices of pancetta

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp chopped fresh chives

How to make Monkfish Wrapped in Pancetta

1. Remove the bone from the middle of the monkfish. (I then had two strips of monkfish, each fat at one end and tapering to the other end.   It may be possible to keep the two strips joined together but this was my first time cooking with monkfish).

2. Make the herb filling.   Roughly chop the basil and chives, crush the garlic and put everything in a pestle and mortar with a little salt and pepper.   Crush to make a paste.

3. Lay the sliced of pancetta out, overlapping slightly.   Lay one piece of monkfish in the middle.   Spread the herb and garlic paste down one side of the fish.  Put the other piece of monkfish on top. Lay them top to tail so the monkfish is approximately the same width at each end.

4. Wrap the pancetta around the fish and roll it over so the fish is wrapped in the pancetta.    Heat  a little oil in a frying pan.   Fry briefly on all sides then put on a baking tray in the oven at about 200c.  Bake for 15 minutes.

 

Eggs en Cocotte or Baked Eggs

This month the Daring Cooks challenge was edible containers.  When I first found out about the challenge I was sure I was going to make a Polish soup served inside a hollowed out bread roll.  It would have been a recreation of a dish I used to love at a certain cafe in Warsaw.   Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the cafe now, and possibly didn’t even know it back then as we always just used to call it the soup in a roll place.   I may not have finally made that dish, but it’s on my mind now and I feel a soup from my Poland days is well overdue, especially as it is so easy to buy Polish products these days so I wouldn’t have difficulty with the ingredients.  Anyway, in the end I decided to make eggs en cocotte but with a toast container, rather than serving with toast fingers.  Eggs en cocotte can be a bit runny but I have a strong aversion to any part of the egg white not being fully cooked and so the toast container worked well because although you could eat it all with a knife and fork, it was just as easy to pick the whole thing up with your fingers.

I made two different fillings, cheddar and mushrooms, and parmesan and rocket.   For me, the cheddar and mushroom one had more taste and is the one I’d prefer if making them again, but you could just put more cheese to get more flavour.

Blog-checking lines: Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

Ingredients – makes 2

2 slices of bread

2 eggs

8 tsp cream

Salt

Black Pepper

Option 1

2 tsp grated parmesan

A few leaves of rocket (argula)

Option 2

2 tsp grated cheddar

1 mushroom

How to Make Eggs en Cocotte

1. Flatten the bread with a rolling pin.

2. Grease the insides of 2 ramekins

3. Make 4 cuts through the bread starting from the middle of each side, stopping half-way to the centre. Like this:

4. Put the slices of bread into the ramekins so the sides that have been cut overlap each other.  Like this:

5. Put the cheese in the bottom of each ramekin. Put some rocket on top of the parmesan one and some sliced mushroom on top of the cheddar one.   Add 2 tsp of cream to each ramekin then add the egg.  Top with another 2 tsp of cream, some salt and pepper.

6. Bake in the oven at about 180c for about 25 minutes.   If you like a soft egg it will be ready sooner, but I prefer harder egg.

 

Red Lentil Soup

I made this soup about a week ago when I’d had a lingering cold for some time and it really needed some nutritional help.  Some garlic, ginger, chillies, spices.    Maybe I just hadn’t eaten enough of these ingredients.    Just a little bit more and I would be cured.   Do you think like this too when you have a cold?

Anyway, I’d also seen on the Food Blog Diary that the theme for April’s No Croutons Required event, held by Tinned Tomatoes was to cook a soup or salad in a theme that had previously been used in that blogger’s birthday month.   Previous themes for March had been spicy soup, Indian soup or salad or chickpea soup or salad.   After looking through the other months, I concluded that I was lucky to have been born in March as the possibilities for what I could make were endless.   I could even have combined all of them.   Well, In the end I decided to combine the first two only.   After all, I had had chickpeas just the day before I made this!

Anyway, the soup turned out well.   It definitely soothed my throat.   It looks a bit grey in the picture but I can promise you it tasted much better than it looks.

The soup also gave me the opportunity to use some of the paprika and cumin from Healthy Supplies.

Ingredients – Serves 1

30g red lentils

1 mild red chilli, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 small piece of fresh ginger, finely diced

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground cumin

Pinch of paprika

1/4 tsp cinnamon

About 10 curry leaves

1 tsp dried coriander leaf (If I’d had fresh I would have added it near the end instead)

How to make Red Lentil Soup

1. Wash the lentils.

2. Heat a little groundnut oil in a small saucepan.   Add the ginger, garlic and chilli.

3. Fry for a moment then add the lentils and ground spices.   Stir for a minute then add the curry leaves and coriander leaf, cover with water and leave to simmer for about 30 minutes.

 

Tomato and Olive Couscous Salad

One of my favourite chefs as far as food is concerned is Jamie Oliver.   I love his cookery books as the recipes are easy to follow and I’ve never found anything not to work.   He also likes lots of the flavours I like such as chilli, garlic and lemon.  He throws things together and doesn’t worry too much about presentation.   Well, maybe he does, but he doesn’t give the impression that he does.   As I can’t claim to produce the prettiest looking food, this is another thing I like to think I have in common with Mr Oliver.  Although I love his food, I do find all his recent crusades a bit irritating at times.   I think it’s a good idea to improve behaviour in schools but I’m not interested in watching a programme about it just because Jamie Oliver is presenting it.  On the other hand, if he did another show about food, he could rely on me as a viewing figure.

Anyway, going back to the food, when I found out that I Heart Cooking Clubs was going to be concentrating on recipes by Jamie Oliver for the next 6 months, I decided it was a great excuse to get out my Jamie books and do some Jamie inspired meals.  This week the theme was Happy Days and we needed to choose a recipe that would make us happy.   As I have the Happy Days with the Naked Chef book I decided it was the most appropriate place to look for such a recipe.   When I came across The Best Pasta Salad, a simple, easy but tasty looking dish I’d never tried before, I decided it was perfect for the new springlike weather we are having.  I adapted it a bit in terms of quantities.   I didn’t use small pasta shells but Israeli couscous, I didn’t have any yellow cherry tomatoes so used all red.  I also felt that 3 cloves of raw garlic was quite a lot, even though I made a slightly smaller quantity, so I only used one.

Ingredients – 3 servings

200g Israeli Couscous

300g cherry tomatoes

1 handful of black olives

1 tbsp fresh chives

1 tbsp fresh basil

1/2 cucumber

1 garlic clove, crushed

2tbsp white wine vinegar

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

How  to make Tomato and Olive Couscous salad

1.Cook the couscous according to the pack instructions.    When ready, rinse in cold water and leave to drain.

2. Chop each tomato into quarters and then each quarter in half again.  Dice the cucumber so each piece is about 1/2 cm square, dice the olives too.  Roughly chop the herbs.

3. Put all the vegetables and herbs into a large bowl.  Add the salt, pepper, vinegar, garlic and olive oil. Mix.   Add the couscous.   Mix again.   Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

I served this as an accompaniment to fish and ate the leftovers as a packed lunch the next day.