Category: Main courses (Page 4 of 13)

The best seafood chowder

19/04/2020 / Neville

This is even better if you make your own fish stock from the frames of white fish. This recipe is for a substantial soup for four people. We upped the quantities of the solid ingredients and it became a main meal for three. Use a variety of seafood: 350g serves four. We used a salmon fillet, two whiting fillets, a smoked pouting, a handful of prawns, a handful of frozen mussel and a few frozen clams. The inclusion of some smoked fish makes all the difference.

4 rashers of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1tbs oil

Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry the bacon and onion until the onion is transparent and the bacon looks cooked.

1-2 tbs plain flour

Stir in. Use more if you like a thicker soup, less if not.

600ml fish stock (use a cube if you don’t have your own)
250g new potatoes, quartered

Add to your pan, cover and simmer 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked.

300ml milk
Pinch of ground mace
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Mixed fish fillets cut into chunks

Bring to the boil and simmer for four minutes.

Shellfish, prawns
4 tbs cream

Simmer for another minute. Serve in deep bowls garnished with chopped parsley and with crusty bread on the side. You may need to adjust the seasoning depending on the seasoning in your stock and smoked fish. This was rated 10/10 in a recent family meal.

Beef in Guiness Casserole

13/04/2020 / Neville

This is the Instant Pot version, for six portions.

1 large onion
2 carrots
1 celery stick

Chop the onion roughly. Slice the carrots and celery thickly. Switch the Instant Pot to Saute. Add a tablespoon of oil and fry the vegetables in the pot. You could add a few quartered mushrooms if you wish. When the onion is looking transluscent, add

3 packs (750g) cubed casserole/stewing beef

Continue to fry until the beef colours. Stir it around and add a bit more oil if the meat is very lean. Add

1-2 tablespoons of plain flour

Stir around until it is absorbed. Add

1 can or bottle Guiness (330ml)

Stir about and bit. Add a

Bay leaf
1 tsp fresh thyme or a pinch of dried thyme
salt, pepper

Turn the Instant Pot to Meat and set for 40 minutes. Put the lid on, turn the pressure valve to Seal and wait. Allow to depressurise naturally at the end of the cooking time (another 15 minutes). Take the lid off and the meat should be nice and tender. If the liquid is too runny or you like a thicker gravy, add a teaspoon or two of cornflour dissolved in a dash of water, stir it in and switch the Instant Pot to Saute again to heat through and thicken the gravy.

Crumble-topped Fish Pie

06/03/2020 / Neville

This is from Mary Berry. You can use any combo of white fish, or a combo including salmon or smoked fish. I like to add prawns and hard-boiled egg too. Here’s how to make a very generous pie for two. Firstly make your sauce base:

25g butter
25g plain flour

Melt the butter in a sucepan and stir in the flour. Heat a bit more then add

250ml milk

Heat and stir until the milk thickens to a sauce. Add

2 tbs mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp chopped dill
1 tsp chopped chives or parseley
Juice of half a lemon
25g cheddar cheese grated

Mix well. If you have raw fish in your mix :

250g fish pieces

Add to the sauce and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. If it is cooked fish then go straight on without needing to cook the raw fish in the sauce. Add:

Handful of cooked prawns
season with salt and pepper

Now put

2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

in a pie dish, and then pour over the fish and sauce mix. Now make the topping:

100g fresh breadcrumbs
50g butter, melted
30g porrige oats
1 tsp chopped chives or parsley
1 tsp chopped dill
25g cheddar cheese grated

Mix in a bowl until it looks even and crumbly. Sprinkle over the pie mix to make a crumbly topping. Bake in a pre-heated oven 180C Fan/200C conventional for about 25 minutes until it is bubbling and crispy brown on top (like the picture). Serve with a green veg.

Beer Mac’n’Cheese

21/02/2020 / Neville

The American classic. This is for two people as a main course, easy to scale up or down. It can also be served as a side like in American diners.

10g butter or substitute
1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped

Heat the butter in a flameproof pan (like a le Creuset casserole dish and gently fry the garlic

50g spinach

Add to the pad and wilt

400ml milk
200ml pale ale
170g macaroni, penne or curly pasta

Add to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer 20 minutes

150g mozzerella cheese sliced
100g cheddar cheese grated
1 tsp cornflour in a little milk

Add to the pan and stir to thicken. Keep heating gently to melt the cheese. Place under a grill to brown the top if you like. Serve with crispy bacon!

Slow-cooked shoulder of lamb

02/02/2020 / Neville

This requires making a marinade, marinading overnight then cooking low and slow, so get yourself organised the day before! For half a shoulder, just halve the marinade.

For the marinade:

1 small onion or shallot
4 garlic cloves
4 cherry tomatoes
2 anchovies or a glug of anchovy essence
half tsp cumin seeds
half tsp coriander seeds
half tsp pepper cords, pink if possible
2 tbs fresh rosemary leaves
1 thyme sprig, leaves only
1 small bunch of mint
70ml white wine
4 tbs olive oil
1 tbs brown sugar
zest and juice of one lemon
Shoulder of lamb

Zap the lot with a stick blender. Now stab your lamb with a sharp knife all over, then place in a roasting tin. Slather over the marinade. Cover in clingfilm and leave overnight or a minimum of three hours in a cool place.

Take the lamb out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for an hour.

Heat the oven to 160C or 140C for a fan oven.

2 large onions sliced thickly

Put the onions under the lamb. Take the clingfilm off and make a tent of foil over the lamb. Seal the edges well and make sure the tent has a dip before going over the edge or the steam hitting the foil from underneath may run out of the edge. Cook for 3-4 hours for a half shoulder, 5-6 hours for a whole shoulder. As long as the temperature is low enough, longer is fine. Have a peek now and again, baste the meat and add a splash or water if it is drying out.

At the end of the cooking time let the lamb rest for 15 minutes before carving. Actually, pulling apart rather than carving. You can make an awesome sauce with what is in the tin. Carefully pour off the rendered fat, add a spoon or two of flour and heat on the top of the stove, stirring gently. Add 350ml beef or lamb stock, and stir until it thickens.

Serve with a grematola made of lemon zest, finely chopped garlic and chopped mint.

Prawn Pasta

02/02/2020 / Neville

Very quick and tasty. For two people:

170gm pasta of your choice

Get it boiling according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile…

dash of olive oil
Half a chilli deseeded and sliced
1 garlic clove sliced

Add to a frying pan and saute gently for 3 minutes.

100g chorizo, sliced (or bacon, or salami)
half tsp fennel seeds

Add to the pan, fry for one minute

150gm cherry tomatoes, halved

Add to the pan, cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Keep an eye on the liquid, if it dries out add a splash of water.

150gm raw prawns

Add to the pan, fry until pink (about two minutes)

Juice of half a lemon
Chopped parseley

Add to the pan, stir in. Adjust any seasoning. The pasta should be done by now. Drain the pasta, stir into the sauce and serve.

Hot Smoked Salmon

01/01/2020 / Neville

If you have a smoker, all good. If not, make one!

You will need a small side or half side of salmon, skin on.

Make about 1 litre of brine – see my Boat-Angling site for the instructions and recipe.

Brine the salmon for 30 minutes.

Pat dry and fan-dry in a cold oven for an hour, or leave in a cool airy place until a pellicle forms – the flesh surface will harden.

Hot smoke for 30 minutes over a high heat. If you have a very thick piece or the heat isn’t high enough you can give it 40 minutes.

Cool and serve.

You can make an awesome salmon pate in the same way as smoked makerel pate.

Prawn, squash and coconut curry

14/12/2019 / Neville

This is a very liquid stew really, so get ready with bowls and spoons! This is for four people, easily halved. There might seem a lot of ingredients but it is a quick and easy dish once everything is prepared.

1 onion, halved then sliced
1 tbs oil

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently ccok the onion until soft and golden

4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 red chillis, deseeded and sliced
3cm of ginger, grated

Add to the pan and cook two minutes

400ml can coconut milk
750ml chicken or fish stock

Add to the pan and bring to a very gently simmer. Don’t let it boil or it will go curdly.

350g squash or pumpkin, cubed
150g new potatoes, halved or quartered

Add to the liquid and simmer until cooked 915-20 minutes). Watch it doesn’t boil away, you may ned to partially cover with a lid. If you want to thicken the stew you can mack some of the squack/pumpkin.

400g prawns, raw preferably or or cooked
300g baby spinach

Add to the pan and cook until the prawns are pink and the spinach wilted (about three minutes)

Juice of 1 lime
.5tbs golden caster sugar
1tbs fish sauce

Add to your stew and stir. If it is not salty enough add more fish sauce.

Coriander leaves, chopped
red chilli, sliced

Serve into bowls and top with the coriander and chilli. You could serve with more lime wedges. This is fairly substantial already but you could serve with jasmine or basmati rice to help soak up the juices.

Alternatives (you will need to adjust cooking times):

Fish balls, salmon pieces, shellfish mix instead of prawn.

Green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, baby corn instead of spinach

Beef and Blue Cheese Pie

26/11/2019 / Neville

The blue cheese really adds an extra mmmm to this pie. This recipe also includes a standard short-cut I use to cook the filling in a One Pot pressure cooker, which makes the toughest meat tender without cooking all day. This makes a big pie for four people.

One Pot method:

750g beef (shin, casserole, braising, stewing steak) cut into cubes
Tablespoon of oil

Put the oil in the onepot and heat to saute. Add the beef and brown all sides. Remove.

1 onion chopped
2 carrots, cubed

Add to the pot and saute until soft. Add the beef back in.

2 tbs flour

Mix in.

2 tbs tomato puree
350ml beef stock
1 bay leaf
pinch of dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh
salt and pepper
dash of Worcester sauce

Turn to Meat/Stew setting, seal and cook for 45 mins to 1 hour depending on how tough (cheap) the meat is.

When done, allow to depressurise naturally. Spoon the veg and meat into a pie dish. Add enough of the stock to juice up your pie, you may not need all of it. Keep what you don’t use for extra gravy.

Blue cheese (as much as you like!)
Puff Pastry sheet
1 beaten egg

Crumble blue cheese over the top of the pie mix. You can have a little for a slight tang or go mad if you really like a blue cheese sauce. Lay over the pastry and trim. Brush with beaten egg to glaze.

Cook in the oven for 35 minutes at 180C. Serve with mashed potatoes and a green veggie.

Chilli Cornbread Pie

05/11/2019 / Neville

This is basically a chilli with cornbread on top. Cooked together – what’s not to like?? You make your chilli first, then mix the topping and bake it like a shepherd’s pie. For four portions:

1 onion chopped
dash of oil (rapeseed preferably)

Gently fry until soft

2 garlic cloves crushed and chopped

Add to the pan and fry briefly

450g lean minced beef

Add to the pan and stir about. Fry until coloured (no pink)

2 x 400g cans chopped tomato
2 x 400g cans chilli beans (or regular red kidney beans plus 1 tsp hot chilli powder)
250ml beef stock

Here’s a general tip, if you are adding tinned tomatoes followed by stock, use the stock to swill out the tin so nothing is wasted. Season the mix and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile make the topping.

Preheat the oven to 180C

150g cornmeal or fine polenta flour
150g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Mix in a bowl

2 eggs, beaten
300ml buttermilk (or plain yoghurt mixed with milk at a pinch)

Mix in a jug. Then pour into the flour mix, and mix to a runny batter. It needs to be “thickly pourable” if that is any guide. Not too runny, but it needs to move.

When your chilli mix looks cooked, it needs to be still liquidy, with liquid to the top of the meat/beans, not drying out and lumpy. If it isn’t wet enough, add some water and stir about. This is because the cornbread will suck up moisture and you don’t want a dry pie do you? Check the seasoning – if it’s not spicy enough consider adding some chopped jalapenos or minced chillies.

Now find a suitable oven-proof tin or casserole dish and put the chilli in. Now carefully cover the top of the chilli mix with your cornbread mix. This is why you want it runny enough to cover the surface. Now bake for 35-40 minutes. It’s probably worth a check after 25, because you want to top browned not blackened. If it is still looking pale stick a skewer in the topping. If it comes out dry it is cooked. If it comes out with batter on it needs more time. If it comes out covered in chilli you stuck it in too far.

This needs the traditional accompaniments of cold beer, soured cream, maybe avacado, chopped tomato, shredded lettuce, grated cheese and more jalapenos. This is an Ainsley Herriot recipe and he just said salad. That’s a missed opportunity in my opinion.