Category: Main courses (Page 2 of 14)

Farmer’s Pie

12/09/2022 / Neville

Aedy’s very descriptive terms for a vegan cottage pie! This is easily as good as a meat-based cottage pie and very simple to prepare. This quantity serves 8.

400g lentils
Vegan vegetable stock cube

Rinse the lentils and add to an Instant pot with enough water to cover by 2cms. Add the crumbled stock cube and cook for 6 minutes. Allow to depressurise naturally. Alternatively, simmer for 40 mintues in a pan but keep an eye on the water level and add more if necessary. You want the lentils to be cooked but not swimming in water – a bit is OK.

Add to one side of the pan:

1 tin black or red kidney beans, drained

With a stick blender, zap the beans and any lentils below. Now mix in and you should get a nice textured gloopy sauce.

1 onion, choped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
Dash of oil

Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the vegetables until soft. Add the lentils. Also add

2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs tomato puree

Now simmer for 20 minutes or so while you boil your potatoes

1 kg potatoes, peeled and quartered. Quantity approximate, it depends if you want to fill up or be polite.

Boil until tender. Drain and mash with a dash of vegan milk and vegan spread. Now find a suitable oven-proof bowl or casserole, put the lentil mixture in the bottom and adjust the liquid, add a splash or water or stock if it needs loosening up. Spread the mash over the top and rough up the top – this helps it get crispy! Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 180C. Serve with Bisto gravy (which is vegan) and vegetables of choice.

Chinese Sesame Chicken

08/09/2022 / Neville

Like many Westernised Chinese dishes, this probably bears little resemblance to an authentic dish. It is popular in American restaurants but not so prevalent in the UK although it bears a passing resemblance to variations of sticky chicken and sweet-and-sour. This recipe is for four people.

Mix the following then set aside:

1 tbs sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs Chinese rice vinegar
2 tbs honey
2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
3 tbs tomato ketchup
2 tbs brown sugar
4 tbs soy sauce

Mix and put in a bowl:

1 cup plain flour
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp white pepper
0.5 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp paprika

Now take:

3 chicken breasts or thigh meat cut into bite sized chunks
3 tbs cornflour
2 eggs beaten
A good slug of rape seed oil

Assemble a production line of your chicken, then cornflour, then beaten egg then the flour mix. Put the oil in a wok and heat to sizzling. Dip each chicken piece in the cornflour, egg and then flour mix before dropping into the wok. Fry and stir until the pieces are golden and cooked. Remove the cooked pieces, put in a bowl lined with kitchen paper and transfer to an oven to keep warm. Tip #1: this can be a fiddly operation and you could end up with the first lump burning by the time the last lump goes in. Assemble the floured lumps on a plate so they all go in the pan together. Tip #2: you will probably need to do this in two batches anyway.

While the chicken is keeping warm tip your sauce mix into the wok and bubble away until thick and sticky. Return the chicken to the pan and roll them around until they are coated.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions, and serve over plain boiled rice. A side vegetable dish would complement this perfectly, such as mushrooms and pepper fry.

Simple Foolproof Biryani

24/08/2022 / Neville

From Nadiya Hussein (BBC Good Food), who knows. To serve 4.

First make the chicken part:

450g diced chicken (thigh or breast)
100ml olive oil
3 onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 tbs tomato puree
3 tbs garam masala (I used a low-cinnamon version)
1 tbs paprika

Toss the whole lot together in an oven-proof, lidded casserole dish. Add and mix in

2 tbs cornflour

Cook in the oven 170C (fan) for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the rice.

250g basmati rice
750ml water
healthy pinch saffron
Cinnamon stick (optional)
0.5tsp salt

Boil for five minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. When the chicken is cooked, take the casserole out of the oven. Put the rice over the chicken and cover again. Turn the oven off and put the casserole dish back in the oven. Leave for 20 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and sprinkle with chopped spring onion.

Jerk Prawns and Salsa

23/08/2022 / Neville

Very quick and easy. Serves 4.

For the salsa:

I avocado, chopped (or frozen, defrosted)
1 mango, chopped (or frozen, defrosted)
2 tomatoes, chopped
0.5 red onion, chopped
small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
juice of 1 lime

Mix it all up and put to one side while you prepare the prawns.

800g large raw prawns
1 tbs jerk spice blend
2 garlic loves, crushed
juice of 2 limes
2 tbs honey
2 tbs dark rum

Mix that lot together and leave for at least 10 minutes. Clever people will do this before making the salsa.

1 tbs olive oil
50g butter

Heat the butter and oil in a pan until sizzling. Put the prawns in the pan, reserving the marinade. Sizzle one side of the prawns for a few minutes until pink, then flip them over to do the other side. Add back the marinade and bubble away until thick and glossy.

Serve with coconut rice and the salsa.

Steak on Sourdough with Garlicky Tomatoes

17/08/2022 / Neville

Unashamedly straight off a Waitrose recipe card. When they’re gone, they’re gone! For four people:

2 courgettes, thinly sliced
500g tomatoes (quartered if large, halved if cherry)
4-8 sprigs fresh oregano or marjoram, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

Place in an oven tray, toss together and roast at 200C for 20 minutes. Give a quick stir halfway. Add

1 tin drained canellini beans or similar

Cook a further 5 minutes. Meanwhile (timed to coincide with the end of the veg cooking):

2 steaks approx 180g each
1 tbs oil
salt and pepper

Sear in a pan or cook to your liking until medium rare. Leave to rest and firm up.

Toast

4 large or 8 small slices sourdough bread

..ideally, on the skillet you used to sear the steaks. If not, grill or use a toaster. Slice the steaks and assemble the toast, veg mixture and sliced steak as in the heading photo. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

05/04/2022 / Neville

Serves four and makes a great meal alongside Rice ‘n Peas. Remember to allow time to marinade first. To make the marinade:

Bunch of spring onions or chives
2 tbs grated ginger
2 garlic cloves
1/2 a small onion
2 red chillies
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Juice of half a lime
4 tsp soy sauce
4 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs brown sugar
1.5 tsp allspice

Mix that lot to a paste, ideally using a stick blender. Coat

8 skinned chicken thighs

Put in a plastic bag or bowl and leave to marinate overnight. When you are ready to cook, either barbeque low and slow or put in the oven with half a lime, covered in foil for 45 minutes at 160C (fan oven). Squeeze the roasted lime and pan juices over the chicken and serve. Add more hot sauce if you like it hotter, depending on what chillies you used in the marinade.

Middle Eastern Roasted Vegetables

06/11/2021 / Neville

This is very cheap, very easy and very delicous. It makes a great side for a Middle Eastern-themed meal, or it could be a veggie/vegan main. Try stuffing pittas with it. You can use any suitable vegetables for this, just swap out the ones listed for something similar.

First roast the vegetables:

1 red onion
1 carrot
1 courgette
1 small raw beetroot
Cauliflower florets
half a butternut squash or small pumpkin
olive oil
salt and petter

(alternatives are broccoli, parsnip, pepper, sweet potato, aubergine, button mushroom)

Prepare the vegetables then dice into about 2cm cubes so they cook evenly. Put them in an oven roasting pan. Toss in olive oil then season with salt and peper. Roast in an oven for 30-40 minutes at 180C . (Tip: prepare everything except the beetroot. Then prepare the beetroot and push to a corner of the tin. That way the vegetables stay their own colour otherwise everything ends up pink!)

Meanwhile make the tahini sauce.

3 tbs tahini paste
3 tbs lemon juice
I garlic glove, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper

Mix all the ingredients and add cold water to make a consistency of thick cream.

To assemble, take your vegetables and mix in

2 tbs toasted pine uts
2 tsp za’atar spice mix
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Drizzle over the tahini sauce. Enjoy!

Sausage and leek pie

04/09/2021 / Neville

Good comfort food. From a BBC freebie calendar. Serves four.

4 large or 8 small potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Boil in salted water for 15 minutes, then mash with a dash of milk and a little butter. Set aside. While the potatoes are boiling you can make the filling. Heat a pan with a dash of oil.

8 sausages, squeeze the sausagemeat out into blobs

Fry in the oil turning until brown all over.

3 leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly

While the sausages are cooking, do a similar thing in another pan with the leeks, only more gently. If you put a lid on their pan they will soften nicely.

1 tbs plain flour

Add to the sausages and stir around. Add

450 ml chicken or vegetable stock, or leftover gravy.

Heat together until it thickens

200g washed spinach or 150 g shredded kale.

I don’t like kale. Add spinach (or kale) to the gravy and heat until it wilts. Now go back to your leeks and potatoes. When the leeks have softened, stir into the potatoes. Add

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

Mix all together. Now spread the potato mixture over the sausage mixture. Sprinkle over

50g grated cheddar

and brown under a grill. I forgot to mention you need to have a grill-proof pan for your sausage cooking. If you didn’t read ahead or haven’t got a suitable pan just decant the filling into a pie dish and add the potato topping to that. Grill for 3-5 minutes until the top is nice and brown and crispy. This is a meal in itself, meat, gravy, veg and potatoes!

(Dog)Fish Tacos

30/08/2021 / Neville

Dogfish (huss) is a good meat for this dish. It is firm and holds its shape well, and can take a strong seasoning. Some would say it needs strong seasoning – I’m not going to argue with that. Nor am I going to argue about freezing dogfish. I always freeze dogfish for at least a week before cooking and have never experienced an ammonia taste. Let others argue for or against!

Quite simply, these are marinated, spicy, flash-fried fish strips served on a flour tortilla with all the trimmings. One small dogfish makes a generous meal for one. Simply scale up for more people. Here goes.

First prepare your fish strips: take your skinned dogfish and cut two fillets from either side of the central bone. Then cut prawn-sized strips from the fillets. Now make your marinade:

1 tbs tomato puree
1 tbs honey
1 tbs cider vinegar
0.5 tsp paprika
0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch salt
pinch garlic powder
pinch dried oregano

Mix well and toss your fish strips in the marinade. Leave to infuse while you prepare the rest of the meal. Make some garlic sauce:

3 tbs mayo
1 tbs cold water
1 tsp garlic puree or 1 clove of garlic, grated
pinch salt.

Mix well and set aside. Now shred a few lettuce leaves, slice half an avacado, slice a small tomato, chop some fresh coriander, slice some red onion and find a quarter of a lime. Now warm two or three small tortillas or one big one ready for the final cook-off.

Heat 1tbs oil in a frying pan. When smoking hot, tip your marinated fish strips in the pan and spread out. After about a minute flip the strips over, they should be nice and charred. The honey in the marinade will help. As soon as the strips are cooked – literally a minute or two – you can assemble your fish tacos as pictured above.

Alabama Spatchcock BBQ Chicken

21/07/2021 / Neville

This is amazing and creates the most delicious tender, moist chicken inside a taste-bud bursting crispy skin. Want to find out more? The secret is to slow cook your chicken slathered in this Alabama sauce, then finish off under the grill or over the BBQ. First make your sauce:

100ml mayonnaise
100ml buttermilk or yoghurt
3 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs horseradish sauce
1 tbs English mustard
1 stp garlic granules
small bunch of chopped dill.

Mix. Divide equally into two bowls. That’s the first bit done. Now take your chicken and slow cook it:

1 spatchcocked chicken, any size but if really large check it is cooked properly with a meat thermometer
A rub mix made up of
- 1 tbs smoked paprika
- 1 tbs ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder

Rub the rub all over your chicken. Lay it out in a tin, and cover tightly with foil. Cook in the over at 140C (Fan) for 1 hour 30 minutes or until cooked. At this point you can take it out and leave it to cool before finishing off under the grill. When ready to finish:

Fire up the BBQ or switch on the grill. Smother the chicken both sides with one of the bowls of sauce. You may need to skewer it to hold it together for handling, as it may otherwise fall apart. It will still taste as good but won’t look pretty! Grill/BBQ each side for 3-4 minutes. Brush with more sauce or juices and repeat until the skin is charred and crispy enough. If you had left it to cool you may need a few more turns but if transferred directly from the oven, a couple of cycles will probably be enough. Leave to rest and firm up for 10 minutes, then serve with the other bowl of sauce for dipping/more smothering.