Sweet & Sour Shallots

I found this recipe in one of my fiancée's Weight Watchers recipe books. I'v made this several times and played around with it slightly, using different vinegars.

You'll need;

• 750g (1lb) Shallots
• Cooking spray (or a little oil of any kind you like)
• 400ml (14floz) Stock (the recipe says veg, I use chicken)
• 2 teaspoons of Honey
• 4 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
• a small handful of Thyme leaves (I use dried lemon thyme)
• Salt and Pepper to season

First, peel and halve any larger Shallots or onions. Heat a large non-stick saucepan and spray with the cooking spray (or oil). Add the Shallots (onions) and spray again. Stir over a high heat for about 5 mins until the onions start to turn a golden brown. Pour in the stock, honey and half of the vinegar. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about half an hour uncovered, stirring every now and then until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the rest of the vinegar and the thyme and season.

Serve hot or cold. This is a sweet and tangy dish and it's so moreish. I have experimented with this, using different vinegars and combinations of vinegars, adding mirin and I always add a good dash of lemon juice. I've also added chives and used other main ingredients. This is quite a versatile dish and it works for mushrooms too.
Have a bash fiddle with it and tweak it to your own taste and let me know how you get on.
Happy cooking!

Jamie's Green Curry Sauce

Thai Green Curry

I found this recipe in Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals. I love Thai Green Curry and I fancied trying to make it from scratch and this looked easy enough. 

What you need;

 2cm piece of fresh Ginger or Galangal

 1 Lime

 Sesame Oil or Groundnut/Peanut Oil (or any you have)

 2 Red Chillies

 A few Kaffir Lime Leaves (optional)

 Bunch of fresh Coriander

 4 Cloves of Garlic

 1 Stick of Lemongrass

 1 Small bunch of Spring Onions

 1/2 Pint of Chicken Stock

 400ml Coconut Milk

 Soy Sauce

 

What to do;

Roughly chop up ginger, chillies, lime leaves, most of the coriander, garlic, lemongrass, spring onions and chuck into a blender with some lime juice and zest, about a teaspoon of the coconut milk and and a little oil. Whiz it all up into a paste, adding oil if and when needed. Heat your wok (or a large non-stick pan ie. frying pan) with about a teaspoon of oil, add half of the curry paste and a little coconut milk and stir. If your using meat, chuck it in now and seal the meat before adding the rest of the coconut milk and stock, bring to the boil, then simmer and allow to reduce. Once the liquid has reduced to half, add the rest of the curry paste and the veg for your curry and turn up the heat. Cook for 5 minutes, constantly stirring and that should give you a green curry you'll enjoy.

I like to accompany my curry with lime and coriander basmati rice or noodles. It's just simply some fresh coriander, finely chopped and some lime zest and juice into the pan when boiling the rice and that's it.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Happy Cooking!

Jasmine & Lavender Eggless Cakes

A variation on an eggless chocolate cupcake recipe

My fiancée was looking for an eggless cake recipe for a picnic as one of the other women has an egg allergy and I adapted it to make this gorgeously addictive cake.

http://www.mysugarcoatedlife.co.uk/2009/06/eggless-chocolate-cupcakes-yum-yum.html

You'll need;

• 5 1/2 cups Plain Flour
• 3 cups Caster Sugar
• 1/2 cup Lavender infused Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil (or any oil you like)
• 3 cups cold Jasmine Tea
• 3 teaspoons Baking Soda/Bicarbonate of Soda
• 3/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

What to do;

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and prepare muffin or cupcake cases and tin(s).
2. In a large bowl, sift together your dry ingredients and mix together.
3. Add wet ingredients and mix together. Mix for around five minutes or until 100% satisfied that the mixture is as smooth as possible.
4. Pour mixture into tins and bake for upto 22 minutes - test with a tooth pick 14-15 minutes in to cooking as no crumbs should stick to the tooth pick.
5. Leave to cool in wrappers for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
6. The cakes can be decorated straight away and kept for 3-5 days.

If you can't get hold of Lavender infused oil or make it yourself, you could use any oil you like (baring in mind the flavour you want) and add 1 teaspoon of Lavender Extract. The first time I tried this, I used some Betty Crocker Vanilla Buttercream Icing and added a few drops of  Lavender Infused Oil but, I was walking around the supermarket a couple of days later, I discovered Purple Glimmer Sugar. I sprinkled some on top of the cakes just before popping in the oven. As the sugar caramelised, the colour bled out onto the surface of the cakes and looked quite impressive. 
Let me know how this turns out for you.
Happy Cooking!

Sexy Pasta

Sexy Pasta

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables with Pasta.

A few years ago, I wanted to make the most of actually having an oven (we had lived several years without). I experimented with an Italian theme and 'rustic' chunky chopped veg. Once the first attempt was cooked and served with a little pasta, my fiancée dubbed it 'Sexy Pasta'.

I'm going to share this with you but, you can modify it for your own taste and quantity.

You'll need;

 Mushrooms (I prefer white mushrooms but, Chestnut mushrooms work if you'd like)

 Baby Plum Tomatoes (any small tomato variety will work)

 Peppers (Red and Green are essential but, Yellow adds extra colour)

 Red Onion (the type onion is your choice)

 Courgette

 Garlic

 Mozzarella cheese

 Fresh Basil and Parsley

 Dried Herbs: Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Chives.

 Rock or Sea Salt

 Pepper (Black or Mixed)

 Pasta (I prefer Penne and my fiancée likes Fusilli)

 Tomato Purée

 Garlic Purée

 Stock Cube (I use chicken)

 Olive Oil

 Parmegiano Reggiano (or other strong hard cheese)

What to do;

First, preheat your oven to around 200°C while you chop your veg.  In a roasting dish, chuck in your tomatoes (as many as you like), and your mushrooms. Slice your mushrooms in half or into quarters depending on their size. Chop your onion into good sized chunks and add to the roasting dish. Finely chop some garlic (one or two cloves) and add to the rest of the veg. Chop your peppers into good sized chunks too and add them in. And now for your courgette, slice in half, right down the middle and then slice as thick as you like, baring in mind they are to cover all the other veg. Season with salt, pepper and the dried herbs, drizzle some olive oil then, pop in the oven for around 20 minutes, until the skin on the tomatoes cracks.

In a saucepan, pour in some water and the stock cube, a pinch of salt, pepper, dried herbs and pasta and a few drops of olive oil . Gently boil until the pasta is almost cooked, adding some tomato purée and garlic purée and finely chopped parsley half way through.

The veg is now ready for the fresh basil, simply cover the veg entirely with whole basil leaves, drizzle a little olive oil over it and return to the oven. Next, slice your mozzarella. Once mozzarella is sliced, get the roasting dish out of the oven and place the mozzarella over the top and add some grated hard cheese and return to oven (again) until the cheese starts to brown.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pan, add a little olive oil, tomato purée and garlic purée (to your own taste) and warm through again.

Serve with the veg on top of the pasta.

There's nothing exact about this recipe but, it's full of flavour and likely to fill you (and your family) up.

Please try this and let me know how it works out for you.

Happy Cooking!