Friday 29 April 2011

Piquant Kedgeree

Close observers of this blog may have noticed a tendency towards chilli-hot recipes. So here is my take on a dish that is always tasty but sometimes a little bland.

Equipment.

Large Frying Pan.
1 large Saucepan
1 smaller Saucepan
Large Mixing Bowl
Sieve
Wooden Spoon
Garlic Press
Cooker - 3 rings.

Ingredients - 4 servings

3 fillets of smoked haddock.
1 serving of pre-cooked seafood medley*
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 large onion
2 cups of basmati rice
1 table spoon salt
1 table spoon garam marsala
1 table spoon hot chilli powder (or vary, to taste)
150 ml fresh soured cream
3 fat cloves of garlic
3 table spoons sunflower oil

Method

The thing about cooking kedgeree is that the main ingredients are cooked separately, and then mixed together when they are ready.

The onion is chopped, and together with the haddock fillets and oil added to your largest, heated, frying pan. If your haddocks come with skin, keep it. It's good for you. Add the garlic, crushed, after a couple of minutes. All are lightly fried until the onions are soft and the haddock separates nicely into bite sized pieces. It won't take long. Meanwhile, hard-boil your eggs, and when they're done, chop them roughly. Furthermore meanwhile, cook your rice according to your preferred method, not forgetting the salt.

Next, assemble the dish. Everything you have cooked goes into a large mixing bowl, together with the seafood medley, the garam marsala, chilli powder and soured cream. Mix gently but thoroughly. And then you're done!

Serve for breakfast, lunch or tea. It's versatile, kedgeree, and I hope you like this variation on the theme.

Best wishes, 2RM.

*Most supermarkets do some sort of seafood medley, and it doesn't altogether matter what's in it. My preferred supplier does a pre-cooked mix of prawns, squid rings and mussels in 220g packs, but whatever you get in the same sort of line will do handsomely.

Monday 25 April 2011

Offally Hot Hot Pot

Offal is one of those secret areas where what you get is simultaneously good for you, and tasty, and cheap. Don't tell anyone though, or they'll put the prices up. Anyway, here's a recipe that works well and doesn't take much effort. Once you've prepared everything, it just goes in the oven and leaves you time for that aperitif you can now afford by not buying premium cuts of meat.

Equipment:

Sharp cooking knife
2 x Frying pan.
Wooden spoon.
half-gallon Casserole
Garlic press
Large Mixing bowl
a Mandolin is good for slicing the potatoes thinly, but not entirely necessary.

Ingredients: serves 4 generously.

1.5 kg lambs offal. Kidneys, heart and liver all work well together.
2 good sized onions
4 fat cloves of garlic
3 or 4 carrots, sliced.
3 or 4 sticks of celery, sliced.
2 lamb oxo cubes.
3 tablespoons of worcester sauce
6 heaped tablespoons of plain flour
2 tablespoons of hot chilli powder (or vary, to taste)
1 tablespoon of salt.
4 large potatoes, sliced very thin.
500ml of water.
4 tablespoons of cooking oil.
herbs to suit - parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are a classic choice.

Method.

Dice the offal into bite sized pieces. Add to your mixing bowl with the flour, salt and chilli powder. Agitate until everything is nicely coated. In a hot frying pan, and a little oil, sear the meat. Meanwhile, fry up the onions, garlic, carrots and celery until the onions are soft and beginning to brown around the edges. Add everything you've done so far into your casserole, together with the water, herbs, oxos and worcester sauce. Finally, layer your sliced potatoes on top. Then, the whole lot goes into a pre-heated 170c oven for an hour and a half. Serve with any veg, but I find roast parsnips and steamed runner beans are just great with this.

Hope you try it, hope you like it.

Best wishes, 2RM.

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Sesame Noodles

I'm a recent convert to noodles; I have tended to avoid them before now for reasons of ignorance. On experimenting, however, I find they are are quick to cook and tasty to eat. And that seems like a fine recommendation to me.

Equipment

1 large saucepan
1 wok
1 stirring spoon.

Ingredients - serves 1 as a main, 2 as a side.

3 plaits of egg noodles
about the same volume of beansprouts
3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

optional extras: baby corn, sliced green beans, seafood medley, crushed garlic, anything else that will stir-fry.

Method.

Cook the noodles according to packet instructions (generally boiling for 3-4 minutes)
Heat the wok.
Add the sesame seeds, and dry fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the oils.
On the top level of heat, fry the seeds until they start to brown.
Add everything else, and keep stirring and frying. You really need only to heat everything rather than cook everything. It should only take a couple of minutes at most.

Serve, hot and crisp, and perhaps with a herb garnish, to your grateful family and friends.

Best wishes, 2ndRateMind.