Friday, 14 August 2015

Pulled bbq/Coco cola pork with slaw and fries

Pulled pork cooked in the slow cooker for around 9 hours on low setting. To marinade I smothered the pork in bbq sauce and Chilli flakes before placing in slow cooker and filling with coca cola up to about 2/3 of the pork

Once ready remove and shred with two forks and add left over sauce to moisten if required. 

I also made my own slaw with this (red cabbage, red onion, carrots, coriander. Mustard, chillie) with handcut sweet potato fries. Wholemeal wraps go great with this dish as well as reggae reggae sauce!



Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Stonebake pizza with fresh basil and chillies

This pizza was made from scratch including the base. My ingredients included mozzarella, basil, chillies, jalapeños, red onion, red pepper, and spicy chicken.

I find the best way to make a thin crust or stonebake style pizza is to roll out the pizza dough to the same thickness as slightly less that a pound coin. For best results I do not let the dough prove. Place the dough in a non stick hot frying pan ensuring the pan is large enough so that the dough is flat. Do not use any oil. Cook the base until underside starts to colour slightly and the base is relatively firm. Remove from pan and add toppings. I use a tomato base by blending plumb tomatoes with garlic tomato puree salt and pepper and half a chillie.

As you will see I garnished the pizza with fresh basil and chillies.

Monday, 10 August 2015

Chilli Beef Nachos with extras

This is a really simple dish which you can have for dinner or just a snack with friends. It's really filling too. I made my own Chilli and once ready I poured over plain tortilla chips which had been placed in a very large deep bowl. For extras I used quite a lot of add ins which included sour cream, quachomole, salsa, coriander, spring onion, jalapeños, mild cheddar, and fresh chillies. Probably a bit over the top with the ingredients. All ingredients are optional but I would say the chilli is a must. I only added all the extras once I had melted the cheddar over the tortillas and Chilli.

Cottage pie with carrot and suede mash

This was a Jamie Oliver recipe although I slightly changed the ingredients and covered with carrot and suede mash (about 50/50). It's a lot healthier than using potato mash and has far fewer carbs.

It was very easy to make. After browning the mince I added onion diced and carrots. I used a splashes of Worcester sauce al few ong with plenty pepper. Use a good quality gravy or beef stock, thicken with corn flour if required. Fill a good size pie dish with the cooked mince (I would simmer the mince for around 25 mins with the gravy to allow the carrots to cook) and cover generously with the mash. If I was to make again I would maybe use less carrots or change the mash to potato. It was very nice though. Cook in the oven or under grill until mash has crisped up.

Macaroni Cheese with Broccoli and sun dried tomatoes

Macaroni & cheese with Broccoli & Sun dried tomatoes

Made this with a mild cheddar although I have used smoked German cheese but was far too overpowering. You could add basically anything you want to Mac n cheese (mustard is good). Add cooked broccoli and the tomatoes when the sauce has thickened andix through with macaroni. Finish the dish but putting in the oven until golden or finish under grill.

Sunday, 9 August 2015

Steak and red wine pie

 This is a steak pie made for dinner tonight. I slow cooked the stewing beef (2lbs) in the slow cooker with onion thyme red wine and parsley. I used puff pastry to top the dish after I had cooked the beef for around 7hours. As a side I roasted carrots, parsnips in honey with thyme and had a side garlic mash. I got the original recipe from John Barrowman on the BBC food website however I added the red wine as an extra.