Paella
This easy paella recipe takes only 25 minutes to make and is incredibly tasty. The recipe can be adapted in any way you see fit for the kids to eat too e.g. leave out chorizo, add different meat such as cooked pork or veg such as mushrooms or sweetcorn.
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, crushed (or 2 tsp lazy garlic)
100g Chorizo, sliced
1 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Paprika (IF you're not using Chorizo)
300g Long Grain Rice
1lt Hot Chicken Stock
200g frozen Peas
250g cooked Chicken
175g cooked Prawns (ideally King Prawns)
(serves 4)
1. Heat the olive oil in a deep large frying pan (or ceramic pot). Gently fry the onion & red pepper until soft. Add the garlic and lightly fry for a further minute. Add the chorizo and fry until the oils from the chorizo are released into the pan.
2. Add the turmeric (and paprika if not using chorizo) and stir in the rice until it's coated in the oils. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add the frozen peas to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes. Then stir in the chicken & prawns to heat through for 2 minutes.
Chicken Korma
With plenty of taste for the adults but mild enough for children this is a great curry recipe for all the family to enjoy. Another recipe that does not take significant time to prepare and can be left to comfortably cook out in the oven or a slow cooker. We serve our Korma with basmati rice, peshwari naan bread, mango chutney and chopped banana mixed in natural yoghurt.
50g flaked Almonds
15g Butter
675g Chicken Breast, cut into bitesize pieces
1 tbsp Sunflower Oil
1 Onion
4 Green Cardamom Pods
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed (or 2 tsp Lazy Garlic)
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
pinch Ground Turmeric
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
250ml Coconut Milk
120ml hot Chicken Stock
1 tsp Tomato Purée
75ml Single Cream
1 tsp Garam Masala
Salt & Black Pepper
(serves 4)
1. Preheat the oven to 160degs or set your slow cooker to high.
2. Dry fry the flaked almonds in a frying pan until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool and grind them until fine in a spice grinder or coffee mill.
3. Heat the butter in a frying pan and gently fry the chicken until browned all over. Set aside the chicken, add the sunflower oil to the fat in the frying pan and lightly fry the onion until lightly browned. Add the garlic & cardamom pods and gently fry for a further minute.
4. Add the ground almonds, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon stick and chilli to the pan and gently fry for about 1 minute.
5. Transfer the mixture to a ceramic cooking pot or slow cooker. Add the coconut milk, stock and tomato purée to the pot/slow cooker and stir in. Add the chicken and season with salt & pepper.
6. Cover and cook for 3 hours until the chicken is tender. Stir in the cream and garam masala and continue to cook gently for a further 30 minutes.
7. Serve taking care to remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods.
Homemade Pizza
This pizza recipe takes less time to prep & cook than ordering a takeaway. Healthier too. Also a great one for kids as they can add their own toppings before putting in the oven.
Pizza base:
350g Plain Flour (plus around 40g for dusting)
1 tbsp Caster Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 7g sachet Dried Active Baking Yeast
2 tbsp Olive Oil (I use Bertolli Mild & Light Olive Oil)
225ml warm Water
(makes 1 large pizza or 1 medium & 1 small)
1. Mix all the dried ingredients in a large bowl. Add the oil & water and combine to form a dough.
2. Flour your hands and roll the dough out onto non-stick baking parchment on an upturned baking tray. Or alternatively pat into a pizza pan.
3. Add your choice of topping and bake in the centre of a preheated oven at 190degs for 20 to 25 minutes.
Suggestions:
Tomato pizza topping - blitz a 400g can of plum tomatoes with 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano plus salt & pepper to taste in a food processor.
Dough variations - add & mix in 1-2 tbsp of dried herbs such as Italian Mixed Herbs, Oregano or Basil to above pizza dough recipe. For a stuffed crust version, line the outsides of the rolled out dough with strips of cheese (or cheese strings) & roll over the edges of the dough before baking.
Toppings - cooked chicken/sausage/ham, flaked tuna, pepperoni/chorizo, red/green pepper, red onion, sweetcorn, mushrooms, tomatoes, pineapple.
Homemade Ham & Cheese Macaroni
Following on from my ham, potato & parsnip Dauphinoise, here is another great recipe for using up the ham. My little boy Cameron loves Macaroni and nine times out of ten this is what he asks for if given the choice of what to have for tea. Great comfort food for adults too. If you wish you could also mix in some vegetables for variety e.g. peas, sweetcorn, tomatoes.
75g Butter
75g Plain Flour
900ml Milk, boiled
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
250g Cheddar Cheese, grated
300g Ham/Gammon, chopped
Salt & Black Pepper
300g Macaroni (or I use Rigatoni)
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in the flour and lightly cook for a minute before gradually adding the boiling milk a little at a time whilst whisking.
2. Stir in the mustard & around 3/4 grated cheese and stir so the cheese melts into the sauce. Season with salt & pepper to taste and stir in the chopped ham.
3. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water. Drain and mix into the cheese & ham sauce.
4. Transfer to an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and put in the oven under a hot grill until the cheese is bubbling & golden brown. The macaroni can also be heated from cold in a 200deg oven for around 20 minutes.
Ham, Potato & Parsnip Dauphinoise
If you and your family don't mind eating the same cut of meat for a few days a large gammon joint is a great investment. A large 2kg joint can cost around £10 but we can make it stretch out across 3 or 4 days. Here is an example - gammon & pineapple on day 1, the recipe here Ham, Potato & Parsnip Dauphinoise, then Homemade Cheese & Ham Macaroni (recipe on tomorrow's blog post).
2kg Gammon joint
- simmer in a large pan of water for around 2 hours (around 30mins per 500g). Regularly skim the surface to remove excess salt & keep topped up with boiling water from the kettle so joint covered in the pan. The joint may also be soaked in water overnight before cooking in fresh water.
700g Potatoes e.g. Maris Piper, thinly sliced (if you have a food processor with a slicing disc use this for speed or a mandoline)
450g Parsnips, thinly sliced (as above)
500g Gammon, sliced/chopped
5 leaves Sage, torn (or roughly 3 tbsp dried)
450ml Double Cream
60g Parmesan, grated
3 tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
1. Preheat oven to 200degs. Layer half potatoes & half parsnips in a buttered ovenproof dish. Season then top with ham & sage.
3. Cover with remaining potatoes & parsnips. Spread with Wholegrain mustard.
4. Heat the double cream in a saucepan until boiling. Remove from the heat and pour over the Dauphinoise.
5. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 50 minutes until potatoes & parsnips are tender (check with a skewer). Remove the foil, scatter the Parmesan over the Dauphinoise and continue to bake in the oven for 25 minutes until golden.
Falafels
Easy to make and a really cheap meal, falafels are a great healthy vegetarian alternative to beef burgers as featured on my previous blog post. Also another great meal for kids as you can adjust the ingredients and they can add what they like to the pitta. Although traditionally Greek, I have a couple of alternative twists you could try - Indian & Mexican Falafels - by altering the ingredients and the way they are served.
Base Falafel Recipe:
1 400g tin Chickpeas (drained, rinsed & dried)
1 small Red Onion (roughly chopped)
1 clove Garlic (or 1 tsp Lazy Garlic)
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tbsp chopped Parsley
2 tbsp Plain Flour
1/2 tsp salt
Greek - serve in pitta pockets with salad, tomato & tzatziki (Greek yoghurt, lemon juice, cucumber & garlic)
Indian - add a tsp curry powder to base mix. Serve in wrapped chapatis with fresh coriander, tomatoes, mint raita (natural yoghurt, cucumber & mint), and mango chutney.
Mexican - add a tsp chilli powder to base mix. Serve in wrapped tortillas with salad, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole and sour cream.
1. Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
2. Shape into patties & lightly fry in a splash of olive or sunflower oil for around 3 minutes on either side until golden.
Homemade Burgers
Making your own burgers couldn't be easier and again it means the seasoning & fillings can be adjusted to taste or omitted for children. This is the base recipe I use with some suggestions of seasoning, herbs etc. you could mix in to add flavour. Using a binding ingredient such as egg or breadcrumbs isn't essential but it does help the burger maintain it's shape better.
800g Beef Mince (if using lean mince a small dice of butter in the middle of the burger pattie will keep it moist)
1 Onion finely chopped or grated (best if slightly softened first by frying in tsp olive oil)
1 Egg
Salt & Pepper
1 tbsp Oil (for frying)
Suggested additions:
2 tbsp Ketchup
1 tbsp Italian Herbs
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbsp Chilli Flakes or Chilli Powder
1 tbsp Mustard (Dijon or Wholegrain)
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl (along with any of the suggested additional seasoning/flavouring above) & thoroughly mix.
2. Shape into patties (can be frozen for use at another time).
3. Griddle or pan fry for 4-5 minutes on each side (check that cooked through; if not, can be put in a hot oven for a few minutes).
4. Serve with chips on the side (refer to previous post for Homemade Chips. Sweet Potato chips can be cooked in the same way).
