Pot Au Feu alla Olle de Carne

Autumn is in full swing and I am craving a hearty Beef broth with lots of vegetables, just like the Costa Rican Olla de Carne. But. Since I cannot get hold of the kinds of vegetables that are prominent in Central America, I adapt my version to a European style in a kind of French Pot au Feu.

Ingredients:
2 large slices of Beef shin
1 Onion, studded with 3 cloves
1 large garlic clove
10 peppercorns
2 tsp sea salt
A bouquet garni featuring; a celery stalk, parsley and coriander stalks and 2 bay leaves
Root vegetables:
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3 or 4 pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled and halved
1 turnip, cut into 8 pieces
1 corn cob, cut into 4 rounds
8 new potatoes, peeled, left whole if the right size

So, I'm starting with a clove studded onion, a bouquet garni, a garlic clove and salt and peppercorns.
Leaving some of the skin on the onion gives the broth a nice colour.

To this I add the Beef shin and cover with cold water.

Now I bring it to a simmer, cover and simmer quietly until the meat releases from the marrow bone. This takes about 1 hour and a half,

Meanwhile I can prepare my vegetables,

Carrots, Parsnips, a turnip and a corn cob are cut into large chunks, I left the potatoes whole as they are just the right chunk size already.

Once the meat is cooked to tender but not falling apart, I take it out and leave to cool, before cutting into large chunks. I remove any bits that don't look beautiful in the finished dish, like the sinue or connective strands or any fatty bits.

The broth is then strained into a clean pot and the vegetables added. First the carrots, potatoes and turnip, followed by the corn and parsnip after 10 minutes.About another 10 minutes quiet simmering and all the vegetables should be tender to a bite, yet not falling apart.

The meat can now rejoin the pot, heated though and it's ready to serve.

In Costa Rica, Olla de carne is served with a bowl of rice. I like that, so that's what I will do. But a hunk of crusty sourdough bread would also be nice.

A little sprinkling of parsley or coriander will look and taste great as it's served.

Bon Apetit!

Aguadito Peruvian Chicken Soup

This ancient Peruvian Chicken Soup is said to bring the dead back to life. 

Well here is my recipe.

Ingredients: 

Serves 4 (4 weightwatchers smart points)

2 chicken breasts (about 400g) sliced 

1 corn cob cut into 8 cobettes

1 potato, quartered

1 red pepper, sliced

1 carrot, diced

1 courgette, in large dice

1 litre chicken stock

1 big bunch of fresh coriander

1 fresh chilli pepper

2 cloves of garlic

Juice if one lime

Heat the chicken stock and first add the carrots, potato and corn cobettes.

After about 10 minutes simmering add the peppers, chicken and courgettes. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Check the seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. 

In a blender mix the coriander, chilli, lime and garlic with some of the hot broth from the cooking pot. 

Add this gorgeous green smoothie to the broth just before serving. 

You can also add some cooked rice into the serving bowl, but I left it out. 

Enjoy this wonderful soup. 

White Fish Ceviche

Ceviche is a dish of cured seafood in citrus juices. There are many varieties in Middle and South America, with everyone's version slightly differently spiced and varying ingredients used. I love them all, but this is my favorite mix. 

Ingredients:

200g very fresh white fish (such as cod, sea bass or lemon sole), diced into 1 cm cubes

Juice of 1 lime, 1 lemon and 1orange

1 shallot, finely diced

1 scotch bonnet pepper, finely diced

1tsp sea salt

A few coriander leaves for garnish

Simply mix the curing marinade together and pour over the fish. Leave to sit in the fridge for 2 -3 hours. Then serve with tortilla chips or plantain chips. To make it a more complete dish, Avocado and sweet potato also makes a nice accompaniment. 

Bon apetit!

Quick Protein Bread

This bread is based on eggs and quark (a zero fat dairy product) the added ingredients are kinda up to you. Seeds and kibbled nuts, cracked wheat, wheat germ, almond flour, linseed, chia and all things that are good for you can go in. A little bit of bread flour will help bind it all together. 

Ingredients: 

300g Quark

5 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp sea salt

3 tbs strong bread wholemeal flour

2 tbs weatgerm

200g of your selection of nutty and seedy goodies, coarsly ground

Preheat the oven to 160C. Mix together the eggs, quark and baking powder before mixing all the other ingredients into the batter. It will end up like a cake mix texture rather then a dough. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment and pour in the mix. Sprinkle seeds on top of you like. Bake for 90 minutes. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before turning out to cool down. Eats well with lovely homemade spreads. I made Sundried Tomato Butter and a Herb and onion Quark spread.

To store it, place in a bag and keep in the fridge. (Warm it up in the toaster)

You will be surprised how delicious this bread is. And full of goodness!

Sichuan Beef Noodles

Ingredients:

500g diced shin of beef

12 small shallots, peeled, left whole 

100ml shao shin rice wine

2 tbs dark soy sauce

1 tsp rock sugar

1 cassia bark stick

2 star anise

4 cloves

2 bay leaves

5 Sichuan peppercorns

3 -5 dried long red chillies

1 tbs Chinese chilli bean paste

500ml water

Fresh noodles

Beansprouts

Spring onion, sliced at an angle

Extra chopped fresh chillies

Fry the shallots until nicely coloured, add to a sturdy slow cooking pot. Fry the diced beef in the same pan until nicely coloured, too. Add to the pot. Add all the other ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is fork tender. 

Heat the noodles over steam or microwave quickly just to warm them up. Place into a bowl and sprinkle over some beansprouts. Ladle over the beef and broth and garnish with spring onion and extra chillies. 

Enjoy this warming, unctuous hug in a bowl. Be happy!

No Name Chicken

If you've ever been to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan or Koh Tao in Thailand, you may have come across these delicious deep fried snacks. The recipe appears to be a bit of a secret, but I have finally managed to uncover it.

I am tempted to keep it a secret, just for the fun of it, but hey. It isn't really that difficult to figure out. 

Ingredients: (makes about 18 No Names)

150g tempura batter mix (you can make your own of course)

1 egg

150ml sparkling water

A selection of vegetables, peanuts and chicken all diced up quite small.

I used onion, bok choy, peppers and soy beans. But any soft vegetables are good.

Use as much as it takes to fill the batter with goodies. 

Heat oil for deep frying in a suitable pan. Drop a tiny bit of batter in the oil, to see if it starts frying. Once it does drop spoonfuls carefully into the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan. The fritters will fry away happily and turn them self around as they cook, if they have enough room to move. However you can give them a little hand if they don't. 

Once they have an appetising golden brown colour they are ready to be fished out with a slotted spoon and placed on kitchen roll to drain any excess oil.

They must be served with sweet chilli sauce. 

Careful! Leave them to cool a little before you take your fist desperate bite ;)

Cod & Clams

This dish is very loosely inspired by Bacalao en salsa verde. It is more light and fresh and almost like Moules Mariniere. I think it's very delicious and I want to share it with you. 

Ingredients:

1 piece of fresh cod filet about 350g

500g frozen or fresh small clams

1 small bunch of parsley

1mug of frozen peas

5 garlic cloves, sliced

100ml white wine

50ml olive oil

1tbs Plain flour 

Salt and pepper

Add the flour with a good seasoning of salt and pepper to a bowl. Cut the cod into 1inch chunks and toss it in the flour until coated all over. 

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the cod prices carefully for a couple of minutes. Turn them once (carefully not to break them) then fry for another 2 minutes. 

Now take the pan of the heat and take the cod out and place on a plate, waiting to join the pan again later.

Now add the garlic to the oil in the pan. Heat until it sizzles but don't let it brown. Add the white wine and bring to a simmer. Now add the peas and bring back to a simmer. Next add the parsley and let it come back to a simmer.

Then the clams can go in. They will literally open instantly. Once open, add the cod back in and cover with a lid to let the heat and flavour mingle for just a couple of minutes. 

As soon as everything is nice and hot, ladle into warm bowls and serve with some crusty bread to soak up all the wonderful juices. 

Bon Apetit! Enjoy this one!

Mentaiko pasta (Spicy Cod Roe)

Mentaiko is a Japanese spicy cod roe. Obviously not easily available in other countries, but that's not going to deter me! In Britain's supermarkets cod roe can be found in perfectly sized 200g tins. Great for making Taramasalata, but today I'm using it for a little Italian- Japanese fusion. This pasta is creamy and spicy and mildly seafoody. It's one of those dishes where the pasta shines through, so using a good quality brand does make a difference. 

Ingredients: serves 2

1 200g tin Cod Roe

200g dry linguine or spaghetti

A big glug of mild olive oil

1minced garlic clove

1tbs minced chilli

1/2 a lemons juice

a few sprinkles of mustard cress

Nori leaf snipped into strips for garnish

Cook the pasta following packet instruction.

Into a big bowl add the cod roe, garlic, lemon juice, chilli, cress and olive oil. Stir together and that's the sauce made.

When the pasta is perfectly cooked add it straight to the sauce in the bowl. Stir everything together and adjust the sauciness with some of the pasta water.

Serve straight away in warm bowl and garnish with the nori strips. 

Eat! Slurp! Oiishi!

Sayur Lodeh, Spicy Vegetable Curry

This is my version of a beautiful Southeast Asian vegetable curry. I'm calling it Sayor Lodeh, after the Malaysian Curry from which I have been inspired, but it is not an authentic recipe. It is also not strictly vegetarian, but if you want it to be, then the non veg ingredients can easily be substituted.

The most important part of this dish is the cabbage. You will be surprised how wonderfully sweet it becomes in the spicy curry, and the texture is just lovely, soft and springy. 

My version is very spicy, but that's important. A vegetable curry can easily become bland and boring in my opinion. So the fruity spiciness makes it really interesting and will leave you craving for more.

Ingredients:

These go together into a blender:

1 mug of coconut cream

1 mug of chicken stock

1 tbs Thai yellow curry paste

1 tsp chilli sambal

A few shakes of Thai fish sauce

1 whole scotch bonnet pepper

1 tbs palm sugar 

1 tsp shrimp paste

About 7 macadamia nuts

Whizz this lot into a smooth soup. Sometimes the macadamia nuts don't blend completely, but that makes it a nice surprise when you come across one in the finished dish.

Pour this into a large pot and add your choice of vegetables.

I sometimes add some fried tofu and sometimes prawns or even some chicken, but the main ingredients are the vegetables and more importantly the cabbage.

I'm going to give a few examples of vegetables that I would include. The more variety the merrier!

White Cabbage

Butternut squash

Green beans

Carrots

Cauliflower

Mange tout

Sugar snap peas

Aubergine

Pea aubergine 

Courgette

Pumpkin

Baby sweetcorn

Mushrooms 

Butter beans

And the list could go on, but that's my favourites.

Cut the vegetables into suitable chunks. Add the ones that need longer cooking first, then follow with the delicate ones towards the end of cooking. Simply bring the curry to a simmer and cook with a lid on for about 20 minutes.

The result should be a fairly soupy curry with hearty and spicy depth of flavour. It eats well with just steamed rice, but I also like to ladle it over noodles for a lovely curry noodle soup.

Eat, be happy and Bon Apetit!

Rice & Peas

Classic Caribbean dish. Easy to make by not many people actually know how exactly it's made. Of course there are many ways to cook rice and everyone has a favourite. Here's mine.

Ingredients:

1 mug of long grain rice (not the parboiled stuff)

1 mug of chicken stock

1 tin of beans (I used Borlotti Beans, but Kidney beans or even Black beans are good)

1tbs Coconut powder

A few stalks of fresh thyme, leafs only

A pinch of allspice

1large pinch of sea salt

1scotch bonnet pepper

Place your rinsed beans and rice into a pot. Mix the chicken stock with the coconut powder and add to the pot. Add the seasonings and place the whole scotch bonnet on top.

Bring to a simmer. Once simmering stir once carefully with a fork, then put a lid on. Turn the heat to very low and cook for 15 minutes. Do not take the lid off! Leave to rest for a further 15 minutes. Now it's ready. Fork through the rice gently before serving.

Eat! Feel good! Do a little twerk.

Bon Apetit!

Lemon Sole En Papillote

Ingredients:

1 Lemon Sole

A few cooked new potatoes

A medley of peas, green beans and mange tout, cut into bite sized pieces

A knob of butter

A glug of olive oil

A few pieces of diced bacon

A seasoning of sea salt, pepper and some fresh parsley. 

Half a lemon to serve

Mix the ingredients together (apart from the fish). Place the fish on a large piece of  grease proof paper. Top with the mixed ingredients and crimp the paper tightly together at the top, but leaving room inside for the air to circulate.

Place the parcel onto a baking tray and into a hot oven (200C or gas 8) for 20 minutes. 

Serve with the lemon. Eat. Enjoy! Be careful of the bones! 

Bon Apetit!

Clam & Chorizo Linguine with Courgetti

This light yet so tasty dish satisfies many cravings. 

You want to eat some slurpy pasta? But it's not really healthy and way to filling... Try this mixture of pasta and Courgetti.

Ingredients:

50g dry linguine (or fresh is good too)

2 courgettes, spiralised

2small green chillies, chopped

2garlic cloves, chopped

500g clams in their shell (mine came frozen)

120g Diced chorizo

1small bunch of Parsley, chopped

1/2 lemon

A splash of white wine

A big glug of olive oil

Start by putting the pasta on to cook. Read the packet instruction and cook the linguine for 1minutes less. It will finish cooking in the sauce.

Next heat the chorizo in the olive oil. Add the garlic and chilli, stir for a minute then add the splash of wine. Now for the clams. Add them to the pan, let them open, then use a slotted spoon to take then out. They can go into the bowl with the Courgetti for now.

Sprinkle in half of the parsley and once the pasta is ready add it straight to the pan.

Toss everything and stir around until the pasta has absorbed some of the liquid and looks perfectly cooked. The clams will have released some juice also, so there should be plenty, but if it's not enough, add some of the pasta cooking water.

Lastly add the Courgetti, clams and the remaining parsley to the pan and mix everything together well. Serve straight away. (The Courgetti does not need cooking at all)

Eat. Feel good.

Bon Apetit! 

Green Devil on Rye

Well, why did I call I green devil? It's not what I think. I love avocado. But a friend called it the green devil so often, that every time I see an avocado I now think it's called green devil.... Ok, that cleared up, here is my simple breakfast idea of the day. 

Start by putting a small pot of water on the stove and bring to a simmer. Gently lower two eggs into the water and set a timer for 4 minutes. 

Next place the rye bread into the toaster ready to push down. 

Then cut a ripe avocado in half and spoon out the flesh into a shallow bowl, season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of half a lime. Add fresh green chilli and chopped up spring onion if you like.

Mash roughly with a fork. Pop the toast.

Dollop the avocado on the toast. The eggs should now be ready. 

Shock the eggs under cold running water, then carefully peel. Place on top of the avocado toast, season with a sprinkle of sea salt and cut some fresh some cress on top.

Eat. Be happy! 😄

Bon appetit!