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!

Hake Galician style

Ingredients: 

Hake fillet (2 portions)

1 romano pepper, sliced

4 medium potatoes, cut tandomly

1 red onion, sliced

6 kalamata olives

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parsley

Method

Sautée the potatoes onions and red pepper in the olive oil until just lightly coloured. Add the garlic slightly later to avoid it getting to dark, which can make it bitter. Add a little water and the olives and pour into a suitable roasting dish. Braise/roast in a medium hot oven for 30 minutes. 

Season the fish fillet with sea salt about half an hour befor cooking. In a cold pan with just a little oil place the fillets skin side down and turn on the heat. Now cook on a medium flame. Make a cartouche from grease proof paper and place it over the fish, so the steam cooks the top. Do not turn the fish over, but let the skin crisp up and the flesh steam under the cartouche. Serve the braised vegetables and set the fish on top. Sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with a little good olive oil.

Spaghetti Putanesca

This tasty Pasta Dish from Southern Italy can be easily made with ingredients from the store cupboard.

This is my version. Quantities can be changed to your liking and I'm only using fresh tomatoes because I have too many of them right now. Tinned will be great too.

Ingredients:

2 tbs Olive Oil

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

1 long red Chilli Pepper, deseeded and chopped

4 Anchovy fillets, chopped

2 tbs Capers ( if using the salted variety, rinse the salt off)

About 10-12 black olives, I like mine whole, but pitted is fine of course

A whole bunch of Cherry Tomatoes, halved (or chopped tinned tomatoes)

I'm starting with the olive oil, garlic, chilli and capers in a large high sided chef pan, that will eventually hold the whole dish, including the pasta.

Turn the heat on high and sizzle everything until fragrant. This only takes a minute or two.

Next add the tomatoes. Mine are quite tart, so I'm adding a little sprinkle of sugar to balance them out, but if they are nice and sweet or from a tin, then no sugar is needed.

After the tomatoes have softened a little throw in the olives. Just warm them through, don't cook for too long or I find the dish gets too much bitter olive flavour.

Now the sauce is ready for the pasta. So cook yours as instructed on the packaging and toss it straight into the sauce. Also add a splash of the pasta cooking water, this will give the sauce a nice consistency and marry everything together.

There we are, ready to serve. If I had some fresh Parsley I would sprinkle some as I serve, but it's winter and my herb garden is not providing any.

So a grinding of fresh Pepper will do!

Bon Apetit!

Delhi Style Harlequin Squash

This pretty Squash makes a great side dish for an Indian Curry Night.

I really like the gentle sweetness and delicious Indian spiciness in this dish.

Ingredients

1 Harlequin Squash (or other Pumpkin/Squash)

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Nigella Seeds

1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds

1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns

1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds

5 dried Red Chillies

1tbs Coconut Oil

1 tsp Sea salt

1/2 tsp Amchur Powder

In a wide non stick heat the Oil and add the whole Spices, 

stir for minute then add the diced Squash and sprinkle with the Salt.

Mix well with the Spices then cover and turn the heat to very low. 

Cook until the Squash is nice and soft, stirring every now and then.

When the Squash is done squish some of the pieces and leave some for texture. Stir in the Amchur Powder to balance the sweetness. Lemon juice maybe used instead of Amchur.

The skin now has a nice chewy quality and the flesh is lovely and soft.

I'm not sure it will last until the rest of the Curries are ready,
I could eat it just as it is, right now!