Beef Burger with Barbecue Sauce

I bought a pack of burgers from Sainsbury's at a good price. I don't do burger buns with cheese, etc., so I decided to make a barbecue sauce for them with some healthy vegetables.

The ingredients of the sauce are: two small white onions, two thirds of a red and green pepper, three cloves of garlic, two small chopped finger chillies, a teaspoonful of powdered coriander, 150g of tomato passata, and half a teaspoonful of smoked paprika.

The onion was sliced and cooked at a medium heat until it began to go golden brown. Then I added the chopped peppers and the other vegetables. Cooked for ten minutes at a low heat, then I added boiling water. Then the passata, the powdered coriander, and the smoked paprika. Cooked for twenty minutes. No cornflour thickening required.

The burger had already been pan-fried the day before, so much of the fat in it had gone. I put it in an omelette pan with a drizzle of sunflower oil from a jar of grilled peppers (imparts great flavour!), and covered it with a glass lid. Cooked thoroughly for fifteen minutes at a low heat, and turned once or twice before serving.

Served with a chopped fresh spring onion, a dusting of black pepper and shredded coriander leaf. Delicious and simple! Cajun seasoning for the barbecue sauce is an alternative option.

Pork and Pepper Stir-Fry

A pork stir fry with two different kinds of cabbage, bean sprouts, red and
yellow peppers, chestnut mushrooms, red onion, carrot, bamboo shoots, finger chillies, garlic, root ginger.

The whole dish was cooked in the same wok, so I started with the pork. I cut into strips two raw pork loin steaks, after removing the surrounding fat. The strips were put into the wok when the sunflower oil was hot, and stir fried for ten minutes, with the heat turned right down to the lowest. After that I turned up the heat again, and added chopped peppers, 3 chopped finger chillies, bamboo shoots, chopped mushroom, garlic, and root ginger strips. Cooked for three minutes stirring almost constantly.

Finally I added the cabbage, bean sprouts, red onion, and some carrot pieces, and stir-fried for a further 3 minutes at a medium heat.

Served on a spiral of dark soy sauce.

Pork and Mushroom Stew, with Grilled Peppers and Greek Basil

A delicious stew made with sliced roast pork (from a boneless pork leg), chestnut mushrooms, two large tomatoes, chives, peas, onion, smoked paprika, Oregano, grilled peppers (yellow and red), and Greek basil.

The pork joint was sliced with an electric knife. The peppers came in oil in a jar, so I used some of that in the saute pan. Full of the flavour of the peppers. I chopped up the peppers, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes and the chives. The pork and the vegetables were added to the pan when the oil was reasonably hot, and stir-fried for about ten minutes, after which boiling water was added, along with the peas, some smoked paprika (one teaspoonful) and the oregano.

Simmered under glass for an hour or so at a low heat. Before serving, shred some greek basil, and stir through the contents of the pan for one or two minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes, freshly ground black pepper. A dash of Tabasco can be added for a little extra spice. 

I've had 108 visits from France over the past week. They know about food in France, so that number of visitors is gratifying! Thanks for your interest.

Mustard Ham Omelette

A simple omelette cooked as an accompaniment to mustard-breaded ham. Served with sliced salad tomatoes.

The omelette was cooked in a small pan with chopped chives. About three minutes each side, in sunflower oil. Dress with freshly ground black pepper.

Mango and Apricot Salad with Red and Black Wild Rice

The black and red wild rice was cooked for thirty minutes on the hob, in unsalted water.

While the rice was being prepared, I chopped up the mango and the apricots (careful with the stones!), and the orange pieces. They can be soused in a little white wine and allowed to stand for half an hour, but the dish is delicious without this. I like a slight alcoholic undercurrent to a fruit salad, which is a personal taste.

When the rice is ready, cool it in a sieve under cold running water. Add the fruit and the rice to the serving bowl, and pour the single cream over the the top. Voila. Delicious!

Breaded Haddock with Mayonnaise and Garden Peas

Breaded haddock fillets from the local Co-op at a good price. Served with roasted potatoes, cooked for fifteen minutes at 200 deg C in a roasting tray by themselves. They were dusted with some Rosemary. and brushed with sunflower oil (as was the roasting tray).

Then I added the two haddock fillets to the roasting tray, and cooked them for 18 minutes along with the potatoes.

I heated some garden peas, and added a dessert spoonful of mayonnaise. Not much preparation needed! Dusted with freshly ground black pepper.

Sweet and Sour Roast Pork Stir-fry

A bag of stir-fry vegetables from the Co-op, including two kinds of cabbage (one of them being cavolo cabbage), bean sprouts, carrot, red onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, and water chestnuts, to which I added garlic and four green finger chillies, cooked in sunflower oil. You could add bamboo shoots and mushrooms if you have them to hand.

Cooked for five minutes in a wok, from a high heat, which was gradually reduced, to avoid burning the vegetables.

The roast pork was cooked the day before, and was cut into strips. Added to a small lidded pan with a sweet and sour sauce (bought from Aldi. I've described how to make this sauce elsewhere on the blog). Cooked slowly for fifteen minutes to ensure thorough heating of the pork.

Added together on the plate, along with some dark soy sauce drizzled over the top, and freshly ground black pepper.

Pork Stew with Chives, Onion and Mushroom

Joints are going out of style for many people because they are seen as too complicated to prepare and cook. So the bargains are there to be had. They are worth seeking out since they are better value for money, even if it is true they involve much more effort and forethought.

This one came from Morrisons - a 1.1kg boneless pork leg joint.

Cooked on the middle shelf of the oven for two hours at 190-200 deg C. along with two large chopped potatoes and a peeled and halved onion.

The joint was wrapped in aluminium foil, in such a way that the juices would remain with the joint. The package was placed on top of the potato and onion spread around the roasting tray. I added half an inch of water to prevent the vegetables from dehydrating too quickly.

The tray was removed from the oven after the first hour, and the vegetables were decanted into a bowl. The joint then laid directly onto the tray, and replaced in the oven.

Once cooked, the juices were decanted into a pot, along with a cornflour and water mixture, containing chopped chives. Once thickened, the juices were decanted into a glass jar, and were later put into the fridge. The joint itself was allowed to cool overnight on a plate under an upturned glass bowl.

The next day the joint was cut into slices using an electric knife, and put into a flat pan. The pork fat was removed from the now jellied juices with a teaspoon, and the jelly was added to the pan. Add a cupful of boiling water.  Chopped mushrooms were added, along with the onion which cooked with the joint, now chopped. Simmer under glass for half an hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve with the potatoes which were cooked along with the joint, after fifteen minutes in the steamer. Delicious! Well worth the effort.

Breaded Cod with a Chive Sauce

Two pieces of breaded North Atlantic cod bought from Morrisons supermarket. Cooked in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 200 deg. C.

Served with a white sauce made with cornflour milk and water. One desert spoonful of cornflour and a third of a cup of milk, and half a cupful of water. I added a bundle of fresh chives chopped into half centimetres, and brought to the boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickened to the desired consistency.

The potatoes were roasted in the oven along with the cod. Dressed in freshly ground black pepper. Delicious tender fish!

Pan-fried Coley Fillet

Fresh north Atlantic Coley fillet, which is a relative of Cod, bought from Morrisons.  Cooked slowly in a large flat non-stick pan, with either a little butter, or sunflower oil.

Cooked at a low heat, five minutes each side in a preheated pan. The fillet was quite thick, otherwise a shorter cooking time would be possible. I also cooked it under glass for the last five minutes, to make sure it was cooked all through, which is something you can determine by eye.

The fish flesh is so delicate it is difficult to get it out of the pan without it beginning to flake. A delicious fish, with very few bones, if the fillet is cut correctly (this one was). Served with boiled potatoes, steamed green beans, and freshly ground black pepper.

The flavour is very like Cod. The difference is that the Coley flesh is grey until it is cooked, when it turns white. People preferred in the past to have white fish flesh from the start, and so for a long time Coley was a favourite for feeding cats.

Can also be poached in milk.

Beef and Mushroom Stew

A relatively simple dish to prepare. Brown the diced beef in sunflower oil in a saute pan for fifteen to twenty minutes at a high heat, stirring frequently.

Add finely chopped onion, diced carrot, and sliced mushrooms, and cook for another fifteen minutes at a medium heat.

Add water. Mix some cornflour with water and add to the pan when the water is at the boil. Add beef and vegetable stock. Add herbs (thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf).

Simmer under glass at a low heat for an hour.

Serve with peeled boiled potato.

Lamb Steak with Mushrooms and Hash Browns

Two lamb leg-steaks, pan-fried for around 25-30 minutes at a low to medium heat, after searing at a high heat for three minutes or so each side. The steaks were turned frequently with tongs. They were under glass for the last ten minutes. They can be served as they are, or with a lamb and onion gravy.

The preboiled potatoes were added after about ten minutes, and also turned occasionally, until browned.

The mushrooms were prepared in a separate pan, and cooked in a little butter for about ten minutes.

Serve with black pepper.

Blueberry and Walnut Salad

A good value tray of blueberries from Aldi, and some leftover walnuts, prompted this dish.

The blueberries were washed first in a colander, and added to the serving bowl, along with the crushed walnut pieces. The cream (about two dessert spoonfuls) was poured over half of the contents.

That's it! If you prefer a sweeter and less tart dish, you can soak the blueberries for an hour or two in water (or some white wine) with some sugar, before assembling the dish.

Vegetable Mayonnaise Wrap

A delicious vegetable wrap made with spring onion, boiled potato, Sweetcorn, chopped red pepper and grated carrot. The ingredients were decanted into a bowl and dressed in mayonnaise. Add herbs according to choice - coriander, basil, tarragon. In this case I added chopped coriander.

Dampen the wrap and allow to soften. Decant the contents of the bowl onto the wrap. Fold the edges of the wrap at right angles to the line of the vegetable salad, and then roll up the wrap parallel to the salad. Pat the wrap down, then cut through the body of the wrap at an angle of about twenty degrees.

Serve with quartered cherry tomatoes and black pepper. Quick, cheap, and fabulous!

Chicken Stir-Fry with Rice Noodles

Fresh rice noodles bought from Asda this morning, which I steamed for ten minutes. Chinese bowls such as the one shown, are good at surviving the steamer without developing craquelure in the glaze, so the noodles were steamed in the serving bowl.

The chicken was chopped into medium sized pieces, and stirfried with one chopped red chilli pepper (deseeded), one large chestnut mushroom (diced), a quarter of one yellow pepper, and one chopped spring onion.

The chicken and the vegetables were decanted into the serving bowl once it was removed from the steamer (there is an art to that!). Then they were stirred through the noodles.

Served with a dressing of a little dark soy sauce. Quick and delicious!