Pear and Apple Crumble

A crumble (apple, pear and apple, rhubarb, etc.) is one of the simplest dishes to make (my mother told me how to do it in two sentences, on request).

Apple crumble was one of my favourite desserts at school, but somehow I never learned how to make it, and it is generally not something which is available pre-packaged from a supermarket.

Actually that isn't correct - Sainsbury's sell apple crumble pre-packaged. I've just not noticed it before, since I don't spend a lot of time looking in their fridges and freezers.

There are only two components - the stewed fruit, and the crumble topping. I used four medium sized pears from my mother's pear tree, and two apples bought from a local market. I peeled them, and cored them. Then I cut them in half lengthwise, and cut the halves into thin sections crosswise. After that they were put into a pan of boiling water, along with a dessert spoonful of table sugar, and a shake of cinnamon powder. The heat was turned down low, and the fruit was allowed to stew for at least an hour and a half. After which the pieces were roughly mashed with a wooden spoon.

The crumble topping has just three ingredients: four dessert spoonfuls of cornmeal flour, three dessert spoonfuls of table sugar, and about 100g of slightly salted butter. Cut the butter into thinnish slices, and add to the cornmeal and sugar in a glass bowl. Mix together with your fingers, until you have a mixture with no chunks of butter left (this is very therapeutic activity. It should take around seven minutes or so). Then the topping is ready to add to a pie dish containing the stewed fruit.

Before adding the fruit to the pie dish, reheat the fruit to the point where there is no moisture remaining around the fruit pieces. But do not dry out the fruit! Add the fruit, and roll the crumble topping mixture flat with a rolling pin. Then lay it on top of the stewed fruit, and seal the edges around the dish.

Cook in a preheated oven at around 180 -190 deg C, on the middle shelf, for between 40 and 50 minutes (this is a dish which needs to be judged by eye). As delicious and satisfying today as it was when I was a child! Serve hot or cold.

In this case, the crumble was served with two dessert spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt.

Spaghetti Chicken with Chilli and Garlic

Made with the last remaining parts (two drumsticks and a wing) of a whole chicken.

I'd kept the jelly from the roasted chicken, The chicken meat (including the skin) was added to the pot, followed by the chicken jelly, half a cup of water, two large squirts of tomato puree, a pinch of turmeric, some onion gravy granules, and a teaspoonful of dried basil.

I also added 100g of diced green beans. Plus three diced garlic cloves, half a teaspoonful of chilli powder and four dried red chillies. All stirred together. The dish was simmered under glass for thirty minutes.

The spaghetti came from the local co-op. It was in an airtight bag and semi dried. It took six minutes to be ready, after being placed in a pot of water already brought to the boil.

Serve with freshly ground black pepper. Can also be served with cheddar or parmagiano regiano cheese. 

Fried Zucchini in a Cornmeal Batter

Cheap zucchini (courgettes) from the local Co-op this morning prompted this delicious dish.

I topped and tailed the zucchini, then cut it in half lengthwise. Each half was cut into four pieces lengthwise, and then subdivided into three crosswise.

The batoned zucchini was fried in some sunflower oil in a medium sized omelette pan for seven minutes, with the batons constantly moved around, and also turned over.

The batter was pre-prepared with three teaspoonfuls of cornmeal, mixed with about 100ml fresh milk, and one medium egg. The cornmeal and milk were blended together with a whisk, and then the egg was beaten into the mix. I added some salt, two dashes of Tabasco sauce, and a pinch of turmeric.

The batter was added to the zucchini with a dessert spoon, until most of the batons were almost covered. Cooked slowly under glass until the batter begins to crisp and brown. You may need to turn the contents of the pan.

Serve with a sliced salad tomato, drizzled with American mustard, and a little black pepper.

Chilli Chicken

Made with the last remaining parts (two drumsticks and a wing) of a whole chicken, roasted a couple of days ago.

I'd kept the jelly from the chicken roast, and broke that up into small pieces in a small roasting dish. The chicken meat (including the skin) was added to the dish, followed by half a cup of water, two large squirts of tomato puree, some onion gravy granules, and a teaspoonful of dried basil. Plus half a teaspoonful of chilli powder and four dried red chillies. All stirred together.

The oven was preheated to 190 deg C, and the roasting dish was placed in the centre of the oven. Cooked for 45 minutes.

Served with semi-skinned flat-cut boiled potato. Hot and delicious, and an easy way to use up leftovers.

Tarragon Chicken, with a Garlic and Tomato Salsa

Normally Tarragon chicken has a white sauce, suffused with tarragon. But sometimes, as here, it is served with a garlic and tomato salsa.

Diced white onion stir-fried in a little olive oil, along with six diced cloves of garlic, cooked at a medium heat. Allow to brown a little before adding the plum tomatoes and the juice. Break up the tomatoes with a spatula or fish slice. Add the vegetable stock. Stir together thoroughly. Allow to simmer under glass for between 45 minutes and an hour.

Once cooled the salsa was added to a casserole dish, and a teaspoonful of dried tarragon was shaken across it.

The roast chicken was cooked a couple of days ago. I added two chicken breasts from the fridge (with skin) to the casserole dish, and added a dusting of sea-salt to the skin, rubbing it in a little. Place the dish in the bottom half of the oven, preheated to 190 deg. C, and cook for thirty minutes.

Decant the chicken onto a serving plate, and spoon the garlic and tomato salsa on top. . Serve as is, or with some grated cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano cheese, or just black pepper.

Also a great dish served with a further dusting of tarragon, and green beans.

Cumberland Sausage & Leek Casserole

As with most casserole dishes, there is often a lot of preparation time up front, but once the oven is hot and the timer is set, there is plenty of time to do something else. The main labour with this one was the dicing of two carrots into small chunks, and likewise a medium sized leek. Cut lengthwise about four times, and then cut crosswise. Plus a cored and sliced apple, and some chopped leftover cherry tomatoes from an earlier dish.

Once the vegetables were in the casserole dish, I added about a third of a pint of water. Then I laid about 50g of butter, thinly sliced across the bed of vegetables. Then, a heaped teaspoonful of French coarse grain mustard in the centre of the bed. In addition, I sprinkled two large pinches of dried sage across the top, and added a little vegetable stock, and some black pepper.

Once the sausages were defrosted, they were separated and pricked, and laid across the top of the bed of vegetables.

Cook at about 190 deg C. for about 45 to 50 minutes (lidded), checking occasionally to judge progress. Turn the sausages if they are overbrowning on top.

Vegetable Curry with Garlic Naan Bread

A straightforward vegetable curry, made to use up some vegetables in the fridge, including celery, Cavolo (dark green) cabbage, tomato passata, and some mushrooms and ginger.

First separate the leaves from the stems of the cabbage. Chop thin slices off the head of the celery, and a white onion. Add to a saute pan with some hot sunflower oil, and stir fry for ten minutes or so. Turn down the heat and allow to stand for two minutes.

Add boiling water (about two thirds of a pint), a teaspoonful of salt, vegetable stock, about 150g of tomato passata or puree. Simmer for twenty minutes. Blend for two minutes with an electric hand mixer.

Add Madras curry powder (a heaped dessert spoonful), four dried red chillies, and a teaspoonful of turmeric. Add the mushroom, the ginger, crushed garlic, and small wedges from two semi-skinned white potatoes. Add one diced red pepper. Allow to simmer under glass for half an hour to forty five minutes.

Serve with a garlic naan bread toasted for about five minutes under the grill, along with some lime pickle!

Chicken Pasta Bake

A simple pasta bake with chicken, bacon, tomato and cheese.

First I fried some diced smoked bacon in some olive oil, at a medium heat, until it became a little crispy. I removed the bacon from the pan to a dish, and then added diced onion (two) and tomato (one 400g can) to the pot. I used a spatula to break up the integrity of the plum tomatoes, added a quarter of a pint of boiling water, and then allowed the sauce to simmer under glass, while I prepared the chicken.

I used two previously roasted chicken drumsticks from the fridge, and cut off the meat.. I then added a teaspoonful of sugar to the pan, plus a dessert spoonful of vinegar. I'd saved some of the jelly from the previous chicken roast (the fat drained off beforehand), and added that along with some chicken stock.

 Stir together thoroughly, then add the chicken and the bacon. Again, stir in thoroughly.  Add a fresh and diced red chilli, and some lemon juice. Add 50g of grated cheese, and melt it into the sauce. Allow to simmer under glass at a low heat for 40 minutes or so. Add 100g of dried wheat free pasta, and cook for another fifteen minutes.

Decant into a tray or dish, and cover in 75g of grated or thinly sliced cheddar cheese. Cook in the oven at 180 deg C until browned (somewhere between fifteen and twenty five minutes, but watch it carefully)

Serve piping hot!

Chicken Cacciatura

A simple Italian dish with tinned tomatoes, chicken and bacon.

First I fried some diced smoked bacon in some olive oil, at a medium heat, until it became a little crispy. I removed the bacon from the pan to a dish, and then added diced onion (two) and tomato (one 400g can) to the pot. I used a spatula to break up the integrity of the plum tomatoes, added a quarter of a pint of boiling water, and then allowed the sauce to simmer under glass, while I prepared the chicken.

I used two previously roasted chicken drumsticks from the fridge, and cut off the meat. That took about five minutes. I then added a teaspoonful of sugar to the pan, plus a dessert spoonful of vinegar. I'd saved some of the jelly from the previous chicken roast (the fat drained off beforehand), and added that along with some chicken stock.

You can add herbs at this stage if you like. I added some dried rosemary. Stir together thoroughly, then add the chicken and the bacon. Again, stir in thoroughly. Allow to simmer under glass at a low heat for 40 minutes or so.

During this time I prepared some semi-skinned potato as an accompaniment. Before serving I added another pinch of dried Rosemary. A  dish without peer! Absolutely delicious!

The dish can be served with pasta or rice if you prefer.

Pesto Chicken Salad

A really simple one-pot pesto chicken salad, with penne pasta.

I used 200g of fine beans from Kenya, two chicken drumsticks from the fridge (roasted in the oven the day before at 180 deg C for thirty minutes, after being dressed with some sea-salt), and a large handful of penne pasta (wheat-free variety from Sainsbury's). Plus two spring onions.

Wash the beans, and bunch together with the stems all facing the same direction, and slice off the stems. Then dice the beans with a sharp knife, into 1cm pieces. Add to a pot of salted boiling water along with the similarly diced spring onions. Cook for ten minutes under glass, after turning down the heat to a simmer.

Add the penne to the pot, along with a dash of olive oil, and cook for another 10 to 12 minutes at a simmer. Stir frequently.

Strip the meat from the drumsticks and cover. No need to strip the skin before cutting with a knife. Put to one side.

Once the pasta and the beans are fully cooked, drain the water from the pot, using a sieve or the lid of the pot to hold in the contents. Then add cold water to the pot. Drain and repeat. Allow the pot and the contents to cool to room temperature (if you prefer your salads cold, put into the fridge for an hour).

Add three teaspoonfuls of green pesto sauce to the pot (which is essentially a mixture of basil and parmesan or other Italian cheese). Stir in thoroughly. Add the chicken pieces, and again, stir together thoroughly. The dish is now ready to serve.

Serve with black pepper and perhaps some Tabasco sauce. Delicious!

Beef and Black Bean Soup with Garlic

A simple and delicious soup made with some left over silverside beef, dried black beans, a leek, garlic, plus beef and vegetable stock.

A medium handful of dried black beans were soaked in cold water overnight. One leek was cut lengthwise into four strips, and then diced crosswise. The leek was cooked in a little sunflower oil at a medium heat, stirring frequently, for fifteen minutes or so, until it began to brown.

After that I added about two thirds of a pint of water to the pan, and the black beans. The combination was simmered under glass for an hour and a half. Stir occasionally. Then blitz the soup ingredients with an electric blender for at least two minutes.

Add a medium squirt of tomato puree, and four cloves of garlic, diced. Stir together, and increase the heat.

Remove any fat attached to the beef, and dice into short strips. Add to the pan and stir in thoroughly. Cook for another twenty minutes or so, at a low heat, before serving. An option is to add a little turmeric to the soup base, for a little extra bite. The flavour and texture of the soup base complements the beef wonderfully. I could have cheated by using a pre-made garlic and black bean sauce, but I wanted to know what came out when I made such a sauce from scratch.

Silverside Beef with Root Vegetables

A small joint (680g) of Silverside beef, oven cooked in a casserole dish. The joint was placed on top of a bed of carrots and diced onion, and the top of the joint was seasoned with sea salt. Also drizzled with some sunflower oil. Plus one wineglass full of cold water poured over the vegetables. 

Cooked for seventy five minutes at around 190 deg C.

The casserole dish was taken out of the oven, and the chunks of potato were added, along with about half a pint of boiling water.

The dish was put back into the oven, and the temperature was turned down to around  100-110 degrees, and allowed to cook for another hour and a half. By which time the beef is wonderfully tender. Allow the joint to stand and cool for about twenty minutes, then (after cutting off the string holding the joint together) cut into slices with an electric carving knife. No further seasoning is required. Fabulous!

Beefburgers with Fried Onions and Hash Browns

A long day, with a lot of travelling. I took the beefburgers out of the freezer, and put them into a bowl to defrost before I left.

On returning, the preparation was relatively quick (chopping the onion, and flat-cutting the potato). I heated a flat-lidded pan with sunflower oil, and placed the vegetables in the pan.

Then I added the defrosted beefburgers, and cooked them at a high heat for five minutes. After that the beefburgers were turned, along with the potato and onion, and then they were further cooked for fifteen minutes under glass. Occasionally the potatoes were turned along with the onion.

The beefburgers were turned again, and cooked at a high heat for a further five or ten minutes or so (judge by eye).

The burgers, potato, and onions, were decanted on to a serving plate dressed with black pepper, and then slathered with some tomato ketchup. Quick and delicious!

Split Panini with Butter and Rhubarb and Ginger Chutney

Rhubarb and ginger is a favourite flavour combination for Scots. Most often in the form of jam, which is how I first encountered it as a child. But it works just as well as a savoury chutney.

This is a simple snack, made with a split panini (from Asda), grilled in a toaster, and then buttered. After the butter is spread, add the chutney. That's it! Delicious!

Chicken and Tomato Soup

A bargain pack of chicken drumsticks prompted this dish. Simply made with tomato passata, white onion, one green chilli pepper (deseeded and diced), the meat from the drumsticks, some turmeric, some Quixo onion granules (Aldi), freshly ground black pepper, chicken stock and herbs (in this case basil and herbes de Provence).

The diced vegetables were prepared first and put into a lidded pot. I added a pint of boiling water, and brought to a simmer. I added 150g of tomato passata, and the meat from the drumsticks (which I had roasted in an oven dish on the preceding day). Then the turmeric, the onion gravy granules, the black pepper, the chicken stock were added to the pot.

Simmer on the hob under glass for between 45 minutes and and hour. Add the herbs shortly before  serving, and stir together thoroughly.