Chicken and Onion Soup

A  simple soup made shortly after Christmas to use some left over sliced chicken.

First I browned some diced onions slowly in a small pan, stirring occasionally. After about twenty minutes I decanted the onions to a larger pot and added 400 mls of boiling water, plus chicken stock, and some onion gravy granules (Quixo from Aldi).

The chicken slices were diced and added to the pot, plus a finely diced carrot. The soup was simmered slowly under glass for half an hour, then a pinch of Herbes de Provence was added and stirred through the soup.

Serve as is, or with some potato scones. Delicious!

Scrambled Egg and Bacon

Fabulous breakfast! The scrambled egg was made with two eggs, a pinch of salt, plus a quarter cup of whole milk, cooked slowly in a melted knob of salted butter. I used a small pan for that. Stirred about four or five times until ready.

The smoked bacon strips (two) were cooked slowly in an omelette pan in their own fat. Cooked until crispy at the edges.

Three quartered mushrooms were cooked slowly in the small amount  of bacon fat remaining, until they browned.

Served in this case with a squirt of American mustard and a dusting of black pepper.

Excellent served with buttered toast or slices of potato scone.

Lentil & Bacon Soup

Made with four strips of smoked bacon, diced, chopped onion, diced brussels sprouts, a handful of diced spinach leaves, a third of a cup of red lentils, vegetable stock, and some onion gravy granules.

The bacon was fried first in a small pan, in some sunflower oil. The vegetables were prepared at the same time (the bacon was stirred frequently along the way). Once the bacon began to brown, the onion was added. Once the onion began to become transparent, the brussels sprouts and spinach were added to the pot. Cooked for another fifteen minutes.

The ingredients were then decanted to a larger pot, and about 400mls of boiling water was added. Followed by the third cupful of red lentils, and the onion gravy granules. Stirred frequently. Cook for at least another half an hour, adding the vegetable stock after about fifteen minutes.

Served with two toasted potato scones. Simple and delicious! Lentil and bacon soup is a Scottish staple dish (the recipe is flexible in its ingredients, according to availability).

Christmas Dinner with Chicken and Chestnut & Onion Stuffing.

 The  components were: roast Maris Piper potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts, sliced chicken breast, a sausage meat and chestnut and onion stuffing, oven roasted sausages dressed in bacon (pigs in blankets), and a chicken and onion gravy.

The main trick is to get all of the components hot at the same time, and delivered to the plate within a couple of minutes. Everything was prepared the previous day. A microwave oven was used to reheat the sprouts and carrot (in one glass tray), the chicken and onion gravy. The chicken slices were wrapped in some aluminium foil, and reheated for ten minutes in a fan-assisted oven. The roast potatoes were reheated in the microwave. The chestnut and onion stuffing was also reheated in the microwave,  along with the chipolata sausages wrapped in bacon (the 'pigs in blankets').

What follows is the initial cooking process on Christmas Eve, which took half the day. I started with the vegetables, the gravy, and the potatoes. That took three pots. Allowed to cool, and placed in the fridge. The  gravy was made with chicken stock and some onion gravy granules.

The chicken breasts (four altogether) were cooked in in the oven, in a lidded casserole dish on a bed of diced onions. cooked for around 45 minutes at 200 deg C. Allowed to cool and placed in the fridge.  The next morning the chicken breasts were sliced with an electric knife. The chicken was very tender when served.

The pigs in blankets were cooked from scratch at 180 deg C, for a notional 25 minutes. I wrapped them in some aluminium foil so they would not burn.  Cooked for twenty five minutes, and then for another five to ten minutes unwrapped, in order to brown.

The next item was the chestnut and onion stuffing. Cooked in the oven as a block, and uncovered, for thirty-five minutes.at 180 deg C,  The sausages can be cooked along with the stuffing, if you watch the timer carefully.

 I've blogged about roasting potatoes before, so search on roast potato for the details. In this case I used  goose fat, which is a popular choice at Christmas, but isn't strictly necessary to get excellent roast potatoes. In a nutshell, parboil the potatoes, drain, shake around a lidded pan, and then roast at about 200 degrees C for thirty-five to forty minutes after drizzling them in goose fat. Watch carefully!

All components of the meal were thoroughly heated and cooked and still hot before serving. All components were on the plate quickly, starting with the sausages and the stuffing, followed by the chicken, the roast potatoes, the vegetables and the chicken and onion sauce. Serve with Cranberry Sauce jelly!

Venison Sausage Casserole

Some bargain venison sausages from Sainsbury's, used as the basis of a winter casserole.

I added diced green beans, onion, celery, batoned carrot, and spring onion to a casserole dish. The sausages were delinked, and pierced four times each. They were added on top of the layer of vegetables.

I made a gravy with onion granules and some ham stock. It was allowed to cool to room temperature, and then it was added to the casserole dish, just covering the vegetables. I drizzled some sunflower oil over the sausages, and then placed it in a preheated oven at 190 deg C. Allowed to cook for at least fifty minutes.

Served with lightly roasted maris piper potatoes. 

Ground Lamb Chilli with Mushrooms

Ground lamb, cooked in a little sunflower oil, along with white onion, peppers, and some dried red chillies, and three green chillies.

The lamb was cooked first for 45 minutes, before the onion and diced spring onion was added (three). After that, the diced carrot, and the red pepper (half, diced), six quartered mushrooms, and about half a pint of water. Then  the lamb stock. Simmered under glass for an hour.

Before serving, add two pinches of dried coriander (or diced coriander leaves if you have some fresh available in your kitchen).

Served with basmati rice, cooked with a sprinkling of dried coriander.

Jarlsberg Cheese Salad

A simple and delicately flavoured salad made with grated Jarlsberg cheese (about 60 g), diced baby leaf lettuce, turmeric basmati (third of a cup). half a teaspoonful of olive oil, half a red onion, diced, half a red pepper, diced, chopped fresh spinach, and halved and diced spring onion (two), Also add a dusting of coriander and oregano.  Add a little salt while the vegetable components of the dish are being prepared. 

Serve with freshly ground black pepper. 

Raspberry and Chocolate Framboise

This is a pretty decadent dish - Moroccan raspberries soused in some Gordon's gin, and Crème de Framboise syrup (it is a raspberry flavoured liqueur made near Dijon in Burgundy - "Lejay-Lagoute" brand). I kept the soused fruit in the fridge for three or four days before serving.

I chopped up some dark fruit and nut chocolate and added it to the serving dish, followed by the soused fruit and juices. Then I added two dessert spoonfuls of a Greek style yoghurt, and gave the contents of the dish a couple of gentle stirs.

Fabulous! Plain dark chocolate will do just as well for this dish, but I prefer my chocolate to be leavened with fruit and nut (hazelnut and raisins).

Bratwurst and Spinach Casoulet

A fabulous dish which is easy to prepare. Bratwurst sausage bought  from Aldi (a pack of six, of which I used three here).

Cut the Bratwurst into roundels (six for each sausage). Then cut the roundels diagonally, so that they are wedge shaped. Cook them in a little sunflower oil in a flat pan, until they begin to brown (seven to ten minutes, stirring frequently). Remove the sausage pieces from the pan.

Add the mushrooms (quartered), the potatoes (also cut into wedge shapes), the red onion, the spring onion (two, diced), half a red pepper, diced, and chopped spinach leaves. Stir-fry for about seven minutes until the onions begin to caramelise.

Bring about 400mls of water to the boil, and add to the pan. Add two teaspoonfuls of onion gravy granules and stir through thoroughly for a minute or so, and then put the Bratwurst wedges back in the pan. Add a little oregano and marjoram also (the sausages derive some of their distinctive flavour from marjoram).

Cook under glass for at least 45 minutes at a low heat.

Ham Salad Risotto with Spinach and Red Pepper

A simple ham salad made with diced baby leaf lettuce, turmeric basmati rice (third of a cup). half a teaspoonful of olive oil, half a red onion, diced, half a red pepper, diced, chopped fresh spinach, and halved and diced spring onion (two), Also add a dusting of coriander and oregano.  Add a little salt while the vegetable components of the dish are being prepared. 

The ham is two circular slices of Wiltshire breaded Ham, made with outdoor bred pork. The ham is rolled up, and dressed with American mustard (French's) or some variety of German mustard. Dust the plate with black pepper. 

Garlic & Herb Roulade with Spinach and Rice Salad

Half of a 150g garlic and herb cheese roulade, served with a turmeric rice and spinach salad.

The salad was made with half a red onion, diced, four halved spring onions, diced, a handful of fresh spinach leaves, chopped, a handful of four leaf lettuce salad, chopped, half a yellow bell pepper, diced, turmeric rice, two cloves of garlic, diced, and six quartered baby plum tomatoes. All dressed in half a teaspoonful of olive oil. Plus a dusting of oregano, coriander and salt.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Smoked Haddock Poached in Milk

Poaching smoked fish in milk used to be a very common practice in Scotland. The flavour of the dish is out of this world, if you haven't tried it before.

The Fish:

An undyed block of haddock (both fillets from the same fish) was bought from Morrison's supermarket and fried in a little melted butter in an omelette pan for one minute. The heat was turned down to the lowest level, and two tablespoons of whole milk were added. Allowed to simmer in the milk for eight to nine minutes under glass, without turning. Watch the pan carefully in case the milk bubbles up to the lid. Decant the haddock fillets to the serving plate with a fish slice, and pour the mixture of milk and butter over the fish.

The French Fries:

The chipped potato pieces were boiled for fifteen minutes in a small pan of salted water. The pan was drained, and the chips were decanted to a glass roasting tray, brushed with sunflower oil. Each of the chips was brushed with a mixture of sunflower oil, tomato ketchup, white pepper, coriander, oregano, worcester sauce, and a little salt. They were turned, and brushed again on the other side. Cooked under the grill for between ten and fifteen minutes, or until they begin to crisp around the edges.

Pork Sausage, Mushrooms and Peppers

A simple sausage dish served with Brussels sprouts instead of boiled potato.

The sausages were made with outdoor-bred pork, cooked at a medium heat in a little sunflower oil for 20 to 25 minutes, and turned four times.

While the sausages were cooking I diced two medium sized red onions (white or brown onions will do just as well). Plus half of a red pepper, and half a dozen mushrooms, quartered. The sausages were removed from the pan, and replaced with the onion, mushroom, and pepper strips. Cooked for twenty minutes at a medium heat until browned. Stirred frequently to ensure even browning.

After that, about 300 mls of boiling water was added, plus 100 mls of water containing a teaspoonful of dissolved onion gravy granules. Stir together thoroughly. Add the sausages back to the pan, and simmer under glass until the gravy is significantly reduced in volume. This may take as long as thirty minutes - judge progress by eye.

Shortly before serving, I added a little pinch of oregano, and some pork stock. Dress with some freshly ground black pepper.

Omelette with Wiltshire Ham

An omelette made with diced spring onions - split lengthwise, and cut into small pieces. The onions were cooked in a little melted butter.

The beaten eggs were suffused with a little white pepper and a pinch of salt. Plus two dessert spoonfuls of water.

The beaten eggs were added to the spring onions in the omelette pan when they began to brown. The heat was turned down to the lowest level, and the omelette was allowed to cook slowly for five minutes before turning. Once turned, it was allowed to cook for another two minutes at the lowest heat, before being decanted to the serving plate. Three folded slices of the Wiltshire breaded ham were place on the omelette, and the omelette was folded over.

Drizzled with some American mustard, and garnished with a four leaf lettuce salad. Simple, quick, and fabulous!

Mushroom, Carrot and Lentil Soup

A delicious winter soup made with some basic ingredients, including lentils, carrot, spinach, red onion, Brussels sprouts, spring onion, butter, and vegetable stock. Made a bit more interesting with the addition of red pepper, mushrooms and herbs.

The mushrooms, red onion and peppers were cooked first in a little butter, for about twenty minutes, until the onion began to brown.

Once browned, the mushrooms etc were decanted into a pot containing the lentils, grated carrot, chopped spinach leaves, spring onion, diced Brussels sprouts, and the vegetable stock. Boiled together for forty five minutes.

Added were the herbs sage and herbes de provence. Plus some black pepper and Worcester sauce. A great winter warmer.

Served with toasted potato bread.

Bacon and Cheese Omelette

A simple but satisfying cheese omelette, made with spring onion, peas, green pepper and grilled cheddar cheese.

The diced bacon rashers were cooked first, until browned. The bacon was removed from the pan. Then the onion and green pepper were cooked in a lttle sunflower oil. When the onion began to brown, the peas were added, followed shortly by the bacon strips, and by the slightly salted (and herbed) two beaten eggs (with a little added water). Cooked for about five minutes on the hob at a low heat.

Rectangles of cheddar cheese were added to the top of the omelette, along with several dashes of Worcester sauce. The omelette was then put under the grill and cooked until all of the cheese had melted. It was kept near the front of the oven to avoid damage to the omelette pan handle, but it was turned to the left and right during the time the cheese took to cook (about ten to fifteen minutes, depending on the grill).

Served with a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.

Cottage Pie with Ground Beef Chilli

Chilli Con Carne, prepared in the guise of a cottage pie.

I used dried kidney beans, so they were soaked overnight, and cooked for twenty minutes the next morning, until soft.

I browned 500g of Scottish ground beef (minced beef) in some sunflower oil, for twenty minutes stirring frequently. After fifteen minutes I added diced red onion, and batoned carrot.

After the twenty minutes I added three quarters of a pint of boiling water, plus four green chillies (deseeded and diced), the garlic, the diced whole red pepper, and four squirts of tomato puree.

The dish was simmered for an hour under glass at a low heat. Then I mashed the carrots a little, and added diced mushrooms (in this case both white and chestnut varieties), and some shredded spinach leaves. At this point I added the kidney beans to the dish, and stirred them through. Simmered under glass for another hour. After which I added the beef and vegetable stock, plus generous pinches of basil and oregano. Simmered for another ten minutes or so.

Making the pie.

Allow the chilli to cool, and then add to a roasting dish. On top of the layer of chilli, add a thin layer of yoghurt, along with some grated cheddar cheese. Add an onion and potato mash on top of that, and more grated cheese. Texture the surface with a fork.

Cook the pie on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to around 190 deg C for fifty minutes or so. Check the pie every five minutes or so after half an hour in the oven to check progress.

Banana Pancakes

Healthy pancakes, made with one banana and no added sugar (this morning's breakfast).

I mashed up the banana with a fork in a medium-sized glass bowl. In a measuring jug I added two dessert spoonfuls of cornmeal, and 200 mls of fresh milk. Briskly stirred together until the mixture is smooth. Add two eggs and stir again, until the eggs have been broken up.

Add milk to bring the mixture up to 350 mls of liquid. Stir. Add a pinch of salt. Then decant the pancake mixture into the bowl containing the mashed banana, and whisk together for a minute or so. Allow to stand for two or three minutes and beat again, until the banana is thoroughly mixed in to the pancake batter. Pour the batter and banana mixture back into the measuring jug.

Heat about 10g of butter in an omelette pan. When it is thoroughly melted, and hot, add around 100 mls of the pancake batter to the pan. Cook at a medium heat for about three minutes, and then turn and cook for another two minutes or so (judge progress by eye). Decant to a plate and repeat until all the batter is used up. Add more butter to the pan if necessary.

The pancakes were served with a rhubarb and ginger chutney, which is a favourite Scottish flavour combination. Also sometimes made into jam, which will work just as well. If you like your pancakes to be sweet, add sugar to taste when making the batter. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

This recipe is adaptable to almost any fruit which can be blended into a paste, and which is not overly acidic.

Pork Sausage in a Sherry Sauce

Outdoor-bred pork sausages cooked at a medium heat in a little sunflower oil for 20 to 25 minutes, and turned four times.

While the sausages were cooking I diced two medium sized red onions (white or brown onions will do just as well). The sausages were removed from the pan, and replaced with the onion. Cooked for twenty minutes at a medium heat until browned. Stirred frequently to ensure even browning.

After that, about 300 mls of boiling water was added, plus 100 mls of water containing a teaspoonful of dissolved onion gravy granules. Stir together thoroughly. Add the sausages back to the pan, and simmer under glass until the gravy is significantly reduced in volume. This may take as long as thirty minutes - judge progress by eye.

Shortly before serving, I added a little pinch of oregano, and a shot glass of cream sherry to the gravy.

Served with semi-skinned potatoes, boiled in salted water (one pinch).

Yoghurt Omelette (Vorpi Jash)

Vorpi Jash is a simple dish eaten for centuries by Anatolian peasants. The name literally means 'the orphans meal'.

Made with two beaten eggs, two tablespoons of milk, one quarter teaspoon of salt, one eighth of a teaspoon of black pepper, one tablespoonful of butter, and 75 mls of garlic infused yoghurt.

Add the eggs to a bowl, along with the milk, salt,  and the black pepper. Beat together for a minute or so, and allow to stand.

Melt the butter in an omelette pan, and add the beaten eggs. Once it begins to cook, give the mixture a cursory stir, and then allow to cook at a low heat for several minutes. The omelette does not need to be turned. Do not allow the omelette to dry out - it is ready when only melted butter is visible on the surface.

How do you infuse yoghurt with garlic? I had no idea, and simply added three finely diced cloves of garlic to the 75 mls of yoghurt. The result is a yoghurt which occasionally tastes of garlic during consumption. Which isn't what 'infused' means. So, in future I would put the yoghurt and the diced garlic into a blender while the omelette is cooking. Also, I would use much less garlic. Obviously this is not how it would have been done in Anatolia over the centuries, but I have no idea of the local technique for infusing yoghurt with garlic.

[Eventually I found a good way to infuse yoghurt with garlic].

For serving, transfer the omelette to a plate, and spread the yoghurt on the surface. Simple and delicious!

Here is a slightly different version of the recipe by Margaret Cooter, but inspired by the same book in which I found the dish:

http://margaret-cooter.blogspot.com/2018/10/quick-meals-for-one-anatolian-omelette.html

She recommends flipping the omelette when serving, for presentation purposes. I just slid the omelette onto the plate right side up.

Ground Beef Chilli with Kidney Beans

This beef chilli is more like an authentic Mexican chilli dish than the last one I published (chilli con carne), since I added kidney beans and a generous amount of tomato puree (tomato passata will do instead), and I served the dish with yoghurt.

I used dried kidney beans, so they were soaked overnight, and cooked for twenty minutes the next morning, until soft.

I browned 500g of Scottish ground beef (minced beef) in some sunflower oil, for twenty minutes stirring frequently. After fifteen minutes I added diced red onion, and batoned carrot.

After the twenty minutes I added three quarters of a pint of boiling water, plus four green chillies (deseeded and diced), the garlic, the diced whole red pepper, and four squirts of tomato puree.

The dish was simmered for an hour under glass at a low heat. Then I mashed the carrots a little, and added diced mushrooms (in this case both white and chestnut varieties), and some shredded spinach leaves. At this point I added the kidney beans to the dish, and stirred them through. Simmered under glass for another hour. After which I added the beef and vegetable stock, plus generous pinches of basil and oregano. Simmered for another ten minutes or so.

Served with basmati rice, which was first component to be on the dish. I added two dessert spoonfuls of yoghurt along the inward edge of the rice, and then added the beef chilli. I used no cheese topping on this occasion, but often I add some grated cheddar. Delicious either way!

Mango, Blueberry, and Pecan Nut Fruit Salad

Made with a selection of three different varieties of mango (one will do), a handful of blueberries, and some chopped pecan nuts. Swirled together with two dessert spoonfuls of Greek style yoghurt. About three minutes of preparation time!

Black Bean Chicken with Bell Pepper and Red Onion

A three pot dish. Pot one consists of red pepper, red onion, one deseeded red chilli, stir-fried gently for twelve minutes in groundnut oil. After that, diced chicken breast (already roasted the preceding day) is added and cooked at a low heat under glass for another ten minutes. Stir occasionally.

Pot two consists of dried black beans, soaked overnight in unsalted  water. Cook for twenty minutes. Then add two teaspoonfuls of a commercially available garlic and black bean sauce, and cook at a low heat until the sauce begins to thicken again. The black bean sauce is for dipping the chicken pieces. It is very salty, so use sparingly!

Pot 3 is for four diced chestnut mushrooms cooked in butter for five to ten minutes. Add a handful of spinach (diced) and cook for a further one or two minutes.

Three pots to wash, but a fabulous Chinese style dish which is easy to prepare!

Chicken Tarragon with Roast Potatoes and Sprouts

The chicken breast was cooked from scratch the preceding day as part of a batch of four. Cooked in a standard lidded casserole dish, on a bed of sliced red onion, sunflower oil, sea salt, and a little water, for fifty minutes at 190 deg. C.

The Brussels sprouts were prepared Italian style, being chopped up and cooked in salted water. I added a little Tabasco sauce.

The complicated part was the preparation of the spiced roast potatoes. They were par-boiled in salted water for eighteen minutes, then the pot was drained. I drizzled two teaspoonfuls of goose fat over the potatoes, along with some tomato ketchup, powdered cumin, white pepper, dried tarragon, and vinegar. Then the potatoes were fluffed up for roasting by rattling them around the lidded pan.

The potatoes were placed on a roasting tray on the middle shelf of the oven, and cooked for another thirty minutes at 190 deg. C. Turned over once. Watch carefully!

The chicken was reheated in a lidded pan, along with some of the red onion and the gravy for twenty five minutes. If the chicken breast is chopped up, the cooking time will be around 12 to 13 minutes.

When the chicken breast was served, it was dusted with tarragon. The sprouts were thoroughly drained before being added to the plate. Followed by the roast potatoes.