Tomato soup, with rice and cardamon

 The cherry tomatoes were blitzed in a blender. The rice was a left over from an earlier dish. I once lived with someone who loved tomato and rice soup. A trip down memory lane. 

Haddock Risotto

 A simple fish risotto, with basmati rice infused with madras curry powder, and some diced chorizo. Delicious!

Rice, Prawns and Mushrooms

 A basic dish made with Ecuadorean prawns, spinach leaves, diced mushrooms and boiled basmati rice. Dressed in a little chilli sauce. 

Crispy Chicken, with Rice and Peas

 A simple chicken dish, made while I was waiting on a Wimbledon match starting a couple of days ago. A bit like a Louisiana Gumbo. Made with roasted chicken thighs, which then were chopped up and refried. Last time I had a real Louisiana Gumbo was actually in the British Embassy compound in Abu Dhabi, in the mid 90s. They served quite a lot of it, and it was pretty good.

Abu Dhabi is one of the original Trucial States, which signed a deal with the UK to allow British access to territory for the protection of the states. So Britain has access to harbour facilities, as does the US, who signed up later (we have the bigger embassy compound :-). I mention this, since it is likely that the chefs who cooked the Louisana gumbo were American, and knew what they were doing. 

Prawns with Yellow Pepper And Basmati Rice

Ecuadorian prawns, with diced yellow pepper and mushrooms, turmeric Basmati rice, and served with a four leaf lettuce salad (baby leaf). The prawns were steamed for about five minutes, and the turmeric rice  was cooked in boiling water for about eight minutes. 
 

Rice, with Torunska Stew

 I found my ice-cream scoop, and was able to produce balls of turmericed rice and coriander once again. This was an interim dish, using up existing ingredients from the fridge.  Served with fresh spinach. 

Beef and Chickpea Curry

 Excellent beef curry, made with ground Scotch beef. The chickpeas were softened in a slow cooker over several hours, and the beef was browned in a flat pan in a little olive oil for an hour and a half at a low to medium heat. I added diced mushrooms, a red chilli, and a julienned red onion. 

Water was added to the beef along with the chickpeas, and was simmered for a couple of hours, after which the herbs and spices were added. The Madras curry powder was the most important of these. 

Served with some fresh coriander, Basmati rice, and Pataks Lime pickle. 

Salmon Fillet, and Black Bean Rice

 Delicious meal. An oven roasted salmon fillet (19 minutes, drizzled in olive oil), served on a bed of chopped spinach leaves (raw). I boiled some rice with a little turmeric and then drained the rice thoroughly. Mixed with black bean sauce. 

Beef Chilli with Butternut Squash and Leek

A hot beef chilli, simmered for two hours on the hob. Completely delicious! But I have to say that the amount of effort involved in preparing the butternut squash was out of all proportion to its contribution to the flavour of the dish. It may be a nutritious vegetable, but it has no particular taste of its own. I will be giving it a miss in future.
 

Pamplona Sausage, Spring Onion, Red Pepper

An interesting selection of Spanish sausage from Aldi yesterday. An easy to prepare salad with Basmati rice, spring onion and diced red pepper. All done in five minutes (apart from the rice of course. That was pre-prepared). Served with a little horseradish sauce.

[Chorizo de Pamplona is a sausage that is typical in the cuisine of the Navarre region of Spain It is prepared with equal parts of finely-chopped beef and pork and significant amounts of a strong smoked paprika, and pork fat.]

 
 

Cajun Chicken

Chopped chicken breast, onion, garlic and chilli. The chilli, onion and garlic were cooked first in some rape seed oil. Then I added the chopped chicken breast after about 12 minutes. Cooked at a medium heat until the chicken began to brown. Stirred frequently. The cajun seasoning was added to the basmati rice (cooked in a separate pan) along with a shake of paprika. 
 

Basa Fish, Rice, and Pak Choi

Deskinned Basa Fish fillet, cooked in a preheated oven at 190 deg C on the middle shelf for twelve minutes (not turned), dressed in sunflower oil, and a little black pepper.

Served with diced and steamed Pak Choi leaves, and turmericed basmati rice.
 

Beef Chilli with baby leeks

Basmati rice cooked slowly in a flat pan with a quarter teaspoonful of turmeric.

The Ground beef was cooked for forty five minutes along with the vegetables, and then water, the vegetable stock, and the paprika was added, and cooked for another hour slowly under glass. Fabulously tender.
 

Diced Pork Loin Steak with Cashews

The rice was steamed first and allowed to cool. Regulary turned with a fork until ready (20-30 minutes). Reheated shortly before serving the vegetables and pork on the bed of rice. The red pepper and the onion were diced, along with the mushrooms, garlic and chilli. Stir-fried along with the  (preroasted) pork steak pieces, and the cashews. Served together with a drizzle of soy sauce. 
 

Garlic Sausage, Onion, and Chestnut Mushroom

A simple dish, made with deskinned garlic sausage, white onion (diced), and chopped chestnut mushrooms. Pan fried for fifteen minutes, and then cooked in water and tomato puree along with Basil and Oregano. Served with boiled basmati rice. 

 

Hoisin Chicken

Diced (pre-roasted) chicken breast, deseeded red chillies, chopped, diced garlic (one clove), two chopped spring onions, cooked in a drizzle of sunflower oil at a medium heat. Cooked for the last ten minutes in a little water and a teaspoonful of Hoisin sauce.. Served with slow cooked basmati rice (twenty minutes). 

 

Chicken with Chinese style Rice

I've taken to cooking rice along the lines of the process in China. I don't have a rice cooker, but basically the idea is to cook the rice slowly, and to allow it to stick together (oobviously the opposite of most western practice). You can do this by putting the rice in a small pan, and cooking it until the water has evaporated. If you leave it for a bit longer, and add something like sunflower oil, it will become a little crispy underneath. Fabulous! I used turmericed rice with a handful of thai black rice, cooked and drained separately, so most of the purple dye was removed. 

The rest of the dish is composed of diced chicken breast, diced red and green pepper, diced onion, chopped pak choi leaves, diced ginger and garlic. Cooked for about ten minutes in a separate pan. Dressed in a little dark soy sauce on serving. 

 

Ground Beef with Black Pepper

A great dish which largely cooks itself after you have browned the minced beef and diced the vegetables. Brown the beef at a medium heat until it begins to spark, stirring frequently. Then add the diced vegetables and cook for another five minutes, having turned the heat down to low. Then add boiling water, the beef stock, and some arrowroot (or cornflour) mixed with water, to produce a thicker gravy. Add a generous amount of freshly ground black peppercorns, according to taste. Stir together, and once thoroughly mixed, simmer under glass for about forty-five minutes. 

Serve with basmati rice. 

 

Chorizo, Pepper and Spring Onion Risotto

Chorizo based risotto with basmati rice, spring onions, and yellow pepper. The diced spring onions were added to the pan with the chopped chorizo, and they fried in the fat from the sausage. The strips of pepper were added after a few minutes.  Preparation time about twenty minutes.

 At the same time I prepared the basmati rice in another pan filled with slightly salted boiling water. Fifteen minutes cooking time at a low to medium heat. Cooked along with coriander leaf . 

The rice was drained thoroughly and then added to the pan with the vegetables and the chorizo. Stir-fried for five to ten minutes. 

 

Chickpea and Brocolli Risotto

A simple risotto, made with chickpeas, turmeric rice (Basmati), a quarter of a head of brocolli (diced), and one julienned red onion.

The rice was boiled for 12 minutes in water, a pinch of salt, a little olive oil, and two pinches of turmeric powder. Drained, and set aside.

The chickpeas were soaked overnight, and then boiled for twenty minutes or so until tender. Then they were fried in a little butter along with the red onion, for fifteen minutes.

After that, the diced brocolli was added to the pan, and cooked for about another ten minutes.

The rice and the chickpeas, brocolli and red onion were decanted to a bowl, and stirred together. Served with a little sweet chilli sauce. Can be eaten hot or cold.