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. 

Coriander Chicken

The chicken breast was cooked in a casserole dish in the oven for thirty minutes at 180 deg C. Dressed in some sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. The cover was removed and the chicken was cooked for a further twenty minutes, with the addition of a little white wine.

The vegetables were cherry tomatoes, green beans from Egypt, and diced carrot. All in some tomato puree, with a little salt. Cooked for about twenty-five minutes. Diced coriander was added during the final ten minutes.

Creamed Ham, Leek and Tomato Soup

Soup made with diced cherry tomatoes, tomato puree, diced leek and diced turnip, plus vegetable and ham stock, plus tomato puree. Cooked for seventy minutes at a low heat under glass. After that I added diced garlic and deseeded red chilli. Plus paprika, oregano, and black pepper. The diced ham went in last, with some red wine and single cream. 

 

Cauliflower, Swede and Carrot Soup

One half of a head of cauliflower chopped into florets, half a peeled swede cut into thin strips, one large carrot cut into chunks, and eight diced cherry tomatoes.

The cauliflower florets, the swede and the carrots were stir-fried in sunflower oil for ten minutes at a medium to high heat, stirring frequently.

The diced tomato was added, along with around a pint of boiling water. The heat was turned down low, and the pot was lidded. Simmered for forty-five minutes.

After that, the contents of the pot were mashed for about thirty seconds (I wanted this soup to be chunky). I added the vegetable stock and two pinches of Tarragon. Simmered again for twenty minutes before serving. Great flavour!

Torunska Sausage with Coriander and Potatoes

A simple breakfast dish made with thinly sliced Torun sausage (aka Copernicus sausage), cooked in its own fat (start at a high heat and then turn it right down). Fifteen minutes should be enough. Turn the slices in the pan occasionally. I added some diced cherry tomatoes, and chopped fresh coriander (this time I used a pizza cutter rather than a knife, and it worked really well).

The potatoes and the spring onion were cooked in a pan of water for seventeen minutes at the same time. Then they were fished out with a slatted spoon and added to the skillet pan.

Stir-fried at a medium heat for another five to seven minutes. Serve with coriander leaf and American mustard, plus freshly ground black pepper.

Peppered Chicken Salad, with Cherry Tomatoes and Yellow Pepper

Meat from a chicken drumstick in the fridge, liberally coated in freshly ground black pepper. Served with a Maris Piper potato salad (in mayonnaise), dressed in coriander leaf, a lettuce salad (purple and green) dressed in olive oil, diced cherry tomatoes, and sliced yellow pepper.

A pretty simple dish to prepare. Enjoyed with an Orvietto Classico Italian wine.

Lorne Sausage, with Beans and Hash Browns

A simple dish of square lorne sausage, with baked beans, chopped cherry tomato, spinach, and diced spring onion. Served with slices of fried potato (hash browns).

The best way to cook lorne sausage is slowly, and under glass. Otherwise it tends to buckle. Cooked for ten minutes altogether, five minutes on each side (then drain the fat). A delicious and satisfying meal.

The cherry tomatoes, spinach and spring onion were cooked first, and then supplemented by the baked beans. The hash browns were cooked slowly in another pan, in some sunflower oil, again under glass.  Dress in dried basil or oregano, according to choice.

Shredded Chorizo, with Spinach, Tomato, Red Pepper and Rosti

A simple salad made around some shredded chorizo sausage. I cut a third of a red pepper into strips, halved several cherry tomatoes, and diced a handful of fresh spinach.

I added a teaspoonful of fresh mayonnaise, and a dusting of white pepper.

The potato rosti was fried in a small pan in some olive oil, and was served warm.

White bean Mediterranean Salad

A delicious salad made with cannellini beans, stoned black olives, cherry tomatoes, orange pepper, spring onion, garlic, and dressed in olive oil and vinegar, with a small drizzle of lemon juice.

The dried beans were allowed to soak overnight before being boiled for twenty five minutes, allowed to cool, and then drained.

All the vegetables (minus the olives and the lettuce salad) were diced and mixed together in a bowl with the oil and vinegar, the lemon juice, and then dusted with some coriander leaf and paprika.

Served on the bed of baby leaf salad, with a little black pepper. 

Brisket Beef in an Onion and Tomato Gravy

A traditional Jewish dish, made with Brisket beef and a gravy of tomato, onion and carrot, served with brocolli spears, and boiled Maris Piper potatoes.

The brisket joint was about 800g, which is enough to feed six people. This meal was for three people, so I used about half of the joint for the meal.

The joint was first browned in the oven  (180 deg C.) in a roasting dish, for 30 minutes each side. Then it was placed in a large saute pan with salted water, and cooked for four hours, with occasional turning.

That left lots of time for creating the gravy. I batonned two medium-sized carrots, and diced a large Spanish onion. These were cooked for twenty minutes. Then I added sixteen diced cherry tomatoes and cooked the ensemble for a further twenty minutes. Crushed and diced garlic was added, along with tomato puree (or passata), beef and vegetable stock. Two dashes of cardamom, plus Herbes de Provence, Coriander, and Basil were also added.

Since this meal was intended for a dinner party the next day, everything went into the fridge as soon as it had cooled.

The next morning the brisket joint was cut into thin slices using an electric carving knife, against the grain of the beef. Tougher to cut, but it is the best way to do it.

The slices of beef were put into a flat pan with the onion and tomato gravy, and cooked for around half an hour to forty-five minutes, by which time the beef is incredibly tender. During which time I prepared the potatoes and the brocolli. The former cooked for twenty minutes plus, and the brocolli for ten minutes under glass at a low heat.

Served in this case with red wine, and utterly delicious!

[Celery can be added to the ingredients of this dish, as well as bay leaf, and rosemary and thyme. There are lots of variations. All delicious.]

Chorizo and Mushroom Tapas

The Spanish like to move around on an evening out, and not park themselves in one place for the evening. Hence the tradition of tapas in Spain: small dishes of tasty food which won't fill you up, leaving room for another dish in another bar or restaurant.

This is a simple dish made with only four ingredients: diced chorizo sausage from a chorizo ring, cherry tomatoes, each cut into three, four quartered white mushrooms, and some diced potato.

The chorizo was added to a flat pan first along with the potato, since the oil for cooking the dish comes from the sausage. From an initial high heat, the hob was turned down to the lowest. After about seven minutes, I added the tomato pieces and the mushroom quarters. The dish cooks under glass in around fifteen further minutes, with the ingredients moved around the pan occasionally.

Serve as is!

Pork Sausages in a Tomato and Sage Salsa

Pricked pork sausages, cooked slowly (30 minutes) in their own fat, under glass in a ribbed frying pan. Turned four times.

The tomato salsa was made with onion (fried in another pan for about fifteen minutes), and later with diced cherry tomato, sliced mushrooms and diced red pepper. All cooked in a little sunflower oil for another fifteen minutes.

After that a little water was added to the salsa pan, along with two squirts of tomato puree, and a teaspoonful of dried sage. Stirred thoroughly.

The chipped parsnips were dressed in sunflower oil with a pastry brush, and were cooked under the grill for twenty minutes or so (watch by eye!). Turned once. Alternatively you can melt a little butter, and dress the chips in that.

Served with freshly ground black pepper.

Ham Omelette

This is recipe idea number 800. Diced wafer thin ham, along with diced spring onion, red pepper, and cherry tomato. The vegetables were cooked in a little butter at a low heat for about seven minutes before the ham was added to the omelette pan.

Stir fry at a low heat for a further three minutes. The slightly salted omelette mixture (beaten thoroughly) was added and allowed to cook slowly under glass for about seven to eight minutes. Turned once. Dress in a dusting of coriander and black pepper.

Served with a four leaf salad and a dessert spoonful of mayonnaise.

Lorne Sausage Breakfast

Normally I prepare scrambled egg on buttered toast (wheat-free) when I want a cooked breakfast. But sometimes you want something more calorific.

Two slices of lorne sausage, cooked slowly under glass for 17 minutes altogether, and turned twice. Plus a bread pudding with raisins, and a slice of black pudding (with no cinammon), cooked for the same length of time, and turned once.

The quartered cherry tomatoes and the mushrooms were cooked in a small knob of butter, in a small lidded pan, for about twelve minutes. The beans came out of a tin, because making them from scratch is an interesting thing to learn, but a pain to do.

Serve with freshly ground black pepper!

Aubergine Parmigiana

Aubergine, spring onion, mushroom and courgette with cheese (Parmagiano Reggiano and cheddar), served with a tomato, red pepper and garlic sauce.

The aubergine, the spring onion and the courgette were finely sliced and laid in an oven proof dish. The layer was overlaid with sliced mushroom, then a layer of thinly cut cheddar.

The Parmagiano was finely grated, and the surface was covered entirely. The oven proof dish was placed in an oven pre-heated to 190 deg C, and allowed to cook for 45 minutes.

The sauce was made with diced cherry tomatoes, some tomato puree (ketchup will do instead),  and half a diced red pepper. Also added were some basil and oregano, and one crushed clove of garlic. Dress with black pepper when served. An excellent dish!

Beef and Aubergine Shakshuka

One of those great dishes which can be constituted in a number of different ways. Often served with eggs, which I skipped in this case, since I was not cooking for four people.

I browned 250g of ground beef (minced beef) with a julienned onion for twenty-five minutes at a medium heat, stirring at least once a minute. During which time I made batonned carrot, and added the carrot to the pot. I quartered eight cherry tomatoes, and added those also.

I added 150g of tomato passata to the beef, along with some boiling water and beef stock. Plus three red chillies, and a handful of freshly chopped coriander. Allowed to simmer under glass for 45 minutes.

I cut the aubergine into chunks, and added them to an oven-proof roasting/serving dish, drizzled with sunflower oil. I also added diced spring onion. Roasted in the preheated oven for twenty five minutes at 190 deg C (under a lid).

The dish is served with a garnish of garlic infused yoghurt. I made this with three dessert spoonfuls of yoghurt, finely grating three peeled cloves of garlic into it. Often mixed with a little tahini, which I didn't have to hand, but I had some Moroccan humus, and stirred that in instead (two teaspoonfuls).

Decant the beef into the dish containing the roasted aubergine and spring onion, and spoon the garlic infused yoghurt across the surface. Serve.

Fabulous dish!

Scrambled Egg with Sopocka Ham

Polish Sopocka ham, fried in sunflower oil in a skillet for seven minutes each side at a low heat, served with fried tomatoes and mushroom, and scrambled eggs prepared with some oregano.

The dish was served with a teaspoonful of French coarse grain mustard and a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.

The maker of this salt cured (and lightly smoked) ham is Morliny, which is the leading charcuterie company in Poland. The brand is now well established in the UK. https://www.morliny.co.uk/products/smoked_meats/sopocka/

Ham and Mustard Salad

A simple ham salad, suitable for Wiltshire ham, honey roast ham, breaded Ham, Brunswick ham, peppered ham, etc. Four slices of ham with a knife-spread layer of German mustard between each, and then a garnish on top.

Served with halved cherry tomatoes,  a side salad of diced yellow pepper, grated carrot and diced spring onion. Plus a coarse potato mash, topped with a dusting of paprika.

Chorizo Sausage Stew, with Seeded Flatbread

A chorizo sausage stew, made with chorizo, potato wedges, carrot wedges, red onion, green pepper, spring onion, and diced cherry tomatoes.

The red onion and spring onions were cooked first in a little olive oil, until soft, and beginning to brown. After that the quartered cherry tomatoes were added.

Cooked for fifteen to twenty minutes, and then a third of a pint of boiling water was added, followed by the potato and carrot wedges, and the diced green pepper.

Simmer under glass for forty minutes, and then serve with a seeded flatbread. Delicious!

Black Olive and Chickpea Salad

About 100g of dried chickpeas were soaked overnight in cold unsalted water, along with a diced clove of garlic.

The chickpeas were boiled the following morning for fifteen minutes, and then drained and allowed to cool.

Added to a bowl with diced white onion, plus finely chopped coriander leaf and some oregano. Plus a dash of olive oil, malt vinegar, and white pepper. Stir together thoroughly.

Put the bowl into the fridge for an hour.

Quarter half a dozen cherry tomatoes and place in a bowl. Add a squirt of tomato ketchup, some diced garlic, some basil and coriander leaf.

Take the chickpea and onion mixture from the fridge, and add a chopped babyleaf salad (a handful), plus some stoned black olives. Mix together. Serve as illustrated above!