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.

Sweet Potato Curry

Made with cubed sweet potato, onion, diced carrot, fresh root ginger, coriander leaves (the dressing), red chilli (deseeded), turmeric, and Madras curry powder. Served (Korean style) with black Thai rice and Basmati rice (cooked separately), and a four leaf salad.   

Meatloaf with Garlic and Potato Salad

Meatloaf salad, made with a four leaf salad of chard, rocket, spinach, and purple lettuce, spring onion (optional), drizzled with olive oil,

Garlic was finely chopped and crushed, and added to two dessert spoonfuls of mayonnaise. Cubes of boiled potato were added to the mayonnaise, with a little salt.

The meatloaf was made using pork sausage meat, oats, cornmeal, diced leek and herbs (rosemary in this case, but sage is also a good choice).

The ingredients were mixed initially by hand in a large pyrex bowl, until the vegetables and meat were thoroughly mixed together. I also added a little sunflower oil, and one large egg.

The mixing can take up to ten minutes. I added a little salt and the rosemary during this process.

After that I continued the mixing process using a medium sized wooden spoon for another seven minutes or so.

Then the mix was decanted into a silicon bread tin, patted down and textured with a fork. Cooked for one hour at 190 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven (check progress occasionally). The meatloaf will shrink a little during the cooking process, so there is no problem getting the loaf out of the tin in one piece after it has cooled.

Chicken Mayo Salad

A simple chicken mayo salad, with diced red onion, and salad leaves.

The chicken came from a roast chicken thigh, which had been chilled in the fridge. The diced chicken pieces were mixed with mayonnaise, a pinch of salt, and some white pepper in a bowl.

The red onion was julienned, and added to the serving plate.

The four leaf salad was dressed with a little olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper, and the chicken mayo was added. That's it!

 Adding finely diced garlic to the mayo is an option. Delicious either way.

Pork Wellington

A wellington type dish is anything wrapped in pastry, whether beef or some other meat, or which contains a savoury filling.

Apparently no connection with the famous Wellington, and the name does not appear in any recipe book from the nineteenth century, despite the fact that wrapping things in pastry was in vogue from the beginning of the century.

Strips of a cooked pork meatloaf, made with 500g of finely ground sausagemeat, diced onion (two small),  a cupful of porridge oats, and half of a Bramley apple, cored and diced, with the skin left on, and one beaten egg (search on the tag  'meatloaf' for further details).

I made duxelles in an omelette pan with diced red onion (one) and diced mushrooms (three), cooked in butter with a generous pinch of thyme. Duxelles were invented in the eighteenth century in France as a filling for savoury pastries which, owing to the reduced water content, were less likely to cause pastries to explode in the oven.

I rolled the puff pastry to a half centimetre thickness, and added the duxelles mixture, and some of the sausagemeat.strips. The pastry was then wrapped around the contents, and ends were crimped together. The pastry parcels were brushed on both sides with sunflower oil.

Cooked on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 180 deg C for an hour (watch progress carefully in the final fifteen minutes).

Served here with a four leaf salad, and two dessert spoonfuls of mayonnaise. Fabulous!

Pork Meatloaf Salad

Meatloaf salad, made with cherry tomatoes, a four leaf salad of chard, rocket, spinach, and purple lettuce, spring onion (optional), drizzled with olive oil,

The meatloaf with it was made using pork sausage meat, oats, cornmeal, diced leek and herbs (rosemary in this case, but sage is also a good choice).

The ingredients were mixed initially by hand in a large pyrex bowl, until the vegetables and meat were thoroughly mixed together. I also added a little sunflower oil, and one large egg.

The mixing can take up to ten minutes. I added a little salt and the rosemary during this process.

After that I continued the mixing process using a medium sized wooden spoon for another seven minutes or so.

Then the mix was decanted into a silicon bread tin, patted down and textured with a fork. Cooked for one hour at 190 deg C on the middle shelf of the oven (check progress occasionally). The meatloaf will shrink a little during the cooking process, so there is no problem getting the loaf out of the tin in one piece after it has cooled.

Peppered Salami Sausage Roll

Peppered salami sausage and sliced mushrooms wrapped in a puff pastry. Essentially the same idea as beef Wellington. Or you can think of it as a spicy sausage roll.

The salami was thinly sliced (sourced already sliced from Morrison's 'Market Street' section).

The pastry was rolled out into a
rectangular shape, but not too thinly (to about a third of a centimetre thickness). Then the salami and the mushrooms were added, and the ensemble was rolled together, and the ends pinched.

Placed on a baking tray, and brushed with olive oil, top and bottom. The tray was put on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 180 deg. C. Cooked for fifty minutes (watch carefully).

The trick with pastry is not to cook it at too high a heat. At 190 deg. C, the top is likely to be overbrowned while the base of the pastry isn't cooked properly. Better to cook it more slowly.

Served with a four leaf salad, drizzled with a little olive oil, and tomato ketchup.

Tomato and Basil Quiche, with Coleslaw and Salad Leaves

Four leaf salad, and coleslaw from the Co-op, a miniature quiche from Morrisons 'Market Street' section, and a lemon from Sainsbury's.

Two minutes to prepare! I laid out the salad leaves on the serving plate, and drizzled some olive oil over them.

 I added two dessert spoonfuls of coleslaw, and added the quiche, and two slices of lemon. And that's it. Serve with or without pepper.

Black-eyed Bean Salad

Another simple dish. The dried black-eyed beans were rehydrated overnight, and then cooked for fifteen minutes in salted water. They were drained, and allowed to cool. Then dressed with some olive oil.

All the other ingredients were raw. A four leaf salad from the Co-op, half a red bell pepper, cut into strips, five cherry plum tomatoes, cut into three, and two spring onions, diced into chunks.

Served with three teaspoonfuls of mayonnaise, a drizzling of olive oil for the baby leaf salad, and a dusting of freshly ground black pepper.

Olive Trio Salad, with Turmeric Rice

A fabulous olive salad, made with spinach, a four leaf lettuce salad, turmeric rice (basmati), diced baby plum tomato, red onion, spring onion, and a chopped yellow pepper.

Three kinds of olive were used - stoned green, green stuffed with pimiento, and red olives.

Mixed with coriander leaf, diced garlic, oregano, and served with black pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Feta Cheese Salad

A Feta cheese salad made with turmeric rice, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, red onion, spinach, spring onion, yellow pepper, Feta cheese, and some herbs (Oregano).

The rice was cooked and allowed to cool. Then the rice was added to a glass bowl, along with a diced four leaf lettuce salad, plus diced spinach leaves, diced red onion, diced spring onion, and diced yellow pepper, and chopped baby plum tomatoes.

The dish was augmented with a pinch of coriander, and a pinch of oregano. Drizzled in some olive oil, which was stirred through.

Finally, about 75 grams of Feta cheese was cut into strips, and then cut into squares, and added to the mix. Stir thoroughly before serving.

Served with freshly ground 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.

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!

Smoked Cheese with Apple and Bell Pepper Salad

Great cheese dish. German smoked cheese, served with a four leaf salad, and (mixed together in a separate bowl) diced apple, red green and yellow diced bell pepper, along with two finely chopped spring onions, dressed in mayonnaise, a little splash of Tabasco, and black pepper. Delicious!

This salad would work well with other cheeses, such as feta, blue stilton, and danish blue cheese.

Smoked Cheese Salad

Half of a 125g round of German smoked cheese from the local Co-op, cut into strips, with sliced salad tomato and raw mushoom, served with a four-leaf salad, some freshly ground black pepper, and a little Tabasco sauce.

Can be served on a plate, or in a bread wrap. The sliced mushroom can be sauted in a little butter for five minutes or so, and allowed to cool before adding the pieces to the salad.

Spaghetti Chicken Parmigiana

This is a version of the Chicken Parmigiana recipe posted recently, so this is something of a recap.

Made with the meat from two chicken drumsticks, an onion, tomato passata, two cloves of garlic, and 75 grams of finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.  The one difference from the earlier recipe is the addition of four topped green finger chillies.

The chicken drumsticks were preroasted, and still with their skins, into which some sea salt had been rubbed. Both the skins and the flesh were decanted into a small saucepan, together with one diced onion, and a little sunflower oil. Stirfried for four minutes at a medium heat, after which 150g of tomato passata was added, along with the finger chillies.

Simmer for fifteen minutes under glass, with a little black pepper. After that, allow to cool a little for five minutes, and then decant into a tray suitable for grilling.

Grate the cheese into a bowl. Then shake the grated cheese over the surface of the grilling tray, ensuring an even spread (I used a dessert spoon for this). Leave to stand for five minutes while you fire up the grill.

Toast the cheese under the grill for seven to nine minutes (check the progress by eye). When the cheese has melted and browned, remove from the grill rack. Allow to cool for five minutes, then decant into a serving bowl.

Served with spaghetti, boiled with a little turmeric. Delicious!

Cured Ham Salad

Every now and then a food technologist goes mad and produces a food item that no-one ever asked for, and somehow it gets to market.

People pick it up out of curiosity, read the label, and put it back on the shelf. It sits there until close by its sell-by date, when it is offered at a discount. The line is discontinued, and is never seen again.

Which is how I came by this ham. The pack was labelled 'Outdoor Bred Treacle and Ale Ham'. If that doesn't immediately hook you into a purchase, the ham is further described as: 'tender ham, cured with rich Theakston's 'Old Peculier Ale' and roasted with sweet black treacle'.

This is one of the Co-op's own lines, so I knew it would probably be just fine. There were several other packs of the ham in the fridge. I should have bought another four.

The ham is actually quite delicious, and also tender, as described. I had three slices of it with some diced Braeburn apple and shredded tomato, dressed in freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of sunflower oil. Plus a four leaf salad, from the same Co-op. A delicious meal!

Chicken (Pollo) Parmigiana

A simple and tasty dish made with the meat from two chicken drumsticks, an onion, tomato passata, two cloves of garlic, and 75 grams of finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.

The chicken drumsticks were preroasted, and still with their skins, into which some sea salt had been rubbed. Both the skins and the flesh were decanted into a small saucepan, together with one diced onion, and a little sunflower oil. Stirfried for four minutes at a medium heat, after which 150g of tomato passata was added.

Simmer for fifteen minutes under glass, with a little black pepper. After that, allow to cool a little for five minutes, and then decant into a tray suitable for grilling.

Grate the cheese into a bowl. Then shake the grated cheese over the surface of the grilling tray, ensuring an even spread (I used a dessert spoon for this). Leave to stand for five minutes while you fire up the grill.

Toast the cheese under the grill for seven to nine minutes (check the progress by eye). When the cheese has melted and browned, remove from the grill rack. Allow to cool for five minutes, then decant into a serving bowl. Serve with a four leaf salad (in this case). Add a dusting of oregano if desired. The dish can also be served with spaghetti, penne pasta, or with potatoes. Utterly delicious!

Torunska Sausage Salad

A simple and quick to make salad with cured Torunska sausage. The ingredients are, in addition to the slices of sausage, spring onion, celery, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes, and four leaf salad (red and green lettuce, chard, and spinach leaves).

Chop the tomatoes in two, and dice the celery, the yellow pepper, and the spring onion. Add the vegetables and the leaf salad to a glass bowl, and add some lemon juice (half a teaspoonful) and olive oil, with a pinch of salt. I also added a little vinegar from a jar which contains marinaded red peppers (optional if available, but half a teaspoonful only).

Stir together until all of the contents of the bowl are coated. Allow to stand for ten minutes then repeat, for half an hour to forty minutes. Put the salad into the fridge for at least half an hour before serving. Serve with a dash of tabasco sauce.

Ham Salad with a Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice Dressing

Scottish mature ham from Asda, served with a four leaf salad (chard, spinach, green and purple lettuce), sliced red onion and spring onion, yellow and red pepper.

The dressing was made with one minced clove of garlic, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a teaspoonful of olive oil, and a dash of white pepper.

The dressing was placed in a glass bowl, followed by the vegetables, and the mix tossed together for several minutes. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes, and toss again.

Served with a garnish of sliced lemon. Takes around ten to fifteen minutes to prepare!