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. 

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. 

Prawns, Rice and Coriander

 Steamed prawns and rice, with diced yellow peppers and onion (twenty minutes). Dressed in Soy and Chilli sauce, plus diced coriander leaf. Can be served hot or cold. Delicious!

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. 

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. 

Honey Ham Salad, with Olives

Simple dish made with honey ham trimmings, a trio of olives (some stuffed), diced baby plum tomatoes, fresh coriander leaves, and some turmericed basmati rice.
 

Chicken with Ras El Hanout spices

A simple dish of chicken and vegetables, enlivened by the addition of ras el hanout spices. Served with basmati rice. 

Chicken and Green Bean Minestrone

 The contents of the fridge needed to be reorganised. I rescued what could still be used to construct a dish, and I ended up with a minestrone. The onion and the chicken were cooked first in some olive oil, The rest of the vegetables were prepared and added to the flat pot at a medium heat, along with about half a pint of water. Cooked for ninety minutes under glass, stirring frequently. Delicious!

Shoulder Pork Strips in Black Bean Sauce

 Shoulder pork steak from the fridge, cut into strips and marinaded in a black bean sauce. Use a Chinese one rather than something from a supermarket, which will be pretty bland. Cooked for at least half an hour. 

The rice was basmati, and cooked with some turmeric and Chinese five spice in a separate pan. Served with raw spinach leaves. 

King Prawn Curry with Spinach

Prawn curry with spinach, with the basic recipe stolen from the 'Jono and Jules do food and wine' site. https://jonoandjules.com/2018/07/30/prawn-spinach-curry/

I skipped the extra sugar, and the coriander, but otherwise it is very similar. I created some creamed coconut, and mixed it all together with the Madras curry powder and the tomato puree. I added lots of diced spinach.

The rice was steamed earlier in the day, and spinach and the peas were added. The king prawns (from Vietnam) were added to the top of the steamed rice, and steamed once again for fifteen minutes.

Served with the tomato and curry salsa. Delicious!

Smoked Haddock Risotto

Smoked Haddock, baked in the oven for sixteen minutes at 150 deg C. Broken up with a fork, and mixed with basmati rice and garden peas, stir-fried in a little olive oil.
 

Pork and Leek Stew, with Red Peppers

Stir fried diced leek, cooked until it began to brown a little, then boiling water was added. The pot was covered and simmered gently for an hour and a half.  Add two red chillies. The pork stock and herbs were added ten minutes before serving.

The pork loin steak was diced and stir fried in a separate pan until the pieces began to brown. Then the pork pieces were added to the leek sauce and stirred through. The diced red pepper was added after an hour and also stirred through. 

Served with boiled basmati rice. 
 

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). 

 

Smoked Gammon Risotto, with Green Beans

Smoked gammon pieces cut from a roasted joint. Served with diced green beans and steamed Basmati rice. Drizzled with a little soy sauce. The joint took 1 hour and 45 minutes in the oven, was allowed to cool and was kept in the fridge overnight. The gammon was stir fried with the beans, and then was added to the steamed rice and served in a standard chinese bowl. 

 

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. 

 

King Prawns in a Lime and Tomato salsa

The rice for this dish was prepared first. A small handful of Thai black rice was boiled for twenty minutes, then drained and set aside. Basmati rice was cooked in a little turmeric at a low heat for about half an hour (the black rice was added after ten minutes), until most of the water had been soaked up, and the rice grains became stuck together (easier to eat rice with chopsticks that way).. 

The lime and tomato salsa was made with arrowroot, water, tomato puree, a pinch of turmeric, and a teaspoonful of lime pickle (a squeeze of lime juice would do just as well). I also added a red finger chilli for heat, and a pinch of basil. Simmered for ten to fifteen minutes until the salsa thickens.

The rest is easy. 140g of Nicaraguan King prawns were steamed for about seven minutes. I cut a quarter of a red pepper into strips, and diced a purple onion. The dish was assembled with a  lettuce salad. The prawns were added, and dressed in the salsa before serving. Delicious!

 

Chicken Gumbo with Green Beans and Red Pepper

Not an authentic Louisiana dish, but inspired by Cajun gumbo recipes. Chicken goujons from the fridge refried until slightly browned in olive oil. I added julienned onion (two small ones), half a diced red pepper, and about 75g of diced green beans.

I made the sauce with a teaspoonful of arrowroot powder in water (normally cornflour or flour), half a 400g can of chopped tomatoes, a teaspoonful of Cajun seasoning, a teaspoonful of paprika, and half a teaspoonful of red chilli powder. Then I added some chicken stock. Cooked for fifteen minutes. 

The sauce was added to the chicken and vegetables, along with about 100g of boiling water. Cooked slowly half under glass until the sauce thickened again. 

Served with some steamed basmati rice, originally cooked with diced root ginger.