Rhubarb Pie

I confess I bought this delicious rhubarb pie from Sainsbury's. I could have made one myself if I'd had the ingredients, but there it was in front of me. Rhubarb is popular in Scotland, particularly in conjunction with ginger (rhubard and ginger jam, rhubarb and ginger chutney, etc). 

Served with honey infused Greek style yoghurt. 

 

Smoked Gammon Soup

A smoked gammon soup underpinned by a simple soup base of carrot and celery. The vegetables were blended together after cooking for about 40 minutes. After that I added three dessert spoonfuls of yoghurt. Then the diced gammon was added, along with some pork stock, and paprika. Cooked for at least another thirty minutes before serving. The accompanying bread is wheat free Genius bread.  

Carrot & Yellow Pea Curry

The yellow peas were soaked overnight, and cooked with the chopped carrot pieces for an hour or so. I added two teaspoonfuls of madras curry powder, one teaspoonful of chilli powder, diced garlic, and a dusting of ground cardamom. Cooked for another hour. After half an hour, I added the chicken stock, and three tablespoons of yoghurt, stirred through. . 

The rice was cooked slowly for twenty minutes or so, and then cooked slowly in a drizzle of sunflower oil under glass for half an hour, until the rice was crispy (but not burned).

Served with a generous helping of mango chutney. 

 

Blueberries, Mixed Nuts, and Yoghurt Fruit Salad

A couple of scoops of fresh blueberries from the fridge, plus mixed fruit and nuts sourced from the local co-op. Served with three dessert spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt. Prepared in 90 seconds. A breakfast that will keep you going all day. Delicious!

 

Tomato Soup with Coriander and Garlic Naan

A simple tomato soup, made with chopped tomatoes, three dessert spoonfuls of Greek style yoghurt, diced white onion, vegetable stock, and the herbs Oregano, Coriander and Basil. Cooked for at least forty minutes, and served with a shop bought toasted garlic and coriander naan bread. 

[This is recipe idea number 1000! Posted on February 13, 2021]
 

Hot Beef Chilli, with Yoghurt and Rice

 

A hot beef chilli, with five finger chillies, plus a level dessert spoonful of chilli powder, one julienned onion, a whole yellow pepper (diced), and a tin of Napolina chopped tomatoes. 

The beef was just 5 per cent fat, which is great in itself, but it makes it more problematic to cook. So I drizzled the flat pan in some sunflower oil before adding the beef. Cooked at a high heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently, then the heat was turned down low. Cooked under glass for half an hour, stirring occasionally. 

Then I added the julienned onion and the diced yellow pepper. Allowed to cook for another twenty-five minutes. Then I added boiling water, the diced garlic, the beef stock, and the chopped tomatoes. Allowed to cook for another 45 minutes.

I cooked black Thai rice for half an hour, adding ground cinnamon. Plus basmati rice for fifteen minutes in Pilau Rice seasoning.. When both rice components were ready, the black rice was drained and rinsed in boiling water, then added to the basmati rice. Served together with a Greek style yoghurt, dressed with a pinch of coriander leaf. Delicious! 

Beef Casoulet with Yoghurt and Coriander

Ground (minced) beef, browned for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

With added diced onion, diced spring onion, yellow pepper, chopped baby plum tomatoes (four), diced mushroom, diced carrot, a crushed clove of garlic, and potato chunks.

Simmered for an hour and a half at a low heat under glass. Add beef stock. Add a quarter teaspoonful of chilli for heat, if desired.

Served with Yoghurt dressed in two pinches of dried coriander.

Banana and Blueberry Fruit Salad

I've made variations on this simple fruit salad before. I added  half a teaspoonful of maple syrup to the mixture of chopped banana and seventy five grams of fresh blueberries. Then mixed the fruit in with three dessert spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt.  Packed with nutrition and flavour!

This my 900th published recipe.

Beef Chilli, with Mushrooms, Red Kidney Beans, and Plain Yoghurt

Diced Scotch beef, leek, carrot, chestnut mushrooms, red kidney beans, tomato puree, crushed garlic, paprika, red chilli powder, and beef stock. Plus some oregano, and basil.

The beef was browned for twenty minutes at a medium heat in some sunflower oil.

Allow to stand for a bit while the vegetables are prepared. Cook in boiling water for about two hours at a low heat, under glass, until the beef is tender. Serve with two or three spoonfuls of yoghurt.

Chicken Salad with Garlic Yoghurt

A great chicken salad, and quick to prepare. The vegetables came already assembled in a bag from the local Co-op. Decanted into a glass bowl and dressed with some olive oil, two dashes of Tabasco sauce, and two dashes of Worcester sauce. Stir.

I roasted a medium-sized chicken the day before, and prepared it for use once it had cooled. After that it was kept overnight in the fridge.

I diced one chicken breast, and added the pieces to the salad.

In a  smaller bowl I prepared the garlic yoghurt. Four or five dessert spoonfuls of fresh yoghurt, infused with two finely grated cloves of garlic. Stir together and allow to stand for fifteen minutes or so.

Served in a pasta bowl, with the garlic yoghurt spooned on top. Excellent dish!

Apricot, Date and Almond Salad

An incredibly simple and satisfying fruit salad, with apricots, dates and almonds.

I used semi-dried apricots rather than fresh, which I soaked in water overnight. This version of the dish is sweeter than what you get if you use fresh apricots.

In the morning I halved the apricots, and diced the dates (be sure to stone the dates if you haven't bought them pre-stoned). I kept the juice from the apricots, and fortified it with a shot-glass full of Scotch whisky (Bourbon will do fine instead!).

I added whole almond kernels, without crushing them, and put the fruit and nuts in the fridge for three hours.

Serve with yoghurt dressed in a little nutmeg or mixed spice.

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!

Banana, Date and Almond Fruit Salad

A gorgeous and simple fruit salad made with chopped banana, stoned dates, and a handful of whole almonds.

Topped with three or four dessert spoonfuls of plain yoghurt, and dressed with a sprinkling of ground nutmeg. An excellent breakfast dish.

Strawberry and Walnut Salad

Quartered Scottish Strawberries,  soused for four or five hours in granulated sugar, which produces excellent juices.

Decant to a serving bowl and add two handfuls of walnut pieces.

Add three or four dessert spoonfuls of plain yoghurt (or single cream if you prefer). Chill in the fridge for half an hour before serving. A fabulous dish!

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.

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!

Orange and Mango Fruit Salad with Bourbon

I'm partial to slightly alcoholic fruit salads, and this is an example. Made with segments from three easy-peel oranges, and a selection of red, yellow and green mango pieces. Mix the fruit together in a serving bowl.

Add two measures of Bourbon whiskey (according to taste), and stir together. Allow to stand (covered) for twenty minutes.

Add two dessert spoonfuls of Greek style yoghurt. Stir a couple of times, and serve. Also good served with walnuts, and a pinch of nutmeg. A great pick me up if you are slightly under the weather.

Mushroom and Pepper Curry

A delicious curry, with a flavour you may not have tasted before. Made with one green bell pepper, deseeded and cut into strips, one Spanish onion, diced, and some large white mushrooms, also diced. Plus half a teaspoonful of mustard seeds, half a teaspoonful of cumin powder, chilli powder, and dried coriander. I used a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes also.

The onion was added to a saute pan containing a drizzle of groundnut oil (sunflower is fine as an alternative). Then I added the mustard seeds. Cook for five to ten minutes at a medium heat, until the onion begins to brown, and the mustard seeds burst.

After that I added the pepper and mushrooms. Stir fried for another five to ten minutes.

The dish was now ready for the chopped tomatoes (I added some boiling water also). The cumin and chilli powders were added, along with the dried coriander, and stirred together thoroughly.

Turn down the heat and allow the dish to simmer under glass for between fifteen and thirty minutes.

Serve with rice, or as in this case, with a toasted garlic and coriander naan bread, along with some plain Greek yoghurt.