Best friend coming to stay this weekend!
Monday: Left-over beef curry
Tuesday: Pasta with a stir-fry sauce of new season asparagus, bacon and garlic, topped with grated parmesan
Wednesday: Twice-baked potatoes with Greek salad on the side
Thursday: Roast vegetable salad or a vegetable stir-fry with udon noodles (depending on what's left in the fridge)
Friday: Fish tacos again. This time, serving it to best friend and her partner, who are on a paleo diet, so will tweak my usual dishes and serve the meal buffet-style. Will post the details
Saturday: Taking BFF out to our favourite Japanese restaurant in the city
Sunday: probably eggs on toast after our guests leave.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Prue's Beef Curry
I love this cookbook. Leith's Cookery Bible, by Prue Leith and Caroline Waldegrave, published in 1991 and bought by me for three pounds at a car boot sale in London on the day Princess Diana died. I was just learning to cook - out of necessity, as we were poor backpackers and needed to make a roast chicken last all week. It has all sorts of useful tips, including catering for large parties, a dictionary of cooking terms and kitchen French, and how long to cook your pheasant or hang your grouse. Each recipe is accompanied by a wine recommendation. When I'm looking for a traditional recipe, it's the first place I go. This simple recipe is the one I use most often as I always have the ingredients on hand and I can increase or decrease the heat depending on who I am cooking for (i.e. if I want the kids to eat it for Sunday dinner). I have adapted it ever so slightly by leaving out Prue's recommended one teaspoon of flour as thickening.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of lite olive oil
900g of chuck steak, cut into 5cm cubes
2 onions, sliced
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I often leave these out)
1/2 teaspoon ground chili
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
Heat the oil and fry the steak pieces, a few at a time, until well browned all over, removing them to a plate as they are done (don't rush this bit - you can chop up the veges and measure out the spices while they cook).
Fry the onion in the same oil (add some more if you need to), add the ginger and garlic and cook for two minutes.
Add all the ground spices and cook slowly for a further minute, taking care not to let them burn.
Add the tomatoes and bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time.
Put back the meat, cover with a lid and simmer very slowly until meat is tender - about two hours. Add a little water if it begins to dry out. It can also be cooked in a very slow oven for about three hours.
I serve with sour cream or unsweetened yoghurt, fruit chutney and basmati rice. You could also sprinkle with chopped coriander, but I'm not a fan.
Serves four but can easily be doubled. I quite often cook up a big batch and freeze half. Or you can stretch it to six by adding some side dishes - store-bought poppadums, naan bread, pickles and vegetables. The other night I served it with a side dish of tinned chickpeas, spring onions, red capsicum, corn and cherry tomatoes, stir-fried with fresh chilli and garlic.
Prue's wine tip: a very full red.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of lite olive oil
900g of chuck steak, cut into 5cm cubes
2 onions, sliced
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I often leave these out)
1/2 teaspoon ground chili
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
Heat the oil and fry the steak pieces, a few at a time, until well browned all over, removing them to a plate as they are done (don't rush this bit - you can chop up the veges and measure out the spices while they cook).
Fry the onion in the same oil (add some more if you need to), add the ginger and garlic and cook for two minutes.
Add all the ground spices and cook slowly for a further minute, taking care not to let them burn.
Add the tomatoes and bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time.
Put back the meat, cover with a lid and simmer very slowly until meat is tender - about two hours. Add a little water if it begins to dry out. It can also be cooked in a very slow oven for about three hours.
I serve with sour cream or unsweetened yoghurt, fruit chutney and basmati rice. You could also sprinkle with chopped coriander, but I'm not a fan.
Serves four but can easily be doubled. I quite often cook up a big batch and freeze half. Or you can stretch it to six by adding some side dishes - store-bought poppadums, naan bread, pickles and vegetables. The other night I served it with a side dish of tinned chickpeas, spring onions, red capsicum, corn and cherry tomatoes, stir-fried with fresh chilli and garlic.
Prue's wine tip: a very full red.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Chicken and mushroom special
This recipe makes a big meal for one, but you can easily increase the quantities or split between two with a side salad. It's low-fat and one-pot. PIE doesn't eat chicken, so this is my go-to recipe when I am cooking for one. It's spicy but not too hot so good for older kids too.
Ingredients
Quarter of a cup of basmati rice
Quarter of a red onion, sliced
Dash of lite olive oil
Two mushrooms, more or less
Half a teaspoon of cumin
Half a teaspoon of ground coriander
Half a teaspoon of curry powder
One teaspoon of chicken or vegetable stock powder (or a cube)
Half a cup of water
One medium skinless chicken breast
A couple of tablespoons of fruit chutney
Put the rice and onion in a medium saucepan and toss around with the olive oil for a minute or two - don't let it burn. Put in the spices and the mushrooms and stir around for another half a minute. Add the stock and half a cup of water (or twice the measure of rice if you want to increase quantities). It will quickly be bubbling so turn down the heat to low.
Lay the chicken breast on top of the rice mixture and slather some fruit chutney (or pesto, or even tomato sauce in a pinch) over the top. Put the lid on the saucepan and leave it for 20-25 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breast). Test the rice and if it's cooked then turn off the heat and leave it to steam for five minutes before serving.
Adapted by me from a Weight Watchers recipe circa 2000.
Ingredients
Quarter of a cup of basmati rice
Quarter of a red onion, sliced
Dash of lite olive oil
Two mushrooms, more or less
Half a teaspoon of cumin
Half a teaspoon of ground coriander
Half a teaspoon of curry powder
One teaspoon of chicken or vegetable stock powder (or a cube)
Half a cup of water
One medium skinless chicken breast
A couple of tablespoons of fruit chutney
Put the rice and onion in a medium saucepan and toss around with the olive oil for a minute or two - don't let it burn. Put in the spices and the mushrooms and stir around for another half a minute. Add the stock and half a cup of water (or twice the measure of rice if you want to increase quantities). It will quickly be bubbling so turn down the heat to low.
Lay the chicken breast on top of the rice mixture and slather some fruit chutney (or pesto, or even tomato sauce in a pinch) over the top. Put the lid on the saucepan and leave it for 20-25 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breast). Test the rice and if it's cooked then turn off the heat and leave it to steam for five minutes before serving.
Adapted by me from a Weight Watchers recipe circa 2000.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Meal plan for the week beginning 9th September
Early Spring menu
PIE out for a few nights this week, plus two tired kids post-holiday, so keeping it simple this week.
Monday: Pasta (large spirals) with bolognese sauce
Tuesday: Lamb and barley stew in the slow cooker
Wednesday: Chicken and mushroom special
Thursday: Probably vegetable and bacon soup from the big pot I made on Tuesday
Friday: Fish tacos
Saturday: Out to a sports club barbecue so sausages in bread for tea
Sunday: Curry night: beef curry, plus chickpea curry or dhal. Served with poppadums, basmati rice, sour cream and fruit chutney.
PIE out for a few nights this week, plus two tired kids post-holiday, so keeping it simple this week.
Monday: Pasta (large spirals) with bolognese sauce
Tuesday: Lamb and barley stew in the slow cooker
Wednesday: Chicken and mushroom special
Thursday: Probably vegetable and bacon soup from the big pot I made on Tuesday
Friday: Fish tacos
Saturday: Out to a sports club barbecue so sausages in bread for tea
Sunday: Curry night: beef curry, plus chickpea curry or dhal. Served with poppadums, basmati rice, sour cream and fruit chutney.
Lamb and barley stew in the slow cooker
There's a bit of preparation involved but this is a tasty one-pot meal that, once cooked, sits happily on the "warm" setting of the slow cooker while family members help themselves.
Serves four
3 or 4 lamb shanks, lamb leg steak or shoulder chops (leave the bones in)
1/4 cup sherry
1 stock cube, dissolved in 3 cups of warm water
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Few shakes of worcestershire sauce
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large potato, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 stick of celery, chopped
1/2 cup barley
3 bay leaves
1 large sprig of thyme
1 cup of frozen peas
A handful of parsley to serve
Heat a large frypan and brown the meat. Place the browned meat in a large ovenproof casserole dish or pre-heated slow cooker.
Put the onions, potato, carrots and celery into the dirty pan and stirfry for a minute or two until slightly softened (don't let them burn). Tip all the veges and herbs into the slow cooker on top of the meat.
Add sherry to the dirty pan, simmer for a few minutes, then add stock. Bring to the boil then remove from heat and pour over the meat and veges.
Add everything else except the peas and parsley to the slow cooker.
Cook on high for 6 hours. If you are cooking in the oven, cook for 2 hours on 180 degrees Celsius.
Twenty minutes before you want to eat, add the frozen peas and stir through.
Serve with the parsley and some buttered bread to mop up the juices. Pick out the bones first if you wish.
Adapted by me from a recipe by Tracey Sunderland published in Taste magazine, May 2007 and retrieved from the website: www.taste.co.nz
Serves four
3 or 4 lamb shanks, lamb leg steak or shoulder chops (leave the bones in)
1/4 cup sherry
1 stock cube, dissolved in 3 cups of warm water
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Few shakes of worcestershire sauce
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large potato, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 stick of celery, chopped
1/2 cup barley
3 bay leaves
1 large sprig of thyme
1 cup of frozen peas
A handful of parsley to serve
Heat a large frypan and brown the meat. Place the browned meat in a large ovenproof casserole dish or pre-heated slow cooker.
Put the onions, potato, carrots and celery into the dirty pan and stirfry for a minute or two until slightly softened (don't let them burn). Tip all the veges and herbs into the slow cooker on top of the meat.
Add sherry to the dirty pan, simmer for a few minutes, then add stock. Bring to the boil then remove from heat and pour over the meat and veges.
Add everything else except the peas and parsley to the slow cooker.
Cook on high for 6 hours. If you are cooking in the oven, cook for 2 hours on 180 degrees Celsius.
Twenty minutes before you want to eat, add the frozen peas and stir through.
Serve with the parsley and some buttered bread to mop up the juices. Pick out the bones first if you wish.
Adapted by me from a recipe by Tracey Sunderland published in Taste magazine, May 2007 and retrieved from the website: www.taste.co.nz
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