Blog

Category: Pork

Area: Irish

Ingredients:

• Knob Butter
• 2 Pork Chops
• 4 Bacon
• 2 Potatoes
• 1 Carrots
• 1/2 Swede
• 1/2 Cabbage
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 100ml Cider
• 100g Chicken Stock

Instructions:

STEP 1
Heat the butter in a casserole dish until sizzling, then fry the pork for 2-3 mins on each side until browned. Remove from the pan.

STEP 2
Tip the bacon, carrot, potatoes and swede into the pan, then gently fry until slightly coloured. Stir in the cabbage, sit the chops back on top, add the bay leaf, then pour over the cider and stock. Cover the pan, then leave everything to gently simmer for 20 mins until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

STEP 3
Serve at the table spooned straight from the dish.

Category: Dessert

Area: British

Ingredients:

• 50g Butter
• 250g Self-raising Flour
• 1 small Vanilla
• 50g Suet
• 150ml Milk
• 100g Raspberry Jam
• to serve Custard

Instructions:

Put a deep roasting tin onto the bottom shelf of the oven, and make sure that there’s another shelf directly above it. Pull the roasting tin out on its shelf, fill two-thirds with boiling water from the kettle, then carefully slide it back in. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Tear off a large sheet of foil and greaseproof paper (about 30 x 40cm). Sit the greaseproof on top of the foil and butter it.
Tip butter, flour and vanilla seeds into a food processor; pulse until the butter has disappeared. Tip into a mixing bowl. Stir through the suet, pour in the milk and work together with a cutlery knife until you get a sticky dough. You may need a drop more milk, depending on your flour.
Tip the dough out onto a floured surface, quickly pat together to smooth, then roll out to a square roughly 25 x 25cm. Spread the jam all over, leaving a gap along one edge, then roll up from the opposite edge. Pinch the jam-free edge into the dough where it meets, and pinch the ends roughly, too. Carefully lift onto the greased paper, join-side down (you might find a flat baking sheet helpful for this), loosely bring up the paper and foil around it, then scrunch together along the edges and ends to seal. The roly-poly will puff quite a bit during cooking so don’t wrap it tightly. Lift the parcel directly onto the rack above the tin and cook for 1 hr.
Let the pudding sit for 5 mins before unwrapping, then carefully open the foil and paper, and thickly slice to serve.

Category: Miscellaneous

Area: French

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Onion
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 Carrots
• 2 1/4 cups French Lentils
• 1 teaspoon Thyme
• 3 Bay Leaf
• 1 tablespoon Salt
• 2 sticks Celery

Instructions:

Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add oil. When hot, add chopped vegetables and sauté until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
Add 6 cups water, lentils, thyme, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a fast simmer.
Simmer lentils until they are tender and have absorbed most of the water, 20 to 25 minutes. If necessary, drain any excess water after lentils have cooked. Serve immediately, or allow them to cool and reheat later.
For a fuller taste, use some chicken stock and reduce the water by the same amount.

Category: Vegetarian

Area: Mexican

Ingredients:

• 4 whole Green Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 small finely diced Onion
• 2 cloves minced Garlic
• 1 cups Quinoa
• 1 can Black Beans
• 1 cup Sweetcorn
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• ½ tsp Chili Powder
• ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
• To taste Salt
• To taste Pepper
• 1 1/2 cup Shredded Mexican Cheese
• Chopped Cilantro

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish or a similar-sized casserole dish.
2. Place the bell pepper halves in the prepared baking dish, cut side up. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly softened.
3. While the bell peppers are baking, prepare the filling. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, and cook for another 1 minute, until fragrant.
4. Stir in the cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, ground cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until heated through. Remove the skillet from heat, and stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese, if using.
5. Remove the bell peppers from the oven, and carefully stuff each pepper half with the quinoa and black bean mixture. Top the stuffed peppers with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, if using.
6. Return the stuffed peppers to the oven, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the peppers are tender.
7. Remove from the oven, and allow the stuffed peppers to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Category: Beef

Area: Filipino

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Beef
• 5 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1 Lemon
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 3 parts Onion
• 4 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 cup Water
• 1 pinch Salt

Instructions:

0. Marinate beef in soy sauce, lemon (or calamansi), and ground black pepper for at least 1 hour. Note: marinate overnight for best result
1. Heat the cooking oil in a pan then pan-fry half of the onions until the texture becomes soft. Set aside
2. Drain the marinade from the beef. Set it aside. Pan-fry the beef on the same pan where the onions were fried for 1 minute per side. Remove from the pan. Set aside
3. Add more oil if needed. Saute garlic and remaining raw onions until onion softens.
4. Pour the remaining marinade and water. Bring to a boil.
5. Add beef. Cover the pan and simmer until the meat is tender. Note: Add water as needed.
6. Season with ground black pepper and salt as needed. Top with pan-fried onions.
7. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve hot. Share and Enjoy!

Category: Dessert

Area: British

Ingredients:

• 200g Butter
• 1 large Egg
• 4 tbs Milk
• 200g Golden Syrup
• 85g Black Treacle
• 85g Brown Sugar
• 100g Oatmeal
• 250g Self-raising Flour
• 1 tbs Ground Ginger

Instructions:

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a deep 22cm/9in square cake tin and line with baking parchment. Beat the egg and milk together with a fork.

Gently melt the syrup, treacle, sugar and butter together in a large pan until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. Mix together the oatmeal, flour and ginger and stir into the syrup mixture, followed by the egg and milk.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins – 1 hr until the cake feels firm and a little crusty on top. Cool in the tin then wrap in more parchment and foil and keep for 3-5 days before eating if you can – it’ll become softer and stickier the longer you leave it, up to 2 weeks.

Category: Lamb

Area: Greek

Ingredients:

• 4 large Tomatoes
• Pinch Sugar
• 4 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 chopped Onion
• 2 finely chopped Garlic Clove
• 200g Lamb
• 1 tbs Cinnamon
• 2 tbs chopped Tomato Puree
• 50g Rice
• 100ml Chicken Stock
• 4 tbs Dill
• 2 tbs Chopped Parsley
• 1 tbs Mint

Instructions:

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Slice the tops off the tomatoes and reserve. Scoop out most of the pulp with a teaspoon, being careful not to break the skin. Finely chop the pulp, and keep any juices. Sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes with a little sugar to take away the acidity, then place them on a baking tray.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and garlic, then gently cook for about 10 mins until soft but not coloured. Add the lamb, cinnamon and tomato purée, turn up the heat, then fry until the meat is browned. Add the tomato pulp and juice, the rice and the stock. Season generously. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 mins or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Set aside to cool a little, then stir in the herbs.

Stuff the tomatoes up to the brim, top tomatoes with their lids, drizzle with 2 tbsp more olive oil, sprinkle 3 tbsp water into the tray, then bake for 35 mins. Serve with salad and crusty bread, hot or cold.

Category: Seafood

Area: Malaysian

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Coconut Milk
• 2 cups Water
• 1/4 tsp Ginger Paste
• 1 Ginger
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 cups Rice
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 cup Peanuts
• 4 oz Anchovy Fillet
• 2 tbs Vegetable Oil
• 1 Onion
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 3 Shallots
• 2 tsp Chilli Powder
• 4 oz Anchovy Fillet
• 3 tbs Sugar
• 1/3 cup Tamarind Paste

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together coconut milk, water, ground ginger, ginger root, salt, bay leaf, and rice. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until done.

Step 2
Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove eggs from hot water, cool, peel and slice in half. Slice cucumber.

Step 3
Meanwhile, in a large skillet or wok, heat 1 cup vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Stir in peanuts and cook briefly, until lightly browned. Remove peanuts with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to soak up excess grease. Return skillet to stove. Stir in the contents of one package anchovies; cook briefly, turning, until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels. Discard oil. Wipe out skillet.

Step 4
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet. Stir in the onion, garlic, and shallots; cook until fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes. Mix in the chile paste, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the chile paste is too dry, add a small amount of water. Stir in remaining anchovies; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, sugar, and tamarind juice; simmer until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes.

Step 5
Serve the onion and garlic sauce over the warm rice, and top with peanuts, fried anchovies, cucumbers, and eggs.

Category: Seafood

Area: French

Ingredients:

• 6 large Prawns
• 3 tbs Olive Oil
• 150ml Dry White Wine
• 200ml Fish Stock
• 1 small finely diced Fennel
• 1 small finely diced Onion
• 3 cloves Chopped Garlic
• 1 large Potatoes
• 1 Orange
• 1 Star Anise
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 1/2 tsp Harissa Spice
• 2 tbs Tomato Puree
• 400g Chopped Tomatoes
• Handful Mussels
• 200g White Fish
• 2 Thyme
• to serve Bread

Instructions:

Twist the heads from the prawns, then peel away the legs and shells, but leave the tails intact. Devein each prawn. Fry the shells in 1 tbsp oil for 5 mins, until dark pink and golden in patches. Add the wine, boil down by two thirds, then pour in the stock. Strain into a jug, discarding the shells.
Heat the rest of the oil in a deep frying pan or casserole. Add the fennel, onion and garlic, season, then cover and gently cook for 10 mins until softened. Meanwhile, peel the potato and cut into 2cm-ish chunks. Put into a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 5 mins until almost tender. Drain in a colander.
Peel a strip of zest from the orange. Put the zest, star anise, bay and ½ tsp harissa into the pan. Fry gently, uncovered, for 5-10 mins, until the vegetables are soft, sweet and golden.
Stir in the tomato purée, cook for 2 mins, then add the tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 10 mins until the sauce thickens slightly. Season to taste. The sauce can be made ahead, then reheated later in the day. Meantime, scrub the mussels or clams and pull away any stringy beards. Any that are open should be tapped sharply on the worktop – if they don’t close after a few seconds, discard them.
Reheat the sauce if necessary, then stir the potato, chunks of fish and prawns very gently into the stew. Bring back to the boil, then cover and gently simmer for 3 mins. Scatter the mussels or clams over the stew, then cover and cook for 2 mins more or until the shells have opened wide. Discard any that remain closed. The chunks of fish should flake easily and the prawns should be pink through. Scatter with the thyme leaves.
To make the quick rouille, stir the rest of the harissa through the mayonnaise. Serve the stew in bowls, topped with spoonfuls of rouille, which will melt into the sauce and enrich it. Have some good bread ready, as you’ll definitely want to mop up the juices.

Category: Dessert

Area: Polish

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Milk
• 3/4 cup Water
• Pinch Salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 3 tbs Butter

Instructions:

Add flour, eggs, milk, water, and salt in a large bowl then mix with a hand mixer until you have a smooth, lump-free batter.
At this point, mix in the butter or the vegetable oil. Alternatively, you can use them to grease the pan before frying each pancake.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, then pour in the batter, swirling the pan to help it spread.
When the pancake starts pulling away a bit from the sides, and the top is no longer wet, flip it and cook shortly on the other side as well.
Transfer to a plate. Cook the remaining batter until all used up.
Serve warm, with the filling of your choice.