Blog

  • Pad See Ew

    Pad See Ew

    Category: Chicken

    Area: Thai

    Ingredients:

    • 6oz/180g rice stick noodles
    • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
    • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
    • 2 tsp soy sauce
    • 2 tsp white vinegar
    • 2 tsp sugar
    • 2 tbsp water
    • 2 tbsp peanut oil
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 cup Chicken
    • 1 Egg
    • 4 cups Chinese broccoli

    Instructions:

    Mix Sauce in small bowl.
    Mince garlic into wok with oil. Place over high heat, when hot, add chicken and Chinese broccoli stems, cook until chicken is light golden.
    Push to the side of the wok, crack egg in and scramble. Don't worry if it sticks to the bottom of the wok – it will char and which adds authentic flavour.
    Add noodles, Chinese broccoli leaves and sauce. Gently mix together until the noodles are stained dark and leaves are wilted. Serve immediately!

  • Boulangère Potatoes

    Boulangère Potatoes

    Category: Side

    Area: French

    Ingredients:

    • 2 finely chopped Onions
    • sprigs of fresh Thyme
    • 2 tbs Olive Oil
    • 1.5kg Potatoes
    • 425g Vegetable Stock

    Instructions:

    Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Fry the onions and thyme sprigs in the oil until softened and lightly coloured (about 5 mins).
    Spread a layer of potatoes over the base of a 1.5-litre oiled gratin dish. Sprinkle over a few onions (see picture, above) and continue layering, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Pour over the stock and bake for 50-60 mins until the potatoes are cooked and the top is golden and crisp.

  • Chinon Apple Tarts

    Chinon Apple Tarts

    Category: Dessert

    Area: French

    Ingredients:

    • 320g Puff Pastry
    • 4 tbs Dark Brown Soft Sugar
    • 3 Braeburn Apples
    • 4 tbs Red Wine Jelly
    • 100ml Creme Fraiche
    • 1 tbs Icing Sugar
    • 3 Cardamom

    Instructions:

    To make the red wine jelly, put the red wine, jam sugar, star anise, clove, cinnamon stick, allspice, split vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepan. Stir together, then heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Turn up the heat and boil for 20 mins until reduced and syrupy. Strain into a small, sterilised jam jar and leave to cool completely. Will keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.

    Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for 10 mins, then unroll. Heat the grill to high and heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cut out 2 x 13cm circles of pastry, using a plate as a guide, and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Sprinkle each circle with 1 tbsp sugar and grill for 5 mins to caramelise, watching carefully so that the sugar doesn’t burn. Remove from the grill. Can be done a few hours ahead, and left, covered, out of the fridge.

    Peel, quarter and core the apples, cut into 2mm-thin slices and arrange on top of the pastry. Sprinkle over the remaining sugar and pop in the oven for 20-25 mins until the pastry is cooked through and golden, and the apples are softened. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Warm 3 tbsp of the red wine jelly in a small pan over a low heat with 1 tsp water to make it a little more runny, then brush over the top of the tarts.

    Tip the crème fraîche into a bowl, sift over the icing sugar and cardamom, and mix together. Carefully lift the warm tarts onto serving plates and serve with the cardamom crème fraîche.

  • Corned Beef and Cabbage

    Corned Beef and Cabbage

    Category: Beef

    Area: Irish

    Ingredients:

    • 3 Lbs Beef Brisket
    • 10 Small Potatoes
    • 5 Carrots
    • 1 head Cabbage

    Instructions:

    1

    Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.

    2

    Add whole potatoes and peeled and cut carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.

    3

    Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.

  • Soy-Glazed Meatloaves with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Carrots

    Soy-Glazed Meatloaves with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Carrots

    Category: Beef

    Area: American

    Ingredients:

    • 5 Potatoes
    • 12 ounces Carrots
    • 1 Scallions
    • 2 cloves Garlic
    • 1 Slice Bread
    • 1 Garlic Powder
    • 2 Soy Sauce
    • 1 Ground Beef
    • 1 tsp Vegetable Oil
    • 2 tsp Sugar
    • 2 tbsp Butter

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. Dice potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Trim, peel, and cut carrots on a diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens; finely chop whites. Peel and finely chop garlic.

    2. In a medium bowl, soak bread with 2 TBSP water (4 TBSP for 4 servings); break up with your hands until pasty. Stir in beef, sriracha, scallion whites, half the garlic, salt (we used 3/4 tsp kosher salt; 11/2 tsp for 4), and pepper. Form into two 1-inch-tall loaves (four loaves for 4). Place on one side of a baking sheet. Toss carrots on empty side of same sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. (For 4, spread meatloaves out across whole sheet and add carrots to a second sheet.) Bake for 20 minutes (we'll glaze the meatloaves then).

    3. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a medium pot with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until very
    tender, 12-15 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup potato cooking liquid, then drain. While potatoes cook, in a small bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic powder, 1/4 cup ketchup (1/2 cup for 4 servings), and 2 tsp sugar (4 tsp for 4).

    4. Once meatloaves and carrots have baked 20 minutes, remove from oven. Spoon half the ketchup glaze over meatloaves (save
    the rest for serving); return to oven until carrots are browned and tender, meatloaves are cooked through, and glaze is tacky, 4-5 minutes more.

    5. Meanwhile, melt 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) in pot used for potatoes over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and cook
    until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add potatoes and 1/4 tsp wasabi. Mash, adding splashes of reserved potato cooking liquid as necessary until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (If you like things spicy, stir in more wasabi!)

    6. Divide meatloaves, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots between plates. Sprinkle with scallion greens and serve with remaining ketchup glaze on the side for dipping.

  • Tunisian Orange Cake

    Tunisian Orange Cake

    Category: Dessert

    Area: Tunisian

    Ingredients:

    • 1 large Orange
    • 300g Caster Sugar
    • 75 ml Olive Oil
    • 280g Flour
    • 1 tbs Baking Powder
    • 4 large Eggs
    • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

    Instructions:

    Preheat oven to 190 C / Gas 5. Grease a 23cm round springform tin.
    Cut off the hard bits from the top and bottom of the orange. Slice the orange and remove all seeds. Puree the orange with its peel in a food processor. Add one third of the sugar and the olive oil and continue to mix until well combined.
    Sieve together flour and baking powder.
    Beat the eggs and the remaining sugar with an electric hand mixer for at least five minutes until very fluffy. Fold in half of the flour mixture, then the orange and the vanilla, then fold in the remaining flour. Mix well but not for too long.
    Pour cake mixture into prepared tin and smooth out. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 C / Gas 2 and bake again for 30 minutes Bake until the cake is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire cake rack.

  • Creamy Tomato Soup

    Creamy Tomato Soup

    Category: Starter

    Area: British

    Ingredients:

    • 3 tbsp Olive Oil
    • 2 chopped Onions
    • 2 sticks Celery
    • 300g Carrots
    • 500g Potatoes
    • 4 Bay Leaf
    • 5 tblsp Tomato Puree
    • 2 tblsp Sugar
    • 2 tblsp White Vinegar
    • 1½ kg Chopped Tomatoes
    • 500g Passata
    • 3 Vegetable Stock Cube
    • 400ml Whole Milk

    Instructions:

    Put the oil, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and bay leaves in a big casserole dish, or two saucepans. Fry gently until the onions are softened – about 10-15 mins. Fill the kettle and boil it.
    Stir in the tomato purée, sugar, vinegar, chopped tomatoes and passata, then crumble in the stock cubes. Add 1 litre boiling water and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15 mins until the potato is tender, then remove the bay leaves. Purée with a stick blender (or ladle into a blender in batches) until very smooth. Season to taste and add a pinch more sugar if it needs it. The soup can now be cooled and chilled for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
    To serve, reheat the soup, stirring in the milk – try not to let it boil. Serve in small bowls with cheesy sausage rolls.

  • Strawberries Romanoff

    Strawberries Romanoff

    Category: Dessert

    Area: Russian

    Ingredients:

    • 2 pint Strawberries
    • 4 tbs Sugar
    • 4 tbs Grand Marnier
    • 1 cup Cream
    • 1/4 cup Sour Cream

    Instructions:

    In a medium bowl, combine hulled and quartered strawberries, 4 Tbsp sugar and 4 Tbsp liqueur, stir to combine then cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours, stirring once or twice.

    Two photos of cut strawberries in a bowl with one having sugar being added to the bowl Two photos of cut up strawberries for Strawberry Romanoff

    Just before serving, in a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup cold heavy cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, fold in 1/4 cup sour cream just until well blended.

    To serve, stir strawberries then divide between 6 serving glasses or bowls. You can spoon a little syrup over the berries if you like. You can also use this syrup to soak a cake. Spoon cream over strawberries, dividing evenly. You can also use an ice cream scoop with trigger release for a nice rounded puff of cream. Serve right away or chill and enjoy within 2 hours of assembly.

  • Eton Mess

    Eton Mess

    Category: Dessert

    Area: British

    Ingredients:

    • 500g strawberries
    • 400ml double cream
    • 3 x 7.5cm meringue nests
    • 1 tbsp ginger cordial
    • sprigs of fresh Mint

    Instructions:

    Purée half the strawberries in a blender. Chop the remaining strawberries, reserving four for decoration.
    Whip the double cream until stiff peaks form, then fold in the strawberry purée and crushed meringue. Fold in the chopped strawberries and ginger cordial, if using.
    Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into four cold wine glasses. Serve garnished with the remaining strawberries and a sprig of mint.

  • Mushroom & Chestnut Rotolo

    Mushroom & Chestnut Rotolo

    Category: Vegetarian

    Area: British

    Ingredients:

    • 30g Mushrooms
    • 240g Chestnuts
    • 3 Challots
    • 3 cloves Garlic
    • 3 sprigs Rosemary
    • 500g Wild Mushrooms
    • 2 tblsp Soy Sauce
    • 125ml White Wine
    • 350g Lasagne Sheets
    • 4 tbsp Breadcrumbs
    • 1/2 handful Sage
    • to serve Truffle Oil

    Instructions:

    Soak the dried mushrooms in 350ml boiling water and set aside until needed. Blitz ¾ of the chestnuts with 150ml water until creamy. Roughly chop the remaining chestnuts.
    Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the shallots with a pinch of salt until softened, then add the garlic, chopped chestnuts and rosemary, and fry for 2 mins more. Add the wild mushrooms, 2 tbsp oil and some seasoning. Cook for 3 mins until they begin to soften. Drain and roughly chop the dried mushrooms (reserve the soaking liquid), then add those too, along with the soy sauce, and fry for 2 mins more.
    Whisk the wine, reserved mushroom liquid and chestnut cream together to create a sauce. Season, then add half to the mushroom mixture in the pan and cook for 1 min until the sauce becomes glossy. Remove and discard the rosemary sprigs, then set the mixture aside.
    Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and get a large bowl of ice water ready. Drop the lasagne sheets into the boiling water for 2 mins or until pliable and a little cooked, then immediately plunge them into the cold water. Using your fingers, carefully separate the sheets and transfer to a clean tea towel. Spread a good spoonful of the sauce on the bottom two thirds of each sheet, then, rolling away from yourself, roll up the shorter ends. Cut each roll in half, then position the rolls of pasta cut-side up in a pie dish that you are happy to serve from at the table. If you have any mushroom sauce remaining after you’ve rolled up all the sheets, simply push it into some of the exposed rolls of pasta.
    Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the pasta, then bake for 10 mins or until the pasta no longer has any resistance when tested with a skewer.
    Meanwhile, put the breadcrumbs, the last 2 tbsp olive oil, sage leaves and some seasoning in a bowl, and toss everything together. Scatter the rotolo with the crumbs and sage, then bake for another 10 mins, until the top is golden and the sage leaves are crispy. Leave to cool for 10 mins to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce, then drizzle with a little truffle oil, if you like, before taking your dish to the table.