Carrot, parsnip and leek mash

I made this recipe up as we had a number of parsnips, a couple of carrots and a leek left over and I needed something to go with grilled pork chops, so we had garlic coated pork chops, grilled with a little olive oil, some potatoes roasted in olive oil and this as the veg course.  We loved it, hope you do too if you decide to cook it.

Ingredients

5 or 6 small parsnips

2 carrots

1 leek

500ml beef stock

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

Peel the parsnips and carrots and cut them into small chunks, then boil them in the beef stock for about 15 minutes until they are nice and soft.  Keep a little of the cooking liquor for the mash. Mash the carrot and parsnip with half the olive oil until they are nice and smooth, adding a little of the liquor to get a good consistency.  

Next, peel and crush the garlic and chop it finely.  Peel, finely slice and wash the white parts of the leek.  Heat the remaining oil in a non stick pan and add the leek and garlic and sauté until it's softened but not coloured.

Mix the leek and garlic with the parsnip and carrot mash, season to taste - I like quite a lot of freshly ground black pepper - and serve.

Meatballs in a tomato sauce with tripoline

I first saw this recipe in a Nigel Slater cookbook and thought it sounded good, but needed a few extra ingredients for a main meal, so added an onion, some chilli and made a tomato sauce to go with it.

Ingredients
For the meatballs
1 small onion
500g pork mince
10 anchovy fillets
½ a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
½ a lemon, zest and juice
70g breadcrumbs
6 fresh thyme stalks
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste

For the tomato sauce
1 dessert spoon olive oil
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
½ a small glass of red wine
400g tin of Italian chopped tomatoes

To serve
200g tripoline pasta, cooked and drained
A handful of chopped fresh basil
Grated parmesan

Method
Add all the meatball ingredients to the food processor and whizz until everything is smooth.  Leave for 20 mins or more for the flavours to develop.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Chop the onion finely and crush the garlic, then heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Fry until starting to brown slightly, add the red wine and boil until almost dry, then add the chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil and reduce until slightly thickened.

Heat the oven to 180°C. To cook the meatballs, shape them into 2cm round balls and fry them in a little olive oil until they are browned on each side. Place them in a heatproof dish and put them in the oven while you cook the pasta.

Once the pasta is nearly cooked, take the meatballs out of the oven and put them back in the pan, add 100ml chicken stock and the tomato sauce then boil rapidly to reduce to a thick sauce.

To server, add the pasta to a bowl, pour over the sauce and add the chopped basil, mix well to coat the pasta and put n the table with the grated parmesan.

Tomato and pepper pasta sauce

This is another sauce like the Bacon, cheese and onion sauce, great to freeze and then makes a quick and easy workday supper.  Have it with whatever pasta you prefer, it works with almost anything!

Ingredients
2 Red peppers
3 Garlic cloves
1 small onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 400g tins of chopped Italian tomatoes
½ a small glass of red wine
½ a teaspoon of dried, crushed chilli flakes
30g pack of fresh basil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
Heat the oven to 200°C.  Remove the stalk and de seed the red peppers and chop them into thin strips.  Crush the garlic cloves and chop them finely.  Peel and quarter the onion and slice thinly. Put the peppers, garlic and onion in a roasting pan, drizzle with the oil, put the pan in the middle of the oven and roast for 30 mins.

Remove the pan from the oven and tip the oil, peppers, garlic and onion into a saucepan then add the tomatoes, wine and chilli, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer until you have a good sauce consistency.  Chop the basil leaves finely add add them to the sauce then dd slat and black pepper to taste.

Leave the sauce to cool, divide into 2 portions and freeze.  Take a portion out of the freezer before heading off to work and when you get home heat the sauce through and serve with pasta, a little grated parmesan and some more fresh basil.

Bacon, cheese and onion pasta sauce

This is a great sauce to have in the freezer for those work days, take it out in the morning to let it thaw, warm it up in a pan when the pastas cooking and serve.  Easy to cook, easy to wash up as everything goes in the dishwasher and very quick, that's my kind of workday meal!

Ingredients
30g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 rashers of smoked back bacon
2 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2½ pints of semi skimmed milk
1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
½ teaspoon white pepper
250g mascapone cheese
100g strong cheddar cheese
70g parmesan
4 heaped teaspoons corn flour

Method
Finely chop the onion, garlic and bacon - I use the food processor for this as it's very quick.  Heat the butter and oil in a pan large enough to take all the ingredients.  Once the butter has melted add the onion, garlic and bacon and cook over a medium heat until the onion is transparent and the bacon is cooked through.  Now grate the nutmeg into the pan, add the pepper, mustard and milk and heat until just off boiling.  Add all the cheeses, making sure you cut the marscapone into small chunks so that it melts easily and stir well until the cheese has melted.  Mix the cornflour with a little milk and stir until you have a paste, then add the cornflour little by little until you have the right consistency for a pasta sauce - it should be thick but pourable.  Adjust the seasoning to taste (I didn't add any salt as there was plenty in the bacon and cheese).

Divide the mixture into three containers, leave it to cool and then freeze for later.  Serve it with your choice of pasta and some freshly chopped basil.

My version of a low GI bread recipe

When I worked at the RSPB in Sandy there was an old established baker in the town square called Gunns.  They made the most delicious low GI bread we've ever tasted and when I left the RSPB I vowed to make a loaf that was as close to their recipe as I could - they didn't give the ingredients list sadly.  I've since researched low GI bread and this is the closest to that recipe that I can get, though still quite a way off.  We all liked this recipe a lot so I wanted to get this down lest I forget the recipe, you'll see it's got a lot of ingredients. This recipe makes one 2lb loaf.

I've updated the recipe for this as for some reason this version stopped rising properly.  I have tried some other flours and come up with what I think is a better version!

Ingredients
7g dried yeast suitable for bread makers
100g Strong white bread flour
280g stone ground wholemeal flour20g wholemeal stone ground rye flour
2 tablespoons wheat gluten
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 heaped dessert spoons malted wheat flakes
3 heaped dessert spoons mixed seeds - I use a mixture of sunflower, linseed and pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon nut brown malt flour
310ml water

Method
Add the ingredients to the bread maker in the order for your bread maker. Set the bread maker to dough only and start the process. Remove the bread from the maker after 1hour 45 minutes (I find my bread doesn't rise properly if I leave it in - how weird is that!).  On a floured surface, split the mixture into two equal parts and put it into two 2lb loaf tins. Leave in a warm place to rise, it will take 30-60 mins depending on temp. I leave mine next to the oven while it's heating up to temperature. Pre heat the oven to 200°C.

Put the risen bread on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 30-35 mins. If it's browned on top its done, otherwise leave it for a little longer until it's cooked through. Take it out of the bread tin and leave on a wire rack to cool.

Once the bread is cool, I cut the bread into slices and then freeze it whole, then you can get it out of the freezer a slice at a time when you want it. A loaf will last us 1 week, the bread will last longer in the freezer but I'm not sure how long as we've eaten it well before then!

Conchiglie with a sausage and arrabiata sauce

I first made this a number of years ago when we stayed in Tuscany.  Naomi was so taken with this recipe that she insisted we write it down and keep it.  We did that and it came back with us; however time waits for no man and the recipe and technology have moved on, so here it is in it's latest version in electronic format.  It's still just as good and everyone still likes it!

Ingredients
2 medium onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic
A pinch of crushed, dried chilli
1 small glass of red wine
A dash of balsamic vinegar
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 400g tin cannelini beans
4-6 of the best sausages you can get - we love Clark's sausages, available from Byrons deli.
200g conchiglie pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
Finely slice the onions, heat the oil in a good sized frying pan and add the onion.  Sauté on a medium heat until the onion is transparent but not coloured.  Now add the garlic and dried chilli and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.  Add the wine and the  balsamic vinegar and cook until the mix is almost dry.

Put the sausages under the grill, prick them and grill until nicely browned.  While the sausages cook, add the tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper to the onion mixture, cover and simmer on a low heat until the sausages are cooked.

Boil some water, add a pinch of salt and the pasta and cook as the pack directs until it's softened (normally about 10-12 minutes).  Increase the heat under the sauce enough to reduce the it to a good, thick consistency.

Drain the pasta and serve in bowls with a tablespoon or two of sauce.  You can add grated parmesan if you wish but I don't think it's needed.

Enjoy!

Risotto with chicken, chorizo and artichoke

This has been a favourite dish in out household for long time.  I used to use a recipe that had just chorizo and artichoke in it, but the paprika from the chorizo was just a little too strong.  This version uses a blend of chorizo and fried chicken breast and it just takes the edge off the paprika.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Ingredients
200g chorizo sausage - whole sausage is best
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion
3 pieces of celery
A knob of butter
2 garlic cloves
1 small chicken breast
1 teaspoon oregano - fresh if possible, but dried is OK
1 teaspoon basil - fresh if possible, but dried is OK
200g risotto rice - I use arborio
1 small glass white wine
1ltr chicken stock
1 250-300g bottle of artichoke antipasti in olive oil, drained
salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to serve

Method
First, slice the chorizo into 1cm thick disks and fry in a dry non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until the sausage is starting to brown, turn over and repeat.  This will get quite a bit of the oil out of the sausage along with some of the paprika.  Now drain the sausage in a sieve and discard the oil.

Chop the onion finely, peel and chop the celery finely and crush and chop the garlic.  Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and bring the chicken stock to a boil then reduce to the lowest heat to keep the stock warm.

If you're reusing the frying pan (and why not?  It saves washing up!) wash it out, rinse and put back on a medium to low heat.  Once the pan is dry, add a tablespoon of olive oil and add the celery and onion and sauté gently until the mix is transparent but takes no colour.

Add the butter, garlic, herbs and the chicken and sauté for 3-4 mins on high until the chicken is just starting to brown - don't worry if it's still pink in the middle, it's going to be cooked with the rice for a lot longer.  Add the rice and mix well to coat the grains with the mixture, then add the wine and boil on a low to moderate heat until almost dry.

Now add the stock, one ladle full at a time and wait until that's been absorbed by the rice before adding another.  Repeat this until the rice is slightly underdone.  Now cut the artichoke into bite size pieces and this and your chorizo to the pan.  Add the salt and pepper to taste, plus some more stock if needed, cover and cook for a further 2-3 mins until the artichoke and chorizo is heated through.

Serve with chopped fresh basil if you have some and grated parmesan.