Grim up North Heath

Category: Recipes

Recipes we use as a family. Nothing gourmet, and I will try to put recipes and methods ahead of any stories relating to the recipe.

  • Thai Green Curry

    Thai Green Curry

    An easy favourite. Feeds 3.

    Timings: Prep: 10 min. Cooking: 10 min Eat: 10 min

    Ingredients

    Two large chicken breasts (or three small ones)

    Mangetout – about 100 g

    Green curry paste, 40 or 50 g (I used Mea Ploy brand for this one)

    A can of coconut milk (400 ml)

    Jasmine rice (200 g uncooked rice is enough for three)

    2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

    You’ll need a big saucepan and a large frying pan.

    Slice the chicken breasts. I prefer slices to chunks for this recipe, but you do whatever you like best.

    Rinse the rice. Boil about 600 ml water in a large saucepan (more water is fine), add salt and boil the rice while you cook the chicken. The rice will take about 10 minutes to cook.

    Fry the green curry paste in the oil. If you’ve bought a one-meal batch of paste, use it all. The paste I’ve been using (see picture below) says to use 50 g. This was at the top end of our tolerance for spicy heat, so I’ve used 40 g since the first time. This makes a curry that’s hot enough to enjoy without feeling challenged.

    Plastic jar of Mae Ploy brand green curry paste.
    This is the green curry paste I’ve been using. It’s spicy enough for us without added chilis, as the serving suggestion shows. This pot cost about £3, it’s good for eight to ten meals. Bargain!

    Fry for a minute, then add some of the cream from the coconut milk. To make this easier I store the can of milk upside down so that there is a plug of cream when you open the can.

    Once the paste and cream are combined and smelling good, add the sliced chicken. Fry until the chicken has gone white on the outside, then add the rest of the can. If you don’t want too much sauce, don’t add all the coconut water from the can.

    Stir while cooking and remember to keep an eye on the rice.

    About two minutes before the rice is done, add the mangetout. It’ll want a couple of minutes cooking to get warm, but don’t leave it too long or it’ll go soft.

    Thai green curry nearly ready to serve.
    Chicken curry nearly ready for dishing up. Just give the mangetout a minute or two in the sauce. That’s enough to warm it through without losing the crunch.

    I crushed a few almonds to add on top – peanuts or any other nut will do, but we had almonds in the pantry.

    Once the rice is done, strain in a sieve. If it’s a bit claggy for your liking, rinse with boiling hot water before serving.

    Thai green curry ready for serving up.
    Dinner’s ready! Thai green curry with jasmine rice. Some crushed almonds add a crunch.

    There’s usually quite a lot of sauce. Make sure there’s enough rice to soak it all up.

    We usually have ‘Thai inspired crackers’ with this. Last time, it was a Tesco own brand bag, I don’t think we’ve ever stretched to Sharwood’s own brand. Same with the coconut milk – it’s usually supermarket own brand.

    I keep meaning to look into how to make my own green curry paste. I don’t know what the minimum amount is that can be made or how well it keeps. I don’t want to make a kilo of paste and it all go to waste.

  • Cottage pie

    Cottage pie

    Haven’t made this for a long time.

    Timings: Prep: 50 min. Cooking: 30 min Eat: 15 min (finished just in time for Doctor Who)

    Ingredients

    500 g beef mince (5% fat)

    One onion, diced

    4 gloves garlic, chopped

    Tin chopped tomatoes

    Tomato puree

    2 carrots

    Herbs – using dried herbs, basil, oregano, thyme. A teaspoon of each.

    Chili flakes because we like them

    veg stock and beef stock (can overpower the flavour of everything else)

    2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

    700 g potatoes (I used baking potatoes)

    100 ml full fat milk

    50g butter

    Oven to 180 C (fan). You’ll need two big saucepans and a frying pan as well as an ovenproof casserole dish for the pie,

    Meat sauce

    Brown the mince until it goes uniform brown and no red bits.

    Meanwhile, fry the chopped onions in the oil until they go translucent, then add chopped garlic and fry for another minute. Add the dried herbs and chilli flakes, and stir these in to release the aroma.

    Add the tin of tomatoes and a squeeze of tomato puree. Add the browned mince, veg stock (and beef stock) and stir well. Turn off the heat.

    Mash

    Peel and dice the potatoes. Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes until soft. This is where the type of potato is important; waxy potatoes don’t make good mash. You can keep a portion of the water used to boil the potatoes to add to the mash.

    Add a splash of milk and the butter, mash the spuds until they’re a smooth consistency. Add more milk if needed, this will depend on the starch content of the potatoes. Some of the starch-rich boiling water can also be added.

    Mashed potato in a green bowl
    Mash ready for use. Either with sausages and beans or gravy or as a topping for cottage pie, shepherd’s pie or farmhouse pie.

    Assemble the pie

    Pour the meat sauce into an ovenproof dish.

    Cottage pie, some mash around the edge.
    First part of the mash is on. It’s best to add a ring around the edge and move inwards, it stops the filling sinking too much.

    Add the mash to the top. I was told (can’t remember who by) to add the mash around the edge to begin with and work to the middle. This stops the meat bulging at the edges. To even out the mash, use a fork to flatten the topping and add a bit of texture to the top.

    Cottage pie ready for the oven.
    Ready for the oven! Adding a few fork strokes evens out the topping and gives ridges that catch a bit more heat and caramelise.

    If you’re able, you could pipe the mash over the filling. They do this is some places, but I didn’t have the equipment, inclination or runny enough mash.

    Shove it in the oven for 25minutes. Turn on the grill and brown off for 5 minutes or so.

    Baked cottage pie.
    Dinner’s ready! After 25 min in the oven and 5 minutes under the grill, the mash is browned and there is some leakage of filling.

    This is enough for four people. Since there’s only three of us at home at the moment, I’ll get to have this for my lunch tomorrow! That’s a win!

    Cottage pie with one serving taken.
    The first serving was taken from the cottage pie. The beef stock overpowered the other flavours, but it was still a delicious meal.

    On reflection, the beef stock could have been left out. There are enough herbs and a veggie stock cube added the base flavours.

  • Lasagne

    Mrs S asked for this for Mother’s Day. How could I refuse? (I could have said ‘no’, I suppose)

    Timings: Prep: 50 min. Cooking: 35 min Rest: 15 min Eat: 10 min

    Ingredients

    500 g beef mince (5% fat)

    One onion, diced

    4 gloves garlic, chopped

    Tin chopped tomatoes

    Herbs – using dried herbs, basil, oregano, thyme and parsley. A teaspoon of each.

    Chili flakes because we like them

    veg stock and tomato puree

    2 tablespoons oil (peanut, vegetable or whatever is to hand)

    500 ml full fat milk

    75g cheese (mix of cheddar and parmesan because that was what was in the fridge), grated.

    2 tablespoons sauce flour

    Lasagne sheets – at least 6, maybe 9, but buy a box of them.

    Sorry, no photos because I was listening to Iron Maiden while I was cooking and forgot.

    Oven to 180 C (fan).

    Meat sauce

    Brown the mince until it goes uniform brown and no red bits.

    Meanwhile, fry the chopped onions in the oil until they go translucent, then add chopped garlic and fry for another minute1. Add the dried herbs and stir these in to release the aroma.

    Add the tin of tomatoes and a squeeze of tomato puree. Add the browned mince, veg stock and stir well. Turn off the heat.

    Cheese sauce

    Pour the milk into a pan and add the sauce flour2. Heat the milk and stir constantly, chanting the mantra “this won’t work. It never does” until all the flour disappears and the sauce is thick. Add most of the cheese and stir to melt in.

    Assemble the lasagne

    Pour a thin layer of the cheese sauce into a suitable ovenproof dish. Smear the dish with butter if you like, it may reduce sticking.

    Add lasagne sheets over the cheese sauce and then one third of the meat sauce and a bit of the cheese sauce – don’t use too much for the layers. Continue to layer up until you run out of meat sauce.

    Add a final layer of lasagne, pour over the rest of the cheese sauce (about half should be left) and completely cover the top layer of pasta. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

    Shove it in the oven for 35 minutes. Check that the pasta is cooked by prodding it with a fork.

    Take out and leave to rest for 15 minutes while the garlic bread is cooking.

    OK, I lied, there is a picture. This is what was left when we’d had enough. Normally the whole thing goes, but oldest is at Uni so they weren’t around to eat it. More fool them.

    1. We got this tip about adding garlic well after the onion from the TV show ‘Pie in the Sky’ about a food-obsessed police detective (Richard Griffiths) and his crisp-mad wife (Maggie Steed (who also played Dr Hildegard Lanstrom in Red Dwarf)) ↩︎
    2. We have used sauce flour for many years and it is the best thing for thickening sauces. You can make a roux, by all means, but it’s a pain in the arse and risks burning. ↩︎
  • Chicken & pea risottata

    Chicken & pea risottata

    You can make risotto with pasta, orzo they say.

    Timings:

    Prep: 5 min. Cook: 30 min. Eat: 10 min.

    Ingredients

    250 g orzo pasta

    600 ml chicken stock

    2 large chicken breasts

    knob of butter

    half an onion, diced

    frozen peas/ petit pois

    garlic, oregano and thyme

    a good pile of grated parmesan

    Dice the chicken breasts, brown off in a frying pan. Put to one side.

    Diced chicken on a chopping board.

    In a large saucepan (the whole thing is made in this pan), add the butter and fry the onion over a low heat for 5 minutes until they’re clear. Add garlic (crushed or chopped) and give that 30 seconds frying. Add herbs and stir them in, too.

    Orzo pasta. I must have been feeling flush to buy DeCecco pasta.

    Add the orzo and toast until lightly brown. This is critical to the texture of the finished dish.

    Add the chicken pieces and half the stock. Turn up the heat and stir well to avoid anything sticking to the pan.

    Once the pasta has absorbed the liquid, add half the remainder. Keep stirring (though Nigella says not to bother. But what does she know?)

    Add the peas and the rest of the stock. Cook until the pasta has the texture you like; ideally a bit of bite should remain. You can cook until it’s all soft if you prefer.

    Chicken risottata, almost ready fo rdisingup.

    Stir in the grated parmesan and serve. Garlic bread would be a good addition. Maybe use smaller pieces, or add chorizo to give more variation in the texture.

  • Leek and potato soup

    Leek and potato soup

    Frost in March? Time for shoop!

    Makes enough for four people

    Timings: Prep = 10 min. Cooking = 30 min. Eating = 5 min

    Ingredients

    500 – 600 g potatoes (Baking potatoes or big, floury ones)

    500 -600 g leeks (about the same amount of leeks and potatoes)

    Veggie stock (Knorr stock pot, if possible)

    2 garlic cloves

    I add chilli flakes and cumin (half a teaspoon) to pep it up a bit, oregano and thyme (teaspoon or more) to help make it interesting.

    Additions

    Bacon lardons

    Parmesan

    Method

    You’ll need a big saucepan and a blender.

    Chop the leeks, roughly – only use the white and pale green parts.

    Peel then dice the potatoes and put into water.

    Add a splash of oil to a large saucepan – the soup is made in this pan, so it needs to be big. I use peanut oil, because I’m like that, but vegetable or olive will be fine. Don’t use extra virgin olive oil. though. Fry the leeks over a medium heat until they start to soften and before they go brown. If they go a little brown, don’t worry.

    Add crushed garlic, spices and herbs if using them – fry for about 30 seconds. Add water and stockpot to cover the ingredients. Add the potatoes and more water to cover the spuds.

    Simmer for at least 20 minutes, until the potatoes are softened.

    Use the blender (I bought a stick blender from Wilco years ago and use this. Well worth the £12 it cost.) to mash up the ingredients. You may need to add more water to get the viscosity right – this is a matter of preference.

    Warm the soup through on a low heat. This helps thicken up the soup as starch is released from the potato particles. Meanwhile, fry the bacon lardons until they’re crispy. Grate a good pile of parmesan.

    Serve soup with a sprinkle of bacon and cheese. Serve with bread; Mrs S makes excellent bread that is great with this. But we had none, so I had Warburton’s white instead.

  • Chicken Basmati rice pilaf

    Chicken Basmati rice pilaf

    Based on a recipe I can’t find for an Iranian dish. It falls under the general category of ‘pilaf’, where rice is cooked with other stuff. Chicken is spatchcocked to (a) reduce cooking time and (b) fit in the roasting tin.

    Timings: Prep: 20 minutes. Cooking: 1 hr to 1 hr 15. Eating: about 10 minutes.

    Ingredients

    Medium roasting chicken (1.8 kg ish)

    250 g basmati rice

    500 ml chicken or veg stock (I used Knorr stock pots)

    One onion

    6 cherry tomatoes or a couple of normal tomatoes

    One carrot (diced) and a handful of raisins

    A teaspoon each of chilli flakes, cumin, oregano, and black pepper (to be more authentically Iranian, sumac should be used. But I didn’t have any. Sue me).

    Method

    Set oven to 180 C (fan). Will need at least one hour, up to 1 hr 15 min.

    Chop the onion into thick slices and scatter on the bottom of a lined roasting dish. Cut the tomatoes and add to the onions.

    Spatchcock the chicken (pictures below). I marinated the chicken overnight – rub the skin with olive oil and salt, put into a big plastic bag and put in the fridge. I try and do this when I do a roast, it tenderises the meat.

    Add the chicken to the roasting tin.

    Raw spatchcocked chicken placed in a roasting dish with sliced onions, cherry tomatoes, and diced carrots on a bed of foil.
    Chicken ready for the rice and stock.

    Add the rice, diced carrots and raisins. Pour over the stock.

    Cover with baking parchment, then foil to seal in the steam as it cooks.

    Bye, bye birdie.

    I used a thermometer to check that the chicken was cooked. After an hour it was nearly done (not yet at 74 C) , but the rice looked a bit dry on top so I added 100 ml water. I gave it another 10 minutes and it was done.

    Finished dish, roast chicken in colourful rice.
    Dinner’s ready!

    There was a nice contrast in textures between the rice at the top and the rice at the bottom, so there was crunch and softness.

    I’d go heavier on the spices next time. Maybe buy sumac, or look into the traditional Turkish method.

    Also some recipes call for grilling the dish before serving to brown the chicken and give extra burned rice. Maybe next time.

    Spatchcocking a chicken

    This is removing the spine of the bird and pressing it flat so it cooks quicker.

    Another Taskmaster reference. Hugh Dennis spatchcocked a camel, which I won’t be doing.

    I bought bone scissors some time ago because doing this without the proper tools hurts and can ruin a normal pair of scissors.

    “You Tansung?” “You asking?” “I’m asking.” “Then I’m Tansung”. A reference for the youth, there.

    I use these to cut the legs off roasted chicken, so they are used at least once a month. And they come apart and are dishwasher safe.

    I chopped off the parson’s nose then cut down one side of the spine. The skin is more difficult to cut properly with these scissors. I removed the spine fully.

    The world’s most cowardly animal – a spineless chicken!

    I wiped the inside with kitchen towel to get rid of rogue bits from inside. Turn it over and press down to flatten. The wishbone needs to be broken so the bird will lie flat.

    Spatchcocking reduces cooking time by about half.

  • Buckwheat pancakes

    Buckwheat pancakes

    A favourite when we go to France. And it’s pancake day!

    Ingredients (pancakes)

    80g buckwheat flour

    1 egg

    250 ml milk

    pinch of salt

    Mix flour, egg and salt in a bowl. Once mixed, leave to stand for at least 30 minutes. Overnight in a fridge is supposed to be better.

    When it’s time, put a blob of butter in a frying pan. Once it’s bubbling add enough batter to cover the pan and fry until the top is almost solid. Then flip and continue to fry until the bottom is solid.

    We had buckwheat flour left over from youngest daughter’s Food Tech last month. And an egg! Currently a luxury in the USA.
    Quite a thick batter (not that you can tell). If I was working I’d do some rheology and a design of experiments on this and determine the ideal ratio of flour, egg and milk. But I’m not working, which is why I’m doing this nonsense.

    In the end, they were OK. We had them with baked salmon (from frozen – salt, chili flakes and frozen onions, bake 30 minutes at 180 C) and corn on the cob (butter and salt, wrap in foil, bake with the salmon).

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