Potato straw cake

Ingredients: 

2 potatoes (King Edward or normal Waitrose potatoes)
1 tbsp of butter
olive oil

Grate the potato. Squeeze and drain all the liquid from the grated potatoes. Add the melted butter then season it with salt and pepper. 

Fry it with olive oil at medium high heat on one side for about 8 minutes. Flip the potatoes over and continue frying for about 8 minutes until it is brown and crispy.

Serve with parsley and a dollop of creme fraiche.

Just be careful not to get it burnt and not to get hands shredded.

Pasta and pork ragu

I first tried pork ragu at Angela Hartnett at The Connaught and I was quite impressed with the dish. So, I was delighted to find it in my Italian cookbook.

First, fry 1 leek (trimmed and thinly sliced) in a frying pan with sunflower oil, stirring frequently for around 5 minutes till soft. Add 225 g of pork fillet (diced) and cook, stirring for 4 minutes. Add 1 crushed garlic clove, 2 tsp of paprika and 1/4 tsp of chilli powder to the pan and stir until the pork is lightly coated in the garlic and pepper mixture. Pour in 150 ml of white wine and 450 mil of chicklen stock. Add 4 chopped sundried tomatoes and 2 carrots diced. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to the boil, lower the heat and simmer till the carrots are cooked. Add cooked pasta to the pork ragu, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over it, toss well and adjust the seasoning. Serve with chopped parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Spaghetti Bolognese

My self taught education in Italian cuisine (well I hope the recipes in my Italian cookbook are authentic) cannot be complete without one of the most traditional Italian recipes: Spaghetti Bolognese. I don’t normally order this dish in restaurants as they tend to taste artificial with lots of preservatives and I am glad that mine turned out bursting with natural flavours.

First, saute 450g of minced beef and 125g of smoked bacon until browned. Add 1 finely chopped carrot, 3 finely chopped celery sticks, 1 finely chopped onion and 2 finely chopped garlic cloves. Cook for 3 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add 1 tbsp of flour and cook for 1 min. Add 150ml of red wine, 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 2 tsp of mixed herbs and 1 tsp of sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Spoon over cooked spaghetti the sauce, garnish with oregano leaves and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Oatmeal and raisin cookies

 This recipe is taken from the goodhousekeeping website.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 1/2 cups raisins
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Line large cookie sheet with nonstick foil (or use nonstick cookie sheet).

2. On waxed paper, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat sugars and butter until creamy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in vanilla, then eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl. With spoon, stir in oats and raisins.

4. Drop dough by heaping measuring teaspoons, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake cookies for 6 minutes or until tops are golden. Cool cookies on cookie sheet 1 minute, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cream of butternut squash soup

Cook 900g of butternut squash, peeled and cubed in olive oil for 2-3 minutes, coating it completely with oil. Add 1 finely chopped onion, 1 finely chopped leek, 1 finely chopped carrot, 4 garlic cloves finely chopped and 2 finely chopped celery sticks into the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Cover the vegetables with 1.7 litre of chicken stock and bring to the boil. Season with salt and pepper and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all the vegetables are tender. Blend the mixture. (I like my soups to be a bit chunky, with bits and pieces of the vegetables so I don’t blend it till it forms a smooth puree.) Adjust the seasoning, add 140 ml of cream. Bring the soup to boiling point, add 1/4 tsp of chilli powder and serve with a swirl of cream on top and warm bread.

Oven baked pork balls with peppers

This is my first time making pork balls, and amazingly, they didn’t distintegrate into little bits and pieces during the cooking process. First, mix 500 g of minced pork with 1 finely chopped garlic clove, 4 tbsp of fresh basil, finely chopped and 3 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. With damp hands, roll the mixture into balls and reserve. Spoon 3 tbsp of olive in a large roasting tin and place in the preheated oven at 200 degrees for 3 minutes. Stir in the pork balls, 1 finely chopped garlic cloves, 3 peppers, cut into chunks and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in 225 g of cherry tomatoes, and season to taste. Bake for another 20 minutes. Remove the pork balls from oven and stir in 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Serve with garlic bread.

 I quite like it as it is a mediterranean recipe, full of the natural flavours of the peppers and tomatoes. 

Roasted butternut squash risotto

First peel the butternut squash and chop it into 2 cm cubes. Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil into a roasting tin and place into preheated oven 190 degrees for minutes. Add the buttersquash and 5 cloves of garlic unpeeled and whole. Roast for 25-30 minutes. Cook 275g of arborio rice in olive oil at high heat for a few seconds. Add a pinch of saffron and 150 ml of white wine and bubble fiercely until the wine has evaporated. Meanwhile heat 1 litre of chicken stock in a separate saucepan and keep it at a steady simmer. Reduce the heat till low, and add the chicken stock ladle by ladle till the rice is cooked. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 tbsp of fresh parsley finely chopped, 1 tbsp of fresh oregano finely chopped, parmesan cheese and seasoning. Cover and leave to stand for 203 minutes. Remove the skins from the roasted garlic, add it to the risotto with the butternut squash and mix gently. Serve with parmesan cheese.

 I like how the natural sweetness of the butternut squash complements the richer flavours of the cheese and saffron.

Parma ham wrapped chicken with a rich tomato sauce

First cut chicken breasts (4) into 3 pieces. Wrap each piece in a slice of parma ham. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken for 12-15 minutes till it’s cooked. Remove from the pan. Add 1 finely chopped garlic and 3 spring onions chopped diagonally and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in a can of tomatoes, 1 tsp of lemon juice and creme fraiche. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer covered for 3 minutes. Stir in 3 tbsp of parsley and a pinch of sugar. Season to taste. Return the chicken to the pan. Heat for 2-3 minutes. Serve with cooked pasta, and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

I tried reducing the amount of lemon juice from 1 lemon, to 1/2 a lemon but it’s still not enough as the sourness of it, is simply too overpowering. That said. I love the combined taste of the parma ham and the chicken. I think with less lemon juice. this would be much better

Salmon and fennel pasta

Ingredients

1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
530g Salmon Fillets, cubed
200ml dry white wine
200g creme fraiche
20g fresh mint, chopped
20g fresh parsley, chopped

Heat olive oil in large frying pan, add fennel and fry for 3-4 minutes until softened.

Add salmon and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until lightly coloured

Pour in wine, cook for 2-3 minutes until reduced by half, then stir in the creme fraiche and herbs.

Heat through and season to taste.

Gently stir and fennel and salmon mixture into cooked pasta.

Really simple dish, a Waitrose recipe, took me just 20 minutes to prepare it. Perfect for a packed lunch for school

Chickpeas and spinach

Ingredients

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
A few sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
300g streaky bacon or pancetta, diced
200g vacuum packed or jarred whole chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp pimenton (hot smoked paprika)
100g young spinach leaves, washed and drained
350g dried chickpeas, cooked in boiling water until tender (reserve 150ml of the cooking liquid) or 2 x 410g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion for 3 – 4 minutes until it begins to soften. Stir in the carrot, celery, a few sprigs of thyme and the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the garlic, bacon or pancetta, chestnuts and pimenton. Gently fry until the vegetables become golden and the bacon is crisp. Stir in the chickpeas and 150ml of their cooking water, or plain tap water.

3. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 – 2 minutes until the chickpeas are hot. Scatter the spinach over and stir through the chickpeas and bacon. Remove from the heat, season to taste and serve immediately, garnished with chopped flat leaf parsley.

This is one of the prettiest dishes I have cooked, with its myriad of colours. I also loved how the flavour of this dish comes together, this wonderful combination of vegetables, bacon and chickpeas. This is a Spanish dish and I got this dish from the show ‘A Cook’s Tour to Spain.’ Been cooking a bit of Spanish food these days, even the classic paella. I miss the tapa walks I had in Madrid and Barcelona, trying out the dishes at one tapas bar with a glass of red before moving on to the next: the patatas brava, the grilled octopus, the chorizo, the anchovies. It’s strange, I remembered having a great time when I was there and I was astonished to hear the ill treatment my asian friends had when they went over there. Oh well, maybe things have changed there since I last visited.