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Vietnamese Beef Salad with a Ginger & Lime Dressing January 21, 2012

Filed under: Favourites,Healthy Eating,Meat,Starters — delishuss @ 9:17 pm
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As it’s January I’m on a health buzz. I nearly caved and got a Indian take-away. Not the healthiest of fast food choices but my conscience (my boyfriend Stephen) steered me away. Thank the maker he did. I had planned to make this recipe this evening and I’m so glad I did. It’s fantastic. This recipe is from Ballyknocken Cookery School. Stephen’s sister in law Sinead went to a Taste of Thailand and Vietnam class so she kindly passed on the recipes. Because it’s for a main meal, I made some fried noodles to go with it. I’ll just tell you before you start the meat needs 1 hour to marinade, just in case you are in a rush. Otherwise it’s really quick to put together.

Serves 6

Salad Dressing:

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp fresh lime juice (1 lime)

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp chilli, minced

Salad:

Mixed lettuces

Half a cucumber, thinly sliced

18 cherry tomatoes, halved

Half a cup of basil

Marinade:

2 beef fillets

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp medium dry sherry

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 garlic cloved, minced

Method

For the marinade:

1. Cut the beef into 3/4 inch strips. Mix all the ingredients and add to the beef. Refridgerate for 1 hour minimum.

For the salad:

1. Wash the salad leaves and tear into bite size pieces. Prepare cucumber and tomatoes as directed above. Mix the salad dressing ingredients and set aside.

To finish:

1. Add oil to the frying pan and heat until searing. Add beef and marinade and fry quickly on full heat until brown on all sides and still pink in the centre (or to taste).

2. Stand back when you can- you will need to be careful as the pan will “spit” a lot.

3. When the beef is ready, remove immediately from the pan and set aside.

4. Mix half of the dressing with the salad leaves. Divide between plates.

5. Arrange the beef on the plates, resting on the salad.

6. Sprinkle some of the dressing around the plate with a teaspoon.

7. Tear the basil leaves and place on top of the salad leaves.

 

Penne with sausage, pancetta and Swiss chard December 19, 2011

Filed under: Favourites,Pasta — delishuss @ 9:25 pm
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I saw this recipe being made on Saturday Kitchen on BBC and was dying to try it. So that I did and I wasn’t dissapointed. It’s really easy to make and really tasty. Possibly not so good for the waistline but sure what odds. Word of warning though, don’t do what I do and shake the chilli flake pot into the frying pan 🙂

Ingredients

Preparation method

  1. Trim the ends of the Swiss chard and cut the green leaves off the white stems.
  2. Cut the stems into fine matchsticks and blanch in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes, or until soft. Drain and set aside.
  3. Blanch the green leaves in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes, then drain and chop roughly.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 5-6 minutesm, or until soft.
  5. Add the pancetta and sausage meat and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes, then drain off the excess fat.
  6. Add the cream to the sauce and bring to the boil. Stir in the dried chilli and the blanched Swiss chard stalks and their leaves, then cook for 4-5 minutes. Season to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  7. Cook the penne in a large pan of boiling water, according to packet instructions, until al dente. Drain, reserving a few spoonfuls of the cooking water.
  8. Add the pasta to the sauce, mix well and add a little of the reserved water if necessary to loosen the sauce.
  9. Cook gently for 2 minutes, then serve with freshly ground black pepper and grated parmesan.

Note: I used spinach as I forgot to get the chard in the shop, it works well I think.

 

 

Sloppy Joe October 26, 2011

Filed under: Favourites,Meat,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 9:42 pm
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Well this was a bit hit with me. Yummy! I got it from the Weight Watchers ‘One-Pot Meals’ cookbook. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Serves 6

6 Propoints per portion (bit optimistic if you ask me)

Ingredients

calorie controlled cooking spray

1 large onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves; 3 chopped and 1 whole but peeled

2 tablespoon mild of hot chilli powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, plus extra for sprinkling if desired

500g turkey mince

2 tabelspoons plain flour

425 ml chicken stock

400g can cherry tomatoes

4 celery sticks, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large red pepper, de-seeded and chopped

250g pack closed cup mushrooms, chopped

100g frozen sweetcorn

12g French stick, cut into 12 thick slices

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat a large, lidded, flameproof and ovenproof dish and spray with the cooking spray. Add the onion and chopped garlic, cover and cook over a low to medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. If they start to stick, add a splash of water.

2. Stir the spices and thyme into the onion. Add the turkey mince, breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon, and flour. Pour in the chicken stock, then heat, stirring, until bubbling and thickened.

3. Tip in the tomatoes, celery, carrots, pepper, mushrooms, and sweetcorn. Season and then cover the pan and leave to simmer. Stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender, preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/ 200 degrees celsius.

4. Rub the whole garlic clove over the bread slices and then spray with the cooking spray. Arrange the bread garlic side up on top of the mince and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.

Scatter with thyme, if using and serve.

Top tip: I added a few spoons of tomato chutney, I just think it really adds to the tomato flavour and it’s not as tangy as tomato puree. I also sprinkled the dish with cheese before putting it in the oven. You would need to add to the points also if you are watching your weight.

 

Chinese Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup October 11, 2011

Filed under: Chicken,Favourites,Soups and Stews,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 6:43 pm
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I don’t know why but I thought chicken and sweetcorn soup would be quite complicated but it is dead easy. I got this recipe from the Weight Watchers ‘One-Pot Meals’ cookbook. It’s a recipe that really needs to be made and consumed straight away but it doesn’t take long at all. I added some chopped chilli and threw it in with the spring onions. It’s definitely a recipe I’ll be trying again.

Serves 2

8 Propoints per serving

Ingredients

100g skinless boneless chicken breast

340g can sweetcorn, drained or 285g frozen sweetcorn

600ml chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornflour

2 spring onions, shredded

1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Place the chicken breast between two sheets of cling film then hit firmly with the base of a saucepan or a rolling pin to flatten. Cut the chicken into thin strips.

2. Put the sweetcorn in a pan then pour in the stock. Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the pan. Heat, stirring, until bubbling and thickened.

3. Add the chicken and spring onions, cook for about 1 minute (the chicken cooks quickly as soon as it is added), then drizzle in the egg and stir to create the classic Chinese egg threads in the soup. The egg will cook instantly as it hits the hot soup. Serve in warmed bowls.

 

Chook Roasted with Garlic and Verjuice September 11, 2011

Filed under: Chicken,Favourites — delishuss @ 7:46 pm
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I was watching Masterchef Australia and a lady called Maggie Beer was showing the contestants how to make this recipe. It looked so juicy that I had to give it a try. Plus I had a request for a roast dinner this weekend and it seemed like a sign. As roast chicken goes this is probably the best I’ve tasted, real moist. Maggie used verjuice, which she mentioned was grape juice. I couldn’t find verjuice so I just used white grape juice instead.

I was a bit dubious about the garlic, I kind of thought that it might be a bit overpowering but they are lovely. Much milder than expected, give it a go.

Hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

30 cloves garlic
1 lemon
1 x 2 kg Barossa Chook or an equal well brought up chook
3 sprigs rosemary, chopped
50ml extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
125ml verjuice
125ml water
1 cup chicken stock

Method

1 Preheat a fan forced oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Blanch the unpeeled garlic in boiling water for four minutes, then drain and set aside.

2 Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the cavity of the chicken, then add the rosemary.

3 Mix olive oil with a good pinch of sea salt and pepper and massage into the skin of the bird. Cover the breast (only) with foil and sit the chook on a trivet in a shallow baking dish about 5cm deep.

4 Transfer to the middle shelf of the oven and cook for 40 minutes.

5 Remove foil from breast and use to cover the legs. Pour verjuice over the chicken, place the blanched garlic to the baking dish and add the water to the base of the dish to avoid burning.

6 Cook for a further 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the chook and place breast side down on the trivet to rest for 40 minutes, covered loosely with foil.

7 To make the jus, pour all the pan juices from the baking dish into a small saucepan and add 1 cup of warm chicken stock, pour into a narrow serving jug, then refrigerate this while the chicken is resting. Just before serving, scoop away the fat that has risen to the top, warm the remaining jus. Carve the chook, then pour over the jus and serve.

Note: I served it with some roasted potatoes and parsnips. Boil the potatoes first and then add them and the parsnips to the roasting tray which the chicken is cooking. Baste them every now and again. They turn out fantastic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.masterchef.com.au/chook-roasted-with-garlic-and-verjuice.htm

 

 

Lemon Meringue Roulade June 26, 2011

Filed under: Desserts,Favourites,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 6:29 pm
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This is so easy to make. However, you would really need a mixer for it to get the consistency right. It’s a Weight Watchers recipe.  I haven’t had much success with meringue type pavalova recipes and I’ll admit that I burnt this first time around. I don’t give up easily particularly when people say it’s such an easy to make. I felt like I had to prove it to myself that I could do it. Word of advice is to watch this one closely as it can burn quite quickly. It’s a lovely fresh summer recipe.

Serves 6

5 propoints per serving

Ingredients

4 egg whites

200g caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsp lemon curd

1 tsp icing sugar

1 tub of quark, approximately 250g

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/ 200 degrees celsius and line a swiss roll tin measuring 23cmx33cm with baking parchment.

2. Put the egg white in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form, then gradually add the sugar, whisking continuously to make a smooth glossy meringue that stands firm. Fold in the lemon zest.

3. Spoon into the prepared tin and level with the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes until the top is golden., the reduce the oven temperature to gas mark 3/160 degrees celsius and cook for a further 10 minutes until the meringue is firm to the touch. Turn out onto a board covered with another sheet of parchment and leave to go cold.

4. Remove the paper from the meringue and discard. Spread the quark over the roulade, leaving a border of 1cm, then dollop the lemon curd over the top. Roll up the mreingue from the short side using the parchment to help. Put onto  serving plate and dust with the icing sugar. Serve immediately.

 

crispy salmon, jazzed-up rice, baby courgette salad, gorgeous guacamole February 28, 2011

Filed under: Favourites,Fish,Rice and Grains — delishuss @ 11:01 pm
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This recipe is absolutely fabulous. Yes, I know this is me talking about fish :-). This is a Jamie Oliver recipe, one from his 30 minute meals. Give it a go! Okay granted the method does look really complicated but actually not that difficult, it’s just that there are a lot of components.

Ingredients

For the salmon:

2 long peppers (red and yellow)

a bunch of spring onions

2 fresh red chillies

1 x 1kg fillet of salmon, skin on, descaled and deboned

1 lemon

Fennel seeds

For the rice:

1 mug of rice

1/2 450g jar red peppers

A few sprigs of fresh basil

Balsamic vinegar

For the salad:

1 lemon

A couple of sprigs of fresh mint

1-2 fresh red chillies

400g baby courgettes

Seasonings

Olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

For the guacomole:

4 spring onions

A small bunch of fresh coriander

1 fresh red chilli

1 clove garlic

2 limes

2-3 small ripe avocados

1 handful of cherry tomatoes

Method

To start

1. Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Fill and boil the kettle. Turn the grill on to full whack. Put a saucepan on a medium heat. Put the standard blade attachment into the food processor.
 

Salmon

  1. Pour a couple of lugs of olive oil into a large roasting tray.
  2. Halve and deseed the red pepper.
  3. Slice the pepper and the bunch of spring onions into 2cm pieces. Roughly chop the chillies.
  4. Drizzle olive oil over both sides of the salmon, season, and finely grate over some lemon zest.
  5. Rub these flavours all over the salmon, then wash your hands. If necessary, halve the salmon so it fits the roasting tray, then lay skin side up and arrange the sliced vegetables all around it.
  6. Whack under the grill on the middle shelf and set the timer for 14 minutes.

Rice

  1. Put the rice into a medium saucepan with a pinch of salt and cover by 1.5cm with boiling water.
  2. Put the lid on, then turn the heat right up and leave to cook for 7 minutes. Once cooked, take off the heat and leave to steam for 7 minutes, still covered with the lid.

Salad

  1. Squeeze the juice of ½ a lemon into a large serving bowl and add a couple of lugs of extra virgin olive oil and a good pinch of salt & pepper.
  2. Finely chop the mint leaves and ½ a chilli and add to the bowl.
  3. Speed-peel as much of the baby courgettes as you can over the dressing and put whatever is left behind on a large wooden chopping board.
  4. Take the bowl of salad to the table but don’t toss until right before you are ready to serve.

Rice

  1. Roughly chop and mix the jarred peppers and mint leaves on the chopping board with the remaining courgette.
  2. Add a pinch of salt & pepper, a good lug of extra virgin olive
    oil and a splash of balsamic.

    3. 

Salmon

  1. When the 14 minutes are up, take the tray out of the oven.
  2. Using a knife and your fingers, carefully peel the skin away from the flesh and flip it over.
  3. Add a pinch of salt and the fennel seeds.
  4. Turn the peppers over, then put the tray back under the grill and cook for a further 5 minutes,or until the skin is really crispy.

    5. 

Guacomole

  1. Trim the spring onions and put them into the processor with most of the coriander, the chilli (stalk removed), a peeled clove of garlic, the juice of 1 of your limes and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  2. Whiz up while you stone the avocados and quarter the tomatoes.
  3. Stop whizzing, and squeeze the avocado flesh out of its skin into the processor.
  4. Add the tomatoes and pulse until chunky.
  5. Put into a bowl and add more seasoning or lime juice to taste if needed.
  6. Take to the table with a few wedges of lime for squeezing over.

    7. 

Rice

  1. Quickly fluff up the rice with a fork, then tip over the board of chopped veg and gently mix together. Take to the table.

Salmon

  1. Use tongs to carefully turn the crispy salmon skin back over.
  2. Season with salt & pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Jamie heats up some tortilla’s to serve with it also. I didn’t really feel the need.

 



 

 

Avoca Thai Chicken Curry January 17, 2011

Filed under: Chicken,Curries,Favourites — delishuss @ 10:56 pm
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My friend Pooja recommended this recipe. She advised adding coconut milk, I would definitely agree. I didn’t have coconut milk so I used 2 sachets of creamed coconut instead. I also added the juice of 1 lime. The recipe for the curry paste makes more than is needed, you can cover and save in the fridge for a week or so covered with a little vegetable oil.

This is a cracking recipe, worth trying.

Ingredients

For the spice paste

1 lemongrass stalk, dry outer layers removed, inner core chopped

2.5 cm/1 inch piece of galangal or fresh ginger, coarsely chopped

2 lime leaves, chopped

3 shallots, peeled and chopped

A bunch of coriander stalks, finely chopped ( reserve the leaves for garnishing the curry)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

3 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon of fish sauce

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

For the curry

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

12 boned chicken thighs, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons fish sauce

250 ml/ 8 fl oz chicken stock

1 teaspoon sugar

2 lemongrass stalks, dry outer layers removed, inner core finely chopped

Method

1. To make the spice paste, puree all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor.

2. Heat the oil in a wok, then add the garlic and saute until golden.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of the curry paste along with the chicken and stir well.

4. Add the fish sauce, chicken stock, sugar and lemongrass.

5. Stir wll and simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with rice.

 

Steak and Chips with Mustard Mayo

Filed under: Favourites,Weight Watchers Recipes — delishuss @ 10:37 pm
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This is weight watchers recipe. I loved the chips; I will definitely do these again. I’m not a big fan of oven chips, in fairness you can’t beat chipper chips but these are a great healthy substitute.

Serves 4

11 Pro-points value

Ingredients

 
  750 g Potatoes, Old, Raw   
  25 g Polenta, Raw, instant or semolina   
  1 teaspoons (level) Paprika   
  1/8 teaspoons (level) Chilli Powder, or to taste   
  5 spray(s) Cooking Spray, Calorie Controlled   
  560 g Beef, Fillet Steak, Lean, Raw, 4 x 140g steaks   
  4 tablespoons Yogurt, Greek, 0% Fat   
  1 tablespoons Mayonnaise, Low Fat   
  2 teaspoons (level) Mustard, Wholegrain   
  1 pinch Salt   
  1/8 teaspoons (ground) Pepper, Black (Whole, Cracked or Ground), freshly ground   
  4 medium Tomato, to garnish   
  4 sprig(s) (fresh) Parsley, fresh, to garnish   

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200°C/fan oven 180°C. Spray a non-stick baking sheet with low fat cooking spray.
  • Cut the potatoes into thin chips. Mix together the polenta or semolina, paprika and chilli powder. Toss the chips in this mixture and spread them out on the baking sheet. Spray with low fat cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once after 20 minutes.
  • Ten minutes before the chips are cooked, preheat a char grill pan or non-stick frying pan. Spray the steaks with low fat cooking spray. Char grill or dry fry them, turning once, for 6-8 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Allow to rest for 2 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, mayonnaise and mustard.
  • Serve the steak and chips with the mustard mayo, garnished with tomatoes and parsley.

Notes

  • These oven-baked chips are quite fragile, so turn them over carefully with a fish slice.
 

Tomato, Mozzarella and Parma Ham Tart January 3, 2011

Filed under: Favourites,Tarts & Pies — delishuss @ 10:06 pm
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This is an adaptation of a recipe I saw advertised for Jus-Rol Pastry. It’s very easy to make, if you can slice things up and smear sauce on stuff, then you will well and truly master this. If you were having a few people over this takes no time at all and it looks impressive.

Ingredients

1 sheet of Jus-Rol puff pastry

50 ml of pizza-sauce

1 1/2 balls of mozzarella cheese, sliced

2 on the vine tomatoes, sliced

3 slices of parma ham, halved

handful of basil leaves

Olive oil for greasing baking tray

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees celsius, gas mark 7.
  2. Grease the baking tray with the olive oil.
  3. Roll the pastry out onto the baking tray.
  4. Smear the pizza sauce with a knife but leave about 5 cm of an edge.
  5. Starting on the left side of the pastry, place a slice of tomato, then a slice of mozzarella, and finally a roughly rolled up piece of ham on the sauce.  Repeat this sequence. You should get about three rows.
  6. Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden.
  7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with basil leaves.

Serve with some roasted vegetables and side salad.