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Kefta mkaouara (spicy egg, meatball and tomato tagine) April 19, 2011

Filed under: Meat,Rice and Grains — delishuss @ 9:08 pm
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I saw this on Saturday’s kitchen. It’s a recipe from Rick Steins. I have a tagine (first time I tried it out :-)) but you can do them in the frying pan first and then put them in the oven in a casserole dish. Serve with cous cous. Rick says that you can also use prawns instead of the meatballs. Yummy!

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 very fresh medium-sized free-range eggs
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • a small handful fresh coriander leaves, coarsely chopped, to garnish
For the meatballs
  • 450g/1lb minced beef or lamb
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp hot paprika
For the sauce
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 900g/2lb ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped, or 2 x 400g/14oz cans chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon hot paprika
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • salt to taste

Preparation method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  2. For the meatballs, put the minced beef, parsley, cumin, paprika, one teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper into a bowl and mix together well using your hands. Dampen your hands and form the mixture into about 28 2.5cm/1in balls.
  3. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a shallow tagine or frying pan and brown the meatballs briefly on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate and set to one side.
  4. For the sauce, add the onion to the tagine or pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook gently for ten minutes until very soft and just beginning to brown. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and leave to simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until well concentrated in flavour but not too thick. Season well with salt to taste.
  5. Return the meatballs to the sauce and mix together. Transfer to a shallow ovenproof dish if you have prepared the sauce in a frying pan, otherwise leave the mixture in the tagine. Make four slight dips in the mixture and break an egg into each one. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the eggs are just set.
  6. Scatter with the chopped coriander and serve with warm flatbread
 

Baked Biryani Chicken March 26, 2011

Filed under: Chicken,Curries,Rice and Grains — delishuss @ 10:11 pm
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I got this recipe believe it or not from an Aviva health insurance magazine. The method states that you should cook the rice in the oven. I found that it took much longer than was suggested in the recipe, so when I try it again I will probably par-boil the rice while getting the rest underway. I also made a few additions to the recipe, so here’s my version below.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, sliced

2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp of fresh ginger

1 chilli, finely sliced

4 cardamon pods

650ml chicken stock

1 pepper, chopped

200g frozen-mixed veg

300g basmati rice

4tbs chopped coriander (2 for cooking and 2 for serving)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190/gas mark 5.
  2. Put the rice on to boil.
  3. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the chicken and fry until golden brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside in a caserole dish.
  4. Add the onion and cook gently for about five minutes. Stir in the garlic, garam masala, ginger, chilli, turmeric, and cardamon pods. Drain the par-boiled rice and add to the spices. Cook for another minute.
  5. Remove from the heat and pour over the chicken.
  6. Fry off the pepper and add to the chicken and rice. Sprinkle over 2 tsp of chopped coriander.
  7. Pour over the stock, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the rice has nearly absorbed all the stock. Uncover and stir in the frozen vegetables, recover and bake for 8-10 minutes, until everything is cooked. Scatter with the remaining chopped coriander.

Fantastic!

 

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.

 



 

 

Grilled Chicken on Herbed Cous Cous June 25, 2010

Filed under: Rice and Grains — delishuss @ 4:04 pm
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Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless

2 tbsp clear honey

Juice of 3 limes

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp paprika

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

175g couscous

1 tbsp olive oil

6 tbsp fresh herbs (e.g. parsley, chives, mint and coriander, chopped)

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl with the honey, lime juice, Dijon mustard and paprika. Season well and allow to marinade for at least 15 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the couscous by placing in a bowl and pouring over 250ml boiling water and the olive oil. Cover and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes, fluffing the grains with a fork halfway through. Add the chopped herbs, tomatoes and the lemon juice. Season well and set aside.
  3. Place chicken on a grill rack under a medium-hot grill and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until it’s cooked. Serve chicken immediately with couscous.
 

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

Filed under: Rice and Grains — delishuss @ 8:40 am
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Serves 3 people

Ingredients

2 tblsp of olive oil

1 butternut squash- peeled and chopped

1 onion

1 stock cube

2 pints of boiling water1 clove of garlic

150g of risotto rice

3 tblsp of balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

75g of low fat garlic and herb cream cheese (Philadelphia extra light is good)

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Add the butternut squash to a baking tray and mix add in 1 tblsp of oil and the balsamic vinegar. Cook in the oven for about 45 mins until soft and turning black. The butternut squash could alternatively be par-cooked in the microwave and then cook in the oven for the remainder to char them.
  2. Meanwhile, fry off the onion for about 3 mins in the remaining olive oil, add in the garlic and fry for another 2. Remove from Pan.
  3. Add in the rice and fry for 4- 5 mins, re-add the onions and garlic and cooked butternut squash.
  4. Melt the stock cube in boiling water and add enough water to cover the rice. Keep re-adding the stock when the water runs low and cook rice until al dente.
  5. Stir in the cream cheese.
  6. Check for seasoning, there tends to be a lot of salt in the cream cheese and stock so you may not need to add any additional salt.