Nasi Goreng

This is a traditional Indonesian rice dish, which is served for breakfast. It is similar to the Chinese fried rice, but with the addition of a Nasi Goreng paste (obviously). this is a spicy paste made with chilli and garlic. You can make your own and there are loads of recipes available on the Internet, but I bought mine from my my local Thai shop. Cooked rice is fried with the paste and vegetables. I also added chicken, but this is not authentic, but can make it into a more substantial meal. Traditionally it is topped with a fried egg and crispy fried onions, as seen in the picture. Having never been to Indonesia, I can't comment on the authenticity of the dish, but I can categorically state that it is delicious. I often find fried rice to be a bit bland but this is really nice without being too spicy. The paste I used is this one:

 Unfortunately, there are no instructions on the jar, so it's simply a case of trial and error, but simply fried with some cooked rice will also make a tasty quick dinner.

Shin of beef with ginger and soy sauce

This recipe was take form Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Every Day book which can also be found here. It really nice and not too fiery despite the addition of chillies. The long, slow cooking makes the beef meltingly soft and shin of beef is a very economically priced cut which means that this could make a great alternative to a traditional Sunday dinner. I served it here, as suggested by Hugh, with noodles and cavalo nero, but i have served it with rice before which is lovely for soaking up the flavourful sauce.It does take quite a while to cook, but once it's on then it can be left, there is little preparation, especially if you get your butcher to chop the meat for you. this means once it's in the oven (or on the stove on a low heat) you can be doing other things while the gorgeous aromas fill your kitchen.  This has long been an addition to my repertoire and I think that if you try it, it will soon become and addition to yours!!

Pasta in a hurry

The other day it was just me for dinner. I don't mind this usually, but I looked in the fridge, already quite hungry, and with no idea what to cook. I had some mushrooms in there, and some soft cheese (Philadelphia style).  Nigella does a nice looking recipe for this here but it uses raw mushrooms. The thought of this didn't appeal, so I decided on using the soft cheese to make a sort of creamy sauce. This was the result:

It's so simple and easy to make:



Ingredients (for one hungry person)

100g dry lingune (or any other long pasta)

1/2 pack button mushrooms, sliced

2 small garlic cloves, crushed or finley diced.

handful of parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons of soft cheese

tablespoon of veg oil

method:

Put pasta on to boil for the time stated on the pack. Mean while heat the oil in a frying pan, when hot add the crushed garlic cloves and soften. Then add the mushrooms and cook till soft and golden. Add the soft cheese and allow it to melt down to a creamy consitency. Drain the pasta and add to the mushroom mix. stir thoroughly to make sure it's all mixed properly (you may need to add a bit of water to loosen). Add the parsley and season to taste. Serve.



Lentil Ragu

As you may or may not know, I am currently trying to reduce the amount of meat (especially red meat) in my diet. I have stopped short of going vegetarian, but am trying to have at least 4 totally meat free days a week.
Yesterday it was just me eating and I came across  this recipe in an old copy of Good Food Magazine. After reading some of the comments I was a bit apprehensive about trying it, but I though it was really nice. It's easy to prepare; once you have chopped all the ingredients they just go in a pan and are left for about an hour. One thing I did find (as stated in some of the comments) was that this recipe made loads. I halved it, thinking that it would do me yesterday and again today. I was wrong!! This made loads, I now have enough for my dinner today and probably enough for a few more in the freezer. Therefore I would recommend if you're going to make it that you either make sure you have a crowd to feed, or have space in your freezer for the excess. I speak as someone who likes slightly larger portions too.
Good Food recommend that you serve the ragu with pasta- specifically spaghetti. I had mine with linguine, but i think any sort of pasta would work. I'm not sure that I would try it with any other starch though, maybe rice might work. I've  got plenty in the freezer if I want to give it a go.
I topped mine with Parmesan cheese which isn't vegetarian, but any other strong cheese would probably do.

Chocolate Brownies

Those of you who are regular readers will know that I don't often do baking. This is mainly because I don't have the ingredients at home and the fact that I have difficulty following  a recipe to the letter. Indeed when I made these brownies I decided to add a bit of Vanessa. I decided to make these after finding a recipe in a supplement in the Telegraph, but an exact copy of the recipe can be found here. Instead of the white chocolate I added dried sour cherries as I love the combination of chocolate and cherries. I was slightly nervous as I would class myself as a baking novice, but these are incredibly easy if you follow the instructions carefully. The only difference I would make if I made them again is that I might use slightly less strong chocolate- I used one with 85% coco solids instead of the recommended 75%. This doesn't make then bad, it just makes them extremely rich, maybe too rich for some. But I will definitely make them again, probably around Christmas as they are perfect to offer to guests who have just popped in.
I would also add, in the reciepe it states to slice them into 16. I sliced mine into eight, a portion this size was just too big given how rich they are, also when it says leave to cool, as hard as this is to do, make sure that you do leave them to cool, they will taste so much nicer for it.

Elderflower cyder review

When I was in Sainsbury's the other day I noticed that they had elderflower cyder on offer. Loving all things elder flowery I decided that I had to give it a go. The fact that it was on offer too sealed the deal.
It was not like other cyders, which are often very dry or have a cheap, chemical taste. This had a pleasant flavour of elderflower along with a slightly sweet cyder. It was very refreshing (quite good as we recently have had record-breaking weather) and had a clean taste. I had it on its own, but I would think that it would also go well with barbecued foods, if we get the weather for it. I'm not one of these people who only drink cyder when the weather is nice- instead I tend to think of it as a good alternative to wine.  So if it's still on offer (or if I'm feeling flush) then I will definitely buy this again.

Bacon and sweetcorn chowder.

Continuing with my cheap meals theme, yesterday I decided to make a chowder. I don't really like clams so I was quite happy when I came across a clam-less version in an old copy of Sainsbury's magazine. A similar version can be found here. I didn't have any bacon but had half a pack of ready diced pancetta in the fridge so used that instead. Also I added 250g of fresh white fish (on offer in the supermarket) to add a bit of bul and flavour. Beacuse of this i didn't add any stock though. I was worried that it might taste a bit too milky but it was quite a savoury flavour. I used semi-skimmed milk; I think skimmed might be a bit too watery.
I felt that it was enough as a meal on its own but my boyfriend had a mini baguette with his. He also added a bit of Tabasco, but then he does like his food spicy!!!

Here is the final result , I know  it doesn't look that appetising but trust me it is lovely.