Cheat’s Lobster Macaroni Cheese

500 g macaroni

25 g butter, plus extra to grease

25 g cornflour

125 ml semi-skimmed milk

100 ml white wine

400 g tin lobster bisque

1/2tsp salt

200g grated mozzarella and cheddar mix

125 g cooked king prawns, roughly chopped

⁃ Cook your pasta according to instructions.

⁃ In a saucepan melt your butter, add the cornflour and whisk to remove lumps.

⁃ Add the milk and whisk to combine.

⁃ Add the wine and lobster bisque, stir and then heat until the sauce starts to thicken.

⁃ Add the salt and half of the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted through and the sauce smooth.

⁃ Heat the oven to ~ 180°C (or use your grill if you prefer)

⁃ Combine the cooked pasta with the sauce.

⁃ Pour into a greased oven dish.

⁃ Scatter the remaining cheese and the chopped prawns on top.

⁃ Heat in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling on top.

⁃ Serve.

Advertisement

Beef Brisket Slow Cooker Stew

This is one of those vague “feel it in your heart” type recipes. Just dump it all in, go to work and come back to magic!

• Beef brisket (whatever size will fit in your slow cooker/be appropriate portions)

• Baby new potatoes, quartered

• Carrots, cut into chunks

• 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 beef stock cube

• 500ml hot water

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1/2 cup red wine

– Put everything in your slow cooker. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.

– Add dumplings (see parmesan dumplings previous recipe) 2 hours before serving.

– Shred the beef before serving. It may be easiest for you to lift it out, shred it and put it back in for serving.

Parmesan Dumplings

Parmesan dumplings are my new favourite comfort carb. They go well with anything, tomato based or traditional stock based stew. They work great in the slow cooker or in the oven. They’re fantastic!

Makes 8 dumplings

80g unsalted butter

150g self raising flour

1/2tsp salt

50g parmesan + extra for sprinkling

2 tsp parsley

50ml milk

– Rub together the butter, flour and salt.

– Add the parmesan and parsley and mix.

– Add the milk and bring together to form a soft dough.

– Divide into 8 and add to the top of your stew.

– Cook for 2 hours if in the slow cooker, 30 minutes if in the oven.

Easy Paella Recipe

When I saw these langoustines in the fishmonger yesterday I knew a special meal was needed!

I’ve never made paella before but I’ve eaten it plenty of times. I was a little nervous going all in on a recipe I’ve never experimented with before (langoustines aren’t cheap!) but I didn’t need to worry, it was amazing and so delicious!

Serves 4

125g chorizo, sliced

4 large chicken thighs, skin on (or 8 small ones)

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 red pepper, diced

250g paella rice (or risotto rice if you can’t get it)

500ml chicken stock

Pinch of saffron

100ml white wine

400g tin chopped tomatoes

150g king prawns

Handful of frozen peas

Salt and pepper to taste

4 cooked langoustines

Lemon wedges

– Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy pan with a lid.

– Add the chorizo and cook for 3 minutes.

– Remove the chorizo from the oil (which should now be a lovely colour) and place in a bowl to the side.

– Add the chicken thighs and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes each side with the pan lid on.

– Remove the chicken thighs and place in the bowl with the chorizo.

– Add the garlic, red pepper and rice and stir well until the rice is well coated.

-Add the stock, saffron, wine and tinned tomatoes. Stir well.

– Add the chicken thighs and chorizo back into the pan and simmer on a low heat with the lid on for 10 minutes.

– Add the prawns and peas and mix through gently. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

– Add the langoustines on top and replace the lid. Simmer for 10 more minutes.

– Leave to sit with the heat off and the lid on for 5 more minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

Tori Karaage (Japanese fried Chicken)

Super quick and simple to make this Japanese Tori Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) really hits the spot! You can add garlic and ginger to the marinade if you like for a little extra flavour but I don’t usually. For authenticity make sure you’re eating it with Kewpie mayonnaise!

Chicken breast (or thigh) chopped into bite size chunks

1 tbsp cooking sake

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp corn flour

Large pinch of salt

– Marinate the chicken in the sake and soy sauce (optional: garlic and ginger pastes) for at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight in the fridge.

– Heat a pan of oil to 180°

– Drain any excess liquid from the chicken.

– Add the corn flour and salt and mix so the chicken is well coated.

– Drop into the hot oil a piece at a time, cook in batches if necessary so it’s not crowded.

– Cook for 3 minutes until golden brown.

– Remove from the oil with chopsticks (or tongs) and place on a sheet of kitchen paper to drain.

– Serve hot or cold with mayonnaise and a lemon wedge squeezed over.

Orzo Cheese

25g butter

Splash of olive oil

250g orzo

2tbsp corn flour

100ml white wine

1 pint milk

1/2tsp salt

90g mature cheddar, grated

1 ball mozzarella, shredded

3tbsp Parmesan, grated

125g lardons (or chopped bacon)

– Heat a large pan and add the butter and oil.

– Add the orzo and stir so it is coated.

– Add the corn flour and stir well.

– Add the white wine, stir.

– Add the milk and salt and bring to a simmering boil.

– After about 5 minutes add the cheeses. Stir well until the cheeses all melt in.

– Simmer on a low heat until all of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is just al dente.

– Turn off the heat and leave to sit for 5 minutes.

– Heat a small pan and add the bacon lardons. Cook until crispy.

– Add the lardons to the orzo and stir in.

– Enjoy!

A pan fried chicken breast makes a great addition to this to make it a bigger meal, you could also add other things to the orzo such as spinach, mushrooms or peas to get a veggie in there.

Orzo with Bacon and Mushrooms

250g orzo pasta

500ml chicken stock

Garlic oil

125g bacon lardons

150g baby button mushrooms

1/2 bag spinach

– Heat a little garlic oil in a large lidded pan.

– Add the lardons and mushrooms and a little salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes.

– And the orzo, stir until mixed evenly and cook for a minute.

– Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil then turn down the heat, add the spinach and put the lid on.

– Simmer for 15 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan.

– Turn off the heat, add a knob of butter, stir and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

– Serve with Parmesan or a poached egg on top.

Easy Christmas Dinner

This is going to be an odd year for many. May be you’re going to be tackling a smaller Christmas Dinner for the first time. May be you’ve decided to go all out now you don’t have to trek round to Auntie Sue’s because it’s “what you always do”! May be you’ve never cooked more than a fried egg but think this is your time to shine!

Whatever your situation, I thought it may be timely to do a little example of how to do a low effort Christmas Dinner as guidance for those that need it. Remember, Christmas Dinner is just a roast dinner but with cranberry sauce and crackers! Don’t let the weight of expectations get you down, this can be as simple or as complicated a meal as you want to make it!

You can look at the Christmas tag for some older recipes and round ups that are more comprehensive but I wanted to highlight some really simple recipes here. Whether you’re on your own or just a smaller family gathering this should hit the spot!

Canapés

We like to have nibbles to tide us over from noon to 3pm when we have our Dinner. If you want to keep it super simple just grab some party food from the freezer section. These days they almost all cook at 180°C for around 15 minutes. Any leftovers are also great for grazing at!

Starter

In my family the Prawn Cocktail is king. (Well, for me it is, mum does try to do fancy smoked salmon thingies!) This is not only traditional but super simple. Finely sliced iceberg lettuce, prawns, cocktail sauce (Iceland’s is my favourite!) and a twist of lemon on top to look fancy. Less than 5 minutes and you’re done!

The Roast

Turkey is, of course, traditional and if you want to keep it super simple I recommend a frozen Turkey crown. They’re about £10 and you can pick one up in almost any supermarket.

However, a large roast chicken will also do very nicely! I love to do a one pot chicken dish where you simply get a Really Big Pot, put in new potatoes in the base, add your chicken (put some herbs, garlic and half a lemon in the cavity), and scatter with bacon lardons. Drizzle with a little olive oil and cook according to the time on the packet (or 25 minutes per lb + 20 minutes in 180°C oven) Add a cup of frozen peas 30 minutes before the end. This also works well in a slow cooker on high for 3 hours if you need the space in the oven or even if you don’t have an oven! You can find the more detailed recipe here.

A roast dinner is all about timing. If you figure out your timings then it’s plain sailing. You can prep all of your veg in advance, even the night before, so all you have to do on the day is put dishes in the oven on time or you can get the roast in and then do your veg prep. I have a post outlining some of the timings for veg here.

For example:

2 hours before: Roast In

45 minutes before: parsnips in (I like them crispy.)

30 minutes before: leeks in cream sauce, stuffing balls & pigs in blankets in

25 minutes before: Brussels sprouts and carrots in steamer on the hob. Check the sprouts after 15 minutes by poking with a sharp knife. They should be soft but not soggy.

Serving Time: Remove the chicken from the pot and place on a serving board. Use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes and peas and bacon. You can make gravy with the juices. I explain how here.

Pudding

Christmas pudding is traditional, easily available from the supermarket, and I hate it. So I have a couple of other seasonal options that you can make the day before:

Clementine Syllabub

Cranberry Fool

Leftovers

If you’re on your own do not let this stop you from having a full roast! The leftovers are the best bit! From this dinner I will be able to make sandwiches, soup, risotto and may be a few other dishes as takes my fancy! I basically won’t have to cook again for the next week, which is exactly how I like it!

Japanese Simmered Pumpkin (Kabocha no nimono)

1/2 Japanese pumpkin (kabocha)

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp soy sauce

– Deseed the pumpkin and roughly peel (leave some bits of peel there). Chop into large chunks.

– Place skin side down in a large pan and just cover with water. Bring to a boil.

– Add the sugar and salt and simmer on a low heat until the liquid is half reduced.

– Add the mirin and soy sauce and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced in half again.

– Either serve warm or leave to cool completely.

Childhood Risotto

Thus named because this is the risotto that we had throughout my childhood in the week following a roast chicken dinner as a good way to use up leftovers… it still is!

Serves 4

3 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
250g arborio rice
150ml white wine

700ml hot chicken stock (make it from the roast chicken carcass if possible)

Leftover cooked chicken (I use the two thighs)

~8 mushrooms, quartered

1 cup frozen peas

100g cold water prawns

1tbsp lemon juice
small knob of butter

– Heat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C.
– Melt the butter, with the olive oil, in a large, deep casserole dish with a lid until just bubbling and foaming.
– Add the garlic and cook on a medium heat for 1 minute.
– Add the rice and cook for about 1 minute, stiring well.
– Add the wine and cook, stiring until the liquid is absorbed.
– Add the hot chicken stock and stir.

– Add the clocked chicken, frozen peas, mushrooms and prawns and give a good stir.

– Add the lemon juice and stir.
– Put the lid on and put the casserole dish and out it in the oven for 35 minutes.

– Remove from the oven give it a good stir and check the rice is to your taste, if it is too al dente (hard) then put it back in for another 5 minutes.

– Add the knob of butter and leave to sit for 5 minutes to melt before storing through and serving.

When I was little I would add soy sauce to it but as I grew older I would add Parmesan and creme fraiche, follow your own taste buds