MOROCCAN LAMB HARISSA TACOS

KAPOW is the punch you get from this gorgeous Moroccan spiced lamb with a hell of kick from the hot harissa paste, comforted by the cool crispy salad and lead into a false sense of security by the garlic mayo with its hidden layer of habanero sauce!

I like to serve all the ingredients in separate bowls to create that wonderful sharing atmosphere which makes conversation over food.

INGREDIENTS

(serves 4/2 tacos each)

FOR THE LAMB

2 lamb loin fillets

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp rosemary 

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper 

crispy iceberg shredded

1 spanish onion sliced

habanero hot sauce

1 clove garlic grated

mayonaise

FOR THE WRAP

500g 00 pasta flour

10g salt

15g dried yeast

50g olive oil

320ml water

SALSA

6 tomatoes chopped

1 small bunch coriander

1 fresh chilli chopped

1 clove garlic grated

1/2 juice lemon

1 tsp salt

1 small onion finely chopped

FOR THE HARISSA PASTE

(you can buy this from the deli)

6 fresh tomatoes

4 habaneros (scotch bonnets)

1 tsp rose water

2 shallots

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

2 cloves garlic

 small pinch salt

glug of olive oil

First make the dough, this can be done up to 24hrs in advance or 1 hr before needed, if making in advance pop the dough covered in the fridge to slowly prove min 12hrs, if making as needed leave on the side at room temperature for 1-3hrs.  Place all the ingredients in a bowl and bring together, knead for around 5 minutes, you don't need to add any extra flour, when the dough becomes springy and not sticky shape into a ball, cover and leave to prove.  When ready if using from the fridge divide the dough into 8 and rest for 30 minutes, if from room temperature you can use straight away, roll out into taco disks around the thickness of a pound.  To cook heat a non stick frying pan to a medium high heat and cook for 2 minutes on each side until all puffed up.  Wrap up in a tea towel to keep warm.

Marinate the lamb by mixing all the spices together and rubbing all over the lamb, drizzle with olive oil.  I like to leave the lamb for a few hours, but 30 minutes will be fine. 

Make the salsa by mixing all the ingredients together, season to taste. Mix the hot habanero sauce with the mayonnaise and grated garlic for drizzling or spooning on your taco.  Shred the iceberg lettuce and finely slice the onion and place in bowls for sharing.

 To make the harissa paste skin the tomatoes by putting them in a pan of boiling water for 60 seconds, scoop them out and peel off the skins, next de-seed the chillies and finely chop.  Place a non stick pan on a medium heat and gently toast the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds.  Place the skinned tomatoes, chillies, toasted spices, garlic, salt and shallots into a food processor and blitz until smooth(ish), tip out into a saucepan and simmer until reduced to a medium thickness.  You can keep this paste for months, heat a small jam jar in the oven for 5 minutes until hot, remove and add the harissa paste, pour over a good covering of olive oil and pop the cap, once opened keep in the fridge. 

Lastly cook the lamb, heat a non stick frying pan to a medium high heat and sear the lamb loins for 2 minutes on each side for rare, 3 minutes for medium/rare, leave to rest for 5 minutes wrapped in tin foil to keep warm, slice on the diagonal and serve so that you can load your warm taco bread with salsa, harissa paste, crispy salad, onion, and lots of habanero garlic mayonnaise, then enjoy.

JAM ROLY POLY

Glorious Sunday treat, this light fluffy suet pudding is a delight to eat and made with wonderful childhood memories of old fashioned Sundays centred around the roast dinner and family.

INGREDIENTS

250g supreme self raising flour

125g atora suet

90g caster sugar

pinch of salt

water

4 tbsp raspberry jam

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees and place a roasting tin full of water on the bottom shelf.  Place a baking tray on top.  Place a large sheet of tin foil on the side with a sheet of baking paper on top.

Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add approx 100ml of water, add more if needed, mix together to form a soft ball of dough.  You want the dough to just come together, not to be sticky.  Dust with flour and roll out to a rectangle around the thickness of a pound coin.

Spread the jam over the rectangle, leaving a two inch gap on one side, brush this side with water, starting with the jam side roll the pudding up into a long sausage, placing the jam free seam on the bottom of the roll, seal the two ends.  Gently lift the roly poly and place on your baking paper, roll up semi loosely, to allow expansion space and twist the ends like a giant cracker, pop onto the tray in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.  Unwrap and your roly poly should be light and springy to touch and have a golden brown colour.

For the very best eat immediately with lots of warm custard and a extra drizzle of raspberry jam

BEST EVER MARINATED LAMB KEBABS WITH HARISSA STUFFED IN HOMEMADE FLATBREADS

Outstanding gorgeous face stuffing, lip smacking, marinated lamb kebabs.  Oh boy these are going to be a firm family favourite, I now know that we will never need a takeaway again, there is no going back from this fabulous kebab and what's more it was super quick to make.

INGREDIENTS

(makes 2)

2 lamb loins

FOR THE OLIVE OIL FLAT BREADS

(makes 4 breads)

500g 00 pizza flour

30g fine semolina

10g salt

15g dried yeast

50g olive oil

320ml water

FOR THE MARINADE

Drizzle of olive oil

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp garam masala or curry powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp rosemary chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 clove garlic grated

FOR THE FRESH SALSA

3 spring onions chopped

8 baby plum tomatoes diced

1 small yellow pepper diced

1 clove garlic grated

1 small bunch coriander

squeeze of lime

TOPPINGS

crisp ice berg lettuce

1 onion sliced

HOT HARISSA MAYO

(mix all the ingredients together)

4 tbsp mayo

1 clove garlic grated

1 tbsp habanero sauce

2 tsp harissa paste

I make the dough for the flat breads up to 48hrs in advance and leave covered to prove in the fridge, this is how the best Italian restaurants work with their dough as it gives you a slower prove which gives a better finish to the crust and you have outstanding quality and control.  Place all the dry ingredients for the dough in a bowl with a well in the centre, add the water and mix well, knead for approx 5 minutes and then divide into four, dust with a little flour and place covered in your fridge, the dough will be ready after 12hrs, if you want to use the dough the same day just leave the dough in a warm place covered for 1 hour then it is ready to roll out into large circles.  To cook the wraps heat a dry non stick frying pan to a medium high heat and cook for approx 2 minutes each side until a few golden patches appear.  To keep warm while you cook the lamb, lay the flat bread out on a tea towel and roll up the tea towel with the bread this will keep the flat bread warm and at stop the bread from cracking as it cools down.

Rub the lamb loins with all the dry ingredients and sprinkle over the garlic, leave to marinate for minimum of half an hour, this is something you can do earlier in the day and will deepen the flavour further.  Next make the salsa, add the chopped spring onions, tomatoes, yellow pepper, coriander, garlic and lime together, season with salt and black pepper. For the hot harissa mayo mix all four ingredients together.

To cook the lamb, heat your non stick frying pan to a medium high heat, drizzle a little olive oil over the loins and sear in the pan, you want to catch the spices a little so that they just blacken, this will add a gorgeous depth of flavour to your meat and spices, cook for one and a half minutes on each side for pink, cover and leave to rest for 5 minutes while you assemble your flat bread.

Take your flat bread and load with the crisp salad, fresh salsa, drizzle over some of the harissa mayo, then slice the rested lamb on the diagonal and load onto your flat bread, I like to add another layer of harissa mayo and salsa, then roll over your wrap and this is best eaten in private, where you can just stuff it in your face and love every mouthful.

SWEET BBQ PORK BURRITO

Fabulous, another great dinner from leftover roast pork and very little effort to turn this into a great and gorgeous burrito, there is something very satisfying about wrapping all the parts of your dinner up in a parcel that will give each mouthful a vibrant punch of all the flavours.  I really love the sweet flavour of the BBQ pork, the crunch from fresh vibrant salsa and salad along with a hit of creaminess from the guacamole, hot habanero sauce and a cool calm burst from the sour cream and rice.

This looks like a lot of effort and ingredients, but it's really not and each stage is really quick to prepare, in fact the whole meal should not take more than 15-20 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

TORTILLA WRAP

(makes 4)

125g plain flour

2 tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

150ml water

400g Left over roast pork

1 bottle BBQ sauce

(to make a quick BBQ sauce)

200ml tomato ketchup

70g soft dark brown sugar

(heat both together stir until sugar dissolved)

1 tin of mix beans

SALSA

2 tomatoes finely chopped

2 spring onions sliced

1 green pepper finely chopped

2 tbsp chopped coriander

squeeze of lemon juice

Salt and pepper

GUACAMOLE

2 avocados 

1 clove of garlic grated

squeeze of lemon juice

pinch of salt and pepper

1/2 red pepper finely diced

iceberg lettuce

200ml sour cream

1 large mug of rice

KICKING ENCHILADA SAUCE

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp flour

3 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cumin powder

400ml chicken stock

First make the tortilla wraps, mix all the ingredients together and knead for 5 minutes, roll into four balls, cover with a cloth and leave to one side until needed.

Next make the salsa and guacamole, for the salsa mix all the ingredients, seasons with salt, pepper and lemon juice.  For the guacamole mash the avocado with the garlic, mix in the pepper then season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.  Keep covered until needed.

For the rice, pour the mug of rice into a deep lidded saucepan with two more mugs of water, don't be tempted to stir, place the lid on and bring up to a simmer for 6 minutes, then turn off the heat, don't be tempted to lift the lid, leave on the side for 8-10 minutes, then you will have perfectly cooked rice.

Now for the hot kicking enchilada sauce in a saucepan mix the oil and flour together to make the roux, cook on a low heat for a couple of minutes.  Add all the dry ingredients to the roux and stir in then add the chicken stock and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened, gently simmer for five minutes.  Just a warning I found this enchilada sauce hot hot hot.

For the sweet BBQ pork, heat the BBQ sauce in a saucepan until simmering, shred the leftover roast pork and mix in the BBQ sauce, heat until piping hot.

Heat a non stick frying pan, take the tortilla dough balls dust your work top with a little flour and roll out in a circle to the thickness of a wrap, dry pan fry for approx three minutes until golden brown patches appear, wrap in a tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest then load up your tortilla with the BBQ pork, mixed beans, salsa, rice, salad, enchilada sauce and sour cream.

STEAK AND GUINNESS MARRIAGE PROPOSAL SLOW COOKED PIE

BRITISH PIE WEEK
STEAK AND GUINNESS SLOW BRAISED PIE FILLING WITH THE MOST OUTSTANDING MARRIAGE PROPOSAL AWARD WINNING  SUET CRUST PASTRY

Happy Valentines, this recipe is very dear to me, firstly it is my most top favorite dinner that my Nan used to make for me, since I was a toddler, the memories start with the original recipe comes from my Nan, and Nan got it from her mum, it is one of those wonderful recipes of history, I do not know if my Great Granny Rebbeca got this recipe from her mum but I do know my Nan was a great cook who moved with the times hence the curry powder, I won't tell you about Nan's experimental Malibu roast chicken though!

Nan did not make this as a pie, we had this a braised dish with the most creamy mashed potato that Nan always put a hint of vinegar in.  The very special part of this dinner was my Nan's brown 1950's tea mug that she filled with extra braised gravy stock for me to drink with my meal, I always eat this meal with a spoon, this is so I can get the maximum amount in my mouth each time!  Wonderful memories every mouthful :-)

The next is memories of growing up in a rural, local village pub which my parents sourced and served outstanding honest food, this was my parents top selling dish as a pie or pudding and it is still my mums number one dinner!  

The most recent reason (1991), is when I was 18yrs old I made this dish for my now husband as this pie, this was a deal sealer and resulted in a proposal of marriage, 23 yrs later this is still my husbands and my favourite dinner, with or without the unbelivevable suet pastry.

INGREDIENTS

I always make extra for leftovers and if your are putting the time in to slow cook, always make extra as this is not only time efficient but also cost effective.

(makes 10 portions)

1 kg chuck/braising steak 2" square chunks

700g trimmed weight lambs kidney rough chopped (optional)

2 onions finely chopped

2 sticks celery fine chopped

2 carrots finely chopped

1 glug of ooil

knob of butter

500g rich beef stock

4 cans of Guinness 

1 tsp salt and black pepper

2 tbsp mustard powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp curry powder

4 bay leaves

2 tbsp ground black pepper

FOR THE BEST EVER SUET CRUST PASTRY

(This makes 2 pie top crusts)

330g supreme self raising flour

100g cold butter grated

130g atora suet

Water as needed (150ml+)

1 tsp salt and white pepper 

Make the pastry first so that it can rest in the fridge.  Place all the ingredients except the water in a large bowl and very gently mix, you do not want to over work the mix as this will make it rubbery, and this pastry is the best ever because it is light and crispy with a flakey texture finished off with a hint of almost dumpling texture underneath, that soaks up the gorgeous braise stake gravy.  Add the water a glug at a time probably 150ml ish and just crush the pastry mix together, wrap in paper and plonk in the fridge until needed.  

FOR THE PIE / BRAISED STEAK FILLING

Heat a deep casserole dish on the stove and melt the butter and ooil, gently fry the onion, celery and carrot until soft, add the diced beef and brown all over.  Add the stock and Guinness to the pan and bring to a gently simmer, add the kidneys and stir in well, then add all the seasoning from the mustard powder to the black pepper.

Bring back up to a gently simmer and pop a lid on, keep the heat ticking over for around 3-4 hrs until the beef falls apart when you touch it.  Lesson learned you can not rush this recipe in a pressure cooker!!!

Once the beef is cooked you may or may not need to thicken the stock, I struggle with this but I do use a roux and cook it out for approx 20 minutes, I take equal quantities, approx 50g of butter and supreme sponge flour melted together.  I spoon half in to my mix and cook out this is generally enough to slightly thicken the stock gravy enough for the pie filling.

Roll out your pastry for the lid, fill your pie baking dish with the gorgeous braised steak Guinness pie filling, egg wash the top of the pie dish, pop on the suet pie crust lid, crimp the sides and egg wash the top, I always love to decorate the top of my pies with a hint of personality, egg ash and bake I a pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and hopefully some of the juices have oozed out over the parts of the pastry and created a rich chewy beef braised crust.  

Serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables or mashed potatoes or own it's own.  

BEEF BEER POTATO CAKE

Left over mince and onion pie filling turned into a quick light supper with the help of some beaten egg, breadcrumbs and seasoned mashed potatoes.  A glorious crispy potato cake filled with hot rich beer braised mince, drizzled with a hint of hot home made sweet chilli sauce and served on a bed of watercress with asparagus tossed in a hint of butter.  

INGREDIENTS

Left over mince and onion pie filling or

glug of ooil

knob of butter and glug of oil

500g beef mince

300g onion chopped

300ml rich beef stock

1 can guinness

salt and pepper

600g mashed potatoes seasoned

ooil

2 eggs beaten

300g breadcrumbs

100g plain flour seasoned

water cress salad

sweet chilli sauce

green vegetables, asparagus, broccoli etc

If you are making these from scratch and not using left over mince pie filling, or why not double the quantities for the mince filling and make the plate pie as your left overs?  Heat the ooil in a non stick pan and brown off the mince, place in a colander to drain, add the butter and ooil to the pan and gently soften the onions, add back the mince with the stock and guinness and cook for approx one hour until reduced down with very little liquid, taste and season if needed.  Leave to cool before using.

Divide the mashed potato's into four, using a small tea cup line with clingfilm place the mashed potato into the cup and using the back of a spoon push the mash to the sides and up the cup making a well in the centre as you do this, place some of the mince in the centre and then cover the top with the mashed potato, twist the cling film to seal on top of the cup and then pull up removing the mash from the cup, you now have a mash stuffed cake, pop in the fridge to chill.  Once chilled un-wrap and very gently press down a lillte to make a more even shape.

Pre-heat your oven 180 degrees.  Line up three bowls and place the beaten eggs, breadcrumbs and flour each in their own bowl.  Gently dust the potato cake in the flour then dredge in the beaten egg and finally roll in the breadcrumbs and cover all over.  In a non stick pan gently pan fry until golden brown, turning over only once.  Then pop in the oven for a further 10minutes at 180 degrees.  Serve with watercress salad and a drizzle of hot sweet chilli sauce and green vegetables.

BEST EVER MINCE ONION AND GUINNESS PLATE PIE

Glorious simple yet sumptuous rich braised mince and onion pie, the ratio of onion to mince is important to the pie and the added flavour of rich beef and Guinness stock just lifts this pie to the level that means you will need to make more than you need because you'll just have to go back to the fridge for that extra naughty mouthful or two later in the evening.  Opening my fridge door after 11pm, which happens often makes me laugh as when I look at a slice of left over pie my husbands teeth marks minus a bite are often what's left! 

When it comes to cooking a good tip is if you are using energy then cook a little more than you need so that the work and energy cost make two or three meals for your family that need just a hint or twist to make them into other meals for the week with minimal effort.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 4-6 + leftovers for 4 ptns mince and onion *potato cakes)

1 glug of ooil

1kg ground chuck steak

500g onions finely chopped

1 tbsp butter and ooil

2 cloves garlic grated

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

5 sprigs of thyme no stalks

2 cans of Guinness

250ml rich beef stock

50g butter melted

50g flour

Mashed potato to serve 8

*(2 ptns for left over mince potato cakes)

PASTRY

450g plain flour

120g butter

180g lard or suet

1 tsp salt

150+ml cold water

First make the pastry, rub the flour, salt, lard and butter together to form rough breadcrumbs, add the water and bring together as a rough ball.  Press slightly flat and wrap in grease proof paper and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, pan fry the chuck steak in the dash of oil until browned all over, drain in a sieve and leave to one side.  Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan and gently cook the onions until soft, add a pinch of sugar, the thyme and garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes.  Add the Guinness and stock and bring to a gentle simmer for about one hour.

Mix the melted butter and flour together this is your thickening roux, if you need to thicken the mince add a tbsp at a time and cook out the roux for approx 5 minutes until you have the thickness required for your pie, I like to keep my mince quite loose as I like the gravy to ooze out of the pie and all over my mashed potato.  Leave the mince to cool before filling the pastry case.

Roll out your pastry nice and thin, cut out the base and lid, line your pie plate or shallow tin and add the mince filling, egg wash the rim and pop on the lid, crimp the sides, egg wash the top of the pie and bake for approx 30-40 minutes until golden brown, you kinda want the odd hole to pop open so that some of the lovely meaty juices flow out and caramelise on top of the pie while it is baking adding a gorgeous meaty crispy flavour to parts of the pastry.

AWESOME ENCHILADA SAUCE

KICKING HOT SAUCE

This is one hell of a insane hot lip smacking hot hot hot enchilada sauce.  Sometimes I can't actually face this sauce, in fact I am sure this sauce should come with a side of pepto bismol !  So what I do is add  several desert spoons of this kicking sauce to a batch of mild tomato sauce to va va voom it up and that is still a little over my comfort zone!

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE HOT KICKING ENCHILADA SAUCE

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp flour

3 tbsp hot chilli powder

(on reflection maybe mild!)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano or thyme

1/2 tsp salt

400ml chicken stock

Heat the oil and add the flour and gently cook out for a few minutes, add all the dry ingredients mix well and then add the chicken stock, using a whisk to ensure no lumps, bring to a simmer and cook for around 15 minutes on a gently simmer. 

This sauce base is a fabulous punch of heat and flavour for lots of dishes, I will admit to finding it too hot on  it's own for my burritos, but used as a accompaniment it has a wonderful variation of uses, a hint there and a dollop in mayo there will give you a great use for this sauce.

FOR THE MILD TOMATO ENCHILADA SAUCE

 1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 onion finely diced

dash of ooil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch of salt and white pepper

dollop of concentrated chicken stock (knorr)

4-6 tbsp of the kicking hot enchilada sauce

(or as much as you like)

Place the ooil in a pan and gently soften the onions, add the garlic powder, tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes, using a potato masher crush the tomatoes and onion in the pan to a smooth pulp, add the chicken stock and hot kicking enchilada sauce, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

ROAST CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM PIE

Wonderfully satisfying simple left over roast chicken pie, throw in some mushrooms give it a boost with chorizo, bacon and asparagus in a light stock and white wine sauce.  What is wonderful about this dinner from your left over roast is you do not need as much chicken as you think, I used approx 300g+ for this large pie which would feed a family of four comfortably.

INGREDIENTS

PASTRY

900g plain flour

200g butter or stork

220g lard

10g salt

360ml cold water

PIE FILLING

(300g)+ Left over roast chicken

1 knob of butter

1 glug of ooil 

50g chorizo

6 streaky rashers of bacon

200g+ mushrooms roughly chopped

6 stems of asparagus chopped

SAUCE

50g butter

50g flour

200ml white wine

500ml chicken stock

100ml double cream

Salt and pepper

First make your pastry, put the flour, salt lard and butter in a large bowl and roughly rub or cut in, add the water and just bring together, you don't want to over work the pastry.  Wrap and leave to relax in the fridge for half an hour.  Roll out the base and pie lid quite thin and line the base of your pie tin.  Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees.  If you don't want to cook the pie straight away, don't egg wash and pop in the fridge covered in cling film until needed.

In a non stick pan melt the butter and ooil pan fry the mushrooms for 5 minutes, add the chorizo for 3 minutes, chorizo is loaded with gorgeous smoked paprika oils and will ooze out lots, this adds a lovely flavour to your sauce, then add the bacon and asparagus and cook for a further 5 minutes, remove from the heat and toss in the roast chicken, leave to cool slightly. 

To make the sauce melt the butter in a pan, add the flour, stir well and gently cook out the flour for a couple of minutes add the white wine and whisk in well to avoids any lumps, once smooth and just back up to a simmer start adding the chicken stock a ladle at a time until you have a medium thick sauce, then add the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Add the chicken meat filling to the sauce and fold in, pour into the pie tin, egg wash the rim of the pastry and pop on the pie lid, crimping the edges to seal the filling in.  Egg wash the top and pop in your pre-heated oven for approx 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

PIRI PIRI ROAST CHICKEN AND LEFTOVERS

Hot and spicy succulent Piri Piri rubbed chicken, this is a great way to pep up your standard roast chicken, the hot hot crispy skin and juicy chicken are great served with garlic roast potatoes, for me the best mini roast potatoes are the crispy tops with soft squidgy bottoms that have soaked up all the chicken juices in the pan topped of with lots of nutty crispy shards of roasted garlic.  This dinner has to have a side of Piri Piri mayonnaise.

LEFTOVERS MARVELLOUS LEFTOVERS

This is the first stage to several more dinners for the family (4) just from this one bird.  We will be having Piri Piri stuffed tacos, chicken and salad wraps, chicken and mushroom pie, chicken stir fry rice and vegetables and finally ramen or Thai laksa with stock from the bones.  Having a few standard staples in your larder (on next blog page), can make your food go so much further.  Using shreds of meat as a seasoning in dishes like stir fry or ramen makes more of your food, and you don't even know you had half the amount!

INGREDIENTS

1 organic free range chicken 1.5kg 

(I find this bird goes further than the cheaper alternative)

1 bottle nandos hot Piri Piri sauce (optional) 

1 tbsp sea salt

2 tbsp Piri Piri spice

PIRI PIRI SPICE MIX

6 fresh chillies chopped

2tbsp dried chillies

4 cloves of garlic grated

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

GARLIC ROAST POTATOES

1 blub garlic rough chopped

6 King Edward potatoes diced

So simple, take your whole chicken, un-teather and squash flat, sprinkle with salt and then rub all over with your choice of hot sauce inside and out,  sprinkle over the Piri Piri spice, bang in the oven 200 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes.  At 40 minutes throw in the diced raw potatoes, toss in the rendered chicken cooking fat, be mindful if the chicken needs a covering of tin foil to stop the spices catching and pop,back in the oven for 20 minutes, for the last 10 minutes of cooking sprinkle over the chopped garlic and roast.

This is a really gorgeous and simple roast with so much more to offer.

DINNER No 2

PIRI PIRI CHICKEN CHORIZO AND LIME TACOS

DINNER No 3

ROAST CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM PIE

DINNER No 4

THAI COCONUT AND LIME LAKSA

Full recipes on blog.

PIRI PIRI CHICKEN AND CHORIZO LIME TACOS

Fabulous dinner no.3 from our Sunday roasted Piri Piri chicken, with a smattering of crispy chorizo this adds a whole new spin on the chicken.  Fresh made white corn tacos stuffed with tomato,chilli and lime salsa, chicken, chorizo and garlic home fries topped off with slices of avocado and drizzled with sour cream.

INGREDIENTS

(makes 16)

LIME TACOS

2 cup of Maseca white corn flour

(available in store or on line)

1 1/2 cup of water

pinch of salt

juice of one lime optional

Very simple mix all the ingredients together and bring to a ball, pull off a golf ball size of dough and roll into a ball, place in your tortilla press if using or cover with cling film and roll out a disk approx 6" wide.  On a hot comel or dry pan cook the tacos for approx 30-60 seconds each side.  Keep warm wrapped in a tea-towel.

INGREDIENTS

(serves 4)

300g leftover roast chicken

leftover garlic home fries

50g chorizo diced

2 cloves garlic chopped

ACCOMPANIMENTS

8 cherry tomatoes diced

1 small pepper diced

2 red chillies sliced

1 onion diced

2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 lime juiced

salt and pepper

1 pot sour cream

1 avocado sliced

To make the salsa mix the tomatoes, pepper, chilli, onion, season with salt and pepper, add the lime juice and finish off with a sprinkle of coriander on top.  This is such a quick dinner, even making the tacos only takes a few minutes.

In a non stick pan fry the chorizo, there is no need to add oil as the chorizo will ooze lots of gorgeous paprika oils into the pan, this is what the chicken and potatoes will soak up while they warm up in the pan, throw in some extra chopped garlic with the chicken and potatoes, you are ready to serve once your leftovers are piping hot all the way through.

THAI CHICKEN AND COCONUT LAKSA

Another fabulous free dinner from my left over Piri Piri roast chicken, (meal no 2), this is a gorgeous warming of the soul dish that hits all the wonderful happy giving food notes, hot, sweet, sour, rich and full of vitality, a bowl of abundant sunshine, every time I have this dish or a version of this dish I feel so replenished and know that I have loved my body and sung opera to my taste buds.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 6)

2-3 ltrs chicken stock from roast chicken

(Carrot, leek, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, seasoning)

2 clove garlic grated

1 thumb size ginger grated

2 fresh chillies sliced

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 can coconut milk (half fat)

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp smooth peanut butter

1 small bunch fresh coriander chopped

 1 tbsp soy sauce

1 lime juiced

2 packs (6 ptns) buckwheat noodles

1 bunch asparagus diced

1 bunch broccoli florets

3 spring onions fine sliced

CHICKEN STOCK

(4 knorr jelly stock pots with 2 ltr of water instead)

After removing all the meat from your left over roast chicken, place the bones in a deep sauce pan or pressure cooker along with some carrots, onions, celery, leek, a few peppercorns and 3 litres of water, simmer for 30 minutes in a pressure cooker or a couple of hours in a deep saucepan.  Drain through a sieve and leave the stock to cool, I like to skim off the fat at this point.  This is your stock.

First bring a pan of water to a rolling boil, add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes, drain and refresh in cold water for a moment, place a portion of noodles in each of your serving bowls and sprinkle with the spring onions.

Bring the chicken stock up to a gentle simmer, add the broccoli, asparagus, turmeric, fish sauce, ginger, chilli, garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, coconut milk and coriander.  Ladle the gorgeous sunshine stock over your noodle filled bowl.  Ta-da a gorgeous dinner.  This is a truly sumptuous diner in minutes that deserves so much more attention.

PEKING DUCK WITH PANCAKES AND PLUM SAUCE

Crispy succulent aromatic duck, this can be so easily cooked at home.  Traditional preperations for cooking Peking Duck are very important to the Chinese with air drying the duck before roasting and most importantly separating the skin from the meat by either pumping air between, sometimes with a bicycle pump, or as I saw on the cooking channel yesterday by a chef blowing the skin off the duck meat with his mouth, the reason for this is to allow the fat to render down away from the skin, this in turn gives you really crispy duck skin.

You don't really need to do all this to enjoy this dish at home, this method will give you succulent melt in the mouth duck with super aromatic crispy skin to enjoy wrapped in a pancake with home made plum sauce, spring onions and cucumber.

INGREDIENTS

1whole duck

ground five spice

sea salt

1 pack pancakes

PLUM SAUCE

10 whole plums de-stoned

80g sugar

1/2 tsp five spice

1/2 tsp chilli powder

Zest of one orange

Juice of 1orange

2 tbsp soy sauce

Rub the beautiful duck all over and in the cavity generously with lots of salt and then dust with the five spice powder.  Place in your pre-heated oven 170 degrees, I like to put the duck on the wire shelf in the oven with a tray lower down to catch the rendered duck fat, remove this periodically to stop the fat smoking in the oven, de-canter into a sterilized glass jar and keep in the fridge to use when you next roast potatoes, gorgeous.

Cook for around 2 hours until the meat just falls of the leg bone.  You can serve this duck whole at the table family style where everyone just forks in or you can remove the breasts whole and then carve them, with the rest of the meat from the duck shred and place on the side.  I reserve this duck meat for stir frys and other meals.  To cook the pancakes, place the raw pancakes as a stack in a steamer and cook for approx 3-5minutes, they are quite delicate so be gentle handling them, wrap in a warm tea towel or bamboo steamer if you have one.

THE PLUM SAUCE

Meanwhile while the duck is cooking, make the plum sauce, place the plums in a pan with the sugar, orange juice, zest, five spice, chilli and soy sauce, gently simmer until pulpy, adjust seasoning to taste.  I like to pick out the skins at this point, place in a bowl or jar and leave to cool.

This is such a gorgeous sumptuous family sharing dish, my only advice is double up on dips, pancakes and spring onions so that there is less of crossing over hands while everyone tries to dive in on the duck and plum sauce as fast as possible !