JIMICA AND POMEGRANATE SLAW

Light fresh zesty take on the traditional creamy coleslaw, this is a lovely summer slaw made with julienned jimica, broccoli stem, carrots and finely sliced red onion tossed a light olive oil and apple cider vinegar seasoned dressing, finished off with a peppering of pomegranate seeds that add a burst of fragrant sunshine.

Prep time 10 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

1/2 jimica julienned 

1 carrot julienned 

1 red onion finely sliced

1 broccoli stem julienned 

1/2 pomegranate 

110ml cold pressed olive oil

50ml apple cider vinegar

Sea salt

Black pepper

1/2 juice lemon

1 tbsp torn coriander 

In a large bowl mix the jimca, carrot, broccoli and red onion together.  In a glass jug mix the oil and vinegar together, add a tbsp of the lemon juice and season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, taste and adjust if necessary with more oil, lemon or vinegar.

Pour the dressing over the julienned slaw, toss evenly, take the pomegranate half with the cut side facing down over the slaw, using a spoon bash the outside this will allow all the pomegranate seeds to fall out with ease, mix into the slaw, sprinkle over the torn coriander and enjoy.

This is great on its own as a side dish, add spicy chicken to make a great salad, or use as a bed on a stuffed flat bread kebab and is great as a accompaniment for tacos.

MAHI MAHI CHILLI MANGO TACOS

Fabulous zesty fruity spicy tacos, these just punch a gorgeous mouthful of flavour in every bite, I just love tacos they a loaded with all my favourite ingredients this makes them another one of my favourite foods, I admit to having a couple of top fillings, but every now and then I try something new, Mahi Mahi is a meaty fish that I felt could take some zing and zang and it did, the sweet fruity mango and hot chilli pico de gallo really complemented this fish.

Prep time 15 minutes / Cooking time 5-7 minutes

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

(serves 4)

12 white corn masa tacos

16oz Mahi Mahi

1 tbsp coconut oil

Sea salt

Black pepper 

2 green jalapenos sliced

2 red Serrano chillies sliced

1 head of lettuce

1 bunch coriander

1 lime or lemon squeezed

Mango Pico de Gallo

1 ripe mango diced

2 beef tomatoes finely diced

2 spring onions chopped

2 tbsp chopped coriander

1 red chilli finely chopped

1 tsp lime juice

pinch of sea salt

pinch of black pepper

First make the mango pico de gallo, mix all the ingredients together and season with some sea salt and black pepper, place in a bowl on your table.

On a dry skillet cook the corn tacos for approx one minute each side and wrap in a tea towel to keep warm and place on the family table.

Tear the lettuce and place in a bowl next to the pico de gallo.  Place the sliced chillies in a small bowl next to the lettuce, all you have to do now is cook the Mahi Mahi and your done!

When your almost ready to serve place a skillet on the stove and heat medium hot, rub the Mahi Mahi with the coconut oil, season with sea salt and black pepper and place on the skillet, sear each side ensuring you get a little colour and charr adding flavour then turn the skillet heat down and slowly finish cooking the Mahi Mahi, finish off with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and coriander take the Mahi Mahi to the table and let everyone help themselves family style to the gorgeous corn tacos and load them with Mahi Mahi, mango salsa, fresh sliced chillies and salad.

JALAPENO POPPERS

Love these guys way toooooo much!  The fresh burst and crunch of the mildly hot jalapeno with hot sharp cream cheese followed with the gorgeous crispy fried panko breadcrumbs, makes these such a wonderful treat, my whole family devours them so fast I actually don't get to eat more than I should!

Ingredients

(makes 30)

15 whole fresh jalapenos

400g sharp cream cheese like Philadelphia

500g panko breadcrumbs

4 eggs beaten

300g seasoned flour

1 ltr ground nut oil

Place three bowls on your work top and fill one with the beaten eggs, another with the seasoned flour and the last bowl with the panko breadcrumbs.

Halve each jalapeno and using a teaspoon scoop out all the seed placing them in to a bowl, add the cream cheese to the jalapeno seeds and mix well.

Using a teaspoon fill each jalapeno half with lots of cream cheese, don't be shy I like to mound the cream cheese high.

Using one hand for wet and one hand for dry, roll each jalapeno in the beaten egg and then in the seasoned flour, place on a plate and if you have time pop in the fridge for half an hour, this just helps the next stage of coating stick better, but is not essential.

Roll each coated jalapeno in the beaten egg again and then in to the panko breadcrumbs coating all over, again place on the plate and if you have time pop in the fridge until ready to cook.

In a deep sauce pan bring the ground nut oil up to 190 degrees, gently fry the poppers for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden brown, these are best eaten straight away for the best flavour, but if any are left over they are still great especially in the middle of the night fridge raiding expedition!

MOUSSAKA STUFFED AUBERGINE

I know I say this a lot but this has to be one of my most favourite eats, probably because I rarely allow myself to have this, the reason for this is that it is rather high on the calorific scale, NOT that I ever shy away from calories and honest fat, but I know me! and only having this a couple of times a year still means  I can serve myself a wonderfully naughty indulgent over the top extra extra large portion and as I make enough to have leftovers I can enjoy further indulgent the next day!

Allow 1 hour to make and 30 minutes to bake

Ingredients

(Serves 4 + 4 more!)

2 aubergines

1 kg grass feed minced lamb

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 large onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic finely diced

2 tins tomatoes crushed

2 tbsp tomato purée 

4 tbsp fresh oregano

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried chillies

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 cinnamon bark

The Bechamel Sauce

1 ltr whole cream milk

100g butter

100g plain flour

1 small onion

1 clove

1 bay leaf

1 kg cheddar grated

sea salt 

ground black pepper

This is a divide and conquer cook, making it quicker to make than doing each part individually, but feel free to take your time as I often do making each level individually.  First pre heat your oven to 180 degrees, take the aubergines and cut in half, scoop out all the filling leaving aubergine boats, chop the filling and reserve to one side, toss the aubergine boats in the oil and season with salt and pepper, pop on a tray and bake in the oven for approx 30 minutes, meanwhile...

Start the bechamel, place the milk in a sauce pan along with the onion, bay leaf and clove and bring to a almost simmer, take off the heat and leave to infuse for ten minutes while you start cooking the lamb.

Heat a deep wide saucepan, add some coconut oil and soften the onions and garlic then add the lamb mince and cinnamon and gently pan fry until just cooked, take off the heat and drain the meat through a sieve, keeping all the juices, reserve to one side for a moment, add the lamb mince back into the saucepan along with the tomatoes, tomato purée and the scooped out chopped aubergine, bring to a gentle simmer, add the salt and pepper, both oregano's and chilli, now add back the reserved cooking juices, if not using grass feed lamb spoon off the fat first.  Simmer very gently for around 40 minutes, then take off the heat and leave to one side until needed.

Meanwhile finish off the bechamel sauce, pass the the infused milk through a sieve in to a jug and then in a deep saucepan place the butter and melt, add the flour and combine, cook out on a low heat for five minutes, then start to add a ladle of your infused milk a ladle at a time to the roux, incorporating fully each time, keep adding until you have a thick bechamel sauce, season with sea salt and white pepper, then add the cheese and stir until melted, reserve to one side.

Now a quick assemble for the final dish. take your aubergine boats and layer with cheese becahmel, lamb, bechamel, lamb and finally bechamel,then place on a baking tray ready to give a final bake, this is not totally necessary, but it does add that extra layer of crispy flavour which is so worth the effort, and gives that overall sumptuousness which is what cooking is all about.  Serve and enjoy, enjoy enjoy...

CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER BBQ PORK BUTT SLIDERS

Perfectly sumptuous succulent slow roasted BBQ braised pulled pork seasoned in my not so top secret dry rub and finished off with a basting of my BBQ sauce which just adds that Mmmmm sound of this is so good when eating.  These always receive a grand welcome in my home and require more standing around than actual hands on cooking time.

Prep time 15 minutes / Cooking time un-attended 3-4 hrs / Serving time 10-15 minutes

If you can marinate the meat for 24hrs even better

Ingredients

(Serves 6 + leftovers) 

(Great for tacos, burritos and wraps)

2-3kg pork shoulder

3 slider buns per person

2 carrots rough chopped

1 onion quartered

1 leek halved

2 sticks celery rough chopped

3ltr coke cola

2 red chillies whole

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black peppercorns

Water

8 tbsp BBQ Dry Rub

(recipe below)

Pork Butt BBQ Dry Rub

(this is also great on chicken)

2 tbsp sea salt (Himalayan)

1 tbsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp dry mustard

1 tbsp chilli powder

1 tbsp ground red pepper

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp granulated garlic

1 cup dark brown sugar

Coleslaw

2 carrots julienned

1/2 white cabbage finely sliced

1/4 red cabbage finely sliced

1 red onion finely sliced

4 tbsp mayonnaise

If you want to make your own quick mayo, recipe below, combine all ingredients and season with salt and white pepper if needed.

Mayonnaise

3 egg yolks

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 pinch of sea salt and black pepper

300ml organic rapeseed oil

Making Mayo In Minutes

Simple and quick to make, place the egg yolks, Dijon, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a deep bowl with 20ml of oil, whisk together, then slowly drizzle in the oil while continuously whisking, once your mayo emulsifies and becomes a gorgeous silky thick mixture, you can speed up the intake of oil.  This will keep for a week in an air tight container in the fridge if it lasts that long!

The Pork Butt

If you are able to marinate the meat in the dry rub and coke cola over night it will intensify the deep BBQ flavour but no worries if not, rub the pork generously all over with the BBQ rub, place the pork in a deep roasting tin along with the carrots, onion, celery, leeks, salt, pepper and chillies then pour in all the coke cola, top up with water to cover the meat and then cover the tin with foil and leave in the fridge over night, if not doing this then when ready to cook place the roasting tin un-covered in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes, then cover the pork with foil and lower the oven temperature to 160 degrees, leave the pork to slowly cook for approx 3 1/2 hours.

When your cooking time is up to check that the pork is super tender, take a fork and push in to the shoulder then pull down if the pork gently pulls away with ease, it is cooked.  Remove the pork from the cooking stock and place on a large plate, keep the pan with all the stock to one side for now, take the pork, remove the skin and fat and discard, break down the pork slightly with your hands and pop back in to the roasting pan with all the BBQ stock and leave the pork to absorb the gorgeous braising stock liquor for ten minutes or so, drain the liquor off through a sieve in to a jug and then measure one litre in to a saucepan ready to make the BBQ sauce.

To Make The Quick BBQ Sauce

  Add the rest of the BBQ sauce ingredients to your stock saucepan bring to a simmer and reduce until thick, taste and adjust the flavour with more tomato ketchup and brown sugar if needed.

1ltr of pork cooking stock

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 diced chipotle pepper

When ready to serve place the pulled pork in the hot BBQ sauce and stir thought well, load each slider bun generously with the pork and top with the crunchy creamy coleslaw, give three sliders per person and enjoy.

PHILLY STEAK SANDWICH GLUTEN FREE

Fabulous take on the classic Philly steak sandwich which unexpectedly would you believe I had trouble eating! this was because as soon as I had cooked this gorgeous steak just for me everyone in the house dived in only leaving me with the first bite I had already had and out of courtesy after the elbow shoving and fork fencing the last bite!  

Being a bread free girl I still wanted to honour and enjoy the classic Philly steak sandwich with all those gorgeous layers of ingredients that are brought together and served in a bun, but without the bun!  I felt I could give each layer of this fabulous classic the right to speak out for itself, and as I don't eat bread, the thought of the steak as the sandwich was a exciting assumption.

This I found to be true with the rest of the family!  The just slightly softened green peppers and onions added a lovely texture and flavour in their own right sitting on a extra thick bed of sharp soft Philly cheese, sandwiched between two rare pan fired chilli and black pepper seasoned New York Strip steaks, a winner dinner anytime.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

2 8oz (227g) New York Strips

1 tsp coconut oil

1 green pepper sliced

1 onion sliced

2 red chillies sliced

1 tsp dried red chillies

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

3 tbsp Philly cheese

In a saucepan heat the coconut oil until melted, add the peppers and onion and sauté until just soft, remove from the heat and reserve to one side.

Bring your flat griddle or pan up to a high heat, rub a little coconut oil on the steak and season with salt and pepper, sear the steak for a couple of minutes on each side, remove from the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes.  Now your ready to assemble.

Place one steak on your plate, season and load with the Philly cheese, top with the peppers, onions and fresh chillies, finish off with the top steak and season with salt, pepper, dried chillies and pour over any resting juices from the pan, now enjoy.