ROASTED CAULIFLOWER FRIED RICE

What a winning recipe, my whole family finally likes cauliflower rice, I have tried several unsuccessful attempts to win them over!  My failures have been too soft, mushy or flavourless.  This firm roasted cauliflower rice adds great texture and the rice is layered with so many flavours it’s a sure winner dinner!  This recipe is easily cranked up from a side dish to a full meal by adding left over chicken, vegetables and stir fry sauce.

Prep Cooking Time 30 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 4 as side dish)

1 large cauliflower 

2 tbsp sriracha 

1 tbsp olive or coconut oil

1/2 juice of lime

Sea salt & black pepper

Ingredients

1 glug olive or coconut oil

1 red onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

4 rashers bacon chopped (optional)

4 mushrooms chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped

1 courgette diced

4 heads of broccoli sliced

8 spears asparagus 

1 cup of peas

2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped

1 tbsp ginger diced

2 spring onions sliced on the diagonal 

1 lime juiced

50 ml Tamari soya sauce or coconut aminos 

1 tbsp mirin

1 tsp sesame oil

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Optional Extras

Left over roast chicken or pork

Egg omelette ribbons

Pre heat your oven to 200 C / 400 F.  In a bowl rub the cauliflower with the ingredients all over and roast in the oven for 30 minutes until tender but still a little firm.  Meanwhile heat the olive oil medium hot in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic and soften for 10 minutes, next add the broccoli, asparagus, courgettes and sear for a further 5 minutes, next add the bacon and sear slightly crispy, the bottom of the pan will start to brown up but that’s good as this will add another layer of flavour. turn the heat down slightly, add the mushrooms, red pepper, ginger and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, next add the peas, lime juice, soya sauce and mirin, stir to combine and leave on a low heat to tick over while you turn your attention to the roasted cauliflower.

Remove the cauliflower from the oven and blitz on pulse in a food blender until course grains, add to the saucepan along with the sesame oil and stir to combine, sprinkle over the coriander, taste and if needed adjust the seasoning with more soya sauce and mirin or salt and pepper.  

To ramp this up for a full meal on its own, add left over roast chicken or pork and a rolled egg omelette sliced in to ribbons.

PALEO PHILLY STEAK WRAPS

STRICTLY PALEO !

Ok before you read any further this is not a paleo perfect recipe, but I don’t want to be paleo perfect all the time, 95% is good enough for me, it gives me that tiny little window for something I now consider a decedent luxury!  I mean a tbsp of soft cream cheese I now see as a off grid moment is way better than falling face first in to a 14” all sweet BBQ meat and cheese double decedent stuffed crust pizza that takes me 3 days to eat, which I did every week until my health told me no more!  126lb lighter and loving my fresh is best paleo lifestyle six years on I have been able to allow that tiny indulgent moment and that’s the key it is only a indulgence and portion is the key to remaining successful.

Seared organic grass feed steak tossed in a philly cheese sauce with roasted peppers and onions served wrapped in garden grown rainbow chard, spinach and kale leaves.

Ingredients 

(serves 2)

6oz fillet steak

1 glug coconut or olive oil

1red or green pepper sliced

1 white onion sliced

1 red onion sliced

2 heaped tbsp Philadelphia cheese

1 spring onion chopped

1 tbs chives chopped

2 large chard leaves

1 handful spinach leaves

2 kale leaves

Sea salt

Black pepper

Heat a skillet medium hot, meanwhile layer the chard with kale the spinach on top on your plates.  Rub the olive oil salt and pepper all over the steak and place on the skillet, sear for 2 minutes each side, turning only once and then holding with tongs sear each end for another 30 seconds, this will be rare, cook longer for medium, remove from the pan and leave to rest on the side.  Add the peppers and white onion to the pan and sear for a few minutes until charred but still a little crunchy.  Remove from the pan and reserve to one side.  Now add the Philadelphia cream cheese to the pan off the heat to warm through, stir in the spring onions and chives.

Now just to assemble the wraps, slice the steak and layer in the wraps, top with the warm Philadelphia cream cheese, seared peppers and onions, then finish of with the red onion and enjoy.

CHEESE STUFFED JALAPEÑOS BACON CHUCK STEAK BURGER

I love a cheese stuffed burger, a Juicy Lucy or Lucifer with hot sauce, it is the hot gooey melted cheese oozing out equally in every bite followed by the juiciest flavoured chuck steak minced with fried onions, garlic, jalapeños and sweet cure bacon that sends my taste buds into a frenzy, just don’t judge me while I’m stuffing this into my face.

Prep time 15 minutes / Cooking time 6 minutes

Ingredients 

(makes 4 burgers)

500g twice minced chuck steak

1 glug olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 small onion finely diced

1 clove garlic finely diced

1/3 cup pickled jalapeños 

12 rashers sweetcure bacon

4 slices of favourite burger cheese

Salt and black pepper

Ice berg lettuce

Red onion rings

Sliced tomatoes 

Tomato ketchup

Fire up your coals, wood fired bbq, or a skillet in the kitchen to cook the burgers on. In a pan heat the olive oil and butter medium hot, gently soften the onions and garlic for around ten minutes until translucent, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

In a mincer or food processor place the chuck steak mince, softened onions, garlic, jalapeños, 4 rashers of bacon, salt and pepper and run once through the mincer to combine.  Divide the mix into 4.  Take each portion and form into a ball, press your thumb into the center to make a well, fold the cheese slice in half the half again and place in the center of the burger, gently fold up and over the chuck mince encasing the cheese totally in the chuck mince.

Cook the burgers and bacon on the grill or skillet to medium for around 3 minutes each side only turning once and serve this awesome burger in a grilled toasted buttered bun topped with ice berg lettuce, onion, tomatoes and ketchup.

ST LOUIS BBQ BASTED RIBS

No Smoker or Fire Pit...

Not a problem, I have the fire pit, smoker and wood fired oven but living in the UK what I don’t have is the weather !  It’s grey, gloomy, very wet and windy all weekend and my family wants ribs.  Well the kitchen oven will just have to do.

Liquid Smoke!

To or not too is the question ?  I was quite anti liquid smoke, the purest in me would rather go without than FAKE IT!  However after realising that my assumption it was a chemical concoction was based on my own uneducated opinion I decided to learn about how liquid smoke becomes liquid smoke.  Not all liquid smoke originally know as “Wood Vinegar” are created equally.  In 1885 E H Wright  inaugurated the distribution of wood vinegar under the new name WRIGHTS LIQUID SMOKE.  Made from the ancient methods of collecting condensation vapour via the thermal decomposition of wood in a low oxygen manor while making charcoal means this is a true natural product that has further been proven so in a US Government court case the Wright’s won on the labelling of liquid smoke, it is just liquid smoke (wood vinegar).  Whereas the commercial industry production of liquid smoke is often forced to speed up the mass production used by the commercial food industry with the addition of food additives.

These dry rub BBQ ribs are fall of the bone succulent tender and smokey, slathered with a Southern sweet BBQ sauce with just a touch of Carolina vinegar based BBQ sauce, these will render your family and friends silent...well apart from the glorious lip smacking these are so good sounds!  

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 4 hrs

Ingredients 

(serves 4-6)

4 St Louis cut whole ribs

25 ml liquid smoke (optional)

100g BBQ dry rub spice mix

(homemade recipe below)

2 ltr coke a cola (or water)

(homemade recipe below)

1 bottle sweet BBQ sauce

1 bottle Carolina vinegar based BBQ sauce

(homemade recipe below)

Pre heat your oven 160 C / 320 F.  Turn the ribs over and peel of the silver skin lining that covers the back of the ribs.  This is not essential but makes the ribs more pleasurable to eat.  Using a small pointed knife at the bottom left corner of the first rib bone, slip the knife under the skin on the bone, lift up so you have a lip and the using your hand peel the skin off the ribs, the skin should just peel away like a piece of paper.

Rub the bbq spice all over the ribs, lay the ribs meat side up in a large deep roasting tin, side by side, I use two roasting tins for 4 ribs.  Pour in the liquid smoke and coke a cola fill only to half way up the ribs, ensuring that the top meat side of the ribs is not in the liquid, cover well with tin foil and cook in the oven for 3-4 hours, checking the ribs at 3 hours to see if the are tender.

Drain off the bbq coke a cola rib stock into a saucepan, this can be used to make a gorgeous bbq sauce, recipe below.

Warm the store bought sweet bbq sauce with a dash of the thin Carolina vinegar bbq sauce to your taste and generously baste the ribs all over cover and pop back in the oven at 120 C / 240 F to keep warm and infuse the flavours for 15 minutes.  Serve whole or if individual ribs baste again with the warm bbq sauce all over.

  If your going to make your own bbq sauce from the stock then keep the ribs warm while you make the bbq sauce.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

500ml coke a cola rib stock

1 1/2 cup tomato ketchup

1/4 cup soft brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp chipotle powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan combine and bring to a simmer, adjust the seasoning and chilli powder to taste.  If you feel the sauce is to thin, a little corn starch slurry will thicken the sauce further.

Homemade BBQ Dry Rub

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp chipotle powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp mustard powder

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp celery salt (optional)

Combine all ingredients together.

SLOW BRAISED PORK CHOPS IN CREAM DIJON APPLE CIDER BRANDY

One Pot Autumnal Cooking

A perfect autum hearty and comforting dish, melt in the mouth tender succulent pork chops braised in apple cider and brandy with Dijon mustard, caramelised apples and onions then finished off with a dash of cream, served on buttery mashed potatoes and when I say buttery I mean 250g salted butter to 1kg of mashed potatoes, it is food law!  Truly spoon food.

Prep 10 minutes / Cooking time 25 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

40g butter

1 glug olive oil

Himalayan sea salt 

Fresh ground black pepper

1 onion sliced

5 tsp Dijon mustard

4 pork chops

1 apple sliced

500ml dry cider

100ml-200ml double cream

25ml calvados apply brandy

3 sprigs of thyme

1/2 tsp turmeric 

Pre heat your oven 180 C / 356 F.  Heat a skillet medium hot, add the olive oil and butter and onions, cook for 10 minutes caramelising the onions, move the onions to the side of the skillet   Making room for the pork chops.   Spread 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard on each side of the chops and season generously with salt and pepper, sear the pork steaks each side for one minute including the edge with the rind on.  Pour in the apple calvados brandy to deglaze the pan for just a few seconds then add the the cider, last tsp of Dijon, the sliced apples and thyme sprigs, pop in the oven for 25 minutes.  

To finish the sauce serve the pork chops on your plates, spoon over the onions and apples, then return the skillet to the heat and bring the sauce to a rolling simmer, add the cream and turmeric then reduce the sauce for a minute to slightly thicken, serve over the chops and serve with buttery mashed potatoes.

FLAX AND CHIA SEED TURMERIC BLACK PEPPER CRACKERS

PALEO

Salmon Avocado Cream Cheese.

A cracking cracker !  Super tasty and soo good for you, there are not many paleo substitutes for a great cracker that I have loved as much as these crackers, loaded with flax, chia and sunflower seeds, brazil, hazel, almond and walnuts, psyllium husk, turmeric and black pepper which is essential to aid the absorption of curcumin from the turmeric, seasoned with Parmesan, sea salt and then depending on what I want to eat with them a choice of spices for example a savoury cracker for cheese would have nigella onion seeds, fennel seeds and maybe black mustard seeds to complement the cheddar cheese toppings.

The main ingredients for these crackers can be in any quantities providing you follow the magic formula!  For example all flax, chia, psyllium and Parmesan and no nuts.  

Recipe 360g of seeds and nuts including the psyllium husk to 500ml of water, then add spices.

Geeky Nutritional Science Bit...

Turmeric gives anti inflammatory protection, is an antioxidant, speeds up wound healing and relieves arthritis, diabetes support by lowering blood sugar reversing insulin resistance, helps with depression and cholesterol.  Flaxseeds are loaded with omega 3 ALA fats, huge wallop of fiber and low in carbs, high protein along with vitamin B1, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and selenium which gives you healthy skin and hair, lowers cholesterol, supports digestive health and are highly antioxidant and finally Chia seeds super high in fiber, supports digestive and heart health, supports diabetes because their rich in alpha-linolenic acid which helps lower excessive fat in the blood and supports strong bones and teeth.

Ingredients 

(makes 40 crackers)

(can freeze spare dough)

The Magic Formula 

100g flaxseed ground

50g chia seeds ground or whole

50g sunflower seeds

100g mixed nuts ground to powder made up of...

(1 brazil, 10 hazelnuts, 8 almond nuts, 6walnuts)

60g psyllium husk

1 cup Parmesan grated

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

500ml water

Optional Spices

(roughly 1 tsp)

Nigella seeds

Fennel seeds bashed

Coriander seeds bashed

Cumin seeds bashed

Mustard seeds

Harissa spice mix

Fenugreek seeds bashed

Ground paprika/smoked

Dried chillies

Ground coriander 

Ground ginger

Ground cinnamon 

Mixed spice

Curry powder

Moroccan spice

Pre heat oven to 170 C  / 338 F.  Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and combine, add your extra choice of spices at this point if you want to, add the water and mix well, leave to stand for 30 minutes for the water to be absorbed into the seeds.  

Place a sheet of baking paper twice the size as your baking tray on your work top.  Take a quarter size ball of the dough and place in the centre of one half of the baking sheet, fold the other half of the baking paper on top of the dough and press down to flatten the dough out a little.

Take your rolling pin and roll the dough through the paper as thin as you dare, cracker thin.  Peel off the top baking paper and using a knife or pizza cutter score the dough in to your crackers, this can be triangles for corn chips style or long and thin for more fancy presentation or just your standard squares.

Slide your baking paper on to your baking tray and pop in the oven, these crackers will take 40-60 minutes to bake to perfection, they are cooked when dry and crispy to touch.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the paper, these will keep for a week plus in a air tight tin.