COWBOY MIXED GRILL

Rodeo Mixed Grill

I call this the husband silencer!  I just love watching my husband devour this meal he loves every mouthful and that’s exactly why I love cooking, seeing friends, family and strangers loose themselves in that moment of pleasure.  

Fire pit oak wood cooked thick cut rib eye steak, gammon steak, poached egg, rack of lamb, Angus chuck steak 80/20 burger with mozzarella cheese, tandoori chicken, posh sausages trying to be a hot dog, lamb Kofte kebab skewers, garlic mushroom skewers, charred tomatoes and whole charred onion rings.

This is why food is so important, it brings people together it is so precious and sometimes over looked as fuel, it is not, food is a privilege, not everyone has it and if you do that’s why it is a gift to be shared bringing joy, love, compassion and laughter to all you share your food with.

Ingredients 

(serves 2 greedy portions)

2 x 12oz thick cut trimmed ribeye steaks 

2 x whole gammon steaks

1 x rack of lamb

2 x 80/20 steak burgers 

2 x chicken breasts

4 tbsp tandoori spice rub

2 x posh hotdog sausages 

2 x tomatoes

1 x onion sliced in rings

2 x poached or fried eggs

Lamb Kofte Kebabs

500g lamb mince 

1 x small onion diced

1 x clove garlic chopped

1 x tbsp oregano 

Himalayan sea salt 

Ground black pepper 

Dried chilli flakes 

4 x skewers soaked in water

First fire up your back yard grill and let it establish a white coal fire ready for cooking.  Prepare all the meat on a large platter to take to the grill.  To make the lamb kofte kebab mix all the ingredients together then divide in to four, mould the lamb around a soaked skewer to form a sausage like shape.  Coat the chicken in the tandoori spice rub, slice the onions in rings and thread on to a skewer.

Chargrill all ingredients over white coals turning once until cooked and serve with condiments of your choice.

HOMEMADE TAMARIND PASTE

HOME MADE TAMARIND PASTE AND WATER

You can buy tamarind pulp already made or you can source whole and dried tamarind seed pods as shown below, I like to make my own tamarind water, all you have to do is peel the shell off the tamarind pod, pour over some boiling water and leave to soften for ten minutes or so, then pass the water and softened tamarind pod through a seive collecting the pulp and water that's all it takes to make your own pulp, fresh is best.

Tamarind pods are available from your local ethnic store or on line, these store really well and one pod makes enough tamarind for a couple of recipes and keeps well in the fridge in a ball mason jar for up to a week.

Peel the hard shell of the pod, place in a small bowl or mason jar and cover with around 100ml of boiling water, leave for a minimum of 10 minutes until the flesh of the tamarind is soft and pliable.  Push the liquid and pulp through a sieve with the back of a spoon until all that is left in the siege is the tamarind stones and membranes.

That’s it.

ULTIMATE GARLIC BREAD CROUTONS

WoW these garlic bread croutons are so good, rich creamy roasted nutty buttery soft garlic spread generously on crispy thin sour dough buttered toast these are great on their own even better dunked in to a bowl of fresh creamy tomato soup, chicken broth or french onion soup.

Ingredients

(makes 6 slices)

1 whole bulb garlic

Olive oil

Himalayan sea salt 

6 slices sour dough

Butter

Pre heat the oven to 180 C, roll the whole bulb in olive oil and season with the salt roast in the oven for 45 minutes until soft and squidgy.  Toast both sides of the sour dough, generously butter and then squeeze the cloves of garlic out on to the toast and generously spread on.  These are so good dipped in your favourite soup.

RAVIOLI SPINACH AND RICOTTA IN BUTTER SAGE SAUCE

Step by Step Guide to Homemade Ravioli 

Such a gorgeous and beautiful dish, super soft pillow ravioli pasta stuffed with rich light creamy ricotta, buttered spinach, Parmesan, sea salt, pepper and nutmeg, cooked in a gentle simmering sea salted pan of water, then tossed a simple elegant sage and butter sauce this is a decadent sumptuous meal that I make for my mum on Mother’s Day as it’s her favourite and my mum remembers being wowed with this dish served flambois table side in the 1970’s.

Ingredients 

(Serves 6-8)

The Pasta

400g 00 flour

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

4 beaten eggs

30ml olive oil

50ml water

Ricotta and Spinach 

400g ricotta

200g fresh spinach

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tsp ground black pepper 

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 

100g grated Parmesan

1 lemon zested

Sage Butter Sauce

200g Organic butter

12 fresh sage leafs chopped

Making the Pasta

Place the flour on your work top in a large mound, or in a bowl and season with the salt, make a well in the centre, beat the eggs and olive oil together and pour in to the well.  Starting from the outside flick the flour in to the egg, incorporating together until you have a ball of dough, sometimes you may need to add around 50ml of water to bring the dough ball together.  Knead the pasta dough for 5-7 minutes then wrap well but loose in cling film and leave to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes and up to a couple of hours.  If you don’t cover the dough the skin of the pasta dough will start to dry and will be unusable.

Rolling the Pasta Sheets

I have always used a rolling pin and my muscles or a manual pasta roller for years but this Christmas I got a electric pasta rolling kit attachment for my kitchen aid, wahoo I love it !  Brilliant, I have never made pasta so fast, so thin and so well !  

Cut your rested dough in to 4, take one piece, cover the rest with cling film, make the dough ball the same width as the pasta roller machine, dust with semolina, place on the widest setting and roll the dough through the pasta rollers, dust with plenty of semolina and set the rollers one number down and repeat, keep repeating until you have rolled the pasta on the thinnest setting. Dust the pasta sheet with semolina and lay out flat.

Ricotta Filling

400g ricotta cheese

200g spinach

1 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg grated

150g grated Parmesan 

1 lemon zested

Melt the butter in a large pan and add the spinach, cook until wilted, drain on to a muslin or clean tea towel and squeeze out all the juice, finely chop and add to the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Place balled teaspoonfuls of the ricotta mix approximately 2” apart on the front half of the pasta sheet, brush with egg wash or water.

Fold the back half of the pasta sheet over the ricotta filling, cupping your hands hug the pasta around the ricotta filling squeezing out any air and sealing the ravioli’s.  

Next using a knife or ravioli cutter cut the ravioli’s in to squares, place on a tray dusted with semolina in a single layer, these will store for a couple of days ahead of time covered well with cling film.



Cooking Ravioli’s 

Bring a large pan of water to a gentle simmer, season with Himalayan sea salt, in a separate large pan melt the butter and add the sage, keep this on a low heat.  Add the ravioli’s  a few at a time to the simmering water not over crowding the pot, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, drain well and add to the sage butter to keep warm while you finish cooking the rest of the ravioli’s.  

Serve straight from the sage butter sauce pan with a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan on hot plates and enjoy.

SWEET POTATO TURMERIC CRACKERS

THESE ARE JUST THE MOST PERFECT CHIPS SO YOU CAN DIP!!!

Fabulous dip and scoop chips, gluten free, Paleo and really quick and simple to make, almost no mess!  Now I can have chips and dips back in my life again, these healthy gorgeous fresh gluten and grain free low calorie guilt free chips also mean I don't feel I have to limit my amount, well within reason and because of this I find I eat as many as I want which as there no major pressure I know I eat less than I would if I had that curfew!!!  Gotta love the psychological effect!!!

 With a gorgeous zesty raw chopped tomato, coriander and pepper salsa a creamy avocado dip or zesty lime and coriander full fat yogurt dip these are going to be your new best friend, they not only eat like a gorgeous treat but satisfy that sofa craving need to pick and dip, something I do not do very often but when one of those I WANT... moments pops up or a girly night out this is a brilliant option, ticks all the boxes and does not leave me feeling sluggish and pants the next morning as if I did go totally off piste and have some carb loaded junk food...

Prep time 10 mins / Cooking time 60 minutes / Use cooking time for salsa prep and extra dips

My geeky science bit...

The sweet potato is simple starches, a complex carbohydrate loaded with fiber and beta-carotene, a pro vitamin A carotenoid.  Small amounts of B5, B6, manganese and potassium, lots of calcium, magnesium, when baked higher vitamin C, phosphorous and sodium.  Sweet potatoes rank one of the highest in nutritional value.  Ground flax seed is high in dietary fiber, lignons, omega 3, fatty acids, lowers cholesterol, flax seed may stunt the growth of some cancers, helps stabilise blood sugars, high in antioxidants.

ZESTY SALSA

1 lime juice and zest is one full days dose of vitamin C.  Spring onions are a great antioxidant.  Tomatoes reduce liver inflammation.  Peppers full of betacarotene, vitamin C, (red A), strong antioxidant, protects heart and immune system, organ and blood cleansing.  Chilli in large quantities has vitamin C, carotene, vitamins B, B6, potassium, magnesium, iron.  Coriander, heart and circulatory protective coumarins and effective antiseptic linalcol.

INGREDIENTS

(makes around 40 tortilla chips)

1 sweet potato peeled chopped

1 cup of ground flax seed

1 spring onion 

1 red chilli

1 lime zested and juice

1 tsp sea salt

lrg pinch ground black pepper

1 pinch garamasala 

1 lrg pinch chilli powder

1 tsp crushed chillies

Place all the ingredients in your blender and whizz for a couple of minutes until you have a dough paste, line your work top with some grease proof paper around three foot long, dust half with some ground flax seed, scoop out your sweet potato dough and place on the first third of the baking paper, fold the paper in half over the dough and roll out the dough nice and thin, remove the top sheet of baking baking paper, using a pizza cutter wheel or knife cut the dough into triangle chips, transfer the baking paper with the tortillas on to a baking tray and bake in the oven 150 degrees for around 60 minutes, maybe a hint longer for the centre chips, you want them to be crisp and firm to touch, leave to cool if you can and then dive in.

ZESTY LIME AND TOMATO CORIANDER SALSA

1 spring onion fine chopped

1 pepper chopped

12 cherry tomatoes diced

1 tbsp coriander chopped

1 red chilli finely diced

1/2 lime zested and juiced

1 pinch salt and black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and season to taste with the salt and pepper, enjoy with your sweet potato flax seed tortilla chips, watch out these are so mooorish...

CAROLINE REAPER HOT SAUCE

No Cooking Required 

Fresh vibrant and volcanic hot chilli sauce, this is a brilliant chilli sauce to top off your tacos, burger or kebab but also goes great as a insanely hot tomato sauce over chicken and pasta.  Super fast to make means this fresh sauce can have dinner on the table in 10 minutes.

Ingredients 

(makes 200ml)

18 fresh cherry tomatoes 

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 small onion chopped

1 clove garlic 

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 Carolina Reaper chilli

1 tsp sumac

1 tbsp red wine vinegar 

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt 

1 pinch black pepper

So simple place all the ingredients in your blender food processor and blitz to a sauce, you can finely chop all ingredients by hand too, but using the food processor really improves the consistency and flavour of this sauce.

SALT AND PEPPER TURMERIC SQUID

My families favourite Sunday special, fresh salt and pepper fried squid, drizzled with fresh lemon juice this is a outstanding treat for everyone, for the little ones call the tentacles Sea Bacon !

Prep and Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 4 starters)

3 large squid tubes and tentacles cleaned

1 cup potato flour

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tsp ground black pepper 

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 ltr ground nut or vegetable oil

Heat your frying oil to 180 C.  Place the potato flour in a bowl and mix in the salt, pepper and turmeric, toss in the squid, dust off, gently drop in to the oil and fry in batches not over crowding the pan for around two minutes, remove and drain on kitchen paper, season with salt and fresh squeezed lemon juice, serve immediately.

LO DOUGH BACON CHEESE CHUCK STEAK BURGER 70 / 30

ONLY 2.2g CARBS

This new Lo-Dough has revolutionised my life!  I always pride myself on making everything from scratch but these amazing pysllium husk wraps are unleashing my carbohydrate restricted world!  Not a nasty ingredient in there plus super high in fiber each wrap has a whopping 9.3g, 0.1g Fat and only 39 Kcal per wrap.  

I like to use chuck steak to make my burgers as you get a 80% meat to 20% fat ratio which makes these burgers one of the tastiest ever, I do sometime change this ratio out to 70% ~ 30% by adding ground ribeye steak.

Ingredients 

(makes 4)

The Burger

700g ground chuck steak

300g ground ribeye steak

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion finely diced

1 clove garlic finely diced

1 tbsp fresh jalapeños finely diced

Burger Toppings

4 buttered brioche buns

8 slices sweetcure bacon

8 slices burger or Swiss cheese

8 tbsp mayonnaise 

4 tbsp pickled jalapeños 

8 iceberg leaves

Heat a skillet medium, add the olive oil, gently soften the onion and garlic for five minutes, remove from the pan and place in a large bowl to cool, add the jalapeños, once cooked add the ground beef, salt and pepper.  Using your hands mix well then crushing the mix together, divide in to four and squeeze the patties to form a ball, press out in one go with you palm or a burger press to create your burger pattie.

Heat your griddle skillet medium hot and toast the buttered buns until golden crispy and brown, then place the burgers on the skillet cook for 2-3 minutes each side only turning once for medium, add the cheese to the patties to melt.  Meanwhile cook the bacon on the skillet.  Once cooked place on top of the cheese burger.

Set your buns up on your serving platter, spread a tablespoon of mayo on the bottom of each bun, a slice of lettuce then the burger topped with cheese and bacon, the jalapeños, mayonnaise and final ice berg lettuce now enjoy.

CRISPY COCONUT CHICKEN WITH PEACH SALSA

Coconut, turmeric, garlic and chilli crispy pan seared chicken topped with fresh peach salsa, this is a fabulous zesty supper loaded with flavour and great health benefits, serve with a watercress, spinach and lime avocado tossed salad, a real feel good dinner.

Prep time and Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients 

1 chicken breast

1/2 cup of coconut flour

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

 pinch of garlic powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp of coconut oil

The Peach salsa

 1/2 small onion chopped

 1 jalapeno diced

1 nectarine or peach diced

1 clove garlic finely diced

1/2 juice of a lime

1 tbsp fresh coriander

salt and black pepper

Bash the chicken breast with a rolling pin to even it out, add all the dry spices to the coconut flour and coat the chicken.  Melt the coconut oil in a pan and fry the chicken breast for a couple of minutes each side only turning once.  Leave to drain on paper towel for a minute or so before serving.

For the salsa mix all the ingredients together and serve topped over the chicken.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Super Healthy Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Outstandingly good!  Whats more not only can you make this in under five minutes it is so good for you, decadently rich in natural chocolate, low in calories and packed full of healthy essential fats, when eaten in moderation these medium chain fatty acids are used up faster in the body and less likely to be stored as fat, moderation is the answer to this pudding, a couple of portions a week is healthy, besides you will find it hard to finish one portion in one go, it’s that rich!

Prep time 5 minutes / chilling time 1 hour if you can wait !

Nutrition guide: 150 kcal,  3g protein,  12g carbs, 12g fats, 2g sugar (optional)

INGREDIENTS

(serves 3)

1 very ripe avocado

2 tsps honey (optional)

1 tsp vanilla pod caviar (optional)

100ml coconut cream

1/4 cup of good quality cacao powder

Or

100g melted 70% organic Green and Blacks chocolate 

So quick and simple, just place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth, this will keep for a week in the fridge, you don't need a large portion of this as it is very rich, a little goes a long way, which means you can have this more often.

My husband will not eat honey or vanilla so I melt a bar of green and blacks chocolate instead of using cacao powder to lessen the bitterness from not adding the honey and vanilla and serve his puddings with double cream.

The science bit...

High quality cacao is such a super food, the flavanoids in the cacao prevent fat like substances from oxidising in the blood stream and from clogging up the arteries.  Cacao is powerful on the central nervous system, so over indulging could interfere with calcium retention.  60g a day is a good healthy guide.  In it's raw form it contains anandamide this induces euphoria, along with phenylethylamine which both are mood enhancers.  There is a question that adding dairy to your cacao inhibits the absorption of nutrients, coconut milk is a great substitute.

The avocado has vitamin B6, K, C, E, avocado's are a perfect food that produces compounds necessary for your liver to cleanse toxins.  67% mono-unsaturated good fats as oleic acid, 19% fat as palmittic acid & linoleic acid, 14% saturated fat, potassium, folic acid, iron, maganese, zinc, copper, selenium, calcium, high in fibre and helpful in lowering blood cholesterol and relaxing arteries.

The coconut milk is rich in fibre, vitamin C, E, B1, B3, B5, iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magesium, phosphorous and is lactose free.

LAMB SEEKH KEBAB

With Fermented Sriracha and Wood Fired Flatbreads

One of my most favourite face stuffing foods, the gorgeous traditional wood fired or cast iron skillet cooked flatbread that brings its own level of flavours from the slightly charred crunch and soft dough envelopes the flavoursome spiced charred lamb seekh kebab, pickled kebab chillies topped with a raw apple cider vinegar and mint mayonnaise garlic slaw finished off with a drizzle of hot fermented sriracha sauce this is sooo lip smackinly good, what’s more it’s a gorgeous fresh healthy kebab that is not only great for your tastebuds but good for you too, guilt free, no nasties and so much healthier makes this a family winner dinner all round, quick to assemble and truly fabulous fast food you can prep ahead of time so that it is ready to go at a moments notice.

Ahead of Time Prep 15 mins / Cooking time 8-10 mins

Serve family style

Ingredients

(serves 2)

The Kebab

1 onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic finely diced or grated

1 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp fresh turmeric grated or 1/4 dried

400g grass feed or organic lamb mince

2 tbsp coriander

1 tsp garam masala

1 generous pinch of sea salt

1 generous pinch of fresh ground black pepper

The Salad

1/4  finely sliced white cabbage

1/4 finely sliced red cabbage

1 lrg onion finely sliced

1 carrot julienned optional

1 garlic clove grated optional

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Mint Garlic Mayo

Store brought or...Make your own

3 egg yolks

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

300ml cold pressed olive oil

sea salt

white pepper

1 clove garlic grated 

3 tbsp fresh chopped mint or 1 tbsp dried

I find this a quick simple cook and assemble because I prep everything earlier in the day and store in glass bowls in the fridge ready to go, therefore it only takes me a few minutes to cook and serve this.

First make the dough, this you can do three or four hours in advance, or twenty four hours in advance and leave in the fridge to prove.  Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and bring together with your hands or if using a mixer with a dough hook, gently knead for seven minutes, form in to a large ball and place back in the bowl, dust with a little flour and cover with a cloth, leave to prove for a minimum of one hour when the dough would have doubled in size, this dough is happy to be left proving at room temperature for up to four hours.  If you are not using all the dough, once proved you can then freeze the portions of dough, when you want yo use them just defrost and leave to come up to room temperature before rolling.

Get Ahead Dough

If you want to get a head start you can make the dough as above 24-48 hours in advance and prove in the fridge, make as above and place straight in to the fridge, this is how the restaurant trade make and store their fresh dough, every wondered how they don’t run out?  Bring the dough up to room temperature, this takes approx one hour before using.

Lamb Seekh Kebab

To make the lamb seekh kebabs, gently soften the onions and garlic in the ghee for five minutes, leave to one side to cool slightly, in a large bowl place the lamb mince and season with the salt, pepper, turmeric, coriander and garam masala, add the onions and garlic and mix well squiding together as you mix.

Take your skewers and a handful of your mince and squish the mince around the skewer so that it is around  the thickness of half an inch, repeat until you have filled the skewers.  Store in the fridge until needed.

Mint Garlic Mayonnaise 

To make the mayo, place the egg yolks and white wine vinegar in a large bowl, take your whisk and add a teaspoon of the oil and start to whisk, keep adding a teaspoon amount of oil every few seconds while whisking, once you see the emulsification of the oil and yolk you can add the oil in bigger glugs, stop when you have ribbons and your happy with the thickness of the mayo add the Dijon mustard, mint and season with salt and pepper.

Slaw

To make the slaw combine all the ingredients and then mix with the half the mayonnaise, reserving the remainder for drizzling.

Seekh Kebab

When ready to cook, pre heat your grill or cast iron skillet, place the kebabs under the grill or on the skillet these will take approx eight minutes, turning once half way through the cooking time, meanwhile divide the flatbread dough into six or eight balls, on a floured surface roll out each ball into a approx 8" circle, heat a non stick frying pan hot, place the bread in the pan and cook for one to two minutes, turn over and cook again for around one minute, remove and repeat with the rest of the dough, wrap the cooked flat breads in a warm tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest.  

Serve family style on the table with a stack of breads, bowls of the salad, a stack of kebabs, a big bowl of mint and garlic mayonnaise and a bottle of sriracha.  I also serve with some chopped fresh chillies, garlic and herbs along with a home made jar of hot sweet chilli jelly, enjoy.

The Flat Bread

(makes 6)

500g 00 flour

15g dried yeast

10g sea salt

50ml Olive Oil

320g warm water

Flatbreads

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and either by hand or by machine with a dough hook mix for seven minutes, then dust a little flour over the dough mix and gently form into a ball, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a warm area to prove for 1-2 hours until doubled in size if you want to use immediately, then other options are leave to prove slowly in the fridge for 24hrs, this is what I do as it gives me much more control over time and usage, this will keep for 48hrs in the fridge ready to go when you are, you can also freeze any left over dough at this stage, then when ready to use remove from the freezer defrost and once up to room temperature use as you would fresh.

 Take a oversized golf ball piece of dough, dust your work top with a little 00 flour, roll into a ball and roll out a large disk no bigger than your skillet if your not cooking in a wood fired oven, heat to a hot heat, place the flat bread in the pan and cook for one and a half minutes on each side, keep warm by wrapping in a tea towel until serving, these flatbreads are best served warm but are almost as good used later the same day, to use the following day dip the flat breads in water and pop in a pre heated oven for 3-5 minutes and Ta-Da almost as good as fresh.

Fermented Sriracha Sauce

7 Days To Make 

Ingredients 

(Makes approx 300ml)

Store brought or make your own...

 700g whole red jalapeños 

1 tbsp Himalayan sea salt

3-4 tbsp light brown sugar

4 large cloves chopped garlic

125 ml apple cider vinegar 

Fermented Homemade Chilli Sauce

This is an outstandingly easy recipe for a fresh vibrant sriracha hot chilli sauce that may have you leaving that Famous rooster bottle named after the ship Huy Fong that he travelled with his family in to the United States of America in the store, I know it is for my family!  Only because we like to be as self sufficient as possible, but we are honest and sometimes we just need to grab a bottle of the best stuff as life is super busy.  We grow and raise most of our food and finally this year I have succeeded in a bountiful yield of Serrano chillies just for this recipe.

The Fermenting 

Place all the ingredients except the white wine vinegar into your food processor or magic bullet and blitz, blitz and then blitz some more until you have as smooth a mixture as possible, around three minutes.

Decant into your kilner jar scraping every bit out from the food processor, pop on the lid and just leave on the side somewhere safe where the jar won't get knocked over and out of direct sunlight for 7 days, after 3-5 days you will see the exciting start of the ferment, there will be some movement in the chilli mash like cracks in a wall, this is good.  

After day 5 gentle shake the jar to mix all the fermenting chillies back to a smooth consistency and again on day 6.  Day 7 over a saucepan strain the mixture through a sieve and using the back of a spoon push through as much of the mixture that will go through, you want a really dry pulp left in the sieve.  Add the vinegar and bring to a rolling simmer, reduce the sriracha sauce down to the thickness you require, I like the sauce to coat the back of a spoon well this way it sticks to food better so you get more of a bang of flavour with each mouthful.

Take off the heat and decant into a hot sterilised ball mason jar, pop on a lid and store in the fridge for up to 6 months, IT WON'T LAST THAT LONG!  Enjoy. 

PRAWN PANANG CURRY

Aromatic sumptuous and fragrant Panang Curry, cold water Atlantic prawns and loin of cod gently poached in a coconut infused lemongrass and ginger aromatic curry sauce.  Simple to make and quite therapeutic with the pounding of the base ingredients in a pestle and mortar, this really does make a difference in the overall flavour and texture, but not essential and a food processor will do.

I like to make my own fish stock, coconut milk and flat breads for this recipe, however if you don't want to then store bought is just fine, so skip some of the instructions and go straight to the cooking method.

Prep Time 30 minutes / Cooking Time 10 minutes / Onion Pakoras 10 minutes

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

The Panang Curry Paste

6 cardamon pods seeds only

2 dried scotch bonnets

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

6 black peppercorns

1/2 tsp sea salt

30g ginger finely chopped

1 lemongrass bashed finely chopped

8 garlic cloves chopped

5 shallots diced

2 tsp grated turmeric OR

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp fish sauce

The Curry

1 tbsp coconut oil

16 raw shell on king prawns

12oz cod loin

5 fresh kaffir lime leaves

1 green pepper diced

1 small bunch coriander chopped

1/2 tsp un refined sugar

400ml coconut creamy milk

(to make your own see below)

300ml fish stock made from the prawn shells

(method see below)

1 tbsp ghee or butter or coconut oil

Flat Breads

500g 00 flour

10g sea salt

50g olive oil

320g water

Flatbreads are really simple to make and deliver outstanding flavour, place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and either by hand or using a dough hook bring the flour together to form a dough and work for seven minutes, leave to rest for around an hour, when ready to cook, cut the dough into eight portions and roll out a thin disk around 8 inch's in diameter, leave to one side and cook the flatbreads while the curry is cooking, heat a dry frying pan hot and cook each side for around one minute, I like to let the flat bread catch a little adding extra flavour.

Making your own Coconut Milk

Take your coconut and locate the 3 eyes on one end, turn the coconut until the 3 eyes form a trinangle and the point is at the top, this is the eye to pierce with a point of a knife, do this over a bowl and drip out all the coconut water.  Crack open the coconut and remove all the flesh, grate or blitz until fine, place all the grated coconut in a glass bowl and pour over 400ml of boiling water, leave to infuse for ten minutes.  Either in a muslin bag or by hand squeeze out all of the water from the coconut, this is your coconut milk, if you every want coconut cream then leave the milk to settle in a fridge and the cream will set on the top of the milk.

The Curry Paste

Firstly make the curry paste, this only takes a few minutes and I find it very therapeutic, heat a non stick pan and toast the cumin, coriander, black peppercorns and dried chillies, take care not to burn, place the rest of the ingredients in the mortar, add the toasted seeds and pound away with the pestle until you have a glorious curry paste.

Peel and de vein the prawns keeping all the heads and shells for making the fish stock.

Homemade Fish Stock 

In a pan melt some ghee or butter or coconut oil, ghee is my favourite in this case, pan fry the shells for a couple of minutes, add 400ml of water and simmer gently for around five minutes, using the back of a spoon or my favourite the end of a rolling pin to pound the prawn shells helping to release and squeeze out all of their juices and flavour, strain through a sieve and return the stock to the pan.

Panang Curry

Add to the stock the coconut milk and bashed curry paste, bring to a gently simmer and reduce by half to thicken the sauce then add the cod loins and prawns, turn the cod loins after 2 minutes and after a further two minutes take off the heat, leave to rest for five minutes while you cook the flat breads and then serve.

Onion Pakoras

1 large Spanish onion

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 fresh chillies chopped

1 hand full fresh coriander chopped

1 cup chic pea flour

100ml water

400ml nut oil to cook with

If you have time sprinkle the sea salt over the sliced onions a hour ahead of time, this releases liquid from the onions and makes a better more flavoured pakora batter.

Makes approx 6

Place all the nut oil in a pan and bring up to a medium hot heat, 170-180 C, meanwhile in a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients except the water and coat the onions with the chic pea flour, add most of the water and stir to combine, you want a thick batter consistency, add a little more water if needed.

Scoop up a large golf ball size and shape in to a firm ball using two spoons, gently place the pakora in the oil and fry for around 2 minutes on each side, turning only once.  Remove and place on kitchen paper to drain, repeat with the rest of the mixture, you can cook more than one at at time, just don't overload the pan or the temperature will lower and the pakoras will soak up oil and be greasy.

SLOW BRAISED STEAK AND GUINNESS SUET CRUST PIE

BEST EVER RECIPE...

Slow braised steak and guinness pie with the most outstanding Marriage Proposal award winning suet crust pastry.

This recipe is very dear to me, firstly it is my most top favorite dinner that my Nan used to make for me, the memories start with the original recipe 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 gravy roast chicken though!

Nan did not make this as a pie, we had this a braised dish with the most creamy buttery mashed potatoes that Nan always put a hint of vinegar in, turns out that the vinegar lowers the absorption of carbohydrates.  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 :-)

Growing up in a rural, local village pub where my parents sourced and served outstanding honest food, Nan’s braised steak and Guinness was now a pie and suet steamed pudding, this was my parents top selling dish and it is still my mums number one dinner!  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, 28 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, double dinners, if your are putting the time in to slow cook, always make extra as this is not only time efficient but also cost effective and you have another dinner to go from the freezer.

(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 steak gravy.  Add the water a glug at a time probably overall 150ml 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, then add all the seasoning from the mustard powder to the black pepper along with the stock and Guinness.

Bring to a gently simmer, pop a lid on, keep the heat ticking over for around 3-4 hrs or pop in the oven or slow cooker until the beef falls apart when you touch it.  Lesson learned you can not rush this recipe in a pressure cooker!!!  The steak has a tougher texture even though it is falling apart.

Once the steak 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 the braised steak and gently cook this out, this is generally enough to slightly thicken the stock gravy enough.

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, decorate the top of your pie with a hint of personality, egg wash and bake in 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 buttery mashed potatoes, enjoy.