BONE STOCK PHO

A glorious bowl that hugs and loves you back, this wonderful yet simple dish is loaded with super health giving properties that boost your immune and detox your system, there is nothing you won't love about this dish.  Gorgeous thin ribbons of steak and thai noodles bathed in a seasoned broth with star anise, lemongrass, ginger and a hint of cinnamon.

Pho is made from roasting beef and marrow bones and making a simple yet packed with flavour stock that you then build your dish around, you can also make your Pho broth with left over roast chicken or roast pork bones.  Building your dish traditionally you would add to your bowl noodles, beansprouts, thinly sliced rare beef, sliced chillies ladle of the beef bone stock, a dash of fish sauce and lemon juice finished with a sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Prep 15 minutes / Un-attended cooking time 3 hours / Assembly time 5 minutes

make my broth up in advance the reason for this is two fold, firstly I like to store my broth in the fridge so that once it has gone cold and jelly set I can scoop of the fat and discard and secondly it is ready to go for quick and speedy suppers during the week, I can have a gorgeous healthy meal on the table in under five minutes.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

Beef Broth

2 beef knuckle/leg bones

1 marrow bone

2 carrots scrubbed

2 sticks celery rough chopped

1 leek rough chopped

3 star anise

1 stick lemongrass bashed

1/2 stick cinnamon

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 onions halved

1 lemon halved

3" piece ginger halved

To Serve

6oz piece of rib or fillet beef

(allow 20 minutes chill time before use)

1 tsp coconut or ground nut oil

1 handful beansprouts

2 spring onions

1 red chilli

Noodles cooked

1 tbsp fresh coriander

1 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp lemon juice

First pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees to roast your beef bones for approx one hour, no need to do this if you are using left over roast beef bones.  Place the roasted bones and all the gorgeous scrapings from the roasting tin into a deep saucepan, add three litres of water and bring to a gentle simmer.  Meanwhile in a frying pan on a medium heat and caramelise the onion, ginger and lemon, this releases their natural sugars and adds another depth of flavour to the broth, add these to the stock saucepan along with the rest of the broth ingredients, carrots, celery, leek, star anise, lemongrass, cinnamon and fish sauce.

Leave to gently simmer for three hours and skim off any scum that collects on the top, the slower you simmer the less scum will be produced and you will make a clearer purer stock.  Once your stock has bubbled away for three hours and reduced by half, increasing the depth of flavour, strain through a fine mesh sieve or muslin.

Heat a non stick frying pan to medium hot, rub the beef with a dash of oil and sear the fillet on all sides for two minutes for rare and four minutes for medium, take off the heat, wrap in clingfilm and place in the freezer for twenty minutes, this will firm up the beef making it much easier to thinly slice, while the beef chills, place 600ml of stock in a saucepan and bring to a just simmer, turn down to tick over, take your beef from the freezer and thinly slice into ribbons.

In your bowls place a handful of noodles, top with a handful of beansprouts, a sprinkling of spring onions, chillies and coriander, place the ribbons of beef piled high in the centre and then pour over your hot beef stock, adjust the seasoning if needed with a dash of fish sauce and or lemon juice then enjoy your bowl of goodness, health and happiness.

MAHI MAHI MANGO LIME TACOS

Gorgeous fresh zesty lime and chilli marinated Mahi Mahi served in a soft homemade taco, topped with a fresh zingy mango chilli and lime salsa finished off with a dollop of daisy sour cream and pan seared peppers, these are soooo gorgeous that I question why we don't eat them more often, this batch did not even make it to the table they were loaded and eaten right there on the kitchen centre island.  A perfectly messy family face stuffing taco moment to cherish.

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 7 minutes
Making Soft Tacos 7 mins / Resting time 30 minutes / Cooking time 2 minutes each

Ingredients

(serves 4)

600g Mahi Mahi (sustainable sourced)
2 good glugs of cold pressed olive oil

2 limes juiced

Sea salt and black pepper
2 large bunches watercress
1 pot sour cream
1 small bunch coriander

Mango and Lime Salsa

1 ripe mango peeled and finely diced

2 tomatoes finely diced

2 spring onions finely sliced

1 red chilli finely diced

2 tbsp fresh coriander chopped

1 red pepper chopped 1" squares
1/2 lime juiced

Soft Taco's
500g 00 flour
10g sea salt
50g olive oil
320g water

Place the Mahi Mahi in a bowl or food bag season with salt and pepper, pour over the olive oil and half the lime juice and leave to marinate while you make the taco dough.

If your making your own soft tacos then do this first, place all the ingredients in a large bowl with a dough hook or by hand in bring all the ingredients together, knead for five minutes and then cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Take your dough and divide in to 12 smaller balls, roll out to around 6-8" disks.  Heat a skillet to medium high heat and cook each soft taco for approx 1 minute on each side until slightly charred and puffed up, wrap in a warm tea towel to keep warm.

Heat your griddle to medium heat, rub the fish with the olive oil, sea salt and pepper, place on the griddle and leave to cook without touching for 2-3 minutes when you can see the fish is half way cooked by the colour change on the side, add the red pepper to the pan to sear, then turn the fish over and finish cooking for a further 2 minutes, take the pan off the heat, squeeze over the lime juice and leave to rest while you...

Make the mango salsa by combing all the chopped ingredients and season with sea salt and pepper then the lime juice, place in a serving bowl on your table along with the warm tacos, bowls of watercress, sour cream and side of coriander.

Serve the fish and pan seared peppers on a large family sharing platter then just let everyone dive in and load their own tacos just how they like them...

DIRTY LOADED MASHED POTATOES WITH STEAK BUTTER GRAVY

WARNING...EAT IN PRIVACY!

My face just wants to fall straight into this glorious plate of can’t stop eating creamy cheesey bacon loaded butter steak gravy mashed potatoes, best eaten alone in privacy or with people who love you and with a spoon so you can maximise the load on each mouthful.  The dirty steak gravy is a touch decadent but so worth it, juicy steak and dirty mash a gorgeous dinner.

20 minutes cooking time/ Super easy

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

1 kg Idaho potatoes peeled and rough chopped

1 453g tub Philadelphia cream cheese

2 sticks of butter

1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

12 rashers natural un smoked bacon

4 spring onions finely chopped

300g 4 mix Mexican cheese

Steak n Gravy

Optional!

1 - 2 10 oz ribeye steaks

1 glug olive oil

1 stick butter room temperature 

500ml beef bone stock

200ml Madeira

All the resting juices from the steak

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

Sea salt and black pepper

Dirty Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Place the potatoes in a large pan of simmering water with a generous pinch of salt.  Cook the bacon crispy, chop and reserve to one side along with the chopped spring onions.  When the potatoes are fork tender around 20 minutes drain and leave to steam in the colander for 5 minutes, place back in the pan the lowest heat, add the butter and cream cheese, salt, pepper and apple cider vinegar, mash to a smooth consistency.

Steak n Gravy

While the potatoes are cooking heat a shallow skillet hot, rub the steaks with olive oil and the whole stick of softened butter, sear each steak for 1 minute on each side then turn the heat down to medium and finish cooking for a further 1-2 minutes each side for medium rare, spoon the butter over the steaks basting them as they cook, take the pan of the heat and leave the steaks to rest for at least 15 minutes.

Remove the steaks and slice on the diagonal, any juices on the chopping board scrape back into the pan.  Add the three tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt on a medium heat, add the flour and stir in until smooth, cook this roux for 5 minutes stirring all the time.  For a quick option add the stock and Madeira to the roux and gently whisk until combined.  Bring to a simmer which will thicken the gravy, season with salt and pepper.  For a more intense flavour reduce the stock by one third and the Madeira by half before adding.

To Finish Loaded Potatoes 

Mix half the Mexican cheese, bacon and spring onions into the mashed potatoes, stir to combine, serve the potatoes on to a platter then top with the remaining cheese and bacon, pop under the grill/broiler for a few minutes just to melt the cheese, remove and sprinkle over the spring onions.

Going Dirty !

Prepare the potatoes as above but before adding the final cheese, bacon and spring onions, (or mix everything in) make several wells in the potatoes with the back of a ladle,  pour in some steak gravy, layer the sliced steaks over the top then optional top with the remaining cheese, bacon, pop under the gril/broiler for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese, sprinkle over the spring onions and enjoy.

LAMB KEBAB GAUCHO

Carneiro Lamb

Gaucho Cowgirl inspiration for this dinner and boy oh boy they know how to cook meat.  This would traditionally be the sirloin cut Picanha asado but I have our home reared organic lamb fillet loins know as the noisette cut, the meat is similar to the cut of rib eye with a lovely layer of fat that will baste and flavour the lamb steak.  Simply seasoned and pan seared, then rested well, ensuring these kebabs are lip smacking face stuffing juicy and awesome!

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking Resting Time 15 minutes

(Dough proving time 15 minutes +)

Ingredients

(serves 4)

The Brasilian Skewer

800g Lamb Noisette or 1kg Rib eye steak on then off the bone

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tbsp coconut oil room temp

Kebab Fixings

2 carrots julienned 

1/2 red cabbage finely sliced

1 bunch coriander leaves rough chopped

8 tbps natural yogurt

1 lime juiced and zested

The Flat Breads

(makes 8)

500g 00 flour

50ml olive oil

15g dried yeast

10g sea salt

320g water

Make the flat bread dough first, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and combine, if using a mixer with a dough hook knead for 5 minutes and the same by hand, then fold the dough over itself a couple of times incorporating air and layers as you do.  Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 4 hours in a draft free place.  This dough can also be kept in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days, just bring out 30 minutes before needed to come up to room temperature before rolling out.

Cut your lamb noisette loin or rib eye in to three equal steaks and place on your skewer on the diagonal through the fat trying to keep the C shape curve of the fat on the meat.

Rub the meat with the coconut oil and season generously with the salt.  Heat your plancher to a high heat and sear the skewered meat for around a minute each side to seal and give you a lovely layer of flavour, then turn the heat down and finish cooking to your choice, another minute on each side for rare, couple of minutes each side for medium and as long as you think for well done.  Once cooked it really is important to leave your meat off the heat to rest for at least 5-10 minutes.  Take this time to make the flat breads

To make and cook the flat breads flour your work surface, cut your dough in to 8 and roll in to balls, heat a skillet to a high heat and start to roll out your dough balls in to thin flat breads, cook each flatbread as you roll out the next dough ball. 

Cook the flat breads for around one minute on each side and wrap in a tea towel to keep warm while you  finish cooking the rest.

I like to serve this family style, take everything to the table and let everyone build their own gorgeous lamb flat bread kebabs.

LAMB BEAUJOLAIS HAND PIES

Gorgeous little flaky buttery short crust parcels of joy...

Stuffed full of slow braised leg of lamb in beaujoulis villages red wine with red currents, rosemary and a stock vegetable reduction giving your tastebuds that WoW Nom Nom I want another mouthful with each bite.  These are one of my party/picnic nibbles that I am infamous for and I know my friends always look forward to these and a gift bag of extras to go home with too, one of the reasons that I love cooking.

Pastry Prep Time 5 minutes / Pastry Chilling Time 30 minutes / Pasty Cooking Time 25-30 minutes

Slow Braised Lamb Cooking Time 3 hours

Ingredients

(makes 15)

The Best Ever Flakey Short Crust Pastry

900g plain flour

220g butter grated

200g lard diced 

10g Himalayan sea salt 

(home rendered down lard with crackling is the most flavoursome, recipe below)

360ml ice cold water

1 beaten egg for wash

Home Made Lard If You Want To Make Your Own

1 kg pork back fat

1 side pig skin

Heat your oven to 220 C / 385 F, place the fat and skin in the pan, cook for 1 hour, remove from the oven and drain off all the crispy crackling infused lard that has rendered down, that's it you just made lard!  I drain my lard into a 1lb loaf tin, pop in fridge to set then cut into a couple of bars, wrap in parchment paper and store in the fridge, you can also store your lard in a glass ball mason jar.

To Make The Pastry

Place all the ingredients except the water in a large mixing bowl and roughly combine, add the water and bring the mixture to a ball, wrap in parchment paper and pop in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

For The Slow Braised Lamb

1 leg or shoulder of high welfare lamb

1 bottle beaujoulis villages/burgundy red wine

500ml  water

1 tbsp red current jelly

1 onion quartered

2 carrots peeled

1 bulb garlic halved

1 stick celery halved

1 leek halved

2 sprigs rosemary

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt 

1 pinch black pepper

To Slow Cook The Lamb 

Pre heat your oven to 200 C, place all of the ingredients in the pan, place in the oven and let the lamb brown off for approximately 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature down to 160 C, cover the roasting tin and leave to slowly cook for around 2.5 hours, the lamb is perfectly cooked when you can pull on the bone and it just easily slides away from the meat.  Leave the lamb to rest for a while, remove the whole vegetables from the tin reserving all the cooking juices in the roasting tin, using two forks or your hands pull the lamb apart and leave to cool and soak up all the cooking juices.  The lamb is now ready to be used.

To Make The Pasty's

Pre heat your oven to 200 C / 385 F, roll out your chilled pastry nice and thin, not to thin, I use a 4" pastry circle cutter, but you can make these any size, but I find the smaller pastys more yummy, brush a little egg wash around the rim of the pastry place a large tbsp of lamb in the centre, pull up the pastry from each side and pinch in the centre on top of the lamb, then repeat bring the sides up together down the left side, then right.  Place on a baking tray, I like to bake these on a pizza stone for a extra crispy bottom, egg wash and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden.

TWICE BAKED SWEET POTATO AND BEETROOT EGG CUPS

This is so gorgeous I could have eaten two oh hold on I did!  The rich creamy sweet potato is loaded with spring onion, grated raw beetroot and spinach seasoned with sea salt and black pepper along with a hint of turmeric and fresh chillies, finished off with a creamy egg baked in the centre of all that wonderful loaded baked sweet potato.

Prep Time 5 minutes / Cooking Time 1 hr

Ingredients

(make 2-3)

1 sweet potato

1 spring onion diced

1 small beetroot grated

8 large spinach leaves torn

1 red chilli diced

1/2 tsp fresh grated turmeric

Sea salt

Black pepper

3 organic eggs

Pre heat your oven to 180 C  / 360 F and place your sweet potato in the oven, a medium size potato will take around 40 minutes to bake to perfection.  Meanwhile prep the rest of the ingredients, once your potato is cooked and fork tender, cut a line in the top of the potato and scoop out all the sweet potato keeping the skin intact, place the potato in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients except the egg, mix well and stuff back in to the sweet potato skin, at this point I would place the potato on a baking tray and then make a well in the centre and crack the egg in to the potato, because the potato is already on the baking tray it is easy now to pop it back in the oven for around 15-18 minutes, if you like a soft runny yolk 15 minutes, then tuck in and enjoy.

WOOD FIRED TANDOORI CHICKEN AND COCONUT RICE

Tandoori spiced succulent juicy wood fired chicken is a gorgeous dinner, simple and quick to make with minimal effort for such a rewarding dinner, served with rice cooked in coconut milk which gives the rice a sweet sumptuous depth of flavour, this is a winner dinner even more so as the rice virtually cooks itself while the tandoori skewers only need turning once.

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 15 minutes

 

TANDOORI MARINADE PASTE

(cooking time 5-7 minutes)

 

4-6 chicken breasts large dice

100ml coconut oil

1 onion fined chopped

4 tomatoes chopped

1 tbsp palm sugar

1/2 tin coconut cream

1" fresh ginger grated

1 clove garlic grated

1 tsp sweet paprika 

1 tsp fresh turmeric grated 1/2 if powdered

 1/4 tsp cayenne chilli powder

6 cardamon pod seeds 

1 tsp fenugreek

3 kaffir lime leaves

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 pinch salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

 

Heat the oil in a pan and gently cook the onions for 10 minutes keeping them translucent, add the palm sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes, now add the chopped tomatoes, ginger, garlic, lime leaves and coconut cream, bring to a very slow simmer.

   

In a coffee grinder, grind all the whole spices coriander seeds, fenugreek and cardamom seeds add to the pan along with the dry spices paprika, turmeric, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper, cook for 5 minutes until you have a loose paste.  Coat the chicken with the paste and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge, over night even better.  When ready to cook skewer the chicken.

This is the time to start cooking the rice, this will only take 15 minutes.  The chicken will take around 5-7 minutes and a few minutes resting time.  

If your not cooking on a grill over a wood fire pit you can use a griddle on the stove or place a pizza stone in a pre-heated oven 230 degrees.  Once you place the skewers on the grill do not turn the for a couple of minutes, you want the chicken to seal and char adding all that extra character and flavour, the skewers will lift off easily when ready to turn.  Once turned cook for further two minutes then move to a cool part of the grill to rest before serving.

 COCONUT RICE INGREDIENTS

(cooking time 15 minutes)

 

1 can as measurement of rice

1 can of coconut milk

1 1/2 cans chicken stock 

1/2 tsp ground all spice

1 red pepper diced

10 baby plum tomatoes halved

1/2 cinnamon stick

1" ginger

1 scotch bonnet chilli whole

coriander to garnish

1 tsp red dried chillies

 

Rinse the rice and place in a lidded saucepan add the rest of the ingredient and give a gently stir to combine, do not over stir as this will make the rice stodgy.  Pop the lid on and bring to a simmer, turn down to a low simmer and DO NOT TAKE THE LID OFF, leave to cook for 8 minutes, then take of the heat and again do not touch the lid, leave to finish cooking in its own steam for a further five minutes, that’s it perfect cooked rice ready to serve.  If you this is easy to tell as you will have steam holes all over the rice, serve with the charred chicken tikka and flat breads with a mint and cucumber yogurt dip.

BUFFALO STEAK

• Rich buttery and gorgeously sumptuous this is a dish that will have you murmuring words of pleasure, simple to make a one pot wonder or instant pot slow cook, this is a fabulous dinner to come home to all done and ready to go.  It has a hot warming kinda chilli heat that builds up the more you eat but the rich buttery tomato sauce works really well with the scotch bonnet sauce.  A firm favourite in my family home.

Prep time 15 minutes / Cooking time 3 hrs (hands off)

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

800g chuck steak chunky diced 

1tbsp coconut oil

1 lrg onion finely diced

6 cloves garlic finely diced

1 red pepper chopped

1 celery chopped

1 leek chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 scotch bonnet chilli diced or milder chilli

4 tins tomatoes 

3 tbsp tomato purée 

1 tbsp sugar

250g butter

1 BOTTLE West Indian hot pepper sauce (250ml)

Sea salt

Black pepper

1 bunch fresh coriander chopped

2 fresh jalapeños sliced (optional)

1 lemon juiced (optional)

 

 First place your pan on the cooker, add the coconut oil, the onions, garlic, peppers, celery, leek and carrots and gently soften for around ten minutes keeping the onions translucent, next add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and chillies, scotch bonnets if you want that extra level of gum tingling Ka-Pow! 

Bring the tomato sauce to a gentle just bubbling simmer and cook for ten minutes, meanwhile take your choice of steak and rough chop into 1" pieces, season with salt and black pepper, at the moment my choice is skirt because it has such depth of flavour and suits well to either flash frying rare or slow braising where all the flavour can melt into your sauce.  Melt some coconut oil in a frying pan and brown off the skirt all over then reserve to one side.

With a soup stick blender blend the tomato sauce until smooth, if you don't have a stick blender use a food processor, and pulse in small batches with a tea towel held over the top of the blender as hot liquids can spirt out when pulsed under pressure!

Bring the blended tomato sauce back up to a gentle almost simmer and add the beef scraping the pan all of the resting juices, add half or like me the whole bottle of West Indian (it’s not as hot as you think!) and gently cook for approx three hours, stirring occasionally.  When your tomato sauce is thick and the beef wants to fall apart when touched add the pack of butter and stir in gently once melted, taste and adjust with adding more Louisiana hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper and maybe a squidge of lemon juice.  Finish with fresh coriander and jalapeños.

If you want more of a burn chilli heat rather than the warm hot pepper buzz this dish gives add fine diced Scotch bonnet to your finished dish when served for that gum tingling Ka-Pow! 

•  

PERFECT CRISPY PORK CRACKLING EVERYTIME

It’s all in the method...

Perfect crispy salty umptious crackling, a simple method that guarantees that perfect crispy crackling and succulent melt in the mouth belly pork every time you roast your pork.  There is no secret just a fool proof method.  Dry skin, sea salt and a really hot oven, some would say a rub if vinegar too, that’s all it takes for this Sunday Show Stopper that will have the whole family loving this crispy delight.

Cooking time 1 hour

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

1kg pork belly skin on scored

1 tbsp Himalayan sea salt 

The Secret to Success Everytime!

Pre heat your oven to 220 C / 428 F for at least 20 minutes in advance.  Pat your belly pork skin dry with a towel and liberally rub the salt all over the skin, place the pork in a low or flat roasting tin and place in the oven, turn the temperature down to 200 C / 392 F after 30 minutes leave to roast with out opening the door for around 45 minutes overall or until 70 C / 158 F.  Seriously that is all it takes to serve this awesome crackling roast pork.

Serve with usual roast accompaniments or use this pork diced to finish a sweet and sour pork stir fry recipe.

SPEEDY SHAOXING GINGER STIR FRY

Simple quick and easy family dinner, stir fry shaoxing ginger and spring onion chicken with peppers, onions, bean sprouts, kale and fresh jalapeños.  Really quick from fridge to table, swap out or add in your favourite vegetables, if you can plan ahead then marinate the chicken in advance for more depth of flavour all the better.  Serve with bowls of fragrant rice and a side of sweet chilli dipping sauce.

This recipe is so versatile you can swap out the meat for more vegetables or a different meats or fish.  Don’t want rice swap for egg noodles or extra stir fry vegetables.

Prep time 15 minutes / Cooking time 5 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 2)

Stir Fry

300g chicken thighs skin & bone off finely sliced

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp fresh ginger sliced

1 fresh jalapeño sliced

4 stems of kale shredded

1 carrot julienned

1 leek julienned

1/4 red cabbage finely sliced

1/4 white cabbage finely sliced

100g fresh bean sprouts

1/2 red pepper sliced

1/2 green pepper sliced

1 onion finely sliced

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

2 spring onions finely sliced

1 small bunch fresh chopped coriander

Marinade

75ml soy sauce or coconut aminos

50ml shaoxing wine

1tbsp mirin

1 tsp brown rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp wasabi paste

1/2 tsp sesame oil x 2

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/2 tsp fresh grated turmeric

1 clove garlic grated

3 spring onions bashed to a paste

Accompaniments

1 cup uncooked rice or 2 portions noodles

Soy sauce

Wasabi paste

Sweet chilli sauce

In a pester and mortar bash the spring onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric and wasabi to a paste, add the rest of the marinade ingredients, mix together and pour over the chicken, leave to marinade in the fridge for half an hour or over night if you want to get ahead.  The longer the marinade the deeper the flavours.

Rice or Noodles

15 minutes cooking time

Get this cooking before you start the stir fry.

To cook perfect fluffy rice, take one cup of uncooked rice and two cups of water bring to a gentle simmer, pop the lid on set your timer for 10 minutes then Do Not Lift The Lid at all during the cooking time and resting time.  As soon as the timer rings take the saucepan off the head and leave to one side to finish cooking the rice under its own steam for a further 5 minutes, then your rice is ready to serve.  If your having noodles then bring a pan of water to a simmer drop the noodles in and cook for around 2 minutes, drain, run under cold water then drizzle over a little sesame oil and reserve to one side.

Stir fry

7 minutes cooking time

Heat your wok on a high heat, add the coconut oil and the marinated chicken with all the marinade, stir fry for a couple of minutes until the chicken is just cooked, remove to a bowl and keep to one side, now add in all the stir fry vegetables except the bean sprouts and stir fry for a couple of minutes, add the bean sprouts, noodles if using and the reserved chicken and resting juices, toss through, stir in the 2nd half teaspoon of sesame oil, sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds, fresh coriander and spring onions and serve.  I like to have extra soy, wasabi and sweet chilli sauce on the side.

CHOWDER SMOKED HADDOCK BEST EVER

Simple yet decedent

This I try ! to only allow myself to indulge a couple of times a year but personally I want to fall face first into this decadently sumptuously gorgeous I can’t move for the rest of the day awesome creamy naturally oak smoked haddock corn and potato chowder, my taste buds and heart say it’s worth the next few hours of my groaning belly telling me off for eating a greedy to big a portion followed by a further week of no zip up jeans, this should tell me otherwise but I don’t want to listen as my taste buds rule mind over matter! 

Prep time 10 mins / Cooking time 20-30 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 4 or a greedy 2)

1 onion finely diced

1/2 onion peeled whole 

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic finely diced

3 King Edward potatoes small diced

1 can sweet corn in water

1 ltr whole milk 

5 whole black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 kg naturally oak smoked haddock

1 ltr chicken stock (homemade recipe below)

500ml double cream

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

Himalayan sea salt 

Fresh ground black pepper

First in a pan on a medium heat melt the butter and olive oil, add the diced onion and one of the garlic gloves diced, soften without colouring for around five minutes, then add the diced potatoes and sweet corn with juice, leave to gently soften.  Meanwhile bring the milk up to almost a simmer, tiny hint of bubbles no more than that.  Add the other garlic clove. Whole half of onion, bay leaf and peppercorns, then place the haddock in to gently poach the fish for around five minutes until just cooked and flaking, remove the haddock from the poaching milk.

Sieve the cooking liquor (milk) and reserve to one side.  Add the chicken stock to the cooking corn and potatoes, then the double cream, stir in then add the turmeric and some of the reserved cooking milk, this is for extra smoked haddock flavour and for the thickness of your chowder, for a thinner chowder add more milk.  Bring to a simmer for a few minutes then season with salt and pepper to taste, flake in the cooked haddock and finish with fresh parsley.

PRIME RIB FILLET WITH AWESOME AU JUS

Can I call this cooking?  All I did was season and open the oven!

I think this is my new favourite way to eat steak, I don’t know if I will go back, well maybe a butter seared peppered crust might do it!  Again it’s all in the method and really a almost no cooking required dinner, just opening the oven door and that’s about it!  Oh and a bit of maths!  Now I won’t fib I couldn’t help myself and I had to peel or chop something this is not necessary, but it will give the au jus so much more depth of flavour that I can’t get enough of with my prime rib.

The Maths

I would usually recommend a fore rib centre cut ribeye bone off approx 3kg / 6.61lbs but this time my butcher had a beautiful thick centre cut side of fillet that just screamed prime rib to me when I saw it, as the cooking is based on the weight of your cut of beef you have more flexibility on your choice of cuts.  I choose a 2kg/4.41lbs centre cut of fillet this time but I have also cooked a whole sirloin that also resulted in a perfect cooked prime rib and it’s all due to this equation!

Bring your steak out 3 hours before you are going to cook, this is really important for a successful prime rib and not to end up with roast beef or London broil.

Preheat your Oven to the highest 240 C - 250 C / 464 F - 482 F

The Cooking Calculation For My Steak Weight...

4.41lbs x 5 (minutes) per lb = 23 Cooking Minutes + 1 minute = 24 Exact Minutes

( The +1 minute is for oven temperature adjustment from the door being opened...YES it matters that much! )

Prep time 1 minute - 5 minutes / Cooking time 2hrs-24 minutes.

Equipment deep roasting tray with a rack

Ingredients 

(serves 6)

Prime Rib Fillet

2kg / 4.41 lbs centre cut fillet steak

150g butter room temperature 

1 tbsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper 

Au Jus

4 carrots roughly chopped

1 onion in quarters

1 leek roughly chopped

2 ribs of celery roughly chopped

1 bulb of garlic cut in half

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs of thyme

10 whole black peppercorns

1 ltr water or red wine

Pre heat your oven to its highest setting, 220, 230, 240 or 250 C / 482 F for at least one hour in advance.

Take your roasting tray and place your steak in the centre, unless like me you feel the need to add extra flavour layers to the au jus then place the au jus stock ingredients in the bottom of the roasting tray, add the water or wine.  Season the steak with salt and pepper then generously spread the soft butter all over the steak, place into the centre of the roasting tray.

Place in the oven as fast as possible and from this point forward DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR, if you do you will get roast beef not prime rib.  Set the timer for your maths cooking time, when this time is up, TURN THE OVEN OFF !  DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR AT ALL!  After two hours your prime rib is ready to serve, it will be warm but not hot.  If you want your steak cooked more medium rare then just heat the steak in the au jus to your liking.

That is it, so simple the prime rib cooks itself.  You can bake some potatoes or make a gorgeous creamy buttery mashed potatoes, salad or vegetables to serve with your prime rib without the pressure of cooking timings as you know that the perfect prime rib is doing it’s own thing.  

The Au Jus

I often blitz the mirepoix vegetables into all the au jus resting juices stock gravy for maximum flavour, this is optional and will give you a slightly thicker gravy or you can simply strain the cooking juices, add a knob of butter and taste for seasoning.  Optional I always have a side of horseradish too.

CRISPY LAMB TACO WRAPS

LOSING WEIGHT WITH GORGEOUS FOOD

How can food that tastes this good and makes you feel like you are being really naughty be diet food?  That's because it's NOT, its LIFESTYLE food, food that will see you loose weight without being on a diet, it is really that simple, diets do not work long term, I am proof of that, as a emotional eater I finally got to 315lbs and turned 40yrs old and that was my cut off point!  So far I have lost 126lb in 22 months by just removing a few processed foods from my life, I now eat more than I ever have and have a much wider selection of meals that I ever thought I could eat without getting bigger. 

If you do try the Paleo Lifestyle you will quickly see a huge difference in how your body loves Paleo and rewards you with good steady weight loss while you get to eat gorgeous beautiful food that you never thought you could if you were on a diet!  For more on this type Paleo in my search engine at the top of my blog to see all my recipes and a complete guide to Paleo weight loss for life.  Also my inspiration has been from PALEO LEAP, PALEO NOM NOM, PALEO GRUBS & CAVEMAN DIET.

Prep Time 15 minutes / Cooking Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 4-6)

2 large breasts of lamb

2 tsp five spice

70ml soy sauce

150ml shaoxing wine

50ml water

1 tsp sea salt

To Serve With

12-20 large lettuce leaves or tortilla wraps or taco shells

2 carrots julienned

200g fresh spinach leaves

10 spring onions julienned

2 red chillies finely sliced

Sweet Soy Dipping Sauce

50ml organic soy sauce or coconut aminos

100ml sake

1 tbsp honey

1 fresh chilli diced

1 pinch fresh grated turmeric 

1 dash sesame oil

Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees C, 428 degrees F, season the underside of the breasts of lamb with the five spice and sea salt.  In a wide shallow roasting tin place the soy, shaoxing and water and then lay the breast of lamb skin side up in the pan, season the skin with more sea salt, pop in the oven for 45 minutes by then you will have juicy succulent lamb with a gorgeous crispy crackling skin.  Leave to rest for five minutes in the pan and then finely slice or chop up and place on a family style serving plate.

While the lamb it cooking line each of your serving plates with a few of the lettuce wraps some of the julienned carrots, spinach leaves, spring onions and red chilli and place on the table.

To make the sweet soy dipping sauce place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer and cook for a couple of minutes, remove from the heat and place in a small bowl with a teaspoon and place on your table.

I love serving this food family style so everyone can stuff their own wraps to their own liking.  Family style where great food creates great family memories.

PREP AHEAD DINNERS

DINNER IS IN THE BAG!

42 Get Ahead Dinner’s that save time and save money.

I love stocking my freezer with these make ahead sheet pan tray bake dinners, knowing a fabulous family dinner is marinating in the fridge or freezer ready to go at a moments notice with lots of fresh veggies dinner will be on the family table in 20 minutes with minimal effort, dinner is sorted.  This also means I can spend more time with my family and the bonus is left overs for next day lunch salads, wraps, quesadillas and tacos this is a winning formula.

What I love about get ahead dinners is the whole family are involved in making the weeks prep ahead dinners list which at some point usually gets a little loud with a hundred or so suggestions a minute being launched at me!  This is my family's next choices for this batch of get ahead dinners.  All you have to do as add a selection of fresh or frozen vegetables, baked potatoes or a big family salad and dinner rolls while your traybake is cooking.

Prep time 2 hours Made 42 Meals / Cooking time 18-20 minutes

These are some of my families favourite go to dinners, just make a meal plan for what you guys love and stock up your fridge and feeezer for a week or month, this prep ahead really pays off on those busy week nights when time is short.

BACON WRAPPED CHEESE STUFFED MUSTARD CHICKEN THIGHS 

Skinless boned out chicken thighs seasoned with salt and pepper, rolled in Dijon mustard, filled with sliced mozzarella forked in half and wrapped with sweetcure bacon, tossed in olive oil.  To cook place on sheet pan and roast for 18-20 minutes, turning half way through.

CHILLI CUMIN GARLIC HANGER STEAK FOR TACOS OR SALD BOWLS

Tri tip or skirt steak seasoned with Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, Kashmiri chilli powder and ground cumin, place in bag with good glug of olive oil. To cook sear the steak in a skillet for 2 minutes each side, remove from the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes, slice on the bias and serve with all the usual taco fixings.

FEATHER BLADE OREGANO SALT PEPPER KEBAB STEAK

Tri tip of skirt steak seasoned with Himalayan sea salt, white pepper and dried oregano, toss with olive oil.  To cook sear the steak in a hot skillet for a couple of minutes on each side, leave to rest for 5 minutes, very thinly slice on the bias and serve stuffed in to pitta breads topped with ice berg salad, lime slaw, chilli sauce, garlic mayonnaise and green kebab pickled chillies.

SESAME SOY GARLIC GINGER CHICKEN STIR FRY

Chicken, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, Himalayan sea salt, white pepper, grated ginger, fresh garlic, spring onions and olive oil.  To cook empty the chicken in to a roasting tin and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, serve with shredded stir fry veggies of broccoli, asparagus, red and white cabbage wok seared with sesame oil, soy sauce and a dash of shaoxing wine.

CHICKEN THIGH OREGANO KEBAB

Diced boneless skinless chicken thigh meat, olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, black pepper and dried oregano.  To cook place in a roasting tin and bake for 10-12 minutes until just cooked, serve with kebab flat breads stuffed with salad, slaw, chilli sauce, garlic mayonnaise and kebab pickled chillies.

CHICKEN FAJITAS

Chicken, olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, dried oregano, ground cumin, coriander, chilli, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and ancho chipotle chilli powder.  To cook place in a roasting tray with sliced red and green peppers and sliced onions, bake for 18 minutes, serve with soft flour tortillas, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños, iceberg salad and grated cheese.

BUFFALO CHICKEN WITH BLUE CHEESE

Chicken, olive oil, whole bottle West Indian hot sauce, Himalayan sea salt and black pepper, blue cheese reserved for later.  Place in a roasting tin with sliced peppers and onions and bake for 18 minutes, 3 minutes before cooking time is up crumble the blue cheese over the chicken to melt.  Serve with broccoli and home fries, or stuffed in to tortilla wraps or tacos with iceberg salad and fixings.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE 

Chicken, olive oil, diced red and green peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic, tin of chopped tomatoes, sea salt, black pepper, dried Italian herbs, tsp tomato puree and of sugar, dash of red wine optional, olives optional.  To cook empty the bag in to your roasting tin and cook in the oven for 20-24 minutes, serve over pasta or with rice and veggies.

CHICKEN PIRI PIRI

Chicken, olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, oregano, ground ginger, ground cardamom, garlic and onion powder, piri piri chilli powder, cayenne pepper, sliced peppers, onions and butter.  To cook place in a roasting tin and bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked serve over pasta or with home fries and veggies or stuffed in to flatbreads with salad.

PARMESAN MEATBALLS MARINARA 

Ground beef, sea salt, black pepper, grated Parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, chilli powder, oregano, mix and shape in to balls.  Marinara

Sauce onions, garlic, olive oil, chilli powder, pinch sugar, oregano, tomatoes, leave to cook for at least one hour then chill and cover meatballs.  To cook place in a roasting tin and bake in the oven for around 25 minutes serve with spaghetti or stuffed in to subs loaded with melted cheese.

GARLIC BUTTER MUSHROOM CHICKEN

Chicken, butter, olive oil, garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, sea salt and white pepper.  To cook place in a roasting tin and bake for 18 minutes, serve with fries, veggies or add a glug of cream and white wine and serve over pasta with Parmesan.

12 PORTIONS TEXAS RED CHILLI BEEF

All in one pan at the same time, onions, garlic, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, mexine powder, cayenne, ground cumin, oregano, ground beef, tins tomato, tomato purée.  To cook leave to gently simmer away for a couple of hours finish off with a few knobs of butter.  This is a recipe that the flavours are better the day after.

TO COOK

To cook pre heat your oven to 200 C / 392 F, place your marinated meats on a sheet pan, toss your veggies, broccoli, red onion, garlic, red and green bell peppers, squash and courgettes in olive oil and maybe some fresh lemon juic, sea salt and ground black pepper and arrange on the sheet pan, pop in the oven and bake for around 18 minutes for chicken and 12 minutes for fish, check that your protein is cooked through and serve with a side of house salad.