Eating Tales

I thought I would post the recipes for various quick and easy meals I’ve been cooking whilst unpacking boxes, painting and filling holes in walls etc. I have to admit that it still looks like we moved in yesterday and when people call by they look amongst the boxes and say ‘ Oh it’s looking great!’. Filly our dog has just added to the list of chores by attacking the door frame to the utility room in an attempt to escape. It looks like a job for a carpenter. Her other antics have included climbing on the dining table and stealing three pork pies, to which she is highly allergic. As well as chasing the neighbours cat and she’s also showing a keen interest in their chickens!

The first two recipes are adapted from recipes I saw in this months Olive magazine (actually they are so adapted you probably wouldn’t recognise the recipe if you had the magazine, but that is where the inspiration came from – i guess I could call them my own recipes!) and the Pad Thai is a noodle dish we learnt in Thailand.

Linguine with green and black olives and feta cheese

Serves 2

Olive oil

Garlic 2 cloves sliced

Small onion 1 chopped

Chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g can

Tomato puree 2 tsp

Linguine 200g

Pitted green and black olives approx 12-15 halved

Feta cheese 2 tbsp cubed

Flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, chopped

Heat 2 tbs oil in a medium pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook gently for 2 minutes, without allowing them to brown. Add the tomatoes and tomato puree and season (including seasoning of 1 tsp of sugar to counteract the sourness of the tinned tomatoes). Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the linguine according to packet instructions. Drain well. Stir in the olives and parsley and heat through for 1 minutes. Add the feta to the sauce just before serving.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve.

Tip: I bought a pack of marinated olives and feta all together instead of buying them all separately

 

Roasted root vegetable and green lentil soup

Serves 4

Chantenay carrots 250g halved lengthways

 Potatos 2 peeled and cut into small chunks

Onion 1 cut into thin wedges

Olive oil

Dried chilli flakes a pinch

Ground cumin 2 tsp

Green lentils 200g

Vegetable stock 1.5 litres

Parsley a small bunch, chopped

Heat the oven to 190 degrees. Arrange all the vegetables in a single layer in a large roasting tin. Drizzle over 2 tbsp oil and spronkle over the chilli flakes, cumin and some salt and pepper. Toss the veg to coat in the oil and roast for 30-40 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile put the lentils and stock in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Stir in the roasted vegetables and parsley and serve with crusty bread.

 

Pad Thai

Serves 1

70g rice noodles

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large egg

3 prawns, deveined and headless but with tail attached

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp yellow bean curd, finely diced

1 tbsp ground dried shrimp ( soak in cold water for 5 minutes, drain and pound in a pestle and mortar)

1 tbsp ground roasted peanuts

1 stem spring onion, cut into 2 cm pieces

30g bean sprouts

Soak the rice noodles in hot water until soft, approx 10 minutes. Careful they don’t get too soft.

Heat the oil in a wok until hot, then break the egg into the oil and scramble it.

Add the prawns and noodles, stir-fry for 15 seconds.

Add the fish sauce, sugar and lemon juice. Stir-fry for a further 15 seconds.

Add the dried shrimps, peanuts and beancurd. Stir-fry for another 15 seconds.

The toss in the spring onion and bean sprouts. Mix and remove from the heat.

Garnish with a lemon wedge and sprinkle with coriander leaves.

On Wednesday whilst I did the DIY Mark took over in the kitchen! He served up a delicious meal of crispy belly pork, chunky chips, red cabbage and carrots. I’ll let him take it from here!…………

As we have just moved into our new house, I did the typical bloke thing and went to B&Q to buy all the things a typical “Man needs”, the spirit level, drill, all the attachments (you can never have too many attachments for a drill), plenty of paint and some wall plugs and screws to match. Annabel has done a sterling job of making use of them all, as everyone in my family seems to think I am about as useful at DIY as Pete Docherty is at being sober. So I was banished to the kitchen to prepare a feast for the hungry workers.

I have always had a passion for chunky chips. So much so that I even asked the chef at a local restaurant, just how did he get his chunky chips so crunchy…. He lied as all I was left with after using his recipe, was raw starch, drenched in cooking oil. But I was now determined to find out how you make chunky chips, crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle. People beware, if you want the chunky chips with a crispy outer shell and a soft fluffy centre, you need to put some effort in. So here comes the recipe:

What you will need

1 large potato per person (I’m still experimenting with the best variety, but please do post if you have an insight.)

About 4 litres of vegetable oil (you can use less if you are using a pan, fill one third full)

A deep fat fryer and a large pan.

A colander

Two baking trays

Some kitchen roll

Method

Firstly peel the potatoes and then wash to remove any excess dirt.

Cut the chips so that they are about three quarters of an inch thick. Try to ensure that they are of similar thickness, so that they will cook evenly.

Place the chips into a ban of cold water and bring to the boil. Boil the chips for about 8 minutes

Meanwhile just as the chips are finishing boiling, fill your sink with ice cold water (please clean the sink first.)

Drain the chips with the colander and put immediately into the iced cold water

Heat the oil using your deep fat fryer or pan (you will need a thermometer if using a pan) to 160 degrees.

Place the enough chips into the frying basket so that they only cover the bottom of the basket, or if using a pan, the base of the pan.

Fry for 3-4 minutes. The chips will not be golden brown but that’s ok. Remove and place on a baking tray lined with kitchen roll.

Complete this until all the chips have been done once.

Repeat the process again. (This is the secret).

Turn the oil up to 190 degrees, and then fry a batch of the chips for about 3-4 minutes again. This will turn the chips golden brown, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. Repeat with the remainder of the chips.

Season with salt, but no vinegar as this will make them soggy.

They key to getting the crispiness is the boiling, iced cold water and three times frying. It takes some time, but believe me your DIY professionals will love them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.