February Recipes Wrapped
It’s that time again where I share what recipes I have been cooking throughout the month of February. I have some yummy recipes that I have been rustling up over the month.
Things are pretty hectic at the moment, work is full on, it’s exam season for both my teens, and I am training for the London Marathon. Therefore, making quick yummy meals, is top of my list. At the moment I just don’t have the time to be stuck in the kitchen making time consuming meals for everyone.
I have shared previously, that cooking for my family is like being a contestant on Masterchef, everything that is put down in front of them is judged heavily. I have learned to have a pretty thick skin or simply ignore them. I do remind them, I am not a professional chef, however, I can pretty much put my hand to anything cooking wise.
So let’s start with a winner, every time I make these buttermilk chicken burgers, they are a loved. A little bit of pre planning is required, as the chicken needs to marinade in the buttermilk, if you want it to be super tender. This elevates your normal chicken burger to something special.
Top Tip: No need to buy buttermilk, just add 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar to the milk.
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Serves x 4
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp crushed fennel seeds
4 x chicken tighs fillets
250ml buttermilk (tip above how to make your own)
150g Plain Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 burger buns toasted
Iceburg or baby gem lettuce
Shop bought Aioli
2 large tomatoes sliced thinly
4 dill pickles
1 red onion sliced
Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
Method
Put the paprika and fennel seeds in a large bowl and mix. Add the chicken and toss to fully coat. Add the buttermilk and mix well. Then pop in the fridge for a minimum or 30mins but ideally over night.
Fill a pan with cooking oil and put on a medium heat.
While the oil is heating up, place the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper on a large tray.
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and allow any excess to drop off. Place in the tray and cover in the flour mixture.
Then deep fry the chicken in batches if needed for about 5-6 minutes. Drain on a paper towel and keep warm.
Toast your burger buns, mix a couple of drops of tabasco sauce with your aioli, mix in your sliced lettuce.
Assemble your burgers with lettuce, then tomoto & onion, followed by your pickles. Place the chicken in and sandwich with the top the bun. Yummy !
Up next is Indian Cauliflower Cheese. When you are next cooking a Sunday roast and you are making cauliflower cheese give this a go. It is a twist on your standard recipe, with the addition of green chillies, cumin & mustard seeds and lovely breadcrumbs across the top. This is loved by everyone I make it for. I bet once you try this you won’t go back to the standard boring version. Try it !
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Serves 4
1 Large Cauliflower broken into florets
30g unsalted butter (kerrygold)
1 small onion finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp medium curry powder
1 tsp mustard powder
2 green chillies, finely chopped
3/4 tsp black mustard seeds
300ml double cream
150g mature cheddar cheese, grated
15g fresh breadcrumbs ideally sourdough
few sprigs of parsley
salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c
Steam the cauliflower over boiling water for 5 mins. leave to cool slightly.
Put the butter in a large pan, add the onion and sauté for 8 mins, until soft and golden.
Add cumin seeds, curry powder, mustard powder and chillies and cook for 4 mins, give it a few stirs.
Add the mustard seeds, cook for another minute.
Then pour in the cream, add 100g of the cheese & the salt, let it simmer until it thicken a little.
Now add your cauliflower, stir gently and simmer for another minute then remove from the heat.
Decant into an oven proof dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
The sprinkle your breadcrumbs to finish.
Pop in a hot oven for 20 mins or until it is nicely brown on top.
Allow to cool for 5 mins before tucking in.
Bit of a cheat one here, it’s basically a steak sandwich. If you want something tasty and you don’t have any time, this is a no brainer. Two prerequisite, you must use good quality rib eye steaks and buy the best sourdough you can. I use M&S Kalamata & Halkidiki Olive Sourdough. It’s amazing. If you haven’t tried it already, what are you doing, go get some. Of course if you can’t get hold or it any sourdough will do. I serve mine with a side salad and skinny peri peri fries, the salad is basically whatever I have in the fridge that needs using up.
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Serves x 2
2 x Rib Rye Steaks
Sourdough of your choice
1 red chilli
1 cloves of garlic
1 small onion
small punch of parsley
4 Tbsp Olive Oli
2 x Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Fresh Rocket
Galic Mayo
Red Onion
Method
To make the chimichurri, blitz your chilli, garlic, onion, parsley, vinegar & olive oil in your mini processor, add a little seasoning.
Cook your steaks to your liking.
Cut your some sourdough, nice and thick and toast under the grill with a little bit of olive oil.
Once steaks are cooked set aside for 2 mins to rest.
Then assemble your sarnie, put your garlic mayo on you sourdough, slice your steak at an angle and place on top, add your chimichurri over the top, and add some slices of red onion and fresh rocket.
Drizzle a little bit of olive over the top to finish off, add a few shaving of parmesan cheese. Yum !
This is a go to for me, when I want to cook a roast chicken but not a traditional one, something a bit different but special. Harissa is a game changer ingredient you can add it to almost everything and it add flavour magic. Cooking this with bulgar wheat adds a lovely lightness to the dish. I have BBQ’d the chicken many times in the summer, it has always been a big hit. I guarantee if you cook this you will be converted, and if you have leftovers, it tastes so good in sandwiches the next day.
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Serves 4
4 garlic cloves
1 perserved lemon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 Tbsp Harissa
Bunch of Coriander
Bunch of Parsley
Sea Salt & Black Pepper
80g butter (Kerrygold of course) room temp
Olive oil
1 x 1.6kg Chicken
1 Lemon
425ml fresh chicken stock
1 onion
2 tomatoes
350g Bulgur Wheat
Handful of Fresh Green Olives
30g Pomegranate seeds
Method
To make the harissa paste. In a dry frying pan toast the cumin & coriander seeds until lightly toasted.
Then pop them in your food processor with the paprika, preserved lemon, harissa, half the coriander & parsley and the garlic. Season well and blitz.
Add the butter & 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil and pulse until smooth.
Use your hands to carefully move the chicken skin back from the breast to create a pocket, stuff some of the mixture in there. Then slash the skin on the thighs and rub the butter all over & under the skin. Halve a lemon and pop it into the cavity.
Place your chicken in a snug fitting tray. Put in the oven or on your BBQ (in the tray) for 1/1/4 hours, or until cooked.
To make the bulgur wheat, heat your chicken stock in a pan. Chop the onion, and deseed the tomatoes. Pour a glug of olive oil into a large frying pan and fry the onions until soft, add the tomatoes and cook for 5 mins. Then add your bulgar wheat. Stir for a minute so all the wheat is covered in the oil. Add your chicken stock, add a little salt, and let it simmer on low for about 8 mins. it is cooked when it looks light and fluffy. Cover the pan to keep it warm.
Chop the rest of the herbs and stir through the bulgar wheat.
When the chicken is ready let is sit for 10 mins, squeeze over the lemon from the cavity and carve up.
I shred the meat into the buttery juice so it is lovely and most.
Finally I add some fresh olives & pomegranate seeds to the bulgar wheat, and serve with natural yogurt on the side.
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Serves 4
1 onion
1 Tbsp of grated ginger
2 cloves garlic
small handful of coriander
2 tsp fish sauce
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 green chillies
2 Tbsp of veg oil
8 chicken thighs, cut into thirds
125ml chicken stock
1 x tin of coconut milk
200g green beans trimmed & halved
Method
Put your onion, ginger, garlic, coriander and chilli in a small food processor and blitz into a paste.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the paste and cook for 5 mins.
Add chicken and stir to cover with the paste.
Add the stock & coconut milk, bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and cook for 20 mins.
Add the beans and simmer for another 3 mins.
Serve with your rice of choice.
Some Thai curries can be a little bit involved but here is one that takes no time at all and tastes amazing. I have it with jasmine or basmati rice, and a side of prawn crackers. You can make a nice refreshing cucumber salad to go with it, if you can be bothered. It is super nice so worth the little bit of extra time.
Top Cheat Tip: If you have a Thai shop near you a buy some Mae Ploy Green Curry Paste, if not here is the online store add a Tbsp to the pan with a touch of oil, then add coconut milk, some fish sauce and palm sugar, then add your choice of meat or veg, Done, you’re welcome.
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Serves 6
2 cloves garlic crushed
1kg Lamb Mince
2 Tbsp finely chopped mint leves
1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp Honey
200g Feta, crumbled
2 Tbsp Olive oil
250ml Beef stock
750ml passata or 2 tins of plum tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
Method
Place mint, rosemary, garlic, lamb mince, mustard, feta & honey.
Roll Tbsp of the mixture into balls.
If you have time put the meatballs in the fridge to firm up.
Heat the oil in a pan, and cook the meatballs in batches browning on all sides.
Once all cooked return all meatballs to the pan, add the passata and stock.
Simmer for 12-15 mins or until meatballs are cooked through. Finally add the oregano and cook for 1 min.
Cook your choice of pasta and add.
Season to taste.
Meatballs are a great mid week meal, but I prefer lamb over beef. These lamb meatballs are super light to eat and with the addition of feta, it takes them to another level. I normally try to make this ahead and let them sit in the fridge for bit before cooking. This helps them to stay together, as they have a tendency to fall apart when you are cooking them. I serve mine with spaghetti and some garlic bread or a nice crisp side salad, another winner.
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Serves 4
500g skinless & boneless chicken Thighs
1 bunch of spring onions
320g chestnut mushrooms
1 sheet of just rol puff pastry
600ml semi skimmed milk
1 heaped Tbsp plain flour
1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
80g mixed bag of watercress & spinach
Method
Preheat the oven to 200c. Chop the chicken into small chunks and place in a frying pan on a medium heat with 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
Trim the spring onions, chop into small rings and put the pan.
Slice the mushrooms and cook for 10 mins.
While the chicken is cooking unroll the pastry sheet on its paper and score a 3cm border around the edge (don’t cut through) Then cut a criss-cross pattern across the middle inner section.
Brush a little milk, then place the pastry on its paper into the oven and cook for 17 mins.
Next add the flour into the chicken mixture and add the milk.
Simmer on a medium heat, until you get a nice sauce.
Turn the heat off and add the mustard and half the leaves. Then season.
Remove the pastry and let it cool slightly. Move onto a large chopping board, throw away the paper.
Using a sharp knife cut around the border, cutting through the top layers only.
Use a fish slice to lift out the middle section, leaving a layer of pastry at the bottom.
Fill the pastry with the chicken filling and remaining leaves.
Then put the lid back on and serve.
This is a super simple and fast way to make a chicken pie, you assemble at the end, by just popping the filling into the cooked puff pastry. I put it on a large chopping board and take it to the table. Such a lovey mid week meal.
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Serves 4
2 tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp dried chille flakes
Olive oil
600g good quality sausages
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 glass of white wine
zest & juice of 1 lemon
500g pasta of your choice
sea salt & fresh ground pepper
A couple of knobs of butter (kerrygold)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
small bunch of flat leaf parsley
Method
Bash up the fennel seed in a pestle and mortar until the are crushed.
Heat the olive oil in a pan, and squeeze the meat out of the sausage skin.
Break it up with a spoon while cooking until it looks a bit like mince.
Add the fennel seeds & chilli flakes.
Cook for about 10 mins, until the meat is a golden brown colour.
Stir in the oregano, pour in the white wine and let it reduce by half.
Add the lemon zest and juice.
Turn the heat down low and then start cooking your pasta.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and reserve some of the cooking water.
Add the pasta to the sausage meat mature and coat everything.
Then add the butter, parsaly and parmesan with some cooking water to make a nice yummy sauce.
Check the seasoning, sprinkle with more parmesan and tuck in straight away.
Sausages are always a big hit in my house. I always try to buy good quality ones from the local butchers, as they are another level compared to the supermarket. This is a super speedy and incredibly tasty meal. Takes no time at all to prepare and tastes yummy.
That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoy some of these lovely recipes. S x