January Recipes Wrapped

Sourdough with Smash Avocado & Poached Eggs

We have nearly made it through January ! Well done everybody. The constant dark days with limited sunshine, and relentless rain, is enough to send even the more positive of us over the edge. We are all willing to see the back of what seems to be the longest month ever.

I have been busy documenting all the recipes I have been cooking over the month, which is a combination of comfort food along, with some Indian inspired recipes and also some healthy choices.

I have included the classic sourdough avocado breakfast, this is by far my favourite breakfast to cook at the weekend. Speaking of breakfast, my favourite breakfast ever is of course breakfast in a bap, which is sausage, bacon, Irish black pudding, onion chutney & crispy onions, in a famous Belfast Bap roll. I recently visited Belfast and filled my face with one at St George’s market. It was a 10/10, made with amazing ingredients, high quality meat and everything was made fresh to order. You just can’t beat it, especially when they simply name it ‘The Meaty’ Yum!

This week I have a special contribution from my bestie Emma Wilcox, who is sharing her tip on a Fake Away recipe for Chicken & Black Bean.

Written by: Emma Wilcox

It’s January and let’s face it, most of us are feeling the squeeze both physically and financially! You’ve atoned for eating that extra chocolate orange you didn’t need and have embarked on a new diet and fitness regime to set you on a righteous path for 2024 right?! Don’t forget, January is also the month for a bit of self love, so as I’m always telling Sylvia, “don’t be too hard on yourself!”

As Tom Kerridge once said, it’s no coincidence that the first three letters in the word “diet” spell DIE. So what better way to reward yourself for getting through a week of salads, than a tasty Fake-away! It’s healthier than a conventional takeaway, won’t leave a gaping hole in your wallet and still feels like a treat.

This recipe is one that my whole family loves and “cheating” by buying a few ready made sides gives me some time back to help with that all important maths homework (not such a treat, I have to admit!)

I tend to skip the spring rolls (who wants half half a spring roll anyway) and opt for an additional side of steamed pak choi, but it’s totally up to you! You can, of course, skip the suggested sides altogether and serve with your own favourite type of rice. (see recipe below)

Serves 2
1 x Sourdough of choice
2 x Avocado
1 x Red Chilli
1 x Lime
1 x Coriander
2 x Free Range Eggs
To make the avocado smash, mash your avocado, add a chopped deseeded red chilli, a handful of chopped coriander and the juice of 1 lime. Season to taste. Toast & butter your sourdough, put your avocado mix on top. Poach your eggs and pop on top. Super simple recipe Yum!
Serves x 2
1 x Pineapple
1 x Large Carrot
2 x Oranges
1 Thumb size of fresh ginger
Peel your pineapple, carrots, oranges & ginger. Put into your juicer and let it do it’s thing, Enjoy a lovely refreshing breakfast juice.
Serves 4
500g Chicken breast (sliced or diced)
4-6 Spring onions
2 Garlic cloves (crushed)
1 Red pepper (diced)
150g-200g Broccoli florets
1/2 small tin Sweetcorn
2 Tbsp Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Garlic Sauce
200ml Chicken Stock
1 Tbsp of cornflour mixed with cold water
“Cheat” side dishes
300g Egg Fried Rice
275g Fine Egg Noodles
6 Vegetable Spring Rolls
Prepare the side dishes as per pack instructions. The spring rolls take a little longer, so pop these in the oven first!
Stir fry the chicken breast in a little vegetable oil for a few minutes before adding the sliced spring onions, garlic and red pepper. Fry for a couple of minutes more, then slice the broccoli florets into bite sized pieces and add these to the pan too. Add the black bean garlic sauce to the hot chicken stock, give it a good stir and then add this mixture to the pan along with the sweetcorn. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and then add the cornflour mix for the final few minutes to thicken the sauce.
Serve with the egg fried rice, noodles and spring rolls (unless of course you ate the spring rolls whilst you were cooking the rest of it!)
Variations:
Add a green pepper, thinly sliced carrots, mushrooms or bamboo shoots.
Replace the chicken with tofu and use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian.
Add 1/2 a tin of black beans to make it stretch a bit further!on text goes here
Serves 6
Mince Filling
2 tsp veg oil
400g onions thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic
4cm fresh ginger
900g minced lamb
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 Kashmiri chilli powder
2 tbsp Garam Masala
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
600ml chicken stock or water
Frozen Peas
1 1.2 tsp Salt
Potato Topping
1.25kg flour potatoes (Maris Pipers)
1/2 tsp salt
50g butter
100ml milk
For the spiced mince, heat the oil, add onions, garlic and ginger and fry for 10mins until golden brown. Add minced lamb, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala and fry for 2 mins. Stir in the tomatoes, and stock, season with salt and simmer for 30 mins until the mixture has thickened but still moist. Add the peas and cook for 2 mins. Transfer to an oven proof dish.
Pre heat the oven at 200C, boil the potatoes until tender in salted water. Drain and put back in the pan, on a low heat, add salt, butter and enough milk to form a soft spreadable mash. Spoon the potato over the lamb. Add cheddar cheese if you feel like it. Place in the oven for 30mins until golden brown. Yum !
Empire Roast Chicken, courtesy of Jamie Oliver. If you want to mix up your Sunday Roast this is a big hit in my house.
Serve 4
2 x French Trimmed 7 bone racks of lamb
Olive oil
unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic
100g shelled pistachios
1 bunch of fresh parsley (30g)
75g bread (I use sourdough)
1 whole nutmeg for grating
Dijon Mustard
Green Beans
350g Green Beans
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
extra virgin oil
1/2 lemon
Tarragon if you have it
Pre heat the oven at 180C, Drizzle the lamb racks with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Sear in a hot pan with olive oil & knob of butter for 3 mins, Turning until golden all over. Then remove and place on a roasting tray.
Peel 2 cloves of garlic, and place in a food processor with pistachios and parsley stakes and all. Tear in the bread, finely grate in half the nutmeg and blitz into breadcrumbs. Brush the lamb with loads of mustard, then over with the herby crumb. Roast for 25 mins, this gives you a blushing lamb finish, leave it in for longer if yo prefer is more well done. Then take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10mins.
Trim the beans and boil for 6 mins, crush an unpeeled clove of garlic and mix with 1 tsp of mustard, vinegar, 2 Tbsp of extra virgin oil and lemon juice, then season. Drain the beans and toss with the dressing. Tuck in.
I serve mine with Dauphinoise potatoes
This Christmas I made a Chocolate Guinness Cake (thank you Nigella) and it went down a storm. I made it twice in January, it was a popular request. It is super moist, and the lovely cream cheese toppings cuts through the chocolate cake really nicely. It’s one of those cakes that you don’t expect to be as good as it is. Totally Yummy.