Baklava & Honey & Mustard Chicken Breasts

I learned my lesson the hard way today.  I made Baklava with pistachios.  300g to be precise.  Did I do what any normal person would do and buy them pre-shelled? No I bought them shelled and spent the best part of half an hour shelling them, ultimately ending up with two sore thumbs.  But boy was it worth it, the sugary sweet goodness of the Baklava had my arteries hardening with just a look.

I only had one slice as I don't think my teeth could have taken much more.  The crispiness of the filo pastry and the crunchiness of the pistachios, mixed with the spices were a perfect compliment to each other.  The the sauce, oh the sauce, a veritable gooey sweet lovers dream.  Chewy and soft, and oh so sticky.

The recipe came from the Baked & Delicious Magazines, Issue 5, Page 16.

Baklava

Serves: 12

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Cooling Time: 2 hours

Oven Temp: 180C/350F/Gas 4

Ingredients

300g (11oz) shelled walnuts, pistachios, almonds or other nuts of your choice

1 rounded tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon

a pinch of powdered cardamom, optional

1 x 450g (1lb) pack filo pastry

125 - 150g (4 - 5oz) unsalted butter, melted

cloves to decorate, optional

For The Syrup

250ml (9fl oz) water

250g (9oz) sugar

125ml (4fl oz) runny honey

1 stick cinnamon

zest of one orange

1 - 2 tsp orange flower water, optional

Equipment

24 x 20.5cm (9.5 x 8in) ovenproof dish

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.  Chop the nuts or crush them briefly in a processor - you want them to retain a good crunchy texture.  Mix in the spices.  Butter the baking dish.

Open the filo and keep the sheets under a tea towel to prevent them drying out.  Lay the first sheet into the dish, butter it, then cover it with another layer.  Continue for five or six layers.  Now lay half the nuts on top.  Add another five or six layers, buttering as before.  Lay the remaining nuts on top, then finish with more layers of buttered pastry.  Trim around the dish, then cut deeply through all the layers to form a diamond pattern.  Secure each diamond with a clove if you like them.  Bake for about 40 minutes, turning the oven down to 170C/325F/Gas 3 if it's getting too brown on top.

Meanwhile put the syrup ingredients into a pan and melt to combine, then simmer the mixture for 15 minutes until it thickens, becomes sticky and is reduced in volume by one third.  Set aside to cool.  When the baklava comes out of the oven, pour over half the syrup; after 5 minutes pour over the remainder.  Leave to cool and settle for at least 2 hours before serving.

Honey & Lemon Chicken Breasts

I couldn't think of anything more I'd rather eat on a horrible, stuffy, muggy day like today other than a nice juicy chicken breast, that takes mere minutes to cook.  A light and zingy marinade of honey, lemon and mustard keeps the chicken beautifully moist throughout cooking.  This was enjoyed by the whole family, apart from my 3 year old Mackenzie, who didn't want to eat the brown dots lol.  It was no mean feat, to scrape off all the mustard seeds from his piece of chicken which had already been cut up.  Serve up with chunky chips and mixed vegetables.

The recipe came from Best Food Fast! Book, Issue 1, Tasty Chicken, Page 43

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, skinless

1 lemon

2 tbsps clear honey

1 tbsp grain mustard

1 tbsp olive oil

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a roasting tin with a large piece of overhanging foil.  Place the chicken breasts in the tin.  Cut 4 thin slices from the lemon and place one on top of each chicken breast.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon and mix with the honey, mustard, oil and seasoning, then drizzle over the chicken.  Seal the foil.

Bake for 15 minutes, fold back the foil and baste.  Cook uncovered for 10 minutes more.

Enjoy x

Raspberry Meringue Roulade

It was treat day today in the Willetts household.  Something simple for dinner (scampi, chips & peas) with a yummy home made dessert for afters.  Today's treat was a yummy Raspberry Meringue Roulade.  I was a bit nervous with this one as I'd never had a meringue that turned out just the way it should do.  I needn't have worried though, I followed the instructions to a tee and it turned out perfectly, even if my Swiss roll tin was a smidgen on the small side.

This recipe comes to you from the Baked & Delicious Magazine, Issue 5, Page 12

Raspberry Meringue Roulade

Ingredients

5 egg whites

150g (5oz) caster sugar

2 tsp cornflour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white wine vinegar

icing sugar or caster sugar for dusting

mint sprigs, optional

For The Filling

1 x 284ml carton double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g (2oz) icing sugar, sifted

250g (9oz) raspberries plus extra for serving

For The Raspberry Coulis

225g (8oz) fresh raspberries, puréed and sieved

50g (2oz) icing sugar

lemon juice

Equipment

33 x 28cm (13 x 11in) Swiss roll tin, baking parchment or tinfoil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.  Line a non-stick Swiss roll tin with lightly oiled baking parchment or tinfoil, leaving a 5cm (2in) overhang all round.

2. Whisk the egg whites in a large clean bowl until they are stiff.  Gradually whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture is still and glossy.

3. Gently fold in the cornflour, vanilla extract and vinegar with a spatula or a metal spoon.  Then scrape the meringue onto the prepared Swiss roll tin, spreading it up to the edges and levelling it as much as possible.

4. Cook for 1 hour, then allow it to cool in the tin.  Sprinkle a sheet of greaseproof paper or tinfoil with icing sugar or caster sugar and turn out the meringue onto it.  Peel off the backing paper or tinfoil.

5. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and then fold in the vanilla and the sifted icing sugar.  Spread it over the meringue, leaving a border of about 2.5cm (1in) around the edge.

6. Scatter the raspberries evenly over the cream and use the sugared paper to help you roll up the meringue.

7. Whizz the raspberries in a blender or blitz them briefly with a hand blender, push through a sieve and then stir in the sifted icing sugar and a little lemon juice.

8. To serve, spoon some coulis onto each plate and then place a slice or two of roulade on top.  Decorate with extra raspberries and sprigs of mint if you like.

Enjoy x

Sausage With Chilli And Purple Sprouting Broccoli

I tried something today that was absolutely mind blowing.  A recipe where there are just two main ingredients, the rest spices but the taste sensation when they are all put together is simply mouthwatering.  I was dubious I have to admit, but I am so glad that my OCD doesn't let me skip recipes and I have to work my way through the entire book, because in all honesty, I probably would have just skipped past this at first glance.

I served it up with some deliciously smooth mash and a nice chunk of Irish Soda Bread which I had baked earlier in the day.

The recipe comes from Cooking For Real Life by Joanna Weinberg.

Sausage With Chilli And Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

scant teaspoon dried chilli flakes

3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, bashed

650g good-quality pork sausagemeat (or sausages, squeezed out of their skins)

600g purple sprouting broccoli, chopped a little

juice of 1 lemon

flaky salt

Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the chilli, garlic and fennel seeds until the garlic is golden and all is fragrant.

Crumble in the sausagemeat, turning it well in the mixture, and breaking it up to form mince.  Then leave it to cook so that the bottom becomes golden and well coloured.  Turn the meat and break it up again and cook on the other side until well coloured.

Meanwhile, blanch the broccoli for 1 minute in boiling, salted water, then drain.  When, and only when, the meat is well coloured, add the broccoli, turning it well to coat in the oil.  Add the lemon juice, partly cover and leave to cook for 5 minutes, stirring and turning from time to time.  The broccoli will still be fairly crunchy but this adds to its appeal.

Stir again to check everything is evenly cooked, scrunch over salt, then divide between plates and eat immediately, with a dollop of yogurt or creme fraiche and plenty of good bread.

Enjoy x

Pork Chops In Mustard Sauce

What better way to end a dreary Monday with a big fat pork chop, so that's exactly what I did.  Tonight's dinner was Pork Chops In Mustard Sauce.  I had chops so big they would have given my 6ft 3in 20 stone dad a run for his money.  I have to say, I wasn't impressed with the sauce though.  For some reason, mine didn't thicken to quite the consistency that I thought it would.  I must have done something wrong, although I did follow the recipe to a tee.  Perhaps because my chops were so big, they let a little more water than expected into the stock whilst they were simmering.  Don't get me wrong, the sauce was lovely, although I wish it had been a bit thicker.

The recipe comes from the Grandmas Kitchen selection of recipe cards from the Hearty Meat Dishes set.

Pork Chops In Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

4 pork loin chops, about 175g/6oz each (when I bought my chops they didn't have any loin so I had to go with regular on the bone chops which probably made them around 8oz each)

Salt and black pepper

1/2 garlic clove

grated rind and juice of 1 orange

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

300ml/1/2pt chicken stock

2 red apples

1 tbsp vegetable oil

15g/1/2oz butter

Method

1. Trim the fat from the chops.  Season with salt and pepper.  Put in a shallow dish.  Peel and crush garlic.  Put the garlic, orange rind, juice and mustard in a screw-top jar.  Close and shake well.  Pour mixture over chops.  Cover and chill for 2 hours, or overnight.

2. Heat the stock in a frying pan until bubbling.  Remove chops from the marinade and add to stock.  Reserve marinade.  Cover pan.  Simmer very gently for 20 minutes, or until chops are no longer pink in the centre.

3. Remove the chops and keep covered.  Put the cooking liquid and reserved marinade in a small saucepan. Boil for about 5 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Meanwhile, core the apples and cut into wedges.  Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan.  Add the chops and apples.  Fry over a high heat for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pork is golden and the apples are tender.

5. Serve the chops immediately with the sauce and the apples.

For a variation, you can replace the Dijon mustard with wholegrain mustard for a grainy texture and stronger flavour.

Enjoy x

Salami & Pepper Crumpet Pizzas

And so to the third and final dish of the day.  I have to say that I can't take all the credit for this.  I was ably assisted by my 3 year old Mackenzie.  He did an amazing job of laying the salami and cheese on top of the crumpets and thoroughly enjoyed himself too.

These were really nice, and very filling.  I think if I make them again, I shall add some mozzarella as well as the cheddar : )

This recipe can be found in the Best Food Fast! Book, Easy Italian, Issue 25, Page 40.

SALAMI & PEPPER CRUMPET PIZZAS

Ingredients

8 crumpets (I used 14 as I have a big family)

8 teaspoons red pesto sauce

8 slices salami

1/2 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

60g (2 1/2oz) cheddar, grated

fresh basil leaves, to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the grill to high.  Toast the crumpets, then spread each one with 1 teaspoon pesto and top with a slice of salami.

2. Toss the pepper and tomatoes with the oil and pile onto the crumpets.  Scatter with Cheddar and grill for 4-5 minutes until melted and golden.  Serve garnished with basil leaves.

Enjoy x

Chicken Noodle Soup

My second dish of the day.  Also cooked for lunch.  My younger children, preferred this to the roasted veg, although it didn't stop my husband having some too.  Nice and light the husband was able to have a largeish bowl of this before tucking into the roasted veg.  Very easy to make.  I love one pot dishes.

This recipe can be found in the July Issue of Slimming World Magazine on Page 71.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 onions, finely chopped

3 celery sticks, cut into small cubes

1 courgette, cut into small cubes

2 carrots, peeled and cut into small cubes

1.2l chicken stock

150g dried fine egg noodles, broken up

400g cooked chicken

a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Put the garlic, onions, celery, courgette, carrots and chicken stock in a pan and bring to the boil over a high heat.

2. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, adding the noodles for the final 2-3 minutes of cooking time.

3. Stir in the chicken and the parsley, season well and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is piping hot throughout.

Enjoy x

Moroccan Roasted Veg with Tahini Dressing

From the moment I got up this morning, I knew that I would be spending the day in the kitchen.  I cooked three lovely dishes, none of them sweet.  Two we had for our lunch and the last one for Dinner.  

And so to the first recipe.  Moroccan roasted veg with tahini dressing.  I served it on a bed of couscous with a yogurt and mint dip and some pitta.  This went down a treat with the older of my children and my daughter (who eats anything).  The dip complimented the meal perfectly, although I found I had to add more than the required 4 tbsp Greek yogurt to get the right consistency.  I probably added about 8 tbsps.

The recipe itself can be found (if you have it) in the June Issue of Good Food Magazine, on page 28.

MOROCCAN ROASTED VEG WITH TAHINI DRESSING

Ingredients

2 courgettes, cut into chunks

3 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks

1 large aubergine, cut into chunks

8 spring onions, cut into 2cm lengths

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp harissa

2 tbsp tahini

juice 1 lemon

4 tbsp Greek yogurt (I used around 8 tbsp)

small bunch mint, roughly chopped

couscous and pitta bread, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.  Spread the vegetables out on a baking tray.  Drizzle over the oil and harissa, season and toss well.  Roast for 30 minutes or until cooked and beginning to caramelise.

2. Mix together the tahini, lemon juice, yogurt and 1-2 tbsp water to make a dressing.  Stir in half the mint.

3. Sprinkle the veg with the remaining mint and serve with the dressing, couscous and warm pitta bread.

Sticky Chicken With Mango Salsa

What a funny old day it has been today.  The weather couldn't make it's mind up whether it wanted to be hot or cold, wet or dry!  Dinner tonight was a combination of hot and cold.  A little bit of a picky meal (i.e. help yourself).  

Sticky Chicken With Mango Salsa  

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, skinned

2 limes, juice from both, zest from 1

1 or 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tsps olive oil

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

For the salsa

1 small red onion, peeled and diced

1 mango, stoned, peeled and diced

8 cherry tomatoes

Method

1. Cut the chicken into thin strips.  Mix the juice from 1 lime with the crushed garlic in a shallow dish.  Coat the chicken strips and leave to marinate for at least 20 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan.  Remove the chicken from the marinade.  Put in the pan and cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes on each side.  Remove from heat.

3. Mix the honey, ketchup, soy sauce and mustard in a bowl.  Brush over the chicken in the pan on both sides.  Return pan to a low heat and cook for 3 minutes on either side.

4.  Make the salsa by mixing the onion, zest and juice from the remaining lime, diced mango and chopped tomatoes in a bowl.  Serve the chicken with a large spoonful of salsa.

I served the Sticky Chicken with some baby new potatoes, dressed in a "classic" potato salad dressing, made from 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard, a glug of white wine vinegar and some chopped spring onions, as well as a basic salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and spring onions.

Enjoy x

Recipe Courtesy of Best Food Fast! Issue 1 Tasty Chicken Page 39

The Wonderful World Of Food

I can't believe how much time has flown by since I did my last blog post.  It certainly has run away with me.  I've done a fair few recipes and even tried a brand new food.  This was Halloumi.  I didn't dislike it but i wasn't overly impressed by it either.  It was very nice in the meal I made but not something I would go out of my way to eat again and I probably wouldn't order it in a restaurant either.  You definitely need flavours to go with it as it's a very tasteless "cheese".

Halloumi Aubergine Burgers with Harissa Relish

This recipe can be found on page 34 of the June Issue of Good Food Magazine.  A tasty alternative to normal burgers.  I found the taste to be one of a sweet and sour nature, each ingredient complimenting the other and nothing over powering.

2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, very finely sliced

1/2 aubergine, cut into 8 round slices

250g block halloumi, cut into 8 slices

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 roasted red pepper from a jar, chopped

2 tsp harissa

4 ciabatta rolls, halved and lightly toasted

4 tbsp houmous

1.  Add 1 tbsp of the oil to a pan and tip in the onions.  Cook over a high heat for a few minutes, then turn down the heat and cook until soft and golden - about 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat another tbsp of oil and fry the aubergine for a few minutes on each side until tender.  Set aside.  In the remaining oil, fry the halloumi until golden.

3. Tip the brown sugar, pepper and harissa into the onions.  Cook for 1 minute until the sugar has melted.  While the relish is cooking, spread the rolls with houmous, laying halloumi and aubergine slices on top.  Spoon the sticky, spicy relish over and serve.

Saint Helenian Fish In Savoury Batter

A superb dish if you are looking for something light, but also filling.  The batter makes the fish taste that much better and another speedy dish to make if you are a little light on time.  This recipe can be found in Take A Breaks My Favourite Recipes Magazine, Issue 7 and was submitted by Donna Chambers of Lymington, Hants.  I served this dish with a nice basic salad and some home made Irish Soda Bread.

113g plain flour

1 egg

142ml milk

1 onion, finely chopped

handful of chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 chilli, chopped (optional)

a little drop of yellow food colouring

fish of your choice, de-boned & sliced (I used haddock)

vegetable oil, for frying

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. To make the batter, sift the flour and seasoning into a bowl.  Make a hollow in the centre, add the egg and beat with a wooden spoon.  Gradually mix in the milk, beating steadily until the batter is smooth and free from lumps.

2. Add the onion, parsley, mixed herbs, chilli (if using) and food colouring to the batter and give it a good stir.

3. Dip the fish slices into the batter and fry in hot oil, turning once, until golden brown.

Coffee & Walnut Cake

Now I don't actually like coffee in any way, shape or form, but seeing as this was the next recipe to make in my Baked & Delicious Magazine, my OCD wouldn't let me skip past it.  The husband was happy though as he loves his coffee.  So this recipe can be found in Issue 5 of Baked & Delicious, Page 10.

175g (6oz) unsalted butter at room temperature

175g (6oz) caster sugar

3 eggs

175g (6oz) self-raising flour

5tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2tbsp hot water

75g (3oz) walnuts, chopped

4 tbsp apricot conserve or jam

For The Butter cream

125g (4oz) unsalted butter at room temperature

250g (9oz) icing sugar, sieved

2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water

Decoration

Walnut halves, coffee beans or chocolate coated coffee beans

Equipment

2 x 18cm (7") sandwich pans, buttered and dusted with flour (optional if using silicone)

Method

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.  Butter and flour the sandwich pans (essential if not using silicone bake ware).  Use an electric whisk to beat the soft butter and the caster sugar to the consistency of whipped cream.

Step 2 - In a jug, lightly beat the eggs together and then whisk them into the creamed mixture a little at a time.  If the mixture threatens to curdle, add a little flour from the measured quantity.

Step 3 - Use a large metal spoon to fold in the flour, the hot coffee and finally the walnuts.  Divide the mixture between the sandwich pans and smooth the tops.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until springy to the touch.  Run a knife round the edges and turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Step 4 - To make the filling, beat the butter until creamy and gradually whisk in the sifted icing sugar.  Add the coffee and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Spread one sponge with apricot conserve or jam, then cover the jam with half the buttercream and the second sponge.  Top with the remaining coffee butter cream and decorate with walnut halves and coffee beans.

Midweek Mediterranean Pasta

And so, to tonight's dinner.  Another recipe from Take A Break's My Favourite Recipes Magazine, Issue 7.  Very easy to make and a simple way to get veggies into your kids.  The recipe states that it serves 4 but it more than served my family of 7, with leftovers!  The recipe was submitted by Amy Harding of Tipton, West Midlands.  Now I wasn't 100% sure how to further cook the pasta meal after step 1 :/ so once I had cooked the pastas, I put them into a big flameproof casserole dish and added the other ingredients.  I did find that it was a little dry even with the tin of chopped tomatoes so I also added a mugful of boiling water, covered and then simmered it all for about 20 minutes, until the peppers and onions had softened.

1/2 x 250g pack unsmoked streaky bacon (I used normal bacon as not a huge fan of streaky)

250g pack tri-colour fusilli pasta

250g pack tagliatelle pasta

190g jar red pesto

1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped

1 orange pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 large onion, diced

3 chicken breast fillets, cooked

227g can chopped tomatoes

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp Italian seasoning

50g Parmesan, grated

Garlic bread, to serve

1. Grill the bacon.  Cook the pastas in salted boiling water for 10-15 minutes or according to the pan instructions, then drain well.

2. Add the jar of pesto, the peppers and the onion to the drained pasta.  Once grilled, set the bacon aside on kitchen paper to cool.

3. Chop the cooked chicken and bacon pieces and add them to the pasta, along with the tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning and half of the Parmesan.  Cook until piping hot, serve with garlic bread and scatter the rest of the cheese on top.

Enjoy and let me know with a comment if you try any of the meals.

Fran x