Poached Skate Wing with Nutty Butter Sauce - How To Make

How to make a rich and tasty poached Skatewing with a nutty butter sauce.

Skate is part of the Ray family of fish related to sharks. They have no bones only cartilage. Mostly, people eat the wings and the cheeks of Skate.
Enjoy the recipe.

Paul & Vikki

Pan Fried Skatewing With Red Peppers Tomatoes and Capers

Italian Inspired Stuffed Bell Peppers - How To Make

Italian Inspired Stuffed Bell Peppers
This can be used as a simple starter or a light lunch.

Ingredients
250gms Lean Minced Beef (ground beef)
1 Large Onion (diced)
1 Clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
5 Bell Peppers
1 400gms tin of chopped Tomatoes
1Teaspoon Oregano
1Teaspoon Basil
1/2 cup Rice (125gms)
Salt & Pepper for seasoning
Olive oil

Method
Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add the ground beef and cook for 6-7 minutes. Add in the herbs and then add a tin of tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and add the rice and leave covered for rice to cook approx. 15-20 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese.
Leave to cool.
Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds. Season cavity of the peppers with pepper and a little salt. Stuff the peppers with the meat/rice mixture pressing the stuffing in firmly.
Place the stuffed peppers in a roasting tin and add water about an inch deep.
Cook in the oven on 200 degrees centigrade (390-400 Fahrenheit)
for 25-30 mins or until the peppers have softened.
By cooking uncovered in your oven, the peppers may start to char which is what you want to happen.

Tomato, Red Pepper & Olive Pasta Sauce - How To Make

How to make a tasty tomato, red pepper & olive pasta sauce.

Ingredients:-
400gm Tin of Italian Tomatoes - break up tomatoes and use the juice only.
2 cloves Garlic peeled and crushed
1/2 Red Onion diced
1 Red Pepper finely diced
1/2 teaspoon of dried Oregano if you cant get fresh
       Substitute with Fresh Basil leaves as an alternative.
Salt & Pepper to taste
8-10 Olives de-stoned and halved

Serve with :-
Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Pasta of your choice



Method:-
Drain the tomatoes using a sieve and bowl and break up to release the juice.
In a large heavy based frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil.
Fry the diced onions and pepper. Add 2 crushed cloves of Garlic. Add the Oregano and the juice of the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce reduces.
Season with black Pepper and salt, but remember olives will be a little salty too. Use the back of a knife and squash the Olives to remove the stone and half the Olives and add to the sauce.

In a large saucepan, boil water and season with Salt. Add 250gms Spaghetti or Linguine Pasta and cook for 8 minutes until soft but has a bite. This is Al dente. Take pasta and drain but leave a small teacup of the pasta water and add this and the pasta to the sauce and toss in the pan to mix. Add a handful of Parmesan Cheese. Add fresh ground black pepper and serve.

This is a simple and easy dish. Give it a try with different herbs such as Basil or Thyme should you wish to add them to the sauce.
I had the tomato juice left over from the Arrabiata recipe and didn't want to waste it. As a result I concocted this recipe.

Penne Arrabiata - quick, tasty & oh so easy - How To Make

How to make Penne Arrabiata.
This is one of the easiest Pasta sauces to make and serves two people.

Ingredients:-
250gm Penne Pasta
400gm Tin Tomatoes
2 cloves Garlic peeled
1 Chili seeds removed and finely chopped
Salt & Pepper
Parsley finely chopped to garnish
Parmesan Cheese grated
Olive Oil



Method:-
Drain the tomatoes using a sieve and bowl, and break up to remove most of the juice.

In a large heavy based frying pan, add 6 tablespoons of Olive Oil. Add the Garlic until they colour. This flavours the oil. Remove the garlic when coloured and try not to burn it as it becomes bitter when burnt. Add chopped Chili and the drained tomatoes and a pinch of salt and fry off until the sauce reduces. Use the back of a wooden spoon to break the tomatoes up while frying in the pan. Arrabiata is a fairly dry pasta sauce.

In a large saucepan, boil water and season with Salt. Add 250gms Penne Pasta and cook for 8 minutes until soft but has a bite. This is Al dente. Take pasta and drain but leave a small teacup of the pasta water and add this and the pasta to the Arrabiata and toss in the pan. Add a handful of Parmesan Cheese and stir in and garnish with chopped Parsley to garnish.

This is a simple and easy dish. It really doesn't need any additional herbs but please feel free to try it with Basil, Thyme or Oregano should you wish to add them to the sauce.

Peri Peri Turkey Schnitzel - How To Make

How To Make Peri Peri Turkey Schnitzel

This is my take on a Wiener Schnitzel.

Wien is the German word for Vienna. Schnitzel is the German word for meat cutlets, usually Veal, thinly sliced or pounded flat, breaded and pan fried.


Method & Ingredients
Take a couple of slices of Turkey breast.
Place on a board and cover with plastic wrap to prevent meat juices splashing all over the place.
Beat flat with a meat mallet or a rolling pin.


To Pane the meat, first season plain flour with salt and pepper and dust the meat in the flour.
This will allow the beaten egg to stick to the floured meat.
Now dip this into the breadcrumbs that had a tablespoon of Peri Peri seasoning added to it.
This will make a nice, spicy breadcrumb crust, when you fry the meat in a heavy based skillet or frying pan.

It only takes a couple of minutes on each side and the meat is cooked.



Serve with a nice German or Austrian potato salad.

Greek Moussaka Recipe - How To Make A Light and Tasty Moussaka

How to make a light and tasty Moussaka

Ingredients
2 medium Aubergines
450g minced lamb
2 white onions (peeled & roughly chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (peeled & chopped)
275g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon sugar (optional to sweeten tomatoes)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground all spice
olive oil
2-3 medium potatoes (optional  sliced and roasted in oil until softened and golden)

For my topping:-
1/2 pint of  Greek yogurt
2  egg,yolks
black pepper
1 handful grated parmesan cheese
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

For a traditional béchamel sauce topping:-
875ml milk (whisk milk into the flour/butter roux a little at a time until thick and creamy)
100g butter
100g flour
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 egg yolks
100g grated Kefalotyri Greek cheese

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 200°Centegrade .
2.Heat the oil in a frying pan, fry the eggplant in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden and softened. Remove and set aside. Alternatively slice and toss the Aubergine and the potatoes, if using, in olive oil and roast in an oven until softened and golden in colour.
3.Heat a little oil in a separate saucepan and fry the onion and garlic 5-10 minutes, on a low heat until softened.
4.Add the minced lamb and cook, stirring continuously, until browned. Now stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes and herbs. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Add a splash of water if the meat starts to dry out.
5.Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6.Mix the yogurt, egg yolks and cheese together with some pepper and a touch of nutmeg.
7.Layer an 8 inch by 8 inch by 3 inch deep casserole/Pyrex dish with the fried aubergines (and potatoes if using) and top with a layer of the meat sauce then repeat until all ingredients are used up.
8.Spread the yogurt mixture over the top. Or the Béchamel Sauce mix if making this topping.
9.Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and  little more nutmeg if desired.
10.Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden.

Scotch Broth - How To Make

How to make Scotch Broth

Ingredients
2 Onions diced
2 Carrots diced
2 Celery diced
1 Leek thinly sliced
500gms Lamb Neck Filet diced
2 large Potatoes roughly chopped
1 Turnip roughly chopped
75gms Pearl Barley
2 pints home made Lamb Stock (Use stock cube with water)
Brussel Sprouts halved

Method
Fry the onions leek carrots and celery.
Add the Lamb and fry to seal.
Add the Lamb stock and leave to simmer for 45 minutes.
Add the Pearl Barley
Add the potatoes and turnip and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes
Toward the end of cooking add the Pearl Barley and the Brussel Sprouts and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread

Easy Salmon Fishcakes - How To Make

Here is an easy way to make Salmon Fishcakes for a light brunch or supper.



Ingredients
200gms Left over Mashed Potatoes/Butternut Squash Mash
250gms Tinned Pink Salmon
Flat Leaf Parsley
Dill
Salt & Pepper to taste
Flour
Beaten Egg
Breadcrumbs



Method
Place the mashed vegetable in a bowl with the Salmon.
Chop and add herbs to the bowl.
Mix but be careful not to break up the fish too much.
Mould the mixture into thick patties. You can dust your hands with flour to prevent the mixture sticking to your hands.
Pane the patties by first dipping into seasoned flour, then into beaten egg to cover the patties, then finally into the breadcrumbs.
Leave the patties to chill in the fridge for an hour.
Fry the patties until golden.



Serve with a nice green salad and or a mustard and dill sauce.

Corned Beef Hash - A St.Patricks Day feast to soak up all the Guinness

One way to soak up all the Guinness on St Patricks day is to make a lovely Salt Beef or Corned Beef Hash.

Ingredients
300gm Salt Beef or tin of Corned Beef diced in centimetre cubes
1 large Onion Diced
1 Carrot finely diced
600gm Potatoes diced in centimetre cubes
2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tablespoon Oil for frying

Method
Par boil the carrot and diced potatoes and plunge into cold water to stop cooking process. Drain and dry.
Fry the onion until golden then add in the potatoes and carrot and fry for five or six minutes.
Add two teaspoons of Dijon Mustard and one teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce.
Add in the beef and continue to fry for a further three minutes adding in some chopped Parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a fried egg on the top.

You can bulk this up with sliced mushrooms or a tin of beans, or even use the mixture to make a pie.

A tasty home made Shepherds Pie - how to make

Braised Ox Cheeks

Braised Ox Cheeks are a cheep cut of meat that when slow cooked over a long period allows the meat to break down and become very tender. Serve this with a creamy mash and winter greens or with suet dumplings.

Braised Ox Cheeks Ingredients:-
1KG Beef or Ox Cheeks trimmed of skin and fat and cut into large chunks
2 Celery sticks diced
1 Onion – medium – sliced
1 Leek, quartered and cut into chunks
3 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
2 Carrots - large halved and cut into chunks
4/5 tablespoons of plain Flour to dust the Ox cheeks
Salt & Pepper
½ bottle red Wine – use Wine that you would drink
1 ltr Chicken Stock or you can use a stock cube with water
Thyme
300gm sliced or Button Mushrooms

Method:-
Trim the Ox cheeks and cut into cubes. Use a sharp knife as the Ox Cheeks will be quite tough to cut.
Take 4/5 tablespoons of plain Flour and season with salt and pepper and then add 1/2 a teaspoon of dried Thyme( if you can’t get fresh Thyme). Dip the Ox cheeks into the flour and pat off excess flour.
Save any excess flour.
Fry the Ox Cheeks until brown sealing in any juices. Do this in several batches so as not to fill the frying pan. Filling the Frying pan will cause a broiling effect and not a frying effect that we want.
Place the meat into a large oven proof Casserole dish.
In the same frying pan, fry off the Onion, Leek, Carrot, Celery and Garlic until they soften. Add in the saved excess flour and fry a little more before adding the vegetables to the Casserole dish. The cooked out flour will thicken the casserole. Poor the Wine into the frying pan and deglaze the pan. Bring the Wine to a boil and reduce by half then add to the Casserole dish. Add in two sprigs of fresh Thyme. Top the Casserole dish up with the Litre of chicken Stock and put into a pre heated oven and cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours at 150 degrees centigrade.
In the last half an hour remove the lid to allow sauce to thicken and toss in 300 grams of sliced or Button Mushrooms.
If you want a really thick sauce use a few tablespoons of cornflour and add a little water to make a paste. Add to the casserole and allow to cook and thicken the stock. Serve with a creamy mashed potato and steamed winter greens.

How to make Leek & Potato soup

For those cold winter days, try making some Leek and Potato Soup to warm yourself up.
Here is a great recipe for you to try.

How to make Leek & Potato soup. Follow our video recipe for a very tasty soup for those cold winter days.
Leek and Potato Soup
Ingredients
1lb Leeks (3 medium sized leeks quartered, washed and diced)
2 Carrots (peeled, washed, quartered and diced)
2 Celery Sticks (washed and diced)
1 small Onion (peeled and diced)
2 large Potatoes (peeled washed and diced)
2 pints of Chicken Stock (or water and Chicken Stock cube)
Salt
Pepper
250ml / 1/4 pint of Milk or Cream (plus additional cream to garnish)
Parsley or Chives to garnish

Method
Quarter the Leeks checking for dirt and wash thoroughly, then dice.
Peel, wash and quarter the Carrots, and then dice.
Wash and dice the Celery
Peel, split in half  and dice all the Onion.
Peel, wash and dice the Potato.
In a large saucepan, sauté, over a low heat, the Carrot Onion and Celery. We want to soften, not add colour. When soft, add in the Leek and sauté for a few minutes before adding the Potatoes. After a few minutes on the hob,, add in 2 pints of Chicken Stock and bring to a boil and then leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Add in the milk or cream, and season with salt and pepper. Return to the heat for a further 5 minutes.
Use a stick blender or a blender and blend the soup to the texture you wish.
Pour into bowls and garnish with a spoonful of cream and parsley or chives to decorate.
Serve hot with crusty bread.

Simple Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Think you have to par boil your spuds and carrots before roasting them, then think again.
Peel and wash your carrots and potatoes. If you are feeling a little lazy then don't bother peeling them. Just give them a thorough wash under the tap. Leaving the skin on is adding more nutrients and goodness to your meal.

Slice the carrots in half length ways and quarter your potatoes. Place in a roasting pan and then drizzle over some olive oil (not the extra virgin oil but the second or third pressed oils). Season with salt and pepper and add a clove of garlic. Next throw on the top of the vegetables a tablespoon of dried Thyme and toss the vegetables well in the oil and seasoning. Place in the oven for 45-55 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1raSNlP4lM

Best Lamb Stock Ever

 

Lamb Stock

Ingredients
3 Legs of Lamb Bones (Saved From The Sunday Roast)
2 Medium White Onions Cut In Half
3 Sticks Celery Cut Into Chunks
2 Medium Carrots Cut Into Chunks
2 Sprigs Of Rosemary
2 Bay Leaves
A Small Bunch Of Parsley (Including The Stalks)
Big Pinch Of Salt
12-15 Black Peppercorns
Water
Large Heavy Bottomed Saucepan or Stockpot

Method

You can peel the carrots and onion if you wish. I only remove the outer skin of the onion when I make stock.
Put all ingredients into the large heavy based saucepan or stockpot.
Top up with water and bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for about 2 hours with the lid on. This will break down any meat and muscle around the joints of the bones  and allow the bone marrow to flavour your stock.