Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 12 May 2024

• Takes a bit of time
• Fish
• Sea Food
• Smoked Fish

We had some smoked Mackerel fillets in the freezer, so Sue went to work on a bit of recipe mangling….

Ingredients:-

4 Smoked Mackerel fillets, precooked and chopped
1 Tsp of Turmeric
200g of Long Grain Rice
A handful of fresh Coriander
2 Spring Onions, sliced
10 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
2 Tsp of Medium Curry Powder
2 Eggs, hard boiled and quartered
Salt & Pepper to Season
Oil to fry
2 Tbsp of Margarine or Butter
½ Tsp of Mustard Seeds
400ml of Chicken Stock
A Handful of Peas, thawed if previously frozen
A Handful of Curry Leaves
1 Lemon, quartered
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Onion, diced
200G of King Prawns, precooked
6 Mushrooms, chopped

Method:-

(1) Over a medium heat dry fry the Mustard Seeds and Curry Leaves until they start to pop.
(2) Add the Oil and Margarine along with the Onion, frying until softened.
(3) Add the Garlic, followed by the Mushrooms.
(4) Stir in the Turmeric, Curry Powder, Salt & Pepper.
(5) Stir in the Rice and add the Chicken Stock.
(6) Allow to simmer stirring to avoid sticking.
(7) Add half of the chopped Coriander and stir in.
(8) When the Stock has almost absorbed add the  Mackerel, Prawns, Peas and Tomatoes. Stirring in.
(9) Stir gently until the  Mackerel and Prawns are heated through.
(10) Garnish with the Egg, Lemon, Spring Onion and remaining Coriander.

Sue is not generally a great fan of Smoked Fish. But we both really enjoyed this dish.

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 29 April 2024

• Quick and Easy
• Duck Breasts
• Gluten Free
• Asian Recipes
• Air Fryer Recipes

Two Duck Breasts for £1.38 seemed too good an offer to refuse. So Sue combined a few recipes and came up with this.

Ingredients:-

2 Duck Breasts
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Thumb of Ginger, grated
6 Tbsp of Tamarind Puree
2 Tbsp of Fish Sauce
100ml of Chicken Stock
2 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce
1 Tbsp of Five Spice
4 Tbsp of Sugar
1 Tbsp of Thyme
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to season

Method:-

(1) Score the fat on the Duck Breasts and season with Salt & Pepper, Five Spice and Thyme.
(2) Place the Breasts skin side down in a dry frying pan and fry for 8 minutes, until the fat has rendered and the skin is crispy.
(3) Turn over and seal the flesh side.
(4) Transfer to a pre-heated oven (Air Fryer in our case) at 160c and cook for a further 8 minutes.
(5) Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
(6) Add the Olive Oil to a frying pan on a medium heat.
(7) Fry the Garlic and Ginger stirring continuously.
(8) Add the Tamarind Puree, Oyster Sauce, Fish Sauce and Sugar.
(9) Cook and stir until the Sugar has dissolved.
(10) Stir in the Stock and season with Salt & Pepper.
(11) Slice the Breasts into 1cm slices and pour over the Sauce.

We served ours over a bed of Rice Noodles with stir-fry vegetables and garnished with Spring Onions and Sesame Seeds. Duck always goes well with citric flavours, but this was something else!

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 31 March 2024

• Takes a bit of time
• Sea Food
• Lactose Free
• Gluten Free
• Tagine

Another Tagine recipe. Sometimes King Prawns are available from the local Home Bargains at considerably less than the general supermarket price. So while they were to hand the Tagine came out to play…..   

Ingredients:-

300g of Cooked King Prawns
Zest and Juice of a Lemon
1 Tsp of Sweet Paprika
1 Tsp of Ground Ginger
A Pinch of Saffron
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tsp of Cumin
2 Carrots, batoned
1 Onion, sliced
2 Large Potatoes, Par boiled and cubed
A handful of fresh Coriander, chopped
½ a Red and ½ a Yellow Pepper, sliced
3 Tsp of Ras-El-Hanout
2 Tsp of Tomato Puree
1 Tbsp of Honey
4 Large Tomatoes, chopped
A handful of Pitted Green Olives
1 Red Chilli, sliced
Oil to fry
Salt & Pepper to season
200ml of Water

Method:-

(1) In a bowl add the Prawns, a squeeze of Lemon Juice and stir in 1 Tsp of Ras-El-Hanout.
(2) Stir well and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
(3) Add a little Oil to the Tagine over a medium heat.
(4) Add the Onions, Peppers and Carrots and cook until softened.
(5) Add the Garlic and stir for a minute.
(6) Add the Potatoes and season with Salt & Pepper.
(7) Stir in the Tomato Puree and Chopped Tomatoes.
(8) Add the Paprika, Ground Ginger, Saffron, Chopped Coriander, Lemon Juice & Zest, Cumin, 2 Tsp of Ras-El-Hanout and stir gently.
(9) Add Water if the sauce is too thick.
(10) Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
(11) Add the Prawns, Olives, Honey and simmer until the Prawns are heated through.
(12) Garnish with Chillies and Coriander.

The 3rd Tagine recipe with a real depth of flavour. One we’ll most probably revisit next time all the ingredients are available.

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 23 March 2024

• Takes a bit of time
• Gluten Free
• Chicken Thighs
• Dairy Free
• Tagine

The second in our experiments with the Tagine mum gave us.

Ingredients for the Spice Rub:-

2 Tsp of Ras-El-Hanout
1 Tsp of Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp of Sweet Paprika
1 Tsp of Ground Ginger
1 Tsp of ground Black Pepper

Ingredients for the main dish:-

6 Chicken Thighs
1 Onion Chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic
A handful of fresh Coriander, chopped
1 Lemon, thinly sliced
8 Green Olives, halved
12 Apricots, halved
A handful of Raisins
3 Tbsp of Tomato Puree
400ml of Chicken Stock
Oil to Fry
4 Tomotoes, chopped
1 Tbsp of Honey

To Garnish:-

1 Lemon, thinly sliced
Toasted Almonds
Chopped Coriander

Method:-

(1) Combine the Rub ingredients and rub over and under the skin.
(2) Place in the fridge to marinade for at least 2 hours.
(3) On a medium heat add a little Oil to the Tagine.
(4) Fry the Onions until softened.
(5) Add the Garlic and fry for a further minute.
(6) Stir in the Tomato Puree and then add the Chicken Stock & Chopped Tomatoes.
(7) Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.
(8) Add the Chicken, Apricots, Raisins, Olives and Honey.
(9) Simmer for 30 minutes.
(10) 10 minutes before serving add the Lemon & Coriander.
(11) Garnish with Lemon, Toasted Almonds and Chopped Coriander.

We served ours over Rice and it was an outstanding dinner with real depth of flavour.