Lovely Lasagne

Rightly or wrongly if I make a lasagne I make a typical Bolognese sauce and layer it with lasagne sheets then a béchamel sauce and cheese. It’s a regular evening meal for us. The great thing is any spare sauce goes in the freezer to have Bolognese for bait at work one day.
Unfortunately, that pasta maker Mr Hyde got for Christmas has still not made an appearance so the pasta was store bought. Fresh pasta sheets rather than the dried ones made up for it! Everyone makes Bolognese differently according to their taste, below is my version. I know really you should use a mix or pork mince and beef mince but I find pork mince a little too fatty, I’m one of those people who can’t stand fat. All meat is drained of fat after the initial cooking to make sure its fat free, suppose this sounds really healthy but the amount of cheese that goes on top of the lasagne proves otherwise!

 

Ingredients:
500g minced beef
2 cloves garlic
1 beef stock cube
I onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
200g sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
400g tin chopped tomatoes
500g passata
Grated parmesan cheese to serve

Method:

Brown the mince and drain off any excess fat, add the chopped garlic and stock cube.
Stir in the carrots, onion and mushrooms, cook for 5 minutes and add the mixed herbs, paprika and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes and passata and simmer for ten minutes.
Serve as Bolognese with spaghetti cooked according to pack instructions and a sprinkle of parmesan or for Lasagne, serve layered between pasta sheets with bechemel sauce (recipe here) smothered in cheese and baked in the oven on 180c for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

A Piece of Pie

Who doesn’t like a nice pie, I would much rather make my own pie than buy one, it’s so easy to do and really cheap. I have made a couple recently using the Be-Ro shortcrust pastry recipe. My mam had visitors coming and was unsure what to feed them. She asked me to pick one up at the local shop to which I refused. I made a corned beef and onion pie for her and her guests to enjoy and took them to her with a bag of salad. Her guests had already eaten and declined the pie, so apart from a quarter of the pie that Mr Hyde got and smothered with Gravy for his bait, my mam ate the whole lot. It may not be surprising to most people but my mam is 8 stone wet through and eats child size portions. The pie must have been nice! I always over estimate the amount of pastry and there was a bit left, luckily there was a put of spare filling so I made a pasty. This was devoured on our walk the next day.
The other I made was based on a Hairy Biker recipe but using my old faithful Be-Ro shortcrust pastry recipe. I’d bought a ham and we had a few slices with egg and chips (Classy, I know!) some went in to a broth I made for bait and there were a couple of slices left. I noticed a couple leeks left over from our Sunday lunch (or winner winner chicken dinner as Mr Hyde Calls it) and a bit of chicken so I made a ham leek and chicken pie. Such a comfort food!
Ingredients:
Shortcrust pastry recipe (Make two of this recipe,  one for the base and one for the lid)
300g cooked chicken
75g butter
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
50g plain flour
200ml milk
250ml chicken stock
150ml double cream
150g chunks of cooked ham

Heat the oven to 200c
Melt 25g of the butter in a large pan over a low heat. Stir in the leeks and fry for two minutes, stirring occasionally until just softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the rest of the butter and stir in the flour once the butter has melted. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Slowly add the milk into the pan, a little at a time, stirring well. Gradually add the stock stirring until the sauce is smooth and thickened slightly. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Stir in the chicken, ham and leeks. Line the greased dish with pastry and pour in the mixture. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten egg. Roll out the rest of the pastry for the lid.
Cover the pie with the pastry lid and press the edges together firmly to seal. Trim any excess pastry.
Make a small hole in the centre of the pie with the tip of a knife. Glaze the top of the pie with beaten egg. Bake on the preheated tray in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the pie is golden-brown all over and the filling is piping hot.

Disastrous Day in the Kitchen

We all have off days but bloody hell, today was an off day and a half. After making a corned beef and potato pie at the request of my mam earlier, this was delivered and my afternoon was set to make a birthday cake for my mam for the following day. I used my good old fashioned Be-Ro book to make basic sponge  cake, my plan was to make a layer cake with four different shades of pink (yes, I said pink not grey!) I carefully separated the mixture into four bowls and added increasing amounts of food colouring to each cake and popped them in the oven.  Time came to take them out and I was gutted, the colour seemed to have been stolen and they hadn’t risen at all.  I wouldn’t care but I specially bought local eggs rather than shop bought.  I thought I would cover my mistakes and coat the cake in butter icing put some nice sprinkles on and no one would be any wiser.  This was also disastrous, the icing decided to melt and the cakes slipped away.   I should have given up but I thought I would try and make a lemon drizzle and put that into to tins, I needed a round cake as I had bought a round cake board and a lovely box to put it in.  I text my friend to get her thoughts on the same recipe split in two tins should be ok at half the time, she agreed it should work.  To my horror the cake again did not rise and the edges were a bit crispy.  Another attempt to cover up, I put my home made lemon curd in the middle and was about to cover in icing when I looked again and even the always positive comments about my cooking from Mr Hyde were struggling to leave his mouth.  In the bin it went. Poor mam had no birthday cake.  Not sure if I dare try one for Mother’s day!

If anyone has any tips for making the layer cake please do share!

Asparagus Tagliatelle

I’m one of those sad people who plans meals a couple of weeks in advance and has a list of our household favourites to chose from. We tend to eat a lot of heavy and hearty meat dishes and rarely eat meat free, this twist on Jamie Oliver’s recipe was my attempt to eat less meat. It didn’t work.  I ended up doubling the meat from the original recipe and halving the pasta!
All the same it’s a nice quick dish and tastes lovely, one of our favourite weekend suppers. I’m waiting for Mr Hyde to make use of his pasta maker he got for Christmas and make me fresh tagliatelle to use next time!
Ingredients:
2 bunches of asparagus
300g mix of smoked and unsmoked diced bacon
250g tagliatelle
40g grated Parmesan
Method:
Snap off the woody bottoms of the asparagus and discard. Cut off the top 4cm of each stalk, put to one side and finely chop the remaining stalks. Heat a large pan or wok and gently fry the chopped asparagus stalks in a little olive oil with the bacon.

Cook the tagliatelle in plenty of boiling water, according to pack instructions. Add the asparagus tips for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time.

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water, and add to the asparagus and pancetta. Stir in most of the Parmesan cheese and a little of the cooking water. Serve with the last of the Parmesan sprinkled on top. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Breakfast Brunch

It’s not very often we do it but every now and then we have a full English breakfast.  We tend to call it a monty bifta or if we’re not quite as hungry a mini monty bifta!
Today we hadn’t had breakfast and had it for lunch so I suppose it was a breakfast Brunch.
You may notice the little nose sniffing at just under table height.  Poor dog thought his luck was in! He places him self in the drop zone when we are eating so if anything might fall off the plate he’s in prime place to catch it!

My Macaroni Cheese

Every time I hear macaroni cheese in the back of my head I hear ‘Mac n cheese’, it always seems very American! It’s something I’d never tried and thought it to be one of those tins that you give to kids like baked beans.
I eventually tried it when it was served as an accompaniment with braised beef cheek at Armathwaite Hall; if you haven’t been, try it. It’s a beautiful hotel in The Lake District, the food and spa are amazing. I digress, so macaroni cheese as a side was delicious. From then on I swore I’d try to make it, I checked loads of recipes and none really seemed to sound right to emulate what I’d had at Armathwaite. I mixed and matched a few recipes and decide did make it different to what I had and added some diced bacon. It was lovely. The only change I’d make is to serve it with a nice crispy salad dressed with a chilli sauce or jam.

Ingredients:
700ml full-fat milk
1onion peeled and halved
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 bay leaf
350g macaroni
150 diced bacon
50g butter, plus a little extra for greasing
50g plain flour
175g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon English mustard
50g Parmesan grated
50g coarse white breadcrumbs

Method:
Heat the oven to 190 c and butter an ovenproof dish.  Fry the bacon in a little oil and set aside.
Put the milk, onion, garlic and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Meanwhile cook the macaroni until al dente. Strain the milk
Make a roux with the flour and butter.
Stir the infused milk into the roux slowly until smooth. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Once the sauce has thickened, remove the pan from the heat, then add the cheese and mustard. Season with salt and pepper and keep stirring until the cheese has melted.
Add the macaroni and the bacon to the cheese sauce and stir well then tip it in the dish, sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs then grate the Parmesan over the top. Bake for around 15 minutes.

 

Roux

A roux is a mixture of equal quantities of melted butter and flour that is cooked in a pan and used as the base for thickening sauces such as béchamel.

A basic white sauce an be used for loads of recipes like béchamel sauce for lasagne, parsley sauce for fish or my favourite, cheese sauce for macaroni cheese.

Ingredients:

60g butter

60g plain flour

600ml milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 bay leaf (optional)

Method:

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the flour then whisk in the milk a little at a time, stirring constantly until you have a smooth, slightly thick sauce.

Remove from the heat; season with salt and pepper. For additional flavour I like to add garlic, onion and a bay leaf, removed before serving.

Chilli Con Carne

I do like a bit of heat in my food, Chilli con carne is a family favourite, although; as you may have previously read, I’m a fussy eater and I don’t like kidney beans so I separate my portion prior to adding the beans. . I’ve tried a few different jars of Chilli but none can beat a home made version, it is also cheaper too once you have a well stocked larder or store cupboard.
Chilli con carne

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of oil
1 onions
1 garlic clove
500g lean beef mince
200ml red wine
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoon tomato purée
2 red chillies, or 1 if you’re not keen on heat
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 stick cinnamon
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 beef stock cube
1 400g tin red kidney bean

Method:
Heat the oil in a large pan, fry the mince until almost browned then add the chopped onion and garlic. Pour in the wine and boil for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, fresh chilli, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and Worcestershire sauce and crumble in the stock cube. Bring to a simmer, pop the lid on and cook on low for around 45 minutes.
Remove the cinnamon stick, add the kidney beans after rinsing them and cook for a further ten minutes, uncovered. Its done!

 

 

Hungarian Goulash

As you can tell from my blog, I love food.  I also love the Lake District.  Put them both together and I’m one very happy girl!

One of my (many) favourite pubs is in Keswick called ‘The Dog and Gun’ its famous for its amazing Goulash. The menu has changed many times over the years but Goulash remains.  It’s the best I’ve ever tasted. It has taken a long time and I have adapted many recipes to find a Goulash as good as the Dog and Gun.  So here goes….

Ingredients:

500g stewing steak, cubed (rolled in cornflour)

Goulash

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 carrots
1 stick celery
2 teaspoons paprika
3 tablespoons tomato puree
pinch grated nutmeg
3 teaspoons mixed herbs
salt and pepper
200ml beef stock
200g tin of chopped tomatoes
200ml red wine
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
500g salad potatoes

 

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the finely chopped onion, carrot and celery. Add the meat and fry until browned.

Add paprika, tomato puree, nutmeg, mixed herbs, salt and pepper and cook for a further 2 mins. Add the stock, chopped tomatoes, red wine and Worcestershire sauce, stir and pour into the slow cooker then stir in the peppers and potatoes.  Cook on low for around 6 hours.  Serve with garlic bread.

The Dog and Gun serve this with a dumpling in, but I’m not keen on soggy dumplings so I do without!

Spicy Fish Cakes

Although I’m not keen on fish, I quite like these fish cakes as they are not too fishy.  I saw them being cooked on James Martin’s Saturday Kitchen and slightly adapted the recipe.  We used this recipe recently as a starter for a dinner party and they went down well. Tonight we made them slightly bigger as a main for us for our tea, simply served with broccoli (naughtily cooked in butter),  salad and a red chilli and tomato jam. I would love to take credit for the jam but that was a gift from our friends.  I usually make a sweet chilli sauce to serve with them as a starter.  I’ll post that recipe another day.

 

Ingredients:

Spicy Fish cakes with buttered Broccoli and salad with chilli jam

olive oil for cooking

1 small onion

8 garlic cloves

3 medium hot red chillies

1.5kg fish fillet, skin removed

A good handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

3 free-range eggs

250g fresh white breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

 

Method:

Gently fry the chopped onion, garlic and chillies in a little oil for two minutes, then remove and allow to cool.

Blend the fish in a food processor for one minute, then tip into a large bowl.  Add the onion and chilli mixture, parsley, beaten eggs, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, using your hands, until well combined.

Divide the mixture into and mould into patties. Plate and cover in the fridge for 20 minutes (or until ready to cook, if you are making them in advance).

Heat the oven to 200C. Meanwhile heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of oil then the patties and fry for two minutes on each side. Transfer them to a baking tray and place in the oven for three minutes to finish cooking.