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 Baked BeansIngredients:
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Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water. They should swell up to quite a respectable quantity. Don't try to shortcut this stage. There are malicious proteins in beans, and the soaking helps to eliminate them. Set the oven to about 225F. Throw away the soaking water, and rinse the beans. Cook the beans in an oven-proof casserole with a well-fitting lid. Put the beans in the casserole and cover with boiling water - about half an inch more water than beans. Don't salt them at this point - they cook better without. Put them in the oven, and forget about them - well almost, you're looking at about five hours in total. You can amuse yourself sometime within the next three hours by preparing the ingredients for the sauce. Fry the onion in a little olive oil until it's soft - a little browning is fine. Add the spices and garlic, and fry these briefly with the onion. Take the beans out of the oven, and stir in the onion/garlic/spice mixture, the sugar, and about 3/4 of the can of tomato paste. Use the whole can if you're enthusiastic about a rich tomato flavor. Put the whole thing back in the oven. Taking it out and stirring it periodically, and ensuring that there's just a little liquid covering the beans during the first four hours. I can't give a definite time for the cooking. After four hours, add salt and do a taste check. Add more sugar if you'd like the beans sweeter. Stir in the lemon juice toward the end. Proceed until the beans are no longer crunchy. Alternatively, go to the store and buy a can of baked beans. Why didn't I think of that? |
29/4/2003 - Boiled Eggs with SoldiersIngredients:
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Your mother may have made this for you. If she didn't it's time somebody did, then you can make it for your children. This is for one. Put two inches of water into a small pan (pot), and bring it to the boil. While it's heating, slightly warm the eggs (particularly if they just came out of the fridge) by running warm water over them. This makes them less likely to crack. When the water boils, put the eggs in carefully using a tablespoon, and set a timer for five minutes. Now toast the bread. This always takes me at least two tries, the first time I always burn it. Butter the bread; this is an old fashioned recipe, so I mean butter. Cut the slices of buttered toast into strips about three quarters of an inch wide - the soldiers. The eggs should be ready by now, especially if you burned the first two slices of toast. Take them out of the boiling water with the spoon, and let them dry. Put one in the egg cup on a plate, and put the others on the plate. Put the soldiers on the plate with the eggs, and add a teaspoon. To eat, tap the egg in the cup with the edge of the teaspoon about a third of the way from the top to crack the shell, Then push the front edge of the teaspoon into the crack to remove the top of the egg. Be careful not to spill the yolk all over, and add some salt. Dip the soldiers into the yolk, and eat. When that's done scoop out the white with the teaspoon and eat with other soldiers. When you're through, relax and enjoy being a child again for a few minutes. |
Black Bean & Frankfurter CasseroleIngredients:
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Cut the potatoes in halves or quarters to make bite-sized chunks, and boil them until they are almost teander. At the same time, chop the onion medium fine, and slice the mushrooms. Fry these over a medium heat in olive oil until the onions just start to brown. Then add the cumin and chili/hot sauce, and cook a little longer. Chop the frankfurters into pieces 1" long. When the potatoes are cooked, pour off most of the water, leaving about 1/4 inch in the bottom of the pot/pan, and add the fried onions and mushrooms, the frankfurters, and the black beans. Bring the mixture slowly back to the boil. While this is happening, chop up the zuchini into slices about 1/2 inch thick than add these and the garlic to the rest. Cook until the zuchini is just tender and the frankfurters are hot. Add extra water if the mixture is too thick - go for a thick soup consistency. Add the lemon juice a couple of minutes before you serve. Serve in a bowl with the parsley/cilantro sprinkled on top, and provide your guests with some slices of good crusty bread to dip. |
Chicken kebabsIngredients:
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Trim any fat off the chicken breasts, and cut them into chunks approximating to 1¼" cubes. Add the crushed garlic to the lemon juice, then add the chicken. Mix so the chicken is well coated with garlic and lemon juice, then press it down to marinade. Do this the day before, or as early as you can, and put it in the fridge until needed. When you're ready to cook, peel the onion, and cut it across the equator, then cut each half into four quarters. Split these into segments two or three onion layers thick. Cut the green pepper in half, top to bottom, and remove the seeds, then cut each half into three slices, and cut the slices in three. The aim is to make pieces about the same size as the chicken pieces. Use the mushrooms whole, or in halves or quarters, once again cutting so the pieces are about the same size as the chicken pieces. Cut the tomatoes in half, then cut each half into quarters. Now remove the chicken from the marinade, and roll it in the spice mix to coat it. Turn on the oven at 400F. When you've done all this - it doesn't take long - you're ready to start threading the kebabs onto their skewers. Use steel or bamboo skewers a foot or more long. Impale the ingredients on the skewers in a reasonably consistent order, like onion, pepper, chicken, tomato, mushroom, then repeat the pattern, until you've used everything up. Make a runt skewer with anything you have left over. Place the skewers on a rack of some sort over a baking tray to catch drips. Put them in the oven and cook until you can put a pointed knife through the chicken easily and without any sign of blood. Serve with salad, or rice and Tarka Dahl. I would serve them with a fairly dry Pinot Grigiot. |
Chicken PastaIngredients:
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It's probably close to Alfredo, but we and I really liked it, so I thought I would write it down. You probably won't need to peel the carrots. If they came peeled, that's fine, otherwise just wash then, cover with water, add a little salt and bring to the boil. Heat some water for the pasta to the boil. Finely chop the onion and start frying it in olive oil. Add the pasta to the boiling water about now. Slice the chicken across its length, not more than 1/4 inch thick, add it to the onion, and fry gently. Keep turning the chicken and onion over. Slice the courgette into rounds about a quarter of an inch thick, and add them to the fry, stirring them in. Blend the corn starch with a little cold water. Bring the milk to a boil in small/medium saucepan. As soon as it boils, add the garlic and the corn starch, and stir until it comes to the boil again. At that point add the cream, and continue heating until it just boils again, then remove from the heat. Sprinkle the parmesan over the chicken and onions, then pour the sauce over it, and stir it in. Add the ricotta in teaspoon sized blobs, then stir gently again, season to taste, sprinkle in the chopped basil, and turn the heat down low. The carrots and pasta should now be ready. Drain them, and arrange them on hot plates, half the plate covered with pasta, and half with carrots. Ladle a stripe of the chicken and sauce along the junction. Looks pretty, tastes great. I'll think of a name for it. |
Chicken With RiceIngredients:
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Cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces, slice the mushrooms and chop the onion medium fine. Wash the rice repeatedly in cold water until the washing water stays clear, then drain it. Put the rice in a pot with a well-fitting lid, and add one and a half cups water. Bring it to the boil, and give it a quick stir to make sure there isn't any sticking. Now place a piece of kitchen roll on top of the pot, and put on the lid to make a good seal. Turn the heat as low as possible, and set a timer for 10 minutes. Fry the chicken, onion, and mushrooms over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked. In the meantime, put the chick peas along with the liquid they come with in another pot, and bring to a boil. Chop up the tomato and the string beans or broccoli, and add these and the crushed garlic. When the 10 minutes has passed, turn off the heat under the rice, and set the timer for another ten minutes. Add the cooked chicken, onions, and mushrooms to the chick peas etc. Season and add a splash of hot sauce. Then cook over a low heat until the rice timer has expired. Arrange the rice around the edge of the plate and serve the chicken etc. in the middle. |
Chilean Sea Bass with Yellow RiceIngredients:
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This meal takes 25-30 minutes. I originally cooked it taking over with some already grilled fish, and I improvised with what there was in the fridge. It was good, so I thought I would include it. Before anything else, wash the rice until the water runs off clear, and drain it, then turn on the grill. Finely chop the onion, slice the mushrooms, and chop the pepper into half inch squares. Add a cup and a half of water, and half a teaspoon of ground turmeric to the rice, and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the pot. When it boils, turn the heat right down, and jam a piece of kitchen roll under the lid to give a good seal. Then start a timer for ten minutes, and put the sea bass under the grill, seasoned with salt and pepper, skin side up. Fry the onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil until soft - a little browning is OK. When they're close to cooked add a dessertspoon of ground cumin, half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, and a quarter teaspoon of ground chilli. Mix the spices in and fry a little longer. Now chop up the tomato, and add that and the tomato paste. Stir in boiling water to adjust the consistency to a thickish sauce. Add the green pepper and garlic, and salt to taste. Turn the heat down and leave the sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally. When the first ten minutes expires, turn off the heat under the rice, turn over the sea bass, and start the timer again for another ten minutes. Bring the snow peas to the boil in a pot with a lid in just a little water. Put the lid on and turn the heat down. (The ones I cooked were overdone, look at the color, and don't overdo yours.) After another five minutes, put the bacon strips over the fish, and continue to grill. When the second timer expires, put the mozzarella slices over the bacon, and continue to grill. Heat the plates, and serve each with a portion of rice, snow peas, and sauce, arranged as gaudily as you like - this is a very bright colored meal. Take the sea bass out from the grill, divide it in two pieces with a sharp knife so it doesn't disintegrate, and add to the plates. |
Ham & Penne AlfredoIngredients:
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This concoction was provoked by the fact that I found a butt-end ham joint at our local supermarket for about six dollars. It was a choice between that and a pack of chicken breasts at about the same price. So I got the ham with a view to doing two meals with it and having ham for breakfast. This will probably exhaust my ham tolerance, but I couldn't resist the bargain. The thing to remember about these cheap ham joints is that they are a "ham and water product". That is they've had water forced into them at high pressure to make them feel heavier and less dry. For some recipes you need to take this into account. I cut an inch and a quarter thick slice from the wide end of the ham, removed the fat, skin etc, then cut the slice into chunks about the size of the thickness. If you have time, do this early, and leave them to soak in plenty of cold water. This can somewhat reduce the saltiness of the ham. When you're ready to cook, drain it and dry it off. Then fry it gently in just a little olive oil. The object of the exercise here initially is to get rid of the water. Pour off excess water as it emerges from the ham, and cook like this until the ham is dry, and actually starts to fry. Add a little more oil at this point, and turn the heat down. The ham joint is already cooked, so all you need to do is make sure it's hot, and cooked as much as you like. Get everything else ready to go while dehydrating the ham, including bringing the milk almost to the boil, and adding a couple of pats of butter. Chop up and fry the onion, mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes so they're cooked, but the onion isn't browned. Bring water to a boil for the pasta, and heat a little water in the bottom of a pot with a lid to steam the vegetables. Wait now until the ham is dried out, turning the heat off under the milk and pots of water if necessary. Then you're about 12 minutes away from serving. Throw the slowest cooking vegetable (the carrots in my case) into the steamer and put a lid on it, and put the pasta in its boiling water. Start a timer for 12 minutes for the pasta. Mix a large desert spoon of corn starch with cold water in a cup, and stir until smooth. Bring the milk just back to the boil, then stir in 3/4 of the starch mix, and stir to give some thickness to the sauce - not too thick. Add the rest of the starch and stir more if you don't think it's thick enough. Now over a very low heat, fold the grated cheddar into the milk, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Remember lightly, since ham is salty. Let it come back to the simmer, throw the rest of the vegetables into the steamer, and stir the pasta. Stir the onions and mushrooms into the sauce. Stir the pasta. Now using a teaspoon, drop blobs of ricotta cheese into the sauce, as many as you like depending how cheesy you like things. Keep them separate, and don't stir them much if at all. The object is to have a sauce with variable consistency. Turn the heat right down under the sauce, and put a lid over it. Now add the crushed garlic to the ham, and stir fry it quickly over a higher heat to cook the garlic. Then sprinkle the ham with grated parmesan. Arrange the plates with half vegetables, 1/4 ham, and 1/4 pasta, and ladle some sauce on top. Bon appetite! |
Potato & Avocado SoupIngredients:
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This is a complete-meal soup, intended to be thick and hearty. Peel the potatoes and cut them up as if to make mashed potatoes. Boil them with a little salt, and just enough water to cover them, until they are almost tender. At the same time, chop the onion medium fine and fry it in olive oil over a low heat until it is cooked and translucent. Halve the avocados and remove the stones, then cut into quarters and peel off the skin. Cut the avocado quarters into smaller pieces. Now take the potatoes off the heat, and add the avocados. Mash them roughly in the water in which they were cooked, then add the onion and the oil in which it was cooked, add pepper to taste. If you want to add garlic, add crushed garlic to taste now. Simmer the result for 10 minutes, then quickly stir in the grated cheese, so it doesn't curdle, and serve. Serve with good crusty bread - in NYC I recommend Eli's Tuscan loaf. |
Poached Salmon with Baked PotatoIngredients:
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This was quite simple to make, and really good. Chop the mushrooms small, and crush the garlic. Put the spinach in a suitably large pot with a lid, and add about a quarter inch of water. Put the carrots into a smaller pot, and just cover them. Put the potatoes in the microwave, set for 10 minutes - pierce them in a few places with a knife first, and turn on the oven at about 450F at the same time. After a couple of minutes, put the carrots on over a moderate heat - when they boil, turn it down. Now fry the mushrooms in a little olive oil - fairly well done is the target. When the ten minutes has expired, put the potatoes in the oven, and the salmon in a skillet with a well fitting lid in a little water, heated to boiling. Then turn the heat right down. Bring the spinach to the boil, and treat it the same way. Add the crushed garlic to the mushrooms, and continue to fry gently. When you can put a knife through the salmon with ease, everything should be done. Drain the spinach and carrots, and serve them onto heated plates. Cut the salmon into the portions that you and your other half require, add them, and garnish with the mushroom/garlic mixture. Transfer the baked potatoes direct from oven to plate. If you can resist plastering the baked potatoes with butter this is potentially a pretty healthy meal. Use olive oil instead, and wash it down with a glass or two of Pinot Grigio. |
Poached Salmon with VegetablesIngredients:
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This is very simple and plain, and quite quick to make. Parboil the potatoes. When they are almost cooked, start frying the sliced mushrooms in a little olive oil (mushrooms dry up oil, if it vanishes, add a little more). Put a little water (less than 1/4") in a skillet with a lid, and bring it to the boil. Once it boils, add the salmon, and season with a little salt and pepper. Just stick it in there skin down, then cover the skillet, and turn the heat right down. Treat the vegetable in much the same way. Put less than 1/2" of water in a pot, bring it to the boil with the vegetable, and a pinch or two of salt, then turn it down, and put on the lid so it steams. Now drain the potatoes, and dump them in with the mushrooms, and continue to fry until the mushrooms are quite well done, and the potatoes start to brown. Add the garlic and stir in along the way. By that time, both the salmon and the vegetable should be ready. Check the salmon by poking it with a sharp pointed knife. It should go through with ease. How long you wait for the vegetable is up to you - I'd suggest you take it as it is when the salmon's ready. You can sprinkle a little grated parmesan on the potatoes/mushrooms if you like the idea, and maybe put a pat of butter on the vegetable before you serve it. Other than that, just chop the salmon into however many pieces with the serving spatula (the skin will probably stay with the skillet), and try and arrange the items tastefully on the plates. |
Prawns with Green Bananas and BeansIngredients:
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You can cook the beans any time, and freeze them if you wish. Take about a mug full of Pinto Beans, check them for stones, and wash them, then pressure cook them for around 20 minutes. If they are not tender then, give them another five minutes blasting. Then make a sauce for them. Finely chop a medium sized onion, and fry it until it is tender and browned (we are actually using coconut oil at the moment, but just use the vegetable oil of your choice). Throw in three chopped tomatoes, and a desert spoon of regular curry powder toward the end, and cook all of this in the oil until it is thoroughly tender. Then attack it with a potato masher or something and squash it up as much as you can. Tip in the beans, and a quantity of the residual cooking water, and salt to taste. Simmer the beans in the sauce for some time but don't let the mixture get too dry. Peel the green bananas. You can't do this like you would peel a ripe banana, you need to cut the ends and the outer skin off with a knife, typically about 8mm thickness. Then halve the bananas, like you'd do for a banana split, and then cut them in half the other way. We're assuming that the pressure cooker is free by now. Put the bananas in there with enough water to almost cover them, heat it up until it vents, and then turn down the heat and leave the bananas to cook for ten minutes - no more. After the ten minutes, you can kill the pressure by holding the pressure cooker under the cold water tap. What you're aiming for is a texture that is ever-so-slightly al dente. While the bananas are cooking, thaw out the frozen prawns in hot water. Drain them, and toward the end of the bananas' cooking time, saute them in a little butter or olive oil with a pinch of salt and a pinch of chilli powder until they are just hot. Dress the bananas with butter and olive oil, and serve the three parts on hot plates. If you have the time while the cooking is going on, dice three large tomatoes to about 10mm cubes, and cut about 8 small picked gherkins into 8mm slices. Mix these together, and dress with a little olive oil and lemon juice. Serve this mixture in a separate dish to use as a pickle or garnish with the hot food. |
Rustic Minestroni SoupIngredients:
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First a word about bacon. There's seems to be some kind of conspiracy regarding bacon in the US; some of it has mysteriously disapeared! In European shops that sell bacon, you are generally offered at least three choices of cut. There's back bacon, which is the best, and has a lot of lean. You can sometimes get it in US supermarkets, where it's described as Irish bacon. Then there's centre-cut bacon, which is about half and half meat and fat. Just yesterday I found some in our local supermarket, but it's the first time I've seen it. Then there's streaky bacon, which is mostly fat, and is what's generally known as bacon in the US. Yanks, stand up for your rights! Ask your provider what happened to the rest of the bacon. Perhaps the Canadians or the Mexicans get it, to your disadvantage. For this recipe you can use the cheap streaky bacon. Chop the bacon accross its length into about half inch strips, and chop the onion medium fine. Fry the bacon a little first to release some fat, then fry both over a medium heat until the bacon starts to be crispy, and the onions brown. Break up the cauliflower into bite sized pieces, and roughly chop the tomatoes. Break the spaghetti into lengths about an inch and a half long. Depending how solid you like your soup, you can use more or less spaghetti. Boil the cauli and spaghetti for about 12 minutes, by which time both should be cooked. Then add the beans, tomato, stock cube, and the fried bacon and onions, fat and all, and of course as much crushed garlic as you like. Bring back to the boil, and cook for another five minutes, Finally season to taste, and stir in the parmesan. Once again, serve with good crusty bread. |
Tarka DahlIngredients:
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Boil the lentils in plain water in a large pot. They will swell up and absorb the water. Add more water as you go to maintain the consistency of a thick soup. Get the lentils almost tender before you start the rest Fry the onion gently until it is translucent in a bland vegetable oil. Use more oil than you normally would for the quantity of onions. Browning the onions is not good for the flavor. Fry the whole cumin seeds along with the onions. When the onions are cooked, add the dry spices, and fry on gently until the oil starts to separate out again. Don't burn the mixture. When the oil starts to separate, dump the contents of the frying pan into the lentils, and add the crushed garlic. Salt the brew to your taste. Cook it gently until the lentils are completely tender, adding extra water if required. Five minutes before you serve it, add the lemon juice and the chopped coriander leaves. Eat the dahl with Indian nan (bread), or with warmed pitta bread, or serve it over rice. It goes well with chiken tikka or chicken kebabs. |