Onion gravy (or sauce)

 This was a little too salty for my taste, but not too bad.  Maybe the Stock Pot was a mistake....

2 large onions, chopped (mine were not as chopped as I should have liked, as I was going to do them in my mini food processor, and it was totally discharged)

A little sunflower or other vegetable oil

1 Stock Pot (I used beef, as we were having it with Cornish pasties, but chicken or veggie would work, it depends what you want to eat it with)

1-2 tsp plain flour (use cornflour or a gluten-free variety if you need to)

1/4 cup cold water and 1/2-2/3 cup boiling water

Seasoning to taste - I used a bit of vinegar and some black pepper.  I had salted the onions, but wished I hadn't!

Put a heavy-based pan on the stove and let  heat up, and add the cooking oil after a few minutes.  Then put in the chopped onions, stir, and turn the heat as low as it will go.  I think I should maybe have used a different burner, as mine caught slightly rather than caramelised nicely.  Cover, and leave to cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Then stir in the Stock Pot (if you are using a cube, dilute it in the boiling water).  Put the flour in a mug and add the cold water (quantities need not be exact), and stir, then stir this through the onions, and finally add the boiling water.  Now season to taste, and then leave on a low heat, uncovered for a further 20-30 minutes until it has reduced and is lovely and thick!

I was making chips in my air fryer, and thought afterwards I could have turned this into a curry sauce by adding a spoonful of curry powder to the oil before anything else, and then using a stick blender on it at the end.  Next time, maybe.

Chickpea stew

This was taken from several different recipes.

1/2 cup by volume dried chickpeas

1/2 litre boiling water

1 vegetable stock cube

1/2 litre cold water

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 large onion

large chunk butternut squash

A few mushrooms (up to 1/3 large punnet)

I broccoli stem (you can add some florets if you like, but I didn't)

2 cloves garlic

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Seasoning to taste - I used pepper, mixed herbs and a teaspoonful of vinegar - the stock cube meant it didn't need salt.

Soak the chickpeas in boiling water for at least an hour, ideally more.  Then drain and rinse, and put in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot with the stock cube and cold water and cook on high for 12 minutes, allowing it to come down from pressure at room temperature.  You can, of course, boil the chickpeas on the stove, but that will take at least 45 minutes to an hour, Or, of course, you could use a large tin.

In the meantime, chop the onion and sweat in the oil for a few minutes while you peel and chop the rest of the vegetables.  Add them to the pot, and stir, allowing them to sweat a bit.  Now take about 1/3 of the chickpeas and some of their cooking water and blitz until smooth.  Add this to the pot, plus the tinned tomatoes and as much of the rest of the chickpea liquid as you need to rinse out the tin of tomatoes.  If you are using tinned chickpeas, use cold water for this, unless you actively like aquafaba, which I don't!

Season to taste, and then bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.  This will serve 3 or 4, especially if you add rice or quinoa or similar.  I used quinoa to add more protein.  

I think, were I to make it again, I'd use a small tin of chickpeas to blitz up and thicken it, as I didn't think there were quite enough chickpeas left.  As I have a lot of the stew left over, I'll add a small tin to it before we have it again.  

Not-meat loaf with rich tomato sauce.

Three nights ago, I made stuffed spaghetti squash for supper (link).  There was about half left over, so tonight I decided to make it into a kind of meatloaf.  Only not, because it has no meat in it!  

I whisked up two eggs with some seasoning - the stuffing was extremely good, but I thought lacked salt, and might have been even nicer with a bit of spice in it.  Then I put the stuffing into a large bowl, and poured over the eggs.  Using my hands, I mixed it all together, then put it into a loaf tin and topped with grated cheese (because everything is better with cheese on the top, right?)

, and put it in the oven at gas 5 for about 40 minutes.  I served this with a rich tomato sauce (link).

It wasn't quite as set as I'd hoped, but it really was delicious.

  Would have happily served 3 - we had really rather a greedy amount each!

Stuffed spaghetti squash

You can't often get spaghetti squash in this country, but I was delighted to be able to buy one in Germany or Austria (forget which) during our recent holiday (link).

So last night I rootled around on the Interwebs to see if I could find out what people liked doing with it, and this was the result.

1 small spaghetti squash, halved and seeds removed

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

A few mushrooms, sliced

1 packet pre-cooked quinoa (I used Jamie Oliver's, which had wheat and other things in it, but plain quinoa would be very good, too.  And you can always cook your own, if you prefer)

1/2 pack pre-prepared microwaveable vegetables (I had eaten half the pack last night, but as it was only me, the whole packet was too much!)

1/2 pack halloumi cheese, diced (optional).

Spray the halved squash with a little oil, and place cut side down on a baking tray.  Put in a hot oven - Mark 6, 200 C (180 fan, 400 F), for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and carrot, and crush the garlic.  Put into a heavy-based pan with a little more oil on a medium heat, and leave to cook down for 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.  Then add the mushrooms, and allow to cook for a few minutes before adding the quinoa and microwaveable veg.  Stir thoroughly and season to taste.

When the squash is cooked, scrape the flesh with a fork - it should come out rather like spaghetti, but in my case it was more like angel-hair pasta, but hey!

  Mix that, and the diced halloumi (if using), into the vegetable mix, and pile the skins full of this. 

There will undoubtedly be a shedload left over, but you can use that in all sorts of ways. Put the filled skins back into the oven for 10-15 minutes and then serve at once.  It was delicious, but could have used a touch more salt, and possibly a touch of chilli or similar spice.

Stir-fried vegetables with fish (or whatever) and pilau rice

I rather think this is one of those unrepeatable dishes, but I had half a trout and half a pack of (packet) hollandaise sauce, and didn't fancy a fish pie, so improvised.  But the basic idea could work for all sorts of things....  This served 2

For the rice:

c 1 tbs cooking oil

a little salt

1 tsp Pilau seasoning (bought in Nour, Brixton)

1/2 cup (125 ml) long-grain white rice (I used Basmati, but whatever you like)

1 cup (250 ml) boiling water

Hot the cooking oil, then stir in the salt and spices.  Add the rice and stir thoroughly.  Add the boiling water, stir again, then cover and reduce the heat to as low as possible for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, and let stand for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile

Another tbs cooking oil

Various vegetables, diced.  I used:

A slice of butternut squash

1/2 yellow pepper

1 medium courgette

1 small pak choi

A sloosh garlic paste

A few drops of sriracha

1 tsp Dunns River All-purpose seasoning

1/2 tsp each vegetable and fish seasoning (these are from Germany, but any similar ones will do)

Heat the oil, then stir-fry the vegetables for at least 5 minutes.  I then added the cooked trout and Hollandaise sauce and made sure it was heated through, but you could use any fish, or perhaps cooked sausages, cut into chunks, and if you don't have any sauce, then about 100 ml water, or just let the vegetables moisten it all - you don't have to use my choice of veg, but a range of different colours is always good.  If you wanted it veggie or vegan, you could add peas or beans and sweetcorn to balance out the proteins.  

Hollandaise sauce

This is incredibly easy, really.  I always think it's going to be harder than it is - but it's no worse than mayonnaise, which is also massively easier than I think it's going to be!

1 egg

Juice of 1 lemon

About 125 g butter (1/2 packet)

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter - I use the microwave, and melt it in a little jug so that it is easy to pour.  Put the egg and lemon juice in a blender and process for a minute or two until smooth.  Leaving the blender running, pour the butter in a very thin stream.  When it's all in there, continue to run the blender until it thickens and is smooth.  Season to taste, and give a last whizz to mix the seasoning in.

Serve with fish and/or vegetables, especially things like purple sprouting or tenderstem broccoli, or asparagus.  It will keep, covered, for a couple of days in the fridge.

(The sauce in this photo is coating a salmon fillet and some new potatoes)

Strawberry-watermelon lemonade

 I have just made some "yelm", and one of my favourite drinks, when I can get it, is Lidl's raspberry lemonade.  Or, indeed, their strawberry lemonade.  They are not selling it in my branch at the moment, but they had a coupon for money off strawberries.  And I have (as I frequently do) a craze on watermelon just now, and as boxes of watermelon chunks are expensive, I thought I'd buy a whole watermelon.  I used some in a salad, but used the rest in our drink.

All measurements are approximate - I basically eyeballed it!  

Chunk of watermelon (about 30 grammes, I think; it wasn't a huge chunk)

1/2 punnet strawberries

2 tbs "yelm" concentrate (or a commercial lemon squash)

Iced water

Cut the melon into chunks, and hull the strawberries.  Put them in a blender with the yelm, and whizz until smooth.  Top up with iced water and shake or blend again.  Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

I think it needed the lemon to cut the sweetness a bit, but do experiment.  Maybe a spoonful of lemon juice instead might be nice....  

Inspired by Five Guys veggie cheese sandwich

 

The Five Guys veggie cheese sandwich is one of the best vegetarian (or vegan, you can have it without the cheese) options that I've ever had at a burger bar.  Their burgers are okay, but this - basically, all the toppings without the burger - is delicious.  Anyway, Becca at Easy Cheesy Vegetarian has a recipe for a copycat version, and I thought I would make it this evening, but I didn't have any burger buns, so I thought I would put it on a jacket potato.  And then I added some extra veggies.....

Butter

Olive oil

2 medium/large potatoes

1 medium onion

1 yellow pepper

Chunk of butternut squash

1/2 punnet mushrooms

1/2 medium (or 1 small) courgette

Chunk butternut squash

1 chilli pepper

Squoosh of garlic paste, or a couple of cloves of crushed garlic

2 spoonfuls Greek yoghurt (or butter, or non-dairy spread)

2-3 slices cracked black pepper cheese (or Mexican, or grated cheese, or whatever), omit if vegan

Rub the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt - rosemary salt is brilliant if you have any.  Stick a skewer in them, and cook at mark 6 for about an hour.  Or pierce several times and microwave for about 10-12 minutes, but you won't get the crispy skin that way.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop the vegetables (peeling the onion and the squash), and place in a pan with a knob of butter and the olive oil.

 Cook on a medium/low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with herbal salt.

When cooked, open the potatoes and add the yoghurt, butter, or whatever you are using.  Pile the vegetables on top, and top with the cheese.  I love that stuff, but do find it sticks together rather, so I ended up tearing it roughly.  

It was delicious, and I am full!

Butternut squash fritatta with bacon, potatoes and spinach

 This time of year it's all about the squashes!  Or pumpkins.  I had a lovely white squash which we had half of roasted with a sachet of pre-cooked curried chickpeas, which we had on its own, and the second half with jollof rice which we had acquired from church lunch, and which was served with sea bass and a roasted pepper. All very good, and we had the jollof rice twice more, stretched with mushrooms, onions and lardons, served once with roast vegetables (including butternut squash) and once as egg fried rice!  

However, that was the end of the rice, and tonight's meal was inspired by something I saw on Facebook this morning.  It will do us twice, as it was very filling!

3 potatoes, thinly sliced

Chunk of butternut squash, cubed

Packet pre-washed spinach

Packet lardons (smoked or unsmoked, as you prefer)

A couple of spoonfuls of grated cheese

4 eggs, beaten

Seasoning - apart from salt (it doesn't need much because bacon) and pepper, I used a little dried sage and rosemary.

Spritz of neutral cooking oil

Take a large sauté pan with a lid and add a spritz or so of cooking oil into it.  Heat over medium heat, and then add the sliced potatoes. 

Cover, and allow to cook in their own steam while you peel and chop the butternut.  When the potatoes are nearly done (about 5-10 minutes) add the cubed butternut and the herbs,

if using, stir, cover again and continue to cook for several more minutes. Then add the lardons, and cook them, stirring all the time, and then the spinach (I did it in two lots) and stir until it is completely wilted down.

Finally, sprinkle with grated cheese, and then pour over the beaten eggs. 

Leave it to cook, covered, for a few minutes until the cheese has melted, and then put under a pre-heated grill for about 5 minutes until it is all brown and gorgeous!   

To make vegetarian: Omit the bacon, and perhaps use veggie Parmesan or a stronger cheese to make up the lack.

To make vegan: Omit the bacon and cheese, and instead of the eggs, use a gram flour batter, as in this recipe.  I think I might try this.....

Not quite....

This was not quite a croque-monsieur and not quite a Welsh rabbit!  I don't know what to call it, but it was very good except that the sauce had too much mustard in it for my taste!  Also, I didn't really measure....

Large handful grated cheddar (50-100 grammes)

Dollop of butter (25 g?)

2 tsp plain flour (again, this was a dollop, as it was the end of my little jar I decant it into)

1 tsp Dijon mustard (N.B. this was too much for my taste; if I do this again, it will be half the amount)

1 tbs white wine (or beer, but we had none in the fridge)

1 tsp Worcester sauce

About 25 grinds of black pepper

4 slices sourdough bread (or ordinary bread)

2 cooked sausages, sliced lengthwise

Extra grated cheese, for sprinkling

Lettuce and tomato to garnish

Grill the bread on one side only.  Put the first 7 ingredients into a saucepan and cook, stirring all the time, until it is pretty much boiling, the cheese has melted and the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan.

Spread two of the slices of toast on the untoasted side with a small amount of the sauce, and then stick the sausages on it.  Top with the other slices, toasted side down, and cover them with the rest of the sauce.  Sprinkle with grated cheese, and put under the grill again until it melts.  Serve with a side salad.

Tortelloni bake

This was inspired by Easy Cheesy Vegetarian's recent post, and also by my original macaroni cheese recipe.

1 packet fresh tortelloni (your choice of filling)

2 small onions

2-3 cloves garlic

1 tbs sunflower oil or similar

1 tin tomatoes

1 tbs plain flour 

Seasoning: salt, pepper, dry mustard powder, herbs or spices as liked

Handful grated Cheddar (didn't measure, probably around 50g)

1 tin sweetcorn

1/2 packet halloumi cheese

Chop your onions and garlic and fry gently in the oil in an oven-proof dish (cast iron is ideal).  While this is happening, boil your tortelloni for 3 minutes.  Drain into a sieve.

Meanwhile, put the tinned tomatoes, flour, seasonings and the liquid from the tin of sweetcorn (if there is any - some brands are more-or-less vacuum-packed) and blend until smooth.  

When the tortelloni have finished cooking, put the blended tomato mixture on top of the onions, raise the heat and stir vigorously until it comes to the boil and thickens.  At which point, turn off the heat and add the grated cheese and the sweetcorn,

stir, and then add the tortelloni and stir in, flattening off the top. 

Now cover the top with sliced halloumi,

and bake at mark 6 for about 30 minutes.  

Very lazy fish pie

The only way this could be lazier is if you bought it as a ready-meal!

1 packet fish pie mix (mixed fish - salmon, cod and smoked haddock), thawed and drained

1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped (I even bought these ready-boiled in Germany!)

1 tsp fish seasoning (I used Dunn's River, but other seasoning mixes are available)

A couple of tablespoonsful of frozen peas or broad beans

1 packet pre-made parsley sauce

1 packet gnocchi

Put the first five ingredients in an oven-proof dish and stir.  Top with the gnocchi.  Put in in an oven you have pre-heated to Mark 6, and leave to cook for about 50 minutes.  So easy it couldn't be easier.

Liver and bacon casserole

 Serves 2

1 tbs olive or other oil

1 large onion

Several cloves of garlic

1 portion ox or pork liver

2 rashers bacon

1/2 punnet mushrooms (I forgot these, and regretted it; it was nice, but would have been a lot nicer with the mushrooms)

1 tin tomatoes

1 small tin peas

Seasoning - it won't need salt, but I used pepper, herbs and a dash of Worcestershire sauce

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the chopped onion and garlic, cover, and allow to cook on a low heat for several minutes, until the onion is translucent.  Now raise the heat, add the liver and the bacon, let cook for a few seconds and then turn over.  Add the rest of the ingredients (I forgot the mushrooms - if you use them, cut them in half or break into several pieces unless they are tiny), cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with a green vegetable and, if liked, a source of carbohydrate - mashed potato, pasta, rice... I used German dumplings, just for a change.

Chickpea and vegetable curry with red rice

1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight and then cooked in a pressure cooker for 12-15 minutes

OR 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 red onion, peeled and chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

chunk of butternut squash, peeled and diced

Either 1-2 small or 1/2 large courgette, diced

1 tin tomatoes

Sloosh tomato paste

2 tbs olive or other cooking oil

Curry powder, either your own blend or a proprietary one

Salt, pepper, etc

To serve: your choice of rice.  I used red rice, as I have recently come across it in a local vegan take-away, and it is utterly delicious - much nicer than brown, and quite a different thing to white.

Fry off the curry powder in the oil for a few minutes, then add the onion and other vegetables, which you stir well and leave to cook for a few minutes.  Then add the tomato paste, the tin of tomatoes, and any other seasoning you choose - I used salt with thyme (a blend from Brockwell Park), freshly ground mixed peppercorns, and a spoonful each of Dunn's River ginger/garlic/pimento and All-purpose seasoning.  I also added a teaspoonful of sugar, which is lovely with tomatoes - doesn't make it sweet, but does lift it. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are done, then serve with rice, and if liked, chutney, yoghurt, etc.

The red rice is cooked like any other kind - rinse, cook off in a little oil, add twice as much boiling water, stir, cover, leave on minimal heat for 45 minutes and then let sit for at least 10 minutes to absorb any remaining water.

Instant Pot Risotto - updated 16 March 2021

 Some years ago now, I experimented with a slow cooker risotto, which didn't really go anywhere.  However, recently I have been learning how to make risotto in the Instant Pot, which is a very different technique to a normal risotto.  It is also a lot quicker - I don't really mind a risotto taking a long time to cook when I'm in the motor home (where it is a staple), but at home, it's nice not to be stuck in the kitchen!

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup risotto rice

About 125 ml white wine (cooking wine is fine)

Extra vegetables, as liked (I used mushrooms and a courgette, of which more anon)

Up to 250 ml stock (chicken is nicest, but vegetable is fine if you're vegetarian), ideally hot

Seasoning, as liked

1 tbs cooking oil

1 knob of butter 

1/2 packet shaved parmesan, or vegetarian equivalent

Put the Instant Pot on to sauté (I always do this on medium, as I find it gets too hot on high), and add the cooking oil; after a few minutes, add the onion, garlic, and extra vegetables, if using.  Stir vigorously and then add the rice, stir again.  Add the wine, and stir until it is almost all absorbed.

Then add the stock and seasoning, and put the lid on.  Turn to manual and high pressure, and set for 6 minutes.  When it beeps, reduce the pressure manually at once, to stop it overcooking.  Then add the butter and cheese, and stir vigorously so it all comes together in the lovely gloop that is risotto.

I made a bit of a nonsense of tonight's, if I'm honest - it didn't occur to me that the courgettes would add a good 50 ml of fluid to the mix, and so it was too wet, and not the nicest I've ever made.  But it was still edible.  But I shouldn't have added so much stock.

UPDATED 16 March 2021  I decided to make this with a courgette and half a punnet of mushrooms, and, given the amount of liquid those vegetables are apt to render, I reduced the amount of stock to 150 ml.  I was a bit nervous lest it prove too little, but, in fact, it was absolutely perfect!  I think, had I used butternut squash instead of courgette, I would use 200 ml stock, as it doesn't render so much.  But for a courgette and mushroom risotto, 150 ml is perfect!