Thursday, January 21, 2016

MEXICAN WEDGES WITH VEGAN NACHO CHEESE SAUCE




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREP TIME           COOK TIME           TOTAL TIME
    15 mins.                 35 mins.                    50 mins.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Spiced Mexican Wedges with homemade Vegan Sour Cream and Nacho Cheese Sauce. Creamy, Cheesy, Spicy and Simple to make.
Author: 
Recipe type: Side/Main
Serves: Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
  • Potato Wedges:
  • 3 Large Potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 1½ teaspoons Oil
  • 1½ teaspoons Ground Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika
  • ½ - 1 teaspoon Cayenne (depends on how spicy you want them to be)
  • 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
  • Salt/Pepper, to taste

  • 1 recipe Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
  • 1 recipe Homemade Vegan Sour Cream
  • [br
  • Extras:
  • Cilantro, for garnishing
  • Diced Red Pepper, for garnishing
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Make Potato Wedges: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and have a baking sheet ready.
  2. In a large bowl, combine your potato wedges with oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne and dried parsley. Season liberally with salt and pepper, and then toss everything until all the seasoning has been evenly distributed on the potato wedges.
  3. Once everything has been mixed well, transfer wedges to baking sheet and make sure they are placed on the baking sheet in a single row. You want your wedges to roast, not steam!
  4. Pop into the oven for 35 minutes, giving the wedges a turn halfway through the cooking process.
  5. Whilst the wedges are in the oven, prepare your Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce and Homemade Sour Cream.
  6. After 35 minutes, check that your wedges are done, check that they are cooked through and tender. If they arent, let them bake for another 10 minutes. When they are done, serve with prepared sauces (drizzle them on if you wish) and garnish with coriander and diced pepper.




PULLED TANDOORI CHICKEN AND CARAMELIZED ONION SLIDERS.



So these sliders basically have 4 components to it -
1) the dry roasted slider buns
2) the tandoori chicken filling with caramelised onions.
3) the slaw
4) the hot sauce 
I’m going to put the ingredients and the method of each separately and then the way of assembling it all.
INGREDIENTS - 
FOR THE FILLING 

- one whole tandoori (rotisserie) chicken (ready to eat)
- 3 large sliced onions
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1tsp mutton masala
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- 3 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- salt to taste
METHOD - - take the tandoori chicken and shred off the flesh off the bone with two forks, or just use your hands (like I did. Messy, but clearly the best). Set aside. 
- in a non stick pan, add the ketchup , let it simmer for 10-15 seconds. (You don’t need additional oil for this step, the ketchup has its own fat that helps caramelise the onions)
- add all the remaining ingredients and toss around on high flame till its soft, translucent and slightly sticky. Your caramelised onions are done
- add the onions to the chicken. Set aside
FOR THE SLAW - ( low fat slaw)
- 1 small finely chopped green cabbage (chopped length wise)
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp low fat Mayo
- 2 tbsp skimmed milk
Method-
-Mix every thing together and set aside.
FOR THE HOT SAUCE
- 1 tbsp Mayo
- 1 tbsp shezwan sauce
- ½ tsp chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp skimmed milk
METHOD - Mix everything together and set aside.
Assemble-
Dry roast the buns with some sesame seeds. 
Apply the hot sauce on the base . 
Generously load the slider with the chicken and slaw.
Enjoy!
PS - to make your own pulled chicken from scratch , do the following . 
Ingredients - 
-½ kgs chicken breast
- ½ cup tomato purée
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 8-9 cloves of garlic
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp of coriander powder, meat masala each. 
- a few tbsp of curd - salt to taste
Mix everything and throw in a large baking dish. Bake on slow heat (150 degrees) for about 45 mins or till its nicely cooked. ( take care that the chicken doesn’t get dry). 
Pull out of the oven, shred the chicken and use in the same way as mentioned above. Any left over liquid from the chicken in the oven dish can be added in the hot sauce for a great flavour.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Hearty Beef Stew with Bacon


Hearty Beef Stew

3 lb. (1.5 kg) boneless beef chuck
2 Tbs. canola oil
4 thick slices applewood-smoked bacon, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 carrots, cut into chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch (12-mm) lengths
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
6 Tbs. all-purpose flour
4 cups (32 fl. oz./1 l) beef stock or broth
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 1/4 lbs. (675 g) red-skinned potatoes

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 325°F (165°C). Cut the beef into 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) cubes and set aside. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the oil. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp and browned, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain and set aside. Pour the fat into a heatproof bowl. Return 2 Tbs. of the fat to the pot and heat over medium-high heat. Season the beef cubes with salt and pepper. In batches to avoid crowding, add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer the beef to a plate.

Add another 2 Tbs. of the fat to the pot and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter and let it melt. Sprinkle with the flour and stir well. Gradually stir in the stock, and then stir in the tomato paste, the 1 Tbs. parsley and the thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Return the beef to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover, place in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Cut the unpeeled potatoes into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes, add them to the pot, stir, re-cover and continue cooking until both the meat and potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes more. Season the stew with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and the reserved bacon. Serves 6.




Saturday, October 10, 2015

Shrimp and Tomatoes



Start by rinsing shrimp under cold water and peel/remove tails. Chop up roma tomatoes into chunks.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and add in chopped tomatoes.

Add the broth, lemon juice and sugar; mix and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl mix the cornstarch and water together and then add to the pan and bring to a boil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the shrimp and then add to the pan; simmer until the shrimp are cooked thoroughly.

Serve over cooked rice and enjoy! Better than take-out!


Shrimp and Tomatoes
Serves 2
Tangy, sweet and yummy shrimp and tomatoes - just like take out!
Write a review
Print
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
25 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 tomatoes, chopped into chunks
  2. Bag of shrimp (16-20 count) washed and peeled
  3. 1/4 cup broth
  4. 1 tsp lemon juice
  5. 1 tsp sugar
  6. 1 tsp corn starch
  7. 2 tsp water
  8. Cooked rice
Instructions
  1. Chop the tomatoes up into chunks.
  2. Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan and add tomatoes. Let cook until the tomatoes soften a little, about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add the broth, lemon juice and sugar; mix and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
  4. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch and water together and then add to the pan and bring to a boil.
  5. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the shrimp and add to the pan; simmer until the shrimp are cooked thoroughly.
  6. Serve over cooked rice and enjoy! Better than take-out!

Monday, September 14, 2015

Apple Crisp

Warm Apple crisp made with buttery cinnamon oatmeal topping is a delightful dessert to serve on any occasion. It's easy to prepare and even easier to devour.

Apple Crisp Recipe

----------------------------------------------------------------------
PREP TIME            COOK TIME           TOTAL TIME
     15 mins.                   35 mins.                    50 mins.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A warm apple dessert topped with a crunchy oatmeal
cinnamon topping.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

INGREDIENTS
  • 8 Cups cored and peeled sliced apples
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice from about 1 lemon)
  • 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
  • 3/4 Cup packed brown sugar, divided
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 Cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
  • Optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

INSTRUCTIONS
  • Preheat oven to 375-degrees F. Butter a 2-1/2 quart (approximately) baking fish.
  • In a bowl, toss sliced apples with lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon connamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Spread in buttered baking dish.
  • Using a fork or fingers, mash/press together remaining ingredients until combined well. Crumble evenly over sliced apples.
  • Bake 35-45 minutes until apples are tender and top is golden. 
  • Serve warm. This dessert is delicious served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Lamb Burger


Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Lamb burger

4 Lamb burgers
2 Large flat breads, cut in half
2 roasted red peppers, minced
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/8 cup freshly snipped parsley
1 cucumber, sliced thin
1 tomato, sliced thin
Red leaf lettuce
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup roasted red pepper hummus


Recipe
  1. Prep your grill, clean and oil the grates.
  2. In a bowl, toss the red pepper, feta and parsley together.
  3. Whisk the hummus and yogurt together; set aside.
  4. Grill the burgers to desired doneness. Toast the flat breads.
  5. Arrange the lamb burgers over lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes on the flat bread. Spoon hummus sauce over top and sprinkle a hefty portion of the red pepper feta mix on top.
  6. Serve and enjoy.