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Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Mixed Mushroom Parcels

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This is a simple dish, great served as a starter, or even as a light summer lunch dish. Using a jar of mixed Mushrooms will give you a range of tastes and textures, but if you’re particularly fond of a certain Mushroom, then use more of that variety if you want!

Mixed Mushroom Parcels

To Serve 6
50g Wild Rice
Salt and Pepper
125g Butter
175g Onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and crushed
175g Celery, finely chopped
175g Carrot, peeled and finely chopped
700g Brown and White Capped Mushrooms, chopped
225g Jar Mixed Wild Mushrooms in oil
75g Toasted Hazelnuts, chopped
75g No-Soak Dried Apricots, chopped
6 Sheets Filo Pastry
1tbsp Sesame Seeds
4tbsp Chopped Fresh Chives
200g Crème Fraiche

1. Cook the Rice in boiling salted water until tender, before draining and setting aside.
2. Melt twenty five grams of Butter in a large pan then cook the Onion and Garlic for around ten minutes, until soft and brown. Add the Celery and Carrot. Fry for a further three or four minutes. Add another twenty five grams of Butter to the pan then add the Fresh Mushrooms. Cook uncovered for another fifteen minutes with no cover on, so that the all the excess liquid has evaporated.
3. Add the Drained Mushrooms to the pan, and cook for five more minutes. Remove from the heat, before seasoning to taste, and stirring in the Hazelnuts, Wild Rice and Apricots into the Mushroom mixture.
4. Butter one sheet of Filo Pastry with a small amount of melted Butter, then fold in half, then in half again – you should aim to end up with a sheet about nine inches square. Place a sixth of the mixture in the centre of the sheet, and gather up the sides to form a parcel. Press gently to seal shut, and then repeat with the rest of the sheets of Pastry. Brush the tops with Butter, and sprinkle with a small amount of the Sesame Seeds.
5. Place the Parcels on a warmed baking sheet, then bake at 190 C for twenty five to thirty minutes. Stir the Chives into the Crème Fraiche, and season to taste. Serve the Parcels on a plate with a spoonful of the Sauce.

Photo Courtesy of: randomduck

Grilled Chicken Salad

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Fresh, full of flavour and colour, and very tasty, this dish should appeal to all tastes! It’s very easy to make, but still provides very impressive results.

Grilled Chicken Breast

When making the dressing, try to prepare it as close to preparation as possible, in order to have the freshest flavours.

To serve 4
175g Tomatoes, halved
2tbsp Black Olive Paste
Olive Oil
4 Skinless Chicken Fillets
1 Shallot, peeled and finely chopped
3tbsp Olive Oil
1tbsp Walnut Oil
4tsp White Wine Vinegar
2tbsp Single Cream
1tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Mixed Salad to serve – Leaves, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Onions, Cucumber, Artichoke Hearts etc.

1. Grill the Halved Tomatoes skin-side up, until black and charred. Puree in a food processor, along with a little Olive Paste and the Olive Oil if required, in order to make a thinnesh Paste.
2. Place the Chicken on a foil lined tray, brush lightly with some Olive Oil, and grill for seven to eight minutes, and turn over, covering with the Tomato Paste. Cook for a further five minutes, or until cooked through, and the outside is browned. Cool, cover, and place in a fridge for at least an hour to allow the Chicken time to firm up.
3. Make the dressing – Mix the three tablespoons of Olive Oil with the Walnut Oil, Vinegar, Cream, Basil in a large bottle, and shake well. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste, and then set aside.
4. Toss the Mixed Salad in a large bowl with the Dressing, and then add the Chicken – sliced into centimetre thick strips, and serve fresh.

Photo Courtesy of: CandyTX

Classic Valentines Day Meal

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The first meal for the week is a classic menu.

A rough time frame has been included to help it easier to plan and prepare, just to help the special night or day go without a hitch!

Starter
Starting with a true classic starter – Smoked Salmon Pate. A smooth, creamy dish, with plenty of flavour and a treat for the eyes. A simple dish, but widely loved – and quite quick to make at just forty minutes including time to chill!

If you’re not a fan of Fish Pate for a starter, try creating the Walnut, Egg and Cheese Pate. A different taste, so it may be worth preparing some before the big day, and making sure you like it. This pate can also be used as a filling for Stuffed Tomatoes, Peppers or Mushrooms as well! Including time taken to chill, you’re looking at about forty-five to fifty minutes.

Main Course
A true classic dish – Crispy Pork Belly. Although this meal is a Filipino dish, the range of flavours in it give the traditionally popular dinner a great twist. Serve it with some freshly cooked seasonal Vegetables – Roast Potatoes, Parsnips, Carrots and a lovely thick Gravy.

This dish takes around one and a half to two hours to cook – not counting the time used to freeze the meat.

Dessert
White Chocolate Pots – A simply divine White Chocolate and Rum Mousse, this dessert can alternatively be served with Orange Zest or Dark Chocolate to mix the flavours up.

This dish takes around three or four hours to prepare, once the time to chill has been counted!

White Chocolate Pots

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A superb treat – this White Chocolate and Rum Mousse can be adapted and changed by adding a tablespoon of grated chocolate through the mixture whilst mixing it. Add some Orange zest to give it an orange flavouring.

Mousse

To change the tastes, add the Chocolate or Zest whilst folding the Egg Whites into the Chocolate Mixture. Of course, you could always try using Dark Chocolate instead of White!

To Serve 2
90g White Chocolate
1tbsp Butter
1tbsp Dark Rum
1 Egg, separated
1tbsp Natural Fromage Frais

1. Break up the Chocolate into small pieces, and place in a heatproof bowl, along with the Butter. Place this bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, taking care to make sure that the surface of the water is kept out of contact with the bowl, otherwise the Chocolate may burn. Heat gently until completely melted, stirring all the time.
2. Remove the bowl from the heat (be careful, it’ll be very hot), and mix in the tablespoon of Rum, followed by the Egg Yolk. Add the Fromage Frais before leaving to cool.
3. Whisk the Egg White until it forms stiff peaks – use a clean, dry bowl for this, it makes it much easier. Slowly fold the mixture into the Chocolate Mixture, making sure it’s done evenly.
4. Divide into two separate portions, and place into serving dishes. Chill these until set.

Photo Courtesy of: stu_spivack

Pastichio

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This traditional Greek dish is full of flavour, and very simple to make. If you want it to be even simpler, you can use White Sauce instead of creating your own sauce.

Pastichio

To Serve 4
200g Pastichio Noodles
1lb Minced Beef or Minced Pork
1 medium Onion
½ Stick of Butter
1/3 Cup of Flour
1 Tube of Tomato Puree
3 cups of Milk
3 Eggs
1 Cup Grated Cheese
1 tbsp Cinnamon
Salt And Pepper

1.       Brown the Meat off in a pan, and finely chop the Onion, adding to the pan and cook off until the fat evaporates.

2.       Add the Tomato Paste along with a cup of water. Add the Salt, Pepper and Cinnamon to the pan, cover and simmer on a low heat for fifteen minutes. Boil the Noodles and set them aside.

3.       In a separate pan, melt the butter and slowly add in the flour until it makes a thick mixture. Add the Milk until it boils – it should take around five minutes, stirring all the time.

4.       Beat the Eggs in a bowl, and slowly add the Butter, Flour and Milk into the Eggs, stirring all the time to prevent any lumps forming. Return to the saucepan, and stir constantly over a medium heat for one or two minutes. Add the Grated Cheese and stir in.

5.       Spread half of the Noodles over the bottom of a casserole dish, and cover with half of the sauce. Cover with the Meat, and then cover with some more of the sauce. Lay the rest of the noodles over the top, and cover with the remainder of the sauce.

6.       Bake at 180C for forty to forty five minutes.

Serve this dish either on its own, or serve with seasonal vegetables.

Photo Courtesy of: pink_fish13

Swordfish with Peppers in a White Wine Sauce

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SwordfishItalian Sophistication served up on a single plate. The contrast of colours, textures, tastes and simplicity of this dish make it a superb dinner party dish. It’s all about timing – if the fish is cooked for too long, or too high a heat, the textures and tastes may spoil, so you have to be really careful with it.

Try to get all the ingredients as fresh as possible – for the fish, try to avoid frozen if possible. If you can’t help it, make sure that it is thoroughly defrosted first, and closer to room temperature.

To Serve 8

2kg of Swordfish in 8 fillets, boneless and skinless

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 Medium Onion, sliced

3 Orange or Yellow Peppers, cut into thin slices

2 Medium Tomatoes

2 or 3 cups of White Wine

1 tsp Oregano

½ Lemon, Juiced

1 tsp Demerara or White Sugar

½ Cup Light Raisins

½ Cup Pine Nuts

½ Cup Parsley, finely chopped

1.       Make a cross on the bottom of the Tomatoes, and place them in a pan of boiling water for thirty seconds. Drain from the pan, and cool under a running tap, peeling the skins and removing the seeds. Cut the flesh into cubes.

2.       Heat a non-stick frying pan up without any oil in, and add the Pine Nuts, stirring until they start to brown, at which time place them on a plate.

3.       Wash and dry the pieces of Fish, and lightly flour them.

4.       Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large shallow pan, or large deep frying pan, and brown the fish off, half at a time. You may need to add some more oil half-way through.

5.       Wipe the pan with some kitchen paper, and add two more tablespoons of oil before sautéing the Onions and Peppers on a low heat until they begin to soften – around ten minutes.

6.       Add the tomatoes to the pan, and turn up the heat. Continue stirring for five more minutes.

7.       To the pan, add the Wine, Oregano, Raisins, Sugar, Lemon Juice and Parsley, seasoning to taste. Allow to boil for around three or four minutes, and then return the Fish to the pan to heat with the rest of the sauce.

8.       Add the Pine Nuts and serve!

Photo Courtesy of: Melvin Schlubman