Chorizo, Spinach, Mushroom and Red Pepper Rice.

Last night I came home from University and knew one thing. I wanted a glass of wine. I’d had a productive day finalizing what to write my dissertation on and was feeling smug.

When I got home though my dreams of a cooling beverage to celebrate my dissertation-awesomeness were dashed. There wasn’t any wine in the house. Disaster.

However… What’s the best excuse for getting a bottle in? Making risotto. Of course.

So, off to co-op my housemate and I went. A skip, hop and a purchase of white Chilean later, happily with wine in hand I threw this together for the both of us.

I feel like this would be created if a risotto got it on with a paella and had sweet, sweet, rice-y babies.  Here the smoky, heat of the sausage, marries with the hearty, irony spinach and the sweet red pepper beautifully.

As usual this was amalgamated out of what I had in the fridge, which unfortunately was missing some fresh herbs last night. I feel either some fresh thyme, or chives might have gone down a treat stirred in at the end. Nonetheless the final product was de-lish.

Serves 2.

A medium sized white onion, chopped finely.

2 cloves of garlic, chopped.

200g cooking chorizo, chopped. 

1 tsp paprika.

½ tsp dried thyme

Enough Arborio/risotto rice for two

A good slug of a dry white wine

1 pint good chicken stock

Half a red pepper, sliced

A large handful of good mushrooms, chopped

Large handful of freshly grated parmesan

To start with get your stock hot.

Secondly in another pan melt half the butter and then add the olive oil to raise the butters burning point. Over a low heat sweat the onions and as it goes translucent add the peppers, mushrooms and chorizo, when the sausage starts to leak it’s oils, add the garlic, paprika and thyme and sweat until fragrant, season.

Throw in the rice and increase the heat, fry for a minute then add the wine and simmer until the harsh alcohol smell burns off and the rice absorbs the liquid.

Now start to add the stock bit-by-bit adding more after the last has been completely absorbed, stirring frequently, massaging the starch out of the rice.

When the rice is nearly cooked, pour in a last slug of stock and cover. Leave the rice to stand for a couple of minutes with the heat off so it can relax. Stir in the parmesan and serve. 

Singapore Noodles.

Whenever I have a Chinese takeaway (which isn’t that often I'll have you know...) I’m ALWAYS a sucker for Singapore noodles (I also have an ongoing love affair with shredded crispy beef, but that’s an entirely different matter...)

It’s something to do with the fact that you’re having a Chinese but still getting a hit of curry-like flavors that just does it for me. Of course I’m also getting my obligatory chili hit and we all know about my little chili problem (if you're new to this space by 'problem' i mean full-blown addiction). So. Yeah. All in all I LOVE this dish. 

Personally I don’t think there are really any rules about what goes in this stir-fry. The general idea is just hot wok, garlic, ginger, chili, curry powder, various forms of protein (I used bacon which is quite essential and tofu since I didn’t have any chicken, but chicken, prawns and pork are lovely too) some crunchy stir fry veg, noodles and egg.

Serves 2

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 rashers smoked bacon, chopped

Fresh, firm tofu, cubed

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

Thumb sized piece of ginger, chopped

1 hot chili, chopped

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 large handfuls of stir-fry veg

Enough rice noodles for two

1 egg, beaten

1 ½ tbsp soy sauce

Lime wedges and chopped spring onions (to serve)

Cook noodles according to packet instructions

Get your wok on a high heat and heat the oil until nearly smoking, add bacon and tofu.

When that is browned add garlic, ginger, chili, sesame seeds and curry powder. Fry until fragrant and add veg.

Fry for a couple of minutes then push the contents of your wok to the side and pour the egg into the space created, stir the egg until it scrambles then incorporate into the rest of the ingredients adding the noodles and soy sauce.

Taste to see if it needs any more seasoning and serve with lime to squeeze over and scattered with the chopped spring onions.

Chorizo and Butterbean Stew.

I am a bad blogger.

Various ‘trying to be a grown-up’ stresses  involving the big black hole that is life after university is responsible for this meaning it’s been nearly a month since I last posted. 

Don't worry I haven't stopped eating (pffft as if…) but if I'm honest I’ve just been eating on autopilot a lot recently - if I had continually blogged this space would literally just have become a tribute to pasta.

However, I endeavor for this all to change. 

I concluded that many of my fail safe eats which I can make with my eyes shut are just that – fail safe and with good reason, because they're YUMMY. So I've decided to blog about them over the next few weeks and here is the first of them. 

This is a recipe that I’ve been sitting on for a while, I first made it at the beginning of this academic year and have been honing it since. It hits all the spots of hearty comfort food with yum factor and apart from the chorizo is very economical. If you’re looking to be especially frugal though, reduce the amount of chorizo you put in it. The sausage’s flavor will still permeate the stew - the final result will just be a little less meaty.

I tend to do it as a bit of a make it up as I go along type thing here, so just keep tasting it and adjusting it how you like it - saltier, sweeter, spicier etc. a squeeze of lemon in at the end might be nice too!

1 white onion, diced.

2 large cloves of garlic, crushed

1 chili, chopped (or more, or less, depending on how hot you like it)

half a ring of chorizo, peeled if necessary and chopped into small-ish chunks

any other veg you fancy (i used chopped yellow peppers but you could use anything that stews well from mushrooms to new potatoes)

1 tsp of dried thyme

1 tsp paprika

1 can butterbeans

1 can chopped tomatoes

500ml chicken stock

1 1/2 tsp sugar

large handful sugar snap peas

salt and freshly ground pepper.

Sweat the onion until translucent, then add chorizo and any other veg. 

when the sausage  starts to leak it oils add the chilli, garlic, thyme and paprika, sweat this until fragrant, then add the beans, chopped tomatoes, stock and sugar.

Season liberally and simmer until the water evaporates, the sauce has thickened and everything is tender.

Throw in the sugar snaps in the last 5 minutes of cooking so they remain nice and crunchy, check/adjust seasoning.

Serve with crusty bread. 

Admittedly not the prettiest, but mega yumm, I promise. 

Chorizo, Butternut and Thyme Pasta.

Today was one of those days when I wasn’t looking forward to cooking. I know, a rarity for me, but I didn’t have anything in the fridge, didn’t fancy anything much to eat and had been up since 8am (which is rubbish because it’s a Sunday).  Basically it was one of those days when I wanted my father to cook me something yummy. Alas, he is many miles away in London so I turned to a version of one of his concoctions.

The original version of this uses sage instead of thyme and pasta tubes rather than twirls, parmesan and doesn’t include the spring greens but this evening was an exercise in creating what I could out of a very, very bare fridge so I was rather pleased with the results. The cheese however, was sorely missed so I’ve included it in the recipe.

Serves two, generously.

1tbsp olive oil

½ a small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small cubes

50g Chorizo, chopped

200g Cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

A handful or two spring greens

1 tsp crushed chilli flakes

Enough pasta for two

Two handfuls of grated parmesan

In an oven at about 180 degrees place the squash on a baking tray, tossed in the olive oil and well seasoned.

When that begins to become tender add the chorizo and when that begins to crisp up and is leaking all its smoky, paprika flavored oils add the cherry tomatoes, chili and thyme.

While that has it’s last blast in the oven simmer the pasta in some salted water and when it has a couple minutes to go add the greens.

When everything is cooked, drain the pasta and greens, reserving a small amount of the cooking water and throw everything together, serve up and liberally sprinkle with parmesan.

Birthday Coca-Cola Cake.

Personally I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I’d take a starter over a dessert in a restaurant any day but when birthdays come around, cake is obviously a necessity. In the past we’ve always been a plain cupcake type household for birthdays. This is probably down to the fact that we don’t own scales, or even a cake tin for that matter. For my friend/housemate/live-in landlord’s birthday, however, I endeavored to raise the stakes.

I borrowed two cake tins and some scales and turned to a recipe that evokes many a childhood memory, Nigella Lawson’s coca-cola cake. I somewhat re-jiggled the construction of it, making two shallower cakes and sandwiching them together with some extra frosting but I was still very happy with the results, it went down a treat and was devoured in one sitting. The coca-cola makes it light, incredibly moist and somehow less filling. A definite winner of a cake.

From Nigella Lawson’s ‘How to be a Domestic Goddess’.

For the cakes:

400g Plain Flour

500g Caster Sugar

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

2 large eggs

60g yoghurt mixed with 200ml of milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

250g unsalted butter

4 tablespoons coca powder

350ml coca-cola.

For the icing:

225g icing sugar

2 tbsp butter

3tbso coca-cola

1tbsp coca powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 Degrees, grease and line two cake tins.

Combined dry ingredients in a large bowl,

Melt the butter in a small pan, with the coco and coca-cola and add this to the dry ingredients.

Add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon, pour into cake tins and bake for half an hour or until a metal skewer stuck into them comes out clean.

When cooked, leave to cool then combine the ingredients for the frosting.

Turn one of the cakes on its top so as to have a flat surface and spread a fair amount on, then sandwich the other cake the right way up on top and ice the cake, the sides of it too if you have enough icing. 

Nom.

Tomato, Red Onion and Chilli Chutney.

Happy New Year!

This is a belated post. A very belated one, considering it is Christmas related but wanted to share it after seeing the success of the recipe.

Nearly all my Christmas presents this year had a homemade theme, largely because come the end of the year I was nearly flat broke and also because I had a theory that my family (specifically my parents), would appreciate something I had made with my own hands more than something I could buy. I mentioned my plan to my housemates and they jumped on the bandwagon meaning that on a cold afternoon in the run up to Christmas we had an almighty chutney making venture.

Needless to say it was rather epic, considering we needed to peel and chop 3kgs of tomatoes and then 1.5kgs of red onions. Regretfully I took on the onions. Yes, there were LOTS of tears - but don’t worry I’ve scaled down the recipe here.

The most amusing part of this process had to be acquiring the jars to store the chutney in. It had to be in the most economical way possible. Of course.

Our solution? Off we went to ASDA and bought the cheapest thing they had on sale that was in an appropriately sized jar.

This was the result:

That, is 8 jars worth of ASDA, own brand, 22p, Lemon curd.

Gross huh?

But it did thankfully, provide us with this (after they had been sterilized via the dishwasher):

Anyway, to get back to the chutney. This really is an exercise of taste, I cannot reiterate HOW much one has to taste, season and adjust throughout the cooking process to make it sing.

But I promise you; the results are worth it, the jar I gave to my mum for Christmas Day had been devoured by the end of Boxing Day. No exaggeration.

Makes 2-3 jars and was created from an amalgamation of recipes including one from the BBC Good Food website.

500g red onions, peeled and sliced

1kg tomatoes, skinned and chopped

1 hot chilli, finely, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

½ tsp paprika

150g brown sugar

150ml red wine vinegar

lots of salt and freshly ground pepper

In a little oil, sweat the onions until soft then add the garlic, chilli and bay leaf, sweat until fragrant and then add the rest of the ingredients.

Simmer for 1 hour and at this point taste it. Is it too sweet? If so add more vinegar. Not sweet enough? Add more sugar, this kind of thing will largely depend on nature of the tomatoes used.

Season the hell out of it until your happy with the way it tastes then increase the heat and gently boil until it gets thick and jammy.

Place in sterilized jars and leave to cool before covering, will keep in the fridge for 6 weeks or so.

NOTE: Its banging with some strong chedder cheese. 

Creamy Green Vegetable Risotto with Lemon Thyme.

Risotto.

It is a thing of joy if done well and a stodgy, claggy mess if not prepared with enough care. It seems this balance is often something difficult to master. However, being a risotto lover I would like to think that I have somewhat managed the art.

Risotto’s issue is that it is temperamental. One has to give it as much love and attention as you want it to give you. A risotto that has not been prepared with care will never sing in the way one that has been lovingly stirred and seasoned will do.

My verdict on the matter is to pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy watching the magic of the rice swell as you add stock. I do at least, but then again I am a mega food geek.

Anyway, I’m of the opinion a risotto should be oozy but not too wet. However a trick I usually employ is to always make it a bit wetter than it appears to need to be. This way while it stands at the end of the cooking process and as you eat, it doesn’t dry up leaving you with a bowl of stodge.

I would also advise you to season with black pepper liberally, it really adds an extra dimension and some bite to this silky and comforting plate of loveliness. I am unashamed to say that despite making enough with which to intend leftovers I ate the lot. I enjoyed it so much I simply couldn’t resist.

Serves 3

2tbsp olive oil

A large knob of butter

1 pint of chicken or veggie stock.

200g risotto rice.

Half a large onion, finely chopped.

1 clove of garlic, crushed.

A large leek chopped.

2 tbsp cream cheese or mascarpone.

Two handfuls of sugar snap peas, quartered.

 A glass of dry white wine.

1 tbsp thyme leaves.

 Large handful of freshly grated parmesan.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To start with get your stock hot.

Secondly in another pan melt half the butter and then add the olive oil to raise the butters burning point. Over a low heat sweat the leeks until really soft then stir in the cream cheese or mascarpone.

In different wide based but tall sided pan add rest of the butter and olive oil and sweat the onion until it looks slightly translucent, then add the garlic and continue to sweat until fragrant.

Increase the heat, add the rice and fry until it looks slightly translucent then add the wine and simmer until you can’t smell the harsh alcohol scent coming off the ingredients and the liquid has absorbed into the rice.

Turn your heat back down and ladle by ladle add the stock adding the next after the previous one has been absorbed. During this process continue to stir. This will massage the starch out of the rice resulting in a creamy, oozy risotto.

After 8 minutes throw in the peas and a further 2 minutes later check the rice, if it is cooked but with a slight bite then it is done. Stir in the creamy leek mixture, thyme, parmesan and season. 

At this point I feel it is crucial to cover the risotto and let it sit for 5 minutes. This helps it relax and helps the flavors to mingle. Loosen with some water if necessary and serve immediately.