Ice Cubes with Lime

A Fun Summer Tip, this is a very easy tip but now and again we forget the simple things! Great way to to use up Limes or Lemons which have been half used or on there way out. Also fantastic for those Summer drinks like Lemonade etc Also if having people round its that little bit of thought rather than shop bought ice cubes! This idea can also be used with Herbs when having cocktails by using Basil etc.

Ingredients:

1 Lime or Lemon or Both
Evian Mineral Water
Ice cube Tray

What to do:

take the Lime and slice cut into small wedges (small enough to fit into each ice cube slot), pour the Evian water over the limes and freeze!!!

I told you it was simple, but people enjoy the simple things in life!

Photo by Matt Grice

Perfect Rice

The key to great rice is one part rice to 2 parts water, and coating the rice in oil. Use the recipe instructions below and this will give you great perfect rice every time as there is nothing worse than soggy gluppy rice!!

INGREDIENTS


Basmati Rice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Ground Pepper
Boiling water

Serves 2

What to do:

On a low heat (lowest it can go) heat a pan, add the oil, then a ramekin of rice (if for 4 people add two ramekins and so on...) take your spatula and stir the rice in the oil and make sure every grain of rice is coated in oil. add a pinch of sea salt and pepper.

Handy Tip

By coating the rice in oil this helps the rice not stick together

Once the rice is coated, pour in two ramekins of boiling water and cover. (still on a low heat) This should take around 10 mins but the way to tell its ready is when all the fluid has been soaked up by the rice, please see the pictures attached ( do not stir the rice during this) 

Once the fluid has gone remove from the heat place a tea towel over the pan and place the lid on top ( See picture) and leave for around 10 minutes

Once ready fork the rice and check to taste, the rice should be light and the rice should not be stuck together...perfect and its ready to serve!

Pickled Red Cabbage

Pickled Red Cabbage

Ingredients:

300gm Finely shredded Red Cabbage
1 Star Anise
400ml Red Wine
275ml Malt Vinegar
140ml White Wine Vinegar
140ml Balsamic Vinegar
5 Bay Leaves
10 Whole Cloves
1tsp Whole Black Peppercorns
1tsp Whole Pink Peppercorns
1 Stick Cinnamon (snapped in half)
5 Whole Dried Chillies
250gm Sugar
80gm Coarse sea salt

What To Do:

Half and quarter the red cabbage. De-vein away the large stem and finely slice the red cabbage leaves. Put the sliced red cabbage in a bowl or on a tray and salt with coarse sea salt, mix well. And leave for 2-3 hours until a deep rich colour is achieved. Drain and wash all the salt away thoroughly – pat dry.

Place all the vinegar, wine and sugar in a suitable pan and reduce by half.

Place all the dry ingredients in a pestle and mortar and coarsely pound. When the reduction is near completion throw all the dry spices into the reduction and allow to infuse for 5 minutes. Pass the reduction through a fine sieve and, while warm, pour on to the red cabbage, allow to cool.

Place the cabbage in a Kilner jar and seal. The liquor should just cover the cabbage.

Thai Green Curry with Perfect Rice

Nearly everyone loves curry, and the satisfaction of making one from scratch is brilliant. I made this and was really easy to follow and the end result was fantastic! This Thai green curry allows you to taste each ingredient, its fresh and has the warmth from the chillies coming through without being too hot. Serve with rice ( perfect rice recipe below ) and chapatis. A fantastic Saturday night meal with friends.

Serves 4 

INGREDIENTS

For the curry paste

4 lemongrass stalks, tougher outer leaves discarded
6 medium-hot green chillies, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
5cm/2in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chopped lime zest
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
½ tsp ground black peppercorns

For the curry

3 large free-range chicken breasts
3 tbsp groundnut oil
200gchestnut mushrooms, quartered
400ml tin coconut milk
400ml homemade or ready-made chicken stock
8 lime leaves
1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp bottled green peppercorns, drained
leaves from a large bunch (about 20g) basil,
shredded 15g fresh coriander (leaves and stalks,) roughly chopped

What To Do:

For the curry paste

Slice the lemongrass finely and put in a food processor with all the remaining curry paste ingredients and whiz to a thick paste, pushing the mixture down from time to time with a spatula.Transfer to a glass or china dish, cover tightly (otherwise it will taint everything in the fridge) and refrigerate.

Handy Tip

once you have blitzed the ingredients, take out and put in a bowl or jug, then use a hand mixer, this allows you to get a proper thick smooth paste, as the food processor will only blitz to a course paste.

For the curry,

Cut the chicken into finger-thick strips. Warm the oil in a casserole and, when hot and sizzling, add the chicken strips and let them colour slightly on all sides. You will need to do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan.

Remove the cooked chicken pieces from the casserole with a slotted spoon. Add the quartered mushrooms to the casserole and fry until golden-brown, adding more oil if needed

Pour in the coconut milk and stock, then add the lime leaves, four heaped tablespoons of the curry paste, the fish sauce, peppercorns and half of the chopped herbs.

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Return the chicken to the casserole with a further tablespoon of the paste and simmer for five to six minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the last of the herbs and serve.

Recipe by Nigel Slater

Photos by Rach Grice


Perfect Rice

The key to great rice is one part rice to 2 parts water, and coating the rice in oil. Use the recipe instructions below and this will give you great perfect rice every time as there is nothing worse than soggy gluppy rice!!

INGREDIENTS


Basmati Rice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Ground Pepper
Boiling water

Serves 2

What to do:

On a low heat (lowest it can go) heat a pan, add the oil, then a ramekin of rice (if for 4 people add two ramekins and so on...) take your spatula and stir the rice in the oil and make sure every grain of rice is coated in oil. add a pinch of sea salt and pepper.

Handy Tip

By coating the rice in oil this helps the rice not stick together

Once the rice is coated, pour in two ramekins of boiling water and cover. (still on a low heat) This should take around 10 mins but the way to tell its ready is when all the fluid has been soaked up by the rice, please see the pictures attached ( do not stir the rice during this)

Once the fluid has gone remove from the heat place a tea towel over the pan and place the lid on top ( See picture) and leave for around 10 minutes

Once ready fork the rice and check to taste, the rice should be light and the rice should not be stuck together...perfect and its ready to serve!

Photos by Rach Grice

Recipe by Matt Grice

Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Risotto is one of my favorite dishes. If done right, Risotto can be a fantastic, if done wrongly it can be the worst! Risotto should not be able to be formed, you should not be able to make a tower etc. Risotto done properly as the Italians make it is when it becomes amazingly creamy and oozy. Below is the recipe for risotto Bianco (white risotto) this is the base recipe for all risottos, from this you can add whatever you like, i have gone for Asparagus and Wild mushroom, enjoy!

Ingredients:

Risotto Bianco

2 pints of stock ( vegetable )

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 knob of butter

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

4 or 5 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped

400 g risotto rice

2 wineglasses of dry white wine

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

70 g butter

115 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the Asparagus and Wild Mushroom

8 tips of Asparagus
150g of Wild Mushrooms
Knob of butter
olive oil
salt and pepper

What to do:

In a pan heat the stock. Put the olive oil and butter into a separate pan, and add the onion, garlic and celery, and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. 

When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent.

Now add the wine, keep stirring continuously until all the liquid has evaporated. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add a ladle of stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside, add the next ladle full of stock once the last has been absorbed ( see picture below)

keep doing this until all the stock has been used. You should be stirring continuously as this helps the risotto by bringing the creamy starch out of the rice. This will take around 15 minutes.

Handy Tip:

Taste the rice to check if it's cooked. If not, carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but has a slight bite.

Check the risotto for to see if it needs seasoning (salt and pepper) . If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water. Take the pan of the heat and then add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well.

Once the Parmesan and the butter have melted in cover the pan and allow to rest for 2 minutes. This is the crucial part as it allows the risotto to fantastically creamy and oozy like it should be.

For the Asparagus and Wild Mushroom

In a pan over a medium heat, add a knob of butter and a splash of olive oil (the olive oil stops the butter burning).  Cut each asparagus tip into three chunks ( do this for all of them) and place in the butter and oil heat for around 2 minutes

Now roughly chop the mushrooms up (big chunks) and add to the pan and stir, add a pinch of salt and peeper.

Cook for around 5 minutes (or until the asparagus is cooked, it should have a bite to it). Take of the heat and add to the pan of Risotto Bianco, mix and serve.

This is great with char grilled ciabatta bread slices which have been rubbed with garlic.

Recipe for Risotto Bianco Jamie Oliver

 Photos by Rach Grice

Parmersan Crusted Shepherds Pie

 

Shepherd's Pie with Parmesan Crust. For me there's time when you crave home comfort food, which is simple and easy to make. For me, Shepherd's pie is one of those meals. This recipe gives you your favourite pie, but gives it a flavour boost. Makes you look forward to those cold nights!

INGREDIENTS

 

2 tbsp olive oil

500g minced lean lamb (from a quality butcher)

1 large onion, finely grated

1 large carrot, finely grated

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato puree

Handful of thyme sprigs, leaves picked

1 sprig of rosemary, needles chopped

250ml red wine

300ml chicken stock

1kg Desiree potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

50g butter

2 egg yolks

Parmesan, for grating

Olive oil

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

 

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Heat the oil in a large pan until hot. Season the mince and fry in the oil over medium to high heat for 3 minutes.  Add the grated onions and carrots into the mince then grate the garlic in as well.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and herbs and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in the red wine and reduce until all the liquid has gone, then add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce has thickened (see the picture below)

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until they breakup easily. Drain then return to the hot pan over low heat to dry out briefly. Pass them through a potato ricer then beat in the egg yolks, glug of olive oil and then followed by about 2 tbsp grated Parmesan. Check the seasoning

Spoon the mince into the bottom of a large ovenproof dish.

Layer the mashed potato generously on top of the mince, starting from the outside and working your way into the middle.

Grate some extra Parmesan over and season. Fluff up the mash potato with a fork to make rough peaks. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown.

Great to serve it with pickled cabbage, (the recipe for the cabbage is on the hotpot recipe)

Recipe from Gordon Ramsay

Photos by Peter Brownlow