Buzz Burgers

Posted on Saturday 18th November, 2006 by headchef

…to obesity and beyond!

No, this isn’t a rant about Macdonalds – this is my recipe for home-made beef burgers.

I’ve made burgers before, but they’ve always been a mess. Mother-in-law gave us a burger press from Lakeland – a useful gadget, and the firmer, better-shaped burgers were a hit with the children at Henry’s birthday party.

Ingredients – makes about 9 burgers

  • 2 x 400g packs of organic minced beef
  • 1 egg
  • handful of breadcrumbs (I whizz slightly stale bread up in the magimix and freeze it)
  • 1 large very finely chopped onion
  • 2 or 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
  • large teaspoon of mustard (I used French wholegrain)
  • small sprinkling of fine mixed herbs (I used dried French ones from a stall in Borough Market)
  • few dashes of Tabasco sauce
  • burger buns
  • lashings of Heinz Tomato Ketchup (if you can find it, the organic variety tastes sweeter)

Put the mince in a bowl and break it up with a fork – you could use your hands but with small children clutching at your apron strings, I get a bit paranoid about handling raw meat. Also, if you use a fork, your children can help.

Crack in the egg (2 if 1 isn’t enough), add 2 or more slugs of Tabasco sauce and the mustard. Sprinkle the herbs in. Stir in the onion and garlic. Then gradually add breadcrumbs until the mixture is nice and thick. Scoop into your burger press, press out the patties, cook, enjoy!

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Chicken Pie

Posted on Friday 10th November, 2006 by James

I can’t remember where this one came from. It might have been on the side of a tin of Campbell’s condensed soup. But it might not have.

- 1 block shortcrust pastry – taken from the freezer about 3 hours ago and now thoroughly de-frosted.
- 1 tin Campbell’s condensed chicken soup.
- 2 chicken fillets – diced.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Fry the diced chicken in a knob of melted butter.

Grease the inside of a pie dish or oven-proof plate. I use a shallow pyrex bowl which is very un-glamorous, but quite effective.

Roll out two sheets of pastry. Put one on your plate to form the bottom of the pie.

When the chicken’s cooked take it off the heat and stir in the condensed soup. Ladle this mixture into the pie and cover with the top sheet of pastry.

Trim the pastry so it’s nice and tidy round the outside of the pie, seal the edges by pressing down with the tines of a fork all the way round the rim. Cut a slit in the top of the pie and if you’re feeling creative make a few pastry leaves to decorate the top of the pie. Brush or sprinkle with milk.

Put it in the oven until the pastry’s cooked.

Lovely with roast potatoes and some veg or just some chips!

Posted in chicken, meat, pies | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Stilton and Celery Soup

Posted on Thursday 26th October, 2006 by James

This is adapted from “Super Soups” – a tiny National Trust recipe book I picked up years ago in Northumberland.

- 1 head of celery.
- 1 large carrot.
- 1 large onion.
- 1 and a half pints (900ml) vegetable stock
- 75g grated cheddar cheese
- 100g grated stilton cheese

Trim the celery (optionally leave one or two stalks aside for later). Peel and chop the carrot and onion and place in a saucepan with the stock (I just use a veggie Oxo cube) and season.

Let it come to the boil and then simmer for about an hour.

Give the soup a whirr with a blender. Reheat in the pan and add the grated cheese.

If you decided to save some celery stalks now is the time to chop them into slices. Add them to the bowls when you serve to give the soup a bit of crunch.

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Granny Jean’s Hotpot

Posted on Tuesday 24th October, 2006 by James

This recipe comes from my Mum.

Lancashire Hotpot is traditionally made with lamb, but this hotpot variation calls for beef.

- Some diced stewing steak. About 500g.
- Potatoes – loads.
- One onion.
- Half a pint of red wine.
- Veggie stock cube (optional).

Preheat the oven to 170c.

Peel the spuds and cut them into chunks about the same size as the pieces of your meat.

Coarsely chop the onion.

Throw the meat, potatoes and onion into a large pot.

Pour in the wine and top up with boiling water. Add the stock cube if you want.

Put the lid on the pot and leave in the oven for three hours. I usually take it out and give it a stir once an hour, but there’s really no need to!

Serve while piping hot. You can garnish with beetroot, and it’s also really good with some biscuits of shortcrust pastry to help mop up the juice.

I think it’s a great dish for this time of year. It’s lovely to put on before going to see a fireworks display. When you come back home the delicious smell will meet you at the front door, and the meal will warm you all up again. If there are any left-overs it’s just as good reheated in a saucepan the next day!

Posted in beef, meat, potatoes, root vegetables, stew, vegetables | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Peasant’s Pot

Posted on Tuesday 17th October, 2006 by headchef

making peasant's pot

This has evolved from a recipe on the side of a packet of Marmite stock cubes. I don’t think you can get Marmite stock cubes any more – it probably dawned on people that you could just use ordinary Marmite in cooking instead. It’s a basic vegetable stew, made with whatever we have to hand.

  • Lots of root vegetables – potatoes, parsnips, turnips, carrots etc
  • celery
  • garlic
  • olive oil
  • large onion
  • tin of tomatoes
  • tin of mixed beans – kidney beans, borlotti beans etc
  • mushrooms, if you have them
  • tomato puree
  • slug of red wine
  • teaspoon of Marmite
  • dried mixed herbs
  • bay leaf
  • 2 handfulls of small pasta (such as ditali lisci no. 58)
  • teaspoon of vegetable stock powder such as Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon.

Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil. When well-cooked add the roughly chopped celery and root vegetables. Fry for a few minutes and add all the other ingredients, topping up with water as needed to cover the veg. Simmer on the stove or in the oven for an hour or so.

Posted in carrots, parsnips, potatoes, root vegetables, turnips, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Roast tomato soup

Posted on Tuesday 17th October, 2006 by headchef

Adapted from ‘Stones Spells for Magic Feasts’, a veggie cookbook from a cafe in Avebury, Wiltshire – near the stone circle.

  • Fresh tomatoes
  • fresh basil and/or dried herbs
  • garlic
  • onion
  • cream
  • red wine (optional)
  • vegetable stock
  • tomato puree

Halve and roast the tomatoes with garlic and onion, scattered with oregano and basil (we used dried mixed herbs and fresh basil). When skins start to blaken, pulp in the Magimix. Put the puree in a pan with some red wine (we skipped that with no ill-effects), stock and tomato puree. Whisk to combine, reheat gently on the stove and then stir in some cream or fromage frais (we used double cream) when it simmers. Just delicious.

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Roast chicken soup

Posted on Tuesday 17th October, 2006 by headchef

I like make a chicken go as far as possible – typically we get a Sunday lunch, sandwiches the next day and a chicken pie out of one bird. Occasionally I make chicken stock but that can tend to get left unused in the freezer, so I tried making soup instead. Worked rather well.

  • leftover roast chicken
  • onions
  • carrots
  • celery
  • garlic
  • drop of white wine or vermouth
  • small pasta (such as ditali lisci 58)
  • spoon or two of double cream

Get all the meat off your chicken carcass and set aside – make a pie or sandwiches with most of it, but hold some back for your soup.

Make stock out of the carcass – put it in a saucepan, cover with water. Add a chopped onion, carrots, celery etc and a couple of crushed garlic cloves. Simmer for a couple of hours, skimming any scum or excess fat off the top.

When the stock tastes good, strain off the chicken bones and vegetables and discard.

Fry an onion and some garlic in another pan. When they are nice and soft chuck in some white wine or vermouth – I used a capful of Noilly Prat, but will be using rather more next time!

Add the stock and a couple of handfuls of small pasta and simmer to cook the pasta. Skim off any excess fat, but not all of it – I think you want this soup to be a little bit schmaltzy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For a basic soup you could stop here, but I wanted to give this to one of my children in his packed lunch, so I added some chopped chicken breast and a spoon of double cream at this point, and whizzed it up in the blender. The little pasta pieces were pleasingly untouched by the Magimix blade, but the chicken meat was shredded.

I thought it was delicious and Henry drank every drop for school lunch the next day.

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Kedgeree

Posted on Thursday 5th October, 2006 by headchef

Great at breakfast – or suppertime!

- Smoked haddock (preferably undyed)
- milk
- Onions
- Turmeric
- Curry powder (such as Garam Masala)
- lemon juice
- Basmati rice
- eggs

Put the basmati rice on to cook, and chuck an egg in the pan, one for each person. Poach the haddock in some milk (or milky water).

Fry the onion with the turmeric and curry powder, adding the juice of at least one lemon when it’s really sizzling. This should smell great. When the rice and the haddock are cooked, add them to the frying pan, stirring as you go. Check seasoning, chop the eggs and add them, serve. Tastes great with George Watkins’ Mushroom Ketchup.

Posted in breakfast, eggs, fish, haddock, rice | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Farfalle with broccoli

Posted on Sunday 1st October, 2006 by headchef

I’ll always remember a colleague of mine throwing a colour supplement across the newsroom in disgust.
“Anyone can make fine food with expensive ingredients. I want ALCHEMY!”
Well, this recipe is alchemy – it tastes better than the sum of its parts. And it’s for you, Frank. (Adapted from Jamie Oliver).

- Farfalle
- Anchovies
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Chili flakes
- Broccoli – chopped finely, stalks and all
- Pine nuts

Fry the garlic, a few anchovies, chili flakes and broccoli in some olive oil in a pan with the lid on. Add water from the farfalle pan as needed to stop it burning. Cook until the broccoli is soft and the farfalle cooked. Drain farfalle and combine with the sauce. Throw some toasted pine nuts on top. Delicious.

Posted in anchovies, broccoli, farfalle, pasta | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Tart’s Spaghetti

Posted on Sunday 1st October, 2006 by headchef

Simplified from Delia and Jamie – pasta puttanesca – a regular fave.
- spaghetti
- tin of tomatoes or roast tomato sauce
- fresh basil
- olive oil
- garlic
- tinned or jarred anchovies
- capers
- small tin of sliced black olives
Fry the garlic, basil and anchovies in a little olive oil. Add tin of tomatoes, small tin of sliced pitted black olives and some capers. Simmer on low heat until nice and thick. Dollop over freshly cooked spaghetti and add black pepper and parmesan to taste.

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