Keep Cookin' « 2/4 « Cooking tips, tricks and great tasting recipes! Keep Cookin'

Posted by Jimbob on March 3rd, 2011

Tapas Discovery – Gambas Pil Pil

During a long weekend trip with my wife and daughter to Barcelona, a passion for the Spanish tradition of Tapas was enlightened. A chance discovery of the La Boqueria food market (one of the largest in Europe} was an experience I will never forget. The market is definitely not just there to provide a tourist attraction but to provide the people of Barcelona with the freshest, best quality, locally-sourced produce. The senses were bombarded in entering the market with so much to see, smell, taste and touch. It was about as close as any self-respecting foodie could come to heaven and I would highly recommend anybody to go and explore if in the city.

Within the market there are a number of Tapas stalls cooking small, exquisite dishes from the produce that is being sold around them. The freshness of the ingredient’s is unsurpassed and the variety of options seeming to be almost endless.

A Spanish waiter explained Tapa means lid or cover and the cuisines origins comes from inn keepers placing a slice of bread with ham or cheese on top over drinks being served, to keep out flies. The theory goes that the food offerings became more and more elaborate with rival inn keepers competing to entice in clientele.

Modern Tapas is a mixture of small tasty dishes served in the earthenware (Cazuelas) or paella pan it’s been cooked in. Tapas can be eaten alone, shared one portion or as many dishes as you care to eat over any amount of time. All the traditional flavours of Spain can be found within tapas dishes. Wonderful fresh seafood, vegetables, meat, manchego cheese, Iberian Chorizo, Serrano Ham Paella, paprika, olives and tomatos. It is the ultimate in social relaxed eating. I hope to share with you some of my favourite recipes I have experienced whilst exploring this exciting cuisine.

Gambas pil pil

This dish is very simple but a really good way of showcasing large fresh prawns. I love the simple pleasure of dipping bread into the oil the prawns have cooked in the combination of flavours is divine.

Equipment needed; individual Earthenware dishes (Cazuelas), knife.

Ingredients per individual dish

3-4 Tbsp of good quality olive oil
6-10 large prawns
Clove of Garlic
1 Dried Red Chilli
1 Lemon
Pinch of Pimenton (paprika)
Basket of Bread

Method

Peel and devein Prawns.
Peel and thinly slice Garlic.
Add Garlic, chilli, and paprika to oil inside earthen ware dish. Place dish directly onto hob, heat until hot but not smoking.
Carefully add prawns, cook for 2-3 minutes till prawns are pink and starting to curl
Serve immediately in same dish being careful of hot oil, lemon wedges for garnish and bread for dunking
Enjoy

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Categories: Life, Recipes

Posted by Jimbob on February 26th, 2011

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‘Best’ Roast Potatoes

What would Sunday dinner be like without perfect roast potatoes? It is my opinion that this potato accompaniment truly is the cornerstone to this great British tradition and is well worth investing some effort in! My wife’s Mum passed on her know how to me, which I am now pleased to pass on to you

Equipment Needed; Potato peeler, Sharp Knife, Large Roasting Tray, Large Sauce Pan, Colander, Long Handled Spoon.

First place the roasting tray with the duck/goose fat in it on the highest shelf of the oven while it pre-heats. Thinly peel the potatoes using a potato peeler, cut the potatoes into fairly even-sized pieces, leaving the small ones whole.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan, pour over boiling water from a kettle, just to cover, then add salt and simmer. After 10 minutes lift out one of the potatoes and check the outer edge is fluffy, Ideally you’d like the potatoes to be just cooked so there not to soft and disintegrate into the water. If still sides are smooth place back into water and give a few extra minutes.

Drain off the water, reserving some for the gravy. Place the lid back on the saucepan, and, holding the lid on firmly with your hand protected by a cloth or oven glove, shake the saucepan vigorously up and down. This shaking roughens up the cooked edges of the potato and makes them floury and fluffy – this is the secret of crunchy edges once the potato is cooked.

Remove the hot roasting tray containing its sizzling fat and transfer to the direct heat (medium) on the hob. Then use a long-handled spoon and quickly lower the potatoes into the hot fat. When they are all in, tilt the tray and baste each potato so it’s completely coated with fat. Now place them back on the highest shelf of the oven and leave them unattended for 40-50 minutes or until they are golden brown. There’s no need to turn them over at half-time – they will brown evenly by themselves. Sprinkle them with a little crushed salt before serving straight away; they lose their crunch if you keep them waiting. If they’re ready before you are, turn the oven off and leave them inside.

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Categories: Recipes

Posted by Jimbob on February 12th, 2011

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Indulgent Dauphinoise

These indulgent dauphinoise have always been a hit as a side with roast meat at dinner parties, or a special treat on a Sunday for the family, I haven’t met anybody yet who hasn’t enjoyed their decadence.

To make a lovely creamy potato dauphinoise, you need to buy a waxy potato variety that will retain its texture as it absorbs liquid I like to use desiree . A traditional gratin is cooked entirely in the oven, but I prefer to simmer the potatoes first in milk on the hob, then finish the dish in the oven. This method cuts the cooking time and gives you a more dependable result. The potatoes should be of a similar size.

Equipment needed: Potato peeler, Mandolin, Large Saucepan, Colander, Large Bowl, Large Ovenproof Dish, Shallow Baking Tray

Ingredients:

600g waxy potatoes (such as Desiree)
350ml milk
350ml double cream
1 large garlic clove, sliced
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
90g Gruyère cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6. Peel the potatoes, thinly slice ideally with a mandolin to thickness of about a pound coin. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a large saucepan and add the garlic, herbs and seasoning. Simmer for a couple of minutes.
Slide the potatoes into the pan and stir gently. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the potato slices are only just tender; they should hold their shape and retain a bite. Drain the par-cooked potatoes in a colander over a bowl to catch the milk.
Layer the potatoes in a shallow ovenproof dish, sprinkling two thirds of the cheese and seasoning in between the layers. Trickle a little of the saved milk over each layer too.
Pour a little more of the milk around the sides, but not too much – just enough to moisten. Sprinkle over the last of the cheese.
Place the dish in a shallow roasting tin and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is beginning to bubble and turn golden brown. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

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Categories: Recipes

Posted by Jimbob on February 8th, 2011

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Perfect Potatoes – Creamy Lump Free Mash Every Time

Coming from Irish stock, my Wife was brought up with potatoes being the cornerstone of many a main meal and this installed high expectations of this humble food source for her. After many years of experimenting with different varieties, techniques, apparatus and tips from her Mum, my Wife believes she has perfected a number of cooking styles that I hope will show case the very best that potatoes have to offer. I will be sharing several over the next few weeks, first stop….creamy lump free mash every time

Mash is always a firm family favourite with its ability to go with so many other foods, always popular with my children, who have been known to be a little lazy with chewing at times. If like me you like lump free mash then follow these instructions, use a potato ricer and I guarantee a perfect lump free result every time.

Equipment needed: Potato peeler, Large Saucepan, Colander, Large bowl. Potato ricer, Wooden spoon

Peel and cut potatoes into1 inch cubes, I think a floury variety such as Maris Piper or King Edwards is best for mash. Put potatoes in water that is simmering for about 15 minutes, or until they’re tender enough to crumble if pressed with a fork or your finger. Drain potatoes, and transfer them to a bowl.
Make sure your ricer is fitted with the appropriate disk (the disk with the widest-diameter holes should be fine), then spoon a few chunks of potatoes into the bowl of the ricer.
Working over the pot you used to cook the potatoes, or another bowl, push the handles of the ricer together, making sure that the top of the ricer fits into the bowl and presses the potatoes through the holes into the disk. The potatoes will press through the holes in noodle-like strands. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, making sure not to overcrowd the ricer by adding too many potatoes.
Add butter, warm milk, salt and pepper and other seasoning (f0r example, chives, spring onions etc) to your potatoes, and stir them with a wooden spoon to combine. This can be done over low heat to re-warm potatoes.

Enjoy!

Next time, best roasties…..

Perfect Potatoes – Creamy Lump Free Mash Every Time

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Categories: Recipes

Posted by Jimbob on January 28th, 2011

4 Comments

How many people does it take to move a greenhouse…?

How many people does it take to move a greenhouse….? When friends of ours called to say they have moved in to their new home, they mentioned a greenhouse in the garden which they did not wish to keep. “How much do you want for it?”, I asked, “absolutely nothing” came the reply, “just pick it up and free up the space”…..

Armed with a few tools and my rather small car, some may say that perhaps I had underestimated the task slightly…..at 8 foot by 6 foot, it would need to be completely dismantled, without any instructions! I realised that this would not be achieved in a single day and so drew a plan of the greenhouse and then marked each pane of glass and part of the structure with masking tape and a number or letter. “Genius”, I thought, as this would make life an awful lot easier when putting it back together at home. Once I’d finished this exercise, I returned home feeling quite proud of myself, promising to return the following week to complete the move.

What I did not bank on was the weather changing for the worse over the week and the vast majority of the ink on the ‘labels’ I’d painstakingly stuck on, being washed off…. In addition to this, I’d lost the plan I had drawn the previous week!

After much effort, probably too many expletives and a few cuts here and there, we’d amazingly managed to take it apart and shift it back to ours – incredibly, we achieved this without smashing a single pane of glass. Reassembling the structure was not as difficult as it could have been (although I recall that was not perhaps the thoughts going through my head at the time) and we now have our own little sun trap in which to grow our own fruit and vegetables, which did not cost us a penny (and after a bit of research, I worked out that it is about £800′s worth!). I have tried to insulate the floor of the greenhouse by laying down polystyrene (the type you get in packaging of ‘white goods’) and then hardboard on top of that, which should ensure that warm air is retained for longer periods.

Fingers crossed we’ll have our own living larder in the not-too-distant future!

Categories: Life

Posted by Jimbob on January 16th, 2011

4 Comments

Thai Tom Yam Soup with Monkfish and Prawns

This is my version of Thai Tom Yam Soup, it is of my opinion that is one of the most refreshing soups I have had the pleasure of tasting – it is absolutely fantastic and bursting with flavour and incredibly easy to make. What is really great about this is that it takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 5-or-so to cook, so is ideal for a quick meal during a busy week and is full of fresh ingredients, so very good for you to boot.

I chose to make this soup using meaty fish, which won’t flake during cooking and opted for Monkfish; you can use any other derivative, chicken or even tofu if you fancy it, although I haven’t tried this yet. I also decided to add prawns, as my wife loves them!

Ok, so here’s the ingredients and as with any recipe, these are just suggestions so feel free to use your gastronomic-artistic license to experiment!

Monkfish (amount of which depends on how much you wish to eat, or spend!)
1 Onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Large tomato, cut into bite-sized pieces
Approx. 30g of mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces*
1 Tablespoon of galangal, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon of lemon grass, thinly sliced
2 Kaffir lime leaves, rolled and cut into small slices
2 Spring onions, sliced into approx. 1 inch pieces
Fish or chicken stock (you can get good quality, pre-made in the shops, approx. 400-500ml)

*For authenticity, I purchased some Thai mushrooms which look like ears(!) from the local Thai supermarket. Ok, so they don’t look the most appertising, but they do taste good

Place the following in to a bowl and stir to make a sauce:

2 Tablespoons of lime juice
2 Tablespoons of fish sauce
Between 1 and 15 dried chillies cut into small pieces (depending on how hot you like it, I use about 4 or 5 and it’s hot!)
1/2 Tablespoon of sugar (palm or brown)

Ok, th fun bit:

Place the stock into a pan with the lemongrass and galangal and boil for a couple of minutes – this will start and infuse the stock with those fresh flavours
Add the monkfish and this will start to cook pretty quickly
Once the monkfish has changed colour, add the onion and mushrooms and cook until bubbles start to appear in the middle of the pan – do not stir at this stage as you will lengthen the time prior to boiling and leave the vegetables over-cooked
Now add the sauce you prepared earlier
Now add the tomato
Turn off the heat, add the kaffir lime leaves, spring onion and serve immediately
Enjoy!

Thai Tom Yam Soup with Monkfish and Prawns

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Categories: Recipes

Posted by Jimbob on December 31st, 2010

2 Comments

The Smell of Freshly Baked Bread

Making bread has always seemed a slightly daunting prospect and not entirely realistic in everyday, busy living, however all this changed at Christmas when my wife and I were given a bread maker as a gift….

We set about making bread for the very first time on boxing day with a simple recipe for a white split tin loaf. A completely painless and straight-forward process! Having gathered the ingredients, we simply placed them in the bread maker following the instruction booklet provided. Obviously, being a male, I would have just thrown them in hap-hazardly without reading the instructions, however, bread-making is an exact science, my good Wife pointed out! The preparation time took a few minutes and once switched on, the machine took care of mixing the ingredients into dough, proofing and then baking. Seriously lazy cooking at its best!

The smell of freshly baked bread filled the house and if you have ever smelt bread baking, you will know it’s a sure fire way of stimulating your appetite. After a couple of hours our first loaf was ready and it was a success. We excitedly removed the loaf from the tin, cut it into thick slices whilst warm and smothered with butter. I can honestly say there are few things that taste as good as this simple pleasure.

Since our first exploits of bread making we have not looked back, there are many advantages to baking your own – you control what goes in and there is no end to exciting variations you can experiment with. We now include Italian herb, cheese and onion, raisin and olives amongst our repertoire. It’s cheaper, which is important in these current times, and you can set the timer to bake bread at any given time – there are few nicer smells to wake up to in the morning!

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Categories: Life

Posted by Jimbob on December 12th, 2010

2 Comments

Zesty Thai Noodle Salad

If like me you’re conscious about keeping healthy but tire of the same sort of salads, then I can guarantee that this salad will definitely wake up your taste buds whilst, being packed full of goodness at the same time.

I was given this recipe by my sister in law, whose origins are from the fantastic Lisu Tribe in Thailand. Whilst in England on holiday recently, she made this delicious salad for lunch and everybody was bowled over by the great taste – so fresh, zingy and left you craving more! This recipe is extremely versatile – you can vary the levels of spice, add in differing vegetables (whatever happens to be in the fridge) and instead of using turkey as I have suggested, you could replace with quorn, tofu, chicken or pork. My sister in laws version was made with glass noodles that are available from Asian supermarkets but, we have on occasion made the salad with rice noodles which have also been fine. The salad can be pre-made and kept in the fridge for up two days and is perfect eaten cold or hot.

Equipment needed: Wok/Frying Pan, Spatula/Wooden spoon,, Tongs, Large Saucepan, Large Bowl

Ingredients:

1tsp cooking oil
250g Lean Turkey Mince
Stock cube.
300g Glass Noodles
1 Onion
Dried chilli 1-2sp or 1-5 fresh red chillies
200g Bean sprouts
1 Carrot
3 Tomato’s
4 Spring onion
Cucumber Half
Handful of Coriander
Salad Dressing
4 tbsp Fish Sauce
4tbsp Lime Juice
1tbsp Palm sugar/Brown sugar

Method

Soak noodles in large bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes. This reduces cooking times and prevents noodles sticking together when cooked
Put a small amount of cooking oil in Wok/Frying pan, medium heat. Peel and dice onion, add to wok, add chilli and cook till onion, soft and translucent.
Season turkey mince, I like to do this with a chicken stock cube which really improves the meats flavour. Add turkey to wok, cook through then add garlic.
Remove noodles from cold water and place in large saucepan of boiling water for about 8 minutes
Whilst noodles are cooking, wash bean sprouts drain and place in large bowl, add diced cucumber and tomato, sliced spring onion and peeled and shaved carrot.
Test noodles are cooked, they should still have a bit of firmness, drain and add to vegetables in large bowl, add the combined onion and turkey mince.
Finally combine the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and pour straight on to salad ingredients. Add chopped handful of coriander at the last minute. Mix with salad tongs.
Enjoy!

*Tip roll lime on hard surface before extracting juice, this will produce far better results.

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Categories: Recipes

Posted by Jimbob on November 6th, 2010

2 Comments

Bonfire Night Triple-Cooked Chips

“It’s cold outside, dark during the evenings and not particularly great weather for a barbecue” said my wife after I had invited some friends around for a bonfire and firework party! She suggested that perhaps we should keep things simple and just cook some hot dogs and chips, which sounds simple enough….then my wife mentioned that we should serve up her fantastic triple-cooked chips, which taste absolutely fantastic, so I stood back and took notes.

If you like your chips crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside you’re going to enjoy these chips. If like us having chips is a rare treat then taking the extra time that this recipe requires is definitely worth it for outstanding results every time. If you are busy you can pre-prepare the chips and leave in the fridge for up to three days.

Equipment Needed, Sharp Knife, Large Bowl, Large Sauce pan, Slotted Spoon, Tray, Deep Fat Fryer/ Chip Pan

Method:

Peel the potatoes, I like to use a floury type like Maris Piper or King Edwards. Using a sharp kitchen knife, cut them into chips about 1cm thick. The length of the pieces is not so important, but you do want to keep them the same thickness, so that they cook at the same rate. Place them straight into a bowl under cold running water and leave them for a few minutes to rinse the starch away
Next, bring a large pan of unsalted water to the boil and place the drained potatoes into the pan. Bring it back up to the boil and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, or until the point of a knife easily penetrates the chips. Make sure the water is only just simmering – if it boils too aggressively, the potatoes will begin to break up before they are cooked sufficiently.
Using a slotted spoon, lift the potatoes carefully out of the water and place them on a tray. Allow them to cool, then place in the fridge until cold. You will notice that the chips harden when chilled.
For the next stage, heat the groundnut oil in a deep-fat fryer/chip pan to 130C/250F. If using a chip pan test the oil with one chip the chip will rise to the surface when hot enough to add the rest. plunge in the chips. After about 5 minutes, the chips will take on a drier appearance before colouring (do not let them brown). They have now finished their second cooking. Drain, let them cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge.
When cold, they are ready for their final cooking. Use the groundnut oil, heated to the same temperature. carefully put the chips into the oil and cook until golden brown. This should take 8-10 minutes
Drain and season with salt, vinegar and any other condiment.
Enjoy!

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Categories: Recipes

Posted by Jimbob on October 17th, 2010

2 Comments

Pancakes, Summer Fruits and Strawberry Coulis

berries 300x196 Pancakes, Summer Fruits and Strawberry Coulis When I was little, my Mum only used to make pancakes

pancake1 225x300 Pancakes, Summer Fruits and Strawberry Coulis on Shrove Tuesday and I remember my brother and I getting very excited and wanting to skip dinner, just to wade through a mound of pancakes!

Now I’m older of body (but certainly not in mind ), I like to enjoy pancakes throughout the year and this recipe is great for pudding or even as a Sunday breakfast – being a fruit-lover, my daughter really enjoys the summer fruits and strawberry coulis filling, it’s a great way of ensuring she is eating plenty of goodness for breakfast.

The ingredients are as follows:

For the pancake mixture:

110g plain flour
200ml of milk mixed with 75ml of water
2 eggs
50g/2oz butter
pinch of salt

For the filling:

Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries

For the coulis:

Strawberries
Sugar (to taste)
A small drop of water

Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and the make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs with the flour.

Now gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking until all the liquid has been added and the batter is smooth.

Now to make the coulis – tip the strawberries in to a warm pan, with a little water and sugar. Heat the strawberries for several minutes until it begins to look like jam. Now pour strawberries in to a blender/food processor and blitz until smooth. Now pour the mixture in to a bowl, through a sieve, which will remove any of the seeds and leave you with a wonderfully, bright red, smooth sauce!

For the pancakes, heat up the pan until it is very hot and then turn the heat down to medium. Add 2 tablespoons of the batter mix to the pan and tip it from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. The underside of the pancake will be cooked pretty quickly and when it is, turn it over using a spatula .As soon as the top surface is cooked, add some strawberries, blueberries and rasberries and then fold the pancake in half. After about 30 seconds to 1 minute, the filling should be nicely warmed and ready to serve.

Serve on a warm plate, dust with a little icing sugar and spoon on the coulis, being creative and arty if you so wish!

Enjoy!