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Thursday 15 October 2015

Mexican tuna nicoise

Mexican tuna nicoise

Well, originally we were due to have tuna salad this evening however it was pretty chilly out and I got to thinking what can I do to pep this up, and this is what I came up with and boy was it tasty....
  • 1 red pepper thinly sliced
  • 2 flour tortillas
  • 2 tbsp of kankun chipotle sauce
  • 1/4 block of feta cheese (cubed)
  • 4 tbsp sweetcorn
  • 1 jar of line caught tuna
  • Couple of handfuls of pea shoots
  • Handful of sliced black olives
  • 2 soft boiled eggs
  • Drizzle of rapeseed vinaigrette

Method:-
Spread the kankun sauce over the flour tortillas, place on a baking tray and place in the oven at 200 degrees for around 10 minutes.  Once done remove and leave to one side to cool slightly.  Bring to the boil a small pan of water and boil the eggs for 5 and a half minutes, then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.  

Scatter the pea shoots over the tortillas along with the sweetcorn and sliced peppers.  Break up the tuna and place on top of the tortilla and crumble the feta on the top and scatter the black olives over it.  Carefully peel the soft boiled egg and place on top of each tortilla.  Drizzle with the rapeseed dressing (or dressing of choice) cut into the egg so the yolk oozes out and enjoy.

I really hope you enjoy this as much as we did, was something different and spur of the moment and it worked.

Monday 5 October 2015

Pork chops with prosciutto, apple and stilton

Pork chops with prosciutto, apple and stilton
  • 12 slices prosciutto
  • 4 pork chops
  • 1 small red apple cored and sliced
  • 75g Stilton cheese, crumbled
  • 4 large rosemary sprigs, to skewer


Method:- 
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.  Lay out 3 slices of the prosciutto so they overlap, repeat with the rest of the prosciutto so you have 4 piles.

Put a frying pan over a high heat.  Season the chops with salt and pepper then sear in the hot pan on both sides.  Place a seared chop on top of each pile of prosciutto.  Divide the sliced apple and Stilton between the prosciutto piles, on top of the pork.  Wrap the prosciutto around each of the parcels to hold it all in place and secure with a rosemary sprig.  Place the parcels in a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.  Serve with mashed potato and greens and cooking juices from the parcels.

This was a perfect dish for an Autumnal evening, homely and comforting.  Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver.   

Sunday 4 October 2015

Chilli Con Carne Stack

Chilli Con Carne Stack

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 red pepper finely chopped
  • 2 medium vine tomatoes, seeds removed and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp hot chilli powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 500g beef mince
  • 100ml red wine
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 3 tsp tomato paste
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 240ml beef stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 medium cinnamon stick
  • 400g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 400g tin sweetcorn
  • 30g dark chocolate (85% cocoa solids)

Method:-
Heat the oil in a medium pan over a low heat.  Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until translucent.  Add the garlic, pepper and vine tomatoes and cook, stirring for 6-8 minutes until the tomatoes have softened.  Make a space in the centre of the mixture then add the chilli powder, paprika and cumin.  Mix well and cook for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile season and cook the mince in a separate pan over a high heat until browned.  Drain the fat from the mince and add the mince to the tomato mixture along with the wine.  Stir over a high heat until the wine evaporates.  Stir in the oregano and thyme, then the tomato paste.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tinned tomatoes and stock.  Cook for 5 minutes, stir occasionally.  Add the bay and cinnamon, then cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the lid and stir in the beans and sweetcorn, then cook uncovered for 10 minutes.  Taste and season the chilli then stir in the chocolate until it has melted.  Remove the pan from the heat and discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick.

Whilst you can serve the chilli with rice, for this recipe I shallow fried several small flour tortillas and built a chilli stack, adding cheese, sour cream and jalapeƱo slices along with homemade guacamole.  This chilli has a great flavour however I do prefer a bit more heat, I therefore added a diced red chilli and a good helping of Kankun habanero sauce to give it a bit more bite. Credit to Chef Ernesto Puga Cardoso for the recipe.

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