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Monday 28 March 2016

The Spicy Juan

The Spicy Juan

  • 400g Macaroni
  • 1 portion starter sauce (see The Don Macaroni for recipe)
  • 230g Mature cheddar, grated
  • 90g Monteray Jack, grated
  • 30g Parmesan, grated
  • 4 tsp chipotle paste
  • 1 jar red jalapeño chillies
  • A handful of chopped fresh coriander
  • 4 tbsp soured cream, to serve
Method:
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, until al dente.  Tip into a colander and leave to drain.  Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pan make the starter sauce then reduce the heat to low.  Add all the cheese and stir until melted.  Add the drained pasta and chipotle paste and stir through.  Spoon the Mac into 4 bowls and top with as many jalapeños as you like, a sprinkle of coriander and a few dollops of soured cream.

This recipe is from Anna Mae's Mac N Cheese

This was a tasty dish, comfort food at it's best and was a big hit in our household.  I tweaked the original recipe and mixed through most of the jalapeños into the pasta.  I also had some pork & jalapeño sausages, I removed the meat from the casing and fried off, breaking the sausage meat up until cooked through, I then stirred this through the pasta. 

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Sweet and Sour Chilli Prawns

Sweet and Sour Chilli Prawns
  • 500g large, raw peeled prawns
  • Bunch of spring onions, trimmed
  • 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
  • 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 2.5 cm piece of ginger, cut into fine matchsticks
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1-2 medium hot red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
  • Small tin of pineapple chunks

Method:
De-vein the prawns if necessary.  Cut the green tops from the spring onions and cut them lengthways into thin shreds.  Set aside for a garnish.  Thinly slice the white parts of the spring onions on the diagonal.  Mix the chilli sauce, ketchup, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar together in a small bowl.

Heat half the oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan.  Add the ginger and cook for 30 seconds, then add the prawns and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or u til the prawns are just cooked through, transfer them to a plate.

Mix the cornflour with 1 tablespoon of cold water.  Return the wok or pan to the heat and add the remaining oil, the garlic, chilli and pineapple chunks.  As soon as they start to sizzle add the white spring onion slices and stir-fry for 30 seconds.  Add the chilli sauce mixture and cornflour mixture and simmer for a few seconds until thickened and smooth.  Return the prawns to the wok with the shredded green spring onions and toss everything together.  I served this with egg fried rice.

This is a light and tasty dinner, quick and so simple to make.  If you prefer your dish more spicy leave the seeds in the chillies.  

Recipe adapted from Delicious magazine

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Beef Rendang

Beef Rendang
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons tamarind paste
  • 55g desiccated coconut, toasted in a dry pan (reserve 2 tablespoons for the spice paste)
  • 2lbs (1 kilo) beef chuck or stewing beef, cubed into bite size pieces
  • 2-3 tbsp water 

For the Spice Paste
  • 2 onions roughly chopped
  • 1 large jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 inch ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 2 tbsp toasted coconut (from above)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

For the Curry Sauce
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 ½ tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 400ml can of coconut milk

Method:-
Mix together the salt, sugar, tamarind paste and water in a large bowl.  Add the beef and toss to fully coat.  Add the toasted coconut (reserve 2 tbsp) and mix well.  Set aside.

Put all the spice paste ingredients into a food processor and blend until you get a smooth paste.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat.  Cook the meat, working in batches, until seared on all sides.  Transfer to a bowl.

Add the spice paste and the rest of the curry sauce ingredients and cook for a few minutes.  Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.  Return the beef to the pan, simmer for 10 minutes then place in a pre-heated oven at 160 degrees and cook for approx. 3 hours or until the meat begins to fall apart.  You will need stir every 30 minutes or so and also check that the curry doesn’t dry out completely. 

This is a lovely curry, perfect for a Saturday night.  If you prefer a bit more bite to your curry, add more chillies to the spice paste.