Bacon Naan Sandwich and Masala Fries

 

Bacon Naan Sandwich and masala fries

For the bacon naan sandwich - serves 4

• 12 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
• 8 mini naan breads
• Soft cream cheese
• Sweet chilli jam
• Fresh coriander
• Lambs lettuce
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• One large tomato cut into small chunks

Preheat the grill to medium-high, place the bacon on a lined tray and cook for several minutes each side until sizzling and cooked through.  Place the naans under the grill for 1-2 minutes until warmed through.  Spread one side of the naan with cream cheese and drizzle over some chilli jam and top with some lambs lettuce, place 3 slices of bacon on top and a small amount of plucked coriander and some of the sliced onion and chopped tomato, top with the second naan and you are good to go. (Repeat for the remaining 3 portions).

Masala Fries

Masala fries

• 900g frozen fries
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• Few pinches of crushed sea salt

Masala sauce

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 5 tbsp hamburger relish
• 5 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 red onion finely chopped
• 1 tbsp mixed garlic/ginger paste

To start, you need to make the sauce.  Heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat, when hot, add the cumin seeds and fry for around 30 seconds.  Add the hamburger relish and ketchup and bring to a simmer.  Stir in the sugar and cook for a further minute, then add the chopped onion and the garlic/ginger paste, season with a little salt, stir through and then set aside.

Cook your fries according to packet instructions (varies depending if oven fries or you are air frying).  When the fires are cooked season them with the chilli powder, cumin, coriander and a little salt to taste.  Whilst the fries are still hot, add them to the pan with the sauce, stirring so the fries are evenly coated.  Plate up and serve alongside the bacon naan.

Bacon Naan Sandwich

This is a great dinner, you can spice up a bit more if you like and add some fresh chopped chillies.  Quick and easy to make, this will soon become a Friday night favourite!

Mark’s top tip - ensure you coat the fries quickly with the masala sauce otherwise the fries will go soggy!  Alternatively serve the masala sauce in a small dish on the plate and you can then dip your fries in!

Quick and Easy Canapes

Egg & Bacon Vol au Vents

Egg & Bacon Vol au Vents, Caprese skewers, Tuna and Cucumber Wedges

Here are some really easy canapé ideas that can be put together in next to know time, they look great and they taste fab!  The amount of ingredients used will depend on how many canapes you are looking to make so you will need to adjust accordingly.

For the vol au vents I used 3 hard boiled eggs mashed together with a few tablespoons of mayonnaise, don't overdo the mayo, you don't want the mixture to be too loose, season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.  I had two packs of ready made vol au vent cases (24 cases) which you then spoon or pipe the egg mixture into.  I grilled two rashers of bacon which I then cut into thin strips and placed a couple of slices into each vol au vent and then topped with some cress.  Not only do these look really good but they are so tasty.

Caprese skewers, Tuna and Cucumber Wedges

The caprese skewers are so easy, I used a bag of mini mozzarella pearls, there were 12 in the pack. Drain them from the liquid and pat dry.  You will also need 12 cherry tomatoes, 12 basil leaves and 12 cocktail sticks.  Place a folded basil leaf on top of the cherry tomato, top with the mozzarella pearl and skewer with the cocktail stick, it really is that quick!  I had a bottle of balsamic glaze which I also put out so people could drizzle over themselves but the skewers tasted amazing as they were, the flavours of each component just go so well together.

Lastly for the tuna and cucumber wedges I mixed together one drained can of tuna with half a finely chopped red onion, freshly ground black pepper and a few tablespoons of mayo.  Again, don't overdo the mayo, you don't want the mix to be sloppy it needs to hold together to sit on the cucumber.  I cut a cucumber into 12 thick slices and then topped each slip with a spoon of the tuna mix.  If you like a bit of heat you can add a few drops of tobacco to the mix just to spice it up a bit.

I made these recently for an afternoon tea and they went down really well, great flavours from all of them and again, so quick to put together, give them a try and let me know what you think.

McMark's Bacon and Egg Flatbread

McMark's Bacon and Egg Flatbread

• 1 flatbread
• 5 eggs
• 5 slices smoked back bacon (or whatever bacon you prefer)
• Salt & pepper
• Knob of butter
• Sauce of choice

Method:
Cook your bacon under a medium heat grill for around ten minutes until nice and crispy, turning halfway.  Once done, remove from the oven and place onto some kitchen roll to absorb any fat.  Whilst the bacon is cooking, beat the eggs in a jug along with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, once sizzling, pour in the eggs and leave for a minute or so until they start to set, then using a silicone spatula move the eggs around the pan (you don't want the eggs to turn into an omelette or stick to the pan!), keep doing this, breaking them up as you go, it should only take a few minutes to cook the eggs (without drying them out).  Whilst you are doing the eggs, place the flatbread onto a shelf in the oven for a few minutes, the residue heat from the grill should be enough to warm it through.

Place the flatbread onto a plate, drizzle with your sauce of choice, I went for tomato ketchup, place the bacon on the front half of the flatbread, top with the eggs and then fold over the other half of the flatbread and cut in two and serve (just incase you thought I was being greedy, this serves two people!).

Who needs to go to the Golden Arches for breakfast when you can make this bad boy yourself at home in no time at all!  There are endless variations you could make using the flatbread with the fillings of your choice, this was sooo good and took no time at all to make, let me know what you would put in your flatbread?

The Don Macaroni

The Don Macaroni

I am one of the biggest lovers of MacNCheese and to say I was chuffed to bits to receive  "Anna Maes Mac N Cheese" cookbook for Christmas is an understatement.  Anna Mae has a food van and they sell Mac N Cheese, that is it, but oh my god, the variations on such a simple recipe is amazing.  I am going to work my way through the recipes and thought I would start with their most popular dish, The Don Macaroni.  I will detail the starter sauce within this post and will refer back to this when posting further recipes.  Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of the cook book, visit Amazon, the book is amazing, not only a cook book but funny as well, enjoy.

Starter Sauce

• 600ml whole milk, at room temperature
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g plain flour
• A pinch of salt

Place two heavy bottomed pans over a medium heat.  Heat the milk in one pan until hot, but not boiling.  At the same time melt the butter in the second pan, then reduce the heat to low and gradually stir in the flour using a wooden spoon until you have a paste - this is a roux.  Continue to cook, stirring continuously, for 3-4 minutes, or until the roux turns golden in colour, being careful not to over brown and burn the mixture.

Add the hot milk to the roux a little at a time, stirring vigorously.  Once the mixture is fully combined, turn up the heat to medium and cook for a further 5-8 minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon.  Make sure you stir continuously to keep the sauce smooth and so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.  Season with salt.

Now for the ingredients for The Don Macaroni

• 400g macaroni
• 1 portion starter sauce
• 230g mature cheddar, grated
• 90g Monteray Jack, grated
• 30g Parmesan, grated
• 8 rashers of dry-cured streaky bacon
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the pesto

• 75ml good quality olive oil
• 25g grated Parmesan
• 25g pine nuts
• 1 garlic clove
• 10 fresh basil leaves, plus extra to garnish
• A squeeze of lemon

Method:-

First make the pesto.  Pop the ingredients into a small bowl and blitz with a hand blender or bash in a pestle and mortar until lovely and smooth.  Set aside.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, until al denote.  Tip into a colander and leave to drain completely.

In a heavy bottomed pan make the starter sauce, then reduce the heat to low.  Stir in all the cheese and leave to melt, stirring occasionally to stop the mixture sticking to the pan.  Add the drained pasta to to the cheese sauce and mix thoroughly.

Meanwhile fry the bacon until crisp, pouring any fat that collects in the pan into the cheese sauce, mixing well.

Spoon the Mac n cheese into 4 serving bowls, drizzle the pesto over the top and place two of the bacon rashers across each dish.  Garnish with the basil and season with freshly ground pepper.

This was a truly amazing comfort food dinner, I can't wait to get stuck into more of the recipes.

Recipe courtesy of Anna Maes Mac N Cheese cookbook, well worth a buy if you are a lover!

Mango & Lime Marinaded Chicken Salad With Bacon & Avocado

Mango & Lime Marinaded Chicken Salad With Bacon & Avocado

• 2 Chicken breast cut into thick slices
• 1 Avocado sliced
• 1 Pepper sliced
• Bag of salad
• 4 slices of bacon cut into small pieces
• Marinade of choice, I used mango and lime
• Cherry tomatoes halved
• Cucumber cut into small pieces

Method :-
Place the sliced chicken pieces into a container, add your marinade, mix well and place into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Fry the bacon in a small amount of oil until crisp, once done remove and place onto a plate a cover with kitchen roll to remove any excess oil.  Either fry or cook your chicken in the oven for around 20 minutes.  Dress your plate with the salad, add the peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and chicken pieces.  I drizzled a rapeseed dressing over it which added some additional flavour.  

This is a quick and easy light dinner which shouldn't take long to put together.