Christmast Muffin Mix

Put these in your Christmas hamper to give to your friends and family this Christmas, You can change it up, Such as brownie recipes , shortbread and so on. You can get little labels and write the instructions on them, tie a ribbon or some twine around the rim to add your own touch to this.

What you will need

• 300g of self raising flour
• Two teaspoons of baking powder
• Two teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• Two teaspoons of mixed spice
• 100g of pecans
• 140g of dried fruits, such as cherries, apricots
• 100g of light muscovado sugar

First start by sterilizing a large one litre jar, I prefer to use clip jars for this.
Layer all the ingredients in sections.
Write the following method on a label, Ive shorted it down!

'Tip contents into large mixing bowl, make a well.
Mix with wooden spoon, add 2 beaten eggs 
add 300ml of milk and 100g of melted butter
Mix well! prepare 12 muffin cases in the muffin tin
and fill each halfway with the muffin batter,
bake at 180 for 18-20 minutes,
Enjoy!'

Beetroot blinis with smoked salmon

What you will need

• One cooked beetroot
• Greek yoghurt , roughly about 170gs
• Two eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 140g of self raising flour
• Cream cheese
• Smoked salmon trimmings
• Fresh sprigs of dill

To make this very simple blini batter, Blend the cooked beetroot and greek yoghurt with either a food processer or a stick blender until smooth, Depending on what you have at home of course!
Whish in the eggs , bicarbonate of soda and the self raising flour.
Drop tablespoons of this mixture into a frying pan with a little vegetable oil.
This process is almost like making pancakes, when bubbles appear simply flip onto the other side cook for a further 30 seconds or so and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Spread each blini with some softened cream cheese and top with smoked salmon, season with a little cracked black pepper and some sea salt and garnish with a sprig of fresh dill.

Christmas Canape's

These are some really easy but gorgeous canapé's that only take a couple of minutes to put together , and involve little or no cooking.

Serrano wrapped pears with goats cheese

What you will need

• 6 slices of Serrano ham
• 1 pear
• 125g of goats cheese
• Some fresh rocket leaves

Simply tear 6 slices of Serrano ham.
Core a pear and cut into 12 slices.
Place a piece of pear on the bottom of the ham, add a little chunk of the goats cheese and scatter a couple of rocket leaves on top and roll up.
I sometimes like to add a drizzle of honey over the goats cheese but that's entirely optional. As an alternative to the pears peaches would make a very nice substitute.

Fish ''pie''

As the winter months are approaching , I find my cooking tends to lean more towards comfort food. Comfort food to me is steaming bowls of stew with meat that falls apart with just a touch of a spoon , crumbles and tarts with lashings of custard , this fish 'pie' is one of those dishes that always just hits the spot for me.  I use shop bought all butter puff pastry for this recipe, as in my own opinion , Puff pastry is just a waste of time to make at home when you can buy perfectly good puff pastry in the supermarket. You could however top this fish pie with creamy mashed potato it would be just as nice, I would recommend to drag a fork across the top of the mashed potato and top with little knobs of butter, just to add some texture to the over all dish.

For this very simple recipe all you will need is

• Some butter for greasing
• One packet of all butter puff pastry
• A little flour for dusting
• One egg, beaten
• Two shallots, finely chopped
• 250ml of white wine, I always use the rule of Only cook with wine you will actually drink yourself, It will make all the difference!
• 250ml of double cream
• 12 raw peeled prawns, cleaned
• One salmon fillet , Weighing roughly 300g , cut into bite size chunks
• One fillet of smoked haddock, weighing roughly 300g , cut into bite size chunks
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Fresh tarragon, chopped
• Salt and black pepper

Depending on how many portions you are making the amount of fish your going to use will vary.

First start off by preheating an oven to 200C, grease a baking tray.
Lay the pastry on a lightly floured surface and begin to roll out, cut into 11cm rounds.
Brush the puff pastry rounds with the beaten egg, place on the prepared baking tray and bake in an oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Put the chopped shallots and wine into a saucepan, Bring to the boil and allow to boil until the liquid has reduced by half.
Add the cream and a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. You know when the sauce is done when it begins to coat the back of a spoon.

Next add the prawns and chopped fish, cook gently for five minutes. You will know the fish is done when the prawns have turned pink , now add your seasoning and chopped parsley and tarragon.

Spoon the mixture into warm bowls and top the 'fish pie' with the golden puffed lids of puff pastry.

Blueberry Swirled Muffins

This is somewhat of a healthier take of muffins. I've made these muffins using a cup measurement, You can buy these in most shops now for a couple of quid, Its an easier take on baking instead of using a regular scales.

What you will need:

• 1 and 1/4 cup of sugar, plus One teaspoon
• Finely grated lemon zest, Of one lemon
• 2 1/2 cups of plain flour, sifted
• 2 cups of blueberries
• One tablespoon of baking powder
• One teaspoon of salt
• Two eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• One cup of almond milk
• Two teaspoons of vanilla extract

In a small bowl, simply stir together one teaspoon of sugar and the grated lemon zest and sit aside.
Preheat the oven to 200-180 , Spray a muffin tray with some cooking spray.
In a small saucepan over a medium heat , bring the blueberries and one teaspoon of sugar to a gently simmer and allow to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to come to room temperature.
In a large bowl , whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl beat one cup of sugar , eggs , milk , oil and vanilla until smooth.
Add to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tray, Spoon about one teaspoon of the blueberry compote into each muffin batter centre , using a fork swirl.
Sprinkle each muffin with the lemon sugar.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, A tooth pick should come out clean when cooked.
Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Pea Risotto

Risotto is a pretty basic dish once you understand how to make it. The key is using hot stock and allowing the rice to absorb the liquid. You can use whatever ingredients you have may it be some left over roasted butternut squash, dried porcini  mushrooms, fresh asparagus tips these will all make a  beautiful alternative.

You will need:

• One litre of hot chicken stock
• Half an onion, finely diced
• 25g of butter
• A sprig of fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 400g risotto rice, This is Arborio rice, it is a short grain rice
• 200g of frozen peas
• Some freshly ground black pepper
• 150ml of white wine
• 75g of Parmesan cheese to garnish

Simply heat the chicken stock in a large saucepan have your ladle at the ready.
In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and a little drizzle of oil on a medium to low heat ,fry the onion, do not brown but cook until translucent. Next add in the thyme with the onions and cook for a further minute and season lightly.
Add the rice , This is where you have to be careful, Turn up the heat and keep stirring the rice, don't allow it to catch. The rice should slightly change in colour.
Add the white wine and stir.
Add one ladle of hot stock to the risotto, keep stirring and allow to fully absorb, This is important. Keep repeating this process allowing each ladle of stock to fully absorb into the rice, this should take about 20 minutes, You want the rice to still have a slight bite but not a chalky gritty texture which often happens with risotto.
On the last ladle of stock, add the peas , You want the peas to still have a slight bite also.
Remove from the heat and grate in some parmesan cheese ,Stir and season.
Garnish with some shards of parmesan and if you like even thinly slice some fresh mint!

Lets talk about Wild Garlic!

 

The more I'm trying to figure out what kind of chef I am I see its coming back to basics and keeping food as natural and simple as possible, Great ingredients and doing very little with them. Food shouldn't be complicated in my opinion. The past couple of years I've started to appreciate food a lot more when I began to grown my own vegetables and my dad began to rare pigs. You respect the welfare of the animal , and I think that's just as important as the end product you end up with. Even more so when I find free food that many of us walk by without realising its worth, I myself am guilty of this, a little knowledge about all this great produce around us and your laughing!

Wild garlic being one of those, it grows wild all over Ireland, You will smell it before you see it and its a great product to make soda breads & pesto's with. Here's a simple Wild Garlic pesto recipe which you can keep in the fridge up to a week, its beautiful with pastas, dressing salads with and with fish.

What you will need:

• One large bunch of wild garlic
• 60g of toasted pine nuts
• 60g of parmesan cheese, grated
• 150ml of oil, I like to mix this between a mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil as I find olive oil over powers the flavour of the wild garlic
• Squeeze of some lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

In a dry frying fan over a medium heat toast the pine nuts, Keep a close eye as they can burn quickly. Shake the pan a couple of times to ensure even cooking.
When golden set aside.
In a food processor , Add the toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese and wild garlic and blend to a smooth paste.
Through the funnel of the food processor slowly add in the oil until it begins to thicken.
Season and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Pesto's & Dips

Just remember there is more to life than ketchup.... Hence this blog post .

Summer Basil Pesto

This makes about 200ml, If you want you can substitute the basil for wild garlic or rocket.

What you will need

• 110g fresh basil leaves
• 150ml extra virgin olive oil
• 25g pine kernels
• Two garlic cloves
• 50g of freshly grated parmesan
• Salt and black pepper

But the basil, olive oil, pine kernels , garlic and grated parmesan into the food processer and blend until smooth, Season, That's it!

Coriander and Goats Cheese Pesto

What you will need

• 150g fresh coriander
• 150ml of extra virgin olive oil
• 25g pine kernels
• 50g softened goats cheese
• 50g freshly grated parmesan
• Pinch of salt

As the same method above simply put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

 Sundried Tomato Pesto

• 100g sun dried tomatoes
• Two garlic cloves
• 75g grated parmesan
• 30g pine nuts
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil

Simply blend in the food processor!

Cool Cucumber and Yoghurt Dip

• Half a cucumber , seeds removed
• Half a teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 150ml natural yoghurt
• One tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander

When you remove the seeds from the cucumber simply chop into a small dice, Toast the cumin seeds on a dry frying pan for about 30 seconds , set aside.
Mix in the cumin seeds, yoghurt , cucumber and fresh coriander in a bowl.

Easy homemade curry paste

Korma Paste

You will need

• Two cloves of garlic
• A thumb sized piece of fresh ginger grated, 'but what if i have small thumbs'...
• Half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• One teaspoon of garam masala
• Half a teaspoon of sea salt
• Two tablespoons of groundnut oil
• One tablespoon of tomato puree
• Two fresh green chillies, finely chopped
• Three tablespoons of desiccated coconut
• Two tablespoons of ground almonds
• A small bunch of freshly chopped coriander
• Two teaspoons of cumin seeds
• One teaspoon of coriander seeds

Simply toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan, tossing them around for about 30 seconds, And grind in a pestle and mortar.
Simply in a food processer or a large pestle and mortar grind down all the ingredients until a paste has formed.
Simple but effective
Enjoy

Cherry Cheesecake Marbled Brownies

What you will need

• 300g of soft cream cheese at room temperature
• 300g of caster sugar
• Two eggs, beaten plus 3 extra
• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g dark chocolate
• 75g of plain flour, sifted
• 200g fresh cherries , stoned and halved , plus extra for some garnish if you would like

Preheat the oven to 180, Grease and line a 25cm square baking tin and line with baking paper.
Beat the soft cheese with 75g of the caster sugar until just combined, then beat in the two eggs, allow to chill for 10 minutes just to stiffen up slightly.
Meanwhile melt the butter and the chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, but do not allow the water to touch the bowl, stirring continuously until smooth and glossy looking, set aside and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Stir the remaining caster sugar into the chocolate mixture , gradually beat in 3 extra eggs, one by one , then mix in the flour and fold in until a smooth batter forms.
Pour a thin layer of chocolate mixture into the prepared tin to coat the entire base , dollop spoonful's of the cheese mixture , the pour on the remaining chocolate mixture and top with dollops of the cheese mixture, using the handle of a wooden spoon swirl the spoon around to create a marbled effect.
Scatter over the cherries and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until you put the knife into the centre and it comes out clean.
It should have a slight wobble.
Place on a wire rack tray and leave to cool, should take about 20 minutes, Hard Yes!
Cut into even squares, I get roughly about 20 small squares, Serve with some chopped fresh cherries and some vanilla ice cream .
Enjoy X

Crispy shredded chicken with chilli and salt

Its a favourite in Chinese restaurants and take aways and I myself am a huge fan of the much loved salt and chilli chicken. After many failed attempts of asking my local takeaway how they make it and getting little to no clues I started experimenting in the kitchen I can proudly say I think its the same if not better than I've had in town. A couple of months ago I put up a recipe for this, and I think I've improved it ALOT since then with the use of panko breadcrumbs and correct seasoning! The recipe amount will vary on how much your making but its very straight forward.

You will need:

• Five chicken breasts , Sliced very thinly into strips
• Two tablespoons of garlic powder
• Two tablespoons of chilli powder
• One tablespoon of salt
• Half a teaspoon of white pepper
• Four tablespoons of corn flour, mixed with a little water to make a paste
• Two spring onions, sliced
• Two cloves of garlic, finely minced
• One red chilli, Sliced thinly
• One onion , Sliced thinly
• One red pepper, thinly sliced
• Teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
• Enough vegetable oil to fill 3/4 of a wok
• Two cups of panko breadcrumbs

First start off by heating the wok with enough vegetable oil as you will need this very hot when frying the chicken.
Cut the chicken into very thin strips and season with plenty of salt and white pepper followed by the garlic & chilli powder. Massage the chicken to ensure all the chicken is coated in the spices.
In a bowl put four heaped tablespoons of corn flour and enough water to make a thick gloopy paste this is what will make the panko breadcrumbs stick.
Coat the chicken strips in the corn flour paste and then dip the chicken strips into the panko breadcrumbs and set aside. Repeat this until done
By this stage your oil should be hot enough to cook in, test this by putting a piece of bread into the wok or even some of the corn flour mixture into the hot oil and it should rise to the surface in 20 to 30 seconds, The oil should glisten that's how I tell its hot enough.
Add small batches of the chicken strips into the hot oil if you add too much at once the oil temperature will drop dramatically and result in soggy chicken.
Fry the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, it will cook quickly as its cut into thin strips.
Lift the chicken strips out and drain on some kitchen paper to soak up excess oil.
In a separate wok simply add one tablespoon of oil and quickly fry off the garlic, ginger , chilli, spring onions and the thinly sliced onion for about a minute. Add a dash of soy sauce if the wok looks like its beginning to dry.
Simply scatter the crispy chicken with sea salt and sliced red chilli and serve with wok fried vegetables.

Baked goats cheese with salad & warm marinated vegetables

I made this recently in college, I really liked how the crispy herb coating surrounding the outside contrasted with the hot melting goats cheese ,the wholegrain mustard dressed side salad lightened the over all dish.

You will need:

• One inch rounds of goat cheese, sliced and rind removed
• A bunch of freshly snipped chives
• One cup of white breadcrumbs
• Half a teaspoon of salt and white pepper
• One egg, Beaten
• One cup of flour, Sifted and lightly seasoned
• Two tablespoons of oil

For the marinated vegetables

• One courgette , diced
• One red pepper , deseeded and diced
• One yellow pepper, deseeded and diced
•  One clove of garlic finely minced
• Six fresh basil leaves ,
• Half a cup of rapeseed oil
• Half a cup of balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 200, Prepare the vegetables and allow to sit for awhile in the marinade , In a roasting tin spread them the vegetables out evenly make sure there not overcrowding in the roasting dish as they will steam rather than roast.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes as they are cut quite small.
Remove the vegetables from the oven.
In three separate bowls , Sift flour and season slightly with salt and pepper, Then beat an egg for the egg wash then transfer to a bowl,followed by chopping fresh chives and combing them with the white breadcrumbs in another.
Simply slice the goats cheese into one inch rounds and remove the rind.
Coat in the flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs.
Allow to firm up in the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes.
In a saucepan heat two tablespoons of oil and fry the breaded goats cheese until golden on each side this should take about 2 to 3 minutes. Allow to bake in the oven at 180 for 5 minutes to keep warm.
Simply pick some fresh rocket leaves and dress lightly in some of the left over marinade and whisk in a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard if desired.
Neatly place the dressed rocket leaves onto the serving dish and spoon on the roasted vegetables and top with the baked goats cheese.

Tandoori Chicken

I prefer to use chicken thighs for this recipe, There cheaper and they have more flavour in my opinion. The longer you marinade the chicken the more the flavour penetrates through the chicken! Ideally marinade overnight but 2 to 3 hours would also work.

What you will need:

• Chicken thighs or chicken legs, Skin removed make a couple of slashes in the meat to allow the marinade to seep further
• One tablespoon of cumin powder
• One tablespoon of turmeric powder, Personally I don't think this gives a lot of flavour but it adds great colour to dishes!
• One tablespoon of chilli powder
• The juice of one lemon
• Two large garlic cloves minced
• One red chilli , finely chopped seeds removed if you like, I prefer to leave them in
•  Two tablespoons of Garam Masala , This is a blend of various spices cumin powder, coriander powder ect
• 150g of natural yoghurt

I prefer to marinade the chicken overnight , It benefits much more in flavour.
Prepare marinade ingredients and mix well.
Remove skin from chicken thighs and make three slashes on the meat.
Add the meat to the marinade and leave it there as long as you can, 24 hours is ideal, refrigerate meat until needed.
Preheat the oven to 220C , add the chicken to a greased baking tray and season with rock salt and drizzle with some olive oil.
After 20 minutes turn the heat down to 190 and allow to cook for roughly 40 minutes, this blast of heat will allow the skin to crisp nicely.
To ensure even cooking pierce the meat and if the juices run clear your sorted!
Serve with a lightly dressed salad and natural yoghurt and mint dip.

Just a little bit of college work!

 

 

 

 

 Roasted Butternut Squash and Chilli Soup

What you will need:

• Two medium sized butternut squashes , Sliced in half
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• Half a teaspoon of Sea Salt
• Half  a teaspoon of cracked black pepper
• One chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• Two white onions, finely diced
• Two litres of vegetable stock

preheat the oven to 200C
In a large roasting dish simply place the sliced butternut squash I lightly score the flesh, Season and drizzle with olive oil.
Roast for about 40 minutes.
In a large saucepan heat two tablespoons of oil and fry off the onion until just coloured and soft, then add the finely chopped chilli and lightly season.
By the time the butternut squash has finished roasting allow it to cool so you can handle it.
Scoop out the soft roasted flesh out of the butternut squash and add to saucepan. Before I roast the butternut squash I remove the seeds with a spoon.
Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
Then blend to your desired consistency.
You can stir through some sour cream if you would like or even garnish with some crispy pancetta.

Blackened Salmon with Avocado Salad

As you read out the amount of spices I have used for the salmon it seems as if it might be a little too much, but salmon is a meaty fish which can handle robust flavours.

This recipe should easily serve four.

What you will need:

• One teaspoon of paprika
• One teaspoon of chilli powder
• One teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• One teaspoon of garlic powder
• Four Salmon fillets, Skin on
• Three tablespoons of Olive Oil, or any oil you have at that...

For the Salad, You will need:

• One head of romaine lettuce leaves, Washed and
• Six radishes, thinly sliced,
• Two large avocados, Remove the stone and slice thinly
• Six spring onions, Sliced

For the Dressing, You will need:

• One tablespoon of Olive oil
• One tablespoon of white wine vinegar
• One garlic clove , peeled and very finely minced, as chunks of raw garlic can be extremely over powering.
•  handful of freshly snipped chives
• Sea salt and black pepper

Now , Preheat your grill to a high heat.
On a large plate simply place all your spices onto it and mix , Drizzle your salmon fillets with oil and place straight down into the spice mix on one side, Simple really.
Place on a grill tray and cook for ten minutes until the top is ever so slightly charred but ensuring the fish is cooked through!
While the fish is doing its thing, prepare your salad dressing by whizzing up the ingredients in a hand blender until smooth, Season.
On a large serving platter arrange your salad ingredients to your , Drizzle over the dressing and last but not least arrange the salmon fillets on top.
Enjoy.