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Thai Beef Salad

Thai Beef Salad

This was actually a Sirloin Steak which I cut the Paddywhack from. Old butchery skills, but nobody wants that bit of gristle in their salad! It cost £3.49, but we had everything else in store which had been budgeted for in other recipes. So I declare this little summery feast “In Budget”. Carrying forward left-overs isn’t really cheating. It’s part of the way we minimize waste and choose what we’ll eat on a daily basis.

Ingredients:-

Dressing:-


2 Birds Eye Chillies, finely diced
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp of Coriander stems, finely chopped
2 Tsp of Sugar
2 Tbsp of Fish Sauce
3 Tbsp of Lime Juice
1 Tsp of Sesame Oil
1 Lemon Grass, finely chopped
Salt


Steak:-

A Sirloin Steak, with the tough bit of sinew cut off ( Paddywhack as we called it in the butchers)
1 Tbsp of Oil to fry
Salt and fresh ground Pepper to season

Salad:-

Mixed Lettuce Leaves
8 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 Red Onion, finely sliced
1/2 A Cucumber, cut lengthways and rolled
A Handful of Coriander leaved, chopped
A Handful of Mint  leaves, chopped


To Garnish:-

A handful of Peanuts, chopped
Chopped Mint & Coriander leaves
1 Shallot, finely sliced and fried until crispy

Method:-

(1) Blend the Coriander stems, Chilli, Garlic Salt and Lemongrass until you have a smooth paste. We actually used our Pestle and Mortar .
(2) Set aside.
(3) Oil and Season the Steak and allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
(4) Fry over a high heat until seared on both sides, but still pink in the middle.
(5) Set aside to rest.
(6) Combine the salad ingredients and add to bowls.
(7) To the paste (1 above) add the Sugar, Fish Sauce, Lime Juice and Sesame Oil. Mix will.
(8) Slice the Steak into 5mm strips and arrange over the Salad.
(9) Pour over the dressing (7 above).
(10) Garnish with Mint, Coriander and copped Peanuts.
(11) Sprinkle the fried Shallot over the top.

The Fish Sauce and Sesame Oil combination in this dish really worked. The recipe sounds complicated, but it’s really not.

 

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Cottage Pie

There is a tale behind this simple dinner. We had about 250g of raw mince Beef in the freezer from a previous meal and thought a simple Cottage Pie would be good. So I fished the mince out and popped it on the hub top to the thaw. Nothing too strange so far. But….. We’ve cleaned the cooker so many time over the last couple of years than the hob symbols have disappeared. Sue has a mental plan for which knob turns on which ring, but it won’t stick in my head. So when I’d pealed the Potatoes and cut them ready to boil I turned the ring on as Sue was chopping Onions etc. on the other work surface. I set about washing up the bits and bobs we had used so far. Strange Plastic smell – Argghhh!!! I’d turned the back ring on and melted the Plastic tub the mince was in!!!!

Off to the local convenience store for more not Plastic infused mince I trundled! It was good in the end…..


Ingredients:-
 
500g of minced Pork
2 large Onions, finely chopped
Soy Sauce (GF if required)
Tomato Puree
2 Carrots, finely chopped
Potatoes, boiled and mashed
Gravy Granules (Bisto Best are GF)
Cheese, grated to top
Oil
Vegetables of your choice
 
Method:-
 
(1) Heat a little oil in a large pan. Add the mince and fry to brown all over, stirring to break up any large chunks. Set aside.
(2) Add a splash more oil to the pan, Carrot and Onion and fry until the Onion is softened.
(3) Mix the Gravy Granules with boiling water to make sufficient to moisten the mince in a casserole dish.
(4) Preheat the oven to 180c.
(5) Add the mince to the Onions and Carrot and stir in the gravy, a good dash of Soy Sauce and a squeeze of Tomato Puree..
(6) Transfer to a large casserole dish and add the mashed Potato to the top to cover.
(7) Place the casserole in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes or until the Potato has a golden brown top.
(8) Sprinkle with grated Cheese and place back in the oven until the Cheese has melted and crisped a little.
 
We enjoyed ours with Corn on the Cob and Fried Kale.
 

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Meze sort of gig

Our fridge was beginning to look a bit like a sauce and dip graveyard. Some of our experiments create more than we can eat in one sitting. So - Problem resolved….

Top left outwards:-

Remaining Stir-Fry
Tomatillo Salsa
Spicy Wedges
Prawn Crackers
Onion Rings
Discount fridge Cheeses
Grilled cured Polish Sausage
DIY Thousand Island Dressing
DIY Tomato Salsa
Fridge tired bough Red Pepper dip!
DIY Garlic Mushrooms

Nothing goes to waste here! This was a remarkably tasty tea. But the amount of Garlic overall might present a problem to any vampires we happen across in the next few day…..

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Chinese Fake Away with Hazel Nuts as “Water Chestnuts”

There was a “Stir-Fry” pack in the Yellow Sticker fridge at the local Supermarket. As we’d frozen it we binned the vegetables and just used the Chicken. But at 92p who’s complaining? (Not us!)

Ingredients:-

250g of Sliced Chicken mini fillets
1 Onion, finely sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
½ a Red Pepper, finely sliced
2 Spring Onions, chopped
4 Mushrooms, sliced
A handful of Bean Sprouts
Chopped Kale
Toasted Hazel Nuts ( Recipe Here )
Soy Sauce (Gluten free in out case)
Ginger powder
Cornflour
Salt & Pepper
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Marinade the Chicken in Soy Sauce, Cornflour, Salt & Pepper for 20 minutes.
(2) Fry the Chicken in a little Oil until tender bit not pink.
(3) Remove from the Wok or pan and set aside.
(4) Add the Onion, Garlic and Red Pepper with a splash of Soy Sauce & Ginger powder.
(5)  Fry on a high heat stirring as you go.
(6) Add the remaining ingredients – stir and fry until steaming hot but not wilted.

Serve over boiled Rice with Fries and Prawn Crackers for the most unconventional but typically English Chinese Fake-Away!
 

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Hazel Nuts as “Water Chestnuts”

We have a large Hazel bust nearby and on Squirrels to pinch them, so at this time of year we have quite a good supply of very big nuts. They are the size of a small Conker this year. Apparently nuts have a demographic status in Chinese Cuisine….”Peanuts = Everyman - Hazel Nuts = Middle class and thriving - Walnuts = Elite and above”. So with the idea of using Hazel Nuts as a local and free alternative to Water Chestnuts we set about pottering yesterday.

Ingredients:-

A large bowl of foraged Hazel Nuts
A hammer or Nut cracker (I used a hammer on the kitchen floor!!!!)
Bicarbonate of Soda.

Method:-

(1) Preheat the oven to 250c.
(2) Lay the nuts on an oven proof tray in a single layer.
(3) Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Those which explode are the ones with no actual nut inside. Which saves you smacking them later!
(4) Remove the tray and cool enough to be able to handle the roasted nuts.
(5) Crack open and remove the roasted nuts and bin the shells.
(6) Boil a small pan of water with 2 table spoon of Bicarbonate of Soda and simmer the nuts for 10 minutes. Interestingly the water turns a dark purple…..
(7) Drain and cool.
(8) Once cool enough to handle the brown coating will rub away with ease.

Your roasted and cleaned nuts are now good to add at the beginning of a Chinese style stir-fry just after the Onions and Garlic. You can then set them aside and re-add at the end. They really do add a great flavour and crunchy texture.

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Composé d'œuf, de bacon, de haricots et de pain grillé recipe

My French is non-existent - I used a translation service! Several computer languages and a working smattering of Latin, but French? Not my gig….

Ingredients:-

(This is a joke guys)

Equidistantly carved fine grain White Bread, Sans Gluten. Lightly caramelised on opposing outer faces
Haricot Beans in a sweetened reduction of pureed Tomato with selected Spices and Salt
Nitrate cured finely sliced Pork Loin, grilled at exactly 190c for 453 second
Brown Wood Fowl Eggs tempered in a moderate Oil bath.
Emulsion of Vegetable Oils and Salted water

Method:-

(1) Stop it with all that poxie nonsense.
(2) Enjoy your Bacon, Bean and Egg Buttie.

 

  1. Roastday – The new name for Wednesday here….
  2. Mexican Pork Loin Fusion
  3. Charred Tomatillo Salsa
  4. Turkey Bites

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