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Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 28 December 2022

• Quick and Easy
• Fish
• Lactose Free
• Gluten Free

Carp Thing - You make our hearts sing and everything. We think we love you!

At the original price of £12.09 I would certainly not have bought this. But at £4.84 it was worth a chance. I’m more butcher than fishmonger and for me this was a really difficult fish to fillet. But it was worth the effort.

Ingredients:-

1 fresh Carp, filleted and gutted
A handful of cooked King Prawns and Mussels
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced and divided in two
Zest of a Lemon
Juice of ½ a Lemon
2 Tbsp of Capers
1 Red Onion, finely diced
4 Tbsp of Lactose free Butter / Margarine
200ml of Lactose free Milk
2 Tbsp of ground Cashew Nuts
1 Tsp of dried Thyme
Spaghetti, sufficient of two people (Gluten free for us)
200ml of White Wine
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Add a little Oil and half of the Margarine to a large frying pan and fry the Onions over a medium heat.
(2) When softened add half of the minced Garlic and fry for a further minute.
(3) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(4) Add the White Wine and allow to simmer.
(5) Combine the Ground Cashew Nuts and Milk and add to the pan, stirring until the sauce starts to thicken.
(6) In a separate pan add the remaining 2 Tbsp of Margarine on a low heat.
(7) Add the remaining minced Garlic, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice and Capers & allow to simmer of a minute of so.
(8) Add the Thyme and season with Salt & Pepper.
(9) Cook the Pasta in salted water until al dente.
(10) Add the Pasta to the sauce along with the Prawns, and Mussels & combine.
(11) Heat a little Oil in a separate pan and fry the Carp skin side down for 2 minutes. Until the skin is crispy.
(12) Turn over and fry until the fish is cooked through.
(13) Serve the Pasta on warmed plates with the Carp over the top, pouring the Caper Sauce over.
(14) Garnish with a slice of Lemon and Parsley.


We treated this in a similar way that we would ‘Sea Fish’ and although I’ve heard stories of Carp tasting of soil, pond gunge and generally being nasty, we  didn’t get any of that. We really enjoyed it and will certainly eat it again if we find it at this price.

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 23 December 2022

• Takes a bit of time
• Stewing Beef
• Gluten Free
• Winter Warmers

Perhaps not the most appealing looking cut of Beef, but it tastes really good if you cook it low and slow.

Ingredients:-

400g of Beef Skirt, cubed
Flour to coat the Beef (Gluten free for us)
1 Onion, Thickly sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of Shaoxing Wine
200ml of Red Wine (It can to the most inexpensive / dreadful stuff!)
2 Bay Leaves
2 Star Anise
500ml of Beef Stock
1 Punnet of Mushrooms, chopped
2 Carrots, thickly batoned
2 Large Potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
2 Tbsp of Margarine
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Season the Beef with Salt & Pepper and coat in Flour.
(2) In a large pan or Dutch Oven add a little Oil and brown the meat on all sides over a high heat.
(3) Remove and set aside.
(4) Add the Margarine and reduce the heat.
(5) Fry the Onions until softened and add the Garlic cooking for a further minute.
(6) Add the Shaoxing Wine, Red Wine and Stock.
(7) Reduce the heat to simmer and add the Bay Leaves & Star Anise.
(8) Stir in the Beef and allow to simmer for 4 hours.
(9) At about 2 hours add the Potatoes, Carrots and Mushrooms.
(10) Leave partially covered for the remainder of the cooking time, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking.

We served ours with home made toasted Olive Bread. This will easily feed 4 hungry people and was well within our self imposed budget. Also very tasty!
 

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 22 December 2022

• Takes a bit of time
• Chicken
• Gluten Free
• Winter Warmers

While searching for inexpensive bits of Chicken for the Foxes I came across this box of bits. We had some Chorizo left in the fridge which I added to and this was the result. I’m pretty sure if I’d brought some old cardboard boxes home, Sue would have made a cracking meal from the, but this flavour combination was considerably better….

Ingredients:-

2 Legs & 2 Thighs of Chicken
200g of Chorizo, thickly sliced
1 Onion, sliced
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tin of Plumb Tomatoes, chopped
400ml of Chicken Stock
A few sprigs of Rosemary
1 Large Red Pepper, charred in Oil
1 Hand full of mixed Olives
½ a Tsp of Paprika
½ a Tsp of Turmeric
The zest of one Lemon
3 Anchovies, drained
300 ml of boiling Water
A Glug of Shaoxing Wine
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Add a little Oil to a Dutch Oven and heat to a medium heat.
(2) Season the Chicken portions with Salt & Pepper and then brown on all side, setting aside.
(3) Add the Chorizo and fry until crisp. Remove and set aside with the Chicken.
(4) Add the Onion and fry until softened.
(5) Add the Garlic and stir as it cooks to soak up the Chorizo Oil.
(6) Reduce to heat to low.
(7) Chop the Tomatoes.
(8) Char the Red Pepper in a griddle pan with a little oil. Remove and set aside.
(9) De-glaze the griddle pan with the Shaoxing Wine.
(10) To the Dutch Oven add the Peppers, Tomatoes and Chicken Stock.
(11) Add most of the Rosemary (Holding back a sprig), Chicken, Chorizo and the de-glaze from the griddle pan.
(12) Reduce the heat to low and simmer with the lid slightly open for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the sauce has thickened and the Chicken is tender.
(13) Place the Olives in a bowl and pour over the boiling water, leaving to steep, with a pinch of Paprika & Turmeric
(14) Add the Olive Stock and cook for a further 30 minutes.
(15) Add the Lemon Zest and Anchovies, stirring in well.
(16) Fry the remain Rosemary to crumble as a garnish.
(17) Before serving remove the Rosemary sprigs from the Dutch Oven.

We served ours over mixed rice and it was really good. Or as Sue says. "It was OK!!!!!"

Details

Written by Tony Carson

Category: Recipes

Created: 17 December 2022

• Quick and Easy
• Sides
• Lactose Free
• Gluten Free

We needed Spinach for a recipe the other day. I appreciate that it wilts down, but why do we always have to buy it in industrial quantities?

So what to do with left-over Spinach? This worked really well as a side dish.

Ingredients:-

½ an Onion, finely sliced
2 Tbsp of Plain Flour (Gluten free for us)
¼ Tsp of dry Thyme
240ml of Milk (Lactose free for us)
2 Tbsp of Ground Cashew Nuts
3 Tbsp of Dairy Free Margarine
140g of Breadcrumbs (Gluten free for us)
100g of Cheese (Lactose free for us)
200g of Spinach
20g of Italian style grated Cheese
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) On a low heat add a little oil to a frying pan and fry the Onions until softened.
(2) Sprinkle the Flour over Onions.
(3) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(4) Add the Spinach and Thyme and stir in.
(5) Lower the heat until the Spinach has wilted.
(6) Whisk the ground Cashew Nuts into the Milk and add to the pan.
(7) Allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
(8) Add the Cheese.
(9) Spoon the mix into oven proof dishes.
(10) Add the melted Margarine to the Breadcrumbs along with the Italian style Grated Cheese.
(11) Sprinkle over and place in a pre-heated oven at 180c for 15 to 20 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.

We served this as a side for a small Pork Leg cut. This outshone the rather tough bit of Pig!