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Asparagus & Onion Bhaji

Asparagus & Onion Bhaji

The foundation of last nights meal were some Chicken Thighs. We had some DIY Curry sauce in the freezer, some DIY Gluten free Naan bread and some discounted Asparagus which was starting to go a bit bendy.

Asparagus & Onion Bhaji? Well it might not be exactly traditional, do we look like we care?

Ingredients:-

Gram Flour
Hot ground Chilli
Ground Cloves
Garlic Salt
Baking Powder
Turmeric

Method:-

(1) Chop your Onions and Asparagus roughly.
(2) Heat a fryer to 170c.
(3) Mix the dry ingredients with just enough water to make a stiff batter and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
(4) Mix the Asparagus & Onion into the batter and add a little extra Gram Flour if the mixture doesn’t seem to be firm enough.
(5) Spoon large two dollops into the hot Oil and shake to free from the basket.
(6) Fry until just browned in botches initially and drain on kitchen paper.
(7) Fly in batches until you’ve run out of mixture.
(8) Re-fry when you are ready to serve, until the Bhaji are crisp but not too browned.

We had a very small amount of Gram Flour left so instead of keeping it I made a sizeable batch. The leftovers are in the freezer for the next Curry night. No we didn’t eat them all in one sitting!

 

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Flaskkarre - Swedist Pork Loin recipe, eat well on universal credit

Pork Loin was on offer yesterday so we thought we’d carry on with the Swedish theme.

Ingredients:-

1 Pork Loin
1 Tbsp of Garlic Butter ( Garlic Dairy free Margarine for us)
½ Tsp of Ground Ginger
200ml of Beef Stock
2 Sprigs of Thyme
2 Sprigs of Rosemary (Foraged in this case)
Salt & Pepper to season

Method:-

(1) Smother the Pork in the Garlic Butter.
(2) Rub with the Ground Ginger and season with Salt & Pepper.
(3) Place the Pork in a baking tray and pour the Stock around it.
(4) Lay the Thyme and Rosemary over the top and cover with foil.
(5) Place in a pre-heated oven at 160c for 20 minutes or until the Pork is just cooked through.
(6) Remove from the tray and allow to rest before slicing.
(7) Use the Stock from the tray as the foundation for a sauce / gravy.

We served ours with Fried Kate & Chorizo and Hasselback Potatoes. It’s not often that Sue will freely say “That was really good”!

 

Svenska Kottbullar - Swedish Meatballs recipe, eat well on universal credit

She saw a post on Facebook about a bag of Swedish Meatballs at a well known frozen foods store. Clearly I immediately went out a bought them, not……

Ingredients:-

50g of Breadcrumbs (Gluten free for us)
120ml of Milk (Lactose free for us)
2 Tbsp of Ground Cashew Nuts
500g of mixed Pork & Beef mince
1 Onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp of Dairy free Margarine
1 Egg, beaten
1 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
¼ Tsp of Ground Nutmeg
¼ Tsp of Ground Allspice
1/8 of a Tsp of Ground Ginger
3 Tbsp of Cornflour
60ml of Chicken Stock
200ml of Beef Stock
A handful of fresh chopped Parsley, to garnish
Salt & Pepper to season

Method:-

(1) Mix the Breadcrumb with the combined Milk and Ground Cashew Nuts.
(2) Allow the Breadcrumbs to absorb the liquid for 10 minutes.
(3) In a frying pan add a little Margarine and gently fry the Onion until softened.
(4) Remove and set aside.
(5) Mix the Mince with the Egg, Sugar, Nutmeg, Allspice, Ginger and season with Salt & Pepper.
(6) Add the cooled Onions and mix in the Breadcrumbs.
(7) Form into small Meatballs.
(8) Fry with a little Margarine gently until browned on all sides.
(9) Place the meatballs in an ovenproof tray and pour over the Chicken Stock.
(10) Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven at 160c for 20 minutes.
(11) Remove and set aside, covered to keep warm.
(12) Add the juices from the oven tray to a pan over a low heat and whisk in the Cornflour until smooth.
(13) Whisk in enough Beef stock to form a sauce, continuing to whisk until thickened.
(14) Season the sauce with Salt & Pepper to taste.
(15) Pour the Sauce over the Meatballs to serve and garnish with Parsley.

We served outs over a bed of Gluten free Spaghetti.
 
These we not as firm as the version we’re both familiar with. But they were superb. As Long COVID has left Sue with the additional ‘Fun’ of Lactose Intolerance we’re having to modify recipes to avoid Milk and it’s derivatives as well as Gluten.

 

Left Over Lamb Curry

We splashed out of a leg of Lamb for Christmas Day. Quite an investment for us and far too much meat for one sitting. So Sue cobbled this together with the left-over meat.

Ingredients:-

500g of roasted Lamb, cut into chunks
1 Thumb of Ginger grated. Or 1 Tsp of dried Ginger
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Red Onions, sliced
1 Tsp of Cinnamon  powder
1 Tsp of ground Coriander
1 Tsp of ground Cumin
1 Tsp of ground Turmeric
½ a Tsp of Fennel Seeds
2 Tsp of Chilli Powder
A 400g tin of Chopped Tomatoes, plus 400g of water
Salt & Pepper to season
Oil to fry

Method:-

(1) Add to Oil to a large pan and fry the Onions until softened.
(2) Add the Garlic and Ginger and fry for a minute or so.
(3) Season with Salt & Pepper.
(4) Add the remaining spices and stir in.
(5) Add the chopped Tomatoes and water.
(6) Add the Lamb reducing the heat and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

The odd looking objects around the plates are Sprout Bhaji! ( http://www.eatwellonuc.org.uk/index.php/recipes/420-curry-pies-sprout-bhaji )

 

Carp Thing - You make our hearts sing

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.

Braised Beef Skirt recipe, eat well on universal credit

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!
 

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