tempting food

Adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course.
If you prefer, you can just use minced beef, though the combination of pork and beef works best.
Thanks to Liz for passing on the recipe :)

Ingredients

• 200g minced beef
• 200g minced pork
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5cm ginger, finely chopped
• 2 mild red chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• zest of 1 lime, juice of ½ lime (save the rest for the dressing)
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2 little gem lettuces, separated into leaves

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• juice of ½ lime
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 mild red chilli, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a light main

Directions

1. Heat a large frying pan and add a little oil. Mix the minced beef and pork in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Fry the mince in hot pan for approx 10 mins until the liquid evaporates and the meat starts to brown and crisp. Depending on the size of your pan, you might want to do this in batches. Doing too much at a time will cause the meat to simmer rather than fry, and it wont go crispy. Set aside in a sieve over a bowl to drain
2. Wipe out the pan and add 1tbsp sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli. Fry with a pinch of salt and the sugar for 2 mins. Add back in the drained mince and stir together
3. Add the fish sauce, lime zest and juice, mixing well. Throw in the scallions and cook for a further minute before turning off the heat
4. Add all the dressing ingredients to a bowl and stir well to combine
5. To serve, top the lettuce leaves with a spoon or two of the meat mixture and top with a drizzle of dressing

Malteser Squares. There’s no calories in charity cakes, right?
In aid of The Great Irish Bake for Temple Street Childrens hospital

Ingredients

• 250g chocolate chip cookies
• 250g maltesers
• 100g unsalted butter
• 125ml (½ cup) sweetened condensed milk
• 400g milk chocolate
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Makes 35-40

Directions

1. Grease a 20cm x 30cm rectangular tin. Line with greaseproof paper, allowing it to extend a little over the longer sides of the pan so its easier to remove the squares
2. Process 200g of the biscuits until fine, chop the remaining 50g coursely
3. Reserve 40 maltesers and roughly chop the rest. Halves or quarters is fine
4. Melt the butter and over a low heat stir in the condensed milk until thoroughly mixed. Combine with the prepared biscuits and maltesers and stir together. Press the mixture into a pan and regrigerate for 30 minutes
5. Chop the chocolate coarsely and melt with the oil in a heatproof boil over a pan of hot water
6. Spread evenly over the refrigerated base and top with maltesers

Molly Malone would probably have tutted at the addition of cider to this recipe but, apart from that, it’s a pretty authentic coddle. Even the ingredients were bought on Moore St, you can’t get more Dublin than that!

Ingredients

• 450g (1lb) of pork sausages, left whole
• 225g (½lb) smoked streaky bacon, roughly chopped
• 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 6 good-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 500ml chicken stock
• 200ml cider
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• knob of butter

Serves 6

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large pan. Stir in the leeks, turn down the heat and put the lid back on. Sweat gently for 10 mins or so, until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside
2. Lightly brown the bacon, remove and set aside with the leeks. Next throw in the sausages and fry for a couple of minutes to give them some colour. You don’t want them to go too brown, in fact most recipes boil them from raw. But I think they taste and look a bit better when they’ve been briefly fried
3. Add back in the leek and bacon, along with the potatoes, cider and enough stock to reach halfway up coddle. Depending on your saucepan you might need a little more or less
4. Simmer gently for around 45 mins, or until the potatoes are cooked but still holding their shape. Stir through some parsley to serve

Armadillo Roasties!

I hadn’t planned on doing two posts tonight, but I was in a cooking mood and had half a bag of kale in the fridge so decided to try Kale Crisps! Oh My God they are delicious!!

They’re so light and delicate, they almost melt in your mouth. And somehow taste like potato crisps, though more bitter. Will definitely be making these again … maybe with a bit more salt and some sesame seeds sprinkled over them next time!

I’ve written below that they take 10-20 mins to cook. In my oven they took 10 mins, but every other recipe I found said 20 mins. So check them after ten mins and decide if they need to go back in or not. If they’re not yet crisp, don’t panic. Turn them over, pop them back in and check again in another 10 mins

Ingredients

• 100g curly kale (or other kale)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• pinch sea salt

Serves 2 as a snack

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Wash the kale well and remove the tough stem. Tear the leaves into your preferred size. They will shrink considerably so go a little bigger than you think. Mine were around 5cm. Dry the leaves well
2. Spread out in a single layer on a baking tray (or two). Don’t overcrowd them or they won’t crisp up. Sprinkle with sea salt
3. Bake for 10-20 mins, checking after 10. They’re done when they’re dry & crisp but before they’re too brown
4. Apparently once cool they can be kept in an airtight container for a few days. If they last that long…

Butter Chicken thankfully isn’t nearly as fattening as the name suggests.
Its often made with a mix of cream and yoghurt, but I’ve just used low-fat natural yoghurt here. It still tastes rich and creamy but without the guilt.
It’s quite a saucy curry, and unusually mild for me, but you can always garnish with some chopped chillies for an extra kick.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 chicken legs, divided into thigh and drumstick (Use thigh fillets or breasts if you prefer and reduce the cooking time accordingly)
• 2 tbsp ghee or butter
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cardamom pods, bruised
• 400g tin whole plum tomatoes, puréed (or 400g passata)
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• ¾ cup plain low-fat yoghurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• toasted almonds, to serve (optional)

Serves 4

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large flame-proof casserole or saucepan. Add the chicken pieces and turn until browned all over. Remove and set aside
2. Reduce the heat and melt the ghee/butter. Add the garam masala, paprika, coriander, ginger, chilli powder, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Mix with the butter and continue stirring for a minute or two until fragrant. Return the chicken to the pan and stir to coat with the spices
3. Add the tomato and 1 tsp sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes (15 mins if using diced meat) or until chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened
4. Add the yoghurt and lemon. Simmer for a further 5 mins. Taste and add salt or more sugar to taste
5. Top with toasted almonds (if using) and serve with rice, naan or poppadums

Inspired by an article in the Guardian last week on meals that cost less than a fiver
Absolutely delicious, the nicest dhal I’ve ever had!

Ingredients

• 250g lentils or dhal (I used a mix of moong and urid dhal)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 whole dried chilli
• 1 tsp (heaped) cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp asafoetida
• ½ small garlic bulb, cloves peeled & thinly sliced
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp salt
• thumb-size piece of ginger, grated
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped (seeds in or out, according to taste)
• 2 tsp (heaped) ground coriander
• 1 tsp (heaped) ground cumin
• bunch scallions, green parts only. sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato puree, or a couple of tomatoes roughly chopped
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp garam masala
• fresh coriander or sliced chillies to serve (optional)

Serves 4

Directions

1. Boil the lentils or dhal in a pan with 1.5 litres water. Simmer until they’re cooked to your liking (see packet instructions for guidelines on the type you’re using, mine took about 10 mins). If there is an excessive amount of liquid left, pour some out. though you don’t want to drain them completely
2. Pour the oil into another saucepan and set on a medium/high heat. Once hot (test by dropping in a cumin seed), add in the dried chilli and the cumin seeds. Next add the asafoetida and half the garlic. Allow the garlic to brown a little before adding the onion. Again, give the onion a minute or two to brown
3. Add the turmeric, salt, ginger, green chilli, ground coriander and ground cumin. If you get hit by a burst of steam, pop on a lid to hold it all in and continue once it’s calmed down again. Allow to cook until the oil seperates from the mixture. If your spices are too dry and starting to stick to the pan, add a small bit of water and deglaze the pan by scraping with a wooden spoon to form a paste again.
4. Add the tomato (or purée) and sugar. Mix well and stir to dissolve the sugar
5. Stir the whole lot into the cooked dhal (or vice versa) and mix thoroughly. Add the remaining garlic, scallions and garam masala. Simmer for another 5 minutes on a low heat. Serve garnished with coriander or sliced chillies. Or eat straight from the pot as I did :)

This pickle is very vinegary! If you like piccalilli, you’ll love it. It goes great with cheese, but would be equally good in a burger.
Also pictured is my wholemeal spelt and seed bread which I’ll blog seperately soon!

Ingredients

• 500g courgettes (2 or 3 courgettes, depending on size)
• 5 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp sea salt
• 500ml cider vinegar
• 140g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• a good handful of fresh dill, chopped
• 1-2 dried chillies, crumbled
• 1 tsp ground turmeric

Makes 2 x 500ml jars

Directions

1. Thinly slice the courgettes using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler or mandolin. Mix with the salt and shallots and cover with ice-cold water. Stir to dissolve the salt and set aside for at least an hour. Drain thoroughly and pat dry
2. Meanwhile, add the vinegar and all other remaining ingredients to a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3 mins until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly. Add the courgettes and stir
3. While still warm scoop the mixture into 2 x 500ml sterilised jars. Seal and leave for a few days in the fridge. Refrigerated, the pickle will keep for a few months

It’s not something I’d make very often, but macaroni cheese is such great comfort food and a brilliant way of using up any random bits of cheese leftover from Christmas. Served in a small ramekin with a side of salad, there’s also less calories than you’d imagine. Each portion is only around 400 kcals. No excuse to say no now :)

Ingredients

• 2 cups (~230g) dried macaroni
• 60g butter
• 150g grated or crumbled cheese (hard, semi-hard, blue or a mix)
• 50g grated parmesan, or other hard cheese
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 600ml low-fat milk (just to pretend you’re being healthy)
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Serves 4-6

Directions

1. Preheat the grill to medium-high. In the meantime, cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain and set aside
2. Make a roux by melting the butter over a low heat in a medium-sized pan. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour to make a paste (The flour will cook in the residual heat without burning). Add in a little milk and whisk until smooth. Put it back on a medium heat and gradually whisk in the rest of the milk. Bring the the boil, whisking constantly, until it thickens. Add a little more milk if necessary. Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. Season generously with black pepper and nutmeg.
3. Tip in the macaroni and mix it all together. Spoon into a small casserole dish or 6 individual ramekins. Top with remaining parmesan and grill for 5 mins, until golden and bubbling. Leave to cool for a further 5 mins before sprinkling with a little cayenne. Serve with a green salad

Christmas truffles! I’ve just made a batch of these to bring over to Catherine & Patricks this evening. Having had one for breakfast, I can confirm they are delicious! Happy Christmas/Nollaig Shona Daoibh/Wesołych Świąt!!! xx Anne-Marie

Ingredients

• 75g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 160ml single cream
• 200g dark chocolate (70-80% cocoa)
• 250g milk chocolate
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes

Makes 25 truffles

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, stir the sugar and water over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer - resist stirring! - until golden brown. Add the cream. It’ll bubble and form toffee pieces, but keep stirring until they melt again
2. Meanwhile, chop the dark chocolate finely. Remove the toffee mixture from the heat and stir through the chocolate until smooth. Add in half the salt. Refrigerate overnight
3. Line a baking tray with foil and make space in your freezer. Using a melon baller (or two teaspoons), roll balls of the mixture. You’ll need to work quite quickly before the chocolate melts. Dipping the spoons into hot water between balls will help the process go smoothly and quickly. Freeze until firm
4. Break the milk chocolate into pieces and melt in a small bowl over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Using two forks, dip each ball in the melted chocolate. Return to tray. Sprinkle with sea salt before the chocolate hardens. Refrigerate again until firm