Tuesday 22 September 2009

Chille Con Carne

I used:
  • 4 tbsp frozen chopped onion
  • 1 cube frozen crushed garlic
  • 500g beef mince
  • 125ml red wine
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 beef Oxo cube
  • 400g tin red kidney beans
And I did this:
  1. Heat a little oil in a heavy frying pan.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and fry for a few minutes.
  3. Add the beef mince and cook until the beef is browned.
  4. Mix the Oxo cube with a small amount of boiling water and stir until dissolved.
  5. Pour in the wine and boil for 2 minutes.
  6. Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, chilli, cumin, coriander and Oxo stock.
  7. Stir, and simmer for 1 hour with a lid on, stirring every 10 minutes. Two or three times during cooking, attack the pan with a potato masher to smooth out any annoying chunks of tomato and help thicken the sauce.
  8. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the red kidney beans.
  9. Add the kidney beans to the pan, and cook with the lid off for a further 10 minutes.
  10. Serve with boiled rice.

Wednesday 22 July 2009

Campagna-style pasta ragu

Another dead-simple recipe based on a dish served at the Blu di Prussia restaurant in Laureana Cilento.

I used:
  • 250g beef mince
  • 4 tbsp Tesco frozen onion
  • 1 jar Sacla aubergine pesto
  • 250g fresh tagliatelle
And I did this:
  1. Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, drain and put to one side.
  2. Heat a little olive oil in a pan, add the onion and beef mince and cook thoroughly.
  3. Stir in the pesto and heat through.
  4. Add the pasta, mix it all together, and serve.

Campagna-style pasta and prawns

This is an immensely simple recipe inspired by a dish we were served on our recent holiday to Italy.

I used:
  • 200g fresh peeled tiger prawns
  • 4 tbsp Tesco frozen diced onion
  • 1 cube frozen garlic
  • 1 tsp mild chili powder
  • 250g fresh tagliatelle
And I did this:
  1. Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions (add some olive oil to the water to stop it sticking together), drain and put to one side.
  2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add the prawns, onion, garlic and chili powder and cook for 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add the pasta to the pan, stir to mix everything thoroughly, and heat through for a minute or two.
Simple!

Tuesday 3 February 2009

Chicken risotto


I used:
  • 2 chicken breasts, diced
  • 2 Chicken Oxo cubes, made up to 1 pint of stock
  • 4 tbsp Tesco frozen diced onion
  • 100g frozen petit pois
  • 150g Arborio rice
And I did this:
  1. In a heavy frying pan, fry the chicken in a little olive oil
  2. Add the peas and onion and fry for a couple of minutes
  3. Add the Oxo stock, and bring to the boil
  4. Add the rice, stir, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes or so, until all of the stock has been absorbed

Super-quick pasta bolognese bake

I used:
  • 1 jar Dress Italian Sun-Dried Tomato sauce
  • 250g dried penna a triangolo pasta
  • 250g Tesco steak mince
  • 4 tbsp Tesco frozen diced onion
  • 1 handful Cathedral City Light grated cheddar cheese
And I did this:
  1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6
  2. Fry the mince with a little olive oil until it is cooked, adding the onion for the final couple of minutes frying time
  3. Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions
  4. Put the mince/onion and pasta into a medium oven-proof dish, pour over the tomato sauce and mix thoroughly
  5. Sprinkle the cheese liberally over the top
  6. Bake in the over for about 10-12 minutes

Friday 30 January 2009

Thai red chicken curry

I used:
  • 1 pack fresh mini chicken breast fillets
  • 400g can coconut milk
  • 2 Chicken Oxo cubes, made up to 1/2 pint of stock
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 tbsp Tesco thai red curry paste
  • 200g mangetout
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 pack fresh rice noodles
And I did this:
  1. Heat a little olive oil in a wok
  2. Add the curry paste and cook for about 2 minutes
  3. Add the chicken, reduce the heat to low-medium and fry for about 10 minutes
  4. Add the coconut milk, Oxo stock, lime juice and mangetout
  5. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes
  6. Meanwhile, mix the cornflour with a little water and mix to form a smooth paste
  7. Slowly add the cornflour mix to the wok, stirring constantly
  8. Bring the heat back up to high and stir until the curry reaches the desired consistency
  9. Cook the noodles according to the pack instructions and serve with the curry

Simple spag bol

I used:
  • 250g Tesco steak mince
  • 1 beef Oxo cube, made up to 100ml of stock
  • 100ml red wine
  • 1/2 cube frozen garlic
  • 4 tbsp Tesco frozen diced onion
  • 1.5 tsp Schwartz mixed herbs
  • 1/2 tbsp tomato pureé
  • 200g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 150g spaghetti
And I did this:
  1. Brown the mince with a little olive oil in a decently-sized frying pan over a medium-low heat
  2. Add the garlic, onion and herbs and cook for a minute or so
  3. Add the wine, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and Oxo stock and bring to the boil
  4. Simmer on the lowest possible heat for about 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so
  5. At a couple of points during the simmering time, attack the whole thing with a potato masher to help thicken and to remove any annoyingly huge bits of tomato
  6. Towards the end of the simmering time, cook the spaghetti according to the pack instructions
  7. Drain the spaghetti and serve with the sauce