Category: Recipe Index

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Smokey Fried Rice



Originally this recipe was meant to have chorizo but the kids snaffled it all out of the fridge for their lunchboxes.

Ingredients

• 200-300g of ham, chopped (but I’d rather chorizo!)
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 level teaspoon chipotle chilli flakes
• Lots of chopped garlic (who am I to tell you know much)
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 red pepper sliced
• 150g broccoli sliced
• 150ml water
• Leftover steamed rice

Method
Saute off the meat in the pan to release the oils, then add onions and allow to soften. While softening add the smoked paprika, chilli flakes and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper.

Add in the red pepper and broccoli, stir so that they are coated in all the ingredients. A glass of water starts the steaming process, then the leftover rice should be stirred around until coated in all the ingredients and completely heated through.

Serve immediately. I know certain people would like mayonnaise or chipotle sauce on top but I’m a bit of vegetable fan so like to keep things simple

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Whipped Jelly

A retro jelly treat that my Nana used to make for special occasions.

Ingredients

• 2 sachets sugar free jelly
• 200ml hot water
• 150ml cold water
• 1 tin sweetened condensed milk

Method

Combine the sugar free jelly with hot water until the crystals are dissolved. Add in the cold water and stir. Put the jelly mixture into a cold spot for about 20-30 minutes so that it starts to thicken slightly.

Using an electric whisk, rapidly whisk the condensed milk and jelly mixture together until light and foamy. Decant into fancy glasses or dishes and chill until serving. Alternatively mix some fresh or tinned fruit with the whipped jelly and chill in a large bowl.

Serve with whipped cream on top

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Crispy Oven Chicken



There are a couple of tricks to making the most crispy oven chicken so listen up!

1. You’re going to use your herbs and spices twice. Whatever you choose, use some in the marinade and some in the flour mixture before breading the chicken.
2. Use buttermilk to tenderise your chicken. You will soak your chicken in the buttermilk and herbs/spices mixture for about an hour before cooking.
3. Strain the buttermilk into some beaten eggs when breading the chicken.
4. Use skinless boneless chicken thighs for perfectly moist chicken, rather than chicken breast which can get tough and dry. This is cheaper per kg to buy too!
5. Use Panko breadcrumbs which means you won’t need any oil for this crispy oven chicken.

The herbs & spices I’ve used here are dried coriander, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, white pepper, dried sage, salt, black pepper. By adding to each layer of the cooking process you get a more rounded result and you’ll use less salt overall. Which is always a good thing.

Cook in the fan oven at 190 degrees for 25 minutes. Yes, you can also cook this chicken in the air fryer. Cook at 180 degrees for 17 minutes, check with a temperature probe to make sure it’s cooked through and safe. Remember, 75 degrees to stay alive!

I got my Panko breadcrumbs at the Asian Supermarket in Ballymount a few weeks ago. I make the trip about once a month to stock up on ingredients. Always a happy customer, but you can also shop from them online

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Chocolate & Caramel Banana Bread (Cake)

banana bread with vanilla extract and chocolate chips

This is a decadant recipe that is incredibly moreish!

Ingredients
* 150g butter.
* 150g muscavado or soft brown sugar.
* 3 large eggs.
* 3 ripe bananas.
* 200g plain flour.
* 150g wholemeal flour.
* 1 teaspoon baking powder.
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
* 100g chocolate chips.
* 30g brown sugar for the crisp caramel topping.

Method.
Line a loaf tin and preheat a fan oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Cream the butter and sugar together until soft, then crack in the three eggs and beat into a batter. Next, beat in the soft bananas.
In a separate bowl, combine the plain flour, wholemeal flour, and the baking powder. Then add into the batter in the mixing bowl until combined.
Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture into your lined loaf tin. Then sprinkle a line of the brown sugar down the centre of the loaf tin for the caramel topping.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until cooked through. Use the skewer test to make sure your cake is baked. If it has some batter still stuck to it, increase your baking time by a further 10 minutes before testing again.
Wait until the cake is fully cool before slicing and enjoying. Otherwise it’ll crumble and while it tastes delicious it won’t slice as well!

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Jam Tarts

This is not a complicated recipe but more of a reminder that jam tarts are incredibly easy to make at home plus taste so much nicer than shop bought.


Use a roll of ready-made pastry. Cut into rounds, ease the rounds in a muffin tin that has been greased and lined with a generous amount of flour. Press into a cup shape. Use empty muffin cases to hold dried beans inside of the cups of pastry. Bake in the oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 15 – 20 minutes until crisp and light.


Remove the beans and muffin cases, set to one side. Fill the baked cases halfway with jam or even nutella. Return the muffin tin to the oven for a further 5-7 minutes until the filling has warmed through. Remove the tray from the oven and use the bake of a spoon or spatula to spread out the filling evenly. Leave to cool to room temperature before enjoying

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Honey Buns Recipe

Makes 18 Buns or 12 Muffins

Ingredients

140g self-raising flour
80g wholemeal flour
40g oats
150ml milk
100ml runny honey
75ml sunflower oil
3 medium eggs (or 4 small eggs)
2 ripe bananas

Method
Preheat a fan oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line a muffin tin with bun cases.

In a large bowl combine the self-raising and wholemeal flour, along with the oats then stir. Take a second bowl and combine the milk, honey, sunflower oil, and eggs. Stir with a fork so that they are combined before pouring into the first bowl with the dry ingredients.

Whisk so that the wet ingredients are mixed with the dry ingredients. Once you have a batter, break in the 2 ripe bananas and stir. Spoon the mixture into the bun cases. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and allow to cool before serving.

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Raspberry Bakewell Tart Recipe

Raspberry Bakewell tart with shortcrust pastry and almonds


Serves 10-12 Adults

Ingredients
• 1 roll premade shortcrust pastry
• 125g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 125g self raising flour
• 125g ground almonds
• 2-3 drops almond flavouring
• 200g raspberry jam
• 125g flaked almonds

Method

1. Preheat the fan oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

2. Line a baking tin with the pastry. Patch up any holes – you can see here that my roll of pastry wasn’t the right shape but that was grand. Prick the pastry, then line with some baking parchment. Pour some baking beans/dried beans/clean coins into the baking parchment. Spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove from the oven and set the tray to one side while you prepare the filling.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until combined, then add the eggs. Beat again. Next add the flour and ground almonds, followed by the almond flavouring. You will be left with a stiff batter.

4. Spoon the raspberry jam into the par-baked pastry case, spread evenly. Gently spoon the cake batter on top, making sure there are no gaps in the tart for the jam to escape.

5. Smooth the top of the cake batter. Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top of the cake batter and gently press the almonds onto the top so that they stick to the batter.

6. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the cake area is cooked through. It should be golden on top and if you use a skewer or a cocktail stick to test, it should come out clean.

7. Remove the tart from the oven and leave it to sit to one side for at least 15 minutes before removing from the tin, slicing, and serving.

8. Enjoy with lashings of tea, maybe some cream on the side.

Recipe Notes:
Yes this freezes so it’s a perfect make in advance tart.
Use whatever jam you prefer.
I only use free range eggs because that’s my preference.
The tin I use here is 30cm x 12cm with a removable base.
If you have a nut allergy you can substitute the 125g of ground almonds for more self raising flour. Do not use the almond flavouring

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Slow Cooker Fudge Recipe

chocolate fudge with vanilla

Ingredients
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
500g chocolate, chopped (I prefer milk chocolate only, but dark is also fine and gives a richer flavour)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
I recommend placing a heatproof dish or jug inside your slow cooker to make this recipe. Simply because it makes it easier to lift out the contents when the ingredients are melted together, you can make this recipe by placing the ingredients directly into the cooker.

Pour the condensed milk and chopped chocolate into the cooker/container and stir.

Put the slow cooker on low. Stir the contents every 15 minutes or so, making sure to scrape down the sides of the container.

After 1 hour, all your ingredients should be melted together and combined. If not, allow for a further 15 minutes.

Turn off the slow cooker and remove the lid, allowing any steam to escape. Line a 20cm square baking tin with non-stick baking parchment. Pour the fudge mixture into the tin and leave to cool on the counter, uncovered (this prevents condensation on top).

Once cold, cover the tin and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before tipping out the contents and slicing them into fudge cubes. Allow the fudge to come to room temperature before serving.

Recipe Notes: This fudge will keep in a sealed tin in a cool, dark space for up to 3 months. It may crystalise a little if stored for over a month. I prefer to make it about a week in advance of gifting. Place in a pretty glass jar decorated with ribbon to give as a Christmas gift, and expect loads of oohs and aahs at how clever you are to make your handmade fudge!

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Beef Cheek Ragout

stewing beef, onion and peppers

feeds a hungry family of 4


This recipe is perfectly suited to long slow cooking or a blast in the pressure cooker. I get my beef cheeks from my butcher as they’re not the kind of ingredient you tend to find in a supermarket. There’s a lot to be said for the knowledge that your local craft butcher has about cheaper cuts of meat and the best way to cook them. You don’t get that kind of advice from packets on a fridge shelf.


Double up or treble up your ingredients for an easy batch cook.


Ingredients

1 trimmed beef cheek
1 chopped large onion
2 chopped peppers
2 chopped sticks of celery
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
4-5 cloves of crushed garlic (more or less if you prefer)
1 teaspoon each of salt, white pepper, paprika, sugar, and dried oregano
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar


Method

Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker pot and stir well. Cook on high for 8 hours or until the beef cheek is fall-apart tender. If cooking in a pressure cooker this dish will take about 3 hours.


To serve, break up the meat with a spoon and stir in some freshly cooked pasta. Garnish with chopped basil.


To make this meal stretch further add a drained can of chickpeas at the start.

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Baked Chicken & Rice Recipe

Serves 6 hungry adults

Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
700g chicken thigh fillets (boned and skinless)
Salt & Pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 pint vegetable or chicken stock
2 large peppers, diced
2 tablespoons Tikka Masala Spice Paste
300g basmati rice
1 tin coconut milk
Flaked Almonds to serve


Method
Take a heavy bottomed pan (with a lid) and heat to medium with oil in the bottom. Sear off the chicken in the pan until coloured then remove the chicken and put to one side on a plate.
Cook the onions until a little softened in the pan juices, add a little vegetable stock to help loosen the caramelised pieces. Then add the peppers and tikka masala paste. Stir well so that the paste begins to cook out on the heat.

Pour the dry rice directly into the pot and cook dry ( this is important) so that the rice begins to toast slightly in the heat. Turn off the hob. Pour stock into the pot and stir, make sure that the liquid is not boiling or simmering. Add the coconut milk and stir slowly until combined. If the liquid is too hot the milk will split.

Add the par-cooked chicken to the saucepan and stir one last time. Put the lid on and cook in the oven at 170 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Toast the flaked almonds on a dry pan until golden.
Serve the rice dish with the flaked almonds on top. Fresh coriander if you have any as well.
I like to stir in some frozen peas for the last 3 minutes of the cooking process but you might prefer spinach or eating it plain as it is!