Peppered Potatoes

Peppered Potatoes - Serves 2
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The other night we decided to have fish for dinner with boiled spuds and peas. But I didn't fancy just having normal boiled potatoes so I decided to experiment with what I could find in the fridge, and that's when I came up with this variation. It turned out quite nice and Amanda gave it her seal of approval. This would make a good snack on its own or as an accompaniment to another dish.

4 x Large potatoes peeled and cut into small chunks about 1.5cm squared.
1 x Large red pepper cut into thin strips.
1 x Large yellow pepper cut into thin strips.
2 x Large tomatoes cut into small chunks.
1 x Tablespoons of pine nuts.
1 x Table spoon of Spanish paprika.
1 x Pinch of salt.
1 x Tea spoon of olive oil.

Steps
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1. Boil the potatoes in a pan until softened, but not too soft that they break up.

2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a high heat and add the peppers. Fry until the peppers start to soften.

3. Drain the potatoes and add to the frying pan. Turn the heat to medium. Mix around well with the peppers.

4. Add the tomatoes and continue frying on the medium heat. The tomatoes will start to break down.

5. Add the salt and paprika. Mix this well into the mixture. Then add the pine nuts.

6. Continue frying for a few minutes longer then remove from the heat and serve.

Spaghetti Bolognas

Spaghetti Bolognas – Serves 2
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Everyone has their own way of making a bolognas, but this is the way I do it. It doesn’t take very long to cook and is ideal for making during the week. I normally make enough for 4 portions, then on the next day you can add some chili and kidney beans and call it a chili con carne J

1 x Pack of minced beef
1 x White onion, chopped.
3 x Cloves of garlic, chopped.
1 x Carrot chopped into very small chunks.
5 x Sliced mushrooms.
1 x glass of red wine.

1 x Tin of chopped tomatoes.
2 x Tablespoons of tomato puree.
3 x Tablespoons of worchester sauce.

2 x Teaspoons of dried basil.

Steps
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1. Brown the mince in a non stick frying pan with a small amount of olive oil or fry light.

2. Add the chopped onions, garlic, and carrot and fry until golden, and the carrot is soft.

3. Add the mushrooms and fry until softened.

4. Add the basil and worchester sauce and cook for 1 minute.

5. Add the chopped tomatoes, puree, and red wine. Mix together and turn up the heat until it starts to boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Keep on the heat until the sauce has reduced by about half or has thickened to how you like it.

6. Serve with a plate of pasta or spaghetti. For best results boil the pasta until it is just under cooked, eg has a little bite to it. This is nice serves with some crusty bread or garlic bread.

Creamy curry

I’ve made this curry quite a few times now, and it is one of my favorites. It has a nice rich creamy texture and goes very well with the spinach.

Creamy Lamb Curry – Serves 2
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200g Diced lamb
1 x Chopped red pepper.
1 x Chopped white onion.
5 x Sliced white or chestnut mushrooms.
1 x Tin of coconut milk (reduced fat coconut milk for the diet conscious.
5 x Cloves of garlic finely chopped.
1 x Bag of spinach leaves.

2 x Teaspoons of curry powder.
1 x Teaspoon of ground ginger.
1 x Teaspoon of ground coriander.
1 x Teaspoon of ground chili (or more if you like your curry hotter).

Steps
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1. Mix the curry powder, ginger, coriander, and chili together.

2. Add some oil to a frying pan and brown the lamb chunks over a medium heat.

3. Add the lamb to another pan, and mix in the spices and cook through for 1 minute.

4. Fry the onions and garlic until a golden color. Then add to the other pan with the lamb.

5. Fry the mushrooms and peppers, and add to the other pan.

6. Add the tin of coconut milk to the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid reduces by about half. This should then be nice and creamy.

7. Turn off the heat, and add 2 big handfuls of spinach to the pan and mix in. The heat of the sauce is enough to wilt and cook the spinach.

8. Serve with some basmati rice. You could also toast some cumin seeds and add that to the rice for a nice nutty flavor.

Mmmm Curry

We was faced with a little dilemma this evening. What should we have for dinner. Amanda fancied a curry, but we didn't fancy a takeaway as they are very greasy and that's not what we wanted for a Sunday evening. So I decided to make a curry myself. I'm a bit of a budding chef at home and always like to make nice food, so I got to work in the kitchen.

We like to eat healthily in our house, but that doesn't mean were bean munching health obsessed crazy people. But we do think that using good fresh produce is much better than scoffing microwave meals or any other kind of convenience food.

I decided to make a kind of chicken pathia, highly experimental, but I got the seal of approval from Amanda, so I thought I would share it with you.

Chicken Pathia - Serves 2
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2 x Chicken breasts. Chopped into small chunks
1 x White onion. Finely chopped.
5 x Garlic cloves. Finely chopped. You can use more or less if you fancy. If you live near Transylvania I recommend atleast 10 bulbs of garlic.
1 x Red pepper. Chopped.
4 x Medium sized mushrooms. Sliced.
1 x Tablespoon olive oil.
1 x Tin of chopped tomatoes.
1 x Vegetable stock cube.
2 x Teaspoons of cumin seeds.
200g Basmati Rice.
1 x Handfull of chopped coriander.

Curry paste.
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2 x Teaspoons of curry powder.
1 x Teaspoon chili power.
3 x Teaspoons of brown sugar.
1 x Teaspoon ground ginger.
1 x Teaspoon ground coriander.
1 x Juice of 1 lemon.

Steps
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1. Mix all the contents of the curry paste together in a pot, including the lemon juice. This should form a thick paste.

2. Put the olive oil in the frying pan and fry the chicken until cooked through and put into a saute pan or other deep pan.

3. Fry the onions and garlic in the frying pan until golden, then add too the chicken in the other pan.

4. Fry the pepper and mushrooms until softened. Then add to the other pan.

5. Put the pan with all your ingredients onto a medium heat and add the curry paste you made earlier. Mix this in well and cook for a minute or so.

6. Add the chopped tomatoes and the stock cube and mix in well. The stock cube is optional. This is really for seasoning. If you don't like food to be too salty then either user half the cube or miss it out altogether.

7. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens up. This entirely depends on how runny you like your curries. Get your rice on the boil, and then turn down to a simmer. When the curry has finished simmering, turn off the heat and stir in the chopped coriander.

8. Whilst that is simmering. Get a non stick pan and put it over a high heat. Add the cumin seeds to the pan. Don't add any oil, you want to dry fry them. When they go a nice golden color remove from the heat and put into a container.

9. When the rice is cooked, drain all the excess water, and then add in the toasted cumin seeds and mix together. Then serve the rice and curry on a plate.

For a real treat try making some onion Bhagis. My friend mat has a great bhagi recipe, so give that a try. I have scientifically tested his bhajis. The test involved me scoffing a large plate of them. And the conclusion to my hypothesis is that they are blooming lovely :-)