Amazing Mash without the carb overload
Ooh this is so delicious! We love sweet potato but it can, at times, be a tad too sweet. Combining vegetables obviously ups the nutrition and does wonders for the flavour. I've used this to top our cottage pie and am so excited for supper tonight!
Peel and cube 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, wash and break half a head of cauliflower. Add about 80 ml of water, season and simmer for approximately 10 minutes until soft. You may need to add a little water half way ...
A Festive Red Wine Jelly
This is really good with cold meats and cheese, spooned on a hot sausage roll or to accompany a lovely roast dinner. See here in beautiful Sicily we can't get redcurrant jelly and suchlike so making something similar is the only option. It's really, really easy! Quantities below will give you about 200 ml of finished jelly.
They don't seem to have jam sugar either, if like me you're in Italian waters this is what you need
A small rant about cooking wine, if it ...
Easy Potato Rosti
Delicious and so simple, bonus point is that you can make a batch and stick them in the fridge then just gently reheat in a pan or the oven. They keep well for at least three days.
I made four rosti, for which I used 2 medium sized potatoes. Half an apple and half an onion. Just roughly grate these things and pop them on a clean cloth. Then squeeze as much of the liquid out of the ingredients. You'll be amazed how much comes out and if the mixture is too wet you won't get a good result...
Shredded Stir Fried Sprouts
Who remembers the soggy over cooked Brussel Sprouts we were forced to eat at Christmas? Euwwww! So here's how we prefer them.
Just fry some bacon bits or pancetta, I used smoked pancetta so didn't add any extra salt. Add some finely diced onion and fry for a couple of minutes. In go your shredded sprouts, add a knob of butter and stir fry for no more than 3 minutes. A good grind of black pepper and that's it.
Chopped cooked chestnuts, a few cooked ...
Pack your Veg with flavour please
I love vegetables, raw; steamed; baked you name it. That doesn't mean they can't get "dressed up" a little.
Gently simmering carrot batons with a tiny bit of water, a couple of fresh sprigs of thyme, some lemon peel and a small knob of butter made them smell amazing! Season to taste after cooking.
Drain the cooking liquid into a bowl. Dice an onion and some garlic, gently sauté. Chop some spinach or other leaves and add to the pan. Splash in a little of the carrot cooking ...
Mushroom Bites
These are like a falafel flavour wise but packed with meaty chestnut mushrooms, blitzed cauliflower and spices. Tasty as they are, would be great as part of a tapas selection with creamy yoghurt sauce :-)
1 onion, chunked. 2 cloves of garlic. Freshly chopped parsley.
1 tsp of ground coriander, cumin, chilli powder, sweet paprika powder, sea salt, black pepper and 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon. Blitz this all together to make a paste.
250g of mushrooms, ...
Cauliflower Cheese
My entire family have always loved cheesy cauliflower, this nutty version takes it to a different dimension.
Ingredients.
Half a head of firm, fresh cauliflower. Wash and dry well.
Sauce:
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp almond flour
1 egg yolk.
50ml whole milk, unsweetened almond milk..up to you!
Grated cheese, please don't ask me how much...roughly 100g?
Freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
Method.
Steam cauliflower for a few mins.
Melt butter together with ...
Mayo, endless possibilities!
1 fresh egg yolk.
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
1 tsp apple vinegar.
Oil of your choice, don't use extra virgin olive oil as it's overpowering.
So if you've got an electric hand whisk good for you, most boat people get ready to beat furiously..
Put the egg yolk, lemon juice and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk until pale, very gradually add a thin trickle of oil. Wait for the mixture to emulsify then gradually add more oil always very slowly until you have the quantity and thickness desired. I find ...
Mixed Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients.
2 tbsp oil of your choice.
1 finely chopped red onion.
1 clove minced garlic.
Handful of mixed fresh mushrooms, chopped.
Splash of red wine.
150ml stock (beef, chicken or vegetable).
Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Freshly chopped parsley.
Small knob of butter.
Method.
Heat oil gently in a frying pan. Sauté the onion for a few mins then add the garlic and do the same. Throw in the mushrooms and the knob of butter, sauté for 5 mins. Add a splash of red ...
Cauliflower Fried Rice
Wow was I sceptical about this! Selling the idea to the Boss was even harder but it's so delicious as you'll see from the erm photo...
Ingredients.
Half a head of really fresh, firm cauliflower.
Now all you do with this is wash and dry it VERY well, you don't want mush! Break into small florets and tip into the food processor. Pulse until the cauliflower resembles small grains. Don't over pulse! You could pour this onto a clean drying up cloth and gently pat to remove any excess liquid, I ...