Tonight I was feeling a bit uninspired, what with the lack of anything of interest in the fridge. But greatness can come from humble and seemingly boring ingredients. I wanted to have a bash at Jamie's beef hash, but the recipe has evaded me. So here instead is MY beef hash. And hash is the right word to use! The definition of "hash" is, according to the online dictionary, a jumble or hodgepodge. You'll see what i mean when you get to the ingredients list, (normal, normal, normal..whoa..are you sure!? And yes, yes i am)! This will feed 2-3, depending on your appetites.
Ingredients
500g Minced beef
1 medium red onion, peeled & diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
Half a cup of frozen peas
1 green pepper, de-seeded & diced
1 large clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 teaspoon of dried Thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried Sage
2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons of good quality apple juice (like Copella)
A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Little potatoes such as British Anya's, boiled for 5 mins and tossed in a knob of butter.
Method
In a large frying pan on a high heat, fry off the beef with the oil, until brown. Add in the carrot and onion and fry for a further 5 mins. You want the beef strands to take on a very deep colour and become almost crisp (or i do anyway). Turn the heat down a little and add in the pepper, garlic and herbs and fry for a further 5 mins, stirring often, allowing the herbs and garlic to release their fragrance. Add the vinegar, juice and Worcestershire sauce to the pan, stir and allow most of the liquid to evaporate off. The beef should become glossy but not be wet. Add the frozen peas at the last minute and fry until they are just warmed through. Season to taste and serve with boiled spuds.
So this recipe started life as Carrot cake whoopie pies, but after a small pre-life crisis became something altogether more interesting. Like the transformation of a middle aged, balding, rotund man to drag act, the transformation may not have been entirely successful, but I am happy. I am the only fan, but just in case you're curious here's the recipe. It is super easy, as everything gets chucked in together. And the barley flour makes for an interesting base. I urge you to try it. But if you don't fancy it, wheat flour would work fine. To fancy them up a little why not sandwiched together with some marshmallow fluff, or Clementine curd or even plain whipped cream.
Ingredients
1 egg
150g castor sugar
50 ml milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
75g butter, melted
225g barley flour
50g ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
100g grated butternut squash
Half a bar of green and blacks dark choc
Method
Put all the ingredients except the choc into a large bowl and combine.
Allow the mixture to stand for 30 mins.
Preheat the oven to 170oC and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
When the mixture has settled, heap into 16-20 roughly even sized mounds on the baking trays, leaving 2-3 cm between each one.
Bake for 10-13 mins, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave in short bursts until smooth and shiney. Then using a spoon, flick the choc over the cake plumps. Make sure you put the baking paper under the rack to avoid completely covering your kitchen in chocolate.
Ingredients
Red onion, top and tailed, peeled and quartered
Half a butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into chunks
1 clove of garlic
A handful of basil leaves
Quinoa, about half a cup
1 tablespoon of olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1 tea spoon of balsamic vinegar
half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180oC.
Bruise the garlic by pressing it under the side of your knife. chuck onto a baking sheet along with the squash and onion. Drizzle with a little olive oil and oven bake for about 30 mins.
Cook the quinoa according to the instructions of the pack. (It''s done when the grains uncurl). Drain if necessary and return to the pan. Add the tablespoon of oil, the vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
When the veg is beginning to brown at the edges and is tender remove from the oven. Remove the papery skin from the garlic and using the back of a spoon, mash the tender bulb to an unctuous and fragrant puree. Add this to the quinoa and mix well.
Divide the quinoa between 2 plates. Top with the squash and onion and finish with some torn basil leaves.
Ingredients
6 sausages (2 per person (I used some Chorizo style Chipolatas))
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 hot red chilli, diced (seeds & pith removed unless you like it HOTHOT)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of kidney beans, rinsed
A squeeze (a table spoon-ish) of tomato paste (if you have some)
fresh ground black pepper
A little olive oil
Cheddar cheese, grated
Bread to serve
Method
Fry off the diced onion, in a large heavy bottomed pan with a lid, over a medium-high heat, with the oil and paprika, until translucent and tender.
Reduce the heat a little and add the garlic and sausages. When the sausages are nicely coloured and beginning to firm (7-10 mins later, depending on the size of your sausages) add to the pan the tomatoes, beans, chlli and tomato paste. Stir. Bring to a simmer and allow it to bubble uninterrupted for about 10 mins.
Divide between bowls, top with grated cheese and serve with hot toast.
Possibly the most underutilised, crowd pleasing breakfast food ever. Why banish pancakes to one day a year? This hearty version incorporates frozen berries which are a freezer food staple. But you can put in pretty much any fruit. A couple of bananas, mashed with some choc chips maybe; sultanas and some orange zest or grated apple and a touch of cinnamon. The combinations are up to you. This recipe will give you around 12 substantial pancakes. So if you want a few less just half the quantities. If you don't have spelt flour, wheat flour is also fine. The mixture will keep fine in the fridge (covered) for a couple days.
Ingredients
1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of white spelt flour (Sharpham Park is the best I've come accross)
1/4 cup of castor sugar (i used golden)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 table spoon of natural yoghurt
3/4 of a cup of milk
2 eggs
1/2 a cup of frozen berries
A knob of butter for frying
Fruit and more yoghurt to serve
Method
Put all the pancake ingredients in a large bowl and mix.
In a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat, melt the butter. Splosh in some pancake batter and fry until golden and bubbles are appearing on the top. Flip and cook the other side for 2 minutes. Serve hot.
Ingredients
1 small courgette, cut into ribbons using a mandolin or veg peeler
2 rashers of bacon or pancetta, cut into chunks
a knob of butter or a drizzle of olive oil
1 egg
75 ml (ish) single cream
20g cheddar, grated
spaghetti (enough to feed one)
a twist or 2 of black pepper
Method
Get your pasta going in a big pan of boiled water over a medium heat, with a dribble of olive oil to prevent it sticking together. Cook according to the instructions on the pack.
Whilst the pasta is cooking, dry fry the bacon in a large frying pan, over a medium high heat until crispy. Add the courgette strips and fry until soft and just beginning to colour. Remove from the pan, leaving as much of the cooking juices behind as poss.
Whisk the egg and cream together using a fork and season with black pepper.
When the pasta is done, drain and add to the pan that the bacon an courgette was fried in. Toss in the juices. Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg mixture. Toss. The heat from the spaghetti will be enough to cook the egg, but if you find it's too wet, return the pan to the heat for a couple minutes. Scatter with the cheese and top with the courgette and bacon. Serve immediately.
