Baileys, Banana, Chocolate & Pecan Bread & Butter Pudding

This recipe is not for the faint hearted! Delicious but extremely filling & calorific, comfy clothes advised!

Ingredients

75g unsalted butter 

7-8 Slices of white bread

100g Caster Sugar

1 Vanilla Pod

4 Large Free Range Eggs

600ml Double Cream

600ml Semi-Skimmed Milk

4 Ripe Bananas

75g pecan nuts

100ml Baileys

100g Dark Chocolate

METHOD

Put the oven to 180c/350f/Gas 4. Butter all the bread on one side then cut into triangles. Whisk the sugar, vanilla seeds & eggs together the add cream & milk until smooth. Peel & roughly slice the bananas, then bash up pecans & chocolate. Grease your baking dish with butter, then layer bread (butter side up), choclate, pecans & Bananas. Drizzle over the baileys once done & finally pour over the cream until all bread is covered. Leave to stand until bread soaks up liquid (about 20 mins). Put in the oven for 35 mins until golden brown. Finish with a sprinkle of sugar on top & blowtorch until caramelized. 

Pad Kra Pao Gai - ผัดกระเพราไก่

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1 Egg

1 Chicken Breast

5 Cloves of garlic

4 Thai chillies

1 tsp Oyster Sauce

1 tsp Light Soy Sauce

1/2 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 Handful of Holy Basil (found in any good asian supermarket)

Method

Cut Chicken into strips. Put the chilli, garlic in pestle & mortar & ground to a paste. Heat wok, add a splash of oil, chilli & garlic paste, fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant. Toss in the chicken and cook. Once chicken has almost finished cooking add, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and the dark soy. Keep frying for another 30 seconds. Grab a handful of holy basil and toss into the pan, fold in the rest of mixture and turn off heat. Fry your egg and serve onto with some jasmine rice

Vegan Black Bean & Sweet Potato Caribbean Curry with Rice and Peas and Grilled Cinnamon Pineapple

Carribean food gets me so excited, there is something about it that feels fun. I am never sure if thats because it usually involves drinking rum and ting or if irs because my taste budes salvate over that sweet chilli heat that a scotch bonnet likes to warm you with. My first experiance of carribean food was in a field at Glastonbury, stoned and chowing in down on some delicious jerk chicken, since then I have matured somewhat and have been trying and experimenting with my own take on carribean cooking. 

This recipe is a great crowd pleaser and as its a one pot cook its great for when you have some extra marvalous guests that you want to look after and entertain asthe minimum fuss will allow you to concentrate on them

Serve with Lilt if your not drinking or Rum and Ting!

BLACK BEAN AND SWEET POTATO CURRY

2 Red Onions, 1 Diced, 1 Roughly Chopped

50g Ginger

Corriander 

2 tbsp Dark Rum

3 tbsp Jerk Seasoning

2 Thyme Sprigs

400g Chopped Tomatoes

4 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1 Scotch Bonnet (More if your Bold)

2 Limes

6 Cloves of Garlic

3 tbsp Demerara Sugar

2 Veg Stock Cubes

1 kg Sweet Potato

2 x 400g cans black beans

450g Roasted Red Peppers

Soften the diced onion in oil with the garlic. Once done turn off heat, whizz the roughly chopped onion, ginger, chilli, juice of the lime, rum, half of the corriander and jerk seasoning in a blender. Then add to the soften onion and garlic, fry until fragrant. Stir in Thyme, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and stock cubes with about 600ml of water, Simmer for 10mins. Then drop in the peeled and chopped sweet potato, simmer for 15/20 mins. Stir in the beans, chopped peppers and season, simmer for another 10 until potatoes start to become tender. Cool and leave (can be left for up to 2 days, if you make this in the morning and leave it until the evening though I think this would be best). When ready to eat, heat through and chop some corriander to serve with a squeeze of some lime. 

 

RICE AND PEAS

Brown Rice

2 x 400g Coconut Milk

Spring Onions

400g Kidney Beans

1 Veg Stock

1 tbsp All Spice

Cook the rice in coconut milk, juice of the kidney beans and beans, chopped up spring onion and all spice. As its brown rice it will take longer to cook so keep veg stock and water to a side to keep topping up rice. Season and serve once cooked

GRILLED CINNAMON PINEAPPLE

1 Pineapple  

2 tbsp Cinnamon

Sprinkle cinnamon on chopped pineapple. Cook on griddle pan until starts to caramalise and brown

Oozy Boozy Mushroom Risotto & Steak

Cooking with wine is always a dangerous move, I always plan a recipe writing "add one glass of wine", all I am doing is kidding myself really, I end up plonking half a bottle in & drinking the rest. This recipe is really delicious & heartwarming, I decided to serve steak with the risotto this time as I was having a dinner party and needed that va va voom but it can be enjoyed by itself as a vegetarian dish. That old rule "dont eat garlic & kiss someone" might apply to this recipe, I personally think thats a crap rule, garlic smooches for all I say. 

This recipe should always be served with nice wine, garlic bread & lovely people to enjoy it with.

Ingrediants

Steak (I used flat iron but each to their own)

1 stick celery

1 onion

15g dried porchini mushrooms

2 sprigs rosemary

1 chicken or vegie stock cube

300g arborio rice

1 glassof wine (or however much you decide to plonk in)

500g mixed mushrooms

3 sprigs thyme

Bulb of garlic

Parmesan Cheese

Butter

A lemon

Method

Place the onion, celery & dried porchini in food processor & pulse until finely chopped. Put some olive oil in a frying pan & add the mixture. Stir while it cooks. Finely chop the rosemary & add with the rice. Stir for about a minute. Then add the wine & stock cube with boiling water. Stir until all the moisture is absorbed. Keep stiring & continuinely adding moisture if needed. Add the mushrroms with a large knob of butter to another pan with loads of garlic and cook them whilst still stiring the risotto pan. When the rice has begun to soften add the cooked mushrooms, thyme leaves, squeeze of lemon and stir in some butter. At this point check your seasoning, you will probably need salt & pepper adding. Keep stiring. When its almost done, heat up a griddle pan & put a knob of butter in with some salt & pepper and cook your steak to your own prefence. When all cooked chop the steak and serve over the risotto with a nice bottle of white wine ( Gavi is always great), garlic bread and parmesan.

Enjoy xo

GOAN FISH CURRY

Indian food is in my heart, I have warm memories of going out for food with my popa who was born in India, Delhi & trying all these unusual delicious dishes. My popa taught me so much; about life, about love, about family, there are not enough words to eloquently describe how fantastic a man he was. Indian food always reminds me of him, it reminds me of spending time with my family and cousins, and it reminds me of those Sunday's ending up in rusholme at the Sanam eating enough to explode

With Spring blooming and the evenings getting longer, I wanted to make a light, fresh, healthy dish that packs all those beautiful Indian spices that I love so much. What is better than making a Goan Fish Curry, milder than its northern counterparts; this curry has a sweet and sour element that is extremely addictive. 

As always, make with love, for the people you love.

RECIPE

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp mustard seeds

Thumb of fresh root ginger

1½ tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp turmeric

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 red chillies, chopped

2 tsp tamarind paste

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 can coconut milk

600g firm white fish fillets (I used Haddock but Cod, Monkfish of Talapia would also be nice)

A few coriander sprigs, to garnish

Method


Heat the oil in the pan, add the chopped onion and mustard seeds and cook over a low to medium heat, until the onion is soft and light golden in colour. Peel and grate the ginger and add to the pan, then add the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic and chillies. Cook, stirring frequently, for a minute or so, until the aroma of the spices is released. Add the tamarind paste, chopped tomatoes and coconut milk to the pan, then pour in 100ml water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until thickened slightly. Season to taste. Tip the fish into the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes. When the fish is just cooked – it should be opaque – remove from the heat. Serve with rice, naan and scatter with the coriander.

Enjoy! Don't blame me if you get addicted to this recipe! 

MEATBALLS

Everyone has something that they love, for me its cooking. When I have had a really shit day, I want to cook, drink a glass of red wine and create an amazing dish. This is a recipe I discovered a couple of years back and has been a favourite ever since. Sometimes the loved simple recipes are the most important. This dish is all about proper home cooking, big bold flavours and enough garlic to keep away any potential suitors 

Enjoy this dish with a bottle of red wine

Meatballs:

3 tbsp breadcrumbs

Milk

Red Chilli

200g minced beef

200g minced pork

3 garlic cloves, 

flat leaf parsley

Flour

Grana Padano

For the tomato sauce:

2 shallots

3 garlic cloves

½ red chilli

Glug of red wine

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

Small bunch of basil

2 tbsp pitted green olives

1 tbsp chopped oregano

Tsp Honey

Tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Tip the breadcrumbs into a bowl, pour on just enough milk to cover. Put mince, garlic, parsley, cheese, chilli and breadcrumbs in bowl and mix with hands. Then roll into balls, you choose shape. Then dust in flour and brown til slightly chared in a pan. Once cooked remove & put to side. Deglaze the pan with a splash of wine, then gently fry the shallots, garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes along with the basil and some seasoning. Throw in the olives and let the sauce simmer and thicken. Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and then transfer to an ovenproof dish. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with garlic bread, spaghetti, wine and friends

BEERCAN JERK CHICKEN, SPICY AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA, RICE & BEANS!

The sounds and smells of summer is intoxicating; the sizzling of meat on the BBQ, freshly mowed grass, suncream drenched skin, cold refreshing glass of pimms. Its the season to party, hang out with good friends and eat delicious food. After frequenting numerous festivals, I have been fortunate to taste some of the best street food around. Over the years I have developed a love for caribbean food, with its complex flavours and its fresh punchy kick. Known as soul food as it promises to deliver soothing comfort food that evokes warm feelings and memories. How can you not get excited about food that claims to do that!!

Food for me is all about love, happiness and family. My Dad, who to this day is still the best cook I know, he teached me about quality ingredients, good food and flavor. My Grandma who might not be quite Delia Smith but she is famous for her vegetable soup and Rhubarb crumble and finally Emma, my best friend, the only person I know who really shares my passion for good food, she also makes an amazing green thai curry. Its these people and influences who got me interested in cooking and made me care about what I put in my body. Also made me believe that if you put passion and love into your cooking you will only achieve greatness.

This recipe packs a punch and a kiss all at the same time and should be enjoyed with the people that you love....

Beercan Jerk Chicken

Free Range Chicken

Can of beer

2tbsp dark rum

2tbsp honey

Glug of vinegar

3 cloves garlic

A piece of ginger the size of your thumb

1tbsp all spice

1tbsp black peppercorns

1tbsp dried chilli flakes

2 scotch bonnet chillies (seeds if your feeling brave)

1 good handful of fresh corriander

Juice & zest or 2 limes

1tbsp salt

3 spring onions

2tbsp oil

Preheat oven to about 150 making sure that there is enough room for the chicken to stand upright. First drink half the beer out of the can and then impale the chickens arse with the can so the chicken is standing upright. Then chop and put all the other ingrediants in blender & blitz. Marinade chicken and put in oven for 2 hours.

Spicy Avacado & Mango Salsa

Avacado

Mango

Red Onion

Red Chilli

1 Lime

Corriander

Chop all ingredients and mix together with a squeeze of lime. Mmmm....

Rice & Beans

Brown rice

Beans 

Tumeric

Salt

Paprika

Leave beans to soak over night in salty water. Then cook rice in rice cooker with beans and add teaspoon of tumeric and paprika and hey presto!

Enjoy and don't be afraid to experiment with the ingredients!

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