Potato Dauphinoise

Potato Dauphinoise

500g Maris Piper potatoes( peeled and sliced)

200ml double cream

200ml whole milk

1 clove garlic (chopped)

75g Emmental cheese(grated)

1 pinch nutmeg (freshly grated)

Salt and pepper

Heat the milk and cream in a sauce pan. Bring to the boil. Add in chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

Stir in the sliced potatoes and nutmeg. Bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Pour the potatoes and the cream into a baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese and a bit more nutmeg. Bake in a preheated oven Gas mark 3 /170C for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the potatoes are tender.

This post is an entry for #FluffyMarisPiper Linky Challenge sponsored by Potato Council. Learn more at bit.ly/18rWnaB

Chorizo and Turkey Hotpot

This post is an entry for #FluffyMarisPiper Linky Challenge sponsored by Potato Council. Learn more atbit.ly/18rWnaB

300g turkey cubes

2 tablespoon cooking oil

50g/2oz plain flour (with salt and pepper)

2 onions (sliced)

200g Chorizo sausage (sliced)

100g sundried tomatoes

500g Maris Piper potatoes (peeled and sliced)

1 carrot (cubed)

100g swede (cubed)

50ml dry sherry

½ teaspoon mustard

1pich of nutmeg (grated)

3 bay leaves

½ teaspoon rosemary (chopped)

 1 teaspoon thyme (chopped)

350mls vegetable stock

15g butter + 1 clove chopped garlic

50g chorizo sausage (chopped)

50g Cheddar  cheese (grated)

1.     Heat the oil in a frying pan. Coat the turkey with flour. Fry turkey till brown. Layer turkey, Chorizo, tomatoes and the vegetables (except the potato slices) in an oven proof dish or a casserole. Season with salt and pepper.

2.     Add in the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, mustard and nutmeg.

3.     Cover with potato slices then pour in the stock and sherry. Spread with garlic butter, grated  cheese and chopped chorizo. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4.     Cover with foil and cook in an oven (160C/Gas mark 3) for 1 hours. Remove the cover and cook for further 30 minutes (200C/ Gas mark 6) till the potato topping is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Love Food: Family Favourite Cottage Pie

Love Food: Family Favourite Cottage Pie: “This post is an entry for #FluffyMarisPiper Linky Challenge sponsored by Potato Council. Learn more at  bit.ly/18rWnaB ” and linking to  bi...



(makes 4 individual cottage pies)

600g Maris Piper potatoes ( peeled and cut into wedges)

25g butter

50ml milk

500g minced beef steak

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 large onion ( chopped)

1 small carrot (diced)

500ml beef stock

A handful of chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon cornflour

100g grated  cheddar cheese 

Salt and pepper

1. Place Maris Piper potatoes in a large pan of boiling salt water fr 20 minutes till soft. Drain. Add in butter and milk. Mash the potatoes using a potato masher till light and fluffy. Season to taste. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a sauce pan. Fry the onion  till golden brown. Add in mince beef and carrots. Cook for 3 minutes. Add in chopped parsley. Stir in the beef stock. Cover and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Blend cornflour with a tablespoon of cold water. Stir into the minced beef to thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the beef filling into 4 individual pie dishes.  Put the mashed potato in a piping bag wit a star nozzle. Pipe the potato on top of each cottage pie. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese.

5. Place the cottage pies in a preheated over Gas mark 5/ 190C for 25 to 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Family Favourite Cottage Pie

Family Favourite Cottage Pie

This post is an entry for #FluffyMarisPiper Linky Challenge sponsored by Potato Council. Learn more atbit.ly/18rWnaB

(makes 4 individual cottage pies)

600g Maris Piper potatoes ( peeled and cut into wedges)

25g butter

50ml milk

500g minced beef steak

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 teaspoon cooking oil

1 large onion ( chopped)

1 small carrot (diced)

500ml beef stock

A handful of chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon cornflour

100g grated  cheddar cheese 

Salt and pepper

1. Place Maris Piper potatoes in a large pan of water with salt and boil for 20 minutes till soft. Drain. Add in butter and milk. Mash the potatoes using a potato masher till light and fluffy. Season to taste. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a sauce pan. Fry the onion  till golden brown. Add in mince beef and carrots. Cook for 3 minutes. Add in chopped parsley. Stir in the beef stock. Cover and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Blend cornflour with a tablespoon of cold water. Stir into the minced beef to thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the beef filling into 4 individual pie dishes.  Put the mashed potato in a piping bag with a star nozzle. Pipe the potato on top of the beef filling. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese.

5. Place the cottage pies in a preheated over Gas mark 5/ 190C for 25 to 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

My Hard Working Kitchen

This post is an entry for the "My Kitchen Story" Linky Challenge, sponsored by Fairy Platinum

I only have a very small kitchen. I love cooking and I spend a lot of time in this small area making nice food for my family. I have a garden. I get a lot of fruits and vegetables from my garden every year. I collect all the fruits and vegetables, I either freeze them, make them into jams or chutney.

I love jam making. It is a hobby of my. Every year I made 

about 10 kg. of jam with of various kind of fruits. I don't have 

any fancy jam making gadget. All I have is a large heavy 

base sauce pan and a jam thermometer. Jam making is 

very scientific process and a satisfying task.

I can see straight to the bottom of my garden through my kitchen window. I grow a selection of herbs on my window sill. I use a lot of herbs in my cooking. I use them in sauces, stew, salad and in garnishes.

I collect fridge magnets and stick them on my fridge  

freezer to decorate my fridge. I have a pestle and 

mortar in my kitchen. I use the a lot to grind up my 

chilli and whole grain spices. I also collect large  jam 

jars and coffee jars to store my pasta in. I think the 

pasta look very attractive in glass jars.

Summer Herb and Tomato Chicken Casserole

Serves 4


4 pieces chicken joints (skin removed)
 
6 fresh large tomatoes (chopped)

2 tablespoon tomato puree

1 handful chopped herbs (basil, thyme, oregano and parsley)

2 clove garlic (chopped)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

6 shallots (chopped)

1 cup white wine

100g sliced mushrooms

1 small courgette (diced)

3 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon flour

Salt and pepper

1. Sprinkle the chicken joints with salt and pepper. Dredge with flour.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Brown the chicken on both sides. Drain and set aside.
3. With the remaining oil the pan, sweat the shallots and garlic. Add in mushrooms, herbs, white wine, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and sugar.Simmer for 10 minutes to make the sauce.
4. Transfer the chicken into a slow cooker. Pour over the sauce. Cover and cook on High heat for 1 hour.
5. Stir in the diced courgette. Cover and cook for  further 10 minutes.
6. Season to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped herbs.
   

British Turkey Crispy Sweet and Sour Wanton (Ravioli)

 Traditional Chinese Wanton are made with minced pork. I made my Wanton with British minced turkey because I love the taste of turkey as well as it is low in fat and healthy. Turkey wanton are very versatile. They can be served as a sweet and sour dish, with a sweet chilli dipping sauce as a canape' or  a wanton soup as a starter.

(Serves 6)

For the wanton:

250g British Turkey Minced
2 tablespoon chopped spring onions

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tbsp. sunflower oil

1tsp cornflour

1 clove garlic (minced)

Sweet and Sour Turkey Wanton

1tsp ginger (minced)

40 squares Wanton pastry (from Chinese supermarket)

Salt and pepper

Oil for deep frying

For the sweet and sour sauce:
1 small carrot (shredded)
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp . sunflower oil
3 tbsp. tomato ketchup
1 tbsp. wine vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. cornflour
Shredded spring onions for garnish

Crispy Turkey Wanton with a sweet chilli sauce dip

1. Make this in advance. Place turkey mince in a large bowl.  Mix in all ingredients except the pastry. Mix well. Add in a dash of salt and pepper.

2. Place a piece of pastry in one hand, put a teaspoon of the turkey filling in the centre of the pastry, squeeze the pastry up and seal the turkey filling inside. Repeat this. Make about 40 wanton dumplings (ravioli).

3. Heat the oil in a pan. Deep fry the Wanton for 2-3 minutes till crispy.
4. To make the sweet and sour sauce: Heat oil in a pan, sweat the garlic without browning. Add in carrot and cook for 1 minute. Add in ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and 50 ml. water. Stir well, bring to the boil. Blend cornflour with 1 tbsp. cold water. Add to the sauce to thicken. Arrange crispy wanton on a warm plate, spoon  over with the sweet and sour sauce. Garnish with shredded spring onions. 
5. Alternately crispy wanton can also be serve with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Healthy Turkey Watercress Wanton Soup

For the soup Wanton:

500ml good quality turkey stock

A handful of watercress

1tsp of soy sauce

1 clove chopped garlic

1tsp chopped spring onions

Salt and pepper

1. Heat a pan of boiling water, put the wanton in the water and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside, keep warm.
2. Blanch the watercress in boiling water for 1 minute.  
3. Heat the stock. Put the wanton into the turkey stock. Bring to the boil. Season to taste.
4. Divide the watercress between 6 soup dishes. Spoon the wanton soup into the dishes. Sprinkle with spring onion, pepper, a dash of soy sauce.