Friday, 10 October 2014

Healthy Turkey Upside Down Pie

Healthy Turkey Upside Down  Pie

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

250g turkey mince                  
1 small onion (chopped)                   
1 clove garlic   (chopped)                   
1 large carrot  ( diced)                     
100g  swede (diced)                           
15g plain flour                                      
100g Savoy cabbage (shredded)          
2 teaspoon cornflour                                       
1 drop gravy browning                         
500g Maris Piper potatoes (cut into pieces)        
50ml milk                                              
30g butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 pinch of chilli powder
¼ teaspoon mixed herbs

Salt and pepper

Mix turkey with onion, garlic, chilli powder, herbs, plain flour ,salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well. Divide turkey into 12 portions. Make each portion into a small ball.

Heat oil in a large sauce pan. Fry the meat ball gently for 2-3 minutes. Add in swede and carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Add a cup of water into the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes till the meat balls are cooked. Blend cornflour with a tablespoon of cold water and the gravy browning. Add to the meat balls to thicken the sauce.

Put potatoes in a large pan of boiling water. Cook the potatoes for 20 minutes till soft. Drain. Add in butter and milk. Mash the potatoes till light and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the potatoes into a piping bag.Pipe the potato around the edge of the dish. Put the dish in a preheated oven Gas Mark 6/ 200C for 20 minutes till the potato is golden brown on top.

Cook savoy cabbage in a pan of salt water for 10 minutes. Drain. 

Remove the dish from the oven. Place the cooked cabbage in the centre of the dish. Place the cooked turkey ball and vegetables on top. Pour over the gravy. Serve and enjoy.




Tuesday, 7 October 2014

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

Sunday, 5 October 2014

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.

Friday, 3 October 2014

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.




Saturday, 28 June 2014

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.




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.

Saturday, 14 June 2014

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.

Twice Baked Slow Cooked Duck Soufflé with Cheese

I am very proud of this recipe. It was published in the monthly My Favourite Recipe magazine last year in issue 67. I won Recipe of the ...