Stir Fried Sweetcorn with Chillies/ How to make Stir Fried Sweetcorn with Chillies

How to make Almonds and Watercress Soup

How to Make Muhennetut perunat - Finnish stewed potatoes

Bang bang sauce

Ingredients

3 tablespoons chicken stock or vegetable stock
* If you are also making bang bang chicken, use the liquid the chicken was cooked in
3 tablespoons sesame paste
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 spring onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 x 5 cm (2”) piece of ginger, peeled and julienned (cut into matchsticks)
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, dry fried and crushed in a mortar and pestle
1 teaspoon brown sugar or to taste

Method

Mix the sesame paste with 3 tablespoons of cold chicken stock
Add the remaining ingredients, apart from the sugar and combine well
Stir in sugar to taste

Baked potatoes

Ingredients

1 medium baking potato
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons butter
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Scrub the potato, and pierce the skin several times with a knife or fork. Rub the skin with olive oil, then with salt.

Place the potato in the preheated oven, and bake for 90 minutes, or until slightly soft and golden brown. Slice the potato down the center, and serve with butter and black pepper. Sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese over the top, if desired.

Allioli a la moderna

Ingredients

1 small egg
1 cup Spanish extra virgin olive oil
3 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or fresh lemon juice
sea salt to taste



Method

Break the egg into a small mixing bowl
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the crushed garlic cloves and the vinegar or lemon juice
If using a food processor, tip the contents of the bowl into the food processor
At full-speed, mix until the garlic is combined into a paste
Little by little (don't rush this stage), add the olive oil whilst blending at high speed
Add salt to taste - but not too much. My first attempt was ruined because it was too salty.

Oyi namulh - Korean Recipe

Ingredients

2 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons vinegar - see below
1 tablespoon chilli oil
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Garlic to taste, crushed
1 spring onion, finely chopped
3 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted & crushed

Method

Place the cucumber slices in a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and cover with water.
Soak for 15 minutes & drain.
Combine rest of ingredients and pour over cucumbers mixing well.
Refrigerate before serving.

Salata de ardei (Pepper salad)

Ingredients

8 sweet peppers any colour or a mixture, roasted, cut into quarters, seeded and skins rubbed off. 
Garlic to taste, crushed
75 ml olive oil
60 ml white wine vinegar
4 tomatoes, sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
A good pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Coriander sprigs to garnish

Method

Arrange the peppers, tomatoes and onion slices on four serving plates.
Mix the garlic, olive oil and vinegar and pour over the salad on each plate.
Garnish with the coriander and serve.


It is a good accompaniment to cold meats and would make an excellent snack if served with black bread.

Home-made beef gravy

Ingredients

Beef trimmings, including offal such as kidney, liver, heart, etc.
1 onion, cut in half, one half chopped finely
8 black peppercorns
Handful of parsley leaves and stems
1 teaspoon of beef dripping or butter
1 tables spoon of plain flour
Gravy browning (optional)
sea salt to taste

Method

Place the meat trimmings, half of the onion, the peppercorns, parsley and a pint of water
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour
Remove from the heat and strain the stock into a separate bowl
In the same pan, melt the dripping and fry the chopped half of the onion until it is nicely browned
Stir in the flour and mix well
Little by little add the stock, stirring as you go
Add a little gravy browning if needed
Season to taste and serve immediately

Branston pickle recipe

Ingredients

250 g carrots, peeled
3 small white turnips, peeled
10 big cloves of Garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup prunes, chopped
1 cup raisins
1 medium cauliflower
2 large onions, peeled
2 apples, peeled and cored
2 courgettes, unpeeled
15 small cocktail gherkins, see Chef's notes
225 g dark muscovado sugar, brown sugar or jaggery
1 teaspoon sea salt
60 ml lemon juice
350 ml cider vinegar
200 ml Malt vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
4 small dried Chile de Árbol powdered in a coffee grinder or 1 scant tablespoon of mustard powder (see recipe notes)
1 heaped teaspoon ground allspice
A big grind of black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons of caramel colouring - see comments page
1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder

Mise en place

Chop all of the ingredients into 2.5 mm (1/8”) cubes. This is a job for your mandoline if you have one. A good one will slice and julienne in one go.

Method

In a large pan, mix all of the ingredients apart from the colouring and the thickening. Don't be concerned that there appears to be very little liquid at the start. It doesn't take long for the mixture to amalgamate.

Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours or until the harder ingredients, like the turnips, have softened to your liking.

Take a ladle or so of vinegar from the pan and add to a small bowl containing the arrowroot and mix to a paste, then return it to the pan. Add the caramel colouring and mix well. Stir and cook for 5 minutes more then remove from the heat and allow to cool properly.

Bottle in sterilised jars, leaving for a month to mature in a cool, dark place.

Flying saucer salad

Ingredients

200g dischi volante, cooked, rinsed in cold water and drained
340g frozen sweetcorn, cooked, rinsed in cold water and drained
15 smallish tomatoes (not cherry), cut in half
4-6 spring onions, depending on size, chopped
½ a romaine or cos lettuce, coarsely shredded
20 black olives
Crushed garlic to taste
A splash of white wine or cider vinegar
Oil of your choice

Method

In a large bowl, mix the pasta, sweetcorn, tomatoes, spring onions, lettuce and garlic.
Add a little vinegar and enough oil to coat the salad thoroughly.
Serve immediately.

For a healthy lunch, serve with freshly made bread and a strong cheese.

Barbecued polenta and sweetcorn patties

Ingredients

150 g (5 oz) polenta
75 g (2.75 oz) self-raising flour
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
250 ml (8 fl oz) buttermilk or buttermilk substitute
2 corn cobs or 1 small can of sweetcorn, well drained

Method

Add the polenta, flour, salt and baking powder to a bowl and mix well
In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg together
Combine the two and mix well
Refridgerate for 30 minutes to allow the mixture to combine
If using cobs, strip the kernels; stand them upright on the fat end and run a sharp knife down against the cob
If using canned sweetcorn, drain well
Stir the kernels into the mixture
Dollop spoonfuls onto an oiled barbecue hotplate
Cook for 4 minutes per side

Serving 
Serve hot as a potato substitute