Blueberry Clafoutis

Hello,

Been ages since I've been on here but I wanted to record a recipe I made recently before I lose the clipping!  We got a fantastic crop of blueberries this year, even better than last year so I've been trying out different recipes with them!

This recipe is one I took from my Aunt's Chat magazine

Blueberry Clafoutis

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp sugar to line dish
200g blueberries
100g plain flour
pinch salt
75g caster sugar
1 lemon, grated rind only
3 medium eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
150ml milk
150ml double cream
Sifted icing sugar to decorate

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4 and butter a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish.  Sprinkle with sugar to line then add blueberries.

Mix flour, salt, sugar and lemon rind together in a bowl.  Whisk in the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, then gradually whisk in the milk and cream to make a smooth batter.

Pour over the blueberries and bake for 30-40 mins until golden, risen and puffed up around the edges and set in the middle.

Dust generously with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Meatballs Alla Norma

Yay!  I'm back again!

This time I'm sharing a recipe I've made a couple of times now and it's delicious.  This time I left out the fennel seeds from the recipe and we enjoyed it more, but I'll leave that up to you.  The recipe has been taken from my Save With Jamie recipe book by Jamie Oliver.  The book recipe includes polenta but I prefer to serve it with tagliatelle.

Meatballs Alla Norma

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine

1/2 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley

400g minced beef

1 tbsp fennel seeds

olive oil

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Dice the aubergine into 1cm cubes then season well with salt and leave for 15 mins.  Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley and put into a bowl with the beef.  Mix together by hand then roll into 20 or so evenly sized balls.  Scatter the fennel seeds on a plate and roll the meatballs in them so they stick.  Put them in the fridge until needed.  

Take handfuls of aubergine and squeeze out the excess salty liquid.  Heat oil in a pan and cook the aubergine for about 10 mins until golden, stirring occasionally.  Crush the garlic and add to the pan along with the sweet chilli sauce and balsamic vinegar.  Tip in the tomatoes and a splash of water.  Simmer for around 10 mins or until thickened.  

Meanwhile, heat some more olive oil in a separate pan and brown the meatballs until they are cooked through.  Season the sauce to taste then toss through the meatballs.  Serve with tagliatelle or polenta with some grated parmesan. 

Kedgeree

Good morning!

It's been a while since I last posted anything on here but here I am today with a recipe I cooked last night and hopefully I will now be posting a bit more regularly again.

Today's recipe is one I've had for ages, in fact so long I've forgotten where I got it but it would more than likely have been from a magazine.  Over the years I've adapted it a little and added eggs and peas.  Please excuse the photo,  I got a bit carried away and almost forgot to take one so the presentation isn't great oops!

Kedgeree

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

350g/12 oz long grain rice
700g/1.5 lb smoked haddock fillets
1 tbsp oil
knob of butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1.5 tbsp mild curry powder
0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp frozen peas, defrosted
150 ml/0.25 pint double cream
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 eggs, hardboiled and chopped

Method:

Add rice to a large pan of boiling, salted water and simmer for 10-12 mins or until rice is just cooked.  Drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, place fish in a large frying pan and cover with cold water.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 mins or until fish flakes easily.  Remove fish from the pan, flake with a fork and set aside.  Both of these stages can be done in advance.

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan, add onion, curry powder and cayenne pepper and cook for 7-8 minutes over a lowish heat until the onions are softened and caramelised.  Add the rice and peas to the pan and heat through over a low heat.  Add the fish, cream, parsley and eggs.  Stir through the rice and heat through thoroughly.  Season well and serve immediately.  Garnish with extra parsley.

Another way of serving this is to leave out the hardboiled eggs and serve a lightly poached egg on top of each of the portions.

We usually have this as a main meal but it would be just as good for brunch.


That's all from me at the moment.

Shona xx

Banoffee Pie

Good evening,

Tonight's post is for a deliciously quick Banoffee Pie recipe that I found on the Carnation website, link here and details also pasted below.  This dessert is my husband's favourite and I definitely wouldn't turn my nose up at it either lol!

Quick Banoffee Pie

Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 250g digestive biscuits, crushed
• 100g butter, melted
• 397g can Carnation Caramel
• 4 small bananas
• 300ml carton whipping cream, whipped
• grated chocolate, to decorate (or use a small crushed up Flake bar)

You will also need...

23cm loose-bottomed tart tin

Method:

Tip the biscuit crumbs into a bowl. Add the butter and mix in. Spoon the crumbs into the tin. Press into the base and up the sides of the tin. Chill for 10 minutes.

Spread the caramel over the base. Do not overbeat, simply spread with a spoon or spatula

Slice the bananas and scatter over the top. Spoon the cream over the bananas and finish with grated chocolate. Chill until ready to serve.

Mushroom Soup

Good morning,

Here's a lovely thick and creamy soup recipe I made last week but didn't get a chance to put on my blog.

I got the idea from a veggie cook book I had years ago but have added some more herbs and garlic along the way.

Mushroom Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

10g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, roughly chopped

2 x 650g packs mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped (I used Asda Smart Price cheapies)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
2 med-large floury potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
750ml vegetable stock (I used 2 stock cubes)
5 tbsp double cream, plus extra to garnish, if liked
Salt & Freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onions and cook over a low heat with the lid on for about 5 mins stirring occasionally.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and potatoes and cook for around another 5 mins stirring regularly.  Add the herbs and stock and bring to the boil.  Put on the lid and reduce the heat, simmer for around 30 mins.  Allow the soup to cool slightly then blend or liquidise.  I like the soup thick but if you'd prefer add some more stock or water at this stage.  Add the cream and reheat gently.  Season to taste then serve with some more cream swirled in the middle, if liked.

Spicy Bean Dip

Hello again,

Here's a quick wee dip recipe that I put together from leftovers from tonight's dinner. It really is super quick and perfect if you have the late night munchies with some raw veggie sticks and/or tortilla chips!

Spicy Bean Dip

Ingredients:
1 small or 1/2 large can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 yellow or red pepper, chopped
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce (or more to taste)
1 small red chilli finely sliced (optional for garnish)

Method:
Blitz the beans and pepper together with a stick blender until smooth.  Stir in the mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce.  Garnish with red chilli if using.

Taco Chicken Bake

Good Afternoon,

What horrible wet weather we've been having here in Inverness, there's been lots of flooding in and around the city, thankfully it's mostly affected the roads and hopefully it hasn't got inside any homes.

It's just the weather for a comforting bake and this one has a wee bit of a kick to it with the Taco spices.  It went down a storm, with Iona declaring it the best meal I've ever cooked and Rab and I enjoyed it too!

The recipe is from a Woman Magazine Cookery Special I bought a couple of years back, with a couple of tweaks.

Taco Chicken Bake

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

500g chicken breast, diced

2 red onions, cut into chunky wedges

3 peppers, sliced

30g pack taco seasoning (I used Discovery/Santa Maria)

500g carton passata

400g crispy potato wedges, defrosted if frozen

6 tbsp soured cream

50g cheddar cheese, grated

1 large avocado, diced

Few sprigs fresh coriander, chopped

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

4 spring onions, sliced

Juice of 1/2 lime

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken, onion and peppers for 5 mins or until the chicken is golden.  Add the taco seasoning and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the passata and season to taste.  Mix with the potato wedges then spoon into a large ovenproof dish.  Spoon over the soured cream, scatter with cheese.  Bake for 15 mins until bubbling.  Meanwhile, mix together the avocado, coriander, cherry tomatoes and lime juice.  Season to taste and serve along side the bake.