Category: food

sweet and sour peppers

Peppers (bell peppers to our American cousins, and capsicums to many areas of the world) are one of my absolute favourite things in food. Left beside the salad cart with a tray of sliced peppers and a creamy mayonnaise or ranch dressing I will soon be left holding an empty bowl. It’s the freshness, the sweetness and crunchy texture I love. Yet they are still delcious when cooked, juicy and vibrant, often adding the fleck of colour that the plate of brown mince needs.

Sometimes I want the flavours of the peppers to be really enhanced, I’ve adapted this recipe of Gordon Ramsay’s to pack a real flavour punch. Tangy vinegar gives you that beautiful sour edge, and the stock provides a luscious glaze that makes them irresistible. In this recipe I don’t bother picking the thyme leaves, but rather leave a healthy bundle strapped together and tossed with the frying peppers. This way some little bits fall off and the quick frying imparts their woody aroma and you can discard the garni afterwards. If you’re ambivalent about peppers, give this one a whirl alongside some grilled meat – they really sing.

Sweet and sour peppers:

2 peppers, sliced

Bunch of thyme, bound together with string

A few tablespoons of white wine vinegar

A few tablespoons of chicken stock

Get a pan really hot and add a splash of olive oil. Chuck the peppers and thyme in and get stir-frying. I prefer the peppers to be unscorched for this one, but you can let them blacken if you like.

Continue frying for a couple of minutes until they start to become tender. Drizzle over some white wine vinegar and toss thoroughly.

Once the vinegar has started to disappear, chuck over some chicken stock (barely enough to cover them all) and toss to coat the peppers well. Keep everything moving until everything is covered in a sticky glaze.

Taste a small chunk of pepper, checking for acidity (lots of this is good) and season as necessary.

Tags gordon ramsay

coriander cumin food salad steak

cumin and coriander steak salad

Post author By Gary @ BigSpud
Post date February 24, 2010
1 Comment on cumin and coriander steak salad

It may be a touch early in the year for this dish but I got a real craving for this earthy yet refreshing combination. The citrussy crackle of coriander with the deep earthiness of cumin can’t be beat when matched with a full-on red meat like this rump steak. Couple it with a refreshing and zingy salad and you’ve got something I could eat every day. This is a steak that should definitely be on the rare side, for succulence and fresh flesh flavours. Try and match it with a herby and peppery leaf mix for a very satisfying combination.

Cumin and coriander steak salad:

300g rump steak

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

For the salad:

Mixed leaves

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Dash of soy sauce

Heat a griddle pan to dead hot. Pound the seeds together with a couple of black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until crumbly (but not dust). Sprinkle this mixture over both sides of the steak and press in with your fingers.

Lay the steak on the pan and allow to cook, unmoved, for 2 – 3 mins. (At this point I like to turn 45 degrees ish for a criss-cross pattern). Turn over and cook for another 2 -3 mins, or until browned but with plenty of give when pressed with a finger.

Remove the steak to a hot plate to rest while you make the salad dressing. Whisk all the liquid ingredients together and toss with mixed leaves.

Sprinkle sea salt over the steak and lay on the salad leaves. Dribble any remaining dressing over the lot.

chicken food noodles peppers

chicken on crispy noodles

The irrepressible Ken Hom popped up on Saturday Kitchen this week to show off a dish for Chinese New Year. He made a platter of crispy noodles topped with velveteen chicken in a savoury sauce. Three of us saw it being made and we immediately decided that it was what we were having for Sunday lunch.

My only change was to add some red pepper; it seemed odd that it would be lacking a vegetable element (ignoring the spring onions). With that, it was a very satisfying dinner and went down extremely well. Beautifully soft chicken, fresh fruity peppers, a tangy and glutinous coating sauce, but the real revelation were the crispy noodles. After a quick parboiling I laid them flat in the frying pan and allowed them to crisp. A risky toss later and the other side was also browned. This gave a delicious contrast of crispy and chewy, and hoovered up the sauce perfectly.

The only slight downer was Ken served his perfect circle of noodles on one platter, allowing people to share. That wasn’t going to work for me so I had to carve them up in a hacking fashion! Tasted just as good though.

Gung hee fatt choi!

Chicken on crispy noodles:

300g chicken breast diced very small

1 egg white

2 teaspoons cornflour

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

1 red pepper, diced

4 egg noodle nests

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1½ tablespoons oyster sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

300ml chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornflour, mixed with 1½ tablespoon water

Spring onions, chopped

Mix the egg white, cornflour, salt and pepper and toss in the chicken breast, coating thoroughly.

Boil the noodles briefly, drain and add to a hot pan spreading them out evenly. After 5 minutes a crust should have formed; turn the noodles over.

While the noodles cook, mix the stock, vinegar, and oyster sauce together.

After another 5 minutes put the noodles on kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil.

Over a high heat in a little oil fry the chicken and peppers, stirring quickly, until the chicken is white on all sides. Remove from the pan and leave to one side.

Add the wet ingredients and bubble for a minute, add the cornflour and allow to thicken. Put the chicken and peppers back in the pan with the spring onion and stir fry to allow the sauce to coat the meat and veg. After a minute or two turn out on to the noodles and serve.

The original recipe can be seen here.

Tags ken hom

beef carrots food

beef casserole

On those cold, snowy nights, the slow cooker must come into play. This was totally simple, but utterly delicious. Soft, flaky beef and sweet little chunks of carrot, in a thick oozy gravy. Total cost? About £3 for two big servings.

Beef casserole:

300g stewing steak, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

200g baby onions, peeled and halved

1 pint beef stock

1 teaspoon thyme

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon butter

Chopped parsley

Coat the beef in half the flour and season liberally. Fry in batches in a large pan, allowing to brown. Set to one side and fry the vegetables in the same pan gently for five minutes.

Place in a slow cooker on low and cover with the beef stock and herbs. Cook for 7 hours or until the beef is tender.

Strain off all the goodies and pour the liquids into a saucepan and boil fast to reduce down. Mix the flour and butter together to make a beurre manié and whisk vigorously into the sauce to thicken. Add the veg / meat back into the pan and serve with parsley, scooping up the debris with plenty of bread.