Category: red onion

Categories
food garlic orange pate potatoes red onion tomato

so what else is new?

A round-up of little bits and pieces I’ve been mucking about with at Spud HQ.

Trying (and failing) to make Heston Blumenthal’s meat fruit

I had a lot of fun recreating this iconic recipe from Dinner by Heston. Meat fruit is a trompe l’oeil whereby a mandarin sphere encases chicken liver parfait. I made some terrible mistakes. Watch how I got on.

Kathy’s continental potatoes

Do you listen to the Off Menu Podcast? Ed Gamble and James Acaster ask guests to name their favourite starter, main dish, side, dessert and drink. It’s an excuse for some fun chat. One of their dream guests was the incredible Kathy Burke, who had a homely and delicious sounding menu. Her side dish of “Kathy’s Continental Potatoes” spoke to me for some reason so I had to make it. And whaddya know, they’re great!

Boxtails

The lovely people at Boxtails sent me some of their cocktail sachets to try. Letterbox-friendly, their boxes come in a variety of flavours. I’ve tried a bunch, to the point where I can’t remember what I’ve drunk now! Though I do recall the Bramble being tasty. Word of warning, they are pretty strong! I recommend plenty of ice. And then have another one.

Garlic and black pepper seasoning

I’m a little obsessed with this seasoning from Santa Maria lately. Readily available in supermarkets. I’ve been grinding it over roast potatoes, into meatballs, over broccoli… whatever I can get my hands on. Love it!

Gumbo Recipes

I’ve been playing around with Gumbo recipes lately. Chuck in some ingredients and you get some recipe inspo back atcha. Gumbo crawls recipe sites (including this one!) and pulls in ideas. Other sites have done this but I like the wide variety of sources it uses. Give it a try!

Floyd on France

I’ve been reminding myself what an absolute treat the show Floyd on France (iPlayer link) was. 7 episodes of self-deprecating, leisurely escapades in food and cooking. It feels like the whole thing is made up on the spot and it’s all the better for it. There’s never been another presenter like Keith Floyd. Go revisit if you’re in the UK. And if not, Floyd on Fish is easily found on YouTube.

Categories
egg food product review red onion salmon

lunch with lékué

Sandwiches for lunch every day drives me mad. Coming up with interesting things to eat for a work day lunch can be taxing, especially if all you have is a microwave and a kettle. True torture for someone into food is having to make a dull ham sandwich. Don’t get me wrong – a ham sandwich can be a great thing, when piled with crunchy lettuce, sweet tomatoes, a slice of gherkin, a slick of mustard-flecked mayo and a hint of toasting on the outside. But a sweaty Mother’s Pride with 1mm ham is depressing.

Lékué have a range of microwave-safe containers which open up the possibilities.

Some of the Lékué range: at the back an all-purpose container; in front of that the omelette maker; and the green can fit a whole chicken

The containers are all silicone. This means a couple of things: they can squish into a tight space easy, they don’t get nuclear hot to the touch in the microwave, and they can be cleaned up dead easy. They all have neat little handles so they’re easy to carry in and out of the microwave. They also come with charming little recipe books you can be inspired by.

Salmon and pesto courgetti has fast become a standby lunch for me. I use a shredded or spiralised courgette topped with a skinless salmon fillet microwaved for two minutes. Once done I stir through a teaspoon of pesto and lunch is served. It’s a brilliantly simple yet nourishing lunch that feels like a real treat. I’ve also done the same thing with cooked chicken: the image below is of chicken, courgetti and salsa.

A photo posted by Gary Fenn (@thebigspud) on

Microwave omelettes have become another favourite. 2 beaten eggs are seasoned and put in the Lékué. After 1 minute in the microwave I turn it over and repeat. After two minutes total you get a brilliant omelette! I’ve tweaked it in all sorts of ways: soften half a chopped red onion for 20 secs first, cooked a rasher of diced bacon in there first for a minute, added a sprinkle of grated cheese… it’s easy to keep yourself interested. It’s an absolute revelation.

Red onion omelette made with the #lekue microwave container. Really tasty!

A photo posted by Gary Fenn (@thebigspud) on

The biggest head-turner was cooking a whole chicken in the microwave.

Yes, a whole chicken.

It takes around 18 minutes to cook completely in the microwave. I mixed some olive oil with vegetable stock powder and rubbed it all over the bird (that got some strange looks in the communal office kitchen). Added a dash of boiling water and set it off. Halfway through cooking I flipped it over – this was the hardest bit – and let it finish.

Microwaved a whole chicken for 18 minutes in the #lekue microwave container with stock and oil. Comes out great, just like poached #chicken. Interested peeps @cheersdarling @eatcookexplore

A photo posted by Gary Fenn (@thebigspud) on

It’s surprising just how good it tastes. About 12 people said “is it cooked?” which just to be clear, it was. It was just like poached chicken: that moist, tender meat that pulls apart easily. You don’t get crispy skin obviously but it’s the only downside. Packed with flavour, I would defy anyone to figure out how it was cooked in a blind test. An amazing bit of kit and great fun for my team to try.

It’s no small thing to say I love these things. They’re now an essential part of my lunch options. They’re excellent for students, and perfect for the smaller kitchen that only has access to a microwave. Never have a dull lunch again!

Buy the Lékué range from Amazon now

Categories
chicken meat recipes red onion yoghurt

chicken souvlaki

Most people’s best food memories, aside from the childhood dinner table ones, come from a holiday experience. For me it was the perfect steak in New York, an amazing chocolate dessert in Florida, or even a lamb chop in the Peak District. The good times mingle with the food, being with friends and family, and a rose-tint descends on the memory. Back home, in your familiar surroundings you try and recreate that magic to capture those good feelings.

That’s the idea behind James Villas’ #MyHolidayDish campaign. Working with the brilliant Jo Pratt, she came up with holiday-inspired dinners such as Puglia Pasta Con Le Cozze, Rhodian Whole Baked Snapper and Cypriot Souvlaki. Here’s my take on it, a chicken souvlaki.

I took Jo’s recipe and swapped the pork for chicken, added my own pickled onions and have included a recipe for flatbreads if you want it. If it’s too much faff, buy your own flatbreads and tzatziki.

You can find Jo’s original recipe here, or here she is on video cooking the kebab:

Print

chicken souvlaki

Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 8 chicken thighs
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoons dried paprika
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
  • 1 red onion peeled and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Pinch sugar

For the flatbreads:

  • 300 g self raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 300 g natural yoghurt

For the tzatziki:

  • 1 cucumber halved and deseeded
  • 200 natural yoghurt
  • Small handful of chopped parsley
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Instructions

  • For the chicken, mix the chicken, lemon, oregano, paprika and garlic together with a tablespoon of oil thoroughly, season with salt and pepper and cover. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
  • For the flatbreads, mix the flour, baking powder and yoghurt with a pinch of salt to a smooth dough. Cover for 30 minutes.
  • For the tzatziki, grate the cucumber and dust with salt. Leave to drain in a sieve for 10 minutes, then squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can. Combine with all the other dip ingredients.
  • For the onion pickle, cover the red onion in vinegar and a pinch each of salt and sugar.
  • Get your grill really high, or light the barbecue. When hot, skewer your chicken and cook for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Leave to rest on one side while you portion the flatbread dough into 8 balls. Press into thin circles and cook for a minute or two on each side until puffed up. Serve the meat in the breads and top with lovely pickles, tzatziki and your favourite salad.

James Villas kindly provided the ingredients to cook this with.

Categories
bagels food red onion steak

viking rib eye steak bagel

…And not a horny helmet in sight. So why is this a Viking rib-eye steak bagel?

Because the key seasoning in this uber-sandwich is “Viking Smoked Sea Salt” from those canny chaps at Sous Chef. Here I’ve rubbed it deep into my favourite cut of steak, rib-eye. You could use another meat or a slightly cheaper cut of steak but for the money I’d rather have a small piece of really good meat over a larger piece of average meat.

If you don’t have this salt, you could use a mix of salt, black pepper, madras powder and onion powder but it won’t quite be as tasty.

With a crisp bagel, spiky onion and sweet-salty meat this is one sandwich I could eat all day long. Don’t let the meat go too cold though, the steak will become stringy and tough. If you are prepping it for later, or for a sandwich the next day, slice the steak as thin as you can to get round this problem.

Serve on its own for a hearty lunch or brunch, or with potato wedges and more salad on the side for a proper dinner.

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Print

viking rib eye steak bagel

Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 250 g rib-eye steak
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sous Chef Viking Smoked Sea Salt
  • 1/2 red onion finely sliced
  • 1 bagel split and toasted
  • Rocket and watercress salad to serve
  • For the dressing
  • 1 tablespoon mayo
  • 1/2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
  • Few splashes of worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon English mustard
  • Pinch cumin

Instructions

  • Season the steak all over with Viking Smoked Sea Salt, and a dash of olive oil. Work it into the meat with your fingers and leave to marinate. Preheat a griddle pan to as hot as you can.
  • Make the dressing by mixing together all the ingredients until combined.
  • Sear the rib-eye on one side for 3 minutes, then flip and griddle for another 2 minutes, then leave to rest while you toast your bagel. Slice the steak into finger-sized pieces and assemble in your bagel, topped with the mayo dressing, salad and red onion slices.

Want more steak sandwich goodness? Try Jan’s steak ciabatta.

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