Category: red onion

Categories
beef red cabbage red onion sandwich

meatball sandwich

meatball sandwich with pickled red cabbage

I am a sucker for a sandwich – not paper-thin ham or simpering coleslaw but gutsy, no-punches-pulled sandwiches that America in particular seems to get right. This Jamie Oliver sarnie is styled that way and is darn close to being great. Plump meatballs and creamy cheese, lovely fresh cabbage and salty bacon… but there’s something missing. I reckon a sharp, fruity tomato sauce would really top this off. I ran for a jar of salsa and it made all the difference – next time I’d simmer off some tinned tomatoes and balsamic with garlic for a real relish to top it off.

Jamie’s version is served with a chopped salad and finished with banana ice cream.

Meatball sandwich (serves 4):
500g minced beef
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
½ a lemon
1 egg
Handful fresh basil
5 slices smoked pancetta
2 ciabatta loaves
4 slices Jarlsberg ceese
½ red cabbage
1 red onion
Small bunch of mint
½ a lemon

  1. Stick the oven on 150°C, and get a large frying pan on a medium heat.
  2. Roughly chop the basil and put into a bowl with the beef, mustard, lemon and egg. Add a splash of olive oil and season, then scrunch together with your hands. Divide into 16 and roll into balls. Shake and cook the meatballs for about 15 minutes, until browned all over.
  3. Bung the cabbage, red onion and mint into a food processor and grate together. Squeeze over some lemon and check for seasoning.
  4. Lay the pancetta around the meatballs and pop into the oven, and on a different shelf put the split loaves to warm through.
  5. After about 5 minutes get the bread out and lay the cheese on. Add a couple of meatballs, chuck some cabbage on top and top with a slice of pancetta.
Categories
mushroom red onion

red onion and mushroom relish

Got leftover red onion from making gravy? Add mushrooms for a great relish in a sausage sandwich. (No picture – it looks gruesome despite being very tasty).

Red onion and mushroom relish:

1 teaspoon sugar

2 red onions, finely sliced

¼ teaspoon baking powder

100ml beef stock

6 chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced

1 sprig thyme, leaves picked

1 teaspoon mustard

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon English mustard

1 tablespoon mushroom ketchup

  1. Add the sugar to a wide saucepan on a medium heat. Allow to melt then add the onions with a little oil. Stir for a couple of minutes until starting to soften.
  2. Stir in the baking powder and leave for a couple of minutes to colour. Gradually add the stock a splash at a time to deglaze the pan, then add the mushrooms and thyme.
  3. When the mushrooms have browned, add the remaining ingredients and allow to bubble together for a couple of minutes. Check for seasoning and serve with something really savoury.
Categories
chicken chorizo food paprika peppers red onion

chicken and chorizo kebabs

As England melted under the usual immediate and surprising burst of sun + heat, I retreated to the paddling pool. Lovely it was too. Dinner has to feature a BBQ though. What’s in the fridge?

This is the result. A smoky and meaty BBQ skewered treat accompanied by a tangy and sweet pepper and onion salad. Marvellous. Make sure you really scorch the chorizo – the burn really accentuates the smoky flavour and encourages it to give up it’s powerful juices.

And a piece of advice when using chicken breast on the BBQ: it’s extremely likely all the juice will disappear from the breast meat before it’s cooked all the way through due to the not-so-controllable heat of the grill. Always brine poultry before barbecuing to ensure tender, juicy meat, powerful flavours and consistent cooking.

Chicken and chorizo kebabs with red pepper and red onion salad:

For the kebabs:

2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips

10cm chorizo, coarsely diced

For the salad:

1 red onion, sliced

1 red pepper

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chopped mint

  1. Make a 8% brine solution for the chicken. Add whatever aromatics you like to this, I used black peppercorns, a tablespoon of honey and a star anise. Leave the chicken to soak in this for at least a couple of hours and preferably more than 6.
  2. Just before you make the kebabs, get the salad started. Mix the red wine vinegar with paprika and a pinch each of sugar and salt. Leave the onion in this to tenderize and mellow.
  3. Leave the red pepper directly on the flames of the barbecue until charred all over. Seal in a freezer bag for ten minutes to steam and soften.
  4. Skewer the chorizo and chicken on to sticks and barbecue over a medium-high-heat, turning occasionally.
  5. Remove the pepper from the bag and scrape down with a spoon to remove the skin. Dice and add to the red onion and add a splash of extra virgin olive oil, and adjust the seasoning.
  6. When the chicken is cooked all the way through, serve with the salad and drizzle over the rest of the dressing left in the bowl.
Categories
chorizo fennel food pork red onion

pork, chorizo and fennel stir fry

Another superfast delight from the pages of Olive magazine. This was the first time I’d worked with a fennel bulb, having enjoyed the potent seeds for a long time. But the satisfying almost lemony crunch of the fennel means I’ll be coming back for more.

Pork, chorizo and fennel stir-fry:

2 pork escalopes, cut into bitey pieces

100g chorizo, diced

1 fennel bulb, finely sliced

1 red onion, finely sliced

Handful of green beans, halved

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

200ml vegetable stock

100ml white wine

Dried onion to serve

  1. Fry chorizo in a hot pan until darkening at the edges and releasing its oil. Remove from the pan.
  2. Fry the pork with the zest in the same pan until white all over, seasoning as you go. Add a splash of wine, lemon juice, the fennel and onion and fry until the latter are tender.
  3. Add green beans, stock and chorizo and cook for a few minutes until the beans are done to your liking.
  4. Serve with crispy onion on top.
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