Category: carrots

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carrots chicken lemon noodles stock

lemon chicken on crispy noodles

lemon chicken on crispy noodles

Not having money sucks. Worse still, not having money and really enjoying food sucks. The time you most notice this is when you’re a student. Most Wanted, the magazine for VoucherCodes.co.uk has asked me to come up with some recipes that are frugal but hopefully don’t feel like it!

The first of these is lemon chicken on crispy noodles. It’s inspired by a Ken Hom recipe that’s a favourite in our house. It’s tasty, messy and great fun to eat. It also scales up really well if you need to feed a few more friends.

The ingredients in this are pretty basic but raised up by making the flavours big and punchy. Shopping around you could save money on the chicken, and can be adjusted to suit any other sturdy vegetables you wanted to add, such as peas or green beans. However don’t cut too many corners with the stock, it forms the base of the flavour and carries the rest of the dish. I like Knorr products so look out for good brands of stock cubes and stock pots: stock is handy in almost all savoury recipes. One thing to watch for in this recipe is it needs two frying pans on the go, so you may need to borrow another! You should be in and out of the kitchen in 15 minutes once you get the hang of this one.

Approximate cost  for main ingredients, excludes storecupboard ingredients (prices from Tesco.com 4th Oct 2012): £1.72

Lemon chicken on crispy noodles (serves 1):

1 packet of instant noodles

1 chicken breast, diced

250ml stock made with ½ stock cube

1 lemon

2 carrots

1 teaspoon cornflour

  1. Get a pan of water on a rapid boil and add the noodles. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes until tender and then tip into a sieve to drain. Rinse with cold water to completely cool them down.
  2. Get two frying pans on over medium-high heat. In one of them you will cook the noodles; this should have a layer of oil to coat the base of the pan. The other just needs a tiny bit into which to cook everything else.
  3. While the pans heat up dice the chicken and prepare the carrot. Peel the carrot, and after you’ve discarded the skin keep peeling until you reach the bitter core, which you can chuck away. Being very careful to avoid spatter add the noodles to their pan and spread out with a wooden spoon so they cover the base. Add the chicken to the other pan and stir fry for a couple of minutes until coloured all over, then add the stock and carrots.
  4. Into the chicken pan grate in the zest of the lemon and the juice of half. Stir well to combine and let it bubble away for a couple of minutes. The noodles should be crisp on one side now so with confidence flip them over. While the other side cooks taste the broth. You may want to add more lemon, or possibly a pinch of sugar or salt to balance everything out. When you’re happy with the flavour add a splash of water to the cornflour in a small dish and mix well, then tip this into the sauce.
  5. When the noodles are done tip them on to kitchen paper to drain, and then into your serving bowl. Tip the chicken and the sauce over the top and start slurping!
Categories
carrots cucumber food noodles onion peanut butter

cold sesame noodles

In my most recent monthly roundup, looking at my favourite food posts of the last month, I highlighted Helen Graves’s cold sesame noodles as one I definitely wanted to try. It struck me as a perfect lunch, so I made it the night before for the next day’s al desko treat (see, there’s a mouse and keyboard in the picture and everything).

I made a few tweaks based on my store cupboard. I gave the veg a light pickling to provide a tangy edge, as I was fresh out of pickled mango (not an ingredient I am familiar with). I ended up with a salty, sweet, savoury, crunchy yummy pot of noodles. I transport mine in a snazzy Sistema lunchbox where the dressing, noodles and veg can be separated from each other until the perfect moment. Much more interesting than a flabby cheese sandwich.

Cold sesame noodles (serves 2):

½ cucumber

1 large carrot

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Pinch of sugar

2 roasted onions, roughly chopped

2 dried noodle nests

1 teaspoon ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 large heaped tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon spiced rice vinegar

Pinch of chilli flakes

A shake of sesame seeds

  1. Halve the cucumber lengthways and use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Cut at an angle to get little 1cm-wide bridge shapes. Grate the carrot into the cucumber, splash over the vinegar and add a pinch each of sugar and salt. Toss gently and allow to macerate while you get on with everything else.
  2. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and rinse the noodles thoroughly with cold water.
  3. While the noodles cook, combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Add water if necessary to make a runny dressing. When you’re ready to eat combine the lot and wolf down! (Warning: wear a napkin tucked into your collar).
Categories
carrots food tomato veal

osso buco

Osso buco… the classic veal dish, and yet I’d never cooked it. I had some gorgeous Dorset rose veal shank from Farmers Choice and I felt this had to be the way to show it off.

I also had a copy of Polpo to hand which had a recipe for osso buco, so the timing seemed perfect. I’ve eaten at Polpetto before and was blown away by the cicheti, a kind of “Italian tapas”. So many lovely little things to try. And the book is a perfect reflection of the dining style; lots of little things to eat, but with large flavour. Most of the recipes are complete simplicity which demands the highest quality ingredients. Lovely. I took the recipe and applied it to my slow cooker so it could bubble away while I was out at work.

And how did this osso buco turn out? The meat was a little disappointing, slightly chewy but the flavour was good. The gravy however was delicious; thickened with bone marrow and rich with tomatoey goodness.

Osso buco (serves 2):

2 pieces of veal shin on the bone

Plain flour

2 carrots, roughly cut

1 celery stick, roughly chopped

1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked

1 sprig thyme, leaves picked

2 garlic cloves

A glass of white wine

1 tin tomatoes

  1. Preheat the slow cooker to high. Get the kettle on to boil. Get a large frying pan very hot and add a little oil. Roll the veal in flour and season well. Fry the veal on all sides and then transfer to the slow cooker.
  2. Add the carrot, celery, herbs to the pan and crush in the garlic. Fry for a minute or two and add the wine. Let that bubble up, then add the tomatoes. Once everything has come to the boil transfer to the slow cooker and top up with boiling water until everything is covered. Turn down to low and cook for 12 hours. Serve with wet polenta.
Categories
avocado beetroot carrots courgettes food

beetroot salad

An old chum of mine, Terry, has a running blog based in Australia. I haven’t the slightest interest in running but I am interested in recipes, so when he asked me to come up with a beetroot dish to help celebrate his latest favourite superfood, I was more than happy to oblige.

Hop on over to Terry’s blog for my guest post of a beetroot salad.

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