View Full Version : Cooking: A week with AH2
Well I know some of you wanted some simple delicious dishes.
So I have 5 easy and cheap dishes for you to try.
Pork and apple braise with vegetable hotpot
Beef and veg stew with dumplings
Simple mossaka
BBQ sauce smothered pork chop with potato rosti and corn on the cob.
Turkish beef pilau
Beef and veg stew with dumplings
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
250g Beef Skirt
100g Shallots (10 or so small shallots)
120g Celery (3 sticks)
250g Carrots (3 medium carrots)
300g New potatoes
500g Fennel (1 fennel)
300g Courgettes (2 Courgettes)
250g Chestnut Mushrooms
1 red chilli or some chilli flakes
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
1 oxo cube in 600ml of water or 600ml of fresh stock
300ml white wine
Dumplings:
100g Self raising flour
50g Mature cheddar (stronger the better)
50g Butter
1 Tablespoon Thyme
Suggested Servings: 4
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Method:
1) Add the olive oil to a large sauce pan, cube the beef and add to the pan. Peel and half the shallots and add to the beef. Fry until beef is sealed.
2) cube Thickly dice the carrots, celery and fennel and add to the pan and fry for about 10 mins.
3) add the stock, wine, chilli and a good pinch of pepper and simmer for about 2hours.
4) Add the mushrooms and courgettes.
5) make the dumplings, rub the flour and butter together to form bread crumbs. Mix in the grated cheese, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring together with a little water till it forms a dough.
6) Roll the dough into 8 balls and place in the pan, simmer for about 30minutes.
7) server.
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Dude, you can't put fennel in beef stew :D
Where's the recipe from? That nutritional thingy from it is quite cool.
Dude, you can't put fennel in beef stew :D
Where's the recipe from? That nutritional thingy from it is quite cool.
why not? It tastes darn good.
The nutrition thing is from dailyplate, I just banged it all in..
Cool, so you just put in your ingredients and it pops out calories etc? Got a link?
Cool, so you just put in your ingredients and it pops out calories etc? Got a link?
Yep.. Although you need an account.
www.thedailyplate.com
I used beef mince in mine as it was far cheaper. But it's usually made with lamb and teh sauce could of done with being reduced more as it's not meant to be so liquid.
Moussaka
Ingredients:
Mince:
500g Lamb mince
1 large onion
1 teaspoon mint
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 can chopped tomatoes
200g cheddar cheese
1 Aubergine
White Sauce:
500ml semi skimmed milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
Suggested servings:3
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method:
1) dice the onion and fry in a little olive oil until translucent, add the mince and garlic and brown.
2) Add the chopped tomatoes, mint and cinnamon. Simmer for at least 20minutes until reduced to a good consistency.
3) thinly slice the aubergine and brush with the remaining olive oil and grill till golden brown on both sides.
4) In a saucepan make a rough out of the flour and butter and slowly add the milk, letting it thicken before adding more. Once all the milk is in, bring to a gentle boil for 5 minutes.
5) In a pyrex dish, layer 1/2 the mince in the bottom, followed by half the aubergine and finally 1/2 the white sauce. Repeat this process then top with the cheese.
6) Place in the oven at 160 for 45-60minutes. Until golden-dark brown.
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I absolutely LOVE Moussaka! Already have this week's meals planned, but I may do it at the weekend as it's perfect weekend comfort food :)
This is the one I've been waiting for all week. not the healthiest dish. But omg so so tasty.
On another note I don't think I will ever buy pork chops again. These spare rib chops are so tasty and have lots of meet, as they don't have the large edge of fat.
BBQ sauce smothered pork chop with potato rosti and corn on the cob.
Ingredients:
4 Pork chops
8 corn on he cob
5 Tablespoons butter 1 1/2 for the corn on the cob. The rest for the rostis.
1 medium onion
1 can of chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons dark brown Sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar ( I used red wine vinegar, but any will do)
4 tablespoons Soy sauce
4 tablespoons Ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcester sauce
1 Tablespoon mushroom sauce (optional)
Suggested Servings: 4
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As I have used spare rib chops, they need to be slow cooked, so I popped it into a roasting tray filled with water and sealed with tin foil and placed in an oven at 160 for 2hours.
1) Speratly place the corn on the cob in foil, with a little butter and some salt. seal up and place in the oven at 160 for 1hour.
2) Finley chop the onion and place in a pan with the olive oil. And fry till golden. Then add teh tomatoes, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, Worcester sauce and mushroom sauce. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce for about 40minutes or until thick. Keep checking on it, to insure it does not burn.
3) Take your cooked spare rib chop or uncooked normal chop. Smother in bbq sauce and place in a roasting tin. Add some more bbq sauce on top. Cook at about 160 for about 30 mins or until cooked
4) Grate the potatoes, and strain as much water out as possible. Either place in a tea towel and ring out, or in a sieve and squeeze. Once dry add a little salt and and pepper.
5) In a good none stick frying pan place the rest of the butter and bring up to a medium heat. Add the potato and form patties. Cook for about 8 minutes a side over a medium heat.
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The bbq sauce is the nicest thing in the world.
God damn, with the cheese on top, that's MY KINDA MEAT!!!
OMG HOOOOW much fat??? I've just done a double take at the mousakka fat content. I knew it was high, but jesus christ! :eek: Why is it always the nice food?? :(
OMG HOOOOW much fat??? I've just done a double take at the mousakka fat content. I knew it was high, but jesus christ! :eek: Why is it always the nice food?? :(
Oil check
butter check
cheese check
fatty lamb check
Everythings fine in moderation. Even though I suggest 3 servings. I only had a 1/4. But then I am trying to lose massive amounts of weight.
Just trying to think how I could reduce the fat a little:
- Use marg instead of butter in white sauce. I always do that anyway as it's easier to scoop out of the tub.
- Drain off the oil once you've fried the lamb. I actually always fry the meat first and then use the fat to cook the onions/garlic etc. ,so you don't need the oil. I can't say that I've noticed it makes any difference, especially if you're cooking it down for 20+ mins.
- Use maybe feta instead of cheddar? Marginally less fat and I love feta. I disagree with low fat cheddar as it tastes like nothing, so I'd never stoop to that level!
Hmmmm, wonder how much difference it'd actually make though
Well you can half the butter in the white sauce for a start, you don't need anywhere near that much. If you want cheesy taste then use extra mature cheddar and less of it. Reality? Probably wouldn't bother.
The Greeks would never use cheddar anyway (that's a lie actually as they use a cheese close to cheddar which is basically cheddar but it's the greek version (called kafelotiri, and mix it 50/50 with parmesan). The cypriots put potato in theirs too just for your edification. Also you tend to add breadcrums to the top when browning it off with the cheese. In fact it's all rather magic, and to get a good moussaka is very hard to find and most restaurants unfortunately do very generic and bland versions :(
Cheers will certainly try it with bread crumbs next time. As for potatoes, blasphemy it ruins the dish imo... That's one thing I love about cooking. There's not really any right way or wrong way. As long as you like it, it's all good.
Agreed. The potatoes were there to soak up the fat, some Cypriot villages don't even eat them! However for a more substantial winter warmer the potatoes do add a nice bit of crunch to them. Sometimes they are just used to line the side of the dish and served as a "side" dish it will have soaked up all the flavours and they literally just melt in the mouth - a strange sensation from potato but absolutely delicious.
Without wanting to take your thread OT - this is the recipie I've always gone by:
* 1 kg aubergines (large or/and elongated variety)
* 160 ml vegetable oil
* 1 large onion, finely sliced
* 450 gr. minced beef/lamb (depending on taste)
* 1 glass white wine (not retsina, but aretsinoto)
* 350 gr. fresh tomatoes, 1400 gr. tomatoes, drained of some of their juice and chopped
* teaspoon ground cinnamon
* teaspoon ground allspice
* salt and black pepper
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 25 gr. grated parmesan, kefalotiri, or Gruyere cheese
* some chopped parsley
Bechamel Sauce
* 80 gr. butter
* 80 gr. flour
* 600 ml warm milk
* salt and white pepper
* 30 gr. grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese
* 2 egg yolks
Topping
* z 60 gr. grated Parmesan,Gruyere or kefalotiri cheese
* 4 tablespoons toasted breadcrumbs
METHOD
Usually it's recommended that you spread the work involved over two days for your convinience; one can easily cook the meat the day before, witbout the Moussaka suffering at all. Do not do the same with the aubergines; they should be fried on the day.
Aubergines
Top and tail the aubergines, without peeling them. Rinse them, cut them lengthways in 75-mm thick slices and immerse them in salted water, for 30 minutes.Take them out, squeeze gently, rinse, then squeeze them again. Drain them in a colander and pat dry. Fry them in hot vegetable oil until they become pale golden on both sides; you can either deep-fry them, which is easier but they absorb a lot of oil, or shallow-fry them. In either case, drain them on absorbent paper on a flat platter before serving, so that most of their oil will dribble away.
Meat
Sautee the sliced onion in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, until it looks glistening. Add the meat and sautee together, stirring, until all the lumps are broken down and the meat starts to change colour. Pour in the wine, add tomatoes, sliced finely, the spices, salt and pepper and the oregano. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time in case it sticks. Then mix in the grated cheese and parsley.
Bechamel Sauce
Melt the butter and, away from the heat, gradually add the flour and stir to amalgamate. Return to the heat and gradually add the milk and seasoning, stirring continuously. Simmer for 9-10 minutes, stirring, until it has thickened considerably. Withdraw the pan from the heat, let it stand briefly, then add the cheese and the egg yolks. Stir to amalgamate them. Do not let the sauce boil after this. It should by now be a thick bechamel, to enable it to sit on top of the meat mixture and form a kind of crust.
To assemble, cover the base of the roasting dish with half of the fried aubergines, then spread half of the meat mixture evenly on top of them and cover neatly with the remaining aubergines. Spread the remaining meat and sauce evenly over the top and cover neatly with the bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese all over the top, and the breadcrumbs. Moussaka from Macedonia may contain a layer of thinly sliced roun potatoes which have been fried first. Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas no.4/ 350 grades F/ 180 grades C, for 1 hour, untit a golden crust is formed all over the top. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving, in order to be able to cut it more easily. To serve, cut into square or oblong-shaped pieces, about 8 cm thick. It should be quite dry by then and the pieces should ideally stay intact.
This was translated from a greek site so apologies for the slightly disjointed english!
Without wanting to take your thread OT - this is the recipie I've always gone by:
!
Not at all post away..
will def give that a try..
How may does that serve Will?
Ignore me it was yesterdays... the fatgumpscous nomtastic mwahahah!
:D
BB x
How may does that serve Will?
Μουσακάς: εξυπηρετεί 6 ανθρώπους
leowyatt
10-02-2009, 15:23
6 people? :huh:
Ooops copy and pasted, yes 6 people. :)
Just trying to think how I could reduce the fat a little:
- Use marg instead of butter in white sauce. I always do that anyway as it's easier to scoop out of the tub.
- Drain off the oil once you've fried the lamb. I actually always fry the meat first and then use the fat to cook the onions/garlic etc. ,so you don't need the oil. I can't say that I've noticed it makes any difference, especially if you're cooking it down for 20+ mins.
- Use maybe feta instead of cheddar? Marginally less fat and I love feta. I disagree with low fat cheddar as it tastes like nothing, so I'd never stoop to that level!
Hmmmm, wonder how much difference it'd actually make though
I'll tap it in and come back to you. I'll see if there is lean mince on the database. Obviusly I can't calculate draining the fat of.
You could be approximate and weigh or measure the fat, but it wouldn't be that exact or specific :p
Ignore me it was yesterdays... the fatgumpscous nomtastic mwahahah!
:D
BB x
Which one, the bbq? The recipe for the bbq sauce I got out of a 30 year old book and been cooking it since I can remember for BBQ's. It's been changed and altered over the years. but to me it is perfection.
On a side note as I've said before we all have diffrent tastes. don't be scared to experiment and change recipes about even if you've never tried them before.
Changes
Low fat cheddar
1 tablespoon of marg instead of 2 of butter
lean lamb mince
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change 2
1 tablespoon low fat sunflower spread
greek feta cheese
lean beef mince
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wow that's made a huge diffrence
Which one, the bbq? The recipe for the bbq sauce I got out of a 30 year old book and been cooking it since I can remember for BBQ's. It's been changed and altered over the years. but to me it is perfection.
On a side note as I've said before we all have diffrent tastes. don't be scared to experiment and change recipes about even if you've never tried them before.
The BBQ one yes! The rosti looks yummy!
BB x
well tonight didn't turn out quite as well as I hoped. The pork was great, the hotpot a little less well.
So I'm going to post how I would make it next time. so the pics will look slightly different to the recipe.
Braised pork and apple
Ingredients
4 pork chops
1 cox apple
1 pint of stock
2 bay leafs
1 tablespoon grain mustard
1 tablespoon flour
1 table spoon olive oil
1 large onion
Vegetable hot pot
3 leeks
1/2 a savoy cabbage
3 medium potatoes
100grams Goat cheese
100ml milk
tablespoon of thyme
Suggested Servings: 4
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Method:
1) Dust the pork chops in seasoned flour and fry in a little olive oil till brown, remove and place in a oven prove dish. Add the onions to the pan and fry till lightly coloured and ass to the pork chops. Add the stock and enough water to just cover. Add in the bay leafs and mustard.
2) place in the oven at 160 for 2 hours. Mean while core the apples and fry in a touch of butter till caramelised, add to eh pork and cook for a further 30mins with the lid off.
vegetable hot pot
1) finely slice the leeks, savoy cabbage and goats cheese and place in an oven proof dish. Pour over 150ml of milk and season.
2) finely slice 3 potatoes and layer over the leek and cabbage mix. Sprinkle some thyme on top.
3) place in the oven at 160 for about 45mins.
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Changes
Low fat cheddar
1 tablespoon of marg instead of 2 of butter
lean lamb mince
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/5bd3024414.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)
change 2
1 tablespoon low fat sunflower spread
greek feta cheese
lean beef mince
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/92719d58c9.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)
wow that's made a huge diffrence
Woah, bloody hell!! That brings it right down. Might have a go and see if it actually tastes alright. Will add a few more herbs in a la Will's recipe.
What wasn't quite right with the pork tonight?
What wasn't quite right with the pork tonight?
Pork was great, the veg hotpot thing was a little disjointed. But that's- a rijigged recipe and should work a lot better..
Will have to try some of these but right now all I have to say is you need to put nutmeg in your moussaka! Mmmmm...
Cheers for the recipes.
Just received my pizza stone. So I expect I will be changing to pizza tonight. Give this thing a test run.. umm home made pizza...
I'll be walking to work tonight then. But still better than 3000Kcals or what ever dominoes pizza is.
Makes 35cm pizza.
Dough:
160grams plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
100ml warm water
1 packet of fast acting yeast
Topping
1/2 mix of bbq sauce, from earlier in the week.
1 mozeralla bull (125g)
1 red pepper
1 red onion
125g chorizo
1) place your pizza stone in the oven at full whack for 1hr
2)Mix the dough together, need for 15mins until elastic. Allow to double in size for 1hr-1 1/2hr under a damp tea towel in a warm place.
3)Roll out to the right size and leave to rest for about 15mins
4) remove pizza stone and place. Add the toppings and place back in the oven for about 7mins
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Still I missed lunch so only 2250 calories today. But I'm trying to keep it around 1800.
The base was nice but not amazing, shall have to try some other base recipes, or maybe it's just the flour.
I now feel totally sick and thinking I should of only had half..
LOL :D Should have had the rest cold for lunch tomorrow!!
Looks like the pizza stone worked well. Did you get a nicely cooked base?
Cracking choice of toppings too, cept for the BBQ sauce :p
Yep the stone is awesome and really does make a diffrence. None of this soggy stuff. Or rubbish deep pan frozen pizzas any more..
bbq sauce is 2nd best topping after hoisin
Hoisin and Roast-Duck-Leftovers homemade pizzas are well and truly NOM. :D
EDIT: I have a tava I use for cooking my homemade naans on - I wonder if that would suffice as a pizza-stone-type-implement?
Hoisin and Roast-Duck-Leftovers homemade pizzas are well and truly NOM. :D
EDIT: I have a tava I use for cooking my homemade naans on - I wonder if that would suffice as a pizza-stone-type-implement?
It's heavy so it should absorb plenty of heat.. Give it a go.
Don't forget the spring oinions on duck and hoisin pizzas.. Mon mon mon.. I want to cook somemore..
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