Chicken & Chorizo Paella

On 15th April 2016, This was Dinner…

I had some paella rice in the cupboard and some chicken thighs in the freezer so it made sense to take inspiration from this BBC Good Food recipe in the March edition. Apart from the chorizo, most things are store cupboard anyway so I didn’t need to pick anything else up.

Get set…

• Cut some chicken thighs into pieces
• Thickly slice a chorizo
• Prepare some chicken stock
• Finely slice a large onion
• Finely chop a garlic clove
• Chop some parsley
• Get saffron, paprika, turmeric, paella rice, frozen peas, lemon, oil & seasoning ready

Throw it together…

Heat some oil in a pan and brown the chicken. Remove and set aside.

Add the chorizo and cook until it starts to release oil. Remove and set aside with the chicken.

Add the onion and cook until softened. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the spices and stir then add the rice and stir again.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil then add the chicken and chorizo and cook for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the peas and cook for a few more minutes. Check the seasoning.

Sprinkle with the parsley.

Dish it up…

Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

I was going to put some cooked prawns in but forgot to get them out of the freezer in the morning.

Pasta with Chorizo, Peas & Rocket

On 14th September 2015, This was Dinner…

This recipe is taken from a Donna Hay recipe which uses fresh, torn lasagne sheets but Mr S misunderstood my note and bought dried pasta so I just used up the pasta we had in the pantry.

I had some rocket which needed using up so I added that too.

Preparing:

• Thickly slice some chorizo
• Slice a leek
• Juice a lemon
• Grate some parmesan
• Pick some mint leaves
• Get rocket, pasta, frozen peas, oil & seasoning ready

Making:

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water.

Heat some oil in a pan and cook the leek until softened. Remove from the pan.

Cook the chorizo in the pan.

Just before the pasta is cooked, throw the peas in and cook for a few more minutes. Drain and add the chorizo, rocket and leek. Add some of the lemon juice and some seasoning to taste.

Serve with the mint leaves and a scattering of the parmesan.

If it’s got peas and chorizo in it, I’m in heaven.

Prawn, Pea & Bacon Risotto

On 3rd August 2015, This was Dinner…

It’s a while since we had a risotto and knowing I had some prawns, peas and bacon in the freezer, this was the obvious.

Preparing:

• Prepare some vegetable stock
• Finely chop a shallot
• Get wine, prawns, peas, streaky bacon, risotto rice, butter, oil & seasoning ready

Making:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the shallot. Cook until softened.

Add the risotto rice and stir well, ensuring it is all coated in the oil.

Add a splash of wine and cook to reduce.

Add a ladle of stock and allow to cook until all absorbs.

Repeat until the risotto is almost cooked.

Cook the bacon to your liking in a separate pan.

Add the prawns and peas to the pan with the last ladle of stock and allow to cook.

Finish by adding a little butter to the risotto and stir to melt.

Serve the bacon on top of the risotto.

Vegetable Tart with Quails Eggs

On 15th July 2015, This was Dinner…

This was very nearly just a vegetable tart, I had a job getting hold of some quails eggs. Luckily, the lovely Sophie at work was passing a Waitrose so I asked her to pick me some up. It’s not like Waitrose were not going to supply quails eggs is it? (I’ve since noticed them in my local deli.)

I had a lovely afternoon at a spa with my sister, auntie and cousin today. This, along with a body wrap and head massage will completely knock you out. How I managed to make this is unknown.

Preparing:

• Finely chop some shallots
• Finely chop a leek
• Prep some asparagus
• Beat an egg
• Defrost some frozen peas
• Preheat the oven to 180ºc (fan)
• Get a ciabatta bread mix, frozen broad beans, single cream, quails eggs, cream cheese, golden caster sugar, butter, oil & seasoning ready

Making:

Prepare the bread mix according to the instructions and leave to double in size.

Pop a little oil and butter in a pan and cook the leeks until softened. Remove and set aside.

Cook the broad beans in boiling salted water. Drain and refresh then remove the outer skins.

Cook the asparagus tips in boiling, salted water for a couple of minutes. Drain and refresh.

In a blender, whizz up the peas with the cream cheese. Add the egg and shallots with a pinch of sugar and some seasoning. Add a little cream.

Roll out the dough and press down in the centre to create a little crust. Pop onto a baking tray then pour over the cream cheese mixture. Top with the vegetables and then crack the quails eggs over the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I would have used fresh broad beans as per the recipe if I could have. I also couldn’t get my hands on baby leeks. My dough was a little on the large side too. I can’t say I disliked this but I also can’t say I particularly liked it either. There was a lot going on!

The recipe can be found in the July edition of BBC Good Food.

Pea & Halloumi Fritters

On 16th April 2015, This was Dinner…

These are a massive favourite of ours and I’m shocked that I haven’t made them since I started blogging.

Preparing:

• Cut some halloumi cheese into cubes
• Chop some mint
• Get frozen peas, milk, eggs, cornflour, plain flour, oil & seasoning ready

Making:

Cook the peas in boiling, salted water for a couple of minutes then drain and refresh.

Purée half of the peas in a processor, reserving the others.

Whisk up the milk, eggs, flours and baking powder in a bowl then stir through the pea purée.

Add the rest of the peas along with the halloumi and mint then season well.

Heat some oil in a pan and then gently drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes each side. As always, don’t overfill the pan.

I just served ours with a dollop of mayo.

This recipe can be found in a cook book called Delicious – Five of the Best by Vali Little.

Hot Smoked Salmon Pasta with Asparagus & Peas

On 22nd March 2015, This was Dinner…

I’ve always said that of all the TV chefs, the one I would love to cook for me is Jamie Oliver. I love his enthusiasm for food and having cooked plenty of this recipes, I’ve only had a ‘bad’ Jamie meal and that was down to the quality of the fish and not the recipe itself.

From the avocado slaw in the omelette on Wednesday, to this asparagus and pea sauce invention, he just gets his flavours spot on.

Preparing:

• Roughly chop some spring onions
• Cut some asparagus, reserving the stalks
• Grate some parmesan
• Roughly chop some mint
• Flake some hot smoked salmon
• Get milk, pasta, lemon, plain flour, frozen peas, oil & seasoning ready

Making:

Pop the spring onions and asparagus stalks in a pan with a little oil, the peas and the mint.

Sprinkle over the plain flour and stir for a minute then add the milk and bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer.

Cook the pasta, adding the asparagus tips for the last few minutes.

Blend the asparagus sauce, season well then give it a good squeeze of lemon juice. Drain the pasta, reserving a little liquid. Add the pasta to the sauce along with the salmon and stir to warm through.

Add a little liquid if required, ours didn’t need it, there was tonnes of sauce and I’m going to use the rest of it tomorrow.

The original recipe uses hot smoked trout and can be found in Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals.

Crab, Peas & Chorizo

A Belated Happy New Year to you all!

On 1st January 2015, This was Dinner…

After first trying this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe on 13th January 2014, I was hooked. I’ve checked the blog and am surprised to find that we only had it twice in 2014, I thought it was more.

Preparing:

• Cut some chorizo into small pieces
• Boil some frozen peas until just done then drain
• Get pasta, lemon, fresh crab (brown & white meat) & seasoning ready

Making:

Cook the pasta.

Fry the chorizo until starting to crisp.

Add the crab meat, peas and a squeeze of lemon along with some seasoning.

Drain the pasta, reserving a little water. Mix well with the chorizo & crab mixture, adding a little water if required.

I had a spare avocado going so we sliced that and served it on top.

When we had this in June I actually used fresh peas, well worth it but difficult to achieve in January.

I loved these pasta shapes I bought from the deli.

On 2nd January 2014, This was Dinner…

After visiting Pets at Home to look at beds for our February arrival (is it time yet?!!) we walked into town and had burgers at Table Table. Had we known a new place had opened called The Filling Station, we would have tried there!

Sausage & Pea Risotto

On 10th October 2014, This was dinner…

Inspiration comes from Ainsley Harriot (Oh remember him? I hear you shout). Anyone who pulled a sofa sickie* or was a student* or had a school holiday* from the mid nineties onwards will do. I am surprised that it was on until 2010 though (source: Wikipedia).

Anyway, I will have mentioned before that having had a magazine recipe addiction as a child and losing a few unused cookbooks along the way (Thanks Mum), Ainsley’s were some of the first Mr S & I owned as a couple. It’s him I have to thank for finally liking Spaghetti Bolognese (not Dolmio) and my introduction to Quark.

This is a simple risotto made with the humble sausage and the even more humble pea. Hence the title, apologies, it’s Thursday evening and I’m in a sarcastic mood.

Preparing:

• finely chop an onion
• crush a couple of garlic cloves
• grate some Parmesan
• chop some parsley
• get some sausages, butter, risotto rice, chicken stock, frozen peas and seasoning ready

Making:

Griddle the sausages until cooked through and pop to one side.

Melt the butter in a pan and add the onion and garlic, cook gently until softened.

Add the rice and stir well, coating in the butter.

Add a ladleful of the warm stock and stir, when the liquid has gone, add the next ladleful. Repeat this with your stock* until the rice is completely cooked.

Add the peas and chop the sausages and add these too. Season and add the Parmesan and parsley.

*delete as appropriate

(Pea) Courgette & Mozzarella Fritters

On 7th October 2014, This was dinner…

Another Bill Granger Easy, if you were to analyse my blogging, and I’m sure you won’t, you’d see that I ‘book binge’, clearly at the moment it’s Bill. I added peas to mine.

Preparing:

• grate some potatoes
• grate a courgette
• chop some spring onions
• chop some parsley
• grate some mozzarella*
• cut a lemon into wedges
• get an egg, some plain flour, oil, peas, paprika, natural yoghurt & seasoning ready

I bought buffalo mozzarella in error so that was obviously impossible to grate, I finely shopped the ‘harder; bits and threw in the softer bits.

Making:

Put the potato and courgette in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the excess liquid.

Pop in a bowl and add the spring onion, mozzarella, parsley, egg and peas. Stir gently and add flour and seasoning.

Heat some oil in a pan and drop spoonfuls of the mixture in, flattening slightly with the back of the spoon. Cook on each side, turning carefully, until golden brown.

Drain on kitchen paper and serve with a squeeze of lemon and natural yogurt with a paprika sprinkle to dip.

These will definitely go down again!

On 8th October 2014, This was dinner…

I bought a pack of ten basics fish cakes from Sainsburys and thought they would be rubbish but they were actually quite decent. The only problem being that they were quite small and so I cooked them all, I didn’t need to, five was FAR too many for me. we had them with oven chips and processed peas. Kids food but it just hit the spot. (I’m a simple girl at heart.)

Pie & Croquettes

On 20th September 2014, This was dinner…

A quick and cheap one after spending the day reorganising the kitchen, and YES I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I’ve stopped posting lazy food as it’s own post but I was impressed with this Sainsbury’s chicken pie and Mr S’ presentation. 😉

This was dinner…20th September 2014.