Favourite recipes

[Phil Reynolds]

Several forumites have mentioned cooking as something they enjoy doing, and one or two (well, Matt Morrison) have even claimed to be quite good at it. Yet, as far as I can see, no one has yet posted any of their favourite recipes, hints and tips. So here's a place to do it.

[Derek Hazell]

Kirk Bevins's favourite recipe is the Recipe for Success.


Well done though Phil, it's brave to start a thread on recipes on a male-dominated forum, and I for one will find it interesting.

[Phil Reynolds]

I'll kick things off with a recent discovery of mine that's become a firm favourite in our household - easy enough to do for a weekday supper, yet good enough to serve when friends come round: Aromatic Chicken Curry. I'd done coconut-based curries before, but using coconut milk, which is a pain when cooking for two as you normally only need half a tin and the remainder doesn't keep so you end up chucking it away. This recipe uses creamed coconut instead, which you can buy in little 200g blocks from the supermarket. You use what you need, and the rest will keep for several months in the fridge - and you will use it up before then as, having tried this recipe once, I guarantee you'll want to make it again.

The original version of this comes from a book of recipes for use with a slow cooker; some friends bought us one for Christmas last year and it's really useful for dishes like this as, after a bit of prep, you just bung everything in and leave it. If you haven't got a slow cooker, just make it on the hob, but make sure you use a pan with a tight-fitting lid so the liquid doesn't all evaporate.

Aromatic Chicken Curry

Ingredients (for 2 people):

• 2 skinless & boneless chicken breasts
• 50g creamed coconut
• 200ml boiling chicken stock
• 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

To serve:

• basmati rice and/or naan breads
• natural yoghurt (optional)
• handful toasted flaked almonds (optional)

Method:

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 or 4 equally sized pieces. Roughly chop the coconut and stir it into the boiling stock until dissolved; set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and fry briefly until lightly browned. Transfer to the slow cooker and switch on to High (or transfer to a large pan with a tight-fitting lid).
3. Add the onion to the frying pan and cook for 7-8 minutes until almost soft. Stir in the garlic and dry spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time. Turn off the heat. Stir in a little of the coconut stock, then pour the mixture over the chicken.
4. Pour in the remaining coconut stock and season with salt and pepper. Cover with the lid and cook for 2-3 hours. (If cooking on the hob, simmer very gently for 1 hour or so or until the chicken is really tender).
5. Stir in the chopped coriander and serve at once with boiled or steamed rice and/or warm naan breads. For added visual and taste appeal, reserve a little of the fresh coriander and sprinkle over the top along with a dollop of natural yoghurt and some toasted flaked almonds.

If you like a spicier curry, add a little chilli powder with the other dry spices, but not too much - this is meant to be an aromatic curry, not a vindaloo! This recipe scales really well; to make it for one, use a small onion and halve the other quantities. If scaling up, reduce the proportion of stock slightly or the end result'll be a bit runny. Enjoy!

[Jon O'Neill]

That sounds pretty good. I can't cook very well myself, apart from boiled eggs and boiled pasta.

[Ben Hunter]

Sounds nice Phil, I'll give it a go and tell you what I think. Keeping with the Indian theme: potato and rice rasam. This recipe involves quite a bit of pan-swapping and is pretty confusing at first but it's fun to make.

Ingredients for 2 people:

Basmati rice (100 grams)
A pot of fresh coriander
0.5 teaspoons of chilli powder (hot or mild depending on taste, I go for hot though)
0.5 teaspoons of tumeric powder
1 teaspoon of thyme
0.5 teaspoons of mustard seeds
Pinch of asafoetida
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 teaspoons of pepper corns (I use tropical coloured but use whatever you fancy)
4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
4 big spoonfuls of moong daal
1 vegetable stock cube (I use oxo)
3 big potatos or 6 little potatos, cut into bite-size chunks
2 onions, cut into bite-size chunks
25 grams of raisins
4 tomatoes
Some cooking oil (I use olive)
Balsamic vinegar
4 sprigs of curry leaves
Some salt
Some pepper

Utensils:

Two saucepans
Some aluminum foil
0.5 teaspoons tomato paste
Pestle and mortar
Sieve or drainer

1. First you need to make the soup stock. Put 4 spoonfuls of moong daal (rinsed) into the first pan with a veggie oxo cube, pour in 800ml of boiling water, bring to boil then simmer for 30-40 mins. This takes ages so always do this first.

2. The easiest part is roasting the vegetables as you just have to leave them in the oven for ages, though I do this in a slightly weird but nice tasting way. First make a little tray from the aluminium foil by laying a big slice of it out, folding the edges to make a little one-inch high perimeter wall. Cut the washed potatoes and onions into bite sized chunks, lay them in the tray, pour some balsamic vinegar and olive oil over them and sprinkle them with thyme. Leave them to roast in the oven at a highish heat until the rest of the recipe is complete.

3. Now for the main ingredients (you should probably wait about five or ten minutes before doing this, for reasons I'll explain in step 5). Put some oil into the second pan on a medium heat. While the oil is coming to the boil, put the crushed garlic cloves, cumin seeds and pepper corns into a pestle and mortar and crush them into a mix. Then put them into the second pan and give it a little stir for about a minute, then leave it to simmer.

4. Next chop the coriander so you have a bunch of stems and a bunch of leaves. Wash them, then add the stems to the mix, along with 3 sprigs of curry leaves. Keep the leaves handy somewhere.

5. Now chop four tomatoes into quarters and lob them in as well. Turn the heat back up and stir for a minute, then put the pan back on simmer. If you waited a few minutes before doing part 3, the soup stock should be ready. Pour the stock from the first pan into the second pan and give it a little stir. Then add the chilli and tumeric powders, stir, bring to the boil then leave it to simmer for about 30 minutes with a lid on. Make sure you stir it occasionally.

6. Give the first pan a little wash, then add some oil, the mustard seeds, the asafoetida (which will smell like festival toilets at first but smells nice once heated) and the other sprig of curry leaves. Quite a few people who cook with mustard seeds have told me to boil the oil first and then add the mustard seeds, which I don't understand because they explode straight away and end up all the kitchen, but it's pretty fun to watch (which is probably why they recommend it). Bring to the boil at a medium heat and stir.

7. Once the soup of ingredients in step 5 is ready, strain it into the first pan, then bring the first pan to the boil again and leave to simmer.

8. While that's simmering you can now do some rice. Pour the rice into the second pan (making sure you've given it a cheeky wash), add water and boil for 15 minutes. About half way through this time, put some raisins in to give the rice a bit more bite.

9. After step 8, the rice, the soup and roast vegetables should be done. Put some coriander leaves into the soup to make it look posh a la Phil's fifth step, add some tomato paste to bring out the colour, then put salt and pepper in however you like it (I recommend two pinches at most). Serve the rice up on to plates, then lob the roast vegetables on top, then pour the soup over it all.

Protip: the soup is meant to be runny so don't worry about this.
Edit: fucking hell that was a long post...

[Paul Howe]

I can make an object of omelette like colour and consistency without breaking any eggs.

[Dinos Sfyris]

Phil I might try your recipe at some point but at the moment I just don't have the thyme

I can make an object of omelette like colour and consistency without breaking any eggs.

I'm the unquestionned omelette king and if any of you are ever in my neck of the woods I'll have to make you a Dinos Omelette! This mainly involves throwing everything into a pan: eggs, (lots of) cheese, ham onions, potatoes, sausage, tomatoes etc, cooking it to perfection and serving with baby salad leaves for that healthy touch.

I have a few other choice dishes I like to think I've made up by sticking "Dinos" on the end of them such as Chicken Dinos, Salmon Dinos and Fruity Dinos which are pretty much a recipe to get laid, particularly the last one!

[David O'Donnell]

Phil I might try your recipe at some point but at the moment I just don't have the thyme

Groan.

Fruity Dinos

I believe I have met him.

[Michael Wallace]

That sounds pretty good. I can't cook very well myself, apart from boiled eggs and boiled pasta.

This pretty much covers my culinary abilities as well. (Unless breakfast cereal counts.)

[Derek Hazell]

I was just flicking through the two recipe books that my nan has written up herself. All of the dishes may not appeal to today's tastes, as food tended to be stodgier back then, and didn't contain any lemongrass or sun-dried tomatoes, but they are a good way to use up old ingredients, and I have done them before when I have been visiting there.
The first she has simply titled "Own Recipy"

1 lb mince
1 large onion
clove of garlic
1 dessertspoon flour
1 teaspoon paprika
good pinch oregano
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tin tomatoes chopped
salt
pepper
1/2 cup water
tin of kidney beans

Sweat together the mince and onion. Stir in the garlic, flour, paprika, oregano, vinegar and sugar. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and water. Stir well and simmer for 3/4 hour. Add kidney beans and cook for another 1/4 hour.
Serve with rice.

Another rice dish, this time for using up leftover roast lamb, is
Lamb Risotto

1 oz margarine (pronounced Marg-arine)
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
8oz long grain rice
4 oz button mushrooms (sliced)
7 oz can sweetcorn
4 oz frozen peas
1 red pepper (seeds removed and finely chopped) (optional)
12 oz cooked lamb
2 red Oxo cubes in 1 pint hot water

Melt margarine with oil, add onions and garlic, and fry gently for 10-15 minutes, until soft and golden brown. Stir in rice and cook for further 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously. Add mushrooms, peas, sweetcorn, and red pepper. Cut lamb in 1/4 inch pieces and add to saucepan, mixing well. Add Oxo stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30-35 mintues, until rice is cooked and all the liquid absorbed.

The other thing we always enjoyed as children which my nan made every summer was lemonade. It is in the form of a cordial, which you dilute with water:

4 large lemons
1 oz citric acid
2 1/2 lb sugar
3 pints water

Squeeze and zest lemons
Bring water to the boil
Cool water a little and pour onto lemons and sugar
Leave to cool for twelve hours
Add acid and stir well
Strain and bottle

[Jimmy Gough]

long post...

Cool, I might try that.

[Sue Sanders]

Garlic, paprika, oregano, red peppers...all served with rice???? How cutting edge is your Nan, Dez? Mine was more a homemade tomato ketchup and ginger beer Nan.

[Derek Hazell]

There was a new weekly quiz show on Channel 4 last night, called "The Big Food Fight". I didn't have very high hopes for a food-based quiz hosted by Sue Perkins, but I found it incredibly funny. Perhaps it was just the mood I was in, as I had been drinking wine, but I just found myself laughing an awful lot at it. I checked the end credits, and Perkins herself wasn't involved in the writing; the programme associates were Kevin Day, Dan Gaster, Lee Stuart Evans and Colin Swash.

I thought I'd put this here, because it is a criminally under-used thread, and it does involve recipes.