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Posts Tagged ‘Simply’

Lamb & Cumin Pasta

Posted in Food, Lamb, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 6 January 2022| 2 Comments »

Tender lamb and a sauce rich with cumin and warm spices. Certainly not a combination we’re used to but one that works very well. Do remember to put the lamb in the marinade when you get home from work, don’t skimp on the butter, and don’t be tempted to use any cheese on the pasta, it is not required!

Wine Suggestion: warm, red and spicy; like a good Primitivo (Zinfandel), Monastrell (juicy Mourvedre) or Shiraz. Our choice tonight was Finca Bacara’s Crazy Grapes Monastrell from Jumilla in Spain; juicy, brambly and velvety tannins.

Lamb & Cumin Pasta – serves 4

  • 500g lamb leg steaks
  • 1 tbsp garlic granules
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
  • 1 tbsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 4 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 250g tagliatelle
  • 50g butter

Put the lamb between sheets of cling film and bash with a rolling pin to flatten. Thinly slice the lamb into strips about ½ cm thick and put them into a non-reactive bowl. Add the garlic granules, spices, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar and plenty of seasoning and mix well. Cover the bowl and leave to marinate at room temperature for at least an hour.

Cook the pasta in lots of salty water, then drain but keep the cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat a wok over a high heat. When hot, add the lamb and the marinade, cook until seared all over, this shouldnt take more than a few minutes, avoid stirring constantly to allow it to sear.

Remove the wok from the heat and add the butter. Check the seasoning, then add the cooked pasta with a little cooking water to loosen. Serve straightaway.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

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Chicken Kari

Posted in Asian, Chicken, Food, Gluten-free, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 4 January 2022| Leave a Comment »

We made this a few weeks ago for a small group of friends (before omicron took hold) and it was devoured with gusto. Despite the list of ingredients it’s all quite straight forward and a recipe to keep up your sleeve for any occasion … for friends, or just for yourself.

Wine Suggestion: the wine opened at the time was determined by the event, the Altosur Malbec made by Finca Sophenia in Tuppangato, Mendoza and what a triumph it was. Body and depth with seemless and juicy tannins; it just made it taste the dish a bit richer and more sophisticated.

Chicken kari – serves 4 to 6

  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 cassia bark stick (not a cinnamon stick)
  • 3 cardamom pods, crushed
  • 1 large onion, very finely chopped
  • thumb-size piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 4 big cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1-2 small green chillies or 1-2 long red chillies, split but leave the stalks intact
  • 8 large chicken thighs, skin removed but bone-in
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 4 large tomatoes, roughly diced
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • Steamed rice, to serve

Warm the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the mustard, fenugreek, cumin and coriander seeds, the cassia bark and cardamom pods and fry until the mustard seeds start to pop. Keep giving the pan a shake.

Stir in the onion and cook for a few minutes until it starts to brown and caramelise.

Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and stir-fry for a minute, then add the chicken thighs, turmeric and lots of salt and pepper and stir well. Add the fresh and tinned tomatoes, then add enough cold water to cover the chicken. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2 hours, stirring now and then. Top up with more water if needed.

Remove the cassia bark and cardamom pods, then season again to test if needed and serve.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

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Red Kidney Bean & Sweet Potato Stew with Yoghurt & Hot Mint Oil

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 27 March 2021| Leave a Comment »

For no particular reason we tend to eat mostly meat and fish dominant dishes on the weekend, and mostly veg during the week. This has been unsettled recently as we have no one to share our dishes with, so there is inevitably lots of leftovers from the weekend, and fewer opportunities to cook vegetables. This weekend we made sure to include a veggie dish in the line up and we’re looking forward to the leftovers already. Lots of lovely warm spices in this one. Serve with steamed rice.

Wine Suggestion: a nice accomaniment to this was from a young turk in Chateauneuf du Pape, Jean-Paul Daumen’s Méditerannée. From Southern France this contains the usual Rhone varieties alongside Cab Sauv and Merlot for a very pleasurable taste of sunshine. A well thought out biodynamic and organic blend that demonstrates why we shouldn’t always insist on what was grown traditionally in the area; this expands the range of taste on offer in a good way.

Red kidney bean & sweet potato stew with yoghurt & hot mint oil – serves 4

  • vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 big garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 690g jar of passata
  • 500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1cm chunks
  • 400g tin red kidney beans, drained
  • 30g flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp dried mint
  • Greek yoghurt

Put a large saucepan over a medium heat and pour in enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic and stir until both have softened but not coloured.

Stir in the spices and cook for a minutes, then season generously with Maldon salt and black pepper, then stir in the passata. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes. Add a splash of water now and then if needed to prevent it sticking.

Stir in the sweet potato and cook for a further 30-40 minutes, or until tender, then add the beans and most of the parsley and heat through.

Meanwhile, put a small pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and heat before stirring in the dried mint. Stir for a minute or two then remove from the heat.

Serve the stew with some yoghurt, the extra parsley and a drizzle of the hot mint oil.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

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Fishcakes with Preserved Lemon Mayonnaise

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , on 26 March 2021| Leave a Comment »

We loved these fishcakes by Sabrina Ghayour, they are jam-packed with herbs and full of flavour. The preserved lemon mayonnaise is the perfect accompaniment. We had them for dinner but they would work well as a starter too.

Wine Suggestion: A wine we haven’t had in ages, the Beauvignac Picpoul de Pinet. A wine that has been described by Andrew Jefford as “springtime in liquid form”. Refeshing, crisp and lively, plus a depth only old-vine, lower yielding vines can give.

Fish cakes with preserved lemon mayonnaise – serves 6 to 8

FOR THE FISH CAKES:

  • vegetable oil, for frying
  • 300g skinless chunky white fish fillet, we used cod, diced
  • 400g mashed potatoes
  • 30g dill, finely chopped
  • 30g coriander, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp English mustard powder
  • 4 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp garlic granules
  • 1 egg

FOR THE PRESERVED LEMON MAYONNAISE:

  • 6 small preserved lemons, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 8 tbsp mayonnaise

Heat a frying pan over a gentle heat, add a little oil and the fish. Cook until opaque, then transfer to a sieve and leave to drain.

Preheat the oven to 230C or as high as your oven goes.

Mix the fish with the rest of the fish cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and season well with maldon salt and black pepper. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until you have a smooth paste, this will take a few minutes. Shape into 6-8 cakes and place on a baking tray.

Bake the fish cakes for about 12 minutes or until just starting to brown (we took ours out of the oven after about 9 minutes).

Finish cooking the fish cakes in a hot frying pan with a drizzle of oil for about 4 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned.

Mix the preserved lemons with the mayonnaise in a small bowl, season with pepper and serve with the hot fish cakes and some salad leaves.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

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Carrot, Pistachio & Dill Salad, with a Lime & Honey Dressing

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 4 November 2020| Leave a Comment »

This is a good side dish to serve with richer dishes. It’s light and zingy which is just what’s needed sometimes. Another great combination of flavours suggested by Sabrina Ghayour. 

Carrot, pistachio & dill salad with lime & honey dressing – serves 4 to 6

  • 500g carrots, coarsely grated
  • ½ a small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 75g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
  • about 30g of dill, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp nigella seeds

FOR THE DRESSING: 

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 1 generous tbsp of runny honey

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and season well with sea salt and black pepper.

Put the other ingredients into a large bowl. Add the dressing when you’re ready to serve and toss gently to coat. Check the seasoning and serve. 

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

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Maast-o-esfenaj: Spinach & Yoghurt with Walnuts

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 14 October 2020| Leave a Comment »

This is a delicious Persian accompaniment that goes with almost anything. We know that as we initially served it as a starter with pitta breads, then proceeded to have it on the side with the main course, and for lunch the following day with something else. It’s hard to describe how good it is. 

Spinach & yoghurt with walnuts – Maast-o-esfenaj – serves 6 to 8

  • 250g spinach leaves (cut off any chunky stalks)
  • 500g thick Greek yoghurt
  • 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
  • 2 big handfuls of walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 2 tsp sumac, plus a bit extra to garnish
  • best olive oil, for drizzling
  • flatbread, to serve

Simmer the spinach in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes until wilted. Drain and immediately transfer to a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking. When cooled, drain well and chop finely. 

Put the spinach into a large bowl with the yoghurt, garlic and walnuts (keep a few for decorating), sumac, a small drizzle of olive oil and plenty of sea salt and black pepper. Mix well. 

Serve the mixture on a flat plate, drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle over some extra sumac and the reserved walnuts. 

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020)

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Turmeric & Black Pepper Braised Lamb Neck

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Lamb, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 10 October 2020| Leave a Comment »

Turmeric & black pepper braised lamb

This is a whole plateful of deliciousness form Sabrina Ghayour’s new book, Simply. We have loved all of her books but we’ve already cooked more out of this one than any of the others. The recipes are simple but truly delicious. This is great just served with rice.

Wine Suggestion: this dish really suits a velvety, medium bodied red with a few warm spices on the nose: Rioja, or similar made from Tempranillo makes a fine candidate. If you can find a good one and cellar it for a number of years (or be lucky enough to find one in a wine shop with age) then you’ve got your match. A hidden gem that always surprises in it’s value is the Dehesa la Granja from Castilla in Spain. The winemaker usually releases what they consider a Crianza at between 7 to 9 years of age .. and it’s a bargain.

Turmeric & black pepper braised lamb neck – serves 4-6

  • veg oil, for frying
  • 2 large onions, finely sliced
  • 4 big cloves of garlic, bashed and finely sliced
  • 800g lamb neck fillets, cut into bite-sized chunks
  • 2 heaped tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 heaped tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • 2 heaped tsp Maldon sea salt flakes, crushed

Put a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and pour in vegetable oil to coat the base. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until softened, but not coloured, then add the garlic and cook for another few minutes.

Add the lamb, turmeric and pepper and stir to coat. Make sure the meat is sealed on all sides but you don’t need to brown it.

Add the salt, then pour in boiling water to just cover everything. Put a lid on the pan and cook over a low heat for 2½ hours. Stir occasionally and add more water to keep it barely covered if needed. You want the sauce to thicken and reduce by the end. 30 minutes before the end, taste and season with  more salt if needed.

Serve with rice.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

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Yoghurt & Spiced Roast Salmon

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 6 October 2020| Leave a Comment »

Yoghurt & Spiced Roast Salmon

A genius way for cooking salmon by Sabrina Ghayour, nicely charred on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside. We stuffed this into warm tortillas with coriander leaves, finely sliced red onion, fresh tomatoes and a dollop of yoghurt. A week night feast made in about 20 minutes. Delicious!

Wine Suggestion: Find a light, dry Alvarinho/Albariño and you’ll be a happy camper. Spain and Portugal are the likely sources but don’t forget little gems coming new areas too. For us tonight the Forrest Estate Albariño from Marlborough NZ. We suspect we’ll see much more of this grape from here in the future.

Yoghurt & Spiced Roast Salmon – serves 4

  • 500g skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 cm cubes

FOR THE MARINADE:

  • 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp garlic granules
  • 1 tbsp rose harissa
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • finely grated zest of 1 lime and a decent squeeze of the juice
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Heat the oven as high as it will go. Don’t be nervous, our oven goes pretty high and this method worked perfectly.

Line a baking tray with paper.

Put all the marinade ingredients into a bowl, season with plenty of black pepper and maldon salt. Toss the salmon in the marinade until well coated, hands are best for this.

Spread the salmon over the lined baking tray and cook in the hot oven for 10 minutes.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020)

Yoghurt & Spiced Roast Salmon

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Sweetcorn, Black Bean & Avocado Salad

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 23 September 2020| Leave a Comment »

Sweetcorn, Black Bean & Avocado Salad

A lovely salad which is perfect for using the fresh corn cobs that are in the shops around now. We served with barbecued chicken but it would be great with loads of things. Another great idea by Sabrina Ghayour.

Sweetcorn, black bean & avocado salad – serves 5 to 6

  • 3 fresh corn cobs
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • ½ a 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves, very finely chopped (we didn’t have these but we added some lime zest instead)
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • ½ a small red pepper, finely diced
  • ½ a small green pepper, finely diced
  • 1 long red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • about 30g of fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 heaped tbsp of mayonnaise
  • a drizzle of olive oil

Cook the corn cobs in lots of boiling salty water for about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool, then drain again.

Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cobs in strips.

Put the corn in a large bowl with all of the other ingredients and season well with Maldon sea salt and black pepper.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020)

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Turmeric Chicken Kebabs

Posted in Barbecue, Chicken, Food, Gluten-free, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 19 September 2020| 3 Comments »

Turmeric Chicken KebabsWe’re total suckers for a new cookbook and therefore just couldn’t live without Simply by Sabrina Ghayour. We cooked a few dishes last weekend and they were all great. It’s an Indian summer in Ireland too, so it was great to do barbecue and drinks in the sunshine. We’re now on the hunt for more recipes using fresh turmeric.

Wine Suggestion: This works perfectly with a goood Rioja Reserva, especially if it has a few extra years in the bottle. There is something about how Tempranillo becomes all velvety and aromatic with a few years aged in oak, plus a few extra in the bottle that really works for warm spices and smoky barbecue flavours. Our treat was the Muga Reserva from 2001 which was excellent but it doesn’t need as much age as this, just nice fruit so choose what is at hand.

Turmeric Chicken Kebabs – serves 4 to 6

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • sweet chilli sauce, to serve

FOR THE MARINADE:

  • 5cm piece of fresh turmeric, scrubbed and grated (wear gloves!)
  • 1 tbsp garlic granules
  • finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • 1 generous tbsp clear honey
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Put all the of the ingredients for the marinade in a container and mix together. Do be careful as the turmeric is bright yellow and will stain anything it comes in contact with.

Cut the chicken breasts lengthways into 3 long strips. Stir into the marinade, then cover the container with a lid and put into the fridge. We did this in the morning and the chicken was really delicious by the time we cooked it that evening. Sabrina suggests 30 minutes to an hour or overnight, so no panic if you’re short on time or want to get ahead.

Get your barbecue going and get it nice and hot.

Thread the chicken onto kebab skewers, we prefer to use metal ones but wooden ones are fine, just make sure you soak them for 20 minutes before using. You can thread individual pieces onto short skewers or put a few onto a longer skewer.

Cook the chicken over a high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until browned and cooked through (alternatively you can cook these in the oven on a tray lined with baking paper at the highest setting for 10-12 minutes or until cooked). Serve with the sweet chilli sauce on the side.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

 

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Green Hummus

Posted in Food, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 15 September 2020| Leave a Comment »

Green Hummus

Really fresh and tasty. A lovely recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour (our new favourite thing!). We served with toasted pittas. Leftovers great for lunch the next day.

Green hummus – serves 6 to 8

  • 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and reserve ¾ of the brine from 1 of the tins
  • juice of ½ a lemon, you might need a bit more
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 30g of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 30g of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
  • 15g of tarragon, leaves picked, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tsp nigella seeds
  • warm pitta bread, to serve

Put the chickpeas, reserved brine, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, coriander, tarragon, tahini, some sea salt and black pepper, in a food processor and whizz until smooth.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, you might like to add more lemon juice. Serve in a bowl garnished with the nigella seeds and with some of your best olive oil drizzled over.

(Original recipe from Simply by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2020.)

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