The Recipe Thread

[rsbmw]

I've been around PH for a while now, and not come across a recipe thread. Having just searched, seems there have been a few tame attempts several years ago but nothing really took.

I like to cook, but over the past several years work, child etc has left us cooking the same things week in week out. Recently got several recipe books in an attempt to boost inspiration, and it has worked to an extent, but I think a good busy thread here full of recipes and pictures would be better!

I'll kick off with one I tried at the weekend, no pic unfortunately (was long gone before I thought of this thread!), from Omar Allibhoy's Tapas Revolution book.

Lentejas Estofadas
Lentil Stew

This is a good, hearty, healthy recipe with flavour in abundance. Really excellent. Below is the way I cooked it, differs slightly from the recipe in the book.

Serves 4
Prep: 20 mins
Cooking: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3-4 tbsp Olive Oil
• 5 Garlic Cloves, chopped/crushed/grated
• 1 Medium Onion, chopped
• 1 Orange Pepper, chopped
• 200-250g fresh/cooking Chorizo, sliced - Hard to find, I used Sainsbury's packet of 12 mini cooking chorizo
• 100g Smoked Pancetta, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sweet/Spanish paprika
• 2 cloves
• 100ml Red Wine
• 200g Puy Lentils
• 1 Chicken Stock cube (Oxo is fine)

Method

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and pepper and cook for a few minutes until softened.
• Add the garlic cloves, chorizo and pancetta and cook for another few minutes.
• Add the cumin, paprika and cloves, stir for a minute
• Add the red wine, cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated
• Add 1 litre of cold water, the stock cube and the lentils - Note from book, always add lentils to cold water, or they will not cook properly
• Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes
• Season to taste

What do you have to share?

[Legend83]

Staying on the chorizo theme, a little favorite Italian dish I do is:

- 500g of fresh tomatoes de-skinned, chopped and seeds/pulp removed
- 100g of sliced/chunked chorizo
- fresh or dried rosemary
- crushed garlic
- glug of white wine
- 150g of grated parmesan
- flat-leaf parsley
- 150ml of double cream (or more if you want a thicker sauce)
- Penne

Cook the tomatoes, garlic, white wine and rosemary in a pan until the tomatoes are soft and it resembles a sauce.

Add the chorizo and brown for a few minutes, then add the cream.

Bring to simmer and cook for 5 mins stirring regularly - the cream will have absorbed the chorizo juices and the whole thing should be a nice colour.

Finish by stirring in the parmesan, cooked pasta and parsley.

Top with a sprinkle of parsley to finish.

Yum.

[AutoMate]

This is such a nice curry

Creamy Mushroom and Onion Korma with Cashew Nuts

Serves 4

Prep time 5 mins
Cook time 25 mins
Ready time 30 mi

Ingredients

4 medium onions, sliced
125 g (4 oz) mushrooms, sliced
50 g (2 oz) sultanas
40 g (1½ oz) roasted cashew nuts
50 g (2 oz) Patak’s Original Korma Curry Paste (use this or any other animal-free brand, available from your local supermarket)
50 g (2 oz) vegetable ghee
50 g creamed coconut dissolved in 450 ml (¾ pint) of hot water
150 ml (¼ pint) soya cream


Method

Melt the vegetable ghee in a large frying pan over a hot heat. Add the onions.

Once the onions are browned, add the sultanas and cashew nuts.

Add the creamed coconut and water and stir well.

Add the sliced mushrooms.

Once the water has reduced by a quarter, add the curry paste and continue to cook. Now turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the soya cream. Stir in well and serve immediately.

[rsbmw]

I'm guessing you're a vegan!

Thanks for the recipes chaps.

[rsbmw]

Interesting, I've not come across Sumac before so may have to give that one a try. Have you experimented much with it? Personally I hate parsley so would swap that out for fresh coriander, and I could see how orange juice and maybe some cumin mixed into the salad would work.

[HarryFlatters]

Put some spaghetti on to boil.

In another pan, add olive oil, garlic, anchovies and dried chilli. Once softened and the anchovy has dissolved, squeeze in fresh lemon juice and add some salt and pepper.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and reserve some cooking water. Mix the water with the oil/anchovy mixture, and pour onto the hot spaghetti, then throw in a few hand fulls of torn rocket. Mix it all together until the rocket wilts and the oil and water emulsify and coat the pasta.

Serve with more fresh rocket, Parmesan and a drizzle of more oil.

Lovely on its own, nice with grilled fish, and takes as long to make as it takes to boil pasta.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Stick some white sliced in the toaster, empty a can of baked beans (Heinz if you can afford it) into a microwavable dish, blast beans until hot. Meanwhile check the bread is toasted to the level of brownness that you like, butter it and put it on a plate. Pour beans over bread. Optionally add grated cheddar and black pepper to taste.

Eat and enjoy