Amish Slaw From all recipes.com

Sweet slaw with no mayo

1 med cabbage shredded
1 med onion (red) finely sliced
1 cup white sugar (suggest using 1/2 cup sugar or 1/6 cup stevia - or less)
1 cup vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seed
1 teaspoon white sugar (or less)
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Method
Toss together cabbage, onion and 1 cup sugar (or less)
In small saucepan combine vinegar, salt, celery see, 1 tsp white sugar, mustard and oil.  Bring to boil, cook for 3 mins.  Cool completely.  Pour over cabbage mix, stir to coat.  Refrigerate overnight.  Will keep for up to a month in sealed container in a cold fridge.

Fish pie Hack

Best easy fish pie hack.
300g fresh fish pie assortment from Tesco.
1/2 tub tesco 4 cheese sauce (for pasta)
1/4 cauliflower cut into florets (you could substitute mashed potato but I am on a constant mission to reduce weight!)
Breadcrumbs (I used a pack of Tesco lemon pepper breadcrumbs)
Small amount of strong grated cheese.
Salt and pepper.  Herbes de Provence. Fennel seeds.

1. Boil cauli until v. al denté (5 mins max.) Drain. Cut up with knife in pan then chop small (not purée) with stick blender.  Stir in 2 tablespoons cheese sauce.  Season. Put fish in single layer in ovenproof dish.  Spoon over 2-3 tablespoons cheese sauce and stir.  Season well.  I added mixed herbs and fennel seeds.
Cover with part cooked cauli and cheese sauce mix.
Top with seasoned breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of grated cheese.
Cook in hot oven (200*C) for 20 mins until nicely brown on top and fish cooked.
Serve with mange tout peas and garlic bread.
Yum.

Chicken chickpeas spinach harissa preserved lemon Tagine

• 100g wholemeal couscous
• Olive oil
• 400g baby spinach
• 1 onion
• 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves
• 25g ginger
• 1 piece preserved lemon
• 1 tin chickpeas
• 300g diced chicken breast
• Oil for frying e.g. sunflower or light olive
• 1 tbsp harissa
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 75g dried apricot pieces
• 15g fresh coriander
• Salt & pepper 

Method:

1. Boil a kettle of water. Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl. Add a glug of oil and a good pinch of salt. Pour over enough of the boiled water from the kettle to just cover the couscous. Leave to stand. 
2. Wash the spinach. Peel, halve and finely slice the onion. Peel and crush, grate or finely chop 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves. Peel and finely grate the ginger. Scoop the flesh out of the preserved lemon and discard it. Finely chop the rind; it is this that you want (the flesh is too salty). 
3. Drain the tin of chickpeas into a colander and rinse with cold water. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy based pan. Add the chicken. Fry, turning the pieces now and then, until golden brown. 
4. Don’t crowd the pan, cook in 2 batches if needs be. Remove them to a plate. Add the onion and a splash more oil to the same pan. Fry gently, stirring now and then for 10 minutes. Add a splash of water if it looks like it might catch at any point. After 10 minutes, add the garlic, ginger, half the harissa, the preserved lemon, dried mint and dried apricots. 
5. Gently warm for 1 minute. Add chicken back to the pan, with the chickpeas. Add 250ml of water, cover and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Check the liquid at intervals and add a little more water if needed. While the tagine is simmering, wash half the pack of coriander. 
6. Shake dry and roughly chop the leaves. After 10 minutes, add the spinach in handfuls, stirrring it in until just wilted, a few seconds at a time, per handful. Taste the dish and add a little more harissa depending on how hot you like your food. 
7. Fluff the couscous up with a fork. Divide between 2 serving bowls or plates. Stir the coriander leaves into the tagine, check the seasoning and serve with the couscous.

From Roverford Organics.  Says enough for 2 but it made enough for two meals for us.

I used Haricot beans as I didn't have chick peas to hand. I prefer them to chickpeas anyway.

Hidden broccoli pasta with salmon

Creamy broccoli and parsley pasta with pan-seared salmon (above)
Serves 4 

500g broccoli, trimmed and chopped 
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing 
4 cloves garlic, crushed 
Sea salt and cracked black pepper 
250ml single pouring cream 
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind 
½ tsp dried chilli flakes 
Handful flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped 
400g linguine 
4 x 200g salmon fillets, halved 
Lemon wedges, to serve 

1 Place the broccoli in a food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the broccoli and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Add the salt, pepper, cream, lemon rind, chilli and half the parsley, and cook for a further 3 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. 
2 While the broccoli is cooking, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water for 6-8 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 250ml of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta and reserved cooking liquid to the broccoli mixture and toss to combine. 
3 Heat a large nonstick frying pan over high heat. Brush the salmon with oil and cook, skin-side down, for 3 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 2 minutes. 
4 Divide the pasta between plates and top with the salmon and lemon wedges. Sprinkle with remaining parsley to serve.

Parsnips Coronation Chicken Hack

I had a lot of cooked chicken.  We had been trying to tempt our little old dog to eat, but to no avail, so after she had gone we were left with a lot of .... Cold chicken.
This is from a recipe based on the original 1953 classic Coronation Chicken, but I didn't have half the ingredients so I improvised.

For 2
1/2 onion
Chilli oil (or plain)
Lge tsp curry paste
1 tblspn Tomato ketchup (tomato purée might be better but I didn't have any)
1/2 glass red wine

1tblspn mango chutney (I only had carrot and coriander)
2 tblspn coconut creme
Juice and rind of 1/2 lemon (taste it and see how much you need as you add it)
1/2 small tub of fromage frais
Black pepper and salt

Enough cooked chicken for 2 in bite sized pieces.

Cook down chopped onion in oil, add tomato sauce, curry paste, wine and allow to cook for 5-10 mins until amalgamated and cooked down.  Add chutney, coconut creme and lemon.  Adjust seasoning.  Add creme fraiche  -depending on how hot it is.  When it's  all melted down transfer to a cold dish and allow to cool (in fridge).

Add chicken, readjust seasoning as it's different when cool. Stir well to mix.

Serve on a bed of rocket or salad greens with new potatoes and a nice glass of red.

Salted Caramel Banoffee pie

I love love love the Salted Caramel Ice Cream we get in France so fancied a saltier, less sweet Banoffee.  Tried this with a can of Carnation Caramel instead of the condensed milk.
Recipe from sweetthingyoumakemyheartsing.blogspot.com

Following below is my adapted, smaller, less sweet version.

Salted caramel banoffee pie (the full Monty)

If you like leave the salt out and make a more traditional banoffee pie, I do find the salted caramel adds a sophisticated edge and cuts through the richness ever so slightly.

Salted caramel banoffee pie

100g butter
250g chocolate digestives

100g butter
100g brown sugar (light or dark)
tin of condensed milk
sea salt

2 large bananas
standard pot of double cream

Smaller less sweet version  (method the same, just different ingredients)
Notes: after blitzing the biscuits, chop the pecans and add to the crushed biscuits before adding butter.

Crust
1/2 pack double chocolate Maryland cookies -about 120g
50 g butter, melted
25g pecan nuts

Filling
50g brown sugar
50g butter
1/2 tin Carnation Caramel
sea salt (3 large pinches -err on the side of caution, you can always add a bit more to taste)


Topping
1 banana
Lemon juice
1/2 tub creme fraiche
2 rounded tblspoons natural yogurt (I used low fat)
Spoonful icing sugar (to taste)
whipped together and enough sugar to counteract the tartness, but not sweet)
Pecans nuts to decorate.
6" springform cake tin

First of all grease a springform tin with butter, line the base with baking paper and grease the paper too.

Bash the biscuits in a bag or bowl, with a rolling pin, until they are fine crumbs. Alternatively use a food processor. Gently melt 100g butter and pour over the biscuit crumbs and stir to combine. Tip the mix into the prepared tin and level the top. Pop in the fridge to set for ~ 30 minutes.

To make the caramel melt the butter gently in a pan over a low heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the condensed milk and gently increase the heat, stirring all the time. Bring the mix to the boil and allow to boil for at least a minute. This is important to make sure the caramel sets nice and thick and squidgy! Add sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until salted to your liking.

Allow the caramel to cool slightly for 5 minutes then pour over the biscuit base. Pop the pie back in the fridge for another 30 minutes or so.

Slice the bananas and arrange over the top of the caramel.

 Finally whip the cream and use it to top the pie. Pop the finished pie back in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

I kept this pie in the fridge and it was just as good on Easter Monday.

Cranberry & Marsala stuffing for Turkey Crown & Mary Berry below

Another Nigellissima special.  Shame I didnt bring the book with me to Pralo for Christmas.

Alternativel see Mary Berry Roast Turkey crown with Orange below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/turkey_crown_with_orange_47645

And further below le Creuset method for slow roast turkey breast.

Turkey breast stuffed with Italian sausage and Marsala-steeped cranberries

Watch recipe6 min(s)

You need to go to a butcher to get a whole breast joint and you need to ask for it to be butterflied and boned and make sure the skin is left on. I know it might sound a bit of a faff, but take it from me that stuffing a whole double-breast joint is very much easier than stuffing and rolling a single breast joint, as is more commonly found in supermarkets.

Ingredients

For the stuffing

• 100g/3½oz dried cranberries
• 100ml/3½fl oz Marsala
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 banana shallots, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• 2 tsp chopped fresh sage
• 1kg/2lb 4oz Italian sausages
• 2 free-range eggs, beaten
• 50g/2oz parmesan, grated
• 60g/2¼oz breadcrumbs

For the turkey joint

• 5kg/11lb double breast turkey joint, boned, butterflied, with skin left on
• 4 tbsp duck or goose fat

Preparation method

1. Put the cranberries and Marsala into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then take off the heat and leave to one side.
2. Put the oil into a large frying pan or similar heavy-based pan, and fry the shallots for a minute or so, then add the spices and shredded sage, turning them in the soft shallots.
3. Squeeze the sausagemeat out of its skins, add to the pan and break it up – using a wooden fork and spatula for ease – turning it in the hot pan until it loses its pinkness. This will take about five minutes.
4. Take the frying pan off the heat and turn the contents into a large bowl, mixing in the steeped cranberries and any Marsala clinging to them, and leave to cool. You can cover with cling film and put in the fridge for up to two days at this stage.
5. When you are ready to stuff the turkey breast, take the bowl of sausagement out of the fridge.
6. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
7. Uncover the bowl of sausagemeat, add the eggs, parmesan and breadcrumbs and – I use my hands for this – mix well.
8. Lay the butterflied turkey joint out in front of you. It really does look like a butterfly though admittedly a fleshy one. Spread the stuffing out first in the slight cavity in the centre of the butterfly and then outwards onto the wings though not going right up to the edge (or it will squodge out when cooking) but as evenly as possible over the whole joint.
9. Carefully, in one swift but steady movement, fold one ‘wing’ over the other to close the joint, and then sit the turkey on a large roasting tin, breast bone (or where the breast bone would be) uppermost as it would look were it the whole bird, with the pointier bit furthest away from you. Thread two skewers through the base – i.e., the widest part that is nearer you – to keep it closed and smear it all over with the duck or goose fat.
10. Roast the turkey breast for 2-2½ hours, then check it is cooked with a turkey or meat thermometer. When cooked, it should read 75C. (If you’re leaving it to rest, as you should or to cool, you could take it out at 73C – it wil retain heat and continue to cook for a short while once out of the oven.)
11. Flex your muscles, then lift out onto a carving board, and leave to rest for at least 20 minutes. Or leave to get cold if you are eating it as part of a buffet.
12. Cut through the whole joint in wide slices right across; they will need to be quite thick, at least 1-2cm/½-1in, to keep the stuffing intact within the slice.
13. As you place it on table or sideboard, dot around it the condiments of your choice: I revert to Christmas in Italy here by putting a lusciously extravagant pot or two of Italian mostarda di Cremona on the table alongside: this is a hot and sweet preserve of mustardy candied fruits that gleam beautifully and taste both festive and fabulous.

Mary Berry shows you how to cook a turkey crown - deliciously flavoured with orange and thyme - in 10 easy steps.

Ingredients

For the turkey

• 2.2kg/4lb 14oz turkey crown
• 2 tsp chopped thyme leaves
• 50g/1¾oz butter, softened
• 2 small oranges, one thinly sliced, one cut in half
• 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the gravy

• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 6 tbsp port
• 450ml/¾ pint hot turkey or chicken stock
• splash Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
2. Loosen the skin on the turkey crown by pushing your fingers (or rubber spatula) between the skin and the meat, moving it around to get to the tricky places and taking care not to tear the skin.
3. Mix the thyme leaves with the softened butter until well combined, then smear the mixture underneath the skin of the bird. Arrange the orange slices in two neat rows under the skin, on top of the herb butter.
4. Place one of the orange halves under the skin at the neck end of the bird, and any orange trimmings in the neck cavity.
5. Transfer the turkey crown to a small roasting tray. Rub all over with the oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for about 1½-2 hours, or until the juices run clear when the turkey is pierced in the thickest part with a skewer and no traces of pink remain. During cooking, check the turkey every 30 minutes, baste occasionally and cover with aluminium foil if it is browning too quickly.
6. About 15 minutes before the end of cooking, squeeze the juice from the remaining half-orange over the turkey. Return the turkey to the oven, uncovered, to allow the skin to crisp up.
7. Transfer the turkey crown to a serving platter and set aside to rest, covered in foil, for 30 minutes. Reserve the meat juices left in the roasting tray.
8. For the gravy, pour the juices from the roasting tray into a jug and allow to settle. Skim all but 4 tablespoons of the fat from the top, then tip the remaining gravy into a saucepan and heat over a medium heat until the gravy is just simmering.
9. Whisk in the flour until the mixture is smooth and well combined, then pour in the port and stock and whisk again until smooth. Continue to simmer the gravy until it starts to thicken, then add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and the soy sauce.
10. Bring the gravy to the boil, adding any remaining turkey juices released while the meat was resting. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then decant into a warmed serving jug and serve with the turkey.

Slow-roast Christmas Turkey

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A boned turkey crown with two types of stuffing - the first a seasonal sausage meat and cranberry and the second a traditional sage and onion. The turkey is roasted with a topping of smoked bacon rashers for extra flavour .This recipe can be prepared the day before and chilled in the roasting dish ready to cook.

 

Serves 8-10

 

Advantages of cooking a stuffed boneless turkey:

 

  
1. You can prepare it the day before easing the pressure on the day.   
2. The bacon topping and moist stuffing allow you to baste it less often.   
3. The meat is always tender, flavoursome and moist.   
4. The overall cooking is more even and it takes up less room in the oven.   
5. It is really easy to carve and cold leftovers take up less room in the fridge.

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Ingredients:

Sausage meat and cranberry stuffing

 

  
• 25g (1oz) butter   
• 1 onion finely chopped   
• 1 stick celery finely chopped   
• 300g (11oz) pork sausage meat   
• 75g (2½ oz) dried cranberries   
• 75g (2½ oz or 1½ cups) fresh breadcrumbs   
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme   
• 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley   
• 1 egg   
• ½ teaspoon pepper

 

Sage and onion stuffing

 

  
• 25g (1oz) butter   
• 2 onions finely chopped   
• 100g (3½ oz or 1¾ cups) fresh breadcrumbs   
• 2 tablespoons dried sage   
• 2 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley   
• Zest of a lemon   
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg   
• 1 teaspoon salt   
• ½ teaspoon black pepper   
• 2 eggs 

 

Turkey

 

  
• 1 x 2½ - 2¾ kg (4½ - 6lb) boned turkey crown*. Stuffed weight will be approximately 3½ kg (7½lb)   
• 25g (1oz) butter   
• 12 rashers of smoked streaky bacon.

 

Gravy

 

  
• Pan juices   
• 2 tablespoons flour   
• 750ml (25fl oz or 3 cups) warm chicken stock

 

Meat thermometer