Simple Oven Baked Sea Bass+ Boiled Lemon & Herb Rice

With this recipe you need even less tekkers it takes to make beans on toast, its basically bung it all in tin foil and fold it into a parcel and make it air tight.

Stuff you will need.

1 fish/ two breasts each (cleaned and scaled)
2 tablespoons paprika
4 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
half and red pepper and half a green pepper sliced thin
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves
Few sprigs of Rosemary
2 teaspoons fresh coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 lemon wedges50ml white wine vinegar (optional) or 1/3 cup white wine (optional)
1 cup white rice
Few Knobs of butter

The Graft
-The first thing you need to do is boil two cups of water in the pan with the rice and add some salt and pepper,then when most of water has been absorbed add some of parsley and a squeeze of half a lemon. set aside

-Next is to pull a large piece of tin foil and and most of the ingredients and fold into air tight parcels and make sure not to squash the fish, this allows the fish to steam.add to preheated oven on 220 for 15-20 min.

-Serve with your choice of steamed veg..

Get involved

Chicken & Chorizo Lasagna

This next recipe is a great one to impress at a dinner party when you have friends over or cooking for your partner,chicken and chorizo are up there with the most tasty flavor combinations so i decided lets change a classic Italian dish (lasagna) into a more Spanish influenced plate of food. This recipe is not one to miss out on, give it a whirl and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

500g chicken thigh or breast sliced                       

100g chorizo diced
1 large onion very finely diced
2 celery stalks very finely diced
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 tins chopped tomatoes
150ml white wine
dried lasagna (approx 9 sheets)
1 tbs thyme chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
50g Parmesan cheese grated

50g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
500ml milk
salt and pepper

watercress
cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion finely sliced
1 tbs lemon juice
3 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper

Garlic bread

The graft

1. Cook the onion, celery and garlic in some oil for 5 mins until softened. Add the chorizo, chicken, thyme and paprika and continue cooking for 5 mins. Add the wine and tomatoes, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 mins, add sugar and seasoning.

2. Meanwhile to make the bechamel sauce, melt the butter over a med heat, then whisk in the flour, pour in the milk and continue whisking until it comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally, 

3. Assemble the lasagna in a greased oven dish by layering the chicken mixture, bechamel and pasta alternatively, finishing with the bechamel, add the grated Parmesan and cook in an oven set at 200c for 40 mins.

4. Serve with the watercress salad and some garlic bread.

Please if you cook leave me some feedback on what you think..

Crispy cod fish baps and fresh creamy mushy peas + homemade tartar sauce

Welcome back, it's been a while since I last updated this blog but I'm going to try to start getting back on track with a few recipes I have made over the past few months.

The first one is a small twist on a Jamie Oliver recipe I made for myself and Eva, even though Eva dislikes fish she loved this recipe. The secret ingredient on the mushy peas gives an amazing rich creaminess that tastes like restaurant standards. (You will need a food processor for this recipe)

Ingredients

4 soft wholemeal baps4 large (halved)
  8 small Fresh cod
1 pinch cayenne peppe
r½ a mug plain flour 
olive oi
l25 g Parmesan cheese
1 water cress
1 lemon
1 medium potato (secret ingredient)
500 g frozen peas½ 
bunch fresh mint
6 gherkins
1 tablespoon capers (optional)
1 little gem lettuce
250 g fat-free natural yogurt or mayo 
¼ a bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon

Start cooking Put the baps into the oven • Slice the potato 0.5cm thick, put it into the small pan, cover with boiling water and the lid and bring to the boil • On a sheet of grease proof paper, season the fish with salt, pepper and the cayenne, then sprinkle over the flour to coatPour 2 tablespoons of oil into the frying pan and add the fish • Cook until golden, finely grating the Parmesan over the top when you flip it over • Tip the frozen peas into the pan with the potato, then rip in the leafy top half of the mint and replace the lidPut the gherkins, capers, lettuce and yogurt mayo into the processor • Tear in the top leafy half of the parsley, squeeze in the lemon juice, then whiz up, season to taste and pour into a bowl • Drain the peas and potatoes, puree in the processor and season to taste • When the fish is perfect, get the baps out of the oven and serve with the peas, tartar sauce, pinches of cress and lemon wedges
enjoy

The Famous Paella

Many of my friends and family of whom I have cooked for over the years at some point would have tasted or heard about my paella. It is a dish I can cook with great ease and I slightly change it every time I do it, depending who I am cooking it for.
This paella was for me and Eva so not much seafood went into to the dish (squid and mussels) but for my own personal preference I would have had added them. That's the great thing about paella you can add what you like into it and add less or none of the things you dislike. The main skill in cooking the paella is adding the correct moisture to rice ratio, what is always 2:1 water to rice(2cups of stock/wine and 1cup of rice) and making sure you do not over cook at the end, although you are meant to slightly burn the bottom of the pan as this over cooking of the rice adds more to the flavour at the bottom. In places like Valencia when people cook large pans of paella people dig as low as they can scraping the bottom of the pan as it is the most tasty.

Ingredients

• Teaspoon salt, divided
• Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced Spanish chorizo sausage
• Chicken breast
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped tomato 
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
• 1 cup Paella Rice
• 2/3 cup white wine
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 1/4 cup water
• 18 mussels (about 3/4 pound), scrubbed and debearded
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped bottled roasted red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Prawns

Method

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add shrimp to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until shrimp are done. Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Add chorizo to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until browned. Add chorizo to bowl.
• Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add chicken to pan, and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the tomato, capers, and saffron; cook 1 minute. Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, rice, wine, and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is tender.

1. Add shrimp mixture, peas, 1/4 cup water, and mussels to pan. Cover and cook 8 minutes over medium heat or until mussels open; discard any unopened shells. Remove from heat and stir in bell pepper and cilantro. Let stand 3 minutes.

Serve with Garlic bread

Enjoy

Duck and sausage cassoulet.

This first recipe was a hard one to pick for my blog as there are so many but I wanted to start with my favourite dish at the moment and with the cold wet nights this dish is perfect for the winter.

Cassoulet is typical of South West France, though can probably be found throughout Southern France. Even tho the dish will take a large amount of time to do don't worry the main skill in making this dish is just keep a eye on the time when roasting.

Servings: 6-8 people

Ready in: 2h 35min

Preparation: 35min

Cooking Time: 2hours

Ingredients

-6 Fresh sausages of your choice.(Try and get French ones)

-4 Duck Legs legs

-6 rashers of Pancetta or dry-cured bacon.

-2 x 400g cans of peeled plum tomatoes, chopped.

-1 bulb of garlic unpeeled and cut in two *When I cut my bulb in two, a lot of the outer skin came away so I actually removed most of it.

-2 medium red onions peeled and thinly sliced

-1 large red chilly, slit lengthwise Or dried chilly

-3 sprigs of thyme

-500 ml chicken stock

-A good splash of white wine or red wine or sherry

-2 x 400g cans cannellini beans well rinsed in cold water and drained

-2 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar (do not worry if you do not have either)

-Olive oil+salt and pepper

-1 baguette torn into small pieces or similar bread

Method

1.Pour a splash of olive oil into a large roasting pan on a hob at a high heat. Add a grind of black pepper, add the duck and sausages and use it like a huge frying pan to brown the meat. This may take 10 to 15 minutes.

2.Remove the browned meat and set to one side.

3.Slit the chilli length-wise but don't disturb the seeds.

4.With the heat still on, add the herbs, chilli, onions, pancetta, garlic bulb halves, cut side down. Season with salt and pepper and fry for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.

5.De-glaze (see methods page)the pan with the wine and the sherry vinegar.

6.Add the beans and chopped tomatoes and mix well.

7.Arrange the duck and sausages on the top, duck skin-side up. Pour over the chicken stock and jiggle the roasting tray to bed everything down.

8.Roast uncovered for 1.5 hours, checking a few times to see that it's not drying out.

9.After 1.5 hours, tear the baguette into small pieces and push into the tray so that the bread soaks up all the fat and juices.

10.Return to the oven and roast for 30 minutes more.

11.Serve with green salad or broccoli.

Enjoy x

Popping my cherry.

This blog will be a place where I will be able to show everyone my passion for food and drink by sharing my favourite recipes and giving easier more simple ways of doing them. There will be classic recipes with my twist, new unique recipes and some of my favourites from top chefs I have accumulated over the years.

Now and then I will also throw in a few reviews of new drinks I have tried (beers and cocktails not wines because I would not know where to start) and give my opinion on how they rate in taste and affordability.

And last but not least, every time I eat out whether it be a top restaurant or just a cafe I will give a quick simple review on what the food quality was like also what the damage was to my wallet was.

Luke