PixieCooks

I had a whole lot of carrots sitting making me feel guilty from the fridge and while I like raw carrot (more than I like most cooked carrot to be honest) I didn’t really feel like flinging them into a “normal” salad with my usual olive oil/balsamic or olive oil/lemon juice mediterranean dressing. A little bit of poking about in the fridge and cupboards resulted in a Carrot, Cumin and Brie Salad. Nom.

Serves One
Ingredients

• 2 Medium Carrots, Scrubbed or Peeled and chopped into short batons
• 2 Sticks of Celery, finely sliced
• 2 Spring Onions (scallions), finely sliced
• As Much Lettuce as you feel like, finely chopped (which means this must be eaten immediately otherwise it will brown very quickly)
• As Much Brie as you feel like, ripped into bite-sized chunks
• 3 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• Large Pinch Cumin Seeds

Method
Combine the oil, lemon juice and seeds in a mortar and pestle, grind the seeds to break them all up and leave for the taste to amalgamate whilst you are preparing the salad.

Combine the vegetables and brie in a bowl and dress with the cumin dressing.

Serve with some crusty bread or oatcakes.

I was looking for something light to eat after a very soporific lunch out with my colleagues, and digging around the fridge I found some homemade chicken stock and some tikka chicken (the pre-sliced stuff, made for sandwiches and salad) and with a little bit of heat, spice and stirring I made some lovely soup.

It would work with a good pre-made stock (although chicken stock is a breeze to make and freezes very well) and any cooked chicken.

2-3 hearty portions
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Pints Chicken Stock
• 1 Pack Sliced Tikka Chicken (225g/80z, chop to bite-sized if required)
• 4 Spring Onions/Scallions, Sliced
• Small Thumb Fresh Ginger, Finely Diced
• 1 Clove Garlic, Finely Diced
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• Handful Rice Noodles (the kind that cook in 5 minutes in hot water)

Method

Bring the stock to the boil, add all the other ingredients other than the noodles. Simmer for 10 minutes and taste, adding more spice and seasoning as neccessary (I added cumin seeds and the seeds from a handful of cardamom pods)

Add the noodles and swirl through the soup as they soften.

Serve, gathering a ladle of noodles and chicken before a ladle of broth (it’s easier to portion out fairly that way!).

If you have a different kind of chicken, change the spices to suit, five spice with chinese chicken, etc.. Lemon juice works with nearly all the flavours as it just perks up the poultry flavour. If you’re stuffed up or feeling blue add a little fresh chopped chilli to give the soup more kick.

I really like tinned tuna – it’s tasty, versatile and with some judicious shopping it’s also cheap – but I’ve never got on particularly well with tuna steaks; I’ve always ended up finding them a bit dull and no more special than tinned. This recipe however was my tuna game changer, it’s seriously delicious.

I’ve tagged it 2* difficulty but that’s really because it needs to be marinated which isn’t hard but does require a bit of planning.

Serves 2
Ingredients

• Marinade
• 3Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 4Tbsp Soft Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Garlic Clove, Minced
• 2 Tuna Steaks
• Noodles
• 2Tbsp Peanut Butter
• 1/2 Tsp Chilli Flakes
• 1Tbsp Soy Sauce
• Around 2 Tbsp Boiling Water
• Sufficient Noodles For 2 (I used brown rice noodles that cook in hot water for 5 minutes)
• 3 Spring Onions/Scallions, Chopped

Method
Add all the marinade ingredients (except the tuna) to a pan and heat very gently, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool and pour over the tuna, ensuring all sides are covered. Marinade for 30-60minutes.

Once the tuna is marinaded, fry in a hot pan using a small amount of vegetable oil for 1-2 minutes on each side. Don’t move the steak once it’s in the pan until you’re turning it, the trick is to make a crispy, yummy, crusty bit with the glaze.

Add all the noodle ingredients (except the noodles and spring onions) to a bowl and microwave for a minute (if you keep your peanut butter in the fridge, take it out a couple of hours beforehand so it’s not like trying to chip bits off a rock). Stir to combine, and add more boiling water if required to bring the consistency down to that of mayonnaise.

Cook the noodles as described on the packet, drain and combine with the peanutty sauce. Garnish with the spring onions.

Lorne (or square) sausage is a lovely Scottish breakfast food, and my local butcher makes a particularly yummy version with black pudding in the centre. I picked some up on saturday to enjoy as a sunday brunch along with some saute potatoes and baked beans, add a big mug of tea and the papers in a sunny kitchen and it’s a lovely way to spend a morning.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to get hold of some lorne sausage you’ll see that it’s just about the perfect shape for putting in a roll (Morton’s for preference!) – infinitely better than messing around with recalcitrant links (bangers) – and if you can get some with black pudding (or, even better, a little haggis) in the middle do try it, the sausage keeps the centre moist and delicious.

Saute potatoes are a cracking way to use up any left over boiled potatoes – especially if they’re extras from making potato salad as waxy textured potatoes are best – or just a quick and tasty savoury carb for breakfast or brunch that doesn’t involve getting something out of the freezer.

Enough for one, but just up the potatoes for more!
Ingredients

• 1-2 Medium Waxy Potatoes, Diced
• 2tbsp Vegetable Oil
• Crushed Sea Salt, to taste

Method
If your potatoes are already cooked, simply dice the cooked potato, otherwise, dice the potatoes (skin on, but remove any eyes etc) and place in pan of cold water. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes, or until they yield to a fork but do not break up.

Drain the potatoes well (I sit them, once they’re drained, in the colander over the still warm pan to steam off). Heat the oil in a large, heavy based frying pan (skillet) and add the potatoes (they should hiss a little as they start to fry). Move the potatoes regularly, but gently – don’t break them up, until all the sides are golden brown.

Serve sprinkled with a little crushed sea salt.

This salad is very easy, very filling and remarkably healthy – I’ve adapted it from a recipe that my mum discovered about fifteen years ago reading someone’s recipe books whilst babysitting. The original uses just chickpeas (garbanzo beans), instead of mixed beans (as do I, on occasion, I LOVE chickpeas and could eat them almost straight from the can) and I believe it suggested cooking them from dried, and it also has celery and walnuts in it, but I rarely have walnuts in the house and frequently find the kind you buy ready-shelled a bit fousty tasting. I do often add the celery, but if I’m not eating it immediately I wait to chop and add the celery at the last minute so it stays crispy.

The nuts and faffing with dried beans is not neccessary, but messing around with recipes is half the fun, so have at.

The salad makes a nice lunch, light supper or a good side for a summery meal.

Feeds 6 for a meal
Ingredients

• 250g Brown Rice (cooked and cooled – cool it QUICKLY with ice water, drain it fast and keep it cold)
• 1 can mixed bean salad (rinse and drain)
• 2 handfuls raisins
• 4 tbsp salad dressing (I make up a 3parts oil, 1parts acid – vinegar, lemon juice – dressing with whatever seasoning feels right)

Method
Combine everything in a large bowl.

Eat. .

I’m a big garlic fan – bruchetta, garlic bread, heavenly bolognese, mmh – but I don’t like it so terribly much raw (when it’s so strong it almost burns your tongue, and no one wants to talk to you too closely for a couple of days) so I tend not to have it in more salady things. Roasted garlic is perfect for salads, or possibly just for eating, sneakily, straight from the bowl. The flavour is softened by the roasting and is warmer and rounder with a lovely caramelised undertone.

Serves 1 garlic lover
Mozzarella, Tomato and Roasted Garlic Sandwich

• 1 Bulb of Garlic
• Glug of Olive Oil
• 4 Cherry Tomatoes
• around 125g/5oz Mozzarella
• 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 6 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Pinch unground sea salt crystals
• Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Method
Gently peel the garlic bulb until the cloves are exposed, but still covered (see the picture) and gently cut across the top so that all the individual cloves are exposed. Wrap the bulb tightly in foil and add the olive oil.

Cook at 200C (180C fan assisted/400F/Gas mark 6) for half an hour. Remove from foil and squeeze the individual cloves out of the bulb.

I added all the roast garlic to my sandwich, but I love garlic and any cloves you don’t use can be kept, covered in olive oil, in the fridge.

Combine the garlic, balsamic, extra virgin olive oil and un-ground salt to a mortar and pestle and work into a puree (if you don’t have a mortal and pestle you can mash with a fork). Add salt and pepper to taste – the pepper will bring out the tomato flavour.

Chop the tomatoes into halves or quarters and slice the mozzerella and add to the garlicy mixture. Serve in a warm bagette with a green salad.

This is my go-to, store-cupboard, I’m-too-tired-to-cook recipe; therefore it’s full of canned or frozen ingredients, follows no chilli tradition from anywhere and is un-apologetically cosy comfort food. It’s also a lot healthier than take-away, so it’s all good .

If you have a sweet potato or two kicking about, peel and chop and add a little extra water with them (add both at the same time as the tomatoes) and cook down until they’re fork-soft. You could also chop and peel them, if you’re like me and fail miserably at using a vegetable peeler (I’m more likely to take great chunks out of things – including but not limited to me – than remove the skin from my veggies); if you chop the sweet potatoes into rough cylinders slicing off the skin should be easy.

Feeds 4-6, only gets better with reheating
Cheat’s Bean Chilli

• 1 can mixed bean salad (packed in salt water, drained and rinsed)*
• 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (packed in salt water, drained and rinsed)
• 1 can kidney beans (packed in salt water, drained and rinsed)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 good hand fulls frozen chopped peppers (you can use fresh, but it’s not really the point of the recipe!)
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp worchester sauce
• 2 tbsp dried coriander (cilantro) leaf
• Chilli Flakes, to taste
• 400g/14oz can tomatoes (either chopped or mash up a bit before use)
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 Garlic Clove, minced

*Note that the bean mixture is infinitely variable, these are just the ones I like

Method
Sauté the onions, adding the dry spices as they begin to brown.

Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, coriander, garlic, worchester sauce, peppers and drained, rinsed beans.

Cook over a low heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture thickens or you are too hungry to wait. Serve with soft tortillas and grated (shredded) cheese of your choice. Add baby spinach if you feel like being super healthy.

Bean mixture keeps in the fridge or freezes like a dream and can be reheated with ease in a microwave or in a pan.

In the usual retail tradition of selling seasonal foods for at least 3 months longer than appropriate our shops have had Hot Cross Buns on sale since the new year (although perhaps we’re just trying to get back to pre-Elizabethan tradition and it has nothing to do with cynical commerce), and they’ve also had vast numbers of them reduced for a quick sale because they’re heading to staleness. Now, a stale Hot Cross Bun is a horribly disappointing thing, but they make a cracking base for a not-quite bread-and-butter pudding.

serves 4-6
Ingredients

• 4 Hot Cross Buns
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Can Evaporated Milk (you can use normal milk, it’s just slightly less rich
• 2 Tbsp Sugar (I used normal granulated)
• 3 Tsp Ginger Jam/preserve

Method
Slice the hotcross buns (as if you were slicing bread) and pack tightly into a bakable dish. Make sure none of the edges are sticking up terribly far beyond the top. Dot the jam over the top of the buns.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and evaporated milk.

Pour over the buns, ensuring that all the pieces of bun are at least doused in the liquid – press them down if neccessary.

Cook in the oven at 200C (180C fan/400F/Gas Mark 6) for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot, cold or reheated in the microwave.

When my brother was wee he refused to eat anything called curry, but he would eat (and enjoy, I think, but I wasn’t much bigger than him) spicy prawns. This is an adaptation of the original spicy prawns and is quick, simple and tasty.

Serves 2-3
Ingredients

• 2 Small Onions, Diced (or one large, or as many medium ones as you like)
• 400g/14oz Tin Tomatoes (either chopped, or chop them a little before adding)
• 3 Spring Onions (Scallions) Chopped
• Small Thumb of Ginger, Diced Small
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 400g/16oz Frozen, Cooked, Peeled Prawns. (Not anything like an exact weight, I just buy a bag of whatever’s cheapest.)
• 2 tsp Curry Paste of your choice
• 2tbsp Tomato Puree

Method
Saute the onion in a little vegetable oil – don’t allow them to colour – and when they go from ow, my eyes, raw onion to mmmmh, fried onion in scent, add the curry paste and fry off for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, spring onion, ginger and lemon juice (I often don’t bother with the ginger or lemon juice and they may not work with your curry paste, so don’t worry if you don’t have them) and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced a little. Add the prawns (follow the packet instructions, some need to be defrosted, some can be used frozen, if they are defrosted they will take much less time), stir through and allow to heat. The prawns are already cooked and over-cooking them will just make them go rubbery, around 4-5 minutes is enough from frozen.

Serve with rice or noodles. I served mine with brown rice noodles, because 5 minutes soaking time is just about as long as I was willing to wait! If the curry is a little hot for you, stir through a little natural yogurt after it is off the heat – if it is too warm the yogurt will separate, it will still taste fine, but will look a bit grainy.

Our local farmer’s market has started selling water buffalo (apparently they are like large, particularly stupid, cows), which tastes not dissimilar to beef but is lower in fat and seems to enthuse various food-evangelists. It’s a little tougher than beef, so lends itself well to being marinaded overnight before cooking. The marinade is lovely and would work well with some of the tougher cuts of beef (I’m particularly thinking frying steak).

For one steak
Ingredients

• 2 Tsp. lemon juice
• Scant tsp garlic salt
• 2 Tsp vegetable (or groundnut) oil
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 Tsp light brown muscavado sugar
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tsp soy sauce
• 1 Water Buffalo Ribeye steak (bone out)
• Extra soy sauce, to taste

Combine all ingredients (bar the steak and extra soy sauce) in a plastic bag and mix well. Place steak in the bag and massage into the meat.

Put the steak, in the marinade, in the bag, into the fridge for at least 6 hours, preferably 24.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan (skillet) and fry steak for 3 minutes on one side, turn, pour on half the reserved marinade and fry for a further 3 minutes (timings are not exact, time as per a steak – given the thickness and your preferred result).

Remove steak from pan and place on warm plate in very low oven to rest (as with a joint this helps the fibres relax and results in a softer meat).

Add some cold water to the marinade remaining in the hot pan (about a cup full) and bring to the boil. Add the extra soy sauce and stir to thicken slightly

Serve the steak with the sauce puddled to the side, brown rice and either a leafy salad or green beans.

I suspect this would barbeque well, if you kept dousing it with the marinade.