WEEKEND KITCHEN RECIPE SHEET 27th December 2015 - The Best Of…
So it was nearly impossible to find the 8 best dishes from the year. Let’s say these are eight of my favourites - I could easily have chosen another 20!
Chocolate pistachio pie
Quite possibly one of the best desserts ever on the Weekend Kitchen!
Preparation time 30 minutes
Baking time 40 – 50 minutes
For the chocolate crust 250g oreo cookies 120g butter, melted 2 tbsp caster sugar 1⁄2 tsp vanilla salt (or plain salt)
For the pistachio paste
200g shelled pistachios 2 tbsp flavourless oil, such as vegetable or sunflower 1 heaped tbsp icing sugar For the filling 200g cream cheese 140g caster sugar 3 eggs 250ml double cream
To decorate 50g plain chocolate, melted Chocolate curls Pistachios
Equipment: food processor or blender, 23cm loose bottom deep flan tin, greased
Blitz the cookies to fine crumbs in the blender. Add the melted butter, salt and sugar and blitz again so that all the crumbs are coated in butter. Using the back of a spoon, press the
Hear the Weekend Kitchen with Nick, every Sunday morning at 11am on BBC Three Counties Radio www.bbc.co.uk/threecountiesradio Page 1 cookie crumb mixture into the prepared tin so that the sides have a thick layer of crumbs on and the base is completed covered with no gaps.
Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
To make the pistachio paste, place the pistachios, oil and icing sugar in a blender or food processor and blitz to a smooth paste. Leave to cool as the mixture will become warm during blending.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
For the filling, whisk together the pistachio paste, cream cheese, sugar and eggs. Pour in the double cream and whisk until smooth.
Place the pie crust tin on a tray, wrapping the tin in foil to catch any butter that may be released during baking.
Pour the filling into the case and carefully transfer to the oven. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes until the custard is just set. Leave to cool. The filling will have risen during baking and will sink back within the case as the pie cools.
Using a fork, drizzle thin lines of chocolate over the top of the pie and sprinkle with chocolate curls and finely chopped pistachios. Chill until serving. This pie will store for up to three days in a refrigerator.
Spicy beef enchiladas
Somewhere between a Mexican lasagne, wraps and a chilli con carne. Absolutely wonderful comfort food.
Serves 5-6
500g lean minced beef (10% or less fat) 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 400g can red kidney beans in chilli sauce ½ tsp dried chilli flakes 3 tbsp tomato puree 650ml beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube oil, for greasing 8 soft corn and wheat tortillas (around 320g pack) 100g coarsely grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese mix (from a packet) flaked sea salt freshly ground black pepper Hear the Weekend Kitchen with Nick, every Sunday morning at 11am on BBC Three Counties Radio www.bbc.co.uk/threecountiesradio Page 2 For the topping 320g jar ready-made tomato and chilli pasta sauce 100g coarsely grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese mix (from a packet) 150g soured cream fresh coriander and lime wedges, to serve
Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the beef, onions and garlic. Cook together for 5 minutes, stirring the beef and squishing against the sides of the pan to break up the mince.
Flop the kidney beans and sauce into the pan and stir in the tomato puree and chilli flakes. Stir in the beef stock and season with a good pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat, cover loosely and leave to simmer gently for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mince is tender and the sauce is thick. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan oven 180C/Gas 6. Lightly grease a 2 litre, rectangle ovenproof dish. It will need to be roughly 28 x 20cm – a lasagne dish is ideal.
Take one tortilla at a time and place in the prepared dish. Spoon an eighth of the mince mixture and a little of the cheese for the filling down the centre of the tortilla. Fold over one side and then the other to enclose the filling. Push to the end of the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, mince and filling cheese.
Spoon over the pasta sauce and sprinkle with the topping cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling and hot throughout. Spoon the soured cream on top and garnish with lots of fresh coriander. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
Spiced Apple & Almond Roulade
Roulade Sponge 30g flaked almonds (toasted) 5 eggs 150g caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 125g grated marzipan 3 tbsp plain flour Oven temp = 180C/ Gas Mark 4
You will need a 30x20cm swiss roll tin, lined with baking parchment
Hear the Weekend Kitchen with Nick, every Sunday morning at 11am on BBC Three Counties Radio www.bbc.co.uk/threecountiesradio Page 3 Begin by dry frying the flaked almonds in a frying pan for a few minutes until they are lightly toasted and golden. Scatter these in your lined swiss roll tin, reserving a few to decorate the finished roulade.
Separate your eggs and set the whites aside. Whisk the egg yolks with 125g of your caster sugar until pale. Stir fold in your vanilla, grated marzipan, and flour.
Whisk your egg whites until they are voluminous and slowly incorporate the remaining 25g of sugar whilst still beating and stop when the eggs are glossy and mountainous.
Beat a spoonful of egg whites into the cake mixture to loosen it a little, before gently folding in the rest.
Pour the cake mixture into your prepared swiss roll tin and bake for 20 minutes until risen and springy. It will puff up in the oven but settles down, I promise! Leave to cool covered with baking parchment and a lightly damp tea towel.
Filling 2 apples 15g butter 1 tsp cinnamon 150ml double cream Prepare your filling by chopping the apples into easily manageable cubes. Honestly, this sounds fiddly but the smaller you can bear to chop the pieces, the easier the roulade will be to cut and eat. Toss these tiny pieces of apple into a small saucepan along with the butter and cinnamon and warm over a low heat for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
Once your apples have cooled, whip the cream until it holds soft peaks and stir the spiced apples in gently.
Now, remove the tea towel from your cooled sponge and turn the swiss roll tin over to release the cake onto your worksurface. Carefully peel away the top layer of baking parchment and spread your filling over the sponge. Go right to the edges.
With the shorter ends of the sponge nearest to your hands, slowly roll up the sponge into one tight roulade. The sponge may crack but this is not the end of the world.
Decorate your finished roulade with a sprinkling of icing sugar and a few toasted almonds.
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Fresh from her trip to Barcelona, Claire made this delicious traditional Spanish dish. Warm and smokey, it’s a real one-pot wonder. Serve with garlic mayonnaise and crust baguette. For extra authenticity, rub a peeled tomato over the bread, season and add some dried green herbs.
6 chicken thighs (or 4 chicken breasts) 1 chorizo ring 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic 2 sticks celery 1 carrot 2 peppers 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1 ladle chicken stock
2 tbsp honey 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp saffron 1 tsp good chilli powder or 1 chopped chilli
Handful of coriander
Pre-heat your oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4
Dice the onions, carrot, celery and peppers. Cut the chorizo into 2cm slices.
Gently fry the chorizo then, once the pieces have become crispy and the pan is full of the lovely red oils, add the chicken and veggies and dried spices and stir until evenly coated.
Add the chopped tomatoes and the pinch of saffron.
Put a lid on and leave in oven for an hour until tender. If it’s a touch too dry, add the ladle of stock (or water).
Serve with the crusty bread and aioli.
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A real taste of the Mediterranean and a wonderful simple supper dish that’s quick to prepare and easy to cook. You can use any white fish really and it works well with bream or sea bass especially. Cod is very easy to get hold off but you’ll need to salt it a little first to get the flavour up. Simply lovely.
100ml of freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons raisins 2 tablespoons pine nut kernels, toasted for a minute or two in a dry hot pan At least 8 spring onions 4 medium sized tomatoes, sliced in half and the seeds scooped out with a spoon. 3 large potatoes – I prefer a waxy variety for this 80g baby spinach chopped 500g white fish fillets Olive oil 1 lemon Butter (for greasing)
Serves 4 Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 Prepare a baking dish by greasing it with butter
Soak the raisins in freshly squeezed orange juice for at least 20 minutes or until plump.
Wash the fish fillets and remove any remaining fish bones then cut into portions and sprinkle with salt. Leave them for about 45 minutes and they should firm up.
Meanwhile, put the potatoes in boiling salted water and cook until a fork pierces them quite easily.
Strain the potatoes from the boiling water and run under cold water to prevent further cooking and to help them to start cooling.
When cool peel off the skins – they should come away easily. Then slice into 1cm slices.
Put a layer of the potatoes on the bottom of the dish. Sit the fish on top.
Clean then chop the spinach, tomatoes and spring onions. You may want to add a tablespoon of tomato puree to increase the flavour.
Drain the raisins from the orange juice and mix with the prepared spinach, tomatoes and spring onions.
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Drizzle with good olive oil and the juice of a lemon and seasoning. Bake in the oven for about 35 minute or until the fish is just flakey underneath the veg. Serve onto warmed plates as a main course
Cheat’s Chicken Biryani
Biryani is a celebration meal and there are thousands of different recipes, all of which seem to take all day to prepare. This recipe is cooked in stages and turns out perfectly every time much more quickly than the traditional method! In fact, aside from the marinating, it takes around 45 minuets from start to finish. Another cheat is the pre-fried crispy onions - find them next to the salad dressings in the supermarket.
4 chicken breast portions - on the bone is preferable
Chicken marinade
1 heaped tbsp crushed / grated ginger 1/2 tsp garam masala powder 1 level tsp ground coriander 1/2 level tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar 100 g natural yoghurt 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
Biryani
1 large onion, sliced finely 100 g butter / ghee 1 cinnamon stick 4-5 cardamom pods 2-3 bay leaves 2 cloves 1 level tsp ground coriander 1/2 level tsp garam masala 350 gms basmati rice, washed and dried 1 tbsp ginger grated or crushed 1 level tsp table / fine salt 700 ml chicken stock
Garnish knob of butter
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Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Put one or two slashes in the chicken pieces and rub the marinade into each piece. Cover in cling film and put in the fridge to marinade for 2 hours or overnight.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 and roast the chicken for 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Cover loosely with foil and set aside to rest.
Whilst the chicken is in the oven, you can get on with the rice. Wash the rice in a 2-3 changes of water and drain in a sieve; try to dry it as much as possible - damp rice can break and go mushy when cooked.
Finely slice the onions and fry in the ghee/butter and oil over a medium heat for at least 15 minutes. Add the cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves, ground garam masala and ground coriander to the fried onions and stir around for 30 seconds or so until the whole spices start to release their fragrance.
Add in the rice, ginger and salt and stir well to coat in the spices and butter. Continue to stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
Heat the stock to boiling point then add straight into the rice pan. Stir well to combine, wait until the mix returns to the boil then reduce the heat to the lowest setting so the liquid is barely simmering and cover the pan.
Allow to cook for 20 minutes on the lowest heat. Turn off the heat and allow the biryani to rest in the pan, covered for a further 10 minutes. If the lid of your pan does not fit tightly then put a clean tea towel over the pan before placing the lid on top.
Cut up the cooked chicken into large pieces and then careful stir through the cooked rice.
Finally, fry the sultanas and cashew nuts in a knob of butter until fat and shiny. Serve the biryani on a big platter with the chunks of chicken poking through the rice.
Scatter over the sultanas and nuts and the crispy fried onions and finally garnish with the coriander. Delicious with vegetable curry or tarka dhal on the side.
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A truly traditional treat. This treacle tart is made with a hint of orange. Also, this is another chance to get Reece’s wonderful sweet pastry recipe - one of those recipes which really make it worthwhile to make your own pastry rather than use store bought. No blind baking with this tart so it really is very easy to make.
Sweet pastry 250g butter 130g caster sugar 3 medium eggs 500 plain flour 10g salt
Treacle tart filling 800g golden syrup 375g whipping cream 5 medium eggs 350g blitzed fresh breadcrumbs - the finer the better 75g butter 2 large oranges
Recipe makes 1 x 8inch tart
Make the sweet pastry the day before if timing allows
Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4
Make the sweet pastry by creaming the butter and sugar, gradually adding the egg and finally the flour.
Line the tart tin and place back in the fridge to cool and firm.
Bring the golden syrup, cream and butter to the boil and remove from the heat.
Gradually add the lightly beaten whole egg into the mixture followed by the fresh breadcrumbs
Pour the mixture immediately into the tart case and bake for 20 minutes or until golden with a slight wobble in the centre.
Leave the tart to cool at room temperature before serving with clotted cream.
Hear the Weekend Kitchen with Nick, every Sunday morning at 11am on BBC Three Counties Radio www.bbc.co.uk/threecountiesradio Page 9 Sticky beef short rib served with watermelon
If you thought the lamb sounded tasty, wait until you eat this! Short beef ribs, braised in a gently flavoured master stock until the meat falls off the bone. Served with, of all things, large cubes of watermelon which have been marinated in a lovely Asian sauce. It may sound odd but it works amazingly. The texture are similar to when you eat shredded duck and cucumber in a Chinese restaurant. This is one of Nick’s favourite dishes in a long time on the show!
1 litre beef stock 200ml light soy sauce 1 orange squeezed 10g toasted coriander seeds 1 lemon grass, bruised 10g star anise 2 clove garlic, crushed 20g fresh ginger, sliced 1kg short ribs (jacobs ladder) split in half
Num pla dressing 100ml fish sauce 3 limes squeezed 20g red chilli deseeded and chopped 20g fresh ginger chopped 100g palm sugar
¼ watermelon in large dice ¼ bunch coriander, picked
Serves 4 Pre heat oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4
Combine the first batch of ingredients together in a sauce pan to make the master stock and bring to the boil.
Seal off the short ribs in oil in a frying pan to golden brown and place them in a braising dish or pot and cover with the master stock.
Cover and place in the oven, then braise until the meat is just about to fall off the bone. This will be around 2 and a half to 3 hours.
Remove the ribs from the stock and reserve. Place the stock back on the stove and reduce down to a sauce consistency. Add the ribs back into the stock and glaze with the sauce.
Hear the Weekend Kitchen with Nick, every Sunday morning at 11am on BBC Three Counties Radio www.bbc.co.uk/threecountiesradio Page 10 Meanswile, to make the num pla dressing, place the fish sauce and palm sugar in a sauce pan together and bring up to heat, stirring until the sugar is melted. Then remove from the heat.
Add the limes, chilli and ginger to the fish sauce mix and allow to cool.
Marinate the watermelon in the num pla dressing for 30minutes.
To serve, place the hot sticky rib on a plate with one or two pieces of the watermelon and garnish with picked coriander and some pickled ginger if you have some.
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