fried egg and spicy chorizo rice

When we're home on the weekend I will often make us a lazy, slightly indulgent brunch - the sort that you want when you're perhaps feeling a little worse for wear from the night before. I usually crave something a little spicy, there needs to a certain 'stodgy' quality to it and there must be eggs involved too. This is a very easy to make dish can have infinite variations depending on your level of creativity. I think it could be wonderful with some cheese melted on top or stirred through, maybe add in some chopped carrots, peppers, mushrooms, sweetcorn and/or peas along with the onion for a healthier option or use a different kind of sausage. Really do whatever takes your fancy but I do urge you to top it off with a crispy-edged but runny-yolked fried egg. It rocks.

Ingredients serves 2 greedy people
3 spicy chorizo-style sausages, raw
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green chilli, de-seeded and chopped (optional)
180g white rice
500ml chicken stock
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 organic fried eggs, to serve

1. Heat up a wide frying pan or casserole that has a lid. Add the oil then remove the sausage meat from the casing and place bite-sized pieces in to the pan. Cook over a medium heat until it starts to develop browned edges.
2. Add the onion, garlic and chilli to the pan and stir scraping the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon to pick up any of the stuck on tasty stuff from the sausages. Keep cooking, stirring the whole time until the onions start to turn translucent. 
3. Add the rice to the pan, stir through so that everything is well combined and the rice starts to pick up colour from the chorizo juices. Add the paprika to the stock, stir then add the whole lot to the pan. 
4. Once the stock in bubbling put the lid on the pan and leave to bubble away on a medium to high heat for 5 minutes. Do not stir or do anything else to the pan at this time. When 5 minutes is up leave the lid on the pan, turn of the heat then leave for 15 to 20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is cooked through. 
5. In the mean time you can fry your eggs how you like them then serve the rice up with the egg on top. Yum.

'turkish eggs'

I've now been to Peter Gordon's restaurant/cafe/bar Kopapa in London's Covent Garden a few times and the food and service is always great. It's not a stuffy place, really straight forward but the food and cocktails on offer are really exciting without being pretentious or hugely over-priced, this is an incredibly rare thing in London. One dish that has stayed with me since the first time I tried it was their version of an egg dish from a related cafe in Istanbul, Turkey. The combination of thick yogurt, soft poached eggs and spicy rich butter is heavenly. Seriously - this is a wonderful breakfast.



Ingredients Serves 2
1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
150g thick Greek yoghurt
25ml extra virgin olive oil
25g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (adjust this according to your tastes, you could also use some hot smoked paprika or cayenne instead.)
stem of fresh dill or flat parsley, shredded
4 eggs

1. Briefly whisk together the garlic, yoghurt and half the olive oil before setting to one side.
2. In a small pan cook the butter until it just starts to brown. You don't want it to burn just colour slightly. Remove the pan from the heat then add the chilli flakes, paprika or cayenne. Add the remaining oil and the dill. Put to one side while you poach the eggs.
3. Poach the eggs using whatever method you prefer. I have a suspicion that crispy edged, but still runny fried eggs would also work well here but I've ever tried so do what ever you fancy.
4. Divide the yogurt between two bowls, put two poached eggs in each bowl then spoon over the spicy butter and oil mix. Serve with some thick sliced, toasted bread or some warmed fat bread. 

butter, olive oil, chilli and herbs

yogurt mixed with olive oil and crushed garlic

the finished dish 

I've entered this dish in the Breakfast Club Challenge with A Kick at the Pantry and Fuss Free Flavours.

hummus

There are so many variations for this delicious side dish. I am an absolute fan of hummus in all its incarnations. The amounts of each ingredient are approximate and you can adjust them according to your own tastes. You can make this by hand by mashing all the ingredients together with a potato masher or fork but if you have a food processor it does make the job so much easier.

Ingredients
400g cooked or tinned chickpeas
2 tbsp tahini
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
water
salt to taste
extra virgin olive oil and smoked paprika to garnish

1. Place the chickpeas, garlic and tahini in the food processor and blitz until you have a rough puree.
2. Add the lemon juice and pulse a few times until mixed in. 
3. Next gradually add water, mixing the whole time, until you have your desired consistency. 
4. Taste the hummus and add salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the paprika. Yum.

goulash & kluski (homemade egg noodles)

If you're looking for something warming and tasty for your dinner this week you really should try out this recipe for goulash. I don't own a slow cooker but I'm sure you could easily make the soup/stew in it and add the noodles just before eating. It is well worth making your own egg noodles to go with this dish. They're really easy and have a lovely light texture that is perfect with the goulash. You could also add these egg noodles to any other soup or stew, they'd be particularly good in a chicken noodle soup (I'll post a recipe soon).





Ingredients

400 g stewing beef cut into bite sized pieces
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil

3 tbsp Hungarian Paprika (I didn’t have any so put together my own mix of 2 tbsp regular paprika, 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika plus 1 tsp hot smoked paprika because I like a bit of a kick in my food)
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 cloves of garlic, minced, crushed or finely chopped
500ml beef stock
500ml water
1 green pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1-2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
Extra 1 tbsp. paprika

1 portion homemade egg noodles

1. Heat a heavy based saucepan over a medium high heat and add 2 tbsp oil. Saute the onions until they are translucent. Add the beef and colour on all sides.
2. Chuck in the paprika, caraway and garlic. Stir thoroughly so all the meat is well covered. The base of your sauce pan might get a bit gunked up at this stage. Don’t panic, just make sure it isn’t burning.
3. Next add the carrots and pepers, give them a good stir then add the tinned, chopped tomatoes. Give everything another good stir and break up the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan with your spoon.
4. Add the beef stock and water and continue to heat until just boiling. Now turn the heat down as low as you can, cover the pan and leave to cook for around an hour until the beef is completely cooked and almost falling apart.
5. Next add the potatoes and continue to simmer until they are soft and cooked through.
6. Season to taste and stir through the extra tbsp. of paprika.
7. You can serve the goulash as it is now with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche and some crusty bread or you can add some homemade egg noodles.

chorizo, mascarpone and tomato pasta sauce

A tasty, kitchen cupboard meal. These ingredients are usually knocking around in my kitchen or there will be something that I can substitute. To make a vegetarian version of this dish at stage one, saute a finely diced onion in some olive oil, add a tablespoon of hot smoked paprika and a couple of cloves of crushed garlic then continue on with the rest of the recipe. You can either keep the sauce chunky or put it through a food processor before mixing with the pasta.

Serves 2-3
Ingredients
200g cooking chorizo
400g tinned tomatoes or passata
2 tbsp mascarpone cheese or creme fraiche or similar
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
sprinkle of dried chilli flakes (optional)
salt & pepper
200g dried pasta. I used pappardelle.

1. Heat a wide frying pan over a medium heat, squidge the sausage meat or of their casings directly into the pan so that you've got bite-sized pieces. Cook for around 3-4 minutes until crispy and golden and the spicy paprika oils have been released. Don't move around too much unless you want to it break down into much smaller pieces. You can drain the oil off if you wish but it seems a shame to loose so much of the flavour.
2. Add the fennel and chilli flakes and sizzle for a minute. 
3. Add the tomatoes to the pan and simmer the ingredients together for about 5 minutes before you put the pasta on, it should be starting to reduce by this stage. If the tomatoes are whole you will need to break them up a bit with the back of your spoon.
4. Cook your chosen pasta according to the packet instructions, mine took around 10 minutes.
5. The tomato sauce is ready once it is no longer watery and has thickened up and is glistening with little pools of oil. Season to taste.
6. When the pasta is nearly ready stir the mascarpone into the tomato sauce and mix thoroughly. 
7. Once cooked, add in the pasta. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, add a little of the cooking water to thin it out.  Serve and enjoy.

 

shredded beef brisket with crispy onions

This weekend I was in the mood for some slow cooking. When you've got the time it's great to do this, the flavour is amazing and it's a fantastic way to make the most of an inexpensive cut of meat. This method would probably work equally well with a pork shoulder or leg joint or even some lamb. I haven't tried it yet myself though.

Ingredients
800g beef brisket
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp smoked paprika
3 whole cloves garlic
2 whole star anise
2-3 bay leaves
5 Juniper berries
salt and pepper
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small bottle of beer (I used Gulden Draak)

1. Heat the oven to 160C.
2. Put the onions in the bottom of a casserole dish or roasting pan. Generously season the brisket on both sides with the salt and pepper then place on top of the onions. 
3. Sprinkle over the fennel seeds, juniper berries, smoked paprika and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan. The liquid should come about half way up the meat.
4. Cover with a lid or foil then cook slowly in the oven for around 3-4 hours. You will know the meat is done when it falls apart easily. During the cooking process I usually turn the meat over in the cooking juices a few times.
5. Once the meat has cooked, remove it from the oven and place the meat on a board, cover and leave to rest. Remove the whole spices from the cooking juices.
6. Either finely slice the brisket or shred with a fork, add to the cooking juices and thoroughly combine.
7. You can eat this with many accompaniments but we went for a ciabatta bread roll with some crispy fried onions and sides of potato salad and honey mustard coleslaw.

Crispy Fried Onions
1 medium onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 tbps cornflour or plain flour
salt and pepper
vegetable oil for frying

1. In a saucepan or deep frying pan add enough oil to deep fry the onion, around 1/4 cup should do it, but this depends on the size of your pan. Heat over a medium heat.
2. Place the flour in a shallow dish and generously season with salt and pepper. Add in the sliced onion and ensure it is thoroughly coated in the seasoned flour.
3. Check that the oil has reached the required temperature by dropping in a piece of the onion, if it gently sizzles the oil is ready.
4. Add in the rest of the onion, being careful not to over crowd the pan - you may need to do this in batches. Cook the onion until it has turned golden brown and crispy. 
5. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. 
6. Repeat this process until all the onion has been cooked.

chorizo, potato and pumpkin stew with butter beans and spinach

I rarely have a particular plan when I visit the local farmers market, I just go looking for whatever looks tastiest and is the best deal. Today I came home with chorizo, potatoes and pumpkin and couldn't resist putting together a tasty stew. The nights are getting colder and there's nothing I like more than something warming and a little spicy on nights like this.

Ingredients
700g pumpkin/sweet potato/butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into bite size chunks
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
1kg potatoes (any will work, I used 'exquisite' potatoes)
1 ring of chorizo picante (use the dulce type if you prefer, picante is my favourite though)
1 x 400g can of butter beans or chick peas drained
1 x 400g can of tomatoes in juice
2 chicken stock cubes
2 tbsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
2-3 bay leaves (I used fresh ones from my garden)
1/2 tsp ground all spice
1 cup decent red wine
water
120g spinach, washed and chopped
Sliced spring onions and feta cheese to garnish

1. Peel the thin skin off the chorizo and cut into bite sized chunks.
2. Heat a large saucepan/casserole dish over a high heat then add the chorizo and cook for around 5 minutes or until the oils and spices are released and the meat is crispy on the edges.
3. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent and soft.
4. Throw in the fennel seeds, oregano and all spice followed by the red wine and bubble away for 5 minutes or so until you can no longer smell the harshness of the alcohol.
5. Now you will need to add the bay leaves, paprika, chicken stock cubes and tinned tomatoes, stir throroughly.
6. Add the the potatoes and pumpkin, stir so that it is coated in the tomatoey spicey goodness then fill the tomato can with water and then pour into the pan.
7. Cover and allow to bubble away until the potatoes and pumpkin are cooked, around 20-30 minutes. The pumpkin may well disappear into the sauce and break down more than the potatoes. This is a good think as it will help to thicken the sauce. If you don't want this to happen cook the potatoes for 5 minutes or so on their own then add the pumpkin later, or cut it into bigger chunks.
8. Add the butter beans and cook for a further 5 minutes until everything is cooked through. 
9. Throw in the spinach, stir through until it has wilted completely.
10. Serve garnished with some finely sliced up spring onions, crumbled feta and some chopped parsley if you have it. Some good crusty bread and glass of dry sherry or a red wine would be pretty awesome too.

beer and wine bigos

Here is my sister's unconventional but tasty take on the Polish classic.

My version of the Polish national dish. There are many recipes for this traditional stew and mine is often added to and changed but this is my basic recipe.

This recipe couldn't be much easier. The hardest bit is chopping the cabbage and waiting for it to cook! Also it always tastes better the next day.....and the day after. Our dad said he could make a pot of bigos last all week adding different ingredients each day and it only improved its flavour. So here we go......delicious and economical bigos. 

Ingredients

1 large jar sauerkraut 

1 white cabbage

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1 tsp juniper berries

1 tsp paprika (I like smoked but any will do)

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tbs tomato purée 

1 sprig rosemary 

2-3 bay leaves 

250ml red/white wine

250ml beer

200g smoked meat sausages*

(I use Polish smoked kielbasa/kabanos but any smoked sausage/pork would work well - e.g. chorizo)

200g pork (belly, shoulder or ribs would work well or any leftover cooked roast pork)

200g mushrooms (mixture of dried/fresh)

Water if needed

Black pepper to taste 

* the meat can be omitted for a vegetarian option. 

1. Chop cabbage and onion add to pan with all other ingredients. 
2. Bring to boil then simmer until cabbage is tender and cooked down. Cook for a minimum of 2-3 hours on the hob or 6 in a slow cooker. However the longer the better - I often cook on a low heat in a slow cooker for 12 hours. 
3. Add water if it looks like its drying out - but the veg usually creates its own cooking liquid with the beer and wine.
4. This is lovely with potatoes or bread and butter. Smaznego! (as they say in Poland).