Noodles with stir fry Vegetables and poached eggs

Ingredients

• 250g of rice noodles,
• 4 large carrots
• 1/2 a cabbage
• 2 stem of leeks
• 6 long beans
• 150g of button or Portobello mushrooms  
• 2 good quality eggs.
• 5 - 6 tbs of soy sauce
• 3 tbs sugar
• 50 ml of vegetable oil

Method

• First cut all the vegetables into equal sized julienne, and fry it in the oil until slightly crunchy, add the soy sauce, sugar and a dash of pepper and cook and little more until combine add a dash of lime juice.
• Cook the noodles in salted boiling water until aldente, strain of the water and pour cold water to avoid the noodles from sticking.
• To poach the eggs, boil some water, and bring to simmer, then break the eggs into 2 small bowls, gently pour the eggs into the simmering water and cook it for 3-5 minutes, and pull out allow it to rest
• Next add the noodles to the stir fried vegetables, and cook for another minutes, place the noodles on a serving plate and place the poached eggs on top.

Gray's beef Piratal

Ingredients

• 250g good quality beef ( diced) 
• 500ml of beef or chicken stock ( my version)
• 3 vine ripen tomatoes 
• 2 red onions 
• 5 cloves of garlic 
• 1/3 a teaspoon of mustard seeds, fennel seeds
• 2 tbs of chili powder
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1/2 a cup of coconut milk
• salt.
• a dash of soy sauce
• any good cooking oil.

for the stock

•  100 - 150 g of beef or chicken bones
• 2 onions ( halved and skin on)
• 1 whole garlic ( halved and skin on) 
• 2 carrots
• 1 stem of leek
• 6 pepper corns
• sea salt
• a dash of soy sauce. 

Method

To Create the Stock  -  first fry of the bones in a heavy based pan until the bones are browned then add water half way to the pan, add the rest of the ingredients and bring it to a boil, then allow it to simmer for at least a couple of hours. 

• First marinate the beef in 1 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, turmeric powder and salt and soy sauce and allow it to rest for at least 45 mins - 1 hour 
• Next after the meat is marinated, cook the beef in the stock until it is soft and tender, 
• Next dice the onions, garlic, fry them off along with the mustard and fennel seeds until golden, next chop the tomatoes and add them to the mixture 
• Add the beef , coconut milk and 1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder 1 tsp of sugar and a dash of salt and cook until the meat is combined with the sauce and the dish is thickened. 

Serve in clay pot with hot steamy rice or freshly baked Chapati or Roti, :)

please note - the stock can be refrigerated to up to a month or frozen up to 3 months, if taken extra care, can be kept longer than that and used over and over again, too cook any meat items or even veggies :) 

Greens on a bed of crushed potatoes and apple roasted garlic salad

Ingredients

• 4-5 small sized potatoes
• a handful of spinach ( 50g approx)
• 4 green beans 
• 1/2 an apple ( any hard ripen one - Braeburn preferred) 
• 3 small Spanish red onions 
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 small vine ripen tomatoes
• 3 green chilies - De-seeded ( leave seed for extra heat)
• dash of lemon juice 
• Salt and Pepper for taste

Method

Crushed Potatoes

• Boil the potatoes until soft but allow it to have a slight resistance, then crush into small pieces and cook it further in a little amount of milk, salt and pepper, should have the silkiness of a mashed potatoes but with some bite to it. 

Greens

• Salted boiling water, the spinach leaves go in and out within 30 seconds and emerge them in ice water to stop its cooking
• for the green beans salted boiling water in and out within  1 1/2 minutes and emerge them in ice water to stop the cooking.

Apple and roasted garlic salad

• First roast the garlic for 30 minutes in an 220c oven or until soft and tender, while it's roasting prepare the apple remove the core and seeds slice them paper thin and then dice them fine, dice the onions tomatoes and green chilies very finely, mix all with a dash of salt and lemon or lime juice, 
• next remove the roasted garlic from the oven, and add the paste to the salad and mixed till combined 

To serve place the crushed potato on the bottom of serving bowl with the spinach crowning it, half the beans place it on top in zig zag fashion and sprinkle the salad around and on top. 

Pan fried stuffed Squid with a Carrot and Pumpkin Puree and sides

Ingredients

• 1 Large Squid
• 1 large red Onion 
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• 250g of Butter 
• Oil

Stuffing 

• 1/2 french Stick
• 100g of Prawns
• the tentacles of  3 Squid 
• salt and pepper to taste 

Carrot and Pumpkin puree

• 150 g of pumpkin
• 2 large carrots
• 50 g of butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Side 1 - Mashed Potato 

• 2 medium sized potatoes
• 150 g of butter
• 50 ml of milk
• salt and pepper 
• rock salt - for layering

Side 2 - Green beans 

• 4 strands of green beans
• salt and pepper to taste

Side 3 - Guava Salad 

• 1 half ripen Guava
• 2 Tomatoes
• 1 medium sized onion
• 2 green chilies
• salt and pepper to taste 

Method

Mashed Potato

• First bake the potatoes on a bed of rock salt in a 180* degree oven for 45 - 50 mins, allow it cool and then scoop out the flesh and cook in the milk and butter until soft smooth and creamy, and salt and pepper to taste, add extra butter for a creamier texture. you could pass this through a drum sieve if you prefer a even smoother texture. 

Carrot and pumpkin puree 

• Finley grate the carrots and pumpkin and cook them in butter and salt until soft and tender, blend it until a soft and creamy texture is attained, you could add a bit of pepper if preferred, you could pass this through a drum sieve if you prefer a even smoother texture. 

The Stuffing 

• First  thinly slice the french stick and toast them in an oven or toaster until crisp (not too crisp), next blend the toasted bread in a food processor to create bread crumbs.
• next combine the prawns, the tentacles and the fins, salt and pepper and run the processor until well combined and set aside

Green beans

• Clean the beans and cut in half and Blanche them twice in boiling water through a strainer, add salt and pepper to taste.

The stuffed squid   

• Take the cleaned squid hood and fill it with the stuffing, make sure the filling reaches to the bottom fill to the top and sew it once with tooth pick 
• heat some oil in a frying pan, fry the onions and garlic, while frying place the stuffed squid, add the butter and cook for 20 - 30 seconds on both sides or until lightly golden, 

Guava salad

• Cut everything into small dice and combine them and salt and pepper, add some lemon juice if you like that extra sharpness. 

To serve add a  swash of the puree on a serving plate, add the mash potato on the center, slice the squid into rings and place on top, in two separate little bowls serve the green beans and guava salad.  

Honey and Pepper Chicken

Ingredients

• 250 g of chicken fillets (boneless)
• 1 red onion 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tsp of peppercorn seeds
• 3 tbs of honey
•  3 tbs of butter

The marinade

• 2 tbs of Chili powder
• 1 tbs of turmeric powder
• 2 tsp of salt
• 50 ml of oil (sunflower preferred)

Garnish

• Coriander leaf
• Lemon wedge

Method

• First cut the Chicken into small evenly sized cubes, next make marinade using the chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and oil, allow it to marinate at least for an hour
• Next thinly slice and  fry the onion and the garlic until golden and set aside.
• Next heat a medium sized pan ( something that is enough for all the meat to be spread) and cook the marinated chicken, (don't add oil as there is plenty in the marinade), until the meat is slightly crispy on the outside and tender in the inside 
• Finely grind the pepper corn seeds and make a mixture with the honey and pepper and add that to the chicken while on the stove and cook for another 30 - 40 seconds just in cooperate the flavours into the meat ( as the meat is cooking it will absorb quickly)

To serve sprinkle some chopped coriander and wedge of lemon 

Thanks to my mates Brian and Sharmila for letting me into their house and especially into their kitchen :)

Pan fried garlic,Tomato and spring onion Calamari

Ingredients

• 2 whole Calamari
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 medium sized tomatoes 
• 4 spring onions ( leaf only)
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 tsp of chili flakes 
• salt and pepper to taste
• butter and cooking oil ( any neutral oil )

Method

• First clean out the Calamari score it length wise and cut it into medium sized rectangles, marinate it with the 1 tsp of chili flakes and dash of pepper and salt and set aside.
• Next finely chop the garlic, tomatoes, spring onions and fry them off in some cooking oil until golden and tender, while cooking add the marinated calamari and cook for a about not longer than a minute 
• add in the remaining chili flakes and add more salt pepper if needed, Finish it off with some butter just for some extra flavour.

To serve spoon the Calamari in a serving bowl and serve it with a slice of lemon

Cooked in Brian's  Kitchen.