Smoked Paprika And Cayenne Tortillas

Shop bought corn tortillas here is Oz have a nasty habit of splitting and being rather similar to cardboard in texture so I now make my own.

I invested in a tortilla press a while ago and the boys happily work in the production line to make bigger batches of these. If you don’t have a press, don’t panic, a couple of heavy books will work a treat too!

This recipe makes 12 tortillas but I usually triple the recipe as the tortillas will last for a week in a sealed bag or a few months wrapped well in the freezer.

Ingredients

220g masa lista, Mexican corn flour

325mls warm water

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

a pinch of cayenne powder

a pinch of salt

Method

Weigh the flour, smoked paprika and cayenne into a large bowl.

Pour the water in and using your hands, mix to form a dough.

Knead gently and then divide into twelve portions and roll into balls.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat. Do not add oil.

Take a piece of baking parchment that will fit over the press, top with one of the dough balls and then top with another piece of parchment.

Pull down on the press to flatten the dough.

Once the pan is very hot, peel the parchment from the dough and place it in the pan.

Cook for 30 seconds and then flip, cook again for 60 seconds and then flip one last time and cook for 30 seconds.

Set aside, covered in a clean tea towel and continue cooking the remaining tortillas.

Serve warm.

Coriander Dressing

This is one of those fab dressings that goes with so many things, we have it poured over roast chicken pieces, salads, barbecued meat and roast vegetables.

I delight in the fact that some of the vibrancy of the sauce comes from a sneaky handful of spinach leaves, what the boys don’t know won’t hurt them!

Ingredients

a large bunch of coriander, around 70g

1 cup firmly packed baby spinach

1 green chilli, deseeded

1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped

juice of 1 lime

60-80mls olive oil

salt and pepper

 Method

In a food processor, whizz the coriander, spinach, chilli and garlic.

Pour in the lime juice and with the motor running pour in enough oil to get it to the consistency that you are after.

Hasselback Sweet Potatoes With Smoked Salt

These were a huge hit with the boys over the weekend, they managed to polish off a kilo of sweet potatoes all by themselves!

Smoked salt isn’t the easiest of things to come by so salt flakes or roughly crushed sea salt works beautifully too.

Ingredients

1.5kg small sweet potatoes, around 9-10, skin lightly scrubbed to remove any dirt.

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons smoked salt flakes

freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.

Take a potato and begin to slice into 3mm slices without cutting all the way through. If you do cut through, don’t worry, they will still taste fab!

Place the cut potato on a tray and repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Drizzle a little oil over the top of each potato and then rub all over with your hands.

Grind over a little pepper and then sprinkle over the salt.

Pop in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, basting a couple of times to help crisp the edges up and encourage the potatoes to open up.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

This soup brings together two of my favourite things, the comforting hug that soup gives and the glow that using up leftovers guarantees!

I recently found an opened jar of rogan josh curry paste and as we are still on a bit of a health kick I wanted to use it in a vegetarian dish and not the meat that I would usually use. Added to that I am still trying to sneak pulses into the boys without them noticing too much and liquidised soup hides a multitude of goodies!

Quantities wise this makes a BIG pot, 12-16 serves depending on portion sizes but don’t panic, this soup freezes a treat to allow you a meal off another day!

Ingredients

50mls oil

2 medium red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

a thumb size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

100g rogan josh curry paste

2kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped

400g potatoes, peeled and diced

2 litres vegetable or chicken stock

150g  uncooked red lentils, rinsed and drained

Method

In a BIG pot, I use a 6litre pot.

Heat the oil and add the onion, cook slowly until soft.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Spoon in the curry paste, stir well and cook for three minutes.

Add the pumpkin and potatoes, stir through and cook for one minute.

Pour in the stock and add the lentils  stir well, cover and bring up to the boil.

Turn the heat down and allow to simmer, covered for 30 minutes.

Check that the potatoes are cooked at this stage, if not pop the soup back on the heat.

I then use a stick blender to whizz the soup until smooth, taste and season with salt and pepper.

 

 

 

Mexican Green Chorizo

This is so tasty I always make double!

Can’t get the kids to eat greens? Give this a try, I serve it with mini tortillas and the boys make their own, we can get through an entire lettuce, 2 capsicums, 4 avocados and 10 tomatoes, never mind the sneaky spinach and capsicum in the chorizo!

Although I crumbled this for tonight’s dinner it also works well as a burger and sausages.

Leftovers are brilliant with eggs, over an omelette or scrambled eggs is a favourite in our house of I have thrown a little chorizo crumble into the boys school wraps for added zing!

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

small green capsicum

80g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks

30g green jalapeño chilli, deseeded

4 garlic cloves, peeled

50g baby spinach leaves

1 lime, zest and juice

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

500g minced pork

a little oil to fry

Method

Over a BBQ or gas ring, singe the skin of the capsicum, all over until it is completely black. Pop the capsicum in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Wait for 15-20 minutes and then remove from the bowl and rub off the skin, remove the seeds and stalk too.

In a food processor, whizz the capsicum, coriander, jalapeño, garlic, spinach, lime zest, lime juice, oregano, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper to form a bright green paste.

Weigh the meat into a bowl and add the paste, mix really well with your hands.

Form into any shape that you want, patties, sausages or crumble as I use.

Heat a large frying pan, I use a 32cm non stick pan, add a splash of oil and once hot tip in the green meat.

Using the side of a wooden spoon break up the meat, turning and squishing all the time.

To begin with lots of fluid will release but just keep cooking, on high heat until the water evaporates and the meat is beginning to colour up.

Serve immediately.

 

Date And Coconut Bliss Balls

Perfect for the lunch boxes or to give you a wee boost with no added sugar and wonderfully gluten, dairy and egg free too!

Makes 36.

Ingredients

300g pitted dates

210g sultanas

200g desiccated coconut

3 tablespoons coconut oil

Method

Process the dates, sultanas, 150g coconut and oil in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped and coming together a little.

Tip the remaining coconut into a bowl.

Roll the date mix into walnut sized balls and then roll in the coconut.

Store in an airtight container.

Chocolate And Cherry Cake

This is a super moist cake that combines the classics of chocolate and cherry without any gluten or dairy!

I realise that adding cooked quinoa might seem very odd but it really does help here to keep the shape and certainly adds its own nuttiness.

I tend to cook a bigger quantity of quinoa, using some for a salad and reserving some for this cake.

I didn’t ice this cake as it’s for the school lunch boxes, just a little icing sugar over the top.

Ingredients

100g quinoa

250mls water

4 eggs, seperated

150g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

100g ground almonds

2x 415g tins cherries, drained and patted dry

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade. Grease and line a 24cm ring cake tin.

Pour the quinoa into a pan, add the water, cover with a lid and bring up to the boil and simmer, covered for 13-15 minutes. Leaving the lid on, allow to sit, covered, for 5 minutes and then allow to cool.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Fold in the vanilla and cocoa followed by the cooked quinoa and ground almonds.

With clean beaters, beat the egg whites until forming stiff peaks.

Gently fold a couple of tablespoons of egg white into the yolk mix, then gradually fold in the remaining egg white in three or four stages.

Sprinkle one third of the cherries over the base of the prepared tin.

Spoon over half of the cake batter, spreading it out gently.

Top with a third of the cherries again and the remaining cake batter. Sprinkle over the last cherries and pop into the oven.

Bake for 45 minutes until the edges of the cake are coming away from the pan.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then tip onto a baking rack to cool completely.

Roast Chicken With Herb And Garlic Butter

As I suspect you know by now, I’m a fan of butterflied chicken and one pot wonders!

Normally cooking the chicken this way speeds up the cooking process but this time I cover it and cook it for longer which really helps develop the flavour. By throwing the carrots in your veggies are cooked at the same time and to be honest I do baked or jacket potatoes at the same time too while the oven is on.

As you can see in the photo, I throw the removed spine into the pan to roast too as all of the bones go into the stock pot afterwards to make a heavenly garlicky herby stock, perfect for soup or I used this stock for a mushroom risotto to add loads of flavour.

This chicken is lovely cold too so any leftovers are great for sandwiches, wraps and salads. You can also make this chicken ahead of time, I have popped the butter under the skin and left the chicken in the fridge over night before cooking and the taste was possibly even more amazing!

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1.4 kg chicken

120g butter, softened at room temperature

20g parsley leaves and young fresh stalks

20g basil leaves

3 large garlic cloves, peeled

salt and pepper

1kg carrots, peeled and cut in half or thirds

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade.

Take the chicken and flip it onto its front to let you access the back. With poultry shears, cut up either side of the spine to remove it and giblets if attached. Lay the spine in your roasting tin and flip he chicken over again, breast side up. Squish down on the breasts to flatten them and then run your finger under the skin of the breasts, thighs and legs to make a space to squeeze the butter in to.

Using a food processor, process the butter, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper until creamed and well combined.

Using your hands, take small amounts, around a table spoon at a time, of the butter and gently insert under the skin, then massage down to cover all of the chicken, continue until most of the butter has been used.

With the remainder, rub all over the outside of the chicken.

Add the carrots to the pan and then top with the prepared chicken.

Cover well with foil.

Pop into the oven and bake for one hour.

After 1 hour, remove the foil and baste, bake for a further 40-45 minutes, basting regularly.

Once fully cooked and golden, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10minutes.

White Chocolate, Cherry and Almond Slice

These are such a treat!

I’m now trying to come up with homemade gluten free goodies for my youngest son who was recently diagnosed with coeliacs, these were a huge hit in the school lunch box and with the rest of the family.

If you are making these as gluten free you will need to check the labelling on your rice puffs as many of them contain barley.

Makes 24 pieces.

Ingredients

200g flaked almonds

200g glacé cherries, washed, dried and halved

100g sultanas

150g rice puffs

400g white chocolate

Method

Line the base and sides of a 22x30cm roasting tin with baking parchment.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the almonds and toast gently until just colouring a little, tip into a large bowl.

Add the halved cherries, sultanas and rice puffs, stir well.

Melt the white chocolate, pour over the puff mix and stir very well.

Tip into the prepared tin and gently push down into the corners edges.

Allow to cool a little and then pop into the fridge for an hour or two until set.

Remove from the fridge, peel off the paper and cut into slices.

Cheese and Mustard Puffs

These are wonderful!

Delicate crispness on the outside and a slight goo to the inside, think Yorkshire pudding crossed with a cheese scone! Lovely with a bowl of soup but to be honest they are perfect straight out of the oven.

Gluten free and mere mouthfuls, possibly a little too easy to eat but that’s ok, you can make the batter and keep it for a couple of days in the fridge to use at a later date.

Dont be tempted to use pre grated cheese as the stuff that’s added to it to stop it sticking hampers the puffs rising.

Makes 30-36.

Ingredients

2 eggs

150mls sunflower oil

350mls milk

350g tapioca or arrowroot flour

140g Cheddar cheese, grated

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, gluten free

1 teaspoon salt

a pinch of cayenne powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Grease two small patty/fairy cake trays to give you 30-36 puffs.

In a food processor, process all of the ingredients.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins, fill to around two thirds.

Bake for 15-18mins, keep an eye on them, they like to burn.

Remove when pale gold, remove from the tin and allow to cool a little on a wire rack.

Serve warm.