Texan Breakfast Sausage

One of the most versatile skinless sausages I know.

Here I’ve made the sausage into a pattie and used it in the Texan gravy too with a gluten free buttermilk biscuit to keep it company.

Makes 14 patties. The raw sausage meat freezes really well.

Ingredients

1kg minced pork

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

2 teaspoons dried sage

1 teaspoon ground chipotle chilli

1-2 teaspoons salt

1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground coarse pepper

Method

Combine all of the ingredients to make your sausage meat.

Form into patties, heat a non stick pan over high heat or get your BBQ nice and hot and then cook until cooked through.

Pork And Mango Meatballs

Anyone who has read my blog knows we like a meatball in this house and these are no exception.

One of those fun recipes that evolve as I’m digging through the fridge looking for inspiration. The cream thickens to make a sweet yet savoury sauce, I serve these over rice.

Choose any mango chutney that you would happily eat on its own, not one that’s loitering in the fridge because it tastes awful!

Makes 18 meatballs and feeds 6.

Ingredients

500g minced pork

130g mango and ginger chutney

280g zucchini, grated and liquid squeezed out

1 red chilli, deseeded, halve lengthwise and sliced

10g fresh chopped chives

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Salt and pepper

250mls cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.

Combine all of the ingredients, except the cream in a bowl.

Form the meat into golf ball sized meatballs.

Lay the balls in a roasting tin and pop into the oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until beginning to colour.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven and pour in the cream, swirl it around the meatballs, turning them as you go.

Return to the oven and bake again for 10-15 minutes until the cream has thickened and the meatballs have coloured.

Mocha Roulade

A sweet treat today, one for the coffee lovers!

The boys devoured this so it isn’t too strongly flavoured with coffee and it is gluten and nut free.

Cuts into 8 very generous slices.

Ingredients

6 eggs 

150g caster sugar

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

50g cocoa powder

ICING

250g icing sugar

125g salted butter

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

15mls boiling water

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade. Line a baking tray, 38x25cm, with baking parchment, folding it right into the corners as the cake batter is too light to weigh it down.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk to stiff peaks, add 50g of the caster sugar and whisk in until the whites are shiny.

In another large bowl, using the whisk that you used for the whites, whisk the egg yolks, remaining sugar and coffee powder until really thick, creamy and the powder has dissolved. Sieve the cocoa over the bowl and fold in.

Now, fold a third of the whites into the yolk very gently. Once combined repeat with another third and then with the remaining third.

Spoon the batter, spreading it evenly up to the edges, onto the baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.

While the cake is baking boil the kettle.

In a food processor, whizz the icing sugar to remove any lumps, add the butter and whizz until creamy in the processor.

Measure out the coffee powder into a small cup, add the boiled water and stir to combine.

Slowly pour this coffee into the processor with it on to combine. Scrape down the sides and process again. You may neeed to do this a few times to get all of the coffee incorporated.

Once the cake is ready, remove from the oven and let it sit for five minutes.

Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and invert so you have the parchment up. Peel the parchment off.

Now, roll the cake, including the tea towel, skinny end to skinny end. Allow to sit and cool with the tea towel still in situ.

Once the cake has cooled, unroll gently, remove the tea towel, spread the inside of the roll with the icing and roll back up.

Sift a little icing sugar over and serve.

Chickpea Pizza Base

Another pizza base!

I love how quickly these can be made and then personalised and the base only has three ingredients, chickpea flour/besan which I always have a box of,water and salt, too easy!

This pizza is topped with passata, chorizo, Parmesan and spring onions.

To make this vegan, just use oil in your pan and select your usual toppings.

Makes 5-6 pizza bases.

Ingredients

275g chickpea flour

750mls water

Pinch of salt

Butter and or oil

Method

Measure the flour into a large bowl.

Make a well in the centre and slowly whisk the water into the flour to form a very runny batter. Set aside for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, heat your grill or broiler to high.

Take a non stick, oven proof, 22/24cm frying pan and heat over medium to high heat with 10g butter and 10mls oil.

Whisk the batter, season and whisk again.

Once the butter has melted, swirl around the pan and add 200mls of batter.

Swirl the pan and pop back on the heat.

Cook for 3-4 minutes until the surface appears to dry a little.

Now slide the pan under the grill, my pan doesn’t have an oven proof handle so I have it sticking out away from the heat!

Grill for 3-4 minutes until colouring.

Now you can choose to top the pizza and grill again to melt your toppings or as I do, make all the bases and then bake them in a 210 degree Centigrade oven until the toppings have melted, less than a minute for the pizza in the picture.

Zesty Coleslaw

Another coleslaw recipe, this one is great with rich meat when you need something light and zesty as a side or as I’ve done with pulled pork tonight. It’s also nice and easy to prepare for a barbecue as you let it sit around after making to let all the flavours meld together.

Adjust the herbs to suit your tastes or what you have available.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1/4 red cabbage, finely sliced

1 small red onion, finely sliced

140g snow pea sprouts, halved

2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint

1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill

3-4 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander, leaves and stalks

175mls sour cream

1 lime, juiced

Salt and pepper

Method

Combine the cabbage, onion, pea sprouts and fresh herbs in a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, lime juice and seasoning.

Pour the sour cream dressing over the cabbage mixture and stir well.

Allow to sit for 15-30 minutes before serving.

Stir again just before serving.

The Stickiest Sticky Chicken

A special request from my youngest here.

I’ve posted about sticky wings before but this is for a whole chook so you get leftovers if you are lucky! What to do with the leftovers….use the meat in stir fried rice of as a filling in Vietnamese rice paper rolls.

To be honest, one chook isn’t enough in our house and I love the leftovers so I usually double the recipe!

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1.6-1.8kg whole chicken cut into ten pieces, skin on and bones in

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 thumb of ginger, peeled and grated

40mls honey

80mls gluten free soy sauce

Method

Combine the garlic, ginger, honey and soy in a large bowl. Add the chicken and mix well to coat.

Leave to marinade for 2-4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Lay the chicken pieces on the prepared tray, skin side up, brush over some of the marinade.

Slide the chicken into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, baste with the marinade every 10-15 minutes and towards the end baste with the pan juices.

Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Smashed Indian Potatoes

These are very moreish! 

What’s not to love really, spicy, crunchy potatoes are always a winner!

Although I’ve included boiling the potatoes in the recipe, leftover spuds from the day before will work just as well and don’t peel them! The skins help to hold them together.

If you have any leftovers, and I doubt that you will, keep them for breakfast, reheat the potatoes and pop a fried egg on top, absolute heaven!

Serves 6.

Ingredients 

1kg baby potatoes

30g ghee, butter or oil

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 teaspoon salt flakes

Method

Bring a large pan of salted water up to the boil. Add the potatoes and boil until cooked, mine took 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, gently squeeze the potatoes until they break in two in rough uneven pieces.

In a large frying pan, heat the ghee or oil over a high heat. Add the mustard, cumin, chilli and salt.

As soon as the mustard starts popping, around 30 seconds, add the squashed potatoes and stir through.

Reduce the heat to medium and fry until the potatoes are coloured and crispy.

Greek Meatballs

What’s not to love with these meatballs, sneaking veggies into the kids, they freeze really well for dinner another night, baked, not fried and dinner served in a pitta, flat bread or roll is always a winner in our house!

If you are in barbcueing season, lucky you! These cook well on a BBQ, squeeze them onto skewers to make your own kofta or flatten them to make delicious patties.

Makes 28-30 balls. Serves 6.

Ingredients

70g gluten free fresh breadcrumbs

500g minced lamb

280g baby spinach

3 garlic cloves, peeled

15g fresh parsley leaves

100g spring onions/scallions/green onions

Zest of 1 lemon

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

If you have time, make the meatball mix a few hours before cooking but if not just carry on!

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Centigrade, line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Cook the spinach until just wilted, I use the microwave. Allow to cool enough to handle it and then squeeze the water out of it.

Blitz the bread in a food processor. Tip into a large bowl.

Now add the cooked spinach, garlic, parsley and spring onions to the processor and blitz again, tip into the breadcrumbs.

Now grate the lemon over the spinach, add the lamb and season well.

Using your hands, combine all of the ingredients really really well.

Form into small walnut sized balls. Lay on the prepared baking tray.

Slide into the oven and turn the heat down to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the outside has coloured and the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with salad and fried haloumi in wraps, pittas or rolls or allow to cool, pour them into a zip lock bag and freeze for another day.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

This is easy to make, has tonnes of flavour and is a huge hit with my boys.

Uses wise, I have slow cooked pork and beef with it, brushed it onto meat and chicken on the BBQ, stirred it through noodles for a quick after school feed and middle son uses it as pizza sauce!

I triple the recipe to give me four jars of sauce as it keeps well if you sterilise your jars and lids.

Ingredients

15mls oil

1 red onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

50mls balsamic vinegar

75g brown sugar

250mls passata

50mls gluten free soy sauce

50mls gluten free Worcestershire sauce

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped roughly

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Method

In a medium pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add the onion, cook for 7-10 minutes and then add the garlic.

Cook for two minutes and add the balsamic vinegar, scrape any caramelised bits off the bottom of the pan and simmer the vinegar until it has reduced by half.

Now add the sugar, passata, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chilli, cumin and oregano.

Bring up to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until thickened and darkened.

Sterilise your jars now if you are making extra.

Use a stick blender to whizz to a lump free sauce.

Pour into sterilised jars if you have made extra.

Pink Stuffed Potatoes

This is what happens when I bake too many potatoes the night before!

A great way of sneaking some more veg into the kids and in a house full of males I need some pink in my life!

Serves 4-6 depending on the size of your potatoes.

Ingredients

4 medium to large potatoes, baked and cooled

30g butter

1 small onion, finely diced

230g beetroot, peeled and grated

100g gruyere cheese, finely grated plus a little to top 

1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped

Freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Half the potatoes, scooop out the flesh, leaving the skin intact. Place the cooked potato in a large bowl.

In a large frying pan, heat the butter over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 5-7 minutes until it begins to soften.

Add the beetroot to the pan and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

While the beetroot cooks, lightly mash the potato with a fork, add the grated cheese and pepper, mix lightly.

Once the beetroot is cooked, add to the potato mix and combine thourghly.

Divide the beetroot mix into eight and spoon into the potato skins.

Sprinkle with a pinch of parsley and top with a little cheese. Lay the filled skins onto the baking tray.

Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is golden and the filling is hot.