This page was last edited on 02/01/09
This page was last edited on 02/01/09
Recipe 01 - Chick Pea Whizz
Ingredients
An onion - sliced
A tablespoon of cooking oil
4 or 5 rashers of smoked bacon
3 medium potatoes cut into small pieces.
- A can of chick peas
A can of chopped tomatoes
Half a teaspoon of dried sage
A glass of sherry (optional)
Method
I cook this in a large frying pan which has a lid.
Fry the onion in the oil whilst cutting the bacon into fairly small pieces. Add the bacon to the pan and fry for a few minutes. Meanwhile peel and cut up the potatoes, and open the two cans. Drain the chick peas. Add the potatoes, chick peas, tomatoes and sage to the pan. Add a cup of water and the sherry.
Simmer until the potato is soft; about 15-20 minutes. Stir regularly and top up the water if necessary. This dish is better if cooked for 25-30 minutes gently but it was designed to be cooked quickly. It all depends how small you cut up the ingredients!
Experiment with this dish until you find the taste you like. Add a stock cube if you wish, vary the alcohol. Try butter beans instead of chick peas.
Recipe 02 - 'Minimum Stroney' Soup
Ingredients
An onion - (or 2 medium ones)
A carrot
A tablespoon of cooking oil
1 large potato cut into small pieces.
A vegetable Oxo cube
A teaspoon of Tomato Puree
Half a teaspoon of Mixed Herbs
A teaspoon of Whole grain mustard
6 strands of spaghetti.
These quantities are not exact!
Method
Boil a kettle of water. Cut the onion into small pieces and fry in the oil in a large saucepan. Meanwhile, slice the carrot then add it to the onions. Peel and cut the potato into small pieces. Add this to the pan. (Remember to stir the ingredients from time to time.) Crumble in the oxo cube, add a pint of water, the herbs, mustard and puree and stir. Bring to the boil and simmer until everything is soft (can be as little as 10 minutes). Use a hand blender on the soup if you wish, but do not blend for too long. This soup is better with some pieces of vegetable. You also want to be able to see the spaghetti.
Recipe 02 - Dijon Pork
Ingredients [as with all my recipes, you can experiment as the urge takes you!]
Left over pork from a roast joint, minced or chopped in a food processor [see warning] OR a pack of fresh minced pork from your supermarket.
A tin of chopped tomatoes
2 medium onions, sliced or chopped
2-3 carrots (optional) chopped small
- 2 teaspoons (or more to taste) Dijon mustard (or try any other mustard)
- 2-3 dessert spoons of Apple Sauce
- A splash of Worcester Sauce
- Water
- Stock cube
Warning: I was always taught NEVER to reheat pork although I developed this recipe having seen a relative do so. I have Googled the topic but have found no definitive answer. You must make up your own mind. After all, these days Tesco sell large turkey joints which say 'For best results cook from frozen" and we were always taught to make sure the turkey was well thawed!!
Method
Fry the onions and add the pork (quite early if it is fresh). Add the tomatoes with the pork if using left-overs, or when the pork has browned. Simmer for as long as you think will heat up the (roast) pork. Next, add the mustard, apple sauce and worcester sauce, water and stock cube. Add the carrot and continue to simmer until the carrot is tender (keep checking the water and add as necessary to make a meat sauce such as you might put on pasta.
Serve with boiled rice or pasta as you prefer.