Posted on

Super Easy Satay Drizzle

 

I wondered what else I could title this post to convince you all to make this sauce! It is really easy and can be used for lots of things. A drizzle over grilled  chicken, a dip for satay sticks, a salad dressing or to finish off a stir fry. Even use it to dip vegetable sticks or a spoon 😊 – you will find no judgement here!

 

The recipe below makes about 150-200ml depending on how you thin it out and since it will last in the fridge you can certainly double it.

4 tblsp peanut butter (I use one without added salt, sugar or oil)

2tblsp rice wine vinegar

2 tblsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tblsp maple syrup

2 tblsp sriracha

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch sea salt

warm water to thin, as required

Mix all ingredients carefully in a bowl until well combined and voila! Add water spoon by spoon until you get your desired consistency. I usually add 3-4 tablespoons, which thins it out nicely.

To make the chicken skewers, I marinated some fillets cut into strips lengthwise in some sriracha and soy. I then threaded them onto presoaked wooden skewers and grilled them until cooked through. Beware packing the chicken on to tightly or it will take longer to cook!

 

Posted on

Kimchi Pancakes

 

Kimchi is a fabulously tasty Korean staple made from fermented salted vegetables, usually chinese cabbage. It has hugely grown in popularity since the discovery of the benefits of fermented foods, so that it’s very easy to buy a jar (no I will not force you to make your own!) It is traditionally served alongside Korean dishes and rice bowls and in pancakes but now finds its way in lots of  dishes including scrambled eggs, pimping a fried-egg-on-rice, salads, burgers, cheese toasties but here today is my simple version of a kimchi pancake.

100g kimchi, chopped

200g finely chopped/grated vegetables – I used peppers, scallions, courgettes and carrots, sometimes a little coriander

3 tblsp kimchi juice

120g flour

2 eggs

1-2 tsp sesame seeds

Oil for frying the pancakes

First of all get to chopping and grating your vegetables and mix them in a medium sized bowl. I grate the courgette and carrot and finely chop the peppers as grating peppers grates on my sanity quite literally. Chop the kimchi and mix it together with the vegetables.

Now beat the two eggs together with the kimchi juice.

Mix into the vegetables, until combined.

Now add in the flour and mix well.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and spoon mounds of the mix into the hot pan (careful!) they take two to three minutes each side or so to cook through and colour so keep an eye.

 

This pancake can also be cooked whole in one go and then sliced into wedges – it is more difficult to flip!

 

Serve with a dipping sauce, something like soy with a dash of rice wine vinegar and sesame oil works well here with some sesame seeds (toasted or otherwise) for good measure

 

 

Posted on

Chipotle Salmon Fishcakes

These little beauties came about from an ostensibly long list of ingredients – but bear with me! Most of them are storecupboard and then you really just need a pack of salmon darnes. I’ll even wager one of those packs of precooked hotsmoked salmon fillets  wouldn’t be the worst to use in a pinch either. The recipe will make about eight to ten  6 – 8cm cakes. The first time I made them we ate them in the small size with a dip and a beer, the second time I made them slightly larger with a salad for dinner. You can exchange the lime for lemon or use a mix of the two.  The recipe would feed approx three adults with sides.

2 salmon darnes (240-250g total)
1 shallot finely diced
a three finger pinch of dried chipotle chilli flakes
fresh basil and dill, finely chopped – a nice handful 😉
2 tblsp chopped capers
50g mayo
1 tsp lime zest
1 tblsp lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaped tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
50g panko breadcrumbs and more for coating the cakes
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

creme fraiche mixed with lime zest and chopped fresh basil to dip

Begin by preheating your oven to 180c and lining a small tin with foil and a slick of oil. Season the darnes and lay them on the foil. Roast in the oven until just cooked, then set aside to cool.

Meanwhile mix the egg, breadcrumbs, capers, garlic, fresh herbs, mayo, lime zest and juice, spices and dijon together with some seasoning in a bowl. Add the cooled salmon in flakes and mix until combined.

Now shape them into cakes, they can be stored covered in the fridge until ready to cook.

When you are ready to cook, heat a few spoon of oil in a large frying pan until medium hot (not mad not or the cakes will scorch) place the remaining panko breadcrumbs on a plate and briefly turn each cake in the crumbs, pressing gently, before adding to the pan – you may have to do this in batches.

They should take a few minutes each side depending on the thickness – you can press each cake down slightly if you like. Keep them warm in the oven while you cook the rest and then serve with the dip and a cold beer!

 

Posted on

Goat Cheese and Dill Potato Cakes

Here’s a quick and easy supper or lunch solution – tasty and not totally making you go cold turkey (!) this January 😊 Baby steps!

500 g leftover mashed potato (well mashed, cooled)

100g creamy goat cheese (I used St Tola)

3-4 tblsp fresh dill, chopped finely

1 egg beaten 1 tblsp fresh lemon juice

flour to coat the cakes

oil for frying

rocket and garlic mayo to serve

Mix the mash with the cheese, dill egg, lemon and garlic in a bowl until they are well combined. Chill in the fridge for an hour which will make the mix easier to form into patties.

Scoop the mix into golf ball sized amounts and gently flatten and dust with flour. Handle gently they are delicate!

Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry until golden and cooked through. Serve with the rocket and mayo.

Posted on

Mushrooms Stuffed with Cashews Halloumi and Mint

I’ve been reading through Sabrina Ghayour’s new book, Feasts which is just delectable. I want to cook and eat everything in it! It so happened that I had Portobello mushrooms and halloumi in the fridge and was leafing though her book and made a few substitutions and changes for the sake of instant gratification!

4 large Portobello mushrooms, wiped clean

50g butter, softened

120g halloumi, grated

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp fresh red chilli, minced

3 tblsp cashew nuts, roughly chopped

small bunch of mint and coriander, finely chopped

drizzle of oil as needed.

 

Preheat the oven to 200c. Place the mushrooms in a roasting tin, gills up.

Place remaining ingredients in a bowl and mash together well to combine with a drizzle of oil. Divide among the mushrooms, pressing the filling into each with a fork.

Bake for 30 minutes until brown and bubbling and serve with salad.

Posted on

Almond Crêpes

 

This was a lovely breakfast idea I spied in Goodfood Magazine a while back – and so easy! It can be made per person or per crêpe and so it is even doable on a midweek morning. It’s lovely and filling and can be used as a vehicle for healthy or not-so-healthy toppings. The crêpes tend to stick a little and don’t behave quite like the tradtional ones, but I was prepared to accept that once I tasted them! With a little greek yoghurt and fruit, it does feel like a treat.

Per crêpe:

1 large egg

1.5tblsp ground almonds

1 tblsp water

I decided to be novel and gave the kids a jar to each shake their own (I know!) but feel free to beat the ingredients in a bowl, unless of course you’d like to do that too!

Heat a medium pan with a spoon of oil and when the pan is medium hot, pour the beaten egg mix in and swirl it around to coat the pan. Don’t let the pan get too hot. Now leave it set for a minute or two, then it is done (no flipping this one!) Turn carefully out onto a plate and eat with your favourite accompaniments.

We have tried berries and coconut yoghurt (Glenisk is yum), diced apple and raspberries or cherries with a dash of maple syrup, and blueberries with greek yoghurt swirled with a spoon of lemon curd. All delish!

Posted on

the dip to end all dips

 

I first came across warm dips when we were living in Toronto a number of years ago. There and then dips were, well, pedestrian. I, however, was transfixed! When going to parties and gatherings, people brought all variations of these DIPS. This is a version of my favourite. The warm artichoke dip. It has truly never met a carbohydrate it didn’t get along with, or a glass of wine for that matter. Serve it with any manner of breads, crackers, breadsticks, crudités and your favourite beverages. It certainly starts conversations! You can get tinned artichokes in brine (Epicure) in Supervalu, Avoca and Nolans in Clontarf. I haven’t tried it with the artichokes in oil – I’d imagine they’d be very oily. I’m now on the lookout for frozen artichokes…..!

 

Warm Artichoke Dip

1 tin of Artichokes in brine
1 cup (250ml) of mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup (250ml) of grated parmesan
black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 170C . Drain the tin of artichokes. Chop roughly and place in a bowl or a pyrex jug (I find the jug handy for the immersion blender). Add mayonnaise, garlic and some black pepper to taste. Blitz with a handheld immersion blender until reasonably smooth, but leaving some texture. Add most of the parmesan, retaining a couple of spoons for later.

Decant the dip into an oven proof dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.

Bake uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbly. This will keep warm for a while no problem just as long as you can keep away from it. It’s very forgiving if the guests are late!

Serve with aforementioned delicious things to dip-in-the-dip!