Home-made Beef Burgers and Chicken legs

 For the beef burgers:

1 lb beef mince
2 handfuls fresh parsley, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp paprika
3 tsp worcester sauce
1 tsp chilli powder
1 egg, beaten
3 slices of bread for breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, adding more breadcrumbs if too wet.
2. Divide them into burger shapes and wack them on the barbeque.

For the marinaded chicken legs:

16 chicken thighs
2 tbsp paprika
4 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp mixed herbs
salt and pepper
enough white wine to layer the bottom of the dish

Rub and mix the spices onto the chicken and then dash the wine on top. Leave the chicken to marinade for an hour, turning the legs occasionally. The chicken is now ready to cook, either in the oven or on the barbeque.

Stewed Rhubarb with Ginger

This is a delicious way of cooking rhubarb without much hassle and organisation.

Recipe (serves 6)

10 rhubarb sticks
50g sugar
4 pieces of stem ginger/ or 6 pieces of crystalized ginger
juice of 2 oranges
100ml water

Firstly cut up the rhubarb into similarly sized chunks and put them in a pan with the sugar, orange juice and water. Cook on a high heat until they begin to soften. Then add the ginger. Keep stirring until the rhubarb is cooked to perfection, add some more sugar if needed.

Prawn, Courgette and Green Pepper Curry

Sadly I don't have a photograph for this recipe. I made it for my friends mum and couldn't whip my phone out at the dinner table...plus, it was too irresistible for a photograph.

You will need (serves 4):

800g uncooked king prawns (or any prawns)
400g tin of good quality coconut milk
1 green pepper, chopped into pieces
2 courgettes, sliced
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, thinly sliced
2 tbsp korma paste
1/2 green chilli
a packet of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp paprika
3 crushed kaffir lime leaves

Firstly, fry the onions, garlic and ginger in a little vegetable oil for a few minutes, then add the courgettes and pepper. Cook the vegetables for about 4 minutes, then pour in the coconut milk and all the other ingredients apart from the prawns. Cook the dish for roughly 15 minutes, and add the prawns when you are nearly ready to serve. They should take a few minutes to go pink. Serve with boiled rice, and garnish with fresh coriander.

Yummy Fishcakes

 This was my first attempt at fishcakes and they were actually pretty good.

You will need (serves 4):

4 white fish fillets (no skin or bones)
1 onion
1/2 litre vegetable/fish stock
320g potatoes, mashed
large bunch of parsley
a pinch of chilli flakes
1 tsp creole spice mix
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 piece of bread for bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
25g flour
salt and pepper

Cook the potatoes until they are soft and mash them for later. Cut the onion into quarters and put in a frying pan. Lay the fish on top and pour the vegetable stock in. Simmer the fish on a medium heat until it is cooked, this will depend on it's size.

Meanwhile finely chop the parsley and put it in with the mashed potatoes. When the fish is cooked, take it out of the stock and leave it to cool for 5 minutes. Then add the fish, chilli flakes and creole spice to the potatoes. Mix it all together and make large balls out of it. Rub each fishcake in flour, then dip them in the egg and breadcrumbs. Leave the fishcakes in the fridge for half an hour so they do not fall apart when cooking.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan and add the fishcakes. Continually turn them so they don't burn. Serve them with some vegetables and mayonnaise.

Easy Tarte Tatin

This is a delicious and easy recipe, with only 4 ingredients:

Light brown sugar, to layer the bottom of the dish
Butter, a few knobs to scatter over the sugar
Cooking apples, about 4
Puff pastry, half a packet

Start by turning the oven on to 180°c. Prepare the apples by pealing and coring them. Slice them into circles and don't worry if some are odd shapes.

Make a thin layer of sugar in the base of a large tart dish to cover the bottom. Then place small knobs of butter over the sugar, roughly 8 knobs for a large dish. Start to layer the apple slices neatly on top of the butter and sugar at an even level.

Put this in the oven for 5 minutes to slightly soften the apples. Meanwhile, thinly roll out half a packet of puff pastry. Remove the dish from the oven and place the pastry on top of the apples, make sure it covers the whole dish and fold in any excess bits.

Cook the tart for 15/20 mintutes, until the pastry is brown and cooked. When it is ready, put a plate on the dish and turn the tart upside down so that it becomes a tarte tatin. Serve both hot or cold, with creme fraiche, yoghurt or cream.

Chicken leg with tomatoes and peppers

The leg of a chicken is by far the best meat, I don't understand those 'breast' eaters.

You will need (serves 2):

2 chicken legs or thighs (no skin)
1 red onion (chopped)
3 spring onions (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped into chunks)
3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 400g tin of tomatoes
chilli flakes to taste...I use a pinch
4 tsp brown sugar
3 tsp worcester sauce
1 tbsp wine (any wine will do...I sometimes use rose)
3 tsp coriander powder

1. Put a little oil in a frying pan and brown the chicken and onion on a high heat for about 12 minutes.
2. Then add everything else and turn the heat to medium.
3. Cook with the lid on for a further 15 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.

This was a huge leg so I just served it with peas, but this dish is great with couscous, potato or rice. Easypeasy.

Fattening but Delcious - Boursin Risotto with Chicken and Mushroomss

This is a very easy risotto dish, simple tasting, but good all the same.

Recipe (serves 4):

250g risotto rice
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
A dash of white wine (optional)
2 large chicken breasts (cut into chunks)
1 large onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (chopped or crushed)
2 tsps mixed herbs or seasoning
1 pack of chestnut mushrooms (roughly 320g) cut into four
1 square pack of garlic and herb Boursin cheese (only use half)
1 cup peas (blanched in warm water)

1. Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil in a large frying pan/pan/wok for a minute.
2. Add the chicken and brown it for a minute also. Put in the rice and start slowly adding the stock...little by little.
3. Now it is time for the dash of white wine if you have any, and half the Boursin cheese. You want to add the cheese early because the dish become quite runny when the cheese melts and you want the risotto to absorb all the juices and not become sloppy.
4. Keep stirring and gradually adding more stock if it needs (around 15 minutes).
5. When the risotto rice is almost cooked, add the chopped mushrooms and season.
6. Finally after a couple of minutes, put in the blanched peas to heat up, and once the risotto rice and chicken is cooked, you're ready to serve.

Delicious Tomato Pasta Sauce with Prawns, Basil and Garlic

I was quite disappointed with Zizzi's prawn pasta dish I tried a few weeks ago, and wanted to attempt my own pasta sauce. After reading a few tomato sauce recipes, I mixed a few together to create this delicious sauce.

You will need (feeds 2/3):

1 can chopped tomatoes
20 king prawns (uncooked, frozen but thawed in warm water)
2 chopped tomatoes (for extra yumminess)
10 fresh basil leaves (chopped small)
4 chopped or crushed garlic cloves
3 chopped spring onions
2 tsp brown sugar
a dash of white wine
a pinch of chilli flakes
1 tsp dried or fresh thyme
2 tsp tomato puree
enough spaghetti or pasta for 2 people and parmesan to grate on top

1. Fry the fresh tomatoes, garlic and spring onions in a little oil for a few minutes. Meanwhile put a pan of boiling water on for the pasta.
2. Then add everything else for the sauce apart from the prawns.
3. Simmer on a medium/low heat for 10 minutes so that the tomatoes soak up all the goodness.
4. Finally add the prawns and cook until pink. Your pasta should be ready as the same time as the sauce so nothing will get cold. Grate some cheese on the top and garnish with a few basil leaves.

Enjoy!