Category: Spice Kitchen

Harissa salmon with wild garlic & herb couscous and roasted veg.

April 12, 2017

IMG_1528 (1)

 

Wild garlic is at is peak now for foraging and should be in most places over the UK in flower. I Love wild garlic and this year I have been experimenting more with it. I think people who come into my kitchen recently must be sick of smelling it, or even on me for that matter! ( Never thought about that until now! ) Also what is coming up great in my kitchen garden are the herbs. My fennel has lasted all through winter and is still going strong.

IMG_1513

One recipe that really stood out through developing was this one on how quick it takes to prepare and cook. Plus it is super healthy.

I don’t usually buy salmon purely on its cost and sustainability but I couldn’t get Loch trout which I would have used instead. I managed to find some Scottish salmon that was MSC certified which had a lovely taste.

Combining the lovely subtle fresh flavours of the wild garlic and herbs in the couscous makes this dish so light. I didn’t overpower the salmon either, just gives it a little gentle heat against everything else. This dish is perfect for lots of occasions and especially with Easter coming up it’s a lovely alternative if you don’t want to have Lamb or any other meats. One key factor to remember…Do not overcook the Salmon then it will keep it’s lovely flavour and just flake away nicely.

I paired this up with some lovely British tomatoes that look fantastic on the dish but if Im completely honest I don’t think they go with the rest of the dish. They have a beautiful taste roasted though. So that’s your choice on whether you put them on the dish or not.

IMG_1514

 

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

Salmon:

  • 2 responsilbly sourced Salmon fillets ( I used Scottish )
  • 1 tsp of dry Harissa spice mix/rub ( I use Spice Kitchen )
  • 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil
  • Sprinkle of sea salt to season. I use pink himalayan salt on mine but any good quality will do.

Wild garlic and herb Couscous:

  • 150g of Couscous ( you might even have more left over for Lunch the next day )
  • 250ml of vegetable stock ( boiling water )or enough to just cover the Couscous
  • a handful of freshly picked wild garlic leaves, stalks off, washed and finely chopped ( Chiffonade )
  • A good handful of fresh herbs finely chopped such as: Chives, mint, green fennel or fronds of, chervil and parsley. If you can’t get the fennel or chervil use a little tarragon or dill.
  • A little salt and cracked black pepper to season if needed.

Roasted vegetables:

  • 1 small red onion roughly diced
  • 1 small red pepper diced roughly
  • 1 small yellow pepper roughly diced
  • 1 stick of celery chopped roughly
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • Small handful of lemon thyme, (if you can’t get this use normal thyme and a little lemon zest at the end of roasting)
  • Salt and cracked black pepper to season.
  • British Vittoria tomatoes on the side ( optional )

 

IMG_1505

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 180c fan.
  • Place vegetables in a roasting tin/dish with the lemon thyme and place in oven for 5 minutes.
  • Place Salmon after 5 minutes in a roasting dish, smother the harissa and oil over it, season and place in the oven also for approximately 12-15 mins or when salmon is cooked.

IMG_1507

  • Continue cooking the vegetables also.
  • Whilst these are in the oven together Pop your dry couscous into a bowl, cover with the vegetable stock and cover with cling film for 10 minutes. Leave aside.
  • At this point pop your tomatoes in the oven if you want to use them.
  • Then when all is ready in the oven, flake your couscous with a fork and will be fluffy at this point. Then add in your herbs and wild garlic, stir and leave to stand until all dished up together.
  • Serve altogether and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pork and prawn crispy spring rolls

January 27, 2017

img_1022

It’s Chinese New year this weekend, the year of the Rooster and what better way to celebrate the coming of a new Spring with these lovely Spring rolls. They also are meant to represent wealth by looking like “Gold bars”.

I started to create these recipes by using one wrapper per spring roll which they do work like that, however will either break or go a little soggy after a short period of time. So because I have done smaller sized ones, I simply doubled up on the wrappers and they work wonders!

If you are celebrating the Chinese new year or want to be involved these are incredibly so simple to make.

If you wanted to do a vegetarian version, simply leave out the prawns and pork (obviously) and then add in maybe some beansprouts and chestnut mushrooms.

I don’t normally deep fry a lot of food so this recipe is a true treat. It makes a great starter to a meal or just simply a great snack for other times of the year.

Here is a link where you can hear me on BBC Radio Leicester with Ben Jackson and simply going through how to make them for you! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04qz7r3

Ingredients:

( Serves approximately 24 spring rolls )

Filling:

  • 250g Pork Mince chopped/bashed down again with a meat cleaver or strong knife.
  • Half a bag of 225g Frozen king prawns ( defrosted ) and then chopped as fine as you can get them. – These are still great flavour to fresh but cheaper in price.
  • 1/2 227g tin of water chestnuts chopped
  • 1-2 carrots depending on size, into strips using a veg peeler.
  • 2-3 leaves of Chinese cabbage/lettuce or you could use pak choi shredded.
  • 2-3 spring onions finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • 2 thumbnail size amounts of fresh ginger grated
  • 1 tsp of Chinese five spice ( I used Spice Kitchen’s blend )
  • a handful of fresh coriander chopped
  • a good pinch of caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce.

– 1 packet of spring roll wrappers/pastry, defrosted. ( I used 250g weight ones but any other size, you can cut them down.

– 1ltr bottle of vegetable oil or groundnut oil.

– 2 tbsp of cornflour mixed with a little water for your “Glue”

– A wok to deep fry in!

img_1012

img_1015

Method:

  • Place a damp towel over your spring roll pastry to keep them moist.
  • Put all ingredients for the filling into a mixing bowl and mix through.
  • Heat your oil in the wok. Pop in a piece of bread to see when it is ready for deep frying.
  • Onto a plate take two of your wrappers and place the square into a diamond shape, so as a corner is facing you.
  • Take a tablespoon of your mixture and place it in the centre of your parcel, making a rectangular shape.
  • Fold the corner into the middle which is nearest to you, then fold in the outer corners to the centre of the spring roll. A bit like an envelope.Tuck in and roll to the centre. Place some of your cornflour mixture around the top corner to form a ” glue” and roll into your spring roll.
  • Pop into hot oil and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Take out with a slotted spoon and drain onto kitchen paper.
  • Simply serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

img_1021

Jerk style chicken with peach and cucumber salsa

January 6, 2016
What is it with Diets in January? I like creating healthy recipes and eating them, don’t get me wrong but why is it that when as soon as New years Eve is out of the way, people seemed to have consumed so many calories over Christmas, they must be the size of Brazil by now! 
 I don’t actually eat that much over Christmas, maybe the wrong type of foods yes but never anymore than normal really. I can’t afford much more! I say eat in moderation, have a balanced diet. Plus that way you get a wide range of foods and with the added cheeky treat.

  So I thought my readers I’d share a recipe I did back in the summer of last year that isn’t super healthy but has a lot of benefits in it thats better than a Pork pie…Ooh any of that left?
  This Jamaican marinade has so many different versions all over the world, from Grandmas recipe that has been passed down the years in a Caribbean household to such as my recipe here which I have created. Some may argue it isn’t a true Jerk recipe but its one I have been doing for sometime now and it never fails to impress people. 
  With Jerk recipes, some are dry and some are wet. I have gone for the more wet and sticky version so be prepared as you wont be able to eat this elegantly.

    The many times I have done this dish, I’ve served it with wedges, sweet potato, rice and coleslaw, ( not all at once) however it was now time for a real fruity kick of a salsa and you can’t get more refreshing than this with the added cucumber. The coconut oil adds a real sheen and added class to it. You could even use fresh coconut in there, finely grated or sliced.
  A comforting dish still for January but with some added healthy Oomph as well.



Jerk style chicken with a peach and cucumber 
salsa:




Ingredients:
(Serves 3 people)
Chicken:
–    3 Chicken drumsticks, 3 thighs
  • 3 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
  • 1 Medium sized Red Chilli finely diced, more if you like it really spicy
  • Thumbnail size of Fresh Ginger grated
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
  •   1 Tbsp Soy sauce 
  •   1 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
  •   2 Tbsp of good quality Jerk seasoning ( depending on how powerful the seasoning is)( I used Spice Kitchen’s) 
  •   Spritz of Lime
  •   Sprinkle of caster sugar
  •   1 tbsp of Rapeseed oil
Salsa:
  • 3 peaches Peeled and diced
  •   3 inch size of cucumber peeled,de-seeded and finely diced
  •   1/2 red pepper 
  •   Half a red chilli finely chopped and de-seeded
  •   Handful of fresh chopped coriander
  •   1 tsp- 1 tbsp of Coconut oil, depending on how much it 
  •     A good squeeze of fresh Lime juice ( no more than half )
  •   A good squeeze of Fresh Orange ( no more than a quarter of a large orange )



Method:
*  Place all marinade ingredients into a bowl and mix together
  • Make some score lines in your chicken and add to your marinade, working it into he chicken. Cover your bowl and leave in the fridge from 6 hours up to 24 hours if you can. (The longer the better)
  • Chop all ingredients for your salsa and set aside in the fridge
  • Pre-heat oven on 190c-200c
*  Check if your chicken looks a little dry, add a bit more of rapeseed oil, not too much as the chicken has skin on.
  • Pop your Chicken into the baking tray/dish of your choice and pop in the oven for 30 minutes or until all cooked through and sticky on top.
*  Serve with your Salsa and your ready.





Chestnut, cranberry and white chocolate biscotti

January 2, 2016





I was actually meant to post this before Christmas. I came up with this recipe for my weekly column as a great edible gift for Christmas. However if you are anything like me and enjoy the full 12 days of Christmas, you will still make these anyway. So why don’t you get some Sunday baking done tomorrow and keep it Festive! After all, today is still only the ninth day of Christmas! 




Below is what I wrote for my column:
It’s less than 2 weeks till Christmas now so I thought I’d share with you another  recipe of mine great for those edible gifts, an emergency sweet treat when guests suddenly turn up or even just great to eat at your leisure alone. 
 The great thing about biscotti is how long it lasts for so its perfect to be baking ahead now if you like. You can even freeze them down and cook when needed.
 Biscotti are so easy to make yet they look like you’ve spend hours on them.
 They look so pretty however you present them just Perfect with a mulled wine or Hot chocolate.


Chestnut, cranberry and white chocolate biscotti:






Ingredients:
(Makes 16-18 biscotti)
  • 175g plain flour plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 125g light muscovado sugar 
  • 1 egg beaten 
  • 50g cranberries
  • 50g chestnuts ( cooked vacuum packed ones ) chopped roughly
  • sprinkle of cinnamon ( I use Spice Kitchen )
  • sprinkle of nutmeg
  • 75g white chocolate melted to drizzle


Method:
  • Heat your oven to 180c
  • Place your greaseproof baking paper onto a baking tray. Put your flour,baking powder, sugar and spice into a bowl and mix well.
  • Stir in your egg, mix well. It will start to the form clumps. Bring the dough together with your hands and knead a couple of times to bring mixture together.
  • Then add your chestnuts and cranberries and knead together.
  • Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and make into a sausage shape. Place onto the baking tray and pop into the oven for 25 minutes.
  • At this stage it still will be slightly pale in colour. Take out of the oven, transfer onto a cooling rack until cool enough to handle. 
  • Using a bread knife cut into slices of about 1cm thick and lay individually back onto the baking tray. ( At this stage they can be cooled and popped into the freezer in bags) 
  • Turn down oven to 140c and then bake for 15 minutes, turn the biscotti and bake for a further 15 minutes until golden and dry.

* Pop onto a wire cooling rack to cool. Then drizzle with melted white chocolate. ( don’t be perfect with it ). Allow the chocolate to cool and then you are ready to eat.








Harissa Chicken with sumac cous cous salad

December 9, 2015

                                                 
Salads aren’t always for just Summer or when you are trying to loose an odd pound or too. They can be very exciting and that is what I wanted to show you this week and maybe introducing you to some flavours you haven’t tried yet.

  I love this time of year for Comfort food but in-between I have to eat things like this to give me a little break. Plus theres going to be some more indulgent foods in a couple of weeks so this recipe might help to keep you feeling lighter along the way.

  The key to this recipe is using lots of fresh herbs in the salad but if you cant get some of them, I’ve given alternatives. The sumac in the cous cous gives a lovely citrus vibrancy and along with the Harissa chicken will still give you a warming touch. A light dish but yet still very comforting.
Harissa Chicken with sumac cous cous salad:





Ingredients:

(Serves 2)
Chicken
  • 2 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (add more if you want it )
  • 2-3 tbsp Rapeseed oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, bashed
  •   1-2 tsp Harissa spice, add more if needed  ( I use Spice Kitchen )
  
Cous cous
  • 200g Cous cous
  •   400 ml chicken stock or to just cover the cous cous
  • 2 tsp sumac ( I use Spice Kitchen ) 
  • Handful of chopped cucumber 
  • handful of cherry/baby plum tomatoes quartered
  • 1 small red onion sliced
  • 1/4-1/2 fennel sliced thinly
  • 75g white cabbage shredded
  • a couple of handfuls of baby leaf salad such as spinach, rocket, red chard, red ruby chard etc…
  • Selection of herbs chopped (a good sprig of each, the more the merrier)
                       :- Mint
                       :- Lovage (Use celery leaves if cant get)
                       :- Lemon verbena (use lemon zest if cant get)
                       :- I also used Salad burnet (which tastes like cucumber, I got mine from my local garden centre)
  • Cracked black pepper to season
  •   sea salt ( I used pink himalayan salt ) to season
To finish 
  • a good sprig of chopped fresh coriander leaves
  • Some fennel fronds
  • drizzle of rapeseed oil 
Method:



  • In a bowl cover your cous cous with the stock just so its covered and cover the bowl with foil. Set aside for 10 minutes.
  • Sprinkle your chicken thighs with the Harissa spice and place into a hot frying pan. Cook until your chicken is cooked throughout. Whilst your chicken is cooking throw in your 2 bashed garlic cloves to the pan.
  • In the mean time whilst this is cooking, go back to your cous cous. By now it should be nice and fluffy. 
  • Place the cous cous into a mixing bowl along with all other ingredients. Mix well.
*  When your chicken is cooked, Place the cous cous salad onto a plate or bowl, slice up the chicken, add your “to finish ingredients” and done.