Tag Archives: winter

Lentil and Potato Salad

23 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by in Dinner, lentils, Salads, Uncategorized, Vegetables

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It is winter and some comfort food never goes amiss.   This recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen, my go to blog for tasty recipes.    I didn’t change it up too much – except for substituting Coriander for Parsley – the Coriander in the garden looked much, much too good not to use.     And I also paired the salad with another Smitten Kitchen recipe – Chicken Skewers with Dukkah – though took Deb’s suggestion of omitting the skewers.   Next time I think I would halve the dukkah and sub panko crumbs.  They were still tasty though – and great with aioli and a home-made chilli tomato chutney.    In fact the aioli and chutney go great with the salad too.

Lentil & Potato Salad

Serves between 4 and 6

2 large shallots, 1 halved, 1 finely diced,
4 sprigs of thyme
1 small bay leaf
1 cup dry small green lentils (smaller keep their shape better)
Salt and pepper
500g small potatoes
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (my cupboard was bare, so used white wine vinegar with a splash of red wine that just happened to be open….)
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced or smashed to a paste (your preference)
1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 teaspoons capers, rinsed, drained and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons cornichons or other sour gherkins, roughly chopped
1 to 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped coriander

Cook lentils: Pick over and rinse lentils. Place them in a small/medium saucepan with the halved shallot, thyme, bay leaf, some salt and 4 cups of water. Simmer the lentils over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until firm-tender. Drain (discarding shallot, thyme and bay leaf) and keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook potatoes: Either boil or steam – until they are tender, but not too soft. Drain and keep warm.

Make the dressing: Place the chopped shallot and red wine vinegar in the bottom of a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in minced garlic, dijon, a pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper and olive oil. Stir in chopped capers, cornichon and scallions.

Assemble salad: Slice potatoes into small chunks and place in serving bowl. Add lentils, dressing and all but 1 tablespoon coriander and combine. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed. Scatter salad with remaining coriander.

This can be a stand-alone lunch, maybe add a poached egg, or as a side.  Can be reheated – and keeps in fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Asian Style Glazed Chicken

29 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in chicken, Dinner, Rice, Uncategorized, Vegetables

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It is the middle of winter here and we are still enjoying satisfying warming dishes on cold evenings, in front of the fire or watching rugby. (Sadly my team lost last night – I guess there is always next year).     I have been using our slow cooker a lot more this year and really enjoying the simplicity of it.   Last night it was the perfect choice;  we were going out for a short time in the evening and it meant that by the time we got home I only had to cook some rice and beans, and we had a wonderful hot meal.

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I’m also a bit of a sucker for sweet and spicy.    So this recipe was perfect.   This is my mash up of a number of recipes from the net.   Most of them only contained the sauce and meat.    I wanted more vegetables as part of the dish – and even though I cooked green beans separately – it would have been just as good to either add the beans to the slow cooker, or not even have them.    (And use the ‘magic fridge’ to decide what veges go in if you don’t have carrot and zucchini, or prefer a different mix).

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The below was enough for 2 of us (we ate 4 of the 5 chicken thighs – they were not huge).   My preference is for bone-in thighs,  I think you get better taste.   But, hey, go boneless if that is what you have.  And of course you could also make this with many other cuts of chicken; drumsticks; wings; breast.  There was plenty of sauce – though I figure you can never have enough sauce.  I think you could easily cook enough for 6 people in a medium sized slow cooker.

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Ingredients:

  • 500g (approx.) skinless boneless chicken thighs (I usually allow 2 per person – this recipe I cooked 5)
  • 1/3 cup  soy sauce (light soy)
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 6 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger (or use fresh) – my ‘teaspoon’ is always generous!
  • 1 teaspoon five spice
  • 2 teaspoons – Siracha (or as much as you want for heat – or even use fresh chillis)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 carrot sliced (I used a couple of baby carrots from our garden)
  • 1 zucchini sliced
  • 1/4 cup spring onions sliced, to garnish
  • Handful Coriander, chopped, to garnish

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, garlic, pepper and spices in a bowl.
  2. Place vegetables in bottom of slow cooker.
  3. Add chicken into the sauce, coat well and add both chicken and sauce to slow cooker. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low setting.
  4. When the sauce is simmering (in the last hour of cooking time), whisk the cornflour and water together in a small bowl until dissolved. Stir the cornflour mixture into the sauce; mix it through and cover again to allow to thicken and continue cooking until the chicken is just beginning to fall apart.
  5. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.

 

Serve with greens of your choice (or not) and rice; garnish with sliced green onions and coriander.

Enjoy!

Thai Red Curry

01 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in chicken, Dinner, Rice, Uncategorized, Vegetables

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It was a chilly night, there was rugby to watch, and I wanted something warming but not too fiddly to cook.   Another one dish wonder – just add whatever vegetables you want to this mixture.   I like to put the veges all in together – makes for a faster meal and less to wash up later!    So in essence you can add, subtract, multiply the suggested vegetables below – for me it is usually ruled by what is available in the pantry and fridge.       Instead of using sriracha to taste, you could add chopped chillies into the mix – up to you how much fire you want!

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Probably not quite one dish as we also had rice,  but if you have a rice cooker then it is quick and easy.  Bung the rice into the cooker, add water (and any other additions you might like) and 20 minutes later you’re ready to go.

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Thai Red Curry Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 – 8 chicken thighs, skinned, bone-in
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped (I used a red onion as it what the magic fridge was storing)
  • 2 tablespoons red curry paste (I had Rendang curry paste, which worked fine)
  • 1 red  pepper, chopped
  • 1 orange pepper, chopped
  • 1 small zucchini, sliced
  • 1 medium carrot, diced
  • handful of green beans chopped
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or minced)
  • 1 400ml can coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour
  • 1 tablespoon Sweet Chili Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
  • 1/2t easpoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • sriracha to taste (optional)

Garnish

  • lime zest to taste
  • fresh basil
  • fresh coriander
  • fresh lime juice
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Instructions

  1. Heat oil over medium high heat in large pan. Add chicken, onion and red curry paste and cook just until chicken is no longer pink. Add vegetables, ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute.
  2. Add half of the coconut milk. and add to pan along with all remaining ingredients (except garnishes).
  3. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until chicken is just starting to fall from the bone.
  4. Mix remaining coconut milk with 1 tablespoon cornflour and stir into pan to thicken sauce.  (You could add this earlier to the pan if the curry needs a bit more liquid)
  5. Simmer for another 10 minutes or so.
  6. Garnish with additional optional fresh basil, coriander, lime zest, lime juice and Sriracha to taste. Serve with rice.

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