Easy Pepper Gravy
I’m always in a rush, so this is a quicky and easy way to make a nice flavoursome sauce in just a few minutes. It’s great with a steak.
1. Make one cup of instant gravy as per the packet directions.
2. Stir in one teaspoon of cracked pepper,
3. Rinse and pat dry 2 heaped teaspoons of green peppercorns. Use the back of a spoon to crack about half the peppercorns. Mix into the gravy.
4. The peppercorns will need about 5 minutes in the gravy to add there flavour.
5. That’s it.
Obviously adding more ground pepper or pepper corns will increase the heat.
Easy Spanish Style Paella
The traditional Spanish style paella is steeped in much tradition, The traditionalists will tell you that you must use a certain kind of rice, a certain kind of pan, the rice must only be half a thumbs depth and it goes on.
I’m not much of a traditionalist so I was quite happy when I found this simple recipe that’s packed with flavour. As always I’ve modified it a bit for easily available and affordable ingredients and personal taste.
I used a very old but still like new Bessemer ware frypan that when left on low for long enough produces the much prized caramelised crust (socarrat) on the bottom of the pan. While I don’t doubt that the most traditional results come from a traditional paella pan, any heavy based fry pan should do the trick. I’ve cooked this half a dozen times and have only got the perfect crust twice, obviously it takes some practice, and the extra flavour in the crust makes it worth the effort, but it’s still an awesome dish without it.
And crust or no crust, there has never been leftovers!
Ingredients
1 Chorizo Sausage, sliced and quartered.
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 cup medium grain rice
4 cups of chicken stock
1 red capsicum, sliced thinly
12 green beans, trimmed
10 cherry tomatoes, halved.
Method
1. Fry off Chorizo in a dash of olive oil until slightly browned,remove and set aside but don’t clean the pan, it adds to the flavour.
2. Brown the chicken thighs in another splash of olive oil, set aside with chorizo when done.
3. Add 1 tbbsp of olive oil to the pan and fry onions for three to four minutes until they start to soften. Then add paprika and garlic and combine well.
4. Add the rice to the pan, making sure all the grains get a coating of oil, add a little more oil if necessary.
5. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Return the chicken and chorizo to the pan, add the the capsicum and beans and mix gently.
6. If you are aiming for the caramelised crust then this is where you stop stirring. The dish is ready to serve when the rice is cooked. However if you’re after the crust then reduce the heat to very low and leave it to cook for 20 minutes. Add more warm stock or water if neccesary. Press the cherry tomatoes into the rice for the last five minutes of cooking.
8. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving with lemon wedges, salt and pepper.
Low Fat Easy Chicken and Corn Soup
There is probably a million different variations of this traditional chinese soup that you could find online. This is an easy one that doesn’t take long to make.
The other bonus is that it’s low fat, low carb and high on flavour!
Ingredients
300 grams chicken breast meat
3 litres of chicken stock (or substitute)
1 onion diced
2 celery stalks sliced thin
1 clove crushed garlic
splash of olive oil
1 440 gm tin corn kernels
1 440gm tin of creamed corn
salt and pepper
Method
1. Fry the onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil in the bottom of a heavy based stock pot for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
3. Add the chicken breast meat and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove chicken breast and set aside to cool.
5. Add the tins of corn and stir in.
6. Shred the chicken and return to the pot and stir.
7. Season to taste and serve with a sprinkling of sliced chives or spring onions.
If I was entertaining I would slowly drizzle an egg white into the swirling soup to add another element of texture and flavour, but I’m not a fan of eggs so I skip that step.
Do Cook Has Moved In More Ways Than One
It’s been a while since I’ve updated, a lot has happened in the last six months, traveled quite a bit for work, bought a house, started renovating said house and it hasn’t left a lot of time for the kitchen or the website.
However the colder weather is upon us down my end of the world so hopefully I’ll get some quality kitchen time and computer time. I’ve already tried a couple of new recipes that were hits that I will right up in the near future.
I’ve also relocated the website to a new host. I think I’ve moved everything on the site properly but if there are any problems then please let me know in the comments.
Also on my renovation agenda is a new kitchen. I have a tricky space to utilise and it’s taken three months of living here and thinking about it to come up with a workable idea. I can’t wait to have a kitchen I’ve designed and built!
Easy Italian Style Mussels
In the scheme of shell fish I would probably rank the humble mussel in third place after oysters and scallops. What gets mussels into third place is they are abundant (where I am), cheap and reasonably easy to cook.
They are a bit of a pain to clean, but if you get the farmed mussels they are generally sand and grit free, and it doesn’t take much to give them a quick scrub and debeard them.
Here’s a quick and simple muscle recipe that tastes great. It will serve two as a main meal or 4-6 as an entree.
Ingredients
1kg Mussels (scrubbed and debearded)
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 glass dry white wine
1/2 glass water
parsley
Method
1. In a large pot fry off onion and garlic in oil until onion is clear.
2. Add tomato wine and water and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add mussels and place the lid on the pot to allow the mussels to steam for 10-15 minutes. While the mussels are cooking they will release their juice which adds to the flavour.
4. Serve into large bowls and garnish with the parsley.
