15 Minute Meals- Part 6: Crispy Parma Pork & Part 7: (?) Lamb Kofte

Ya, ya, ya... I know- one year on and I promise, I have made far more progress through the book than Recipes 6 & 7 which I have decided to combine into one post. Good job this isn't my job, or else my report card would be dismal. However, that doesn't mean I wouldn't love to do this as a job- that would be fantastic! Perhaps one day. 

In any case-I'm super happy to inform you that there ARE 15 minute recipes in this book, and two are here for you to read about! Add an extra 10 - 15 or so minutes of prep, and it is possible to have tasty food in a flash-ish. So, what winners have I come across?

Crispy Parma Pork, Minted Courgettes & Brown Rice- sounds fab! Tastes fab! 

The cookbook picture has colour, four food groups, and what looks to be a substantial amount of food! I've swapped an eggplant/aubergine for the yellow zucchini/courgettes as the peeps of B31 don't seem to appreciate varietals beyond the standard. I must admit, I was impressed that I found an eggplant! I also subbed in already cut pork leg steak vs a pork loin for availability reasons.

Paragraph 1: Just over three minutes in: slit open medallions and stuff them with feta. Season. Wrap with Parma ham- how can this not taste fantastic?! Flatten and fry (in your pre-heated frying pan). Keep turning/ cooking. End of paragraph one and not much time has elapsed. I am feeling confident.

Paragraph two: Finely slice the courgettes in the food processor... I was a bit disappointed I didn't get Kenny out; however, that's because Edgey did the job for me. Does this mean that your husband can be interchanged with a food processor? Ummm, I think I will (have to) answer no. The food processor can't do the vacuuming! I'm joking... OF COURSE a food processor is not better than a husband :)

Sliced courgettes & aubergines, oil, garlic, chilli, and mint to the "casserole" (a.k.a my other frying pan that can go in the oven)... I know you can't see the screen, but I was making great time.

It's time for the third paragraph and again, although you can't see the screen, I just hit the 10-minute mark! It's going to work and I might even have time to plate up! Tear some sage leaves and crisp them in the pork pan. Heat your pre-cooked rice in your courgette pan, flavour with sun-dried tomato paste and lemon juice, and mix through.

Et, voila: Crispy Parma Pork, Minted Courgettes, and Brown Rice--> in seconds over 15 minutes. This was super tasty; but then how could parcels of pork, Parma ham, and melted feta not be packed with savoury pizzazz! This will definitely be one for the repertoire.

And as promised, a second goodie! The Lamb Kofte, Pitta, and Greek Salad is edging towards the 16- minute mark, but in comparison to some of the 20-minute messes, I'll also mark this one for repeat.

6-ish minutes to get all of the ingredients out. I stayed pretty true to the recipe, but missed the lemon for the picture. Garam masala, mint, thyme, honey, olives... I'm salivating thinking of all of these fantastic flavours!

Paragraph 1: Start Cooking: Mix the spiced  meat, get frying, and set the couscous. These "little fat fingers" work well with the lamb because there is a bit more fat in the minced meat vs. ground beef. I've never worked with minced lamb before and the meat felt loose when I was moulding it, but kept in tact throughout cooking. There is another "koftA" recipe that Jamie has in the book that mixes minced beef with lentils. It's a tasty recipe, but tends to fall apart if you use the full amount of lentils. Back to the minced lamb recipe though, and the garam masala is smelling mighty fine in the pan.

Into paragraph two and my blood pressure is rising: ten minutes is creeping through and it seems I am only half way through the recipe. The mess of grating half an onion isn't calming me down, and nor is trying to squeeze out the juices from the seasoned grated mass of onion and cucumber. I am however, slightly calmed because if this tastes anything like the Greek Chicken recipe, then it will be worth the mild amount of panic.

Ticking on, it's time to take my frustration out on the pistachios. At least I'm now into Paragraph 3. Pistachios, thyme, honey into the lamb pan to caramelize- oh, the anticipation is building!

14 minutes and 26 seconds- what's left? Pittas in the microwave for a quick warming blast, fluff the couscous, and breathe. At 15 minutes and 46 seconds, all elements are cooked and "at the pass" ready to plate- not bad, at all.

I love Greek flavours and this mix-up has it all. Especially when combined in a pitta pocket, the sensations of a dirty Donner kebab are there, but with real and fresh ingredients. No lingering, greasy after effects. This one is satisfying and super delicious. 

What I don't understand, Mr Oliver (because I like to pretend that he is reading this :P) is how you can boast with all the adjectives in the world so early in your book (for instance, Gorgeous Greek Chicken...), but by the time we reach a truly Greek combo of lamb, olives, thyme, lemon, yoghurt, feta, etc, you've plainly labelled it Lamb Kofte? Someone needs to get the word-web out with the rest of the time they have after cooking their meal in 15 minutes.

No Horsing Around Lasagne- Passing it on (again).

In the wake of the "horse meat scandal" gripping Britain and the EU at the moment, I thought I'd re-post (or re-pass it on) a blog from last year. I was kind of hoping that I had posted another recipe rather than Jamie's Lasagne from the Ministry of Food book, but Sod's Law, I had. This time, though... pictures of this real favourite of mine. Slow and steady it takes to cook, but it goes far and is truly delish; especially when using fresh herbs and smoked bacon :) Our mate Rich was in the garden when I was frying off the herbs- he said that the smell was amazing coming out from the extractor fan into the garden! And the best thing about it? most (I was going to put all... but know better) of the ingredients are traceable. The tinned tomatoes are a bit dodge from the local super cheap-o supermarket, but they look, smell, and taste like tomatoes. I know that my local butcher knows where his meat is from and what he's actually mincing, so there's certainly no horsing around with this recipe.

In any case- don't set your timer, but ingredients out:

You make the bolognese yourself: 2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, 2 medium onions, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot , 2 sticks of celery, olive oil, 2 heaped tsp dried oregano, 500g minced beef, 2x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes, sea salt, black pepper, bunch of fresh basil. I know I can't fool you with the shrooms, green pepper, and spinach- these are little extras that give the bolognese a bit extra rather than carrot, carrot, and celery.

 Oh, and I forgot to mention a magic ingredient in the bolognese... wine! Only 1/2 a can, though... leaves more to drink afterwards.

Make your sauce- this takes time (it says 1 hour and 30 minutes... and actually takes that long, unlike the promises in the 15 Minute Meals), but is entirely worth every minute!

Finely slice the bacon- Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic, carrots and celery- place a large pot/ frying pan/ casserole dish on med to high heat- Add 2 lugs of olive oil, sliced bacon, oregano and cook and stir until the bacon is lightly golden (this is the smell I have been going on and on and on about).

Add the veg to the pan and stir every 30 seconds until softened and coloured (about 7 minutes)

Stir in minced meat and chopped tomatoes- Fill one tin with water and stir in with the mixture- Stir in a good pinch of salt and pepper- Pick the basil leaves off of the stalks, and put them in the fridge for later. Chop the stalks and stir into the pan.

Bring to a boil- Turn the heat down and simmer with a lid slightly askew for 1 hour stirring every now and again- Take off the lid and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally- Keep an eye on the sauce as it cooks, and if you think it's starting to dry out, ad a splash of water (or wine).... now I shortened this to 45 minutes with the lid and 15 minutes without and it worked fine.

Remove the bolognese from the heat- Tear and stir in the larger basil leaves- Taste the sauce and season with a little more salt and pepper if it needs it. This makes a considerable amount of sauce, so it is good to freeze and use again or just make a monster lasagne!

Preheat your oven to 375F/190C

Next, for the lasagne:

250g dried egg lasagne sheets (I bought the pre-cooked ones that don't need re-cooking), 100g Parmesan cheese, 1x 600mL tub of creme fraiche (or sour cream), 1 large ripe tomato, (3/4 cup wilted spinach- my addition)

Grate your Parmesan and mix it to your creme fraiche.

Spoon a third of your bolognese sauce into the bottom of an earthenware ovenproof dish (approx 25cm x 35 cm)- Follow with a layer of lasagne sheets and another third of sauce. Layer with spinach leaves (sneaky way to get in some more veg!).

Dollop a third of your creme fraiche mix- Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper and top with another layer of lasagne sheets.

 Only Sgt Pepper will do.

Spoon over the rest of the bolognese sauce and another third of the creme fraiche- Finish with a final layer of lasagne sheets and top with the rest of the creme fraiche- Scatter over some extra Parmesan- Top with some slices of tomato and fresh basil leaves- Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes- Remove the foil and cook for another 20 minutes until the lasagne is bubbling and golden- Serve with fresh green salad.

Try it out and pass it on!

15 Minute Meals- Part 3: Mexican Chicken- Well Wicked?!

 

Episode number three: Mexican Chicken with Wicked Mole Sauce... Sceptic alert!!

Wicked Mole Sauce?! Surely no author should be describing their own sauce as wicked? Would Michel Roux self glorify his recipes in writing? Do the critics think it's wicked? Wickedly sinister and an abomination to fine cuisine, perhaps.  I suppose the majority of official food critics use more traditional and romantic words to describe food and also would not dare to comment on Jamie's recipes. But Jamie doesn't cater to these official critics rather to the masses of normal people who use wicked in their vocabulary and although I wish I was in the class where I would be cooking a Michel Roux dish on a mid-week night, I am in fact working my way through 15 Minute Meals. So: Ingredients out- kettle boiled ad 8 minutes and 34 seconds later I can reset the timer and get cooking.

I can say that this is a very curious set of ingredients, and passing by the kitchen before the cooking started caused Craig some alarm when he saw me setting out the peanut butter, banana, and chocolate (for the wicked mole sauce). Staying true to recipes 1 and 2 thus far, Jamie has pulled together ingredients that I would not think go in one dish.

5 minutes in and I have finely sliced some carrots, trimmed spring onions, and they are boiling in some stock with a chopped pepper, smoked bacon, and fresh thyme. Two joys to my nose while I am standing over the hob and to my taste buds when eating the dish are including fresh herbs and smoked bacon. The aroma of sautéing fresh herbs really makes me happy in my heart, and I believe that some of that happiness is from actually reaping the reward of growing the plants yourself. I will never do justice to describing the smell and my advice to you is to grow your own and get cooking! As to the bacon, well, it adds the droo-mami (drool + umami) factor when you add it in. These 15 Minute Meal recipes call for bacon/ pancetta quite often and I suspect it's a way of boosting flavour so to not purposely add the abundance of salt that Jamie traditionally requires. Remember, these meals are healthier (typed with sarcasm).

 

It's time to get Kenny out and blitz the spring onions, peeled garlic and chillies with the cumin seeds, PB, some boiling water, salt and pepper (interestingly not in the outlined ingredient list). This mix then goes into the frying pan to simmer. 

 

I am going to moan here because I ate up a huge chunk of my 15 minutes (like, just over 2 minutes! and was angry and forgot to take a picture) by peeling the stupid garlic! Remembering my Fresh is Best mantra and that pre-chopped jarred garlic is never the same, I immediately thought back to living with my Dad and his two brilliant ways of having fresh garlic:

1) this Italian supermarket in Edmonton sells fresh peeled whole garlic cloves (short shelf life, non-preserved). I really wish I had some of that now.

2) I used to hate it but for the purposes of 15 Minute Meals, wish I had this silicone tube that you put the clove(s) in and roll it in between the palms of your hands until- voila! the cloves are peeled.

 

While the paste is simmering, it's time to get a lid on it- the okra (never to be found in B31), peas (never give peas a chance), thus green beans and chicken are into the first frying pan to cook down. But, I have got to this point at 10 minutes, and if I know anything, it's that chunky strips of fresh chicken will take longer than 5 minutes to cook through.

In the meantime... I'm asked to:

Add the breakfast/dessert ingredients to the paste that has been simmering and cue a classic Jamie cooking tip- one that is possibly even better then describing how to make gnocchi (...you just know when it's right...) season until it's INCREDIBLE.

 

Really?! I'm not sure which is worse? Self-describing your dish as wicked or telling someone to season until it's incredible. As the person following the instructions, I was hardly going to season until it's alright or sub-par. Of course I am going to season until it meets the desires of my palate. Also, I would think (and can attest based on actual perception in my own home) that no amount of seasoning was ever going to make that sauce incredible for some people. But all this natter aside, my scepticism was met and I can honestly say that this sauce was well-sick! Interpret as you will: I loved it... others didn't.

Plodding on and I have met the critical time: 15 minutes and as I suspected, my chicken is still pink. I even pre-cut my chicken to strips to make it cook faster before getting it into the pan- something that the recipe did not ask to do. This is the only thing that I am waiting for, so I might as well tidy up for the next 4 minutes before my dinner is ready.

19 minutes and 32 seconds later, Mexican Chicken with Wicked Mole Sauce, Rice, and Veg is ready. I've opted not to serve it as the picture suggests because dinner needs to come on a plate in my house rather than in bits and bobs. It looks like you are supposed to have some weird soup thing, but the broth drizzled over the rice mixed with the veg tastes just as good. And I do mean good- not wicked; mind you, it's only the incredibly seasoned sauce that is truly wicked. The rest of the dish was a refreshing turn from a tired mid-week meal.

 

 

15 Minute Meals- Part 2: Mustard Lamb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 Minute Meals attempt number two... Mustard Lamb.

I'm always looking for new lamb recipes, and even better if it's meant to be cooked in 15 minutes, rather than a nicely slow-simmered hot pot. But my scepticism runs high in reading the ingredients list: cider?! I would not suspect cider to be in a lamb recipe. With an open mind, let's get cooking...

 

Ingredients Out (six minutes later).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A really positive thing I can say about this book and it's speedy philosophy is that it is making me become well acquainted with my food processor. The only action Kenwood (from now on to be known as Kenny) has seen until now is the bowl blade chopping various forms of hummus and a few attempts at curry paste. This recipe calls for the thick slicer and coarse grater. Exciting! And the six minutes of pre-work did not include my time searching for the attachments and instructions and figuring out how to assemble them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four minutes in, my lamb is split and seasoned and sizzling away in the frying pan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next: Tip on a platter with watercress. Roughly chop and add the top leafy half of the mint. By roughly chop, I don't think that Jamie meant the extra bit of protein  from the top of my finger. Oops. I solely blame this slip up on Kenny. Had I hand chopped the potatoes earlier as a warm up, my mind would have been in diligence mode rather than speed mode, and my fingertip might have been spared. I would like to clarify that it wasn't that bad... I did manage to slice through one layer of dermis but I promptly wrapped the wound in a cloth to carry on. Although, the next morning when I cleaned the wound, my knees did wobble. With the obligatory 5-a-day drizzled and plated, let's carry on:

 

Six minutes in and I have switched from the slicer to the coarse grater (just flipped it upside down) to chop (or grate) celery faster than I have ever chopped celery before.

 

 

Ten minutes in: Kenwood sliced potatoes and leeks boiled, ready for mashing and I am nearing the end and coming to the third paragraph. With the way most recipes are "organised" (you all know that Jamie is not really organised) into three paragraphs in this book, it looks like I am well on track to finish on time.

 

 

Back to the lamb, which needed a bit of extra cooking because I didn't slice it as finely as Jamie outlined, and it is now time to use the cider to make the sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lamb juices, residual mustard powder, cider, and mint sauce (voilà, source of scepticism) into the pan to reduce. Four-ish minutes later, the sauce has boiled so it does not resemble cider. I can confirm that the extra 5 minutes was certainly worth the wait. 20 minutes later, my 15- Minute-Meal is finished and definitely scrumptious! I really do recommend this recipe. I've mustard-coated pork before, but never lamb. The mustard boosts the umami of the lamb and coupled with the sweet cider glaze, this was salivatingly satisfying.

 

 

One last thing to mention about this way of cooking is the disaster area that it does create in your kitchen, irregardless of how tidy you normally are. I do suppose that it could be a balance of competitive edge in trying to cook in time vs. tidying as you go. Over-boiled leeks water and overflowing washing up bowl below as an example.

 

15 Minute Meals- Part 1: Sausage Gnocchi

New book: Jamie's 15 Minute Meals! Me and lots of other people have received this book (I'd say gem, but I am actually not sure, yet) under their Christmas tree. They would have received the book for similar reasons- we want quick, nutritious, tasty food. We might go through the book in different ways. I read 15 Minute Meals and literally understand that the book will deliver a 15 minute meal-see core blog. My experience is that I know these meals will take longer, but... I LOVE a challenge. Cue: my series of 15 Minute Meal encounters.

 

I thought I would start by actually reading the introduction, as Jamie suggested during his visit to BBC's One Show. (I usually take the man-with-instructions-and-jump-right-in approach). Practice makes perfect... rhythm... it's not a race (eet is a race! It's always a race!).

 

 He continues talking about the low cost of the meals and their nutritional value. He's received a lot of stick from some of his other recipe books containing meals with really high fat and salt. Those of you avid Jamie fans will know that you generally halve the amount of oil and butter he calls for. I think the low-cost aspect is interesting, though and promise to put it to the test in a "Cook-in vs. Take-out" challenge later this year. And of course... make sure you have all the gear- to go with the idea(r).

 

 

 

So, where to start... Sausage Gnocchi. Always the first words: Ingredients Out.

Umm... I need to find some gnocchi from somewhere- and couldn't. Thank you chavs of South Birmingham for saturating our local food establishments with uninteresting cuisine. Not that gnocchi is interesting, but it certainly is not curry chips nor fried chicken.

 

As it was Christmas break when I started this book, I had time on my hands to give making gnocchi a shot. Off to Jamie on advice with making gnocchi from scratch and this 15 Minute Meal has just turned into something quite a bit longer... but we won't count this pre-work in when I hit start on the timer= typical game rules.

 

Making gnocchi from scratch involves roasting potatoes in the oven for two hours, letting them part cool so you don't burn your hands, and then mixing them with spices and egg yolk. Jamie says it takes some practice to "get it right" but doesn't offer up what "right" looks like. But I feel this all went surprisingly well for a first attempt- I really think that my inner Polish genes kicked in to help as there is a similar traditional Polish dumpling dish that I am not about to try and spell phonetically.

 

 

See... the dough is sticking to itself... not my hands= success.

 

As I planned to make this meal in 15 minutes, and needed to make some gnocchi that took well over two hours to knock up, I abandoned the 15 Minute Meal attempt to make a quick something else for dinner and decided to use my lovely gnocchi the next day. They should keep in the fridge, right?

 

Wrong! I either didn't quite get my dough correct, which is highly likely, or else fresh gnocchi has a pretty instant shelf life. In either case, my what-was-firm little bundles of potato heaven were now falling apart and sticking to everything except themselves. I dreaded to "drop them in a pot of boiling water to test if they are ok" as suggested in Cook with Jamie. Sure enough, I need to keep practising.

Back to the real point of all of this mess... and I can assure you that 15 Minute Meal cooking is consistently a mess thus far, I'm making Sausage Gnocchi (or Fusilli).

 

Day 2: Ingredients Out. I love this part. I love how fresh and delicious everything looks when you pull it out and line it up. This is when you know you are cooking proper food. You can actually account for every flavour and every ingredient. You can see how (almost) everything looks in its natural state. Oh, and this pre-work took 11 min and 5 seconds to undertake.

 

Step 2: Get cooking...  

2 min 55 sec to get the sausage out of the skins and into the preheated pan.

Minor vent here for two reasons:

1) I still can't get my head around pans and pans and pots and pans. UK cookbooks call a pot a pan and it is usually a pot if they say a lidded pan. It is usually a pan when they call it a frying pan. A pot is always only the big one for soup.

2) Because this is 15 Minute Meals, the obligatory crushed garlic and chopped onion that are staples in Jamie's other cook books are missing because these ingredients take time to peel and squash and chop. So, I have done my prework and pre-read the recipe and pre-chopped these extra allyls.

 

7 min 8 sec: I have cooked my meat and am adding veg and passata.

 

11 min 19 sec: haven't touched the pasta yet, let's hope this cooks uber fast. Even gnocchi takes more than 3 min 41 sec to cook.

 

 

 13 min 40 sec: greens cooked (albeit a bit slimy) and salad dressing mixed.

13 min 56 sec: nearly done. Broccoli is not quite cooked for my husband's liking, need to keep cooking.

20 min 8 sec: Finished cooking. This time does not include the time it took me to plate up the food, although it is suggested to pretty much just throw the food onto some platters so everyone can dig in. But gnocchi disaster aside, I am not far off from what was directed. 

 

 

What can I say about this 15-ish (~35) minute meal? Well, it was tasty! Not outstanding, but a good mid-week meal that gives you something else to eat rather than the usual cyclical five. And it combined ingredients that I would not normally have put together:

1) fennel in my pasta was a good trial. Next time I will sub in cumin seeds, but all in all, a good try.

2) broccoli is usually a side ingredient in this house, or if in a mixed dish, it's only a stir-fry. This was also surprisingly a good way to sneak some rough fibre and vitamins into the dish.

3) I will find some gnocchi somewhere and try this again. I will not ever try to make gnocchi from scratch again because it is not worth the electricity bill in running my oven for two hours.

 

And what we didn't like about it:

1) The warm wilted greens as they are not to everyone's (ahem... Edge's) taste... but nor are the hazelnuts friends with my protein receptors.

2) The entire dish should serve 4 with approximately 526 kcal per serving- Good diet food if you are strict to the portion sizing. What I found is that there was a lot of pasta with little "goodness" (broccoli, sausage- and I even added two extra sausages). You could maybe feed two parents and two kids under 12; otherwise, this is good for 3 people (still weak on meat) and you might still want a dessert. And I would add mushrooms next time... it needed one more chunky thing in it to balance out the pasta.