robertwray.co.uk | recipes

Stats
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 30mins

Ingredients
25g butter
2cm cube of ginger, finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes, drained with the juice reserved
1pt vegetable stock
2stp tomato puree
1/2tsp lemongrass paste
1/2tsp tamarind paste
100ml single cream
1 chopped and desseded green chilli

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, add the ginger and allow to infuse
   
2. Add the drained chopped tomatoes, stir well
3. Add the tomato puree, lemongrass and tamarind paste and mix well
4. Add the hot vegetable stock and reserved tomato juice
5. Allow to come to the boil, add the chopped green chilli and simmer for five minutes
6. Add cream
7. Blend until smooth
   

Stats
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients
2 x whole chicken legs (including thighs)
1 x tin chopped tomatos (440g)
2 x carrots, sliced to 1/2cm thickness (skin on)
4 x rashers of smoked back bacon, chopped to 1cm strips
2 x tablespoon olive oil
1 x red onion coarsely chopped
1 x garlic clove, finely chopped
1 x red pepper, de-seeded and chopped into 2cm squares
50ml x Red wine
1 x Beef Oxo stock cube
1 x Dash of mushroom ketchup (or Worcestershire sauce)

Method
Note: A casserole dish that can handle stove-top heat is required (such as this Le Creuset one).

1. Place half the olive oil in the casserole dish along with the chopped garlic, onions and bacon. Allow to soften and cook through.
2. Remove the softened garlic, onions and bacon from the pot and set aside.
3. Place the remaining olive oi in the pan, increase the heat slightly and place the chicken legs in. Allow to brown on both sides.
4. Add the tinned chopped tomatos, stir and reduce the heat so the tomatos simmer.
5. Make up the beef oxo in the tomato tin and add the liquid to the casserole dish.
6. Add carrots, red wine, red pepper and the dash of mushroom ketchup.
7. Bring to the boil, turn the heat off, put the lid on and place in a pre-heated oven (150 degress fan-assisted, 160/170 convection) for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Notes
Check (and stir) the casserole every 30 minutes to determine the consistency of the sauce. If it's too thin for your liking after 1.5 hours, remove from the oven 15 minutes before serving, remove and set-aside the chicken legs (carefully, the meat will be very tender and fall off the bone). Place the casserole dish on the hob, and bring to the boil for ten minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce has thickened separately, reduce the heat to a low simmer and return the meat.

Would go well with creamy mash or rice.

Provided to me by a friend, this bread is *amazing* toasted and spread with a decent preserve. If sliced, it freezes well too!
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350g milk (can use 350ml water with 2tbsp dried milk powder instead)

30g olive oil

450g spelt flour

1.5tsp salt

2tsp castor sugar

1tsp dried yeast (I buy Dove's Farm in a big packet that you spoon out of - otherwise use one sachet)

Optional - 2 tbsp omega sprinkle seed mix (from Holland and Barrett or use other seeds or 2oz chopped black olives)

 

Bread maker method - load in the order listed above and cook on a basic or wholewheat rapid programme (mine takes 2 hours).  If using olives, add those after the final rise before it bakes.  I haven't cooked it on a delay programme so not sure if that works and I've not added olives.

Stats
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 mins

Ingredients
1/4 fresh pineapple, chopped into small chunks
4 spring onions, chopped finely
1 red chilli, seeded and chopped finely
20 cherry tomatos, chopped finely
1 tsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp light soy sauce

Method
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and leave to stand for half an hour.

Notes
Leave the seeds in the chilli if you want more of a kick to the salsa.

The salsa goes really well on a butterflied chicken breast that's been coated with cajun seasoning and grilled. Serve with stir-fried noodles, brocolli and peppers.

Stats
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 1hr 30mins

Ingredients
6 sausages
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
5 shallots, coarsely chopped
2 green peppers, sliced
50g Pearl Barley
Knob of butter
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 pint chicken stock
200g Anya potatoes, chopped into 2cm(ish!) chunks, skin on
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin lentils

Method
1. Start cooking Pearl Barley as per instructions (usually bring to boil in cold water, discard, rinse and start simmering with fresh cold water)
2. Brown off the sausages with the butter on the hob in a casserole dish
3. Add the garlic, onion and shallots and cook on a low heat until softened (You may need to remove the sausages if they get too brown!)
4. Add the potatoes and chopped peppers and make sure they're coated with the butter and sausage fat
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, lentils, chicken stock and return the sausages if removed earlier
6. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for five minutes
7. Add the pearl barley (once drained)
8. Cook in oven at 180 degrees C for an hour without the lid on

Notes
Most people say that you should get really good sausages for this, but any will do really. The one exception to that is to NOT use "value" sausages. So, hit the middle ground, not really cheap sausages, but also don't worry about using "[Supermarket] Finest / Taste the Difference" level.

Stats
Serves: n/a
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients
1 Chicken carcass, with wings, giblets not required
1 carrot, chopped in half
1 onion, quartered
2 tablespoons of black peppercorns, roughly crushed

Method
1. Cut the chicken carcass into four or more pieces and place in a stock pot, add any bits of the chicken not being retained for eating such as the skin from the breasts
2. Add all other ingredients and cover with water to an inch over
3. Bring to the boil, then simmer for the duration
4. Strain, cool and use

It really is that simple and tastes a thousand times better than stock cubes

Based on a recipe I found on the web at some point, but now tweaked to my liking.

Stats
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
2 pork loin steaks
1 tin chopped tomatos
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1tsp onion salt
5 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp Olive oil

Method
1. Heat the olive oil and garlic in a saucepan, add the meat and cook for a minute or two on either side until sealed
2. Turn the heat down, add the onion and peppers and allow to sweat slightly for 5 minutes
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, onion salt and basil leaves, stir it all up a bit and cover
4. Cook on a low heat so its just simmering for the remaining 15 minutes

It's really nice served with mustard mash that's only lightly flavoured with Dijon mustard, and broccoli and carrots.

Stats
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 to 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 full-size tin of chopped tomatos
1/2 red onion coarsely chopped
1 clove of garlic, pureed / chopped finely
2 bids-eye chillis, chopped (or less depending on taste)
4 or 5 leaves of fresh basil, shredded
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 heaped tsp of tomato puree

Method
1. Sweat the onion in a saucepan with the olive oil till its soft
2. Add the tomatos, chopped chillis, basil and garlic and tomato puree to the pan and cook on a low heat till its reduced down to a thickish sauce

Other Ideas
Instead of sweating off the onion in olive oil, roast the onion in large chunks along with chunks of a red pepper, in olive oil, then skip straight to step 2 and add the red pepper and onion at the same time

Stats
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients
250g Haddock, skinned and cut into 1.5cm chunks (not too neat!)
75g creamed coconut, grated
3 tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1tsp dried coriander
1tsp cumin
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
20 fine green beans, trimmed and halved

Method
1. Lightly fry the garlic, spices, salt and onion in the oil for three to five minutes, or until the onion has softened.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, add coconut and cook for two to three minutes.
3. Reduce the heat down, add fish and fine beans to the pan.
4. Cook for a further ten minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.
5. Serve with plain boiled rice as there's more than enough flavour and texture in the curry without adding anything via the rice.

Tip
To skin the tomatoes, place them on a chopping board upside down (stalk side down) and make score a cross, only slightly penetrating the skin that extends about 2cm out in each direction from the centre of the tomato. Place them all in a shallow dish and cover in boiling water fresh from a kettle for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the water and the skin should peel off with ease.

Very tasty, a bit fiddly to make but well worth the time taken!

Stats
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients
100g Cooked Chicken
1 tablespoon Oil
2 rashers streaky bacon, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 level tablespoons plain flour
3 cooked carrots, diced
300g cooked, diced, skin on Anya potatos
100g mixed sweetcorn and peas, cooked
1 pint chicken stock
0.5 pints milk
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Cut chicken into 1cm cube sized pieces
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan, fry the bacon in it until softened
2. Add the onion and cook till the onions started to brown
3. Sprinkle with flour and stir in the chicken, carrots, potato, sweetcorn, peas stock and milk
4. Bring to the boil and then simmer on a low heat until the vegetables are tender