Comforting Japanese stew

Ingredients

2 tbsp sesame oil
200g beef brisket (cut into thin slices)
600g waxy baby potatoes (peeled and cut in half)
2 onions (peeled and cut into 8 lengthwise pieces)
350ml dashi
50ml soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
50ml sake
50ml mirin
2 tbsp sesame (roasted for 2 minutes without fat)
1 fresh chilli (cut into thin slices)
Coriander

Method

1. Heat the sesame oil in a pot, sear the meat for 2 minutes, add potatoes and onions and fry for another 3-5 minutes
2. Add dashi, soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin and boil up
3. Reduce to medium heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Gently stir a few times
4. Garnish with sesame, chilli and coriander

Пепероната (обжаренный перец и лук)

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/peperonata/

ВРЕМЯ ПОДГОТОВКИ: 15 минут

ВРЕМЯ ПРИГОТОВЛЕНИЯ: 15 минут

ОБЩЕЕ ВРЕМЯ: 30 минут

ПОРЦИИ: от 4 до 6 порций

Ингредиенты

- 1/4 стакана оливкового масла первого отжима

- 2 красных болгарских перца, очищенных от семян, нарезанных полосками длиной от 2,5 до 3 дюймов.

- 2 желтых болгарских перца, очищенных от семян, нарезанных полосками длиной 2 1/2–3 дюйма.

- 2 оранжевых или зеленых болгарских перца, очищенных от семян, нарезанных полосками длиной от 1/2 до 3 дюймов.

- 1 большая луковица, нарезанная полумесяцами

- 4 зубчика чеснока, тонко нарезанных

- 1 столовая ложка сушеного орегано

- 1 столовая ложка сахара

- 4–5 помидоров рома или других сливовых помидоров, очищенных от семян и нарезанных кубиками.

- Соль и перец для вкуса

- 1/2 стакана свежих листьев базилика, грубо порванных

- Лимонный сок

Метод

Обжарить лук:

Нагрейте оливковое масло в большой кастрюле на среднем огне. Когда масло засияет, добавьте лук. Посыпьте немного солью и обжаривайте 2–3 минуты, пока лук не начнет окрашиваться.

1. Добавляем перец:
Добавьте перец и хорошо перемешайте, чтобы он соединился с луком. Обжаривайте 4-5 минут, часто помешивая. Перцы должны быть все денте — приготовленные, но с легким хрустом.

2. Добавьте чеснок:
Добавьте чеснок и обжаривайте еще 1-2 минуты.

3. Добавляем соль, сахар, орегано:
Посыпьте все еще немного солью, добавьте сахар и сушеный орегано. Готовьте 1 минуту.

4. Добавляем нарезанные кубиками помидоры: и готовьте еще одну минуту.

5. Добавляем базилик, черный перец, сок лимона:
Выключите огонь и добавьте порванный базилик. Натрите все сверху черным перцем. Непосредственно перед подачей немного отжать лимонный сок по блюду.

Peperonata (Sautéed Peppers and Onions)

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/peperonata/

Peperonata (Sautéed Peppers and Onions)

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

15 mins

TOTAL TIME

30 mins

SERVINGS

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 red bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2- to 3-inch-long strips

2 yellow bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2- to 3-inch-long strips

2 orange or green bell peppers, seeded, sliced into 2 1/2- to 3-inch-long strips

1 large onion, sliced into half-moons

4 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon sugar

4 to 5 Roma or other plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn roughly

Lemon juice

Method

Sauté the onions:

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Sprinkle with a little salt

and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the onions just begin to color.

1. Add the peppers:

Add the peppers and stir well to combine with the onions. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. The peppers should be al

dente—cooked, but with a little crunch left in them.

2. Add the garlic:

Add the garlic, and sauté another 1-2 minutes.

3. Add salt, sugar, oregano:

Sprinkle more salt over everything and add the sugar and dried oregano. Cook 1 minute.

4. Add the diced tomatoes:

and cook just one minute further.

5. Add basil, black pepper, lemon juice:

Turn off the heat and mix in the torn basil. Grind some black pepper over everything. Right before serving squeeze a little

lemon juice over the dish.

Cleaning and Storing Strawberries

 

Step-by-Step Instructions 

• Fill a large bowl with hot water (roughly 110ºF to 130ºF or 43ºC to 54ºC)
• Add strawberries and submerge them, swooshing them gently to wash for 30 seconds.
• Drain, picking out any berries showing damage.
• Transfer to a salad spinner lined with paper towels or place them in an even layer on a tray lined with paper towels. Dry the berries by spinning them in the salad spinner or by letting them air-dry on the tray.
• Transfer to a breathable container, like the one they came in, or a deli container with holes punched in it.
• Refrigerate.

Cleaning and Storing Strawberries

 

Step-by-Step Instructions 

• Fill a large bowl with hot water (roughly 110ºF to 130ºF or 43ºC to 54ºC)
• Add strawberries and submerge them, swooshing them gently to wash for 30 seconds.
• Drain, picking out any berries showing damage.
• Transfer to a salad spinner lined with paper towels or place them in an even layer on a tray lined with paper towels. Dry the berries by spinning them in the salad spinner or by letting them air-dry on the tray.
• Transfer to a breathable container, like the one they came in, or a deli container with holes punched in it.
• Refrigerate.

Flourless pancakes

 

 Ingredients for Flourless pancakes with fluffy texture:

1. Two eggs
2. One tsp vanilla extract
3. Two fully ripe bananas
4. One-half tsp baking soda
5. A dash of salt
6. Coconut oil (for pan lubrication)

Recipe Instructions for Flourless pancakes with fluffy texture:

• First, mash the bananas in a bowl until they have a smooth consistency. Then fill the basin with the eggs, baking soda, vanilla extract, and a small amount of salt.
• Next, stir everything together until a uniform dough is achieved.
• Next, put some coconut oil in a nonstick frying pan and heat it over medium heat. Now let’s form pancakes by spooning tiny amounts of the dough into the frying pan.
• Lastly, we’ll sauté them for about two minutes on each side, or until golden.
• Now that it’s ready, serve the pancakes hot with your choice of honey or fresh fruit on top.

Flourless pancakes

 

 Ingredients for Flourless pancakes with fluffy texture:

1. Two eggs
2. One tsp vanilla extract
3. Two fully ripe bananas
4. One-half tsp baking soda
5. A dash of salt
6. Coconut oil (for pan lubrication)

Recipe Instructions for Flourless pancakes with fluffy texture:

• First, mash the bananas in a bowl until they have a smooth consistency. Then fill the basin with the eggs, baking soda, vanilla extract, and a small amount of salt.
• Next, stir everything together until a uniform dough is achieved.
• Next, put some coconut oil in a nonstick frying pan and heat it over medium heat. Now let’s form pancakes by spooning tiny amounts of the dough into the frying pan.
• Lastly, we’ll sauté them for about two minutes on each side, or until golden.
• Now that it’s ready, serve the pancakes hot with your choice of honey or fresh fruit on top.

Johnnie’s /Johnnie Collins/ recipe for chicken, chips and herb aioli

 Johnnie’s recipe for chicken, chips and herb aioli

- https://youtu.be/hsmI0m9jqy0?si=oC2DrZULo0RX46Ec

For the herb aioli

Handful of herbs, ideally from your garden (Johnnie uses chives, fennel fronds, parsley)

250ml neutral oil

4 egg yolks

1 squeeze of half a lemon

1 drop of white-wine vinegar

1tbsp of Dijon mustard

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 pinch of sea salt.

For the chips

3kg good roasting potatoes

Oil and salt for cooking

For the chicken

½ chicken, deboned

Oil, butter, garlic and hard herbs, such as rosemary and thyme for cooking

For the brine

1kg water

30g salt

30g sugar

100g of olive (or caper brine if you have any)

Any citrus peels you have (optional)

Start with the aioli (you can do this a day or two in advance to get ahead if you wish). 

Chop the herbs as fine as possible and blend with a drizzle of oil. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, garlic and salt and blitz in a blender until smooth. With the motor running, drip in the rest of the oil bit by bit to emulsify and thicken into a lovely aioli.

Next, make the chips. 

To make the best oven chips, start a day or two in advance. 

Boil the roasting potatoes whole with the skin on, until they are soft all the way through but not breaking apart. 

Then leave them to steam and fully cool before popping them in the fridge overnight. (This a good method for best roast potatoes too.)

The next day, cut the potatoes into chip size, you want them small enough to get crispy but they retain their shape. 

Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius, toss the chips in a good amount of oil and a generous amount of salt and then add them to the hot oven. They should take around 30 minutes to cook. 

Don’t overcrowd the tray so they have space to crisp up and keep an eye on them – turn them over a few times while cooking so each side gets crispy and turn the oven down a bit if they are going too fast.

Now, there are many ways to cook a chicken, but this is a nice method if you’re cooking for a few friends in a short time. 

Start by brining the half chicken. 

Get a container with a lid and put your deboned half chicken inside. Weigh out enough water to cover you half chicken in a container – the weight of the water will give you the amount of salt and sugar for the brine. I usually do a three per cent salt and sugar brine. The percentage is the amount of liquid – so for one litre of water, you will need 30g of salt and 30g of sugar. 

Add these to your water and whisk them in cold water, you don’t need to heat the water but just need to whisk it until it’s all dissolved. If using add a little glug of caper, olive brine or some leftover citrus peel. You can do this a day in advance and leave it in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to go, take the chicken out of the brine, wash it off and pat dry. 

For a crispy skin, you want the chicken to be dry so be sure to remove the chicken a few hours early and then leave it uncovered in the fridge so it can dry out.

Now cook the chicken. 

Start with a cold pan and a good glug of oil. 

Season the skin and then add it to the pan skin side down. 

Use a medium heat, you want the skin to crisp up but not burn and the chicken to cook through gently. 

Once the skin is crisp, turn it over and add a bit of butter to the pan with some crushed garlic and hard herbs. 

Baste the skin with the melted infused butter. 

If you have a thermometer, you’re looking for an internal temperature of 70 degrees Celcius. 

You should need around 25 minutes cooking and 20 minutes resting to cook the whole thing. 

And if it’s looking cooked on the outside before the middle is finished, you can pop it in a low oven to finish it off. 

Make sure you rest it well; this is a really key part so don’t skip it. 

The chicken should be lovely and crispy but still tender and juicy once it’s fully rested. 

Baste/поливать жиром it with the pan juices whilst it’s resting.

To serve, slice the chicken and spoon over any remaining resting juices. 

Put everything on the table, a nice bowl of the aioli, a big bowl of chips and a nice green salad for a perfect early summer supper for friends.

Johnnie’s /Johnnie Collins/ recipe for chicken, chips and herb aioli

 Johnnie’s recipe for chicken, chips and herb aioli

- https://youtu.be/hsmI0m9jqy0?si=oC2DrZULo0RX46Ec

For the herb aioli

Handful of herbs, ideally from your garden (Johnnie uses chives, fennel fronds, parsley)

250ml neutral oil

4 egg yolks

1 squeeze of half a lemon

1 drop of white-wine vinegar

1tbsp of Dijon mustard

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 pinch of sea salt.

For the chips

3kg good roasting potatoes

Oil and salt for cooking

For the chicken

½ chicken, deboned

Oil, butter, garlic and hard herbs, such as rosemary and thyme for cooking

For the brine

1kg water

30g salt

30g sugar

100g of olive (or caper brine if you have any)

Any citrus peels you have (optional)

Start with the aioli (you can do this a day or two in advance to get ahead if you wish). 

Chop the herbs as fine as possible and blend with a drizzle of oil. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, garlic and salt and blitz in a blender until smooth. With the motor running, drip in the rest of the oil bit by bit to emulsify and thicken into a lovely aioli.

Next, make the chips. 

To make the best oven chips, start a day or two in advance. 

Boil the roasting potatoes whole with the skin on, until they are soft all the way through but not breaking apart. 

Then leave them to steam and fully cool before popping them in the fridge overnight. (This a good method for best roast potatoes too.)

The next day, cut the potatoes into chip size, you want them small enough to get crispy but they retain their shape. 

Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius, toss the chips in a good amount of oil and a generous amount of salt and then add them to the hot oven. They should take around 30 minutes to cook. 

Don’t overcrowd the tray so they have space to crisp up and keep an eye on them – turn them over a few times while cooking so each side gets crispy and turn the oven down a bit if they are going too fast.

Now, there are many ways to cook a chicken, but this is a nice method if you’re cooking for a few friends in a short time. 

Start by brining the half chicken. 

Get a container with a lid and put your deboned half chicken inside. Weigh out enough water to cover you half chicken in a container – the weight of the water will give you the amount of salt and sugar for the brine. I usually do a three per cent salt and sugar brine. The percentage is the amount of liquid – so for one litre of water, you will need 30g of salt and 30g of sugar. 

Add these to your water and whisk them in cold water, you don’t need to heat the water but just need to whisk it until it’s all dissolved. If using add a little glug of caper, olive brine or some leftover citrus peel. You can do this a day in advance and leave it in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to go, take the chicken out of the brine, wash it off and pat dry. 

For a crispy skin, you want the chicken to be dry so be sure to remove the chicken a few hours early and then leave it uncovered in the fridge so it can dry out.

Now cook the chicken. 

Start with a cold pan and a good glug of oil. 

Season the skin and then add it to the pan skin side down. 

Use a medium heat, you want the skin to crisp up but not burn and the chicken to cook through gently. 

Once the skin is crisp, turn it over and add a bit of butter to the pan with some crushed garlic and hard herbs. 

Baste the skin with the melted infused butter. 

If you have a thermometer, you’re looking for an internal temperature of 70 degrees Celcius. 

You should need around 25 minutes cooking and 20 minutes resting to cook the whole thing. 

And if it’s looking cooked on the outside before the middle is finished, you can pop it in a low oven to finish it off. 

Make sure you rest it well; this is a really key part so don’t skip it. 

The chicken should be lovely and crispy but still tender and juicy once it’s fully rested. 

Baste/поливать жиром it with the pan juices whilst it’s resting.

To serve, slice the chicken and spoon over any remaining resting juices. 

Put everything on the table, a nice bowl of the aioli, a big bowl of chips and a nice green salad for a perfect early summer supper for friends.

Easy Crustless Spinach Quiche

 

Should I use a deep-dish pie plate or a shallow pie plate?

This recipe is designed for a standard deep-dish pie plate that has a depth of 2 to 2.5 inches. There are generally two different pie plates that are sold in stores. One is a standard deep dish, and another is a more shallow dish (1 to 1 1/4 inch deep). With a quiche, you want to make sure you have a good thick layer of filling so a standard deep-dish pie plate will work best.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

 Servings: 8 slices 

INGREDIENTS FOR Easy Crustless Spinach Quiche Recipe 

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion , diced
• 110g mushrooms , sliced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 280g chopped frozen spinach , thawed and drained
• 170g crumbled feta cheese
• 230g shredded Cheese cheddar
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (1%, 2%, or whole)
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS FOR Easy Crustless Spinach Quiche Recipe 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a 9-inch deep dish pie plate.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in onion and mushroom and saute until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add in garlic and cook 1 minute more. Turn off heat and stir in spinach, feta, and cheddar cheese. Spoon mixture into the prepared pie plate.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the spinach mixture in the prepared pie plate.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until eggs are set. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

NOTES:

Want to add a crust? Use frozen, pre-made, or make your own. Instead of spooning the pie filling into an empty pie plate, you’ll spoon it directly into the crust. No par-baking required!