Mary Berry's Tuna Bake with added Vegetabes

I have recently bought Mary Berry's new cook book, Mary Berry Cooks

 

I love what Mary Berry does and I knew that thee would be a lot of recipes to keep me going.

 

This week I have cooked one of Mary's recipes, however, as usual I had to put a twist on it. I loved the sound of Hobie's Tuna Pasta Bake, however, for us, it was missing something.

 

It was missing vegetables!

 

This is what I got...

 

Mary Berry's Tuna Bake with added Vegetables

 

Ingredients

 

250g pasta

50g butter

50g plain flour

600mls milk

125g mature cheddar cheese

1 tin of tuna

Broccoli

6 medium mushrooms, chopped

1 courgette, halved and sliced

1 onion

Black pepper

 

Method

 

1 - Cook the pasta as per instructions and the broccoli florets in boiling water

 

2 - Fry the onions, mushrooms and courgettes until soft

 

3 - Melt the butter in a pan

 

4 - Add the flour to the melted butter and heat for a minute

 

5 - Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously until you have a smooth sauce

 

6 - Add two thirds of the cheese and a sprinkle of black pepper

 

7 - Drain the pasta a broccoli and place in an oven proof dish

 

8 - Flake in the tuna and add the onions, mushrooms and courgettes

 

9 - Pour over the cheese sauce and mix through

 

10 - Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and place under a high grill until the cheese has melted and has browned off a little

 

This pasta dish is delicious served with a garlic baguette. The added vegetables make this dish a great way to get some extra goodness into the kids!

Enjoy x

 

 

I am sharing this recipe with Keynko's 52 Cook Books pop over and check out some delicious banana pancakes! 

 

 



Breakfast Muesli Bread

This week hubby brought home a cook book which is full of delicious recipes that I am looking forward to trying.
That book is Scandilicious by Signe Johansen
This is not an author that I have seen before but after flicking through the first couple of recipes I was drawn straight in and my baking plans started!
One of the breads that hubby had pointed out was a Muesli Bread.
When I looked at the ingredients there were quite a few that I didn't have, but I knew that I could change a couple of ingredients and add a few which would make a delicious breakfast loaf.
This is what I got...

Muesli Bread

Ingredients

150g muesli
150mls double cream
450g strong white bread flour
25g rye flour
25g desiccated coconut
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
7g yeast
2tbsp golden syrup
250mls warm water
6 soft apricots, chopped
4 dates, chopped
20g goji berries
75g dried mixed fruit with candied peel
1 egg
1tsp honey

Method

1 - Soak the muesli in the cream.

2 - Place the flour, rye flour, desiccated coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and golden syrup into a bowl.

3 - Add the salt to one side of he bowl and the yeast on the other.

4 - Add the muesli and cream, warm water and mix. I used my mixer with the dough hook. As the dough comes together if you need a extra water add some a teaspoon at a time until all of the flour has been gathered up off the side of the bowl.

5 - Leave to mix for about 10 minutes until the dough has an elasticity feel.

6 - Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove for about 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

7 - Once the dough has proved knock any air out of it and flatten it out.

8 - Scatter over the fruits and knead in to mix evenly.

 



9 - Re shape the loaf, place on a baking tray, cover over and leave to prove until doubled in size again. While the dough is proving pre heat the oven to 200C.

10 - Mix the honey with the beaten egg and brush over the loaf before putting in the oven and sprinkle over a handful of muesli oats.

11 - Place in the oven and bake for about 20 - 30 minutes.

This bread is delicious when served warm with butter. A perfect breakfast loaf.
Enjoy x

I am sharing this post with Keynko's 52 Cook Books. Check out the delicious looking and sounding Date Slices at Keynko 52 Cook Books

 

 

Garlic and Oregano Fougasse

I love baking bread and this is a recipe that I have been meaning to try for a long time!

It is a recipe from the book that started me on my bread baking journey.

That book is How To Bake by Paul Hollywood.

 

 

Fougasse is the French version of focaccia, which is a bread that we always enjoy and one I love trying new flavours with.

We found that this bread has a much more crispy crust than focaccia, but still as tasty and fun to shape!

The recipe uses oregano for the finish. As this was a bread that I planned to serve with my beef and vegetable cannelloni I decided to make a garlic and oregano olive oil topping for the bread.

This is how I made this delicious alternative to garlic bread...

 

Garlic and Oregano Fougasse

 

Ingredients

 

250g strong white bread flour

4g salt

5g yeast

3tbsp olive oil

190ml water

2tsp dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, crushed

 

Method

 

I found that this was quite a wet dough and was easier to make using my mixer with the dough hook

 

1 - Place the flour into the bowl

 

2 - Add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other, ensuring that they do not come into contact with each other, add 1tbsp of olive oil and two thirds of the water

 

3 - Start to mix on a low speed, once the dough starts to come together add the remaining water

 

4 - Continue to mix on a medium speed for about 10 minutes until the dough has formed elasticity

 

5 - Tip the dough into a well oiled plastic container and cover

 

6 - Leave to prove until the dough has doubled in size, I found that it took longer to prove than regular bread so allow a good 2 hours

 

7 - Once the dough has doubled in size, tip out on to a well floured work top, use plenty of flour as I found this to be quite a sticky dough

 

8 - Without knocking out to much air coat the dough with flour and place on a floured baking tray

 

9 - Shape the dough into an oval shape and cut several slits to create the holes, using plenty of flour stretch the holes, cover and prove again for about 30 minutes

 

10 - While the dough is proving again pre heat the oven to 200C fan and make the topping by mixing the oregano and crushed garlic in a bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil

 

11 - Once the dough is ready to be baked cover the top of the bread with the garlic and oregano olive oil mixture

 

12 - Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom

 

 

This bread is a delicious alternative to garlic bread and would go perfectly with any Italian meal!

We certainly enjoyed it with my Beef and Vegetable Cannelloni

Enjoy x

 

 

I am sharing this post with Keynko's 52 Cook Books. Check out Mary's Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese Lasagne which looks delicious at 52 Cook Books

 



Chicken Makhani - 52 Cook Books

The hubby has been telling me for quite a while to cook a curry.

 

When he said he wanted a curry, I thought, ok that's easy I always make my own curry.

 

But when he said a curry, he meant a proper curry, like you get from the takeaway! Unfortunately we rarely get a takeaway purely because of the cost. As it is Great British Budget month I thought that this would be a great way to see if we could enjoy takeaway style food without the cost!

 

Hubby came across this book at work and brought it home for me to look at. The Hairy Bikers Great Curries book contains recipes for any curry that you could imagine! It is great! So I decided to give it a go!

 

 

We love chicken Makhani so when I found that I knew I had to have a go at making one.

I have changed a couple of the ingredients as I couldn't find one of the spices and changed the hot chilli powder to mild chilli powder as I wanted this to be a curry that wouldn't be too hot for the children and I changed some of the quantities. I have also changed some of the method purely because of time! I didn't realise how time consuming it was to make true Indian curry but I now know for next time!

 

This is how I got on...

 

Chicken Makhani

 

Ingredients

 

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

 

Marinade:

 

1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp cardamon seeds

4 cloves

1/2 tsp black pepper corns

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground paprika

1 tsp mild chilli powder

1 tsp fine sea salt

2 garlic cloves, crushed

20g root ginger, finely grated

4 tbsp fat free natural yogurt

 

Butter Sauce:

 

150g butter

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 red onion

1 white onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp turmeric

3 tomatoes, chopped

3 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp fine sea salt

100 mls double cream

 

Method

 

1 - Place the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cardamon seeds, cloves and pepper corn in a dry frying pan and heat for a couple of minutes

 

2 - Place the heated spices into a pestle and mortar and grind up

 

3 - Add the turmeric, paprika, mild chilli powder and salt and grind up

 

4 - Place the spice mix into a large bowl and add the ginger, garlic and yogurt and mix together

 

5 - Add the chicken to the marinade mix ensuring that the chicken is coated, cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours

 

6 - Melt the butter in a pan and add the oil once heated up add the onions, garlic and ground ginger, lower the heat, cover and leave to cook until soft

 

7 - Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on metal rack and place under a high grill for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through out

 

8 - Once the onions are soft add the marinade that is remaining after the chicken has been removed, turmeric, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar and salt

 

9 - Finally add the double cream and chicken and leave to cook for 10 minutes

 

Served with brown wholegrain rice, naan bread and an onion bhaji!

Just as good as a takeaway, not as easy but certainly a lot cheaper!

Enjoy x

 



 

 

52 Cook Books is hosted by Mary at Keynko. Take a look at Mary's Pesto and Parmesan bread and other recipes that are joining in!

Keynko 52 Cook Books

 

 

Creamy Chicken and Tarragon Puff Pastry Pie - 52 Cook Books

When I was looking through my cook books I came across the Winter Recipe Collection that my hubby bought for me quite a while ago.

 

As with a lot of my books, I look through them, find recipes that I want to try then the books get put on the shelf and I forget what I wanted to do!

 

When I was looking through the Winter Recipe Collection I came across a recipe for Creamy Chicken and Tarragon Pie.

 

I love the combination of chicken and tarragon so I knew that I would love this pie.

For more information on this book click the link below!

Sainsbury's Winter Collection

 

However, as always, I made a few changes.

 

Starting with the pastry.

 

The recipe uses a shortcrust pastry, which I could have made but I have been looking for a dish to make where I can try making puff pastry. This is a pastry that I have never made before as it is a time consuming pastry to make. But it is something that I have wanted to try so this dish gave me the perfect opportunity!

 

I looked in the best place that I could think of for how to make puff pastry, Paul Hollywood's Pie and Puds. It has an easy, but time consuming, step by step guide on how to make and prepare the pastry. For more information on this great book follow the link below!

Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds

 

This is what I got...

 

 

Creamy Chicken and Tarragon Puff Pastry Pie

 

Ingredients

 

400g chicken breast, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

1 large courgette, sliced and quartered

1 large leek, sliced

2 stems of kale, shredded

2 tsp dried tarragon

500 mls chicken stock

2 tbsp plain flour

150ml half fat creme fraiche

Puff Pastry

 

Method

 

1 - Heat the olive oil and brown off the chicken. Once browned remove from the pan.

 

2 - Add the onions, leeks and courgettes to the pan and fry until cooked through then add the chicken back to the pan.

 

3 - Add the flour then gradually add the stock.

 

4 - Add the shredded kale and bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

 

5 - Preheat the oven to 200C

 

6 - Once the filling is cooked through remove from the heat and stir in the creme fraiche.

 

7 - Pour the pie filling into a pie dish and put to one side while the pastry is prepared. You may have some excess sauce, if you do keep it to one side as it makes a great sauce to pour over potatoes.

 

8 - Roll the pastry to the desired size and lay over the pie and trim off any excess pastry, pinch around the edges to seal, brush with egg wash and make a hole in the centre to let any hot air escape.

 

9 - Bake in the preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until golden brown.

 

I served this delicious pie with new potatoes and poured over some of the sauce that I had left over.

This pie has a great depth of flavour, it is a really rich, creamy sauce that goes perfectly with the kitchen.

Whether you follow my recipe or the original recipe I am sure that it will go down well with all of the family. Joseph quickly asked for seconds!

Enjoy

 



 

52 Cook Books is hosted by the lovely Mary at Keynko. Check out the fantastic way to make homemade gnocchi!

Keynko 52 Cook Books Week 3

 

 

Spicy Beef with Creamy Mash

One of the best things about cooking a big joint of meat is the leftovers!

 

I enjoy the challenge of coming up with tasting, new ways to use my leftovers.

 

This week I slow cooked a lovely piece of silverside beef. Whenever I cook a joint of beef I always cook it in the slow cooker. I find that the meat is much more tender and love how it is almost impossible to slice because it so moist and lean. Plus the juices that are left in the slow cooker makes the most delicious gravy!

 

This week I wanted to try something a bit different that would be a real winter warmer!

 

I had a look through some of my cook books and in Jamie Oliver's Save with Jamie was a Mexican chili beef that sounded delicious!

 

However when I looked in my cupboard and fridge I was missing quite a few ingredients.

As I normally do, I added a few new ingredients and took a few off and created a new dish!

 

This is what I came up with...

 

Spicy Beef with Creamy Mash

 

Ingredients

 

500g leftover beef

2 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried coriander leaf

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tbsp of left over gravy or a beef stock cube

 

Method 

 

1 - Gently fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil until the onions are soft

 

2 - Add the tinned tomatoes and bring to the boil

 

3 - Once boiling, turn the heat down to simmer and add all of the spices one at a time

 

4 - Add the coriander leaf and mix in

 

5 - Slice the beef into strips and add to the sauce, stirring it in so that all of the meat is covered

 

6 - Leave over a low heat for 20 minutes. This time allows the meat to absorb the juices from the tomatoes and the flavours from the spices

 

Serve with either creamy mashed potatoes or rice.

The spices give this dish a real kick and transforms the leftover beef into a tasty new meal!

Enjoy x 

 

 

 



Disclaimer:

This recipe is my entry for the chance to win £750 to spend at coopelectricalshop.co.uk

Baked Alaska - 52 Cook Books Week 1

Over the Christmas break I didn't bake half as much as I normally do.

 

We keep two chickens who, in the week up to Christmas, started laying less eggs.

 

It is normal for chickens to stop laying from October and can continue up until February. So when they started to lay less eggs I immediately thought that they were stopping so I bought more eggs so I had enough to bake with.

 

However as soon as the shop bought eggs arrived our super chickens each started laying an egg a day!

 

Typical!

 

So with our 2 fresh eggs a day and what I had bought I had an abundance of eggs.

 

I gave a lot of the shop bought ones to family, but I still had a lot of fresh eggs so I thought that the perfect book to look at for a good recipe that uses a few eggs would be

 

River Cottage Handbook No 11 - Chicken & Eggs

by Mark Diacono, introduced by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

http://www.rivercottage.net/

 

 

My hubby bought me the complete collection of the River Cottage Handbooks for my birthday last year.

 

They really are one of my favourite collections of cookery books as they are not just about recipes. The recipes come at the end. The majority of the book is giving information about each of the topics.

For example the Chicken & Eggs book goes into details about how to keep and look after your chickens, different breeds, how to house them, their health and even how to butcher them!

 

I can guarantee that I will not be butchering my two lovely birds!

 

I really am too attached to eat them!

 

But I will enjoy their eggs!

 

I decided to go with a lovely dessert! That dessert being a Baked Alaska.

 

This is a dessert that I have never tried let alone made so it really was going to be a challenge!

 

On Saturday nights my mum and dad come to our house for a meal and I always either make a dessert or bake a cake. They also tend to be my willing Guinea pigs for my new recipes!

 

This is how I got on...

 

Baked Alaska

 

This dessert was easier than I thought it was going to be.

 

Earlier in the afternoon I made the biscuit base by putting digestive biscuits into the food processor and giving them a good blitz. Once I had biscuit crumbs I placed them in a bowl and added some cocoa powder and melted butter to bind them all together.

 

I then placed the biscuit base into a spring form cake tin and left in the fridge to chill.

 

After we had eaten our main course I set off to finish off the dessert!

 

I whisked up 5 eggs whites with caster sugar into a meringue. While they were in the food mixer being whisked I placed ice cream onto the middle of my biscuit base.

 

Once my meringue was going into lovely stiff peaks and stayed in the bowl when tipped upside down, yes I really was brave enough to try this, I spooned them onto the top of the ice cream and biscuit base.

 

Next it was time to place under a grill at high heat to brown the top of the meringue.

 

Taaa Darrr!!!

This is what I got!!!



 

 

 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good picture of the dessert once I had cut out the servings as it was not an easy dessert to serve looking pretty!

But believe me, the taste is more important than a pretty looking dessert and wow this tasted delicious!!

The base was a lovely solid base with a hint of cocoa it went perfectly with the ice cold ice cream and smooth fluffy meringue.

It got the thumbs up from all of my family and some even had seconds!

I am sure that this will be a dessert that I will be making again. But in true Kirsty style I will be adding twists and changing ingredients to make it my own!

Enjoy x