Jamaican Chicken & Rice

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Jamaican Chicken & Rice

With the weather being very dreich (dull & gloomy) recently, we wanted to transport ourselves to a warm sunny place & with that not being possible in these unprecedented times I turned to my Kitchen Cupboards to see what I could make for dinner. Having some tinned pineapple, beans and rice in the cupboard we decided on visiting the Caribbean. This dish has a great blend of popular Caribbean spices, such as ginger, paprika and allspice which transports you right onto the Islands.

Also a great dish for batch cooking as you could quite easily make a big pot and freeze for later. A very nutritious dish with the beans high in fiber and the chicken giving you a good intake of protein. A good filling meal for any family table.

Serves 4

2 Chicken Breasts – cut into bite size pieces

1 Red Pepper, diced

1 White Onion, diced

4-6 Spring Onions, diced (for serving)

1 Tbsp Oil for cooking

1 Tbsp Curry Powder

1 Tbsp Smoked Sweet Paprika

1/2 Tsp of AllSpice

1/2 Tsp of Ginger

200g Cooked Wholemeal Rice (about 50g per person)

Juice of 1 Lime

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

1 Tin Pineapple Chunks

1 400g can of Black Beans, drained

Handful of Garden Peas

20-30g Cashews, chopped (for serving)

Salt & Pepper to taste

  1. Heat the oil in a pan on medium to high heat, season the chicken and brown all over.
  2. Add the peppers and onion to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes until softened.
  3. Add to the pan the paprika, curry powder, ginger, allspice, brown sugar and chillies, mix through for about 1 minute to coat, then add the black beans, peas, cooked rice, pineapple and lime juice, mix through to combine.
  4. If too dry, add 1-2 Tbsp of water and stir, put lid on pan and heat through for about 5 minutes. To serve sprinkle the spring onion and cashews. Enjoy!
Pan of Jamaican Chicken & Rice
Jamaican Dish, Chicken & Rice

MEDICINAL GREEN CURRY

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Green Curry with Rice

This time of year (January) it is very cold, wet, windy and snowy, so your immune system can take a bit of a battering. We tend to reach for medications such a cold & flu capsules, ibuprofen etc, which can help, however, I am a great believer that you can repair your body and fight infections from within and eating right does play a big part on that.

This recipe contains the following, so it is the ultimate winter fighter food.

Chillies contain Capsaicin which helps clear mucus. Ginger contains natural antibodies & anti-inflammatory agents & the ability to clear congestion. Garlic has antiviral & antibacterial properties. Butternut squash & wholemeal rice is good for boosting Vitamin C for your immune system. Cashew nuts are good source of fibre & magnesium both good for bone health & energy boosting.

This is also a great dish for batch cooking. It really is a win win all round.

Serves 4

2 Large Chicken Breasts – cut into chunks

2 Tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste (1 used the Blue Dragon Paste, but feel free to make your own)

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil or Olive Oil for cooking

1 400g Tin Coconut Milk

1 Vegetable Stock Cube

1 Tsp Turmeric

300g Butternut Squash, cut into chunks

200g Cauliflower, cut into small pieces

150g Baby Spinach

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Salt & Pepper

Juice of 1 Lime

30g Chopped Cashews (to garnish)

Handful chopped Spring Onion (to garnish)

50g Wholemeal Rice per person, cooked as per pack instructions.

  1. Heat the oil in a pan on medium to high heat, brown the chicken and remove with slotted spoon.
  2. If needed, put a little more oil in. Stir fry the curry paste for about 2 minutes to heat through and release the flavours.
  3. Crumble the vegetable stock cube into the coconut milk and stir, pour into the pan with the curry paste and mix through. Add 1 Tsp of Turmeric.
  4. Add back to the pan the chicken, butternut squash and cauliflower, mix and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
  5. 5 minutes before curry is ready, add in 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce, Juice of Lime and Spinach, mix through continue to cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Serve with some wholemeal rice, spring onion and cashew nuts.
Thai Green Curry & Wholemeal Rice

Gingerbread & Coconut Kisses

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Gingerbread & Coconut Kisses

Oh yum…..these were so tasty. I do love experimenting with flavours and using up what I have in my cupboards, sometimes my best recipes come from emptying my cupboards and using whatever is in there and trying things out…lol!

As it is coming up to the festive season I wanted to try some festive flavours and of course gingerbread is almost one of the all time favourites. With the coconut I wanted to create a snowy feel/look. I call them kisses because of the Jam, when you bite in you get the lovely gingerbread flavour and then the Jam gently kisses the back of your throat….yum! Baked in under 15 minutes these are a perfect quick snack with a cuppa. Will be best up to 3 days stored in an air tight container.

Makes about 20-24

200g Self Raising Flour

100g Rice Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch Salt

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

40g Softened Butter

100g Dark Brown Sugar

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Honey

Finely Grated Zest of 1 Orange

For the Spice: 1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon, 1 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger, 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

100g Desiccated Coconut

Rasperberry (or any flavour) Jam

2 Tbsp Icing Sugar for decoration.

  1. Preheat oven to 175 deg C Fan. Line Baking Trays with Greaseproof paper
  2. In a bowl beat together the butter, dark sugar, honey, oil, egg and citrus zest until blended.
  3. In a separate bowl mix together flours, salt, spice mix and baking powder. Spoon half of the flour into the wet mixture and bring together, add in the remaining flour mixture and mix until you have a soft dough. It will be slightly sticky, this is o.k., but if too sticky just add a little more flour. Let stand for a few minutes.
  4. Take about 1 Tbsp of the dough and roll into small balls. Place coconut into a bowl and roll each ball into the coconut to cover. Place onto the baking tray and press down with your thumb or finger to make a well in the centre.
  5. Place about 1/2 – 1 Tsp of Jam into the well and bake in the oven for approx 12 – 15 minutes until set. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
  6. Finish off with a light dusting of Icing Sugar. Serve. Yum!
  • Mixing Dough
  • Ready to be baked
Gingerbread & Coconut Kisses

Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

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Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

These little cakes are so easy to make and quick too, a great mid week dinner or even a quick lunch bite. What’s even better is that they are healthy, low in fat & low in calories at just 150 per cake.

Makes 8

2 Chicken Breasts

4 Spring Onions – chopped finely

1 tsp garlic granules or 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp ginger or 1″ fresh ginger chopped finely

1 tbsp dried coriander

2 tsps Soy Sauce

Zest & Juice of 1 lime

Salt & Pepper

1 tin of Chickpeas drained (400g)

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

Sweet Chilli Sauce to serve.

  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  2. Using of food processor blitz the chickpeas and chicken until minced.
  3. In a bowl mix everything together with your hands and form 8 small cakes about 1cm thick, place onto baking paper and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  4. Serve with some Sweet Chilli Sauce. Yum!
Making Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes
Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

Thai Beef Balls

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Thai Beef Balls

I do love it when an ad hoc recipe comes together. We fancied some Thai tonight but didn’t really have the right ingredients, so I compromised! I am so bad at compromising…..lol….. I am forever adding and changing things to suit what I have in my cupboards…..but that’s where good recipes come from…right?

This was one of them, super tasty and satisfied us for dinner tonight.

Thai Beef Balls & Thai Potato Wedges with Lime & Mayo

Made 18 Bitesize Balls

250g Scottish Beef Mince (you could use Chicken or Turkey)

2 tbsps Soy Sauce

4 Spring Onions – chopped finely

1 tsp Dried garlic granules

1 tsp Dried ginger powder

2 tsps Dried coriander

1 tsp Chilli flakes

Zest of 1 lime (keep lime for juice later)

150g tin Broad Beans (crushed) (Water chestnuts, blitzed in a processor would be nice too)

  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg and place greaseproof paper onto a baking tray.
  2. Mix the Soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chilli, lime zest, coriander, spring onions and seasoning in a bowl. Then add mince & broad beans, mix together with hands until it comes together.
  3. Take a small amount and roll into a ball, put onto baking tray. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. At end of cooking, turn on grill and brown for a few minutes.
  4. Serve with a Lime Wedge. I also served with Thai Potato Wedges (recipe below) and some Lime & Coriander Mayo.
Thai Beef Balls on Baking Tray with Potato Wedges

For the Potato Wedges

Slice your potatoes into wedges and place in a food bag or bowl.

For the coating, mix 3 tbsps olive oil with 1 tsp chilli flakes, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp garlic and 2 tsps coriander. Season then mix with the wedges and cook as normal. (I use my Crisper plate in my microwave to cook them as it only takes 10 minutes) Check below for info on the Crisperplate. https://www.hotpoint.co.uk/Appliances/Cooking/Microwaves

Thai Potato Wedges

Caribbean Beef Stew

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A Bowl of Caribbean Beef Stew

When I think of Caribbean Food, I think beans, rice, peppers, sweet potato & tomatoes to name a few. This dish is a mix of all my favourites and I was using up leftovers too. I hope you enjoy. This dish would be lovely with Lamb too.

Serves 2

300g Scottish Beef Mince

150g Diced Butternut squash (or sweet potatoes)

1 onion, chopped

1 Red Pepper, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 tbsp sweet hot paprika

120ml Beef Stock

200g chopped tin tomatoes

200g Black Eyed beans

Handful of peas

Salt & Pepper to taste

  1. Heat some oil in a large pan and brown the mince.
  2. Add in the butternut squash, onion, red pepper, garlic, ginger, paprika and mix through, cook for 1 minute then add in the stock, tomatoes, peas and beans, bring to the boil then simmer covered for about 30 minutes. Season.
  3. If using Lamb I would slow cook this so the Lamb in tender.
  4. Serve on its own or with some rice.
Bowl of Stew

Chicken Dopiaza (lower calorie option)

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I recently purchased a new cookbook by Pinch of Nom, I loved their last one so had to get their new one. This is a recipe from their Fakeaway options and at under 400 calories per serving it is definitely my new takeaway at home. Super tasty no compromise on flavour at all. I served with a little Basmati and Wild Rice along with my homemade Sweet Potato Roti, a perfect Saturday night home takeaway.

 

Makes 2 Servings

2 Chicken Breasts – cut into small chunks

1 red onion – diced

1 garlic clove – grated

1 cm piece of ginger – grated

1 tsp chilli flakes or 1 red chilli- diced

1 tsp curry powder**

1 tsp mixed spice**

**(I used this as an alternative to gram masala as I didn’t have any)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 x 400g tin tomatoes

100ml chicken stock – 1 stock cube

1 red pepper – diced

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander to serve.

 

  1. Heat a little low fat spray oil in a fry pan on medium heat
  2. Brown the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger together for a few minutes
  3. Add the chicken and brown all over.
  4. Next add in the curry powder, cumin, mixed spice, ground coriander and mix through until coated.
  5. Add in the tin tomatoes, red pepper and stock and bring to the boil then reduce and cook on a low heat for about 15 minutes lid on, then 15 minutes with lid off to help thicken the sauce slightly.
  6. Serve a sprinkle with some fresh coriander…..YUM!

Carrot Salad

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A lovely refreshing side salad. Perfect with fish.

 

Courgette – Spiralized or julienne style its up to you.

1 orange Carrot – as above

1 purple Carrot – as above

6 spring onions – sliced diagonally

small piece of ginger grated

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp olive oil

small bunch fresh coriander – finely chopped

Seasoning

 

  1. Mix everything in a large bowl and serve.

 

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Vegetable Tagine

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In a bid to get more vegetables into our diet, this little Tagine was simply super tasty and super healthy. One pot cooking too so nice & easy. I do love Moroccan flavours. Idea came from a recipe from PON and as usual I added and took out bits to suit my own tastes. Delicious!!!

 

Serves 4

Low calorie spray

1 Large carrot, cut into chunks

200g Turnip (swede), peeled and cut into chunks

2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

6 shallots – peeled and cut into wedges

1 red pepper, cut into wedges

200g peeled and deseeded butternut squash, cut into chunks

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp Moroccan Spice Mix (1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp mixed spice, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric)

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

250ml vegetable stock

1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained.

200g Baby Spinach

handful chopped fresh coriander

 

  1. Spray a Casserole dish with low cal spray and place over medium heat, add the vegetables and cook for about 5-10 minutes until lightly browned.
  2. Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes, then add the spice mix and season ensuring all vegetables are covered.
  3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and stock, bring to a simmer, cover and turn down low. Cook for about 1- 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  4. Stir in the chickpeas and spinach and cook for about 5 minutes more.
  5. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve.

 

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Mince Beef Rogan Josh

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I’ve had an Indian Superfood Cookbook for ages but for some reason never actually attempted to make anything from it. So today was that day it got opened. I wish I had opened it up sooner, this dish was super tasty and full of good antioxidants. I served it with a chickpea chapati, made from my original Chapati recipe, I changed the plain flour for Gram Flour.

 

Serves 2

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 onion, sliced thinly

1 tsp garlic granules

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp gram masala

1 400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

2-3 chillies chopped or 1 tsp chilli flakes

250g scottish beef mince

225g can of chickpeas

Small handful of Fresh coriander to serve.

 

  1. Heat the oil in a large fry pan
  2. Add in the onions with the cardamom, cumin, garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, gram masala & chillies. Cook until onions are slightly browned and softened.
  3. Add in half of the tin tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes or until the excess juices have dried off.                                                                          20190713_172151
  4. Add in the mince, mix well and cook until mince has browned all over, about 5 minutes.                                                                                                  20190713_172746
  5. Add in the remaining tomatoes & chickpeas, bring to the boil, cover & simmer for about 30 minutes. If the consistancey is too thick just add a little water.
  6. Season with the fresh coriander and serve.

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Moroccan Spiced Meatballs

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I served this little dish with my Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower as a tapas style dinner. These were so yummy and the sauce was rich with a little bit of sweetness.

 

Makes 8 Meatballs

200g scottish beef mince

30g panko breadcrumbs

1 egg

handful chopped coriander

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dried coriander

1/2 tsp minced ginger

225g tin chopped tomatoes

150ml beef stock

1 red onion – finely sliced

 

  1. Place everything in a bowl and mix. Shape into 1″ balls and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
  2. Heat up a fry pan with spray oil and cook meatballs until browned all over.
  3. Add in the onions a cook until softened and slightly browned.
  4. Add in the tomatoes and beef stock, bring to the boil then simmer medium heat until sauce starts to thicken, about 15-20 minutes. serve.

 

 

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Orange & Ginger Shortbreads (with stainglass)

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I have been dying to try this stain glass design for a while, so why not just in time for Christmas. Very simple to create too.

 

Makes about 16 biscuits

175g Plain Flour

2 tsps ginger, ground

Zest 2 oranges

100g butter, chunks

50g golden caster sugar

1-2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp oil for greaseproof paper. (to prevent sweets from sticking)

 

  1. Heat oven to 160C fan. Grease 2 large non-stick baking sheets with oil.
  2. Whizz the flour, ginger, zest and butter with 1⁄2 tsp salt to fine crumbs in a food processor. Pulse in the sugar and milk, then turn out and knead briefly on a floured surface until smooth. Wrap in cling film, then chill for about 30 mins.
  3. Flour the work surface again, then roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use cutters to shape. (see below for centres)
  4. Bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown
  5. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Decorate any way you like.

 

For Glass like Baubles:-

12 fruit flavoured boiled sweets

Place 1 sweet or ½ of sweet into the centre of the biscuits, sweets should be level with the biscuit once melted. (Should melt in the oven ok.) Allow to fully cool and harden before transferring to a rack. – Sprinkle icing if you wish or decorate.

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Just be aware that if eating these the candy is very hard. (Watch your teeth)

If using for decoration on your tree, pierce a hole at the top of the cookies and thread some ribbon through and tie.

 

Carrot, Courgette & Ginger Seabass Salad.

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Oh yummy! Nice little healthy quick mid week meal.

I do love a good gadgets, and I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer with Grater attachment and also my Steam Pot for steam cooking in my microwave combi oven.

 

Serves 2

250g SeaBass

1 Carrot

1 Courgette

6 Spring onions, sliced diagonally

small piece of ginger, grated

Small bunch or fresh coriander, chopped

1 juice of Lime

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

 

  1. Season the seabass and place into the steampot and cook on Sensor steam for 8 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, place the attachment onto your mixer (if you have a spiralizer that would work too) and shred the carrot & courgette into a bowl.
  3. Slice the spring onions diagonally into small pieces and place into bowl with the grated ginger, coriander, lime juice and 3tbsp olive oil. Mix together.
  4. Slice the sea bass and allow to cool then mix through the vegetable mix. Serve.

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Chocolate & Ginger Cake

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I wanted to make a ginger cake but came across this recipe from Mary Berry that added cocoa powder, so I decided to give it a try. As there was only 2 of us I made a mini version. The combination of Chocolate and Ginger is just so moreish!

 

Serves 4 (double quantities for a 20″ size cake)

100g butter at room temperature

25g Cocoa powder

2 tbsp semi skimmed milk

2 medium eggs

90g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground ginger

125 g caster sugar

1 tsp stem ginger

For the topping and filling:-

115g icing sugar

60g butter at room temperature

1 tbsp of stem ginger syrup

1 tsp semi skimmed milk

1 tsp of Stem ginger bits for topping.

 

  1. Grease and line 2 cake tins, I used 2 x 5″ springform tins.
  2. Preheat oven to 160 deg on fan.
  3.  Put the cocoa powder into a large, heatproof bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of boiling water, then add the milk. Mix to make a smooth paste.
  4. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix with an electric whisk for a few minutes, but watch not to over mix as you want it light and fluffy.
  5. Divide the cake mixture evenly between tins and bake in oven for about 25-30 minutes. Then remove and allow to cool in tins for a few minutes before removing to cool completely on a rack.                               20180203_143049
  6. To make the filling, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the stem syrup, milk and butter and whisk with an electric mixer until well blended.
  7. Take 1 of the cakes and if needed trim the top of the cake so you have a flat base then spoon some of the mixture on and smooth with a palette knife. Take the other cake and place on top, then spoon the rest of the mixture and smooth with the palette knife. Finally garnish with the stem ginger pieces.
  8. Serve with a lovely cuppa.

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Sticky Ginger Cake

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oh Yummy…..yummy……yummy!

First Recipe trying out my new oven. Baked perfectly and tasted even better….lol!

 

225g Black Treacle

255g Soft Light Brown Sugar

255g Butter

2 eggs, beaten

350g plain flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp ground ginger

pinch salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250ml warm milk (I used semi-skimmed)

 

Method:-

  1. Melt together Treacle, sugar and butter, mixing all the time
  2. Remove from heat and mix in the eggs                                        Add in egg to melted mix
  3. Sieve flour into a large bowl, add the salt, cinnamon and ginger and mix together until combined                                                                               Add in dry ingredients to melted mix
  4. Mix bicarbonate soda to warm milk then slowly add to the mixture and mix well
  5. Line a 10″ square baking tin and grease                   Pour mixture in tin
  6. Pour mixture into tin and bake in the oven. I used my new Cake function, if you don’t have this then bake 140 deg for about 1-1.5hrs. Test with a knife, if it comes out clean its ready.
  7. Serve with some warm custard or ice cream.

Moghul Style Roast Goat (Indian Inspired)

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After collecting my Goat Joint from the amazing Harris Farm Meats https://harrisfarmmeats.scot/ at the Glasgow Food Assembly https://thefoodassembly.com/en/assemblies/7907 this week I then had to decided what I was going to do with it, I came across this amazing recipe and totally fell in love with the ingredients, so here is my creation which deliveries the most amazing flavours in your mouth.

Goat is a new taste for me and my partner and I would thoroughly recommend it.

 

1 x Goat Joint (this was 1.1kg) was enough for about 4 people.

2 x onions – red or white (I used 1 of each)

2 cloves of garlic or 1 tbsp granules

1″ ginger root or 1 tbsp ginger paste or granules

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp gram masala

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Green Chillies

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp ground almonds (optional)

4 -6 cloves

 

  1. Put all ingredients (apart from cloves and goat joint) into a food processor and blend into a paste.20160514_143830
  2. Preheat oven to 160 deg.
  3. Remove any fat from the Goat Meat. Use a sharp knife and make deep pockets above the bone at each side and then small cuts all over the meat.
  4. Push the cloves into some of the pockets and also push some of the spice mixture into the rest then cover the meat with remaining mixture.                                                                       20160514_144938
  5. Place into a lightly oiled baking tin and cover with tin foil loosely.
  6. Bake for approx 3-4 hours and remove foil 10 minutes before end to brown. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Oh so Yummy!                                                                                      20160514_184320
  7. I served with some vegetable couscous which went perfectly. Oh…and a wee glass of Pinot Noir! Delicious.

 

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Goat Mince curry

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I bought some Goat Mince from Harris Meat Farm at the Glasgow Food Assembly this week, dying to try something different. I got a curry recipe from my mother in law and gave it a go. A definite meat on my shopping list going forward, the flavour was intense and went really well with his recipe. A must if you haven’t tried Goat yet. I think I will try the bigger chunks of meat or even a leg and slow cook next time.

Serves 3-4

400g Goat Mince

75g fat-free natural yogurt

2 tsp mild chilli powder

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tsp peeled and finely grated ginger

½ tsp tumeric

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato purée

Salt

Low calorie cooking spray

4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

5cm cinnamon stick

4 cloves

½ tsp grated nutmeg

2 tbsp freshly chopped mint leaves

4 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves

1.    Place the yogurt, chilli, ground coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger and tumeric in a small bowl and mix.

2.    Brown mince in some olive oil in a large pan, then fry the onions, place over a medium heat and stir until the mixture begins to sizzle. Add the yoghurt mixture, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the goat releases its juices.

3.    Increase the heat to medium and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce has reduced to a paste-like consistency. Add the tomato purée and 350ml of boiling water, season with salt, cover and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

4.    Spray a small frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and place over a low heat. Add the bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and allow to sizzle for 40-45 seconds. Pour the contents of this pan over the meat along with the nutmeg, stir to mix, cover tightly and cook gently for another 12-15 minutes or until the meat is tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh mint and coriander before serving.

Yummy!

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Spicy Parsi Chicken Curry

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This was inspired by Goats and Greens Blog (https://goatsandgreens.wordpress.com/), I loved the sound of the spices and decided to create for my dinner tonight, I didn’t have the potatoes so I left that out but I have to say it was absolutely delicious.

Here is my version:-

Makes 2 Servings

2 Chicken Breasts – cut into chunks

1 tin tomatoes

1 tbsp Tomato puree

1 white onion – sliced finely

1 Orange pepper – sliced finely

1 tsp Cumin

1tsp Gram Masala

1 tsp Garlic

1 tsp Ginger

1 tsp turmeric

1 chilli – finely chopped

200ml Chicken Stock

Salt & pepper to season

 

  1. Put onion into a large pan and fry until golden brown, add in the cumin, gram masala, ginger, turmeric, chilli, pepper and tomato puree, stir through until blended.
  2. Pour in the tin tomatoes and then add in the chicken, bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat for about 40 mins.     20160328_173548
  3. Serve on a bed of rice (to your choosing), or some lovely crusty bread. I used Camargue Red Rice which was delicious.

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Yummy!

 

Low Calorie Chicken Tikka Masala

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Oh Yum! This tastes just as good as the high calorie version, don’t believe me? Try it.

 

Makes 2 – 302 calories per serving (add 120 calories for 50g wholegrain rice)

2 chicken breast

1 tsp frying oil

MARINADE:

2 tbsp curry powder

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp sea salt

10g chunk fresh ginger, grated

1 garlic clove, crushed

4 tbsp plain fat free yoghurt

SAUCE:

1 tbsp oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

10 g chunk ginger, grated

1 tbsp curry powder

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp sea salt

250ml cold water

2 tbsp single cream

 

1. Make the marinade:- mix curry powder, paprika and salt in a bowl, add ginger, garlic and yoghurt and mix well.

2. Cut chicken breast into chunks and add to marinade, mix well and leave for 1 hour in fridge at least or up to 12 hours.

3. To make the sauce: heat the oil in pan, tip in the onions and ginger and cook for 10 mins, cover. add the curry powder and cook for another 2 mins, add the tomato puree, caster sugar and salt and stir constantly for another 30 secs.

4. Pour water and simmer for 4 mins. Remove the pan from heat and blitz with hand blender until smooth.

5. Heat oil in pan, add marinated chicken and fry over medium heat or No. 7 on Induction Hob for about 5 mins until browned.

6. Pour into the chicken the masala sauce and add the cream, cook for 4 mins. Serve with some rice.