Month: November 2015

3 dried chiles chipotle or serrano
3 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 cup green olives
1 cup black olives
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 clementines
Crusty bread

Coarsely crush chiles with back of knife. Place in medium bowl. Add rosemary, all olives, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Using vegetable peeler, remove peel of 1 clementine in strips. Using sharp knife, scrape off any pith from strips. Mix peel into olives. Cut peeled clementine in half. Squeeze clementine juice over. Cover and let marinate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 225C. Transfer olive mixture to ovenproof dish. Cut remaining 3 clementines crosswise in half and mix into olives. Drizzle remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast until heated through and flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 to 10 minutes. Squeeze juice of roasted clementines over olives.

Serve warm with crusty bread.

drizzle of oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
250g beef mince
1 potato, cut into 1cm cubes
2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp tomato purée
few thyme sprigs
2 tbsp hot pepper sauce
500g block shortcrust pastry
1 egg, beaten
green salad, to serve

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and cook for 5 mins. Add the beef, turn up the heat and cook until the meat is browned. Add the potato, half the turmeric, the purée and thyme, plus 200ml water. Cover and simmer for 15 mins, then remove the lid and cook for 5 mins more. Add the hot pepper sauce and leave to cool.

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out 6 x 15cm circles, using a small plate as a guide. Divide the mince between the circles, piling it up on one side. Mix the egg with the remaining turmeric, brush around the edge of each circle, then fold over and use a fork to seal the edges.

Arrange on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, brush with a little more egg and bake for 20-25 mins. Serve with a green salad.

Hot pot soup broth

Soup bones
Chicken
Carrots
Celeri
Ginger
Onions
Tomato slices

Cut the chicken into large chunks. Clean chicken chunks, and pig bones. Cut ginger into slices, tomato into slices, scallions into sections, carrots into cubes and celery into small section.

Prepare a pot or wok with enough water. Bring the water to a boiling. And add chicken and pig bones in. Turn down the fire and cook the blood water out. Transfer out and wash with warm water.

Clean your pot or prepare another one.  Add enough water. Return the chicken and pig bones back. Add ginger slices, carrot cubes, scallions sections and tomato slices in to. Add 3 teaspoon salt or as needed.

Bring all the content to a boiling and then turn down the fire to simmer for around 40 minutes to 1 hour.

To make a spicy hot pot broth:

1. Follow the steps above to make a clear version of hot pot broth.

2. Prepare a small piece of ginger, 1 teaspoon of Sichuan Peppercorn, 1 tablespoon dried chili pepper or sambal oelek, several star anise, several chunks of cassia bark, 1/2 teaspoon of fennel. Cut ginger and garlic into slices.

Prepare a wok, heat up some cooking oil. Add ginger to stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Then add other spices in.

Pour the clear version soup base introduced above to the wok. Turn down the fire to simmer for about 20 to 40 minutes until you can smell the aroma of the spices. Then start our lovely hot pot journey.

We put in:
Homemade meatballs
Sliced cod filet
Sliced beef rump steak
Sliced chicken breast
Sliced Chinese cabbage
Corn on the segments
Quick cook ramen noodles