Cheese and Chilli Whorls

Today was a 'make it' day... with not much time.  The oven was on and we needed some savoury snacks for the weekend.

A fridge audit revealed some Silly Yak pastry and grated mature cheddar... and an idea was forming.

Using half a pack of Silly Yak gluten free puff pastry, it was rolled out into a rectangle (about 3mm thick). 

The cheese was mixed with a Tablespoonful of paprika and smoked paprika, and a 'generous' sprinkle of chilli flakes.  These were then spread over the pastry, patted down and the pastry was rolled from one of the long sides... into a swiss roll shape.

Cutting the pastry roll into slices about 1.5cm thick, they were placed on a non-stick baking sheet and then put in a pre-heated hot oven (180C) for 10 minutes; they were checked and cooked for another 2 minutes until crisp and bubbling. 

Cooling them on the baking tray for a few minutes, they were removed and allowed to cool completely. 

A delicious, simple and spicy savoury treat.  Prepared and baked in 20 minutes - that's my type of cooking!

Bean and Pepper Chilli

Having spotted a tweet linking to this recipe from Sainsbury's, we took a look and decided that, with a very small tweak (using ready made gluten free tortilla chips) this would be a dish we'd like to eat.

It's a speedy supper and is something that could be made with store cupboard/freezer items.

We used a fresh yellow pepper as the recipe suggests but think that Sainsbury's frozen sliced mixed peppers would also be good to use.

What was needed was a jar of Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Cherry Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce, a tin/carton of red kidney beans (drained), a yellow pepper (sliced), two cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of smoked paprika and water.

Having sliced the yellow pepper (though, as mentioned before, frozen peppers could be used), it was cooked for a few minutes before the smoked paprika was added and stirred through.

After another couple of minutes the two cloves of garlic were added (we used a couple of black garlic cloves as that's what we had in the cupboard).

Adding the drained kidney beans and the pasta sauce to the pan, it was time to add 300ml of water.

We discovered that, handily, the pasta jar has a capacity of 300ml to just under the shoulder... something that will be useful when we take the 'makings' of this recipe on holiday with us - as it means we won't need to find a measuring jug.

The heat was then turned up and the chilli was left to simmer for 20 minutes until it had thickened slightly.

Finally it was time to serve - Sous Chef J likes Manomasa's Chipotle & Lime Tortilla chips so we used these... adding a green salad and some grated cheese (leave out the cheese and this will be a vegan meal).  A lovely dish for a speedy meat free meal, any day of the week.

Home Grown Tomato Salsa

We've had a fantastic crop of tomatoes in the garden this year which has resulted in a daily harvest of more than a handful of ripe fruits to 'deal with'.  As Sous Chef J is a big fan of salsa we decided to use our garden haul to make a try at our own salsa. 

Looking round the garden, we gathered a few salad onions, a small bunch of flat leaf parsley and a chilli... to go with the tomatoes.


The tomatoes were washed and chopped.




Having found a small lemon in the fridge, we used a reamer to juice it.


We also washed and chopped the onions before carefully removing the chilli seeds and finely chopping that.

The parsley was roughly chopped, added to the bowl with the other ingredients and the lemon juice was added and mixed through.

That was it - our version of salsa was ready for eating with gluten free tortilla chips.

Blackberry Chutney

It's been a bumper year for blackberries and we've harvested them for weeks.  To try a new 'take' on preserving them, we used a recipe found in a Kilner jar we'd bought earlier in the summer.

The recipe ingredients are -

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 large red Chillies, finely chopped
1 lb blackberries
45g caster sugar
30ml red wine vinegar

We didn't have red chillies so used a whole, dried smoked chipotle chilli.  Also, we only had 11 oz of blackberries, so the ingredients we used to make our chutney were - a dessertspoonful of oil, 30g sugar, 2cm ginger, 20ml vinegar and a small red onion.

The blackberries were rinsed and drained.  Any stray tops or greenery were removed.

The oil was heated and the onion, ginger and chilli were added to the pan.  This was lightly fried for about 5 minutes until softened.

Next the blackberries were added and cooked gently until soft.

Adding the sugar and vinegar to the pan and the ingredients were mixed well.  The chutney was then brought to the boil and allowed
to simmer for 15-20 minutes until thickened.







Whilst it was still hot, the chutney was spooned into clean, sterilised jars.

This is a speedy and simple chutney to make (taking about 30 minutes to cook in total).   As an accompaniment for a mature cheddar cheese it makes a change from the usual chutneys we make.

It looks lovely in special pots and, presented like this, would make a great foody gift.

Stir Fried Kale

This stir fried kale dish was decided upon when our veg box provided a bag of kale and a 'free' red chilli.  Sous Chef J liked the idea of "something spicy" and we decided to try using it with kale.












We gathered the ingredients and prepared them for cooking.  To do this, the kale was washed and sliced and the garlic and chilli were chopped.

Next, some oil was placed in a frying pan and heated before adding the garlic and chilli.

Once the garlic and chilli was sizzling nicely, the chopped kale was added with a dash of gluten free soy sauce (tamari).

After a few minutes, the kale had fried well and the chilli and garlic was mixed through.

We served the kale with some steamed salmon and purple sprouting broccoli. 

A very quick and easy way to serve kale with a spicy kick!

Tomato Chutney

Our pot-grown tomato plants rewarded us with a good haul of fruit this year.  With the approach of Autumn and forecast strong winds, we needed to harvest and use them... so we decided to make chutney.  The recipe used was originally for just green tomatoes but we decided to make a mixed tomato version of it.

The ingredients used were -

1.8kg tomatoes, washed and chopped
675g onions, peeled and chopped
450g cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped (we used ready pureed frozen apples)
450g brown sugar
600ml cider vinegar
225g seedless raisins and sultanas
25g root ginger, bruised
tablespoon chilli flakes
2 teaspoons of salt

Having chopped and chopped and chopped the tomatoes and onions, they were placed in our huge chutney pan... the apple was also added, as was 300ml of the vinegar.  This was then cooked over a medium heat until the contents were soft (took about 30 minutes).

Using a spatula to mix the contents of the pan, we than added the fruits and place a bag containing the ginger and chilli into the pan (we attached ours to the pan's handle).  This was then mixed through and cooked for about an hour.

Once the chutney started to thicken, the sugar, remaining vinegar and salt was added. Stirring the chutney thoroughly, the chutney was brought up to simmering and left to thicken - stirring regularly to avoid burning/sticking.  (To remind us to stir the chutney, we set the timer for 15 minute)  It took about an hour for the mix to thicken.

The bag of ginger and chilli was removed and then we potted the chutney in sterilised jars, allowed it to cool and will leave for

the flavour to develop for at least 6 weeks before eating it.

We like to serve the chutney with cheese or spicy potato wedges.  If bottled in pretty jars, it makes a lovely gift - perfect for a foodie's Christmas!

Chilli Con Carne

 We needed an easy slow cooker meal so, having checked the ingredients available, decided on Chilli.  This is a bit of a 'make it up as you go along' recipe at the best of times.

The ingredients we used were

1 Tablespoon oil 
2 onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon tomato puree
2 tins chopped tomatoes
450g pork mince
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into large dice
dash of tabasco
slop of red wine
tin red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

To serve -
Taco trays (we use Discovery ones)
Grated cheese (cheddar for us)
Guacamole and Sour cream dip - from a prepacked Tex Mex trio.

First of all, the oil was heated in our wok over a medium heat.  The chopped onion was added and left to soften for a few minutes.  Then the tomato puree was added, mixed through and the heat was reduced for about five minutes to allow the paste to cook through.  At this point, the slow cooker was switched on to the high setting.

Then the green pepper was added to the wok and left to cook for a minute. Next the mince was added and browned, the tinned tomatoes, wine and tabasco was stirred through.

Once the chilli was mixed, it was transferred to the slow cooker and the setting was reduced to low.  It was then left for about 5 hours.

When we were almost ready to eat our meal, the red kidney beans (which had been drained and rinsed) were added to the slow cooker mix and stirred through.

The taco trays were warmed under a low grill and the dips were placed on the table.

Finally, it was a case of 'self assembly' and eating without cutlery (always the mode of choice for Sous Chef J).

This made enough for 4 generous or 6 smaller portions.  Half of the chilli was cooled, transferred to a pyrex dish and put in the fridge for a midweek meal.  It could easily be frozen but make sure it's reheated thoroughly after defrosting and, more importantly, MARK UP what you put in the freezer! (It's my New Year's Resolution to only put things in the freezer that have been labelled... so far I am sticking to it)

Chilli Potato Mix

This is a simple and fairly quick way to make a tasty potato dish.  It has just four ingredients and is great to fill the oven when making cookies or cakes.

The ingredients were gathered - potatoes, sweet potato, sunflower oil and sweet chilli sauce.  We just used what we had to hand... and, this time, the ratio was about 3 parts potato to one part sweet potato but this is very variable.

First of all, the potatoes (we used new potatoes so didn't peel them) and peeled sweet potatoes were diced into similar sized pieces (about 1cm cubes) and placed in a bowl.  Then some sunflower oil was drizzled over and mixed thoroughly to ensure the cubes were coated.

This was then placed on a non-stick baking tray and put in the pre-heated oven (about 170ºC for our fan oven).

After about twenty minutes, the potatoes were turned and a good helping of chilli sauce was added...
obviously the amount used depends on how spicy you want the result... and check the sauce is Gluten Free.

Then, the well mixed concoction was returned to the oven for another five minutes or so until the potatoes had a golden sheen.

And there you have it... simple, quick and tasty Chilli Potato Mix.