Five of my favourite mains from 2020

Hi Everyone!

Merry Xmas to you all. I do hope that the majority of you were able to share Xmas with friends and family whilst staying safe.

During the festive season I thought I would look back over the past year and a little bit into 2019 to bring you my five favourite desserts, mains and salads. It was interesting to go back over all the recipes I have tried during the course of this very unusual year. Covid put a halt on my cooking experimentation temporarily for sure but it also made me appreciate what I have so much more. The weekly get togethers, the joy of choosing the meal for the week and then shopping for all the goodies to pull the meal together.

We’ve all had a tough year in so many ways. Some so much more than others. It’s difficult to find that happy place to go to sometimes but for me it’s looking at recipes and getting in the kitchen (undisturbed by the MAV I might add) and having a go at some of them. I wanted to say here that although I really love cooking special meals it’s certainly not something I do every night because it would just be far too expensive. I like to take it easy sometimes with just a toasted sandwich or a simple omelette for dinner whilst also working out ways to make those interesting.

So here is my number one favourite for versatility: Fifty Fifty Bolognese from the Sunday Magazine

I used this recipe for the bolognese, lasagna, a pie (pastry top and bottom) and a simple shepherds pie. I now make batches of it and freeze. It is easy, healthy and cost effective so a winner all round. With 50 percent vegetables hidden in the other 50 percent meat it’s a great way to get the veg into the kids and the MAV. You could use any type of mince – beef, pork, chicken or a combo.

Number two on the list is the super simple: Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder (origin unknown)

This slow cooked lamb shoulder is the most wonderful combination of flavours. The dates cook down to a fruity mush that combined with the onions is almost like a relish and because the lamb is finished off with the molasses it is runny, sticky and thick. This is a fantastic recipe for a busy day because you can put it in the oven and forget it for around 4-5 hours. Because there’s not a whole lot of meat on a shoulder it’s advisable to buy two for 8 people. Don’t bother doubling the dates etc as the quantity for one is ample. This is the sort of food I imagine eating under a huge tree next to a vineyard. I now do this at least once a month.

Number three on the list is: Salmon & Potato Fish Cakes from the Delicious Magazine March 2020

I make these as a main but you can also make them smaller and serve them as a nibble with drinks. As always I have included the original recipe so you can make your own choices but I want to explain a few things here. It requires store bought cooked skinless salmon – I decided to use the super convenient system at Woolies whereby they put the salmon fillets into a cook-in bag (with a teriyaki and ginger blob) and I took it home and cooked it myself. This added another level of flavour to the fishcakes with the marinade from the bag. Once cooked and cooled I just flaked it. The recipe also requires dried wakame seaweed which is available from Asian food stores. I decided to leave this out altogether as I don’t have an Asian food store nearby but if you do then please include it in your attempt at this. The slight downside to the recipe is that it uses a large amount of potato. Some baked and some boiled but I can say without a doubt that the potato does not flood the flavour. The simple yoghurt based sauce served with them is delightful, however, you could also use sweet chilli sauce. I made these again just last night and served both sauces.

Number four is one of my all time favourites from 2020: Creamy Tuscan Chicken Rolls from Tasty Recipes

These chicken rolls are sure to be your family’s new favourite dinner. The béchamel sauce gets a boost of flavour and texture from the tomatoes and spinach, which balances the crunchy chicken rolls perfectly. I stumbled on this recipe on facebook and it looked so incredible I just had to try it. It certainly didn’t disappoint. The sauce makes up to so much that I had it the next night with pasta. Win/win.

And last but not least number 5: Seared Salmon from Raising the Salad Bar

A lovely summer dish served with a mango salsa.

Very simple and very easy. Cook the salmon to your liking, mix the salsa and away you go.

The salsa is one of the easiest things to put together but a word of warning. It does require a Jalapeño pepper. These are hot, hot, hot. I chose to use a green chilli and only the 1 tablespoon as per the recipe. It is really up to your own taste. The beautiful combination of honey with the acidic vinegar and lime juice coupled with cumin and coriander is just a fabulous burst of flavour in the mouth.

That’s it for this week. Next will be my five favourite salads from 2020.

From my table to yours with love x

Fifty-fifty bolognese

½ c olive oil
1 large onion (cut into ½ cm cubes)
5 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
500 g mixed vegetables (i.e. broccoli, mushrooms, eggplant and carrots cut into ½ cm cubes)
500 g beef, pork or chicken mince
¾ c red wine
700 g tomato passata
1 tsp salt (plus extra for pasta water)
¼ tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp tomato sauce
750 g dried spaghetti
2 tbsp finely shredded parsley
freshly ground pepper to serve
freshly grated parmesan cheese to serve

Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan or casserole over low-medium heat, add the ½ cup of oil, onion and garlic and fry for about 10 mins until fragrant. Add the vegetables and fry for a further 8 minutes, stirring regularly until softened and lightly browned. Add the mince and fry for 3 mins until it begins to brown, then add the wine, passata, salt, oregano, tomato sauce and 1 cup of water, stirring to scrape up any fond from the base of the pot. Cover, reduce to a low heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add salt. Add the spaghetti and boil for one minute less than the packet directions, or until al dente. Remove the spaghetti from the pot and add it directly to the bolognese sauce with an extra 2 tablespoons of olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of the pasta water. Stir well over medium heat for about 1 minute to combine the pasta and sauce. Serve immediately with the shredded parsley, black pepper and parmesan.

Slow-cooked Lamb Shoulder with Fresh Dates

2 kg lamb shoulder
600 g fresh dates
4 red onions
6 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
1 small stick of cinnamon
olive oil
sea salt and ground pepper
500 ml hot beef or chicken stock
2 tbsp date molasses
splash of red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 160°. Take your lamb shoulder out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to cook it. While it is coming up to room temperature, halve the dates and remove the stones (this is easy to do if you cut them through the stem). Peel the onions and slice into 1cm wedges. Crush the garlic with the skins on, using the side of a chef's knife.
When the lamb is ready, pierce it in 4 places and poke in the bay leaves. Scatter the dates, cinnamon stick, onions and garlic, in a large roasting tray and place the lamb on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season generously then pour the hot stock into the tray. Take a large piece of baking paper, run it under cold water, scrunch it up and tuck it over the top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with foil and place in the oven for 4 hours.
After 4 hours, remove the foil and paper and drizzle the lamb with the date molasses. Return it to the oven and cook for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the lamb is sticky and incredibly tender, and the stock has reduced. Finish by adding a splash of red wine vinegar to the cooked-down dates and onions, season to taste, then serve. It's perfect alongside a bowl of steaming bulgur wheat of coriander roasted potatoes.

Salmon & Potato Fishcakes

750 g desiree potatoes (peeled, cut into 3cm chunks)
¼ c olive oil
2 tbsp thai basil (finely chopped, plus 12 leaves extra)
10 g dried wakame seaweed (roughly broken up)
1 tsp ginger (finely minced)
2-3 long green shallots (finely chopped)
½ garlic clove (crushed)
2 limes (finely grate the zest to get 2 tsps then cut into wedges to serve)
2½ tbsp potato flour
1 egg (lightly beaten)
350 g skinless salmon (cooked)
1 tbsp unsalted butter

Ginger & Thai Basil Yoghurt

8 thai basil leaves (finely chopped)
1½ tsp ginger (peeled & minced)
1 lime (finely grate zest to get 1½tsp and juice to get 1½tbsp)
¼ garlic clove (crushed)
200 g plain yoghurt

Preheat oven to 230°c and place a rack in the top third of the oven
Place 500g of the potatoes on a baking tray lined with baking paper and toss together with 1tbsp of oil and ½ tsp salt flakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing halfway through, until golden brown and cooked through. Set aside to cool, then very roughly crush them.

Meanwhile, place the remaining 250g potatoes in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Cover with cold, well-salted water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12 mins or until soft. Drain and set aside to cool.
Place olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the 12 picked Thai basil leaves and the wakame and fry for 1 minute, stirring a little until crispy. Strain, reserving the oil and transfer the aromatics to a small plate lined with paper towel.
Roughly crush the boiled potatoes (some lumps are fine) and add to a large bowl with the roasted potatoes, ginger, long green shallot, garlic, lime zest, potato flour, egg, chopped basil and ⅛ tsp of salt flakes (or a little more, depending on how salty your potatoes are). Finely chop half of the crispy wakame and add to the bowl. Mix everything together well, then add the salmon and gently mix to combine, trying not to break the salmon pieces too much.
With lightly oiled hands, form the mixture into 8 fishcakes weighing about 110g each, compressing them as you go so they hold together.
Place half the butter and 1tbsp of reserved oil in a large frypan over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and fry half the fish cakes for 2-3 mins until crisp and golden. Fry the remaining fish cakes the same way using the remainder of the butter and oil.
Plate up and serve with ginger & thai basil yoghurt sprinkled with the crispy wakame and leaves.

Ginger & Thai Basil Yoghurt

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine with a good pinch of salt. Set aside until ready to use.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken Rolls

I found that for four people in fact 3 half breasts were enough but it will depend on everyone's individual situation .

Chicken Rolls

4 chicken breast fillets
2 tsps pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
4 tsps kosher salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
225 g baby spinach
200 g sun dried tomatoes
2 c canola oil
2 c panko bread crumbs
4 large eggs (beaten)
1 c all purpose flour

Béchamel Sauce

3 tbsp unsalted butter
5 cloves garlic
2 medium shallots (diced)
80 g baby spinach
1½ tbsp sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
150 g tomatoes (diced)
2 c heavy cream
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1½ tsps kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
80 g grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice

The Chicken Rolls

Butterly the chicken breasts and season on both sides with 1 tsp of pepper, the onion powder, 2 tsps of salt and the garlic powder.
Place a chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or heavy pan until about 6 mm thick.
Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap and place a handful of baby spinach over the centre of the chicken breast, then cover with ¼ cup of sun-dried tomatoes. Starting from the bottom, tightly roll the chicken, using the plastic wrap to help. Wrap the chicken roll tightly in plastic wrap to secure. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Chill the chicken rolls in the fridge for 30 – 60 minutes.
Heat 5-7cm of oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat until it reaches 180° C.
Add the panko to a shallow dish and stir in 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp pepper. Add the eggs to a separate shallow dish. Add the flour to a third shallow dish and stir in the remaining salt and pepper.
Remove chicken rolls from the fridge and coat in the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumbs.
Fry the breaded chicken rolls in the hot oil for about 5 minutes per side, or until the outside is an even golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165 °c. You may need to work in batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan. If a good colour is achieved and the chicken's centre is still not to temperature, place the chicken on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and finish cooking in the oven at 170°c until the proper temp is reached. Once the proper internal temperature is reached, place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with paper towels on a wire rack to cool slightly before slicing and serving.
Slice the chicken rolls and serve over a bed of spaghetti or rice with the béchamel sauce and a green salad alongside.

Béchamel Sauce

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook until softened and the onions are beginning to caramelise and become very fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and diced tomatoes and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.
Add the heavy cream and flour and stir to incorporate.
Add the salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Stir in the parmesan cheese and cook until the sauce thickens slightly 5-7 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Seared Salmon with greens and Mango Salsa Vinaigrette

4 salmon fillets (with skin)
salt & pepper
1 tbsp oil
6 c mixed greens (washed & dried)

Salsa

2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1½ tsp honey
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red onion (minced)
1 tbsp jalapeño pepper (seeded and minced)
½ tsp garlic (minced)
½ tsp cumin (ground)
1 ripe mango (cut into ¼ inch dice)
½ c tomato (finely diced)
¼ tsp salt
2-3 tbsp coriander leaves

To make vinaigrette, in a medium bowl, combine the vinegar, lime juice and honey. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until dressing is emulsified. Add the red onion, jalapeño, garlic, cumin, mango, tomato and salt; combine. Stir in coriander leaves. If not using the dressing immediately, cover it and store in the refrigerator. Bring the dressing to room temp before serving.
Preheat the oven to 180°c. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Add the salmon, flesh side down, and sear until a golden brown crust forms, about 3 – 5 minutes. Carefully slide a spatula under each fillet and turn over. Transfer the skillet to the oven to finish cooking, approx 6 to 8 minutes, or until salmon is almost opaque throughout, but still moist.
Divide the greens among 4 individual plates. Carefully lift the salmon fillets, leaving the skin in the skillet, and place one fillet at the centre of each plate. Whisk the vinaigrette and generously spoon it over the fish and greens.