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
