Simply Delicious

I’ve made no secret over the last few years that I just love meatballs. I make them often and I am always trying to improve on my recipes. So last week when I made my first batch of home-made Ricotta, I wanted to use it in a way I had never done before. I thought of serving the ricotta on top of the pasta, which I did at the end as well, but also decided to mix some of the ricotta into the meatball mixture. I know how deliciously light the ricotta made my Ricotta blueberry pancakes and thought it might do the same with the meatballs. And I was right!

I also amped up the flavour by using three different meats for the meatballs. I used lamb mince, lean beef mince and pork that I minced myself as I couldn’t find ready-made pork mince at the supermarket. The combination of meats ensured super juicy and wonderfully flavoured meatballs. The ricotta kept everything moist and light and baking the meatballs in the tomato sauce resulted in a meatier version of ‘marinara’/tomato sauce to serve over the spaghetti. Very much similar to my Cheesy baked meatballs I made a while ago.

I served the meatballs and tomato sauce on good ‘ol spaghetti and added loads of fresh ricotta and parsley over the top before serving and it was a meal to be remembered. Perfect for this time of the year when comfort food becomes a daily necessity! I know the amount below make a lot of meatballs but I like to cook all the meatballs and then place the left overs in the fridge. They never last very long and are so delicious served inside a toasted baguette to make a quick meatball sub or stuffed inside a pita with some salad ingredients for a quick lunch!

For the recipe for 3-Meat & Ricotta meatballs, visit Simply Delicious

Tiramisu is one of my absolute favourite desserts. I love the creamy mascarpone and I love the mellow coffee flavour but what I love most is that it was one of my moms favourite desserts, and one she made incredibly well! My dad always jokes that my mom put so much alcohol in her tiramisu, after 3 bites you were drunk as a skunk! I remember one year at Christmas she made a huge dish of tiramisu but I never even tasted it…none of the kids were allowed in fact. She confessed that instead of adding a few tablespoons of Tia Maria, she actually added half the bottle! I also remember that Christmas being particularly “Merry”…

So I decided to take this classic dessert and turn it into a delicious cake. Not like this is a new concept but I wanted to keep the cake as close to Tiramisu, taste-wise so I just transferred all the tastes to a sponge cake base. I decided to bake a light coffee sponge which would be just perfect when brushed with a coffee and liqueur syrup and topped with the creamy mascarpone layer. I finished the cake off with a ‘border’ of finger biscuits (lady fingers) and a good grating of dark chocolate. Finally some cocoa powder was dusted on and we could tuck in. My guests all “mmm”-ed and “aah”-ed as they were eating and I can honestly say that this was one of the most delicious cakes I have ever made. The sponge was light and moist, the mascarpone layer was ever-so-slightly sweet and coffee-flavoured and the chocolate and cocoa added the perfect amount of bitterness. Perfection in cake form!

For the recipe for Tiramisu Cake, visit Simply Delicious

I have really fallen in love with Ricotta cheese over the last year or two, trying to work the delicate, curdled cheese into everything from Flapjacks with Blueberries,Sandwich toppings and rich fillings for aubergine involtini. At first, shop-bought Ricotta was just fine but in December I was browsing the Donna Hay iPad app and I saw her very easy recipe for home-made, fresh Ricotta. I promised to make my own and have just not gotten around to doing it until yesterday.

I was a bit nervous to make my own cheese as I’ve never done anything like it (even though the recipe could not be simpler). It also didn’t help that I half-read the recipe and landed up using a cup more milk than the specified amount (which was 3 cups). I was scared two tablespoons of lemon juice wouldn’t be enough to curlde the milk and with a slip of the hand added about five tablespoons instead of the intended three (can you tell that this wasn’t my finest moment, culinary wise?). Never-the-less, I carried on and after about 30 minutes, I had the most beautiful, soft Ricotta. None of those firm, rubbery curds you find in store-bought Ricotta. Instead I had creamy, fluffy and delicate Ricotta which had the slightest citrus flavour (which I actually loved).

So here, I’m giving you my (accidentally) adapted recipe but if you wish to follow Donna’s recipe, use only 3 cups of full cream (whole) milk and two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

For the recipe, visit Simply Delicious

After watching one of my newest cooking show addictions, Meat & Potatoes (Food Network) this weekend, I was left inspired and motivated. I’ve said before how much I like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri and Meat & Potatoes follows that same guideline, but amps it up a bit by visiting fine-dining establishments as well as the hole-in-the-wall kind of places. And then of course, the focus is on all types of meat & potatoes. This weekend’s episode showed the awesome Josh Henderson of Skillet Street Food making his bacon jam which he serves on burgers with Gorgonzola cheese. “Bacon JAM?” I hear you ask. Yes! Bacon Jam.

I’ve heard people talking about bacon jam for quite some time now but never really gave it that much thought until I saw how relatively easy it seemed to be on Meat & Potatoes. Also, the fact that he served it on one of the juiciest burgers with creamy Gorgonzola helped! I promised to try it and did so yesterday. I was a little nervous as I had no recipe to work off of and just followed by instincts but I can say with confidence that it was a massive success. I would describe bacon jam as a meatier, smokier and saltier version of onion marmalade/jam.

I thought that I would have to skim the fat off as bacon is so fatty but I didn’t even need to. However, bacon differs so if you find your jam to be very oily, just skim the fat off with a metal spoon. That really is the only problem I could foresee with making bacon jam. It’s simple and easy to make, tastes just awesome and these burgers were, in my husband’s opinion, the best burgers I had ever made (and the best he’s ever had). I’m sure Rahm Fama (the host of M&P), would’ve approved!

For the recipe for Beef burgers with Bacon Jam & Gorgonzola, visit Simply Delicious

If you vowed to start your diet on this Monday, avert your eyes immediately. Because these ice cream Sundaes are so insanely good, you will almost definitely fall off the rails.

I have to confess though, that I’m not the biggest fan of ice cream usually. I just feel like if I am going to be eating something sweet and calorie filled, there are so many other options I would rather go for. But with these sundaes I can eat buckets of ice cream. Most probably because the ice cream is topped with the gooeyest of gooey sauces.

Sweet with a little bit of saltiness, sticky and chocolatey, this Salty Peanutbutter – Chocolate Fudge sauce is really sin-in-a-bottle. And what makes it even better, is that this is the easiest sauce you could possibly make to top ice cream with. Four ingredients is all that is needed and no melting of chocolate, etc. is necessary.

   
I like to serve the sundaes with a sprinkle of salty roasted peanuts, maraschino cherries and even add some sliced banana at times. But if you don’t have any of those, ice cream with a drizzle of this sauce will be just perfect as well…actually, you can even leave out the ic e cream some days and just go for the sauce!

For the recipe for Ice cream sundaes with salty peanut-butter & chocolate fudge sauce, visit Simply Delicious

Chicken pie is one of my ultimate comfort foods. Probably because my gran made a killer chicken pie and always had an enormous one standing proudly amongst the roasts and delicious vegetable dishes for our Sunday lunches.

My gran’s chicken pie was always something rather majestic. She made sure the edges were beautifully crimped but ensured me she did so in a casual manner; the filling was always rich and fragrant with hints of nutmeg, cloves and white pepper. I also loved how she wasn’t shy with the filling and made sure that there wasn’t a ton of pastry compared to the amount of filling. I’m a pastry lover but I hate cutting into a pie only to find it contains barely any meat. On that note, there are two options when it comes to how much pastry you need for your pie. If you want a ‘pot-pie’ style pie, you only need a ‘lid’ of sorts to cover the filling. If you want an ‘encased’ pie, you need to line the baking dish with pastry as well as top it with a ‘lid’. The latter will need two rolls (about 400g (14.11 ounces) each) of ready-made puff pastry.

For this Chicken & Chorizo pie I wanted a filling that packed serious flavour and wanted the chicken to be moist and tender. I used skinless chicken thighs and drumsticks and poached them with bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, lemon peel and onions until the meat was falling from the bone. Not only does this give great depth of flavour to the chicken, but it also leaves me with a batch of home-made chicken stock.

When the chicken is cooked, I remove the meat from the bones when the chicken has cooled down slightly. I mix this with sauteed onion, garlic and chorizo, ground cloves, nutmeg and white pepper and coarse sea salt before pouring in some cream and a few tablespoons of flour. This helps to thicken the sauce and leaves you with a delicious almost-gravy which keeps everything moist. It really couldn’t be simpler yet everytime I make a chicken pie my guests fall over themselves to get to it first.

For the recipe for Chicken & Chorizo Pie, Visit Simply Delicious

Quesidillas are my go-to meal when I need something quick, tasty and filling. I love it’s versatility and the fact that you an use absolutely anything as a filling. Left-overs are given a new life when teamed with gooey cheese and toasted between two tortillas/wraps.

This is not so much a recipe as it is a list of suggestions for fillings as I don’t exactly need to teach you how to make a quesidilla. It really is just a different form of a toasted cheese sandwich. I always like to pair a protein (shredded chicken/pork, slow-cooked beef/lamb, roughly chopped prawns or beans) with vegetables (literally anything goes here, from spinach, chopped broccoli, corn, courgettes, etc.) and cheese (I like a mixture of mature cheddar and mozzarella to bind everything together and then like to add feta, goat’s cheese or Gorgonzola for flavour). For added flavour I like to add herbs (parsley, coriander, mint) and sliced chillies or pickled jalapeños. It’s very hard to go wrong and unless you try a filling that is completely strange you will have a winner every time.

To serve the quesidillas I like to make a very smooth and velvety guacamole by simply placing ripe avo’s, lemon juice, salt & pepper in my food processor and whizzing it until it’s smooth but you can of course, mash it with a potato masher/fork or even make a chunky guacamole by cubing the avo and tossing with the flavourings. I also like to make a spicy tomato & red onion salsa which I make in the food processor as well (simply because I’m too lazy to chop everything up by hand). But you can serve the quesidillas on their own or try other condiments.

I love how the crispy tortillas is complimented by the oozy cheese…doesn’t that just look like heaven on a plate?

For the recipe for the Chicken & Feta quesidillas, visit Simply Delicious

I saw someone doing marinated tomatoes on tv not so long ago and for the life of me, I can’t remember who it was. I can’t even remember on which channel it was which makes me feel horrible as I can’t give credit where credit is due. I am however very thankful to that person for exposing me to the wonder that is a marinated tomato.

I know the thought of blanching then peeling and then marinating cherry tomatoes is not appealing. I thought I had gone crazy when I found myself even considering the idea of trying it myself. You see, I’m a very lazy person. I love to eat and I love to cook but doing very finicky things in the kitchen is not for me. I like robust, unpretentious and delicious food. Food that takes me little time to prepare but still delivers big on flavour and character. Peeling a cherry tomato seems like the exact opposite of all of those things. Definitely not robust and quite pretentious if you ask me. I mean, I don’t even remove the seeds from my tomatoes. (what did the poor seeds do anyway? They hold all the flavour in my opinion!)

But then I found myself yesterday afternoon, in my kitchen, carefully scoring cherry tomatoes before dropping them into a pot of boiling water, fishing them out and dunking them into a bowl filled with ice water before carefully peeling their skins off. And I loved every second. It wasn’t hard, it wasn’t finicky and it wasn’t pretentious. It made perfect sense. How would the delicious marinade penitrate the delicate tomato flesh if I didn’t remove the tough skin? And how would said tough skin taste on a deliciously toasted slice of sourdough bread with the most mouth-watering whipped and herbed ricotta? Not great, that’s what!

The end result was exquisite (and I don’t use that word often). The flavours were perfect and even better, the textures were perfect. I’m a big ‘texture girl’. I like crunch mixed with soft and smooth and this was exactly what I got. I mean, I’m literally gushing over this ‘dish’. This very simple, very straight forward glorified version of cheese and tomato on toast. But it deserves it. Just try it, even just once. And then you can tell all your friends about the day you peeled a cherry tomato and how you would gladly do it all again!

For this recipe, visit Simply Delicious

Autumn must be one of my absolute favourite seasons. I love that the mornings and evenings have a proper chill in the air while the afternoons are pleasantly warm. It is however a bit of a tricky season when it comes to food as you need something that is comforting without being heavy like a proper curry, stew or pie.

This Thai meatball curry is exactly that. The fresh and zingy flavours work so perfectly well with the coconut milk and chicken meatballs and results in a meal that is comforting and warming without leaving you feeling weighed down.

I like to make my own chicken mince by placing free-range chicken breasts in my food processor and blending until finely chopped. This way I have control over the texture and I know the ‘mince’ is as fresh as can be.

To add flavour and nutrients to the curry, I like to add julienned carrot, fine green beans and baby corn but feel free to use whichever vegetables you want/have in your house. Bok choy, broccoli, sugar snap peas and peppers will all be lovely in this curry.

For the recipe for this Thai Meatball curry, visit Simply Delicious

When I think of Steak and egg (with chips of course), I always think of my dad and one of my mom’s favourite films, Shirley Valentine. I think about my dad because when I was younger this was the one meal that stood out for me which my dad made really well. His steak was always melt-in-the-mouth and his chips were the best chips in the world. I think about Shirley Valentine because of her husband who always demanded his steak & egg on a Monday, I think it was. She eventually got fed-up, threw the steak & egg against the wall and went to Greece to have love affairs with intriguing Greeks and drink wine on the beach.

So when I saw a photo of Porterhouse steak on the Saveur website (http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Porterhouse-Lemon-Thyme-Butter), I knew I had to make steak, egg & chips for dinner. I decided to make a herbed chilli-butter to serve on top of the hot steak as I just love the way it melts and oozes it’s way around the plate lending flavour to everything it touches. The herbs & chilli also really complimented the fried egg on top of the steak.

I’m not adding the recipe for the chips as I don’t think I need to teach anyone how to fry a chip. What I will say is that I like to leave the skin on the potatoes when I cut the chips and I always allow the cut chips in a large bowl of water to get rid of some of the starchiness and then I drain them and dry them very well with kitchen paper before frying them in very hot canola/sunflower oil. I add a good pinch of Maldon sea salt (the smoked one also works really well here), as they come out of the oil and then serve them immediately with the steak, egg and herbed chilli-butter.

For this recipe, visit Simply Delicious