Meatzza alla Nigella

We sit in front of Nigella every week, even the OH asks for it to be put on record so he doesn’t miss out. There have been several recipes I’d like to try out this series, but the Meatzza seemed so easy, and an innovative way to use mince. I thought I’d give it a go first. 

It was very easy to prepare and cook. Looked good too. And it tasted…like mince pie, as it should. I did feel that the mince base lacked flavour. Maybe browning it off first, before adding to the meatzza would help?

I also used my Mermaid Cookware Tarte Tatin Tin too, which was perfect for the job in hand.

Disclaimer: Although I was sent products to try for the purpose of this post, all views and opinions are entirely my own, truthful and honest.

Fish Fingers–for baby and you

This is another simple but healthy recipe that is easily adapted for both young children and adults alike. I prefer a crispy coating on my fish fingers but didn’t really want to have to deep fry them using a batter, so opted instead for a simple breadcrumb that can be shallow fried or oven baked. If you wanted, you could dispense with the coating altogether, like the recipe from the Little Dish Favourites Cookbook, which uses lemon sole dipped in milk then flour. Mine is a more traditional version…

Ingredients:

pepper-seasoned plain flour

beaten egg

breadcrumbs with chopped fresh parsley

partially frozen white fish fillets

Method:

I use fillets of white fish that are only partially defrosted from the freezer as this makes them so much easier to dip!

Prepare your ‘dipping plates’ first…use a plate for each of the flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

Cut the fish into finger-sized pieces.

Coat each, first in the flour, then the egg, then breadcrumbs.

Now you can choose to either place on a baking tray and oven cook until golden brown, or heat a little butter / oil in a pan and shallow fry until crispy on the outside and translucent on the inside.

Serve with home-made wedges and garlicky green beans.

Add some spicy paprika to the wedges for grown-ups. Perfect finger food for baby and a treat for you!

Disclaimer: Although I was sent the recipe book for the purpose of this post, all views and opinions are entirely my own, truthful and honest.

Review: Tarte Tatin Tin from Mermaid Cookware

Tarte Tatin is one of my favourites for pudding, but I always forget how easy it is if you have all the right ingredients in the cupboard. I use @jamieoliver ‘s recipe, (you can find it here), using a vanilla pod and seeds with a splash of calvados and lot of butter, as it’s failsafe, but I find that often, the problem comes in finding a frying pan that can also be used in the oven.

Then I was sent a new Tarte Tatin Tin from Mermaid Cookware to review. I was pleased to read that it can be used on the hob as well as in the oven, thus solving my problem of a tin / pan that can be used to complete both stages of the recipe. My only issue being how to handle it from one to the other! Another plus point is that metal utensils can also be used throughout the whole range of bakeware, and, since I’m not overly careful with my tins and suchlike for the oven, this is always good news. The tin is made from hard anodised aluminium and, according to the manufacturer, “ will benefit from seasoning.” Simply pour a layer of oil into the tin, put into a hot oven for 10-15 minutes, then allow to cool before discarding the oil, wiping the cookware, and drying.

So how did I find using it? Easy, although it was a little on the small side. I’m used to using 3 or 4 whole apples in the recipe, depending on their size, however, once I began to core and halve the apples horizontally, I worked out I couldn’t fit the ‘whole halves’ around the edge, so had to halve them again, thus creating quarters. In the end, I used 1.75 apples.

I placed the tin on my halogen hob and added calvados, sugar and vanilla pods and turned it to a medium heat.

Beginning to bubble VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Once bubbly and brown I added the apples and cooked til beginning to soften.

Softening the apples VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Then a few cubes of butter and finally, the puff pastry on top.

The pan didn’t slide or wobble at all and, remembering that hot caramel is, indeed, hot, and that the metal pan would also be very hot, I used a silicon glove-type grabber to hold the pan and transfer it to the oven.

Once the cooking had finished, I simply removed the tin and upturned it onto a plate. It was much easier doing this than trying to upturn a frying pan! Despite all the sticky caramel, the tarte came out easily in one piece and only a little of the pastry stuck. The tin was easily washed in warm water.

I was very pleased with the results of the tin, and the fact I could use metal tongues without worrying about scratching any coating. However, If you were to use this for a dinner party, you’d definitely need a bigger one. My husband will be pleased our tin is only small as he’s on a bit of a health kick at the moment and I’m banned from making anything tasty…sorry, unhealthy!

p.s. Can you tell I’ve got a new camera?!

Disclaimer: Although I was sent products to try for the purpose of this post, all views and opinions are entirely my own, truthful and honest.

Cajun Chicken with Ginger Honey

A very good friend of mine served this when we went for dinner, many years ago, but it’s so delicious, I’ve never forgotten it! You can choose to make your own Cajun seasoning or simply buy a ready made dry spice mix, which is what I do as it’s so much easier. It was also another opportunity to use some of the new range of Manuka Honey from the New Zealand Honey Co. I wanted to add the ginger honey, instead of the usual plain old runny honey as it contains little nuggets of ginger which I thought would be a nice addition to the Cajun seasoning.

 

It’s simply a case of sprinkling the seasoning over chicken breasts, according to taste, then spooning some honey over the top and roasting until the chicken is cooked. Easy-peasy and perfect for a ‘school night’, when you really’ can’t be bothered to do anything more complex. I serve it with brown rice and spinach as these become much tastier when they’ve soaked up some of the spicy sweet sauce. This was also a test for my Great British Bakewear Roaster, what with sticky and burnt on honey. After a very short soak in hot water and washing up liquid, however, it came out perfectly clean…again!  This is quickly become a firm favourite.

Disclaimer: Although I was sent products to try for the purpose of this post, all views and opinions are entirely my own, truthful and honest

The Ultimate Manuka Honey, Ginger and Lemon Zinger

When the OH awoke and declared he felt dreadful, it seemed like the perfect time to try out this new range of Manuka Honey from the New Zealand Honey Co. To quote from their marketing material…

“New Zealand Honey Co, producers of 100% pure, authentic honey, has perked up its premium Manuka honey with the addition of lemon and root ginger creating two new exciting honey options that are great for cooking with and must-have’s on anyone’s shopping list this year.

So much more than a sugary sweetener, the new Manuka Honey with Lemon and Manuka Honey with Root Ginger not only taste great but are brilliant functional foods, which provide a number of health benefits, helping you to put a spring in your step! The Manuka Honey with Lemon, with its delicious zesty zing, is packed full of Vitamin C and adds a whole new element to the honey – making it the perfect ingredient for salads and desserts. Smooth and fresh, the honey is also great when added to smoothies and juices, for an extra healing health kick!

Ginger, a store cupboard essential for any food lover - has been used to create New Zealand Honey Co’s deliciously different Manuka Honey and Ginger.”

I simply added a heaped teaspoon of each of the honeys, a splash or orange juice and squeeze of lemon to a cup of hot water (note: in his favourite cup…I think this might have made all the difference!). After tasting simply a spoonful of the honey, the OH declared he felt better already, but enjoyed the drink nonetheless! I think this will definitely become a favourite in our house during times of colds and sore throats!

On an entirely different note, I’m hoping to use the ginger honey next in a Cajun honey chicken recipe served with spinach and mash. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Both honeys have a RRP of £9.99 and are available from Morrisons. For further information on New Zealand Honey Company and honeys visit www.newzealandhoneyco.com .

Disclaimer: Although I was sent products to try for the purpose of this post, all views and opinions are entirely my own, truthful and honest.

The Perfect Mash?

In my question to find the perfect mash, I usually opt for the shop bought, ready-made variety with potatoes, milk/cream and salt and pepper. I can never be bothered with the phaff of peeling, boiling, then trying the mash the potatoes without them turning into wallpaper paste. However, I was recently sent a potato ricer to try. And not just any ricer: this is an Oxo Good Grips 3 in 1 Ricer. There’s a removable disc on the end that you can rotate to choose how fine you’d like your mash to be. You can also use for fruit purees, etc. It sits nicely on top of the bowl, but as it’s so deep, there’s little space left underneath for the potato!

Before beginning, I asked Twitter their opinion on the perfect mash. Comments ranged from cracking an egg into it, along with butter, milk and seasoning ( ‏@JoeLeShark ) to leaving them to steam for several minutes after boiling to ensure the mash doesn’t go soggy ( @janetravers ) to doing it the Michelin way and using a 40/60 ratio of fat to mash as the potato is there only to ensure the butter and cream do not split! ( @PaulLomax )

So, first and foremost I chose a Desiree potato that stated it was perfect for mashing. Then peeled, chopped into large pieces to minimise the amount of water absorbed, and boiled. Next, I drained and returned to the hot pan on the lowest heat to steam for several minutes.

Now to begin the ricing process! I chose the finest setting by rotating the disc until it clicked into place, then piled the potatoes high and began to close the ricer. It surprised me how easily they went through the mesh, and the process itself was really quite enjoyable!

The potato was very fine and, although it did contain small lumps, these were soon whisked out with the addition of the tasty stuff! I had 1.2 kg of potatoes so chose to add 200ml milk, 200ml crème fraiche and 100g butter. Plus salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg. Not quite the Michelin proportions suggested!

And in my book, the perfect mash should be part of the old favourite, Bangers and Mash with onion gravy! I roasted the sausages in my new Medium roaster from Great British Bakeware until dark brown and sticky, then served.

And the ricer went in the dishwasher, so no washing up either!

Disclaimer: Although I was sent products to try for the purpose of this post, all views and opinions are entirely my own, truthful and honest.

 

Garlic & Bacon Chicken

Last week, I was, as usual, scrabbling around in the bottom of the fridge trying to come up with something to do with two chicken breasts and some smoked bacon. There wasn’t a lot else left to make any sort of sauce, so I settled on a simple, but tasty, garlic butter stuffed and bacon wrapped dinner.

Recently, I have been sent several products to trial in the kitchen to help with any recipes. So this was the perfect time to try out the Medium roaster from Great British Bakeware. I go through roasting tins faster than anyone I know, probably because I usually opt for the cheapest, so I was a little hesitant to use such a nice one, fearing I will never be able to give it the care it deserves. Anyway, I followed the simple preparation instructions of washing the tin, then began to create the chicken.

It’s simply a case of slitting open the breast, with the mini-fillet left attached to act as a wrapper. Then adding crushed garlic and butter. Roll the fillet and wrap in bacon. Place into the roasting tin and pop into a pre-heated oven. I had the oven up high to begin with in order to give the bacon a good chance at going crispy, then turned it down to ensure the chicken cooked through, then up again at the end to brown.

Apologies for the lack of pictures of the finished dinner but we ate it before there was a chance! It was, however, a quick and tasty dinner. I served it with mash.

And the roasting tin? Well, I left it sitting while we ate, then cleaned it up after. With warm soapy water, the burnt crispy bits slid off easily with a nylon-type sink brush. It still looks like new, although I’ve only used it once. I feel the real trial for this product will be how well it fares when I get sloppy with the ‘looking after’ of it in terms of not using metal utensils, leaving it for three days before cleaning, etc. You know the type of thing! I’ll let you know.

Disclaimer: Although I was sent products to try for the purpose of this post, all views and opinions are entirely my own, truthful and honest.