Fadgies

Fadgies are a bread buns that are peculiar to Teesside. They are made with lard and are a simple (single prove) bread. They’re ideal for a beginner bread maker.

Put 675 grams of flour into a large bowl and mix in 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. When it is mixed in well add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 2 1/2 teaspoons of dried or easy yeast and mix all this together. I use a hand mixer with the dough beaters on for this. Rub in 1 1/2 tablespoons of large but note that you won’t get the breadcrumb effect that you do when you make pastry. Add 400 millilitres of warm water (mix 225 mls of cold water with 75 mls of hot water) and mix in thoroughly before turning out and kneading for between 5 and 8 minutes. It will be smooth and elastic when it is ready to shape.

Mould gently into a squarish shape and cut into 3 length wise with a sharp knife then cut into triangles. This should make nine buns.

Place on a lightly oiled baking tray (you’ll need two) and leave in a warm place, covered in cling film, to prove for 45 minutes to 1 hour. They will double approximately in size. Dust liberally with flour and bake in an oven preheated to 230 C for 15 minutes until they are golden brown. When they are ready they will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom with a knuckle.

Place on a wire rack until cool. They freeze well.

Happy eating!

Chilli bread

This recipe is made with white flour but can be made with other types too.

1lb/500 grams of strong white flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Sachet of dried yeast (the one that doesn’t need activating)

15 grams 1/2 butter or spread

300 ml of warm water made by mixing 100 ml of boiling water with 200 ml of cold. I make a bit extra because flour isn’t predictable about how much water it will take

1/2 teaspoon of Scorpion Psycho Juice mixed with the water

Preheat the oven to 230/gas mark 8.

Put the flower in a large bowl then mix in the salt, sugar & yeast separately in that order. If you put them in all at once then there is a chance that the salt will deactivate the yeast and the bread won’t rise.

Finally mix the butter or spread in – grating it is best.

Make a well in the middle of the mix and pour in 300 ml warm water. Mix with a fork until to looks like a lump of dough and then dump it on a floured work top. Knead for about 8 minutes by bringing the top edge to the middle and pressing with the heel of your hand then rotating it around 90 degrees and doing it again. I set a time for 8 minutes and play music because the music makes the time go faster. If the dough starts to stick then put a little more flour on the work surface but not directly on to the bread.

Put the kneaded dough in an oiled bowl and place a piece of oiled cling film over the top. Leave it on top of the hob for about 45 minutes and it will have at least doubled in size then turn it out on to a floured work top again and knead as above.

Shape the dough roughly so that it fits into a 2lb loaf tin. At this point it doesn’t matter if the dough doesn’t reach the ends. Cover with oiled cling film & leave on the top of the oven to prove for about 45 minutes until it is at least doubled in size.

When it gets to that size sprinkle it with flour and bake for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven (230 degrees). After 15 minutes turn the heat down to 200/gas mark 6 and bake for a further 15 minutes or so. Put the loaf on to a wire rack (it will come out of the tin easily) to cool.

Happy eating!

Corn bread

This is a recipe that I got from a friend who visited from Texas many years ago. It’s great with chilli (essential really) but can also be eaten as a savoury and very light scone.

To make the batter you need

4oz plain flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
4oz of corn (maize) meal or polenta
3 tablespoons of caster sugar
1/2 pint milk
2 medium eggs
2oz of melted butter

Grease and baseline an 8″ square cake tin with greaseproof paper. I leave about half an inch sticking up the sides as it makes for easier removal.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in to a mixing bowl. Stir in the corn (maize) meal or polenta and the sugar. Make a well in the middle of it and pour in the mixture of eggs, milk and melted butter. Beat well to form a smooth batter and pour into the prepared cake tin.

Bake on 220 C for 25-30 minutes, cool a little, turn out on to a wire rack and, when really cool cut into squares. You should get 9 decent squares from a batch this size. This freezes well and defrosts quickly.

Happy eating!

Baked fruit with maple syrup.

This is one of those great recipes which is adaptable for virtually anything. I’ve cooked peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, apples, oranges, cherries and my personal favourite, which is rhubarb, like this.

The preparation time is minimal, there’s little clearing up to do afterwards and little waste.

Take as much fruit as you need for each person. It’s all about how much you eat. Peel fruit that needs peeling but just wash and core or de-stone the fruits that don’t.

Layer the fruit in a deep pie or lasagne dish. I’ve used this with peaches and cherries and keep them separate but they’re all going to end up going down the same way so mix them up if you want to.

When you’ve got all your fruit nicely layered for evenness pour a small amount of water over it. We’re talking a tiny amount that looks a millimetre deep at the bottom of the dish. Drizzle over some maple syrup to taste. Rhubarb needs a little more but I find peaches and cherries need a little less. It’s all up to you though because you’ll be eating it.

Put a tight lid on the dish or cover it tightly with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the density of the fruit you’re cooking.

Leave it to cool for a few minutes before serving with a low fat greek style yoghurt or on days where you need the extra treat, some decent vanilla ice cream.

Happy eating!

Bacon in cheese sauce

This is such a simple recipe but incredibly good and filling. It’s as inexpensive as you want it to be and involves nothing more complicated than making a cheese sauce.

Ingredients

Bacon – enough for as many people as you’re cooking for. I use bacon offcuts that you can get in supermarkets and prefer the smoked ones. At time of writing this blog they’re about 90p for 500 grams which would feed four people.

Sliced onions or leeks (fry the leeks a little or blanch them first)

Thinly sliced potatoes. If you use new potatoes then just wash them and cook with the skin on.

Method

Lightly grease a pie dish that either has a lid or can be tightly sealed with foil. I grease with a tiny drop of olive oil wiped round the dish. This isn’t obligatory but can help the food from sticking to the dish if it’s left in the oven a little too long.

Put the bacon in the bottom of the dish, next a layer of onions or leek and top it off with layers of potatoes. Repeat the layers if it’s a deep dish and you’re cooking for a lot of people.

Pour a cheese sauce over the whole dish so that it covers the potatoes. Cheese sauce is easy to make up by stirring a little flour into some melted butter over a gentle heat so it produces a thick good. Add semi skimmed milk a little at a time and so that the sauce is slightly thinner than you would normally have it. Add some really mature cheddar cheese as you will use less and so it will be lower fat. Add some mustard – English, French, Dijon – whatever you prefer. I add a single, tiny drop of Psycho Juice with mustard as I like the extra bite.

Bake in an oven (not forgetting to seal the dish tightly) for at least an hour on 200 C. I take the lid or foil off after an hour and leave it another 15 minutes in the oven so that it looks less anaemic. I have green vegetables with this, broccoli or peas being a favourite with me.

Happy eating!

Poached Fish

The word poached when used with the name of any sort of fish used to fill me with dreadful visions of my mother poaching cod in full fat milk (no herbs or spices!) to be used in a bland fish pie.  I started experimenting with oils and vinegars and eventually hit on this one just this week.  It has subtle flavours, doesn’t overpower the kitchen with big odours and the fish is moist and perfectly cooked.  This is a low fat and low salt recipe but flavoursome.

You will need –

White fish fillets (I go for the denser fillet and not the tail ends)
Juice of half a lime
Tablespoon of olive oil
Smidgeon of greek honey
3 or 4 drops of Tabasco

Put the fish in an ovenproof dish. There is no need to grease the dish.

Combine the other ingredients – the above quantities will be enough for two good sized fillets – and pour over the fish.  Cover with foil and place in the fridge for at least four hours occasionally “basting” the fish with the liquid.

This cooks on 200 C for around 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet.

I had mine with new potatoes and broccoli.

Happy eating!

Vegetable Soup

This is a simple soup and very easy to make.  We’ve been making it in my family for four generations.  It was first used by my great grandmother in Victorian times.

30 grams lentils
300 grams of carrots
100 grams of swede (this is called turnip at times but we’re talking yellow flesh)
150 grams potato
Medium Leek
Vegetable stock cube
A smidgeon of salt

Put the lentils in the bottom of a pan with the vegetable stock cube with the salt.  The pan should be big enough to hold the vegetables and the contents of a full kettle of water.

Slice the leek into slices about half a centimeter in width and add these to the pan.  In a food processor grate or mince the vegetables and add these to the pan.

Cover with the water from the kettle, bring to the boil and simmer for about four hours.  Stir well from time to time.  The pan should have a close fitting lid and the liquid will reduce to make a full flavoured soup.  It’s better if you can leave it until the second day and it freezes well.

If you’d like some meat to bulk it out then some diced chicken, bacon or gammon is good.  If you use gammon or bacon then don’t add the smidgeon of salt.  My family have always used brisket in the soup but this is a very fatty meat and doesn’t really go with healthy eating.  However I’ve often used some left over rare and lean roast beef and this works very well.

Try it served with the sourdough bread recipe that was posted on here recently.

Happy eating!

Sourdough bread

Over the years, I have come to love the bread bowl. In five minutes, you can rustle up a loaf that proves and cooks in two hours and works every time. I may post a couple of alternatives later.

Here I offer basic instructions for Sourdough. This takes a little longer.

The key to this bread’s success lies in the preparation. Once begun, the process will continue unaided for up to 48 hours before cooking. So.. For one loaf, you will need:

1. Flour.  That’s it

I don’t count water as an ingredient. We drink that every day, you’re merely diverting the flow for a few minutes.

Buy the very best quality Organic Strong Wholemeal or Granary flour. It really IS worth spending money on this. Saving comes later as you add other ‘Filler’ ingredients and gain in confidence.

In a scrupulously clear glass bowl (by preference, you can monitor what’s happening more easily) mix your starter for the loaf by combining a cup of flour with a cup of water. Depending on the flour, you may achieve the ‘Thin yoghurt’ consistency you need immediately. If not add flour or water and stir until you get there.

Cover lightly to keep flies and dust out but do not clingfilm. Place in a warm spot. This is the bit that requires nature and you to work together so it’s best doing your first sourdough in the summer. Or the airing cupboard. I use a sunny windowsill. So, kitchen paper or clean tea towel are fine.

After a day, peep in and check for action. If you have been successful, free flying yeasts will have settled into the nutritious soup you have prepared for them and they will be feeding and farting CO2 into the mix with gusto. Bubbles will be appearing on the surface and it will be smelling sharp and yeasty. If not, don’t despair. Just give the mix a good bash with a hand whisk to break up the grains and release some of the carbohydrates, add a drop more water and repeat. As the yeasts do their stuff, add 2 tablespoons of flour and a little more water, to regain original consistency. Be rough with it.

If after a further two days you still have no luck, scrap and start again. Persevering with older mixes can result in a sour smelling mix that has the wrong infection. No yeasts… no bread.

After a few days, and if the mix has become productive it will look very active. (It is important not to let it go too far as the yeast will exhaust the food supply and it will die). Pour and scrape the mixture into a large bowl and add flour stirring until you can only mix by hand. Then have fun forming a ball of dough. This should be slightly wetter than artificially risen dough. Don’t worry about kneading. The act of forming a ball will have achieved enough gluten stretching. If you have a gripe to work out, carry on but it’s not strictly necessary.

Leave in your warm place for a few hours depending on temperature. It should achieve a resistant springiness to touch and look taut.. Place carefully on an oiled or Polenta’d baking sheet (no fat!) and bake in an oven, pre-heated to 180c for 30 minutes.

If everything has gone according to plan. You will have the best tasting, chewy substantial loaf of delicious bread. You WILL do it again. And when you do, add a bit more flour to the mix and pinch off a handful prior to baking. This can be stirred into a new mixture and will continue the process. I have managed to keep one culture going for a whole summer.

Good luck. It’s well worth a try.

Super Wallah Special

lb/500 grams meat
A large onion chopped finely
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of garam masala
1 tablespoon of curry powder
Tin of chopped tomatoes
A medium sized cauliflower cut into small florets

This recipe was given to me by an Iranian friend in the late 70s or early 80s and it’s become a real comfort food for me.  The recipe, like a lot of Iranian food, has no name.  My friend was called Wallah (pronounced as you would “voila” but with a “W”) and I thought he was great so the recipe was named “Super Wallah Special”.

This is an easy one pot meal and is ready to eat in a few hours.  It tastes great on the second day, even better on the third day and freezes really well.

Don’t use mince for this recipe because the fat content is far too high and it’s not as economical as it seems because of this.   If you want to use mince then you can use a food processor on lean meat to get the same result.  Otherwise cut it as finely or roughly as you prefer it.

If you use beef then skirt is a good choice.   It’s lean but has enough fat marbled through not to need extra fat.  Pork escalope is good but so lean it needs an ounce of butter or low fat spread.  I like to use mutton neck fillet as it’s a slightly stronger flavour than lamb and still retains some of the sweetness whilst cooking very tenderly and doesn’t require fat to cook it in.  Chicken breasts or thighs lend themselves well to the recipe but will also need an ounce of butter or low fat spread.  This is also great as a vegetable curry using the vegetables you like the best.

I prepare the meat and vegetables before I start cooking and this helps save time.  Mix the garam masala and curry powder together before you start then you can just put it all in together.  Use the strength of curry powder you like.  I like to use a hot madras but it’s up to you what you use.

On a medium heat gently brown the meat.  When it’s the same colour all over add the onion and garlic.  Crush the garlic with a little salt before using as this releases the flavour.  The salt is the only extra seasoning that you have to use.  Stir frequently so the ingredients don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

When the onion and garlic are soft and transparent stir in the garam masala and curry powder and stir really well for a few minutes.   At this point stir in the cauliflower and add the tin of tomatoes.  Add a little hot water – if you need to use the tomatoes tin as a measure – about a third of the tin.

Stir well together and bring to a simmer and leave to cook for a couple of hours.  Stir it from time to time.

Serve with rice, jacket potatoes, pitta bread or naan bread.   You can also add smallish potatoes about 45 minutes before the end of the cooking time but these tend to soak up the liquid and so you need to keep an eye on things.  A sprinkling of fresh parsley stirred in just before you serve up adds a lovely finishing touch.

Happy eating!

Liver with oranges

I could never really understand the generalised distrust that offal seems to attract. Liver, Kidney, Sweetbreads… delicious and very low in fat. I dread to think of a universe without Haggis! I personally draw the line at Tripe but.. I’m willing to be converted!

Anyway, here is a recipe for Liver with Oranges. This may be prepared quickly for a supper or, with the small tweaks I suggest later, a more individually tailored dish for a dinner…

You will need:

1 large sliced Onion
1 sliced Red or Green Pepper
A handful of fresh Spinach leaves
6/8 Closed Cup or Chestnut Mushrooms
Around 500g Lambs Liver
1 Orange or 2 Satsumas, Clementines etc
1 Can of good quality Tomatoes
Tomato Puree
Mixed Herbs
1 Stock Cube

In a large covered saute pan arrange the destalked mushrooms and allow to squeak and hiss their way to browning. During this process they will release a fair amount of liquor. Into this go the onion and pepper slices. Lower the heat and monitor as the vegetables take colour and the onions caramelise. (If done carefully, this stage requires no oils or fats).

As your vegetable base cooks, prepare the liver by washing briefly in a sieve and removing any tubes, membrane etc. Cut into slices and add to the pan. Increase heat to seal the meat stirring frequently to prevent sticking. When uniformly browned, add your tomatoes a tablespoon or so of tomato puree, stock cube and a good pinch of herbs.

Wash and slice half the orange or other fruit and slice (with peel) then add to the pan. Squeeze the other half into the dish, chuck in the washed spinach, stir.

Cover once again and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Excellent with plain rice or Couscous.

To bump up to ‘Dinner status’ Prepare the vegetables as above but leave the preparation and cooking of the liver and oranges until the sauce is complete.

In a separate pan, fry the liver and orange slices in some 1 Cal spray or similar. This allows for a more exact cooking, leaving the inside slightly pink and altogether more tender. The high temperatures burn the orange and gives the dish a more well defined balance of bitter and sweet flavours. A tablespoon of Cointreau is optional (Obligatory!)

Happy eating!