Domestic Goddess my arse!

These are the recipes I'm good at... quick, simple, out of the store-cupboard and onto the plate fare. I never spend more than 30 minutes faffing in the kitchen. So there.

This will be my recipe & homemadey remedy diary.

If you have those 'OMG! It's lunchtime and all I've got is a parsnip and a packet of boil in the bag rice.' moments, then you're a kindred spirit and you know that bad planning is often the mother of great food. So welcome to fast slurpy soups and 'really?' salads made from what's left in the fridge.


Never, ever believe there isn't something wonderful to make from the last 3 ingredients in your kitchen. Unless those ingredients really are fairy liquid, eggshells and dead flies.

Showing posts with label Couscous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Couscous. Show all posts

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Fancy Fishy Cakey Doo Dah!

Hello chums... I've had a few moments more than usual to fashion something fabulous for supper from the contents of my badly husbanded fridge. I used to love fish-cakes at school, one of the best days of any week would be made superb by the addition of fish-cakes for lunch or even better tea!

Your mum's fish cakes are always better than anyone else's - that is terrrue!

So I thought I'd have a go at making some. My only stipulation -is there shall be no spuds and no flour. Whenever I use plain flour in patty things - it ends up tasting a bit, well floury...

I just went with what I had in the cupboards - so if it feels a bit un-co. That's because it is.

No matter - soldier on my friends. To the recipe!




Ingredients List Starts Here:

1 leek (to be scrupulously honest it was 3/4 of a leek) - chopped finely
butter and oil (to cook leeks)
2 small salmon fillets - cooked and skinned and flaked
1 tin of tuna - well drained
A small handful of olives (cured black), chopped
2 x sun-dried tomatoes and a little oil, chopped
1 lime (zest of and juice of)
1/4 very ripe avocado (I'd say this is totally optional but did add some bindingness)

S&P

For making:

1 egg beaten
1/2 cup cous cous (or polenta whatever you've got)
2 - 4 dsrt spns oats (you can play with the mix and don't worry too much about the amounts)


Making:

Cook the leeks in a small amount of butter and oil until soft, but not taking on colour. Set these aside to cool a bit.

Whiz the cous cous and oats in a coffee grinder to make a finer flour. (You can bash in a pestle and mortar if you don't have a mini-whizzer).

In the meantime mix everything else together - and then add the leeks and the oil/butter from the pan. Mix well - you're going for a sticky mixture - not too wet, so make sure you drain the tuna well and keep an eye on the addition of the lime.

If it does feel a bit too wet - just add some of the cous cous/oats flour and mix it in.

Divide the mixture into 6 to 8. Wet you hands and roll each 1/8th into a ball.

Roll in the beaten egg and then roll in the flour mixture.

Pop on a plate and pat down into a fish cake shape.

Continue until you've made all of your fish cakes.

Put this lot in the fridge - this will help them keep their shape when you cook them, so an hour is good and longer is better.

When you are ready - heat some* oil in a deepish frying pan and cook the fish cakes for around 3 mins on each side, until they are crisp and golden. They should be warm and soft in the centre.

Serve:

I'd say 2 each for a light supper - but me and him are having all three so there!

I'm serving ours with shredded mange touts and blanched, spiralised courgette spaghetti with red, tomato pesto.

There may be some banana ice cream


*this really depends on your taste - I use Healthy Oil and or olive oil because that's what I like - but you can spray the pan, or use sunflower oil - chaque a son gōut! 

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Cous Cous Quick Quick


I am home alone for lunch & I wanted something quick - so I flung together left-overs. If you cook then you will always have leftover bits and bobs. Well you will if you're smart enough to always make extra! 

This salad was so quick it's almost too cheeky to post it. But it was so good, and it demonstrates the art of kitchen magic. The kind of spellificarion that comes with a stuffed fridge & a bit of whizzbangery! 

Don't fret if you didn't have stuffed mushrooms last night - chopped raw shrooms will work perfectly! 

Here's what you need...

Left over cous cous (although lets be honest tipping water from a kettle over a 1/3 cup of couscous isn't going to slow you down. I make mine with a bit of chicken stock paste for extra flavour)

Left over Mushroom  Duxelle - posh for cooked, chopped mushroom.

1 large, ripe beef tomato chopped into big pieces

6 black, cured olives chopped

2 desert spoons of toasted pumpkin & sunflower seeds

Grated hard goats cheese (or cheddar, or buffalo mozzarella, feta, griddled haloumi... On an on it might go)

Hemp oil (or good olive oil)

In a bowl mix the cous cous, olives, duxelle, mixed seeds (reserve some for fancy presentation).

Top with chopped tomatoes & grated cheese & finish with a drizzle of hemp oil & a cheeky sprinkle of seeds.

Done & darned delish! 

Super healthy too - you could bump up the happy & serve on a bed of baby spinach or wilted kale. 

I just yummed it out of the bowl!

Enjoy & let me know your variations! 

Oh if you haven't got a bowl of leftover duxelle hanging about either ditch it & stir in some red or green pesto - or chop raw mushrooms finely & stir in to the couscous. Can't say fairer than that!