Articles by Jennifer Robertson

Hungarian Lescos

European Cuisine
Posted on

Serves 4 – 45 mins

Ingredients

1.4 kg green peppers/capsicum
600 gm fresh tomatoes
150gms of onions
6tbs of shortening/oil
2 slices smoked bacon
1-2 tsp of Hungarian paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Step One

Cut the green pepper/capsicum lengthwise into slices, if hot remove the veins, if still hot then scald them.

Step Two

Poach the tomatoes for a few minutes in boiling water, peel them and cut into quarters.

Step Three

Cut the onion into rings and cut the rings in halves.

Step Four

Use a large saucepan so the vegetables will not be crowded, dice the bacon and fry it out, then add the onion rings. Brown lightly.

Step Five

Add the paprika, stir in the green peppers, tomatoes and salt.

Step Six

Cook firstly over a high heat, hen when most of the water has evaporated, cover and cook over a medium heat until tender. The amount made will equal approximately 1kg of Lesco.

Tips

Lesco can be used as either a flavouring agent or a separate dish. If used as a meal, cook smoked sausages in to the Lesco in one piece or rings, rice can also be cooked into the Lesco.

Potato & Pea Curry

Asian Cusine
Posted on

Serves 4 – 30 mins

Ingredients

3tbs of flavourless Oil
1/2 tsp of brown mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of whole cumin seed
1 whole dried chilli broken into small pieces
500gm of small waxy pototes parboiled for about 10 minutes and chopped into chunks
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper of chilli powder
1 tsp of both ground cumin and coriander
300gms of frozen peas( if defrosted great, if not just throw them in when needed)
Salt and Sugar to taste
2 or 3 tomatoes cored and chopped into strips

Method

Step One

Pour oil into medium sized lidded pan and set over medium/high heat. As soon as oil is hot throw in mustard seeds, dried chilli and whole cumin seeds.

Step Two

As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop add in the potatoes and fry until a little brown on the edges – about 5-8 minutes.

Step Three

Add in the cayenne pepper, ground cumin, coriander turmeric and stir – then add in the peas. Stir a few times and top up with around 250-300mls of water and the salt.

Step Four

Bring to the boil, cover and reduce heat cook for about 15 minutes. Take off the lid and add the tomatoes and salt/sugar if required. Simmer for another 10 minutes to reduce liquid and then serve.

Chicken & Coriander Curry

Asian Cusine
Posted on

Serves 4 – 30 mins

INGREDIENTS – SERVES 4

2 tbs of flavourless oil
4 small or 3 large chicken breasts
1 heaped tablespoon of minced ginger(I always have a jar of minced ginger is the fridge)
2 heaped tablespoon of minced garlic(again I always have a jar of minced garlic is the fridge)
3 tsp of lemon juice
Salt
2 tomatoes roughly chopped
1 medium bunch of coriander roughly chopped stalks included
2 fresh chillies( or a tsp of minced chillies from the jar, which again I always have in my fridge)
1 tsp of tomato puree(or tomato sauce if you have none)
300mls of natural yoghurt (my favourite is Greek Yoghurt)

Method

Step One

Chop chicken into bite size pieces and put into container – add in ginger, garlic, salt and lemon juice and leave to sit as you get the other ingredients ready(this can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours if you are organised).

Step Two

Into a blender add the tomatoes, coriander, chillies and tomato puree, blend until you have a smooth sauce.

Step Four

Add oil to large non stick pan with lid and turn heat to high. When hot add the chicken pieces and marinade to pan. Fry chicken turning frequently for about 10 minutes.

Step Five

Pour the mixture from the blender over the chicken and continue to keep cooking for about another 10 minutes. Add the yoghurt and cook until have a thick sauce consistency, about 5 minutes. Cover the pan and turn the heat down for about 5 minutes – check chicken and serve once cooked.

Tips

I serve this easy curry to my family with the Potato and Pea curry(see website) and some fluffy Basmati Rice.

Chicken Fajitas

Mexican Cuisine
Posted on Leave a comment on Chicken Fajitas

Serves 4- 30 mins

So….. hands up who doesn’t like FAJITAS!!!!!! OMG this recipe with homemade tortillas(weekend only too much hassle during the week), guacamole, salsa, iceberg lettuce, sour cream(or if you are in this house natural Greek yoghurt as always have a tub in the fridge)and grated cheese(yes I know that it is not technically what you put in a fajita but believe me and my children it works!!)

Because we are lucky enough to live in a very sunny warm BBQ loving country we have slightly changed the way that we do fajitas. In BBQ weather we actually skewer the marinated chicken to make kebabs that sit on the BBQ over the flame and the vegetables are cooked on the hot plate.

When we have been camping and made Chicken Fajitas I have used the ready made packets of seasoning and they work well but nothing beats making your own.

INGREDIENTS – SERVES 4/6 (DEPENDS HOW HUNGRY YOU ARE)

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
juice and grated rind of 2 limes (I find that the micro-plane works best for grating rind as you do not get too much pith)
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tsp of ground oregano(if you can get Mexican oregano even better)
1 tsp hot smoked paprika (because I love it and it imparts some smokiness to the dish) or cayenne pepper to taste
tsp ground cinnamon
2 onions (any colour or mixed is really nice at end dish)
3 peppers/capsicum (any mixture of colour but not just green) seeded and sliced
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
salt

Method

Step One

Slice the chicken breast into strips and place in a large bowl or zip-lock bag(I prefer this as easier to mix and does not take up tons of room in your fridge), add the lime juice and rind, sugar, oregano, cinnamon and paprika the mix everything together, leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes – if not longer.

Step Two

When you are ready to get cooking peel and chop the onions into strips of about 1.5 cms and place with the seeded and sliced peppers/capsicum.

Step Three

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and start by stir frying the chicken strips for about 5 minutes. Throw in the onions and peppers and continue frying until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are soft and tender.

Step Four

Tip the chicken mixture into a warmed serving platter and take it to the table.

Step 5

Serve with salsa, guacamole, warm tortillas and sour cream/yoghurt (and cheese if you are me).

Patatas Bravas

Mexican Cuisine
Posted on

Serves 4 – 30 mins

This is a very versatile dish working with many different types of meat and cuisines. We like it with BBQ Chicken.

INGREDIENTS

1.5 kg small waxy potatoes
5-6 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic finely sliced
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 large red pepper/capsicum seeded and sliced
2 tbsp smoked paprika (either sweet or hot dependent on taste)
2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt

Method

Step One

Steam potatoes until almost tender,drain(you can peel them if you want, but I feel life is too short to peel new potatoes.

Step Two

Heat up Olive Oil in heavy bottom pan and add potatoes

Step Three

Add the tomatoes and cinnamon stick stir and turn the heat down to low – allow this to simmer for about an hour to hour and half, stirring occasionally if you are around.

Step Four

Drain and rinse the beans and add to the chilli along with the finely chopped coriander stalks- leave for another 30 minutes to hour.

Step Five

Remove the chilli from the heat and add lime juice to taste and the coriander leaves reserving a small amount to sprinkle over chilli once on plate. Once happy with balance of flavour serve to your hungry hoard.

Tips

I serve this with fluffy white rice, avocado and natural yoghurt as a side for those who cannot deal with the heat(i.e my daughter and myself). This Chilli is also good warmed up in wraps the next day with grated cheese, sweetcorn and yoghurt.