Food

Pan fried Tilapia with Panzanella

~ rinaforster ~ Leave a comment

 

Some dishes just have that Wow factor that make you want to delve in, and this is one of them!

Slice a small ciabatta into 1cm cubes and toss in in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook in the oven for 15 minutes – 200 fan.

Meanwhile dice 1/2 a red onion, 1/2 cucumber and 2 large tomatoes and mix them in a bowl with some shredded basil leaves. Now mix in 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 2 table spoons of olive oil, 1/2 a crushed garlic clove and some seasoning.

Next,  dust 2 fillets of tilapia in flour and season well. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the fish for a couple of minutes each side until cooked.

Remove the fish from the pan, turn off the heat but whilst the pan is still hot add a knob of butter and once this has melted stir in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and a handful of fresh chopped Parlsey.

When the croutons are ready, toss them in to the tomato mixture. Serve on a dish with the tilapia on top and drizzle with the lemon butter.


 

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Shepherd’s Hotpot

~ rinaforster ~ Leave a comment


Just a minor variation on the popular Shepherds Pie, I sometimes like to give it a hot pot topping just to mix things up.

For the base, follow my Shepherd’s pie recipe below, but instead of adding mash potato, peel 3 medium potatoes and cut into 3mm discs, par boil these for 5 minutes then add to the top of the pie base ensuring to slightly overlap the layers. spray with a little olive oil and then oven for 25-30 minutes until browned.

Shepherds Pie recipe:

First dice a large onion and place in a cast iron saucepan, sweat over a medium heat until softened. Add a clove of garlic and fry for a further couple of minutes. Meanwhile dice two carrots and steam in the microwave for a couple of minutes to soften. Turn the heat up on the pan and add 500g of mince lamb and the diced carrots, heat until the meat is browned. Next add 2 tablespoons of flour and mix in to the meat then add 200ml of beef stock, 125ml of red wine and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then place in a fan oven 180degree for 20 minutes while you prepare the potato topping

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moussaka

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I must admit, I struggled to get my 3 year old to eat this, I think it’s a texture issue as Moussaka can have a bit of a ‘sloppy’ texture, so I bribed him with garlic bread and he gave it a bit of a bash – result! I’ll never force them to complete any meal but I always insist they try everything

To make the moussaka, first slice a large aubergine into 1cm disc, sprinkle with some salt and set aside. 

Next, dice one large onion and fry in a large heavy based pan along with 500g of mince lamb, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of dried mint, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 bay leaves and cook for 10 minutes, next add 1 tablespoon of plain flour, stir and then add 200ml of red wine, a tin of chopped tomatoes,a tablespoon of tomato purée and some seasoning and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile rinse and pat dry the aubergines then shallow fry in some olive oil for a couple of minutes each side, remove and place on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. 

Now, preheat your oven to fan 170

Next, make your white sauce. Add 50g of butter to a pan and when melted remove from the heat and add 50g of plain flour and stir until combined. Return to the heat then slowly add 400ml of milk stiring continuously, slowly bring to the boil and when it starts to thicken remove from the heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, 15g of grated Parmesan and some seasoning. Stir then whisk in 1 large beaten egg and set aside. 

Next, peel approx 4 potatoes and slice in to 1/2cm disc. 

Finally assemble the moussaka by first adding a layer of mince meat (approx a third of the mixture), followed by a layer of potatoes followeed by a layer of aubergines, repeat another two times so you have 3 layers with aubergine at the top. Pour over the white sauce and ensure you have an even coating on top then sprinkle with a little more Parmesan and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes – you might need to bake a little longer depending on how thin you were able to slice your potatoes. 

Greek style chicken

~ rinaforster ~ Leave a comment


I love a good one pot this recipe and this one is quite delish! 

Slice approx 1kg of new potatoes length ways and trim any access skin or fat off some chicken thighs (skin and bones left on). Season and spray with some olive oil, give everything a mix and place in an oven for 30 minutes. Whilst this is cooking, mix a bowl with 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 200g of feta cheese, 15-20 cherry tomatoes and a teaspoon of dried oregano. Stir these ingredients together and when the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes add the remaining these ingredients to the tin, give everything a mix then cook for a further 30 minutes until the chicken and potatoes are both cooked.