A Delicious Chicken, Asparagus, Gorgonzola And Spinach Tartlet Recipe

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | May 18, 2013

Right another delicious recipe from our burlesque chef. And another gorgeous way to use your leftovers. This time it’s the turn of a chicken, asparagus, gorgonzola and spinach tartlet. Here’s what our resident food writer has to say:

Whether cooking for two or ten there’s always a little left over roast chicken lurking about the fridge for the next day. But, if you’re like me, you’d probably fancy a change from the previous day. This is a great alternative, a tartlet dish that is packed with flavour and works as a lunch option with salad just as well as a dinner option with roasted new potatoes and vegetables.
This recipe uses small tartlet rings but you can double the recipe for larger portions or just double to have a little extra in the freezer for the next time.

The classic flavour combinations of Gorgonzola, white wine, cream and spinach never fail and their game is upped with the addition of asparagus and chicken. What you’re looking at is the best leftover dish ever.

Shortcrust Pastry
120g Plain white flour
50g Butter (chopped into cubes)
25ml Cold Water
Pinch of Salt
Method:
Place flour, salt and butter in a large bowl and rub with your fingers until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (Do not overwork as it gets oily)
With a stiff palette knife, mix in the cold water until combined, then wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
When using in tartlets, grease and flour the tartlet rings well, roll pastry to the thickness of two matchsticks to fit ring and ensure the pastry fits well into the corners. Remove remaining pastry, prick bottom of tartlet with a fork a couple of time and place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Place parchment paper and baking beans in the cases and bake at 180’c for 5 minutes (baking blind) remove the beans and bake for a further 5.Remove from oven and remove the baking beans and parchment.

Filling:
1 cup of leftover cooked roast chicken
2 spears of asparagus (cooked and chopped into pieces- leaving spear long)
2 tbsp Gorgonzola
2 tbsp white wine
100ml Cream
Handful of sSpinach
1 clove Garlic (crushed and chopped)
½ small Shallot (sliced)
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp butter
2 slices of Prosciutto

Method:
Place the prosciutto on a tray and bake until crisp. Crumble.
Melt butter over a medium heat and sauté shallot and garlic lightly for 5 minutes.
Add the wine and reduce by half, add the cream and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the gorgonzola, asparagus (not spear top) spinach and chicken and simmer for 4 minutes until thickened.
Season well with salt and pepper and place in pre-baked tartlet cases. Add the crumbled Prosciutto, Asparagus spear on top, sprinkle over parmesan and place in the oven for 5-7 minutes.

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This Chinese Crispy Salt And Chilli Chicken Wings Recipe Is Perfect For A Night In

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | May 11, 2013

This recipe for Chinese crispy salt and chilli chicken wings is absolutely delicious and is part of our mutant chefs alternative takeaway repertoire – her tried and tested versions of takeaway classics. So this time it’s the turn of Chinese style crispy salt and chilli chicken wings which she admits to being addicted too. So here you go. I’ll be making them this weekend and I’ll let you know how they go down.

Marinade
50ml Sake (you can use dry sherry or white wine)
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp chopped fresh garlic
1 level tsp Chinese 5 spice
Good pinch of salt and white pepper
About 12 Chicken wings
4 heaped tbsp Cornflour (may need a little extra if wings are big)
1 egg
1 red Chilli (diced)
1 Onion (sliced)
½ Green pepper (sliced)
2 cloves Garlic
½ tsp ginger
2 Spring onion
Sesame oil

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This Mexican Chilli Recipe Is Perfect On Baked Potato, Rice Or Chips

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | May 4, 2013

Our resident mutant chef is giving us a Mexican chilli recipe this week. I haven’t had Mexican in quite a while due to the fact that the local Mexican restaurant is poor but some proper home-made chilli put on a baked potato, rice or chips with lashings of cheese or a big platter of tortilla chips for the ultimate Nachos is proper order. Delicious. Who can resist. Especially in the sun with a beer. Here’s what our chef thinks of it:

I love chilli, it’s that real feel cook comfort food that is so versatile and super cheap to make. Its one of those dishes where you can utilise the leftovers and change it into a completely different dish. Cinnamon is the key in this Chilli, it gives depth and warmth along with a beautiful scent. Smoked paprika is also an essential, and it can be easily found in Tesco or most large supermarkets. Chilli is a great family or group dish as it is easily made in large batches, or just freeze it and enjoy a chilli hit when you feel!

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A Delicious And Simple Recipe For Thai Chilli Coconut Beef

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | April 27, 2013

Our resident food writer took off this week on short break/work/leave but kindly sent this Thai coconut beef recipe into me in time for her Saturday food slot. Unfortunately I got no background on the dish but I do cook alot of Thai food and have an unhealthy attachment to chilli’s so this is right up my street. I’m going to give it a go next week sometime. I hope you do to.

200g Beef Strips
1 can Coconut Milk
2 cups Broccoli (chopped)
1 small red Chilli (chopped)
2 cloves Garlic (chopped)
1 tsp chopped fresh Ginger
¼ cup Peanuts (dry roasted)
3 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Worcester Sauce
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
½ tsp White pepper
Pinch Salt
1 tbsp Sesame oil

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A Delicious Chilli Buckwheat Noodle Lunchbox

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | April 20, 2013

This week our resident food writer has a great suggestion for those of you looking for something healthy to eat, chilli buckwheat Soba noodles. It’s all pretty simple to cook and is ideal for taking to work or wherever rather than buying some greasy takeaway. So over to Ethna;

Trying to keep a healthy diet is hard, especially if the canteen at work or college tempts you with it’s smell of chips or fried chicken. It’s hard to not be drawn to the smell of greasy food but if you have this scrumptious meal made and ready to go then you won’t have a problem. This simple, fast and healthy food can be whipped up in no time at home and is choc-a-bloc with taste. A Buckwheat noodle based cold dish. It’s super healthy and delicious and will make your colleagues a little envious.

Serves 1
100g Buckwheat Soba noodles
3 Tofu puffs (or a wee bit of poached chicken if you prefer)
1 spring onion (sliced)
¼ cup shredded carrot
¼ cup sliced mixed peppers
½ cup torn coriander
1 edible flower of choice (I use edible primroses)
2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts
sprinkle sesame seeds (white or black)
1 wedge of lime

Dressing:
1 tsp chopped red chilli
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Sriracha (a Thai sauce made from sun ripen chillies which are ground into a smooth paste along with garlic)
1 tsp Sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp Rice vinegar

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Recipe For Chicken Breast Stuffed With Serrano Ham, Gruyere, Basil And Sun-Dried Tomatoes

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | April 13, 2013

This recipe for chicken breast stuffed with Serrano ham, Gruyere, basil and sun-dried tomatoes from our burlesque chef is a fantastic alternative to plain old chicken so what do you say? Stick around read on, get your Mediterranean on a plate, a bit of sunshine in your life. So over to you Ethna, bring it on;

Roll up, roll up! Those who are sick of the uneventful Chicken breast, feast your eyes on this speedy alternative that is stuffed with taste. By picking flavours that work so well together you can jazz up this humble white meat in a flash, even mix and matching from what you have in the fridge.

The cheese should be a hard/semi-hard cheese as you don’t want it to ooze out as soon as it starts to cook, but the sliced meat can be anything from thinly sliced Chorizo to Parma ham, even regular baked ham will taste delicious.
Think pesto, red onion marmalade or apricot jam for the softer saucy filling or improvise with your favourite chutney or relishes.
Here is one of my favourites.

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A Delicious Focaccia Bread Recipe With Basil And Tomatoes

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | April 6, 2013

A number of years ago one of our food writers sent in a recipe for Focaccia bread inspired by the food writer Nigel Slater. This time round our burlesque chef riffs off that and has conjured up a tomato and basil Focaccia bread recipe. So if you need a bit of time out and like giving things a go you couldn’t do better than get in the kitchen and try this out. It’s delicious and simple to make.

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Cod Gratin With Prawns And Mussels And Chorizo Fried Chickpeas

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | March 29, 2013

This cod gratin with prawns, mussels and chorizo fried chickpea recipe sounds complex, looks complicated but really isn’t. Cod can be a dull fish but with the addition of delicious shell fish, spicy chorizo, mellow mozzarella, lemon, rocket, spinach, pine nuts and pesto you’re talking about a sensational dish that raises the humble cod to a plate worthy of a King. I’ve never tried cooking fish this way but our resident chef has assured me that it’s magnificent and as of yet I have no reason to doubt her award winning recipes. So here you go. Lots of ingredients but a simple method.

2 Pieces of Cod fillet
½ ball of Buffalo Mozzarella
½ cup Panko (Japanese-style breadcrumb)
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tbsp Sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp Basil pesto
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts (crushed)
4 Prawns (cooked)
4 Mussels (cooked)
1 cup mixed rocket and spinach
½ tsp butter
2 slices lemon
Sea salt and black pepper
Chorizo fried chickpeas
1 small tin of chickpeas (drained)
2 inch piece of chorizo (small cubes)
1 Shallot
2 Mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
Handful coriander
Salt and pepper

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A Wonderful Posh Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | March 23, 2013

Yes, the weather is absolutely dreadful but food always makes things better so this week our mutant chef has the perfect warm, comforting, delicious dish for you to try out. A posh macaroni cheese. Best of all it’s very simple to make and will warm the cockles of your heart. So here she is:

Spring lasted about a day and now we are back to the unreliable ever changing weather. It’s either snow, sleet, rain or gale force winds or indeed a mixture of all. With this cold and miserable weather come the colds and bugs, the feelings of grogginess and downright misery. But food can change all that.

Add a bit of warmth to your day with comfort food, have a hot bath, pop on the pyjamas and slippers and settle down with a nice big plate of my posh macaroni and cheese. Oozing with lashings of cheese, rich crispy pancetta and comforting pasta, this dish is an awesome winter and Christmas lunch or a warming evening beside the fire kind of meal.

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This Pancetta, Petis Pois and Parmesan Risotto Is Very, Very Tasty

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | March 16, 2013

This week our burlesque chef gives us a classic risotto dish. If you haven’t made it before try giving it a go. It’s the perfect dish for leftovers and dinner parties. Is good value and delicious. Even better is frying the leftovers of it the next day in a pan with loads of butter. It’s divine.

The taste of Risotto resides in the absorption of the stock and wine to create a wonderful creamy dish that is both filling and full of taste. What’s more it’s infinitely versatile making it the perfect meal for whatever you’ve got hanging around in your cupboard or fridge.

I have chosen this timeless combination of pancetta, parmesan and peas which results in the right amount of bite and texture.
A few people whom I’ve spoken to about risotto have remarked that they’re a little bit intimidated by the cooking process. They’re under the impression that it can go very wrong. This is untrue. It just requires love. A lot of love. All you have to do is just check the rice every 5 minutes after the first 10 minutes to see how far along it’s cooked. Like pasta you still need to retain a nice bite. It needs to be al dente. Having said that there is a fine line between cooked and undercooked risotto.

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This Miso Soy Glazed Salmon Recipe Is Divine

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | March 9, 2013

This week we have something special from our Burlesque chef. A delicious recipe for miso soy glazed salmon that makes for a flavourful sweet and salty dish. You’re going to love it and if you don’t have miso in your cupboard go buy some. It’s one of those things that needs to make a home in your press along with the mustard, soya sauce, vinegar and good olive oil. Oh and anchovies. So here’s our chef:

It’s no secret that I adore Asian food and the majority of food that I cook will have some Asian inspired element in there somewhere.
The Japanese have an ability to create dishes that have a wonderful texture, flavour and softness especially when it comes to cooking fish and to achieve this complex balance between the flavourings that define their cuisine and the essence of the ingredients – without over complicating and drowning the meat – is a wonderful technique. This miso glazed salmon is the perfect example.

I have used this Japanese inspired glaze with Salmon steaks as they hold firmly together but it will work equally as well with Salmon darnes, tuna steak and firm white fish. Try this served with a little bit of wasabi on the side. The sharpness intensifies through the softness of the Miso. It’s really delicious!

Serves 2

Marinade:
2 salmon Steaks
1 tbsp Miso Paste (White)
2 tbsp Shoyu Soy Sauce
1 level tsp Brown Sugar

Glaze:
1 tbsp Miso Paste (White)
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
6 tbsp Water
3 tbsp Shoyu Soy sauce
2 tbsp Sake (Japanese Rice Wine)
1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar

Mix all marinade ingredients together and rub into fish. Place in fridge and leave for 30 minutes.
In a saucepan, add the water, soy and sugar and reduce by half. Add the sake, miso and vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes.
Place the fish on a baking tray and brush with glaze on each side.
Cook at 180°c for approx 10 minutes, glazing twice through time and once before cooking.
Enjoy with baby potatoes, salad or vegetables and a Pinot Grigio.

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A Delicious Recipe For A Healthy Lemongrass, Coconut And Prawn Soup

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | March 2, 2013

This week our burlesque chef gives us a delicious recipe for a lemongrass, coconut and prawn soup – a kind of Thai/Vietnamese fusion – that’s full of the goodness of garlic, ginger, coconut and various other beneficial herbs and spices. Perfect for beating away the post-winter colds and flu’s.

In Asia, popular fast food joints serve these delicious steaming hot bowls of liquid – renowned for their health benefits - as the fast lunch option, a huge difference to our burgers and chips. The Asian diet is known for being one of the worlds healthiest, and it is not hard to see why.

Delicious lemongrass gives a wonderful freshness to this broth and the creaminess of the coconut against the chilli wakens up your taste buds with exotic flavour.
This is perfect for entertaining is a one pot wonder dish. It can be made in one big batch and held before adding the prawns and, if you fancy, you can add chicken, tofu or a mix of the three.
I love my Asian soups and sometimes if I am a little more peckish I add a portion of steamed rice of noodles to bulk it up to a more satisfying meal.

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A Delicious Recipe For Chinese Style Singapore Fried Rice

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | February 23, 2013

Our resident food writer has another delicious recipe for you this week – a wonderful way to use leftovers in your fridge. And I just want to congratulate her on winning the Irish Gold medal at the Catex Gastro Pub Chef of the Year this week. Fantastic.So here you go, her riff on a classic take-away dish, Singapore noodles.

This has been one of my favourite Chinese takeaway dishes for years and has seen me through hangovers, comfort food loving cold nights and snuggly nights in.
I started to become addicted to this curry spiced rice, craving it most days, but alas my student budget would not allow me to indulge!
I figured it couldn’t be too hard to give it a blast myself but there was always something missing.
This recipe has taking years of trial and error and this is probably the closest that I have gotten to this carbohydrate based gold!

It is equally as good with noodles instead of rice and a wee bit of chopped ham thrown too. The veg that I usually add is a mix of peppers, onions, bean sprouts, peas and shredded carrot but you can mix and match with whatever you fancy.
It’s a great, tasty and fast way to use up any leftover rice you have in the fridge. You’ll be whipping up a Chinese classic in no time.

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A Coq Au Vin Recipe That Brings Love To The Table

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | February 15, 2013

Today our wonderful resident cook gives us a classic French dish for a wonderful weekend of comfort so if you’ve never tried it go for it. It’s divine in its simplicity. You just have to add the love.

Coq Au Vin is a classic French braised dish that is sure to warm the cockles of your heart and is the perfect dish to cook this Valentines weekend (because let’s make it last that little bit longer!). French food, the proclaimed ‘Food of Love’, always brings umm’s and aah’s to the dinner table as it’is generally indulgent with no hold back on any fat laden ingredients such as butter and cream. However, this French Classic is not the calorific shock that may be expected despite the fact that real butter is essential for the taste.

So, why not plan a little French themed evening this weekend. This dish is really easy to pop together and you can even make extra and freeze it for a little midweek indulgence. Plus it’s an excuse to crack open a bottle of Burgundy.

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A Delicious Recipe For Laksa, A Classic Malaysian Soup That’ll Keep You Wanting More

moray mair | Recipes from a mutant kitchen | February 12, 2013

This week our burlesque chef has one of the most delicious soups in the World, the Malaysian classic. Laksa.
This is the King of Soups, a meal in itself and is one of my favourite Asian dishes. It’s hot, it’s creamy, it’s sweet and sour and its jam packed with veggies, carbohydrates and proteins! It’s a fast and delicious Asian broth to whip up and the paste will keep for up to three weeks in the fridge. You can have the egg soft boiled if you wish but it’s nice both ways!
When travelling through Asia this was my meal of choice. It’s almost like their version of what a hot bowl of stew is for us Irish.

There are loads of variations of this dish throughout South East Asia ranging from fish packed broths to spicy soups containing all sorts of innards from various animals! I tend to stick to either chicken, prawn, tofu or a mix of all three.
Healthy, quick and a taste that is so good I promise you’ll crave for it regularly!

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