Good Old Fashioned Lasagne Recipe.

Ciao Miei Amici!

Welcome back to my recipe blog, I hope you have had a good Easter and have upheld the religious tradition of stuffing yourselves with chocolate eggs whilst watching a James Bond film!

I have had an excellent weekend of eating great food at Digbeth Dining Club, Drinking fantastic cocktails at a bar in Birmingham called The Jeckyl and Hyde. ( I can highly recommend the Turkish delight cocktail!) and cooking this Lasagne recipe for a very special dinner guest. ( I can't tell you, it's a secret!)

I've always loved making lasagne, its not a lot of fuss really and is always a winner for easy-eating dinner. The way I do it takes a little time and I do like to do the construction part of it the day before I cook it off as I find this helps all of the different parts of it relax into each other overnight, the lasagne sheets soak up some of the liquid from the ragu (the meat sauce) and the creamy bechamel, so it's easier to slice into portions when cooked and doesn't fall apart.

The recipe I'm showing you today doesn't use any cheese. This is partly because the person I was sharing it with doesn't like cooked cheese (I know!) and, besides, genuine lasagne doesn't contain any cheese. To be honest, I do usually grate Parmesan or Pecorino cheese into the ragu and a nice thick layer all over the top, but I aim to please with my cooking so I've left out the cheese from the ragu and used a classic Italian crumb for the top which is just a mixture of breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, olive oil and lemon juice.




So without further ado, lets cook!

Lasagne Recipe ( part 1, creamy bechamel sauce.)

Equipment:

2 Medium saucepans.

Measuring jug.

Wooden spoon.

Balloon whisk.

Ingredients:

1 smallish red onion, topped and tailed, papery skin removed.

1 good tablespoon of butter.

1 heaped tablespoon of plain flour.

400ml of whole milk.

3 bay leaves.

5 whole cloves.

A good pinch of white pepper.

A good pinch of salt.

Method:

Put the milk in one of the saucepans and then fix the bay leaves to the onion using the cloves as drawing pins.

Pop the studded onion into the milk and heat until its just about to boil, then remove from the heat and allow to infuse and go cold for about an hour.

When the infused milk has cooled, remove the onion from the milk and take the bay leaves and cloves off. The onion can then be used in the beef ragu.

 

 The bechamel sauce is best made after the beef ragu is done, so it doesn't go to gloopy or form a skin, so do the next part when the ragu is finished.

In the second saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat.

roux.

Add the flour to the melted butter and mix together well to make a roux.












Allow the roux to cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly to prevent it sticking.


Add a splash of the infused milk and stir constantly, don't worry too much if it goes a bit lumpy at first, as you gradually add more of the milk you can start using your whisk and all the lumps will disappear.

Add the milk, a little at a time until you get a smooth white bechamel. When you have whisked all the milk in your sauce should be about the thickness of double cream. If it's too thick, you can add some fresh milk to it to thin it out.Have a little taste and season with white pepper and a pinch of salt.

 

 

Minced Beef Ragu Recipe:

 

 Equipment:

Large saucepan.

Frying pan.

Ingredients:

500g of quality minced beef.

2 medium carrots, finely diced, or grated, if you prefer.


A good handful of finely sliced celery.( I use the bottom part of the celery as I find it has a more gutsy flavour.)

2 smallish red onions, finely diced.

1 tin of chopped tomatoes.

2 plump cloves of garlic, finely sliced.

2 tablespoons of tomato puree.

a few sprigs of dried thyme.

3 slices of  thick cut smoked back bacon, or 5 slices of smoked streaky bacon.

A bottle of robust red wine.

1 star anise. ( you don't have to use this, but I find it gives the lasagne a nice subtle aniseed flavour that goes really well with the mince and the wine.)

1 tablespoon of beef stock granules, or 2 beef stock cubes.

Olive oil.

Salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Method:

Put the large saucepan on the stove over a low to medium heat with a splash of olive oil.

Cut the bacon slices into lardons ( just a posh name for diced bacon really!) and chuck them in the pan. Gently fry for 5 minutes until it just starts to take on a little colour. and add the diced onions. ( one fresh one and the one you used to make the bechamel.)

Saute the bacon and onions for about 5 minutes, if anything starts to stick to the pan then add a splash of the red wine to stop it burning onto the bottom.

Add the diced, or grated, carrot to the pan and give it all a good mix round. cook for another 5 minutes then add the fine sliced celery and the sliced garlic.

Pop in the star anise, the thyme sprigs (you can either rub the leaves off the woody stems between the palms of your hands or throw the lot in, stems and all, then fish out the stems later on.)
 and beef stock or stock cubes, again, if anything starts to stick, loosen it with another splash of the wine.

Let the mix cook gently while you do the beef mince.

The mince is best done in a separate pan as if you just put it in with the bacon and veg mix it will boil rather than fry, you can put it straight in if you want, but I prefer the texture of the mince when it has been dry-fried separately, you get nice, browned mince and a more interesting texture to the ragu.

Heat a frying pan, with no oil, to medium and put the mince in in one piece, like a giant square hamburger.

Brown on one side for a few minutes before turning it over to brown the other side.
When it has browned on both sides start to break it up  along the grain of the mince.










Continue to fry until it's browned all over and looks like
a panfull of worms! Then add the mince to the bacon and veg mix and slosh a little wine into the frying pan to de-glaze, give it a bit of a scrape to get all the little crunchy bits of beef and add to the saucepan.

Add the rest of the wine, apart from a small glass full to add at the end.

Then add the tomato puree, the tin of tomatoes and about 150 ml of water.






Bring up to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours, If you are using the star anise then fish it out after about an hour. Let the sauce reduces down to a nice thick meaty ragu, giving it a stir every now and then. If you are going to cook it the day after then you don't want it to be too thick so that when you layer up the lasagne the pasta sheets will soak up the juices. When you're satisfied that its just the right consistency add the last bit of wine and season with black pepper and a little salt, if you need it, and you're done!

Building the lasagne:

I use a 5 inch x 8 inch x 3 inch ceramic gratin dish to bake my lasagne in but you can use a roasting tin if you want, whatever you normally use.




Start with a little bechamel sauce spread over the bottom, then a layer of lasagne sheets so it just covers the bechamel. Then a layer of the ragu. Its really up to you from here on but I like to do another layer of pasta, then bechamel, then ragu and so on. As long as there is enough bechamel to cover the top at the end you're laughing!

 Don't be tempted to use too many lasagne sheets as the pasta will expand overnight to fill the the dish as it soaks up the juices. Cover with tin foil and stick it in the fridge.

To make the Italian crumb topping then just mix together about 6 tablespoons of dry breadcrumbs, a good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped, a glug of olive oil and a decent squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

To bake the lasagne:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees c / gas mark 4.

take the lasagne out of the fridge about half an hour before you want to bake it.

Put the lasagne dish on a baking tray, still covered with the foil, on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.

Take the lasagne out of the oven, remove the foil and either add grated cheese ( a good strong cheddar is nice, or Parmesan, or even a mix of the two.) if you are making the Italian crumb then sprinkle that over the top.

Return the lasagne to the oven, without the foil, for about another 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sauce is just oozing over the sides of the dish.

Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before portioning it up.

I serve mine with just a simple dressed green salad, a few chunks of baby plum tomatoes and some home made garlic bread, oh, and a good bottle of red wine. Italian, naturally!

Well, once again, thanks for reading. I know everyone has their own way of doing lasagne but next time you do one, give this recipe a try. It really does add a whole new level of flavour to a very popular dish!

My next blog is going to be a bit different from usual as this weekend I'll be helping my mate Andy Stubbs of "Low n' slow" American style barbecue prep and serve up for a special "pop-up" night he's doing next Monday at a bar in Birmingham. I'll be sharing with you some of his secrets to the best barbecue food in the midlands so don't miss it!

Until then, friends,

Happy cooking!

 

Mat.

 

 

 

Mexican Churros With Three Sweet Dips!

Welcome Once Again To My Recipe Blog, Fellow Foodies!

This week, inspired by my visit to "Phat Pac's Mexican Diner" I did the review about last week, I thought you might like to have a go at a classic Mexican sweet treat, with some really easy to make dips I came up with.
Churros are gorgeous light finger doughnuts, Dusted with vanilla sugar. They're served all over the place in Mexico and are eaten at any time of day. At breakfast, dipped in hot chocolate, as a midday snack with strong coffee or as a tea-time treat.
The main difference with them to doughnuts is that they contain no yeast, so don't require any proving.

The first time I made them was for Mexican night at the Bank Bar ( We did a special night every month there, from Indian to "new European", and they always sold out. In fact, we were usually fully booked a month in advance, before people even knew what we were cooking! ).
 I was amazed at how unusual the method for making them is, and how easy they are to cook. You have to be a bit careful when you're frying them as you have to get close to hot oil with your hands. I've used a deep fat fryer for mine but you can get just as good results using a wok, the temperature is easier to control with a deep fat fryer but, if you have got a temperature probe to monitor the oil in the wok, then they should turn out just as crispy on the outside and light and fluffy in the middle.

The three dips I'm doing for you are ridiculously easy! and they go perfectly with the Churros.

So, lets start with the Churros recipe:

Equipment:

 

Deep fat fryer, or wok, or deep sided frying pan.

Medium sized saucepan.

Piping bag with wide "star" nozzle.

Wooden spoon.

Measuring jug. ( to use when spooning the mixture into the piping bag.)

Digital Temperature probe. ( If not using a deep fat fryer.)

2 Mixing bowls.

micro-plane or fine grater for zesting the lime.

Metal tongs.

clean, dry tea towel, or kitchen roll for draining.

Ingredients: ( makes about 20 Churros.)

225ml of cold water.

Zest of one lime ( not shown in picture, but I'm sure you know what lime-zest looks like!)

145g of butter.

140g of plain flour.

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

3 eggs.

1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Vanilla sugar, for dusting.

Vegetable oil, for frying, if not using a deep fat fryer.

Method:

 Put the water and the lime zest in the saucepan on the stove and bring to a boil.

 

 

Once boiled, add the butter and stir until the butter melts.

Remove from heat and add the flour, vanilla extract and cinnamon and beat together with the wooden spoon until the mixture looks like mashed potato.




















Add one egg to the mixture and beat until smooth, then do the same for the second egg, Then finally, add the third egg and beat that in too. you should now have a nice, shiny,  reasonably thick batter.

Turn on the deep fat fryer and set the temperature to 170 degrees c. Or, if using a wok, pour enough of the vegetable oil in for it to be about 1 inch deep, then bring up to 170 degrees, checking it with your probe.
Allow the batter to cool for 15 minutes then get your piping bag, with the nozzle in! ( Yep, I've got to this stage before and put the batter in the bag without the nozzle, then had to squeeze it all out and start over again!)
Put the piping bag in your measuring jug and open out the wide end over the sides of the measuring jug.
Then spoon half of the batter into the bag.(you can put in all of the batter if you have a large enough bag, but i like to do it in two halves as it is easier to control when piping into the oil.)






( This next step is the tricky part as you have to get the nozzle as close to the oil in the fryer or wok as you can. It was also impossible to take photographs of me doing this as I had both my hands full of piping bag!)

Lift the piping bag full of batter out of the measuring jug and twist the wide end round until the batter is just about to squeeze out of the nozzle.

Now, hold the piping bag over the oil with the nozzle as close to it as you dare. Then give a good firm squeeze and draw a line with the batter towards you, about 4 inches in length. Hold the nozzle steady when you have drawn the line then gently lift up so the batter breaks off. (it may take a couple of attempts to do this neatly, but don't worry too much about the first few, I hadn't made these for a while and it took me a few before i got them nice and neat.)
 The batter will sink in the oil for a moment then will rise up, puff out and start to fry. Do about 4 at a time as you don't want to overcrowd the oil,  or reduce the temperature too much.

my first attempt, not very neat!

second attempt, much better!

As soon as the Churros rise to the top of the oil, flip them over, to seal both sides. you'll need to turn them over a few times to get them evenly browned all over. They should take about 5-6 minutes to be perfectly cooked.
 When they are nicely golden brown all over, remove them one at a time from the oil with the metal tongs and place on the tea towel or kitchen roll to drain, then repeat the method for the next batch.

Whist the second batch is frying put the first batch in a mixing bowl and sprinkle generously with the vanilla sugar, then remove to a plate.

Repeat the draining and the sprinkling with sugar process for the next batch and repeat until  all of the batter is used up, fried, drained and sparkling with the vanilla sugar.

And that's your Churros done!


Now for the dips. I have made three very different dips to go with these gorgeous little Churros, a chocolate and chilli one, a pineapple and lime one, and a "Dulce De Leche" one.

If you are going to make the Dulce de Leche one, then I should make it a few hours before you start making the Churros.
Dulce de leche is basically a tin of condensed milk, gently boiled in the UNOPENED  tin to make a fantastic toffee coloured caramel. Its the stuff used in banoffee pies and is absolutely divine. You can buy it in tins already done but I wanted to try doing it myself as I had never done it before. All I did was as follows:

Fill a large saucepan with cold water, place the UNOPENED tin of condensed milk, on its side, in the water and gently bring to the boil, once its boiling, turn the heat down to medium so it just gently bubbles.( I've got to say, at this point, that it does state on the tin of condensed milk "DO NOT BOIL THE UNOPENED TIN AS EXPLOSION MAY OCCUR"!  but I thought, well, you only live once don't you! so I gave it a go, and I'm still alive and well to tell the tale.)

You just have to make sure you keep topping the water up so it covers the tin, and only have it gently bubbling. Do it like this for 2 and a half hours, remove from the water and allow to fully cool, then, when you open the tin, it will look like this!

  The chocolate and chilli dip is much quicker (and safer!) to make. You can make it without the chilli flakes if you want but the recipe I've done here doesn't make it spicy, it just adds a tiny little kick to the sauce.

Chocolate and chilli dipping sauce Recipe:

Equipment:

Plastic or glass measuring jug.

Microwave, set on defrost.

Ingredients:

100g of good dark chocolate (70% cocoa) broken up into pieces.

100ml whole milk.

A good pinch of chilli flakes.

2 tablespoons of butter.

Method:

Put the milk and the chocolate in the measuring jug and microwave on defrost until the chocolate has just melted ( about 4 minutes.) Add the chilli flakes and the butter and whisk together until you get a smooth, shiny sauce. It needs to be quite runny so it will coat the Churros nicely when you dip them in and that's it!!! told you it was easy!

Lastly then, my favourite dip of the three. Its sweet and fruity, has a nice tartness from the lime juice and easy-peasy!

Pineapple and lime dipping sauce:

 

Eqipment:

Medium sized saucepan.

Stick blender. ( hand blender.)

measuring jug.

 

Ingredients:

1 tin of pineapple chunks, or pieces, in light syrup. ( you can use fresh pineapple if you like, but you'll need to add sugar and water to it to get the same taste so I'd stick to a cheap tin if I were you.)

Juice of 1 lime.

100ml water.

Method:

Put the pineapple chunks, along with the syrup from the tin in a saucepan with the water.

Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.

Put the pineapple chunks and the juice from the saucepan in a measuring jug and add the lime juice.

Go in with the stick blender and blitz to a smooth, slightly runny puree. (if it is too thin, return to the heat and allow to reduce for a few minutes to thicken up, remembering that it needs to be a good consistency for dipping the churros in.)

Serve the sauces alongside the Churros and you have a fantastic dessert!

I'm sure that everyone will love this heavenly dessert, especially after some nice spicy Mexican food. I'll be coming back to some great favourite Mexican mains of mine in future blogs.

By the way, if there's anything you'd like me to do the recipe for in future blogs then please don't hesitate to ask! I have a wide range of my own recipes for everything from cottage pie to "Cuban old clothes"!

and if I don't have a recipe, then I'll  have a go at anything, I'm always up for a good food challenge and always looking to expand my knowledge, so just let me know by asking me on facebook, twitter, or by commenting on the blog.

Thanks for reading and as always, I hope you have enjoyed it!

Until the next time,

Happy Cooking!

Mat.

Phat Pac's Diner Review.

Hello There Food Freaks! 

Welcome back to my review blog.

 

I've never really understood why there aren't more Mexican restaurants in small towns up and down this country of ours. I mean, if you think about it, even people who don't usually go to restaurants do, inevitably, like to go for a curry sometime, or a Chinese, don't they?
You know, a large group of friends, out for somebody's birthday, or a works "do" seem strangely drawn to Asian restaurants. Maybe the reason why it's usually one of those two, leaving aside Britain's old colonial interests, Is the fact that both Indian and Chinese food both use a lot of spice, and there's nothing better after a few beers than a nice hot spicy meal is there? It's an easy choice to make. People usually know what they're going to order before they even get to the restaurant as the food is so well known to them.

I would love to see Mexican food held in the same esteem. It has that same post-pub appeal, it's fragrant and spicy, easy to eat and sociable.It doesn't have to be tongue tinglingly hot to taste great though, the spiciness can be brought right down to really mild for people who aren't that keen on having their hats blown off!

 Phat pac's Diner  in Rugeley is the kind of place I'd like to see competing with the local curry houses and
Chineses in every town. Opened last August, it has been steadily gaining a loyal crowd of people who go again and again to sample the authentic Mexican fare on offer.
It's a simply decorated and furnished cafe-style place in amongst a row of Indian takeaways and a Wetherspoon's ( the old Plaza cinema.) on Horsefair In Rugeley.

I've been in for take-aways a couple of times as I work just up the road, and I don't think I could get through a Friday at work without my morning breakfast burrito,made fresh and delivered at 11 am.

I popped in there last Wednesday, straight from work, and still in my overalls, for a proper sit down meal. After a warm greeting from owner Theresa ( a genuine American lady from Florida who spent time living in Mexico before moving to jolly old England.)
I had a look at the menu.
There is a fine selection of street-style food on offer,
from crunchy Tacos, to pulled pork burgers and burritos and enchiladas in between. I ordered a coffee and noticed on the specials board a "quesadilla wrapped burrito" now, I'm always a sucker for an interesting sounding special so it didn't take me long to decide on that, filled with shredded chicken, and some home made sweet potato fries and homemade coleslaw on the side.
As you know, the word "homemade" is a much over used phrase in restaurants but I was informed by Theresa that absolutely everything on the menu is properly homemade, from the rubs used on the meat, to the fries and the milkshakes. She also told me that she had just that minute finished making up a batch of fresh extra hot salsa, so it seemed rude not to have my burrito with it!

We chatted whilst she prepared my food and  she told me how difficult it had been to get the diner up and running and how she works around 70-80 hours a week to keep it afloat. (the diner is open from 6am till 8pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 6am till  10pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 7am till 2pm on Sundays, and you can bet Theresa will be in there whatever time you go!.)

She didn't come to England to set up a restaurant as she is a hairdresser by trade and that's what she had been doing for years in her own salons around Rugeley and Hednesford, but after her family kept on saying she should open up a place to show off her cooking skills she decided to go for it.
 Even after all the stresses of setting up a business and working so hard to make it work I could tell Theresa still has a unwavering passion and drive to make the best food she can, she loves the food she makes and, as I always say, passion is a vital ingredient in cooking.

I took a few photos of the simple interior and popped outside for a couple of frontage shots.

When I got back inside I was presented a plate positively groaning with my dinner.
I took one look, and a couple of photos and thought "I'm never going to eat all that!"

I sampled a sweet potato chip. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, it was damned near perfect! I tried a forkful of coleslaw, lovely and crunchy, dotted with whole-grain mustard seeds, sharp and tangy with vinegar and not too much mayonnaise. Again, absolutely nothing to complain about. I dipped a chip into the homemade barbecue sauce. Smoky, spicy, sweet and sticky, no problem there!

Then I went for my quesadilla wrapped burrito. I lifted it manfully off the plate and sank my teeth in. All I can say is Wow! Delicious moist chicken in a gorgeous warming sauce, with a truly honest to goodness Mexican flavour to it, wrapped in a Monterrey jack cheese and extra hot salsa quesadilla. Honestly, one of the best burritos I've ever tasted! ( including ones I've made myself!) Then that salsa did its merry dance on my taste buds and I could feel my eyes filling up, my nose start to run and my face redden, just how I like it! The salsa was so fresh and zingy, nothing like the stuff you buy in jars from supermarkets, that I could not help but finish everything on my plate. ( I have to tell you, dear reader, that when I got home I had to loosen my belt, lie on a cold floor and rub my swollen belly for a while, gently groaning, I was so full! )

The total cost for this man-sized Mexican feast, with a coffee ( free refills on coffee too!) was just £11.50.
A total bargain in my book as, if I hadn't been quite so greedy, I could quite happily have taken half of the burrito home for another meal the next day. Fantastic value for money!

If you are reading this and thinking, yeah, I'm sure I could eat all that and have room left for dessert, then let me tell you you're in luck! Theresa also makes all her own puds! (quite rare in any restaurant these days.)

When I was there she had a lovely looking key lime pie, a gloriously rich pecan pie, chocolate fudge cake and a couple of others that I simply couldn't look at because of my gluttony.
And, to go further still, if you're wondering "I'm a big eater, do they do any man v food style challenges?" then the answer again is a resounding yes!

You can take the burrito challenge, which is (sharp intake of breath!) 3 ultimate burritos, cheesy nachos, hot salsa and a homemade milkshake, which you need to finish in under an hour to get it for free.

The pulled pork challenge, half a kilo of pulled pork, 5 portions of chips and 5 coleslaw, in under 53 minutes.

or the hot wings, 25 winglets in extra hot sauce in under 15 minutes.

Each challenge is £25 if you don't finish it in time, there were a couple of photos on the board so obviously it can be done!

One last thing as if you weren't tempted enough, you can take your own booze to Phat Pac's Diner! just like a lot of Indian places are doing these days, so grab a bottle of Tequila, a few bottles of Sol and get yourself down to Phat Pac's to fill your belly with delicious Mexican food!

Well, thanks for reading peeps, I hope you have enjoyed it! My next recipe blog is inspired by my visit to Phat Pac's as I'm going to be making little Mexican donuts called "churros" with some sweet dips. keep your eyes peeled for it, I'm doing the cooking tomorrow (Sunday) so the recipe will be published early next week.

Until then,

Happy Eating!

Mat.

 

 

 

Thai Fish Curry and Sticky Rice.

Hello again blog buddies!

This week I fancied cooking something a bit different for the recipe blog and, as I haven't done any fish dishes yet, I thought I'd share with you a dead easy recipe for a Thai style curry using one of my favorite fish, Hake.

To be honest, I've never done this recipe with fish before, I have done it many times with chicken, or oriental veg ( mini corn, water chestnuts, shittake mushrooms etc.) but I spotted some nice looking steaks of hake on my trip over to Caldmore Road in Walsall at the weekend so I thought I'd give them a Thai makeover and I've got to say I am very pleased with the results!

Pakora selection.

You can actually use any kind of fish in this recipe, from salmon to cod, sea bass to monkfish, whatever you fancy! I'm using Hake though as it has a great mild flavoured creamy firm white flesh which holds its shape well when cooking and only has a large central bone so no picking stray needle-bones out whilst you eat. Its usually pretty cheap as well, compared to cod or salmon, and its sustainable so no worries about the impact on the environment!

There are a couple of unusual ingredients in this curry which may be difficult to get from your average supermarket, but I've written down some alternatives if you can't get hold of them. On the subject of that I'd like to ask you to go and find yourself a good Asian supermarket. Where I live, in Cannock, the closest Asian supermarket to me is in Walsall, on Caldmore Road, known locally as "karma". It's a great place to get all of your curry ingredients as there are quite a few Asian shops along the road, as well as a few genuine Polish shops and Caribbean shops. There are also some fantastic little Indian sweet shops and shops selling dozens of different types of genuine authentic treats like pakora and freshly made samosas. I'm going to be doing a blog on "Karma" in a couple of weeks as its a fantastic place to shop for all curry-lovers!

Right then, lets get down to business!

Thai Fish Curry ( 2 good portions, with sauce left over.)

Equipment:

Food processor or stick blender.

Wok or deep frying pan.

Ingredients:

2 Whole steaks of Hake, approx 400g, or 400g of boned skinless salmon steaks, cut into large 2-bitesized pieces or whatever fish you fancy!

5 spring onions, including green stems, roughly chopped.

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped.

1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped.

1 large bunch of fresh coriander, including stems, roughly chopped.

2 table spoons of fish sauce.( nam pla.)

3 fresh birds-eye chillis, roughly chopped. ( you can use more if you like it spicy, or remove the seeds for a milder curry.)

1 teaspoon coriander powder, or you can grind your own coriander seeds.

1 teaspoon turmeric powder.

A handful of basil leaves, picked from the stems.

1/2 a teaspoon of shrimp paste, or an extra slosh of fish sauce if you cant get hold of any shrimp paste.

1 tablespoon of "gur shakar" ( unrefined Indian brown sugar.) Or Jaggery goor. ( a different type of indian solid sugar.) ( either of these sugars is great as they have a really treacley taste. They both come in solid blocks and are available at Asian supermarkets.) OR palm sugar, or soft brown sugar if you cant get any of those.

Juice and zest of half a lime.

1 sweet red pepper, de-seeded and cut into a medium dice.

1 regular tin (or 2 small tins ) of coconut milk.

200g of chestnut mushrooms, sliced.

A splash of vegetable or sunflower oil.

Method:

 Chuck the stem parts and half of the coriander leaves along with all of the ingredients, apart from the fish, mushrooms and red pepper dice into your food processor or into a jug to blend with a stick blender and whizz up together.

 

You may have to stop the processor a couple of times to scrape down any non-blended ingredients.

Heat the splash of oil ( this is the only fat you will need for this curry, it's very light and healthy!) in the wok or frying pan and add half of the curry sauce. The rest of the sauce can be frozen to use when you like in the
future.

Bring to the boil, then add the mushrooms, diced pepper and fish.

Bring back to the boil, then turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, Turn the Hake over half way through the simmering. ( if you're using salmon or cod  it will only take about 5-8 minutes, so put in the mushrooms and pepper dice first, then the fish 5 minutes later.)

Have a taste. you can change the character of the curry by adding a bit more fish sauce, or more lime juice to sharpen it up, or more sugar, or more chillis if you like it hot hot hot!


Add a few more chopped coriander leaves and you're done!

Sticky Thai Rice:

You can get Thai sticky rice from most supermarkets these days, It's simple to cook as it comes part-cooked and then dried. allow about 60g of dried rice per person and add 125ml of water per portion, bring to the boil, cover and remove from the heat and allow to stand for about 15 minutes to absorb the water, then serve with the curry and a wedge of lime.

And that's it! Sit back, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

There you go then fellow food-lovers. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week for another recipe blog.

Watch out for my latest review blog which will be published on Friday 11th April, It's a review of Phat Pacs Mexican Diner in Rugeley!

Until then, 

Happy Cooking!

 

Mat.