Shakshuka is a  Middle Eastern dish which can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. My version may not be authentic, however I decided to use what was left over in the fridge before my weekly grocery shop.

This dish is not only delicious but it also only calls for a few ingredients, making it an affordable meal.

Serves approx. 1-2 people
Takes approx. 15 min to cook.

Ingredients

1/2 tin of tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic
handful of chopped coriander
1/4 tsp chilli powder
salt
pepper
1 tbsp. sunflower oil
2 eggs
pinch of sugar

Method

Firstly blend your tomatoes in a food processor until smooth. Thereafter finely chop the onion, garlic and green pepper and add to a pan of heated sunflower oil,  cook this on a medium high heat until soft. At this stage you can add in the tomatoes as well as the sugar and chilli powder. Stir thoroughly adding in the salt & pepper to your taste, cook on medium high heat until the oil reaches the surface. Turn the heat down to low if you think the sauce is drying out or add a little water and stir. Now crack in the eggs and turn the heat down to low, place a lid on the pan and cook the eggs to your liking. Finally sprinkle on the chopped coriander and serve.

Tips

1. Adding a pinch of sugar helps counter acts the acidity of the tomatoes
2. You can use fresh tomatoes instead of tinned.
3. Add a little water to thin out the sauce if its reducing too quickly.

A Foodie day in London

A couple of weeks ago I decided to take a day trip to London for my birthday (with family). I love London as it such a diverse city with a vast selection of places to eat and different cuisines to try out. This post is mainly just an overview of some of the places I visited with brief reviews. I hope you enjoy reading and looking through some of the snaps.

Firstly, we had breakfast at Balthazar in Covent Garden. I decided to go here due to the location and the reviews online.

                                                   4-6 Russell Street, London, WC2B 5HZ


The location is only a few minutes away from the tube station which was ideal as by the time we had reached Covent Garden the five of us were really hungry and couldn't wait to get some breakfast.

                                                   

We decided to order some tea and coffee to start, which I must say, we were not overly impressed with. For our actual breakfast we had 'eggs as you wish' so we chose scrambled, almond waffles, avocado on toast with a poached egg and New York pancakes.

Everything was absolutely delicious. The scrambled eggs were probably the best Ive ever had and the service was excellent. I would definitely recommend visiting Balthazar and I will surely be having breakfast there again. If you want to check out the menu and prices etc you can visit their website http://balthazarlondon.com/menus.

After all that good food we were ready to visit the winter wonderland in Hyde Park. We only spent about an hour there and decided to move on to do some shopping on Oxford Street before heading to Burgeri for a spot of lunch.

                                            22 Great Marlborough St Soho London W1F 7HU

OK, so this was a contrast to the dining experience at breakfast. As expected from a burger place, it was much more laid back and casual. I decided to go for the 'B Special' burger with a side of onion rings and my hubby opted for the 'B Mushroom Melt'. I found my burger to be quite tasteless and the onion rings were not anything special. Maybe if they were 'home made' they would have been better. Having said that, the ' B Mushroom Melt' tasted much better and did have flavor. For drinks I had the 'Fifty Fifty' (half iced tea and half lemonade) which tasted more like lemonade with a hint of tea and not fifty fifty as its name would suggest.

Overall, I probably would not go back to Burgeri as I didn't find the burger to be as flavorful as I would have liked, however, for Central London I don't think its badly priced and it was very busy so I think there are many people that do enjoy the food here. You can find their menu and prices on their website http://burgeri.co.uk/


So after a little more shopping, we headed back to Covent Garden and stopped for some coffee and a rest as all the walking had our feet aching.We didn't actually know where we had stopped until we had sat down and ordered some drinks. The Charles Dickens Cafe was a cute corner cafe and provided us with some much needed rest and a few drinks.

                                               26 Wellington Street, London, WC2E 7DD

Finally, before dinner we walked around Covent Garden and enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights and visited a few more shops.

For dinner, we had made a reservation as Talli Joes for 7pm, however, we arrived early at 6.15pm and they seated us straight away which was lovely as it meant we could finish earlier and head home.

Our waitress advised us to order 3 half plates per person. Furthermore, as some dishes may be spicier than others she also advised us to order some yogurt to have with the spicier dishes. We decided to go on this recommendation and ordered all our dishes x 3. Below is the list of things we had ordered:

• Chana Jor Garam (really tasty, spicy and tangy)
• Kale Chaat (the best thing we ordered, I could have had a few bowls of this. A must try!)
• Kolhapuri Chaap (1 Lamb Chop per order, I didn't like this as I prefer my lamp chop dry but tender, this had a lot of masala)
• Bohri Chicken (Really strong flavors, so I felt the fenugreek flatbread didn't really go with this dish, a plain bread would have worked better) 
• Wild Mushroom Khichri with Organic Pickled Eggs (this was somewhat like a dish my mums makes called Haleem, I was not a fan of this but some of my family did enjoy this dish)
• Pineapple Spice Mocktail (refreshing and a twist on a normal pineapple juice)
• 3-4 Parathas (sides are not on their menu which I found a bit odd) 
  

Overall, I was not impressed with the food at Talli Joes. I don't think the whole tapas and Indian food work well together. Having said that, the restaurant seems very popular and busy. The food was very strong in flavor (too strong I would say) and apart from the Kale Chaat which I loved the rest of the food was not to my liking.

I personally prefer a lighter atmosphere when going out for dinner and it was very loud and stuffy, which I guess you have to be in the mood for. I also found the service to be a little overbearing. This is only my opinion and as mentioned before this place was very busy and I have had others tell me how much they love eating here.

As with all the places mentioned you can view their menu, prices and full address online http://www.tallijoe.com/


On the whole I had a great day out in London as always and hopefully will be back there soon.

CHICKEN LASAGNE (GLUTEN FREE LASAGNE SHEETS)

This recipe is by no means a traditional lasagne as its made with small pieces of chicken instead of minced beef. I would say it is much lighter not only due to the choice of meat but also because of the gluten free pasta.

Serves approx 4
Takes approx 1 hour to make.

Ingredients
1 chicken breast (cut into small pieces)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 carrot (finely chopped)
9 sheets of gluten free lasagne
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped or crushed)
few sprigs of tyme
salt
pepper
1 tsp of dried herbs
dash of Worcester sauce
4 tbs of sunflower oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/2 tsp corriander powder
1 tbs of tomato puree
200g of cheddar cheese (grated)
4 cups of milk
3 heaped tbs of cornflour

Method
Chop up all ingredients to begin with then heat up a large pan with 2 tbs of sunflower oil, to this add the chopped carrots and onion and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and chicken and keep stirring on a high heat until the meat is no longer pink, now add some salt, pepper and all the spices & herbs listed above. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, Worcester sauce and stir well. At this point add approx 1/4 cup of water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover for 15 min.

Whilst the chicken is cooking you can get started with the bechamel sauce. Add 2 tbs of sunflower oil to a pan and to this add the cornflour, cook this on high heat for 1 min and you should notice it forming a paste. At this stage add 1 cup of milk and whisk vigorously until the paste melts away. Quickly add the rest of the milk and whisk until it is the consistency of double cream. Take this off the heat and add some salt, pepper and 50g of the cheese.

Pre Heat the oven to 180oc

Take the chicken off the heat and take a oven proof dish that can fit 3 sheets of lasagne at a time. In a large bowl add some boiling water and place 3 sheets of lasagne and soak for 2 min. Once the sheets have soaked in the water add this to the oven proof dish and spoon over some of the chicken mixture and some bechamel sauce. Continue this until you have 3 layers with the final layer having  both sauces on the top. Now add the grated cheese all over and place into the oven at 180oc for approx 30 min and the dish should be golden brown and bubbling.

Enjoy with some salad or any accompaniment of your choice.

PAD THAI WITH BAMBOO SHOOTS & VEG

I decided to cook this as its a quick dish to make after a busy day at work. I used pre packed stir fry vegetables as I like to keep this to hand for those days that I don't want to be chopping and slicing vegetables myself.

Few key points to remember when making any stir fry dish is to have all your ingredients prepared and ready as you will be cooking on a high heat and you would need to work fast. I would also highly recommend tasting as you go along as I always feel I need to add an extra squeeze of lemon or a pinch  of chilli flakes etc.You can also easily add some chicken or prawns to the dish before adding your vegetables.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
325g flat rice noodles (quick cook)
325g bag of stir fry veg
1/2 tin of sliced bamboo shoots
2 spring onions (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 tbs chopped corriander
2 tbs oyster sauce
4 tbs dark soy sauce
2 tbs teriyaki sauce
1 tbs tamarind sauce
2 tbs boiling water
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp Chilli flakes
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 egg (beaten)
2 tbs sunflower oil

Method
In a bowl mix together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, tamarind sauce, chilli flakes, sesame oil, sugar, lemon juice and water. Keep this aside for later, in the meantime heat up the sunflower in oil in a large wok and add the garlic. Soon as you can smell the garlic aroma, add the stir fry vegetables and keep mixing on high heat for a few minutes or until the veg is part cooked. Now add the beaten egg and stir until the egg is cooked. At this point stir in the bamboo shoots then set aside.

Follow the instructions on the noodles packet and be sure not to over cook. My noodles took approx 4 minutes and only required soaking in boiling water. Once you have the noodles ready add this to the veg mixture and place the wok back on a high heat and stir in the sauce mixture from earlier. Finally, add the coriander and spring onions.

chicken & vegetable pie

I've recently come back from my trip to Marrakesh (for which I will be doing a blog post with pictures etc) and to address my post holiday blues I wanted to cook something easy and comforting and a chicken pie fit the bill. This recipe was a hit with my 2 year old son which is great as it meant we all ate the same meal.

Tip: Use up any vegetables you have as this recipe is very adaptable.

Serves approx 4
Pre heat the oven to 200oc

Ingredients 
1 chicken breast (cut into small cubes)
500g frozen puff pastry (thawed)
2 medium sized onions (finely chopped)
1 large carrot (cut into small cubes)
7 pieces frozen broccoli
2 tbs frozen sweetcorn
1 tbs frozen mixed peppers
4-5 large button mushrooms
2-3 tbs double cream
400ml stock (veg or chicken)
2 crushed garlic cloves
squeeze of lemon
2 tsp coarse black pepper
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/3 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp crushed chilli flakes
1 tbs dried mixed herbs
pinch of salt
2 tbs sunflower oil
2 tbs plain flour

Method
Cut the chicken breast into small bit sized cubes and place into a bowl. Add the crushed garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, black pepper, lemon juice, turmeric, chilli powder and chilli flakes to the chicken and mix well.

Take out a large pot and add the sunflower oil and place on a high heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot's and mushrooms. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and translucent. To this, add the chicken and stir for about 2 min and then turn the heat to medium and cover for approx 5 min. Ensure you keep checking the mixture and stir to prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan. The chicken should be cooked now and at this point add all the frozen vegetables and bring the heat back up to high and stir for a further 2 min. Cover and leave until the veg is cooked through.

Add the plain flour at this stage and stir thoroughly. Add the 400ml of stock and cream and stir. You will notice the mixture will start to thicken, continue to stir until the mixture has the same consistency as double cream (maybe slightly thicker). Take the pot off the heat and stir in the dried herbs, taste to ensure you don't need any more salt or pepper. Allow to cool before rolling out the pastry.

Once the mixture has cooled down, roll out the pastry to cover your pie dish, I used a rectangular pie dish that serves approx 4 people. Empty the pie mixture into your dish and cover with the pastry. Make a small piercing in the center to allow steam to escape. Cook in the oven at 200oc for approx 35 min or until the pastry is golden brown.

Garlic & Thyme Mushrooms

I usually make these mushrooms at the weekend to go with a fry up. They are super easy to make and goes really well on some toasted ciabatta too.

Serves 2

Ingredients

300g portobello mushrooms
2 sprigs of thyme (removed from stalk)
1 large clove of garlic (finely shopped)
2 tbs sunflower oil
himalayan pink salt
coarse black pepper
squeeze of lemon

Method

Slice the mushrooms as thick or thin as you like and place into a non stick pan with the sunflower oil. Fry on high heat and stir for about 2 minutes or until it has started to wilt.

At this point add the finely chopped garlic and bring the heat down to medium as you don't want the garlic to burn. keep stirring and add the salt, pepper, lemon and thyme. Take off the heat and serve.

 

Banana & Rice Flour Pancakes

I had this pancake for breakfast and opted for rice flour as it is kinder to my tummy than regular flour. They tasted great with the addition of fruit, sugar free peanut butter and melted dark chocolate.

Makes approx 6

Ingredients 

2 cups of rice flour
2 cups of almond milk
2 eggs
1 ripe banana
sunflower oil

Toppings (per pancake)

1 kiwi
1 banana
2 stawberries
1 tsp sugar free peanut butter
2 squares of 70% cocoa chocolate


Method

Slice up the fruit or prepare your own toppings and keep to one side.

Add the rice flour, almond milk, eggs and banana to a blender and blend until smooth. Now take a non stick pan and add 1/2 tbs of sunflower oil and place on a high heat. Once the pan is hot, add a ladle of the mixture and move the pan around until the mixture covers the base of the pan. I find the first pancake is always a test for you to work out how much to ladle in depending on the size of the pan.

Cook the pancake until golden on one side then flip over and cook for a few more minutes. Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle on the cooked pancake. Then add the toppings you prepared earlier, the peanut butter and enjoy.