thefoodwife – Page 55 – The Food Wife

Thai Red Curry Paste

13th August 201813th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 6 heaped tbsp

I have no qualms about using a shop-bought curry paste and Iâ€™ve normally got one or two tubs in my fridge from one of my trips to the Asian Supermarket in Bristol. In Thailand a popular brand is Mae Ploy, and you can pick a tub up (probably in your local supermarket) for just a couple of quid.

So whilst I will normally use a ready-made paste, occasionally I will make my own. Here is a recipe that can easily be whizzed up in a food processor (or for the more authentic experience it should be pounded in a pestle and mortar for a long time).

Now, you can up (or down) the chilli as you see fit. This is certainly not as hot as many but I think it has a decent kick. In order to achieve a redder colour you could add some tomato purÃ©e or include a red pepper in your paste.

Ingredients:
3 shallots, peeled and quartered
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
2 sticks of lemon grass, topped and tailed, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 red chillies, de-stalked, seeds left in and roughly chopped
30g coriander (including stalks)
1 (kaffir) lime, zest only
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander

Step 1: Blitz all ingredients in a food processor. If necessary, do so in batches and bring together at the end for a final few pulses of the machine. Alternatively you could use a pestle and mortar to crush the ingredients together.

Note that I have not included any salt. If you are doing this in a pestle and mortar you would want to add some salt to act as an abrasive to help break down the ingredients. I choose to add my salt during the cooking process, especially if I am adding fish sauce to the curry as this will provide a lot of the necessary saltiness. If you want a looser paste, a little water could be added to help things along.

Any unused paste can be frozen (I do so in little pots) that can then be whipped out as and when.

Roasted Vegetable and Goats Cheese Tart

9th August 201810th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 2-4

Serving four as a starter or two as a main meal, this relatively easy tart is beautiful to look at and, most importantly, to eat.

It requires some careful slicing and arranging of the vegetables to ensure it stays pretty, but using ready-rolled puff pastry takes much of the effort out of the dish.

I have made suggestions on which vegetables to use, but by all means use ones that you particularly enjoy. If there are any youâ€™re not so keen on, simply switch them with another. The vegetables can always be roasted the day before; just keep in a sealed container ready to use.

Ingredients:

For the roasted vegetables:
1/2 courgette, cut round ways, approx. 3mm thick
1/2 small aubergine, cut round ways, approx. 3mm thick
1 round tomato, cut approx. 3mm thick
1 small red onion, peeled, cut round ways, approx. 3mm thick
1 small beetroot, peeled, cut round ways, approx. 3mm thick
1/2 fennel, cut approx. 3mm thick
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
A small pinch each of salt & pepper

For the rest of the tart:
1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry
3 tsp homemade pesto (or just use shop-bought)
50g soft goats cheese
A few small basil leaves

Step 1: Carefully toss the vegetables in the olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic and rosemary and spread on a baking tray.

Step 2: Bake in a preheated oven (180c) for 25-30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

Step 3: Next prepare your pastry. Keeping the pastry on a sheet of baking paper, cut the pastry to fit your baking tray or the size of tart you would like (you could always do a few mini ones).

Step 4: Carefully score a 1cm border around the edge of the pastry. Do not cut all the way through the pastry. Prick the central section all over with a fork, again, not all the way through. At this stage you could also brush the border with a little egg wash (beaten egg) which will given a darker and glossy finish to your pastry.

Step 5: Bake in the oven (180c) for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Carefully remove the tray, the pastry should be puffed and slightly coloured. Use a sharp knife to cut into the border to pierce the pastry (again, donâ€™t cut all the way through) and then carefully push the central piece of pastry down, leaving the raised border.

Step 7: Next, spread the pesto over the depressed central section and then carefully arrange your roasted vegetables to fill the tart (I did mine in rows, slightly overlapping).

Step 8: Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Step 9: Remove from the oven and sprinkle the goats cheese over the surface and top with the basil leaves.

This can be served warm or cold and if you are having it as a main meal I would suggest pairing it with a large salad.

Enchiladas

7th August 20188th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 8 (serves 4 adults)

Last week we had friends round for a midweek meal. I wanted something that I could cook fairly easily once The Food Baby was in bed that could then be put in the middle of the table and everyone help themselves. We went Mexican. I marinated the chicken earlier in the day but everything else was done in about 45 minutes. And half an hour of that was it cooking in the oven.

Whilst I have opted for chicken (in my case I go for thigh meat as it stays so moist), but it would also be good with thinly sliced pork or beef. If you wanted to go meat-free then butternut squash would be delicious. Use the same spice mix but roast it in the oven once coated in the marinade (step 1) for 25-30 minutes and then mix with your cooked peppers and onions (step 3).

Ingredients:
2x my fajita spice mix (with 2 tsp set to one side)
2 tbsp oil
500g chicken fillets (thighs or breast) cut into thin strips (or a meat or vegetable of your choice)
1 onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 – 2 peppers, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
8 corn & wheat tortillas
500g passata
125g mozzarella

Step 1: Combine the spice mix (making sure youâ€™ve taken out two teaspoons’ worth to save for the sauce), one tablespoon of the oil and the chicken (or meat/vegetable of your choice) in a bowl, cover and leave to marinate.

Step 2: Separately combine the reserved spice mix with the passata and leave to one side.

Step 3: Heat a frying pan over a medium high heat and add your remaining tablespoon of oil. Fry the peppers and onions for a few minutes and then add the marinated chicken. Stir frequently until the chicken is just cooked through (if you have cut it thinly this will not take long and you donâ€™t want to over cook it as it is going in the oven too).

Step 4: Lay out your tortillas and spoon equal amounts of the cooked filling down the centre of each tortilla.

Step 5: Carefully tuck in the two ends and then roll each tortilla so it is enclosed.

Step 6: Place the tortillas carefully in a baking dish. You want to pack them in next to each other, but donâ€™t over lap them.

Step 7: Pour your spicy passata over the top and make sure they are all covered.

Step 8: Tear your mozzarella (or sprinkle if you are using pre-grated) over the top and place in a preheated oven (180c) for 25-30 minutes until bubbling and the cheese is golden.

This is good served with a salad (why not try my Mexican-style salad) and some crunchy, cheesy nachos. I layered up a dish with salted tortilla chips, a sprinkling of Mexicana cheese, dollops of salsa, sour cream and guacamole and finely chopped jalapeÃ±os (repeated until the bag of tortilla chips ran out) and cooked these for 20 minutes in the same oven as the enchiladas.

Butterbean and Rosemary Dip

6th August 20186th August 2018
by thefoodwife

If you are looking for an alternative to hummus then Iâ€™d recommend giving this a go. Really simple but such wonderful flavours.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
1 tin of butterbeans, drained
Salt and pepper

Step 1: Place the olive oil and rosemary in a pan and heat carefully. As soon as it is boiling, remove from the heat and allow to cool. The oil will be infused by the pungent rosemary ready to use in the dip.

Step 2: Blitz the butterbeans, garlic, a pinch each of salt and pepper, along with oil until you have a smooth paste. Check the seasoning and serve.

BLW Veggie Curry Fritters

3rd August 20185th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes approximately 16 fritters

Perfect for baby led weaning, these vegetable-packed fritters have a nice background spice and a soft texture for your little one to enjoy. I froze these in pairs so that I could grab a portion out the freezer for the Food Baby and reheat when needed. I served these with some full fat Greek yogurt with finely chopped mint stirred through as a cooling dip.

Ingredients:
1 medium carrot, grated and excess water squeezed out
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated and excess water squeezed out
1 large courgette, grated and excess water squeezed out
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp medium curry powder
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Pinch of ground black pepper

200g plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
100ml full fat milk

Step 1: Combine the vegetables with the spices, pepper, coriander and garlic in a large bowl.

Step 2: In a separate bowl or jug beat the flour, egg and milk together to make a thick batter.

Step 3: Add the batter to the vegetables and mix thoroughly.

Step 4: Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and lightly oil (I used a spray oil) and then use a tablespoon to put dollops of the mixture on to the pan and flatten with the back of the spoon. I cooked four at a time (just make sure to re-oil the pan between each new batch).

Step 5: Fry each fritter for about three minutes on each side until browned and set, and the vegetables are cooked through. Remove from the pan and allow to cool slightly if serving right away or fully if you are portioning and freezing.

I really enjoyed these myself, they would just need a little salt for adult tastes!