Proper egg fried rice

Another simple yet delicious supper which, made this way, is surprisingly healthy. Nick was taught to make this by his friend Clem who is from Malaysia, and when it comes to authenticity that’s good enough for me!

If you want to serve it as a main course (as I often do) rather than an accompaniment to stirfries or a curry, you can add shredded pork or chicken, peas, shrimps, anything you fancy really.

One tip: make sure your wok is truly non-stick, that way hardly any oil is required and the washing up isn’t a complete bitch!

Ingredients (makes enough for three as a main course, four to five as a side dish)

• 3 large free range eggs
• Approximately 500-600gms cooked and cooled rice- made the day before if possible
• 1 medium white onion finely chopped
• 3 spring onions finely chopped
• Approx 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• Approx 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Warm the oil in the wok over a medium heat. Add the white onion and sweat it for a few mins- you want it to soften not brown, so if it starts to catch, turn down the heat a little.
2. Add the spring onion and fry for a further minute then add the rice and cook, stirring frequently for about five minutes. The rice needs to be piping hot.
3. Stir in the soy and oyster sauces and mix well until all the rice is coated, then crack in the eggs.
4. Keep stirring the mixture and scraping round the bottom of the pan. It will take about 3-4 minutes for the eggs to set- the rice will look dry once it’s ready.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary by adding a little more soy or oyster sauce before serving.

Sunshine smoothie

This glorious concoction of fruit and yoghurt felt right on Saturday morning. I drank it while sunning myself in the garden.

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe mango
• 1 small box of ripe strawberries
• 6 tbsp low fat vanilla yoghurt (I used Rachel’s)
• Small cup of good quality cloudy apple juice

Method

1. Stone and skin the mango, wash and chop the strawberries then blitz everything in a blender until there are no lumps left.
2. Check for taste and consistency before serving- if the smoothie is too thick, add a little more juice, too tart add a little more yoghurt and so forth.

Greek style salad

This is a regular fixture in my household come summer. It is especially good with barbeque food.

Ingredients

• ½ a cucumber
• Small bag of cherry tomatoes or tomatoes on the vine
• Small pack of basil
• ½ pack of feta
• Extra virgin olive oil
• small red onion, finely sliced
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Chop the cucumber into small dice and place in a large salad bowl with the onion.
2. Halve the tomatoes and add to the bowl with the torn up basil leaves.
3. Crumble over the feta with your hands.
4. Dress the salad with about 2-3tbsp of olive oil and season to taste.

Garlic mushroom and mascarpone tart

Another recipe from the Good Food stable and an excellent option of you have a vegetarian in the house.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 525g family pack mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 250g tub of mascarpone
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• ¼ small pack parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped
• 50g rocket

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C. Unroll the pastry and, keeping it on its baking parchment, lay it on a baking sheet.
2. Score a border around the pastry about 1.5cm in from the edge and bake it for 10-15 mins until puffy and lightly golden.
3. While the pastry bakes, heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the mushrooms for 2-3 mins stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, season well and continue to cook until the mushrooms are wilted and there is no liquid left in the pan.
4. Mix the mascarpone with the parsley and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove the pastry from the oven and carefully push down the risen centre. Spread over the mascarpone mixture, then spoon on the mushrooms. Bake for 2-3mins to melt the cheese then remove from the oven, scatter over the rocket and serve with a green salad.

Slow-cooked smoky chilli

There was an excellent link in the Good Food newsletter last week- five nights of family suppers for £30 http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/five-nights-budget-suppers-four?cm_mmc=ExactTarget-_-email-_-Good-food-newsletter-387_2014_04_30-_-email&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=Good-food-newsletter-387_2014_04_30 which sounded spot on given the current climate of austerity on the home cooking front. The recipes looked lovely too, no scrimping on taste, and so I decided to put a few to the test.

Here is Good Food’s chunky chilli with a few twists of my own.

Ingredients, serves 4

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra if needed
• 800g diced stewing beef
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1½ tsp ground cumin
• 1-2 tbsp chipotle paste, depending on how spicy you like it
• 400g can kidney beans in chilli sauce
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 pint of beef stock made with one stock cube
• 2tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ small pack coriander, leaves only
• Small pot of sour cream
• Cooked rice, to serve
• Optional- grated cheddar cheese to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 130oC.
2. Heat the oil in a large casserole to which you have a lid and cook the beef pieces for a few mins on each side until browned all over (you may have to do this in batches). Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Add the onion to the pan, with extra oil if needed, and cook until softened. Stir in the garlic, cumin and chipotle paste, and cook for 1 min.
4. Add the beef back to the pan, sprinkle over the flour and stir until everything is well coated.
5. Sieve the kidney beans, reserving the sauce. Add the chilli sauce, along with the chopped tomatoes and stock to the pan. Stir well, bring to a simmer, then cover the dish and bake in the oven for 3 hours.
6. After this time, give the chilli a good stir, add the kidney beans, then cover and return to the oven for a further hour.
7. When you are ready to serve the chilli, chop the coriander leaves and stir them through the sauce. Plate up the chilli with a generous serving of rice, a big dollop of cream and a handful of cheese on each helping. My husband also recommends crumbling over a handful of nachos, although I draw the line at putting crisps in my dinner. Try it if you’re feeling adventurous and very hungry.