Beef Paprikash

I wanted to try something new instead of the usual beef stew that I usually make. This turned out better than I expected, and not at all spicy. All the children enjoyed it, served with some lightly steamed carrots & broccolli.  I have saved some for my lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients

• 500g braising beef
• 1 tbsp flour , seasoned really well
• olive oil
• 1 large onion , halved and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed
• 250g chestnut mushrooms , halved if large
• 1 red pepper , sliced
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 300ml beef stock
• a small bunch parsley , chopped
• basmati rice , to serve
• soured cream , to serve 

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Toss the beef with the seasoned flour then brown all over in 1 tbsp oil in a large pan. Scoop out, then add the onions and cook really well until soft and browned at the edges. Add the garlic, mushrooms and pepper and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Return the beef to the pan and add the spices, tomatoes and beef stock. Put on a lid and transfer to the oven and cook for 2-2.5 hours until beef is really tender and sauce thickened.
2. Stir in the parsley. Serve with rice and soured cream.

Veg packed lasagne with chorizo

This is just a made up recipe, I wanted to use up leftovers from the fridge! I like to get as many vegetables as I can into my dishes, and this has onion, celery, mushrooms, peppers & tomatoes in it. I had a 2 inch chuck of chorizo left too, so sliced that up thin & bunged it in the sauce along with the beef mince.

Minced Beef 450g
Tin of Tomatoes 400g
Mushrooms 100g
Chopped onion 1
Garlic 1 clove
Celery - 2sticks
Red pepper 1
Beef Stock 1/2 pint (300ml)
Butter 25g
Leftover chorizo, chopped small
Lasagne  1 Packet (dry or fresh)
FOR THE WHITE SAUCE
Milk 300ml
Butter 25g
Plain Flour 25g
Grated Cheddar 50g

One Pan Sage & Onion chicken & sausages

This is a lovely tasty Nigella recipe that I tried out on Sunday. I served it with vichy carrots and bread-sauce-flavoured potato dauphinoise - delicious! The marinade has to be made the nigth before, so that the chicken can take on teh flavours overnight. I was worried about the mustard in it, as I am not a fan of mustard, but it was lovely.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion or 2 small onions
• 125ml olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 2 teaspoons English mustard
• 1 tablespoon dried sage
• Ground pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2kg chicken, jointed into 10 pieces (I just used a pack of bone-in chicken thighs)
• 12 sausages
• 2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves

Method

1. Peel and cut the onion into eighths, and put into a freezer bag with the oil, mustard, dried sage, a good grinding of pepper, the lemon juice, the squeezed-out husks cut into eighths, and the Worcestershire sauce. Squidge everything around to mix (the mustard needs help to combine) and then add the chicken pieces. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight, or for up to two days.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 7/220°C. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature in its marinade.
3. Arrange the chicken pieces in a roasting tin, skin-side up, with the marinade, including all the bits and pieces, and tuck the sausages around them. Sprinkle the fresh sage leaves over the chicken and sausages and then put the tin into the oven to cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the sausages over halfway through to colour them evenly.
4. Arrange the chicken and sausages on a large platter.

Serves: 6

Baked Spanish Risotto

This amazing recipe is from the Good Food website members section. It was utterly delicious! I also happen to love bung-it-in-the-oven type meals :) I left out the prawns, but kept the rest of the recipe the same.

 

• 250g cherry tomatoes
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 300g risotto rice
• 4 chicken thigh fillets, halved
• 200g chorizo, thickly sliced
• 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 litre hot chicken stock
• pinch of saffron strands
• 8 large, raw prawns
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. Place the cherry tomatoes in a roasting tin and sprinkle over the red onion, garlic and olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes until the tomatoes are softened.
2. Stir in the rice, chicken, chorizo, rosemary, chicken stock, saffron and some salt and pepper, mixing well together. Return to the over for a further 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the prawns and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through.