Fast Food - my version

Ready made pasta sauces don't usually feature in my pantry. There has however been a jar of Sabato 'Pasta Sauce with Ricotta Forte' sitting in wait for many months. I had bought it on one of my infrequent visits to the Sabato shop in Mt Eden - infrequent because I always spend far more than I intended to when I visit. How can you resist when they make you a complimentary coffee and there are so many tasting options in their fantastic shop?

Tonight was a 'fast food' night, a night when cooking a proper meal just seemed too hard.

Dinner was incredibly simple but incredibly good to eat.

Pasta

Sabato Pasta Sauce

and Clevedon Buffalo Mozzarella melting over the top.

John's / Jamie's Prawn and Pea Risotto with Basil

Tonight's dinner was cooked by John (my husband). This recipe is one he has made a number of times before. His inspiration was from a Jamie Oliver iPhone application, a similar recipe can be found here. The iPhone and now iPad application is a great one to cook by. It is broken into an initial list of ingredients and then step by step set of instructions. Well worth the investment!

Every one had a very clean plate at the end of the meal and even Isabella (3) wanted more after devouring her first serving.

Lemon Chicken with Potatoes & Rosemary

I'm always on the look out for a really tasty meal that can have a significant amount of the preparation completed the night before. I'm often home quite late and with a little person in the house we eat early so her night time routine can be completed in time to get her to bed by 7pm.

I often cook the potato first (the day before in this case), then cook the chicken 30 minutes before it is required.

This recipe is really easy and really nice. It can easily be increased or decreased to suit the number you are cooking for.

The lemon is fantastic on the chicken and then makes the potatoes under it crispy and sticky and lemony.

When I made it tonight (or prepared last night to be exact) I used parsnip as well with the potatoes and considered using yams too.

Like many of the recipes I am posting, this is another one that I make over and over, having the recipe at hand in a digital format will be great. This one really doesn't need a recipe though, I often just make something along these lines and it is always successful.

This is an Annabel Langbein recipe from her book The Best Of Annabel Langbein, Great food for busy lives.

Baked Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Rosemary

Small potatoes, scrubbed and halved (enough to feed number of people you are cooking for)

1 large red onion, cut in wedges

1 red pepper, seeded and cut into small chunks (I often use more)

2 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed (I use more and just chop them roughly)

1 tsp chopped rosemary leaves

salt and pepper

chicken quarters/drum sticks...with bone in (enough to feed number of people you are cooking for)

juice of 2 lemons, (I use the zest too)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Choose a baking dish that will fit the chicken in a single layer.

Place potatoes, onions and peppers in dish with oil, garlic and rosemary. Mix to combine evenly. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes.

Place chicken skin side up on top of vegetables, season with more salt.

Sprinkle zest over chicken and squeeze juice of lemon over chicken.

Bake a further 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through.

Silverbeet and Potato Curry Recipe - Crockpot

I made this firstly because I had silverbeet that needed using and secondly because the lure of the ease of crockpot cooking always appeals to me.

It was ok. The flavours are not particularly intense. I'd do it again but more as a side dish than a main feature.

Silverbeet and Potato Curry Recipe

Ingredients 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed 4-5 medium potatoes, chopped Large bunch spinach leaves, stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped 1 400g tin diced tomatoes, or equivalent fresh 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin freshly ground black pepper dash of chilli or cayenne powder, optional 1 tbs olive oil or ghee 1. Heat oil or ghee in crockpot on high, add onion, garlic and spices and stir until fragrant. 2. Add potatoes and tomatoes, and cook on low for approx. 5 hours. 3. Add spinach or silverbeet/ chard and cook for another hour on low, until potatoes are tender.
Serve with rice and naan bread

Sourced from a blog - Towards Sustainability

Naan Bread recipe

I adore Naan bread, (...actually any kind of bread), dripping in garlic butter. I've never made it before and ready made offerings from the supermarket are always disappointing.

To accompany our Chickpea Curry and Silverbeet and Potato curry I decided to give making Naan bread a go using the first recipe I found online. It promised the best Naan bread the author had ever eaten outside an Indian restaurant.

I'm amazed the odd time I make any kind of bread and pasta without the aid of my bread maker how strenuous kneading for 10 minutes can be...and I wonder if this might also be a good enforced form of exercise for me...but never follow though of course.

I left out the garlic so that the little person would happily eat them and instead made a very garlic laden garlic butter to drizzle over them.

They were smaller than you get in a restaurant - about half the size but this was good for a family dinner.

I cooked these in my heavy Le Creuset frying pan. I have to wonder if the BBQ might have been a good option. While they didn't look all that authentic, they will be something I will make again.

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Chana Masala - Chickpea Curry Recipe

Our family is lucky to have an ongoing friendship with an Indian family who cared for Isabella in their home when I initially went back to work. We loved the fact that she was spending her days with a family who lived differently to us in many ways. One of the great things was giving her a 'taste' for different foods. One of her favourite foods is roti and she loves popcorn flavoured with turmeric. We were lucky to be recipients of many meals and dishes cooked by Minakshi who is an amazing cook.

When the time came for Isabella to move to another carer, we wanted to do something to show our immense gratitude for the important part this family had played in Isabella's life. One way to do this was in the form of a gift, the other was to cook a really authentic vegetarian Indian meal for the Satija family.

I experimented for weeks with some successes and some absolute disasters. This dish was one that is similar to one that Minakshi had made us in the past (although never quite as good as her version).

The beauty of this dish is that it can be made earlier in the day and then the final step which takes about 10 minutes can be completed just before eating.

I served this with Silverbeet and Potato curry and homemade Naan bread and another potato and spinach curry.

The recipe comes from the cuisine website.

Chana Masala -Chickpea Curry Recipe Ingredients

Chana Masala

2 tablespoons ghee

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon asafoetida (optional)

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 green chilli, chopped

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons garam masala

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon amchoor powder

2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup water

Ginger Paste

5cm piece ginger, peeled

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (not olive)

Garlic Paste

2 bulbs garlic, peeled

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (not olive)

Method

Chana Masala Heat a medium saucepan over a moderate heat and add the ghee. When melted, add the cumin, asafoetida, if using, and black mustard seeds. When the seeds start popping and become fragrant, add the onion and fry until soft (around 10 minutes). Add the ginger, garlic and chilli, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garam masala, turmeric and amchoor powder, stir for a minute then add the chickpeas, stirring well to combine. Add the salt and water, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Serves 4 as part of a meal. Ginger Paste Use a mortar and pestle (or food processor) to pound the ginger to a paste. Place in a small container, cover with oil and keep refrigerated. Garlic Paste Use a mortar and pestle (or food processor) to pound the garlic to a paste. Place in a small container, cover with oil and keep refrigerated.