Baked Nectarines

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A delicious simple way to use Nectarines which focuses on the beauty of the fruit and little else is needed. This is a perfect easy dessert for all the family which works just as well with peaches. Both of these fruit provide vitamins, minerals and health promoting anti oxidants.

A big batch of these served with some almond crackle for crunch would make a lovely crowd pleasing dessert if you are having a barb q and in our case since I spend the weekend cooking up a storm with experimental recipes, was still able to have a little room left for dessert.

Nectarines

1 Nectarine Per Person
30ml Chambord or Cassis per 4 peaches used
Drizzle of Honey

Wash and half the nectrines – do this over a bowl to save any resulting juices
Tip the stones and juices into a pot
Add Chambord or cassis and a little water and bring to a medium simmer
Push all through a sieve, discard stones and set aside

Place nectarines on a baking dish
Drizzle a little honey over them and spoon over the juices
Bake for about 15 minutes and serve with Greek yoghurt ice cream and some almond crackle if you need some crunch.

Greek Yoghurt Ice Cream
500g natural Greek Yoghurt
2 tbsp Honey
100ml water and sugar dissolved to make Sugar Syrup
Mix yoghurt syrup and honey together
Tip into an ice cream maker and churn until softly frozen.
Serve with the warm nectarines and crackle.

Almond Crackle
This is enough for plenty of topping on ice cream or cream, more than enough for the nectarines
100gr slivered almonds
3 tbsp sugar
Tip the sugar and almonds onto a pan with the heat on medium high
Continue to stir as the sugar starts to melt and caramelize
Continue stirring and When the sugar starts to turn brown and the almonds start to brown,
Tip the lot out onto a sheet of parchment and let cool
Use on the nectarines and save the rest in an air tight jar.

baked nectarines

Butterflied Leg of Lamb

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Butterflied leg of lamb

Once upon a time I thought I did not like lamb, for a start I thought that anything that played chasing and jumped off rocks (true story, I saw it with my own eyes)was too cute to eat. A personal investment in a full time cooking course with no option but to cook it soon changed my mind and now it is one of my go to meats for a family occasion, budget permitting. Irish grass fed lamb is among the best in the world, it needs very little to add flavour and this recipe needs little preparation to ensure a delicious easy crowd pleaser. Served with some red cabbage slaw and roasted root veg for a perfect lazy lunch.

Rub
2 Garlic cloves peeled and mashed
1 tsp each of ground coriander, cuimin and sweet paprika
1/2 tsp salt
Marinade
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
4 tbsp rape seed oil
Juice of a lemon

1 leg of lamb boned and butterflied

Apply the rub to the lamb then skewer the lamb so that it is easier to handle on and off the barbq
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow tin and add the lamb, spoon over the marinade, season well and leave to absorb the flavours – a few hours even better overnight.
Lift the lamb out of the marinade and lay it on your hot barbecue.
Don’t move it until it cooks underneath – if you try and move it before it is ready it will stick and tear. Once it is cooked underneath (about 5-7 minutes),turn it over and finish cooking. During the cooking, baste it with any left over marinade.
Let rest before carving and tip onto a large serving platter and enjoy.
Serve with tricolour slaw from here.

Yaay The Sun is Shining – Get the BarBQ out for Chicken with Cashew Nut Sauce

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Chicken with Cashew Nut Sauce

      The Irish weather is amazing right now so it’s time to move the kitchen out into the garden and clean the barbq if you haven’t done it already. We spend yesterday in the garden till almost dark and it really is such a joy to be outside with the heat of the day on your bones. This is a really simple dipping and marinade for chicken, popular with all members of the family and great for the barbie rather than your usual dried out chicken breast. The spiced aubergine salad makes a great accompaniment to this for something just a little bit different. I only used 1 chilli as it was for our little one too, but up the content if you are feeling brave and fond of the chilli heat!

Serves 3

3 chicken breasts
100gr cashew nuts
1 red chilli
60gr palm sugar
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
100ml water
1/2 tsp salt

If you are using wooden skewers then soak them in water for 30 minutes
Toast the cashews on a pan until golden
Tip them and everything else into a blender and blend until it is a rough paste
Put half into the fridge until required
Cut chicken breasts into long strips and tip into the rest of the marinade, cover and leave in the fridge to absorb the flavours
Thread the chicken onto the skewers and cook on the griddle pan, barbie or in the oven until cooked through.
Serve with the rest of the sauce and some of the aubergine salad from here

Polenta Cake with Greek Yoghurt Ice Cream and Almond Crackle

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Polenta Cake with Greek Yoghurt Ice Cream

A bright sunny day again and it brings out the best in us as a family, time outside in the garden, Eva on the scooter up and down the road reminding me of when I was learning to skate and used to bomb up and down the road in front of our house. It’s been catch up on posting some of my photos from our long weekend away in Cork so these are below :-

In the meantime read the recipe here :-

Polenta Cake

225g butter
100g Coconut Palm Sugar
3 Eggs
200g Polenta
125g Almond flour
Vanilla extract
1 tsp Lemon Syrup ( I use lemon syrup from Morris Kitchen) and zest of 1 lemon
1tsp gluten free baking powder

oven at 160C

Cream the butter and coconut palm sugar together until smooth and creamy.
Add the eggs one by one and beat well after each addition.
Gently beat in the almond flour and polenta until fully incorporated – dont over beat.
Add baking powder, vanilla extract, zest and lemon syrup and stir to combine.
Tip into the springform tin, smooth the top out and bake for about 30-35 minutes until cooked through.
Loosen the tin and leave for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the tin entirely and leave to cool.
Serve with the greek yoghurt ice cream and almond crackle

Almond Crackle
This is enough for plenty of topping on icecream or cream, more than enough for the cake.
100gr slivered almonds
3 tbsp sugar

Tip the sugar and almonds onto a pan with the heat on medium high
Continue to stir as the sugar starts to melt and caramelise
Continue stirring and When the sugar starts to turn brown and the almonds start to brown tip the lot out onto a sheet of parchment and let cool
break apart and stir in an air tight jar until needed

Greek Yoghurt Ice Cream
500g natural Greek Yoghurt
2 tbsp Honey
100ml water and sugar dissolved to make Sugar Syrup

Mix yoghurt syrup and honey
Tip into an ice cream maker and churn until softly frozen.
Serve with the polenta cake (or any cake for that matter).

Box Hedge

Roast Chicken with Baked Celeriac Chips and Sumac Couscous

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Add a little middle eastern magic with a couscous laced with Sumac complimented by chicken baked with a garlic and lemon marinade, accompanied by celeriac chips- perfect for an easy weekend supper. Marinade the chicken in the morning to save time and add flavour. If you only have boneless chicken then make up skewers and throw them on the barbie or griddle pan instead. Perfect summer eating full of flavour and goodness. Try what I did and say nothing about the celeriac, I just called them chips and they went down a treat.

Chicken
1 lemon, grated rind and juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 Cloves of Garlic mashed and chopped
Salt and pepper
2 Bone in chicken breasts

Combine the marinade ingredients and leave in the fridge at least 3o minutes preferably the day.
Tip out onto a flat baking tray, season and bake until cooked through at 180C – about 30 minutes but check to ensure its fully cooked.
Leave to rest for about 5 minutes.
Portion by cutting through just after the wing, Serve with couscous and celeriac chips on the side.

For the couscous salad
200g couscous
1 stock cube dissolved in 250ml boiling water
2 tsp sumac
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Small bunch flat leafed parsley, roughly chopped
2 red peppers from jar of roasted peppers
3 spring onions peeled and chopped

Pour couscous into a bowl , stir in the sumac and pour over the stock
Stir to combine and cover and leave for about 10 minutes then fluff with a fork.
Stir in the chopped veggies and parsley, season and leave aside until required.

For the Celeriac Chips
1 small celeriac peeled and cut into chips
marinade made from 1 tsp each of cumin, sweet paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne and celery salt, pepper to season, mixed in 3 tbsp oil
Tip the celeriac chips in, toss well to cover with the marinade then bake at 180 for about 20 minutes until cooked through.

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