Spaetzle

This soft, German noodle is as delicious to eat as it is simple to make.  If you have a potato ricer you are well equipped but if not a colander will do the job, although ideally, you could do with a second one to store the spaetzle after they are cooked.

Spaetzle 

  

You can treat the noodles in the same way as any other fresh pasta, but the simplest thing to do is to grate some cheese and stir it into them whilst they are still hot.   For the dish shown, I diced an onion and some mushrooms, then fried them in some flora until the onion was quite brown and then stirred them and some grated cheese into the noodles.
You could simply chop up some garlic, fry it off gently in butter and stir that into the noodles, or you could chop some cooked bacon and stir that in ... the possibilities are endless and really do depend on what you like - experiment - have fun.

• 250g plain flour
• 3 eggs
• ¾ teaspoon of salt
• 80mls cold water

• A pan full of boiling water

1. In a large bowl combine the flour, eggs and salt using a fork.  Add the water a little at a time, but be aware that the mixture gets harder to stir.  
2. Let the mixture stand for about 15 - 20 mins, during which time it will firm up.
3. Bring the water in the pan to a rolling boil (this means boiling with lots of bubbles)
4. Put a spoonful of the mixture into your potato ricer, or force it through the holes in your colander, letting it land in the boiling water.  
5. If the noodles land in a heap in the pan, just give them a gentle shake with the tip of a knife to separate them.  When they float to the top of the water, they are cooked, so just scoop them out with a straining spoon and either put into a colander, or if you are using your only colander, into a dish lined with kitchen roll.  I used the lid of the pan containing the water to cover the noodles in the colander to keep them warm whilst cooking the rest, but as it only takes seconds for them to cook, it isn't completely necessary.
6. Repeat the cooking process until all your dough is used.

When all the noodles are ready combine with whatever flavourings you are using and serve.  It can be served as a side dish to accompany your main course, or you could serve it as a meal on its own.

Tasty Breakfast or Brunch idea

Line the sides of a muffin pan with strips of bacon, beat some eggs and add grated cheese.  Pour the egg mixture into the centre of the bacon line muffin tins and put into a preheated oven (180°  or gas mark 4) for 35 minutes.

I used a silicone muffin tin with 6 holes and needed 6 eggs.  They are delicious, hot or cold.  You could make them the previous night if you need a very early breakfast for any reason. 

Cheaper versions of Bolognese

Here we are, heading towards the end of the week and the purse is empty, but the family still need feeding.    I have about 150g of minced beef leftover from a larger pack which I double wrapped in cling film and froze for future use.  So  It is time to rummage around in the fridge and see what I can come up with to go with it.  I have some leftover sausages, onion, & mushrooms.  The sausages would have made a wonderful sandwich for lunchtime, but I need them for dinner so I shall have to resist.  I also have some store cupboard items which I can put to it to make a tasty, nutritious meal for the family.  So I used ...

• Approx 150g minced beef
• 4 pork sausages - cooked and sliced
• A small handful of lentils
• 1 onion
• 3 or 4 mushrooms 
• 1 clove of garlic
• Can of tomatoes
• Splash of worcester sauce
• Tomato ketchup
• lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of flour

You can alter the amounts to suit your requirements and what you have available.  If you don't have sausage but do have a rasher of bacon, feel free to substitute it, or anything else for that matter.

1. Put the lentils into a pan of cold water and put on the hob to boil.  Keep an eye on the pan as it boils over very quickly and leaves a nasty looking mess on the hob.  Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down to simmer, and cook the lentils until they lose their hard, dome shaped appearance and look fluffy round the edges.
2. Peel and dice the onion
3. Peel and crush the garlic
4. chop the mushrooms
5. Put a fairly large pan on the stove and let it heat up, then add the minced beef, ensuring that the strands are separated so that you don't have clumps of meat.  Keep the meat moving in the pan until it is all browned.  
6. Add onions, mushrooms, sausage and garlic. Stir until they are all mixed together well. Then let the meat keep browning.  I find that the longer the meat browns, the better the flavour.
7. When the meat is sufficiently browned sprinkle over a tablespoon of flour and stir it in.  Keep the pan on the heat,and keep stirring the contents for about a minute, to allow the flour to cook.  
8. Add chopped tomatoes, drained lentils and about 150mls of cold water.  Stir the mixture and which will start to thicken.  Add more water until it reaches the consistency you prefer.
9. Add a good splash of worcester sauce, a tablespoon of ketchup, a splash of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs to the mixture and stir well.
10. Bring back to the boil, then turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes and you have a cheaper version of Bolognese Sauce.

If you have no meat available this is just as good using lentils alone.  Use more than you would add to meat but prepare them in the same way.  Prepare your vegetables in the same way but use a little oil to cook the onions, mushrooms etc before going onto step 7.

Prepare your pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

Very simple Meatloaf

The remains of our meatloaf which I just managed to hold onto for long enough to photograph

Although this recipe is, by its very nature, larger than one person would need, you could either cut it into slices and freeze some after you have made it, or you could form it into individual patties instead of making a loaf shape and freeze some uncooked, just keep a close eye on the patties whilst they are  cooking  to ensure that they are cooked but not burned.  You could also try halving the amounts of ingredients to produce a smaller version. 

• 1/2 pound of minced beef   (I used about 3/4 pound of mince)
• 2oz breadcrumbs
• 1 onion diced very small
• 1 egg
• App 60mls milk
• mixed herbs
• A good splash of Worcerstershire sauce
• Ketchup
• 1 teaspoon mustard (optional)

• Mix all the ingredients except the ketchup, in a basin.  Get your hands in and really squidge it all together, ensuring that the ingredients are well combined.  The mixture should be fairly loose but not runny.
• When that is done put it all together in a loaf tin, (or whatever shaped oven proof dish you have)
• In another bowl mix together around 3/4 to 1 cup of ketchup and another good splashing of Worcestershire sauce, and the mustard if you are using it.
• Spread the sauce mix over the top of the meatloaf
• Put into a preheated oven at 180 degrees, gas mark 4, for 1 hour.

I know most meatloaf recipes call for ketchup, mustard and sugar for the topping, but I think there is already way too much sugar in ketchup and as I didn't have any mustard I substituted the Worcestershire sauce.

I lined my tin with baking paper to make for easier cleaning of the tin.

This recipe couldn't be simpler so have a go  and let me know what you think.


Since posting this I have been experimenting a little.  As I expected the ketchup was a little too sweet for my taste so we have added in French mustard (because it was the only one I had in the cupboard) which was good, and today I have tried it with a mixture of ketchup, Worcerstershire sauce, French mustard and barbecue sauce.  Don't be afraid to  mix and match, trying out different combinations to see which you prefer.

A Comparative Guide to Oven Temperatures

These temperatures correspond to the numbers on your oven but I don't think that there are many ovens which still use the Farhenheit scale.

Degrees Fahrenheit	Degrees Celsius	Gas Mark	Description
225	110	1/4	Very slow
250	120/130	1/2	Very slow
275	140	1	Slow
300	150	2	Slow
325	160/170	3	Moderate
350	180	4	Moderate
375	190	5	Moderately hot
400	200	6	Moderately hot
425	220	7	Hot
450	230	8	Hot
475	240	9	Very hot

Do you want to impress someone? Boeuf Bourgignon

So now it is several weeks since Freshers Week, those who are not Freshers have been back for some time and you have all had time to get to know new people.  Some you like, some you are not so keen on and some you really like.  Maybe there is one person who you like better than all the rest, maybe someone you would like to make a great impression on?  
 In that case  you need to try this recipe for Boeuf Bourgignon, which is just a French beef casserole but it sounds much more impressive in French doesn't it?
Boeuf Bourgignon is one of those dishes which can be a bit intimidating in concept, somehow it sounds very complex and difficult, but in fact it is very simple and you will probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen already.  You will need some red wine, but you will probably already have some of that and if you can resist drinking the last 250 - 300 mls which is around a third of a bottle, you won't need to buy any, but if you do have to buy some, you can always drink the rest with the meal.

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Knob of butter
• 1 or 2 rashers of bacon
• Approx 300g beef (this doesn't have to be expensive beef as we will be slow cooking the dish so the meat will become tender in the cooking)
• 2 onions or around 6 shallots (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 or 4 mushrooms 
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• approx 250mls red wine (or as much as you have left over)
• 1 beef stock cube
• Boiling water
• Bay leaves

Boeuf Bourgignon

• Peel the onions or shallots, if using onions cut them into quarters, if using shallots cut them in half.  You do not need to chop or dice the onions very small, you need big visible lumps of onion.
• Peel and crush the garlic
• Cut the mushrooms into quarters
• Cut the bacon into smallish pieces
• Cut the beef into bite sized pieces
• Heat a pan and add the oil, butter and bacon
• Whilst the bacon is cooking mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a dish then add a few pieces of beef at a time and coat with the flour.
• Add the pieces of beef, a few at a time, to the pan with the bacon and oil/butter
• Add the rest of the beef as it is coated with the flour
• Turn each piece of beef to brown on all sides
• When all the beef is browned remove from the pan and reserve
• Put the onions, garlic and mushrooms into the pan and brown slightly
• Add the wine to the pan, when it is warm start to scrape the bottom of the pan to remove everything which is stuck to the bottom of the pan - we don't want to lose any of the flavours to the washing up!  This process is known as deglazing the pan.
• Once the bits are cleaned from the bottom of the pan you can add the meat back in.
• Bring to the boil, crumble a stock cube into the mixture and add a couple of bay leaves.
• If the mixture is looking too thick add some boiling water to thin it down.
• Transfer the mixture into a slow cooker if you are using one, or into an ovenproof casserole dish
• Slow cook for at least 6 hours or cook in the oven at 150ºC, 300ºF or gas mark 2 for 3 or 4 hours. If oven cooking check from time to time that the casserole is not drying out.  Add more boiling water if required.

You can serve this with whatever you want, noodles, baked or mashed potatoes, but I would suggest that you also add in some brightly coloured vegetables - broccoli, carrots etc.

Chicken and Rice

This is a delicious, simple dish, which doesn't require a great deal of preparation and is great comfort food, especially on a cold, damp night.  You don't need to restrict it to such nights however as it is fabulous anytime.

• 2 or 3 large Chicken breasts or 6 thigh fillets
• 1 onion
• 3 or 4 mushrooms
• Oil for browning chicken and onions
• 1 Can mushroom soup
• 300 mls chicken stock (or a mixture of chicken stock and wine)
• 6 ounces of rice
• Bay leaves if you have them

• Chop the onion and mushrooms
• Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces
• Heat the oil in a large pan, add the chicken, onion and mushrooms and cook till the onions are soft and the chicken browned.
• Remove the chicken from the pan then add the mushroom soup and stock.  ( make the stock with a stock cube and boiling water.  If you have some wine, use less stock and make up the required quantity with the wine)  The wine really adds flavour to the dish.  Stir the liquid around the pan scraping up the remnants of the onions, mushrooms and chicken so that you garner all the flavours.
• Return the chicken to the liquid and stir.
• Place your rice into a deep, oven proof dish, then pour the chicken mix over it.
• Add a couple of bay leaves if you have them.
• Place in the oven at 190º C  gas reg 7 for  1 hour.  
• Before serving check that the rice is cooked, leave a little longer if it is not to your taste.  Also check the thickness of the dish, if it is too thick you can always add some boiling water.