Thomas the Cook

I can't believe I haven't posted a recipe for winter minestrone! I swear I put in different ingredients every time I make it, to suit what I have in the fridge and what the weather is like outside. Today it's freezing outside with snow on the mountains, so I shall make a wintery thick soup. And it'll taste even better tomorrow!

Winter minestrone

2 tbsp oil
1 pack of pancetta cubes or 2 bacon rashers snipped with a scissors
2 carrots diced
1 large onion
3 stalks of celery diced
3 garlic cloves
2 baby cabbages shredded
4-5 leaves of cavolo nero
1 tin beans (borlotti, cannellini, butter)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato purée
Sun dried tomatoes in oil (optional)
2 handfuls of dried pasta
Salt and pepper
Herbs (e.g. basil, parsley)
Parmesan

Add the pancetta cubes to the oil and fry until golden. Add the diced celery, carrot and onion (or make a sofrito if you're a foodie!) and cook until they go translucent. Add the cabbage and cavolo nero and heat them through the mixture. Add the tinned tomatoes and bring to a very gentle boil.

Add the beans and torn sundried tomatoes. Add some pasta pieces (any dry type really) that you have crunched up into small pieces. You're looking to match the size of the vegetable chunks if you're using something like penne or spare lasagna sheets, or 2cm in length for things like spaghetti or linguine.

Before you let it all cook through (this depends on how thinly things are chopped and the pasta pieces so keep an eye on it after 15 mins) stir in the tomato purée and herbs. Taste for seasoning.

When it's ready serve with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of oil, crusty bread and most importantly, in a BIG bowl.

Enjoy!

This is my aunt's pug, Talulah Peaches. And she's mains operated as you can see. Apart from the dribble of scrambled eggs, doesn't she look like Carol Vorderman without the fringe and mutton dress?

This recipe has been improving and changing for a good few months. It started with just chicken and leeks, then mushrooms were added, and finally some ham. It's evolved into the best chicken 'n' misc pie recipe and I'm so proud of how it tastes that I have to share it with you.

NB: the picture above is obviously not my own and was stolen from a Google image search as myself and The Fella were too greedy to stop and take pictures of the pie before we demolished it.

Ultimate Chicken Pie

For the shortcrust pastry:
125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
55g butter, cubed
2-3 tbsp cold water
(Double this recipe if you want a whole pie crust rather than a pastry topping)

For the cheesy sauce:
Flour
Butter
Milk
Cheese
Salt

For the filling:
Mushrooms
Leeks
Ham

Rub the flour and butter together with light movements until it resembles bread crumbs. Gently squeeze until it forms a ball.













Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and put it in the fridge until you're ready to roll it out.

For the sauce you'll need to make a cheesy white sauce. My version is a mixture of techniques but it always turns out the way I like it. You'll need to start by making a roux, which is butter melted in a pan then a tbsp ish of flour added to make a thick paste. Let it bubble away to cook out the floury taste.


Add milk very slowly and stir constantly to make sure there are no lumps and it thickens evenly. Season and add grated cheese and Philadelphia if you have any to make a cheesy sauce.


Now the filling is pretty easy to get together. Stick chopped mushrooms, leeks and diced chicken in a pan with a little oil or butter and cook until the leeks are softened and the chicken is white. I happened to have leftover gammon from the night before so I tore this into thick chunks and added it to the mix. Pour in the cheese sauce and check if you need seasoning. Pile into the pie dish and put the pastry on top, making a vent in the middle for steam to escape (dab water on the dish edges to help it stick if you need to) and brush the top with milk.

Bake on 200 c or until golden. And enjoy!

It's that time of year when we're all making an effort to start anew with our diets and incorporate more fresh fruit and veg into our meals. I've been doing pretty well at this healthy eating lark (apart from the potato gratin and slow cooked pork I made yesterday) and have relished the chance to reassess the way I cook my food. I'd fallen into the habit of eating what I wanted when I wanted it, and that can't continue forever. It doesn't help that I've only been living with The Fella for about four months and we treat every meal time as an opportunity to show off our kitchen skills and eat comfort food during our cwtchy nights in. However, I cannot go on holiday to Portugal in September and complain I'm not happy with my body when I've made no discernible effort to change it.

Today's recipe will be the first of a new wave of healthier recipes, which I will endeavor to make just as tasty as the comfort food. Stay with me!

Salmon with pepper salsa

Salmon fillets (with skin)
1/2 yellow pepper
1 shallot (or  1/2small onion)
1 lime
1 tomato
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
Small dollop of mustard

Finely chop the pepper, shallot and tomato. Mix together and add the oil and juice of the lime. Add lime zest and chilli to taste.

Get a frying pan really hot with about 1 tbsp of veg or sunflower oil (don't use olive oil as this needs to be hot and olive oil will burn). Once the pan gets too hot to hold your hand over it, lay the salmon fillets skin side down first until they go brown at the edges and crispy. Quickly sear the sides of the fillets by holding each side for a few seconds until seared. Then place the fish skin side up to finish the cooking. Take the pan off the heat while you assemble the other ingredients.

I made a dressing for the salad by draining off some of the juices/oil from the salsa and mixing with a bit more oil and a tiny dollop of mustard to thicken. Then mix the salad and dressing together and plate up with the cool punchy salsa, succulent salmon and any other veg you have lying around.