LIVER AND ONIONS

Image by sam.jackson via Flickr

INGREDIENTS

2 TBLSP Olive oil

1 Red onion, sliced thin

2 Garlic cloves

Half TSP dried basil

1lb calf's liver

Quarter pint burgundy wine

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in skillet or heavy frying pan, Saute onions ,garlic and basil until onions are tender. Add liver, reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins. Pour in wine and continue cooking for fifteen mins.

serve with plenty of steamed seasonal vegatables.

Serves four.

LIME AND DILL CRAB

INGREDIENTS

2Large Dunganess Crabs cooked, cracked, shelled, and chilled

2 TBLSP Lime Juice

2TSP Paprika

2TSP Dried, ground Dill Weed

2-3 Limes, cut into wedges

3-4 Sprigs Parsley finely chopped

DIRECTIONS

Drizzle crab meat with lime juice and sprinkle with paprika and dill. Serve with lime wedges and garnish with parsley. Serves 2

Serve with a plentiful salad, cooked vegatables, cold left over veg

SALMON AND TRUFFLE OIL

INGREDIENTS

Salmon steak for each person

Truffle oil (this is oil infused with the flavour of truffle and can be bought in most supermarkets)

Salt

Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place salmon steaks on plate , season with salt and pepper of your choice, brush with truffle oil and micro-wave on medium power in short 1min blasts until cooked to your taste. the cooking time will vary depending upon size of steaks, I do mine one at a time they cook so fast none are cold. I like mine rare but you should only do this with fresh good quality salmon, if you are cooking frozen salmon or have had it in fridge over night cook until pinky white right through.

Serve on a bed of mixed salad leaves.

This is a very easy quick satisfying meal you can add new potatoes for a more filling meal.

Truffle is an acquired taste which means you like it more the more often you try it.

RED DRAGON PIE

Image by digitaldefection via Flickr

This is a recipe I invented when my family were young and both time and money were tight. It is satisfying and filling, can be made with left overs, it saves and freezes very well.

INGREDIENTS

2 large onions

tblsp oil

1 tin chopped tomatoes

lentils

1 tin baked beans

paprika

turmeric

basil

garlic to your taste

125mls stock of your choice

mashed potatoes

DIRECTIONS

Add oil to frying pan on a low heat, and crushed garlic, to your taste, half tsp paprika and half a tsp turmeric, stir well and sweat on very low heat. This infuses the spices through the oil, experiment with your favourite spices.

Chop onions finely and add to frying pan, cook slowly for 5 mins.

Add lentils and stock then cook for 10 mins on slow heat

Add tomatoes and beans, add chopped basil and stir well.

Pour the mixture into a dish and cover with mashed potato. You can use fresh or instant as you choose. I always cook extra mash when I am making a meal to use in other potato dishes.

You can add several different topping, cheese, crisps, crisps and cheese, toasted bacon crumbs or just leave it plain.

Put into a medium hot oven and bake until golden brown about 15 to 20 mins depending upon your oven.

If you want to freeze this dish for later use do so before you add topping, when reheating you can heat from frozen for 45min on low heat and a further 15 on medium heat to brown top. Or take out of freezer night before and cook for 30min in a medium oven.

Alternatively you can cook in micro-wave from frozen and brown top either in grill or oven if desired

LAMB BREAKFAST

This recipe is part of the caveman diet that I now follow, it is also gluten and wheat free, all the caveman diet recipes are as well as dairy free

Ingredients

Grapes, 10 grams

Onions, raw, 100 grams

Pepper, black, 1 tsp

Paprika, 1 tsp

1 tblsp olive oil

Dried mixed fruit, 25 gram(s)

Roast leg lamb, 100 gram(s)

Dirrections

Put the oil, salt and pepper, and paprika into a frying pan and melt over a slow heat

Peel and thinly slice onions

Add onions to pan and sweat (cook slowly) for about 15 mins

Add dried mixed fruit and slowly cook

Cut 2 slices of roast leg of lamb into thin strips and add to pan

cook slowly for a further 10 mins

Serve and eat

I follow this with fresh fruit

FLOURLESS ORANGE CAKE

Image by Sifu Renka via Flickr

INGREDIENTS

2 large oranges or 3 small
250grams sugar
250gm of almond meal
6 eggs
1tsp baking powder

DIRECTIONS

preheat oven to190c

line well greased cake tin

simmer whole oranges in shallow water in saucepan with lid for 2 hours. (top up water when necessary) Allow to cool reserve liquid.

In food processor mix all the remaining ingredients until well combined.

add roughly chopped oranges ( discarding pips)

to the processor, amd mix until well combined.

pour mixture into prepared tin and cook for approx one hour. Take out of tin after it has cooled for 5-10 mins.

optional orange glaze:-

heat liquid from oranges with 1 cup of sugar and allow to simmer until it thickens slightly. pour syrup over warm cake.

Number of Servings: 16

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QUICHE

THIS IS A FAVOURITE OF MINE

INGREDIENTS

Potatoes (to cover the sides and bottom of your quiche dish)

Eggs (6)

Filling (broccoli)

Milk 200mls

Season to taste.

Pre-heat oven to Gas mark 4

One of the things I missed most were pastry dishes so when a friend gave me this recipe I began to adapt it for all kinds of things, this is one of the easiest.

Base

You can either peel, boil and mash enough potatoes for your needs or you can do as I do which is to always cook a large pan of potatoes whenever I make a meal, saves time and energy.

I always use fresh potatoes for the job, but you could use instant mash if you wanted and I now believe you can buy frozen mash. Check these last two item to be sure that the have no gluten or wheat ingredients in them.

Mash the potatoes, make up the instant mash or defrost the frozen, whichever you are doing, season to your own taste, I like to have mine well seasoned but it is up to you.

Line your dish with greaseproof paper if you need to. I now use silicon cookware and nothing sticks to it. Spoon the mashed potato, drier mash works best for this so a slightly undercooked is better- just slightly, into the dish and work it up the sides, at least a quarter of an inch thick. You can make it thicker if you like but not too thick to start with till you have mastered making this, it can be a bit intuitive.

Place in centre of oven and bake slowly until light golden brown and dry to touch, I often put this in the bottom of the oven while I cook other things. Depends on your oven how long this takes.

Filling

Pre-heat oven to gas mark 7

What ever you would put in any other quiche , this one is broccoli.

I find that it is better to let the base cool a bit, they can be made the day before you use them.

Cut the broccoli small and wash well.

Put into small frying pan with a knob of butter and a little water, season with pepper and salt, fry gently till broccoli is just softening. (omit butter if you are slimming or dairy free)

In the mean time beat the eggs, season them and add 200mls milk. (use water if you are dairy free)

Add the broccoli to the eggs and milk and pour into the quiche base.

Put into middle of oven and bake for 20 to 30 mins or until set.

This recipe take time and practise to get it right but is well worth the effort as it really satisfies the craving for pastry goods. We like our base thick.

The friend who gave me it was slimming and he used to make it and take it to his slimming club. This quiche base has less calories than pastry and with a bit of ingenuity you can add all kinds of things, try carrot and potato mash.