#blogjune 28 Sweet chilli prawn pies

I am still on a bit of a roll about cooking pies. This started this time last year when I was in England and had fabulous pies in a few pubs. The latest one I tried was a pie cooked with prawns, sweet chilli sauce and broccoli. It was very yummy and I ate it with potato and sweet potato chips cooked with garam masala.



Ingredients

4-5 tbs ready prepared tomato sauce
12 prawns (peeled)
8-10 broccoli flowerets
2 tbs chopped parsley
1/2 tsp chopped red chilli (dry or fresh)
2-3 tbs Thai sweet chilli sauce
Puff pastry



Mode

Heat oven to 200c
Remove pastry to thaw (if frozen)
Chop broccoli, parsley and chilli
Add tomato sauce to pan and heat
When heated add prawns, broccoli, parsley, chilli and sweet chilli sauce
Stir to combine
Simmer until cooked
Add to mixture to pie dish or individual dishes
Cover with pastry
Cook for 20-25 minutes
Serves two

#blogjune 15 The Flavour Thesaurus

For my last birthday, I said "No presents" but some people did sneak some in. One of them was this fascinating little toolbox entitled The Flavour Thesaurus: pairings, recipes and ideas for the creative cook, published by Bloombury in 2010 and written by Niki Segnit.

Segnit divides 99 foods into twelve categories ranging from "Roasted" through "Mustardy" and "Woodland" to "Floral Fruity" to name just a few. Within each food section there is information about the food, a few recipes, and pairings with other foods on the list. I often use Stephanie's bible for its suggestions of what goes with the food element I happen to have on hand so it will be interesting to see if I use this reference tool as well or stick with my tried and true Stephanie. It will also be interesting to see how much similarity there is between the two lists of "pairings".

#blogjune 13 Turkey and coriander balls in tomato sauce

I made two different meals with my turkey and coriander meat balls. Apart from eating them directly from the pan with stir-fry vegetables, I made a dish of them in tomato sauce.




Ingredients
500 gr minced turkey
1 slice multigrain bread
1 bunch of coriander
1 egg
Flour
Olive oil
1 cup ready made tomato sauce



Mode
Place the bread in water to absorb liquid
Roughly chop coriander
Place turkey in bowl
Add coriander and egg and mix
Squeeze excess liquid from the bread and add to mixture
Combine mixture thoroughly using hands
Using a dessertspoon and hands form meatballs
Place tomato sauce in large pan or casserole and heat
Add oil to pan and heat
Roll balls in flour
Add to oil and seal quickly
Place into tomato sauce
Place a simmer pad under pan and simmer for half an hour

#blogjune 12 Turkey and coriander balls

One of the recurrent themes to this blog is definitely meatballs - of all shapes and sizes and used in many different ways. Wandering around the supermarket at lunchtime the other day I saw minced turkey. Hmm, turkey meatballs! There was some lovely fresh coriander as well, so my dinner plans were made. Turkey and coriander meatballs with plum sauce served with sweet chilli sauce stir-fried vegetables!



Ingredients
500 gr minced turkey
1 slice multigrain bread
1 bunch of coriander
1 egg
Flour
Olive oil


Mode
Place the bread in water to absorb liquid
Roughly chop coriander
Place turkey in bowl
Add coriander and egg and mix
Squeeze excess liquid from the bread and add to mixture
Combine mixture thoroughly using hands
Using a dessertspoon and hands form meatballs
Add oil to pan and heat
Roll balls in flour
Add to oil and seal quickly
Then cook until done turning regularly

#blogjune 7 Mackerel and vegetable pie

This pie is a bit in the category of what to cook you haven't been shopping and are scrounging to cook something with what's lurking around the kitchen. But it is very tasty nonetheless and I reckon I will cook it again!


Ingredients

1 can mackerel (425 gr)
3 tomatoes
Head of broccoli
1/2 cup ready made tomato pasta sauce
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (or whatever is required for pie dish)

Mode

Heat tomato sauce in pan
Remove pastry from freezer and set aside to thaw
Preheat oven to 200c
Chop tomatoes roughly and add to tomato sauce and combine
Cut broccoli into flowerets and add to mixture
Add mackerel and break down into small pieces
Reduce heat and simmer on a simmer pad until vegetables are tender
Spoon mixture into one large pie dish or four individual ones
Cover with pastry after brushing edges with water to seal
Cook for 20-25 minutes at 200c.

#blogjune 6 Chicken, coriander and mushroom pie

I think I must be becoming obsessed with pies. This one is really just a variant on the previous pie. I used fresh coriander instead of parsley as well as spring onions and it so changed the flavour! I also cooked the ingredients in a slightly different order.



Ingredients

6 chicken thighs (about 600 gr)
Bunch coriander
4 spring onions/shallots
2 cups mushrooms
250 gr low fat Greek yoghurt
Olive oil
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (or whatever is required for pie dish)


Mode

Heat olive oil in pan
Remove pastry from freezer and set aside to thaw
Preheat oven to 200c
Remove fat from chicken thighs and chop roughly into cubes
Add chicken to olive oil
Turn up heat and quickly seal the chicken
Slice mushrooms and chop coriander and spring onions
Add coriander and spring onions to chicken and stirring to combine
Add mushrooms to mixture and do the same
Turn down heat and simmer mixture
Add yoghurt and mix thoroughly
Reduce heat and simmer on a simmer pad until the chicken is tender
Spoon mixture into one large pie dish or four individual ones
Cover with pastry after brushing edges with water to seal
Cook for 20-25 minutes at 200c.