Category Archives: Main Courses

Bacon and Leek Filo Tart

Posted in Baking, Lunches, Main Courses, Photography by

Last weekend I went to Faversham Night Market held just after the summer solstice and was inspired by all the wonderful tarts and savouries on sale. The following day I set about trying to make a healthier tart so made a few tweaks to cut calories from this googled recipe for Cheesy leek tart. I skipped the cream and used some creme fraiche left over from last weeks almond cake with milk and cut down the cheese quota by a third. 

The resulting tart was delicious even if I do say so myself and went rather well with a few jersey royals and salad. 

Bacon and leek filo tart Continue reading →

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Pork Kebabs

Posted in healthy eating, Main Courses, Pork by

Last week I made these delicious pork kebabs with soy and ginger after stumbling across the recipe on the Asda website as I had some pork fillet to use up. Super easy to make but best marinated overnight if possible to really get the flavour into the meat. I served mine with a green salad and some boiled rice.

I have just got back from an amazing trip to Galicia in north Spain so hope to share some foodie images taken on the trip with you soon.

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Crustless Mini Vegetable Quiches

Posted in Lunches, Main Courses, Photography, Vegetarian by

These mini crustless vegetable quiches came to be after I needed a quick lunch last week. My impending homelessness has made me be a bit more frugal with my food shopping and that means getting inventive with left overs so I set about seeing what else was lurking in the fridge after I finally used up the left over mincemeat and rustled these up. They fit the bill of a healthy lunch that would provide packed lunch left overs for the following day. You could use any leftover bits for these and omit the pesto if you don’t have Mediterranean style veg to hand.

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Cider Baked Pork Chops

Posted in Main Courses, Photography, Pork by

I have been making these cider baked pork chops by the king of comfort food – Nigel Slater for a few years now. Very quick to prepare, easy to bung in the oven and just what I needed now that the weather is turning Autumnal. These chops are not at all dry or tough after being roasted in the cider, just make sure you use a good dry cider so that the sauce isn’t too sweet. Having been struggling with the change of light quality these last few weeks but think I have finally cracked the secret…shoot earlier in the day!

Cider pork chops nigel slater Continue reading →

Beef Rendang

Posted in Beef, Main Courses, Photography by

I’m not going to lie, this curry takes time but is well worth the investment. This was my second curry from scratch and I am very proud of my first foray into Malaysian curries.

Rendang is a dry curry, the rich spiced coconut sauce caramelising and getting darker as it cooks so be careful to stir it more often towards the end of the cooking time so that the sauce doesn’t burn.

Just don’t think about licking sauce from the lime leaves once you’ve removed them from the pot……after 3 hours of simmering, the sauce is hot and I may now have a scar from the burn on my chin inflicted by lava like sauce dripping from the leaf.

Beef Rendang

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Steak and Ale Pies

Posted in Beef, Main Courses, Photography by

I didn’t get chance to enjoy the dish that inspired this steak and ale pie recipe while I was in Edinburgh this summer so upon my return set about making the next best thing. A few years back I ordered a steak and ale pie made with Edinburgh’s Innis and Gunn beer and it was stunning. Luckily London supermarkets sell the stuff so I have never made steak and guinness stew or pie since. You can substitute the Innis and Gunn with another golden beer or Guinness.

steak and ale pies

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Quick & Dirty No Rise Pizza Base

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Sometimes you just need pizza. I was craving home made pizza on my return from Cyprus and my housemate has had a few pizza dinners during the World Cup, the smell of which have only stoked that fire. One evening I just couldn’t wait an hour for the dough to prove so googled a no rise base and converted this recipe on The Faux Martha from cups to grams. The base is crispy and you really can have delicious homemade pizza on your plate in around 30 minutes.

There is some wholemeal spelt flour into the dough but use all white plain or spelt flour should you wish. You can use a good quaility pasta sauce, BBQ sauce or pesto, ready grated mozzarella and your choice of toppings. I used Seeds of Change Mediterranean Vegetable pasta sauce, mozzarella, portobello mushrooms and spicy pepperoni.

no rise dough 30 min pizza Continue reading →