Wednesday 21 November 2012

It's been a while....



Hi all, sorry for such a long break between posts, things have been a little hectic.


I will be telling you all about the following:


  • Pancetta, Pasta and Peas
  • Moroccan chicken with sweet potato mash
  • Fish Jalfrezi

Pancetta, Pasta and Peas (or the triple 'P' if you want to be down with the kids.

This recipe is a regular in my repatoire of cooking on a weekly basis. It's tasty ,has pasta (always a win, especially on a winter eve) and doesn't take too long after a hard day at work.

This was originally sourced in delicious magazine but I have changed/added things as I have gone along.

You will need:
  • 1 pack of pancetta (130g)
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
  • 1 onion, chopped finely
  • 1 lemon, squeezed for the juice ( I added this to the recipe)
  • creme fraiche (This is subbed in instead of double cream) - about 2/3 of a 300ml tub (add a dash of water to the pan to loosen)
  • freshly ground black pepper (I added this to the recipe)
  • 200g of frozen peas
  • Wholewheat Pasta - enough for 2 people
  • Parmesan- add to your own taste

Add the pancetta to your wok/large frying pan and fry for 2/3 minutes (if you like your pancetta crispy, i would recommend frying for longer) then add the onions and garlic and fry for a further 5 minutes or until the onions and garlic are soft.

Add the peas to this mixture. I used frozen peas so allow this to cook for around 5 minutes until the peas are cooked through. Add the creme fraiche and a dash of water to the pan and mix in well with the ingredients  Once this is fully combined add the Parmesan and allow to melt into the mixture. Next add lemon juice and pepper to your taste.  Drain the pasta and stir into the sauce and serve! Josh always likes extra cheese!

The recipe doesn't call for the lemon/pepper however, when i tried it originally I found the dish too creamy and heavy. The lemon and pepper addition lifts the dish and adds to the flavour over all.

Sorry about the lack of piccys! My camera decided not to work :(

Moroccan Chicken with Sweet Potato

This is something i stumbled across on (you've guessed it) The BBC Good Food website. This dish offers unusual flavours with warming spices - a must have for those cold evenings. You can find the recipe here!


As ever I have made some amendments to the recipe. As you can see it states that 2 tsps of clear honey is used. I have found after making this dish several times is that adding extra honey can help the sauce to thicken more quickly and plays nicely alongside the spices. The spice mixture of cinnamon and cumin is fab and being spice-obsessed i add 2 tsps of each to the recipe which does make it stronger.  I also think its advisable to mix the cumin and cinnamon with a touch of oil to marinade the chicken in as it absorbs the flavours a little better. 

The recipe also states that it will take about 10 minutes to thicken, once again I have found that this can be considerably more around 20 minutes to half an hour so bear this in mind with the potatoes.

Look at my pretty pictures....

The Prep Phase...

Chicken smothered in olive oil, cumin and cinnamon - sorry it looks so unappealing!
Garlic, onion, corander, honey and oxo

Sweet Potatoes ready to boil....

The cooking phase...

Smashed sweet potato with olive oil and pepper

Chicken in the pan with stock, honey, onion , garlic and coriander

Ta Da....



 This recipe is one of my personal faves! tangy and garlicky! firm 9/10!



Fish Jalfrezi

so after the success of my Fish Thai Yellow curry, i thought i'd branch out and try it in a jalfrezi. The base recipe recommends chicken (thighs at that but I always opt for breast) but I thought i'd be frivolous! 

Chopped onions, garlic, ginger chillis and peppers

I am pleased to say that the humble cod fillets I used stood it ground firmly against the gorgeous spice mix! I even added extra chopped chillis for extra heat and it worked well. I personally don't see the need for the yogurt as the heat of the jalfrezi suits my palette well.











As you can see above, this curry has my favourite spice blend of coriander and cumin! all together this mixed together smells heavenly!

Ta Da....





As you can see the fish did break up a little but still tasted amazing! I would recommend highly.


When i told people about the fish curry, there seemed to be a lot of unsure looks staring back at me. Have you tried fish curry? If so what do you think?

Next time on harriate....
I am attending a craft day with lots of new food/drink recipes! Camera at the ready!


Eat,Drink and Be Merry

H x

1 comment:

  1. You should try Hestons pancetta and peas - he uses egg yolks instead of cream and adds chilli. It's awesome.

    http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/recipe_directory/h/heston_s_pea_and_pancetta_spaghetti.html

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