Tequila cured salmon

Everyone likes a dish which involves alcohol in some capacity so this week that’s what we’re featuring.  The more usual alcoholic addition may be brandy or beer but we’re going to use tequila for this tasty starter.  There’s no need to crack open that $100 bottle of Jose Cuervo Reserva de Familia, buy a cheap bottle from the supermarket.  You’ll also need a pestle and mortar or something which will accomplish the same task.  Please note that after preparation the fish will need to be chilled for 48 hours before serving.  Here’s what else you need:

Any tequila will do.....

Salmon Ingredients

• 1kg side of salmon, boned and with the skin still on
• 4 chopped red chillis
• 1 tbsp of cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• the zest of three limes
• 300g sea salt
• 300g brown sugar
• 300ml tequila

Dip Ingredients

• 200g goats cheese
• 100g Greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp chopped mint
• 1 tbsp chopped lemon balm (similar to mint leaves)
• zest and juice of one lime

For the salmon preparation, follow these instructions:

1. Cover a baking tray with tin foil then cover the tin foil with clingfilm.
2. Place the salmon on the cling film with the skin facing down.
3. Heat the mustard and cumin seeds over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.
4. Grind the heated seeds in the pestle and mortar and mix in the lime zest and chopped chilli.
5. Now spread this over the salmon, pressing it into the flesh.
6. Wrap the clingfilm and tin foil tightly around the salmon, place another baking tray on top and pop it in the fridge with something heavy on top to weight it down.

For serving, follow these instructions – don’t forget to wait 48 hours before serving:

1. Just mix all the dip ingredients together with a drop of warm water until it looks like a dip.
2. Now slice the salmon into thin strips and serve with the dip.
3. As an extra touch, serve it on your favourite bread.

Turmeric tomatoes with yogurt

There’s nothing unhealthy about this Turmeric tomatoes with yogurt recipe and it’s the spices which provide the flavours in this quick and easy concoction.  You will need the following ingredients:

• 2 medium sized onions
• 3 tablespoons of groundnut oil
• a medium red chilli
• 1 teaspoon of brown mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 400 grams of chopped tomatoes
• 8 large tomatoes
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 100 grams of thick, low calorie yogurt

Now for the preparation and all you’ll need is one large, shallow pan:

1. Slice the onions and gently fry them in the pan with the groundnut oil
2. Chuck in the chopped garlic and cook until it’s a golden colour
3. Now slice the red chilli, remove the seeds and add to the pan
4. Next, add the cumin and the brown mustard seeds, followed by the turmeric.  Stir the whole mixture well to ensure the various spices and other ingredients are properly mixed together.
5. Now add the chopped tomatoes, fill the empty tomato tin with water and add that too.
6. Place the whole tomatoes in the pan, put the lid on an let them steam for around 20 minutes or until soft.
7. Now add the yogurt, stirring it in gently to avoid breaking the tomatoes.

It’s now ready to serve!

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream

are sprouting on the outside of the houses where I live so it must be time for a Christmas yoghurt recipe.  It’s a good one this and although one or two of the ingredients seem a little different, they are the type of things that turn up in your kitchen in the Christmas period.

This Christmas Pudding Ice Cream should take you no more than one hour to complete and will serve six, although it may be better to wait until Boxing Day to serve it up.  You will need an ice cream maker for this recipe which will cost about £20 ($30) upwards.

You will need the following ingredients:

• 3/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
• large pinch of ground cloves
• 350gms of assorted dried fruit – this can be whatever you want: cherries, peel, chopped apricots, sultanas, raisins but  mixed bag from the supermarket may be your best bet
• 200ml plain yoghurt
• 100ml dairy cream
• 2 tbsp of honey
• 5 tbsp of brandy

How to prepare:

1. The first step is to mix the cinnamon and cloves with the brandy and leave it for 30 minutes to let the mixture infuse.
2. Now pour this mixture over the dried fruit and leave this for a couple of hours

Perhaps now is a good time to help yourself to a small glass of that brandy while you wait.

1. When you’re ready, mix the yoghurt with the cream and honey and mix this substance with the fruit/brandy.
2. Now put this mixture into the ice cream maker and ‘churn’ it for 20 minutes on the freeze setting.
3. When that’s done, remove the mixture and place it into a small container, ideally the one the shape of a Christmas pudding.  Cover it with cling film and put it into the freezer.
4. When you’re ready to serve it. gently heat the outside of the container with hot water or a warm cloth and turn it out into a serving plate.  That’s it! Decorate it as appropriate and serve to your guests.

Serves 4.  Takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and 45 to 50 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of garam masala
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 2 carrots, cubed
• 1 parsnip, cubed
• 225 grams of cauliflower florets
• 1 courgette, cubed
• 300ml of cold water
• 75 grams of frozen peas
• 25 grams of butter
• 25 grams of plain flour
• 4 tablespoons of Greek-style yogurt
• 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander
• half a quantity of ready made short crust pastry, for the pie topping only
• salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
• 1 tablespoon of milk for glazing

Preparation Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Centigrade/fan 180 degrees Centigrade/gas mark 6.

2. Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan, then cook the onion, garlic and chilli for 2 to 3 minutes until tender. Stir in the garam masala, turmeric and cumin, then cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add the carrots, parsnip, cauliflower and courgette to the pan with 300ml of water, bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes until the vegetables are almost tender. Drain the vegetables but reserve the cooking liquid, and then mix in the peas.

4. In a separate smaller pan, melt the butter, stir in the flour, then cook for 1 minute. Add the reserved vegetable cooking liquid, then cook, stirring, until it forms a thick sauce.

5. Simmer the sauce for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt, coriander, vegetables and seasoning. Leave to cool.

6. Once the mixture has cooled down, spoon it into a 900ml pie dish. Brush the rim of the dish with water. Roll out the pastry and use to cover the pie, pressing firmly on to the rim. Trim edges and press firmly to seal. Make a hole in the centre of the pie to allow steam to escape.

7. Brush with the milk, place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

If you want to make this a complete one-dish meal, why not try adding some vegetables such as cauliflower florets, lentils or peas to the curry towards the end. Or you can bulk it up a bit by using potatoes which will absorb the flavours really well.

Our tip is to make it well in advance and leave to stand for a few hours beofre serving to let the flavours really develop.

Serves 6.  Takes 30 minutes to prepare and about 1 hour cooking time.

Ingredients

• 2 onions, quartered
• 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely crushed
• thumb-size piece fresh root ginger, peeled and very finely grated
• 2 tablespoons of Madras curry paste
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 green cardamom, bashed to break the shells
• 4 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon of tomato purée
• 1kg lean leg of lamb, cut into generous cubes
• 150ml Greek yogurt
• chopped coriander , to garnish

Preparation Method

1. Put the onions in a food processor and whizz until very finely chopped. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan, then fry the onion with the lid on, stirring every now and then, until it is really golden and soft. Add the garlic and ginger, then fry for 5 mins more.

2. Tip the curry paste, all the spices and the bay leaves into the pan, with the tomato purée. Stir well over the heat for about 30 seconds, then add the meat and 300ml water. Stir to mix, turn down the heat, then add the yogurt.

3. Cover the pan, then gently simmer for 40-60 mins until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.  Garnish with the coriander, and serve with plain basmati or pilau rice.

Chicken Korma

Serves 6.  Takes 30 minutes to prepare and less than 30 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

• 250 ml of natural yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of garam masala
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
• ½ teaspoon of chilli powder
• 800 grams of diced chicken
• 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 6 cardamom pods
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons of creme fraiche
• 2 tablespoons of sultanas
• 1 tablespoon of chopped coriander

Preparation Method

1. Mix together the natural yogurt, garam masala, garlic, ginger and chilli powder.

2. Stir in the chicken until well coated, cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally.

3. Drain the chicken and reserve the marinade. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and the marinated chicken. Cook until brown all over, remove and set aside.

4. Put the onion into the pan and cook until golden, stirring continuously. Return the meat to the saucepan together with the reserved marinade, creme fraiche and sultanas.

5. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook on a very low heat for 25 minutes until tender.

6. Sprinkle with the fresh coriander and serve with rice and steamed vegetables.

Prawn Curry

Serves 1.  Takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and less than 10 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

• ½ aubergine, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• ¼ teaspoon of turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• pinch of chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon of coriander seeds
• ½ tin of cherry tomatoes
• 6 cooked prawns, shells off
• 4 tablespoons of Greek yogurt

Preparation Method

1. In a frying pan, fry the aubergine with the oil, spring onions and spices. Cook for 5 minutes.

2. Add the cherry tomatoes and prawns, then turn down the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Finish by stirring in the Greek yoghurt and take off the heat.

4. Serve in a bowl with naan bread on the side.

The ingredients shown make just 12 cupcakes, but this can easily be doubled if you want to make more and we’re sure you will.  If you want to make the cupcakes in advance, they can be frozen before you have added the icing.

Takes 30 minutes to 1 hour to prepare and less than 30 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 225 grams of self-raising flour
• 175 grams of golden caster sugar
• zest of two lemons
• 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds, toasted
• 3 eggs
• 100 grams of natural yoghurt
• 175 grams of butter, melted and cooled a little

For the icing

• 225 grams of butter, softened
• 400 grams of icing sugar, sifted
• juice of one lemon
• few drops of yellow food colouring
• icing flowers or yellow sprinkles, to decorate

Preparation Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake or muffin cases.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon zest and poppy seeds together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs into the yoghurt, then tip this into the dry ingredients with the melted butter.

3. Mix together with a wooden spoon or whisk until lump-free, then divide between the cases.

4. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until a skewer poked in comes out clean (the cakes will be quite pale on top still).  Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then carefully lift onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

5. For the icing, beat the softened butter until really soft in a large bowl, then gradually beat in the icing sugar and lemon juice. Stir in enough food colouring for a pale lemon colour, then spoon the icing into a piping bag with a large star nozzle.

6. Ice one cake at a time, holding the piping bag almost upright with the nozzle about 1cm from the surface of the cake. Pipe one spiral of icing around the edge, then pause to break the flow before moving the nozzle towards the centre slightly and piping a second, smaller spiral that continues until there are no gaps in the centre. Slightly ‘dot’ the nozzle into the icing as you stop squeezing to finish neatly.

7. Repeat to cover all the cakes, then top with sugar decorations or scatter with sprinkles.

Takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and 10 to 30 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• 150 grams of unsalted butter
• 300 grams of caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 250 grams of thick Greek-style yoghurt
• 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
• ¼ teaspoon of red food colouring powder (available online and in Asian supermarkets) or alternatively use liquid red food colouring for a less intense, pink colour
• 250 grams of self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder

For the topping

• 200 grams of unsalted butter
• 200 grams of full fat cream cheese
• 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
• 450 grams of icing sugar
• crystallised rose petals, to garnish

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade or Gas mark 4.

2. For the cupcakes, beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs, yoghurt, vanilla seeds and food colouring and mix well.

4. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cocoa powder together in a bowl, then add to the cake batter and fold gently to combine.

5. Divide the cake batter among 24 small cupcake cases set in a cupcake tray (rather than large muffin ones) and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until risen and cooked through. Remove from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool.

6. For the topping, whisk the butter, cream cheese and vanilla together in a separate bowl, until smooth.

7. Gradually add the icing sugar, stirring well to combine and avoid any lumps from forming.

8. Spoon the topping into a piping bag and pipe a neat swirl of icing onto the top of each cupcake.  Garnish each cake with a crystallised rose petal.

Takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and 30 to 45 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

For the cake

• One 125 gram pot of strawberry yogurt
• One pot of sunflower oil
• Two pots of soft brown sugar
• Three pots of self-raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of boiling water

For the decoration

• Icing sugar
• Fresh strawberries
• Strawberry jam
• 300ml of double cream, whipped

Preparation Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade, Gas Mark 4. Grease a loose-bottomed cake tin (15cm) and line the bottom with parchment.

2. Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is well combined and light and airy.  Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.

3. Once the cake has cooled, slice in half or slice twice (into 3 layers) depending on how well the cake has risen.  With a palette knife spread the strawberry jam on the top of the bottom layer of the cake and place the second layer on top. Then spread strawberry jam on the surface of the next layer and under layer of the top layer or cake.

4. Wash the strawberries and slice lengthways into 3 or 4. Cover the bottom of the cake, covered in strawberry jam, with these slices, until thoroughly covered.

5. Top the strawberries with whipped cream evenly and replace the top on the cake. Dust all over the top with icing sugar and put in the fridge to chill and keep fresh.

If you want to make them extra special you can also try serving them straight from the oven with a sticky marmalade glaze and a dollop of crème fraiche but this is probably best done at home as it could get a bit messy!

Because of their high fruit content these cakes are best stored in the fridge once baked or you can prepare them in advance and freeze until you are ready to eat them.

Makes 8-10 cakes.  Takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

For the cakes

• 75 grams of butter
• 50 grams of caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 150 grams of pure fruit, no added sugar orange marmalade
• 200 grams of wholemeal self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 25 grams of ground almonds
• 25 grams of chopped nuts or desiccated coconut (optional)
• zest of 2 oranges, grated
• 125 grams of natural yogurt

For the glaze (optional)

• 60 grams of  pure fruit marmalade
• 2 tablespoons of orange juice

Preparation Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade, Gas Mark 4. Grease 8 to 10 little cake tins or muffins moulds.

2. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.  Beat the eggs and add to the mixture with the marmalade. Mix thoroughly to combine.

3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and chopped nuts/desiccated coconut, if using and add to the marmalade mixture with the orange zest. Finally gently stir in the yogurt.

4. Spoon the mixture into the tins and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.

5. If using the glaze, warm the marmalade and orange juice in a small pan until runny. Sieve to remove the rind then spoon or drizzle over the warm cakes. Serve warm with crème fraiche.