General Tso's chicken - a real crowd pleaser!

Now this is one recipe that I should have blogged a long time ago, as I've made it countless times since I discovered it on La Table de Nana.  As you may have guessed from the name, it sounds as though it should be of Chinese origin and to quote Wikipedia, "General Tso's chicken is a sweet, slightly spicy, deep-fried chicken dish that is popularly served in most Chinese and Asian themed American restaurants. The dish is most commonly regarded as a Hunanese dish.  The dish is named after General Tso Tsung-tang, or Zuo Zongtang, a Qing dynasty general and statesman, although there is no recorded connection to him".  So now you know.

I have to first deny all knowledge of deep frying my chicken.  You would have to pay me quite a lot to get me to deep fry anything, these days.   Not just from the health point of view, but um ~koff-blush~ I'm actually scared of deep frying.  I know.  I write a food blog and I'm scared of deep frying.  What can I tell you?  I think all those Public Information Films about the dangers of chip pan fires back in the seventies are still playing out in my head.

As a consequence, after velveting the chicken I just heat up a tablespoonful of oil in a wok and shallow fry to my heart's content.  The chicken still gets lovely and golden and I don't have a nervous conniption.  It's all good.

Served with coconut rice

The combination of goodies in the sauce is just an inspired thing.  Each contributes something to the final flavour(s) and it just wouldn't be right without any one of the ingredients.  Mind you, I do have to say that I don't use fresh ginger - as was recommended by the original recipe.  Both hubby and myself react badly to fresh ginger these days, whereas if I use ground (powdered) ginger, we're fine.  Yes, the flavour is slightly different, but we still get the ginger kick and flavour - so I'm not arguing.  I put the small amount of ginger into the sauce, where it incorporates nicely.

Something I would recommend highly to you - and yes, it could almost be construed as a Cook's Tip, is to invest in some authentic soy sauce.  If you can get them, both light soy and dark soy, as the difference in flavour to the small amounts of Blue Dragon, or even Kikkoman, is just incredible.  Once I'd invested in a large bottle of both, I wouldn't ever go back to "Westernised" soy sauce.  It's just a whole different ball game and you'll find you use far less as the flavour is so much more intense.

Cooked together with sliced green pepper

Okay, so while we're doing the tips, you absolutely must have everything chopped before you start.  This recipe moves so quickly once you begin cooking, that you definitely don't have time to leisurely chop a half a dozen spring onions.  It's a case of grab it and cook it so you need to have everything ready!

Oh, and it is nice to keep a certain amount of chopped green onion back for sprinkling over the top once served.  It definitely helps the dish to look fresh and tasty.  Unfortunately, I can't cope with raw spring (or green) onion, so I restrict myself to some toasted sesame seeds.

Served with a spring roll and some prawn crackers

Son and heir consistently finds the texture of the velveted chicken a surprise and requires reassurance that it is the cooking process, not the chicken, that has made it feel that way on the tongue.  As if I'd feed him dodgy chicken!  *tut*  The very idea.

Hubby and I, however, just love the recipe.  I've cooked it with toasted sesame seeds and without, with a sliced green pepper or mushrooms and without - in all sorts of incarnations - and we've loved them all.

As a super-quick meal to cook, you really can't do better than General Tso's chicken.  It's almost one of my favourite "bung it in the wok in order and serve" recipes.  If it wasn't for the fact that you cook the chicken first, then reserve it for later, it'd qualify.  But then, it's just another bowl to wash up and what's another bowl when dinner tastes so good?

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN    (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

½ cup soft brown sugar
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 flat teaspoonful of powdered ginger
a good pinch of dried red chili flakes (optional)
½ cup water
3-4 tablespoons cornstarch
500g boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
6-8 spring onions chopped
toasted sesame seeds (optional).

Method :

If you are intending on using toasted sesame seeds as garnish, now is the time to toast them.  Heat up your wok or frying pan and place the seeds in dry.  Keep an eye on them, as once they start to toast it happens quickly!  Once nicely brown and toasty, decant into a ramekin to use later.

Next, mix the brown sugar, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, ginger powder, chili flakes (if you're using them, which I recommend you do!) and water together in a bowl.  This is your sauce, so set aside - but within reach!

Dredge the chicken chunks in the cornstarch and shake off any excess.

Heat the pan again and add the olive oil.  Cook the chicken in the olive oil briskly on a high heat until golden brown on at least two sides.  Remove the chicken and retain in a warm place.

Add a little more olive oil if necessary, plus the sesame oil and green onions (and any other veggies you might have thought to include). Cook until softened, then add the sauce and quickly bring to a boil.

Allow the mix to boil gently for as long as it takes for it to thicken slightly, then add the chicken and coat with sauce.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a glossy, syrupy consistency.

Serve with white rice, garnished with the toasted sesame seeds and some raw spring onion pieces.

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Tapas meatballs in tomato & fennel sauce

It has been a long old trail to this recipe, if I'm honest.

I now have a reputation (in the family - not globally, you understand), for being a master meatball maker.  This is something of a turnaround from the days when I would suggest meatballs for dinner and be greeted with lukewarm interest and the remark "well, you're not very good at meatballs".  Let me tell you, though, that there have been many meatballs passed under the bridge between then and now.

I'm pretty sure that I told you in another meatball post how I really wanted to create a tapas-style meatball, able to be eaten on its own - tapas style - with a glass of wine and maybe some bread as accompaniments.

Well, with tonight's "I really must make something with that lamb mince and that fennel, before they both go off" dinner, I think I achieved it.

I used lamb mince for its superb flavour, but I'm sure it would work as well with pork mince.  Beef might be a tad too flavoursome for the fennel, but I imagine that turkey would work, although you'd lose some of the savouriness of the flavour.  Anyway, give it a go with whatever you've got - and let me know!

I recently made some lamb meatballs that involved fresh mint and grated carrot.  Now I was a bit dubious about the grated carrot, but I liked the idea of the sweetness it would bring, plus the added moistness.  One of the big problems with meatballs, is keeping them moist and juicy.  Nobody likes a dry, pasty meatball.

So when I was contemplating what to do with this lamb mince in conjunction with the fennel, I remembered the carrot meatballs and how successful they were.  Carrot was a definite, but I pondered on adding some of the fennel to the meatball mix.  Maybe if I grate some of the tougher, woody stems?  No - they probably wouldn't cook quickly enough even with being grated.  It needed something smaller and more tender.  The bulb I was definitely going to slice and put in the sauce - which left the green, ferny, frondy bits that taste so good in a much milder way and are more of a herb than the bulb.  If I chopped them finely, they would be perfect in the meatballs!  Sorted.

The recipe I used for the meatballs with carrot, also rolled them in seasoned flour which when browned gave the meatballs a lovely tasty coating that then dissolved a little in the sauce, thickening it as it went.  This solves the problem of "do I reduce the sauce further, or do I serve it thinner than I wanted, or shall I thicken it somehow?", so that method was a definite here too.

The sauce couldn't be any easier.  It gave me an excuse to use two cloves of garlic (we could use some garlic about the place, as we have cold and sore throat germs floating around!) and use up a long lost rasher of bacon.  Incidentally, the bacon - because it is cut into such fine strips - just melts away into the sauce lending it a special kind of saltiness and smokiness that you can't get any other way.  Yummy.

Now, a cook's tip is to watch the amount of salt you use in the seasoning of the flour and the meatballs.  Because you're using the bacon and if you're using a stock powder or cube that isn't reduced salt, you need to rein your salt sprinkling back.  This is why I recommend to taste before serving and adjust then if necessary.  You can't take it out if there's too much there to begin with!  I used the beautiful Essential Cuisine Lamb Stock powder which is naturally low in salt and saves any need for worrying.  Check out their website, as the fabulous stock powders really aren't expensive and last for absolutely ages - well, apart from the chicken version which disappeared at the rate of knots!

Son and heir was out on a sleepover and missed this one.  He's going to be very cross about that when he finds out, as this was his perfect kind of dinner.  Hubby thoroughly enjoyed his, even though he is poorly at the moment (see earlier comment about sore throat germs) and ate the lot, which he was seriously dubious about doing before he tasted it.  As for me, well I was busy congratulating myself over - finally - making the elusive tapas style meatballs, but I did pause to note that it tasted as good as I wanted it to - if not better.

TAPAS MEATBALLS IN TOMATO & FENNEL SAUCE    (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

600g lamb mince
1 medium carrot, top & tailed and grated
sea salt & black pepper
1 onion, chopped fine
1 rasher of smoked bacon, cut into fine strips
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 bulb of fennel, sliced finely and
1 tbsp fennel frondy tops, chopped finely
2 tbsp seasoned plain flour
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
500ml good quality tomato passata
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp of powder or half a cube of lamb stock
100ml cold water.

Method :

1.  It is very worthwhile making sure you have all the vegetables prepared before you roll the meatballs in flour, to avoid the meatballs sticking catastrophically to their plate.

2.  In a large bowl, add the lamb mince, the grated carrot and the frondy parts of the fennel.  Season with a little sea salt and a lot of black pepper and mix with your hands, making sure the component parts are all well combined.

3.  Place the seasoned flour onto a large plate and begin to roll your meatballs.  Larger meatballs will feed less people, smaller ones more people, so it is up to you what size you make them.  Place each meatball onto the plate, roll in the flour and continue until you have run out of meatball mix.

4.  Heat the rapeseed oil in a deep frying pan and add enough meatballs so that you aren't overcrowding the pan.  You want the heat to stay moderately high so as to cook the outside of the meatballs, without burning and without stewing in their own juice.  Cook the meatballs in batches, if necessary.  It is not necessary to cook them all the way through at this stage, so remove to a clean plate as they are done.

5.  Without wiping out the pan (you don't want to lose all that flavour), add the onion and bacon and cook on a moderate heat until the onion is transparent.  This should take 3-4 minutes.

6.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring well, for a minute.

7.  Add the fennel slices and stir to combine.  Cook until the fennel is beginning to demonstrate some softening.

8.  Add the tomato passata, tomato ketchup, water and stock powder or cube.  Stir well to combine, then put a lid on so as to allow some steam to escape but keep the heat in (half cocked, I call it!) and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

9.  Your sauce should have reduced a little and thickened a little.  Try the fennel to see whether it is soft and cook on for a little longer if not.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

10.  Serve into warmed bowls, with bread for dipping and a side salad if you wish.

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Introducing ... Hampshire Hash!

Many years ago - longer than I care to remember - my friend Linda Hessell and I went on a Western Horse Riding weekend at Burley in the New Forest.  I was in my teens and it was my first holiday away without my parents.

When I think about it, we were babes in the wood really - but we took care of each other and managed to emerge unscathed at the end of the weekend, having had a great time.

Funny how sometimes your world turns in ways that return you back across tracks you've already travelled.  Some thirty five years (oh darn, there, I've remembered!) and eight house moves later, I find myself living within a twenty minute drive of Burley and have been past the same riding stables several times.

There are many reasons for remembering this holiday fondly, not least being the food - which was fabulous.  They had a housekeeper/cook who fed us all really well at the end of each day, with lashings of comfort food when we were all starving after riding across the New Forest and trying to look like we knew what we were doing.

Two recipes stand out from the weekend, firstly the Corned Beef Pie that I blogged back in December 2011 and this Hampshire Hash.

Now it is very probable that the affection with which I remember the holiday, may have something to do with where these two recipes stand in my memory.  My liking for Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie are well known - and Hampshire Hash fits very neatly into that category.

Before going into the oven ...

However, it had been some while since I last made Hampshire Hash as it had evolved into something which wound up being rather greasy - and occasionally, with semi-cooked potato cubes on top.  You can just imagine how much Hubby enjoyed that combination!

I'd been hankering after having another go at Hampshire Hash for some time and had been pondering on how to ensure a) it wasn't greasy and b) the potato was cooked.  I thought I had a plan and hubby agreed to give it a try, so we were set.

.... and after.  Mmmmnn!

Now previously, I will admit to not skimming the fat from the minced beef once it was browned - which obviously contributed a lot to the grease.  So that was an easy change - to fry the mince to the point where all the water had evaporated, the fat was rendered down and the mince was caramelising - then skim off the fat.  Sorted.

Now the potato aspect to the dish also had some input into the grease element.  Basically, you toss the potato pieces in a combination of full fat mayonnaise (low fat is just disgusting once cooked) and tomato ketchup.  Sounds a bit odd, but it works.  However, too much mayonnaise and you'll find it releases a lot of grease once it warms up.

So I decided to split the par-boiled potato pieces into two groups.  One which sits on top of the mince and absorbs the gravy - and the remainder which gets the mayonnaise/ketchup treatment and goes on the top.  That way, you still get the lovely flavours, with much less mayonnaise involved.

Well, it worked up to a point.  Interestingly, even though I put the minced beef in the casserole dish at a high temperature and added the plain potato pieces immediately, the ones with the mayonnaise on them cooked far more quickly.  I suspect this is because a) they were on top and b) the oil in the mayonnaise helped to "fry" them - and at a higher temperature than the ones underneath.  So we wound up - still - with some pieces of potato being noticeably harder than others.

So my cunning plan - reflected in the recipe below - is to leave one half of the potato pieces to cook for longer at the par-boiling stage.  I figure that if you start off with them slightly ahead of their mayo-coated brethren, everything should finish at the same level.  Also, make sure you give them the full three-quarters of an hour in the oven, to get that lovely caramelised edge to the potato pieces.

I really like this dish.  As a change from your regular Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie, it fits the bill well.  Especially as the minced beef part to it is flavoured differently - with curry powder and cinnamon - to add to the interest.

Oh and one other point - take care not to over-salt the dish.  The addition of curry powder can give a similar effect to salt, so you can afford to be sparing.

Hubby gave this version the thumbs up as regards grease and overall flavour, so I think I've probably succeeded where that is concerned.  Son and heir polished off his plateful, having been somewhat doubtful about how hungry he was to begin with - so that's another vote of approval.

I served ours with steamed carrots, butternut squash, peas and sweetcorn - but it would go with just about any vegetable of your choice.

HAMPSHIRE HASH   (feeds 4-5)

Ingredients :

3 or 4 large Maris Piper potatoes, peeled
1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped finely
500g lean minced beef
3 chestnut mushrooms, chopped finely
1 large celery stalk, de-stringed and chopped finely
1 heaped tsp Madras curry powder
half a tsp ground cinnamon
200g tin of Heinz baked beans
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 Knorr Rich Beef Stock Pot (or a low salt beef stock cube)
200ml hot water
a good pinch of ground black pepper
1 dessertspoonful of mayonnaise (don't use low fat - it's horrid!)
1 dessertspoonful of tomato ketchup.

Method :

1.  Put a large saucepan half filled with water and a little salt added, on to boil.

2.  Cut the potatoes into dice of approximately 1cm - and try to get them evenly sized, so that they cook evenly.

3.  When the water boils, put all the potato dice into the water and cook for 3 minutes.

4.  Remove half the potatoes with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl - allow to cool.

5.  Cook the remaining half for another minute or so.  Drain and replace in the saucepan.  Allow to cool.

6.  Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onions.  Fry gently until softened and golden.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and put onto a plate.  No need to keep them warm, as they'll be back in the pan in a moment.

7.   Place the minced beet into the pan and turn up the heat to maximum.  Fry the beef until all the water has boiled off and the fat has reduced.  The beef should be beginning to caramelise.

8.  Reduce the heat to moderate and push the beef to one side.  Spoon off a good nine tenths of the fat - and discard (or give to the dog!).

9.  Return the onions to the pan, together with the mushrooms and celery.  Cook until the mushrooms have taken on the remaining oil and the celery is softening.

10.  Add the curry powder and cinnamon.  Stir through and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.

11.  Add the ketchup, baked beans, stock pot (or stock cube) and water, along with the pepper and stir through.  Allow to simmer - stirring occasionally - until the ingredients have all combined nicely and a good gravy has formed.

12.  Decant the meat mixture into a casserole dish.

13.  Sprinkle the extra-cooked potatoes from the saucepan, on top of the meat mixture.  Don't mix them in - just allow them to sit on the surface in a single layer.

14.  Add the mayonnaise and ketchup to the potatoes in the bowl, and stir through taking care not to break up the potato cubes.  The potatoes should be well covered.

15.  Sprinkle these potatoes over the top of the plain ones and settle them into an even layer.

16.  Bake at 180degC/340degF/Gas 4 for 35-45 minutes or until the potatoes are beginning to become browned and crispy.

Serve with your choice of vegetables.

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Pasta Puttanesca with Tuna - at last!

You may be wondering why the addition of "at last!" in the title there.

Well, you see, I was beginning to think that I'd never get the chance of making this 'ere pasta dish.  The last THREE times it has appeared on the menu list, it has been bumped off for one reason or another.  I was beginning to think it was cursed - or that hubby and son viewed its inclusion on the list with such trepidation that they were going to all kinds of lengths to avoid having it.

However, it turns out it was just unfortunate circumstance that brought about its loss from the menu lists and we successfully ate it for dinner a few nights ago.

Now you may also wonder about the addition of tuna to the recipe, as I know that a strict pasta puttanesca is largely vegetarian (if you forget about the anchovies).  The trouble is, that my boys (both large and small) are committed carnivores.  If the meal doesn't include meat of some kind - and fish is included under the heading of "meat" for this purpose - then it's not "dinner".

So, having come across Delia Smith's recipe for straight Pasta Puttanesca and liking the look of it very much, I immediately began to consider what meat I could include and how it would go.  Should it be included in the recipe, or the recipe used as a side dish to the meat?  I considered bacon, but we've already got a number of successful pasta dishes that use bacon and I'd rather use something else.  Then, the anchovies raised their delicious little heads, which got me to thinking tuna.  Having re-read the method, it seemed entirely logical to include a tin of tuna right at the end when the sauce is pretty much made.  That way, the tuna wouldn't be broken up too badly.

I have to admit that I tinkered around with Saint Delia's recipe something awful (shallot, red pepper, wine, fish sauce, ketchup .. the list goes on) - but then considering the scrumptious dish that resulted, I'm not of a mind to apologise for doing so!  I think I can safely say that this is the first dish I've made, that I've been actively aware of the Umami (the fifth taste sensation) involved.

PASTA PUTTANESCA WITH TUNA (feeds 3)


Ingredients :

350g spaghetti or linguine (more, if you are hungry!)
3 drops olive oil
1 pinch sea salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, chopped fine
1 red pepper, seeds removed and sliced small
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tsp fresh basil, chopped
150ml red wine
50g anchovy fillets, drained
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
50g pitted black olives
1 tbsp capers, drained
400g tin cherry tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
tin of tuna in spring water, drained
pinch black pepper.

Method :


1.  To make the sauce, heat the oil gently in a medium saucepan then add the shallot and red pepper and cook them slowly until softened.


2.  Add the garlic and basil and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Then add the red wine and allow it to bubble until reduced by approximately half.  This should only take a few minutes.


3.  Add the anchovies, fish sauce, ketchup, olives, capers and tomatoes and season with black pepper.  Do not use salt, as you've already got salt in the form of the anchovies and fish sauce.


4. Turn the heat down to low and let the sauce simmer uncovered for some 40 minutes, stirring from time to time, by which time it will have reduced to a lovely thick mass with very little liquid left.  Taste for seasoning and add the sugar if the acidity is too much.


6.  Add the tuna and a little extra basil to the tomato sauce and stir gently to combine.  Allow it a minute or two to heat through sufficiently.


5. While the sauce is reducing, cook the spaghetti or linguine to manufacturer's instructions, except adding the three drops of olive oil and making sure the water is salted.  Drain the pasta when there is still a little bite left in it and return it to the pan.  Aim to have the pasta ready when the sauce is finished.



6.  Serve on warmed plates with plenty of grated parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

. 

Sausage Goulash

Hubby managed to pick up a pack of 12 speciality chipolatas for the price of an ordinary pack of sausages, the other day.  Although there were 12 in the pack, I felt they were a bit on the teensy side to be treated as just plain old sausages to be had with mash or suchlike, so began looking for a casserole-type dish to use them in.

I turned up a recipe for Sausage Goulash, which looked like it would have good results.  Indeed, it would have done, had it not have been for the accidental heavy hand with the crushed chillies and the quantity of paprika, which to hubby's taste was rather too strong.

Still, I enjoyed both the paprika and the chillies!  However, because I know that I'm currently going through a chilli-phase, I've re-written the recipe for another go at it, this time adjusting the quantities a tad.  Oh, and I'll try not to have a nerve jump in my hand right at the moment I'm shaking out a half a teaspoon of crushed chillies, next time.  LOL 

Incidentally, it would be easy for it to stretch to feed more people simply by including more vegetables in the mix.  Potato, sweet potato, parsnip, swede, peas, sweetcorn, green beans - all these would go very nicely.

SAUSAGE GOULASH (serves 3)

Ingredients

1 pack of sausages
2 onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic, grated or chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 bay leaves (optional, depending on how herby the sausages are)
1 heaped tsp Paprika
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
half a tsp dried chilli flakes
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
4-5 mushrooms, quartered
1 small can kidney beans
1 small can chick peas or cannelini beans
600ml chicken stock
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Plain yoghurt to garnish

Method

1.  Brown the sausages in a deep saucepan, then set aside.

2.  Fry sliced onions and garlic gently until golden, but not caramelised.

3.  Add paprika and stock.

4.  Add carrots, chick peas and beans, bay leaves, tomato puree & tomato ketchup and mushrooms.

5.  Return the sausages to the pan and simmer until the carrots are tender.

6.  Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer for 15 minutes more.

7.  To serve, decant into warmed bowls and add a generous blob of natural yoghurt on top.  If you really want to show off, add a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Serve with crusty bread.

My Spicy Minced Beef recipe

Spicy minced beef on the left, Kosheri on the right

Continuing the post regarding the Kosheri, here is the recipe for the Spicy Minced Beef that went so well with it.

SPICY MINCED BEEF (feeds 3)

Ingredients :

400g minced beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1.5 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
half a tsp ground coriander
half a tsp ground turmeric
half a tsp chilli flakes
1 beef oxo cube (or any beef stock cube)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
black pepper
boiling water

Method :

1.     Fry off the mince until browned, then remove all the fat (and give it to the dog, if you've got one!).  Add the onion, garlic and ginger and continue to fry until the underside of the mince layer has caramelised then turn and fry again.  Do this for some 3-4 turns, until a good quantity of caramelised meat is evident.

2.     Add the cumin, cinnamon, coriander, turmeric, chilli flakes, oxo cube (crumbled), tomato puree, tomato ketchup & pepper, stir to combine, then add sufficient water to cover the meat and stir well to combine.

3.   Bring to the boil, then simmer for 25-30 mins to reduce and let the flavours mingle.

Serve - goes well with Kosheri, recipe can be found here.