Shredded Beef Burritos

My first taste of 'Mexican' food on English shores, after getting addicted to Taco Bell on a lacrosse trip to The States as a teenager, was a make at home burrito kit from Old El Paso, using minced beef and a sachet of seasoning. This tided me over for quite some time, along with a few additional ingredients, until the more recent boom in burrito bars across the country which also coincided with me taking a much greater interest in cooking.

Now the craving isn't satisfied with quickly cooked chewy mince meat and so instead i now set a whole day aside for preparing the slow cooked meaty filling for my burritos. Don't worry the actual active cooking time is short, once the meat is in the slow cooker you leave it for 8-10 hours to soften up and fill your kitchen with lovely spicy aromas while you go about your day. Not like any other day however, as this day you will waltz around with a ridiculous grin across your face, feeling superior to all around you, as you know that later for dinner you will be eating a juicy, home cooked, spicy burrito... 

The seasoning isn't  too far from the ingredients on the back of the Old El Paso packaging but the taste and textures are on another planet!  Make sure you buy the largest tortillas you can find so you can put as many of the extras in as possible - the more the merrier! The tortillas also need to be nice and fresh so they don't split while rolling them up!

Ingredients - 

Approx 3 Pounds/1.35 Kilo joint of Beef - Silverside/Top Rump/Topside

Tbsp Ground Cumin

Tbsp Ground Coriander

Tbsp Chilli Powder

Tsp Salt

Tsp Paprika

400g Can of Chopped Tomatoes mixed with a finely chopped Onion

Tbsp Corn Starch

 

  

• Trim the joint of fat and cut it lengthways into 3 even pieces 
• Combine the cumin, coriander, chilli powder, salt and paprika and rub all over the meat
• Place a quarter of the chopped tomatoes and onion mixture in the bottom of the slow cooker then top with a piece of the seasoned meat, repeat the process with the other two pieces of meat and top with the last quarter of salsa
• Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours
• Remove the meat from the sauce and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile use a hand blender to blend the sauce until smooth, add a splash of water and corn starch and mix. Now take the beef and shred it along the grain into small pieces and return to the sauce
• Turn the slow cooker up to High and cook with the lid off until hot and the sauce is nice and thick, add any extra seasoning

 
Serve in a large flour tortilla with all or your choice of the following -


Soured Cream
Rachel's Guacamole
Lettuce or a small amount of rice (cooked, 2 tbsp approx)
Chopped cherry tomatoes
Jalapenos
Freshly Grated Cheddar Cheese
Refried/Pinto/Black Beans

* The leftovers will last 3 days in the fridge or can be frozen

Spanish Chorizo and Chickpea Soup

I've seen numerous different recipes for this soup and for good reason - it's quick, easy to make and tastes delicious! It's a great winter warmer.

I roughly follow this recipe depending on what we have in the cupboards, the most important thing is good quality ingredients, particularly the chorizo and tomatoes.

It tastes even better the next day, if you can wait, as this allows all the flavours to infuse fully.

Ingredients -

150g Chorizo, diced

1 Onion, finely chopped

2 Celery Stalks, finely chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

2 x 400g can of Chopped Tomatoes

400g can of Chickpeas

1 litre of good quality Chicken Stock

Chilli Flakes and Paprika, to taste

250g bag of Spinach, stalks removed

Creme Freche to serve

• Fry the chorizo in a large saucepan until they give off their oils
• Add onion, celery and garlic
• Cook on a gentle heat for approx 10 mins with the lid on
• Add chickpeas with liquid, chopped tomatoes and stock. Season and bring to the boil
• Simmer for about 20 minutes
• Add spinach at the end, stir through until wilted
• Serve in warmed bowls with a dollop of creme freche

Blondies

All relationships need spicing up every now and then, so Rachel and I decided to add a hot blondie to ours for the evening.

On a cold winter night we took our relationship to the next level, a beautiful blonde was invited into our home, it was a little different, exciting, the smell was intoxicating...

We couldn't help ourselves and grabbed and pulled, we were delirious with pleasure.... they were all warm inside and tasted delicious!

Chilli Blondies or White Chocolate and Chilli Brownies. Whatever you want to call them they are like catnip to chocolate and chilli lovers and Rach and I are perhaps the biggest fans of both!

Ingredients -

200g Butter,
300g good quality White Chocolate, chopped
3 Medium Eggs
150g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
200g Plain Flour, sifted
Pinch of Salt

For the chillis -

2 Red Chillis
100g Caster Sugar
150ml Water

• Heat the oven to 180C / 170C Fan
• Line a small rectangular roasting tin or oven proof dish (Approx 25cm square) with grease proof paper
• Cut the chillis in half lengthways, deseed and finely slice
• Put the chillis, sugar and water in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for approx 5 minutes
• Melt half of the chocolate and all the butter in a bowl over simmering water or in the microwave, mix well and then leave to cool slightly
• In a large bowl beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until pale, then beat in the chocolate mixture
• Fold in the sifted flour and salt, then fold in the remaining chocolate
• Drain the chillis and mix 2/3 of them into the mix
• Pour the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle the remaining chillis over the top
• Bake for approx 25 mins or until the top is just firm and slightly golden (see above)
• Cool in the dish then remove and cut into squares.
• Try a bit of the edges, where it is a little firmer, while still warm, mm mm!

Macaroni Cheese

This is my take on another classic.

Having recently purchased a very cool nutmeg grater complete with built in nut holder (Just before Christmas, Rachel thought it was a present for her and looked quite disappointed when she saw it) i have been looking for excuses to bring it out and i found one with a recipe for macaroni cheese from top steak restaurant  - Hawksmoor.
 

Everyone knows they cook a lovely piece of meat but i was intrigued to see what they'd do with something else quite simple and I was not disappointed, i've personalised it slightly to my taste and to remind me of the dish the way my mum used to make it. 

This is grown-up macaroni cheese. When we are children we love the simple, mild, rubbery cheeses like edam and mild cheddar and this is what i used to have in Macaroni Cheese. As we and our taste buds mature we crave ever stronger, ever more pungent and mature cheeses, so it's no wonder we stop craving a dish we ate so regularly. The recipe just needed maturing like our good selves and the cheese!

So try this for a little reminder of a dinner you used to wolf down so that you could ask to 'get down from the table' to catch Neighbours at 5.35pm. Did everyone eat so early, i'd need a second dinner now before going to bed if i still did.

Ingredients -

400g Macaroni Pasta
750ml Full Fat Milk (Use semi skimmed if you're that way inclined)

A Garlic Clove, chopped

2 bay leaves

Large pinch Freshly Ground Nutmeg

1 Spring Onion, chopped 

60g Butter

60g Plain Flour 

90g Stilton
60g Parmesan
100g Mature Cheddar
Good Quality Tomatoes, thickly sliced enough to cover the dish

• Cook the pasta in water with a pinch of salt until just done but with a slight bite to it - al dente
• Meanwhile warm the milk in a pan, hot but do not boil, add the garlic, bay leaves, nutmeg and spring onion. Allow to infuse for 15 mins
• When the pasta is done melt the butter in another pan, then slowly add the flour to make a roux, constantly stirring over a low heat for approx 3 mins
• Strain the milk and then slowly mix the infused milk into the roux until it thickens, you now have a bechamel sauce.
• Slowly add the stilton and 2/3 of the parmesan and cheddar to make the cheese sauce. Add some freshly ground black pepper.
• Heat until bubbling slightly and then add the pasta, mix well and warm through for a few minutes then transfer to an ovenproof baking dish
• Top with sliced tomatoes and sprinkled with the rest of the cheeses then put under the grill on medium heat until the cheese is melted and browned and the tomatoes are nicely grilled and going soft.
• Add a little extra pepper and serve

Dishoom Keema Pau

While in my last job as a restaurant agent I had the opportunity to do a Masterchef style day at Dishoom restaurant in London's West End. I was up against a number of other surveyors from the leisure property world and fancied my chances.

The first challenge was to recreate their 'Keema Pau' dish having watched a chef demonstrate the technique. After a slow start browning the onions and seeing a number of my competitors confidently complete the task within a few minutes (this was no race, the idiots...) i happily pulled everything together and stood back to watch the judge take a mouthful of my dish into his mouth and look me in the eye with a knowing nod that i had done the recipe justice.

Unfortunately the second challenge was a quiz and not food related but about property in London, having been in the capital for all of a few months i didn't fare too well and crashed out of the competition before the final.... Still proud that i'd created the dish of the day and even happier that i had an extra hour to sup down a few more of their incredible Chaijito cocktails!

Below is the recipe as good as i can remember it, minus the bread they serve it with, i always use naan at home and serve it with whatever Indian chutney i have in the cupboard.

This is a dry dish so if it's swimming in juices you've done something wrong. Keep it relatively dry as you go through the stages and you shouldn't go too wrong. You're basically caramelising the onions at the start so cook them for longer than you'd expect to make sure they're lovely and browned, the pan shouldn't be too hot for this stage but not too low as you don't want them to just sit there and sweat. Lots of oil is important too, this is an Indian dish!

Ingredients -

 

400g Minced Lamb (Lean, if it's too fatty you may have to remove some of the juice from the pan and it'll also make your kitchen smell for a week... trust me)

Veg Oil

Tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 Large Onion, finely chopped

1/2 Heaped Tsp Ginger Paste

Heaped Tsp Garlic Paste

Tsp Red Chilli Powder

Heaped Tsp Cumin Powder (Plus extra to taste)

1/2 Tsp Garam Masala

4 or 5 Tbsp Chopped Tomatoes (or 3 tbsp of tomato puree and a little water)

Fresh Coriander Leaves

Salt

• Heat approx 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan until hot, add cumin seeds until they start to crackle

• Add onions and fry until golden brown, don't under cook it's important to get them nicely browned

• Add ginger and garlic pastes and saute until oil separates

• Add a little water (2 tbsp approx)

• Add all dry spices and saute, sprinkle with a little more water

• Add chopped tomatoes and saute until the oil separates

• Add the lamb mince and saute on a high heat until it dries up and becomes brownish

• Add a little extra water and simmer

• Add generous amounts of coriander leaves

• Check the seasoning (adjust with salt and / or extra cumin)

Serve garnished with extra fresh coriander with your choice of Indian bread and chutney.

Super Spinach & Chilli Soup

We were all taught that Popeye only needed a mouthful of spinach and suddenly he would become as strong as an ox and unbeatable in a fight. 

So at the family dinner table we'd be served some bland steamed mush and told to get it down us as it would make us strong like the tattooed cartoon character.  This obviously did not work and there must have been a small number of gullible kids who, after just about stomaching the spinach side dish at dinner, had gone out to confront the local bully full of confidence that the green stuff would fuel them to a David vs Goliath style victory only to get flattened and to run home crying, partly from the beating they had just received and partly because of the realisation that once again their parents had lied to them. The magic of Christmas - Lies, Babies are brought to their mummy's by a stalk - Lies, Tell the truth and you won't get in trouble - Lies...
 
It's surprising that any of us have any trust left in our parents... I'm not going to let my future kids down in the same way, they're getting the cold hard truth from the outset - There is no Santa Claus, your mother and I had very close naked hugs to make you and tell me the truth and you will get in trouble but you are in trouble anyway so what difference does it make??....   

Anyway, i suppose the spinach thing wasn't all lies, it does have many benefits, these benefits were just vastly exaggerated in the cartoon and the idea of eating it ready processed in a can, however convenient, is just disgusting...   

So try this as a delicious way to get the stronger skin, bones and vision that spinach can give you. I've also included chilli which reportedly boosts circulation, increases your metabolic rate and is both an anti inflammatory and provides pain relief.

I often make this when i have left over roast chicken and throw in the scraps for some extra muscle building protein!

Serve in mugs or sealed tins (for emergency situations...)

Ingredients - 

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Onions, chopped

3 Garlic Cloves, crushed

Freshly Chopped or Dried Red Chilli Flakes, to taste

1.7 Litres Chicken Stock

250g bag of Spinach

Salt and Pepper

100ml Double Cream

2 handfuls of leftover Roast Chicken

• Heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic and chilli for a few minutes until softened
• Add the stock and bring to the boil
• Add the spinach, stir through to wilt and then simmer for approx 5 mins (add the leftover chicken  at the same time if using)
• Blend until smooth and season well with freshly ground black pepper and salt.
• Stir through the double cream or serve with the cream drizzled through.