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Gemmill
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God, that was a gay post.

 

I just said exactly the same thing to our lass about making my own stock after reading TR's post and she looked at me as though I was mad.

 

I once watched a Jamie Oliver episode where he did it like that and it looked the dogs bollocks tbf.

 

Honestly it makes a really tasty soup. My son thought I'd gone mad too when he came home and remarked there was a lovely aroma in the kitchen...he soon changed his mind when he saw what was simmering away in the pot :snigger:

 

Tis easy.....

 

Just break the carcass into 4 pieces or so and add whatever herbs and veggies you like for the stock. I use carrots, fresh thyme and rosemary. 1 onion. Mushrooms. salt and black pepper. Swede. Cabbage. And some juices left over from roasting the chickens. But chuck in whatever you fancy. Cover with hot water and simmer on the stove for a few hours or use a slow cooker like I do, I gave it all day. Then just sieve and you have your stock. Any pieces of chicken that have come off the bones can be kept and saved at this point. (I put the stock in the fridge overnight so that any fat comes to the top and can be taken off) Then just cook whatever veg you want in the stock. Then remove the veg and thicken the stock using a Beurre Manie. (flour and butter paste) Put your cooked veg and any chicken you have back in and Voila!!!! Tasty!

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Made a cottage pie at the weekend, first time in ages (ever?). Recipe seemed promising (yet fairly straightforward) but the end result was disappointing, not a patch on my trusty shepherd's pie. Don't know if I did something wrong or lamb is just inherently better.

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Added a generous amount of broad beans and a few fennel seeds to my leak and potato soup today. Thoroughly blended 2/3 of it. The beans add a lot of texture and creaminess, as well as lifting the taste along with very the subtle aniseed, without overpowering the leak.

 

Made me fart a fair bit mind, but it was worth it (for me).

Edited by trophyshy
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Really getting into soups. Bought a book called the soup bible from a National Trust shop last week, made three so far, all delicious.

 

The best was a mulligatawny which has to be the nicest soup I've ever tasted.

 

Saw a show last month which scientifically demonstrated blended soups keep you fuller for longer than if the constituent parts were eaten as a meal with a glass of water. If you are dieting then, soup if your friend.

 

If it's just me and I want fresh soup I'll sometimes do a turbo bowl approach, fresh carrot soup in about 6 minutes..

 

Boil about 1-2 cups of water.

 

Take 3 large/4 medium carrots, top and tail. Peel if dirty or you are paranoid. Half.

 

Take half an onion, remove skin and chop a little.

 

wrap all the above in a cling film parcel and microwave for 3 minutes.

 

Add about a cup of hot water to your blender (make sure it can cope with it!), add a pinch of chilli (variable) and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin, add 1/4 teaspoon of veggie stock powder, add good pinch salt and grind some black pepper.

 

When microwave dings poke carrots with knife to ensure soft. If not soft give another 30-60 seconds.

 

Carefully cut clingfilm at one end and tip contents into blender. put lid on and blend, add water. If you have an orange zest little bit of the skin - just a couple of scrapes. Add a little coriander here if you want too. Add water until it looks the right consistency for you. Add 2 teaspoons of creme fraiche or sour cream. Blend a little more...

 

Serve.

Edited by trophyshy
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Really getting into soups. Bought a book called the soup bible from a National Trust shop last week, made three so far, all delicious.

 

The best was a mulligatawny which has to be the nicest soup I've ever tasted.

 

Would you be able to put some recipes up, mate? Love a good soup.

 

I'll stick up the ones Ive made so far as I can vouch for them.

 

Tomato Soup

 

 

Ingredients

2 x 400g Tin Chopped Tomatoes

1 Large Onion, roughly chopped

3 Small Potatoes, peeled & cubed

1 Sweet Potato, peeled & cubed ***

1 Pint Vegetable Stock (1 cube)

Fresh Basil ***

1 tsp splenda or sugar

2 Garlic Cloves, peeled

Few dashed Worcestershire sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

Place all ingredients into a large saucepan & bring to the boil, Simmer for a good 30 minutes, Blitz in a food processor or liquidiser & Serve.

 

*** The ingredients marked with a star I didnt have but it still turned out delicious.

 

I also chucked in 2 large tablespoons of greek yoghurt about two minutes before serving which turned it into a cream of tomato soup.

 

 

Chicken and Sweetcorn

 

 

1 Onion, peeled & diced

1 large Potato, peeled & cubed

1 x 12oz tin of Sweetcorn

1.5 Pints of Chicken Stock (2 cubes I used Knorr)

Salt & Pepper

Cooked chicken

 

Place ingredients into a large saucepan & bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, Liquidise the shit out of it.

 

Throw in diced up cooked chicken, warm up for a few minutes and serve.

 

 

Mulligatawny - This is the nicest soup I have ever eaten.

 

 

4 Tbs butter or 4Tbs of oil (We just used fry light)

Packet of cooked chicken breast

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 small turnip, chopped

1 Tbs curry powder

4 cloves

6 black peppercorns, lightly crushed

50g lentils

1 1/2 pints chicken stock

40g Sultanas

 

Add the onion, carrot and turnip to the pan and cook until lightly coloured.

Stir in the curry powder cloves and peppercorns and cook for a further 1-2 minutes then add the lentils.

Pour the stock in, bring to the boil and then add the chicken and sultanas.

Cover and gently simmer for 1 1/4 hours.

 

I have always hated the Heinz mulligatawny soup so wasnt expecting to like this. It was fantastic. Its so thick and delicious I even poured the last dregs over some rice yesterday and had it as a curry.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Roasting stuff.

 

Our lass whenever she cooks a joint of beef or lamb and even chicken, always insists on chucking in a quite a bit of water in the roasting tin so that the water level is about 2 - 3 cms up the side of the tin. She always says that this is to stop the joint drying out.

 

Is this right?

 

When I recently cooked a joint of beef I put no water in and used a thermometer to make sure it was cooked for just the right time. It was delicious.

 

Now I want to cook a nice leg of lamb or lamb joint and serve it pink but not bloody.

 

Should I again just stick it in the roast tin or slow cooker (is one better than the other) and use the thermometer.

 

Also some sites suggest stabbing the joint and sticking in Rosemary and Garlic.

 

Finally I would also like to make a nice sweet sauce to accompany it. Ideally fairly health.

 

Any suggestions from our resident gourmets.

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Should be fine your way. It is great to poke fresh rosemary in but that's a matter of personal preference. Roasted garlic is quite sweet and is bloody lush. You could go proper gourmet and make a roasted garlic puree to go with by blending the stuff. ;)

 

Always best to make a gravy based on the drippings. When you're letting the meat rest (half an hour or so out the oven) then pour the juices into a pan, throw in a little more rosemary, lamb stock and whisk in a bit of flour to thicken it if you don't want a runny gravy.

 

I always like using a bit of redcurrant sauce with the meat juices as a gravy - always comes out nicely and gives a blend of sweet and sharp flavours that doesn't overpower the meat.

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