Pineapple Salsa with Del Monte

by

What better accompaniment to go with my Jamaican Jerk/Cajun spiced chicken breasts than with a warm, fresh and fruity pineapple salsa?  This is quick and easy to make and can be served hot or even cold with a picnic or sandwich filling to go with some cooked meats too!

  • 175g Del Monte canned pineapple in juice
  • 4 Spring onions
  • 50g Red pepper
  • 15ml Cider vinegar
  • 15ml Soft brown sugar
  • 60ml Barbecue sauce
  • 5mm Fresh ginger, grated
  • 50g Canned sweetcorn, drained
  1. Chop the pineapple into small pieces.

Del Monte canned fruit

  1. Slice the spring onions thinly.
  2. Chop the red pepper finely.
  3. Add these to a small saucepan with the cider vinegar, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, ginger and sweetcorn.

Del Monte canned fruit

  1. Heat gently for 10 minutes until the peppers have started to soften.
  2. Serve hot or cold.

Perfect served as an accompaniment to my Jamaican Jerk/Cajun Spiced chicken breasts, along with a baked potato, sweet potato and fresh broccoli.

Del Monte canned fruit

I used the tin of pineapple sent to me from Del Monte recently to make this meal.

Home Made Jerk Seasoning

by

If you read my post on Saturday, you’ll see that we grew our own chillies this year, dried them and made them in to a hot & fiery chilli powder. Using a small amount of that powder, I made my own Jamaican/Cajun jerk seasoning.  WOW!!! what a difference to the shop bought, commercially available stuff.  It’s got punch and power and a lot of heat.  I’m glad I didn’t put loads of powder in to it!

  • 5ml Chilli powder
  • 3cm Fresh ginger
  • 4 Garlic cloves
  • 5ml Ground cinnamon
  • 5ml Ground coriander
  • 2.5ml Ground nutmeg
  • 15ml Soft brown sugar
  • 2.5ml Dried Thyme
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  • 30ml Dark rum
  • 30ml Rapeseed oil
  1. Place all the ingredients above in a spice mill.

Del Monte canned fruit

  1. Blitz together until fully combined and smooth.

Del Monte canned fruit

  1. Pour this mixture into a medium sized bowl.
  2. Score your chicken breasts and toss them into the spice mixture, making sure that it penetrates the flesh to infuse the seasoning into the meat.

Del Monte canned fruit

  1. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for a couple of hours, until ready to cook.
  2. When ready to cook the chicken, place the breasts into a hot pan, with a little rapeseed oil and cook on both sides until the chicken is cooked.

Del Monte canned fruit

  1. Serve with my pineapple salsa for a tasty dinner.

 

Home grown chillies to homemade chilli powder

by

30383649340_6c7f8c7998_z

We’ve grown and harvested chillies this year in our garden, for the first time, and had a decent little crop. Not wanting them to go to waste, and not wishing to freeze them, I’ve dried them out slowly in the airing cupboard before blitzing them up into a powder.  The result is much hotter and far more tasty than the commercially available stuff, I can tell you!

After picking them on a warm, dry day.  I threaded a needle with some fishing line and sewed the chillies together through the stalks, along the line, rotating each one so that they’d keep their distance to allow the air to circulate as they dry.

They then went into the airing cupboard to hang from the bottom shelf for a couple of weeks to dry out slowly and completely. When they were paper dry, it was time to make them into a powder.

Cutting just the green tops off the chilies, but retaining the seeds inside to keep the heat, I put them into the spice grinder attachment for my Kenwood Major Titanium stand mixer.

I then ground them down in to a very fine powder.

Upturning the spice jar, I gave it a gentle tap on the work surface to make sure all that wonderful powder had dropped down from the blades, and allowed the powder to settle for a couple of minutes before removing the blade attachment.

The resulting smell is incredible! So much more rounded and intense than shop bought chilli powder as it’s so much fresher.  It also packs a mighty punch; a little of this is going to go a long way!

I can’t wait until next year to grow more than one plant and repeat this process. The plant we bought was from Suttons Seeds and was one of their grafted plants which promise up to 75% more vegetables for a better crop.  I’ll certainly be buying this one again!

Giveaway – Del Monte

by

Fancy winning yourself a hamper of products from Del Monte?  I posted a recipe for a Baked Pear & Amaretto Cheesecake on Friday which you can make yourself at home, using a few additional ingredients to create a delicious dessert.

img_4662

To be in with a chance to win the hamper, simply share with me your favourite childhood memories of Sunday teatime treats.  What did your mum serve you that, if you recall it today, brings back those precious memories?

Our Sunday teatime used to consist of sandwiches (I loved tinned pink salmon, mixed with plenty of malt vinegar and topped with sliced cucumber on white bread which had been spread with proper butter) along with a cup of tea, poured from the teapot through the tea strainer in to a cup and saucer, and for pudding I really used to look forward to tinned fruit cocktail with evaporated milk. It somehow seemed very grown up when I was a child; my siblings and I used to argue over who had a coveted cherry in their bowl.

Canned fruit can be just as healthy as fresh fruit as it’s picked when fully ripe and processed immediately, preserving high levels of vitamins and minerals.  Not only that, but it has a long shelf life, thereby reducing food waste from spoilage.  It makes preparing and cooking simple and quick too.

To enter, email your childhood memories, along with your name and address to: DelMonteGiveaway@freycob.co.uk by midnight on Sunday 4th December.  A winner will be chosen at random from all entries received.  The prize will be sent directly from Del Monte to the winner’s home address.  UK entrants only.

Good luck!