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.

 

Coffee Viennese Whirls

by

27210298684_a934ab0af2_z

Whilst I’ve been off work recovering from last Friday’s knee surgery for the last couple of days, boredom is taking its’ toll. I can’t stand for long periods.  I can’t drive, and can only walk very short distances. What I can do, though, is browse the internet for ideas from inspirational people.  My friend Lynn over on Ink Sugar Spice, shared a delicious recipe recently for Pistachio and Mascarpone Cream Viennese Sandwiches. I have no pistachio paste, but I do have (and love) Nielsen Massey Coffee Extract, and as well all love coffee in this house, it was a done deal!

Digging out my old trusty Be-Ro recipe book that my mum bought me many, many years ago (it was my first ever cook book). I know that this recipe works as I’ve used it lots in the past.  Just a tweak and a little twist was all it needed to produce these deliciously crumbly and delicately tasting biscuits.

Coffee Viennese Whirls
Biscuits:

Filling:

  1. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
  2. Beat the butter and the icing sugar together for 3-4 minutes until light and airy.
  3. Grind the vanilla powder and coffee together until very fine.
  4. Add to the butter and icing sugar mix along with the flour.
  5. Stir until very well combined. This should produce a fairly stiff paste.
  6. Place a large star nozzle in a piping bag and place the biscuit mixture into the piping bag.
  7. Pipe an even number of circles of the biscuit mixture onto the parchment paper and place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
  8. Preheat the oven to 160℃ (fan), 180℃ conventional.
  9. Place the baking tray into the oven for 15 minutes until the biscuits are pale in colour.
  10. Remove from the oven, but leave the biscuits on the trays to cool for 5 minutes.
  11. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack and leave until cold. (These biscuits are very ‘short’ and therefore quite delicate, so handle them gently).
  12. Beat the Philadelphia cheese, butter, icing sugar and coffee extract together until smooth.
  13. Transfer the filing mixture to a piping bag and pipe a circle on to half of the biscuits.  Sandwich the other half of the biscuits together.
  14. These will keep for a couple of days in the fridge (store them there, due to the butter and Philadelphia), but allow them to come back to room temperature to improve the flavour and smooth texture of the filling.

Coffee Viennese Whirls
Thanks to Lynn for giving me the inspiration to play with this old recipe and to give it a different little twist.

Jersey Royals with Minted Lamb Leg Steaks

by

image

My other recipe using Jersey Royal potatoes is more of a traditional one.  For this one, they’re gently boiled and then roasted to perfection, served with Chantenay carrots and deliciously lean New Zealand lamb leg steaks, slowly cooked in a rich Barolo red wine and mint sauce.

Jersey Royals with Asda

  • 1 lemon, zest & juice
  • 1 lamb leg steak per person
  • 10ml Rapeseed oil
  • 2 Red onions, chopped finely
  • 10ml Plain flour
  • 15ml Mint sauce concentrate
  • 250ml Barolo red wine
  • 100ml Vegetable stock
  • Bay leaf
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Rapeseed oil sufficient to roast the potatoes
  • Jersey Royal potatoes
  • Chantenay carrots
  • Broccoli
  1. Zest the lemon and squeeze the lemon juice over the lamb steaks. Toss to coat, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to start to tenderise the meat.
  2. Heat the oven to 180℃/160℃ fan.
  3. In a large ovenproof pan (with a lid), heat the oil and fry the onions gently until transparent.
  4. Turn up the heat and fry the lamb leg steaks until browned on both sides. Remove the lamb to a plate to keep warm.
  5. Evenly sprinkle the flour over the onions and oil and mix thoroughly to a paste (no floury lumps).
  6. Slowly add the red wine and vegetable stock, stirring constantly, to prevent lumps forming.
  7. Add the mint sauce concentrate and stir through, then add the bay leaf.
  8. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes until slightly reduced.  Season to taste.
  9. Return the lamb steaks to the pan, stir to coat and then cover with the lid. Place in the oven to cook.
  10. Add the Jersey Royals to a large pan of salted water, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
  11. Increase the oven temperature to 200℃, and place a roasting dish with oil in to heat up.
  12. Drain the potatoes and gently add these to the hot oil, toss to coat evenly and return to the oven for 30-40 minutes.
  13. Scrub the carrots, then slice them vertically from top to bottom.
  14. Steam the carrots over a pan of boiling water, adding the prepared broccoli florets for the last 10 minutes until both vegetables are cooked to taste.
  15. Serve the roasted Jersey Royals with the vegetables and a lamb leg steak each.

Jersey Royals with Asda

This recipe is cooked in collaboration with Asda and Jersey Royals to highlight the versatility and great flavour of Jersey Royal potatoes.

 

Jersey Royals are in season

by

Jersey Royals are a delicious, nutty flavoured, little new potato, grown exclusively on the beautiful British island of Jersey, just off the west coast of France. They’re naturally fertilised with Vraic (seaweed) that is washed up on the shores from the tidal flows and have been grown on Jersey for over 130 years.  The majority of these tasty little morsels are still hand lifted from the ground by the island’s 20 major farmers. They’re high in vitamin C and fibre as well as containing less calories than both pasta and rice. They have less fat than cous cous and they’re gluten free too. Their slow releasing carbohydrates make them perfect for a low GI diet; keeping your fuller for longer thereby keeping hunger at bay.

In order for potatoes to be sold as Jersey Royals, they must be grown on the island and they have been awarded EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), thereby ensuring their provenance and integrity.  Jersey grows, harvests and exports between 30-40,000 tonnes per year, and at the peak season in May, can export up to 1,500 tonnes per day!  That’s a whole lot of potatoes!!!!

Jersey Royals with Asda

So, what can you do with Jersey Royals then?  Well, they’re absolutely perfect for boiling, steaming or roasting in their skins. Having cold with a salad, enrobed in creamy garlic infused mayonnaise, sprinkled gently with freshly chopped chives. Alternatively, why not make a delicious vegetable curry with them?

I’ve got two recipes to share with you, both featuring delicious Jersey Royals, and both of which are completely different to each other.  See my posts for a tasty Jersey Royal and Vegetable Curry or a delicious roast leg of lamb steaks with oven roasted Jersey Royals.

This and my recipe posts were sponsored by Asda & Jersey Royals for which I was provided with a gift voucher to purchase ingredients to make my meals.