In 1989, just after we got married, I bought a book on Curries by Pat Chapman from Sainsbury’s. Despite now owning several other curry recipe books, it’s still our ‘go to’ book for all things spicy! We’ve been blending the spices into curry powder and cooking it out in to a curry paste ever since then. It’s been tried and tested by many a guest to our house over the years, and as I used almost the last of my current batch making my chicken curry for dinner last night, I had to make some more today. The benefit of making it today in the warm, dry weather, meant that I could cook it outdoors on my Cadac barbeque in the paella pan; sharing the amazing aroma with my neighbours and leaving my house smelling fragrant and not spicy for the next few days!
Knorr Flavour Pots – Garlic, herb with Chicken Ras El Hanout
I’m really loving how easy these Knorr Flavour Pots are to use; a perfect blend of flavour combined with absolute ease of use makes meal preparation so much easier.
The chicken pieces were placed onto a baking tray and cooked at 200°C for 25-30 minutes until the chicken was cooked through. Served simply with a stuffed bell pepper and some home made roast potato wedges was the perfect, simple tea time treat.
Meatballs in a Tomato Sauce
A favourite in our house that I’ve been making since my son was a baby 18 years ago. Over the years I’ve changed it slightly and added a little chilli to make it for a more grown up palette, but feel free to exclude the chilli (or even add a little more if you prefer).
5. Mix together until thoroughly combined.
7. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry your meatballs in batches of 8-10 until browned all over. Don’t add too many into the pan or they’ll steam rather than brown.
11. While your meatballs are cooking, you have time to bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook your spaghetti until ‘al dente’, then drain.
FREEZE: Once cooked, you can cool & freeze the sauce and meatballs for up to 3 months. Allow to thoroughly defrost and then heat through gently in a saucepan until hot. Serve with fresh pasta.
Apple & Sultana Chutney with a Chilli Kick
My basic apple & sultana chutney with a little bit of a ‘kick’. This is great to cook if you need to clear your head. Remember to put the extractor fan on high though!
1.5kg Cooking Apples, cored and finely diced; no need to peel
750g Light Muscovado sugar
500g Sultanas
1 Medium white onion, finely chopped
1 Medium red onion, finely chopped
10ml Mustard seeds
10ml Ground Ginger
10ml Ground coriander
10ml Garlic powder
10ml dried Chilli flakes
5ml Salt
300ml Cider vinegar
300ml Red Wine Vinegar
150ml Balsamic Vinegar
1. In a large, heavy based pan, combine all the ingredients.
2. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes, stirring frequently until thick & syrup-like. Remember to keep it moving every minute or so as it gets thicker to prevent it sticking to the pan.
3. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a while.
4. Decant into hot, clean, sterilised jars and seal.