Hello!
Firstly, welcome to my new food blog, as it says in the description I'm not a master chef, but you don't have to be to create passable food. When I came away to uni I had a repertoire of about three dishes, two of which were pudding. Ok, that was a lie, but I didn't have much in the way of cooking experience. It turns out it doesn't really matter, provided you leave yourself enough time and stay calm very little can go wrong.
I shall start with a few ground rules
1) Hot is your friend, when in doubt whack the heat on
2) Keep stuff moving, especially if you have employed rule 1, otherwise stuff sticks to your pans
3) Missed a step? Don't panic! Use your noggin. There's no undo button but most things can be added later.
4) Give yourself time to enjoy both cooking and eating. It's good for the soul.
The Basic Larder
It is a good idea to keep a stock of basics.
-Onions - taste and texture, these wee beasties are a good building block for loads of things, I get through about 5 or 6 a week on my own.
-Garlic - easy peasy flavour.
-Mushrooms - good for bulking out stuff. I get through about a pack and a half a week, I personally prefer chestnut mushrooms as they have a nice, slightly nutty taste
-Peppers - Pick a colour, any colour! Last for a fair while these and go well with anything Italian tasting, or on there own to keep the scurvy at bay.
-Herbs and Spices, I keep a stock of; paprika (hot and sweet), chilli powder, cumin, coriander, mixed herbs, salt and pepper.
-Chopped Tomatoes - Boxes or tins of these, I buy them in bulk, an absolute God send. No need to buy fancy ones, supermarket basics are just the same.
-Tomato purée - trust me.
-Crème fraiche - Good for thickening sauces, gives a good creamy texture.
-Flour - For emergency sauce thickening and more!
Now, on to the recipes. The first is the first thing I learn to do, a really basic tomato sauce, super flexible and really easy to do. This particular version is really good with pasta or potato, I'm not too keen on rice but I dare say if you are this would probably go with it too. If you are a real fuss arse and don't like any of the optional extras it's still perfectly edible without, it just won't stretch as far. If you don't add the beans it'll probably only be good for 2.
Serves 2-3 (or you 2-3 times!)
Ingredients
400g chopped tomatoes (one box)
1 1/2 to 2 medium onions
1 clove garlic - crushed
1 pepper (optional)
4-6 mushrooms (optional)
1 tin kidney or borlotti beans
1/2 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp hot paprika or chilli powder(optional)
1-2 tbs crème fraiche
Oil for frying
Chop the onions, pepper and mushrooms. Heat the oil in a largish saucepan and add the onions. Once these begin to brown add the pepper, mushrooms, garlic, coriander and paprika. Keep the heat on and the stuff moving around (you don't need to stay with it all the time, a couple of pokes a minute's fine). Once the mushroom has softened (probably after about 3 minutes) add the drain off the beans and add to the mix. After about 2 minutes add the mixed herbs and tomatoes. Put the lid on (if you have one) and turn down the heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes (just enough time to do the pasta)
Finally stir in the crème fraiche and serve.
Sauce 2 is even simpler but sorry my vegetarian friends, its main ingredient is BACON!!!
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 rashers of bacon
100g Mushrooms
1/2 to 1 onion (optional)
OR 1 leek (optional)
1tsp sweet paprika
1tsp coriander
3-4 tbs crème fraiche
Oil for frying
Chop your bacon into strips no larger than about 1/4" by 1" (basically go wild with bacon and scissors) and fry in a saucepan. Chop the mushrooms, onion/leek and add to the pot with the coriander and paprika. Keeping the heat on high until the mushrooms have softened. Add the crème fraiche. Serve.
Until next time. Thanks for reading and good luck. May the forks be with you.
