Tapas night in 45 minutes

I had a "what shall we have for tea" night last night. The kids were at mums and The Man at football so I had a tinker about and came up with this, made entirely of storecupboard things and fridge staples (ok the chorizo was a lucky find!)

Chorizo and Red Pepper casserole

Fry 1 sliced onion in olive oil, add 2 crushed garlic cloves and a sliced chorizo sausage (about 6-inch piece). Then add 2 small red peppers, cut into chunks, and 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder. Then addd a splash of port (red wine would be fine) and bubble for a minute or two before stirring in a tin of chopped tomatoes (reserve about a fifth for the potato dish) and season, adding chopped fresh parsley if you have it. Empty into a lidded casserole dish and cook at 175 for 30 minutes.

Patatas Bravas

Wipe the pan and fry a quarter of an onion in olive oil. Stir in 1/2 tsp chilli powder and the rest of the tin of chopped tomatoes plus salt and pepper. Set aside for reheating later. Wipe out pan and add a little olive oil and a couple of potatoes which have been cubed into 1cm pieces, skins on. Sautee on a low heat for around 15 minutes then stir in some garlic butter (butter, crushed garlic, chopped parsley, s&p). Serve with the chilli tomato spooned over.

Saffron rice

While the potatoes are cooking add a teaspoon of unflavoured oil to a lidded pan. Add some chopped green beans or frozen peas, a quarter of an onion finely chopped and a teeny pinch of saffron, and 100ml (by volume) of rice. Toss in the oil then add 200ml of boiling water and a pinch of salt. Stir once and cover, cook on a very low simmer for 15 minutes.

Fragrant veg

Chop half and onion, slice a courgette and some mushrooms. Cook in a little oil until softened then add a splash of white wine and some thyme, plus s&p. Cook for a few minutes until most of the liquid has gone then pop a lid on the pan while you are serving everything up.

Put everything into little dishes and serve with crusty bread or garlic bread.

I was going to take a photo but we ate it all! (The leftover chorizo dish went on baked potatoes for a filling lunch!)

OK so we didn't get the barbie out

But we had delicious burgers for tea nontheless!

Mum, Dad and teenage baby brother came over from Wales to visit, and although I was originally planning to make my famous African Lamb Casserole/Curry I chickened out at the last minute fearing they may not like it. So I reshuffled my meal plan and made
Jamie Olivers "Feed the family for a fiver" Lamb burgers
which were very delicious! I didn't do the carrot salad thingie though, just paired it with some romaine lettuce and sliced red onion, plus the chorizo garnished wedges which were tasty!

As I ducked out a bit with a very non-showy-off tea I thought I'd make a nice dessert as I know my mum is a big fan of a proper sweet. Not like me who cracks open the Aldi Wacko bars. I made a really delicious plum and chocolate clafoutis from a recipe book Mum bought me. It was goood! It had a gorgeous, rich, slightly gooey texture which contrasted beautifully with the sharpness of the plums. I'll be making it again (although J grumbled as he thought I was doing his favourite plum crumble).

In other news, I am getting my hair done tomorrow, yippee. Amy is at the hospital for a review of her hearing aids, now do I tell them that she keeps "forgetting" to wear them? Am I a terrible mother for not even noticing until I try and call her in from playing outside? Later in the week we are delivering the two of them to mums so they can have a mini break at Grandma's by the seaside. During those few days I am going to pretend I like being child free, whilst being secretly consoled by the fact that Eleanor is too little to join them and so will be at home, no doubt charging about on her little hands and knees and hopefully not bashing her head against anything as she practices standing up.

Ah, the carefree summer holidays.

Posh Beans on Toast

Thought I would post a recipe that I put together. Lovely as a lunch, or use as a chunky pasta sauce. It would also go nicely as a side for meat or fish. Good for BLW as it is chunky! The beans are fiddly but fun to do and the rest only takes 5 minutes.



Posh Beans on Toast (serves 2)

10 pods of broadbeans (approx)
1 slice of bacon, chopped or 1/2 tub pancetta cubes
1/2 an onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 a courgette, sliced
4 med-large tomatoes
4 slices of buttered toast to serve



1. Remove the broadbeans from their pods (or get the kids to do it!). Cook beans in boiling water for 4 minutes then drain and cool in a bowl of cold water. When cold, pop the skins off each bean to reveal the bright green beans inside. Discard the skin. This can be done in advance.

2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan to a high heat then fry the bacon/pancetta pieces until crispy. Turn the pan down to medium.

3. Add the onion, garlic, courgettes and broadbeans to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Roughly chop the tomatoes into chunks and add to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes until tomatoes have softened and released their juices, ie the mixture is quite wet and saucy. Check seasoning, I like a good bit of pepper but salt is usually not needed because of the bacon.

5. Spoon over the toast and enjoy!

I am sure it would be just as lovely with the bacon left out, or bulked up with more courgette to go further for example.