South and a Little Bit East

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South and a Litte Bit East

Quick Fried Noodles, Prawns, Mussels and Spring Onion

Currently watching River Cottage Three Go Mad, where 3 actors join the River Cottage team for a few days  to live off the land! Fab.  But I have very quickly popped Hugh on pause and took some time to post this recipe.
These noodles were super quick, fresh and tasty - even if I do say so myself!  Based on a recipe by Tony Tobins from the BBC Food Website, Fried Noodles, Prawns and Char-grilled Spring Onions, I made a few changes as below.


Time to prepare and cook: 30 minutes
Cost of ingredients approx: £6.50
Changes to recipe:  I didnt chargrill the spring onions, I added in some mussels and popped onto some fab asparagus!
Tricky bits:  None!
The full recipe is after the break......serves 2

Lettuce Gratin with Bacon and Chorizo

Can you spot it?  The lettuce that is?  In this gratin theres about 500grams of it!  Who would have thought it!  Or maybe I should say 'Hugh' would have thought it!  I found this recipe at the weekend whilst looking for something to do with two rather large heads of lettuce.
Its another classic from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a Lettuce Gratin. 


Time to prepare and cook: 35 minutes
Cost of ingredients approx: £6
Changes to recipe:  Added Chorizo and Red Peppers
Tricky bits:  None!
The full recipe is after the break......serves 4

Beetroot and Walnut Hummus

A lovely glut of beetroot led me to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Beetroot and Walnut Hummus, if you have uncooked Beetroot like me then to cook it boil enough water to cover the beetroot.  Pop the Beetroot in and simmer until the outer skin rubs off (about 30 minutes).

I loveee garlic and so I popped some extra bits on top, and splashed some more lemon and olive oil over the top.  To serve I chopped up some toasted pitta bread!


Yummy!


Full recipe and instructions after the break....

Meringue Topped Summer Pots (Individual Queen of Puddings)

With the pea soup currently enveloping Greenwich, this is a little ode to summer before we hurtle headlong into winter and all its joys!

With meringue piled high and summery strawberry jam, sprinkled with coconut in the middle, this is all about the best of summer - but in individual portions!

Adapted from a recipe by Delia Smith called Individual Queen of Puddings

Serves 2
270 ml of skimmed milk
5g of low fat baking margarine
55g of breadcrumbs
30g caster sugar
1 lemon
2 eggs
2 tbsps strawberry jam or other
Shredded cocnut to sprinkle

Heat oven to 200c
Bring the milk to the boil on stove, remove from heat, add in butter, breadcrumbs, half the sugar and lemon zest, leave for 15mins to swell
Separate eggs
Beat yolks and add to breadcrumb mixture, divide mixture between two buttered ramekins
Place on baking tray in oven at 200c until set - approx 20 mins
Meanwhile in small saucepan, melt jam over low heat until runny
When puddings are set, spread jam mixture over them and spinkle over coconut
Now beat egg whites until stiff peaks, whisk in rest of sugar, pile high on puddings
Bake for further 15mins until tops are golder brown

Quick and Easy Pizza Dough Recipe

I love this pizza dough recipe - it never fails and you can find it here on the Allrecipes website by Gudny Bjorg Kjaerbo.

I normally use this to make a large rectangular pizza to share, the dough easily covers a 14 by 15 inch baking tray and makes about 15 squares, I then:

Spread on a full tube of tomato puree
Sprinkle on some low fat grated cheese.....and then whatever takes your fancy.
I used mushrooms, onions, radishes, peppers, tomatoes, ham and a sprinkle of pine nuts.

Bake at 190 C / Gas mark 5 for 20 to 25 minutes or until crispy.

Cut up and serve!

Bruschetta with Broad Beans and Asparagus

Even though Bruschetta can be the simplest recipe in the world it feels rather decadent having it for dinner rather than just as a starter but I couldnt resist making Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls Bruschetta with Broad Beans and Asparagus for our main meal.  It comes from his new book River Cottage Veg Every Day! (River Cottage Every Day).  Have a go, its quick and oh so yummy and definitely make double and eat it as your main!

Check out the recipe after the break

Mashed Up Healthy Chicken Pie

Shepards pie has mash on it, fish pie too, so why not bring mash to the humble chicken pie too.  I am a lover of pastry in its many different forms - but sometimes its nicer to have something a little lighter on your pie.  I took a recipe by Angela Nilsen, original recipe is here on the BBC Good Food website and used her pie filling - and not having filo pastry at the time added some mash.  You will need about 3 good sized potatoes (any kind) and some creme fraiche - not too much just enough to make it a little creamy.

Layer the mash on top of the filling when ready and cook for about 20-25 minutes at 200C/180C fan/gas 6.  I then popped on a little cheese (low fat mature cheddar) on the top and popped it under the grill for a couple of minutes until crispy.


We popped this into individual pie dishes and it was for two so I reduced down by a quarter Angelas original recipe measurements - well its always nice to go back for seconds!!

Poached Eggs on Crumpets with Leeks and Goats Cheese

The humble leek for breakfast I hear you cry!, Well why not? when you can have them lightly fried in butter, piled on top of poached eggs on crumpets and with goats cheese crumpled on top!

Try it - you will not be disappointed!

BTW if you are wondering how to get perfectly shaped poached eggs try these Poached Egg Pods - super handy.

Next time the crumpets will be homemade I promise! As I know of a fantastic recipe in the Bread: River Cottage Handbook No. 3.

Baked Giant Fish Cakes with a Chilli Shot

Some people dream of Brad Pitt (or George Clooney \ Justin Bieber) insert whichever takes your fancy!, some dream of Jeanie and I dream of Fish Cakes!

At least thats what happened on Wednesday night!  Now I'm one to take this as a omen, which meant that fish cakes had to be on the menu for Thursday night....and here they are (well one of them at least!).

Inspired by a recipe called Fish Cakes with Chilli Cream in Good Food: 101 Fish & Seafood Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (Good Food 101).  I ditched the cream, added some leeks, changed the fish and baked rather than fryed!  The original recipe online is here.

My amended recipe is after the jump - the result was lovely and crispy on the outside, moist and tasty in the middle - bliss!

Butternut Squash Casserole

With Halloween and Bonfire Night having just passed, this time of year calls very much for the orange and yellows of butternut squash and sweet potatoes, this casserole from the BBC Good Food website (you can reach the recipe from the link) perfectly fits the bill.  The sweetness of the squash and potatoes runs though it, and the hearty cous cous makes it perfect comfort food for a winter evening (are we in winter yet? or the last dregs of autumn?).  This is obviously vegetarian but it would go perfectly with some spicy sausages chopped up into it.  It does go very nicely with a sprinkle of grated cheese on top and a splodge of natural yogurt.

Changes I made to the recipe:  I didnt have Bulgar Wheat and so I used giant Cous Cous instead, you could just as easily use its smaller cousin too though!

The Pudding Clubs 'Jam and Coconut Sponge'

Steamed puddings are the order of the day as the nights draw in, I found this great recipe on the fabulous The Pudding Club website (you can grab the recipe through the link).  I had never attempted a steamed pudding before and took guidance from the good old BBC Food Techniques website and it worked a treat!!  The pudding was moist with just the right amount of coconut running through the sponge and topped off with a good dollop of jam.  The one and half hours waiting for the pudding to steam was well worth the wait!  Although not shown in the photo we did of course add lash.ng of custard to it.

Changes to recipe:  I used strawberry rather than raspberry jam but to be honest the variations that you could use with the pudding are endless!

Potato & Leek Gratin

We bought some cute little individual casserole \ pie dishes and what better way to use them then with an oven bake.  I found this recipe on the BBC Good Food website (the link goes through to the actual recipe).

The recipe is for 4 but it easily reduces down.  Really nice to do something with leeks and the combination with the bits of bacon is lovely.

Changes from recipe:  Instead of using ham I used bacon lardons which were super flavoursome.

Susan Reimer's Apple Spice Muffins

So I had some dessert apples I needed to use and I had been hankering after a muffin for a while - put the two together and I heard Apple Muffins calling!.  I have a great little book by Susan Reimer called Muffins Fast and Fantastic.  The book has a multitude of flavours, and lots of muffin baking advice.

The original recipe is below:


Ingredients
255g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice (or try 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and a pinch of ginger and cloves)
 raising flour
110-140g fine white granulated sugar
1 egg
170 grams chopped apple
150ml milk
90ml vegetable oil or 85g butter melted
60-85grams raisins, sultanas or chopped walnuts


Optional topping
3 tablespoons soft brown sugar
60grams walnuts, chopped


Method

• Preheat oven to 190-200C. Place paper cases in a muffin tin (makes 10-12)
• In a large bowl, sift together: flour, baking powder, salt, spice and sugar.
• In a second bowl, beat egg with a fork. Stir in chopped apple and milk, followed by oil\melted butter.
• Pour all of wet mixture into dry. Stir until just combined, adding dried fruit\walnuts during the final strokes.  This batter is thicker than most: apple released juice as it cooks
• Spoon into tins. Sprinkle with topping. Bake about 20-25 minutes until tops are lightly browned and spring back when pressed gently. Cool for several minutes to make removal easier.

Chilli Prawn Noodles

I have had total disasters with noodle dishes, but this one is always a winner, its super refreshing and rather healthy too!!  The chilli gives just the right amount of heat and the prawns are really refreshing.

I got it from the BBC Good Food website (you can reach the recipe from the link).

Changes to recipe:  I used small prawns rather than the larger king prawns.

Enjoy!

Cafe Bangla - Brick Lane, E1

Cafe Bangla sits almost at the end of the rows of Indian restaurants on Brick Lane, its always a sense sensation on the ears, eyes and nose and the walk to Cafe Bangla allows you to take everything in.

The interior is something to behold, the first time we went it wasnt on recommendation of the food but to see a huge Princess Diana mural that it had on the wall!  Now Im not particularly a huge Diana fan but the oddness of a Indian restaurant having a tribute mural on their wall was something that had to be confirmed or put to bed once and for all......well the mural did and still does exist!  The rest of the walls are also covered with murals but more traditional Indian dream like sequences.  The restaurant isnt huge compared to some on Brick Lane but  the size adds to the cosyness and friendlyness of the restaurant.

The menu, however, is huge and takes a while to wade through but has all of the Indian classics you could want and then some.  After some beer and some conversation with my dinner companions I finally made my choices.  For a starter I had King Prawn Puri at £4.85,  followed by a classic Lamb Dhansak at £5.15, the former had a good amount of prawns, soft covering and good amount of sauce the latter was delivered sizzling to the table, with just the right amount of spicy heat.  With poppadums, rice, a beer and coffee (which we werent charged for) the total including tip was £20 - a real bargain for some great food.

Service was good and they happily let us take as long as we wanted to finish the meal (I hate restaurants which hurry you out of the door!) - we whiled away a good couple of hours there.  It definitely remains one of my favourite places on Brick Lane.

If you are venturing to Brick Lane make sure you stop by for a visit - the food is great and you just have to see in real life the Princess Diana mural! - see some urban myths are true!

If you cant quite make it to Brick Lane and want to try your hand at Indian cooking at home - The Easy Indian Cookbook by Manju Malhi published in 2010 is a good place to start...

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The Woolpack - London Bridge

Not quite Greenwich you may say, but lets not forget that London Bridge is a super quick 9 minutes away on the overground from Greenwich Station and so is always worth a visit.  London Bridge is going through lots of changes at the moment what with the building of the new super tall Shard building and the regeneration of the area around Bermondsey Street.

And its on Bermondsey Street that we find The Woolpack pub, outside it has the look of a traditional boozer, inside the decor seems to be a cross between a east end pie and mash shop and a american diner.  Now this isnt a criticism - I think it looks great, I love the booths and the tiling on the walls.  Outside there is a terrace, lovely on a summers day and in winter if it gets a bit nippy they have a basket of blankets on offer to keep you warm and cosy - bliss.

Main courses are between £8 to £12 pounds and cover awesome burgers to fulfilling salads, they also do a Sunday Roast but if you go definitely try and check out one of their burgers.

The staff are friendly and efficient and the locals trendy and welcoming! Definitely worth the train ride!




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The Railway - Blackheath

I am a big fab of Blackheath, and there is nothing better on a weekend then to wander up through Greenwich Park, across the heath and into Blackheath Village.  When you get to Blackheath and have had a good mooch around the shops make sure you get to one of the nicest pubs in the area, The Railway.

Settled at the top of the hill and next to Blackheath train station, this pub dates back to Victorian and is super cosy in winter and bright and airy in summer.  The friendly and efficient staff will serve you a great selection of beers and wines, cocktails too, and the Sunday Roast is to put it lightly huge - and great value for money.  Apparently there is also a roof terrace somewhere but I haven't quite found it yet - maybe next time.  The decor is a cross between gastro pub and traditional - but it is nicely done and works well.  The pub seems to offer something for everyone and there seems to be all age ranges, locals and those from slightly further afield.

It is very easy to while away the hours here, and if like me you do and then cant quite be bothered to walk back down the hill and through the park - remember that handy train station and let the train take the strain!




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The Thursday Photo: The Walk to Blackheath

In an attempt to improve my (rather poor) photography skills I've decided to have a Thursday photo each week, (either that or I'm just being rather lazy and want a day off of doing a full post!!!)


In any case here is a photo from our walk from Greenwich to Blackheath last weekend for lunch - rather nice it was too, the walk and the lunch!

Greenlands Health Foods - Greenwich

I wonder if like couples, or perhaps owners and their dogs, that shops and their owners and / or staff take on each others characteristics? If so then I think that Greenlands Health Foods would be a perfect example. Placed along the edge of the hustle and bustle of Greenwich Market the shop is a little oasis of calm. The minute you step in you immediately take on a feeling of zen like harmony! (I guess it must be all the healthy and holistic items within!).

The shop is made up of two floors the 1st floor which you enter into has everything from supplements, seeds, organic food and wine to healthy teas and breads. Anything you could wish for to feed your body to health and beauty!....But wait.....theres more, down the steps to the ground floor and there is every type of organic and natural item for the body and home, from natural shampoos and body washes to hair dye and eco friendly house hold cleaners.

Now back to my first comment about shops and their owners, when you go to pay you wont help but notice how peaceful and calm the staff members are, I have been a couple of times now and each time the same - they truly seem to love their work.

So if you fancy making your body and mind a little calmer and healthier in what can be a frantic world make sure you take a little time out and visit the little oasis of calm on the edge of Greenwich market.


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