Piri Piri Chicken Wings and Fries

Piri piri spiced roasted chicken wings with homemade fries

Classic comfort food dinners don't have to be bought in the form of TV dinners, microwaveable ready meals or ready to eat from a fast food outlet. There are so many ways in which these dishes can be prepared from scratch quickly and easily, offering a tastier and healthier alternative to their massed produced equivalents. This recipe for piri piri wings and homemade fries is a perfect example of the scenario.
 

Chicken wings are stirred in olive oil before piri piri spice is added

Ingredients (Serves Two)

2 large baking potatoes
8 large, whole chicken wings
2 tbsp olive oil
2oz pack piri piri spice rub
Freshly chopped parsley to garnish
Salt for the fries

Piri piri sauce is added to oiled chicken wings

Directions

Your oven needs to be preheated to 400F/200C.

Peel the potatoes and chop and slice in to fries. Submerge in a bowl of cold water for five minutes, while you prepare the wings. This helps to get rid of the excess starch.

Pour the olive oil in to a large bowl. Add the chicken wings and gently stir/fold them through the oil to ensure even coating. Scatter over the piri piri powder mix and stir again in a similar way to coat.

Oven ready piri piri spiced chicken wings

Put the wings in a single layer on a baking tray and in to the oven for half an hour.

Drain the fries well from the water and deep fry at 300F/150C for about four minutes. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Cover.

Piri piri spiced chicken wings

Take the chicken wings from the oven and sit aside to rest for a few minutes.

Fry the fries a second time at 350F/170C for four to five minutes or until done to your liking. Drain again on kitchen paper.

Piri piri chicken wings are plated

Lay the wings on half of two deep serving plates and the fries on the other half. Season the fries and scatter the wings with the chopped parsley. Enjoy in front of the TV, without knives or forks, and save on the washing up.

Homemade fries are added to the serving plate with the piri piri wings

Steak and Kidney Pasty, Chips and Beans

Homemade steak and kidney pasty with chips and baked beans in tomato sauce

Steak and kidney pie is one of my all time favourite dishes and has been since I was in my teens. It is of course a classic dish - though more specifically an English classic, rather than a British classic, with steak and sausage pie being infinitely more popular in Scotland. I don't like tampering too much with steak and kidney pie as improving on perfection is of course not easy but when I struck on the idea of a steak and kidney pasty, I had to give it a go and I absolutely loved it.

Note that the steak and kidney can be bought ready prepared from most supermarkets, in the UK at least. Alternatively, ask your butcher to prepare it for you .

Beef steak and kidney

Ingredients (Makes 4 pasties)

1lb stewing steak, cubed to 1"
½lb ox kidneys, cleaned and chopped to 1" pieces
Olive oil
½ small white onion, peeled and sliced
1 pint fresh beef stock
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and black pepper
1lb premade and rolled puff pastry
1 beaten egg

Homemade chips and 14oz can/tin baked beans in tomato sauce to serve

Sliced onion is added to browned steak and kidney

Directions

Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in to a large pot and gently heat. Add the steak and kidney and season with salt and pepper. Stir until sealed and evenly browned. Add the onion and stir for a further couple of minutes to soften the onion. Pour in the beef stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for one and a half hours, stirring occasionally and adding a little boiling water periodically, only if required.

Beef stock is added to steak, kidney and onions

When the steak is beautifully tender, turn off the heat, cover and leave to cool completely. If you want, you could at this point pour the mix in to a dish and refrigerate overnight, or for up to a couple of days. This means that you can do the lengthy prep for your pasties one night and make them for dinner the following night.

A plate is used as a template to cut the pastry disc for making the pasty

Use a 10" plate to cut four circles from your pre-rolled puff pastry. Take a quarter of your steak and kidney mix in each instance and add it to half the pastry disc, leaving a border of around an inch.

Cooled steak and kidney is spooned on to one half of the pastry disc

Moisten the border with beaten egg using a pastry brush, fold over the empty half of the pastry and crimp the edge.

Beaten egg is used to seal the edges of the steak and kidney pasty

Lightly oil a baking tray with olive oil and sit the pasties on it. Glaze with more beaten egg and make a slit in the top of each to serve as a steam vent.

Steak and kidney pasty is ready for the oven

Put the tray in to a preheated oven (400F/200C) for about half an hour until the pasties are beautifully golden.

Steak and kidney pasty is removed from the oven

Take the tray from the oven and allow the pasties to rest while you complete the preparation of your chips and gently heat the beans in a saucepan. HP Sauce is a strongly recommended accompaniment though it is of course entirely optional.

HP Sauce is the perfect condiment to add to steak and kidney pasty, chips and beans

Easy Roast Ham with Pineapple

Simple roast gammon joint with pineapple, roast potatoes and peas

A pre-packaged, supermarket gammon joint is not something I generally tend to buy. Unfortunately, these past few weeks, I have been travelling to various places for work and had so much on, I just haven't had the time to spend cooking for this blog that I normally have. This option therefore looked feasible and I was to be honest delighted with the results. The ultimate beauty is that the hands on cooking time is very short.

Ingredients (Serves Four)

20 small new potatoes
Sea salt
2lb boneless rolled gammon joint
Olive oil
Black pepper
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 whole cloves of garlic
Frozen peas as required
8 rings of pineapple canned in own juice (not syrup)
Malt vinegar for seasoning peas

Supermarket gammon joint

Directions

The potatoes need to be boiled, drained and cooled before they can be roasted, so get them in to a big pot of cold, salted water and bring it to a simmer for half an hour. Drain, return the potatoes to the pot and cover.

Preparing gammon joint for roasting

The gammon joint actually came with the cooking instructions on the pack but they amount to twenty minutes per pound plus an extra twenty minutes.

Lightly oil a big sheet of tinfoil in the centre (I used olive oil) and make sure you have removed all types of packaging from the gammon before sitting it in place. Season with black pepper only. Put it in to the oven - preheated to 400F/200C - for the alloted cooking time. (You may want to uncover it for the final ten minutes' cooking time to let it colour up but this is optional).

Checking gammon joint for doneness

Ten minutes or so before the gammon is due to come out of the oven, carefully rub/peel the skins from the potatoes. This is a bit of a fiddly and annoying task but unfortunately, it needs to be done.

Roasted gammon joint ready for resting

Take the gammon from the oven and carefully open the foil package. Watch out for escaping steam which can burn! Pierce it with a skewer and you should feel only minimal resistance where it is fully cooked. The juices should also run clear. Lift it to a large, warmed plate with a carving fork and cover with fresh foil to rest.

Garlic and rosemary for roasting potatoes

Carefully pour the gammon cooking juices in to the roasting tray. Add the peeled potatoes. Break the rosemary sprigs in to a few pieces and scatter them over the potatoes. Lightly crush the garlic cloves but there's no need to peel them before they are added to the tray. Gently stir everything around with a wooden spoon.

Potatoes, rosemary and garlic ready for roasting

Turn the oven up to 450F/220C and cook the potatoes for twenty minutes or until crisp and golden.

Carving the roasted gammon joint

During the last five minutes of the potato roasting time, pour the peas in to a big pot of boiling water. SImmer for three minutes before draining through a colander. Season with malt vinegar and black pepper.

Lay the gammon joint on a chopping board and carefully slice/carve.

Plate the gammon slices and peas. Take the tray of potatoes from the oven and plate with a slotted spoon.

Finally, garnish each plate with two pineapple rings.

Roast gammon with roast potatoes and peas

Beer Battered Haddock and Chips

Crispy beer battered haddock is served with real homemade chips and a lemon wedge

Fish and chips is traditionally the UK's favourite fast food. Unfortunately, it is also one of those meals where the difference between delicious perfection and outright disaster can be represented by a very fine line. There are few who like the dish to consist of limp, soggy chips and greasy, soggy batter on the fish. The good news is that there are two main reasons why the sogginess occurs, both relating to the temperature of the oil and easily avoided. Either the oil is not hot enough before the chips and/or fish is added, or alternatively, too much food is added to the oil at the same time. This latter scenario will see the cold food significantly reducing the temperature of the oil, however hot it was in the first instance. This is a major problem in thousands of fish and chip shops (but by no means all!) UK wide and that is partly why the fish and chips were in this instance cooked in two different pans.

A large haddock fillet is halved lengthways for battering and deep frying

Ingredients per Person

1 or 2 large floury/starchy potatoes
Large skinless fillet of haddock
3 tbsp plain/all purpose flour
Small bottle of lager type beer
Salt
Lemon wedge to garnish
Condiment/sauce accompaniments of choice

Basic beer batter ingredients

Directions

I've featured my chosen chip preparation method on this blog many times before, so won't go in to that again. Do note though that if using that method, the chips will have to be started well in advance.

Prepared beer batter

In this instance, the fish is going to be fried in a deep frying pan of very hot vegetable oil. This allows you to monitor the fish better as it fries and means the chips can be prepared separately in your deep fryer.

Put the flour in to a suitable dish. This dish designed for storing bacon in the fridge is ideal. Slowly begin adding some of the ice cold beer, whisking with a fork as you pour until you have a batter the consistency of thick cream. Dip the haddock fillets in to the batter, hold them up for a couple of seconds to let the excess drip off and lower them carefully in to the hot oil.

Beer battered haddock is fried in a deep frying pan

Turn the fillets carefully after two minutes and fry for two minutes more.

Beer battered haddock is drained on kitchen paper after being deep fried

Lift the haddock from the hot oil with a large slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Real homemade chips

Lay the chips on a serving plate, the haddock fillets on top and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Beer battered haddock is laid on homemade chips

Salt and malt vinegar are essential condiments but tomato ketchup or HP Sauce also go well with this meal.

Condiments commonly added to haddock and chips

Hot Spicy Beef and Tomato Naan Bread Sandwich with Homemade Fries

Spicy beef and tomato stew is folded in a  naan bread and served with fries

This hot and spicy dish is the perfect warming meal for a cold night in the depths of Winter. It also provides a welcome change at this time of year from the possible monotony of leftover turkey, goose or ham. Although the stew takes a few hours to prepare in total, the good news is that it can very easily be prepared one night, cooled and refrigerated to be heated through the following night. The quantities in this recipe are for two people.

Shin of beef

Ingredients

3/4lb shin of beef (or other suitable stewing beef)
1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
1 green bell pepper
2 small shallots
1 large clove of garlic
14oz can of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
1 tbsp tomato puree/paste
1 pint fresh beef stock
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
Few drops of Tabasco sauce (be very careful not to add too much!)
Salt and black pepper
2 naan breads
2oz sweetfire chilli and jalapeno cheddar cheese (or similar spicy cheese)
Homemade fries or chips to serve

Vegetables and spices for beef and tomato stew

Directions

It's worth pointing out that although the naan breads used on this occasion were bought from the supermarket in a vacuum pack, homemade naan breads are a lot easier to prepare than you may think. If you have the time, of course, and are feeling a little bit adventurous, why not give them a go?

Prepared vegetables for stew

Begin by chopping the shin of beef in to one inch chunks. Deseed the bell pepper and slice in to strips. Peel and finely slice the shallots and garlic.

Shin of beef is browned in a little oil

Put the oil in to a large stew pot and add the beef. Season with black pepper. Brown and seal the beef over a medium heat, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon.

Vegetables are briefly sauteed with the beef

When the beef is sealed, add the green pepper, shallots, garlic and chilli flakes and saute for a further couple of minutes.

Spicy beef and tomato stew

Pour the tomatoes and beef stock in to the pot. Add the tomato puree or paste and stir well. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for two and a half to three hours, until the beef is mouth-wateringly tender, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add a little boiling water if the stew is becoming too thick or dry. Taste for seasoning and adjust as required. It's a good idea to leave the addition of the Tabasco sauce to this point and stir well and taste after the addition of each few drops.

Sweetfire chilli and jalapeno pepper cheddar cheese

This cheese is one I found in my local Morrisons supermarket and was deliciously spicy. If you can't find this particular variety, try to get one that contains some form of peppers or chillies but it's not of course essential.

Beef and tomato stew is spooned on to the wider half of the naan bread

If using premade naan breads, reheat them per the instructions on the pack. These ones required to be sprinkled with cold water and heated for one minute each side under a hot grill/broiler. Lay the broad end of the naan breads on the edge of your serving plates and spoon on the stew. Crumble the cheese and scatter over the stew before carefully folding over the second half of the naan and adding the fries to the plate.

Spicy cheddar cheese is crumbled over beef and tomato stew

Scottish Roll and Sausage Club Sandwich

Scottish roll and sausage club sandwich with crisps and pickled onions

What is a club sandwich? There is no doubt that many reading this will think that a strange question - but the truth is, I was under a complete misapprehension until (very!) recently. Although I have heard club sandwiches referred to countless times in American TV shows or movies and read about them in American novels, for years I didn't understand the meaning. I was honestly under the impression that they referred to the particular restaurant's speciality sandwich, a bit like, "Dish of the day," or the, "House red." Via the wonders of Google and Wikipedia, I now know that it is essentially a sandwich comprised of at least three slices of toasted bread and two layers of filling.

I got to thinking therefore about how I could create a slightly different club sandwich that would be fairly quick to make, at least partly true to the original concept yet have its own distinct identity and could be made to form a reasonably substantial dinner. I finally decided to blend the fabulous concept that is the Scottish roll and sausage with the American club sandwich and see how it turned out. A Scottish roll and sausage is comprised of a morning roll, filled with a Lorne sausage (sometimes called sliced sausage or square sausage). There are frequently many other components added to the combination but in this instance, I of course used recognised club sandwich ingredients. Instead of using both turkey and bacon, I improvised and used turkey bacon. I also used delicious peashoots instead of the frequently bland (especially at this time of year) lettuce.

Principal Scottish club sandwich ingredients

Ingredients per Serving

1 bread/morning roll
1 Lorne sausage
2 rashers/slices of turkey bacon
Small handful of pea shoots
1 medium slice of tomato
1 tsp mayonnaise
Little vegetable oil for frying
Sea salt and black pepper (or flavour of choice) crisps/potato chips to serve
2 large pickled onions (optional)

Scottish morning roll is sliced in to three sections

Directions

It's a good idea to begin by doing the few small bits of necessary prep before you start cooking. Very carefully, slice the bread roll in to three equally thick pieces. Slice the tomato. A good point to note with the pea shoots and other vacuum packed supermarket greens is to always wash them well in a colander under running cold water. Sometimes, the pack will say that they are washed and ready to eat but never take that for granted. You may also want to roughly chop the pea shoots to make the club sandwich easier to assemble.

Lorne sausage and turkey rashers are gently fried in oil

Put a little oil in to a frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Add the sausage only and fry gently on the first side for four or five minutes. Turn the sausage before adding the turkey rashers, which will take a couple of minutes each side.

Scottish club sandwich fillings are ready

Lift the cooked sausage and turkey rashers to a plate with the prepared pea shoots and tomato. Toast the three roll slices lightly under the grill or broiler.

Pea shoots form the first layer of the Scottish club sandwich

Begin assembling the club sandwich by laying the pea shoots on top of the bottom section of the roll.

Lorne sausage and mayo are added on top of the pea shoots

Put the sausage on top of the pea shoots, followed by the mayo and the middle section of the bread roll.

Turkey rashers and tomato form the second layer of the Scottish club sandwich

Lay the bacon rashers on next with the slice of tomato on top.

Fully assembled roll and sausage club sandwich

Crown the club sandwich with the last piece of the bread roll.

Roll and sausage club sandwich is carefully cut in half

Press down lightly and cut the sandwich in half with a very sharp knife.

Cocktail sticks are used to hold the Scottish club sandwich halves together

Club sandwiches are often served with a cocktail/hors d'oeuvres stick to hold them together. This is optional - but if using them, do remember to remove them before taking a large bite! Plate the club sandwich halves, add the crisps/potato chips and the pickled onions if required.

Scottish roll and sausage club sandwich with crisps