Chocolate and Orange Muffin Recipe

Chocolate and Orange Muffin Recipe

The combination of chocolate and orange has long since been a match made in heaven. So naturally combining to two ingredient together in a muffin recipe works. The orange flavour is not too over powering, and adding the zest of the orange also adds a different texture to the cooked muffins. Eating these while they are still warm, in my opinion, is a small piece of heaven. The smell of orange will linger through your house combine with that heavenly baked muffin smell.

Ingredients

 

230g soft Butter

490g caster Sugar
3 whole Eggs
700g strong Flour
2tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
400g Double Cream
6 Juice & Zest of Orange
250g Dark Chocolate Buttons

Method 

Cream the butter and sugar together using the paddle of a kitchen aid, or if doing it by hand, with a wooden spoon. Slowly add the eggs scraping down the mix. Add the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Slowly add the cream followed by the orange juice and zest. Scrape down and mix in the chocolate buttons.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 18-20min.

 

Grilled Pepper And Asparagus Salad Recipe

 Grilled Pepper And Asparagus Salad Recipe

 

This is such an easy and super healthy salad to prepare. It's fresh, colourful and packed with flavour.

This recipe will serve two people

Ingredients

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

8 Asparagus spears

100g fresh rocket

Rock salt to season

For the dressing

1 bunch of basil

80ml olive oil

Method

Turn the oven on to 180 degrees. When the oven has reached its temperature, place the red and yellow peppers onto a baking tray; rub with olive oil and rock salt. Place them into the oven. After 10 minutes, check to see how the peppers are looking, if the skin is starting to shrivel on the pepper, and the flesh of the pepper is cooked, remove the peppers from the oven. The trick here is, you want the skin to be really cooked, but you want to avoid over cooking the whole pepper.

Once you have removed the peppers from the oven, place them into a plastic bag and tie it shut, so that all the heat from the pepper stays inside the bag. Set this to one side

In the mean time, clean the asparagus spears, removing the woody ends off the bottom of each asparagus. Get a pot that is large enough, so that the whole asparagus fits into it, and fill with water. Bring the water to the boil, and blanch the asparagus.

Once the asparagus has blanch (the green colour has turn really bright, and the asparagus is soft enough to eat, but not over cooked) remove the asparagus from the boiling water and refresh them with iced cold water. Set aside to cool

Take the bag with the peppers. Remove all the outer skin from both peppers as well as all the seeds and any part that is not edible. Tear the peppers into large pieces, roughly 4 pieces per pepper. Heat a griddled pan and when it is really hot, place the pieces of pepper onto the grill. The pepper needs to be on the grill just long enough to get the colour and marks from the grill. This step is not a must; it just adds visual effect to the final dish.

Take the cooled asparagus, and at an angle, cut each one in half. Now place 8 halves of asparagus and 4 quarters of pepper into the centre of the serving plate, layering them to achieve height and assorted colours.

With a blender, blend together the fresh basil and oil, if the dressing is not a runny enough consistency, add a little more oil. Season to taste and dress the salad with it

Bon Appétit

Raclette Recipe

Raclette Recipe

The Raclette dining experience is one in where each person can create their own unique and personalized meal. Let your taste buds guide you on finding a culinary delight. If you have never had a raclette, here are se recipes to get you started.

The Traditional Raclette

Ingredinets

 

8 small/medium potatoes

680g Raclette Cheese
Swiss air dried beef slices
1 jar pickled gherkin
1 jar pickled onions
Freshly ground pepper
Paprika

Method

Cook the potatoes with the skin on until they are soft. While the potatoes are cooking, remove the rind from the cheese, and slice into 1/16" thick slices. Arrange the slices of beef, gherkins, and onions on a platter. Turn on the raclette machine.

Once the potatoes are cooked drain from the water and keep them warm until you are ready for them.

Cut the potatoes, gherkins and onions into bite size pieces. Melt the cheese with the raclette cheese in the raclette machine, and once it has melted, about 2 minutes, scrap it over the ingredients you have pre cut. Season and enjoy

The options of ingredients and the combinations are really up to you and your preferences. Other ingredients that go well with raclette are

-Pork

-Tomatoes

-Mushrooms

-Ham

-Salami

The concept of cooking the raclette is the same, but let your imagination run wild with the ingredients you choose. This dish is a fun dish, in the sense that each person can create whatever they want; it’s also what I would call a social dish

You can get a raclette machine pretty easily, Amazon for instance stocks them http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=raclette+grill&sprefix=racle%2Caps%2C223  and they also have raclette recipe books.

 

Bon Appétit

Beef Hot Pot Recipe

Beef Hot Pot Recipe

Ingredients

1kg beef flank cut into 8 cm x 4 cm chunks against the grain

Plain flour for dusting

50 ml sesame oil

1small onions, peeled and roughly chopped

1 medium mild chili

100g root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 star anise

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp five-spice powder

50 ml sweet soy sauce

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

750ml beef stock

750ml veal stock

15g corn flour

Salt and pepper

For The Garnish

Spring onions, trimmed and sliced on the angle

Coriander, washed

Chinese greens

 

Method

Lightly flour the pieces of beef flank, coating each piece of beef on all sides with flour. Heat some sesame oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan or casserole dish and quickly colour the pieces of beef on all sides.

Add the onions, chili, ginger, star anise, garlic, five-spice, soya sauce and fennel seeds. If possible, wrap the ginger, star anise, and fennel seeds in some Muslin cloth, which makes removing these ingredients easily before serving the dish.

Add the beef stock and veal stock and bring it to the boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer, and simmer gently for 2½–3 hours until the meat is very tender.  If the liquid is evaporating too quickly, add some more water.

Remove the pieces of beef from the pan, as well as the ingredients wrapped in the cloth. Mix the corn flour with a little water, stir it into the stock and simmer for 15 minutes – the consistency should be gravy-like. Check the seasoning then return the beef pieces back into the sauce and serve.

You can serve this with cumin basmati rice, or if have whole cinnamon sticks, boil the rice with one stick and once the rice is cooked, remove the cinnamon stick. The cinnamon stick adds a natural and not too over powering sweetness to the rice, which can add flavor to the beef hot pot

Bon Appétit  

Parsnip and Truffle soup Recipe

Parsnip and Truffle soup Recipe

For me parsnips are really under rated as a vegetable. If they are cooked just right they retain their natural sweetness, and once blended they add texture to either soups or purees.

Ingredients

250g shallots roughly chopped
1 kg parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
50 g butter
2.5 g thyme
3.75 liters vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Truffle oil to drizzle when serving
Chopped parsley for garnishing

 

Optional Extra

Once you have peeled and chopped the parsnips, and they are in the roasting pan, generously drizzle them honey. It adds favour and also compliments the truffle oil which will be drizzled on the soup as you serve it

Method

Melt the butter in a large thick bottomed pan and gently cook the shallots.

Roast the parsnips with butter and oil in the oven until soft. When the parsnips are soft but not over cooked, add them to the pan of cooked shallots and thyme. Add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer, season with salt and pepper and simmer until the parsnips are cooked all the way through, and you are happy that the flavors have infused. Blend the soup until you have a smooth consistency. If you feel the soup is a little thick, you can add a little more vegetable stock until it reaches the consistency you like.

As you serve the soup, drizzle good quality truffle oil over the top of the soup. It adds not only heaps of flavor but also a visual garnish to the dish. Place some chopped parsley in the centre of the bowl, this lifts the dish adding color

Bon Appétit

Interesting facts about parsley

As a vegetable it is rich in calcium, magnesium, and potassium. It is also rich in folic acid, vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 as well as vitamin E

 

 

Beetroot, Pear, Feta and Chicken Salad Recipe

Beetroot, Pear, Feta and Chicken Salad Recipe

Wear an apron when chopping beetroot, and wash your board and hands afterwards or you’ll get red fingerprints everywhere.

Ingredients

4 good-sized beetroots, cooked

3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
1 x lemon oil dressing see below recipe
 sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
 200g/7oz feta cheese
 a small bunch of fresh mint, smallest leaves picked
optional: a large handful of sunflower seeds

2 chicken breasts cut into strips

Juice of 1 lemon

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Lemon Oil

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic, mashed and finely chopped

1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients together until the oil and lemon juice has infused

 

Method:

Cut the chicken breasts into strips, and place them into a bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken, season with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves of thyme from the stalk/sprigs and add them to the chicken.  Mix the chicken with the lemon juice and the thyme. Set this aside so that the flavors can infuse while you continue with preparing the other ingredients

 Cut the beetroot into quarters, and the peeled pears into eighths. Dress with a little of the lemon oil dressing, just enough dressing to coat all the beetroot and pear.

Place the mint leaves into the serving bowl, and then add the dressed beetroot and pear. Using your fingers, gently break up the feta into pieces, and add the feta to the serving dish with the mint, pear and beetroot. Place the salad into the fridge while you fry the chicken

 
Put a pan onto the stove, and drizzle the pan with olive oil. Bring it to a medium to high heat. Add the chicken strips to the pan, and fry at a medium to high heat. Do not add the liquid from the bowl into to the pan; this would cause the chicken to boil instead of fry. Mix the chicken around the pan so that each piece gets a light brown color and then turn down the heat and cook until the chicken is cooked through.

 Add the chicken to the already prepared salad, and serve while the chicken is still warm. Drizzle with the lemon oil and enjoy. Bon Appétit

 Interesting facts:

Beetroot is rich in calcium, magnesium, it is also rich in folic acid and vitamin C, as well as small amounts of B1, B2, B3 and B5

Balsamic Chicken Breasts avec légumes Recipe

Balsamic Chicken Breasts avec légumes Recipe

Balsamic vinegar isn't just something you put over salads as a dressing, it's such a diverse ingredient, and paired with the right ingredients it has the potential to turn something that could be plain, into something super tasty

Ingredients

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Method

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, water, onion, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, parsley, chili powder, and oregano in a bowl, and pour into a re-sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken breasts, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil, or lightly grease a broiler pan. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, and shake off excess. Discard the remaining marinade, and place the chicken breasts onto the baking she

Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken breasts are golden brown, and no longer pink in the centre, about 40 minutes

Vegetables

Vegetables I would serve with this would be things like
 

-smoked paprika roasted potatoes, roast butternut squash and steamed broccoli florets

-roasted red onion quarters, steamed baby leeks, glazed baby carrots with sautéed cumin potatoes