Black Bean & Barley Chili

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Veggie Treat

I love a nice big bowl of vegetarian chili, it picks me up and comforts me. Winter is most definitely on the way out - so I may have to forget about dishes like these until Autumn - hurray! 
Black beans are great for you too, packed full of fiber and are also good at lowering cholesterol. I've been trying to cook with them for the last while, but haven't come up with anything with sharing until now. The colour that comes form the beans lends a really dark and 'meaty' tone to the dish.


Ingredients - Serves 4
1 tin of black beans
I large onion - finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary - finely chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme - finely chopped
2 carrots - finely cubed
1 cup of pearl barley
1 tin of tomatoes
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of paprika
Dried or fresh chili to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil


To serve
Fresh lime juice to taste
Cream Cheese - I used Yeats County Cream Cheese 
Freshly chopped parsley


Method

1. Put the peel form the onion, outer layer and the gratings from the carrots in a pot - cover with a small amount of water and bring to a boil, simmer while you make the rest of the dish.
2. In a large high sided frying pan, gently sweat your onion in the olive oil. After a few minutes add the garlic. Once the onion is translucent, add in the fresh herbs (if you have fresh oregano all the better!) Cook for a further 2 minutes.
3. Then add in the paprika and chili and stir briefly. Next stir in the tomatoes, beans, vinegar, carrot and pearl barley. Add in the stock you made with the onion and carrot. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes until the barley is cooked. You might need to add a little more water so check on it every so often.
4. To serve top with a good dollop of yummy cream cheese, add a good squeeze of lime and a healthy sprinkle of parsley. I'm sure that cream cheese and barley aren't traditional ingredients in a chili - but I don't care this was so satisfying.

You can serve with some rice, in Quesadilla, with corn chips - or anything else that is vaguely Mexican. 

Tom Kha Gai

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Tom Yum yum

Real Tom Yum or Tom Kha Gai soups are supposed to use galangal ( a type of ginger) and Kaffir lime leaves. I didn't have either of these things, however, I did use tamarind and lemongrass and various other delicious things, and I think I got a really good flavour from this makey-uppy version of the Thai classic. It was also really really quick and nice and filling. I'm not sure about the authenticity of using potatoes but I know they are used in some Thai cooking (like in Massaman curry) so its not that off the wall!

Ingredients

1 litre good chicken stock

1 dessert spoon tamarind paste

1 tin coconut milk

1 stalk lemon grass (bashed with a rolling pin to release the oils)

2 red chilies (de seeded and chopped)

about 4 c0riander roots (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1 inch piece of ginger (finely grated)

2 dessert spoons of fish or oyster sauce

1 dessert spoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 large chicken fillet (thinly sliced)

about 6 small new potatoes (sliced)

about 8 cherry tomatoes

mangetout or broccoli or green beans or whatever green vegetable you have

1 lime

a handful coriander leaves

Start by adding the tamarind to the hot stock and stirring well. Drain through a sieve so any of the solid bits of tamarind don't go into the dish. Put the stock in a pot with the coconut milk and add the chillies, garlic, ginger, coriander roots, lemongrass, 2 0r 3 kaffir lime leaves if you have them (I didn't), the soy and oyster sauce, the sugar, potatoes and chicken. Bring all of this up to simmer and cook for about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute, then add the green veg and cook for two minutes. Test the chicken and potatoes but they should be well cooked by now if they were sliced thinly. Take the soup off the heat. Roll the lime firmly on a table top to release the juices and make it easier to squeeze. Then cut it in half and squeeze all of the juice into the pot. Remove the lemongrass stalk. Roughly tear up the coriander leaves and add to the pot. Serve immediately

You can vary the vegetables you use, spring onions and mushrooms could go in at the end, but I think it is important to use tomatoes. So satisfying and delicious!

Chicken soup

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For your sick chicken

I've been languishing in bed for the past three days- thank God for laptops! I even missed our St.Patrick's day party, which sounded like it went with a bang judging by the noises coming from downstairs and the state of my friends coming upstairs to pay me a visit. When Lu and I first lived together in College, I introduced her to the joys of a good chicken soup, which, according to my mother can cure everything from a broken heart to a broken toe, but its definitely the best comfort for a cold or flu.

So Lu, like the great friend she is came home from work last night and cooked me this, my Mum's chicken soup special. Joy! I had some for dinner and just ate this delicious bowl of goodness for my lunch-in-bed. I feel better already!

Ingredients:

4 chicken legs

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 inch cube of fresh ginger, grated

1 red chilli, chopped and de-seeded

about 2 1/2 litres water

2 carrots, cut in half

2 sticks celery, cut in half

1 bay leaf

6 whole black peppercorns

In your largest pot, saute the onion, garlic, ginger and chili in some olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the chicken legs and the water (the water should cover the chicken legs by about 1 inch, and will probably reach the top of your pot), followed by the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil, and then simmer at a low heat for anything from 1 -2 hours. depending on how long you have.

Remove the chicken legs from the broth and strip away all the meat. Discard the skin and bones and shred the chicken meat. Return this to the pot. Fish out the peppercorns. You can eat the carrots and celery too if you like, of leave them out if you don't fancy it.

Serve with noodles, rice, dumplings, or just by itself. Its nice garnished with spring onions.

Make a huge pot and eat it for a couple of days... until your cold is all gone!

Spicy Bean Quesadilla

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The Happy Mexican

There’s no accounting for cravings now is there? Mushed up kidneys beans, yeah that’s pretty much what I want right now, oh yes. So I decided upon a Mexican quesadilla with a nice spicy bean mixture in. It satisfied my craving nicely - even if it refused to photograph well - so I went photoshop crazy on it - sorry the photos are a state - but I didn't want to do them twice.

Recently I have been using fresh tomatoes in sauces when I can, instead of tinned, which really gives the flavour a nice edge. They cook down faster than you think. Cooking tomatoes actually increases their anti-oxidant levels unlike most veg, which is great news. Lycopene the anti-oxidant found in tomatoes, is specifically known for decreasing the risk of heart-disease, happy Mexicans.

Ingredients
5 fresh tomatoes
4 spring onions
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh thyme
1 tin of kidney beans drained
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 peppers roasted/grilled and skinned see here for instructions
Grated Cheese
Flour tortillas

Fry up your onion and garlic in a little oil until translucent. Add in your thyme and cayenne pepper, stir for about 1 min before adding in the chopped tomatoes and beans, stir until the tomatoes begin to cook down a little. Season. Turn down, cover and leave to cook for a 10 minutes or so. It’s done when the tomatoes are cooked down nice - it’ll be pretty thick, because you want a nice paste texture. Squish down the beans with the back of the spoon.

In a clean frying pan place one tortilla, add on top a layer of beany mush, a few roasted peppers, spring onions and some grated cheese. Top with another tortilla and give it a bit of a squash down. Place over a medium head - cook for 2/3 minutes, turn over (carefully) and give the next side 2/3 mins. Keep your eye on it or it’ll burn (not looking at anyone in particular here!) Serve with sour cream with chives or guacamole (neither of which I had sadly) but it was still really good.

This would be great to use up some leftover chicken, or chili. Throw in whatever beans you like or have to hand, some courgette and corn would also work well. Fresh chilli's would also be great in the sauce or de-seeded as a topping

Paneer Butter Masala

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I love Paneer - Govindas used to come to our college on a Thursday and serve up huge plates of delicious rice and paneer in a spicy tomato sauce with peas and little crunchy poppadoms. And as Thursday was a drinking night - it was good soakage for later on. I've tried many recipes to re-create the Govindas Paneer, which I will blog in the future - I promise - my mum loves it.

Here I decided to try a different paneer recipe. For once I didn't fry it first in an attempt to see if it would come out softer. It didn't, but this may have been due to the fact that this didn't have a huge amount of sauce, though it worked beautiful with the sweet onions and the rich creamy nut sauce. I must try it with chicken sometime.

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer - packet, cubed
Onions - 3 big, chopped as finely as you can
Tomatoes - 2 big
Ginger 1 inch grated
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Medium curry masala powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - a tsp
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp, grind to paste - and then a few for garnish
Mustard seeds – a table spoon
Ghee - two desert spoons
Cream - 1 tbsp (optional)
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped, to serve

Heat the ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Once they pop, add the onions and fry for 2 mins. Then add the ginger, and the cashewnut paste. Saute for another 2 mins. Now add the pureed tomatoes, coriander powder, turmeric, curry masala and salt. Stir well and leave on simmer for about 5 mins.

Next, add the paneer and let cook. If the gravy seems too thick, add little water and keep cooking for about 5-6 mins. Remove from heat, mix in the fresh cream if using and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and a few cashews.

I served this with some spiced rice, a tomato dahl, naan and also some mango chutney. I may have to wean myself off the mango chutney - I'm a bit addicted.

Chilli roasted chickpeas

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Chickpeas – not just for hummous

More often than not – our tins of chickpeas are destined to become hummous – or maybe an addition to stew, so I felt the time had come to re-dress this balance. I ate these delicious chickpea dish with Farrah and Pam in New York a few years back – and since created my own version. I’ll dedicate this one to Farrah and also to wish her best of luck with the wedding preparations, we can’t wait!

Chili roasted chickpeas

I can of chickpeas rinsed
1 tablespoon of gram flour (any flour will do)
salt & pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 large red chili finely sliced – leave out seeds if you prefer it less hot
½ teaspoon of mixed spice
1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Toss everything together and spread onto a lightly greased baking tray – roast at the top of the oven for 20-30 mins at gas mark 7 until golden and toasty looking – serve with a some yogurt and freshly chopped parsley. Makes an excellent side dish for Eastern, Greek or Spanish style tapas food.

Where’s me Rioja?

Pulse Heavy Vegetarian Chili

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Veggie Chili – pulse racing stuff

I saw a post on yesterday 101 Cookbooks and as I had just found some pearl barley the week before I was keen to put it to good use. Also I love a big bowl of chili, very satisfying. I love my pulses, especially when they’re accompanied by a good kick of chili

1 huge onion (1cm squares)
Several carrots
3 sticks of celery – finely sliced
1 cup of brown lentils
1 cup of bulghur wheat
1 cup of pearly barley
1 big red chili
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
Several bay leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
Cayenne pepper
1 tin tomatoes
Veg stock
4 cloves of garlic - minced
1 ½ inch of ginger finely grated

Soften the onion and garlic in some oil along with the chili. Then stir in the spices, after 1 min or so, then add in the carrots. Fry off for about two mins before adding the lentils, barley, and tin tomatoes and bulghur wheat, mix thoroughly then add in enough stock to cover entirely.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 35-45 mins until the lentils are tender. Add in some cayenne pepper to taste.

If I was making this again – I’d like to add in a cup full of orange lentils – and maybe reduce the pearl barley a little to possibly ¾ of a cup. Maybe substitute red peppers for the carrots –but alas I had none. This actually produces a HUGE amount of chili – so possibly half the ingredients if you‘re not feeding a small army. The above amounts serves around 6/8

Serve with some grated cheese and baked tortilla chips like these babies

Massive Man Curry

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Well Delo's not massive by any means he is pretty tall and did cook most of this curry so we'll name it after him

Bank Holiday Monday - Beef and Lime Masaman

Oh to follow a recipe faithfully – you never have all the right ingredients – so there was a level of confusion as to how the lime works with potatoes – that is as yet undecided. Though after working late last night, and running out of the office cause I got scared of vampires, I had the leftovers and for some reason they were extra delicious - must be the fear adrenalin

After looking for time some time for some galangal I had found some so I was excited to use it in a recipe.


We had some left over beef from our stew on Sunday that we got from the local Indian (and everything else) shop down the road. I forget the name of it now – hmmmmmmm Poppy’s? Aula? I’ll get back to you on that one, but I love that shop.


Ingredients
Half pound of beef – sliced thinly (the thinner the more delicious I find)
I onion – cut into little moons
1 large green chilli (de-seeded or not)
I red pepper in 1 inch squares
4 potatoes – cut into 2cm cubes
2 inches of root ginger - grated
3 gloves of garlic – sliced thinly as you can
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 ½ teaspoon galangal
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
I teaspoon palm sugar
Zest and juice of one lime
Dash of maggi brand seasoning
3 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¾ can of coconut milk
lots of black pepper

Marinate sliced beef in 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and half of the soy sauce ( for as long as you can pref overnight though don’t worry if you can only manage to do it for the time you have to prepare the rest of the dinner) Boil cubes of potato until just tender in some slightly salted water.

Fry up ginger, chili and ginger in a small bit of veg oil, over a med-high heat for 2-3 mins then add in the onion, cumin, coriander, turmeric and galalngal till, cook for a few mins till onion starts to go see through – then add in the beef – cook for 3-4 mins, then add in the peppers and coconut milk, palm sugar, lime juice, potato, seasoning, rest of he oyster and soy sauce. Stir well and leave to bubble for about 2 mins.

Serve with a sprinkle of fresh coriander if you have it. If you want to eat it with rice half the amount of potatoes used in recipe – that’ll make it more authentic!



Lovely pictures of curry also with kind thanks to the massive man! Cheers Delo