Mexican Style Savoury Tart

Mexican Style Savoury Tart
This recipe can be adapted to suit any ingredients you have in stock. I happened to have some frozen sweetcorn and black beans, so I based the topping around that. I also made the shortcrust pastry - I have got very quick at doing this, through practice - but it could also be bought.

Ingredients
Pastry
8 oz semi wholemeal flour
3 oz butter or margarine
pinch of salt
3-4 tablespoons cold water

Topping
Olive oil
Chilli sauce (optional)
Tomato puree or passata
Frozen, fresh or tinned sweetcorn
Black beans (home cooked, or tinned)
Feta cheese, crumbled (or any other preferred cheese)
Salt and black pepper
Fresh coriander (cilantro)

1.Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, and add the butter/margarine/palm oil. Cut into small pieces and, using your fingertips, rub the fat into to the flour, until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the salt and 3 tablespoons(approximately) cold water. Press the dough together with your hands to form a ball of soft but not sticky dough. Add more water if the bough is too dry. Add more flour if it is too wet. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth.




2. (If possible, refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes, but if you haven't time, just keep on going, it'll work out fine.)
Grease a large tart or flan dish, or and put the ball of dough in it. Press and flatten the dough out with your hands, until it covers the base evenly, and comes up the sides to form a crust.




3. Spread the tomato paste or passata over the base. smooth using the back of a dessert spoon.



4.Sprinkle on the sweetcorn, the chopped tomatoes, the beans, the feta cheese, and the salt and pepper. Drizzle on some olive oil and hot chilli sauce (if desired).


5. Cook in the oven at Gas Mark 6 (200C, 400F) twenty to twenty five minute. The crust should be golden and come away from the edge of the tart dish.
Sprinkle with the chopped coriander (cilantro), serve hot or cold.



Note. Obviously other toppings such as red, yellow or green pepper, red beans, chopped green chilli, basil, rosemary etc could also be used.

Pea, potato and broad bean salad

This is a very seasonal recipe. At this time of year fresh peas, broad beans and the first new potatoes are all ready, and together they make a delicious Summer Salad.
As always, this recipe can be altered to serve more or less people.
I have written it specifically for people who are just learning how to cook.

Ingredients
2 and a half pounds (1kg, 225g) new potatoes
5 - 6 oz (150g - 175g) freshly shelled broad beans
Fresh or frozen peas
3 tbsp olive oil
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
Black pepper

Method


1.Wash the potatoes. The skin of new potatoes comes off much easier, and can simply be scraped off, using the back of a knife. Chop the potatoes into medium size chunks (or whatever size you prefer).



2.Fill a large pan with water, cover with a lid, and bring to the boil.Add the potaoes and boil over a medium heat, until the potatoes are cooked through, but not mushy. Drain over the sink in a colander and return to the pan.

3.Shell the peas and broadbeans, and place in a medium size pan. Add just enough water to cover, and cook over a medium heat, until the broadbeans are tender. Drain and return to the pan.




4. Make a dressing in a small bowl, or teacup. Stir together two tablespoons of the olive oil, the grated lemon zest (peel), and the lemon juice.

5.Heat the remaining oil in a large, frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the potatoes and the peas and broadbeans. Stir carefully so as not to break up the potatoes too much. When the vegetables are hot, add the salt and pepper. Stir up the dressing, to combine the oil and lemon juice, and pour it over the vegetables.

6. Once again, stir the potatoes, peas and broadbeans so that they are all covered with the dressing. Turn off the heat, and serve right away.

Cooking brown rice

You often hear that brown rice is good for you, and that it is healthier than white rice, but in my opinion it is also amazingly delicious, and once you know how to cook it, very easy to prepare.

I was introduced to brown rice quite early on, and my favourite dish when I was little was brown rice with red lentils and tamari (soya sauce).

Brown rice has a fantastic taste, and it is especially good with soya sauce and tahini (sesame paste). It can also be used in recipes that originally use white rice. Brown rice is also very good with all sorts of beans, and accompanies dishes like hummus or refried beans to perfection.
The important thing is to cook it properly. When tested it should not be AT ALL crunchy, but it should also not be a mush. Ideally each grain should stay separate from the others (although if you do overcook it a little, it is still perfectly acceptable).

Ingredients Brown rice.

Method.

1.Tip the required amount of brown rice (two cups will feed about four people)into a good sized pan. Add enough cold water to cover the rice, and swirl the rice round in a clockwise direction two or three times (this is just what I always do).



2. Tip the rice and water into a sieve and let the water pour away.
Return rice to the pan, and repeat the same process two more times, i.e. add enough water to the rice to cover, swirl round three times with your hand, drain, and return the rice to the pan.



3. Fill the pan with water again, and cover the rice with about two inches (6 cm) water. Boil over a high to medium heat, adding more water whenever the rice starts to look dry and to boil very noisily. If there is a lot of foam just turn down the heat a bit. Cook for about THREE QUARTERS OF AN HOUR!!



4.Yes, it's a long time, but that's how we get that delicious, nutty brown rice.
Of course, do keep tasting it, as it might be cooked a little while before.

5.Drain the brown rice as soon as it is cooked (if you leave it to stand in its cooking water it will all turn to a gloopy mess). Let the excess water pour away, and tip the rice back into the pan. Cover with a lid, and serve when everything alse is ready. It will stay hot in its pan a good while.

Mmmmm delicious brown rice.....

Delicious stir fry

This evening I mde a stir fry using a mixture of cabbages, swiss chard, red pepper and tomatoes. It is a very adaptable recipe, however, and any vegetables could be used, such as spinach, spring onions, carrots, beansprouts, etc.
Ingredients
1 oz walnuts
1 spring cabbage
8 or ten big swiss chard leaves
Half a red pepper
Half a medium cauliflower
A tin tomatoes (or 3 or 4 fresh tomatoes)
Two tbsp oil (I used sunflower oil)
Juice of half an orange
2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
Salt and pepper

Method.

1. Chop up the nuts, and toast them in a small frying pan till they give off a strong aroma, and go brown underneath. Take care not to burn.



2.Wash and chop up the cabbage, and swiss chard. Cut the red pepper into thin strips or pieces, and cut or break the cauliflower into small florets.



3. Add the oil to a wok, or a frying pan, and when it is close to smoking add the vegetables. Stir for 3 - 4 minutes over a high heat. Add the tomatoes, with their liquid, and enough water to cover the base of the wok, or frying pan.

4. Cover with a lid, lower the heat to medium, and cook until the vegetables are tender, but not soft (if you like them crisper, don't cook them so long). Keep checking to make sure they're not sticking to the base of the pan. If they are, add a little water.



5. Squeeze half an orange into a cup. Remove pips, and pour the juice over the stir fry. Sprinkle on the nuts, and the coriander leaves, and add salt and black pepper.
(I added about a quarrter of a teaspoon salt, and also a dash of soya sauce).



6.Serve at once - remember, any vegetables can be used for this recipe.

Working on Blog

I want to be able to design a fantastic blog using Word Press, but I haven't got the technical know how as yet. I decided I would at least get started using this easy blog software, and hopefully upgrade.
I would like to share the recipes I enjoy making - in particular with people who don't know much about cooking.
In my experience, food cooked at home is the tops, and if one cooks it oneself one has two treats - preparing it and eating it.
If you are cooking for friends or family there is the extra treat of making something delicious for people you love.

I will try to keep the recipes simple, but it is quite tricky when writing instructions. Please feel free to write to me if you have any questions, or problems -or any good ideas.

Scottish shortbread

Scottish Shortbread
This is a recipe that I made this morning. It is very easy, and is quick to make.
Ingredients
8 oz (225g) butter, margarine or palm oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup ground rice or rice flour (rice can be coarsely ground using a home-style electric grinder)
2 and 1/2 cups flour
2-3 tablespoons water

1. Add the butter to a medium size mixing bowl.

Add the sugar, and cream them together with a wooden spoon. This will be easier if the butter has been out of the fridge for a little while.


2. When the butter and the sugar are quite smooth, sift in the two flours. Press the mixture together with your hands. If it is dry and crumbly add a little water. If the dough is now too wet, add a little more flour.

3. Knead and press the dough with your hand, until it is a smooth ball.


4. Grease a rectangular lamington tin. Put the ball of dough into the tin, and press and pummel with your hands, till it covers the whole base of the tin. If desired, smooth the top with a spatular or palette knife.

5. Mark into squares with a sharp knife, cutting down almost - but not quite - to the bottom. mark each piece once or twice with the points of a fork.


6. Cook the shortbread in a preheated oven at Gasmark 4, (180C, 350F). Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown round the edge. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the pieces, and cool on a wire rack.

The shortbread will keep very well. It should be stored in a biscuit tin, or other airtight container.

video

Elle river

Okay, this is the address of the online petition.

http://www.lapetition.be/en-ligne/Petition-en-faveur-de-l-action-d-Elle-vivant-4877.html

The problem is that it is in French, so to make it easier, if you want to sign the petition, just e-mail me your name, first name, town, country and nationality (I don't know why they need that) and I will add it to the petition. You will then be sent a link, in French, which you will have to click to activate, and confirm your signature.

Here's my e-mail address.

bethanslewis@aol.com

Thanks a lot.

The Elle river

[url=http://www.lapetition.be/en-ligne/petition-en-faveur-de-l-action-d-elle-vivant-4877.html][img]http://www.lapetition.be/images/btn_signpet_fr.gif[/img][/url]
Here is the link to an online petition. It is in French,but here is how to fill it in.

Fantastic pickle

Indian Lime Pickle

This authentic recipe takes some time to prepare, and needs to be left for at least a month, but it is well worth the effort.

This red hot pickle is an Indian classic, and is not only absolutely addictive, but is also said to aid the digestion.

Ingredients

12 limes (organic if possible, as this recipe uses the rind)

10 dried red chillis

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 cup salt

½ tsp turmeric powder

¼ tsp asafetida

2 tbsp vinegar

Method

1Wash and wipe dry the limes. Cut into eighths (i.e. cut into quarters, and then cut each quarter in half.) Set aside.

2 Roast the red chillis in a small frying pan over a low heat until they are hot to the touch – take care not to let them burn! Grind to a powder with a pestle and mortar. Then transfer to a medium size bowl.

3. Roast the fenugreek seeds over a low heat until they are golden brown – take care not to over roast. Transfer to the mortar and grind to a fine powder. Add to the ground chilli.

4. Roast the mustard seeds until hot to the touch. Once again grind to a powder and add to the other ground spices.

5. Now, add the salt and turmeric powder to the spice mix – stir well to combine.

6. Wash a large jar and its lid in hot water. Dry and place the jar in the oven. Set the oven to Mark 5 (), and leave for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and take out the jar. This is done to steralise the jar, and make sure the pickle keeps.

Next, heat a small frying pan and sprinkle it with the asafetida. As the asafetida cooks it will give off vapours. Using oven gloves, hold the steralised jar upside down above the frying pan, so as to collect all the sme;; of the asafetida

This is a traditional way of steralising the pickle jar.

7.Now sprinkle a layer of the spice/salt mixture over the bottom of the jar. Add a layer of limes, then a layer of spices, then a layer of limes, and so on, finishing with a layer of spices. Add the vinegar, and any lime juice that might be left over on the chopping board.

8. Screw the top onto the jar, and put in a dry place for three days without touching it. On the fourth day stir the contents thoroughly with the handle end of a wooden spoon, and screw back on the lid. Stir the pickle every other day for the next 20 -30 days (or more).

If there is a sunny day during this time, you can take the pickle jar, remove the lid and cover with muslin, and place outdoors . This is said to help the flavours develop, but it might only really be applicable if you live in a very hot place like India.

Whatever the case, open the jar after about a month and enjoy the fantastic flavor of authentic homemade lime pickle. It will keep for a least three months in a larder or a refrigerator.