#recipetester

Crispy Squid & Smashed Avo

Recipe by Jamie Oliver - 5 Ingredients Quick and Easy Cookbook

I absolutely love Squid, and I can’t believe I’ve never made it myself before.  I have been wanting to make this recipe from Jamie Oliver’s cookbook for so long but I had a hard time finding fresh, Wild calamari.  I finally found it, and I was’t disappointed!  Not only was this recipe so so so easy to make, it was simply delicious!  I usually add lemon to calamari when I order it in a restaurant, but this combination with avocado and lime was perfect!  The little bit of hot chilli sauce was a perfect hit of spice!  I would definitely make this again and highly recommend you give it a try!  Another great recipe by Jamie Oliver! :) Enjoy!  If you make it, let me know what you think and how it turns out!

Ingredients: 

250g of squid, gutted, cleaned

2 heaping tablespoon of wholemeal flour

1 ripe avocado

2 limes

2 tablespoons hot chilli sauce

Instructions:

Pour 1 cm of olive oil into a large non-stick frying pan on a medium high heat and leave to get hot - keep an eye on it.  Meanwhile, slice the squid tubes into 1cm rings, then toss all the squid with the flour and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper until well coated.  Halve the destone the avocado, then scoop the flesh into a bowl.  Finely grate in the zest of 1 lime, squeeze in the juice, and mash until smooth.  Taste, season to perfection, and divide between 2 plates.

To test if the oil is hot enough, carefully drop a piece of squid into the pan - if it sizzles and turns golden, its ready.  Piece by piece, gently place the rest of the squid in the hot oil and cook, turning with tongs, until golden all over (work in batches, if you need to).  *TIP* they only need to cook roughly 25-30 seconds per side, you don’t want to overcook them!*. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper drain, then plate up over the avo.  Drizzle over the chilli sauce and a little extra virgin olive oil, and serve with lime wedges, for squeezing over.

Gnarly Peanut Chicken

(Recipe by Jamie Oliver - 5 Ingredients Quick and Easy Food Cookbook)

INGREDIENTS (I use all organic ingredients):

2 x 120g skinless chicken breasts

2 limes

4 cloves of garlic (pureed)

2 heaped tablespoons of peanut butter

1-2 fresh red chillies

INSTRUCTIONS:

Turn the grill on to medium-high.  Score the chicken breasts in a criss cross fashion, rub with 1 tbs of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and the finely grated zest of 1 lime.  Place criss-cross side down in a cold 26cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan and put it on a medium high heat, while you peel and finely grate the garlic into a bowl.  Squeeze in the juice from 1 ½ limes, stir in the peanut butter and loosen with enough water to give you a spoonable consistency.  Finely slice the chilli, then mix (as much as you dare!) through the sauce, taste and season to perfection.

Flip the chicken over, spoon over the sauce, then transfer to the grill, roughly 10cm from the heat, for 5 mins or until gnarly and cooked through. Finely grate over the remaining lime zest, then drizzle with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.  Serve with lime wedges, for squeezing over.

Serves 2

MY REVIEW:

The recipe is super easy to make, if you don’t have a grill handy, you can broil in the oven and it’s basically the same effect.  This recipe only makes 2 chickens so you may want to double the recipe for a family.

So how did it taste?  Somehow these flavours work together!  The lime is subtle and the peanut butter and garlic works well, along with the heat from the chilli peppers.  I made mashed potatoes as a side which also helped cut some of the heat from the chilli peppers.  Overall, it was a success, and I’d definitely make it again.  It’s hard to make chicken exciting and this recipe definitely does!

Flaky Pastry Pesto Chicken

(Recipe by Jamie Oliver - Quick and Easy Food Cookbook)

Ingredients: 

320g sheet of all-butter puff pastry (cold)

4 x 120g skinless boneless chicken breast

4 heaping teaspoons of green pesto 

400g ripe cherry tomatoes, on the vine

400g geen beans

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C / 425 degrees F.  Unroll the pastry, cut it half lengthways, then cut each half widthways into 8 equal strips.  Flatten the chicken breasts by pounding with your fist until the fat ends are the same thickness as the skinny ends.  Place them in a roasting tray, season with sea salt and black pepper, spread over the pesto, then lay 4 overlapping strips of pastry over each breast, tucking them under at the edges.  Brush with a little olive oil. Lightly dress the tomato vines in olive oil, season and put into a second tray.  Place the chicken tray on the top shelf of the oven with the tomatoes below, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the chicken is cooked through. 

Meanwhile, line up the beans, trim off just the stalk ends, then cook in a pan of boiling salted water for 7 minutes, or until tender.  Remove the chicken to a board with half the tomatoes, squashing the rest in the tray and discarding the vines.  Drain and toss int he beans, taste and season to perfection.  Slice the chicken at an angel and serve on top of the beans, with the whole tomatoes.

Serves 4

Total time:  30 min

My Review:

Golden Pork Escalope

Recipe by Jame Oliver - Quick and Easy Food Cookbook

Ingredients:  (I use all organic)

1 slice of olive bread (50g)

4 sprigs of fresh oregano

1 x 125g pork escalope

100g ripe mixed-colour cherry tomatoes

10g feta cheese

Instructions:

Blitz the bread into fine crumbs in a food processor with half the oregano leaves.  Place the pork between two sheets of grease proof paper, then bash and flatten with a rolling pin to 1/2 cm thick.  Pat the crumbs on to both sides, then bash again until they stick.  Place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Cook the breaded escalope for 3 minutes on each side, or until dark golden.

Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and pick the remaining oregano leaves.  Transfer the escalope to your plate, wipe the pan out with a ball of kitchen paper, then add the tomatoes and remaining oregano with 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar.  Toss for 1 minute, taste, season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then dish up crumble over the feta. 

Serves 1  My Review:

If you have been following me for a while, you know that Jamie Oliver is one of my favorite chefs!  His recipes are so easy to make, often made with simple ingredients and are packed with flavour!  This dish is no different.  The Mediterranean inspired flavors work so well together to make this pork shine and it literally melts in your mouth!  If you can’t find olive bread, no sweat, just buy a regular crusty loaf and some olives and just blitz them together in the food processor, its the same effect!  I also couldn’t find tri-colour cherry tomatoes but just buy what’s in season.  For the feta, I used traditional Greek feta which is a mix of sheep and goat milk.  I would definitely make this dish again and wouldn’t change a thing!  If you make it, let me know how it turns out!

Scrambled Egg Omelette 

(Recipe by Jamie Oliver - 5 Ingredients Cookbook)

350g ripe mixed-colour tomatoes

1/2 a bunch of fresh basil (15g)

1/2 - 1 fresh red chilli 

1/2 x 125g ball of mozzarella 

4 large eggs

Instructions:

Finely slice the tomatoes, arrange over a sharing platter, then dress with a little extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt and black pepper.  Pick most of the basil leaves into a pestle and mortar, pound with a pinch of salt into a paste, then muddle in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to make basil oil.

Finely slice the chilli.  Finely chop the mozzarella.  Place a 26cm non-stick frying pan on a medium heat with 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil.  Beat and pour in the eggs, then stir regularly with a rubber spatula, moving the eggs gently around the pan.  When they’re lightly scrambled but still loose, stop staring and scatter the mozzarella in the centre, then drizzle over the basil oil.  Let he bottom of the eggs set for 1 minute, then - technique time - pick up the pan, tilt it down and, with your other hand, keep tapping your wrist until it shakes the eggs up the side of the pan; use the spatula to flip it bak to the middle, then fold the top half back over, too.  Turn it upside down on to the tomato platter, set side up.

Slice down the centre to reveal the oozy scrabble eggs in the middle.  Scatter over the chilli (as mochas you dare!) and remaining basil leaves, and tuck on in.

Serves 2

My Review:

As far as eggs go, which I kinda of deem myself as an expert - I messed up my first omelette.  But the 2nd one turned out better.  The technique on paper was a lot harder to translate into reality than I thought!  But alas, taste is king!  This omelette was so fresh and delicious!  I left the red chilli peppers off because I just couldn’t do the heat for breakfast, maybe as a dinner omelette this would work!  The fresh mozzarella and the basil olive oil was such a great flavour along with the tomatoes, it was like eating a fresh salad with breakfast.  Truly delicious and I will definitely make this one again, now that I figured out the technique!  Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Chicken and Chicory in Marsala Sauce

(Recipe by Gordon Ramsey - Home Cooking Cookbook)

At first glance I thought this recipe was going to be more difficult to make than it was.  The hardest part was finding the ingredients!  I couldn’t find the Chicory in my local grocery story so I used Oyster Mushrooms as a replacement.  The fragrance of this dish is incredible, and it tastes like a dish I would order in a fine dining restaurant.  I doubled the recipe because this only serves 2 people and I doubled the garlic - because is a great pre-biotic and tastes great!  The Marsala wine is a must!  The chicken just melted in my mouth and the thyme and chicken are a perfect match!  The recipe was only for the chicken so I added the zucchini noodles which soaked up some the sauce and it was absolutely delicious!  I would definitely make this again!  It took under 40 mins to cook so a great elegant dish you can make after work!  Great job Gordon Ramsey!  He is the king of making dishes with explosive flavours!  Let me know what you think? Here is the full recipe...

INGREDIENTS: (I used organic ingredients)

Olive Oil

2 Chicken breasts, skin on

Sea Salt 

Freshly ground pepper

2 heads of Chicory, trimmed and cut in half length wise

4 thyme sprigs

1 garlic clove, pealed and lightly crushed

3 tbs Marsala wine

2/3 cup Chicken stock

Butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat and add a little olive oil.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and place it, skin down, in the hot pan.  Add the chicory, cut side down, 2 thyme sprigs, and the garlic and cook for 3-4 min until the chicken skin is dark golden.

Turn the chicken and chicory over and cook for 2-3 min.  Pour in the Marsala to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits from the bottom, then add the chicken stock and a couple of chunks of butter ( like 2 tbs).  Cook over medium heat for 10 mins, occasionally spooning over the sauce, until the chicken is just cooked through.