Butter Chicken

This curry recipe will not disappoint! It’s tasty and just as good as your take out curry.

You don’t need to use a lot of spices and you’re not going to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen which makes this a good midweek dinner option.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 500g chicken boneless chicken breast
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger paste 
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder 
• Salt 

For the sauce:

• 450g tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 white onion, chopped 
• 1 tbsp garlic paste 
• 50g cashew nuts 
• 1 tsp kasoori methi
• 1/2 tsp garam masala 
• 4 tbsp caster sugar 
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder 
• 5 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp double cream 
• 2 tbsp malt vinegar 
• Salt to taste 

Cut your chicken and add to a bowl. Add the garlic & ginger pastes, chilli powder and sait. Mix well and leave to marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes. Overnight is best.

In a pan, heat some olive oil and fry the chicken until cooked through. Add to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, add the onion, a little oil and a tablespoon of butter. Once the onions are cooked, add the tomatoes and cashew nuts. Add some water, the garlic paste, salt, malt vinegar, sugar, garam masala and chilli powder. Mix well and leave to simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes. 

Now all your ingredients are soft, add the mixture into a large mixing bowl and using a hand held blender, blitz the sauce until there are no lumps and it’s smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve back into the pan, add some more water if too thick. Add the rest of the butter, cream, chicken and kasoori methi. Mix well and leave it to simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve with rice and garnish with a drizzle of cream and a sprinkling of kasoori methi. 

Red Velvet Oreo Cupcakes

What could be better than red velvet cupcakes? Red velvet with Oreo icing cupcakes!!

Oh my god!! These are soooo heavenly and so moreish!

Makes 22

Ingredients:

For the red velvet cupcakes:

• 235g self raising flour
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 250g caster sugar
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
• 270g softened unsalted butter 
• 4 large free range eggs
• 3 tbsp buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• Red food colouring paste/ gel
• 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar 

For the Oreo icing:

• 300g softened unsalted butter 
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp whole milk
• 675g icing sugar
• 120g Oreo cookies 

Preheat the oven to 170C. Shift all of the dry ingredients together and 1/4 tsp of salt (apart from the bicarbonate of soda) into a large bowl. Add the butter and eggs then beat for around one minute with an electric mixer. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract and food colouring then mix well. Add enough food colouring to get a nice red colour. Scrape down the sides and beat for a further few seconds, until we’ll incorporated. 

In a small bowl, mix the bicarbonate of soda with the vinegar. As soon as you do this, it’ll start to fizz . Add it straight away to the mixture and whisk very briefly to incorporate. Fill the paper cases two thirds full with the mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool then transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a mixer for 5 minutes, until pale and smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract into the milk and set aside. Shift the icing sugar into a large bowl, then add to the butter in two stages, beating well between each. Gradually add the milk mixture and beat for another 3-5 minutes, or until almost white. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another quick blast.

Add the Oreos into a food processor and blitz into fine crumbs. Add to the butter icing and mix until we’ll incorporated. 

Once the cupcakes are cool, decorate them with your Oreo icing. Either by hand or using an icing bag . 

Curry Mutton 

One of the most famous dishes in Caribbean cuisine is curry goat. I couldn’t find any goat at the shops so I bought mutton instead, but use goat if you’re lucky enough to find some.

I made rice and peas to go with my curry but plain rice is equally as good with this dish.

I also had to fry up some plantain as I’m obsessed with it, could literally eat it all day, everyday!

This curry is full of flavour and tastes pretty damn good! The meat is so tender it literally falls off the bone!

You don’t want the liquid to cook out so make sure you keep topping up with water as you want sauce with this dish or it’ll be dry.

Ingredients:

• 3lbs mutton or goat 
• 5 tbsp medium curry powder 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp ground ginger 
• 1 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil 
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 x 400ml can coconut milk 
• 800ml water 
• 3 spring onions, chopped 
• Large handful of fresh thyme 
• 8 baby potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
• 1 scotch bonnet 

Put the mutton in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of the curry powder alike with the salt, pepper, ginger, allspice and turmeric. Mix it all into the meat, cover with cling film and leave to marinate over night to get the most flavour, or for 3 hours if you’re short on time.

Heat the oil in a Dutch pot or a large pot over a medium heat and add the onions along with 1 tsp of curry powder and the garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes until dark brown. Then add 2 tbsp of the coconut milk to create a paste.

Add the mutton to the pot and sauté until the meat has browned all over. Add half the water and the rest of the coconut milk, stir then cover and leave to simmer on a low-medium heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to endure the meat doesn’t catch at the bottom of the pot. Add 2 tbsp of curry powder after an hour of cooking and add more water if necessary.

After 2 hours, add the remaining curry powder, to taste and more water if needed.

Add the spring onions, thyme, potatoes and scotch bonnet and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove the scotch bonnet (or leave it for longer if you’re feeling brave/ like it hot!!), cover and cook for a further 30 minutes until the meat is tender. 

Serve with rice and plantain. Bon appétit! 

Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake

This lemon drizzle is super easy to make. It requires no effort on your part but produces a delicious cake with a moist sponge and super lemon taste.

Ingredients:

• 200g unsalted butter, softened 
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 large free range eggs 
• 200g self raising flour 
• 4 lemons 
• 3tbsp milk
• 135g caster sugar for the drizzle 

Line a loaf tin with baking paper and preheat your oven to 170C.

Best the butter and 200g caster sugar in a mixer for 5 minutes, until pale and creamy. 

Add the eggs one at a time (don’t worry if it looks curdled), beating well inbetween adding each egg. Add the flour and mix until well incorporated, now add the lemon zest of 3 lemons and the milk and mix.

Spoon the mixture into your prepared loaf tin and bake for 50-55 minutes until golden and a skewer pushed in the centre comes out clean.

Meanwhile, mix the juice of 3 lemons with 75g caster sugar in a jug and mix until the sugar has dissolved. As soon as the cake has come out of the oven, poke lots of holes all over the cake then pour the lemon mixture all over. Leave to cool in the cake tin.

After 20 minutes, grate the zest of 1 lemon and and add the juice to a bowl. Add 60g of caster sugar and mix. Brush the mixture onto the cake. Leave the cake to cool completely before taking out of the tin.

Enjoy your lemon drizzle loaf cake! Bon appétit!!

Creamy Tomato Chicken Gnocchi

Want a zero effort tomato sauce that you can rustle up in under 20 minutes and that’s full of flavour? Then keep on reading!!

This dish is pact full of flavour and requires zero cooking skills! It’s so simple to make, I’m sure it’ll be a dish you cook again and again.

You can make this vegan by omitting the chicken and Parmesan.

Ingredients:

• 500g fresh gnocchi
• 225g chicken breast, cut into chunks
• 450g vine tomatoes, cut into quarters 
• Red wine vinegar
• Chilli flakes
• 8 garlic cloves 
• Salt & pepper
• 150g spinach 
• 30g basil
• Walnuts
• Olive oil
• Parmesan 

Heat a pan on a medium heat, add some olive oil and once hot, add your chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, put in a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, add some more olive oil and add the tomatoes. Cover and leave to cook on a low heat until softened. Once soft, get masher and mash them until they are smooth (they’ll still be the odd chunk of tomato and that’s ok, we’re going for a rustic tomato sauce). Add a splash of red wine vinegar, crush 6 garlic cloves in, add chilli flakes to taste sad season with salt & pepper. Stir then add the spinach and chicken. Mix well.

Add the gnocchi to a pan of boiling water and cook. They’re done once they float to the top. Add a ladle of the gnocchi water to the sauce and stir. This will thicken it up.

To make the pesto, add the basil to a food processor or mini mixer, add 2 garlic cloves, a splash of red wine vinegar, olive oil, Parmesan, salt & pepper and a handful of walnuts. Blitz it all up and add more olive oil if needed. 

Serve the gnocchi dish, sprinkle with Parmesan and add a spoonful (or more!) of the pesto on top.

Voilà!! Your meal is ready to serve, bon appétit! 

Creamy Garlicky Salmon Pasta

This dish is super easy to make and it doesn’t take too long either. Within half an hour you’ll have a tasty meal on your table!

Now that I have a newborn baby, I don’t have time to slave away in the kitchen every day. Meals like this are just perfect when you’re restricted for time but don’t want to compromise on taste.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti 
• 2 salmon fillets
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• tenderstem brocoli  
• Boursin
• Crème fraîche 

Preheat your oven to 170C. Brush some olive oil on each of the salmon fillets and season with salt & pepper. Wrap in foil and cook for 25 minutes.

Cook your spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water.

Cut up your brocoli into bite sized portions and cook in a pan of boiling water.

Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain and put back into the pan. Add 3/4 of the Boursin and mix, adding 4-5 tablespoons of crème fraîche. Season with plenty of black pepper.

Drain your brocoli and add to the pan and mix.

Flake your salmon into chunks and add to the pan and mix.

Serve up, add some more black pepper and Parmesan.

Bon appétit!    

Chicken & Leek Pot Pie

I asked Darren on the weekend what he fancied eating and he said "chicken pie", so chicken pie is what he got, with mash potato of course!


This pie is so creamy and flavoursome, and I use shop bought pastry so it's not time consuming to make! Of course, you can make your own if you wish, I was just feeling lazy.


This recipe serves 4.


Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 medium leeks
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1cm slices
• 275ml dry cider
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• salt & pepper
• 225g fresh/frozen puff pastry
• 3-4 tablespoons of fresh parmesan for sprinkling
• Flour for dusting
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

For the sauce:

• 275ml milk
• 20g plain flour
• 20g butter
• Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
• 30g mature cheddar
• 20g fresh parmesan
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• salt & pepper

First, pour the cider into a large saucepan, along with the carrots, bay leaves, thyme and some freshly milled salt & pepper.


Cover with a lid and bring to simmering point and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Now, chop the tough green ends off the leeks and discard. Make a vertical split halfway down the centre of each leek, and run them under cold water to get rid of any hidden grit. Now slice in half, lengthways and chop into 1cm slices. Add the chicken and leeks to the pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place the milk, butter, flour and cayenne pepper into a large saucepan and place it over a gentle heat. Then, using a balloon whisk, start to whisk whilst bringing it to a gentle simmer. Carry on whisking until you have a smooth, glossy sauce then simmer gently for a further 5 minutes. Add the cheeses and whisk again until melted. Season with salt and pepper and some grated nutmeg.

Drain the chicken and vegetables, reserving the liquid. Discard of the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Pour the liquid back into the pan and simmer until you have around 4 tablespoons left. Now cut the chicken into bite sized portions.

Preheat the oven to 170C. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the liquid into the cheese sauce, one tablespoon at a time and stir well each time. Bring to a gentle simmer and then add the chicken and vegetables and stir well to mix through.

Add the mixture to your pie dish. Roll the pastry out and cut a 1cm thick strip. Wet the edge of your dish and add the strip, pressing down to secure to the dish. Now cut a piece of pastry large enough to cover the top of the dish. Wet the pastry strip around the dish and place the cover on top, pressing down to secure in place. Trim the edges with a sharp knife. Brush the egg on top. Now gather up the pastry trimmings and cut them into leaf shapes (if you're not very artistic, use one of the bay leaves as a template) and decorate the pie. Brush the pastry leaves with more of the egg wash.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with mash.