Chicken & Swede Tagine

2 Chicken Breasts

1 very large pepper, or 2 normal ones.

2 onions

3 handfuls of mushrooms

1/3 large swede

1/2 litre of chicken stock (2 oxo) made up in boiling water

2 tsp garam marsala

1 tsp ground coriander seed

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chilli powder

3 tsp acacia honey

1 tsp very lazy garlic

1 tbsp creme fraiche

Chop the veg - onion into small pieces, swede about 1.5 cm cubes, pepper about 2 cm cubes, mushrooms into quarters if large.

Chop the chicken into rough cubes - about an inch to a side.

Fry the onions until translucent. Add the swede and cook for a while over a low heat. Push the lot to half the pan, add a little more oil, and fry the spices (inc garlic), mix in with the veg, and clear to half the pan again. Brown the chicken on all sides and mix in with the veg. Add the pepper and fry for a bit more.

Add the lot to the tagine. Add the mushrooms, and stir in. Add the stock, and enough extra water to cover everything in the tagine. Add the honey and stir in.

Leave in the oven at 120 degrees for 3-4 hours.

Take the top off the tagine, add the creme fraiche, and cook for another 1/2 an hour or so, reducing the sauce - but keep an eye on it to make sure it dosen't dry out.

Serve when the sauce is starting to thicken, with cous-cous.

Serves 2-3

Crab

File this under "Best left to a restaurant"

More trouble than it's worth.

Smoked Salmon Pasta

1 Pack of Smoked Salmon. As much as you fancy.

1 small pot of single cream

1 medium onion

1 small gherkin (about 4 cm long) sliced finely

2 slices of picked green jalapenos, chopped finely

1 medium tomato chopped finely

A little rice or other white wine.

Parmesan

Dill

Mixed Herbs

Tagliatelle (5 nests, or personal preference)

Chop the onion finely, and fry up in a little oil until translucent. Add the tomato, jalapeno and gherkin. and fry for a few minutes. Add the wine, mix well and cook until the wine has reduced. Sprinkle dill over the pan, and add a little mixed herbs. Stir in the single cream. Turn the heat right down and simmer gently.

Prepare the pasta as per the pack.

After only a minute add the salmon (sliced roughly). Stir occasionally. Grate in a little Parmesan (about 3/4 cm off a block). Stir and cook until the pasta is done.

Once the pasta has cooked, mix in with the sauce and serve.

Serves 2.

Prawn Curry

I'm told this tastes like an old fashioned birds-eye packet prawn curry. I'm also told this is a compliment.

1 pack king / tiger / etc / prawns

2 medium onions

1 tin tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

4 chillies (or less, if you're not into quite so many chillies)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garam marsala

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp tamarind concentrate (or the real stuff if you can get it)

2 tsp sugar

1 sachet creamed coconut

oil for frying

Fry up the onions slowly until translucent. Crush the garlic and add along with the chillies. Add the spices except the tamarind & sugar. Fry for another minute.

Add the tamarind, and stir in the tomatoes. Add the sugar to taste. Grate in the creamed coconut.

Cook for about 10 mins.

Add the prawns and cook for a little while (or until pink if using fresh).

Serve with Rice.

Serves 2.

Quick Creole Jambalaya

1 pack of Prawns

1 Chicken Breast

2 Jumbo Frankfurters (Herta are good)

1 large onion

1 green pepper

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 cup long grain & wild rice

1/2 litre of stock made from 1 fish stock cube & 1 tsp of veg stock

Garlic Italian Seasoning

Cajun Seasoning

Grapeseed oil

Chop the veg up into small pieces.

Chop the sausages into 5-6mm rounds

Chop the chicken into small pieces

Fry up the chicken until starting to brown. Then add the sausages and turn the heat down. Fry for another few minutes, and add the onions & pepper. Sprinkle a fair portion of the garlic seasoning over. Fry up for 10 mins or so on a low heat, but be careful when stirring as the sausages are a bit fragile.

Add the tomatoes and a good covering of cajun seasoning. Stir up and cook down until the sauce is starting to thicken.

Add the rice, prawns and stock. Mix well, and cook down until the rice is cooked (15-20 mins) and the sauce is all but gone. Don't stir too much; just enough to stop it sticking to the base of the pan.

Serves 2, generously.

Herby Crust for Baked Chicken

As an twist on this, a simple change.

1/2 Ciabatta roll

1 egg

Parmesan

Mixed Herbs

Turn the bread to crumbs in the blender, add herbs and grated Parmesan (a fair bit of each). Mix. Add the egg, and beat with a fork, and then mix in thoroughly. Use the mixture to cover the top of the chicken.

Cover in foil very loosely (or the crust will stick to the foil) and bake for 1/2 an hour at 200C. After 10-15 mins open the foil up to let the crust brown nicely.

Mediterranean Sausages

Sort of like glamorgan sausages, but different.

Makes 6 - so serves 2 or 3.

2 crusty bread rolls - something exotic by preference

3/4 jar half-dried tomatoes (it's from Sainsburys)

125g grated cheese

1 egg

Oil for frying

Tear up the rolls, and reduce to fine breadcrumbs in the blender. Put in a large bowl, and blend the tomatoes until all chopped. Add to the breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and mix well. Break an egg into the mix, beat and mix in well. Clump the mixture together with your hands (yes, messy I know), and divide into six. Get them as close to the same size as you can. Squeeze the mix portions until quite compact, and shape into a sausage (the back of a large knife is handy here).

(Making them into flat sided shapes will make frying easier)

Refrigerate for half an hour or more.

Fry over a medium-low heat. Let them cook, but not burn - don't keep fiddling with them or they will fall apart. Should only take a few minutes per side.

Serve with carrot & coriander puree, mash & gravy.