Mini Festive Chicken Pies

Ingredients

Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 chicken breasts, cubed
2 leeks sliced
2 tbsp flour
250ml chicken stock
3 tbsp creme fraiche
2 tsp English mustard

Salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste

1/8 tsp dried thyme
35g dried cranberries

70g cashew nuts
80g chopped chestnuts
80g crumbled Caerphilly

Pastry
250g plain flour
125g cold butter cubed
1 egg
1–2 tbsp water if needed

1 tbsp sage and onion seasoning

Method

1. In a saucepan melt butter and oil then fry the leek and garlic until they soften. Add chicken and cook for a further five minutes until sealed, then add flour stirring until well combined, followed by chicken stock slowly, until the sauce has thickened. 

2. Next add creme fraiche and mustard, then season and remove from heat and stir in cranberries, nuts and cheese.

3. Roll out pastry until a little thinner than a £1 coin. Cut out 8 x 9cm circles and use to line 8 holes of a muffin tin. Divide chicken filling between moulds.

4. Cut out 8 x 7cm circles to make tops for the pies. Lightly brush edges of the pie bases with egg, place each top onto its pie and press down into the filling. Pinch together the sides to seal. 

5. Leave to rest in the fridge for 30 mins, or up to 2 days if preparing in advance.

6. Heat oven to 200ºC /180ºC fan. Brush tops with more egg and bake pies for 30-35 mins or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve warm or leave to cool.

Status

To be cooked for Christmas Day - kind of made it up, so may adjust filling recipe as I go along!

Apple Suet Pudding (Apple Dick!)

Ingredients

300g SR Flour
10g Baking powder
150g Shredded Suet
1 tsp Mixed spice
75g Caster sugar
200g Bramley apple (diced)
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
200ml Milk

Method

1. Mix together the dry ingredients with the apple and lemon zest.

2. Pour in 185ml of the milk and stir together, adding more milk if necessary to get a binding / dropping consistency (the wetter the mix, the lighter the sponge).

3. Roll the mix into a 15-20 cm x 5 cm diameter cylinder – wrap in buttered greaseproof paper, with a fold to allow space for the sponge to rise, and tie the paper at both ends.

4. Put in a hot steamer and cook for about one hour. 

5. Remove the paper and slice the pudding into portions – serve with custard.

Status

Cooked now- colloquially title 'Santa's Dick' as a Christmas dish in a gastropub - made a half size version - texture good, but not sweet enough and the lemon didn't work for me, would add some dark brown sugar next time, some more cinnamon, and leave out the lemon!

Saag Paneer

Ingredients
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp oil
225g pack paneer (cut into cubes)
300g frozen chopped spinach
1 medium onion
2/3 tbsp minced ginger
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1.5 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
90g greek yoghurt

Method
1. Mix together the turmeric, cayenne, salt and oil - drop in the cubes of paneer and coat - let the cubes marinate while preparing other ingredients.
2. Thaw the spinach in a microwave, then puree in a food processor until smooth. 

3. Fry the paneer in a nonstick pan over medium heat until browned on most sides - remove to a plate.
4. Fry the onion, ginger, and garlic in a tablespoon of oil, until the mixture is evenly toffee-coloured - this should take about 15 minutes.  If the mixtures dries out add a couple of tablespoons of water.
5. Add the chilli powder, garam masala, coriander and cumin. Add a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the spices mellow.

6. Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Add a little salt and 100ml of water, stir, and cook about 5 minutes with the lid off.
7. Turn the heat off. Add the yogurt, a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Status

Very nice - have also used the spiced paneer element as an ingredient in an indian rice / vegetable stir-fry.

Quinoa and Halloumi Burgers

Ingredients
260g quinoa
vegetable stock or water
2 free-range eggs, beaten
3 tbsp gram flour
2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp chilli powder
3 garlic cloves, crushed
5 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
250g halloumi diced
salt and pepper

Method
1. Put the quinoa in a bowl and cover with approximately 500ml cold water. Add a pinch of salt. Set aside to soak overnight (or for at least 8 hours). Drain well.
2. Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the quinoa, stir once, then simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the heat and drain well. Set aside to cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, gram flour, herbs, chilli, and garlic until smooth and well combined. Stir in the spring onions, halloumi and quinoa. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little more gram flour or water if needed.

5. Shape the burger mixture into 16 equal-shaped patties in your hands.
6. Heat some ghee or oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the fat is smoking, add the burger patties, shape with a spoon in the pan. You may need to do this in batches. Fry for 3-4 minutes, or until a golden-brown crust forms, then gently flip with a spatula and fry the other side.
7. Transfer the fried burgers to a roasting tray. When all of the burgers have been fried, cook them in the oven for a further 12-15 minutes, or until cooked through.

Status

Just made - have reduced the amount of thyme, because that was a little in your face, but otherwise very nice!

Beef Stifado

Ingredients
0.5kg lean beef, cubed
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5 tsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp allspice
0.25 tsp oregano
pinch nutmeg
1 bay leaf
40ml red wine
40ml olive oil
0.5kg shallots, peeled (or red onions quartered)
1 x 400g/14oz tins chopped tomatoes
1 tsp tomato puree
salt and pepper

Method
1. Marinade the beef in the garlic, vinegar, spices, herbs and red wine (overnight if possible)
2. Seal the beef in the oil (reserve marinade) frying off onions at the same time
3. If using same pan, add marinade, tomatoes and tomato puree, and enough water to just cover ingredients.  If using slow cooker, transfer beef and onion and deglaze pan with tomatoes before transferring over - add marinade and tomato puree and enough water to just cover ingredients
4. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper, bring to the boil, then simmer for 2 hours or more until beef is tender and sauce is thickened.

Status
About to make, will keep in fridge overnight and reheat for consumption tomorrow to allow the flavours to mature.