Steak on a Board with Ratatouille

Have you ever craved a meal for so long that you finally caved and just made it?  Well, this is what kind of happened with me.  I had dreaming about a good ratatouille for ages and kept meaning to make one.  Ideally the same one that features in the film (I later found a recipe for that version and, quite honestly, for a simple quick rat, that seemed far too complicated!)

In our house as well, one cannot simply subsist on vegetables alone.  I am fairly sure that was incorporated into our marriage vows, so I needed to provide a suitable red meat accompaniment to the pile of courgette and tomato I was preparing to serve.

That's where the steak comes in. I must confess, steak and ratatouille is not an original concept- Jamie got there long before I did and I have no doubt that thousands more got there before him, but my rat is not the same one as his, although the steak part most definitely is. 

It is however quite quick (relatively speaking - you can't get the complex flavours of a good rat with only 30 minutes of cooking, no matter how many tricks and cheats you use) and easy. I cooked it as a mid-week supper for after work and it feels positively virtuous before the onslaught of Christmas decadence.  You can also cook the ratatouille a few days in advance and just warm it up when you want dinner - this actually makes it even better as the flavours have time to develop and it will save you even more time when you are stressed after a long day at work.

Now, the purists out there are going to argue with me and tell me that this is not a traditional rat as it does not involve cooking all the individual elements separately before bringing them together and I am not pan-frying the main veg element first.  I'm sure that creates an outstanding version that any French grandmother would be proud of, but frankly, when it is 5.30pm and I need dinner served by 7.30pm, who has the time?!

I took a tip from Felicity Cloake and made mine with a piperade on the bottom and balsamic vinegar to add a richness and depth of flavour which it could otherwise lack, especially if you are using vegetables out of season and this more than compensates for the cheats method of layering your veg without pre-cooking. 

So lets start with the ratatouille

3 courgettes, thinly sliced
8 plum tomato's, 4 peeled and diced, 4 thinly sliced
2 red peppers
1 aubergine , thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced
3 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
3-4 fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp good balsamic vinegar
Pinch of sugar
Salt
Pepper

Heat the oven to 140C,

Place the peppers over the open hob flame, or scorch them with a cook's torch, or halve them and place them cut side down on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.  You are looking to blister the skin so that you can remove it, so do this anyway that works for you.  Heck you could even put them on a slab of marble in your wood fire if you want!

Whilst your peppers are blistering, heat 2 tablespoons of the garlic infused olive oil over a low heat in a pan then cook the onions gently and slowly until translucent and soft (8 minutes or so should do it depending on how finely you chopped your onions).  Stir in the diced tomatoes and tablespoon of thyme and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.

Remove the skin from the blistered peppers and cut them into small dice, then add them to the tomato's and cook for another few minutes.  Add the balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Spread this tomato and pepper sauce (the piperade) over the bottom of a baking dish then arrange your sliced vegetables (tomato, courgette and aubergine) in alternating layers on top. Mix the remaining garlic olive oil with a teaspoon more thyme and drizzle over the top, then sprinkle the basil leaves.

Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 1.5 hours. Uncover for the last 30 minutes of cooking to crisp up the top layer of vegetables a bit.  Garnish with a few more fresh basil leaves and serve with the steak.

While the ratatouille is cooking uncovered for the last 30 minutes, you can get on with the steak.

2 x 250 g quality sirloin steaks, fat removed

1 teaspoon paprika 

1 tablespoon good (but not extra virgin) olive oil

½ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Start by dressing your board.  Mix the mustard with the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and some salt and pepper and drizzle over the board.  Scatter the parsley over the top.

Get a griddle pan nice and hot and rub the steaks with the olive oil and paprika and some salt and pepper.  Always oil your steak, not the pan!

Sear the steak on one side and then turn until cooked to your liking.

Allow to rest for the same amount of time as you cooked it for (at least), then carve it into strips and place it on the board.

Serve the board with the ratatouille and allow people to dig in, wiping up the mustard dressing as they do.

There are no carbs in this meal, and to be honest it is filling enough that you don't need them.  If you feel an overwhelming desire for starch though, try with some fresh baked crusty bread - perfect for mopping up the the ratatouille and steak juices.

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Prawn Stir Fry

Sometimes there is nothing better than a simple, straightforward stir fry.  Crunchy fresh vegetables, prawns and noodles all coated in a zingy, lightly spicy sauce.  The leftovers make for a brilliant packed lunch as well!

I've tried a few packet sauces for stir fry from the supermarket, and have found every single one, without fail, to be utterly bland and flavourless.  I'm not sure what it is about pre-made stir fry sauces, but it seems as though companies are just afraid of tickling the taste buds. 

That is not what I want when I am eating my dinner.  I want flavour and zing with contrasting hot and sharp tang.  After being utterly fed up with the offerings, I stuck my head in my kitchen cupboards, pulled out every bottle of Asian inspired sauce I had and started pouring, tasting and tweaking in a bowl until I had created my own stir fry sauce that is, as far as I am concerned, a flavour sensation. 

Patent pending.

Prawn Stir Fry

200g packet raw king prawns (or chicken or lean strips of beef or pork)
1 packet stir fry vegetable mix (or make your own with chopped red and green peppers, shredded cabbage, baby corn, finely chopped red onion, diced courgette, mange tout, shredded carrot and broccoli)
1 x 350g packet bean sprouts
1 x 350g packet vermicelli noodles
Couple of handfuls sweet corn
1 teaspoon wok oil or vegetable oil
1 lime

Dressing

2 tablespoons siriachi sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons ground ginger (fresh would be better, peel and julienne 1 x inch strip of ginger, I didn't have any in the house though)
2 teaspoons chinese five spice
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablepoon sesame seeds
Juice of 1 lime

Get everything lined up and the dressing pre-mixed before you turn the hob on.  Once the heat goes on, everything happens very quickly!

In a large wok (or deep frying pan if you don't have a wok) heat the oil.  When the oil is very hot (hold your hand over it, you should feel the heat on the palm of your hand almost instantly), throw in all of the mixed vegetables and stir continuously for 1 minute. 

Add the bean sprouts and noodles and stir for 1 more minute

Add the prawns and sweet corn and stir until all prawns turn pink.

Throw in the dressing and stir for a further minute or until everything is lightly coated.

Sprinkle some more sesame seeds on the top and serve with the lime cut into wedges.

If you can eat this with chopsticks, then I commend you.  I'm normally not too bad when I use them, but for some reason I really struggle with noodles, and this dish has oodles of noodles!

By the way, did you know that elephants are a symbol of good luck and good fortune in Asian cultures?  I have a few elephant statues and ornaments in my house, and my grandmother always taught me to make sure that the elephants' trunk points towards the entrance of the house. That way only good fortune will ever enter.

It's probably all supersititious nonsense, but I still make sure that all my elephants always have their trunks pointing at the front door, no matter where they are.

 

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Healthy Banana and Peanut Butter Oat Cookies

It's pretty horrible out there at the moment, and when it is like this my instinct is always to reach straight for the biscuit barrel and comfort eat my way through the worst of the winter.  In many respects, I am like a human Yogi bear.

The problem with that is, come the January sales, I'm reluctant to buy anything as my waist line has expanded so much that nothing in my usual sizes fits me!  I need something that is a compromise between moderating the bad food intake and also satisfies the sweet tooth.  These little cookies are pretty good at that - they have no butter and no bags of granulated sugar in them, so as far as a feel good snack goes, they basically come with their own glowing halo's.

They are not only angelic, they are also remarkably useful for using up some of those pesky ingredients that I always seem to have lying around, like bananas and porridge oats, and as if that wasn't enough, they are ridiculously quick and easy to make.

I'm not sure of the exact calorie intake per cookie, but as the sweetening agents come from pretty natural ingredients (apple sauce, banana and peanut butter) they can't be that bad!  If you are already noticing that the Christmas season belt needs to be loosened a little, these should help. Take out the chocolate chips to make these positively saintly.

They are quite chewy and go down well as a mid-afternoon pick me up when you are sat at your computer in your office, staring at the wind and rain pounding down outside and knowing that you should probably be getting on with some work, but you just don't have the energy.  One or two of these, a cup of tea and you will soon be on track for that Employee of the Month badge that gets handed out every so often in a vain attempt to encourage productivity.  

So that's enough of singing their praises.  Let's get on with making them!  Go and find:

1 mashed up ripe banana
45 grams peanut butter
65 grams apple sauce
200g porridge oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract
couple of handfuls of mixed chocolate chips - add more or less depending on how chocolatey you like your cookies!

These are ridiculously easy to make.

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking sheet with baking paper

Mix everything together in one hit until it comes together

Form into small patties and press down the top to get rid of any ridges that may catch in the oven

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, checking every so often.

Leave them to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking tray before transferring them to a cooling rack - they need to cool a bit before you handle them as this allows them to firm up, otherwise they just disintegrate in your hands!

Chow down, guilt free!

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You shall have a fishy on a little dishy

This is not my creation.

I don't think in a million years my brain would have been wired to consider this as a meal.  The combination of ingredients just sounds so strange together, and yet, weirdly, like strawberries and balsamic vinegar, Parmesan and pears or cayenne pepper and mango's, it just works. 

Actually this is one of Steve's concoctions.  He is a much more creative cook than I am - I tend to go for a recipe or a dish I have tried before and adapt it.  He just lets loose and experiments.  Sometimes this results in us having to order a pizza (like the ill-fated time we didn't have any tinned tomato's when he was making cottage pie so he substituted baked beans instead.  Turns out that just cos something is in a tomato-esq sauce doesn't mean you can substitute it for tomato's).  Other times, like this time, his evil genius just works.

This is toasted buttered bruschetta, layered with warm tomato and pepper salsa, a slice of lightly fried fresh monk fish, homemade crispy seaweed and a poached egg.

Weird and wonderful and surprisingly easy. 

You need:

1 loaf of fresh bread
2 tomato's (chopped)
1/2 yellow pepper (chopped)
1/2 green pepper (chopped)
1 red chilli (chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped)
Olive oil
Lemon
Bag of spring greens
Brown sugar
2 fresh fish fillets (firm white fish that won't fall apart on the griddle)
2 eggs
Oil for frying
Butter

You do need to do all of this at the same time so that everything comes together at the end and is still warm.

Slice two hefty pieces of fresh bread and turn the grill on, then toast the bread on both sides until lightly golden.  Remove and butter.

In a saucepan combine the chopped tomato, peppers, chilli, onion, a good glug of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice and allow to heat through on a low temperature

Heat the oil in a large wok, deep fat fryer or saucepan and, when hot enough, very, very carefully throw a few handfuls of the spring greens in.  Step back - the high water content in the spring greens will spit hot fat everywhere so keep your arms covered.  When the spitting subsides, use a spider or a slotted spoon and remove the spring greens to some kitchen towel to drain.  Keep frying until you have enough for your meal, then lightly sprinkle the spring greens in a little brown sugar.

Lightly griddle the white fish in a little oil and seasoning skin side down until the skin is crispy and golden.  Flip and repeat on the other side.

Poach two eggs, keeping the centres soft if you like them like that.

To assemble, layer the bread with the warm salsa, then the fish, the seaweed and then the poached egg.

Serve immediately, cracking the egg so that the yolk dribbles over the brushetta (which is amazing for mopping up the leftovers with afterwards.

If you try this, let me know what you think! I'll pass it onto Steve!

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Seafood Kebabs

My face is broken right now.  Well, not my entire face, just my jaw.  I woke up one day last week and the back left side was stiff and sore.  At first I thought it was a dentistry related problem, then I thought that my wisdom teeth may finally be coming through but it doesn't appear to be related to either of those.  After a bit of digging on the internet it seems like I may have temporomandibular joint disorder which sounds very impressive but basically just means I have a sore jaw.

I'll wait while you go 'Duh' in a style reminiscent of Homer Simpson. 

It also means that there is not a lot I can do about it except grin and bear it or (my favourite) moan about it to Steve.  Saint that he is, he has born all my moaning with good grace and also cooked me a beautiful dinner conjured from necessity to make me feel better.  It is basically a medley of soft things that don't require too much chewing, but are healthy and full of flavour. 

He decided to cook me seafood kebabs served with a seared salmon steak and fluffy cous cous.  As a light, fresh (easy on the jaw) summer meal, this was just delectable, and so quick and easy!

You need:

10-20 small prawns
8-10 scallops, corals removed.
Pack of small chorizo sausages, cut into 1.5 inch segments
Red pepper
Green pepper
Punnet of cherry tomatoes
2 salmon fillets
Packet of cous cous.

Drizzle a griddle pan with a little olive oil and turn it up until it is hot.  Chop and deseed the peppers and lightly griddle them with the chopped chorizo sausages and tomatoes until seared and starting to colour.  Remove from the heat.

Put your cous cous onto cook by pouring the required amount into a pan, adding a sprinkling of sea salt flakes and pouring boiling water over the top so that the cous cous is just covered.  Stick a lid on the pan, make sure the heat is off and leave it for 10 minutes.

Season and lightly oil your salmon, add it to the the hot griddle pan and let it sear, flipping it halfway through cooking.  If you have some leftover prawns as we did, you can quickly cook them off as a sneaky cook's perk before serving!

Thread your vegetables, scallops, sausages and prawns onto skewers.  If you are using wooden ones, you may wish to soak them in some cold water first so that they don't catch fire.  Add them to another griddle pan and allow them to sear.  They are cooked when the seafood is done and this depends on how flat you can get your kebabs to lay!  Turn the skewers over at least once to allow them to cook evenly.  (This is also fab on the BBQ if you are planning one this weekend...)

Fluff up the cous cous with a fork and melt some butter through it.  Serve the cous cous with the salmon on the top and the skewers perched over the top of that.

You may notice that, unusually for me, this dish has absolutely no herbs or spices in it apart from olive oil and a little salt in the cous cous.  Trust me, the flavours are light;  the seafood is fresh, the vegetables are packed full of sweet juices and the sausage adds a smokey depth that as a meal it really doesn't need anything else added to it!  However, if you are desperate for some additional flavour, you can always use my pumpkin seed dressing for the salmon, or a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime over the fish or a little bit of sweet chilli sauce also works incredibly well!

Tuck in and enjoy!

If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a cheeky follow, or say Hi to me on my facebook group or twitter!