Brussels, Bacon and Chestnut Potato Bake

SORTED

Ingredients

2 white onions
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a pack of smoked streaky bacon (250g)
a handful of shelled chestnuts (150g)
a bag of baby new potatoes (800g)
a bowl of brussel sprouts (200g)
a wedge of blue cheese, grated (50g)
double cream (300ml)
a wedge of Parmesan cheese, grated (50g)
a handful of breadcrumbs
a few sprigs of parsley
peas to serve


Steps

preheat the oven to 180°C.
quarter the new potatoes, skin still on, and add to a frying pan to sauté for 10 minutes until golden and partially cooked through.
peel and slice the onions, then fry in another pan with the oil for a few minutes.
take the leaves off the thyme and chop, adding to the cooking onions.
cut the bacon into strips and tip into the pan as well for a minute or two.
peel the outer leaves off of the brussel sprouts and wash well.
grate the brussels using a food processor or slice thinly by hand.
hack the chestnut up into pieces.
scatter all the prepared ingredients and crumbled blue cheese into a large roasting dish.
splash in a little water then pour over the cream to almost cover the potatoes.
sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and grated cheese and put into the oven for 20-25 minutes until it is golden on top and the potatoes are cooked, then sprinkle with parsley and serve with some simple steaming peas

Butternut Squash Gratin

Laura Vitale

Ingredients

2 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter
1 Tbsp of Oil
1 Large Onion, chopped
3lb Butternut Squash, peeled, and cut into ½ cubes
1 Tbsp of Poultry Seasoning
2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
½ cup of Milk
¼ cup of Heavy Cream
3 Tbsp of Fresh Chopped Parsley
1 cup of Fresh Breadcrumbs
½ cup of Grated Parmiggiano (parmesan)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp of Melted Butter


Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, butter a casserole dish and set aside.
  2. In a large skillet, add the butter and oil and let it melt over medium heat.
  3. Add the butternut squash and onions and season lightly with salt and pepper, allow them to cook covered with a lid for about 15 minutes or until they have developed some color and have become tender. Remove the lid.
  4. Add the garlic and poultry seasoning and add the milk and cream, let it bubble away for about 2 minutes.
  5. Pour mixture into the prepared casserole dish and set aside.
  6. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, melted butter and parsley.
  7. Scatter the bread crumb mixture all over the top of the butternut squash mixture and pop it in the oven and let it bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Laura Vitale

Ingredients

1 Loaf of Challa Bread (1 pound loaf) cut into cubes
6 Eggs
1 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream
2 1/2 cups of Milk
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
½ cup of Sugar
1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
4 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder
½ tsp of Cinnamon
1 cup of Semisweet Chocolate Chips


Steps

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except the challa bread, make sure you get a nice smooth mixture.
  2. Add the bread cubes and sit to make sure its coated in the custard, let it sit for about an hour.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, butter a large casserole dish with a bit of butter.
  4. Add the custard mixture to the buttered pan and bake for about an hour or until puffed and golden and set in the center.

Coffee Marinated Beef with Maple Slaw

SORTED

Ingredients

1 onion
couple of cloves of garlic
few sprigs of rosemary
2 tbsp instant coffee
1 tbsp brown sauce
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp of dried chilli flakes
beef braising steak (1kg)
1 cup of beef stock
2 carrots
1 head of chicory/endive
½ a small white cabbage
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp of white wine vinegar
pinch of ground cumin
tomato bread to serve


Steps

peel and dice the onion, then mince the garlic and the rosemary.
throw the onion, garlic, rosemary, coffee, brown sauce, tomato purée, brown sugar and dried chilli into a bowl and mix well.
chuck the beef into the bowl and toss it to coat all over.
cover the bowl and leave in the fridge for a few hours or ideally overnight.
preheat the oven to 160°C.
place the marinated beef into a deep roasting tray.
pour the stock over the beef to half cover the meat, then cover the tray in foil.
stick the beef in the oven and cook for 3 hours.
grate the carrots, slice the endive and shred the cabbage into a bowl.
dollop in the mayonnaise along with the maple syrup, white wine vinegar and cumin.
mix the slaw well, season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside in the fridge.
remove the beef from the oven after 3 hours and take off the tin foil.
turn the oven up to 220°C and return the tray to the oven for another 15 minutes.
serve it all up when the beef is slightly blackened with a big bowl of slaw, a loaf of tomato bread and plenty of napkins!

Meat Loaf

FoodWishes

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (80% lean)
1 carrot
1 rib celery
1/2 onion
1/2 red bell pepper
4 white mushrooms
3 cloves garlic
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
2 tbl olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp olive oil

Glaze:
2 tbl brown sugar
2 tbl ketchup
2 tbl Dijon mustard


Steps

  1. Cut up the vegetables (carrot, celekry, onion, bell pepper, mushroom)) into small chunks and then pulse in a food processor until they're pureed but not liquified
  2. In a bowl, mix the beef with the pureed veggies, worcestershire sauce, egg, dried herbs, black pepper and salt. Add the bread crumbs and mix just until it comes together (don't over mix)
  3. Spread some olive oil in a baking dish, and form your meat into a loaf shape in there (wet your fingers in cold water)
  4. Place into a pre-heated 325F oven for 15 minutes and while it's baking prepare the glaze (brown sugar, ketchup, dijon, hot pepper sauce)
  5. Pull the meat loaf out of the oven, dump the glaze on top and and spread evenly with a little bit on the sides. Put back in the over for about 35-40 min

Msakka3a

Mom

Ingredients

1/2 kg eggplants
4 onions (thinly sliced)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
dried mint
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 can chickpeas
4 tomatoes (grated)


Steps

  1. Peel the eggplants and cube, add salt and let their water squeeze out. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 30 min at 200 C until golden brown and soft
  2. In a large skillet, sauté the onions in a couple of tbsp of olive oil until translucent
  3. Add the garlic, chickpeas and dried mint and sauté for a couple of minutes
  4. Add the grated tomatoes and sauté, season with salt and pepper and taste
  5. Put everything in a casserole dish, place the eggplants and pour over the sauted mixture.
  6. Add water (until half covered), cover with tin foil and bake on low-medium heat (160 C) for 30 min (or until done)

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Dried Cherries

FoodWishes

Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
4 thin slices prosciutto

For the stuffing:
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 tsp freshly picked thyme leaves
1 tsp freshly minced oregano
2 cloves minced garlic
1 rounded tbsp finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tsp olive oil
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne

For optional pan sauce:
3/4 cup chicken broth
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp cold butter
salt and pepper to taste


Steps

  1. To prepare the stuffing, in a bowl add the bread crumbs, fresh thyme, chopped up dried cherries, crushed garlic, cayenne, black pepper, salt, egg yolk, grated parmesan cheese, and a little bit of olive oil. Take a fork and give that a good mix. This stuffing isn't really and isn't really dry, it's just kinda in between. After it's all mixed together, you should be able to squeeze it together between your fingers and have it hold together. Set that aside
  2. Butterfly the chicken breasts before pounding them flat. Put the chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound it (but not too thin). Season with salt and pepper, be careful with the salt because we're going to warp this in prosciutto wich is salty.
  3. Put half of the stuffing mixture on the chicken breast and pad it firmly. Use the plastic to roll that up tight and towards the end twist the plastic wrap on both sides to keep everything nice and together.
  4. On a piece of plastic wrap, lay down 2 pieces of prosciutto. Lay them out to the same length of the wrapped chicken. Unwarp the chicken breats and place it on one end of the prosciutto and roll this up so that the prosciutto covers the chicken entirely. You want to roll it firmly without pushing the stuffing out. Towards the end twist the plastic wrap on both sides to hold it tight.
  5. Lay 4 pieces of string on the cutting board, about an inch apart. Lay the stuffed chicken on top and make 4 ties. Don't make a simple tie, instead twist the string through 3-4 times and then tie to make it hold in place. Cut of the extra strings and you're ready to cook them (or you can refrigerate until ready)
  6. Lay the chicken breasts in a lightly oiled pan (oven proof) and out those in a pre-heated 400F oven for about 25 min (or internal temp of 155F). Remove from the oven , remove from the pan. Put them on a plate, loosely wrapped with foil to rest and prepare the sauce
  7. Add chicken stock and balsamic vinegar to the pan. Reduce by half on high heat, turn off the heat and stir in a piece of butter. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set that aside
  8. Cut the strings and slice the chicken and serve on a warm plate, spoon over a couple spoons of the sauce and serve with rice

Saumon en croute de chorizo

Marmiton

Ingredients

6 filets de saumon
100 g de chorizo
100 g de parmesan
100 g de poudre de noisettes
3 feuilles de sauge
2 cuillères à soupe de crème fraîche épaisse
2 pincées de paprika
2 pincées de thym séché
1 cuillère à soupe d’huile d’olive


Steps

  1. Retirez la peau des filets de saumon si besoin.
  2. Râpez finement le parmesan.
  3. Dans un plat, versez le ½ verre d’eau et 1 cuillère à soupe d’huile d’olive. Enfournez et préchauffez le four (thermostat 7 - 210°C).
  4. Coupez très finement le chorizo et les feuilles de sauge.
  5. Dans une jatte, réunissez les lamelles de chorizo, le parmesan râpé, la poudre de noisettes, la crème fraîche, le thym, la sauge et le paprika.
  6. Mélangez jusqu’à obtenir une pâte assez compacte.
  7. Sortez le plat du four.
  8. Étalez la pâte sur les 2 côtés des filets de saumon.
  9. Enfournez pour 25 min.