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Posted on November 13, 2019 by conorjjones

Pasta Puttanesca

  • 30 Cherry Tomato
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • 10 Olives
  • 6 Anchovies
  • Capers
  • Parsley
  • 1 pack 500g Spaghetti

Prepare the cherry tomatoes by removing the seeds watery juice. Press each tomato against wooden board to release the seed and the juice.

In a pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil. Add the anchovy. Stir in and wait for it to dissolve. Add the chopped olives and capers.

Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 15 mins till tomatoes blend into the sauce.

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water till al dente. Drain and add to the pan. Stir in with the sauce allow pasta time to absorb the sauce.

Stir in the parsley.

Serve in hot bowls with plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

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Posted on November 11, 2019 by conorjjones

Scaloppine of Chicken in Butter Sauce

  • 3 chicken breasts, pounded to 1.5sm thickness
  • salt and black pepper
  • Plain flour for dredging
  • Olive oil
  • 150ml white wine
  • Juice of half fresh lemon
  • 75ml chicken stock
  • 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/4-in slices
  • 2 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Cut chicken breast in three parts. Pound to 1/1.5cm between some cellophane or using a a ziplock bag. Season the scaloppine with salt and pepper. Dredge in plain flour, dust off the excess. Heat olive oil in pan and cook the check both sides for about 4 mins each. Remove chicken to plate.

Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add lemon. Then stock. Reduce down a bit. Over a gentle heat, add the cold butter and swirl the pan to form the emulsion of the butter sauce.

Put the chicken back in pan, turning each piece to cover it in sauce. Sprinkle with parsley. Server with risotto or saute potato and a green vegetable.

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Posted on November 8, 2019 by conorjjones

Beef in Guinness

  • 1 kg chuck beef, cut into biggish 3cm  cubes, flour with salt and pepper
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 carrots peeled and sliced
  • 2 sticks celery, diced
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp english mustard powder
  • 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tblsp worcestershire sauce
  • a bouquet garni
  • 500 ml guinness
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • olive oil

Method

Brown the meat in a pan with some olive oil. Do in batches and remove to pot.

After the meat is browned, use the same pan to fry the onions. Deglaze the pan with come Guinness.

Add the onions, carrots, the Guinness and juices from the pan, the sugar, the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, tomatoes and bouquet garni to the pot.

Simmer over a low heat for approximately 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Don’t stir too much or meat will break up.

Taste and add salt and pepper if required. Garnish with chopped parsley when serving.

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Posted on October 27, 2019 by conorjjones

Beurre Blanc

Credit to Chef John for this recipe which is easy and tasty with fish.

  • 15ml or Tbsp Lemon or White wine vinegar
  • 250ml or Cup White Wine
  • 2 Tbsp cream (it helps stabilise )
  • 2 tsp fine dice shallot
  • 120g cold butter in cubes
  • Chopped Parsley or chives

Put wine, lemon and shallot in a pan and reduce by 75%. Whisk in the butter a few cubes at a time.  See it thicken as you whisk and the liquid and butter form emulsion. Finally, add the chopped parsley or chives.

Spoon over asparagus or pan fried/grilled fish.

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Posted on October 27, 2019 by conorjjones

Chilli Con Carne

You’ll need a big pot to cook this big batch. Feeds 15.

  • 2.5kg Chuck shavings or cubes
  • 10 medium onions, chopped
  • 15 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
  • 5 tsp hot chilli powder
  • 10 tsp ground cumin
  • 10 tsp ground coriander
  • 10 tbsp plain flour
  • 300ml red wine or extra stock
  • 500ml beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube
  • 4 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes
  • 4 x 400g can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 10 tbsp tomato purée
  • 5 tsp caster sugar
  • 5 tsp dried oregano
  • 5 bay leaf
  • flaked sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

In batches, brown the meat in a pan.

In the large pot, sweat the onions. Add garlic. Cook until golden. Add the meat and stir in the onion and garlic.

Add chilli, cumin, coriander. Cook for a few minutes. Add the flour. Cook some more.

Add the wine and the stock, stir in and bring to a simmer. Add the tomatoes, puree, sugar, oregano, bay leaf. Bring to a simmer.

Put pot in bottom of Aga overnight.

Add Kidney beans.

Season with salt and pepper.

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Posted on August 25, 2019 by conorjjones

Kung Pao Chicken

A great chicken dish with a good spicy kick thanks to the chillies and Sichuan pepper corns. The pepper corns add a lovely numbing sensation to the taste as well as a flowery aroma.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

  • 1kg chicken breast, cut into 1 cm cubes
  • 3 tsp. dark soy sauce
  • 3 Tbs. shaoxing wine
  • 4 tsp. baking soda
  • 6 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. white pepper

For the Sauce

  • 1 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
  • 9 Tbs. light soy sauce
  • 6 Tbs. black vinegar or balsamic
  • 6 Tbs. sugar
  • 3 tsp. cornstarch
  • 3 Tbs. shaoxing wine
  • 1 1/2 cup chicken stock

For Stir Fry

  • 2 Tbs. cooking oil
  • 12 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 oz. ginger root, chopped (approximately 2 Tbs.)
  • 10 dried chili, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (approximately 3 Tbs.)
  • 2 Tbs. Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and lightly grind
  • 12 green onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 cup roasted/unsalted peanuts
  • 3 tsp. sesame oil

Cut the chicken into 1.5cm cubes. Place in bowl with the marinade ingredients. The baking soda is optional but is a traditional Chinese tenderiser. Cover and let stand for an hour.

Heat wok with some veg oil, cook chicken in small batches and remove to plate.

Clean wok, add more oil all and cook off the vegetables. Add chicken and stir in sauce. Drizzle with sesame oil.

Serve with good basmati rice.

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Posted on August 17, 2019 by conorjjones

Burritos

Pork, Chicken or Beef? Last night we went for Chicken. The chicken breasts were poached in a delicious tomato and chipotle sauce. Then shredded and browned in a pan in homage to the pulled pork technique. Reserve some of the sauce for making your burrito.

Get all the ingredients into a pot and pour over blended tomato and chipotole

Ingredients for 10

  • 1.5 kg Chicken Breast
  • 2 tins 400g tinned tomato
  • 1 tin 400g Chipotle in Adobe Sauce
  • 4 Cloves Garlic
  • 2 tsp Oregano
  • 2 tsp Onion Powder
  • 2 tsp Cumin
  • 4 tsp Sugar
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • Pepper

There is good bit of chopping to be done. So, get the family involved, it speeds thing up and the time together is fun. Getting Mexican ingredients in Dublin can be tricky. Picado on South Richmond St stocks a most of what is needed. They have the Clemente Jacques brand which is good.

Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer. Slow cook for 2 hours. Remove chicken breasts to a pan and shred with two forks. Put pan on a high heat and start to brown. Keep spooning on some of the sauce as you are browning to intensify the flavours.

While you are waiting on the chicken to poach, you can work on the other parts of your burrito. The sky is the limit. We like tomato salsa, guacamole, grated cheddar, sour cream, brown rice, tortilla chips. For your hot sauce use the reserve sauce from the chicken. Otherwise buy a good one like Cholula.

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Posted on August 16, 2019 by conorjjones

Carbonara

Delicious and moreish. It was feeling a bit autumnal last night. Carbonaro seemed the right call. Dead easy and very few ingredients. No need for cream in this recipe.

  • 2 packs Steaky bacon
  • 500g Spaghetti
  • 3 Egg yolks
  • Coarse ground black pepper
  • Grated parmesan cheese

Thick dice the streaky bacon and crisp up in a big saute pan. Salt boiling water and cook spaghetti to al dente, drain and reserve some pasta water. In a bowl, mix three egg yolks, add the pepper and some Parmesan cheese. Mix a add a drop of milk to help it all blend.

Add pasta to the pan containing already crisped bacon. Mix so that the bacon fat covers all the pasta. Add the egg and mix in with pasta. Keep it all on a moderate heat. Add Parmesan. Keep mixing. Add pasta water and keep mixing. You will see it turn nice and creamy.

Serve in hot bowls with a big bowl of grated Parmesan and coarse ground black pepper.

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Posted on August 12, 2019 by conorjjones

Chicken Liver Pate

This was one of the first things I ever made. A recipe of my mothers. Delicious around Christmas time. And a great gift if you buy some nice containers at Ikea.

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Posted on August 12, 2019 by conorjjones

Red Pepper Pasta

I’ve been cooking for years but often struggle to remember old recipes. So here goes with a blog to keep track of what I’m doing. Red pepper pasta is on the menu for this week. I’ll update later

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