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Nyonya-style curry with egg, peas and potatoes


I found this recipe in The Guardian, however after making it a couple of times I’ve changed a few things to be as below.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp sunflower oil
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into roast potato-like shapes
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2½cm chunks
50g leek, finely chopped
1 x 400g can coconut milk
150ml vegetable stock (I use Marigold Organic Vegetable Vegan Bouillon Powder)
6-8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
100g frozen peas
Cooked jasmine rice, to serve
A handful of spring onion greens, chopped

For the curry paste
2½ tbsp mild curry powder
2 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
a few dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp cornflour

Method:

Mix all the curry paste ingredients in a small bowl with three tablespoons of water until well combined.

Put a large, lidded casserole dish on a low heat and add the oil. Once it’s hot, add the curry paste and stir-fry for one or two minutes, until fragrant.

Add the potatoes, carrots and leek, followed by the coconut milk and stock, give everything a good stir, then bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cover and leave to cook for 20-30 minutes.

Take off the lid and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes more, until the sauce thickens. Add the peeled boiled eggs and frozen peas, pop the lid back on and simmer for a further five minutes.

Serve with sticky rice and sprinkle each serving with chopped spring onion greens.

Pink Grapefruit Drizzle Cake


175g softened butter
175g caster sugar
1 x Pink Grapefruit, zest and juice
3 x eggs
175g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
100g granulated sugar

Heat oven to 180C. Beat butter and caster sugar together for several minutes until light and fluffy, then beat in the grapefruit zest.

Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Fold in the flour and salt. Stir in the milk.

Put the mix into a lined loaf tin and bake for 45-55 minutes until golden and a skewer will come out clean. Just before the cake is cooked mix together the grapefruit juice and granulated sugar.

Remove from the oven and prick the cake all over with a skewer. Spoon the juice/sugar mix all over the cake slowly allowing it ti soak in.

Sit patiently until it is completely cool and you can then consume it!

Iman bayildi


Iman bayildi, supposedly named after an Inman who ate it and then cried with delight. I didn’t cry but it was certainly good.

Halve an aubergine and then make 3 deep cuts in the flesh length ways, but not to go through to the skin. Fry cut side down in olive oil under golden, turn over and then fry the skin side. Remove from the pan and put on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.

Fry, but don’t brown, a finely diced medium sized onion before adding 2 or 3 skinned and chopped tomatoes, 1 finely chopped clove of garlic and about a tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley. Cook until the liquid has evaporated.

Take off the heat and Stir in a tablespoon of freshly chopped mint – if you don’t have any mint then cook this another day when you have some! I think it’s absolutely essential in this dish.

Spoon the stuffing over the aubergines pressing some into the cuts. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Put into the oven at 180C for 40 minutes.

Eat when cooled, but still slightly warm, with lots of crusty bread.

Parsnip & miso soup with sticky parsnip topper


As soon as I saw this in December’s Waitrose Food magazine I couldn’t wait to give it a try. The result was everything I hoped it would be. Frying the parsnip and potato peelings was a revelation (not tried that before) I don’t think half as many will now be ending up on the compost heap. The recipe sounds like a lot of work but from a bare worktop to having the soup for lunch took precisely the time Bargain Hunt was on!