Quick Easy Dinner Recipes from Pete Handley

Cuba Libre! Hey!

May 27, 2010 by ismepete

Those of you that have met me (and those of you that talk to me on Twitter) will probably know that I have a penchant for a rum.

I started to get in to rum after my sister came back from Cuba with a couple of bottles of the Havana Club Anejo Blanco, and ever since this has been my favourite rum. I quite liked Morgans Spiced Rum and like most of the other Havana Club ones that I have been able to try, though only the Anejo 3 Anos seems readily available. My favourite – particularly for the Cuba Libre remains the Anejo Blanco.

What I would say – if you think that you don’t like rum because of the vileness that is Bacardi, please give one of these rums a try. I am very much not a fan of Bacardi – and would probably pass on a drink altogether if I knew it was in there.

This is a truly simple cocktail (I do wonder sometimes if it actually “counts” as a cockail), as follows:

What you will need to make the Cuba Libre

50ml Havana Club Anejo Blanco
1/4-1/2 of a lime
Small Handful of Ice
Cola

How to make the Cuba Libre

Chop the lime into sizable chunks and place in the bottom of a large tumbler glass
Squish the limes down
Put the ice in the bottom of the glass and bash a little
Pour in the Rum
Top the glass up with Cola

Then – go and take it out into the sunshine and enjoy!

I am pretty well supplied for the making of a good Cuba Libre. Due to cheeky tweeting at Las Iguanas on Twitter, I was sent a nice lime squisher:

And one of my bottles of Havana Club Anejo Blanco came with the perfect sized glass:

Category Drink & Cocktail Recipes | Tags: , cola, havana club, ice, lime, rum | No Comments
Chicken & Prawn Risotto

May 22, 2010 by ismepete

This is another of my sister, Genna Handley’s recipes, a really tasty Chicken and Prawn Risotto

What you will need to make the Chicken & Prawn Risotto

Red Onion
Garlic
Cherry Tomatoes
Chicken
Chicken Stock
Prawns (shit sack removed!)
peas
Arborio rice
fresh rosemary

How to make the Chicken & Prawn Risotto

Chop the onion & garlic, place in an oven proof dish
Add the cherry toms, Salt & Pepper, olive oil & mix thoroughly
Put in the oven for 20 mins at about 180
Add the chicken, chicken stock (pref hot)
Add the arborio rice & rosemary & put back in the oven for another 20 mins
Add the prawns & peas, mix well & put back in oven for 20 mins

And Serve!

Category Quick Easy Dinner Recipes | Tags: , chicken, garlic, onions, prawn, rice, tomato | No Comments
Latimer Road Cabbage & Bacon

April 24, 2010 by ismepete

This is a recipe from a friend and former colleague Joe Bursell, today with a lovely cabbage and bacon recipe. It’s a stir-fry style rather than braised, so is quick but needs a good quality of prep.

The ingredients are few and easily accessible, it doesn’t use many utensils, and the techniques are simple BUT It tastes big and can be presented well without much flair…

1 Head of savoy cabbage

6 rashers of thick, unsmoked back bacon- the fattier the better

Ordinary olive oil- Grade C or lower

Medium soy sauce

Quarter the cabbage and slice out the stalk.

Shred the quarters (5mm is a good size to aim for).

Slice the rind/fat off the bacon.

Put the bacon meat to one side.

Finely dice the thin strips of bacon fat- no need to be uniform, just small.

Dr- fry the diced rind in a large wok (preferably a well used/seasoned one) on a medium heat until the fat renders from the rind, creating a bacon oil. The pieces of rind should be a dark golden brown and crisp.

Pour this through a sieve, collecting the liquid fat in a bowl, and placing the now crisp diced rind onto a kitchen towel covered plate- so that they maintain their crispness.

Cut the bacon meat into roughly 2cm squares.

Fry the meat pieces in a small amount of the bacon oil until they are just cooked- no need to colour them.

Remove the bacon pieces and lay them with the crisp diced rind.

Add the bacon oil to the wok.

Add olive oil to dilute the bacon oil 50/50 – the bacon oil gives great flavour, the low grade olive oil gives volume.

Bring to a good heat- just under smoking.

Add the shredded cabbage and allow it to stand momentarily, only long enough to give a little colour to the cabbage.

Now, move the cabbage around the wok, being careful not to let it catch or burn.

After a short while the cabbage will give off its own steam.

Once this happens keep tasting the cabbage for texture- you are looking for a texture that is right for you- a little bite is good, too soft and the whole dish becomes tainted with iron.

When you are happy with the texture of the cabbage return the cooked rind and bacon meat to the wok and stir through.

Season the mix with the soy sauce- a little at a time as the bacon has salt enough.

The soy gives a smoky depth, but needs a moderate hand.

Serve in a big bowl with traditional Sunday roast veggies, or to accompany grilled white meats.

Joe likes it on its own as a supper dish, with a nice glass of merlot.

Category Quick Easy Dinner Recipes | Tags: , bacon, cabbage | No Comments
Lamb Bhoona

April 1, 2010 by ismepete
Like the Beef Stroganoff, this is another of my sister Genna’s recipes, adapted from a recipe she found to her milder taste – I would personally throw in considerably more chilli than this, but its all to personal taste really.

What you will need to make Lamb Bhoona
1. Onion puree (I batch cook onions, garlic & ginger, S&P – put them in a blender til they’re really fine & then freeze them into small 1 meal size pots)
2. Lamb or chicken
3. Passata
4. 2 tbsp malt vinegar
5. 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
6. ground coriander
7. 2/3 tsp chilli powder (whilst this is my sisters recipe, if this were me I would throw in some fresh chilli as well)
8. turmeric
9. knob of creamed coconut
10. red lentils
11. Spinach
How to make the Lamb Bhoona
1. fry the onion puree
2. add the spices & vinegar
3. add the meat (you can cook it in the dish or use pre cooked)
4. add as much passata as you like once the meat is nearly cooked (i like it to have a bit of a sauce so add a reasonable amount)
5. Add a splash of water, rinse the lentils & add. Once they have cooked add the spinach & allow to wilt
6. add a knob of creamed coconut & maybe some half fat soured cream to taste as I’m rubbish with hot food!
Serve this with the worlds easiest rice and maybe a naan bread – I also like curried spinach and potato as a side, and will likely be sharing a recipe for that soon.
Category Quick Easy Dinner Recipes | Tags: , creamed coconut, Curry, lamb, onions, spinach, tomato | No Comments
Beef Stroganoff

March 28, 2010 by ismepete
Beef Stroganoff is a dish that I ate loads of whilst growing up, but haven’t really cooked for about 10 years. As a result, this recipe has been supplied to me by my sister, Genna Handley, who has taken on the recipe that our mother used to cook and adapted it to her taste buds.

What you will need to make Beef Stroganoff
1. Lean Rump Steak
2. 1 medium onion
3. 2 garlic cloves
4. 2x oxo cubes
5. 100 mls water
6. 3tsp dijon mustard
7. 3 tbsp lea & perrins (you can add less but i like it with a bit of a tang!)
8. finely chopped chives
9. 4 tbsp half fat soured cream
How to make the Beef Stroganoff:
1. Chop onions & garlic & fry in some olive oil, add Salt & Pepper
2. once the onions have sweated, add the mustard & lea and perrins
3. add the beef stock & water – allow to thicken
4. Add the steak – i don’t cook it for long as i like it a bit rare
5. add the chives
6. take off the heat & add soured cream
We would normally serve with brown rice, carrots & green beans.
Category Quick Easy Dinner Recipes | Tags: , beef, chives, garlic, onions, steak | No Comments
Lamb, Mango & Sweet Potato Thai Red Curry

March 21, 2010 by ismepete

Last night to go with The Easiest Rice in the World, I made a really tasty Lamb Red Thai Curry, with Mango and Sweet Potato. I’ve eaten in a few Thai restaurants and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lamb on the menu, and have always cooked this curry with Prawns before, so I may have committed a huge food sin here… but boy do it taste good.

This is inspired by a Nigella Lawson recipe, although I have adapted it quite a bit to make it to my taste!

What you will need to make Lamb, Mango & Sweet Potato Curry for 2
(with maybe a bit leftover for nibbles)

1) 2 small / 1 large Lamb Neck Fillet

2) 1 large Red Onion (or a good handful of spring onions)

3) Thumb sized piece of Ginger

4) 8 Cloves of Chopped/Grated Garlic (ok, not everyone will want that much, but I love the stuff)

5) 2-10 Chilli’s (depending on how hot you like your food)

6) 3 or 4 tablespoons of Thai Red Curry Paste (you can buy this or make your own – I’ll likely do a recipe for that in the future)

7) 200ml Coconut Milk

8) 300ml Boiling Water (you can also add lamb stock if you have it)

9) 2 Teaspoons of Nam Pla (it’s a really fishy sauce, it’s ok if you don’t have it)

10) Large Sweet Potato (around 300-400g)

11) 1/2 Mango (around 200g)

12) 1/2 Lime

13) Fresh Coriander

14) Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil

How to make the Lamb, Mango & Sweet Potato Thai Curry:

1) Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan, and fry the onions, ginger and chili

2) Chop in the lamb (I’m pretty lazy and use a pair of scissors)

3) When the meat has been browned on all sides, add the Red Thai Curry Paste and continue frying.

4) Add the Coconut milk, water/stock and the fish sauce and bring up to the boil.

5) Add the Sweet Potato and simmer for about 10 minutes. This is a good time to pop the rice in the oven, if you are cooking the Easiest Rice in the World.

6) Throw in the mango, and simmer for another 5 minutes before squeezing in the juice of half a lime – it should start to look like this:

7) Throw in some chopped coriander for flavour here, and serve on top of rice – I like mine in a bowl like this:

If you find that you have made it too spicy, serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or yoghurt to cool you down. It also goes really nicely with some naan bread too!

Category Quick Easy Dinner Recipes | Tags: , chilli, Curry, lamb, lime, mango, meat, rice, sweet potato, thai | No Comments
Easiest Way to Cook Rice

March 20, 2010 by ismepete

Despite being a pretty confident chef, cooking a large variety of food styles that I will be showcasing on the blog in the coming weeks, rice is something that I have often struggled to cook well. It would always come out a bit dry, too wet, or too sticky and whilst it was perfectly edible, I was never satisfied.

Whilst watching a cooking channel on TV, I stumbled across a method of cooking rice that takes 20 minutes in a heated oven, with the absolute minimum of effort, that so far has come out absolutely perfectly every time, and is incredibly easy to flavour appropriately for the meal.

What you will need to make rice for 2:

Takeaway Foil Tray with Lid (I get these at either Robert Dyas, or the local specialist Indian shop Akrams near me)

100g Rice

2 smalls cloves of garlic

Salt & Pepper

150ml Boiling Water

How to make the Easiest Rice in the World:

1) Pre-heat oven to 200c

2) Put the rice in the tin.

3) Bash garlic slightly with a pestle or the back of a rolling pin – you want to split it, not completely crush it. Put this in the tray

4) Add salt & pepper

5) Add boiling water and give everything a stir

6) Put on the lid and bake for 20 minutes.

7) Remove the garlic cloves, fork through the rice and stir!

This rice comes out absolutely perfect every time I do it

You can do all sorts to flavour this rice – add lemon rind and juice, saffron, turmeric but with or without these extra flavours, this is really the easiest way that I’ve ever found to cook rice!

Category Side Dish Recipes | Tags: , Curry, rice | 3 Comments
QuickEasyDinners Launches

March 20, 2010 by ismepete

Welcome to Quick Easy Dinners!

My name is Peter Handley, and I am a search engine marketer, based in Portsmouth in Hampshire

I decided to set up a blog, containing mine and some of my friends’ favourite recipes, somewhere that I can talk about one of my biggest passions in life – food!

Life is short, and much as I enjoy cooking, most of what I prepare food wise is either quick or easy – and often both! However, despite the name of the website, I am not going to purely limit this to dinners that are quick to cook, as some of my favourite dishes, whilst being very quick to prepare can take a few hours to cook. Most though can be ready from chopping to the plate within half an hour or so!

Over time, I plan to build up a bank of many different types of recipe – I cook all types of food, from Curries to Chinese food, Mexican themed dinners to Moroccan inspired concoctions, pasta dishes to stews, and will be sharing some of my favourites with you soon.

If anyone has any specific requests, please either drop a comment, or drop me an email and I will see what I can come up with :-D

Category General Food Blog | Tags: | No Comments

Newer Entries