Fergalicious

Chicken and sweet potato Jalfrezi

This Ruby Murray may look like it has a lot of ingredients but trust me, it is the tastiest curry you could make at home. Adapted from one of Jamie Olivers recipies…the man knows his stuff. 

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 sweet potatoes 
• 1 medium onion
• 1 fresh red chilli
• A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic
• A small bunch of fresh coriander
• 2 red peppers
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• Groundnut or vegetable oil
• A knob of butter
• ½ a 283g jar of Patak’s jalfrezi curry paste
• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lemons
• 200g natural yoghurt

1. Peel, halve and roughly chop your onion. Finely slice the chilli. Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks.

2. Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers. 

3. Quarter the tomatoes and qube your chicken. Peel your sweet potatoes then roughly chop into smallish pieces.

4. Put a large casserole-type pan on a medium to high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil and the butter. Add the onions, chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander stalks and cook for 10 minutes, until softened and golden.

5. Add the peppers, chicken peices, sweet potato and jalfrezi curry paste. Stir well to coat everything with the paste.

6. Add the fresh and tinned tomatoes and the vinegar.

7. Fill the two empty tins with water, pour into the pan and stir again. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on. Check the curry regularly to make sure it’s not drying out, and add extra water if necessary. When the veg are tender, taste and add salt and pepper - please season carefully - and a squeeze of lemon juice.

8. Serve your curry with poppadums or fluffy rice and with a few spoonfuls of natural yoghurt, a sprinkle of coriander leaves and a few lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Banoffee Cupcakes

Disgustingly sugar laden but too good to resist!

I made these bad boys yesterday and its for fear of my waistline expanding even more that they haven’t all been devoured!

Serve with a cup of tea and lashings of guilt! 

Makes 12 standard cupcakes

- 110g unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 50g caster sugar

- 60g really good toffee dessert sauce, plus an extra 2 tbsp

- 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

- 3 small ripe bananas (or two big ones)

- 120g self-raising flour, sifted

- ½ tsp baking powder

- Whipped cream

- A squeeze of lemon juice

- Grated chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Line a muffin tin with foil paper cases.

Cream the butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the sugar and 60g toffee sauce until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs, a quarter at a time, making sure each lot is well mixed in before adding the next. Peel and thoroughly mash 2 of the bananas and mix in well. Finally, fold in the flour and baking powder and beat for a couple of seconds to combine.

Divide the mixture between the cases. Blob ½ tsp toffee sauce on top of each cake and swirl in loosely with the tip of a knife. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and leave to cool completely.

Top with a swirl of whipped cream. Peel and slice the remaining banana, dip the slices in lemon juice to stop them browning, then balance these on top of the cream. Sprinkle with grated chocolate.

You can also make toffee butter icing to top the cupcakes instead of whipped cream if you want to top them and serve later….I put both on mine!!! Just put one part butter, one part toffee sauce and mix with enough icing sugar to get a consistency that is lovely and thick and forms stiff peaks in the bowl as you stir it. 

Gin Garden -My favorite!

A truly beautiful cocktail and tastes like no other! 

• 2-3 chunks of cucumber
• 15ml elderflower cordial
• 45ml gin (nice gin, you will be able to taste the difference!)
• 45ml apple juice
• cucumber slice to garnish

Muddle cucumber with elderflower cordial and shake with the remaining ingredients.

Serve immediately, strait up in a chilled martini glass and add garnish. 

Quick Idea of the Day- BBQuites!!!

Witness the fitness, the sexiest kebabs you will find on a student barbeque.

The meat is marinated overnight in a Andalusian spice and herb mix, if i remember i pinched this recipie from sweet baby james (James Martin) i usually wack this marinade all over pork chops, keeps them beautifully moist and juicy and much more tasty than grilling them till tough and chewy (love you mum!).

But anyway less waffle here is the recipie:

Serves about 4

Ingredients:

Enough meat for 4 (I usually use pork but its also mega tasty on chicken)

4tsp paprika

2tsp dried oregano

2tsp dried thyme

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2tsp coarse sea salt

4tsp olive oil 

Couple of lemon wedges to serve

• Mix everything together in a pestle and mortar 
• Its meant to make a thick paste but I usually stick a bit more oil in than the recipe suggests just so it covers the meat easier.
• Slap it all over your meat and leave in your fridge overnight. -you will want to make sure you use an air tight container or cover your bowl or the rest of you fridge will smell like the marinade the next day.
• Cook your meat as you would usually, I’d stick it on a griddle pan or on the barbie as my rubbish picture shows. 

If you want kebabs like mine in the picture just chop your meat into smaller pieces before marinating, then before cooking skewer with chosen veggies (i used peppers, cherry tomatoes and wedges of lemon) serve with cous cous or something else yummy.