Mexican Feast

We have some new products on our Zero Waste Shelves; Black Eyed Peas, Black Turtle Beans, Pastilla and Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes and to accompany these I've also started to stock Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.  In combination these are great ingredients to put together a Summertime Mexican Feast; with fresh tomato salsa, guacamole and chilli, quesadillas or tacos.  

To help, I've listed a few recipes below, and I'd also recommend taking a look at the food in our Spanish Summer Selection to accompany your meal. There are some recipes HERE that I put together for the Spanish Summer that would work well with the recipse below.  In fact, you can simply substitute the black turtle beans in the Summer Salad with Butterbeans and a sprinkle of Dried pasilla Chilli flakes for a great Mexican salad.

I like to add some chorizo to my chilli. Along with slow cooking stewing beef and then shredding it, rather than using mince.

Salsa

Ingredients:

2-4 ripe tomatoes

½  red onion

1 fresh red pepper, stems, ribs, and seeds removed

1 lime

1 bunch of fresh coriander

1 tsp Pastilla or Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes  (more or less to taste)

1 pinch dried oregano

1 pinch sweet smoked paprika 

Salt and pepper to taste

Dice your tomatoes, onion, pepper, add the juice of the lime and mix together in a bowl.  Chop fresh coriander and mix in with diced ingredients. Add salt, pepper, dried oregano and chilli flakes to taste.  Serve with Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.  

Guacamole

Ingredients:

½  red onion

1-2 fresh red chillies

3 ripe avocados

1 ripe tomatoes

1 lime

        1 bunch of fresh coriander

1 tsp Pastilla or Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes  (more or less to taste)

        1 pinch dried oregano

        Salt and pepper to taste

Dice your onion, chilli peppers, tomato and avocado add the juice of the lime and mix together in a bowl.  Chop fresh coriander and mix in with diced ingredients. Add salt, pepper, dried oregano and chilli flakes to taste.  Serve with Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.  

Chilli

Ingredients:

100g Red Kidney Beans

100g Black Eyed Peas, 

100g Black Turtle Beans,

1 large onion

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp oil

1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you prefer mild)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

400g can chopped tomatoes

½ tsp dried marjoram

4 squares dark chocolate

1tsp Pastilla or Jalapeno Dried Chilli Flakes (more or less to taste)

A good glug of bourbon, American whisky or brandy.

OPTIONAL - 500g of beef mince, soya mince or whatever your choice.

1.  The night before soak the kidney beans, black turtle beans

and black eyed peas or chickpeas.  Put them in a large saucepan in clean water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 minutes. 

2.  Fry off the onion in the oil and then turn the heat down low while you chop the peppers.  Turn up the heat a little in the pan add these to along with the crushed garlic.  

3.  Add the tin of tomatoes along with the chilli, paprika, cumin, dried marjorm, chilli flakes, chocolate and a glug of bourbon.

4.  If you are going to add meat cook off 500g of your choice of meat with salt, pepper, 1tsp of cinnamon and a ½ tsp chilli powder.

5.  Add the beans, tomato sauce mix and your choice of meat together into a pan and continue to slow cook this for at least 60 minutes.

Serve with, rice, soured cream and chives, tortilla chips and or cheese.

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Spanish Summer with Brindisa

With the Covid pandemic meaning that many of us are staying home instead of going to Europe for our hols, I thought it would be nice to bring some Spanish summer sunshine by way of the food that we eat.  I wanted to highlight Spanish flavours and products at LHStores so I am bringing some lovely products in from the Spanish wholesaler, Brindisa. Founded in 1988 by Monika Linton, Brindisa provide hundreds of different Spanish products to many of the country’s finest restaurants, delis and food halls. And were one of the first retail outlets in Borough Market, Southwark, now regarded as being among the finest food markets in Britain.

To help get the most out of these lovely products I thought I'd share 2 quick and easy recipes, let me know if you like them and if you would like more.

Summer Salad with Butter Beans

Ingredients:
300g butterbeans
400g tomatoes
small cucumber or courgette - whichever cucurbits is going crazy in your garden at the moment!
onion - red is a good choice
fresh coriander - or if you have marjoram in your garden use that.

lemon juice
olive oil
salt

• Soak the butterbeans overnight. (You could use a mixture of butter beans and haricot beans.)  Bring to the boil and simmer in salted water for about 30mins or until soft. Strain, let them stand in cold water so they stop cooking then strain again and let them sit drying in the colander.
• Cut the tomatoes and cucumber into half-moons. You can cook the courgette if you prefer to use this and allow it to cool. slice the onion thinly, wash and chop the herbs.
• Combine the ingredients and dress with lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
• This salad is hearty enough on it's own but you can add the Ortiz sardines or tuna on the side, or serve with cooked or cured chorizo from our Spanish Summer range add Preserved Lemons for an extra zing.

Patatas Bravas

Ingredients:
onion
mixture of rapeseed & olive oil
potatoes
red pepper - optional.
Salsa Brava - available from our Spanish Summer Range.

• Slice the onion finely and sautée in a mixture of rapeseed and olive oil in an oven proof pan, slowly allowing the onions to soften and start to caramelise. If you are using red peppers sautée them too.
• Scrub the potatoes and dice. Place them in a saucepan of cold water and bring them to the boil. Drain and add them to the onions in the oven proof pan. Put the whole lot in the oven for about 30mins until the potatoes are just starting to crisp.
• Add the Salsa Brava and return to the oven for 5 mins.
• Serve straight from the pan with bread (our tordu is fantastic for wiping up the sauce) the tinned sardines or chorizo are wonderful on the side. Or add a Spanish cheese like Manchego and create your own tapas night.

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The Perfect Granola

We don't really do cereal in our house*.  I like breakfast to have more protein and less sugar and additives than your typical store bought cereal contains.  We have hens so lots of our breakfast are using fresh eggs, otherwise our typical brekkie is porridge, with all kinds of stuff mixed in, added as toppings or even on the side.  The present favourite involves bananas, brown sugar and cocoa nibs.  However, everyone needs a break now and then at which point we like to repurpose our oats into muesli and, the kids favourite, granola.

I always thought of granola as fancy American muesli, until my son Louis got really into it and I bought the stuff a couple of times from the supermarket.  Only to realise that what it is is, EXPENSIVE posh museli.  And I am sick to death of buying a box only to get it home and find it's only half full and barely enough for one breakfast.  So, I started making it myself, which is really not so onerous and at least that way we get to have exactly what we like in it.

I've tried a fair few recipes and now have a pretty clear idea of the "dried stuff to sticky stuff ratio", - I think this is the key to good granola.  Well that and salt!  So, take a look at the recipe below, but explore using your own favourite seeds, nuts, grains and dried fruits and let me know how you do. 

Ingredients:

(makes 1 large Kilner jar)

40g coconut oil
150g Maple syrup - approx (120ml) or use honey, golden syrup, agave etc
a good pinch of sea salt

340g Grain - at least half is usually oats, but use the grain, or grains, of your choice, buckwheat, spelt, barley or rye flakes for example

200g mixed nuts, roughly chopped
50 - 100g mixed seeds, I use pumpkin, linseeds and sunflower seeds regularly in mine

1 large egg white, beaten

80-100g mixed chopped dried apricots, dates or dried fruit of your choice

Heat your oven to about 120 degrees and line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.

I've deliberately separated out the ingredients above as I think you need these basic proportions, but you can substitute whatever grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruit you prefer. 

The coconut oil, maple syrup and salt is the "sticky stuff" I was on about.  Combine them in a saucepan over a low heat, then remove from the heat and allow them to cool down while you put the dry ingredients, except the dried fruit, in a large bowl.

The 200 - 300g of nuts and seeds are entirely your own choice.  I like almonds and cashews, and use pumpkin seeds, linseeds and sunflower seeds regularly in mine.

Whip your egg white in a separate bowl until frothy.  The egg is supposed to make the mixture more crunchy, and I also like the addition of a bit more protein.

Then pour your cooled coconut oil, maple syrup mixture into the bowl of dried ingredients, mix well.  Add the egg white and mix well again.

Pour this mixture onto the baking sheet and press down a little, bake it for approximately 30 - 35 minutes, taking it out at least once to give it a bit of a stir, to make sure it is baked evenly.  Break up the mixture as much, or as little, as is your preference.  Don't over bake it; if your oven runs a little on the hot side, use a lower temperature and cook for longer.

While it's baking chop up the dried fruit - I use dried apricots, dates, figs and cranberries.  The reason you don't add this to the ingredients you are baking is that a bit of the fruit always seems to catch and burn.  There's nothing worse than a little burnt, sour bit of fruit in your granola.  It didn't occur to me until quite recently that the way round this is just don't add it until the end.

So after 30 minutes take your golden granola out of the oven, leave it to cool and then mix in the dried fruit.  Eat straight away and/ or store in an airtight tin or Kilner jar to get the most out of your efforts.  Not that mine has ever had to last fo r longer than a week; it gets poured over yoghurt and scoffed within a day or two.

*The one concession is to the Doves Farm Gluten Free Chocolate Stars.

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