COVID Sanity Saving Recipes

Some recipes that have kept us going through the pandemic ( email me your favourite recipe so I can include it below ) 

David’s Paella

Serve 4 to 6.  Cooking time ≈ 45 min to 1 hour

• 1 red onion diced
• 1 red capsicum diced
• 2 or 3 garlic clove crushed
• 1 chorizo sliced
• 1 or 2 chicken thighs diced
• 600g seafood marinara
• 2 cups of Arborio rice
• 1 litre of chicken stock approx (warm)*
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• Pinch of saffron or (saffron imitation)
• 8 mussels and 8 prawns (to decorate)
• Olive oil
• Steps: Place a paella dish or a large saucepan on the heat with olive oil. Cook the onion, garlic and capsicum gently in this pan until soften. Add chicken and chorizo and cook until chicken is browned; add rice. Keep on low heat for a few minutes. Turn up the heat and add 60ml chicken stock slowly until stock is absorbed. Add seafood marinara and mix. Prepare saffron with chicken broth in a cup and add to the saucepan. Reduce heat and keep adding 60ml chicken stock at the time until is absorbed. After approx. 30 mins, add frozen peas on top for decoration and do not stir rice. Then, place prawns and mussels on top for decoration and continue cooking until mussels open. Note: you can add more chicken, prawns, or seafood marinara

Citrus Candied Salmon

Serves 2

• 1/3rd cup brown sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 salmon steaks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, lemon zest, I teaspoon sea salt, and ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper. Rub the salmon steaks with the oil. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add the salmon, and cook for 2 minutes each side, then transfer to a paper-lined baking tray, skin side up, and spread with the brown sugar mixture. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sugar caramelises. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

PORK MEDALLIONS WITH APRICOT AND LEEK SAUCE

Ingredients
8 pork loin medallions
30mI (2 tbsp) vegetable oil
4 apricots, washed and halved
15mI (I tbsp) butter
2 leeks, washed and chopped
125ml (h cup) white wine
75mI (5 tbsp) double cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Fry the pork in the oil until both sides are browned then set aside.
2. In the same pan, place the apricots in a single layer. Fry them on both sides I minute each. Set aside.
3. Add butter to the same pan, let it sizzle then add the leeks.
4. Fry the leeks until softened then add the wine.
5. Once the wine has reduced by half, add the double cream, pork and apricots.
6. Cook gently until the sauce has thickened and serve immediately on top of a big pile of mash!

Notes

• You can make the sauce a bit runnier by adding a bit of vegetable stock to the wine,
• For a healthier alternative, you can omit the cream altogether and substitute it with 125mI of vegetable stock. You can even add a tablespoon of apricot jam if you'd like to sweeten the sauce.

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

• 300 grams chocolate melts
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup of caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 300 ml thickened cream

Tools:

• Electric mixer
• Butter cream spatula
• Mixing bowls

Steps:

1. Melt the chocolate. Ideally grab a small saucepan, boil water in it then put a metal bowl with the chocolate and keep it there till it melts (bain-marie style). Could also melt the chocolate in the microwave.
2. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl till it becomes thick and doubled in volume. You can stop mixing when the mixture is airy and light (best use electric mixture, hard to do by hand). Then fold cocoa powder into egg/sugar mixture with a butter cream spatula or anything similar, and then fold in the melted chocolate. Make sure all chocolate is mixed in and not just sunk to the bottom.
3. Then whip thickened cream in separate bowl, till thick. (don’t overbeat, ultimately not a bad thing but makes it hard to mix later on). Fold thickened cream into the egg/sugar/ cocoa powder/ melted chocolate mix until fully incorporated.
4. Once its all mixed, set out glasses to pour mixture into (should make up to 5-6 servings). Carefully spoon/pour mousse mixture into glasses, then put them into fridge to set for up to 4+ hours.
5. Add some chocolate shavings on top for garnish

Added bonus:  for those above age, you can make whiskey infused chocolate mousse. Follow the above recipe, and at the very end, before pouring the mixture into the glasses, mix in two capfuls of whiskey, or more or less, adjust to taste. This will make the mixture a bit thinner, and may take a little longer to set.

Stuffed Capsicum

Ingredients:

• 3-4 rashers of bacon (this is optional, so you can add more or less depending on your preference)<
• A full 170 gram tub of tomato paste
• Approx. ¼ cup of Italian herbs
• Approx. ¼ cup of Basil
• Approx. ¼ cup of Thyme
• Approx. ¼ cup of Worcesteshire sauce
• 1 kg – 1.5 kg of mince meat
• 1/3 cup of Tasty cheese
• 4-5 regular sized capsicums (red or yellow ones turn out the best)

Steps:

1. Set the oven onto 150 degrees celsius.
2. De-core the capsicums (take the stem out along with the seeds) and then cut them in half, and then make sure to cut out the pith and seeds. (remember, the idea is to hold the mince like a bowl)
3. Next, put the capsicums on an oven tray (layered with parchment paper) and put them into the oven. You are to leave them there to cook as you prepare the mince.
4. To start cooking the mince, you are to chop up 3-4 rashers of bacon (more or less due to preference) into small cubes and put them into a large cooking pot. Put the pot on low and start to cook the bacon.
5. When the bacon is half cooked, put in the mince in the cooking pot and use a wooden spoon (or any other utensil) to mix it in. you are to stir it regularly until it is all mostly cooked.
6. Once the mince is mostly cooked, you then put in the whole tub of tomato paste and stir that in. stir it in thoroughly, then put in the Worcestershire sauce, the dried Italian herbs, dried Basil and dried Thyme. (It is very important to note that a lot of the spices and Worcestershire sauce measurements are based on taste and your own preferences, so experiment and add more or less)
7. Make sure to mix everything in, and once you are happy with the taste, you can turn off the heat and add the shredded cheese and mix that in as well.
8. This should have taken maybe 15 – 20 minutes, so check with a skewer that your capsicums are cooked then you can take the tray out and set it somewhere stable so you can start to spoon the mince mixture into the capsicums halves. Once the halves are filled, then sprinkle some more cheese over the top.
9. Put the tray back into the oven, and wait maybe 10 -15 minutes, the purpose of this is to melt the cheese and then to crisp it up. Then it’s done! Enjoy : )

Jelly