Mini Vegetable Pasties

Woeful Wahaca 

So I finally visited Wahaca, the restaurant by Thomasina Masterchef winner and I was not happy at all.  The food was awfully bland and the service was poor.  Even the cocktails tasted like ash.  Frustrated by such a disappointing meal I decided to recreate a version of one of the empanada dishes which tasted like a Macdonald’s apple pie, it was disgusting beyond all reason.  Trust me it made no sense. And to think I wanted to go there for my birthday.  This pasty recipe is really unique and I think the presentation looked querky and fun.

This recipe was adapted from The Best of Sainsbury’s Vegetarian Cooking (Reed International Books Ltd, 1992).

Ingredients:

Homemade shortcrust pastry (courtesy of Kamaria’s Kitchen), 1 large sweet potato (boiled till soft and chopped in small pieces), 60g sweetcorn (cooked), 30g green beans (cooked and chopped), 50g cheddar cheese (grated), 1 tbsp caramalised onion chutney, salt and pepper, milk to glaze, parsley to garnish.

Method:

1. Mix the vegetables together with the cheese, chutney and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Divide the pastry into small circles.
3. Add the vegetable mixture in the middle of the pastry.
4. Create your cute and querky pasties.
5. Make sure the edges are compressed together and compact.
6. Use the milk to brush the top of the pastry.
7. Make slits at the top and place on a baking tray.
8. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes.
9. When the pastry has cooked garnish with some parsley.

Macaroni Cheese Pie with Walnuts

Bish Bash Bosh

A quick and easy recipe with a crunchy unexpected twist.  My macaroni cheese pie is perfect for a weekday meal and is much more delicious than a sloppy macaroni microwave thing.  Trying to make macaroni sophisticated is a very hard task but as Greg said on Masterchef “sophistication is not just featured in the look but in the flavours”.  So here is a quick but interesting take on macaroni cheese.

This recipe was adapted from Helen Atiken’s The Really Useful Ultimate Student Vegetarian Cookbook (Murdoch Books Pty Ltd, 2000).

Ingredients:

250g macaroni pasta, 30g mushrooms sliced, 50g salted butter, 50g flour, 60ml skimmed, 150g cheddar cheese grated, milk, 2 tbsps tomato ketchup, black pepper, 20g chopped walnuts.

Method:

1. Cook the macaroni pasta in boiling water.
2. 5 minutes before the pasta has cooked add the mushrooms.
3. Drain the pasta and mushrooms then set aside.
4. In a small pan melt the butter.
5. Mix n the flour thoroughly then slowly pour and mix in the milk to make a sauce.
6. Season with a little pepper.
7. Add half of the cheese and stir quickly to make a thick cheese sauce.
8. In a large bowl mix in the cheese sauce with the ketchup.
9. Fold in the walnuts.
10. Pour the macaroni into an oven dish.
11. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
12. Bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees C.

Sweet potato and chickpea curry

Sweet Coconut

My go to curries usually feature coconut, I love sweet curries especially on fragrant rice or with a herbed naan.  I will never forget the first curry I ever made from a student cookbook,  looking back I realise how far I have come and how confident I have grown in the kitchen.  I am more willing to explore new flavours and go completely out of my comfort zone.   I found an Indonesian based curry paste in a local supermarket and decided to try it with an Indonesian curry recipe I found in one of my student cook books.  I do not have a great deal of experience with curries in terms of cooking but when my taste buds are excited that’s enough for me to recognise good food.

Ingredients:

Indonesian Based Curry Paste, 2 tbsp oil, 600g sweet sweet potato (peeled and cut), 125ml vegetable stock, 300g tinned chickpeas (rinsed and drained), 400ml coconut cream, 1/4 tsp sugar.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the curry paste and cook stirring for 5 minutes until fragrant.
3. Add the onion and cook for a further 5 minutes until softened.
4. Add the sweet potato and stock cook for 10 minutes or until the sweet potato is almost cooked through.
5. Add more stock if required.
6. Add the chickpeas, coconut cream, sugar and salt for seasoning.
7. Bring to the boil stirring constantly then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
8. When the sauce has thickened serve with chosen side.

 

Three Bean Chilli topped with Sweet Potato

Low on Equipment

I remember when I first started cooking I didn’t have many utensils, at least not as much as I do now.  A few pans and one big oven dish.  Learning how to make the most of having very little is an important life skill and this dinner really reminds me of that.  This is a healthy, tasty, frugal and easy meal to make with only a few pieces of kitchen equipment. The sweet potato topping also means your carbohydrates for the night are sorted.  Don’t be put off by the amount of ingredients, just think of it as extra flavour and enough to

This recipe was adapted from The Really Useful Student Cookbook (Murdoch Books UK Ltd, 2000).

Ingredients:

110g dried black beans, 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 large onion (finely chopped), 1 garlic clove (crushed), 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 200g chopped tomatoes, 180ml vegetable stock, 200g chickpeas (rinsed and drained), 200g red kidney beans (rinsed and drained), 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 2 large sweet potatoes (boiled, skinned and mushed), 30g cheddar cheese, a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Method:

1. Place the black beans in a large pan and cover with water.
2. Bring the beans to the boil and set aside for two hours.
3. Drain the beans and cover with fresh water.
4. Boil for one more hour until the beans are tender and not mushy.  (It’s a long process but if you want it done right then just trust me.)
5. Drain the beans.
6. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion on the medium heat stirring for 5 minutes.
7. Reduce the heat and then add the garlic and spices.
8. Add the tomatoes, stock, chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans and combine with the onion mixture.
9. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
10. Add the tomato paste, sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
11. Leave half for another day and place the other half in an oven dish.
12. Top the chilli with the sweet potato cheese and tomatoes.
13. Heat in the oven until the cheese has melted.

Cute Turkey Burgers

Yam Chips

A few years ago a good friend of mine introduced me to frying yams for a snack.  They were tasteless.  I was so frustrated that such an important vegetable could taste so disgusting.  Unfortunately I forgot about blandness when I served the yam chips with this delicious burger,  a perfect lesson and reminder that a little flavour goes a long way.  Only a little seasoning is needed for the burgers and although the burgers are fried the amount of sugars and fats are severely reduced so served with yam chips/ fries the meal is healthier and cheaper than a standard fast food outlet menu.

This recipe was taken from The Burger (Parragon Books, 2012).

Ingredients:

350g fresh turkey mince, 4 tbsps wholemeal breadcrumbs, 1 red onion (finely chopped), 1 apple (peeled and diced), 2 tbsps finely chopped fresh parsley, sunflower oil (for frying), salt and pepper, burger buns.

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients apart from the buns and oil in a large mixing bowl.
2. Form together into patties.
3. Fry in a grill pan, if there are any traces of pink place in a grill until well done.
4. Place in burger buns with sauces and sides of choice.

Saffy’s Filling Condiments:

• Avocado
• Red Onions
• Sweet Relish
• Peri Sauce
• Mayonnaise
• Apple Chutney

Tofu Lasagne

The Perfect Sauce

My roux sauce is finally at a standard I am seriously  happy with and would gladly serve to paying customers, even my mother noticed a difference.  My practice, hard work and dedication to cooking has seriously been paying off so for celebration I am going to be sharing with you my tofu lasagne recipe.  The majority of the ingredients are silky smooth including the lasagne sheets when cooked so I added some walnuts for texture and to give it a more robust earthy flavour.

Ingredients:

200g silky ready cooked tofu (cubed), 2 tbsps sunflower oil, 1 onion (peeled and chopped), 1 clove (crushed garlic), 250g chopped tomatoes, 1 tsp brown sugar, 2 handfuls fresh spinach (chopped),  3 tsps dried rosemary, 2 tsps dried thyme, 25g unsalted butter, 25g plain flour, 50ml milk, 60g cheddar cheese (grated), salt and pepper, a few cherry tomatoes.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat.
2. Heat the onions and garlic until soft add the tomatoes, spinach, sugar and herbs.
3. Season to taste.
4. Add the tofu mix in well and set aside.
5. In a lasagne dish make this the first layer and place lasagne sheets (pre boiled) over the top.
6. Make the roux sauce.  Melt the butter in a small pan and mix the flour quickly into a thick paste.
7. Remove from the heat and add the milk whisking away until a soft sauce is formed.
8. Add the cheese to thicken the sauce and season to taste.
9. Layer the rest of the lasagne.
10. Bake in a pre heated oven for 30 minutes.
11. In the last ten minutes add a little more grated cheese and a few halved cherry tomatoes and spinach on the top.

Tagliatelle with butternut & blue cheese

Robust Pasta

I had not had pasta in a very long time and I wanted my first pasta dish of the year to be a Nigella recipe.  Nigella’s pasta meals are wholesome, delicious and clever enough to share with guests.  It is all about balance with this dish, so keep tasting as it includes blue cheese which is extremely strong.  Also there is no heavy sauce so the seasoning must be added carefully.  The addition of pine nuts was a very nice addition, the only thing I changed was adding fresh basil and dried sage rather than fresh sage.  I think the dish was sophisticated but simple and easy enough for a weekday meal.

This recipe was taken from Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the heart of the home (Chatto & Windus, 2014).

Tagliatelle with butternut squash & blue cheese

Ingredients:

Sprinkle the blue cheese when pasta is complete and let it melt.

800g butternut squash (peeled & cubed), 1 large onion (peeled & chopped finely), 2tbsps olive oil, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1tbsp unsalted butter, 125ml water, salt to taste, 100g pine nuts, 500g tagliatelle, 6 fresh basil leaves, 125g soft blue cheese.

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil gently in a pan and then fry the onion until soft and golden.
2. Add the paprika to the onion.
3. Add the butternut squash and butter and mix well.
4. Once mixed well add the water.
5. When the pan comes to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until tender.
6. Start cooking the pasta.
7. Briefly toast the pine nuts until dark gold on a pan.
8. Set the squash and onion aside.
9. Mix with the herbs and season to taste.
10. Drain the pasta and mix with the squash and then add the toasted pine nuts.
11. Add the blue cheese and toss like a salad.
12. Serve when well mixed.

Curly Pasta with Feta, Spinach & Pine Nuts

New Ventures

Over the past few days I have really been focusing on my business and what I want to give back to the world.  I no longer wish for my kitchen to be solely based on myself or those closest to me.  I want to reach out further,  I want to reach out to the community and provide a sincere network dedicated to helping those in need of a support group.  We all have a relationship with food whether good or bad, each dish tells a story and artificial or natural all food is nourishment.  Through my food journey I have realised that food is love and I have realised that Kamaria’s Kitchen can potentially bring hope into other people’s lives.  This meal that I cooked for myself on a solo night of thinking is not just a dinner, it’s a dinner where I decided to develop my already great ambitions and turn my passions into another super power.  Also, pine nuts does wonders to the texture of soft pasta dishes.  This meal also tastes great as a salad with the addition of mayonnaise and salmon.

This recipe was taken from Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Kitchen ( Chatto & Windus, 2014).

Ingredients:

500g fusilli, 50g pine nuts, 1 onion (peeled and sliced), 500g frozen leaf spinach, 200g feta cheese, salt & pepper (to taste).

Method:

1. Boil water for the pasta.
2. Toast the pine nuts by tossing them about in a hot, dry heavy based pan.  When golden place on a cold plate.
3. Heat a little oil in the pan and add the onion and garlic.
4. Stir for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the frozen spinach.
6. Drain the pasta and mix in the onion, spinach, pine nuts and feta cheese in a large mixing bowl.

Back to Basics – Cou – Cou 2/4

Cou- Cou

This is part of the national dish in Barbados.  I practiced this over and over again  and it is still no where near the quality of Gran Grans.  Regardless practice is perfect.  I couldn’t let anyone try it yet because it is a sin in Barbados to cook this wrong. I have waaaaaaaay too much to live for.  Also you can only cook cou cou with a cou cou stick.  That’s the rules.

Ingredients:

115g okra, 225g coarse corn meal, 600ml water, 25g butter.

Method:

1. Bring a pan of water to boil.
2. Add the chopped okra and cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove the okra with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Pour away half the liquid and return the pan to the heat.
5. Return the okra to the pan and gradually beat in the cornmeal.
6. Beat vigorously until it hurts.
7. Gradually add the water.  Keep beating.
8. Cook for 20 minutes but keep the corn meal hot and moist before serving otherwise you will be cussed out ’till you cry.

Spicy Vegetable Chow Mein

Chinese Food in Bim

I rarely have Chinese food and Pizza in Barbados because the local cuisine is so fresh and beautiful.   For Barbadians however it is understandable that world cuisine is a treat.  I am always asked to cook foods that my friends are not used to having.  This chow mein was an easy dish to treat some of my friends to Chinese cuisine, but still maintaining the freshness from local ingredients.  I was sure to use an authentic good quality chow mein and used stock from an earlier recipe.  A stock cube would be a good substitute.

This recipe was adapted from The Caribbean Central & South American Cookbook (Anness Publishing Ltd, 2010).

Ingredients:

225g egg noodles, 3 tbsps vegetable oil, 2 garlic cloves (crushed), 1 onion (peeled and chopped), 1 small red pepper (peeled and chopped), 1 small green pepper (peeled and chopped), 115g fine green beans (blanched), 1 tsp five spice powder, 1 crumbled vegetable stock cube, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tbsp soy sauce, salt, 1 scrambled egg.

Method:

1. Cook the noodles in a large pan of salted boiled water until cooked.
2. Drain the pasta and leave to cool.
3. Heat the oil in a large wok and fry the vegetables.
4. Add the spice, stock cube and ground pepper.
5. When the vegetables are just tender and still crunchy stir in the noodles.
6. Add the soy sauce and then season to taste.