Tag Archives: Dairy Cookbook

Sweet Potato and Pepper Omelette

Sweet Potato and Pepper OmeletteA colourful vegetarian dish that is just as good served hot as it is cold. It’s good for a picnic, too.

Time 30 minutes
Calories per portion 321 Kcal
Fat per portion 18g of which saturated 4.2g
Serves 3
Suitable for vegetarians

Sweet potato 1 large, peeled, cut in half lengthways and then into 5mm (¼in) slices
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
Red pepper 1, deseeded and cut into thin slices
Garlic 2 cloves, peeled and crushed
Eggs 6, beaten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Finely chopped parsley 2 tbsp
Finely chopped coriander 2 tbsp

1 Place the sweet potato in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil and cook for about 5 minutes until just tender. Drain well.

2 Heat the oil in a medium frying pan and gently fry the pepper and garlic for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the potato slices, and cook, stirring, for a further minute.

3 Pack the vegetables evenly over the base of the frying pan and pour in the eggs and plenty of seasoning. Cook the omelette over a gentle heat, pushing the cooked egg from the edge of the pan into the centre, until the egg is set all over – it will take about 10 minutes to set completely.

4 Preheat the grill to hot, and place the omelette under the grill, protecting the frying pan handle if necessary, to cook for 2–3 minutes to lightly brown the top.

5 Serve hot or cold, straight from the pan, cut into wedges and sprinkled with the chopped herbs. A green salad makes a tasty crisp accompaniment.

Cook’s Tip
The secret behind making a good omelette is to keep the heat quite low and allow the egg to cook gently so it doesn’t toughen and become rubbery.

Good Food, Fast Dairy CookbookRecipe taken from Good Food, Fast

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How was your Bank Holiday Weekend?

Doesn’t everyone love a Bank Holiday weekend?

You not only get the joy of a bonus day off to spend with your family and friends, but a short week to follow, which seems to make everyone so much happier.

Even my eldest child Finley, at six, can see the benefits. Although his benefits are mostly that he will be allowed to watch Japanese cartoons in the early hours of the morning, not get dressed until nearly lunchtime and, if he’s really lucky, get to stay up ‘late’… that’s past 7.30!

My benefits are that I can take an eye off the clock for a change, and perhaps do less nagging…. maybe not!

The short week deceives us into thinking we can take it easy, keep that holiday mood going, but I am not sure. There is still five days worth of ‘stuff’ to cram into four days isn’t there?

So, although I enjoy the Bank Holiday weekends, I also enjoy doing a little bit of work to make sure I am on top of things throughout the following week.

With this in mind I didn’t wasted food shopping or devising intricate mouthwatering family feasts. Oh no! I delved into the freezer, found some thin cut steak and used my Just One Pot recipe book to make ‘Five spice beef with chilli and peppers‘. Although mine was without without chillies; the five spice does a good enough job on it’s own for this household.

Not long till the next bank holiday weekend!

Karen
Dairy Diary Team

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Five-spice Beef with Chilli & Peppers

Warming and lightly scented, this meaty meal is a treat for the taste buds.

Five Spice Beef with ChilliesPreparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 8 minutes
Calories per portion 285 Kcal
Fat per portion 13g of which saturated 3.5g
Serves 2

Lean fillet or sirloin steak 225g (8oz), trimmed and cut into very thin strips
Dark soy sauce 1 tbsp
Chinese five-spice powder ½ tsp
Clear honey 2 tsp
Garlic 1 clove, peeled and finely chopped
Small red chilli 1, deseeded and finely chopped
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
Red pepper 1 small, deseeded and finely sliced
Yellow pepper 1 small, deseeded and finely sliced
Spring onions 1 bunch, trimmed and thinly sliced
Canned water chestnuts 75g (3oz), drained, rinsed and sliced

1 Place the strips of beef in a shallow dish. Mix with the soy sauce, five-spice powder, honey, garlic and chilli and set aside to marinate.

2 Heat the oil in a wok until hot and stir-fry the peppers for 3 minutes.

3 Add the beef mixture and the spring onions and continue to stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, until the beef is well sealed. Add the water chestnuts and stir-fry for a further minute until piping hot.

4 Serve immediately with microwavable rice (cooked as on the packet’s instructions).

Cook’s Tip 
Chilli adds ‘bite’ to a recipe, but also a spicy heat. If you prefer less of a ‘kick’, use a mild green chilli in place of the red chilli.

Recipe taken from Just One Pot, Dairy Cookbook.

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Have a Happy Easter Break

Holidays take on a whole new dimension when you have children.

Many of us grown ups look forward to having a rest. But children don’t rest, they get bored.

If you had asked me ten years ago what my plans were for the four day weekend, they would probably be to have one day cleaning up my home, the next visiting my relatives, then to have a day or two of chocolate eggs for breakfast, followed by a pub lunch and some afternoon drinking.

Not now. I find myself instead mixing up flour and water to stick strips of coloured paper to yogurt pots with to make mini-nests, into which I can put cute mini chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs.

Simnel Cake
Old habits die hard, so I don’t just put these together for the children! We do all have to grow up sometimes though, and my nod to that is also to make a Simnel Cake, a traditional Easter cake with marzipan (my favourite!) for which there is a good easy to follow recipe in the ‘Around Britain Dairy Cookbook‘ if you should have it.

Easter Biscuits
However, no doubt when my children get wind of my planned afternoon of baking the cake shall be replaced with the much easier and child-friendly Easter Biscuits from the ‘Year Round Dairy Cookbook‘. Is that a problem? I shouldn’t think so… even the Grandparents like to indulge in a hand-made biscuit!

Have a Happy Easter

Karen
Dairy Diary Team

P.s. The wonderful weather continues, so this is the perfect time for gardening. Fancy winning a copy of Seasonal Garden Ideas?

Win a copy of Seasonal Garden ideasTo enter simply complete the form on our website www.dairydiary.co.uk/competitions.html and don’t forget to “Like’ the page for an extra chance to win!

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Easter Biscuits

Traditionally, Easter biscuits are made with currants but this version is made with wild blueberries. Watch out though – one mouthful and you’ll be hooked!

Easter Biscuits15 minutes preparation time plus chilling
18 minutes cooking time
81 Kcal per biscuit
4.1g fat per biscuit of which 2.5g is saturated
Makes 24–6 biscuits
Dough is suitable for freezing
Suitable for vegetarians

Plain flour 175g (6oz)
Mixed spice 1 tsp
Butter 110g (4oz)
Caster sugar 110g (4oz), plus extra for sprinkling
Lemon 1, grated rind
Wild blueberries 75g (3oz) (see Cook’s Tips)
Egg 1, beaten

1 Sift the flour and spice into a large bowl. Add slivers of butter and then rub it in with your fingertips. Stir in the sugar, lemon rind and blueberries and then add the egg and mix to a firm dough.

2 Knead the dough briefly on a lightly floured surface and shape into a sausage about 20cm (8in) long and about 5cm (2in) wide. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour or in the freezer for half an hour.

3 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ Gas 4 and lightly grease a large baking sheet. Unwrap the chilled dough and cut into 5mm (1⁄4in) thick slices. Put them on the baking sheet, spaced a little apart.

4 Bake the biscuits for 15–18 minutes until they are pale golden in colour. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, sprinkle with a little caster sugar and then transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool.

Cook’s tips
•The wild blueberries in this recipe are semi-dried and they are available in tubs in the same fixture in the supermarket as the dried fruits.
•Use currants or add orange rind if you like.
•For a more fancy biscuit, roll out the dough and cut with a shaped cutter.

Recipe taken from Year Round Dairy Cookbook

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Stuffed Mediterranean Chicken

Healthy, wholesome Italian food at its best.

Stuffed Mediterranean Chicken from Good Food, FastTime 30 minutes
Calories per portion 494 Kcal
Fat per portion 28gof which saturated 8.8g
Serves 2

Olive oil for oiling a baking tray and to drizzle
Skinless chicken breasts 2
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mozzarella 4 slices
Ready-roasted peppers 4 from a jar
Basil leaves a few
Vine-ripened cherry tomatoes a handful
Baby spinach leaves a handful
Toasted pine nuts 1 tbsp
Ready-made croutons a handful
Vinaigrette to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7 and lightly oil a baking tray.

2 Make slits along the sides of the chicken breasts to make a large pocket in each. Season inside and out. Stuff each generously with 2 slices of mozzarella, a couple of ready-roasted peppers and some basil leaves.

3 Place on the baking tray with the tomatoes and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes are soft.

4 Meanwhile, toss the spinach with the pine nuts and croutons. Dress the salad with the vinaigrette and serve alongside the chicken and roasted tomatoes.

To make vinaigrette, whisk 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard with 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar and 6 tablespoons olive oil.

A Good Food, Fast | Dairy Cookbook recipe.

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