Beef Bourguignon

It has been snowy and magical, I love the snow so much, I love the way it makes the whole of the UK stand still. In any other country people would still go about their normal lives but not here, oh no....Quick it's snowing panic buy, panic buy, shut the schools, don't leave the house, woman get's some snow on her head, front page news ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
When it's freezing outside we all crave hot comfort food and beef bourguignon is perfect for this. I adapted Gordon Ramsey's recipe for this and it turned out perfectly and I really do recommend using shin beef, it's the perfect cut for this. I served mine with buttery mashed potato and celeriac, yum.

3 tsp goose fat or Butter and a splash of oil
 600g shin beef , cut into large chunks
100g smoked streaky bacon , sliced
350g Whole peeled shallots or pearl onions, peeled
250g chestnut mushrooms (about 20)
2 garlic cloves
1 bouquet garni
1 tbsp tomato purée
750ml bottle red wine

 I peeled my shallots, quartered my chestnut mushrooms, added the smoky bacon and sauteed everything in some goose fat.

I covered my chunks of shin beef in seasoned flour, browned in batches and then added them to the pan. I then added my bouquet garni, tomato past, red wine and 100ml of water and left to cook on the hob for about 2 hours half covered and then I transferred it to the oven totally covered for a further hour and a half. 

The long slow cooking of this bourguignon makes the meat literally melt in your mouth, so utterly delicious, especially when served with a pile of steaming butter celeriac mash.

Coconut Chicken Satay Wraps

I love chicken satay!!!!!!!!!  It's quick, easy and delicious and a great mid-week dinner or lazy weekend lunch.


Marinade

Tin of coconut Milk
Sliced shallot
Red chilli (with seeds)
Stick of Lemon Grass
Fresh tumeric
Ghalangal
Light Soy
Fish Sauce

Satay Sauce

The left over marinade ( strained)
Red chilli
Shallot
Garlic
Peanut Butter
Sugar
Fish Sauce
Lime Juice

You will also need some sliced chicken and wraps also salad items like cucumber, lettuce, tomato and corriander.


I marinaded the chicken in a tin of coconut milk, a stick of lemon grass, chilli, shallots, fresh tumeric, galanghal, ginger, light soy sauce and fish sauce. I covered the chicken in the marinade and put it in the fridge for fours hours. and if you plan ahead put it in over night.

I sliced up some peppers and red onion and roasted them in the oven with a bit of ground nut oil for around half an hour, the reason for the ground nut oil is it's tasteless and you don't want a Thai peanut sauce and olive oil together, yuk.

To make the satay sauce I drained the chicken and discarded all the bits from the marinade and put the coconut milk marinade to one side. I started by gently frying garlic, chilli and shallot for a few mins and then added the marinade and bought it to the boil as it had raw chicken in it.
I then turned it right down and added the peanut butter, some brown sugar,a dash of fish sauce and the squeezed a lime into it.

I was going to take pictures of the wraps and their construction but was to excited about eating them and forgot!! x

Chicken, Sweetcorn and Coconut Soup

Wow University is hard work, I didn't realise how much writing I would have to do...ridiculous.
I never been more busy in my whole entire life, if I'm not at Uni writing things then I'm at work and don't seem to do anything else at the moment. I almost forgot I had a blog, but tonite I am free!
Yesterday I made the traditional Sunday roast and so today I thought I would make a stock with the chicken carcass and use the leftover meat to make a soup.
I boiled the carcass in water along with carrots, onion, celery, peppercorns and bay leaves for around two hours.


Ingredients.

Home made chicken Stock
Roast Chicken shredded
Noodles
Corn on the Cob
2 Red Chillies (with seeds)
Knob of Ginger cut into thin batons
Small can of Coconut Milk
Splash of Mirin
Splash of Fish Sauce
Handful of Coriander















Slice the chillies and ginger, add a splash of mirrin and gently cook in a deep sided saucepan for a few minutes. Then slice the corn off the cob and add that to the pan along with the stock, coconut milk and the noodles and cook for around 4 minutes. Add the shredded chicken at the last moment so it can warm through and season with some fish sauce. Ladle into bowls and put some fresh coriander on the top. This is a great way to use leftovers, it's really good for you and the home-made chicken stock makes it taste extra amazing!















Hopefully it won't be so long until my next post but I do have four essays to do starting with sustainable fishing. x