Pulled Beef Chilli

During our visit to Cornucopia at the weekend I was in the mood to cook a chilli and saw a lovely looking piece of Beef Brisket from Snowden Hill and know exactly what recipe to cook!


INGREDIENTS

1.5kg beef brisket
1 large cinnamon stick
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 heaped tbsp dried oregano
2 fresh bay leaves
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
400ml beef stock
3–4 red chillies, 2 deseeded, sliced
2 red onions, finely sliced
Red wine vinegar


METHOD
1) Bash the cinnamon, cumin, paprika and oregano with a mortar and pestle then rub into the beef. Season well, drizzle over a little olive oil and brown the brisket over a high heat.

2) Place the bay leaves, peppers, tomatoes and stock in a large pan and bring to the boil.

3) Meanwhile, add the chilli and onion to the pan with the brisket, cook for 5 minutes, then transfer  to the pan with the tomatoes, cover, and leave to simmer for 4–4½ hours. Be careful towards the end of the cooking time as the sauce thickens it can catch at the bottom.

4) The beef should be tender enough to pull apart using two forks. Add a little vinegar to taste and adjust the seasoning.
5) Serve with soft bread to mop up all that lovely sauce.

Cornucopia

Cornucopia (in Latin also cornu copiae) or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles.

And it certainly was!


I was lucky enough to be invited down to The Corn Exchange for the BIG breakfast on Sunday morning to meet the producers, before the event opens to the general public.

For the breakfast we sampled some of the produce that was on offer from the stallholders, which included:

Breakfast Brownies from The Yummy Yank
Oat and Nut Granola's from Yorkshire Dales Real Food
Brioche from Sunshine Bakery
Primos own Smoothies
Preserves from Lianne Marie Binks
Also some preserves from Pudsey Pickles
Buffalo Sausages from  Snowden Hill Water Buffalo
Preserves from The Chilli Jam Man
Nanaimo Bar from Fayre By Alley

I must admit it was great to see and even better to taste what the local producer are working so hard for. 

We spend a couple of hours there walking around chatting, sampling and even buying. The sausage rolls from Sunshine Bakery, well i couldn't resit. Some chutneys from Pudsey Pickles and a lovely bit of Beef Brisket from Snowden Hill. (See what I did with it here)

For a list of all the stallholders check out Cornucopia's website.

If you missed it shame on you, but it will be back in December (22nd -24th) keep an eye on their website as it could be even bigger and better.

A big thank you to Cornucopia and the event partners!

Eastzeast - Riverside, Manchester

After a great night at Manchester MEN watching Peter Kay, four of us left the venue feeling a little hungry. The waves of people took us along Corporation Street. Once we were able to get to a quiet point we stopped to consult Google places. Within minutes of searching Indian Restaurants we were on our way to "eastzeast Riverside" following the directions on the phone. After 5 mins of walking we had found it, from first impressions it looked like a bar on a busy Friday night.

After going inside we enquired about a table for four to which we were told it could be up to a 20min wait. Whilst waiting we took a seat at the bar for a drink. The bar area was nice and airy with an intriguing frosted glass area, which was for private dining.

We were called as our table was ready and shown down stairs. The seating area was deceptively large and busy for the time of night, the decor was nice and even had big palm trees dotted around, which we couldn't work out if were real or not.

Although we had said no to poppadoms they were bought to the table on the house with an impressive pickle tray containing the usual lime pickle, raita, mango chutney but also some not so usual ones like a very testy garlic chutney and a tomato chutney, all labelled on the bottom of the tray.

The starters where brought out very fast, 3 Onion Bhajis (£2.95) and 1 Lamb Chops (£5.95). The lamb chops had plenty of meat on them, they were nice and tender if a little too charred in places from the tandoori oven. The Onion Bhajis were fresh and light but had a very fiery chilli kick to them.

The mains soon followed, I had a Tiger King Prawns Biryani (£13.95) served with a punjabi raita and a hot curry sauce. I could taste the subtle spices in the rice and the sauce complimented it well, another plus to the dish was they weren't shy with the Tiger prawns. My dining guests had  Karahi Gosht Dopiaza (£10.95), Karahi Murgh Tikka Masala (£9.95) which wasn't the normal dayglow orange colour and a Prawn Rogan Josh (£8.95) to which we were asked if we would like tiger prawns or small prawns with the Rogan Josh. As the comment from across the table was "Mmm this is by far the best Rogan Josh Ive had in a while." I just had to have a try. The rich sauce with tomatoes was nice and thick and almost creamy. It was a very good Rogan Josh indeed!

The bill for the four of us came to just under £80. Very reasonable for the quality of the food being served. On our way out we noticed an ice cream and coffee counter so we couldn't resist in having one for the road. The quality and service of the whole place was great from walking into the bar to chilling in the ice cream and coffee lounge at the end. Definitely a great find from Google and certainly worth a visit if your over the Pennines and fancy a good curry.

Eastzeast Manchester Riverside
Blackfriars Street
Deansgate
Manchester
M3 5BQ

Website


Tel:0161 834 3500

Opening Times
Monday to Thursday: 5.00pm - 11.30pm
Friday & Saturday: 5.00pm - 12.00 Midnight
Sunday: 5.00pm - 11.00pm



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Weight Watchers Spicy Tomato And Butternut Soup

I'm not into fad diets but someone I know is ;) So once in a while we pull out the recipe cards and cook something healthy. Some of the recipes are either bland, boring or just don't work. This one however works a treat and will defiantly be appearing in my packed lunch for work this winter.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
6 large tomatoes
1 large butternut squash peeled and deseeded
2 large red onions
1 medium red pepper
1 stick celery
1 carrot
4 cloves garlic
1 red chilli-deseeded

METHOD
1) Preheat your oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5. Cut the tomatoes, squash, onion, pepper, celery & carrot into chunks-finely dice the garlic & chilli.

2) Place all the veg into a roasting tin -season with salt & toss together. Roast for 45 mins turning the vegetables every 15 mins or so.

3) Put the roasted veg into a food processor with 500 ml of boiling water and blitz until smooth (do in batches if necessary).

4) Add another 500ml of boiling water to the smooth soup. Bring to the boil and simmer for two to three minutes-season to taste. Now serve into warm bowls and enjoy.

My Famous Baked Snickers Cheesecake

This recipe is for everyone who knows me for my baked cheesecake. Especially Faye who has been asking for it for ages, so here you go...Enjoy! (I expect a pic to be posted soon)

INGREDIENTS
16 digestive biscuits
100g butter, melted
600g cream cheese
2 tbsp plain flour
175g caster sugar
vanilla extract
2 eggs, plus 1 yolk
142ml pot soured cream
2 bars of snickers, sliced

METHOD
1) Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

2) Crush the biscuits in a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin). Mix with the butter. Press into a 20cm springform tin and bake for 5 minutes, then cool.

3) Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, a few drops of vanilla, eggs, the yolk and soured cream until light and fluffy.

4) Pour into the tin, arrange slices of the snickers bar over the top. Bake for 40 minutes and then check, it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre. Leave in the tin to cool.



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The Leeds Kitchen By James Martin

Following my post back in February regarding James Martin's new restaurant at Alea casino I thought it would be nice after a lazy Good Friday to see if all the hype was worth it.

With it recently opening  I decided best to book, getting through was easy and spoke to someone straight away, unfortunately I had left it a little late to get the time we wanted but they managed to reserve me a table at 6pm. After a few details for the booking system I received confirmation via email together with a copy of the menu which I thought was a nice touch.

On arrival you need to give your name at the entrance to the casino and once inside The Leeds Kitchen is the first thing you come to. We were given the choice of having a drink at the bar or being seated at the table, we choose the latter.

We were swiftly brought some warm bread with salted and unsalted butter to nibble on whilst we perused the menu. Our drinks arrived fast and were given the choice of iced tap water which the glasses were regularly topped up throughout the meal.

My partner chose Cod and monkfish collops in a vodka and tonic batter cooked in beef dripping with watercress and tartar sauce (£6.75) to start. I struggled to decide between two dishes to which the waitress enquired which they were and give her informed choice. I opted for the Course chicken liver terrine with Black Ale mustard (£6.50). Whilst waiting in anticipation for the starters the waitress brought to the table a wooden tray containing the 3 iconic British accompaniments, Sarsons malt vinegar, HP sauce and Heinz tomato ketchup. The starters came out of the kitchen fast and fresh, both looked lovely. The chicken liver terrine was served with two warm slices of thick crisp toast tucked between a warm napkin and a small quaint  jar of Black Ale mustard. The batter on the cod and monkfish was very light and crisp with the tartness of the the tartar sauce complimenting it well. It seamed a popular choice as most tables seamed to order the dish.

We are both suckers for bellypork so when we saw it on the menu we knew we didn't have to look at anything else and chose the Cured and slow-braised Robinson pork belly with seared scallops and apple (£18.50), with sides Roast leeks with brioche and cheese (£3.25) and Chips (£3.25). Thinking about how hartey the dishes the Yorkshire chef cooks on his TV series and Saturday Kitchen I was a little disappointed when presented with one of my favorite meats. The portion size I felt was a little small verging on a taster menu size.

We still had room for a desert my partner chose the Cox's apple custard tart with Yorkshire clotted cream (£5.75) and I went for my favorite Classic sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce (£5.75). Unfortunately the sticky toffee pudding didn't taste as good as it looked with the sauce tasted bitter and treacly.

The bill came to just over £80 which included a few drinks each. All in all its a lovely restaurant with attentive staff, I just can't help feeling a little disappointed and let down especially compared to some of its competition.

Alea Leeds
4 The Boulevard
Clarence Dock
Leeds
LS10 1PZ

Reservation Bookings: 0113 341 3202

Website

Opening Times
Monday to Saturday 6pm - 11pm
Sunday 12pm - 3pm







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Spice Up Your Tuna Pasta Bake

Following a minor operation I was incapacitated for a couple of weeks barley able to make a cup of tea let alone get in the kitchen to do some cooking. I was left in the hands of my fiancé who very rarely cooks. Up till then i have only sampled her signature and only dish of pasta in Arrabbiata sauce (ready made) a hand full of times. So when she came home from work one night clutching a hand full of recipes printed from the Internet I felt a little relived. Although one recipe I did turn my nose up at, tuna pasta bake. Since being a child a gave tuna a wide birth not liking the smell put me off, but as she was doing a fantastic job of looking after me I didn't want to be too picky.


Since then we have had this dish a few times and I've altered the recipe to our taste as the original recipe had far to much chilli in and swapped sweetcorn instead of peas which gives the dish a bit more texture and sweetness. Here is my version of the tuna pasta bake to spice things up a little.


INGREDIENTS
200g cup pasta (macaroni, small shell or spirals)
1 tin tuna
½ cup chedder cheese grated + 2 tbsp extra
1 tin sweetcorn
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp lonumirus (Maldivian chilli sauce, made out of 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp garlic paste, juice of 1 lime and ½ tsp ground black pepper and salt)
250 ml milk
1 slice of bread
2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
Salt

METHOD
1) Place the bread in a food processor and pulse to make fresh crumbs and set a side.

2) Cook pasta until almost done, but has bite to it . Drain and put in a large bowl with the drained sweetcorn. Add tuna flake it little, add salt (a pinch would do) and lime juice, mix well.

3) Make cheese sauce : Melt butter, switch off heat. Add flour and whisk it till you have a nice paste. Add curry powder and mix it in to the flour. Place it back on the stove over a medium heat. Add milk slowly, whisking all the time to prevent lumps from forming. Let it boil and then simmer till the sauce thickens a little, about 5 minutes. Add lonumirus and cheese. taste and add salt if necessary and pepper.

4) Pour the sauce into the pasta mixture and mix well, pour in to a suitable oiled oven dish.

5) Make topping by mixing olive oil , the fresh breadcrumbs , parsley and chedder cheese together, sprinkle on top of the pasta and bake in a 190- 200 °C oven for about 30 minutes till nice and golden.

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