Recipes

Vicky’s Winter Warmer
Vegetable Soup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 litre vegetable stock
1 400g can tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
1 leek sliced
2 medium carrots diced
1 small swede diced
2 medium parsnips diced
3 medium potatoes diced
Or any variety of vegetable to your taste.
1 Bayleaf
Pinch mixed herbs
Salt & Pepper

Using a pressure cooker, fry onion, leek and garlic in vegetable oil until soft.
Wash vegetables and add to pan, stir well.
Add vegetable stock and tomatoes, including juice, stir well. Ensure pan is not over ¾ full of mixture! You can always add more liquid at end of cooking if desired. Add herbs and season.
On high heat bring to boil and fix pressure cooker lid in place.
When steam is escaping from hole-add weights and bring to pressure.
Pressurise for 6 minutes. Then cool pan in cold water.
Remove lid and stir, remove bay leaf. Either liquidise soup or leave chunky! Reheat when needed.
NB. If you do not use a pressure cooker then stew vegetables in a large saucepan until cooked

Serve with a good helping of Encona Original Hot Pepper Sauce.

Keeper’s Bombay Potato

10 medium sized potatoes, chopped
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 large onion
large handful of spinach
large chunk of ghee and 1/3 pt vegetable oil
large tspn cumin
large tspn coriander
large tspn turmeric
large tspn garamasala
2 large red chillies
4 gloves of garlic
tspn mustard seed

Simply add together all the ingredients and pour over the raw potatoes which have already been placed in a baking tray. Cook slowly on gas mk 4 for 11/2 – 2 hrs, stirring occasionally, until the potato is very soft.

Please note: It is important to cook this dish the day before eating to let the flavours develop. Delicious served cold with naan bread – or can be reheated

Chicken Tikka Masala

4 chicken breasts, skinned & boned
4 garlic cloves
2.5 cm fresh ginger
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 onion
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp masala curry paste (Patak’s Original is excellent)
100 ml water
a good bunch of chopped fresh coriander

Cut the chicken breasts into 2.5cm cubes. Peel & roughly chop the garlic & ginger. Put tomatoes, sugar, coriander stalks, garlic, ginger & coconut into a blender or food processor & process until the mixture is smooth, Set aside.

Peel & chop the onion. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan (or wok), add the onion & fry over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring.

Stir in the masala curry paste & fry for a further 1 minute over a medium heat, stirring.

Add the tomato mixture & chicken to the pan & mix together. Cook over a gentle heat to reduce the sauce for 20 to 25 minutes. To get the best flavour, it is best to cook this dish the night before. Stir in the chopped coriander when you are ready to serve.
for extra heat add whole green chilli’s

Eel Trapper’s Tea

one large eel 1 ½ lb.
4 large potatoes
corn flour
fresh parsley
milk
cheddar cheese

First, remove the head & guts, chop into inch chunks, cover in water with a little salt and bring to the boil, simmer until the flesh is soft, drain and set to one side.

Boil & mash the potatoes & make your parsley sauce.

To serve, place the potatoes on a plate, put sections of eel on top of the potatoes, then pour a small amount of parsley sauce over. Wash down with a glass of nice oaky Chardonnay. I can assure you of a most pleasant meal.

Rib Marinade

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Dissolve sugar in soy sauce, water and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Use as a marinade for up to 8 hours.

Chicken Wings

16 Wings (skinned) can be thighs, legs etc.
Small carton plain yoghurt
Tablespoon oil
1 medium shredded onion (use a grater)
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon crushed cumin seed
2 green chillies, chopped (add extra for more fun!)
good bunch of chopped coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric

Mix ingredients in a bowl and add chicken. Leave to marinate over night.
Roast until slightly charred.
Serve with green salad and chapattis or naan

Vietnamese Chicken Curry
A very fragrant dish and goes well with plain or egg fried rice.

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 onions, cut into eighths
14-fl oz tin coconut milk
4 fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters

For the Marinade
2 stalks fresh lemon grass
4 whole garlic cloves
2 green chillies seeded and chopped
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp Madras curry paste (Patak’s Original is excellent)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tbsp water
large handful coriander (stalks and all)
4-5 curry leaves

Cut the chicken into about 2 inch chunks.
In a food processor, combine the lemon grass, garlic, chimes, sugar, curry paste, fish sauce and water and blend to a paste. Mix this with the chicken pieces, and stir until all the pieces are thoroughly coated. Leave the chicken to marinate for about 1 hour at room temperature.
Heat a wok or large frying-pan over a high heat until it is hot. Add the oil and, when it is very hot and slightly smoking, turn the heat to moderate, add the chicken and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the chicken begins to brown. Add the onions and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the stock and coconut milk, Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, stir well and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Garnish with coriander and serve. Great for dunking your naan!

Hot Tomato Salsa

1 red onion
1 avocado
5 medium tomatoes
a good bunch of coriander
juice from 1 lime
table spoon olive oil
green chilli to taste

Finely chop ingredients and add to lime & olive oil. Chill for at least two hours.

Simon’s Chicken & Lime
A Simon Cain (river doctor) recipe

4 Chicken breasts sliced in half an then into bun sized pieces
2-3 limes
1/2 can coconut milk
2 teaspoons Thai green curry sauce

4 thinly slices onions
sliced soft round bread rolls

Add the chicken pieces to the lime juice and marinade over night.

An hour before cooking stir in the coconut milk & the curry sauce.
Cook onions until soft but brown
BBQ the chicken and when cooked serve with a portion of onion, in a roll…. absolutely delicious…..