Sag Paneer

This is a lovely vegetarian Indian dish that works as a stand-alone main course or to go alongside a curry dish such as Chicken Dhansak or Beef and Lentil Curry perhaps.

Paneer is a lovely cheese that really absorbs flavour like a sponge and this is a delicious dish - although it took me a few goes to find the right spicing and I pinched from BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver and The Guardian to make this plus some of my own experimentation.

Sag Paneer

Here’s how:

• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Thumb sized piece of ginger
• 1 large green chilli
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 500g spinach
• 400g paneer
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp ghee (butter will do just as well if you don’t have ghee)

Firstly melt the ghee or butter in a bowl and mix in the turmeric and chilli powder.

In the meantime cut the paneer into cubes and then toss into the melted butter and spice mixture. Ensure they are coated all over.

Place the spinach into a colander and pour over freshly boiled water. Allow to drain off and then place the spinach into a clean tea towel or muslin and squeeze off the excess water. Chop roughly.

Chop the tomatoes and set aside for the minute.

Make a paste by roughly chopping the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and adding to a blender or Nutribullet and blitzing.

Now add the paneer to a hot frying pan and allow to cook on all sides, getting colouration on each side. Cook for 7-8 minutes and then remove from the pan but leave the pan on the heat.

Add the cumin seeds to the pan and allow to cook for a minute before ading the onion mixture and them allow this to cook for ten minutes until the onions are beginning to caramelise.

Now add the chopped tomato and garam masala and cook for a further three minutes or so to allow the spice to cook out.

Now add the spinach to the pan seasoning generously with salt and white pepper at this stage. This will cook in a minute or so and now it will be time to add about 3 tablespoons of water to unleash all the delicious flavours from the bottom of the pan.

Add the paneer at this stage, and squeeze over the lemon juice and cook for a further 3-4 minutes; remove from the pan and serve immediately. Enjoy

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Recently the infamous secret blend of eleven secret herbs and spices that makes the chicken from KFC so moreish was leaked all over the internet, and I must admit I am due to host all of the family to trial the recipe and see if it matches up that of the fast-food chain favourite - I'll be sure to post the results here.

For now, however, after a few years of trial and error, here is my own preferred version of Buttermilk Fried Chicken.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

I have experimented a lot taking inspiration from BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver, Martha Stewart and a whole range of American blogs and websites, but this combination seems to go down the best - especially when served with crunchy homemade slaw and macaroni cheese.

Buttermilk is quite easy to come by in supermarkets these days, but you can make your own by combining the required amount of natural yoghurt with a tablespoon of lemon juice or even vinegar.

I use a dry brine rather than wet, but I then marinate further in the buttermilk for a couple of hours at least, to ensure the chicken is really tender and moist on cooking.

It may seem a lot of effort to marinade overnight and then for a further couple of hours but once you make this the once, I guarantee you'll be back for more. This does pack a punch so to make a milder version cut down on some of the spices and leave out the tabasco from the buttermilk marinade. We made some goujons from chicken breast for Bridget and she liked them though, so it depends on your taste buds.

This is one of the naughtiest recipes I make at home, and one of the most happily devoured, it really is delicious but best to avoid if you are on any kind of diet - this is definitely a 'once in a while' kind of dish.

Here's how:

• 4 pieces if chicken, thighs are best but you can use drumsticks
• 1 litre rapeseed, vegetable or ground nut oil

The dry brine:

• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons

The wet marinade:

• 1 tub of buttermilk (250-300ml)
• 1 tsp tabasco
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• Juice of half a lemon
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

The flour coating:

• 220g plain flour
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp black pepper.

Firstly in a small bowl combine all of the dry brine ingredients. Now place the chicken into a marinade bag or bowl and scatter over the brine. Try to ensure each piece gets a good coating by using your hands to rub in. Now zip up and place into the fridge overnight, or for a good 10-12 hours.

When ready for the next stage, place the buttermilk, tabasco, lemon juice, garlic and Worcestershire Sauce into a large bowl or another marinade bag and then place each piece of chicken inside. Zip up then use your hands on the outside to ensure each piece is immersed in the buttermilk. Return to the fridge and leave for a couple of hours.

Chicken marinading in buttermilk

Pre-heat the oven to around 100 degrees – it’s just to keep the chicken warm once cooked if cooking in batches.

Now pour your oil into a fryer - or if like me you don't own one, a good quality wok or metal, heavy bottomed pan and place on a medium heat.

Meanwhile combine the flour coating ingredients, stir and set aside.

Test the oil is hot enough by dropping in a breadcrumb, when it sizzles, you know it's ready.

Now take each piece of chicken and coat in the flour, all over, tossing to ensure an even spread.

Now use tongs or a metal slotted spoon to lower the chicken into the hot oil - be careful. If using a wok or pan you'll need to do this in stages of 3-4 pieces at a time.

After 6-7 minutes, use the tongs or spoon to turn over the chicken pieces. Now cook for the same amount of time on the other side, or until cooked through and golden brown and very tempting looking on the outside.

Now place onto a wire rack in the oven and repeat the process until all the chicken is cooked, then place onto some kitchen towel on a plate to absorb any excess grease.

Buttermilk fried chicken

Serve with your choice of accompaniments. Enjoy!

Buttermilk fried chicken

Lady and the Tramp style Meatballs with Spaghetti

I often make my own meatballs, it's a fun cooking activity with my daughter, but for a quick mid-week meal, I turn to shop bought. I have tried the various supermarket versions and the Tesco Finest range, are a favourite in our house – the beef ones.

This dinner can be on the table from start to finish in 20-25 minutes so is perfect during the working week when time is precious and despite a quick-made sauce the base, of onions, garlic and chilli pack it full of flavour - you could of course add some fresh herbs to further enhance too, such as torn basil leaves or thyme which would both work well here.

The chilli adds a lovely heat - but if your taste is for less heat, just add half or a quarter of the chilli.

Lady and the tramp style meatballs with spaghetti

This serves 3:

Here's how:

• Pack of 12 meatballs
• 1 white onion
• 1 red chilli
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 carton cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 green pepper
• 50g spaghetti
• Optional: cheese to grate on top (we use Parmigiana)

Firstly fill and boil the kettle for your pasta water - this speeds up the process and if it's good enough for Jamie, it's good enough for me.

Now add the olive oil to a large non-stick pan and place on a medium heat.

Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic and slice the red chilli and add to the pan to really flavour the oil, then once slightly softened add the meatballs.

In the meantime, dice the pepper and halve the tomatoes and once the meatballs have started to brown, add to the pan.

At the same time place your pasta on to cook, with a pinch of salt.

Add the tomato puree, a pinch of salt and black pepper to the pan of meatballs and stir to combine the sauce and reduce down the liquid from the tomatoes.

Meatballs in the sauce

Once the pasta is cooked, take a spoonful of the cooking water and add to the meatball mix then stir through to loosen up the sauce and help coat the pasta.

Now drain the spaghetti and add the pan and stir through well before serving. Enjoy!

Baby Bites Creamy Mushroom Soup Without Cream

I got the idea for making this soup whilst watching an episode of Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Minute Meals. Whilst he does use some cream in his recipe he makes it look, taste and feel creamy by cooking in some rice in the soup and so I've used this method here.

Despite being without salt, it makes a delicious soup with plenty of flavour from the garlic and mushrooms - I had a bowl myself, minus any seasoning so this is one the whole family can enjoy. I give to Bridget with a few soldiers of granary toast and she absolutely loves it.

The below makes enough for approximately 8-10 baby portions or six with a bowl for the chef! It freezes perfectly also and you just need to remove on the morning you wish to use to defrost fully before re-heating.

• 4 large flat or Portobello mushrooms
• 1 small red onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp basmati rice
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 pt Baby vegetable stock (can just use water as Jamie does) 

Firstly place the oil into a non-stick saucepan and place on a low heat.

Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic and add to the pan to gently soften.

Roughly chop the mushrooms and add to the pan with the rice, using a wooden spoon to stir through and ensure all gets a coating in the oil.

Pour over the stock and allow to cook on a low heat for 30 minutes.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes or so.

Either use a hand soup blender or pour into a liquidiser and blitz to a smooth soupy consistency. Serve with some wholemeal or granary toast and portion up accordingly. If freezing, allow to cool completely before popping into the freezer.

Jamie's Italian, Westfield Stratford City

A couple of weeks back my mum Vicky and I headed for a little retail therapy followed by a bite to eat at Westfield, Stratford. Now I'm not usually one for 'chain' restaurants, however my mum had recently eaten at Jamie's Italian with my brother during a frenzied Christmas shopping session, and was quite impressed so I thought, why not.

To start off we ordered the self proclaimed 'World's Best Olives' which were large, juicy green Italian ones, and were lovely and full of flavour. I wouldn't say they were the world's best, nor the best I've tried but I am biased and think nothing can beat a Kalamata olive. Along with the olives came a tasty tapenade and some fried crisps which are called 'music bread' here - all perfectly adequate and well worth the £3.75 price tag. 

We also tried the Pumpkin & Mozzarella Nachos, which were in fact, just little squares of the two combined, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried, served with an arrabiata sauce. These were a little bland alone, but improved slightly with the sauce - I probably wouldn't choose them again but they were perfectly edible. 

Finally as part of our antipasti we chose the Italian bread selection with some oil and balsamic vinegar. There were several different types of sliced bread in the little tin that this arrived in, all of which were good, but special mention must go to the rosemary foccacia which was like a little piece of heaven. Perfect soft in the middle, flavoured throughout with the rosemary and with a slightly crisp exterior and some sea salt for that added texture - perfection. 

For our main course we both selected a dish from the pasta menu. I actually had what my mum had enjoyed so much on her previous visit - the Seafood Bucatini. Or in other words, a selection of expertly flavoured seafood including clams, mussels, squid, scallops and crab combined with a thick spaghetti pasta and with the addition of chilli, garlic, some chopped tomatoes and a little white wine, all cooked together in a bag. This really was top notch, I'd say it is certainly the best dish I've had from any chain restaurant before. The basic sauce just proves that actually simplicity and real expert flavouring is everything with Italian cookery. My mum has already re-created this dish at home as she enjoyed it so much when she visited and I will be following suit too.

This time around, my mum opted for the Black Angel Spaghetti - squid ink pasta, coupled with scallops, capers, wine, garlic and chilli plus anchovies. Again this was a great dish - perfectly seasoned, good quality scallops and no complaints at all.

I also insisted on trying the Polenta Chips as they sounded so appealing on the menu. These were tasty, but probably a little too much with the starters we'd had and alongside pasta.

We washed the meal down with a white wine I'd never tried before but will be looking into purchasing for home consumption - a Trebbiano Garganego Del Veneto. A crisp, yet ever so light and refreshing wine that perfectly complemented the food and priced at only £15.95 I thought this was a bargain.

Service was good throughout the meal, although once the restaurant became quite busy, it did become a little slow, but the waiter who looked after us was knowledgeable and friendly and we weren't in any rush so this was good for us.

I was impressed overall with the meal and the venue which also includes a little deli style shop and was even more impressed when the bill arrived. We'd enjoyed two large and enjoyable courses plus wine and there was change from £50 which I really don't think you can grumble at. I would definitely eat there again and if you do go then do try the Seafood Bucatini, it really is a lovely dish. And do please share your thoughts if you have had a similarly good or otherwise experience at Jamie's Italian.