Slow Cooked Mexican Beef

I'm a real advocate of cooking things low and slow, either on the hob or in the oven; it can really yield some fantastic results and this beef dish, was an experimental triumph.

I used braising steak here - an economical cut, but you could use skirt, shin or any other tougher cut that benefits from slow cooking.

I served this with a quick homemade guacamole, a dollop of sour cream, some sliced jalapenos and a simple salad, but it would go equally well with rice or a filling for a tortilla.

The below serves 3-4 adults.

Slow Cooked Mexican Beef

Here's how:

• 350g braising steak
• 1 white onion
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 green pepper
• Tin of good quality plum tomatoes (I use Cirio)
• 150ml chicken stock (I use Knorr)
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 red chilli
• 1 tbsp chipotle paste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

For the quick guacamole:

• 1 ripe avocado
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 red chilli
• Pinch sea salt

Place the oven on at 180 degrees for the moment to pre-heat.

Now prepare all of the vegetables - slice the onions and peppers and place into a casserole dish with the tomatoes.

Add all the seasonings and set aside for the minute.

Now drizzle just a little oil in a pan, and quick-fry the braising steak to just sear and brown the meat.

Once browned, place into the casserole dish, and cover with the chicken stock.

Give a good stir, place the lid (or some foil) on top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes.

Now remove from the oven and stir, then place the lid back on and return to the oven. In the meantime turn the oven down to 150-160 degrees and set a timer for 3 hours.

If possible, check the dish every 30 minutes and stir, to ensure the meat is still immersed in the liquid and avoid it drying out at all.

When you remove the dish from the oven, check the meat with a fork and spoon to see if it will easily fall apart; if not return to the oven for a further thirty minutes. Then remove from the oven and leave to stand with the lid on for a few minutes.

Whilst standing, this is the time to prepare your salad and any other accompaniments.

If preparing the guacamole, simply slice the avocado and use a pestle and mortar to bash up a bit. Crush in the garlic and slice the chilli as fine as you can, then squeeze over the lime juice and stir. Garnish with sea salt before serving.

Enjoy!

Tip: if you have more time, make a chunkier guacamole with chopped red onion, tomatoes and coriander - the one above is a quick one that can be ready in two minutes.

Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Having visited Jersey at the weekend, and picked up some Jersey Royals fresh from a hedge veg honesty box, I was excited to get cooking with them.

The Jersey Royal season is a favourite in our house and serving them cooked, simply drizzled in butter with a little sea salt and either a few chopped chives or mint is always a winner; but I fancied trying something different.

Whilst in Jersey, we enjoyed several beautiful fish dishes amongst our group, and what I noticed was, whilst everything tasted great, there was a real simplicity that reminded me of Italian cookery. Rather than lots of complexities, instead, only a few, really good quality ingredients were used, and would be cooked well and did all the talking.

So for this dish, I simply created a warm Jersey Royal salad to go alongside pan-fried sea bass fillet and served with some sautéd asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Simple but it worked really well and we'll certainly enjoy again.

You could of course use an alternative potato such as Charlotte or simply New, but there is something extra special about the fudgey, sweet flavour that’s just better than the other varieties.

Bridget enjoyed this dish too so it's a great option for a family meal and the below serves three.

Sea Bass Fillet with a warn Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Aspargus

Here's how:

• 3 sea bass fillets
• Bunch asparagus
• Handful cherry tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• Olive oil
• 350g Jersey Royals
• Three spring onions
• Handful radishes
• 3 tbsp peas
• 1 tbsp sour cream (could use crème fraiche or cream cheese)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (I use Maille)
• Sea Salt
• Black pepper

Firstly rinse the Jersey Royals well. Remove the excess dirt but don't be too vigorous. Place in a deep saucepan and pour over recently boiled water and place on a medium heat with a pinch of salt.

Now finely slice the spring onions and radish and set aside to dress the potatoes once cooked.

Place a drizzle of oil into a frying pan on a medium heat with a peeled clove of garlic. Once warm, add the asparagus and cherry tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes. Now remove from the pan and wrap in foil to keep warm.

Cook the peas and also place into the foil.

Now check the Jersey Royals - if almost cooked, then leave the frying pan on and season the sea bass. Omit from using salt for any children's portion.

Place skin-side down into the pan and cook, on a timer for five minutes. This should allow a lovely crispy skin.

Whilst the sea bass is cooking, drain the Jersey Royals and shake out any excess water. Return to the saucepan and add the sour cream, Dijon and a generous drizzle of olive oil and stir through gently to evenly coat the potatoes in the quick-dressing. Now add the radish and spring onions, stir again and place the lid on the pan to retain the heat.

Once five minutes is up, use an egg slice turn over the sea bass fillet in the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds then remove from the heat.

Dish up how you wish, but to do as I have done in the picture, simply add the Jersey Royal warm salad to the centre of the plate first. Then add the cherry tomatoes, dotted around the potato salad. Now add a layer of asparagus and finally add the sea bass fillet on top of the asparagus.

Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Enjoy!

Thomasina Mier's Fruity Chilli

I’m constantly tearing out recipes from magazines, saving or pinning online recipes and taking notes during TV shows of dishes I want to try and this weekend I finally made one I’ve had earmarked for a while.

Being a big fan of Wahaca, when Thomasina Miers’ Mexican Food Made Simple aired, I was avidly viewing week by week and one of the recipes she prepared that I really liked the look of was for a fruity chilli. After a bit of online digging and having to re-watch the episode via  Channel 5 Online yesterday afternoon, I took note of all of the ingredients, decided to omit from using banana and pear and popped out to get the remainder of the ingredients I didn’t already have in my brother’s stock cupboard, where I’ve been staying for a few nights.

I made a large batch, to freeze half for a pre-prepared mid-week meal, and the rest fed four of us comfortably. Combining both lean steak and pork mince, and with a sauce flavoured with charred vegetables and chipotle the end result was rich, smoky and delicious – a perfect warming, winter meal. I served it with rice, homemade salsa and guacamole, sour cream and some tortilla chips.

Here’s How:

500g each of lean steak and lean pork mince

2 large onions

6 large tomatoes

2 bell peppers

2 cloves of garlic

1 large red chilli

2 apples, peeled and chopped into cubes

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons of raisins or dried fruit

Heaped tsp of each of the following: ground cinnamon, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper

2 cloves

2 tablespoons of oregano (I used dried as couldn’t get hold of any fresh and it was fine)

75 chipotle paste

50 ml chicken stock

1 tin of red kidney beans

First off, whack the oven up to a high heat, and place on a baking sheet the tomatoes, peppers and the onions roughly chopped. Place them into the oven until the skin is blackened, then leave to one side to cool.

Brown off the mince and whilst it’s cooking, place the charred vegetables into a blender and blitz until liquidised – the blackened vegetables will give this basis of your sauce a great, smoked flavour. Now you need to add the flavours – add all of your herbs and spices, garlic and chilli along with the chipotle paste and blitz once more.

Once browned, transfer the mince to a saucepan, then cover with your sauce and stir through thoroughly. Next add your apples and raisins (and if you wish to stick to Thomasina’s recipe your pear and banana) and the chicken stock and kidney beans and stir again. Now place on a moderate heat for 45 minutes-an hour.

In the meantime prepare your salsa by finely chopping 2 tomatoes, 1 red onion and 1 chilli and a tsp of sun-dried tomato paste in a small bowl or ramekin. Pour in some garlic infused olive oil and then leave to intensify as the chilli is cooking.

For the guacamole, in a mortar, place a finely chopped red onion, chopped red chilli and 1 clove of garlic with 2 chopped avocadoes and some fresh coriander and grind with the pestle till you’re left with a fairly chunky texture. Next add the juice of 1 lime and add a pinch of salt and pepper then grind again. Just before serving, mix in some freshly chopped coriander.

Finally cook your rice to the packet instructions, or if you prefer jacket potatoes, and once cooked, plate up with a spoonful each of the salsa, guacamole and sour cream with a bowl of moreish tortillas in the middle of the table, and some grated cheddar cheese for a seriously satisfying, fiery, yet smoky meal.  It might not look very glam, but when it’s cold outside, this kind of a meal is balm, to whoever you’re feeding.