Make It, Bake It: January 2012

Friday, 27 January 2012

Recipe - Quick, easy & super delicious: Quinoa, Fish and Capers

This recipe was a result of indecision on what to cook one evening. However it turned out so delicious and is set to become a firm family favourite. It takes about 20 minutes to make.

Ingredients

Quinoa

Stock Cube

Medium Onion

2 Large Cloves of Garlic

4-5 Fillets White Fish

Tin of Chopped Tomatoes

3 heaped tablespoons of drained capers

Cook a pint of quinoa with a stock cube (as per instructions on the packaging- mine cooked in 12 minutes). Fluff up when ready so it’s not a lump.

Chop a medium-sized onion and 2 large cloves of garlic.

Sauté onion & garlic on a generous splash of olive oil on a medium heat. When onion turn glassy, put in 4-5 fillets of white fish. (I used frozen white fish fillets, didn’t bother to defrost). Cover and let them slightly fry on both sides. Turn gently so they don’t fall to bits.

In the meantime, take a can of chopped tomatoes, you can leave these as they are, or blend it down, like I did. Add 3 heaped tablespoons of drained capers.

Pour this tomato mixture to the saucepan with the fish. Cover, bring to boil and let it simmer for another 5 mins (or till fish cooked through). Mill some pepper when serving.

You can serve hot the fish over the quinoa or mix the quinoa and fish together, breaking up the fish as you stir, then let it cool. It will make a lovely cold lunch, especially on a hot summer’s day. (I discovered this as I was putting it away into the fridge and licked the spoon…only to end up eating half of the left-overs cold.)

Bon appetite! Let me know how it turns out for you and how you modify it.

I’m a mum of 2, soon to be 3 and blog on http://mumonthebrink.com about family, pregnancy, parenting dilemmas thrown in my path and about keeping my sanity as a SAHM with my love for technology, travel and smaller and bigger adventures.

Friday, 20 January 2012

Wild Mushroom Lasagne

Sports Relief starts on Friday 23^rd March and to help raise money for both Sports Relief and Comic Relief Gordan Ramsey created the Seriously Good cook in sauces.

At least 10p from every jar of Seriously Good sold will contribute to the Sport Relief 2012 total, and as usual Gordon doesn’t get a penny from the range.

Seriously Good sauces are available in selected major retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and The Co-operative.

The Seriously Good cooking sauce range is priced from RRP £1.89 for a 350g jar.

I posted some recipes last year to make using the sauces and today I have another one for you.

Wild Mushroom Lasagne

Preparation time: 15mins

Baking time: 40mins

1 jar Seriously Good Bolognese & Red Wine Sauce
400g mixed mushrooms (such as ceps, girolles, chestnut mushrooms), cleaned
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Splash of Marsala or dry white wine
Small handful of flat-lead parsley, chopped
Small handful of chives, chopped
Leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
8 sheets of dried lasagne
250g fresh buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp grated parmesan

1. Trim off the hard ends of the mushrooms and chop any large ones into smaller pieces.

2. Heat a wide frying pan with the oil and add the onion and garlic. Sweat over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the onions are soft.

3. Add the mushrooms and season well with salt and pepper. Fry over a high heat until any liquid released from the mushrooms has cooked off and they are lightly browned.

4. Add a splash of Marsala or dry white wine and let it simmer for about 5 minutes until it has almost all evaporated.

5. Remove the pan from the heat, mix in the Seriously Good Bolognese & Red Wine sauce and stir in the chopped herbs.

6. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC/Gas 4. Spread about a third of the mushroom and sauce mixture over the base of a lightly greased ovenproof dish. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, followed by the mushroom mixture, and then add a layer of mozzarella. Repeat layering process twice, finishing with a layer of sauce.

7. Top with any remaining cheese, and sprinkle over the grated parmesan. Cover the dish with a piece of foil and bake for 30 minutes.

8. Remove the foil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the topping is golden-brown and bubbling. Let the lasagne stand for a few minutes before slicing and serving with a green salad.

Monday, 16 January 2012

The In Season Challenge

Are you up for a challenge? Fantastic because I have decided to start a monthly In Season Challenge and for the first one I have even have a prize from Dairy Diary.

Each month I am going to choose an In Season ingredient and your challenge is come up with a recipe that includes it.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Post a recipe on your blog that uses the chosen ingredient.

2. Email the link to me at makeitbakeit@hotmail.com (you can send links to recipes you already have your blog) by the deadline.

3. Add the badge to your post or blog (optional).

I will create a post with links to all of the recipes and then choose my favourite as the challenge winner. (We may not always have a prize)

This month’s In Season ingredient is….

Savoy Cabbage

I am always stuck with what to do with it, so I'm looking for some inspiration.

Please send links to me by Sunday 5th February and I post all the recipes and let you know who has won on the 6^th February.

This month I have two Dairy Diary’s to giveaway.

The Dairy Diary is a week to date diary packed full of recipes, lots of writing space, budgeting and planners. Visit their website www.dairydiary.co.uk to see full details. They also have a blog!

Good luck I can’t wait to see what you all come up with!