Chef Wise

Now the thing I like about couscous is that it is great at carrying a lot of flavour. That is to say on its own it is very bland but if you use lots of flavouring agents then it really become something very special. It is light to eat and goes with so many things not or cold. I know I am calling this a salad but make it hot and use lamb that you just have cooked and it is just as good. But what is nice is that if you want to use up some left over roast from the day before then this is also a good dish to make. You will need. 1tbsp tomato purée 1tsp ginger purée 1tsp garlic purée 1tsp red chilli purée Salt and freshly ground black pepper Olive oil The juice of 1 lemon 3 tomatoes Small bunch of fresh coriander Small bunch of fresh chervil Small bunch of fresh chives 1 red onion 110g/4oz couscous 220ml/8foz boiling water to cook couscous 175g/6oz cooked lamb Start by cooking your couscous, the best way I know is just add twice as mu...

A simple one-pot dish that you can make in just a few moments and then sit in the garden and chill, perfect for the long summer nights when you get in from work. And you only need one pan, eat straight from the pan and no plates. Or does that make it juts me who does not like to wash up. You will need, 1tbsp oil 1 large onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, crushed 275ml/10floz chicken stock Salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 chicken breasts 1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes 2tsp ground cinnamon 1tsp ground ginger A handful of dried apricots A handful of prunes 2tbsp clear honey A bunch fresh coriander 200g dry easy cook couscous Plain yoghurt Get a large sauce pan or frying pan and star by frying of your onion, garlic and chicken breast in a little oil. Dice the chicken and opinions up as rustic as you want. Once the chicken has almost cooked and the opinions are nice and soft you can move to stage two. Season with salt and pep...

22 May 2012 British booze cruise predicted to make resurgence in 2012. The worsening crisis in the Eurozone will reignite interest in the cross Channel booze cruises as consumers take advantage of the weakening Euro and load up on bargains, according to new research from trade magazine Off Licence News (OLN). The combination of economic factors coupled with the UK’s Summer of events - Queen’s jubilee, European football championships and the 2012 games – will motivate consumers to travel to find the best value. Rosie Davenport, Editor at Off Licence News said, "The real savings come if you're buying in for a big gathering, so people planning Jubilee parties or summer weddings, will be particularly tempted." In 2010, large UK-based retailers including Sainsbury’s and Tesco closed their Calais warehouse stores as exchange rates made booze cruises less attractive and prices fell in UK supermarkets. But as the Euro continues to weaken against the pound, the trend could see...

It   would probably be easier to list what does not go on a meze platter than what goes on it. The truth is that you can have just about anything on it from lamb, chicken or fish but I have chosen to do a roast vegetable one.   No real reason but it just really goes well together, and then it’s up to you to add whatever you like to make your platter your platter. Also I have split the recipes up so you can make them one at a time. When I listed everything I got confused in what order I was righting them , so I knew that you probably would get confused if I was and I was writing the thing. So now I know what I am doing let’s start with the all-important. Hummus ½ can chickpeas 1 garlic clove 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tsp sesame seeds Juice of half a lemon Fresh parsley salt and freshly ground black pepper This is so easy, you drain and rinse off your chickpeas and add everything apart from the parsley to a food processor. Turn it and blend it all into a...

Tahini is a sort of paste that you make with sesame seed and oil bended in to a sort of paste. And in this dressing it gives this salad a real deep flavour. You will need. 2-3 garlic cloves Pinch sea salt 2 tbsp tahini 1 lemon, juice only 1 tbsp olive oil 1 x 400g/14oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 small white onion 500g/1lb 3oz ripe tomatoes Freshly ground black pepper Handful of fresh parsley Handful of fresh coriander Cayenne pepper, to taste Start by taking your garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil and blend this together. Then take the tahini and give it a stir then add that to the dressing and stir it all together. If you think it is a little on the thick side add some more lemon juice and oil until you get the consistency that you are looking for. Or you could add a little water as well that work just as well if you are worried about the calories of all that oil. Now for the salad take you onion and dice this as fine as you can and put them in a ...

This a middle eastern spicy soup that is perfect for a long slow cook and also used up all the cheap cuts of meat as well. The ingredients you will need are. 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 large onion 150g/5oz Diced boneless lamb meat  6-7 tbsp  plain flour 150g/5oz Lamb ribs 400g/14oz very ripe tomatoes, liquidised 3 litres/5¼pints water 2 sticks celery 1 medium carrot 100g/3½oz dried chickpeas Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 2 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp mild curry powder 100g/3½oz lentils A big bunch fresh parsley and A big bunch fresh coriander 1 tsp ground cinnamon 100g/3½oz vermicelli First let your chickpeas soak in some cold water to start with, as they do that you can start to get every thing else cooking . Put a large pan on the stove and heat the oil . Add the onion finely diced and the lamb ribs and get them cooking.  Then breech the diced lamb in flour and then get that in the...

Sadly this dish has often been just the food that you eat late at night after you have had far to much to drink and are starving. Often made from some kind of compressed lamb that is formed and carved of in thin slivers so that it can be paced in a flat bread and breached in chilli sauce.   Well I want to try and make you think once more about it and what it could be , in fact lets just make it and see what you think if you eat it for a lunch or dinner.   I can assure you there is more to the lamb kebab than you think. The real grate thing about this is that you can get lots of fresh vegetables and salad on the plate and you can all have a go at doing it your self. Just get every thing ready and put it all on a try in the middle of the table and lets the kids help them selves.   And you do not have to use lamb, chicken beef and pork work just as well.   You will need 4 garlic cloves ¾ tsp ground cumin 600g/1lb 5oz lamb leg meat 150g/5oz Greek-sty...

Tagine I think Is the name of the dish that you are supposed to cook any thing like this in .   A sort of flat dish with a conical cover . As far as I am aware the ides it that the food steams its self, as it comes from north Africa and to use water just to boil things in is I supposed a bit of a waste of water.   The idea is that every thing steams in its own juice as you cook it slowly. For this tagine you will need, 125g/4½oz green olives 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil 1 large onion 4 chicken breasts 2 garlic cloves ½g saffron threads 1 tsp ground ginger Good pinch of ground cardamom Good pinch of ground cloves Good pinch of cinnamon Good pinch of nutmeg 1tsp of chilli powder 1tsp ground coriander 1stp cumin 1tsp turmeric 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper The zest and juice of   1 large lemon   The zest and juice of   1 large orange 3 tsp chopped fresh coriander 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley Now if you want to b...