Savoury Ideas

Ever now and then, I get asked when I'm going to do a savoury recipe leaflet for work. Well, It's partly down to laziness and partly down to lack of time. For those of you with 'Sweet Treats' you will know I'm new to the world of weighing scales. When I do baking I usually have time to weigh ingredients, take pictures (and sometimes even remember to write down what I did before I've forgotten), savoury is a whole other ball game.

Dinner is usually done in the 30-60mins between getting home from work with mini monster, picking his brother up from the childminder, trying to stop them trashing the house/killing each other and getting dinner on the table for 5 (ish). Needless to say, I tend to revert to throwing things together rather than figuring what and how much has gone into it. 

So while the following are not recipes as such, it may just give you the inspiration to try something new.

All are milk, egg and soya free and with the exception of the pasty are wheat free too (but I do have a wheat free empanada recipe to post).

Pasty

These are the only way I can get my fussy five year old to eat a stew (or it was until he discovered stovies), thinly rolled out bread dough, filled with left over veg curry/ meat stew/ baked beans etc and baked until brown. These also make great picnic or packed lunch food.

Pasta with chorizo and butternut squash

Chorizo, butternut squash and garlic gently fried until squash caramelised and chorizo crispy, (probably had a splash of wine too), then oat cream stirred through before tossing in the pasta. Try bacon, onion, peas and oat cream for a 'carbonara' sauce. 

Crispy fried polenta with trout

This was the ready made polenta, sliced from the block and fried until crispy in the same pan as the trout, served with vegetables/salad.

Potato dauphinois 

Now, I made this after watching Jamie's 30 minute meals and seeing him do a quick one. I think it was mostly the same basic technique... I used a veggie stock cube and water for most of the cooking on the top of the stove, but poured in a carton of oat cream before putting it in the oven (had lots of garlic, black pepper and nutmeg on too). Mmmm, thinking about it now, it was very tasty, must have another go...

Sushi

Used good old pudding rice for these, fraction of the price of sushi rice and just as sticky. Once you get the hang of the basic rolling, you can fill them with anything as these British-Japanese fusion rolls prove. They are actually filled with left over roast beef, grated carrot and baby sweetcorn!

Barley cous cous

Pan fried salmon on top of barley cous-cous mixed with tomato paste (actually, I think this might have been ketchup, but I usually use sundried tomato paste) sliced green beans and baby sweetcorn.

Lasagne

Macaroni no Cheese

Schnizel strips

Thinly sliced meat (chicken, turkey, pork, beef or veal all work - as does fish..), tossed in suitable flour, milk substitute and breadcrumbs, before frying.

Spaghetti and meatballs