Sam's Silver D of E Cookery Blog

This week I made a simple dough from Greek yoghurt and made pizza as we all love a good slice of pizza and thought it would suit the sunny day. For the dough 350 g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting olive oil 250 g natural yoghurt For the sauce 2 cloves of garlic 1 x 400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes ½ a bunch of fresh basil (15g) 1. Preheat the oven to 250°C/475°F/gas 9 (full whack) or as hot as it will go. 2. Place the flour in a large bowl with a small pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the yoghurt. Mix well with a spatula until you can’t move it anymore, then use your clean hands to form it into a dough. Turn onto a board and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Plop it back into the bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to one side while you make your sauce. 3. Crush the garlic and place in a medium pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook for 30 secs minute, then pour in the tomatoes. Use a potato masher to squash everything down to make a lovely smoot...

This week i made a classic Italian dish - Spaghetti and Meatballs. I made them as a special treat for my brother and he loved them that much his plate was clean. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 1 small carrot or 1/2 large carrot, finely chopped 1 small rib celery, including the green tops, finely chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 1 can whole tomatoes, including the juice, or 1 3/4 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped 1 teaspoon tomato paste salt and pepper to taste 5 servings of pasta 30 ish meatballs Heat olive oil in a large wide skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and parsley. Stir to coat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are softened and cooked through. Remove cover and add the minced garlic. Increase the heat to medium high. Cook...

2 tsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped, or 140g frozen chopped onions 300g frozen beef mince from a bag 1 carrot, finely chopped 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 tsp plain flour 1 beef  stock cube 300g can small potatoes in water, drained 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked 2 tbsp grated cheddar green vegetables, such as frozen peas or green beans, to serve Method STEP 1 Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and sizzle for a few mins to soften. Add the lamb mince, carrot and Worcestershire sauce. Season well, and sizzle for 10 mins. Drain off any excess fat, then add the flour and crumble in the stock cube. Stir into the mince, then pour in 300ml water and bubble, uncovered, for 15-20 mins until thickened. Divide between 2 individual baking dishes or mini pie dishes. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. STEP 2 Grate the potatoes into a bowl, add the thyme and season well. Sprinkle the grated potato over the lamb mince and scatter over the cheese. Bake for 25 mins until golden brown, blasting und...

I have made many curries but none as nice as this one. It was deliciously creamy and nice and sweet and would definitely make this again. 1/2 tsp Crushed chilli flakes 1 tsp Madras curry powder 8 shallots, finely chopped 2 tsp lemon juice  2 tsp Turmeric 2 tbsp. Sweetener 4 level tbsp. Peanut butter  4 tbsp. Skimmed milk 4 tbsp. Dark soy sauce 100g Frozen peas 200g Long grain rice 500ml Passata 600g Chicken Breast, cubed Ground black pepper 1.In a pan, sprayed with fry light, cook the chicken until the meat goes white, remove & set aside. 2.Cook the onion until it’s soft, add the chilli flakes, curry powder, pepper, lemon juice, sweetener, milk, soy sauce & passata, mix well, add the peanut butter, heat until it starts to thicken, return the chicken to the pan & simmer on a low heat for 10 mins or until the chicken is cooked through. 3.While the chicken is cooking, add the rice to a saucepan, add 3 times the quantity of water & turmeric (for colouring), add a p...

Chicken and mushroom pasta is a great meal for the end of the day. 4 chicken thigh fillets, boneless skinless 1 teaspoon dried basil Salt and pepper, to season 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced  250 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced 1 chicken stock pot Extra salt and pepper, to taste 300 g uncooked penne pasta 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese A handful of fresh parsley, chopped Season chicken thighs with dried basil, salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large saucepan or pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs and sear on both sides until golden brown, cooked through and no longer pink. Remove and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pot. Fry the onion and garlic until the onion becomes transparent, stirring occasionally (about 2 minutes). Pour in the white wine and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, or until beginning to reduce down. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Then, add the ...

 I haven't had toad in a hole for a very long time and to add to the taste I rapped the sausage in bacon. It was delicious. 210g plain flour, plus a spoonful 1 tsp English mustard powder 4 eggs 400ml milk 4 thyme sprigs, leaves only 8 plain pork sausages 2 tbsp sunflower oil 2 onions, peeled and sliced 1 tsp soft brown sugar 500ml beef stock Make the batter: Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 7. Tip 210g plain flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in 1 tsp English mustard powder with a good pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, crack in 4 eggs, then pour in a little from 400ml milk. Whisk the mixture, gradually incorporating some of the flour, until you have a smooth batter in the well. Now add a bit more milk and continue stirring until all the milk and flour has been mixed together. The batter is ready: You should now have a smooth, lump-free batter that is the consistency of double cream. Stir in the leaves from 4 thyme sprigs, then tip the batter back into the jug you m...

 I did Coq au Vin this week as I love both chicken and bacon and was a nice slow cooker meal to do after a day of hard work. 400g/14oz shallots, peeled and left whole 2 carrots, cut into chunky pieces, about 2½cm/1in 2 sticks celery, cut into 1cm/½in slices salt and freshly ground black pepper 100g/3½oz smoked, dry-cured lardons 2 tbsp plain flour 4 whole chicken legs, cut into thighs and drumsticks 1 fresh bay leaf few sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tbsp tomato purée 300ml/½pt full-bodied red wine 100ml/3½fl oz good quality chicken stock 150g/5½oz button or crimini mushrooms, or larger mushrooms cut in half Put the shallots, carrots and celery into a slow cooker, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry the lardons in a large frying pan over a low heat for 10 minutes until crisp, golden and the fat has run from the meat. Remove from the pan and tip most of the fat into a heatproof bowl. Meanwhile, put the flour into a food bag or bow...