Quick and Easy
Contrary to popular belief, not a lot of time need be spent preparing and cooking a tasty meal.
Take chicken escalope (chicken breast cut nearly in half and opened out like a book) -put between sheets of clingfilm and beaten really thinly, egg and crumb then it takes only about five minutes to shallow fry, turning once.
My signature dish - pan-fry-pizza takes around five minutes from start to finish. I once had to make this on live TV and as they were running out of time, they cut my slot down to four and a half minutes - but the pizza still ended up cooked. Here's the recipe: you need to have the toppings ready, and the grill pre-heated.
Pan-fry-Pizza:
Take one tea-cup of self-raising flour, add a level tsp. of bicarbonate of soda, and stir in enough plain yoghurt to make a dough. Roll this out thinly on a floured board to the size to fit a large frying pan. Heat a little oil in the pan then place in the dough. After one minute it should be golden on the underside, turn (adding more oil only if necessary) and immediately spread tomato (pizza*) sauce on the topped (golden) side, plus any other bits you want to add. Finally sprinkle over grated cheese. Still in the pan, put under the grill until the cheese is bubbling. Serve and eat at once. (To make it even tastier, add a pinch of dried herbs to the flour before mixing).
To make tomato(pizza) sauce fry a finely chopped onion and add a can of plum tomatoes. Break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon and stir in a heaped teaspoon of tomato paste. Sprinkle over a tsp. of dried oregano/marjoram and half a teaspoon of sugar, then stir in freshly ground black pepper to taste. Simmer for up to an hour until really thick. This can be frozen, either pour away any water that appears once thawed, or mix it back in according to how thick you wish the sauce to be.
Tips: plum tomatoes are usually cheaper than chopped tomatoes, and any can with a ring-pull will be dearer than the same item without one.
Grate ends of hard cheese and keep this boxed in the fridge ready to add to pizzas, pasta dishes, cheese on toast and to sprinkle over salads. Include mozzarella if you like the authentic stringy appearance when cutting pizzas.
Another easy 'nibbles' dish is Curry Dip with Crudites. Take a tub of creme fraiche, (or you could use half creme fraiche and half yoghurt) and stir in one teaspoonful each of a mild curry paste and the syrupy part of a bottle of mango chutney (more curry paste if you want a stronger flavour). Serve with a good selection of raw vegetables: strips of carrot, courgette, celery, cucumber, red/yellow/green bell peppers. Button mushrooms, cauliflower florets, sugarsnap peas.
Please try these dishes not only will you find they are so easy to make, they can also be very inexpensive.
Take chicken escalope (chicken breast cut nearly in half and opened out like a book) -put between sheets of clingfilm and beaten really thinly, egg and crumb then it takes only about five minutes to shallow fry, turning once.
My signature dish - pan-fry-pizza takes around five minutes from start to finish. I once had to make this on live TV and as they were running out of time, they cut my slot down to four and a half minutes - but the pizza still ended up cooked. Here's the recipe: you need to have the toppings ready, and the grill pre-heated.
Pan-fry-Pizza:
Take one tea-cup of self-raising flour, add a level tsp. of bicarbonate of soda, and stir in enough plain yoghurt to make a dough. Roll this out thinly on a floured board to the size to fit a large frying pan. Heat a little oil in the pan then place in the dough. After one minute it should be golden on the underside, turn (adding more oil only if necessary) and immediately spread tomato (pizza*) sauce on the topped (golden) side, plus any other bits you want to add. Finally sprinkle over grated cheese. Still in the pan, put under the grill until the cheese is bubbling. Serve and eat at once. (To make it even tastier, add a pinch of dried herbs to the flour before mixing).
To make tomato(pizza) sauce fry a finely chopped onion and add a can of plum tomatoes. Break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon and stir in a heaped teaspoon of tomato paste. Sprinkle over a tsp. of dried oregano/marjoram and half a teaspoon of sugar, then stir in freshly ground black pepper to taste. Simmer for up to an hour until really thick. This can be frozen, either pour away any water that appears once thawed, or mix it back in according to how thick you wish the sauce to be.
Tips: plum tomatoes are usually cheaper than chopped tomatoes, and any can with a ring-pull will be dearer than the same item without one.
Grate ends of hard cheese and keep this boxed in the fridge ready to add to pizzas, pasta dishes, cheese on toast and to sprinkle over salads. Include mozzarella if you like the authentic stringy appearance when cutting pizzas.
Another easy 'nibbles' dish is Curry Dip with Crudites. Take a tub of creme fraiche, (or you could use half creme fraiche and half yoghurt) and stir in one teaspoonful each of a mild curry paste and the syrupy part of a bottle of mango chutney (more curry paste if you want a stronger flavour). Serve with a good selection of raw vegetables: strips of carrot, courgette, celery, cucumber, red/yellow/green bell peppers. Button mushrooms, cauliflower florets, sugarsnap peas.
Please try these dishes not only will you find they are so easy to make, they can also be very inexpensive.
posted by Shirley at 11:41 am
<< Home