Food Quote of the Week

'I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food'
Erma Bombeck

Thai Green Curry Fish Pie

Preparation time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

I love fish pie.
It's so easy to cook, makes tons of portions and when cooked well is really tasty. I've been experimenting to create another cultural mash-up, like my Pork and Apple Stir Fry. I've been using pre-made curry sauces to spice up my fish pie, because they really speed up the process, and Thai Green Curry seemed like it would work well. I used the really handy fish pie mix from Tesco which means you get a good portion of White Fish, Haddock and Salmon. The Loyd Grossman Thai Green sauce I used turned out to be a bit disappointing, lacking in spice, but I can recommend the Bhuna.

Ingredients (For 4/5 servings):

• 3 large Potatoes
• 390g Tesco Fish Pie Mix (or similar)
• 2 diced Peppers (I used 1 red and 1 green)
• 1 can of Sweetcorn
• Grated Cheese for the top of the pie
• 1 jar of Thai Green Curry Sauce 
• Rocket or other salad to garnish
  

Steps:

1. Peel the potatoes and dice into equal sizes
2. Preheat the oven to 200C 
3. Boil the potatoes on a medium heat over the hob until they're soft (easiest way to check is if they fall off a sharp knife
4. Mash the potatoes with a little butter
5. In a large oven-proof dish mix in the fish pie mix, sweetcorn, peppers and curry sauce then once spread top it with the mash, fluffing it with a fork. If you want a nice crispy/cheesy top, then put some grated cheese on
6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes

Jack Eats Food... Carluccio's

I love a good Italian meal, and I go to quite a lot of different Italian restaurants, but one of my favourites definitely has to be Carluccio's. They make really amazing meals and for once don't have a giant menu. I mean, I don't mind big menus, but sometimes it just gets ridiculous.

Anyway, this time happened to be in Windsor's Carluccio's with my Mum for my birthday (where my Mum also got me tons of M&S Percy Pigs) and I was ridiculously excited. I find I don't eat out that much as a uni student, so I love a good meal at a restaurant. 

We had what me and my Mum pretty much always have to start which is their Bread Tin - 5 different types of home-made bread with Olive Oil and Vinegar. I don't think you can ever underestimate how much tastier bread is when it's fresh and home-made, which is why I've started experimenting with making my own!

We then tried their pasta trio to share, which was really great. We chose their Tortelloni Di Cervo (Venison filled tortelloni), Ravioli (filled with ricotta and spinach) and Spaghetti Alla Vongole In Bianco (Spaghetti with clams). They were all lovely, and just the right amount of filling, but the Tortelloni was by far my favourite. I always love meat with pasta and the venison was rich and tasty.

We never actually made it to dessert because we filled up on the rest, but from what I've had before it's fresh from their kitchen and pretty good. Drinks-wise, too, they make a great Fresh Lemonade amongst other things. I'd love to recommend wine, but I'm no expert.

Herby Breadcrumb Pork

Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes

This was a pretty spontaneous dish. I'd used 3/6 of the pack of pork steaks I had for the Pork & Apple Stir Fry I'd already done so needed to use up the rest. I grabbed some Panko breacrumbs I'd bought for a £1 at the BBC Good Food Show and got to work.

Ingredients (To serve 1):

• 2 Pork Steaks
• About a tablespoon of Olive or Sunflower oil
• 3 teaspoons of Sage
• 5/6 tablespoons of Breadcrumbs (I used Panko, but any will do)
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 Lemon to garnish
• A handful of Rocket

When it comes to breadcrumbs and seasoning it's all down to your own taste really - these are only guidelines!

Steps:

1. Pour the olive oil into a bowl and make sure the pork steaks are lightly covered
2. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and sage and make sure it's evenly spread on one side of each steak
3. Put both steaks under the grill for about 2 minutes or when the breadcrumbs have crisped a little
4. Move the steaks into the oven at 160C for 20-25 minutes
5. Check if the pork is ready by using a skewer or knife to see if the juices run clear. If not, keep cooking.
6. Serve the steaks with the slice of lemon on top of a bed of rocket

Food Quote of the Week

  'People who love to eat are always the best people'
Julia Child 

I have massive love for Julia Child for saying this. I've never understood people who skip meals, you're missing out on an opportunity to eat something amazing! Every time I eat it's like a mini event for me. 

A Very British Stir Fry: Pork & Apple Noodles

Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Prep time: 5-10 minutes

This is one I'd been thinking about for a while. I love playing around with type of food so thought I'd try doing a British-y stir fry. I had a look round and found that you can fry apple pretty easily and that was the real winner. It turns out fried apple is soft and delicious. Here, like with most stir frys, most of the ingredients are pretty exchangeable (I only added the noodles to bulk it up a bit) but the apple is key.

Ingredients (For 3/4):

• 3 Pork Steaks
• 1 Carrot sliced
• 1 Apple sliced
• 1 Parsnip sliced
• 1/2 Onion sliced
• 2 Garlic Cloves diced (or some Minced Garlic from a jar will do)
• 1 150g pack of Straight to Wok noodles (I use Amoy ones but any other kind of noodle will do)
• A few teaspoons of Apple Sauce
• 2 teaspoons (or so) of Sage

 Steps:

1. Heat some oil in a wok on a high temperature
2. Fry the onions and garlic for about 3 minutes
3. Add the apple and cook for another 2 minutes
4. Add the pork and fry until the pork has sealed on all sides
5. Chuck in the veg and let it heat through for a minute
6. Spoon in as much apple sauce as you want and mix it through
7. Add noodles if you want them