Honeyed and stickily sweet rashers sit on a bed of lemony zipped couscous fortified with a mighty selection of healthy vegetables.
There’s plenty that could be said about this dish perhaps beginning with the sweet honey and sharp lemon combination. They speak of soothing and of comfort and indeed with the succulent rashers comfort is definitely provided however the plumped up couscous grains and still bitey vegetables bring it on a pathway that routes toward the virtuous.
Served hot this makes a satisfying main and any leftovers are flavoursome enough to be welcomed cold in a lunchbox or as a side dish served perhaps with a juicy burger.
Honey Glazed Rashers on Lemon & Vegetable Couscous
Serves 4
You will need:
1 medium red onion
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 aubergine
1 courgette
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 tbsp butter
250g couscous
250ml vegetable stock (hot – from cube is fine)
1 lemon
Small bunch coriander
8 rashers of bacon
1 tbsp runny honey
Method:
Peel and chop the red onion into bitesize chunks.
Deseed and chop the peppers in chunks.
Slice both the aubergine and courgette into 4 lengthways and then chop each length into chunks.
Put chopped onion, peppers, aubergine and courgette in a large bowl and drizzle in 2 tbsp of oil and mix well.
Heat a large griddle pan or frying pan and when hot add in the vegetables pressing them down well to make contact with the hot pan and leave to cook for 2 minutes (you may need to do this in two batches depending on size of pan).
Mix and toss the vegetables and again press down and leave to cook for a further two minutes before turning the heat to medium and cooking for 5 minutes more.
Meanwhile prepare the couscous by first melting 1 tbsp of butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat.
Add 250g couscous to the melted butter, stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Take the couscous saucepan off the heat and pour in 250mls hot vegetable stock, stir with a fork, cover with a lid and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile check on the vegetables, you want to retain a bit of bite so if getting too soft take pan off the heat.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and cook the rashers on a high heat on one side until beginning to brown then turn over and drizzle the browned side with honey and turn the heat to low to finish cooking the other side for a couple of minutes.
Take the lid off the couscous and return the pan to the heat for 1 minute using a fork to fluff up the grains.
Zest the lemon and then juice it and add both to the couscous and stir well.
Roughly chop the coriander and stir through the couscous.
Place the cooked vegetables in a large serving bowl and stir through the lemony couscous.
Serve straight from the bowl with the honeyed rashers on top.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila.
Tag: What’s for Dinner Mom?
Beef & Onion Hotpot
Inspired by a flavour-filled french onion soup that I enjoyed at Ballymaloe last weekend (Food Writing Course with Hugo Arnold), I wanted to cook something where the onion was the hero of the piece.
Onions are both prolific and cheap along with being tremendously under-celebrated. Yet how many dishes start with a gently sauteed or lightly browned onion? There are countless. Writing this has me reminding myself to buy a jar of pickled onions soon, an oft forgotten standby that will jazz up many a dull sandwich. A great tip to fool the masses is this – if you hear the key turning in the door or the screech of ‘What’s for Dinner Mom?’ and dinner is far from started quickly chop and begin to fry an onion and you’ll give the illusion that great things are happening in the kitchen. In this dish the onion is firstly sweated then fried and then stewed to maximise flavour.
Beef & Onion Hotpot
Serves 6
You will need:
4 medium onions
4 shallots (I used banana shallots, they come in all shapes, sizes & varieties)
50g butter
2 to 3 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil
1kg stewing beef pieces
A little plain flour to sprinkle on beef
250ml vegetable stock – from stockcube is fine
500ml beef stock – from stockcube is fine
4 or 5 thyme sprigs plus extra to garnish (use 1 tsp dried thyme if can’t get sprigs)
8-10 medium sized potatoes
50-75g cheddar cheese
Method:
Preheat the fan oven to 160C / Gas Mark 4.
Peel and slice the onions and shallots, keeping them in rings.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat.
Add 1 tbsp of oil and the onions/shallots. Put a lid on and leave the onions to sweat for 10 minutes while you prepare the meat.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil to a large frying pan and heat to medium/high.
Brown the meat pieces sprinkled lightly with a little flour in batches – don’t overcrowd the pan.
You may need to add more oil in between browning batches of meat.
Once browned remove the meat pieces to a large casserole dish – you may need to use two depending on size.
By now the onions should be well softened so add them to the frying pan that the meat was cooked in and stir well to mop up any remaining meat juices.
Continue to cook the onions on a high heat until they begin to change colour and are turning golden.
Add the onion in with the beef in the casserole dish and mix well.
Deglaze any remaining juices and sticky bits in the frying pan by adding some of the stock and scraping up with a wooden spoon.
Add all the stock to the meat and onion in the casserole dish and then push in a few thyme sprigs.
Cook in the covered casserole dish in the oven for at least 1.5 hours and up to 2.5 if you have time which will result in more tender meat.
Around 40 minutes before the end of the cooking time scrub the potatoes but leave the skins on.
Thinly slice them and boil in a saucepan of water until just turning tender – around 5 to 8 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and arrange slices on top of the beef & onion stew and then grate the cheddar cheese on top.
Return to the oven turning up the temperature a little and cook (lid-off) for a further 20 – 30 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown and the potatoes are cooked through.
Serve with a garnish of thyme sprig.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila
Irish Pork Chops with Chickpea Salad
Irish pork chops are lean, economical, super-tasty and above all versatile. Take them in whatever direction you choose – warming comfort food in a mustard and honey cream sauce or in this case light and zingy in a zesty marinade served with a crunchy salad.
At this time of year with busy schedules you can have the chops marinating overnight and all you’ll have to do is cook them and assemble the salad for a super quick and easy supper. This recipe is from a ‘Food for Family and Friends’ brochure that Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) has out at the moment, you can also check out this and other delicious Irish Pork recipes over on the Bord Bia Website.
Feel free to make any substitutions you want to in the marinade – dried herbs if you don’t have fresh etc. This would work equally well with Irish Lamb chops too.
Serves 4
Marinade & Chops
You will need:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic
half a lemon – zest and juice
4 Irish pork chops – boneless
Method:
Finely chop the fresh rosemary and mix with the olive oil and crushed garlic cloves along with the lemon juice and zest to make a marinade.
Pour the marinade over the chops and turn them over to cover both sides. Leave to take on the flavours overnight in the fridge or for at least 15 minutes before using.
Heat a strong, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and cook the chops for 3 to 4 minutes on each side – check that they are cooked through to the middle.
Chickpea Salad
You will need:
1 red onion
1 red pepper
225g tin chickpeas
mixed salad leaves
1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
2 tbsp olive oil
Method:
Finely slice the red onion and red pepper and combine in a bowl with the salad leaves.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add to the salad
Mix the olive oil and vinegar together and pour over the salad, mixing it through the leaves.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila
Jambalaya Chicken
I have to admit that I was very surprised when this experimental dish got the thumbs up in my house. Complaints were anticipated from the ‘it’s too spicy’ & the ‘where’s the gravy’ brigade but none were forthcoming. Served up in bowls and eaten with a fork, a major bonus for this dish is the minimal washing-up. It’s a true one-pot dish with no accompaniments required and including plenty of vegetables and minimum fat it’s healthy to boot.
Serves 5-6.
Jambalaya Chicken
You will need:
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
4 breasts of chicken
3cm thumb-width piece of ginger
4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp ras el hanout OR
(This has up to 18 spices! If you don’t have it mix some of these: ground cinnamon, cumin, paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, pink peppercorns, cloves – use your judgement and sense of smell carefully)
1 large red onion
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 green chillies
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
500ml chicken stock
350g basmati rice
Method:
Using a large hob-proof casserole dish or pan heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat.
Place the chicken breasts on the hot oil and cook for two minutes on each side, then cut the semi-cooked chicken into chunks in the pan.
Grate the ginger and crush the garlic cloves and add to the pan, cook for 1 minute.
Add the 2 tbsp ras el hanout (or alternative), mix well and cook for 1 minute.
Cut the red onion into large wedges and add to the pan along with 1 tbsp brown sugar.
Mix everything together and cook for 1 minute.
Meanwhile deseed and finely chop the green chillies and add to the pan along with deseeded and sliced green and red pepper.
Add the 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Pour in 500ml of hot chicken stock and scatter the basmati rice on top, pressing it down into the liquid. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for a further 10 minutes until the rice is cooked. You may wish to add a little more water as the rice cooks if you feel it is getting too dried out.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila