Recipes

On this page are the handful of recipes that I make for myself regularly. I always find that actual recipe websites suck and are littered with ads so hopefully this is a more accessible way of learning to cook something new. They're fairly basic and easy to follow so, if you're an experienced cook, you might not find much interesting here.

Note about portion sizes: for each recipe I have put the number of portions I noramlly get out of them. I'm a big person with a big appetite so my portion sizes are typically large and the number of portions you get out of them may differ.

Spaghetti Bolognese (click to expand)

Makes 3-4 portions

Ingredients:

Oil for frying (I use sunflower oil but any will do)
2 brown onions, diced
500g minced beef / ground beef
Beef stock cube
Tomato puree
400g tin of chopped tomatoes (or you can chop up your own)
Seasoning - if you already know what seasoning you like then you can freestyle, otherwise you can use a bit of salt and mixed Italian herbs, or a pre-mixed seasoning packet
As much spaghetti as you want
Cheese (optional) - I like to add some grated cheddar cheese on top but you can use any cheese or none at all

Method:

1: Heat your oil in a large saucepan, just enough to cover the base, only for a minute or two.
2: Add your diced onions and keep them on a medium heat, stirring occasionally. It should be hot enough to make them sizzle but if they start to burn, turn it down. Carry on for about 10 minutes or until the onions go slightly soft and translucent.
3: Turn the heat up to high and add the beef. The heat needs to be high so that the beef is actually frying, not just stewing. Continually stir and break up the beef until it has all browned.
4: Turn the heat back down to low/medium to keep it slightly sizzling, crumble in your stock cube and add your seasoning. Stir it up to mix everything in.
5: Add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato puree and stir in. Honestly, the amount wanted will vary person to person but if you're not sure just add a little bit at a time, stir in, and see if it looks right.
6: Add in your chopped tomatoes and stir. Turn up the heat until the sauce starts to simmer, then reduce the heat back down to low. If you want to thicken the sauce, leave the lid off so some liquid can evaporate, otherwise leave it on. At this point it's a good idea to taste the sauce and add more seasoning/tomato puree if needed.
7: Now, in another pan, boil your spaghetti in water according to the packet instructions. At this point, the sauce is complete but generally needs more time sitting at a low heat to let the flavours mix, so it's a good time to start the spaghetti.
8: Once the spaghetti is cooked and drained, you can serve any way you'd like but I would typically put the spaghetti in a wide bowl, leaving a gap or "well" in the middle to be filled with the bolognese sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top if you wish.

Chili con Carne (click to expand)

Makes 4 portions

Much of the method for the sauce is similar to that of the spaghetti bolognese

Ingredients:

Oil for frying (I use sunflower oil but any will do)
2 brown onions, diced
1 bell pepper, diced - I usually get a red one but any will do
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed/diced (optional - you can use as much as you want or none at all)
500g minced beef / ground beef
Beef stock cube
Tomato puree
400g tin of chopped tomatoes (or you can chop up your own)
400g tin of kidney beans or black beans or any beans you like
Seasoning - if you already know what seasoning you like then you can freestyle, otherwise you can use a bit of salt, paprika, cumin and chili powder (if you want it spicy), or a pre-mixed seasoning packet
As much rice as you want
Tumeric (optional) - to stain the rice yellow

Method:

1: (If you're using microwave rice from a packet, you can skip this step) - First, wash your rice in a large bowl/pan with cold water. Swirl and knead the rice around until the water goes murky, then empty the water out (keeping the rice!) and refill with fresh water. Reapeat this until the water remains clear after being swirled and kneaded. It may take several times depending on your rice. Leave the rice soaking in cold water while you cook the chili sauce.
2: Heat your oil in a large saucepan, just enough to cover the base, only for a minute or two.
3: Add your diced onions and keep them on a medium heat, stirring occasionally. It should be hot enough to make them sizzle but if they start to burn, turn it down. Carry on for about 5 minutes.
4: Then add your diced bell pepper and garlic and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or until the onions go slightly soft and translucent. Note about preparing garlic: If you have a garlic crusher, use that. Otherwise, cut the butt end off of each clove and crush is slightly with the side of your knife to make the skin come off much easier. Then crush again to make the garlic paste-like and chop roughly.
5: Turn the heat up to high and add the beef. The heat needs to be high so that the beef is actually frying, not just stewing. Continually stir and break up the beef until it has all browned.
6: Turn the heat back down to low/medium to keep it slightly sizzling, crumble in your stock cube and add your seasoning. Stir it up to mix everything in.
7: Add 1-2 tablespoons of tomato puree and stir in. Honestly, the amount wanted will vary person to person but if you're not sure just add a little bit at a time, stir in, and see if it looks right.
8: Add in your chopped tomatoes and stir.
9: Drain and add your beans and stir. Turn up the heat until the sauce starts to simmer, then reduce the heat back down to low/medium. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom and burns. If you want to thicken the sauce, leave the lid off so some liquid can evaporate, otherwise leave it on. At this point it's a good idea to taste the sauce and add more seasoning/tomato puree if needed. The sauce is complete but the beans need more time to soften and it generally needs more time sitting at a low/medium heat to let the flavours mix.
10: If you're using packet/microwave rice, wait and allow the sauce to simmer for 10-20 minutes before heating the rice. Otherwise, take your pre-soaked rice and fill the pan with just enough water such that if you touch the tip of your index finger to the bottom of the pan, the water level just about reaches your first knuckle.
11: Put the pan on a high heat and dring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce back down to medium to gently boil. Ideally you want to boil away all the water so that there is none to drain at the end once the rice is cooked. If you want to stain the rice yellow, now add a couple of sprinkles of tumeric (not too much!) and stir once.
12: Cook until all of the water has boiled off, and the rice is just starting to crackle at the bottom of the pan.
13: Once the rice is cooked, you can serve any way you'd like but I would typically put the rice in a wide bowl, leaving a gap or "well" in the middle to be filled with the chili sauce.

Tuna Pasta Bake (click to expand)

More to come when I have time :))

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