Showing posts with label cooking for two. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking for two. Show all posts
I think of all the fishes in the sea, Cod is my favourite and I have to say that we have beautiful Cod here in the UK. I first tasted it when I had come over to meet Todd in person for the first time back in the year 2000. We had been chatting on line for about six months and decided it was time to meet for real. I had always wanted to come to the UK and had a bit of money saved and so I decided to come over here. When I think about it now, it was rather brave of me!
We spent 3 weeks getting to know each other in person before deciding to get married. I returned to Canada to get the necessary visas and the rest of the story is history.
While I was here for those three weeks I spent the nights at a friend from our church's house. I did not want to be a bother and so I either cooked for Todd and I myself each day or we ate out. I had never experienced English Fish and Chips for real, so one night Todd decided to get us Cod and chips for our tea.
He rode his bike down to the local chippy and got it in for us. I had never seen such big pieces of fish. Each piece was so enormous it overlapped both sides of the plate, and it was absolutely beautiful. Love at first bite. I say. Love at first bite. I have been in love with British Cod ever since.
I always get my fish from an on line fish monger, Seafresh Quality Foods. I have to tell say I have always been thoroughly impressed with this company's
service and the quality of their fish. Everything has always been just
beautiful.Their Cod Loins are exceptional. Sustainably sourced from the cold waters of the North Atlantic, they are meaty and sweet and beautifully white in colour.
I had actually planned on sharing this recipe with you on Friday, but we are in a bit of a mess here today. We are getting rid of our large china cabinet and they weren't supposed to come and pick it up until Friday, but ended up they are coming today, and so I wasn't able to cook anything new for you and so am falling back on Friday's plans.
This is another of my cooking for two sized recipes, but it will also very easily double to feed more.
Cod loins are seasoned with salt and then swished in a mix of lemon juice, white wine, olive oil and garlic before being placed on a buttered baking tray.
Bread crumbs are then mixed with some herbs, lemon zest and olive oil and sprinkled on top. I used Panko bread crumbs because I love their light crispness.
The fish is then baked in a hot oven for a short time (15 - 20 minutes) until the crumbs are golden brown and the fish flakes easily with a fork.
The length of time depends on the thickness of your fish. My pieces were quite thick.
As you can see it was perfectly cooked . . . and oh so delicious.
I served it with roasted beetroot, sweet potatoes and sauteed garlic spinach for the win!
Yield: 2
Gremolata Baked Cod
Oven baked cod loins with a crisp gremolata breadcrumb topping. Quick, easy and delicious
ingredients:
- 2 thick cod loin portions
- 3 TBS olive oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- the juice of 1/2 lemon
- 60ml white wine (1/4 cup)
- 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and minced finely
- 70g panko bread crumbs (1/4 cup)
- the finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- pinch red pepper flakes
- lemon wedges to serve (optional)
instructions:
How to cook Gremolata Baked Cod
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with some aluminium foil and butter the foil. Sprinkle the cod fillets lightly with salt all over and pat it in.
- Combine 1 1/2 TBS of the olive oil, white wine,lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a bowl, whisking well together. Add the minced garlic.
- Moisten the fish on both sides in this mixture, then place on the baking tray.
- Mix together the bread crumbs, lemon zest, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp salt, some pepper and the remaining olive oil. Divide the crumb mixture between both cod fillets, lightly pressing it onto the tops of them.
- Bake in the preheated oven , uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crumbs are golden brown and the cod flakes easily when probed with the tines of a fork.
- Serve hot with lemon wedges for squeezing, if desired.
Just look at how nicely cooked that fish is. This was one very beautiful piece of fish, thanks to Seafresh.
A few things about Seafresh:
- Same Day dispatch on orders received before 1 PM.
- All packages are carefully hand packed.
- Free delivery on orders above £50, £8 on orders below that amount.
- Responsibly and sustainably sourced.
- Air Blast Frozen at source within 4 hours of being caught.
- Wide variety to choose from.
Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
One of my favourite things to make and eat is macaroni and cheese. I like to make it from scratch, using cheese that I have grated myself, and a rich homemade sauce.
You cannot beat a great homemade mac and cheese.
I call this the World's Best and it is not a claim that I make lightly. It truly is (in my opinion) the World's Best.
I have eaten a lot of mac and cheese in my lifetime.
I have tried many, many different recipes. I love it done the old
fashioned way which is pure and unadulterated, nothing but cooked
macaroni, milk, chunks of cheese and lots of butter.
Oh my, pure and utter bliss.
Seasoned with salt
and pepper and baked until the milk is almost absorbed by the macaroni. There are gooey patches of delicious cheese scattered throughout . .
.
It is simple, old fashioned, and really, really good.
This is not that mac and cheese. Its a bit more work than that mac and cheese.
This one involves making a rich cheese sauce, which then gets layered in a baking dish along with cooked macaroni and more grated cheese.
Surprisingly the cheese sauce is created with a mix of chicken stock and milk.
This simple step adds a depth of flavour and richness that I have never found in other cheese sauces.
I also like to use a combination of cheeses.
Crumbly and rich strong cheddar . . . .
Nutty and sweet Gruyere cheese, which has beautiful melting properties and provides a lovely ooze factor (this is a type of Swiss Cheese) . . .
Red Leicester Cheese which is mild and creamy and bright orange in colour. You can use more cheddar if you like, but choose a coloured one.
And finally grated Parmesan Cheese . . . salty and piquant . . .
A little bit goes a very long way.
The three together are an unbeatable combination, which gets used partially in the sauce . . .
As well as being layered between the macaroni and the sauce. Mmmm . . . .
I top it with a mix of the cheeses and some dry bread crumbs. Today I used Panko Japanese Bread Crumbs.
This provides a lovely layer of crunch.
You don't want the macaroni to be crunchy . . . but you do want a nice element of crunch on the top.
Well, I do anyways.
Today I added some strips of partially cooked streaky bacon . . . I mean, bacon . . . you can't go wrong.
However if you want to keep it totally without meat, then just leave the bacon off. Its not something I do all the time anyways, but I had it today and so I added it.
Yield: 2
World's Best Mac & Cheese for two
prep time: cook time: total time:
Nothing says comfort quite like macaroni and cheese. This is, in my opinion, the very best version! I have downsized it for two people.
ingredients:
- 225g of macaroni (2 cups)
- 2 TBS butter
- 1 1/2 TBS plain flour
- 240ml hot chicken broth (1 cup)
- 120ml milk (1/2 cup)
- 60g shredded Gruyere cheese (1/2 cup)
- 60g shredded red Leicester cheese (1/2 cup)
- 60g cup shredded strong cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
- 3 TBS freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- a dash of Tabasco sauce
For topping:
- a bit of Parmesan, Cheddar, Gruyere and red Leicester cheese grated and mixed together with a few bread crumbs
instructions:
How to cook World's Best Mac & Cheese for two
- Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Lightly butter a large shallow casserole dish and set aside.
- Grate all your cheeses and mix them together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to the boil and add the macaroni. Cook according to the package directions, draining it while it is still a tad bit undercooked. Drain it well and rise with cold water. Set aside.
- Make the sauce by melting the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir in the flour, mixing well and allow to cook for about a minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking it in vigorously until the mixture is thickened and smooth. Whisk in the milk. Heat thoroughly. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese mixture until it is well melted and amalgamated. Season to taste with black pepper and tabasco sauce.
- Place about 1/3 of the cooked macaroni in the buttered dish. Pour over 1/3 of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle on 1/2 of the reserved cheese. Repeat layering until you finish up with the final 1/3 of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the top with a final layer of the cheese bits mixed with the bread crumbs.
- Bake in the heated oven until nicely browned and bubbling. Remove from the oven and enjoy!
NOTES:
If you can't get Red Leicester cheese, just use cheddar in its place. Gruyere can be substituted with Swiss cheese. Place your baking dish on a baking tray as it can bubble over.
Altogether this is pretty fabulous. Wonderfully down-sized for just two. A simple make. All you need on the side is some salad and a crusty loaf. Perfection at its best.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
One thing we both really enjoy in our house is Banana Loaf. I always buy extra bananas so that I can make one for us to enjoy with a hot drink every now and then.
Usually half of it gets given away or thrown out because we can't get it all eaten.
I know I could freeze it, but experience has taught me that things get lost in my freezer, never to be seen again.
Today I managed to cut my recipe in half and bake a really lovely one for just two people. I was really pleased with how it turned out and couldn't wait to share it with you.
It is lovely and moist and delicious. Sour milk helps to create a really beautiful loaf, but don't worry, I have told you just how to make your own sour milk. You could also use buttermilk.
You will need a small loaf tin for this. I have one that is about 7 by 3 by 2 inches and it worked well. It was the perfect size.
You could also bake it in a couple of ramekins or muffin cups. Whatever you have to size really. Who says a loaf has to be shaped like a loaf, really?
It rose really nice and tall. I like to blitz my bananas for banana loaf with my stick blender.
It gets them nice and smooth. I used two quite small banana's for this delicious moist loaf.
My husband loves his bananas. I always have hide a couple so that I can make banana bread, or else there would never be any left to make one.
Does anyone else have that problem?
And I do really enjoy a banana bread. You don't often catch me eating a raw banana unless its sliced onto my rice crispies, but I do love banana bread.
Baked into something, I love . . . raw, not so much.
This is a lovely moist bread with a beautiful crumb. The secret to a good quick bread is not over-mixing it.
Overmixing quick bread batters develops the gluten too much. This is something you really don't want in a quick bread.
They are much more rustic than cakes. You don't want to over mix them.
Overmixing results in a quick bread that is often quite tough and full of holes. They also won't rise as high. Its the same with muffins.
This is especially good served sliced and spread with softened butter . . . I know naughty . . .
Tell me I am not the only person who loves their loaves like this spread with soft butter?
I would rather have butter than icing or jam or anything sweet on it.
In all truth this is also very good with nothing on it.
I added toasted walnuts, but chocolate chips would also be very good . . . or butterscotch chips, or both . . .
I know. I am a glutton through and through.
In any case. I was super pleased with how this turned out. It is moist and delicious and has a beautiful flavour.
I think you are sure to love it also!
Banana Loaf for Two
Yield: 8 slices
Nice and moist with a delicious banana flavour.
ingredients:
- 60g butter softened (1/4 cup)
- 70g granulated sugar (1/3 cup)
- 1 large free range egg
- 125g mashed banana (1/2 cup)
- 2 TBS sour milk (see note)
- 175g plain flour (1 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- handful of toasted chopped walnuts (optional)
instructions:
How to cook Banana Loaf for Two
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a small loaf tin (7-1/2 by 3-3/4 by 2-1/8 inch) and line with some baking paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, then beat in the egg, banana and sour milk.
- Whisk the flour, soda and salt together. Add to the creamed mixture stirring just to combine. It is okay and preferable for the batter to be a bit lumpy. Stir in walnuts if using. (You could also use chocolate chips.)
- Spoon into the prepared loaf tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and it is well risen and golden brown.
- Lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into slices to enjoy.
NOTES:
To make the sour milk. Measure 1/2 tsp of white vinegar into a TBS measure and fill with milk. Dump into a small cup. Add the other TBS of milk and let sit for five minutes.
I am really enjoying this little exercise in making smaller recipes. Not sure what I will do next! Watch this space!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
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