Red curry paste

by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

  • 10-12 dried, hot red chillies (of the long, cayenne variety)
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 140g shallots, chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon grass, thinly sliced crossways
  • 3 thin slices peeled fresh galangal or ginger
  • 1 thin slice of fresh kaffir lime rind (4cm x 0.5cm) or dried rind soaked in water for 30 minutes
  • 6-8 fresh coriander roots, coarsely chopped
  • freshly ground white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp shrimp paste or 2 anchovies chopped
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp bright red paprika

Method

Soak the chillies in 5 tbsp of hot water for 1-2 hours. Put the chillies, together with their soaking liquid, into a blender, along with all the remaining ingredients in the order listed. Blend, pushing down with a rubber spatula as many times as necessary, until you have a smooth paste. Use half immediately and freeze the other half. Makes about 10 tablespoons.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 2
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 117.6
  • Total Fat: 1.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 63.2 mg
  • Total Carbs: 20.7 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g
  • Protein: 3.7 g

Grilled mackerel with herbs and new potatoes

Ingredients

  • 2 mackerel fillets
  • bay
  • thyme
On the side:
  • potatoes
  • peas
For the salad:
  • an orange peeled and sliced
  • a red onion cut in thin slices
  • black olives
  • vinegar

Method

Stuff the mackerel with bay leaves and thyme and grill. Boil the potatoes and peas. Make a salad out of the orange, onion, black olives and vinegar.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 2
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 591.0
  • Total Fat: 26.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 66.0 mg
  • Sodium: 367.7 mg
  • Total Carbs: 60.6 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 9.2 g
  • Protein: 29.1 g

Greek salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cups romaine lettuce
  • 1 medium tomato (chopped)
  • 50g cucumber
  • 70g feta
  • 25g black olives
  • 1/4 small red onion
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
  • slice of baguette

Method

Mix everything together in a bowl.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 1
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 498.5
  • Total Fat: 26.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 62.3 mg
  • Sodium: 1,562.6 mg
  • Total Carbs: 45.4 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 5.8 g
  • Protein: 18.7 g

Fish in red curry sauce

Ingredients

  • 400ml coconut milk
  • 3 tbsp ground nut oil
  • 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 2 fresh green chillies, deseeded and sliced
  • 5 tbsp Madhur Jaffrey’s Red Curry Paste
  • 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp tamarind paste (or lemon juice)
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 450g fish cut into 7cm pieces
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves (or 1 tsp lemon rind, julienned)
  • 15 fresh basil leaves (or fresh baby spinach)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and when hot add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to pop, then add the fenugreek seeds & fresh green chillies. Stir and fry for a minute. Put in the curry paste. Stir and fry until the oil separates and the paste is lightly browned. Reduce the heat to low and add the fish sauce, tamarind, sugar and 175ml of water. Stir and taste the balance of seasonings. Cover and simmer on a very low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk. Lightly dust the fish pieces with salt and turmeric and then slide them into the sauce in a single layer. Bring to a simmer. Spoon the sauce over the fish pieces, cover, and simmer very gently for about 6 minutes until they just cook through. Just before serving, tear up the lime leaves or else remove the central vein and cut them into fine strips. Scatter these and the basil or spinach leaves over the top of the fish when serving.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 4
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 448.0
  • Total Fat: 32.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 724.2 mg
  • Total Carbs: 11.9 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
  • Protein: 3.8 g

Courgettes with cumin

by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

  • 2 medium courgettes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • pinch asafoetida
  • 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
  • small tin (227grams) chopped tomatoes
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.125 tsp cayenne

Method

Trim the courgettes then quarter them lengthways. Cut them crossways into 2.5cm chunks. Pour the oil into a frying pan and set over a medium heat. When hot, put in the asafoetida and cumin seeds. Stir once, then put in the tomatoes. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened. Add the courgette. Stir and saute for 2 minutes. Add the salt, cayenne pepper and 2 tablespoons of water. Stir to mix and bring to the simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring once or twice, for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables are just done.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 2
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 162.9
  • Total Fat: 14.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 728.4 mg
  • Total Carbs: 6.8 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
  • Protein: 2.9 g

Chorizo stew

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 50g chorizo sausage sliced
  • 2 onions chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic chopped
  • 1 stick of celery chopped
  • 1 leek chopped
  • 3 anchovies
  • bell pepper chopped
  • hot chili pepper chopped
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 courgette chopped
  • 2 small potatoes chopped
  • 6 mushrooms chopped
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 twigs of thyme
  • 200ml water
  • pinch of salt

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the sausage, onion and garlic. Cook until the onion softens. Add the celery, leek & anchovies. Cook for a few minutes more. One by one, stir in the peppers, spices, courgette, potato and mushrooms. Add the tomato, herbs, water and salt. Reduce heat and simmer for a couple of hours.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 3
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 347.1
  • Total Fat: 15.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 16.9 mg
  • Sodium: 503.4 mg
  • Total Carbs: 45.4 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 8.9 g
  • Protein: 11.4 g

Chorizo and cherry tomato pasta sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
  • 1 small stick of celery finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper deseeded and choopped
  • 1 courgette chopped
  • 1 carrot (half chopped, half grated)
  • 1 chorizo sausage chopped
  • a handful of dried porcini mushroom (soaked in a few tbsps boiling water)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • a small sprig of rosemary
  • a small sprig of thyme
  • a few leaves of oregano
  • a few leaves of margoram
  • a few leaves of celery
  • ground black pepper
  • ground white pepper
  • a pinch of salt
  • a tin of whole cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree

Method

Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion begins to soften. Add the chopped carrot, celery and jalapeno and continue to fry for another minute. Add the chorizo and courgette and fry for another minute. Add the tin of tomatoes, the herbs (tied up in a muslin bag), the grated carrot, the porcini mushroom together with the water they soaked in, salt, pepper and tomato puree. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Meanwhile cook some pasta.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 2
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 324.8
  • Total Fat: 21.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 40.0 mg
  • Sodium: 468.5 mg
  • Total Carbs: 17.6 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 3.2 g
  • Protein: 12.6 g

Chorizo & bean stew

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 50g chorizo sausage sliced
  • 1 onions chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic chopped
  • hot chili pepper chopped
  • 5 mushrooms chopped
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 can cannellini beans
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 twigs of thyme
  • 200ml water
  • pinch of salt

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the sausage, onion and garlic. Cook until the onion softens. Add the mushrooms, beans, tomato, herbs, water and salt. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 2
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 217.7
  • Total Fat: 9.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 20.0 mg
  • Sodium: 506.3 mg
  • Total Carbs: 24.2 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 5.8 g
  • Protein: 11.0 g

Chicken, leek and mushroom casserole

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
  • 4 leeks (chopped)
  • 1 clove of garlic (crushed)
  • 1 stick of celery (chopped)
  • 1 cup of mushrooms, e.g. chestnut and shitake (chopped)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • half a glass of white wine
  • 0.5 cup of 0% milk
  • a sprig of sage
  • a sprig of thyme
  • a sprig of rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 0.5 tsp ground black pepper

Method

Boil the potatoes. Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan and brown the chicken pieces in batches, removing with a slotted spoon to an oven-proof casserole dish. Fry the leeks, garlic and celery for 4 or 5 minutes until the leeks soften. Remove with a slotted spoon and layer on top of the chicken pieces in the casserole dish. Add half the butter and fry the mushrooms for a minute or two. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the casserole dish. Heat the remaining butter and fry the flour for 30 seconds. gradually stir in the stock, wine and milk to make a sauce. Deglazing the pan as you do so. Wrap the herbs in a square of muslin and bury this in the centre of the casserole. Pour the sauce over the ingredients in the casserole. Mash the potatoes, add milk, butter and a pinch of salt. Spread the mashed potato over the ingredients in the casserole dish – try to make a completely sealed lid. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven at 190C for 30-40 minutes. To brown the potato more, move the dish up a rack and switch the oven to gratin mode for a few minutes at the end.

Nutritional Information

  • Servings Per Recipe: 2
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 695.8
  • Total Fat: 29.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 107.5 mg
  • Sodium: 805.9 mg
  • Total Carbs: 66.9 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 7.8 g
  • Protein: 40.1 g