Extra Easy What have you made from the new EE cookbook and did you like it?

[malaika]

My husband cooked us the pesto cod this evening and it was one of the best fish I have ever tasted. He did'nt do the garlic mash but we had SW chips and loads of veg.

 

[judimac]

Oh Fifer! Where do I begin?
Kerala style fish (no banana leaves!)
Bengali fish kebebs
Hara Jhinga masala (prawns)
Turkey kebebs
Jalfrezi chicken
Beef Madras Pork vindaloo

Now the thing is I don't think that the spices are cooked out for long enough which results in a "raw/grainy" taste and the timings to me need to be longer. I do sometimes use mustard oil and syn it as 1.5 syns each between 4 and it makes alot of difference, and I do tend to put 4 sweeteners in which makes alot of difference, but it never tastes as good as pataks madras paste! But that's so full of syns! I do the madras and vindalloo in the slow cooker and that makes all the difference.

 

[frugal fifer]

Oh Fifer! Where do I begin?
Kerala style fish (no banana leaves!)
Bengali fish kebebs
Hara Jhinga masala (prawns)
Turkey kebebs
Jalfrezi chicken
Beef Madras Pork vindaloo

Now the thing is I don't think that the spices are cooked out for long enough which results in a "raw/grainy" taste and the timings to me need to be longer. I do sometimes use mustard oil and syn it as 1.5 syns between 4 and it makes alot of difference, and I do tend to put 4 sweeteners in which makes alot of difference, but it never tastes as good as pataks madras paste! But that's so full of syns! I do the madras and vindalloo in the slow cooker and that makes all the difference.

Thanks for that Judimac, I made the shahi murgh and felt it lacked something - will try more later using you helpful tips

 

[BikerAngel]

well I got my book on Mon and have made the bns and bacon risotto (remember to rinse the rice before cooking as this makes it less stodgy) had the keema mince last night and off to buy fish and do the fish pie today so will see if it is as good as the other two as they are deffo on the menu for another week.

 

[jaylou]

I have made the pork and pasta ragu but I used diced pork instead of pork mince as it was all I had in the freezer! It was lovely and tbh I prefer lumps on meat to mince!
The Thai crab cakes were fantastic, I didn't make the salsa as OH doesn't like coriander but made my own free dips with yoghurt, chilli, cucumber etc. We had the whole batch between 2 of us with salad. Will make these again for sure!
Kheema curry on the menu for tomorrow night. This looks great.
I make risotto all the time but haven't thought of using bacon, I may try this. For those who have made risotto, I wouldn't recommend rinsing the rice as you rinse away the starch and this is imperative in a risotto - it's what makes it all oozy and lovely and sticky together! Remember to stir and stir to release that starch and serve it straight away into HOT bowls so it stays hot as you eat it. (sorry - I'm a real risotto fan, it's taken years to perfect my technique!!)

The bacon and lentil soup is great too. In fact the book is fab - the think I do like about it is that there are no puddings!!

 

[nettie1]

I did the beef stew in the slow cooker then when it was done i put it in a casserole dish and added sliced potatoes on top instead of the mustard mash. When it was cool i put in fridge and heated it up the next day for tea the whole family loved it

nettie xx

 

[frugal fifer]

In fact the book is fab - the thing I do like about it is that there are no puddings!!

lol - I have been enjoying the recipes so much I never even thought about there not being any puddings!

 

[Loupy]

im waiting for my books too, seems that some of you have waited a while - i hope i dont have to wait two weeks!

has anyone tried a thai green curry - i found it on the website, it was hideous and would love to know if anyone else has had a similar experience and what there suggestions would be.

 

[BikerAngel]

oh the fish pie was lovely and I have enough to do tomoro as well so would deffo recomend it.

Jaylou we make risotto a lot and chicken and bacon is a fav of ours and also prawn, pea and bacon. You are deffo right with the rinsing as I said above it does make such a difference to how it turns out. We also use white wine in ours but I remember to syn it if we do lol

 

[frugal fifer]

Yesterday we had the rich beef stew with mustard mash - it was really tasty. The mash is a different colour as I did what the book suggested and used hot beef stock to mash them and it was not as bad as I thought, I am a butter and milk person for mashed potatoes so rarely have them now.

 

[judimac]

I use fromage frais and chopped spring onions, or if I'm wicked half fat creme fresh