Steak and coriander wraps

This post is a little tribute to how it doesn't always need to be complex to be good. The better I become at cooking, the better I want to be, so I feel the need to overcomplicate in order to prove that I can cook. It's not necessary. Testament to this can be seen in what Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson are doing: faster is better, down from 30 minute meals to 15, the public doesn't have the time or the energy for foams and reductions, just food that doesn't take forever and won't break the bank.

If you can't afford to go our for a lavish dinner on Valentines day and you're not very confident in the kitchen, just stick to something simple, that you know you can cook. Stuff a chicken breast with bree, fry up some chicken livers and serve them with spinach and flat breads, make good old steak and chips or have a picnic on your carpet! I made these tortilla's yesterday and they were wonderful; juicy, fresh, affordable, a party in your mouth and they only took 10 minutes to make. Done.

Tortillas with rump steak, red onion and coriander

Ingredients: (serves 4)

300-400g rump steak (at room temp)

Salt and pepper

4 tortillas

1 tub smooth cottage cheese

½ red onion (thinly sliced)

½ cucumber (sliced)

125g cherry tomatoes (halved)

Wholegrain mustard

Handful of coriander

Lime/lemon wedges to serve

Tabasco (optional)

Method:

Put a non-stick frying pan on high heat and, once smoking hot, season the steak/steaks with salt and pepper and place in the pan. Fry on each side for 3 minutes for medium rare and a little longer if you prefer your steak more well done.

Once cooked to your liking, put on a board to rest for approx 4 min and cover with foil.

Warm the tortillas as per the packet instructions.

Place a tortilla on each plate and smear with a generous amount of the cottage cheese, top with cucumber, onion and tomatoes.

Slice the rump and share among the tortillas, spoon over a little wholegrain mustard and sprinkle over coriander.

Serve with lemon/lime wedges and Tabasco.

Nutella pancake cake

It's world Nutella day - yes you heard right - there is a day dedicated to that naughty, decadent, glorious, chocolate nutty spread that you buy to spoil yourself and hide in the cupboard only to discover your boyfriend found it and devoured it all in one go with a spoon. Yes, you know what I am talking about!

I was asked to come up with a recipe that would pay proper homage to this glorious spread, and I think I might have gone a little too far:

Nutella Pancake Cake

For the pancakes:

1 packet Sasko Quick Treats Pancake mix
2 large eggs
10ml Oil
940ml Water
(You will need 14 pancakes in total)

350g jar Nutella
250ml cream
125ml cream cheese
2 tbsp castor/icing sugar
6 bananas, thinly sliced (optional)
Cocoa for dusting
Berries/cherries to garnish (optional)

Method:

Place the pancake mix in a mixing bowl. Beat egg, water and oil together with a whisk in a separate bowl.
Add half the liquid to the pancake mix and mix with a whisk until the batter is lump free. Add the other half of the liquid and mix well.
Heat a lightly oiled frying pan until hot. Pour pancake batter into the pan so that it thinly covers the pan surface.
Fry the pancakes until light brown. Turn halfway through the frying process.
Makes 20 pancakes
Set pancakes aside to cool.
In a bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar and cream cheese until softened, then add the whipped cream and stir though gently until combined.
Place the first pancake on a serving plate and, using a knife or spatula, spread evenly with a layer of Nutella.
Take the second pancake and spread with a layer of the cream cheese topping and place gently on top of the first pancake.
(If you want to use banana in this recipe, place slices of banana on top of the cream.)
Repeat this process 6-7 times, giving you a perfect ‘pancake cake’.
Finish the cake with 1 more plain pancake to seal the cake and dust with plenty of cocoa.
Garnish with berries of your choice. (If desired)
Either eat immediately or keep in the fridge until serving.

Balsamic and tomato pork casserole

I always have a little chuckle with myself when trying to come up with names for my dishes. (I work alone so I don't have the option of sharing my hilarious ramblings with anyone else) You see, the one pictured above is: 'a balsamic and smoked paprika pork fillet casserole with tomato and red peppers' but that just sounds ridiculous, I might as well copy and paste the ingredients list or call it 'pork fillet with 9 other things'. You have to sum it up in a way that explains the dish, like naming a child in a way, as you want its name to represent all of its characteristics - but realistically if I called it 'Andrea' people would be right to want to put me in the loony bin*.You want something simple, but not as unappealing as 'tomato pork' or 'pork thing'. So you have another cup of coffee and sigh a bit more and come up with: 'Balsamic and tomato pork casserole' (personally I think 'Andrea' sounds better).

It's delicious (although I tend to say everything I make is delicious, I hope I am not starting to sound vein, if I am, I apologize) But you must take my word for it and make it with the Butter Bean Mash as an accompaniment - it knocks the socks off normal mash and takes 2 minutes - literally 2 minutes - to make.

*(I don't have children and this was meant to be funny, so to all of you out there with children I was making a joke, not trying to equate naming my food with the countless hours you all spent finding names for your beautiful bundles of joy)

Balsamic and tomato pork casserole

Ingredients: (serves 4)

2 300-350g pork fillets

60ml balsamic

Olive oil

2 onions (peeled and sliced)

2 red peppers (cored and sliced)

salt

1 tin tomatoes (cut up)

1 cup veg/chicken stock

30g sugar
1tsp smoked paprika (if you can't get smoked, you can use normal paprika)
1tsp thyme

Mashed potato or butter bean mash to serve

Method:
Preheat oven to 190*C
Put a non-stick pan on high heat.
Season the pork fillets with salt and black pepper and, once the pan is almost smoking, brown in the pan for 2 minutes on each side. Pour 1/2 the balsamic (30ml) into the pan with the fillets and turn the pork to coat as the balsamic reduces to a syrup. (This will take approx 4 minutes)

Put the pork fillets into a med/large casserole dish and set aside.

Using the same pan, add a little olive oil and then the onions, peppers and a little salt and fry for about 8 minutes, tossing continuously, until slightly caramelised and softened.

Add the tinned tomatoes, stock, sugar and balsamic and simmer to reduce for a further 10 minutes.
Pour on top of the pork fillets, sprinkle over the thyme and smoked paprika and cover with a lid/foil.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes*.
Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Cut the fillet into portions and serve with butter bean mash. (See below)

*To tell if the pork is cooked through, simply press different areas of the fillet gently with your index finger, all areas should feel the same i.e. slightly firm - if the centre of the fillet is much softer than the ends then it needs a few more minutes in the oven.

Butter bean mash

2 tins butter beans (drained)
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove (thinly sliced)

Place a small sauce pan on medium heat and pour in the butter beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a little salt and pepper. Mash as you heat the mixture for 2-3 minutes, then cover and set aside.

Sweet soy ostrich with pak choi

Quick, easy, healthy, virtually fat-free. What more could you ask for?? 

I love cooking with ostrich, I find it comparable to duck in many ways, just far more versatile. Similarly to duck, ostrich goes beautifully with Asian flavours but, in the same way as game, it can handle strong herbs such as rosemary, spices like black pepper or a punchy red wine reduction. It's a lean, healthy meat, with less fat than skinless chicken, need I say more?

This recipe is just so easy, you can't really bugger it up - so if you're in the mood for a little Asian (food that is, not a little Asian person - that's just wrong) give this one a bash and let me know what you think...

Sweet soy ostrich with pak choi

Ingredients: Serves 2

6 heads of pak choi (stalk removed and washed)

1 tbsp butter

250g ostrich fillets (allow them to come to room temperature if they are straight from the fridge)

Black pepper to season

1/3 cup sweet Indonesian soy sauce (available from most supermarkets)

1 tbsp corn flour mixed with 1 tbsp water

2cm piece of ginger (peeled and sliced)

1 clove garlic (peeled and sliced)

1 small chilli- optional (deseeded and sliced)

Spring onion to serve

Rice to serve (optional)

Method:

Once washed, steam the pak choi until just tender, drain of excess liquid, stir through butter and season with a little salt.

Heat a non-stick frying pan on the highest setting on your stove, once it begins to smoke slightly, season the fillets with black pepper and fry for 2 ½ minutes on each side for medium rare.* Place on a board, cover with foil and allow to rest while you make the sauce.

Turn the stove down a medium heat and, using the same frying pan, pour in soy, corn flour paste, garlic, ginger and chilli and stir for approx 2 minutes until slightly reduced and thickened.

Slice the ostrich and plate with equal amounts of pak choi and rice (if desired), garnish with spring onion and serve the sauce on the side.

Alternatively: Add the pak choi and sliced ostrich to the sauce and toss to coat, spoon over of bowls of rice and garnish with spring onion.

*Ostrich is generally served medium-rare as it can toughen up, so if you want it a little more well done I would take to medium but that's about it.