dine with me – style dispenser

autumnal Curry

Published on October 8, 2016October 8, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

Oh, October. A month holding the last days of summer with opulent rhapsody of ripe fruit and veg. A month where warming meals are becoming the main staple in or menus. A month bringing us shorter days and more time to cook!

When it comes to cooking, I think it is best to use ingredients not only available in the kitchen, but particularly what’s in season. Japanese autumnal curry is one of the meals I cannot wait to cook when the first days of Indian summers are melting with bygone summer. This curry is easy to make it, and an excellent meal for post holidays blues – allowing you to enjoy something more exotic than your average comfort food.

What do you need to prepare this dish:

2 medium carrots
1 onion
1/4 of celeriac
1 parsnip
2-3 bay leaves
a few allspice corns
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
a handful of cashew nuts
1 fresh red chilli chopped
approx. 2 tablespoons of curry paste (I leave the spiciness to your taste)
1 tablespoon of curry powder
pinch of fresh herbs such as oregano, dried garlic leaves
2 cloves of smoked garlic ( although regular will do too)
300-500g of white buckwheat
2 boiled eggs for garnish
500g of lean beef mince

Start by marinating the mince meat. I try to marinate it the night before so all the flavours of spices and herbs are mix together wonderfully. I attach the photo to show you the way I marinate the meat then keep it covered in the fridge overnight (cling film cover a bowl will do nicely).
Fry the beef on heavy bottomed pan with a glug of olive oil.
Sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce and add chopped chilli. Then when the meat is semi cooked add grated vegetables, including the onion. These can be grated using the largest sheds on your grater.
Mix all together and sauté, covered by lid. After 5 to 7 mins everything should be ready but not overcooked. Toss everything once again and let it dry a bit, as the idea of this meal is not to be too “juicy” as all the flavours are in the meat mixed with veggies.

Once the meal is ready to be served, sprinkle the top of the meal by chopped egg and freshly grounded pepper.

Enjoy!

Sausage and gluten free pasta.

Published on May 21, 2016February 19, 2021 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

If, like me, you are a fan of good pasta and cumberland sausages then this will be a welcome addition to your dining table. The original recipe came from Jamie Oliver but I’ve updated it to my own taste. You can use any kind of shape and size of pasta. Have fun’!

You will need:

One small grated apple. Tart are best.
300-500g of gluten free fusilli pasta
6 good quality cumberland sausages (I’m using skinless from Heck), broken into small pieces before cooking
a handful of oregano (fresh or dried)
2 spoons of pickled chili pepper / chopped chili peppers
1 tbsp of wholegrain mustard
2 garlic cloves
250-300 ml of white wine
zest and juice from 1 unwaxed lemon
shaved parmigiano cheese to sprinkle

This dish can be prepared in 3 simple steps:

Mix freshly chopped oregano, chili peppers and garlic with the sausage meat and fry with a dash of olive oil in a heavy bottomed dish. When the meat is about to caramelise and turn golden brown add mustard, pour in the wine and add the lemon juice and zest finishing with apple.
Lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid.

In the meantime cook the pasta following the instructions on the packaging.
The best way to prepare the pasta is al dente which matches the texture of the meat perfectly.

When pasta is drained add it into the pan with the meat and mix it all together.
This is the moment you decide how much pasta to add to the meat, depending on how you like your meal. I’ve balanced mine as I am not a huge fan of having more pasta than meat and vice versa.

TIP: wholegrain mustard isn’t necessary, however it enhances beautifully flavour of this meal.

Serve immediately with sprinkled parmigiano on top. Enjoy!

Courgette&Quorn&Miso

Published on May 13, 2016May 13, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

The idea was born the moment the Spiralizer was delivered to my doorstep. Initially I wasn’t really sure about this funny plastic machine, but I soon enjoyed the benefits of substituting classic carb noodles for pasta made entirely from fresh vegetables using the Spiralizer. After perfecting the technique of homemade courgette pasta, I combined my japanese friend Mariko love of Miso, with my partner’s love of quorn. Voila! It is a super solution for a late spring/early summer menu and you can play with the ingredients to make this meal more bespoke (e.g. chicken instead of quorn and shrimp replaced with radish). Although it sounds exotic, this one of the easiest meals to prepare. Go on, start winding this courgette!

1 courgette
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp of good soy sauce
2 tbsp of miso paste (red is the best)
1 small shallot onion, diced
about 350-400 ml of boiling water (depending on how intense flavour you’d like to achieve)
a 300g bag of “chicken” quorn (frozen is absolutely fine)
a few tiger prawns for a garnish

Shred the courgette on the noodles blade of the spiralizer. Heat a glug of olive oil in a non-stick pan and sauté onion, garlic, and quorn pieces until softened. In the meantime mix the miso paste with soya sauce in boiling water and pour into pan. Stir gently and add courgette noodles.
Cook for about 5 mins. Ready, simple and yummy!

Charming Mr Chard

Published on April 9, 2016April 9, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

Easter. Rabbit. Casserole.

Published on March 26, 2016March 26, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

Whilst clearing out the freezer I found a portion of rabbit given to me by a friend from countryside; which inspired me to create a seasonal dish for the Easter weekend!
Although I am a huge fan of traditional meals enjoyed with family during this period, I think that preparing something slightly different is always a bonus. Rabbit has been popular with my family since I can remember. My granddad had his own farm with muscovy ducks, guinea fowls, and rabbits. There was nothing better than a kitchen full of steam emanating from cast iron dishes mixed with the aromas of fresh herbs and braising rabbit. So my goal was to recover from memory a particular favourite dish prepared by the lady who looked after the kitchen at my grandparents household. However, as usual, thats only the starting point, and the end result is something quite personal.

I have roasted the ingredients gradually and then braised all together in a heat resistant dish, to keep the meat and veg soft and tender.
A perfect solution for a family Easter lunch!

And this is how it goes:
4-5 of rabbit fillets ( you can also use chicken if you like)
2-3 medium carrots
1 medium parsnip
2 medium red onions
3-4 garlic cloves
fresh herbs (thyme and oregano are best)
handful of dried tomatoes ( I used the sun-dried variety preserved in sunflower oil)
a bag of kale
a few tsp of a good quality fig chutney
a handful of onions marinated in balsamic vinegar

Marinate rabbit in olive oil, sliced garlic, coarse pepper, salt flakes and herbs, for a couple of hours. In the large non-stick frying pan, roast chopped vegetables with a generous splash of olive oil. While the vegetables are sautéing, place the marinated meat on another pan, and fry gently but do not cook throughly. Place them into a heat resistant glass dish (e.g. Pyrex). At this stage add kale, sliced tomatoes and marinated onions on top of the veggies and rabbit. Cover by lid and sweat for another 10 mins or so on low heat, in the meantime add the fig chutney until all soft and moist from the juices and the meat is cooked through.

As I am a barley lover I found the barley groats as a great compliment for this casserole. Rice seemed a bit too plain. And above all, this is the original meal we’re cooking, right?

One more thing, this dish goes so well with a glass of grenache red wine!

Braised pollock

Published on February 28, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

I am a big fan of fish, pollock in particular. Mostly because this type of fish was often served by my Mum when my hungry brother, sister and I got home from school. She always kept extra pieces frozen for emergencies, but most of all she knew that thanks to its white, chunky yet delicate flesh, Pollock was a lighter and healthier alternative to meat. To cut a long story short; Mamunia (our affectionate petname for our Mum) is a master in one particular fish-based meal; Greek style fish. Although the origins of this meal has nothing to do with Greece, its named that way in my home country and usually served for celebratory occasions. Not in our house. It was the ideal meal when she had limited time and wanted to make something easy for the whole family. My version is slightly updated with ingredients such as capers and lemon zest. As a result you’ll get a traditional meal with modern twist. I served it to Mamunia once with mixed feelings whether she’ll like it…or not. And let me tell you, there’s no bigger pleasure when your Mum is asking for an extra portion of what you’ve cooked!

Ingredients:
3 peeled carrots
1 medium peeled parsnip,
1 medium leek
1 large onion (Spanish is best)
1 unwaxed lemon, few bay leaves
2 tbsp of marinated capers, 4 allspice corns
bunch of lemon thyme, salt, pepper
1 bottle (700ml) of tomato passata

Pollock fillet seasoned with capers, thyme, lemon zest and pepper.

Season the fillets and place them on a baking tray. Add capers, thyme and lemon zest.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins at 180C

In the meantime chop onion and leek and stir in a lightly oiled heavy bottomed pan with allspice and bay leaves over a low heat. Then add grated carrot, grated parsnip and sweat until veggies are tender. When it’s time, pour the passata into vegetables and cook thoroughly. Place everything in an oven proof dish with baked fish and leave in the warm oven for another 10 mins.

Processed with VSCOcam with s3 preset — Version with poached egg and chopped parsley-my favourite!

Spontaneous Sea Bream

Published on February 10, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

This dish is another example of a quick but lip-smacking idea for an afterwork dinner. It’s easy to pepare. Each of the ingredients takes the same amount of time to cook, so there’s no worry that something will get cold whilst preparing the others.

The way I prepare it:
season filet of fish (sea bream in this case) with white pepper and miso soup topping (they soften into the flesh adding an amazing flavour)
Simmer white buckwheat in medium size pot with salted water for 15 minutes, whilst sauting asparagus slowly with butter in a non sticky pan.

Processed with VSCOcam with s2 preset — sauteéd asparagus

cooked buckwheat — cooked and seasoned buckwheat ready to serve

Few suggestions:
– Bake the fish wrapped in aluminium foil at temperature of 180C.
It will keep the fish moist and prevent from drying.
Put the wrapped fish in the oven when you begin to simmer the buckwheat for perfect timing.
– Sauteé asparagus on the medium heat with good butter, they soften beautifully and prevent butter from burning out.
– Simmer the buckwheat in salted water rather than seasoning afterwards and leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Sunday sausages.

Published on January 31, 2016 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

Comfort food with a twist – Chicken sausages seasoned with fresh herbs then braised in a tomato and vegetable sauce. Sounds good? Tastes even better! (ask my friends if in doubt.) The preparation is obviously easy and you can enjoy this meal straight from the pan, or day after. #yum!

To prepare sausages you’ll need:

a pack of good chicken sausages, ideally from organic meat ( yes, you are what you eat, my dear!)
bunch of lemon thyme, pickled chilli peppers (great taste), lemon,
4 garlic cloves, table spoon of grated ginger, salt flakes, pepper,
and a small bowl of chopped kale

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and dress the sausages with herbs and spices. Put them on a tray in the oven with the kale for 7-10mins. This is to heat the meat but not to cook it thoroughly.

Sausages slightly roasted with chilli, ginger and kale

For the rich sauce:
2 medium carrots
1 large parsnip
5-6 similar size baby potatoes
1 large onion, 2 garlic cloves, a half of lemon
salt, pepper, pinch of herbs
a bottle of passata (one from Mutti is my favourite)

Chop the veggies into chunky pieces, and braise in a oven-proof dish with a glug of olive oil in the oven at 180C. When the vegetables start to get soft, pour in the tomato passata. Add the sausages and kale into the dish and leave covered in oven for about 15-20mins until all ingredients are perfectly cooked.

When ready, serve over boiled barley.
It’s a great alternative to white rice.

Straight from the oven – mouth watering!

Barley is a great alternative to white rice.

Stuffed + Peppers = Yum.

Published on January 15, 2016 by wojtekvanportek2 Comments

Like most of the food ideas presented here on my blog, this one is super easy and simple to prepare. And tastes oh-so-good!
It takes 20 mins to make this meal happen; perfect timing for a quick after-work dinner. Another bonus- it’s healthy as hell!

And this is how it goes…

3-4 long sweet red peppers
2 unwaxed lemons
1 bag of white buckwheat
1 red onion
1 can of tuna (an option for pescatarians)

Place the buckwheat into boiling water for 15 mins. In the meantime:
set the oven to 200C
Sauté chopped onion in olive oil on a low/medium heat until soft and season with salt,
coarse pepper and juice from 1 lemon and zest.
Add the cooked buckwheat to the pan with the softened onion mixture and stir on low heat for a couple of minutes.
If like myself, you eat fish, add tuna at this moment.
It will give a perfect flavour.

Stuff the peppers with the cooked mixture and tie them with thread. Sprinkle with lemon juice and place on tray with a glug of olive oil.
Bake for 15-17mins. Voilà!

Mr Potato&Co.

Published on December 13, 2015December 13, 2015 by wojtekvanportekLeave a comment

First time I tried this cream soup was at one of my favourite restaurants in Warsaw, Poland.
Qchnia Artystyczna always has on the menu rather simple yet sophisticated meals to offer.
I don’t live in Warsaw anymore, hence my need to prepare this soup every so often. Every time I’m making it, I’m getting a bit nostalgic about great times I’ve spent with my friends in that place and cannot wait to pay visit again, when in Poland.
To meet friends and… get more inspiration!

Creamy Potato Soup is super easy to prepare.

You need:
2 white onions
8 medium potatoes
1 litre of vegetable boullion
2 table spoons of salted butter
2 bay leaves
200 ml of milk
pinch of coarse pepper
few slices of organic smoked salmon

Glaze the chopped onions with melted butter in a deep pan. Add the bay leaf. That’s the best way to give the flavour.
When the onion is softened, add chopped potatoes, stir with onions and pour the boullion into the pan.
Simmer on low heat covered by the lid until potatoes are very soft.
Add milk, and stir for a couple of minutes.

Blend the mixture to a creamy consistency and add the pepper. Add more milk when necessary.
Pour the creamy soup into bowls, decorate generously with salmon and freshly grounded pepper.

Bon appetit!