Egg and Bacon Pie

Ingredients

1 package (14 oz) frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 lb back bacon or ham, thinly sliced
8 eggs
3 tbsp green onions or chives, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp water or milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Divide pastry in half. Line one 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate with pastry. Arrange 1/2 of the back bacon or ham over the pastry base.
3. Break 7 eggs into pie. Break yolks with fork but do not stir yolks and whites together. Sprinkle onion, salt and pepper over eggs and top with remaining back bacon or ham. Cover with pastry.
4. Beat remaining egg with water and brush over top of pie. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Makes 6 servings.

Source: Manitoba Egg Farmers

Empress Chicken Wings

Ingredients

600 g chicken wingettes
160 g bamboo shoots, sliced
2 slices ginger, chopped
1/2 piece slab sugar, crushed
12 soaked black mushrooms
1/4 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp sugar

Marinade

1-1/4 tbsp light soy sauce
1-1/4 tbsp dark soy sauce
1-1/4 tbsp ginger juice
1-1/4 tbsp wine
dash of sesame oil

Sauce

2-1/4 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp chicken broth mix
1/3 tsp salt
160 ml water
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

Method

1. Clean and dry chicken wingettes, marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Marinate black mushrooms with sugar for 10 minutes.
3. Add 2 tbsp oil to a wok, saute bamboo shoot till fragrant. Remove and set aside.
4. Add wingettes and stir-fry till golden brown. Add slab sugar. After sugar dissolved, add chopped ginger, mushrooms and bamboo shoots.
5. Stir well and add sauce. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove to serving plate and serve hot.

Source: Chinese Cooking

Lentil Ragu with Courgetti

Ingredients

2 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus 1 tsp
3 celery sticks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
140 g button mushrooms, quartered
500 g pack dried red lentils
500 g tomato passata
4 cups reduced-salt vegetable broth
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 large courgettes (zucchini), cut into noodles with a spiraliser, julienne peeler or knife

Method

1. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan. Add the celery, carrots, garlic and onions, and fry for 4-5 minutes over a high heat to soften and start to colour.
2. Add the mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes more.
3. Stir in the lentils, passata, broth, oregano and balsamic vinegar. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for 30 mins until the lentils are tender and pulpy. Check occasionally and stir to make sure the mixture isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan; if it does, add a drop of water.
4. To serve, heat the remaining oil in a separate frying pan, add the courgette and stir-fry briefly to soften and warm through.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Source: Good Food Magazine

Best Cinnamon Toast

Ingredients

Four 3/4-inch thick slices Pullman loaf or whole wheat bread
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Confectioners’ (icing) sugar (optional)

Cinnamon Syrup

1/2 cup sugar
3 cinnamon sticks

Method

1. Make the cinnamon syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cinnamon sticks, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the cinnamon is very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool (the syrup can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks).
2. Make the toast, coat both sides of each piece of toast using 3-4 tablespoons of the butter. Brush a generous amount of cinnamon syrup over one side of each slice (add enough syrup to saturate the bread without making it soggy).
3. In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the cinnamon until combined, then transfer all but 2 teaspoons of it to a plate. Dip each piece of toast, syrup side down, in the cinnamon sugar.
4. In a large skillet (frying pan), melt the remaining 2-3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and place the toast, sugared side down, in the skillet. Set a large heat-safe plate on top of the toast to press it down (place one or two cans of beans on top to weight it down). Cook until the edges of the bread are caramelized and the sugar is completely melted and glistening across the surface of the bread, 3-4 minutes.
5. Serve each slice of toast caramelized side up and sprinkled with some of the reserved cinnamon sugar and, if desired, confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Toast

Pot-roasted Chicken with Mustard

Ingredients

3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
one 3-1/2-lb free-range chicken
3/4 cup dry white wine
10 oz button mushrooms, wiped
6 tbsp Cognac
salt
black pepper

Sauce

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3/4 cup creme fraiche
2 tbsp whole -grain mustard
2 tbsp strong Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Savora mustard
1 bunch of fresh tarragon, finely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Melt the butter and oil in a roasting pot or flameproof casserole dish on the stove top. Season the chicken, then add it to the pot, and color it on all sides.
3. Put the chicken in the oven to roast for 1-1/4 hours, but every 15 minutes turn the bird, baste it, and add some white wine until you’ve used up all the wine. Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the pot and set it aside to rest.
4. Slice the mushrooms, add them to the pot, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the brandy and flambe briefly, then set aside to keep warm.
5. For the sauce, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan, add the flour, and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Pour in the milk, whisking well, bring to a boil, and cook for 7-8 minutes.
7. Stir in the creme fraiche, then take the pan off the heat and whisk in the mustards and tarragon. Add the mushrooms and any liquid from the roasting pot to the sauce. Do not boil the sauce again, or it may separate and taste bitter.
8. Disjoint or carve the chicken and serve with the mushroom sauce.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Source: The French Kitchen