To make enough for two…

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (I use ready made minced in a jar ‘cos I’m lazy)
1 tsp paprika spice
1 green pepper, diced
200g button mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
200 ml beef stock
225g flank steak, sliced thinly
1/2 cup low fat cream cheese

The ingredients - this is it!

Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion.

After four or five minutes when it is softening, chuck in the paprika and garlic and stir around for a few seconds until you start smelling it, then add in the green pepper and mushrooms. Stir around so that the vegetables become coated in the paprika. Cook for about 5 minutes on a low to medium heat until they are soft.

Stir the veg around to coat in paprika

Add the vinegar, turn the heat up high, and boil it off, leaving just residue.

Now add the stock and cook hard until it has reduced by a quarter.

Now tip in the beef and stir in thoroughly. It should take no more than two minutes for the beef to lose its red. Cook too much longer and you will simply make leather.

Turn off the heat, stir in the cream cheese and serve! I serve it with brown rice and a salad.

Personally, I don’t season this dish as the flavour is quite strong already.

Wife tested and approved!

Calories: 373 per serving

Served with brown rice and a side salad

The quantities used here will feed about 8, or 6 if everyone is hungry and wants seconds – they invariably do.

This is the most basic recipe, and is absolutely delicious in its own right. Many people add garlic, or red wine, or various herbs – feel free to experiment. Just don’t add too much other stuff. It doesn’t need it.

To feed a large table you will need the following ingredients (and a 5 liter pot):

You will also need plenty of time – this takes up to 3 hours, albeit you can leave it alone for most of it.

2 onions, finely chopped
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
1 cup streaky bacon, or pancetta, chopped into small pieces
1 Ib minced pork
1 Ib minced beef
1 cup white wine
2 cups beef stock (or 500ml water and two stock cubes)
5 400g/14oz tins of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to season

Method
Heat the pan on a medium-high heat. When hot add a generous splash of olive oil and swirl it around.

Add the onions, celery, carrot, and bacon. Stir it up and keep it on the move in the pan for 5 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables have clearly softened. Make sure you breath in over the pan. They call these three vegetables the holy trinity and the smell they produce is magnificent.

Fry the carrot, celery and onion with the bacon until soft

Next add all the meat. Stir it in, and keep turning it over until the meat is browned.

Stir in the beef and pork

Next, stir in the wine. Turn the heat up to maximum and boil the majority of it off.

Pour in a cup of wine and then boil off

With the heat still at maximum, pour in the stock and the chopped tomatoes. Stir thoroughly and bring to the boil.

Add the stock and the chopped tomatoes

Move to your smallest ring at its lowest setting and leave to simmer.

Bring to the boil then simmer on lowest heat without the lid

After an hour or so, come back and taste. Then season with some sea salt and pepper. This is a big vat of food so don’t be too stingy. Stir in and go away. Come back every 20 minutes or so and stir it through. Feel free to sip some of the liquid, I do all the time.

Season after the first hour of cooking

After about 2 to 3 hours (depending on the speed of your burner) it will have reduced down to a thick, meaty sauce and you can take it off the heat.

Three hours later or so...

You can at this point add a cup of cream at the point of serving, although I tend not to.

You now have a large vat of bolognese sauce. Serve some on some pasta and whatever is left can go in ziploc bags in the freezer. I usually store about two ladles per bag for a single, generous serving. To defrost, put the bag in a bowl of hand-hot water. Takes about 15 minutes. You can also, of course, use this sauce to make lasagna.

Options
Add some cream at the end of cooking (but don’t store in the freezer with the cream).

add garlic to the oil before adding the vegetables.

Add herbs such as thyme and basil with the stock and tomatoes (fresh or dried)

Replace a cup of stock with a cup of red wine.

etc. etc. etc.

Wife tested and most definitely approved.

(I know the pictures are a little large but I could not be bothered changing the WordPress settings and re-uploading them. Put it down to the new theme and the need to experiment a little to get it right)

Jamie Oliver is no exception. I cooked this tonight for no other reason than I was in the supermarket, scrolling through recipes, looking for something quick. This came to my attention and it was both quick and very nice. I confess I am not sure of my legal right to post this but I am actually documenting the making of and at the same time recommending you purchase this app.

So first, GO HERE AND BUY THE APP!

Now, here is how I made it, with some substitutions to my own taste. As always, excuse non-professional photography done with one hand while trying to stir or chop with the other…

Ingredients for two people
1 Ib new potatoes (I used Australian Reds)
2 tomatoes
Handful basil leaves
2 or 3 shallots (depending upon size)
1 Fresh chilli minus the seeds
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 chicken breasts, no skin or bone
1 lemon
100g frozen sweetcorn
1 knob butter
Olive oil
Virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper

Method
First, put on a pan of water and bring to the boil.

Bring pan of water to the boil

Slice the potatoes in half.

Slice potatoes in half

And (don’t be too surprised) add the potatoes to the water! Set your timer for 15 minutes.

Set the timer for 15 minutes

Meanwhile, cut up your tomatoes, cut chilli and peeled shallots into chunks, and pick the basil leaves.

The ingredients for the salsa

Now, hand chopping this would be prettier but I am lazy so into the food processor they go.

Slice and dice

And once they are chopped, put them in a bowl and a splash of olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I recommend you taste, then season, then taste. Put this aside for later.

Add the olive oil, and don't be shy with it

Now, lets turn to the chicken. Make cuts on the underside in a criss cross. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Scored on the underside

Now, turn the chicken over. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, the zest of a lemon, and drizzle some olive oil.

Seasoned Chicken

Next, cover the board, and the chicken, with a layer of cling film. Grab a rolling pin or heavy pan and smack them until they are no more than a centimeter thick.

There is a good chance your potatoes are almost done now, in which case you can dump the corn into the pan with them.

add the corn to the cooked potatoes

Now heat a frying pan on high heat. When the frying pan is hot, drop the heat to medium, add a splash of olive oil and add the chicken.

Chicken in the pan

Cook the chicken for about 3 minutes a side.

Meanwhile, drain the potatoes in a colander and leave in there to steam off for a while.

Let the potatoes and corn steam

Dump a knob of butter in the still hot pan.

Knob of butter in the pan

After the potatoes have steamed for a couple of minutes, dump them back into the pan, add pinches of salt and pepper, and then mash up.

Mashed potato

Now, put some mash on the plate, add some chicken, and then spoon over some of the salsa you made earlier. Squeeze over some lemon juice. Lastly, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.

Lemon and herb chicken on a bed of mash with sweetcorn

Now go eat it. Wife tested and approved.

Well, it seems I caught the deli counter in Taste doing the same thing. As evidence, here is the Tandoori Panini I bought for lunch:

One Fake Panini

As the lift door opens you are immediately thrust into the dining room. There is no entrance way as such. I am sure this is as off-putting to diners as it was to us. At first glance the restaurant looks very posh, or fine-dining. We thought this might be a bit much for a quick lunch but we took a look at the menus just to be sure and the price of the set lunches (from $118 to $128) seemed very reasonable, and the food sounded attractive. We decided to go for it.

After being seated things started going a bit weird.

At first we shared the menu that they gave us to check at the door. We both had chosen what we wanted but while I was looking at the set lunch list to be sure, my wife asked for another menu. The set lunch menu they gave her was completely different. At this point we were not sure which one was correct which caused some confusion.

Once we knew we had the correct menus, we double checked and then ordered. I ordered the pork medallions with roast potatoes and vegetables, and my wife ordered the pan-fried sole with cabbage and spaghetti.

We assume the food would be quite quick because the restaurant was only 20 per cent full.

The pumpkin soup starter came in seconds and was okay, if a little watery. The pepper grinder seemed to produce pre-ground pepper powder rather than what you would expect from a normal grinder. It might well have been a fake grinder.

It was after finishing the soups and looking around the restaurant that we noticed something interesting. The food was brought out of the kitchen by the dish washer. She would stand by the table waiting for a waiter to take the plate out of her hand and put it on the table. This is much more reminiscent of a local Chinese restaurant rather than anything approaching fine dining and it was  becoming clear that the initial impression the place gave upon entrance was not really the truth.

My food arrived first. In fact, it was on a tray with another table’s food. I then spent 8 minutes (we counted) watching my food go cold while we waited for the other plate to arrive. Finally I asked the waitress who went to the kitchen and immediately returned plate in hand. I asked her how long it had been sitting in the kitchen. She did not know.

Pork Loin

The Pork Loin from the other side

Pan Fried Sole

So on with eating. The first thing I tried was a piece of broccoli. Overcooked, and very cool. The manager noticed my reaction and asked me what was wrong. I told her and she offered to replace my lunch but now we both had food I just wanted to eat.

The food was nothing to write home about. The pork was okay, the vegetables overcooked. The roast potatoes were nice. My wife’s spaghetti was exactly what you would get in a Dai Pai Dong under the “Western” heading on the menu. Her vegetables were overcooked, and the fish was bland, had little textture, and the coating was soggy.

Halfway through, the manager suddenly appeared with another portion of the pork. I said it was not necessary, this was too much food, but she insisted on dumping it all on my plate while I was eating. She actually said “no need to diet today!” Seconds later another waitress appeared with another portion of vegetables, fresh out of the microwave, and put them on the table. I appreciate they were trying to correct the earlier mistake but dumping another set lunch on my plate against my objections was a bit much.

After we had finished, they bought a jar of toothpicks. This was the piece de resistance. I say this because no one could have missed the two large hairs that came with them. When I pointed this out to the waitress she just replied, “They’re not mine!”.

Toothpicks with a surprise

So, here is one thing I know. I will never eat here again. The restaurant attempts to look like it delivers fine dining. But as you study the Stanley Market  paintings on the wall, in cheap plastic frames, the Dai Pai Dong style service, and failing to live up to basics like bring the food for a table of two at the same time, you realise it is anything but.

Yes, it was a set lunch. But either you serve food with pride or you don’t and they don’t.

Oh, and the Now That’s What I Call Music CD playing the background was really annoying.

Verdict? Avoid.

To make four servings you will need:

Olive Oil
1 clove garlic minced (or one tsp ready minced garlic)
1/2 cup basmati rice (traditionally white, but try brown for the flavour)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
Pinch Cayenne Pepper

(alternatively replace previous four spices with 3 tsp curry powder)

2 cups chicken broth
300g minced chicken
1 x 400g/14.5 oz can chick peas, dained
1/2 400g/14.5 oz can black beans, drained
Leaves of 2 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped
Leaves of 2 sprigs coriander, finely chopped
3 tbsp pine nuts
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Method
Heat a dry skillet for a few minutes on high heat. Add the pine nuts and roast them for a couple of minutes then set aside. Keep the pan, you’ll need it again in a minute.

In a large saucepan, heat a good glug of olive oil, then toss in the garlic.

Stir for about one minute then add in the rice and spices. Stir that for three or four minutes to get everything fully coated.

Add the stock, stir, bring to the boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until rice is cooked. When rice is done, if there is any excess liquid, turn up the heat and boil it off. Don’t boil it dry.

Meanwhile, in the skillet, heat another small glug of olive oil and add the minced meat. When cooked, add in the chickpeas, beans, parsley, cilantro, and pine nuts and stir around for a minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir the chicken mixture into the rice and then stir together.

Serve. I promise you’ll like it.

Mediterranean Rice

To make enough for 3 to 4 for a main you will need…

4 cooked chicken breasts, chopped into bite size chunks
5 strips of American style or streaky bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled.
2 celery sticks
1 large Fuji Apple, cored and chopped.
1 200g jar (scant cup) mayonnaise (I use Helman’s Light)
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
1 Lemon
Pinch ground ginger
2 tsp Worcester Sauce
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp Honey

Method
For cooking the chicken, I recommend poaching in chicken stock. It takes about 15 minutes to cook through depending upon size of breast. You can cut a breast in half to check.

Poaching Chicken

Put the chicken, bacon, celery, and apple in a bowl. Set aside.

Dry Ingredients

Put all the other ingredients into another bowl and whisk together. I use a hand mixer. It does a great job, and most importantly, helps break up the honey if it is not very runny.

Dump the dressing on the solid ingredients and toss together. Done.

If serving as a main, cut up two Romaines or mixed greens and dump the chicken salad on top.

Chopped Chicken Salad on a bed of Romaine

Wife tested and approved.

Okay, back up a bit and let me explain my surprise.

I eat meat. I love meat. No, I adore meat. My favourite meat is zebra. Are we in any doubt now?

So I thought I was being extraordinarily brave when I agreed to have lunch with friends at Life Cafe. I have known about Life Cafe forever but I had, until today, never eaten in there. This is of course was because they don’t serve meat. And, perhaps, because I despise tofu. I would honestly rather eat tripe. It may share a disgusting texture but at least it’s meat!

Sort of.

It seems I need to deal with my preconceptions.

My first surprise was that it had a roof garden. I didn’t know about this. It’s very pretty up there. In fact, one of the most pleasant open but secluded lunch spots I have experienced in Hong Kong.

My second surprise was the food. I was about to order from the mains list when my two lunching companions said we should order to share. That was fine by me. I left them to order.

And it was great.

We had the life salad (which had just about everything a vegan can eat in it), dhal (essentially a lentil curry), a side of steamed quinoa (which of course when very well with the dahl, and the African Stew, which tasted delicious but still had tofu in it so I ate around that.

I was stuffed by the time we finished and I have come to the realization that I would like to eat there again.

And the food is not as expensive as I had expected. You can see the prices for yourself here.

The only negative would be that our waiter was a but dopey. She had to come back a couple of times to double check what we ordered and until the food came I kept thinking we were going to get something completely different from what we ordered. But this is just a fact of life in this town and so not really very important.

I am not going to do this everyday. Occasionally perhaps. I still need meat.

But every now and again? Certainly.

Highly recommended.

To make about 18 or so (I make ‘em quite big):

125g unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar (the sticky stuff, not raw)
1 egg
1.5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Half a glass of red wine (I used a cab for the last batch)
One big bar (200g) Cadbury’s Old Gold 70% cocao (or equivalent) smashed into chunks
A big handful (or two if you have small hands) of either dried cherries or cherry infused dried cranberries (craisins)

Method
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees (A little hotter than normal but I like ‘em to start to crisp on the outside while remaining gooey on the inside.

In a bowl, and I cannot recommend a hand mixer enough, break up the butter and blend in the sugars until it goes crumbly.

Add the egg and blend.

Slowly add the flour, cocoa, salt, and bicarbonate of soda, blending all the time. I always use a heavy bowl so I can tip in with the left hand while whirring with the right.

Add the wine, keep blending until all mixed then put the blender down.

Add the chocolate and fruit and fold in using a spoon.

Add dollops of mixture with a desert spoon a few centimeters apart on a baking tray – this quantity will require two of them or you can bake in batches.

Put them in the over and start checking after ten minutes until you see the edges start to go crispy then take them out to cool.

Trust me. These are wife-tested and approved.

Cherry(ish) double chocolate flavour chip cookies

For two people you will need:

250g pumpkin chopped into one inch chunks
1 capsicum (choose colour according to your visual tastes) sliced into 1/2 inch wide slices
Olive oil for drizzling
200g sirloin steak (in one piece for cooking)
200g asparagus (cut into half lengths)
125g cherry tomatoes (halved)
75g (or two big handfuls) of roquette leaves
4 tablespoons olive oil for dressing
1 crushed clove of garlic (or tsp ready chopped garlic)
4 tablespoons orange juice
50g stilton cheese (crumbled)

Method
Preheat your oven to maximum heat.

Place the pumpkin and pepper into an oven-proofed dish or roasting tray , drizzle with oil, and place in the oven. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure they are coated and cooked all over.

While they are in the oven you have three things to prepare.

Cook the asparagus in boiling water for a few minutes until cooked but still crunchy. Drain and set aside.

Cook the steaks to taste. Myself, I like my steaks medium rare and on the rare side of that so I pan fry on maximum heat in a little olive oil for three minutes a side after seasoning both sides with sea salt and pepper. That time is for a 1/2 inch thick cut which is what I used for this. After I turn the steak I add a knob of butter on top which melts into the meat giving it extra favour and moisture. When cooked, put aside and leave to cool for ten minutes or so. Then slice into thin slices. I always slice at a diagonal to shorten the meat fibers and make it more tender to chew.

Mix the last four ingredients in a bowl for the blue cheese dressing. To get it well-mixed either pulse briefly in a blender or place in anything with a tight screw-on lid and shake it till your arms fall off.

When the vegetables are done, remove from the oven and quickly shake them out in a strainer or wrap in a kitchen towel to remove excess oil. I tend to leave them for 30 minutes to cool but you can serve this salad hot.

In a box bowl, throw in the roquette, the cherry tomatoes, the roast vegetables, the asparagus and the beef. Mix them together (being careful not to vaporize the pumpkin) and then drizzle generously with the dressing.

Shove it in front of people with a serving spoon then get in there quick before it is gone.

Salad with beef and blue cheese dressing