Mango chicken

This was surprisingly lovely actually. So I made a pilau, which is kinda like Asian risotto without the creaminess and stirring. Finely chopped onions in oil, then bay, a cinnamon stick, cardamon, cumin seeds, basmati, garam masala and ground coriander, chicken stock and fresh coriander at the end.

I made a pocket with the chicken then stuffed it with mango chutney, sealed it with a cocktail stick and then rolled it in cumin seeds and a load of ground spices in a bit of oil. I oven baked it for a bit.

The salad was watercress with clementine bits. And was a very nice addition even if I do say so myself.

Flapjacks

The boy's aunt, (and the lady behind the fabulous Maggie's Kitchen Menus - Link on left) bought him a lovely food hamper for his birthday, and so we've been steadily getting through all the smashing scottish fare.

Tonight, I fancied something sweet after the sour and salty puttanesca dinner, so what better than oats, honey, butter and a nice brew.

Easy as anything, all you need to do is melt butter, sugar and honey then stir through the oats, spread out on parchment and cook on about 150øc for 30/40 minutes. Cool then scoff with rooibos.

Gnocchi

In a new year's resolution-type way, we've decided to alternate fish and cheese on each evening. That's mainly because the boy is moderately obsessed with cheese and in lieu of juicy meat (the man is meat-free... barring turkey on Christmas Day and the odd chicken kebab it seems), I NEED protein.

Anyway, we have a massive chunk of stilton left over from Christmas, and so tonight's tea was a homemade gnocchi with stilton sauce affair (and masses of salad to make it feel at least slightly virtuous).

So, the gnocchi... Delia's recipe was combined with that of yer man Locatelli, and so I basically guessed at the quantities, but I think it was about 100g of plain flour, 300g of potato, and 1 egg (plus a little salt and pepper).

I boiled the potatoes whole until only just done, then pealed them, whisked them until the steam steamed off and they were mushy but not glue. Floury potatoes helped.

I then mixed the lot with the egg and flour with more whisking (mainly because it's fun to choose the wrong vesicle and cover the kitchen with floury potato bits). I then learned that rolling sausages of the dough, cutting little chunks then pressing into shape with a fork is a very tedious affair.

I boiled the gnocchi in batches and scooped them out as they rose to the surface. Meanwhile, I made the sauce from a little lose roux, milk, and an obscene quantity of stilton. It was surprisingly lovely actually, and worked... which was a big surprise.

Holiday scran

We just went to Hell on holiday. I once went to a place in Norway that was actually called Hell, this wasn't, and this terrifying example of little Britain abroad will rename nameless. If only to protect the locals. Poor, poor locals.

Anyway, we had some nasty food, and some nice food (for which we searched far and wide). Here's an example of both. And just so you know, the greasy brown mess was an alleged national dish of unspecified animal steak with banana in chilli sauce. True fact.