Lew's Recipe Page

Welcome to LEW'S RECIPE PAGE. This feature aims to give access to a wide range of favourite recipes. In May 2002 Lew and Norma left Asfordby for pastures new in sunny Spain but they will still be sending us recipes. We have Lew's new e-mail address lewbirch@tiscali.es

It is hoped that you will contribute to the collection by sending in your favourite recipe to make it more of an Old Dalby recipe page.

I promised to send salad dishes some time ago but in Spain it is best and also normal not to rush things. My past dependence on time seems to be waning it must have lots to do with this friendly, warm and relaxed environment on the Costa Blanca.

I stopped wearing a watch some “time” ago and it wasn’t to prevent a white patch in among the sun tan; we obviously need to know the time for certain things but it doesn’t necessitate keep looking at my watch so I don’t wear one. A friend of mine here in Spain when asked the time simply replies “it's half past”.

Still I suppose that the above is a pretty poor excuse for not sending these little recipes sooner and I hope you are still having a good summer. Our weather is very warm and very sunny for at least a 6 month summer period; for the last 6 to 8 weeks it has to be classed as very hot.

So please try these little salad dishes to accompany your meals on these summer days.

As yet I haven’t heard from anyone who as tried one of the recipes, so if you have please let me know and don’t forget I am very happy to receive your favourite recipes so that we build up a bigger and better range on this website site.

Best wishes

Lew Birch

15th August 2003

SALAD MUSHROOMS

Washed Mushrooms
Worcester Sauce
Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper

Slice mushrooms and place in small saucepan with the Worcester Sauce and Soy Sauce, bring to boil and simmer for 10 mins.

Allow to cool and store in refrigerator, they keep for a few days in the fridge if you can resist them.

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SALAD COURGETTES

2 Medium Courgettes sliced 6mm thick.

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Chives/Parsley/Coriander

Par boil sliced courgettes allow to cool ,place in flat dish. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and sprinkle with the chives or parsley or coriander or whatever herb takes your fancy. [Let me know which you prefer].

These can be stored in the fridge up to 2 days.

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SALAD ROAST TOMATOES

Tomatoes 1/2ed across the middle

Garlic finely chopped

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper.

Without breaking the tomato skin make cuts with a sharp knife on the inside of the tomato and then push the garlic pieces into the tomato. Season with the salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.

Place onto a baking tray and cook under a grill or in the oven at 150C approx. for about 10/15 mins. without burning the tomatoes.

Can be eaten hot but they are great cold and can be kept in the fridge for a few days.

Hola to you all I hope you are fit and health
We are well and looking forward to our visit to England next week. My computers been sick again I have just had another hard drive fitted, luckily under guarantee this time.
Anyway I thought I had better send another recipe, it seems when you have got nothing to do you fill your time doing nothing, so sorry its been so long.
I' ve selected one of my favourite dishes but unfortunaetly here in Spain I have difficulty getting all the ingredients that I need for it.
So I miss it but in England it is easy to get them.
Thai chicken curry is the recipe but as you can see there are a number of dishes the recipes can be used for.
Red or green Thai chicken curry or using the paste as the base for other meats or fish curries.
Cheers for now
Love from Norma and Lew. 28th Oct 2002

ps the paste will keep for a few days in the fridge.
lewbirch@tiscali.es

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Thai green/red chicken curry

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves of garlic sliced

2 tablespoons of curry paste or quantity to suit hotness required [see recipe for pastes]

½ pint thick coconut milk [tin]

2 tablespoons nam pla [fish sauce]

1 teaspoon sugar

2 chicken breasts cut into cubes [convenient fork or spoon size]

Juice and zest ½ lime

Small aubergine chopped [optional]

Basil leaves chopped [optional]

Heat oil in large fry pan; add garlic and fry until golden brown. Add curry paste and blend in coconut milk nam pla and sugar.
Add chicken and aubergine and stir for 2-4 mins. Simmer for 20 mins. Or until tender
Stir in basil and serve with cooked jasmine fragrant rice

Serves 4 [or 2 if really hungry]

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THAI GREEN CURRY PASTE

10 Green chillies [½ deseeded] roughly chopped

2 Sticks lemon grass chopped

1 Small onion chopped

1 piece of galangal [use fresh root ginger if not available]

3 table spoons chopped fresh coriander

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

Juice and zest of ½ lime

1 teaspoon nam pla [fish sauce]

6 black pepper corns

Place all ingredients into a mixer or blender and blend into a paste.

THAI RED CURRY PASTE

As green but substitute red chillies

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Strawberry Dessert

With the strawberry season not too far away I thought my next recipe [the first one from our new home in Spain] would be something a little different from the expected recipes for this fruit. Here in Spain fresh fruit and vegetables are very cheap, strawberries costing only a few pence a kilo. so I am taking advantage while I can.

Heat butter in fairly hot pan, Add strawberries and saute. Add sugar and heat until it bubbles, Add wine and boil for 90 secs. Take out strawberries and place on serving plates, Reduce sauce to ½, Add balsamic vinegar and pepper, remove from heat pour over strawberries and serve with Shortbread biscuits.

PRAWNS WRAPPED IN BACON

This is a delicious dish to start this new section of 'LEW'S RECIPE PAGE'. It can be grilled in the kitchen or cooked on the Bar-B. You could also choose to use it as a main course simply by doubling up the quantities

Recipe for 4.

20 cooked tiger prawns with shells off, leave tails on if possible

10 slices streaky bacon

1 lb or 450 grms of rice

1 lemon [for garnish]

Coriander [for garnish]

1 pt or 550ish ml fish stock

½ pt or 275ml single cream

1oz or 25grms butter

To make sauce heat fish stock until reduced by 50%, add cream and butter and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Keep warm.

Cook rice and keep warm.

Stretch each rasher of bacon with the back of a knife [this will prevent some shrinkage during cooking]. Cut rashers in halve and wrap around prawns.Grill gently for about 2 mins. on each side just long enough to cook the bacon and heat the prawns.

To present dish;

Arrange ¼ of the rice along centre of plate, place cooked prawns and bacon on the top. Spoon sauce onto prawns, sprinkle with lemon zest dress with ¼ of lemon and coriander.

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Pumpkin and Mussel Soup

This recipe, the second in the series, is one that I “created” about 4 years ago. It is appropriate for this season since the two major ingredients are readily available.

The mussels are now just at the beginning of their new season and taste really sweet after spending the summer growing in the seas around our coast. We should make sure we take the opportunity to enjoy them at least once while they are at their very best. At home, at this time of the year, we have them every week in one recipe or another.

Because of HALLOWEEN or All Hallow’s Eve the pumpkin is readily available or at least the bit that we need. That is the fleshy bit that is normally thrown away after making the scary lanterns.

There are no tricks in this dish, just the treat of two flavours that really enhance one another.

Recipe for 4.

1 kilo. fresh mussels, cleaned.

650grms. pumpkin flesh, chopped.

50grms. butter

2 medium sized onions, chopped.

1 teaspoon dried thyme

0.5 litre milk

10 fl.oz. fish stock including mussel liquor

splash of dry white wine.

fresh parsley, chopped.

salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Melt butter in a large pan and fry onions for 5 mins. or until soft. Add the chopped pumpkin, cover and cook for 5 minutes more.

Put the white wine into another pan with the mussels and cook over a fierce heat until the mussel open. Strain the mussels and save the liquor. Retain 4 mussels in their shells for presentation. Remove the remaining mussels from their shells.

Into the pumpkin pan stir in the thyme and milk. Cover and simmer gently for 30 mins. until tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then put mixture into a processor or liquidizer until very smooth. This can then be passed through a sieve or used as it is [depending on personal preference].

Place in a large pan, add stock and mussel liquor and bring to boil, season with salt and pepper. Place mussels into the soup but do not then boil.

Put soup into serving dishes, add the mussels that are in the shells and garnish with parsley. Serve with your favourite bread or rolls.

Happy New Year and I hope you have had a super Christmas.

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Chicken Fillets in Orange and Mustard Seed Sauce

To start 2002 I thought we could try a “non fish dish” and something light and quick.

This is a recipe I found some years ago, Chicken Fillets in Orange and Mustard Seed Sauce. It serves 4 as a light meal.

4 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons of olive oil and a small knob of butter

300ml orange juice

2 oranges segmented

zest of 1 orange

4 teaspoons of whole grain mustard

salt and pepper for seasoning

Melt butter along with olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Add chicken and part cook, then add remaining ingredients heat through to finish cook chicken and develop sauce.

This can be served jacket potato or boiled rice.

Now that’s easy, isn’t it?

Happy cooking!

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