Chicken Massaman Curry...

I love curries. They're really simple to make, and although they take a while to cook if you want to maximise the flavour, you can just leave them to simmer away on their own. Make a big batch & have the leftovers for lunch, or freeze some for those days when you're caught without food in the house. They're also a great dish to make at the end of the week when you've little bits left of lots of different vegetables. 

I've played around with the recipe for Massaman curry a little and this version tastes really great. Make the curry paste in large quantities and freeze in a silicone mould for use another time. If you're going to use a commercially produced paste, just check the ingredients list and choose the one with the most natural ingredients possible. Honestly though, it's really easy to make your own & it will always taste far superior. 

For the paste: 

• 4 tbsp tomato puree 
• 1 tbsp Keen almond butter
• zest & juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 lemongrass stalk 
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 cloves
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp smoky paprika
• 2 tsp chilli flakes
• salt & pepper 

Add all the ingredients to a food processor & blend to form a thick paste. See I told you it was easy!! 

For the curry: 

• 1 large chicken fillet 
• 1 tbsp Massaman paste
• 1 small sweet potato, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• spinach
• 1 tbsp coconut cream (or 3 tbsp coconut milk)* 
• 1 tsp Keen almond butter
• 150ml homemade chicken/vegetable stock
• flaked almonds
• fresh coriander

Start by marinading the chicken in the curry paste for at least 30 minutes. 

Once marinaded, add to a hot wok and cook quickly. 

Remove the chicken from the wok & add the sweet potato with a little coconut oil & 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. Cook for about 5 minutes until slightly softened. 

Next add the onion, peppers & mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Add back in the chicken, coconut cream, almond butter & stock. Allow to simmer and cook over a gentle heat for 15 minutes. 

Finally add the spinach & cook for 2 minutes to allow it to wilt slightly. 

Garnish with flaked almonds & fresh coriander. This goes perfectly with cauliflower 'rice'.

*I don't like dishes smothered in sauce, so feel free to add more coconut milk if you'd prefer... :) 

Beef Pad Thai.. but better!

Pad Thai is a friend's favourite meal ever, without exception... I cooked her this healthier version and for a someone who is a self confessed 'grain junkie', she didn't miss the noodles or the peanut butter. I know I keep saying this, but this really is the tastiest dinner I've had lately (til I cook dinner tonight I'm sure...)

For the sauce: 

• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Mix all the ingredients together & set aside. 

For the 'noodles':

• 1 carrot 
• 1/2 courgette

Using a wide vegetable peeler, scrape large noodle-like pieces of each vegetable. 

Place in a heat proof dish, drizzle with melted coconut oil, season with sea salt and place in preheated oven (170d fan) for 15 minutes. 

Next prep your meat: 

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 150g steak, sliced 
• 50g sliced mushrooms

Start by frying onion, garlic & ginger together in coconut oil over a high heat. 

Once softened & almost cooked, add steak pieces seasoned with salt & pepper along with sliced mushrooms.

Next add in sauce, and cooked vegetable 'noodles'. 

Toss until well coated.

Cook for a further 5 minutes until warmed through. 

This is another super quick meal, that is really simple to put together.... Let me know what you think on the GLBTK Facebook page :) 

Stuffed Pork Steak...

Yeah that's right... STUFFED pork steak..... stuffed with STUFFING!

Since stuffing is generally made with breadcrumbs, it's definitely not something that pops up in my recipes. Until I made this Seed & Nut Bread... this changes everything!

Certain foods just need to be stuffed, and pork steak is one of them. I find it dries out & lacks flavour if it's not cooked carefully.

For the stuffing:

50g breadcrumbs
100g grain free sausage meat
50g finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not dried in vegetable oil)
2 stalks of celery, chopped
handful of fresh parsley
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together until you have a well combined ball of stuffing. Use your hands... don't be a baby!

To prepare the pork steak:

• 1 large pork steak
• 1 quantity sausage meat stuffing 
• 150g streaky bacon

Start by creating a pocket in the pork steak. Using a sharp knife, slice 2/3 into the pork steak. 

Press the stuffing into the pocket firmly. 

Next using a rolling pin, flatten the bacon between two sheets of baking parchment (this just makes them slightly thinner and spread out a little... the thinner the pieces are, the crispier they'll get) 

Pull each side of the pork streak together & wrap tightly with the flattened bacon. 

Place in a Pyrex baking dish, cover with tin foil (to prevent the bacon burning) and cook at 170d for 45 minutes. 

After 45 minutes, remove the tin foil. Turn on the grill, and brown the bacon for 3-5 minutes. 

It's really important not to overcook pork or it gets really dry & stringy... Do as you're told & this meat literally falls apart when you go to carve it & seriously, it tastes incredible! 

I grilled some mushrooms & tomatoes using some of the cooking juice from the meat and wilted a little spinach in the wok. This literally takes less than 5 minutes so you can do it as you're waiting for the pork to brown. 

I hate waste... so I added 2 tbsp of the cooking juices to some homemade garlic & herb aioli I had leftover. AMAZING!!!

The leftover meat is going to make a fantastic breakfast!!