Number 32: Rib-Sticking Stir Fry!

Poor old Pete (my big brother).

He was under the weather for a while with suspected glandular fever. He went to have some blood tests done and - yep - he's got it! But it also turns out he's anaemic as well! Double whammy!

So that makes 3 out of 4 members of the family. We are all fighting over the iron tablets at the moment! My mum's solution to the anaemia epidemic?

RED MEAT!!!!

Lots and LOTS of red meat! Our dinners this week have included spaghetti and meatballs, beef stir fry, sausages and mash, beef burgers.....all delicious don't get me wrong, but when it came to MY cooking night I decided to have a break from the stuff. The rib-sticking stir fry from Express was a good choice, as it uses turkey (or chicken, whichever you like), so it gives us a rest from red meat, but it also has heaps of beans in it, so we all still get our much needed iron hit.

I apologise in advance for my photography on this one - not sure what happened to the photos between me taking them, and them ending up on my laptop (which is FINALLY back after about 2 months being repaired), but they look awful. AWFUL!!! You'll just have to trust me on this one - it is yummy I promise!


Ingredients

(Quantities below serve two; I doubled them for 4)
2 tbsp oil
300g turkey or chicken breast fillets, cut into thin strips
300g pack of stir fry veg
60ml light soy sauce
60ml chinese cooking wine (or mirin)
1 x 400g cannellini beans, drained (these replace noodles/rice in the recipe, making it super easy!)
Fresh coriander or parsley, to serve


Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok. When hot, add the poultry strips.

2. Toss them around until the meat is sealed and you can't see any pink (they are probably still pink inside but will continue to cook as the recipe goes on so don't worry.)



Oops...you can still see a bit of pink there. Ah well - do as I say, not as I do!

 3. Add the vegetables and toss until beginning to soften.

4. Now add the soy sauce and cooking wine. It's very easy, isn't it!

5. Once the heat is up again and everything is sizzling, toss in the beans.

6. Mine was very watery at this point, so to thicken it I added about 2 tbsp corn flour mixed into a paste with some water. Didn't put that in the ingredients list as I wouldn't want you to go out and buy it, only to find you didn't need it yourself! I'm sure any old flour would work as a thickener if needed.

7. Watery problems solved, divide between plates and serve sprinkled with fresh chopped coriander.

That is a truly APPALING image. It looks dreadful but hear me out - it really is tasty...No, really!

Go make it :D

Meanwhile, I should look into some photography lessons......

Thanks for reading!

P.S - When I finish this challenge (or maybe before I finish) I'm thinking of starting up a new food blog - one about recipes I've tried out, recipes I've come up with myself, weird and wonderful tasty food combinations, products new and old that I love.....what do you think? I won't give up on this of course! It ain't over till it's over! But now I have my precious laptop back I have a newfound passion for blogging, and lately I've been thinking of lots I'd like to write about that isn't to do with Nigella.

Number 31: Crispy Lamb Chops (plus an apology)

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in such a long time! I actually cooked this a few weeks ago but haven't had a chance to blog it. My parents were away a lot the last few weeks, so I've had extra chores like food shopping, dish washing and hanging out the clothes to do; I've also started my summer job on regular shifts; the last couple of days we've been out at the olympics! Which is a lot of fun but also keeps me away from here; I was on a riding holiday with my dad in Wales for a few days; and also sadly on saturday night my Grandpa passed away, so I've been helping out with a special card my family is making for the funeral, and to be honest I didn't really feel like cooking/blogging after.

But I am back, and I will keep cooking recipes for you - perhaps not as frequently as usual (busy times ahead!) but I'll keep on going. I'm already on 31 so almost a third of the way there now!

Ok, so recipe 31 is Nigella's crispy lamb chops. I found it on her website but it's probably in one of the books I don't have yet as well. I made it as a special dinner for when my parents got back from a holiday in France.


Ingredients

10 lamb chop cutlets with bone in (I actually used some lamb racks and cut them up as the meat is better, but do what you like)
175g fresh white breadcrumbs (although I used more as the two racks gave me 16 cutlets instead of 10)
10g grated parmesan
2 eggs, beaten with salt and pepper (again, I needed more so used 3)
Olive oil for frying


Method

1. Remove the thick layer of fat from the edge of each chop - leave a bit though or else they'll fall apart. Lay them between sheets of clingfilm and bash with a rolling pin to flatten them out.

2. Put the beaten egg in one bowl....

3. ...and the breadcrumbs mixed with the parmesan in another.

4. Dip the cutlets first in the egg mix, and then in the crumb mixture. I then dipped it back in each one more time to get a nice, thick layer of crumbs, but you don't have to.

5. Heat about 1cm of oil in a pan (or two, if you want to cook them all at once instead of in batches), and when hot, pop in as many chops as will comfortably fit.

6. Cook until the underside is golden brown and crispy and then flip. If you want them to have no pink (my mother insists upon this as otherwise "IT'S RAW!!!!"), then leave them for longer, but be careful they don't burn. If you are cooking in batches, make a foil parcel and wrap the ones that are ready in it, to keep them warm while you cook up the rest.

7. When ready, pop onto plates and serve! I served mine with two kinds of potato salad (the usual mayo kind, and one with pesto and peas) and a green salad.

I put the potato on my plate after I took this, it's not invisible potato

Yum yum!

Thanks for reading, and again, sorry for my lack of blogging lately!