Useful Recipes - Main Course

Featuring a variety of easy cooking and baking recipes that are ideal for home cooking and baking.
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Salmon en croute stuffed with artichokes
Serves 10
40 mins to prepare and 1 hr 25 mins to cook
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 150g (5oz) wild rice
• 450ml (¾pt) vegetable stock
• 1 x 280g artichoke halves in oil, drained and roughly chopped
• 1tbsp roughly chopped rosemary
• 2tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 1 lemon, finely grated zest only
• 1.6kg (3½lbs) skinned side of salmon
• 750g ready rolled puff pastry
• plain flour, for rolling out
• 1 egg yolk
• steamed green vegetables
• cranberry sauce, to serve

1 Fry the onion in the olive oil over a medium heat for 10 minutes, until colouring. Stir in the garlic.

2 Rinse the rice and add to the pan with the stock. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all the stock has disappeared. Stir in the artichokes, rosemary, pine nuts and lemon zest. Season, set aside.

3 Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C. Slice the salmon in two horizontally (ie across the belly of the fish) to form two similar-sized, slimmer pieces. Unfurl the puff pastry sheets and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet to make it 5cm (2in) wider than the other. Lay the thicker, unrolled sheet out on a lined baking tray and top with a piece of salmon. Season lightly. Mound the rice on the salmon and top with the other salmon piece.

4 Mix the egg yolk with 1 tbsp water and brush a little onto the pastry, round the edge of the salmon. Drape the larger sheet of pastry over and press down to seal both sheets together around the salmon, pushing any air out. Trim the excess pastry and press all the way around with a fork to make an indented seal. Brush the remaining egg yolk mixture over the top and gently run the points of a fork over the top to decorate. Bake for 40 minutes, until the pastry is a deep golden colour. Serve with steamed greens and cranberry sauce.

Chicken and pomegranate tagine
Serves 4
10mins to prepare and 30mins to cook
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 4 Halal chicken legs
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
• knob ginger, finely grated
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 200ml pomegranate juice
• 200ml Halal chicken stock
• 8 soft ready to eat dried apricots, halved
• 54 soft ready to eat dried figs, quartered

1 Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and brown the chicken on each side, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2 Stir in the onion and cook for a few minutes to soften before adding the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Cook for a minute more then add the juice and stock, stir in well.

3 Return the chicken back to the pan along with the apricots and figs and bring to the boil. Turn down to a low simmer, cover with a lid and cook for a further 30 minutes.

4 Once the tagine is cooked, remove from the pan and scatter over the fresh pomegranate and coriander. Serve with couscous.

Squash and goat's cheese fusilli
Serves 4
Takes 30 minutes to make
• 25g (1oz) butter
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 500g (1lb) squash, peeled and diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 50g (2oz) pine nuts, toasted small handful sage, chopped
• small handful sage, chopped
• 400g fusilli pasta
• 200g (7oz) baby leaf spinach
• 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced • 100g (3.5oz) soft goat's cheese, crumbled

1 Gently heat the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the squash, season and cook for 7-8 minutes.

2 Add the garlic and onion and fry until softened. Mix in the pine nuts and two thirds of the sage. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

3 Cook the fusilli according to the packet instructions and then drain, reserving the cooking water. Add the spinach, lemon zest and juice to the hot pasta and stir until the spinach has wilted.

4 Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the pasta and toss well. Add a little of the cooking water to make it saucier. Mix in the roasted squash and goat’s cheese then divide the pasta between 4 bowls. Sprinkle with the remaining sage and a drizzle of olive oil to serve.

Cuban style grilled lamb chops
Serves 6
55 mins to prepare and 40 mins to cook
• 12 lamb chops
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 green peppers, finely sliced
• 2 red onions finely sliced
• olive oil
For the marinade
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• ½tsp salt
• ½tsp ground black pepper
• 120ml orange juice
• 2tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 1tsp oregano finely chopped
• 120ml olive oil
• 1tsp garlic powder

1 Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.

2 Place lamb chops into a large bag or plastic container and cover with marinade. Seal bag or cover the container and shake to coat the meat in marinade mixture. Leave in fridge for 4 hours or overnight and turn occasionally.

3 Remove the chops from the marinade and place under a hot grill. Grill for approximately 25 minutes turning occasionally.

4 Meanwhile, fry the onions, garlic clove and chopped peppers in olive oil until soft and serve hot alongside the grilled chops.

Crispy Lemon & Fennel Pork
Serves 6
10 mins to prepare and 1 hr 25 mins to cook
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1.5kg (3lb) pork belly, de-boned
• 750g (1½lb) potatoes, boiled
• ½ tbsp butter
• 60ml (4fl oz) milk
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 400ml (¾pt) chicken stock
• green beans, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Mix the garlic, lemon zest and fennel seeds to make a thick paste.

2 Unroll the pork and pat dry. Score the fat, making cuts about 1cm (½in) apart, then turn flesh side up and rub with the paste. Roll back up and secure with string. Rub the skin with sea salt and place on a rack over a roasting tin.

3 Cook for 20 minutes, then reduce to Gas Mark 4, 180°C, fan 160°C, and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes (or 25 minutes per 500g (1lb). For crispy crackling, increase to Gas Mark 7, 220°C, fan 200°C for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

4 Meanwhile, mash the boiled potatoes in a bowl with the butter and mik. Season.

5 Leave the pork to rest. Put the roasting tin on the hob and spoon off the excess fat, leaving the juices. Heat gently, then stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisk in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until thickened, then strain into a clean pan. Reheat, adding the lemon juice and season to taste. Serve with the pork, mash and some green beans.