Beer Battered Fish & Chips with Homemade Tartar Sauce

A recipe borrowed from my extremely close, personal friend, Jamie Oliver :) 

*Due to being a moron and getting burned with hot oil, I feel the need to remind you of what you already know - never put water on burning oil. Whenever cooking with hot oil, always have a fire extinguisher handy or, if your oil should catch fire, cover the pot or pan with a damp cloth, turn the heat off and let the fire go out by itself. 

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of beer

2 egg whites whipped

Salt

4 250 gram fillets of haddock or cod (I used skinless)

Enough cooking oil (canola, sunflower, etc) for your fish to be at least half submerged

And all you need for my potato wedges 

For the tartar sauce, mix together everything in a food processor:

3/4 a cup of mayonaise

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 spring onion

2 small pickles

A few sprigs of dill

2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Since the chips take longer to make, I suggest doing them first and only cooking the fish when your potatoes are about 75% done. 
2. Begin heating the oil while you wash the fish and dap off all the moisture with a paper towel. 
3. Combine the whipped egg whites, beer and flour and mix well before dipping the fish in the batter and dropping the fillets into the oil. 
4. You want the oil to be hot enough to brown the batter but not burn it and not cook the fish enough. 
5. Once the batter is golden and the fish seems cooked inside, take the fish out and let it cool on paper towel. 
6. Enjoy!

Chocolate Fondant Cake

1/2 a cup of dark chocolate

1/2 a cup of butter

1 cup of icing sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

6 tablespoons of flour

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (425 Fahrenheit) 
2. Melt the chocolate and butter and whisk together the mixture (don't burn it!)
3. Beat the eggs until they are frothy and add them along with sugar and mix well before adding the flour.
4. Grease your muffin cups or ramekins before filling them 3/4 of the way up with the fondant mix. 
5. Bake them for about 11 minutes and let them sit for a moment before gently flipping them and serving.  
6. Top them with fruit and or whipped cream!

Baked Ginger Tofu & Mushroom Bok Choy Stir Fry

Brown Rice

Tofu 

Mushrooms (2 cups, sliced)

Bok Choy (1 pound) 

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

2 and a half teaspoons of minced ginger

2 teaspoons of chili sauce

3 teaspoons of sesame oil

3 table spoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of cornstarch 

2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce

1. Chop the bok choy and mushrooms and onions, mince the garlic and begin cooking the rice. 
2. In a bowl, combine 1 clove of crushed garlic, 1/2 a teaspoon of minced ginger and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and brush the sliced tofu before baking it in the oven until it is crispy on the outside. 
3. Meanwhile, combine the remaining sesame oil, olive oil, chili sauce, minced ginger and soy sauce in a bowl and mix them - this will be your sauce. 
4. Saute the chopped onions in a wok in some olive oil until they are golden and add the chopped bok choy and mushrooms and add the sauce.
5. Whisk together water with the corn starch and slowly pour it in to thicken the sauce. 
6. Once the mushrooms and bok choy are cooked, serve!

Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie with Orange Zest

• 1 cup of frozen strawberries
• 2 kiwis (peeled)
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest
• 1 tablespoon of grenadine
• 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
• half a cup of orange juice 

Combine in a blender and serve :)

Mini Doughnuts

400g white flour without yeast

150ml milk

20g fresh yeast

40g sugar

50 unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

1. Dissolve the fresh yeast and sugar in warm milk.
2. Place the flour in a large bowl only around the edges so the middle is hollow.
3. Stir in the yeast, add slightly beaten eggs, softened butter (cut into cubes), lemon zest and vanilla extract to the centre of the bowl and slowly mix in the flour and knead 1-2 minutes.
4. Add a pinch of salt and knead the dough. You want to keep it a little wet but slightly firm. 
5. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise (in a warm place) for 2 hours or until almost double or triple the size.
6. Roll out the dough with the help of a roller on a slightly floured surface until the dough is about 1 cm thick before using a cookie cutter to make circles (about 6 cm diameter) and then a much smaller circle in the middle.
7. Place the doughnuts on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and cover with a cloth and let them grow in a warm place until double the volume.
8. If you want to bake the donuts in the oven, after doubling the volume, place the pan in the oven preheated to 170 º C.
9. If you want to fry them, heat some oil and fry them before letting them cool on paper towel.
10. And then, I sprinkled mine with icing sugar :)

Gazpacho

I may have developed a slight addition to gazpacho this summer. It is, without a doubt, my favorite summer dish. It's so light and refreshing. Not only is it delicious, it is probably the easiest and quickest thing to make. 

4 fresh tomatoes

1 green capsicum (bell pepper)

1/4 of a large cucumber

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar

A small handful of fresh baguette

1-2 small cloves of garlic

A small white onion

Salt and pepper to taste

a hand mixer or food processor 

How to make your gazpacho

1. Wash your veggies
2. Seed your capsicum 
3. Peel the cucumber (seed if you prefer, I'm lazy so I tend not to)
4. Add all your ingredients together in a food processor (or you can use a hand mixer) until your ingredients are as fine as possible
5. Be sure to taste as you go, I tend to not measure anything
6. OPTIONAL - if you want to make a very traditional gazpacho, pour your blended ingredients through an extremely fine sieve  to make it even smoother and leave over night in the fridge. I, however, tend to prefer a bit more texture to mine and don't add this step. But be sure to serve your gazpacho cold.
7. Garnish with garlic croutons and finely diced onions and green capsicum

Aubergine, Feta & Sundried Tomato Pesto Grilled Cheese

An aubergine (eggplant)

A red onion

Feta

Sundried tomato pesto

Fresh bread

Garlic 

A drizzle of balsamic vinegar 

A sprinkle of sugar

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Wash and finely slice the aubergine and leave it to marinate in some olive oil, a tiny bit of balsamic, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, sugar and sundried tomato pesto.
2. While it marinates, chop the onions and saute them in some olive oil until golden. Take them out and place the aubergine in the pan until it is cooked. 
3. Once the aubergine is ready, spread sundried tomato pesto on each side of the bread and fill your sandwich with aubergine, feta and the onions. 
4. Toss the bread in the pan and let the sandwich get toasty.

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

My boyfriend was skeptical when I said we were having broccoli quiche but even he loved it :)

6 eggs

1/3 of a cup of milk

2/3 a cup of cheddar

Salt & pepper to taste

A small head of broccoli

One onion 

Olive oil

A sprinkle of minced chives

A pack of puff pastry

1. Preheat the oven depending on the instructions on the package and grease the baking pan you are using.
2. Wash and chop the broccoli before steaming it. 
3. Chop and fry the onion in olive oil.
4. Beat the eggs and mix them with milk, grated cheddar, minced chives, salt and pepper. Then add the the onions and broccoli.
5. Lay the pastry on the baking pan and pour in the filling mixture.
6. Bake according to the instructions on the puff pastry package. 

Veggie Fritters

zucchini 

2 potatoes
2 carrots

1 small onion

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of flour

1 lime

Some sprigs of fresh parsley (about 2 talespoons minced)

Salt & pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Tzatziki 

1. Grate the veggies and chop the onion and parsley
2. Mix the grated vegetables in salt & pepper, squeezed lime, beaten eggs and flour
3. Heat oil in a pan (enough so the fritters will be half submerged) and try to ball the vegetables as best you can before dropping them into the oil
4. Cook them until they are golden on each side before laying them on paper towel to cool slightly and serving them with tzatziki!

Mushroom Risotto

A recipe adapted from one by Diane, A Broad.

1 1/2 cups of risotto rice

1 finely chopped onion

3 cloves of garlic

4 tablespoons of butter (optional for vegans)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

6 cups of veggie stock (chicken or beef if you prefer)

2-3 cups of the mushrooms of your choice (I used a mix of dry porcini mushrooms and Swiss brown mushrooms)

3/4 of a cup of dry white wine

1/2 a cup of parmesan cheese (optional for vegans)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Begin by heating the stock in a pot while you wash and chop your mushrooms, mince the onion and garlic
2. If you are using dried mushrooms, place them in boiling water and cover them for about 10 minutes and then add the leftover broth to the stock and place the no longer dehydrated mushrooms with your other mushrooms
3. Pour the olive oil into a pan and cook the onions and garlic. 
4. In a separate pan, add the mushrooms and let them get golden, then season them with salt, pepper and some finely chopped parsley.
5. Place your rice in the pan with the onions, pour in the stock (I usually don't put it all in at once), wine and butter before covering it with a lid.
6. Be sure to keep stirring your risotto, you never want it burnt or so sticky and hard it barely moves. Keep it hydrated by adding stock as you go and keep tasting it. 
7. Once it is about 3/4 of the way done, toss in the mushrooms and some parmesan & parsley (leaving the rest for garnish)
8. Serve!