Bombay Potatoes

When I was at school years ago, we had a "Day of Islam" where we spent the day painting designs on our skin with henna, cooking a few dishes, and generally learning about the Islamic faith. I don't remember much from that day, but I did remember making some gorgeous seedy potato things, and a few months back, I found the recipe, and I decided to use it as a base for my own bombay potato recipe.

This recipe calls for both black and yellow mustard seeds, but it's not necessary to have both types. If you only have black seeds, them simply use 2 Tsp instead. I just think it's nice to have the mix of both. Also, it is important to reduce the heat shortly after adding in the onions or else the seeds and/or the onions could burn, adding a bitter taste to the dish.

As a side dish this will give you a good portion for 4-6 people depending on the size of the potatoes and how much you want to eat.

Ingredients: 3 Large Potatoes Olive Oil Butter 2 Tsp Cumin Seeds 1 Tsp Black Mustard Seeds 1 Tsp Yellow Mustard Seeds 2 Large Onions Sliced 1 Tsp Ground Coriander 1 Tsp Ground Cumin 1 Tsp Garam Masala 1 Tsp Mild Chilli Powder Salt & Pepper

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks of about 1 inch in size. Boil in a pan of salted water and cook until just tender. Do not overcook, or they will fall apart later on. Once cooked, drain the potatoes and set to one side.
2. Heat a little oil in a deep sided frying pan and when hot add in a knob of butter. once the butter has melted tip in the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Cook for a few seconds until they begin to pop.
3. Add in the sliced onions and fry for a minute, then reduce the heat and cook the onions until they are nice and soft, but not necessarily browned.
4. Add in the ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala and chilli powder and mix into the onions. season with salt and pepper and cook in for a few minutes.
5. Tip the potatoes into the pan and mix around thoroughly so that all of the onions and potatoes are coated in spices. Cook for a few minutes until the potatoes are warmed through and serve.

Breadcrumbed Turkey Steak with Pesto Pasta

This is one of my favourite ever dishes, which I could eat all the time. It's a quick and easy meal, and by deep frying the turkey, you not only get a nice even golden colour, but the breadcrumbs are particularly crispy and the meat is melt-in-the-mouth succulent. If you don't have a deep fat fryer, you can use a frying pan with 1cm of oil in the bottom and shallow-fry it - you may need to scrape out any loose breadcrumbs that are left in the bottom of the pan, or else you'll end up with black, burnt breadcrumbs stuck to your turkey. I would also highly recommend using Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) instead of regular breadcrumbs as they are much crispier and give a nicer, flakier texture. You can get them at many supermarkets now, as well as at Asian supermarkets, and they're well worth it.

This recipe gives you a lot of pasta, so it's ideal if you're catering for several people. If not, then you can either reduce the amount of pasta and pesto, or, alternatively you can cook the full amount and have the pasta cold for a nice lunch. It's also worth noting that if you're only cooking up one or two turkey steaks, you will only need 1 egg.

Ingredients: 500g Dried Pasta Shapes (I like to use Cavatappi) 1 Portion Fresh Pesto Thin Turkey Breast Steaks (as many as required) Flour Salt and Pepper 2 Eggs (Beaten) Panko Breadcrumbs

Method:

1. Add a generous pinch of salt to a saucepan of water and bring it to the boil. Tip in the dried pasta and cook until tender.
2. Drain the pasta and return it to the empty saucepan. Tip in the pesto and mix thoroughly. Place into a large serving bowl and set to one side.
3. Take the turkey steaks and lightly bash them with a tenderising mallet so that they are nice and thin.
4. Take three large plates and line them up. In the first plate sprinkle some plain flour and season with a little salt and pepper. In the second plate, put your two beaten eggs. Finally, in the third put a generous handful of Panko Breadcrumbs.
5. Pick up one of the turkey steaks and dust in the flour. Then dip into the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs. Once coated, immediately place the steak into a deep fat fryer set at 190C and cook until golden brown. Remove from the fryer and put on a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak up any excess oil before placing onto a lined baking tray.
6. Repeat with the remaining steaks, if you run low on flour, egg, or panko, just replenish the plate as necessary. Transfer the baking tray to a low oven to warm through while you reheat the pasta in the microwave. When both are hot, serve and enjoy!

Fresh Pesto

When it comes to fresh herbs, one of my favourite is Basil; I love the gorgeous aroma a fresh bunch gives off and the flavour when it's used in a dish. So naturally, I've always enjoyed Pesto, though until about 18 months ago, I'd never attempted to make my own. I found a decent recipe on the net, and it was really simple to make. After a few small adjustments I managed to perfect the recipe, so here we go.

This recipe makes up a fairly large portion, which is the perfect amount to stir through 500g of dried pasta. If you don't need the whole lot in one go, simply pop it in a sealed jar or pot and keep in the fridge. This is also really nice to use in a home made tear and share loaf, stuffing into a chicken breast, or spreading on a fillet of white fish.

Ingredients: 120g Fresh Basil 50g Pine Nuts 1 Large Clove of Garlic 80g Parmesan Shavings Ground Black Pepper Salt 125ml Olive Oil

Method:

1. Pull the leaves off of the basil. This can be a tedious job, and is the most time consuming of the whole process, but you'll have lovely fragrant fingers afterwards. Put all the leaves into a food processor and lightly pulse to chop it up a bit.
2. Add in the pine nuts, garlic and parmesan shavings (use shavings as it gives a better flavour and a better texture than grated), and blend for a minute.
3. Season with a generous pinch of black pepper and a little salt and mix.
4. With the motor running, add in the oil and process until you have a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.