Light Spring Recipes

 

Chili Beef Lettuce Wraps keeping it simple in the kitchen doesn't mean you can't have amazing food that not only looks incredible but tastes fantastic too my first recipe is so easy it removes the stress from cooking and it's a pleasure to make chili beef lettuce wraps cooking should never be a chore the more you cook the more confident you become that way you actually start to enjoy it and that's the key to good cooking have a bit of fun along the way this is minced beef and minced pork the pork needs to sit in there otherwise the beef's gonna dry out it's really important to season the mince before you cook it pan nice and hot a touch of olive oil [Music] mince in breaking up like that really helps to sort of separate it so we can fry it off with a lot of color with your spoon just go through and start breaking that up the most important thing to remember is mince is made up of cheap cuts brisket belly short rib so it needs help and frying off the mince for color is so important if this pan wasn't hot your mince is going to boil it's a horrible gray color on there and there's no flavor on your mince taste a little bit [Music] tastes delicious it's seasoned beautifully see how crispy it's going take it much further than you ever taken mince before nice and crispy smells incredible i'm draining it it's crucial it keeps the mints nice and crispy let me get rid of that excess fat that's lovely now just wipe out the pan then wash it low gas now we're gonna add texture to the mince finely chopped chili ginger garlic and spring onions spring onions give this sort of mince a really nice freshness because it just gives that crunch nice and thinly now i'm gonna fry off the chilis the ginger the garlic first sesame seed oil teaspoon only in garlic chili ginger in fry that off nicely the sesame seed oil just lifts up the whole flavour brown sugar that starts to really caramelize the chili the garlic and the gusto hash in now my fish sauce that gives it the saltness you can see now why it’s so important to get that mince really crispy because nothing's going soggy staying really crispy fresh lime that makes the mince fragrant and then lime juice roll it and squeeze that in there incredible i've got the salty i have got the heat i have got the agreeableness now i have got the acidicness as well and also eventually my spring onions in right at the last nanosecond so i've got crunch in there as well smells amazing literally cook the mince now with sort of 30 seconds to go off and take it out [Music] looks incredible smells so inviting [Music] to go with the chili beef i'm making a simple sweet and spicy dipping sauce so everyone can dress the crispy mince to their own taste dipping sauce a little teaspoon the brown sugar soy sauce gives it a nice sort of dark rich color sesame seed oil a tablespoon and just top that up with a tablespoon of olive oil that stops the sesame seed all becoming too rich a teaspoon of fish sauce and then a touch of chili leave the seeds in again i want the heat in that sauce so impressive and amazing show off centerpiece lime juice in in the coriander chop it through once give that little mix up just check the seasoning that's lovely nice and rich now the lettuce i'm going to use baby gem because it's really nice and durable and sort of quite strong so you just sort of sit these nice trimmed lettuce leaves around now the exciting part to serve take your lettuce up spoon in your mince and then a little touch of dressing just a little drizzle nice and that's the secret of having good easy relaxed food is that you just help yourself food that looks and tastes a million bucks doesn't have to be complex this dish is as fun to cook as it is to eat [Music] spicy tuna fish cakes i love this recipe Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes why because it turns this humble ingredient a can of tuna into something delicious just open up and drain the tuna into a sieve just lightly flake that don't press it too hard otherwise you'll dry out the tuna now these are water chestnuts just slice them nice and thin you can buy them anywhere any supermarket chestnuts in fresh ginger get rid of that rough skin on the outside by grating the ginger you get to get all that really nice sort of juice in take your spring onions and just slice on an angle i like the texture of the water groaner with a spring onion or touch of fresh coriander lovely coming remove the seeds from a chili to reduce its heat without losing any flavor and finely chop chili's in kaffir lime leaves roll them up nice and tight run your knife down the center once and just chop and that makes the fish cake nice and fragrant touch of salt a touch of pepper fish sauce just lightly season the tuna to bind all those wonderful ingredients two whole eggs and give that a nice little whisk and then add your eggs get your hands in there and start mixing get the mixture roll it hand to hand and the palm pat them down nicely to cook add a little ground oil to a hot pan at the face of a clock i'm going to go from 12 all the way around first one in these fish cakes only take a few minutes to cook so keeping track of the order they go in the pan means you know which one to turn first [Music] give the pan a nice gentle little shake make sure that nothing's sticking to the bottom spatula two fingers on top turn them over beautiful that crackling noise is something you always want because the tunes are already cooked so we just lightly frying them and get a nice crisp outside and gently take them out smell incredible let them sit there we're gonna make a really nice delicious simple dipping sauce start off a little pinch of sugar fish sauce two tablespoons that gives it the saltiness one tablespoon of rice wine vinegar and some fresh lime juice squeeze all that lime in there your fresh coriander lots of coriander and then give that a little mix and then you have the most amazing spicy tuna fish cakes who would have thought something as delicious as that can come out of a can a simple supper in minutes that's so mouth-wateringly easy and delicious you're guaranteed to cook it again and again green papaya salad this is a great salad Green Papaya Salad to serve at a party it's delicious and robust enough to last the whole evening without wilting first off these are a little dried shrimp you can buy them anywhere they smell almost sort of of the sea bed into the pestilence for this salad inspired by my travels across thailand i'm starting by making a wonderfully spicy paste a little salt in there in just break them up this paste is like a staple ingredient in thailand that's what we're looking for almost it's like a powder right next just one clove of garlic slice up the garlic and get that into the pest and water raspberry’s eye chili incredibly hot important but wow it does give an amazing kick to the paste in to the mix now a couple of tablespoons of brown caster sugar that softens the blow with a chilli and then just to give that nice sour taste a little bit of hot water into this tamarind paste it's really tart but sweet paste one tablespoon in fish sauce now it's got that almost sort of pickly smell slightly salty but the flavor is intense two tablespoons in bring that together and give it a really good mix some lime juice in half another touch of tartness the paste is nice and thick and fragrant but it's got the heat the sourness the tartness incredible green papaya stand it up give it a little peel you can find green papaya and local asian shops and bigger supermarkets and as it doesn't work like more delicate veg it's perfect for robust salads like this i grate it look that's what i want these thin slithers next a nice rich sweet banana shalom [Music] nice some carrot carrot gives it another texture now little that and mix it [Music] finish that off with thai basil and fresh coriander thai basil is a much more fragrant basil it's stronger and it's slightly thicker as well like papaya and tamarind paste you can get thai basil in good supermarkets and independent asian stores but normal basil works well too next prepare the crunchy topping pan on and toast some peanuts chop the nuts but it gives a really nice crunch in they go roll them around the pan gas off and just stick them out now for the exciting part i'm going to dress the salad nice spoon of dressing in to the papaya mix that in and then finally a nice general sprinkling roasted nuts and that is one delicious very fragrant very robust green papaya salad so easy to make and guaranteed not to go limp a perfect party salad and with such incredible colors textures and bold exciting flavors it's sure to grab your guests attention Steak Sandwich for me the secret of a great brunch is fun and casual fuss-free cooking and everyone helping themselves this is the ultimate steak sandwich you want the rolls royce of beef it has to be fillet now season it beautifully i like to open up the top of the peppermill to increase the size of the pepper in the steak so it gives that bit of heat nice little chunks you just roll now nicely all the way around now slice the garlic in half pan nice and hot olive oil in [Music] hold the steak and just place it into the pan don't drop it at the front of the pan we're going to tilt the pan forward to cook the back of the steak dual purpose now roll it back and sear underneath next my garlic and roast that garlic thyme fry that time i want to hear it we're not looking for a lot of color because you're going to dry out the fill it so just one end turn it back down and steer the other end in lift up your time place it on top of the garlic there lift up your fillet and sit that on top of your garlic adulation in take a ladle cock the visage gently lift up and baste i have got that scented garlic thyme flavour the steak is going to cook evenly because it's sat on a little a little bed in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes [Music] pan on for the relish you think of a steak sandwich you think of a sort of nice heated tomato relish to make the relish finely dice a red onion three finger rule one in front two behind through and chop wow next roughly chop a chilli keeping the seeds in for extra heat start off with the olive oil into a pan onions chili [Music] generous with the olive oil i want a nice sort of rich silky relish from there take your tomatoes you can't just use red tomatoes but these yellow and red make the perfect combination now put your salt in and then roast those tomatoes off take a wooden spoon and just sort of break them up once the skins blister the whole tomato just starts to release all that really nice sweet texture a little teaspoon of cherry vinegar gives that nice acidic balance the sweetness of the tomatoes turn down the gas and just let them sort of stew perfectly now a steak sandwich would not be complete unless it had the most amazing mustard mayonnaise simply add three soupspoons of mayonnaise to three ladles of whole grain mustard now i have got the sanguine nearly down to like a really nice jam now i want to make that reddish a little bit more fragrant some basil slice it through sprinkle that basil in there [Music] beautiful look at this she is my crown jewels time to take it out smell is incredible just based one more time fill it touch is quite soft in the center so it's just coming up to mid-rare let it rest at the same time you cooked it it'll be nice and pink evenly throughout the steak to make my sandwich i'm going to char grill some sliced chipatta bread season it nicely just a little drizzle of olive oil i want to get that bread nice and crispy pan nice and hot bread in push it down smell is amazing that char sort of charcoal flavor once you've got those marks on the bread it just stops the bread from becoming soggy and look at this here it is stunning on slice it gently one beautiful slice wow it's nice and pink all the way through and the beef is so soft it's almost like slicing through butter let the knife do the work [Music] little bit of mayonnaise spread that the back of the spoon on both sides next lettuce take that beautiful slice of beef and then relish on top of that beef and just slice the sandwich in half beautiful now that's what i call a steak sandwich trust me serve the sublime sandwich for brunch and you'll put a smile on everyone's face you