Meat Dishes

Roast Beef / Roast Lamb
with roast potatoes

 You will need:                            

Roast Beef

1Kg Roast beef/lamb

salt, pepper

6 large potatoes 

olive oil 

herbs (i.e.oregano, garlic, thyme etc)

For the beef

Take the beef out from the fridge about 30mins to an hour before roasting. 

Heat up some oil in a frying pan and brown the beef from all sides. Place the beef in a baking dish and place a food thermometer inside the beef. Place the beef in a preheated oven (200 degrees C) for about an hour to 90 mins (the meat needs about an hour per kilo). 

Should you wish to use a roasting bag, make sure you cut one of the corners of the bag before placing in the oven in order to let some of the steam out. Also, place the thermometer in the beef once you have closed the bag so that the thermometer penetrates the beef from outside the bag.  

Once the beef have reached 58-65 degrees, it is ready to take out. If you like the beef medium take it out when the beef has reached about 62 degrees. The more you leave the beef in the oven the more cooked it will be. 

For the potatoes

Roast Potatoes 

Peel the potatoes and place them into water. Boil until they are about half cooked. Drain the potatoes ad leave aside. In an oven tray place some olive oil and then add the potatoes on top of them. Place some butter in with the potatoes and put them in the oven at about 200 degrees C for about half an hour. Once thirty minutes have gone, take the potatoes about of the oven and sprinkle with some salt, herbs and garlic. Put back in the oven for another 30 minutes or until they are nice and golden brown. 

Serve together with the roast beef/lamb and enjoy! 

Chicken stir-fry in Szechuan Sauce

Chicken stir-fry in Szechuan sauce

You will need: 

Szechuan sauce

For the Szechuan sauce

4 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs rice vinegar

2 tsp cornstarch 

1 tsp roasted sesame oil

1/2 cup chicken broth 

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs minced ginger 

1Tbs minced garlic

1 tsp sambal oleek

Veggies for the stir-fry

Other ingredients

400gr chicken tenderloin filet 

1 red pepper

4 large portobello mushrooms

2 large carrots

1 can of bamboo shoots

noodles or rice   

 The ready-made sauces from the store always left me dissatisfied. I did not taste the freshness of the ingredients and I always ended up dismissing stir-fries as a dinner option. Moreover, take-away Chinese is always expensive. 

So, I started looking for recipes online. A few years ago, I discovered this great website with 15 Basic Stir-fry Sauces. I gave a few of those a go and BINGO! I was hooked. I took away a few elements from the recipe and added my own veggies to the stir-fry. I also try to use low sodium soy sauce and use less than 2 Tbs of sugar. I use ready made ginger paste and graded garlic paste. In addition, I opted for roasted sesame oil instead of plain sesame oil as it is adding more flavor to the dish. 

Boil some water. In a bowl add 1 cup of boiled water and a cube of chicken stock. Mix until dissolved. Then add the rest of the ingredients in order from the list. Leave the sauce aside to rest. 

Then chop up your veggies. 

In a stir-fry pan add a bit of roasted sesame oil and the chicken fillets. Fry till lightly brown and then add the chopped mushrooms. Once they soften a little add the carrots. Then add the bamboo shoots and last the pepper. Straight after you have added the pepper, add the sauce and reduce the heat. Let the sauce thicken up a bit and then switch off stove. 

Prepare the noodles or rice either before start cooking the meat or after depending on how much time it takes to prepare. I usually start boiling the water for my noodles at the same time as I start cooking the meat and once I have added the sauce to the meat, I add the noodles to the already boiling water. The noodles take two minutes to cook so the two dishes are ready at the same time. 

Tip! 

I also chop some spring onions and add them to the dish as garnish. 

Home-Made Burgers & Wedges

Burger and wedges

You will need: 

For the Burgers

400gr lean minced meat

1 egg

1 large onion

salt, pepper

1tbs dried parsley 

1/2  dl bread crumbs

1 tsp olive oil

For the wedges

6 medium size potatoes 

some wedge spices

In a bowl mix the minced meat with the egg, onion (which you have grated), salt, pepper, parsley and olive oil. Mix all together with a fork and then add the bread crumbs.  Once the bread crumbs have been added knit the mixture well with your hands. Leave aside covered to rest for at least 10 minutes. 

Mix the ingredients 

Knit the mixture

Then take the mixture and create a 1cm-thick burgers. You can either fry those in sunflower oil, bake then in the oven or grill. Keep the heat to medium and keep turning the burgers till brown. 

For the wedges I use 6 medium size potatoes which I have washed well and kept the skin on. Cut t he potatoes in wedges. Place them in a bowl and sprinkle with some olive oil. Mix the potatoes till they are all covered with some oil. Place the wedges on a baking tray which you have covered with some parchment paper. Sprinkle the wedges with the spices of your choice and bake in 200 degrees Celsius for about 40 mins or until golden brown.

Enjoy! 

Roast Beef