Breath of the Wild #22: Meat and Seafood Fry

Ingredients: Raw Meat or Raw Bird Drumstick, Any Seafood

Description: "A filling dish made by cooking fresh seafood and meat together."

Another 3-tier meal type like the spiced skewer, so we start with the basic quality.. I'll use chicken drumsticks and some leftover white fish. What was it... hake or something? I'll save the salmon for the next recipe.

Pan-frying drumsticks feels so weird to me... like.. I always grill or bake them? I'll need to cook them slowly to make sure they cook all the way through. I can add a bit of water if they start to brown too fast and put on a lid for most of the time.

but first! We can put in most of the seasoning. I've gone for a simple mediterranian-style thing, I have some salt, paprika, and some kinda potato seasoning mix I dunno. Seems like it has garlic powder. And a big squeeze of lemon juice!

After a good slow while when the chicken looks almost cooked, I add the fish fillet.

Foolishly I insisted on using tongs because of the drumstick, and my dexterity wasnt enough to stop me breaking up the fish every time i tried to flip it. Well whatever. At the end I sprinkle on a bit of fresh thyme leaves as well.

 ****

Not bad at all! The lemon flavour was nice and strong and you could taste the thyme at the end. The chicken and fish weren't even that different, both quite meaty and flaky. The drumsticks were perfectly cooked, and because its a simple dish you can just pick the chicken up and eat it off the bone. Filling? yeah I guess so.

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #18: Chicken Red-Pepper Pesto Panini

 I'm back from the shops, a headache is brewing... but lets get this show on the road.

I'll go all out and grill the chicken and pepper myself, its not too much trouble.

I'm brushing the chicken with olive oil, paprika salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of thyme, lemon & bay seasoning (though its almost empty i didnt get much out)

Don't forget the peppers too! I oiled and seasoned them the same way.

The chicken isnt quite done yet, but this pepper looks good, i'll let it cool for a bit.

Once it's cooled i'll blend it... im adding some mustard and lemon juice since i have it handy, idk. Getting a bit improvisational up in here today.

It comes out a great red colour! Does this really count as "pesto"? is that italian for "putting whatever you want in a blender"???

The chicken looks done! Sorry about the state of my grill tray, i made bacon the other day.

Cutting open my lidl bakery panini... looks real good!

Thick spread of the roasted pepper "pesto". Looks to die for.

The chicken breast was quite thicc so ive sliced it flatways to fit it on the sandwich perfectly, and as a bonus you can see if its cooked all the way through that way.

And don't forget, the rocket (arugula) and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar! I made it a generous drizzle since i forgot to put any in the pesto.

****

I think mines better. They said panini/ciabatta but theirs looks like a burger bun? Anyway it was really bangin, I loved the pepperyness of the rocket with the sweetness of the vinegar and pesto. And the chewy crusty breads a great choice with salad-y Mediterranean flavours. The only thing holding it back from being an instant classic though, is it was a little watery. I guess i should have roasted the peppers longer or left them out a bit to dry. And ideally used a balsamic reduction. I'm not a deli though i ain't doing all that.

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #17: Turkish Lamb Pocket

 Pittas, doners, gyros, kebabs, souvlakis, shawarmas,.. they're all kinda similar to me i don't really know what the difference is but ill tell ya ive never had one i didn't like.

Got some lamb mince, onions, garlic, pitta bread, tomatoes, lettuce, and greek yogurt and seasonings ill specify later.

I'll start frying up some diced onions and crushed garlic. I guess since we dont need to make them into patties or meatballs it doesnt matter if we use too much or too little.

The lamb mince can go in too. Looks quite finely minced so ill have to mash it around a bit with the spatula.

We get to add some spices to this one! Cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and salt & pepper.

I normally cut these things in half and then it naturally forms a pocket, but im gonna try doing a whole one but cutting along one side and toasting it whole. The heat should open the pocket up so i recommend lightly toasting.

That worked!

The mince looks brown and good to go.

I'll chop the tomatoes quite small and shred the lettuce too.

ill put a bit of salad in the back actually, then plenty of the mince, and then more salad on top. 

Oh! I almost forgot, a squeeze of lemon was mentioned also, fortunately i still had some in the fridge. And a dollop of the plain greek yogurt.

*****

Perfect just the way it is! I often make something similar to this but ill add tzatziki, chilli sauce, or whatever sauce i have handy. I didn't expect the greek yogurt and the lemon juice to be enough but with that and the spiced up mince and tomatoes, it was full of flavour.

30 Gourmet Sandwiches #15: Croissant with Herbed Goat Cheese and Spinach

 I kinda hate goat cheese it tastes like armpits, so im gonna get some sort of feta-like instead.

We have the croissant, some sort of feta-like, thyme and oregano from my windowsill planter, spinach, roasted peppers, and the "optional" turkey slices.

Good croissant from the bakery, I almost accidentally bought a sweet almond one!

I will just chop/crumble as much of the cheese as I need. I think its a non-traditional cow milk cheese in a feta style, cheap and i prefer it tbh. Sorry greeks. I mix in the fresh thyme and oregano leaves too.

Also sorry greeks, I HATE olives, but this recipe also suggested roasted red peppers as an alternative.

They had a big ol' jar of them at the store. They're vinegary as well so I think that should make it a nice flavourful olive replacement.

a single wafer of this turkey is plenty, now we top with spinach and its ready! Nice quick one.

****

Bit of a choose your own adventure type one. But I think i chose well for my tastes. The croissant is dense and delicious and the filling is herby, cheesy and sour. Nice and easy to prepare, too.

Delicious in Dungeon #36: Barometz Balut (Or Barometz Chops)

Barometz is a weird one... a plant that grows a lamb-like fruit. An unusually peaceful monster, but its a little unsettling somehow.

So this recipes another misleadingly named one. It's only "balut" in the sense that its meant to be a kind of embrionic lamb... really what this dish is, is lamb chops in tomato sauce.

Since its actually a plant with the appearance of a beast, I thought it be cool to source some imitation lamb made from plants! Big tesco had just what I needed, I guess this country aint so bad sometimes... Anyway for the sprouts garnish we also got some bean sprouts, for the fruit innards we have chopped tomatoes, and then we've got garlic, wine, and salt & pepper seasonings.

First im frying up the lamb steaks and sprouts... they were in the freezer so we're gonna need to thaw them then cook off all that excess water. Im also gonna cook the in this lime & avocado oil, add a little bit more flavour to the sprouts especially.

Meanwhile, since I bought tinned tomatoes theres not really much other work to do! Just peel some cloves of garlic to crush.

While its cooking i can add some salt and pepper, and then ill add a bit more to the tomato sauce as well.

That's looking nicely browned and dry! We can put these to one side and cook the rest of the stuff.

In goes the chopped tomatoes, garlic and red wine.

And then we cook it until... I dunno really? I guess its just a bit thicker and the tomato and garlic smells cooked?

****

I liked how easy it was to make... Did the barometz taste like crab? No! It tasted more like... soy mince with mint and parsley, the real reason why its been labelled as imitation lamb! But the minty herb flavourings do go well with the tomato and garlic, giving it a vaguely moroccan/greek style flavour. It tasted good, but not quite peak, maybe a more enhanced tomato sauce with more complexity would have added more?