I'm back.....

Apologies readers it's been a while since I last wrote on my blog. A lot has happened to me recently, but I am pleased to say I'm back and I will be posting regularly again.
I haven't stopped cooking during my time away, and I've been really lucky to find some amazing recipes that I will share over the next few weeks. I've even experimented with some vegetarian recipes following a weekend of entertaining one of my closest friends (who has lots of food limitations - more to come on that).
The most exciting development is that I've moved into my very own country cottage and I have a fantastic garden crying out for a veggie plot and some chickens.  Over Easter weekend I managed to plant all my herbs and salad, then I potted my seeds ready for those perfect little seedlings that will start my summer obsession.

Taste of London 2014

Taste of London is one of my favourite foodie events in the calendar each year.  I look forward to seeing what the crème de la crème of English cuisine has to offer and the new up and coming flavours that will soon make way on to our supermarket shelves over the coming year.

In my previous jobs this festival was a source of inspiration for retailer briefs I was working on, but in recent years has become more of a fact finding mission for myself, to find new ingredients, recipe ideas and hob knob with the chefs!

2014 did not disappoint, being one of my best years yet.  I was exceptionally lucky to meet a few amazing and inspirational chefs, and also spend some time discussing recipes and the dishes that represent their restaurants, which I now cannot wait to cook - watch this space!

with Julian Marshall of the Bleeding Heart

 

with Michel Roux Jnr at La Gavroche

 

with Alfred Prasad of Tamarind

 

with Theo Randall

 

 

Spanish Pigs Cheek

I love to experiment with different cuts of meat and push myself to cook something different.  Pigs cheeks are very cheap, but cooked long and slow they can make the most incredible dish.
This Spanish version is a particular favourite and was inspired by my recent trip to Almeria.
I originally served the dish with wilted spinach, rice and roasted peppers, but would be equally as yummy with cous cous or polenta.


Serves 2
Calories 380

Ingredients

olive oil, for frying

2 red onions, diced

600g pigs cheeks

1 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

2 crushed garlic cloves

1  tsp ground cumin

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

150ml medium dry sherry

500ml beef stock

handful flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion.
2. Cook gently for 10 – 15 minutes until softened. Remove from the heat.
3. Put the cheeks in the seasoned flour.
4. Add a little more oil to the pan and turn up the heat.
5. Brown the pig cheek.
6. Turn the heat down to medium.
7. Return all the pork and the reserved onions to the pan.
8. Add the garlic, cumin and paprika and cook for a minute, then pour in the sherry.
9. Use a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan and mix in all the flavours.
10. Pour in the beef stock then bring the pan to a simmer.
11. Simmer gently for 4 hours or until the cheeks are tender.
12. Scatter with parsley leaves and serve.

 

Shin of beef chilli and sticky rice

• This is a great supper dish when you have time to cook at home, and spend that little bit of extra time in the kitchen.  Perfect for the weekend when you have friends over. Prep it, put the oven on and let the process begin.
  
  If you do make this tag me on instagram so I can see your pictures @princessrachelscott or use #PrincessChefRachel
  
  
  Serves 8
  425 calories per serving 
  
  
  

  Ingredients

  2 red onions
  4 cloves garlic
  2 fresh red chillies
  40g fresh coriander
  Olive oil
  2 tsp ground cumin
  3 tsp smoked paprika
  2 tsp ground cinnamon
  1 bay leaf
  2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
  1.2kg skin of beef (with the bone still in)
  2 x 400g tins of cannelloni beans
  50g dark chocolate
  600g basmati rice
  
  
  
  

  Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C or gas mark 3.
  2. Peel and dice the onions and garlic with the chillies and coriander stalks, then put into a large casserole pan on a medium heat with some olive oil. 
  3. Add all the spices and the bay leaves and cook for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, and adding a splash of water to stop it sticking
  4. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and one tins' worth of water and bring to the boil. 
  5. Rub the shin of beef all over with salt & pepper.
  6. Place the meat into the sauce, cover with a lid, then transfer to the oven to cook for 6 hours, stirring halfway and adding a splash of water to loosen.
  7. Forty minutes before the end, drain the beans and stir through.
  8. When the meat is falling apart and the chilli is thick, shake the marrow out of the bone and stir it back through the chilli. 
  9. Remove the bay leaf. 
  10. Stir through the dark chocolate until it melts fully. 
  11. Cook the rice as per the instructions on the packet. 
  12. Season the chilli again, if needed, then sprinkle over the remaining coriander leaves and serve with sticky basmati rice.
      

  
  

Pan fried Seabass Fillet with Salsa and Cous Cous

At 363 calories per serving this is the perfect supper on a weekday, but can also be used to wow friends when they come over.  No one would guess how healthy is actually is, and will just coo over the tasty plate you've put in front of them.  After the first making this dish quickly became a favourite in our household.
Try swapping the seabass for salmon fillet (approx. 110g) for a change.


Serves 2

Ingredients

Olive oil, for frying
2 seabass fillets (approx. 150g each)

for the tomato salsa -
Olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes
60g pitted kalamata olives
small bunch of coriander
small bunch of basil
1 lemon
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper

60g cous cous
Balsamic glaze

Method

1. Firstly make the salsa.  Place the olive oil in a pan and gently heat. 
2.  Chop the tomatoes in half and add to the oil.
3.  Add the olives to the pan and season.
4.  Stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes then set aside.
5.  Chop the coriander and basil leaves and add to the salsa.
6.  Roll the lemon on a chopping board to soften and release the juice, then cut in half and add squeeze into the salsa.  be careful to catch any pips!
7.  Boil the kettle and in a bowl cover the cous cous with the water.  Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to sit for 10 minutes. 
8.  In a heavy based frying pan add the frying olive oil and heat on a high heat. 
9.  Slash the skin of the fillets and when the oil is very hot (almost smoking) add the fillets skin side down.  Hold the fillet down so that the fillet does not curl up.
10.  When the flesh is opaque two thirds up the fillet (this will take approx. 3 minutes) flip it over and cook the flesh side for 1 minute, basting with the oil.
11. To serve add some of the cous cous to one side of the plate.  Add the salsa to the other side and top with a seabass fillet.  Drizzle with balsamic glaze and a little basil. 

Healthy Tea Loaf Recipe

This is a fantastic little treat for those days when you need something sweet.  At only 231 calories per slice it satisfies those cravings we all have when dieting. 

The longer you can soak the fruit in the tea the better, as it makes the loaf so much tastier and moist.

If you do make this tag me on instagram so I can see your pictures @princessrachelscott or use #PrincessChefRachel

Ingredients

• 300g sultanas and raisins (mixed)
• 225ml hot tea
• juice 1 orange plus zest
• 50g butter
• 100g light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 225g self-raising flour
• 4 tbsp demerara sugar

Method

1. Place the dried fruits in a bowl and pour over the hot tea, orange juice and zest.
2. Cover with cling film, then leave for at least 4 hours, however if I have time I leave them for a whole day.
3. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
4. Grease and line the base of a 2lb loaf tin.
5. Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy, then beat in the egg followed by the flour.
6. Carefully stir through the fruit mixture and then spoon the mixture into the tin.
7. Tap the tin down on the surface to release any air and then smooth over the surface with the back of a spoon.
8. Sprinkle all over with a thick layer of demerara sugar.
9. Bake for 1 hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out, cut into slices and serve.
11. This cake will keep for a week in an airtight container so its perfect for when friends drop round for a coffee.

 

 

To eat or not to eat?

Obesity and the cost on the country is very topical at the moment, filling many of our headlines. We are breeding a nation of fat children, fat adults and fat elderly people. But what is the answer? Wider ambulances and hospital beds? Gastric bands on the NHS? Only eating salad for the rest of our days?

I've never made any secret of the fact that I've struggled most of my life with my weight and consequently my self image. It was hard growing up in a family where a 'Niles' bum is the norm (basically a large, wobbling bottom which was the trade mark of the whole family) and you get described as clever, not pretty or thin!

I have literally tired every diet going; weight watchers, slimming world, slim fast (not good when you're allergic to milk), starvation, laxatives, fitness, cabbage soup diet, Hollywood juice diet and a whole lot I can't even remember the names of. What I'm saying is they don't work! Correction, they all work for a short space of time, and then when you're normal life resumes you go back to exactly where you were before.

Over a year ago my best friend got engaged and asked me to be chief bridesmaid, an amazing honour.  This is something I had the pleasure of doing on 2 other occasions but this time I vowed I'd lose weight and look my best for the photos, therefore I set about devising my own plan (using my cooking addiction) to do it sensibly and keep it off this time.

The wedding came along in November 2013, and I'd manage to lose 2 stone, which made me feel amazing, and to this day I've lost 3 stone 11lbs, dropping from a size 16 to a size 10 (ish) .  How did I do it; menu planning and healthy eating.

Since doing my own menu plan, and seeing the results, I've devised a few others for friends and family. My friend Steph needed to eat a low GI diet and her husband Dan wanted to eat healthily too, so I wrote them a plan that combined both. I did a 4 week rotating meal plan which had breakfast, lunch and evening meals covered. It contained the 5 a day, a minimum of 2 fish portions per week and also one vegetarian meal per week, but more importantly it gave them one day off a week to be naughty and enjoy - one thing I learn early on so you're less likely to deviate.

Have a look in the recipe section for some of my low fat, but packed with flavour suggestions. 

What is the future for me and my eating plan? Well I'm not going backwards and therefore meal planning will be a part of my day to day, but I'll always make sure I save some of these calories for a yummy bottle of Marlborough sauv blanc!

A few before and after photos. I'll let you decide which is which!