Chicken and vegetable soup with Homemade Bread

Today the group wanted to make soup so we thought it would be great to make our own bread rolls to.

First we made the Dough by mixing strong flour, fast acting yeast, salt, water and a little olive oil in a bowl.

We then kneaded the dough for 10 minutes until it came together in a smooth ball. The group members enjoyed working with their hands and seeing the dough transform.

We then let the dough rest for an hour, before kneading the dough again.

Teaching how to work the dough.

We then rolled the dough into balls and left to rest for 20 minutes before baking in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Then for the soup we cooked some chicken thighs in the oven and everyone chose some vegetables which they would like in the soup. We chose garlic, onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, sweetcorn and spinach. We cooked the garlic and onion in a little oil then added carrots and celery and let them cook until soft.

After a few minutes we added some stock and the cooked shredded chicken and the rest of the vegetables. We let this simmer for half an hour before serving with the bread rolls.

Everyone loved the soup, it was tasty and healthy. The bread rolls were lots of fun to make and complimented the soup perfectly. 

Thai Fish cakes and Chicken Tagine

This week the group wanted to make something that would warm everyone up on such a miserable day. We thought about what ingredients and recipes we could use to achieve this.

The group decided on some spicy Thai fish cakes to start and a warming Moroccan chicken tagine as a main.

Thai Fish Cakes:

To make these you will need white fish fillets, fish sauce, Thai red curry paste, fresh coriander, spring onions, 1 egg, dried chilli flakes, lime (juice and zest), flour for dusting and oil for frying.

First the group had to chop the coriander, spring onions and fish very finely. 

Cutting up the fish.

We then mixed all the ingredients together in a bowl.

We then shaped the mixture into small fish cakes and dusted with flour, this was a very messy job!

We then shallow fried them.

We then served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce:

Moroccan Chicken Tagine.

For this you will need skinless chicken thighs, onion, garlic, ras el hanout, cinnamon stick, ground ginger, runny honey, tinned chopped tomatoes, green pitted olive and harissa paste.

First we heated a little oil in a pan and fried the chicken to seal in the flavour and moisture, we then added the onions and garlic. Once the onion and garlic and softened we added the rest of the ingredients and let the tagine simmer for 40 minutes.

Once this was cooked we served with cous cous seasoned with spring onions, coriander and lemon juice.

Everyone enjoyed the tagine and said it was especially warming and perfect for a winters day. 

We all had a really good time working together to create these lovely dishes. 

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Today we are celebrating Chinese New Year with some healthy Asian Cuisine.

To start the group members found a recipe for 5 spice turkey and lettuce wraps. 

The group wanted to try these out as they are low in fat but included lots of spices to boost the flavour.

To make these you will need Turkey mince, fresh ginger, red bell peppers, water chestnuts, Hoisin sauce, chinese 5 spice, spring onion, carrot and lettuce.

Firstly fry off the turkey mince and the grated fresh ginger in a little sesame oil.

Add the 5 spice and hoisin sauce, then add the vegetables and mix for a couple of minutes. You want the vegetable to still be crunchy.

Then put a couple of table spoons of the turkey mixture into a lettuce leaf and serve..

Everyone agreed that it was a very tasty starter!

Vegetable Stir Fry

The group also wanted to cook a vegetable stir fry.

The group wanted to pick the vegetables when they went out shopping based on what looked the best.

So we got:

Carrot

Spring onions 

Red, green and yellow peppers

Chilli

mushrooms

pak-choi

sweetcorn 

Mange tout
Onions

The group had to wash and slice up all these vegetables, a great opportunity to work on our knife skills. The group know that it is very important to use sharp knives safely and its always great to get some practice in.

We then fried all the vegetables in a little bit of sesame seed oil and added soy sauce and Chinese 5 Spice.

We served the vegetable stir fry with some white rice.

The group said that they enjoyed all the flavours of this dish and felt good that they had made vegetables taste so exciting!

We spoke about how these vegetables give us the nutrition, vitamins and energy we need to be healthy and happy.

Stuffed Marrow with Cous Cous and salad

The Gardening Project have been very busy and managed to grow some huge marrows:

So we decided to use them and make stuffed marrows.

First we cut the marrows and took the seeds out:

We then put the marrows in a pan of boiling water and let them simmer for a few minutes to soften them.

We then started to make the stuffing.

We used turkey mince, onion, garlic, cumin, herbs de Provence, coriander, parsley, fresh chili's, carrots, chicken stock, salt and pepper.

We cooked the onion, garlic, chili and carrot until soft then added the turkey mince. Once this was cooked a little we added the some salt and pepper, the cumin and herbs de Provence.

We then added the chicken stock and parsley and coriander and let the mixture simmer for about half an hour.

We then put the mixture in the semi cooked marrow:

We then sprinkled grated Parmesan cheese on top and put in the oven to finish off cooking.

We served the stuffed marrow with cous cous and a fresh salad with cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce and feta cheese.

The group enjoyed this dish and experimenting with different flavours.

Also the group want to say a big thank you to the gardening project for growing such wonderful marrows.

Celebrating Black History Month with food Part 3

Chicken Curry:

First Season chicken pieces (we used thighs) with Garlic powder, chicken seasoning and black pepper and cook in the oven at about 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

In the meantime in a large pan fry onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes and diced baby potatoes.

Once the ingredients have cooked a little add the seasoning:

We added chicken seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, herbs de provence and curry powder.

Then add water and a chicken stock cube.

Then add in the cooked chicken and simmer all together for at least 45 minutes.

Rice and peas:

First you need to soak the black eyed peas for about an hour to soften them ready for cooking.

Then put the black eyed peas in boiling water. Add chicken stock, coconut milk. 

Then wash and add the rice. 

 Add more water if needed and let the rice simmer on a medium heat until the rice is cooked.

Chickpeas with onions:

This was a really simple but tasty side dish.

First fry chopped onions until  soft and then add tinned chickpeas and lots of cracked black pepper.

Fry until the chickpeas and onions are soft and cooked through.

Caribbean potato salad:

For this potato salad you will need green banana, Caribbean sweet potato, avocado and baby potatoes.

First peel the sweet potato and put them on to boil until soft.

Also boil the green bananas in water whilst they are still in their skins and boil the baby potatoes until soft.

Once soft and cooled, peel and slice the bananas and chop the sweet potatoes.

And slice up the avocado:

Then put all the ingredients in a bowl add a little salad cream and some low fat mayonnaise and mix.

The group also prepared a fresh salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mixed peppers, red onion and rocket.

Preparing the salad.

We then set the table and presented all the dishes we made:

Fresh Salad and Caribbean potato salad.

Chickpeas with onion and fried plantain.

Chicken curry, rice and peas, chickpeas, plantain, salad and potato salad.

The group, once again, had a lovely meal and worked really hard to produce such an excellent spread. We are very grateful to the staff who shared their cherished recipes with us.