Tag: norecipe
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PK’s NoRecipe Potato and Bacon Soup
I love Potato and Bacon soup and make it in large batches primarily for a mid morning work snack. This saves me lots of money and I know I am eating healthily. The only salt is from the bacon and the salted margarine/butter blend.
I add a few additional fresh ingredients to suit what is growing in my kitchen garden at the time. Below I added lots of chives as I have an excess at the moment.
The basic idea though is that you sauté onion, bacon and potato in butter or olive oil until they are parboiled. You then add your liquid of choice to cover everything and bring to the boil. Then leave it simmering until the potatoes are cooked. You can leave it chunky but I generally blend it at this point and add a bit of milk to the portion I am not freezing.
Hot Tip: If you are blending it and the result is too thick, add very small amounts of boiling water, stir and then taste again. I do this until I get a balance between taste and consistency.
Below I used some of my home-made chicken stock that I made using bones from a roast chicken I did in my Weber charcoal BBQ (not my slow cooker version). This stock imparted a beautiful smokey flavour.
Sweat the vegetables:
Add liquid to cover, boil and then simmer until potatoes are cooked:
Blend and serve:
Hope you like it,
PK
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PK’s NoRecipe Thai Fish Cakes
Fish cakes taste great and are an amazing way of making a little bit of fish go further. They were a staple growing up and one of the dishes my mum cooked us that will always stay with me :).
I never use a recipe and no two batches come out the same and that is half the fun. Below I am doing a take on Thai fish cakes but I am just as likely to make them coated in breadcrumbs. Sometimes I keep the potatoes chunky, sometimes I mash everything well to give a smoother texture.
I just follow two basic rules in that I use a 1:1 ratio of fish to parboiled potatoes and I like to add colour by using finely minced fresh vegetables in the mix itself. If you find the cakes fall apart during cooking, try a bit more egg in the mix next time.
Parboil the potatoes:
Mash your fish (I am using canned John West Pink Salmon):
Prepare the vegetables (I am going for a Thai taste so I am using lime zest, shallots, coriander, garlic and some red capsicum for colour):
Whisk an egg or two and mix everything up (I did this gently as I wanted a chunky look):
Make small or large cakes, using your hands, as you please and then pop them in the fridge for a bit (just look at the colours, beautiful):
A quick shallow fry is all that is needed:
Serve with some greens and you favourite sides:
Enjoy,
PK
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PK’s NoRecipe Savoury Mince
A favourite since childhood, this is simple food that couldn’t be easier to cook. By now you probably know that I think ‘peasant’ food is best.
It freezes very well and what’s more, you can eat it by itself or stretch it out using rice, bread, noodles or other starchy sides. One of my favourites is savoury mince and cheddar in a toasted sandwich.
I think this recipe has a couple of standard ingredients and then add whatever you like extra. Have fun and experiment :).
What are the essentials?
- beef mince
- potatoes
- carrot
- onion
- garlic
- chicken or beef stock
- herbs like oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves
- tomatoes or tomato paste
- pepper and salt to taste.
I also add red wine (boil it off of course) and anything else I have in my pantry or fridge that needs using.
Par-boil your potatoes:
Prepare your vegetables:
Sauté the onion in some olive oil:
Add the mince (browning it), herbs and stock (if using red wine bring to the boil) and then simmer until it is all reduced down to your liking:
This is the consistency I aim for:
Oh so tasty tonight and for tomorrow’s lunch:
I hope you like it,
PK
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PK’s NoRecipe Creamy Mash
I am afraid that I am of the firm belief that you can have tasty mashed potato or healthy mashed potato but not both. Luckily for me my stomach and brain both like the tasty option :).
The not so secret key to a good mash is in just under cooking the potatoes (in salty water) and then adding copious quantities of butter and a dash of milk. If I want to add a bit of variety I will also add some parsnip and or carrot to the boiling water too.
My personal guilty vice is cheese so in goes a handful of cheese too.
Prep your favourite potatoes:
Boil them in water until just underdone (more than parboiled but not soggy):
Drain, making sure you remove most of the water and then add butter and milk:
Give the whole lot a good mashing in the same saucepan:
Take a large spoonful and eat it in the name of taste testing 🙂
I love a good mash with something slow-cooked and saucy:
Hope you like it,
PK
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Selby’s NoRecipe Chilli
Hey PK, I saw you were asking about ‘no recipe’ recipes and it made me think that mine would definitely be chilli … there are a few reasons for this, it is great sharing food, it’s pretty easy to adapt for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free friends and it can also be eaten with rice, in tacos or nachos … here’s my camping kitchen soft taco version tonight from Emu Park in Queensland, Australia.
I don’t want to make out this is anything like authentic Mexican chilli but my versions always have at least kidney beans, tomatoes, capsicum, onion and are seasoned with paprika, cumin and garlic.
Tonight I added beef mince and corn to the chilli and we had fresh mashed avocado, sour cream, cheese, lettuce and tomato to add to our soft tacos.
Selby
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Dr C’s NoRecipe Roast Onion and Pumpkin Pizzas
My scrumptious roasted onion and pumpkin pizzas with spinach and crumbled feta.
Simply mouth watering,
Dr C.
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PK’s NoRecipe Nachos
This is one of my favourite family meals. Everyone gets their own dish of the nacho base and once these come out of the oven, we put our favourite toppings on.
The secret to making awesome nachos is to layer the corn chips then some nacho sauce then some cheddar cheese and repeat. Pop them in a say 180 °C until the cheese has melted and that is it.
There is only one other rule to making awesome nachos: Sour Cream!
Magic 🙂
Enjoy,
PK
Pair this with my guacamole (see PK’s You..Can’t.. Handle..The..Gwock).
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PK’s No Recipe Pizza Warmers
Winter is trying to get back at Perth at the moment and although the sun is out, we are getting cold winds and rain. This makes for chilly evenings, so my family fought back with these really easy pizzas.
Steps:
- Make or buy your pizza bases (I did the latter).
- Make or buy pizza sauce (I did the former with some reduced tomato pasata and Italian herbs from the garden.
- Spread the sauce over the pizza bases.
- Layer your pizza with your favourite toppings. My secret is to put any leafy greens on top of the sauce but under the cheese. It stops them drying out but you didn’t hear it from me :).
- Whack them in the oven on ~180°C for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy,
PK
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Dr C’s NoRecipe Tandoori and Coriander Rissoles
Dr C has the right idea on the minimal recipe idea so his is the first ‘RecipeFree’ cab off the rank. Experiment with your own quantities and remember to enjoy yourself :).
He writes:
Try my tandoori and coriander rissoles with chili and mint yoghurt. Eat them with salad or whack’em between two bits of toast with fresh spinach. Yum!
Take say 500 g beef mince and combine with a good whack of tandoori paste, an egg, lots of breadcrumbs (say 2 cups), coriander sprigs and chopped spring onions.
Add salt & pepper, chili and make patties however large or small you want but be consistent.
The only limit to the serving options is your imagination.
Enjoy,
Dr C.
See other ‘RecipeFree’ posts here.
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PK’s NoRecipe Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
I love hard boiled eggs served warm with a pinch of salt and pepper or cold and sliced in a salad. I want to share a method for making the perfect hard boiled egg that I learnt as a child.
Take a small saucepan and fill with enough room temperature water to cover the eggs. Gently place the eggs into the water, turn the hob on high heat (use a small burner) and bring to a vigorous boil.
Once the water is boiling like crazy, leave the eggs in for a minute longer and then fish them out with a slotted spoon or the like.
Let them cool on the counter top for a bit.
Under gently running cold water, peel the eggs and then pat dry. The older the eggs the easier the shell will come off. Put the shells in your vegetable garden beds to ward of those pesky cabbage moths.
Pat the eggs dry and eat them how you like.
I normally steal a few at this point :).
Look at this free range goodness:
Enjoy,
PK
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