Gaz’s Spaghetti Bolognaise (serves 4)

This is my own recipe for spaghetti bolognaise. It is no doubt based on a number of recipes that over the years I have I have combined, altered, refined and customised to my own taste.

Actually, I find that spaghetti bolognaise is pretty hard to get right. This recipe is based on my most recent attempt from the other day. It came out really well, and I believe that the secret is totally in reducing the sauce so that the flavour of the tomatoes is intensified.


Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Onion (1 large one)
• Minced beef (500g)
• Tomatoes (12 of them, nice and ripe)
• Basil – A handful of leaves, washed and finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• Ground black pepper (a good few grinds)
• Mixed dried herbs (2-3 tbs)
• Chilli powder (1/2 a tsp, don’t go mad – you shouldn’t notice it)
• Balsalmic vinegar (3 or 4 tbs)
• Optional – red wine (a good slug)
• Optional – Worcestershire sauce (3 tbs)
• Minced garlic (3 or 4 cloves)
• Salt (to taste)
• Optional – mushrooms, chopped and fried separately (a tub of them)
• Pasta (as much or as little as you want)

Method

1. Heat a good slug of olive oil in a pan.
   
2. Finely chop the onion and fry until translucent.
   
3. Add the minced beef and brown off nicely. Give it a good blast but do not burn. Salt it while it is cooking.
4. Skin and chop the tomatoes and add to the pan.
5. Add the bay leaf, pepper, mixed dried herbs, chilli powder, Balsalmic vinegar, optional red wine, Worcestershire sauce.
6. Finally add the garlic (I always add this slightly later in the cooking process. I find that its flavour is diminished if it’s put in too early, especially with the onion).
7. Add the previously fried mushroom to the sauce (and their juices) if required.At this time the sauce will be quite watery because of the tomatoes. Reduce the sauce over an hour or so on a moderate hear. This will intensify the flavour and make it tangy (most recipes use tomato puree to achieve this, but I don’t use the stuff). The longer you can do this the better.
8. Salt the sauce to taste.
9. Serve with pasta that has been boiled with some salt and a slug of olive oil.

Gaz’s Creamy Garlic Chicken and Mushrooms

Well this is my very own recipe and it came out very well when I did it last night. I was quite pleased with it considering I invented it myself!

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 4 chicken breasts diced
• 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
• A load of mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion finely chopped
• Sour cream (a small tub)
• Lemon juice (a squeeze or two)
• Paprika (2tsp)
• Fresh parsley (a handfull, chopped with stalks removed)
• Salt (1tsp)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Mild chili powder (1/2 tsp)

Method

1. Heat the pan then add a slug of olive oil.
2. Fry the onion until translucent. (but don’t brown them off, though).
3. Add the diced chicken and fry until cooked.
4. Add the mushroom and cook until soft and juicy.
5. Add the paprika, black pepper, chili powder, salt
6. Add parsley, and cook everything together for 5 mins.
7. Add garlic, stir in, then cook for another 2 mins.
8. Stir in sour cream.
9. Add a twist of lemon (to taste). Add more salt if needed.

All measures are approximate. My advice is to do it all to taste, and just taste it as you go. If it tastes bland at the end, it’s probably because you haven’t put in enough salt. The garlic should be added fairly near the end – if it’s put in near the beginning then it won’t have as much garliciness.

*Note: A splash of white wine might go nicely with this one, but I haven’t tried it.

Recipe: DrGaz's nice Italian-style tomato & basil sauce with pasta.

There are endless variations on this recipe, but this is my generic DrGaz one that you can customise. Exact measures are not important. Just be free to experiment and cook it to your taste! This recipe is so quick and simple and makes a great meal. After you learn to make your own basic sauce, you’ll never want to go and buy one off the shelf again. You can also customise the dish in many ways (a few suggestions are at the bottom of the recipe).

Serves 2 people.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 8 medium-sized tomatoes (I use nice vine-ripened Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference ones).
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp mild chilli powder
• Fresh basil – a fistful of washed leaves
• Penne Pasta (however much you need for 2 people).
• 2 tbsp capers (use the ones preserved in salt rather than in vinegar)

Method:

1. Skin the tomatoes by pricking them with a fork and then dunking them in just-boiled water for a minute or two. Take them out of the water then remove the skin when they’ve been in for long enough for it to come away easily. Note: Make sure that you use good-quality ripe tomatoes. Use cheapies at your peril! They can be impossible to skin.
2. Heat a large skillet and add a generous slug of olive oil. Chop the tomatoes and cook gently. The tomato bits will gradually start to turn into a sauce, so just keep it on a light simmer.
3. Chop the garlic and crush it to a paste with a knife, then add it to the tomatoes.
4. Add the chilli, chopped basil, pepper, and washed/chopped capers.
5. After everything has been lightly simmering together for about 20mins, add some salt gradually until it tastes spot-on. Salt is an essential ingredient in cooking, so if the sauce doesn’t taste right, then it’s probably because you simply haven’t added enough of the white stuff.
6. Serve with the boiled and drained pasta (you can always stir the pasta into the sauce at the end – this is the way I usually do it).

A few variations on a theme:

Why not experiment by trying out one of the following options?

• Chuck in a few chopped olives
  
• Bung in a drained tin of tuna (works really well with the capers).
• Leave out the capers and instead spice it up a bit with mild-chilli for Penne al Arrabiatta.
• Leave out the capers and add some olives and a dash of Balsamic vinegar for a different nuance.

Well that’s another DrGaz recipe for you, folks! Please try it and let me know how you got on by leaving a comment below.

Recipe: DrGaz's Mexican Fajitas

Here’s my recipe for Mexican fajitas. Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients - the method is pretty simple really and gives excellent results. One word of warning, go easy on the lime. It’s easy to get carried away with them, and you don’t want the sauce to end up being too rich. For extra flavour, it’s best to marinate the meat beforehand (step 1), but this is not essential. If you can’t be bothered with this, just skip this step.

I would suggest that if you’re going to invest your time and effort into trying this recipe, always use the best ingredients you can get because it’ll be worth it! I personally don’t use packet mixes or tinned ingredients! Fresh is best.

STEP 1: Marinate the meat

• 4-5 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper?
• 1/2 cup balsamic or red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped roughly
• 500g. boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cubed. Alternatively 500g sirloin steak, slices into strips.

Method: This is an easy one! Just shove it all in a big bowl and mix it up. Then mix the meat in and leave it for a while. For best results, leave it in the fridge overnight, but an hour or two will be fine if you’re pushed for time.

STEP 2: Make the salsa

• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 smallish onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 tbsps. fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped, add more if desired (wear rubber gloves)
• 2 Tbsps. fresh lime or lemon juice

Method: Combine all ingredients and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and set aside for 2 hours.

STEP 3: Make the fajita sauce

• 6 large flour tortillas (and some aluminium foil to bake them in).
• 2 tsps. olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 350g. tomatoes, skinned and chopped.
• 85g. green chilies, drained and chopped (wear rubber gloves)
• 2 Tbsps. coriander or parsley, minced
• 1/2 tsp Salt.
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice

Method

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
2. Sauté chicken 8-10 minutes or until browned.
3. Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onion becomes transparent. Ensure that garlic does not overcook.
4. Stir in next 7 ingredients.
5. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.
6. Cover pan and reduce heat to low.
7. Simmer 20-30 minutes or until meat is tender.
8. Stir in lime juice.
9. Serve wrapped in warm tortillas with salsa.

A good variation of this is to line up 4 or 5 filled fajitas in a oven dish, dress with salsa, sour cream and grated cheese, and bake at 180 degrees C until the cheese has started to brown.