Archive for August, 2009
Simple Lobster Bisque Recipe
Velvety rich soup speaking of luxury and indulgence with every sip, lobster bisque is a classic recipe that many home cooks are too intimidated to attempt. Perhaps it is the image of chasing live lobsters around the kitchen, gathered from many a Hollywood movie, which puts us off, as the recipe itself is quite simple.
Live lobsters are killed in seconds by plunging them into boiling water, but if the thought is too much for you, purchase them cooked in their shells from a good fishmonger, so that you know that they are really fresh (their tails should be curled to show that they were alive when cooked). The fresher the lobster the better the flavour of the soup you make with it.
Recipe for Lobster Bisque
Ingredients:
4 whole lobsters weighing approx 2kg / 4 ½ lbs in total
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
½ tin of chopped tomatoes
50g / 2oz butter
250 ml / 1 cup dry white wine
1.5 litres / 6 cups fish or chicken stock, or the liquid left from boiling lobsters
250 ml / 1 cup double cream
parsley to garnish
In a large heavy based casserole melt half of the butter over a medium heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, bay leaf and thyme, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes until they soften. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes.
If you are using live lobsters, plunge them into a large pot of boiling water for one minute, then remove them and strain the liquid to use instead of stock.
Add the lobsters to the casserole. Uncooked ones will need about 10 minutes cooking, stirring, until they turn red. If you are using ready cooked ones just cook for 5 minutes until warmed through, as too much cooking toughens the meat.
Turn the heat to medium high and add the wine. When it bubbles, reduce the heat, cover the pot and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
Now add the stock, or strained lobster water, bring back to the boil and cook over a low heat for another 20 minutes.
Remove the lobster shells and pick off all the meat. Crack open claws and make sure you have got all the meat out. Take out the bay and thyme. Reserve a few pieces of succulent meat and return the rest to the soup.
Puree the soup in a blender or through food mill.
At this point the soup can be refrigerated until needed for up to two days.
When ready to serve, bring the soup to the boil, add the remaining butter and allow it to melt. Stir in the cream and the reserved meat and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Want to taste this without the hassle of cooking it for yourself? Try the Lobster Bisque at Loch Fyne restaurant in Nottingham.
Easy Chicken Curry Recipe with Cumin
Chicken curry can mean anything from a dull curry-powder stew to a taste tickling feast of spices. It can be creamy or fiery, use whole spices or ground ones. This is a fairly mild chicken curry recipe, using individual ground spices with fresh chillies for warmth and cumin seeds for their nutty aroma. The flavours will keep on developing once it has cooked, so it is even better eaten the next day. If you are a hot curry aficionado then leave in the chilli seeds or use a hot jalapeno chilli pepper instead of the milder green ones.
Recipe for Chicken Curry
Ingredients:
6 whole chicken breasts cut into chunks
2 medium onions
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
3cm /1 inch root ginger peeled
3 cloves garlic
3 green chillies
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons tomato puree
250ml / 1 cup natural yoghurt
3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
Heat the oil in a large heavy based casserole, to which you have a lid. Fry the cumin seeds for a few seconds until you start to smell their nutty aroma. Add the sliced onions and reduce the heat. Cover with the lid and allow the onions to soften until they are translucent and soft without turning colour. This should take about 10 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, chop the ginger and garlic finely and de-seed and chop the chillies. If you want a hotter curry you can leave in some of the seeds. Add them to the softened onions and fry for one minute. Add the turmeric, garam masala and paprika. Stir all together.
Put the chicken pieces into the pan and toss with the spicy onion base. (You can remove the chicken skin if you want to keep this low fat) Cook, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes, adding a tablespoon of water if it looks like catching on the bottom of the pan.
Mix together the yoghurt and tomato puree. Lower the heat under the pan and stir it in, then add half a cup of cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is tender. The sauce should thicken. Make sure it doesn’t boil or the yoghurt will curdle. You can add a little more water if it gets too dry.
Serve with chopped coriander scattered over.
This is best made in advance as the flavours develop overnight. To reheat, warm in a covered casserole for 20 minutes, until just simmering.
N.B. If you want to use chicken thighs or drumsticks just add 10 minutes or so to the cooking time.
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Why not try the Cumin restaurant in Nottingham for a delicious authentic curry!
Chocoholic’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe!
A chocolate chip cookie is all about the chocolate. You want a great cookie to chew into, but ultimately it is the chocolate fix you’re after! The great thing about making your own chocolate chip cookies is that you can decide on the chocolate you use. If you are baking for the kids you can use milk chocolate chips, but if they are for adult chocolate fiends you can use your best dark chocolate, going as far as 85% cocoa if you dare! This recipe makes a chunky cookie with plenty of chocolate in every bite.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
120g / ½ cup soft light brown sugar
100g / ½ cup granulated sugar
115g / 4oz soft unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
175g / 1 ¼ cups plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¼ teaspoon salt
200g chocolate (as chips or chopped up chocolate bars)
Preheat the oven to 150C (300F) with the shelf placed at the top third of the oven. Line three baking trays with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugars until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Sift together the flour, salt and bicarbonate and then fold into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Place large scoops (about 2 tablespoon measures) of cookie dough onto the baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between them. You’ll get 8 onto each tray with enough room for them to spread as they cook.
Bake for about 18 minutes, until a light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
These are great eaten still warm from the oven, but you can keep them in an airtight tin for up to three days, if you can resist them for that long!
Variations on the recipe:
• For extra texture and flavour you can add one cup of chopped walnut or pecans to your chocolate chip cookies. Just stir them in at the same time as the chocolate chips.
• Kids chocolate chip cookies are fun with a mix of white chocolate and milk chocolate chips, or go wild and use Smarties!
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For an extra special dessert menu why not try World Service restaurant in Nottingham?
Coleslaw Recipe
Home-made coleslaw is a completely different experience to the shop-bought, school dinner concoction that gives it such as bad name. Crispy, crunchy cabbage with a tangy creamy dressing is a perfect accompaniment to cold meats or barbeques and great to add variety to lunch boxes and picnics.
The secret of a good coleslaw is in the mayo you use for the dressing. There’s no point using a cheap and nasty one, you’ll only end up with a school-dinner-type coleslaw for your efforts! If you are a whiz at home-made mayonnaise then go for it, otherwise shop around until you find a good mayonnaise that suits your tastes.
Use a really fresh cabbage and shred it by hand so that it retains its crunch.
Coleslaw Recipe
Ingredients:
½ white cabbage
2 large carrots
½ red onion
4 tablespoons good mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to season
Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice.
Shred the cabbage with a sharp knife into thin strips that are a comfortable size to eat. You can do this in the processor, but watch out that it doesn’t reduce the cabbage to a pulp.
Grate the carrot on the coarsest side of the grater. Slice the onion as finely as you can.
Toss the vegetables with the dressing, taste for seasoning and add however much salt and pepper you like.
Chill in the fridge for and hour or two before serving.
Variations on the recipe
• For a lighter dressing you can replace half the mayonnaise with plain yoghurt.
• You can leave out the onion altogether if you don’t like it.
• For a more colourful version replace half the white cabbage with red cabbage.
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Don’t fancy cooking tonight? Why not view over 55 of the best restaurants in Nottinghamshire
Salsa Recipe
A fresh salsa is an easy and healthy way to spice up a whole load of meals. You can serve it as a dip alongside guacamole with nachos to scoop it up with, or dollop it alongside grilled or barbequed meats. Really ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs and chilli add vitamins and taste to rice and bean dishes and salsa is an essential accompaniment to Mexican cuisine.
There are as many tomato salsa recipes as there are cooks who make it. Everyone has their own preference: hot and spicy; mild with onion; heaps of coriander; lots of lime juice… the combinations are endless. Try this basic salsa recipe and make it your own by playing with the ingredients until it suits your taste. Remember that the texture of a salsa should be chunky, with the tomato diced rather than pureed, so go easy with the food processor!
Homemade fresh tomato salsa recipe:
Ingredients:
2 or 3 large ripe red tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 small red onion
2 mild chillies, de-seeded
1 bunch coriander
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt
Chop onion, de-seeded chilli and garlic finely. This can be done in the food processor for speed if you like. Chop the coriander too or add to the food processor with the lime juice.
Dice the tomatoes quite small and mix with the other ingredients, season with salt, then chill in the fridge for and hour or so to allow the flavours to permeate.
To this basic salsa recipe you can add one or more of the following according to your personal taste:
• 1 chopped and de-seeded jalopeno chilli pepper for more heat.
• Diced cucumber for cool crunch.
• Mashed avocado to turn it into guacamole.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil for a smoother flavour and texture.
• Roasted red peppers, diced, for a deeper flavour
To make a fresh mango salsa, substitute mango for the tomato, leave out the garlic and try using mint as well as the coriander.
N.B. It is really important to use fresh, ripe tomatoes for salsa, as a lot of the depth of flavour comes from the tomato itself. You can camouflage a hard, flavourless supermarket tomato with extra chilli, but you can never make the best salsa without good ripe ingredients.
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View more recipes book Spanish restaurants in Nottingham online
French Onion Soup Recipe
A really great French onion soup is a classic recipe for a warming winter lunch with friends. Deep, rich flavour and a dash of brandy will warm you up after a frosty winter walk or cheer you on damp drizzly days. There is nothing more satisfying than the smell of the soup wafting through your house, making it feel like a welcoming French bistro. Make sure that you use a good beef stock and allow the onions to caramelize to get the maximum flavour in your onion soup. You will also need heatproof bowls for the last stage under the grill to melt the cheese into luscious, bubbling goodness.
French Onion Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
700g / 1 ½ lbs onions thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
50g / 2oz butter
2 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon sugar
1.2 litres / 2 pints good beef stock
250ml / 1 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper
1-2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
To serve:
6 thick slices French bread toasted
butter
225g / 8oz gruyere cheese
Heat the butter and oil together in a large heavy based pan. Add the sliced onions, garlic and sugar and cook over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. The onions should start to caramelize to a nutty brown colour, which is essential to the flavour of the soup. Remember it is brown you want, not black, so keep an eye on it and turn the heat down if the onions catch too much.
When the onions are nicely brown add the stock and wine. Simmer covered, over a low heat, for an hour.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you want the extra warmth of brandy add this now too. You can prepare the soup to this point in advance.
When you want to serve the soup, bring it back to simmering point. Heat the grill. Grate the cheese. Put one slice of toasted French bread into each heat-proof bowl, then ladle the soup on top. Smother the toast (which will have floated to the top) with plenty of grated cheese, then put the bowls under the grill until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve immediately.
N.B. If you don’t have individual heat-proof bowls you can use one big one to go under the grill. In that case make sure that your soup bowls are warmed, as the soup should be presented piping hot with the cheese still bubbling, for the real winter feel-good effect.
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View more recipes or book French restaurants in Nottingham online
Carrot Cake Recipe
Carrot cake has been so popular for decades but the use of carrots in many deserts, sweets and cakes can be traced back to medieval times. The 1960’s saw the true introduction of carrot cake and the original recipe was tried as a gimmick in America but was loved so much. Below is our simple recipe for the best, moist carrot cake.
Carrot Cake ingredients:
100g of fresh organic carrots
2 eggs
120g of caster sugar
120g of self-raising flour
Tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of nutmeg ground
60g of desiccated coconut
55g of chopped nuts, preferably walnuts
Delicious carrot cake icing:
100g of soft cheese, preferably full fat out of the fridge
60g of sifted icing sugar
1 grated rind of orange or lemon
Grease oven proof tin and heat oven to 180˚C. Finely grate carrots. Whisk together sugar and eggs in stages making sure the ingredients are beat together before adding more. Fold in nutmeg, coconut, walnuts and finally oil. Put cake mixture in the oven for 20 minutes, check consistency with a skewer and return for a further 5mins if needed. Beat together the icing ingredients and once the cake is made cool to ambient temperature. Apply the icing mixture to the cake. Put the kettle on, and enjoy a cup of tea with your glorious carrot cake.
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View our recipes section or if afternoon tea is your thing, why not try Perkin’s restaurant?
Lasagna Recipe – Easy recipe for beef Lasagna
The classic Italian dish Lasagna (Lasagne as the Italians would insist), is a rich and flavoursome meal that uses fresh and wholesome ingredients helping it become a family favourite over the years.
Below we outline a classic and simple to prepare beef lasagne recipe:
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Al forno meat lasagna recipe (oven baked) – serves 4-6 people:
Ingredients:
1 table spoon of olive oil
Cracked black pepper
½ pint of beef stock or similar
500g of lean steak mince
100g of mushrooms
1 large chopped red onion
¼ clove of garlic (or to taste)
15 grams of tomato concentrate
1 tin of quality chopped tomatoes
1 packet of lasagna sheets/preferably green, (Verdi)
White Sauce:
300ml of milk
150g of grated chedder
20g of butter
25g of plain flour
Cooking instructions and tips for lasagna:
Whilst heating the pan on a low heat with the oil chop the onion and finely chop the garlic. Add the onions and turn up the heat to sweat for 30 seconds, then add the garlic. Immediately start breaking up the mince into the pan. Stir continuously until golden brown. Some of the mince will start to water, feel free to drain any excess water for a lower fat option; add the pepper to your taste.
Add the chopped tomato and the tomato concentrate and then the mushrooms once the tomato is consistently spread; add the beef stock and leave on a simmer heat whilst preparing the white sauce.
Melt the butter in a pan being careful not to burn and sieve flour into the butter to avoid lumps and stir to consistency, add the milk. Stirring on a low heat will avoid any issues.
Once to a medium heat slowly add the cheese, stirring continuously, add more cheese to taste.
Better to use a Pyrex dish, but simply layer the meat, then pasta, then white sauce, then pasta, then meat and so on. The more pasta you use the drier the dish and likelihood of the lasagna keeping its form when cut into portions, but do try not to overlap pasta when creating your layers.
Make sure there is a white sauce layer on the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. At this point feel free to add Italian herbs, grated bread crumbs, chilli flakes and parmesan to your taste.
Bake in the oven at 180c for 45-60 minutes and use a butter knife to push through to understand if the pasta has cooked.
Serve with a crusty bread role or a rocket side salad, but the most important thing… yet more parmesan!
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View more recipes or book Italian restaurants in Nottingham online
Eat out at more new restaurants with Go dine
Over the last 3 weeks 11 new restaurants have been added to Go dine helping you find, book and save at over 50 of the best restaurants in Nottinghamshire. Here is a quick intro to each:
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Based in Nottingham’s City Centre, Amarone offers neighbourhood style dining at affordable prices. The restaurant is spacious, comfertable transforming into a romantic hotspot in the evening.
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Such was the success of Belle and Jerome in West Bridgford that a new venue opened recently in Beeston offering good value fresh meals with exceptional wine and Italian style coffee.
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Simply one of Nottingham’s most impressive restaurants – breathtaking decor and a delicious fine dining menu.
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Winner of numerous interior awards and serving great food, Home restaurant delivers an affordable and exciting dining experience.
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Based in Mansfield, Il Rosso offers something for everyone with an extensive an interesting menu.
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Laguna – Indian:
Laguna is one of the oldest restaurants in Nottingham, serving delicious traditonal Indian cuisine. Look out for Laguna’s remarkably good value lunch menu – it’s one of the best deals at restaurants in Nottingham!
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Lambs at the Market – British:
Winner of Best Local Produce Restaurant 2009 – need we say any more?
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Excellent Italian cuisine in a spacious restaurant, ran by a passionate and friendly host.
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Great service and exceptional value is always the case at New Delhi restaurant in Arnold, Nottingham.
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The Urban Indian cuisine concept of Tamatanga is sure to catach on. Good value Indian cuisine served in a modern world.
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The Verve Grill – British:
Based within The Village Hotel, The Verve Grill offers a diverse and well priced menu served within a trendy restaurant.
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Exceptional value set menus and excellent Italian dishes served from the open kitchen – highly recommended.
Arranging Christmas Parties in Nottingham
Christmas parties are “the” annual event for any office or social gathering of friends, commonly remembered for being the highlight of our professional or social calendar with the occasional funny story emerging from a memorable evening. The problem is that Christmas parties tend to take a lot of organisation as bringing 10+people together to a venue where everyone can attend, and to a place that is liked by everybody is a difficult skill, with the best Christmas parties in Nottingham tend to be well thought through and booked well in advance. This is where Go dine can help by helping arrange Christmas parties in Nottingham, and through using our intimate knowledge of only the best restaurants in Nottingham, we can ensure your Christmas party will be a special occasion.
Go dine are in the process of bringing together all Christmas Party menus in one place allowing you to browse through and make your special choice based around cuisine. We believe it is the venue that makes any occasion special and whether a group is suited to a buffet dinner followed by dance, or a more formal fining dining experience Go dine have all options available to help you book the best Christmas parties in Nottingham.
As Christmas menus are added to our member’s pages they will be brought together in an ultimate guide to Christmas parties in Nottingham
You can also contact our bookings team in advance on bookings@godine.co.uk outlining any requirements and Go dine shall contact you with some venue options and perhaps that valuable suggestion that you haven’t thought of.
