Chicken Katsu Curry

This restaurant favourite is so simple to make at home. 

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 4 skinless chicken breast
• 50g plain flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 100g panko breadcrumbs
• sunflower oil, to shallow fry

For the curry sauce:

• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
• 2 garlic clove garlic,crushed
• 1 tbsp medium curry powder
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 2 tsp honey

Method:

Bash the chicken breasts between two sheets of baking paper or clingfilm with a rolling pin to flatten them to an even thickness.

Put flour, egg and breadcrumbs into separate shallow bowls. Dip each chicken breast into flour (tap off excess), then egg and finally breadcrumbs. Repeat until all chicken breasts are coated. Set aside while you make the sauce.

For the sauce: Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry onion over medium heat for 5 minutes to soften and start to turn golden. Add ginger and garlic and cook for a further minute, then stir in curry powder and flour. Cook for 1 minute, then gradually add stock to avoid lumps forming. Add soya sauce and honey. Bring to boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes to reduce until thickened. Blitz in a blender to make a smoother sauce, if you like.

Heat a thin layer oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and cook chicken  for 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Slice to a thick slices and serve with rice and the curry.

Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Rich and smooth dark chocolate that melts on your tongue followed by a kick of bright and zingy fresh raspberries It is simply to die for.
A nutty toasted almond base topped with tangy raspberries and then covered in a creamy and intensely dark chocolatey dark chocolate filling.

Ingredients:

• 75g almond
• 50g oats
• 100g pitted dates
• 1 tbsp coconut milk, melted
• pinch of salt
• 400ml full fat coconut milk
• 25g corn flour
• 40g sugar
• 30g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g frozen raspberries

Method:

For the base: Toast the almonds in frying pan until light golden brown and fragrant. 

Place the almonds, oats, dates, salt and coconut oil in a food processor and blitz until fine crumbs that stick together when you pinch them between your fingers.

Firmly press the mixture into a loose bottom cake tin or tart tin. Pop it in the fridge to set  and move on to the chocolate filling.

Pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan. Mix the corn flour with few tbsp of the coconut milk in a small bowl until you have a thin paste.

Add the sugar and cocoa powder to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly add the corn flour mixture and whisk continuously to avoid clumps from forming. Turn down the heat, keep whisking and cook until a thick custard like texture.  Take the filling off the heat and mix in the vanilla extract.

Take the tart base out from the fridge and scatter the raspberries evenly. Pour over the chocolate filling and spread it around until every last raspberry is covered.

Put back in the fridge and let it set over night.  Enjoy!

Pork with Sweet Potatoes

A colourful dish, with sweet potatoes, dried cranberries and apple slices.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 pork tenderloin, about 450g
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 450g), peeled and cubed
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 400ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 medium apple, sliced
• 4 spring onions, chopped

Method:

In  a shallow bowl, mix flour, salt and pepper. Cut tenderloin into 12 pieces, pound each with a meat mallet to ¼-in thickness. Dip pork in flour mixture to coat both sides, shaken off excess.

In a large nonstick pan,  heat oil over medium-heat, brown pork in batches. Remove from pan.

Add sweet potatoes, cranberries and stock into the same pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer covered for about 5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Stir in mustard.

Return the pork to the pan, add apple and spring onions. Return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, covered for further 5 minutes or until pork and sweet potatoes are tender.

Vegan Raspberry, Almond and Sherry and Saffron Trifle

This glorious vegan trifle recipe is perhaps the ultimate comfort food dessert. Beautifully rich coconut cream, custard and raspberry compote add bags of flavour.  The raspberries make it a summery dessert. But you can use any seasonal fruit you like.

Ingredients:

Vegan sponge:

• 200g self-raising flour
• 160g castor sugar
• 60g ground almond
• 1½tsp baking powder
• 250ml soya milk
• 100ml oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Saffron custard:

• 1.5ml almond milk
• 180g castor sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch saffron, about 10 threads
• 80g cornflour

Berry Compote:

• 260g raspberries
• 100ml water
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 60g castor sugar

Coconut Whipped Cream:

• 800ml coconut milk, chilled in the fridge overnight
• 50g icing sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Method:

For the sponge: Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C for fan oven. Line a 23cm round cake tin with baking paper.

Place all the dry ingredients for the vegan sponge in a large bowl and mix together. Measure out the wet ingredients into a jug and again mix together with a whisk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix until well combined, then pour into the lined cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes until well risen and the sponge springs back to the touch.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

For the custard: Put all the ingredients, except the cornflour into a pan and heat gently, stirring frequently until warm.

Mix the cornflour with enough cold water to make a smooth paste. Add to the almond milk mixture and cook for a few minutes, stirring until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat. Strain the custard through a sieve to remove any lumps. Leave to cool.

For the raspberry compote: Put half the berries with the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring up to a simmer. Cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the berries have totally broken down and the liquid is glossy.

Take the pan off the heat, leave the compote to cool a little then blend with a blender. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, then mix with the remaining berries.

To assemble: Cut the sponge into slice 2.cm thick and use to line the base of a glass trifle dish evenly. Pour the sherry evenly over the sponge, then spoon over an even layer of raspberry compote.

Leave in the fridge for 20 minutes or more to settle before carefully spooning over the custard. Cover and leave the custard to set in the fridge for a few hours.

When the custard is almost set, make the coconut whipped cream. Open the can of coconut milk and scoop off the thick cream from the top into a bowl. Sift icing sugar into the bowl and add in the vanilla extract. Whisk in a fairly high speed until the mixture comes together. careful not to over whip.

Pipe the freshly whipped coconut cream on top of the trifle or spoon a small spoonfuls and spread out across the top, then heat the spoon in hot water and use it to smooth the surface of the cream. Finally scatter with the toasted almonds and decorate with raspberries