Recipes

Easy and delicious recipes for modern living

1 x 500g bag dried fusili pasta

1 dessert spoon extra virgin olive oil

2 dessert spoons sunflower or vegetable oil

120g red pesto (just over half a jar)

4 cloves garlic - sliced

1 large or 2 medium onions roughly chopped

1/2 red pepper and 1/2 yellow pepper roughly chopped

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 good handfuls fresh roquette leaves

Balsamic vinegar - to serve

Joey's Infused Chilli Oil - to serve

salt and pepper

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add 2 teaspoons salt & boil the pasta as per the instructions on the packet until al dente
Meanwhile, in a large(ish) frying pan heat the sunflower oil until hot. Add the sliced garlic first and stir fry for 1 minute until just starting to turn golden, add the onions and continue to stir fry for 3-4 minutes until the onions start to go crispy. Turn the heat down and add the peppers, the mixed herbs, the smoked paprika, season with salt and pepper and continue to fry for a further 3-4 minutes until softened.
Add the red pesto, olive oil and a ladle of the pasta water, mix well and remove from the heat
Drain the pasta well and return to the pan, add the sauce mix and season well with the salt and pepper to taste.
Serve into pasta bowls, scatter with the roquette leaves. drizzle with the chilli oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar

Uses For The Sauces
I often get asked "what can the sauces be used for?" and the answer is "pretty much whatever you fancy"
I tend to use them predominantly as condiments at the table, meaning anything you might put ketchup / mayonnaise / BBQ sauce can be substituted for fermented hot sauce, sweet chilli or chilli oil but below are a few ideas & pointers to get you started:

Fermented Chilli Sauce (Fools Gold, Heat not Hate & Pennywise)
These sauces have a complex, umami packed flavour and will compliment almost anything - but are particularly good with eggs and brunch dishes, noodles, rice, pizza, burgers, salads, wedges and chips. Try them on poached eggs & avocado on toast, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, stir fried rice or noodles and cooked meats and fish such as ham, pork pies, grilled chicken, tinned tuna & smoked mackerel

Infused Chilli Oil
Honestly, I love this stuff, and use it almost daily. I tend not to cook with it (mainly because it's expensive to do so) rather I drizzle it on nearly everything I eat - but I particularly enjoy it on pasta (game changer), pizzas (next level) and it goes brilliantly on a variety of salads (mix it 3 parts oil to 1 part balsamic vinegar for an incredible salad dressing). Alternatively, drizzle it over roast potatoes, roasted vegetables or brushed on a joint of roasting meat. It also really compliments a bowl of home made soup, ramen or dahl.

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
What's to say about this? well it's very versatile but is absolutely superb on grilled and roasted chicken - brush it on a chicken thigh or breast towards the end of cooking, allowing it to bubble &
caramelise a little, or try it as dip with skewers, wedges, pizzas, burgers, dim sum, and tempura vegetables. It carries considerably more heat than your standard shop-bought sweet chilli sauces so go steady!

Stir - Fried rice with green beans, baby corn, ginger, soy and hot sauce

(vegan - serves 3)

A quick, easy, cheap and healthy supper

225g basmati / long grain / jasmin rice (it doesn't matter)

4 dessert spoons vegetable or sunflower oil

1 onion - thinly sliced (optional)

1/2 red pepper - thinly sliced

1 packet baby corn - thinly slice length ways

1/2 pack (about 100g) green beans - ends trimmed off and cut into 4cm sticks

4 cloves garlic - chopped or minced

A thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated (or chopped)

1/2 bunch coriander - washed and roughly chopped (including stalks)

1 lime - cut into 1/4s (optional)

For the sauce

2 dessertspoons ketchup

1 dessert spoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

1 dessert spoon kejap manis (optional)

1 dessertspoon Joey's Fermented Habanero hot sauce

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, do not add salt. Quickly wash the rice in a sieve under a cold tap for 30 seconds to rinse away any excess starch and drain
Put the rice into the boiling water (the water should be at lest twice as deep as the rice) stir with a whisk to break up the rice grains and bring back to the boil. Stir again with a whisk, reduce the heat to a rolling simmer and cook the rice until al dente (usually around 12-15 minutes). Drain into a colander and leave to drain well.
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and reserve ready to be used
Heat the veg or sunflower oil in wok until very hot, swirl the oil around the pan a little to coat the sides of the wok
Add the onions and stir fry for 1 minute, next add the green beans and stir fry for 2 minutes. It's important to keep the wok on the stove at all times. Add the garlic, ginger, the baby corn and the peppers and continue frying for 4-5 minutes longer. Add a little more oil to the wok if necessary. Season with a little salt and pepper
Add the rice - you may not need all of it. Stir fry for a minute, then add the sauce and mix through and stir fry for another 30 seconds Add half the chopped coriander and remove from the heat. Taste for seasoning (it may need a bit more soy sauce depending on taste)
Scatter with the remaining coriander. Serve on to plates with the lime wedges and drizzle with soy sauce and Joey's fermented Hababnero hot sauce