Quesadilla - Savoury and Sweet

Another recipe demonstrated at the 2015 Caravan, Camping and Motorhome show is a quesadilla. Originating from Mexico the quesadilla is a quick, simple but oh so tasty lunch or supper. It is basically a round flour tortilla stuffed with a savoury filling and cheese then folded in half and cooked in a frying pan. You can really go to town with the fillings but my children’s favourite is a simple chicken, sweetcorn and cheddar cheese that we cook on the barbecue and call barbecue butties! If you have a spicy tooth then do add chopped chilli’s or your favourite chilli sauce and vegetarians can try peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. You can have a lot of fun trying different fillings, in fact quesadilla’s remind me of the breville sandwich maker I had in the 1990’s!

 

Savoury Quesadilla Ingredients:
(per person)

1 Tortilla
40g Sweetcorn (about ¼ of a small tin)
½ Cooked and shredded chicken breast, about 50g
50g Grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. Cover half of the tortilla with half of the cheese.
2. Cover with the chicken and sweetcorn and season.
3. Top with the remaining cheese and fold the tortilla in half.
4. Oil the hot grill and place the quesadilla on it. You will need to flip the quesadilla so leave enough space on the grill to do this.
5. After about 2 minutes slide a fish slice under the open end of the quesadilla and flip it over the fold to do the other side.
6. When the cheese is all gooey and melted and the tortilla is nicely toasted remove from the grill.
7. Cut into quarters and eat straight away!

If you have a sweet tooth you can also use quesadilla’s for dessert using fruit, sugar and cream cheese. They’re a bit like a warm crunchy cheesecake and definitely worth experimenting with. I’m simply using blueberries here but strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries would all work well.

 

Sweet Quesadilla Ingredients:
(per person)

1 Tortilla
75g Blueberries
60g Cream cheese
1tsp Sugar
1tsp Icing sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Spread the cream cheese over the whole of one side of the tortilla.
2. Roughly chop the blueberries and scatter over half of the tortilla and sprinkle with 1tsp of sugar.
3. Fold the tortilla in half and gook on the grill the same as the savoury quesadilla above.
4. Cut into quarters to serve and dust with icing sugar if you have some.

Eggy Bread - Savoury and Sweet

For the 2015 Caravan, Camping and Motorhome show I was flattered to be asked to do a simple cooking demonstration of breakfast on a barbecue that could be done in any campsite kitchen. The great British fry up is a staple breakfast on campsites all year long and is really hard to beat but I wanted to try something different. Eggy bread is so versatile that it can be done savoury or sweet and it also overcomes the issue of cooking eggs on a barbecue without a pan! The only issue is that it can stick to the grill so you must follow these three rules of grilling:

1. Clean
2. Heat
3. Lubricate

The grill must be clean and very hot then just before placing food on it give it a liberal lubricating with a piece of kitchen roll soaked in vegetable oil. Use tongues to grip the paper if it’s too hot to handle.

For the savoury I’m doing bacon and tomato but vegetarians could try a field mushroom and tomato, for carnivores there is sausage and black pudding and if you're hungry do the lot!

Bacon and Tomato Eggy Bread Ingredients:
(per person)

1 Egg
1 tbsp Milk
1 Thick slice of bread
2 Rashers of streaky bacon
1 Slice of tomato
Greek basil leaves
Brown sauce
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl and soak the bread in the mixture so that both sides are covered. Set the bread aside to allow the mixture to really get absorbed.
2. Brush a little vegetable oil onto both sides of the bacon and place onto the grill of a medium heat barbecue.
3. Slice a nice big tomato about 1cm thick, brush with oil, season with a bit of salt and pepper and place on the grill.
4. Keep checking the bacon and tomato and turn when they look done. It’s about 5 minutes a side but this timing depends on the heat of your barbecue so isn’t exact.
5. Rub vegetable oil on the grill as mentioned above and place on it the eggy bread. After 2-3 minutes flip the bread to do the other side.
6. Season the eggy bread then plate up with a few basil leaves and a big dollop of brown sauce!

For breakfast pudding or for those with a sweet tooth try grilling your favourite fruit with eggy bread. I’m doing banana and maple syrup but you can try slices of apple, pear, orange or mango and use plain syrup or honey. We served it up with a dollop of cream but you could use ice cream, canned squirty cream or even a blob of custard!

Banana Eggy Bread Ingredients:
(per person)

1 Egg
1 tbsp Milk
1 Thick slice of bread
1 Banana
3 tsp Sugar
Maple syrup
Thick double cream
Vegetable oil

Method:

1. Prepare the bread as above but prior to putting on the grill sprinkle each side of the eggy bread with a teaspoon of sugar.
2. Slice the banana in half, brush the fleshy sides with oil and place on the grill flesh side down. Cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Turn the banana halves over onto the skin side and sprinkle the flesh with sugar. Continue to grill until the skin is black and is beginning to peel away from the flesh.
4. Using a spoon gently scoop the banana out, serve on the eggy bread with a dollop of your favourite cream and a drizzle of syrup. Yum!

Cooking live on stage

The fantastic audience

Prawns and Garlic Stir Fry

It is Chinese New Years Eve tonight so for our dinner we have opted for an oriental stir fry, and as we are on holiday lets go to town on the garlic! You can't beat a good old stir fry for a quick easy tea and you can bung almost anything in them to suit your own taste. As this is quite a garlicky sauce plain rice works perfectly but you can use egg fried rice or noodles. We have also used prawns but if you are vegetarian just replace for more veg and if you are seafood-averse just use any other meat.

 

Ingredients:

100g Long grain rice, for 2 people
150g Cooked large prawns
50g Babycorn, cut on the diagonal in 1cm slices
50g Mange tout (Rodney)
50g Button mushrooms, cut in half
4 Spring onions, thinly sliced
1 Spring onion, sliced lengthways for garnish
4 Bird eye chillies
1 tsp. Ginger root, peeled and finely diced
3 Garlic cloves, peeled and diced or crushed
1 tbsp. Sherry vinegar *
2 tbsp. Light soy sauce *
1 tbsp. Fish sauce * (use a bit of bouillon if you're veggy)
1 tsp. Rice wine *
1/2 tsp. sesame oil *
150ml water *
4 tsp. Cornflour
Oil for frying


Method:

1. 100g of rice is about half a mug so using the 2-1 rule pour 1 whole mug of water into a pan, season and bring to the boil. As soon as it is boiling tip half a mug of rice into it, put a lid on and turn the gas down to its lowest. Don't be tempted to take a peek and remove the lid, just leave it for about 15 minutes before checking. It's is done when all the liquid has been absorbed which is usually 15-20 minutes.
2. Mix all the ingredients with a * together in a bowl.
3. On a high heat get a wok or frying pan nice and hot, add a good glug of oil and the garlic and ginger and fry for 20 seconds.
4. Now add all the veg and stir fry for 5 minutes.
5. Add the liquid * prepared in step 2 and simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Mix the cornflour with a little water to make a paste and add it to the pan.
7. In go the prawns for about 1 minute.
8. Plate up and top with more spring onion.

Shropshire Fidget Pancakes topped with Shropshire Blue Cheese

It's pancake day today and as we are in Shropshire I wanted to find a meal that ticked the local recipes box but also worked well with pancakes. Shropshire Fidget Pie was heading for extinction until The Hairy Bikers rode into Ludlow and revived the recipe, and the creamy, porky, appley filling lends itself perfectly to a savoury yet sweet pancake. Topped with Shropshire blue cheese it cant be more Shroppy!

 

Ingredients:

For the Pancakes:
Flour - 12 tablespoons
Eggs - 2
Milk - 300ml
Butter for frying

For the Fidget:
Cooked ham, chopped into bite size chunks, about 250g
2x Apples, peeled and diced
1x Large onion, halved and finely sliced
1/2 Bottle of dry cider (250ml)
125ml Double cream
2x Big potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite size chunks
1tsp English mustard
Sugar or honey
Sage leaves
Shropshire blue cheese, we used Peakdale
Bread crumbs


Method:

For the Pancakes:
1. Whizz up all the pancake mix with a hand-blender or beat together with a whisk until smooth.
2. Get a frying pan on medium heat and when hot chuck in a knob of butter, coat the pan then pour in a pancake.
3. Cook for about 30 seconds then flip with a fish slice. You can toss them in a caravan but be careful of those low ceilings! Make as many pancakes as you need and set aside stacked on a plate.

For the Fidget:
1. Put the potatoes in a saucepan with seasoned water and bring to the boil.
2. When the water reaches boiling point add the sliced onions. Boil for 5 minutes.
3. Drain the water from the spuds and onions then add the cider, cream, mustard, ham and apples.
4. Finely chop about 12 sage leaves and add to the pan. Heat gently until the potatoes and apples are done.
4. Season with salt and pepper and sweeten to your taste with honey or a pinch of sugar.

To Serve:
Simply get a pancake and fill it with fidget mixture and roll it all up. Leave some of the sauce for later. Top with grated Shropshire blue cheese and breadcrumbs and pop under the grill until the cheese is all bubbly melty and the breadcrumbs toasted. Plate up with some more of the creamy sauce saved earlier. You can enjoy as they or serve with some greens, we dished up with asparagus and topped with fried sage leaves.