So one of the joys of long haul flights is that the change in air pressure can cause a toothache to rear its ugly head. So after a trip to the dentist I have been confined to eating soft foods this past week. Nothing beats a good bowl of soup so I stopped by my local mart and grabbed a couple of the green squash and a bag of sweet potatoes. I knew the soup could be knocked up in an hour but I was craving bread. I didn’t have the time or inclination to go to the bakery to pick one up and neither did I want to wait over 2 hours myself to let one rise. I had bought the Paul Hollywood book for the Fat Boyfriend for Christmas as he has recently taken up baking. I was flipping through and found this soda bread recipe which is super quick and easy because it has no rise time. Hurrah dinner was saved and an hour and a half later I was enjoying a delicious bowl of soup with a slice or three of homemade bread smothered in butter.

Ingredients

Soup

2 kabocha squash

4 small sweet potatoes

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of cumin

500ml of milk or coconut milk (optional)

Soda bread

500g/9oz  of plain white flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

420ml/15fl oz buttermilk (make by putting 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into regular milk and waiting 5 minutes)

1/2 a red onion

100g of cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

Extra flour for dusting

Directions

Soup

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cut the squash into pieces and discard the seeds. Although you can roast them with a little oil and salt if you like and have them as a crunchy snack.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes in half and arrange on a tray with the squash. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle on a little salt. Bake in the oven for about 30 – 40 minutes until they are soft.

3. Meanwhile finely chop the onion and garlic and fry off in a little olive oil in a large saucepan. When the squash has cooked remove the flesh from the skin and add to the pan with your onions. If you like to eat the skin, sprinkle with a little spice or seasoning add a touch more oil and pop them back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes until they are crispy. I find them more addictive than crisps! Peel the sweet  potatoes or just pop them in the pan with their skins on. I left mine on because all the goodness is in the skin and because  I’m lazy.

4. Turn the heat on and add the curry powder and cumin and cook for a minute or two before adding the stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes to bring it together before blending. Once you have blended it, add the milk or coconut milk until you reach your desired consistency. Reheat and season to taste.

Bread

1. To make the bread Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

3. Grate in the onion, cheese and herbs if using, then mix again.

3.  Add the buttermilk and mix until a sticky dough forms.

4. Lightly flour a work surface and tip the dough onto it.

5. Gently roll and fold the dough a couple of times to bring the mixture together. Do not knead.

6. Shape the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball gently with your hand. Score the dough with a deep cross dividing it into quarters. Dust the bread with flour.

7. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake for 30 minutes at 200C/400F/Gas 6. The loaf should be golden-brown.

8. Leave to cool on a wire rack. This is best eaten on the day of baking. Thanks Paul!

I have been lusting after a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger for months now. For so long I have lusted over the joy of a juicy patty of meat, smothered with melted cheese, topped with salty crisp bacon, tangy BBQ sauce, and housed in a delicious soft bun. But after eating various burgers my craving just wasn’t satisfied. Yes, I could have just visited Burger B in Hongdae, but I’m a very lazy girl, and feel Hongdae is just too far to go for food. I live in HBC (Haebangchon) which is actually better known to residents as Ham Burger Central. Our street is actually littered with places selling burgers. There is Burgermine of course, all you can eat burgers but no matter how many I ate, I wasn’t quite satisfied. Phillies, which I will say do a great burger and almost hit the spot but not quite. The restaurant  that changes it’s name one a month, currently named Bombs Burger, Indigo and Hungry Dog, but none of these restaurants meet my meat needs. I moved on to Jacoby’s. Jacoby’s has become a phenomenon in the last year after it was shown on a Korean drama, most nights of the week there is an endless queue of Koreans desperate to eat there. But I have never rated it, they are so over-hyped for a mediocre burger. I’ll take the one at Phillies any day of the week. So I did the only thing a fat lazy girl could do and decided to make my own. I came, I saw, and I conquered. They were exquisite and I couldn’t be happier. I scarfed down two in a matter of minutes. Every need was met and I am now sated for the time being.

The first thing that needed to be made were the buns. If I had been to Costco I would have just bought some, but we hadn’t, and you can’t get decent sized buns anywhere else. So I had no choice to make my own. I tried to cheat and found a no rise recipe, and, despite being delicious with melted butter, they were more like scones. My lovely fiancé Niall managed to find this recipe online at allrecipes.com and made these buns. They came out perfectly, which just goes to show you don’t have to be a great cook to make good bread. In fact I think it helps if you are not as you are more scrupulous when it comes to following the recipe!

Ingredients 

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon white sugar

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoons salt

Sesame seeds for decoration

Directions 

1. Combine the milk, 1 cup of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want to oil your hand first. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven.
5. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and return them to different shelves so each one spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.

My next job was to make the burgers. I popped over to my local butcher, and chose the cheapest wedge of beef he had and had him grind it up for me. It had a great ratio of fat to meat so was perfect. I like to to add breadcrumbs to my mixture too, probably because my mum does so that’s the way I have always done it.

Ingredients

600g of ground beef

1/2 an onion

1 1/2 slices of bread

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 a teaspoon of salt

1/2 a teaspoon of  black pepper

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs (parsley, rosemary, oregano, thyme, whatever you have…)

1 egg yolk

Directions

Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry off in a little oil for a few minutes just to cook out the raw taste from the onions, then set aside and leave to cool. Meanwhile make the bread into bread crumbs. Put the ground beef in a bowl then add the breadcrumbs. Add the salt, pepper, and mixed herbs. When the onions have cooled add to the bowl and mix everything together thoroughly. Add the egg yolk and mix again, then form into patties. Wrap the patties in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. If you are not using them all straight away, they will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, or you can put them in the freezer. Fry them in a pan, pop them under the grill or dust down your barbecue. Cook them to your liking with is medium – well for me.

Lastly I had to make the Chips, you can’t have a burger without chips. It would be sacrilege. I have been making Heston Blumenthal’s famed triple cooked chips for the past 2 weeks now. Yes they are somewhat time consuming, but they are well worth the extra effort. If you are spending a lazy Sunday on the sofa watching back to back episodes of Project Runway like I am then, it’s a good way to use your time. I followed Heston’s directions to the latter except I used soy bean oil as its very cheap here, and I just used the biggest potatoes I could find. They turned out well even if they weren’t exactly the kind we get back home.

Ingredients

1kg of potatoes peeled and cut into chips

Oil for frying

Salt

Directions 

This sandwich is the holy grail of grilled cheeses. It requires a lot more effort than a regular grilled cheese but boy is the pay off worth it. The spectacular taste of French onion soup all contained in sandwich form. It was so good that the second I finished mine I looked over to my boyfriend to see that he had half of his left. I almost ripped it right out of his hands it was so good. Now sadly this sandwich doesn’t come cheap as the Gruyère and proper bread can set you back a fair whack, about 20,000. It also takes a good 30 minutes to caramelize the onions, but every second spent by the stove will be worth it when you bite into this glorious creation.

Ingredients

4 slices of really nice bread

2 onions

120g of Gruyere cheese

1 glug of olive oil

1/2 a stick of butter

1 tablespoon of white sugar (optional)

Directions

Start by chopping your onions into thin slices. Heat your frying pan to medium then add a glug of olive oil and a a knob of the butter. When the butter has melted add the onions.They will take around 30 minutes to caramelize so be patient. Never leave your pan’s side even for a second. Stir them regularly to make sure they are getting an even coverage. They should be golden brown when they are done but not burned. While your onions are cooking, grate your Gruyère. I find that the Korean onions don’t brown as much as I would like, so if you want add a tablespoon of white sugar about 20 minutes in to help them out a little. When the onions are done remove them from the pan and place in a bowl. Butter one side of each piece of bread Then put two slices of the bread butter side down in your frying pan. Then top each slice with a quarter of the grated cheese.

Then add the caramelized onions.

Finally add the last of the cheese and place a slice of bread on top butter face up. Heat your pan to medium, and cook for a few minutes on one side before carefully flipping it over to cook the other side. The bread should be golden brown and the cheese should have melted. When they are ready, serve and devour. Voilà the best cheese sandwich you are ever likely to have.

Every now and then you just have one of those days, that nothing but a calorie ridden bowl of pasta can make you forget. Sometimes only butter, cream, and copious amounts of cheese can cure you of your woes. Enter the chicken alfredo, just perfect for such an occasion. I don’t think my recipe is particularly authentic but this is how I always make it and it always hits the spot. It’s comfort food at its finest, quick and easy to make, and extremely satisfying.

Ingredients

200g of  dried pasta

1 chicken breast

1/2 an onion

3-6 cloves of garlic

5-6 mushrooms

200ml of cream

100ml of milk

1 -2 glugs of white wine

1 chicken stock cube

1 knob of butter

1 glug of olive oil

1 teaspoon of freshly chopped parsley

Freshly grated parmesan (as much as it takes for you to feel good again)

Directions

Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in the olive oil for a few minutes until they have softened and become translucent. Chop the chicken breast into pieces and add to to the pan and fry until it has cooked. While the chicken is cooking put your pasta on to boil. When the chicken is done remove everything from the frying pan and put it in a bowl to the side. Drop your knob of butter into the pan and add the mushrooms, cook for a few minutes until they are done, then add the cream, milk, and wine and bring to the boil and reduce the heat so it’s simmering. Crumble in the stock cube and stir until its dissolved and the wine has cooked off. Drain your pasta once it is done. Then add the chicken and onion back into the pan with the sauce and mix together. Pour the chicken and sauce on top of your drained pasta and make sure it is evenly coated. Sprinkle with your chopped parley and grated parmesan. Serve in a bowl and top with more parmesan. Pour yourself a glass of that wine and say ahhhhhhh. Voilà my everything will be okay chicken alfredo.

The beautiful vibrant pink of this gorgeous risotto just makes my heart want to sing. It’s the perfect way to make an ordinary dish a little different and have a totally different taste. Years ago I worked as a humble waitress at a rather fancy restaurant back home and this dish was always featured on their summer menu. After I discovered some beetroot in my local supermarket I thought it was about time I recreated that lovely dish. The beetroot gives it such a deep robust flavour without taking away from its overall riosottoiness. You may also be unaware that Korean rice is very suitable for using in a risotto as it’s a short grain. I actually discovered this way back in my first year when I looked at it and said that it looked exactly the same as the Italian Arborio rice. A little research indicated that they were both short grain rices and I decided to give it a whirl. It works perfectly so no need to scour the foreign food mart looking for risotto rice the next time you are in the mood for one.

Ingredients

200g of Korean Rice

1-2 liters of stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 beetroot

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

25g of butter

100g of Freshly shaved parmesan

1 glass of white wine

1 tablespoon  of sour cream (optional)

A small handful of baby spinach (optional)

3-4 walnuts (optional)

Directions

Boil the beetroot in water for about 10 minutes to soften them. Then remove the skins, roughly chop and place in the blender. Heat the stock in a pan so that its gently simmering. Add about a cup to the beetroot and blend until they make a beautiful puree, then set aside. Finely chop the onions and garlic then fry for a few minutes in a little olive oil and butter until softened. Then add the rice and cook for a further few minutes until the rice is translucent. Add the glass of wine and stir occasionally until the liquid has evaporated. Then add 1 ladle-full of stock. When the stock has been absorbed add another ladle-full. You will need to do this for about 15-20 minutes adding one ladle-full at a time and letting it absorb before adding the next. Don’t rush it by adding too much stock. When the rice had become soft or aldente you are almost there. Stir in the beetroot puree then add the butter and half the parmesan and stir. Serve in a bowl and top with the baby spinach, sour cream, walnuts (if using), and top with more Parmesan. Voilà the perfect summertime risotto.

When it rains it pours, and these past few weeks it’s been raining falafels. First Zayd started selling them over at Med food in Korea. Then I had some over at El Grecos. Then finally I made some myself and they are so good that I just can’t stop. I have been making them by the truckload lately and having them in all manner of salads and wraps. I also took a batch a down to the vegan potluck and the whole plate had disappeared within minutes. They are actually surprisingly easy to make if you have a sturdy blender.

Ingredients

2 cans or 800g of soaked chick peas (this is the weight once they have been soaked in water)

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 lemon (zest and juice)

A large handful of parsley

A large handful of coriander (cilantro or 고수 found in many korean supermarkets)

1 -2 tablespoons of cumin

2 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

2-3 tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

Oil for frying (I use soybean because it’s cheap)

Directions

If using dried chickpeas, soak them in lots of  cold water overnight. Drain the chickpeas and blend until they resemble cous cous or bread crumbs in consistency. Next you need to blend the parsley, garlic, and onion. I did this in the blender too until it made a green onion smoothie. Mix together with the chickpeas, then add the salt, pepper, and spices. Add the juice and zest of the lemon and mix.  Stir in the flour and baking soda then cover with cling-film and leave in the fridge for about an hour. When the mixture has had time to rest remove from the fridge and form into ping-pong sized balls. Heat your oil to a medium heat then fry the falafel, they should take about 3 minutes on each side. If the oil is too hot they will not be cooked on the inside. Once they are done let them drain on a piece of kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Enjoy fresh from the pan with lots of hummus and flatbread. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Voilà fabulous falafels.

I do love a good brunch. It is swifly becoming one of my favourite meals of the day. In an effort to save money over the last few weeks I have been making my own rather than going out. My fridge is always well stocked with appropriate ingredients and I always have a steady supply of vodka for making Bloody Mary’s, so it seems churlish to venture outside when there is so much goodness at home. This weeks choice was a Spanish omelette. Quick and easy to make. I don’t own a metal skillet that is capable of fitting in my tiny toaster oven so I used a round cake tin I bought from Daiso. It came out great and I’m sure it will now be a regular feature for weekend brunch from now on.

Ingredients

7 eggs

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

2 potatoes

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

A small bunch of spinach

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander (cilantro)

1 tablespoon of freshly choped parsley

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon of rosemary

A glug of olive oil

Directions

Thinly slice the potatoes and fry them in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and cooked right through. Remove them from the pan and set to the side. Next slice the onions, garlic, and green and red peppers and fry for about 5 minutes until softened. Roughly chop the spinach and add to the pan until it had wilted then remove from the heat. In a separate bowl, break and beat the eggs together with a dash of salt, pepper, paprika, and rosemary. Finely chop the fresh parsley and coriander and add that to the egg mixture too. Next take the potatoes and add them to the egg mixture in the bowl. Then fold in the onion, garlic, peppers and spinach. Make sure it is mixed thoroughly then pour into a cake pan. Pop the the mixture into the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius. Its done when a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. You may also want to cover the top with foil after the first 10 minutes to stop it over browning. To remove put a plate over the pan and flip it. Cut the omelette into wedges and serve with a side salad. Voilà Spanish style omelette.

I’m rather partial to goat’s cheese. The creamy taste, the velvety texture and the gooey inside. Sadly in Korea its not all that easy to come by. In fact I don’t think I have bought any since I have been here. Luckily I visited Hong Kong last week and picked some up. I pondered what to make and decided I would use up the pastry I had sitting in the freezer and would make some tarts. You just cant beat a goats cheese tart. The pastry and cheese are such a winning combination. I always choose this if it’s on a menu.

Ingredients

1/2 a round of goats cheese (about 100g, I think they sell in it in Shinsegae department store)

8 squares of puff pastry. ( I found mine at the foreign food mart in Itaewon in the freezer section)

250g of spinach

4 rashers of bacon(optional)

150ml of tomato sauce (I always keep a jar of homemade in the fridge.)

Fresh parmesan

1 beaten egg

2 tablespoon of onion jam (you can find mine at the Pinoy mart)

A knob of butter

Directions

If using the bacon cook on high in an oven until its very crispy, I had some to use up, which is why I added it, but I think it worked rather well. Finely chop the spinach and then wilt in  a pan in a knob of butter. Once the spinach has wilted take the pan off the heat and crumble in the goats cheese and bacon. Grate in some fresh parmesan and stir well. Add in in a couple of tablespoons of onion jam and tomato sauce (homemade or store  bought).

To make my tomato sauce finely chop an onion and about 5 cloves of garlic. Fry off in a little olive oil until softened. Throw the onions into a blender along with 5-6 tomatoes or a can of tomatoes. If tomatoes are cheap I use fresh, in the winter its usually canned. Add a tablespoon of mixed herbs and blend. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes. I usually add a tablespoon of tomato ketchup at this point too, to sweeten it up. I also add glug or two of red wine if I have some open. I change the sauce slightly depending on what I’m making but this is a basic I would use for lots of things.

Take the pastry square and make 4 slices down the middle of two of the pieces being careful not to cut through to the end. Put a few tablespoons of the goats cheese spinach mixture into the piddle of the uncut pastry square leaving a the edges free. Brush the edges with the beaten egg then place the scored piece on top. Press down the edges to make sure it’s joined together. Then brush the beaten egg over the top. Bake in an oven at about 180 degrees celcius for about 15- 20 minutes or until the pastry has cooked through. Be careful to check the bottom layer as its easy to have this under cooked.  If you notice mine on the picture it is a little underdone and I had to put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes. If the tops are getting too brown cover the tarts with foil. Enjoy on their own or with a side salad. Voilà easy goats cheese tarts, a food I never though I would enjoy in Korea.

I love a good a good stew on a Winter’s eve. There’s nothing better than a hearty chicken and vegetable stew filled with dumplings. This is also a great recipe to use up any leftover chicken or turkey you have lying around. Forget the sandwiches and sort yourself out a great big stew. I’m a big fan of dumplings, especially if they come swimming in gravy. At first I thought you couldn’t make dumplings without suet so I got a box sent from home. However I since tried the same recipe with ice cold grated butter and they worked just as well.  This is going to be one of my favourite dinners for quite some time to come as it’s so cheap,easy and tasty.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut up into 4-6 pieces

1 large onion

1 large carrot

5 cloves of garlic

4 potatoes

1 courgette

1 bay leaf

1.5-2 litres of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs

7-8 mushrooms

A glass or 2 of wine (optional)

Dumplings

200g of all purpose flour

100g of butter (ice cold)

5-7  tablespoons of ice cold water

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

1 teaspoon of sage

A pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

Cut your chicken into 4- 6 pieces then coat in seasoned flour and fry in a little oil  for a few minutes until it has browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and throw in the chopped onion and garlic. Fry for about 5 minutes or until translucent then add the chopped carrot to the pan and cook for a further two minutes. Put the chicken, carrots, onions, and garlic into a large saucepan then top with the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Meanwhile chop the potatoes into chunks then add them to pot once the stock is simmering. Add a bay leaf and a tablespoon of mixed herbs and a little pepper. Throw in a glass of wine if you have some lying around, red or white is fine. Leave to cook on a low simmer with a lid on top for about 2 hours. Make sure the chicken is covered in the stock. After about an hour you can add the chopped courgette and mushrooms.

To make the dumplings mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and flour together and then grate the butter into the flour. Gently mix it together. Add the cold water a spoon at a time and very softly bring it together in to a loose dough. Do not work it into a ball, keep it loose then break off lumps and roll them gently to form balls. Add them to the top of the  stew, then cook for another 20 minutes. The gravy may be a bit watery so mix two or three tablespoons of cornflour or flour in a bowl with about a cup of the stock. Mix it thoroughly before adding it back into the pot to let it thicken. Serve by itself or with extra green vegetables.  Voilà a Winter warming stew.

If you are an avid reader of my blog you may have heard me mention My French Heaven a few times. It is an amazing blog that you should all go and check out straight away.  When you visit said blog you should follow it then leave a comment telling him that it was me the fat girl who so kindly delivered you so you can help me win a holiday to stay in his glorious château in France. I was in the lead but pole position could be lost at any time so please, please, please, please, help me out and help me to win a very well deserved holiday.

Anyway back to today’s post, one of the fabulously French recipes Stephane featured was this amazing French onion soup. I had to tweak it ever so slightly to make it work here in Korea. I have of course displayed Stephane’s beautiful picture of the soup at the top. My less attractive picture sits at the bottom. But looks aren’t everything are they? It’s the taste that counts.

Ingredients

9 small onions

4 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 liters of water

1 chicken stock cube

A knob of butter

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

Thinly slice your onions and garlic then fry them in a large knob of butter and a glug of olive oil. Do this on a medium to low heat. This will take around 30 minutes, never leave your pan’s side even for a second. Stir them regularly to make sure they are getting an even coverage. They should be a very brown, but not burnt, by the time they are are done. Once your onions have caramelised, put them into a saucepan along with a 1.5 litres of water and a chicken stock cube. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat so the soup is simmering and cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh parsley if you have some. Pour the soup into bowls and top with a slice of baguette. Top with grated cheese (Gruyère in an ideal world, in Korea this will probably entail cheddar, mozzarella, or a mixture of both). Cook under a grill until the cheese is has melted and is slightly browned. Carefully remove bow from under the grill and enjoy! Voilà une très facile soupe à l’oignon.