All posts tagged: Swansea

Food styling: my charity shop treasures

I’ve recently started to poke my head into every charity shop I pass looking for new plates and tableware to style out my recipes. So if I am ever late for work or miss my bus, I blame the British Heart Foundation! Buying weird and wonderful plates is an amazing way of kitting out your dining table without spending a fortune and I find new dishes give me inspiration for new recipes to try. My bargain hunting tips: Gumtree is filled with people trying to get rid of their old kitchen junk that they might think is worthless or outdated. Often, these sellers don’t realise how much money they could be getting from their old stuff! Ebay is a great way of checking if you are getting a bargain or not. Check how many people are bidding for certain items and how much they are selling for, so that you always get a good prices. Be aware of chips and cracks in tableware that you buy online. If you are taking photographs this is not …

Beth’s Swansea Scotch Eggs

My black pudding bonbons have become famous. They started off as a humble Glamorgan sausage (a Welsh vegetarian croquette made of leeks and cheese). Then I introduced my old friend, the mighty black pudding and experimented a lot before I perfected the recipe. They’ve been called ‘yummo’ by John Torode, ‘delightful’ by Thomasina Miers and ‘banging’ by my very honest flatmates/ food guinea pigs. But behold… they have transformed again, into Scotch Eggs, with a hidden runny yolk inside! Beth’s Swansea Scotch Eggs Makes 5 large scotch eggs 7 medium eggs 1 leek 5 sage leaves a small bunch of parsley a small bunch of thyme 400g black pudding chubb 1½ tsp English mustard 200g extra mature cheese, grated ½ loaf of white bread (nothing fancy) Salt and pepper 4 heaped tbsp flour oil, for deep frying Take two eggs, separate and keep the yolks and whites together. Add the yolks to a mixing bowl, and the whites to a deep baking dish for dredging later. Cut the leek lengthways three times then very finely slice. Add to …

Beer Battered Cod & Triple Cooked Chips & Chip Shop Curry Sauce

There’s nothing better than proper Fish and Chips. Cooking this dish was the first time I felt completely in my comfort zone in the MasterChef kitchen, it brings back so many fond memories of home and my childhood (and I don’t doubt it does for lots of others too!) I even brought my own chip shop paper and chip forks for the show; I think it makes it taste better.  Pale ale gives a great flavour to fish batter. I use my cousin-in-laws’ home brew iota, which gives a sweet malty taste. My curry sauce is a take on the Chinese style curry sauce that everybody loved at the my local chippie. Serves 2 Ingredients For the fish: 2 cod fillets groundnut oil, for deep frying 100g plain flour, kept cold in the fridge until use 150ml pale ale, or your favourite lager ¾ tsp baking powder a pinch of salt For the skin-on chips: 3-4 large Maris pipers groundnut oil for deep frying malt vinegar and sea salt For the chip shop curry sauce: 1 small onion …