Halliwell Homes Recipes
We hope you enjoyed your class and are ready to recreate the meals at home. If you have any questions for the chef, please do ask and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
We Learned:
- How to cook rice
- How to cook pasta
- Bechamel
- Beef ragout
- Lasagne
- Katsu curry sauce
- Breaded chicken
- Roasted vegetables
How to cook rice
You don’t need a rice cooker to make great rice. Stove-top method is easy and will come out right every time if you follow our foolproof recipe.
The first important bit to remember is the ratio of water to rice: For plain white rice, use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of uncooked long-grain rice. This will result in 3 cups of cooked rice. Second is the temperature. You want to bring it to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat so it simmers for the rest of the cooking time. Don’t walk away until that’s done. Finally, timing is important. Use a timer to ensure you’re cooking the rice for the exact time required.
You might have heard that you have to soak your rice before cooking but it’s not necessarily true for all long-grain white rice, and it’s definitely not needed for this basic recipe. However, rinsing the rice before cooking helps create the best texture, as it removes some of the surface starches.
Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, optional
Method:
- Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain in a colander and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt, stir, and then add the rinsed and drained rice. Stir with a fork.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Check it after 15 minutes to see if all the water has evaporated. If it has, the rice is ready. If not, replace the lid and let the rice simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Let stand for 5 minutes to absorb all the excess water.
How to cook pasta
Never add oil to the water!
Taste it after this time and decide if it’s cooked enough while still has a bite to it.
Save a cup of starchy pasta water to her you emulsify your sauce.
Strain the pasta, toss in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to prevent sticking together.
Basic white sauce- Bechamel
Ingredients:
Makes 500ml of sauce
50g of butter
50g of plain flour
500ml of whole milk
salt to taste
white pepper to taste
Method:
Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the plain flour. Stir continuously until a paste forms – this is called a roux. Continue cooking for 2 mins.
Add the milk to the roux gradually, stirring as you go, until you get a smooth sauce. Cook for 5-10 mins, stirring continuously, until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste.
You can turn this basic sauce into mac and cheese or cauliflower cheese sauce by adding 150g of grated cheddar or mozzarella.
If the sauce is too stringy you can quickly blend it for a smoother texture.
beef bolognese
Ingredients:
Serves 6
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
500 g minced beef
2 cloves garlic, crushed
120 ml dry white wine (optional)
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp. tomato pureé
2x sprig of thyme, leaves only
450 ml beef (or chicken) broth
1 bay leaf
230 ml whole milk
3/4 tsp. Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper·
Method:
In a large casserole dish over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and cook until soft, about 7 minutes. Stir in beef, thyme and garlic, breaking up meat with the back of a spoon. Cook until no longer pink and lightly seared, about 8 minutes.
Add wine, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the wine is mostly reduced. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, and bay leaf, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, allowing flavours to meld.
Discard bay leaf, then gradually stir in milk. Cover with a lid slightly ajar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until milk is fully incorporated about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
lasagne
Ingredients:
Serves 6
600g of bolognese sauce
1x packet of lasagne sheets
5x ladle of Bechamel
a handful of grated cheese of your choice, we used parmesan
Method:
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Spread a spoonful of the meat sauce over the base of a roughly 3.5-litre baking dish. Cover with a single layer of dried pasta sheets, snapping them to fit if needed, then top with a quarter of the béchamel. Spoon over a third of the meat sauce and scatter over a little of the parmesan.
Repeat the layers – pasta, béchamel, meat and parmesan – two more times to use all the meat sauce. Add a final layer of pasta, the last of the béchamel and the remaining parmesan. Set the dish on a baking tray to catch spills and bake for 1 hr until bubbling, browned and crisp on top.
Katsu-Style Curry Sauce
Ingredients – Serves 4
- – 1tbsp of olive oil
- – 1 onion, diced
- – 2cloves of garlic
- – 3cm of ginger, grated
- – 1 carrot, peeled, grated
- – 1tsp of mild curry powder
- – 2 tsp of Japanese curry spice mix (or madras)
- – 100ml of veg stock
- – Salt and pepper
- – 300ml of coconut milk
- – 1tbsp of light soy sauce
Method:
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add onion, garlic, ginger and spices, fry for a couple of minutes, add carrot, fry for additional two minutes. Pour in the veg stock and coconut, simmer for about 20 minutes to reduce the liquid, season well and blend if you prefer smooth sauce.
Crispy Chicken
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, small, or 2 large
flour, for dusting
1 egg, beaten
100g of Panko breadcrumbs
salt to taste
Method:
- If you have 2 large chicken breasts, cut them in half to make 4 portions. If you have small chicken breasts, place each between 2 sheets of cling film and use a rolling pin to bash them out to an even thickness.
- Dredge the chicken breasts first through seasoned flour, then egg wash and finally the Panko breadcrumbs.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non stick frying pan and fry the chicken breasts for 5–6 minutes on both sides until golden brown, crispy and cooked through.
- Leave to rest for a few minutes before carving into slices and serving with the sauce on a bed of rice.
oven baked teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients:
serves 4
4 chicken breasts, small, or 2 large, butterflied to make thinner
2cm piece of ginger, minced
1x garlic clove, minced
1tbsp of vegetable oil
1tbsp of sweet teriyaki sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 185C.
- Place the chicken in a mixing bowl with all the other ingredients and mix well.
- Ideally wrap with some cling film and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hrs.
- Line a baking tray with some grease-proof paper and place the marinated chicken on top of it
- Bake in the oven until golden brown and internal temperature has reached 75C.
- This will take roughly 15 minutes if you have butterflied the chicken.
Oven-baked vegetables
Ingredients:
serves 4
- 1 courgette, diced
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 100g of tender-stem broccoli
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1tbsp of oil of your choice
- salt and pepper to taste
- a few sprigs of thyme
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 185C.
- Line a baking tray with grease-proof paper and place all of the ingredients well, well combined, on top in a single layer.
- Bake in the oven until the biggest and firmest veg is cooked or until slightly charred (roughly 20 minutes)
We hope you enjoyed the class!
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