Well it was a great day. 5 very hard workers and keen eaters too. The perfect combination.
We started with the goujons so that they would be in the fridge ready for us to eat at lunchtime.
Chicken goujons
6 chicken fillets (makes about 36 goujons)
Adults will eat 5-6 of these and kids usually between 4-5. You feed alot of people with this little recipe. Especially if you serve them with potato wedges. Then an average 'big person' would eat 4 goujons.
Cut the fillets into 6 strips. The thinner they are, the easier they are to cook. If you opt for fat chunks then you will be dealing with overcooked breadcrumbs and pink insides. Trust me..... cut them into thin strips!
Then, on a plate put 75g plain flour, a teaspoon of salt and teaspoon of ground black pepper.
In a bowl, beat 2 eggs.
In a large bowl/pyrex dish, put in a 200g packet of breadcrumbs (save yourselves the grief folks and buy the breadcrumbs.) and add 100g finely grated parmesan cheese. Season with 1/2 t each of salt and pepper.
Now you are ready to go.
First dip the chicken pieces into the flour, shake off the excess and then coat in beaten egg and then straight into the breadcrumbs. Leave on a tray coated in greaseproof paper until ready to cook. They can stay in the fridge for up to 24 hours like this until you are ready to cook them.
To cook the goujons, heat a frying pan with a couple of tablespoons of sunflower oil and wait for it to heat up so that when you drop a breadcrumb in, it sizzles without burning.
Fry the goujons for about 4 mins on each side. Check one to make sure they are cooked. They should loose their springiness as they cook and become firm, but I still cut open one to check, in case I poison one of my guests!
Serve with homemade tomato ketchup. This was a real hit with all the kids. I was surprised, I was expecting some faces, as it is has a real kick.
Tomato Ketchup
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cans whole tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
Sweat off the onion and garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then add all the other ingredients. I would let this simmer away on a medium heat for about 50 minutes. Then cool the mixture before putting into a blender or using a hand blender , (like the one you use on baby food) to blend to a smooth creamy sauce.
The longer you leave this sauce to reduce, the more intense the flavour gets.
I have deliberately left out the salt and pepper in this as the flavours are pretty intense, and the more you can eliminate salt from things the better/
When blended, allow cool, before serving with absolutely everything! I would even include cornflakes in that list!
Lasagna
This is a recipe I make alot, but still need to refer to my little recipe notebook for the ingredients. Every cook has their own version and this is mine. I have flown by the seat of my pants a few times but it is always a little different if I don't follow the recipe. The spices are what it's all about here.
So..... the pasta
I usually make my own. Only because I am used to doing it, and any time I make lasagna I am using it as a method of escape! But it does taste better and is worth it, but only if you have time.
You can make pasta with a rolling pin, but you need to be prepared to lean on it seriously.
A pasta maker is not too expensive, and is really a great way of keeping the kids occupied, it's like a playdough product! And pasta is indestructible.
Anyhow, if you decide to buy lasagna sheets, skip the next bit. If you buy the fresh lasagna sheets from the fridge section, you can put them straight into the dish with the two sauces, but if you buy the dry stuff, then you need to cook them in boiling water first so they are pliable.
Ok. Now. Pasta!
You need 150g '00' flour (get this in Fallon and Byrne or Get Fresh or the like) or Strong White bread flour
100g Semolina
1 whole egg and 4 egg yolks
In a bowl, mix the flours together. Beat the eggs together and add to the flour.
Use your hands to bring the dough together. You are looking for a smooth elastic dough that is not sticky and behaves like a rubber ball! Knead until silky and divide into about 6 pieces. Roll out each piece and if you are using a rolling pin, keep doubling up and re-rolling until it is smooth and thin.
If you are using a machine, keep rolling through the machine on decreasingly low settings until you have a very thin sheet of pasta.
Leave to sit between sheets of greaseproof or parchment while you make the sauce.
Tomato sauce
In a pot put
2 chopped onions
2 crushed cloves of garlic
2 medium carrots chopped finely
2 sticks of celery chopped finely
with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
Allow to sweat until a little soft and add
2 T chopped sundried tomatoes
1 t grated nutmeg
1 t paprika
1 t oregano
1 t basil
1 t salt
1 t pepper
A dash of Worcestshire sauce
Then add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes to the mix and stir well.
Allow the mixture to come to the boil and simmer for a about 20 minutes or until the carrots have softened. Then using a hand blender, blitz the sauce until smooth.
In another large pot, pop in 1 kg or 2lbs of round steak mince to dry fry.
Put the pan on a high heat and stir the meat occasionally until it is cooked through. (It will look grey and umappealing but the sauce will bring it to life!)
When the meat is cooked, add it to the blitzed sauce and leave on a very low simmer while you cook the cheese sauce.
In a small saucepan, put 75g of butter and allow to melt and add 75g of flour. Mix until combined and cook out for a few minutes and add 500ml of milk gradually while whisking with a hand whisk.
Keep whisking on the heat until thick and smooth.
Then add 120g ish of cheddar cheese grated/ Whisk until all combined.
Now. Assembly!
In a large lasagna dish, put half the meat sauce in the bottom. Then layer on your pasta, covering all the meat. You can cut the pasta into whatever size or dimensions you need to compelete this task.
Then a layer of cheese sauce. Now the rest of the meat and now more pasta.
Finish with the rest of the cheese sauce and top with more grated cheese.
Bake this at 200c for 30 mins or until the cheese on top is bubbly.
The kids today did a wonderful job of their lasagnas. I used little foil takeaway boxes for each of them which is two servings and they made gorgeous pasta, yummy tomato sauce and perfectly smooth cheese sauce.
I am so proud of them all!
This is not a quick recipe nor is it convenient, but it is plentiful and fantastic to freeze.
I love when you can get those foil lasagna dishes and I make it in those, and freeze them. Great standby for when you have a pile of kids over and no time to cook.
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