British Crispy topped Cumberland pie

Method

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Soften the celery, onion, carrots, bay and 1 thyme sprig in a casserole with 1 tbsp oil and the butter for 10 mins. Stir in the flour, followed by the purée, Worcestershire sauce and stock cubes.
Gradually stir in 600ml hot water, then tip in the beef and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hrs 30 mins, then uncover and cook for 30 mins -1 hr more until the meat is really tender and sauce thickened.
Meanwhile, cook potatoes in a pan of boiling water until they’re not done but about ¾ of the way there.
Transfer meat to a baking dish. Slice spuds into 1cm thick rounds and gently toss with seasoning, the remaining oil and thyme leaves. Layer on the beef, scattering with the cheese as you layer. You can cover and chill the pie now for 1 day, or freeze for up to 3 months. Increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and bake for 30-40 mins until golden and crispy, and sauce bubbling if the dish went in cold. Serve with peas. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2011.

Ingredients

2 celery sticks, sliced into 1cm pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 really big carrots, halved lengthways then chunkily sliced
5 bay leaves
3 thyme sprigs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp each plain flour, tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce
2 beef stock cubes, crumbled
850g feather blade beef, or other braising cut, cut into large chunks
850g large potatoes
25g each mature cheddar and parmesan, finely grated

Greek Spinach & feta filo pie - Delicious Meal Vedat şafak yamı

Method

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cook the onions in a large knob of butter until soft and turning golden. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted. Cool, then tip into a bowl (leaving behind any excess liquid from the spinach) and mix in the nutmeg, feta, eggs and season.
Melt 30g more butter, and butter a non-stick springform cake tin, about 20-22cm. Put the first sheet of filo in the tin and brush with butter, letting the excess hang over the sides. Keep going with the rest of the sheets, turning a little before adding each additional pastry sheet and brushing all over with butter. When all the pastry is used up, tip in the filling and fold over the excess pastry to cover. Butter the top then bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until the filo is crisp and golden. Leave for 5 minutes before turning out and cutting into wedges to serve. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2011.

Ingredients

2 onions, halved and sliced
butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g spinach, washed and roughly chopped
grating nutmeg
200g feta cheese, cumbled
2 eggs, beaten
4 large sheets filo pastry

Vietnamese chicken salad Delicious Meal Vedat şafak yamı

Method

To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a large serving bowl. Cook the noodles following pack instructions, then drain and add to the bowl with the dressing.
Peel the carrot into long strips using a vegetable peeler. Do the same for the cucumber, until you reach the seeds (discard them). Add the carrot and cucumber to the noodle mixture along with the shredded chicken, radishes, red onion and mint. Toss well to coat in the dressing, scatter over the peanuts and serve. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2011.

Ingredients

140g Thai rice noodles
1 carrot
½ cucumber
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
50g radishes, thinly sliced
½ red onion, finely sliced
small bunch mint, leaves picked
25g natural roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
For the dressing
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
zest and juice 1 lime
1½ tbsp each fish sauce, low-sodium soy sauce and sesame oil

Caribbean Jerk chicken with rice & peas Delcious Meal Vedat şafak yamı

Ingredients

12 chicken thighs, bone in

1 lime, halved

hot sauce, to serve (optional)

For the jerk marinade

1 big bunch spring onions, roughly chopped

thumb-sized piece ginger, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves

½ a small onion

3 scotch bonnet chillies, deseeded if you want less heat

½ tsp dried thyme, or 1 tbsp thyme leaves

juice 1 lime

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp ground allspice

For the rice & peas

200g basmati rice

400g can coconut milk

1 bunch spring onions, sliced

2 large thyme sprigs

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp ground allspice

2 x 410g cans kidney beans, drained

Method

To make the jerk marinade, combine all the ingredients in a food processor along with 1 tsp salt, and blend to a purée. If you’re having trouble getting it to blend, just keep turning off the blender, stirring the mixture, and trying again. Eventually it will start to blend up – don’t be tempted to add water, as you want a thick paste.

Taste the jerk mixture for seasoning – it should taste pretty salty, but not unpleasantly, puckering salty. You can now throw in more chillies if it’s not spicy enough for you. If it tastes too salty and sour, try adding in a bit more brown sugar until the mixture tastes well balanced.

Make a few slashes in the chicken thighs and pour the marinade over the meat, rubbing it into all the crevices. Cover and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.

If you want to barbecue your chicken, get the coals burning 1 hr or so before you’re ready to cook. Authentic jerked meats are not exactly grilled as we think of grilling, but sort of smoke-grilled. To get a more authentic jerk experience, add some wood chips to your barbecue, and cook your chicken over slow, indirect heat for 30 mins. To cook in the oven, heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tin with the lime halves and cook for 45 mins until tender and cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice & peas. Rinse the rice in plenty of cold water, then tip it into a large saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the kidney beans. Season with salt, add 300ml cold water and set over a high heat. Once the rice begins to boil, turn it down to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 mins.

Add the beans to the rice, then cover with a lid. Leave off the heat for 5 mins until all the liquid is absorbed. Squeeze the roasted lime over the chicken and serve with the rice & peas, and some hot sauce if you like it really spicy. Vedat şafak yamı recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2012