Ready Steady Cook 2012

A while back I hosted a very successful Ready Steady Cook competition on my blog. I had a lot of fun hosting it but because I had offered prizes there was no way I could take part. That's why I farmed out my idea to anyone willing to bite so that I could have a chance to cook in it myself. Tandy over at Lavender & Lime was quick to offer her blog as host and after a few false starts away we went.


My 7 mystery ingredients were:

Chicken breasts

Bacon

Zucchini

Red Onions

Peas

Almonds

Plums.


Those together with the option of following pantry ingredients:

Milk/Cream
Eggs

Flour (or a flour substitute)
Lemons
Garlic

Ginger

Chillies

Fresh Herbs

Dried Herbs

Dried Spices

Sugar (or a sugar substitute)
Butter/margarine 

Salt

Pepper

Oil – any of your choice

Vinegar

Pasta / Noodles / Rice

Tinned Tomatoes

Tinned Chickpeas

Chocolate / Cacao

Created the following 3 dishes:

Starter Spicey Zucchini and bacon bake.

What you need (makes 2)

4 Zucchini

2 eggs

Garlic

Origano

Cayene pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

butter/oil for greasing

4 Rashers streaky bacon

What to do

Grease your ramekins, butter works best because the bacon sticks to it nicely. In a food processor wizz up the zucchini and garlic. Season liberally (zucchinis can be bland) and add the origano and cayene pepper. Line the ramekins with the bacon and pour in the zucchini mixture. I had a few extra pieces of bacon which I chopped up and put on top. Put in a 180°C oven for 30 minutes or until set then turn on grill till the edges of the bacon are crispy.

Caramelised onion, pea and chicken courgettini

What you need

4 zucchinis

1 red onion

garlic

2 chicken breast fillets

1 punnet sweetpeas

handful fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

What to do

Slice the zucchini into super thin strips either using a mandolin or a peeler. Put in a bowl and cover with salted boiling water. Leave to one side. Slice the onion into rings or half rings. Pop a pan on the heat with some olive oil, throw the onion in and then cover with water. Once the zucchini strips are soft and supple drain them. Slice up some garlic and add to the onion just as the water starts to dry out entirely. Slice up the chicken into strips and season. Stir the onions and garlic till they just start to brown then add in the chicken. When then chicken is cooked and browned nicely, slice up the fresh basil and peas and add to the dish. Toss the zucchini with some olive oil and taste for seasoning. Serve the chicken on top of the zucchini as you would over pasta.

Plum and Almond crumble

What you need

100g (+ small amount for greasing) butter

200g + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

100g ground almonds

1 plum

What to do

Cream the 200g sugar and the butter until creamy then add the egg. Mix well then add the almonds. Spoon the mixture into a small baking dish. Slice the plum into half moons and then sprinkle over the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Pop in a 180°C oven for about 30min or until plum pieces are really soft and the whole dessert is bubbly.