Thermomix

There are dishes that just take you back to your childhood, this is one of them, probably for any Spaniard. Lentejas are a classic of any Spanish household, it’s a Spanish Lentil Stew with, of course, chorizo (you wouldn’t expect any less from this blog, would you?)….

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A little while ago Waitrose challenged me (the Spaniard, just in case you had forgotten) to come up with a Great British dish.

So, of course, I asked husband (the Britishman): ham, egg and chips with proper ham!, he decided….

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I wrote this Thermomix Coriander and Chilli Steamed Salmon recipe ages ago (in fact winter 2013, no comment).

But it was so delicious that my greedy blog ate it. Here goes my second attempt.

Ready?

Right, here we go: Thermomix Coriander and Chilli Steamed Salmon.

…

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There is a new Thermomix in town and it looks sleek!! The rumour mill had been turning endlessly for a few months and finally on the night of September 5th 2014 the announcement was made: the TM5 was a reality. Here I tell you how to buy the new Thermomix in the UK and what happens to the TM31. By the way, if you come from Portugal or Italy, you will know it as Bimby, here in the UK it’s a Thermomix (like in Spain)….

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When I say Thermomix Seafood Lasagna with Beetroot Béchamel the truth is that you can totally do this without it, you just need a powerful blender to make the beetroot milk and then do everything else the conventional way. I just like making it in the Thermomix as it is so much more convenient, fast, clean and well, easy!

…

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Fancy a pink béchamel? Well, of course you do! This Beetroot Béchamel is amazing.

In fact, I may be a tad hooked. I know it may sound like a strange combination but it really works, think of the possibilities!…

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According to the photos of these Thermomix Savoury Quinoa Muffins I first made them on July 2nd 2013 so I am “only” a year late sharing this recipe. Nuts, isn’t it? Or it isn’t if you look at just how much a working mum has to get done each week. I was really hoping to make them again but then time kept running away with me (I’ll never understand that expression, it feels like it’s running away from me, all the time, fast!)….

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It took me ages but I finally have the perfect recipe for Tortilla de patatas, Potato omelette, Spanish omelette… whatever you may call it, it’s delicious! And, because you can prepare most of it in your Thermomix… it’s easy peasy.

Now, you don’t have to make this with onion, you really don’t so leave it out if you don’t like it. Both the smaller omelette and the larger one use the same amount of water and oil. Traditionally the potatoes are fried in a lot of olive oil but the good thing of the Thermomix is that you can safely fry them in a combination of water and olive oil, making it a lighter omelette.

I give you size options: for 2-4 people (depending on appetites) or for 4-6 people. For the larger omelette I would personally increase the amount of salt a bit for flavour, this is a treat! But try it as it is and perhaps add more next time! I got the recipe from the La Juani de Ana Sevilla Spanish blog, it’s her Tortilla de patatas casi sin aceite and have adapted a few things such as the potato times and the mixing of the potatoes and egg as you have to be careful with those.

Before you go check whether you have all the ingredients in the house to make this right now, let me tell you that you can find more tapas ideas here. And, if you’re based in the UK with your Thermomix or thinking about buying one, come join my Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group, lots of friendly chat, tips and advice there.

Thermomix Spanish potato omelette (Tortilla de Patatas)


Ingredients

– 100 g onion, quartered (200 g if making a bigger tortilla)
– 50 g olive oil

– 375 g potatoes “chascadas” (this is the peeled weight, 750 g if doubling up). This basically means that you hold the potato in one hand and, brandishing a knife in the other hand, slice the potato but don’t slice it all the way, instead snap it. Slice and snap. Slice and snap (have I got you thinking about Legally Blonde yet?). For the tortilla you don’t want the potato slices to be too big nor too small. This video shows you how. This technique is really good for thickening stews too.

– 220 g hot water
– 4 large eggs

– Salt
– Pepper

Equipment

You will need a frying pan and a dish to flip the tortilla over or, if you’re clumsy like me, this Ibili Venus Double Frying Pan from Amazon is handy. The two frying pans easily clip together to flip the tortilla over. That’s my Amazon affiliate link by the way which means I get a few pennies if you buy through that link, it won’t cost you a penny extra.

Method

1. Add the onion to the bowl: 5 seconds, speed 4. Lower anything that has climbed up the walls.

2. Add the 50 g olive oil and sautée: 10 min Varoma, speed 1.

3. Butterfly on: add the potatoes, hot water and a tsp of salt: 15 minutes, Varoma, soft speed. This time my potatoes were done by 12 minutes so make sure you check from minute 10 perhaps. Move the potatoes to a bowl (as they are, don’t drain them), reserve.

4. Do not wash bowl, remove the butterfly and add the 4 eggs, half a teaspoon of salt and freshly milled black pepper: 10 seconds, speed 4.

5. Return the potatoes to the bowl: 3 seconds, speed 3 (watch it, you don’t want to end up with mashed potatoes)

6. Drizzle a medium pan with olive oil and heat over a high heat, add the mixture and turn the heat right down, give it a gentle shake so that it all distributes well. Now, the key is to do this first part over a low heat, when it’s looking like the egg is setting, it’s time to turn it over. Grab a plate big enough to sit steadily over the frying pan, place it over it and, holding tight to the whole ensemble, flip the omelette over onto the plate, then carefully move the omelette carefully back to the pan. It will only need one minute on this side (I like it juicy), you may need a bit longer if making a larger omelette. Just don’t let it go too dry, remember the egg keeps cooking for a little while when off the heat.

To serve: cut it in wedges as if it was a cake and enjoy with a lovely mixed salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, olives or cut into small squares, have cocktail sticks nearby or stick them into each square so that people can help themselves. Perfect for barbeques and tapas parties. It’s also perfect for elevenses with a cup of coffee or for a quick bite to eat with friends with a glass of red wine or a chilled beer.

You can of course just get a big chunk of crusty bread, slice it open, stick a good slice of tortilla in and have a classic Spanish sandwich: bocadillo de tortilla.

Serve with Spanish flair!

With linguine / Con linguine

*Pasta al limón con chorizo y langostinos: en español más abajo* It’s no secret that I love chorizo, you can even say that I am a bit chorizo obsessed. No, seriously,  you can, I give you permission! I also love seafood and my Thermomix so it was only a matter of time before I published a recipe like this Thermomix Lemony Chorizo and Prawn Pasta….

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Back when I wrote this was a new deli in town, Allgoods of Ely, it actually opened a while ago but I only got a chance to visit it last weekend (I know, I know). It is full of delicious stuff: white asparagus, squid ink pasta, cheeses and meats: fabulous lomo and serrano ham. Let’s talk about that serrano ham today and what you can do to turn it into speedy Garlic and Serrano Ham Mushrooms.

As soon as I saw the serrano ham I knew I had to ask for a big chunk as well as slices. You see, if you ask for a very thick slice of it you can then dice it at home and do things like these mushrooms in no time at all.

This makes the perfect tapa or, if you need a bigger lunch, toss it with some cooked pasta at the end, or cooked noodles, or cooked rice, or cooked quinoa… You get my drift, right? For more tapas ideas check out my Easy guide to Spanish Tapas.

I had the mushrooms with a milk roll that I made the day before following the recipe in page 174 of the Fast and Easy cookbook that comes as standard in the Thermomix in the UK.

Don’t know what a Thermomix is? This post
will tell you all about it. If you live in the UK and you already have a
Thermomix or are considering buying one, I run the
really friendly and supportive Thermomix Owners UK Facebook group. Come join the Thermie chat. 

¿Listos? Feel free to proportionally increase the quantities as needed (be careful not to do the olive oil though), this time it was just me and the weather is too hot for anything else so I kept it small.

Garlic and serrano ham mushrooms


Shopping list: 

• 5 garlic cloves
• 15 g olive oil
• A thick slice of serrano ham (just under a centimetre), diced. If there is any yellowy/orangey rind left, make sure you remove it, leave the fat on though!
• 130 g grey oyster mushrooms (I got them from Ocado but use any mushrooms you can find, the standard mushrooms will do very nicely too)
• Parmesan or Manchego cheese
• Good crusty bread for dipping (essential!)

Thermomix

1. 5 garlic cloves: 5 seconds, speed 7, push down bits with spatula

2. 15 g olive oil + handful diced Serrano ham: 3 mins, Varoma, speed 1

3. 130 g grey oyster mushrooms  – Varoma, reverse, 5 minutes, soft speed.

4. Grate Parmesan of manchego cheese over the top and serve with good crusty bread to dip in the sauce OR perfect if you toss it with cooked pasta or add cooked noodles

Tadah!

Conventional cooking

If you are making this on the stove top it’s very easy, same ingredients as above:

1. Chop the garlic finely.
2. Heat up the oil in a frying pan, medium-high.
3. Add the garlic and the serrano ham, careful that the garlic doesn’t burn, stir regularly.
4. When the serrano ham is looking goldeny (technical term there), add the mushrooms. Stir well to coat them in all the juices, turn the heat down a tiny bit until the mushrooms look ready, 5 minutes or so.

5. Serve with grated cheese over the top and a nice bit of good bread, grab a good chunk of said bread and dip it in the sauce. No, I insist, you must do this first! OR, for a bigger meal, you can just add cooked pasta, noodles, rice, mix well and serve.

Disclosure: I paid everything full price, I just like to blog about tasty things.

Presentation is overrated anyway, no?

As you may have noticed, I seem to be struggling to post on this my blog more than ever at the moment. I started the year full of good intentions and armed with more time, all I have achieved though is to build a list of draft recipes as long as my arm that I never get to share because I am waiting to have enough time to make them as perfect as I can or because I don’t like the photos I took in a hurry. “In a hurry” describes my cooking rather well lately (so does “hit and miss”), with these Patatas Bravas I missed half of the recipe but they were a hit (see what I did there?).  They make the perfect quick(ish) tapas dish!

And how am I? I shall keep this short and sweet: I’m good, I have work coming out of my ears and I miss having lots of time to spend with my Thermie and sharing recipes with you. This being self-employed malarkee can be such hard work! You can usually catch me giving you mini updates on my Instagram account and, of course, if you are UK based you should definitely come join us at the Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group for local inspiration.

But enough about me, how have you been?

Patatas Bravas (a la”hit and miss”) 


For the potatoes (traditionally they are peeled diced potatoes, fried in olive oil but I went for the healthy option)

For the potatoes
– 4 medium potatoes, not peeled, whole (mine were about 600g in total)

1. Place in big pan, cover with cold water. When they start boiling add 1 tbsp (I probably added a bit less) of sea salt.

2. Boil for 30 minutes or so, check that they are soft in the middle by pricking them with a skewer

3. Remove from the heat, but leave in the pan, I took the lid off. Cool like that for 30 minutes, peel, dice.

For the sauce (make the sauce while the potatoes cool)

¡Deliciosas!

– One and a half tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1 tbsp sweet paprika
– Half red chilli, sliced
– Half tsp tabasco
– 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
– One small/medium onion
– 150 g chopped tomatoes, making sure you grab the pulp, not so much the liquid

1. Place oil, paprika, chilli, tabasco and red wine vinegar in bowl: 2 min, 100ºC, speed 2.

2. Add onion: 7 seconds speed 7. Add chopped tomatoes: 10 minutes, 100ºC, speed 1 with inner basket on top of lid instead of measuring cup

3. Blend: 1 minute 30 at speed 8. I did 1 minute, checked and wanted it smoother so I blended for another 30 seconds.

Tip: Add less tabasco/chilli if you don’t want it very hot or you could just add more chopped tomatoes so that it is not as spicy and you get more quantity.

We often fly to Portugal when we go to Spain to visit my family. It sounds nuts, doesn’t it? But the nearest airports to my hometown with flights to London are Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Spain) or Porto (Portugal). Flying back from Porto a couple of weeks ago I picked up a copy of the official Portuguese Bimby magazine (yep, the Thermomix is called Bimby in Portugal, not in Spain though). There I found the recipe this Watercress soup (well, I have adapted it “slightly”, you know me, can’t follow a recipe to the letter… ever). 

The flavour is light and delicate and I fully recommend it as a variation on heavier soups. …

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Hello and happy new year! Yes, 2014 is upon us and I haven’t posted for ages… so I have promised myself to be less of a perfectionist this year and publish more recipes on here. The main reason is that my permanent lack of time has turned me into my grandmother and I now more than ever scribble recipes (and my never-ending lists) on the back of envelopes or scraps of paper and then lose them, and then find them and make some more notes, and then lose them again… The perfect example is this Thermomix Bolognese which I have now lost many times despite also cooking it many times as it is so easy with the Thermie. So, before I lose it again, here it goes.

Because publishing a photo of my scribbles on the back of an envelope doesn’t count, does it?

So, it’s going on here as a point of reference for me and so that you can tell me: how do you make your bolognese? What do you add that I don’t? Do you have a “secret ingredient”?

Don’t know what a Thermomix is? This post will tell you all about it. If you live in the UK and you already have a Thermomix or are considering buying one, don’t forget we now have a really friendly and supportive Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group. Come join the Thermie chat.

Thermomix bolognese (perfect for spaghetti bolognese or lasagna)


Ingredients

• 140 g onion, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves
• 120 g carrot, in chunks
• 100 g courgette, in chunks (optional)
• 20 g celery, in chunks (optional, you can add none or you can add more to taste)
• 1 red, in chunks, orange or yellow pepper or a mixture of them
• 20 g olive oil
• 500 g beef mince or pork mince (or 250 g of each)
• Red wine to taste (optional), I tend to add a good glug
• 1 tbsp (more or less) Worcestershire sauce, the not-so-secret ingredient
• 800 g chopped tomatoes (2 tins). Obviously if you live in a land with good quality fresh tomatoes that actually taste of something… use them!
• Squirt of tomato purée
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 1 bay leaf

The “secret” ingredient (really not a secret)

• 3 biggish mushrooms

Method

1. Add onion, garlic cloves, carrot and celery to Thermomix bowl: 5 seconds, speed 5.
2. Add the courgette and pepper: 2 seconds, speed 5.
3. Add 20 g olive oil: 5 minutes, 100ºC, speed 1.
4. Add the mince (if it’s in a block, don’t break it up, leave it whole): 10 minutes, 100ºC, reverse, soft speed.
5. Drain (you can insert the inner basket and tip the liquid) or just hold off the meat with a wide spatula while you drain, it should be fairly easy either way.
6. Add the wine and/or 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce: 3 minutes, 100ºC, reverse, soft speed.
7. Add 800 g chopped tomatoes, a good squirt of tomato purée, the teaspoon of mixed herbs (you can add more if you like it herby) and the bay leaf, place the inner basket on top instead of the measuring cup: 45 minutes, Varoma, reverse, soft speed.
8. In the last 15 minutes, lift the measuring cup and add the mushrooms (that way you don’t have to stop your Thermie).

If you need it a bit faster, try placing the basket on top of the lid instead of the measuring cup.

If you want to serve it as a lasagna you just need to preheat the oven to 180ºC, some fresh lasagna sheets (it’s faster with them) and a Quick bechamel (slightly adapted from the Spanish Imprescindible book), it turns out perfectly smooth every time!

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 50 g butter
• 110 g flour
• 800 g whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• A few twists of the black pepper mill
• 1 pinch of nutmeg (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in bowl: 8 minutes, 100º, speed 4.

Make the lasagna in a Pyrex/ceramic dish with one layer of bolognese, one layer of lasagna sheets, one layer of bolognese, one layer of lasagna sheets… until you are near the top, then top with the bechamel and sprinkle with your choice of cheese.

Bake it in the oven until the lasagna sheets are soft and the top golden. Just stick a fork in to check.

Leave it to rest for a little while, serve. It makes great leftovers too.

It is no secret that I love noodles. I also adore seafood. I am a huge fan of coriander. And at this time of the year, in the cold British winter, I could survive on soups… The other day I had in mind a very specific flavour that had to have all of the above and I came across a Nigel Slater recipe, I read it and filed it away in my brain. Here is the result: an easy peasy Thermomix recipe to make a delicious Thai Prawn Noodle Soup.

A few days later I decided to be extremely organised (for me) and wrote down how I would go about achieving the flavour I wanted with the Thermomix. The result was better than I anticipated and it proved one thing, even when I have it all written down and quite clear in my head: I still can’t follow a recipe to save my life.

The result was absolutely delicious and the colours just amazing.

This recipe uses prawns but I bet it would be just as gorgeous with salmon, white fish or even chicken. But also without any seafood or meat additions at all as the flavour is lovely and strong.

Make sure you join my Thermo Cooking UK with Feisty Tapas Facebook group.

Thermomix Thai prawn noodle soup
Ready in about 25 minutes

Ingredients

3 cm piece of fresh ginger (more or less)
1 red chilli, deseeded (unless you like it really really hot)
1 stalk of lemongrass (here is another recipe that uses lemongrass, a green curry)
2 garlic cloves
1 handful fresh coriander

5 g olive oil

1/4 tsp turmeric (that is one quarter)

120 g cold water

1 tsp vegetable stock powder (I just used the usual Bouillon one I have in the cupboard, one day I will get round to doing Thermie stock) or my vegetable stock paste concentrate

100 g rice noodles, I used fresh (that’s all I had, you may need to add more if you want a thicker soup)

400 g tin of coconut milk

Half a lime

2 handfuls of raw peeled king prawns (you can used previously cooked prawns if you can’t find raw)

1 tsp fish sauce

Method

1. Place the ginger, chilli, lemongrass, garlic and coriander in the Thermomix bowl and chop: 10 seconds, speed 7.

2. Use a spatula to lower down any bits that may have climbed up the walls of the bowl. Add the 5 g olive oil and chop another 5 seconds, speed 7.

3. Add the one quarter teaspoon of turmeric and about 120 g cold water and the teaspoon of vegetable stock: 7 minutes, Varoma, speed 1.

4. If you are not using fresh noodles and they need preparing, this is the moment to do it, follow packet instructions.

5. Add the coconut milk then fill the tin with a bit of water, swirl it around to make sure you catch all the milk then fill it up and pour enough water in the bowl to cover the whole blade unit (including the top): 7 minutes, Varoma, speed 1. While it’s doing that, juice the half lime into the measuring cup, this way any bits that shoot away will fall in the lid and go down anyway, empty it into the bowl while the Thermomix is running.

6. Add the prawns and fish sauce (I had planned on adding the noodles here too but I forgot): 3 minutes, Varoma, reverse, soft speed.

7. Add the noodles: 3 minutes, Varoma, reverse, soft speed.

*En español*

Los inviernos británicos son duros, y lo digo yo que soy gallega. La humedad cala los huesos y cuando hace sol el frío corta la respiración. Y lo digo muerta de frío en otoño.

Yo soy muy sopera, me van las sopas de fideos, las cremas de verduras, la sopa de puerro y patata de mi marido (un día os cuento la receta) y, desde hace unos años, me van los platos picantes (yo creo que fue culpa del embarazo).

A esta sopa tailandesa se le pueden rebajar el picante, basta con que el chile o guindilla sea más bien pequeño y que le quiteis las semillas.

Yo os digo camarones pero es que el marisco británico deja mucho que desear (repito, soy gallega), así que utilizad lo que os apetezca, tengais a mano o simplemente esté de oferta en el mercado. Yo creo que quedaría riquísima también con salmón troceado o hasta pollo.

Sopa tailandesa de camarones en la Thermomix


Ingredientes

Jengibre fresco, una pieza de unos 3 cm
1 guindilla roja, sin semilla (a no ser que apetezca muy picante)
1 ramita de lemon grass (hierba limón, y para que aprovecheis el resto aquí teneis un curry riquísimo)
2 dientes de ajo
1 buen puñado de cilantro fresco

5 g aceite de oliva

1/4 de cucharilla de cúrcuma

120 g agua fría, tal cual sale del grifo

1 cucharadita de caldo de verduras en polvo (o un poquito de lo que tengais en casa)

100 g tallarines de arroz, yo los usé frescos (100 g es lo que tenía en casa, si apetece una sopa más espesa añadid más)

400 g de leche de coco en lata

Media lima

2 puñados de camarones crudos pelados

1 cucharadita de salsa de pescado o nam pla

Method

1. Pon el jengibre, la guindilla, el lemon grass, el ajo y el cilantro en el vaso: 10 segundos, velocidad 7.

2. Con una espátula baja lo que haya subido por las paredes, añade los 5 g de aceite de oliva: 5 segundos, velocidad 7.

3. Añade el cuarto de cucharadita de cúrcuma (es decir un par de pizcas y un poquito más para que dé suerte) y unos 120 g de agua y una cucharilla de caldo de verduras en polvo: 7 minutos, Varoma, velocidad 1.

4. Si vas a utilizar tallarines que necesiten preparación, este es el momento de leer las instrucciones y seguirlas para tenerlos listos.

5. Añade la leche de coco y llena la lata con un poco de agua, dale unas vueltitas para aprovechar todos los restos de leche y verterla en el vaso, cubriendo la cuchilla entera (la parte de arriba incluida): 7 minutos, Varoma, velocidad 1. Prepara el zumo de la media lima, yo la exprimo con la mano directamente al cubilete colocado en la tapa de la Thermomix, así si sale el líquido disparado cae a la tapa y de ahí al interior del vaso y no perdemos sabor.

6. Añade los camarones (yo iba a poner los tallarines a la vez pero se me olvidó y aún así quedó bien): 3 minutos, Varoma, giro a la izquierda, velocidad cuchara.

7. Añade los tallarines: 3 minutos, Varoma, giro a la izquierda, velocidad cuchara.

Si la preparais, mandadme fotos o etiquetadme y contadme los resultados y
cómo habeis adaptado vosotros esta receta. Ya sabeis que
me teneis en Facebook, en Twitter y en Instagram.

Hello! It has been so long since I last blogged that I would rather not look at the date of my last post. Work has been extremely busy this year which I have to confess makes me very happy but I miss my little blog. I keep jotting and drafting recipes but I never seem to have the time to finish them or make sure the photos are good enough and, as I don’t like to hit publish until I am happy with the post, the …

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Last year I published my old fajita recipe (without the Thermomix), the one that I had been cooking for a decade and a half, and then in recent months I changed it… But I only changed it because I can now do a bunch of things in the Thermomix and so I started experimenting a little. I haven’t changed it massively and you can totally do this at home too without a Thermomix, either by hand or with your food processor or blender.

I know a few of you really liked the original and have been making it ever since but I encourage you to play with it. Ok, ok, so you have your parents and grandparents voice firmly stuck in your mind saying: “don’t play with your food young man/lady!”. Remember, that is only when the food is on the plate; when you are cooking it, it’s a totally different matter!

A tip:  I tend to squeeze the lemon into the measuring cup of the Thermomix, that way I can pick out any seeds with a spoon before pouring it into the TMX bowl. Do the same with a small cup. Have you ever bitten through a lemon seed by mistake? It really isn’t a nice flavour.

Chicken Fajitas with the help of the Thermomix, food processor, blender or hand
Serves: 4-6 people
Time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients

• 400 g chicken breasts cut in strips (or mini chicken fillets if you don’t want to be slicing meat or need to get food on the table within 30 minutes)
• 1 red chilli, seeds in, cut in chunks (I used a large one last time and it was lovely, just go with your own spiciness resistance on this one though)
• Juice of half lemon, if you like lemon quite a bit, use a whole one (you can also use lime)
• A good handful of fresh coriander (it’s important that it is fresh)
• Olive oil (about 1 tablespoon, probably less)
• 1 big onion or 2 medium onions, sliced
• 1 and a half red pepper, sliced (or pepper of the colour of your choice)
• 1 packet of tortilla wraps (the photos in this post use corn tortillas but wheat ones tend to wrap better
• 1 tub of soured cream (try to get half-fat to make the dish lighter)
• 1 tub of guacamole (I now make my own in the Thermomix but I haven’t quite perfected it enough to share)
• Grated cheese, optional (we use cheddar most of the time)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200º (fan) / Gas mark 7.
2. Chop the red chilli in Thermomix bowl: 4 seconds, speed 5. Or in your blender or food processor or, of course, by hand (just be careful to wash yoru hands thoroughly afterwards)
3. Add the coriander and the lemon juice to the Thermomix bowl: 2 seconds, speed 7 or chop by other means. Have a quick peek to check that the chilli is small enough for your taste.
4. Drizzle, spray or brush a bit of olive oil over the bottom of the oven tray, add the chicken, pour the chilli, coriander and lemon mixture over it, mixing well. Then add the sliced vegetables (onion and red pepper) and mix well again, making sure it’s all well coated.
5. Place in the middle of the preheated oven for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, give it a good stir and return to the oven turning the heat up to about 220º (fan) / to give it that sizzling slightly-burnt-without-tasting-burnt look. Make sure that the chicken is cooked through and remember that every oven is different.

WRAPS: Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat and add 2 tortillas at a time, they only need a few seconds (30 or so) on each side. Don’t get the heat too high as they will blister, burn and get hard. I tend to either cover them with a lid (you can cover them with an upside down plate) or leave some in the warm pan with the heat off while we eat.

The construction of the fajita is best done by each diner: place a tortilla on a plate, add the chicken, garnish with cheese, guacamole, soured cream, wrap it and fold the bottom to hold everything in. It gets messy but it’s good fun.

Here you have a step-by-step photographic guide:

TIP: To save time, you can get the sliced chicken into the oven as soon as you have mixed it with the coriander, chilli and lemon and then start slicing the vegetables (onion and pepper) and then in they go with the chicken, mixing everything well, if you have all the vegetables sliced up just mix it all well with the chicken and into the oven.

HINT: You can increase the quantities to your heart’s content, just make sure you increase amounts evenly across all ingredients so not to lose the flavour. This is a perfect dish for parties with family or friends as it is fun food and you are not chained to the hob, leaving you time to mingle from the time it goes in the oven until the timer beeps.

This Mixed Potato Salad with Red Chilli, Coriander and Feta is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe from his 30 minute book, that recipe uses the microwave and suffice to say that, since I have the Thermomix, the microwave only warms milk and reheats food, along with the endless coffees that I leave to go cold.

…

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