With my kids, as I've said before, it's all about hiding the veggies, so here's one I tried last week that was SO easy, tasty and a big hit with the picky ones!
Ingredients:
1 large or 2 small carrots, roughly chopped
1 med zucchini, roughly chopped
1 chunk cabbage,about a handful, roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and quartered
3 tomatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled
750g (approx) lean mince
4 tins diced tomatoes
2 tbs TMX stock concentrate
salt, pepper, sugar, other herbs to your own taste
Olive oil for cooking
Method:
Chop onion and garlic at speed 7 for 2 - 3 seconds.
Remove from bowl and set aside
Chop remaining veggies on speed 4 until roughly chopped - sort of like the TMX coleslaw. Make it as coarse or as fine as you want.
Gently fry onion and garlic until starts to soften.
Add meat and brown
Add chopped veggies and stir fry for a few minutes
Add stock, tomatoes and any herbs and simmer for 3 - 4 hours.
I know that 3 - 4 hours seems like a long time, but trust me, it's well worth it, as the sauce just goes so thick and rich with so much flavour...
Swap out any vegetables you like - try adding corn, Chinese greens, spinach leaves, squash or anything else.
Vegetarian Version:
Simply substitute 2 tins of drained and washed brown lentils for the meat and voila, a super-healthy all-vegetarian version. In fact, if you don't garnish with cheese it's even vegan!
(Thanks to Jess on FB for asking about veggie alternative!)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Garlic butter
Following on from my last post on homemade butter, I just thought I'd share a slightly blurry photo of yesterday's effort at garlic butter. I was most impressed!
I then made up a batch of pizza dough, drizzled it with a tiny bit of olive oil, baked it and then spread it with the garlic butter - very tasty snack!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Homemade Butter in 5 minutes
I kid you not. Your Thermomix will whip up a batch of fresh, delicious butter with no extra chemicals, preservatives or nasties of any kind, in around 5 minutes.
There's absolutely NO wooden churning, wearing of silly bonnets or suffering aching arms involved - I promise! Just a couple of buttons to press. Here's how:INGREDIENTS
- 500 - 600g fresh cream, chilled (not thickened, minimum fat content 35%)
METHOD
- Place butterfly into TM bowl
- Add cream and blend for 1 - 3 minutes (depends on freshness of cream) on speed 4 until separated
- Once separated, strain the buttermilk carefully and remove butterfly
- Place 500g of cold water into TM bowl and mix for 5 - 10 seconds on speed 4
- Strain and repeat last step
- Strain liquid again through basket and you are left with your butter
TIPS
- Butter will last around 2 weeks in the fridge
- Add oil and mix to keep it softer when refrigerated
- The leftover buttermilk can be used to make scones, bread or in drinks
- Once butter is ready you can add flavours - herbs, salt, olive oil - and mix for 30 seconds on speed 4. I sampled some made with truffle oil last week and it was utterly divine!
Sneaky Burgers
As much as I love cooking and eating super-fresh and healthy meals, my children don't always share my passion for the healthy side of things, so I have often resorted to being terribly sneaky and simply hiding good stuff inside yummy stuff. Possibly a mild parenting fail, but I reckon it's a win for sneakiness. Here's one of our family favourites, and the kids have no idea how much good stuff lurks within it...Ingredients:
500 - 600g good quality mince (or make your own in the Thermomix!)
1 med onion, peeled and halved
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 med carrot, peeled and cut in 3 or 4 chunks
1 small - med zucchini, roughly chopped
2 handfuls (approx) baby spinach leaves
100g organic rolled oats
100g breadcrumbs (made in Thermomix, obviously!)
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
Method:
- Whiz onion and garlic for 5 seconds on speed 7
- Scrape down sides
- Add carrot and zucchini and chop for a further 5 - 10 seconds on speed 7
- Add spinach leaves and chop for further 5 seconds on speed 7, using spatula if necessary, until incorporated
- Add all other ingredients and mix on speed 4 for 15 - 20 seconds, or until well-mixed
- Remove from TM bowl, shape into hamburger patties (or meatballs) and cook as usual.
*SUGGESTIONS - Have fun playing with ingredients - try adding linseeds, sesame seeds, other vegetables, fresh herbs, or use chicken or lamb instead of beef. Also, if you refrigerate mix for 15 minutes before shaping into patties it can be a bit less sticky.
*TIP if making meatballs - you can then cook your meatballs in the Varoma whilst brewing up a delicious tomato sauce in the TM bowl.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Professional Chefs feeling the love!
I just was having a look through the UK Thermomix site and came across a page of raving testimonials by UK chefs which I thought you may like to read!
What Professionals Say
“Thermomix is an invaluable all-rounder”
Alain Roux, Chef Patron, The Waterside Inn
3 Michelin Stars, Bray, Berkshire
www.waterside-inn.co.uk
"A must for any well-informed kitchen, the TM31 outshines anything on the market."
David Everitt-Matthias, Chef Proprietor, Le Champignon Sauvage
2 Michelin Stars, Cheltenham
www.lechampignonsauvage.co.uk
”Thermomix purées are like silk!”
Simon Hulstone, Chef Patron, Elephant Bar and Restaurant, One Michelin Star, UK Team Leader for Bocuse d’Or 2010
"The best machine on the market - what can it not do! Couldn't have been without it at the World Chocolate Masters 2009. Thermomix takes competition work to the next level, I love it!"
Mark Tilling, Master Chocolatier, Squires Kitchen UK Chocolate Master 2006-2009 7th World Chocolate Master 2009
www.squires-group.co.uk
"Favourite piece of kitchen kit?"
"The Thermomix. It's a food blender and processor that also cooks and which produces consistently fantastic results."'
John Campbell, Two Michelin Stars and Director of Cuisine, Food and Beverage
Cowarth Park Hotel, Dorchester Collection
www.coworthpark.com
For over 16 years, I've used an amazing kitchen gadget called a Thermomix to help me produce fresh spices, spice mixes and sauces. It's made my life so much easier, and our kitchens at Cafe Spice Namasté all the livelier. It's coveted by Master Chefs and foodies alike...the culinary world's best secret! This great gadget can make the cooking of delicious meals from wholesome ingredients so fast and easy.
Cyrus Todiwala OBE, Executive Chef Patron, Café Spice Namasté
“I call it the Ferrari of blenders."
Dominic Robinson, Head Chef, Prince of Wales
www.princeofwalesputney.co.uk
"Thermomix is the best gadget to enter my kitchen, ever."
Alan Murchison, Chef Proprietor, L'Ortolan, One Michelin Star
Quote from his new book: "Food for Thought"
www.lortolan.co.uk
“Our whole kitchen is built around Thermomix and waterbaths. We couldn’t do what we do without them!”
Jason Atherton, Executive Chef, Maze restaurant, London. Winner of two courses in the 2008 Great British Menu series on BBC TV.
"I have used and abused many blenders in my time as a chef and none have been able to withstand constant use as well as the modern day version of the Thermomix. The Thermomix has become an integral part of the day-to day running of our restaurant; if you phone our kitchen the buzz of the Thermomix is always in the background. I am fortunate to have one at home as well as one at work. My Thermomix at home doesn't take anywhere as much of a battering as my one in work, but it still has as many uses. My wife uses it to mix and knead bread, weigh ingredients and make sauces such as hollandaise."
Aiden Byrne, Chef Proprietor, The Church Green, Lymm, Cheshire
www.thechurchgreen.co.uk
I use our Thermomix in a wide range of applications from making chocolate ganaches for our Innovative Chocolate Courses to producing pastry crèmes for our Contemporary Plated Dessert Courses. We moved away from more time-consuming conventional ways of working with a stove, whisk, pots and pans around two years ago. The Thermomix is easy to use, labour saving and reliable and saves us a huge amount of time and effort when preparing for our courses, demonstrations and customer presentations.
Beverley Dunkley, Chocolate Academy Manager at Barry Callebaut (UK) Limited, Banbury
“It is a piece of equipment that elevates your cooking to a higher level like no other.”
James Nathan , BBC MasterChef 2008
"It's brilliant, brilliant. No self-respecting chef or cook should be without one!"
Willie Pike MBE, Consultant Chef, Fellow of the Master Chefs of Great Britain Multiple Gold Medals, Scottish Culinary Olympics Team
www.williepike.co.uk www.scottishchefsconference.co.uk
"The Thermomix is the most in-demand piece of kitchen kit by the chefs in all sections of my kitchen. We couldn't be without it."
Tom Cockerill, Chef and Proprietor, Entropy Restaurant, Leicester
Thermomix has become an essential part of our kitchen giving consistency across the menu. Purées and soups are so fine and smooth they need no passing, therefore increasing yield, flavour and saving time.
James Mackenzie, Chef Proprietor, The Pipe and Glass Inn, South Dalton.
Michelin Bib Gourmand
“Ice cream mixes pasteurised in a Thermomix TM31 and churned in a professional freezer produce ice cream that is comparable in quality with ice cream produced from a mix that has been passed through an industrial homogenizer. A mix pasteurised in a Thermomix TM31 will produce ice cream of a quality that is the highest possible that can be achieved in a domestic or professional kitchen.”
Ian Gibson, ice cream expert and supplier of fine ice creams
to Harvey Nicholls in Leeds
“What is your favourite utensil?”
“A Thermomix.”
Hywel Jones, Lucknam Park, 1 Michelin Star, Wiltshire
from the book Off Duty
"The Thermomix has taken purées to another level of smoothness. It's become the heart of our kitchen. We love it for working with agar agar jellies as well: being able to blitz and heat at the same time gives a much smoother result. I honestly don't think I could ever have a kitchen without a Thermomix now."
Charlie Lockley, The Boath House Restaurant, One Michelin Star, Inverness
“What can’t you live without?”
“Sleep, and my Thermomix.”
Nick Evans, Wales Chef of the Year 2006
from an interview with Caterer & Hotelkeeper
"We've been using a Thermomix from our earliest days as chocolatiers, when it helped us to experiment with and develop our range of centres in relatively small batches. Nowadays we make chocolates in large numbers and our range has expanded to 40-odd centres – and we still use Thermomix machines as the mainstays of our centre production. To our knowledge no other machine on the market can combine as many functions as the Thermomix and, although we've only had to use it once, the service back-up is excellent."
Jane & Bob Cullen, chocolatiers, Saunders of Penrith Ltd, Cumbria, www.saunderschocolates.co.uk
"Our Thermomix is the most valuable part of our chocolate factory - the most valuable piece of equipment we have. It saves hours of work; it's like having an extra arm."
Andrew Feather, chocolatier at Ryeburn Ice Cream, Helmsley, N. Yorks. www.ryeburn.com
“The recipe book you get with the Thermomix is phenomenal!”
Quote from Tony Singh, Chef Owner, Oloroso while competing in BBC Two’s Great British Menu 2010
“The first time I made risotto in the Thermomix I took a tray and spread the cooked risotto rice as thinly as possible. The reason for this act of madness was to inspect each grain of rice in search of a broken grain. I thought if I could find one broken grain then I would have been satisfied and could then happily say it does not work. I have to confess and hold up my hands and say ‘Yes, it works!’ Would you like me to say it a little bit louder? RISOTTO IN THE THERMOMIX WORKS A TREAT!!!” (June 2009)
Madalene Bonvini-Hamel, The British Larder Suffolk Read more here.
What Professionals Say
“Thermomix is an invaluable all-rounder”
Alain Roux, Chef Patron, The Waterside Inn
3 Michelin Stars, Bray, Berkshire
www.waterside-inn.co.uk
"A must for any well-informed kitchen, the TM31 outshines anything on the market."
David Everitt-Matthias, Chef Proprietor, Le Champignon Sauvage
2 Michelin Stars, Cheltenham
www.lechampignonsauvage.co.uk
”Thermomix purées are like silk!”
Simon Hulstone, Chef Patron, Elephant Bar and Restaurant, One Michelin Star, UK Team Leader for Bocuse d’Or 2010
"The best machine on the market - what can it not do! Couldn't have been without it at the World Chocolate Masters 2009. Thermomix takes competition work to the next level, I love it!"
Mark Tilling, Master Chocolatier, Squires Kitchen UK Chocolate Master 2006-2009 7th World Chocolate Master 2009
www.squires-group.co.uk
"Favourite piece of kitchen kit?"
"The Thermomix. It's a food blender and processor that also cooks and which produces consistently fantastic results."'
John Campbell, Two Michelin Stars and Director of Cuisine, Food and Beverage
Cowarth Park Hotel, Dorchester Collection
www.coworthpark.com
For over 16 years, I've used an amazing kitchen gadget called a Thermomix to help me produce fresh spices, spice mixes and sauces. It's made my life so much easier, and our kitchens at Cafe Spice Namasté all the livelier. It's coveted by Master Chefs and foodies alike...the culinary world's best secret! This great gadget can make the cooking of delicious meals from wholesome ingredients so fast and easy.
Cyrus Todiwala OBE, Executive Chef Patron, Café Spice Namasté
“I call it the Ferrari of blenders."
Dominic Robinson, Head Chef, Prince of Wales
www.princeofwalesputney.co.uk
"Thermomix is the best gadget to enter my kitchen, ever."
Alan Murchison, Chef Proprietor, L'Ortolan, One Michelin Star
Quote from his new book: "Food for Thought"
www.lortolan.co.uk
“Our whole kitchen is built around Thermomix and waterbaths. We couldn’t do what we do without them!”
Jason Atherton, Executive Chef, Maze restaurant, London. Winner of two courses in the 2008 Great British Menu series on BBC TV.
"I have used and abused many blenders in my time as a chef and none have been able to withstand constant use as well as the modern day version of the Thermomix. The Thermomix has become an integral part of the day-to day running of our restaurant; if you phone our kitchen the buzz of the Thermomix is always in the background. I am fortunate to have one at home as well as one at work. My Thermomix at home doesn't take anywhere as much of a battering as my one in work, but it still has as many uses. My wife uses it to mix and knead bread, weigh ingredients and make sauces such as hollandaise."
Aiden Byrne, Chef Proprietor, The Church Green, Lymm, Cheshire
www.thechurchgreen.co.uk
I use our Thermomix in a wide range of applications from making chocolate ganaches for our Innovative Chocolate Courses to producing pastry crèmes for our Contemporary Plated Dessert Courses. We moved away from more time-consuming conventional ways of working with a stove, whisk, pots and pans around two years ago. The Thermomix is easy to use, labour saving and reliable and saves us a huge amount of time and effort when preparing for our courses, demonstrations and customer presentations.
Beverley Dunkley, Chocolate Academy Manager at Barry Callebaut (UK) Limited, Banbury
“It is a piece of equipment that elevates your cooking to a higher level like no other.”
James Nathan , BBC MasterChef 2008
"It's brilliant, brilliant. No self-respecting chef or cook should be without one!"
Willie Pike MBE, Consultant Chef, Fellow of the Master Chefs of Great Britain Multiple Gold Medals, Scottish Culinary Olympics Team
www.williepike.co.uk www.scottishchefsconference.co.uk
"The Thermomix is the most in-demand piece of kitchen kit by the chefs in all sections of my kitchen. We couldn't be without it."
Tom Cockerill, Chef and Proprietor, Entropy Restaurant, Leicester
Thermomix has become an essential part of our kitchen giving consistency across the menu. Purées and soups are so fine and smooth they need no passing, therefore increasing yield, flavour and saving time.
James Mackenzie, Chef Proprietor, The Pipe and Glass Inn, South Dalton.
Michelin Bib Gourmand
“Ice cream mixes pasteurised in a Thermomix TM31 and churned in a professional freezer produce ice cream that is comparable in quality with ice cream produced from a mix that has been passed through an industrial homogenizer. A mix pasteurised in a Thermomix TM31 will produce ice cream of a quality that is the highest possible that can be achieved in a domestic or professional kitchen.”
Ian Gibson, ice cream expert and supplier of fine ice creams
to Harvey Nicholls in Leeds
“What is your favourite utensil?”
“A Thermomix.”
Hywel Jones, Lucknam Park, 1 Michelin Star, Wiltshire
from the book Off Duty
"The Thermomix has taken purées to another level of smoothness. It's become the heart of our kitchen. We love it for working with agar agar jellies as well: being able to blitz and heat at the same time gives a much smoother result. I honestly don't think I could ever have a kitchen without a Thermomix now."
Charlie Lockley, The Boath House Restaurant, One Michelin Star, Inverness
“What can’t you live without?”
“Sleep, and my Thermomix.”
Nick Evans, Wales Chef of the Year 2006
from an interview with Caterer & Hotelkeeper
"We've been using a Thermomix from our earliest days as chocolatiers, when it helped us to experiment with and develop our range of centres in relatively small batches. Nowadays we make chocolates in large numbers and our range has expanded to 40-odd centres – and we still use Thermomix machines as the mainstays of our centre production. To our knowledge no other machine on the market can combine as many functions as the Thermomix and, although we've only had to use it once, the service back-up is excellent."
Jane & Bob Cullen, chocolatiers, Saunders of Penrith Ltd, Cumbria, www.saunderschocolates.co.uk
"Our Thermomix is the most valuable part of our chocolate factory - the most valuable piece of equipment we have. It saves hours of work; it's like having an extra arm."
Andrew Feather, chocolatier at Ryeburn Ice Cream, Helmsley, N. Yorks. www.ryeburn.com
“The recipe book you get with the Thermomix is phenomenal!”
Quote from Tony Singh, Chef Owner, Oloroso while competing in BBC Two’s Great British Menu 2010
“The first time I made risotto in the Thermomix I took a tray and spread the cooked risotto rice as thinly as possible. The reason for this act of madness was to inspect each grain of rice in search of a broken grain. I thought if I could find one broken grain then I would have been satisfied and could then happily say it does not work. I have to confess and hold up my hands and say ‘Yes, it works!’ Would you like me to say it a little bit louder? RISOTTO IN THE THERMOMIX WORKS A TREAT!!!” (June 2009)
Madalene Bonvini-Hamel, The British Larder Suffolk Read more here.
Urban Provider Thermomix Passion cooking classes
Here's a heads up for all you Perth Thermomix fans - Leederville-based gourmet cooking school URBAN PROVIDER are planning Thermomix Passion cooking classes with some divine sounding dishes on the menu - from cocktails to curry, foccacia to semifreddo - where you will not only learn how to make some amazing dishes, but also get to see the full repertoire of the Thermomix talents!
For details on dates and prices go and have a look at the Urban Provider website. I may even see you there!
Thermomix in a commercial kitchen
Here's a great video from a Canadian distributor about the many uses of the Thermomix in a commercial kitchen - it's used and loved by chefs the world over!
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