Mari's World
Travel | Food | Lifestyle

seafood risotto

I love seafood and when on my recent Morrisons shopping trip to discover their I’m cheaper bargains I found a tray of Seafood that looked so inviting and cheap! I snapped it up for the £2.00 with the thought of the delicious risotto it would make.

seafood selection Morrisons

As mentioned before, making a risotto is a labour of love as you stand over it stirring and pouring in ladle by ladle of stock waiting for the rice to absorb it before adding more

UNLESS

you are the lucky owner of a Sage Multi cooker then life is a lot easier, as all that is required is sautèing off the initial onion, veg and rice and adding all the ingredients before switching the machine to the risotto setting.

Hey presto! Risotto cooks itself and Heston Blumenthal says so too if you don’t believe me!

I love my Sage Multi Cooker. I have had it now for a couple of months and it has already done so many different meals for me, it is wonderful to work with and although it may cost more than an off the shelf slow cooker in my opinion it really is worth while as it offers you so much more.

Here are a couple of my risotto recipes to date that are in season now

Asparagus Risotto 

Risotto primavera

I’ll be bringing more risotto ideas your way but in the meantime here’s the recipe for my Seafood risotto.

When you find the Family Meals and Kids Approved labels on the images it means the girls ate it all up.

[yumprint-recipe id=’33’]

Caribbean fish parcels

The first time I saw a fish parcel recipe was in Italy, the chef would prepare trays and trays of trota salmonata for the guests including potatoes and other vegetables in the parcels for taste but also as a side.

Caribbean Fish parcels are my take on that, you can use foil as I did or you can use baking paper, it’s important to seal the top and sides to keep all the juices in the parcel, they act as steam to cook the fish and add flavour too.

caribbean fish parcels

Cooking food in parcels is a great way of preparing an entire meal in one hit and the variations are endless, given that we have cupboards full of spices thanks to Schwarz and #FlavourofTogether I have been inspired to stretch further and use more combinations of spices.

I’ve spent time researching flavours used in different countries and the Caribbean combinations caught my eye and my heart, after all who wouldn’t want to be in the Caribbean right now?

caribbean fish parcels

My Caribbean fish parcels recipe, cooked in the slow cooker only takes two hours and on opening the parcel you have a meal ready to take to the table. If you were to cook this in the oven it would take about half an hour on 180C.

I used cod as it was on special offer in my local supermarket but I think it would work just as well with any fish

Husband’s verdict: I really enjoyed that, it might be your best fish dish yet.

Slow Cooker: Caribbean fish parcels recipe
 
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Fish cooked in the slow cooker wrapped in a parcel with herbs and spices to keep all the flavour in. I cooked two parcels together, check the size of your slow cooker Variations Pesto - Coat the fish with a mixture made from pesto, cream and lemon zest Norma - oregano, chilli flakes, basil and garlic Puttanesca - garlic, chilli, black olives and anchovy
Author:
Recipe type: fish
Cuisine: caribbean
Ingredients
  • Cod - 1 piece per portion
  • For the rub
  • ⅛ tsp ground cloves
  • ⅛ tsp ground ginger
  • ⅛ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp thyme
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • For each parcel
  • ⅘ baby tomatoes
  • 1 lemon cut into four
  • basil leaves
Instructions
  1. Check the cod for bones and pull out any that are visible to make for a cleaner eat
  2. Lay out a piece of foil three times the size of the fish and place the fish in the middle.
  3. Sprinkle the rub over the entire surface.
  4. Add the tomatoes, lemon and basil and bring up the two long sides of foil to meet in the middle and turn over at the top.
  5. starting at the bottom, make a parcel around the fish making sure no steam can escape and no liquid will seep out at the bottom.
  6. Once enclosed place the fish parcels in the slow cooker, cover. No need to add anything at all.
  7. Cook on slow for two hours.
  8. Careful on opening the parcels as the steam will escape, check the fish is cooked, if it is flaky on touching with a fork you're ready to go.
  9. Serve with green beans and new potatoes
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lamb dukkah

I love it when I try something new and it works, or as in this case it blows me away with just how good it is.

There’s nothing like the arrival of Spring to have me lusting after lamb. Last year I showcased the perfect Roast Spring Lamb for a delicious Easter lunch and it’s a favourite of mine that I go back to as often as I can but this year I wanted to try a different lamb recipe. Olives et Al got in touch and suggested I try Lamb Dukkah, they sent me their delicious products and I followed their recipe using my Sage Multi Cooker instead of traditional slow cooking in the oven.

olives et al

It was SUPERB. The lamb fell off the bone and is mouthful after mouthful of delicious flavoured meat. I have since had a look around and discovered there are lots of different Dukkah recipes out there, I am transformed, I am now a Dukkah loving mamma.

lamb dukkah sage multi cooker

As all of the recipes on this blog it is simple, it’s a chuck it in the pot and let it cook slow meal which we all love and know so well. I served mine with giant cous cous and some fresh green beans

lamb dukkah

 

Ingredients
  1. 1 shoulder of lamb on the bone
  2. 2 crushed cloves of garlic
  3. Olive oil
  4. 3 large white onions sliced
  5. 1 -2 tbsps Olives Et Al Spiced Dukkah
  6. 1 tbsp Olives Et Al Tapenade Marocaine
  7. 1 large bunch thyme or oregano
  8. a few bay leaves
  9. a handful of Olives Et Al Lemon and coriander Olives
  10. 150 ml white wine
Instructions
  1. Rub the lamb with the crushed garlic and olive oil
  2. Put half the sliced onions in the slow cooker, place the lamb on top scatter the remainder over and add all the other ingredients to the pot.
  3. Add the white wine put the lid on and cook on low for 8 hours
  4. Leave to cool to room temperature – best left overnight to allow the flavour to develop
  5. Serve with cous cous and flatbreads
Notes
  1. I have no notes other than to say it’s utterly sublime, try it.

pulled pork slow cooker recipe

This is another great recipe for a family BBQ and the best thing about it is it cooks itself nice and slow and all you have to do is pull it apart with two forks for serving. I am so in love with EASY, tasty food.

The beauty of BBQs is the ease with which they are put together, the food shouldn’t take hours to prepare as it’s all about enjoying the outside and being together. To add to your spread of goodies a ranch pulled pork sandwich will be high on the menu choice so make sure there’s plenty and remember any leftovers can be eaten the following day.

Pulled pork is a popular recipe and I found lots of versions of slow cooked pulled pork before deciding on my own which was mostly dictated by the herbs and spices currently in my cupboard and with a huge Schwarz stash to work my way through, well I had plenty of choice.

pulled pork spices

 

Here’s what went into my rub

1 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
50 g brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 spoon mixed herbs
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp onion salt
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsps olive oil
 

I only had a small joint but the quantity above would work for a bigger joint too. The rub looks quite dry in the second photo above and I left it like that as slow cooking produces a lot of liquid it soon looked like this and I was able to baste the joint. Look below for my pulled pork slow cooker recipe.

pulled pork slow cooker

 
Pulled pork slow cooker recipe
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
An easy Pulled pork slow cooker recipe that suits any time of year. Perfect family meal and great for BBQs
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 50 g brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp mustard powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 spoon mixed herbs
  • 1 tsp fenugreek
  • 1 tsp onion salt
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsps olive oil
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 joint of pork shoulder (1 kilo = 4 people)
Instructions
  1. Mix together the all of the spices in a bowl.
  2. Add the honey, vinegar, and olive oil and stir to form a paste.
  3. Place the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  4. Place the pork on top and then pour the honey paste all over.
  5. Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 7 to 8 hours or until the meat is tender enough to be easily shredded with a fork.
  6. Turn the joint over half way through and baste with the juice forming at the bottom.
  7. Once cooked shred with two forks.
  8. Serve with coleslaw and salads.
  9. Refrigerate or freeze the leftovers.
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pork in ginger ale

It’s that weird time of year where I am constantly turning the heating off one day then the next it’s cold again so whacking it back on. A yo-yo of hot and cold, throwing open the windows to air the house one day and shutting all the doors the next to keep the heat in one room.

The same goes with food, this week I have had salads, wraps and even hot soup for lunch, the weather can’t make it’s mind up and neither can I.

So faced with a particularly busy day I decided to use my Sage Multi cooker again but for slow cooking this time to get our evening meal on the table.

I had a tray of pork shoulder chops and a can of ginger beer in the fridge. Now I’ve seen ham cooked in coke, beef cooked in Guinness so why not?

I’m so glad I did as the results were superb and enjoyed by all the family. The ginger ale gives a slight hint of sweet but definitely not overpowering plus a hint of ginger which really added to this recipe

[yumprint-recipe id=’26’]If you don’t have the Sage Multi cooker then the only difference will be that you have to sautè everything in a pan before adding to your slow cooker and you will have to wash up. This is why I like the Multi Cooker as I skip a washign up process.

More Sage Multi cooker recipes are

Risotto Primavera

Tomato fish curry