Smokey BBQ pork tenderloin

This is an easy and quick dish to make for a tasty midweek dinner.

Smokey BBQ pork tenderloin served with an onion sauce and Nappa cabbage with pancetta

Carne asada

I discovered that the butcher I usually go to carries flank steak a while ago. The price was appealing, so I picked up a slab and made carne asada with it.

Carne asada is a fairly simply dish to make. The trick for great flavour is to let the flank steak soak in the marinade for at least four hours and preferably overnight.

Carne asada with baby gems and sautéed potatoes

Coconut fenugreek curry with lamb meatballs

Inspired by a cooking presentation that a friend took me to a few weeks ago, I made this lamb meatball curry from scratch a few days later. 

Coconut fenugreek curry with lamb meatballs

Pork chops with mango & peach salsa

This is the dinner that almost didn't happen.

Last week, I bought a perfectly ripened mango and some peaches and decided to make a salsa to go with pork chops. I had trimmed and marinated the chops, made the mango and peach salsa, prepared the baby potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Husband came home around 7pm and said he was hitting the gym and probably wouldn't be having dinner when he returned. Then he walked into the kitchen and saw all the raw ingredients for dinner and apologised for not letting me know of his plans before I went to all this trouble. While I was a bit irked, I did appreciate how hard it was to keep fit, particularly when one hit middle-age, so far be it for me to thwart his endeavours.

And off his went. When he got home around 9.30, he said he was hungry and would like the dinner. So I fired up the grill and pan and within 20 minutes, I came up with two plates of beautiful food. 

Grilled pork chop with mango & peach salsa, served with sautéed Brussels sprouts and crackling, steamed baby potatoes

Sea bass with chunky mango salsa

Pan fried sea bass fillet, served with chunky mango salsa and blanched tenderstem broccoli

Thai red curry (Gaeng Daeng)

Red curry with turkey, tomatoes & garden peas, served with kaffir lime basmati

Lamb vindaloo

After a visit to Asia Market and sourcing lots of wonderful spices and herbs, I decided to make curry from scratch for the first time. I was able to find lamb stew meat at the butcher's, so I went for a lamb vindaloo. Again, my mini chopper proved to be a terrific buy. 

Lamb vindaloo with wholegrain basmati and blanched green beans

Cashew sesame coriander turkey goujons

A few years ago on BBC's Dragon's Den there was a successful pitch from Levi Roots (real name Keith, an inside joke for anyone that watched the episode) for his Reggae Reggae sauces. Shortly after that episode aired, we found his Reggae Reggae Jerk/BBQ sauce on the shelf in a couple of shops here. Once we tried it, we were hooked. So when I saw the extra hot version being introduced in the shop, I didn't hesitate to pick up a bottle to try. And because I had fresh turkey breasts, I decided to make some turkey goujons to go with the hot sauce. 

Cashew sesame coriander turkey goujons in romaine lettuce cups, served with hasselback potatoes

Pan fried cod with salsa cruda

Pan fried cod with salsa cruda, served with sautéed broccolini & green beans 

Steamed sea bass with citrus, ginger, chilli & coriander

Steamed sea bass with citrus, ginger, chilli, coriander, served on a bed of blanched lotus root slices

Beef balti with coriander turmeric rice

Beef balti with coriander turmeric rice

Seafood korma

Pan grilled lamb chops with vegetables and potatoes

Shredded chicken with mixed peppers 彩椒雞絲