Insomnia, fry-ups & meatballs galore

A weekly roundup of my best things...

Hi everyone!

A mixed bag of a week - some culinary ups and some general downs, nicely covered within my best bits. So let’s get straight into it!

Best thing I’ve eaten this week…

I’m a regular customer in my local butcher - as well the importance of supporting independent local business, it’s genuinely a lovely experience, having a chat with the lads in there and, most importantly, walking away with a premium product.

I’m usually buying things like lamb shoulders or steaks for my catering jobs, but the man in front of me ordered a few rashers of bacon and a couple of sausages. There was something so routine & modest about this. So there I was, too, ordering some bacon & saussies for a weekend fry-up.

I never really eat a full english / fry up, neither am I that much of a breakfast fan in general (some fruit, yog & seeds and I’m done) but in that moment, with the man in the butcher, I felt an overwhelming urge to go all-out with a big brunch feast. Two “classic” sausages, 4 rashers of smoked back bacon & 2 slices of black pudding later and the plan was in motion.

A tin of beans & some frozen hash browns are both compulsory fry-up items, I will not hear otherwise.

Best thing I’ve read/watched/heard…

The “downs” to this week that I speak of come in the form of my returning insomnia. For my whole adult life, I’ve struggled with sleeping - getting to sleep, staying asleep, worrying about sleeping, all of it. Despite my attempts to keep things stable (same bedtime and wakeup time every day, cutting down booze, reading before bed, warm bath etc etc, the list goes on), I go through acutely awful episodes where it affects me.

Enter stage: Get Sleepy Podcast. Relaxing and often mundane stories, read very slowly and calmly, enough to keep your thoughts ever so slightly interested but not enough to stimulate them further.

I very much recommend to anyone who suffers from any restlessness or racing thoughts at night.

RECIPES OF THE WEEK - MEATBALL SPECIAL!

1. Red curry chicken meatballs & coconut noodles

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the meatballs:

400g chicken or turkey mince

1 egg

50g breadcrumbs (optional)

1 tbsp red thai curry paste

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 inch piece of ginger, grated

10g fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp salt

For the sauce:

1 onion - diced

3 cloves garlic, grated

1 inch piece ginger, grated

2 tbsp red thai curry paste

1 tbsp tahini

400ml coconut milk

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 lime - juiced

200g noodles of your choice - cook to packet instructions

Toppings:

2 spring onions - finely sliced

Fresh coriander

Chilli oil

Method:

Start by mixing all the meatball ingredients into a bowl until well combined. I find the easiest way to mix is with clean hands. Take small pieces of the mixture and roll into ping pong sized balls.

In a frying pan, heat some vegetable oil and fry the meatballs to brown on all sides. Don’t worry about cooking all the way through because you can do this in the sauce later.

In the same pan, sweat the onions, garlic & ginger for 5-10 mins before adding the tahini and curry paste. Fry this off for a few minutes until the curry paste smells fragrant. Add in the coconut milk and a splash of water to loosen. Let that come to a boil then add the soy & fish sauce and the juice of a lime. Taste for seasoning then add the meatballs into the sauce and let that simmer for 10 minutes.

Cook your noodles then spoon over the meatballs & sauce and sprinkle over the toppings.

2. Marry me sausage gnocchi

Ingredients (serves 2)

4-5 good quality sausages, I use Jolly Hog which you can pick up at most supermarkets

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

3-4 sundried tomatoes (from a jar)

2 tbsp tomato puree

100ml double cream

20g fresh basil - stalks finely chopped, leaves torn

80g fresh spinach

50g grated mozzarella

Method:

Start by making your sausage meatballs by removing the meat from the skins then rolling into ping pong ball sized pieces. Set aside while you make the sauce.

Sweat the onions in some olive oil until softened (10-15 mins), then add the basil stalks and garlic for an extra couple of minutes. Add in the tomato puree, stir through and cook for 5 mins until the colour of the puree darkens in colour and smells caramelised. Add in the sundried tomatoes followed by the cream and give it a good mix. Blanch the gnocchi in salted boiling water for a minute or 2 then spoon over into the onions mixture, with some of the water to loosen the sauce. Add the basil and spinach into the pan on top of the gnocchi then pop a lid on and leave to wilt for 2 mins. Stir everything together until well combined, season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mixture into an ovenproof dish, cover with the mozzarella and bake at 190C for 20-25 mins until golden and bubbling.