Mexican Steak and bean wraps with homemade guacamole.

You may have noticed that although I love food made from scratch, I'm not shy of using a few shortcuts here and there. As with any sane person, time is precious to me. If there is a chance of saving some without compromising the final product, I'm in! This time it came in the form of a tin of mixed beans from tesco. I was looking at the shelf for some mixed beans in water but saw 'Tesco taco mix beans and Mexican sauce.' Hello shortcut. 

I made a simple stew by adding some fresh ingredients to the beans and served it inside the homemade tortillas with cheese, steak strips and guacamole on the side. A little naughty but all those vegetables make up for it, right?

Mexican bean stew with steak

Serves 2 with leftovers

1 courgette or 3 super cute baby courgettes, sliced

1 tin taco mixed beans

1 small tin sweet corn

Half a red pepper, chopped

Half or a whole chilli finely chopped (to taste)

3 or 4 spring onions, sliced

2 thin cut steaks

Firstly take the courgette and fry off in a pan until slightly browned. Next add in the beans, corn, peppers, and chilli. Allow to cool down slightly, add in some water if it gets too dry. 

Leave the beans on a low heat and get a pan really hot. I used the pan I had been cooking the tortillas in so it was already nicely hot, nearly smoking. Add in a small amount of oil and butter, let it froth and then pop in your steaks. The thin cut steaks really only need about 3 minutes cooking if you want them pink. Start with 2 minutes on one side, leave it to cook quickly and then turn it. Take it off the heat and leave to rest for a couple of minutes before slicing in to strips. 

Lastly add in the spring onions to the bean mix and serve. 

Fresh guacamole

Makes 4 portions depending on size of avocados

Take half a chilli and finely chop, along with a handful of chopped coriander and mix together. Add in 3 small ripe tomatoes that have cut in to cubes. Halve the avocados and peel, then chop roughly. Add in to the other ingredients and mash with a fork. Last add lime juice and salt to taste, mix through and it's ready to eat. 

Homemade tortillas

I've always thought having some tortilla wraps in the kitchen is a good idea. They are so versatile you can easily have a wide number of breakfasts, lunches or dinners from these little heroes. I normally keep mine in the freezer as they defrost so quickly in a warm oven.

Having said that, despite how much I love tortillas, I've never actually made them from scratch. I suppose I've always thought that seeing as they are there to make rustling up dinner easier then I should buy them. This time I made the extra effort and I was glad I did. They were soft but had a slight crunch on the outside that the shop bought counterpart lacks. I served mine with a bean stew, steak and guacamole on the side (recipes to follow.)

Tortillas

Makes 8 medium or 6 large

275g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

50g lard at room temperature (butter can substitute this)

150g warm water

Combine the dry ingredients then take the lard and rub it to it, until fully incorporated. Then add the water until you have a sticky dough. Or if you have a mixer chuck it all in and use a dough hook. Work the dough until soft and bouncy. If it feels too sticky and some flour but it is meant to be quite a wet dough. 

Leave in a covered bowl for 30 minutes to rest. 

Tip the dough on a floured surface and then split in to 8 equal balls. Take the first ball and shape in to a disc. Put a heavy bottomed pan or skillet on a medium high heat. 

Roll out the dough as thinly as possible using flour to stop it sticking, it may feel fragile but it will hold up to some pressure. (I did read about being able to roll in between two pieces of a freezer bag though I didn't try it. Might help with the sticky dough.) 

Once rolled, carefully place in the hot pan. While that's cooking, carry on rolling the next tortilla. 

The first one is ready top flip when bubbles appear and it begins to colour slightly. 

Continue with this cycle of cooking one while rolling the next, it will speed up the whole process. Serve them immediately or allow to cool, wrap and store in the fridge or freezer. 

German sausages and the marvel of lidl.

I hadn't visited a lidl properly since my time at university and even then it was just because of the excitement of a new shop (being a student full-time has its dull days.) However recently I'd been told that they do some really good quality products at ridiculously low prices. Fortunately there is a lidl about 5 minutes away from my house so when I had the opportunity and some space in my fridge and freezer I headed down to have a look. There is a great selection and the prices are definitely reasonable, especially for the German sausages. I stocked up on a couple for breakfasts and dinners, putting a packet in the freezer. Fast forward a few weeks to a rather sad looking bank account and a fully stuff freezer, it was time to bring out the sausage. 

When I normally cook bratwurst or bockwurst, I do a pretty tasty currywurst after falling in love with it in Germany. This time I wanted a change, so I researched some recipes to use with my bockwurst (a smoked version of bratwurst.) One of the common recipes that came up was bockwurst or pork with a creamy mustard sauce. I decided this would work well seeing as it was a particularly cold spring day. I served it with mashed potatoes to soak up all the gravy and some green beans on the side. Simple and comforting. 

Bockwurst with a creamy mustard sauce. 

Serves 2

Start with a knob of butter. About 40g. Let it melt down then add in a shallot, diced finely. Cook them until transparent and soft then sprinkle over a teaspoon of flour, you want a bit to thicken but not enough to turn your sauce to the thickness of bird's custard. 

Once you've whisked it in and the flour has cooked out, add a generous splash of beer or white wine, depending on preference. I went for a lovely German beer we have had in the flat the last few months. Let the beer reduced down a bit until thickened slightly. 

At this point you can add in the mustard, Dijon, about 1-2tsp should do it. You can always add more in at the end if you feel it needs it. Lastly add another generous dash of double cream. Let this all boil down until you have a lovely pouring sauce. Taste then add salt and pepper. 

I grilled the bockwurst and served it all with mash, green beans and chopped parsley stirred through the sauce at the last minute.