Khao Tom Gai

In Thai, Khao Tom (ข้าวต้ม) means rice soup and Gai is chicken (in this instance I used turkey but same, same..) so with this Thai-inspired soup, rice is cooked in a broth that is generously seasoned with lemongrass, shallots, and garlic and then minced turkey or chicken are later added along with fish sauce and lime juice to finish.

It is basically a thinner Thai-style congee and as such often eaten for breakfast as well as lunch or dinner. Whatever time of day it is eaten however it is simple comfort food, packed with flavour and extremely satisfying.


Khao Tom Gai
serves 2

750ml chicken stock
1 shallot, finely diced
1 lemongrass, trimmed & halved lengthwise
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp minced ginger
85g short-grain rice
150g turkey mince
2 tsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
sea salt
½ lime, juiced
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
15g sliced spring onions
½ red chilli, finely chopped
60g firm tofu (I used marinated)
fried shallots to serve (optional)

Into a large saucepan add the shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, stock, a tiny pinch of salt and the rice and bring to a simmer.

Cook until the soup is thickened and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.. Reduce heat to very low. Remove the lemongrass and discard.

Add the turkey mince, fish sauce and the lime juice. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes.

Stir in half the coriander, half the green onions, half the chili and the tofu.

Heat gently for a couple of minutes or so until the tofu is warmed through. Check the seasoning carefully and add more fish sauce and / or salt to taste as necessary.

Divide the soup between bowls, then top with remaining coriander, spring onions, chillies and fried shallots and serve immediately.

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Baked Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce

We love pasta in this house and I would quite cheerfully have it a lot more often than we do as well (as it is, at least once a week). I like using turkey mince on occasion as it is lighter in fat and calories (leaner even than chicken) and, if cooked with other tasty things, has a nice lightness to it but is still flavourful. Any type of minced meat could be used here though, but I did find the turkey worked really well.

I think it would be a good idea to make double the amount of meatball and freeze the extra for another day. I’ll do that next time.

Be sure to be gently when forming the meatballs to ensure they are as tender and light as possible. If you work the mixture too much you’ll end up with balls that are heavy and dense. Which you don’t want at all.


Baked Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce
serves 2

For the sauce

400g tin whole plum tomatoes
7.5g butter
½ small-med onion, finely chopped
2 tsp tomato purée
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp red pepper flakes
pinch of sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
50ml double cream
For the meatballs
20g panko breadcrumbs
½ small-med onion, grated
1½ tsp parsley, finely chopped
1½ tsp basil, finely chopped
25g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
½ tsp sea salt
⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ tsp lemon zest
1 egg, lightly beaten (you’ll only need about half of it)
350g turkey mince
1 tbsp olive oil
To finish
55g buffalo mozzarella, grated
1 tbsp Parmesan, grated

1½ tbsp basil, finely chopped (optional)

To make the sauce, purée the tomatoes until smooth using a stick blender (or use a food processor).

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over a medium-high heat and add the onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t catch, until it begins to soften.

Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and red pepper flakes and lightly fry for about 30 seconds.

Stir in the sugar and the tomato mixture, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes until the sauce is starting to thicken slightly. Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream. Pour into an ovenproof dish.

To make the meatballs combine the breadcrumbs, onion, parsley, basil, Parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic, zest and egg. Stir together with a fork just until blended then let the mixture sit for a few minutes.

Gently mix in the turkey mince with your hands until it is all evenly combined.

With wet hands (it will help stopping the mix sticking to them) form the turkey mixture into meatballs about the size of a squash ball. You should get about 12 meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 200˚ C.

Heat the olive oil in the sauté pan used previously (wiped out of course) over over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs to the pan in a single layer, in two batches, and brown on all sides.

Place the browned meatballs in the dish with the sauce, give it a bit of a (gentle) shake and sprinkle the mozzarella and extra Parmesan over the top.

Bake until the cheese is fully melted and bubbling and the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle over the basil and serve with fresh tagliatelle.

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Turkey Piccata

Piccata is one of those dishes where the name refers to the method of its preparation. In this case where meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a scant sauce. Of course it originated in Italy using veal (veal piccata) whereas in the US where it is also very popular the best-known variant is chicken piccata.

I chose to use turkey escalopes, primarily, if I’m honest, because flattening a turkey escalope is a bit easier that butterflying and then tenderising a chicken breast but feel free to use chicken if you like.

A note on flattening whichever you use: it is by far the easiest way to lay your butterflied breast or escalope between two sheets of grease-proof paper / parchment on a wooden chopping board then pounding with a heavy implement. I use a wooden rolling pin but you can get special meat mallets for the job too.

This is one of my favourite ways of cooking poultry outside of curries and the like: the piquant sauce is an absolute delight and it is so very quick and easy to make it wins all round.


Turkey Piccata
serves 2

2 turkey breast steaks or escalopes, pounded until ¼" thick
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp flour
30g unsalted butter
1½ tbsp olive oil
125ml dry white wine
125ml chicken stock
½ lemon, thinly sliced
½ lemon, juiced (or to taste)
20g capers, drained
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Season the turkey quite generously with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off any excess.

Melt half the butter with the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Pour the wine into the pan and cook, scraping any bits off the bottom of pan until it is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and lemon slices, and bring to a boil; simmer until reduced by half, about another 8 minutes.

Add the remaining butter, the lemon juice (if required - taste first to see how much you want), capers, and most of the parsley, and season carefully with salt and pepper to taste.

Put the turkey escalopes on two plates, pour over the sauce, sprinkle with a little extra parsley and serve immediately with vegetables (or pasta) of your choice.

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Korean Keema

I’ve mentioned gochujang (Korean spicy red pepper paste) in a couple of previous posts (namely here and here) but I’m honestly extremely surprised that I’ve never posted this recipe before as it is one that falls into my stable , so to speak, of things oft cooked.

This is adapted from Nigella’s Kitchen, not to be confused with the more traditional, although also very good keema found in Feast.


Korean Keema
serves 2

250g turkey mince
3 fat spring onions, finely chopped
125g frozen petis pois
1 tsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
150g sushi rice
For the sauce

3 tbsps gochujang
1 ½ tbsp honey
1 ½ tbsp shaoxing wine
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 clove of garlic, crushed

In a bowl whisk together the sauce ingredients.

Stir in the turkey mince and set aside to marinate while you get on with the rest of the preparation.

Rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs clear then place in a medium saucepan with the same volume of water plus about 10%. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for around 20 minutes on the lowest heat possible (a simmer mat may be handy here although sadly mine doesn’t work too well).

After the rice has been simmering for about 10 minutes, heat a wok over a high heat. While it's heating up pour boiling water over the peas in a colander. When the wok is hot, add the oil and stir in the onions and peas (be aware that it may spit a bit because of the wet peas). Stir fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the turkey and sauce and stir fry until the mince is coloured and no longer pink. This will take about 5 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons rice wine with 4 tbsp water to the marinating bowl, swirl around to get all the residue and add to the wok. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes.

Serve the rice in a bowl with the sauce spooned over and top with some chopped coriander.

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Taco Pasta

I had an evening alone which meant, as ever, that I had an excuse to have an experimental cook and / or cook something really dirty. This comes under both headings really.

Having seen a couple of pasta dishes on Pinterest referring to “Taco”, my interest was piqued (Meaty! Tomatoey! Cheesy! Creamy!) but in all honesty I couldn't be sure if the bf would feel the same way. I was also of the opinion that somethings that sounds so good in theory could be well be a victim of the sum of its parts and be absolutely revolting.

In the end I adapted this from The Girl who ate everything and I’m happy to report that it was not revolting but in fact pretty damn good: luckily as I’d made enough for leftover lunch the next day. 

I went with large shells here but I think this would be just as good (if not better, considering that large shells have an annoying tendency of sticking together) with small ones.


Taco Pasta
serves 2
250g turkey mince
175g pasta shells
1 small banana shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp jalapenos, drained & chopped
2-3 tbsp taco seasoning
3 tbsp quark (or low fat cream cheese)
3 tbspl sour cream
2 tbsp chopped coriander
Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions, but about 5 mins or so less (so just before perfectly al dente). Drain, reserving some of the cooking water and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the shallot over a fairly low heat in a large sauté pan with a little olive oil until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so more.

Push the shallots and garlic to the outside of the pan and add the mince. Cook over a medium heat until no longer pink and starting to brown.

Add in the jalapenos, chopped tomatoes and taco seasoning.

Let simmer over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Stir in the cooked pasta, quark (or cream cheese), sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended.

Season with a little salt if necessary and plenty of black pepper and continue to gently simmer for a further 3-5 minutes.

Stir through the chopped coriander.

Serve immediately in large, warmed bowls.

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