First of all, thank you to my good friends Marty Whelan and Anne Heffernan who launched my new book, Neven Maguire’s Home Economics for Life. Thank you Anne for your kind words. I love working with the Simply Better team and I always look forward to my Friday sessions with Marty on Lyric FM. I listen in most days and will be interested to see how he gets on with the cooking.
Today a classic quick beef stroganoff. It is a recipe my mother cooked and I also made it with students when I was teaching at Fermanagh College. It is a regular staff supper these days. Sirloin steak is lovely. Rump steak takes a little bit longer, but is good value.You could substitute chicken, pork or turkey in this recipe. I like it with steamed basmati rice. The sour cream is not strictly necessary and regular cream will work just as well, or you can even use crème fraiche.
It was a sweet and sour stir fry last week. This week, a sweet chilli one. We use skinless chicken fillets for this recipe. I always keep chicken fillets in the freezer. They are so useful. Ginger is great this time of year as we are heading into the colder weather. They say it keeps away colds. I don’t know about that, but I love it anyway. I normally start with garlic, spring onions and ginger – often referred to as the holy trinity of Chinese cooking. Add vegetables according to how long they take to cook, starting with the harder ones. Thai Gold make a very good sweet chilli sauce. And Simply Better has one made by Folláin Foods, which is based in Cork.
Once you start cooking, don’t be tempted to add more oil to the wok. If it becomes too dry, sprinkle over a little water, stock or wine. This should evaporate immediately but prevent the food from drying out.
Beef stroganoff from Neven Maguire's new book - Home Economics for Life.
Beef stroganoff
Serves four
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp sweet paprika
450g (1lb) sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
25g (1oz) butter
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
150g (5oz) button mushrooms, halved
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock
4 tbsp white wine
2 tsp tomato purée
1 tsp Dijon mustard
150ml (1/4 pint) sour cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Steamed rice and dill pickle shavings
1 Toss the flour and paprika together in a shallow dish and add some seasoning – then use to coat the steak. Heat half the butter and oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the steak and stir-fry for four to five minutes, until sealed and lightly browned. Tip onto a plate and set aside.2 Reheat the pan over a medium heat. Add the rest of the butter and oil and then add the shallot. Sauté for two to three minutes, until softened but not coloured. Increase the heat to high and add the mushrooms to the pan with the garlic. Season to taste and continue to sauté for another two to three minutes, until tender. 3 Add the white wine vinegar and allow to bubble right down, then add the stock, wine, tomato purée and mustard, stirring to combine. Tip the sautéed beef with any juices back into the pan, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about five minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half, stirring occasionally. 4 Stir the sour cream into the pan and return to the boil, then reduce the heat again and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Cook until the sauce has thickened and slightly reduced. Divide the rice among warmed plates and spoon over the beef stroganoff. Add dill pickle shavings and a good grinding of pepper to serve.
Beef stroganoff from Neven Maguire's new book - Home Economics for Life.
Sweet chilli chicken and vegetable stir-fry
Serves four
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp dry sherry
2 tsp cornflour
225g (8oz) boneless chicken breast fillets
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 small carrots, sliced on the diagonal
175g (6oz) baby corn, halved lengthways
2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
100g (4oz) sugar snap peas
2 heaped tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Steamed rice, to serve
1 Place the soy sauce, sesame oil and sherry in a bowl, then stir in the cornflour until smooth. Cut the chicken fillet against the grain into small, thin strips and add to the marinade, stirring to combine. Cover with clingfilm and set aside for 10 minutes, or up to 24 hours is fine. 2 Heat a wok until it is very hot, then add the oil and heat until it is almost smoking. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and stir-fry in the wok for a few minutes to seal the meat. Transfer to a sieve or colander to drain off all the excess oil – leaving only one tablespoon behind in the wok.3 Add the spring onions, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 20 seconds, then tip in the onion and stir-fry for another minute. Add the carrots and continue to stir-fry for two minutes until softened, sprinkling over a tablespoon of oil if the mixture looks like it is getting too dry. Add the corn and peppers and stir-fry for one to two minutes, again adding a little more water if necessary, then add the sugar snap peas and stir-fry for another minute.4 Stir in the sweet chilli sauce and toss with the vegetables until coated. Return the chicken to the pan and stir-fry for one to two minutes until the chicken is tender and heated through. Spoon into Chinese-style serving bowls and have separate bowls of the rice to serve.Variations
1 Beef and veg with black bean sauce: replace the chicken with fillet or sirloin steak that has had all of the fat removed and use black bean sauce instead of sweet chilli sauce.2 Fragrant pork and veg: replace the chicken with pork tenderloin (fillet) or boneless pork chops that have been well trimmed. Replace the sweet chilli sauce with oyster sauce.
First of all, thank you to my good friends Marty Whelan and Anne Heffernan who launched my new book, Neven Maguire’s Home Economics for Life. Thank you Anne for your kind words. I love working with the Simply Better team and I always look forward to my Friday sessions with Marty on Lyric FM. I listen in most days and will be interested to see how he gets on with the cooking.
Today a classic quick beef stroganoff. It is a recipe my mother cooked and I also made it with students when I was teaching at Fermanagh College. It is a regular staff supper these days. Sirloin steak is lovely. Rump steak takes a little bit longer, but is good value.You could substitute chicken, pork or turkey in this recipe. I like it with steamed basmati rice. The sour cream is not strictly necessary and regular cream will work just as well, or you can even use crème fraiche.
It was a sweet and sour stir fry last week. This week, a sweet chilli one. We use skinless chicken fillets for this recipe. I always keep chicken fillets in the freezer. They are so useful. Ginger is great this time of year as we are heading into the colder weather. They say it keeps away colds. I don’t know about that, but I love it anyway. I normally start with garlic, spring onions and ginger – often referred to as the holy trinity of Chinese cooking. Add vegetables according to how long they take to cook, starting with the harder ones. Thai Gold make a very good sweet chilli sauce. And Simply Better has one made by Folláin Foods, which is based in Cork.
Once you start cooking, don’t be tempted to add more oil to the wok. If it becomes too dry, sprinkle over a little water, stock or wine. This should evaporate immediately but prevent the food from drying out.
Beef stroganoff from Neven Maguire's new book - Home Economics for Life.
Beef stroganoff
Serves four
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp sweet paprika
450g (1lb) sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
25g (1oz) butter
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
150g (5oz) button mushrooms, halved
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
150ml (1/4 pint) chicken stock
4 tbsp white wine
2 tsp tomato purée
1 tsp Dijon mustard
150ml (1/4 pint) sour cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Steamed rice and dill pickle shavings
1 Toss the flour and paprika together in a shallow dish and add some seasoning – then use to coat the steak. Heat half the butter and oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the steak and stir-fry for four to five minutes, until sealed and lightly browned. Tip onto a plate and set aside.2 Reheat the pan over a medium heat. Add the rest of the butter and oil and then add the shallot. Sauté for two to three minutes, until softened but not coloured. Increase the heat to high and add the mushrooms to the pan with the garlic. Season to taste and continue to sauté for another two to three minutes, until tender. 3 Add the white wine vinegar and allow to bubble right down, then add the stock, wine, tomato purée and mustard, stirring to combine. Tip the sautéed beef with any juices back into the pan, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for about five minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half, stirring occasionally. 4 Stir the sour cream into the pan and return to the boil, then reduce the heat again and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Cook until the sauce has thickened and slightly reduced. Divide the rice among warmed plates and spoon over the beef stroganoff. Add dill pickle shavings and a good grinding of pepper to serve.
Beef stroganoff from Neven Maguire's new book - Home Economics for Life.
Sweet chilli chicken and vegetable stir-fry
Serves four
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp dry sherry
2 tsp cornflour
225g (8oz) boneless chicken breast fillets
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 small carrots, sliced on the diagonal
175g (6oz) baby corn, halved lengthways
2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
100g (4oz) sugar snap peas
2 heaped tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Steamed rice, to serve
1 Place the soy sauce, sesame oil and sherry in a bowl, then stir in the cornflour until smooth. Cut the chicken fillet against the grain into small, thin strips and add to the marinade, stirring to combine. Cover with clingfilm and set aside for 10 minutes, or up to 24 hours is fine. 2 Heat a wok until it is very hot, then add the oil and heat until it is almost smoking. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and stir-fry in the wok for a few minutes to seal the meat. Transfer to a sieve or colander to drain off all the excess oil – leaving only one tablespoon behind in the wok.3 Add the spring onions, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 20 seconds, then tip in the onion and stir-fry for another minute. Add the carrots and continue to stir-fry for two minutes until softened, sprinkling over a tablespoon of oil if the mixture looks like it is getting too dry. Add the corn and peppers and stir-fry for one to two minutes, again adding a little more water if necessary, then add the sugar snap peas and stir-fry for another minute.4 Stir in the sweet chilli sauce and toss with the vegetables until coated. Return the chicken to the pan and stir-fry for one to two minutes until the chicken is tender and heated through. Spoon into Chinese-style serving bowls and have separate bowls of the rice to serve.Variations
1 Beef and veg with black bean sauce: replace the chicken with fillet or sirloin steak that has had all of the fat removed and use black bean sauce instead of sweet chilli sauce.2 Fragrant pork and veg: replace the chicken with pork tenderloin (fillet) or boneless pork chops that have been well trimmed. Replace the sweet chilli sauce with oyster sauce. 
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