In this episode of Stir It Up, chef and retired doctor Paula Gilvarry takes to the home of Sandra Byrne, a busy mum of four and nurse in an intensive care unit. Paula teaches her and her son, Diarmuid, how to cook some life-saving dishes – Chicken Noodle Soup, spicy Vegetable and Lentil Soup and a fail-safe Spanish Omlette. Find the recipes over on below.
The Spanish Omlette (Serves 6)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 8 large eggs
- 1 package cooked ham
- 2oz grated cheese
- 1Lb cooked potatoes
Method
Preheat oven to 180C.
- In 10-inch nonstick skillet with oven-safe handle, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium 1 minute. Add onion, pepper, and garlic, and cook 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender and golden, stirring occasionally.
2.In large bowl, with fork, mix eggs and ham, until well blended. Gently stir in potatoes and onion mixture.
3.In same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil on medium. Pour in egg mixture and place in oven. Bake 22 to 24 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean and top is browned. Remove from oven.
4.Center large round plate upside down on top of skillet. Wearing oven mitts to protect your hands, and grasping plate and skillet firmly together, quickly invert tortilla onto plate. Slide onto cutting board to serve.
5.This can be sliced a spatula and serves from pan if you don’t want to chance the turning over.
6.Adapt the recipe using other ingredients.; chopped courgette, leftover cooked chicken , chopped chorizo. Great cold!
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup
2 portions
- 900ml chicken or vegetable stock (or Miso soup mix)
- boneless, skinless chicken breast, about 175g/6oz
- 1 tsp chopped fresh root ginger
- garlic clove, finely chopped
- 50g rice or wheat noodles
- 2 tbsp sweetcorn canned or frozen
- 2-3 mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 spring onion shredded
- Sweet chilli sauce and extra Soy (optional), to serve
Method
- Pour the stock into a pan and add the chicken, ginger and garlic. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, partly cover and simmer for 20 mins, until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken to a board and shred into bite-size pieces using a couple of forks.
- Return the chicken to the stock with the noodles, corn, mushrooms, half the spring onions and the soy sauce. Simmer for 3-4 mins until the noodles are tender. Ladle into two bowls and scatter over the remaining spring onions, herbs and chilli shreds if using. Serve with extra soy sauce for sprinkling.
John Tovey’s Basic Soup Recipe Serves 6-12
(This recipe is a basic guideline for a soup and can be tailored to whatever you have in the fridge)
Ingredients
- 2 lb prepared vegetables
- 4 butter or 2 tablespoons oil8oz onion peeled and chopped
- 2 pints stock
- Quarter pint cooking sherry( optional)
- Prepared vegetables should be same size to cook evenly.
- Melt butter or add oil to a large pot.
- Sweat the vegetables and onions for a minute and add the sherry if using.
- Dampen a sheet of baking paper and cover vegetable mix tightly. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 40-45 minutes.
- Check that vegetable mix is cooked and then add the stock.
- Blend with a hand- held blender. Reheat gently, taste and season.
Examples
Carrot and Ginger..2lb carrots, 2 thumb sized pieces of ginger, add ginger past to taste at end.
Sweet potato and Apple…1 lb sweet potato
1lb apples.
Tomato and apple…1 lb ripe tomatoes, 1 lb apples.
