redjanet's Profile

From: London, United Kingdom

Joined: April 4th, 2011

About me: Hello! Living in London with my husband and cat, I have only just become more interested in cooking over the last few years, especially as I became more and more dismayed by my inability to return the favour of cooking for family and friends, which is now something I love to do even though it still sometimes makes me nervous. I wasn't really taught how to cook when I was young so I've had to teach myself which I've been doing with the help of the Good Food and Food Network channels along with my growing collection of cook books. My favourite, "teachers," in the kitchen have been Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, though I love watching cookery programmes in general and find just reading through cook books to be a great source of comfort. I'm really pleased to have stumbled upon this website as it has the potential to be a great resource and is exactly what I was wishing and looking for with regards to a simple way of keeping track of recipes I've tried.

Favorite cookbook: Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Favorite recipe: pot-roast meatloaf from Ministry of Food


Latest review:

November 6th, 2018

Ultimate chilli from BOSH!: Simple Recipes. Amazing Food. All Plants. The Fastest-Selling Vegan Cookbook Ever

This took a little bit longer than I anticipated to prep, but it was completely worth it for such amazing flavour. I loved using minced mushroom instead of processed fake beef mince (or beef!) in combination... read more >


recipe reviews (206)
book reviews (1)
useful review votes (106)

redjanet's Reviews


Search Reviews:

205 recipes reviewed. Showing 51 to 100Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title

Delia's Complete How to Cook: Both a Guide for Beginners and a Tried and Tested Recipe Collection for Life

By Delia Smith
BBC Books - 2009

15th December 2011 (edited: 16th December 2011)

Roasted salmon fillets with a crusted Pecorino and pesto topping

I was looking for a change from my usual Jamie Oliver recipe of salmon topped with pesto and roasted in the oven in foil, which my spouse is a bit sick of...and then ended up finding this, which is almost the same thing, but with cheese and breadcrumbs on top as well! Spouse admitted that it was good and the crunchy cheesiness made it more interesting. I liked it and would make it again as it's another easy weekday way of eating some oily fish.

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Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking

By Delia Smith
Ebury Press - 2008

This is one of my OH's favourite dishes which I regularly make. It's a very easy way to make flavourful sausages by frying them in a pan and adding red wine, red wine vinegar, thyme, seasoning and caramelised onions from a jar and it comes out well every time no matter what type of sausage I have used. Delia gives instructions on how to make mash using frozen mashed potato, but I just make my own.

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This was a bit different for my OH and me, but as it was pretty straightforward I thought I'd give it a go. The marinade on the chicken worked quite well and tasted better than I thought it would once it was cooked, as I was worried it might be a bit too sour with all the ginger and lime juice. The mango salsa was very nice, though maybe slightly too oniony. I left out the coriander as I don't really like it, and it wasn't missed. I stirred in the leftover black beans (unheated) with the basmati rice I made on the side as suggested and overall it was a colourful, flavourful dish which was very filling.

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Aside from the ready-made cheese sauce this dish incorporates, I'm not really sure how much of a, "cheat's," recipe this really is considering I had three saucepans on the go on the hob as well as getting the grill ready for the final finish.

That said, this was not a difficult recipe to make, and though the ready-made ingredients made it a bit more expensive than normal, it was really very tasty. Unlike Nigella's "Express" mac and cheese that I recently tried, the cheese in this recipe didn't coagulate and was still smooth and consistent throughout. I didn't add cherry tomatoes as suggested as I'm not really a fan of roast tomatoes and felt the dish had enough flavour anyway with the added bacon, onion and mushrooms.

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I'm not really sure why Delia classifies this as cheat's recipe. Not that it was difficult, in fact quite the opposite, but unlike a lot of other recipes in this book it didn't use a lot of pre-packaged ingredients (unless you count tinned tomatoes). It was a simple enough stew to throw together and then leave for a couple of hours while I got on with other things, so perfect for a Sunday. Overall, the results were okay, if a bit bland, so I was kind of disappointed. This didn't taste bad and was perfectly edible, but when I have something bubbling away in the oven for a couple of hours I generally expect something a bit tastier when it's ready.

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Website: Delicious Magazine (UK)

www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk
 

15th January 2013

Sesame salmon noodles

I liked this very much as a simple, fresh-tasting midweek meal. I substituted ready for wok noodles which helped cut down the time. The noodles had a lovely tangy taste with a bit of crunch from the veg and the marinated salmon was delicious. I may leave off the sesame seeds next time as they burned a bit while frying.

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Deliciously Ella Every Day: Simple recipes and fantastic food for a healthy way of life

By Ella Mills (Woodward)
Yellow Kite - 2016

A very good, hearty curry for those cold winter nights. It could possibly do with some more herbs or onions added in, but still satisfying without. That said, I may make it with reduced-fat coconut milk next time to keep the calories down.

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Very good, healthy vegan pasta recipe. This involves some chopping up to prep but then is one of those recipes you can leave simmering on the hob for an hour while you do other things. This yielded quite a lot and reheated well for lunch over the next couple of days.

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4th February 2018

Veggie paella

This was delicious and full of flavour. Neither my husband or I missed the presence of chicken or chorizo or any other meat products. The author suggested adding boiled potatoes to the dish for extra heartiness, but we both found it quite hearty enough. I had enough leftovers for three days' worth of lunch, which I am looking forward to.

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Easy Italian (Weight Watchers)

By
Simon & Schuster Ltd - 2012

18th June 2012 (edited: 19th June 2012)

Spaghetti Bolognese

I'll admit that I'm lazy and usually make a quick spag bol using sauce from a jar and it's usually ready in about 20 minutes. I thought I'd try this as I'm trying to be healthier. If I do it again I'd do it on a weekend and not midweek as there was quite a bit of prep to do and as I am just cooking for two it seemed a bit of a faff. I tasted the sauce as I was going along and as it was a bit bland I added balsamic vinegar and tomato purée, which helped and didn't add any points. I'm not sure if it was really worth making this recipe over using a "light" jarred Bolognese sauce, but it was edible and filling and tasted okay with the aforementioned adjustments.

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I have mixed feelings about this recipe. Overall the flavours were very good and made a nice change from frying steak in the griddle pan, as I normally do. I'd never roasted steak in the oven before and was a bit nervous that it would come out too well done, but the rump steaks I used were quite a thick cut and still came out medium rare and juicy, which was to my liking. A good thing too as I did leave the whole dish in the oven for a few minutes longer than instructed as the potatoes didn't cook evenly. The recipe instructs you to microwave them first for a few minutes before putting them in the oven with the steak and other ingredients, but I think if I make this again (which I may very well do) I'll boil them separately and add them in the last few minutes to absorb the flavours.

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Easy Meals

By Rachel Allen
Collins - 2011

28th November 2011

Mediterranean pasta

Good, easy comfort food for a cold winter night. The chorizo gave this good flavour and the mozzarella added at the end gave it a comforting richness of texture.

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6th December 2011

Chicken noodle stir-fry

This had a nice, gentle flavour, though, as I used flat rice noodles, which took longer to cook and were still too al dente, it was quite messy to eat. Not completely Rachel Allen's fault, but still kind of put me off making it again.

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This was very quick and easy to prepare within ten minutes, but I did find it overall a bit bland. It's a good store-cupboard recipe to have up your sleeve, though, so I think if I try it again I may add a squeeze of lemon juice and zest.

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This was easy enough to put together, and nice enough, but a bit bland and not very special. A good way to use up some spare potatoes and parsnips though.

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20th January 2014

Broccoli and oyster sauce

An easy, tasty way to serve broccoli. The soy sauce and oyster sauce might make it more appealing to those who are not overly fond of broccoli, though I did find the proportions slightly overpowering and made it the dish a bit too salty for my tastes.

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28th February 2016

Huevos rancheros

The author suggests this can be eaten as a meal any time of the day, but for my husband and me it is great as a late Sunday morning breakfast/brunch. I only used one big red onion instead of two, as suggested, and two small red peppers instead of one and the sauce had a nice fresh flavour which went very well with the eggs and cheese. I forgot to sprinkle on the cheese and replace the lid before serving, but the cheese melted just as easily by sprinkling straight onto the hot eggs on the plate once dished up. I also served with baked beans and toast.

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Website: Eat Like A Girl

eatlikeagirl.com
 

30th January 2015

Prawn linguine with rocket

This is a nice and simple but tasty dish that is perfect for a mid-week meal and for using up some prawns I had languishing in the freezer. The rocket dressed with lemon added a fresh zing to the pasta.

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Economy Gastronomy: Eat Better and Spend Less

By Allegra McEvedy, Paul Merrett
Michael Joseph - 2009

6th August 2011 (edited: 6th August 2011)

Quick spiced chicken thighs with emergency biryani

This was really very good and I was very pleased with the results. The chicken, which was marinaded in sweet chilli sauce, curry powder, cumin, garlic and stem ginger syrup had a wonderful slightly sweet/slightly spicy flavour which came out perfectly. The rice was cooked with the absorption method, which I had never tried before and was very happy to get good results with. It was still slightly wet so could have probably used a few minutes more of standing and steaming, but I was just happy that it didn't stick to the bottom of the pan! The turmeric gave it a lovely bright yellow colour which went well with the brightly coloured tomatoes and peas which were mixed in.

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Every Day

By Bill Granger
Murdoch Books - 2009

30th May 2011 (edited: 30th May 2011)

Lime, paprika and honey glazed chicken

This was an okay dish of juicy roasted chicken legs with Asian influenced flavourings. With such ingredients as garlic, ginger and honey added to the chicken stock that the meat was cooked in, I expected this to have a bigger, bolder flavour than it did. It was a bit bland, really, but overall still pleasant enough to eat.

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23rd June 2011 (edited: 27th June 2011)

Sausages with caramelized onions and parmesan mash

This was okay, but I wish I'd followed the advice of weaponxgirl in her previous review. I did this according to the recipe, expecting the red onions covered in brown sugar, olive oil, red wine vinegar and season to get more caramelised and the sauce to go syrupy. That didn't really happen and the sauce was very thin. The onions tasted nice and went well with the sausages, as did the extra ingredient of parmesan in my mash, but this wasn't particularly memorable.

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I'd never used cucumbers in a stir-fry before and wasn't sure if I'd like the taste, but they added a nice crunch and delicate flavour to this healthy, summery dish. The sauce, which was Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornflour, caster sugar and probably something else I'm forgetting added a nice amount of flavour. The cucumbers and peppers made this pretty to look at and the chopped peanuts added at the end gave it an extra dimension of flavour and texture.

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3rd August 2011

Caramel salmon

This was really good. I had my doubts about it staying intact when my salmon cubes started falling apart a bit in the frying pan, but the flavour of the sauce was so good that it didn't matter that they were a tiny bit crumbly. Except for the red onion, I halved this recipe as I was just cooking for two, and the sauce, which was basically garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice, tasted great. I even used light soy sauce instead of dark as that was all I had. This went perfectly with steamed basmati rice and I'll definitely be making it again as it's a very tasty, quick meal that is perfect for weeknights.

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Feast: Food That Celebrates Life

By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2006

This isn't a casserole at all, but boiled green beans mixed in with butter, oil and lemon (which can be served in a casserole dish if you like!). This added some zingy, green freshness to an otherwise stodgy and meaty Thanksgiving feast. An easy, flavourful way of serving green beans which I'll definitely make again.

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This was an excellent, easy recipe for an Easter main course and side. Following the timing guidelines suggested by Nigella, the lamb was tender, juicy and pink and full of flavour. The potatoes were also delicious and easy to prepare alongside the lamb. I had never roasted a whole leg of lamb before and this was the perfect recipe to start with.

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2nd April 2013

Sticky garlic potatoes

This was very easy to prepare and much less fiddly than the usual roast potatoes. The garlic roasted nicely with the potatoes and were easily devoured by all.

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3rd January 2015

Pumpkin cheesecake

I made this for a between Thanksgiving and Christmas family gathering and it was very well received. I did use tinned pumpkin purée, and the resulting flavour was a good mix of both the pumpkin and cream cheese. It is definitely different than your typical cheesecake, but worth trying.

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3rd January 2015

Chocolate Guinness Cake

This was a very easy cake to make and turned out moist and delicious. I don't like Guinness (or any beer for the matter), and I was pleased that instead of giving it a any flavour of beer, the stout just added a more intensity of flavour. The cream cheese frosting gave the perfect contrast to the rich chocolate cake.

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Feed Me Vegan

By Lucy Watson
Sphere - 2017

16th January 2018

Chickpea tikka masala

Surprisingly lovely curry that is fairly quick to make. At first I thought it might be a bit bland, but the flavours were good and tasted even better the next day when reheated for lunch. Definitely one to add to the roster.

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The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

By Ellie Krieger
Taunton - 2008

27th August 2012

Crispy chicken fingers

This was just okay. I was looking to find a way to use up a box of cornflakes I recently bought for another recipe and the idea of using them crushed as breadcrumbs intrigued me. The chicken fingers came out not as crispy as I was hoping for, though still juicy. I think next time I'll stick to the usual coating of dried breadcrumbs.

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27th August 2012

Honey Mustard Sauce

I was quite surprised but I did not like this at all. There was way too big a ratio of mustard to mayonnaise for my taste and I normally like honey mustard sauce. I made this to go with the crispy chicken fingers on the same page but then ended up just using store-bought barbecue sauce as a dip instead.

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Website: Foodie Fiasco

www.foodiefiasco.com
 

7th January 2018

Healthy (Oil Free) Hummus

I was looking for a low-fat recipe for hummus to snack on with veg during the week and came across this. Glad I tried it as it has no oil added and a lot less tahini than in other recipes. It could still use a bit extra something else so I've added some paprika.

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Website: The Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com
 

19th June 2011

Baked potato wedges

This is a Barefoot Contessa method for making potato wedges and it is my regular go-to way of making them. I've done them as described with rosemary and garlic, which is delicious, but I've also just used paprika instead (with a bit of salt and pepper) when I'm not in the mood for chopping rosemary and garlic and that works really well too. They always come out perfectly.

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Website: The Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com
 

This was all very easy to make and tasted delicious. I'd never had bread pudding before but I still had a panettone received at Xmas that was waiting to be used. The texture was a bit mushier than I expected, but that may be because I let the prepared pudding sit for a bit longer than recommended in the recipe. Still, with the amaretto sauce it tasted delicious!

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Forever Summer

By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2005

29th May 2011 (edited: 29th May 2011)

Za'atar chicken with fattoush

I made the chicken and the salad on the same page together and it was really lovely. The coolness of the salad, which consists of cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and pitta bread with dressing and seasoning complemented the earthiness of the za'atar blend on the chicken, which was extremely easy, really well. This would be a nice dish to serve to guests al fresco in the summer accompanied by a light rose wine.

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12th August 2011

Keralan fish curry

This was simple to prepare and the sauce had a good, delicate flavour and was not overpoweringly fishy. It was a very pretty dish with the strong yellow colour provided by the turmeric (today I look like a pack a day smoker after rubbing the turmeric onto the fish!) and the flacks of red chilli throughout. My OH and I both liked it, though it was a bit too hot for me. I would give it a higher score, only I had a terrible stomach-ache after eating it! Not sure if it was something I did wrong, but suspect not as my OH was fine.

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18th August 2011 (edited: 18th August 2011)

Seared mustard-coated salmon

Another ridiculously quick and easy supper from Nigella which can be made in mere minutes. All it consists of is dredging salmon fillets in a mixture of English mustard powder and caster sugar and then frying them. I was a bit concerned that the heat of the mustard powder would be a bit overpowering, but the sugar did it's job and sweetened it well and it ended up having more of an Asian flavour (in my opinion) than the Scandinavian-esque taste Nigella seemed to be going for. She mentions in the book that it would go well with potatoes and beetroot salad, but it worked well for me with rice and some greens wouldn't go amiss.

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Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes for Plant-Based Eating All Through the Year

By Del Sroufe, Julieanna Hever MS RD CPT, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Darshana Thacker, Judy Micklewright
The Experiment - 2012

13th February 2018 (edited: 13th February 2018)

Quick and easy Thai vegetable stew

This is a perfectly serviceable vegetable stew for an easy mid-week meal, though it didn't knock my socks off. I did find the use of soy milk, arrowroot and coconut extract to be a clever, low-fat alternative to a light coconut milk, though I do think it would have still tasted nicer with the latter instead. I made this using carrots, snow peas, edamame beans and water chestnuts. I think if I try it again I might use cauliflower, green beans and maybe some cooked new potatoes for a bit more heartiness.

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27th February 2018

Chinese brown sauce

This sauce is used throughout the book in several recipes and I'm sure I will make it many times in the future. It adds a sweet but also savoury flavour to dishes that is similar to hoisin sauce or sweet chilli sauce. I really liked it.

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A very nice, quick rice dish for week nights. I used my instant pot to cook the brown rice, which helped to save time. I think I may add sliced mushrooms next time to make the dish a bit "meatier" but overall it was really good.

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27th February 2018

Five-spice noodles

Another good, quick week-night dinner using the Chinese brown sauce from page 35. As long as all of your veggies are prepped before you start, this is a very quick dish to make.

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21st March 2018

mayonnaise

I was amazed by how well this worked. Quick and easy and can be used in place of real mayonnaise for so many things. I used this to mix into chickpea tuna, but would work very well as a sandwich spread as well or anything else you might need or want mayonnaise for.

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Good Mood Food: Simple Healthy Homecooking

By Donal Skehan
Mercier Press - 2010

8th August 2011

Cajun salmon

This was a quick and tasty way to grill salmon for a weeknight dinner. I thought the blend of spices such as cayenne pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper and black pepper that I dredged the fish in might be too spicy for my tastes but it was fine and went well with rice and a salad. A good quick dinner to have up my sleeve.

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14th August 2011

Herby roast chicken

I just made this for Sunday lunch and it was a very tasty way to serve chicken. You simply make a paste of garlic, thyme, basil, parsley and olive oil and spread it all over the bird (and under the skin of the breast), while also stuffing the cavity with lemon, thyme and rosemary. I served this with boiled new potatoes and a side of Italian broad beans (separate review forthcoming) and it all went very well together.

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This was surprisingly good and used only a few ingredients, making this a good midweek fairly heathy meal. I used asparagus instead of broccoli, as suggested, and boiled it in the same pan as the pasta (for the last five minutes) instead of steaming it to save some washing up. Very quick to pull together and the goat's cheese melts quickly and easily, so you don't need a lot of it for quite a bit of flavour.

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The Hairy Dieters Eat for Life: How to Love Food, Lose Weight and Keep it Off for Good! (Hairy Bikers)

By Hairy Bikers, Si King, Dave Myers
W&N - 2013

Very pleasantly surprised by how well this turned out. The gravy had good flavour (though I may use slightly less ketchup next time for less of a tang) and the cornflour helped it to thicken perfectly. Will definitely make this again.

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25th January 2014

Creamy mash

Not so much a recipe, but a method of just combining mashed potatoes with crème fraîche for a creamy, fairly light mash. Worked well with the Sausages and rich onion gravy recipe on p. 43.

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20th August 2014

Chicken Provençal

This dish was simple and flavourful and went well with rice as suggested. I felt that the sauce was still slightly too thin even after adding cornflour, but perhaps I didn't stir it for long enough. The leftovers re-heated well for lunch the next couple of days.

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4th January 2015

Beef goulash

I made this last night in an attempt to get back on track with eating healthily after the indulgences of the holidays. The beef was not as tender as I was hoping for it to be, but the sauce had a lovely flavour. It was a bit on the spicy side, but a dollop of sour cream (as suggested by the authors) helped cooled things down a bit and it all went very well with rice.

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The Hairy Dieters: Good Eating (Hairy Bikers)

By Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers, Si King
W&N - 2014

12th January 2015 (edited: 13th January 2015)

Transylvanian meatballs with garlic sauce

Although this made a substantial lunch, along with a salad and some rice, I was a bit disappointed and surprised that these meatballs did not have as much flavour as I was expecting, especially given I've had very good results with other Hairy Dieters recipes in the past. The meatballs were slightly dry and a bit too crunchy with the use of panko crumbs. The garlic sauce definitely saved this dish for me as it gave a contrast of flavour and texture to what was otherwise a fairly lacklustre dish.

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