Musing V – the “dive in” stir fry

I feel I should explain the “dive in” stir fry. This dish falls into two categories – crowd pleaser and lip smackingly good – it's perfect for a weekend supper.

The following might read more like a novel than a recipe … all I can say is it's worth the read. Generosity in every way is what we need – those of us who love to cook by definition love to feed our family and friends so I suppose generosity of portions and love are the key!

It's difficult in lockdown to keep everyone interested in food. I don't think we want fancy and complicated – the reverse in fact but that doesn't mean we don't care about what we cook and serve, it's sometimes easier said than done.

If anyone mentions a stir fry I immediately think of a base of either rice or noodles – not everyone's bag. Here's my version which doesn't use either.

When the day dawns you're able to entertain your family and friends again this dish is perfect – you want to spend time with them so a recipe that enables you to prep ahead and takes minutes to stir fry and serve, has to be the answer!

There are no given amounts here – you can expand it as you wish and I've given ideas for alternatives along the way. Scale up or down depending on how many servings you want and how big the appetites are.

The “dive in” Stir Fry

New Potatoes

Jersey Royals are now in season!

Cook until firm and then peel. When cooled cut into similar sized cubes. An ideal way of using up leftovers too especially since you've used them with the Maple

Glazed Chicken – think ahead!

Red Onion

One medium as a guide, chopped finely or a

bunch of spring onions if you prefer

Baby Sweet Peppers

De-seeded and finely diced – red, orange

and yellow – great colours!

Garlic

A clove, crushed or 1 tsp of garlic paste

Veggie options

Asparagus is in season too – snap to remove the “wooden” ends then trim so that they are all of a similar size. Blanch them in boiling water for a minute or two then plunge into a bowl of iced water. Drain the asparagus and wipe off any excess water with kitchen towel. Box and fridge until required.

You could use fresh peas or broad beans, podded and blanched as above. Don't forget to peel the outer skin from the broad beans.

Mange tout, sugar snap peas and baby corn will all work well – treat the same way as the asparagus – make sure they are of a similar size so they cook evenly.

Tail fillet of beef

The tail fillet is each end of the whole fillet – the

tapered ends

If you're fortunate enough to have a “real” butcher if you ask

nicely he'll sell you tail fillet which is a lot cheaper than the middle cut

slice the fillet thinly – leave in slices or cut into strips ready

to season and seal for the stir fry

Chorizo

One loop of chorizo sausage, peeled and then sliced at an angle. You can use

diced chorizo if you prefer – it's probably more convenient since all the

work is done for you which is what I used

At this point you are ready to rock and roll as soon as you like -

prep completed the whole dish takes about 10 minutes, max.

Seasoning and Dressing

You'll need celery salt and black pepper and home-made

mayo or, if you don't want to bother try Farrington's Mellow

Yellow Mayonnaise to complete the dish

I'm not finished … read on