Apology post

So here it goes; I'm sorry for the lack of recipe post last week. To make up for that take a look at this gorgeous one pot dish (to make sure you can even cram in blog updates alongside work). 

One pot chicken with vegetables

Ingredients;

• 1 whole Medium chicken(1.5kg approx)
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 400g carrots, peeled and diced
• 600g potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 800ml chicken stock (made from cube)
• Pack Golden Vegetable Summer Soupmix

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/ Gas 4.
2. Heat a large flameproof casserole and add the chicken. Cook over a high heat for 5 minutes, turning frequently, so you can seal as much as you can of the bird. Remove from the heat then add the onion, carrots and potatoes to the pan.
3. Sprinkle over the dried herbs and Worcestershire sauce then pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour then remove the lid, raise the oven temperature to 400F/200C/ Gas 6 and cook for a further 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (the juices should run clear when the thickest part of the chicken is pierced using a knife) and the vegetables are tender.
4. Remove from the oven then lift out the chicken onto a large serving plate, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest. Return the pan with the vegetables to the hob, place on a medium heat then sprinkle the soup mix over and whisk well. Reduce the heat and allow to bubble gently for 5 minutes.
5. Serve slices of cooked chicken with generous spoonfuls of the cooked vegetables and sauce.

recipe and image from; http://your.morrisons.com/Recipes-and-Ranges/Recipes/Index/O/One-pot-chicken-with-vegetables/

This simple one pot dish would be fantastic in so many of or products, here are a few suggestions;

Castey Vulcano Deep Casserole - http://www.perfectpans.com/castey-vulcano-deep-casserole-792-p.asp

Castey Vulcano Stock Pot - http://www.perfectpans.com/castey-vulcano-stock-pot-791-p.asp

Crafond Cocotte - http://www.perfectpans.com/crafond-induction-non-stick-cocotte-base-and-top-1016-p.asp

Crafond Saute/Elite Casserole - http://www.perfectpans.com/crafond-saute-elite-casserole-218-p.asp

Autumn Lasagne with Creamy, Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Sauce

Our family LOVES pasta, but having the usual spaghetti bolognese can be boring. Don't get me wrong the smell of a traditional Spag Bol is a beautiful thing, but sometimes having something new and exciting is needed. It's officially autumn today and this gorgeous lasagne just makes the tummy rumble. It's an excellent alternative to a traditional lasagne and super tasty!  Make this in a Crafond Roasting Pan and there is no sticky cheese mess when it's all gone. Perfect.

Ingredients:

500g mince turkey
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons chopped, fresh sage leaves
12 lasagne noodles, cooked
Creamy Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Sauce (recipe below)
200 g fresh, baby spinach leaves
200 g shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

-Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

-Place a large, Crafond sauté pan over medium heat. Once the pan gets hot (2-3 minutes,) add the ground turkey into the pan, and break up the meat with a spatula or spoon; next, add in the Italian seasoning, the salt, pepper and the garlic, and stir to incorporate; cook the turkey for a few minutes until cooked through and no longer pink; remove from heat and stir in the fresh sage; set aside to slightly cool.

-To assemble the lasagne, season a roasting pan with sunflower or rapeseed oil, this will aid in clean-up later. Begin by adding about 1 cup of the Butternut Squash Sauce to the bottom of the roasting dish; next, add 4 of the cooked lasagne noodles over the sauce, and then add another 2 cups of the sauce over top of the noodles; next, add about half of the cooked, ground turkey, followed by 2 cups of the baby spinach leaves. Next, sprinkle over about 1 cup worth of the mozzarella cheese; repeat the layering process by once again adding 4 lasagne noodles, 2 cups of sauce, the remainder of the ground turkey and the remaining 2 cups of baby spinach leaves, along with another sprinkle of about 1 cup worth of the cheese; finish the lasagne by adding the remaining 4 lasagne noodles, and the remaining sauce over top; smooth out the sauce over the noodles, and finish the by sprinkling the remaining 2 cups of mozzarella cheese over the top; add the remaining ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning over the cheese, and place the Lasagne into the 220 degree oven to bake for roughly 30-35 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly golden; serve while hot.

Creamy, Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Sauce ingredients:

3 heads garlic, tops cut off
3 teaspoons salt, plus a pinch, divided use
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed 
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon black pepper
230ml cup chicken stock, warm
500ml half and half, warm
150g mascarpone cheese
30g grated Parmesan cheese

(*This sauce can be made ahead if desired, and kept refrigerated.)

Preparation:

-Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Take 3 heads of garlic, and sprinkle a couple of pinches of salt over top, wrap each head of garlic tightly in foil, and place the heads directly onto the rack of the oven (on the side) to roast; once the garlic heads have roasted for about 10 minutes, toss together the cubed butternut squash, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper; turn the squash out onto Plancha Plate and place it into the oven next to the garlic heads, to roast along side for about 30-35 minutes, or until the squash is very tender (the total roasting time for the garlic will end up being about 40-45 minutes); once the squash is tender, remove from the oven, along with the heads of garlic, and allow the squash and garlic heads to cool slightly, so they can be handled; once slightly cooled, squeeze the cloves of garlic from the whole heads, and mash lightly with a fork (they should be very tender and sweet), and set aside; next, add about 1/3 of the roasted squash into the bowl of a food processor (you will work in about 3 batches), and process with about 1/3 of the roasted garlic, until smooth and puréed; turn the processed squash/garlic into a Large Crafond Pot, and repeat the puréeing process with the remaining squash/garlic and turn that out into the pot once puréed, as well.

-Place the pot with the puréed squash/garlic onto low heat, and add in the warm chicken stock and the warm half and half, and carefully whisk or stir to completely incorporate; next, add in the mascarpone cheese, the Parmesan and the remaining 3 teaspoons of salt, and once again stir/whisk to combine, until the mascarpone and Parmesan are blended in completely; remove the sauce from the heat and set aside until ready to use for the lasagne. (If making ahead, cool the sauce completely, and refrigerate until ready to assemble the lasagne, at which time you can gently re-heat it stove-top.)

Bacon and Egg Puff Pastry Breakfast Tart

This next Recipe we have been making every weekend with a Castey Flat tray as the family LOVES it so much! It really is a major favourite. 

Bacon and Egg Puff Pastry Breakfast Tart

Ingredients

1 sheet of puff pastry {thawed} or pre-rolled. You can make your own too. 
150 g grated cheddar cheese or an kind that you'd like
6 strips of bacon {cooked}
6 eggs
salt and pepper

*Caramelised onion, or peppers if you'd like to add extra flavour. 

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180
Roll the puff pasty into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. 
with a sharp knife cut a "border" of about 1/2 inch around the entire rectangle.

Put on the Flat Tray and put in the over for about 10 minutes. This will cook the base. Don't worry if the centre puffs out a bit. When partially cooked, if it has puffed up in the centre, gently use a spatula to let the air out and push down.


Lay the bacon slices down flat across the pre-cooked base. 

Then liberally spread the grated cheese and if using onions and peppers those as well. 

Make sure to leave a few little nests in the cheese so that the egg will rest in them. 

Place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. This should melt the cheese and cook the sides of the pastry. 

Crack eggs and place in the little pre-defined nests. Put tray back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until your eggs are done to your preference. 

Add salt and pepper to taste and Voilà! The perfect weekend breakfast. 

BALSAMIC GLAZED MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN BAKE

Balsamic Glazed Mediterranean Chicken Bake is an easy, delicious, and healthy meal!


INGREDIENTS
700g chicken breast or thighs (boneless & skinless) (we used 4 chicken breasts)
300 ml can or jar of marinated artichoke hearts
4 sprigs of fresh oregano, chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, left whole
300 ml can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 medium ball of fresh mozzarella 
300ml chicken broth
60g whole cashews
Balsamic Vinegar
salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Marinate the chicken breast in balsamic vinegar for at least 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 200 degrees
add beans, cashews, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and onion.
In a Castey Roasting or Casserole Pan brown the chicken on both sides for about 2 minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper. The chicken will be browned, but not cooked through. it will finish cooking in the oven.
In the same pan, add beans, cashews, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and onions. Brush with another generous layer of balsamic vinegar. 
Add the chicken broth to the pan and sprinkle with the chopped oregano.
Roast in the oven for 10-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through
Remove from the oven and add the mozzarella.

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!

Bacon Asparagus Pasta

     This amazingly colourful dish would be a GREAT dinner idea and we are thinking maybe something we should be making for our families tonight. What better way to fool the kids into eating vegetables than with something so pretty when on a plate combined with pasta and BACON! Who could resist a little bacon... I know we at Perfect Pans couldn't. If you want to bring this dish to the next level you could always swap out bacon for pancetta. We found this dish on our Twitter  feed from Gimmesomeoven and thought our fans would love it! Enjoy this dish and share it on our new recipe app.

     

Bacon Asparagus Pasta

Ready in 20 minutes
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

250g uncooked pasta (I used linguine)
8 strips uncooked bacon or pancetta, diced
250g fresh asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
120ml cup dry white wine
32g grated or flaked Parmesan cheese

Method

Cook the pasta in a Large Crafond or Castey Vulcano Stock Pot of salted water al dente according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, add bacon to a Crafond Sauté pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add asparagus to the pan and sauté in the bacon grease for about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked. Remove asparagus with a slotted spoon, and set aside with the bacon. Slowly add the white wine to the pan, and gently scrape the bottom of the pan with a spoon to de-glaze the pan and pick up all of those yummy brown bits. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, or until the wine has reduced by about half.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it. Then add the pasta, asparagus, bacon and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese to the sauté pan, and toss until combined. Sprinkle pasta with the remaining Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Pork and Black Pudding Wellington

Hi Chefs! Just got an excellent recipe from one of our customers on Facebook. It would make a hearty dinner, lunch or Christmas evening treat and is made on a Castey Flat tray!

Pork and Black Pudding Wellington
Ingredients

500 g pork sausage meat
200 g black pudding
Chopped parsley
Half tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp. English mustard
500 g puff pastry (I buy mine pre-made at the supermarket because if you have time to make it you have to much time on your hands)

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together, roll out pastry, (40cmx30cm) place all the mixture in the centre of pastry and fold over sides, turn over and place on 35cm Castey PlanchaBrush with beaten egg and bake at 190C for about 30 minutes or until golden brown

Remember if you have any recipes that that you’d like to share post on face book or send us an E-mail with photos and how you did it and we will include it in our next posting. 
This will probably be our last post of the year, so from our kitchen and family to yours, Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 
From all of us at Perfect Pans.

*Recipe Submitted via Facebook.com/perfectpans from Alastair.

Chicken Casserole on a Plancha Plate

John’s  Chicken Plancha Casserole

You asked for it and we have it! We have had an overwhelming number of requests to put the recipe that one of our Castey Demonstrators use on our blog.  This is our very own Demonstrator John’s recipe for Chicken Casserole on the Castey Plancha Plate.

Ingredients:

5 chicken thighs

Half chorizo ring sausage cut into half-inch pieces

250g New Potatoes

250g Sweet Potatoes

1 Medium Onion

1x tin of broad beans drain

Salt & Pepper to taste

Chop potatoes into pieces leaving the sweet potatoes slightly larger than the new potatoes. Dice onions and combine with the broad beans with a few drops of sunflower oil or spritz with some 1cal

Put all ingredients on Castey Flat tray, tucking chorizo under chicken for flavour. Sprinkle paprika and salt and pepper or other herbs you'd like over chicken.

Cook in oven for 35 minutes on Gas mark 8 or 200 degrees on Electric. Bone-in chicken thighs take about 15 minutes longer.

For a low-fat option skin the chicken thighs.

In the last 10 minutes sprinkle a bit more Paprika over the top of the potatoes and chicken and cook for remaining 10-15 minutes.


When we made it, we left out the beans as we have some picky eaters in our home, but I am sure they would have been lovely. This dish was not only very flavourful ,but also nice and hearty without being too filling. Great dinner for a chilly evening.

 

Goats Cheese Skillet Gnocchi and Spicy Three-Cheese Cauliflower

Tea Time with Perfect Pans!
After a long day we wanted something quick that the whole family would love. Feel Free to let us know what you'd like us to cook for you next!

 

Goats Cheese Skillet Gnocchi and Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients

1.      1 package pre-made gnocchi

2.      1 can tomato (peeled)

3.      2 teaspoons oregano

4.      3 tablespoons olive oil

5.      1 tablespoon parmesan

6.      3 tablespoon goat cheese

8.      1/2 cup fresh cherry tomatoes

Instructions

1.      Chop the cherry tomatoes. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a Non-stick Crafond frying pan, add the garlic thinly cut. After a couple of minutes add the fresh tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes.

2.      Add one can of tomatoes, stir and season with salt. Cook for 5 minutes more.

3.      Put the gnocchi in the pan. Drizzle over the goat cheese and stir until the cheese is melted.

4.      Gnocchi must be completely covered in sauce. Let them cook for 6-8 minutes. Finish with oregano and a sprinkling of finely grated parmesan.

 

Three Cheese Spicy Cauliflower Cheese

 

 

•     1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• Sea Salt/Pepper
• 3 tbl butter
• 2 tbl flour
• 1 cup heavy cream at room temperature
• 1 cup milk at room temperature
• 1/2 pound Pepper jack cheese cut in small cubes
• 1 1/2 cup (divided) grated asiago (or parmesan)
• 6 ounces goat cheese, cut into small pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup sliced green onions and tops (reserve ¼ cup for garnish)

 

1. Place cauliflower on a parchment lined baking sheet. Coat with salt and pepper and toss and cover well on all pieces. 
2. Place in pre-heated 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Turn to grill for the last 5 minutes to get the pieces golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.  Over medium heat in a Crafond Elite Sauté pan, melt the butter.  Blend in the flour making a paste and cook, stirring so as not to burn, for about 5 minutes. Slowly add in heavy cream stirring and blending.  Do the same with the milk.  Reduce heat to low and add the cheeses (1 cup of the asiago) stirring and allowing it all to melt. 
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add the roasted cauliflower and green onions to the creamy cheese mixture and blend well.
6. Place Crafond Sauté in oven to bake making sure to remove the detachable handle for 20 minutes in a preheated 180 degree oven or until the top is golden brown. 
7. Allow to rest about 10 minutes before serving.  (Now the longer you let it sit, the thicker the sauce becomes!)  Garnish with grated cheese and fresh green onions.

 

 

Garden Vegetable Pasta Bake

Yield: serves 4-6
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes


Perfect meal with our 2-Piece Set currently on sale for £125.00 click here!

 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pasta, like rigatoni
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion, chopped
2 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese
4 ounces freshly grated provolone cheese
fresh parsley for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare water for pasta and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta to cook. Drain when finished.
While pasta is cooking, heat a Crafond or Diamond Line Saute' Pan Add in olive oil, then add in onions, zucchini, corn and tomatoes with salt and pepper, stirring to coat. Cook for 10-15 minutes, tossing occasionally, while softened.
While pasta and vegetables are cooking, heat a small saucepan oven medium heat. Add in butter and whisk constantly, stirring until bubbly and brown bits appear on the bottom, about 5-6 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Turn off heat under vegetables and add in pasta. Drizzle in brown butter and add in parmesan, stirring well to coat. Top with provolone, the place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, just until cheese is melted. Remove and serve immediately, garnishing with parsley and extra cheese if desired.

 

 

 

Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips

Ingredients:

1 large Granny Smith Apple
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions:

 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.  Make sure your Castey Flat Tray has been recently seasoned with Sunflower oil.

Using a Mandoline or a very sharp knfe, slice the apples as thinly as you can. Mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a shallow bowl and dip the apple slices lightly in the mixture, just lightly coating them. Lay the slices on the Castey Tray about 15 slices will fit. Bake for 30 Minutes. Remove one pan at a time and flip the apple slices over with tongs. Bake for 30 more minutes. Remove Tray from oven. Apple slices will start to harden up pretty quickly. Remove with tongs.

 

Our First Post! Welcome!

Welcome to our first ever blog posting! 

If you found us, most likely it's because you have either purchased one of our pans or you are thinking about purchasing one. We are the retailer and sole British and Irish importer of high-quality, hand-cast, non-stick aluminium cookware from Crafond, Castey, as well as our new Perfect Pans range, featuring a line of superb induction cookware. We also sell SKK and Emile Henry cookware as well as many different types of cooking utensils.

Our intention whilst creating this  blog, is to create a way for our  customers to interact with us and to view what’s going on with Perfect Pans or provide updated recipes cooked by us. Whether it's in the office, or at home for our families, we want to share ideas on how and what to cook with our cookware. We welcome anyone who has a recipe that they use with one of our Perfect Pans, to email us and provide us with a recipe to be featured on the blog. If you would like to submit a recipe to be featured on our page, you can either provide photos of your dish, or we can cook it up for you here and take the photos.  Currently, we are trying to collect fat-free or low fat, low calorie recipes to coincide with one of our marketing campaigns. We will try to update our blog every Friday, so you can have something yummy to look forward to during the weekend! We cannot wait to get started cooking and looking forward to comments and suggestions.

As always we look forward to hearing from you and would enjoy your feedback!

 From all of us at Perfect Pans, have a lovely day and we will update with our first recipe this Friday!