9 foods for you to try and make while on lockdown
Coronavirus is well and truly here. With the lockdown being extended this means that we have plenty of time on our hands.
Not being one to give up I saw this as a golden opportunity to indulge in one of my favourite hobbies; cooking! I whipped out the old chef’s apron and headed for the kitchen armed with my knife and tongs. Here’s 9 recipes for things you may have thought as daunting but are actually surprisingly easy!
1. Pizza
Pizza is loved by everyone, delivered, at a restaurant or frozen, its great and everyone loves to grab a hot cheesy slice. But have you ever tried making it yourself from absolutely nothing? Well I hope you’ve getting your arm workouts in because kneading the dough is going to take some elbow grease. But thats the only hard part and the end result will well be worth the labour.
Here’s a tried and tested recipe that I can guarantee will go down well with either just yourself, your friends or family.
2. Pasta
Carrying on with our Italian theme, a more of a staple food that we all eat usually once or twice (or three or four in my case) pasta! Everyone always buys their pasta but when was the last time you heard someone say they made it? And contrary to popular belief you do not need a pasta maker to cut some of the more basic shapes like ravioli or tagliatelle.
Again, like the pizza dough you’re going to need to roll up your sleeves, flour your hands and knead it to death. The thing that surprised me about pasta is how simple it was to make, its only three ingredients. Check out the recipe below on how you can make your very own staple food.
3. Pies
Who doesn’t like a good pie? They’re like a warm hug on a plate. And they’re always great wether they’re hot, cold, sweet or savoury.
Pie crust isn’t difficult to make and unlike the other two before they don’t require as much physical labour. And the filling? Well thats entirely up to you! Check out the two recipes I’ve attached below.
Apple pie: click here
Chicken pie: click here
4. Curry sauce
We Brits love a curry, its warming, spicy (if you want it that way), creamy and delicious. And paired with a good naan bread? What’s not to like! No wonder its the nations favourite food.
But making a curry is a serious task, you have to watch it so it doesn’t burn, constantly stirring it while on a low heat and letting all those flavours mould together. Not to mention you do need to get a lot of speciality herbs and spices in order to pull one off. So if you’re feeling adventurous and looking to impress someone (even if its just yourself) give this recipe for butter chicken a go.
5. Yoghurt
Store bought yoghurt is convenient and tastes great, but nothing can beat the mellow creaminess of home made yoghurt, that personal touch really adds to the quality, believe me.
And despite what you might think its actually one of the easier things to make. Below I’ve attached a fantastic recipe for you to try at home.
6. Butter
Another food that we all buy and eat pretty much daily. But again, when was the last time you heard someone talk about making their own butter? Its actually really easy and no you don’t need one of those old fashioned butter churns you’ve probably seen at a museum or on TV or something. It doesn’t have many ingredients and by making it it puts you in the driving seat and you can do whatever you want with it.
Herbs? Spices? Extra salt? its all up to you. Check out the recipe I used below
7. Bread
I grew up in a house where my mum always made her own bread because the store bought bread was filled with ‘salt and other gunk you don’t want inside you’. Despite this being raised this way it took a worldwide deadly pandemic, a national lockdown and crushing boredom in order for me attempt my hand at making a loaf.
And guess what? It was really easy and the smell of warm bread fresh out of the oven is just heavenly, and it tasted absolutely great. The recipe I used is below.
8. Lasagne
Next on our list we have lasagne. This Italian classic is another household favourite and popular dish. Now figuratively speaking, a lot of you have probably made one in the past, but did you do it from absolute scratch? White sauce and everything no jars involved here.
Its a long process and can be fairly expensive to make ingredients-wise but if you pull it off its well worth it any any family or friends who try it will walk away satisfied and probably really impressed. Check out the recipe below.
9. Ramen
Last but definitely not least we have ramen. This popular Japanese street food has swept Britain from ever since it first made its way to this country. Since all the restaurants are shut I’m sure some of you are dying for that hot, delicious noodle soup. Well look no further because I have a recipe to fulfill your cravings.
Ramen is both delicious and visually impressive and can be a real show stopper when presented nicely. It is however a real project and there are many ways to get your broth how you like it but it usually does invilve boiling the hell out of something for a long time. As for noodles? Well the ones from the cheap instant ramen packs work perfectly fine. Check the link below for a great ramen recipe, itadakimasu.
Well that pretty much wraps up this list for the time being. I hope that I have inspired your inner chef to come out and take a stab at some of these recipes. A lot of them are hard work but I can assure you that they are all worth it in the end.
Happy eating and stay safe.