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nduja meatballs

Nduja Meatballs

Hi there! & Happy Wednesday…

Nduja is a salami like paste from Calabria in the south of Italy. Made from
the same cuts as slicing salami pork belly and shoulder. It contains local
chillies and lots of spices making it very hot. The type I get comes in a
sausage like log that you can squeeze out into a pan or spread on grilled bread
for an almost instant crostini. When you cook with Nduja it’s a bit like
anchovies in that it starts off in quite a solid form but as heat is applied it
softens into more of a paste.

At Christmas this year I made Nduja sausage rolls and lots of them as I
discovered that although delicious hot, they were even more delicious cold. It
was a bit like a hot salami sausage roll. I haven’t stopped cooking with it
since I made those sausage rolls at Christmas. I’ve been making pasta sauces,
pizza toppings and even baking it into bread. One of my favourite uses for it
though at the moment is in meatballs it gives them near instant fiery flavour
and the sauce there cooked in to. Below is a recipe for Nduja meatballs and
they are great for feeding a crowd as this particular recipe yields 40
meatballs.

Winter Comfort Food

If like me at this time of year you are craving bolstering, comforting even soul soothing dishes then I’ve got you covered. I joke that you can tell the season by what is on my kitchen counter and the biggest give away is the slow cooker it never see the light of day in the summer but it makes up for it in the colder wintery months. It gets so much use, I use it for casserole and stews all the time like my oxtail stew and my Irish stew but also for puddings like my slow cooker sticky toffee pudding and jam pudding. Although, like with any dish that is cooked in the slow cooker there is a lot of waiting about but it can be extremely useful on days when the oven is in use like Sunday lunch time.

As always Happy Cooking!!

Below is a video of my favourite winter foods and below that even more of my go to winter comforts.

Daniel Diver Recipes

Happy New Year 2022

Firstly, Happy New Year! I wish you good health and happiness in 2022. It has been another tough year lockdowns and restrictions and just when you think that it’s over the news breaks that comedy legend Betty White passed away on New Year’s Eve. Rest in Peace Betty.

New Year at least for me always feels like a time of change. I don’t really make resolutions or plans of diets. This year, however, I am going to or at least do my best to approach life more positively. The past couple of years have been trying for lots but as we move into a new year let’s do so with optimism and love.

Here are some recipes I am looking forward to in the coming days and weeks.

Turmeric, Ginger & Butternut Squash Soup

Turmeric, Ginger & Butternut Squash Soup

Harissa Prawns, Spinach & Spaghetti

Harissa prawns spaghetti

Tandoori Chicken

 Take care, stay safe & Happy eating in 2022.

Daniel Diver Christmas

Merry Christmas I Festive Recipes

Hi there!

Christmas 2021 who could believe it? It has been another tough year of restrictions and lockdowns. I feel dread as I even type the word and want to move on as quickly as possible. As someone that is excited and can’t wait for Christmas from November 1st found myself this year as part of the boring cynical anti Christmas brigade. It wasn’t until a recent trip to London that I got into the festive spirit it really took full immersion in the sparkling lights and festive bustle that London has to offer to get me there. This also inspired my festive recipe video that can be viewed below.

Although parties are not entirely off the menu, they will not be the usual festive affair that doesn’t mean that we cant enjoy a small family gathering and I have many recipes for you. From spiced nuts for snacking on with drinks throughout Christmas as well as my chocolate dipped macaroons that look like snowballs dipped in chocolate, nduja sausage rolls that are fiery and delicious, popcorn chicken with duo of dips which everyone loves and to top it all off I have a couple of festive cocktails my gingerbread apple martini and my cranberry fizz.

All these recipes plus more can be found here: Recipes – Foodie Hub | Daniel Diver

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

barmbrack

Traditional Irish Barmbrack │ Happy Halloween

Barmbrack is a traditional Irish fruit cake that is eaten in the lead up to Halloween. It consists of dried fruits that are soaked in tea until plump and juicy. Barmbrack come in two varietys one is a yeasted bread the other a rich tea loaf. An item is traditionally baked into the Barmbrack. Traditionally this was a ring, a coin, and a piece of cloth. Whom ever got the ring was to be wed within the year, the coin would come into money and the cloth would have bad luck. These days it usually come with only one item the ring.

Check out my recipe below…

Happy Halloween

homemade waffles

Waffles

Hi Guys!!

I Hope everyone is as excited and glad as I am the weekend is almost upon us, its been a long long week. Sorry about the lack of updates and addition of new recipes but I have been extremely busy with some projects that for now must remain a secret even though I am bursting to tell you all. I just wanted to let you know that I have added a new recipe both to my site and YouTube channel for waffles. The recipe and video are both below I hope you enjoy and have a great weekend and I will catch up with you soon.

Stay safe and have a fab weekend.

daniel diver

Foyle Pride 2021

In celebration of Foyle Pride 2021. I am sharing one of my favourite breakfast recipes. My super easy & delicious fully loaded scrambled eggs. As the name suggests this is a scrambled egg dish loaded with lots of good thing and it even has its own toast element. I hope if you are celebrating #Pride this weekend that you have a blast. Although the celebrations may be a little different I thoroughly hope you have the most fantastic time.

For more on Foyle pride check it out here: Foyle Pride

Happy & safe pride everyone