Eats from the Street Pop-up Foodie Festival Nottingham plus Easy Chicken & Chorizo Paella Recipe

We love finding new foods and flavours in The Mummy Diary household, in fact we can often be found celebrating different traditional holidays from around the world, with local delicacies, tastes and flavours.

One of our favourite, super quick dinners is my easy-to-make Chicken and Chorizo Paella. Straight up, this recipe started as just a bit of this and that cobbled together, but for you guys and to celebrate the arrival of Eats from the Street in Nottingham this weekend I have written it down for my readers.

What I love about cooking and finding recipes to suit your family is that they become your own and something you can be proud of, so don’t be afraid to stray and add something else if you like that flavour.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

1 x Medium White Onion

2 x Garlic Cloves 

70g Chorizo

500g Chicken Breast 

1 x Cup of Basmati Rice

2 x Teaspoons Smoked Paprika

Few Stands of Saffron (optional)

2 x Tablespoons Tomato Puree

750ml Hot Chicken Stock

Salt & Pepper

1 x  Cup of Frozen Peas

1 x Lemon (optional)

Method:

1. Dice the onion, finely slice the garlic and roughly chop the chorizo and chicken into small cubes. 

2. Heat the oil in a deep sided frying pan and add the onion, fry on a low heat until see though, add the garlic and chorizo and cook until the chorizo has started to release its oils; add in the paprika and saffron (if using) and stir.

3. Add in the chicken and fry until golden and evenly cooked on all sides; once cooked add in the rice and stir for a few minutes until the rice is coated in the oils and spices 

4. Add in the chicken stock and give it a good stir, then add in the tomato puree and a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir again. Leave to simmer on low for about 15 minutes, keeping an eye on it and adding a bit more water if required.

5. After 15 minutes add the peas and leave to simmer for another 5 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the chicken is tender.

6. Best served with a wedge of lemon to squeeze all over the top however, I have two young children and they think this is disgusting so feel free not to ;)

This dish is an straightforward one pot recipe that can easily be whipped up with a few store cupboard ingredients; I know not everybody has saffron but it does add a bit of special flavour to the dish and you only use a few strands each time so a little goes a long way.

So what is your favourite dish from around the world?

On the 22nd to 23rd July 2017, Eats from the Street is coming to Giltbrook Retail Park with a variety of street food flavours from across the globe. A fab pop-up foodie festival with artisan vendors serving up a whole host of cuisines from around the world. Including loaded American hot dogs and burgers, traditional Vietnamese dishes and Wilma’s Cupcakery selling their signature cupcakes and cake-topped milkshakes.

The street food stalls will be serving between 11am and 6pm and unlike other food festivals, visitors will be able to sit and eat their food on a converted double-decker Routemaster bus, which has been transformed into a dining area.

We'll be popping along to this fab event as we not only love to try new foods but with so many shops to choose from it'll be the perfect opportunity to do a spot of shopping too.

This is a collaborative post, all words are my own.

A Family Lunch at Ego Mediterranean Restaurant

Last weekend we were invited to Ego in West Bridgford, a new mediterranean restaurant offering great food in a light and airy environment, but most excitingly on a Sunday they offer children's entertainment, to make dining with your little ones that little bit easier.

Both of my children are pretty good when we are dining out, I take books or felt tips to keep them occupied and they usually sit still. However, like most children they do get a bit bored after a while and this is where in addition to a colouring pack on arrival, the children's entertainment comes into its own.

With colouring in, balloon animals and some fabulous scratch art bookmarks the team from Party Crew keep the children entertained whilst you get some time to yourself, whether for a chat or to mull over the menu in peace. It is a great idea and one that I think makes the dining experience for everyone that little bit more relaxed.

On to the food itself, we ordered the Greek Meze to start, a mixture of hummus, chicken, stuffed vine leaves, pittas, cous cous and halloumi. A tasty starter with something on it that both the adults and children could enjoy.

Being a Sunday it meant that they had a Sunday roast on offer, or you could choose from the A La Carte menu, I love a roast but equally the food on the menu really caught my eye. I chose the Andalucian Pork Fillet, tender pork wrapped in prosciutto, pan roasted & served with apricot & sherry cream sauce served with dauphinoise potatoes, it was really tasty and the portion size was generous.

My partner chose Lemon Chicken Milanese, flattened breaded lemon chicken, rocket, sun blush tomato & Grana Padano with lemon caper dressing & skin-on fries, I am told this was rather delicious and the plate was empty so I am guessing so.

For the children they have the standard range of children's option, chicken goujons, pizza, pasta, roast chicken, however since a smaller roast was on offer the children chose to have this instead. And I am glad they did, as what came out was amazing and I was kind of jealous.

The Elfe potatoes, giant Yorkshire pudding and beautifully tender vegetables made for a fabulous Sunday lunch and I think i'll chose this next time we go, because there will be a next time.

Puddings were equally as tasty, with a large range of sweet treats we were spoilt for choice, I chose my one of my all time favourites, Tiramisu, the children both had brownie and my partner had Sicilian Lemon Tart, all very tasty and all eaten rather quickly.

Just outside of Nottingham it is easy to get to and for us is on the way back from Rushcliffe Country Park, one of our favourite places to go for a walk. I think it is safe to say this is one place I will find myself visiting regularly for a Sunday lunch, I have already recommended it to many people.

The staff were all super friendly and attentive, the service was quick and we felt un-rushed, it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon following a walk.

With the giant roast dinner costing just £10.95 I think this is a great option to get out of doing the dishes on a Sunday. The mains are a little more expensive but the portion sizes are plentiful and the food really tasty as well as being something a bit different. The children's menu is very reasonable costing just £4.95 for two courses.

We all left full and very happy after a wonderful few hours at Ego, the children had a wonderful time and for me if all four of us are happy then that is always a bonus.

We were invited to try lunch for free, however all words, opinions and pictures are my own.

A Great Sprout Alternative

I love sprouts, they are a wonderful source of vitamins and minerals and I could eat them with every roast. But my family are not so keen, my son will eat brussels but only one or two, so when I was asked to tryFlower Sprouts I was intrigued to see whether I could get the whole family to give them a go, by incorporating them into every day meals.

First of all what is a Flower Sprout? 

"The inspiration behind the idea for flower sprouts came from a desire to create a Brussels sprout with a more subtle flavourwhich was versatile and looked great. The result - a brand new vegetable which looks a little like a tiny cabbage with green frilly leaves and streaks of purple. Just 100g of Flower Sprouts® contain double the amount of vitamin B6 the vitamin that helps us use and store energy from the food we eat and twice the amount of vitamin C than standard Brussels sprouts."

Well we've tried them in many variations, steamed with a roast dinner, with meatballs and pasta which was one of the recipes from Flower Sprouts.

And probably one of my favourites was as a smoothie, this is a super way to get all the vitamins in one go, whizzed up with some coconut water, banana, a handful of spinach, some cacao, almond butter and a squeeze of agave syrup it is a suitably yummy way to enjoy flower sprouts.

For me, I really enjoyed eating the Flower Sprouts in every form, when cooked they have a wonderfully soft texture, a mix between kale and a sprout, they have a subtle taste and are easy to eat.

My son tried one and said it was excellent, my husband, the veggie hater, tried one raw and said he thought they were better that way than cooked and my daughter tried a bit of one and didn't want anymore. But she is four and still at a slightly fussy stage in her diet, she tried it though and we will persevere to get her to eat them.

There are some wonderful recipes on the Flower Sprouts website and I will be buying more to try with them, I buy normal sprouts even though the rest of the family aren't too keen. Usually if I have them on my plate they will give them another try.

Certainly with the festivities of Christmas these wonderful little veggies make the perfect and pretty alternative to Brussels sprouts. With them looking like flowers they are sure to be a hit with children who don't like the look of normal sprouts. There is certainly place for all types of sprouts on my dinner table though.

NB: This is a collaborative review post, all words and opinions are my own.