Ciderrrr Hotpot

The best thing about Hotpots is you can really experiment and mix things up! Pretty much anything can go in a hotpot. I made one last night, based on this recipe below. However I chucked in some courgettes and peppers as well, and the boyfriend and his brother added some chorizo to their portions. We had it with ciabatta, and they had garlic butter on theirs. A lovely, wholesome meal and VERY easy to make!



Ingredients:

- 1oz dried shitake mushrooms
- 1 small head of fennel or 4 celery sticks
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 12 shallots, peeled and whole
- 2 cups button mushrooms, trimmed and halved
- half pint of dry cider
- half cup of sundried tomato paste
- 1oz sundried tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- chopped fresh parsley to garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl, pour over boiling water and leave to soak for 10 mins.

2. Roughly chop the fennel or celery, heat the oil in a large casserole pot and sauté the fennel and the shallots for 10 mins over a moderate heat until lightly browned. Add the button mushrooms and fry for 2-3 minutes.

3. Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Add the dried mushrooms to the pan.

4. Pour in the cider and stir in the sundried tomato paste and the sundried tomatoes. Add the bay leaf. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 30 mins. If it seems a little dry add either a little more cider or the water from the mushrooms until happy with the consistency.

- Beautiful!!!

And here is a photo of the Bai-Toey (Pandan) glutenous rice & soya cake that I bought in the Asian Market and ate before I could get home to take a proper picture for the review... It's usually a brighter green than this, they were quite dull for some reason today: