The Wrong Olives
So for my birthday I went up to visit Edinburgh and Flora. Not necessarily in that order.
Within seconds of stepping foot in Flora's place we had snacks - because women must have snacks. Immediately.
And the olives were delicious. I mean superb. Now I'd never seen them before (the product, not the cultivar) - they came in quite a distinctive tin - so I fished the tin out of the bin and took a photo to remind me what they were in case I ever came across them again.
Which happened the very next day when we went to a café for decent coffee, which I only ever get on holiday. For some reason this coffee-and-sandwich shop was selling tins of these fabulous olives. So I bought some.
Only they were the wrong olives!
It turned out that Perelló, the company responsible for the delectable olives and importer of all things Spanish olive, cans several different varieties, all in subtly different shades of green, and I'd bought the wrong colour.
When I checked them against the originals, the olives I'd bought were Gordals (a new variety to me) but the delightful snack olives turned out to have been Manzanillas. So I made a note to myself to buy the correct ones, next time I saw them.
Which was almost immediately in Cockburn's of Leith on Frederick Street (which is, incidentally, nowhere near Leith) where I stopped in to buy some Amontillado sherry.
Which is also quite hard to find around these parts, but makes a terrific floater for quality Bloody Marys.
Anyhow, it turns out that these Perelló olives, which I'd never seen before, are bloody everywhere in Edinburgh. I wouldn't be surprised to find them in the public toilets.
I may have mentioned before, the tragedy of my local (your mileage may vary) Wine 'n' Cheese shop closing down, and turning in an evening-only tasting venue?
The tragic part being that it had become much of the focus of my weekly meat walk and the source of all my cheese 'n' wine. Not necessarily in that order.
Including an authentic brand of Amontillado sherry. You know, for the Bloody Marys.
(Most commercial Amontillados are not produced in the traditional method - they are often a blend of Oloroso sherry and lower-quality sweet sherry with added sweeteners.)
But where oh where will I drink wine and eat cheese on a Saturday afternoon now?
They really don't like it when I do it in Tesco 🙄.Well, I decided I should investigate these sampling sessions, having put so much effort into developing a taste for the stock, so had a word with the owner John about booking tickets.
Or at least a ticket. Since I'm sad and lonely. In the evenings.
During our conversation on all things wine and cheese he happened to mention trying the best olives of his life. His exact words, I swear. Except he didn't refer to himself in the third person - that would have been weird.
Of course he mentioned their name, but I forgot to pay attention and realised later that I'd completely blanked on what they were.
So when I attended the wine tasting I'd booked onto the other night I made sure to get him to write it down before I got too drunk to see. And now I've sobered up I read that the olives he had been raving about were Gordals.
Which I already have in the cupboard because I'd bought them by mistake!
Can't wait to try them out.
Caprese Salad with Burrata Brains
salad veg
Caprese salad, named after the sybarites of Capri island, is so very simple that it's really all about the quality of the ingredients.
It should be made with only the freshest of ripe tomatoes, new-picked sweet basil leaves, and freshly milked buffalo mozzarella.
However my Local Fucking Supermarket™ had bags of burratas, so I thought I'd use one those, and just warm it up a bit.
I like 'em warm.
I've done this before by popping the burrata in the oven for a few minutes, or by wrapping the burrata in cling film and dumping it into hot water, but I thought this time I'd just sit the whole bag in a saucepan of water on the hob for a few minutes.
That turns out to have been a big mistake. I don't know if it's because the burrata was cheap Fucking Supermarket™ garbage, or if the pot of water was too hot, but the cheese melted out into the liquid in the bag, and after straining to capture what cheese I could, ended up looking like a sack of brains or badly poached eggs.
So don't do that.
It should be made with only the freshest of ripe tomatoes, new-picked sweet basil leaves, and freshly milked buffalo mozzarella.
However my Local Fucking Supermarket™ had bags of burratas, so I thought I'd use one those, and just warm it up a bit.
I like 'em warm.
I've done this before by popping the burrata in the oven for a few minutes, or by wrapping the burrata in cling film and dumping it into hot water, but I thought this time I'd just sit the whole bag in a saucepan of water on the hob for a few minutes.
That turns out to have been a big mistake. I don't know if it's because the burrata was cheap Fucking Supermarket™ garbage, or if the pot of water was too hot, but the cheese melted out into the liquid in the bag, and after straining to capture what cheese I could, ended up looking like a sack of brains or badly poached eggs.
So don't do that.
Ingredients
- ripe tomatoes
- basil leaves
- burrata
Dressings:- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- balsamic vinegar
Strain the burrata from its travel water, wrap loosely in cling film, and drop into a bowl of warmed water for 10 minutes to heat to body temperature if you like that kind of thing.
Slice the tomatoes, arrange them interleaved with basil leaves on a plate. Season them with a little salt & pepper.
Unwrap the cheese and place it on top. Drizzle with olive oil, and a quality balsamic vinegar if you like.
Serve.
Slice the tomatoes, arrange them interleaved with basil leaves on a plate. Season them with a little salt & pepper.
Unwrap the cheese and place it on top. Drizzle with olive oil, and a quality balsamic vinegar if you like.
Serve.
It still tasted great, even if it did look a bit of a mess.
Roast Garlic
ingredient veg vegan
So I've been roasting heads of garlic whole for years. Decades. But they've always been fiddly to deal with and hard to squeeze out afterwards.
Turns out I've been doing it all wrong, as was explained to me by Manager Simon of my latest Street Food Cookery Class.
What I liked about Simon's roast garlic was how coherent the cloves were - sort of like jelly, and how easily they slide out of the skins.
It's just a matter of adding oil, I suppose. And perhaps the wrapping in foil, rather than roasting them naked.
Education never ends eh?
Turns out I've been doing it all wrong, as was explained to me by Manager Simon of my latest Street Food Cookery Class.
What I liked about Simon's roast garlic was how coherent the cloves were - sort of like jelly, and how easily they slide out of the skins.
It's just a matter of adding oil, I suppose. And perhaps the wrapping in foil, rather than roasting them naked.
Education never ends eh?
Ingredients
- a whole head of garlic
- about 1 tsp olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C-200°C/Gas Mark 4-6.
Take a whole head of garlic and remove loose outer skin.
Prise open the top of the head to reveal the individual cloves or alternatively slice off the top of the head and the tips of the cloves. Place the head on a square of tin foil, drizzle oil into the cloves, then wrap up in foil to seal.
Roast for about 30-40 minutes until the cloves are soft and squidgy.
Take a whole head of garlic and remove loose outer skin.
Prise open the top of the head to reveal the individual cloves or alternatively slice off the top of the head and the tips of the cloves. Place the head on a square of tin foil, drizzle oil into the cloves, then wrap up in foil to seal.
Roast for about 30-40 minutes until the cloves are soft and squidgy.
Delicious!
You can keep the cloves for months if you pop them out of their skins, layer them in a jar and cover them in oil.
I suppose you could get adventurous and add salt, pepper, herbs or spices to the head before you wrap it up. You could also try using other oils, or perhaps some butter instead?
You can keep the cloves for months if you pop them out of their skins, layer them in a jar and cover them in oil.
I suppose you could get adventurous and add salt, pepper, herbs or spices to the head before you wrap it up. You could also try using other oils, or perhaps some butter instead?
Death by Mushrooms
My mostly weekly MeatWalk into Brighouse comes in many guises - short/long, flat/hilly, footpaths/road, East/West.
(And even meatless, since recently it's become more of a VegWalk, though one that did produce some very fine San Marzano tomatoes.)
The longer, hillier, pathier, Western route brings me back into Brighouse along the Calder and Hebble canal, which is an indirect but pleasant hike.
It was along these paths that I came across just hoards of alluring mushrooms, which I gratefully collected up in my handy ECS Scotland canvas tote bag.
Who totally don't pay me to say that.
It was only later that I discovered many of them were poisonous.
Or might have been.
On further consideration, the Agarics which yellowed when cut didn't have that super bright chrome yellow that the poisonous kind are supposed to show, and smelled only of mushroom, and not poison.
Apparently some of the edible Agarics also yellow slightly when bruised.
But who really knows with poisonous mushrooms? Well, apart from Erin Patterson 😀
Best not to eat them though, just in case.
The Friends of Judy Woods near my house hold annual Fungi Walks, where eager patrons are instructed in the art of identifying mushrooms.
Can't say I've ever taken to it, but it's a fine Autumn afternoon out.
Unfortunately they are not particularly exercised about their fungal finds being edible.
And double unfortunately they've never led me to a find of chanterelles. Ah - the mushrooming holy grail!
They do a good line in Specacular Rustgills though.
Pity, despite what a comedy photo opportunity might lead you to believe, that they are decidedly not edible.
Did I mention my friend Flora's ECS Scotland language school? They do a nice line in canvas tote bags.
Well they're desperately trying to instigate a viral phenomenon of people taking round-the-world photos of their bags rather like that garden gnome from Amélie To which I have been pressed to contribute.
Hence the occasional appearance of an ECS bag during my recent tour of Japan - though looking increasingly crumply as the holiday wore on.
More photos TOTALLY not sponsored by ECS:
(And even meatless, since recently it's become more of a VegWalk, though one that did produce some very fine San Marzano tomatoes.)
The longer, hillier, pathier, Western route brings me back into Brighouse along the Calder and Hebble canal, which is an indirect but pleasant hike.
It was along these paths that I came across just hoards of alluring mushrooms, which I gratefully collected up in my handy ECS Scotland canvas tote bag.
Who totally don't pay me to say that.
It was only later that I discovered many of them were poisonous.
Or might have been.
On further consideration, the Agarics which yellowed when cut didn't have that super bright chrome yellow that the poisonous kind are supposed to show, and smelled only of mushroom, and not poison.
Apparently some of the edible Agarics also yellow slightly when bruised.
But who really knows with poisonous mushrooms? Well, apart from Erin Patterson 😀
Best not to eat them though, just in case.
The Friends of Judy Woods near my house hold annual Fungi Walks, where eager patrons are instructed in the art of identifying mushrooms.
Can't say I've ever taken to it, but it's a fine Autumn afternoon out.
Unfortunately they are not particularly exercised about their fungal finds being edible.
And double unfortunately they've never led me to a find of chanterelles. Ah - the mushrooming holy grail!
They do a good line in Specacular Rustgills though.
Pity, despite what a comedy photo opportunity might lead you to believe, that they are decidedly not edible.
Did I mention my friend Flora's ECS Scotland language school? They do a nice line in canvas tote bags.
Well they're desperately trying to instigate a viral phenomenon of people taking round-the-world photos of their bags rather like that garden gnome from Amélie To which I have been pressed to contribute.
Hence the occasional appearance of an ECS bag during my recent tour of Japan - though looking increasingly crumply as the holiday wore on.
More photos TOTALLY not sponsored by ECS:
Death By Mushroom Soup
veg soup
I found several patches of lovely mushrooms on my weekly meat-walk, with which I filled a cloth shopping bag.
It was only when I got home that I discovered one of those edible-looking patches was the poisonous Yellow Stainer.
So I picked those out.
The rest I turned into a soup which I've tentatively called Death by Mushroom.
Check back with me in a week...
The following is not advice for legal purposes:
For the novice wild mushroom picker Pick Me, Pick Me! there are two pretty safe edible mushrooms to look for with easily identifiable characteristics:
The first are Boletus which are very distinctive in having spongy pores instead of gills under their cap.
Probably the best known (and most delicious) of these is the Penny Bun also known as King Bolete, Cep, or Porcini.
There is only one poisonous UK variety called the Devil's Bolete which has a notably red stem, and a few bitter varieties, which you can determine from their, er, bitter taste.
So as long as you avoid Boletes with any red colouration, any which turn blue when cut in half, and any which taste bitter, you should be good to go.
The second are Agarics with white caps and black or pinkish-brown gills.
This includes plenty of edible varieties like Field Mushrooms, Horse Mushrooms, Wood Mushrooms, or, I kid you not, Pavement Mushrooms.
The Yellow Stainer is the only visually similar poisonous variety which you could easily confuse, and is fairly detectable from the bright (chrome) yellow staining when the base of the stem is cut, and sometimes visible when the cap is bruised. As I discovered when I got my batch home and started cutting them up.
They can also smell distinctly of ink, carbolic, phenol or iodine.
Although they aren't deadly poisonous and some people seem unaffected, others experience severe stomach distress.
Bottom line - if the mushrooms you've picked following those guidelines smell funny or unpleasant, or stain yellow or blue, or taste horrible, don't eat them!
The more you know!
The rest I turned into a soup which I've tentatively called Death by Mushroom.
Check back with me in a week...
The following is not advice for legal purposes:
For the novice wild mushroom picker Pick Me, Pick Me! there are two pretty safe edible mushrooms to look for with easily identifiable characteristics:
The first are Boletus which are very distinctive in having spongy pores instead of gills under their cap.
Probably the best known (and most delicious) of these is the Penny Bun also known as King Bolete, Cep, or Porcini.
There is only one poisonous UK variety called the Devil's Bolete which has a notably red stem, and a few bitter varieties, which you can determine from their, er, bitter taste.
So as long as you avoid Boletes with any red colouration, any which turn blue when cut in half, and any which taste bitter, you should be good to go.
Don't go nibbling any unidentified mushrooms though, particularly all-white ones - eating even a little Deathcap
or Destroying Angel can be fatal.
The second are Agarics with white caps and black or pinkish-brown gills.
This includes plenty of edible varieties like Field Mushrooms, Horse Mushrooms, Wood Mushrooms, or, I kid you not, Pavement Mushrooms.
The Yellow Stainer is the only visually similar poisonous variety which you could easily confuse, and is fairly detectable from the bright (chrome) yellow staining when the base of the stem is cut, and sometimes visible when the cap is bruised. As I discovered when I got my batch home and started cutting them up.
They can also smell distinctly of ink, carbolic, phenol or iodine.
Although they aren't deadly poisonous and some people seem unaffected, others experience severe stomach distress.
Bottom line - if the mushrooms you've picked following those guidelines smell funny or unpleasant, or stain yellow or blue, or taste horrible, don't eat them!
The more you know!
Serves 8
Ingredients
- butter
- olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 tblsps miso paste
- 2kg wild mushrooms, birch bolete and field mushrooms, maybe some yellow stainer chopped
- a few sprigs of thyme, leaves only
- fresh black pepper
- couple tablespoons marsala wine
- 1-2 tblsp soy sauce
- 1 tblsp fish sauce
- 2 heads garlic, roast
- 30g dried mushrooms
- 1-2l water
- 125g mascarpone
- 300-400ml double cream
- 100ml crème fraîche
Toppings:- chopped parsley or other herbs
- pan-fried mushroom slices
- lime juice or sherry vinegar
- olive oil
Soak about 30g of shitake mushrooms other mushrooms are also available in a litre of water overnight.
Put the heads of garlic in a 180-200°C/Gas Mark 4-6 oven for half an hour to an hour until they are soft and begin oozing.
Squeeze out the mushrooms and strain the stock through fine muslim or kitchen roll.
Roughly chop the onion or you could use shallots or leeks.
Clean and chop the mushrooms.
Heat a mixture of butter and olive oil and sweat the onions until they're transparent. Add a couple of tablespoons of miso paste and fry until it begins to caramelise a little, then add the mushrooms, thyme leaves and a good grind of black pepper. Fry gently until they collapse and their excess water has cooked off.
De-glaze the pan with a generous glug of marsala wine or sherry, or white wine. Add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon or two of fish sauce and 1 litre of the mushroom stock.
Allow the baked garlic heads to cool slightly, then squeeze the now soft and oozing garlic out of the cloves into the mushrooms.
Now enrich the soup with double cream, and crème fraîche and season with soy sauce.
Brown some mushroom slices in olive oil over high heat and scatter them over the soup. Add some chopped parsley or other herbs like chives, tarragon or chervil, and a drizzle more of olive oil.
Put the heads of garlic in a 180-200°C/Gas Mark 4-6 oven for half an hour to an hour until they are soft and begin oozing.
Squeeze out the mushrooms and strain the stock through fine muslim or kitchen roll.
Roughly chop the onion or you could use shallots or leeks.
Clean and chop the mushrooms.
Heat a mixture of butter and olive oil and sweat the onions until they're transparent. Add a couple of tablespoons of miso paste and fry until it begins to caramelise a little, then add the mushrooms, thyme leaves and a good grind of black pepper. Fry gently until they collapse and their excess water has cooked off.
De-glaze the pan with a generous glug of marsala wine or sherry, or white wine. Add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon or two of fish sauce and 1 litre of the mushroom stock.
Allow the baked garlic heads to cool slightly, then squeeze the now soft and oozing garlic out of the cloves into the mushrooms.
You can most easily do this by removing the papery outer layers, breaking a head in half vertically, slicing off the root part of each half with a sharp knife,
then pressing the head (or separated further into individual cloves) with the flat of a chefs knife from the tips to the root to force out all the contained flesh.
Stir the mascarpone through the mushrooms then blend everything in batches to a smooth soup, lubricating with extra water if needed.Now enrich the soup with double cream, and crème fraîche and season with soy sauce.
I use the soy sauce here instead of salt, since it gives the soup a deeper flavour - but add salt if you like.
You can adjust the amounts and proportions of cream and sour cream to your taste. A degree of sourness helps to offset the otherwise overwhelming richness of the mushrooms and cream.
Add more water or mushroom stock if the soup is too thick.
To serve, spoon the soup into bowls. Dress with a swirl of cream or crème fraîche, a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, or a splash of sherry vinegar, if you like.Add more water or mushroom stock if the soup is too thick.
Brown some mushroom slices in olive oil over high heat and scatter them over the soup. Add some chopped parsley or other herbs like chives, tarragon or chervil, and a drizzle more of olive oil.
A bit on the thick and gloopy side, but it is delicious.
Probably best served in small doses.
Probably best served in small doses.
Can confirm that stirring sherry vinegar and chopped tarragon through the fried mushroom topping is a winner.
Roast Tomato Soup
soup veg, vegan
My local vegetable shop had some lovely, if expensive, San Marzano tomatoes so I grabbed a bag.
A kilogram of tomatoes doesn't go far when roasted into soup though! Perhaps it wasn't the best use of them?
There's plenty of roast tomato soup inspiration for you out there - Delicious and 101 Cookbooks amongst many others.
A kilogram of tomatoes doesn't go far when roasted into soup though! Perhaps it wasn't the best use of them?
There's plenty of roast tomato soup inspiration for you out there - Delicious and 101 Cookbooks amongst many others.
Makes about 1 Litre
Ingredients
For Roasting:- 1kg ripe tomatoes, halved, woody core removed
- 1 medium red onion, cut into 8 lengthways
- 1-2 bell peppers, or a few smaller sweet peppers, halved, de-seeded
- 1 whole head garlic
- a bunch of thyme, or oregano, leaves only
- a few sprigs of rosemary, whole
- a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
- a sprinkle of sugar
- a dusting of ground black pepper
- olive oil
For Cooking:- 1 carrot, diced
- half a white onion, diced
- tomato paste optional
- 1-2 teaspoons mild smoked paprika
- a pinch of cayenne pepper optional
- water, vegetable stock or chicken stock
- mascarpone, or double cream or both!
- salt to to taste
Optional Toppings:- a few basil leaves or minced chives for decoration
- a drizzle of cream
- a swirl of olive oil
- roasted sesame seeds
- goats cheese or feta, crumbled
- a sprinkle of paprika
- a few reserved roast tomatoes, minced
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
Halve the tomatoes and remove the hard woody core. You can leave cherry tomatoes whole.
Oil a baking tin (not too shallow), layer in the tomatoes skin-side down, drizzle with more olive oil, a squirt of balsamic vinegar sprinkle over about a teaspoon of golden sugar if you like scatter over the leaves stripped from a bunch of thyme or oregano and a good grinding of black pepper.
Slide the tray into the middle of the oven for about an hour until all the tomatoes are well softened, and a few are blackening.
Oil a second baking tray. Remove the stems from the peppers, halve and de-seed them and layer them skin-side down in the tray. Peel the red onion and cut into 8 leaving on the root part to hold them together. Scatter in the tray. Add a few sprigs of rosemary, left whole to discard after and throw in the whole head of garlic, only removing any loose skins.
Drizzle with olive oil, then add to the oven too - above or below the tomatoes.
Over the course of an hour or so occasionally switch the trays so nothing burns. At the end everything should be well softened with some dark roasting here and there.
You might need to remove the garlic head early.
Peel the carrot and the white half onion and cut into small dice. Heat a knob of butter in a fairly large pan and sweat the carrots for a while, then add the onions, adding more butter as necessary. When everything is well softened without significant browning, add the tomato paste, if using, and cook it until it darkens and loses any hint of bitterness.
Pop or squeeze out the garlic cloves from the head and add to the pan.
Remove the rosemary sprigs and add the contents of both baking tins to the pan, washing in the scraps from the tins with a little water or stock.
Blend or purée the soup until smooth.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or double cream if you like, and a scattering of basil leaves or chives.
You could also top with some roasted sesame seeds, crumbled goats cheese, more paprika, or a few reserved roast tomatoes chopped small.
Halve the tomatoes and remove the hard woody core. You can leave cherry tomatoes whole.
Oil a baking tin (not too shallow), layer in the tomatoes skin-side down, drizzle with more olive oil, a squirt of balsamic vinegar sprinkle over about a teaspoon of golden sugar if you like scatter over the leaves stripped from a bunch of thyme or oregano and a good grinding of black pepper.
Slide the tray into the middle of the oven for about an hour until all the tomatoes are well softened, and a few are blackening.
Oil a second baking tray. Remove the stems from the peppers, halve and de-seed them and layer them skin-side down in the tray. Peel the red onion and cut into 8 leaving on the root part to hold them together. Scatter in the tray. Add a few sprigs of rosemary, left whole to discard after and throw in the whole head of garlic, only removing any loose skins.
Drizzle with olive oil, then add to the oven too - above or below the tomatoes.
Over the course of an hour or so occasionally switch the trays so nothing burns. At the end everything should be well softened with some dark roasting here and there.
You might need to remove the garlic head early.
Peel the carrot and the white half onion and cut into small dice. Heat a knob of butter in a fairly large pan and sweat the carrots for a while, then add the onions, adding more butter as necessary. When everything is well softened without significant browning, add the tomato paste, if using, and cook it until it darkens and loses any hint of bitterness.
I'm in two minds about including the tomato paste - it seems a bit sad to go to all the trouble of roasting those lovely fresh tomatoes only to bury their flavour in a commercial paste,
but in practice the kind of anaemic tomatoes I get around here might need the boost.
This week my local veg shop had some beautiful fresh San Marzano tomatoes, (the inspiration for making the soup) so I didn't add any paste, but your tomato strength may vary.
Sprinkle in the paprika and sweat until melts into the vegetables and loses any harsh aroma.This week my local veg shop had some beautiful fresh San Marzano tomatoes, (the inspiration for making the soup) so I didn't add any paste, but your tomato strength may vary.
Pop or squeeze out the garlic cloves from the head and add to the pan.
Remove the rosemary sprigs and add the contents of both baking tins to the pan, washing in the scraps from the tins with a little water or stock.
Blend or purée the soup until smooth.
You can pass it through a sieve if you'd like it super-silky, but it's barely necessary.
Blend in a few tablespoons of mascarpone if using (and you don't intend to freeze the soup, in which case best add that after thawing it out again).
Adjust the seasoning and the thickness with water or stock.Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or double cream if you like, and a scattering of basil leaves or chives.
You could also top with some roasted sesame seeds, crumbled goats cheese, more paprika, or a few reserved roast tomatoes chopped small.
Very tasty. Almost as good as Heinz 🤣
Best served with some crusty bread, or a cheese toasty.
Best served with some crusty bread, or a cheese toasty.
Lamb Cutlets with Pea and Lettuce Ragout
main meat
I adapted
Tom Kitchin's
ragout to serve with lamb cutlets.
Though I can attest that it's also good with rump.
Though I can attest that it's also good with rump.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 4 French trimmed bone lamb cutlets
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 35ml olive oil
- 100g smoked bacon or pancetta lardons
- 1 tsp ground cumin and ground cardamom optional
- 100g frozen peas
- 1-2 heads baby gem lettuce, quartered
- 150ml lamb stock, reduced by half
Peel and dice the carrots into cubes about the size of a couple of peas.
Blanch in salted, boiling water for a minute or two until tender, then flash chill in ice water and reserve until needed.
Reduce 150ml of lamb stock by about half.
Fry, grill or barbecue the lamb chops for about 6 minutes per side until the fat gets crispy. Leave to rest, covered, for half the cooking time.
Quarter the lettuce lengthways and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roughly chop any loose leaves to add to the ragoü too.
Caramelize under the grill for 8-10 minutes.
10 minutes before serving, heat a little oil in a sauté or frying pan. Add the lardons and gently fry until they render their fat and are coloured all over.
Add a pinch or two of ground cumin and cardamom powder. Set the pan aside.
To finish the ragoüt, add the blanched carrots and the frozen peas to the lardons.
Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Reduce 150ml of lamb stock by about half.
Fry, grill or barbecue the lamb chops for about 6 minutes per side until the fat gets crispy. Leave to rest, covered, for half the cooking time.
Quarter the lettuce lengthways and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roughly chop any loose leaves to add to the ragoü too.
Caramelize under the grill for 8-10 minutes.
10 minutes before serving, heat a little oil in a sauté or frying pan. Add the lardons and gently fry until they render their fat and are coloured all over.
Add a pinch or two of ground cumin and cardamom powder. Set the pan aside.
To finish the ragoüt, add the blanched carrots and the frozen peas to the lardons.
You can use fresh peas - but you'll need to cook them for a little longer.
You can also add sweetcorn.
Cover with the reduced lamb stock along with any cooking juices from the chops.
Leave to simmer for 2 minutes, or until the peas are tender.You can also add sweetcorn.
Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Stir in any chopped lettuce and let it wilt. You can add chopped herbs too, like mint, if you like.
To plate, slice your lamb cutlets, and place on top of the charred lettuce. Cover in ragoüt and enjoy!
Good combination.
I also made this dish with a lamb rump sous-vided at 62°C for 1 hour before pan-frying to colour, drizzled with basil oil to serve.
I also made this dish with a lamb rump sous-vided at 62°C for 1 hour before pan-frying to colour, drizzled with basil oil to serve.
Peppers Stuffed with Mascarpone and Apricots
side veg
I made this with those long thin sweet red peppers - I don't think you could use bell peppers; the filling would be overwhelming.
Also I used those moist dried apricots, if that's not a contradiction in terms.
Also I used those moist dried apricots, if that's not a contradiction in terms.
Ingredients
- sweet red peppers
- mascarpone
- double cream
- soft dried apricots
- grated parmesan cheese optional topping
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 3-4.
Blanch the peppers in boiling water for a few dozen seconds, drain, then slice them open along one side and remove the core and seeds. Leave them otherwise intact.
Chop the soft apricots, mash cream into the mascarpone to loosen it, and mix in the apricots. Maybe some herbs or garlic if you liked?
Oil a baking dish. Stuff the peppers with the mascarpone mixture and lay them slit-side up in the dish. Give them an extra drizzle of olive oil and bake for 20-30 minutes until the peppers are tender and the cheese filling is bubbling.
Sprinkle the dish with grated parmesan if you like and return it to the oven to melt just before serving.
Blanch the peppers in boiling water for a few dozen seconds, drain, then slice them open along one side and remove the core and seeds. Leave them otherwise intact.
Chop the soft apricots, mash cream into the mascarpone to loosen it, and mix in the apricots. Maybe some herbs or garlic if you liked?
Oil a baking dish. Stuff the peppers with the mascarpone mixture and lay them slit-side up in the dish. Give them an extra drizzle of olive oil and bake for 20-30 minutes until the peppers are tender and the cheese filling is bubbling.
Sprinkle the dish with grated parmesan if you like and return it to the oven to melt just before serving.
Rather good, the apricot really was a fortuitous flavour discovery.
Super-Garlic and Soy Sauce Dressing
dressing veg vegan
Perfect for dressing half a toasted ciabatta roll covered with crispy fried onions, mashed avocado, melted cheese, and topped with a fried egg. Yum!
Dresses 4 avocado toasts
Ingredients
- lots of garlic, puréed
- ½ tsp black pepper
- juice of ½ lemon - about 2 tblsps
- 2 tblsps soy sauce
- equal quantity of olive oil
- couple dashes Tabasco hot sauce, or possibly minced red chillies
Crush the garlic with some black pepper into a paste using the side of a knife.
Double the whole volume with olive oil.
Season with hot sauce and/or minced red chillies, shake and serve.
Use more garlic than you would think reasonable. 3 or 4 cloves. Don't worry - it'll be delicious!
In a jam jar mix the garlic with the juice of half a lemon, and about the same volume of soy sauce (perhaps 2-3 tablespoons of each).Double the whole volume with olive oil.
Season with hot sauce and/or minced red chillies, shake and serve.
Delicious on avocados, which I find can be a bit insipid.
Quick and Dirty Satay Ramen
main veg oriental pasta
A way to tart up a packet of cheap ramen noodles.
Especially if they're supposed to already be satay flavoured.
I know. I know. I'm ashamed.
I know. I know. I'm ashamed.
Serves One
Ingredients
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp mild, preferably coarse, chilli powder or paprika
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 spring onion, sliced, green and white parts separated
- ½ fresh red chilli, sliced
- 1 tblsp soy sauce
- 1 tblsp sesame oil
For the Noodles:- 1 packet ramen noodles
- stock or water
- 1 tblsp crunchy peanut butter
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tblsp sour cream
- 1 hard-boiled egg
Take a small pan.
First fill it with water and boil an egg, quick-chill it, shell it and cut it in half.
Next heat a pool of oil in the pan, throw in the chilli flakes, after they sizzle throw in the minced garlic, then the white parts of the spring onion. Add a teaspoon of chilli powder or paprika of some kind and swirl.
Pour out and set aside - it will do for two portions of noodles.
Add a little stock and water to the pan, mix in the peanut butter and the honey, add any flavour packets from the ramen, bring to the boil and add the noodles.
Cook until the noodles are al dente, remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream.
Put a spoonful of the chilli oil and the soy sauce in the bottom of a bowl, pour in the pan of noodles, add the halved boiled egg, dress with the sesame oil, extra chilli oil or chilli sauce to taste and sprinkle over the green parts of the spring onion and some sliced red chilli.
First fill it with water and boil an egg, quick-chill it, shell it and cut it in half.
Next heat a pool of oil in the pan, throw in the chilli flakes, after they sizzle throw in the minced garlic, then the white parts of the spring onion. Add a teaspoon of chilli powder or paprika of some kind and swirl.
Pour out and set aside - it will do for two portions of noodles.
Add a little stock and water to the pan, mix in the peanut butter and the honey, add any flavour packets from the ramen, bring to the boil and add the noodles.
Cook until the noodles are al dente, remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream.
Put a spoonful of the chilli oil and the soy sauce in the bottom of a bowl, pour in the pan of noodles, add the halved boiled egg, dress with the sesame oil, extra chilli oil or chilli sauce to taste and sprinkle over the green parts of the spring onion and some sliced red chilli.
You might consider adding a splash of fish sauce.
If you had a bok choy you could cook some segments in with the noodles.
If you had a bok choy you could cook some segments in with the noodles.
Easy Ramen
snack veg
For those days when you don't feel like cooking, but you still gotta eat.
Serves One
Ingredients
- 1 packet instant Ramen
- 1-2 tsps soy sauce
- hot sauce To Taste
- 1 egg yolk
- 1-2 tblsps Mayonnaise
- splash mirin
- dash rice vinegar
- drizzle sesame oil
Toppings:- spring onions or wild garlic, chopped
Cook the noodles and all the package flavourings in only the water needed to cover them. Take them off the heat.
Finely slice the toppings.
Mix the egg yolk with all the other ingredients.
Stir the mixture through the noodles, then heat gently while stirring until the sauce thickens.
Add the topping, a drizzle more of sesame oil, and chow down.
Finely slice the toppings.
Mix the egg yolk with all the other ingredients.
Stir the mixture through the noodles, then heat gently while stirring until the sauce thickens.
Add the topping, a drizzle more of sesame oil, and chow down.
See? Easy
Chorizo in Cider
meat snack
Apparently a not uncommon tapas in Asturias, northern Spain.
You'll need to use fresh sausage chorizo, not the dried, cured, salami kind.
You'll need to use fresh sausage chorizo, not the dried, cured, salami kind.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 2 fresh chorizos, sliced
- about 200ml still vintage dry cider to cover
- a couple of bay leaves
Cut the chorizo into 1" slices.
Put them in a small saucepan or ovenproof dish with a couple of bay leaves if you like. Cover with a good quality dry cider.
Boil for 15 minutes, simmer gently for an hour, or stick in a low oven for a couple of hours.
The cider should have reduced down to a rich syrup when it's ready.
Put them in a small saucepan or ovenproof dish with a couple of bay leaves if you like. Cover with a good quality dry cider.
Boil for 15 minutes, simmer gently for an hour, or stick in a low oven for a couple of hours.
The cider should have reduced down to a rich syrup when it's ready.
Rather good tapas.
If you're cooking them on the stovetop you could fry the chorizo pieces in a little olive oil first to give them a bit of colour.
If you're cooking them in the oven they'll probably pick up some colour anyway.
If you're cooking them on the stovetop you could fry the chorizo pieces in a little olive oil first to give them a bit of colour.
If you're cooking them in the oven they'll probably pick up some colour anyway.
Miso Hungry
In homage to my recent visit to Japan,
this month I will be mostly eating Miso soup!
If I had one word of advice from this Japanese holiday it would be - don't visit in the summer. It's fucking hot.
And no, Hudson, it is not a dry heat.
It is, in fact, unbearably humid.
And being constantly dripping with sweat (I recommend a face-and-body terry cloth) really drives home how much worse it is being a fat bastard.
And hence the soups. Another desperate, and likely futile, attempt to lose some weight.
Apart from miso ramen, which is basically miso soup heaving with noodles, whilst in Japan I only really had miso soup as a small side dish or as one element in a long kaiseki meal; more a palate cleanser than a course.
It's not terribly exciting, I have to say, but it does pack quite a lot of flavour into an otherwise very thin soup.
And thin soup is definitely my target here.
Even if larger lumps do have a tendency to creep in as I get hungrier and hungrier 🙄
You can, of course, make a regular vegetable soup (squash, say), but use dashi as the stock and add miso flavourings. But here I'm really talking about a soup which is primarily miso, with added bits.
Here are some ideas for enhancing your miso soup, though you should really try to avoid turning it into a stew:
And I suppose it ended when I discovered that hoard of poisonous mushrooms....
If I had one word of advice from this Japanese holiday it would be - don't visit in the summer. It's fucking hot.
And no, Hudson, it is not a dry heat.
It is, in fact, unbearably humid.
And being constantly dripping with sweat (I recommend a face-and-body terry cloth) really drives home how much worse it is being a fat bastard.
And hence the soups. Another desperate, and likely futile, attempt to lose some weight.
Apart from miso ramen, which is basically miso soup heaving with noodles, whilst in Japan I only really had miso soup as a small side dish or as one element in a long kaiseki meal; more a palate cleanser than a course.
It's not terribly exciting, I have to say, but it does pack quite a lot of flavour into an otherwise very thin soup.
And thin soup is definitely my target here.
Even if larger lumps do have a tendency to creep in as I get hungrier and hungrier 🙄
You can, of course, make a regular vegetable soup (squash, say), but use dashi as the stock and add miso flavourings. But here I'm really talking about a soup which is primarily miso, with added bits.
Here are some ideas for enhancing your miso soup, though you should really try to avoid turning it into a stew:
- Adding cubed tofu and sliced spring onions is standard.
- Simmer up rooty vegetables like potatoes, turnip (particularly Japanese), radish or daikon, burdock root, yam, taro (satoimo), squash.
- Throw in kale ribs and kelp or any other kitchen garbage you have spare at the beginning of cooking, and discard the ribs at the end of cooking.
- Cook in a bare handful or two of rice, ramen or soba noodles, left whole (for slurping) or cut into smaller pieces (minimal slurping).
Though now this is getting uncomfortably close to being a bowl of ramen. - Briefly cook: Sliced celery, sliced zucchini, sliced carrots, fresh or frozen corn kernels, sliced nappa cabbage, sliced bok choy, etc…
- Throw in a handful of seaweed at the end: Crumbled nori, wakame, arame, hijiki.
- Include cubed chicken breasts, thinly sliced pork belly, or slices of char siu. Make sure to properly cook raw meat.
- With the soup at a low simmer, pour in beaten egg in a circular pattern. Don’t stir the soup, and don’t let it come up to a boil.
- Throw in a cup of sake for added punch.
- Throw in a can of coconut milk for a richer soup.
- Throw in chopped cilantro and lemongrass.
What with the coconut milk, you're now in danger of making Thai tom kha. - Add shrimp, prawns, crab meat, clams are popular, or any kind of fish really, particularly smoked mackerel. Just bring these up to temperature.
- Add bright green vegetables such as snow peas, spinach leaves, watercress leaves, asparagus sections, broccoli spears or string beans
at the very end of cooking, after the soup comes to a boil, so that they retain their bright color.
You can basically just put them in the bowl and pour the soup over. - Add mushrooms, although they are best served in a dashi made from dried mushrooms.
- Add an onsen egg, or a seasoned boiled egg cut in half. Best added freezing cold for a nice temperature contrast!
- Season with a good squeeze of anchovy paste (in which case reduce the amount of miso).
- Flavour with pickles like kyurizuke, chilli pastes like doubanjiang, crispy chilli oil, or a flavoured oil like sesame. And of course, kimchi!.
- Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi; seven-flavoured chilli mix, for that Japanese authenticity.
And I suppose it ended when I discovered that hoard of poisonous mushrooms....
You Say PotAYto and I Say Tortilla de Patatas...
In which I present a Spanish Omelette recipe from Oleg, which arrives via my friend Flora.
Who slightly resented all the washing up involved.
Plus a delicious sauce you can use to flavour any beef leftovers, since I've also been playing with my sous vide gear, some of which I got for Christmas 🙄, and honing in on the perfect steak dinner.
And some pretty decent lamb.
Tortilla de Patatas
Spanish Omelette
Spanish Omelette
breakfast snack veg
There seem to be two fierce debates which rage in Spain over how to make their omelette:
Since there are only three four ingredients, you wouldn't think there was much more to say. Right?
Wrong!
Spaniards also will bicker about what varieties of potato to use (the potatoes should be waxy - like charlottes or fingerlings),
how browned the onions should be (they shouldn't),
how crisped the potatoes should be (they shouldn't),
how liquid the finished omelette should be (it shouldn't),
and whether Catalan is a real country er....
Wow, that escalated quickly!
- should it contain onions
- should the potatoes be diced or sliced
Since there are only three four ingredients, you wouldn't think there was much more to say. Right?
Wrong!
Spaniards also will bicker about what varieties of potato to use (the potatoes should be waxy - like charlottes or fingerlings),
how browned the onions should be (they shouldn't),
how crisped the potatoes should be (they shouldn't),
how liquid the finished omelette should be (it shouldn't),
and whether Catalan is a real country er....
Wow, that escalated quickly!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- olive oil, lots of olive oil - about 400ml
- 8 smallish palm-sized potatoes
- 8 regular eggs or 10 smallish
- 1 medium onion
Flavourings:- salt
- herbs - parsley/basil/dill/chives/tarragon/mint(?) etc
- sweet red peppers
- salt cod
- sausage
Peel the onion and slice or dice it. Sweat gently in a generous pool of oil in a large frying pan until they soften without browning.
When the potatoes feel soft to the fork, sieve the mixture briefly over a non-sticky tortilla pan a non-stick frying pan with high sides is ideal then add the hot strained onion and potatoes to the eggs. Mix together well.
Using a plate, or two plates, or all the plates, turn the omelette over and slide it back into the pan with even more oil along with any leaked egg to brown the other side.
Unless you like your onions browned, of course.
Peel the potatoes, and slice or dice them, the size is up to you but it's best if they're even.
Add them with more oil to the frying onions and continue cooking gently until the potatoes soften.
Some segregationists insist that the onion and the potato should be fried separately.
Opinions also differ (SURPRISE!) on whether or not to add salt to the cooking potatoes which may soften them.
Meanwhile break up the eggs in a large bowl using a fork and add salt.Opinions also differ (SURPRISE!) on whether or not to add salt to the cooking potatoes which may soften them.
When the potatoes feel soft to the fork, sieve the mixture briefly over a non-sticky tortilla pan a non-stick frying pan with high sides is ideal then add the hot strained onion and potatoes to the eggs. Mix together well.
This will start slightly cooking the eggs.
Some Spaniards advocate for leaving the egg mixture to infuse for hours before continuing.
None of them suggest pouring the eggs into the potato in the pan.
Get the oil you previously strained into the tortilla pan really hot, then pour in the omelette mix, lower the heat and leave until nicely browned on the bottom but not burnt!.
Have a peek with a spatula.Some Spaniards advocate for leaving the egg mixture to infuse for hours before continuing.
None of them suggest pouring the eggs into the potato in the pan.
Using a plate, or two plates, or all the plates, turn the omelette over and slide it back into the pan with even more oil along with any leaked egg to brown the other side.
To flip the omelette you can hold a plate over the frying pan and turn it. Or you can slide the omelette out onto a plate.
Then either slide the flipped omelette back into the pan, or flip an unturned omelette between two plates and then slide it into the pan.
Either way you should make a big performance about not having quite the right plate for the job, which is why you got egg all over the floor.
Serve with ketchup.
Then either slide the flipped omelette back into the pan, or flip an unturned omelette between two plates and then slide it into the pan.
Either way you should make a big performance about not having quite the right plate for the job, which is why you got egg all over the floor.
ONLY JOKING SPANIARDS! Please don't kill me.
You can add bacalhau (suitably soaked and washed) or herbs or red peppers.
Or even shudder chorizo. But don't tell your Spanish friends.
Probably best enjoyed with a side salad and a bit of cheese, like burrata.
Or even shudder chorizo. But don't tell your Spanish friends.
Entrecôte Sauce
Café de Paris Sauce
Café de Paris Sauce
sauce
Entrecote sauce started life as Café de Paris Sauce at the eponymous Genevese restaurant in the 1930s.
In the early 1960s vintner and restaurateur Paul Gineste de Saurs adapted this sauce to serve with entrecôte steaks at his Paris restaurant Le Relais de Venise — L'entrecôte, and is now the standard sauce perenially served at its sister establishments around the world now run by his various daughters.
This version is based on one of the many attempts to duplicate it I found on the interwebs.
I can't speak to its authenticity, not having eaten in any of these places, and I couldn't get any fresh tarragon, so threw in some wild garlic that I'd picked for something else, and I would have added chervil, if I'd ever seen any in my greengrocery.
But it was still delicious.
In the early 1960s vintner and restaurateur Paul Gineste de Saurs adapted this sauce to serve with entrecôte steaks at his Paris restaurant Le Relais de Venise — L'entrecôte, and is now the standard sauce perenially served at its sister establishments around the world now run by his various daughters.
This version is based on one of the many attempts to duplicate it I found on the interwebs.
I can't speak to its authenticity, not having eaten in any of these places, and I couldn't get any fresh tarragon, so threw in some wild garlic that I'd picked for something else, and I would have added chervil, if I'd ever seen any in my greengrocery.
But it was still delicious.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
For the Blended Sauce:- 1 shallot, finely diced
- generous lump of butter - 50g or more
- handful parsley
- handful tarragon
- handful basil
- handful chervil would probably be nice
- some sage leaves
- 1 tsp (about 10) capers
- 5 walnuts
- 1 tin anchovies a whole tin is too much - try ⅔
- ½ nutmeg grated seems like a lot - I'd go with ½ a teaspoon!
- ½ lemon - flesh only
- a dash of pepper
For the Mayonnaise:- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 scant tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
Make the Blended Sauce
Sweat the diced shallot you can use red onion in a generous amount of butter until softened without colouring.
Blend all the sauce ingredients together with the hot shallots and butter until fairly smooth. You can do this in two stages if you like.
Make the Mayonnaise
Mix 1 egg yolk, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, dash of white wine vinegar.
Whisk the egg with the mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Slowly add the blended sauce while whisking steadily to make the mayonnaise.
Add this split component back to the rest of the unsplit sauce when slightly cooled.
Adjust the seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon if required.
Keep the sauce warm but not too hot! to serve with steak frites.
Sweat the diced shallot you can use red onion in a generous amount of butter until softened without colouring.
Blend all the sauce ingredients together with the hot shallots and butter until fairly smooth. You can do this in two stages if you like.
Make the Mayonnaise
Mix 1 egg yolk, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, dash of white wine vinegar.
Whisk the egg with the mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Slowly add the blended sauce while whisking steadily to make the mayonnaise.
The blended sauce is very thick at this stage and difficult to pour into the eggs, so it might make sense to loosen it with a little hot water.
Take about a third of the sauce and cook while stirring until it splits!!Add this split component back to the rest of the unsplit sauce when slightly cooled.
Adjust the seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon if required.
Keep the sauce warm but not too hot! to serve with steak frites.
It's quite a lot of work, to be honest, but the result is delicious!
What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?
Well spring is springin' around here - the birds are singin', the wild garlic is sproutin' and the crocuses crocci? are bloomin'.
Cue massive snow storm 😂
I've been experimenting a lot with guanciale - cured pig's cheek - since it appeared on limited offer at my local Lidl.
It turns out that this cured porky jowl is the basis for a series of pasta dishes from the Lazio region around Rome, elaborating on the basic cacio e pepe pasta (cheese and pepper - the local Roman cheese pecorinio romano, spiced with ground black pepper and usually served on spaghetti, bucatini or tonnarelli).
The first of these is pasta alla Gricia - basically just the inclusion of fried guanciale.
Then we add eggs to get carbonara, or tomato giving Amatriciana.
Or we combine these two, throw in some sausage, and get pasta alla zozzona. A slutty mess - for some reason rarely included in compendia of famous Roman pastas.
Despite the confusing order in which I presented them, Pasta all Gricia may be the oldest of this collection, perhaps going back to the 5th Century, though it's origins are controversial and obscure. Certainly it's older than the arrival from the Americas of the tomatoes and hot chillies (peperoncini) used in Amatriciani or zozzona. And pepper was a fairly rare and expensive spice until relatively recently, so not something peasants would have been chucking into their pasta by the handful.
Pasta carbonara was an unknown (or at least, unrecorded) dish before the Second World War, and several origin stories implicate occupying American forces and their prolific supplies of bacon.
This season I will be mostly cooking these for one 😢
Lidl also had scamorza cheese along with their guanciale - must be Italy week or something, so I bought some of that too. It's less interesting than pig cheek, but you can melt it over most any cooked vegetables as an antipasto. Potatoes, courgettes, mushrooms, asparagus, aubergines, even experimental roast baby ones.
Most Italians seem like their scamorza sliced and pan-fried or griddled so it develops a nice crisp golden crust with a gooey interior, though you might want to us a very un-sticky pan or you'll be scraping off a lot of crispy golden crust!
It turns out that this cured porky jowl is the basis for a series of pasta dishes from the Lazio region around Rome, elaborating on the basic cacio e pepe pasta (cheese and pepper - the local Roman cheese pecorinio romano, spiced with ground black pepper and usually served on spaghetti, bucatini or tonnarelli).
The first of these is pasta alla Gricia - basically just the inclusion of fried guanciale.
Then we add eggs to get carbonara, or tomato giving Amatriciana.
Or we combine these two, throw in some sausage, and get pasta alla zozzona. A slutty mess - for some reason rarely included in compendia of famous Roman pastas.
Despite the confusing order in which I presented them, Pasta all Gricia may be the oldest of this collection, perhaps going back to the 5th Century, though it's origins are controversial and obscure. Certainly it's older than the arrival from the Americas of the tomatoes and hot chillies (peperoncini) used in Amatriciani or zozzona. And pepper was a fairly rare and expensive spice until relatively recently, so not something peasants would have been chucking into their pasta by the handful.
Pasta carbonara was an unknown (or at least, unrecorded) dish before the Second World War, and several origin stories implicate occupying American forces and their prolific supplies of bacon.
This season I will be mostly cooking these for one 😢
Lidl also had scamorza cheese along with their guanciale - must be Italy week or something, so I bought some of that too. It's less interesting than pig cheek, but you can melt it over most any cooked vegetables as an antipasto. Potatoes, courgettes, mushrooms, asparagus, aubergines, even experimental roast baby ones.
Most Italians seem like their scamorza sliced and pan-fried or griddled so it develops a nice crisp golden crust with a gooey interior, though you might want to us a very un-sticky pan or you'll be scraping off a lot of crispy golden crust!
It's been a busy week for bargain spotting:
My local health and wholefoods store had some weird-looking alien vegetable for sale that turned out to be kohlrabi.
Not the smooth green-skinned kind though, the cracked red-skinned kind. Didn't even know that was a kind.
So I figured I'd look up things to do with them other than shredding in coleslaw or salad - it's refreshingly crisp, sweet and vaguely nutty like a cross between a radish and a turnip. Which is funny because Brassica oleracea are, in fact, a cross between a wild cabbage and a turnip, the direct translation of its German name: Cabbage Turnip.
Or possibly they're a cross of a wild cabbage and a beet.
This is distinct from a rutabaga (Brassica napus), also known as swede in England, although wrongly called turnip or neep in Scotland, which is definitely a cabbage-turnip hybrid.
These damn promiscuous vegetables!
Anyhoo, it's been suggested that kohlrabi also tastes great steamed, mashed, or added to soups, and I can now attest that it roasts up really well too. I thought that this would mean they would also make great deep-fried chips, but so far they haven't quite lived up to that.
You might need to do a fair bit of vigorous peeling though - they can have very thick fibrous skin.
Anyway.
I came here to talk about shipping companies.
Absolute dog shit aren't they? The lot of them.
Finding myself requiring additional guanciale, I recently ordered some from Amazon, who ordered it from Italy, who shipped it with OOPS - an American shipping company who's service is, you guessed it, dogshit.
OOPS' first optimistic delivery window was 08:20-10:20. (Odd isn't it how very specific these ficitious delivery windows are?)
As usual with these predictions, they are only useful as a guide for knowing when you absolutely do not need to be in, since this is the one period during which you can guarantee their Dogshit Delivery Drone™ will not attempt delivery.
4 hours later, they updated their delivery prediction to before the end of the day, whenever that is, only to revert to the original window now 14 hours in the past around midnight.
See. Absolute dogshit.
I stopped checking with them after that.
So an interesting question is, why are they so fucking useless? Don't they operate in a competitive capitalist environment renowned for driving innovation and efficiency?
Well the answer, my friends, is that the shipping companies don't work for you, and you aren't their customers. They work for the seller, because the seller pays them.
Have you ever tried complaining about your delivery, or lack of? You'll find there is absolutely no mechanism for you to send them meaningful feedback, and they don't give a shit if you do. Because they aren't competing for your business, so quite naturally they couldn't give less of a fuck about your delivery experience.
And the sad thing is - there actually is a simple solution: Payment on Delivery.
You can bet your arse that the instant their payment depends on your satisfaction they'd start to give a fuck about what you thought about their service. There'd be a lot less pushing a card through your letterbox and running away if the shitbags didn't get paid for doing it.
You'd be amazed how capable a shipping company could become at delivering a parcel into your hands if their profit depended on it, and how reluctant they would be to hide your parcel in your bin, or their depot in the next county if they suddenly weren't going to get paid for that.
You know what I want from my Dogshit Delivery Drone™? I want a notification about a day ahead, another about an hour ahead, and a final one about a minute ahead.
That's it.
You know what OOPS gave me? A detailed breakdown of the exact times my guanciale passed through all the their depots in Italy, three days ago.
You know what I don't give a fuck about? A detailed breakdown of the times my guanciale passed through their depots in Italy, three days ago.
You know what I do care about? Roughly when I'm to expect the parcel, and then a heads up just before it arrives.
Instead my OOPS guanciale arrived without warning several days later.
Fucknuggets.
So I figured I'd look up things to do with them other than shredding in coleslaw or salad - it's refreshingly crisp, sweet and vaguely nutty like a cross between a radish and a turnip. Which is funny because Brassica oleracea are, in fact, a cross between a wild cabbage and a turnip, the direct translation of its German name: Cabbage Turnip.
Or possibly they're a cross of a wild cabbage and a beet.
This is distinct from a rutabaga (Brassica napus), also known as swede in England, although wrongly called turnip or neep in Scotland, which is definitely a cabbage-turnip hybrid.
These damn promiscuous vegetables!
Anyhoo, it's been suggested that kohlrabi also tastes great steamed, mashed, or added to soups, and I can now attest that it roasts up really well too. I thought that this would mean they would also make great deep-fried chips, but so far they haven't quite lived up to that.
You might need to do a fair bit of vigorous peeling though - they can have very thick fibrous skin.
Anyway.
I came here to talk about shipping companies.
Absolute dog shit aren't they? The lot of them.
Finding myself requiring additional guanciale, I recently ordered some from Amazon, who ordered it from Italy, who shipped it with OOPS - an American shipping company who's service is, you guessed it, dogshit.
OOPS' first optimistic delivery window was 08:20-10:20. (Odd isn't it how very specific these ficitious delivery windows are?)
As usual with these predictions, they are only useful as a guide for knowing when you absolutely do not need to be in, since this is the one period during which you can guarantee their Dogshit Delivery Drone™ will not attempt delivery.
4 hours later, they updated their delivery prediction to before the end of the day, whenever that is, only to revert to the original window now 14 hours in the past around midnight.
See. Absolute dogshit.
I stopped checking with them after that.
So an interesting question is, why are they so fucking useless? Don't they operate in a competitive capitalist environment renowned for driving innovation and efficiency?
Well the answer, my friends, is that the shipping companies don't work for you, and you aren't their customers. They work for the seller, because the seller pays them.
Have you ever tried complaining about your delivery, or lack of? You'll find there is absolutely no mechanism for you to send them meaningful feedback, and they don't give a shit if you do. Because they aren't competing for your business, so quite naturally they couldn't give less of a fuck about your delivery experience.
And the sad thing is - there actually is a simple solution: Payment on Delivery.
You can bet your arse that the instant their payment depends on your satisfaction they'd start to give a fuck about what you thought about their service. There'd be a lot less pushing a card through your letterbox and running away if the shitbags didn't get paid for doing it.
You'd be amazed how capable a shipping company could become at delivering a parcel into your hands if their profit depended on it, and how reluctant they would be to hide your parcel in your bin, or their depot in the next county if they suddenly weren't going to get paid for that.
You know what I want from my Dogshit Delivery Drone™? I want a notification about a day ahead, another about an hour ahead, and a final one about a minute ahead.
That's it.
You know what OOPS gave me? A detailed breakdown of the exact times my guanciale passed through all the their depots in Italy, three days ago.
You know what I don't give a fuck about? A detailed breakdown of the times my guanciale passed through their depots in Italy, three days ago.
You know what I do care about? Roughly when I'm to expect the parcel, and then a heads up just before it arrives.
Instead my OOPS guanciale arrived without warning several days later.
Fucknuggets.
Rigatoni Alla Gricia
meat pasta cheese
One of the origin stories of past alla Gricia references the slang name given to Swiss immigrants of the 14th and later.
This doesn't quite accord with the claim that the source of the sauce (🙂) goes back as far as 400 A.D. though. So who knows really.
Though just in case the dish actually came from Grisciano near Amatrice, I shall be capitalising it.
Anyway, all you need are quality ingredients and you will have a reasonable dish.
Getting the best coating sauce from the cheese dissolving smoothly into the pasta water is another issue though.
Photographs of typical servings of this dish do look quite watery, so perhaps plenty of pasta liquor is the secret?
Although commonly served with rigatoni or the shorter mezze maniche, as always you can use almost any pasta you fancy. Spaghetti or bucatini would not be controversial.
A comedy pasta like caccavelle or fusilli capri will get you shot.
This doesn't quite accord with the claim that the source of the sauce (🙂) goes back as far as 400 A.D. though. So who knows really.
Though just in case the dish actually came from Grisciano near Amatrice, I shall be capitalising it.
Anyway, all you need are quality ingredients and you will have a reasonable dish.
Getting the best coating sauce from the cheese dissolving smoothly into the pasta water is another issue though.
Photographs of typical servings of this dish do look quite watery, so perhaps plenty of pasta liquor is the secret?
Although commonly served with rigatoni or the shorter mezze maniche, as always you can use almost any pasta you fancy. Spaghetti or bucatini would not be controversial.
A comedy pasta like caccavelle or fusilli capri will get you shot.
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 100g rigatoni
- 70g guanciale
- 30g pecorino romano plus extra for serving
- splash of olive oil
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Start a pot of lightly salted water boiling - with just enough depth to cover the pasta.
Remove the guanciale skin, and slice vertically into fairly thin slices - not the thinnest possible though, perhaps the thickness of a penny. Slice in such a way as to have some fat and some meat running across each slice, then portion the slices into strips about 1cm x 4cm.
Pour a little olive oil into a fairly large frying pan and cook the guanciale gently until the fat is mostly rendered and the strips are turning golden and crispy.
Add the pasta to the water and cook for about 5 minutes less than the recommended time. Return the frying pan to a high heat and add about ¼ cup of the pasta water to the frying pan and swirl it around to emulsify with the fat. Drain the pasta, keeping the rest of the water, and add it to the frying pan. Swirl, stir or toss to coat the pasta until the sauce thickens and the pasta is cooked through to al dente. Add more reserved pasta water if required.
Now off the heat stir in half the pecorino. You want it to dissolve as much as possible, so it's best to clear a space in the pasta and stir it rapidly into the sauce, then mix the pasta through the emulsified cheese. Reheat, add the rest of the cheese and repeat.
Remove the guanciale skin, and slice vertically into fairly thin slices - not the thinnest possible though, perhaps the thickness of a penny. Slice in such a way as to have some fat and some meat running across each slice, then portion the slices into strips about 1cm x 4cm.
Pour a little olive oil into a fairly large frying pan and cook the guanciale gently until the fat is mostly rendered and the strips are turning golden and crispy.
I was afraid that colouring the meat might make it too hard, but the thin strips are actually really nice crisped up.
You could make batons or cubes instead, but they harden much more easily so you should probably only cook them until they've rendered out without colouring.
Add a generous grinding of black pepper so it fizzes up, then remove the frying pan from the heat and scoop the meat out with a slotted spoon and set aside.Add the pasta to the water and cook for about 5 minutes less than the recommended time. Return the frying pan to a high heat and add about ¼ cup of the pasta water to the frying pan and swirl it around to emulsify with the fat. Drain the pasta, keeping the rest of the water, and add it to the frying pan. Swirl, stir or toss to coat the pasta until the sauce thickens and the pasta is cooked through to al dente. Add more reserved pasta water if required.
Now off the heat stir in half the pecorino. You want it to dissolve as much as possible, so it's best to clear a space in the pasta and stir it rapidly into the sauce, then mix the pasta through the emulsified cheese. Reheat, add the rest of the cheese and repeat.
If you let the sauce get too cold, or too hot, the cheese will separate out into chewing gum strands.
Which is not what you are aiming for.
Adjust the sauce consistency, season if necessary, mix in the guanciale and serve immediately.
Provide more grated cheese for people to add as desired.
Which is not what you are aiming for.
Really good.
The balance of the sharp pecorino, the crispy guanciale, the biting pepper and the smoothness of emulsified fat is perfect.
Though not so perfect as not to be improved by the addition of sliced mushrooms with the guanciale and chopped parsley to finish.
The balance of the sharp pecorino, the crispy guanciale, the biting pepper and the smoothness of emulsified fat is perfect.
Though not so perfect as not to be improved by the addition of sliced mushrooms with the guanciale and chopped parsley to finish.
Bucatini all'Amatriciana
meat pasta cheese
Although there's some argument about the exact origin of this slightly spicy Roman sauce Amatriciana (or matriciana in the local Romanesco patois),
it can hardly be a coincidence that there's a (fairly) nearby town called Amatrice, so I'm going with that.
The eagle-eyed among you will have already intuited this from my clumsy attempt to retain consistent Capitalisation in deference to foods named after proper place nouns.
I like slicing the guanciale into thin strips for this sauce, as with pasta alla gricia.
You can purée the tomatoes if you like a particularly smooth sauce, but I rather like the rustic qualities of just mashing them up with a fork. But use San Marzano tinned tomatoes if you can find them. They are especially succulent.
Bucatini pasta, with it's hollow strands, is particularly nice, and the traditional Roman accompaniment, but you can use any shapes you like.
Spaghetti, particularly favoured in Amatrice itself, rigatoni or even penne wouldn't be a disgrace.
The eagle-eyed among you will have already intuited this from my clumsy attempt to retain consistent Capitalisation in deference to foods named after proper place nouns.
I like slicing the guanciale into thin strips for this sauce, as with pasta alla gricia.
You can purée the tomatoes if you like a particularly smooth sauce, but I rather like the rustic qualities of just mashing them up with a fork. But use San Marzano tinned tomatoes if you can find them. They are especially succulent.
Bucatini pasta, with it's hollow strands, is particularly nice, and the traditional Roman accompaniment, but you can use any shapes you like.
Spaghetti, particularly favoured in Amatrice itself, rigatoni or even penne wouldn't be a disgrace.
Serves One
Ingredients
- a splash of olive oil
- 50-60g guanciale, cut into thin slices about ¾"x¼"
- a pinch red pepper flakes
- 20ml dry white wine
- 200g tinned whole peeled tomatoes, hand-crushed
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- 120g bucatini pasta or other pasta
- 30-50g pecorino romano, grated
Crush the tomatoes with a fork or masher, or blend them up.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering and add the guanciale and the pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until golden and crisping at the edges then scoop it out and reserve it for later unless you prefer it doesn't retain its crispness. Return the frying pan to the heat, add a good grinding of pepper so it blooms, then add the wine. Evaporate the wine for a few minutes, scraping up all the browned goodness from the bottom of the pan, then add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
Meanwhile, boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute less than package recommends. Using tongs or a pasta spider, transfer the pasta to the sauce, along with a good splash of the cooking water. Cook over high heat, stirring and tossing rapidly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce thickens and begins to coat the noodles. Add more pasta water if required.
Remove from the heat, add back the guanciale, add cheese, and stir rapidly to incorporate. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
Serve immediately, with extra cheese at the table.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering and add the guanciale and the pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until golden and crisping at the edges then scoop it out and reserve it for later unless you prefer it doesn't retain its crispness. Return the frying pan to the heat, add a good grinding of pepper so it blooms, then add the wine. Evaporate the wine for a few minutes, scraping up all the browned goodness from the bottom of the pan, then add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
Meanwhile, boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute less than package recommends. Using tongs or a pasta spider, transfer the pasta to the sauce, along with a good splash of the cooking water. Cook over high heat, stirring and tossing rapidly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce thickens and begins to coat the noodles. Add more pasta water if required.
Remove from the heat, add back the guanciale, add cheese, and stir rapidly to incorporate. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
Serve immediately, with extra cheese at the table.
Pretty good - I like the bucatini pasta, which has more body than spaghetti.
Spaghetti Carbonara
meat cheese pasta
Don't over-salt the pasta water since the cheese and cured meat will already be fairly salty.
You can, of course, use whatever pasta you like - spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni, penne. Bucatini is nice too.
I first made this following the traditional recipe using guanciale (extremely fatty, cured pig's cheek), only pecorino romano cheese, and one egg and one yolk.
And if I'm honest I didn't think too much of it.
Perhaps it's the slightly underwhelming cheesiness - I think adding some parmesan might be an improvement, perhaps it's the mildness of the guanciale which might be better replaced by pancetta, or even (gasp) bacon, or maybe it's the slight lack of unctuous richness that might be helped by a adding a little cream or only using egg yolks?
Of course, since there's little evidence that this dish existed before the Second World War, and may have been invented by American servicemen posted to Italy, traditional is a bit of a stretch.
You can, of course, use whatever pasta you like - spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni, penne. Bucatini is nice too.
I first made this following the traditional recipe using guanciale (extremely fatty, cured pig's cheek), only pecorino romano cheese, and one egg and one yolk.
And if I'm honest I didn't think too much of it.
Perhaps it's the slightly underwhelming cheesiness - I think adding some parmesan might be an improvement, perhaps it's the mildness of the guanciale which might be better replaced by pancetta, or even (gasp) bacon, or maybe it's the slight lack of unctuous richness that might be helped by a adding a little cream or only using egg yolks?
And how right I was!
I replaced the guanciale with a spicy Calabrian pancetta cut into thin batons, used 50/50 pecorino and parmesan cheese, two egg yolks, and cooled the dressed pasta at the end with a splash of double cream. And the dish was much improved!
Next to try it with bacon 😯
I replaced the guanciale with a spicy Calabrian pancetta cut into thin batons, used 50/50 pecorino and parmesan cheese, two egg yolks, and cooled the dressed pasta at the end with a splash of double cream. And the dish was much improved!
Next to try it with bacon 😯
Of course, since there's little evidence that this dish existed before the Second World War, and may have been invented by American servicemen posted to Italy, traditional is a bit of a stretch.
Serves One
Ingredients
- 120g spaghetti, linguine or bucatini
- 50g guanciale, pancetta or bacon
- 1 tblsp olive oil
- 2 egg yolks
- 20g pecorino romano
- 20g parmesan
- ground black pepper
- a splash of double cream optional
To Serve:- extra grated cheese
- torn basil leaves or chopped parsley
- a grating of nutmeg
Cut the meat into batons, cubes or slices. If you're using pancetta you probably don't want them too thick.
Grate the cheese, about half-and-half pecorino and parmesan works well.
In a large heatproof if you plan on double-boiling it bowl, mix together the eggs, a grinding of pepper and most of the cheese keep some for serving.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan, add in the guanciale and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the fat has rendered out and the guanciale gets crisp and golden, 5-10 minutes.
Add a good grinding of black pepper so it blooms in the oil.
Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring, until nearly al dente - a minute or two under the recommended time.
Using tongs or a pasta spider scoop the pasta into the frying pan, add a splash of pasta water and toss to coat nicely in the fat.
Dribble about 2 tablespoons of the pasta water to the egg mixture and stir it in.
You now have a choice of finishing cooking the eggs and pasta to perfection in the frying pan or in the heatproof bowl adapted as a double-boiler. Either:
Serve with extra grated cheese, more pepper, and a grating of nutmeg if you like.
Your choice.
Grate the cheese, about half-and-half pecorino and parmesan works well.
In a large heatproof if you plan on double-boiling it bowl, mix together the eggs, a grinding of pepper and most of the cheese keep some for serving.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan, add in the guanciale and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the fat has rendered out and the guanciale gets crisp and golden, 5-10 minutes.
Add a good grinding of black pepper so it blooms in the oil.
Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring, until nearly al dente - a minute or two under the recommended time.
Using tongs or a pasta spider scoop the pasta into the frying pan, add a splash of pasta water and toss to coat nicely in the fat.
Dribble about 2 tablespoons of the pasta water to the egg mixture and stir it in.
You now have a choice of finishing cooking the eggs and pasta to perfection in the frying pan or in the heatproof bowl adapted as a double-boiler. Either:
- Empty the egg mixture into the pasta in the frying pan and, tossing and stirring constantly over a fairly low heat, cook until the sauce thickens nicely and you begin to see trails as you stir.
Add extra pasta water if the sauce seems too thick. Don't over-cook and turn it into scrambled eggs. - Or:
- Scrape the pasta mixture into the bowl with the eggs and cheese, set it over simmering water in the pasta pan (without touching the water) and stir it in the bowl instead until the sauce thickens as above.
Serve with extra grated cheese, more pepper, and a grating of nutmeg if you like.
Some chefs like to first flavour their olive oil with slices of garlic, removing them once they turn golden, before continuing with the guanciale.
If you want to be completely inauthentic with this 20th Century G.I. recipe you can always add a few mushrooms and sliced garlic cloves to the frying guanciale,
or stir in some blanched peas or asparagus tips to the pasta at the end.
Or dress with roughly torn basil or chopped parsley to serve.
If you want to be hopelessly gauche you could even add some leeks or onions.
I've not had any particular difficulty just tossing off the pasta to a finish in the frying pan, but I suppose the double-boiler method would make it easier to get just the right custardy consistency to the sauce.If you want to be completely inauthentic with this 20th Century G.I. recipe you can always add a few mushrooms and sliced garlic cloves to the frying guanciale,
or stir in some blanched peas or asparagus tips to the pasta at the end.
Or dress with roughly torn basil or chopped parsley to serve.
If you want to be hopelessly gauche you could even add some leeks or onions.
Your choice.
Pasta Alla Zozzona
pasta meat cheese
The recipe calls for the meat of salsiccia - Italian sausage; it being an Italian recipe.
The notable features
of Italian sausages being their relatively coarse grind and their lack of non-meat filler.
Unfortunately I couldn't find any Italian sausage in my neighbourhood. Because my neighbourhood sucks.
But my Local Fucking Supermarket™ stocks both Harrogate Original sausages (97% pork!)
and raw chorizo cooking sausages. Which are at least spicy and almost entirely pork.
So I used those. I used both of those - one of each sausage, which was about double the recipe quantity. And it worked just fine.
I note that some people use fresh cherry tomatoes rather than passata, and some deglaze the fried sausage with red wine.
So I used those. I used both of those - one of each sausage, which was about double the recipe quantity. And it worked just fine.
I note that some people use fresh cherry tomatoes rather than passata, and some deglaze the fried sausage with red wine.
1 Large Serving
Ingredients
- 1 egg yolk
- 20g pecorino romano, grated
- 40g guanciale or pancetta, cubed
- 60g sweet or hot Italian sausage or raw chorizo, or both
- 2 shallots or ¼ onion, finely chopped
- pinch red pepper flakes
- ⅔ cup/170g tomato passata or crushed tinned tomatoes
- 120g rigatoni
To Serve:- grated parmesan
- parsley
In a small bowl, beat egg yolks and Pecorino Romano together with a fork until they form a homogeneous thick paste, about 1 minute. Season with a few grindings of black pepper. Set aside.
Cut the guanciale into batons or small cubes (about ¼"/½cm).
Remove the sausage skin and add the meat to the skillet by pinching off ¾-1" pieces and arranging in a single layer in the pan. Cook over medium heat, undisturbed, until bottom side is light golden brown, about 1 minute.
Add pepper flakes (if using) and you didn't already add them and bloom in rendered fat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add tomato passata and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened slightly and fat has emulsified into sauce, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook pasta until softened on the exterior, but well shy of al dente, and still uncooked in the center (about 3 minutes less than the package directs). Using a spider skimmer, transfer pasta to sauce, along with ½ cup (120ml) pasta cooking water.
Add an additional ¼ cup (60ml) of the pasta cooking water to the bowl with reserved egg yolk-Pecorino Romano paste, and stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and well-combined; set aside.
Alternatively, if you don't have a spider skimmer or a slotted spoon, drain the pasta using a strainer, making sure to reserve at least 1½ cups (355ml) pasta cooking water, before proceeding with above instructions.
Remove skillet from heat, add cooked guanciale and egg yolk mixture, and stir and toss rapidly until fully incorporated and pasta is glossy, 15 to 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, passing more grated cheese at the table.
Cut the guanciale into batons or small cubes (about ¼"/½cm).
If you're using pancetta this is probably too thick and the pieces will be hard when cooked.
In a large skillet, cook the guanciale over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the guanciale is golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes.
Unlike in Pasta alla Gricia I think the larger chunks of browned guanciale work best here.
Remove from heat. Using slotted spoon, transfer guanciale to a plate. Set aside.Remove the sausage skin and add the meat to the skillet by pinching off ¾-1" pieces and arranging in a single layer in the pan. Cook over medium heat, undisturbed, until bottom side is light golden brown, about 1 minute.
It's a good idea to throw in the pepper flakes and some extra black pepper grinds towards the end of frying here.
Add the minced shallot, season lightly with salt, and, using a thin metal spatula, turn sausage pieces onto uncooked side.
Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is cooked through, onion is softened, and fat in the pan is clear and no longer cloudy, 5 to 7 minutes;
lower heat at any point if sausage or onion threaten to scorch.Add pepper flakes (if using) and you didn't already add them and bloom in rendered fat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add tomato passata and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened slightly and fat has emulsified into sauce, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook pasta until softened on the exterior, but well shy of al dente, and still uncooked in the center (about 3 minutes less than the package directs). Using a spider skimmer, transfer pasta to sauce, along with ½ cup (120ml) pasta cooking water.
Add an additional ¼ cup (60ml) of the pasta cooking water to the bowl with reserved egg yolk-Pecorino Romano paste, and stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and well-combined; set aside.
Alternatively, if you don't have a spider skimmer or a slotted spoon, drain the pasta using a strainer, making sure to reserve at least 1½ cups (355ml) pasta cooking water, before proceeding with above instructions.
The instructions above are for 3 times the quantities, so adjust your pasta water measurements accordingly.
Just add the pasta water you need.
Increase heat to high and cook, stirring and tossing rapidly, until pasta is al dente and sauce is thickened and coats noodles, about 2 minutes,
adding more pasta cooking water in ¼ cup (60ml) or smaller increments as needed.Remove skillet from heat, add cooked guanciale and egg yolk mixture, and stir and toss rapidly until fully incorporated and pasta is glossy, 15 to 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, passing more grated cheese at the table.
Very nice. I think I like it the best of these, except maybe for a good carbonara - that's tough to beat.
I used parmesan for the additional grated cheese which adds a welcome rich nuttiness.
I also mixed through some roughly chopped parsley at the end, which I thought complemented the dish well, though I'm sure basil would also work.
I used parmesan for the additional grated cheese which adds a welcome rich nuttiness.
I also mixed through some roughly chopped parsley at the end, which I thought complemented the dish well, though I'm sure basil would also work.
Roast Baby Aubergines with Red Onions
veg side cheese
My usual grocers had some little graffiti aubergines, which I'd never heard of.
So I bought them to try out.
I read about a southern Italy antipasto that roasted roughly chopped aubergines with copious quantities of red onions, so I thought I might give this method a try, but the result was oily, rather tasteless and overall disappointing.
I think aubergines, even small ones, might really need to be grilled, fried or roast hard to develop their flavour.
Also, with the vinegar and the onion, the garlic does turn a weird blue colour and I'm not sure contributes a great deal to the taste.
I'd probably skip either the vinegar or the garlic.
Having said all this, it did fry up very nicely afterwards - crisping up the onions and browning the split aubergines really helps, and makes a great filling for a sausage sandwich with mustard and crème fraîche.
It makes me wonder if the original dish might have worked if I'd just left it roasting long enough to really caramelize the ingredients.
Nigella does mention optionally dressing the dish with ricotta salata (aged and salted ricotta), or feta cheese. And as I happened to have some scamorza I decided to try that.
I read about a southern Italy antipasto that roasted roughly chopped aubergines with copious quantities of red onions, so I thought I might give this method a try, but the result was oily, rather tasteless and overall disappointing.
I think aubergines, even small ones, might really need to be grilled, fried or roast hard to develop their flavour.
Also, with the vinegar and the onion, the garlic does turn a weird blue colour and I'm not sure contributes a great deal to the taste.
I'd probably skip either the vinegar or the garlic.
Having said all this, it did fry up very nicely afterwards - crisping up the onions and browning the split aubergines really helps, and makes a great filling for a sausage sandwich with mustard and crème fraîche.
It makes me wonder if the original dish might have worked if I'd just left it roasting long enough to really caramelize the ingredients.
Nigella does mention optionally dressing the dish with ricotta salata (aged and salted ricotta), or feta cheese. And as I happened to have some scamorza I decided to try that.
Ingredients
- baby aubergines
- red onions, sliced
- garlic, sliced
- dried oregano
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
To Serve:- scamorza cheese, sliced thickly
Slit the small aubergines from tip to almost stem, leaving them still attached at the base.
Finely slice the onion and garlic.
Mix everything in an oven-proof dish, drizzle with a little red wine vinegar may not be a good idea?, a generous amount of olive oil and dried oregano, and season well.
Put in a Gas Mark 4 oven for 1½-2 hours until the onions are nicely caramelised and the aubergines shrivelled, turning occasionally.
Slice the scamorza quite thickly. Heat a frying pan until very hot, drizzle in a tiny layer of olive oil, turn down the heat and lay in the scamorza slices. Let them bubble until they melt with hopefully a nice brown crust on the underside.
Finely slice the onion and garlic.
Mix everything in an oven-proof dish, drizzle with a little red wine vinegar may not be a good idea?, a generous amount of olive oil and dried oregano, and season well.
Put in a Gas Mark 4 oven for 1½-2 hours until the onions are nicely caramelised and the aubergines shrivelled, turning occasionally.
Slice the scamorza quite thickly. Heat a frying pan until very hot, drizzle in a tiny layer of olive oil, turn down the heat and lay in the scamorza slices. Let them bubble until they melt with hopefully a nice brown crust on the underside.
I'm not even sure the frying stage is necessary, since the resulting aubergine cheese topping turned too hard, but I do like those crusty bits.
Scrape the cheese over the aubergine dish, return to the oven for a few minutes, then serve.
Needs work. It's tasty enough when fried afterwards so the aubergine and onion go a bit crispy.
Either it needs frying first, after, or longer roasting. Not sure which will be best.
Either it needs frying first, after, or longer roasting. Not sure which will be best.
Carciofi alla Guidia
side snack veg vegan
Apparently the Jews my be responsible for spawning much of the world's deep-fried comestibles,
perhaps even including the venerated British Fish and Chips.
And in a plot twist may also be guilty of originating the seat of the Holy Roman Empire's fried artichokes. Called, appropriately (in Italian) the Artichokes made by those damn Jews.
In the 16th Jewish ghettoes around Rome they developed the now-famous dish of carciofi all guidia, or Jewish artichokes.
In Rome they typically use a choke-free variety of artichoke called cimaroli or mammole. Which means they can be fried whole, with little trimming.
You might be able to do the same with undeveloped baby artichokes, but if all you can get are big fat British artichokes you'll have to remove their hairy chokes before you cook them. It's easiest to do this if you first cut them in half. Use water acidified with lemon juice to prevent them from browning while you work.
You don't need to completely submerge the artichokes while you fry them, but otherwise you will have to keep turning them. However, this does mean you could use olive oil for a more authentic flavour without going bankrupt. Otherwise use a neutral oil like sunflower, and as much as you like.
And in a plot twist may also be guilty of originating the seat of the Holy Roman Empire's fried artichokes. Called, appropriately (in Italian) the Artichokes made by those damn Jews.
In the 16th Jewish ghettoes around Rome they developed the now-famous dish of carciofi all guidia, or Jewish artichokes.
In Rome they typically use a choke-free variety of artichoke called cimaroli or mammole. Which means they can be fried whole, with little trimming.
You might be able to do the same with undeveloped baby artichokes, but if all you can get are big fat British artichokes you'll have to remove their hairy chokes before you cook them. It's easiest to do this if you first cut them in half. Use water acidified with lemon juice to prevent them from browning while you work.
You don't need to completely submerge the artichokes while you fry them, but otherwise you will have to keep turning them. However, this does mean you could use olive oil for a more authentic flavour without going bankrupt. Otherwise use a neutral oil like sunflower, and as much as you like.
Have 1 or 2 per Person
Ingredients
- globe artichokes
- olive or neutral oil for deep-frying
- salt
- lemon
Fill a large bowl with water and squeeze in the juice from two lemon halves then throw them all in too.
Remove the tough outer leaves of the artichokes (about half a dozen layers). Keep going until you reach the more soft and tender leaves.
Peel the tough outer layer of the stem with a vegetable peeler or a paring knife and trim the stalk to a reasonable length.
Immediately place the artichoke halves in the lemon water, submerging them on all sides to keep them from browning.
Heat your chosen oil to about 138°C (280°F). Pat the artichokes dry and lower them into the oil. Cook them fairly gently (they should stream out bubbles steadily) until they are easily pierced with a fork - 10 to 15 minutes.
Turn them every few minutes if they aren't fully submerged in the oil.
Remove to drain on kitchen towel. When cool enough you can pry the leaves open to give them their signature flower appearance.
Drain on paper towels and salt immediately while they are still hot.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Remove the tough outer leaves of the artichokes (about half a dozen layers). Keep going until you reach the more soft and tender leaves.
If the leaves are too tough, when fried they will turn hard and impossible to eat at their outer ends.
Crispy leaves are good. Rock hard ones, not so fine.
Use a sharp knife to cut an inch off the top of the bulb where the hard or thorned bits of leaf are.Crispy leaves are good. Rock hard ones, not so fine.
Peel the tough outer layer of the stem with a vegetable peeler or a paring knife and trim the stalk to a reasonable length.
You might need to peel the stalk (and the bottom of the bulb) quite aggressively since the outer layers can be quite fibrous.
Slice the artichoke in half lengthwise (if large). Use a small knife or spoon to scoop out the fuzzy center choke.Immediately place the artichoke halves in the lemon water, submerging them on all sides to keep them from browning.
Heat your chosen oil to about 138°C (280°F). Pat the artichokes dry and lower them into the oil. Cook them fairly gently (they should stream out bubbles steadily) until they are easily pierced with a fork - 10 to 15 minutes.
Turn them every few minutes if they aren't fully submerged in the oil.
Remove to drain on kitchen towel. When cool enough you can pry the leaves open to give them their signature flower appearance.
If they're small enough to cook whole, now might be the best time to scoop out their choke if they still have one.
Bring the oil up to 177°C (350°F) and return the bloomed artichokes to the fryer.
They will fry quickly now - remove them after only a minute or two when browned and crispy.Drain on paper towels and salt immediately while they are still hot.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Very tasty, though I'd need a bit more practice in completely removing all the tough or fibrous parts.
Wild Garlic Pesto
veg cheese pasta sauce
The local greengrocer had wild garlic for sale. And I thought But it's growing all along the canal, right there!
So I picked a bunch and made pesto.
Makes about 1 Cup
Ingredients
- 60g wild garlic leaves
- juice of ½ lemon
- 40g pine nuts
- 50g grated parmesan
- salt
- pepper
- about 100ml olive oil
The easiest way to make this pesto is to throw everything but the oil into a blender or food processor, and then drizzle the oil into the resulting paste.
But this can create more of a sludge than a rough paste and even generate bitterness from the violent mechanical dispersal of phenols from the olive oil. It may also be unkind to the parmesan.
The best way to make pesto is with a lot of chopping followed by a damn good pounding in a giant pestle and mortar. But not everyone has one of those.
So if you want to compromise on a textured pesto that isn't too smooth, or too much trouble, you can blend up the wild garlic leaves with only as much lemon juice and olive oil as necessary to get the paste moving. Then grind the pine nuts in a pestle and mortar (which is quite manageable), finely grate the parmesan, and beat these with the rest of the olive oil into the mixture by hand.
Adjust the quantities I like relatively generous quantities of cheese and lemon and season to taste.
The best way to make pesto is with a lot of chopping followed by a damn good pounding in a giant pestle and mortar. But not everyone has one of those.
So if you want to compromise on a textured pesto that isn't too smooth, or too much trouble, you can blend up the wild garlic leaves with only as much lemon juice and olive oil as necessary to get the paste moving. Then grind the pine nuts in a pestle and mortar (which is quite manageable), finely grate the parmesan, and beat these with the rest of the olive oil into the mixture by hand.
Adjust the quantities I like relatively generous quantities of cheese and lemon and season to taste.
Other nuts, such as hazelnuts (or cobnuts) are also recommended.
It should keep for weeks, in a jar in the fridge, covered with a layer of olive oil.
It should keep for weeks, in a jar in the fridge, covered with a layer of olive oil.
You can fry some tinned anchovies in olive oil, lubricate with pasta water, add cooked pasta, flavour with wild garlic pesto, and dress with more grated parmesan for a decent pasta dish.
Roast Kohlrabi and Jerusalem Artichokes with Wild Garlic Pesto
veg starter side
So I'd seen people claiming
that roasted kohlrabi was crispy and delicious. And they were right!
I'd actually only had it raw before (they eat a fair bit of it in Scandinavia).
I'd actually only had it raw before (they eat a fair bit of it in Scandinavia).
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 kohlrabi
- half a dozen jerusalem artichokes
- a squeeze of lemon juice?
- bunch asparagus spears
- 1-2 cloves garlic garlic, sliced or minced optional
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
- pecorino or parmesan cheese, grated
Dressing:- grated lemon zest
- wild garlic pesto
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7/230°C/450°F.
Mince or slice a little garlic if you like.
Peel the kohlrabi their skin can be thick and fibrous. Wash or peel the jerusalem artichokes. Cut them all into wedges, or slices about ¼" thick.
Season the slices with salt & pepper, add the garlic and generously coat them in olive oil.
Meanwhile blanch asparagus spears snap off any tough ends to their stems for a minute or two, then drain.
Add the asparagus to the dish, give everything a stir, grate over a light sprinkling of grated parmesan or pecorino, and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts and coats the vegetables.
Serve with a dressing of wild garlic pesto. Add a scattering of lemon zest if you like.
Mince or slice a little garlic if you like.
Peel the kohlrabi their skin can be thick and fibrous. Wash or peel the jerusalem artichokes. Cut them all into wedges, or slices about ¼" thick.
Season the slices with salt & pepper, add the garlic and generously coat them in olive oil.
I think I skipped adding garlic being worried about it burning at the relatively high oven temperature, though I suppose you could substitute garlic powder of which I'm not sure I approve,
and I may have rubbed the artichokes with lemon juice, which stops them from browning, I really can't remember now!
Lay them out in more-or-less a single layer in an oven dish and roast them for about 30 minutes until they brown nicely.
Give them a prod and maybe a turn half way through.Meanwhile blanch asparagus spears snap off any tough ends to their stems for a minute or two, then drain.
Add the asparagus to the dish, give everything a stir, grate over a light sprinkling of grated parmesan or pecorino, and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts and coats the vegetables.
Serve with a dressing of wild garlic pesto. Add a scattering of lemon zest if you like.
Very good. It turns out that roast kohlrabi are crunchy and delicious.
Though this has not yet translated to deep-frying.
Though this has not yet translated to deep-frying.
Wild Garlic Velouté with Marinated Feta
veg soup
I was surprised how magnificently this soup turned out.
It's a combination of a Great British Chefs' Wild Garlic Velouté and Anna Hansen's Wild garlic, new potato and black onion seed soup with marinated feta with a few improvements of my own.
I happened to have some kohlrabi which I'd read was a common thickener for soups so I threw that in. And it really helped.
I didn't have any dried Urfa chilli (who does?) so I just used regular chilli pepper flakes.
I also only had old, dried, curry leaves so I also threw in a good pluck of dried fenugreek leaves. Which I think is definitely advised.
It's a combination of a Great British Chefs' Wild Garlic Velouté and Anna Hansen's Wild garlic, new potato and black onion seed soup with marinated feta with a few improvements of my own.
I happened to have some kohlrabi which I'd read was a common thickener for soups so I threw that in. And it really helped.
I didn't have any dried Urfa chilli (who does?) so I just used regular chilli pepper flakes.
I also only had old, dried, curry leaves so I also threw in a good pluck of dried fenugreek leaves. Which I think is definitely advised.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
Soup:- 500ml of strong chicken stock
- ½ kohlrabi, peeled, chopped
- 150g of wild garlic
- 50g of spinach
- 50ml of double cream
- 20g of butter
- salt & pepper
- lemon juice
- extra olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Marinated Feta:- 200g of feta, cut into 1cm cubes
- 150ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 10 curry leaves
- large pinch dried fenugreek leaves perhaps a teaspoon of crushed leaves
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp caraway seeds
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- ½ tsp Urfa chilli flakes
- generous ½ tsp onion seeds
- 6 basil leaves, shredded
Marinate the Feta
Measure 100ml of olive oil into a small pan over a moderate heat and add the curry leaves, fenugreek leaves and dry spices.
Mix cooled spiced oil over the feta along with the remaining 50ml oil or just enough to cover and the minced basil leaves.
Gently toss the feta in the oil then refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.
Peel the kohlrabi, making sure to remove all the tough stringy outer layers, then roughly chop. Simmer the kohlrabi for 10-15 minutes in the stock in a large pan until it softens.
Stir in the double cream, cook for a minute more and then transfer to a blender. Blitz until very smooth.
Return the blend to the pan, reheat, and enrich it by whisking in the cold butter.
Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Ladle into bowls and dress with a pile of the marinated feta cheese and a further drizzle of oil if necessary.
Measure 100ml of olive oil into a small pan over a moderate heat and add the curry leaves, fenugreek leaves and dry spices.
You can lightly crush them, especially the leaves, with a pestle and mortar first.
Fry for a minute or 2 until the spices become aromatic and begin to pop watch out - they're pretty lively!, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.Mix cooled spiced oil over the feta along with the remaining 50ml oil or just enough to cover and the minced basil leaves.
Gently toss the feta in the oil then refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.
It's a good idea to bring it out of the fridge a couple of hours before using so it has time to come up to room temperature before dressing the soup.
Peel the kohlrabi, making sure to remove all the tough stringy outer layers, then roughly chop. Simmer the kohlrabi for 10-15 minutes in the stock in a large pan until it softens.
You could skip the kohlrabi, but it does add a sweet, nutty texture to the soup.
Allow the stock to reduce down to about 400ml as it simmers, particularly if it's a bit on the feeble side. Or vegetable.
Add the wild garlic and spinach, wilt, and cook for a few minutes. You want to cook the garlic through to eliminate the raw punchy flavour but not so much that it loses its bright green colour.Allow the stock to reduce down to about 400ml as it simmers, particularly if it's a bit on the feeble side. Or vegetable.
Stir in the double cream, cook for a minute more and then transfer to a blender. Blitz until very smooth.
Return the blend to the pan, reheat, and enrich it by whisking in the cold butter.
Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Ladle into bowls and dress with a pile of the marinated feta cheese and a further drizzle of oil if necessary.
OMG Fantastic!
Reheat gently without boiling.
Reheat gently without boiling.
Abondance Mousse with Kohlrabi, Walnut Pesto and Pear Salad, Dill Dressing
starter cheese
A recipe from Adam Smith, if that's even a real name,
who apparently serves it with a Comté biscuit on the side.
As if the dish wasn't already complicated enough!
Anyway, he makes his mousse with Aged Comté, but I used Abondance, a rather nice, nutty, fruity French cheese from the Alps, because it was on offer at my Local Fucking Supermarket™. And because it's quite like Comté.
Now, I completely miscalculated how much time would be involved in creating this marvel when I originally planned it as a Saturday dinner starter. It's not just the vacuum-packing-pickling, or the mousse-chilling. Or the walnut roasting. Or the pear-juicing. (Actually I might have made that rod for my own back - I could always have bought pear juice. I should think.) It's also quite fiddly to prepare, using the star-shaped cookie cutter you bought especially from that pound shop that stocks everything in plastic or tin tat.
I found the proportions in Adam's recipe to be completely out-of-wack. His ingredients are supposed to serve 6 people, but there's no way you could use up 3 kohlrabis and 6 pears as a garnish. I mean, you've only got 450g of mousse. And that's a WHOLE PEAR EACH! Madness.
I think you'd struggle to stretch the mousse out to 6 people, and there'd be too much pickled kohlrabi, and too many candied walnuts.
So feel free to adjust the measures below accordingly.
As if the dish wasn't already complicated enough!
Anyway, he makes his mousse with Aged Comté, but I used Abondance, a rather nice, nutty, fruity French cheese from the Alps, because it was on offer at my Local Fucking Supermarket™. And because it's quite like Comté.
Now, I completely miscalculated how much time would be involved in creating this marvel when I originally planned it as a Saturday dinner starter. It's not just the vacuum-packing-pickling, or the mousse-chilling. Or the walnut roasting. Or the pear-juicing. (Actually I might have made that rod for my own back - I could always have bought pear juice. I should think.) It's also quite fiddly to prepare, using the star-shaped cookie cutter you bought especially from that pound shop that stocks everything in plastic or tin tat.
Although now I come to look - it seems quite hard to buy pear juice. So there.
I found the proportions in Adam's recipe to be completely out-of-wack. His ingredients are supposed to serve 6 people, but there's no way you could use up 3 kohlrabis and 6 pears as a garnish. I mean, you've only got 450g of mousse. And that's a WHOLE PEAR EACH! Madness.
I think you'd struggle to stretch the mousse out to 6 people, and there'd be too much pickled kohlrabi, and too many candied walnuts.
So feel free to adjust the measures below accordingly.
Ingredients
Dill Oil- 130g of dill or wild garlic!
- 200g of vegetable oil
- 2g of salt
Candied Walnuts- 150g of walnuts
- 200g of caster sugar
- 500ml of water
- 4 star anise
Pickled Kohlrabi- 200g of kohlrabi, thinly sliced
- 36g of rapeseed oil
- 18g of Chardonnay vinegar
- 5g of flaky sea salt
- 2g of cane sugar
Cheese Mousse- 150g of aged Comté other cheeses are available
- 300g of whipping cream
- 2 bronze gelatine leaves
- 1g of flaky sea salt
Walnut Pesto- 100g of walnuts
- 3g of flaky sea salt try it with less
- 20ml of walnut oil
Pear and Walnut Dressing- 50ml of pear juice
- 20ml of sherry vinegar
- 100ml of walnut oil
- salt and pepper
Garnish- 3 about 1 kohlrabi
- 6 about 2 pears
- 400g about 100g of Comté cheese other cheeses are available, thinly sliced and cut into rounds
- mixed salad leaves, such as nasturtium, watercress or chicory
Dill Oil
For the dill oil, blend the dill with the vegetable oil and salt in a Thermomix at 62°C, or else in a regular blender until thoroughly blended.
Strain through a triple later of muslin, hanging in the fridge overnight.
Candied Walnuts
Begin by making the candied walnuts. Place the walnuts into a heatproof bowl.
Bring the sugar, water and star anise to the boil in a heavy saucepan. Simmer for 3–4 minutes then pour the syrup over the walnuts.
Let cool at room temperature until lukewarm then chill in the fridge overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 170°C fan.
Drain the walnuts from the syrup and place them onto a lined baking tray. Cook for 8–12 minutes until deep golden brown.
Set aside to cool at room temperature while you prepare the other components.
Pickled Kohlrabi
Whisk together the rapeseed oil, vinegar, salt and sugar until emulsified.
Pour the vinaigrette over the kohlrabi and compress in a vac pac machine or simply cover tightly. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Cheese Mousse
Finely grate the cheese, then place it into a pan with the whipping cream.
Bring the cream up to 85°C, stirring to melt the cheese.
Bloom your gelatine in water. Once it's soft, remove it and squeeze out any excess water.
Add the gelatine to the cheese and cream mixture and whisk until smooth. Season with salt.
Pass the cream through a fine sieve and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Once set, beat the mix with a spatula until light and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside until needed.
Walnut Pesto
While the cream cools, preheat the oven to 170°C fan.
Place the walnuts for the pesto onto a baking tray. Season with the sea salt and mix with half (10ml) the walnut oil.
Coarsely chop a quarter of the walnuts by hand. Set aside.
Pulse the remaining walnuts in a food processor while slowing adding the second half (10ml) of the walnut oil.
Combine the hand-chopped walnuts and walnut oil mixture together and set aside until needed.
Pear and Walnut Dressing
Whisk together all the dressing ingredients together with 100ml dill oil and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To Serve
Use a mandolin to thinly slice the pear and raw kohlrabi. Adam chooses to then cut the slices out into little stars as seen in the image above, but you can cut them into rounds if it's easier.
Cut the pickled kohlrabi into rounds or stars.
Pipe the cheese mousse onto a plate and create a well on top. Fill the well with the walnut pesto and top with the rounds of cheese.
Arrange the raw kohlrabi, pickled kohlrabi and pear over the mousse. It should be completely covered.
Finish with the dressing and serve with some crusty bread.
For the dill oil, blend the dill with the vegetable oil and salt in a Thermomix at 62°C, or else in a regular blender until thoroughly blended.
Strain through a triple later of muslin, hanging in the fridge overnight.
I used the same weight of wild garlic to make Wild Garlic Oil instead.
I don't think it quite matched the pear and walnut flavours as much as I imagine the dill would have. But it wasn't too bad.
It certainly looked the part.
I don't think it quite matched the pear and walnut flavours as much as I imagine the dill would have. But it wasn't too bad.
It certainly looked the part.
Candied Walnuts
Begin by making the candied walnuts. Place the walnuts into a heatproof bowl.
Bring the sugar, water and star anise to the boil in a heavy saucepan. Simmer for 3–4 minutes then pour the syrup over the walnuts.
Let cool at room temperature until lukewarm then chill in the fridge overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 170°C fan.
Drain the walnuts from the syrup and place them onto a lined baking tray. Cook for 8–12 minutes until deep golden brown.
Set aside to cool at room temperature while you prepare the other components.
These are really nice!
Pickled Kohlrabi
Whisk together the rapeseed oil, vinegar, salt and sugar until emulsified.
Pour the vinaigrette over the kohlrabi and compress in a vac pac machine or simply cover tightly. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Days longer seems to be fine.
Cheese Mousse
Finely grate the cheese, then place it into a pan with the whipping cream.
Bring the cream up to 85°C, stirring to melt the cheese.
Bloom your gelatine in water. Once it's soft, remove it and squeeze out any excess water.
Add the gelatine to the cheese and cream mixture and whisk until smooth. Season with salt.
Pass the cream through a fine sieve and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Once set, beat the mix with a spatula until light and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside until needed.
This didn't work well at all for me.
It all went fine, except for struggling to get the gelatin to dissolve, up until the chilling stage. At which point the mousse set like rubber. I used a fork and a palette knife to shred it up, then cream it as best I could, but it was a long way from being airy.
And piping was completely out of the question.
Perhaps I used too much gelatine? He doesn't specify the size or weight of his bronze leaves. Is that a standard measure?
Or perhaps the mousse isn't meant to be chilled for 2 days like mine, and is best whipped almost immediately?
I might try warming it up to serve.
It all went fine, except for struggling to get the gelatin to dissolve, up until the chilling stage. At which point the mousse set like rubber. I used a fork and a palette knife to shred it up, then cream it as best I could, but it was a long way from being airy.
And piping was completely out of the question.
Perhaps I used too much gelatine? He doesn't specify the size or weight of his bronze leaves. Is that a standard measure?
Or perhaps the mousse isn't meant to be chilled for 2 days like mine, and is best whipped almost immediately?
I might try warming it up to serve.
You can't warm it up with directed heat without it separating into oil and cheese it seems,
but if you just leave it out to naturally come up to room temperature you can then beat it into something resembling a mousse.
I still wouldn't call it airy though.
Walnut Pesto
While the cream cools, preheat the oven to 170°C fan.
Place the walnuts for the pesto onto a baking tray. Season with the sea salt and mix with half (10ml) the walnut oil.
I'd suggest going a bit lighter on the salt.
Bake at 170°C for 10–12 minutes until deep golden brown, then remove from the oven.Coarsely chop a quarter of the walnuts by hand. Set aside.
Pulse the remaining walnuts in a food processor while slowing adding the second half (10ml) of the walnut oil.
Combine the hand-chopped walnuts and walnut oil mixture together and set aside until needed.
You can combine this walnut baking with the candied walnuts to save on oven-time. Don't get them mixed up though!
Pear and Walnut Dressing
Whisk together all the dressing ingredients together with 100ml dill oil and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To Serve
Use a mandolin to thinly slice the pear and raw kohlrabi. Adam chooses to then cut the slices out into little stars as seen in the image above, but you can cut them into rounds if it's easier.
Cut the pickled kohlrabi into rounds or stars.
Pipe the cheese mousse onto a plate and create a well on top. Fill the well with the walnut pesto and top with the rounds of cheese.
Arrange the raw kohlrabi, pickled kohlrabi and pear over the mousse. It should be completely covered.
I tried to reproduce Adam's star-cut arrangement and it works really well, though you have to fold some of the stars or use the pesto to build some mounds to get a proper 3-dimensional hedgehog appearance.
Place some nuggets of candied walnuts over the top and garnish with leaves and herbs of your choice.Finish with the dressing and serve with some crusty bread.
The candied walnuts are lovely! I think it might take a couple more goes to get the mousse and the balance of flavours exactly right, but it shows promise.
Wilted Spinach and Wild Garlic
veg side
A wonderful addition to my collection of wilted spinaches.
You could probably skip any of the flavourings if you prefer it without the cream, or the parmesan.
You could even miss out the wild garlic, but then it would be just another wilted spinach after all.
You could probably skip any of the flavourings if you prefer it without the cream, or the parmesan.
You could even miss out the wild garlic, but then it would be just another wilted spinach after all.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 200g spinach
- 200g wild garlic leaves
- handful parsley leaves
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of ½ lemon
- about 30g of butter
- ½-1 tsp ground nutmeg
- splash of double cream
- grated parmesan
- salt & pepper
Roughly chop the spinach and the wild garlic. Finely slice the parsley. Remove any massive stalks from all of these.
Melt a generous amount of butter in a large saucepan over a low heat, then throw in the chopped leaves and cover.
Stir occasionally until they have collapsed down, then uncover and turn up the heat a little.
When the excess liquid has cooked off, throw in the lemon zest and the nutmeg. Stir them through, then loosen with a splash of double cream and mix in the grated parmesan until it melts into a nice thick coating.
Season with salt & pepper, if required mine did not, drizzle with a squeeze of lemon juice, and serve.
Melt a generous amount of butter in a large saucepan over a low heat, then throw in the chopped leaves and cover.
Stir occasionally until they have collapsed down, then uncover and turn up the heat a little.
When the excess liquid has cooked off, throw in the lemon zest and the nutmeg. Stir them through, then loosen with a splash of double cream and mix in the grated parmesan until it melts into a nice thick coating.
Season with salt & pepper, if required mine did not, drizzle with a squeeze of lemon juice, and serve.
Absolutely delicious.
Pickled Wild Garlic Buds
veg vegan ingredient
I pickled my buds using white wine vinegar in a ratio of 3:2:1 vinegar:water:sugar following a suggestion by Galloway Wild Foods.
They also recommend salting the buds first, which I did for a day or so, before pickling. It's supposed to intensify their flavour and contribute to softening them up, but most other sites skip it, so we'll just have to see I guess!
Flavour with whatever you like - I used mixed peppercorns and coriander seeds.
They also recommend salting the buds first, which I did for a day or so, before pickling. It's supposed to intensify their flavour and contribute to softening them up, but most other sites skip it, so we'll just have to see I guess!
Flavour with whatever you like - I used mixed peppercorns and coriander seeds.
Makes a Big-Jar-Load
Ingredients
- 500g wild garlic buds
- 300g cider or wine vinegar
- 200g water
- 100g sugar
- red peppercorns, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, allspice
First pick your garlic buds.
Just before they all start to flower is the best time so they're plump and ripe. At this stage they should have started visibly pushing themselves out of the mass of garlic leaves. Don't wait too long though, I don't think it hurts to pick the buds a little early (they'll be there hiding under the leaves for weeks before they flower) and they do flower in only a day or two.
Put them in a bowl and scatter 2-3 teaspoons of salt flakes over them. Leave them for anything from a day to a week, turning them occasionally, and draining and re-salting if required. Wash the salt off and dry them before pickling.
Loosely pack the garlic buds into a jar and cover them with the vinegar mixture.
Just before they all start to flower is the best time so they're plump and ripe. At this stage they should have started visibly pushing themselves out of the mass of garlic leaves. Don't wait too long though, I don't think it hurts to pick the buds a little early (they'll be there hiding under the leaves for weeks before they flower) and they do flower in only a day or two.
Put them in a bowl and scatter 2-3 teaspoons of salt flakes over them. Leave them for anything from a day to a week, turning them occasionally, and draining and re-salting if required. Wash the salt off and dry them before pickling.
This step seems optional.
Make the vinegar mixture by mixing vinegar:water:sugar in the weight ratio 3:2:1 and heating until the sugar dissolves.
I used white wine vinegar. Cider vinegar would also be fine. Probably not malt vinegar.
Allow the mixture to cool.Loosely pack the garlic buds into a jar and cover them with the vinegar mixture.
They float enthusiastically, so you might need an insert of some kind to weight them down so they're all fully submerged.
Keep them in the fridge for a few days or a week before eating, for best results.
They may safely keep for 6 months.
I've yet to try my own ones, but other people's were delicious!
If you want to keep them for a long time it might be advisable to sterilise the jars, and even to pour boiling vinegar solution over the buds in the jars. We'll just have to see I guess 😉
If you want to keep them for a long time it might be advisable to sterilise the jars, and even to pour boiling vinegar solution over the buds in the jars. We'll just have to see I guess 😉
Chorizo Carbonara
meat pasta cheese
Hardlly authentic. But then neither is carbonara, arguably, and this does seem like a natural union.
I've seen a few online recipes for chorizo carbonara, but they mostly use fresh, mexican cooking chorizo which can just be crumbled in, rather than the cured spanish kind which must be sliced fairly thinly. They might work better I suppose.
You could also use some whole egg in with your yolks, but I think it's better with pure yolk.
I've seen a few online recipes for chorizo carbonara, but they mostly use fresh, mexican cooking chorizo which can just be crumbled in, rather than the cured spanish kind which must be sliced fairly thinly. They might work better I suppose.
You could also use some whole egg in with your yolks, but I think it's better with pure yolk.
Ingredients
- olive oil
- cured chorizo, chopped or julienned
- garlic, crushed
- smoked paprika
- black pepper
- parmesan, grated
- egg yolks
- frozen peas or possibly chopped spring onions
- pasta spaghetti, linguine, bucatini are good
Flavour Options:- couple tablespoons double cream
- lemon juice or sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- splash of double cream
Mix the egg yolks and the grated parmesan.
Peel and chop or julienne the cured chorizo and sweat gently in olive oil in a large frying pan until it renders beautiful red fat and crisps just a little at the edges.
Add a generous amount of crushed garlic and a sprinkle of ground black pepper and smoked paprika and sweat the garlic until soft.
Meanwhile boil the pasta in a small quantity of salted water according to the packet instructions.
If the garlic is ready early, halt the cooking process with a ladleful of the pasta water. When the pasta is ready throw in handful of frozen peas or chopped spring onion if you remember, return to a boil, then scoop everything out or drain it, and add to the frying pan along with a ladle of cooking water and over a low heat toss to coat.
Add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to the eggs and cheese and mix through, then mix this through the pasta off the heat.
Return to a very low heat and toss or stir continuously until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta nicely, bearing in mind that the sauce will thicken further as it cools.
Season to taste.
Now you can finish the pasta with a splash of double cream, a sprinkle of sherry or balsamic vinegar, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
Whichever floats your boat.
Peel and chop or julienne the cured chorizo and sweat gently in olive oil in a large frying pan until it renders beautiful red fat and crisps just a little at the edges.
Add a generous amount of crushed garlic and a sprinkle of ground black pepper and smoked paprika and sweat the garlic until soft.
Meanwhile boil the pasta in a small quantity of salted water according to the packet instructions.
If the garlic is ready early, halt the cooking process with a ladleful of the pasta water. When the pasta is ready throw in handful of frozen peas or chopped spring onion if you remember, return to a boil, then scoop everything out or drain it, and add to the frying pan along with a ladle of cooking water and over a low heat toss to coat.
Add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to the eggs and cheese and mix through, then mix this through the pasta off the heat.
Return to a very low heat and toss or stir continuously until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta nicely, bearing in mind that the sauce will thicken further as it cools.
Season to taste.
Now you can finish the pasta with a splash of double cream, a sprinkle of sherry or balsamic vinegar, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
Whichever floats your boat.
Mama Mia that's a spicy carbonara!
Seriously though, it's a marked improvement on the regular carbonara which I still find dull and stodgy.
I went with both cream and sherry vinegar. The sour vinegar is quite a contrast and definitely adds to the character of the dish, even if I may have added a bit too much.
Wish I'd remembered to add the frozen peas though.
Seriously though, it's a marked improvement on the regular carbonara which I still find dull and stodgy.
I went with both cream and sherry vinegar. The sour vinegar is quite a contrast and definitely adds to the character of the dish, even if I may have added a bit too much.
Wish I'd remembered to add the frozen peas though.
Pasta with Creamy Prawns and Chorizo
pasta fish meat
I took inspiration from Sarah Tuck, but drastically reduced the amount of chorizo she used.
You could substitute two or three tablespoons of mascarpone or sour cream for the double cream.
Or you could skip the dairy completely and replace it with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
Feel free to include some grated lime zest.
You could substitute two or three tablespoons of mascarpone or sour cream for the double cream.
Or you could skip the dairy completely and replace it with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
Feel free to include some grated lime zest.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 250g pasta
- olive oil
- 16 king prawns, peeled, de-veined
- 90g chorizo, sliced
- 1 small red onion, or shallots, minced
- ¼-½ tsp chilli flakes
- ½ tsp paprika
- 4-6 cloves garlic
- 2 tomatoes or half a dozen cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 100ml white wine
- 50ml double cream
- salt & pepper
Toppings:- squeeze of lime juice
- parsley, or basil, chopped
Peel the chorizo and slice it into prawn-sized rounds about the thickness of a pound coin.
Chop the onion or shallot quite finely.
Crush or mince the garlic.
Roughly chop the tomatoes: cut cherry tomatoes into eighths.
Heat olive oil until shimmering in a large frying pan and add the chilli flakes, and the prawns. Toss to fry them quickly, until red and opaque, but not overcooked, then scoop them in to a bowl.
Add the chorizo and the onion to the pan and stir fry over medium heat until they begin to colour, then add the garlic. Turn down the heat and sweat the garlic for a few minutes, then add the paprika and stir it through.
Meanwhile, start cooking the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente.
Toss in the chopped tomatoes, then de-glaze the pan with the white wine, and bubble it off until reduced to a third.
Add the cream and stir through.
Scoop out the cooked pasta with tongs or a pasta spider and dump it into the frying pan, along with a splash or two of pasta water. Swirl and toss everything together until the pasta is well coated and finishes cooking. Add the prawns towards the end so they heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice and half the chopped parsley or basil.
Serve immediately dressed with chopped herbs.
Chop the onion or shallot quite finely.
Crush or mince the garlic.
Roughly chop the tomatoes: cut cherry tomatoes into eighths.
Heat olive oil until shimmering in a large frying pan and add the chilli flakes, and the prawns. Toss to fry them quickly, until red and opaque, but not overcooked, then scoop them in to a bowl.
Add the chorizo and the onion to the pan and stir fry over medium heat until they begin to colour, then add the garlic. Turn down the heat and sweat the garlic for a few minutes, then add the paprika and stir it through.
Meanwhile, start cooking the pasta according to the packet instructions until al dente.
Toss in the chopped tomatoes, then de-glaze the pan with the white wine, and bubble it off until reduced to a third.
Add the cream and stir through.
Scoop out the cooked pasta with tongs or a pasta spider and dump it into the frying pan, along with a splash or two of pasta water. Swirl and toss everything together until the pasta is well coated and finishes cooking. Add the prawns towards the end so they heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice and half the chopped parsley or basil.
Serve immediately dressed with chopped herbs.
Pleasant.
After the Fireworks
We kick off the New Year with a cheese soup, and a cheese sauce to go with a leftover mincemeat pie. Flora's home-made mincemeat mind you, which would have been sacrilege to discard.
And then on to a particularly nice fillet steak meal with pommes anna, parsnip horseradish purée, black garlic gel, and red wine tarragon sauce lifted from various Great British Chefs.
You may spot one or two photos of the meal below 😉
Thanks Chefs!
In other news...
We had the usual media-bedwetting apocalyptic snowfall of a couple of inches over the second week of January to usher in the new year.
And I began experimenting with my sous vide Christmas present. It does a really nice fillet steak.
It's success with duck breasts is still in question though.
I started a new cookery class at Kirklees College - an Introduction to Pâtisserie this time, for a change.
And I managed to squeeze in another meal with friends to celebrate my brother and nephew being away JOKE!.
So a Happy New Year to all my reader 😘
Celery and Gorgonzola Soup
cheese soup
I needed to use up some Gorgonzola so I substituted that for the Stilton in Rachel Kelly's original recipe.
Celery and Wensleydale is a recognised combination, so I suppose a blue cheese is not too far off.
I had slightly more celery than the original recipe called for, which I don't think does any harm, boiled potato to thicken the soup, and I included a little bit of apple too, which seemed like a nice addition.
Celery and Wensleydale is a recognised combination, so I suppose a blue cheese is not too far off.
I had slightly more celery than the original recipe called for, which I don't think does any harm, boiled potato to thicken the soup, and I included a little bit of apple too, which seemed like a nice addition.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 50g butter
- 1 English onion, finely chopped
- a few garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1-2 heads of celery (including the leaves) or a medium celeriac (about 750g to 1kg), peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 small apple, peeled, cored, chopped
- 1-2 boiled potatoes
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 100ml white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- a sprig of thyme or a bunch of parsley
- about 1 cup double cream
- 250ml milk or less
- 200g gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and add the onion. Cook over a gentle heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until softened.
Add the celery (or celeriac) and carrots. Stir and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the garlic and apple and cook until softened.
Add the white wine and bubble off.
Add the stock and bring to the boil.
Reduce to a simmer and add the bay leaf and thyme if using - I didn't have any. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes.
Return the soup to a clean saucepan and bring back to a simmer. Add some cream and milk and warm through.
Check the seasoning. It is unlikely you will need any salt as the cheese will be quite salty.
Serve with a little of the blue cheese crumbled over each bowl if it's the kind that crumbles 😉 or a sprinkling of snipped chives or sliced spring onion.
Add the celery (or celeriac) and carrots. Stir and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the garlic and apple and cook until softened.
Add the white wine and bubble off.
Add the stock and bring to the boil.
Reduce to a simmer and add the bay leaf and thyme if using - I didn't have any. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes.
Add pre-boiled potato to thicken and a bunch of parsley towards the end, if you like.
Leave to cool, remove the bay leaf and if using a sprig of thyme; the woody stem, and blend. Pass through a sieve for extra smoothness.Return the soup to a clean saucepan and bring back to a simmer. Add some cream and milk and warm through.
Add cream to enrich the soup, and only enough milk to thin the consistency and help dissolve the cheese - I used about 120ml
Add the blue cheese and stir continuously until the cheese has melted into the soup. Do not let the soup boil as it may curdle.Check the seasoning. It is unlikely you will need any salt as the cheese will be quite salty.
Serve with a little of the blue cheese crumbled over each bowl if it's the kind that crumbles 😉 or a sprinkling of snipped chives or sliced spring onion.
Pretty nice.
You can make the soup as thick or as thin as you like. I included potato, added double cream and used less milk and slightly less stock than advertised.
You can make the soup as thick or as thin as you like. I included potato, added double cream and used less milk and slightly less stock than advertised.
Traditional Mince Pie with Caramel Cheese Sauce
dessert meat
I have previously made meaty mince pies and thought them rather good, but I'm not so sure about this one.
I was inspired by Onemina's recipe, but to be fair to her (them?) I fried my mince rather than just including it in the mincemeat preparation.
I was inspired by Onemina's recipe, but to be fair to her (them?) I fried my mince rather than just including it in the mincemeat preparation.
Feeds 8
Ingredients
- 500g mince
- 2 cups mincemeat
- 1" ginger, grated
- 1-2 courgettes, peeled, chopped
- 1 stick celery, chopped
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup stock
- puff pastry
To Serve:- Caramel Cream Cheese Sauce
Fry the mince to brown lightly, then add the grated ginger and the celery and cook them out.
Add the courgette and then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the mincemeat and moisten with as much stock as required.
Line a pie dish with the puff pastry, fill with the, er, filling, and roll puff pastry across the top. Cut slits on the crust. Brush with milk, cream or beaten egg if you like.
Trim and crimp the edges and bake for about 45 minutes at Gas Mark 4-5/350-375°F/175-190°C.
Add the courgette and then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the mincemeat and moisten with as much stock as required.
Line a pie dish with the puff pastry, fill with the, er, filling, and roll puff pastry across the top. Cut slits on the crust. Brush with milk, cream or beaten egg if you like.
Trim and crimp the edges and bake for about 45 minutes at Gas Mark 4-5/350-375°F/175-190°C.
Yeah, it really wasn't great. I think there's probably some difference between basically adding mincemeat to a meat pie and including meat in the mincemeat.
One giant pie is a bit weird, and I don't think puff pastry is ideal for a mince pie either.
But the sauce was lovely!
One giant pie is a bit weird, and I don't think puff pastry is ideal for a mince pie either.
But the sauce was lovely!
Black Garlic Purée
veg side sauce
I made the purée, or gel as I'm calling it, with about 6 cloves of black garlic - amounting to ⅒ of the amounts below.
Which does make weighing, measuring and blending the ingredients something of a challenge!
Which does make weighing, measuring and blending the ingredients something of a challenge!
Serves 6 - You Don't Need Much
Ingredients
- 190g of black garlic, peeled
- 85ml of water
- 15g of xanthan gum
- 2.5g of salt
- 15g of white wine vinegar
- 15g of caster sugar
Place all the ingredients in a Thermomix set at 60°C and blitz until smooth.
Alternatively, place all the ingredients in a blender, but with boiling instead of cold water.
Pass through a fine sieve and set aside to cool
Alternatively, place all the ingredients in a blender, but with boiling instead of cold water.
Pass through a fine sieve and set aside to cool
The purée is thick enough to turn out using a lightly oiled measuring spoon and have it hold its shape.
Parsnip Horseradish Purée
side veg
The original uses celeriac, but parsnip is just a nice, or nicer.
I also used peeled, grated horseradish root instead of the horseradish sauce.
You'll need perhaps 100g. Adjust to your taste.
I also used peeled, grated horseradish root instead of the horseradish sauce.
You'll need perhaps 100g. Adjust to your taste.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 70g of horseradish sauce or about 100g grated horseradish root
- 200g of parsnip, peeled and diced
- 120ml of milk or milk and cream
- 1/4 lemon, juiced
- 20ml of olive oil
- salt
Sweat the celeriac parsnip down in a pan with the salt and oil until soft and tender.
I discovered that if you accidentally over-brown some of the sides of the parsnip cubes (I'd cut them into cuboids) you can cut a thin slice of the browned surface away
and fry those off in a little butter to make rather tasty parsnip crisps.
Then you can decorate your purée with them when you serve.
You might even consider making the crisps deliberately!
Add the milk and horseradish sauce and bring the whole lot to the boil.
You might even consider making the crisps deliberately!
I just used fresh grated horseradish root.
I also tried substituting cream for the milk, but it's actually too thick on its own, but some cream is nice and enriching. Loosen with as much milk as required.
Take off the heat once boiled, squeeze in the lemon juice and blend into a smooth purée using a stick blender.
Pass through a fine sieve
I also tried substituting cream for the milk, but it's actually too thick on its own, but some cream is nice and enriching. Loosen with as much milk as required.
Excellent.
Red Wine and Tarragon Sauce
meat sauce
A rather complicated, but quite satisfying and very rich sauce.
The xanthan gum is extremely effective, so you need to add it a little at a time to avoid over-thickening.
To prevent the gum clumping you need to whisk continuously as you slowly scatter in the powder. Preferably using an electric whisk or immersion blender to maintain a vortex.
Apparently you can also mix the powder with oil first to help disperse it through the liquid without forming lumps.
The small amount of milk is an interesting touch.
Use any old meat trimmings to get the sauce started.
The xanthan gum is extremely effective, so you need to add it a little at a time to avoid over-thickening.
To prevent the gum clumping you need to whisk continuously as you slowly scatter in the powder. Preferably using an electric whisk or immersion blender to maintain a vortex.
Apparently you can also mix the powder with oil first to help disperse it through the liquid without forming lumps.
The small amount of milk is an interesting touch.
Use any old meat trimmings to get the sauce started.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- beef trimmings
- 300g of mushrooms
- 1.5l chicken stock
- 700ml of red wine
- 20ml of milk
- 5g of xanthan gum
- 20ml of Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
- 5 sprigs of tarragon
- salt & pepper
Sweat the beef trimmings until golden brown, add half of the mushrooms and sweat for 10 more minutes.
Add the stock, red wine, the rest of the mushrooms and milk. Bring to the boil and cook for 45-50 minutes, skimming all the time.
Sieve the sauce and add the xanthan gum and the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Now add the tarragon and simmer for 2-3 minutes before passing again through a sieve.
Add the stock, red wine, the rest of the mushrooms and milk. Bring to the boil and cook for 45-50 minutes, skimming all the time.
Sieve the sauce and add the xanthan gum and the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Now add the tarragon and simmer for 2-3 minutes before passing again through a sieve.
Or just add the tarragon towards the end of the simmering stage to avoid having to strain again after adding the gum.
Though that assumes you could manage to whisk in the xanthan gum without lumping. Which seems challenging!
Be sure to de-glaze your meat-frying pan (I used sherry) and strain those juices into your sauce too.
Though that assumes you could manage to whisk in the xanthan gum without lumping. Which seems challenging!
Be sure to de-glaze your meat-frying pan (I used sherry) and strain those juices into your sauce too.
Pommes Anna
Or Pressed Potatoes with Onion
Or Pressed Potatoes with Onion
veg side
Basically Pommes Anna with fried onions pressed between the layers.
You'll need a surprisingly large quantity of onion to start with before it reduces down to golden crisps.
Though if they're crisp you've probably gone too far. Soft and golden is the description given!
You'll need a surprisingly large quantity of onion to start with before it reduces down to golden crisps.
Though if they're crisp you've probably gone too far. Soft and golden is the description given!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 100g of butter
- 1kg onion, finely sliced
- 2kg Maris Piper potatoes
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- salt
Place a large pan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, add the onions with a pinch of salt and the thyme and cook until soft and golden – this will take at least 10 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 20x15cm terrine mould with baking paper.
Peel and very finely slice the potatoes (use a mandoline if you have one). And you should have one! Place the potatoes neatly into the terrine mould in layers. After the first two layers, alternate with a layer of the cooked onion. Season between each layer and ensure the final top layer is potatoes. Cover with a sheet of baking paper followed by a layer of tin foil and cook for 40 minutes, or until completely cooked through when a knife is inserted.
Turn out the set potato terrine and carefully carve into thick slices. Ensure the oven remains on at 180°C/gas mark 4.
Place the slices of potato terrine in the oven to warm through as well.
Serve arranged with the potato slices vertically for best effect on the plate.
Preheat an oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and line a 20x15cm terrine mould with baking paper.
Peel and very finely slice the potatoes (use a mandoline if you have one). And you should have one! Place the potatoes neatly into the terrine mould in layers. After the first two layers, alternate with a layer of the cooked onion. Season between each layer and ensure the final top layer is potatoes. Cover with a sheet of baking paper followed by a layer of tin foil and cook for 40 minutes, or until completely cooked through when a knife is inserted.
Have some extra melted butter on hand to brush the potato slices with as you go to make sure everything is sufficiently well lubricated.
You might want to only add onions every other layer or fewer.
Mine took 1½ hours to cook.
Once the terrine is cooked through, remove the tin foil and place something heavy on top of the potatoes. Place in the fridge to chill and set overnight.Mine took 1½ hours to cook.
Turn out the set potato terrine and carefully carve into thick slices. Ensure the oven remains on at 180°C/gas mark 4.
Place the slices of potato terrine in the oven to warm through as well.
Serve arranged with the potato slices vertically for best effect on the plate.
Actually the pressed potato slices will hold together well enough to pan-fry them in butter, layer-ends down, to give them a beautiful golden crust.
Though I must admit they don't look quite as appealingly uniform as regular Pommes Anna.
Though I must admit they don't look quite as appealingly uniform as regular Pommes Anna.
Caldo Verde Vermelho
Cabbage Stew
Cabbage Stew
meat soup
I had a lot of stuff left over that I needed to use up. Mostly cabbage.
So I started with this largely inauthentic Hairy Bikers recipe for Caldo Verde (Portuguese green broth) and just started chucking things in.
Though by the time I'd added the tomato and beetroot the stew was extremely red. So not Caldo Verde at all then.
I had recently bought 2 bunches of beetroots to make a purée with but they were so small that the bunches were more tops than roots.
So after making the purée I had a lot of beetroot leaves to eat (I did throw most of the actual stalks away - though you could add those too - they're perfectly edible) so they went in. Along with a handful of sad tomatoes, the stalks of a cauliflower I'd riced, some lonely carrots, shriveling sprouts, a withered apple, a few orange segments, and some of the juice from a jar of pickled chillies.
If I hadn't eaten all the pickles some of them would have gone in too.
In fact, the only thing I actually needed to buy in for the stew was the chorizo!
So I started with this largely inauthentic Hairy Bikers recipe for Caldo Verde (Portuguese green broth) and just started chucking things in.
Though by the time I'd added the tomato and beetroot the stew was extremely red. So not Caldo Verde at all then.
I had recently bought 2 bunches of beetroots to make a purée with but they were so small that the bunches were more tops than roots.
So after making the purée I had a lot of beetroot leaves to eat (I did throw most of the actual stalks away - though you could add those too - they're perfectly edible) so they went in. Along with a handful of sad tomatoes, the stalks of a cauliflower I'd riced, some lonely carrots, shriveling sprouts, a withered apple, a few orange segments, and some of the juice from a jar of pickled chillies.
If I hadn't eaten all the pickles some of them would have gone in too.
In fact, the only thing I actually needed to buy in for the stew was the chorizo!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 large onions and a couple of shallots roughly sliced
- half a head of garlic, peeled cloves crushed
- leaves from a bunch of thyme
- 1 chorizo, peeled, sliced
- 4 large potatoes
- 1 litre strong stock
- 2 small carrots, peeled, quartered lengthways
- head of cabbage, sliced
- beetroot greens, sliced
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- tinned tomatoes or passata
Optionals:- the cabbage stalk, roughly chopped
- 1 cauliflower stalk, roughly chopped
- a dozen brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 apple, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
- ½ an orange, segmented
- 2 red chillies, de-seeded, sliced
- a few tablespoons of pickled chilli liquor
- a dozen halved cherry tomatoes
To Serve:- smoked paprika and olive oil, for dressing
Peel the onions and shallots and slice them fairly thickly lengthways.
Heat a very generous quantity of olive oil in a large pot and start sweating the onions over medium/high heat.
Strip the leaves away from the thyme stalks and throw the leaves in.
Peel and slice the chorizo fairly thickly, and throw it in.
Wash and chop the potato into fairly decent chunks and throw them in.
Mix in a tablespoon of smoked paprika to help out the chorizo.
Roughly chop any sturdy spare vegetables you have lying around and throw them in.
Add a glug or two of passata or some tinned chopped tomatoes. And you might as well throw in some of the liquor from that empty jar of pickled chillies, because why not?
Finally slice up all the greens you have In my case a head of savoy cabbage and a shed-load of beetroot tops as thinly as you like and throw those in.
Serve with some rustic bread and possibly dressed with olive oil mixed with smoked paprika, as the Barey Hikers suggest.
You're just going to add ingredients to the frying mixture - you want it to keep going but not stick or burn or really even brown much.
Peel a lot of garlic cloves, lightly crush them with the side of a knife and throw them in.Strip the leaves away from the thyme stalks and throw the leaves in.
Peel and slice the chorizo fairly thickly, and throw it in.
Wash and chop the potato into fairly decent chunks and throw them in.
Mix in a tablespoon of smoked paprika to help out the chorizo.
Roughly chop any sturdy spare vegetables you have lying around and throw them in.
Like carrots, and the stalks of cabbage or cauliflower.
This is a traditional Portuguese stew after all, so it's important to be authentic.
Cover with a strongly flavoured stock.
This is a traditional Portuguese stew after all, so it's important to be authentic.
I had some well-flavoured (and salty) duck stock from a confit, plus pork juices from a roast (as well as some of the fat).
They all went in, so no extra salt was required.
Cook until the vegetables soften up, then add any other less sturdy extras you have lying around like a couple of red chillies, seeded and sliced fatly, those aging sprouts, trimmed and halved,
an apple or two, peeled, cored and roughly chopped, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes, even those spare orange segments.They all went in, so no extra salt was required.
Add a glug or two of passata or some tinned chopped tomatoes. And you might as well throw in some of the liquor from that empty jar of pickled chillies, because why not?
Finally slice up all the greens you have In my case a head of savoy cabbage and a shed-load of beetroot tops as thinly as you like and throw those in.
A traditional Caldo Verde would have the greens super-thinly shredded, but I think we're well past pretending there's anything traditional going on here!
Adjust the seasoning, cover and simmer until the greens are done.Serve with some rustic bread and possibly dressed with olive oil mixed with smoked paprika, as the Barey Hikers suggest.
Surprisingly delicious!
Try not to overcook the greens, particularly the beetroot leaves - they won't take long to become tender, unless they're very stalk-y.
Try not to overcook the greens, particularly the beetroot leaves - they won't take long to become tender, unless they're very stalk-y.
Although I must admit the meltingly soft cabbage is growing on me - so overcook to your taste!
It's Cheesemas!
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house.
Not a creature was stirring, except for the chefs...
Frantically stuffing the goose and prepping the starters.
This year featured the long-overdue return of Flora:
We're Getting the Goose-Gang back together again 😀
Which means I needed to buy extra cheese. And then Flora brought extra cheese.
Plus Flora brought the specially ordered cheese that I had her sister bring back from Spain.
I'd read about this amazing Spanish cheese called Torta del Casar.
That it hails from the remote Extremadura region - roamed by wild black Iberian pigs from which also comes Spain's magnificent jamón ibérico ham.
How its curiously runny insides are coagulated by thistle pollen giving it a uniquely rich, salty bitterness.
So I tried to buy me some. To absolutely no avail.
It turns out to be practically impossible to get any around the North of my country, and I phoned a lot of cheesemongers. And no, I would not have cared how fucking runny it was. I would have liked it runny 🤣
So I resorted to asking Flora to have her sister bring some back from one of her many Spanish trips.
Unfortunately the cheese cake we got showed no sign of running runny-ing? despite being kept for nearly a month, and while the flavour was distinctive, I wouldn't call it particularly impressive.
I'll say this for the cheese though - it does dissolve extremely readily in cream to make a nice smooth sauce.
Anyway, all that's by way of explaining that I ended up with waaay too much cheese. As is traditional.
Unlike the coffee kisses that Mum used to make. Next year I should make double.
Despite the threat of limited goose sizes from our unreliable supplier, a full-sized bird turned up and all was well in the world. Other things of note this Christmas:
- Vodka and Maltesers make an ideal gift for the alcoholic Malteser-lover in your life.
- Flora introduced us to puff pastry mince pies in the shape of turtles. Or was it dinosaurs?
- Shots of Salmon and Crème Frâiche make fine, if filling, starters.
- My local Wine'n'Cheese finally came through with a bottle of Pol Roger's Cuvée Winston Churchill Champagne for the dinner. Expensive but probably the last, since the store is shortly due to close. Sigh. Where will I get my wine 'n' cheese now?
Salmon and Crème Fraîche Shots with Watercress Purée
fish starter
I rather thought that this starter would be light and airy so I bought larger cocktail glasses to serve portions in, but it's actually pretty dense and filling,
so you really will get 12 servings out of the recipe, even served as a starter rather than a canapé.
Buy small shot glasses!
I also had to go to Newcastle for the Kyurizuke pickled cucumber!
Well, in fact I was there on business, but they did stock them at one of their large Chinese supermarkets, and I hadn't been able to find them anywhere else closer to home. So it was a handy visit.
Their Christmas market wasn't bad either.
Buy small shot glasses!
I also had to go to Newcastle for the Kyurizuke pickled cucumber!
Well, in fact I was there on business, but they did stock them at one of their large Chinese supermarkets, and I hadn't been able to find them anywhere else closer to home. So it was a handy visit.
Their Christmas market wasn't bad either.
Serves 12
Ingredients
- 300g of salmon fillet
- 150g of crème fraîche
- 150g of watercress, roughly chopped
- 2 lemons, 1 juiced, 1 sliced 1 lemon would probably be sufficient
- 50g of Japanese pickled cucumber Kyurizuke
- 1 bunch of dill, finely chopped
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
To begin, take your salmon fillets and lay them on some foil, approximately 25cm square. Drizzle with some of the olive oil and season liberally with the salt and pepper then place a few lemon slices on top.
Finely chop half of the pickled cucumber and add to the bowl, along with a dash of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the watercress purée, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the watercress.
Cover and bring to the boil again (this should take about 1 minute maximum) then drain and plunge the leaves into a bowl of iced water.
Drain the watercress again, reserving just a couple of tablespoons of the water, then place in a blender and blitz to a purée. Use the leftover water to thin the purée if necessary and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, divide the salmon between glasses then top with a layer of the watercress purée. Finish by dotting some of the remaining crème fraîche in the centre and add half a slice of pickled cucumber to each glass.
To begin, take your salmon fillets and lay them on some foil, approximately 25cm square. Drizzle with some of the olive oil and season liberally with the salt and pepper then place a few lemon slices on top.
You probably won't need a whole lemon's worth.
Wrap the foil around the fish to create a bag that is sealed at the edges and place in the oven for 12–15 minutes, or until the salmon is just cooked through.
I'd suggest using the technique for fish en papillote and cook in a very hot oven just until the package puffs out - about 15 minutes.
Take out the salmon and leave it to cool, then flake into a bowl using a fork.
Don't include the skin.
Mix in 100g of the crème fraîche and stir in the dill.Finely chop half of the pickled cucumber and add to the bowl, along with a dash of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the watercress purée, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the watercress.
Cover and bring to the boil again (this should take about 1 minute maximum) then drain and plunge the leaves into a bowl of iced water.
Drain the watercress again, reserving just a couple of tablespoons of the water, then place in a blender and blitz to a purée. Use the leftover water to thin the purée if necessary and season with salt and pepper.
Be heavy-handed with the pepper.
You can add a squeeze of lemon juice too.
To serve, divide the salmon between glasses then top with a layer of the watercress purée. Finish by dotting some of the remaining crème fraîche in the centre and add half a slice of pickled cucumber to each glass.
Pretty tasty, even if it is quite dense.
Maltesers Vodka
drink veg
Kurt loves Maltesers, so thanks to The Crazy Kitchen lady for the gift idea.
Makes about 70cl
Ingredients
- 350ml vodka
- 2x110g boxes Maltesers
Put the Maltesers into an empty bottle that has been sterilised.
Place the lid on and shake vigorously.
Shake regularly over a couple of days until the Maltesers have dissolved - this procedure can be sped up by placing the bottle in a bowl of warm water. Or on a radiator.
I dunno man, I would have thought vodka was pretty sterile!
Anyway, you'll need about 70cl of space.
Choosing a bottle with a neck wide enough to pass a Malteser ball will make your life easier 😉
Pour in the vodka.Anyway, you'll need about 70cl of space.
Choosing a bottle with a neck wide enough to pass a Malteser ball will make your life easier 😉
Place the lid on and shake vigorously.
Shake regularly over a couple of days until the Maltesers have dissolved - this procedure can be sped up by placing the bottle in a bowl of warm water. Or on a radiator.
Smooth and delicious, though I'd probably use a better quality vodka next time!
Give it a good shake before pouring.
Give it a good shake before pouring.
Dinosaur Mince Pies
or Are They Turtles?
or Are They Turtles?
sweet veg
As enjoyed by Flora's friend Matt Toynbee.Requiescat in pace
Thanks to Flora for the transcription.
Thanks to Flora for the transcription.
No Quantities are Provided
Ingredients
For the Mincemeat:- sultanas
- currants
- dried cranberries
- dates, cut up small
- dried apricots, cut up small,
- apple, grated or chopped small
- lemon rind, grated
- lemon juice
- orange juice
- mixed spice
- cardamom
- cinnamon
- brandy/armagnac
For the Pie:- puff pastry
Put the mincemeat ingredients in a small pan, add some water as needed and stew on a low heat making sure it doesn't dry out.
Put in big sterilised jar for making any extras - to use before New Year.
Grease a cupcake tray. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Using a dinosaur-shaped cookie cutter cut out puff pastry shapes and press into each cupcake dimple.
Add the mince meat (in the cupcake depression).
Cut small circles for the dino bellies, or invent shapes like stars or crosses, and place them over the mincemeat piles.
Put an egg in a ramekin for glazing before putting in the oven for 5 minutes or until fluffy and golden brown.
Put in big sterilised jar for making any extras - to use before New Year.
Grease a cupcake tray. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Using a dinosaur-shaped cookie cutter cut out puff pastry shapes and press into each cupcake dimple.
Add the mince meat (in the cupcake depression).
Cut small circles for the dino bellies, or invent shapes like stars or crosses, and place them over the mincemeat piles.
Put an egg in a ramekin for glazing before putting in the oven for 5 minutes or until fluffy and golden brown.
Although the mincemeat is fine, there's something fundamentally unsatisfying about a puff pastry mince pie.
It might be worth trying with a short crust?
And they do look like little turtles - right?
It might be worth trying with a short crust?
And they do look like little turtles - right?
Caramel Cream Cheese Sauce
cheese sauce
Torta del Casar dissolves surprisingly easily into simmering double cream. Which is handy.
Generally when you make a caramel sauce you add the cream directly to the boiling caramel to cook the milk solids slightly, but I didn't want to do that with the cheese, so I blended in the butter first. Be sure to beat the mixture vigorously to avoid curdling as you do this.
You might, I suppose, consider keeping some unmixed cream to add to the boiling sugar first, before adding the cheesed cream and finishing with the butter.
In the likely event you have no Torta del Casar you could probably use Philadelphia Cream Cheese mixed with cream a là Rebecka
There seem to be three approaches to turning your sugar into caramel:
The first two methods are very similar and always seem to end up with lots of unmelted sugar crystals all around the edge, or big chunks of un-melted sugar in the caramel when I try them.
The general opinion is that you shouldn't use brown sugar for this since
The caramel cream cheese sauce also goes quite nicely on scrambled egg - about 1 teaspoon per egg!
Generally when you make a caramel sauce you add the cream directly to the boiling caramel to cook the milk solids slightly, but I didn't want to do that with the cheese, so I blended in the butter first. Be sure to beat the mixture vigorously to avoid curdling as you do this.
You might, I suppose, consider keeping some unmixed cream to add to the boiling sugar first, before adding the cheesed cream and finishing with the butter.
In the likely event you have no Torta del Casar you could probably use Philadelphia Cream Cheese mixed with cream a là Rebecka
There seem to be three approaches to turning your sugar into caramel:
- Pour the sugar into a pan and heat it directly over a fairly low heat, until it all melts into a brown puddle. You might have to swirl or stir carefully if the heating is uneven and you start to get the melting in isolated spots.
- Add just enough water to moisten the sugar so it resembles wet sand and proceed as above.
- Add the same quantity of water as sugar, set it over a very high heat, stir a little at first to dissolve the sugar, then boil furiously without touching it until it reaches the caramel point (180°C). You'll need to watch it like a hawk at this point as it browns quickly, though you can turn the heat down once it reaches the crack stage.
The first two methods are very similar and always seem to end up with lots of unmelted sugar crystals all around the edge, or big chunks of un-melted sugar in the caramel when I try them.
The general opinion is that you shouldn't use brown sugar for this since
- The non-sugar molasses type elements will only burn at the temperatures you'll be raising the sugar to and turn it bitter.
- The colour of the sugar will make it difficult to tell exactly how much caramelisation you have produced - which is essential to controlling the process.
The caramel cream cheese sauce also goes quite nicely on scrambled egg - about 1 teaspoon per egg!
Makes About A Pint
Ingredients
- 200ml double cream
- half a Torta del Casar
- 250g sugar
- 60g butter
Chop or break the cheese into chunks, discarding the rind. Heat the cream in a small saucepan, drop in the cheese, and stir until it dissolves.
Set it aside.
Dissolve the sugar in an equal quantity of water then bring rapidly to the boil over high heat and allow it to reach caramel temperature untouched.
Remove from the heat sticking the pan briefly into cold water might not be a bad idea to halt the caramelisation process, then whisk in the cold butter a little at a time, then beat in the creamed cheese.
Set it aside.
Dissolve the sugar in an equal quantity of water then bring rapidly to the boil over high heat and allow it to reach caramel temperature untouched.
Or whatever your preferred method is.
It will brown rapidly at this point - so watch it carefully.Remove from the heat sticking the pan briefly into cold water might not be a bad idea to halt the caramelisation process, then whisk in the cold butter a little at a time, then beat in the creamed cheese.
Quite nice really.
It does stink a bit, and the Torta del Casar has an oddly bitter edge to it which might not suite every dish. Perhaps a milder, sweeter cheese Like Philadelphia? might work even better?
Serve with your giant mince pie if you must.
It does stink a bit, and the Torta del Casar has an oddly bitter edge to it which might not suite every dish. Perhaps a milder, sweeter cheese Like Philadelphia? might work even better?
Serve with your giant mince pie if you must.
Winter Filth
Ah, Winterfylleth. The ancient Anglo-Saxon month that marked the beginning of winter - as recorded by the Venerable Bede.
Roughly corresponding to October in the modern Gregorian calendar. Starting this year on the New Moon of the 3rd of October and wrapping around the first full moon of winter on the 17th.
Not to be confused with Tolkien's Winterfilth - the tenth month of Shire-calendar. Running from 22nd September to 21st October if you are a hobbit.
Best appreciated with strong liquor.
Speaking of which, ever since I went to Finland to sample Fazer's chocky eggs (and visit Moomin World) I've been a great fan of the Finnish salty liquorice flavour sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride), which they call salmiakki.
Fazer hide surprise bursts of it in many of their sweeties.
So I was delighted to discover, the other day, that you can get a salty liquorice flavoured vodka called Salmiakki on Amazon.
From there, it's just a short step to combining a Japanese salmon preparation technique with a strongly flavoured Finnish vodka to create an obvious pun-based dish.
And thus was SALMONIAKꞰI born.
Salmoniakki
main fish
I couldn't resist this Finnish salmiakki-flavoured vodka. I thought it might make a great flavour for salmon en papillote.
Or possibly teriyaki-style, bubbled into a sauce with maple syrup perhaps? Maybe some vinegar.
Fry the salmon coated in potato starch, or tapioca starch.
The problem I had was that the sauce wasn't thickening the way a teriyaki does - probably the lack of soy sauce, which I don't want to add. Nor do I want any more maple syrup since the sauce is sweet enough. So I thought I'd try adding a thick beer - Barley Wine yes, I realise the name is confusing. I know that the Finns do drink a barley-based beer called sahti so it doesn't seem inappropriate, and in fact the flavour does blend well, mellowing the more aggressive sal ammonia notes, but it doesn't actually thicken things terribly much.
So after much experimentation I gave in and whisked in a few pinches of xanthan gum. Add cautiously - and whisk furiously lest it clump.
So now, what to serve it with?
I started with Flora's Samphire and Creamed Chanterelles (because Finns like their mushrooms), a Japanese Cucumber Salad (because Finns like vinegar), and some rice with spring onion slices (because teriyaki!).
I'm not sure about the mushrooms (maybe add some pickled anchovies?), but the cucumber salad worked very well.
I'm wondering about potato, or a potato purée (since the Finns like potatoes and after all, they don't eat rice), and perhaps a beetroot and horseradish puree (because they also seem like the kind of things Finns eat)?
Beetroot and horseradish agar-agar caviar seems like it might be nice.
I might even make a meal out of it.
The problem I had was that the sauce wasn't thickening the way a teriyaki does - probably the lack of soy sauce, which I don't want to add. Nor do I want any more maple syrup since the sauce is sweet enough. So I thought I'd try adding a thick beer - Barley Wine yes, I realise the name is confusing. I know that the Finns do drink a barley-based beer called sahti so it doesn't seem inappropriate, and in fact the flavour does blend well, mellowing the more aggressive sal ammonia notes, but it doesn't actually thicken things terribly much.
So after much experimentation I gave in and whisked in a few pinches of xanthan gum. Add cautiously - and whisk furiously lest it clump.
So now, what to serve it with?
I started with Flora's Samphire and Creamed Chanterelles (because Finns like their mushrooms), a Japanese Cucumber Salad (because Finns like vinegar), and some rice with spring onion slices (because teriyaki!).
I'm not sure about the mushrooms (maybe add some pickled anchovies?), but the cucumber salad worked very well.
I'm wondering about potato, or a potato purée (since the Finns like potatoes and after all, they don't eat rice), and perhaps a beetroot and horseradish puree (because they also seem like the kind of things Finns eat)?
Beetroot and horseradish agar-agar caviar seems like it might be nice.
I might even make a meal out of it.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 2x2" slices of salmon fillet
- potato or tapioca starch
For the Sauce:- 3 tblsps Salmiakki flavoured vodka
- 2 tblsps barley wine
- 1 tblsps maple syrup
- pinches of xanthan gum
Round One
Ding Ding!
The fish is delicious, but the sauce isn't thick and sticky enough. Not like real teriyaki anyway.
I Probably mixed 2 tblsps salmiakki : 1 tblsp maple syrup - teriyaki gets a lot of its glutinous gloss from the soy sauce, but I don't want to add any of that since the salmiakki is already salty enough. (Or at least, that strange ammonia salt that makes it so distinctive.)
Nor do I want to add more syrup or sugar since I don't want to make it over-sweet.
Perhaps I will need to thicken it with tapioca starch, potato starch (Finns like potatoes) or cornflour, though that feels a little like cheating.
Some Mushroom powder perhaps (Finns like mushrooms)?
Round Two
I tried Equal volumes of salmiakki and syrup. Also, I used about 1 tsp tapioca starch dissolved in 2 tsps water to thicken the sauce. Added off the heat after the sauce has already reduced and foamed.
Nope.
Too sweet and the salmiakki flavour (the whole point of the exercise) is lost.
So now I'm thinking, what about beer, stout or porter?
Or Barley Wine?
What about a splash of red wine vinegar? Finns like vinegar.
Round Three
Jackpot!
Salmiakki:Barley-Wine:Maple-Syrup in ratios 3:2:1 gives a pretty good reduction with a nice barley edge to it. You can thicken it slightly with tiny pinches of xanthan gum if you like.
And you may just have to!
Ding Ding!
The fish is delicious, but the sauce isn't thick and sticky enough. Not like real teriyaki anyway.
I Probably mixed 2 tblsps salmiakki : 1 tblsp maple syrup - teriyaki gets a lot of its glutinous gloss from the soy sauce, but I don't want to add any of that since the salmiakki is already salty enough. (Or at least, that strange ammonia salt that makes it so distinctive.)
Nor do I want to add more syrup or sugar since I don't want to make it over-sweet.
Perhaps I will need to thicken it with tapioca starch, potato starch (Finns like potatoes) or cornflour, though that feels a little like cheating.
Some Mushroom powder perhaps (Finns like mushrooms)?
Round Two
I tried Equal volumes of salmiakki and syrup. Also, I used about 1 tsp tapioca starch dissolved in 2 tsps water to thicken the sauce. Added off the heat after the sauce has already reduced and foamed.
Nope.
Too sweet and the salmiakki flavour (the whole point of the exercise) is lost.
So now I'm thinking, what about beer, stout or porter?
Or Barley Wine?
What about a splash of red wine vinegar? Finns like vinegar.
Round Three
Jackpot!
Salmiakki:Barley-Wine:Maple-Syrup in ratios 3:2:1 gives a pretty good reduction with a nice barley edge to it. You can thicken it slightly with tiny pinches of xanthan gum if you like.
And you may just have to!
The Method
So. After some experimentation, here is what you do:
Clean de-bone and descale the salmon. Cut and trim neat pieces.
Stir to dissolve the maple syrup, then simmer until reduced by ½ or ⅔.
Whisk in a couple of pinches of xanthan gum to thicken it if you want - it probably won't coat the fish well without it.
Sift potato or tapioca starch over the fish fillets.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the fillets skin-side down over medium heat until the fillets colour about a third of the way up.
Flip the fillets and again colour them about a third of the way up.
Transfer the salmon to a plate and clean the pan with kitchen towels. Pour some of the salmoniakki sauce into the frying pan, return the salmon pieces, and flip them in the sauce to coat and glaze.
Clean de-bone and descale the salmon. Cut and trim neat pieces.
If you have the time season the fillets and leave them uncovered overnight in the fridge.
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small pot, and bring to the boil.Stir to dissolve the maple syrup, then simmer until reduced by ½ or ⅔.
Whisk in a couple of pinches of xanthan gum to thicken it if you want - it probably won't coat the fish well without it.
Sift potato or tapioca starch over the fish fillets.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the fillets skin-side down over medium heat until the fillets colour about a third of the way up.
Flip the fillets and again colour them about a third of the way up.
Transfer the salmon to a plate and clean the pan with kitchen towels. Pour some of the salmoniakki sauce into the frying pan, return the salmon pieces, and flip them in the sauce to coat and glaze.
You avoid overcooking the salmon on the first fry-through since it will cook some more at this stage in the sauce.
Serve the glazed salmon with extra sauce drizzled over it.
It even surprised me how delicious this is!
I wonder how well this would work en papillote?
If it were teriyaki you'd serve it over rice, but I doubt the Finns eat much savoury rice. Potato probably. Maybe some Karjalanpiirakka pastry?
I wonder how well this would work en papillote?
If it were teriyaki you'd serve it over rice, but I doubt the Finns eat much savoury rice. Potato probably. Maybe some Karjalanpiirakka pastry?
Flora's Samphire and Creamed Chanterelles
veg side
Flora boasted about her successful combining of samphire, creamed chanterelles and scallops.
I didn't have any chanterelles, so I first made this using thinly sliced oyster mushrooms, which are frankly less than ideal.
Then I tried matchsticks of regular mushrooms, which were an improvement, but I think cordyceps would be even better - they even resemble samphire in shape and size.
I also made the mistake of flavouring the cream with cognac instead of calvados, which would have been a definite improvement.
Neither did I have any scallops, but I think you can safely skip those.
I also made the mistake of flavouring the cream with cognac instead of calvados, which would have been a definite improvement.
Neither did I have any scallops, but I think you can safely skip those.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- two handfuls of samphire
- handful of chanterelles though I used oyster mushrooms
- small knob of butter
- splash of olive oil
- 1 tblsp calvados Not cognac!
- 2-3 tblsps double cream
Throw the samphire into boiling water, return to the boil then drain the samphire and dump into iced water to refresh.
Fry the chanterelles until lightly browned you can slice them into shreds to more match the samphire stalks if you like in a little butter and olive oil.
Deglaze the pan with calvados, bubble it off, then add double cream to coat the mushrooms and stir until the sauce thickens.
When ready to serve, bring another pot of water to the boil, drop the samphire in and bring to the boil again. Drain, mix with the creamed mushroom, and serve.
Fry the chanterelles until lightly browned you can slice them into shreds to more match the samphire stalks if you like in a little butter and olive oil.
Deglaze the pan with calvados, bubble it off, then add double cream to coat the mushrooms and stir until the sauce thickens.
When ready to serve, bring another pot of water to the boil, drop the samphire in and bring to the boil again. Drain, mix with the creamed mushroom, and serve.
I'm still not entirely convinced by the combination, but the result is at least edible, and reasonably interesting.
I tried finishing with a splash of cider vinegar, but that doesn't really work.
I also tried adding some shredded nori seaweed sheets. That wasn't too bad.
I tried finishing with a splash of cider vinegar, but that doesn't really work.
I also tried adding some shredded nori seaweed sheets. That wasn't too bad.
Japanese Cucumber Salad
Sunomono
Sunomono
salad veg vegan
Salting the cucumber slices leaves them surprisingly crisp in this simple Japanese salad.
I skipped the wakame seaweed, since I didn't have any,
though I did a couple of rounds using sliced nori seaweed
and used the Thai pineapple and fish sauce dressing from my
Lemongrass and Pineapple Beef Vermicelli Stir-Fry as the pickling liquid and it was still good!
The salting process is so effective that you could easily munch your way through an entire dessicated cucumber.
The salting process is so effective that you could easily munch your way through an entire dessicated cucumber.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 Japanese cucumbers (or 3 Persian cucumbers - about 300g)
- 1-2 tsp fine salt
- 1 tblsp dried wakame seaweed (3g dried, 20-30g rehydrated)
- ½ tblsps toasted white sesame seeds
For the Dressing:- 4 tblsps unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tblsps sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp soy sauce
- 1 red chilli, minced
In a saucepan combine the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and salt.
Soak the dried wakame seaweed in water and let it rehydrate for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel the skin of 2 Japanese cucumbers, leaving some skin on to create stripes. Then, slice them very thinly into rounds, best done using a mandoline.
Sprinkle fine sea salt on the slices as you go, then gently massage it all in. Set aside for 5-15 minutes.
The salt helps draw out the moisture from the cucumbers (so it does not dilute the salad dressing after mixing).
Squeeze out the liquid from the rehydrated wakame seaweed and add it to a medium bowl.
I'd skip the salt.
Thoroughly squeezing out the cucumber will get rid of excess salt but there'll still be some left in there, so I would only add more salt as necessary after you taste the final product.
Heat over medium heat and whisk it well together. When the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool.
If the vinegar flavour seems too strong then dilute it with a small amount of dashi or water.
Thoroughly squeezing out the cucumber will get rid of excess salt but there'll still be some left in there, so I would only add more salt as necessary after you taste the final product.
Adding some minced de-seeded red chilli is quite nice.
Soak the dried wakame seaweed in water and let it rehydrate for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel the skin of 2 Japanese cucumbers, leaving some skin on to create stripes. Then, slice them very thinly into rounds, best done using a mandoline.
Sprinkle fine sea salt on the slices as you go, then gently massage it all in. Set aside for 5-15 minutes.
The salt helps draw out the moisture from the cucumbers (so it does not dilute the salad dressing after mixing).
Squeeze out the liquid from the rehydrated wakame seaweed and add it to a medium bowl.
The seaweed adds an interesting variation in texture and mild briny flavour, but don't overdo it.
It's quite sticky messy stuff that gets everywhere as you squeeze it out. Also the dried packet I had contained quite a lot of large, thick or fibrous pieces amongst the finer, smaller usable ones. So you may have to go through the re-hydrated assortment quite carefully to pick those out.
Squeeze out the liquid from the cucumbers.
No need to be gentle - they can take it!
Add them to the bowl, mix them with the dressing and toss it all together.
Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan and add them to the cucumber, mixing everything together.
It's quite sticky messy stuff that gets everywhere as you squeeze it out. Also the dried packet I had contained quite a lot of large, thick or fibrous pieces amongst the finer, smaller usable ones. So you may have to go through the re-hydrated assortment quite carefully to pick those out.
Very good. I'm not sure how long it will stay crisp though so best eat it soon.
Fortunately you don't get terribly much end product from one cucumber - all the salting and squeezing will reduce it practically to nothing!
There is just one thing, however- with the amount of dressing here, the made-up mixture is pretty wet. So if you're trying to pile it neatly on the plate you may need to dry it off, contain it somehow, or use less dressing. Perhaps half.
There is just one thing, however- with the amount of dressing here, the made-up mixture is pretty wet. So if you're trying to pile it neatly on the plate you may need to dry it off, contain it somehow, or use less dressing. Perhaps half.
Thai Green Curry Squash
main curry thai veg vegan
I made the mistake of buying some attractive French gourds to decorate the kitchen for a few days, before cooking with them - a twofer!
Unfortunately, it turns out that decorative squash, whilst definitely edible, have incredibly thick skin and surprisingly little flesh.
Should have gone with the butternut squash! As recommended in the recipe I (mostly) followed.
I fancied trying their soy-sauce-frying technique for cooking the squash, and it was mostly successful (though it does make the squash very salty).
I did make the mistake of adding peanut butter to the green curry paste in an attempt to turn it more padan-y. But to be honest that didn't really work well.
It might have been better to base the paste around red curry paste, rather than the green. The flavours mostly clashed, rather than working together.
Unfortunately, it turns out that decorative squash, whilst definitely edible, have incredibly thick skin and surprisingly little flesh.
Should have gone with the butternut squash! As recommended in the recipe I (mostly) followed.
I fancied trying their soy-sauce-frying technique for cooking the squash, and it was mostly successful (though it does make the squash very salty).
I did make the mistake of adding peanut butter to the green curry paste in an attempt to turn it more padan-y. But to be honest that didn't really work well.
It might have been better to base the paste around red curry paste, rather than the green. The flavours mostly clashed, rather than working together.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tblsp sunflower oil
- 1 medium (about 800g) butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
- 3 tblsp light soy sauce
- 1 lime, wedged to serve
- a handful coriander, roughly torn, to serve
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced, to serve
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped to serve
- jasmine rice, to serve
Green Curry Base:- 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
- 2 tblsp Thai green curry paste red might be better here
- 2 tblsps peanut butter or perhaps not!
- 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk
- a handful sugar snap peas, halved
- a handful asparagus spears, tough ends removed
- a handful green beans, trimmed
- 2 tbsp frozen or fresh edamame beans
Heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a wok while you toss the butternut squash cubes into the soy sauce.
Put the soy-coated butternut squash in the wok and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until softened and browned, stirring frequently.
Add the lemongrass and Thai green curry paste and peanut butter - although you might want to reconsider that!, and fry over a high heat for 1 minute.
Stir in the coconut milk, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 8 minutes.
Throw the sugar snap peas, asparagus, green beans and edamame beans into the curry sauce or green beans - if that's all you have to hand and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked but still have some bite.
Ladle the curry into bowls and spoon in the softened soy-glazed butternut squash.
Top each bowl with a squeeze of lime juice, sprinkle with the coriander, add a few slices of chilli and a scattering of spring onion.
Serve with bowls of jasmine rice.
Put the soy-coated butternut squash in the wok and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until softened and browned, stirring frequently.
After browning the squash for a few minutes I covered my wok with a lid to help cook it through.
For the green curry base, heat the remaining sunflower oil in a separate large frying pan.Add the lemongrass and Thai green curry paste and peanut butter - although you might want to reconsider that!, and fry over a high heat for 1 minute.
Stir in the coconut milk, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 8 minutes.
The original recipe calls for low-fat coconut milk.
WTF even is that?
Remove and discard the lemongrass stalk.WTF even is that?
Throw the sugar snap peas, asparagus, green beans and edamame beans into the curry sauce or green beans - if that's all you have to hand and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked but still have some bite.
Ladle the curry into bowls and spoon in the softened soy-glazed butternut squash.
Top each bowl with a squeeze of lime juice, sprinkle with the coriander, add a few slices of chilli and a scattering of spring onion.
Serve with bowls of jasmine rice.
I can see that you probably do need to keep the soy-fried squash separate until serving, or it will lose its identity in the sauce.
Soy-Glazed Sirloin
main meat
Lacking a sous-vide device myself Hello Santa? I improvised one -
I discovered that if I filled my slow cooker with water at 51°c and set it on low it would hold the temperature pretty well without the lid on.
So that's what I used instead. I call it my slow-vide 🤣
The lack of a water circulator didn't seem to matter much since the entire sleeve of the machine heats the water fairly uniformly.
So that's what I used instead. I call it my slow-vide 🤣
The lack of a water circulator didn't seem to matter much since the entire sleeve of the machine heats the water fairly uniformly.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 12oz/350g piece of sirloin
- 2 tblsps soy sauce
- 2 tsps toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsps rice vinegar
- 2 tsps fish sauce
- 2 tsps mirin
- Wot, no garlic??
Pour the marinades into a freezer bag with the steak.
Lower the open bag carefully into a large bowl of water and use the pressure of the water to squeeze all the air out before sealing the top shut.
Looking at you slow-vide!
When ready to eat, lift the bag out of the sous-vide and the steak out of the bag.
Heat a cast-iron skillet until scorching hot, then quickly sear the outside of the steak. It is now ready to slice and serve.
Or use a vacuum-sealer!
Put the bag into a sous-vide device, weighing its contents down with a plate or something, and cook for 2-3 hours at 53.9°C, or between 50°c and 55°C depending on your device's capabilities.Looking at you slow-vide!
When ready to eat, lift the bag out of the sous-vide and the steak out of the bag.
You have to make sure you don't submerge the top of the bag in the sous-vide water, unless your certain of the seal.
I used a clothes peg and some string to hold the top out.
You will now have quite a lot of marinade and steak fat left in the bag with which to to think of things to do. Like glazing some butternut squash?
Dry the steak thoroughly with kitchen paper. Lubricate it lightly with a neutral high smoke point oil. Just smear it on with your hands!You will now have quite a lot of marinade and steak fat left in the bag with which to to think of things to do. Like glazing some butternut squash?
Heat a cast-iron skillet until scorching hot, then quickly sear the outside of the steak. It is now ready to slice and serve.
It's good steak too!
You can leave it as long as you need in the bath once cooked, and then the sear-to-serve only takes a couple of minutes.
You can leave it as long as you need in the bath once cooked, and then the sear-to-serve only takes a couple of minutes.
Celeriac Purée with Mustard and Goat's Cheese
veg side
Another celeriac purée, but this one offsets some of the bitterness introduced by the mustard (especially if you accidentally use Dijon) with some honeyed goat's cheese that I happened to have lying around.
Adding some potato would help make the purée smoother too.
Adding some potato would help make the purée smoother too.
Ingredients
- celeriac
- cream
- whole grain mustard
- salt
- butter
- goat's cheese honeyed is good
Chop the celeriac into fat chunks and simmer them for about 15 minutes until they soften.
Season and blend in some pieces of butter to enrich the mixture.
You could gently sweat the celeriac in butter and cream or milk for a really long time to soften it instead.
Warm the softened pieces with cream and goat's cheese, then blend with whole grain mustard.Season and blend in some pieces of butter to enrich the mixture.
Good combination.
Valencian Paella
main meat fowl
Well, it may be rather late in the year, but my butcher had a rabbit. So paella it would be...
Despite intense scholarly study of the permissible ingredients in a (definitely non-seafood) Paella Valenciana, there remains significant authentic local variation.
So don't sue me for adding some asparagus! According to these researchers the only ten ingredients generally agreed upon are:
Snails used to be quite a common ingredient, and you will also find little meatballs being added.
If you like you can blanch the sliced green beans or asparagus! and lay them on top for decoration rather than stirring them through. In which case best to cut them in strips.
I've also seen professional chefs from a mountainous area fry up some strips of long sweet red peppers with the meat, then lay those in a star pattern on top to finish.
Apparently they are known as mountain shrimp, due to the shortage of actual shrimp there.
The official 30cm (rim-to-rim) paella pan, which happens to be the size of my frying pan, is meant to hold 2-3 main course servings.
Generally a paella serving is considered to be 100-125g of rice, and the accepted water:rice ratio for paella rice is 3:1 or possibly 2.5:1.
I may have made my paella a little too thick - it's reckoned it should be only about the thickness of a finger un ditet, or no deeper than 2cm (¾").
The reason being that if the rice is too deep it will not dry out evenly resulting in overcooked rice at the bottom.
And that's going to be my excuse for failing to produce a decent succotash, sorry, I mean socarrat. Except for at the very centre of my pan.
I figured that might preclude cooking with the much thicker pieces of flesh which I had, but looking at photos of authentic paellas I see that they too have hefty lumps of meat sticking up from the bed of rice, so perhaps it would be sufficient to just make sure the tops were cleared of rice while cooking.
The D.O.P certified Valencian rice varieties available for paella making are Bomba, J Sendra or Senia and Albufera.
Though for the non-purist, Calasparra, Marisma or Maratelli might also be acceptable.
Despite intense scholarly study of the permissible ingredients in a (definitely non-seafood) Paella Valenciana, there remains significant authentic local variation.
So don't sue me for adding some asparagus! According to these researchers the only ten ingredients generally agreed upon are:
- rice
- water
- olive oil
- salt
- saffron (or food colouring)
- tomato
- flat green beans
- Garrafó beans, a Spanish variety of Lima beans, also widely known as butter beans
- chicken
- rabbit
Snails used to be quite a common ingredient, and you will also find little meatballs being added.
If you like you can blanch the sliced green beans or asparagus! and lay them on top for decoration rather than stirring them through. In which case best to cut them in strips.
I've also seen professional chefs from a mountainous area fry up some strips of long sweet red peppers with the meat, then lay those in a star pattern on top to finish.
Apparently they are known as mountain shrimp, due to the shortage of actual shrimp there.
The official 30cm (rim-to-rim) paella pan, which happens to be the size of my frying pan, is meant to hold 2-3 main course servings.
Generally a paella serving is considered to be 100-125g of rice, and the accepted water:rice ratio for paella rice is 3:1 or possibly 2.5:1.
I may have made my paella a little too thick - it's reckoned it should be only about the thickness of a finger un ditet, or no deeper than 2cm (¾").
The reason being that if the rice is too deep it will not dry out evenly resulting in overcooked rice at the bottom.
And that's going to be my excuse for failing to produce a decent succotash, sorry, I mean socarrat. Except for at the very centre of my pan.
I figured that might preclude cooking with the much thicker pieces of flesh which I had, but looking at photos of authentic paellas I see that they too have hefty lumps of meat sticking up from the bed of rice, so perhaps it would be sufficient to just make sure the tops were cleared of rice while cooking.
The D.O.P certified Valencian rice varieties available for paella making are Bomba, J Sendra or Senia and Albufera.
Though for the non-purist, Calasparra, Marisma or Maratelli might also be acceptable.
Feeds a Fiesta
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil
- paella rice
- salt
- rabbit optional
- chicken
- Ferradura or Bajoqueta large flat green beans
- Garrofón or lima or butter beans
- tomato, grated
- sweet smoked paprika
- saffron
- chicken stock
- rosemary
Optional Extras:- garlic, minced
- artichoke hearts optional
- snails of the Xonetes species
Unacceptable Extras:- asparagus
Cut the artichoke stems short above any wooden section, then peel their rough skin if using.
Cut away the tough outer leaves, then quarter them vertically and remove the hairy choke with a paring knife.
Keep them in water acidulated with lemon juice until needed.
Remove the tough end of the asparagus stalks if using and boil them for a minute, before plunging them into iced water to cool.
Grind the saffron lightly in a pestle and mortar. You can toast it first in a foil wrap in the hot pan for 2-3 minutes if you like, to help release the flavour.
Heat the pan of stock and keep it simmering.
Slice the flat green beans on a bias either lengthways or across, as you like.
Mince the garlic if using.
Grate the tomato on the coarser side of a box grater or similar you can blend them if you prefer.
Joint the rabbit and the chicken. Separate the leg sections and the chicken wings discarding the tips of both.
Pour a small puddle of olive oil into your paella pan or closest approximation and sprinkle in salt.
Continue to cook over high heat for 5-10 minutes until the rice begins to appear through the stock. Lower the heat slightly until the surface of the paella dries off, then lay on any decorative vegetables you might have prepared, decorate with several fresh rosemary sprigs, lower the heat right down and cover the pan with foil. Cook on low for another 5-10 minutes remove the rosemary earlier if the aroma seems overpowering until the rice is al dente.
Let the paella sit for 5 minutes now before serving with slices of lemon on the side. Assuming your Valencian village considers this acceptable. Personally I like it with some lemon garlic aïoli, but I've been banished from my village.
Remove the tough end of the asparagus stalks if using and boil them for a minute, before plunging them into iced water to cool.
Grind the saffron lightly in a pestle and mortar. You can toast it first in a foil wrap in the hot pan for 2-3 minutes if you like, to help release the flavour.
Heat the pan of stock and keep it simmering.
Slice the flat green beans on a bias either lengthways or across, as you like.
Mince the garlic if using.
Grate the tomato on the coarser side of a box grater or similar you can blend them if you prefer.
Joint the rabbit and the chicken. Separate the leg sections and the chicken wings discarding the tips of both.
I used only the legs, wings and thighs, and I left the bones in, though you can remove them if you prefer.
I have no idea what you'd do with the snails - you're on your own there!Pour a small puddle of olive oil into your paella pan or closest approximation and sprinkle in salt.
Allegedly this will help with the browning and prevent spitting. Colour me unconvinced, but heaven forbid I should fight tradition.
Over high heat fry the pieces, turning them only occasionally, until they colour a deep rich golden brown and you're getting a nice build-up of fond in the bottom of the pan.
Don't overcrowd the pan - paella doesn't really use that much meat.
Push the meat to the edges, or remove them to a bowl and add the beans. Continue frying and stirring occasionally.
If you're using tinned or pre-cooked beans save these to add just before the rice.
After a couple of minutes clear a space in the middle and add the garlic if using, and for a minute or two without burning.
Next add the paprika and almost immediately after the crushed or grated tomatoes. Stir-fry until the water is cooked out of the tomatoes and they darken in colour a little,
return any meat you removed, then add the hot stock.
Add about 1 rice quantity extra and cook that off now so you'll end up with three times the volume of rice when you add it.
Bubble for 10-20 minutes or so then add any pre-cooked vegetables I added a can of drained lima beans
and the saffron wash all the saffron from the mortar with some of the stock,
check for seasoning, then distribute the rice and stir.
From now on there will be no more unnecessary stirring to avoid breaking up the rice. We are not making risotto!Continue to cook over high heat for 5-10 minutes until the rice begins to appear through the stock. Lower the heat slightly until the surface of the paella dries off, then lay on any decorative vegetables you might have prepared, decorate with several fresh rosemary sprigs, lower the heat right down and cover the pan with foil. Cook on low for another 5-10 minutes remove the rosemary earlier if the aroma seems overpowering until the rice is al dente.
I made a star arrangement of my par-boiled asparagus stalks, then placed a few strategic tinned white butter beans in between. Asparagus is not traditional.
Covering the paella seems like a good way of making sure the top of paella, especially any decoration you laid on top, cooks properly.
True paella professions probably wouldn't cover theirs, but then they'd be cooking it over a roaring wood fire.
I have seen some of them put the paella in the oven to finish though!
Remove the foil, and the rosemary and turn the heat up for a minute or two just to try and develop a layer of that precious caramelised socarrat on the bottom.
Keep sniffing it and testing with a fork or spoon to make sure you aren't burning it though.Covering the paella seems like a good way of making sure the top of paella, especially any decoration you laid on top, cooks properly.
True paella professions probably wouldn't cover theirs, but then they'd be cooking it over a roaring wood fire.
I have seen some of them put the paella in the oven to finish though!
Let the paella sit for 5 minutes now before serving with slices of lemon on the side. Assuming your Valencian village considers this acceptable. Personally I like it with some lemon garlic aïoli, but I've been banished from my village.
I don't know man, putting aside my lack of an awesome crust, it's well-cooked and all but it's a bit stodgy and frankly dull.
I don't know if that's not just how paellas are? I guess I'll have to go to Spain to find out.
I don't know if that's not just how paellas are? I guess I'll have to go to Spain to find out.
Fried Courgettes with Dill
veg vegan side
You could dress the courgettes with spring onions, lemon juice or grated Parmesan if you don't have any dill.
You could also chop the courgettes into round slices or chunks, but I like the way you can plate the long slices in little pleats.
You could also chop the courgettes into round slices or chunks, but I like the way you can plate the long slices in little pleats.
Ingredients
- butter
- olive oil
- courgettes, sliced lengthways
- garlic, minced
- dill, chopped
Slice the courgettes fairly thinly lengthways.
Fry both sides in a single layer in olive oil and butter until they begin to colour.
Add chopped or minced garlic and sweat until the garlic softens without burning.
Season with salt and pepper and dress with roughly chopped dill fronds.
Though you could use a wide potato peeler for this the slices would be rather thin.
Better to use a knife, or a mandolin.
You can discard the ends, and the first and last crusts which are just skin.
And avoid the seedy centres if you like, which are very watery.Fry both sides in a single layer in olive oil and butter until they begin to colour.
Add chopped or minced garlic and sweat until the garlic softens without burning.
Season with salt and pepper and dress with roughly chopped dill fronds.
They went well with leftover paella.
Flora was impressed!
Flora was impressed!
Have a Heart
I blame the cider.
Sometimes, when I visit meat-town I have a complete and extensive shopping list and know exactly what I'm cooking.
And sometimes I have no idea, and wander around aimlessly seeking for inspiration. This time inspiration arrived in the form of cider. As I suspect is often true in the prelude to a tractor crash or a haystack fire.
Anyhoo, my local Wine'n'Cheese happened to have some champagne-style cider bottles for sale. Which I thought intriguing, since I wasn't sure how it might differ from regular cider Nor am I now - I thought this was how all cider was made! so I bought some, then went to the butcher to see what he had that might go with it.
Turned out he had pig's heart.
So that's what's for dinner.
Apple Stuffed Heart
main meat
Well, I found a bottle of Champagne-Style cider in the local Wine'n'Cheese store.
And the rest is history.
Serves 2
Ingredients
- knob butter
- 2 shallots minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Bramley apple, peeled, cored, chopped
- 1-2 cups cider
- streaky bacon
- 2 pig's hearts
- salt, pepper, sugar to season
Optional Flavourings:- lemon or lime zest
- herbs, e.g. thyme, tarragon, dill
Heat a generous knob of butter in a small pan and sweat the minced shallots until they collapse.
Add the garlic and sweat until it softens.
Add more butter as required. Peel, core and chop the Bramley or other cooking apple into 1cm pieces.
Add it to the pan and stir until it is nicely coated in the butter. Add the cider and cook off until you have a thick, chunky apple sauce.
Season the stuffing, sweeten it if necessary, and add any herbs you fancy. Perhaps tarragon or thyme. Maybe lime or lemon zest?
Hollow out the hearts by cutting out the fat blood vessels in a cone shape from the top. Avoid removing too much pure, smooth muscle.
Season inside the heart with salt and pepper.
Fill the hearts with the apple mixture and pile it up out the top. Roll the back of a knife along each bacon slice to stretch it, then use them to wrap the heart from the bottom to the top. This will secure any cuts or breaks in the heart wall. You can extend the sides upwards to help contain the stuffing, but don't go over the top 🙂
Stand the hearts upright in an oven-proof dish using ramekins, or crumpled foil or baking paper. Bake them for 1½-2 hours until the bacon is crisped, the heart cooked through, and the stuffing caramelised at the top.
Add more butter as required. Peel, core and chop the Bramley or other cooking apple into 1cm pieces.
Add it to the pan and stir until it is nicely coated in the butter. Add the cider and cook off until you have a thick, chunky apple sauce.
Season the stuffing, sweeten it if necessary, and add any herbs you fancy. Perhaps tarragon or thyme. Maybe lime or lemon zest?
Hollow out the hearts by cutting out the fat blood vessels in a cone shape from the top. Avoid removing too much pure, smooth muscle.
Season inside the heart with salt and pepper.
Fill the hearts with the apple mixture and pile it up out the top. Roll the back of a knife along each bacon slice to stretch it, then use them to wrap the heart from the bottom to the top. This will secure any cuts or breaks in the heart wall. You can extend the sides upwards to help contain the stuffing, but don't go over the top 🙂
I used smoked bacon.
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 3.Stand the hearts upright in an oven-proof dish using ramekins, or crumpled foil or baking paper. Bake them for 1½-2 hours until the bacon is crisped, the heart cooked through, and the stuffing caramelised at the top.
They go well with a leek and orange sauce, sweet potatoes with apricots and cider-braised red cabbage.
Camping. Condensed.
So I made up another batch. Details below.
Our usual camping spot down by the river at the delightful Rue du Chateau campsite was taken by interlopers so we had to make do with the opposite side of the field near the horsebox.
Which sounds charming, but is unfortunately where they keep the toilets.
Still, the camping spaghetti bolognese tasted just as good as ever.
And the Samye Ling Buddhist Centre was as calm and meditative as ever.
I now call it a tagine. So sue me.
Condensed Oxtail Soup Redux
meat soup
Another bash at making an ersatz Campbell's Condensed Oxtail Soup.
This time with more accurate measurements.
This time with more accurate measurements.
Makes 2 Tins-Worth
Ingredients
- oil for browning
- flour
- 2 oxtails (about 2kg)
- veal/beef stock
- 2 onions, peeled, chopped
- 2 (small) heads garlic, halved
- 2 carrots, peeled, chopped
- ½ head celery, chopped
- 1 turnip, peeled, chopped
- 4 bay leaves
- bunch thyme
- bunch parsley
- ½ cup pearl barley, toasted
- ½ bottle red wine
- handful black peppercorns
- half a dozen star anise
- half a dozen cloves (maybe shouldn't?)
- 100g cooking bacon, chopped
- 1 tblsp tomato purée or ketchup
- 2 tsps marmite
- 1 tsp paprika
Simmer for about 8 hours, or leave it in the oven overnight at its lowest setting as I did.
Strain the stock through a colander and carefully lift out the oxtails with their meat attached and set aside to cool.
Wash the vegetable pulp in more water to extract all of its flavour and strain again into the stock.
Strain the stock once more through muslin or a sterile hairnet as I did.
Separate the meat from the oxtails, being sure to remove any bone or cartilage, and blend with enough hot water to cover to make a foamy, meaty paste.
Strain through a sieve into the stock.
Strain the stock through a colander and carefully lift out the oxtails with their meat attached and set aside to cool.
Wash the vegetable pulp in more water to extract all of its flavour and strain again into the stock.
Strain the stock once more through muslin or a sterile hairnet as I did.
Separate the meat from the oxtails, being sure to remove any bone or cartilage, and blend with enough hot water to cover to make a foamy, meaty paste.
Strain through a sieve into the stock.
No need to strain out all the grainy meatiness which will contribute to the condensed soup's texture.
Reduce the stock until it becomes a thick, rich, sticky, sauce.
Makes about 2 cans-worth. For roughly £15 each 😢
Though you can scoop out a couple of bonus bowls of regular oxtail soup with extra oxtail (as pictured) before you start your blending and reducing process.
Though you can scoop out a couple of bonus bowls of regular oxtail soup with extra oxtail (as pictured) before you start your blending and reducing process.
Honey Roasted Beetroot
side veg vegan
As served with an Oxtail Tagine.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp clear honey
- 500g/17½oz beetroot
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7.
Mix together the thyme, vinegar, olive oil and honey in a bowl until well combined.
If the beetroot are raw, boil them whole and un-skinned, until easily penetrated with a knife, then cool and peel them.
The skin should slip off easily scraping with a spoon or the back of a knife.
Trim away the rough ends.
Using a small melon baller or small spoon, scoop out balls of the beetroot or cut them into wedges and place into the bowl with the honey mixture and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Transfer into a deep roasting tray and roast in the oven, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes or until the beetroot is sticky and glazed.
Mix together the thyme, vinegar, olive oil and honey in a bowl until well combined.
If the beetroot are raw, boil them whole and un-skinned, until easily penetrated with a knife, then cool and peel them.
The skin should slip off easily scraping with a spoon or the back of a knife.
Trim away the rough ends.
Using a small melon baller or small spoon, scoop out balls of the beetroot or cut them into wedges and place into the bowl with the honey mixture and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Transfer into a deep roasting tray and roast in the oven, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes or until the beetroot is sticky and glazed.
Rather good.
The glaze does burn on pretty hard though, so if you want to avoid a lot of scrubbing you should line the tray with foil.
The glaze does burn on pretty hard though, so if you want to avoid a lot of scrubbing you should line the tray with foil.