Thursday 27 December 2007

Cranberry and Chilli Relish

This pickle, or relish, is one I turn to every year. We all reach for the cranberry sauce or jelly on Christmas Day, but I find them a little too sweet on a savoury plate for my palate. And once you have had a spoonful on your plate, it tends to sit in the fridge, slowly making its way to the back until discovered the following Christmas. I prefer something sharper, which means it can be used over the Christmas fallout with cheese and cold meats or even stirred into a soup. Packed with spice and fruit, it improves with age and makes that leftover plate a little more classier.

Cranberry and Chilli Relish
Makes 1 large jar

2 onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
50g demerara sugar
250g cranberries, washed
Zest and juice of 2 satsumas
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
150ml cider vinegar
Salt and pepper

1 - Heat up the oil in a large pan then add the onions and garlic. Soften for 5 minutes, then add the sugar. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes until golden
2 - Tip in the spices, then stir in the cranberries, zest and juice and finally the vinegar. Bring to the boil then turn down and simmer with the lid half on for 30-40 minutes until everything is well reduced and the cranberries have completely burst and released their juices. You are looking for a thick, jammy texture.
3 - Remove the cinnamon stick. Grind in a little salt and pepper. Pour into a sterilised jar. This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 months, if it lasts that long.

Tuesday 11 December 2007

Spicy Italian Sausages with Braised Red Cabbage and Borlotti Beans

Spicy Italian Sausages with Braised Red Cabbage and Borlotti Beans
Serves 4

For the red cabbage
1 red cabbage, washed, cored and sliced thin
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
3 tbsp muscovado sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 pinch of cloves
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Butter

A dozen top quality spicy Italian sausages, or your sausage of choice
2 tins of borlotti beans
1 lemon
Olive oil
Fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

1 - To make the braised red cabbage, put all of the ingredients in a large casserole dish, season and mix well. Dot the top with a few pieces of butter, put the lid on and place in the oven for 2 and a half hours, stirring every now and again. Once cooked, this will keep well in an airtight container for a few days in the fridge or could be frozen.
2 - Cook the sausages either in a large frying pan or under the grill.
3 - Warm the beans in a pan and squeeze in the lemon juice, a glug of olive oil and a grinding of salt and pepper.
4 - To serve, place a pile of beans onto a plate, followed by some braised red cabbage and finally the sausages and a scattering of roughly chopped fresh parsley. Delicious.

Wednesday 28 November 2007

Spiced Poached Pears

Spicy Poached Pears
Serves 4

4 'not too ripe' pears (I use Conference) peeled
1 bottle of red wine
6 tbsp honey
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1 orange, punctured a few times with a sharp knife

1 - Put all of the ingredients into a large pan. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer with a lid on for 45-60 minutes. Test the pears with a knife, it should glide in easily.
2 - Remove the pears and cool down. Remove the spices and orange, squeezing every last drop as you go.
3 - Take a small amount of the wine and reduce in a pan until you have a thick syrup. Serve the pears with a drizzle of syrup and a spoonful of yoghurt or cream.

These will keep nicely covered in the fridge for a couple of days. Make extra and you have a quick, classy dessert waiting for you.

Monday 26 November 2007

Rabbit with Cider, Mustard and Prunes

Rabbit with Cider, Mustard and Prunes
Serves 2

1 rabbit, skinned and jointed (ask your butcher, and ensure that you keep the livers, heart and kidneys. The livers, mashed, will help thicken and richen the sauce and the heart and kidneys make for a delicious 'chef's treat, quicky fried in olive oil)
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
Salt and pepper
3 rashers of un-smoked streaky bacon, chopped
1 carrot, cubed
1 onion, cubed
1 stick of celery, cubed
1 tbsp dried or fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
500ml good dry cider
A handful of dried prunes
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
100ml double cream
The rabbit livers, mashed with a fork

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C, GM3.
2 - In a flame-proof casserole dish, heat up the oil. Season the rabbit portions then quickly brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
3 - Add the bacon, carrots, onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes until softened and just beginning to colour. Stir in the thyme and bay leaves.
4 - Return the rabbit portions to the casserole dish then pour over the cider. Bring to the boil, cover, then place in the oven. Cook for 45-50 minutes.
5 - Remove the rabbit and keep aside. Pour the sauce through a sieve into a clean pan, pushing the vegetables through the sieve which will help thicken the sauce. Bring to the boil, then simmer whilst you remove the rabbit meat from the bones.
6 - Stir in the cream, mustard and mashed rabbit livers. Taste for seasoning. Return the rabbit meat to the sauce along with the prunes and heat through.
7 - Serve with mashed potato and seasonal greens such as sprouts or savoy cabbage.

Thursday 22 November 2007

Tuna Loin with Sautéed Potatoes and Leeks with Roast Pepper Sauce

Tuna Loin with Sautéed Potatoes and Leeks with Roast Pepper Sauce
Serves 3

4 large seasonal potatoes such as Maris Piper, skinned, cubed and par-boiled.
2 leeks, halved and sliced
Butter
2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
2 pieces of tuna loin
Salt and pepper

For the sauce
2 red peppers
1 tsp paprika
A pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

1 - To make the sauce, hold the peppers over your hob flame with a pair of tongs and turn until completely black. Put into a plastic food bag, seal and leave to cool. If you do not have gas, rub the peppers with olive oil and bake in a hot oven until black.
2 - Remove the peppers from the bag, peel and de-seed. Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz to a fine purée.
3 - Push through a sieve into a pan and then reduce until thickened. Taste for seasoning. Reserve what you are using for the meal and put the rest into an ice-cube tray.
4 - Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Add the leeks and cook gently until softened and slightly coloured. Remove.
5 - Add the potatoes and cook until crisp and golden. Add the leeks and taste for seasoning.
6 - Season the tuna pieces. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add the tuna. Cook to your liking.
7 - Serve on top of a bed of potato and leeks with some of the sauce on the side.

Monday 12 November 2007

Shoulder of Lamb Stuffed with Anchovies, Rosemary and Walnuts

Shoulder of Lamb Stuffed with Anchovies, Rosemary and Walnuts

1 shoulder of lamb, boned out and weighing approximately 1.5kg-2kg
2 handfuls of walnuts
A small tin of anchovies, approximately 10
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 tbsp English mustard
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Olive oil

For the gravy
1 glass of cider or white wine

1 - Pre-heat the oven to GM7/220C.
2 - On a chopping board, roughly chop the anchovies, walnuts and rosemary then add to a bowl. Add the mustard and vinegar and a little olive oil until you have a good thick 'paste'. Season with salt and pepper.
3 - Lay out the shoulder and massage into the flesh. Roll and tie with string then season the skin.
4 - Heat up some oil in a baking tray on the hob and quickly brown the fat all over. Place into the oven for 20 minutes then turn down the heat to GM4, 180 degrees C. Cook for 10 minutes per 500g for rare, 15 minutes per 500g for medium, 20 minutes per 500g well done.
5 - Pour on the cider or wine with a little water halfway through cooking to make a gravy.
6 - Take out and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. Carve into thick slices and serve with seasonal roast root vegetables and borlotti beans.

Tuesday 6 November 2007

Veggie Chilli

Even in these British days of seasonal uncertainty, it is fair to say that winter is setting in. The heating has been on for the last few days and the walk up to nursery each day has seen us clad in hats and mittens. I love it when it gets a bit chilly. Not too cold, just cold enough for me to bring out my vast collection of coats from the cupboard. Did I tell you that coat collecting was a passion of mine? I'll leave that for another time.

I've gone overkill on the pumpkin to the extent of eating it every day for the last 2 weeks. Time for a change of vegetable. Root vegetables are in such abundance, I thought it was time to make a delicious spicy vegetarian dish to warm us through. A nice chilli con carne, that classic Mexican dish of meat and kidney beans. But with all of this veg, I thought it would be a good idea to play on the basic theme of a chilli but leave out the meat and pack it with vegetables.

This is one of those dishes that can be experimented with. It is so good for you, and the spices lend themselves to most vegetables, as long as you don't overcook certain ones. So if you still have a courgette, ensure it goes in right near the end to maintain a crunch. A good handful of strong cheddar scattered over the top makes this a chilli that even the most determined of meat eaters would love. A flavour packed healthy chilli for chilly people, just what the doctor ordered.

Veggie Chilli
Feeds 4

2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 Carrots, peeled and cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 Courgette, cubed
1 tin of Kidney Beans
A few handfuls of frozen peas
1 tin of tomatoes
4 handfuls of green lentils, soaked for 1 hour
500ml of vegetable stock,
1 tbps tomato purée
2 tsps cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp groundnut oil
Salt and pepper

1 - Heat up the oil in a large pan and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic, oregano and spices and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
2 - Add the vegetables except for the courgette, pureé and lentils and cook stirring for another 5 minutes.
3 - Add the tomatoes and cocoa powder and enough stock to make a reasonably loose stew. Bring to the boil and cook for 30 minutes.
4 - Add the courgette and cook for a further 5 minutes, then finally the peas and cook for 5 minutes. Test to see that the lentils are cooked.
5 - Taste for seasoning. Serve scattered with cheddar cheese and a dollop of creme fraiche or yoghurt.

Monday 5 November 2007

Spiced Pumpkin Bread & Butter Pudding

Spiced Pumpkin Bread & Butter Pudding
Serves 6

100g raisins
3 tbsp whisky
3 tbsp hot water

For the sauce
100g muscovado sugar
25g butter
1 tbsp golden treacle

For the pudding
1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
100g pumpkin, cubed and steamed then blitzed to a purée
250ml double cream
50ml milk
Half tsp ground cinnamon
A few grates of fresh nutmeg
Half tsp ground ginger
1 vanilla pod, split and seeded
Approximately half of a stale white baguette cut into cubes

1 - Pre-heat the oven to GM2, 150 degrees C.
2 - Soak the raisins in the whisky and hot water until plump. You may want to do this overnight, entirely up to you. Drain.
3 - To make the sauce, heat the muscovado sugar, treacle and butter in a pan until melted then pour equal measures into 6 buttered ramekins.
4 - In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until pale. Pour in the cream, milk, purée, spices and vanilla pod and whisk until thoroughly combined. Stir in the bread cubes and leave for 10 minutes to soak.
5 - Place the ramekins into a deep baking tray and pour in boiling water until it comes half way up the sides. Fill the ramekins with a few cubes of bread and the custard mixture.
6 - Place on the middle shelf of the oven and cook for approximately 1 hour or until the custard is firm. If the top starts to colour too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
7 - Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a few minutes. Then run a knife around and turn out onto a plate. Serve with créme fraiche, yoghurt or whipped cream.

Tuesday 30 October 2007

Beetroot, Chilli, Cumin and Satsuma Soup

Beetroot, Chilli, Cumin and Satsuma Soup
Feeds 2

4 beetroots, peeled and cut into cubes
1 potato, peeled and cut into cubes
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 dried chilli
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 satsuma with half of the zest thinly peeled
750ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

1 - In a deep pan, heat up the olive oil then add the onion. Cook stirring for 5-10 minutes until soft and beginning to colour.
2 - Add the beetroot, potato, garlic, spices and satsuma zest, and cook for a further 5 minutes until the aromas are released and everything is beginning to colour.
3 - Pour in the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beetroot and potato are soft.
4 - Blitz until smooth in a blender. Squeeze in a little of the satsuma juice and taste for seasoning. Pour into bowls along with a round of toasted rye or wholemeal bread, rubbed with garlic and a drizzle of olive oil.

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Lamb Shanks Braised in Dry Cider and Brown Lentils

Lamb shanks are a dream to cook with. Not only are they cheap, but they are incredibly flavoursome. Like most of the cheaper cuts of meat from an animal, they do tend to be the tastiest. And shanks are no exception. As long as you can wait a few hours for them to cook, you will be awarded with supreme gelatinous succulent meat that falls from the bone in large slabs.

I mentioned in a previous post about the therapeutic qualities of warm comforting food. Lamb shanks are in that category, and at this time of the year it is a cut of meat I turn to quite regularly. It needs nothing more than a quick browning then a long slow braise is an aromatic sauce. So as well as being tasty and economical, they are a breeze to cook.

Rather than turn to the ubiquitous red wine braise, I prefer a more fresh and earthy sauce to go with lamb. A good English dry cider is an amazing accompaniment, the sharp fruit of the apple cutting nicely through the deep rich meat. An addition of brown or green lentils thickens and adds texture to the sauce, and a little zest and juice of lemon is a surprising back-note without being overpowering. 2-3 hours in the oven, the house will be filled with amazing smells, the kind of smells that make you instantly ravenous. Serve it with a simple mash and some good buttery Savoy cabbage, it needs nothing more. No fuss food of the highest order - that will do for me.

Lamb Shanks Braised in Dry Cider and Brown Lentils
Serves 2

2 lamb shanks
1 carrot, chopped into small dice
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped into small dice
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 bay leaves
Fresh thyme
1 tbsp tomato purée
500ml good dry cider
500ml hot lamb or vegetable stock
1 lemon
4 rashers of streaky bacon
100g brown lentils
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

1 - Pre-heat the oven to GM2, 150 degrees C.
2 - In a large non-stick frying pan, heat up the olive oil. Season the lamb shanks and quickly brown all over. Remove and place into a deep ceramic Pyrex dish.
3 - Add the carrots, onion, celery and bacon to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the garlic, thyme and tomato purée and cook for a further minute. Remove and add to the Pyrex dish along with the bay leaves.
4 - Pour the cider into the frying pan and bring to the boil, scraping off anything that may be stuck to the pan. Add to the Pyrex dish.
5 - Finally, add the hot stock to the shanks until just below the meat, along with the zest and juice of half of the lemon and good grinding of black pepper.
6 - Place into the oven and cook for 1 and a half hours. Stir in the lentils then put back into the oven for 1-1 and a half hours, until the lentils are soft and the meat comes away from the bone when pushed.
7 - Taste for seasoning. You may want to thicken the sauce. To do this, remove the shanks and keep in a warm oven and reduce the sauce in a pan on the hob. Serve with mashed potato and buttery cabbage.

Sunday 21 October 2007

Steak, Kidney, Mushroom and Ale Pie

Eat to live, or live to eat? That is the question. For me, it is the latter every time. Each day I enthusiastically approach a meal or snack with the same attitude; that I am really looking forward to it. From the moment I awake, I'm thinking about the porridge with raisins and honey or the hot buttered toast and strong builder's tea. Once finished, I'm usually thinking about what to have for lunch and dinner. And why not? Food can enhance your life; you are what you eat can never be a more true statement and it can affect your moods in so many ways.

Some foods are born to make you instantly cosy, warm and happy. Now that the days are getting frosty and the night is drawing in quicker, you need to start filling yourself with 'feel good' food in order to have a happy winter. So the likes of shepherd's pies, slow braised meat and vegetable casseroles with proper suet dumplings and fruit crumbles with creamy hot custard all spring to mind as essentials. Lots of flavour, lots of warmth and instant resuscitation after a hard day at work.

One of my absolute favourite 'winter warmer feel good foods' has to be a good old steak and kidney pie. Succulent slow braised beef that melts in your mouth, with sweet kidneys accompanied by whole shallots and drowned in a rich beer gravy, all topped off with a thick shortcrust pastry which cracks like an ice covered lake when punctured with a serving spoon. When I eat something like this, no matter how miserable I feel, it cannot help to put a smile on my face and make me feel better about the world.

We have loads of these types of recipes over here in the U.K. If only we sang about them a bit more often, told people how fantastic they were and devoured them with the passion that they deserve, then we would surely be the happiest nation in the world. Live to eat. Eat to be happy. Eat.

Steak, Kidney, Mushroom and Ale Pie

Feeds Lots

1kg braising beef
Plain flour
Olive oil
200g cow's kidneys, chopped into bite size pieces
20 whole shallots, peeled
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
250g mushrooms, halved
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp thyme, dried or fresh
1 bottle of good ale, I used Jarrow Brewery Rivet Catcher
500ml beef stock
1 quantity of shortcrust pastry to fit your pie dish
1 egg, beaten

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/GM4.
2 - Heat some olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Season a quantity of plain flour then coat the beef and kidney. Cook quickly in batches until golden, then tip into a large casserole dish.
3 - Add more oil, then add the shallots, onion, carrots and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until they begin to colour, then add the garlic, herbs and tomato purée and cook for 1 minute, stirring all of the time. Tip into the casserole dish.
4 - Pour a little of the beer into the frying pan and scrape with a wooden spoon to remove any essential bits that may be stuck. Pour into the casserole dish along with the rest of the beer. Then add the beef stock until the meat and vegetables are just covered. Bring to the boil then put into the oven for 2 hours.
5 - Cook the mushrooms in the frying pan with a little oil until they have released some water and coloured slightly. Add to the casserole, then tip into a pie dish.
6 - Dampen the edge of the pastry with a little egg wash, then cover the pie with the shortcrust pastry. You may want to add a pie support to stop the pastry from sinking, I used a steel chef's ring. Cover with egg wash with a pastry brush. Puncture the centre with a small hole to allow steam to escape.
7 - Put into the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with mash and lots of vegetables.

Monday 8 October 2007

A Pea Packed Paella

A Pea Packed Paella
Feeds 4-6

300g long grain rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red and 1 green pepper, chopped into large chunks
3 large tomatoes, chopped roughly
2 chicken breasts, sliced into small lengths
1 medium chorizo sausage into small chunks
A large pinch of saffron
2 tspns smoked paprika
A pinch of chilli powder
A bag of frozen prawns, defrosted
As many frozen peas as you can handle
Fresh basil and parsley
Lemon juice (optional)
Freshly ground pepper

1 - In a large pan, heat the olive oil then add the chicken and quickly brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2 - Add the onion, peppers and chorizo to the pan and stir fry for 5 minutes until starting to soften and colour.
3 - Add the tomatoes, saffron, paprika, chilli and rice and stir for 1 minute. Then return the chicken and pour on boiling water to just cover the rice.
4 - Bring to the boil then put a lid on and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring gently from time to time to ensure that the rice is cooking evenly. You mya need to keep topping up with water.
5 - For the final 5 minutes, add the prawns and peas and heat through thoroughly. Taste for seasoning, then add the optional lemon juice.
6 - Serve in bowls with a good scattering of fresh herbs and a slice of lemon.

Thursday 4 October 2007

Smokey 3 Root Northumbrian Chorizo and Spinach Hash

A great weekend treat is a hash. A hash, because it can consist of anything that will combine in one big pan to make for a delicious irresistible meal. It is a meal you can eat at any time of the day as it can't make up its mind whether it is a breakfast, lunch or dinner. If you skip breakfast and eat one of these at 10am, you will be full for the rest of the day. Although I can't make any promises.

This hash uses chorizo. And now that root season is upon us, you can experiment with your roots and make up a fantastic colourful hash. Stick a fried egg on the top and release the tomato ketchup from the grasp of your little ones; it is the one time I will forgive anybody for having a squirt of the dreaded red stuff on a home cooked meal.

Smokey 3 Root Northumbrian Chorizo and Spinach Hash

Feeds 2

1 beetroot, peeled and cut into cubes
2 carrots, peeled and cut into cubes
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
2 handfuls of spinach, chopped roughly
1 tsps sweet smoked paprika
A pinch of chilli
1 tbsp tomato purée
Freshly ground pepper
Olive or rapeseed oil

1 - Place the beetroot in one pan and the carrot and potato in another (so that the colours don't run). Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Drain, cool and set aside.
2 - In a large frying pan or wok, heat up the oil and then add the onion and chorizo. Quickly stir fry until golden and some oil has been released. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3 - Add the drained root vegetables and cook until golden and as crisp as you can get them. Return the onion and chorizo along with the paprika, chilli and tomato purée and combine thoroughly. Taste for seasoning.
4 - Finally, add the spinach and toss briefly until wilted. Serve in bowls with an optional fried egg on the top, optional squirt of the red stuff and crusty bread.

Thursday 20 September 2007

Double Ginger Oat Biscuits

The weather took a turn at the weekend. With a nip in the air, that first sign of autumn officially hit my daughter and I as we cycled along the coast. With her strapped on the back bicycle seat, it was blue noses all round by the time we got back home. Oh how I love the first chills of autumn.

When the first leaves have been kicked around in the back garden, nothing makes me happier than a bit of comfort baking. It is even better now that I have a very enthusiastic mini sous chef to help stir things up. On Sunday it was King Biscuit Time. Me being King Biscuit, and Time being the small amount of time it takes to knock up a good biscuit dough and shove them in the oven. Home-made biscuits are just fabulous.

We decided on some good crumbly oaty ginger biscuits. Ginger biscuits with a bit of a sting, rather than the tepid taste you often get from the commercial ginger biscuit. So lots of good ground ginger along with a few stem gingers finely chopped, to add a chewy spicy surprise into each bite. We also had a new set of biscuit cutters to try out, and it was sous chef Cerys' job to do the cutting. Ginger stars, men, flowers, circles and hearts a-plenty were soon adorning the kitchen tops, and after a 15 minute blast in the oven, the kitchen was lifting with beautiful home baked ginger smells.

The hardest bit about making biscuits with your little ones is stopping them eating the biscuits with the same enthusiasm they made them with. As you can see in the picture, sous chef Cerys risked the odd burnt finger in an effort to snaffle a few before they had the time to cool down. King Biscuit Time makes for good times all round. Roll on the next chilly Sunday.

Double Ginger Oat Biscuits
Makes approximately 20

125g self-raising flour
2 tsp ground ginger
4 stem gingers, finely diced
3 tbsp syrup from the stem gingers
50g oats
50g dark muscovado sugar
75g butter or margarine

1 - Pre-heat the oven to GM4/180C/Fan 160C.
2 - In a large bowl, sift in the flour and ground ginger. Mix in the oats, sugar and stem gingers, then add the butter and rub until it resembles large breadcrumbs. If it is a little dry, add more butter.
3 - Finally, add the syrup and combine thoroughly. You should be left with a semi-soft dough.
4 - Roll out onto a floured surface about 1cm thick, and cut out your shapes. Place onto a buttered baking sheet and place onto a high shelf. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack and watch out for little hands reaching up before they are cool.

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Slow Roasted Cumin and Chilli Vegetables with Minted Lamb

I sense exciting times around the corner. As much as I love the summer and the bounty of edible goodies that comes with it, it is the Autumn that gets me most excited. Thanks to the odd weather we have had this year, early root vegetables are beginning to poke their heads out of the soil, and it is this most versatile of vegetable that has my creative juices flowing.

Take a turnip, swede, beetroot, carrot or a parsnip. Mash it, boil it, roast it or braise it. Either way, it will taste wonderful. And that is what I love about them. Cheap and plentiful, easy to prepare, and you don't need to be a top chef to get the best out of them.

Roasting is by far my favourite technique. Slowly roasting a root vegetable seems to tease out their natural sugars and achieves beautiful soft sweetness. Blend them at this stage with a little stock and you have an amazing intense soup. I took a whole load of roots and slow roasted them with a little cumin and chilli. The spice and the heat seem to compliment a slow roasted root and somehow makes them taste even better.

I also threw in a couple of late summer vegetables from the hot house, peppers and courgettes, as well as a tin of borlotti beans. A couple of lamb leg steaks with mint and lemon roasted for the final 20 minutes made for a superb one tray supper, the vegetables soaking up any leaked juices to add to the already fabulous sweet slow roasted flavour.

Slow Roasted Cumin and Chilli Vegetables with Minted Lamb
Makes one baking tray worth

1 turnip, peeled and cut into large chunks
3 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 beetroot, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 courgette, cut into large chunks
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into large chunks
1 tbsp cumin seeds1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 lamb leg steaks
1 lemon
A handful of fresh mint, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tin of borlotti beans
Olive or rapeseed oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 - Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees C, GM4.
2 - Place all of the vegetables except for the courgette into a large baking tray. Slice the lemon and squeeze one half over the vegetables, putting the lemon half into the tray. Scatter on the cumin seeds, chilli and seasoning along with a good glug of olive or rapeseed oil. Combine thoroughly and then place on a high shelf in the oven. Roast for 1 hour.
3 - Whilst the vegetables are roasting, place the mint, garlic, a little oil and seasoning into a bowl. Rub the lamb with the marinade and leave for 30 minutes.
4 - After one hour of roasting, turn the heat up to 200 degrees C, GM6. Place the courgette into the roasting tray and gently toss. Place the lamb steaks on top and put back into the oven for 20 minutes.
5 - Pour in the beans, warm through for a further 5 minutes then serve.

Tuesday 4 September 2007

Crab and Salmon with Fennel Cream

Listening to the legend that is Keith Floyd at the weekend, somebody asked him what his favourite food was. He then proceeded to list off a 3 course meal with complimentary fine wines which had us all drooling. His choice of food, which was turned into the food he would eat if he was faced with a firing squad, was all British. For somebody as intelligent and well travelled as Mr Floyd, it was superb to see good old British tucker getting his number one choice.

This then had my mind turned to what my meals would be if faced with the firing squad. As I love most things, it is an incredibly difficult question to answer. Like my other love, music, my mind changes on what I want to listen to or eat depending on my frame of mind. One day it may be something that takes a few hours of preparing and cooking, the next it may be rarebit on toast.

One ingredient that would have to feature in there though is crab. In my opinion, it is far superior in flavour to its expensive cousin, the lobster. Just a plain old crab, boiled and served with bread and butter and a mustard mayonnaise. You cannot get anything more simple yet it tastes truly magnificent and costs very little.

This dish is not British in origin, but it celebrates the sublime flavour of crab within a pasta sauce. Complimented with a little fennel and bulked up with salmon or trout, it takes 5 minutes to make and satisfies crab fans on every level. Making this kind of food strengthens my opinion that the best food is the food that takes the least time. And if faced with the firing squad, you won't have long to gobble it all down. Bang bang. So tell me, what would your final meal be?

Crab and Salmon with Fennel Cream
Serves 2

Half a fennel bulb, sliced finely
2 tbsp olive oil
1 glass white wine
100ml creme fraiche (low fat works fine)
Crab meat from one whole crab, cooked
1 medium fillet of salmon or trout, cubed
Juice from half a lemon
Fresh dill
Salt and pepper

1 - Boil a pan of water and cook your pasta of choice, I used tagliatelle. Whilst the pasta is cooking you can start and finish your sauce.
2 - Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add the fennel and cook for 1 minute until softened but not coloured. Add the white wine and reduce by half.
3 - Add the creme fraiche and bring to the boil. Then quickly turn down the heat so it just bubbles, you need to make sure it does not split. Add the crab and salmon and stir thoroughly. Cook for 1 minute. Add a squeeze of lemon and a good handful of freshly chopped dill. Taste for seasoning.
4 - Stir in the pasta and serve with optional Parmesan cheese.

Thursday 30 August 2007

Moroccan Style Turkey, Plum and Pepper Stew

I love making little Moroccan inspired dishes. That unusual combination of fruit, spice, meat and vegetable makes a dull day brighter. With a few store cupboard essentials that concoct to form this most elegant of North African cuisines, it is possible to transform the most bland ingredients into a thing of beauty. I always call them tagines but of course they aren't. A tagine is the clay pot that that the North Africans use to slow cook their vegetables or meat to achieve melting soft food. I take out the trusty old Pyrex and achieve similar results.

As well as being packed full of flavour, you can experiment with any ingredient that you desire. Another bonus is that tagines are incredibly healthy. Slow braised roots such as the up and coming turnips, swedes, carrots and parsnips soak up the sensual spices to perfection. Mixed pulses and beef are a match made in heaven. A good chunky white fish and fennel are dreamy. I decided to go for peppers, new season plums and chick peas combined with lean turkey.

Moroccan Style Turkey, Plum and Pepper Stew
Feeds 4

500g turkey breast, sliced
3 mixed peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1 onion, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tin of tomatoes, or 400g fresh tomatoes cubed
6 plums, stoned and quartered
A handful of dried apricots, diced
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
A pinch of cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper
A handful of toasted sliced almonds
Fresh coriander and mint, chopped

1 - In a flameproof casserole dish, heat up the oil then add the onion, peppers and fennel. Cook until slightly coloured and soft.
2 - Add the garlic and spices and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3 - Add the turkey and plums and coat in the spices, cooking and stirring for 1 minute.
4 - Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, honey and dried apricots. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes until reduced. Keep checking to ensure it is not catching.
5 - Taste for seasoning. Serve with cous cous, flatbreads and a good scattering of toasted sliced almonds, freshly chopped coriander and mint.

Friday 24 August 2007

Courgette, Bramley and Cheddar Soup

Summer and soup are not two words that are usually spoken in the same sentence. Even in this summer of discontent here in the U.K. I would assume that you, like me, have not been taking to the soup like you would in the winter months. People associate soup as the perfect food to fill and warm after a long winter day in the freezing cold. Therefore, we all tend to turn to lighter dishes in the summer, moving from soups to smoothies and casseroles to salads.

Of course there are many fabulous soups that utilise the glut of summer ingredients around. I'm thinking of a flavour and health packed minestrone. Or a garlic hot gazpacho. Perhaps a chilled almond soup. Thinking about it, there are soups-a-plenty to be guzzled during the hotter months.

Soups are a perfect platform for experimenting with ingredients and flavours. As long as you don't go too weird, even the ugliest of soups that have been 'thrown' together can usually be saved with a quick blitz in the blender. I'm always thinking of new soup ideas when the list of available seasonal ingredients becomes available. And yesterday was no exception.

With a glut of courgettes freshly plucked from my father-in-law's allotment, and a few new Bramley apples from the greengrocer, I had a combination in my mind that would either be an embarrassing disaster or a summer success story. Thankfully it was the latter. Even with an intruding sharp Bramley in there, balancing out that sharpness with a strong salty Cheddar and a punch of fresh mint works perfectly. Each flavour needs to be balanced so that you taste each ingredient rather than one overpowering. Serve it hot or cold. It needs to be fresh, subtle and gentle, a bit like a British summer. And this makes for a very good summer soup. Now we just need the sun...

Courgette, Bramley and Cheddar Soup

4-5 small courgettes or 2 large, halved and sliced
5 Bramley apples, peeled and cubed
2 sticks of celery, sliced
1 clove of garlic
A large handful of fresh mint, chopped
500ml vegetable stock or water
250g Cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Salt and pepper

1 - In a large pan, heat the oil then add the courgettes, apples, celery and garlic. Gently cook, stirring regularly until some of the water evaporates and the vegetables and fruit collapse. Add the fresh mint.
2 - Add the stock or water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3 - Pour the soup into a blender along with the cheese. Blitz thoroughly until smooth. It should be the palest of greens.
4 - Pour back into the pan and taste for seasoning. You may want to add more cheese, but go gentle on the salt. Serve in bowls with an optional swirl of yoghurt and a sprinkle of freshly chopped mint. This soup can be served chilled, it works perfectly with either.

Friday 17 August 2007

Greek Beef Stifado

Stifado is one of those classic dishes that every country should cherish with great pride. There must be a hundred different recipes for it, and each is probably fiercely defended in each region. Beautifully rich with red wine, sweetly scented with cinnamon and bay, it is a long braised stew that can contain any meat that will withstand a long cooking time. So certain cuts of lamb and beef are perfect. My version contains cheap stewing beef, but rabbit is actually the traditional meat.

The list of ingredients may seem long, but it takes no time to put together. The hardest bit is waiting for it to cook as the house will be full of tempting aromas making every stomach rumble with anticipation. Eat it with crusty bread and mashed potato to soak up the sensual juices, or perhaps some simple roasted vegetables and a green salad. It will fill the family and still cost less than a tenner.

Greek Beef Stifado 
Feeds four

500g stewing beef, cut into chunks
Plain flour
Olive oil
1 onion, sliced
20-30 shallots, peeled and left whole
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
6 tomatoes, roughly chopped, or one tin of chopped tomatoes
200ml beef stock
500ml red wine
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried oregano
2 cinnamon sticks or a good pinch of cinnamon
A pinch of dried chilli flakes
Salt and pepper
1 pack of feta cheese
A handful of walnuts
Fresh mint, chopped

1 - Pre-heat your oven to 140C/Fan 120C/GM2. In a bowl, coat the cubes of meat in seasoned flour. Pour enough olive oil into a heavy based casserole dish to cover the bottom and heat up. Add the meat in batches and cook quickly to get a good golden brown crust all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and put aside. Do not be alarmed by the ever blackening crust forming on the bottom; once de-glazed this is essential for the flavour.
2 - Add the sliced onions and shallots and quickly brown. Add the garlic, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, chilli and oregano and cook for one minute. Return the meat to the pan along with any juices, then pour in the red wine and bring to the boil. Scrape away on the bottom with a wooden spatula to remove the flavoursome crust.
3 - Add the tomatoes, stock and vinegar. Bring to the boil, place the lid on and cook on the middle shelf of your oven for 3 hours, stirring halfway through the cooking time. If you feel that the sauce is too loose, remove the lid for half an hour to help thicken.
4 - Add the walnuts just before serving, then either crumble over the feta cheese or mix in. Either way, the salty hit from this delicious sour cheese should mean you don't need to add more salt. Sprinkle over the mint and serve in generous bowls.

Friday 10 August 2007

Shrikhand


Indian desserts are a thing that I have had great problems with over the years. As much as I adore all things Indian and savoury, I have always struggled to stomach their sugary offerings. To me, they always seemed to be that - too sugary. Either a pastry or a batter steeped in a sugar syrup, or those sugary and nut multi-coloured squares that look ever so pretty but taste ever so sickly. Always looking good, but rarely tasting as good as they look.

Of course this is my opinion. And I am of the nature that opinions are there to be changed. As the years have gone by and I have opened my mind up to the myriad of foodstuffs out there, my dislike of Indian desserts has become one of irritation to me. How can somebody love one side of a country's cuisine so much and not like the other? I always knew that it was a matter of just being shown a few alternative Indian desserts from their vast country to change my opinion. And last week that very thing happened.

I was introduced to a dessert called Shrikhand which is a dessert like no other. It is simply a strained yoghurt flavoured with cardamon and saffron, sweetened with a little honey and covered in fruit and nuts. Incredibly simple, it tastes exotic and cools the palate after a spicy main course. It is also light on the stomach, which is always a blessing after a starchy main. This is one of those desserts that you will always remember, and if you leave out the yoghurt straining, you will be able to whip up a very impressive dessert with minimum effort. My opinion has of course been changed. Indian desserts - I love them!

Shrikhand
Feeds 2

1 large tub of natural yoghurt
5-6 tbsp honey
1 large pinch of saffron, steeped in a little milk
15 green cardamon pods, seeds removed, pan roasted then ground
A handful of pistachios
A handful of sliced almonds
1 pomegranate, seeds removed

1 - If you want to make yoghurt 'cheese', line a sieve with kitchen roll and place over a large bowl. Pour in the yoghurt and place in the fridge overnight to remove all of the water. This is optional - it will make for a thicker, creamier and more sumptuous dessert.
2 - In a large bowl, beat together the yoghurt and honey. Then beat in the saffron and ground cardamon.
3 - Place piles into bowls. Scatter over the nuts and seeds.

Wednesday 8 August 2007

Orange Cake

A truly sensational technique for making a great cake is to add a whole fruit. I don't mean skinning and chopping up a fruit, I mean boiling a whole one, skin and all, and then blitzing into a zesty purée. So, take an orange and boil it whole. Cut it in half, take out the seeds and whizz up in a blender. Fold that into a cake, and you are hit with amazing orange flavour in every bite. It also makes for a very moist cake that will stay moist and improve with a day of resting.

Experiment with limes and lemons. Even try a grapefruit. And perhaps use ground pistachios or hazelnuts instead of almonds. 

Orange Cake

1 orange, boiled for 45 minutes, seeded and blitzed to a purée
3 eggs
100g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
75g ground almonds
175g butter
100g sugar
Pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter)

1 - Pre-heat your oven to 160 degrees C, GM4.
2 - Butter and line a baking tin with a removable base.
3 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. This is important as it will lighten the cake.
4 - Add the eggs one by one, beating all of the time.
5 - Sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour in the ground almonds and orange purée and fold in thoroughly.
6 - Pour into the baking tin and bake on the middle shelf for 30-40 minutes until golden and an inserted knitting needle, or something similar, comes out clean.

Monday 6 August 2007

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

Orzo means 'barley' in Italian, and these tiny 'barley' shaped pasta shapes combine perfectly in a summer salad. Tossed together with caramelised vegetables and a sharp lemon dressing, it's brilliant with roast chicken and stuffed herb tomatoes. It looked amazing and tasted even better, one of those dishes that you will always keep up your sleeve in the knowledge that it will impress. It is also a dish that will improve with a few hours rest to allow the flavours to develop, and perfect for cold leftover roasts. 

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

1 aubergine, diced
1 red and yellow pepper, diced
1 red onion, sliced into chunks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g Orzo pasta
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil

For the dressing
Juice of 2 lemons
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

1 - Pre-heat the oven to GM6, 200 degrees C.
2 - In a baking tray, toss together the vegetables, garlic, seasoning and olive oil. Roast for 30-40 minutes turning once, until evenly caramelised all over.
3 - While the vegetables are roasting, boil the pasta for 10-12 minutes. Drain and pour into a large bowl. Add the roasted vegetables and any roasting juices.
4 - Make the dressing by combining the ingredients, then toss all of the vegetables and pasta with the dressing and fresh basil leaves.
5 - Serve this as it is at room temperature, or experiment and add toasted nuts, shaving of cheese, flaked smoked fish, crumbled feta, spring onions, anything you like.

Wednesday 1 August 2007

Marrow and Mustard Soufflé


Last year, an ex-work colleague of mine asked me if I liked courgettes. Daft question; of course I do, I will eat anything. The next day, the promised courgettes arrived in style. Two of the biggest marrows I had ever seen in my life were sat in my seat.

And so the story goes that he was looking after his father's allotment whilst he was on holiday and had been watering the courgettes. Coming into the allotment one day, he was met by two incredibly large and overgrown courgettes. It seemed that one day they were courgettes, the next, marrows. And thinking that nobody in their right mind would eat such items, he asked if I wanted them and of course I obliged.

Marrows are much maligned vegetables. Lacking in flavour, fibrous at times and full of seeds and water, they are more than often subjected to a good pickle as they are an unoffensive and cheap filler. I have to admit that with the majority of these monsters I spent half of the night stood over a large pickling pan and subsequently filled a thousand jam jars. I'm still eating the stuff to this day, and mighty fine pickle it is.

But I think that the marrow deserves more respect than that. Okay, it does need the flavour lifted, but as far as I am concerned, once lifted it tastes magnificent. I set off to make something that would not only treat it with great respect, but also take it into another league. A soufflé was on the cards. Not something I make very often, the soufflé and the marrow make a lovely little match. I use good strong Cheddar and English Mustard to embellish the flavour, and the result is a dreamy dish that makes for an impressive starter to any meal.

So start to treat your marrow with a little respect and pack one into these floaty little numbers. No longer should the overgrown courgette be laughed at by children, sat limp and unused in the fridge or looked at in puzzlement and then walked past by adults in supermarkets. Take it to another level and spend a little time making my Marrow and Mustard Soufflés.

Marrow and Mustard Soufflé
Fills 5-6 ramekins

2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 shallot, diced finely
1 clove garlic, diced finely
1 smallish marrow, cubed
1 heaped teaspoon of English mustard powder
250ml milk
50g butter
50g plain flour
4 eggs separated
50g strong cheddar, grated
freshly ground black pepper

1 - Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Butter 5 or 6 ramekins
2 - Heat the oil the garlic and shallot. Fry for 1 minute then add the marrow. Cook very slowly, try not to colour but it won’t harm until the marrow has collapsed and lost a lot of it’s water. Mix all together so it is one big mush (technical cheffy term) and put aside.
3 - Make a béchamel sauce. In a pan, melt the butter and mix in the flour, stirring all of the time. Then add the milk bit by bit, always stirring until you have a thick béchamel.
5 - Allow to bubble for just 1 minute (this ensures the flour is cooked through) then remove from the heat.
6 - Add the bechamel to the marrow mixture. Then stir in the egg yolks, cheese, mustard powder a good grinding of black pepper. Mix well to gloopy glory.
7 - Whisk the egg whites until you can hold the bowl over your head, then using a large metal spoon, fold 1 spoon’s worth quickly into the mixture. Then gently fold in the remainder. Divide between the ramekins so that they are full to the brim. Tidy up the edges with some kitchen roll.
9 - Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Eat immediately with crusty bread or toast. Beautiful!

Tuesday 31 July 2007

Hot Chorizo, Bean and Herb Salad


Attending farmer's markets and food festivals is something I urge people to do more of. Not only do you get the chance to discover some amazing foodstuffs from around your area, but you also get to meet the people who put the hard work in. Passionate producers who believe in their produce, putting a huge effort in to ensure that you are getting a quality product on your plate.

I had the pleasure to meet the guys from Shaw Meats at the Gateshead Flower Show at the weekend. They are a Cumbrian meat supplier who make some amazing cured sausages, and it is their policy to only source good meat from local farms within 30 miles of their butchery in Wigton, Cumbria. So on display were some inventive salamis such as Caraway and Nutmeg, Basil and Fennel and little chilli numbers called Firecrackers. They also had their own Biltong, a South African delicacy which is basically salt cured beef strips. All were seriously delicious, superb quality and you could tell it meant a lot to them to be selling such great produce.

The sausage I brought home with me was their own Cumbrian Chorizo. Less salty and less fatty than the chorizo I normally buy, it was also more subtle on the paprika giving you a meatier hit rather than the spice. I thought they were delicious, sausages that would improve even more with a little heat and crispiness, so I thought I would put them together in a simple salad. I love the contrast between a cold bean salad and searing hot meat. Get plenty of fresh herbs and a sharp leaf amongst them all, a few shavings of a salty cheese and perhaps some sun dried tomatoes, and you have a 10 minute Medittecumbrian supper on your plate.

Hot Cumbrian Chorizo, Bean and Herb Salad
Feeds 4

1 large chorizo sausage, sliced to the thickness of a pound coin
1 tin of butter beans, drained and washed
1 tin of cannellini beans, drained and washed
A small punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
A handful of sun dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
Rocket leaves
Leaves of any fresh herbs, I used parsley, coriander and chervil
1 red onion, sliced
A few shavings of a hard cheese such as Parmesan or Pecorino
Rapeseed or Olive oil

For the dressing
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Half tsp smoked sweet paprika
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Freshly ground pepper

1 - In a large bowl, place the beans, rocket, herbs, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and onion.
2 - Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients, mixing well.
3 - In a large frying pan, heat up a tablespoon of the oil and add the chorizo. Be careful the sausage does not burn and cook until crisp and seared.
4 - Dress the salad in the bowl, then place piles into bowls. Scatter the salad with the hot sausage, a few shavings of cheese and more herbs. Eat with optional crusty bread.

Sunday 29 July 2007

Crab and Cod Curry


Friday night, and curry cravings were in the air. We needed a curry in a hurry, simply because we were hungry and very tired after a tough week. A curry always seems to invigorate and revive. With both of the nearest Indian restaurants of a disappointing nature, it was time for a little inspiration using the ingredients I already had in the house.

Preparing a curry can often be a lengthy affair. Lots of ingredients and lots of preparation in advance, it can sometimes be a little mesmerising and off-putting, hence the reason why a curry fix is often resolved via the takeaway for many. The curry I made on Friday night took 15 minutes to complete, and it inched ever closer to the top 3 currys I have ever made.

I've taken a bit of interest in South Indian food, specifically Keralan cuisine. The flavourings in the curry from this area of India are subtle and exotic, with an emphasis on the likes of fruit, nuts, fish, yoghurt and coconut. My only experiences have been at Rasa Restaurant in Newcastle, and each time I have eaten there has been a nigh on religious experience, the food has been that stunning. Incredibly fresh food, some fierce with heat that is quickly quelled from the use of tangy fruit, fresh pickles and coconut. I adore it, and could happily eat there every night.

My crab and cod curry on Friday was a good effort on something I could imagine eating on a warm South West Indian beach, surrounded by the sound of crashing waves, tropical insects and of course a cool beer to wash it down with. Hot and sour, creamy and exotic, I swear I could do the 15 minutes preparing and cooking and then pretend to friends that I had been slaving over the pot all day. But why deny you the recipe to a fantastically quick curry, one that will have you tearing into the crab claws and relishing each morsel? One that will have you and your friends messy with the hot and sour sauce. One that will satisfy your most severe of curry cravings and leave you chuffed in the knowledge you have just whipped an an impressive curry in the time it took the rice to boil. Get cracking.

Crab and Cod Curry
Feeds 2

1 cooked crab, meat removed, claws and legs left intact
1 medium fillet of cod, bones and skin removed and cut into chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and grated
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1tbsp tamarind paste (optional)
1 small tin chopped tomatoes
Half a tin of coconut milk
A handful of pistachio or cashew nuts, crushed coarsely
A handful of curry or basil leaves
Fresh coriander
Groundnut or peanut oil
Salt

1 - Heat up the oil in a large pan. Add the mustard seeds and curry or basil leaves and let them crackle.
2 - Add the onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric and chilli powder and quickly stir for 1 minute. Then add the tomatoes and tamarind paste and reduce for 2 minutes, stirring all of the time to make a rich and fragrant sauce.
3 - Turn down the heat and add the coconut milk. Bring to the simmer, then add the cod, crab meat, legs and claws. Heat through for 5 minutes.
4 - Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Stir in the nuts. Serve on basmati rice with a scattering of fresh coriander leaves.

Monday 23 July 2007

Red Gooseberry and Walnut Pudding

A very strange thing happened to me last week. I discovered a fruit I have never seen or heard of before at my local greengrocer's. After returning home with the fruit, I then had a little surf on my fellow Blogger's sites. And there on Celia's brilliant Purple Podded Peas was this fruit I had never heard of. What a coincidence. They say that all good things come in threes, so I am fully expecting to get pelted with this fruit at some point this week from the children at one of my food presentations.

The fruit I am talking about is the red gooseberry, or as Celia says, the Whinhams Industry or red dessert gooseberry. Quite how I have never heard of them is a strange one. I love gooseberries, but the ones that I am used to and use in abundance are the green variety that often need sweetening up due to their sour nature. These little beauties need little sugar; they are sweet as can be and perfect for a bit of dessert experimentation.

I decided against the ubiquitous gooseberry crumble. As delightful as it is, I wanted something even more simple, especially as I'm now getting my daughter involved so much. I opted instead for an upside down pudding of sorts. What I'm starting to do with Cerys these days is give her a few sensible choices for the recipe I'm about to experiment with. As she demands to be on the bench when I cook these days, it is only fair to give her a bit of autonomy.

So on her list of random but acceptable choices were walnuts which were gratefully bashed to submission in a plastic bag with her mini rolling pin. These were folded into a simple sponge mixture with the tiniest pinches of ground ginger. Topped and tailed, the gooseberries were softened a little in soft brown sugar. I had to do this quickly as the delicious fruits appeared to be disappearing at a fast rate down my little helper's neck. All that was left was the fruit to be arranged in a buttered dish and the sponge mixture poured over the top and baked off in a moderate oven.

We ate this pudding with vanilla ice cream, and as the ice cream melted around the still warm pudding I glanced over at my daughter as she demolished her well earned slice. I praised her on her fantastic pud, and I was awarded with a sticky cuddle and kiss. I have a little Delia in the making methinks. Hats off to the red dessert gooseberry and unknown pleasures.

Red Gooseberry and Walnut Pudding

1 small punnet of red gooseberries (green will do but may need a little more sugar), topped and tailed
50g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
100g plain flour
100g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
50g walnuts, pounded to small crumbs
A good pinch of ground ginger

1 - Pre-heat the oven to GM4, 180 degrees C.
2 - In a small pan, melt the sugar and add the gooseberries. Cook until they have softened then remove from the heat.
3 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, then fold in the flour, walnuts and ground ginger. If the mixture is too stiff, beat in a little milk until it falls off a spoon without shaking.
4 - Pour the fruit into a buttered baking dish (I used a square cake tin). Pour over the sponge mixture and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes until the sponge has risen and turned golden brown.
5 - Allow to cool slightly, then turn out onto a plate and serve in generous slices with ice cream.

Friday 20 July 2007

Pan Fried Mackerel with New Potatoes, Mushrooms and Peas

'The mackerel are in'. Anybody that lives near the coast may have heard these words uttered by excited men in pubs, streets and cafes. For some reason, even if you hate fishing and have never picked up a rod in your life, shoals of approaching mackerel still induces excitement. It is as if the aliens have landed. And people rush to the shoreline to see them approach. With handheld fishing lines and tin foil in hand, South Shields pier is full to the brim with men trying to catch a little fishy for their little dishy. Some slight exaggerations here, but I do love a bit of drama.

Mackerel are so delicious and so good for you. As well as being delicious and good for you, they are really easy to catch. They are so greedy and feed in such a frenzy that anything goes. So a piece of tin foil wrapped onto a hook is very effective. Drop it into the murky waters of the North Sea and dinner has been caught. Eat a mackerel as fresh as can be and you will benefit from unrivalled flavour for the price of a pot noodle. They are so cheap and plentiful at this time of the year, and that makes me a very happy man.

I leave the fishing to the experts and opt for my trustful fishmonger, the amazing Latimers of Whitburn. Fresh from the sea, eyes still winking and gills scarlet red, I need to get them quickly into a pan. So yesterday, I boiled up a few new potatoes and allowed them to cool. Sliced in half, I popped them into a pan with hot rapeseed oil, sliced mushrooms and a handful of frozen peas. Whilst they were crisping up, I made a simple dressing with a handful of capers, the juice of a lemon, more rapeseed oil and black pepper.

Vegetables cooked, I then piled them onto a plate with a handful of rocket. Fillets of mackerel, boned and seasoned, were then seared in the same pan for 2 minutes then placed on top of the vegetables. All that was left was a quick drizzle of the dressing and a quick, fresh and tasty tea of mackerel was served. Beautiful in all of its simplicity. The mackerel are in. Best get the tin foil at the ready.

Pan Fried Mackerel with New Potatoes, Mushrooms and Peas
Serves 2

2 mackerels, filleted, skin slashed and seasoned
10-15 of new potatoes (depending on how hungry you are), boiled and cooled and halved
2 handfuls of rocket
1 handful of frozen peas
2 handfuls of mushrooms, any, sliced in half
2 tbsp Rapeseed or olive oil

For the dressing
Juice of one lemon
A handful of capers, rinsed
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

1 - Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients.
2 - Heat up a large frying pan. Add the potatoes and mushrooms and cook until golden. Add the peas and warm through with a little seasoning.
3 - Pile onto plates then scatter over the rocket.
4 - Heat up a little more oil then place the fillets skin down and cook for 2 minutes until crisp and golden. Flip and cook for a further minute.
5 - Place fillets onto the vegetables then drizzle over the dressing.

Thursday 19 July 2007

Cherry and Almond Bake


Cherry and Almond Bake

25g butter
500g cherries, pitted (if you prefer, raspberries work perfectly too)
75g flour
50g ground almonds
50g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod (optional), split and seeded
3 eggs
300ml milk

1 – Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C, GM4
2 – Butter a shallow baking dish and place the cherries onto the bottom.
3 – Put the flour, ground almonds and sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
4 – Put the eggs into a bowl and whisk. Then whisk in the milk and finally the vanilla seeds. Slowly pour the egg and milk mixture into the bowl and whisk thoroughly until you have a smooth batter.
5 – Pour the batter over the cherries. Place onto the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the batter is risen and golden brown.
6 – Cool slightly then serve with cream or crème fraiche.

Tuesday 17 July 2007

Turlu Turlu


Turlu Turlu originates from Turkey and in its home country is served both as a main course or as an accompaniment to roast meats. It basically entails slowly roasting off any vegetable you care to roast, ones that improve with a good caramelising such as roots. So into my Turlu Turlu went baby turnips, fennel, aubergines, courgettes, beetroot, carrots, potato, onions and whole garlic cloves. A little dusting in mixed spice and a scattering of coriander seeds along with salt and pepper is all that is required to pick up the flavour. The sweet tomato sauce could not be simpler either. Roast off a load of cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves then blitz in a food processor. Tip in a tin of chickpeas and you have yourself the complete dish. A few homemade flatbreads make the meal even more impressive.

Turlu Turlu
Feeds 4

4 baby turnips, halved
3 large potatoes, cubed
1 onion, cut into eighths
6 whole garlic cloves
1 fennel bulb, quartered
1 beetroot, cubed
1 carrots, cut into thick diagonal slices
1 aubergine, halved then cut into thick slices
2 courgettes, cut into thick slices
1 tbsp whole coriander seeds
Half tsp allspice
3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh coriander

For the sauce
1kg cherry tomatoes
3 whole garlic cloves
Rapeseed or olive oil
1 tin of chickpeas

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C, GM6.
2 - In a large roasting tin, combine all of the vegetables except for the courgette with the allspice, coriander seeds, salt and pepper and oil.
3 - In another roasting tin, combine the cherry tomatoes with the garlic and oil.
4 - Place both in the oven. Roast the cherry tomatoes for 30 minutes, remove then blitz to a sauce. Pour into a saucepan and keep aside.
5 - For the vegetables, roast for 20 minutes then turn. Roast for a further 20 minutes then put in the courgettes for a further 10 minutes roasting.
6 - Heat up the sauce, taste for seasoning then add the chickpeas.
7 - Serve a good mixture of the roasted vegetables with a good scattering of fresh coriander and a few spoonfuls of the sauce. For authenticity, drizzle on a little yoghurt which has been salted.

Wednesday 4 July 2007

Moroccan Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Fennel


Moroccan Stuffed Chicken with Roasted Fennel

1 whole free range chicken

For the stuffing:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground cinnamon
1 small handful of pistachios
1 small handful of almonds
1 handful of sultanas
Zest and juice of one lemon
2 tbsp honey
Olive oil

For the glaze
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper

2 fennel bulbs, quartered

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 220C, GM 8
2 - In a pan, heat the olive oil then add the onions and garlic. Soften, then add the spices, fruit, nuts, lemon juice and honey and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool slightly then pulse in a blender until you have a sticky mass. Stuff the neck end of the chicken.
3 - Combine the olive oil, paprika, lemon juice and seasoning in a bowl, then massage into the chicken on a baking tray so that it is completely covered. Stuff a halved lemon into the cavity then place the chicken onto the middle shelf for 20 minutes.
4 - Turn down the heat to 180 degrees C, GM4. Roll the fennel in the juices in the tray and bake the chicken for a further 20 minutes per half kilo. For example, my chicken was 1.5 kilos, so i roasted it for 20 minutes at the higher temperature, then a further hour at the lower temperature.
5 - Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Make a quick sauce by deglazing the pan with a little water then stirring in some honey. Calve the meat with a slice of the stuffing and serve with cous cous, flatbreads and a good drizzle of the sweet, spicy and sticky sauce.

Wednesday 16 May 2007

Bitter Chocolate and Orange Tart


I've made this tart using a lemon and lime combination. But chocolate and orange wins hands down. The key to getting the flavours right is to ensure you extract the oils from the skin of the fruit. So a gentle heat on the cream and milk with the grated zest of one orange and the rind of another will do just nicely. Just make sure you pull the rind out before baking otherwise it will make for an unpleasant surprise for somebody. I also put cocoa powder in the pastry to provide a double chocolate hit.

Bitter Chocolate and Orange Tart

For the pastry
150g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
75g butter
Pinch of salt
A little water

For the filling
300ml double cream
150ml milk
300g 70% chocolate
Zest of two oranges, one finely grated and the other cut into slivers
100g sugar
3 egg yolks

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 160C, GM3
2 - Make your pastry by combining the dry ingredients in a food processor or by hand. Drizzle in water and combine until it forms a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3 - Grease and line a tart tin with a removable base, I used a 12" tin. Roll out your pastry and line the tart tin leaving the edges overlapped. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans, any old dried beans or peas will do. Blind bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool a little then trim the case with a sharp knife.
4 - In a deep pan, bring the cream, milk, zest and rind of the orange and the chocolate to boiling point then remove from the heat. Ensure the chocolate is melted and thoroughly combined. Remove the large slithers of zest.
5 - Beat the egg yolks and sugar together. Pour in the chocolate mixture beating all of the time. The pour into the pastry case and gently place onto the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the mixture is almost firm. Cool before serving.

Sunday 13 May 2007

Scallops and Asparagus on Potato Cake with Vermouth Sauce


Scallops and Asparagus on Potato Cake with Vermouth Sauce
Serves 2

6 scallops
12 Asparagus stalks, washed and trimmed
2 large floury potatoes such as Maris Piper or King George, peeled and chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tbs Vermouth
Butter
Olive Oil
Parsley and chives finely chopped
Salt and Pepper

1 - Put the potatoes into a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook until soft, then drain thoroughly and mash in the pan until dry and smooth. Season and add a knob of butter. Shape into circles using a biscuit cutter or chef's ring then fry with a little olive oil and butter until crispy.
2 - While the potato cakes are cooking, cook the asparagus in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
3 - Heat a frying pan and a little olive oil. Season the scallops then sear on both sides for 1 minute each side. Remove and keep warm.
4 - Pour the Vermouth, lemon juice and zest into the scallop pan and reduce, it won't take a minute. Add the herbs and a knob of butter then taste for seasoning.
5 - Arrange the potato cake on a plate with the asparagus and scallops on top, then drizzle the sauce over and around.

Friday 27 April 2007

Strawberries in Vanilla and Balsamic


Nothing new, but for some reason balsamic vinegar and strawberries are a match made in heaven. Combine a splash with a little caster sugar and marinade your strawberries, you are left with some pretty powerful tastes that are incredibly complimentary. The sweetness intensifies and almost fizzes in your mouth. Slit open a vanilla pod and stir in the tiny black seeds of pleasure and things get even better.

Strawberries in Vanilla and Balsamic
Feeds 1 starving individual, 2 normal

1 punnet of strawberries
3 tbs Balsamic vinegar
2 tbs caster sugar
1 vanilla pod

1 - Trim and half the strawberries. Place in a large bowl.
2 - Combine the sugar and balsamic until you have a dark syrup. Slit open the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the sugar and vinegar.
3 - Pour onto the strawberries and combine thoroughly. Try to resist eating for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to combine.
4 - Eat with creme fraiche , yoghurt or whipped cream.

Sunday 15 April 2007

Salmon with a Watercress, Pear and Walnut Salad


Salmon with a Watercress, Pear and Walnut Salad
Serves 2 and 1 child

2 pieces of salmon fillet, skin on
4 handfuls of Puy lentils, washed
3 Spring onions
Ready made horseradish sauce (or make your own simply by grating some horseradish into a little creme fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice)
Watercress
1 Pear
A handful of walnuts
1 Lemon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

1 - Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C, GM8.
2 - Bring a pan of water to the boil. Drop in the lentils and cook for approximately 15 minutes. Drain. Slice your spring onions and combine with a little horseradish sauce. Taste for seasoning.
3 - Heat an oven-proof non-stick pan with a little olive oil. Slash the skin of the salmon a few times, season and place skin side down in the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the skin colours, then flip and place straight into a hot oven. Cook for 7-10 minutes, depending on how pink you like it.
4 - While the salmon is cooking, make a little dressing with the juice of half a lemon, 1 tbs olive oil and black pepper. Slice the pear into thin slices and combine with the watercress, walnuts and the dressing.
5 - Place a small pile of lentils onto a plate and place the salmon on top. Drop a little salad beside it and drizzle some of the horseradish around the plate. Beautiful!

Mexican Bean Soup

Ingredients - Feeds 4 2 tbsp olive oil 4 spring onions, sliced 2 sticks of celery, diced 1 red pepper, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, sliced 2 ...