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Roast Butternut Squash Risotto

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Butternut squash has become very popular, almost ubiquitous, and it’s an orange colour so it must be good for you. I think it is at its best roasted when the full flavour develops. As well as making a good accompaniment to a Sunday roast or, better still, a Sunday barbecued joint, roasted butternut squash shines very well in this risotto recipe.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 1 hr

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 tbs coriander seeds
  • 1 dried red chilli, seeds removed
  • Salt & pepper
  • olive oil
  • 100g butter
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 rib celery, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 wineglass dry white vermouth
  • 320g risotto rice
  • 75g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • 1 ltr chicken stock, hot

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. (If you can be bothered, pick the seeds out of the pith and reserve them for later. They can be roasted and added to the dish.) Cut the squash into 1cm slices. Don’t bother to skin the squash, the apparently waxy, hard skin gets softer with cooking.

Crumble the dried red chilli into a pestle and mortar with the coriander seeds and a pinch of salt and pepper. Grind all this together, mix with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and rub this all over the butternut squash slices. Put the squash in a roasting tray and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes. If you’ve reserved the squash seeds, stir them in to the roasting tray and roast for another 5 – 10 minutes, otherwise just leave the squash for the additional time. Remove the squash from the oven and allow it to cool enough to handle. It will have shrivelled a little and be quite soft now; chop it into chunks of about 1cm.

When you are ready, make the risotto. Get the stock hot in a separate pan ready to add to the risotto in batches. In your chosen risotto pan, melt half the butter over moderate heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the finely chopped onion, celery and garlic and fry gently for about 10 minutes to soften without colouring. Now add the rice; increase the heat slightly and, stirring constantly so as not to burn it, cook the rice for about 2 minutes when it should begin to look a little translucent. Add the vermouth and let the alcohol bubble off so the angels can have it. 🙂

Once the rice has absorbed the vermouth, you can start adding the stock, which should be very hot so as to keep the simmer going. Add the hot stock one ladle at a time. With the first ladelful only, add about half a teaspoon of salt. Adjust the heat so that the stock simmers and the rice does not cook too quickly. Stir the rice frequently to help release the starch and make the traditional creamy consistency of risotto. As each ladelful of stock is absorbed, add another and continue simmering and stirring. In this manner, it should take about 15 – 20 minutes to get all the stock incorporated.

Now stir in the diced, roasted butternut squash. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper now, remembering that the Parmesan cheese (added next) is salty so go easy. Add the parmesan cheese with the remaining half of the butter and stir again. Cover the pan with a lid and let it sit for two minutes; this reheats the squash but most importantly makes the risotto wondefully unctious. (Now there’s a posh word for some posh nosh.)

If you’ve roasted the squash seeds, sprinkle them on top. A few sage leaves quickly fried in butter wouldn’t go amiss, either.

This really just needs a good leafy salad, appropriately dressed, for accompaniment.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Hasenpfeffer

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The classic germanic hare stew taken from French Regional Cookery – Alsace , or so I thought. (Well, Alsace does suffer from a French/German identity crisis.) Before I’d cooked this, given my basic knowledge of German, I thought that the pfeffer part of the name might imply that it were a little peppery. It seems not, more’s the pity. Apparently, pfeffer also refers to thickening a dish with blood, just as in the very English jugged hare. Somewhat disappointingly, this might as well be called lièvre au vin or lièvre Bourguinon , for it closely resembles both. It does taste good, nonthemore for that.

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 3½ hrs
cooking time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 225 g green bacon, diced
  • 1¾ kg hare, jointed, blood & liver reserved
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 4 tbs olive oil
  • 2 tbs Marc d’Alsace or brandy
  • 50 g butter
  • 18 small onions, peeled
  • 18 button mushrooms, wiped
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 25 g plain flour
  • 350 ml red wine
  • 350 ml game or beef stock
  • bouquet garni
  • 5 tbs single cream
  • parsley sprigs for garnish

Method

Put the hare into a bowl and season with the salt, pepper and thyme. Add the bay leaf and one of the sliced onions. Combine the oil and Marc d’Alsace or brandy , and pour it over the hare. Turn the joints until well coated and set aside to marinate for 3 hrs.

Meanwhile, blanch the bacon in boiling water for a minute then drain and dry it. Melt half the butter in a frying pan and fry the bacon until golden. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Now add the baby onions to the butter and fry for 5 minutes to clolour them slightly. Remove and reserve. Similarly, fry the mushrooms in the butter for 2 mins, remove and reserve.

Melt the remaining butter in the frying pan and add the last two sliced onions and crushed garlic. Fry for 4 – 5 mins until golden. Add the flour and fry gently until golden, stirring constantly.

Drain the hare, reserving the marinade, and pat the joints dry with kitchen paper. Add the hare to the roux and cook, stirring constantly, until browned. Pour over the red wine and stock and stir thoroughly before adding the bouquet garni. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for 1½ hours until tender.

Transfer the hare to a flameproof casserole and add the reserve bacon, baby onions and mushrooms. Now add the reserved marinade to the pan in which the hare was browned, stir well to deglaze and strain the contents into the casserole. Cover the casserole and cook in a preheated oven at 175°C, gas mark 4 for 1 hour. 10 mins before the end, chop the reserved liver, stir it into the casserole and continue cooking.

Remove the casserole from the oven and place it over moderate heat. Mix the reserved blood with the cream and stir it into the casserole. Cook gently for about 5 mins, stirring all the time and be careful not to let it boil or it will curdle!

Serve the hasenpfeffer garnished with parsley sprigs and accompanied by noodles.


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Posted in Game Tagged with:

Romesco de Peix

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Romesco is a traditional Catalan sauce made with pounded nuts and peppers. Here, a derivative of it is used to make a Catalan fish and shellfish stew. Firm fish, such as monkfish, works well in a stew but careful substitutions can be made. Similarly, the shellfish can vary between clams, mussels and prawns, depending upon availability. I’d use less fish stock for mussels or clams, which release their own liquid, than prawns, which do not.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 50 mins

Ingredients

  • 6 tbs olive oil
  • 1 large onion, preferably Spanish, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 2 tbs rosemary, finely chopped
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 red peppers, quartered, seeded & thinly sliced
  • ½ tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón)
  • 400g tin plum tomatoes, drained & roughly chopped
  • 150ml white wine
  • 150ml (for clams/mussels, which release liquid) or 200ml (for prawns) fish stock
  • 1 tsp saffron threads, infused in 4 tbs boiling water
  • 150g whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted and ground
  • 650g monkfish fillets, cut into large chunks
  • 500g mussels/clams/raw prawns
  • Salt & pepper

Method

In a deep sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion together with a pinch of salt and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and sweet (about 15-20 minutes). Then stir in the garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and red peppers. When the red pepper has softened for at least 10 minutes, stir in the paprika and tomatoes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Now add the wine and drive off the alcohol for a couple of minutes before adding the fish stock together with the saffron-infused water. Finally, thicken the base with the ground almonds and taste for seasoning. (You can complete this stage ahead of time.)

When almost ready to eat, reheat the base if necessary and add the fish and shellfish. Put a lid on and simmer until the fish is cooked through and (if appropriate) the shellfish have opened.

This goes well with new potatoes or a raw fennel salad.


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Posted in Starters Tagged with:

Fish Crumble

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Yes, I know this might sound strange to those accustomed to an apple crumble but trust me, this savoury crumble works well and has always proved immensely popular with those for whom we’ve cooked it.

The savoury cheese crumble mixture could, I imagine, be more traditionally replaced by a cheesy mashed potato topping, if you preferred, but then it would become a pretty standard fish pie that’d be rather missing the point, in my opinion.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 45 mins

Ingredients

  • 1½ lbs (~700 g) white fish (haddock, plaice; hake is excellent)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 pt semi-skimmed milk
  • 4 oz prawns
  • 3 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
  • 2 oz butter
  • 3½ oz plain flour
  • 2 oz Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
  • pinch of grated nutmeg
  • Salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

Add the bay leaf and white fish to the milk and bring it to simmering point. Poach the white fish very gently until barely cooked. Remove the fish and let it cool; leave the bay leaf in the milk cooling as well.

When the fish is cool, remove any skin and bones and flake it coarsely into a bowl. Add the prawns and the sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Make the crumble mixture. Rub or process together 2 oz of the plain flour and 1½ oz of the butter until you get the famed bread-crumb stage. Stir in the grated Cheddar and some salt and pepper. Set the mixture aside.

Make a thin white sauce with the poaching liquid. Strain the milk into a jug and sprinkle in the pinch of nutmeg. Melt the remaining ½ oz butter in a small saucepan over low heat. When the foam subsides, stir in the remaining ½ oz plain flour and cook gently, stirring frequently until the mixture is pale (2-3 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and gradually add the reserved poaching milk, beating vigorously between additions to ensure a smooth consistency is achieved. Return the pan to the heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly. Gently cook out the flour taste for a couple of minutes, then stir it gently into the fish, prawn and egg mixture.

Assemble the crumble. Tip the fish mixture into an appropriately sized dish. Cover it with the crumble mixture and bake it in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.


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Posted in Fish Tagged with:

Celery and Stilton Soup

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This one’s entirely down to me. This is one of jolly old England’s classic combinations of flavours turned into a warming soup. These quantities make about a pint/550 ml so you can have either two steaming bowlfuls or four nicely pretentious coffee-cupfuls for a dinner party.

Planning

serves: 2 – 4
preparation time: 5 mins
cooking time: 50 mins

Ingredients

  • 30 g butter
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 large ribs celery, roughly chopped
  • 500 ml light chicken stock
  • 60 g blue Stilton cheese, crumbled
  • salt & pepper

Method

Melt the butter in a suitable saucepan over moderate heat and, when the foam subsides, sweat the onion in it for about 5 minutes without colouring. Add the chopped celery and sweat, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes also without colouring. Add the light chicken stock, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to simmering point and cook gently uncovered for 30 minutes. Liquidize the soup and return it to the saucepan.

Now it’s time to add the cheese. Since Stilton cheeses vary greatly both in strength and saltiness, I suggest that you treat the cheese as a seasoning and add it in stages to avoid over-doing it. Start with about a half (30 g). While gently reheating the soup, add the crumbled Stilton cheese stirring constantly so that it dissolves (this may take about 5 minutes). Taste the soup and try to balance the flavour of both the celery and the Stilton; neither should dominate. Add as much of the cheese as is necessary to achieve this balance.

Finally, adjust the seasoning to taste bearing in mind that you may not need any salt because of the salty Stilton.


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Posted in Soups Tagged with:

French Onion Soup

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This is my take on what is probably the ultimate winter-warmer classic. My variation is the stock. I always found beef stock such a fag to make and, frankly, it never seemed terribly successful (entirely down to me, of course). I do love eating duck and frequently made brown duck stock which I have found to be an excellent, suitably rich alternative which I commend to you.

Of course, since one can now buy very acceptable ready made stocks (for Heaven’s sake do NOT use cubes!), you could go ahead and use a good beef stock if you’d prefer a more original version of Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée .

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

  • 6 diagonal slices of baguette, 2.5 cms thick
  • olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 750 g onions, halved & finely sliced
  • 50 g butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • ½ tsp granulated sugar
  • 1.2 ltr duck stock (or beef stock)
  • 275 ml dry white wine
  • 2 tbs brandy (optional)
  • salt & pepper
  • 200 g Gruyère cheese, grated

Method

First, make the croûtons. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Drizzle about two tablespoons of olive oil on a baking sheet, add two crushed cloves of garlic and spread it around mixing the garlic into the oil (use your hands). Place the slices of baguette on the oiled sheet turning them over to lightly coat both sides. Bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes until crisp and crunchy.

Place a 3.5 litre flameproof casserole on high heat and melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil together. When hot, add the onions, 2 crushed cloves of garlic and the sugar, and fry turning everything occasionally until the onions begin to darken at the edges. (This should take 5 – 6 minures.) Reduce the heat to very low and continue cooking the onions very slowly for 30 minutes more. There should now be some nicely caramelized pan contents.

Pour in the stock and white wine, season, and increase the heat. While it is coming to the boil, stir with a wooden spoon scraping any caramelized residue from the pan bottom. Once at the boil, reduce the heat to very low again and leave it to cook very gently, uncovered, for about one hour. (All the above can be prepared in advance.)

When ready to serve, bring the soup back to simmering point and check for seasoning. Now is also the time to add the brandy if you wish.Serving this out of a tureen is apt to get very messy so I suggest you use individual soup bowls. Pre-heat the grill to high. Ladel the hot soup into the warmed soup bowls and top each with a croûton. Sprinkle the grated Gruyère over the croûtons and place the bowls under the grill until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

Warn your guests not to touch the bowls!


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Posted in Soups Tagged with:

Tomales Salad

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This mixture became one of our staples while house-sitting for a friend in Tomales, California, hence the name. The avocado and tomato flavours blend very well together and make a good accompaniment to grilled fish or meats. Since it was well received by our hosts, I thought I’d document it.(Repeated uses of the word organic are a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that absolutely everything in the Tomales area seemed to be organic. Please feel free to use regular, affordable ingredients. I do.)

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: n/a

Ingredients

  • 1 very small garlic clove
  • salt
  • 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • rainbow pepper corns
  • 1 tbs dark balsamic vinegar
  • 200g organic salad leaves (we like a mixture)
  • 4 medium organic tomatoes
  • 2 organic avocados

Method

First make the dressing. Crush the garlic clove with a pinch of salt and mix it into the balsamic vinegar. Let it infuse for about five minutes before adding a few twists of ground rainbow pepper and the olive oil. Shake it together to blend.

Put the leaves in a suitable salad bowl. Cut each tomato into eight segments lengthwise and add them to the leaves. Cut each avocado in half and remove the stones. Using a dessert spoon, scoop out relatively fine, roughly half-moon-shaped pieces and add these to the salad bowl. (Don’t do this too far ahead of time ‘cos it’ll discolour.)

Immediately before serving, remix the dressing and dress the salad.


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Posted in Salads Tagged with:

Tuscan Bread Salad

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I’ve been intrigued by an Italian bread salad recipe such as this from Giorgio Locatelli for some time. It’s another idea with many variations and apparently no definitive recipe. I finally got around to trying this one and it was quite successful.

The flavours really do improve overnight. However, because of the “maturing”, the trick lies in getting the correct balance between the amount of bread and the amount of liquid. We want soft, tasty bread but definitely not soggy bread. I suggest adding the dressing gradually, adding more as the salad matures if the bread needs to be a little softer.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: overnight
cooking time: 10-30 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 small loaf country style bread about 2-3 days old
  • 1 small cucumber, roughly chopped
  • 1 large red onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 5 tbs olive oil
  • 3 tbs red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbs capers. drained
  • 1-2 tbs sugar, to taste
  • 12 fresh basil leaves, roughly crushed
  • salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Cut the bread into large cubes and spread it out in a large roasting tin. Toast it in the oven until golden (about 20 minutes). Leave to cool.

In a bowl, mix the cucumber, onion, tomatoes and toasted bread cubes. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, capers, sugar, some salt and pepper, and add this to the bowl with the basil. Give it a good stir. Cover it and leave it in the fridge overnight for the flavours to mellow. The bread should feel moist but not soggy.

Serve it as a starter or as a salad accompaniment to grilled or roasted meat.

 


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Posted in Salads Tagged with:

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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A garlic fest that goes extremely well with roast chicken. Don’t be put off by the amount of garlic which might seem quite daunting; it is blanched before use and that moderates its strength of flavour into something entirely softer. Trust me!

Planning

serves: 4 – 6
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 18 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1kg potatoes, peeled
  • 30g butter
  • 15g plain flour
  • 150ml milk
  • salt & pepper

Method

Blanch the garlic cloves in boiling water for three minutes. Drain them, let them cool a little, then mince/chop them very finely.

Cut the potatoes into even, large chunks before bringing them to the boil in a pan of salted water and simmering them until tender.

While the potatoes are simmering, make a garlic white sauce. Melt the butter over gentle heat and add the finely minced garlic. Cook the garlic gently in the butter, without colouring, for two or three minutes. Stir in the flour and continue cooking gently for another two or three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually beat in the milk avoiding any lumps (other than the bits of garlic, of course). When all the milk is incorporated, return the pan to the heat and bring to simmering point whilst stirring. Simmer the thickened sauce for two or three minutes to cook out any raw flour taste.

When the potatoes are tender, mash them and beat in the garlic white sauce.

Be prepared to wish you had made a larger quantity.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Caesar Salad

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Caesar Salad is, in my opinion, one of the World’s great salads and one of America’s contributions to haute cuisine . Apart from the crispness of the Cos/Romaine lettuce used, this really stands or falls on the dressing. This dressing comes from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection from the days when she cooked properly instead of “cheating” (so sad and such a complete travesty). In fact, this dressing is the reason I bought the book.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: n/a

Ingredients

  • 50 g crustless white bread cut into 1cm cubes
  • 1-2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 rounded tbs Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 (very) large egg
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 heaped tsp mustard powder
  • ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 150 ml olive oil
  • 40 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 hearts of Cos/Romaine lettuce
  • 1 x 50 g tin anchovy fillets, drained (but keep the oil for the dressing)

Method

First make some croûtons. Preheat the oven ot 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Place the cubes of bread in a bowl and stir in 1-2 tbs olive oil, the crushed garlic glove and one tbs Parmesan grated cheese. Now spread the croûtons on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake them high in the oven for 10 minutes. Keep watching so that they do not burn. Remove them and let them cool.

Now make the all-important dressing. Break the egg into the bowl of a food processor (a small one is best). Add the garlic clove, 2 anchovy fillets, lime juice, mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce. Blitz that all together until smooth then, keeping the processor running, drizzle in the anchovy oil and olive oil through the feeder funnel. When all the oil is incorporated you should have an emulsified sauce about the consistency of pouring cream. If it’s a little too thick, slacken it slightly by whisking in some water. Season it with salt and pepper to taste.

Break up the lettuce leaves into a serving bowl. Snip in the remaining anchovy fillets (having separated them first, of course) and mix to distribute them. When you are ready to serve, pour over some salad dressing and toss thoroughly to coat the leaves. (You should not need all the dressing.) Sprinkle in the Parmesan, toss again, and scatter over the croûtons.

This makes a great starter. For a variation and to turn it into a more substantial meal for lunch, say, try serving it topped with grilled chicken breasts cut into fine strips. For some real fun, use Cajun blackened chicken breasts.


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Posted in Salads Tagged with: