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Veggies for Fish

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This is an earthy combination of vegetables flavoured with mint that seems to be a good accompaniment to fish dishes.

Planning

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

Ingredients

  • 25g butter
  • 125g garden peas (preferably fresh)
  • 125g baby leeks (large ones don’t work)
  • ½ cucumber
  • preferably 200g shelled broad beans or 200g asparagus tips or 2 medium courgettes
  • handful fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
  • salt & pepper

Method

Trim and quarter the courgettes lengthwise then cut them into 1cm chunks. Trim the baby leeks and cut them on the diagonal into similarly sized pieces discarding the extreme ends. Peel and de-seed the ½ cucumber and cut it into 1cm dice. If you’re lucky enough to have broad beans, par boil them for about 2 minutes then slip the skins off. If you have asparagus, cut the stems into approx 3cm lengths (being sure to keep th every tips whole, of course). If you’re using courgettes, trim them , quarter them lengthwise and cut them into 1 cm chunks.

Now, in a sauté pan (one that has a well fitting lid), heat the butter over medium heat. Add the peas, leaks and either broad beans or asparagus. Sweat these vegetables uncovered for about 2 minutes. Now add the cucumber along with the (optional) courgettes and continue sweating for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the chopped mint, stir and cover the pan, lower the heat and cook very gently for another 2 minutes. Season with some salt and pepper to taste just prior to serving.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Ragoût of Turbot and Scallops

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One of the excellent Mr Stein’s creations from Taste of the Sea . I have actually never made this with the scallops; rather using the fillets from a whole chicken turbot which is plenty for four servings.

Planning

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

Ingredients

  • 350g turbot fillet
  • 25g fresh tarragon (including stalks)
  • 12 scallops
  • 175 ml double cream
  • 1.2 ltr fish stock
  • 75g butter
  • 50 ml Noilly Prat
  • 1 head chickory, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 100g white of leek, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 100g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbs fresh chervil
  • juice ¼ lemon
  • salt & pepper

Method

Slice the turbot into 1 cm strips across the fillet. Strip off enough tarragon leaves to make 1 teaspoon of roughly chopped tarragon. Cut each scallop into three rounds.

Boil together the fish stock, half the cream and remaining tarragon until the volume is reduced by three-quarters. (Care is required to avoid boiling over.) Strain the liquid and discard the tarragon.

Place the butter and Noilly Prat in a wide, shallow, heavy-based pan. Add the chicory and leeks, cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further minute. Place the turbot strips and the scallop discs on top of the vegetables, add half a teacup or so of the reduced fish stock and cream mixture, and season lightly. Simmer gently, covered, for about three minutes when the fish should be just cooked.

Lift out the fish and vegetables and keep warm. Add the remaining cream and chopped tarragon to the pan and boil vigourously for 3 – 4 minutes to reduce the volume and concentrate the flavours.

Divide the fish and vegetables between four plates, pour over the sauce and serve sprinkled with chopped chervil.


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Posted in Fish Tagged with:

Tuna Niçoise

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A derivative of one of the World’s great salads, Salade Niçoise, which is often augmented by tuna to make a more substantial meal. I had some good tuna steaks but it wasn’t really the weather for a salad. So, I used the ingredients of a Salade Niçoise minus the salad leaves and served it warm with the salad dressing, topped with the grilled tuna steaks and hard-boiled egg. Very successful!

Planning

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

Ingredients

  • 250g fine/French beans
  • 250g salad potatoes
  • 6 plum tomatoes
  • 1 tin anchovy fillets, drained
  • 24 black olives
  • 2 tbs. capers, drained
  • 1 tsp whole grain mustard
  • white wine vinegar
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 tuna steaks
  • 2 large eggs, hard-boiled and shelled
  • salt & pepper

Method

Skin and de-seed the tomatoes then slice them lengthwise into strips about 1 cm wide. Wash and trim the beans and halve them. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into quarters. Simmer the potatoes until tender (about 7 minutes), steaming steam the green beans above them. Drain the potatoes and keep them and the beans warm.

Pit the black olives and quarter then lengthwise. Split four anchovy fillets in half lengthwise. Halve the hard-boiled eggs and top each half with two crossed anchovy strips. Chop the remaining anchovy fillets coarsely.

Warm the olive oil in a wide sauté pan (be careful not to heat it too much; don?t fry things). Add the cooked vegetables and mix in the tomato segments trying not to break them up. Add the chopped anchovies, capers and black olives. Slacken the mustard with a splash of white wine vinegar and stir this into the vegetable mixture. Warm through very gently ? try to keep the tomatoes intact. Season to taste with some salt and pepper.

Sear the tuna steaks on a very hot ridged griddle pan being sure to keep them pink in the centre. Pile the vegetable mixture into the centre of each of four plates and top each with a tuna steak. Top each tuna steak with one of the egg halves topped with anchovy strips.


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Posted in Fish Tagged with:

Torta de Naranja

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A superb Moorish orange and almond cake from Moro – The CookBook . This is a very useful recipe for those with a wheat difficulty since it is just almonds, eggs and caster sugar that provide the substance.

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 1½ hrs

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 240g caster sugar
  • 230g ground almonds
  • finely grated zest of 2½ oranges
  • juice of 8 oranges, preferably Seville
  • juice of 1½ lemons (if not using Seville oranges)
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • caster sugar to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line the bottom and sides of a 23cm spring-form tin with greaseproof paper.

Retaining one tablespoon of caster sugar for later, beat the rest of the 240g caster sugar together with the egg yolks until pale. Now mix in the almonds and zest. Beat the egg whites with the retained tablespoon of caster sugar until stiff and then fold gently into the egg mixture trying not to knock out the air. Carefully put the mixture into the lined tin, place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for about 60-70 minutes until the torta is golden on top and firm to the touch.

While the torta is baking, make some orange syrup. Place the orange juice and, if using, the lemon juice into a saucepan together with the cinnamon stick and a handful of sugar. Bring this gently to the boil and simmer for about five minutes. Taste – the syrup should be quite tart. Allow to cool then place in the fridge.

When the torta is ready, remove it from the oven and allow to cool before opening the spring-form tin. Transfer it to a plate and pierce holes in the top (a skewer or carving fork works well). Soak about up to about half of the syrup into the torta.

Serve the remaining syrup on the side.


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Posted in Desserts Tagged with:

Tartiflette (Reblochonade)

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This is instant cardiac arrest stuff, if ever there were any, and should come with a government health warning. Belly-building lunch from the French ski resorts.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 1 hr

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs potatoes (not floury)
  • 2 large onion, halved & sliced
  • 8 oz smoked bacon cut into lardons
  • 1 Reblochon
  • 2 glasses dry white wine
  • pepper

Method

Using a sauté pan, soften the onions in a little butter. Add white wine to deglaze and reduce completely. Reserve the onion mixture for later.

In the same pan, cook the lardons until all the fat runs. Remove the lardons from their fat and reserve them for later. Cut the potatoes into rounds and add them to the pan. Mix well to absorb all the bacon fat. In a small saucepan, briefly boil the wine to drive off all the alcohol then add it to the potatoes. Cover the pan and cook the potatoes over gentle heat until the potatoes begin to soften. Do not overcook! Add a little water during cooking if necessary.

In an ovenproof earthenware dish, put a layer of the potatoes followed by the reserved onion and bacon and finish with another layer of potato. Slice the Reblochon in half horizontally, then cut each half into quarters. Lay each pirece of Reblochon on top of the potato skin side up. Heat in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with salad and white wine.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Tabbouleh

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I don’t think there is any such thing as a “classic” Middle Eastern tabbouleh since there appear to be as many variations in terms of quantities as there are people. Some use huge amounts of herbs and little bulgur wheat, others do quite the opposite. This version, though, seems to me to capture the essence and generally accepted ingredients but you should feel free to vary the balance to your own liking with gay abandon. This is basically similar to the Moro version with the addition of cucumber (which many recipes seem to include).

Many commentators claim that bulgur wheat is ready after only a few minutes soaking in cold water but I haven’t yet found one that’s ready in less than an hour. Maybe I have never found a truly fine bulgur wheat? Anyway, be prepared for some variability.

Planning

serves: 6 – 8
preparation time: 2 hours
cooking time: n/a

Ingredients

  • 100g bulgur wheat
  • 400g tomatoes, deseeded & finely diced
  • ½ cucumber, deseeded & finely diced
  • 8 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 3 small bunches flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 small bunch mint, roughly chopped
  • 1 small clove garlic, crushed with salt
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • 4 tbs olive oil

Method

Soak the bulgur wheat in cold water until it loses its crunch. I find it takes an hour or so but your wheat may vary so bite it frequently to check how yours is progressing. When it is ready, strain it in through a sieve and leave it until it is reasonably dry and can be fluffed up with a fork.

Make the dressing. Add the garlic, spices, salt & pepper to the lemon juice, then stir in the olive oil.

An hour or so before you are ready to eat, mix together the bulgur wheat, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, parsley and mint. Mix the dressing into the salad ensuring that everything is well coated. The hour should allow the flavours to blend without allowing the herbs to wilt too much.

Tabbouleh is traditionally scooped up with lettuce leaves but an interesting alternative is chicory leaves; red chicory if you can find it.


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Posted in Starters Tagged with:

Swordfish with Salmoriglio

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One to try from the Sicilian leg of Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes . (Note to self: I need to try this and check the water content in the salmoriglio.)

Planning

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

Ingredients

  • 6 tbs olive oil
  • 3 tbs water
  • 1½ tbs lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
  • 1 tbs fresh celery leaves, chopped
  • 1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
  • 4 swordfish steaks, ~2cms thick
  • olive oil
  • crushed dried red chillies
  • salt & pepper

Method

First, make the salmoriglio. Place the olive oil and water into a bowl and whisk together until emulsified. Add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt to taste. Stir in the garlic & herbs (oregano, celery leaves, parsley) and mix well.

Either fire up a barbecue and let the flames die down or preheat a ridged griddle pan until very hot. Brush the swordfish with olive oil and season on both sides with crushed chillies, salt and papper. Cook the swordfish, either on the barbecue or griddle for about 4 mins on each side until cooked through.

Serve the swordfish steaks drizzled with the salmoriglio.


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Posted in Fish Tagged with:

Sweet Potato Rösti

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This adaptation of the Swiss rösti is great as a light snack topped with a little more crumbled goat’s cheese. It also makes a more unusual accompaniment to meat dishes.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 lb sweet potatoes
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 3 oz fresh goat’s cheese (Pant-Ysgawn)
  • 2 medium eggs, beaten
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • pepper

Method

Peel the sweet potato and grate it; wrap it in a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Place it in a mixing bowl.

Peel and thinly slice the onion and sauté it in a tablespoon of the olive oil until soft and golden. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 secs. Add this to the grated sweet potato.

Crumble the goat’s cheese and add it to the sweet potato. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper then stir in the beaten eggs and mix well.

Form the mixture into rounds of about 4 in (10 cm) by ½ in (1 cm) high, either by hand or in some suitable rings. Place them on a non-stick sheet and bake in the oven at gas mark 7, 220 °C for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Suprêmes de Volaille au Roquefort

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This recipe was a result of experimenting during a trip to San Francisco when I was trying to cook something for some friends. It is breast of chicken in a white wine and cream sauce flavoured with Roquefort cheese. If you have a consuming passion for cheese, particularly blue, then this is for you. Treat the Roquefort as a seasoning; adjust the amount suggested to suit your particular taste.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts (boned)
  • 1 oz unsalted butter
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1½ oz Roquefort cheese (or blue stilton, if you prefer)
  • 10 fl oz dry white wine
  • 5 fl oz single cream
  • salt and pepper

Method

Crumble the blue cheese and moisten it with 2 tbs. of the cream. Mix this to a paste (ignoring the colour!) and season lightly with a little salt and pepper.

Finely chop the shallot. Use a sauté pan that has a lid and will take the 4 chicken breasts comfortably. Melt the butter over medium heat, add the chicken breasts and brown them lightly on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and gently soften the shallot in the sauté pan without allowing it to colour. Return the chicken breasts to the pan moving them around a little to get them into the shallots. Cover the pan with the lid, lower the heat and cook the chicken covered until just cooked through (about 10 mins but test them – it depends how big your breasts are :)). There should now be some liquid in the bottom of the pan. Remove the chicken breasts and keep them warm while you finish the sauce.

Increase the heat and reduce the pan juices until they become slightly syrupy. Add the white wine and repeat the reduction process down to about one third. Add the cream and bring gently to simmering point stirring all the time. Lower the heat add stir in the blue cheese mixture until it dissolves. Adjust the seasoning (bearing in mind that blue cheese is inherently salty).

Serve the chicken breasts either nouvelle cuisine style on top of the sauce or “vielle cuisine” style underneath the sauce.


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Posted in Poultry Tagged with:

Stir-Fried Pak Choi and Asparagus

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From an idea on a Waitrose packet of pak choi, adjusted to suit a non fish-eating audience. It makes a good vegetable addition to a Thai or Chinese meal.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 5 mins
cooking time: 6 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs groundnut oil
  • 1 in piece fresh ginger, peeled & shredded
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled & crushed
  • 1 pkt pak choi
  • 1 pkt fine asparagus
  • 2 tbs oyster sauce

Method

Separate the leaves of the pak choi, wash it and cut it into lengths of about 3 cm. Trim the dry ends of the asparagus stems and rinse them also.

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the ginger and garlic for about 30 secs. Toss in the pak choi and asparagus and stir fry for about 3 mins when it should be starting to soften. Thin the oyster sauce with an equal quantity of water and add this to the wok, continuing to cook for 1-2 mins.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with: ,