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Carrot and Orange Soup

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In my opinion, carrots can be a fairly tedious vegetable; colourful and indispensable for stocks and coleslaw but then life can get dull. I don’t really know why, probably a colour thing, but I tried combining carrots with orange in this soup to liven them up a tad. It’s very pretty and I think it works.

Planning

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

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 12 oz carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 oz butter
  • 1 pt light chicken stock
  • grated zest of 2 oranges
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  • 1 tbsp fresh orange juice

Method

Melt the butter over medium heat and sweat the onion until soft (about 5 minutes) without colouring. Add the carrots and sweat these for a further 10 minutes also without colouring. Toss in the grated orange zest, stir and sweat for a minute or two. Now add the chicken stock, increase the heat and bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.

Liquidize the soup and, if necessary, thin it to the required consistency with a little water. Warm the soup back up to serving temperature to season it. Taste first; the orange will seem to dominate before seasoning. Gradually add sea salt to taste. This will bring out the carrot flavour. Try to balance the carrot and orange flavours. Add a few twists of black pepper . Adding a splash of orange juice will give a distinctly fresh zing but be careful not to over do it.


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Posted in Soups Tagged with:

Braised Fennel

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This makes a great accompaniment to fish and chicken (not together!) dishes. I use chicken stock for the braising but a vegetable stock could be used. This recipe also works well for chicory but halve the cooking time.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 oz butter
  • 2 bulbs fennel
  • 10 fl oz stock (chicken or vegetable), hot
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • pepper

Method

In a small sauté pan, melt the butter over moderate heat. Trim the fennel bulbs and cut them in half lengthwise to expose the narrow dimension. Seal the cut side of the fennel in the butter for a minute or two then add the hot stock. Add a few grindings of black pepper to the fennel. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer the fennel for about 40 minutes. (I like it quite soft; adjust it to your preference.)Strain the fennel from the braising liquid and serve.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Bouillabaisse

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This is based upon a recipe from The Cooking of Provincial France by Time Life books. My basis for the bouillon is always a mixture of whatever fish stocks I happen to have in the freezer at the time. The addition of some canned tomatoes makes up for the relatively low level of flavour in many fresh ones. If you have confidence in your fresh tomatoes, use more and omit the canned ones.

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 1½ hrs

Ingredients

  • 2 large onions thinly sliced
  • 4 leeks thinly sliced
  • 3 fl. oz. olive oil
  • 1½ pts. fish stock
  • 15 fl. oz. dry white wine
  • 1½ lbs. fresh tomatoes
  • 14 oz. can tomatoes
  • ½ tsp. fennel seeds crushed
  • 1 tsp chopped garlic
  • 2 strips orange peel
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ¼ tsp crushed saffron threads
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 lbs. mixed fish (e.g. red snapper, red mullet, rock eel, haddock, hake, halibut)
  • 1 crab
  • 6 jumbo prawns
  • 1 lb. shellfish (e.g. mussels, scallops)
  • salt and pepper

Method

First, make the bouillon. (This can be done ahead of time.) Remove the meat from the crab, break up and reserve the shell. (Use the crab meat to make a starter!) Trim any whole fish being used and reserve the trimmings. Soften the onions and leeks in the olive oil for about five minutes without browning in a very large, heavy casserole. Add the fish stock, wine, tomatoes (both fresh and canned), herbs and seasonings. Add the reserved fish trimmings and the crab shell. Simmer uncovered over moderate heat for about an hour. Strain the bouillon through a chinois pressing well to extract every drop of flavour. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary to taste.

Begin reheating the bouillon about 20 minutes before serving. When boiling, add the firmest and thickest of the fish and continue boiling for about 5 minutes. Then add the shellfish, prawns and any very soft or thin fish and boil for another 5 minutes.

To serve, remove the fish and shellfish from the soup and arrange them on a heated dish. Pour a ladle or two of the soup over the fish to keep it moist. Ladle large helpings of soup and fish into soup plates at the table. Aioli sauce is a must along with warm French bread and cold French white wine!


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Posted in Fish Tagged with:

Bolognese Sauce

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This has developed from a combination of recipes in the Encyclopædia of European Cookery and the Marshall Cavendish Handbook of Good Cooking . It is the basis for Spaghetti Bolognese (of course) and for Lasagne Bolognese. I always make twice this quantity ‘cos it’s a great freezer standby.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 4 tbs olive oil
  • 4 oz green streaky bacon, chopped
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 stick celery, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 lb minced beef
  • 4 oz chicken livers, trimmed and chopped
  • 4 fl oz dry white wine
  • 4 oz mushrooms, diced
  • 14 oz can plum tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram
  • salt and pepper

Method

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan large enough to take all the ingredients and in it, cook the bacon pieces until lightly browned. Add the diced onion, carrot and celery and fry until tender and just beginning to colour. Add the garlic, stir and cook for about 30 seconds more. Add the minced beef and, stirring to break up the lumps, brown it together with the bacon and vegetables. Once the beef is browned, add the chicken livers and cook for a further 2 or 3 mins just to set them. Pour in the wine and bring to the boil to drive off the alcohol. Whiz the tomatoes in a food processor, together with their juice, and stir this into the pan. Add the marjoram and stir again. Bring back to the boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer very gently for about 1 hour.

Add the mushrooms and stir thoroughly to combine. Cover and continue simmering gently for about another hour.

Now it should be tasting like a bolognese. Season to taste with salt (careful because of the bacon) and freshly ground black pepper, and stir well. Simmer for another hour. If the sauce seems too loose, simmer it uncovered to reduce the liquid. If too thick, add a little water to thin it and simmer it covered.

Serve over spaghetti or make into Lasagne Bolognese.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Beef Stroganov

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Here’s one of those old classics that is somewhat out of vogue with the modern style, being a rich dairy sauce. Nonetheless, a good one takes a bit of beating and it is quick and easy to make. So, I think it deserves to be kept in focus. I like to serve this with flat ribbon noodles and a steamed green vegetable such as broccoli.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 75g butter
  • 2 large onions, peeled, halved & thinly sliced
  • 250g button mushrooms (quartered if large)
  • 750g beef fillet, trimmed & cut into 7mm strips
  • 250ml sour cream
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • salt & pepper

Method

Melt half the butter in a large sauté pan and gently cook the onions for about 5 minutes, or until they start to colour a little. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring frequently to cook them evenly. Remove the vegetable mixture to a plate and set aside.

In the same pan, melt the remaining butter over higher heat and add the beef strips. Sauté these for 4 minutes stirring constantly to brown them evenly. Return the onion and mushroom mixture to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and stir to mix with the beef. Cook for a further minute.

Mix the mustard together with the sour cream and stir this into the beef and vegetables. When all is well blended, cook over high heat for a minute but do not allow the sauce to boil. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning to taste.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Bar Braisé aux Aromats

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Sea bass is certainly one of the finest fish available and is particularly good accompanied by a beurre blanc sauce, as here.

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Classic French Cooking published by Time Life. In the original, the bass is braised whole then skinned and filleted, which makes for a somewhat difficult and messy presentation operation. This achieves a neater result with the same flavour by poaching skinned fillets. In both cases, a beurre blanc is made from the cooking liquid.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 15 mins
cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 1½-2 lb sea bass cleaned
  • 4 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbs fresh parsley
  • ~20 fresh rosemary needles
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ pt dry white wine
  • 4 oz chilled butter cubed
  • 2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • salt and pepper

Method

Prepare the bass. Remove the fillets from both fish and skin them. (I find a flat-bladed ham knoife particularly effective for the skinning operation. if you have one.) Remove as many pin bones as possible with tweezers of pliers; whatever you have available. Cover the fillets with cling film and keep them cool in the fridge.

Make the poaching stock. Put the fish frame (skip the head) and all the ingredients down to and including the white wine into a pan. Add about a pint of water to cover and bring this to a simmer. Lower the heat to gentlly simmer the stock for 25 minutes (no more) skimming any scum from the surface. Strain it through a fine sieve. This can be done ahead of time.

Cooking the fish. Select a pan large enough to hold the fillets in a single layer, pour in the poaching liquid and bring it back to the boil. Add the fillets; the liquid should just cover them. Let it come back up to a simmer and poach very gently until barely set. Remove thefillets and keep them warm while you make the sauce.

Making the sauce. Pour off about 10 fl oz of the poaching liquid and boil it in a wide pan to reduce by half. Whisk in the chilled butter a few pieces at a time, trying to keep the sauce just below boiling point. Now lift the sauce with the lemon juice to taste. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Spoon some of the sauce over the fillets and serve the rest in a sauce boat.


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Posted in Fish Tagged with:

Baked Jerusalem Artihokes

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Untried as yet – from Jamie Oliver’s American publication.

Planning

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

Ingredients

  • 300ml double cream or crème fraîche
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely chopped
  • 1 hfl fresh thyme, leaves picked
  • 3 hfl grated Parmesan
  • salt & pepper
  • 1kg Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced 5mm thick
  • 2 hfl fresh bread crumbs
  • olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

In a bowl, mix the cream, lemon juice, garlic, half the thyme and most of the Parmesan. Season well to taste. Toss in the sliced artichokes, mix well and place everything in an ovenproof baking dish.

Mix the bread crumbs with the remaining thyme and Parmesan and add a little salt & pepper. Sprinkle this mixture over the artichoke mixture and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the artichokes are tender and the bread crumbs are golden.


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Posted in Untested, Veggies Tagged with:

Authentic Paella Valenciana

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This is apparently how an authentic Paella from the Valencia region (where it was developed) is made. The claim that it is the authentic version was made on an Alicante website and it also appears to match precisely the one that we ate in Parcent when visiting the Jalon valley. So, I am inclined to believe the claim.

I haven’t ever cooked this quantity but it looks big. A cup of rice is ample for 3 people so this would serve 8 and you’d need an appropriate paella (pan).

Planning

serves: 8
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 50 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 medium chicken
  • 1 medium rabbit
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 165g wide green beans (Spanish: bachoqueta)
  • 130g large white lima beans (Spanish: garrafon)
  • 1 tsp saffron
  • 3 cups of Valencia/Paella rice
  • 8 cups chicken broth or hot water
  • olive oil (enough to cover the paella pan)
  • salt
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika

Method

First, heat the oil and when it is hot enough add the rabbit and chicken and fry unitl lightly browned. Then add the white and green beans and cook them together with the meat. While they are cooking, make a clearance in the middle of the paella pan and fry the chopped tomatoes until they look a little pasty. Quickly stir in the paprika then add the hot water or broth until it is almost to the top of the paella pans edge.

Cook all the ingredients for about 20 minutes over a high fire. Season to taste with salt. After 20 minutes add the rice distributing it evenly and making sure the rice is covered with liquid. The fire should be fairly high, not interrupting the boil. It takes about 20 minutes for the paella rice to cook. Do not stir the rice once you have added it to the paella pans, just change its position so that the fire gets to all patrs equally. All the broth should be absorbed when finished. Take the paella off the fire and let stand for about 10 minutes covering the top with newspaper. If the rice has been cooked correctly, the rice grains should be loose, not clumped or have a mushy texture. The rice should be toasted on the bottom of teh pan, though.

For a pleasant table presentation, small wedges of lemon can decorate the border with branches of rosemary in the middle. Traditionally, you dig into the paella with wooden spoons and eat directly from the pan.


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Posted in Poultry Tagged with:

Asparagus Soup

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This is a terrific way to use up the great tasting stems of asparagus when the tips have been used in another dish (such as in Vegetables for Fish). The other main ingredient being home made chicken stock from chicken trimmings, this is effectively a free course.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 5 mins
cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 bundles asparagus stems
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 oz butter
  • 1 pt light chicken stock
  • salt and pepper

Method

Sweat the onion in butter until soft and translucent. While the onion is cooking, chop the asparagus stems into lengths of about 1 cm. Add these to the onion and sweat over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from colouring.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes. Liquidize the soup until very smooth and pour back into the pan through a sieve to remove the fibrous ends of the asparagus stems. Rub the solids through the sieve (I find a pestle particularly effective) as much as possible. If necessary, thin the soup to the required consistency with a little water. Reheat the soup to serving temperature and adjust the seasoning.


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Posted in Soups Tagged with: