When I was young I hated cabbage, I didn't like the taste or the texture. I must say I'm still not a big fan of cabbage which is a shame as lots of other folk seem to love it. Odd really that I don't like cabbage but I do like sprouts! Anyway, as others in the family like the stuff I've developed my own way of cooking it that seems to please all of us, they still get their cabbage and I can eat it as I've disguised the flavour :-) For those in the same state of quandary here's my way of cooking cabbage.
Ingredients
1 cabbage - I prefer savoy but any sort will do
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 rashers of smoked back bacon
6 cooked and peeled chestnuts
Method
Put a frying pan on the heat, chop the bacon into small squares and add it to the pan. While the bacon is crisping chop the chestnuts as finely as you can then add them to the bacon and fry until everything is well coated. Meanwhile peel the leaves from the cabbage and cut out the central stalks. Once you've done this us a sharp knife and slice the leaves into 3-4mm strips. Wash the cabbage and then add it to the pan, stir to make sure the cabbage is coated in the oil, bacon and chestnuts and cook for no more than a couple of minutes so the cabbage retains it's crispness. Serve and savour :-)
Tuesday 26 November 2013
Monday 18 November 2013
Beef stew with winter vegetables
It's cold, damp, dark and miserable here today, so I wanted to cook something to warm the old cockles! Inspired by an idea from Jamie Oliver I put some butternut squash and a few few other things into a beef stew to make a change to the tried and trusted stew recipe a little. Here my recipe.
Ingredients
Small knob of butter
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1kg stewing beef
Tablespoon of seasoned plain flour
2 onions
2 sticks of celery
3 cloves garlic
A handful of sage leaves
3 carrots
2 parsnips
Half a butternut squash
4 medium potatoes
Half a bottle of red wine
500ml beef stock
Bottle of artichoke antipasti
Rind of 1 lemon
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Choose a good, large cast iron casserole dish and heat the oil and butter in it, meanwhile peel and chop the onion, garlic and celery and coat the beef with the seasoned flour. Once the butter starts to foam add the onion, garlic, celery, sage leaves and beef and sauté for 4-5 minutes until the beef is browned.
While the beef is cooking, peel and chop the parsnip, carrot, squash and potatoes and then add them to the dish with the wine and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours. Once the beef is tender, add the artichoke and warm them through, 20-30 minutes should be enough.
Serve in bowls and sprinkle with the lemon rind and finely chopped rosemary immediately before serving. You can have the stew on it's own or with some crusty bread, even mash if you like, whichever you prefer. The remaining half bottle of red wine really should accompany it but you can always keep it until the next time if you wish!
Bon appétit!
Ingredients
Small knob of butter
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1kg stewing beef
Tablespoon of seasoned plain flour
2 onions
2 sticks of celery
3 cloves garlic
A handful of sage leaves
3 carrots
2 parsnips
Half a butternut squash
4 medium potatoes
Half a bottle of red wine
500ml beef stock
Bottle of artichoke antipasti
Rind of 1 lemon
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Choose a good, large cast iron casserole dish and heat the oil and butter in it, meanwhile peel and chop the onion, garlic and celery and coat the beef with the seasoned flour. Once the butter starts to foam add the onion, garlic, celery, sage leaves and beef and sauté for 4-5 minutes until the beef is browned.
While the beef is cooking, peel and chop the parsnip, carrot, squash and potatoes and then add them to the dish with the wine and stock. Bring to the boil, cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours. Once the beef is tender, add the artichoke and warm them through, 20-30 minutes should be enough.
Serve in bowls and sprinkle with the lemon rind and finely chopped rosemary immediately before serving. You can have the stew on it's own or with some crusty bread, even mash if you like, whichever you prefer. The remaining half bottle of red wine really should accompany it but you can always keep it until the next time if you wish!
Bon appétit!
Friday 15 November 2013
Tomato and gammon sauce for pasta
I ventured into my classic Italian cookery book by Marcella Hazan for this one. I'm used to using onion, carrot and celery for risotto where it's sautéed in olive oil, but not had it cooked slowly in tomato pulp then added the olive oil added afterwards. Worked really well however, but take the cooking times with a large pinch of salt! 30 mins plus 15 mins to reduce the sauce down? Make that 30 mins plue 90 mins reduction time and you'll not be far off!
I finished it off with some of the gammon we had at the weekend and a bit of fresh rosemary. It takes a while to do, but it's better with fresh tomatoes in my opinion, and you don't need to use Italian tomatoes but you can make it with tinned too.
Ingredients
1.2 kg fresh tomatoes or 3x 400g tinned, chopped tomatoes
2 sticks celery
1 large carrot
2 small onions
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
A small sprig of rosemary, leaves removed form stalk
120 g gammon chopped finely
Method
Prepare the tomatoes if using fresh. You can either drop them in boiling water for 2 minutes, peel and remove the core and then chop them up but I find it easier to use a vegetable mill. It's pretty cheap to get a stainless steel one of these and they do a great job of getting the pulp out of the tomatoes while leaving the skins and cores behind.
To use the mill, wash and halve the tomatoes and put them in a large saucepan, cover them and heat over a medium flame for 15 minutes then ad to the mill using the largest disc. Once you have extracted the juice and pulp, add this all back to your saucepan and heat it over a moderate flame.
While the tomatoes are heating, peel the carrot, celery, onion, rosemary leaves and garlic and chop them very finely - I use the food processor for this, it makes the job so much easier. Once they're ready, add them to the tomato pulp, add a teaspoon of salt and cook them uncovered at just a little over a simmer for 30 mins.
Add the extra virgin olive oil and adjust the seasoning and reduce to get a lovely rich sauce, another 60-90 mins. Once the sauce is cooked, add the gammon and serve with whatever pasta you fancy and some freshly grated parmesan.
We loved it, hope you do too!
I finished it off with some of the gammon we had at the weekend and a bit of fresh rosemary. It takes a while to do, but it's better with fresh tomatoes in my opinion, and you don't need to use Italian tomatoes but you can make it with tinned too.
Ingredients
1.2 kg fresh tomatoes or 3x 400g tinned, chopped tomatoes
2 sticks celery
1 large carrot
2 small onions
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
A small sprig of rosemary, leaves removed form stalk
120 g gammon chopped finely
Method
Prepare the tomatoes if using fresh. You can either drop them in boiling water for 2 minutes, peel and remove the core and then chop them up but I find it easier to use a vegetable mill. It's pretty cheap to get a stainless steel one of these and they do a great job of getting the pulp out of the tomatoes while leaving the skins and cores behind.
To use the mill, wash and halve the tomatoes and put them in a large saucepan, cover them and heat over a medium flame for 15 minutes then ad to the mill using the largest disc. Once you have extracted the juice and pulp, add this all back to your saucepan and heat it over a moderate flame.
While the tomatoes are heating, peel the carrot, celery, onion, rosemary leaves and garlic and chop them very finely - I use the food processor for this, it makes the job so much easier. Once they're ready, add them to the tomato pulp, add a teaspoon of salt and cook them uncovered at just a little over a simmer for 30 mins.
Add the extra virgin olive oil and adjust the seasoning and reduce to get a lovely rich sauce, another 60-90 mins. Once the sauce is cooked, add the gammon and serve with whatever pasta you fancy and some freshly grated parmesan.
We loved it, hope you do too!
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Carrot and Coriander soup
Home made soup in our house is very popular for cold winter evenings when you need to get in and out again in a hurry. We've always loved soup and we often make our own as it's easy to do and if you make loads you can freeze what's left over for a super quick meal. Served with slices of fresh bread or toast with a little melted butter, soup is one my favourite mid week meals.
Ingredients
1 small onion
1 stick of celery
1 parsnip
1½kg carrots
2 cloves of garlic
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1500ml vegetable stock
a large handful of fresh coriander
Lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
Method
Set the oven to 220°C. While the oven's warming, line a roasting tin with tinfoil (it makes washing up a heck of a lot easier!) Lightly crush and peel the garlic and add these to the tray, peel and quarter the onion, peel the celery, carrots and parsnip, cut them into large chunks and chuck them into the roasting tray with the garlic. Add a little salt to taste and add the olive oil, just enough to coat the veg. Put them on the top shelf of the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning the veg mix once.
While the veg is roasting, prepare the spices and herbs. Take the coriander and cumin seeds and add them to a large pan, one that's big enough to comfortably take the veg and stock. Dry fry the spices until they release the aroma and the coriander seeds start crackling, then take them off the hear and grind the spices. I use a pestle and mortar for this, if you don't have one of these you can rub the seeds between two dessert spoons to crush them. Put them back into the pan.
Once the veg have roasted, tip them all into the pan with the spices and add the stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the veg are all cooked through. Turn off the heat and leave the pan to cool a little, then whizz with a hand blender until the soups is nce and smooth. Add lemon juice, finely chopped coriander and salt to taste and serve with bread.
Ingredients
1 small onion
1 stick of celery
1 parsnip
1½kg carrots
2 cloves of garlic
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1500ml vegetable stock
a large handful of fresh coriander
Lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
Method
Set the oven to 220°C. While the oven's warming, line a roasting tin with tinfoil (it makes washing up a heck of a lot easier!) Lightly crush and peel the garlic and add these to the tray, peel and quarter the onion, peel the celery, carrots and parsnip, cut them into large chunks and chuck them into the roasting tray with the garlic. Add a little salt to taste and add the olive oil, just enough to coat the veg. Put them on the top shelf of the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning the veg mix once.
While the veg is roasting, prepare the spices and herbs. Take the coriander and cumin seeds and add them to a large pan, one that's big enough to comfortably take the veg and stock. Dry fry the spices until they release the aroma and the coriander seeds start crackling, then take them off the hear and grind the spices. I use a pestle and mortar for this, if you don't have one of these you can rub the seeds between two dessert spoons to crush them. Put them back into the pan.
Once the veg have roasted, tip them all into the pan with the spices and add the stock. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the veg are all cooked through. Turn off the heat and leave the pan to cool a little, then whizz with a hand blender until the soups is nce and smooth. Add lemon juice, finely chopped coriander and salt to taste and serve with bread.
Monday 11 November 2013
Ian's Risotto di Pavia
While we were in Pavia visiting Rowena we went to a number of wonderful restaurants where I had a couple of risottos, one with Milanese sausage, the other chestnut. Both were delicious and I was surprised that sausage Milanese was very like English sausage. When we got home I wondered if a combination of the two could work well. We ate the first attempt this evening and it was a hit; my "risotto di Pavia" recipe was born!
Here's the recipe for four, adjust the ingredients to suit the numbers:
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
50g unsalted butter
2 celery sticks
1 medium carrot
1 medium to large onion
3 cloves garlic
12 vacuum packed chestnuts
1 medium parsnip
100g cooked, smoked gammon (optional)
200g Arborio risotto rice
1 Pack of good quality english sausage
25ml dry white wine
600ml beef stock
Freshly grated parmesan
A handful of ripped fresh basil leaves
Method
If using fresh chestnuts, split the outer skin and bake them in a hot oven until cooked, then peel and remove the skins.
Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Finely chop the carrot, celery and onion and sauté them in the oil. Crush and finely chop the garlic and add to the mixture. Cook until everything is softened but not coloured.
Meanwhile, while sautéing the vegetables, peel the parsnip and cut into chunks, then add them and the chestnuts (and gammon if using) to a food processor and chop very finely - about 60 seconds in the processor should do it. Now add them to the rest of the mixture.
Add the Arborio rice and mix well to coat the rice with the oil and vegetable mix. Add the wine and cook over a low to medium heat until the wine has been fully absorbed. Next add the stock a ladle full at a time and cook until each has been absorbed. Add stock until the rice is fully cooked - classic Italian risotto should be served slightly "al dente" but we prefer fully cooked rice so it's personal taste! Now adjust the seasoning to taste.
Serve in large bowls and scatter with fresh, torn basil leaves and a small bowl of freshly grated Parmesan. We loved it, let me know what you think...
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
50g unsalted butter
2 celery sticks
1 medium carrot
1 medium to large onion
3 cloves garlic
12 vacuum packed chestnuts
1 medium parsnip
100g cooked, smoked gammon (optional)
200g Arborio risotto rice
1 Pack of good quality english sausage
25ml dry white wine
600ml beef stock
Freshly grated parmesan
A handful of ripped fresh basil leaves
Method
If using fresh chestnuts, split the outer skin and bake them in a hot oven until cooked, then peel and remove the skins.
Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Finely chop the carrot, celery and onion and sauté them in the oil. Crush and finely chop the garlic and add to the mixture. Cook until everything is softened but not coloured.
Meanwhile, while sautéing the vegetables, peel the parsnip and cut into chunks, then add them and the chestnuts (and gammon if using) to a food processor and chop very finely - about 60 seconds in the processor should do it. Now add them to the rest of the mixture.
Add the Arborio rice and mix well to coat the rice with the oil and vegetable mix. Add the wine and cook over a low to medium heat until the wine has been fully absorbed. Next add the stock a ladle full at a time and cook until each has been absorbed. Add stock until the rice is fully cooked - classic Italian risotto should be served slightly "al dente" but we prefer fully cooked rice so it's personal taste! Now adjust the seasoning to taste.
Serve in large bowls and scatter with fresh, torn basil leaves and a small bowl of freshly grated Parmesan. We loved it, let me know what you think...
Wednesday 6 November 2013
A quick update
This week there's not a lot to add I'm afraid. I made a pumpkin risotto, unfortunately it was mediocre so needs more work. Learnings from it, don't use pumpkin, Butternut squash is a much better idea. Watch this space.
I also made a chicken pie from leftover roast chicken. Again, I thought it was mediocre, but holds promise. I don't think leek belongs in chicken pie and I also don't think red pepper has a place in chicken pie. However, I do think beetroot could be a winner - watch this space!
Finally, did some cod quinelles in a coconut curry sauce from Atul Kochhars fish recipe book, yet another excellent dish, I am really enjoying his recipes; we must make a trip to to Benares restaurant!
I also made a chicken pie from leftover roast chicken. Again, I thought it was mediocre, but holds promise. I don't think leek belongs in chicken pie and I also don't think red pepper has a place in chicken pie. However, I do think beetroot could be a winner - watch this space!
Finally, did some cod quinelles in a coconut curry sauce from Atul Kochhars fish recipe book, yet another excellent dish, I am really enjoying his recipes; we must make a trip to to Benares restaurant!
Monday 4 November 2013
Home made pizza recipe
Many years ago we went to stay in Umbria and the people we stayed with had a wood burning pizza oven that they allowed the guests to use once a week. All of the restaurants in that part of Italy had a wood burner and the pizzas there are the best I've every tasted. Since then I've not been able to get a wood burning pizza oven at home (yet, I'm still working on that project!) but I have perfected a pizza recipe that is the closest I've managed to get to the Umbrian pizzas. Ideally you'll need a few pizza stones or metal pizza pans (generally available and not expensive). Here's my recipe, let me know how you get on or if you have alternatives that work.
Ingredients
For the pizza base:
400g plain white flour - use type OO if you can get it, otherwise strong white bread flour works
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A good pinch of salt
A good pinch of sugar
250ml lukewarm water plus extra when needed
Sachet of quick acting yeast
For the tomato sauce:
1x400g can Italian tomatoes - can be chopped or whole
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
For the toppings:
Your own choice of ingredients. We particularly like:
Black Olives
Salami
Parma Ham
Artichoke - the bottled antipasti type
Sun dried tomatoes
Plenty of fresh basil
Plenty of Mozarella - use packs of grated mozzarella, mozarella balls make the pizzas soggy!
Method
First make the dough for the base. I use my bread maker to do this using the dough setting, but it works equally well if done by hand. If you're doing it by hand, tip the flour into a large bowl, add the salt, sugar and yeast and mix together well. Make a well in the middle of the flour then add the olive oil and rub the oil into the flour to mix it evenly. Next add the water gradually and mix it into the flour to make a dough. 250ml won't be enough so add more gradually until the dough is smooth and elastic and easy to handle. You can tell when the mix is right as the dough should be pliable but not stick to your hands. If you overdo the water and it's too sticky, add a little extra flour to bring it back. Now for my favourite bit! Knead the dough on a flat surface pushing your fists into the dough and folding it into itself until it's a lovely, smooth, elastic dough. Put it back into your bowl, cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place to rise.
Meanwhile, put the pizza stones or pan into the oven then turn your oven to it highest setting, at least 220C, preferably higher! Wood burners typically reach between 350-400C so your domestic oven won't be hot enough but we can work around this. Do this at least 1 hour before cooking to allow the oven to heat up to maximum. Use the heat from the oven to raise the dough on the top of the oven but make sure it doesn't get too hot or you can kill off the yeast.
While the oven's heating and the dough is rising, make the tomato base. Finely chop the onion and garlic cloves, then heat a little olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and oregano to the pan and sauté over a medium to low heat until the onion is transparent. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is cooked but not coloured. Now add the tinned tomatoes and use a hand blender to blend it to a smooth purée. Reduce the mixture until you have a consistency that's a little thinner than a tomato purée. Leave to cool.
Now prepare your toppings; slice any vegetables you want into the thinnest slices you can, shred the basil leaves and drain and slice the Mozarella into the thinnest slices you can manage.
Next, get rolling! First, prepare your surface. You'll need a clean, good sized, flat surface to work on. I use one of the kitchen work surfaces for this and it's ideal. You'll also need olive oil and a rolling pin that's at least 30cm wide. Oil the surface and the rolling pin to make sure the dough doesn't stick, then add one of the dough portions and roll it out into a circle that's around 10cm wider than your pizza stone or pan - once you take it off the surface it will shrink. Take the hot stone/pan from the oven and transfer your pizza base onto the stone/pan. Leave it out of the oven while you prepare the next bases. Repeat the above until you have all four bases prepared.
Pre-cook the pizza bases in the oven for 4 minutes, being careful to make sure they don't start browning. Also be careful to rotate the bases as our oven is hotter at the top and back even though it's a fan oven.
Take the bases out of the oven and spread the tomato base sauce on each of them. Now add the toppings of your choice. For an authentic Italian pizza, the toppings should be sparing, but it's up to you. Once you've added your toppings, scatter the basil evenly across each pizza, then top them all with sliced Mozarella.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins until the tops and sides are nicely browned, making sure you swap over the pizzas and turn them at least once to get them to cook evenly.
Serving
Serve them with a salad of your choice and watch them disappear at a great rate. If you're lucky, you might have some left over for tomorrow's breakfast - a favourite with the girls. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the pizza base:
400g plain white flour - use type OO if you can get it, otherwise strong white bread flour works
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A good pinch of salt
A good pinch of sugar
250ml lukewarm water plus extra when needed
Sachet of quick acting yeast
For the tomato sauce:
1x400g can Italian tomatoes - can be chopped or whole
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
For the toppings:
Your own choice of ingredients. We particularly like:
Black Olives
Salami
Parma Ham
Artichoke - the bottled antipasti type
Sun dried tomatoes
Plenty of fresh basil
Plenty of Mozarella - use packs of grated mozzarella, mozarella balls make the pizzas soggy!
Method
First make the dough for the base. I use my bread maker to do this using the dough setting, but it works equally well if done by hand. If you're doing it by hand, tip the flour into a large bowl, add the salt, sugar and yeast and mix together well. Make a well in the middle of the flour then add the olive oil and rub the oil into the flour to mix it evenly. Next add the water gradually and mix it into the flour to make a dough. 250ml won't be enough so add more gradually until the dough is smooth and elastic and easy to handle. You can tell when the mix is right as the dough should be pliable but not stick to your hands. If you overdo the water and it's too sticky, add a little extra flour to bring it back. Now for my favourite bit! Knead the dough on a flat surface pushing your fists into the dough and folding it into itself until it's a lovely, smooth, elastic dough. Put it back into your bowl, cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place to rise.
Meanwhile, put the pizza stones or pan into the oven then turn your oven to it highest setting, at least 220C, preferably higher! Wood burners typically reach between 350-400C so your domestic oven won't be hot enough but we can work around this. Do this at least 1 hour before cooking to allow the oven to heat up to maximum. Use the heat from the oven to raise the dough on the top of the oven but make sure it doesn't get too hot or you can kill off the yeast.
While the oven's heating and the dough is rising, make the tomato base. Finely chop the onion and garlic cloves, then heat a little olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and oregano to the pan and sauté over a medium to low heat until the onion is transparent. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is cooked but not coloured. Now add the tinned tomatoes and use a hand blender to blend it to a smooth purée. Reduce the mixture until you have a consistency that's a little thinner than a tomato purée. Leave to cool.
Now prepare your toppings; slice any vegetables you want into the thinnest slices you can, shred the basil leaves and drain and slice the Mozarella into the thinnest slices you can manage.
Next, get rolling! First, prepare your surface. You'll need a clean, good sized, flat surface to work on. I use one of the kitchen work surfaces for this and it's ideal. You'll also need olive oil and a rolling pin that's at least 30cm wide. Oil the surface and the rolling pin to make sure the dough doesn't stick, then add one of the dough portions and roll it out into a circle that's around 10cm wider than your pizza stone or pan - once you take it off the surface it will shrink. Take the hot stone/pan from the oven and transfer your pizza base onto the stone/pan. Leave it out of the oven while you prepare the next bases. Repeat the above until you have all four bases prepared.
Pre-cook the pizza bases in the oven for 4 minutes, being careful to make sure they don't start browning. Also be careful to rotate the bases as our oven is hotter at the top and back even though it's a fan oven.
Take the bases out of the oven and spread the tomato base sauce on each of them. Now add the toppings of your choice. For an authentic Italian pizza, the toppings should be sparing, but it's up to you. Once you've added your toppings, scatter the basil evenly across each pizza, then top them all with sliced Mozarella.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins until the tops and sides are nicely browned, making sure you swap over the pizzas and turn them at least once to get them to cook evenly.
Serving
Serve them with a salad of your choice and watch them disappear at a great rate. If you're lucky, you might have some left over for tomorrow's breakfast - a favourite with the girls. Enjoy!
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