Cherry bomb & chicken curry - frisky, fruity and fab!

This curry really wasn't supposed to be like this and I don't mind admitting it.  If I had have been paying attention, it was supposed to be my Chilli Chicken Curry with Courgettes. However, I wasn't paying attention and the aforesaid curry seemed to be too complicated for my head to handle, so I decided to wing it. Aaaah, how often does winging it result in a great recipe?  Not as often as I'd like, to be honest, but in this case it did.

I've been having problems with my chicken recently.  Now I don't THINK it's my cooking methods - or I flipping hope it's not my cooking methods - but it seems to often come up hard or even tough in the finished dish.  I'm coming to the conclusion that the quality of chicken breasts that aren't organic, corn fed, gold plated and groomed by faerie folk, is just pretty parlous.  A kind of "keep the good chicken for the people with money, fob the rest off with the hard as nails, brought up in Wormwood Scrubs, whatchoolookinat chicken" situation. So I've been thinking about how I can alter my cooking methods to best cope with this reluctant to be cooked chicken - and this was my first foray into this turned on its head kind of cooking and, to my palate anyway, it seems to have worked.

The chicken spends much less time in the pan, but it didn't seem to lose anything for having not been cooked for long in the curry sauce, so I'm happy with that.  The curry sauce is made with the same oil that the courgettes and chicken were cooked in, so none of the flavour is lost.  However, the big joy with this recipe is the cherry tomatoes.  By piercing the stalk end of each tomato, it allows the sauce to penetrate and the short time they are in the pan means that each tomato while cooked, still retains the characteristic sweetness and juice of a cherry tomato.  They are nothing short of little flavour bombs that fill your mouth with deliciousness and refresh you as they go.  Just remember to keep your mouth closed when you bite one!  Nobody enjoys being targeted by someone else's cherry tomato explosion, particularly not one that comes with curry sauce.

I really enjoyed this curry.  I liked its lighter nature, it has a cleanliness that a cream based curry, or even a lentil based curry, doesn't have.  The courgettes lend it a natural sweetness and the tamarind sauce balances that with a touch of sour.  Frisky enough with its medium curry powder, black pepper and red chilli flakes to satisfy those who enjoy a spicy curry, it can easily be pepped up by simply adding more red chilli if you like your curries hotter than the average.

I'd better get on and type out the recipe, before I forget it!

CHERRY BOMB & CHICKEN CURRY   (serves 3)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp rapeseed oil
20g salted butter
1 courgette, cut into bite sized chunks
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
sea salt
ground black pepper
2 red onions, diced small
2 garlic cloves, chopped
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
3 heaped tsp of medium curry powder
1 heaped tsp of Tikka curry powder
1 tsp paprika
a pinch of red chilli flakes
400ml hot water
2 tbsp tamarind sauce (I used East End brand)
1 heaped tbsp creamed coconut
10-12 tiny cherry tomatoes, pierced at the stalk end with a sharp knife
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped (keep some back for garnish)
Cooked, hot, Basmati rice to serve.

Method :

Heat the rapeseed oil and butter together in a deep pan or wok over a medium heat, until the butter is foamy.  Add the courgette pieces and fry until just beginning to take on colour.  Turn each courgette piece and continue frying until beginning to soften but still fairly firm.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the courgettes to a warm bowl and reserve, leaving as much of the buttery oil behind as possible.

Increase the heat under the pan and add the chicken slices.  Season with a pinch of sea salt & black pepper and fry until just beginning to turn golden, then turn and repeat on the other side.  Cook until just cooked through - a little bit of pink showing is okay, as they will receive more cooking once added to the sauce.  Using a slotted spoon, remove from the pan to the bowl with the courgettes and reserve.  Retain the oil and cooking juices in the pan.

Add the chopped onions, garlic and cinnamon to the pan and fry until the onions and garlic are softened.  Take care not to allow the garlic pieces to burn.  

Add the two curry powders, paprika and chilli flakes to the pan and stir well while they cook out.  This should take about 3-4 minutes.

Add the water and tamarind sauce and stir well to combine.  Pour any cooking juices into the pan from the courgette and chicken bowl and stir to combine.  Bring to a lively simmer and reduce the heat.  Simmer the sauce, stirring from time to time, until reduced by approximately a third.

Add the coconut cream and stir gently through.  Add the contents of the chicken & courgette bowl and the cherry tomatoes and stir gently until everything is covered with the curry sauce.  Simmer until you are happy that the chicken is cooked through, the cherry tomatoes are hot and the sauce is at your preferred consistency.  If the sauce becomes too dry, simply add a little more hot water.

Stir in the chopped coriander and serve with hot white rice.

Printable version

Aubergine and cherry tomato tart

I know!  It's that rare beast, a vegetarian recipe on Jenny Eatwell's Rhubarb & Ginger.

I do try to include the odd vegetarian recipe from time to time, it's just that the carnivore in me often gets the better of it and I wind up throwing in something meaty at the last minute.  I'll try to do better, honest!

Well, this tart definitely qualifies as vegetarian - you could even use vegetarian parmesan cheese, if you so wanted.  If you choose Jus-Rol puff pastry, you'll find it is Vegetarian Society approved and even suitable for vegans!  So I think we can safely say that this is very definitely a recipe that is vegetarian friendly.  Hurrah!

I can't remember where I saw the thing that gave me the inspiration for this tart, except I saw an article somewhere online about char grilling sliced aubergines - and the photograph accompanying it showed lines of aubergine slices laid down slightly overlapping each other and I thought "that looks like they're on a tart".  Oooooh!  That would be good!  What could I put it with?  And that was how it happened.

I came up with the cherry tomato idea before the pesto, in fact.  I knew that cherry tomatoes - particularly the Aramatico type that are available at the moment - would be a lovely counterpoint to the relatively bland but smoky aubergine.  What it needed, though, was something to provide a basic, underlying flavour that the vegetables could ride upon.  Cream cheese seemed too rich, although I liked the cheese idea.

I didn't want anything too squishy, as the aubergine would be doing a good enough job there without any help.  Equally, I didn't want anything too overpowering - like chilli.  I gave some serious consideration to red onion marmalade, but rejected it on account of the sweetness.  I began going through what I had in the fridge - and hit upon the pesto.  That gave the herbiness that would provide good depth to the flavour, with a little bit of cheese influence too.  It was strongly flavoured, but you wouldn't need to use too much so it wouldn't be too squishy and compromise the crispiness of the tart base.  Perfect!  I then hit upon the ruse of adding some grated parmesan to the tart while it was still hot from the oven - and the recipe was born.

It received a mixed reaction from the assembled throng, in that I loved it and consider it to be one of the best tarts I've come up with to date.  Hubby liked it - but was disappointed that, to his taste buds, the pesto overpowered the aubergine.  Son & heir hated it because he finds aubergine too much of a challenge and isn't keen on cooked tomatoes at the best of times.  Hey ho!

I really enjoyed the contrast between the sweet acidity of the cherry tomatoes against the creamy blandness of the aubergine and had no difficulty picking the aubergine flavour out of the whole melange.  I felt that the pesto gave everything a good base flavour that didn't interfere and the parmesan on top added that salty bite that brought the thing alive.  The whole tart was just bursting with umami - that elusive flavour profile that can be so hard to find, but when you do, it's worthwhile hanging onto!  

The textures were great, with the crisp lightness of the pastry, the soft aubergine and crunchy grated parmesan.  I had a piece cold the following day for lunch and it was just as good, hence it is here on the blog for you to try.  I suspect it will get mixed reactions, but you'll know what your family like - so bear that in mind when deciding whether to try it.

I'm not so sure that this one is either teenager or child friendly either, but as I say, you'll know your family's tastes better than I ever will.

I served our tart with a mixed salad including feta cheese and green olives, which made hubby happy and a potato salad made using Cornish crystal new potatoes.  Well, I loved it - and I hope you do, too.


AUBERGINE & CHERRY TOMATO TART   (serves 6)

Ingredients :

2 smallish aubergines (eggplant, to those of you from over the water!)
3 tbsp oil (I used a combination of sunflower and rapeseed)
1 x  320g roll of puff pastry
1 tsp of green pesto
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese.

Method :

1.  Slice both aubergines into small slices (approx 5mm or thereabouts) across the round, rather than along the length.  Keep the slices in piles so as to prevent oxidisation (discolouration, in other words) and brush the top slice of each pile with a little oil, which also prevents oxidisation.

2.  Heat a griddle pan, or failing that a plain old frying pan or even a barbecue, until blisteringly hot and lay as many slices as will fit, oil side down, onto the pan.  Lightly brush the top sides with a little oil, ready to be turned.

3.  Once the underside is either charred or browned (depending on which pan you use), flip them over and repeat on the other side.

4.  Remove to a large plate and lay each slice slightly overlapping the next, around the plate so that they have a chance to cool.

5.  Repeat until all the aubergine slices have been used.

6.  Place the empty pan in a safe place to cool down!  You won't need it again.

7.  Line your baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper, or non-stick tin foil, or just plain use a non-stick baking tray.  Lay the sheet of puff pastry down flat upon it and, with a sharp knife, draw a line - not piercing through the pastry - around the rectangle to define where the crust will be.

8.  Spread the inside of the rectangle with the pesto, making sure to spread it thinly or you won't taste the aubergine.

9.  Place slices of aubergine in an attractive display onto the top of the pesto.  I used three lines of slightly overlapping slices.

10.  Sprinkle the cherry tomato halves over randomly, but making sure they are evenly distributed.

11.  Season well with sea salt and black pepper, then place into a pre-heated oven at 180degC/350degF/gas 4 for around 25-30 minutes.

12.  As soon as the pastry is golden and risen around the edges, remove the tart from the oven and sprinkle the parmesan over the top so as to allow it both the heat and the time to wilt a little prior to serving. 

Serve warm, not hot, with a mixed salad.

Printable version

A little light lunchtime five-tier pitta!

So, you all know that I run a Facebook page in conjunction with the blog here, right?  Well, if you hadn't realised, it's here at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Eatwells-Rhubarb-Ginger/161388070631031?sk=wall where I post up all the stuff that doesn't really belong on the blog.

Except, I started to think that perhaps it was a shame not to put some of the Facebook photographs on the blog too.  Like today's lunch.  Oh, it was stellar.  Oh yes indeed.  Why should you guys who don't indulge in Facebook, miss out on what might give you some inspiration to create your own stellar lunch?

You see, this is one of the changes I was talking about earlier.  From now on, you'll find some shorter (stop cheering at the back!) blog posts appearing, dealing with breakfast, lunch or just a fantastic biscuit we've found.  (Have I told you about Asda's Chocolate Melting Moments?  Get some, you have to).

Okay then, so what was so great about today's lunch?

From right to left or left to right, I could.  I really could.  Mmmmn.

Well for starters it was in a pitta bread, so low GI and won't cause bloating in me - which is good to begin with.  I lightly toasted my pitta bread, which left it puffed up and warm.  So what did I put into it?

Firstly, some of my home made hummus.  Aaah, Yotam Ottolenghi how I do love you.

Next, a layer of super finely sliced Milano salami.  Aha!  That's got your interest, I can tell.

Then, a smidgeon - just a smidgeon! - of mayonnaise, to provide something for the rocket (aha, token green stuff) to stick to.

The rocket, in turn, provided a home in which to nestle two halved cherry tomatoes and three halved queen green olives.  Ta daaa!!

That's ... that's just beautiful, that is. 

Oh yes.  Take me home, country roads - it's a taste of summer.  I commend it to you all!

Lime Pork Chops with Fattoush - pushing the comfort zones

I knew this recipe would push our respective comfort zones in many different ways.  However, because we respect Yotam Ottolenghi so much and love his food, it just had to be done.

I hear you asking "why?".  Good question.  Well, you see, Yotam Ottolenghi seems to have the capacity to put combinations of flavours together that go from the unusual to the outrageous - yet of his recipes that we've tried, they always work.  Bearing that in mind, his latest t.v. offering - where he travels the mediterranean cooking locally sourced food - had our jaws hanging in disbelief at the, frankly, gorgeous dishes he seemed to be creating out of what amounted to very little.

So if you put together the magic of Ottolenghi, with the mediterranean (one of our favourite styles of food) and economy - you can probably see how he's talking our language.

Now before I say anything else, let me say that I would have infinitely preferred to have had some fat pilchards (or any other type of fish) instead of the pork.  However, because fish seems to have become more expensive than saffron just lately, we had to go for something cheaper - and wound up with the pork steaks.

As for why it would push our comfort zones, well, hubby isn't good with meat that is likely to be either fatty, or tough.  So pork steaks cooked on the griddle pan aren't his first choice.  I trimmed the majority of the fat from his, but the firmness of the texture turned out not to be to his liking.  He loved the flavour, but not the texture.  As for son and heir, well, I know that he generally dislikes having dressing on his salads.  As the whole point of Fattoush is to present it with dressing, I reckoned this would be a challenge for him - and indeed I was right.  However, he soldiered on and as the whole lot disappeared, I was hopeful.  He commented that it was "okay, but I could have done without the dressing", so we have to be grateful for small mercies.

For me, my big challenge was going to be wet bread.  If there's one thing that makes me want to heave - it's wet bread.  I have some vague memory of a calamitous accident between a loaf of bread left too close to defrosting meat and an ensuing sandwich - but it's probably best we don't look too closely at that one.  With this salad, you grill the pitta bread and break it into pieces, then scatter it through the salad (together with the juicy salad vegetables - alarm!) and cover the lot in a yoghurt/buttermilk dressing (double alarm!).  So I was seriously crossing my fingers that I could get over the wet bread thing.  Much to my surprise - and because the Fattoush has to be made and served immediately with no waiting - the pitta pieces remained largely crispy and robust, with no sogginess and there was absolutely nothing offputting about this salad whatsoever.

In fact, the Fattoush was what is commonly known as a screaming success with both myself and with hubby.  As with a lot of Ottolenghi recipes - although this one is from Sami Tamimi's mother - it's the juxtaposition of the fresh herbs with the remainder of the ingredients that absolutely makes the dish.  The sweetness of the cherry tomatoes, the acidity of the vine ripened larger tomatoes, the pepperiness and crunch of the radish along with the intensity of the spring onion, all soothed and made cosy by the creaminess of the yoghurt/buttermilk dressing and the robustness of the pitta.  Flipping gorgeous.

Both son & heir and I really enjoyed the lime pork chops and I have to say that cooking them on the griddle pan made such a difference to the flavour.  I can imagine they'd be nice cooked just plain "under the grill" (or broiler, if you're in the States), but the charring provided by the griddle pan was just the proverbial business.

Mind you, I still think that a lovely piece of fish would have been better.


LIME PORK CHOPS WITH FATTOUSH   (serves 3)

Ingredients :

3 pork chops, trimmed of the majority of their fat
3 limes, zested and juiced
olive or rapeseed oil
200g Greek yoghurt
100ml full fat milk
1 tsp lemon juice, plus 3 tbsp lemon juice
3 pitta bread
250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 large vine ripened tomato, cut into small cubes
100g radishes, sliced finely
200g cucumber (small ones, ideally), seeds removed, cut into small cubes
2 spring onions,thinly sliced
15g fresh mint, roughly chopped
20g parsley, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped and crushed
1 little gem lettuce, cut into strips (or a section of iceberg lettuce)
60ml olive or rapeseed oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Some hours before you'll be wanting them (in the morning is good) place the pork chops into the zest and juice of the limes, a dash of oil and season well.  Leave them to marinade, covered, in the fridge.

2.  When you are ready to make the meal, cook the pork chops on a griddle pan or barbecue for some 5-10 minutes on each side (depending on how thick they are) until cooked through.  Place on a warmed plate, covered, to rest.

3.  Into a small bowl, pour the milk and add the teaspoonful of lemon juice.  Stir well and leave for 5-10 minutes.  Then add the Greek yoghurt and mix well.

4.  Grill the pitta bread on the griddle pan, so that you get the lovely charred markings.  Leave to cool and break into rough pieces.

5.  Into a huge bowl, add the tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, onions, mint, parsley, garlic and lettuce.  Toss to combine.

6.  Sprinkle in the pieces of toasted pitta bread and toss again.

7.  Add the oil and vinegar to the yoghurt mix, season well and stir to combine.  Then pour half onto the salad and toss, then add the remainder and toss again.  The salad should be very well covered.

8.  Serve the pork chops with the salad alongside.

Printable version 

Roasted Vegetable & Bacon Pasta

I am one of those people who believes that everything can be made better by including bacon with it.  Got to wait in the car for hours?  Have a bacon sandwich - makes it better straight away.  Got a boring old chicken recipe on the list for dinner?  Put some bacon with it - that'll cheer it up no end.  Got to stand on the touchline watching your son put his best foot forward for the local footie team?  A bacon roll can save the day.  So I wasn't wrong when I chose bacon for the meat aspect of this pasta dish.

From hubby's point of view, it could have been made better by losing the garlic and adding some oregano.  I thoroughly agree with him where the oregano is concerned - and have reflected that in the recipe set out below.  I'm not so sure about the garlic, however, as I feel it lent a lovely savoury depth to the entire dish which helped to make it a cohesive whole as opposed to a number of different ingredients on the same plate.

Son & heir had a friend over for tea that day and I felt I was taking something of a risk presenting said friend with a) courgette & aubergine, b) cooked tomatoes and c) goat's cheese.  However, I had confidence in the ability of the bacon to carry us through.  I was using some of Spring Fields Butchers' beautiful smoked back bacon which is always fabulous in that the rashers are huge, thickly cut and tasty as anything.  I would definitely go for some substantially sized rashers if you're going to be cooking this one - as limp thin bacon could wind up being too chewy when accompanying the soft vegetables and pasta.

We got a "thumbs up" from both boys, as they both cleared their plate and declared it to be "lovely" (and without a hint of sarcasm, too!).  Amazing.  Made me wish I'd included mushrooms in the mix!  (Which is a very good idea, if you like mushrooms, by the way).

Hubby wasn't too keen on the fact that the dish didn't have a sauce with it - just relying on the juiciness of the roasted vegetables and goat's cheese wasn't enough for him.  I suspect it's pure and simply a preference thing, as I was quite happy with the "sauceless" state and - to be honest - it made a pleasant change to not have an overwhelming cheese or tomato sauce.  I felt it gave the vegetables a chance to shine on their own, without being overshadowed by a sauce.  The rapeseed oil that I'd used to roast the vegetables was a lovely nutty flavoured one and the cherry tomatoes lent their juice to the overall picture.

The only thing missing was a lovely glass of wine, a patio and a warm evening!

ROASTED VEGETABLE AND BACON PASTA   (feeds 4)

Ingredients :

1 courgette , cut into one inch dice

half an aubergine, cut into one inch dice

a handful of cherry tomatoes, split across the stem end

1 red onion, halved and each half cut into four wedges

two cloves of garlic

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1-2 tsp dried or fresh oregano

2 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil

500g back bacon

400g spirali pasta

50-100g Parmesan cheese (to taste)

a handful of fresh basil leaves, shredded

130g soft goat's cheese.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/350degF/Gas4 and prepare a baking tray large enough to carry all the vegetables.  I usually cover the tray with non-stick silver foil, just because it makes the washing up easier!

2.   Place all the vegetables, including the garlic, onto the roasting tray and sprinkle with seasoning, oregano and the oil.  Using your fingers, toss the vegetables until they are well coated with the oil.

3.  Place the tray into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to caramelise.

4.  In the meantime, get a big pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta and grill the bacon, cutting each rasher into largeish pieces with some scissors and retain, somewhere warm.

5.  Once the pasta water boils, get the pasta in and cooking according to the packet instructions - usually 9-11 minutes.

6.  Once the vegetables are tender, take them out of the oven and squash the two cloves of garlic into a paste.

7.  When the pasta is cooked to your satisfaction, drain well and add the vegetables, bacon, parmesan, basil and some seasoning and mix gently to combine.

8.  Spoon the pasta mixture onto warmed plates and break pieces of goats cheese over the top.

Serve.

Printable version

.

 

 

Tomato and Brie Tart - perfect for lunch, supper or picnics!

I have discovered that I really like making tarts.

Doesn't matter if it's a "slab of puff pastry" tart, or a "in a tart case" or a quiche - the end result is usually double-yummy and there's something immensely satisfying about pulling a gorgeous looking pastry confection out of the oven.

It's a different kind of satisfaction to making a pie, I find, as that "reveal" moment of cutting into a pie is always fraught with anxiety as to whether the filling is cooked, too thin, too thick or has just disappeared in the process.

When you've created a tart, the "reveal" moment is all to do with the flavour and if you've paired your filling ingredients up wisely, then you're almost guaranteed to succeed.

Wise pairing of ingredients is what it's all about with this Tomato & Brie Tart that I cropped from an old copy of Delicious! magazine.  The oven-baked cherry tomatoes are like small flavour bombs that are hidden within the subtly cheesey, creamy, eggy goodness of the tart's filling.  From the high pitched explosions of tomato flavour, to the supporting cast of the chives that give the tart filling another dimension, the delicate creaminess of the Brie is there, giving good honest earthiness and a hint of expensive exclusivity.

Mind you, this tart very nearly didn't happen - and for more than one reason.

Firstly, we had a great deal of deliberation in the supermarket over which cherry tomato to buy.  Needless to say, 300g of cherry tomatoes isn't all that easy to find when packs contain 250g and there aren't any loose versions around.  Then there was the price - from £1.20 through to £1.75, I wasn't keen on spending nearly £4 simply on tomatoes!

Eventually we settled on two punnets of baby plum tomatoes, only to find - once I opened the packs at home - that at least two in each punnet were literally furry with mould.  Gross!  Not to mention the waste of money.  Odd, too, that the furry ones were directly under the label and so couldn't be seen from the outside.

The next setback was the pastry.  I'd bought pre-rolled, ready made chilled pastry - but hadn't realised that what I had was a rectangular piece.  My flan dish (as are most flan dishes) is round - not rectangular.  So, having sat and contemplated my options, I did some surgery on the rectangle and after a bit of judicious sticking down, managed to create a tart case.  I was just crossing my fingers that I hadn't left any gaps anywhere for the egg mixture to escape, or I'd have no chance of getting the tart out of the dish!

The next catastrophe was the cream.  I'd had a large container of cream in the fridge for a few days - and so bought another smaller container, just in case.  Stupidly, I cracked the eggs into the bowl and then added the cream without remembering to taste it first and check that it was still good.  The "flop" as the cream cheese lump disappeared beneath the eggy waves, alerted me to the fact that the cream was a long way from good.

So those three eggs had to go down the plughole - with the rotten cream - and I had to start again.  The waste of three eggs hurt, let me tell you.

They say that bad things happen in threes - and that was my three things over with, thank goodness.

We ate the tart with an accompanying salad of salad leaves, more cherry tomatoes, celery and marinated small beetroot (honey & rosemary).  Delicious!

I had the leftovers for lunch the following day and can confirm that the tart was as good then as it had been warm.  The brie flavour had taken something of a back seat, being cold, but it was still very much there.  From which I deduce that the tart would be perfect picnic ammunition - and with the summer hoving into view through the mist-laden Dorset hills, I'll have to remember this one!

TOMATO & BRIE TART  (serves 4-5 and is suitable for vegetarians)

Ingredients :

Ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
300g cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
100ml double cream
100ml milk
2 free range eggs, plus 1 yolk
4 tbsp snipped fresh chives
200g Brie cheese, diced small
a small handful of Cheddar cheese, grated, for sprinkling.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 200degC (fan 180degC)/400degF/Gas 6.

2.  Line your tart tin or flan dish with the pastry and trim to size.  Scrumple up a piece of greaseproof or baking parchment, then open it out and place on top of the pastry.  You'll find it will fit more easily, having been scrumpled!  Pour baking beans or rice - or whatever you prefer to use - in on top and blind bake for 15 minutes.

3.  Remove the baking beans and leave to cool.

4.  While the pastry was cooking you can have been preparing the tomatoes by halving them and putting onto a baking tray.  Drizzle with olive oil and season.

5.  Then, once the pastry is done, place the tomatoes into the oven for 15 minutes.

6.  When the tomatoes are done, remove and allow to cool a little while you mix up the egg mixture.

7.  In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, milk, chives and seasoning, until combined.

8.  Place the tomatoes neatly into the pastry case, making sure they are evenly spread across it.

9.  Pour over the egg mixture and scatter over the brie cubes, then the handful of grated cheddar.

10.  Place into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until slightly risen, set and golden.

11.  Cool slightly before serving.

.

Lamb rice with golden onions

This recipe was my first foray into cooking from my new copy of Rose Prince's "Kitchenella".

Well, I say my first foray - but to be correct, let's call it the first foray since owning the book, as initially I borrowed it from the library and loved it so much, I had to include it on my Christmas list.

Meals during that no-man's land of time between Christmas and New Year tend towards being simple and - in our house, certainly - easy to prepare.  After all, having done the long haul of Christmas Dinner and with another long haul - New Year's dinner - ahead of you, you're not in the mood for ostentatious display.

As such, as soon as I clapped eyes upon the "Lamb rice with golden onions", it clicked.  Although I didn't have any leftover roast lamb to use, I figured that a pack of minced lamb would do the trick, plus it had the added benefit of being a one-pot wonder - which always go down well.

However, it also intrigued me (intrigue features so often with my choice of recipe!) with its use of allspice, sultanas, pine nuts and cherry tomatoes.  I loved all the ingredients, I felt hubby would be happy with the spiced element, but I had reservations as to how the cherry tomatoes would go down with son & heir.


As it turned out, the inclusion of cherry tomatoes was completely forgotten over the enticement of minced lamb.  As he put it himself "it's got minced lamb in it - everything else is forgiven".  Right, I'll have to remember that!


Hubby and I both found that the spicing was a bit too subtle and the quantities could do with increasing a little - which I have reflected in the recipe below.


I also found that serving the rice with a chutney alongside the yoghurt provided a nice counterpoint to the flatter, more subtle flavours of the dish.  The chutney we used was a Roasted Garlic & Apple one which went really extremely well.


I enjoyed this dish very much and together with son & heir, we took care of what little there was left, so very definitely child-friendly!

LAMB RICE WITH GOLDEN ONIONS    (serves 3)

Ingredients :

500g minced lamb

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp sultanas

half a tsp of ground allspice

half a tsp of ground coriander

one and a half tsp of ground cumin

around 20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 garlic clove, chopped

enough cooked basmati rice for 3 persons

sea salt & black pepper

To serve : chopped mint and/or parsley leaves, 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts, 6 tbsp greek yoghurt.

Method :

1.  Begin by toasting the pine nuts in a dry frying pan, then once cool, chop them (if you prefer them that way).

2.  Next, dry fry the lamb mince, until just beginning to caramelise and all the water content has evaporated.  Drain off the fat.  Reserve the meat to keep warm.

3.  Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion.  Cook for around 5 minutes over a medium heat until it turns pale gold and smells fragrant.

4.  Add the sultanas and spices and cook for 1 minute more, then add the tomatoes.

5.  Cook gently for another 5-7 minutes, until they begin to take on a little colour.

6.  Add the lamb and garlic and stir-fry for a minute or so, then stir in the rice.

7.  Cook, stirring from time to time until well heated through – which is very important with leftover rice.

8.  Season to taste and scatter the chopped leaves & pine nuts over.

9.  Serve with the yoghurt by the side & with a fruity chutney.

.

Crunchy Baked Pork, Baked Sweet Potato and Tomato Salad

It's a bit of a long title that one, isn't it?  However, the title is the hardest part of this meal - and I'll treat it as a meal, rather than three separate dishes, as it all went so well together.  With no pots or pans to wash up, this one is definitely a winner in my book!

To begin with, I set to with scrubbing the sweet potatoes.  Their skins never appeal as far as eating them is concerned - although they're very tasty, in fact - but I like to make sure they're scrupulously clean, all the same.  I always top and tail them too, as these bits always seem so gnarly, I can imagine dirt can't help but hide in there.  If I was dirt, I would.

I then dry them off, rub them with olive oil, liberally sprinkle with salt & pepper and into the oven they go for their first half an hour.

Next, I tackled the pork steaks - which was easy enough.  They just needed the bulk of the fat trimming from their backs and they were good to go.  Dustbin 1 (Jonty) was on hand for this operation, just in case there wasn't enough room in the actual bin for the offcuts.  He's a thoughtful dawgie, like that.

Next job was to make up the flour/egg/breadcrumb plates.  The flour was easy enough, or so I thought.  It seems that the abortive gnocchi attempt had used up all our plain flour, but fortunately we had lots of bread flour, which got used instead.

I consulted the recipe (which again, I can't remember where I got it from.  I am SO going to have to keep a note of recipe sources)  as to how much dijon mustard to use in the egg mix.  I had copied down three tablespoonfuls!  Surely not!  I pondered this for a while, then decided on three teaspoonfuls as being the far more sensible alternative.  As it was, I would only use two teaspoonfuls in future, as it had far too obvious an influence on the overall flavour, I felt.

Next, was the breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs.  I quickly ran two slices of Oatilicious bread across the grater to create the 1 cup of breadcrumbs.  Next, I grated two cloves of garlic in there, then chopped a tablespoonful of fresh parsley and a teaspoonful of dried tarragon.  If I could have found fresh tarragon, I'd have used it.  However, Mr Asda hadn't heard of fresh tarragon, so that was that.  In retrospect, I'd cut the garlic down to one clove, as it did tend to slap you around the face a bit.  Between the garlic and the mustard, I'm afraid the tarragon took a very back seat - which wasn't how it was supposed to be, I'm sure!

So, on with the dipping.  First in the flour, then the egg mix, then onto the breadcrumbs.  It occurred to me then, that I had no idea whether I was supposed to be breadcrumbing one side or both sides.  Although the one side I had done, had used an enormous amount of the breadcrumb mixture and I really wasn't sure it would last for all six.  Still, it didn't seem to make sense to do just one side, so after a bit of judicious dusting off, I breadcrumbed both sides.  In fact, I ran out of breadcrumbs towards the end and the last two had just one side breadcrumbed - so I'd make a little more, the next time I do this one.

Something else that I would make sure to do, is to turn the steaks halfway through cooking.  Because I didn't do this, one side was crunchy and the other a tad soggy - which was a shame.  However, you live and learn.

Once the Pork was safely in the oven and the Sweet Potatoes had been turned, I got on with the Tomato Salad.  It was a simple matter of slicing two large vine ripened tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes.  Then add liberal amounts of freshly ground pepper, a sprinkling of sea salt, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and likewise of extra virgin olive oil.  Next, slice up a red onion and sprinkle that over the top, along with a little of the parsley - or basil, if you've got it.  Leave to let the flavours mingle for some 15-20 minutes before serving.

So, the last thing to do was the Chilli cream to go in the Baked Sweet Potatoes.  Again, this is incredibly easy.  Decant a small pot of soured cream into a bowl, add finely chopped fresh red chilli and some finely chopped parsley.  There is an alternative, which involves coriander instead of the parsley and lime zest.  I love this particular version, however son & heir isn't good with lime, so we had the parsley version.

I loved this meal, even though the Pork was way too garlicky for my taste.  Hubby had problems with the garlic too, and found the Pork wasn't tender enough for his preference.  He loved the Baked Sweet Potato and chilli cream, plus the tomatoes.  Son & heir ate everything except the last half of his sweet potato, which was incredible considering what a fussy-pants he's becoming.  He even ate the cherry tomatoes with balsamic on them!  Mind you, I didn't tell him about the balsamic.  *wink*  I thought I'd just wait and see.

So, apart from the problems I've outlined above, I think next time I'd flatten out two of the steaks in the hope that they would be able to become more tender during the cooking process.  I can't think of any other way of ensuring they come up more tender that doesn't include par-cooking them before adding the egg and breadcrumb mix, which isn't the best route!

Here's the recipe for the Pork, if you need the recipe for either the potatoes or the tomato salad, just let me know and I'll include them.

CRUNCHY BAKED PORK (feeds 3)

Ingredients :

6 pork steaks, or 3 pork chops
1 cup of plain flour
1 egg, whisked lightly
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 180deg C/350 deg F/Gas mark 4.

2.  Trim the pork of the majority of its fat and prepare a roasting tray to receive it once coated with breadcrumbs.

3.  Then, prepare three plates - one with the flour, plus some seasoning.  The second with the egg and mustard mixture and the last with the breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs.

4.  Dip each steak or chop into firstly the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs and place it onto the roasting tray.

5.  Once every one is coated, place the roasting tray into the oven for 15 minutes.  At the end of that time, remove from the oven and flip over onto its other side.  Replace and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until they appear to be done.

6.  Serve.

.

Bacon & Mixed Pepper Lasagne : a lot of work, but so worth it!

I find cooking Lasagne and Moussaka a hard old slog, these days.  I suppose it's because they have at least three main processes, in that the meat, then the sauce need cooking, then the whole lot requires layering up, before you can put it in the oven and put your feet up for five minutes.

When I put this Lasagne on the menu list, we had temporarily forgotten that we would be out on Sunday evening, at the Bournemouth Folk Club.  Had I have remembered this, there was no way on this earth I'd have ever put Lasagne down as a definite.  However, there it was and all I could do was struggle on through.

For an able-bodied person, I suspect the making of the Lasagne would be simple enough but the thing that I find so difficult is the amount of time spent in front of the cooker stirring one thing or another, plus the time spent cutting and chopping.  There's an awful lot of cutting and chopping involved!  By the time I'd reached the layering assembly point, I could no longer feel my hands - and even though I was sitting down for a lot of it, my legs and knees had definitely had it.

However, after all that moaning - and if you've reached this far - let me say that it is very definitely worth it.

The Lasagne is a thing of beauty once created - and it has so many layers of flavour.  If I was to say that son & heir eats it without complaint - and bear in mind that it contains largely red, green & yellow peppers - then it might go a long way to validate just how nice a lasagne this is.

Oh - and one other thing.  It can easily be converted to a vegetarian dish simply by not including the bacon.

Lasagne : about to go into the oven

BACON & MIXED PEPPER LASAGNE  (feeds 6)

Ingredients :

Pack of bacon (leave this out if opting for a vegetarian lasagne)
5-6 mixed peppers, cored and cut into slices
1 small onion, chopped
clove of garlic, grated
6 large vine tomatoes (the tastiest ones you can find), roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, torn
half a tsp of dried oregano
splash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
ground black pepper to taste
1 pint semi-skimmed milk
1 heaped tbsp flour
25g butter
cayenne pepper to taste
225g cheese, grated - I use red leicester or mature cheddar
lasagne sheets.

Method :

1.  Fry the bacon pieces and remove from the pan to keep warm.

2.  Fry the onion & garlic until soft and browned and remove to keep warm with the bacon.

3.  Fry the sliced peppers until soft, then add the tomatoes, puree, ketchup, herbs, Worcestershire sauce and return the bacon and onion to the pan.  Cook for another ten minutes or so, allowing all the flavours to combine and the lot to become saucy.  You may need to add a little water to encourage the "sauciness".

4.  Place the milk, flour and butter into a pan and slowly bring to the boil, whisking like mad until it reaches boiling point and starts to thicken.  Add three quarters of the cheese and stir until it has melted.  Season with a little cayenne pepper.


5.  Begin to layer into a large lasagne dish by starting with a layer of the cheese sauce, then a layer of lasagne sheets, meat mixture, then the cheese sauce, repeating until you finish with a layer of peppers then cheese sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.


6.  Bake for around 45-60 mins at 180deg C until golden brown and smelling lush.


Serve with garlic bread and a side salad.

A thing of beauty

.

Bournemouth Echo "Jenny's Week" blog : Easter Sunday lunch : I'm getting better at it!

The Bournemouth Echo have posted my newest blog, so at last I can tell you all about the Easter Sunday lunch!

The following post can be seen in situ here

It’s not so much that last Easter Sunday’s lunch was a disaster (in truth, I can’t remember last Easter!), but more thinking back to the last time I cooked for anyone other than immediate family, it was a long, hard old slog.

I’d arranged for my parents to come over on Boxing Day last year.  I wanted to have a special celebration dinner, so I’d been cooking for a couple of days previously and the cooking on the day seemed to take FOR EVER.  I can remember pots steaming on the cooker top, me sitting peeling quail’s eggs for what seemed like an aeon and hubby washing up the pots as quickly as they appeared, only to have them dirtied again in a second.  It wasn’t chaos, but it was very close to it.

A rather hurried and particularly poor, snap of the assembled dinner!

So, when I invited my parents over for Easter Sunday lunch, I resolved that this time I’d learn from the previous time’s lesson – and not over face myself.

I’d decided, fairly early on, that we’d have a piece of pot-roasted brisket of beef, as not only is that gorgeous, but it almost guarantees a piece of tender, flavoursome beef with the added bonus of some lovely stock with which to make a superb gravy.

Hubby placed a request for another of the Ottolenghi Fennel & Cherry Tomato Gratin, and I decided to do some Boulangere potatoes, as I could prepare them ahead with the Gratin and both could go in the oven and be forgotten about until they were done.

The accompanying vegetables went from steamed curly kale, through tender stem broccoli to what we settled upon, which was stringless runner beans (because they’re forgiving to cook) and some British asparagus – because if you can’t eat asparagus at such a time as Easter, when can you?

The preparations began early on Sunday morning, when I seared the Beef almost before I’d had a cup of tea.  Through bleary eyes I turned it this way and that, making sure every side had a good colour, whilst trying not to get in the way of the exploding fat.  Having made a complete mess of the cooker top, I chopped up a couple of carrots, a leek and some celery, bashed a couple of garlic cloves, added a handful of fresh parsley plus some dried sage and crumbled in an oxo cube to a stockpot full of water.  Into its bath went the piece of brisket (with some seasoning), on went the lid and I sat and waited for the whole lot to boil.  Once it was boiling briskly, I turned down the heat to the minimum required to keep the pot simmering – and went for that cup of tea.

A little while later – and in a much improved frame of mind – I set to on the preparation for the two oven-bound dishes.

Half-way through, just added crumble & tomatoes

First thing was to make some crumble for the Ottolenghi fennel dish.  That done, I was able to use our Mandolin food slicer (after a cautionary word from hubby about how having to go to Casualty at that stage would seriously put the dinner back) to slice up the three fennel bulbs and the potatoes for the Boulangere.

The finished article - ready to be served

The fennel gratin is true testament to the magic that Ottolenghi brings to their dishes.  Cooked with garlic, thyme and cream, the fennel stops tasting like fennel and tastes utterly different.  With the sweet crumble on top, together with the oven-roasted cherry tomatoes, every mouthful takes on a character all of its own.  It’s a gorgeously rich but light, creamy but crunchy, sweet but sharp delightful flavour and texture combination.  I heartily recommend it to you!

The Boulangere potatoes couldn’t have been easier to put together, now I’d got the Mandolin to help out.  Previously, the long old process of attempting to slice potatoes to even thicknesses – and all without cutting your fingers off – would have been enough to make me think twice.  However, with the Mandolin I just pop a peeled spud into the holder and slice away knowing that my fingers are safe from harm and lovely evenly sliced spuds await.

Just butter the baking dish and add sliced onion & chopped garlic in layers with the potato.  Pour over just enough stock to keep everything moist, add the obligatory knobs of butter to the surface and cover over until you’re ready to put it in the oven.

As for the fennel dish, it can be prepared up to just before the adding the crumble stage, whereupon it will wait, covered, until you’re ready.  Then just add the crumble and pop in the oven.  You just need to remember to put the tomatoes on top somewhere near the end of cooking, so that they will be baked nicely.

After that, it was just decanting some of the stock from the beef pot to make the gravy and preparing the beans & asparagus.

I’m really not sure I did manage to carve the meat – it just sort of fell apart, rather than stayed in lovely carved rounds.  However, it was deliciously unctuous and beefy – and went so very well with the lovely horseradish cream.

Yes, I think I got this one right.