Saffron & pepper fish stew

Well, I can't bleat on about not being able to source fresh fish any more.  Not with a neighbour like Frank, who goes out sea fishing in his little boat and comes back to present us with Plaice and a huge Cod!  It's just as well we had room in the freezer, because it took me a few days to work out what to do with everything!

(It's also just as well that I have a hubby who will gut fish and lop the head off anyone who needs it.  Fish, that is .. not neighbours.  Although there have been moments .. but I digress).

The Plaice - isn't it gorgeous?

Now I have some small experience with filleting a Plaice (two goes, to be exact), so I was pretty much okay with that.  However, filleting a whopping great Cod?  Never done that before.  Well, I can't say that any more and it was actually surprisingly easy.  Thank you Mr Cod, for making it easier than I thought.

I was quite proud of my filleting efforts, even if my second Cod fillet wouldn't have passed Monica Galetti's critical eye.

Beautiful fat and chunky Cod

I had spent some time contemplating what to do with this fish and, rather than a recipe that demanded fillets to be kept whole, I decided to go with a "chunks of fish" recipe, just in case my filleting left a lot to be desired.  As it was, I could easily have gone for a "full fillet" recipe - but I'll know for next time (if there is one!).

I decided to go with a fish stew, as a very good way of making use of randomly shaped pieces of fish - and anyway, I've always wanted to make a fish stew or a fish curry.  I took hubby's advice in the end, and plumped for the stew.

I put the Plaice on top of the thicker Cod so that it wouldn't cook too quickly

I could see in my mind's eye what I wanted - and I got fairly close to it, I think.  The flavour was great - the fully flavoured ingredients didn't overpower the gentle flavour of the fish and the sauce/broth was an intriguing mix of richness and sweetness, with the wine preventing it from going too far into the sweet.

The colours were beautiful and, with some of hubby's delicious home made bread, it really was something out of the ordinary and truly memorable - for all the right reasons.  I knew it was good, when I heard our son comment "Mum, this is SO good!".  Thumbs up, that's the kind of reaction I like.

Not too many Cook's Tips for you with this one, just :


1.  I used a wok to make it in, as I felt it gave more control than a deep saucepan.

2.  Make sure not to allow the garlic to burn, so as not to make it bitter.

3.  Once the fish has been added, make sure to stir gently so as to keep the fish chunks as large as possible.  You don't want fish mash!

I can't recommend this one highly enough.  Quite apart from being exceptionally good for you, it tastes amazing and is fun to eat with the dippy bread.  I suspect that even people who are a bit leery of fish, would like this one - so long as they like saffron!

SAFFRON & PEPPER FISH STEW    (serves 4)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, half chopped finely, half sliced, then quartered
2 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
a pinch of sea salt
a half a tsp of ground black pepper
half of a butternut squash, diced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 large vine ripened tomato, diced
a good pinch of saffron threads
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
half a tsp dried parsley
4 strips of orange zest
250ml white wine
250ml water
2 tsp fish stock powder (or sufficient cubes for 500ml liquid)
80g sliced black olives
500g cod fillets, skinned
300g plaice fillets, skinned
lemon quarters for garnish.

Method :

1.  Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan or large wok.  Once good and hot, add the onion, garlic and both peppers with the sea salt and black pepper.  Stir fry over a moderate heat until the onion is transparent and the peppers have softened.  Don't allow the garlic to burn.

2.  Add the butternut squash, fennel and tomato and continue to stir fry until the fennel appears slightly softened.

3.  Add the saffron, bay, thyme, parsley and orange zest and stir to combine.

4.  Add the wine and allow it to frizzle and reduce to around half, stirring throughout.

5.  Add the water and stock powder/cube(s) and stir to combine.  Bring to a lively simmer and cook with a lid on but stirring occasionally, until the saffron colour is well established and the flavours have combined nicely.  Keep tasting the sauce - you will know when it is ready.  Adjust the amount of black pepper, if it requires it.

6.  Remove the lid, add the black olives and stir through.  Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced significantly and intensified.  Do not allow it to run dry, however!  Taste for seasoning - particularly salt at this stage.

7.  Place the fish on top of the mixture and replace the lid.  Cook on a gentle heat until the fish is almost done, then break it into large chunks and stir in the liquid that it will have produced, taking care not to break up the fish too much.

8.  If the stew is still rather dry, add a little more hot water - bit by bit - until it reaches a nice saucy consistency.

9.  Serve in warmed bowls with chunky bread for dipping and a lemon quarter to squeeze over.

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Chicken in Almond Sauce (or Pollo en Salsa de Almendras)

I've got to tell you, the jury is out on this one.

The recipe came care of my Twitter friend @LosBerchules - who is based in Spain at a hotel of the same name - and it was highly recommended.


I was very curious about where the flavour was going to come from in the recipe.  I could see that the fried bread, fried almonds, white wine and smoked paprika would obviously have flavour - as would the chicken - but I couldn't get my head around how they would all taste, together.

I accept that the bread and almonds have a gentle flavour and chicken is gently flavoured too - especially the chicken breast, which I was using.  However, the wine, garlic and smoked paprika - now they should get the whole thing dancing - but they didn't.

I also wound up with enough sauce for around 8-10 portions of the dish, a quite ridiculous amount of sauce - so I'd back off on the water, if I ever tackled this one again.

Hubby was flabbergasted to learn that there was a) wine and b) smoked paprika in the dish as all he could taste was nothing and chicken.  In fact, I have to agree with him about the smoked paprika, as it had completely disappeared - which is quite something for such a highly flavoured spice!  I could taste the wine, as could Son & heir.  The almonds were there in texture and very slightly in flavour, but in all honesty this was one very disappointing dish.

I've looked at what I could have done wrong and perhaps I put too much bread in, as it's difficult to know how much "a chunk" is.  I very definitely put more than "a large handful" of almonds in - as I emptied a 150g bag in the pan and added a handful from another bag, so the flavour of almonds should have been right up there.


The smoked paprika was from a new container, so it can't be that the paprika was old.  I've pondered on the wine being too acidic, but I used it in a dessert later in the week and it very definitely wasn't acidic then!

So I just don't know.


I served the chicken with plain white rice and a side salad - and I did enjoy the flavour (such as it was) of the sauce with the rice, but as I say, the whole thing was just "meh!".

Anyway, here's the recipe I followed, so that @LosBerchules can check it out with their chef - and maybe let me know where I went wrong!


CHICKEN IN ALMOND SAUCE (POLLO EN SALSA DE ALMENDRAS)  Serves 3

Ingredients :

250ml sunflower oil
1 chunk day-old crusty bread
a large handful of almonds, with skins on
3 chicken breasts, each cut into 3 portions
3 cloves garlic
1 glass white wine
water
half a tsp salt
1 tsp pimentón dulce (a.k.a. smoked paprika).

Method :

 

1.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the bread and almonds.  Fry until the bread is golden brown, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2.  Fry the chicken pieces in the same pan until the skin becomes golden brown, turn the pieces over and fry the same on the other side.

3.  Now put the bread, almonds, 3 cloves of garlic, a glass of white wine and half a wine glass of water into a food processor and blend to form a fairly smooth paste.

4.  Put the chicken into a large lidded pan, along with the oil it was cooked in, the paste, the same amount of water as paste and the salt.

5.  Bring to this to a boil and add the pimentón dulce. Lower the heat and cook with the lid on for 20 minutes.

6.  Serve with potatoes or rice or salad.

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Tarragon chicken with gnocchi

What a find this recipe is!

It is based upon the "Chicken Hot Pot" from Olive Magazine (which you can see here), except without the new potatoes and with some gnocchi.  Also, why buy Kenyan beans when there is lovely tenderstem broccoli out there?  Okay, the country of origin is still Kenya, but then I'd rather have tenderstem over squeaky beans any day!

I cut the recipe out of the magazine absolutely ages ago - probably close to two years ago, now.  When I first mooted having it, hubby obviously didn't quite understand what was involved in the recipe, as he wasn't keen.  So I kept hold of the little slip of paper, because I really wanted to try it.

I slipped it onto the menu list at the beginning of last week and crossed my fingers.  I was hoping that the use of the word "gnocchi" might overshadow any memories of having rejected the recipe earlier.  I also, strategically, didn't call it "Hot Pot" as I know that brings connotations of a casserole with a layer of sliced potatoes on top - which is not one of hubby's favourite things.

Having read through the recipe again, I could see that it should turn out a sauce that would be acceptable with gnocchi and, as both hubby and son really like gnocchi, was hopeful that those little puffy potato clouds would suit them - and they did.


As is so often the way, the recipe is superbly simple to produce and right from the word go you can tell that it's going to be a corker.  I mean, leeks and garlic cooked in butter - if ever there was a great start, it's that one.  Capitalise on that great start by adding wine, tarragon and creme fraiche (especially creme fraiche D'Isigny, as I did) - you just can't go wrong!

Because the leek I had bought was only very thin, I used three spring onions just to boost the oniony flavour.  I figured that spring onion, being sweet, is about as close as you can get to a leek!  I also used chicken breast instead of the chicken thighs, basically because the chaps here prefer chicken breast.  So owing to that plus the lack of potatoes, the sauce didn't require as long to cook as the original recipe said.  I will try to make a bit more sauce next time - and there will be a next time - as it was absolutely gorgeous and I ran out a bit early, when it was on the plate.  Those gnocchi are too good at absorbing sauce!

TARRAGON CHICKEN served with Gnocchi and Tenderstem broccoli  (serves 3)

Ingredients :

A knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into 3 pieces each
1 leek, halved lengthwise and sliced
3 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
1 garlic clove, grated
1 glass (generous) white wine
400ml chicken stock
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves (or fresh, if you can get it - use a little more)
3 tbsp creme fraiche (use half fat if you want to reduce the fat content)
sufficient gnocchi for 3 people
a pack of tenderstem broccoli (or other green vegetable of your choice).


Method :


1.  In a large frying pan, heat the knob of butter and olive oil.  Once heated,  add the chicken and, on a high heat, fry until golden brown on at least two sides.  The chicken doesn't need to be cooked through at this stage.  Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve in a warm place.

2.  Add the leeks and spring onion to the pan and cook on a reduced heat until beginning to soften.

3.  Increase the heat under the pan, then return the chicken to the pan and add the wine.  Allow it to frizzle for a moment or two, then reduce the heat again.

4.  At this stage, boil some salted water in two pans - one for the gnocchi, one for the tenderstem broccoli.


5.  Add the chicken stock, tarragon leaves and season to taste.  Allow to simmer for some 10-20 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by almost half and the chicken is cooked through.

6.  Slot the gnocchi into the cooking process around this time, according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Mine took just 3 minutes.  Likewise with the tenderstem broccoli.  Mine took around 5 minutes to cook.


7.  Getting back to the chicken, add the creme fraiche and stir to combine.  Taste to check the seasoning and allow to simmer so as to thicken the sauce slightly whilst you drain the gnocchi and tenderstem.


8.  Serve.

Creamy chicken and butter beans

Not the dreaded cabbage in sauce,
but very similar!

When I was considering what to include on last week’s menu list, it occurred to me that I was quite probably capable of concocting my own dish.  This was a notion that made me sit up and pay attention, as way back in the dim dark days of when I began cooking, any attempt to go “off piste” would be fairly disastrous.  I well remember a dish of turkey breast, red, green & yellow peppers and cream, which I served to my parents.  Quite apart from the fact that my Mum can’t eat peppers, it was a tad one-dimensional to say the least.  I also cringe at the memory of visiting friends in Devon and cooking for them some filled pasta (not made from scratch, of course) with cooked white cabbage and a cheese sauce.  Poor souls, they ate it diligently but never let me cook again, for which I can’t blame them.  

So, many years have passed and many a sausage has gone with them.  It is true to say that I’ve really only fairly recently (like, within the last six or seven years) taken such an intense interest in food.  I think this was largely borne by the requirement to make a very little go a long way (following on from redundancy and pregnancy) and having a child.  There’s nothing like being responsible for someone else’s health, for focusing your mind on what you’re all eating! 

Those were the days!
Having fun hunter trialling with Kellie of Whitefield,
my Highland pony

Another aspect is focus.  For years I ate, slept and breathed my horses.  They were my life and food was simply enjoyable fuel that enabled me to get up at 6am, walk the dogs, “do” the horses (feed, muck out, etc), go to work for 8-9 hours, then do it all again on the way home.  When the horses faded (regrettably, they don’t last for ever), that focus was taken up by the new baby.  In turn, as the son and heir has grown up and become more independent, I’ve obviously been looking for something to fill that gap – and food was an obvious choice.

It was an intriguing notion, to think up a tasty dish that had several dimensions and that catered for all our whims and foibles.  It’s those whims and foibles that more often than not has me tinkering around with other people’s recipes, so I was well used to substituting ingredients or changing quantities.

I didn’t have the confidence to just come right out and tell the boys that this was one of their Mum’s ideas, I talked about it as though it was another recipe I’d picked up.  At least, that way, if they hated it I didn’t have to admit it was mine!

However, lo and behold, they liked it – and everyone cleaned their plate.

There were a few adjustments required to the dish, which I’ve taken into account with the recipe below.   If you decide to have a go at it, do let me know what you think!

CREAMY CHICKEN AND BUTTER BEANS (serves 3)

Ingredients :

3 x chicken breasts

3 rashers streaky bacon, diced

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, grated

1 leek, sliced

100ml white wine

1 small tin butter beans

2 tbsp sweetcorn

salt & black pepper

crème fraiche

200ml chicken stock

1 tsp tarragon, chopped

Method : 

1.  Using a deep frying pan, fry the bacon until the fat has reduced.  Remove the bacon and keep warm.

2.  Fry the chicken breasts until golden, then remove and reserve to keep warm.

3.  Fry the onion until translucent and starting to colour, then add the garlic and fry for 1-2 mins more.

4.  Add the leek and fry until softened, then add the bacon to the mix.

5.  Add the white wine and boil until reduced by half – this only takes a few minutes.

6.  Add the crème fraiche and some chicken stock to let it down a little.  Add the tarragon and season.

7.  Add the butter beans, sweetcorn and the chicken, put on the lid and simmer until the chicken is cooked – some 10-15mins depending on how big your chicken is.

8.  Check the seasoning and serve with tagliatelle.

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One-pot Chicken & Bacon Stew

Photo c/o BBC Good Food
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of mine!

I discovered this recipe on the BBC's Good Food website, which can be found here.

Having had some singular disasters with the tomato/chilli combinations, I had moved over to the gentler side of life and was open to offers along the chicken/mushroom/wine/cream lines.

BBC's Good Food website is always a great port of call for me, largely because it's recipes are always sensible - they rarely offer "Lark's Tongues in Aspic", for instance.  Another boon of their website is the comments box, where folk comment, having made the dish.  You can glean some interesting tips from cooks who have attempted the dish before you and want to pass on their recommendations.

This recipe had three plus points, for me.

1.  It was a one-pot dish.  That always wins in my book, as being disabled, juggling loads of pots and pans isn't easy - and anyway, someone has to wash them up at the end of the process.  It usually isn't me, but I don't like to leave a mountain of dishes for lovely hubby to do.

2.  It involved the use of white wine.  I'd got 100ml or so of white wine sitting in the fridge, getting in the way.  I always try to use leftovers where possible, so this definitely counted.

3.  It involved the use of both cream and mushrooms.  Our son doesn't like the texture of mushrooms, but he's become quite adept at hooking them out of meals, fortunately.  As for the cream, well, everything tastes gorgeous with some cream added, doesn't it?

So, here's the recipe, incorporating my alterations :

ONE-POT CHICKEN & BACON STEW (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

knob of butter

1 tbsp olive oil

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

100g smoked bacon, cut into small pieces
2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 tbsp plain flour

half a tbsp of tomato puree

100ml white wine

400ml chicken stock

1-2 bay leaves, depending on size

2 tbsp double cream or creme fraiche

1 medium potato, in half-inch cubes

6-8 white mushrooms, quartered

chopped herbs such as parsley, chives or tarragon (I used parsley & chives)

fresh ground black pepper.

Method :

1.  Heat oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 6.

2.  Heat oil and melt the butter in large flameproof casserole with a lid, or use a deep frying pan and decant into a casserole dish as you go.  Fry the chicken (in batches if necessary), with some freshly ground black pepper for 5 mins on each side until well browned, then remove to plate and keep warm.

3.  Sizzle the bacon until beginning to crisp.  Stir in the carrots and onions and cook for 5 mins or until starting to soften.

4.  Stir in the flour and tomato puree, and cook for 1 min more.

5.  Add the stock and wine, mixing well to combine and bring to a simmer.  Allow to simmer until the sauce has thickened, then add the bay, cream and more black pepper.  You shouldn't need salt, owing to the butter and the stock already containing salt, but add salt to taste if you need to.

6.  Add the potatoes and mushrooms and stir to ensure they are well coated in the sauce, then add the chicken and any juices and do the same.  Put the lid on and place into the oven for 40-50 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in the chopped herbs.

I served the stew with some broccoli florets alongside and everyone cleared their plates.  Success!

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