Why this sudden devotion to Simon Hopkinson (he of "Simon Hopkinson Cooks" on the t.v.)? Two words : Piedmontese Peppers. I'd seen him make them on his t.v. programme and saw how much he enjoyed them and was attracted to the idea from way back then. So when I had tomatoes and peppers in the same space, both looking for a job to do, I remembered the recipe.
This evening's dinner consisted of a gammon joint, pot roasted slowly in apple juice with a bouquet garni and black pepper, along with Piedmontese Peppers (half a capsicum pepper, with slices of garlic, half a tomato, salt & pepper and rapeseed - or olive - oil), almondy green beans, steamed carrots and potatoes, with gravy.
Those Piedmontese Peppers. Well, I can't remember the last time I ate something that so rattled my cage with delight in the way these did. The only trouble was - I was the only one! Hubby wasn't keen on the skins of either the peppers or the tomatoes, although he liked the flavours apart from too much garlic. He felt the garlic clashed terribly with the gammon. Son & heir didn't even try his pepper, having had a little taste of the anchovy on top. I was SO disappointed about that.
So. The next capsicum pepper I get, is going to be made into Piedmontese Peppers and I'm going to eat them on a socking great chunk of toasted ciabatta for a totally awesome and amazing lunch. Then I'll blog them - and try not to go on .. and on .. and on .. about how gorgeous they are.
Aside from that, the meat was tender and luscious - just so juicy, from being slow cooked in the apple juice.
It was the first time I'd made the almondy green beans, too. It's a bit of a shame that I chose the same day to make the peppers, as without them overshadowing the beans, I'd have been waxing lyrical about how gorgeous the beans were! Cooked normally (in boiling salted water), when you drain them, you melt a big old knob of butter in the hot pan then add the toasted almonds (I toasted them first in the same pan), put the beans back and warm them through over a low heat. Gosh but they were good!
With the Vegibox's fabulous carrots which are so mild and sweet and their lovely robust potatoes, everything about this evening's meal just hit the spot with me. It's just as well somebody liked it all!
I decided to call this evening's dinner Chicken & Vegetable Pilaff, but it really - strictly speaking - is more of a "rice'n'stuff" than ever it is a pilaff.
It was all because our vegetable drawer in the fridge was beginning to groan under the weight of so many veggies. This weekly veggie box delivery malarky is forcing us to use many more veggies than we would normally. Now you might think that this is no bad thing, but I'm already getting grumbles about the personal veggie quota having been exceeded.
This dish involved a lot of cutting up of various veggies, but the cooking of it was fairly uncomplicated and went really rather well.
Start off by cutting up all your veggies into the correct size and shape, then put them on plates in order of appearance in the pan.
In a big old wok, heat some groundnut (or any oil really) oil to seriously hot, then slip in a couple of finely sliced skinless chicken breasts. Add a grind or two of black pepper and cook until golden and just cooked through. Remove to a good sized bowl. Immediately add diced courgette and aubergine to the pan and cook that also until it is golden on at least two sides and softened. Remove that to the bowl with the chicken. A slotted spoon is great for this, as it leaves the oil in the pan. Add a little more oil if you need to, then add chopped red onion and finely sliced chilli. Cook until softened, then add two sticks of celery and half a yellow pepper, also finely sliced. You don't want to be waiting hours for them to soften, you see, so the more finely you slice them, the better it is. Cook until softened. Then add 2 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, half a tsp ground allspice and 1 tsp of caraway seeds. Stir this lot in and cook for a minute or two, then add four chopped good sized tomatoes, three cloves of finely chopped garlic and a whole heap of button mushrooms. Add a good half teaspoonful of sea salt. The tomatoes will cook down into a sauce-like consistency, whereupon you can add the contents of your bowl back into the mix. Add a small handful of flaked almonds and allow the mix to simmer while the flavours combine and the tomatoes cook down. After around 10 minutes, test for seasoning and add a little more salt if necessary. Add a handful of thawed garden peas and some cooked rice. Stir through and allow to heat up, then serve.
Well, the veggie drawer is a lot lighter now!
