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Archive for February, 2011

Movida’s Adobo de Pollo

Posted in Barbecue, Chicken, Food, Sherry, tagged , , , , , , , on 25 February 2011| Leave a Comment »

Movida is the best Spanish restaurant in Melbourne. We were there last June and just got a table by the skin of our teeth as it is massively popular. It’s up a little cobbled street and if you didn’t know better you would walk right by which would be a big mistake as the tapas are fandabbydosey. They also have a crackin wine list and great staff – our idea of heaven. So book your table before you go!!

Jono’s sister Rachel sent us Movida Rustica for Christmas, the second cookbook to come out of this restaurant and we’ve been dying to get stuck into the recipes.

These barbecue kebabs have a delicious herby flavour with a massive oomph from the smoked paprika and they give off a fabulous sweet smoke when they’re cooking. So if you’re not going to Melbourne or indeed Spain any time soon we suggest you try these.

P.S. M&S are at last doing skinless, boneless chicken thighs but they are in the casserole section rather than the chicken section.

P.P.S. You’re supposed to marinade the chicken overnight but we forgot and just marinated for 1 hour and it was still great.

Adobo de Pollo (or Chicken skewers with paprika and oregano to us Irish folk) – makes 12 tapas

  • 1kg skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into 2.5 cm chunks
  • 2 tbsp smoked sweet paprika
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp saffron threads
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 125ml extra virgin olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a big bowl, cover with cling film and marinate overnight in the fridge (or for as long as you’ve got).

Thread the chicken onto 12 metal skewers.

Heat the barbecue to high and cook the skewers for 5 minutes, or until cooked through, turning often.

Let them cool slightly and serve – we had ours with some herby lemon couscous.

Wine suggestion: Do like the Spanish and drink Sherry – we had a glass of Lustau VORS (Very Old Rare Sherry) dry Oloroso which is exceptionally special but any dry Oloroso or Amontillado will serve you well. Chin chin!

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Jono & Jules’ Wine of the Week: an interesting bubbly

Posted in France, Sparkling, Wine, Wine of the Week, tagged , , , , , , on 22 February 2011| Leave a Comment »

We opened this as a a birthday on a week night treat. We wanted bubbles, but also liked the idea of lower alcohol, and it hit the spot very nicely!

Antech, Doux Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale NV (£8.95 form the Wine Society, UK)

This wine is a bit of a throw back and is made in a more rustic way than the sophisticated Champagne method. The grapes are grown to extra ripeness and partially fermented to about 5% alcohol. The wine is then transferred to bottle where it ferments a little more, giving the fizz. Made from Mauzac, the result is an apple pie of a wine; in fact we’re going to serve an apple pie or tarte tatin next time we open a bottle! It has a real creaminess with soft and mouth-filling bubbles. Though not completely elegant and sophisticated this nonetheless oozes charm and playfulness. The flavours are dominated by apples, but we also got rich double cream, poached pears and a touch of quince plus hints of caramelisation (like you get when cooking a tarte tatin). Delicious!

In contrast to Champagne and many traditional sparkling wines this has bags of fruitiness. It is comparable with the very fruity Moscato d’Asti, which like this has naturally low alcohol. The Blanquette however has a good dollop of acidity, which comes from the Mauzac grape, to make it all the more refreshing and attractive.

Jono

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Italian Vegetable Soup

Posted in Food, Healthy, Pasta, Soup, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 21 February 2011| 1 Comment »

We had this every day last week for lunch and it was so tasty we didn’t get sick of it one bit. The pasta makes it really filling and the beans add a creamy texture, add Parmesan and sugar and you get a touch of tomatoey sweetness but really savoury at the same time. Sound strange? You’ll have to trust us and try it for yourselves.

Italian Vegetable Soup – serves 8

  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 4 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 bay leaves
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • 3 courgettes, chopped
  • 400g can of butter beans, drained
  • 400g can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1.2 litres vegetable stock
  • 100g Parmesan, grated
  • 140g small pasta shapes – we used orecchiette
  • small bunch of basil

Gently cook the onions, carrots and celery in oil in a large saucepan for 20 minutes or until soft. Splash in a bit of water if they start to stick.

Add sugar, garlic, tomato puree, herbs and courgettes. Cook for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat.

Add beans, tomatoes and stock and simmer for 20 minutes (you can freeze it at this stage if you want).

Add half the Parmesan and all the pasta and simmer until your pasta is cooked.

Sprinkle basil and the rest of the Parmesan over to serve.

Tasty!

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Josh’s Mediterranean Chicken

Posted in Chicken, Food, tagged , , , , , , on 16 February 2011| 2 Comments »

Here’s a recipe from my friend Josh. I was a bit confused when I read it – I’m all for easy recipes but chucking it all in a pot and sticking it in the oven made me think there was a step left out. Anyways apparently not. So chuck the following ingredients in a casserole with a lid and put it in the oven for 1 hour at 180C (don’t add the olives until 10 to 15 minutes before the end). Very tasty and easy-peasy. It can also survive waiting for half an hour in the oven if someone arrives home late…. can’t it Jono?

  • tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2-4 chicken breasts or thighs (leave them whole or cut them in two like I did)
  • 8-10 shallots
  • chopped sun-dried tomatoes (to taste – I used a small handful)
  • 200-300ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 onion, grated
  • basil and oregano (I used a tsp of dried basil and a tsp of dried oregano)
  • salt and pepper
  • a big handful of olives

Serve with something starchy – rice, pasta, potatoes – whatever takes your fancy.

Thanks Josh!

Wine suggestion: We had a glass of a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend from Bordeaux (Le G de Chateau Guiraud – a dry wine from the famous chateau making gloriously sweet Sauternes) and it worked well or if you fancy a red you could try a nice Italian Barbera.

Julie

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Chinese side dish: Broccoli with Cashews & Oyster Sauce

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 15 February 2011| 4 Comments »

Stir-fried broccoli with cashews & oyster sauce – serves 6

  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 100g unsalted cashews
  • 2 heads broccoli, cut into small florets (we cut up the stalks too)
  • 3 tbsp oyster sauce, or more if you like

Heat a little bit of the oil in a wok and toast the cashew nuts until they start to turn golden. Tip them out of the pan, then add the rest of the oil.

Stir-fry the broccoli for a couple of minutes until it turns bright green. Add a splash of water, then cover with a lid and steam for about 4 minutes or until the stems are tender – watch that it doesn’t dry out!

Push the broccoli to the side of the pan and pour the oyster sauce into the other side. Bring to the boil and stir into the broccoli. Toss in the cashews and serve with Chinese food (we had spring rolls and prawn toast).

Original recipe from BBC Good Food.

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Sunday steak with two good sides and a nice Italian red

Posted in Food, Italy, Side dish, Vegetarian, Wine, tagged , , , , , , , on 13 February 2011| 1 Comment »

BBQ Steak

We don’t need to tell you how to do this, but we used sirloins which tend to be tastier than fillets and our trusty barbeque – I don’t know how we could live without it!

Root Vegetable Mash (serves 4)

This is really tasty and a nice change from the usual mash. We’re using the leftovers for bangers and mash tomorrow night.

 

  • 2 large baking potatoes, cut into chunks
  • half a turnip, cut into chunks
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 25g butter

 

 

 

Put the potatoes, turnip and carrots in a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil.

Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, then drain and mash.

Add butter and plenty of salt and pepper.

 

Roast field mushrooms (serves 2)

  • 8 field mushrooms
  • 1 small clove garlic, crushed
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • a few drops of Worcestershire sauce
  • olive oil
  • a squeeze of lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C.

Put the mushrooms in a small roasting tin and top with garlic and thyme.

Sprinkle over the Worcestershire sauce and a little oil.

Cover with foil and roast for 15 minutes.

Discard the foil and toss the mushrooms around in their juice. Return to oven for another 20 minutes.

Season and add lemon juice and parsley.

Wine Suggestion: This worked great with this Barbera from Italy: Tenuta Olim Bauda Barbera d’Asti Superiore, Nizza, 2007.

From what is regarded as the best vineyard area for Barbera in Piedmont, Italy (the home of the grape) this wine has good depth and really nice personality.

Aromas and flavours of dark cherries, chocolate, menthol, nuttiness, pencil shavings and tobacco. The medium body works well with the depth of flavours and the lovely freshness of acidity, which is common in Italian wines. A wine of charm and thoroughly enjoyed by us.

Available from The Lighthouse in Whiteabbey Village, Newtownabbey for just over 20 pounds and well worth it.

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Kerala Lamb Stew

Posted in Food, Indian, Lamb, tagged , , , , , , on 8 February 2011| 5 Comments »

This is the first recipe we’ve tried from Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Easy.

Be warned… it’s little bit unusual. In our picture it looks kind of like an Irish stew weirdly paired with rice. In fact it is very like an Irish stew except it has Indian spices and coconut milk in it (so not actually very Irish at all).

Still if you’re prepared to try something a bit different, this is actually really nice with a sauce which is not overtly spicy . More mild and warming and perfect comfort food for a cold night. I suspect this is much more authentic than the rich sauces we have come to associate with Indian food.

Kerala Lamb Stew – serves 4

  • 4 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 0.5 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 10 cloves
  • 10 cardamom pods
  • 1 large red onion, finely chopped
  • about 20 curry leaves, torn (you can buy these in asian shops and this recipe suggests 10 fresh basil leaves as a substitute if you can’t get them. Don’t be fooled by the dry ones you can buy in supermarkets though as they are not a good substitute.)
  • 2 tsps very finely grated ginger
  • 900g stewing lamb
  • 450g potatoes, pelled and diced into 2.5cm cubes
  • 4 medium carrots, cut into 4cm chunks
  • 1.75 tsps salt
  • 0.25 to 1.5 tsps cayenne pepper
  • 300ml coconut milk (shake the tin well before opening)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan over a medium-high heat.

Add the cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, cloves and cardamom and sizzle for a few seconds.

Add the onion and stir until it turns light brown.

Add the curry leaves and ginger and stir for a minute.

Add the lamb and stir it around for a few minutes.

Add 1 litre of water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the potatoes, carrots, salt and cayenne pepper and bring to the boil.

Cover and cook gently for 40 minutes, or until the meat is tender.

Add the coconut milk and crush a few of the potato pieces against the side of the pan to thicken the sauce.

Bring to a simmer and serve.

 

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Jono & Jules’ Wine of the Week

Posted in Hungary, Wine, Wine of the Week, tagged , , , , , on 7 February 2011| 1 Comment »

The wine of the week is a little gem: the Chateau Dereszla, Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 2000 – in a snipe (187ml) and sells for €13.95 from Mitchells in Dublin.

You may be saying to yourself, how can they be seriously reviewing a snipe as the wine of the week? Quite simply, this is no ordinary wine.

Chateau Dereszla is from the the Hungarian region of Tokaji and this type of wine can be considered one of the great wines of the world. It is intensely sweet, but at the same time wonderfully fresh. This particular example has over 120g of sugar per litre, which makes it very sweet, and yet it is so fresh that the wine never tasted cloying or sugary. Rather it has an intenseness to the flavour: very lemony, with orange peel, marmalade and honeyed aromas and flavours from the botrytis (noble rot) that lends this character to great sweet wines. The acidity balances the sweetness perfectly and the flavours last forever.

Normally Tokaji comes in 50cl bottles which is great when sharing with a few friends, but if there is just one or two drinking (or nobody else likes sweet wine) the 187ml snipe is perfect. We had a delightful glass each while nibbling on a little cheese after dinner. A real treat.

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Healthy Egg and Chips

Posted in Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 2 February 2011| 4 Comments »

We realise that we’ve been cooking lots of healthy stuff lately, but please don’t think that what we post is tasteless – if it doesn’t work, or IS tasteless, we don’t post it. This was really good and just as satisfying as the fried version. Only 5 ingredients in this one and we had all of them in the cupboard already.

Oven egg and chips (to serve 2)

  • 450g floury potatoes, cut into thick chips – we used Roosters
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 eggs (or 3 if you have a greedy person)

Preheat oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C.

Tip the chips into a roasting tin (non-stick if you have it) and scatter the garlic and rosemary leaves over. Drizzle with oil, season well and toss to coat.

Roast for 35-40 minutes until just cooked and golden – give the tin a shake every now and again.

Make gaps in the chips and break your eggs into the gaps.

Put back in the oven for 3-5 minutes or until your eggs are cooked.

Wine suggestion: we mention below that eggs can be hard to pair with wine. I think we’d go for a glass of cold beer with this instead.

 

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Smoked fish cakes with poached eggs

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Wine, tagged , , , , , on 1 February 2011| Leave a Comment »

It’s another healthy one but not lacking in flavour at all. Haven’t had eggs for ages so poached eggs were a nice treat on the top. Don’t think we’ve ever had mushrooms in a fish cake but they definitely added good flavour and texture so we’ll throw a few in next time too.

Smoked fish cakes with poached eggs (serves 4)

  • 250g potatoes, peeled (and halved if big)
  • 300g smoked haddock
  • 100g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1-2 tbsp plain flour
  • 2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 4 medium eggs
  • cooked frozen peas, to serve

Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes until tender but firm. Put the haddock on top, flesh side down, then cover and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the fish, roughly flake and get rid of any skin and bones.

Drain and roughly mash the potatoes, and season.

Dry-fry the mushrooms in a non-stick pan until golden.

Mix the mash, mushrooms, fish and parsley together in a bowl and leave to cool.

Shape the mixture into four fish cakes with floured hands.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and gently fry the cakes for 6-8 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, poach the eggs and cook your peas.

Top the fish cakes with the eggs and serve the peas on the side.

Original recipe from BBC Good Food.

Wine Suggestion: eggs can be difficult to pair with wine but we had a glass of easy-drinking lemony sauvignon blanc from Bordeaux which did the trick nicely.

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