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Archive for November, 2011

Jules’ Party Prawns

Posted in Food, Party Food, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , on 28 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

These are the prawns we served as a canapé at Jules’ birthday dinner yesterday. Really simple to throw together and tasty too – the mint makes a big impact.

Prawns with mint & chilli yogurt 

Mix 4 tbsp of natural yogurt with 1 small deseeded red chilli and 8 leaves fresh mint, both finely chopped, and some seasoning. Heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a frying pan, add 12 large raw peeled prawns (leave the tails on if you’re peeling yourself), and fry for a minute each side until they have turned pink and cooked through. Put teaspoonfuls of the yogurt on 12 baby gem lettuce leaves, top each with a hot prawn and a couple of tiny mint leaves. Serve hot.

Wine Suggestion: Something pink and bubbly! We had a Coates & Seely sparkling Rosé from Hampshire in Southern England. This producer used traditional French winemaking techniques and traditional Champagne grapes of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Very classy looking bottle too. Available from Mitchell & Son for €42.95.

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Irish Champ

Posted in Food, Irish Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 26 November 2011| 7 Comments »

We love  champ, and this recipe adds an extra layer of deliciousness. This idea is from Jamie’s latest book and we especially liked the addition of yellow celery leaves at the end.

King of mash: Irish champ

  • 1kg potatoes
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 leek
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 50g butter
  • a small handful of watercress (we omitted this as there was none in the shop)
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
  • a small handful of yellow celery leaves

Peel the potatoes and bring a large pan of  salted water to the boil. Cut the potatoes into 2.5cm chunks then add to the pan and boil fast for 12-15 minutes, or until completely tender.

Meanwhile, slice the scallions and leeks as finely as you can. Put them in a saucepan with the milk, bay leaf, butter and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 7-8 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and let them steam dry for a few minutes in the hot pot. Mash the potatoes, adding spoonfuls of the milk as you go. Taste and season. Roughly chop the watercress (if using) and stir through the mash (discard any thick stalks).

Just before serving reheat the mash with a lid on over a gentle heat. Stir in the parsley and celery leaves and serve with more butter if you like.

(Original recipe from Jamie’s Great Britain by Jamie Oliver, Penguin, 2011.)

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Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Posted in Food, Party Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 24 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends! This is our contribution to the Thanksgiving Dinner we’re going to tonight – we hope it’s better than the ‘traditional’ tinned stuff we’ve heard about! It keeps well for a week which is useful when preparing for big feasts and a little bit of chilli does wonders for the taste.

Chilli Cranberry Sauce

Gently heat 100g golden caster sugar and 175ml white wine in a saucepan. Wait until the sugar has dissolved and then bring to the boil.

Add 1/2 a mild red chilli (chopped and with seeds left in) and 300g of fresh or frozen cranberries (ours came from Wisconsin), bring back to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. You want the berries to burst but not collapse completely. Take the sauce off the heat. As it cools it will continue to cook and thicken.

 (Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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A Light Saffron & Tomato Risotto

Posted in Food, Healthy, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 23 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

Mixing fresh tomatoes into a risotto is a revelation and adds a layer of freshness that is enhanced by the crushed fennel – yum! This is a lighter risotto with much less butter and cheese than we would normally add! Still there is loads of flavour and this is perfect for a weeknight (we try and save the butter and cheese for the weekend).

Saffron & tomato risotto – to serve 2

  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • a large pinch of saffron threads, crushed
  • olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1.5 litres vegetable stock
  • 275g arborio rice
  • 125ml white wine
  • 3 tbsp parmesan, grated

Mix the fennel seeds with the chopped tomatoes. Pour 1 tbsp of boiling water over the saffron to soak. Heat the oil in a wide, shallow pan and add the onion with some seasoning. Cook for a few minutes or until softened. Heat the stock in a separate pan until simmering.

Add the rice to the onion and cook for a few minutes or until the grains are glistening. Pour in the saffron and stir for a minute before adding the wine. Keep stirring until the wine is absorbed.

Add a ladleful of stock and stir again until absorbed. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked but still has a bite. Add the tomatoes and fennel seeds and cook for a minute. Serve with the Parmesan.

Wine Suggestion: Try a medium-bodied and well-rounded white from Italy, like a Fiano or Falanghina. Or you could push the boat out with a top quality Greco di Tufo, full of minerality but still with the freshness needed for this dish – we had none of these unfortunately 😦

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Prawns with Mustard Seeds and Coconut

Posted in Food, Shellfish, tagged , , , , on 22 November 2011| 1 Comment »

This is pretty fiery and a really tasty mid-week dinner. Perfect for anyone suffering from a cold!

Prawns with mustard seeds & coconut – to serve 2

  • 150g basmati rice
  • 100g frozen peas
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • 1 green chilli, sliced
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tbsp masala curry paste (we use Patak’s)
  • 400g tin cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
  • 200g large raw peeled prawns
  • a small bunch of coriander, chopped

Cook the rice according to the pack instructions, adding the frozen peas a few minutes before the end.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, half the green chilli, and mustard seeds. Cook until the onion is soft and the seeds are popping. Add the curry paste and cook for a minute. Pour in the tomatoes and add the coconut. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until thickened, then add the prawns. Cook for another few minutes until the prawns turn opaque. Serve with the pea rice and some coriander and green chilli sprinkled over.

(Original recipe from BBC Olive Magazine, December 2011)

Wine Suggestion: We thought a simple, fruity Pinot Blanc, maybe a Pinot Grigio or a Beaujolais Nouveau for a bit of seasonal novelty (released on the 3rd Thursday in November and the first wine released each vintage). Then we decided a beer might be more appropriate!

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Post Op Mac n Cheese

Posted in Cheese, Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , on 20 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

Poor Jono had to go into hospital to have his hand reset after breaking it on Monday and after a general anesthetic some comfort food was required!  This recipe has bags of flavour as well as the comfort factor required.

Macaroni cheese – to serve 6

  • 75g butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 75g plain flour
  • 900ml boiling milk
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 225g cheese (we used a mixture of Gruyère and double Gloucester or you can just use Cheddar)
  • 300g macaroni pasta

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion and cook gently until soft. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then gradually add the milk, keep stirring all the time, and the mustard. Stir in 3/4s of the cheese and let it melt, then season.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water with a tsp of salt, until just soft (a minute or two less than it says on the pack). Drain, then mix into the cheese sauce and transfer to a ovenproof dish. Scatter the rest of the cheese over the top and put under a hot grill until brown on top.

(Original recipe from Rachel’s Favourite Food at Home by Rachel Allen, Collins, 2006.)

Wine Suggestion: This would be great with a full-bodied, structured white. Structure usually comes from oak – a Pouilly-Fuisse would be fantastic!

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Sicilian-style Fish Stew

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 16 November 2011| 4 Comments »

This dish is really easy, light and yet full of flavours. Takes hardly any time to rustle up on a week night too.

Sicilian-style fish stew – to serve 2

  • olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • a pinch of chilli flakes
  • 2 plum tomatoes (we had to use tinned tomatoes this time)
  • 125ml white wine
  • 400ml vegetable stock
  • 50g couscous
  • 250g white fish fillet – we used hake
  • 1/2 a lemon, zested
  • a small handful of chopped parsley chopped

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wide, shallow pan. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and chilli flakes. Season and cook for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another couple of minutes. Pour in the wine and stock and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes then add the couscous. Turn down to a simmer and add the fish. Cover with a lid and cook until the fish is done, about 5-7 minutes. Break the fish into large chunks as you serve and sprinkle over the lemon zest and parsley.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Wine suggestion: You want a bit of body and minerality here as there are some fairly robust flavours, despite being a light dish. We went for a Riesling from Alsace but a Provencal rosé would also work well.

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Correction…

Posted in Uncategorized on 15 November 2011| 1 Comment »

…to our Spaghetti Tetrazzini post below. Jamie Oliver had us convinced that this was Italian, publishing it in his Italy book and alluding to an old Italian recipe book.

Our trusty Italian friend has since discovered that Tetrazzini isn’t an Italian dish at all but an American one. It is thought that the dish was created by a chef in San Francisco who named it after an Italian opera star called Luisa Tetrazzini. It’s all there in black and white on wikipedia so it must be true. It also explains some of the comments from other bloggers who remember this from their childhood. I don’t think any of them are Italian either!

So cheers Enrico and good luck with your new foodie wine blog which comes highly recommended by Jono and Jules:

Grapecircus Big Top

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Spaghetti Tetrazzini

Posted in Food, tagged , , , , , , , on 13 November 2011| 5 Comments »

Another spaghetti dish but the full fat version this time – lot’s of double cream and cheese. This is a mysterious Italian dish from Jamie’s Italy which he claims is an old Italian recipe. We’ve looked in all of our Italian cookbooks and cannot find a reference to it anywhere. We even asked a real live Italian and he’d never heard of it either. So we’ll explain what it is – a super-indulgent chicken and mushroom pasta bake. We like it.

Spaghetti tetrazzini – chicken and mushroom pasta bake – to serve 6

  • 20g of dried porcini mushrooms
  • olive oil
  • 4 skinned and boned chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
  • 350g of mixed fresh mushrooms, wiped and torn
  • 200ml of white wine
  • 500g dried spaghetti
  • 500ml double cream
  • 200g Parmesan, grated
  • a sprig of basil, leaves picked

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Put the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour over just enough boiling water to cover (about 150ml). Set aside to soak for a few minutes. Heat a large saucepan, and pour in a splash of olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown gently in the oil. Strain the porcini, keeping the liquid, and add to the pan with the garlic and fresh mushrooms. Add the wine, with the strained porcini soaking water, and turn the heat down. Simmer gently until the chicken pieces are cooked through and the wine has reduced a little.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water according to the pack instructions, then drain well. Add the cream to the chicken, bring to the boil and then turn off the heat. Season well with salt and pepper. Add the drained spaghetti to the creamy chicken sauce and toss well. Add three-quarters of the Parmesan and all the basil and stir well. Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish, sprinkle with half of the remaining cheese and bake in the oven until brown, bubbling and crispy on the top (about 10-15 minutes). Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of cheese.

Wine Suggestion: We cooked this dish to match an unusual wine that has been sitting in our rack for some time now. A Chardonnay and Savignin (not Sauvignon) blend from the Jura, in Eastern France. This wine has earthy flavours and is a slightly oxidised style – oxidation is normally what destroys wines when they’ve been open too long so this is a bit unusual. At 13 years old (vintage 1998) it showed beautifully with lovely yellow apple flavours and a fresh acidity. Still we loved it and it was a perfect match for this creamy chicken and mushrooms dish. If you can’t find a wine from the Jura we suggest a cool climate Chardonnay that has weight but maintained its acidity – a Pouilly-Fuisse or Meursault  would be perfect.

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Creamy Linguine with Prawns – another low-fat version!

Posted in Food, Healthy, Pasta, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 11 November 2011| 3 Comments »

Creamy linguine and low-fat don’t usually go in the same sentence but in this case they work. Generally we’re not keen on low-fat substitutes, preferring to have a bit less of the real thing, but reduced-fat crème fraîche is an exception. We really enjoyed this and it feels quite indulgent despite being both low-fat and good for you.

Creamy linguine with prawns – to serve 2

  • 175g linguine
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • 100ml white wine
  • 2 tbsp reduced-fat crème fraîche
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 150g raw peeled prawns
  • small bunch chives, finely chopped

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the oil and gently fry the garlic for 2 minutes. Tip in the wine and bubble over a high heat for 1 minute, then lower the heat and sitr in the crème fraîche and lemon juice. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Simmer for 1 minute to reduce a little, then add the prawns and simmer in the sauce until they turn pink.

Drain the pasta and tip into the sauce with half the chives. Mix it all together, divide between two dishes and sprinkle with the rest of the chives.

Wine Suggestion: Have a glass of whatever you used in the sauce. Picpoul de Pinet works well and Tesco Finest do a fairly decent one at a very reasonable price. It’s light but has nice fruit and a good crisp acidity – perfect for shellfish plus enough acidity to cut through the creamy sauce in this dish.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Low Fat Keema Curry & Raita

Posted in Asian, Beef, Food, Healthy, Indian, tagged , , , , , , on 10 November 2011| 2 Comments »

This was surprisingly delicious and flavoursome; the curry paste really adds a good depth yet it is still light and wholesome. A Keema curry is one that uses mince which we’ve not really done. After this recipe we’ll certainly try a few others.

Keema curry & raita – to serve 4

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 400g beef mince
  • 340g frozen peas
  • handful fresh coriander, chopped
FOR THE PASTE
  • 1 green chilli, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • thumb-sized piece ginger, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp each turmeric and ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
FOR THE RAITA
  • 200g fat-free natural yogurt
  • 100g cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced
  • handful fresh mint, chopped
Whizz the paste ingredients together in a blender or food processsor – you might need a splash of water.

Cook the onion in a splash of water for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the mince and cook for another 5 minutes to brown. Add the paste, cook for a minute, then pour in 100ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the raita ingredients together and season. When the mince is cooked, season and stir through the coriander. Serve with the raita and some brown rice.

Wine suggestion: You don’t want something with too much acidity here but it still needs a bit of easy fruit. Try a Pinot Blanc from Alsace.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Cheat’s Funghi Trifolati

Posted in Food, Italian, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 9 November 2011| 2 Comments »

Because we’re not blessed by abundant fresh Porcini like the Italians we need to be a little inventive to capture the flavours and effect of a genuinely Italian recipe; this one delivers the goods in spades. If you find some fresh porcini grab them with both hands but otherwise try this mixture of wild mushrooms and a handful of dried porcini to boost the flavour.

Funghi Trifolati (Sautéed Mushrooms with Parsley & Garlic) – to serve 4 as a side dish

  • 25g dried porcini
  • 500g fresh mushrooms, use a mixture of wild and cultivated
  • 2 shallots
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 15g unsalted butter
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Put the dried porcini in a bowl, cover with hot water and leave for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, clean the fresh mushrooms – wiping them with kitchen paper should be sufficient rather than washing them. Cut them into thick slices.

Lift the porcini out of the water and cut into small pieces.

Finely chop the shallots, put them in a large sauté pan and sauté with the olive oil and butter until soft. Add the garlic, half the parsley, a little salt and lots of pepper. Cook, stirring, for a minute and then add the porcini. Cook for 5 minutes or so and then throw in the fresh mushrooms and some parsley. Cook over a fairly high heat for about 10 minutes, making sure mushrooms don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. There should be very little liquid left by the end of the cooking.

Sprinkle with the last bit of parsley before serving.

(Original recipe by Anna Del Conte, Gastronomy of Italy, Pavilion Books, 2001.)

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A Blackberry and Apple Sauce for Pork or Duck

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 8 November 2011| 2 Comments »

We made this sauce as an incidental side to some duck legs and the side trumped the main … so much so that the legs will not be reviewed but this sauce definitely will! The revelation for us is the baking of the apples whole which seems to add something special.

Apple and blackberry sauce – to serve 4 (or more) on the side

  • 4 large Bramley apples
  • 150g blackberries
  • a little icing sugar
Score the skin of the apples round the middle to prevent explosions and put them in a baking dish. Bake at 180ºC/Gas 4 or thereabouts for about 40 minutes or until they have puffed up and the apple is soft and frothy.

Put the blackberries into a small pan with a tbsp of water and bring to the boil. Crush lightly with a fork.

Scrape the apple flesh off the skins into a bowl. Beat the sugar in with a fork and stir in the crushed blackberries.

(Original recipe by Nigel Slater, Tender: Volume II, Fourth Estate, 2010).

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Spiced haloumi on a warm Beluga lentil, spinach & caramelised beetroot salad

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 7 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

We’ve admired Denis Cotter from afar and when we got his new cookbook devoured it as usual. What we found was that each recipe had loads of component which built up a brilliant spectrum of flavours, and yet appeared so complex that unless you have time and patience (and sometimes the ingredients too) you’d rarely make the dishes. This one is an exception as it really comes together quite easily and the flavours are superb. We are definitely encouraged and will try more!

Spiced haloumi on a warm Puy lentil, spinach & beetroot salad – to serve 4

  • 2 medium beetroot, washed, cooked and peeled (we boiled ours for about 25 minutes)
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • olive oil
  • 200ml vegetable stock
  • 100ml red wine
  • 100g Puy  lentils (we used Beluga)
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 dried bird’s eye chillies, ground (or less if you prefer)
  • 2 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
  • finely grated zest of 1 lime and juice of 2
  • 200g haloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices
  • 100g baby spinach leaves

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.

Slice the beetroot into thin wedges, toss with the balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until starting to caramelise.

Meanwhile, bring the vegetable stock and red wine to the boil in a large pan. Add the lentils, thyme and garlic, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until the lentils are just tender but still firm. If there is any liquid left, turn the heat up and boil until it is almost gone. Stir in the roast beetroot and scallions, and remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix the chillies, cumin and lime zest together. Halve the haloumi slices diagonally.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the haloumi until browned on both sides. Sprinkle the spice mix and juice of 1 of the limes over the cheese and toss to coat.

Place some spinach on each plate and scatter some of the lentil mix over. Arrange the haloumi slices on top and finish with the remaining lime juice.

(Original recipe from Denis Cotter’s For the love of Food, Collins, 2011.)

Wine Suggestion: You need something that’s earthy for the beetroot and lentils but also fruity and juicy to balance the heat of the spices. Try a Chilean red made from the Carmenere grape which is an emerging match for spicy food (including Indian curry!).

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Easy Thai Prawn Soup

Posted in Asian, Food, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 6 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

A really quick and easy week-night supper with bags of freshness and flavour. It’s also infinitely variable depending on what crunchy vegetables you may have to hand. We would have added a couple of sliced red chillies if we’d had some!

Spicy Prawn Soup – to serve 4

  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 300g bag crunchy stir-fry vegetables
  • 140g shitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
  • 400g can reduced-fat coconut milk
  • 200ml vegetable or fish stock
  • 300g medium straight-to-wok noodles
  • 200g large, raw prawns

Heat a wok, add the oil, and stir-fry the vegetables and mushrooms for a few minutes. Take out and set aside, then tip the curry paste into the pan and fry for a minute. Pour in the coconut milk and stock. Bring to the boil, drop in the noodles and prawns, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 minutes until the prawns are cooked. Stir in the vegetables and serve.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Low-fat Curry for Autumn

Posted in Asian, Food, Healthy, Indian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 1 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is a handy mid-week curry with nothing like the calorie and fat content of an Indian take-away!

Indian butternut squash curry – to serve 4

  • 200g brown basmati rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 butternut squash, diced
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp curry paste (we used Patak’s Madras paste but you can go for a milder paste if you prefer)
  • 300ml vegetable stock
  • 4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 3 tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt
  • small handful coriander, chopped

Cook the rice in boiling salted water according to the instructions on the pack. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the squash for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add the onion and the curry paste and fry for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Pour over the stock, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, then gently cook for a few minutes, until the tomatoes slightly soften.

Take off the heat and stir through the yogurt and coriander. Serve with the rice.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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