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Archive for April, 2020

Minty Pea & Prawn Risotto

Posted in Food, Prawns, tagged , , , , , , , on 9 April 2020| 2 Comments »

Minty Pea & Prawn Risotto

We were looking for freezer inspiration when we made this. We have not stockpiled at all, but we keep putting all our leftovers in the freezer in case we have to stay home for a fortnight and can’t get to the shops. The problem now is that we’ve lots of delicious dinners in the freezer but the most enjoyable bit of our day is cooking dinner together. Reheating doesn’t quite have the same effect. So, if you’ve got some frozen prawns and frozen peas, you can have a go at this and enjoy stirring it – it’s certainly effective therapy for us. Let’s cook through this.

Wine Suggestion:  go a dry rosé or white, which will also be used in the dish, so nothing too over the top. Tonight the Chateau Vignelaure “La Source” Rosé which to our tastes is the equal of the couple of “BIG” names from Provence without the ego prices. Refreshing on it’s own and a great food wine. Dry Rosé Wine is very underated in our minds.

Minty pea and prawn risotto – serves 4

  • 400g frozen peas
  • 750ml fish stock or veg stock
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 300g risotto rice
  • 120ml white wine
  • 300g cooked frozen prawns, defrosted
  • 30g grated Parmesan, plus a bit extra to serve
  • a handful of chopped mint
  • 1 tbsp butter

Start by cooking the peas in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. Add 200ml of the stock to the peas and whizz with a stick blender (or whatever your whizzing option is) until smoothish. Put the rest of the stock in a pot and keep simmering over a low heat.

Heat the oil in a large, deep pan, then cook the onion for about 5 minutes over a lowish heat, until softened but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the rice and stir until the grains are glistening. Add the wine and stir until evaporated. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring until each one is absorbed before adding another. You will need to keep at this for about 20 minutes. Season well.

Add the whizzed up peas and cook for another couple of minutes, or until most of the liquid had gone. The rice should be al dente by now. Add the prawns and an extra ladle of stock and heat for a couple of minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, mint and butter. Check the seasoning and serve with some extra Parmesan.

(Original recipe from Family Kitchen Cookbook by Caroline Bretherton, DK, 2013)

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Lamb Shank Balti

Posted in Food, Indian, Lamb, tagged , , , , , , , on 8 April 2020| 2 Comments »

Lamb Shank Balti

The only thing missing from this dish was a crowd to share it with, but we’ll keep it in our back pockets for when that can happen again. If, like us, you make for a small dinner party, you can pull the leftover meat off the bone and stir it into the sauce. This allows you to have some tomorrow, or stash some in the freezer for another day. Serve with rice and your choice of naan bread, Indian chutneys or pickles and yoghurt or raita.

You need to marinate the meat the night before – literally 3 minutes work! And if you marinate in an oven tray, which we recommend, then take out of the fridge an hour before cooking to come up to room temperature.

Wine Suggestion: A rich and warm, spiced dish like this needs a similar kind of wine. A red from a warmer climate is our choice and tonight it was the Finca Bacara Pirapu; a Monastrell-Syrah blend from Jumilla in Spain. Juicy, and with a warm, earthy spice of it’s own. The high levels of juicy, soft tannins help with the rich meat. We’ll get this wine again for when we are entertaining properly and cooking this dish as it was a delight.

Lamb shank balti – serves 5 to 6

  • 5-6 lamb shanks
  • 3-4 onions, halved and sliced
  • 100g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 6 tbsp balti paste (we used Patak’s)
  • 2 tbsp garam masala
  • 4tsp brown sugar
  • a handful of pomegranate seeds
  • a handful of coriander leaves

FOR THE MARINADE:

  • 2 tbsp balti paste
  • 2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp kalonji seeds (nigella or onion seeds)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

The day before, mix the ingredients together for the marinade. Put the lamb shanks in a roasting tin and rub the marinade all over them (you might want to wear disposable gloves if you want to avoid yellow hands). Cover and chill overnight.

Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.

Roast the lamb for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.

Cover the tray with a double layer of tin foil and scrunch tightly around the edges to make sure it’s sealed. Return to the oven and cook for another 3 hours.

Remove the foil and stir the onions into the juices in the tin, then return to the oven and cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the ginger, garlic, 1 tin of the tomatoes, balti paste, garam masala and sugar into a food processor of blender. Whizz until smoothish. Stir this paste into the onions and also add the second tin of tomatoes and put back in the oven for a final 30 minutes.

Serve with the pomegranate seeds and coriander scattered over.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

 

 

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Spiced Fish Soup

Posted in Fish, Food, Gluten-free, Shellfish, Soup, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 7 April 2020| 2 Comments »

Spicy fish soup

We often have fish on Fridays. It’s quick to cook and light enough that we’ve room for cheese afterwards. Mussels are a favourite too and they’re fantastic value. This soup by Nigel Slater is crammed with them, and full of flavour.

Wine suggestion:  an old favourite white wine, the always versatile ALLO by Quinta Soalheiro. Light bodied so it doesn’t overwhelm the delicate play of flavours in the dish, but textured and concentrated at the same time. A wine that is the sommeliers’ secret weapon for matching.

Spiced fish soup – serves 2

  • 1kg mussels, scrubbed, de-bearded, chuck any with broken shells or that don’t close when you give them a sharp tap
  • 2 large banana shallots, peeled and separated into layers
  • a splash of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 250g white fish fillet – we used hake – cut into 4 pieces
  • a handful of chopped coriander

Put the cleaned mussels into a large pan and add 500ml of water. Cover with a lid, bring to the boil and cook until the mussels have opened (a couple of minutes).

Remove the mussels from the liquid but keep the cooking water, you need to strain this through a fine sieve. Remove the mussels from the shells and set aside.

Heat a splash of oil in a deep frying pan, then fry the shallots over a gentle heat until softened. Add the mustard seeds, chilli powder and turmeric, and continue cooking for another few minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

Pour in the reserved mussel stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Lay the pieces of fish in the liquid and cook briefly until opaque (just a couple of minutes should do it). Return the mussels to the pan, season to taste with salt, and stir in the coriander.

(Original recipe from Eat by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2013.)

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Cheddar Cheese Risotto

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 6 April 2020| 6 Comments »

Cheddar Cheese Risotto

We found Nigella Express on our bookshelves and thought it might be useful these days when we’re looking for simplicity and store cupboard ingredients. This is Nigella’s Cheddar cheese risotto that we made with some limp looking scallions and the dregs from a packet of chives. Also popular with the 6 year old.

Wine Suggestion: A full-bodied white with texture, depth and importantly a freshness to make it feel lighter than the body and rich food demand. Our choice the Rustenberg Chardonnay, a stand-by exemplar of an oaked Chardonnay.

Cheddar cheese risotto – serves 2 adults and 1 child

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • a few scallions, chopped
  • 300g risotto rice
  • ½ tsp Dijon mustard
  • 125ml white wine
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock
  • 125g cheddar cheese, cubed
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives

Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan, then add the scallions and cook until softened.

Pour in the rice and stir for a minute so the rice is all coated in the butter and oil.

Turn up the heat, then add the Dijon mustard and white wine. Keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed.

Gradually add the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring until absorbed before adding another. Keep going like this until the rice is al dente – about 18 minutes.

Stir in the cubes of cheese and keep stirring until the cheese has melted. Taste for seasoning, then ladle into warm bowls. Top with some chives if you have them.

(Original recipe from Nigella Express, Chatto & Windus, 2007.)

 

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Shakshuka

Posted in Brunch, Food, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 5 April 2020| 8 Comments »

Shakshuka

We needed a green pepper for another dish, but could only get a mixed bag of three leaving us with a red and yellow pepper needing to be used. The clocks have changed and so we had brunch, very unusual in this house where our human alarm clocks goes off at 6am most days. Jono has been mastering a new skill and so we had this with freshly baked sourdough. Don’t think we’ll be eating another bite until this evening!

Shakshuka – serves 2

  • 1 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil (we used olive oil)
  • 1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
  • 1 red pepper, finely sliced
  • 1 yellow pepper, finely sliced
  • 3 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
  • 1 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika
  • 400g tin of cherry tomatoes
  • 115g baby spinach (we used frozen spinach, boil for a minute or two to wilt, then drain, squeeze out water with hands and chop)
  • 4 medium eggs
  • ½ small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
  • ½ small bunch of dill, roughly chopped (we didn’t have any dill but used some fennel fronds)

Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add the onions and peppers and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until starting to soften. Add the garlic and spices and stir for another minute, then add the tomatoes, spinach and 100ml of water. Turn the heat down and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Season to taste.

Make four indentations in the mixture and gently crack an egg into each one (we find it easier to crack the eggs into mugs and pour them in). Cover with a lid or foil and cook over a low heat for 8-10 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Scatter over the herbs and serve.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Greek Lamb with Orzo

Posted in Food, Greek, Lamb, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 4 April 2020| 4 Comments »

Greek Lamb with Orzo

A treat for the weekend without too many ingredients. There is also just a tiny bit of work at the start and then this can be left to pretty much cook itself for a few hours. You can serve with crusty bread or just by itself.

Wine Suggestion: we think that a southern French blend like Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre is a really good combination as long as the wine is fresh and not too jammy. Tonight we enjoyed the Domaine de Cébène Faugeres “Felgaria” which had a majority of Mourvedre and was pure, elegant and expressive with spices and warm aromas.

Greek lamb with orzo – serves 6

  • 1kg shoulder of lamb, cut into large cubes
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 1 tbsp chopped oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1.2 litres hot chicken or veg stock
  • 400g orzo
  • freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Put the lamb into a large casserole dish with the onions, oregano, ground cinnamon, cinnamon sticks and olive oil. Toss with your hands to ensure everything is coated with oil. Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Add the tomatoes and stock, then cover and return to the oven for a further 1½ hours or until the lamb is meltingly tender. You can throw away the cinnamon sticks at this point.

Stir in the orzo and return to the oven again, with the lid on. Cook for another 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the orzo is cooked and the sauce has thickened. Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Spaghetti with Roasted Red Mullet

Posted in Fish, Food, Italian, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , , on 3 April 2020| Leave a Comment »

Spaghetti with Roasted Red Mullet

It feels a bit weird posting recipes like this but at the same time we think its important to remember that there are no food shortages. The fish shops are open and fishermen continue to fish and while this continues, we’re going to make the most of it.

Wine Suggestion: a good rule of thumb when matching wines is to look at the source of the food and see what is being grown nearby. Today, an Italian seafood pasta drags us to the Poggio ai Ginepri Vermentino, grown on the Tuscan coast; both floral and salty in equal amounts with a good dollop of tasty fruit in the middle.

Spaghetti with roasted red mullet – serves 2

  • 4 small fillets of red mullet – ask the fish shop to fillet them for you and make sure you check them over for tiny bones
  • a handful of black olives, pitted
  • a dried chilli or half a tsp of dried chilli flakes
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • your best extra virgin olive oil
  • some fresh thyme, leaves stripped
  • 200g spaghetti

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.

Prick the cherry tomatoes with a fork, then toss with a little olive oil, season and spread over a baking tray. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Put the fillets of red mullet in a single layer in a shallow baking dish, sprinkle with thyme and the dried chilli, then season. Drizzle with oil and roast in the oven for 5 minutes.

Cook the spaghetti in loads of salty water until al dente. Drain and return to the pan.

Add the olives and tomatoes to the pasta with 1 tbsp of olive oil and season. Add the red mullet and toss gently, then serve.

(Original recipe from Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes form the London River Cafe by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, Clarkson Potter, 2006)

 

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Purple Sprouting Broccoli Pasta Bake

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 2 April 2020| 4 Comments »

Purple Sprouting Broccoli Pasta Bake

We’ve been cooking pretty much as usual since Covid-19 struck and we’ve all had to stay home. We are trying even harder than usual though to use what we already have. The only fresh ingredient you need here is broccoli, we used purple sprouting as it’s in season but any broccoli will do. Hopefully you have everything else in your cupboard or fridge already, if not the corner shop should have it.

Wine Suggestion: a simple white wine with a bit of freshness and texture is all that is needed here. Our selection is the Macchialupa Falanghina from Benevento in Campania, Italy, which over delivers but is joyfully fresh and vibrant.

PSB and Pasta Bake – serves 4

  • 250-300g broccoli, cut into florets (we use stalks and all)
  • 250-300g penne pasta (or whatever short pasta you have)
  • 25g butter
  • 25g plain flour
  • 300ml milk
  • 2 large handfuls of grated Cheddar cheese (or any leftover cheese)
  • 1 tbsp grainy mustard (or any mustard)

Cook the pasta in loads of salty boiling water and add the broccoli for the last 4 minutes. Drain and leave to steam dry in the pot.

Make a cheese sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the flour. Keep stirring for a minute, then gradually add the milk, a little at a time, stirring all the time. Keep stirring now until the mixture bubbles, then leave to simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the mustard, one large handful of cheese and plenty of seasoning.

Tip the cooked pasta and broccoli into the sauce and stir gently. Tip into an ovenproof dish and put under a hot grill for a few minutes until browned and bubbling.

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Paneer Tikka Masala

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Indian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 1 April 2020| Leave a Comment »

Paneer Tikka Masala

Being thankful for sunshine and all we have this evening. The clocks will change tomorrow and hopefully things will take a turn for the better soon. In the meantime stay at home and eat well. This is super straightforward but flavour-packed! Serve with steamed basmati rice and naan bread from your local takeaway.

Wine Suggestion: A lager style beer. To be a little “craft”, even though they’ve been brewing since 1824, we chose the C&A Veltins Grevensteiner Helles which had character and smoothness in equal proportions.

Paneer tikka masala – serves 3

  • 3 tbsp curry powder (the recipe suggests tikka curry powder, we had hot so that’s what we got)
  • 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • 200g paneer, cut into small cubes
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1 tbsp groundnut oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 400g passata
  • 2 tsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp double cream
  • a knob of butter
  • a handful of chopped coriander
  • steamed basmati rice and naan bread (to serve)

Mix the 1 tbsp of the curry powder and the yoghurt together in a bowl, then stir in the paneer and peppers and leave to marinade while you make the sauce.

Heat the oil in a pan, then add the onion and cook until soft and starting to brown a little. Add the ginger and garlic and continue cooking for a couple of minutes.

Stir in the remaining 2 tbsp of curry powder and stir until fragrant, then stir in the passata, tomato purée and sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in the cream and cook for another couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the grill to high. Spread the paneer and pepper out over a non-stick baking tray or a tray lined with foil, then place under the grill until charred and sizzling. Turn everything over to brown on both sides.

Tip the panner and peppers into the sauce, add a knob of butter, the coriander and some seasoning and cook for a couple of minutes. Serve the curry with rice and naan.

(Original recipe by Janine Ratcliffe in BBC Olive Magazine, March 2020)

 

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