We love recipes like this; perfect for using up bits and pieces and super tasty.
Wine Suggestion: There’s a vibrancy to this food and we matched it with Ventenac’s “Dissidents” le Paria, a fresh-fruited, minerally grenache. Lovely light spices, a stony core of texture and bright plums and cherry flavours.
Green Spiced Rice – serves 2-3
150g frozen broad beans
400ml vegetable stock
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
200g basmati rice
a slice of butter
a few sliced mushrooms
a large carrot, coarsely grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
a handful of coriander, roughly chopped
a few handfuls of spinach
Cook the broad beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and pop them out of the skins.
Wilt the spinach is a saucepan, then leave to cool. Squeeze out any excess liquid if necessary and chop.
Pour the vegetable stock into a saucepan, then add the curry paste and the rice. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until almost tender and most of the liquid absorbed.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan, then fry the mushrooms until lightly coloured. Add the rice and carrot to the pan with the broad beans. Stir until the rice is moist but no longer wet, then add the eggs and season. Keep cooking, stirring now and then to break up the egg, until it is lightly cooked. Fold through the chopped spinach and coriander, then serve.
(Original recipe from Eat by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2013.)
This granola from Dishoom has only a hint of sweetness and is much more nutty with hints of butter and spice so it makes a great foil to any fresh or poached fruit (here with Nigella’s pomegranate-poached quinces). It’s also great with just some creamy yoghurt, we loved it. The kitchen smells incredible as it toasts!
Dishoom Granola – makes 10-12 portions
200g rolled oats
100g almonds
80g cashew nuts
75g pistachio nuts
45g desiccated coconut
70g sunflower seeds
70g pumpkin seeds
20g sesame seeds
100g acacia honey
100g unsalted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Heat the oven to 210C/190C fan/Gas 6-7.
Line two large baking trays with baking parchment.
Mix the oats, nuts, desiccated coconut and seeds together in a big bowl.
Put the honey, butter and ground cinnamon into a small saucepan and heat gently until the butter is just melted. Pour over the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix well.
Divide the mixture between the baking trays and spread evenly, just a wooden spoon to pat it down. Put one tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and mix well, then press it down again. Bake for another 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before you stir or move it. Repeat with the other tray.
Store in an airtight container and use within a month.
(Original recipe from Dishoom by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar & Naved Nasir, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.)
You could have these for dessert with some crème fraîche but we like them for breakfast with yoghurt and granola.
Pomegranate-poached quinces – serves 6
700ml pure pomegranate juice
300ml cold water
350g caster sugar
3 fresh bay leaves
1 tsp pink peppercorns
a few sprigs of thyme
pomegranate seeds, to serve (we skipped these)
Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan.
Put the pomegranate juice, water and sugar into a heavy casserole with a lid. Stir well, then add the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. Put the casserole over a low heat and leave to warm gently.
Peel, quarter and core the quinces and add to the pan with the pomegranate juice.
Bring to the boil, then scrunch up a piece of baking paper, slightly bigger than the pan, then unscrunch again and press down on top of the quinces, tucking it in and up the sides of the pan. Cover with the lid and place in the oven.
Cook for 1½-2 hours or until tender. Remove the lid and baking paper, then scoop out the quinces with a spoon. Strain the liquid, then return to the heat and bubble until reduced by half. Pour the liquid back over the quinces and leave to cool. Keep in the fridge until ready to eat, they keep well for a few days.
(Original recipe from Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson, Chatto & Windus, 2020)
It’s about this time of year when we usually get a bit tired of root veg and starting craving food more associated with Spring. Not so this year and largely due to Gill Meller who can do wonders with winter veg. Baked potatoes stuffed with celeriac didn’t sound super appealing to us but we can assure you these are delicious!
Wine Suggestion: a winter white called tonight: Jean-Michel Gerin’s La Champine Viognier from a young vineyard near their Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu vineyards. Great value from this top maker and while not as rich as their Condrieu it has charming fruit and a fresh purity.
Celeriac baked potatoes – serves 4
4 large baking potatoes
50g unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 small celeriac, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
a handful of dried ceps (or any dried mushrooms)
100ml double cream
100ml full-cream milk
1 tsp dried seaweed flakes (these are optional but we used Dulse Flakes from Aran Islands Seaweed which you can buy online)
a handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
a handful of grated cheddar cheese
Start by baking the potatoes. We like to scrub them, then rub in a little olive oil and sprinkle over some salt. Bake at 220C for 20 minutes then turn the heat down to 200C and cook for 40-60 minutes, or until cooked through.
Remove the potatoes from the oven, cut them in half and scoop out the flesh, taking care not to damage the skins. Return the empty shells to the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up.
Meanwhile, heat a heavy pan over a medium-low heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt and start to bubble, then add the onion, garlic, celeriac and dried mushrooms. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring often, until the celeriac is soft. If it starts to catch just add a splash of water and lower the heat. When the celeriac is nice and soft, add the cream, milk, scooped out potato flesh, seaweed flakes and parsley. Stir to combine and season again if needed.
Stuff the crispy potato skins with the celeriac mixture, then place on a baking tray and scatter over the grated cheese. Return to the oven for 12-15 minutes or until hot. Serve with a dressed green salad.
(Original recipe from Root Stem Leaf Flower by Gill Meller, Hardie Grant: Quadrille, 2020.)
Such a simple and foolproof way of cooking rice from Ottolgenghi Simple. This gives a lovely texture and the salsa is delicious. We served with pulled lamb shawarma but it would be great with all sorts of dishes.
Baked mint rice with pomegranate and olive salsa – serves 6
400g basmati rice
50g unsalted butter, melted
800ml boiling water
50g mint (leave 40g on the springs and shred the leaves of the remaining 10g for the salsa)
150g feta, crumbled into 1-2cm pieces
FOR THE SALSA:
40g pitted green olives, thinly sliced
seeds from a small pomegranate
50g walnut halves, lightly roasted and roughly broken
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
Preheat the oven to 230C fan or as high as your oven goes.
Put the rice into a high-sided roasting tin, about 20 x 30cm. Season with ¾ tsp of salt and plenty of pepper, then pour over the melted butter and boiling water. Top with the mint sprigs and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 25 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and the liquid absorbed.
Meanwhile, mix all of the salad ingredients, except the mint leaves, together in a bowl with ¼ tsp of salt. Mix well and set aside.
When the rice is ready, pull the leaves off the mint sprigs and scatter them over the rice, then sprinkle over the feta. Just before serving, stir the shredded mint into the salsa and spoon over the rice.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Simple, Ebury Press, 2018.)
Meera Sodha’s daily Dal that she inherited from her mother. Nothing complex but very satisfying and like so many dishes, tastes better the next day. We served with rice, naan bread from the takeaway, yoghurt and mango chutney.
Daily dal – serves 4
225g red lentils
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
12 peppercorns
4 cloves
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
6cm ginger, peeled and finely grated
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
400g tin plum tomatoes
Rinse the lentils in a sieve until the water runs clear then put into a deep saucepan with a lid. Add 600ml of cold water, then bring to the boil over a medium-high heat. Cover with the lid and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes without stirring, until tender.
Meanwhile, put the oil into another deep saucepan. When hot, add the peppercorns and cloves and stir-fry for a minute, or until fragrant, then add the onion and cook for 8-10 minutes, until golden.
Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for another 4 minutes before adding the chilli powder, coriander, turmeric and salt. Stir well, then add the tinned tomatoes, crushing them with your hand, then cover and simmer gently for about 8 minutes.
The tomatoes should look paste-like now with only a little juice. Add the lentils using a draining spoon, then pour in any remaining water that they were boiling in, a little at a time, or until the consistency is good.
Cover the pan again and cook on a low heat for a final 10 minutes.
Taste and season with salt and more chilli if you like.
(Original recipe from Made in India by Meera Sodha, Penguin: Fig Tree, 2014.)
We often end up with all sorts of odds and ends after cooking at the weekend. So a regular Monday night dinner for us is lots of veggie side dishes, all served together. It’s a bit like a roast dinner but you really don’t need the meat and you get to try lots of new dishes too. We served these with Cooleeney & tarragon cauliflower cheese, roasted parsnips and steamed sprouts. Don’t worry to much about the herbs, just use what you have, parsley on it’s own would be fine.
Put the potatoes into a large saucepan, just cover with boiling water, then simmer for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to steam dry.
Mix all of the persillade ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, add the bacon or pancetta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly caramelised. Add the potatoes, then the butter.
Season with salt and black pepper and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until golden brown all over. Stir in the persillade, then serve.
We made this a little while ago because we had some spare ricotta in the fridge. It was a really tasty mid-week meal with great flavours; lovely with some greens on the side.
Wine Suggestion: Keep it simple and go for a lightly oaked Chardonnay, Domaine Ventenac’s Cuvée Carole is a old favourite that has a lovely light touch.
Stuffed chicken with lemon, capers & chilli – serves 2
2 large chicken breasts, with skin on
4 tbsp ricotta
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tsp capers
1 tsp crushed chilli flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
small handful of parsley
greens to serve or potatoes if you like
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6.
Cut a slit in the side of each chicken breast, then use your fingers to make a pocket.
Mix the ricotta, half the lemon zest, Parmesan, capers, chilli flakes and seasoning in a bowl. Push this mixture into the chicken breasts, then secure with a cocktail stick.
Place the stuffed chicken into an ovenproof dish, drizzle over 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the other tbsp of oil in a saucepan. Add the chopped garlic and cook gently for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, season well, then simmer for about 10 minutes or until thickened.
Spoon the tomato sauce onto plates, top with the chicken and sprinkle over the parsley and the rest of the lemon zest.
(Original recipe by Jennifer Joyce in BBC Good Food Magazine, October 2012.)
We don’t think you can covert sprout haters, but if you do like sprouts, you will love this! Serve with steamed rice.
Wine Suggestion: Albariño is not just great for seafood, its has versatility stamped into its very core and can be used for a good deal of food matching, like this dish here. Tonight’s wine was made by Pazo de Señorans, a distinct favourite in our house. Bone dry but with a lovely creamy core from the 5-6 months on lees.
Brussels Sprouts with Thai Flavours – serves 2-3
400ml coconut milk
1 tbsp Thai green curry paste, we use the Thai Gold brand
1 green chilli, roughly chopped, then pounded in a pestle and mortar
175ml chicken stock
450g Brussels sprouts, cut in half, blanch in boiling salty water for 2 minutes, then drain in a colander and refresh under cold running water
2 kaffir lime leaves, if you use dried ones you need to soak them in some warm water before using
½ tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
20 Thai basil leaves, regular basil will do if you can’t get Thai
1 large red chilli, roughly chopped, then pounded in a pestle and mortar
Heat a wok over a gentle heat. Pour in 110ml of the coconut milk, then add the green curry paste and the green chilli and mix well.
Next, add the stock, the rest of the coconut milk, Brussels sprouts, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, fish sauce, half the basil leaves and the red chilli. Stir constantly over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce boils and foams up. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring all the time to avoid splitting, for about 10 minutes. The sprouts should be tender and the sauce slightly thickened.
Add the rest of the basil, season to taste and serve with steamed rice.
(Original recipe from Cook, Grow, Nourish by Darina Allen, Kyle Books, 2017.)
This soup uses all store cupboard ingredients. You do need fresh coriander but we regularly have an almost full bag of this in the fridge and are happy to have this soup idea to use it up. We make soup almost every week in the winter months and this is definitely one of our favourites. The recipe is from Ottolenghi Simple where they suggest leaving it rough, which we did, but you can blend until smooth if you prefer.
Curried lentil, tomato & coconut soup – serves 4
2 tbsp coconut oil or sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp medium curry powder
¼ tsp chilli flakes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
150g red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
25g coriander stalks, roughly chopped, plus 5g picked leaves to garnish
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
Put the oil into a large saucepan and put over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and caramelised.
Add the curry powder, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger and keep frying for another 2 minutes, stirring all the time.
Add the lentils, stir through for a minute, then add the tomatoes, coriander stalks, 600ml of water, 1 tsp of salt and a lots of black pepper.
Pour the coconut milk into a large bowl and whisk gently until smooth. Set aside 4 tbsp to garnish the bowls, then add the coconut milk to the soup. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer gently for 25 minutes, until the lentils are soft abut still holding their shape. Add a bit more water – 100-150ml – if the soup is too thick.
Divide the soup between warm bowls and garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk and some coriander leaves.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi, Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth, Ebury Press, 2018.)
This was our last feast of 2020, the year that we cooked more than any other. It helped us to have a shared interest and something to entertain us in the evenings when we couldn’t do anything else. We miss sharing our food with friends and family but we’re hoping it will return before too long. We served this with Muhammara (a roasted red pepper and walnut dip), sumac yoghurt (see below) and a rice dish. You need to start a day ahead and in fact it works well if you cook the whole thing in advance and reheat to serve.
Wine Suggestion: A gem of a discovery in 2020 after reading an article by Jancis Robinson was the Thymiopoulos, Jeunes Vignes de Xinomavro. A vibrant and exciting red from Náoussa in Greece this grape we’ll be exploring more as we found it had elegance, hints of Mediterranean sunshine and gentle, middle eastern spices.
Pulled lamb shawarma – serves 8
3 onions, 1 roughly chopped and the other 2 cut into wedges
2 heads of garlic, 1 cut in half horizontally, and 8 cloves from the other roughly chopped
25g piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
20g parsley, roughly chopped
1½ tbsp ground cumin
1½ tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
3 tbsp cider vinegar
60ml olive oil
2-2.5kg lamb shoulder, on the bone
700ml chicken stock
½ a lemon
salt and black pepper
FOR THE SUMAC YOGHURT:
200g Greek-style yoghurt
60g tahini
1½ tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sumac
Make the spice paste by putting the chopped onion into a food processor with the chopped garlic and ginger. Pulse until finely minced, then add the parsley and spices. Pulse for another few seconds, until just combined. Scrape down the sides, then add the vinegar, oil, 2¼ tsp of salt and plenty of black pepper. Pulse again to form a coarse paste, then transfer to a non-metallic container that can hold the lamb.
Pat the lamb dry and pierce all over with a small, sharp knife. Put the lamb into the dish with the spice paste and coat generously in the mixture, so that it is covered on all sides. Cover with foil and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
Take the lamb out of the fridge an hour before you start cooking so it comes to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 140C fan.
Put the onion wedges and the halved garlic bulb into the centre of a large roasting tray and pour over the chicken stock. Sit the lamb on top of the veg, then cover tightly with foil and bake for 4 hours. Remove from the oven, discard the foil and continue to bake for another 90 minutes, increasing the temperature to 160C for the last 30 minutes. The lamb should be very soft and come away easily from the bone. Leave to cool for about 15 minutes, then shred the lamb directly into the pan juices. Transfer the lamb with the pan juices, onions and garlic cloves to a large serving bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice.
To make the sumac yoghurt, put the yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, 2 tbsp water, the sumac and ¼ tsp of salt into a bowl and whisk well to combine.
Serve the lamb with the yoghurt alongside. We served with a rice dish and a dip but you can also serve with pitta breads, sliced tomatoes, red onions and herbs – a lamb shawarma sandwich.
(Original recipe from Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2020.)
We know it’s not broad bean season, but frozen broad beans are right up there with frozen peas as an excellent frozen veg and so we eat them all year round. This is a recipe from Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules and the perfect side dish for fish (or indeed fishfingers if you’re avoiding the shops!). It’s different from our usual potatoes as we tend to add lots of Irish butter, we didn’t miss it here, though we did spread some on the potato skins – it would be a shame to waste them!
Crushed potatoes with broad beans – serves 4 as a side
350g baking potatoes, skins on
50g streaky bacon
4 scallions, thinly sliced
150g frozen broad beans
50g crème fraîche
1 tbsp chopped dill
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Bake the potatoes for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 200C and cook for 40 minutes to 1 an hour, until completely soft inside. You don’t need the skins but this method will give perfectly crispy skins that you can eat with a bit of butter and salt while you finish the dish.
Meanwhile, heat a splash of vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, add the bacon and fry until the fat starts to release. When it starts to crisp, add the scallions and cook for a few minutes to soften.
Cook the broad beans in a pan of salty boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain.
Scoop the warm potato out of the skins and put into a saucepan over a very low heat. Add the beans and crush until smoothish, but still with a bit of texture. Stir in the crème fraîche and dill, then season generously with salt and black pepper.
Spoon the bacon and its fat over the dish and serve.
(Original recipe from Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.)
Growing up in Northern Ireland Jules often had mince and potatoes for dinner. The “mince” was minced beef with carrot and onions in gravy and it was served with boiled potatoes. We saw this recipe recently in a book of ‘British Classics’ where it was served with dumplings. Dumplings definitely did not feature on Jules’ childhood dinner table, so we left these out and served it with champ. A huge hit with the 7 year old and much more economical than many of our other weekend recipes.
Wine Suggestion: Keep it simple and choose a Grenache & Syrah blend like a Côtes du Rhône or similar. Rich enough but generally easy drinking with lovely bramble and spice flavours. Our current “find” is Jean-Paul Daumen’s version which balances this ease with a good dollop of class.
Mince – serves 6
2 tbsp veg oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely sliced
2 carrots, diced
500g beef mince
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
450ml beef stock
a pinch of caster sugar
1 bay leaf
Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion, garlic, celery and carrots for 15 minutes or until softened and lightly browned.
Add the beef mince and cook for another 5 minutes, until it starts to brown. Break the mince up with a wooden spoon as it browns.
Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, beef stock, sugar and bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover with a lid if it reduces too much but you want it to be nicely thickened.
Serve with green veg and potatoes.
(Original recipe from The Hairy Bikers’ British Classics by Si King & Dave Myers, Seven Dials, 2018.)
The trick, as with all gratin’s, is to slice the vegetables really thinly. Invest in a mandolin, or use your food processor’s slicing blade, and you’ll get even slices that will cook at the same time. This dish has a lovely festive feel to it and would be great as a side dish for roast chicken (or turkey) or a rich casserole. We served just as it was with some steamed broccoli which was good too.
There was no cheese in the original recipe so feel free to leave it out. We’re still working our way through the cheese mountain in the fridge.
Creamy vegetable gratin with chestnuts and cranberries – serves 4 as a main, 6 as a side
400g potatoes
300g parsnips
300g celeriac
425ml double cream
140ml sour cream
85ml full-fat milk
2 cloves of garlic, very finely sliced
leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
butter, to grease the dish
50g dried cranberries
100g cooked chestnuts, sliced
a large handful of grated Parmesan
a large handful of grated Cheddar/Gruyere
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Slice the potatoes, parsnips and celeriac very finely, use a mandolin if you have one.
In a large saucepan, mix the creams and milk together, then bring to just under the boil. Add the sliced veg, garlic and thyme and cook gently for 5 minutes.
Season generously and spoon half the vegetables into a buttered gratin dish. Sprinkle the cranberries and chestnuts on top and half of the cheese, then add another layer of vegetables and the rest of the cheese over the top.
Bake for 1 hour or until completely tender. You may need to cover with foil after 45 minutes to stop it browning too much.
(Original recipe from Food from Plenty by Diana Henry, Mitchell Beazley, 2010.)
We made this on the first of January. We don’t do veggie January or veganuary but after all the rich food of November and December we were looking forward to some lighter dishes and this felt just right; both elegant and light, but full of lovely layers of flavour and textures.
Wine Suggestion: serve this with an umami rich red wine, but one that isn’t too fruity and rich either. If you can plump for an older, good Barolo lucky you, but tonight we were still lucky enough to have Domaine Jamet’s Côtes du Rhône: 100% northern Rhône Syrah with depth and personality, plums and brambles, peppery spice and savouriness.
Shiitake pho with crispy leeks – serves 4
4 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra for shallow-frying
4 banana shallots, thinly sliced (just use an onion if you don’t have shallots)
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 leeks, 1 sliced the other shredded into long strips
2 bird’s eye chillies, very finely chopped
375g fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp light soy sauce
6 scallions, very finely sliced
2 litres vegetable stock (vegan if you wish)
200g flat rice noodles
a large handful of fresh coriander leaves, shredded
1 lime, quartered
You need a very big pot for this, at least 3 litres.
Heat the oil in the large pot and fry the shallots for 5 minutes. Add the ginger, star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick, then fry for another 5 minutes or until starting to colour and stick.
Add the finely sliced leek, chillies and mushrooms, and stir-fry for 8-10 minutes, until softened, then add the soy sauce, half the scallions and the stock. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down very low and leave to simmer. Season to taste with salt.
Meanwhile, fry the shredded leek. Pour enough oil into a frying pan to come up to 1cm up the sides, then heat over a medium flame until very hot. Fry the shredded leek in batches, until crispy and golden, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the pack and drain.
To serve, divide the noodles between 4 large bowls, then ladle the broth on top. Scatter with the coriander, the crispy leeks, scallions and a squeeze of lime.
(Original recipe from East by Meera Sodha, Fig Tree, 2019.)
This is a fish dish but the star of the show is definitely the Jerusalem artichokes, which soak up all the bacon fat. A stunner of a winter fish dish by Gill Meller who is fast becoming one of our favourite recipe writers.
Wine Suggetion: You need a good white that suits both fish, the rich bacon and earthy Jerusalem artichokes. Soalheiro’s Alvarinho from northern Portugal is a firm favourite and is both minerally-fresh and also texturally full-bodied.
500g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 red onions, cut into wedges
250g smoked bacon lardons
a small bunch of thyme
4 garlic cloves, bashed, no need to peel
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large bream (about 1kg) or another white fish, we used two small bream to serve 2
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 6.
Scatter the artichokes, onion, bacon, thyme and garlic over a large heavy roasting tray or dish. Drizzle over the olive oil and season well with salt and black pepper.
Cover loosely with some baking parchment, then roast for 35-45 minutes or until the artichokes are tender, give everything a toss occasionally.
Slash the fish 3-4 times on each side, then lay on top of the artichokes. Baste the fish with some bacon fat, then season the fish with salt and pepper. Turn over onto the other side and baste and season again.
Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. The flesh should come away easily from the bone.
(Original recipe from Time by Gill Meller, Quadrille, 2018.)
Pure pumpkin flavour is what you get in this soup from Marcus Wareing. The maple-toasted seeds on top definitely make it a bit special. Our favourite pumpkin variety is Crown Prince.
Pumpkin soup with maple-toasted seeds – serves 8
1 pumpkin, approximately 2kg
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
125g butter
1 tsp sea salt
250ml milk
FOR THE MAPLE-TOASTED SEEDS:
60 pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp maple syrup
½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
¼ tsp sea salt
Peel and quarter the pumpkin and reserve the skin and seeds.
Cut the pumpkin flesh into 2cm chunks, and set aside.
Put the skin, seeds and trimmings into a large saucepan with the bay leaf, rosemary and 2.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour, then strain and reserve the stock.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Mix the pumpkin seeds with the maple syrup, olive oil and salt. Scatter over a baking tray and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Remove and allow to cool, then roughly chop.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then add the pumpkin chunks and 1 tsp of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes or until starting to soften.
Pour in about half the pumpkin stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, until the pumpkin is completely soft and starting to break down. Stir in the milk, remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaf. Blend with a stick blender or processor until completely smooth, adding more stock if needed. Season to taste.
Serve the soup scattered with the pumpkin seeds and drizzled with some good olive oil.
(Original recipe from Marcus at Home by Marcus Wareing, HarperCollins Publishers, 2016.)
We don’t need to convincing to eat turnip but it is even more delicious with crispy bacon, onions and heaps of black pepper.
Turnip with bacon & onions – serves 4 to 6
900g turnip, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
50g smoked bacon, diced
50g butter
Steam the turnip for about 10 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and gently sauté the onion and bacon until the bacon is crispy and onion starting to colour.
Roughly mash the turnip with the butter, then season with salt and lots of black pepper.
To serve, put the turnip into a warm dish and sprinkle with the bacon and onions.
(Original recipe from Nevan Maguire’s Complete Family Cookbook)
Inspired by a clip we saw of Marcus Wareing while browsing online one lazy Sunday. Dead easy, we wish we’d discovered this method before and will be doing this from now on. The trick is getting the moisture out of the potatoes, and the result is crusty potato with a moist soft centre. We served with barbecued bacon and poached eggs.
Potatoes for two people – we used three medium ones
a small onion or shallot
butter
Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes. Spread out on a tray and sprinkle with salt.
Coursely grate the onion.
After a few minutes put the grated potato into the middle of a clean tea towel and twist up over a sink. Squeeze out all the liquid – make sure it’s dry.
Mix grated potato and onions in a bowl and season generously.
Heat a little vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over a medium heat and when hot add the potato mix. Use a spoon to flatten out into a circle and then push the sides inwards to shape and form into a cake. Fry until starting to form a crust; you’ll need to lift an edge and peak to find out.
Place a plate the same size as the rosti on top of it and turn the pan over holding the plate as well. Slide the rosti back into the pan, now crusty side up. Put generous lumps of butter around the cooking rosti. Fry this side until crusty underneath too.
We had to try this idea from Gill Meller’s book Gather in order to use some dulse flakes from Aran Islands Seaweed. The dulse flakes give a smoky umami flavour to the dish. It takes a while in the oven but it otherwise very simple and tastes even better if made in advance, as stews often do. We served with creamy mash, cabbage and turnip for a hearty Sunday lunch.
Wine Suggestion: A dish that needs a suitably rich red wine to match; one where the rich fruit has high levels of anthocyanins and phenols in a ripe framework. The Altosur Malbec from Tuppangato (the highest part of the Mendoza area) in Argentina came out of the rack and its blackberry, blueberry and plum flavours with brambly, rich tannins was an ample choice.
Beef shin with dulse – serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
800g beef shin, sliced thickly
2 onions, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
3-4 sprigs of thyme
½ a glass of red wine
2-3 tsp powdered smoked dulse (we used dulse flakes, see note above)
300ml chicken stock or water
Heat the oven to 120C/Gas 1.
Heat the oil in a heavy flameproof casserole. Season the beef shin well with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides until it takes on a really-good colour all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion, garlic, celery and thyme and cook gently over a low heat until the onions are soft but not coloured. Return the meat the pan, then add the wine, dulse and stock or water and bring to a gentle simmer.
Cover the casserole with a lid and place in the oven for 4-5 hours, or until the meat falls apart easily. Season to taste and leave to rest for 25 minutes before serving with mash and other veg.
(Original recipe from Gather by Gill Meller, Quadrille, 2016.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 