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Don’t ever buy houmous!

Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on 10 July 2011| Leave a Comment »

HummusHoumous is very cheap to make and is almost instant if you use tinned chickpeas. You will get at least three times the quantity of one of those little supermarket tubs from this recipe. It also tastes great and is really healthy.

Hummus 

  • 2 tins of chickpeas, drained, reserving some of the liquid
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Crush the garlic with some salt until it becomes a paste. Put the chickpeas, tahini and garlic in a blender or food processor and puree a little and then season with salt. Add the lemon juice and continue blitzing until smooth. Scrape out into a bowl and mix the olive oil in well. If it’s a bit dry add some of your reserved liquid. Check that there is enough salt. Sprinkle with the paprika and drizzle another bit of olive oil over the top.

(Original recipe from ‘Falling cloudberries’ by Tessa Kiros)

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Multi-vegetable paella

Posted in Food, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 5 July 2011| 5 Comments »

Another recipe from our favourite veggie cookbook, Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. This is easy-peasy with fantastic results. A long list of ingredients but you may have some of the spices in the cupboard already and the vegetables are all in season so you should be able to pick them up for relatively cheap. We thought the olives weren’t really necessary so if you don’t have any you could leave them out.

Multi-veg paella – to serve 2 generously (but you’ll manage it)

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • half a Spanish onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small red and 1 small yellow pepper, cut into strips
  • half a fennel bulb (we just used the whole fennel bulb), cut into strips
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 15og Calasparra rice (or another paella rice – or if you’re stuck long-grain rice will do)
  • 100ml good-quality medium Sherry (we never go by Lustau)
  • 1 tsp saffron threads
  • 450ml boiling vegetable stock
  • 200g shelled broad beans (fresh or frozen)
  • 12 mini plum tomatoes, halved
  • 5 small grilled artichokes in oil from a jar, drained
  • 15 pitted Kalamata olives, crushed or halved
  • 2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
  • 4 lemon wedges

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan, or large shallow frying pan, and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the peppers and fennel and continue frying on a medium heat for about 6 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the bay leaves, paprika, turmeric and cayenne to the vegetables and stir well. Then add the rice and stir for 2 minutes before adding the sherry and saffron. Boil down for a minute, then add the stock and 1/2 tsp salt. Reduce the heat to the minimum and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Don’t cover the pan and don’t stir it.

Meanwhile, pour plenty of boiling water over the broad beans in a bowl and leave for a minute, then drain and leave to cool down. Squeeze each bean gently to remove the skin.

Take the paella pan off the heat. Taste and add more salt if needed but still try not to stir it too much. Scatter the tomatoes, artichokes and broad beans over the rice and cover tightly with foil. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Take the foil off. Scatter the olives on top and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with the lemon wedges.

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Summer Sunday Dinner – Loin of Pork with herbs and peas

Posted in Food, Pork, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 4 July 2011| Leave a Comment »

Here is the promised second recipe from Pork & Sons. We don’t usually do traditional Sunday lunch style food in the summer but this looked suitably summery so we have made an exception. A really impressive lunch for friends and looks great served on a great big plate. If you don’t have herbs growing in the garden we suggest you go raid someone else’s!

There are some dishes where you can’t stop eating, even if you are totally stuffed … and this is one of them!

Pork fillet with herbs & petits pois – to serve 6

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • pork loin, about 1.2kg
  • 200g smoked lardons (we bought a piece of smoked pancetta and chopped it up)
  • 3 shallots, halved & 6 baby onions (we used all shallots)
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 175ml white wine
  • 8 sage leaves
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1kg frozen petits pois
  • 25g unsalted butter
  • 3 fresh tarragon sprigs
  • 6 fresh basil leaves

Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole. Add the pork and cook over a medium-high heat, turning now and then for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown all over (make sure you get good colour at this stage as it won’t go any browner).

Lower the heat, add the lardons, shallots and garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until the shallots are softened and lightly coloured. Pour in the white wine and add the sage leaves, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and onions. Cover and simmer, basting often, for an hour and a half. If it seems to be drying out, add a little water.

Near the end of the cooking time, cook the peas in salted boiling water, then drain. Add the butter, tarragon and basil to the casserole and stir in the peas. Season and serve.

Wine suggestion: We had something a bit special with this – a Ch. Rayas white from 2001. For a similar effect go for a white Côtes du Rhône – if you’re lucky enough to be in possession of a Ch. Rayas then run with that!

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A nice story about Pork & Sons (and a chorizo tortilla)

Posted in Pork, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on 3 July 2011| 1 Comment »

We flicked through Stéphane Raynaud’s Pork & Sons book in a fabulous pub in England called The Nut Tree. We had the nicest lunch and Jono got so over-excited he proposed just after (though I think he might of had that bit planned before he wooed me with the nice lunch)[I had actually been planning it for about 4 months – Jono]. We had to buy the book after all that,  it’s been on our shelves for over a year now and we have only managed to cook one recipe (see Sunday Barbecue Kebabs). Believe me that is no reflection on the book which is outstanding – though you do have to like pig. So we’ve gone for two porky recipes this weekend and this is the first. Really easy for a Friday night when energy levels are generally low but you want something really tasty – it’s now on our list of things to cook for friends. We found the recipe timings were a bit out which may be down to our cooker so excuse the vague instructions – don’t let it put you off, we promise it works.

Chorizo tortilla – to serve 6

  • 120ml olive oil, plus a bit extra for brushing
  • 600g small potatoes, cut into large cubes
  • 200g chorizo sausage, sliced
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 5 eggs
  • 100ml double cream
Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F/Gas Mark 1/2). Brush an ovenproof dish with oil – we used a deep pie dish.

Heat 5 tbsps of the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the potatoes and cook over a medium heat until just beginning to colour – they also need to be fairly soft but not falling apart. Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in another pan. Add the chorizo and onions and cook over a low heat until the onions have softened. When both are nice and soft and smell delicious you can mix the onion, chorizo and potatoes together. Beat the eggs until foaming ,then add the cream.

Spoon the chorizo mix into your dish and pour over the beaten eggs to cover. Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins (or even longer if necessary – I think we left it for 25 to make sure the egg was set and then flashed it under the grill so it went brown on top). You can test it by inserting a knife – it should come out dry.

Serve with a rocket salad – we dressed ours with a mustardy vinaigrette which was good.

Wine suggestion: Our first thoughts were a Spanish red but in the end we went for a white with a bit of structure – think Chardonnay or another oaked white like Bordeaux.

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Superhealthy Chicken Bake

Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 29 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

Until very recently we had terrible trouble finding skinless, boneless chicken thighs but lately we’ve got them in M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury’s. They are really cheap and much tastier than chicken breasts that can dry out easily. We now have a freezer full of them (just in case they become illusive again) so expect plenty more ideas for chicken thighs here over the next while. All this dish requires is minimal chopping, bung it all in the one pan and bake – perfect for a weeknight (and it’s really healthy too!).

Chicken bake – serves 2

  • about 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 6 new or salad potatoes, halved
  • 1/2 a lemon, cut into wedges
  • 6 cloves of garlic, skins left on
  • 1 red pepper, siced
  • a few thyme sprigs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 25g pitted black olives
  • 250g cherry tomatoes

Heat the oven to 200C/180F/gas 6.

Put the chicken, potatoes, lemon, garlic, pepper and thyme onto a large baking tray. Drizzle the oil over and season. Then roast for 30 minutes.

Add the olives and tomatoes and roast for another 10 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are browned and cooked through.

We served this with a rocket salad.

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Spanish chickpea, chorizo & spinach stew

Posted in Food, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on 11 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

Yes we do know that it’s June but our weather has been much more suitable for stew than salad in the last few weeks – it’s freezing! If we weren’t so stingy we’d turn the heating back on. As central heating in June is against our principles we’ve had to resort to stew instead. It’s kind of a summery stew as it’s full of spinach which is in season now and is also very good for you.

Hopefully we’ve convinced you that it’s ok to eat stew in June.

Spanish chickpea, chorizo & spinach stew – to feed 4

  • 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 celery stick, finely diced
  • few sprigs of thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 200g chorizo, diced
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp hot smoked paprika (it’s more common to find the sweet (dulce) one here so just add a bit of chilli powder as well)
  • 2 tins of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1-2 tbsp Sherry vinegar
  • 400g spinach leaves, washed and drained
  1. Heat the oil in a big pan, then gently fry the onion for 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften. Stir in the carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaves. Season and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring now and then. Add the garlic, chorizo, cinnamon and smoked paprika. Fry gently until the vegetables soften and the chorizo starts to crisp up and release its oils.
  2. Stir in the chickpeas, vinegar and 150ml of water, then bring to a simmer for 1-2 minutes until the chickpeas have heated up. Add the spinach, then stir through the chickpeas until it wilts a bit – it will all fit in just be patient!
  3. Season and serve with some crusty bread to mop up juice.
Wine Suggestion: A spanish red would be good – try a Joven (young), fruity Rioja or  do like the Spanish and have a glass of Sherry.
(Original recipe by Thomasina Myers for BBC Good Food)

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Spicy Houmous

Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , on 20 May 2011| Leave a Comment »

Well here’s a nice tasty houmous and a bit different from the one we’re all used too. We love houmous but it sometimes has that over-powering thing you get from raw garlic (no matter how little you use). This one uses some cooked red onions and indian spices for flavour instead and it’s a winner!

Red onion & Indian-spiced houmous

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • a red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp each of cumin seeds and coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tsp finely chopped coriander
  • pitta bread or grilled soft tortilla to serve
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and fry the onion until soft and getting a bit of colour. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
Toast the spices for a couple of minutes on a low heat and then grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle.
Blitz the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, ground spices, some salt, coriander and red onion in a food processor until smooth.
Serve dressed with some olive oil and something crunchy to dip in it.
P.S. We spread the leftovers on soft tortillas and stuffed them with roasted veggies and rocket for lunch to take to work.

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Steak with Cheesy Mushrooms & Chips

Posted in Barbecue, Beef, Food, Side dish, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on 11 March 2011| 1 Comment »

A really big thanks to our neighbour Nigel for giving us these lovely steaks; we hope the BBQ smells were good for you too!

So the other bits we did were cheesy mushrooms from Jamie’s 30 minute meals and some home-made oven chips which are way better than the ones you buy in a bag.

Jamie’s Cheesy Mushrooms – for 4

  • 4 large flat Portobello mushrooms (about 250g in total)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 a red chilli
  • 2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 a lemon
  • 70g mature Cheddar cheese

Trim the mushroom stalks and put them in a small earthenware dish so they fit pretty snug.

Crush 1/2 a garlic clove over each mushroom.

Finely chop the chilli and parsley and divide between the mushrooms.

Grate over the zest of half a lemon and drizzle well with olive oil and season.

Cut the cheese into 4 chunks and put 1 on each mushroom.

Grill on the top shelf for 9-10 minutes or until golden.

N.B. We couldn’t find Portobello mushrooms today so we used field mushrooms instead. They were nowhere near cooked in this time so we stuck them on the BBQ for 5 minutes to finish them off. If you can only find field mushrooms it might be best to cook the bottoms of them on the BBQ or griddle pan or even a frying pan first before finishing with the other ingredients under the grill.

Oven chips

Heat your oven to as hot as it goes.

Cut your potatoes into 1 cm thick slices and then cut the slices into chips about 1cm thick.

Cook the chips in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain really well.

Spread the chips out on a baking tray and drizzle with vegetable or groundnut oil and season.  Make sure all the chips are coated with oil but you don’t need to use very much.

Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Wine Suggestion: We had an Argentinian Malbec – perfect with steak!

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Austro-Hungarian Goulash

Posted in Uncategorized on 31 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

This is an Austrian recipe but the paprika that I use comes from Hungary. If your friends have got a cheap flight to Budapest make sure they grab you some ‘hot’ (not sweet!) paprika. They sell it everywhere in big packets and it is very cheap. I have tried many other hot paprikas and they just ain’t the same (but will do if you’re not going to Hungary any time soon).

N.B. Whatever you do don’t use Spanish smoked paprika as it would completely ruin a dish used in theses quantities!

Goulash for 4-6:

  • Preheat the oven to 160C.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons sunflower oil in a casserole until very hot.
  • Brown 1kg braising steak pieces (do it in a few batches) and set aside.
  • Add another tablespoon sunflower oil along with 2 large chopped onions and 2 large chopped garlic cloves. Cook on a low heat for around 10 minutes or until they are nice and soft.
  • Return the meat and its juice to the casserole and blend in 2 rounded tablespoons hot paprika, 3 tablespoons tomato purée, 2 tablespoons wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon oregano and a bay leaf.
  • Tip in a 400g tin of tomatoes and break them up with a spoon.
  • Add 350ml beef stock (from a cube is fine), season and bring to the boil.Stir, cover and put it in the oven for 2 and a half hours.
  • Halfway through add 2 large red peppers cut into rings.

Serve with plain boiled potatoes and a dollop of soured cream.

Wine suggestion: Quite a kick of spice off this so go for a big juicy red – we had a Syrah from near Montpelier in France, Chateau L’Engarran (their cuvée Quetton St George) which was very nice.


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Spaghetti Chicken

Posted in Uncategorized on 27 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

A lovely weeknight feed using left-over cream and Parmesan from the weekend.

  • Simply take a chicken breast and poach it for 25 minutes, drain, cool and cube.
  • In a frying pan saute the chicken cubes in 25g butter on a medium heat for 5 minutes until lightly browned
  • add 75g sliced chestnut mushrooms, season well with salt and pepper and cook on low for 15 minutes
  • While this is cooking put 175g Spaghetti on to boil in well salted water
  • When the chicken and mushroom is done, stir in 125ml cream and slowly heat through.
  • Serve spaghetti and spoon over the sauce. Sprinkle with 20g grated parmesan.

A tasty meal for 2.

Jono

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My Big Fat Greek Cookbook

Posted in Uncategorized on 27 October 2010| 1 Comment »

We got a new cookbook … as if we don’t have lots already! But we like the publisher Phaidon (Silver Spoon, Pork & Sons) and we like Greek food 🙂 We bought it in our favourite book shop: Chapters on Parnell Street in Dublin, which has a great used section as well as new. This is a new but “non mint” copy and was a bargain at €19! Grab one while you can.

We first tried BBQ Olives. Soak black olives in water for 20 mins and then barbeque for 5 or so, threaded onto a skewer. Remove and sprinkle with oregano. Really delicious.

Next was Chicken Souvlaki which we served with a baked potato and some tzatziki (Vefa tells you how to make this but we cheated and bought a good one in the supermarket). The best thing about the souvlaki was its freshness and how it was so tasty and yet light and healthy.

To serve 4:

  • Put 800g cubed chicken breast into a big bowl, add a pinch of dried oregano and a few tablespoons of olive oil, season with pepper, and toss. Cover and leave in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight – toss now and again.
  • Preheat the grill or light the barbeque.
  • Drain the chicken and thread it onto skewers, alternating with squares of green pepper (2 is plenty) and pieces of onion (about 2 again). Put the drained oil into a screw-top jar with 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and shake like mad.
  • Brush the souvlaki with the mixture.
  • Grill or barbeque, turning and brushing with the marinade, for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is done but watch you don’t overcook it and dry it out.
  • Season with salt, sprinkle with more oregano and serve with Tzatziki.

Jono

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Champagne Linguine – aren’t we posh?

Posted in Uncategorized on 24 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

Not that posh as it happens… we used a sparkling wine from New Zealand (and very nice it was too).

Dinner party on Saturday night meant we had some double cream leftover in the fridge. We also had a fizzy wine so this was Sunday night tea. Easy peasy and just a few ingredients.

Linguine with Champagne for 4

  • Melt 40g butter in a shallow pan over a low heat.
  • Add a finely chopped onion and 50g finely chopped pancetta and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Pour in 200ml Champagne (or any sparkling wine), turn the heat to medium and cook until the alcohol has boiled off.
  • Stir in 2 tablespoons double cream, season carefully and heat for a few minutes.
  • Cook 350g linguine in lots of salty water until al dente.
  • Divide the linguine between 4 bowls and pour over the sauce.
  • Sprinkle some grated Parmesan over and serve with a glass of Champagne.

Thanks again Silver Spoon Pasta.

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Julie’s fascination with pink wine continues

Posted in Uncategorized on 21 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

Pretty Pink WineCostieres de NimesI love pink wine cause it looks girly, makes the table look pretty, and also because it has the same party feel of Champagne but costs considerably less.

Costieres de Nimes is near the southern Rhone and has similar sorts of grape varieties, climate and soils. Recently the quality of the wines have improved massively and the area is much less reliant on the co-operatives which are so widespread in the southern Rhone. So smaller estates have been doing some great things and should provide some excellent value to boot.

I was very excited when I came across this little pink number from one of the more reputable producers: Chateau Mourgues du Gres. Unfortunately it was a bit disappointing. Jono described it as “a low expression wine” and that sums it up really. Smells of not much and tastes of not much. It’s only saving grace was substantial body for a rose wine and a good texture for food. It may also have been better super-chilled on a sunny day rather than coolish in late Autumn.

So the moral of the story is – if you spot a red or white wine from Costieres de Nime, grab it, as you may be in for quite a treat at a reasonable price. If you see a pretty pink wine… well you still might get lucky. You can’t win them all as they say.

Julie

P.S. I have just received an email from a fellow wino who was amazed that I didn’t rate this wine – he did suggest that it may be best drunk at about 18 months to 2 years old. He reckons it has a lovely red fruit character… I’m going to have to try an older bottle to find out…damn life’s hard!

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M&S Meal Deal Wine

Posted in Uncategorized on 21 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

Meal Deal WineMarks & Spencer Meal Deal is just too cheap to resist. Being winos (and being lucky enough to have easy access to lots of good wines) we tend to gather a collection of these to drink at parties or late at night when people have drunk too much already (other people that is, not us of course).

Anyway, with the pasta dish below we thought a glass of something red with a bit of acidity to balance with the tomato would fit the bill… red with a bit of acidity usually means Italian and in fact when cooking dishes from anywhere in the world you can’t go far wrong with something the locals might drink themselves.

So we had the choice of opening something way too good for one glass with dinner on a Wednesday or the wine that came free with the meal deal. You lot may well have been supping on this yourselves or it might be lingering in your party selection.

So what was the verdict? It smells fruity, like dark cherries, with a bitter but not nasty twist. On the palate it is easy-going and fruity though there is a bit of drying sensation…maybe the tannins are a bit out of whack. It did improve when drunk with the pasta however and for €6 (I think that’s how much it cost when not in the deal) we couldn’t fault it really. We even had another glass on Thursday 😉 Julie

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Linguini with Broccoli & Pancetta

Posted in Uncategorized on 20 October 2010| 3 Comments »

We just love “The Silver Spoon” cookbooks: simple sounding recipes that really work and are so tasty 🙂

Tonight we cooked Linguine with Broccoli and Pancetta – simple ingredients but surprisingly delicious!

From the Silver Spoon Pasta book (serves 4):

  • Cut 600g broccoli into florets (and we chopped up the stalks too).
  • Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan. Add 120g diced pancetta and cook on a medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes.
  • Stir in 1 finely chopped clove of garlic and half the broccoli and cook for 5 minutes. Stir every now and again.
  • Stir in 1 tablespoon tomato puree and 150ml vegetable stock (we use Marigold Swiss Bouillon), lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes (or until the broccoli is tender but firm).
  • Cook 350g linguine with the rest of the broccoli in lots of salty water until al dente.
  • Drain, tip into the pan with the sauce and toss over the heat for a few minutes.
  • Sprinkle over 40g grated Parmesan to serve.

Enjoy 😉

Jono

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Maple chicken licken chicken stuff

Posted in Uncategorized on 14 October 2010| 1 Comment »

I love chicken with bones in and crispy skin – and chicken legs are so much cheaper than fillets.

This is tasty enough to do for Sunday lunch and is very little effort indeed.

Get the recipe off the old faithful:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4749/maple-roast-chicken-with-potatoes-and-thyme

Julie

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Stuffed Aubergines

Posted in Uncategorized on 12 October 2010| 2 Comments »

To be honest these were a bit futtery to make… especially at 8.30 on a Monday night when you’re absolutely starved.

Still they tasted great and your veggie friends will be very impressed with your efforts.

Get the recipe from BBC Good Food:

Baked Aubergine stuffed with roast pumpkin, feta and walnut with minted courgettes.

Nice with a glass of leftover Burgundy too 😉

Julie

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More truffle… oh yeah!

Posted in Uncategorized on 12 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

If you happen to have some leftover truffle (and are therefore a very lucky person). Make a simple risotto bianco and grate the truffle over the top. Heaven!

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Truffle Party

Posted in Uncategorized on 12 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

While I was away in Hungary recently I found a stall in the markets selling fresh black truffles: I couldn’t resist!

Despite the look, the truffle had a great smell, so we invited some friends over for a truffle party. 🙂

Jules made retro prawn cocktail for starter and insisted on pink wine to go with it – “cause it looked pretty”.

Jules reckons Nigella’s recipe is best though it sounds rather disgusting (don’t leave out the pink peppercorns cause they look fab and taste good too).

450g cooked prawns, 200g salad cream, 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, few drops Tabasco sauce (or more if you’re brave), and 1 tablespoon pink pepercorns, crushed.

Mix it all together and hey presto – told you it’s a bit gross!

The pink wine went a treat with it too. Domaine de Pellehaut Cotes de Gascogne (on offer for €8.50 in Mitchell’s). Bargain!

Jono then made Orecchiette with peas, pancetta and black truffle as inspired by Giorgio Locatelli.

Quite a simple recipe that takes 100g Pancetta and sweats it in a knob of butter. You then add 8 tablespoons of peas and continue to cook a bit, add some water and cook for 3-4 minutes until peas are tender enough to crush so they resemble mushy peas. While you’re doing this cook some orecchiette for one minute less than recommended then add to mushy peas and pancetta. toss for a couple of minutes to coat pasta, add a tablespoon of grated parmesan and toss again. Finally grate over 25-30g of truffle, toss for the final time and serve.

Simple really, but delicious with a real luxury feel and that something extra special to the taste

We finished the meal with plums and greengages baked in freshly squeezed orange juice, maple syrup and star anise. So tasty I forgot to take a photo!

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Yum Thai Salmon

Posted in Uncategorized on 10 October 2010| Leave a Comment »

Delicious  salmon – the trick is to grill on a really high heat for 4-5 mins in an ovenproof dish so it is slightly under-done … and then to cover it with foil for a few minutes. It emerges cooked, creamy and velvety!

We topped it with quick stir-fried scallions with chilli and ginger and sweet soy sauce: see this recipe from BBC Good Food.

Drank a dry Alsace Riesling with this – it didn’t quite work as the savoury, mineral character fought with the chilli in the sauce. The riesling was delicious the next day with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for lunch 🙂

Jono

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