14 January 2017 by jonoandjules
Our mate Brett got us this genuine Kassler, a pork loin expertly cured and lightly smoked by Ed Hicks in Dun Laoghaire. If you can’t find Kassler use a smoked bacon loin or rack and prepare yourself for the best bacon & cabbage ever.
Wine Suggestion: We chose a classic white Burgundy, 100% Chardonnay made in oak from a winemaker in Meursault, Patrick Javillier. He makes a couple of Bourgogne Blanc’s from a couple of very particular sites in Meursault and boy are they good. This time we chose his Cuvée Oligocene which is a vineyard partly in Meursault and partly in the ordinary Burgundy classification (despite it being the same soils and aspect). This makes this wine a bargain and we love it.
Roast Bacon with Cabbage & Potatoes – serves 6-8
- 1kg potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 450g savoy cabbage, cored and roughly chopped
- 1kg boned kassler/smoked bacon loin or rack
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
For the Sauce
- 25g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 600ml chicken stock
- 50ml Madeira or Port
- 1-3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Put the potatoes into a large saucepan, cover with cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then drain.
Par-boil the cabbage in another large pan of lightly salted water for 2 minutes. Drain into a colander and refresh with cold water, then use your hands to squeeze out the excess water.
Put the bacon into a large roasting tray and place in the oven. Roast for 10 minutes before adding the butter. When the butter has melted, add the potatoes and roast together for 20 minutes, turning the bacon & potatoes in the butter now and then.
Now push the potatoes and bacon to one side and add the cabbage. Season the potatoes and cabbage with salt and roast for another 10 minutes, turning everything in the smoky butter.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by melting the butter in a small pan and adding the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then take off the heat and whisk in the chicken stock until smooth. Place back on the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After 40 minutes in total remove the bacon from the oven and check that the potatoes and cabbage are cooked. Transfer the vegetables to a warm serving platter, then slice the bacon and arrange on top. Keep warm.
To finish the sauce, de-glaze the juices in the roasting tin with the Maderia or Port and add to the sauce. Whisk in the mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.
(Original recipe by Paul Rankin.)
Posted in Food, Irish Food, Pork | Tagged Bacon, Bacon & Cabbage, cabbage, Cooking, Food, Irish, Irish Food, Kassler, Potatoes, Recipe, Roast | 1 Comment »
9 January 2017 by jonoandjules
Vegan Pie
Vegan recipes often get bad press, not helped by the poor offerings of restaurants. This dish has bags of flavour and doesn’t require any extras to make it a whole meal. A big splodge of ketchup on the side doesn’t go a miss if you’re that way inclined.
Wine Suggestion: not all wines are Vegan, but there are no standards on stating this on a bottle or to say what fining agents (which determines if it is Vegan friendly) have been used in making the wine.
Fining agents are used by winemakers to make a bright, clean coloured and tasting wine. Naturally most wines begin quite cloudy or hazy because of proteins, tannins, tartrates and phenolics. Winemakers traditionally add fining agents to rectify this and these include casein (a milk protein), albumin (egg whites), gelatin (animal protein) and isinglass (fish bladder protein) as well as others like various clays. These bind with the proteins etc which then fall out of the wine. So by the time it reaches the bottle and then your glass there are no traces of these products. However they have been used and part of Veganism is not only if the product is not in the food, but also the use in the production.
A lot of wines are potentially Vegan friendly, but quite often don’t say on the label and aren’t obliged to so don’t dismiss a wine for not being Vegan if it doesn’t say so, it may still be.
Look online on the winery sites if you are in doubt and even email the winemakers – they love to discuss their wines and are happy to answer questions on how each wine is made.
We drank some Domaine du Joncier Lirac Blanc from a wonderful, biodynamic and natural wine maker Marine Roussel. A blend of Roussanne, Marsanne and Bourboulenc and fined naturally with time and gentle handling this is both round, fresh and full of depth.
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie – serves 8 (make in 2 dishes and freeze one for later)
- 1.2kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 30g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 15 mins, then drained (reserve the liquid)
- 2 large leeks, chopped
- 2 small onions, chopped
- 4 medium carrots, cut into small cubes
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
- a handful of marjoram or oregano, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- a handful of thyme, leaves picked
- a handful of sage, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 4 celery sticks, chopped
- 1 tin of chickpeas
- 300g frozen peas
- 300g frozen spinach
- 20ml olive oil
- a handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- tomato ketchup, to serve (optional)
Put the unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30-40 mins until the skins start to split. Drain and leave to cool a little.
Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish. Add the mushrooms, leeks , onions, carrots and stock cube and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring.
Add the garlic, tomato purée, paprika, squash and herbs. Stir and turn the heat up a bit, cook for 3 mins, then add the celery and continue to stir and cook for a few more mins.
Tip in the chickpeas along with the water in the can and reserved mushroom stock. Add the peas and spinach and stir well. Cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, then season, turn off and set aside.
Peel the potatoes and discard the skin. Mash 200g with a fork and stir into the veg. Break the rest of the potatoes into chunks, mix with the olive oil and parsley and season.
Divide the filling into two pie dishes and top with the potatoes. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and bake the pies for 40-45 mins, until the top is golden and the filling is heated through.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Gluten-free, Recipe, Shepherd's Pie, Vegan, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
6 January 2017 by jonoandjules
Our local butcher, Brady’s, stocks excellent free-range chickens which are juicier and have more flavour than most super-market offerings. Being a very cheap meat overall we think it is worth spending a bit more as the benefits far outweigh the cost difference.
We never tire of roast chicken recipes as they’re usually straight forward and provide lots of leftovers. We challenge you to resist the skin on this one!
Wine Suggestion: we felt like a red so went for the Chateau de Beauregard Fleurie as it has a lighter body and a lower acidity than a Pinot Noir which matched this dish really well. The chicken was moist, but not fatty so the medium acidity was a perfect foil and neither wine nor food overwhelmed the other.
Spiced-yoghurt Roast Chicken with Potatoes – serves 4
- 1 whole chicken, approximately 1.5kg
- salad potatoes e.g. Charlotte
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- a pinch of chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the marinade:
- small chunk of ginger, finely grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced, keep the squeezed out halves to put inside the chicken
- 100g natural yoghurt
Heat the oven to 190C/Fan 170C/Gas 5.
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and season with some salt and pepper.
Put the chicken into a large roasting tray and rub the marinade all over the skin with your hands. Put the squeezed lemon halves inside the cavity and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes, then rest for 20 minutes under some foil before carving.
Cut the potatoes in half and toss with the cumin seeds, chilli flakes, 2 tbsp olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Tip into a shallow roasting tray and put in the oven above the chicken for the last 20 minutes. Turn over once during cooking and continue to cook for a further 20 minutes while the chicken is resting.
Delicious served with some coleslaw on the side.
(Original recipe from BBC Olive Magazine, December 2016.)
Posted in Chicken, Food, Gluten-free, Potato, Roast | Tagged Chicken, Cooking, Food, Gluten-free, Marinade, Potatoes, Recipe, Roast chicken, Wine Matching, Wine Pairing, Wine suggestion, Yoghurt | 1 Comment »
4 January 2017 by jonoandjules
We often have lumps of leftover Stilton in the fridge after the weekend and particularly after Christmas. If you find yourself in a similar situation try this simple pasta dish for a mid-week dinner. If that doesn’t solve the problem here’s a few other ideas:
Broccoli and Stilton Soup
Creamy baked Brussels sprouts with stilton
Pasta with Blue Cheese Cream
Roussillon Baked Potatoes
Pork and Pears
Wine Suggestion: delicious with the Bott-Geyl Points Cardinal Metiss, a dry but rich and full white made from all the Pinot varieties you can think of, including the red and pink ones. When young this wine is fresh and enticing but with an extra year in the bottle it fills out and the aromas seem to ramp up a bit more with hints of honey, pears and apples and a lovely dry spice on the palate. More than a match for the powerful flavour of Stilton.
Stilton & Penne Pasta – serves 4
- 400g penne pasta
- 25g butter
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped sage
- 100g Stilton, cubed
- handful toasted walnuts, chopped
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then gently fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic and sage, fry for a further 2 mins, then remove the pan from the heat.
Drain the pasta and reserve some cooking water. Stir through the onions, Stilton and 2 tbsp cooking water, then sprinkle with the toasted walnuts to serve.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian | Tagged Blue cheese, Cooking, Easy, Food, Pasta, Recipe, Sage, Stilton, Vegetarian, Walnuts | 1 Comment »
2 January 2017 by jonoandjules
Anyone who has followed us for a while will know that we’re very partial to the turkey leftovers. Here’s the concoction we came up with for last year’s bird and it wasn’t bad at all. Similar to the more common Thai duck curry, turkey is gamey enough to stand up to a bit of heat.
Thai Red Turkey Curry – Serves 4 generously
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3-4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 400ml tin coconut milk
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into chunks
- 250g mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
- 180g sugar snap peas
- 20g pack basil, leaves picked
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- juice of 2 limes
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 300g leftover turkey (or chicken) – a bit more or less won’t make any difference
- 1 red chilli, sliced into rounds
- jasmine rice, to serve
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the curry paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Stir in the coconut milk with 100ml water and the red pepper and cook for 10 mins until almost tender.
Add the mushrooms, sugar snaps and most of the basil to the curry, then season with the sugar, lime juice and soy sauce. Cook for 4 mins until the mushrooms are tender, then add the turkey and heat through. Scatter with sliced chilli and basil and serve with jasmine rice.
Posted in Asian | Tagged Cooking, Curry, Food, Leftovers, Recipe, Red curry, Thai, Turkey | Leave a Comment »
24 December 2016 by jonoandjules
Our menus have featured a lot of meat recently so we’ve focused and had a few fishy weekends to redress the balance. This is another great recipe from Moro, really delicate and delicious. We followed their suggestion and served with a chickpea salad and saffron rice. A rare Saturday night treat for just the two of us; we made the full sauce but only used two cod fillets.
Get started early as the rice needs to soak for a few hours.
Wine Suggestion: a light, dry white wine with good flavour and texture is what we think goes best. We had a good Muscadet from Domaine de la Chauviniere which has a good depth of flavour despite it’s light body. Alternately a good Alvarinho/Albariño would be a good match too.
Cod Baked with Tahini Sauce & Saffron Rice – serves 4
- 4 thick cod fillets with skin, about 200g each
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Tahini Sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 tbsp tahini paste
- juice of 1 lemon
- 5 tbsp water
Saffron Rice
- 80g unsalted butter
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 5 green cardamom pods, cracked
- 3 black peppercorns
- 200g basmati rice, washed and soaked in salted water for 3 hours
- a good pinch of saffron threads infused in 4 tbsp boiling water
To Serve:
- small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
- 1 lemon, quartered
Start by making the tahini sauce and the rice as the fish won’t take long at the end.
For the Tahini Sauce:
Crush the garlic cloves with a good pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle until you have a paste. Transfer the paste to a small bowl and whisk in the tahini and lemon juice. Add the water until you get a sauce the consistency of double cream. Taste and season.
For the Saffron Rice:
Gently melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the cinnamon, cardamom pods and black peppercorns and fry gently for about 4 minute or until aromatic.
Drain the rice and add to the butter, stirring to coat in the butter. Turn the heat up to medium-high and pour over enough water to cover by about 1cm, season with salt.
Place a piece of greaseproof paper on the surface of the water, then cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and paper and drizzle the saffron water evenly over the rice. Cover again with the paper and the lid, turn the heat to low and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
For the Cod:
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
You need to cook the cod on the hob first ideally in an ovenproof frying pan or failing that a roasting tray that can go on the hob.
Add the olive oil to cover the base of the pan. Season the cod generously with salt and pepper, then place in the pan with the skin side up, keep shaking the pan all the time to prevent sticking. Cook for a couple of minutes to seal. Turn the fish over carefully and put the pan in the oven for 5-8 minutes, depending on the size of your fish. The fish is cooked when it is easy to flake and looks completely white inside.
Pour the tahini sauce into the pan with the fish to warm for 30 seconds, then transfer to hot plates. Spoon the sauce over the fish and garnish with the parsley and pomegranate seeds.
Serve with the chickpea salad, saffron rice & lemon.
(Original recipe from Moro the Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark, Ebury Press, 2001.)
Posted in Fish, Food, Gluten-free | Tagged Baked cod, Chickpeas, Cod, Cooking, Food, Gluten-free, Lebanese, Moro, pomegranate seeds, Recipe, Saffron, Saffron rice, Tahini Sauce | Leave a Comment »
21 December 2016 by jonoandjules
A simple midweek pasta supper for using up those multi-pack peppers. It reminds us of summer and Italy.
Wine suggestion: a great match with Cabernet Franc. The bell pepper, inky and pencil shaving character really compliments the flavours in this simple dish. A favourite of our is the Ch du Hureau from Saumur. Their “Tuffe” a youthful Cab Franc is a gem that regularly makes its way onto our wine rack. If you want to stick with Italian a 100% Sangiovese would make an excellent choice too.
Pasta Peronata – serves 4 (easily halved)
- 2 red peppers, sliced
- 2 yellow peppers, sliced
- 2 red onions, finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped and stalks reserved
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 handfuls grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 heaped tablespoons mascarpone cheese or crème fraîche (optional – we don’t usually add this unless we have some already)
- 500g rigatoni or penne pasta
Put the peppers into a large frying pan over a medium heat with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, and cook gently for about 15 minutes until softened. Add the onion and cook for a further 20 minutes. Then add the garlic and parsley stalks and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Season to taste. Add the vinegar, then add a handful of the grated Parmesan and the mascarpone or crème fraîche if you are using it and turn the heat down to minimum while you cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack. Reserve a little of the cooking water before draining. Toss the peppers, pasta & chopped parsley in a large warm bowl. Add a bit of the reserved pasta water and a splash of good olive oil to coat the pasta. Serve with the rest of the Parmesan.
(Original recipe by Jamie Oliver).
Posted in Food, Italian, Pasta, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Jamie Oliver, Pasta, Peppers, Perperonata, Reicpe, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
18 December 2016 by jonoandjules
From Meera Sodha’s fabulous book, Made in India, we continue to make very successful dishes. We made this for a Christmas party alongside Meera’s Cinnamon lamb curry, and coconut fish curry. All very straightforward particularly if you get the lamb cooked the night before and serve with a load of rice (cooked and kept warm in a rice cooker if you have one) and a simple salad.
We used small green birds-eye chillies with their seeds removed and while these were hot on their own they gave the right amount of background heat to each dish: think of it as a mild curry with a tiny, perfect kick.
If you prefer you can thread the chicken pieces onto kebab sticks before roasting. You will need to soak wooden sticks in water for about 20 minutes before using to stop them burning in the oven.
The Mint chutney was amazing and not only works with the chicken tikka but is also great with a roast or grilled lamb instead of the usual mint sauce/jelly.
Oven-roasted Chicken Tikka (Murghi na tikka) – serves 4-6 as a starter or with other dishes
- rapeseed oil
- 600g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of any fat
- 4cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 fresh green chilli, roughly chopped
- salt
- 130ml whole-milk yoghurt
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¾ tsp cumin seeds, crushed
- ¾ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp garam masala
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Line 2 oven trays and brush with a very light layer of oil.
Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and put into a bowl.
Pound the ginger, garlic and green chilli with a pinch of salt using a pestle and mortar, until it turns into a paste. Add the paste to the chicken, then add the remaining ingredients to the bowl along with 1¼ tsp salt. Mix well and cover. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes or in the fridge for a a few hours if you can.
Shake the excess marinade from the chicken and divide between the lined trays. Cook for about 20 minutes, turning once.
Serve with salad and the Mint & Yoghurt Chutney below.
Mint & Yoghurt Chutney (Fodina anna dahi nu chatni) – makes a small jar
- 5 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- 20g fresh mint
- 1 fresh green chili, deseeded and finely sliced
- 1 tsp sugar
- juice of ½ a lemon
- a pinch of salt
Put the ingredients into a blender and whizz until mixed. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
The chutney will keep for a day in the fridge if you want to make it in advance.
(Original recipes from Made in India by Meera Sodha, Fig Tree, 2014.)
Posted in Chicken, Food, Gluten-free | Tagged Chicken tikka, Chutney, Cooking, Food, Indian, Mint & yoghurt chutney, Recipe | 1 Comment »
15 December 2016 by jonoandjules
These were so easy and would make a great weeknight supper or lunch at the weekend. A great way to use up Turkish red pepper paste!
Wine Suggestion: we’d suggest a light red wine or dry rosé to compliment these. For a splash out we drank the Felton Rd Vin Gris from Central Otago. This is made from Pinot Noir juice, only in selected vintages and is very dry and textural with summer fruit flavours and aromas with hints of chervil, fennel and an earthy spice we can’t put our finger on. Together with the pizza it all came together to make us feel like we were on holidays, even though we aren’t!
Middle Eastern Veggie Pizzas – makes 5
- 5-10 tbsp Turkish red pepper paste (you could always use tomato paste)
- pack of 5 large pitta breads or Middle Eastern flatbreads
- ½ a bag of frozen spinach, defrosted
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 3 balls mozzarella, patted dry and torn
- 5 eggs
- freshly grated nutmeg
- small bunch basil
- shaved Parmesan, to serve
Preheat your oven to the highest setting.
Put the flatbreads onto baking trays and spread 1-2 tbsp red pepper paste over each one.
Squeeze the spinach with your hands to get as much water out as possible, then scatter on top, leaving a little space in the centre (to crack an egg into). Divide the garlic & mozzarella between the pizzas and season generously.
Carefully crack an egg into the middle of each pizza, into the space you made with the spinach, and season with nutmeg and some of the basil. Bake for 7 mins until the cheese has melted and the egg is cooked as you like it (you will probably have to cook them in batches).
Serve with a little more basil and some Parmesan shavings.
Posted in Food, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Flatbread pizza, Food, Middle Eastern, Pizza, Recipe, Spinach, Turkish red pepper paste, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
12 December 2016 by jonoandjules
One of our local grocers had a pile of mushrooms of all sorts (it is the season) so we took the inspiration and had a delicious version of mushrooms on toast flavoured with sherry. Good quality sourdough, toasted, rubbed with a clove of garlic & drizzled with good olive oil to serve.
Wine suggestion: As we started with this for a much larger dinner with friends we opened a bottle of dry Oloroso sherry to accompany. We were lucky to have a bottle of the Hidalgo Oloroso VORS (average age 30yo) which was a complex, rich, nutty style of sherry with a wonderfully complex citrus peel, nutty and spicy nose. The palate is funky with profound, fresh, nutty, lemony complexity. The surprising citrus notes in the sherry lifted the mushrooms even further. Sherry of this quality is simply the best value fine wine in the world as we we kept on running out of descriptions of the taste, smell and finish of this.
Setas al jerez – Mushrooms with Sherry – serves 4
- 400g wild mushrooms
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 150ml fino or dry, old amontillado sherry
- a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth but don’t be tempted to soak or wash them in water.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, cook the onion gently for about 10 minutes or until soft and golden, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Next add the sherry and nutmeg and cook for another minute, followed by the parsley, salt and black pepper.
Serve with toast that you have rubbed lightly with garlic and drizzled with your best olive oil.
(Original recipe from The Moro Cookbook, Ebury Press, 2001.)
Posted in Food, Spanish, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Mushrooms, Recipe, Setas al jerez, Sherry, Spanish, Starter, Wild mushrooms | 2 Comments »
5 December 2016 by jonoandjules
We’re not sure if we would would have ever made this except for having a load of walnuts and red peppers that needed used. Definitely one of the most interesting dishes we’ve cooked this year. We’ve had it warm and also cold; as a side dish and in a floury bap for lunch; a tasty starter and a midnight snack. Delicious every time.
Wine Suggestion: If you decide to eat this warm or cold you need the spice a red wine gives and a chill for freshness and vitality; 30 minutes in the fridge is sufficient, so chilled, not freezing! We’d recommend either a Spanish red, the Jesus Romero Rubus, a rarity from Teruel in Aragon or if you’d like to push the boat out Laurent Combier’s Cap Nord, one of the best Crozes-Hermitage we’ve tried in a long while. The link between these is Syrah, so if you find another one you like try chilling this and giving it a go with this dish.
Circassian Chicken – serves 3-4
- 2 large skinless chicken breasts
- 500ml chicken stock
- 200g walnuts halves
- 1 slice stale white bread, made into breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- small handful of coriander, chopped
FOR THE PEPPER DRESSING:
- 1 tbsp red pepper paste/½ tsp sweet paprika & ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Put the chicken stock into a large pot with the chicken breasts. Bring to the boil, then simmer and poach for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Blitz 150g of the walnuts in a food processor to make a powder, then add the breadcrumbs and garlic with enough of the poaching stock to make a creamy sauce. Season with salt.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl until combined.
Pull the cooked chicken into long pieces and combine with the walnut sauce and chopped coriander. Drizzle with the red pepper dressing and decorate with the reserved walnuts.
(Original recipe from Venice to Istanbul by Rick Stein, BBC Books, 2015.)
Posted in Food | Tagged Chicken, Circassian chicken, Cooking, Food, Recipe, Red pepper paste, Rick Stein, Turkish, Walnuts | 2 Comments »
5 December 2016 by jonoandjules
This red pepper paste is used in loads of Turkish dishes. It’s a very useful paste to have in the fridge and is particular good on a pizza instead of tomato sauce. You can buy Turkish pepper paste in specialist shops but it’s very easy to make and will keep for about a week in the fridge.
Turkish Red Pepper Paste
- 660g red peppers
- 50g tomato purée
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 30ml olive oil
Roast the peppers for about 30 minutes at 220ºC/gas 7 until charred & soft. Put in a bowl and cover with cling film, then leave until cool enough to peel. Remove the charred skins, stalks and seeds. Blitz the roasted peppers with the other ingredients in a blender. Store in a jar in the fridge until needed.
(Original recipe from Venice to Istanbul by Rick Stein, BBC Books, 2015.)
Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Gluten-free, Recipe, Red pepper paste, Red peppers, Turkish, Turkish red pepper paste | 2 Comments »
28 November 2016 by jonoandjules
Oh yes, another chilli recipe. This one is interesting though as it uses braising steak instead of mince. We loved it!
Wine Suggestion: A juicy red with a bit of spice is our choice for this dish especially those with a good dollop of Grenache in them. First choice might be a good Cotes du Rhone, but venturing a bit from the tried and trusted we found a Spanish Garnacha made by Bodegas Monfil. An inexpensive wine from the Cariñena region is Spain with bags of flavour but also open, round and juicy; perfect for a Chilli!
Chilli Con Carne – serves 4
- olive oil
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 400g braising steak, trimmed and cut into very small pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 red chilli, chopped
- 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
- 1 heaped tsp paprika
- 1 tin of plum tomatoes
- 1 beef stock cube
- ½-1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 small square 85% cocoa dark chocolate (optional)
- tin red kidney beans, drained
- sour cream, to serve
- chopped coriander, to serve
- cooked brown rice, to serve
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a casserole dish over a low heat. Fry the celery and onions over a gentle heat until softened and translucent.
Add the garlic & chilli and fry until the garlic is cooked, then add the cumin and paprika and cook stirring for another 30 seconds. Remove this mixture from the pan and set aside. Add another tbsp of oil to the pan, turn up the heat, and quickly fry the meat in batches to brown it.
Return the onions to the pan and add the tin of tomatoes, breaking the tomatoes up with the back of a spoon. Crumble the stock cube into the tomato tin, fill with water and tip into the pan. Add the chilli flakes and simmer gently for 2 hours, or until thick and glossy, stirring now and then.
Add the chocolate and stir in, then stir in the kidney beans and heat through.
Serve with brown rice, coriander & sour cream.
(Original recipe by Victoria Moore in BBC Olive Magazine, April 2013.)
Posted in Beef, Food, Gluten-free | Tagged Beef, Braising steak, Chilli, Chilli con carne, Cooking, Food, Gluten-free, Kidney beans, Recipe | 4 Comments »
22 November 2016 by jonoandjules
This is a great sauce for a beef or lamb steak. Don’t be put off by the amount of garlic; the poaching process takes away any harshness from the garlic and results in a sweet and delicious sauce.
Wine Suggestion: While your choice of wine might be determined somewhat by the type of meat you have, with the garlic sauce the key is to choose something robust, not delicate. For this steak we had an old vine Carignan (with a touch of Grenache and Syrah in the blend) from Domaine Roc des Anges in Roussillon. Their “Reliefs” cuvée is one of the best we’ve tasted of this grape variety. It is smooth and sophisticated and yet down deep it seems informed by a rustic prehistoric core. Supple, deep and fleshy with sheets of shimmering tannin, great driving depth, cherry and dark chocolate flavours and a full, juicy and balanced finish.
Poached Garlic Sauce – serves 4
- 3 garlic bulbs
- milk
- 3 tsps extra virgin olive oil
- ½-¾ tablespoon sherry vinegar
Break up the garlic bulbs and throw away the woody roots. Put the garlic cloves, skins on, into a small saucepan and cover with milk by at least 3cm. Bring the milk and garlic to a simmer and cook gently for about 20 minutes or until the garlic is soft. Reserve 6 tablespoons of the poaching milk and discard the rest. Either put the garlic through a mouli or squeeze the soft garlic out of each skin and mash to a puree. Add the reserved milk to thin it slightly , then stir in the olive oil and sherry vinegar. Season well with salt and black pepper.
(Original recipe from Moro: The Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark, Ebury Press, 2001.)
Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Spanish | Tagged Cooking, Food, Garlic, Garlic Sauce, Gluten-free, Moro, Poached garlic, Recipe, Spanish | Leave a Comment »
16 November 2016 by jonoandjules
This is a good chilli for mid-week. It uses turkey mince which is lean, and easy to pick up now in supermarkets. It’s not lacking in flavour and we will definitely be doing it again.
Wine Suggestion: a lighter Spanish red is the trick here; make sure it doesn’t have too many tannins. Our find of the moment is a rarity from Teruel, in Aragon which has a harsh climate of hot summers and very bitterly cold winters. From a resurrected-reinvented vineyard the Jesus Romero Rubus is an unoaked blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo and Syrah. The beauty of this wine is the purity of fruit that sings and layers itself across the palate and has a very long finish. Never heavy, yet full of life. That said, it’s mid-week, so go for it, have whatever is open and it’ll be grand!
Turkey Chilli Jacket Potatoes – serves 4
- 4 large baking potato
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 300g turkey mince
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar
- 350ml passata
- cheddar cheese, grated, to serve
- 4 scallions, chopped, to serve
Heat oven to 220ºC.
Prick the potatoes all over with a fork. Rub with a little oil, and bake for 20 mins, then turn the oven down to 200ºC and cook for 45 mins-1 hour depending on the size of your spuds.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and some seasoning, and cook for 5 mins until soft. Add the turkey mince and season again, then increase the heat and break up the mince with the back of your spoon. When it’s cooked through, add the spices, vinegar, sugar and passata. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 mins or until the liquid has reduced.
Cut a cross in the potatoes and serve filled with the chilli, some chopped scallions and grated cheese.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Food, Gluten-free | Tagged Chilli, Cooking, Food, Gluten-free, Healthy, Jacket Potatoes, Mid-week, Recipe, Turkey mince | 2 Comments »
14 November 2016 by jonoandjules
This is an easy solution for feeding a crowd and almost everyone likes roast chicken. All you need is some new potatoes or creamy mash on the side. We love the fresh tarragon with the peas but you could use mint if you prefer. The combination of the peas, shallots, herbs and pancetta really add extra depth to the chicken and lift even ordinary chickens to feast-like levels. Of course, if the budget allows, get a good, free-range one as the extra flavour is really worth it.
Wine Suggestion: As this dish is a bit richer than your standard roast chicken it demands more than most white wines can deliver. We find Pinot Noir a good choice. This time we chose the Justin Girardin Santenay 1er Clos Rousseau and the earthy flavours danced with the salty, crispy pancetta and sweet peas. The tarragon made it all the more reminiscent of holidays in France.
Herb-Roast Chicken – serves 8-10 (easily halved)
- 200g cubetti di pancetta
- 800g shallots, trimmed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chickens (about 1.5kg each)
- 500ml hot chicken stock
- 800g peas (frozen will be fine)
- small pack tarragon, roughly chopped
Heat oven to 190C/170C/gas 5.
Fry the pancetta gently in a heavy frying pan until crisp – if you start with a cold pan you shouldn’t need to add any oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the shallots to the pan and fry in the pancetta fat for 10-15 minutes or until golden and starting to soften. Tip the shallots into a very large roasting tin.
Rub the olive oil over the chickens and season well with salt and pepper, then place the chickens into the roasting tin with the shallots. Roast for about 1 hour 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove the chickens from the tin and cover with foil.
Put the roasting tin directly onto the hob and stir in the stock. Bubble for a few minutes and scrape any sticky bits off the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon. Add the peas, pancetta and most of the tarragon to the stock and bubble for a few minutes or until the peas are cooked, then season.
Meanwhile carve the chicken into large pieces. Transfer the peas to a warm serving platter and serve the chicken on top with the rest of the tarragon sprinkled over.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, April 2010.)
Posted in Chicken, Food, Gluten-free | Tagged Chicken, Cooking, Crowd, Easy, Entertaining, Food, Gluten-free, pancetta, peas, Recipe, Roast, Roast chicken, Tarragon | Leave a Comment »
12 November 2016 by jonoandjules
Ripped red pepper duck curry
The addition of fresh red peppers and cherry tomatoes gives this curry a really fresh and summery feel. Perfect for when you fancy something spicy on a warm evening. It is also equally at home as the nights draw in, like the moment in Dublin and you fancy an open fire to cosy up to.
Wine Suggestion: A good Gewürztraminer makes a surprisingly brilliant match for this dish with enough weight for the richness and texture and plenty of aromatics to compliment the flavours. Our choice this time was the excellent Cave de Turckheim’s Reserve Gewürz, an off-dry wine that balanced perfectly with the heat of the red curry paste.
Ripped Red Pepper Duck Curry – serves 4
- 4 duck legs
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 stick lemongrass, finely chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
- vegetable oil
- 2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced lengthway
- 5 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk
- 3 tsp sugar
- juice of ½ a lime, plus wedges for serving
- 12 baby plum tomatoes
- a handful of Thai or regular basil
- red chilli and shallots, sliced finely to serve
- steamed rice, to serve
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan/Gas 6.
Rub the duck legs with some salt and pepper, 1 tbsp of the fish sauce, lemongrass, crushed garlic and 2 tbsp of oil. Place in a roasting tin, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and add the sliced red peppers to the tin, tossing them in a little of the duck fat. Turn up the oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan/Gas 7 and roast uncovered for another 15 minutes or until the duck skin has crisped and the pepper slices are blistered. Remove the peppers and keep to one side. Pull the duck meat and skin from the bones and keep to one side.
Simmer the bones in 500ml water for about 30 minutes to make a stock.
In a saucepan, fry the curry paste in the oil until darkened in colour. Stir in the coconut milk, then add the stock, fish sauce and sugar and simmer for about 20 minutes or until it has thickened slightly. Squeeze in the lime juice. Stir in the strips of pepper, baby plum tomatoes and the shredded duck – reserving some crispy-skinned pieces for serving – and gently simmer for about 3 minutes or until heated through.
Remove from the heat and stir in a small handful of basil leaves. Ladle into bowls, piling on top the reserved crispy duck, some extra basil and shredded chilli and shallots to taste. Serve with lime wedges and steamed rice.
(Original recipe by Alastair Hendy in BBC Olive Magazine, August, 2014.)
Posted in Asian, Duck, Food, Gluten-free | Tagged Cooking, Curry, Duck, Duck Curry, Food, Recipe, Thai, Thai red curry, Thai red curry paste | 4 Comments »
9 November 2016 by jonoandjules
This dish was traditionally cooked in a glazed clay pot. However these have successfully been replaced by cast-iron casseroles, like our favourite oval shaped one from le Creuset. It keeps the heat stable which makes it perfect for the long and slow cooking required for this dish. Very like our Chianti Beef recipe but with a few French touches.
Wine Suggestion: with a nod to the French origins of this dish we’d suggest a good Gigondas from the Rhone to match. With rich brambly fruit, good spicy tannins and a touch of elegant leathery development the Grapillon d’Or Gigondas was immensely enjoyed last time we cooked this, but other GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre) blends from around the world would work well too.
Daube of Beef – serves 6
- 1.2kg shin of beef, cut into large pieces
- 4 tbsp plain flour, well seasoned
- oil for frying
- 200g smoked bacon lardons
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 celery sticks, sliced thickly on a diagonal
- 4 carrots, sliced thickly on a diagonal
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 750ml red wine
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 cloves, ground
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 strips of orange peel
- flat-leaf parsley, to serve
Heat the oven to 150ºC/Fan 130ºC/Gas 2.
Toss the beef in the seasoned flour (we shake them together in a large freezer bag).
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan and brown the beef in batches before transferring with a slotted spoon to a large casserole dish with a lid. Add the bacon to the frying pan and cook until brown and crispy, then scoop out and add to the casserole with the beef. Cook the onions until golden and caramelised then add these to the beef. Finally fry the carrot and celery until just starting to colour. Add the garlic and cook for a minute then add to the beef. Add a splash of wine to the frying pan to deglaze, stirring to scrape any crusty bits from the bottom of the pan, then tip into the casserole. Add the rest of the wine to the casserole and bring to a simmer. Stir in the tomato purée, cloves, bay leaves and orange peel.
Transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for 2½ hours or until the meat is very tender – leave the lid off for a while at the end if you want the sauce to thicken to bit. Scatter with the parsley to finish.
(Original recipe by Lulu Grimes in BBC Olive Magazine, September, 2012).
Posted in Beef, Food | Tagged Beef, Casserole, Cooking, Daube, dinner, Easy, Food, French, Stew | Leave a Comment »
7 November 2016 by jonoandjules
Really delicious salmon with crispy skin and a rich sauce. Serve with rice and some asian greens.
Wine Suggestion: Soy sauce accentuates tannins in wine so we’d suggest avoiding reds for this dish. With ingredients that include Sake, Mirin/Sherry and sugar there are two options that we find work really well, and in a contrasting way. Firstly a non-dry, slightly sweet Oloroso sherry, like the Valdespino 1842 VOS Oloroso, will work with the umami savoury characters and compliment the rich sweetness. Alternately play with a bit of contrast and pick a good Rosé Champagne, like Billecart-Salmon’s benchmark example; this plays with the senses and adds an extra vibrancy to a dish already replete with flavour.
Salmon Teriyaki – serves 4
- 250ml light soy sauce
- 125ml sake or rice wine
- 125ml mirin or dry sherry
- 100g caster sugar
- 4 salmon fillets, skin-on
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
Mix the first 4 ingredients together and stir until the sugar has dissolved to make a teriyaki sauce. Marinade the salmon in half of the sauce for at least 3 hours. Pour the rest of the sauce into a saucepan and bubble gently on a low heat for 30 minutes or until reduced and thickened.
Heat the oven to as high as it goes, then put the drained salmon fillets in an ovenproof dish, skin upwards. Cut small squares of foil to cover the salmon skin and stop it burning.
Bake for 5-6 minutes, then remove the foil and brush oil over the skin. Return to the oven for another 5-6 minutes or until the skin is crispy and starting to char.
Pour some of the reduced sauce onto each plate and sit the salmon on top to serve.
(Original recipe by Reiko Hashimoto-Lamber IN: BBC Good Food Magazine, April 2008.)
Posted in Asian, Fish, Food, Gluten-free | Tagged Asian, Cooking, Easy, Food, Gluten-free, Japanese, Recipe, Salmon, Teriyaki | 1 Comment »
5 November 2016 by jonoandjules
These prawns, flavoured with lots of garlic and warm spices, make a simple but really tasty starter. Serve with plenty of bread for mopping up the juices.
Wine Suggestion: We really like unoaked, slightly lighter, Spanish reds with this dish especially with 30 minutes in the fridge to give a cool edge to them. A newish find has been the Jesus Romero “Rubus”, a delicious blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo and Syrah which has a purity and persistence of fruit that charms us every time.
Spicy Prawns – serves 4
- 300g raw peeled king prawns
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp ground ginger
- a good pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder
- 5 tbsp chopped coriander or parsley
Heat the oil with the garlic and spices in a large frying pan. Keep stirring until aromatic, then throw in the prawns and fry quickly over a medium heat until pink – about a minute. Stir in the coriander or parsley and serve.
(Original recipe from Foolproof Mediterranean Cookery by Claudia Roden, BBC Worldwide Ltd., 2003.)
Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Prawns, Shellfish | Tagged Cooking, Easy, Food, Garlic, Garlic prawns, Gluten-free, prawns, Recipe, Shellfish, Starter | Leave a Comment »
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Jono & Jules do food & wine 