10 September 2011 by jonoandjules
This caprese salad is made from all Irish ingredients – even the mozzarella (fellow Dubliners can pick some up in Fallon & Byrne). Perfect for what will probably be one of our last sunny lunches for this year.
Caprese di Mozzarella – serves 2
- mozzarella cheese
- 2-3 tomatoes, sliced
- basil leaves
- olive oil
- salt
Drain the cheese and cut into thin slices. Arrange the tomato and mozzarella slices in concentric rings on a nice plate. Sprinkle with basil leaves, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt (salt is a necessity here!).
Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian | Tagged Basil, Caprese, cheese, Cooking, Food, Healthy, Irish ingredients, Italian, Mozzarella, Recipe, Salad, Tomatoes, Vegetarian | 1 Comment »
8 September 2011 by jonoandjules
We cooked these recently and took pics, as always, so we could post the recipe on the blog later. Only to find out that we have in fact cooked them before and blogged the recipe also. So we would like to reiterate that this is a very nice way to cook potatoes. We also recommend that you make a little note beside every recipe you do so you don’t forget that you’ve made it before and whether or not you liked it. We almost always do this but clearly forgot this time. You can get the recipe here.
A great accompaniment to potatoes and steak were these courgettes from Johnny and Vivienne’s garden which barbecued superbly, especially with the lemon halves which contribute a caramel zing.
Posted in Barbecue, Food | Tagged Barbecue, BBQ, Cooking, Courgettes, Food, Potatoes, Steak | 1 Comment »
6 September 2011 by jonoandjules
Giorgio Locatelli is a great inspiration when it comes to our Italian cooking and he hasn’t disappointed with this recipe either; fully flavoured and rich, yet fresh and exceptionally easy to eat … Jono kept on creeping back to attack the leftovers! We used some Italian sausages from Sicily that we convinced a local Italian restaurant to sell us but you can use whatever sausage you like as long as they are good quality. Georgio uses another Italian sausage called Luganica which he says are small and peppery so you could try seeking these out too.
Risotto con luganica e piselli – to serve 4
- 150g freshly podded peas
- 2 good pork sausages (see tips above)
- 2.5 litres of good chicken stock
- 50g butter
- 1 onion, chopped very finely
- 400g superfino carnaroli – we used regular carnaroli which worked fine
- 125ml dry white wine
- 2 tbsp tomato passata
For the mantecatura:
- 75g cold butter, cut into small dice
- 100g finely grated Parmesan
Blanch the peas in boiling salted water for a couple of minutes and drain. Crush one-third of them with a fork to make a coarse purée.
Chop the sausages into small pieces. Sauté half the chopped sausages in a pan until they are crispy and brown and set aside.
Bring your pot of stock to the boil and then turn it down so it is just simmering.
Melt the butter in a heavy-based pot and add the onion and the other half of the sausages (that you didn’t sauté). Cook gently until the onion is softened but hasn’t changed colour – about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and stir around so it gets coated in butter. Make sure all the grains are warm, before adding the wine. Let the wine evaporate totally until the onion and rice are dry.
Start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring continuously as you do so. Add the tomato passata along with the first ladeful. When each addition of stock has almost evaporated, add the next ladleful.
Carry on like this for about 15-17 minutes, continually adding stock as above. After about 12-14 minutes add, add the peas and the sausages that you sautéd earlier. Slow up on the stock when you get near the end so the rice doesn’t become too wet and soupy or it will get too sloppy when you add the butter and Parmesan at the end.
Turn the heat down and rest the risotto for a minute, then, for the mantecatura, use a wooden spoon to vigorously beat in the cold diced butter and finally the Parmesan, making sure you shake the pan hard while you beat. Season to taste and serve.
(Original recipe from Made in Italy: Food and Stories by Georgio Locatelli, published by Fourth Estate 2006)
Wine Suggestion: We suggest you serve the rest of the white that you used in the recipe. We went for a Falanghina made by Catello Ducale in Campania, the heel of Italy. The risotto is rich so you want a white wine that ‘s reasonably full bodied and full of fruit, but maintaining freshness which southern Italian whites like this often bring. Alternately you could try a fruity and medium bodied red with some acidity, again an Italian blend with some sangiovese would work a treat.
Posted in Food, Italian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Georgio Locatelli, Italian, Recipe, Risotto, Sausage | 3 Comments »
4 September 2011 by jonoandjules
Yum yum yum yum! Throw this together after work and you won’t be disappointed. Try and get salad potatoes – we could only find floury new potatoes in the village and they sort of went to mush. A great way to use up pesto.
Warm potato and tuna salad with pesto dressing – to serve 4
- 650g new potatoes, halved lengthways (try and get waxy/salad potatoes)
- 2 tbsp pesto (fresh is best – see recipe below)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 175g can tuna (we like to use the tuna in oil that comes in jars)
- 200g runner beans, sliced finely on the diagonal (or you can use halved green beans)
- couple of handfuls of spinach
Put the potatoes in a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, mix the pesto and oil together. Halve the tomatoes, drain and flake the tuna. Add the beans to the potatoes for the last 3 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and beans and tip into a salad bowl. Stir in the spinach so it starts to wilt. Season well. Scatter the tomatoes and tuna over the top and drizzle over the pesto. Give it a final toss and you’re ready to go.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Fish, Food | Tagged Cooking, Pesto, Photos, Recipe, Runner beans, Salad, Tuna | 2 Comments »
3 September 2011 by jonoandjules
Our kitchen window was bursting with basil plants and sort of like “the Day of the Triffids” as they were out of control and growing like mad despite the neglect after being away for a week. So if like us you have some basil on your windowsill then make pesto – those leaves aren’t going to last forever! This makes about 250ml and will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can expect some pesto recipes from us to follow.
Pesto – about 250ml
- 50g pine nuts
- large bunch basil
- 50g parmesan
- 150ml olive oil, plus a bit extra for storing
- 2 garlic cloves
Heat a small frying pan over a low heat. Cook the pine nuts until golden, shaking the pan. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily and very quickly.Put the toasted pine nuts into a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, then taste and season.
Pour into a jar and cover with a little bit of extra oil and store in the fridge. Keeps for around 2 weeks – ready for instant dinners like the one below.
Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian | Tagged Basil, Cooking, Food, Italian, Parmesan, Pesto, Pine nuts, Recipe | Leave a Comment »
2 September 2011 by jonoandjules
We know we have done this before but this is a really simple mid-week version and not at all stressful to cook. If you’re not keen on butter beans you could use haricot or borlotti instead. We love butter beans!
Sausage tomato and butter bean bake – to serve 3-4
- 6-8 large pork sausages, plain or flavoured
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 2 x 400g cans butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan. Add the sausages and cook gently for a minute or two or until just sealed and lightly browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
Wipe out the frying pan and add the rest of the oil. Tip in the onion and sage and sauté very gently for around 10 minutes until the onion is very soft but not coloured. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, then cook for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has reduced a bit and thickened. Season to taste.
Put the tomato mixture into an ovenproof dish, stir in the beans, then arrange the sausages on top, burying them in the mixture. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the sauce bubbles and the sausages are cooked.
[Original recipe by Ainsley Harriott for BBC Good Food, August 2009]
Wine suggestion: Try a lighter red with a bit of acidity as the tomatoes will be acidic and it’s all about balance. Try something with Sangiovese or a Cabernet Franc from the Loire.
Posted in Food, Pork, Uncategorized | Tagged Butter beans, Cooking, Food, Recipe, Sausages | 1 Comment »
1 September 2011 by jonoandjules
We’re determined to cram in as many salads as we can before it turns properly autumnal. Chicken thighs are the way forward for flavour and moisture – breasts have their purposes but they dry out terribly so get thighs for this dish. Nice fresh flavours.
Spicy Chicken Thighs with Cucumber and Cashew Salad – to serve 4
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 large red chillies, finely chopped
- 2 tsp sugar
- 8 bonesless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the cucumber and cashew salad:
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 200g vermicelli noodles
- 2 cucumbers, halved and thinly sliced
- small handful fresh mint leaves
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp cashew nuts, crushed
Whisk the fish sauce, pepper, garlic, chillies and sugar in a bowl. Put the chicken in another bowl and pour half the marinade over. Cover and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, in two batches, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
While the chicken cooks, add the lime juice and sugar to the remaining marinade. Stir until the sugar dissolves to make a dressing.
Pour boiling water over the vermicelli and leave for a minute or two until soft. Drain under cold water, put in a large bowl and add the cucumber, mint, scallions and cashews. Add the dressing, toss well and serve with the chicken.
(Original recipe from ‘Bill Granger Every Day’ published by Murdoch Books, 2006)
Posted in Asian, Chicken, Food, Healthy | Tagged Asian, Chicken, Cooking, Food, Recipe, Salad | 1 Comment »
30 August 2011 by jonoandjules
This salad from ‘Ottolenghi: the cookbook’ has just a few fresh ingredients and tastes fantastic! Really good with some grilled meat off the barbecue.
Chargrilled cauliflower with tomatoes, dill and capers – to serve 2-4
- 2 tbsp capers, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 120ml olive oil
- 1 small cauliflower, divided into florets
- 1 tbsp chopped dill
- 50g baby spinach leaves
- 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
You can make the dressing in a food processor or by hand (we used the processor). Mix together the capers, mustard, garlic, vinegar and some salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously or run the machine while adding half the oil in a slow trickle. You should get a thick, creamy dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Add the cauliflower to a large pan of boiling salted water and simmer for just 3 minutes. Drain and run under a cold tap to stop it cooking further. Leave in the colander to dry well, then put it in a mixing bowl with the rest of the olive oil and some seasoning. Toss well.
Heat a ridged griddle pan over the highest possible heat and leave it for 5 minutes or until it is really hot. Grill the cauliflower in batches – don’t over-crowd the pan. Keep turning until they are nicely charred all over and transfer to a bowl. While the cauliflower is still hot, add the dressing, dill, spinach and tomatoes. Stir together, taste and adjust seasoning again.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi The Cookbook published by The Random House Group).
Posted in Food, Side dish, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Cauliflower, Cooking, Food, Ottolenghi, Recipe, Salad, side dish | 4 Comments »
29 August 2011 by jonoandjules
Otherwise known as “Jamie’s Pasta Bake”; a simple, tasty dish that can be easily doubled for parties. Delicious hot for dinner with some garlic toasts and also cold the next day for lunch.
The recipe suggests using orecchiette but any pasta shapes will do so it’s a great way to use up all the packets lying around the cupboard.
Baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella (serves 4 generously)
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped (white onions are suggested but any other onion lying to hand will do)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 to 2 dried chillies, crumbled
- 3 x 400g tins of good quality plum tomatoes
- large handful of basil, torn
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 400g short, any shaped dried pasta, preferably orecchiette
- 4 very big handfuls of freshly grated parmesan
- 3 x 150g balls of mozzarella, sliced
Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6.
Heat a saucepan on Medium-low heat and a couple of glugs of olive oil, onion, garlic and chill. Slowly fry for 10 minutes until softened but not coloured.
Add tinned tomatoes and a small glass of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Wizz sauce until smooth add basil leaves, red wine vinegar and season.
Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta shapes according to packet instructions. Drain and then toss with half the tomato sauce and a handful of parmesan.
Rub a little olive oil in a baking tray and layer a third of the pasta in the bottom. Follow by a layer of tomato sauce a handful of parmesan and 1 mozzarella ball. Repeat two more times and until ingredients are used up. Make sure that there is a good layer of cheese on the top.
Cook in oven for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Original recipe: Jamie’s Italy
Wine suggestions: This will work equally well with a nutty, dry white like a Verdicchio or Greco di Tufo or a mid-weight red like Barbera, Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo or a fruity Chianti. You don’t need to get too complex as this is a very social dish so it suits a social and easy style of wine.
Posted in Food, Italian, Italy, Pasta, Vegetarian, Wine | Tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Jamie Oliver, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Pasta, Recipe, Tomatoes, Vegetarian, Wine suggestion | 2 Comments »
28 August 2011 by jonoandjules
We love garlic bread but often the garlic is too raw and over-powering and it doesn’t love us back. For these toasts we roasted the garlic first before making the butter which gives a more subtle flavour.
You can make the garlic butter in advance.
Garlic Toasts (serves 4, easily multiplied for larger quantities)
- 3 fat Garlic Cloves, peeled
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 tablespoon Flat-leaf Parsley, chopped
- 4 slices of Crostini, or a demi-baguette, sliced diagonally
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Put garlic and olive oil in a small roasting tin and season with salt and ground black pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes.
When cooked and golden, remove from oven, cool slightly and then mash the garlic cloves in a small bowl with a fork. Add the butter and parsley and mix thoroughly.
Put bread on baking tray, spread with the garlic butter and bake until crisp (roughly 5-10 minutes).
We served this with Jamie Oliver’s Pasta Bake to great effect.
Original recipe: Bill Granger’s “Every Day”, Murdoch Books
Posted in Brunch, Food, Italian, Side dish, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Garlic, Recipe, side dish, Vegetarian | 4 Comments »
22 August 2011 by jonoandjules
I think Jamie’s Italy might be our favourite Jamie book – it’s without a doubt the one we’ve cooked the most out of. This is a super way to use up aubergines which are bang in season at the moment. Jamie says this is a side dish but we served it as a main with some garlic bread and next time we’ll serve a green salad too. The revelation for us was to barbecue (or grill) the aubergines to avoid the oiliness you so often get with this dish.
Jamie’s Aubergine Parmigiana – to serve 6 as a side dish or 4 as a main
- 3 large firm aubergines
- olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
- 1 heaped tsp dried oregano
- 2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes
- a little wine vinegar
- a large handful of basil
- 4 large handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 handfuls of dried breadcrumbs (we used Panko)
- a little fresh oregano, leaves chopped
- 1 x 150g ball of buffalo mozzarella
Slice the aubergine into 1cm thick slices and set aside. Get the barbecue (or griddle pan) really hot. Meanwhile put some olive oil into a large pan and put onto a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and dried oregano and cook for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and the garlic has started to colour. Break up the tomatoes and add to the onion, garlic and oregano. Give it all a stir and cover and simmer slowly for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, barbecue the aubergines until lightly charred, in batches. When the tomato sauce is reduced, season it carefully with salt, pepper and a tiny bit of wine vinegar, and add the basil.
Put a small layer of tomato sauce is an earthenware dish, then a thin scattering of Parmesan, followed by a single layer of aubergines. Repeat until the ingredients are used, finishing with a little sauce and a good sprinkle of Parmesan. Tear the mozzarella over the top and scatter over the breadcrumbs. Bake the dish at 190°C/375°F/gas 5 for half an hour until golden and bubbling.
Nice!
(Original recipe from Jamie’s Italy published by Penguin Group, 2005)
Wine suggestion: a great way to match food and wine is to look at where the food comes from … in this case Northern Italy so a nice Barbera d’Asti would work a treat.
Posted in Barbecue, Food, Italian, Side dish, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Aubergines, Cooking, Food, Italian, Jamie Oliver, Parmigiana, Recipe | 6 Comments »
18 August 2011 by jonoandjules
Jono liked this so much he swears that if he’d been on his own he would have scoffed the lot! The combination of lamb shoulder, spices, apricots and preserved lemons give this dish such richly and multi-layered flavours that are all exceptionally well balanced and moreish. Make the most of fresh apricots while we can get them!
This needs time to marinate which will add even more depth of flavour and tastiness, but if you forget even a short marinating time will still give a very nice result.
Lamb Tagine with Apricots (serves 4)
- 1kg lamb shoulder, diced
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 onions, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 60g sultanas
- 2 tablespoons runny honey
- 1 teaspoon saffron
- 750 ml vegetable stock
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 350g fresh apricots
- 1 preserved lemon, pulp discarded and skin finely chopped
- 1 handful coriander leaves, torn
- 1 small handful mint leaves, torn
Mix ground spices thoroughly together then toss lamb in half the ground spices and leave for at least 4 hours, but try to marinate from the night before (we didn’t read the recipe properly so didn’t marinade it at all and it was still fab!).
Heat oven to 160C/Gas 3. Warm olive oil gently in a deep, heavy-based casserole and add seasoned meat in small batches; brown on all sides and then remove. Next add the onions and garlic with the remaining spices and soften, stirring regularly. Add a little more oil if it dries too much because of the spices. Be careful to moderate the heat as you don’t want to burn the spices.
Add sultanas, honey, saffron, stock, tomatoes and whole apricots and then return the meat to the pan. Bring to the boil, season with salt and black pepper, cover with a lid and place into the oven.
Cook for 2.5 hours.
Remove tagine and stir in the preserved lemon. Lift meat out with a slotted spoon and boil sauce over a high heat until reduced and thick.
Return meat to sauce and stir in the coriander and mint.
Serve with couscous.
[Original recipe from Nigel Slater: Tender Volume II (fruits)]
Wine suggestion: a lighter Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s 2009 vintage. This vintage is excellent all the way across NZ so that even the €6.00 Tesco Finest: Marlborough Pinot Noir 2009 was a delight; and a complete bargain! (Thanks Michael!)
Posted in Food, Lamb, Uncategorized | Tagged Apricots, Cooking, Food, Lamb, Nigel Slater, Recipe, Tagine, Tender | 3 Comments »
17 August 2011 by jonoandjules
I’m sure we’ve already mentioned that we panic-buy skinless, boneless chicken thighs – though they do seem to be easier to get these days. Thighs are much tastier than chicken breasts and don’t have the same tendency to dry out.
After a relatively sunny day on Sunday we deicided to plan a barbecue for Monday. Jono ended up standing outside in the rain under a big umbrella – that’s summer in Ireland! Do try barbecuing lemon halves – it makes them super juicy and a bit milder, perfect squeezed over grilled meat or fish.
Teryyaki mustard chicken – to serve 4
- 8 boneless chicken thigh fillets – the skin can be on or off
- vegetable oil, for brushing
For the teriyaki sauce
- 3 tbsp beer
- 3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- lemon halves, for serving
Combine the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Put the chicken in a flat, non-metallic dish and pour over the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for no more than 3 hours, turning now and again. Take it out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking.
Light the barbecue. Brush the grill with a little vegetable oil to stop the chicken sticking. Put the chicken thighs on the grill, reserving the marinade, and cook for about 5 minutes, turn and cook for another 3 minutes.
Start basting with the teriyaki sauce and turning every minute – for about 4 minutes or until the thighs start to look charred at the edges.
Check they are cooked through and remove them to a plate, cover and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with barbecued lemon halves to squeeze over.
(Original recipe by Ross Dobson for Sainsbury’s Magazine, August 2009)
Posted in Barbecue, Chicken, Food, Healthy, Uncategorized | Tagged Barbecue, BBQ, Chicken, Chicken Thighs, Cooking, Food, Japanese, Recipe | 1 Comment »
15 August 2011 by jonoandjules
There is something so comforting about chicken and rice. The butter and gentle spices lift the otherwise bland background – a really simple but impressive dish.
Golden Chicken Pilaf – to serve 4
- 50g butter
- 4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cardamom pods, lightly bruised
- 4 whole cloves
- 500g chicken stock mixed with a large pinch of saffron (from a cube is fine)
- 300g basmati rice
- a handful of roughly chopped coriander
Heat half the butter in a large wide pan with a lid. Brown the chicken in batches and set aside. Add the rest of the butter then tip in the onions and cook really slowly until tender and golden brown (around 10 minutes).
Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cinnamon, cardamom pods and cloves and cook for a minute. Add the chicken stock and chicken pieces, pour in the rice and stir well.
Cover tightly (if the lid isn’t tight, put a sheet of foil underneath) and cook on a really low heat for another 15-20 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Scatter the coriander over before serving.
(Original recipe from BBC Olive, August 2007)
Posted in Chicken, Food, Uncategorized | Tagged Chicken, Cooking, Food, Pilaf, Recipe, rice | 2 Comments »
13 August 2011 by jonoandjules
This was supposed to be Thursday night’s dinner but we were seduced by some Minervois and French food in La Cave instead. Thankfully it works just as well on a Friday night! The spicy sweet potatoes make this a main meal salad but you could also serve it as a side to some barbecued meat or even a starter.
Sweet potato salad – to serve 8 (we adjusted quantities to serve 2)
- 4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds, crushed with a pestle and mortar
- 3 dried chillies, crumbled 0r some chilli flakes
- 4 scallions
- 400g vine tomatoes
- a small bunch of basil leaves
- balsamic vinegar
- 100g watercress
- 200g feta cheese
- a handful of mixed seeds, toasted (we used pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds)
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roughly chop the sweet potatoes into large chunks then toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, the crushed cumin and chillies until well coated. Put on a baking tray and roast for about 25 minutes or until they are soft inside and crispy outside. Let them cool a bit.
Roughly chop the scallions and tomatoes and add to a bowl with the basil leaves. Dress with a good splash of balsamic vinegar and twice as much good quality olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
Squidge the sweet potato on to a big platter and top with the dressed onions and tomatoes. Pile the watercress on top and crumble over the feta. Drizzle some more olive oil over and sprinkle with the toasted nuts. Delicious!
(Original recipe by Jamie Oliver for Sainsbury’s magazine, August 2009)
Wine suggestion: try a white wine with good food ability and fresh fruit flavours. We chose a white Bordeaux, G de Guiraud, the dry white wine made by famous Sauternes producer Chateau Guiraud. The Semillon gives it a great food friendliness and structure to stand up to the many flavours in the salad, while the Sauvignon Blanc brings a fruitiness which balances the spicy chilli flavours.
Posted in Food, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Feta, Food, Jamie Oliver, Recipe, Salad, Sweet potato, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
12 August 2011 by jonoandjules
When we find recipes that do something a little differently and look like they work we have to give them a go. In this case Tessa Kiros suggested baking a firm white fish for one and a half hours which to our wisdom was too long to respect the fish flavours and texture but her enthusiasm and passion for the dish won out. The following recipe proved our preconceptions wrong and we had a delightful and flavoursome dish that proved a complete success. Definitely will be made again (and already has been :-))
Oven-baked fish with tomato & parsley (serves 4 )
- 1 kg firm white fish fillets, skinned and cut into 6cm pieces
- 400g tin tomatoes with juice
- 15g (1/4 cup) chopped parsley
- 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 2 celery stalks, very finely chopped with some leaves too if you like
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/350F. Lay fish pieces in a single layer in a large flat oven dish. Mix together all the other ingredients and taste for seasoning. Pour over and cover fish pieces, shaking the dish to balance and equally distribute the juices. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes until the liquid has thickened and the top of the fish is golden. You will have to judge this according to your oven as you may have to raise the temperature or reduce the time if necessary. Try to let the dish remain somewhat juicy and not dry out but at the same time crisp the top a little.
Serve with boiled or steamed potatoes as we did to good effect, or a warm crusty bread would work well too.
Wine Suggestion: A slightly herbally and mineral white with a medium body and no overt oak. We drank a superb Friulano brought by our friend Enrico, Vignai da Duline Fiulano 2007, which had a great balance of medium weight but perfectly poised concentration and elegant complexity. A delight and superbly matched the food. We recommend you search out this gem (2100 bottles in 2007) as it truly represents the Friulano grape to it very best and has a taughtness and poise that lifts it above the crowd.
We had this dish as the main when we cooked the
Saffron Penne – a good pair.
Posted in Fish, Food, Greek, Uncategorized | Tagged Cooking, Fish, Food, Greek, Recipe | Leave a Comment »
11 August 2011 by jonoandjules
Easy-peasy and used up some prawns that had been in the freezer for nearly too long.
Lemony prawn pasta with broccoli – to serve 4
- 300g farfalle pasta
- 1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
- 200g large cooked prawns
- 3 tbsp double cream
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack and scoop out and keep a bit of the cooking water near the end. Add the broccoli to the pasta pan 3 minutes before the end of the cooking time and cook for another 3 minutes. Drain and tip back into the pan.
Turn the heat down very low and add the prawns, cream, lemon juice and some seasoning. Add a bit of your pasta water if you need to thin the sauce a bit.
Healthy and low-fat dinner is served (the 3 tbsp of cream is divided between 4 people!!)
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Food, Healthy, Shellfish, Uncategorized | Tagged Cooking, Food, Healthy, Low fat, Pasta, prawns, Recipe, Shellfish | 1 Comment »
10 August 2011 by jonoandjules
We have a tonne of recipe books, some we use all the time and some we use very seldom. For this reason we try to go to the shelves and deliberately choose something we haven’t cooked from for ages, or indeed never. This is how we ended up cooking this gammon dish, as Nigella Express has been neglected since well before Jono and Jules even met. Since 2007 to be precise when Jules cooked some cocktail sausages in honey, soy sauce and sesame oil and wrote “28.10.2007 Too sweet!!” beside the recipe. The comment beside this recipe is, “5.8.11 Really good!! Serve with new spuds + peas w/ Parmesan + cream” – which is much more positive and so we thought we would share it.
Nigella’s Gammon Steaks with Parsley – Serves 2
- 2 tsp oil (Nigella suggests garlic oil but we didn’t have any and it didn’t seem to matter much)
- 2 gammon steaks, around 200g each
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp water
- lots of freshly ground pepper
- 2 tsp honey
- 4 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan and cook the gammon steaks for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm.
Take the pan off the heat. Whisk the vinegar with the water, pepper and honey and throw into the hot pan along with most of the parsley. Stir to mix and make sure you scrape all the sticky bits of the bottom of the pan, then pour over the gammon steaks.
Sprinkle over the remaining parsley and serve.
P.S. Nigella suggest serving this with some frozen peas blended with a little Parmesan, pepper and Mascarpone. We blended ours with some Parmesan, pepper and double cream as that’s what we had.
(Original recipe from Nigella Lawson’s Nigella Express, published by Chatto and Windus.)
Wine Suggestion: Pick a lightly oaked and well balanced Chardonnay – you should get a wine with freshness and minerality as well as lovely ripe fruits and a good structure to hold it all together. If the wine is well made it won’t be too forceful rather it will have a structure to support and compliment the food. We drank the William Cole Columbine Reserve Chardonnay from Chile which went down a treat; really great value at €13.50 in Mitchells.
Posted in Food, Pork, Uncategorized | Tagged Cooking, Food, Gammon, Nigella, Recipe | 3 Comments »
8 August 2011 by jonoandjules
The best curry we’ve ever made by a mile! This was fabulous – so much lighter than takeaway and the lamb just melted. Our whole chillies kind of disintegrated into the sauce so prepare yourself for a good chilli kick. You can grind the whole spices in a mortar and pestle but we’ve invested in a little electric spice grinder which turns them into fine powder almost instantly. A microplane is the way forward for grating ginger and garlic. Two of our more successful kitchen gadgets!
Spicy lamb, tomato and coconut curry – to serve 4
- 1tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 15 black peppercorns
- 5cm cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 500g boneless lamb shoulder, cubed
- 3 small onions, finely chopped
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 15g ginger, peeled weight, grated to a paste
- 8 fat garlic cloves, grated to a paste
- 3-6 green chillies, whole but pierced
- salt
- 2 tbsp ghee, or you can use half butter and half vegetable oil
- 200-300ml coconut milk, or to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
Use your spice grinder or mortar and pestle to pound the spices to a fine powder.
Put the lamb, 2 of the chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chillies, spices and salt in a large saucepan. Add 500ml water, bring to a boil, then cover and cook gently for 45-60 minutes, or until the lamb is cooked and soft. Give it a stir every 10 minutes or so.
After about 45 minutes, melt the ghee in a small saucepan and fry the remaining onion until well browned.
Once the lamb is cooked you need to cook off all the excess moisture over a high heat, stirring often, until almost all the sauce has been absorbed by the lamb. This is called bhunoing and helps deepen the flavours (try it before and after to see the difference it makes). Add the browned onion and ghee.
Pour in the coconut milk and lemon juice, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes; the sauce should be thick and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and add lemon or coconut milk until it tastes amazing.
We served this with brown basmati rice.
(Original recipe from Anjum Anand’s I ♥ Curry, published by Quadrille)
Posted in Asian, Food, Indian, Lamb, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
7 August 2011 by jonoandjules
This is made just like a risotto, except you use penne pasta instead of rice. Sounds strange but apparently it’s quite common in the south of Italy, according to our Italian friend. The pasta ends up really soft instead of al dente like we’re all used to but it melts in the mouth and is not at all like over-cooked pasta. We served this as a dinner party starter and it was really simple to stir up while we all had an aperitif.
Penne Gialle (Penne with Saffron) – to serve 4 (or 6 as a starter)
- about a litre of vegetable or meat stock
- 40g butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 350g penne lisce (this is the smooth type but if you have ridged penne that will do)
- pinch of saffron threads
- 40g Parmesan cheese, grated
Bring the stock to the boil. Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the penne and stir until shiny and coated with fat. Add a ladleful of hot stock and stir until it has been absorbed. Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, until the pasta is completely cooked. Stir the saffron into the last ladleful of stock before adding it to the pan. Mix well until everything turns an even yellow colour. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
(Original recipe from The Silver Spoon Pasta published by Phaidon – we highly recommend it!)
Wine Suggestion: We had a Friulano from the north-east of Italy but any fresh Italian white with good roundness and medium body will do. Stay clear of Pinot Grigio as it doesn’t tend to taste of much.
Posted in Food, Pasta, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Pasta, Recipe, Saffron, Starter, Vegetarian | 12 Comments »
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This caprese salad is made from all Irish ingredients – even the mozzarella (fellow Dubliners can pick some up in Fallon & Byrne). Perfect for what will probably be one of our last sunny lunches for this year.
Jono & Jules do food & wine 