21 July 2011 by jonoandjules
Really interesting flavours that celebrate each component: sloes, gin and rhubarb. Great served chilled with plain yogurt or muesli for your morning breakfast – the alcohol burns off in the oven. If you haven’t got any sloe gin we’re definitely not suggesting you go looking for some just for this recipe. On the other hand if you happen to have some lying around, then it’s definitely worth trying.
Nigel Slater’s Sloe Rhubarb – to serve 4
- 750g rhubarb
- 100g sugar
- 120ml sloe gin
- 2 tbsp water
Heat the oven at 160°C/Gas 3. Cut the rhubarb into short sticks. Put it into a glass, stainless steal or china dish (not aluminium, as it will taint the rhubarb).
Stir the sugar, sloe gin and water together and pour over the rhubarb. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour – if the rhubarb is tough it will take the full hour to soften. Keep and eye on it and baste now and then.
When the rhubarb is tender, remove it from the oven and leave to cool. Can be served warm but we liked it chilled.
(Original recipe from Tender – Volume 2 by Nigel Slater)
Posted in Brunch, Dessert, Food, Uncategorized | Tagged Cooking, Food, Fruit, Healthy, Recipe, Rhubarb, Sloe gin | Leave a Comment »
20 July 2011 by jonoandjules
Apologies to any of you that don’t like courgettes but as long as people keep donating us homegrown ones we’re going to keep on cooking them.
This dish is based on courgettes, onions and garlic and it’s so tasty that you can’t tell it’s low fat. The recipe is to serve 8 (to serve buffet-style) but we just cooked half and it worked well.
The original recipe suggested side dishes of tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. We had some new potatoes to use up so we roasted them with a bit of oil and some herbs from the garden.
Chicken saute with courgettes and garlic – to serve 8 (easily halved)
- 8 x chicken breast fillets
- 8-10 small courgettes – we used a giant one
- 2 onions
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 2 red chillies
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 50g butter
- juice of 2 small limes
- lime wedges, to serve
- Cut the chicken into 1cm thick strips and the courgettes into 1cm thick slices on an angle. Slice the onions finely and separate into rings. Slice the garlic very finely. Deseed the chillies and shred finely.
- Heat a large frying pan or a heavy roasting tin on the hob. Add the oil and sauté the onions and courgettes until golden brown – you might have to do this in a few batches. Season and transfer to a plate.
- Add the butter to the frying pan. When it sizzles, sauté the chicken strips in batches until golden brown all over. Add them all back to the pan together and cook for another minute before seasoning and adding the onions, courgettes and sliced garlic.
- Keep cooking for another few minutes until everything is almost tender, then add the lime juice, and check the seasoning. Scatter over the chillies and serve with lime wedges.
(Original recipe by Gary Rhodes for BBC Good Food Magazine July 2003)
Posted in Chicken, Food, Healthy | Tagged Chicken, Cooking, Courgettes, Food, Healthy, Low fat, Recipe | Leave a Comment »
14 July 2011 by jonoandjules
Well this was a pleasant surprise! We only made it cause it was super cheap and low fat but we will definitely be doing it again. This costs less than €2 a head and it is gorgeous! We don’t buy tomato pasta sauce because this one is so fabulous, super cheap, easy and freezes. We usually have some pasta dough in the freezer that needs used too so the picture has fresh tagliarini – so for us it cost the price of a tin of tuna. Still we don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you use shop bought sauce and dried spaghetti either.
Italian Tuna Balls – to serve 4 (easy to double or halve)
- 2 x 160g cans tuna in oil, drained (reserve a bit of the oil)
- small handful pine nuts
- finely grated zest 1 lemon
- small handful parsley, roughly chopped
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 400g spaghetti
- 500g jar tomato pasta sauce
Flake the tuna into a bowl, then add the pine nuts, lemon zest, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. Season and mix with your hands until really well combined. Roll the mix into 12 walnut-size balls. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil, then cook the spaghetti according to the pack.
Heat a little of the tuna oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then fry the tuna balls for 5 minutes or until completely golden all over. Drain on kitchen paper. Heat the tomato sauce, then toss with the pasta and tuna balls.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Italian, Pasta, Uncategorized | Tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Pasta, Recipe, Tuna | 5 Comments »
13 July 2011 by jonoandjules
This is a veggie version of our Easy BBQ Kebabs and this time we made our own honey-mustard marinade. Another convenience item that we won’t be buying again as it’s just so simple to make (and we always have honey and mustard in the cupboard). These should keep your veggie friends happy or you can serve them as a side dish for the carnivores. We had them with baked potatoes and parsley butter as there was leftover parsley in the fridge. Very yummy indeed.
Veggie kebabs to serve 4
- 2 tbsp clear honey
- 2 tsp grainy mustard
- 4 tbsp oil
- 2 courgettes, thickly sliced
- 1 aubergine, cut into chunks
- 1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 1 orange pepper, cut into chunks
If you only have wooden skewers you need to soak them for about 30 minutes or they will burn on the barbecue. We like metal ones.
Blend the honey, mustard and oil with seasoning.
Thread the vegetables onto the skewers and brush with the glaze.
Cook for 20-30 minutes on the barbecue.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
If you have leftovers stir them through some couscous with some toasted nuts and herbs for lunchboxes.
Posted in Barbecue, Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged BBQ, Cooking, Food, Honey & mustard, Recipe, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
12 July 2011 by jonoandjules
… they always need help eating them. According to Johnny and Vivienne Mitchell, this courgette season is so good in Dublin that they can’t keep up. We were the lucky recipients of this courgette and another one so far – yay!
Courgette, basil & almond pasta – to serve 2
- 175g/6oz orecchiette pasta
- 2 tbsp toasted blanched almonds (we only had flaked almonds so we toasted these and they did the job)
- 2 small or 1 medium courgette (or a chunk off a massive one)
- 1 garlic clove
- large bunch basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 rounded tbsp grated parmesan
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the instructions on the pack.
Meanwhile, finely chop the almonds, chop the courgette into small chunks, crush the garlic and pick the basil leaves from the stalks.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the courgette for a few minutes until it starts to soften, then add the garlic and half the basil and cook for another minute.
Drain the pasta and add it to to the courgettes, along with the almonds, the rest of the basil, the parmesan, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Toss everything together and serve with extra parmesan.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Food, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Almonds, Cooking, Courgettes, Food, lemon, Pasta, Recipe, Vegetarian | 2 Comments »
11 July 2011 by jonoandjules
Tiromezes
This is so simple to make and was an excellent way to start a Greek meal (see main course below). The saltiness of the feta becomes imperceptible with grilling, and it balances perfectly with the sweetness of the tomato and mild heat of the chilli. We’ll definitely do this again!
Tiromezes: easy cheese appetizer – serves 4
- 4 square, thick slices feta cheese
- 1 large tomato, cut into 4 rounds
- 1 long green chilli, thinly sliced
- pinch of dry oregano
- pepper
- olive oil for drizzling
Preheat the grill. Put the cheese slices side by side in a shallow flameproof dish. Put a tomato slice on top of each feta square and top with the slices of chilli. Sprinkle with oregano and pepper and drizzle with a little bit of oil. Grill for 6-8 minutes, until the tomato and chilli are lightly browned. Serve immediately with a glass of ouzo if you have some (we didn’t 😦 maybe next time).
(Original recipe from Vefa’s Kitchen)
Posted in Food, Greek, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Feta, Food, Greek, Mezzedes, Recipe, Starter, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
11 July 2011 by jonoandjules
Gigantes me spanaki ke loukanika sto fourno (Bean, Spinach and Sausage Casserole)
Don’t be scared that this takes over 24 hours preparation – it’s all soaking time for the beans! It does take about an hour and a half to cook though so don’t get started too late. It is very easy despite the time it takes and is totally worth it.
Gigantes me spanaki ke loukanika sto fourno (Bean, Spinach and Sausage Casserole) – serves 4
- 300g dried butter beans
- 120ml olive oil
- 250g pork sausages, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 onion, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 400g can chopped tomoatoes
Cover the Butter beans in plenty of cold water and soak for 24 hours.
Put the beans into a saucepan, cover them with cold water, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, then drain and tip into an ovenproof casserole dish.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a frying pan. Add the sausage, onion, and garlic and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes, until the onion has softened. Stir in the tomatoes and parsley, season and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture over the beans, stir well and bake, adding a little hot water if necessary, for about 50 minutes or until the beans are soft – check every now and then that it isn’t drying out and give it a stir.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the spinach, and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, until wilted. Drain well. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan, add the spinach and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes.
Take the beans out of the oven and dot the top with spinach. Bake for 5 minutes more. Serve hot.
Kali orexi (bon appétit)!
(Original recipe from Vefa’s Kitchen published by Phaidon)
Posted in Food, Greek, Pork, Uncategorized | Tagged Butterbeans, Cooking, Food, Greek, Recipe, Sausages, Spinach | 2 Comments »
10 July 2011 by jonoandjules
Anchovies are like Marmite – you love them or hate them. We love them and to really make them sing this is what to do.
To serve 4:
Arrange 8 large good-quality pickled anchovy fillets on a nice plate. Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and drizzle some olive oil over them. Grind over a good twist of black pepper, scatter over a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves then toss and serve.
Your anchovy-loving friends will thank you.
(Idea from Anchovies in Jamie Does…)
Posted in Food, Uncategorized | Tagged Anchovies, Cooking, Food, Jamie Does..., Recipe, Starter, Tapas | Leave a Comment »
10 July 2011 by jonoandjules
Houmous 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)
Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized | Tagged Cooking, Falling cloudberries, Food, Houmous, Hummus, Recipe, Starter, Tessa Kiros | Leave a Comment »
5 July 2011 by jonoandjules
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.
Posted in Food, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Paella, Plenty, Recipe, Spanish, Vegetarian, Yotum Ottolenghi | 5 Comments »
4 July 2011 by jonoandjules
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!
Posted in Food, Pork, Uncategorized | Tagged Cooking, Food, Petits Pois, Pork, Recipe, Stephane Reynaud, Sunday lunch | Leave a Comment »
3 July 2011 by jonoandjules
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.
Posted in Pork, Uncategorized | Tagged Chorizo, Cooking, Eggs, Food, Pork & Sons, Recipe, Stephane Reynaud, Tortilla | 1 Comment »
30 June 2011 by jonoandjules
This was another of our heathy weeknight ideas – some of which turn out surprisingly well and others that turn out a bit bland and boring (we don’t blog the bland ones). This was great, though beware of wasabi fumes coming down your nose, a sensation we quite like but mightn’t be for everyone. The cucumber salad was a real hit too – salty, sweet, hot and sour. Felt like a bit of a treat in fact.
Wasabi salmon with cucumber salad – to serve 2
- 2 salmon fillets, c. 125g each
- 1 tbsp wasabi paste
- half a cucumber
- 1 small red chilli, cut into rings
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1tsp golden caster sugar
- 1tsp salt
- 2 tsp poppyseeds
- steamed rice to serve
Rub the salmon all over with a tiny bit of oil and then the wasabi paste.
Split the cucumber in half lengthways and discard the seeds. Cut into large diagonal chunks and put in a bowl. Add the chilli, rice vinegar, salt, sugar, poppyseeds and a bit of pepper. Mix well until the salt and sugar have dissolved. There will be quite a lot of liquid but don’t worry and don’t be tempted to leave out the salt as it is essential for the hot, sour, salty, sweet balance.
Preheat your grill and grill the fish for 5-6 minutes or until is turned a nice colour on top and is just cooked through (no need to turn it over).
Serve with the cucumber salad and steamed rice. The salad dressing is nice drizzled over the fish too.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)
Posted in Asian, Fish, Food, Healthy | Tagged Asian, Cooking, Fish, Food, Healthy, Recipe | 2 Comments »
29 June 2011 by jonoandjules
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.
Posted in Food, Healthy, Uncategorized | Tagged Chicken, Cooking, Food, Healthy, Potatoes, Recipe, Tomatoes | Leave a Comment »
27 June 2011 by jonoandjules
We were very tired on Sunday (after our big dinner party the night before) so these kebabs were about as much as we could muster. They are easy to do for a crowd too if you’re planning a summer barbecue. It’s a bit of a cheat as we use a bought honey and mustard marinade (ours was from Marks & Spencer).
BBQ Honey & Mustard Chicken Kebabs – serves 4
- 4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
- 12 rashers of streaky bacon
- 1 yellow, 1 red and 1 orange pepper, cut into chunks
- 2 red onions, cut into wedges
- 1 bottle of honey & mustard marinade (M&S do a good one)
Stretch the bacon rashers with the back of a knife and cut each slice into 3 pieces. Wrap the pieces of bacon around the lumps of chicken.
Thread the peppers, onions, and chicken onto skewers (metal ones are best – if you have wooden ones you need to soak them for 20 minutes so they don’t burn on the barbecue).
Brush the marinade over the kebabs and leave for 20 minutes or so.
Cook the kebabs on a barbecue until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with potatoes and coleslaw.
Posted in Barbecue, Chicken, Food | Leave a Comment »
26 June 2011 by jonoandjules
We are not known for making desserts … as we never really eat them. Last night we entertained 8 of our friends who all want a mention on our blog (Aisling, Niall, Thaiba, Simon, Nicola, Dave, Tim & Michael). We decided to do something easy to pull out of the fridge when ready. We’d seen this recipe earlier in Jamie’s 30 minute meals and because we had some Limoncello we gave it a go. Result: simple preparation and can be made earlier in the day. It was light and had just the right amount of alcohol tang to be refreshing at the end of the meal, and as all the plates were empty, well enjoyed.
Limoncello Trifle (to serve 6, we made 2)
- 3 oranges
- 75ml Limoncello
- 100g sponge fingers
- 250g marscapone
- 2 heaped tablespoons icing sugar
- 100ml semi-skimmed milk
- 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 punnet of seasonal fruit, we used raspberries
- bar of good quality dark chocolate
In a good sized serving dish (it will need to fit a single layer of your sponge fingers) squeeze the juice from the oranges. Stir in the Limoncello and taste to check sweetness and alcohol; adjust if necessary. Layer the sponge fingers in the serving dish – they will absorb all the juice.
Put the marscapone and icing sugar into a separate bowl with the milk. Zest the lemon and add to the marscapone and squeeze in the juice of half the lemon. Add the vanilla extract and whisk well. Spread this mixture over the sponge fingers, top with the berries and shave chocolate over the top. Refrigerate until you are ready to eat.
We used Carlo Pellegrino Limoncello from Sicily as it has a good balance of freshness and acidity making it not too sweet and sickly. Also good served from ice cold from the freezer.
Posted in Dessert, Food | Tagged Dessert, Jamie's 30 minute meals, Limoncello, Trifle | 4 Comments »
24 June 2011 by jonoandjules
Reserve du Reverend, Corbières 2009, €9.95 from Mitchell & Son, Dublin
Jules and I regularly drink wines from the south of France, we find them reliable and usually good value; the Reserve du Reverend is no exception.
Corbières is the largest appellation in the Languedoc, southern France. As such it has the advantage of good, warm weather and plenty of sunshine. It also has cooling breezes sweeping up from the Mediterranean into the Pyrenees. This breeze helps keep the grapes from getting too hot and then becoming jammy and alcoholic.
Like many wines from this area the Reserve du Reverend is a blend of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah; these grapes give a juiciness without any hard edges. The joy here is the balance of brambly, dark berried fruit and the easy, velvety and slightly herbal spices. A wine that doesn’t try to be any more than enjoyable and drinkable. Because it succeeds at this there is a big cheers from me.
A wine that is as easy to drink on its own, or with rustic French fare: grilled meats, roast duck, lamb or ratatouille.
After a long week at work and on a rainy Friday night in the middle of our Irish summer it was good to get home, cook a simple pasta and open something uncomplicated but well made, balanced and enjoyable.
Posted in France, Wine | Tagged Carignan, Corbieres, Grenache, Languedoc, red wine, Syrah, Wine | Leave a Comment »
21 June 2011 by jonoandjules
We came across this while searching for inspiration on how to use some courgettes and feta cheese that had been lurking in the fridge since the weekend. It was really tasty, very quick and cheap to make (even if you don’t happen to have any courgettes and feta in the fridge). All we had to buy today was some salad leaves and ciabatta bread to go with it. Perfect summer fare for a weeknight.
Courgette & bean bake with feta – to serve 4 (easy to half)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 courgettes, halved lengthways and sliced into half moons
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped oregano
- 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 2 x 410g tins cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 200g pack feta
- crusty bread and salad to serve
- Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the courgettes for 5 minutes or until golden. Stir in the garlic and half of the oregano and cook for 30 seconds before gently folding in the tomatoes and beans. Heat through for about 4 minutes. Season to taste, then heat the grill to medium.
- Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish. Crumble over the feta, drizzle with the remaining oil, then grill for 5 minutes until the cheese has turned golden brown. Sprinkle with the rest of the oregano and serve with crusty bread and salad.
Wine Suggestion: Stick to the summer theme with a glass of rosé – we recommend the 2010 Chateau de L’Engarran from the Languedoc (€13.95 from Mitchell & Son). Perfectly dry and fresh; a great accompaniment to food.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, June 2009).
Posted in Food, Vegetarian | Tagged Cannellini Beans, Cooking, Courgettes, Feta, Food, Oregano, Recipe, Tomatoes, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
20 June 2011 by jonoandjules
Jamie Oliver recommends you practice this recipe before serving for a crowd and we agree. We cooked this about a year ago for our friends Rob and Megan and while the flavours and presentation were great we made the pasta just a bit too thick. Second time around we slimmed down the pasta, with the help of our new pasta machine and it improved dramatically, but we miscalculated the width so had to trim the rotolo after rolling. So Jono’s tips for success:
- You need a fish kettle;
- make the pasta very thin, but not quite as thin as usual (we used setting 6 instead of 8). Jamie says the thickness of a beer mat, but make it a fraction thinner than this;
- measure the width of your rotolo against the fish kettle before constructing it – allow a little of pasta at the edge to keep it sealed nicely; and
- this takes ages, but it’s really worth it, tastes great and looks super impressive.
First you need to make some fresh pasta so here’s a recipe for that:
- 600g type 00 flour
- 6 eggs or 12 yolks (the 12 yolks makes a richer, more yellow pasta)
Put the flour on a board, make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into the well. Use a fork to beat the eggs until smooth. Mix the eggs with the flour as much as possible so it’s not too sticky and start to knead. It’s actually quite hard to knead pasta dough but keep at it for about 10 minutes and it will come together and form a smooth, silky and elastic dough. Cover with cling film and rest for an hour.
Rotolo di zucca e ricota (Rotolo of spinach and ricotta)
- 455g fresh egg pasta dough (see above)
- half a butternut squash, deseeded
- olive oil
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- half a dried red chilli or half a tsp of chilli flakes
- a handful of fresh marjoram or oregano
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- 800g spinach, washed
- 250g unsalted butter
- a third of a nutmeg, grated
- 150g ricotta cheese, crumbled
- 55g freshly grated Parmesan
- 20 fresh sage leaves
- Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. Chop the squash into big chunks and rub them with a little olive oil. Bash coriander seeds, fennel seeds and chilli in a mortar and pestle with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Dust this over the squash and put into a snug fitting roasting dish or tray. Cover with a piece of damp greaseproof paper and roast for 30 minutes. Take off the paper and continue to roast for another 15-20 minutes or until golden.
- Heat a large pan and add a little olive oil, the marjoram or oregano and the garlic. Toss around for 20 seconds before adding the spinach. Keep moving the spinach and add a couple of knobs of butter and the nutmeg after a minute or two. Cook until the moisture has cooked away, then season to taste and leave to cool.
- Roll the pasta using a pasta machine into long thin strips (see tip above). Stick the strips together using a little water. Keep it in a rectangular shape but trim off as you need. Lay onto a clean tea towel (remember to measure the long side against your kettle).
- Spoon a line of squash along the long edge of the sheet. Sprinkle the spinach over the rest of the sheet leaving the top 5cm clear. Crumble the ricotta over the spinach and sprinkle over the Parmesan. Brush the clear edge of the pasta with a little water then use the near edge of the tea towel to roll the pasta up and away from you. Roll up in the tea towel and tie firmly at the end with kitchen string. Tie a few bits of string round the middle too to keep the shape and tie an extra bit of string at one end so it can hang out of the kettle and act as a handle.
- Fill the fish kettle with boiling salted water. Lower the rotolo in and use the fish kettle rack on top to keep it submerged. Simmer for at least 25 minutes.
- While the rotolo is cooking you need to clarify some butter. Put the remainder of the butter into an ovenproof dish and put in a low oven (about 80C/170F) for about 10 minutes or until clear and melted. The milky whey will have sunk to the bottom, discard any white bits from the top and spoon out the clear butter. Discard the whey. You’ll have too much but the leftovers can be used for roast potatoes another day.
- Put 3 tbsp of clarified butter into a small pan and heat it up. Add a sage leaf and if it fries nicely add the rest of the leaves and fry until they start to crisp. Keep to one side.
- Carefully remove the rotolo from the pan, remove the string, unroll the tea towel and slice it up. A couple of slices per portion. Scatter sage leaves and drizzle with the sage flavoured butter and grate some Parmesan over. Serve with a leafy salad.
(Original recipe from Jamie’s Italy)
Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian | Tagged Cooking, Food, Italian, Jamie Oliver, Pasta, Recipe, Rotolo, Sage, Spinach, Squash, Vegetarian | 3 Comments »
12 June 2011 by jonoandjules
It’s another wintery dish made a bit more seasonal by the minty summer vegetables on the side. Yes it’s another very wet and chilly day in Ireland. Rather than get down about it we have turned it into an opportunity and spent all day indoors cooking. We got this recipe from Silver Spoon (the Italian cooking bible) hence the Italian translation above. Perfect for feeding a crowd as easy to prep in advance and the only last minute work is to steam the veg and carve the meat.
Shoulder of Lamb à la Boulangère – to serve 6
- 25g butter, plus a bit extra for greasing
- 1 kg potatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp chopped thyme
- 500g onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 kg boneless shoulder of lamb
- 500ml meat or veg stock
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a large ovenproof dish with butter. Make a layer of potatoes on the base of the dish, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a little thyme and cover with a layer of onions and garlic. Continue making layers until all these ingredients have been used.
- Make a few incisions in the lamb with a little knife, put it on top of the vegetables and season. Pour the stock into the dish, dot the lamb with butter and roast, basting the potatoes now and then, for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and cover with a sheet of foil, then put it back in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Leave the meat to stand with the cover on for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with some steamed greens (we used fresh peas and asparagus) with some mint and a drizzle of olive oil.
Wine suggestion: Lamb has traditional matches like Rioja and Bordeaux, so we chose a bottle of Sarget de Gruaud -Larose from St. Julien in Bordeaux and from the classic 2004 vintage. It worked a treat with delightful blackcurrant aromas and flavours overlaid with sophisticated cedar and other sweet spices. As it is more medium bodied, despite powerful flavours it didn’t overwhelm the food and complimented it superbly.
Posted in Food, Lamb | Tagged Boulangere, Cooking, Food, Lamb, Recipe, Roast | Leave a Comment »
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Really interesting flavours that celebrate each component: sloes, gin and rhubarb. Great served chilled with plain yogurt or muesli for your morning breakfast – the alcohol burns off in the oven. If you haven’t got any sloe gin we’re definitely not suggesting you go looking for some just for this recipe. On the other hand if you happen to have some lying around, then it’s definitely worth trying.
Jono & Jules do food & wine 