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Posts Tagged ‘Food’

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

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

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

Chorizo tortilla – to serve 6

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

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

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

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

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

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Wasabi salmon with cucumber salad

Posted in Asian, Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 30 June 2011| 2 Comments »

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)

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Superhealthy Chicken Bake

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

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

Chicken bake – serves 2

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

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

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

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

We served this with a rocket salad.

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Something to use up courgettes and feta cheese

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 21 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

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
  1. 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.
  2. 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).

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A very impressive pasta dish

Posted in Food, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 20 June 2011| 3 Comments »

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
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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)

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Shoulder of Lamb à La Boulangère (Spalla Alla Fornaia)

Posted in Food, Lamb, tagged , , , , , on 12 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

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
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

 

 

 

 

 

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Spanish chickpea, chorizo & spinach stew

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

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

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

Spanish chickpea, chorizo & spinach stew – to feed 4

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

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Proper Ragù alla Bolognese

Posted in Beef, Food, tagged , , , , , , on 9 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

Italians don’t serve Bolognese with spaghetti or make a really runny tomato sauce like us Irish, so we went to our Italian experts for guidance: Giorgio Locatteli came up trumps. Jono also got to practice his new pasta trick which he’s somewhat obsessed with.

Ragù alla bolognese – serves 8 generously (but don’t divide the recipe, just make the lot and freeze it in small tubs -ready meals!)

  • 2 kg of minced beef neck (you may need to order this – chump will do if you can’t get it)
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • a large sprig of rosemary and one of sage, tied together
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • a bottle of red wine
  • 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1 litre of tomato passata
Take the meat out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature, spread  it out on a tray. This will make it sear rather than boil when you put it in the pan.
Heat the oil in a wide bottomed saucepan and add vegetables, herbs and whole garlic cloves and sweat over a high heat for 5-8 minutes without colouring – you need to keep stirring.
Season the meat with salt and pepper and add it to the vegetables making sure it covers the base of the saucepan. Don’t touch it for 5-6 minutes so it seals underneath and heats through. Careful your vegetables don’t burn – you can add a bit more oil if you need to.
Stir the meat and veg every few minutes for about 10-12 minutes until it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Now add the wine and let it reduce to almost nothing. Add the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes – keep stirring.
Add the passata with one litre of water, bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for an hour and a half. Add a bit of water now and again if necessary, until you have a thick sauce. (You could also cook it in the oven at 120C if you prefer).
When you’re ready to serve, heat the ragù, cook your pasta (preferably pappardelle, tagliatelle, or short pasta) and drain, reserving the cooking water. Add the pasta to the ragu and toss well – add some cooking water if you need to loosen the sauce a bit.
Serve with freshly grated pecorino.
(Original recipe from Giorgio Locatelli’s ‘Made in Italy: Food & Stories’)

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Prawn Salad # 2

Posted in Food, Healthy, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , on 8 June 2011| Leave a Comment »

We’re mad for prawns these day; mostly because we have a huge bag in the freezer. We’re also mad for avocados; but that’s because they are in season and taste yum at the minute! We even managed to eat this on the patio just before another big, rainy cloud came over. We love summers in Ireland; we might not get the weather but at least we can get summery produce.

Prawn, grapefruit and avocado salad – to serve 4 on the patio (weather permitting)

  • a medium rustic-style loaf, torn into big chunks
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large pink grapefruit
  • 2 avocados
  • 4 little gem lettuces
  • 200g cooked large prawns
  • 3 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
Heat the oven to 220C/Fan 200C/Gas 7. Put the bread chunks onto a baking tray, drizzle with 2 tsp of oil and rub in with your hands. Season and bake for 10 minutes until they are crispy and golden.
Cut the peel and pith off one of the grapefruits and slice into segments. Throw these in your salad bowl.
Squeeze the juice from the other grapefruit into a separate small bowl.
Peel, stone and slice the avocados and separate the lettuce leaves. Add these to the grapefruit segments along with the prawns.
Whisk the sweet chilli sauce and remaining tsp of oil into the grapefruit juice and season.
Cool the croutons for a few minutes before tossing with the rest of the salad and drizzling over the sweet chilli dressing.
Dada!

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Italian Summer Avocado and Prawn Salad

Posted in Food, Healthy, Shellfish, tagged , , , , , , , on 6 June 2011| 2 Comments »

It’s avocado season and we have a big bag of prawns in the freezer. This is one of two prawn and avocado salads we’ve tried in the last few days. The seasoned pistachios make this one a bit special. We loved it.

Avocado and prawn salad (Insalata di avocado e gamberetti)

  • 50g pistachio nuts, shelled and chopped
  • 2 avocados
  • juice of a lemon
  • 200g cooked peeled prawns
  • olive oil
  • salt and white pepper
Mix the pistachios with a pinch of pepper in a bowl.
Peel, half and stone the avocados. Slice them thinly and drizzle with the lemon juice.
Put the avocado in a salad bowl, add the prawns and stir gently.
Sprinkle the pistachios over, season lightly with salt, drizzle with oil and serve.
Wine Suggestion: Try a dry Gasgogny rose (ours was Domaine de Pellehaut from Mitchell & Son on offer for €7.95. Bargain!)
(Original recipe from ‘Recipes from an Italian Summer’ published by Phaidon)

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Jono and Jules are back from Tuscany and are very hungry!

Posted in Brunch, Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 18 May 2011| 2 Comments »

Quite a lot has happened since our last post. We moved house, then we got married, then we went to London, Paris and Italy. Lot’s of eating and drinking but no time for blog posts. When we got home we couldn’t work out if our new house had been robbed or if we had just left it in a complete state of disarray. Thankfully the latter. So needless to say we left the mess where it was and headed to the shops to get some ingredients for a tasty breakfast/brunch and two course dinner.

Breakfast/brunch mushrooms on toast for 2

  • 250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • butter
  • really nice bread, toasted (we got a white pan loaf from Butler’s Pantry)
You could probably work this out for yourselves.
Fry the mushrooms for about 5 minutes in a knob of butter until they’re soft and your mouth starts watering. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in another knob of butter and the parsley.
Throw the mushrooms on top of your toast.
It’s nice to be home.

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Braised Chicken & Flageolet Beans

Posted in Chicken, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 23 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

Yes it’s another chicken recipe but we’ve made a pact not to cook anymore chicken for a while. We got all over-excited when we realised M&S had skinless, boneless chicken thighs and bought tonnes of them and now we’re sick of chicken. Still, this was quite nice with a nice tang from the wine and as we’d opened the bottle we felt we had to have a glass to drink too. Another healthy one and quick to make after work.

The healthy mid-week recipes are going to be non-chicken for the forseeable future.

Braised chicken & flageolet beans – serves 2, but easily doubled

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 300ml white wine
  • 400g can flageolet beans, rinsed & drained
  • handful of flat parsley

Heat the oil in a wide pan with a lid, add the chicken and brown it all over. Tip in the onion, garlic and thyme, then fry for 2 minutes.

Pour in the wine, 150ml water and season with salt & pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, covering half way through, until the chicken is cooked.

Stir in the beans and warm through briefly. Roughly chop the parsley and stir it in to serve.

Wine suggestion: We used a Chilean Chardonnay in the dish which tasted good to drink with it too. Chardonnay and chicken are nice together.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Creamy Conchiglie with Gorgonzola & Pistachios

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 20 March 2011| 2 Comments »

We’ve been away all weekend, so after 2.5 hours in the car we needed a tasty treat: this delivered the goods really well and was quick and easy. The recipe is from our favourite pasta book, The Silver Spoon: Pasta, which never ever fails.

Conchiglie’s great for creamy sauces as all the cheesey goo gets caught in the shells.

Conchiglie con Gorgonzola e Pistacchi – serves 4 but easily halved

  • 50g pistachios
  • 100g Gorgonzola, diced
  • 2 tbsp double cream
  • 300g conchiglie
  • 40g Parmesan, grated

Put the pistachios into a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over. Leave to stand for 3 minutes. Drain well and rub the skins off with your fingers – don’t burn yourself! Chop the kernels and set aside.

Cook the conchiglie in plenty of boiling, salted water until al dente.

Meanwhile put the Gorgonzola and the cream into a small saucepan and stir constantly over a low heat until smooth. Set aside until your pasta is done.

Drain the pasta and tip into a warm serving dish. Toss with the melted Gorgonzola, chopped pistachios and Parmesan.

Serve right away and enjoy.

Wine Suggestion: If we’d had one we would have drunk a Greco di Tufo with this – a full-bodied but crisp and minerally white from southern Italy. It also has a nutty character which would compliment the pistachios nicely.

 

 

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Healthy Lemony Chicken and Courgette Couscous

Posted in Chicken, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , on 15 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

This is a good everyday recipe and a really nice way to cook boring old skinless boneless chicken breasts.  We’re hoping the leftovers will make nice lunch boxes for tomorrow too.

Chicken with lemon and courgette couscous – to serve 4

  • 200g couscous
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 courgettes, grated
  • 2 lemons, 1 halved, 1 cut in wedges
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Put the couscous into a large bowl and pour over the stock. Cover and leave for 10 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the courgettes until softened and starting to crisp at the edges. We used very big courgettes which gave out loads of water – it this happens just drain the water off in a colander and put the courgettes back in the pan to crisp up a little.

Tip the courgettes into the couscous and stir in plenty of seasoning and a good squeeze of lemon juice from one of the halves.

Halve the chicken breasts horizontally and put them on sheets of cling film. Cover with another sheet and beat them out with a rolling pin to make them thinner. We had escalopes in the freezer which worked well without bashing. Season.

Heat the other tbsp of oil in a large pan and fry the chicken for 2 minutes on each side. Squeeze over the juice from the other half lemon and serve with couscous and lemon wedges.

Hardly any fat or calories which can’t be bad either.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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A very happy New Year

Posted in Beef, Food, tagged , , , , , on 2 January 2011| Leave a Comment »

Over the last few years we’ve celebrated New Years by staying in and cooking something really nice and drinking a special bottle of wine; just the two of us! We then go out on New Year’s day to have a big lunch with friends. This year we cooked a rib of beef on the bone: in reality this is a roast beef for 2 people. Perfect with the quality of the beef really shining (we bought some well hung, organic beef from our butcher Tom) because the cooking is so simple.

Jamie’s Ultimate rib of beef with rosemary and garlic roast potatoes – to serve 2

For the potatoes:

  • 600g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • a sprig of rosemary
  • olive oil, or duck or goose fat
  • 5 cloves of garlic, skin on and smashed

For the beef:

  • 3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
  • zest and juice of  1 lemon
  • a small bunch of rosemary tied together to make a little brush
  • olive oil
  • 1 x 1.2kg rib of beef

Put the garlic, lemon zest and tip of rosemary brush in a pestle and mortar, add a glug of olive oil and bash together. Use the brush to rub half of this marinade over your steak and leave for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

Put potatoes cubes in a big pot of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Drain immediately in a colander and return to dry pot to dry out.

Crush rosemary leaves and add to a roasting tray with the potatoes, crushed garlic cloves and some oil. Season and toss together until well coated. Put in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and crispy – give them a shake every now and again.

Heat ovenproof griddle pan on the hob until white hot. Season the steak really well and fry it in the pan without moving for a couple of minutes. Turn it over, baste it with the leftover marinade and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the steak over every 5 minutes and continue to baste with the marinade. This should cook it to medium. When cooked squeeze over some lemon juice and rest for 5 minutes.

Carve and serve with the roasties – delicious!

Wine Suggestion: treat yourself to a really good Bordeaux.

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