The Christmas/ New year break is always an excuse for us (ok, an excuse for me) to overindulge and eat and drink far too much. But given the historical importance of the passing of the shortest day, I'm sure that people have been exuberantly celebrating the return of the longer days for quite some time.
I got a few new cookbooks as presents (I'm sure there's a bit of background research that goes on to make sure that I don't already have the book(s) involved!) and I can thoroughly recommend:
"The Good Table" by Valentine Warner, who writes cookbooks like they should be written: every page contains something that I want to eat (and every aspiring cook should have this book as far as I'm concerned).
Food from Plenty, by Diana Hendry is a book with wonderful food, but I feel that the name of the book is completely wrong. It isn't a celebration of abundance, but it's a really worthwhile book about using what's best at the right time and at the right price. I fear the title might put many people off:
And although I have a very representative selection of the best of the new cookbooks to be published in the past 30 years, I managed to miss the first River Cottage book, which has just been re-issued in an updated version:
I genuinely promote those books without hesitation. One could happily use them for several years and not regret a day.
For relaxation (!) I'm reading "The Food of France" by Waverley Root, first published in 1958. This huge tome discusses the evolution of French food with regard to the political history and geography, and thoroughly covers ingredients, cooking techniques, trends and personalities. There are no recipes, but many dishes are described in the abstract, so I was able to 'reverse engineer' this excellent recipe tonight:
'Far'
Ingredients:
Greens, to include cabbage, spinach, chard, spring greens
Leeks and onions
Bacon (I used pancetta)
Eggs
Double cream
The quantities must be inexact, but the ratio of greens to sauce doesn't really matter all that much.
My method:
Chop up the greens and leeks/onions and simmer in water for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool and then squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Render the bacon/pancetta in oil or lard until just crisping and then add the chopped greens and simmer the lot very slowly for another 20 minutes stirring from time to time. Break 3 eggs into a bowl and add 250 ml. of cream. Whisk thoroughly. Put the egg and cream mixture into a pan and heat over the lowest possible heat, stirring all the time until it just thickens. Combine the greens and the cream mixture over a very low heat, just to make sure the amalgamation takes place. Season to taste with salt (careful!) and black pepper.
I served this with boiled new potatoes that I sliced and browned in a little lard.
Lard, bacon, eggs, cream....call an ambulance just in case!
Showing posts with label pancetta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pancetta. Show all posts
Friday, 13 January 2012
Friday, 2 December 2011
Boeuf Bourguignon Pasties
Yes. You read the title correctly.
I'm quite fond of a beef stew and I have many recipes that I rotate. Occasionally I go the whole way and make Boeuf Bourguignon. Here's my (long and complex) recipe:
For the marinade:
3 lbs. Cubed shoulder of beef
3 onions peeled and coarsely chopped
Bottle of decent red wine
Herb bouquet (thyme, parsley, bay)
2 peeled cloves of garlic, smashed
Splash of red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put everything into a large bowl. Stir to mix well and leave overnight in a cool place.
For the stew:
Preheat oven to 150c
Lardons of pancetta (or smoked bacon)
Sprinkling of white flour
Beef stock as required
Take the beef out of the bowl and pat dry on kitchen towels. Get some oil smoking hot in a large oven-proof casserole and render the pancetta until the bacon is beginning to crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Put a single layer of beef in the casserole and allow to brown on all sides. Remove the browned beef (I pile it into the upturned lid of the casserole) and repeat this browning process until all the beef has been done. Reduce the heat and add the onions and garlic from the marinade and allow them to soften and take colour for around 15 minutes. Sprinkle over the flour, stirring it in and allowing it to take some colour, too. Pour in the liquids from the marinade and stir to amalgamate completely. The sauce base should thicken slightly. Return the beef and bacon to the pan, stirring to mix thoroughly. Top up with enough stock to cover the beef. I usually add a little bit of tomato puree at this point, more for colour than anything else. Add the herb bouquet. Cover and bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Put the beef into the oven, regulating the heat so that the stew just bubbles gently. Leave to cook for 3 to 4 hours. About 1 hour before the stew is ready, prepare the garnish:
Garnish:
Handful of mushrooms, quartered
Skinned pearl or pickling onions (or even shallots)
Knob of butter
Melt the butter in a pan and fry the mushrooms until gently browned. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and stir them into the stew. Roll the onions around in the remaining butter until the surface takes on a little brown colour. Add the onions and any remaining juices to the stew. Stir the stew and continue to cook it in the oven for the remaining hour or so.
When the stew is ready, remove it from the oven and spoon off any obvious surface fat. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and drops of red wine vinegar. This should be served simply, with boiled potatoes or pasta and peas, green beans, or haricots.
Leftover Boef Bourgignon (what??), in common with many other stews, is better the second day. Or it can be used to make these amazing pasties:
For the pasties:
The beef should be a bit dryer having been stored overnight. That makes it the ideal filling for pastry.
Preheat oven to as high as it will go.
Roll out puff pastry into rectangles, put them on thin baking sheets, and brush the border all round with beaten egg. Pile the stew into one half of each rectangle, being sure to keep the edges clear. Fold the empty half over the filled half, pressing the edges tightly together. Fold the edges back on themselves in crimps to ensure a tight seal. Press down along the seal with the back of a fork to make the seal look good. Cut a couple of small slits in the top of the pasties to allow steam to escape. Brush the pasties with the rest of the beaten egg and put into the oven until the pastry is well-risen and nicely coloured. I served these with ratatouille on the side last week.
Talk about the sublime to the ridiculous.
I'm quite fond of a beef stew and I have many recipes that I rotate. Occasionally I go the whole way and make Boeuf Bourguignon. Here's my (long and complex) recipe:
For the marinade:
3 lbs. Cubed shoulder of beef
3 onions peeled and coarsely chopped
Bottle of decent red wine
Herb bouquet (thyme, parsley, bay)
2 peeled cloves of garlic, smashed
Splash of red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put everything into a large bowl. Stir to mix well and leave overnight in a cool place.
For the stew:
Preheat oven to 150c
Lardons of pancetta (or smoked bacon)
Sprinkling of white flour
Beef stock as required
Take the beef out of the bowl and pat dry on kitchen towels. Get some oil smoking hot in a large oven-proof casserole and render the pancetta until the bacon is beginning to crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Put a single layer of beef in the casserole and allow to brown on all sides. Remove the browned beef (I pile it into the upturned lid of the casserole) and repeat this browning process until all the beef has been done. Reduce the heat and add the onions and garlic from the marinade and allow them to soften and take colour for around 15 minutes. Sprinkle over the flour, stirring it in and allowing it to take some colour, too. Pour in the liquids from the marinade and stir to amalgamate completely. The sauce base should thicken slightly. Return the beef and bacon to the pan, stirring to mix thoroughly. Top up with enough stock to cover the beef. I usually add a little bit of tomato puree at this point, more for colour than anything else. Add the herb bouquet. Cover and bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Put the beef into the oven, regulating the heat so that the stew just bubbles gently. Leave to cook for 3 to 4 hours. About 1 hour before the stew is ready, prepare the garnish:
Garnish:
Handful of mushrooms, quartered
Skinned pearl or pickling onions (or even shallots)
Knob of butter
Melt the butter in a pan and fry the mushrooms until gently browned. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and stir them into the stew. Roll the onions around in the remaining butter until the surface takes on a little brown colour. Add the onions and any remaining juices to the stew. Stir the stew and continue to cook it in the oven for the remaining hour or so.
When the stew is ready, remove it from the oven and spoon off any obvious surface fat. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and drops of red wine vinegar. This should be served simply, with boiled potatoes or pasta and peas, green beans, or haricots.
Leftover Boef Bourgignon (what??), in common with many other stews, is better the second day. Or it can be used to make these amazing pasties:
For the pasties:
The beef should be a bit dryer having been stored overnight. That makes it the ideal filling for pastry.
Preheat oven to as high as it will go.
Roll out puff pastry into rectangles, put them on thin baking sheets, and brush the border all round with beaten egg. Pile the stew into one half of each rectangle, being sure to keep the edges clear. Fold the empty half over the filled half, pressing the edges tightly together. Fold the edges back on themselves in crimps to ensure a tight seal. Press down along the seal with the back of a fork to make the seal look good. Cut a couple of small slits in the top of the pasties to allow steam to escape. Brush the pasties with the rest of the beaten egg and put into the oven until the pastry is well-risen and nicely coloured. I served these with ratatouille on the side last week.
Talk about the sublime to the ridiculous.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Food with a pulse
I saw a ham hock for sale and immediately got this idea for a lentil/bean/ham/pork soup/stew.
First step was to pull all the meat from the bone, leaving it in bite-sized pieces. I then simmered the bones and rind for an hour or so to get a salty, hammy stock. Lentils don't soften properly if you cook them in salted water, so I cooked half a packet of red lentils in fresh water until they were completely mushed and had absorbed all the water. In the meantime, I peeled and quartered some potatoes and simmered them in the ham stock for a few minutes to absorb the flavour - I didn't want them to soften very much, so took them out to drain. A few remnants of some pancetta lardons were put into a large iron casserole to render and I cut some smoked pork sausages into chunks and browned them in the casserole. Then I threw in two sliced onions and softened them gently along with the meats. I added the drained potatoes and stirred around to coat them with the contents of the casserole. The stock, ham pieces, a handful of chopped parsley, a large grind of black pepper, a squirt of tomato puree and the lentils followed, and the contents were stirred and cooked over a very gentle heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently and keeping the mix liquid by adding a little water when necessary. I then threw in a can of drained butter beans and let it all bubble for a few minutes more.
Eat with a spoon and fork.
This dish demonstrates a technique that I often use: mixing and returning flavours between ingredients to maximise and deepen the flavours. The whole thing could be made much more simply by just adding all the ingredients together and simmering, but the result wouldn't be nearly as good. The timing of adding the beans also makes sure that there are different textures in the finished dish: the crunchy lardons, the soft lentils, softening potatoes and the beans just beginning to crack. Absolutely delicious, and just great for a very cold evening.
First step was to pull all the meat from the bone, leaving it in bite-sized pieces. I then simmered the bones and rind for an hour or so to get a salty, hammy stock. Lentils don't soften properly if you cook them in salted water, so I cooked half a packet of red lentils in fresh water until they were completely mushed and had absorbed all the water. In the meantime, I peeled and quartered some potatoes and simmered them in the ham stock for a few minutes to absorb the flavour - I didn't want them to soften very much, so took them out to drain. A few remnants of some pancetta lardons were put into a large iron casserole to render and I cut some smoked pork sausages into chunks and browned them in the casserole. Then I threw in two sliced onions and softened them gently along with the meats. I added the drained potatoes and stirred around to coat them with the contents of the casserole. The stock, ham pieces, a handful of chopped parsley, a large grind of black pepper, a squirt of tomato puree and the lentils followed, and the contents were stirred and cooked over a very gentle heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently and keeping the mix liquid by adding a little water when necessary. I then threw in a can of drained butter beans and let it all bubble for a few minutes more.
Eat with a spoon and fork.
This dish demonstrates a technique that I often use: mixing and returning flavours between ingredients to maximise and deepen the flavours. The whole thing could be made much more simply by just adding all the ingredients together and simmering, but the result wouldn't be nearly as good. The timing of adding the beans also makes sure that there are different textures in the finished dish: the crunchy lardons, the soft lentils, softening potatoes and the beans just beginning to crack. Absolutely delicious, and just great for a very cold evening.
Monday, 7 November 2011
Over the top
When my girls come back to stay, I always like to cook a lot of interesting meals so that I can show off my skills (and feed them up a bit).
Here's one of the dishes I made last week:
(I suppose I should mention here that I weigh and measure nothing. I don't think that measures are particularly useful, other than being a rough guide. For example, you might add more tomatoes than I did. That will make it more 'tomatoey', but it won't make it wrong. The same applies to seasonings e.g. salt. The correct amount of salt is the correct amount of salt, found by TASTING. It won't be a pinch or a teaspoon, but it will be the correct amount.)
Grilled lemon poussins with tomato-stuffed peppers, braised lettuce with peas, chasseur sauce and home-made focaccia.
I made this for 6:
Poussins
Cut the poussins in half along the breast and backbone. Line a grill pan with foil. Squeeze some lemon juice over the halves, season with salt and black pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil and grill on a rack under a hot grill, turning every 5 minutes until done. Add squeezes of lemon at each turn, basting with some of the pan juices. Check for doneness by piercing the top of the thighs with the point of a knife. The juices will run yellow when the poussin is ready. Add a little water to the contents of the foil, scrape the contents of the foil into a small pan and skim off as much fat as possible. When you plate up the poussins, spoon a little of the pan juices onto them.
Stuffed peppers
Cut each pepper in half from top to bottom. Scoop out seeds and white pith. Cut cherry tomatoes in half from top to bottom and pack them into the peppers, cut side up, until the peppers are packed full. Drizzle over olive oil, salt and black pepper with some strips of fresh basil. Bake in a 160 Celsius oven until the peppers are softening and the tomatoes take on some colour.
Braised lettuce with peas
Cut a romaine lettuce into large chunks and put into a pan containing a knob of butter, a handful of peas (fresh or frozen) and a splash of water. Heat gently for a couple of minutes until the lettuce begins to wilt. Remove from the heat.
Chasseur sauce
Finely slice an onion and soften it in olive oil over a medium-low heat. Add strips or chunks of pancetta (italian bacon) and stir for a minute or so to release the fats from the bacon. Add some finely sliced mushrooms and stir to soften slightly. Add a glass of white wine (I used Sauvignon blanc) and some tomato puree or passata. Season with black pepper. Allow to bubble for 20 minutes or so and then add some fresh basil leaves.
Focaccia
I used a variant of Paul Hollywood's recipe, which is very demanding in terms of bread-making skills. Basically, the dough is extremely sticky and cannot be handled safely at any point in the process. The resultant loaves, however, are extraordinarily light and contain both large and small bubbles: the sign of a good focaccia.
Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz strong white bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 sachets dried easy blend yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
400ml/14fl oz cold water
olive oil, for drizzling
rough sea salt
rosemary
Preparation method
1. Turn off your phone (your hands are going to be extremely sticky for a while).
2. Place the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and 300ml/10½ fl oz of the water into a large bowl, keeping the salt as far away from the yeast as possible at the start. Gently stir with your hands to form a dough then knead the dough in the bowl for five minutes, gradually adding the remaining water.
3. Stretch the dough by hand in the bowl, tuck the sides into the centre, turn the bowl a little and repeat the process for about five minutes.
4. Tip (pour!) the dough onto an oiled work surface and continue kneading with oiled hands for five more minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size.
5. Line two large baking sheets with oiled greaseproof paper. Tip the dough out of the bowl and divide into two portions using a large knife. Flatten each portion onto a baking sheet with oiled hands, pushing to the corners, then leave to prove for one hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 220 Celsius. Drizzle the loaves with oil, sprinkle with rough sea salt and some rosemary then bake in the oven for 20 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes to cook the base.
When cooked, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve hot.
In terms of timing, start the bread first. The peppers can be prepared ahead of time and put into the oven about 20 minutes ahead of the focaccia. Allow 30 minutes for cutting and cooking the poussins. The sauce could be prepared ahead of time or made while the bread is baking. The lettuce and peas take only 5 minutes.
That's the kind of food that makes me giggle when I eat it.
Here's one of the dishes I made last week:
(I suppose I should mention here that I weigh and measure nothing. I don't think that measures are particularly useful, other than being a rough guide. For example, you might add more tomatoes than I did. That will make it more 'tomatoey', but it won't make it wrong. The same applies to seasonings e.g. salt. The correct amount of salt is the correct amount of salt, found by TASTING. It won't be a pinch or a teaspoon, but it will be the correct amount.)
Grilled lemon poussins with tomato-stuffed peppers, braised lettuce with peas, chasseur sauce and home-made focaccia.
I made this for 6:
Poussins
Cut the poussins in half along the breast and backbone. Line a grill pan with foil. Squeeze some lemon juice over the halves, season with salt and black pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil and grill on a rack under a hot grill, turning every 5 minutes until done. Add squeezes of lemon at each turn, basting with some of the pan juices. Check for doneness by piercing the top of the thighs with the point of a knife. The juices will run yellow when the poussin is ready. Add a little water to the contents of the foil, scrape the contents of the foil into a small pan and skim off as much fat as possible. When you plate up the poussins, spoon a little of the pan juices onto them.
Stuffed peppers
Cut each pepper in half from top to bottom. Scoop out seeds and white pith. Cut cherry tomatoes in half from top to bottom and pack them into the peppers, cut side up, until the peppers are packed full. Drizzle over olive oil, salt and black pepper with some strips of fresh basil. Bake in a 160 Celsius oven until the peppers are softening and the tomatoes take on some colour.
Braised lettuce with peas
Cut a romaine lettuce into large chunks and put into a pan containing a knob of butter, a handful of peas (fresh or frozen) and a splash of water. Heat gently for a couple of minutes until the lettuce begins to wilt. Remove from the heat.
Chasseur sauce
Finely slice an onion and soften it in olive oil over a medium-low heat. Add strips or chunks of pancetta (italian bacon) and stir for a minute or so to release the fats from the bacon. Add some finely sliced mushrooms and stir to soften slightly. Add a glass of white wine (I used Sauvignon blanc) and some tomato puree or passata. Season with black pepper. Allow to bubble for 20 minutes or so and then add some fresh basil leaves.
Focaccia
I used a variant of Paul Hollywood's recipe, which is very demanding in terms of bread-making skills. Basically, the dough is extremely sticky and cannot be handled safely at any point in the process. The resultant loaves, however, are extraordinarily light and contain both large and small bubbles: the sign of a good focaccia.
Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz strong white bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 sachets dried easy blend yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
400ml/14fl oz cold water
olive oil, for drizzling
rough sea salt
rosemary
Preparation method
1. Turn off your phone (your hands are going to be extremely sticky for a while).
2. Place the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and 300ml/10½ fl oz of the water into a large bowl, keeping the salt as far away from the yeast as possible at the start. Gently stir with your hands to form a dough then knead the dough in the bowl for five minutes, gradually adding the remaining water.
3. Stretch the dough by hand in the bowl, tuck the sides into the centre, turn the bowl a little and repeat the process for about five minutes.
4. Tip (pour!) the dough onto an oiled work surface and continue kneading with oiled hands for five more minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size.
5. Line two large baking sheets with oiled greaseproof paper. Tip the dough out of the bowl and divide into two portions using a large knife. Flatten each portion onto a baking sheet with oiled hands, pushing to the corners, then leave to prove for one hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 220 Celsius. Drizzle the loaves with oil, sprinkle with rough sea salt and some rosemary then bake in the oven for 20 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes to cook the base.
When cooked, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve hot.
In terms of timing, start the bread first. The peppers can be prepared ahead of time and put into the oven about 20 minutes ahead of the focaccia. Allow 30 minutes for cutting and cooking the poussins. The sauce could be prepared ahead of time or made while the bread is baking. The lettuce and peas take only 5 minutes.
That's the kind of food that makes me giggle when I eat it.
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