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Potato Gnocchi

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Unlike fresh pasta, the commercial versions of which are so good now that it hardly seems worth making it yourself (unless for special ravioli), commercial potato gnocchi are relatively heavy compared to their homemade equivalents. Making your own is, therefore, worth the effort.

Be warned: they do not store well so cook them soon after you have made them.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients

  • 800g floury potatoes such as King Edward or Maris Piper
  • 2 medium egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 200g plain flour
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Freshly grated nutmeg

Method

Peel the potatoes and cut into large, even pieces. Boil them in salted water for 8-12 minutes, depending upon th esize, until just tender. Drain thoroughly, then return to the pan and place on a very low heat for 3-5 minutes to drive off all the excess moisture from the potatoes.

Mash the potatoes, preferably with a mouli or potato ricer, then mix in the egg yolks, flour, seasoning and nutmeg. Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth.

Divide the dough into workable pieces (about fist-sized) and work with one piece at a time. Roll each piece into a sausage about 2cm in diameter, then cut this into 2cm chunks. Use a fork to flatten the chunks slightly and print the traditional lines on the gnocchi. Place them a floured tray, making sure they do not touch.

Bring a pan of lightly salted water to a gentle boil. Drop in as many gnocchi as will comfortably fit the pan and simmer gently. Don’t stir or the gnocchi may disintegrate. As they cook, they’ll bob to the surface. Give them about 1 minute from the time they surface, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Drain them on a plate lined with kitchen paper, then transfer them to a warm dish. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi until all are cooked.

Toss with your chiosen hot sauce or melted butter with fresh sage leaves and serve immediately.


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Posted in Basics Tagged with:

Stufatino alla Romana

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This is quite strongly flavoured Italian beef stew that I cooked, originally, more years ago than I care to remember. I remember its being quite interesting largely. I think, due to the combination of celery with beef. Other than that, it’s a pretty standard “Beef in red wine” kind of meal but it tastes pretty good. Here I go reviving a wintery blast from the past.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 25 mins
cooking time: 1½ hrs

Ingredients

  • 2 oz flour
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram
  • 2 lbs beef top rump, cubed
  • olive oil
  • 6 oz green streaky bacon, rinds removed & chopped
  • 1 medium onion, sliced & pushed into rings
  • 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbs fresh marjoram, chopped
  • 8 fl oz red wine
  • 4 floz beef stock
  • 2 tbs tomato purée

Method

In a large plastic bag, combine the flour, pepper, salt and dried marjoram. Add the beef cubes, seal the bag and toss it about to coat the beef with the seasoned flour. Set the beef aside on a plate.

In a large flameproof casserole, heat the olive oil and fry the bacon pieces, stirring occasionally, until they are crisp and have rendered their fat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the onion and celery to the pan and fry gently for 6 to 8 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown. Shake excess flour off the beef cubes and add them to the casserole, stirring occasionally for another 6 to 8 minutes to brown them lightly. Add the fresh marjoram, reserved bacon, and stir in the stock and wine. Bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until th eliquid has reduced by about half. Stir in the tomato purée and continue to simmer for a further 30 minutes.

The sauce should be thick and dark by the time the stufatino is cooked. We’re trying it with some homemade gnocchi and some tenderstem broccoli.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Tuna with JC’s Thai Salad

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This is my modification of one of Rick Stein’s excellent ideas. Rick (or should I say Mr Stein?) makes a noodle salad but I prefer this variation using blanched oriental vegetables. The tuna needs to be thick enough (1 inch or more) to glaze it in the sauce. If it’s thinner, to avoid overcooking, just sear it plain on a very hot ridged griddle pan. (Or of course, if you prefer it plain, just griddle it anyway!)

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 lb bean sprouts
  • 4 oz mangetout or snow peas
  • 4 oz baby sweetcorn
  • 2 mild red chillies
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander
  • juice and zest of 1 lime
  • 2 tbs Thai fish sauce
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 4 thick tuna steaks
  • 6 tbs. dark soy sauce (optional)
  • 4 tbs balsamic vinegar (optional)

Method

First, make the salad. Cut the peas and sweetcorn into 1½ cm pieces. Drop them into a large pan of boiling, salted water over high heat. As soon as it returns to the boil, add the bean sprouts. When it returns to the boil again, drain the vegetables and refresh them immediately in cold water to arrest the cooking. When cool, dry them in a salad spinner and add to a salad bowl. Deseed and finely chop the fresh chillis and add these to the salad. Strip the coriander leaves and add these whole to the salad, too.

Now make the salad dressing. Mix the lime juice and zest, Thai fish sauce, sesame and sunflower oils, and let them infuse until you are ready to serve. Do not dress the salad until immediately before serving.

If you are doing the tuna with the sauce, mix the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar together. Lightly oil a frying pan and set it over moderately high heat. When hot, drop in the tuna steaks and flash fry them on both sides just to seal them. Throw in the sauce mixture keeping the heat up. It will bubble vigourously and start reducing. Turn the tuna steaks a couple of times to get both sides well coated with the glaze as it reduces. It should take about 2-3 minutes.

Alternatively, without the sauce option, heat your griddle pan and sear the tuna on both sides. Either way, please make sure you leave the tuna very pink in the middle.

Dress the salad and serve it with your chosen tuna.


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Posted in Fish Tagged with: ,

Roasted Red Pepper Salsa

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Roasted red peppers and tomatoes are natural companions. This accompanies plain grilled or pan-fried fish fillets very well.

Planning

serves: 2
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 large red pepper
  • 2 plum tomatoes
  • 1 mild red chilli
  • 10-12 leaves basil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • olive oil
  • salt

Method

Remove the pith and seeds from the red pepper, split it in half and flatten it. Grill under highest possible heat until the skin blisters and blackens. Put it in a bowl covered with cling film and let it steam for a few minutes. (This helps release the skin.) Skin it and cut into fine dice.

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute and skin them. Deseed the tomatoes and cut these into fine dice also.

Top, tail and deseed the red chilli and chop it finely.

Add these three ingredients to a bowl and tear in the basil leaves. Skin the garlic clove and grate it into the mixture.

To use it cold, add the olive oil and salt to taste at this stage and mix all to combine the flavours. Chill until required.

Alternatively, you can use it warmed: add the olive oil to a small skillet and warm it over gentle heat. Add the salsa ingredients and stir constantly to warm it through. Be careful not to cook it.


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Posted in Accompaniments Tagged with:

Red Onion Marmalade

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One of those little accompaniments with a bizarre name that became trendy in the early part of the new millennium. Still, just because a thing is trendy it doesn’t mean that it isn’t worthy of some attention, does it? I think the name is fun and it works well with baked or grilled cheeses, particularly goat’s cheeses.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 1 hr

Ingredients

  • 350g red onions, peeled, halved & finely sliced
  • 25g butter
  • 1 tbs thyme leaves, picked
  • 225ml dry red wine
  • 50ml red wine vinegar
  • salt & pepper

Method

Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan, stir in the onions and the thyme and let them soften for about 10 minutes. Now add the wine and vinegar, bring it to a gentle simmer and add a little salt and black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and let it cook gently, uncovered, for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the liquid has evaporated. You are aiming for a jam-like consistency.

This works warm or cold, depending upon what it is accompanying.


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Posted in Accompaniments Tagged with:

Puy Lentil Salad

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Puy lentils have a natural peppery taste and make a good salad to accompany cold chicken or guinea fowl.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 5 mins
cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 8 oz Puy lentils, rinsed
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tbs good olive oil
  • salt

Method

Cover the lentils with water in a small saucepan and add the sprigs of thyme. Do not add salt. Bring to the boil and simmer gently. After 5 minutes, add the chopped shallots. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes or until the lentils are tender but retain their shape.

Drain the lentils and remove the thyme sprigs. Put them into a bowl and stir in the olive oil. While still warm, add salt to taste, stirring gently to dissolve. Due to the natural peppery taste of Puy lentils, adding pepper should be unnecessary.

Allow the lentils to cool before serving.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Penne Primavera

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A rare excursion into the world of vegetarian cuisine. I think this is an American concept and the title “primavera” always seems a little inappropriate, since there are mushrooms which are traditional autumnal. Be that as it may, as veggie dishes go, this one works well and should give you most of your “five-a-day” in one fell swoop.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 250g white cap mushrooms, quartered
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 250g fine green beans or mangetout, halved
  • 1 leek, trimmed and cut into ¾ cm slices
  • 300g fresh penne pasta
  • olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Method

First, start bringing an unfeasibly large pan of water to the boil. (It needs to be big enough to hold all the green vegetables and the pasta together.)

Next, deal with the tomatoes. Sweat the onion in some olive oil until soft. Toss in the tomatoes and cook gently for about three minutes. You don’t want the tomatoes to disintegrate. This isn’t like a classic Italian tomato sauce but should be something fresher tasting. Try to keep the quarters largely intact but release some of their juices. Season with some salt and pepper, turn off the heat and reserve.

Now for the mushrooms. In another pan, heat another few tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the mushroom quarters for about two miutes. Throw in the crushed garlic, stir annd cook for another minute. Season with some salt and pepper, remove from the heat and reserve.

Once the unfeasibly large pan of water is boiling, add a generous amount of salt and toss in all the green vegetables and the pasta together. Bring back to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for five minutes. Strain the lot – and yes, I know, you need an unfeasibly large strainer, too. Spalsh some more olive oil back into the cooking pot, return the pasta and vegetables and stir to coat with the olive oil. Now throw in the mushrooms and the tomato mixture and mix well together once more.

Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.


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Posted in Vegetarian Tagged with:

Green Bean Salad with Pecans

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This is a development of a bean salad with walnuts by Mr Stein. I find walnuts can be a bit strenuous at times and thought the gentler flavout of pecans would give a more appealing result; they still go perfectly well with walnut oil. Since I also had some wonderful, juicy summer garlic, I couldn’t resist the addition of a little garlic combined with the sweetness of white balsamic vinegar to complete the dressing.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 3 mins

Ingredients

  • 250g fine green beans, trimmed & halved
  • 50g shelled pecan nuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 very small clove garlic, crushed with salt
  • 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbs walnut oil
  • salt & pepper

Method

Cook the beans in boiling, salted water until they are slightly tender but retain some bite. This will take about 2 – 3 minutes depending upon thickness. Refresh them in cold water to arrest their cooking and let them cool completely Dry them, either in a clean tea towel or salad spinner.

Mix the crushed garlic with the white balsamic vinegar, then add the walnut oil. Add a few grindings of black pepper and a little salt if necessary (it depends how much salt you used to crush the garlic). Shake the dressing together.

Mix the beans and chopped pecans in a bowl and ad the dressing just before you are ready to serve.


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Posted in Veggies Tagged with:

Wood Pigeon with Forcemeat Balls

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Wood pigeons have dark red flesh with a naturally mild gamey flavour and are inexpensive. One bird is ample for one person. This recipe was my introduction to pigeons and is still my favourite. Casseroling them whole in this fashion keeps them moist and helps tenderize potentially older birds.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 1½ hrs

Ingredients

  • 4 wood pigeons, oven ready
  • 4 oz smoked streaky bacon
  • 1 oz. butter
  • 1 tbs plain flour
  • 15 fl oz hot chicken stock
  • 1 bouquet garni
  • 12 button onions, peeled
  • 8 oz button mushrooms, wiped and quartered
  • 4 oz fresh white breadcrumbs
  • 2 oz shredded beef suet
  • 3 tbs chopped fresh parsley
  • grated rind of ½ lemon
  • 2 small eggs
  • salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

Remove the rind from the bacon, dice it and fry it in the melted butter until it crispens. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper. Brown the pigeons evenly in the fat then transfer them to a casserole.

Drain all but two tablespoons of fat from the pan; stir in the flour and cook gently until it browns lightly. Gradually blend in the hot stock, raise the sauce to simmering point and cook for a few minutes. Strain the sauce over the pigeons. Add the bacon pieces, a little salt and pepper and the bouquet garni. Add the whole peeled onions. Cover the casserole with the lid and cook in the centre of the oven for 1 hour. Turn the pigeons a few times during cooking.

Meanwhile, make the forcemeat balls. Put the breadcrumbs, suet, parsley and lemon rind into a mixing bowl and season with pepper and salt. Beat the eggs lightly and stir them into the dry ingredients to form a moist mixture. Form the mixture into walnut-sized balls.

After the hour, add the mushrooms and forcemeat balls to the casserole, replace the lid and cook for a further 15-20 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni, arrange the pigeons on a serving plate surrounded by the onions, mushrooms and forcemeat balls and serve.


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Posted in Game Tagged with:

Wild Duck with Grapefruit and Port Sauce

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Bred-for-the-table ducklings tend to have a high proportion of frame and fat and a low proportion of actual duck meat. The antidote is wild duck – mallard – which has little fat, almost as much meat and a good flavour. This is my favourite way of cooking it. The sauce compliments it very well.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 1 hr

Ingredients

  • 2 wild ducks (mallard), oven ready
  • 6 parsley sprigs, roughly chopped
  • 4 shallots, peeled and halved
  • 3 oz butter
  • 2 grapefruit (preferably pink fleshed)
  • 3 fl oz ruby port
  • 2 fl oz brown stock (preferably duck)
  • salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to hot, gas mark 7.

Melt the butter in a roasting pan large enough to hold both ducks. Salt the duck?s cavities lightly and put half of the parsley and shallots in each duck. Place the ducks in the roasting pan, brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them near the top of the oven for 10 minutes basting once or twice.

Meanwhile, pare the rind (avoiding the pith) from half of one grapefruit. Trim this and cut into julienne strips. Blanch the strips in boiling water for 1 – 2 minutes. Halve both grapefruits and extract the juice.

When the ducks have cooked for the initial 10 minutes, reduce the oven to moderate, gas mark 4. Pour the grapefruit juice over the ducks, sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper then return them to the oven and cook them for another 30 minutes or so. (Adjust this time according to your preference.) Baste the ducks frequently with the grapefruit juice during the cooking.

Remove the ducks from the roasting pan. Scoop the parsley and shallots from within the ducks and add them to the pan juices. Keep the ducks warm while you finish the sauce. Stirring constantly, boil the pan juices to reduce and concentrate the flavours slightly. Strain the juices into a saucepan and add the port and brown stock. Add the blanched grapefruit strips. Bring the sauce to the boil and allow it to reduce and thicken slightly. Season to taste.

Carve the legs and breasts from the ducks. Pour a little of the sauce over the duck pieces, crowning each breast with a few of the grapefruit strips. Serve the remaining sauce separately.


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Posted in Game Tagged with: