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Salade Niçoise

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This is my take on one of the World’s truly great salads. Apart from the quality of the ingredients, which is always crucial, one of the keys to this recipe is the presentation, in my view. The lettuce needs to be soft enough to lie relatively flat on the plates so the old round lettuce is favourite, even if unexciting.

This dish is occasionally topped with plain grilled tuna to make a more substantial meal though, in my view, it seems substantial enough as it is. (This was not always the case!)

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients

  • 250g fine/French beans, trimmed & halved
  • 250g salad potatoes, quartered lengthwise
  • 1 tsp whole grain mustard
  • 2 tsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 head round lettuce, leaves separated
  • 6 plum tomatoes, each cut into 6 segments
  • 1 tin anchovy fillets, drained & halved lengthwise
  • 24 black olives, pitted and halved
  • 2 tbs capers, drained
  • 6 large eggs, hard-boiled, shelled & quartered
  • salt
  • 4 small tuna steaks (optional!)

Method

Boil the potatoes in salted water util just tender then refresh and drain. I like to steam the green beans above the potatoes while they are cooking but, if you can’t do this, boil them separately so that they retain some bite. Refresh and drain the beans. Dry the potatoes and beans (salad spinner or clean tea towel) and combine them in a bowl.

Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, wine vinegar and mustard. Add this to the potatoes and beans and mix well to allow the flavours to be absorbed.

Now, to the presentation. Line each plate with a layer of lettuce leaves. Pile some of the potatoes and bean mixture in the centre of each plate. Surround each with a ring of 6 segments of tomato alternating with 6 segments of egg, as evenly spaced as possible. Drape each egg segment with a sliver of halved anchovy fillet and sprinkle a little salt on each tomato segment. Between each tomato and egg segment, put a black olive half then scatter the capers evenly around each plate. You might also drizzle a little additional olive oil around the tomato and egg rings.

(If you are desperately hungry, sear 4 small tuna steaks on a very hot ridged grill pan being sure to keep them pink in the centre. Set these atop the piles of potato and bean salad.)


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Mrs Mopp’s Rough Puff Pastry

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This is a cheat’s substitute for puff pastry which is really popular. The grating of the frozen butter is still hard work but it is, I am assured by my pastry chef (Carol), a darn site easier than traditional puff pastry. Oh, and the “Mrs Mopp” in question is my mother. 🙂

Planning

serves:  
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time:  

Ingredients

  • 4 parts plain flour
  • 3 parts butter, frozen
  • pinch salt
  • water to mix

Method

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Grate in the butter. Stir with a palette knife adding just enough water to make it begin to bind. Gather together in a ball and stop messing with it! Wrap it and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.

(Make Sausage Rolls, Salmon en Croute, Beef Wellington…)


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Posted in Basics Tagged with:

Roast Pork with Quinces

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What do you do with quinces if you don’t have a sweet tooth? Since they resemble apples in flavour, are as hard as bullets and take long, slow cooking to become tender, they do make a great accompaniment to roast pork. Do be careful when you are peeling the blighters, though – knives tend to slip off.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs boned shoulder of pork
  • 2 large quinces
  • 2 red onions, peeled
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 medium red chillies, deseeded and cut in strips
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 oz caster sugar
  • 1 oz light muscovado sugar
  • 2 tbs white wine vinegar
  • 4 fl oz dry white wine
  • salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. If the shoulder has been rolled, remove the string, open it out and slash the skin with a sharp knife. Oil a roasting tin and lay the pork in it skin side upwards.

Peel, quarter and core the quinces, then cut each quarter into 2 or 3 segments. Cut the red onion into eigths lengthways. (Leaving some root on the onion will help to hold it together.) Surround the pork with the onion, quinces, chillies and bay leaves.

Mix together the oil, vinegar, wine, sugars, salt and pepper an dspoon it over the pork, quinces and onions. Cover with aluminium foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour. Remove the foil, baste everything with the juices and return it to the oven to cook uncovered for a further hour. By this time the pork should be very tender and the quinces, soft. Rest the pork in a warm place for about 15 minutes before serving.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

JO’s Roast Pork Loin

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This recipe is courtesy of Jamie Oliver, transcribed from his Jamie’s Kitchen , quantities adjusted for four people. (Any more hungry Horaces, and I don’t know where to find a roasting pan large enough!)

Planning

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

Ingredients

  • ½ pork loin, rib end
  • 4 large parsnips, peeled and halved lengthways
  • 4 red onions, peeled
  • 4 eating apples
  • 1 large handful fresh sage leaves
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp grated nutmeg
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 100g butter, softened
  • salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Parboil the parsnips and onions in salted water for about 5 minutes, then drain. Remove the pork skin leaving about ½cm fat on the pork loin. If not already scored (as it should be), score the pork skin about 1cm apart. Season well with salt and pepper and place it on a tray in the oven to go crisp (it should take about 15 – 20 mins). Remove and reserve (I think this is best not reheated since that seemed to make it soften a little).

In a food processor (or pestle and mortar, if you are a masochist), smash the sage leaves, allspice, nutmeg, garlic and orange zest together with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix this combination into the softened butter. Cut the skin of each apple around its equator (to stop them bursting when they cook). Remove the apple cores with a peeler without piercing right through the apples. Pack each apple full of flavoured butter.

Over medium high heat, brown the pork loin all over in the roasting pan you intend to use. This will give you some good roasting fat but if there is too much, drain some out. Remove the pork loin and smear the remaining flavoured butter all over the fat side. Toss the parsnips and onions into the roasting pan and turn them in the fat. Add the apples, butter side down and put the pork loin back on top, fat side uppermost. Roast in the oven for 30 minustes. Take the pan from the oven and set the pork aside while you carefully toss the parsnips and onions in the pan juices once more (trying not to disrupt the apples). Reduce the oven to 280°C/350°F/gas 4, place the pork back on top of the pan and return it to the oven for about 40 minutes (check that the pork is cooked). Allow the pork to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Turn the oven off but keep the veggies warm in the oven until ready to serve.


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

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Developed from an idea in a Waitrose Seasons magazine – yet to be tried. I want to roast the peppers whole so as to profit from the juices that accumulate inside. This means they’ll need seeding after roasting. Served with Dukkah.

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 10 mins
cooking time: 50 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 red peppers
  • 1 large carrot, peeled & roughly chopped
  • 1 red onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 litre stock
  • 50g roasted unsalted pistachio nuts
  • 2 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C (gas mk 5). Toss the vegetables together with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and place in a roasting pan. Place in the oven and roast for about 35 mins, stirring halfway through, until they are tender and caramelised.

Meanwhile, make the dukkah. Place the nuts and seeds in a dry frying pan and toast over gentle heat until the mustard seeds start to pop. Allow to cool, then pulse them in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the vegetables, together with any accumulated juices, and stock to a pan and heat for a few minutes to blend the flavours. Blitz in a blender (preferably the same one that the dukkah was ground in). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with some of the dukkah sprinkled on top.


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Posted in Soups Tagged with:

Rillettes de Saumon

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Straight out of the Roux Brothers’ Cooking for Two . I’ve increased the quantities for you to allow for six hungry Horaces.

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 35 mins

Ingredients

  • 3 Salmon cutlets/steaks
  • court bouillon (made with 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 leek, bouque garni, peppercorns, 1 glass dry white wine)
  • 6 oz butter, softened
  • 5 fl oz whipping cream (lightly whipped to ribbon stage)
  • 30 green peppercorns (in brine, not dried)
  • 3 tbs lemon juice
  • 3 pinches cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbs chives, snipped
  • coarse sea salt

Method

Make the court bouillon: add its ingredients to about 1 pint water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and discard the vegetables.

Bring the bouillon back to the boil and place the salmon cutlets in it. Immediately remove it from the heat. Leave the salmon in the hot liquid for 5 minutes. Drain the salmon, then skin and fillet it. Cover it with a damp cloth (to prevent it drying out) and leave it for about 20 minutes.

Gently flake the salmon and work in the softened butter. Add the cream, the crushed green peppercorns, lemon juice, cayenne and chives. Season with the coarse sea salt. (Be gentle darling – try not to break the salmon too much.) Pack the rilettes into ramekins, cover with cling film and chill for 2 hours.

Serve with some good bread lightly toasted. Accept plaudits!


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Posted in Starters Tagged with:

Rillettes de Porc

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The absolute classic French way of dealing with succulent and cheap belly pork.

Planning

serves: 6
preparation time: 25 mins
cooking time: 3½ – 4 hrs

Ingredients

  • 900g belly pork, rind removed and chunked
  • 300g goose fat or lard
  • 150 ml dry white wine
  • 10 juniper berries, crushed
  • 1½ tbs sea salt
  • 1½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 3 fresh bay leaves
  • 2 thyme sprigs

Method

Preheat the oven to 130°C/°F/gas ½.

Place the belly pork in a large casserole with all the other ingredients and mix well. Cover with a tight lid and cook for 3½ – 4 hrs until the pork soft and surrounded by melted fat.

Pour off the juices through a sieve into a measuring jug. Allow this to cool before putting in the fridge for 30 minutes to solidify the fat.

Remove teh fat and put it in a small pan Shred the pork meat with two forks and mix in 4 – 6 tablespoons of the cooking juices, just enough to moisten it a little. Check the seasoning, remembering that cold foods tend to need a little more, and pack into individual ramekins.

Melt the fat over low heat and pour just enough over each ramekin to create a thin seal. Garnish each with a bay leaf, preferably fresh, and set in the fridge for 24 hours.

Serve with crusty bread or toast.


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Posted in Starters

Richmond Scallops

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I don’t know whether this has an official name but I call it this because I was introduced to the basic idea in Richmond, Virginia whilst visiting friends. It’s quite a rich combination so I think it makes a better starter than it does a main course but that’s up to you. For a main course, increase the quantities accordingly.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 large red pepper
  • 8 oz scallops (preferably without the roe)
  • 5 fl oz whipping cream
  • 1 oz butter
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 8 oz fettucine (preferably black but white will do)
  • salt and pepper

Method

Trim the scallops if necessary and halve each to form two thinner discs of meat.

Roast the red pepper (I flatten them out and put them close to a very hot grill) and skin them. Cut the flesh into thin strips (about ¼ cm).

Melt the butter over medium heat in a sauté pan and sweat the red pepper strips for about five minutes without colouring them further. (While these are cooking, you can get the boiling water ready for the pasta.) Add the scallop discs and cook them gently for 2 – 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Sprinkle in the nutmeg (don’t overdo it) and stir in the cream. Bring it to a gentle simmer, season with salt and pepper and it’s ready.

Cook the pasta in salted water according to its own instructions. Drain the pasta and mix in a little of the scallop/cream liquid Divide it into portions and pour the scallops and red peppers on top.


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Posted in Starters Tagged with:

Ragoût of Lamb

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From Rick Stein’s French Odyssey

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 30 mins
cooking time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

  • 225g dried flageolet beans, soaked overnight
  • 1 shoulder of lamb (~2kg cut into 3cm chunks)
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tbs tomato purée
  • 500g vine tomatoes skinned, deseeded & chopped
  • 300ml rosé wine
  • 600ml chicken or lamb stock
  • Bouquet garni of thyme sprigs & bay leaves
  • Large handful of flat leaf parsley
  • 2 tbs plain flour
  • salt & pepper

Method

Drain the beans, cover with fresh water and boil until tender removing all scum as they boil.

Season the chunks of lamb before browning in 2 tbs of oil in a large flameproof casserole. Put the lamb to one side and add the rest of the oil to the pan. Fry the onions until lightly golden then add 5 cloves of garlic and fry for another minute. Now add tomato puree and tomatoes and fry for a further two minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 mins, return the lamb to the pan, pour in the wine and bring to the boil. Simmer rapidly until the wine has reduced by half. Add enough stock to just cover the meat and add the bouquet garni, a teaspoon of sea salt and plenty of black pepper. Part cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until the lamb is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened.

Add the cooked flageolets and simmer uncovered for a further 5 – 10 mins until the beans have heated through. taste for seasoning.

Make some persillade by crushing 2 garlic gloves with the blade of a knife and chopping together finely with the parsley. Sprinkle this over the ragout and serve.

(Rick suggests serving this with tubetti pasta but I’d prefer some green vegetables or, at a push, ribbon noodles.)


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Posted in Meat Tagged with:

Conejo en Salsa de Almendras

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A minor modification of a recipe from Culinaria Spain ; apparently a dish from the Balearics.

Planning

serves: 4
preparation time: 20 mins
cooking time: 1½ hrs

Ingredients

  • 2 rabbits, cut into portions
  • 125ml olive oil
  • 2 onions, peeled & chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbs flour
  • 250g tomatoes, skinned, deseeded & chopped
  • 250ml white wine
  • 250ml water
  • 150g ground almonds
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 1 tbs flaked almonds
  • 1 tbs chopped parsley
  • salt & pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large flame proof casserole and brown the rabbit pieces lightly on all sides, seasoning them with salt & pepper as you go. Do them in batches to avoid over crowding the pan and remove them to a plate as they are done.

Add the onions to the same pan and fry them for about 5 minutes until soft but not coloured. Stir in the chopped garlic and fry for a minute more. Sprinkle in the flour and mix well, then add the chopped tomatoes and mix well together. Now stir in the wine and water and, when all is well amalgamated, stir in the ground almonds, thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Return the rabbit pieces to the pan and bring to simmering point. Cover and cook gently over a low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally to prevent the almonds burning on the bottom of the pan.

Cooking time is likely to depend upon the age of your rabbits, so check the rabbit back legs and, if necessary, cook a little longer until they are tender.

Serve sprinkled with the parsley and flaked almonds.


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Posted in Game Tagged with: