23Jul
Chicken

Steamed broccoli with vinegar

July 23, 2015

Put your wine, shallot, herbs and peppercorns into a small pot and bring to the boil, then simmer slowly for 3 or 4 minutes or until reduced by half and remove from the heat. The first way to make your beurre blanc is to pour the flavoured wine through a sieve into a metal bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of water on a very low heat, whisk, and add the cubes of butter one at a time, whisking them in until all the butter has been used. The sauce will emulsify and look like a very loose custard. Use the beurre blanc immediately or keep whisking it over your pan of water. If you leave it too long, the sauce may split.

The second way, and this is my favourite, is to pour some boiling water into a Thermos flask to preheat and clean it. Pour the water away and then sieve the flavoured wine into the thermos, adding all of the butter. Put the lid on tightly, place a tea towel over the lid and shake the thermos around for a few minutes. Open it very carefully (in case of any hot steam escaping) and you should have a nice beurre blanc sauce. The best thing about this method is that you can keep it in the flask and it will keep warm until you’re ready to serve the food.

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23Jul
Fast Food

Green salad with cherries

July 23, 2015

This salad recipe may seem a bit boring and insignificant, but this recipe is sort of the basic foundation of salads. It will help you learn how to wash, look after and prepare and dress your salads so you can really enjoy them.

You’ll need a selection of freshly picked lettuces such as round lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, watercress, cos lettuce, little gem lettuce, chicory and radicchio (about 4 large handfuls). You’ll also need a jam jar dressing of your choice.

To wash your salad leaves:
When you get your lettuces home, remove the roots and any not-so-nice outside leaves first, then click or tear off the rest of the leaves and give them a good old wash in cold water. Once they’re clean, give them a spin in a salad spinner or shake them dry in a tea towel.

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23Jul
Salads

Squash soup with Parmesan croutons

July 23, 2015

This fantastic soup is best made with varieties of squash that have dense, orange flesh, such as butternut or onion squash. It’s important to use good chicken stock and season the soup well to bring out the nutty, sweet flavour of the squash. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, you can take the soup in different ways by adding pearl barley, dried pasta, or some chopped smoked bacon. Even the smallest amount of dried porcini. PS I made this in my pressure cooker the other day, with really great results – it’s so quick!

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you’ll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.

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22Jul
Fish

Classic tomato salsa with basil

July 22, 2015

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and add cold water to cover by 1″. Bring to a boil, season with salt, and cook until fork-tender, 15–20 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a plate with a slotted spoon.

Return water to a boil and cook haricots verts in same saucepan until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl of ice water. Chill until cold, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and pat dry.

Return water in pot to a boil and cook eggs 8 minutes. Transfer eggs to bowl of ice water and chill until cold, about 5 minutes. Peel; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small saucepan over medium-high. Add capers and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until capers burst and are crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer capers with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Let oil cool; set aside.

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17Jul
Chicken

Antipasti of mozzarella, chilli, & lemon crostini

July 17, 2015

Heat a griddle pan until it’s really smoking hot, then griddle each slice of ciabatta for a couple of minutes on each side until they are nicely charred.

Cut the garlic clove in half, rub each ciabatta slice with garlic and drizzle with a little olive oil. Tear the mozzarella evenly over the 8 crostini. Season well with salt and pepper, sprinkle over the sliced chilli and basil leaves and grate over the lemon zest. Finish with another drizzle of olive oil.

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17Jul
Fast Food

Cheesy pasta with crispy pangritata

July 17, 2015

To make the pangritata, lightly toast the sourdough. Peel the garlic, then blitz in a food processor with the toasted bread, herbs and walnuts until fine. Preheat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil, then add the pangritata and fry for around 5 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and place a large heatproof bowl on top. Add the mascarpone or crème fraîche to the bowl along with the leftover cheeses, crumbling or grating any harder varieties first, then stir until melted. Carefully remove the bowl from the heat and set aside, then turn the heat up to high. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving a cupful of cooking water, then add to the bowl of melted cheese and toss to coat, adding a splash of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed.

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01Jul
Soups

GIF Smoked salmon rolls with basil sause

July 1, 2015

These are a kind of sushi-style take on a classic combination of smoked salmon and crème frache inside a pancake. You can make them up the day before, keep them in the fridge wrapped in cling film, then slice them up at the last minute. They look great if you serve them up-ended, like sushi-rolls, on a rectangular or square plate with the dip in a little bowl. You could use mustard mayo or even horseradish sauce instead of the vinaigrette dip if you like.

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26Jun
Pizza

Roasted chicken breast

June 26, 2015

Make this recipe for one in a snug-fitting baking dish or to save on washing-up, a little tin foil tray.

Preheat the oven to 200°C and put 1 chicken breast, skin removed, in a bowl. Trim and wash a large leek, remove the outer leaves, then slice it into 0.5cm/¼ inch pieces. Add these to the bowl with the leaves of a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a good lug of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a small swig of white wine and toss together. Place your leek and flavorings from the bowl into the tray, then wrap the chicken breast in 4 slices of pancetta. This will not only flavor the chicken but also protect it while it cooks. Try and bend the sides of the tray in towards the chicken so the leeks don’t burn during cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, place a couple of whole thyme sprigs on top and cook in the middle of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes.

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