This is exceedingly simple - just layer up spuds, snips and apples, along with carmelised onions, a stong mature hard cheese grated, and seasonings, and then pour a jugfull of double cream, only slightly diluted with full cream milk.
The second time I did this, it turned out much better. I preboiled the spuds for about four minutes. I sliced the spuds more thinly with the edge that comes with the grater, and more thinly diced the snips. I used two onions, where the recipe only calls for one. I remember to season as I layered up. I baked at 200 for 50 minutes in the centre of the oven.
Hmmm!
Monday 14 July 2008
Chicken, spinach and creme fraiche filo
Start with 2 to 1 to nearly 2 of chicken, spinach and creme fraiche, and that all starts with about 4 chicken breasts. Add to that about a dozen spring onions, some tarragon and pine nuts. Then really cheat and get a packet of filo pastry - it says so, right there. Seasoning is salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
You prepare everything in their normal way, then blend everything, keeping aside the pine nuts and seasoning. There's a whole geometry involved with wrapping the filo layers (don't forget to brush with butter), and how much filling to use per pastry, but once you see it (with a little help), you'll be grand.
You prepare everything in their normal way, then blend everything, keeping aside the pine nuts and seasoning. There's a whole geometry involved with wrapping the filo layers (don't forget to brush with butter), and how much filling to use per pastry, but once you see it (with a little help), you'll be grand.
Saturday 26 April 2008
Chicken and broccoli gratin
Back to Avoca! Although now you can find 'Avoca' in Mount Usher, Kilmacanogue, the Naas Road, Powerscourt, Suffolk street... three other place around Ireland... and Annapolis, Maryland.
First catch your chicken and broccoli (obviously), but the main thing is the sauce. This is based on the broth you get while cooking the chicken - full of carrots, onions, celery, peppercorns, a bayleaf - which you reduce and then add double cream and roux to thicken. Add seasoning to taste - which I've come to understand means actually tasting as you go, rather than just shaking and guessing.
Imagine if you just cooked the chicken in water and maybe a bit of salt, and then just made a straight white sauce with the roux and cream. Would that make such a huge difference?
The gratin is made with a strong white cheddar. Sprinkle it gently, almost sparsely, and yet you'll have subtle flavours coming through.
How do you remember how many 'c's and 'l's are in brocolli... broccolli... broccoli?
First catch your chicken and broccoli (obviously), but the main thing is the sauce. This is based on the broth you get while cooking the chicken - full of carrots, onions, celery, peppercorns, a bayleaf - which you reduce and then add double cream and roux to thicken. Add seasoning to taste - which I've come to understand means actually tasting as you go, rather than just shaking and guessing.
Imagine if you just cooked the chicken in water and maybe a bit of salt, and then just made a straight white sauce with the roux and cream. Would that make such a huge difference?
The gratin is made with a strong white cheddar. Sprinkle it gently, almost sparsely, and yet you'll have subtle flavours coming through.
How do you remember how many 'c's and 'l's are in brocolli... broccolli... broccoli?
Wednesday 27 February 2008
Thai broth
This is another outing with the Naked Chef, and the first time I found and used kaffir lime leaves.
The recipe breaks down nicely into a few parts...
1. take ginger, lemon grass and lime leaves, pound them for a bit with pestle and mortar, then simmer for about 10 mins in a stock.
2. the result should be slightly bland to taste. Now add suger and (carefully!) fish sauce, tasting as you go.
3. cook with a few prawns for about a minute.
4. after retrieving the prawns, serve the resulting broth with garnish of chillies, spring onion and coriander.
Hmmm! Especially if you put the chillies in early, while still simmering the prawns.
The recipe breaks down nicely into a few parts...
1. take ginger, lemon grass and lime leaves, pound them for a bit with pestle and mortar, then simmer for about 10 mins in a stock.
2. the result should be slightly bland to taste. Now add suger and (carefully!) fish sauce, tasting as you go.
3. cook with a few prawns for about a minute.
4. after retrieving the prawns, serve the resulting broth with garnish of chillies, spring onion and coriander.
Hmmm! Especially if you put the chillies in early, while still simmering the prawns.
Wednesday 20 February 2008
Salmon, prosciutto, lentils
This is a Naked Chef returns recipe. Is there an etiquette or protocol when referring to published things like this?
The preparation and cooking of the salmon and ham couldn't be easier. Wrap the one with the other, add a little pepper and olive oil, and bung in the oven for 10 mins. But put the tray in the middle of the oven and/or make sure the grill isn't on, otherwise the oil will start burning, and you'll get an embarassing blast of smoke when you open the oven door.
The lentil-based accompaniment is bit more taste-and-see. Things that come to mind: draining off the brothy stuff as the lentils simmer, cooking them al dente, how much water to leave behind after simmering, getting the balance of herbs, lemon juice and natural yoghurt. The crucial thing is to stir in the spinach at the last minute on a high heat.
Simple and effective (for good impressions!).
The preparation and cooking of the salmon and ham couldn't be easier. Wrap the one with the other, add a little pepper and olive oil, and bung in the oven for 10 mins. But put the tray in the middle of the oven and/or make sure the grill isn't on, otherwise the oil will start burning, and you'll get an embarassing blast of smoke when you open the oven door.
The lentil-based accompaniment is bit more taste-and-see. Things that come to mind: draining off the brothy stuff as the lentils simmer, cooking them al dente, how much water to leave behind after simmering, getting the balance of herbs, lemon juice and natural yoghurt. The crucial thing is to stir in the spinach at the last minute on a high heat.
Simple and effective (for good impressions!).
Saturday 26 January 2008
Carbonara
Still got the L-plates up... though trying to keep the instructor on her side of the car was the toughest job. Mixing metaphors, yellow and red cards were flying about like confetti.
An egg and an egg yoke, parmesan, cream - the sauce. 4xrashers, mushrooms, garlic - the meat! Pasta - the base. Olive oil, butter, salt, pepper - the essentials. Water - for the pasta... and and and to moisten things while cooking slowly, rather than using too much oil or butter (that was a new one on me).
'O, you do know how...' was the surprised reaction I got when I separated the egg yolk from its white - back and forth between the two halves of the broken shell, letting the yolk drip away. It wasn't off the stones I licked it.
The sauce is most important bit, but I'm not quite sure how to explain it. I beat the egg and egg yolk lightly in a bowl, and then grated in the parmesan cheese, mixing in small dollops of cream as I went, until I had a light yellow, slightly thinkened sauce. Not very exact, but that's the fun and mystique.
Cook the meat (rashers, mushrooms, garlic) for about 10 minutes on a lowish heat, and add the sauce at a very low heat... at one stage, I thought I had a disaster on my hands, the cheese was starting to curdle, because in fact I had started out with a high heat to cook the rashers cripy. But I took the pan off the heat entirely and added more cream. The control over heat is where cooking with gas wins over electricity.
An egg and an egg yoke, parmesan, cream - the sauce. 4xrashers, mushrooms, garlic - the meat! Pasta - the base. Olive oil, butter, salt, pepper - the essentials. Water - for the pasta... and and and to moisten things while cooking slowly, rather than using too much oil or butter (that was a new one on me).
'O, you do know how...' was the surprised reaction I got when I separated the egg yolk from its white - back and forth between the two halves of the broken shell, letting the yolk drip away. It wasn't off the stones I licked it.
The sauce is most important bit, but I'm not quite sure how to explain it. I beat the egg and egg yolk lightly in a bowl, and then grated in the parmesan cheese, mixing in small dollops of cream as I went, until I had a light yellow, slightly thinkened sauce. Not very exact, but that's the fun and mystique.
Cook the meat (rashers, mushrooms, garlic) for about 10 minutes on a lowish heat, and add the sauce at a very low heat... at one stage, I thought I had a disaster on my hands, the cheese was starting to curdle, because in fact I had started out with a high heat to cook the rashers cripy. But I took the pan off the heat entirely and added more cream. The control over heat is where cooking with gas wins over electricity.
Sunday 6 January 2008
Thai chicken curry
This was a joint effort between myself and the girlfriend, so I'm a lot hazier on the details, but here's the bones of the recipe - chicken, coconut milk, red curry paste, thai fish sauce, scallions, green beans, lemon grass, corriander, lime leaves, garlic. There's examples galore all over the net...
We went looking for kaffir lime leaves, but they had none in Tesco - not so much of a surprise - but neither in the asian market shop on middle Abbey street, there at the Jervis Luas stop. Maybe they were just out of stock. But what else they didn't have would be a short list.
The recipe we had seemed rather exact with its timings, 10 minutes the sauce, 10 minutes the chicken plus another 5 with the beans, 2 minutes final simmering with the corriander. I suppose you have to look and taste for yourself. We cooked at a simmmering heat most of the time, and I was surprised how well done the chicken was, my normal technique had been to blast and sear in a red hot pan. Nonetheless, we let the whole thing simmer for another couple of minutes at the end.
It turned out a light and subtle dish, the way we cooked it. I've had a Baan Thai green curry since, and they had chunks of greenpepper and peas in the mix, but also a heap of chilli, which just did for my tastebuds as far as tasting anything else was concerned. I preferred ours!
We went looking for kaffir lime leaves, but they had none in Tesco - not so much of a surprise - but neither in the asian market shop on middle Abbey street, there at the Jervis Luas stop. Maybe they were just out of stock. But what else they didn't have would be a short list.
The recipe we had seemed rather exact with its timings, 10 minutes the sauce, 10 minutes the chicken plus another 5 with the beans, 2 minutes final simmering with the corriander. I suppose you have to look and taste for yourself. We cooked at a simmmering heat most of the time, and I was surprised how well done the chicken was, my normal technique had been to blast and sear in a red hot pan. Nonetheless, we let the whole thing simmer for another couple of minutes at the end.
It turned out a light and subtle dish, the way we cooked it. I've had a Baan Thai green curry since, and they had chunks of greenpepper and peas in the mix, but also a heap of chilli, which just did for my tastebuds as far as tasting anything else was concerned. I preferred ours!
Friday 4 January 2008
Vegetarian lasagne
AMDG 04/01/08 (it still feels like homework)
Aim: to cook, under girlfirend's instructions, and eat and enjoy, a vegeterian lasagne.
Ingredients: Vegetables (1 x large red onion, 3 x peppers, doz x mushrooms, 1 x courgette, 1 x aubergine), 6 x garlic cloves, olive oil, butter, 9 x lasagne sheets, cheddar cheese, seasoning (salt, pepper, herbs of your choice).
Good for: 6 people
Apparatus: chopping board; knife; baking spoon; baking tray; baking dish, about 6"x6"x12"; patience and perseverence to keep girlfirend out of the kitchen and stay resting on the couch, cos she's sick damnit and should be resting.
Method: wash hands. Pre-heat the oven to 200. Chop the vegetables roughly into biggish (but not too big) chunks, and place them in the baking tray. Just skin the garlic cloves and throw them into the mix. Pour in a good slug or two of olive oil (but again, not too much) and mix around the vegetables with your hands. Season to taste, twice I forgot to sprinkle in some oregano. Chuck the tray all into the oven for about 20 mins.
Meanwhile, smear the inside of the dish with a bit of butter, using a cut-off from the butter packet.
When the vegetables are ready, take out the garlic cloves and mix in the red sauce directly. Build up the lasagne with layers of veg, lasagne sheets and white sauce directly into the dish - you should have enough for three layers. Top off with a good thick layer of grated cheese. Put in the oven again at 200 again for about 25-30 mins, the cheese should be nice and crispy.
Serve with a rocket salad with a simple vinegrette - oil:vinegar 2:1, mustard, salt, pepper.
Cheatsheet (someone keep sketch): Dolmio red and white sauces. Packet pasta. Pre-grated cheese, in a packet. Dried herbs.
Results: lasagne was cooked, et and enjoyed. Surprisingly simple to cook, even given that I was chef-under-instruction. Definitely room for improvement - next time, no Dolmio, I'll make my own sauces, and I'll use some fresh herbs. That'll be more satisfying
Marginalia: Robert Mugabe would understand AMDG, he being Jesuit educated and all.
Aim: to cook, under girlfirend's instructions, and eat and enjoy, a vegeterian lasagne.
Ingredients: Vegetables (1 x large red onion, 3 x peppers, doz x mushrooms, 1 x courgette, 1 x aubergine), 6 x garlic cloves, olive oil, butter, 9 x lasagne sheets, cheddar cheese, seasoning (salt, pepper, herbs of your choice).
Good for: 6 people
Apparatus: chopping board; knife; baking spoon; baking tray; baking dish, about 6"x6"x12"; patience and perseverence to keep girlfirend out of the kitchen and stay resting on the couch, cos she's sick damnit and should be resting.
Method: wash hands. Pre-heat the oven to 200. Chop the vegetables roughly into biggish (but not too big) chunks, and place them in the baking tray. Just skin the garlic cloves and throw them into the mix. Pour in a good slug or two of olive oil (but again, not too much) and mix around the vegetables with your hands. Season to taste, twice I forgot to sprinkle in some oregano. Chuck the tray all into the oven for about 20 mins.
Meanwhile, smear the inside of the dish with a bit of butter, using a cut-off from the butter packet.
When the vegetables are ready, take out the garlic cloves and mix in the red sauce directly. Build up the lasagne with layers of veg, lasagne sheets and white sauce directly into the dish - you should have enough for three layers. Top off with a good thick layer of grated cheese. Put in the oven again at 200 again for about 25-30 mins, the cheese should be nice and crispy.
Serve with a rocket salad with a simple vinegrette - oil:vinegar 2:1, mustard, salt, pepper.
Cheatsheet (someone keep sketch): Dolmio red and white sauces. Packet pasta. Pre-grated cheese, in a packet. Dried herbs.
Results: lasagne was cooked, et and enjoyed. Surprisingly simple to cook, even given that I was chef-under-instruction. Definitely room for improvement - next time, no Dolmio, I'll make my own sauces, and I'll use some fresh herbs. That'll be more satisfying
Marginalia: Robert Mugabe would understand AMDG, he being Jesuit educated and all.
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