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Spicy slow-braised goat

Ailbhe — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:56:02 +0000

Goat doesn’t really figure in my culinary heritage, even goat’s cheese was seen as something extremely exotic when I was growing up. There was something vaguely ‘hippyish’ about goats and goat produce. Might have been the fact that a lot of the germans, dutch or french that came to live in Ireland in the ’70s + ’80s seemed to be rather ‘bohemian’; playing Irish music, wearing Aran jumpers, happy to be living off the land and – along with a love of beans, lentils and beards – were partial to goats cheese. Very odd indeed to the natives!

Since I came to live in London I’ve cooked goat occasionally. Beef can sometimes be too rich for my digestive system so when I do eat beef I like it simple and in small amounts and while lamb is lovely in all its meaty forms I have ocassionally hankered after an alternative. Which is how I came to try goat. It breaks down wonderfully when slow-cooked, with a good flavour somewhere between lamb and beef and is lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken. Those ‘bohemians’ were certainly on to something.

Anyway, since Christmas I’ve been trying to catch up with my reading (the printed, on paper, kind of reading material as opposed to the digital, on screen, kind of reading material) and last week when working my way through a back issue of Saveur magazine came across an article on Jamaica. There was a good description of sorrel, the drink I posted about in November and a recipe for Curried Chicken which I read as Goat Curry – don’t ask why – which in turn made me think again about goat (yes I know all that doesn’t make much sense but it’s how it happened). Hence my trip to the butchers to purchase this shoulder joint.

Around the corner from said butcher is a great West Indies shop with loads of exciting vegetables that I have no idea how to use displayed outside. I bought a few Scotch Bonnets chillies (those I do know) as they looked so happy and healthy and went home to experiment.

And, no, this isn’t Curry Goat either but it is spicy.

Spicy slow-braised goat

Serves 8-10

First a word about what I’ll do different next time.
I bought a small joint of shoulder on the bone and was delighted when the butcher offered to cut it up for me as I thought would be easier to handle. However next time I’ll leave it as one or perhaps two large pieces. Cutting up the shoulder into medium pieces resulted in a lot of bone shards and this took a lot of time later to remove. So either buy boned cubed meat or one large piece on the bone (on the bone gives best flavour). You live and learn.

Ingredients

1.2 kg shoulder goat (preferably on the bone, read above)
2 bay leaves
250 g onions (I used ‘baby’ brown onions)
1 stick of celery, finely diced
3 carrots
2 peppers, different colours look good
1 large glass wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin coconut cream
light vegetable oil
water

Marinade
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
5 cardamon pods, seeds only
2 cloves
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp paprika
1 generous tbsp honey
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
juice and zest of a lemon
1 deseeded and finely chopped medium Scotch Bonnet plus
1 pierced whole Scotch Bonnet
2 sprigs rosemary
2 crushed cloves of garlic
400 g tin of chopped tomatoes

Optional
2 tblsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp toasted almond flakes

Method

Begin by making the marinade.
Take the first 5 marinade ingredients on the list above and dry fry them in a pan until they begin to turn colour and release their aromas. Then grind them as fine as you can in a pestle and mortar. Add the newly ground spices together with the remaining marinade ingredients to a large non-metallic container or dish large enough to hold all the meat comfortably. Wash the meat, trim if necessary and add to the marinade and massage the marinade into the meat. Wear food safety gloves to protect your hands from the chillies and turmeric in the marinade. Leave the meat overnight, covered with cling film, in the fridge to allow the spicy marinade to be absorbed.

Next day wipe off as much of the marinade from the meat (to prevent it burning in the nezt step), discard the whole Scotch Bonnet but reserve the rest of the marinade.

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large cast iron casserole dish on the hob and gently brown the meat. If using cubed meat brown in batches to allow the meat to brown and not ‘boil’. Remove the meat to a plate or bowl (to gather any juices) while you continue.

Peel and slice the onions if using regular onions. If using baby onions simply peel them. Gently fry the onions for a few minutes on a low heat. Dice 1 carrot finely. Add the diced carrot, diced celery to the casserole dish. Add the reserved marinade and stir well scrapping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the dish. Add the browned meat (with any of its juices) to the dish. Top with enough water if needed so the liquid barely comes level to the top of the meat. Mix well, add 2 bay leaves and cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Place the lid on the casserole dish and place in the oven for 2.5 – 3 hours. Check from time to time that dish doesn’t dry out adding a splash of water if needed .

After 2.5 – 3 hours the meat should be tender and falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to cool till easy to handle. Skim off any excess grease. Using food safety gloves as before, remove the meat off the bone. Return the meat to the sauce in the casserole.

Peel and chop the remaining carrots. Add the carrots with a tin of chopped tomatoes and the glass of wine to the casserole. Slice and add the peppers. Stir in coconut cream to personal taste (I used 3/4 tin). Return the goat casserole to the oven and cook for a further 45 minutes at 150C until the carrots and peppers are cooked.

Serve with rice.
Sprinkle with chopped coriander and toasted almond flakes (optional).

Frosty Friday the Thirteenth

Ailbhe — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:04:34 +0000

This morning was the first decent frosty morning this winter although, to be honest, while it was certainly chilly, here in ‘Sauff’ London it wasn’t that “OmyGod my teeth hurt” kinda frosty. I had already decided to work from home today but I felt I needed a proper ‘wake-up’ blast of fresh air and so I popped out for a quick walk around the Common before I sat down to work on some commissioned illustrations. I took my camera to capture the lovely wintery morning and I’ve decided to share my walk with you.

T and I are lucky as Tooting Bec Common is only across the road. It’s wonderful to be able to nip out and immediately be walking around such a large open green space with woods and playing fields and a tea room and tennis courts. Oh and a duck pond, there were two ponds when we first moved to Balham but one developed a leak, so the story from the council goes, and was drained several years ago and has now almost filled in.

Anyway, have a quick look and you’ll see why I was feeling lucky this Friday the Thirteenth.

This is the unassuming little lane which takes us right into the Common in secoonds.

I know seeing litter like this should annoy me but it actually made me smile (yes I did pick it up and drop it into the bin).

The frost was pristine in so many places but 15 minutes later on the return journey all the pretty crystals had melted away in the winter sun.

The bramble leaves looked like they were sugar coated cake decorations.

As I approached one of the crab apple trees not only could I smell the boozy fruit but came across some very happy green parakeets!

Needless to say the Common is a Mecca for joggers (indeed even ol' T jogged around it this morning - 6.30 am)

This stand-off was funny, the dog obviously didn't want to leave and stood staring down his frustrated owner as he called to him to get in the van.

Make your own cream

Ailbhe — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:30:23 +0000

Yes, you read that right, make your own cream. All you need is is one of the above, a cream maker. Brilliant, yes?

This was another little ‘find’ I came across on my foragings at markets and charity shops. Just before Christmas I spied it at a loca vintage goods fair and bought it even before I knew exactly what it was or what it did. It just looked so lovely and the pump handle action seemed sound. I snuck it home and quickly googled it up. The top green section is bakelite and the bottom moulded glass. The maker’s name, Empire (and model number), is on the pump handle on one side and a brand name, Bel, on the other side, with a description Cream maker, Made in England. It was made in the 1940s/50s when getting hold of cream may not have been as easy as popping into Waitrose on the way home. Subsequent models have plastic top sections instead of bakelite but the pretty mottled green top was what caught my eye.

Look at it, lovely isn

Of course, this all meant I had ammunition for when ol’ T saw it and started on his usual “What the hell is that?/Why?/Do we really need it?/Where on earth is it going to sit?” which is his normal reaction to my ‘finds’. Phew! Because if there’s one person that dislikes waste it’s T. So quick as a flash, just as he went into full flow I countered with; “Now we can always have cream when we want and the exact amount too”. Like I said, brilliant!

You certainly give your arms a workout pumping the melted butter and milk. Which is a fine excuse for a bigger dollop of the end product in my opinion.

Last weekend T made a very tasty apple & mincemeat tart which cried out for… you’ve guessed it, cream. So I set to with instructions I had found on the internet. 70 grams unsalted butter, 70 mls full fat milk* (organic, unhomogenised, delivered by milkman in glass bottles, natch!) was melted together to below boiling point. Then I poured this into the top green section, pumped it through and hey presto… cream. It needed two passes (as per instructions) to really come together but come together it did. Left in the fridge to thicken I then added some vanilla essence and a splash of brandy before pouring over the tart. Excellent.

The final cream was further enlivened with a glug brandy and a dribble of vanilla essence which made it runny, then poured over a slice of the tart.

So now I have a wonderful cream maker and a happy T. Now that’s what I call a good result.

*we did have leftover cream, ssshhh.

Stills: some of my favourite, aged, cookware.

Ailbhe — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:16:02 +0000

Over the years I’ve been lucky to come across little ‘treasures’ in secondhand shops. I wrote about one such haul before but often or not I’ve simply found a single interesting knife or spoon or bowl. Something that someone once cherished that was deemed no longer needed for one reason or another. And even though I look to move on, every once in a while I let myself be seduced by the aged glory of a useful item and I buy. But there are some strict criteria I apply. Oh no siree, not every vintage vessel can seduce me for it still has to have a ‘use’.

I’ve bought a dusty wooden coffee grinder which I took apart and cleaned and which now grinds our beans when asked. And, of course, knives and forks always have their uses if they still have sharp edges or points. Old enamel roasting tins look great photographed, vintage glassware can add elegance economically and who doesn’t want to find a vintage Le Cresuset casserole set in a local charity shop?

Last year I began to record my finds so I’d thought I’d share some of the resulting photos with you, not all the photos are great shots (lighting needs to worked on) and there are more to be edited (always not enough time for that) but here are some initial photos just to inspire others to get out there, ferret and find.

Love the aged!

This lovely etched glass cake stand with dome gets used all the time. At the moment it houses the remaining Chocolate Plum Pudding Truffles I wrote about before Christmas.

The spoon was one of my most recent purchases, the bowl has embossed fruit and grape decorations. The knife is particularly interesting, 2 edged blade with fierce saw teeth on one edge. I'm not sure if it was made for a particular purpose so would welcome any suggestions.

Very dainty, well used knife and fork set with wooden handles, I think they may have been a picnic set.

The very Le Creuset casserole pots I refer to above, vintage 1970s and in excellent condition. Have had lots of use since I bought both for the princely sum of £25!

A trifling dessert to end 2011: Chocolate & Pear Trifle

Ailbhe — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:06:33 +0000

This Christmas week has sped by, hasn’t it? All my plans to quickly blog my Christmas Dinner (with sketches etc) went whoosh out the window as we had fun with our house guests. Which is what you’re supposed to have when hosting so I don’t really feel too bad and, anyway, you all probably have had little time to read blogs in between eating / drinking / socialising and watching the Christmas tv. As it should be.

This little trifle was one of the hits of our Christmas Dinner. When hubby and I finished it off (the day after my visitors flew back to Dublin) it was so delicious I decided it was one to share. Needless to say it’s an easy-to-make trifle. I cooked and made most of my dishes and sauces from scratch for Christmas Dinner but when it came to dessert* I was ready to cheat a little and cleverly assemble. However, the pears for this trifle I had already poached and preserved about 2 months ago but I reckon you could poach them a day or so in advance and assemble the whole trifle day before serving so that’s the method I give below. It does benefit from a day of maceration. The resultant trifle is very moreish, very moreish indeed. And it can be eaten anytime, an-y-time. This trifle is NOT just for Christmas!

Chocolate & Pear Trifle

Serves 6

1 store bought chocolate loaf cake (I bought a plain in-store baked chocolate chip loaf cake – it was chocolatey but dry, which suited the recipe!)
orange & ginger jam or an apricot jam would work well
500g tub of best quality vanilla custard
3 poached pears (see method below)
knob of fresh ginger (about 2.5 cms)
2 crushed cardamons
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
brandy & rum (4-5 tablespoons of each AT LEAST. I like trifles to be proper boozy affairs)
toasted flaked almonds
crystallised orange peel (optional)
whipped cream

Method
First you need to poach the pears. Choose firm pears such as Conference for this. Peel, quarter and remove the core of the pears. Place the pear quarters in a saucepan along with enough water to almost cover them. Add the peeled sliced knob of fresh ginger, 2 crushed cardamons, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer until the pears are no longer resistant when pierced with a knife (remember to turn the pear over to poach all the pear). Allow the pears to cool in the liquid. You can prepare this stage in advance.

Cut the chocolate cake into halves horizontally and spread jam on the halves and join back as sandwich. Then slice thickly and cut each slice into half. Place a snug fitting layer of chocolate cake at the bottom of an attractive serving bowl (ideally you have a glass bowl but that’s just a pretty detail, you can serve it in whatever bowl you have).

Remove the pear from the poaching liquor and slice up. Scatter half the sliced pears on top of a layer of cake.

Sprinkle with the brandy and/or rum (I used both but you could of course use any favourite liqueror).

Repeat layers. If the cake is very dry you could also add a tablespoon or so of the sweet poaching liquid to keep down the alcohol content – if you so wish. Personally, I would add more alcohol.

Cover the layers with the vanilla custard. Place in fridge overnight.

Before serving, top the trifle with the whipped cream, sprinkle with toasted almond and decorate with crystallised orange peel (see method below).

Yessiree, this will make you many friends.

……………….

Crystallised Orange Peel

These are not difficult to make but are time consuming. But if you make a large batch just store them in airtight container and you’ll find all sorts of uses for them (or simply nibble on them with a cup of coffee).

Peel some thick skinned oranges (or lemons or mix) into thick long strips. Now cut these into finer strips about 3 mms wide as long as possible.

Weigh the peel and note the weight.

You now need to blanch out any bitterness from the peel. Start by placing the peel in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Repeat this once or twice depending on whether you like a hint of bitter in your crysatllised peel (I do). Each time barely cover the peel with fresh water. Drain.

Now, using the weight of the peel you took earlier to calculate the proportions, place a mix of water and sugar in the saucepan (for every 100g of peel add 100g of sugar and 80 mls of water). Bring to the boil and add the peel. Now continue to boil until the peel becomes slightly translucent, about 20 minutes but depends on the thickness of peel.

Remove the peel gently with a slotted spoon (reserve the sweet liquid and store in fridge to use as a base in drinks, over fresh fruit salad etc) and while still wet roll the peel on a plate sprinkled with castor sugar. Remove the sugar-coated peel to a wire rack and leave to dry before storing.

These little lovelies make a great gift and if you forgo the rolling in sugar stage you can dip the strips of peel (when dry) into chocolate. You know how good that sounds!

…………………..

*No room at my inn for Christmas Pudding, I do have two here ready to eat but there was not enough stomach space Christmas Day!

Don’t panic, Mr Mannering… gifts for foodies.

Ailbhe — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:33:50 +0000

Okay, you’ve 5 shopping days left and maybe you’re still thinking what to buy your nearest and dearest or (better still) what your loved ones can buy you. There’s been a few great foodie gift lists published this year but here are some food related gifts I’d be happy to give and even happier to receive. There’s a mix here of irish and british goodies, some are only available in the UK, some only in Ireland but several, luckily, are available both sides of the Irish Sea!

1. Something sweet… but not too sweet, please!

Paul A Young Chocolates

Beautiful to look at, gorgeous to devour but if you give them don’t be surprised if the recipient doesn’t share them with you. If you only choose one of his chocolates then the Sea-Salted Caramel has to be the one. He has a book out too.
www.paulayoung .co.uk

La Maison du Chocolat
The service here is fantastic, both online and in-store. The staff at the Piccadilly store treat every customer as if they are the most treasured customer and are so helpful. Whether you spend £3.50 or £35, the attention and professionalism is outstanding. I popped in last week to buy some chocolates (sadly not for me) and was offered several tastings. Beautifully packaged, beautiful, high-quality chocolate truffles and ‘treats’, you cannot go wrong with these chocolates as a gift.
www.lamaisonduchocolat.co.uk

Pandora Bell’s Honey Nougat
I love, love, love the nougat range from this young irish brand and am only sorry it has yet to make its way to the UK but I think there are plans afoot about that. My favourite is the Coffee Nougat with Hazelnuts but any would please. Plus they’re so prettily wrapped all you need is a gift tag or a bow and it’s good to go.
www.pandorabell.ie

The Truffle Fairy
I came across Mary Teehan’s chocolates at Waterford Food Festival 2011, was struck by the quality of the chocolates and promptly bought a box of mixed truffles which I generously shared with hubby when I returned to London. Lovely flavours, tantalising combinations and great melt-in-the-mouth exprience.
www.trufflefairy.com

2. Savoury treats

Smoked salmon
Now I’m may be accused of favouring my own here but my favourite smoked salmon is irish. I’m not saying that smoked scottish is inferior it’s just that, to date, the salmon smokeries that I know where the the quality will be consistantly high are irish. I have had fantastic Abroath smokies when in Scotland and am very fond of LochFyne products but a gift of either Burren Smokehouse or Frank Hederman‘s smoked irish salmon is one I know will delight. Available both in the UK and Ireland (see their sites for outlets or suggestions below) they offer superb seafood.
www.burrensmokehouse.ie I interviewed owner Brigitta Curtin earlier this year, see here. Burren Smokehouse supplies the Fortnum & Mason’s Smoked Irish Organic Salmon.
www.frankhederman.com Frank offers a range of smoked seafood, his smoked mackerel is divine. Available from Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason’s in UK and widely in Ireland.

Cheese
Oooh this is a fast track way to most foodies heart. A small platter of cheeses or just one decent wedge and you’ll be rewarded with hugs, kisses or a glass of something special. Here are a list of my favourites but if none of those are easy to find then you can never go wrong with a wedge of a salty Parmesan or a mature artisan Cheddar. Bliss.

Cows cheeses:
Linconshire Poacher
Coolea
Cooleeney
Gubbeen
Montgomery’s Cheddar
Cashel’s Blue *

Goats Cheeses:
St Tola
Cardo
Gortnamona

Sheeps cheese:
Crozier Blue
Berkswell
Wigmore

Any good cheese retailer should have a selection of the above. Neal’s Yard Dairy stocks most of them.

* I recently was asked to trial a pairing of Cashel Blue with Levin’s Rosé Jelly and really enjoyed it. The jelly also went well with several other cheeses I can happily report! I’ll be pairing it with Crozier Blue on Christmas Day. Mmm.

Psst, don’t forget the crispbread
No contest here, Peter’s Yard crispbread has no equal as far as I’m concerned. If you’re giving some cheese as a gift then this is a perfect accompaniment. Thin, tasty, a delicious foil for any cheese. Here’s a map of stockists in UK and Ireland.
www.petersyard.com

3. A little something for cook’s kitchen…

Knives
Now this could be contentious as knives are very personal and each cook has their favourites. But I love Robert Welch knives and I have a few of his (to be honest I have a fair few knives from all around but the last few years I’ve mostly bought his). I bought this one in a sale recently and love the flat asian-style blade. There are fabulous japanese ceramic knives out there but they are also fabulously expensive. I find the Robert Welch range to be well-balanced and a pleasure to work with. Can also be found at John Lewis (among other stockists).
www.robertwelch.com

Mouli
I have had my vegetable mouli for at least 20 years and although it’s not in regular use I always have it near to hand. I mostly use it when making a large batch of tomato sauce as it purees the cooked tomatoes, separating out the skins. I don’t have a standard food processor (space restrictions in my small galley kitchen) but will always find space for my mouli. If the cook in your life doesn’t yet have one then this piece of equipment should be on your gift list. I’d recommend a metal mouli (mine was bought in Portugal years ago) and preferably one with side bars that rest on top of a saucepan. Any good kitchen retailer will stock them but here’s one I found that seemed a good example (I’ve not seen it in the flesh though) .

4. And now for something completely different…

If you’re fed up buying food or cooking-related gifts for the foodie in your life (and if the said foodie smiles weakly at each foodie gift) then how about a voucher for a fused glass class? I went on a day course at The Rainbow Glass Studio, Stoke Newington and made 2 glass plates! Now, there isn’t a cook or foodie who wouldn’t like to offer up some morsel and when someone says “Like your plate, where did you get it” be able to reply “Oh, I made it!”. You don’t have to be overly artistic to participate. When I did the day-course we mostly made plates or bowls, someone made a face for a clock and one couple pooled their efforts to make a large table mat and six drink mats. All turned out well (read about my day here). Different!
www.rainbowglassstudios.co.uk

5. Subscriptions

How about a food magazine subscription? I think that’s a great idea, even if I say so myself.

My current favourite is Lucky Peach, a new american food magazine with a funky attitude, arty mix of illustrations and photography and interesting writing. I read the first issue cover to cover and tried not to read it too quickly so that would last. It has just published the second issue so it’s early days in its life but the signs are good.
www.mcsweeneys.net

Another really good american food magazine is The Art of Eating. Brilliant writing, not a lot of photography, no advertising just great food articles. I always look forward to its arrival.
www.artofeating.com

Fire & Knives is a fairly recent, very welcome, addition to the british food magazine scene. I enjoy it not just for the articles but also for the design. Funky graphics and unusual size makes it stand out from the glossy, product placement rich magazines which abound out in the UK marketplace. Again no advertising which is a brave stand. A decent read!
www.fireandknives.com

6. Finally…

If you fall upon the ideal gift here but then find out it won’t arrive in time for the ‘hand over’ then simply print out a picture of said pressie, mount it onto cardboard and wrap that up as an i.o.u. Done.

Edible gifts: Chocolate Plum Pudding truffles

Ailbhe — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:58:36 +0000

These are one of the easiest, cheatiest, untruffley truffles you can make. What’s more, if you arrive as a guest for Christmas with a platter of these wee beauties you’ll be awarded ‘Best Guest of the Season’. Seriously.

I’d like to take full credit for creating them but I had a version of these a couple of years ago in Australia when someone rocked up on Christmas Day with a platter and I’ve made my more ‘chocolatey’ version ever since. I make them in stages over a few days in between other duties but friends have roped their young children in to make them for the school Christmas Fair and made them easily in a few hours before the kids’ bedtime. Yes, they are so simple to make that children have made them.

Chocolate Plum Puddings

First off we need to talk Christmas Puddings. Use the cheapest pudding you can for this recipe which, incidentally, can mean one of the best puddings around. I used a small Lidl Christmas Pudding at £1.99. Lidl’s Christmas Pudding has been voted one of the best puddings by reviewers so that’s a bonus. Adding chocolate to the mix enriches any pudding though so use what’s available… and cheap!

Makes approx 24

1 mini plum pudding, approx 230 g
2 tablespoons rum or whisky
300 g dark or milk chocolate,melted
100 g white chocolate, melted
edible cake ‘holly sprigs’ to decorate (optional)

Method

Crumble the pudding into a bowl.

Add rum or whisky a little at a time, working it in by hand, you may need more or less liquid than specified, depending on how moist the pudding is.

Melt 100g chocolate. Add to the pudding mixture and mix in (this is where I tweaked the original version. I use chocolate as a binding agent and a covering. You cannot have too much chocolate at Christmas!)

Take tablespoons of mixture and form into small balls, approx 18mm in diameter (a big marble – remember glass marbles?). Place on a tray lined with baking parchment. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins to set hard.
Tip: I use plastic/latex gloves as it can get very sticky. Obviously you can just use clean hands but it does save on time when suddenly the phone rings while you’re rolling away!

Melt the remaining chocolate in a bowl.

Quickly dip each ball into the melted chocolate, roll to cover and place back onto tray. (use a fork to lift up the chocolate covered ball like a spoon, use a knife to wipe off the chocolate dripping beneath then place on the parchment paper).

Place the tray back in refrigerator for chocolate to set.

Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over each chocolate plum pudding to simulate ‘custard’.

Keep in airtight container in a cool place. They won’t last long but you can make them well in advance of eating.

……….

Tip: I assumed (why should I, so my mistake) that everyone knew you NEVER melt chocolate in a saucepan directly over heat. Always heat chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water and removing off heat when melted only returning over heat as it begins to harden – if needed. A friend complained that she needed to add oil!! because the chocolate went lumpy and I still didn’t click (I was rushing so just went “..eh?” and left it at that). Not until, on her second batch (the first batch was, strangely, successful) she complained that the chocolate “fizzed and burned” in the pan did I realise she was melting directly over the heat. Oops.

Christmas leftovers; some ideas to nibble on

Ailbhe — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:30:08 +0000

Leftovers. Love ‘em. Very few things in life make me happier than when I have lovely leftovers to make into something new. Sad that may seem to some but there are a few of you who also share this little quirk. We’re the kind of folk who really do not understand others moaning on about having to eat “dreary cold turkey and ham” for days after Christmas. Honestly. And this year the moaning seemed to begin earlier than usual!

So when a challenge was issued recently by Grey Poupon to a few foodies to devise some interesting uses of their Dijon mustard I straight away thought “Christmas leftovers”. Next I thought “New Year’s Eve party” and thus I decided that by combining Christmas leftovers with some choice ingredients you could have some very tasty canapés to nibble on as you ring in 2012. Sorted.

First up I suggest some crispy Ham & Sweet Onion Pasties, then Mini Cheesy Toasties (served with a Bloody Mary Shot) and finally Scandinavian Salmon Cups with a Sweet Mustard Dressing. That should use up the baked ham, cheese board remnants and any fortified wine (yes, some people don’t actually drink ALL the port / muscat / olorosso in one sitting and no, I don’t understand that either). Equally, these mini-versions can be supersized and make a table appearance as a dish in itself. Just tweak as advised at the end of each recipe.

Now, come 26th December you can open your fridge and face your leftovers armed with some anti-moaning ammunition.

Ham & Sweet Onion Pasties

Makes approx 18 mini pasties

Ingredients
1 packet of filo pastry
125 g baked ham, finely diced into 5mm cubes
75 – 125 g butter
90 ml milk
2 tblsp flour
2 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard (I used Grey Poupon)
65 g shallot, diced finely
30 ml sweet wine or port (I used some Pedro Ximenez)
2 tblsp parsley, finely chopped?salt & pepper

Method
Melt a small knob of the butter in a small pan and gently sauté the finely diced shallots. When they begin to go translucent add whatever sweet wine you have chosen (and up to half a teaspoon of sugar if your wine is not so sweet) and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove the now softened sweet shallots to a bowl, wipe the pan and return to the heat.

Now melt 15 g of the butter with the flour and the milk stirring all the while to prevent lumps forming. When you achieve a thick sauce (you don’t want a runny sauce) and the flour has been incorporated fully add 2 tablespoons of the Dijon mustard, season and remove from the heat into the bowl with the cooked sweet shallots.

Add the ham to the bowl with the parsley. Taste and season again if needed. You now have a sweet, mustardy mixture ready to fill your pasties. You can make this recipe to this stage well in advance and it will keep in the fridge.

Next you need to make your pasties using the filo pastry. Start by melting the remaining butter with remaining 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard.

Unfold the filo pastry and, working quickly, brush a single sheet of filo with the melted butter. Layer with another filo sheet, brush that with the butter and repeat until you have 3 layers of buttered filo. Now cut the layered pastry into 3 long strips, place a teaspoon of the ham and sweet onion mix on one end of each strip, fold over into triangles to make samosa-like packets and brush again with butter.

Alternatively if, like me, you have a little dumpling press, cut the buttered filo sheets into quarters, lay a quarter on the press and place a teaspoon of ham mix into the centre close the press to make the pasty shape. Trim off excess pastry and brush the outside with butter (you can see from the photo I’ve tested both versions).

Place all the pasties on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet. Cook in a preheated oven at 200C for 15 mins until the pasties are golden and crispy.

Allow to cool for a minute before serving to prevent greedy mouths from being burnt!

Supersized pie variation:

Increase all the quantities and dice the ham and shallots into larger cubes. Make a runnier mustard sauce by adding a larger proportion of milk or stock (I suggest ratios of 25g butter, 2-3 tablspoons flour and 300 mls milk / stock).?Place the ham & sweet onion mix in a pie dish and top with buttered crumpled sheets of filo or use puff pastry.
Serve with your favourite mash.

Mini Cheesy Toasties (served with a Bloody Mary Shot)

Makes approx 32 mini toasties

Ingredients
140 g mixed cheeses, grated or chopped finely (I used a mix of Gruyere, Gouda and Parmesan)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3-4 splashes Worcestershire sauce
40 g butter, melted
8 slices of sandwich bread

Mix the cheeses in a bowl with the mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
Cut off the crusts on the sliced bread and divide the cheesy mustard mix between 4 slices. Top each to make 4 sandwiches Divide into quarters.

Heat a frying pan on a low to medium heat, brush the outside of each mini ‘sandwich’ with the melted butter and place on the pan. Using a spatula make sure each cheesy sandwich doesn’t curl up. Cook on each side till the outer is golden brown and the cheese centre has started to melt.

Remove from the pan, allow to cool for 1 minute before halving diagonally, securing with a cocktail stick and serve with a Blood Mary shot.

Easy, peasy canapé that definitely hits the savoury G-spot.

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Bloody Mary shots

Tomato juice
Worcestershire sauce
Vodka
couple drops of Tabasco
splash of a fino sherry
salt & pepper

I’m not about to go into a step-by-step guide on making a Bloody mary (minefield) but, depending on your alcoholic preferences, simply mix the vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce together in whatever ratios you feel you can cope with! Add the sherry and Tabasco to taste. Season and chill in advance. Then serve (in pre-chilled shot glasses if you have fridge space) alongside the cheesy mini-toasties.

Supersized:
Just don’t quarter the cheese sandwich!

Scandinavian Salmon Cups with a Sweet Mustard Dressing.

Makes approx 24 salmon cups

Ingredients
1 salmon fillet
6 slices white sandwich bread
15 g butter

Marinade
1/2 onion, finely sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stick, sliced
5 allspice berries
5 peppercorn
5 corianander seeds
1 cardamon pod, cracked
50 ml wine vinegar
1 litre water
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper

Sweet mustard dressing
1 tblsp mayonnaise (homemade or a good brand made with free-range eggs)
2-3 tblsp thick Greek yoghurt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2-3 tblsp fresh dill, finely chopped
1 – 2 cornichons / gerkins, finely diced (optional)
1/2 tsp honey
salt & pepper

Method
Start by poaching the salmon. Place the skinned salmon fillet in a bowl.

Place all the marinade ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, simmer for 5 mins before pouring over the salmon fillet in the bowl. Ensure the salmon is well covered. Allow to cool completely before making up the canapés. You can make this 24 hours in advance.

Next make the toastie cups (these also can be made a day in advance and kept in an airtight container).

Roll out each slice of bread with a rolling pin until flattened to approx 2 mms. Using a pastry cutter cut out circles of approx 30 mm. Gently press each bread circle into a buttered petit fours baking tray and place in a pre-heated oven. Bake at 200C for 12 mins or until the cups are turning a golden brown.

An hour before ready to make the canapés make the sweet mustard dressing by mixing all the ingredients, cover and allow the flavours to mingle.

Remove the salmon from the poaching liquor, dry and flake the flesh. Add the sweet mustard dressing to the flaked salmon, mixing gently, a tablespoon at a time until you are happy with the ratio.

Fill each toastie cup with the salmon mix, top with pickled cucumber and serve.

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Pickled cucumber

Approx 6 cm cucumber
distilled white vinegar
sugar
water
salt

Roughly peel the cucumber (leaving some green skin on makes for a prettier effect). Finely slice the cucumber as thinly as you can. For canapés half each slice to produce smaller portions.

Layer the cucumber in a sieve, sprinkle with salt, cover the surface with clingfilm top with a weight and allow to drain for an hour.

Place drained cucmber a bowl, add the vinegar, sugar and water (in a ratio of 1:2:3 – 1 part vinegar to 2 parts sugar to 3 parts water) and chill for at least an hour.

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Smoke salmon variation:

Of course you could substitute leftover smoked salmon in place of the fresh salmon fillet. Just skip the marinading stage and flake the smoked salmon into the sweet mustard dressing and continue with the directions.

Supersized:
Poach fillets of salmon as described above. Serve the sweet mustard dressing on the side with the pickled cucumbers and warm salad potatoes. Delicious.

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Disclaimer:
I was approached by Food Matters, on behalf of Grey Poupon, to suggest a dish using their Grey Poupon Dijon mustard. I find Grey Poupon to be a classic Dijon mustard with an agreeable mustard spiciness, clean with a slight sweet undertone. I wanted to emphasise the sweet/spice components in these dishes. Hope y’all like.

Citrus Honey Chicken: flashback to long sunny days

Ailbhe — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:59:48 +0000

It’s not been a cold start to the winter here at all. I’m sure Ol’ Mother Nature is confused too because I’ve seen butterflies flittering about and tomato seeds germinating during this week. In fact I have to admit I’m finding the balmy weather almost too balmy. I find it hard to know what to wear, especially as I’ve bought a lovely winter coat and I’m too hot wearing it! You see, I do rather like cold weather. So here’s to a drop in temperature soon and to wearing warm gloves. That I do like! (psst: obviously when I posted this on Sunday this was indeed the case – a couple of days later and the temperature has pleasingly dropped!)

But I don’t know anyone who is a fan of shorter daylight hours. That is one aspect of winter that does affect us all. So to bring a flash of summer sunshine back into your kitchen I suggest you have a go at recreating this easy, economical chicken dish. It’s sticky, citrussy and is perfect with mash or a salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Citrus Honey Chicken

Serves 4

8 Chicken pieces, I used drumsticks & thighs (bone in) 2 portions per person

Marinade
2 tablespoons honey
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 lime, juice
6 cloves garlic, squashed, skin on
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I’m currently using Grey Poupon, has a slight sweet tang – nice)
2 tablespoons light oil
sprigs of thyme, (lemon thyme preferably)
salt & pepper

…………….

Method

Make the marinade by mixing the honey, mustard, lemon and lime juices, lemon zest and oil in a non-metallic dish. Add the thyme sprigs with the whole, slightly squashed garlic cloves and place the chicken pieces in one layer in the dish. Cover and marinade the chicken for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight, in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 180C (Gas Mark 4 / 350F). Cook the chicken, in the marinade, for 30 minutes before turning the heat down to 160C (Mark 3 / 325F) and continue to cook until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about a further 25 – 35 minutes. Baste the chicken occasionally with the marinade sauce.

Remove the chicken, cover and keep warm while you finish off the sauce.

Strain the cooked marinade and juices into a saucepan. Taste, season and add either honey or lemon juice depending if too sweet or sharp for your personal tastes. Bring to the boil, simmer to reduce and slightly thicken.

Serve the chicken pieces and citrus honey mustard sauce with buttery mash and some greens or a crisp green salad.

Variations:
Replace the thyme and mustard with half a teaspoon each of cumin and coriander seeds and a 3 cms stick of cinnamon
for a middle eastern flavour.

A Perfectly Pink Iced Sorrel

Ailbhe — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:08:12 +0000

The lovely Rosana McPhee of HotandChilli organised a gathering of foodies and tweeters recently to introduce us to the treasure trove that is Brixton Village. I have to admit that in spite of living only 15 mins away from Brixton by tube (I know, I know) it’s been years and years since I visited. That’s all going to change after Rosana’s ‘Brixton Village Safari’.

Kicking off with breakfast (far too early for this foodie) she had planned a day of browsing and sampling and generally nosing about, with people joining and leaving the group as the day developed. May, Jeanne and I caught up with Rosana in time for lunch and spent the next few hours exploring Brixton Village in the company of some really lovely folk*. What a revelation Brixton Village turned out to be. The amount of great eateries that have sprung up among the shops and stalls in Brixton Village is far too many to sample in one day but we did manage to squeeze in Honest Burger (liked it a lot and I’m not a ‘burger fan’, tasty fries too), great ice cream from Laboratoria Artigianale del Buon Gelato (LAB G) and a suitably spicy Bloody Mary from Seven @ Brixton.

A highlight of the day was the fresh drinks we had from Etta’s Seafood. A fresh Ginger Beer (zingy and simply ginger glorious) and an iced Sorrel which was completely new to me. Spiced gently with clove, ginger and cinnamon the colour of the iced tea was vibrantly pink and happy. The taste vaguely reminded me of cranberry and was we all agreed slightly ‘medicinal’ but pleasantly so. Immediately I thought that a splash of alcohol would be fantastic (says something about me!) and indeed I later found out that rum is the usual ‘splash’. Sorrel is the Caribbean name given to an infusion that is more widely known as Hibiscus Tea. It’s an infusion of the calyces (sepals) of the flower; Hibiscus Sabdariffa, not to be confused with common garden ornamental versions. I’d heard of Hibiscus Tea but never drunk it and I particularly liked the Caribbean (non-rum) version.

Around the corner we came across fresh hibiscus calyces on a stall. The stall holder informed us that fresh Hibiscus Sabdariffa calyces can be only found on sale here in the UK during November and December and is mainly bought by the British Carribean Community to make the drink which which is mixed with rum and is an important traditional part of a Caribbean Christmas. Delicious and colourful. The rest of the year dried hibiscus is used and yes, you can find those at Brixton Village too.

Naturally I bought some of the fresh sorrel and next day I set about recreating it.

These are fresh hibiscus, only available in UK during Noember and December.

Iced Sorrel

Servings: 6 – 8

250 grams heaped, fresh hibiscus calyces, (or dried hibiscus)
1 liter water
125 grams sugar (I don’t like drinks too sweet so add to your taste)
3 cms cinnamon stick
2 cloves
4 cms strip, peel of orange
3 cms x 5 mm, approx slice of fresh ginger, peeled
(null) zest of lime to decorate

Bring water and sugar to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Turn down to a simmer immediately.

Add clove, cinnamon stick, orange peel, hibiscus calyces and ginger (I also made cuts in ginger to make a comb’ or fan’ so that that more surface came in contact with the water). Simmer very gently on low heat for 5 mins. Then remove from heat and let stand for another 25 minutes.

Strain into a jug to remove all solids. When cool place in fridge and allow to chill completely.

Serve over ice, with the optional splash of rum and perhaps some sparkling water or soda.

Garnish with fresh lime zest.

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For some photographs of the day see Rosana’s flickr set or Christian’s. Rosana (@Rosana_McPhee) will be organising more Brixton Village Safaris in the future so start following her on twitter if you’re interested. A great fun day!

Some of the other lovely twittery, foodie folk I met were:

Sue @itsyourlondon
Christian @THEpastamaster
Federica @federilli
Nicola @nicmonks