The 2017 Salad Crisis and Burgers

There has been a shortage of courgettes and salads due to bad weather in Spain. I hadn’t really noticed as we don't buy courgettes in winter, because we grow them in summer and anyone who has ever grown their own courgettes knows, by the end of the season you don’t want to see another courgette until next May at the very earliest!

Salad leaves are different we do buy some during the winter to supplement the leaves we grow in the poly tunnel. Little gems are our favourites and we’re quite bad about composting the outer dark leaves preferring the inner pale leaves. This is a waste of the outer leaves, so what to do?

Well, for a start I gave the slightly floppy outer leaves a good soak in some cold water with a spoonful of salt in it for about 45 minutes, then I drained the leaves and dried them in a salad spinner. After that they went into a container covered in damp kitchen paper in the fridge over night.

They were crisp the next day and perfect for a salad. I used them in a classic Caesar salad and got to thinking about all the Caesar variations there are out there, with bacon or chicken, blue cheese or avocado or sometimes all of the above!

Blue cheese……….. there was some blue cheese butter in the fridge, some cream and I was making burgers from some minced beef……… how would burgers with blue cheese and lettuce sauce go down?

Very nicely as it turns out.

Burgers with Blue Cheese and Lettuce Sauce

The finished burger

250g beef mince

salt and pepper

1tbs butter

1tbs blue cheese

100mls cream 

10 lettuce leaves

2-4 slices of onion

4 slices of aubergine or 2 flat cap mushrooms 

2 slices of Parma ham or 4 slices of pancetta

Season the mince with salt and pepper and shape into two burgers and leave to rest in the fridge.

Mash together the blue cheese and butter with a fork and put into a small saucepan with the cream.

Slice the lettuce leaves longways removing the centre rib if you like.

Brush the onion and aubergine slices with oil and fry in a pan until nicely browned and keep warm.

Bake or grill the mushrooms with a knob of butter, salt and pepper until just done and keep warm.  

Grill the Parma ham or pancetta till crisp.

Heat a pan or grill to cook the burgers and put the blue cheese butter and cream on to a low heat to melt.

When the blue cheese is liquid add the lettuce leaves and bring to a simmer until the lettuce is wilted and the sauce thick.

Lettuce sauce!

Cook the burgers as you like them and place on the aubergine slices or flat cap mushrooms and top with the onions and the sauce and then the Parma ham or pancetta.  

Building the burger

Sausage supper and some thoughts on photographing food

       There are some days when food just needs to be easy and quick and grilled sausages with fried onions and a salad are the perfect.

       The sausages are from a deli called Iago on Princes street, they use to have a stall in the English market, but the new shop is bigger and brighter. The sausages are specially made for them and the thick meaty, fennel and garlic ones are our favourites.

       We are still eating onions we grew in the garden last year, sliced thickly and cooked slowly in some olive oil with a seasoning of salt and pepper, they make a soft bed to put the sausages on. 

The salad of fennel and orange is one of our regular winter salads I blogged about last February, its sweetness complements the onions and to stop it being over sweet we add a good squeeze of lemon juice. It is particularly nice when made with blood oranges. The fennel gives a crunch amongst all the softness.

       I tweeted about this supper the night we ate it, but I didn’t post a photograph. Someone questioned if it had happened, in a joking way, and I said I’d been too hungry to take a photo and that I thought people would be sick of food photos after Christmas. Anyway I like to take a good photo of the food, to do it justice. I did take the photo below the next day of the leftovers.

Leftover sausage supper.

       So is it important to take a photo or just enjoy the moment of sharing the food?

For me cooking and sharing the food is more important. Sharing food is what makes us friends and friendship keeps us connected to other people. In reality very few dishes are photographed and posted on social media considering the number of meals consumed around the world each day.

We are lucky to have food and more than enough.

       When I do photograph my food it is usually for a blog post here or as an aide-mémoire when eating out. I do my best to make the images interesting, informative and in focus for here, but when we are eating out they tend to be a quick snap so I can recall each of the elements on the plate and quite often they are not perfectly in focus or they will have a shadow of the camera/phone in them. As in the one below.

Octopus and black chickpea stew.

       The eating out photos are useful to help me create new dishes at home by maybe bringing in an element that was particularly tasty or for seeing whether a flavour or texture go well together or not, all these add to our everyday meals. Very few of which are ever photographed.

       Do I need to share more of these, I don’t think so. I write this blog to keep my hand in at writing and as a way of recording what’s around me here. 

Thank you for reading this.

Pisces or "Two Fish Dishes"

       My zodiac sign is Pisces, two fish swimming against each other, and I am very indecisive. I've started teaching an evening cookery class for adults, very different to taking children's classes. I'm being pulled by these two different classes, but I am getting there. This week the adults are making these fish dishes, they are quick and do not need much added to them, perhaps a salad or more vegetables cooked quickly while they bake.

Gremolata Crumbed Hake

Gremolata Crumbed Fish With Roast Tomatoes

      I freeze the heels of the bread and they make great breadcrumbs whizzed up in the Magimix, you can even add the garlic and parsley while making the breadcrumbs to save time.

Per person

handful of breadcrumbs

1tsp of grated lemon zest

½ a clove of garlic very finely chopped
2tbs of chopped parsley
squeeze of lemon juice

salt and pepper
1tsp olive oil
1 portion of white fish, hake, whiting, cod or haddock 

6-8 cherry tomatoes

Heat the oven to GM7, 220 ̊C and line a baking dish or tin with baking parchment.  

      Mix together the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  

      Place the fish on the parchment skin side down and cover the top of each fillet with a layer of the breadcrumb mix. 

      Dribble the olive oil over each one and add the tomatoes around them. 

      Bake in the hot oven for about 20-25 minutes, more if the fillets are very thick. Serve with a wedge of lemon. 

Soy Ginger Salmon

Soy Ginger Salmon 

      This is a cheats version of "teriyaki" dish without the sugar, soy sauce, ginger and scallions are staples in my larder. By the time the oven has heated up the topping is mixed and while it is in the oven I steam some asparagus or sauté some spinach with more ginger and some garlic. All done in under half an hour.

Per person

1 portion of salmon

2tsp soy sauce

thin slice of ginger chopped

chilli, a few slices or a some dried chilli flakes optional

1 scallion sliced

a squeeze of lime juice

pepper and salt

Heat the oven to GM7, 220 ̊C and line a baking dish or tin with baking parchment.

      

      Place the salmon onto the baking parchment, skin side down.

      Mix together the soy sauce, ginger, chilli, scallion, lime juice, a pinch of salt and some pepper, spoon this mix over the salmon on the parchment. 

       Bake in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with a wedge of lime. Steamed asparagus or some wilted spinach is perfect with this.

Devilled Crab Gratin

Devilled Crab Gratin

         Some jobs in the kitchen just have to be done by hand, topping & tailing gooseberries, stoning plums for the freezer, shelling fresh peas, pricking sloes for sloe gin and picking the meat from a hole crab. There is nothing for it but to gather all you need sit down at a table and get on with it. Company of some sort is essential, ideally a real live person who will share the task or one engaged in other activities that you can chat to. Failing live company the radio will keep me entertained.

Of course the point of these activities is to end up with something delicious to eat!

Last night I took on the crab picking challenge and it was well worth it. The brown meat is essential to this dish as it gives a richness that can’t be achieved with anything else.

Crab meat and shells

and the rest.

2 crabs

2 small onions or 1 large one

50g butter

2cm piece of fresh ginger peeled

2 cloves of garlic peeled & chopped

1 dessert spoon of lime pickle

double cream

salt & pepper

fresh coriander chopped

grated cheddar

Pick the brown and white meat from the crabs.

Peel the onions and slice them very thinly, melt the butter in a pan over a low heat and add the onions. Cook the onions gently. 

Grate the ginger and chop the pieces of lime in the lime pickle. Add the grated ginger, garlic and lime pickle to the onions and continue cooking until the onions are soft.

Heat an ovenproof dish and preheat a grill.

Add the crab to the pan with the onions and enough double cream to loosen the mixture. Heat it all through and stir through the chopped coriander, pour into the warm dish and sprinkle with the grated cheese and grill until browned and bubbling.  

Leave to cool until the bubbling stops and serve with a green salad.

Let the bubbling stop before serving!

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course.

PS Add a chopped chilli if you want a really spicy version, but I like the crab flavour not to be drowned by the chilli.

Scotch Pancakes

Yesterday Scotland went to the polls and voted on independence from the United Kingdom. 85% of electorate voted and 54% of them voted "No". Scotland remains in the UK.

I don't know how I would have voted, but I thought I'd like some drop scones today. In some households these are called "Scotch Pancakes". They are delicious warm with butter and jam or lemon curd.
For a savoury twist serve with grilled smoked rashers and honey or maple syrup.
If I can't find fine oatmeal I put rolled porridge oats into the food processor and process until it's a fine meal.

175g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
4tsp sugar
75g fine oatmeal
1 large egg
milk

Sift the flour and baking into a bowl and stir in the salt, sugar and oatmeal.
Make a well in the centre and add the egg, start mixing in the egg with a whisk and as it gets thicker add splashes of milk and keep mixing, until you have a batter the consistency of double cream.

Heat a frying or a griddle and grease with butter.
When hot spoon large spoonfuls of the batter onto the pan and let them cook for a minute until brown underneath and then flip them over and let them cook for a moment.

Remove them from the pan and keep warm in a low oven until they are all cooked.

  

Christmas Leftovers!

Just a short post about Christmas leftovers! 

We all love Christmas food on Christmas day! But after that it gets a bit boring? So here are three recipes I tried out at a cooking demonstration today. They seem to have gone down well with the group. Sorry there are no photos I always find it is too busy to take photographs at these events.

Smoked Salmon with Yogurt Pancakes

      This is a great way to stretch a small amount of smoked salmon around a large group. The yogurt in the little pancakes gives them a nice tang, as if they have been made with some sourdough starter.  

Pancakes

150g self raising flour

½ tsp salt

1 egg

150g yogurt

150ml milk

butter for frying

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the salt.

Break the egg into the flour and start to whisk gently drawing more and more flour in until thick. Then add in the yogurt a spoonful at a time and whisk again.

When all of the yogurt is added in, whisk in most of the milk to make a thick batter.

Or put all the ingredients into a blender starting with half the milk, then the yogurt and the egg and blend till smooth. It will need to be thinned with the rest of the milk.

Make the pancakes by spooning 1dsp of batter onto the frying pan together to make a small pancake. Cook till dry on top and then flip over and cook until golden on the other side.

Add some more butter and continue to make the pancakes.

You can do 5-6 at a time on a large pan, keeping the earlier ones warm in a low oven until the rest are cooked.

1 shallot

½ tub sour cream

a bunch of dill

2dsp capers

lemons

smoked salmon

Very finely dice the shallot, chop the dill and capers and add them to the sour cream. Taste the sour cream mixture and season with pepper and lemon juice.

Top each pancake with a blob of sour steam and a twist of smoked salmon. Serve with lemon wedges and a grind of black pepper.

Cashew Nut & Brussels sprout Stir-fry

      This is great for unexpected vegetarians and is a different way to enjoy these seasonal mini cabbages.

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

2.5cm piece of ginger

1 chilli (optional)

1 red or yellow pepper

6-8 button mushrooms

10-12 Brussels sprouts

2tbs sunflower oil

2tbs soy sauce

1 tsp nam pla

50ml water

pepper

100g cashew nuts*

2 scallions

2tbs chopped coriander

Peel, halve and slice the onion thinly.

Peel and slice the garlic.

Peel the ginger and cut into small matchsticks.

Cut the chilli in half and remove the seeds and membrane slice very finely.

Cut the pepper open and remove the seeds and membrane, slice it into 1cm wide strips.

Slice the mushrooms.

Peel and finely slice the Brussels sprouts

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. When the oil shimmers add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the onion softens.

Add the pepper, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms.

Stir-fry for a minute or two and add the soy sauce, nam pla and water. Cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Leave to cook for about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile toast the cashews on a dry frying pan over a medium to high heat.

Finley slice the scallions at an angle and mix with the coriander.

Take the lid off the vegetables taste and season with pepper and  add the cashews and stir them through. Sprinkle on coriander and scallions and serve with rice or noodles.

*If you are using salted roasted cashews rinse them in a sieve under the tap to remove the salt, then dry them with kitchen paper before heating then through on the dry pan.

Christmas pudding Sundaes

      The diet starts in the New Year!

Left over Christmas pudding

Butter

3tbs mixed nuts

1tbs oil

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1tbs sugar

Good vanilla ice cream

Whiskey

Dates

Whipped cream

Crumble the Christmas pudding into dessert spoonful sized chunks.

Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the pudding in a single layer. Toss and fry until hot through and beginning to take on some colour.

In another pan gently fry the nuts in the oil. When they start to take on a colour add the sugar and cinnamon stir round until beginning to caramelise and turn out onto a sheet of baking parchment to cool.

Put a scoop of ice cream into the bottom of a glass dish and add a layer of hot pudding, a dessert spoonful of whiskey and then some more ice cream and a some cinnamon toasted nuts. Decorate with whipped cream and a date or two.

Happy Christmas to one and all, and a peaceful New Year!

Summer Eating

Globe Artichoke

         There is nothing nicer than a globe artichoke as a start to a summer meal. Boiled till tender and served with melted butter and freshly ground black pepper. So simple, but what to follow it with? Well pasta is quick and easy and we have spinach and basil growing in the poly tunnel and garden.
         The courgettes are also getting into their stride and are so fresh from the garden that they need very lithe done to them. As we have out own plants we also get the flowers, which add colour to the salad too.

         So, what better than a pesto with pasta and a salad. To follow a tiramisu made with super strength coffee, the remains of which make an excellent breakfast.  

Pasta with Walnut Pesto

30 g walnuts

2 cloves of garlic

½ tsp salt

50 g fresh spinach washed & dried

large sprig of basil

5tbs olive oil

80g Parmesan cheese

pepper

1tbs lemon juice

150-200 g pasta

Put a large pot of water on to boil and add 2 teaspoons of salt to the water.

Heat a frying pan on a medium heat.

Break the walnuts into pieces and toast them on the frying pan for 3-4 minutes until they start to colour. Watch them carefully so that they don’t burn.

When the nuts are browned take them out of the pan and let them cool.

Peel and chop the garlic.

Finely grate the cheese.

Put the cooled nuts, garlic, ½ teaspoon of salt, spinach, basil leaves and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in to a mini chopper or small bowl of a food processor and blend.

Stop and push anything down that isn’t getting blended. Blend again until you have a smooth paste.

Stir in the grated cheese, lemon juice and 2 more spoonfuls of olive oil. Taste and add some pepper and more salt if necessary.

When the pot of water comes to the boil add the pasta and cook until ‘al dente’. Use the cooking time on the packet as a guide.

Scoop out a cup of the pasta’s cooking water.

Drain the pasta and return it to the warm cooking pot. Add 3-4 tablespoons of the pesto and stir well to mix it through. Add some of the reserved cooking water a tablespoon at a time and mixing again until you have the pasta coated with pesto. Serve with extra grated Parmesan.

Courgette Salad

1 clove of garlic

2tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 large or 2 small courgettes

6 black olives

2tsp capers

1 small red onion

100g ripe cherry tomatoes

Courgette flowers (if you have any)

Parsley

Lemon juice

Salt & pepper

Crush the garlic and mix it with the olive oil. Slice the courgettes into 0.5cm thick slices length ways and brush them with the garlic oil.

Finely chop the capers and olives. Peel and thinly slice the onion and quarter the tomatoes. Strip the leaves from the parsley.

Put a ridged grill pan on to heat.

In a large salad bowl mix together the capers, olives, onion slices, the tomatoes, any courgette flowers torn into strips and the leaves from the parsley and mix well.

Grill the courgette strips on the hot grill pan in batches till nicely marked and just starting to soften. As they are done add them to the salad bowl.

When all the courgettes are cooked add any remaining oil and garlic from the courgettes to the salad and toss everything together. Taste and add a squeeze or two of lemon juice to taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serve at room temperature.

Tiramisu

Serves 4-6

3 eggs

250g mascarpone

3tbs sugar  

1 cup very strong black coffee

250g sponge fingers

Separate the eggs.

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy.

Add the mascarpone and whisk again.

Put the egg whites into a clean bowl and with a clean whisk beat them until stiff.

Fold the egg whites into the cream.

Make a cup of very strong coffee and put it into a shallow dish. This is for the sponge fingers. Dip half of the sponge fingers into the coffee quickly and then put them into a shallow serving dish, in a single layer.

Spread half of the cream mix on top of the sponge fingers.

Cover this with another layer of coffee soaked sponge fingers and the rest of the cream mix.

Then sprinkle the top with cocoa powder or grated black chocolate.

Put into the fridge overnight. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before it is needed, to warm up.

Coffee for Breakfast

Just a quick supper

       The first two of our courgettes were ready on Sunday and we needed a light supper. Here is what I came up with.

I diced a two inch piece of spicy chorizo in to small dice and cooked them in a spoonful of olive oil on the omelette pan, then I sliced an onion and a clove of garlic and softened them in the oil from the chorizo. I emptied all of this into a bowl and added a good handful of mint chopped.

        I sliced the two courgettes in to thin slices and cooked them in the pan with a little more oil till just starting to colour.

        I added the courgette slices to the bowl and grated on some Parmesan and seasoned it with some salt and pepper.

        I cracked in four eggs and mixed it all well together and poured the whole lot back onto the omelette pan and cooked till golden underneath. To finish the top I put the pan into the top oven of the Aga for about three minutes to set the middle.

         I served it with a salad and it was perfect. Just real food fast.