Petit pois a la francaise

I first tried this recipe with fish pie following a Rick Stein recommendation. The flavour of the cooked Little Gems is brilliant. I’ve tried various versions of this – many are a bit more elaborate – but this is the one that I return to. He obviously knows a thing or two  that Rick Stein……

Petit pois a la francaise- -Serves 4

25g/1oz butter

2 leeks, finely sliced

2 Little Gem lettuces, each cut into 6 wedges through the root

450g/1lb frozen petit pois

150ml/5fl oz water

1 teaspoon beurre manié

1.       Melt the butter in a large, shallow pan, add the leeks and cook gently for two minutes until soft.

2.       Add the quartered lettuce hearts and turn them over in the melted butter. Add the peas, water and ½ teaspoon of salt, cover and simmer for ten minutes until the vegetables are tender.

3.       Stir in the beurre manié and leave to simmer for one minute. Finally, season to taste and serve.

Crispy Topped Fish Pie

Crispy Topped Fish Pie

(Photograph to follow!)

There are certain comfort foods that I return to again and again , and the fish pie is one of them.

I am a fan of most versions of the fish pie – but have settled on his as my favourite to serve! It started life as a Mary Berry recipe. The crispy top is a revelation – and the additional of the leeks and broccoli seem to make this a bit more of a ‘grown up’ version of the old classic. Somehow they retain their vibrant colours throughout the cooking.

I have changed some of the ingredients, as I think a fish pie NEEDS a bit of smoked fish to give I a lift  - so that is what I have done here.

The only other thing I would say is that to get the full effect of the grated pastry it really does need to be really cold. It heats up very quickly as soon as you handle it – and this effects the look of the topping.

If I have the time I cool the pie prior to adding the topping – which ensures it keeps its shape.

In writing this I realise it sounds like overkill – but these are only tips (borne out of cooking it loads of times) the pie is lovely without the additional cooling!!

Please do try it - you won’t go back to mash!

Serves 4 (well)

300g cod fillet

300g natural smoked haddock

1 bay leaf

2 leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced

175g broccoli – cut into small florets

200g (or a handful) cooked king prawns or tiger prawns (something with a bit of size)

15g  butter

15g pain flour

250g ready made shortcrust pastry

30g gruyere cheese

1                     Put the cod and haddock with the milk and bayleaf  into a large frying pan or saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil and poach gently for about 10 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

2                     Blanch the leeks and broccoli for 3 minutes in salted water. Drain.

3                     Carefully lift out the fish. Flake the flesh onto a plate, discarding the skin and any bones. Strain and reserve the milk.

4                     Put the leeks into the bottom of a pie dish – I use a 24cm one.

5                     On top of the layer of leeks and broccoli and the haddock, cod and most of the prawns, keeping a few back for presentation.

6                     Melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually blend in the milk. Return to the heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time, until thickened. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, season to taste, and pour over the pie filling. (this is the point at which I chill the pie if I have time)

7                     Grate the pstry and sprinkle over the sauce. Grate the cheese and sprinkle over to the topping.

8                     I decorate with a couple of prawns (tail – on if you have them – I realise this is a bit 70’s – but I am a 70’s child….)

9                     Bake in a pre heated oven at 200 (440 gas mark 6) for 25-30 minutes and serve at one

One of the things I love to serve with this is petit pois a la francais ( I know – more 70s) –and the lack of mash in the topping means you are free to add your carbs of choice!! 

Beetroot and potato gratin

This recipe was taken from a Lucas Hollweg autumn special in the Times. He has a great knack of writing articles that make you want to go and cook - straight away.
The ingredients in this dish signal the beginning of autumn - and the flavour is very autumnal and earthy.
Lucas suggests having this with a roast - and we had left overs on their own with some greenery to cut through the creaminess.
The colour is magnificant.

Serves 4 (very well)

500g beetroot
500g floury potatoes, such as King Edward
300ml double cream
200ml whole milk
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 sprigs thyme
slat and pepper

Preheat oven to 180 / gas mark 4
1. Peel the potatoes and beetroot.
2. Slice with a mandolin, keeping the beetroot and potatoes separate
3. Mix the cream, milk, garlic and the leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme. Season well.
4. Put a thin layer of the mixture in a 23cm gratin dish.
5. Put a layer of potato, followed by a layer of beetroot, seasoning each layer as you go.
6. Finish with a layer of beetroot (keep your neatest slices for the presentation on the top!)
7. Pour the remaining cream mixture over the top, and press down the vegetables with your hands.
8. Lay the remaining thyme on top.
9. Cook for 1 hour
10. Remove from the over and leave to settle for 10-15 minutes.

This really is worth cooking while the shops are full of fresh beetroot - when it's gone it's gone!

The Seagrass - Manzes, Chapel Market, Islington

The Seagrass - Manzes Chapel Market, Islington

On Thursday, friday and Saturday nights Manzes, a 19th century pie and mash shop in Islington, is taken over by The Seagrass restaurant.
Focusing on game and seafood the deal is £30 for three courses - and it is BYOB.
We were lucky enough to go on the Friday of the Jubilee weekend. Manzes is in Chapel Market - not the nicest part of Islington - but as soon as you step through the door everything else is forgotten. A really warm welcome - into a very traditional looking pie and mash shop - all tiles and marble - with additional bunting the night we went.

We were met by Ashley - a really warm welcome, and he ran through everything with us, and opened the wine (warning BYOB can be dangerous..........)

The menu was a really interesting mix - I could quite happily have had all of the dishes! Whilst we were deciding there was an additional amuse bouche of King Scallop - served pan fried with the coral - a beautiful start to the meal.

 

A selection of three starters, three main and three deserts - we went for the west coast mussels, horseradish and dill - and the pan fried wild duck, chorizo and sweet potato hash to start, and the Chargrilled sirloin with shallot and cracked black pepper, and the whole cornish crab for mains.

I could not resist the triple cooked chips as a side with the crab - and they were a masterclass in chippery!!

The mussels were as fresh as can be, and cooked to perfection. The steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned, one of the best I have tasted in a long time - and it wasn't even my order...

The crab was lovely - but I always find that crab and lobster look tempting on the menu - the wrestling a involved in eating them takes away some of the enjoyment.

As I said the BYOB can be a bit deadly - apologies to anyone who got in my way as I ran down Chapel Market to get another bottle in before Waitrose closed......

All in all a great night, a really warm welcome with good service all night, great food - long may it continue!!



Torta Caprese  (Chocolate and almond cake)

Baking is not my favourite sort of cooking - but this desert delivers the goods - and is very straightforward to make - and forgiving!
I was taught how to make this flourless cake it at a fantastic cookery course at the wonderful La Cucina Caldesi in Marylebone.
I usually serve with cream or creme fraiche, and a few rasberries - which cut through the richness of the cake.

Serves 8

225g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
100g butter
4 eggs - separated
150g icing sugar
150g ground almonds

Preheat the oven to 180 / 350 / Gas mark 4.
1 Grease a loose based 23cm cake tin.
2 Melt the chocolate and butter in  heatproof bowl over a pan of water - make sure it does not burn
3 Whisk the eggs yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy
4 Whisk the eggs whites until the frm soft peaks ( I use an electric whisk for this)
5 Add the melted mixture to the egg yolks and combine thoroughly. Add the ground almonds to the mix.
6 Fold in the eggs whites using a spatula. Mix well and pour into the cake tin.
7 Transfer to the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes. The cake is cooked when it creates a crust on the outside.

It's as simple as that  - and it's a winner everytime!!

Butterfly leg of lamb with harissa on roasted new potatoes and onions

This was the amalgamation of a few of my favourite recipes - and my favourite ingredient at the time - Harissa Paste.
The lamb is slow roasted - which I absolutely love - either with leg or shoulder - it really is my favourite way to roast lamb - though it can mean getting up pretty early in the morning to start cooking lunch!
The weights are very flexible, and the style of cooking is very forgiving - so no need to panic if you, or your guests - are running late....

Ingredients:
Leg of lamb 2.5kg - boned and butterflied (keep the bone)
10 banana shallots or 20 round shallots
1kg new potatoes
1 x 135g can harissa ( I used Harissa Du Cap Bon Tunisie - it has a distinctive yellow tin)
1 bulb garlic
60g cold butter cubed
red wine - 1 - 2 glasses to taste
lemon
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Rub the meat all over with the harissa - use the whole tin, and leave to marinade for an hour or two.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 / 350 / Gas 4.
3. Boil the new potatoes for 10 minutes
4. Peel the shallots
5. Place the bone from the lamb in a deep roasting tray - big enough to hold the meat butterflied.
6. Surround the bone with the potatoes and shallots.
7. Lay the marinated meat over the potatoes and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and drain off any excess fat.
9. Add the garlic cloves, reduce the heat to 120 / 250 / Gas 1, cover the lamb with foil, and return to the oven for 4 1/2 hours.
10. Take out the lamb to rest, take out the vegetables and keep warm.
11. Deglaze the roasting dish with red wine - this will create a wonderful gravy, you have the juices and fat from the meat, the spice from the harissa - and the wine. I took some time to reduce this - and you have to continually taste to get the flavour right adding wine, lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Then add the cold butter to give a wonderful sheen to the sauce.
12. To serve you simply slice the lamb, at this point it is incredibly tender - so it is a cross between slicing and tearing.
13. Serve with the potatoes, onions, garlic and the sauce.
14. I served with green beans, as I think you do need something green to cut through the richness.

I really hope you enjoy this as much as I do!!
Left overs are great in a pilaf or biriani

Piedmontese Peppers - October 2011

This recipe is adapted from a great recipe by Terence Conran - which reminds me I should add him to my list of heroes.......
It was very good as a starter for a number of people as you make it ahead and serve at room temperature.
The recipe for 4 people as a starter is:-

4 red peppers, halved and deseeded
4 cloves garlic
8 cherry tomatoes
8 anchovy fillets (leave out for vegetarian)
sea salt
olive oil

1 Preheat the oven to 150c / gas 2
2 Place the halved peppers on a baking tray
3 Slice the garlic finely and share one clove between each 'pair' of pepper halves
4 Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place between 3 and four halves in each half of pepper
5 Place in the oven and cook for approximately 1 hour - you are looking for the peppers to 'collapse' and take on some colour around the edges.
6 Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

I served on a plate with a few leaves of rocket lightly dressed, and a couple of slices of mozzarella - they both provide a great contract to the flavour of the roasted peppers and tomatoes, and it looks great on the plate!!