Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

Spatchcocked chicken with lemons and bay

Posted in Diabetes, Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , on December 28, 2011| 9 Comments »

I’ve decided on single word resolutions for 2012–which beckons.

My first is SIMPLIFY!

Something simple–for New Year’s Eve perhaps…?

I’m spatchcock-crazy at the moment.

To spatchcock or spattlecock or butterfly is to remove the back and breastbones of a chicken (simply and effectively demonstrated in this video) or any other bird (I just watched someone spatchcock a turkey!) in order to open it up and flattened it out–as you might do a book. This allows the bird to cook more quickly and evenly.

Spatchcocking is an easy and oddly satisfying technique. All you need is a pair of poultry shears or strong scissors and the nerve to try it!  (Or your friendly butcher might do it for you….)

Earlier this week I had two spatchcocked birds in the fridge–a chicken and a guinea fowl–and two recipes I wanted to try.

I took  the guinea fowl out to make this dish–inspired by a recipe in The River Café Classic Italian Cookbook .

We ate it thinking “How good this spatchcocked guinea fowl tastes!“.

The next day I went to the fridge to get the chicken, to marinade it overnight for the other recipe–and found the guinea fowl!

We’d eaten the chicken thinking it was guinea fowl!

I put it down to Christmas fever.

Ideal for serving four people–the bird (whichever comes to hand!) divides easily into quarters thus dispensing with the need to carve.

You could use chicken or guinea fowl quarters instead.

1 chicken--spatchcocked

2 lemons–halved

3 tblsps olive oil

6 bay leaves

salt and pepper

set oven to 200C

While the oven is heating–

  • Squeeze the juice from two lemon halves into a pan, halve them and leave the quartered lemon in the pan with the bay leaves.
  • Rub the skin of the chicken with the two remaining lemon halves.
  • Lower the spatchcocked chicken over the lemon halves and the bay.
  • Season well and spoon the oil over the chicken.
  • Add the other two lemon halves to the pan.
  • Cook–covered–on a low flame for 30 minutes.
  • Uncover, spoon over some of the juice and place in the upper part of the pre-heated oven.
  • Cook on for 40 minutes–checking and basting a couple of times.

Read Full Post »

Mushroom soup

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes on December 17, 2011| 12 Comments »

The meatiness of mushrooms makes them ideal for making soup.

Not much else is needed, though the hint of nutmeg chimes nicely with the festive season.

This is adapted from a recipe in Carolyn McCrum’s still very handy The Soup Book, published over 30 years ago.

Mushrooms, garlic and parsley with a sprinkling of nutmeg and seasoning.

It’s simple, quickly done and very tasty.

Ideal for Christmas evening perhaps?

Meredith makes the very best of a less than photogenic soup!

(It has the added advantage of not having a hint of cauliflower or brussel sprout !)

for 4

1lb/500 gms mushrooms–wiped cleaned with a damp piece of kitchen paper and chopped roughly

1 tblsp olive oil

1 garlic clove–chopped

2 tblsps parsley–chopped

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

2 pints/1l stock–I use an organic vegetable stock cube

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
  • Add the mushrooms and stir thoroughly–the oil will quickly be absorbed.
  • Cook over a low heat until the mushrooms start to release their liquid.
  • Add the garlic, parsley and nutmeg.
  • Season with pepper and a little salt.
  • Add the stock and bring to a simmer.
  • Cook gently for 15 minutes.
  • Let it cool a little before liquidising and check the seasoning.
  • Sprinkle each bowl with a pinch of parsley.
  • (Christmas pix below is garnished with a teaspoon of yogurt and a small piece of cooked red pepper that was handy at the time of the shoot!)
  • The pictured version was a tad too thick we decided–add a little more stock if you like.

Read Full Post »

Brussel sprout soup

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , on December 12, 2011| 4 Comments »

I’ve always liked Brussel sprouts–they were on the winter menu in the fifties. Clearly Ma knew not to overcook them and I have a memory of mushing them with the gravy from the Sunday roast. She added chestnuts to them at Christmas–even better!

Preparing them for the pan was often my job on a Sunday morning.

“Cut across the base, peel away the outer leaves and make a cross–(“Why?”)–to make them cook more quickly”

This delicious and surprising soup is quick to prepare and has a pleasing light green colour.

It’s not a thick soup but nourishing on a winter night.

for 4

2 medium onions–chopped

500gms trimmed brussel sprouts--trim the bottoms, remove the outer leaves and cut the sprouts in half

1 tblsp olive oil

1 tsp of butter

750ml/1 1/2 pints vegetable stock— (I use organic vegetable stock cubes.)

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

salt and pepper

  • In a saucepan gently sweat the onions and sprouts in the oil and butter for about 10 minutes.
  • Add the stock and bring to simmer.
  • Simmer gently for 20 minutes–the sprouts need to soften.
  • Liquidize (a handheld food mixer comes in handy here) and check the seasoning.
  • Season lightly with salt (remembering the stock cube may have salt in it), plenty of pepper and the nutmeg.
  • Serve hot with a teaspoon of low fat yogurt (or cream if you dare!).

Read Full Post »

Lunch: 9th December 2011

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , on December 9, 2011| 2 Comments »

Lamb chops, borlotti beans and broccoli.

We eat relatively little red meat.

Meredith bought these lamb chops on Tuesday from Monsieur Fraisse, the butcher in Lautrec. “They looked particularly nice….”

The beans are from Italy, bought in jars. They grow in beautiful red spotted pods–the beans turn brown when cooked.

The broccoli I bought from the organic market in Castres, yesterday afternoon.

For 2

4 lean lamb chops

3/4 sprigs of rosemary–needles removed

2 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons olive oil–a little more if you need it

salt

—————-

1 tin/jar of beans–drained but the liquid retained (of course these can be white or borlotti)

sprig of sage

a clove of garlic–chopped

1/2 an organic vegetable stock cube

the other 1/2 an organic vegetable stock cube dissolved in 250 ml/1/2 pint of hot water–(use this instead of or in addition to the liquid from the beans)

———–

1/2 lb/ 250 gms  broccoli–washed, stems shortened and cut into eatable florets

salt and pepper

olive oil

  • An hour or two before you eat  “pestle” the rosemary needles up  (i.e. smash up!) with the garlic and a pinch of salt in a mortar and add the oil–this is the marinade for the chops.
  • Pour this fragrant mix over the chops in a bowl and turn everything to coat the chops with the marinade.
  • leave initially in the fridge–covered; then take them out an hour before cooking them.
  • Heat a grill to medium.
  • Season the chops and put them on the grill.
  • Timing depends on your taste and their thickness–3 to 4 minutes a side and they’ll retain some pinkness.
  • While they cook gently sauté the garlic and sage in the olive oil in a small pan until the garlic begins to colour.
  • Add the half stock cube (give it a stir to dissolve in the oil).
  • Add the beans.
  • Stir the mix and add a little of the bean liquid or the stock.
  • Cover and cook on for 5 minutes or so.
  •  In another pan, steam the broccoli covered until tender but not overcooked.
  • Serve with olive oil and salt on the table.

Interested customers watching M. Fraisse working on lamb chops

Read Full Post »

Creamy cauliflower soup w/bay and smoked bacon–but no cream!

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , on December 8, 2011| 7 Comments »

This is pushing it, I know–cauliflowers have been featuring a tad too much lately.

We had this for supper the other night and Meredith said, “What is this, it’s so creamy? It’s not potatoes is it?  It’s delicious.”

“Cauliflower soup,”  I said sheepishly. Somehow cauliflower is not a vegetable that’s easy to own!

This recipe is adapted from one by Nigel Slater that I spotted in a newspaper last week.

The key ingredient is smoky bacon.

1 large cauliflower--broken into florets

2 cloves of garlic–chopped

1 medium onion–chopped

4 rashers of smoked bacon–chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 bay leaves

1 litre/2 pints stock

salt and pepper

  • Gently heat the oil in a pan and sauté the bacon bits until they colour a bit.
  • Add the garlic and onion.
  • Cook the mix on for five minutes until the onion has softened.
  • While this happens break up the cauliflower into florets and add to a large saucepan.
  • When ready add the onion and bacon mix to the cauliflower pan with the bay leaves and the stock.
  • Cover and bring this mix up to the simmer and cook until the cauliflower is tender.
  • Lift a thirdish of the mix out of the pan and into a bowl with a slotted spoon letting the liquid fall back in the pan
  • Liquidise the contents of the pan and test the seasoning.
  • Add back the set-aside florets and serve the soup hot.

Read Full Post »

Broccoli, Florence style–from Delicious Dishes for Diabetics

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , on December 5, 2011| 3 Comments »

Vanessa wrote a comment/response yesterday to the post: Pinzimonio–olive oil dip.

“What could be better than the best olive oil served with vegetables? The Italians have really got it right.”

…which prompts me to share a simple story (and recipe)  recounted in my cookbook--Delicious Dishes for Diabetics.

Many years ago I had lunch in a tiny worker’s café in the centre of Florence only open at midday. I watched the owner put down a plate of steaming broccoli–that was all there was on the plate–in front of a burly Italian and place a large jug of olive oil and salt & pepper beside it.

The man poured on the oil, seasoned the irresistible plateful and began to eat.

That’s simple eating.

Of course, he may have had a veal chop after I left!

500 g/18 oz broccoli–stems stripped of rough outer layer and cut into bite-size pieces, florets cut

likewise

BBBS--Before Being Bite-Sized!

olive oil

salt &  pepper

lemon quarters

  • Steam the broccoli until tender, but careful not to overcook it–the colour dulls.
  • Test from time to time with the end of a sharp knife.
  • Transfer to a serving bowl and pour over the oil–be generous.
  • Season to taste and mix carefully.
  • Serve with a small jug of olive oil for those who are never satisfied–and some lemon quarters.

Read Full Post »

A Tuscan white bean soup with cabbage

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 4, 2011| 10 Comments »

An autumn/winter soup this–with a big presence.

Adapted from Leslie Forbes’ lovely book  A Table in Tuscany.

In the early eighties she had the bright idea of eating her way round Tuscany’s restaurants and watering holes–an arduous task to set oneself.

This soup–one of the best bean soups in Tuscany—she credits to the restaurant of the Fattoria dei Barbi near Montalcino and the unnamed English cook, married to an Italian, thus providing the important advantage of a Tuscan mother-in-law!  This is 25 years ago mind–things have a habit of changing.

The book remains a gem (used copies available on Amazon for a penny!).

2 carrots--chopped small

2 sticks of celery–chopped small

2 leeks–cleaned and chopped small

6 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 tinned tomatoes–chopped up with their liquid

A sprig of fresh thyme

1 large garlic clove–pulped

Half a green cabbage–stem removed and shredded

The other half of the cabbage shredded thinly–this for a topping (see below)

1 tablespoon olive oil

About 800 gms/24 oz of cooked white beans [canned or bottled or dried, soaked and cooked]–drained but their liquid retained

1 pint/500ml stock–I use organic vegetable stock cubes
  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the celery, leeks and carrots until they are tender–about twenty minutes.
  • Mix in the tomatoes, garlic and thyme and let them cook on for five minutes.
  • Add the cabbage, season with salt & pepper and cook on for ten minutes.
  • Purée three-quarters of the beans in a mixer with a little of their liquid.
  • Add the bean water and the bean purée and stir it all together.
  • Cook this thick mix for an hour–stirring it regularly to stop it sticking and burning.
  • Add a little of the stock each time you stir it.
  • This is meant to be a thick soup–up to you how loose to make it–just be careful not to dilute the depth of taste.
  • While the soup cooks on sauté the rest of the cabbage to serve as a topping when you present the soup.

  • Keep tasting the soup as you go (you may find yourself doing that anyway!).
  • Serve with a drizzle of good quality olive oil.

Read Full Post »

Pinzimonio–olive oil dip

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , on December 2, 2011| 8 Comments »

Two old favourites

As an appetizer before dinner last night Meredith served our friends Hilton and Lindsay pinzimonio–without quite knowing…!

Pinzimonio, I discover (by a chance re-reading of Lesley Forbes’ lovely book,  A Table in Tuscany) is a Tuscan olive oil dip, best made with the oil from newly-harvested olives.

It’s usually served with raw or lightly-cooked vegetables such as fennel, red and yellow peppers, celery, radishes and artichokes.

Simply pour some beautiful green olive oil on the plate, add a little sea salt and black pepper and dip a slice of vegetable in it.

Sometimes a little lemon juice is added–but this is frowned upon by Tuscans, according to  Wilma Pezzini in her Tuscan Cookbook!

Meredith substituted rough country bread for the vegetables and left out the salt and pepper–‘It didn’t need salt and pepper!,’ she just said disdainfully.

A parsimonious pinzimonio!

I watched in dismay from the stove area as the three of them dipped and dipped–putting away  helping after helping of this simple but morish dish.

‘You won’t have any appetite left!‘ I cried in vain!

But pinzimonio proved a true appetizer–they all managed some butternut squash soup and a healthy plate of spatchcocked chicken, romanesco broccoli (aka Roman cauliflower), green salad, Italian peccorino cheeses and baked apples!

Read Full Post »

Helen’s penne with white beans, sage and garlic

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , on November 30, 2011| 7 Comments »

The green “gold” that won 2nd prize at the Fiera dell’Olio in Cavriglia, Tuscany last Sunday.

Our friend Keith has emailed to say their new season olive oil from his Podere [farm]Boggioli won second prize at the local fair this week. A good enough reason, if I needed one, to cook one of Helen’s signature dishes for lunch today.

Helen cooked this delicious pasta after the last olive was in the basket and the picking was done for another year.

Two of the team stayed to eat it with us–Lucio and Ivan. Both still had  their own trees to harvest.

I like to think they’d had the dish before and knew it was irresistible.

for 2  [for 4–double up on the beans and their liquid and add 4 oz/100 gms more pasta]

200 gms/8 oz wholewheat penne

4 tablespoons olive oil

8 cloves of garlic–peeled but kept whole

a handful of fresh sage

2 small red (hot) chilies–chopped

1 tin  [about 200 gms drained] of white beans–drained, but their liquid retained

4/5 tablespoons of stock–I dissolved half an organic vegetable stock cube in a mug of hot water

salt

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
  • Add the garlic and let it colour a little.

  • Add the sage and chilis and let them cook on for a few moments.
  • Add the beans and cook gently for about fifteen minutes–adding the bean liquid little by little to make a thick runny sauce.
  • I continued cooking the mix a little longer, adding the tablespoons of stock–a couple at a time–to keep the mixture loose without losing the thick viscous quality of the sauce.

  • Some of the beans will melt into the sauce.
  • Season with salt and taste.
  • Cook the penne in plenty of salted water until just tender.
  • Drain the pasta.

  • Add the sauce to the pasta and let it meld in.
  • Helen doesn’t serve grated parmesan with this pasta–but it’s up to you, of course.
  • I poured over a little of the new olive oil–naturally!

  • Meredith added a little parmesan–that’s marriage for you!
  • We ate it “al fresco” in the late autumn sunshine.

Read Full Post »

Hello Again!–with a simple comfort soup to come home to!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on November 29, 2011| 12 Comments »

We rolled up from London last night heaving sighs of relief to be back.

The cats were a bit crabby and there was no heat or  hot water–but there’s no place like home, Toto!

Nephew Dominic had kindly laid two fires and we were soon hunkered down in the kitchen, eating plates of rather too al-dente penne in tomato sauce!–a glass or two of Italian red softened us up at least.

Sitting in the larder was a butternut squash– looking a little hurt at being neglected for two weeks.

Well–this evening it will help keep our bodies warm and our  spirits up, transformed into:

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

for 4

1 onion–chopped

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 butternut squash–peeled and medium diced

leaves from 3/4 sprigs of fresh thyme–chopped

1 small dry red chili

1.5 pints/just over a litre of stock

salt and pepper

a good grating of nutmeg

dry roasted pumpkin seeds–lightly crushed

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
  • Add the onion and sweat on a low heat for 5 minutes until soft.
  • Add the squash, the chili, the thyme and turn the whole mix over.
  • Season with salt and pepper–remembering that the stock will have salt in it.
  • Add the stock, bring it slowly up to the boil and let it simmer until the squash is tender.
  • Remove the chili and let the soup cool a little before liquidising it.
  • Check the seasoning–mine needed more salt.
  • Serve hot with the pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »