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Posts Tagged ‘garlic’

Slow-Cooked Fennel with Garlic

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , on October 1, 2011| 13 Comments »

This is taken from my book: Delicious Dishes for Diabetics which was published in August and is being reprinted–(hooray!).

Based on a recipe from Richard Olney’s Simple French Food, it’s useful company for pork or chicken. It can also serve as a vegetarian main course with some white beans or chickpeas.

The initial cooking helps to caramelize the fennel lightly–so it’s worth taking the time.

Serves 4

2 large or 4 medium fennel bulbs – tough outer part removed, cleaned up and quartered or cut into eighths, if the bulbs are very large

6 or more cloves of garlic – unpeeled, hooray!

3 tablespoons of olive oil 

salt and pepper 

6 tablespoons of water 

  • Put the fennel and the garlic in a pan large enough to hold all the quarters in a single layer.
  • Add the olive oil and a little salt.
  • Cook, uncovered, on a medium-low heat for 20 minutes, turning as the fennel colours–it should be nicely caramelized by the end.
  • Add the water, cover the pan and cook slowly until the fennel is super tender–about 30–40 minutes.
  • The quarters should hold their shape and be infused with a deliciously mild taste of the garlic.
  • Adjust the seasoning and serve.

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Spicy aubergines

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Poldark, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 23, 2011| 3 Comments »

We had these last night with quinoa, plain green beans, and garlicky yogurt sauce.

It’s adapted from a recipe by Rick Stein–known as the uncrowned king of Cornwall.

When we were filming Poldark in Cornwall 35 years ago, eating out in the county was very different from what we experienced last weekend and Rick Stein has a lot to do with it.  His fish restaurants in Padstow have set a benchmark. Things have improved!

We tried to reserve a table at one of Rick’s places a couple of weeks before our trip but they were all booked–sad for us but “Hooray” for Cornwall!

for 2+

500gms/1lb aubergines–cut up into smallish pieces (quicker to sauté), lightly salted and left in a sieve or colander for an hour to drain off their liquid, then dried ready for the pan. (This seems tedious to do but they absorb less oil this way.)

4 tablespoons olive oil

1” square piece of fresh ginger--chopped fine

3 garlic cloves–pulped with half a teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of water

2 tablespoons whole fennel seeds

1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds

1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds–crushed

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

500gms/1lb tomatoes–chopped with their juice (or use tinned)

3 more tablespoons of water

  • whizz the ginger and garlic in a tablespoon of water to form a loose paste.
  • heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan that you can cover.
  • when hot, add a single layer of  the dry aubergine pieces.
  • turn them in the oil and sauté on all sides until nicely browned–a pair of cooking tongs comes in handy here–then set aside. (It’s worth taking your time to make sure the aubergine is cooked through.)
  • continue the process until all the aubergine pieces are cooked, adding more oil as needed.
  • let the pan cool a little before heating two tablespoons of oil and adding the fennel and cumin seeds.
  • let them colour for a few seconds before adding the ginger and garlic paste.
  • cook this gently for a minute or two before adding the coriander, turmeric and chili powder.
  • cook this gently for a minute before adding the tomatoes and the extra water.
  • turn the lovely looking mix over and cook on a low heat for ten minutes to form a sauce.
  • add the aubergine pieces turning everything over thoroughly before covering the pan and cooking for a further 5 to 10 minutes.
  • test the doneness of the aubergines, cooking them a little more if necessary, adding a little more water if  needed.
  • check the seasoning and sprinkle some chopped mint, fresh coriander, or parsley over the dish before serving.

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White Bean and Parsley Soup

Posted in Diabetes, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 6, 2011| 8 Comments »

This is my version of a “serious” white bean soup from the great Italian-American cook, Marcella Hazan.

It is in my newly published book–Delicious Dishes for Diabetics–a Mediterranean Way of Eating.

The smooth and creamy consistency make it a comfort soup par excellence –and popular here with nieces and nephews when they come to visit. Meredith says it reminds her of her home town–Chicago, “the Windy City”!

The simple makings

Serves 4

1 clove of garlic – peeled and chopped

8 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon flat leaf parsley – chopped

1 kg/36 oz canned or, preferably, bottled cannelini /white beans – drained and rinsed

salt and pepper

250 ml/½ pint/1 cup vegetable stock –[I use organic vegetable stock cubes]

toasted wholewheat/rye bread with a little olive oil

  • Sauté the garlic in the oil gently until it colours.
  • Add the parsley and stir a couple of times.
  • Mix in the beans, salt and pepper.
  • Cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes to warm through.
  • Purée a quarter of the beans in a mixer and return with the stock to the pan.
  • Simmer for another 5 minutes.
  • Check the seasoning.
  • Serve over the toast with a swirl of olive oil in each bowl.

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Cannellini bean, tomato and courgette salad

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on August 30, 2011| 4 Comments »

I’ve been neglectful of the tomato patch and it has got out of control.

I’m too ashamed to show a photo of it!

I didn’t do a proper job on the staking and when tomatoes get riper they get heavier and need strong support.

My efforts to put things right yesterday were comical, and I decided to let them go their ways and be grateful for what they offer.

I apologised and promised I’d do better by them next year!

Mother Nature’s been in a forgiving mood and the yield has been sweet and generous so far.

I collected enough ripe tomatoes to make this salad.

It’s based on the wonderful Riverford Farm Cook Book with some rocket added.

a handful of rocket

1 jar of cooked cannellini [white beans]–rinsed

3 courgettes–sliced into 1/2 centimetre–ie not too thick and not too thin!– strips

a generous handful of cherry tomatoes

a generous handful of basil leaves

1 clove of garlic–peeled and pulped with a pinch of salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt

more olive oil to brush the courgettes and to annoint the warmed beans

Heat a griddle  to hot.

Warm  the beans through in a little water.

Drain and moisten them with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Add them to a large bowl in which you are going to mix the salad.

Brush the courgettes with oil and grill them on both sides until tender and nicely charred.

Add them to the bowl.

Add the cherry tomatoes–halved if they are on the large side.

Combine the basil, garlic, a pinch of salt and the olive oil in a food mixer and whizz.

Add this to the salad and turn it over carefully.

Lay the rocket in a wide bowl and gently empty the mixed salad into it, and  turn the salad again.

You can serve this tepid or at room temperature.

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“While the cat’s away….”

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , on July 16, 2011| 12 Comments »

Meredith is pursuing one of her passions–teaching circle dancing–today.

She’s invited to lead and teach at a Quaker retreat in the Pyrenean foothills tonight.

So–I can have chicken wings for supper without pause.

Meredith is not so keen on this fingerlicking special treat.

There’s a recipe for them in my book that uses lots of black pepper.

This is a different one with garlic, allspice, cinnamon, and a little cayenne–we’ll see.

I’m reckoning on four for each person.

chicken wings–washed and dried

enough marinade for 16 wings
12 cloves of garlic-– peeled and pulped with a pinch of salt
juice of a lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon allspice
i/4 teaspoon cayenne
good grinding of black pepper and salt 

  • Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
  • Put in the wings and turn them over until they are thoroughly coated in it.
  • Leave them to marinade for at least an hour.
  • Heat the oven to 180C/350F
  • Cover a shallow oven tray with foil and brush it with oil.
  • Lay the wings out on the tray.

I couldn't resist five...

  1. Roast them for 45 minutes.
  2. Turn up the heat to 200C/400F.
  3. Continue roasting for a further 5 minutes–then take them out of the oven.

I’m told that home-made mayonnaise goes very well with them–but I couldn’t possibly comment.

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Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , on July 1, 2011| 5 Comments »

A month to go to the publication of  “Delicious Dishes for Diabetics–a Mediterranean Way of Eating“.

Our local garlic [l’ail rose, pink! ] harvest is almost over and the fields are stacked with tresses waiting to go to the barns for drying.

It’s a longer lasting garlic than the violet or white–that’s what Alice (maker of the garlic soup) says and adds “it’s Lautrec’s fortune.”

The air smells garlicky–pleasantly so–and it reminds me of this dish: Chicken with 40 cloves of Garlic.

The recipe is reproduced from the coming book.

This is a traditional recipe from southwest France, and particularly good with the pink-sheathed garlic grown all round us.

The bird sits on the garlic for a couple of hours and hatches a beautiful dish. It also can’t fail to be a conversation piece – as people may feel nervous about those 40 cloves of garlic!

They have little to fear; it is soft and sweet after the cooking.

Serve with some brown basmati rice perhaps, a salad or green vegetable.

1 chicken – washed and thoroughly dried

salt and pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

about 40 large garlic cloves (new season garlic is best) – left unpeeled

2 fennel bulbs – outer leaves removed and halved

sprigs of rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme and a couple of bay leaves

½ small wine glass of white wine [don’t be tempted ;-)]

1 tbsp chickpea flour

Serves 4

Heat the oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.

  • Season the chicken well with salt and pepper.
  • Gently brown it in a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan.
  • Remove the chicken to a plate.
  • Put the garlic and all the remaining ingredients except the wine and the flour in a casserole, add two tablespoons of olive oil and turn everything thoroughly in it
  • Place the chicken on top and dribble over it some more olive oil and an extra sprinkling of salt.
  • Make a paste with a spoonful of flour and some water.
  • Carefully spread the paste round the rim of the lid of the casserole – this seals it.
  • After 2 hours’ cooking, gingerly lift the lid and remove the chicken and the meltingly soft garlic to a serving platter.
  • Spoon off all but a tablespoon of the oil and deglaze the casserole with the white wine.
  • Reduce this sauce a little and transfer it to a small jug.

Yes, do eat the garlic too!

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“Here’s one I prepared earlier…!”

Posted in other sides to this life, tagged , , , , , , on June 13, 2011| 1 Comment »

Keith's bleu "hot rod"--2CV

Last week, by one of those lovely serendipities, I came across the site “A Taste of Garlic”.

My appetite/interest was whetted–any good Lautrecois’ would be, (L’ail rose [pink garlic] de Lautrec has its own appellation controllée)– by the title, and tickled by the lights-flashing exhaust-puffing 2CV logo.

Indeed this extra-ordinary site’s founder and inspiration–Keith Eckstein,  a Cornish polymath--is passionate about garlic and a lot else besides: Elvis, football (soccer), Johnny Depp, mushrooms, pigs, Johnny Halliday, IT support and web design, writing, reading and so on.

He writes delightful funny pieces and promotes other peoples books and blogs.

“Here, at  A Taste of Garlic, I review, share and promote other people’s Life in France experiences.”

I contacted him and, belying the laid back “deux chevaux” image, he’s a speedy worker.

A few days later he published an interview with me and today he writes a witty and comprehensive review of the blog.

Merci beaucoup–Keith!

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Tzatziki–garlicky yogurt sauce

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , on June 7, 2011| 3 Comments »

This is adapted from Rena Salaman’s lovely and authentic book, Greek Food.

It’s a refreshing garlicky sauce that goes well with grilled summer vegetables, chicken and lamb, and the previous post’s  No–Potato Fishcakes.

Serves 2

2 small pots no/low-fat yogurt*

a tablespoon of olive oil

a teaspoon of white wine or cider vinegar

a clove of garlic – pulped in a mortar with a little salt

2 fresh mint leaves – finely chopped

¼ medium cucumber – peeled, quartered lengthwise, deseeded and finely diced

salt and pepper

*For a thicker sauce–which is how we like it–empty the yogurt into a piece of muslin drapped over a sieve and leave it to drain into a bowl for half an hour in the fridge.

Discard the liquid and carefully empty the yogurt into the bowl.

Or use the yogurt as it comes out of the pot–emptying it into a bowl.

  • In a separate small bowl, whisk the oil and the vinegar together.
  • Mix in the garlic and the mint.
  • Fold this into the yogurt and add the cucumber.
  • Season to taste and mix it all together thoroughly.
  • Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it.

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Walk with a Warbler

Posted in other sides to this life, tagged , , , , , on April 24, 2011| 2 Comments »

Walking Country by Hope James

I hear a sound  as I set out for my walk at 7.30, I haven’t heard in months—the warble of a golden oriole–(always an early riser).

Watching the walker...

Keen to let me know he’s back, he tracks me as I go–at least that’s how it seems; it’s good to hear him again.

There’s a pheasant in the meadow that we think is courting Madame Arkarti, our eccentric looking hen.

lurking pheasant...

She seems–as yet– oblivious of this. He circles the house, always at a safe distance, squawking his squawk–why else would he do this?

Two hares in a field bound away into the nearest cover when I stop to look–as far as they know, I might have a gun I suppose.

A farmer goes by on a tractor with spraying equipment on the back–off to work a nearby field. The smell as I follow reminds me of lavatory cleaner. It’s a miracle we have as much wild life as we do.

The garlic is growing fast encouraged by the recent rain.

Garlic grows apace

They’ll start to lift it towards the end of June ready for the garlic festival in Lautrec on the first Friday of August. Ten thousand people mill through the narrow streets and there’s free garlic soup at noon.

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Penne with cauliflower, garlic, and anchovy sauce

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on February 27, 2011| 4 Comments »

Cauliflowers (Choux-fleur in french ) look so appealing –their pure white faces peeking through the outer leafing, daring you not to buy them.

cauliflower

This is the third time in as many weeks that I’ve succumbed.

They usually have to wait awhile to get cooked; often because their green cousin–broccoli–is an easier option.

Steamed, seasoned, olive oil and a little lemon juice poured over, broccoli is quick to do and adds a fresh colour to the plate.

Tonight though–it’s pasta with the patient cauliflower as the basis of a piquant sauce.

This is adapted from a Marcella Hazan recipe.

for 4

1 cauliflower–released from its casing, washed and broken into large florets

8 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves– finely chopped

6 anchovy fillets–mashed

1 or 2 small red chillies–depending on your taste–chopped (discard the seeds)

salt

2 tablespoons parsley–chopped

3 tablespoons of toasted breadcrumbs

300g/12oz wholewheat penne or fafalle

Cook the cauliflower florets in salted boiling water until they are tender.

Remove the cauliflower from the pan, saving the water to cook the pasta in later.

Set the cauliflower aside.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the chopped garlic.

Sauté it until it turns colour, then take the pan off the heat and add the anchovy mash and the chillies.

Stir this into a sauce.

Mix in the cooked cauliflower, breaking it up into small pieces and  mashing some of it.

Cook it in the sauce for a couple of minutes, then set aside.

You are going to gently reheat the mixture just before the pasta is ready.

Bring the cauliflower water back to the boil and cook the penne or fafalle to your taste.

Drain and add it to sauce in the pan, turning it over carefully but thoroughly.

Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and parsley and serve from a heated bowl.

Cauliflower is a super food

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