orangemartini on food and drink

Daddy's Supper

2012-02-27T20:21:00.001Z

This week is marmelade week, so I decided to make an old favourite of ours. This recipe was first published in the Good Food Magazine some 10 or 15 years ago for a Father's Day meal, hence our name for it: Daddy's Supper. Over the years it has probably strayed from the original recipe but it is great, super simple and utterly delicious.

Ingredients (serves 4)

8 good quality pork sausages
4 large potatoes, cut into wedges
slug of rapeseed or olive oil
3 heaped tablespoons of (home made) marmelade
2 tablespoons of grain mustard
150 ml of cider or dry white wine
sprig of rosemary
salt & pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 190C
Place the potato wedges on an oven tray and drizzle over the oil. Place in the oven and after 10 minutes or so tuck in the (halved) sausages. Roast this for another 15 minutes, giving the tray a bit of shake halfway through to brown the sausages on all sides before adding the "marmelade dressing".
To make the "marmelade dressing" place the marmelade, mustard and cider or wine into a saucepan and keep stirring this until the marmelade has dissolved. Then bring to the boil and reduce by half. Pour over the sausages & potatoes and add a sprig of rosemary. Return to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and the dressing has become a sticky glaze. Season with salt & freshly ground pepper and serve with some vegetables of your choice

Beef in Guinness

2012-02-26T14:43:00.000Z

I love my beef stews. And when talking to my friend Julie she suggested a Beef in Guinness recipe. Now, personally I am not a big fan of this famous Irish export, but she assured me that it really worked in this recipe and I just love trying new things, so had to give it a go.
I have to say it is delicious, so thank you Julie!

Ingredients:

½ oz Butter

Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

2lb Stewing Beef

4 Medium Onions (Chopped)

8oz Mushrooms (Sliced)

Bay Leaf, Mixed Herbs

2 Tablespoons Plain Flour

1 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
1 Can or Bottle of Guinness or Ale
1 Teaspoon Brown Sugar

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, gas 4
Heat the oil & butter and brown the meat in batches. Remove from the pan.

Add chopped onions & sliced mushrooms and gently cook for 10 minutes until softened.

Add the flour and cook this out for 2 minutes, before adding bay leaf, herbs, tomato puree, sugar and Guinness.

Bring to the boil, stirring all the time.

Return the beef to the pan and season to taste.

Put in the oven for 2.5 to 3 hours and serve with some buttered mash

Traditional Shortbread

2012-01-21T13:37:00.000Z

I love to bake and most of the time it works out ok. But there has been one thing I have not been able to get the hang of.....until now.
Last night my friend Judith sent me an old family recipe for traditional shortbread and of course I had to try it out. The below measures are imperial, but I think it will work with any quantities as long as the 1, 2, 3 method is used: 1 measure of sugar, 2 measures of butter, 3 measures of plain flour.

Ingredients:

4oz caster sugar (+ a bit extra for sprinkling on the top)
8 oz butter
12 oz flour

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C (fan oven 160C)/325F
Cream together sugar and butter.
Put this in the fridge for about half an hour so the butter is nice and cold before rubbing in the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
Add about a tablespoon of liquid to help it combine together and spread out onto a baking tray.
Prick all over with a fork and sprinkle with the sugar.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until cooked but hardly coloured.
Cut into squares or fingers and enjoy with a nice cup of tea

Treacle Tart

2012-01-14T16:45:00.000Z

After finally getting through all the goodies baked before Christmas I could at last indulge in a spot of baking again. This treacle tart is fantastic. If you are on a New Years diet, look away now. If not, enjoy!!

For the sweet shortcrust pastry (from the at home magazine - Christmas with James Martin)

115 gr cold unsalted butter, cubed
225 gr plain white flour
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp ground almonds
1 free- range egg, lightly beaten

Place butter, flour, salt, sugar and ground almonds in a food processor until you have a fine breadcrumb texture. Don't overwork it. Add the egg and half ann eggshell full of cold water. Mix well, using the pulse mode until the pastry balls. Again, don't overwork it.

Take the pastry out of the processor and knead very gently , just to bring it together.
Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

For the treacle tart (from James Martin - The collection)

Batch of sweet shortcrust pastry
butter, for greasing
plain flour, for rolling

Filling:

400 gr golden syrup
125 gr fresh breadcrumbs
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
finely grated zest & juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and butter a loose bottomed tart tin.
Roll out the pastry thinly and roll it up over the rolling pin and then gently placing it in the tin leaving it to go over the sides . Prick the base wit a fork, line with a disc of greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans.
Bake in the oven for 10 -12 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 140C/275F/Gas 1. Remove the paper & the beans.

In a bowl, mix together the golden syrup, breadcrumbs, eggs, lemon zest & juice. Once combined, spoon into the pastry case and baked at the reduced temperature for 50 - 60 minutes.

Trim off the edges of the pastry and allow the tart to cool slightly before serving with a spoonful of whipped cream.

Winter on the Farm - Matthew Evans

2011-12-24T15:12:00.000Z

At the beginning of the month I was very lucky to win a competition by Murdoch Books and I was delighted when I received a beautiful selection of cookery books by famous TV chefs Bill Granger, Stephane Reynauld, Luke Nguyen and last but by no means least Matthew Evans, known from the TV series “The Gourmet Farmer”. With a title of “Winter on the Farm” this stood straightaway out to me at this time of the year and looking through this book I was not disappointed.

It is packed full with heart warming recipes for the cold winter months. And with mouth watering titles like “French toast stuffed with poached pears” for breakfast,

through to exotic sounding “vodka-cured blue eye potato fish cakes” & more familiar “stout, beef shin and mushroom pie” for dinner topped by lovely cakes & bakes like “macadamia and golden syrup butternut biscuits” & “ date, honey & ginger cake” to go with a nice cup of tea it has something for everyone.

All recipes have a clear ingredient list and very easy to follow instructions.

With the festive season coming up I decided to make some party food: “cheese puffs”

The book is full with stunning photography by Alan Benson and it is a great addition to the collection of any cook who loves bold & beautiful recipes that warm the cockles of the heart.

The book is available in good book stores and on-line.

I have not been paid or requested to do a review of this book and the views expressed are mine alone.

Gevuld Speculaas (Filled spiced cake)

2011-12-01T15:20:00.000Z

This is my first bake for the South Lancashire Clandestine Cake Club. The theme this time was "Secret Santa" and all the bakes were kept secret from the other club members.
For my bake I decided to go for a Dutch speciality, traditionally eaten on St Nicolas Day, the 5th December.
The recipe requires "speculaaskruiden" a special mix of spices typical for the "speculaas". It is a bit like mixed spice and you can easily make your own.

Ingredients:

For the "speculaaskruiden":

20 gr cinnamon
5 gr cloves
5 gr mace
2 gr ginger
1 gr white pepper
1 gr cardamon
1 gr star anise
1 gr nutmeg

Use a spice grinder or pestel & mortar to grind all the spices together.
Every family probably has their own version of this, so you can adjust the quantities of the spices to suit your own taste.

For the marzipan (recipe from James Martin's "The Collection")

225 gr icing sugar
500 gr ground almonds
1 large free range egg (weighing about 75 gr)
3 to 4 teaspoons lemon juice

Sift the sugar into a bowl and mix in the almonds. Beat the egg well, then add it and the lemon juice to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon beat to a firm paste, then knead on a work surface that has been sprinkled with icing sugar.

This quantity will be too much for this cake, but the marzipan will keep well in the fridge for a week or so or several months in the freezer. Note of warning for anyone in the vunerable groups, marzipan contains raw egg!!

For the cake

250 gr self-raising flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons "speculaaskruiden"
150 gr soft dark brown sugar
150 gr butter, in smallish cubes
300 gr marzipan
2 tablespoons milk
50 gr blanched almonds
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 3
Mix the self-raising flour with the salt, speculaaskruiden and the sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and rub in. Then add the milk and knead to a soft dough.
Grease a 20 cm (8 inch) tin and push half the dough in the bottom, top it with the marzipan, making sure this approx 1 cm (1/2 inch) away from the sides.
Top with the remainder of the dough and decorate with the almonds.
Beat the egg yolk (you can a bit of milk to lighten it, if you like) and brush the cake all over.
Bake in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave for 5 to 10 minutes before removing it from the tin.
Enjoy!!

ginger nut biscuits

2011-11-22T21:21:00.000Z

With my recent attempts of making shortbread biscuits not being quite as successful as I hoped they would be I decided to try a different kind of biscuit: the ginger nut
And I promise you once you have made these you will never want to buy them again - they are so simple and absolutely delicious

Ingredients:
250 gr (8oz) self- raising flour
1 tbsp ground ginger, or to taste
75 gr (3 oz) butter
125 gr (4 oz) golden syrup
125 gr (4oz) demerera sugar
2 tbsp milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

Sift the flour and ginger together in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub in to a fine breadcrumb.

Mix together the syrup, sugar and milk, add to the flour mixture and mix to a smooth dough.

Shape in to a roll and chill for at least half an hour, longer if you have time.

Cut into 5mm slices and placed on a greased baking sheet about 1 cm apart. Press down with a fork to get the stripey pattern,

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Leave for a couple of minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool

2011-11-19T16:37:00.000Z

Food Bloggers Unplugged

I have been tagged by Linzi @LancashireFood to take part in the fun of #foodbloggersunplugged , the idea being to tag another 5 foodie bloggers to keep the initative on a roll. Sounds like great fun to me and enables us all to understand more about our fellow foodies, so I am happy to take part.

The questions we have to answer are as follows

1. What, or who inspired you to start a blog?

2. Who is your foodie inspiration?

3. Your greasiest, batter - splattered food/drink book is?

4. Tell us all about the best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it, what was it?

5. Another food bloggers table you'd like to eat at is?

6. What is the one kitchen gadget you would ask Santa for this year (money no object of course)?

7. Who taught you how to cook?

8. I'm coming to you for dinner what's your signature dish?

9. What is your guilty food pleasure?

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?

Finally...tag 5 other food bloggers with these questions...like a hot baked potato...pass it on!

Use this ~~home made~~ expensive Food Bloggers Unplugged logo (below) on your blog and link up with the hashtag #foodbloggersunplugged on Twitter.

So here goes

1.What, or who inspired you to start a blog ?

My yoga friend Lindsey. I'd been following her blog for a while when we found out that we attend the same yoga class. She told me how the blogging worked and gave me real inspiration to try to write my own.

2.Who is your foodie inspiration ?

James Martin. I have followed his career right from the beginning. He has always put the emphasis on local & British produce, long before this became fashionable. I like his straightforward approach to food & easy to follow recipes.

3.Your greasiest, batter-splattered food /drink book is ?

James Martin - Collection. As a non-native to this country I viewed British food like it is perceived in many places in the world: have breakfast & afternoon tea, the rest is not worth talking about. This book has many great British classics in it and it has made me appreciate all the wonderful dishes Britain has.

4. Tell us about the best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it, what was it ?

So many food memories spring to mind. I had some fantastic food in France & Canada, but I think I will have to go with 't Veerhuis on the shores of the Oosterschelde in my home country Holland. Being as close to the water as you can get without actually being in it, the sea food at this restaurant is out of this world. I had the freshest oysters you can ever imagine, cooked kirkpatrick....my mouth is watering just thinking back at it.

5. Another food bloggers table you'd like to eat at is ?

@Janemorecakepls....her cakes look a picture. I wish I could bake like that

6. What would be the one kitchen gadget you would ask santa for this year ?

Woodburning pizza oven

7. Who taught you have to cook ?

I am mainly self taught, with my mum covering the basics.

8. I'm coming to you for dinner whats your signature dish ?

I don't really have one. I like to try new things, but it would be made with seasonal & local ingredients

9. What is your guilty food pleasure ?

Not sure what to put here! I don't think I have one. Food is always a pleasure to me and I never feel guilty about having a bit of what I fancy.

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn ?

My food hell is carrots.

My bloggers I am tagging are (you must say this in a tension building manner)

Elizabeth Auerbach - http://www.elizabethonfood.com/
Jules - thebutcherthebaker.wordpress.com
Rupert Parsons - http://www.womersleyfoods.co.uk/
Judith Byrne - musingsofjude.blogspot.com
Jane Huntley - http://www.morecakeplease.co.uk/

salmon en croute

2011-11-13T08:06:00.002Z

Being bored with always making the same thing with fish, this week I decided to try something a bit different. I had been reading about a venison wellington in a foodie magazine and thought maybe I could do something with puff pastry & salmon

Ingredients for 2 people:

2 salmon steaks or fillets, skins removed
100 gr spinach
100 gr of cream cheese
all butter puff pastry
salt, pepper & freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg beaten for glazing

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6
Wilt the spinach in a pan with a little bit of water and a small knob of butter. This will only take a couple of minutes. Drain the spinach off and pat dry with some kitchen paper before chopping finely.
Mix the spinach with the cream cheese & season with some salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg.
Roll out the puff pastry and cut rectangulars out of this. Fold the pastry in half, and one of the halfs in half again, before cutting slits in the pastry about 1 cm/ 1/2 inch apart to create the jalousie effect.

Unfold the pastry and place the cream cheese mixture on the opposite half of the pastry. Sit the salmon on top of this and brush the edges with the egg wash.

Fold the jalousied pastry over the top, making sure that all the edges are well sealed. Brush withh the egg wash and place in the oven for about 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Serve with vegetables of your choice.

Deep-fried crispy duck egg with duck confit salad

2011-11-05T18:24:00.001Z

I am loving the new series of Great British Food Revival. To see Michel Roux Jr championing the British pear or John Torode telling us passionately about Aberdeen Angus & longhorn beef. It all is mouthwatering stuff. But there was one recipe that immediately shouted out to me: MAKE ME, MAKE ME. And here it is: James Martin’s deep-fried crispy duck egg with duck confit salad. I have “borrowed” this recipe from the BBC website, but made a few tweaks.

The duck egg with it rich yolk really makes it extra delicious. The original recipe also called for a handful each of coriander & peashoots, but I left these out. Coriander because I detest it, pea shoots because I couldn't find any.

For the duck leg confit

1 duck leg (or if making this for a main course, 1 duck leg per person)
Sea salt
A couple of sprigs of thyme
Duck fat

For the cripsy duck egg

2 tbsp of white wine vinegar

sea salt

5 free-range duck egg

freshly ground black pepper

115g/4oz plain flour

200g/7oz fresh breadcrumbs

vegetable oil for deep-frying

For the duck confit salad

125ml/4fl oz rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

2 large shallots, finely sliced

100g/3½oz cherries, stoned (in November cherries are not in season, so I used 100g of plums

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

50ml/2fl oz extra virgin olive oil

50g/1¾oz frisée lettuce

small punnet fresh cress

1 ready-made confit duck leg, meat picked from the bone and roughly chopped

4 slices streaky bacon, cooked until crisp between two baking sheets

Preparation method

The day before, weigh the duck leg(s) and sprinkle with the thyme and sea salt (15 gr per 1 kg of duck)

The next day wipe the salt of the duck legs and slowly cook them in the duck fat for about 2,5 hours. Leave to cool in the fat.

For the crispy eggs, bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set a bowl of iced water alongside. Boil four of the eggs in the water for exactly five minutes then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl of iced water.

Crack the remaining egg into a bowl and whisk in a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the flour and breadcrumbs in separate bowls and season each with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Peel the cooled boiled eggs. Gently dredge each one in the flour until evenly coated, and then dip into the beaten egg and roll in the breadcrumbs to coat. Chill in the fridge until ready to cook. Reserve the remaining breadcrumbs.

Meanwhile, for the salad, place the rice wine vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt into a pan and bring to the boil. Pour over the shallots and cherries and set aside to cool.

For the dressing, pour the sherry vinegar and olive oil into a jug and whisk. Place the salad leaves into a large bowl and flake in pieces of the duck confit. Strain off the shallots and cherries, add them to the salad with the dressing and mix well. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Just before serving, heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180C/350F. Roll the chilled eggs in another layer of breadcrumbs, then deep-fry until golden-brown. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Remove the eggs from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little salt.

Place the dressed salad onto plates in little nests, cut one crispy egg open at the top and place in the centre of each nest. Cut the bacon into small pieces, scatter it around the egg and serve with a little more dressing poured around.

Serves 4 as a starter

Liquor 44

2011-10-25T20:42:00.000+01:00

As my blog is called "orangemartini on food and drink" I thought it was about time I shared a drink recipe with you that was given to me by someone I used to work with and who knew my love for food & drink.
Liquor 44 is a lovely digestive drink which can be drunk with (or as alternative to) the after dinner coffee.
To start with you need a 1,5 liter (3 pint) kilner jar, sterilised.

Ingredients:
44 sugar cubes (approx 4 to 5 oz caster sugar)
2 oranges (each studded with 22 coffee beans)
a vanilla pod (optional)
a bottle of Dutch gin or vodka can be used as an alternative

Preparation:
Is very easy:
1. put the 44 sugar cubes in the bottom of the kilner jar
2. set the studded oranges on top of this
3. add the vanilla pod if using (not in the original recipe, but I like it)
4. pour over the Dutch gin or the vodka
Close the jar and give it a gentle shake once a day to dissolve all the sugar After 44 days decant & you will have your own homemade coffee-orange flavoured Liquor 44

Life, Fork & Spoon by James Martin

2011-10-23T19:14:00.000+01:00

Ready meals are not my thing….I enjoy cooking too much, but going away on a self-catering holiday in Scotland I decided to try the meals created by James Martin on his Life, Fork & Spoon range.

Meals can be delivered to any address in mainland UK. I had them delivered at home before we left and we just took them up with us, but it might be possible to get them delivered directly at your holiday home (please check with the owner of the holiday property) All meals come with clear and easy to follow reheating instructions and for the first night we opted for braised gammon hock with a mustard and honey sauce.

The meat was succulent and full of flavour and it is what we would call a Yorkshire portion. Lots & lots there! There is plenty of sauce with it too. This is plate-licking good! We had our gammon with “French potatoes” my variation of dauphinoise potatoes which layers the potatoes with onions & cheese.

On the first night we decided on the lemon drizzle sponge for our sweet and this also went down a treat. The sauce gets delivered in a pouch of it’s own to be reheated separately so it can be poured over the sponge just before serving. We just added a bit of cream to it, nice but not absolutely necessary as the sponge and sauce are full of flavour themselves: sweet and with a lovely lemony tang

On night two we went for the steak & ale pie (in the picture served with a Caesar salad). Once again an ample portion, the pie was full of flavour and had some good chunks of steak in it. The pastry was lovely and crumbly too.

For afters we had the tarte tatin. And although the pastry was good and the apples lovely, I missed the caramel that I get when I make an apple tarte tatin from scratch. My OH said he really liked it, I definitely missed the caramel.

The last of our Life, Fork & Spoon meals of the week was the Beef Bordelaise with pancetta and red wine. As soon as I opened the pouches a beautiful aroma wafted my way. This smelled promising and it didn’t disappoint. 3 very generous chunks of beef, beautifully soft onion, pancetta and plenty of red wine sauce. Comfort food at it’s best. I agree it would be absolutely wonderful with a creamy mash & seasonal vegetables, but after a 7 hour car journey the thought of peeling & boiling potatoes to make a mash was not one I cherished. So we opted for some really crusty bread and butter to go with it. The bread was great to mop up all the lovely sauce. Another definite triumph in this range of ready meals.

To finish this meal off, we went for James’s signature dish of white chocolate & whisky bread pudding. Well, what can I say about this dessert that has not been said before. The combination of the soft in the middle, crunchy on the outside croissant with currants and a creamy custard is always a winner and a worthy conclusion of our exploration of the Life, Fork Spoon range.

As I said at the start, I don’t do ready meals normally and I am not about to change this anytime soon. But it is great to know that there is a good quality & very yummy range of ready meals out there for when you want it.

The Boat House - South Queensferry

2011-10-20T09:52:00.000+01:00

Whilst on holiday in

Scotland

we just had to meet up with some good friends of ours.

Staying at a lodge about an hour from where they live, we decided to meet more or less halfway and go for a meal out to The Boathouse in South Queensferry.

The Boathouse consists of a formal restaurant, a cocktail bar and a more informal bistro, both restaurant & bistro overlooking the Firth of Forth (although being this late in the season it was dark when we got there, but I can see how it would be lovely to sit outside on the terrace on a bright summer’s day).

The staff were friendly & welcoming and we were shown to a table near the window. We had not seen our friends for some time so there was a lot to catch up on and it took us a while to even start to look at the menu to make our choices, but at no point did we feel rushed.

We all decided to go for the haggis nuggets with sweet chilli dip for starters. A great beginning, 3 pieces of haggis in an extremely light & crispy batter with the sweet chilli dip, giving it a bit of a kick. A light side salad to counterbalance the strong flavours of haggis & chilli finished it off just nicely.

For mains the choices were a bit more varied with two of our party going for the "Saute chicken and chorizo sausage in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce with tripoline pasta." I was reliable informed that this was a great pasta dish with the warming spice of the chorizo really coming through. Then there was the "Buccleuch beef burger 8oz - Pure beef char-grilled served on a toasted bun with Iceberg lettuce, red onion, tomato and onion rings with fries." This could be served plain or with a good choice of toppings. A generous portion that also went down well.

I opted for the "West coast scallops pan-fried on a seasonal leaf salad with sauté potatoes and drizzled with white truffle scented olive oil"….a beautiful combination and lovely to see the scallops served with the roe. Personally I love the roe and I always think it is a bit of a shame when it gets discarded. This was light and very more-ish.

As none of the dishes we had were stingy portions, we decided just to have a coffee after. This rounded off the meal nicely.

Go to the Boat house Bistro if you fancy a relaxed, no rush meal. No haut cuisine here, but a nice comforting meal at a reasonable price. Being so near the coast there is an ample selection of fish dishes, but meat eaters have a good choice too.

Do however give yourself plenty of time to get there. It is easy enough to find, but parking spaces in the area are limited so you might have to park it a bit further up and walk down to the bistro.

Dutch Pea Soup

2011-10-15T15:23:00.001+01:00

With winter fast approaching I decided it was time to make a big pot of "erwtensoep" or "snert" as it sometimes also is called. This is a very traditional Dutch winter dish. And here is my version of it - a combination of some guidelines I found on the internet and of what I can remember when this was made at home.
This soup is sure to warm you up on a cold winters day.

Ingredients:
500 gr dried split peas
2 liters of water
a ham shank
a pig's trotter
spare ribs (I like to get some pork belly & cut away the bones saving the pork belly for some other time)
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and sliced
4 or 5 onions, roughly chopped
a leek, sliced
a celeriac, peeled and cut & cubed
a smoked sausage, sliced

Preparation:

Soak the peas in the water overnight
The next morning, drain the peas but reserve the water.

Add the ham shank, pig's trotter & spare ribs to the reserved water and bring to the boil. Skim off the foam (not absolutely necessary as the end product will not be a clear soup, but I do think it give a better soup), cover and leave to simmer for about 2 hours.

The soaked peas and simmering stock

After two hours, remove the meat & add the peas.
.
When cool remove the excess fat from the meat & take the meat of the bones. Cut or shred into bitesize chunks.

Veggies ready to go into the soup

After the peas have been cooking for one hour, add all the vegetables & cook for another two hours or so adding the shredded meat towards the end of the cooking time (if you prefer you could puree the soup before adding the meat, but I like my soup with chunky bites)

After two or three hours the soup should have thickened up so much that your spoon will stand up in it

Check the soup for seasoning (remember as said by the great Thomas Keller on Saturday Kitchen: salt will enhance the flavour that is already there, pepper will add a flavour to it)

Finally add the sliced smoked sausage and let it warm in the soup before serving either with the tradtional rye bread topped with grilled streaky bacon or just some fresh crusty bread

This quantity will serve a large family or friends group but also freezes well for upto 3 to 4 months, giving you an easy comfort dish on cold winter nights.

The Leeds Kitchen by James Martin

2011-10-10T21:03:00.002+01:00

This week we had booked for a Sunday lunch at the Leeds Kitchen by James Martin at Clarence Dock in Leeds. And we were in luck. Not only was James himself at the restaurant, he had organised a Supercar Sunday. Many beautiful Aston Martin's & Ferrari's were parked outside the restaurant for all to admire and a hog roast was put on for those not eating in the restaurant. James had brought one of his own favourite cars a Mustang Shelby Cobra

James Martin and his 1967 Mustang

But we were at the restaurant to eat.

As we walked into the restaurant James was at the entrance and we were greeted with a friendly handshake and a "welcome to the Leeds Kitchen". A great start! And the welcome by the rest of the staff was as pleasant & forthcoming. We were shown to our table near the window where we had a great view of the Mustang. Our drinks order was promptly taken and we were given the special Sunday Lunch menu which changes ever week and gives a choice of 4 starters, mains and desserts. It will always include a roast dinner as a main course choice. We offered a choice of still, sparkling or tap water. A basket of a mixture of white and brown bread was brought to the table with both salted & unsalted butter, a nice touch.

While we were waiting for our starters to arrive, James walked through the restaurant and I asked if he had time for a picture. There was no hesitation what so ever and James patiently posed for a picture with me. And of course I was not the only asking for a picture or signature, but he happily obliged on every occasion I could see.

Then it was time to eat.

For starters both my husband and myself decided to go for the pork & black pudding scotch egg on a watercress puree and with a red wine dressing.

Beautifully soft-boiled egg in a black-pudding & pork crust with the peppery watercress that complimented it splendidly. A picture on a plate, that delivered the taste it promised. A fabulous start to our meal.

After this both OH and I went our different ways. Hubby decided on the braised blade of beef with baby onions, smoked pancetta & English mustard mash

while I opted for the pan-fried salmon fillet with vanilla salsify and shellfish saffron cream. As I am allergic to mussels, the very friendly waitress went to the kitchen to check what was in the shellfish saffron cream. I was assured it was made solely from lobster shells, so I was safe to have this dish.

And I was glad this was the case. The salmon was cooked just right & seasoned to perfection (if I had to have one critisism it would be that the skin could have been a bit crisper all over). I have grown my own salsify and I loved the way this was prepared with a very subtle hint of vanilla. The shellfish saffron cream was full of flavour yet delicate.

Sunday lunches include the vegetables and we were served a choice of crispy curly kale, a carrot & swede purée and soft red cabbage.

As both courses had filled us up quite a bit, we asked for a little break before our desserts and despite the restaurant being very busy (they had to turn some people that walked in away as the restaurant was full) we were not hurried along. In the end my husband decided on bramley apple crumble tart with cinnamon custard

While I opted for the Sherry & Ginger Trifle

This was proper comfort food...delicate raspberries, combined with sherry soaked ginger cake, creamy custard and topped with whipped cream and a pistachio crunch. Yum Yum!!

Throughout the whole meal the FOH staff were attentive and very friendly and at no point did we feel rushed despite it being very busy. We had some lovely chats with some of them as well and were informed that James is looking to open another restaurant in Manchester in the new year, which is great news but even if he wasn't The Leeds Kitchen is definitely worth a trip to t'other side of the Pennines.

However note that the restaurant currently has an over 18's policy only as it is situated at Alea casino and entrance to the restaurant is through the casino. But we were told that James is looking into getting a seperate entrance to the Leeds Kitchen which would make it accesible for families with children as well.

Once the restaurant in Manchester opens, we will surely go and check it out, but until then we happily make the trip to Leeds ..........in fact we already have booked again for later in the year.

Lamb shanks slow braised in red wine

2011-10-09T07:58:00.000+01:00

In this, the first of my blogs, I thought I'd share one of my favourite lamb shanks recipes. It is loosely based on the recipe published in "The French Brasserie by Daniel Galmiche" one of my favourite cookbooks at the moment.
The curried cabbage is from a "Two Fat Ladies" cookbook and it is a lovely alternative way of serving cabbage. It only has a mild curry flavour, although if you are a fan of curries you could always increase the amount of curry powder or use a stronger flavour curry powder

Ingredients:
For the lamb shanks:
4 small lamb shanks
6 anchovis
2 cloves of garlic cut into 6 slices each
4 sprigs of rosemary, cut into 3 pieces each
3 tbsp of sunflower or mild olive oil (or mixture of the two)
1 onion cut lengthways in to 8
1 celery stick, thinly sliced
750 ml of full bodied red wine
500 ml of lamb stock or water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the curried cabbage:
1 savoy cabbage shredded
250 ml of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 onion studded with some cloves
a bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp butter
120 ml double cream
sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a mild curry powder like korma (about 1 tbsp or to taste)
55 gr dried breadcrumbs

Preparation:

Lamb shanks:

Cut the anchovis in half and lay a bit of rosemary and a sliver of garlic on them. Roll up to make a neat little package. Make 3 incisions in each of the lamb shanks and stuff the anchovis packages in each of those.
Season the lamb shanks well.
Heat the oils in a ovenproof pot over a medium to high heat and when hot brown the lamb shanks all over.
Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the vegetables have slightly softened and have a lovely golden colour. Add the wine and reduce by half.
Add the stock and bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover partially with a lid, leaving a very small gap, and simmer for 2 hours until the lamb is meltingly tender and the sauce has reduced down a little. Turn the meat from time to time and make sure it doesn't braise too fast and dry out - you want to have some sauce at the end.
Alternatively if you make this in advantage you can slowly braise the lamb shanks in a preheated oven (140C/275F/Gas 1) for 2,5 hours. Just slowly reheat before serving.

Serve with a creamy mash, curried cabbage (recipe below) and some of the sauce.

For the curried cabbage:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4
Put the cabbage in a large pan with the stock, bay leaf, garlic and clove studded onion.
Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain the cabbage and discard bayleaf, onion & garlic.
Put the cabbage in a greased casserole dish.
Mix together salt, pepper, curry powder and half the butter, add the cream and stil until smooth.
Pour over the cabbage, sprinkle on the breadcrumbs and dot with the remaining butter.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.