Another cheeky one - baby chilli aubergines

After work drinks are never going to be the same again... great, believe it or not, with dry martinis or an ice cold limoncello.

This is what baby aubergines (the ones which are only a couple of inches long or less) were grown for!

A great addition to the Cheeky Wednesday experience, although it may take just a spot more than 30 minutes to prepare and cook.

Take twenty to thirty of the little beauties and coat with garlic oil and two finely chopped chillies.  Leave whole and with the stalks on as you will need something to hold them with.  Place on a baking tray in a pre-heated 180c oven for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and sprinkle with rock salt.

Alternatively, used the long slender "finger" aubergines, bake them as above and portion in one inch lengths, really GOOD!

Also see:  Mid-week cheeky one

Kitchen Diary - Smoky Tea

One of things I've been for most of my life is "a real tea belly" according to my mother.

From the smoky flavoured tea of Grandma Methuen to the more sophisticated tastes of Nanny Jones and the builders' tea of my mother, tea, rather than coffee has played a major part in my life.

Granny Methuen had one of those blacken miniature ranges in her "couch", the sitting room next to the kitchen.  The wood she used was never quite fully dry or seasoned so it would always smoke.  The cottage is still there on the outskirts of the Forest of Dean.

I remember Granddad showing us the vegetable garden almost every time we visited.  We did that a lot, as we lived only two hundred yards or so down the lane.  The garden was always overshadowed for me by the visits to Granny's little smoky sitting room and the tea.

Every time I went there, the tea was strong and had the permanent flavour of wood smoke.  As babies, the tea was "watered down" with milk, but later, when I was in my late teens and I was given lap sang souchong for the first time, the memories it invoked were of her and certain smoky parlour and tea eaten with cake and, if we were lucky, rich tea biscuits.  I say lucky, the cake had to be dipped in the tea because it would remove all the moisture from your mouth if you didn't!

I was quite an adventurous child and I was only four or five when for some reason I decided I wanted to play with my cousins whose house was about two miles away.  So, choosing my moment, I sneaked away.  As I passed Granny's house I remembered to rush past in case she spotted me (after all don't all Granny's have superpowers like in the comics? After all they have the uncanny ability of knowing when you've been bad, so I assumed she could see everything, even through two walls of Pembroke stone).

One of our neighbours tattled though, and by the time I had reached my cousins' house, my older teenage sister was already on her way to collect me.  The adventure was worth it though.  Soon after my mother was telling the tale at Granny's house, and in the corner, I was drinking smoky tea.

Kitchen Diary - Brioche & Tapenade

"Philippe, don't do it that way, do it, so!" the fifty something five foot nothing Parisian pushed her thirty something six foot plus son out of the way.  "See? so simple."

"Look at Ree'chard, he is so natural."

I remember being very embarrassed but this woman was formidable and this was my first time in her kitchen with a third party, never mind her son, who was more than ten years my senior (it was, after all, the eighties).  I had been here more than a dozen times before, but it had just been the two of us.

We were making brioche, my fourth time now and I had been very nervous to start with anyway, having never met her son before, never mind share a kitchen with him.  Philippe was head chef (according to Colette) at a leading Paris hotel.  You wouldn't have thought it the way he cringed.

"Mama, I have not baked brioche in ten years, and I will not be …" the conversation carried on in rapid French and I was left to finish off my project in relative quiet.  I could still hear them in two rooms down the hall but with both the Kitchen door closed and a number of walls between us, I was glad of the peace.

They came back only ten minutes later, having made up like quarrelling school children.   All smiles.  If I remember rightly, the dough was a few hours away from being ready so I had made some almond short cakes to go with our mid-morning tea. 

I was also pleased that Philippe was leaving before the brioche was ready, so far I hadn't made it "light enough".

Colette was a very lively lady, she had caught me sketching her in Battersea Park and had sat for me a number of times before inviting me to her flat overlooking the park.  I had shared my experience of my food experiments with her.  I had even brought homemade tapenade to the home of a French woman born just a few miles east of Marseille and I was never allowed to forget it. 

"After all my dear, do you not know that in the South of France we make the best tapenade?"

Funny, but she never made it for me, but would remind me on a weekly basis (after a few months of being friends that is) that I should bring some round as it was a superior imitation and she didn't have time to make her own.

We would drink tea and eat a lot of cake, and she could be very crude but most of the time Colette would play the "sophisticated" French woman and would love surprising everyone around her by her anecdotes. 

Colette moved back to Paris a few years later and we kept in touch until she passed away just after the millennium reminded us that two thousand years was a wonderful excuse to throw a party.  Unfortunately, I wasn't there with her, but I still have some wonderful memories and my diary entries to remind me of what a wonderful woman she was.

Summer Casserole

This is a refreshing way to use Summer herbs and such a great alternative to bring Summer flavours to what is traditionally an Autumn or Winter dish.

Just prior to the last couple of stages you will think I'm mad as it really doesn't look any different from the normal cold weather fair, but this is pretty sublime.

The secret is the use of large relative quantity of herbs and a large head of lettuce, ideally a robust variety, so use your own judgement as to what you want .  I've used cos here and, when you've tried this, you will realise why.

• 400 grams of lean casserole steak cut into smallish chunks
• 250 grams of pork (I've used neck fillet) cut into smallish chunks
• 1 head of lettuce, chopped roughly and divided so that the heart is more finely chopped that the green leaves
• 6 grams of finely chopped hyssop
• 6 grams of finely chopped thyme
• 6 grams of finely chopped parsley
• 15 grams of torn sorrel
• 1 large courgette, roughly chopped
• 3 good sized cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 small/1 large red onion, roughly chopped
• 200 ml of passata
• 125 ml of good red wine
• 1 dessert spoon of plain flour
• 3 heaped teaspoons of capers
• 4 dessert spoons of olive oil
• Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 170c and then in a heavy oven proof pan on the top of the stove (at least 3 litres is capacity) use the oil to brown the meat on a medium to high heat.  Do the meat in batches so that you don't crowd it.  This allows the meat to seal rather than steam its own juices.  Lower the heat and, if done in batches, return the remaining meat to the pan and add the garlic and half of all the herbs.     Allow to sweat with the lid on for about 5 minutes. 

Add the flour and stir until it has been absorbed by the juices. Add the passata, capers and chopped lettuce heart.  Stir well and cover tightly and place in the oven for an hour and 15 minutes.

Remove the pan and add the courgette and a little water if the casserole has started to go dry.  At this stage test for seasoning.  If you have used salted capers for example, this may not be necessary.

Place back into the oven for a further 15 minutes and then add the remaining herbs and the rest of lettuce. 

Stir well and cook for a further 15 minutes and switch the oven off.  Again test for seasoning before allowing the flavours to combine further for 15 to 20 minutes.

Ideal for a dinner party as you can be with your guests almost continuously.  Serve with couscous or bulgur wheat.  I normally use the same herb combination that's in the casserole.

Warm Tomato Salad

This is one of those dishes which, especially at this time of year, when you have seen and been inspired by all those ripe and welcoming different varieties of the tomato, that you go home and can't wait to make.  Use as many different kinds as you like but use very ripe ones.  The ones that are just about to turn, the ones that when you bit into them the juices escape and make a lovely red/orange stain on that specially washed shirt you put on just an hour before.

The quantities here assume you, and one other, are eating this as a main accompaniment to fish or poultry.  Especially good because without carbs, this salad really does help put aside the hankering for something "else" after the meal.  That said, this is a great pairing with baked potatoes topped with sour cream and chives.

• You will need 300 grams of very ripe tomatoes chopped into large pieces or halved if already small
• A half bulb of fennel or two to three baby ones, thinly sliced (alternatively use spring onion tops - this adds a heat instead of fragrance - your choice but not both)
• One clove of garlic, chopped finely
• 30 grams of hyssop, also chopped finely (try using a golden or blue sage if you can't get hyssop)
• One large knob of salted butter
• Four tablespoons of of good extra virgin olive oil
• Three teaspoons of black mustard seeds
• The juice of one lemon

Leave your tomatoes and fennel out over night (if you store these in the fridge).  Prepare them as described above and place in a bowl with the garlic and hyssop.  Add two tablespoons of oil and mix thoroughly and put aside.

In a small frying pan, add the remaining oil and the butter and melt over a medium heat.  As the butter stops foaming add the mustard seeds.  When they have been popping for a minute so, add the lemon juice and swirl in the pan.  Take off the heat and pour over the tomato and fennel mixture.

Mix well and serve immediately.

I've also made this amount just for myself, in front of the TV with large slices of buttered toast... Marvellous!

 

Midweek cheeky one?

Or, drinks and nibbles after work...

Or, at the weekend...

Thinking "I could have friends over for drinks after work" and doing the deed is usually far from reality for most of us.

If we live close to our friends then it's more likely, but usually its drinks on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

We all have busy lives but we should also take care to make time for our friends.  Whether we are lucky enough to be able invite people around in the evening (and during the week at that) or if it’s during the course of a weekend, we don't really want to spend hours in the kitchen preparing food, and, more importantly, we want to spend as much time as possible with our guests once they've arrived.

The three tapas style snacks below all take under 25 minutes to prepare and cook and, more importantly, gives a personal touch rather than simply unloading packets from a supermarket, at the very least you can make them a little more specific to your own and your guests' tastes.

Chorizo

 

Always a good standby and always very quick to prepare.  Slicing it up into generous bite size pieces with some additional olive oil and putting a little extra chilli and/or garlic onto a baking tray, adding halved mid-sized mushrooms to soak up a little of that oil and putting these into a moderate oven (say 170-180c) for 15-20 minutes is a really good and simple way to impress. 

Once you've taken these out of the oven and whilst still hot, drizzle with a tablespoon of honey and combine.  The sweet, hot, spicy combination is addictive.

House roasted Almonds (or cashews, or walnuts or a mixture of all three)

With a little oil, add 250 grams of blanched nuts to a baking tray.  Again, in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes. 

Separately, in a bowl, add two heaped teaspoons of smoked sweet paprika, two generous teaspoons of dried thyme or chopped dried rosemary and an equal amount of sea salt. 

Taking the nuts out of the oven add these to the spice mixture whilst still hot and combine thoroughly.

House olive mix

In a shallow pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil and a large crushed clove of garlic whilst the oil is still heating through.  Add a half teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of cumin seeds.  As the garlic is just starting to golden, take off the heat and add the zest and juice of a large lemon (or of two limes).

Separately in a large bowl, thinly slice half a large red onion and separate the crescents.  Add your choice of olives (250 grams) and add the spice mixture.  Mix and allow to cool.

Additions could in include finely sliced chillies and/or sweet peppers.  Just for a little crunch.

Make Do Potatoes

This is really my take on a Spanish dish which is a sort of Mediterranean bubble and squeak.  There also seems to be a similar dish in almost every country I've been too.  If you're not too keen on any of the ingredients below, just leave them out and put some of your favourites in.

You make it with cooked new/small to medium sized potatoes and its best not served chilled, which is convenient especially for picnics and when generally out and about and is a great alternative to sandwiches as you can add all kinds of ingredients.

I'm using just over two pounds or one kilo of waxy potatoes.  These are cooked and allowed to cool down (but not to go cold) before adding the rest of the ingredients.  Obviously if you are adding anything actually needs to be cold (flaked tuna or egg then this will need to be refrigerated afterwards and kept in a cool bag if going to the park, but if none of these ingredients are added you will be fine).  The only real rule to this dish is that the potatoes are completely cold when you add everything else.  The potatoes will then take on the flavours more readily, a little like only dressing warm rice or pasta when making a rice or pasta salad, same principle.

Once the potatoes are ready, leave them in a large bowl to cool down and crush them slightly.  If they are large potatoes, chop them up roughly.

• two tablespoons of capers
• one large red onion, halved and sliced very thinly.  The segments separated out
• two large cloves of garlic, crushed
• one lemon and one orange, just the juice of both
• one teaspoon of fine sugar
• six or seven tablespoons of good extra virgin, unfiltered, olive oil
• 150 grams or 6 ozs of black and green olives (or one or the other if you like)
• one tablespoon of anchovy paste (or not, if you aren't refrigerating this)
• 10 grams or 1/2 oz of finely chopped flat leaf parsley and thyme
• two very large, very ripe tomatoes, chopped (if you don't have very ripe ones, leave out overnight before chopping them up, they will recover some flavour at least) 

The additions should go into a separate bowl and all of these should be mixed thoroughly and left for 20 to 30 minutes for the flavours to combine.  Now add these to the potatoes and combine well.

Additions could include sweet potato (although this makes the mixture a little too wet, so leave out the half the fruit juice and use a ratio of half waxy potato to half sweet.  You will also need to leave out the sugar), tinned tuna or salmon (which makes this very much main salad offering if you need to take a dish to a party), green beans (which adds another vibrant colour to the dish) or try adding tinned artichoke hearts or butter beans. 

Experiment and have fun.   This really is a "make do" Summer salad.

Diary - Annual Bassishaw Summer Lunch 2012

I had a great time at lunch yesterday, which was preceded by a Bassishaw Ward Club committee meeting. 

Bassishaw Ward is one of 25 City of London Wards.  Each Ward has formal representation within the City of London and also has a more social Ward Club Club.  I am the current Honourary Secretary of the Ward Club and there is a separate Honourary Secretary for the Ward itself.

The annual lunch is a wonderful way to meet with friends who we normally see for a limited number of times during the year. 

As our Vice President, Ken Ayers is also Chief Commoner this year, we took advantage of him (with his consent of course) and had our lunch in the Chief Commoners' Parlour.  As the Parlour has limited space we foregoed the normal practice of inviting a large number of guests this year and had only twenty present.

As you can see the Parlour and the stairway leading up to it is very striking.

I've also included our menu as well. 

If you have worked or are working in the Ward, you can apply to be a member.  Please let me know if you are interested.

As an aide memoire our formal representatives are listed here with their contact details and if you want to know more about the City and it's elected members please this is a good place to start.

Moorish Chicken

Chicken, probably the most taken for granted dinner/supper in most households.  I had real food envy, thanks to @daffodilsoup on twitter, the other night when I saw her picture of roast chicken with roast potatoes.

I'm on a real North African buzz at the moment so I thought I would revive and refresh an old favourite.


Take:

• Between one and one and a half Kilos of chicken pieces
• 30 grams of finely chopped flat leaf parsly
• One large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• One lemon, topped and tailed and cut into thin wedges (you should aim for at least 16 per average sized fruit)
• Two cloves of garlic, crushed
• Two teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika
• Two tablespoons of flaked almonds
• Two tablespoons of raisens
• One teaspoon of cinammon
• 50 mls Olive oil

In a large bowl put all the ingredients together and amalgamate, cover and rest for an hour at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 190c.

Lay mixture on a large baking tray and cook for an hour and a half.

Serve with a big fresh and crunchy green salad or a big potato salad.

Summer Party time - Bloody Mary Tomatoes

It's Summer party time and this is probably one of the most rewarding treats you will make for your guests!  Whether you're having just a few friends round for drinks or a more grand affair these are brilliant ice breakers - better than shots or jellies - now THAT shows my age!

 

Makes 24-30

Easy and very alcoholic

Take 24-30 small vine tomatoes (I know, technically all tomatoes are…)

For the filling

• two dessert spoons of tomato puree
• a 200 gram can of drained chopped tomatoes (or another 10-15 skinned small vine tomatoes chopped and drained)
• a dessert spoon of tabasco
• two dessert spoons of premium vodka
• two dessert spoons of dry sherry
• a level teaspoon of celery salt

Combine and leave aside for at least 2 hours

Cut the top off each of the tomatoes, extract the seeds and excess pulp.  Fill each one carefully with the above mixture.

Dress with chopped parsley.

Great with vodka Martini's … hic!

Instant vitamin C overload

A little while ago (well actually if I'm honest, many years ago) I had a really bad cold and became paranoid about taking cold remedies.

 

I decided to take on board something my grandmother told me.  Overdose on vitamin C and honey and you'll be fine in a couple days.

Not sure if it's just this concoction, it probably has something to also do with the vast amounts of water and sleep as well, but here goes:

For each "dose" you will need:

•  One lemon (or two limes)
•  A stick of peeled and grated ginger (a stick being 3-4 cm long and 1 cm round/square
•  A large clove of grated garlic
• Two dessert spoons of honey
• A cup full of just boiled water

Add the zest and juice of your lemon or limes along with the other ingredients.  Stir and drink.

Take as many times a day as you can with plenty of water and loads of sleep.

Even when not poorly with cold, with the addition of a stick of Ginseng, grated and added to the fold, makes a great pick-me-up

Penne with Garlic & Chilli

If you want really quick pasta and a full hit of flavour at the same time how about this:

For about 300/400 grams of pasta - cook the regular way until al dente.

For the dressing:

One crushed clove of garlic

One teaspoon of honey

One very finely chopped (deseeded or not, to taste) chilli

Four table spoons of good olive oil

Mix/whisk the dressing together thoroughly and simply dress the cooked pasta. 

Quick, easy and great with a glass of fizz.

Easy Milanese with lemon

This is great when you just want something simple.  So long as you have either ricotta or cream cheese in the fridge and a lemon, its also cheap!  Great for when you come in from work and are just craving pasta, this is also a cheese lovers dream because you add the parmesan at the end - as little or as much as you like!

 

Traditionally this would be made with ricotta and a flat pasta (probably bavette) and normally use either tagliolini or pappardelle.

Quantities-wise, the sauce should be enough for about 400 grams of pasta, although if you add additional ingredients (some rocket leaves towards the end so that they are just wilted, for example) you will get away with a little more.

• 250 grams of ricotta
• a splash of milk
• two tablespoons of lemon zest and the juice of a large lemon
• finely chopped parsley, quantities to taste
• grated parmesan, again, quantities to taste

Put all the above ingredients (except the parmesan) into a large deep pan over a low to medium heat, until the mixture becomes a velvet amalgamation.  If the sauce looks like its becoming to thick add more milk.

Cook the past until al dente, drain and drizzle with extra virgin oil and a little dab of butter whilst still in the drainer.  Ensure the pasta is well coated.

Add the pasta to sauce and mix throughly.

Divide into portions and add your parmesan along with a crisp green salad on the side.

Samphire

For the second time in under a week, I must be charmed as it's not often I see this succulent vegetable. It is probably the most straightforward to cook (plunge into boiling water for just two or three minutes) and one of the quickest to eat.

My favourite way of presenting it is to fry some thinly sliced garlic in unsalted butter very gently and to pour this over the deeply green fragments to serve.

Great with either grilled fish or chicken which in turn is served simply or with a light lemon sauce.

Chicken Provencal

Chicken Provencal, a name that evokes sophistication and an epicentre of French cooking.

Summer holidays in the South of the country, sun beating down as you sit outside a cafe, perhaps under the shade of the local communal broadleaf which just so happens to conveniently sit outside Messr [fill in the appropriate Patron's name from your favourite holiday] establishment.  The broadleaf is also home to the local gossipers, mainly men, who spend their time watching the tourists, making some of them paranoid with the gestures and toothless smiles and their rapid exchanges.

Perhaps the street is one sided and across the road you see greenery marching towards the sea.  The breeze brings the scent of wild thyme and you smile as the combination of the lunch time heat and the distant aromas mingle with the gossiper's French tobacco and their voices wrap you up in the moment.

The Patron comes out with your wine and asks if you are ready to order and your eyes are drawn to the number of dishes of the area.  But the one that always endears me is the chicken dishes.  When I want to evoke Summer and warmth, this is the dish that always comes to mind.

In the South of France, different families and villages will all have a slightly different take on this dish.  There is always lots of garlic and herbs and of course tomatoes and olives.  What may be different is how "wet" the resulting stew is.  Some will add courgettes and sweet peppers so that the sauce is more of a rattatouille.  This dish can be cooked quite quickly (in just an hour or so) but one of my friends introduced me to cooking it slowly in a low to medium oven for an hour and a half in total.  Yes, it can be a little overcooked, but the flavours are sublime and if leftovers (if there are any) are frozen, are great quick supper with mashed potatoes or pasta.

My suggestion for quantities are to accompany one kilo of chicken thighs (skin and bones are not removed but you can if you prefer):

• three large cloves of garlic - chopped roughly
• two medium sized onions - halved and sliced thinly
• six anchovy fillets - in oil, chopped finely
• one kilo of fresh tomatoes - chopped roughly
• 1 250 ml glass of - red wine
• a mixture of thyme, rosemary and oregano - the quantities are up to you but if this is the first time you've tried this dish - try two heaped dessert spoons for early in the cooking and a further dessert spoon for near to the end - finely chopped
• green or black pitted olives - a mixture is good, traditionally black only
• two teaspoons of capers

Suggestion:

If you want a "drier" sauce, cut down amount of tomatoes rather than the wine.

Method:

On a medium heat on the top of your cooker, use a heavy based deep oven dish with a lid, such as le creuset, and warm through a generous measure of good olive oil.  Before it gets hot, place the chicken thighs skin down and a further amount of oil on top.  Add the onion, garlic and herbs at this stage.  They will start to steam whilst on top of the chicken. 

Wait until you hear the cackle of the oil before you turn the chicken over and stir thoroughly. Leave for a further five minutes, and reduce the heat to low and then add two dessert spoons of plain flour - it will help later on to thicken the dish.  If you are hesitant of something burning - then the flour can be added later as a paste.

Add the chopped anchovies next and wait until these have amalgamated a little before adding the tomatoes.  The heat should be enough for the tomatoes to heat sufficiently to just below a simmer.  Then add the wine and olives.  Stir thoroughly again and cover. 

Place in a pre-heated oven at 175 degrees C for 40 minutes.  Check on it after 30 minutes if you are cooking it dry to see if you need to add more liquid.  At the 40 minute mark, add the capers and some more mixed herbs if the mood takes you and place back in the oven covered for a further 20 minutes or so.

Let the dish cool down and serve with mini roast potatoes, tossed in butter and a green salad or leave to cool completely and eat the following day.