Non-kedgeree fish and rice

Hubby was cooking outside of his comfort zone – roast salmon fillet. It was lovely and once again a reminder that a roast doesn’t have to be meat!

So we had lovely leftovers and as always the pondering about what to do. There was not much else in the house – the fridge is bear in the post Christmas clear out. So what have I got – salmon, frozen peas, rice – it’s got to be a kind of kedgeree. I’ve got nothing smoked though – haddock, salmon etc, so it has to take a different route, somehow more summery, but we’re in the dark days of post Christmas January, so that doesn’t quite fit.

Were did we end up – pulled some prawns out of the freezer – cooked ones, bunch of parsley and dill still in the fridge,and a lurking leek. Off I go down the herby rice and fish route. Brown rice cooked without the usual kedgeree spices, but with the leek sweated in butter and a bay leaf. Then flaked salmon, prawns and defrosted peas left on top of the rice for about 5 mins to warm through will the rice rests. And lots of chopped dill & parsley – one thing I am grateful for in my local Tesco is the big loose bunches of herbs the sell, it allows generosity, always a good thing with herbs. And then a last minute flash of inspiration – not sure where if came from, Ottolenghi I think ? – a dollop of the very last bit of Christmas creme fraiche seasoned and sprinkled with beautiful, colourful cayenne pepper – adding just the warming note I was looking for – both colour and flavour wise.

Super supper and lovely lunchbox leftovers. All good.

 

 

A new take on hake

It’s funny how supper can start out as one thing and end up as another – lead by the ingredients, the mood I’m in and the time available.

Last night, I was in an easy supper mood. The ingredients were,  hake fillets; which we’d bought at the Chatsworth House farm shop, I’d had hake the night before at The Peacock and it was delicious, a bulb of fennel; which was added to the box because I’d said no to tomatoes as we’ve got them ripening in the garden, and potatoes, which we seem to have lots of at the moment.

So I knew I was roasting potatoes, summer style with garlic & rosemary. The hake well that’s a tricky fish for me. I don’t cook it often, the fillets were quite thick and it can be a bit woolly. I was thinking pan frying & finish in the oven. And the fennel, well that was going to slow braise in a pan. Got the potatoes on & in the oven – skin on, cut into chunks, sprinkled with oil, salt and chopped rosemary & garlic., 200C. I then started to prepare the fennel and inspiration struck – I could put it with the potatoes. Do them both oven roasted together and then I got the idea to go down the greek baked fish route. Hubby does a lovely greek baked fish ala Nigel Slater. So out came Real Cooking, one of my all time favourites, and even though I didn’t have tomatoes, none ripe in the garden, I could follow the principle. So into the roasting tin went the wedged fennel, rubbed in a little oil and herb salt (150C), and supper was on it’s way, I could leave it alone for 40 mins. Which is just what I did and got the chance to e-mail photos and order prints for the new accommodation for my Dad for September. Back to supper, oregano from the garden, season the hake, pop both on top of the fish, squeeze a whole lemon over the lot and back into the oven for 25 mins. I love an easy delicious, one tray supper. Light on prep and light on washing up – one chopping board, one knife, one roasting tray. And I’m not even washing up, that’s hubby’s job! Some spinach to go with – washed, chopped, cooked in it’s ‘clinging on’ water- and we were off.

 

Fried rice? No it’s quinoa!

It’s Monday night, scratch supper night. Didn’t want to use the leftover lamb from lunch yesterday, lamb two days in a row is a bit tough on the tummy! So there was chicken from Friday night, tomatoes from the garden , green beans & chorizo in the fridge. So that’s salad sliced red onion doused in w.w.vinegar & salt, quartered toms, basil & boiled green beans. To go with that, fried some small chopped chorizo, not much about a thumbs length, with torn up cold roast chicken, then added the roast carrots, lemon juice and cooked quinoa (1:5 with water, simmered for 30 mins & left to stand). Quite delicious a mix between a hash and fried rice.

Caesar salad, barbeque and more springtime sunshine!

I can hardly believe that we are still in this lovely sunny, hot springtime. It’s just gorgeous. I am trying to take it one day at a time but the more we have of summertime the more I know I will be disappointed when it returns to spring.

My sister came up to stay this weekend. So Friday was food shopping – butchers for a shoulder of lamb & ribs for the barbeque, the freezer for other barbeque fair – quails & chicken breast, Waitrose for the rest. Woke up Saturday morning remembering I hadn’t planned lunch.  Opps! What have I got?? Just about enough for a Caesar salad – Cos lettuce, eggs, parmesan & anchovies. Tiger bread that hubby had bought and bacon out of the freezer for breakfast – fab. I love Caesar salad – creamy salty dressing on crisp leaves with a little crunch from croutons & bacon –perfect.

We had just about got the barbeque cooked – spatchcock quail in mustard marinade, chicken skewers in tandoori style marinade & ribs – when the thunder storm that had been brewing all afternoon sent down the rain. We all dashed inside to eat. A real summertime BBQ – and it’s April. Green bean & tomato salad, corn on the cob & potato salad to balance out the meat.

Sunday was citrus fruit salad & hot cross buns for breakfast. Aqua class to work some of it off. And home to a slow roast shoulder of lamb, with pepper / feta salad (using the last of the BBQ heat yesterday to blacken the peppers), first of the jersey royals & peas. Easy peasy, but just delicious and summery enough for the day.

We finished off – much later in the day – with Heston’s cherry chocolate trifle for dessert. I’d forgotten I was making this, even though I bought the sponge fingers and cherries weeks ago. So had to improvise in the Co-op local with raspberry jelly & Ambrosia tinned custard instead of gelatine & fresh custard. Well, it seemed to make no difference, the finished trifle was delicious – amaretto, cherries, chocolate, cream – what can go wrong with that combination. Made them in individual glasses using ½ the recipe. It was just enough for three would have been a mean four. More sponge fingers needed.

Today we have polished off the last of the lamb with hummus, flat bread and salad. A suppertime picnic to finish a summertime in spring Easter weekend.

Pork, potatoes & Prague

I was working in Prague last week and  was reminded of my Belgrade days and  how much the cuisine turned on pork & potatoes & cream!  We were in old hunting lodge /chateau on the outskirts of Prague and although I can’t recommend it as a place to stay, I can recommend it as a place to work. We had a great room to work in with the group – light, spacious etc and the service was great. Coffee breaks, fresh cut fruit, cakes and of course pork – cured in sandwiches, laid on a platter as pork and/ or ham with lovely breads on the sides. Lunches were set for us as a group – creamy soups, creamy potatoes and creamy pork or chicken followed by creamy desserts. All delicious, but my oh my where are the greens?! Over dinner one night – a six courser sponsored by the divisional director – we talked about the national dishes round the table. We had Poland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Czech Republic,  etc represented and the basis was common – pork, potatoes, dumplings and cabbage! So I loved all this, but was also craving fish & veg when I got home.

Hubby as a darling. Met me at the airport and I came home to flowers, champagne & smoked salmon  – it was my birthday!  Then Friday was – please can we have some fish! So sea bream oven baked with fennel, chilli & ras al hanout, butternut squash & purple sprouting broccoli hit the spot!

Nachos, no, gnocchi

Been mithering over what’s for supper tonight. The base is going to be Friday’s nights left over chilli con carne. I was going to go down the nachos route – but was not really comfortable with that – doesn’t seem like supper. Clearing out the veg boxes in the garage this morning, realised we have loads of potatoes – some still in the box and others that hubby bought this week, not quite sure why. Anyway we have a bit of a glut. Can I do potatoes & chilli? I guess so but it feels a little uninspired. Then with the TV on in the background as I’m doing morning pottering the cookery slot is gnocchi! Brilliant. The chilli can become a ragu sauce with the addition of the slow roast tomatoes that are in the fridge and the potatoes can become gnocchi. I hope. I’ve never made gnocchi before – how hard can it be??? We’ll see. Now to work!

Salads in springtime

The weather has been glorious. Feels like summer and I find that I’m getting used to it, not quite sunbathing in the garden, but almost. It’ll be a shock next week when it turns back to spring. So food has taken on a summer feel this weekend. Salad Nicoise last night, which is definitely one of my summer favourites, but not usually served in spring! It’s a lovely summer supper – tuna steaks, eggs, green beans & olives – yum. We had lettuce & tomatoes in the box this week. The tomatoes were a little insipid, so I slow roasted them to intensify their flavours. Cut in half, sprinkle with s&p, sugar, oregano and little rapeseed oil, then into oven at 120 for four hours and leave to cool before adding to salad.  Scrummy.

Also put the meat into marinade for the barbecue today. I know April 10^th and we are having a barbie, the first of the year! The weather really is gorgeous. So chicken thighs have gone into a marinade of preserved lemon, chilli, rosemary & garlic and lamb chops have been rubbed with ras-al-hanout spices. We’ve got loads of parsley in the garden, so I’ll do a herby couscous salad and then hubby’s got aubergine, peppers & mushroom for the barbecue. Makes a lovely change from a Sunday roast and we might even get to eat it outside. We had breakfast on the garden bench this morning – citrus fruit salad with yoghurt, honey and seeds. Then bread and marmalade. I’ve got back into my bread making mode. Made the dough up last night, left it rise, second rise this morning and then into the oven and ready for breakfast. This only really works for breakfast on a Sunday, which is late, late morning. Any other day and it’s a loaf for lunch. Still lovely, lovely to have fresh bread. Need to find a way to keep it through the week, it goes so dry. I’ve tried paper bags and plastic bags. Today I’ve put it in a biscuit tin, that might just work. Don’t know why I’ve not tried it before. Put a bit of milk into the mix this time, thinking that might keep it softer, we will see.

Smoked eel anyone?

‘It looks a picture!’ thank you hubby! I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but we had a delectable smoked fish supper tonight – smoked eel, watercress and dill flavoured potato salad. All ingredients from the farmers market on Sunday. Along with beetroot & cottage cheese salad, smoked trout and rye bread. Inspiration from both the ingredients and a twist on Jamie’s ideas for smoked salmon.  A super light and fresh spring supper, with plenty left over for lunch boxes. Perfect!

A food filled weekend

Started with Friday night and the ‘what shall I cook?’ question. They are a bit challenging Friday nights. I want us to eat something nice to finish the week and start the weekend. But I also want something effortless after a long week. So I think I’m going to have to start a new category on this blog–Friday night suppers. In fact it was reading through the blog that gave me the idea for last Friday’s supper, Delia’s prawns,  that I did for myself when Hubby was out a couple of Friday’s ago. Back I went to Cooking for One and there was Kashmir Spiced Prawns. Perfect – and doubly so because I had all the ingredients either in the fridge, freezer or cupboard – prawns, peppers, onions, cucumber, chopped tomatoes, mango chutney and spices, chilli powder etc. And I made it really easy on myself and used frozen chopped peppers and onion too. Thank you Delia for that great cheat idea! Hubby got a bit nervous as 7 o’clock approached and I was still sipping a Friday night G&T and not in the kitchen cooking, ‘what are we having for supper tonight’ he asked with a little tinge of ‘I’m hungry and don’t see any food for eating anytime soon!’. Not to worry ½ hour rustling in the kitchen and Kashmiri spicy prawn curry was served – with rice and naan to keep company. Delish.

The reward for all this cooking was a ‘nanobreak’ to the New Forest. Stopped at Winchester for look round and lunch – super pub with ham croquettes and potted cheese – ‘Can you do this?’ asked hubs – ‘think so’ I said, so need to try that out –  cheese, beer, Worcester sauce and mustard. We stayed at the rather lovely, if slightly off centre, Hotel TerraVina http://www.hotelterravina.co.uk and as well as spacious room we had a lovely Saturday night dinner. Gin cocktails in the bar, quail, pigs trotters, rabbit and pork head rillettes to eat, with the most beautiful crème brulee to follow – really delicious food- and then night caps in bed.

Breakfast was a story of two halves – very disappointing Continental – where were all the lovely ingredients and care that we experienced last night on this rather sad and uninviting table of breakfast goods? They were missing from there, but were in plentiful supply in the cooked breakfast; great sausages, black pudding, mushroom etc. Definitely needed a walk in the forest after that lot. Even getting lost was good for us – we just had to walk some more to find our way out!

And then coming home, needing to get some spuds for lunch we happened across a farmers market in Romsey. Well that’s just bliss for me! So potatoes and kale, no problem. Got those to go with the ham I was cooking. Then also some local smoked eel & watercress for tonight – to balance out the amount of meat we have eaten in the last 48 hours.  In fact, even though I bought some wild boar shoulder at the farmers market as well, I think pork is off the menu for a while!

Loving Lidl!

Is it right to be so excited by Lidl? I’m really not sure it is! We were away at the weekend – more on that later – so I’ve been out to do the weekly shop this morning. Quite frankly couldn’t face the boredom of the local supermarket. A Waitrose shop was needed, well not needed, just wanted. There was nothing particularly Waitrosey  on the list. The order of shopping tends to be– the local Sainsbury is usually fine and then the Tesco, if it’s mostly non-fresh food and  Waitrose when I want fish or meat or something particular or if like today I just want a bit of inspiration with my shopping.

So choosing Ealing over Harrow took me past the new Lidl, and thought I’d try a little experiment,  go in and buy what I could from my list – remembering always the challenge of fresh, free range, local, seasonal, organic that goes on in my head when shopping for food. I thought I probably be able to pick up the kitchen roll, smoked fish and maybe the salad.

Well – what a lovely surprise, not only did I do most of the list – organic milk and eggs, pastrami for lunches, unwaxed lemons, garlic and wine, but some lovely seasonal surprises too – purple sprouting broccoli – English, beautiful globe artichokes and organic crème fraiche. Fabulous! So now after a shop at Lidl, my head is buzzing with ideas for a spring supper tomorrow night. I’m thinking purple sprouting broccoli & artichokes with hollandaise maybe, or dippy eggs and melted butter. Anyway what a surprise to be inspired by Lidl – and, having done the calculation on coming home – I’ve saved tenner into the bargain too!