Dinners to eat on your knees

Our dining table is currently away being fixed. There was a flaw in the design and the whole top is being replaced. This means we are perching on the island or eating on our laps. We need to plan our meals to fit with this arrangement.

On Saturday we had a very simple piece of John Dory grilled with skin on, served on baby leeks. Cook 8-10 baby leeks for a few minutes in boiling salted water then refresh under cold water & set aside. Soft boil 2 eggs about 7 minutes so that you can peel them but the yolk is still slightly runny. Make a mustard vinaigrette using Dijon mustard , white wine vinegar & olive oil. Grill the reserved leeks on a hot griddle pan until they are slightly coloured. Brush the John Dory fillets with butter on each side, season with salt & pepper, ands cook under a hot grill skin side up for about 4 minutes until skin is crispy. Serve the fish on top of the leeks which have been drizzled with the vinaigrette. Top with shavings of Parmesan & serve the egg halved on the side. We thought this deserved one of our bottles of Australian Riesling left us by a generous guest. We opened the Jacobs Creek Steingarten which was perfect.

Sunday was quite cool so I made a heartwarming lamb & pearl barley stew and froze the leftovers. Get your butcher to bone a shoulder of lamb & cut into largish chunks. Brown the meat in batches & set aside. In the pan, soften 1 onion finely chopped, 1 carrot finely diced, 2 sticks celery finely sliced, 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped, with a handful of chopped oregano leaves, peel of 1/2 a preserved lemon & a bay leaf. Return the lamb to the pan with a good slosh of dry white wine, a cup of pearl barley, well rinsed & drained and 750ml chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently for a good hour or more until the barley and the lamb are both very tender. Add a handful of baby spinach & stir through to wilt. Season with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and salt & pepper. Stir through some finely chopped parsley. Pearl barley is a beautiful grain to use in winter.

During the week we used the last of the courgettes with pasta. Cut the courgettes into matchsticks & saute, then add the cooked fine ribbon pasta, a dollop of basil pesto, 1/2 an avocado cut into chunks. Mix together, season and top with grated Parmesan. I used a lemon pasta I had in the cupboard but if I hadn't I would have added a good squeeze of lemon juice.

I've been thinking about brown rice which I love but which we didn't have very often because the children weren't keen. Harriet is keen now so when she came to dine I made a very tasty rice stew which I plan to repeat. Almost a brown rice risotto. Start by soaking a handful of dried porcini in a little hot water. Soften a leek or onion or whatever you have to hand in a wide pan. Add 1 cup washed short grain brown rice and stir until shiny. Add a 1 cup vegetable stock or water and cook until the rice begins to become tender, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 mins. Chop the softened mushrooms & add with the soaking water, making sure to leave the sediment behind. Add a tin of tomatoes and any vegetables you need to use up. I added 1/2 a chopped kamo kamo. Cook about another 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add more water if you need to. When the rice is almost done stir through a can of drained cannellini beans. I also added a handful of spinach I needed to use up. Stir through some chopped basil & parsley & serve.

On Friday we had friends over to watch a dvd. We had chilli and a beautiful salad featuring lettuce, carrots, radishes & tomatoes from the garden.