Pork or fish

Now we are back at work and it is summer of sorts we are looking for quick light meals. Phoebe has been preparing many of the meals and we have been eating fish when she's working.
One of her favourite meals, & one she is successfully mastering, is pork with cider. Take one pork chop per person & trim off the fat if there is any. Wrap in cling film & bash the chop out a little - not too thin.
Cook the chops in a pan with garlic infused olive oil, on a high heat, about 5 minutes per side. You could add garlic to regular oil but it is likely to catch & pre-infused is quicker. Take out the chops & stand - cover to keep warm. Pour about 125ml (for 2 chops) cider into the pan & deglaze, then add 1 tbsp grainy mustard & 75ml cream. Let the sauce cook a few minutes then pour over the chops. Apparently the cook gets to drink what's left of the bottle of cider. Phoebe served with gnocchi which she turned in the remaining pan juices before serving, and steamed beans. The gnocchi was a find. The Scopa guy is selling hand made pasta at the market & his gnocchi is amazing. As you can see his pedigree is impeccable. You can drop it in boiling water & when it rises to the top it is done. Lorenzo (or maybe Leonardo), recommended tossing in a little butter in a pan until lightly golden. It only needs a minute or so. He did say add a minute for every day it has been made. It was delicious. I find gnocchi a challenge to make & most bought stuff is inedible so I was delighted to discover this.
This pork meal is not heavy but if you are looking for a lighter option try a fillet of fish. Terakihi is beautiful dusted with a little seasoned flour & lightly pan fried. You can serve with a medley of roasted spring vegetables. Toss some fresh young carrots with strips of capsicum, boiled baby potatoes & a few shallots, in olive oil & season. Roast at 180 about 30-40 minutes. I usually put them into a heated tray at 200 & immediately turn down. After 20 minutes add thick slices of courgette, cut on the diagonal.
For a thicker cut of fish such as lemon fish, try briefly searing the fish in a pan then transfer to the dish with the vegetables to finish off in the oven. You can do this with any vegetables & I have done it with root vegetables in a tagine. This week we used cherry tomatoes & capsicum. I bought a selection of different coloured & shaped tomatoes & they all behaved a little differently. Some retained shape & firmness & others dissolved into little balls of sweet deliciousness. Using the method above, roast the capsicum & tomatoes in a hot dish in a hot oven, 10 minutes. Lightly brown the fish in a pan. Sprinkle a handful of capers & halved black olives with a dash of red wine vinegar over the vegetables & lay the fish fillets on top. Return to the oven 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Sprinkle with parsley & serve with a dish of freshly dug potatoes tossed in parsley & butter. Add a simple salad dressed with lemon & olive oil.
We have a variety of delicious leaves growing in the garden at the moment. In addition to Cos, Little Gem & Red Sails we are growing Sorrel & Radicchio. Apparently Sorrel is something you will find in every French housewife's kitchen garden. You can't buy it in the shops - you have to grow it & I recommend you do. I found a ratty little seedling at the garden centre & it is flourishing. You just pick off the leaves as required. I am planning to experiment with sauces & soup. One of you sent me some recipes I am about to try. Radicchio is a red relative of chicory & is a pretty leaf that goes well in salads. Remember a recent foray to the green grocer where he insisted that I probably wanted radishes & didn't know how to spell. I have been struggling to buy it recently so we are producing our own. It is also a success.
On the topic of success it has not been a great year for jam fruit, at least in our neck of the woods. I did manages to pick up some reasonably priced blueberries & small strawberries. We have a bit of a surplus of rhubarb as well, so we now have a small quantity of strawberry, blueberry & rhubarb & ginger jam. That should tide us over.

Holiday meals

I didn't have seafood paella for my birthday this year. Of the five of us for dinner, two were vegans & one doesn't fancy shellfish so it didn't seem appropriate. But for a summer evening dining al fresco with friends it was the perfect meal. Follow this basic recipe, including chicken & chorizo, then add white fish and whole prawns to gently cook through at the end finishing up with prepared shellfish - we used mussels & cockles. You can actually cook the mussels in the paella but we have more success steaming them open in a little wine first.

The guests brought a fantastic mixed salad and an amazing pudding of cherries gently simmered in something deliciously alcoholic served with vanilla ice cream.

Ratatouille is always a summer favourite. It is forgiving if your aubergines & courgettes have been in the fridge a day or so longer than you had intended because your teenager was rebelling against "cucumber's evil cousin". We dined at friends' last week & I was reminded of Elizabeth David's wonderful ratatouille - it was even better than I had remembered. The beauty of this dish is that you can make it your own depending on what you find in your fridge. Elizabeth David says she has even known potatoes being added. I prefer to serve mine with crushed or sauted potatoes. Many years ago I always served with hasslebacks.

For 4-6 people use 1-2 onions, 1 -2 aubergines, 2 large red capsicum (or 1 red & 1 yellow or orange), 2 courgettes (try 1 green & 1 yellow), 2-3 large tomatoes, 1 lge clove garlic, some coriander seeds, basil & parsley.

In advance, slice the unpeeled aubergines & courgettes into thickish (1/2 cm) rounds & then into cubes. Put into a colander, sprinkle with salt & weight with a plate & something heavy on top such as a bag of sugar. This will press out the excess moisture. I sometimes don't bother but it is always better of you do. Leave them about an hour & then rinse off the salt.

When you are ready to start, saute the thinly sliced onions in some olive oil until soft but not brown. This is one of those instances, like risotto, when you should use more oil than seems necessary. It really enhances the final flavour. When the onions are soft and this may take 15- 2o mins, add the rinsed aubergines & courgettes, the capsicums - sliced into thin strips - and the chopped garlic. Cover the pan & cook gently about 40 minutes. Now add the skinned chopped tomatoes with a tsp or so of coriander you have pounded in your mortar & pestle, & lightly season. Add a pinch of sugar if you think your tomatoes need it. Cook another 30 minutes until the veg have all softened but are not mushy. Stir in the basil & parsley just before serving. Serve on its own or as an accompaniment to lamb or chicken or anything pretty much. This is delicious and works well reheated or even cold.

Try a variant of pork schnitzel with a variant of coleslaw. I used red cabbage because I had some in the fridge but I think I would use green if I was buying fresh.

Combine 3-4 cups finely shredded cabbage with 1/2 small red onion very thinly sliced & a crisp red (or green if cabbage is red) apple julienned. Whisk 1/3 cup sour cream, 2 tbsp pesto, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1 clove garlic crushed. Add the cabbage mixture & gently mix through with a handful of roughly chopped parsley.

Slice pork fillet into 3cm thick pieces then gently bash out between 2 pieces of cling film using a rolling pin or other blunt instrument. They should end up about 1 cm thick - not paper thin, which I think often makes schnitzel dry. Mix panko crumbs with a little flour in one bowl & beat 2 eggs with a clove or garlic, crushed in another. Dip the pork pieces in egg then panko, pressing it on firmly, then cook in olive oil with a knob of butter about 2-3 minutes each side until the crumbs are golden. Drain on paper towel. Sprinkle the pork with a little grated Parmesan & serve with lime wedges - lemon would do.

And if you are missing those Christmas indulgences treat yourself to a caramel & chocolate cracker treat. I persuaded Phoebe to make these while I was gardening. She reports they are so simple that even I could make them. She promises to make them again.

Twelve days of Christmas eating

I reported on the first day of Christmas but how did we fare on the following 11? Well we made the most of our Christmas leftovers & barely had to visit the shops which is always a bonus. While I am on the subject, I was shocked this year, to discover that many people believe that the 12 days of Christmas are some sort of countdown leading up to Christmas day. They are not - they are the 12 days from Christmas day to Epiphany (6th January), which is when the 3 fellows from the East turned up in Bethlehem bearing gifts. I'm sure all of you knew that but if not then you do now.
Anyway back to our Christmas fare. We have had a Boxing Day favourite for many years now which is the Christmas coleslaw I told you about last year. I really recommend this and you could variations using chicken or green cabbage at any time. It is beautifully refreshing when you feel you have over-indulged. Note the salt dishes. I was given a packet of black salt for Christmas. Doesn't it look wonderful?
Phoebe's request for the turkey leftovers is always turkey, cranberry & Camembert pizza. When I lived in London, I used to eat a version of this on Vogel's toast for Boxing day breakfast. Just pop under the grill until the cheese is melted.
We finished up the turkey in a turkey pie, which is my usual left over roast chicken pie method. In a pan, saute a finely chopped onion and anything else you have in the fridge that you want to use - capsicum, carrot, celery, mushrooms. Add the shredded cooked turkey and any left over vegetables from your Christmas dinner with the left over gravy. If the mixture feels dry because you skimped on the gravy, add some of the stock you made from the giblets. Pile into a pie dish or casserole & top with pastry. Peter is the pastry maker in our house and he has recently taken to adding a small grating of Parmesan. Try it. Bake the pie at about 180 until the pastry is golden & crisp - about 30 mins. Serve with a crisp green salad.
In addition to the giblet stock we used in the gravy we made regular turkey stock on Christmas day and that is all in the freezer to be used in risottos etc.
Using the turkey was quite easy but the ham was a bit more of a challenge for 3 to consume. I'm always up for a challenge. In the early days you can't go past sliced ham with boiled potatoes and salad. I have a new favourite dressing for boiled potatoes. For about 1 1/2 kilos new season potatoes - I use Jersey Benne or Perla, whisk 1/4 cup white wine vinegar and 1/4 cup white wine with 2 tbsp whole grain mustard. Start with a large bowl because you add everything to this. Cook & drain your potatoes well then halve them - this helps to soak up the dressing. Add to the vinegar mix & leave about two mins. Finely chop 1/2 a red onion & leave to soak in cold water about 10 minutes. This is a great trick for red onion you are going to use raw because it softens a little & takes away the sharpness. Drain & use a tea towel to squeeze out the excess liquid. Drizzle a little olive oil over the potatoes & add the onions & about 2 tbsp each finely chopped parsley & basil. Season & toss gently to coat the potatoes. I think this may be similar to a French warm potato salad and is an excellent way to serve young potatoes. Also make a mayonnaise potato salad and add diced ham.
If you are feeling more adventurous try egg, ham & cheese souffle toasts. This is a recipe from the Chateau de Commarin in Burgundy, France. Lightly toast slices of slightly stale white bread and cut into elegant rounds using a biscuit cutter or small glass. One per person. Do the same with slices of ham. Separate an egg (one per person), and mix the yolks with a little grated Gruyere, then season. Whisk the whites until stiff. To assemble, top each slice of bread with a slice of ham & a dollop of eggy mix then top with a dome of whisked egg white. Put into a pan of hot sunflower oil & with a tablespoon, drizzle the oil gently over the whites until golden.
Continuing with the French theme I had to try the Jambon Persille I enjoyed in Dijon. This was really fun. I read through a recipe from a French cookbook I have - the one with the Boeuf Bourgigon mentioned in the same blog entry - and Julia Child's version & came up with something I was very happy with. First we clarified some stock with egg white. The idea was to render the stock very clear but I wouldn't bother again. Whatever method you choose just try to get your stock as clear as you can. To one cup stock add about 1/4 cup of very finely chopped or minced green tops from spring onions for flavour & colour & dissolve 4 leaves of gelatin or a scant tbsp of the powdered version. Leave to cool but not set.
In a bowl mix 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1 clove of garlic mashed, 1/2 tbsp dried tarragon & 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar with salt & pepper to taste and 1/2 cup of the aspic. Chop the ham into 2cm chunks. In a chilled bowl spread a thin layer of the parsley mix then pack with layers of ham & parsley aspic. When the bowl is filled, cover with a weighted plate & chill until set. You are weighting it to press it together & make it easier to slice. When you take it out roughly scumble the top with a fork & pour over the remaining cup of parsley aspic (cool but not set). The scumbling (Julia's word) is to disguise the plate marks. I thought mine looked just like the pictures & it was delicious. Apparently traditionally served at Easter in Burgundy but will become a regular part of my Christmas repertoire.
Finish up the ham in a quiche or pie then all that's left to do is make the pea & ham soup. Throw the ham hock in a saucepan with 500g green split peas, a diced onion, a bay leaf & just cover with water. Simmer several hours, blend, season to taste & freeze for a rainy day.
Christmas eating is over for another year.