Chicken dinner

We don't eat chicken as often as we used to.  Not even to make stock because we can buy frames at Moore Wilson.  Recently we needed to replenish the stock and I recalled a wonderful chicken recipe with orzo and leeks, which I discovered last year.  This is such a simple way to serve a roast chicken meal with minimum effort and put at least one more meal on the table during the week, as well as replenish your stock stores. 
Sit a chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up.  Pour over the juice of a lemon, rubbing some into the skin, then stuff the lemon skins into the cavity along with some sprigs of thyme and rosemary, and tarragon if you have it.  Ours has died back for the winter. 
Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and dot with a little butter.  Chop some more of the herbs and sprinkle over, then season with sea salt and black pepper.  Add about 2cm of water to the pan and lots of unpeeled garlic cloves.  A dozen would be good.  Roast at 200 for 70 minutes or until done. 
Transfer the chicken and garlic to a plate, cover with foil and keep warm while you prepare the accompaniments. Add about 1/4 cup white wine to the pan juices, bring to the boil on the stove top and reduce to a pouring cream consistency. 
Meanwhile, and I would start this just before taking out the chicken, boil a saucepan of water for the orzo and sauté in a little olive oil a finely sliced leek in a heavy bottomed frying pan.  Cook the leeks until they are soft and sweet then add 2-3 bunches of finely sliced spinach.  Cook the orzo (or risoni or any rice shaped pasta) according to the instructions on the packet and mix with the leek mixture.  Pile the orzo mixture onto a serving plate and top with the chicken and garlic then drizzle over the reduced winey pan juices.  This will become your go to chicken recipe. 
Next day make stock.  The left over orzo makes a good weekend lunch  - just heat and add any other left over greens you have in the fridge.  You could add some cooked puy lentils if there is not so much orzo and more of you.
During the week you could use up the left over chicken in a pasta dish.  Make a tomato sauce by gently frying chopped garlic in a little olive oil then add a crumbled dried chilli, 2 tsp dried oregano and 3 tins of tomatoes.  Simmer for an hour then add a tbsp. red wine vinegar and stir well to make sure all the tomatoes are broken down.  You can use what you need now and freeze the rest in batches for later.  Once you've set aside some to freeze add the shredded left over chicken and maybe some blanched broccoli or whatever green vegetable you have to hand.  Serve with penne or fusilli pasta topped with grated parmesan. Or your home made tagliatelle.  But that is another story.

Catching Up

It's been a while.  We've not been going hungry.  We have been eating delicious dinners everyday and baking bread every week.  I have had other things going on and I haven't made the time to sit down and record them.  The photos however have been taken and I thought I would take this opportunity to update you on how we have been eating over winter. 
I've just picked three highlights.  I'd never made Coronation Chicken before.  Have you?  I thought I would have a go this Queen's birthday with all the Jubilee events going on and I was very pleasantly surprised.  It wasn't even that complicated.  I used Rosemary Hume's original recipe and I pretty much stuck to the recipe even when it sounded a bit odd e.g. apricot jam & mayonnaise.  I did just poach chicken breasts rather than a whole bird because it was only for three.  The rice salad with peas was delicious.  Try it in the summer or at the next Jubilee.
On the retro theme I also recently made a prawn cocktail with a classic Rose Marie sauce and Steak Dianne.  It's worth revisiting those old favourites - they were popular for a reason.  Perhaps I'll have a dinner party with a retro theme.
Phoebe gave Peter a very exciting pizza cutter for his birthday and, yes, I know that was a while ago, however pizzas have now been eaten & sliced & I can report that it is very effective.  I should have some of the other gadgets in the series.  The pizzas were also good.  I made one classic margherita & looked to Hugh for inspiration.  I always use Hugh's magic bread dough for pizza these days. Any dough left over shape into a loaf, make a couple of cuts in the top and pop in the oven at 250 for about half an hour or till it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.  I have made the beetroot pizza and recommend it along with the kale and onion, however on this occasion I did potato, rosemary & blue cheese.  The classic margherita & this one are the two pizza greats.   They also do a fabulous version of this at Scopa in Wellington - it's the Rosa Maria.  While I'm on the topic of the Bresolin brothers, we had the Wellington on a Plate menu last week at Duke Carvell's between movies and it was a stunner.  And tomorrow is the Moore Wilson Food Heroes which is one of the highlights of my culinary year. 
My house guests gave me Ottolenghi's Plenty and I made Chickpea, tomato & bread soup.  Make this soup.  Ottolenghi describes this as a warming & filling meal in a bowl after which you need nothing but a "little pillow to rest your head on".  It's true.  Try it.
And there are many more gems to be found in the book.  It has become one of my "go to" books when I have a vegetable & need an idea.
And I have to tell you about the dinner I have just eaten.  Peter made us braised fish with leeks, thyme and potatoes. 
For two, cook a couple of waxy potatoes, sliced 1/2 cm thick, for about 4 minutes & set aside to cool a little.  Halve a leek & slice about 1cm thick. Mix the cooked potatoes & leeks with 2 tbsp melted butter, some thyme leaves & a clove of crushed garlic.  Tip into a wide saute pan - Peter used the cazuela - pour over 1/4 cup white wine & 1/2 cup chicken stock & bring to the boil.  Cover with baking paper, seal with foil or a tight fitting lid & put the dish in the oven at 180 for about 45 mins.  Cut about 350 g white fish into large pieces & place on top of the veg.  Pour over a little cream, season & scatter with grated Parmesan.  Cook uncovered until the fish is cooked - about 15 mins.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Pasta, grains & greens

When I first introduced soup Monday I made a wonderful barley soup inspired by Alison Holst & I returned there this week.  This had two pleasing consequences.  I discovered I had more pearl barley in the cupboard than I needed & remembered a barley salad I had been meaning to make.  You could serve this with anything really but we had lamb meatballs which worked well.  Just make your favourite meatball recipe.  We included onion, garlic & cinnamon.  For the salad cook 1/2 cup of pearl barley for about half an hour until tender.  It may take a little longer.  Drain, toss through 2 tbsp olive oil & set aside to cool slightly.  In the meantime mix a cup chopped parsley, 1/4 finely diced preserved lemon, a few black olives, juice of 1/2 a lemon, crumbled feta & some finely sliced mint leaves.  Mix in the cooled barley & top with meatballs.  Good as lunch leftovers later in the week.  Look forward to lots of barley on these pages in the coming weeks.Are you wondering what the second consequence was - did you think I had forgotten?  The soup requires a can of creamed sweetcorn & I only needed 1/2  a tin for two.  We added the remaining corn to the Friday night omelette.  Try this - it was delicious.  I have a real soft spot for creamed corn.
I often think of the green vegetable first & then come up with a way to fit a meal around it.  For a simple weekday meal you can't go past Hugh F-W's macaroni peas.  Cook pasta - we used macaroni but penne or whatever shapes you have to hand would do as well.  Cook some frozen peas.  While the peas are cooking gently soften a clove of garlic in a little butter.  Blend half the peas with the butter, garlic, 25g Parmesan & enough of the pea cooking water to make a puree.  Think pesto.  Combine with the rest of the peas & pasta, add more Parmesan & mix through basil or parsley.
Roasted roots crumble seemed like a good accompaniment to leeks & greens this week.  Roast a selection of pale root vegetables - potato, parsnip, swede, celeriac - cut into smallish chunks & some sliced onion, with a mustardy dressing.  Mix equal quantities of wholegrain mustard, honey & olive oil with a good quantity of chopped rosemary and toss the veg around in it.  Cover the veg & roast at 180 for 45 minutes then uncover & cook a further 20 minutes at 200.  You want the vegetables well cooked & golden but not browned.  Pour a few tbsp cream over the vegetables - this is just to meld them together a little so you could omit if you don't have cream in the cupboard.  Top with a crumble made of a handful of rolled oats, 2-3 slices of crumbed bread, toasted hazlenut roughly chopped , grated cheese & a little melted butter.  Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes to crisp up the crumble.
We made way more than we could eat & there was a little cranbapple sauce in the fridge so the next day we had lamb rack with the left over crumble mixed with the left over leeks & greens.
If we are planning to eat mixed greens it seems impossible to buy only what we need for a single meal so another pasta & greens meal was called for.  Again this can be whatever pasta & greens you have to hand.  In our case penne & cabbage with beetroot leaves.   Soften an onion in a little oil then add finely chopped garlic & chilli & cook a little longer.  Cook the pasta in the usual way & a few minutes before the end of cooking add the shredded greens.  Drain the pasta & greens & toss with the onion mix & some grated Parmesan & a drizzle of olive oil.
There was still some spinach & beetroot leaves to use so out came that meal of the moment  - spicy potatoes with greens.  Top it with a poached egg and you have a splendid meal.
This week a work colleague gave me 5 kilos of windfall apples.  Look out for apple recipes next week.  If you have any ideas post them here.
You may remember that when I go to the market every Sunday & have a cup of chowder from Yellow Brick Road for Breakfast.  I occasionally try something different but always return to chowder.  Nothing else quite measures up - until now.  I may have found a new favourite - Vicky Ha and The Dumpling House.  Try those dumplings.  She now sells them frozen by the dozen and I am planning to buy a dozen tofu & spinach dumplings to treat a vegan.  I think my favourite is the pork & cabbage but the Nepalese lamb & veg is a close second.

Easter Eats

This year's Easter menu is almost the same as last year & the year before.   Good Friday means hot cross buns, hot from the oven around 11.30.  Dinner is smoked fish pie.  I like the predictability of traditional festive eating.  It reminds me that we do have food traditions although they are mostly ignored these days & some people are unsure where they came from.  Most relate to the old agricultural year so although they are seasonal are not always relevant to modern city dwelling.  I do like to bring them out on high days & holidays.  I'd like to do more of them.
Saturday was an unbelievably hot Wellington day.  Possibly the warmest of the summer & there was no wind in our garden so we dined outdoors, mezze style, for lunch.  We had sourdough with carrot hummus, flatbread with leafy greens & goats' cheese, a tomato salad & spicy potatoes with spinach.  This has become one of my favourites.  It is really quick & would do as part of a spread, a meal on its own or as I did with the leftovers, topped with a poached egg.
Boil some small waxy potatoes & set aside to cool enough that you can handle them.  Heat a little oil in a pan & soften a thinly sliced onion.  Add a clove of crushed garlic, 1 finely chopped chilli, a knob of grated ginger, 2 tsp garam masala & cook for a couple of minutes.  Thickly slice the cooled potatoes into the pan & heat through.  Thinly slice a handful of spinach & add it to the pan.  Stir through until wilted then season with salt & pepper.  If you are not feeding a vegan think about adding a little cream to bind or you could use coconut cream.  I like it both with & without cream.
Easter lamb is one of my favourite meals of the year.  This year we did a very simple slow cooked shoulder of lamb served with roasted vegetables and leeks & greens.  We included beetroot leaves with the greens.  Keeping with the rosemary theme of the lamb, I roasted carrot, parsnip & swede coated in mustard, rosemary & honey.  Cut an appropriate number of vegetables for your table into bite size chunks & toss in a mixture of wholegrain mustard, honey & olive oil.  Use 2 tbsp each per 1 kg veg.  Season & add rosemary sprigs, then tip everything into a roasting dish & cover with foil.  Bake for 30 mins at 180 then uncover & turn up to 200 for another 30-40 mins.  You want them tender & beginning to caremelise.
To complete the meal I made a sauce with the 15 crab apples off our trees.  This was a variation of something I found on the internet called Sassy Crabapple and Cranberry Chutney.  I found there are heaps of recipes called Sassy crabapple and/or cranberry  - who can say why?  I named mine simply Cranbapple.  Use a ratio of 2:1 crab apples to cranberries.  We didn't have enough crab apples so I included a couple of windfall apples as well.  Peel and core the apples and add the cranberries.  For 750g fruit, add grated ginger, a clove of crushed garlic, a cinnamon stick, zest & juice of a lemon, a sprig rosemary, 1/4 cup muscovado sugar, 1 tbsp apple syrup (you could use maple if you have it - use real syrup not maple style syrup).  Put it all on the stove and cook until the fruit is soft - 20 mins or so.  Remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary before serving.

There were leftovers of the roasted roots.  Later in the week I heated them in the microwave, pureed in the processor then mixed with a freshly mashed potato.  We cooked up a fresh batch of leeks & greens.  A savoy cabbage is a pretty big thing and will stretch to quite a few servings.  We served with sausages & cranbapple sauce.  There is still a little sauce left - maybe a lamb rack over the weekend? 

Sticking with the fruity theme we had apple & blackberry pie & vanilla ice cream for pudding.  I had hoped to get fresh blackberries but we had to settle for frozen.  If you have a favourite pastry recipe use that or buy good short pastry.  We used this recipe and recommend making pastry with lard.  My mother-in-law does this & she is the queen of pastry.  Phoebe hopes to follow in her footsteps.  Mix slices of apple & blackberries (about 1 kg fruit) with 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp each nutmeg & cinnamon then turn into a pie dish.  Cover with pastry & bake for 40 mins at 200 until golden.

Goodbye summer, hello autumn

Only a couple more tagines to go.  This week it was butter beans with cherry tomatoes & olives.  I use the jars of Spanish butter beans.  Heat some olive oil and butter in a tagine.  Stir in 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 2 sliced red onions, 1 sliced green chilli.  Add 2 tsp crushed coriander seeds, a knob of grated ginger & a pinch of saffron.  Cover & cook 5 mins.  Add 20 or so cherry tomatoes with 2 tsp each sugar & dried thyme.  Cover & cook until the tomato skins begin to wrinkle, not long.  Toss in the drained butter beans & a handful of black olives.  Squeeze on some lemon juice, cover & cook until the beans & olives are heated through. Sprinkle with parsley & serve with some crusty sourdough & a dollop of thick yoghurt.
Sunday night was a lovely piece of gurnard & an unexpected treat from the market - samphire. Luckily the fishmonger was able to tell us how to cook it.  I cooked the fish with the potatoes a la Hugh.  First roast the potatoes in a roasting dish big enough to hold the fish & when they're nearly done add the fish.  I often do this & serve with a garlicky minty pea puree.  The samphire is easy.  You do need to pick through & remove the woody bits.  The bottoms are quite twiggy & not nice to eat.  Think asparagus of the sea & you will get the idea.  You just boil for 3-4 minutes & toss in butter with black pepper & lemon juice.  Think seafood+lemon.  Don't salt without tasting.  It grows in the salt water.  Keep an eye out for it next year - this was the end of the season.  I think this lot came from the Hawkes Bay somewhere. 
Try this soup with the last of the courgettes & corn.  Heat some olive oil with a knob of butter in a large saucepan & add 2 thinly sliced onions & 400g floury potatoes peeled & diced.  Cover & steam for 10 minutes or so.  Keep an eye on them to ensure the potatoes don't catch.  Add 500g roughly chopped courgettes & the kernels off 2 sweet corn cobs with 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 cloves crushed garlic & cook for a couple of minutes.  Add 5 cups chicken stock, season & bring to the boil.  Simmer 10 minutes ensuring the potatoes & corn are cooked.    Transfer 1/3 of the soup & 1/2 cup basil to a food processor & blend until smooth.  Tip the puree back in the pan & reheat if necessary.  To serve top with a dollop of yoghurt, some extra basil & a drizzle of olive oil.  This is delicious reheated for lunch on a day you happen to be working from home.
It's the new leek season so we had spaghetti with leeks & bacon with chilli crumbs.  Remove the crusts from 3-4 slices of sourdough bread & tear into large crumbs.  Lay on a baking tray & spray lightly with olive oil.  Add 1/2 tsp chilli flakes & 1/2 tsp sea salt.  Mix them well & bake at 180 10-15 minutes.  Keep a close eye & toss occasionally.
Meanwhile heat some olive oil in a pan & add finely sliced onion & leek with a tbsp finely chopped rosemary.  Cook slowly until the alliums are soft.  Stir in 200g crumbly goat's cheese.  Grill a couple of rashers of bacon & chop into the onion mix.  Cook the spaghetti  and put everything together with some grated Parmesan.  Hold back  a few of the crumbs & sprinkle on the top.
As you know, I am very fond of lentils & I got the idea of making a spicy lentil stew from Nigel Slater.  I thought that this would be nice with mashed potatoes, then I found a parsnip in the fridge & thought parsnip & potato mash but that seemed a little insipid & carrot seemed like a colourful addition.  The trick is to cook the potato separately.  So cook the potato in one pot & the parsnips & carrots in another then puree them with a little butter in the food processor & mash the potato with a little warm milk.   Whip them together with a fork, season & add a little grated nutmeg.  There was some spinach in the fridge with the parsnip but not quite enough for two so I added the beetroot leaves.  Remember to always use your beetroot leaves.  I just like them in salad but I now know that they are also good cooked.  Just roughly chop the spinach & beet leaves & put in a dry pan.  The water left from washing the leaves is sufficient.  Cook them down, season - nutmeg is also good here - & stir through a little olive oil or cream if you find some in the fridge.  This meal was my favourite of the week although I did use every pot and pan in the house.  One for the lentils & another for the caramelised onion topping, two for the mash & another for the greens.  I did struggle to fit everything on the hob.  Phoebe would have had something to say about this.  There was more than enough but my plan is to add the left over lentils to the intended left over lamb & quince tagine for a Moroccan shepherd's pie.  The sweet orange mash should be perfect & I think I have some frozen mashed potato to add to it.  Return next week for the thrilling conclusion.

Yak, cheek and squeak

You thought I had given up on Tagine Saturday but not so. And I am not shying away from the odd looking recipes which is a good thing because last Saturday's effort did look a bit odd on the page & turned out to be a winner on the plate. I will admit to passing over the tagine with chestnuts & I won't be going back but all the rest will eventually make their way to these pages.
A Tfaia tagine is apparently from Andalusia and is especially popular today in Tangiers. They are traditionally made with a clarified butter called smen which gives of a pungent aroma. (For those of you familiar with Mog in the Fog, it brought to mind yak butter.) You could use ghee. I used regular butter with olive oil.
Melt the butter & mix in 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tsp each ground ginger & coriander and a pinch of saffron threads with a little salt. Put the mixture into your tagine and roll lamb cutlets in the mixture, 2-3 per person depending on size & greed. Sprinkle over 1-2 finely chopped onions. Pour over just enough boiling water to cover the cutlets, cover & put in the oven at 160 for 1 1/2 hours. Take the tagine out of the oven & add kalamata olives to taste & a preserved lemon, quartered. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes. I did this stage uncovered to reduce the liquid. Meanwhile boil an egg per person for about 4 minutes, so that the yolk is just firm, & carefully peel. Dissolve a little saffron in 2 tbsp warm water & roll the eggs in the liquid to colour. Lightly toast whole almonds in a little butter or oil. To serve season the tagine, sprinkle with parsley, add the halved eggs & sprinkle over the almonds.
A few weeks ago we spent the weekend in the Taranaki & went to a fabulous French restaurant in New Plymouth. I had the Beef Provencale which was delicious. I enquired about the cut of beef & the waiter replied "sheiks" while patting his face. I have been meaning to try these at home so Sunday was the day. Using one cheek per person, brown the cheeks in the casserole dish & remove. For 2 people, add 1-2 thinly sliced onions and the same of thinly sliced garlic cloves to the pan & cook until they begin to caramelise. Return the cheeks to the casserole with bay leaves & thyme, 175ml red wine & 75ml beef stock. Season, bring to the boil then transfer to a low oven (150) for 1 1/2 hours. Serve with your favourite mash. Amazing. The cheeks have a distinctive aroma ( not unpleasant but noticeable) but this will disappear during the cooking process. On the plate they just smell like delicious dinner. Many recipes suggest marinating them in the wine for up to 24 hours and this may eliminate the aroma at the outset. I will try that next time.
During the week we had a delicious Greek style chicken with pilaf. Take a chicken breast (skin on) per person - the recipe suggested supremes but that was too much chicken for us. For 2 people combine 40g butter ( a little less) with 1/4 tsp each allspice & cinnamon, 1 clove crushed garlic, zest of 1/2 lemon & a little finely chopped rosemary. Rub this mixture all over the chicken breasts & roast at 200 for 1/2 hour, basting a couple of times. Remove & rest before serving. Make a rice pilaf. Saute 1/2 onion,thinly sliced, 1 clove crushed garlic & 1/4 tsp allspice until soft. Add 1/2 cup rice & stir to coat. Add 1 cup chicken stock & simmer until done. Toast some pine nuts & pistachios & stir some through the rice. Save the rest to sprinkle over the top. Blend 50g creamy feta with 1 1/2 tbsp Greek yoghurt, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, zest of 1/2 lemon plus 1 tbsp juice. Dollop this over the chicken to serve.
Mid week we roasted a selection of root vegetables we found in the fridge - celeriac, parsnip, potatoes, yams, baby beetroot, kumara. We served these with a mustard cream - 150g creme fraiche, 1 tbsp hot English mustard, 1 1/2 tsp each Dijon mustard, grated horseradish, mustard powder. Try leeks with greens. Soften 1-2 leeks in butter or oil. Steam cabbage, spring greens, curly kale, cavalo nero - whatever you have to hand - until just tender. I love cavalo nero & curly kale. Add to the pan of leeks & stir through for a minute or so. Do extras of everything and the next day make bubble & squeak with the left over veg & the mash from earlier in the week plus the greens. Top with a poached egg & the left over mustard cream. I always freeze left over mashed potato & if your roasted veg aren't quite the right consistency for bubble you could add some of these.

Tasty tagines and soothing soups

Tagine Saturday has delivered 2 great tagines to date. Both were traditional lamb tagines with fruit and nuts. The first was with dates, almonds and pistachios. Heat olive oil and a knob of butter in your tagine or casserole dish and saute 2 finely chopped onions until golden. Stir in 1 tsp each turmeric & ginger plus 2 tsp cinnamon. Add 1 kg diced lamb & toss to coat. (We always do the full amount and freeze the leftovers.) Add enough boiling water to just cover the meat, bring back to the boil, cover & put in a medium oven for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Add 250g stoned fresh dates & tbsp dark liquid honey. Return to the oven a further 1/2 hour. Season and sprinkle with 2 tbsp each lightly toasted blanched almonds & pistachios plus some flat leaf parsley.
The 2nd tagine includes prunes and apricots. Heat the oil & this time toast 2 tbsp blanched almonds at the beginning, then add 2 red onions finely chopped plus 2-3 cloves garlic, also finely chopped. Stir in 1 chunk of finely chopped ginger, a pinch of saffron, 2 cinnamon sticks & 1 tsp crushed coriander seeds. Add 1 kg diced lamb & toss to coat. Cover with boiling water & put in the oven 1 1/2-2 hours. (The timing could be less or more - just test that your lamb is tender.) At this stage add 1/2 dozen each stoned prunes & dried apricots that have been soaked about an hour & drained. You want the fruit plumped up before you add it. Add some strips of orange zest & return to the oven 15-20 mins. At the end add 1 tbsp dark liquid honey & season then return to the oven for another 10 mins. Sprinkle with flat leaf parsley. Serve your tagine with couscous and a crunchy sharp salad to balance the sweetness. The date one is my favourite so far. Let me know which you prefer.
Apart from indulging with tagines, it has been soup Monday to Sunday in our house as I have been ill and not able to eat much else. I have 2 new soup discoveries you should try.
The first is roasted pumpkin and thyme. Cut up your pumpkin of choice and scoop out the seeds. Rub with oil, season with salt & pepper & roast on a tray in the oven about 30 mins at 200. When cool enough to handle (or immediately if you have my grandma's asbestos fingers) slice away the skin & cut into smallish chunks. Soften a chopped onion in a pan with a little butter or olive oil and a handful of thyme leaves. Add the pumpkin pieces and 1 1/4 litres vegetable stock (or water) with a pinch of salt. Simmer 20 mins or so then cool slightly & blend with more thyme until smooth. Return to the pan with 150ml cream and warm through. Ladle into warm bowls & pile about 25g grated Gruyere or Comte per bowl. Sprinkle over a few more thyme leaves to garnish. This soup is like velvet to eat - and the pumpkin flavour is very intense but enhanced by the thyme.
Lastly the soup you MUST try this week. You will be amazed. Leek, pea & potato. Heat a little oil & butter in a pan and add 2 leeks finely sliced (use the white & tender green parts), 500g floury potatoes chopped into small pieces, 2 cloves garlic, crushed & tsp chopped thyme. When the leeks are well softened, add 5 cups chicken stock & 1 cup of milk. Bring to the boil & simmer abour 30 mins. The milk will curdle but don't worry - you will blend it smooth at the end. Add 3 cups frozen peas & cook a further 5 mins. Blend till smooth then return to heat to warm through & season. So simple, so green and so delicious.
I have been drinking juice for breakfast through the winter. Didn't prevent the flu but it is delicious and more filling than you would imagine. For one person, juice 1-2 oranges, 1 largish carrot, a small piece of ginger and 1/4 betroot.

Leeks and Peas

Leeks are good just now so for Soup Monday we had this variation on leek & potato soup. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil & a knob of butter in a large saucepan & add 2 leeks, finely sliced; 500g floury (I usually use Agria) potatoes cut up small; 2 cloves garlic, crushed & some chopped thyme. Heat gently until the leeks are very soft but not browned. Patience is required. Then add 5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and 1 cup milk. Season & bring to the boil, then simmer 30 minutes. Don't worry that it looks a bit curdly - you're going to blend the curdle out of it. Add 3 cups frozen peas & cook another 5 minutes. Blend until smooth. Drizzle with a little cream to serve. What a colour! You'll notice this makes quite a bit, so freeze the leftovers. It's always good to have soup in the freezer in the weather.

On Tuesday I had to bin the chicken I had planned & this is why you should always have pasta & pesto at the ready. Boil egg pasta ribbons according to the instructions on the packet. Gently warm a large pan & when the pasta is done use a slotted spoon or tongs to lift the pasta from it's saucepan into the clean one. Stir through a tbsp per person of creme fraiche, the same of pesto. Season and add a knob of butter. Grate over some Parmesan. Serve with a green salad that you've prepared beforehand because once you start cooking the pasta you are less than 6 minutes from the table. If you've got pasta in your cupboard you've always got a meal.

On Thursday we had pea & prawn risotto. This combination is beautiful. Just make a regular risotto base (see May 09). You could substitute fennel for the leek and use Pernod instead of wine. Remember to be patient when softening the leek. You don't want crunchy leek. When the risotto is done, stir through 1/2 cup frozen peas & 1/2 cup frozen cooked prawns with the juice of 1/2 a lemon. You could use raw prawns and just cook them through in the pan. Cook a little more until the peas & prawns are ready then season, drop in a knob of butter, cover & leave with the heat off for a few minutes to rest. Serve with Parmesan.

The next night, if you've got some left over, make risotto cakes. I recently learned a clever trick to make these. Butter some ramekins & put a circle of baking paper in the bottom. Lightly beat 2 or 3 eggs & mix with the risotto & some Parmesan. Tip the mixture into the ramekins & bake in a moderate oven about 15 minutes until the egg is set. This is much better than trying to fry them as I have done in the past. They turn out really well. You could make it in one large shallow dish & cut into wedges like a cake.