Winning ways with chard

We eat seasonally and often from the garden.  It's not large but there are only two of us and it can feed us well.  You know how you look forward to the first crop and sometimes enthusiasm wanes at the end.  We've been enjoying chard over winter picking a few leaves to make a delicious chard meal each week, sometimes twice a week. And then it turns on you.  Suddenly you have the Karori chard monster growing so fast and tall and threatening to go to seed.  Meanwhile you are trying to consume the kale and cavalo nero before that too bolts and you know you really have to eat the last of the broccoli this week. I knew things were serious when I mentioned to Peter that a friend who kindly took some chard off my hands this week said how much she had enjoyed her three chard meals.  Peter's response - "well that's three chard meals we don't have to eat".  If you have your own chard dilemma I have a few suggestions.
Chard works really well with grains such as barley, farro or freekeh.  For a great pilaf, saute a finely diced red onion in olive oil.  Add 2 tbsp coarsely chopped pistachios, grated zest of a lemon and a cup hot chicken stock - you may need different quantities of liquid depending on which grain you use so top it up with hot water if it is drying out. Mix and cover with a lid.  Simmer gently for around 20-30 minutes until the water has evaporated and the grains are cooked.  Season and stir through about 250g roughly chopped chard.  When the chard has wilted, add about 150g crumbled feta and stir through a little olive oil and the juice from the lemon.  You can serve on its own for a light weeknight supper or with lamb.  Use fillets, backstraps or rump.  Rub the lamb with a mix of ground cumin, cardamom and coriander and then briefly sear the lamb in a hot pan and finish in a hot oven.  Slice the lamb and serve on the pilaf topped with mint leaves and a sprinkling of sumac.
I made a great a great Iranian style stew with yellow split peas.  Saute an onion until soft then add 2 cloves crushed garlic with a cinnamon stick, a tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp fenugreek and a pinch of saffron strands.  Add 100g yellow split peas and 500g chicken or vegetable stock and cook until the peas are nearly done.  Add more hot stock or water if they are sticking.  Add 100g brown basmati rice and cook a further 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.  Add more liquid if necessary.  Stir through 250g roughly chopped chard and let wilt a little.  Finish with 2 sliced spring onions, 1tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses.  Scatter with chopped mint leaves and pomegranate seeds to serve.
Try a chard gratin served with a crisp green salad. Heat a crushed garlic clove gently in a frying pan then stir in a tsp each of chopped rosemary and thyme and 250g roughly chopped chard. Season and stir over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.  In a large bowl beat together two eggs, 1/4 cup milk and salt and pepper. Stir in chard mixture and about 50g Gruyère. Stir in a cup of sweetcorn and mix well. I usually use frozen corn out of season but you could just as easily use canned if you prefer.  Pour into a greased baking dish, sprinkle parmesan on top and drizzle over a little olive oil.  Bake at 180 for 35-40 mins until nicely browned.  Rest 10 minutes before serving.
We had chard with chickpeas and tamarind. Saute a sliced onion with 1 tsp each of ground coriander and 2 tsp caraway seeds.  Add a tsp tomato paste, a can of chopped tomatoes, 300mls chicken stock, a can of chickpeas, 4 tbsp tamarind paste and 400g roughly chopped chard with stalks. Season and bring to the boil then cover and simmer 30 minutes.  When done it will be a thick soupy consistency.  Finish with a little lemon juice and serve with rice and a dollop of yoghurt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Don't forget our old favourite, Floriditas' chard risotto, which has had a few outings.
Our final chard meal of this crop was the pilaf with lamb.  Now we move on to the broccoli, starting with a broccoli and blue cheese salad.


 

I See Red

You really can eat beetroot every day.  Beetroot burgers will please both omnivores and herbivores.  Saute 1 finely chopped onion for about 5 mins until soft then add 1 peeled coarsely grated beetroot, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp zahtar with a pinch of salt & cook 5 mins.  Stir frequently to prevent the mix catching.  Put the cooked mix into a food processor with 2 tins drained chickpeas, 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, zest of a lemon, 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs.  Season and pulse until  well combined but not completely smooth.  Divide into patties of a size you want and chill for 30 minutes.  Cook the patties in oil 3 mins each side.  You can serve them on buns but if you think the addition of two hefty pieces of bread is too much, do as we did and just serve with the toppings.  Consider lettuce, avocado, grated carrot or beetroot, sprouts, tomato, feta or even a fried egg.
Beetroot risotto is a favourite of mine.  In one pan slowly steam a finely grated beetroot and in the other make a risotto base.  The beetroot will take 40 mins or so to soften so start it first.  This is the same principle as the beetroot relish I developed a while ago and you could add onions but you will also have shallots or leeks in your risotto base.  When both components are ready combine in the risotto pan and add juice and zest of a lemon with a knob of butter.  Cover & rest 5 minutes.  Season and serve dotted with ricotta or feta.  I had some unused ricotta in the fridge and that worked wonderfully.  I think it is better than Parmesan with the beetroot.  Make risotto cakes with the leftovers & serve with a poached egg.
As an aside, I used the rest of the ricotta in beefburgers which was a Nigel Slater idea and made wonderful moist burgers.  We had bought the ricotta to stuff courgette flowers and not done it.  Really I think that it is a fiddly job and I'd rather let a cafe do the work.  Floriditas do them beautifully.  We served the burgers with our now flourishing courgettes and the last of  the cranberry sauce.  Nigel suggests a tomato relish but I think that almost any relish you have in the fridge will do.
You will really impress with this colourful beetroot salad.  In a large bowl mix 3 peeled grated carrots, 2-3 radishes mandolined (you could substitute 1/2 celeriac), 2-3 beetroot peeled and grated (use 2 colours of you have them), 1 grated apple spritzed with lemon juice to prevent discolouration.  Make a dressing with 1 tbsp horseradish sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, 1 tsp English mustard, 1 clove crushed garlic, salt & pepper.  Combine with salad and garnish with cumin & pumpkin seeds and parsley. We had it on it's own but it would go well with any lean meat or fish or just a side of roasted potatoes.
Lastly a beetroot soup.  Put a largish beetroot in a baking tray with 1 cm water and bake at 200 for about an hour.  Cool (under cold water is fine) and peel.  In a pan soften 2 finely chopped onions then add 2 apples quartered (with a squeeze of lemon)  and the beetroot roughly chopped.  Pour on 1 1/2 litres chicken or vegetable stock, add 2 star anise & simmer 15 mins.  remove the star anise and blend with a hand blender until smooth.  Serve with snipped chives and a dollop of yoghurt mixed with horseradish.

The $21 challenge

We took the $21 challenge and actually spent $14.60 for the week.   We bought mushrooms, oranges, mandarins, beetroot, lettuce and a capsicum at the market and later in the week we bought milk.  For the rest, we used what we had at hand in the freezer, the pantry and the garden and we ate a lot better than you might expect. 
If you are going to try this - and you should - start with a meal plan and focus on using the things you've had tucked away for a while and haven't got around to using.  You might find some interesting things!  For Sunday lunch we ate some corn muffins from the freezer while for dinner we had mushrooms and chard with pearl barley.  This was another great find from the New York Times in the 'recipes for health' section, so it has to be good.  We bought the mushrooms from our allowance and everything else we had in the cupboard or garden.     
We certainly had most things on hand for lunches, including a lamb backstrap in the freezer. We have some lamb's lettuce in the garden & a few remnants of rocket plus sorrel & herbs so we were able to rustle up a salad every day.  When the lamb ran out we had falafels from the freezer. 
Day two was the last of the pea & ham soup from the freezer.  This was the soup we made with the end of the Christmas ham. Accompanied of course, by a slice of trusty sourdough, lightly toasted. Mmmm.
Day three was spicy bean stew from the freezer.  We had planned to make this fresh because it mostly uses beans & vegetables we already had in the fridge or pantry, but then I discovered we had some in the freezer from a previous week so used that instead.  This is a meal that always has left overs when we we make it for two and it freezes well.  This used to be a family standby and it's quick to make, so I often did it when we had to go to an event at school in the evening.  Phoebe said that this was the meal we always had when she was going to perform in a musical recital and so she associated it with butterflies in her stomach.  I hope she likes it better now.  You can make it go further by adding a chopped chorizo.  We always keep some in the freezer. The stew calls for a dollop of pesto  but we didn't have any so I used some zhoug left over from another meal at the weekend.  Note I make my zhoug from parsley because of that coriander thing. 
Day four we used one of the pumpkins from my autumn display and made a pumpkin risotto.  I roasted the  peeled, diced pumpkin at 180 for 1/2 an hour.  Just toss it in a little olive oil, salt & pepper & grate on some nutmeg.  I made a basic risotto using a leek from the garden.  At the end I folded through the roasted pumpkin, some Serrano ham (that I had bought for another meal the week before and not used) & some Parmesan.  There were a few roasted almond slivers in a small container so I sprinkled them on top.
Day five, we had a khoresht from the freezer.  I added some frozen peas and served on rice.  There was a small container of chopped pistachios & rose petals in the pantry so I sprinkled them on the top.
On Friday we usually have an omelette and we had saved the eggs left from the previous week for this.  We were really low on cheese but had just enough for the omelette & used up the last of the Serrano ham.  We also still had enough fresh veg and some buche zickli (that was for the same meal as the ham...) for a salad.
Saturday lunch we had some toast with the last few slices of cheese - sliced very thinly, and some lemon chutney. 
But I felt day seven's dinner was the master stroke.  We had had a shoulder of lamb earlier in the year when we had guests & the left overs weren't going to get used at the time, so I just shredded the meat & froze it.  Perfect for a delicious pie, perhaps?  I sauteed a leek & carrot from the garden with half an onion from the fridge & some garlic.  I added some rosemary & bay leaves & the last of the lentils I'd cooked for the lunches.  There was a jar of artichoke hearts in the pantry (naturally) so I added a couple of those, a dash of quince splash, some grated lemon rind & juice, the end of a bottle of white wine from the fridge & the lamb.  I put the mix into individual ramekins and covered with the last lonely sheet of puff pastry languishing in the freezer & brushed with milk.  I would normally have used an egg but that seemed like an extravagance.  I baked the pies at 180 for 1/2 an hour and they were truly delicious.
A friend had given is some windfall Granny Smith's for juicing and we used a couple of those to make an apple crumble which we served with the last of the feijoa ice cream from the freezer.
So, we ate really well on our budget and even had $6 left at the end of the week.  I definitely plan to do this again - possibly once a month.  It was a great idea to get things used up and we did have to think a bit more carefully about what we were eating - no coffees at work, except what's provided, for example.  The toughest thing was fruit.  Peter went without bananas because they are expensive and we didn't buy feijoas & passionfruit.  Using up freezer stock was great.  We just used what had been there the longest.  The other thing I will do next time is look more carefully in the pantry and use the things that I don't usually think of. Harriet did well too and like us found it easier than she expected.  Next time I am hoping more people will join us.

Fish suppers

We've been having a fishy time recently.  Wonderful fish at the market and scallops & whitebait on the menu.  I thought I would share some of our favourites.  If you are not a partaker of fruits de la mer turn away now.
I love a creamy risotto with a simple fillet of pan fried fish.  We have had rainbow chard in the garden this winter.  I thought it would die back but it has not.  We just have to keep eating it.  Fortunately I came upon a recipe from Floriditas for rainbow chard risotto.  You could make this with any greens I think including beetroot tops and this is the perfect accompaniment to a pan fried fillet of terakihi or gurnard.
I also like to do an oven based vegetable dish with a piece of fish cooked on top at the end.  Try these braised potatoes with leeks and thyme, topped with a firm fillet of white fish.
For four, lightly boil 600g waxy potatoes and slice to about 1/2 cm thickness.  Halve 3 leeks lengthwise and slice about 1cm thick.  Mix the potatoes & leeks with a little olive oil, thyme and 2 cloves crushed garlic then tip into a wide shallow ovenproof pan (or cazuela) & place over a medium heat.  Pour over 1/2 cup white wine & a cup chicken stock & bring to the boil.  Cover with a lid or foil and transfer to the oven.  Cook at 180 for about 45 mins until the vegetables are tender.
Put the fillets on top of the vegetables pour over 1/3 cup cream then grate over Parmesan.  Cook uncovered about 15 minutes until the fish is just cooked & the vegetables are just coloured.  If it is still quite liquidy remove the fish & set aside to keep warm then reduce the liquid down on the stove top.  Serve with lemon wedges and a green salad if you fancy.
For a quick scallop treat try gingery scallops with spinach.  We often have this for Saturday lunch  or it could be a birthday starter if your birthday falls in the scallop season. Warm 2 tsp grated ginger, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp v finely chopped red capsicum in a little olive oil.  Heat a pan to very hot & cook the scallops in batches (6-10 per person depending on hunger/greed), 30 seconds each side.  Remove from the pan & rest in the marinade.  Add a bunch of chopped spinach to the pan with a little lemon juice & wilt down.  Place the spinach onto warm plates, top with scallops & drizzle over the marinade & pan juices.
For a very seasonal and rather luxurious soup night, what about pea & parsley soup topped with scallops & fried tarragon?  Soften a finely sliced onion and 2 stalks finely chopped celery in a little butter, with a bay leaf. Add 3 cups chicken stock & bring to boil then add 1 kg freshly picked or frozen peas & boil 3 mins.  remove from the heat & stir through 1 cup chopped parsley & 3/4 cup cream with a little ground white pepper to taste.  Blend until smooth.  Add 2 tsp red wine vinegar & salt to taste.  Keep warm while you pan fry 3 scallops per diner.  Cook them in a little butter with a little salt & some tarragon leaves.  Pour the soup into serving bowls and top each bowl with scallops and tarragon leaves.

Spring Vegetables

This week we had a rather unusual tagine - chicken with grapes and artichokes.  For four, marinade 4 chicken breasts, cut into strips, in a mix of 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp turmeric, juice of a lemon, 1 tbsp olive oil.  Leave 1-2 hours.  Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the tagine, and stir in 2 onions halved length ways & sliced with the grain.  This is what I did with the onions last week as well and I did it in the rice later in the week because I like the way it turns out.  Add 1/2 a thinly sliced preserved lemon with 1 tsp sugar.  Saute until slightly caramelised.  Toss in the marinated chicken slices, then add 1-2 tsp harissa paste, depending on how hot you want it, and 2 tsp tomato paste.  Pour over 300ml chicken stock & bring to the boil.  Cover & simmer 15 minutes.  Toss in a jar of artichoke hearts, cover & cook a further 5 minutes.  Add about a dozen green grapes halved length ways and flat leaf parsley, season & serve with couscous & a salad.  This was nice but not my favourite.  Worth a try.
We bought some beautiful snapper at the market on Sunday and served it with a fresh salsa verde type sauce.  For two, finely chop 1 clove garlic then add a small bunch parsley, a dozen or so basil leaves, 2 tsp capers & zest of a lemon.  Chop them all together as finely as you can, tip into a bowl, add the lemon juice & season well.  Add enough olive oil to make a thick puree.  Set aside.
Pan fry the fish using your usual method & when it is nearly done, add a knob of butter & the herb mix.  As the butter melts, stir it with the herbs & spoon them over the fish.  This should take about 1/2 a minute.  Pour the herby sauce over the fish on the plates.  I served it with baby carrots, asparagus & crushed baby potatoes.
This week I made a spring risotto with our own peas & broad beans.  They were a bit weeny - but still delicious, and a plate full of bright green with creamy rice is a beautiful thing to look upon.
For two, blanch 1/2 cup each of peas and broad beans with a bunch of thin asparagus sliced into about 3 pieces, in 1 1/2 cups chicken stock.  In a risotto pan soften 3 baby leeks & 3 spring onions finely sliced.  Add 1/2 cup of rice & prepare your risotto in the usual way.  At the end add the blanched vegetables with a tbsp each of finely chopped mint & flat leaf parsley.  At this stage I usually stir through a knob of butter, cover & let stand a couple of minutes then stir through Parmesan, season & serve.
On the same theme later in the week I did a saffron rice with peas.  In a large saucepan heat a tbsp sunflower oil & soften 1/2 an onion with 1/2 tsp garam masala.  I sliced the onion lengthways as noted above.  Try this - it's quite good.  Soak a few threads of saffron in a tbsp hot water & add to the onions along with 3-4 pitted prunes, sliced lengthways, 1/2 cup brown basmati rice and 1 cup chicken stock.  Bring to the boil, cover & cook until the water has evaporated & the rice is fluffy.  Add 1/2 cup blanched peas at the end.  If you are using frozen just pour boiling water through them in a sieve.  Stir in the parsley. 
While the rice is cooking combine 2-3 lamb fillets with 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cumin & 2 tsp sunflower oil.  Just before the rice is ready pan fry the lamb about 4- 5 minutes, then cover &  rest 5 minutes.  Slice & serve with the rice.

French pizza and Scottish tagine

This is the tagine I first made the day after I was given the book.  It never fails to please.  Make a marinade with one grated onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves, a knob of grated ginger, finely chopped parsley, a pinch of saffron threads, juice of a lemon, salt & pepper, 3 tbsp olive oil.  Add chicken thighs with bone in, or legs.  You could get Maryland pieces and cut them in two then you have both.  You want 1-2 pieces per person depending on the size of your diners.  Rub the marinade well into the skin & refrigerate 1-2 hours. 
Heat a tbsp olive oil with a knob of butter, in your tagine.  Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade & brown well on both sides.  Pour over the marinade & add just enough water to come halfway up the sides of the chicken pieces.  Bring to the boil, cover & bake in the oven at 180 for about 45 minutes.   Add 2 preserved lemons, cut into strips, 175g cracked green olives & 1 tsp dried oregano.  Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.  Sprinkle some fresh oregano over the top to serve.  I served it with steamed carrots tossed with toasted cumin & coriander seeds & mint.
Sunday being rugby I decided we should do the right thing & eat pizza in front of the telly.  I made RWC Final Pizza - one half black & white, the other red, white & blue for Le Tricolore.
I also made Olivo's delicious parsnip skordalia for rugby snacks.  Toss 500g parsnips, quartered lengthwise, with 1 tbsp Helen's cumin oil and 2 tsp cumin seeds and place in a roasting pan. Put in the oven and roast at 190 for about 25 minutes until cooked through and golden. Cool.  Place the parsnips in a food processor and pulse until mashed. Add 3 cloves garlic, salt to taste & an egg yolk then pulse again. Gradually drizzle in about 1/2 cup cumin oil while pulsing, then finally add the juice of 1/2 a lemon. If the mixture is too thick add a little warm water to the desired consistency.  As well as a dip Helen suggests serving it as an accompaniment with sausages.
Monday night I made one of the best soups ever.  Pea & parsley with scallops.  If you don't eat scallops (you must be crazy) you could leave them off but they are a magnificent addition.  For 6 people, soften 1 finely chopped onion with a finely chopped stick of celery and a bay leaf in a little butter for about 10 minutes.  Add 3 cups of chicken stock & season.  Bring to the boil & add 1 kg peas.  Sadly, frozen, as mine aren't ready & I don't think I could ever harvest that quantity for a single meal.  Bring back to the boil for about 3 minutes then stir through 1 cup finely chopped parsley, 3/4 cup cream & white pepper.  Blend with a stick blender, then add 2 tsp red wine vinegar & adjust the seasoning.  Keep warm & prepare the scallops.  Heat about 50g butter in a pan & sprinkle with a little mineral salt.  Fry 3-4 scallops per person with some fresh tarragon or mint leaves, for about 1-2 minutes per side.  Top the individual soup bowls with scallops & the fried leaves then drizzle with the scallop pan juices. 
A couple of weeks back, I had a sorrel risotto at Floriditas & as I have some in the garden, I thought I would try this at home.  I made a basic risotto using finely chopped onion & celery as the base then at the end I stirred though 1/2 dozen finely chopped sorrel leaves & the zest of half a lemon.  I finished off with the juice of the lemon half & a knob of butter.  It was wonderful.  You should grow sorrel.  It is delicious cooked & in salads & grows so easily.  I found the half dead seedling languishing in a dark corner at the garden centre & this week I am planning to separate the plant as it has flourished.
I had a small piece of pumpkin that needed to be eaten.  Enter Moroccan chicken with rice & pumpkin.  Tie 2 boneless chicken thighs per person, with kitchen string so that they keep their shape.  Heat the oil in an oven proof dish & brown the chicken on all sides.  Set aside.  For 6, add finely chopped onions & carrots with 3 cloves crushed garlic & cook until softened.  Add 1 tsp each ginger, turmeric, smoked paprika & cinnamon plus the zest of a lemon & cook a further 2 minutes.  Stir in diced pumpkin then 2 cups chicken stock.  Scrape up all the sticky bits at the bottom of the pan.  Add a cup of basmati rice - I used brown - & sit the thighs on top.  Cover & bake 45 mins at 180.  
A reader sent me a photo of her egg & kefte tagine & I want to share it with you.  Do you have any photos to share?  I think the tagines have been a hit and many of you are making them.  Good old  Ghillie.  You may be surprised to discover she is actually Scottish.  She has also been shortlisted "Pasta Journalist of the Year".   Who knew their was such an honour?  Does anyone know who won?

End of the Golden Weather

The summer crops are winding down and the new season's produce is filling the market stalls. All the brassicas looked irresistible but I settled for broccoli which we just steamed and served with an old favourite beef stew. It's a good idea to make lots and freeze as it is little effort and you'll have a 2nd hearty meal to produce on one of those nights when you don't have time to cook but want something substantial when you finally get in.

Cut 2kg of stewing steak (blade, chuck, skirt) into thick chunks. Finely chop together 4 rashers of bacon, 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 sticks celery, 4 cloves garlic with a handful of parsley & thyme. Gently cook in a tbsp lard in a heavy casserole (if you don't want to use lard try olive oil instead but lard gives good flavour here) and set aside. Heat a 2nd tbsp lard in a second pan and brown the meat in batches. When it is done sprinkle a handful of flour over the last batch and cook until the flour has browned. Add the meat to the casserole and to the meat pan add 1 cup red wine, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 cups water and salt & pepper. Scrape up the meat residue and add to the meat and vegetables. Cover & cook in a low oven about an hour. Take it out and add some vegetables selecting from mushrooms, pickling onions, carrots, potatoes, baby turnips. Just prepare them and chop them into a size you like. Return to the oven and cook for another hour. If you have 2 casseroles you could split them at this stage & put a different set of vegetables in each one.

Now that daylight saving has ended we are back on soup Mondays. We started the season with Egyptian lentil, served with some pita that was in the fridge and had seen better days. For 2 people, heat a small quantity of oil in a pan and soften a finely diced onion, a sliced garlic clove, a small piece of ginger grated and 1/2 a carrot, grated. Stir in a tsp each of cumin, turmeric and paprika and cook for a minute or two. Add a couple of handfuls of red lentils and stir through the spices then add 500ml chicken stock. Simmer until the lentils are cooked. Meanwhile brush a couple of pita breads with oil on both sides then cut into triangles and gently toast in a medium oven for about 8 minutes. You want them crisp but not so crisp that they shatter when you bite them.

On Tuesday I did something I've been thinking about for ages. I love mattar paneer and Zany Zeus have brought out a paneer so I thought I'd have a go. I delved into my trusty Indian Vegetarian Cookery bought in London 30 years ago and it did not disappoint. Cube the paneer (I just bought a pack of paneer that seemed the right amount for 2 people) and fry in ghee until golden. Set aside. In a mortar & pestle grind a small piece of grated ginger, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilli, 1 tsp cumin seeds, seeds from 2 cardamom pods, a small piece of cinnamon and mix with a little water to form a paste. In a pan fry a finely chopped onion with 1 tsp each mustard seeds & poppy seeds. Add the paste & fry a couple of minutes. Add 2-3 chopped tomatoes and a cup of peas. Gently fry a couple of minutes, add a cup of water & cook until peas are done. Add the paneer and sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve with rice, home made tamarillo chutney and Indian bread.

If it is a cold night, try sausages in a mustardy sauce. I like to keep a pack of the Island Bay Butcher's pork & fennel sausages in the freezer for a rainy day & Wednesday turned out to be that day. Soften (almost caramelise) 1-2 onions in olive oil. Be patient, you want them to cook right down. While the onions are doing, cook some pasta such as penne or giant conchiglie and set aside. Skin the sausages and break into chunks - you can use any sausages you like. Add to the onion and cook through. Stir through a good dollop each of creamy Dijon and grainy mustard and a handful of chopped Italian parsley. Stir in about 1/2 cup cream and the cooked pasta.

We did a delicious creamy risotto topped with lemony chicken. In a baking dish, combine chopped rosemary and parsley with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil and juice of a lemon. Add a couple of chicken thighs - skin on (and skin side up) if you can get them. Put in the oven at 180 and roast 30-40 minutes, basting once. Cover & set aside to rest.

While the chicken is cooking make a basic risotto adding lemon zest and 2 tbsp chopped sage with the rice. Serve with the chicken sliced on top andif you want to be fancy cook a few sage leaves in hot olive oil until crisp. I did the sage leaves in the leftover oil and fat the chicken cooked in - okay if you used a pan that can be used on the stove top.

In the weekend I made a batch of quince jelly. Yell out if you would like a jar. I used to be scared of jelly because people suggest it is complicated but it really is not. Wash & quarter 5-6 quinces. Put them in a large pan (skin, cores and all) covered with water and simmer covered until quinces are soft. Mash the quinces & water until you have a liquidy mush. Spoon the mush into a jelly bag suspended over a large bowl. You have a lot of liquid so I spooned in the solids using a slotted spoon & then poured the liquid over in batches, transferring the resulting pink liquid to the preserving pan so the bowl didn't overflow. Leave the last batch to drip for hours making sure you have eked out every last drop of liquid from the quinces. Measure the liquid as you go because you want to add 7 cups of sugar to 8 cups of juice. That's 7/8 cup of sugar per cup of juice. Don't be precise but you don't want as much as a whole cup. Bring the juice to the boil then add the sugar. Boil until it is ready, skimming off any foam that appears. You want the liquid to reach about 220F and you can use a cooking thermometer to measure this. Don't rely on it though. When your jelly has been at a rolling boil for 10 minutes or so test it by putting about 1/2 tsp on a dish you have had in the freezer. If after a few seconds, when you push it with your finger it wrinkles a little it is done. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. You'll just have jars of delicious quince sauce to pour over ice cream.

I also pulled the basil plants and
made a batch of pesto. The plan for this weekend is to get all those tomatoes that didn't ripen into a batch of green tomato chutney. 

Pork & Fennel Sausages

If you are fortunate enough to live near the Island Bay Butchery you will know you have access to some of the most delicious sausages. If you haven't tried the pork & fennel I urge you to do so. If you live further afield search out a quality version near you. These ones are long & thin & that is definitely part of their charm.

Try them grilled with a salad of spring greens & roasted mustard haloumi. Separately blanch about 200g fresh peas, 300g broad beans, 150g sugar snap peas, 6-8 asparagus spears cut into three. Pop the broad beans out of their outer coats if you need to & toss all the vegetables in a dressing of juice of 1 lemon and 3 tbsp olive oil. Zest the lemon first because you want this later. Set aside.
Combine 1 tsp Dijon & 1/2 tsp grainy mustard (I always use Maille French mustard), with 2 tsp olive oil and the lemon zest. Break 200g or so haloumi into small pieces & put in a small roasting pan. Pour over the mustard mix & a good grind of black pepper. Toss well & roast 8-10 minutes at 200 until haloumi is golden. Turn once or twice. Toss with the greens and some basil or chervil leaves. Serve with a few radicchio leaves & those grilled sausages.

You might have bought too many vegetables at the market. I often do this and we have to eat them all at once. Most summer vegetables are delicious grilled either on the barbecue or on a grill plate on the stove top. Thinly slice aubergine & courgettes, keep asparagus whole. Brush them with olive oil & grill on a medium heat until golden. Aubergines take a bit longer so put them on first. Serve them on a platter drizzled with olive oil & topped with paper thin slices of Parmesan. I use the vegetable peeler. Pod & blanch peas and/or broad beans and toss with some crumbled feta. Serve with grilled pork & fennel sausages.

Some of you who are not white wine drinkers have asked me about risotto with red wine. Try this. Make a basic risotto using red onion instead of leeks & add 1 tsp fennel seeds. Before adding the rice add the chopped meat from 3-4 skinned pork & fennel sausages with a squirt of tomato paste. Stir around until the sausages are browned. Add red wine instead of white at the wine stage and cook as usual. Top with shaved Parmesan and some rocket leaves.

If you have any more ideas for using these delicious sausages let me know.

Along with birthdays we have recently had exams and we repeated the exam cupcakes. This is the third and final year of this event. Each year for Phoebe's end of year exams I have made cup cakes for her morning tea. This started because she does baking for her school lunches every Sunday & when she's studying she doesn't have time so I stepped in. I decided to make cup cakes & ice them with the theme of each exam. This year we decorated nine cupcakes. I hope you can tell which exam this one is for!

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.