Time for something completely different. We love making ice cream...it's one of the easiest desserts to make and always impresses those who haven't made ice cream themselves. Homemade is also a million times tastier than anything you'll buy in most stores. This is a much loved Nigel recipe, made with a custard base, but our favourie ice-cream book is one Kate (my sister) sent us: Frozen Desserts -- The Definitive Guide To Making Ice Creams, Ices, Sorbets, Gelati, and other Frozen Delights (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1996). If you've not made ice-cream before, this is definitely the most complicated (though still fairly simple) style. If you have a have Donvier ice-cream maker, a divine mix can be as simple as milk, fruit and sugar. A family favourite is simply milk with Nutella...flipping aces. More ice-cream recipes to follow, but this is a simple Nigel Slater one to get you started.
Name: An Old-Fashioned Milky Vanilla Ice
Book: Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked: No date available but around October/November, 2000.
Comments:
"What Nigel Slater says is true, making ice-cream takes a bit of effort, but God-In-Heaven. The most lip-smacking treat you've ever tasted. Out of this world."
"Adapted recipe to make chocolate ice-cream, using chocolate and pure vanilla extract. Also added a Cadbury's Fruit and Nut, chopped into chunks. Served to Dan and Joanne on the night they became our new neighbours. 10/10.'
Recipe:
Makes enough for 3-4
8 free range egg yolks
150g golden caster sugar
600ml full cream milk
a vanilla pod, split open lengthways
Beat the egg yolk and sugar together until they are thick and creamy. This is best done with an electric wisk. But the milk into a medium sized sauce pan with the vanilla pod and bring slowly to a boil. Just as it comes up to boiling point, remove from heat and leave the vanilla pod to infuse in the milk for 15 minutes.
Fish out the vanilla pod and pour the milk onto the egg yolk mixture. Put the mixture back into the saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly as it comes to the boil again. It must not boil, otherwise you will have scrambled eggs.
When the custard has thickened a little (it will not be really thick like the packet stuff), then set it aside to cool. When it is thoroughly cooled, either pour into your icecream churn and freeze according to the manufactuerer's instructions or pour into a bowl and place in the freezer. Remove from the freezer to stir from time to time, mixing the ice crystals around the edge into the centre. Leave until frozen, removing it from the freezer about 20 minutes before you intend to eat it.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tom Yam Gai
Over the years we have had a fairly consistent obsession with South East Asian food and this was made all the keener by living in Malaysia, back in 2002. Malaysia is a nation of foodies...nothing is more important than food and talking about what you ate for supper the night before. What makes Malaysian cuisine so unique is that it combines three major traditions -- Chinese, Indian and Malay. Strictly speaking the recipe below is Thai, but was one of many amazing recipes we cooked in our small kitchen in Kuala Lumpur.
Name: Tom Yam Gai
Book: Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked: No date available but around October/November, 2002.
Comments:
"Didn't have any lime leaves so added extra lime juice. Fairly firey hot -- might be worth toning down...two chilies instead of three. Perhaps a little more sugar. Nonetheless, very good. 'Lissa raved and said would be good for a cold/nose clearer."
Recipe:
Serves 2
1 chicken breast, skinned
1 liter home-made or ready-made fresh chicken stock
4 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped into 2.5 cm lengths and slightly crushed
3 small red chilies, seeded and thinly sliced
4 lime leaves
1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
Bring the chicken breast to the boil in the stock, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook until the chicken is tender, about ten minutes, then remove and cut into thin threads. Set aside, saving the all-important broth.
Add the spring onions, garlic, lemongrass, collies and lime leaves to the broth and simmer gently for ten minutes. Stir in the lime juice and taste for seasoning, adding a little salt if necessary, then finally stir in the coriander and serve piping hot. Tepid Tom Yam gai is a friend to no one.
Name: Tom Yam Gai
Book: Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked: No date available but around October/November, 2002.
Comments:
"Didn't have any lime leaves so added extra lime juice. Fairly firey hot -- might be worth toning down...two chilies instead of three. Perhaps a little more sugar. Nonetheless, very good. 'Lissa raved and said would be good for a cold/nose clearer."
Recipe:
Serves 2
1 chicken breast, skinned
1 liter home-made or ready-made fresh chicken stock
4 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped into 2.5 cm lengths and slightly crushed
3 small red chilies, seeded and thinly sliced
4 lime leaves
1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
Bring the chicken breast to the boil in the stock, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook until the chicken is tender, about ten minutes, then remove and cut into thin threads. Set aside, saving the all-important broth.
Add the spring onions, garlic, lemongrass, collies and lime leaves to the broth and simmer gently for ten minutes. Stir in the lime juice and taste for seasoning, adding a little salt if necessary, then finally stir in the coriander and serve piping hot. Tepid Tom Yam gai is a friend to no one.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Baked Potatoes with Basil/Parmesan and Pancetta/Gorgonzola
Hope I'm not over-doing Nigel Slater, but he really is our favourite cookbook writer...aside of (maybe) Ottolenghi, who is in a league of his own. Here are a couple of quick-and-easy-but-no-less-fantabulous spud recipes that reinvent what a baked potato can be. Epic.
Name: Baked Potatoes with Basil/Parmesan and Pancetta/Gorgonzola
Book: Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked: 6th March, 2001/8th March, 2001/22nd September, 2001/6th October, 2001/25th June, 2003/9th September, 2009.
Comments:
"Broke one of my teeth on a crispy bit of spud. God in heaven what a supper. We only had one spud each, but was more than enough. The saltiness of the pancetta with the creamy gorgonzola was a marriage like no other. There's good, very good...then three or four levels higher: this."
"Made with regular bacon and added extra salt. Still yum."
"Made again with 50/50 mix of pancetta and prosciutto."
"Bacon with extra salt. Always amazing."
"Used ready-made pesto and the outcome was supremeo.Everybody (including Rexy) scoffed back. Crisping the skins in the oven worked very nicely. Quick, easy, amazing."
"To accompany a spicy brisket -- used ready-made pest."
Recipe:
Baked Potatoes with Basil/Parmesan
Serves 2 as a light supper, perhaps with a leafy salad and pudding after.
4 baked potatoes
3 plump cloves of garlic, peeled
2 large handfuls of basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus extra to finish
Cream the garlic to a paste with a little salt using a pestle and mortar. Add the basil and the pine nuts, pounding to a thick paste. Drizzle in the oil, stirring, then mix in the Parmesan. You should have a bright green, deeply fragrant, sloppy paste.
Crack the baked potatoes open, scoop out the flesh and return the empty skins to the oven to crisp. Mash the potato and pesto together then pile into the skins. Scatter with more grated cheese and bake till bubbling.
Baked Potatoes with Pancetta/Gorgonzola
Enough for 2 as a main dish with spinach salad
4 baked potatoes
100g/4oz pancetta, cubed
150g/6oz double cream (whipping cream)
100g/4oz gorgonzola
Fry the pancetta until its fat is golden, using a little butter or oil if necessary. Stir in the cream and gorgonzola and leave to bubble gently at a moderate heat for a minute or two.
Split the potatoes, then scoop in dollops of the smokey, creamy sauce.
Name: Baked Potatoes with Basil/Parmesan and Pancetta/Gorgonzola
Book: Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked: 6th March, 2001/8th March, 2001/22nd September, 2001/6th October, 2001/25th June, 2003/9th September, 2009.
Comments:
"Broke one of my teeth on a crispy bit of spud. God in heaven what a supper. We only had one spud each, but was more than enough. The saltiness of the pancetta with the creamy gorgonzola was a marriage like no other. There's good, very good...then three or four levels higher: this."
"Made with regular bacon and added extra salt. Still yum."
"Made again with 50/50 mix of pancetta and prosciutto."
"Bacon with extra salt. Always amazing."
"Used ready-made pesto and the outcome was supremeo.Everybody (including Rexy) scoffed back. Crisping the skins in the oven worked very nicely. Quick, easy, amazing."
"To accompany a spicy brisket -- used ready-made pest."
Recipe:
Baked Potatoes with Basil/Parmesan
Serves 2 as a light supper, perhaps with a leafy salad and pudding after.
4 baked potatoes
3 plump cloves of garlic, peeled
2 large handfuls of basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus extra to finish
Cream the garlic to a paste with a little salt using a pestle and mortar. Add the basil and the pine nuts, pounding to a thick paste. Drizzle in the oil, stirring, then mix in the Parmesan. You should have a bright green, deeply fragrant, sloppy paste.
Crack the baked potatoes open, scoop out the flesh and return the empty skins to the oven to crisp. Mash the potato and pesto together then pile into the skins. Scatter with more grated cheese and bake till bubbling.
Baked Potatoes with Pancetta/Gorgonzola
Enough for 2 as a main dish with spinach salad
4 baked potatoes
100g/4oz pancetta, cubed
150g/6oz double cream (whipping cream)
100g/4oz gorgonzola
Fry the pancetta until its fat is golden, using a little butter or oil if necessary. Stir in the cream and gorgonzola and leave to bubble gently at a moderate heat for a minute or two.
Split the potatoes, then scoop in dollops of the smokey, creamy sauce.
Slow-Fried Potatoes with Thyme and Taleggio
It was brilliant to hear from our old pal Holly today, singing the vegan praises of the leeky/cheesy risotto recipe. Thought I'd suggest a recipe that 'Lissa raved about, but can also be classified as "veganified". Please don't think I have a thing about taleggio (a cheese that's not always to find in the US), it's a Nigel Slater thing. Like the risotto, you can sub taleggio with any soft cheese (Brie, Camembert, Cambazola etc). For Holly's benefit, I'm giving measurements in both imperial (US) and metric (the rest of the world):
Name:
Slow-fried Potatoes with Thyme and Taleggio
Book:
Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked:
Cooked only once but no date available...probably sometime in 2001/2
Comments:
"I must start by saying this was extraordinary. 'Lissa (who had resolved to mark supersonically hard)gave it 8.5 out of 10; said it could do with more garlic (I agree), then wolfed down "thirds" of the spuds. Really special. Had with green beans and Anne Lindsay's Spanish dressing. Oooh la la!"
Recipe:
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish for, say, grilled ham or cold chicken.
500g/1lb 2oz waxy potatoes
a medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
50g/20z (a thick slice) butter
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
a small palmful of thyme leaves
100g/4oz semi-soft cheese such as taleggio or fontina
Slice the potatoes into rounds the thickness of pound coins. Fry the sliced onions gently in the oil and butter in a shallow pan about 22cm in diameter. As it becomes soft and pale gold add the potatoes, a little salt and ground pepper, the garlic and thyme and toss gently to coat the spuds in oil and herbs.
Turn the heat as low as possible and cover the pan so that the potatoes cook slowly, stirring them from time to time. After forty to fifty minutes they will be soft and golden. Slice the cheese thinly, lay it on the potatoes and cover the pan again. It will have melted after a couple of minutes.
Name:
Slow-fried Potatoes with Thyme and Taleggio
Book:
Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked:
Cooked only once but no date available...probably sometime in 2001/2
Comments:
"I must start by saying this was extraordinary. 'Lissa (who had resolved to mark supersonically hard)gave it 8.5 out of 10; said it could do with more garlic (I agree), then wolfed down "thirds" of the spuds. Really special. Had with green beans and Anne Lindsay's Spanish dressing. Oooh la la!"
Recipe:
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish for, say, grilled ham or cold chicken.
500g/1lb 2oz waxy potatoes
a medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
50g/20z (a thick slice) butter
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
a small palmful of thyme leaves
100g/4oz semi-soft cheese such as taleggio or fontina
Slice the potatoes into rounds the thickness of pound coins. Fry the sliced onions gently in the oil and butter in a shallow pan about 22cm in diameter. As it becomes soft and pale gold add the potatoes, a little salt and ground pepper, the garlic and thyme and toss gently to coat the spuds in oil and herbs.
Turn the heat as low as possible and cover the pan so that the potatoes cook slowly, stirring them from time to time. After forty to fifty minutes they will be soft and golden. Slice the cheese thinly, lay it on the potatoes and cover the pan again. It will have melted after a couple of minutes.
Ooops. Here's the recipe for the risotto...
Name:
Leek and Taleggio Risotto
Book:
Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked:
10th July, 2000/19th January 2002/27th April, 2003/26th January, 2008/2nd February, 2008/4th September, 2008/18th September, 2008/30th April, 2009
Comments:
"Supremely simple and can definitely be described as "soothing". Made for lunch the day after Rex was born and was amazed at how such a few ingredients could create such a divine taste. Nice one!"
"Made for Melonie and Janice Maxwell for lunch at Pearson College".
"Boys devoured. Definite favourite amongst the troops"
"Fourth time. Still amazing".
"Again using Mexican cheese".
"For Hattie's birthday".
"'Lissa made with Danish Blue for Ricardo, Bar, Emilee and Hector on their return visit to campus".
Recipe:
Serves 2 generously
50g butter
2 large leeks, chopped and rinsed
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
a little dried oregano
225g arborio rice
900ml hot vegetable or chicken stock
225g taleggio or other soft creamy cheese cut into thick slices
Put the butter into a shallow, heavy-bottomed pan and add the leeks and garlic. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft. Don't hurry this; let the leeks cook slowly for about fifteen to twenty minutes, but stop cooking before they colour.
Stir in the oregano, a teaspoon or so will do, and the rice. Pour in three ladles of hot stock and stir. Leave to simmer gently, stirring regularly, until the stock has almost been soaked up by the rice. Add more stock and leave to cook once more, at a gentle pace, then add more when that too has gone. It will stick if you forget to stir it. The rice will be plump and tender after about eighteen to twenty minutes. Taste to see if it is done to your liking; it should have a bit of bite left in it but should be quite tender.
Stir in the cheese at the last minute -- it will melt creamily. Check for seasoning; it will need both salt and black pepper.
Leek and Taleggio Risotto
Book:
Nigel Slater, Real Food (Fourth Estate, London, 1998)
Date(s) cooked:
10th July, 2000/19th January 2002/27th April, 2003/26th January, 2008/2nd February, 2008/4th September, 2008/18th September, 2008/30th April, 2009
Comments:
"Supremely simple and can definitely be described as "soothing". Made for lunch the day after Rex was born and was amazed at how such a few ingredients could create such a divine taste. Nice one!"
"Made for Melonie and Janice Maxwell for lunch at Pearson College".
"Boys devoured. Definite favourite amongst the troops"
"Fourth time. Still amazing".
"Again using Mexican cheese".
"For Hattie's birthday".
"'Lissa made with Danish Blue for Ricardo, Bar, Emilee and Hector on their return visit to campus".
Recipe:
Serves 2 generously
50g butter
2 large leeks, chopped and rinsed
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
a little dried oregano
225g arborio rice
900ml hot vegetable or chicken stock
225g taleggio or other soft creamy cheese cut into thick slices
Put the butter into a shallow, heavy-bottomed pan and add the leeks and garlic. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft. Don't hurry this; let the leeks cook slowly for about fifteen to twenty minutes, but stop cooking before they colour.
Stir in the oregano, a teaspoon or so will do, and the rice. Pour in three ladles of hot stock and stir. Leave to simmer gently, stirring regularly, until the stock has almost been soaked up by the rice. Add more stock and leave to cook once more, at a gentle pace, then add more when that too has gone. It will stick if you forget to stir it. The rice will be plump and tender after about eighteen to twenty minutes. Taste to see if it is done to your liking; it should have a bit of bite left in it but should be quite tender.
Stir in the cheese at the last minute -- it will melt creamily. Check for seasoning; it will need both salt and black pepper.
Leek and Taleggio Risotto
We eat alot of risottos -- the kids love them. This is an especially easy and divine one from a different Nigel Slater book Real Food (Fourth Estate, 1998). Whilst the recipe calls for Taleggio, I've used all sorts of differnt, mild cheeses -- Brie, Camambert and Cambazola all work well. This dish really dines the idea of "comfort food" and whilst good anytime, it is particularly soothing when it's cold outside. When Jo-Jo is feeling down-in-the-dumps she'll often ask for thi to restore morale. A cracker!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Carrots and Bacon
I'm on a roll, so a quickie before bedtime. A delish side-dish that got top marks back in 2006!
Name:
Carrots and Bacon
Book:
Nigel Slater, The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, London, 1994)
Date(s) cooked:
19th November, 2006 and 25th November, 2006.
Carrots and Bacon
Book:
Nigel Slater, The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, London, 1994)
Date(s) cooked:
19th November, 2006 and 25th November, 2006.
Comments:
"Made for a roast leg of lamb from Nigel Slater's latest book: The Kitchen Diaries: A year In The Kitchen with Nigel Slater (Fourth Estate, London, 2005). I'd use regular onions (rather than cocktail) and allow to caramelize. "Lissa raved".
"Ate with Nigel's deep-fried lamb. Reminds me of Beat (my aunt)".
Recipe:
Recipe:
For 2 as a side dish
25g/10z butter
450g/1 lb small carrots
100g/4 oz tiny bottled onions
100g/4 oz smoked streaky bacon
Melt the butter in a saute pan. Keep the heat moderately high. Add the carrots, kept whole, and the baby onions. Dice the bacon and add it to the pan with a little salt and pepper when the vegetables are beginning to brown. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 25 minutes till all is golden and meltingly tender.
Herbed Salmon with Garlic Cream Sauce
I know I said I hate to repeat recipes, but this is a family classic and whenever we're near decent salmon, this is (invariably) what we want to eat. For ten years, 'Lissa and I lived on the west coast of Canada...close to an abundant supply of great fish. Now, we're landlocked in northern New Mexico, so we don't get to cook this that often. Whatever, if you can get the salmon, you must, must, must cook this Nigel classic.
Name:
Herbed Salmon with Garlic Cream Sauce
Book:
Nigel Slater, The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, London, 1994)
Date(s) cooked:
19th August, 2001/ 27th October, 2004/ 16 May, 2007/21st February 2005/21st October 2009/21st November 2001/11th March 2005/28th August 2007/8th February 2007/12th June 2004/25th June 2010/10th June 2004/10th March 2007/6th October 2008/22nd March 2009/8th May 2008.
Comments:
"Use the tail of nice piece of sockeye which I started (but couldn't be bothered to finish) filleting. Had just moved to Pearson College and so didn't have heaps of fresh herbs and so resorted to dried dill, chives, tarragon and thyme (marcapone used in sauce). Lissa raved and marscapone was definitely the guilding of the lily pad".
"Made again with basil, parsely and tarragon."
"Made camping at Port Renfrew on holiday from UWC-USA with Jenny and Dave. Excellent as always."
"Supper with Tessa."
"Again with green beans, almondine and basmati rice."
"Again for Dick and Antoinette."
"Again with sockeye and marscapone and basil from Trader Joe's in Santa Fe."
"Just basil with Delia rice."
"Again."
"Again."
"Again."
"Again."
"Made with rocket, basil, parsley and fennel from garden."
Recipe:
450g/1 lb salmon fillets
6 tablespoons chopped herbs tarragon, basil, dill, parsley, chervil
5g/20z butter
1 clove garlic squashed flat
4 tablespoons creme freche, double cream or marscapone
lemon juice
Cut the salmon fillets into pieces across their width, about 4cm/1.5" wide. Scatter the chopped herbs on a plate and roll the salmon pieces in them, pressing down on them to make them adhere to the fish.
Melt the butter in a shallow pan over a medium heat and add the garlic. When the butter starts to foam, place the herbed fingers of fish into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or just until the fish becomes opaque. By now the butter will be slightly brown in parts and fizzing wildly. Stir in the creme, cream or whatever and leave to melt in the butter. Season with black pepper and add salt if you wish.
Name:
Herbed Salmon with Garlic Cream Sauce
Book:
Nigel Slater, The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, London, 1994)
Date(s) cooked:
19th August, 2001/ 27th October, 2004/ 16 May, 2007/21st February 2005/21st October 2009/21st November 2001/11th March 2005/28th August 2007/8th February 2007/12th June 2004/25th June 2010/10th June 2004/10th March 2007/6th October 2008/22nd March 2009/8th May 2008.
Comments:
"Use the tail of nice piece of sockeye which I started (but couldn't be bothered to finish) filleting. Had just moved to Pearson College and so didn't have heaps of fresh herbs and so resorted to dried dill, chives, tarragon and thyme (marcapone used in sauce). Lissa raved and marscapone was definitely the guilding of the lily pad".
"Made again with basil, parsely and tarragon."
"Made camping at Port Renfrew on holiday from UWC-USA with Jenny and Dave. Excellent as always."
"Supper with Tessa."
"Again with green beans, almondine and basmati rice."
"Again for Dick and Antoinette."
"Again with sockeye and marscapone and basil from Trader Joe's in Santa Fe."
"Just basil with Delia rice."
"Again."
"Again."
"Again."
"Again."
"Made with rocket, basil, parsley and fennel from garden."
Recipe:
450g/1 lb salmon fillets
6 tablespoons chopped herbs tarragon, basil, dill, parsley, chervil
5g/20z butter
1 clove garlic squashed flat
4 tablespoons creme freche, double cream or marscapone
lemon juice
Cut the salmon fillets into pieces across their width, about 4cm/1.5" wide. Scatter the chopped herbs on a plate and roll the salmon pieces in them, pressing down on them to make them adhere to the fish.
Melt the butter in a shallow pan over a medium heat and add the garlic. When the butter starts to foam, place the herbed fingers of fish into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or just until the fish becomes opaque. By now the butter will be slightly brown in parts and fizzing wildly. Stir in the creme, cream or whatever and leave to melt in the butter. Season with black pepper and add salt if you wish.
Just before you scoop the fish out of the pan squeeze a little lemon juice into the juice. It will lift the flavour and prevent the sauce from becoming cloying.
Morrocan Chicken
I had all sorts of plans about how to order 'Lissa's food loving, but in the end she decided what she wanted to open the blog...sassy whatnot that she is. Having lived in Canada and The US, I'm all too aware of how English food is dismissed by North Americans. I don't consider myself an anglophile, but I do find myself defensive of English food, especially in US/Canada where there really isn't a strong culture of food appreciation. I agree, traditional English food (steak and kidney pie, spotted dick and toad-in-the-hole) isn't the greatest, but the notion that the English aren't interested in food is a fallacy. Nigel Slater is a case in point. Of all the big name cookbook writers in England -- Nigella Lawson, Deliah Smith, Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver -- Nigel Slater is 'Lissa's favourite. Mine too. He writes beautifully and his recipes are simple, unfussy yet divine.
So, at the request of 'Lissa herself, the first set of recipe's come from Nigel Slater's The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, 1994) -- a brilliant, brilliant book, that is definitely in our "top ten" cookbooks of all time. Here goes, the first recipe that 'Lissa loves:
Name:
Flash-fried Moroccan Chicken
Book:
Nigel Slater The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, London, 1994)
Date(s) cooked:
26th October, 2002/22nd March, 2003/15th January, 2004/5th May, 2005/16th December 2006/14th March, 2007.
Comments:
"Don't think I've ever heard 'Lissa rave quite so hard (even if she only gave it 9 out of 10). Never have raisins tasted quite so divine in a savoury dish. Sweet and spicy and ever so nicey. Again, again, again".
"My first Nigel Slater in Kuala Lumpur...to remind us of home."
"Auspicious day, so time for Moroccan chicken".
"Made again with a plate of sliced oranges, drizzled with olive oil, ground black pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Very simple/tasty salad. Mmmmmm!"
"For 'Lissa at UWC-USA" (Where we work).
"Ran out of cinnamon...used Chinese five spice powder".
"A bizarre one really -- multiplied by ten for students staying on campus over Project Week. Only four people turned up. Bastards. Ate with orange couscous."
Recipe:
For 2
350g/120z chicken fillets or boned pieces
1 fresh red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed dried chili pepper
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sultans or raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon chopped mint
Place the chicken pieces in a shallow dish. Mix together the fresh and dried chilis, garlic, lemon, half the olive oil, cinnamon, sultans or raisins and pine nuts, and then pour over the chicken.Leave for 20 minutes or so. An hour would be better if you have it.
Heat the remaining oil in a shallow pan; when it sizzles add the chicken pieces. Heat over high heat until golden brown and then turn them over and cook on the other side. Pour in the marinade ingredients and bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper, and scatter over the mint. Serve hot with its pan juices.
Hope you like it!
So, at the request of 'Lissa herself, the first set of recipe's come from Nigel Slater's The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, 1994) -- a brilliant, brilliant book, that is definitely in our "top ten" cookbooks of all time. Here goes, the first recipe that 'Lissa loves:
Name:
Flash-fried Moroccan Chicken
Book:
Nigel Slater The Thirty-Minute Cook (Penguin, London, 1994)
Date(s) cooked:
26th October, 2002/22nd March, 2003/15th January, 2004/5th May, 2005/16th December 2006/14th March, 2007.
Comments:
"Don't think I've ever heard 'Lissa rave quite so hard (even if she only gave it 9 out of 10). Never have raisins tasted quite so divine in a savoury dish. Sweet and spicy and ever so nicey. Again, again, again".
"My first Nigel Slater in Kuala Lumpur...to remind us of home."
"Auspicious day, so time for Moroccan chicken".
"Made again with a plate of sliced oranges, drizzled with olive oil, ground black pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Very simple/tasty salad. Mmmmmm!"
"For 'Lissa at UWC-USA" (Where we work).
"Ran out of cinnamon...used Chinese five spice powder".
"A bizarre one really -- multiplied by ten for students staying on campus over Project Week. Only four people turned up. Bastards. Ate with orange couscous."
Recipe:
For 2
350g/120z chicken fillets or boned pieces
1 fresh red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed dried chili pepper
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons sultans or raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon chopped mint
Place the chicken pieces in a shallow dish. Mix together the fresh and dried chilis, garlic, lemon, half the olive oil, cinnamon, sultans or raisins and pine nuts, and then pour over the chicken.Leave for 20 minutes or so. An hour would be better if you have it.
Heat the remaining oil in a shallow pan; when it sizzles add the chicken pieces. Heat over high heat until golden brown and then turn them over and cook on the other side. Pour in the marinade ingredients and bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper, and scatter over the mint. Serve hot with its pan juices.
Hope you like it!
Twenty years in the making!
Here begins a culinary Odyssey -- a summary of twenty years of cooking for my girlfriend Melissa (aka "Jo-Jo", "Mama", "Saucey", "Mamacita" or "'Lissa").
The scoop:
The scoop:
- Melissa is from Midland, Ontario, Canada and I'm from London, England. We met (as passing ships in the night) whilst working as counsellors at a YMCA camp outside Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, way back in 1990.
- I was born into a family of cooks (though am not a cook myself) and Melissa comes from a family of simple eating tastes. When we first met Melissa was strictly a "meat and potatoes" kind of chick...nothing fancy. Whilst her palate has grown to include all sorts of new ingredients, there are still certain things I can't persuade her (or our three naughty children Ruaidhri 13, Rex 10 and Harriet 7) to eat: offal (boo hoo!), mushrooms (ahhh!) or squid.
- It is extremely hard to make Melissa gush about food.
- I have a variety of cooking obsessions, the most notable being: I can't stop buying cookbooks and I can't ever cook the same recipe twice (once in a while I will...more on that later). I have a warped conviction that one day (before I croak) I'll cook every recipe in every cookbook I own. I know -- uber-warped.
- Another weirdness is that I write-up every recipe I cook. Included in the write ups is the date; what was going on in our lives on that day; an analysis of how successful the recipe was (with suggested alterations/changes); and (most importantly) what the response to the recipe was like. Over twenty years, I am guessing I have cooked over 4,000 recipes for Melissa -- from the sublimely divine to the gaggingly foul. Every day, at the start each meal preparation it is my fixation that this will be the recipe that achieves the illusive honour of "'Lissa loved it!" For me this is bigger than Michelin stars, bigger than celebrity chef endoresments, bigger than anything that Julia Childs or Escofier may have to say about anything. I live to hear that "'Lissa loved it!"...in our house this is entry into the Culinary Hall of Fame.
- So, to my blog. I have been promising to collate all the recipes that have achieved the heady accolade of "'Lissa loved it!" for over a decade. Now (and for the first time) the first publication of all the recipes that Melissa Belfry absolutely adores. I intend to post two recipes a day. With each recipe comes the date it was cooked (not in the very early days, sorry), the name/author of the cookbook the recipe comes from and my write up.
- Remember the only thing that connects these recipes is that "'Lissa loved it!"
- I'd love to hear your thoughts on the recipes I post -- whether good, bad or ugly. Also, if you think you have a recipe that 'Lissa may love, please post and I promise I'll test it for you and write you a review. But be warned..."'Lissa loved it!" DOES NOT COME EASILY...believe me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)