WEEKEND KITCHEN RECIPE SHEET 29th May 2016

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1 WEEKEND KITCHEN RECIPE SHEET 29th May 2016 Gin and Tonic Granita Yes, yes, yes! Granitas are just so very easy to make and they are perfect for these warm evenings (as and when they arrive!). 220g caster sugar 120ml Water 1 Lemon zested and Juiced 1 Lime zested and Juiced 170ml Gin 500ml Tonic Serves 10+ Combine the zests with the gin and set a side while you prepare the rest. Combine the sugar and water in a pan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Be careful not to boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the gin and the citrus juices. Allow to cool. Add the tonic, mix gently and pour into a freezer proof container. Freeze for an hour then mix the granita with a fork. Do this every 45minutes until you have the desired texture. This could take up to 4 or 5 hours, depending on your freezer. The granita will then happily keep for several weeks in the freezer. Ginger, garlic chilli prawns with lime risotto This risotto has a lovely and interesting twist - the citrus flavours of the lime and lemongrass. And it really does work, especially with the prawns. Equally, it would go very well with any pan-fried white fish. Serve this as a main or a starter. 1 shallot, diced 1 clove of garlic, diced 1 stem of lemongrass, finely chopped 50g butter 200g risotto rice Page 1

2 125ml vermouth (or similar) 500ml chicken stock 1 lime, zested and juiced 100g butter 1 packet of frozen raw king prawns, defrosted 1 garlic clove, crushed/grated 1 thumb size piece of ginger, crushed/grated ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced A glug of olive oil Serves 4-6 Combine all ingredients for the prawns in a bowl and allow to marinade for at least an hour, over night would be better. Heat the 50g of butter in a pan over a medium heat and sweat the shallots, garlic and lemongrass until soft. Add the rice and cook gently for 3-5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vermouth and reduce to almost dry while stirring. Start to add the stock a ladle at a time and continue to stir. Continue to cook the rice slowly adding stock until the grains are just tender but not chalky. Take the pan off the heat, add the 100g of butter, lime juice and zest and mix until completely combined. You should be left with an oozy, loose risotto. Just as the risotto finishes cooking heat a pan on a high heat along with a drizzle of oil. Quickly stir fry the prawns until pink and serve on top of the risotto. Pan fried cod with parma ham asparagus spears It s all about the way the cod is cooked here. Loads of butter give it a nutty flavour and a golden colour. It goes perfectly with the charred parma ham wrapped asparagus. 1 bunch of English asparagus, click the woody bits off Enough strips of parma ham to cover all spears 4 pieces of cod loin A drizzle of oil 30g butter 2 sprigs of thyme 2 sprigs of rosemary 1 clove of garlic crushed Page 2

3 Serves 4 Fire up the bbq (or a griddle pan on a high heat). When the BBQ is nice and hot toss the asparagus in a little oil and season. Char quickly on the bbq and allow to cool. Lay out a strip of parma ham and roll it around a spear of asparagus. Repeat with the remaining ham and asparagus until all are wrapped, leaving just the tip showing. Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat and place the cod pieces in the pan. Allow the cod to caramelise on one side When a golden crust has formed, flip the fish over, add the thyme, rosemary and garlic to the pan along with the butter. Allow the butter to foam and now you can start basting the fish with it. If you feel there isn t enough butter add another larger piece. When the fish is just cooked and tender to the touch, remove it from the pan. Quickly return the ham wrapped asparagus to the bbq (or griddle pan) and char the ham. Place the asparagus on a plate, sit the cod on top and spoon a little of the pan butter over. Roasted Red Peppers topped with Blue Cheese This is a lovely salad, the sweet red peppers going beautifully with the richness of the blue cheese. It s dead easy to make too. 5 large red peppers 300g of any mature crumbled blue cheese Roquefort, Stilton or Gorgonzola 150gm Rocket leaves Cup full of trimmed and finely chopped spring onions Pre-heat the grill to very hot. Roast the peppers on all sides until blackened. Immediately pop them into a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Allow them to cool. The skin will easily peel off, Now deseed the peppers and tear them into strips. Chill the Gorgonzola the fridge so it hardens then crumble it up. Place the peppers into a large oven proof dish. Sprinkle the finely chopped spring onions, pour over extra virgin olive oil, season with pepper and scatter the crumbled Gorgonzola. Blast under a hot grill until the cheese has melted. Serve hot or cold. Page 3

4 Pop some rocket leaves on four plates. You can use some of the juices from the grill pan to dress the leaves. Top with the peppers and melted cheese and serve. Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Wok fried Bok Choi How can something so delicious be so easy to make? Chuck this pork in the slow cooker (or in an oven on a very low heat) and just let all the flavours work their magic. The charred bok choi is the perfect accompaniment. This is just a brilliant dish. 1 kg Pork Belly 1 large sliced onion 3 star anise 2 tbsp fennel seeds 100g fresh ginger peeled and sliced 6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 5-6 heads of baby Bok Choi washed, cut in to lengthways wedges 3 tbsp sesame oil 3 tbsp honey 50ml Dark Soy Toasted Sesame seeds (optional) 150 ml cold water 2 Large Red Fresh chilli chopped seeds removed Place onions, star anise, fennel seeds, half the chopped and peeled ginger and garlic cloves in the bottom of the slow cooker. Lay the pork belly on top, skin side up, add the water then set the slow cooker on medium and allow to cook for at least 6 hours. Once cooked, very carefully remove the pork belly and place it on grill rack, again skin side up. Drain and sieve the stock from slow cooker. Place the pork under a pre-heated very hot grill and crisp the crackling. In wok on a high heat, pour in the sesame oil, add the ginger and garlic and brown them carefully. Add the bok choi, 200ml of reserved pork stock, honey & soy. Braise this hard until the sauce has reduced to a sweet sticky consistency Divide the bok choi on to four warmed plates and scatter with the crispy pork from the grill. Page 4

5 You can now deglaze the pan by continuing to heat the syrupy sauce (adding a little stock or honey or soy if you want). Drizzle that over the pork. sprinkle the sesame seeds and fresh chilli and devour!! Cinnamon Sugared Doughnuts These are proper old-fashioned doughnuts, bready and solid and utterly devourable. Once you have perfected the basic method, you can go to town and fill them with anything you want, or roll them in anything which is sticky or sweet. Ingredients 1 tbsp fresh yeast (or 7g dried yeast) 4 tbsp caster sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon 150ml/5¼fl oz milk, warmed 225g/8oz strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting ¼ tsp salt 50g/2oz butter, melted 1 free-range egg, beaten 300ml/10½fl oz vegetable oil, for deep-frying Method Mix the fresh yeast with half a teaspoon of the sugar and two tablespoons of the warm milk. Place in a warm place to rest for 15 minutes, or until frothy. If using dried yeast, you can skip this step. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Stir in one tablespoon of the sugar. Make a well in the flour and pour in the yeast mix, the rest of the milk, the melted butter and the egg. Mix to make a dough and then knead well. Cover the bowl and leave to stand for 45 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. On a floured work surface, knead the dough for five minutes, then divide into 12 balls and place in a warm place, lightly covered with clingfilm for 30 minutes, or until they have doubled in size. Heat the oil in a deep pan until it reaches 190C/375F, or a cube of bread dropped in sizzles and turns golden in 30 seconds. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Gently lower the dough balls one at a time into the hot oil, in batches of two or three, and fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden-brown, and then carefully turn over. Remove from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Roll the hot doughnuts in the remaining sugar and cinnamon and serve. Page 5

6 Melanzane alla parmigiana (Aubergine and Parmesan Bake) This is a classic northern Italian dish, traditionally made with aubergines and large amounts of parmesan cheese. It is a very versatile dish as it can be served as a starter, a main or as a side dish with meat or fish. It is also good as a vegetarian dish. If you don t like aubergines you can replace them with courgettes. This recipe also freezes very well and can be made in advance. 4 large aubergines Plain flour for coating 4 eggs Plenty of olive oil 300g fontina cheese, sliced (you can use any flavoursome cheese here) 115g parmesan, freshly grated Salt and pepper to taste Sauce 4 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, chopped 2 large cans peeled plum tomatoes, chopped 10 fresh basil leaves, torn Serves 4-5 Preheat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F/ Gas 6. Slice the aubergines into 1cm thick slices. Dust the slices on both sides with flour. Beat the eggs, season with salt, and dip the floured aubergine slices into the beaten egg Fry the aubergine slices in some hot oil until golden brown on both sides, remove and drain on kitchen paper. You will need to top up the oil from time to time as, like mushrooms, aubergines absorb a lot of oil. In a pan, add a little oil, cook the garlic for a minute without letting it burn then chuck in the tomatoes and cook the sauce gently until it thickens and becomes smooth. Season at the end and chuck in the basil In the bottom of a large ovenproof dish put two or three spoonfuls of tomato sauce, then arrange a layer of the fried aubergine slices, placed as close together as possible. Cover the aubergines with some pieces of Fontina cheese, spoon a little tomato sauce over the cheese and sprinkle with some Parmesan. Continue with another layer of aubergine slices, arranging them in the opposite direction to the layer below. Page 6

7 Cover with Fontina, tomato sauce and Parmesan until all the aubergines are finished. The final layer should be of tomato sauce, pieces of Fontina and a generous amount of Parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven for minutes. Leave the dish to rest and set a little for 10 minutes before cutting up to serve. Pizzaiola steaks Carne pizzaiola or carne alla pizzaiola (roughly translated as "meat in pizza style"), sometimes referred to just as pizzaiola, is a dish probably derived from a traditional Neapolitan recipe which features meat (very often less expensive cuts of beef) cooked with tinned tomatoes, garlic, parsley and olive oil, long enough to tenderise the meat. It is a very popular dish as the sauce can be used with pasta as a main dish and the meat as a second course. The cheap cuts of beef come out very very tender here, literally pulling apart. Some versions also include capers, peppers, tomato paste, oregano and basil. 450g / 1lb stewing or braising steak. You ll need to ask your butcher to slice it into thin slices (like frying steak). 3 tbsp olive oil 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped 2 cans chopped tomatoes 2 tablespoons parsley or basil, finely chopped Salt and pepper to taste Serves 4 Trim any excess fat from the meat, and notch the edges with a sharp knife or scissors to prevent the meat from curling during cooking. In a medium sized, deep saucepan pour one tablespoon of oil, some of the garlic and a good pinch of parsley or basil and a couple of tablespoons of the chopped tomatoes. Cover the bottom of the saucepan with one layer of the meat. Then drizzle another tablespoon of oil over the meat, some of the garlic and a good pinch of parsley or basil, a light pinch of salt and pepper. Page 7

8 Repeat this layering until all the meat is used. Add any remaining garlic, herbs or tomatoes into the saucepan. Cook over a moderate heat for at least 1 hour or, until you are satisfied the meat is very tender. You want the meat to be very soft but, equally, you don t want to dry it out. If necessary, add small amounts of water as the tomato sauce reduces, to avoid it burning and sticking to the bottom. Serve with any vegetable(s) of your choice, potatoes, rice, even a fresh salad or just with a good chunk of fresh bread to mop-up the sauce. This will give you a one pot-meal. Serve and enjoy! Page 8