St Patrick's Day - baked gammon and colcannon

St Patrick's Day - and I am now in a largely Irish household, so any excuse for a roast gammon dinner and a pint or three of the black stuff.  It was made even more special by the beautiful gammon from Bracewell's butchers in Todmorden market hall - absolutely first rate.

Gammon joint
Potatoes
Onions
Cabbage
Carrots
Apple juice
Chicken stock cube
Butter
Egg
Cornflour

1.  Bake the gammon at 180 for about 2 hours (obviously depending on the size of your joint, this was just under 3lbs).  Turn it over after an hour, and add a cupful or so of apple juice to help make the gravy.
2.  After 1 hour peel the potatoes and put on to boil for the mash - steam chopped onions and shredded cabbage above the potatoes, and steam the peeled batons of carrot over them, for about 15-10 minutes, until the potatoes are done.
3.  Drain the potatoes, mash in the cooked onions and cabbage with plenty of butter.  Place in an oven dish and put in the oven to brown the top.  Cover the carrots with foil and put in the boom of the oven to keep warm.
4.  Drain the juices from the gammon, and make a simple gravy with chicken stock and cornflour.
5.  After another 30 minutes the dinner will be nearly done, so fry an egg for all those who want one.
6.  Serve, scoff ..

This is the veg dodger's plate - 4 carrot batons!  honestly!  But everybody had seconds, most had thirds and fourths .. success

Tofu bibimbap

We are spoilt at Todmorden market - we can venture way beyond our Yorkshire borders for some tasty dinners.  Today, I had a scout around t'interweb, and after reading a number of recipes thought I would create my version of a bibimbap ... big bowl of rice, topped with a protein source with assorted raw, pickled and cooked vegetables with a chili sauce ...ingredients are mostly available from the market - Oriental foods, The Mediterranean Pantry, a couple of vegetable stalls ... but I had to go to a local supermarket for the beansprouts!

Tofu
Jasmine rice
Peanut oil
Korean red chili pasta - gochujang
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil
Sugar
Agave syrup
Sesame seeds
Garlic
Ginger
Radish
Carrots
Cucumber
Green beans
Cavolo nero
Mushrooms
Bean sprouts
Spring onions

Basically you cook all the ingredients separately, give each person a bowl of rice topped with pan fried tofu and a fried egg, and they choose which of the other bits they want, add some sauce, and stir it all together.  I started with putting the tofu in salted water, then pickled the radish and carrot, then chopped the rest of the veg ... put the rice on, steamed the cavolo nero and green beans, fried the tofu, made the sauce, and stir fried the veg - one at a time - keeping them hot in the oven while I finished the tofu.  Finally fry the eggs .. and begin the assembly.

The tofu:-

Soak in salted water for 15 minutes to tighten up the edges.  Slice into fork sized slices - return to the salted water to firm up further.  Fry in hot peanut oil, in batches, do not over crowd the pan, until crispy on both sides.  Keep warm in the oven.

The sauce:-

Mix 3 tbsp gochujang with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp water, 1 tsp (to taste) agave syrup and 1 tsp sesame oil.

The pickled veg:-

Prepare carrot and radish batons.  Heat together 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 cup rice vinegar and 1 cup water.  Put veg into pickling liquid, swish about and take off the heat.  After 10 minutes drain and chill.

The stir fried veg, one at a time, keep warm in the oven:-

Mushrooms, sesame seeds, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil
Cavolo nero, sesame seeds, garlic, ginger, soy sauce
Green beans, garlic, tiny splash soy sauce
Beansprouts, soy sauce, tiny splash sesame oil

The raw bits, chop finely:-

Cucumber
Spring onions
Sesame seeds

On your marks - go ....

Smoked anchovy scrambled eggs

A lovely chap who pops in the shop said that he does scrambled eggs with anchovies!  Well, I had never even thought of that - but I happened to have some extremely good smoked anchovies in the fridge, quite a glut of bantam eggs - and it was time for brunch.  So, I tried this, and it was delicious.

Served with toasted ciabatta roll, and served with a few fresh radishes, cos why not.





Olive oil
Butter
Eggs
Smoked (or otherwise) anchovies
Salt and pepper

1.  In a frying pan melt butter with olive oil.
2.  Over a lowish heat add eggs and whisk while they cook slowly.
3.  Add chopped anchovies.
4.  When the eggs are just about set - serve.

Simple, and stunning.

Smoked haddock, spinach and a poached egg

You can't beat poached egg and smoked haddock!  Except by adding tiny roasted potatoes and some lightly steamed spinach with spring onions.  ... yum!

The potatoes are started way ahead of anything else - chop, par boil, and then put into hot oven dish in olive oil - for 40 minutes.  Everything else starts 25 minutes later ....

Then, put the water for poaching the eggs on to boil, add a splash of cider vinegar.

Now, get 2 pans ready 1 medium frying pan for the fish, and a second wok or large frying pan for the spinach.

Next, coat the fish, lightly, with olive oil.

Put the pans on to heat.

When they are hot - put the fish, skin side down into frying pan.  Break eggs into water, count to 10 and turn off.  Splash cold water into hot wok - follow by spinach leaves and shredded spring onion - toss about.

Turn the fish over.  Turn the other pans off ..... wait for 2 minutes.

Serve... the potatoes should be crispy, the fish should be just done, the spinach wilted - and the egg yolk oozy.

Mushroom and pea spaghetti "carbonara"

Our interesting dietary requirements mean that our dinners, if we are all to eat the same, need to be meat free, gluten free and lactose free - but I fancied something a little bit creamy, rather than the usual tomato based sauce ... so missing out the bacon, the cream and using gluten free pasta - came up with this, which was enjoyed by all.  It was improved by adding parmesan, for those of us who could.  I didn't want to, so had loads of black pepper ground on top.

Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Olive oil
frozen peas
gluten free spaghetti
egg
black pepper
parmesan (optional)

1.  Sweat onions gently in olive oil.
2.  Add mushooms and crushed garlic and cook together for about 8 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile boil pasta.
4.  Add frozen peas to mushrooms and heat through.
5.  Lightly whip the egg.
6.  When the pasta is done, drain and add to the mushrooms, take off the heat.
7.  Stir the egg into the pasta mixture and let it cook with the heat of the pan.
8.  Scoff

Pizza - on World Vegetarian Day

The hens have started laying!  Yay!  and we have some of our own potatoes from the allotment, so wanted to do something a bit different.  Also, experimenting with gluten free pizza bases.  A success all round I say.

So, two different sorts of pizza a "fiorentina" of sorts with garlic, potato, spinach and the egg - and a vegatable one with tomato, courgette ribbons, olives and cheddar.



Pizza bases

I used "Isabel's" - and followed the packet instructions (flour mix, water, egg and olive oil), kneeded.

The difference, in cooking, between this and standard pizza dough is that after kneeding you don't prove them, they are rolled out and then they need pre-cooking for 10 minutes, before adding the topping and baking again for 15 minutes.

"Fiorentina"

Garlic
Olive oil
New potato
Spinach
Egg (pekin bantam egg in this case)

1.  Finely chop/crush the garlic and mix with the oil.
2.  Parboil sliced new potato and steam the spinach.
3.  Drain potato, chop spinach.
4.  Spoon and spread garlic oil onto pizza base, layer with potato slices and scatter on the spinach.
5.  Drizzle with a little more garlic oil, season, and put in hot oven for 5 minutes.
6.  After 5 minutes, crack the egg into the center of the pizza, and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Vegetable one

Tomato
Courgette
Lemon juice
Onion
Olive oil
Oregano
Black olives
Grated cheddar

1.  Make ribbons of courgette using a speed peeler.
2.  Finely slice about half an onion.
3.  Mix the courgette and onion together, marinade in lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and a pinch of salt (for about 20 minutes as you faff with other things).  You could chuck the olives, sliced or otherwise into this mix too, or keep them separate to sprinkle over the top.
4.  Grate the cheese.
5.  Slice the tomato and layer over the pizza base.
6.  Drape courgette and onions over the tomatoes.
7.  Cover with grated cheese and a grind of black pepper (optional).
8.  Cook in hot over for about 15 minutes.

The crust was really good, a bit hard on exposed edges perhaps, but not that nasty chewiness or dryness that you often get with GF products.

It was nice cold too!

Cheese and tomato omelette

Yum - simple but delicious - because the chickens have started laying again.  Beat 4 bantam eggs and season, fry in hot pan with olive oil.  When bottom layer of egg is cooked gently pull the cooked bit into the middle and swirl the uncooked egg onto the pan to cook.  Chop tomato and grate cheese, roll omelette over the filling and serve with pea shoots.  Yum.

Pancakes, a day or so late, but lactose free

One year I'll get to pancakes on the right day, but obviously not this year.  Chuck about a cup of flour in a bowl and add a decent pinch of salt.  Whisk through to break up any tiny lumps, and introduce some air (lazy seiving).  Make a bit of a well in the middle and crack in an egg.  Splash in some soya milk.  Whisk in flour by starting with the whisk in the centre of the egg and breaking it open, stir around gently incorporating soya milk and flour.  When it starts coming together into a paste add some more soya milk and repeat ... what you are aiming to do is to draw the flour into the mixture without generating any lumps, so add more soya milk and whisk again until the consisitency is like double cream.  Leave to stand for 20 minutes, whisk again. On a crepe pan, or frying pan, heat - to hot - the smallest amount of peanut oil - you really only need a film - I have done it by wiping kitchen paper dipped in oil on the surface, but usually can't be bothered.  When pan is hot add ladle of mixture and swirl into a pancake.  Leave on the heat until pancake moves with a bit of a shake - then flip and cook the other side.  Yum - served, tonight, traditionally with lemon and sugar.  Infact it was that squeezy lemon out of the lemon bottle - but I thought it tasted of plastic, so will not be tempted by that again - it was the down to victim having a flash of nostalgia.  Victim loved them - I think even the plastic lemon nostalgia thing.

Spanish omelette

So, Spanish omelette, but I've been watching too much British Bake Off, so tomato ketchup takes on a whole new role! Recipe.... OK - peel and dice potatoes (3 baking in this case) - boil - slice and saute an onion, add green beans (chopped), courgette (diced) and mushrooms (roughly chopped).  Season veg mix.  When potatoes are soft (12ish mins - depending on how small the dice were), drain them well and add to the softenned veg.  Whisk together eggs (I used 8 - 4 normal sized, and 4 of our little bantams).... Stir veg mix, add frozen peas and check seasoning.  pour on eggs  - stir in over light/hob and finish under grill ... or transfer straight away to a medium oven until done from bottom to top - and top to bottom (about 15 mins).  Then, squirt artistically with tomato ketchup.

In other news victim is deeply disappointed as the poly tunnel is still in its packaging!  Never mind, hopefully it will appear today.