Pork chops, in a mustard cream sauce, sauteed new potatoes and carrots, peas parisienne

 

Well , the photo is a disappointment, but the dinner wasn't!  It was film night at KitchenFairies HQ, and I try to theme the dinner with the film.  The film was "Hugo" ... the connection was that the film was set in Gare du Nord, Paris - so it was French Bistro food.

Also, I have no idea if peas parisienne have any authenticity to them - it's just what I have always called leeks, peas and lettuce cooked this way.

Pork loin chops

Olive oil

Meat seasoning (black pepper, garlic, celery salt, paprika)

New potatoes

Carrots

Butter

Leek

white wine

Little gem lettuce

Garlic

Chicken stock

Dijon mustard

Cream

1.  Rub the pork loin chops with the seasoning and olive oil, set aside for an hour.

2.  Peel new potatoes and carrots, cut potatoes in to quarters, length wise, and the carrots into diagonal chunks.

3.  Wash and shred leeks.

4.  In a heavy frying pan with a lid melt butter (lots ... twice as much as you think you need) and add the potatoes, carrots and cup of water.  Put the lid on and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5.  Take the lid off the potatoes and simmer off most of the water.

6.  Sweat the leek off in olive oil, add crushed garlic.

7.  20 minutes to go ... heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan, when hot add the chops and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

8.  Stir the potatoes and carrots, put the lid back on and let them crisp up.  Shake about every 3 minutes to stop them catching.

9.  Remove chops from the pan, add white wine to the pan, with a little chicken stock and a teaspoon of dijon mustard, stir and simmer.  Add cream.  Put chops back into the sauce and keep on a low heat.

10.  Add frozen peas and wedges of little gem lettuce to the leeks, add a splash of white wine.  Simmer for 3 minutes.  Add a drop of cream.

11.  Serve, scoff ... it was delicious!  really rich - but fabulous.

Pork with mustard and cider, mash with leeks, roast sprouts, mushrooms and onions

Dinners have taken a definite wintery turn.  This was easy, and lovely.  Roast sprouts have a sweetness which can be missing in the boiled/steamed versions - try them!

Leeks
Potatoes
Butter
Onions
Mushrooms
Olive oil
Garlic
Sprouts
Pork steaks
Dry cider
Wholegrain mustard
Pork stock cube

1.  Slice and rinse leeks, put into a steamer and steam over the boiling potatoes.
2.  Peel potatoes and cut into chunks, boil in salted water.
3.  Chop onions and mushrooms and toss in olive oil, add crushed garlic - roast in an oven dish for about 30 minutes.
4.  Prepare sprouts by removing scruffy outer leaves and toss in olive oil, roast for about 30 minutes.
5.  Mash the potatoes, beat in leeks and butter - put into the oven with everything else.
6.  Fry the pork in a little olive oil, turn and fry on the other side.  Then add a big spoonful of wholegrain mustard, a pork stock cube and half a bottle of dry cider.  Simmer for about 5 minutes.
7.  Serve, scoff …. yum

Roast plaice, with mustard leeks and mushrooms

Easy, and a nice change.  Lovely plaice from Paul the fish, Todmorden market - veg from the outside market and olive oil, good dijon mustard and garlic from me at The Mediterranean Pantry.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Leeks
Mixed herbs
Garlic
Mushrooms
Mustard
Baby spinach
Plaice

1.  Chop potatoes (washed, but peel on) into chunks, toss in olive oil, sprinkle on sea salt, and roast.
2.  Sautee leeks, crushed garlic and mushroom in olive oil, add a sprinkle of mixed herbs, and a teaspoonful of dijon mustard, add a little water to provide a little steam.  When the leeks are nearly soft stir in a big handful of baby spinach and transfer to an oven dish.
3.  Lay the plaice, skin side down on the bed of vegetables - drizzle with olive oil and grind on a little black pepper.   Roast for about 20 minutes.
4.  Dinner is done - serve, scoff.

Roasted cauliflower with peanuts and gorgonzola

Cauliflower is such an under-rated vegetable, but it's bang in season.  I roasted it with lots of lovely flavours to give us a warming and delicious autumnal dinner.  Also, I love cheese, but I'm afraid it doesn't feel the same about me, so I added some small blobs of gorgonzola which gave me the savoury hit I wanted, with none of the unmentionable repercussions of a full cauliflower cheese (which I love ...), and some roasted peanuts for a bit of crunch.  Served it with potato wedges and wilted spinach.  Delicious.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Cauliflower
Polish mustard
Garlic
Italian seasoning
Chilli flakes
Spinach
Nutmeg
Peanuts

1.  Cut the potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and roast for about 45 minutes.
2.  Cut the cauliflower into 6 wedges.
3.  Mix together 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp polish mustard, crushed garlic, italian seasoning and chilli flakes - possibly a little water if its a bit thick.  Pour this over the cauliflower and move it around gently until all surfaces are coated.  Roast for about 40 minutes.
4.  Prepare spinach by removing thick stems, washing and cutting into thick ribbons.
5.  5 minutes before serving pop peanuts into the oven on a tray & wilt the spinach in a little water.  Grate a little nutmeg into the spinach to lift the flavour.
6.  Serve - dotting the cauliflower with gorgonzola (or other blue cheese) and sprinkle over peanuts, scoff.

Delicious.

Pork chop, with cider and mustard sauce

Comfort food!  Pork, mash and cabbage - with a few butter beans with fried onions.  Jazzed it up with some cider and mustard gravy - delicious.

Potatoes
Cabbage
Onions
Butter
Olive oil
Pork chops
Flour
Dry cider
Wholegrain mustard
Chicken stock
Cream cheese/cream

1.  Peel potatoes, boil, steam shredded cabbage on top - then mash the potatoes with butter.  Pop in the oven to get a nice crispy brown top.  Keep the cabbage warm.
2.  Chop onions and fry until golden brown, add drained butter beans.
3.  Fry pork chops, in a little olive oil, on each side for a couple of minutes - keep warm while you make the gravy.
4.  Stir a spoonful of flour into the pork pan, deglaze with dry cider.  Add a little chicken stock and a spoonful of grainy mustard.  Stir and simmer as it thickens a little.  Take it off the heat and stir in a small spoonful of cream cheese (or cream).
5.  Serve, scoff

Beef stew

Nick Fielden's family butcher, Todmorden Indoor Market does this fabulous thing ... you hand over £20 and he hands you a Value Pack of various cuts of meat - all are excellent - today the stewing steak came out of the freezer, and was turned into this.    Tomato puree, olive oil, garlic and wholegrain mustard from me at The Mediterranean Pantry.  Veg from Garry outside and another Todmorden market special.

It takes a while for the steak to cook to soft rich yumminess, so settle yourself in for a couple of hours of chilling doing what every you do best - and then you can serve up this to a grateful table.  The vegetarian had halloumi (available from The Crumbly cheese) fried at the last minute.

Onion
Celery
Olive oil
Garlic
Stewing steak
Beef stock
Potatoes
Leeks
Carrot
Cabbage
Veg stock
Tomato puree
Grainy mustard

1.  Sautee onion and celery in olive oil for a few minutes, then add the steak and some crushed garlic.
2.  Add the steak, turning the pieces over until each side is a bit browned, then pour in beef stock and simmer.
3.  Cut the potatoes into chunks, toss in olive oil and put in a roasting tin.
4.  Prep the veg and then cook in a little olive oil in a wide frying pan.  Start with the leeks, when they are a bit soft add the carrots and a pint or so of veg stock, simmer.
5.  Add tomato puree to the stew, stir it around a bit - add more stock, water or red wine if its looking too dry.
6.  Add cabbage to the veg mix.
7.  This will probably have taken about 15 minutes - so, turn the heat off the veg and make a cup of tea.
8.  15 minutes later put the potatoes in a medium hot oven to roast - for about an hour and 15 minutes.
9.  Now is the time you get to read that book, do the crossword, put your feet up and watch the soaps .. or whatever (check on the stew now and again to check it hasn't gone dry).
10.  one hour later - pop the veg in the oven to warm up - stir a big spoonful of grainy mustard into the stew - and toss the potatoes around a bit.  15 minutes to dinner ...
11. Serve, scoff ... 2 of us ate enough for 4, but that's another story

Gammon in a mustard and cider sauce, with purple mash and cumin cabbage and carrots

It messes with your head a little bit does purple mash, but it's just purple potatoes, mashed ... and it's delicious.

The gammon is organic and came with the veg box - and was really good.

So, ...

Potatoes (they don't have to be purple!)
Olive oil
Onion
Grainy mustard
Cider
Cumin
Carrots
Cabbage
Bouillon powder (well, stock of any sort really)
Gammon
Butter

1.  Peel potatoes, chop into chunks and boil in salted water.
2.  Peel and chop onion, sautee in olive oil.
3.  Add a spoon of mustard to the onions, and about 1/2 pint cider.  Simmer.
4.  In another pan, heat a little olive oil and add a teaspoon of cumin seeds.
5.  Peel and slice carrots, shred cabbage.  Add to cumin and oil, and mix around.  Add half a cup of water, put a lid on and cook on a medium heat for about 12 minutes.
6.  When the potatoes are done, drain, add a good knob on butter and mash.  Put in a hottish oven to keep warm and/or if you have long enough get a crunchy crust on top.
7.  Add the gammon to the cider sauce, lid on simmer for about 5 minutes, turn over, and do the other side for 5 minutes or so.

Should all be done ... serve and scoff.

The veggie option was grilled haloumi with the onion sauce - removed before the meat was added.  Also delicious.

Roast chicken thighs, baked potatoes, roast squash and steamed brocolli

It's not a full roast dinner - but it's right good (and right good value).  There was also haloumi with leeks and tomato for the vegetarian contingent - but I forgot to take a pic...  Little extras which turn "bog standard" (not my words) into a bit special were garlic, mustard, bouillon powder (all available from The Mediterranean Pantry), and a splash of dry white wine (not available from the pantry - I'm not licensed.)

Also, I will admit, one of my biggest weaknesses in the kitchen is leaving the squash battling until it's unavoidable - or - as this week - done be a-n-other (thanks hun xxx), so the roast squash was not all mine.  It was prepped and roasted first, with some olive oil, garlic, lemon rind and black pepper for about 45 minutes.  I put it back into the oven 30 minutes before serving the rest ... ie.  after dealing with the potatoes and chicken, and about the same time as starting the leeks for the halloumi and putting the brocolli on to steam.

So:-

potatoes
olive oil
leeks
garlic
chicken thighs
bouillon powder
white wine
mustard
tomatoes
halloumi
brocolli

1.  Gratefully receive prepped squash :)
2.  Wash potatoes, prick with a fork and coat with olive oil (put a teaspoon of live oil in your hands and rub each pricked potato).  Put in microwave for 10 minutes (this just means that you  can bake them in under an hour - you could bake form scratch, obviously).
3.  Transfer the potatoes to the oven, and then start with the leeks for the chicken.  Sautee them gently for 10 minutes in olive oil for 10 minutes, add crushed garlic.
4.  Add chicken thighs, skin side down, to the onions and brown for about 3 minutes.
5.  Splash in white wine, stir in a splash of wine and stock made from bouillon and a big teaspoon of grainy mustard.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
6.  Transfer chicken to oven dish, add sauce - put in hot oven with potatoes for 30 minutes.  Put the prepped squash in the bottom of the oven to heat back through.
7.  After 10 mins - Cut broccoli into florets and steam. (takes about 15 mins from cold)
8.  Sautee leeks and crushed garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes, add chopped fresh tomatoes - season.
9.  Move leek mixture to the side of the pan and fry the halloumi (in slices) for a couple of minutes each side.
10.  It should be done now - so serve and scoff.

Lovely!

Smoked mackeral, beetroot pasta salad with mustard dressing.

Corn on the cob glut in the veg box, and some beetroot cooked already to use up.  So cooked up a bit of pasta with the corn kernals and steam some green beans, flaked some smoked mackeral and toss in dressing.  Serve with some shredded iceberg.  Dressing - crushed garlic, mustard, fresh lemon juice and olive oil - salt and pepper.

Mustard mash, cavolo nero and kale with pine nuts - and a bit of a vegtable ragu

Quite (!) a busy week, and  need to chill at the weekend - but also some teenage student fetching and carrying (not that I mind, actually) - so by Sunday teatime, some comfort food was in order.  BUT, this isn't just comfort food - this is comfort food with bells on - it is incredibly nutritious and delicious.  There is some butter in the mustard mash - but otherwise - gluten free and without anything processed.

Start with the potatoes, then chop the onion, then the greens.  If you get the onions softening before the potatoes have boiled, you are really on it.  Keep working on the ragu, put the shredded greens on top of the boiling potatoes when they have been boiling for a couple of minutes.

Keep the ragu cooking, adding stock if it gets too dry.

When potatoes are boiled and mashed, stick them under a hot grill to crisp up the top for 5 minutes.  Keep the greens warm and roast the pine nuts at the last minute.

Mustard mash

potatoes, peeled
butter
whole grain mustard

1.  Boil potatoes - chopped into even chunks - in salted water,
2.  When done, drain, and mash with a good knob of butter (olive oil or soya spread for vegans).
3.  Beat in a splodge of wholegrain mustard.

Cavolo nero, kale and pine nuts

1.  Shred cavolo nero and kale, steam on top of boiling potatoes.
2.  Roast pine nuts in dry frying pan.
3.  Toss pine nuts onto steamed leaves

Vegetable ragu

onion
garlic
olive oil
mixed herbs
yellow pepper
mushrooms
courgette
vegetable stock

1.  Sweat chopped onion in olive oil until a bit soft.
2. Add chopped pepper, mushrooms, courgette and herbs and continue to soften.
3. Add a cup of stock and simmer until vegetables are all soft and tasty.

delicious.  Really!  Try it!

Roast root vegetables, lentil casserole and cumin cabbage

End of veg box again - but this was really good.  Instructions are brief because I'm tired - but this was actually Sunday's dinner - tonight's was the leftovers made into a delicious shephard's pie thingamebob.

Roast root vegetables

Parboil prepped carrots, turnip and potatoes.  Put into oven proof dish, pour over vegetable stock with a teaspoon of grainy mustard.  Bake for 45+ minutes.

Lentil casserole

Sautee onions in olive oil, add chopped mushrooms and courgette.  Add crushed garlic and mixed herbs.  Add some lentils and some stock - simmer.  Then add some red wine, simmer.  Then add passata and lots of black pepper - simmer.

Cumin cabbage

When other stuff is about 20 minutes off simmer shredded cabbage and a teaspoon of cumin in a centimetre of water and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Veg and mac and cheese, green veg medley

Drizzle, drizzle, drizzle, drizzle ... not the dinner, the weather - it's all very tedious.   Lots of veg left in the veg box to use up.  Comfort food required.

So, two dishes...  if you can manage to juggle them, and start them more or less at the same time you could have them both on the table within 30 minutes - but I didn't - it was about an hour, but twas very tasty.


Veg and mac and cheese

kholrabi, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
cauliflower, florets separated, stem chopped into bite sized pieces
broccoli, florets separated, stem chopped into bite sized pieces
carrots, peeled and chopped - you guessed it - into bite sized pieces

Pasta (in this case gluten free)

soya milk (or ordinary milk, obvs)
mustard
corn flour
grated cheese (cheddar and cheshire today)

1.  Steam vegetables for about 12 minutes.
2.  Simmer pasta
3.  Boil soya milk, slake corn flour in water, add to hot milk to thicken sauce, whisk quickly over a low heat, to mix in until it thickens.  Season.  Add 3/4 of the grated cheese.
4.  Drain pasta, tip it with veg into an oven proof dish. (don't drain every last drop, some starchy water will help it remain moist). Pour over sauce, move about to mix in.
5.  Top with the remaining cheese and bake for 20+ minutes.

Green veg medley

leeks
olive oil
celery
garlic
white wine
chard

1. Chop and wash leeks.  Sweat down in olive oil.
2.  Add chopped celery and garlic, soften a bit more.  Add white wine and chopped chard stalks, cover and simmer.
3.  When veg are soft and nearly ready add shredded chard leaves, cover and  steam for five minutes.

Was lovely - have loads left for the freezer/ kitchen fairies lunches.  The gluten free pasta and the soya milk make the mac and cheese much lighter and fresher feeling.

Chicken salad, with avocado, pine nuts and red pepper

Mix 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise, 1 tbsp natural yogurt, 1 tsp dijon mustard, splash of balsamic and grinding of black pepper.  Chuck in 2 chopped spring onions, 1 chopped roasted red pepper (from a jar), 1 chopped avocado and 2 chopped, poached, cold chicken breasts, handful of herbs from garden - mix.  Shred chosen lettuce, add chicken mixture and sprinkle on roasted pine nuts.  It's not even a recipe it's so easy.  Delicious.  Veg 3. Dinner - left over BBQ casserole with rice and brocolli so veg at least 7.  Eggs 3.