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.

Salad days

Todmorden has seen a full 2 weeks of summer weather!  This is fairly unheard of!  This beautiful sunshine has led me to thinking of salad.   This dinner actually took 2 days to make, as the beetroot were baked and the chickpeas were soaked and cooked - but you could do it in an hour using tinned chickpeas and vac packed beetroot.

All of the ingredients can be found from Todmorden market.  The Mediterranean Pantry (chickpeas, olive oil, roasted peppers, balsamic vinegar, oregano, garlic), The Crumbly Cheese (feta) and Kev's veg stall for the veg/fruit.

Bake the beetroot, washed but not peeled, with garlic cloves and olive oil for about an hour, until a knife can pierce them without resistance.  Cool a little, then peel (I always wear gloves) and chop into chunks.  While still warm drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Soak chickpeas overnight, and then boil for at least an hour.  The chickpeas are done when you can squash them between your fingers.

Potatoes
Olive oil
white onion
red pepper
garlic
oregano
lemon
feta

Chickpeas
Roasted red pepper (from a jar, in oil)
red onion

Tomatoes
Red onion
Radish
Basil

Beetroot
Apple
Avocao
Red onion
Lime
Balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Potatoes, red pepper and feta

1. Peel the potatoes (I used Cyprus, they were delicious) and cut into wedges.  Place into a roasting pan.
2.  Add quarters of white onion, chunks of red pepper  and sliced garlic.
3.  Slosh on a glug of olive oil, a sprinkle of oregano and the juice of half a lemon.
4.  Add half a cup of water, cover in foil and bake for about 30 minutes ... the water means that the potatoes and pepper will steam as well as bake which makes them extra juicy.
5.  After 30 minutes remove foil, return to the oven for about 45 minutes.  The red pepper will char a bit, but it will be delicious.
6.  Remove from the oven, crumble feta over the pan.

Chickpea salad

1.  Chop red peppers from a jar.
2.  Mix chickpeas, red pepper, oil from the jar and finely sliced red onion.

Tomato salad

Mix chopped tomatoes, finely sliced red onion, torn basil and finely sliced radish.  Drizzle with olive oil (sparingly).

Beetroot, avocado and apple salad

Mix chopped beetroot, chopped avocado, finely sliced red onion and chopped apple together.  Immediately add the juice of a lime and turn ingredients until they are all lightly coated - this will help prevent the apple and avocado oxidising, and discolouring.  Splosh in a little more balsamic if needed.

Serve, scoff  ... 7 of your 5 a day ... result!

Pan fried salmon with spinach and hazelnut salad and beetroot

This is actually quite a quick dinner - as long as you bake the beetroot the night before!

Beetroot
Garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

New potatoes

Salmon

Red onion
Hazelnuts
Spinach

1.  The night before, ie. bunged in the oven while that dinner was being made, put scrubbed, but unpeeled beetroot in a baking pan with whole garlic cloves, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Cover tightly with foil.  Roast for an hour or so, until the flesh is soft to a sharp knife.  Leave to cool.
2.  Cut new potatoes into "chips" and place on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake for about 30 minutes.
3.  Peel and chop the beetroot, add balsamic vinegar and toss.
4.  Finely chop a red onion, crush some hazelnuts and sprinkle both onto baby spinach.
5.  Pan fry the salmon, skin side first, in a hot pan - 2-3 minutes each side.
6.  Scoff.

Mackerel, with warm potato salad and a saffron vinaigrette

Beautiful mackerel, jersey royals and a fresh crisp cos lettuce.  Magic.  Added an extremely tasty warm vinaigrette with saffron and fresh herbs.  The second best mackerel I have ever had - the best being mackerel I had caught myself and barbequed on the beach!

All of this gorgeous produce available on Todmorden market (except the wine).




Jersey Royal potatoes
White wine
Saffron
Sherry vinegar
Oregano
Chives
Wholegrain mustard
Olive oil
Black pepper
Lettuce

1.  Scrub the potatoes, and boil until done.
2.  Soak the saffron in white wine, heat gently in a small saucepan.
3.  Add a splash of sherry vinegar and a splash of water, reduce briefly.
4.  Take off the heat and whisk in herbs, mustard and oil.
5.  When the potatoes are nearly done pan fry, or grill, the mackerel - whichever needs to be hot - for a couple of minutes each side.
6.  Lightly crush the potatoes and stir in a couple of tablespoons of the vinaigrette.  Do this while the potatoes are still warm, as they will suck up more of the flavours.  The potatoes can be eaten hot, warm or cold.
7.  Serve the fish drizzled with the vinaigrette, which can also be used to dress the salad leaves.

It was FABULOUS.

Veg box fritters with new potatoes - from the allotment.

The photo makes it all look a bit dark - I blame my photographic skills, not my cooking.  These fritters are NOT burnt, they were browned to perfection.

The new potatoes are our first crop from the allotment - very proud!  And, very delicious.

The fritters:

Corn on the cob
Carrot
Courgette
Red onion
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Turmeric
Chili flakes
Salt
Gram flour
Bicarbonate of soda
Rape seed oil

1.  Scrape kernels from sweetcorn (or use tinned/frozen).
2.  Grate peeled carrots, onion and courgette.
3.  Mix all veg together and add salt, let sit for at least 10 minutes to draw out some of the moisture (not to drain off, to activate the bicarb).
4.  Add in spices, mix well.
5.  Add gram flour, bicarb, and mix well.
6.  Fry, gently, in rape seed oil.
7.  Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.

Yogurt sauce

Natural yogurt
Crushed garlic
Lemon juice
Olive oil

1.  Mix ingredient together, and season to taste.

Tomato and basil salad ... yup. tomato, basil and salt.

I would have added a green salad, but no leaves left from the veg box.  However, this was all delish and the yogurt sauce went spectacularly with the fritters.

Smoked trout salad

The summer seems to have deserted the north - but the lettuces in the trug have still clung on, so despite thunder and lightening, it was time to have sunshine in the kitchen.

New potatoes
Hot smoked trout

Little gem lettuce
Parsley
Sorrel
Olive oil
Lemon juice

Tomatoes
Spring onions
Radishes
Salt
Olive oil
Basil

Carrots
Sesame seeds

So 4 salads ...

1.  start by washing and boiling new potatoes.
2.  Wash and spin lettuce leaves, add fresh parsley leaves and sorrel leaves (not chopped up as a garnish, but as salad leaves).
3.  Drizzle on olive oil and squeeze on the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  Toss gently as you serve.
4.  Chop the tomatoes, radishes and spring onions, drizzle with a little olive oil, tear in a few basil leaves and grind on rock salt.
5.  Peel and grate carrots, mix in a spoonful of sesame seeds,
6.  Flake smoked trout into the potatoes,
7.  Scoff

(Turn the heating up and pretend that summer is here)

Cod baked with fennel, with parsley oil

Lovely cod fillet in the organic box today, and some fennel, courgette and new potatoes.  Loads of parsley growing in the trug.  The sun was also beating down, so time for a delicious summer supper.

New potatoes
Fennel
Lemon juice
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Courgette
Cod
Parsley

1.  Wash new potatoes and put on to boil (about 15 minutes).
2.  Chop fennel into 3/4 cm strips - removing outer tough leaves.  Place in oven proof dish and splosh on olive oil and the juice of half a lemon, season - and microwave to soften for 5 minutes (if I had more time I would steam).
3.  Chop courgettes and add to fennel. 
4.  Layer cod onto veg and drizzle with olive oil, spritz of lemon juice, season and bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes or so.
5.  Zizz huge handful of parsley in olive oil, add a spritz of lemon juice and a turn of salt and pepper.  Zizz a bit more, strain through a fine sieve.  Drizzle over the fish and veg when it is served.

This was light and very tasty.  Fennel and parsley oil is particularly delicious, and not something we had tried before.  Definitely a do again dinner.  Next time I might fry the courgette briefly first, and add some petit pois for colour, but it doesn't really need it.

Roast cauliflower, jersey royals and vegetable medley

Once again the photo doesn't do it justice ... but this was lovely.  The cauliflower was roasted whole, the jersey royals were par boiled and roasted (yes, yes, I know ... should be boiled/steamed and served with butter .. but they were absolutely sweet and delicious roasted).

So, what did I do....?

1.  Take the big floppy leaves from the outside of the cauliflower.  Leave the nice cuddly soft leaves, they are delicious.  Drizzle with oil oil and sprinkle with salt, sumin seeds and sumac.  Squeeze on juice of half a lemon.
2,  Stick the cauliflower in a hottish oven - for an hour(ish)
3.  Boil the jersey royals, for 5 mins, and then stick in hot olive oil, in a roasting tray, in the oven.
4.  The veg ... in olive oil gently fry 1 chopped and washed leek, 1 celery stick, a small handful of green beans, a peeled and chopped carrot and some crushed garlic.
5.  Add some water to the frying veg and simmer until al dente ... add shredded spring greens.

Twas delish innit.

Re-imagined salad nicoise

The end of the veg box included courgettes, cabbage, green beans and tomatoes.  The new veg box brought lots of things, but including some nice new potatoes - so I re-imagines a salad nicoise - green beans in a tasty sauce - new potatoes and boiled eggs (could have added tuna, but preferred to stay veggie today).  Also, a spoonful of steamed cabbage - we have so much, and it's really nice, so why not?

Easy bits, boil - washed and chopped, diced new potatoes, steam - green beans and chopped cabbage on top.

Gently cook chopped celery, courgette, shallot and tomatoes in olive oil with garlic, wild rosemary and a few chili flakes.  Cook them slowly, stirring now and again, until they are all soft and silky in the olive oil.  Boil eggs - peel shells off.

Mix beans and veg sauce - serve with potatoes, eggs and cabbage.

Scoff - have seconds!

Mackerel salad "nicoise" and carrot and grapefruit salad

Veg box and some smoked mackerel in the fridge ... and a little bit of sun - so - SALAD.

New potatoes
Green beans
Lettuce
pea shoots
Tomatoes
Red pepper
1/2 cucumber
Handful black olives
Smoked mackerel
3 large carrots
3 spring onions
Mustard seeds
1 grapefruit
1 clove garlic, crushed
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
English mustard

1.  Boil potatoes and steam green beans.
2.  Mix dressing - garlic, tiny teaspoon mustard, olive oil, juice of half a grapefruit, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar - season and taste.
3.  Drain potatoes and beans and chuck on dressing while still warm.
4.  Mix in other chopped salad vegetables - cucumber, lettuce, pea shoots, red pepper, tomatoes and olives.
5.  Flake on smoked mackerel and toss.

Carrot salad

1.  Peel and grate carrots, add chopped spring onions.
2.  Add 2 tbsp onion seeds and juice of half a grapefruit and a big pinch of salt.

Scoff, with lovely victim, and a nice glass of wine.  Summer is here.  We were particularly impressed with the grapefruit in the carrot salad.  Enough left for 2 packed lunches, so that was a bonus too.

Effortless plaice and vegetables

Home alone this week, as my primary victim is enjoying a week sailing in the sun in the Greek Islands.  So, after catching up with work today, wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity to cook fish (primary victim is not keen on the flavour, and HATES the smell) - but to also have time available for lots of faffing.  I find that faffing is an activity best enjoyed in quiet me moments.

So, this took 10 minutes (if that) to put together, and left me with a full hour to enjoy faffing / mooching - and a little bit of plotting.

Then, make a hash of putting it out, but it was delish nontheless.


Recipe

1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek
Handful green beans
I clove garlic
4 big (or more smaller) mushrooms
4 medium sized new potatoes
2 tomatoes
2 plaice fillets
1 lemon

Do this:-

1.  Chop leek and sautee in olive oil.
2.  Add chopped green beans, chopped mushrooms, sliced potatoes and crushed garlic, stir around for a minute.
3.  Add a cup of water.  Simmer for a couple of minutes.  Move veg around to form a single layer.
4.  Layer fish on top.  Add tomato and lemon slices.
5.  Season, cover - stick in oven for about 30 minutes (or an hour in this case).

First decent dinner of 2012

Really!! .. we have been living out of the freezer, cupboards and phoned for a takeaway... However, "decent" - may be an over statement, but at least it was homemade, fresh and generally wholesome - the potatoes and gratin were both over done - and the presentation is limited.  I put it down to sluggish brain combined with indecision after the lurgy.  Anyway - it was - chicken in white wine and mushroom sauce with cauliflower and brussel sprout gratin, roast new potatoes, grandma's carrots.  "Recipes" - par boil halved new potatoes, then roast in hot olive oil; for the gratin used this recipe (almost - much less rich.., had no sage  - used some thyme, and used broken up crackers - cos they were left over - for the crust - from here) http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2008/11/cauliflower_and_brussels_sprout_gratin, carrots boiled and drained, and chopped furiously with a sharp knife with butter and lots of black pepper.  Saute onion and garlic, turn up heat, brown chicken strips on all sides chuck in big handful of mushrooms and good splosh of white wine.  Cook chicken through - remove - stir cream into wine mixture for sauce - pour over chicken.  Serve all bits and pieces and scoff.  Victim said some rude things about overcooked potatoes, but actually we both enjoyed vegetable gratin, and all the elements together.  (Victim had seconds of moaned about potatoes).

Lamb steak, crushed new potatoes with humous with spring veg

Greek inspired dinner - inspired also by fresh new potatoes from Sue, and tiny harvest of veg from the garden - infact we had 2 x runner beans and 10 micro tomatoes - with some chives and mint, so supplemented this with organic veg from the box and some stuff from the fridge.  Thanks Sue for the potatoes - fresh from the garden - delicious.

Method - boil new potatoes for 15 ish minutes, meanwhile chop and saute in olive oil spring onion, garlic, 2 yellow courgettes, about 8 runner beans and a big handful of cherry tomatoes.  Add tbsp olive oil, oregano and a cup of water - simmer for about 20 mins.  Marinate lamb rump steaks in olive oil and greek type herbs and spices - cumin, garlic, mint, black pepper, tiny bit of cinamon, oregano.  Pan fry on high heat for about 4 minutes each side until there is a nice caramelised crust and the centre is still slightly pink.  Mix together tbsp olive oil, I heaped tbsp humous with about the same of greek yogurt and a good squeeze of lemon, grind in black pepper, salt and loads of chopped chives.  Crush boiled potatoes and stir in sauce while still warm.

The best lamb I have ever tasted I think - but victim wanted hers cooked a bit longer.  The lovely new potatoes didn't really need dressing, but this garlicky yogurty sauce rang the changes and moistenned the dish.  A success all round I would say.