Steak au poivre

Butter me up.

Ingredients


Sirloin/Rump steak
Black pepper
White pepper
Salt (Maldon or something tasty)
Butter
Brandy


Method


Crush about a teaspoon of mixed white and black peppercorns per steak. Season the meat with salt flakes. Press down onto the ground pepper.

Heat your griddle until smoking. Lay the steak down into it. The key thing with beef is: Do not turn it until one side is cooked, keep the heat high, and let it rest for a minute before serving/slicing.

If the pan is clean, add a lump of butter after transferring the steak onto a warmed plate with a piece of kitchen roll. Add a healthy dash of brandy - I almost singed my face off when cooking this, so keep the pan at arm's length. Season with salt and pepper and let the alcohol burn off (flambeing is fun).

Cover the steak with the butter, alcoholic sauce. Serve with bread, and salad with white wine vinegar and olive oil. Tasty!

Vietnamese Pork Belly

Courtesy of this.

Ingredients


Pork Belly
Fish sauce (2 parts)
Sugar (3 parts)
Water (1 part)
Garlic


Method


Slice the pork belly quite thick. Heat it in a frying pan fat/skin side down until golden.

Mix the fish sauce, sugar and water in a bowl. Chop the garlic finely.

Turn the pork belly. Add the garlic. It should take about 5 minutes for the garlic to roast, and for the other side of the pork belly to crisp up.

Add the fish sauce mix to the pan. Let it sizzle and caramelize while stirring.

Remove from pan and add freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with rice, and steam broccoli.

Delicious!

Tom Kha Goong - Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup

Aah yeah!

Ingredients


Coconut milk
Stock (vegetable or chicken)
Lime leaves
Galangal
Red Chilli
Lemongrass
Coriander
Lime

Shrimp (Gambas or similar)

Fish sauce
Green chillis
Sesame oil

Rice


Method


Prepare the rice as you like it.


If using long red chillies, slice thinly. Otherwise, chop the red chilli finely. Halve the lime leaves, removing the stem. Slice the galangal. Bash up the lemon grass, so that it releases its flavour but it is still in tact. Or slice lengthways - remember to remove the tough outer leaves. Chop up some coriander.

Empty a tin of coconut milk into a pan. Add 2/3 of the same amount of stock. Add the ingredients above to the pan and bring to a simmer. Add some fish sauce and lime juice.

For the shrimp, you want to keep the head and tail on. Remove the rest of the shell carefully.

Taste the soup. If it is too sweet, add more fish sauce. If it is not spicy enough, mash the green chillies, coriander, fish sauce and sesame oil with a pestle and mortar to make a spicy paste. Add it to the soup and stir.

Boil the shrimp in the soup for about 4 minutes. Serve the soup, and top with fresh coriander and squeeze of lime. Together with the rice, it makes a substantial and tasty meal.

Beef Noodles with Oyster Sauce

What to do with a leftover steak?

Ingredients


Beef, thinly sliced
Flour
Soy sauce
Onion
Green bell pepper
Noodles (Ho Fun or something similar)
Oyster sauce
Sugar


Method


Cover the sliced beef in flour and soy sauce.

Heat a wok and add some oil. When ready, throw in the beef and thickly sliced onion and pepper.

Mix one part oyster sauce with one part soy sauce, and a dose of sugar and some black pepper. Cover the beef with this.

Add the noodles (boiled beforehand if necessary) and let it all heat through briefly in the wok. Serve piping hot.

Paprika and Vinegar Roast Pork, Chorizo Paella

Spanish stylee...

Ingredients


Pork Hock (or any other meaty pork joint)
Paprika
Sugar
White wine vinegar
Thyme
Bay leaves
Soy sauce
Olive oil
Lemon

Chorizo
Bell Peppers
Onion
Paella rice
White wine
Vegetable stock
Saffron
Lemon


Method


Mix the spices and liquids from the first list, and smear over the seasoned pork after rubbing it with lemon. Throw on some thyme and bay leaves. Leave to marinate for 1 day.

Set the oven to a fairly low temperature. Brown the pig in a very hot pan, before transferring to oven to cook slowly.

Fry the diced chorizo and strips of pepper, then remove from pan. In the same pan, fry some diced onion. After a while, add the rice and stir. Throw in some white wine, and let it soak and sizzle.

Return the chorizo to the rice pan, and add the stock (roughly 250ml rice - 500ml stock). Mix in the saffron. Season. Layer the peppers on top. Cover with foil, and cook in the oven for about 25 minutes, or cook on the hob. Leave it rest, covered, for about 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish the paella with lemon and parsley. Wine is essential with this dish!

Beef Shin with Chorizo

Spanish stylee...

Ingredients


Beef shin (about 500gs)
Onion
Carrot
Peppercorns
Bay leaves
Cloves
Thyme
Parsley stalks
Red wine

Onion
Carrot
Chorizo
Tomatoes
Paprika

Method


Brown the beef shin and remove from pan.

Add the sliced onion and chunky carrots. After a few minutes, add the herbs and spices from the first list.
Return the beef to the pan. Add the red wine to just about cover the meat. Bring to a simmer.
Remember to season as you go. Simmer gently for about 60-90 minutes.

When beef is tender, strain the contents of the pan (reserve the jus). Fry up some diced onion and finely cut carrots in the pan. Add the chorizo after 10 minutes. Then add the tomato, or tomato puree, and paprika.

Put the beef chunks back in with this mix, and cover with the jus. Thicken it by reducing, or adding cornflour if necessary.

Tastes much better on the next day, so store overnight, and remove whatever fat you can.

Pork Chop with Caper Butter Sauce

Meaty

Ingredients


Pork chop
Butter
Lemon
Capers
Thyme

Method


Pork chops often need a good beating to be tenderised. Do that, then season generously.

Get a pan of butter frying on a low heat. Add the pork chop. Turn it once after about 5 minutes, depending on the size of your chop. When it has been satisfactorily cooked, transfer it to a hot plate.

Melt some fresh butter, then add some capers. Squeeze in some lemon. Finally, add the herbs. Drizzle over the pork chop, and serve with something like carrots.

Paella

Paella. 'Nuff said.

Ingredients

Chicken breast

Chorizo

Squid

Peppers

Onion

Paella rice (250g)

White wine
Prawns

Chicken stock (500ml)

Saffron

Method

Clean and briefly boil the squid. Skin and chop the tomatoes.

Season the chicken. Fry in olive oil. Remove from the pan.

Fry the chorizo and bell peppers in the same pan. Remove from pan.

Fry the diced onion, then add the rice. Throw in some white wine. Add the chopped tomatoes.

Return the chorizo and peppers to the pan. Throw in some saffron. Add the stock. Put the chicken breasts and langoustine atop the rice. Cover and bring back to the boil.

Place in a pre-heated oven (about 160) for about 30 minutes. Leave it with lid on for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley. Squeeze lemon over it. Enjoy!

Moules Marinieres, with a chilli twist

Messing with the classics, to good effect.

Ingredients


Mussels (roughly 300gs per person)
Onion
Bay leaf
Thyme
Garlic
White wine
Parsley
Lemon
Chilli
French bread

Method


I've made the standard creamy, rich moules marinieres. It's good. But I prefer this. Take out the cream, add some chilli.

Clean your mussels. Pull out their beards. Dont scrub the shells.

Start by frying some diced onion in butter. Add a few bay leaves and thyme. Add some chopped garlic. Add some white wine to the pan (about 150ml for a large portion). Let it burn off the alcohol.

Add the cleaned mussels to the pot. Return to the boil, and cover for about 3 minutes. Strain the juice into a serving bowl. Add the mussels.

Chop the parsley (or coriander) and cover the mussels. Squeeze a heap of lemon juice all over. Add a finely chopped chilli to the proceedings and you're good to go.

Steak Baguette, Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

Ah yeah!

Ingredients


Steak (Sirloin or Rump)
Olive oil
Butter
English mustard
Baguette

Asparagus spears (3 or 4 per person)
Egg yolks
Butter
Lemon

Method


Season the steak heartily. Heat a pan, and add the oil and butter. Keep the heat low until the butter melts. Then turn the heat up. Put the steak in the pan. How long you fry it for depends on the thickness of the steak and how you like it. More importantly, do not turn it more than once, and always leave it rest for a minute before cutting it.

Melt the butter (about 75gs per serving). Simmer a pan of water. Mix up the egg yolks (one per serving) in a glass bowl. Add a wee bit of the water and mix again. Put the bowl over the water. Gradually pour in the clarified butter while whisking. Add a generous squeeze of lemon at the end. Turn off the heat but leave the pan over the water to keep it warm.

The asparagus can be cooked simply by boiling them for about 5 minutes (remember to cut off the woody ends).

Slice the steak and serve it in a baguette covered in English mustard with the asparagus and hollandaise on the side. Season the hollandaise with salt and pepper before eating.

Vietnamese-ish Beef Curry

Full o' flavour, just how I like it.

Ingredients


Beef (shin or chuck)
Flour

Cinnamon stick
Cardamom
Peppercorns
Bay leaves
Cloves

Onions
Garlic
Ginger
Chillies

Turmeric
Cumin
Chilli powder / Cayenne pepper

Tomato puree
Water


Yoghurt
Garam Masala


Method


Coat the beef in flour and season. Brown it off in a casserole.

Add the next batch of ingredients (cinnamon, bay leaves, etc.) and let them sizzle. Add the onion, garlic ginger and chillies. Return the beef to the pan.

Stir in the spices - turmeric, etc. Then add the tomato - I used puree. Top it up with some water. Mix the yoghurt in with some salt and garam masala. Add this to the casserole.

Let it cook for about an hour or more on a low heat.

Serve with rice, or chapati.

Chicken, mushroom leek pie, with glazed carrots

Comforting, warming... tasting.

Ingredients


Chicken thighs
Onion
Chicken stock
Bay leaves
Thyme
Mushrooms
Leeks
Garlic
Parsley
Puff pastry

Small carrots
Water
Sugar
Salt
Mustard

Method


Season the meat. Brown the chicken thighs (with the bone) in a casserole. Remove from pan and brown the onions. Return the meat to the pan, and add the stock and herbs. Let it simmer away for 30 minutes or so.

In a separate pan, fry the slices mushrooms, leeks, and garlic in butter. Season and add parsley. Place it in the pie dish, and add the chicken from the casserole.

Depending on how you like your pie filling, add some milk, and some cornflour to thicken it. Let it reduce for 10 minutes or so. Add the mixture to the pie dish.

Clean the carrots. Place in a frying pan and almost cover them with cold water. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar per 500ml water, and some salt. Bring it to a boil and let it boil away until the water reduces (about 30 minutes).

Cover the pie mixture with the pastry and place in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.

Towards the end of the carrot process, add the mustard and some more parsley.

Serve it together with some mash potato, if you like potatoes with pastry. Eat.

Pot-au-feu with Pork Belly

Hearty French peasant dish.

Ingredients


Pork Belly
Bay leaves
Water

Carrots
Garlic
Bouquet Garni (Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Bay)

Potatoes (Maris Piper)
Leeks
Shallots
Celery

Mustard

Method


Season the belly with sea salt and pepper. Place some bay leaves in on the meat side (not the fat side). Roll it up and tie it with string. Fry in a hot pan until it has developed a nice colour.

Place it in a casserole and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer lightly for about 45 minutes to an hour. Skim off the fatty impurities.

Add the carrots (long, thick slices, not chopped), garlic (whole cloves) and the bouquet garni. Continue to cook for 30 minutes.

Add the chopped leeks, shallots, celery and more seasoning. Continue cooking for another 45 minutes to an hour. Taste the stock and add more seasoning if necessary.

Slice the pork belly, add the vegetables and stock. Serve with dijon mustard, or, my preference, hot English mustard. Delicious!

Tom Kha Gai - Variations on Thai Coconut Soup

Spicy, creamy, salty, zingy... I love Thai flavours!

Ingredients


Coconut milk
Green birds eye chillies
Ginger (or preferably Galangal)
Fish sauce
Chicken stock
Lemongrass
Lime leaves
Coriander
Lime
Prawns

Method


Chop your chillies and ginger finely, mash in the lime leaves, coriander, and juice from the lime. Add to a pan of coconut milk and chicken stock. Add the fish sauce. Put in the lemon grass. Bring it to a simmer. Add the prawns (taking the shell off makes it easier to eat, but they will cook very quickly).

Best served with rice which makes an excellent way to mop up the sauce.

It's simple, but so tasty.

Note on galangal: I've never found it here in my hometown. I find ginger is an adequate substitute because it's a flavour we're used to here in England, but galangal should be used if possible.

Parisian Bistrots

A recent trip to Paris yielded three awesome bistrots, or more accurately, bistronomes (an amalgamation of gastronome and bistrot - a type of restaurant combining traditional foods with diverse ingredients and techniques).

Les Racines - 22 rue Monsieur Le Prince

Friendly staff and an awesome menu. The wine menu was reasonable. I had duck with honey and lemon. The meat, I think, was cooked sous-vide, making it tender and juicy. The sauce itself was the best thing I've ever tasted. So good that my friend stole it by soaking it up with chunks of bread. One note, the desserts were universally disappointing after such an awesome main.

Le Pre Verre - 8 rue Thenard

Lunch was a mere 14 euros including a glass of wine. Can't argue with that. Tender beef, fried, pickled ginger and the finest mash ever. Bo!

Au pied de fouet - 45 Rue Babylone

I found this place at the recommendation of a local butcher. Man, did he get it right. Poached beef cheeks, sour mayonnaise sauce, and funny staff. What's more, I was sat next to a man who looked like Max Von Sidow.

Thai, Indian and Jamaican Hamburgers

Spicy hamburgers to rock your palate

Ingredients


Pork mince
Spring onion
Garlic
Breadcrumbs
Egg

Chilli (Birds eye)
Ginger
Coriander
Fish sauce

Turmeric
Garam Masala
Curry Powder
Lime pickle

Scotch Bonnet pepper
Cloves
Thyme

Sliced tomato

Method


First, make your basic hamburger mix. Chop the spring onion and garlic finely. Add to the mince. Add the crumbs, or crumbly cream crackers. Add egg yolk and mix thoroughly.

Prepare your ingredients  for the various types of burgers (chop chillies finely) and add to the mince. Note that the fish sauce should be used in the Thai style burger instead of salt, while the other two types should be seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Also note that the lime pickle should be spread on the bun, and not mixed into the mince.

Once you have mixed your ingredients, they can be kept in the fridge until needed.

Heat a griddle pan until very hot. Fry the burger for about one minute on each side to get them to a good colour, then reduce the heat and cook through (about ten minutes).

Buns should be grilled (lightly toasted) on one side. Mayonnaise is a good counter for the heat, as is a slice of tomato. The Lime Pickle is awesome with the Indian burger.

Go crazy and experiment with these flavours.

Chilli, Ginger and Lime marinated Pork Hock with Yoghurt dressing

Hock me up!

Ingredients

Pork hock

Ginger

Birds eye chillies

Lime

Soy sauce

Garlic

Pepper

Coriander

Honey

Yoghurt

Lime

Coriander

Method

This requires about 24 hours of marinating time.

Smear the hock with honey. Chop up the chilli (about 4 per hock), garlic, ginger, and pepper. Mix with lime juice and soy sauce. Spread over the hock and leave it in the fridge to marinate.

Removing the hock from the marinade, fry the hock in a griddle pan to brown it all over. Put it into an oven proof pan, and pour over the marinade. Put it in a preheated oven at about 150 for 2 hours.

Mix the yoghurt with lime juice, salt, and olive oil. Sprinkle in lots of fresh coriander.

Serve the hock with the yoghurt and either rice or white beans.

Leeks n' Cream (with a secret ingredient)

Just like a mamma (didn't) used to make...

Ingredients

Leeks

Butter

Double cream

N**meg

Method

Boil a pan of salty water. Cut the leeks in three, then halve them, and slice lengthways to make 2 inch ribbons of leek. Add them to the water and boil for about 2 minutes.

Drain the leeks. Add to a buttery frying pan. Season heartily. Let them soak in the flavours for a few minutes. Add the cream to your liking.

Season again with salt and pepper if necessary. Grate a nutmeg over it cautiously.

Serve immediately. Ideal with chicken or any full-on, meaty flavour, like duck.

Pig's Liver, Clove and Apple Pate

Strictly for my fans of fruit and meat.

Ingredients

Pig's livers (about 400g)

Shallot

Garlic

Clove

Bay leaf

Brandy

Cream

Butter

Apple

Clove

Thyme

Method

Soak the livers in milk. Fry the shallot on a low heat in loads of butter. Add the minced garlic, bay leaf and clove. Remove the livers from the milk and add to the pan. Cook them quite well, but not over done.

Season generously throughout with salt and pepper, as always.

Add this mixture to the blender (except the leaf), then deglaze the pan with brandy and cream. Add this liquid to the blender. Whizz for a few minutes to get it smooth.

Empty this mixture out into a sieve. Squeeze it through to get a fine paste. This takes a lot of work, but the texture is much better for it.

Put the smooth pate into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Skin and slice an apple. Get a pan of butter on the hob and add some thyme. Put in the slices of apple and crushed clove. Brown the apple on both sides. Layer it on top of the pate.

Melt some more butter and cover the pate with some of the froth that rises as the butter melts.

Leave it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours and serve on warm, crusty bread.

Pork Belly Sandwich

Pork belly... nuff said.

Ingredients

Pork Belly

Rosemary

Shallots

Honey

Balsamic vinegar

Method

Season the pork belly generously with salt and pepper. Rub in lots of rosemary and olive oil. Fry it in a griddle pan for about 4 minutes, then turn it. Make sure you fry the fatty edge too to get it crisped up.

Meanwhile. slice the shallot and fry them gently in butter. When they start to brown, add some honey and then the balsamico. Turn off the heat.

As always, let the meat rest for a minute before serving. I like to let it lie on a piece of kitchen paper to soak up some of the fat if it is excessively greasy.

Layer one side of thick crusty bread with the shallots and place the belly pork on top of it (you might want to slice the pork, depending on the thickness of the pork).

Salmon Cream Spaghetti

Easy but delicious

Ingredients

Salmon fillet

Spaghetti

Double cream

Thyme

Dill

Broccoli/asparagus

Method

Boil a big pan of water with plenty of salt and oil. Add the spaghetti. High-grade spaghetti will take about 9 minutes for al dente.

Scale and season the salmon fillet - you want a heavy seasoning of salt and pepper. Fry it, skin side down, in butter.

Steam the broccoli (ideally miniature florets) or cook the asparagus in some boiling water and butter.

Turn over the salmon fillet. Transfer to a warmed plate after about 2 minutes (depends on thickness of fillet).

If the salmon pan is clean, add the cream (if not, use a new pan), dill and thyme. Add a heap more pepper and some salt. Drain the spaghetti and add to the lightly simmering cream mixture.

Layer the salmon fillet on top of the spaghetti, and line with broccoli.

The pink salmon and bright greens offset the pale pasta perfectly. An unctuous creamy dish.

Creating Flavour: Epiphany #2: Colour

It's not my intention to be pretentious here, but food is art. A gastronomic experiment is creative expression. Yet unlike most art forms it has the advantage of olfactory and gustative dimensions. But that's not to take away from the quintessential artistic element: the visual.

What I found recently, and the reason for this epiphany, is that colour and flavour are intrinsically connected. I always knew it, but the fact that colour has a bearing on taste smacked me round the chops when I made this. It is a dish composed of a kaleidoscope of colours and flavours. Most notably, avocado and lime.

Two bright, bold green objects, avocado and lime. And they taste green too. Colour has more than just a visual impact. Different colours resonate with us emotionally and gustatitively too. The standout ingredient of this year's Masterchef was mango, a fruit known for it sweet juiciness, but also it's vivid and changing colours.

A large chunk of flavour is in smell, they say. I say, it's in colour too. My food will from now on keep this in mind - colour and flavour are one and the same.

Ginger, chilli and soy marinated Asian Tuna steak, avocado guacamole, red pepper rice

Dribble...

Ingredients

Tuna

Ginger

Kikkoman shoyu (soy sauce)

Sesame oil

Birds eye chilli

Sugar

Lime

Red pepper, diced

Onion, diced

Rice

Avocado

Salt

Olive oil

Lime

Method

Needs a few hours marinating time, preferably more. Mix the grated ginger, shoyu, oil, lime juice and chilli (1 per steak). Pour over the tuna. Leave in fridge.

Dice the pepper and onion and fry in oil. Add rice and salt. Stir. Add boiling water to a half a cm above the rice and simmer at lowest heat (reduction method).

Scoop out the flesh of the avocado, add the oil, salt and a squeeze of lime juice. Mix it hard.

Sear the tune steak in a lightly oiled griddle for about 1 minute each side.

Serve with steamed pak choi, or some other refreshing green. Creating flavour on ya!

Cheese on toast a la Smoked Mackerel

A bizarre combo, but it works!

Ingredients

Smoked mackerel

Cheese (parmesan, or even cheddar)

Cream

Horseradish

Chillies

Bread

Method

Remove the skin and bones from the mackerel. Add the grated cheese, cream and grated horseradish. Season with plenty of pepper. Mix it.

Smother the mixture on toast and top with fresh chopped chillies.

Serve with a salad.

Lamb shanks with red wine

Lamb shanks are a good meat for long cooking.

Ingredients

Lamb shanks

Onions

Garlic

Red Wine

Bay leaves

Rosemary

Carrots

Fennel

Method

This is best marinated overnight. Put the lamb, wine, garlic and herbs in a tub to soak up the flavours.

The next day, season the lamb shanks with salt, pepper and flour. I also added some mustard. Brown them in butter or duck fat. Place in your baking dish.

Fry off the onions and add to the baking dish. The garlic should be whole or halved. Put the garlic, wine and herbs in the dish. You'll need about half a bottle per 500g's of meat.

Oven should be low - about 140 - so it can cook for a good 2 or more hours without drying out.

Add the carrots and sliced fennel after about 1 and a half hours.

Season the stew with salt and pepper. Check the flavours.

You might want to increase the heat towards the end to reduce the sauce.

Eat with bread and fresh green peas.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

I'm not very good with sweet things, but who can go wrong with these flavours?

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate

200g Peanut butter (salty)

Salt

Method

Melt just over half of the chocolate with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Put it in the microwave for about 1 or 2 minutes to melt. Stir it good.

Put the chocolate into some small paper liners to make a base. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Make sure your peanut butter is salty. You can add crumbs and mix it up, or sugar to sweeten. Put a dollop in each liner. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Melt the rest of the chocolate. Top each cup with a smooth smearing of chocolate. Refrigerate for about one hour.

Eat!

Creating Flavour: Epiphany #1: Chicken

Have you noticed that things don't taste of very much? I swear I can actually taste the manure and fertilizer on fruit and vegetables these days above their natural flavours. Meat is particularly bad from supermarkets. Putting a picture of the farmer on the packaging doesn't excuse the fact that it's bland and of poor quality.

I only know this because yesterday I had an epiphany. I stopped into my local farm shop and bought a chicken breast. This was no normal chicken breast. It had been expertly butchered - it was obvious from the fact that the wing had been left in tact, and the skin was taut. This chicken also led a happy life. It was full and meaty, not in some GM-experiment kind of way, but because, like me, it had eaten good food all its life.

I bought one - 2.95. Not bad for a quality bit of meat, but a lot more expensive than Sainsbury's 4 for 3 pounds budget range. It was worth every penny. I cooked it in loads of garlic and lemon and butter and herbs, yet the meat was still tastable through the other flavours. I had fried it and roasted it, yet it was as succulent and tender as a peach from the Ardeche.

I know we can't all always afford to buy this stuff, or we don't have the time to go Farm Shops. But the difference was mind-blowing. This was the best chicken I'd ever had. Worth 2.95? I think so.

Breast of Chicken with Tomato Compote

With chicken, it's all about quality ingredients.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast

Salt

Pepper (black and white)

Lemon

Butter

Garlic (about 4 cloves per breast)

Rosemary

Thyme

Tomato (pomodorino, or something smallish)

Garlic

Bay leaf

Olive oil

Method:

Set the oven to 160.

Season the chicken breast with salt, black and white pepper and the herbs. Make a mix of butter, lemon juice, and chopped garlic (loads of it). Smear it over the chicken.

Roast whole garlic cloves with whole tomatoes in olive oil. Add a bay leaf.

Fry the chicken on a high heat in butter (or duck fat) to brown it all over. Transfer to the oven and roast for about 25 minutes (I had a huge chicken breast).

Remove the skins from the tomatoes once roasted. Mash up the tomatoes with the roast garlic to make a pasty compote. Let the chicken stand before serving. Eat and enjoy.

Pork Liver Pate

A simple pate, easy to make, and tasty.

Ingredients:

Pork livers

Milk

Butter

Brandy

Cream (optional)

Method:

Soak the pork livers in milk. Heat a load of butter to quite hot. Remove livers from milk and fry in butter (medium). Put a heap more of butter, cream (optional) and pork livers with the melted butter into a blender, season, and mix heartily. Burn off the alcohol from the brandy and add to the mix. Blend again.

Press the mix through a sieve into a bowl. This smooths it out and a grainy, solid waste will be left behind. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Melt some more butter and pour over top of refrigerated pate. Leave it for 4 hours.

Pork Tenderloin Pastry Pie, Portobello Mushrooms with Apple

Hefty, pastry, pork, mushrooms, flavour. Bo!

Ingredients:

Flour 180g

Butter 100g

Water

Pork loin

Rosemary

Thyme

Portobello mushrooms

Apple

Brandy

Stock

Cream/Creme fraiche

Cabbage

Method:

Mix the flour in with the butter until it is fine. Add water a little at a time. Make a nice ball of dough. Refrigerate.

Marinate the pork loin with rosemary and thyme. Add plenty of salt and pepper before frying butter for a few minutes on each side.

Brush the pastry with a beaten egg. Put the loin in the pastry. Wrap the pastry around it. Put in the oven at about 180 for 45 minutes.

Slice the portobellos. Fry in butter with plenty of pepper. Add the apple (cubed). Add some brandy until alcohol burns off. Add stock (I used mushroom jus from the rehydrated portobellos). Add some cream.

Steam a few cabbage leaves for a few minutes. Eat!

Belgian Beef Stew

A heart beery beefy hotpot

Ingredients:

Shin of beef

Onion

Duck fat

Belgian beer (Kwak or similar)

Carrots

Mushrooms

Redcurrant jelly, or jam

Red wine vinegar

Method:

Coat the shin of beef chunks in flour, salt and pepper. Brown it in duck fat (or equally life-threatening lard) in a separate pan. Move to the casserole. Brown the sliced onion in fat. Add a whole bottle of beer. Put it in the oven for 1 hour.

Chop the carrots into chunks. Add them and halved 'shrooms to the stew. After another hour, mix the jelly/jam with the red wine vinegar and to the stew for some beautiful sweet and sour flavours.

Return to oven for 10 minutes. Beef should be very tender, but still whole. Serve with warm bread.

Fried Hake, Dill Peas with Hollandaise Sauce

Mmm...

Ingredients:

Hake

Peas

Butter

Dill

Egg yolks

Butter

Lemon

Water

Method:

First make the hollandaise. Boil a pan of water. In a bowl over the top, add 2 or 3 egg yolks. Splosh in a wee bit of water and mix. Gradually add the butter (loads of butter - rough guide: 3 yolks to 250g butter) and keep mixing. Squeeze in some lemon and add pepper generously. Mix and turn off heat. It will stay good, but mix it every now and then.

Prepare the peas. Add hefty butter and salt. Mix. Add the dill. Bosh!

The hake can be bony. Take 'em out. The skin is optional. It's not great. Season it. Coat with flour or make a crumby seasoning. Pan fry in butter. Turn the fish and lower the heat.

Swordfish on Fennel and Red Onion

Swordfish is a hearty meat that can take the big flavours.

Ingredients:

Swordfish

Fennel

Red Onion

Capers

Dill

White Wine

Method:

Caramelize the chopped fennel and red onion in butter. It will take a while. Meanwhile, steam the swordfish in a... steamer. Add a splosh of white wine to the fennel and red onion and some chopped capers.

Grilled Mackerel, Creamy Vinaigrette

An unusual combo, creamy sauces and mackerel, but try it.

Ingredients:


Mackerel

White wine vinegar
Water
Dill
Creme fraiche
Mustard

Method:


Remove the innards of the fish, and wash it. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat grill. Put mackerel under grill for 5 minutes or so, then turn it over.

Add about equal parts vinegar and water, and put in plenty of dill (do not chop it up). Heat until it is gently simmering. Remove the dill. Add a fair bit of creme fraiche and stir. Add a small bit of mustard (careful not to overpower the subtle dill flavour with mustard). Heat it gently.

Serve the sauce on the side of the fish. Mackerel has some bones, but it's not difficult to eat. The sauce complements the fleshy fish very well with it's smoky flavours and creaminess countering the fish's salty oiliness.

Mackerel Ceviche, Beetroot Puree, Simple Salad, Bread

Today's lunch was mackerel. What a beautiful fish! And cheap too.

Ingredients:

Mackerel
Chilli
Dill
Lemon
Salt

Beetroot
Red wine vinegar
Cream
Dill/Parsley

Salad leaves
Olives
Olive oil

Bread

Method:

Fillet the mackerel (see this guide on filleting mackerel) and remove the skin. Chop into small pieces. Chop the chilli and the dill. Mix it all together in a bowl with the lemon juice and season it lightly. Leave to stand for at least 5 minutes. The lemon juice effectively "cooks" the mackerel, but it still has that raw texture.

Mix the beetroot in a blender with the red wine vinegar, a splash of cream and the herbs. It should be sweet, sour, creamy and colourful, but it should still have some rough texture.

Make a simple salad of leaves and olives tossed with olive oil, and well seasoned.

Serve with fresh, warm bread.