Year of the Glutton

Five-spiced roast pork belly with leek pilaff

2011-11-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the pork:

2 tsp five spice powder
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
A thumb and a half sized piece of ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 star anise
8 large pork belly strips

For the pilaff:

100g wild rice
140g basmati rice
1 leek, cut lengthways and finely sliced
1 large bunch coriander, leaves picked
1 lime

Method

Mix the 5 spice, soy, grated ginger and hoisin sauce and then rub into the meat. Put the marinated meat in a baking dish which just accommodates it, and leave it to marinate in the fridge for a few hours or ideally overnight.

Approx 2 hours before you want to eat, pre-heat your oven to 160 ° C. Arrange the pork strips skin side up and put them in the oven. After 30 minutes baste the pork with the juices. Repeat after another 30 minutes and then keep an eye on the pork to ensure it does't burn on top. If it gets close to burning, you should be able to turn some pieces so that the more cooked side is sitting in the juice.

Stir-fry the leek in a little sesame oil, grate in the zest of half a lime and add a good pinch of salt. Cook the rice as per the instructions. I put the wild rice in first and throw in the basmati 8-9 minutes before the wild rice is ready. Add the leek to the cooked rice and stir in the juice of half a lime. If the pork isn't ready, you can cover the rice and keep it warm in a cool oven.

Twenty minutes before you want to eat, drain the juice from the pork and return the pork to a cooler oven. About 140 ° C. The pork, now free from juice, should now dry out and crisp up a bit. Don't work, it won't dry out too much as it has layered fat within the meat.

The pan juice is full of flavour but will also be very fatty. Strain off the juice and discard the fat. If there is a lot of juice, you could now reduce it while you wait for the pork.

Divide the pilaff between warmed plates, drizzle a little pan juice over the rice and top each pile with two belly strips. Garnish with coriander leaves if you're posh.

Spaghetti With Goats Cheese and Rocket

2011-11-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

Some of my favourite meals are the simple pasta dishes which take minutes to prepare and have very few ingredients. I suppose this is a cousin of macaroni cheese, so it was always going to have a very good chance.

Ingredients

These quantities are per person and make for a large main course.

100g spaghetti (De Cecco where possible)
50ml milk
50g goats cheese
25g rocket
2 tablespoons of grated parmesan, plus more to serve
half a bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Put the pasta into well seasoned boiling water and get it bubbling steadily. Heat the milk in a small pan and gently melt in the goat cheese. If the goats cheese has rind, which hopefully it does, chop the rind well. As the cheese melts, you can do away with some of the cindy chunks by pressing them into the edge of a pan with a wooden spoon. I don't mind chunks though. When the cheese is incorporated, add the bay leaf, stir in the the parmesan and leave the sauce to rest.

Wash the rocket and reserve a few leaves to garnish. Roughly chop the remaining rocket.

When the pasta is al dente, drain it and return it to the pan. Add the chopped rocket and sauce and give to a quick blast of heat to make sure its piping. Check the seasoning. Its unlikely to need much salt (unless you forgot to salt the water), but I always add a healthy twist of pepper.

Serve on warmed plates garnished with the reserved rocket leaves and a few parmesan shavings.

Notes to gluttons

Timing. If you prepare this (sauce) in advance or over-boil it, it will separate. So don't do anything until the pasta is on. Olivia first cooked this dish and it coated the pasta beautifully. My version had chunks of curd and sat in a puddle of whey.

Pasta needs salt and I think that when cooking pasta and sauce, the benchmark of well-seasoned pasta is whether or not you would eat it on its own, no sauce. If the pasta is unseasoned when you add the sauce, you are in danger of spending the whole meal chasing the seasoning. A little more salt, a little more salt. By salting the water sufficiently, you are seasoning the core of the dish and not just adding seasoning as an afterthought.

Rocket is often rubbish quality in UK supermarkets. Even at its freshest, you only have to open the bag to get a slight whiff of rot. Morrisons sell bags of unwashed wild rocket (though how wild can it really be) which is very fresh and very tasty. I guess the process of washing and drying it leaves rocket covered in stale water and that the moisture causes it to deteriorate faster. So if you can get unwashed rocket, you should find it tastes and lasts better.

What to drink

Well, red wine for sure. We're drinking Morrisons "The Best" 2009 Fleurie. Sorry to sound like an advert for Morrisons. In the most part I don't really like shopping there, but tonight I happen to have combined two of their best products.

Michelin-Starred Lemon Tart

2009-01-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

This tart is unbelievably lemony. It is sharp enough to wake up the taste buds after a heavy meal yet also heavy enough to provide a solid kick to an afternoon coffee break. It looks wonderful - so vividly yellow from the lemon zest and egg yolks. If you are the type of person to have black plates (you probably have black sheets too), it will contrast brilliantly. On white plates, set it off with some red fruit or a drizzle of jus.

This recipe was given to me by the pastry chef at Chez Bruce when I did a 2 day stage in the kitchen. His recipe involved 40 eggs so I have had to scale it down for domestic proportions. The recipe below fits my 28cm flan tin (which is quite shallow) perfectly so you may need to adjust it slightly depending on your tin.

My pastry tends to come out thicker than I'd like. At Chez Bruce the pastry is waffer-thin.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

350g of flour
3 egg yolks
175g of butter
100g of icing sugar
pinch of salt (only if using unsalted butter)

For the filling:

175ml double cream
7 eggs
juice of 4 lemons
zest of 1 and a half lemons
250g caster sugar

Method

To make the filling, mix all of the ingredients together and leave in the fridge to rest for at least an hour so that the flavour of the zest has time to infuse. If you can leave it overnight, all the better.

To make the sweet pastry, combine the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor. Once well mixed (you're aiming for breadcrumbs), beat in the egg yolks one by one. You can do this in a food processor and finish it off in a mixing bowl if you like. I prefer to do it with my hands and to get mucky. Once the egg yolks are beaten in, add water drip-by-drip until the pastry is just firm, but not stiff. It will need to be pliable when you roll it. Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Lightly grease a 28cm flan tin with a removable base. Take the chilled pastry from the fridge and give it 15 mins to warm up a little. Roll it out very thinly (3mm ideally) so that it will fill the flan case with at least 1cm overlap all round the edge of the tin. Line the tin with one large circle of pastry, pressing the pastry into the corners and ensuring the 1cm or spare pastry remains all around the edge. The pastry needs to be watertight as the filling is very runny indeed - so repair any holes with moistened pastry patches.

Line the pastry with a circle of greaseproof paper and fill with baking beads. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until very light brown. Remove the baking beads and paper and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. My oven has a mind of its own, so I rotate the tin regularly to ensure it is evenly cooked.

Remove the tin from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 120 degrees. Trim the excess pastry from the edge of the tin with a sharp knife. Your flan tin should now have a pastry lining which fits perfectly or near-perfectly.

Strain the filling mixture using a fine sieve and pour it into the base while still hot (this will ensure the case is sealed). The filling should come up to just below the top of the pastry. Carefully return the full tin to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. When you take the tart out of the oven, the middle will still be gooey. Don't worry, leave the tart to cool for at least 40 minutes. You will find that the residual heat in the pastry and case will set the filling perfectly. If you over-bake the tart, the filling will dry out and crack.

Serve the tart by itself or with cream. Drizzle a coulis/jus if you want to make the plate more exciting. If like me, your jam has not set this year, try using a spoonful of the runny jam.

Notes for gluttons

As an alternative, sift icing sugar over the top of the tart and place it under the grill to caramelize the sugar to a light golden brown. Try it without first though, as I reckon it needs no elaboration.

The Parsons Nose Butcher, Parsons Green

2008-11-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

The beautiful piece of pork belly I used in the recipe below came from a new butcher in Parsons Green. They are worth mentioning here as an addendum to my "love of butchers" piece from many months back.

The butchers at the Parsons Nose supply great quality meat and game. They age their beef in store and I believe the quality of their produce to be on a par with Randalls but considerably cheaper. Their venison sausages are probably the finest sausages I have ever eaten. Here are the vital stats:

The Parsons Nose
753a Fulham Rd
London
SW6 5UU
020 7736 4492

They also gave me this 10% off voucher for Christmas purchases which I am passing on to you.

Confit Pork Belly

2008-11-24T04:15:00.000-08:00

This recipe requires a bit of dedication and planning but will reward you with belly pork perfection - tender, moist, flesh with uniformly perfect crackling.

The word "confit" means preserved (as in "confiture") and involves slow-cooking the subject of the meal in duck fat. Only the French could invent something so ridiculously unhealthy! Now you will need quite a lot of fat, so plan to have several roast ducks or geese in the run-up to your confit or alternatively secure your fat from elsewhere.

The fat for this confit comprised:

1. a jar of goose fat from the supermarket
2. the strained and reserved fat from roasting a duck (and some duck legs)
3. a glug of olive oil (because I was short for my first confit)
4. a large tub of beef dripping

The above amounts to about about a litre and a quarter which is enough to confit a 4 portion chunk of belly pork.

Ingredients

For the confit:

a large piece of pork belly - boned and trimmed of gristle
lots of animal fat (see above)
1 bay leaf
1 star anise
a sprig of rosemary

For the salting mixture:

a bay leaf per portion
1 star anise
a sprig of rosemary
1 clove of garlic per portion
5 peppercorns per portion
60g rock salt per portion

Step 1 - Salting

Roughly chop the bay, rosemary and garlic and mix with the salt. Lightly crush the peppercorns and add the crushed peppercorns to the salt mixture.

Smear the salt mixture all over the pork. Cover the pork and leave in the fridge for 24 hours or at least overnight. If you get a chance at any point in the day, rub the mixture into the pork to make sure it has an even covering.

Step 2 - The confit

Pre-heat the oven to 140 degrees C.

Remove the pork from the fridge and transfer it to an ovenproof dish which fits the cut of pork as tightly as possible. The tighter the fit, the less fat you will need to cover the pork. Melt the fat in a saucepan and pour over the pork until it is covered. Tuck in a whole bay leaf, a sprig of rosemary and a star anise.

Cover the pork (with a lid or else tin foil) and transfer to the oven. Leave it simmering slowly in the oven for about 4 hours. Check the pork while it is cooking and if any part is sticking out, turn it over to ensure even, moist cooking. You might also want to turn down the oven if it is boiling too rapidly.

Remove from the oven and leave the meat to cool in its oil. The meat should not cool completely. See step 3.

Step 3 - Pressing

In order to ensure that the portions are neat and perfectly flat, you now need to set your portions in a press. Before the fat sets, remove the pork from the fat and wrap it loosely in cling film. Place the pork skin-side down on a flat surface and place a flat board on top of it so that the pork belly is pressed as flat as possible.

Place a heavy weight on the top board. A case of wine perhaps? Leave like this overnight. The pork skin should set perfectly flat. This will allow you to pan-fry the skin and get wonderful crackling. Once removed from the weights, the pork is now cooked and semi-cured so should keep in the fridge for at least a week.

Step 4 - Final cooking

Take the pork and cut into neat square portions. Score the rind in whichever way you want (I go for inch cubes). Take a heavy-bottomed oven-safe frying pan which is large enough to contain all of the belly portions. Get the pan hot and place the portions skin side down in the pan. Fry over a medium heat until the skin is crisp and golden.

Transfer the pan to a hot oven for 6-8 minutes with the pork remaining skin side down.

Hooray!

When you turn the belly portions out of the pan, the crackling should be perfectly crispy. Place them on a mound of mash and serve with braised red cabbage and apple sauce. Oh, and please have a glass of wine at this point, you have earned it!

The confit fat can be strained, kept and re-used a number of times. Hugh Fearnley-Whojimaflip says you can use it 3 times before it becomes too salty. I have done 2 confits, duck and pork belly. What on earth shall I do next?

Savoury Bread & Butter Pudding

2008-11-15T05:18:00.000-08:00

In fact, this is quite possibly closer to tartiflette than it is to B&B pudding.

The choice of cheese is up to you. Gruyere is the obvious one for me as I love the sweet, straw aroma and flavour of cooked gruyere. Beaufort or comte will be similarly great. Good farmhouse cheddar or stilton will give a different slant. Maybe you should just use up your cheese leftovers? Neals Yard sell lovely blue-streaked chunks of cheddar for cooking at a vastly reduced price.

Serves 4

Ingredients

half an onion finely chopped
3 or 4 slices of thin-cut pancetta
250g grated cheese
half a loaf or so of buttered crustless sliced white bread
one and a half pints of full-cream milk
6 large eggs
salt & pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Line the bottom of a shallow ovenproof dish with several slices of the buttered bread. Sprinkle over two thirds of the cheese and lay the pancetta over the cheese. Place the rest of bread on top.

Fry the onion with a knob of butter until softened. Once soft, stir in the milk and add a little salt (remembering that both the cheese and the bacon will have their own) and pepper. Pour mixture into the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. Then pour the milk and egg mix over the bread in the dish and place in the oven for 25 minutes.

Take the pudding out of the oven and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes or until golden brown.

This is delicious served with a simple salad. If you have used a milder cheese, the salad should be dressed with something tart and punchy (use wine vinegar rather than balsamic and maybe add some lemon juice). If you have used a powerful salty cheese such as stilton or strong cheddar, try a sweeter dressing made with gloopy balsamic.

Notes for gluttons

This recipe is clearly adaptable. You could try adding mushrooms, peppers or other veg. You could go italian and use basil, sun dried toms and mozzarella. No, I've got it, chicken bread and tikka butter masala.

New York Cheesecake

2008-10-16T00:39:00.000-07:00

Wow. Two pudding posts in a row. This backs up my suspicion that I am increasingly a slave to my sweet tooth. In my twilight years my comfy chair is sure to be surrounded by a debris of cake crumbs. Back to the recipe - I kid you not, this is the only cheesecake recipe you will ever need.

Ingredients

For the crumb base:

85g melted butter
140g (approx 10) digestive biscuits
1/2 tbsp castor sugar
60g chocolate chips
1 tbsp cocoa powder

For the filling:

900g full fat soft cheese (E.g. Philadelphia)
250g castor sugar
3 tbsp plain flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of lemon (2tsp)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 large eggs plus 1 yolk
284 ml soured cream

For the soured cream topping:

142 ml soured cream (alternatively fresh cream and lemon juice)
1 tbsp castor sugar
2 tsp lemon juice

Method

For the crumb base:

Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the biscuit and sugar. Remove from heat, add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips and mix well.

For the cheesecake filling:

Beat the soft cheese for a couple of minutes until soft and creamy, (this is easier if done in a food processor). Gradually add the sugar, followed by the flour and mix well. Whisk in the vanilla, lemon zest and juice then whisk in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Finally, stir in the soured cream and blend well (do not overbeat). Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin.

For sour cream topping:

Mix the soured cream, sugar and lemon juice together and spread over the cheesecake, cover loosely with foil and refrigerate for 8 hours overnight.

To put together cheesecake:

Position the shelf in the centre of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 200°C (fan assisted) or 240°C (conventional).

Line the base of a 23 cm spring form cake tin, with non stick parchment and brush the sides of the tin with melted butter. Place on to a baking tray. Press the mixed biscuit base down gently on the cake tin base until even (the crumb should not be pressed down too heavily). Pour in the filling and tap the sides of the tin to prevent any bubbles. Place the tin into the oven and cook for 10 minutes then reduce the temp to 90°C (fan assisted) or 110°C conventional or quarter of a gas mark and bake for 25 minutes.

Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool down slowly and gently for 40 minutes, this will help prevent any cracking. Gently remove from the oven and leave to cool. When cool, spread the soured cream mix over the cake and refrigerate preferably for up to 8 hours or overnight.

To serve the cheesecake, lightly run a round bladed knife around the cake tin edges and unlock the cake tin, slide away the parchment and cut into required portions.

Noted for gluttons

I prefer a little more base than in this recipe so try adding half as much again to the base quantities.

Digestive biscuits vary in salt content. The salt makes all the difference here so I recommend adding a pinch of salt to the base mix. It really gets the juices flowing.

Kipper Carbonara

2008-08-04T03:12:00.000-07:00

In my quest to swim the channel, I have turned my attentions to particularly nourishing food which is high both in protein and carbohydrates. When my body is exhausted, it seems to tell me that it needs fish and pasta to repair itself. This one fits the bill perfectly and is poached (pun very much intended) from Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall.

Nutritious, delicious and also cheap as chips.

Ingredients

Serves 5 - 6

500g Spaghetti or Linguine
400g Kipper Fillets
4 Egg Yolks
200ml Double Cream

Method

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, salt it well and throw in 500g spaghetti or linguine. Meanwhile, cut the flesh off the skin of 400g Kipper Fillets and remove any pin bones.

Slice the kipper flesh into small strips. Fry over a low heat in a knob of butter for just a couple of minutes, until cooked though.

Put 4 Egg yolks and 200ml cream into a large bowl. Season (going easy on the salt) and whisk together. As soon as the pasta is cooked ,drain it well, then return it to the still hot pan it was cooked in.

Add the egg and cream mixture and the kipper slices and quickly toss everything using two forks .The finished sauce should coat the pasta strands like silky custard.

Serve straight away, and pass the pepper mill around.

Ravioli o Tortelli Di Zucca Mantovani

2008-07-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

This recipe is typical of Milan and the surrounding area. Milanese food is not my favourite in Italy. It tends to be heavy and can seem a bit bland compared to the pungent aromas favoured in the south. This recipe however is unique and exciting. The pasta filling is sweet and aromatic and though the concept sounds a wee bit strange, it works very well.

This is a powerful meal so I don't recommend you give yourself a huge bowl of it as you would bolognese. I have made that mistake in the past and regretted it. I suggest rather that you serve it as a primi piati and keep portions small. It is not an easy dish to make anyway so unless you want to be locked in your kitchen all day, small portions will probably suit you just fine.

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 kg butter nut squash
160g amaretti biscuits
160g mostarda di mantova
180g grated grana padano (or parmesan)
80g butter
nutmeg
salt and pepper

For the pasta:

600g italian 00 flour
6 eggs
a good pinch of finely ground salt

To serve:

grated grana padano
butter
a few sage leaves

Method

Before attempting this you will need to find some mostarda. Mostarda is a speciality of the Italian province of Milan, Lombardia. It looks a bit like glaceé fruit in sugar syrup, but when you taste it, you soon realise that the syrup packs a punch. The punch is mustard and the syrup is a unique sweet/savoury suspension of sugar and mustard. Going off the idea? Well its not for everyone but it works really well in this recipe so please persevere.

You can eat the remainder of the jar/tin (it comes in both) with cheese in place of quince or chutney. Mostarda is not readily available in the UK so you'll probably need to find an Italian deli unless your supermarket is very posh.

Chop the squash flesh into inch and a half cubes, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in a medium oven until the flesh is tender and gives easily when poked with a knife. The roasting process concentrates the flavour and brings out the amazing sweetness of BNS.

Remove and set aside to cool. When cooled, mix in a blender with the other filling ingredients. You are aiming for a smooth paste.

Make the pasta as normal. For pasta newbies, that means bunging all of the pasta ingredients in a mixing bowl or blender. Once mixed into a firm (not stiff) dough, cover the dough with cling film and refrigerate for an hour or so.

Make the ravioli or tortelli as usual. I am not going to explain the process here now but will aim to produce a photographic tutorial at some point soon.

To serve the pasta, melt the butter with the sage leaves on a very low heat, drizzle the strained sage butter over the pasta with a light grating of grana padano.

Torta Della Nonna

2008-05-18T06:44:00.000-07:00

This classic recipe is a regular sight in Italian cafes and pasticcerie. The sweet pastry is filled with a rich ricotta custard which bakes to a firm yet smooth texture. Italians would probably eat such a tart with an afternoon coffee rather than as a dessert. I think it works equally well as either.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
500g of flour
5 egg yolks
300g of butter
200g of icing sugar.

For the ricotta cream:
300g of ricotta
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (or real vanilla)
half a litre of milk (room temperature, not straight from the fridge)
60g plain white flour
150g caster sugar
pine-nuts to decorate.

Method

Prepare the pastry by mixing all the ingredients carefully and leave this mixture in the fridge for a while. For more info on the pastry making, refer to the similar pastry in this pear and almond tart recipe. Keep at least 1 egg white safe as you'll need if for the egg wash.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Now prepare the custard. Mix the egg yolks in a mixing bowl with the sugar and vanilla flavouring. Slowly add the flour, stirring continuously. Slowly stir in the warm milk and mix thoroughly. Put the mixture in a pan on a low heat and continuously stir the custard as it comes up to the boil. Once it has boiled for 3 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the ricotta.

Take the pastry mix out of the fridge. Roll out just over half of the pastry mix with a rolling pin until thin. Form the pastry into a 'bowl-like shape' inside a round 28cm flan case. If pastry rolling isn't your thing, try the grating method also in the pear and almond tart recipe.

Prick the pastry base a couple of times, fill with ceramic baking beads and blind bake it for 20 mins or until it just starts to brown. Remove the base from the oven and allow to cool. Reduce the over temperature to 160.

Roll the remaining pastry 4-5mm thick and from it cut a 30cm round. Pour the ricotta custard mix into the cooked pastry base and top with the pastry round. Seal the tart by pressing the pastry together round the edges. Brush the top of the pastry with some reserved egg white and sprinkle with pine nuts. Bake at 160 for 30 to 40 minutes in fan oven or 1 hour in a conventional oven. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve warm.

Aubergine millefeuille

2008-04-08T04:35:00.000-07:00

I get a bit stuck when veggies come for dinner. Especially gourmet ones like my friends Barney & Tam. I saw something similar to this cooked on TV years ago and always wanted to give it a crack. It's quite a light starter, which is great if you're serving 3 or 4 courses as it improves the chances of your guests enjoying the whole meal.

Ingredients

To serve 6

4 aubergines
a large handful of parsley
the juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic, chopped
150ml olive oil
seasoning

Method

Slice two of the aubergines crossways - about 5mm slices. Generously salt the slices and place them in a colander with a tea towel on top and something underneath to catch the drips. Leave to stand for at least an hour (preferably two).

Fire up 2 gas hobs with a low-medium flame and place the other 2 aubergines directly over the flame. Keep moving them about until the skins are completely and evenly burnt. Fear not, the flesh will not burn, it will just pick up a lovely smokey flavour.

Allow to cool, peel and rinse (to remove the little bits of burnt skin). The flesh should be soft and cooked. If the middle is still hard, your flame was too high. Should this happen, cut the peeled aubergines in half and roast in a medium oven for another 20 mins or until soft.

Cube the cooked flesh and add to a food processor with most of the parsley, the juice of the lemon, the olive oil, garlic and a generous seasoning of sea salt and black pepper. Blend until smooth, taste for seasoning and set aside.

Rinse the salted aubergine slices and pat dry with kitchen roll. Brush the slices with olive oil and fry each one in a medium-hot griddle pan. The aim is to get the charred stripes while not overcooking the middle of the slices. You'll probably need to do them in batches.

Assemble the towers with alternate layers of fried slice, and puree dollop. You should aim for about 3 slices per portion. End with a small dollop of puree and garnish with a little parsley. Serve with the slices warm. The puree can be cooler without sacrificing the experience.

Pear & Almond Tart

2008-03-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

This recipe was inspired by a bakery in Rome called Il Fornaio. More details can be found on my Roman food notes page. The recipe is cobbled together from various ones I found on the net and is vouched for with appreciative murmers.

Ingredients

Serves 8

For the pastry:

350g plain flour
175g salted butter
100g icing sugar
3 egg yolks

For the topping:

300g unsalted butter at room temperature
300g caster sugar
300g blanched almonds
3 eggs
5 ripe comice pears - peeled and halved

Method

To make the sweet pastry, combine the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor. Once well mixed (you're aiming for breadcrumbs), beat in the egg yolks one by one. I do this in a food processor and finish it off in a mixing bowl. Wrap the pastry in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

For the topping, finely chop the almonds in a food processor. Don't be tempted to substitute ground almonds at this point. They wont have the bite and the texture of the filling will suffer. Mix the almonds with the caster sugar and eggs until light and creamy.

Lightly grease a 28cm flan tin with a removable base. Take the chilled pastry from the fridge and grate it into a pile in the middle of the flan dish. Using your fingers, press the grated pastry into the edges and base of the flan tin until there is an even layer all around - that's right, no rolling. Once the pastry is even, prick the base a couple of times and blind bake it for 20 mins or until it just starts to brown. I add ceramic baking beads to stop the base lifting.

Assemble the tart by evenly-spacing the halved pears on the pastry base. Spoon the almond mixture around the pears (and fill in any cored cavities). If there is too much mixture it will overflow. This isn't a problem but bear in mind that you'll need to put it on a baking tray or your oven will become a butter bath.

Reduce the oven temperature to 160 and return the tart to the oven for 40mins or until it is browned all over.

Serve with double cream or crème fraîche. Its great hot or cold.

Raisin & Marsala Ice Cream

2008-02-15T01:13:00.000-08:00

This upgraded version of rum & raisin was a complete accident. The mixture was made as a dessert filling but I had far too much and froze the leftovers. When I tried it from the freezer it was delicious and it has been recreated many times since.

Now when I say ice cream, I say it in a broad term. I have never made ice cream from a recipe and I certainly don't have an ice cream maker. So this is my take on ice cream. It is certainly creamy enough and I reckon it fights its corner admirably against real italian gelato and our friends at Oddonos. It is my Gelato Accidentale.

Ingredients

200g raisins
200ml sweet marsala such as Targa Riserva
500g marscapone (full fat)
600g creme fraiche (full fat)
60g icing sugar

Method

Soak the raisins in the marsala for 24 hours. You may need to mix them occasionally as the top raisins will poke out of the liquid once they start to soak up the wine.

Beat the cream and marscapone together with a whisk and once blended, whisk in the sieved icing sugar. Drain the raisins and mix them into the cream mixture. Take half of the remaining liquid and mix into the ice cream mixture. Taste the mixture, check the consistency and decide if you think it needs (and can take) more of the raisin liquor. Add as appropriate.

Transfer to plastic containers and freeze. Remove the ice cream from the freezer each hour and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon. This should keep the mixture light and fluffy and ensure that the raisins are equally distributed. When it gets too stiff to beat, leave to freeze completely.

Notes for gluttons

The spare wine mixture is just too good to waste. If you have a lot of raisin liquor left over, you could reduce it with more sugar to form a syrup topping for the ice cream. You will obviously need to cool this. Remember that it will thicken as it cools.

I have tried this with white port in place of marsala. It worked well but required more sugar.

Baked Scrag End Lamb

2008-01-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

This wonderful hearty dish is the epitome of simple home cooking. The flavours and textures are robust, the ingredients cheap and best of all its a one-dish meal - so minimal washing up. Scrag end chops cost next to nothing and because of the quantity of bone, the meat has great flavour.

Ingredients

Serves 4

10 smallish new potatoes
4 plum tomatoes
1 large aubergine
2 medium onions
6 cloves garlic
50ml olive oil
a few sprigs of rosemary
4 thick cut neck chops - at least 220g each

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C. Clean the potatoes and halve lengthways. Add them to a medium/large roasting tin. Halve the tomatoes (also lengthways), dice the aubergine and add them both to the potatoes. Peel the onions and slice them thickly. Peel the garlic but leave it whole. Add the garlic and onions to the dish, pour over the oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Give the mixture a good mix so that the vegetables are covered with seasoned oil and tuck the rosemary sprigs under the vegetables. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Toss the vegetables once during cooking to prevent any burning but try not to break up the tomatoes.

Pick any bone fragments off the lamb chops and rub them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables from the oven, toss them gently and put the chops on top. Turn the oven up to 220 degrees C and return the dish to the oven for 30 minutes. Test the lamb, it should be browned on the outside and still pink inside.

You will find that during the second period of cooking, juices from the chops drip down and douse the softened vegetables with a wonderful rich lamb flavour. When you plate up the meal, be sure to scoop the spare juice onto the plates. I like to eat this with my sister's crabapple jelly or redcurrant jelly if I've run out.

Pot-Roast Half Pig's Head

2007-11-16T02:56:00.000-08:00

My first experience of pig's head was a brawn at St John Bread and Wine. Not just a faultless terrine, it was served in its element - sourdough toast, pickles and beetroot leaves. The acidity of the pickles cuts through the fatty terrine and the bitter leaves refresh. Now why didn't I think of that?

Making "head cheese" is not rocket science but to achieve the consistent elegant simplicity of the St John menu is a true feat. St John mastermind Fergus Henderson is such an inspiring man. Though best know for dealing with the rougher cuts of the pig, it his his dedication to the traditional British dining experience which makes him my food hero.

You will just have to get down to St John to see what I mean. Starters include Ox Heart, Beetroot & Pickled Walnut, Brown Shrimp & White Cabbage and perrenial favourite Roast Bone Marrow With Parsley Salad. My preference is to eat in the bar and order 3 or so starters per head. They have a great selection of draft ales and a wonderful wine list so you should plan to wobble home. Finally, if you're there in the festive season, make sure you snaffle a mince pie with a glass of Le Vitriol.

Enough chat. Introduced and lovingly penned by Fergus, here is the recipe...

I say only half a head, as it is a perfect romantic supper for two. Imagine gazing into the eyes of your loved one over a golden pig's cheek, ear and snout.

Ingredients

To serve two

a dollop of duck fat
8 shallots, peeled and left whole
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
½ pig's head (your butcher should have no problems supplying this) - remove any hairs with a razor
a glass of brandy
1 bundle of joy - thyme, parsley and a little rosemary
½ bottle of white wine
chicken stock
a healthy spoonful of Dijon mustard
1 bunch of watercress, trimmed, or other greens - a case of Liberty Hall
sea salt and black pepper

Method

Dollop the duck fat into an oven tray wide and deep enough to accommodate your half a pig's head and put it on the heat. Add the shallots and garlic and leave them to do a little sweating to improve the flavour of the dish. Shuggle the tin occasionally to prevent any burning, but you do want some colour.

When happy with these, cover the ear of your demi-head with foil so that it doesn't frazzle, then rest the head in the tin. To welcome it to its new environment, pour the glass of brandy over it, nustle in your bundle of joy, add the wine and then the chicken stock. Now, I'm sure we have covered this before - the alligator-in-the-swamp theory - what we are looking for is the half pig's head to lurk in the stock in a not dissimilar fashion to an alligator in a swamp.

Season with salt and pepper, cover the tin with greaseproof paper, offering some protection but not denying the need for the rigours of the hours to come in the oven - which is where you should now put your tin, in a medium oven for 3 hours, until the head is totally giving. Check it after 2-2½ hours; you could remove the greaseproof paper at this point and get a little colour on your cheek.

When ready, remove the head to a warm place. Whisk the Dijon mustard into the pan liquor, in which you should then wilt the bunch of watercress. Finally, on the head presentation platter, make a pillow of shallots, garlic and wilted watercress, where you then rest your head. There you have it, dinner for two; open something red and delicious: Moon, June, Spoon.

Dan can hardly believe his luck

Oh. Now you've read the recipe, why not watch the video?

This recipe is taken from Beyond Nose to Tail by Fergus Henderson and Justin Piers Gellatly, Bloomsbury 2007

Notes for gluttons

Though most butchers can find you a pig's head, they may well need notice. Call the butcher a few days in advance to avoid dispair.

You will end up with a lot of cooking liqueur - far too much indeed to serve with the head. I suggest you remove two thirds of the juice towards the end of the process, reduce it over a furnace until gloopy and mix it back in with the remaining liquid.

Don't be shy about asking the butcher to half the head. However big your cleaver, you're guaranteed to make quite a mess doing this at home.

Slow Baked Quinces With Mascarpone

2007-10-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Quinces are deeply misunderstood. I suspect that kilos and kilos rot under their trees each year as people don't know what to do with them.

Well I've got news for you - there is more to life than quince jelly. This recipe shows of the unique texture of the fruit and ends up with a beautiful aromatic liqueur which also makes a great ice cream base (more on that later).

I am giving you the choice of using a low oven or a slow cooker. The latter is certainly more economical. You may also find that your oven has an auto cut-out after 6 hours or so so keep an eye on it. I've never tried the oven method but I've eaten the result and it is equally sublime.

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 quinces
a bottle of white wine
250ml water
400g sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
2 star anise
200g mascarpone or greek yogurt
bay leaves for serving

Method

Heat the oven to 100c (gas mark 1/4) or warm your slow cooker up. Combine the wine, water, sugar and aromatics in a heatproof, ovenproof lidded dish (or a large pan if using a slow cooker) and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Scrub the quinces, peel them (reserving the peelings) and cut in half lengthways. If oven baking, add to the liquid-filled oven dish immediately with the peelings and transfer to the oven. If using a slow cooker, add the liquid, quinces and peelings to the cooker and set it to low.

Oven bake for 8 hours or slow cook for 10 hours. Over this time the cooking liquor will develop a deep red colour and your entire home will be filled with a glorious smell of Christmas. Once cooked leave to cool, strain out and discard the aromatics and peelings and serve the fruit with their juice, a dollop of mascarpone or greek yoghurt and a bay leaf to garnish.

Notes for gluttons

The cooked quinces keep for up to a week in the fridge so don't be shy, double up the quantities! Unless you guzzle it in a glass, you will have spare cooking liqueur when you have eaten the quinces. This can be reduced and used to flavour a delicious mild ice cream. I'll try and post it soon.

Fegato alla Veneziana (calves liver Venetian style)

2007-08-19T03:23:00.000-07:00

It can be hard to find friends to share the delights of offal with. So much so in fact that I have had to start a monthly Offal Club to bring together ther real fans of "the fifth quarter". I think liver is quite an accessible organ and this recipe produces a flavoursome dish which can be enjoyed even by those with weaker stomachs.

Ingredients

Serves 2

225g calves' liver (ask the butcher to slice it thinly)
3 medium onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
275 ml dry Marsala
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 large clove garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
10g butter
salt and freshly ground pepper

NB. You will need two frying pans!

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan over a high heat, then add the onions and keep frying them over a high heat until they are dark round the edges. You'll need to keep tossing them otherwise they'll burn proper and become bitter - about 10 minutes. If they do co over the top (crispy), I suggest you start again.

Add the crushed garlic and toss that round the pan for a brief instant (30-60 seconds) before adding the Marsala and balsamic vinegar. Bring everything up to a gentle simmer, season, and then turn the heat down to its lowest setting and let it just barely bubble (without covering) for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the liver by slicing it into approximately 1½ inch lengths keeping the lengths very thin. Imagine Mr Twit eating his worm spaghetti! When the 45 minutes are up, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil along with the butter in the other frying pan and, then when the butter foams, add the liver slices and sear them very briefly. They only need about 1-2 minutes to brown - any more will dry them out. If there's not enough space in the pan, you can do these in batches.

Add the liver strips to a warmed serving dish then deglaze the pan with a dash of marsala being careful to boil off the alcohol before adding the jus to the liver. Pour over the onions and sauce and serve immediately.

I like to serve this with spinach and chips made by shallow frying cold new potatoes. It would be equally at home (and a little more healthy) over a crisp baked potato.

Notes for gluttons

Lambs liver works well with this recipe too.

Octopus Slow Cooked In Wine

2007-07-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

This is the first post to feature on YOTG which is designed to be cooked on the car engine. Didn't know you could cook octopus on the car engine? Shame on you. Its high time you had a look at Bangers on Bangers.

OK, so you've got the background. This dish was dreamt up for a long journey to the lake district. The cause of the trip is a swimming race so this will be high-protein, high carb and, most importantly, lip-smackingly tasty.

Leaving London at 8am, this should be ready for a lakeside lunch. The early departure will affect cooking time - a fast passage out of London will make for an even, low heat all the way. If you are starting your journey in heavy traffic (such as a Friday evening), you'll need to alter the recipe to allow for a high heat at the start followed by lower heat as you hit the motorway. I'd take an hour off the cooking time.

Ingredients

Serves 2

250g prepared octopus (the smaller, the better)
10-12 cherry tomatoes halved
1 small bunch of parsley
1 lemon
1 glass white wine
good olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
2 heaped tsp. plain flour
1 thinly sliced small potato

Method

Rince the octopus thoroughly in water and pat dry with kitchen roll. Slice the octopus as you like, but keep the chunks reasonable small, say not more than 2cm in any direction. Since it is quite a beautiful animal, you'll need to use your creative flair here to cut up the fish in a way that preserves its natural beauty.

In a mixing bowl add the octopus, flour, seasoning and parsley. A good pinch of sea salt is needed here but only a couple of twists of pepper. Stir until the flour is well dispersed. Add the juice of the lemon, stiring as you go, then do the same with the wine being sure to avoid lumps. When the liquid is looking smooth, add the halved cherry tomatoes and stir in gently.

Pour a generous splash of olive oil into a foil takeaway tray and line the tray with the sliced potato. This will stop the octopus from getting too hot and thus becoming tough. Add another glug of oil then with a slotted spoon, spoon in the octoups until it comes up to just below the top of the foil tray. Top up with the remaining liquid leaving about a centimetre gap at the top of the tray to minimise spillage. It doesn't mater if there are bits of octopus poking above the liquid as these will steam.

Seal the container as described on Bangers on Bangers and get on the road. I think this will need at least 4 hours of motorway driving but I'll probably give it 5 to be safe.

Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juice.

Notes for gluttons

Hands up if you've cooked octopus on a car engine. I reckon this to be a first but would love to be proved wrong. Remember where you saw it first.

Bobotie

2007-06-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

This has been a favourite of mine at Tupelo Honey for a long time. Last time I went, I decided to reconstruct it. The recipe is of South African origin and the internet is riddled with recipes. This recipe is a mixture of those I found online. It works well.

Ingredients

Serves: 6

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 1/2 pounds good quality lean ground lamb
1 thick slice of white bread
3/4 pint milk
1 tablespoon curry powder*
1 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 tablespoons malt vinegar
1/2 cup seedless raisins
50g flaked almonds
2 tablespoons Slap and Pickle (or similar) chutney
2 bay leaves
3 large or 4 small/medium eggs

* I use 1 part ground cumin, 1 part garam masala, 2 parts ground coriander, 1/2 part chilli powder. You probably have your own recipe.

Method

For the meat:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Heat oil in large sauté or very large frying pan. Add the onions and cook over a medium heat until transparent. Add the meat and fry until lightly browned and crumbly. Break it up with a wooden spatula as you go - I hate large lumps in my mince! Soak the bread in the milk, squeeze out excess milk and mash with a fork. Reserve the milk for the batter and set aside.

Add the bread, curry powder, sugar, salt, pepper, turmeric, vinegar, raisins, almonds, chutney to the meat mixture and continue to fry for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into a baking dish, press it down well so that it has a flat surface and there are minimal gaps. Nestle in the bay leaves and bake for 50-60 minutes.

For the batter:

Beat the eggs with the remaining milk, season well and pour over the meat mixture about 20 minutes before end of the baking time. Turn the oven up to 220 for the last stretch and keep a close eye on the batter crust. When it goes golden brown it's done. If it goes too dark, it probably means you've dried out the dish.

This is real comfort food. Its like a shepherd's pie with a twist. I serve it with a salad of flat leaf parsley, cubed tomatoes and cucumber dressed with a mustardy vinegarette.

Notes for gluttons

Try substituting 1/2 pound of lamb with the same weight of minced fatty pork. I tried this and the extra moistness was noticable.

If you like more of a curry flavour, try substituting the Slap and Pickle chutney for Patak's Brinjal Pickle.

Date, Fig & Fennel Chutney

2007-05-01T04:20:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

2.5 kg fennel, roughly sliced
750g figs, roughly chopped
400g dates, roughly chopped
2 pints cider vinegar
180g ginger, finely chopped
750g soft brown sugar
4 tsp salt
4 onions, finely chopped

Method

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. The bigger the pan, the better as it will help to reduce the liquid. You will need a pan that is at least 7.5 litres to fit the above in. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Bear in mind that the chutney will thicken as it cools, so make sure there is some liquid left. Spoon into jars straight from the hot pan. This will ensure a vacuum seal.

Notes for gluttons

If you're planning on keeping the chutney for a while (say, more than 6 months) then I recommend leaving a bit more liquid. This somehow helps the flavour to develop and prevents the chutney from drying out. If the chutney doeas get too dry, or if you want to cook it a little longer to make the flavours richer, you can add a bit of water. Just make sure the chutney has a good boil after you've added it so that any nasties are done away with. Now don't touch the chuntey for 3 months so that it has a chance to mature. Ideally, aim to cellar it for a year or more. As long as its moist enough, this chutney will keep for about 3 years. I bet it wont last that long!

Slow cooked pig trotter and hock terrine

2007-04-14T01:16:00.000-07:00

Serves about 10 as a starter.

Ingredients
2 pig's trotters, each chopped into 3 or 4 pieces
A 1kg unsmoked ham hock
300g fatty pork belly strips
2 small onions, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bayleaves
1 large glass white wine
1 tsp redcurrant or crab apple jelly
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

I didn't ask the butcher to cut the trotters into pieces as I wanted to try out my new cleaver. Big mistake, I was hacking away for a while, so get your friendly butcher to see to this for you.

I made this in a slow cooker. I am a big fan of the slow cooker, especially where bones are concerned. The product is always that bit richer and I have been known to leave it running on the lowest setting for 24 hours. You could just as easily use a heavy saucepan or a cast iron casserole.

Wash the trotter pieces well being sure to clean between the toes (a strange sensation to say the least), then place in the slow cooker, along with the whole hock, belly, vegetables and herbs. Pack everything in as well as possible, then pour in the wine and enough cold water to cover. Turn on the slow cooker and run it for 8-10 hours. By now, the trotters will be tender and the skin should fall away from the bone. Remove the meat and set aside.

Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve lined with muslin or a clean tea towel into a clean pan. Bring to the boil, reduce by three-quarters, then stir in the fruit jelly. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required. You will need to add a generous pinch of good salt. Remember you're going to serve this chilled, so the flavour will be surpressed.

Pick all the skin and meat from the trotters, and the meat from the hock and belly. Here you can make a decision about how rustic you want your terrine to be. I chose to discard a lot of the skin and some of the fatty bits. On reflection, I think I was a bit heavy-handed as the terrine came out a little lean. Roughly chop the meat, skin and fat into pieces about 1cm square and put in a bowl. Stir in the prosciuto fat. Pour over the reduced cooking liquid, stir and check the seasoning again. Pack into a terrine (or several ramekins or a medium pudding basin), place a weight on top if necessary, then leave until completely cool. Chill for at least a few hours to set before serving (ideally a day or two).

Serve with crusty bread and your preference of cornichons, chutney and/or mustard.

Ligurian Rabbit Casserole

2007-04-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am having a rabbit crisis. A recent wild rabbit experience was so powerful, that I almost swore myself off them for good. Since then I have eaten a couple of delicious tame rabbits but I can't quite come to terms with the fact that I might prefer the farmed version to the natural gamey animal.

This works with farmed (I still find it funny that they call them "tame") rabbit but would probably not work quite so well with a wild beast. I'll hunt for a good wild rabbit recipe and post it shortly.

Ingredients:

1 tame rabbit, jointed
plain flour
1/2 cup olive oil (preferably ligurian)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves peeled but whole
a sprig of rosemary
a few sprigs of thyme
a small handfull of sage leaves
some finely chopped parsley stalks
24 black olives, stoned and halved
2 glases dry white wine
1 tablespoon concentrated tomato puree
seasoning
a small amount of chicken stock

Method:

Wash and pat dry the rabbit portions. Coat them in seasoned flour and brown in a cast iron casserole over a high heat to get a bit of colour on the meat and also the pan. Brown the garlic cloves at the same time. Set the rabbit aside and add the onions, olives and herbs. Sweat them down until the onion is softened. Pour in the wine, deglaze the burnt patches on the pan and simmer off the alcohol. Return the browned rabbit to the pan along with the tomato paste and a generous seasoning.

Cook slowly either on the hob or in a medium oven for 1 and a half to 2 hours. Serve with grilled polenta

Adapted from Carluccio's Complete Italian Food

Roast bone marrow with parsley salad

2007-03-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is always on the menu at St John in Smithfield. I have it whenever I go there and it never disappoints.

Experience suggests that it helps to give your butcher a bit of notice here. This morning I was charged a staggering £15 pounds for my marrowbone as when I requested it, the butcher ordered in the shins specially, and boned them for my pleasure. Alternatively avoid rip-off butchers. See previous post.

Ingredients:

12 x 7-8cm pieces of middle veal marrowbone
1 bunch of flat-leafed parsley, picked from the stems and chopped
2 shallots, very thinly sliced
1 modest handful of capers, (extra-fine if possible)
juice of 1 lemon
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground salt and black pepper
toast, to serve
coarse sea salt

Method:

Preheat the oven as hot as it goes. Place the bone marrow in an roasting tin or oven-proof frying pan and once the oven starts to burn the remains of your last week's dinners, put it in the oven. Getting the oven hot is important here. Roast the marrow for 20 minutes until the marrow is loose and giving, but not melting away.

Mix together the parsley, shallots and capers. Make the dressing by mixing together the lemon juice and olive oil.

Just before serving toss the parsley mixture with the dressing and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Scrape the marrow from the bone onto the toast and season with coarse sea salt. Serve with a pinch of parsley salad on top.

Notes for gluttons:

Really good toast is important here. I recommend pain de campagne or better still sourdough. I use Poilene sourdough and slice it quite thinly. You can butter it if required, but so much fat comes out of the bone that this is one of the few times my toast goes unbuttered.

You can buy marrow scoops but they cost a fortune. Lobster picks are easier to get hold of and cheaper. An essential tool in the offalman's quiver.

Steak Tartare

2007-03-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

I had never eaten this famous dish until I cooked it last night. My interest was created by my recent ice swimming trip to Finland where I was served Reindeer Tartare.

For 2 as a starter.

Ingredients:

About 150g fresh beef fillet
1 raw egg yolk
1 good teaspoon shallots, finely sliced
Half a teaspoon of salted capers
A couple of finely chopped cornichons
A good pinch of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
A small dollop of dijon mustard or quarter of a teaspoon of English mustard
3 good shakes of Worcester sauce
2-3 drops of Tabasco sauce
A pinch of salt
Ground black pepper

Method:

Trim the meat of all fat and sinew, then process it finely. Combine the ingredients trying to fluff-up the mixture as you do. Shape the meat mixture into neat patties, one per person, and place on serving plates.

Serve with toasted sourdough.

The Love Of Butchers - to be continued...

2007-02-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

Over the last year or two, being constantly on my bike around London, I have encountered many butchers of varying quality, price and cooperation. I currently have the number of 6 butchers in my mobile so can usualy guarantee to track what I want. If none of those have it, I go to Selfridges food hall where I've never been let down. Here's a lowdown:

Randalls, Wandsworth Bridge Road
113 Wandsworth Bridge Road
Fulham
London
SW6 2TE
020 7736 3426

I have a love/hate relationship with this place. It costs a fortune - without doubt the most expensive meat in London. They always look down their noses at me when I walk in, sensing that my pockets aren't as deep as fucking Gordon's. They have warmed to me slightly slightly but I think they're just a bit up themselves. The main reason for their snobbery is Gordon Ramsay who buys his meat there. Jamie Oliver and a host of other famed foodies also shop there, so you're paying partly for the celebrity association.

That aside, their meat is amazing. Not just the quality, which is faultless, but the way in which it is prepared. Their game comes beautifully dressed in a protective layer of pork fat (to ensure moistness) and impeccably tied. Many of the prepared joints are stuffed with fresh herbs and there is always a pungent pile of herbs in the shop ready to be stuffed in a glistening hungry orifice (calm it Stu, wrong blog).

If you're looking for a real treat, and have just been paid, then this is the place for you. Otherwise, please so pop in as a spectator. Everyone should see this place, even vegetarians.

AA King, Parsons Green
30-34 New King's Road
Fulham
London
SW6 4ST
020 7736 4004

King's is a great balance of quality and price. Their meat is great quality but despite it's location, you don't pay through the nose for it. Good for game, always friendly and keen to order you the less common cuts, this is one of my favourites in London. Until recently, the butcher most frequently behind the counter was a lady. It was a pleasure to be served by Sally and a rare sight to see a female butcher.

The funny thing about Sally is that she can't cope with the thought of eating rabbit. So whenever I bought rabbit I'd get a stern look, an anecdote about her pet rabbits and a gereral air of disapproval. Funnily enough, she has occasionally asked a furtive question such as "so is it really nice then?" which showed that deep down, she is still a butcher.

Best value butcher I know of in London and a really great place to go if you have no idea what you want for tea.

Chadwick's Organic Butchers, Balham
208 Balham High Road
Balham
London
SW12 9BS
020 8772 1895

I went to university with Gary Chadwick and had no idea that 3 years later, he'd pop up as my local butcher.

Pure Meat Co, Kentish Town
258 Kentish Town Road
Kentish Town
London
NW5 2AA
020 7485 0346

Coming soon.

Squid with pangrattato

2007-01-30T13:29:00.000-08:00

This recipe is amazing. I can't really imagine getting more out of a squid. This gives all the savoury, oily comfort that deep fried calimari gives, but in a more interesting and slightly lighter dish. Its from Jamie's Italy. I've always had problems with this man but hot damn, I'm starting to come round.

The garlic, not being peeled, doesn't burn but can still be heated to a high temperature. The result is that the breadcrumbs pick up a great garlic flavour and a good piquancy from the chilli. The chilli's wholeness prevents it from frying as normal so you get a touch of roasted pepper coming through. Need I say more?

Ingredients:

350g per person of baby squid
half a lemon

The pangrattato will serve about 4. Do the maths if you need more. For the pangrattato:

2 slices of bread crumbed in a food processor
6 cloves of garlic in the skin, squished a bit under a knife
2 large red chillis whole but pricked all over with a fork
a big handful of chopped parsley
olive oil, salt, pepper

Method:

Leave your squid whole but put them on some kitchen roll to drain the water. If possible, leave like this for an hour or so as you want to remove as much water as possible. If not, the squid will not colour and you'll miss out on the browned bit of squid. We wouldn't want that to happen would we?

Get a thick-based frying pan and warm a good (and I mean good) glug of oil (good I said) and add the chilli, garlic and breadcrumbs. Fry on a hot hob until the breadcrumbs start to toast. Season well and set aside. This will probably take 10-15 minutes so in the meantime, chop the parsley while you're salivating over the smell of bread and garlic cooking simultaneously.

You must be hungry by now. Once the pangrattato is done, remove it from the heat and stir in the parsley so that it gets a chance to wilt. Reheat the pan (medium-hot) with a small splash of oil and fry the squid and lemon together. The squid may release water. If so, keep draining it so that the pan is almost dry. This should allow some colour on the squid and lemon. If the pan is small, do this in batches - a full pan will inevitably stop the contents from colouring. You don't need to fry these for long. Get the pan hot and keep it dryish and it should be 6-8 minutes per batch to get a bit of colour. If the pan gets too dry, add more oil. Oil is fine but water is the enemy at this point.

Once the squid is done, put on plates and sprinkle pangrattato generously over it. Serve on hot plates with a light salad in side bowls. I like to combine them, but there are salad devotees who get upset by this so best to leave a choice.

Penne Con Sugo di Salsiccie

2007-01-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 italian spiced fresh pork sausages meat removed from skins and crumbled
2 small red onions peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
2 smaii dried chillies crumbled
2 bay leaves
1/3 bottle red wine (preferably Chianti or Sangiovese)
1 x800g tin peeled plum tomatoes drained
1/2 nutmeg freshly grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
120g parmesan freshly grated
150ml double cream
250g penne rigate

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the sausage meat stirring and breaking up the pieces. After the juice from the meat has evaporated and the fat begins to run add the onion, garlic, chill and bay leaves. Cook gently for almost 30 minutes until the onions are brown. Add the wine increase the heat and cook until the wine evaporates.

Now add the tomatoes lower the heat and simmer gently until you have a thick sauce about 45-60 minutes will do but 2 hours, with the occasional dribble of water will make for a richer creation. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper (add plenty of pepper if the sausages were not spicy) and add the parmesan and cream.

Cook the penne in a generous amount of boiling salted water then drain well. Add the penne to the sauce combine and serve.

Taken from the River Cafe Cookbook - Rose Grey and Ruth Rogers.

Stuffed Lambs Hearts

2007-01-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

I had never eaten heart until last night. Well, lets face it, I probably put away a good few in my student days in the guise of Iceland sausages, but I have never set out to eat heart. At a cooking demonstration I once heard Ray Smith wax lyrical about lamb's heart for a good 20 minutes. He spoke of it as if it were white truffle or beluga roe and ended the discussion by wrapping up said heart in a bag and presenting it to his favourite member of the audience. Enough.

Ingredients:
6 lambs hearts (as un-butchered as possible)
18 rashers streaky bacon
1 litre good chicken stock

For the stuffing:
Duck fat or butter
4 red onions peeled and finely chopped
4 bulbs of garlic (I used only 2)
2 glasses of red wine
225g stale white bread
salt/pepper
a couple of good sprigs of sage (leaves only, chopped)

Method:

First make the stuffing. In a pan with duck fat or butter cook your onions and garlic gently so that they do not colour but become soft and giving. Add the wine, let this reduce by half, then add the bread, season, and cook together gently for 15 minutes: if it appears too dry add a splash more wine. Cool then add the sage.

Meanwhile trim the hearts of any excess fat nodules at their openings and any obvious sinews, and the flap at the top. Finally, with your finger, scoop out any blood clots at the base of the ventricles. You are ready to stuff.

With your hand, press the stuffing into the heart, and level off the opening at the top. Then drape 3 rashers of bacon over the exposed stuffing in a star fashion forming a lid and secure with string.

Find an oven dish or deep roasting tray in which the hearts will fit snugly; stand them upright. Pour stock over - they do not need to be completely covered. Cover with tinfoil and place in a medium oven for 2.5 hours. When cooked remove and keep warm. Strain the juice and then reduce by half for a delicious sauce. Untie and serve with mashed swede.

Taken from Nose To Tail Eating - Fergus Henderson

Piedmontese Peppers

2007-01-11T12:16:00.000-08:00

I nearly had an accident when Jean was describing this one to me. I think Delia did it originally but it may have been altered since then as I received it in a frantic email. You can't really believe the amount of juice that will come out of these puppies. You end up with half a delicately balanced pepper almost full with sweet, sugary juice. I served it as a starter, thinking we'd have half each, but we couldn't stop there and had 2 halves each.

Ingredients:
4 large red peppers (green are not suitable) - 1 per person
4 plum tomatoes
8 tinned anchovy fillets, drained
2 cloves garlic
8 dessertspoons Italian extra virgin olive oil
freshly milled black pepper

To serve:
small bunch fresh basil leaves

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350?F (180?C).

For this it is essential to use a good, solid, shallow roasting tray, 16 x 12 inches (40 x 30 cm). If the sides are too deep, the roasted vegetables won't get those lovely, nutty, toasted edges.

Begin by cutting the peppers in half and removing the seeds but leaving the stalks intact (they're not edible but they do look attractive and they help the pepper halves to keep their shape). Lay the pepper halves in the lightly oiled roasting tray. Now put the tomatoes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Leave them for 1 minute, then drain them and slip the skins off, using a cloth to protect your hands. Then cut the tomatoes into quarters and place two quarters in each pepper half.

After that, snip one anchovy fillet per pepper half into rough pieces and add to the tomatoes. Peel the garlic cloves, slice them thinly and divide the slices equally among the tomatoes and anchovies. Now spoon 1 dessertspoon of olive oil into each pepper, season with freshly milled pepper (but no salt because of the anchovies) and place the tray on a high shelf in the oven for the peppers to roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Then transfer the cooked peppers to a serving dish, with all the precious juices poured over, and garnish with a few scattered basil leaves. These do need good bread to go with them as the juices are sublime - focaccia would be perfect.

Taken from Delia Smith's Summer Collection

Beef Hash

2007-01-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

Yes yes. I had beef last night and since myself and Fanoo Flipper couldn't eat 2kg (it was close), I had the pleasure of a beef hash. Mmmmm, worth doing extra for.

Ingredients:

Quantities are hard to specify here as you are unlikely to have the same amount of leftovers as I had. I think 500g of leftover meat will feed 3-4.

Leftover beef - shredded
Some pre-boiled potatoes - chopped
An onion or two
Plum tomatoes
Sprig of thyme
Salt & pepper
Eggs

Method:

Soften the onions in olive oil and set them aside. Now get the pan really hot, add a bit more oil and fry the beef, potatoes and thyme together seasoning them as you go. When they have developed a good colour, add back in the onions, some chopped tomatoes and reduce the heat until the tomatoes reduce down to moisten the meat and potatoes.

Serve topped with 2 poached eggs per person. Fergus' recipe says fried eggs but since this is already a full blown fry-up, and buy the egg point I've probably got through 200ml of olive oil, I think poached add a welcome bit of lightness.

This dinner will restore any broken mind or body.

Pot Roast Rib Roast Of Beef

2007-01-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

Serves 6 to 8, depending on side dishes

Ingredients:

2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 onions, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
2 whole heads of garlic, skin on (I peeled them, slap my wrist)
Bundle of fresh herbs (I used flat leaf parsley, sage, thyme and rosemary
10 black peppercorns
2kg piece of beef brisket or rib roast - as it comes off the animal, unboned, unrolled
1 litre unsalted chicken stock
2 glasses red wine

Method:

This is seriously low maintenance. Add the veg, herbs and everything but the meat, wine and stock to a high sided roasting dish or pot in which the meat fits fairly snuggly. I used a Creuset casserole. Make a nice flavoursome bed for the beef then nessle her in there free from the base and sides of the dish/tray. Add the wine and stock. It should come about four fifths of the way up the side of the joint.

Cover and cook in a medium/low oven for three hours. It should be simmering, so check it throughout to check there's no raging boil happening.

Serve with a ladlefull of juice. Thicken it if you like or serve with mash to soak it up. The remaining juice can be strained to make a great soup base. As there's a sealing layer of fat on it, it also keeps well in the fridge. I chucked in some watercress and something else that escapes me now and it was a great Sunday night restorative soup.

Adapted from Nose To Tail Eating - Fergus Henderson

Slow Cooked Beef Shin

2007-01-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

I cooked this for 30 friends on New Years Eve. I had huge marrow bones for the stock which cooked for a day or so before the casserole was started. The casserole cooked for about 8 hours in a very low oven. I've adaped the recipe here for a kilo of beef. It's probably more use that way.

Feeds 5 hungry folk

Ingredients:

1kg beef in large chunks (I use shin)
2 tablespoons seasoned plain flour
2 sticks celery
2 large carrots
1 litre good beef stock
1/2 bottle wine
olive oil to fry
2 bay leaves
tablespoon chopped thyme

Method:

Finely chop and fry the onions, carrot and celery (together) till they are well softened. Stir in the flour and set aside. Get a pan really hot and brown the meat in batches and add to the veg mix. Try to slightly burn it all. The flavour seeps through the stew in the slow cooking. If you use a non-non-stick pan, and its a mess by the end of this, you're in luck because you can deglaze the pan with some wine and the dark burnt bits make a lovely stock. I use a le creuset if possible. However burnt it gets at the start, the bottom is always free after the long cooking.

Once all the meat and veg are done, put them in a casserole and stir in the stock and wine. Bring to the boil on the hob then put in the oven at about 140 for 3 hours. Alternatively, stick it in a slow cooker for 12 hours or more. The flavour just keeps concentrating throughout the cooking, especially if the meat is really well browned.

Taken from my own imagination and love of all things hearty.

Why all this blogging?

2007-01-01T01:25:00.000-08:00

I need targets. Whether it is to better myself or just to prevent laziness, I find that setting myself challenges helps me to get more done, have more fun and yes, to eat more. I am a creature of habit and cook the same trusted recipes over and over. I do love my favourites but I know there's more out there. So my resolution for 2007 is to cook two recipes from each food book I own. My library currently stands at 33 but I think its going to be a good year for my library.

My name is Stuart Palmer and I am a glutton.