Posts tagged breadcrumbs

Courgette & Rice Gratin

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his one is a bit of a guesswork and culinary instinct. I make up the majority of my recipes from going by eye and taste so am constantly having to rush to the laptop at the end of a meal to formulate a trusty recipe with measurements! Due to the varying moisture of your courgette and the foolish way I left writing this one up to a week later its rough but will always be I think. When I make this again, I’ll return to this post and correct any misgivings…So try my chefs, go by eye, taste and gut to get the texture.

This makes a lovely side dish to some grilled chicken or steak. I felt it was  equivalent to but more sustainable than a creamed spinach with its carb element. It’s really moreish and filling and not creamy in the traditional gratin sense. It would also make a great vegetable main with salad dressed with a dijon lemon dressing.

Serves 4 as a side

  • 140g brown rice
  • 3 courgettes, finely grated
  • 2 shallots/1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 50g of grated parmesan
  • 25g butter
  • 1-2 Tbsp plain flour
  • Splash milk
  • Some breadcrumbs
  • 1 lemon, zest
  1. Grate your courgettes into a big bowl and sprinkle over about 2 tsp or two good pinches of flaky salt and set aside. This will draw out the majority of the courgette moisture.
  2. Boil your rice for about 20-25 minutes until just cooked with a slight bite. Check as you go as you don’t want to overcook it; it needs texture. Drain and set aside.
  3. Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Heat and then gently sweat your shallot/onion for about 8 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook for a few minutes.
  4. Put the courgette into a sieve and push through to drain the, now extracted, liquid. Save this liquid in a separate bowl. Don’t worry about getting it really dry, you just want to remove the excess.
  5. Add the grated courgette to the frying pan and the onions and mix well to combine. Fry for a few minutes.
  6. Next, season well with salt and freshly ground pepper and then add the butter and mix until melted.
  7. Add a heaped tablespoon of plain flour and mix well.
  8. Next, (ironically) you want to add some of that courgette ‘juice’ back in, but at your control. Add in stirring well to stop the flour getting lumpy until it starts to thicken a bit – here is where you need to use your instincts!
  9. Once added, top up with milk if you want a looser texture, I added a splash but my courgette ‘juice’ was about 100ml.
  10. Grate in all but a handful of the parmesan and the zest from half the lemon and mix until the cheese is melted.
  11. Tip into a baking dish.
  12. Scatter with the breadcrumbs and the reserved parmesan and season.
  13. Bake at 180 for about 20 minutes or until golden and hot through!

Glamorous Little Gems & Chicken

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ts been one of the hottest days in London and I’m wishing I was anywhere else. Regardless if this is a “technically” true stat, for me, an outrageously and inhumane (#dramaqueen) commute home on a train only partially cooler than an incinerating furnace left me feeling like a spit roast chicken…without the delicious golden skin (which we all know is the best part). I power walked home with nothing but a swimming pool and a cold beer on the mind. To do just that. I love it when a plan comes together. After a refreshing lengths session in the local pool with the lane to myself and only one drifting plaster in sight I counted this as a good exercise sessions (it is also Thursday…most people have better things to do). I was feeling energised, refreshed and ready for the start of my evening round 2. Beer on the mind I wondered aimlessly around Co-op. Again, depressing for a Thursday evening I know. Inspiration at a stand still.

I’m convinced some of my favourite recipes are created out ofspontaneity and the need to EAT! And tonight, I was in one of those rare moods where (yes I’ll admit) I just want to eat and don’t care to much for the show business of blogging and aesthetics. Needless to say….I inevitably eyed up my camera as I always do as the meal was coming together and…well here you are. Thursday evenings creation. I am, if you are keen to know, enjoying a cold beer as I write this. I likely won’t be proofreading so please don’t be that ‘helpful’ reader who comments to advise of my grammatical errors….

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 4 chicken thighs, deboned
  • 8 slices thin chorizo
  • 1 large garlic clove, diced
  • 2 little gem lettuces
  • Handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Zest 1 lemon
  • Two large handfuls breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil
  • Lemon juice & yoghurt to serve (optional)
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Start by deboning the chicken thighs as most come sold with bone in. Easiest way is crudely with a pair of scissors. Heat a frying pan until hot. Season the skin side of the chicken well and then fry skin side down until really crisp and golden (like that spit roast…).
  2. Place the 8 slices of chorizo in a baking tray. When the chicken skin is temptingly crispy, seal the flesh side in the pan by flashing it on the heat before placing on top of the chrizo slices skin side up and putting the tray into the oven for 20 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the frying pan again and add a little oil. Fry the breadcrumbs and the diced garlic until golden and crisp, set aside in a large bowl.
  4. When the breadcrumbs have cooled slightly, to the bowl, add the lemon zest, as much finely grated parmesan as you like, the finely chopped parsley and some good seasoning.
  5. Heat a griddle pan or the same frying pan again and add a small splash of sunflower oil. At 5 minutes before the chicken is ready, halve the little gems, discarding any tatty outer leaves, and char these cut side down for a few minutes until just beginning to soften and the outside is golden (these are ideally done charred on a BBQ but a griddle works well. I actually did mine using a frying pan so this is also fine and effective). Remove from the heat.
  6. To serve, place the crispy chorizo on a plate and top with the chicken. Serve with the little gems scattered generously with the breadcurmb/cheesy crumb.

A cooling lemony yoghurt works well here drizzled over the little gems to add some clean acidity as most of the elements here are greasy. Some freshly boil peas also add a nice clean taste and addition. This also works well as an excellent side dish to many other proteins and salad. The textural contrast is the best!

Cheesy Breaded Hake

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his recipe is a perfect Monday night dinner to start the week on a healthy note and get some flavour after perhaps (I mean I’m just suggesting….) a boozy weekend…ahem..? The fresh delicate flavour of the fish, the slight decadence of the greasy fried cheesy breadcrumbs with a good squeeze of lemon and the sharp tang of a few gooey capers satisfied all my cravings in one. With a fresh crunchy salad with yet more lemon it cheered a soggy Monday after what was the worst day of rain we’ve had in long time. So after laying out my running shoes and the entire contents of my running rucksack to dry I cracked on with priority two….dinner.

I’ve left the measurements vague. Its really dependant on how many you’re cooking for and how cheesy you like it. And I’ll admit, after a soaking run home I wasn’t really in the mood to measure for the sake of this blog post as that really does take away the ease and love of this recipe for  Monday night. No rules, no orders, just guidelines…..Experiment!

  • White fish fillets – use a meaty fish here. I used hake but cod, haddock, tilapia, whiting, monkfish etc all work too (skinned)
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Grated parmesan cheese
  • Parsley, chopped roughly (reserve a handful for garnish)
  • Lemon, zest and juice (1 between 2)
  • Egg, beaten (Around 1 per fillet)
  • Plain flour
  • 1 heaped 2tsp capers per person
  • Sunflower oil, 1 large knob butter
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C..
  2. Place the flour in a small bowl and the beaten egg in another.
  3. The measurements for the coating are loose….use as many breadcrumbs as you require for the number of fish fillets. Use about a quarter of the weigh in breadcrumbs for the cheese and as much parsley as you dare. One very large handful of breadcrumbs usually accommodates 1 fillet but it depends on size and if you’re double dipping (see step 4)! Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl.
  4. Taking your fish fillets, dip first in the flour and dust off the excess then dip in the egg. Then plunge the fillets straight into the breadcrumbs and coat well. Repeat with a second layer of egg and breadcrumbs if you like a thick coating. It will be a messy job, press the coating into the fish as best you can.
  5. Place the fillets on a plate and chill for 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, preheat a large deep saucepan with a good layer of sunflower oil and a knob of butter.
  7. When hot but not smoking, add your chilled fish fillets and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Flip and repeat until you have a toasted solid golden crust. Either continue to cook throughout in the pan or finish in the oven until cooked to your liking (depends on the fish size but around 7-8 minutes).
  8. Whilst finishing cooking or whilst the fish rests, chop the capers roughly with the remaining parsley. Add the zest of the lemon and combine. Garnish over the crispy fillets with half a wedge of lemon on the side to squeeze over.

Serve with fresh vegetable, salad or some big sweet potato wedges. A tartare sauce wouldn’t go amide here either…or a lemony yoghurt. Being in the wine trade, I’m also dying to advise a wine that would go perfectly here but seeing as its Monday and a healthy start I won’t. But if you were to open a bottle of something sharp and zesty like a Chenin Blanc then you wouldn’t be going far off…ahem….cheers.

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Leek and Parmesan Arancini, Smokey Bacon Mayonnaise

Jess - Leek Parmesan Aracncini_

Jess - Leek Parmesan Aracncini 2

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hen I first say James Martin make this mayonnaise my mind immediately jumped to all the decedent foods it could accompany. Surprisingly it only briefly lingered on the monstrously unhealthily nature of mayonnaise and bacon!? But once in a while, a Saturday evening needs a decadent dish lovingly and patiently made – think of it as a culinary pat on the back for a hard working week. James Martin is one of those humble chefs that I trust when it comes to recipes (not to mention our matching appreciation for the use of butter) so all that was needed here was something to accompany it. One of my favourite staple flavour combinations being leek and bacon and a need for something fried and crispy for this gourmet mayo, arancini sprang to mind. In preparation for my up and coming supper club where arancini feature as my starter I thought a little more practice couldn’t go amiss. So out came the rice, butter and wooden spoon, the Italian red was decanted and dinner was set…

Serve with a lovely lemony rocket salad to cut through the oil.

Makes 15 large arancini (2-3/person)

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 70g butter
  • 200g Alborio rice
  • 1 large glass dry white wine
  • 1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
  • 5 leeks
  • 50g grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 lemon
  • 200g breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs, beaten well
  • 100g plain flour
  • Sunflower/Vegetable oil for deep frying (About 1 litre)

Arancini

  1. Begin by making the risotto either in the morning before eating these or a day ahead of when you want to serve them.
  2. Melt 20g of the butter in a large saucepan or high sided frying pan with a teaspoon of olive oil.
  3. When hot, sweat the onion and garlic, lid on, for about 5-10 minutes until softened and translucent. You shouldn’t allow it to colour.
  4. Turn up the heat and add the rice. Fry for a few minutes until the rice starts to turn translucent. While the pan is still hot, add the wine and allow to bubble vigorously and absorb into the rice. Immediately turn the heat down to a medium low.
  5. Now add the hot stock ladle by ladle once each liquid addition has been absorbed. Between each spoonful allow to bubble at a very gentle simmer. Cook the rice in the stock in this way for about 20 minutes testing the rice after about 18 minutes by which time it should be soft with a slight bite but not mushy.
  6. Meanwhile while the rice is cooking fry the leeks. Melt 20g of the butter in a frying pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Top and tail the leeks then slice in half and chop on the diagonal into thin slices. Fry on a medium heat with plenty of salt and pepper for about 10 minutes until soft and just starting to caramelise and colour. Set aside once done.
  7. Once the rice is cooked and most of the stock is absorbed you should still be aiming for a loose consistency. Remove from the heat and add plenty of seasoning to taste and then then tip in the leeks. Add the grated zest of the lemon and the juice of half.
  8. Add the parmesan and the rest of the butter and place a lid onto the pot and set aside for 2-3 minutes. After this time remove the lid and stir in the melted cheese to combine.
  9. Tip the risotto onto a shallow dish/baking tray levelling it out thinly to allow it to cool quickly and place in the fridge to chill.Jess - Leek Aracncini
  10. Once chilled, take just bigger than golf ball sized spoonfuls (or smaller depending on how you want to serve them. I suggest one large one each as a starter or 2-3 for a main) and roll into rounds. Arrange your flour, egg and breadcurmbs into 3 bowls in front of you. Dip the risotto balls first into the flour then the beaten egg and finally coat in breadcurmbs and place each on a plate. Continue until you have used up all the rice. This should make about 15 balls.
  11. Place in the fridge until ready to fry.
  12. When ready, heat a saucepan full of the vegetable oil (deep enough to immerse the arancini by at least half) or turn on your deep fat fryer. You will know when it is hot enough as a cube of bread added to the oil will sizzle and turn golden in a matter of minutes.
  13. When the oil is hot enough, fry the aracini, turning as needed, until golden brown and crisp all over. Once golden, remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel. Keep warm while you fry the rest.

Jess - Leek Parmesan Aracncini Mayo

Smokey Bacon Mayonnaise

  • 2 egg yolks, room temperature (this is important to prevent it splitting)
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 6 rashers streaky smoked bacon, chopped into pieces
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 350 ml rapeseed or olive oil
  1. Begin by frying the bacon in a hot pan ahead of time until really crisp. Set aside in a bowl with the fat juices and cool in the fridge completely.
  2. Next, place the eggs yolks, mustard, juice of 1/2 the lemon and the white wine vinegar in the bowl of a food processor and set the motor running.
  3. In a very steady stream add the oil. The more slowly you add it the less chance it will split. The mixture will begin to thicken the more oil you add. Continue until you have combined all the oil and the consistency is thick and smooth.
  4. Next add some freshly cracked pepper and tip in the bacon pieces. Pulse until mixture to combine the bacon.
  5. Spoon into a small serving bowl and cover at room temperature until ready to use.

WINE: By no means do you need to fork out on an extravagant Italian bottle such as the below ‘Gaja Conteisa’ that I devoured these with. But there is something quite ironic about a greasy and mayonnaise laden ball of buttery risotto with a Super Tuscan that I won’t lie….went down like a house on fire. Italy, you made my weekend.

Jess - Leek Parmesan Aracncini Gaja_

 

Beetroot Arancini, Chestnut Humus, Hazelnuts

Jess - Aranchini 1
Jess - Aranchini 4

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s hard as it is to admit, the long balmy evenings are getting darker and shorter and noticeably less balmy. Autumn is whistling in the air and the wind if whipping the leaves around my now boot clad and sock warmed feet. I adore summer more than you can imagine and I’m always reluctant and depressed to let it go but the potential of Autumn and its bountiful harvest are just too exciting for a foodie like myself and one of the many reasons I adore the English seasons. Pears, plums, apples, pumpkins, game, beetroot and cobnuts. I get far to excited, overwhelmed and overjoyed at the inspiration for Autumnal dinners. A little recipe testing this weekend creating some new dishes in preparation for an Autumnal dinner party I have approaching was the cause for this one.

I’m not normally a huge believer in the arancini concept as generally most things taste good deep fried. I do adore them though – oozing with cheese or glamourised with truffle oil and mushrooms. However, I always wonder if they are more delicious and successful than the risotto itself? For me they are usually an after thought for any leftover risotto you might (surprisingly and hard to image) have as leftovers. But I’ve always admired anyone who makes risotto with the intention of just making arancini. That said I make double the batch and devoured the liquid form for dinner and the deep-fried leftovers the night after.

These subtly spiced, earthy, warm, crispy oozing arancini are the perfect start to the season. Creamy, deeply flavoured whipped chestnut humus and nutty toasted hazelnuts are the perfect addition. All cleanly cut through with some fresh, sharp and zesty lemony rocket and a hearty spiced glass of Pinot Noir. Lets welcome Autumn in style.

NOTE: I would highly suggest making the arancini in the morning before a dinner but ideally overnight. Ensure you have made the humus and garnish beforehand so that arancini are the last thing to cook and are hot, crispy and freshly served immediately.

Serves 6

Beetroot Arancini – try and make the evening before if you can

  • 120g pearl barely
  • 1 pint hot chicken stock
  • 125ml red wine
  • 1 small red onion, chopped finely
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly ground
  • 200g cooked beetroot, pureed in a food processor
  • Large handful finely grated parmesan
  • 1 knob butter
  • ½ lemon
  • 1 egg
  • Plain flour
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Sunflower oil for deep frying
  1. Heat half a knob of butter with a small splash of oil in a saucepan. Very gently sweat the red onion in the butter for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cumin cook for a few more minutes. Season
  2. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the pearl barely. Toast in the pan with the onion stirring all the time. Next add the wine and simmer off until reduced.
  3. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and add the hot stock, ladle by ladle, adding more only after each addition has been absorbed. Continue for about 25minutes or so until the pearl barley is tender. Keep adding stock until the barley is cooked but don’t drown the mixture especially towards the end of the cooking time or it will be too runny.
  4. When the barley is cooked, stir through the beetroot puree and taste and season again. Bring back up to the heat to warm through.
  5. Add the grated cheese, another knob of butter and a generous squeeze of lemon juice and remove form the heat. Place the lid on top and leave it sit and rest.
  6. Stir to combine the cheese. Leave to cook until cold in the fridge, ideally overnight.
  7. When cold and almost solid, its time to make the arancini.
  8. Get 3 bowls ready with the beaten egg, a handful or two of flour and the breadcrumbs
  9. Divide the risotto into 6 or so large spoonfuls and form into balls just a bit larger than a golf ball.
  10. Roll in the flour, the beaten egg and finally give a good coating in the breadcrumbs. Set aside on a plate.
  11. Heat a large pan of oil at lease deep enough to come up half the side of the arancini (8cm or so). Heat to a medium high heat on the hob. Test the temperature with a piece of dry bread. If it sizzles and turns golden its ready!
  12. Get a few sheets of kitchen roll and use them to line a shallow bowl or plate.
  13. Add the arancini, 3 or so at a time depending on the size of your pan. Fry, turning half way one the underside is a light golden brown.
  14. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the kitchen paper.
  15. Serve immediately as below.

Chestnut Humus

  • 200g vacuum packed chestnuts
  • 1/2 lemon
  • Knob butter
  • Olive oil
  1. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan with just enough water to cover, the butter and some salt.
  2. Bring to the simmer and cook for about 3-4 minutes to soften the chestnuts.
  3. Drain, reserving the liquid.
  4. Place in the bowl of a food processor with some seasoning and blend. Add a splash or two of the reserved water to loosen and blend until beginning to smooth. Keep adding the water until the mixture is smooth but still thick. Add the lemon juice and then thin to the desired consistency with the oil.
  5. Check the seasoning.

Breadcrumbs

  • Couple of large handfuls of brown breadcrumbs
  • Handful of hazelnuts, roasted, halved
  • 2-3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
  1. Heat a splash of oil in a hot frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and fry until beginning to turn golden. Season and add the roasted hazelnuts and fry for a few more moments.
  2. Turn the heat down a little and add the parsley to wilt and crisp.
  3. Remove from the what and allow to cool slightly.

To assemble…

  • Spoon a large tablespoon of so of chestnut puree onto the plate
  • Top with some rocket leaves dressed in lemon juice
  • Top with the hot arancini
  • Scatter over the crunchy crumbs
  • Devour

WINE: I hugely recommend something with a little spice to it to complement the cumin here. The earthy beetroot is a lovely match for a lovely Pinot Noir. Try this Paper Road Pinot Noir from Borthwick Estate available at Armit Wines.

 

Jess - Aranchini 5Jess - Pinot Noir

Rhubarb Sorbet and Ginger Treacle Tart

 

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I really think this is one of the prettiest and simplest desserts that you can have this time of year. Nothing but some old stale breadcrumbs, humble hardy grown rhubarb and some sweet tangy ginger. Cold golf balls of frozen candy floss to top a pointy slice of warm ginger spiced treacle tart after the slow roasted spring lamb shoulder we devoured for Easter lunch.

I’ve always grown my own rhubarb letting it ripen naturally around the summer time into gangly red and green fingers of sweet and sour goodness. But Portobello market is bursting with the ‘forced’ type at the moment and I couldn’t resist bagging some of the leggy, blushing pastel pink stems for this killer sorbet.

Serves 12

Rhubarb Sorbet

  • 800g forced, pink rhubarb, chopped
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 100ml water
  • 1 lime
  1. Mix the chopped rhubarb with the caster sugar and and place in a saucepan. Heat gently with the water until beginning to soften and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  2. When tender, remove from the heat, squeeze in the lime juice and leave to cool slightly.
  3. Puree until smooth, taste and adjust with sugar or lime (it should be a little sweeter than you like as the freezing with dampen this) and then churn in an ice cream maker for about 30 minutes. Alternatively, pour into a container and freeze, mixing every 30mins-1hr to break up the ice crystals until set.

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Ginger Treacle Tart

Pastry

  • 125g chilled butter
  • 250g flour
  • Zest ½ orange
  • Cold water

Filing

  • 200g white breadcrumbs (the staler the better)
  • 400g golden syrup
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • Pinch ground ginger
  • 2-3 balls of preserved stem ginger, chopped finely
  • ½ lemon, zest and juice
  1. Start with the pastry. Mix the butter into the flour in a processor or with your hands until you form a breadcrumb like texture. Mix in the orange zest. Add a spoonful of cold water, a small bit at a time and mix into the flour and butter until you can form a smooth dough. Shape into a disc, wrap in cling film and leave to chill for about 30 minutes or so in the fridge.
  2. Grease and line a 20-22cm tart tin and preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the pastry from the fridge and leave to adjust to room temperature before rolling out on a floured surface to about the thickness of a pound coin. Line the greased tin pressing the pastry into the case. Chill the casing for about 10 minutes if you can.
  3. Prick the base with a fork to stop it rising up when cooking and place a sheet of parchment on top followed by some heavy baking beans or dry raw rice. Push it right up to the edges to keep the parchment down.
  4. Bake blind for 20-25 minutes until the casing if lightly golden and cooked. Remove the beans and baking sheet for the final 5 minutes to brown and cook the base.
  5. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 160°C.
  6. Now, warm the golden syrup in a saucepan until molten. Remove from the heat and add the ginger, lemon, breadcrumbs and stir to combine. Mix in the eggs making sure the mixture if not too hot first or these will scramble.
  7. Pour into the pre-baked tart tin and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and set.
  8. Serve warm with the rhubarb sorbet and some slow roasted vanilla speckled rhubarb on the side or a good quality vanilla ice cream.

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